Category: HUNGARY

Key Russian Black Sea gas pipeline under threat – US state media

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Key Russian Black Sea gas pipeline under threat – US state media

If the TurkStream natural gas pipeline is damaged, its operator won’t be able to mount repairs because the Dutch government has revoked a key license due to EU sanctions against Russia, US state-run RFE/RL alleged on Thursday.

The outlet claimed to have obtained a letter from Oleg Aksyutin, CEO of South Stream Transport BV, informing the company’s managers to stop all work and cancel contracts with Western suppliers. The letter is reportedly dated September 14, and says that the Netherlands – where the company is registered – had canceled its operating license, effective September 17.

South Stream Transport operates TurkStream, a pipeline finalized in 2020, which runs under the Black Sea to Türkiye and then on to Serbia and Hungary. It has an annual capacity of 33 billion cubic meters of gas. According to Reuters, SouthStream confirmed on Thursday that the license has been revoked, but said it had requested a resumption and “will continue gas transportation.”

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While there are no reports about interruptions in the TurkStream supply, RFE/RL noted that much of the pipeline is at the depth of three kilometers, and needs to be constantly monitored for damage due to “seismic activity.”

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Commenting on the reported sabotage on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it would be “in no one’s interest,” but then added that the situation represents “a very significant opportunity” for the EU to “finally end” its dependence on Russian gas and “accelerate the transition to renewables.”*

TurkStream is the last remaining pipeline for Russian natural gas to reach the EU. The Yamal pipeline through Poland was shut off in May, due to Russian counter-sanctions against Warsaw, while Gazprom halted deliveries through Ukraine on September 27.

Verifications:

Secretary Antony J. Blinken And Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly At a Joint Press Availability*

My own sense – and I mentioned this the other day – is, look, there’s a lot of hard work to do to make sure that countries and partners get through the winter. Europe itself has taken very significant steps to both decrease demand but also look at ways to pursue the transition to renewables at the same time. And ultimately this is also a tremendous opportunity. It’s a tremendous opportunity to once and for all remove the dependence on Russian energy and thus to take away from Vladimir Putin the weaponization of energy as a means of advancing his imperial designs. That’s very significant and that offers tremendous strategic opportunity for the years to come, but meanwhile, we’re determined to do everything we possibly can to make sure that the consequences of all of this are not borne by citizens in our countries or, for that matter, around the world.

TurkStream Pipeline Has License Revoked As New Sanctions Come Into Effect

False flag in…3…2…1?! 🤷🏼‍♀️

No Russian Shadow Over Italy. Con Giorgia Meloni Rome Confirms Itself As Washington’s Most Faithful Ally

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

They are wrong in Kremlin if anyone thinks that Italy will become the EU’s weak link vis-à-vis Russia. The center-right coalition won in the elections on 25 September. A success far beyond the expectations of Giorgia Meloni, the right-wing passionate who grew up in the myth of “good” fascism and Tolkien as a natural leader. The center-right that is about to govern Italy is made up of three different political groups. The real winner of the dispute is the “Fratelli d’Italia”, the party founded a little over ten years ago by Giorgia Meloni, Ignazio La Russa and Guido Crosetto. Heirs of the post-fascist tradition, the women and men led by Meloni have always been on the margins of society. They are the heirs of the tradition of the Italian Social Movement, the party that was liquidated in the mid-nineties after Mussolini’s rejection of nostalgia.

No Russian Shadow Over Italy. Con Giorgia Meloni Rome Confirms Itself As Washington’s Most Faithful Ally

Steve Bannon at the head of the new Mont-Pelerin society: How can neo-fascism be neo-liberal?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

BY RODRIGO LUGONES – 09-23-2022

The ideologue of Trumpism promotes a right-wing movement that aims to reorient the political and economic management of the world towards an extreme liberal right.

Steve Bannon at the head of the new Mont-Pelerin society: How can neo-fascism be neo-liberal? (Original in Spanish)

Related:

Bannonism

Article was “fact-checked” by me. Everything checked out, except that Nina Rosenwald founded the Gatestone Institute. Although, Rebekah Mercer was on the Board of Governors.

FACTSHEET: GATESTONE INSTITUTE (archived)

In 2016, Gatestone partnered with The Rebel, a Canadian media company “with a history of bigotry and anti-Semitism,” to produce a series of 12 “cross-branded videos.” The videos feature “misinformation expert” Daniel Pipes and Geert Wilders, and promote “paranoid, apocalyptic far-right themes vilifying Muslims and refugees.” A 2017 article in The Independent, found that Gatestone was one of two “US right-wing foundations” that have sponsored Wilders’ trips to America.

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Between 2014-2016, the Mercer family foundation, run by Rebekah Mercer, contributed $250,000 to Gatestone. In April 2017, journalist Eli Clifton revealed that “Mercer had been listed as a member of the board of governors” of Institute. Following inquiries from news outlets, Gatestone deleted any mention of Mercer on its board.

[08-28-2022] Faina Savenkova — Myrotvorets should not exist, and its owners are not held accountable for their actions

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

08-28-2022 — Faina Savenkova

Journalist Daria Dugina was killed in Russia on Saturday night. I would hardly have known who she was if my friends hadn’t told me that she and her father, Alexander Dugin, were included on the Myrotvorets website, and everyone knew their details. Of course, you don’t have to listen to me, because I’m a child. But for the third year I have been trying to reach out to all world leaders and organizations. All this time I hear jokes that it’s honorable and great to be in the database of this site. But yesterday there was another murder. It’s not for me to figure out who is to blame for this and how it happened. Now I’m just really sorry for Daria’s parents.

Faina Savenkova — Myrotvorets should not exist, and its owners are not held accountable for their actions

U. S. trains Georgian army for new Caucasus conflict

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)1 Comment

Georgian Ministry of Defense – September 6, 2022

A demonstration exercise of special operations forces was held within the framework of the exercise “Worthy Partner 2022”

Major General Thomas Carden of the National Guard of the US state of Georgia got acquainted with the course of the training together with the leaders of the defense forces. Major General Giorgi Matiashvili hosted the American guest in the headquarters of the Multinational Brigade in the 4th Infantry Brigade.

U. S. trains Georgian army for new Caucasus conflict

Related:

The purpose of the exercise, which will involve more than 2.4 thousand military, including from Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Turkey and Estonia, is to increase the compatibility of the forces of Georgia, the United States, regional partners and allied countries “to ensure the stability and security of the Black Sea region.”

Can the U.S. Kick Its Reliance on Russian Uranium?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Posted on September 5, 2022 by John McGregor

John here. France is working to bring all of its nuclear power plants back online before winter and Germany is contemplating a plan to postpone the closure of its plants. Hungary has just issued approvals for two new nuclear reactors from Rosatom. Nonetheless, Ukraine is pushing for sanctions on Russian uranium. Theoretical capacity to replace uranium with thorium won’t translate into immediate results, so any sanctions in the short term would put further pressure on energy markets.

Can the U.S. Kick Its Reliance on Russian Uranium?