The Outcome Of Romania’s Presidential Election Could Spoil The US’ Potential Escalation Plans

Andrew Korybko

The populist conservative-nationalist frontrunner might refuse to allow NATO troops to transit through Romania as part of a conventional intervention in Ukraine if he wins the second round next month.

The surprise victory of populist conservative-nationalist Calin Georgescu in the first round of Romania’s presidential election gives this heterodox outsider the chance to enter into office next month. The Mainstream Media is apoplectic since he criticized Romania’s hosting of the US’ missile defense infrastructure and is against perpetuating NATO’s proxy war on Russia through Ukraine. He’s also a devout Orthodox Christian and praised some of his country’s most controversial World War II-era figures.

Interestingly, he was also the diaspora’s favorite, with the added twist being that more in Western Europe voted for him than those in Eastern Europe. This suggests that his appeal is also due to the hope that he’ll bring long-overdue accountability to his infamously corrupt country and finally help its people improve their living standards through more effective economic, financial, and developmental policies. Foreign policy is important, but local issues and economics far outweigh the former for average voters.

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Orešnik namesto jedrskih konic

Spodnja razlaga glede delovanja in destruktivne moči rakete Orešnik je strašljiva. Putin jo tudi uporablja z namenom zastraševanja. Kljub temu so tehnične lastnosti delovanja rakete res zastrašujoče. Zaradi velike kinetične energije med letom (nad 11 Machov) se okrog nje ustavri polje plazme, ki jo ščiti pred radarskim in najbrž tudi satelitskim detektiranjem. Zaradi velikih hitrosti v terminalni fazi je ni mogoče prestreči z nobenim zahodnim protizračnim sistemom. Ko zadane cilj se zaradi velike kinetične energije razvijejo temperature blizu 4, tisoč stopinj Celzija (temperatura sonca na površini je med 5 in 6 tisoč stopinj C), kar pomeni, da z učinkom plazme vse stvari spremeni v prah oziroma praelemente. In po njenem učinkovovanju ni radiacije.

Orešnik ne potrebuje jedrskih konic, je zamenjava zanje. Popolni game changer.

Razvoj dronov in hipersoničnih raket in zdaj še Orešnika z lastnostjo, da nosi do 36 konic, bistveno spreminja razmerja vojaške moči. ZDA so do sedaj svojo vojaško prevlado utemeljevale na letalski moči (nadzvočnih letalih in letalonosilkah), kar se je ob tem razvoju izkazalo kot neuporabno. Amerišlke letalonosilke so se izkazale kot neuporabne že proti najbolj pocenskim dronom, ki so jih nanje spuščali jemenski Hutiji in so se raje umaknile iz Rdečega morja. Izraelska letala so se izkazala kot neuporabna v zadnjem izraelskem napadu na Iran, ki se mu niso upala približati na več kot 100 kilometrov, na drugi strani so iranske hipersonične rakete neovirano prodrle skozi izraelski Iron Dome. Toda z enim Orešnikom lahko Rusija iz igre vrže vse ameriške letalonosilke v Sredozemlju, z drugim pa vse ameriške letalske baze v srednji Evropi. To je strašljivo. Ni več potrebe po strašenju z jedrskim orožjem.

Tule je še razlaga za novinarje:

Zeleni vodik je mrtev

Will the clean hydrogen sector end this year in better shape than 12 months ago?

On the face of it, recent evidence points to a resounding ‘no’, given project cancellations, plunging stock prices, very limited progress in reaching FID and widespread reluctance to commit to long-term offtake deals.

UK company Johnson Matthey added to the gloom in late November when it reported a 46% year-on-year drop in first-half sales of hydrogen technologies, citing the “the slowing buildout of supply chains and infrastructure due to a lack of clarity around regulation and incentives.” It has reduced capex and headcount in its hydrogen business, and delayed the startup of an £80m ($101m) fuel-cell component plant in the UK.

