Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will hold further discussions on the purchase of Russian energy products in rubles according to TASS (Russian News) and western media.  However, in the interim Russia will continue accepting payment in euros which will be exchanged for rubles by Gazprom bank.

(left) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz – (right) Russian President Vladimir Putin

The situation is ongoing, as an outcome of the G7 energy minister’s prior emergency meeting on Monday, where they demanded Russia continue accepting both euros and dollars for the payment of Russian gas and oil purchases.  The current short-term resolution to continue accepting euros and dollars may not last long, as Russia is continuing to emphasize their demand that purchasing nations switch to rubles for future contracts.

Despite NATO, the G7 nations and western alliance agreeing to use economic and financial sanctions to block Russia from receiving dollars and euros.  Inside the alliance, there appears to be a fear that if Russia is successful in creating a financial trade system based on rubles, the G7 may lose influence on energy policy via climate change.

Inside the western alliance, the geopolitical control mechanisms that use energy sector development are under stress.  If global oil and gas is not exchanged in euros (European centric) or petrodollars (globally), the ability of the multinational agents to pressure climate change demands will be weakened.

(more…)

Col Douglas Macgregor appears for an interview with Dave Smith on his “Part Of The Problem” podcast.  Col Macgregor gives his status update on the Ukraine and Russian military along with some excellent background information on the U.S. cultural issues which are driving the U.S. position.

Additionally, Macgregor overlays the economic battle both domestically and geopolitically with the currency war and talks about economic repercussions for the U.S., NATO countries, Ukraine and Russia.   As noted by Macgregor when the Biden administration turned favorably toward Iran the Saudis immediately realized it was in their best interest to withdraw strategic support for the U.S.

It’s a good interview that goes into much more depth than the average media appearance, and permits discussion of multiple facets of the conflict in/around Ukraine. The video is prompted to begin at 17:34 when the Ukraine discussion begins. WATCH:

https://youtu.be/1PB7emtkRf4?t=1054

(more…)

While the western propaganda about the Russian objective in Ukraine remains at a fever pitch, most intellectually honest observers have always held that liberation of eastern Ukraine was the goal of Russia and western Ukraine was never part of the objective.

With a decade-long civil war in eastern Ukraine preceding the current Russian operations, and with western forces supporting one side while Russia supported the other, it was always presumed -prior to the Russian military operations- that Vladimir Putin’s central goal was removing the NATO influence from eastern Ukraine.

That objective has seemingly remained visible throughout the conflict with Russian activity in western Ukraine limited in scope to targeting inbound NATO weapons and material support.

We might remember the 20-mile-long armored convoy that sat in place for weeks north of Kyiv while the media narrative was ‘any day now’. Those troops never moved on Kyiv, and in hindsight looked more like a strategic positioning of resources to keep western Ukraine in check while the more important goal of clearing eastern Ukraine was the ongoing operation.

It seems a little silly to point out the obvious, but everything Putin said about what he was doing in Ukraine is factually what has taken place. The western media narrative spinning his ‘true intents’ to be much more significant than his open statements, has never played out when reviewing the actual military operations. In short, Putin was then (as he said), and continues now, to be carving out eastern Ukraine and the Donbas region.

(more…)

Something odd is happening in the background of the G7 energy ministers’ announcement earlier today.

Remember that moment {HERE} when Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland seemed really uncomfortable and weird at the presser – just 36 hours before the Trudeau administration announced they were going to drop the Emergency Act banking sanctions against the truckers? {Go Deep}

Here is an encapsulation of what’s weird, and you don’t have to be an expert in geopolitics and international trade to see it:

The G7 countries (including the U.S.) announced today they were demanding that Russia accept payment for oil and gas in euros and dollars.  This is happening at the same time NATO is demanding (via sanctions) that Russia be blocked from accepting payments in euros and dollars.

Something is weird.  Keep in mind, the same nations in the G7 are the same nations in NATO with the exception of Japan (G7 only).

The only way this conflict could make any sense, is if the G7 energy ministers realize that forcing Russia to trade in non-euros and non-dollars will structurally undermine the G7 unilateral hold of global finance and energy policy.   In essence, the G7 see the non-sanction countries, particularly India and China, lining up to replace the petro-dollar, and that not only weakens their position financially, but it also weakens their climate change position.

(more…)

Behind the headline is a qualifier that most will miss. “We will urge the companies affected not to follow Putin’s demand.”  The problem for the G7 political leaders is that most of the transactions are between private companies.  The heads of the U.S, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and the U.K, can stake a position, but the ultimate decision around the transaction in the hands of the private company buyers.

Russia can set the terms.  Whether the G7 political leaders shout ‘breach of contract‘ is seemingly a moot point.  In the big picture, the politicians have already breached the terms of prior trade agreements with sanctions.  Russia can turn off the supply or demand payment in rubles as terms of sale.

BERLIN (AP) — The Group of Seven major economies agreed Monday to reject Moscow’s demand to pay for Russian natural gas exports in rubles.

German energy minister Robert Habeck told reporters that “all G-7 ministers agreed completely that this (would be) a one-sided and clear breach of the existing contracts” for natural gas, which is used to heat homes, generate electricity and power industry.

(more…)

Two weeks ago, the United States government, State Dept., CIA and their allies in Big Tech, made a public announcement {Go Deep} that stated violence against Russians would be officially sanctioned by Facebook, Instagram and Google.  In essence, Big Tech said it was now okay for Russians to be targeted on social media.  Today, video footage is leaked showing graphic torture of Russian POW’s by Ukraine military units.

BACKGROUND – The purpose of the shift in Big Tech ‘terms and conditions‘ for the promotion of violence, was seemingly to enhance the western propaganda campaign.  Elevating Ukraine’s victim status in the minds of the ordinary citizens, while supporting the negative promotional campaign against Russia and Vladimir Putin was part of the design.  The transparent motive of the shift was obvious to those who follow the activity of U.S. intelligence and State Dept.

