Is Putin the New Coronavirus?
March 7th, 2022Via: Ron Paul:
President Biden’s “maskless” State of the Union signifies the near-end of the COVID tyranny we have lived under for the past two years. Fortunately for Congress, the President, and the Federal Reserve, the Ukraine-Russia conflict is replacing COVID as a ready-made excuse for their failures and a justification for expanding their power.
Even before politicians began declaring the end of the pandemic, polls showed that rising prices were the people’s top concern – particularly the increase in gas prices. Since Russia is one of the world’s leading energy producers, sanctions imposed on Russia, as well as Germany’s decision (made under pressure from the US) to shut down the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, provide a convenient excuse for rising gas prices. This is the case even though the US, citing the “instability” in world energy markets created by the Russian-Ukraine conflict, has yet to officially ban imports of Russian oil.
The Federal Reserve has been planning several interest rate increases this year, even though some fear that rate increases could decrease growth and increase unemployment. The Russian crisis allows the Fed to either postpone rate increases or blame Russia for any unemployment that accompanies the rate increases. Either way, the Fed can use the crisis to deflect attention away from its responsibility for our economic problems. As of now, it appears the Fed will go through with at least a modest rate increase this month, but because of the Ukraine crisis, the increase will be smaller than previously expected.
The Ukraine crisis also provides an excuse for Congress to do what Congress does best: increase federal spending. President Biden has requested Congress provide an additional $10 billion in emergency military aid to Ukraine. Congress will likely quickly approve the President’s request. This will not likely be the last time Congress rushes billions of “emergency” money to Ukraine.
It is also certain that lobbyists for the military-industrial-complex are already “explaining” to a very receptive Capitol Hill audience why the Ukraine crisis justifies increasing the military budget to “counter the threats” from Russia, China, and whoever else can serve as a convenient boogeyman. It is unlikely there will be much resistance in Congress to a further increase, even though the US already spends more than the combined defense budgets of the next nine biggest spending countries.
Over the past two years, many leading Internet companies did the government’s bidding by “de-platforming” anyone who expressed skepticism of vaccines or promoted alternative treatments — even when they presented evidence to support their claims. These companies are once again helping the government by de-platforming those who question, or are suspected of questioning, the official narrative regarding Ukraine. Yet these companies’ concerns with “fake news” have not led them to stop people from sharing widely debunked stories supporting the US-backed Ukrainian government.
Food Prices Jump 20.7%, Hit Record High in Feb
March 5th, 2022Via: Reuters:
World food prices hit a record high in February, led by a surge in vegetable oils and dairy products, to post a 20.7% increase year-on-year, the U.N. food agency said on Friday.
Putin Says Western Sanctions Are Akin to Declaration of War
March 5th, 2022Via: Reuters:
President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Western sanctions on Russia were akin to a declaration of war and warned that any attempt to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine would be tantamount to entering the conflict.
SAGE Stands Down, Signifying ‘End of COVID Pandemic’ in the UK
March 5th, 2022Via: Telegraph:
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has been stood down in a clear sign that the Government believes the Covid crisis is over.
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Behind the scenes, The Telegraph understands ministers have become increasingly frustrated with pessimistic predictions from Sage and are concerned the group does not fully take into account the damage to the economy, mental health and education from lockdown.
Earlier this week, Prof Graham Medley, the chairman of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M), a sub-group of Sage, warned that modelling cannot “accurately predict the numbers” and said predicting which of the scenarios would happen was just ‘guesswork’.
The End of ATMs in Australia?
March 5th, 2022Via: Daily Mail:
As Australian banks continue to focus on digital transactions for customers, ATMs and bank branches are disappearing across the country, according to new data.
The analysis revealed close to 460 bank branches have shut down across the nation in recent years, and dating back to 2020, approximately 3800 previously active ATMs have been removed.
NSW alone now has 140 fewer in-store banks, and almost 300 suburbs don’t have a singular ATM to withdraw cash.
It is a similar story in Victoria, where 120 branches have permanently closed their doors to customers.
Elon Musk Warns Starlink Users in Ukraine That Russia Could Target Them
March 4th, 2022Update: Musk Says SpaceX Working on Cyber Defense & Overcoming Starlink Signal Jamming
SpaceX reprioritized to cyber defense & overcoming signal jamming.