Siemens Energy, which recently launched a large-scale electrolyser factory in Berlin in a joint project with French industrial gases company Air Liquide, struck a similarly downbeat note at the Energy Intelligence Forum in London. The market for hydrogen has “completely stalled”, with less than 7% of projects reaching FID, Anne-Laure de Chammard, executive board member of Siemens Energy, told the forum.

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Do zadnjega Ukrajinca

Od začetka vojne v Ukrajini, ko je konec marca 2022 Bidnova administracija preprečila ukrajinskemu vodstvu podpis mirovnega sporazuma z Rusijo, smo govorili, da je ameriška strategija, da se v Ukrajini bori do zadnjega Ukrajinca. Da bo Ukrajino tako dolgo zalagala z orožjem, dokler Ukrajini ne zmanjka za orožje sposobnih moških. Skoraj tri leta kasneje se točno ta scenarij približuje svojemu koncu, in zadnji, formalni dokaz, je pritisk Washingtona na Kijev, da mobilizira tudi vse moške v starosti med 18 in 25 let. In to kljub temu, da v Washingtonu vedo, da Ukrajina nima niti desetinke promila možnosti, da v tej vojni zmaga. In čeprav vedo, da je življenjsko pričakovanje rekrutirancev na fronti manj kot 2 tedna. In čeprav vedo, da po koncu vojne, do katerega bo slejkoprej prišlo, ne bo več moških, ki bi lahko poskrbeli za obnovo Ukrajine in za nataliteto ter bodoči razvoj.

To je kriminal.

Zakaj Bidnova adminstracija to počne? Preprosto, ker je to zanjo, kot je povedal ameriški nori senator Lindsay Graham, najcenejši način, da izčrpava Rusijo, saj ni treba umreti nobenemu ameriškemu vojaku.

To so ameriški prijatelji, ki so Ukrajino porinili v vojno, ki jo v njej zadržujejo do zadnjega Ukrajinca in ki jo bodo zavrgli kot zadnjega garjavega psa, ko jim ne bo več dovolj koristna za doseganje ameriških interesov.

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The U.S. is willing to (proxy-)fight Russia down to the last Ukrainian.

White House presses Ukraine to lower draft age to meet manpower needs against Russia

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration is urging Ukraine to quickly increase the size of its military by drafting more troops and revamping its mobilization laws to allow for the conscription of those as young as 18.A senior Biden administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private consultations, said Wednesday that the outgoing Democratic administration wants Ukraine to lower the mobilization age to 18 from the current age of 25 to expand the pool of fighting-age men available to help a badly outnumbered Ukraine in its nearly three-year-old war with Russia.

The official said “the pure math” of Ukraine’s situation now is that it needs more troops in the fight.

“Pure math” also says that following the advice order from Washington will guarantee that there will be no future Ukrainians left to fight for:

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Zahodni mediji kot sramotno trobilo ameriškega propagandnega stroja

Tukaj ne gre več (zgolj) za hipokrizijo zahodnih medijev, ampak za namensko igranje vloge propagandnega stroja ameriške administracije. Zahodni mediji so (v veliki večini) sramotno trobilo ameriškega vladnega propagandnega stroja. Dva primera spodaj.

1. Reutersovo poročanje o francoskem odzivu na tiralico Mednarodnega sodišča (ICC) za Putinom in Netayahujem: glede Putina poročajo, da (čeprav Rusija ni podpisnica sporazuma o ICC) nihče ne bi smel ubežati pravici, glede Netanyahuja pa, (ker Izrael tudi ni podpisnik sporazuma o ICC) da ima imuniteto pred pregonom s strani ICC.

