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The Lies We Were Told

How long does it take to conclude some authority is lying? We don’t know this answer yet … apparently many years.

BY BILL RICE, JR. | JULY 11, 2023

I recently discovered an excellent Substack Newsletter authored by a registered nurse (Dee Dee) who has treated many (alleged) Covid patients. This nurse finally had enough and decided to share her stories and thoughts via her own Substack, which she started May 25th.

From reading a couple of her pithy posts, my take-away is Nurse Dee must feel like the main character in Joseph Heller’s classic novel Catch 22. 

In that novel the experiences and observations of a fictional WW II bombardier tell readers the guidance and logic used by his superiors is complete madness.

Dee’s observations prompted my own question: When do citizens or employees finally realize that every supposedly-true thing they’ve been told is, in fact, a brazen lie?

For most people, at least with Covid proclamations, the answer seems to be “never.”

In other words, for many people, being lied to over and over doesn’t matter.

To put it mildly, such a revelation is a tad disconcerting.

One message – and it wasn’t subtle …

Dee Dee’s observations from a June 2nd dispatch might show readers why I thought of “Catch-22,” where the message to bomber crews was “just do what you are told;” don’t try to figure out the logic.

With Covid, Nurse Dee identifies the goal of all orders. Instead of just “fly the dangerous mission,” the key message is: “Just take the shot.”

“The logic surrounding COVID-19 was circular. Every dictated premise, required blind faith and the goal was always the same; to take the shot.

“… You could not question the narrative and remain a good citizen …The mantra erupted, this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated.

“No argument could be interjected in the logic. It didn’t matter if you had not seen a new illness with unique symptoms … It didn’t matter if the science didn’t make sense. It didn’t matter if the measures were opposite to all your previous medical training.

… It didn’t matter that the vaccine did not stop transmission, and it didn’t matter if you had natural immunity.  Essentially, we were told to accept every claim without evidence or reason. The orders had been given, just take the shot.”

What one nurse was told …

In a recent dispatch, Dee listed about 30 truisms she (and all of us) were told. A few examples:

We were told the vaccine wouldn’t be mandatory.

We were told there would be two shots.

We were (then) told a booster was needed.

We were (then) told another booster was needed.

We were told there had been clinical trails conducted by the pharmaceutical companies that proved safe and effective.

We were told the vaccine would prevent the COVID-19 illness.

We were then told the vaccine would prevent serious illness.

We were told if everyone would just take the shot, it would be over.

We were (then) told there were breakthrough cases, where the vaccinated person became sick with COVID-19.

We were told even if you weren’t sick, you could give the disease to grandma.

We were told the unvaccinated are spreading the virus and creating mutations.

We were told, this is a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.”

We were told vaccine passports were the new normal and would be required.

We were told the vaccine was mandatory for employment.

We were told nurses who refused the shot were stupid …”  

But in our daily lives, a different standard applies

Back to me: Forget the pronouncements of the CDC experts, of Dr. Fauci, or of Nurse Dee’s hospital supervisors  … just think about people you’ve interacted with in your own life.

At some point, when someone has told you one falsehood after another, do you stop believing them?

For most people, three big lies and you’re out.

“Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me …”

At some point, villagers did stop listening to the little boy who kept screaming, “A wolf is coming!”

Even politicians can take lying too far.

Here I recall John Edwards, a former U.S. Senator who was almost elected vice president of the United States.

Edwards lied repeatedly about an affair and then about fathering a baby with his mistress. Even when he “came clean” in a TV interview, his “confession” was replete with more lies.

I don’t know what John Edwards is doing with his life today, but I know he’s not running for political office. If he did, he’d be laughed off the podium. Everyone now gets that they can’t trust John Edwards.

The question I’m grappling with today is how many lies does someone have to tell before people conclude they’re listening to a serial liar? Is there a quota for one-lie-too-many, or a lie cut-off point?

In every-day normal life, it only takes a couple big whoppers before a friend becomes a “former friend,” a person to be avoided at all costs.

But not with our Covid liars. Apparently, there’s no limit to how many lies “trusted authorities” can tell … and still be considered “trusted” authorities.

In her very fist post, Nurse Dee wrote:

“Thrust upon our population was a labyrinth of lies. There were new daily mandates offering no explanation, making little if any, medical sense.

“… The medical interventions … coupled with preposterous statements from our leading experts, led me to personally, question everything. One question led to many questions until one day, I came to the realization, there were no answers.

“My questions met a variety of responses that included silence, laughter, and hostility.  This was my first experience of being discouraged from asking questions.”

Serious question …

How does a person continue to function – as a sane human being – in a world that’s apparently insane?