Deep weeds political followers will remember the first collaboration between Facebook and DoS/CIA using this approach took place in Egypt and Libya at the beginning of the 2010 U.S. Obama-inspired Islamist Spring.  A more refined 2022 version was just recently deployed against Russia.  The tech control agents needed to parse the nuance carefully to allow targeted and approved violence to be narrowly focused.

Soon after Big Tech made their announcement {via Reuters}, the DoS/CIA and NATO announced they would be providing western military hardware to the Azov battalion in Ukraine – essentially the Ukrainian military’s openly Nazi division.  Images soon surfaced showing U.S. military “advisors” training Ukrainian ultranationalist Nazi units (Azov regiment) how to use the U.S. provided FGM-148 javelin missiles.

WARNING ~ Graphic Discussion Below

(more…)

In this segment, CNN’s Dana Bash questions US Permanent Representative to NATO, Julianne Smith, about the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine.  However, notice throughout the conversation about who is doing what, there is a key point missing.  Where is the national debate to justify authorization?

While the Biden administration and western partner nations in NATO continue to pour money and military equipment into Ukraine, obviously, preparing for a long-term insurgency effort and proxy war against Russia, notice how there is never a single mention about the citizens in the U.S. being consulted for authorization of the government action.

There has not been a single political or U.S. national leader who has demanded a representative debate on the issue of providing increasingly escalating weapons into a nation in order to trigger a proxy war against Russia.  The same lack of public/representative debate also applies to the U.K and NATO countries.  All of the decisions being made, leading to the potential for World War 3, are being unilaterally made by detached politicians without regard for the opinion of the people.

‘We The People’ are irrelevant.

Think about it.

(more…)

Senator Mark Warner is a notoriously corrupt Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, one of the central pillars of the Fourth Branch of Government.  In this interview, Warner discusses the “grey area” of cyber-attacks and how any downstream consequence that imperils U.S. lives can be used as a justification by NATO to engage the Article-5 trigger and consider any Russian intrusion an attack against NATO allies.

Example: Russia shuts down the Ukraine power grid that is also connected to Poland. As a direct consequence, a traffic signal or infrastructure malfunction occurs, and a U.S. military convoy has an accident.  A U.S. servicemember is injured or killed.  [Or any other non-kinetic action that creates a kinetic consequence.] Does NATO then have justification to attack Russia?  Warner is previewing a scenario the Fourth Branch hopes to exploit.

Additionally, within the interview [05:44 prompted], Senator Warner outlines the western approach toward Russia using cryptocurrency as a method to evade sanctions.  Notably, Warner outlines that U.S. intelligence/U.S. Govt has control over U.S-based crypto exchanges and they are working with ‘partners’ in the financial sector to mitigate the use of crypto exchanges by non-U.S. actors.  WATCH: 

All your banking are belong to us.

The conversation is about Russia, for now.  However, as noted by the Canada example recently, it’s a short hop from Russia to those who are defined as ‘domestic threats.’

(more…)

It is always worth a brief reminder when looking at statements from foreign politicians under the influence of the U.S. government via the state department, that all messaging – even messaging that seems provocative, is coordinated by the alignment of interests. The process of promoting a mutually beneficial reality is especially important when reviewing any current statements from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

There is no sunlight between the agenda of Zelenskyy and the agenda of the U.S. State department. There are times when the U.S. government will ask their ideological policy partner, Zelenskyy, to be intentionally antagonistic toward the U.S. because the U.S. government is coordinating an internal pressure campaign.  It is all part of the carefully crafted propaganda campaign for domestic consumption.

In today’s example the State Dept wants Zelenskyy to keep up public pressure, via ever increasingly desperate demands of the United States for more military engagement.  The State Dept (CIA) use the media to create the desperation and hero narrative.  The hero begs for help, the media claim the U.S. government isn’t doing enough. Public pressure builds, and then the U.S. government gets to do what they have wanted to do, which was the purpose of asking Zelenskyy to maintain the pressure with increased frustration.  Wash – Rinse – Repeat.  That’s how the game is played.

When we look at how the media then frames the narrative: “is the west scared of Russia,” this is all done with a purpose and collective intent.  Nothing that happens in this scenario is not controlled. All messaging and narrative engineering is coordinated, organized and distributed.

The American people’s view on the Ukraine issue are carefully being manipulated for maximum benefit to the foreign policy establishment.  If you do not conform to the pressure, or if you see through the narrative engineering effort, you’re a hater of freedom and a lover of Putin.

The American electorate are in an abusive relationship with our government.

(more…)

An enterprising journalist from Bolivia [Twitter Link] mapped the countries that support the sanctions against Russia (yellow) versus the countries that are not participating in the western sanctions against Russia (grey).  The image provides a visual reference to consider our previous discussions about the cleaving of the global economy between two overarching ideologies.

[Source Credit]

In my estimation this intentional global cleaving, using the opportunity created by the Ukraine crisis, is going to be the major story of this year.  This global splitting can be looked at in multiple ways, but the overarching story is the ramifications of two global trade relationships.

The western alliance (in the yellow above), has forced the world to reevaluate the dollar as the global trade currency, by denying Russia and their trade partners the ability to use the financial mechanisms under western control. To work around the sanctions, Russia is working on new financial systems to sell oil and farm products in non-dollar currencies.  There is also a possibility the petro-dollar, for the global trade of oil, might be dropped.

Russia is part of OPEC.  While many countries develop their own resources, OPEC sells the majority of oil the rest of the world consumes as the basis for their economic engine.  One way to look at the global cleaving is to look at the way energy is viewed.

(more…)