RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/qed/2022/10/how-and-why-vladimir-putin-survives/

The first attempt to realise Karl Marx’s dream of a communist utopia happened in the former Soviet Russia between 1917 and 1991.  According to Stéphane Courtois, co-author of the seminal The Black Book of Communism (Harvard University Press, 1999), victims of that communist regime have been estimated to range around 20 million.[1]

On January 1, 1992, “the evil Soviet empire”, to borrow a term from a landmark 1983 speech by Ronald Reagan, finally came to an end. It collapsed and was replaced by 15 new nations, the largest and most populous of which was the Russian Federation. The imperial white-blue-red flag introduced by Peter the Great was reinstalled as the national flag in 1993. The Russian Church’s national holidays were restored.

For most Russians, however, the early 1990s was a time of despair, uncertainty and hardship. During that period, real power laid entirely in the hands of local oligarchs. As noted by Orlando Figes, a British historian best known for his outstanding books on Russian history, those oligarchs “behaved as if they were the government”, demanding posts from the then-president Boris Yeltsin, who was barely able to carry out his job due to heart attacks and heavy drinking. “The state was in danger of breaking into fiefdoms controlled by the oligarchs”, Figes says.[2]

By the end of the 1990s the Russians were desperately hoping for someone who could save their nation, someone who would be healthy, patriotic and … sober. It is in this context that a former intelligence officer was manoeuvred into power in the mid-1990s. Vladimir Putin had just returned from Germany to his hometown of St. Petersburg. In due course, he became the city’s deputy mayor, and, in 1996, he moved to Moscow. On 9 August 1999, he was appointed first deputy prime minister and later that year Yeltsin resigned. Then Putin became Russia’s acting president.[3] 

Putin was a candidate in that year’s presidential election. He campaigned with the promise of a “dictatorship of the rule of law”, thus appealing to everyone tired of the lawlessness of the past decade.[4] As a result, Putin duly won in the first round of that election with 53 per cent of the vote.[5]  Ordinary Russians, desperate for an end to their misery, believed they had found in their new president an energetic politician who could lead the nation towards a brighter future. Indeed, the early 2000s were marked by a remarkable recovery of the Russian economy, which allowed ordinary Russians to enjoy unprecedented levels of comfort and security.[6]

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/18966/china-xi-leader

Having changed the party’s constitution, he is no longer required to retire at age 68 and, heading to be 70 next year, he may hang on to power for another 10 years. Nevertheless, things may not be as easy as Xi hopes.

The Chinese Communist Party, with a membership of 98 million, is full of young and ambitious men and women who regard Xi and others in his generation of party chiefs as “Red Princes”, sons of first-generation Communists who owe their ascendancy to nepotism.

Then there is China’s huge and rapidly growing military machine, which consumes over $200 billion each year and contains tens of thousands of young, highly educated and ambitious officers who may not see Xi, a man with no military background, as the sole arbiter of the nation’s fate.

Xi faces two other problems.

First, the Chinese economy is clearly slowing down, with hundreds of businesses going bust and tens of thousands of projects abandoned, while stagflation looms on the horizon.

The second is what some see as systemic corruption. Xi has launched a massive anti-corruption campaign, even issuing death sentences for some senior party figures. But many in China suspect that he is using the campaign as a cover for purging opponents in the party.

When he took over as China’s leader 10 years ago, President Xi Jinping was hailed by Western experts and media as a man who would open the path for major political reforms to reflect the rising tiger’s economic transformation. Some even saw him as a wiser version of Mikhail Gorbachev and speculated that he might adopt the end-of-history narrative by accepting democratization as the only option for a modern industrial power.

https://pjmedia.com/columns/david-solway-2/2022/10/06/canadas-dilemma-n1635249

Canada is in serious trouble. To arrive at that conclusion, all one need do is pay attention. In evident violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms embedded in the Constitution, essential to a functioning democracy, Canada was one of the few countries in the world determined to coerce vaccine mandates and impose possibly illegal travel apps and quarantine protocols. These measures have been paused, but the government obviously maintains the right to re-impose them at a moment’s notice. “The process and app remain in place.”

Undeterred in his march toward despotic rule, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is poised to introduce a digital currency, which will give the government financial control of banking and discretionary spending at the expense of private citizens and consumers. He is simultaneously engaged in implementing a Digital Identity Program, associated with the World Economic Forum’s Known Traveler Digital Identity initiative, on the way toward establishing a Social Credit State which Trudeau blazons as “the most advanced digital jurisdiction in the world.” Canada is now a satrap of the World Economic Forum in Davos that believes in global governance, wealth redistribution, and costly and dysfunctional environmental and climate edicts at the cost of national solvency.