Somehow, Nurse Dee (and me and you) … are still here, but we’ve had to adopt a new survival mechanism and are now functioning in a surreal new matrix where we know we have to live with insane notions; where we realize a never-ending cascade of “accepted” lies is our New Normal.

And this question …

After reading Dee’s “Catch-22” anecdotes, I also had this question: How do serial liars keep telling all these lies? How do they get away with it?

This answer seems clear. Except for people like Dee, very few people call them out on their lies. (Thank you, mainstream media “watchdog” journalists).

Once you start lying, you can’t stop …

Also, as I learned from a big story making the rounds today, the lying officials just keep doubling down on their lies.

An organization called the International Coalition of Medicine Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA)  just issued a big press release telling everyone that the vaccines are still safe and effective and, just like we’ve all been told a million times … everyone  should keep getting their next rounds of shots.

It’s clear to me that the purpose of this document is to counter the growing “spread” of world citizens who might, finally, be starting to question the pronouncements of trusted health authorities.

A few of the “Key messages from this group, which “brings together 38 medicines regulatory authorities from every region in the world, with the WHO as an observer” (In other words, a centralized, clearinghouse of expert liars):

* “False and misleading information about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines on social media often exaggerates the frequency and severity of side effects. Misinformation also wrongly attributes unrelated medical events to the vaccines.”

* “There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines have contributed to excess mortality during the pandemic …”

* Under the header, “Benefits of COVID-19 Vaccination,” the public is told that

“Millions of lives are estimated to have been saved by COVID-19 vaccination …”

I learned of this document from colleagues at the Brownstone Institute’s writer group.

A fellow Substacker added the link with this note: “A meticulous and immaculately supported take-down of this statement is needed. It’s been all over MSM today.”

I read the propaganda and immediately posted this reply:

“You could debunk/challenge every sentence …”

Two seconds before I made my post, another colleague posted this:

“Wow. Every single bullet point is a lie.”

There’s now too many lies to easily debunk …

Key take-away: The lies Nurse Dee was told every day – or almost immediately figured out on her own – are still being told today.

The damn liars have simply worn us down. I could debunk every one of those bullet points, but I’m growing tired of writing the same rebuttals over and over.

And as Dee observes, what’s the point? Even if someone does debunk all of these whoppers, these people are just going to keep lying … and keep telling us what to do.

The only conclusion I can make is that – especially regarding topics that might involve  “life and death” – people, for some surreal reason, simply want to keep believing the liars.

Most people in the world must feel “safer” believing lies, lies that have killed and injured millions of their fellow citizens, including family members, friends and neighbors.

In our “Catch-22” world, the bigger the lies – and the more often serial lies prevaricate, the better.

For the liars, the benefits of lying are impressive. For the world’s skeptics, the costs of calling out liars are quite unpleasant.

Anyway, the lies aren’t going to stop.

July 11, 2023 Posted by | Deception, Science and Pseudo-Science | , | 5 Comments

‘Covid Censorship Proved to be Deadly’

BY BILL RICE, JR. | JULY 8, 2023

I wanted to make a quick post to recommend an exceptional and important essay published by The Wall Street Journal’s Opinion section.

In a brief essay (“Covid Censorship Proved to be Deadly”) author Brett Swanson shows how the Censorship Industrial Complex – or what he perfectly describes as “full spectrum censorship” – has effectively caused the unnecessary deaths (and misery) of huge numbers of world citizens. 

As the essay makes clear, “truth” and “facts” have become “false narratives” or “dangerous misinformation” …. while false beliefs have become accepted as gospel/infallible truths.

Claims that are wrong, dangerous or dubious cannot be challenged.

As Swanson points out, the masses on social media quickly gleaned the speech they could not make (this shows the toxic effects of “self censorship.”)

The opinions of those who believe the “experts” might be “ignorant” were censored or not allowed to reach large numbers of people. Because of this, “falsehoods” could NOT be “dispelled.”

Swanson points out such a surreal template is the exact opposite of real science, which exists to challenge dubious claims.

A technology (the Internet) that could and should have been used to save many lives – and rebut many falsehoods – was instead used to bully and silence skeptics, who were really just trying to save lives and prevent outcomes that ultimately produced mass misery and devastating consequences for billions of world inhabitants.

The censored, bullied and demonetized skeptics are the real altruistic heroes, not the villains.

Theme fits perfectly with my next big story ….

I’m currently working on a story regarding the Covid outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier.

The true/vital lesson from this case study should have been that Covid does NOT threaten “everyone.” Per the lessons of the Roosevelt outbreak, this virus certainly doesn’t pose any real mortality risk to the young and middle aged.

But the “false narrative” quickly became that Covid threatens “everyone” … that younger adults and children were also “vulnerable.”

