In spite of Russia’s aggression against Georgia, the US did not impose any sanctions on Russia, and US President Barack Obama started his reset as if nothing had happened
— Read on www.kyivpost.com/opinion/20182
Excerpts.
So Putin understood that he could go ahead and attack Ukraine in 2014. Since the Obama administration in 2014 imposed only limited sanctions and – incredibly – refused to deliver lethal weapons to Ukraine so that it could defend itself, Putin expressed his appreciation and launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Burns was not responsible for these mistakes. He served his rulers eminently. The main responsibility rests ultimately with then US Presidents George W. Bush and Obama, who did not fathom Putin’s intentions. Bush tried to accommodate Putin with too much friendliness and with too many meetings, while Obama sensibly ignoredPutin, but did not stand up to him. France and Germany were far worse on all accounts, but that is another story.
The Biden administration clearly understands far more and has done a great deal. Without its understanding and efforts, Ukraine might have fallen, but the final steps that need to be taken are to declare that Ukraine must win this war and the West, primarily the US, needs to deliver all the arms it takes for Ukraine to defeat Russia.
Taxi: Directed by Jafar Panahi. With Jafar Panahi, Nasrin Sotoudeh. Banned from making movies by the Iranian government, Jafar Panahi poses as a taxi driver and makes a movie about social challenges in Iran.
— Read on www.imdb.com/title/tt4359416/
The North African Defence Chiefs are planning to intervene to restore the democratically elected government in Niger if coup leaders do not respond.
(Note: I know nothing about the background here, but it is refreshing to see somebody stand up for democracy without wringing their hands.)
ECOWAS leaders were not even able to meet with the coup leader.
The coup leaders announced that they were scrapping any military agreements with France.
Niger has had a key role with the West in combatting jihadists in the region. (Note: So where was the CIA when this coup was being planned. I keep thinking about the Saturday Night Live skit where the secretary in the CIA’s Tehran office had to tell the agents that the people in Iran didn’t like the shah.)
Between the US and France there are approximately 2,000 troops in the country. (Note: What are they doing? Playing on their cell phones?)
(Note: Sorry)
The President has written a letter, published in the Washington Post, saying he was a “hostage.”
He warned about the influence of Russia in the area via Wagner Mercenaries.
France 24 (excellent news program on LINK TV) has had their broadcasts suspended in Niger.
France supports ECOWAS intervention in Niger, foreign minister says.
UKRAINE:
There has been another strike by Ukraine on a Russian ship.
A Russian port has been successfully targeted.
Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is being investigated for mines. The plant has been shut down for months.
FRANCE 24 TV is reporting that a Russin chemical tanker was hit by Ukrainian drones.
The tanker hit was under US sanctions for supplying jet fuel to Russian forces in Syria.
Talks are starting in Saudi Arabia to try to find a “peaceful” settlement after the invasion Russia launched against Ukraine.
There will be representatives of some 40 countries but not Russia.
Attending countries include: China, India, Brazil, South Africa, Gulf nations (NYT)
Ukrainians staged a demonstration in Lisbon to pray with Pope Francis. One said, he has to do something, not just talk. (NYT)
The Pope, while supportive of Ukraine, has refused to name Russia as the aggressor? What? (NYT)
Ukraine’s security service accused Russia of preparing to stage a “false flag” attack at an oil refinery in Belarus as part of an effort to draw Minsk into the war. The attack on the Mozyr refinery would be blamed on Ukrainian saboteurs but carried out by military and intelligence forces sent by Moscow to Belarus disguised as exiled Wagner mercenaries, it said in a statement on the Telegram app. “Russia plans to accuse Ukraine of what they have done in order to try once again to draw Minsk into the full-scale war against our state,” the security service said in a statement, without providing evidence. It claimed its assertions were based on information obtained from several sources, including a captured Russian serviceman. Belarus is a close Kremlin ally and Moscow’s forces used Belarusian territory as a staging ground for their abortive drive towards the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv at the beginning of their February 2022 full-scale invasion.
Wagner Group continues to recruit mercenaries in Russia despite Prigozhin’s statements
Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) continues to recruit mercenaries in Russia, despite the statement of its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin about the termination of recruitment, with Africa being the main destination for the trained militants.
Details: The journalists found messages in the chat rooms saying that Wagner Group would resume recruiting mercenaries in August.
One former mercenary, who has already fought in Africa and Ukraine, told the media outlet that recruitment has resumed through the Orthodox sports club Desantnyk (Paratrooper) in Omsk and one of the PMC points in Novosibirsk.
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When the correspondent tried to get into the new “wave” of recruitment under the guise of a mercenary, the Omsk Desantnyk refused him, but the Novosibirsk veteran organisation Power Unity of Siberia, which is the official representative of the PMC, said that the new recruitment takes place on Fridays.
The journalist was offered to come to the office in sneakers and a sports uniform and pass a physical fitness test. In addition, representatives of the Wagner Group warned him that the candidate should not have a criminal record, chronic diseases and arrears on the Federal Bailiffs Service.
In addition, a potential Wagner mercenary must have a military specialty and a foreign passport since the main direction of recruitment is African countries.
Another mercenary, with whom the correspondent spoke, said that recruitment centres determine the work directions of militants after the selection.
During the conversation with the recruiter, the correspondent was offered to go to the “Special Military Operation zone” without signing a contract with the Russian Defence Ministry from the Redut PMC, associated with Gazprom. [Special Military Operation is a Russian propaganda term for the war in Ukraine – ed.]
Background:
On 31 July 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner PMC terrorists, stated that the company had stopped recruiting new mercenaries.
On the evening of 23 June, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner PMC, said that the Russian regular army launched a missile strike on the rear camps of his PMC, and because of this, 25 thousand mercenaries are going to “restore justice“.
In the evening of the same day, after a conversation with the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin said that his mercenaries were returning to the field camps.
The FSB reported that the criminal case of armed mutiny against Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner PMC, had been terminated.
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just have a scan of this. And this is just WIKIPEDIA. The FEDERALIST SOCIETY MUST BE ABOLISHED. @cnn and @Msnbc must stop interviewing members of the federalist society without asking them about a determination to destroy democracy.
Demand for abortion drugs in Russia reached an all-time high in 2022, the Kommersant business daily reported Wednesday, citing data by the RNC Pharma consultancy. A total of 1.4 million drugs that induce abortions and 2.2 million emergency contraception drugs were sold in Russia last year, marking a 60% and 53% increase from 2021 respectively. “The launch of [Russia’s] special military operation [in Ukraine], [Western] sanctions, the population’s falling incomes and partial mobilization [of Russia’s military reservists] — all these factors are unlikely to have contributed to plans for building a family,” said RNC Pharma’s development director Nikolai Bespalov.
— Read on www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/08/02/demand-for-abortion-pills-in-russia-hits-record-high-kommersant-a82030
Law, Power, and Justice 