Not Going So Well, Diplomatically Speaking

The US effort to strong arm the rest of the world into stomping Russian into the ground isn’t going all that well. As I mentioned this morning, the BRICS countries are maintaining a pretty solid front. BRICS comprises countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa—that make up a significant portion of the global economy but which also control many strategic mineral resources.

Cracks in NATO are also evident. Yesterday, airport workers in Italy refused to load humanitarian aid for Ukraine when they discovered that the “humanitarian aid” consisted weapons. No doubt there was some mix-up. More importantly, Germany—while pursuing a shifting narrative for public consumption—appears to be resisting further involvement both on its own as well as with regard to NATO as a whole.

Also previously mentioned, Middle Eastern countries are resisting US calls for increased oil production. Even more alarming, Saudi Arabia has openly stated that it is considering moving off its exclusive dollar transactional regime. A roundup:

Two can play at the moralizing lecture game:

First Squawk @FirstSquawk

CHINESE PRESIDENT: UNITED STATES HAS A RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE MORE EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE WORLD PEACE

Woops—that doesn’t look good. Then again, if both countries declined to pick up the phone when Zhou called, why would they give the time of day to Blinken and Nod?

Joyce Karam @Joyce_Karam

Secretary Blinken’s planned trip to Saudi and UAE is no longer happening this month: US sources.

Hmmmm.

Joel Satre 🌹🇺🇦 @JoelSatre

Sometimes the jokes (and data) just write themselves.

zerohedge @zerohedge

The Dominance Of The U.S. Dollar Is Fading Right Before Our Eyes

zerohedge.comThe Dominance Of The U.S. Dollar Is Fading Right Before Our EyesSaudi Arabia joins Russia as the latest oil-backed nation to eye defecting from the U.S. dollar in favor of China’s Yuan.

Here’s the puzzle. Who expected China to respond any differently? So what was the point of building up the supposed importance of this phone call? Was it simply to include China in the World War fever, identify China as a prime target as set out by Soros?

Samuel Ramani @SamRamani2

China is condemning Western unilateralism as a driver of war in Ukraine, while also expressing concern about the humanitarian crisis This is exactly the same as China's response to the war in Syria

Clint Ehrlich @ClintEhrlich

China's Foreign Ministry just poured cold water on my theory of a possible rift with Russia over Ukraine. It condemned "countries which thought they could dominate the world by winning the Cold War" and "continued to advance NATO's eastward expansion for five rounds."

Clint Ehrlich @ClintEhrlich

UPDATE: A lot of China watchers have pointed out that CGTN America isn't a great metric for the CCP's position. However, the timing of this story at the same time that China refuses to co-sponsor Russia's U.N. resolution on Ukraine is still interesting. https://t.co/U1YQrJ56MB

Hu Xijin 胡锡进 @HuXijin_GT

You arrogant people underestimate China's strategic determination. China will not follow the US and the West to sanction Russia. Stop your wishful thinking. China respects the US, and China's independent foreign policy also needs to be respected.

The_Real_Fly @The_Real_Fly

CHINA RELEASES STATEMENT AFTER XI CALL WITH BIDEN

To end on a depressing note … because, why not?

-- GEROMAN -- 👀 - @GeromanAT

our gov is nuts fully enslaved by the pharma lobby - a complete disgrace. As USA wants to prolong the war in Ukraine our idiots want to drag that Covid shit as long as possible.

The_Real_Fly @The_Real_Fly

Austria to reintroduce mandatory mask mandates in most indoor settings starting next week, just two weeks after the requirement was abolished.