The truth – which would have eliminated irrational fear in most people – could NOT be disseminated as it would threaten the most important (false) narratives/initiatives.

As Swanson points out, the real goal in all of this “full spectrum censorship” is to PROTECT “authority.”

It would have constituted a “crisis” for those in authority if their pronouncements were exposed as “ignorance.”

The bottom line is that the massive and coordinated Censorship Industrial Complex was created to protect the power, wealth and continued control of those in authority.

At least The Wall Street Journal published this essay ….

… Also, The WSJ op-ed section deserves kudos for publishing this piece.

The author didn’t have the space to document the evidence of the huge spike in all-cause (non-Covid) excess deaths, but he still worked those points into his essay.

This by itself is a “win” for our side.

Shocking numbers of “vaccine” deaths/injuries and iatrogenic deaths/injuries are the giant elephants in the room in the mainstream media.

The reason most every-day citizens aren’t shocked by these scandals/truths … is that this story has been … censored. That is, this is NOT a “story.”

But at least The WSJ acknowledged this by publishing Swanson’s superlative essay.

Maybe the “news” division of the WSJ will follow-up on the author’s points and do some real journalism on these taboo topics?

Somehow I doubt this … but, still, the needle exposing the false narratives is moving in the right direction.

July 11, 2023 Posted by | Full Spectrum Dominance, Science and Pseudo-Science | , | Leave a comment

Judge Denies Biden Administration’s Attempt To Halt Injunction Against Censorship

By Dan Frieth | Reclaim The Net | July 11, 2023

On Monday, a federal judge from the Western District of Louisiana, Terry Doughty, upheld his ruling, preventing the Biden administration from engaging in specific types of communication with key social media entities.

The initial request to lift the ban on these interactions came from the administration on July 6th, but has now been met with refusal by Doughty. The judge had previously instituted this ban in response to a lawsuit by the Republican state attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana, who are challenging the manner in which government agencies cooperate with social media behemoths to curb the propagation of inaccurate or misleading information regarding the Covid-19 pandemic and election security.

Judge Doughty reasoned that the chances of success for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit were high, and therefore upheld his order. The judge also rejected the notion that the administration would suffer any “irreparable injury” due to the communication restrictions between government agencies and social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

“The First Amendment free speech rights of Plaintiffs by far outweighs the Defendants’ interests,” Doughty said in his judgment.

Doughty also dismissed the administration’s assertion that his preliminary injunction issued on July 4 was too extensive. He held that the injunction was specifically designed to block only those types of collaboration with social media companies that could infringe upon users’ “protected free speech.” He further opined, “Defendant officials can be and should be trained to recognize what speech is protected and what speech is not prior to working with social-media companies to suppress or delete postings.”

While the ruling restricts certain types of interaction, it does not ban all communication between the government and social media corporations. Doughty’s injunction allows for the continuation of meetings between the government and social media companies, specifically on subjects like cyberattacks.

July 11, 2023 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Full Spectrum Dominance, Science and Pseudo-Science | , | Leave a comment

MEP Christine Anderson To Sue YouTube For Censoring Her Videos

By Didi Rankovic | Reclaim The Net | July 11, 2023

YouTube has managed to make another enemy for itself thanks to Google’s giant video platform’s unrelenting, multi-year, overzealous censorship of a range of topics, prominently information and debate around coronavirus and the handling of the pandemic.

German Member of EU Parliament (MEP) Christine Anderson has decided to sue after two of her videos got blocked in September last year, ostensibly for mentioning Big Pharma heavy-weights in an unfavorable context.

The videos came in a series, “EU Special Committee on Covid Pandemic,” and were titled, “Deputies are fed up! – Big Pharma under cross-examination!,” “Lesson learned? – Politics further beyond reality!”

According to Anderson, the videos were taken during European Parliament (EP) public sessions of the said special committee. The MEP further explains her decision to sue by saying that the reason given by YouTube for this instance of censorship was (the usual) flimsy reference to “medical disinformation,” with no further clarification.

But the removal of the two videos was not the end of it: YouTube warned Anderson she would be permanently suspended (this is her MEP account) should another video be flagged along the same lines. And this threat is what spurred the parliamentarian to take legal action.

As for the two censored videos, they showed representatives elected by EU voters from 27-member states take part in a debate, where Anderson and several others had questions for AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, or Sanofi Pasteur – who profited exorbitantly from selling Covid vaccines, while the MEPs said effectively misleading those who bought/received them.

The discussion heard fears that people were on the one hand lied about the effectiveness of these hastily put together vaccines, and on the other, thanks to the lack of proper trial and testing period and procedures, possibly put at risk.