2. Poročanje BBC o žrtvah letalskih napadov v Ukrajini in Gazi: glede Ukrajine BBC individualizira krivdo ruske strani (in ne pove, ali je šlo za vojaške ali civilne žrtve), glede Gaze pa poroča o neimenovanem, neidentificiranem letalskem napadu, ki je v šoli (!!!) ubil 16 ljudi. Spomnite se člankov z naslovi tipa “krogla zadela otroka v Gazi” (čeprav je, kot so poročali šokirani britanski in ameriški zdravniki, šlo za načrtno streljanje otrok v glavo s strani izraelskih snajperistov), ali “v avtomobilu našli mrtvo deklico v Gazi” (čeprav je šlo za načrtno akcijo izraelskih vojakov, ki so prerešetali civilno vozilo in pobili mamo z otroci).

In zahodni mediji to počnejo sistematično od začetka vojne v Ukrajini in vojne v Gazi. Uredništva dajejo eksplicitna navodila novinarjem (poročila o tem obstajajo za BBC in New York Times), kako naj poročajo o obeh vojnah. Uredništva zahodnih medijev dobivajo že predpripravljene novice in zgodbe, ki jim jih servirajo servisi ameriških obveščevalnih služb. Izraelske oblasti so celo poslale nekaj (deset) svojih agentov, da pod krinko novinarjev pokrivajo določene zgodbe (spomnite se sramotne zgodbe mlade “novinarke” New York Timesa, ki je objavila naslovno zgodbo o domenevnem obglavljanju dojenčkov s strani pripadnikov Hamasa. Zgodba ni imela niti enega dokaza, slikovnega gradiva ali neodvisnega vira, bila je čisti fabrikat Mossada. Po razkritju lažnivosti te zgodbe je ta agentka novinarka nenadoma izginila).

Razumemo lahko, da imajo uredniki ali novinarji zahodnih medijev negativno stališče do Rusije in Putina in pozitivno stališče do Izraela, toda tukaj ne gre za nianse v poročanju zaradi tovrstne drobne pristranosti. Tukaj gre za to, da zahodni mediji služijo kot sramotni propagandni stroj. Goebbels bi bil ponosen nanje.

In dokler bomo imeli take medije, bomo raje na socialnih omrežjih. Dokler bomo imeli take medije, je celo Muskov X primerjalno kvalitetna platforma za informiranje.

Se Evropa še lahko vrne k razumu in prepreči svoj zaton?

Gospodarski zaton in socialni kolaps Evrope je v tem trenutku morda še mogoče preprečiti. Predpogoj pa je, da bi se v Evropo vrnili razum, racionalni pogled na situacijo in posledična vojaška in politična osamosvojitev od ZDA in diverzifikacija gospodarskih odnosov (večja povezava z Evrazijo in državami globalnega juga).

Glenn Diesen:

I had a conversation with Jeffrey Sachs and Alexander Mercouris about the political changes in Europe. The optimism of the European project as a region of peace and prosperity is long gone. The objective had been to resolve conflicts on the continent peacefully and use collective bargaining power to establish greater economic and political independence. Instead, the continent is experiencing war, de-industrialisation, socio-economic and political instability, excessive dependence on the US, and growing irrelevance in the wider world. What went wrong and can the decline be reversed?

The rest of the world adjusts to the emerging multipolarity with a multivector foreign policy by diversifying economic connectivity to improve economic competitiveness and enhance political autonomy. In contrast, the Europeans have subordinated themselves completely to the US and thus suffer from economic decline and political subordination. Declining rationality is also a clear problem as the Europeans pursued policies towards Russia that they knew would put them on a collision course with Russia. Instead of pursuing course correction, the proxy war with Russia increased the security dependence on the US, which enabled Washington to impose bloc discipline. The recovery of Europe requires reversing the militarisation of dividing lines in Europe, and diversifying economic ties to avoid excessive dependence on any one state or region.

Merklova o ameriškem sabotiranju Severnega toka

Objavljeni Spomini Angele Merkel so in bodo zanimivo branje. Glede na do sedaj objavljene navedbe sta se mi vtisnili v spomin predvsem dve. Prva je na temo nasprotovanja Merklove vključitvi Ukrajine v Nato, ker bi to privedlo do vojne v Ukrajini že bistveno prej. Druga pa se nanaša na ameriško nasprotovanje gradnji plinovoda Severni tok. Ameriška administracija je imela tukaj dva interesa. Prvi je bil, da se Nemčija ne naveže na Rusijo, drugi pa ekonomski interes, ker so želeli delati posel z izvozom ameriškega utekočinjenega plina v Evropo (ki je seveda bistveno dražji od ruskega).

