Washington Seeks to Drum Up Support for Sanctions on China

The Joe Biden administration is pressuring allies to sanction China if Beijing decides to send arms to Russia, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Top American officials have claimed the Chinese government is considering providing weapons for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Washington Seeks to Drum Up Support for Sanctions on China

Related:

US House committee advances slew of sanctions bills related to China and Taiwan

To Be Updated: USAID is sponsoring YouTube channels

How Democracy Can Win: The Right Way to Counter Autocracy

The most important step the United States can take to counter foreign influence campaigns and disinformation is to help our partners promote media and digital literacy, communicate credibly with their publics, and engage in “pre-bunking”—that is, seeking to inoculate their societies against disinformation before it can spread. In Indonesia, for example, USAID has worked with local partners to develop sophisticated online courses and games that help new social media users identify disinformation and reduce the likelihood that they will share misleading posts and articles.

The United States has also helped Ukraine in its fight against the Kremlin’s propaganda and disinformation. For decades, USAID has worked to enhance the media environment in the country, encouraging reforms that allow greater access to public information and supporting the emergence of strong local media organizations, including the public broadcaster Suspilne. After Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014, our work expanded to help the country’s local journalists produce Russian-language programming that could reach into Kremlin-occupied territories, such as Dialogues With Donbas, a YouTube channel that featured honest conversations with Ukrainians about life behind Russian lines. We also helped support the production of the online comedy show Newspalm, which regularly racks up tens of thousands of views as it skewers Putin’s lies. And even before Moscow’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, we worked with the government of Ukraine to stand up the Center for Strategic Communications, which uses memes [memetic warfare], well-produced digital videos, and social media and Telegram posts to poke holes in Kremlin propaganda.

I still need to look into Newspalm. I’ll update if I find anything. As I don’t know Ukrainian, or Russian, I’m using Google translate for the following information. Note, this is all speculation!

Speculation:

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NATO majors float Ukraine negotiations plan – WSJ

UK, France and Germany reportedly offered weapons and security commitments as a way of starting talks with Russia

NATO majors float Ukraine negotiations plan – WSJ

Related:

WSJ: NATO’s Biggest European Members Float Defense Pact With Ukraine

In theory, any NATO member could veto the proposal from the U.K., France and Germany, but the organization operates on consensus and such an initiative wouldn’t even be discussed at a summit without enjoying widespread support in the alliance.

Stepping up US war preparations against China, Victoria Nuland visits South Asia

US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland visited Nepal, India and Sri Lanka between January 28 and February 1, before travelling to Qatar. Her trip coincided with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin’s recent trip to South Korea for high-level meetings with President Yoon Suk-yeol and Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop.

Stepping up US war preparations against China, Victoria Nuland visits South Asia

‘Take your dirty hands off Turkey,’ Ankara rails against US envoy

‘Take your dirty hands off Turkey,’ Ankara rails against US envoy

On Thursday, Soylu condemned the closures as an attempt to meddle in campaigning for Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for 14 May. The Turkish interior minister and other officials also suggested that the Western states had issued the security warnings in order to pressure Turkey to tone down its criticism of the sacrilegious move and resolve the NATO dispute.

Video via ShanghaiEye魔都眼

Related:

Turkish minister tells US ambassador ‘Take your dirty hands off Turkey’ as sanctions sparks fly

Turkey’s parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for May 14 are fast approaching—angry rhetoric from the Erdogan regime, designed to nationalistically rouse its core vote, is no surprise. Nor are angry interventions from US politicians who dislike the unreliability of Turkey as a Nato ally, but at the same time stop short of anything that could irretrievably wreck relations with a country crucially located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Brian Nelson, the US Treasury Department’s top sanctions official, visited Turkish government and private sector officials on February 2 to urge more cooperation in disrupting the flow of goods that Russia can put to use in persisting with its war on the Ukrainians.

In a speech to bankers, reported by Reuters, Nelson said a pronounced year-long rise in exports to Russia left Turkish entities ‘particularly vulnerable to reputational and sanctions risks‘, or lost access to G7 markets.

No Evidence that Russia is Behind Nord Stream Sabotage Attack

I omitted the word “conclusive” that was included in the Washington Post headline. Why? Because it’s weasel wording included to cast doubt. You see if there is no “conclusive” evidence than you have to consider their may be circumstantial evidence. Which is a red herring. – The red herring fallacy specifically involves using that irrelevant claim to redirect the discussion and avoid discussion/debate about the original topic.

No Evidence that Russia is Behind Nord Stream Sabotage Attack

Related:

No conclusive evidence Russia is behind Nord Stream attack

Russia Balks At “Stupid” Oil Price Cap, Mulls Production Cut

Crude oil prices rose by roughly a percent on Friday morning on news that Russia was considering a production cut.

Brent crude oil prices rose by 0.85% on Friday morning to $76.80 at 10:20 a.m. ET, after Russian President Vladimir Putin succinctly referred to the West’s price cap as “stupid”, threatening to cut oil production in retaliation.

Russia Balks At “Stupid” Oil Price Cap, Mulls Production Cut

Russian Missiles Strike Ukrainian Infrastructure, Ukrainian Missiles Strike Polish Farm

Update on Russian military operations in and around Ukraine for November 16, 2022

– Russia continues its campaign targeting Ukrainian infrastructure with missiles and drones;

– A recent barrage consisted of over 90 missiles, significantly degrading Ukraine’s power grid;

– The West has said since April Russia was running out of missiles, yet large-scale use of missiles continues;

– Russia is also now using long-range precision kamikaze drones meaning Russia appears to have a growing number of long-range precision weapons;

– During the recent barrage it appears at least 2 Ukrainian air defense missiles missed their targets and struck civilians in Poland;

– After claiming Russia is a threat to Europe, it is a terrible irony that Ukraine is responsible for the first strike on NATO territory since Russian operations began in late February;

References:

Russian Missiles Strike Ukrainian Infrastructure, Ukrainian Missiles Strike Polish Farm (Odysee)

Related:

Biden Told US Partners that Ukraine Air Defense Missile Responsible for Poland Blast