Not only that, but these companies that earned billions here managed to place all liability for anything going wrong on governments, who in turn placed in on the citizens getting the jab, who did so voluntarily (yet under tremendous public pressure and ostracizing through restricted access, etc.)

Clearly, not the questions that YouTube wants to be asked in the videos appearing on its platform. But when the MEP’s lawyers got involved, the two videos were eventually reinstated.

But, Anderson wrote in a statement, “YouTube has not yet complied with my requests to provide a definition of the so-called ‘medical misinformation’ as well as to comment in more detail on the blockings.”

And for that reason – “I have now filed an action for an injunction and declaratory judgment against YouTube with the competent district court in my hometown of Fulda.”

“On the one hand, this is intended to ensure that such blockings are not repeated and, on the other hand, to establish that the previous blockings were unlawful,” said Anderson.

July 11, 2023 Posted by | Full Spectrum Dominance, Science and Pseudo-Science, Timeless or most popular, Video | | Leave a comment

US House Panel Reportedly Concludes FBI Helped Ukrainian Intel Censor US Accounts

Sputnik – 11.07.2023

WASHINGTON – The FBI helped the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) censor social media accounts based in the United States as part of an effort to combat alleged Russian disinformation, US media reported, citing a US House Judiciary Committee report.

The FBI forwarded Meta an SBU-provided list of accounts flagged for removal, based on their alleged involvement in spreading disinformation, the Monday report detailed. However, the list included some US-based accounts, including the US State Department’s own Russian-language Instagram account.

The FBI and SBU marked authentic accounts belonging to the US government and journalists in an effort to have them censored, the report said.

The Judiciary Committee’s allegations are reportedly based on information gained through subpoenas sent to Meta and Alphabet – the parent company of Google and YouTube.

Google was inundated with censorship requests following the launch of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, the report said, citing a senior Google cybersecurity official. The requests primarily came from the Ukrainian government, other Eastern European governments, the EU and European Commission, the employee reportedly said.

The judiciary panel’s report was developed alongside the subcommittee on the weaponization of the US government, which is investigating governmental abuse of authority and collaboration with private companies to suppress certain viewpoints.

The FBI’s actions constitute unconstitutional misconduct and endanger national security, the lawmakers’ report said. The subject is expected to arise during a committee hearing with FBI chief Christopher Wray later this week.

The allegations mirror those made earlier this year in the so-called “Twitter Files” release, which featured an email demonstrating collaboration between the FBI and SBU to forward censorship requests to Twitter.

July 11, 2023 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Full Spectrum Dominance | , , , | Leave a comment

Biden’s Decision to Send Cluster Bombs to Ukraine Will Drag US Close to WW III – Trump

Sputnik – 11.07.2023

WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that President Joe Biden’s recent decision to supply Ukraine cluster munitions drags the United States closer to World War III.

“Joe Biden should not be dragging us further toward World War III by sending cluster munitions to Ukraine – he should be trying to END the war and stop the horrific death and destruction being caused by an incompetent administration,” Trump said in a press release.

Trump further said unexploded cluster munitions will be killing innocent civilians for decades to come, long after the war.

Moreover, Trump said Biden should especially be seeking to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine after admitting the United States is running low on 155mm artillery shells it is supplying Ukraine, which is the reason it is reserving to providing cluster munitions.

The United States should certainly not be sending Ukraine its last stockpiles at a time when its own arsenals, according to Biden, are being diminished, Trump said.

Last week, Biden said the United States will provide cluster munitions to Ukraine for a temporary period while the US industrial base produces more 155mm artillery shells. He explained that he consulted with US allies and partners about his decision and that they understood the reason.

July 11, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , | Leave a comment

Hungarian PM makes Ukraine proposal

RT | July 11, 2023

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has urged NATO to promote a ceasefire and peace talks in Ukraine rather than continue to ship weapons to Kiev. He made the argument in a video clip posted on social media on Monday.

“Instead of bringing weapons to Ukraine, we should bring peace,” Orban said in the video, delivered in Hungarian with English captions. “A ceasefire is necessary, and instead of war, peace negotiations should start as soon as possible.”

NATO is supposed to defend member states, “not to carry out military actions on the territory of other countries,” Orban noted in the video, urging the US-led bloc to stay true to its official “defensive” mission.

Budapest’s position remains unchanged, the prime minister added, and is informed by the fact that Hungary borders Ukraine and that a significant ethnic Hungarian community in Transcarpathia is in danger from the hostilities.

Leaders of NATO countries met on Monday in Vilnius, Lithuania for the annual summit. The bloc doubled down on its rhetorical and logistical support for the government in Kiev, but stopped short of actually inviting Ukraine to join the bloc.

