Of course if you believe propaganda allegedly originating from British intelligence you would think the Russians are losing and that Wagner forces will withdraw and redeploy to Africa. This sort of nonsense contributes nothing to understanding factually what is going on in Ukraine and is a disservice to concerned citizens. (See for example this story in Breitbart).

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If Ukraine does call off any offensive to relieve Bakhmut, then the US/NATO plan for an attack on Crimea remains credible. However, the risk of a very large scale Russian encirclement of Ukraine’s forces could force a change of plans.

Laibach Claims Band Told to Say ‘All Russians Are Bad’ Before Kyiv Gig

March 2, 2023March 2, 2023 Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) – A planned concert by Slovenia’s popular bank Laibach in Ukraine next month has been cancelled after the group angered Ukrainians with remarks interpreted to suggest that Kiyv was a client state fighting a war for its Western masters.
Laibach Claims Band Told to Say ‘All Russians Are Bad’ Before Kyiv Gig

GOP Stops Pretending It Ever Actually Cared About ‘Antitrust Reform’

February 11, 2023February 11, 2023 Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

GOP Stops Pretending It Ever Actually Cared About ‘Antitrust Reform’

To be clear, despite the press narrative to the contrary, I don’t think either party is particularly serious about antitrust reform. Congress is simply too grotesquely corrupt, and the combined cross-industry lobbying opposition to meaningful reform too great, to currently be overcome without some sort of major policy and cultural trajectory shift and a massive upheaval in Congress.

The appointment of Massie, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology-trained inventor who has filed dozens of patents, signals that the Judiciary Committee under Chair Jim Jordan of Ohio will shift its focus away from legislation aimed at curbing the power of the largest tech companies. Jordan has been more focused on free-speech issues, including big tech’s perceived liberal bias.

“We’re all united in wanting to stop the censorship of conservatives and the suppression of free speech,” Jordan said in an interview. “That’s going to be a focus of the full committee work.”

Funny, that’s not what Massie told Breitbert. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Voices: J. D. Vance wouldn’t know what to say to a real Appalachian like me. Ohio deserves better

October 27, 2022October 27, 2022 Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

I sometimes joke that J.D. Vance is my evil twin. Born a year and a half before me, Vance and I are both the grandchildren of Appalachian out-migrants. He is the first in his family to obtain a university degree, and so am I. He grew up about 30 miles from where I grew up in the decaying Rust Belt cities between Dayton and Cincinnati. Jackson, from where his grandmother hailed and from whence J.D. claims his Appalachian identity, is 45 miles from my grandmother’s home town — and where I spent much of my childhood and graduated high school — in Hyden.
Voices: J. D. Vance wouldn’t know what to say to a real Appalachian like me. Ohio deserves better

Video via More Perfect Union

Financial Blacklisting: Internet Superstar Catturd Says Bank of America Shut Down His Podcast’s Account

October 23, 2022October 23, 2022 Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Bank of America recently shut down a new account associated created for the In the Litter Box podcast hosted by Jewels Jones and conservative pundit and best-selling author “Catturd.” Jones described the situation as the left exerting control through any means necessary: “They are going to control you at any means or any methods that they possibly can. They’re going to exert their control over you.”
Financial Blacklisting: Internet Superstar Catturd Says Bank of America Shut Down His Podcast’s Account

NY Times claim that Russia drove attacks on Linda Sarsour is nonsense

September 29, 2022September 29, 2022 Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Did Russian government trolls really drive a pro-Israel, anti-Muslim campaign targeting Palestinian American Democratic Party activist Linda Sarsour?
NY Times claim that Russia drove attacks on Linda Sarsour is nonsense

H/T: Katie Halper

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

September 26, 2022September 26, 2022 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.

As president, Trump approved a law increasing penalties for mishandling classified info. It could come back to bite him.

August 13, 2022August 13, 2022 Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

As president, Trump approved a law increasing penalties for mishandling classified info. It could come back to bite him.

Bradley P. Moss, a national-security attorney, told Insider that Trump could face five years in prison if he’s found guilty under a national security bill which he signed as president.

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Moss noted that it was passed in the wake of Trump’s relentless attacks during the 2016 presidential campaign on Hillary Clinton for allegedly mishandling classified information.

Bannon Found Guilty of Obstructing Jan. 6 Probe

July 22, 2022July 22, 2022 Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Bannon Found Guilty of Obstructing Jan. 6 Probe (archived)

Former federal prosecutor Mitchell Epner, now a partner at Rottenberg Lipman Rich PC, predicted Bannon would have little room to mount an appeal before having to serve his sentence fully.
“Bannon never put up a legal defense, only an attack on the legitimacy of the process,” Epner noted. “He is now facing a mandatory minimum of 30 days in jail. It will take 3 months to get to sentencing. The question is whether Judge Nichols will grant bail pending appeal. Absent bail, Bannon will have served his time long before an appeal could be briefed, let alone decided.”
Sentencing has been slated for Oct. 21, 2022.

‘I think the law is with us’: Bannon plans appeal of conviction