I felt that the United States was mobilizing its formidable economic and financial resources to prevent the business ventures of other countries, even their allies. The United States was chiefly interested in its own economic. The United States was chiefly interested in its own economic interests, as it wanted to export to Europe LNG obtained through fracking.

Trump je najboljše upanje Ukrajine za mir

Morda zveni kot cinizem, morda celo je cinizem, vendar je res. Kajti Biden Ukrajini ni prinesel miru in ji ga tudi ne bi, tudi če bi dobil še en mandat. Biden je Ukrajino pahnil v vojno in jo držal v njej, dokler ji ne zmanjka moških in ozemlja.

While Putin’s caution during previous crises suggests he’s not about to reach for the nuclear button just yet, his dramatic response has complicated any path to a peace deal. Meanwhile, some liberal voices have predicted that Trump’s looming presidency, far from hastening an end to the conflict as Trump has promised to do, will prolong it. If Trump were to cut off arms to Ukraine, he’d remove an important incentive for Putin to call it quits, according to Ben Rhodes, a former White House official under Barack Obama. Among conservatives who advocate foreign policy restraint, there is worry that Trump’s hawkish cabinet nominees portend a departure from the peace agenda he campaigned on. Meanwhile, many hawks on both left and right believe that Trump may end the war by just giving away the farm to Putin.

These concerns are valid. But Trump has good reasons to try proving the doubters wrong. He understands that foreign policy debacles can crater a president’s approval ratings, and he has staked his reputation on being able to end a conflict that started and continues to escalate on President Joe Biden’s watch. “I’m the only one who can get the war stopped,” he told Newsweek this September. Brokering a respectable peace would be a boon to his legacy and an embarrassment for his political opponents—and Trump loves splattering egg on the faces of his detractors. So there is room for optimism alongside the worry. Trump may well manage not only to stop the war but also to get Ukraine the best deal it could realistically hope for.

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Bidnova zadnja bitka proti Rusiji in Putinu, preden Trump konča vojno

Seymour Hersh:

The scene came to mind this week as I considered the bitterness of President Joe Biden, who seems to be full of resentment because a group of Democratic Party bigwigs, aware that he was failing, forced him to give up his planned re-election campaign and turn over the fight against Donald Trump to Vice President Kamala Harris, and all the more resentment because she failed to beat Trump as Biden did in 2020.

The president is no longer talking about his failed policy in the Middle East, though American bombs and other weaponry are still flowing to Israel and being put to deadly use. Biden is now trying to stem the losses in Ukraine’s war with Russia. A week ago he gave the Ukraine government, headed by President Volodymyr Zelensky, permission to fire a long withheld advanced American ballistic missile capable of hitting targets 190 miles inside Russia. Days later, he decided to provide Ukraine with landmines capable of maiming and killing all whose paths cross them, young and old, friendly and not. 

I have been told that the strategic implications of the president’s escalation—both Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have nuclear bombs at their fingertips—had not been fully analyzed inside the Pentagon, and that some important offices, sure to have different views about escalation, were never asked for their input. Putin responded by escalating in turn by firing a nuclear-capable ballistic missile at Ukraine and said in a speech that what had been a regional conflict “had now acquired elements of a global character.” The New York Times noted that the response “was meant to instill fear in Kyiv and the West.”

Putin’s explicit warning came a day after Biden’s decision to permit the use of American anti-personnel landmines in an effort to slow Russian advances in the Donbas region. Neither Washington nor Moscow are signatories to the international mine ban treaty that has been signed by 164 parties, but Biden’s decision to deploy the weapon was widely criticized by international human rights groups.

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