The US and its allies have poured over $100 billion worth of weapons, equipment, and ammunition into Ukraine since hostilities with Russia escalated in February 2022, and imposed a wide-ranging economic embargo on Moscow, while insisting they are not actually a party to the conflict.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, who traveled to Vilnius but is not formally attending the summit, attacked NATO on social media Monday morning, accusing the bloc of not giving Ukraine the proper “respect” by daring to set conditions for membership and not offering a timeline.

Hungary has repeatedly argued for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict, refusing to send any weapons to Kiev or allow them transit across its territory. That stance has frequently led to  a war of words with Zelensky and his officials.

July 11, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

Is the United States Pursuing a Permanent Cold War with Russia?

By Ted Galen Carpenter | The Libertarian Institute | July 11, 2023

There is growing speculation about how the Russia-Ukraine war might eventually end. Three competing scenarios are strong possibilities. The most likely outcome is a definitive Russian victory after a grinding, bloody struggle lasting several more years. As time drags on, Russia’s larger population and military will confer greater and greater advantages in the fighting, despite the lumbering, inefficient nature of the Kremlin’s forces.

The second most likely outcome is a frozen conflict roughly along the current battle lines. Fighting would end with an armistice rather than a formal peace treaty and reflect exhaustion on the part of both Ukraine and Russia. Such frozen conflicts already exist in places such as Kashmir, Cyprus, and most notably, Korea.

The least likely outcome would be a definitive victory by Ukraine, given Russia’s long-term logistical advantages. Unfortunately, both Washington and NATO have embraced that unrealistic objective, pledging continued Western military support and encouraging Kiev to stay the course, regardless of the mounting costs in blood and treasure to the Ukrainian people.

No matter how the war finally ends, the Biden administration and its NATO partners appear to have given surprisingly little consideration to what the West’s postwar relationship with Moscow will—or should—look like. Robert E. Hunter, a former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, touched on one important aspect in his recent article in Responsible Statecraft. He contended that there are more important issues than Ukraine’s NATO membership aspirations that need to be discussed at the 2023 NATO summit. “More consequential for the long term is an issue that won’t arise at Vilnius: what role Russia can play in European security after the war is over.”

Hunter points out the crucial reality that “unless Russia disintegrates, at some point in the future it will have to be dealt with as a revived great power, which under any leader will pursue what Russia considers to be its legitimate interests. (Already, a weakened Russia is challenging Western interests in the Middle East and elsewhere.) Russia’s European interests include not having a rival military alliance on its doorstep.” Unfortunately, “a consensus is rapidly forming in the United States, apparently shared in the Biden administration, that a new cold war confrontation with Russia is inevitable, whatever the risks, dangers, and longevity.”

Despite occasional conciliatory rhetoric, the United States has pursued a policy to constrain and humiliate Russia since the early years of Bill Clinton’s administration. The decision to expand NATO into Eastern Europe—with the ultimate objective of incorporating Ukraine into the alliance, despite Russia’s vehement objections and warnings that the West was crossing bright red lines threatening their core security interests—was the most provocative policy. But there were others. NATO’s military intervention in the Balkans against Russia’s longstanding ally, Serbia, was another. Terminating arms control agreements important to Moscow, especially the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and the Open Skies Agreement, were other gestures of hostility and contempt toward Russia.

The extent of U.S. and NATO animosity surged in 2014 after Moscow’s seizure of Crimea in retaliation for the West’s meddling in Ukraine to help oust the country’s elected, pro-Russia president. Washington and its European allies imposed an array of economic sanctions against Russia. New, far more onerous, sanctions were imposed after Russia’s larger invasion in February 2022.

A full-fledged new cold war now exists between the West and Russia, with no end in sight. Early in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin admitted that Washington’s objective was to weaken Russia permanently. Other Biden administration officials, including the president himself, have indicated that there cannot be even a limited rapprochement as long as Vladimir Putin remains in power.

However, there is little indication that either the United States or the rabidly anti-Russia governments in NATO’s East European members would relent even if new political leadership emerged in the Kremlin. Instead, as Hunter notes, a hardline, uncompromising posture toward Russia seems to be increasingly entrenched. It is difficult to find even hints, much less explicit statements, coming from NATO capitals about which sanctions would be lifted and when, if a peace accord ending the Russia-Ukraine war was signed. A frozen conflict makes a substantial, prompt lifting of sanctions even less likely.

Even if the Biden administration wanted to change course and adopt a more conciliatory strategy toward Moscow, it is doubtful that hardliners in Congress or in several NATO countries would accept such a move. Instead, they seem inclined to push Washington to adopt a course more akin to the policies U.S. leaders have pursued for decades toward such rogue states as North Korea, Cuba, and Iran.

