Montana’s 150 missile sites in line for replacement as Chinese spy balloon questions remain

Montana’s 150 missile sites in line for replacement as Chinese spy balloon questions remain

Bartel is a state senator representing a district in Fergus County, an area with some of Malmstrom’s missile sites.

The Department of Defense has referenced these critical zones in its media briefings on the balloon in recent days. Meanwhile, the Department of Defense has been making plans for a massive overhaul of the nuclear missiles scattered across the state.

The upgrades are something Bartel is familiar with because 50 of those missile locations are in Fergus County.

He says the upgrades were set to start in 2025. Now that’s been pushed back, and talks about upgrades with the Air Force suddenly became radio silent.

“We’ve been told that the project has been pushed out. It’s been pushed out two years,” he said. “They are having some redesign issues with the missiles themselves.”

RAND: Avoiding a Long War – U.S. Policy and the Trajectory of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

*Russian use of nuclear weapons is a plausible contingency that Washington needs to account for and a hugely important factor in determining the future trajectory of the conflict

*Although a Russian decision to attack a NATO member state is by no means inevitable, the risk is elevated while the conflict in Ukraine is ongoing.

*Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley reportedly kept a list of “U.S. interests and strategic objectives” in the crisis: “No. 1” was “Don’t have a kinetic conflict between the U.S. military and NATO with Russia.” The second, closely related, was “contain war inside the geographical boundaries of Ukraine.”

*It is clear why Milley listed avoiding a Russia-NATO war as the top U.S. priority: The U.S. military would immediately be involved in a hot war with a country that has the world’s largest nuclear arsenal. Keeping a Russia-NATO war below the nuclear threshold would be extremely difficult, particularly given the weakened state of Russia’s conventional military.

*Since neither side appears to have the intention or capabilities to achieve absolute victory, the war will most likely end with some sort of negotiated outcome.

*Since avoiding a long war is the highest priority after minimizing escalation risks, the United States should take steps that make an end to the conflict over the medium term more likely.

*A major source of uncertainty about the future course of the war is the relative lack of clarity about the future of U.S. and allied military assistance to Ukraine.

Avoiding a Long War – U.S. Policy and the Trajectory of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Related:

Avoiding a Long War – U.S. Policy and the Trajectory of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Neo-liberal Macron government in France pushes 2023 budget without parliamentary vote + French Labor Unrest Illustrates Worsening Economic Crisis Within the EU

The austerity-ridden budget was approved without a vote on after the government involved a controversial provision of the constitution. Earlier, left-wing MPs had passed several amendments to the government’s proposals

Neo-liberal Macron government in France pushes 2023 budget without parliamentary vote

Related:

French Labor Unrest Illustrates Worsening Economic Crisis Within the EU

US Treasury recommends exploring creation of a digital dollar

The Biden administration is moving one step closer to developing a central bank digital currency, known as the digital dollar. Administration officials say it’d help reinforce the U.S. role as a leader in the world financial system.

US Treasury recommends exploring creation of a digital dollar

H/T: PFYT2

Related:

A digital dollar would allow Americans to directly open up an account at the Fed

And while some have suggested that the Fed could potentially launch a digital dollar on a public network like Ethereum, Luther suspects that it would instead choose to launch on its own dedicated blockchain.

“A public blockchain would limit the government’s ability to control access and monitor transactions. I am not convinced it will give up control and oversight, even if doing so would be in the best interest of society.”

Fed’s Powell: a U.S. digital dollar could help maintain international primacy

The development of an official digital version of the U.S. dollar could help safeguard its global dominance as other countries issue their own, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday, weighing in with generally positive remarks on a hot-button topic at the central bank that has left policymakers divided.

Ten countries have already launched central bank digital currencies and another 105 countries are exploring the option, according to the Atlantic Council, leading to fears the dollar could lose some of its dominance to China.

The economic crisis in Germany is the result of a deliberate provocation by the USA.

Berlin, Germany (World Express). War in Ukraine began on February 24. Since then, the sanctions imposed by EU countries against Russia have started to have a negative impact on European economies. The sanctions boomerang came as a surprise to the federal government, most politicians in the traffic light coalition and ordinary voters. However, as it recently turned out, these consequences of the anti-Russian sanctions were unexpected only for the Germans. The USA had calculated all the consequences in advance and, moreover, consciously decided to weaken the German economy.

The economic crisis in Germany is the result of a deliberate provocation by the USA. The Americans collapsed the German economy to destroy a competitor. (original)

WHCS = White House Chief of Staff, Ron Klain. ANSA = Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, Jake Sullivan. CIA = Central Intelligence Agency. NSA = National Security Agency. DNC = Democratic National Committee/Democratic Party.

H/T: iEarlGrey

They’re counting on the collapse of the German economy to rescue the US economy—all to save the Democrats from losing in the midterm elections?! Interesting, if this document is authentic, considering that it was supposedly written in January. Germans are already protesting, demanding that the current government resign!