The net-zero carbon emission legislation is part of the same plan, as is the virtual outsourcing of national health responsibility to the World Health Organization (WHO) — the bunch that Florida Republicans regard as a terrorist group. The Online Streaming Act Bill C-11, perhaps the most restrictive of its kind in the West, would permit the government to regulate the individual’s videos, podcasts, personal content, and various online feeds. Former CRTC commissioner Timothy Denton describes the measure as a “power grab over human communication.”

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/18909/cyprus-turkey-migration

The Cypriot government says that Turkey is orchestrating this illegal immigration crisis, as most migrants coming to Cyprus travel from Turkey. They reportedly fly from Istanbul or Ankara to the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus, are then smuggled to the free, southern part of the Republic of Cyprus, and from there, under EU law, can apply for asylum.

On September 11 of this year, the EU recognized the instrumentalization or “weaponization” of migration by Turkey….

In 1974, Turkey invaded the Republic of Cyprus and forcibly displaced the indigenous Greek Cypriots from the north in a violent ethnic cleansing campaign, accompanied by murders, rapes, forced disappearances and other atrocities.

Since then, Turkey has implemented policies meant to erase the Hellenic identity and civilization of occupied northern Cyprus.

More financial support or migrant housing centers are not the solution to the illegal immigration crisis in Cyprus. The unending number of illegal migrants are apparently intended to outnumber and replace the indigenous Cypriots. Cyprus suffers from both illegal Turkish occupation and the mass illegal migration.

“This year… We had 4,250 births so far, as opposed to 12,000 migrant arrivals. This is not happening anywhere else in the European Union.” — Costas Constantinou, director general of Cypriot Interior Ministry, Cyprus Mail, July 5, 2022.

What the Republic of Cyprus appears to need is an end to the illegal Turkish military occupation and an end to the EU’s appeasement of Turkey.

“Turkey, which illegally occupies one third of our country, is exploiting immigration to change the demography of the island for political purposes…. Many argue that the time has come when the Cypriot government should follow the example of Denmark, Poland, Greece or Hungary to stop this ongoing nightmare.” — Savvas Iacovides, veteran Cypriot journalist, to Gatestone, September 2022.

The Republic of Cyprus, 36% of which is illegally occupied by Turkey, is increasingly struggling with a massive wave of illegal migration from Turkey, the Middle East and Africa.

Cyprus now has the highest number of asylum applications per capita of any EU country. Nearly 5% of the island population, according to the country’s officials, is now made up of asylum seekers.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/18961/china-monroe-doctrine

The Chinese have proved in word and deed their intent to dominate the rest of the 21st Century.

Unlike like the gruesome tactics of Vladimir Putin, the Chinese apparently seek to the acquire that global position without the need to fire a shot. Nuclear weapons in their arsenal? No question. A strong military? Yes, with a navy that has a significant ability to challenge our Pacific fleet. Space exploration? They are already there. Digital dominance? Well on their way, with the ability to monitor the thoughts, comments, and opinions of over one billion citizens.

But is their economy with which they seek to relegate the United States to a second-rate world power — with their knowledge that it was a bankrupt economy that ultimately dismantled the Soviet Union.

The latest insight into their strategy for unassailable global dominance comes from the sea and it has little to do with their new aircraft carrier or deep diving submarines. Rather, it has to do with fish.

The New York Times has published an exhaustive study of China’s fishing industry, describing it as “a global fishing operation unmatched by any other country.” The intensity, scope, and proximity of their fishing fleets to the waters off the Americas prompted the Times to observe, “The scale has raised alarms about the harm to the local economies and the environment, as well as the commercial sustainability of tuna, squid and other species.”

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/18952/europe-energy-victim

In this thesis [by Andrew Korybko, a ‘Moscow-based analyst’ financed by Russia’s autocratic government], which charges Europe with being the victim of an American plot, everything is false.

The truth is that Europe is a victim only of itself.

It was not the Americans who destroyed the German, French or Belgian nuclear capabilities.

It was not the Americans who banned the exploitation of shale gas in Europe.

The truth is that Europe has destroyed much of its ability to supply itself with natural gas.

Is it not high time for Europeans finally to face up to their responsibilities?

A common line of argument between Russian state propaganda and American conspiracy circles is proliferating these days, namely: the war in Ukraine was allegedly fomented by the Americans to destroy Europe.

For example, the American conspiracy website Revolver News easily refers to the geostrategic considerations of a leading expert on the war in Ukraine, Andrew Korybko. Incidentally, Korybko is also a ‘Moscow-based analyst’ financed by Russia’s autocratic government: a mere detail.

In this thesis, which charges Europe with being the victim of an American plot, everything is false. It is a childish and disempowering falsehood — which makes it attractive to unquestioning minds.

The truth is that Europe is a victim only of itself.

It was not the Americans who destroyed the German, French or Belgian nuclear capabilities.