But trying to isolate Russia in such a fashion would be even more futile and potentially disastrous. North Korea and Cuba are small, impoverished countries. Even Iran is a mid-sized power with limited clout. Russia, however, is a major global economic player and possesses the world’s largest nuclear arsenal. NATO’s attempt to enlist the rest of the world to isolate Russia and aid Ukraine has faltered badly. Seeking global unity for such a hostile approach once the Ukraine war ends would be greeted with derision throughout the “Global South.”

Robert Hunter is correct that Russia is an essential player in any stable European security system and must be re-integrated once the war ends. However, Russia’s importance is even greater than what Hunter describes. The country is a crucial factor in the global economic and security systems. Pursuing an extended cold war against Moscow is impractical and potentially disastrous. The Biden administration needs to make a major course adjustment for a post-Ukraine war era.

July 11, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , , | 1 Comment

Five Reasons Why India Could Mediate A Russian-Ukrainian Ceasefire

BY ANDREW KORYBKO | JULY 11, 2023

There’s a growing consensus that the failure of Kiev’s NATO–backed counteroffensive and Moscow’s edge over NATO in their “race of logistics”/”war of attrition” will result in the resumption of Russian-Ukrainian talks in some form by the end of the year as was explained here. This will at the very least be aimed at reaching a ceasefire, but Zelensky is prohibited by the Rada from conducting talks with Russia, ergo the need for a mediator. Here are five reasons why India could play this role:

———-

1. The US Wants To “De-Sinify” The Peace Process

China has the diplomatic power to implement its plan for freezing the NATO-Russian proxy war, but only if the US allows Kiev to participate in talks under its aegis, which is unlikely to be approved. There’s no way that Washington would let its systemic rival go down in history as the country that helped end the most geostrategically significant conflict since World War II, with it instead preferring to “de-Sinify” the peace process by having someone else play this role in order to deprive Beijing of that diplomatic victory.

2. Russia Might Not Trust Turkiye To Mediate Again

Turkish President Erdogan’s violation of the Azovstal deal that he reached last year with his Russian counterpart might have irreparably damaged trust between them to the point where President Putin no longer feels comfortable with Turkiye mediating between it and Kiev ever again. In that case and considering the seeming inevitability of talks resuming in some form by year’s end, then it therefore follows that Russia, Ukraine, and the US would have to agree on someone else to mediate in its place.

3. India Is Much More Appealing Than South Africa

Apart from South Africa, India is the only major country that’s consistently abstained from all anti–Russian UNGA Resolutions, thus proving its neutrality towards the NATO-Russian proxy war in Ukraine. Unlike Pretoria, however, Delhi isn’t a party to the ICC and its ties with Moscow are no longer criticized by Washington. These two factors combine to make India much more appealing than South Africa as Turkiye’s possible replacement for mediating between Russia and US-controlled Ukraine.

4. Russia & The US Have Excellent Relations With India

The decades-long Russian-Indian Strategic Partnership has impressively weathered unprecedented Western pressure upon it over the last sixteen and a half months while the Indian-US Strategic Partnership was recently strengthened without doing so at the expense of Moscow’s interests. Each of those two Great Powers have natural interests in further elevating India’s rapidly rising role in global affairs, hence why they could prospectively agree on having it mediate Russian-Ukrainian ceasefire talks.

5. The Optics Of Indian Mediation Are Acceptable To All

Russia and the US are competing for hearts and minds across the Global South so each would gain from the optics of them requesting the “Voice of the Global South” to mediate. Both would also receive supplementary benefits by doing so too: Russia wouldn’t have to worry about whatever compromises it might make being spun for divide-and-rule purposes as “Chinese-dictated”, while the US can present India’s prestigious diplomatic role as proof that the “Asian Century” doesn’t mean a “Chinese Century”.

———-

State Department spokesman Matt Miller confirmed on Monday that “we welcome a role that India or any other country could play” in stopping this conflict, which signaled that it could replace Turkiye if Russia no longer regards the latter as a trusted mediator. Should Delhi be interested, then it should begin talks with both about this right away because time is of the essence as other players vie for the chance to go down in history for helping end the most geostrategically significant conflict since World War II.

July 11, 2023 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , , | Leave a comment

Russian POWs used as human shields during Ukrainian demining operations

By Lucas Leiroz | July 11, 2023

According to information given by an ex-prisoner, Russian soldiers who surrendered to the Ukrainian military were being used as a human shield during demining operations on the battlefield. As well known, prisoners of war (POWs) are protected under international law, which makes the Ukrainian attitude absolutely illegal.

The report was made by a Russian volunteer using the alias “Topaz”. He says that after being captured by the enemy, he was repeatedly humiliated, beaten, tortured, and forced to do work that endangered his life. The same situation happened to other POWs who were with him.