Will cause slight delays in Starship & Starlink V2.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 5, 2022
Some Starlink terminals near conflict areas were being jammed for several hours at a time. Our latest software update bypasses the jamming.
Am curious to see what’s next!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 5, 2022
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Via: New York Post:
Elon Musk has urged caution for Ukrainians who access Starlink internet within the country — warning that the Russian military will likely target users during its escalating invasion of Ukraine.
Musk’s firm SpaceX sent a shipment of Starlink terminals to provide Ukraine with internet access due to concerns the country would lose reliable access during invasion. But as Russia steps up its bombardment of major cities, Musk and others have cautioned that the satellite signals could turn Ukrainians into targets.
“Important warning: Starlink is the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine, so probability of being targeted is high,” Musk tweeted. “Please use with caution.”
Musk urged Ukrainians to take certain precautions when using Starlink.
“Turn on Starlink only when needed and place antenna away as far away from people as possible,” Musk added. “Place light camouflage over antenna to avoid visual detection.”
Sony Teams Up With Honda to Make Electric Vehicles
March 4th, 2022Via: Bloomberg:
Sony Group Corp. and Honda Motor Co. are joining forces to develop electric vehicles, seeking to marry their strengths as the cars of the future become more technology-driven and interconnected.
The partners plan to start a new company together this year, with vehicle sales scheduled to start in 2025, according to a statement Friday.
Ukraine: Fire Breaks Out at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant After Shelling
March 3rd, 2022Update: Fire Extinguished [???]
Via: Reuters:
Russian forces seized the largest nuclear power plant in Europe after a building at the complex was set ablaze during intense fighting with Ukrainian defenders, Ukrainian authorities said on Friday.
Fears of a potential nuclear disaster at the Zaporizhzhia plant had spread alarm across world capitals, before authorities said the fire in a building identified as a training centre, had been extinguished.
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Via: DW:
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, tweeted, “Russian army is firing from all sides upon Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Fire has already broke out.”
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Ukraine’s energy ministry told Russia’s RIA news agency that firefighters are unable to tend to the blaze at the plant as Russian troops continue to fire on them.
Plant spokesman Andry Tuz said shells were striking the plant and one of the six reactors was on fire. He said the reactor that was hit was under renovation and therefore nonoperational.
Tuz said it was imperative to cease fighting so firefighters could contain the blaze.
Dmytro Humenyuk of the State Scientific and Technical Center for Nuclear and Radiation Safety told Hromadske that the power units have several layers of fuel protection. The plant generates 25% of Ukraine’s electricity.
Humenyuk explained that under certain conditions, the power units can withstand up to 10 tons but are not designed to be hit by bombs or projectiles. If the reactor is seriously damaged and nuclear fuel exposed, the resulting catastrophe would be as bad as Chernobyl and if more than one reactor is hit, the result would be even more horrific.
Melinda Gates Slams Bill for Continuing to Meet with ‘Evil’ Jeffrey Epstein
March 3rd, 2022Via: Daily Mail:
Melinda Gates trashed her ex-husband Bill for his questionable friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and revealed that he continued to meet with him despite her having ‘nightmares’ about him.
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‘It was not one thing, it was many things [that led to the divorce]. Any of the questions remaining about what Bill’s relationship with him was… those are for Bill to answer. I made it very clear how I felt about him.’
m o d e r n i t y 7
March 3rd, 2022To the mailbag again.
Someone asked me what I thought about the Ukraine situation. I wrote back:
There are no protagonists here. NATO is a street gang. Putin, and his circle of oligarch kleptocrats, who have plundered Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union, are another street gang. The crooks running Ukraine represent yet another street gang, with sponsorship from NATO. The crooks running Belarus are, yep, you guessed it, a wholly owned subsidiary of Putin Enterprises.
It’s like asking me, “What do I think of the Crips and the Bloods?” And the answer would be the same: I think a lot of innocent people are going to die.
What does “a lot” mean? Besides thousands or tens of thousands or more dead in Ukraine from the war itself, we could have wide ranging spill over effects. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw anything from severe energy and food supply disruptions to the exchange of nuclear weapons. The sky’s the limit!
Have a nice day.
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Like Paul Watson, in the video below, I also find it astonishing how quickly the Mighty Wurlitzer switched the channel from COVID-19 to Ukraine, and turned the volume up to 11. Just as people were starting to figure out what had been done to them over the last two years…
Via: Paul Joseph Watson:
