Tag: geopolitics
What’s next in Ukraine? Are more drones on their way to Russia?
‘Very soon we are going to see the end of the Zelensky regime, one way or the other’ — Alex Krainer
Microsoft Says CCP Hackers Compromised ‘Critical’ US Infrastructure As DHS Warns Of ‘Grave Threat’
Microsoft on Wednesday warned that a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group – “Volt Typhoon” has compromised “critical” US cyber infrastructure across several industries – including manufacturing, construction, maritime, government, information technology and education.
The group, which has operated since 2021, is apparently working to disrupt “critical communications infrastructure between the United States and Asia,” as well as gather intelligence, in order to weaken efforts during “future crises.”
Infrastructure in nearly every critical sector has been impacted, Microsoft said, including the communications, transport, and maritime industries. Government organizations were also targeted. -CNBC
According to the advisory from Microsoft – which has “directly notified targeted or compromised customers,” the attack is apparently ongoing. The company has urged impacted customers to “close or change credentials for all compromised accounts.”
As Bloomberg notes, “Guam, a US island territory located 1,600 miles (about 2,600 kilometers) east of Manila, has become an increasingly important military and strategic hub as tensions with China ratchet up, including the possibility that it might use its military to enforce its claim to the self-ruled island of Taiwan.”
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CIA Front Company Extends Intrusive Surveillance Operations in Lithuania Under Pretext of New Cold War
Creation of Orwellian surveillance apparatus belies claim that the U.S. is upholding democracy in the face of Russian authoritarianism.
On April 26, Palantir, a data analytics company founded with CIA seed money, announced an expansion of its operations in Lithuania after entering into a strategic partnership with Lithuania’s Ministry of Defense.
This announcement exemplifies how the new Cold War is being used to justify CIA collaboration with a foreign government in advancing intrusive surveillance operations targeting Russia and pro-Russian political elements. It also exemplifies how central the CIA is to the war in Ukraine, as Palantir is playing a key role in the war by tracking Russian military movements and helping Ukraine to coordinate battlefield maneuvers.
The U.S. claims to be supporting democracy against Russian and Chinese authoritarianism; however, Palantir’s methods are right out of George Orwell’s 1984.
While Western media consistently highlight the alleged human rights atrocities of Belarus’s socialist, pro-Russian government led by Alexander Lukashenko, it is silent on the intense political repression targeting socialists and anti-fascists in Lithuania, which will only be enhanced by Palantir’s growing presence.
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Bakhmut in Russian Hands, Now What? — Col Doug Macgregor
Bakhmut has finally fallen to the Russians
Most of Ukraine’s remaining forces pulled out before the front-line city’s collapse; Wagner Group key to Russia’s victory
The head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, announced today (May 20) that all of Bakhmut has been taken by the Wagner forces.
He also said that on May 25 the Wagner forces will hand over control to the Russian army and pull back for rest and retraining. Some Wagner forces will be used in defensive positions that are not sent back for training and rest.
Bakhmut is a city of 75,000, at least before the war, in the Donetsk region and is strategically located. It is known as “Salt City,” which refers to the huge underground salt mines that are actually located nearby in Soledar, which fell to the Russians in late January of this year.
Bakhmut was also a major wine producer, but when Crimea was taken by the Russians, the supply of grapes coming from Crimea ended and the wine business in Bakhmut collapsed. The city is a major roadway nexus and also features important rail connections. According to recent reports, the Wagner forces were surprised to find some civilians still living in the devastated city.
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‘In a lot of the world, the clock has hit midnight’: China is calling in loans to dozens of countries from Pakistan to Kenya
A dozen poor countries are facing economic instability and even collapse under the weight of hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign loans, much of them from the world’s biggest and most unforgiving government lender, China.
An Associated Press analysis of a dozen countries most indebted to China — including Pakistan, Kenya, Zambia, Laos and Mongolia — found paying back that debt is consuming an ever-greater amount of the tax revenue needed to keep schools open, provide electricity and pay for food and fuel. And it’s draining foreign currency reserves these countries use to pay interest on those loans, leaving some with just months before that money is gone.
Behind the scenes is China’s reluctance to forgive debt and its extreme secrecy about how much money it has loaned and on what terms, which has kept other major lenders from stepping in to help. On top of that is the recent discovery that borrowers have been required to put cash in hidden escrow accounts that push China to the front of the line of creditors to be paid.
Countries in AP’s analysis had as much as 50% of their foreign loans from China and most were devoting more than a third of government revenue to paying off foreign debt. Two of them, Zambia and Sri Lanka, have already gone into default, unable to make even interest payments on loans financing the construction of ports, mines and power plants.
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Ukraine War — Col Doug Macgregor
Douglas Macgregor – Russia’s Devastating Airstrike on Ukraine
1,000,000 Russian soldiers now marching to the Polish border
Kremlin Attacked— What do we know, What does it mean? Larry Johnson fmr CIA
How to Save Europe
Ten years after Australia stopped illegal immigration once and for all, will the United Kingdom be the first major European country to follow its lead? Australia’s Operation Sovereign Borders has shown that when a government is serious, it can stop the influx not only over land borders but also at sea, something European countries have never been able to do.
In 2013, Australia started interning all illegal immigrants caught at sea or intercepted on arrival. It held them in detention centers on island nations with which the Canberra government had signed agreements. Another essential part of the policy has been that anyone caught trying to enter Australia illegally is automatically banned for life from visiting or seeking asylum.
Under the 2007–2010 Labor government, illegal immigration by sea totaled around 50,000 people, including over 37,000 between 2012 and 2013 alone, and there were more than 1,200 deaths by drowning. That was because the Labor government of Kevin Rudd dismantled the border control policies of his predecessor, John Howard. Since 2013, thanks to the new rules, the flow of boats carrying illegals — and the drownings — have stopped. Immigrant-smugglers who can’t get illegals into a country have no customers. The smuggling networks disappear. The problem is solved.
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What China Is Really Playing at in Ukraine
Beijing is fully aware the NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine is the un-dissociable double of the U.S. war against its Belt and Road Initiative.
Imagine President Xi Jinping mustering undiluted Taoist patience to suffer through a phone call with that warmongering actor in a sweaty T-shirt in Kiev while attempting to teach him a few facts of life – complete with the promise of sending a high-level Chinese delegation to Ukraine to discuss “peace”.
There’s way more than meets the discerning eye obscured by this spun-to-death diplomatic “victory” – at least from the point of view of NATOstan.
The question is inevitable: what’s the point of this phone call? Very simple: just business.
The Beijing leadership is fully aware the NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine is the un-dissociable double of an American direct war against the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Until recently, and since 2019, Beijing was the top trade partner for Kiev (14.4% of imports, 15.3% of exports). China essentially exported machinery, equipment, cars and chemical products, importing food products, metals and also some machinery.
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American Buddhist Net 