Among these works was the mission to conduct demining operations, clearing the ground for the transit of Ukrainian troops. The “demining” however was not done correctly. There was no appropriate equipment, protection or military technology being applied. POWs were simply sent out to the front lines to walk on the ground with nothing but their own luck. If there were any mine, the POWs would explode along with it.

Topaz told journalists about a specific case that happened to him in the Zaporozhye region, where there is a large minefield. He was forced along with other POWs to march into a danger zone during the night in order to clear the way for Ukrainian troops, who wanted to reach some Russian positions in the area.

“They woke me up at night, at three o’clock in the morning, and another prisoner was forced to get up. They sent a group of Ukrainian servicemen on a mission, and they took two of us as deminers. Demining how? We were compelled to march ahead of the crew, so if suddenly someone [steps on a mine and] gets blown up, I would too and so would the other POW behind me”, Topaz said.

He also said that these demining missions using POWs in Zaporozhye took place for at least eight nights. However, at one of these occasions, Ukrainian units were seen by Russian forces, and the following shooting resulted in the death of several neo-Nazi soldiers and the liberation of the POWs.

As well known, the use of human shields has become commonplace among Ukrainian forces. Kiev’s soldiers always try to avoid casualties among their troops by taking advantage of the vulnerability of civilians and POWs. Since the start of the special military operation, Moscow has repeatedly reported this illegal attitude on the part of enemy forces, but the Western sponsors of the regime remain silent.

Even non-Russian, Western-biased international organizations have recognized since last year Ukraine’s constant use of human shields. For example, in late 2022, Amnesty International admitted that Kiev troops “have put civilians in harm’s way by establishing bases and operating weapons systems in populated residential areas, including in schools and hospitals”.

“We have documented a pattern of Ukrainian forces putting civilians at risk and violating the laws of war when they operate in populated areas (…) Being in a defensive position does not exempt the Ukrainian military from respecting international humanitarian law”, Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said at the time.

In addition, also last year, a UN report exposed that Kiev “took up positions either in residential areas or near civilian objects, from where they launched military operations without taking measures for the protection of civilians present”.

In the same vein, Ukrainian crimes against Russian POWs occurred many times throughout the conflict. There are many videos circulating on the internet showing scenes of execution of Russian citizens surrendered by Ukrainian forces, in clear violation of international norms. Russia has reacted to these attitudes through legal measures, such as urging the UN to formally condemn Kiev. Also, according to Moscow’s authorities, the Western powers would also be responsible for the crimes, considering their unrestricted support for the neo-Nazi regime.

There is enough evidence for Kiev to be accused of violating international law and subjecting POWs to forced work that puts their lives at risk. By sending POWs to minefields, the regime is mixing two of its main practices, using human shields and torturing prisoners. Both attitudes clearly violate what is established by the Geneva Convention, which regulates the treatment of POWs prohibiting “violence to life and person, outrages upon personal dignity, (…) cruel treatment and torture (…) humiliating and degrading treatment”.

On the other hand, the Russians have consistently shown goodwill towards enemies, and there are several indications that Ukrainian POWs are indeed treated with dignity. For example, in the first week of July, the authorities of the People’s Republic of Lugansk promoted a collective meeting between POWs and members of their families, providing moments of happiness to the captured soldiers, despite all the suffering of the conflict.

This clearly shows the different attitudes on each side. While Kiev tortures POWs and civilians and uses them as human shields, on the part of Moscow there are constant efforts to alleviate the effects of the conflict with humanitarian measures. International organizations should be attentive to these reports, publicly condemning the neo-Nazi regime with sanctions as well as pressuring to stop Western military assistance.

Lucas Leiroz,journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant.

You can follow Lucas on Twitter and Telegram.

July 11, 2023 Posted by | Subjugation - Torture, War Crimes | | Leave a comment

Russia, NATO Confrontation Slipping Into Worst-Case Scenario – Ambassador

Sputnik – 11.07.2023

NATO leaders will gather in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on July 11-12, 2023, to discuss a wide range of topics ranging from Sweden’s accession to the alliance to military assistance to Ukraine. It is expected that NATO leaders will also address Ukraine’s membership aspirations.

The situation in the confrontation between Russia and NATO is degrading to the most unfavorable scenario on the eve of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said on Tuesday.

“On the eve of the NATO Summit, the atmosphere in the U.S. information landscape has heated up to the limit. Every possible effort is being made to prepare local public opinion for the acceptation of any anti-Russian decisions that will be taken in Vilnius in the coming days. The situation continues to degrade to the most unfavorable outcome of the confrontation between Russia and the NATO countries,” Antonov told reporters, as quoted by the Russian embassy in the United States.