It was not the Americans who banned the exploitation of shale gas in Europe. The founder and president of Center for Industrial Progress, Alex Epstein, explains:

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/18951/palestinians-iran-target-women-jews

This latest wave of terrorism is the direct result of the massive campaign of incitement against Israel and Jews by many Palestinians, including those belonging to the Palestinian Authority headed by President Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinians have already made it clear that their true goal is to replace Israel, not live alongside it. The plan is to replace Israel with a fundamentalist Islamist state, controlled by the mullahs in Iran, who have no compunctions about beating an Iranian woman to death for not covering her hair.

If Iran’s mullahs are committing such atrocities against their own people, it is not hard to imagine what they will do to their much-hated enemies… Iranian missiles, eventually with nuclear warheads, are clearly being developed not just for Israel.

Consider the “new Axis of Evil,” Russia and Iran, complete with Iranian drones now being used by Russia against Ukraine. Imagine if those drones were, instead, nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles from Iran — especially as Russia will reportedly be in charge of Iran’s “compliance” and “excess” enriched uranium. An Iran with nuclear weapons would doubtless be a most welcome addition to Russia’s proxy arsenal.

The Biden administration would be doing a great service to Jews and Arabs alike by calling out the Palestinians for their continued campaign of incitement to violence against Jews.

In the past few years, the Palestinians have made it a habit to step up their manufactured incitement against Israel and Jews on the eve of Jewish holidays. This year has not been an exception.

In the days preceding the Jewish New Year holiday, celebrated in mid-September, Palestinian leaders, spokesmen and factions went on a frenzied campaign of threats, lies and misinformation that triggered a wave of violence and terrorism against Jews.

https://asiatimes.com/2022/10/were-nord-stream-explosions-really-a-military-accident/

The Baltic Sea’s floor is littered with WWII-era munitions and weapons.

On September 27, two explosions severely damaged Russia’s Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm, setting off wild speculation about possible sabotage.

Another two breaks in the pipeline, a tad to the north in Sweden’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), were later identified but no explosions were reported.  According to news sources citing Danish officials, each explosion was equivalent to 500 kilograms of TNT, the size of very large anti-shipping mines.

Not only the US Navy (together with its NATO allies) but also the Russian Navy conduct naval exercises in the Baltic Sea and many believe either the Russians or Americans are clandestinely responsible for the two blasts. Predictably enough, the two sides have blamed each other in loud and emphatic terms – without corroborating or credible evidence.

Unmentioned amid the incendiary speculation is the explosive condition of the Baltic seabed, which is loaded with dumped artillery shells, chemical weapons including Tabun nerve gas and mines. Under an agreement reached at the Potsdam Conference in 1945, Britain and the Soviet Union dumped approximately 69,000 tons of Germany’s chemical weapons stockpile into the Baltic Sea in 1947-48.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/18950/russia-ally-nuclear-iran

As one of the signatories of the original Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the flawed nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration, Russia, as well as China, will ultimately have a say in any new agreement that emerges from the Vienna talks.

Rather than seeking to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Beijing and Moscow are more interested in forming an alliance with Iran to counter what they denounce as America’s unilateralism, and thwarting “draconian” US sanctions.

Given Moscow’s open hostility towards the West, it is abundantly clear that the Kremlin wants to exploit the weakness of the Biden administration to ensure the negotiations provide an even more unsatisfactory deal than the one signed off by Barack Obama in 2015, one that completely fails to address the very real threat Iran’s nuclear weapons will pose to the wider world.

From Moscow’s perspective, having a nuclear-armed Iran, one that is Russia’s ally, will greatly enhance its ability to challenge the West.

In return, Iran has formed a new “axis of evil” with Moscow, providing it with weaponry, such as sophisticated drones, to support its war effort in Ukraine, while at the time providing assistance to Tehran to evade the effects of Western sanctions.

While these two despotic regimes seem determined to forge an ever closer alliance, however, their objectives are completely at odds with the demands of their respective citizens, whose primary concern is securing their freedom, not supporting the military aspirations of the ruling elites.

There is growing concern in Washington that US President Joe Biden is preparing to sign a new deal with Tehran once the midterm elections have been concluded, and that his officials are prepared to sign a far weaker version of the deal than that originally agreed to in 2015.

That would be a grave miscalculation on the part of the Biden administration.

This should be the moment when the US and its allies are intensifying the pressure on both Iran and Moscow, not capitulating to their interests with a weak nuclear deal which will only encourage them to indulge in further acts of aggression against the West and its allies.

The nationwide anti-government protests sweeping Russia and Iran demonstrate that, despite the efforts of these two rogue regimes to increase the level of military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran, the overwhelming demand of the majority of ordinary Russians and Iranians is freedom from dictatorial rule.