Global War Roundup: Don't Mention The Sanctions War!
First up, the guys at The Duran had a rather amusing 27 minute video discussion, the main theme of which is basically the way Putin has run circles around the midgets of the collective West. I’ve transcribed the first 5 minutes or so, but they go on to talk at greater length about the dilemma the West—and especially Europe—finds itself in. They’re coming to the realization that they need Russia, but Russia may not need them. Anyway:
Scholz & Macron called Putin expecting sanctions panic, tears. Putin's silence shocked them
AC: All right Alexander, let's discuss a Bild article, the German publication Bild. They revealed that Macron called Scholz, Scholz called Macron, and they decided to exchange thoughts on their individual calls with Putin. And they they were both very surprised that when they called the Russian president he didn't mention anything about the sanctions. And they were kind of shocked, upset, at the fact that Putin didn't beg them for mercy. You know: 'Please remove the sanctions guys! Please, please, please!' The interesting part about this Revelation from Bild, if it is true--I don't see why it isn't true--is it gives you a glimpse into how these these European leaders think. What they think of themselves and how they view the world, how they view Russia, how they view other world leaders. What are your thoughts on this Bild article?
AM: The first thing to say is I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that it is true. ... The second is that, of course, the reason that Macron and Scholz are talking to each other and exchanging notes in this way is because they are becoming increasingly frustrated with the fact that for many, many months now--in fact for almost a year now--Putin has not been taking their calls. Both Scholz and Macron say they want to speak to Putin. They've discussed this on several occasions. The fact is they've been making one attempt after another to try to get through to Putin. It turns out so has the White House. Biden himself has at least on one occasion, and it seems that Putin is just rejecting all calls from Western leaders, and they're getting very frustrated and alarmed about this.
Macron and Scholz clearly had this discussion and they compared notes and--shock horror--what they discovered is that all this effort that they've put into putting the sanctions together, all these huge sanctions packages, all the argents, all the acrimony, all the enormous costs that they've endured, the loss of the Russian energy, the loss of the Russian Market, the problems with European business--all of that has achieved absolutely nothing. Whenever they have managed to speak to Putin he never talks about, he's not interested, or affected, or bothered about the sanctions at all. Why should he be? Russia is now anticipating GDP growth of two and a half percent this year--the Russian economy is surging manufacturing is expanding at double digit rates. These European leaders, the self-proclaimed Masters of the Universe, have discovered that they're actually the Emperors without clothes.
AC: Does this reaction from Putin surprise you? Does it not maybe hint at the fact that Putin was confident in the Russian economy going into this? The sanctions war was pretty tough. They threw everything at Russia. They continue to try to find ways to sanction Russia, but it does kind of reveal that Putin was confident about Russia's position going into this sanctions economic war. We talk a lot about the the actual front line conflict in Ukraine but there's this very important, very aggressive economic war that that is playing out.
AM: I think what this demonstrates yet again is that Putin is an absolute Master of the game of diplomatic poker. I think he understood that if there was any hint of weakness any sign of nervousness over the sanctions then the Western leaders would immediately capitalize on that. They'd go around saying that Putin is worried about the sanctions, they'd mobilize even further for the sanctions, they'd talk to other leaders around the world about the fact that the president of Russia is clearly angry and stressed and nervous about the sanctions. So Putin absolutely correctly took the decision that he would never bring them up whatsoever. It was the cleverest, strongest thing that he could have done.
Quickly, re Niger. Apparently the coupsters cut off electricity and water to the French Embassy, because the French are refusing to leave. The coupsters have also set up checkpoints on the road leading to US Base 101—the drone airbase. Macron has now given ECOWAS the green light to attack Niger: Let’s you go fight them! This could turn into a very messy situation very quickly. My guess: France’s hold over West Africa is never going to return.
Taiwan. The billionaire founder of Foxconn, Terry Gou, is going to run for president. His platform? He promises peace with China and that he will never allow Taiwan to be “the next Ukraine”.
Poland is experiencing problems. The first tweet is a somewhat free translation. It turns out that of the 16 people arrested (one a 16 year old) at least 12 were Ukrainian citizens—part of the number were war refugees but others had come to Poland “earlier”. The headline says at the end: “Experts: We have a problem.” I guess so. And I’ll bet that many Poles will be able to put a name to that problem.
"The brave Polish special services happily report that they have uncovered "the largest Russian intelligence network in the entire history of Poland" - as many as 16 people. Though, 12 of them turned out to be Ukrainians, including those with refugee status, and only one was a Russian citizen (we are talking about the young hockey player Maxim Sergeyev). As you can see, the Russophobic hysteria in Poland hits not only Russians.
But here’s another problem in Poland—not too hard to figure out:
Polish security authorities are investigating multiple cases of railway disruptions after unauthorized radio signals stopped several trains over the weekend. Poland's railway is the main transport route for international military support going to neighboring Ukraine. https://rferl.org/amp/poland-trains-radio-interference-ukraine/32568506.html…
Tonight in Russia, Ukrainian drones are attacking the Pskov airport. Pskov is a very historic Russian city, near the border with Estonia.
·30m
Locals in the Pskov Region are continuing to report of aditional Explosions at the International Airport in the City which appears to be totally engulfed in Flames.
0:16
Local sources are reporting that Pskov is under attack; there have been several explosions, and at least one hit, causing a large fire. No other details so far.
It is reported that Geraniums are moving to the west of Ukraine. In the direction of Pskov, more than 21 UAVs flew, one after one at an equal distance.
Difficult to understand why defensive measures weren't active?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilyushin_Il-76
ayden
@squatsons
40m
Following a drone attack at a military airfield, emergency services reported that four Il-76 aircraft in Pskov have been damaged and likely destroyed.
Macron, if others follow Niger out of the CFA, is going to find he’s very, very short on cash at hand, very quickly.
Primer: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/central-african-cfa-franc-xaf.asp