He added that the measures taken by the Western countries created more and more insurmountable obstacles on the way out of the most acute military and political crisis, “fraught with the most serious consequences for international security.”

July 11, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

Erdogan still firmly in NATO bloc despite blackmailing EU

By Ahmed Adel | July 11, 2023

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the European Union on July 9 to open the doors for his country to join the bloc if they want to secure support for Sweden’s accession to NATO. His blackmailing of the EU, which ultimately produced results, comes only days after he controversially broke an agreement with Moscow by releasing neo-Nazi Azov Battalion members under Turkey’s custody to Ukraine.

“Turkey has been waiting at the door of the European Union for over 50 years now, and almost all of the NATO member countries are now members of the European Union. I am making this call to these countries that have kept Turkey waiting at the gates of the European Union for more than 50 years,” Erdogan said. “First, open the way to Turkey’s membership of the European Union, and then we will open it for Sweden, just as we had opened it for Finland.”

Turkey has been an EU member candidate since 1999. Since 2016, negotiations on a visa-free regime between Turkey and the EU have been on hold. The country’s bid for EU membership has been stalled due to democratic backsliding and an unrelenting occupation of the northern portion of EU-member Cyprus since 1974.

Ultimately, Erdogan backflipped just mere hours after issuing his blackmail.

“I’m glad to announce … that President Erdogan has agreed to forward the accession protocol for Sweden to the grand national assembly as soon as possible, and work closely with the assembly to ensure ratification,” said NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg on the eve of the alliance summit in Vilnius, which will be held on July 11-12.

Finland and Sweden applied to join the bloc in May 2022. Finland gained its membership on April 4, 2023, while the Swedes await approval from Hungary and Turkey. As Turkey will never surrender its occupation of northern Cyprus, its EU membership will be forever stalled, making Erdogan’s ultimatum either a desperate action or a calculated manoeuvre to advance other interests.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström told public broadcaster SVT that he expects Turkey will eventually signal that it will let Sweden join the alliance, though he could not say whether that would happen at the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital. Sweden’s top diplomat said he expects Hungary, which also has not ratified Sweden’s accession, to do so before Turkey.

Turkey and Hungary remain the only NATO members still standing in the way of Sweden becoming the 32nd member of the US-led bloc, with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban strongly signalling he will follow Erdogan’s lead and approve Sweden’s membership only if Turkey does the same.

Now that Erdogan has reportedly unblocked Sweden’s path, the question is what was offered to appease the Turkish leader. Presumably, Erdogan would have only unblocked the accession process with the promise of receiving F-16 fighter jets, advancing EU membership talks without altering domestic oppression and ethnic cleansing abroad, or securing Western funding as the Turkish economy continues to tank with Gulf money all dried up.

The NATO summit will be dominated by how the alliance will see its future relationship with Kiev amid endless efforts by President Volodymyr Zelensky for Ukraine to become a member and a signatory to the mutual defence pact. Evidently, though, Sweden’s situation will also be discussed since Turkey is the main hindrance to their accession.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for his part, joined a chorus of other European leaders and officials who said Sweden’s NATO membership should not be tied to Ankara’s stalled EU membership bid.

“Sweden meets all the requirements for NATO membership. The other question is one that is not connected with it. And that is why I do not think it should be seen as a connected issue,” the German chancellor said.

Stoltenberg also expressed before announcing Erdogan’s unblocking that the two issues have nothing to do with one another, reminding that while he supports Ankara’s bid for EU membership, it was not one of the conditions in the agreement signed by Turkey, Sweden, and Finland in 2022 at the NATO summit in Madrid.

Despite Erdogan initially adding another condition to Sweden’s accession, it is not a sign that Turkey has gone rogue within NATO, but rather it is the Turkish president blackmailing the alliance and EU to gain advantages for his country – what they are specifically since EU membership is not realistic, remains to be seen.

Erdogan broke a deal he had with Moscow by releasing on July 8, only days before the NATO summit, five Ukrainian Azov Battalion officers, who returned to Ukraine on a presidential plane. The Azov Battalion militants had been prisoners since the battle of Azovstal following the Russian liberation of the port city of Mariupol. Erdogan had no obvious reason for breaking the deal, meaning that he will now want something at the NATO summit for doing this.

Although it may appear that Erdogan has gone rogue by attaching an impossible condition for Sweden to become a NATO member, he is just leveraging to gain some advantage for Turkey. The release of the Azov Battalion members for seemingly no good reason demonstrates that Turkey is still firmly within the NATO bloc.

Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher.

July 11, 2023 Posted by | Deception | , , | Leave a comment

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