Germany is the central and largest economy within the European Union; it is also the most influential for anything related to the response from the European Central Bank and EU Central Bank President Christine Lagarde.   Today, Germany is reporting a massive (unexpected) jump in overall inflation for May of 8.7%, up from the previous month’s 7.8%.

Ironically, it was a little more than a month ago when EU Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said she did not expect the EU inflation to be quite as bad as the U.S. inflation crisis due to the EU spending less on COVID relief and focusing on employment retention.  This was the ECB justification for not raising interest rates until later this summer.  Obviously Lagarde has joined Jerome Powell in the room filled with bad financial decisionmakers.

Germany is the largest and most influential economy inside the EU. If the German economy falters, the entire EU slips into a recession.  The massive inflation now being reported by Germany, that continues climbing each month, will increase the urgency for of Lagarde to raise rates.  They too are in the inflation spiral, and this issue will quickly fracture the EU response to Ukraine.

(Via Reuters) – […]  German consumer prices, harmonised to make them comparable with inflation data across the European Union, increased to 8.7% from 7.8% a month earlier, well ahead of expectations for 8%, data from the Federal Statistics Office showed on Monday.

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The Associated Press [HERE] and more importantly the U.S. Intel Community outlet, the Washington Post [HERE], are beginning to change direction in their narration of the war in Ukraine.

Both sources of information are starting to position Eastern Ukraine as a lost cause, with the Washington Post giving specific examples of conscripted Ukraine fighters who are abandoning the effort in the donbas region.  As noted, “after three months of war, this company of 120 men is down to 54 because of deaths, injuries and desertions. The volunteers were civilians before Russia invaded on Feb. 24, and they never expected to be dispatched to one of the most dangerous front lines in eastern Ukraine.”

The Ukraine commander, Serhi Lapko and one of his lieutenants, Vitaliy Khrus, “retreated with members of their company this week to a hotel away from the front. There, both men spoke to The Washington Post on the record, knowing they could face a court-martial and time in military prison.”  Together, Lapko and Khrus describe the essential elements of a fragmented Ukraine fighting force up against a committed Russian military advance.

Even the Washington Post admits the Ukraine central government is desperate to push morale boosting propaganda which seems constructed from the efforts of the U.S. State Dept, specifically the intelligence community within it. “Videos of assaults on Russian tanks or positions are posted daily on social media. Artists are creating patriotic posters, billboards and T-shirts. The postal service even released stamps commemorating the sinking of a Russian warship in the Black Sea.”

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If you were to read the play-by-play of information in the U.K. Telegraph [SEE HERE], you could get whiplash from the diametrically opposed narratives coming from both sides in the propaganda war.

On one hand the western narrative is that Russia is losing, getting weaker, running out of money and weapons.  On the other hand, France and Germany are asking Russian President Vladimir Putin to release all of the captured soldiers he is gathering, while western media claim all the Ukraine retreats are “strategic”.  It would appear the Monty Python knight has lost all his appendages and is yelling, “come back coward, I’ll bite your kneecaps.”

(Via Telegraph) – Russia said its forces were in full control of the Ukrainian town of Lyman, a railway hub in the Donetsk region, on Saturday in a gain that would help set the stage for the next phase of the Kremlin’s offensive in the eastern Donbas.

Ukrainian and Russian forces had been fighting for Lyman for several days. The town lies 40 km (30 miles) west of Severodonetsk, the largest Donbas city still held by Ukraine but now under heavy assault from Russian forces.  The governor of Luhansk region, which along with Donetsk makes up the Donbas, said on Friday that Russian troops had entered Severodonetsk.

The Russian gains indicate a shift in momentum in the war. (read more)

Meanwhile the U.S. State Department, the actual combatant command center for the U.S. proxy war, along with internationally aligned diplomatic corps and the U.S. intelligence apparatus, are continuing to push the propaganda as if we cannot see how clearly staged it is.

Indeed, with the Pentagon preferring a ceasefire and peaceful negotiations while the State Dept demands more war, these are very remarkable times on the other side of the looking glass.

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Heh, it’s almost as if Team Zelenskyy read the tea leaves inside the New York Times editorial opinion recently [SEE HERE] that warned Joe Biden he better get to a negotiated peace deal quickly or the administration will look even worse than it already does.

Two days after the New York Times editorial board says, “it is still not in America’s best interest to plunge into an all-out war with Russia, even if a negotiated peace may require Ukraine to make some hard decisions; and the U.S. aims and strategy in this war have become harder to discern, as the parameters of the mission appear to have changed,” now Zelenskyy is saying he needs to enter diplomatic talks with Russia.

(BBC News) – The war in Ukraine can only be resolved through “diplomacy”, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. Speaking on national TV, he suggested his country could be victorious against Russia on the battlefield. However, he added that the war could only come to a conclusive halt “at the negotiating table”.

Meanwhile, heavy fighting is taking place in and around Severodonetsk, as Russian forces step up efforts to seize the whole of the Luhansk region.

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Kash Patel, a well-known figure in the background of ‘Spygate’, is usually a little bit too heavily invested in the rose-colored glass business for my tastes.  However, that said, if you need a shot of hopium to help get you through next week, Kash has the stash.

Appearing with Maria Bartiromo, Kash Patel gives his opinion of the Sussmann trial so far, while selling the trusty planner narrative in the second segment.  {Direct Rumble Link 1} and {Direct Rumble Link 2}  – WATCH:

Part II Below:

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In the wake of Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook’s recent court admissions, many people are new to the awakening that Hillary Clinton’s team fabricated the Trump-Russia collusion hoax.   However, for five years CTH has focused beyond the obvious Clinton construct and asked why the Robert Mueller special counsel probe never discovered the origin?

Many people have fallen back on the Mueller justification as saying, “it wasn’t in my purview.”  However, that obfuscation falls flat once you realize the same 2016 FBI officials who were involved with Michael Sussmann, Rodney Joffe and Fusion GPS, transferred into the Mueller investigation in 2017. {GO DEEP}

Robert Mueller was appointed to look into the Trump-Russia collusion accusations.  How could the fact that Team Clinton created the Trump-Russia collusion hoax, not be part of the investigative purview?   This question is specifically underlined by the fact, the same FBI officials who knew the Alfa-Bank material came from Clinton, were the same FBI officials on Robert Mueller’s team.   Now WATCH:

Here is the originating special counsel SCOPE MEMO:

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One of the public revelations created by the trial of Clinton lawyer Michael Sussmann is that Hillary Clinton’s campaign, Hillary Clinton’s lawyers, and Hillary Clinton’s contracted opposition research firm, Fusion GPS, manufactured the Trump-Russia collusion hoax.  How did Robert Muller not find this?

The Clinton hoax is the key takeaway within the testimony of Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook, during the Sussman trial.  Of course, every intellectually honest person who watched events unfold already knew that.  However, the DC politicians, institutions of the DOJ and FBI, and the entire corporate media world have been pretending not to know the truth for almost six years.  Now they are in a pretending pickle.

Mr. Mook was legally forced to put the truth into the official record, ironically because the Clinton lawyers needed him to in order to save themselves.  A stunned Jonathan Turley writes about the revelation HERE.  Meanwhile the journalists who received Pulitzer Prizes, for pushing the manufactured Clinton lies that Mook now admits, must avoid any mention of the testimony in order to maintain their ‘pretending not to know things‘ position.

Special Prosecutor John Durham found the truth behind the creation of the Trump-Russia hoax, and through the trial of Sussmann is now diligently passing out the bitter pill ‘I toldyaso’s’ to the small group of rebellious researchers who found this exact trail of evidence years ago.

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Over time, retired Col Douglas Macgregor has been shown to be quite accurate in his overall perspective of the war in Ukraine.  Appearing on OANN with Dan Ball, Macgregor gives another update on the current status that aligns with what little non-propaganda information is visible.

As Macgregor notes, Russia was always going to strategically win a war in eastern Ukraine for the same reason the United States would win a war in Mexico.  The scale of a determined military capability eventually wins, even with a strong resistance, specifically because: (a) Ukraine is connected to a common border with Russia, and (b) the citizens in the eastern part of the country are aligned with Russia.

Macgregor also identifies the financial motive for the government of Sweden to join NATO, even though the Swedish citizens would likely not support the effort if put to a referendum.  As the retired colonel also notes the lack of recent U.S. media talking positively about the status of Ukraine, is an indicator that Russia is solidifying the eastern part of the country with lessened resistance.  The segment with Macgregor starts at 04:00 (Direct Rumble Link) WATCH:

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Earlier today, the installed occupant of the White House, Joe Biden, flanked by Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, said the two countries would “make NATO stronger.”

With great enthusiasm Biden called their applications join the NATO pact a “victory for democracy,” as the proxy war in Ukraine continues.  The speech transcript – is here, and the White House readout of the meeting – is here.

“President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. met today with Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden and President Sauli Niinistö of Finland and warmly welcomed their applications for NATO membership, which will strengthen our collective security.  At this historic moment for both Finland and Sweden, the President underscored his commitment to support both countries as they seek formal NATO accession, including by working with NATO Allies and Congress to welcome them into the Alliance as quickly as possible.  The leaders also discussed their ongoing cooperation on shared global challenges, and their commitment to continued strong support for Ukraine.” (LINK)

Joe Biden also thanked Senate leaders Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell for their bipartisan support to affirm Sweden and Finland. “I greatly appreciate Senator Schumer and McConnell’s support, as well as Senator Menendez and Risch, to move this through the Senate as quickly as possible once the perspective of all Allies are addressed and NATO adopts the accession protocols,” he said.

Meanwhile, according to the same people, Russia putting a military base in Cuba is an existential threat to world peace.

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The $40 billion UniParty aid package for Ukraine pass the senate this afternoon in a vote of 86-11 (vote tally below).

The Biden administration had originally requested $33 billion, but congress did not feel he was spending enough. The House added an additional $7 billion and passed the $40 billion legislation last week.  Today the Senate voted 86-11 to approve the package which is targeted to last 5 months and includes U.S. taxpayers funding the salaries and pension benefits for officials in the Ukraine government.

11 republican senators voted against the massive money laundering operation. They were Senators Blackburn (R-TN), Boozman (R-AR), Braun (R-IN), Crapo (R-ID), Hagerty (R-TN), Hawley (R-MO), Lee (R-UT), Lummis (R-WY), Marshall (R-KS), Paul (R-KY), Tuberville (R-AL).

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