Larry Johnson is rightfully appalled by a New York Times piece that quotes a lot from ‘officials’ but fails to check any of their obviously false claims:
“I never cease to be amazed by the utter failure of journalists to assemble facts. I think it boils down to laziness. Why should you do any independent research or thinking that requires you to go to the front lines when you can gobble up and regurgitate pre-packaged talking points? You get paid the same and hell, you might even get a Pulitzer if you are the most enthusiastic purveyor of regime bullshit.”
‘Western’ Conflict Reporting Has Come Down To “Officials On Our Side Said …”
Tag: Sergey Lavrov
Moscow prioritises ties with Myanmar
The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Myanmar on August 3 shows that the relationship is assuming a strategic character. The Foreign Ministry in a press release on August 2 highlighted that the relationship is “one of the priorities of foreign policy in the Asia–Pacific region, an important factor in ensuring peace, stability and sustainable development.”
Moscow prioritises ties with Myanmar
Biden Authorizes Additional $550 Million Military Aid for Ukraine + Are There Enough Guided Rockets For HIMARS To Keep Up With Ukraine War Demand?
Biden Authorizes Additional $550 Million Military Aid for Ukraine
The new aid was authorized by the presidential drawdown authority, which allows Biden to send Ukraine weapons and ammunition directly from US military stockpiles. The funds were pulled from the $40 billion Ukraine aid bill that Biden signed back in May, which is meant to last through September 30.
Related:
Are There Enough Guided Rockets For HIMARS To Keep Up With Ukraine War Demand?
So in essence, at a pace suggested by Hertling, Ukraine’s GMLRS monthly burn rate would equal about 29% of the entire planned U.S. procurement for the next five years, not withstanding production rates of the ER GMLRS which have yet to be set.
Given those numbers, what does Ukraine’s use of HIMARS portend for that nation, and the U.S., which might find itself needing these systems in case of a future fight with China, Russia or some other adversary?
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“If each of 16 HIMARS fires three rockets per day, that’s 48 a day or 1,440 per month. 10,000 rockets would last well into 2023 at that rate. On the other hand, if the Ukrainians get the 100 HIMARS they are requesting and each one fires three rockets per day, that’s 300 per day or 9,000 per month.”
Shouldn’t Biden be talking directly to Putin?
BY M. K. BHADRAKUMAR | INDIAN PUNCHLINE | JULY 30, 2022
No sooner than Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov returned to Moscow after the SCO ministerial in Tashkent, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s pending request for a conversation was scheduled late Friday evening. This has been their first conversation since the war began in Ukraine in February.
Shouldn’t Biden be talking directly to Putin?
Blinken and Russian foreign minister discussed proposal for Griner, Whelan + More
Blinken and Russian foreign minister discussed proposal for Griner, Whelan
On the call, Blinken also urged Russia to act on its commitments to end a blockade on Ukrainian ports, in order to allow grain exports. He reiterated his concern about Russia potentially annexing additional parts of Ukraine — or, as he put it, Putin “gobbling up as much Ukrainian territory as he can.”
Related:
Lavrov is on Blinken’s list of people to call
Ukraine says 1st ship being loaded with grain since beginning of war
Read More »Lavrov is on Blinken’s list of people to call
Lavrov is on Blinken’s list of people to call
Blinken also added a second topic he’d like to discuss with Lavrov —implementation of the recent “grain deal”. Washington played no role in negotiating the deal and is presumably hoping to make a lateral entry into the matrix now. Blinken claimed he is “seeing and hearing around the world a desperate need for food, a desperate need for prices to decrease. And if we can help through our direct diplomacy encourage the Russians to make good on the commitments they’ve made, that will help people around the world, and I’m determined to do it.”
Interestingly, in a veiled reference to the US, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavuсoglu stated Wednesday on broadcaster Tv100 that there were countries who “wanted to block” the grain deal between Russia and Turkey, who want the Ukraine conflict “to prolong”, as they think the longer Moscow’s special military operation continues, “the weaker Russia will be.”
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Indeed, the war has spun out of US algorithm. As Hungarian PM Orban pointed out last week, anti-Russian sanctions “have not shaken Moscow,” but Europe has already lost four governments and is in an economic and political crisis.
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The spectre of the collapse of EU economies is rattling the Biden Administration. A CNN report yesterday was titled US officials say ‘biggest fear’ has come true as Russia cuts gas supplies to Europe. It said the Biden administration “is working furiously behind the scenes to keep European allies united” as the blowback from the sanctions against Russia hits them and the “impact on Europe could boomerang back onto the US, spiking natural gas and electricity prices.”
The report quoted an unnamed US official saying Russia’s retaliation for western sanctions has put the West in “unchartered territory.” Suffice to say, Blinken’s call underscores the desperate urgency in Washington to open a line of communication to Moscow at the political level.
ROK and the US – Words and Facts
After the text about the President of the ROK at the NATO summit was published, part of the audience questioned whether the ROK, despite its loyalist statements, was in fact in no particular hurry to do Washington’s bidding. This question is best answered by a combination of words and facts.
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In another important development, on July 20 Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho openly stated that South Korea should be cautious when deciding whether to join the US Chip 4 or Fab 4 technology alliance initiative, as the potential implications could affect not only the country’s semiconductor industry, but also the economy as a whole. The framework, which in addition to the US and the ROK also includes Taiwan and Japan, is designed to counter China’s growing influence in global supply chains for advanced high-tech products, as well as to increase American production capacity and capabilities in this area.
ROK and the US – Words and Facts
H/T: THE NEW DARK AGE
Previously:
South Korea’s new president playing dangerous game with Pyongyang
EU solidarity frays as nations question plan to slash gas use
Countries including Spain and Portugal push back on proposal to cut consumption by 15% ahead of winter supply crunch
EU solidarity frays as nations question plan to slash gas use
Lavrov Says Russia’s Goals in Ukraine Now Expand Beyond Donbas
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov by Dave Decamp, Antiwar.com, 7/20/22
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that Russia’s goals in Ukraine are now expanded beyond the Donbas region, citing the failed peace talks and Western military aid to Ukraine.
Dave DeCamp: Lavrov Says Russia’s Goals in Ukraine Now Expand Beyond Donbas
Sergey Lavrov: “Staged incidents as the Western approach to doing politics”
Today, the Russian Armed Forces, together with the self-defence units of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, are delivering on the objectives of the special military operation with great resolve to put an end to the outrageous discrimination and genocide of the Russian people and eliminate direct threats to the security of the Russian Federation that the United States and its satellites have been creating on Ukrainian territory for years. While losing on the battlefield, the Ukrainian regime and its Western patrons have descended to staging bloody incidents to demonise our country in the eyes of the international community. We have already seen Bucha, Mariupol, Kramatorsk, and Kremenchug. The Russian Defence Ministry has been regularly issuing warnings, with facts in hand, about upcoming staged incidents and fakes.
Sergey Lavrov: “Staged incidents as the Western approach to doing politics”
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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