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The Big Stiff: Russia-Iran Dump the Dollar and Bust US Sanctions
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The agreement between the Central Banks of Russia and Iran formally signed on 29 January connecting their interbank transfer systems is a game-changer in more ways than one.

Technically, from now on 52 Iranian banks already using SEPAM, Iran’s interbank telecom system, are connecting with 106 banks using SPFS, Russia’s equivalent to the western banking messaging system SWIFT.

Less than a week before the deal, State Duma Chairman Vyachslav Volodin was in Tehran overseeing the last-minute details, part of a meeting of the Russia-Iran Inter-Parliamentary Commission on Cooperation: he was adamant both nations should quickly increase trade in their own currencies.

Ruble-rial trade

Confirming that the share of ruble and rial in mutual settlements already exceeds 60 percent, Volodin ratified the success of “joint use of the Mir and Shetab national payment systems.” Not only does this bypass western sanctions, but it is able to “solve issues related to mutually beneficial cooperation, and increasing trade.”

It is quite possible that the ruble will eventually become the main currency in bilateral trade, according to Iran’s ambassador in Moscow, Kazem Jalali: “Now more than 40 percent of trade between our countries is in rubles.”

Jalali also confirmed, crucially, that Tehran is in favor of the ruble as the main currency in all regional integration mechanisms. He was referring particularly to the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), with which Iran is clinching a free trade deal.

The SEPAM-SPFS agreement starts with a pilot program supervised by Iran’s Shahr Bank and Russia’s VTB Bank. Other lenders will step in once the pilot program gets rid of any possible bugs.

The key advantage is that SEPAM and SPFS are immune to the US and western sanctions ruthlessly imposed on Tehran and Moscow. Once the full deal is up and running, all Iranian and Russian banks can be interconnected.

It is no wonder the Global South is paying very close attention. This is likely to become a landmark case in bypassing Belgium-based SWIFT – which is essentially controlled by Washington, and on a minor scale, the EU. The success of SEPAM-SPFS will certainly encourage other bilateral or even multilateral deals between states.

It’s all about the INSTC

The Central Banks of Iran and Russia are also working to establish a stable coin for foreign trade, replacing the US dollar, the ruble, and the rial. This would be a digital currency backed by gold, to be used mostly in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) of Astrakhan, in the Caspian Sea, already very busy moving plenty of Iranian cargo.

Astrakhan happens to be the key Russian hub of the International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC), a vast network of ship, rail, and road routes which will drastically increase trade from Russia – but also parts of Europe – across Iran to West Asia and South Asia, and vice-versa.

And that reflects the full geoconomic dimension of the SEPAM-SPFS deal. The Russian Central Bank moved early to set up SPFS in 2014, when Washington began threatening Moscow with expulsion from SWIFT. Merging it with the Iranian SEPAM opens up a whole new horizon, especially given Iran’s ratification as a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and now a leading candidate to join the extended BRICS+ club.

Already three months before the SEPAM-SPFS agreement, the Russian Trade Representative in Iran, Rustam Zhiganshin, was hinting that the decision “to create an analog of the SWIFT system” was a done deal.

Tehran had been preparing the infrastructure to join Russia’s Mir payment system since last summer. But after Moscow was hit with extremely harsh western sanctions and Russian banks were cut off from SWIFT, Tehran and Moscow decided, strategically, to focus on creating their own non-SWIFT for cross-border payments.

All that relates to the immensely strategic geoeconomic role of the INSTC, which is a much cheaper and faster trade corridor than the old Suez Canal route.

Russia is Iran’s largest foreign investor

Moreover, Russia has become Iran’s largest foreign investor, according to Iranian Deputy Finance Minister Ali Fekri: this includes “$2.7 billion worth of investment to two petroleum projects in Iran’s western province of Ilam in the past 15 months.” That’s about 45 percent of the total foreign investment in Iran over the October 2021 – January 2023 period.

Of course the whole process is in its initial stages – as Russia-Iran bilateral trade amounts to only US$3 billion annually. But a boom is inevitable, due to the accumulated effect of SEPAM-SPFS, INSTC, and EAEU interactions, and especially further moves to develop Iran’s energy capacity, logistics, and transport networks, via the INSTC.

Russian projects in Iran are multi-faceted: energy, railways, auto manufacturing, and agriculture. In parallel, Iran supplies Russia with food and automotive products.

Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, is fond of reminding anyone that Russia and Iran “play complementary roles in global energy and cargo transit.” The Iran-EAEU free agreement (FTA) is nearly finalized – including zero tariffs for over 7,500 commodities.

In 2022, the EAEU traded more than $800 billion worth of goods. Iran’s full access to the EAEU will be inestimable in terms of providing a market gateway to large swathes of Eurasia – and bypassing US sanctions as a sweet perk. A realistic projection is that Tehran can expect $15 billion annual trade with the five members of the EAEU in five years, as soon as Iran becomes the sixth member.

The legacy of Samarkand

Everything we are tracking now is in many ways a direct consequence of the SCO summit in Samarkand last September, when Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, in person, placed their bet on strengthening the multipolar world as Iran signed a memorandum to join the SCO.

Putin’s private talks with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Samarkand were all about deep strategy.

The INSTC is absolutely crucial in this overall equation. Both Russia and Iran are investing at least $25 billion to boost its capabilities.

Ships sailing the Don and Volga Rivers have always traded energy and agricultural commodities. Now Iran’s Maritime News Agency has confirmed that Russia will grant their ships the right of passage along the inland waterways on the Don and Volga.

Meanwhile, Iran is already established as the third largest importer of Russian grain. From now on, trade on turbines, polymers, medical supplies, and automotive parts will be on a roll.

ORDER IT NOW

Tehran and Moscow have signed a contract to build a large cargo vessel for Iran to be used at the Caspian port of Solyanka. And RZD logistics, a subsidiary of Russian railway RZD, operates container cargo trains regularly from Moscow to Iran. The Russian Journal for Economics predicts that just the freight traffic on INTSC could reach 25 million tons by 2030 – no less than a 20-fold increase compared to 2022.

Inside Iran, new terminals are nearly ready for cargo to be rolled off ships to railroads crisscrossing the country from the Caspian to the Persian Gulf. Sergey Katrin, head of Russia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is confident that once the FTA with the EAEU is on, bilateral trade can soon reach $40 billion a year.

Tehran’s plans are extremely ambitious, inserted in an “Eastern Axis” framework that privileges regional states Russia, China, India, and Central Asia.

Geostrategically and geoeconomically, that implies a seamless interconnection of INSTC, EAEU, SCO, and BRICS+. And all of this is coordinated by the one Quad that really matters: Russia, China, India, and Iran.

Of course there will be problems. The intractable Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict might be able to derail the INSTC: but note that Russia-Iran connections via the Caspian can easily bypass Baku if the need arises.

BRICS+ will cement the dollar’s descent

Apart from Russia and Iran, Russia and China have also been trying to interface their banking messaging systems for years now. The Chinese CBIBPS (Cross-Border Inter-Bank Payments System) is considered top class. The problem is that Washington has directly threatened to expel Chinese banks from SWIFT if they interconnect with Russian banks.

The success of SEPAM-SPFS may allow Beijing to go for broke – especially now, after the extremely harsh semiconductor war and the appalling balloon farce. In terms of sovereignty, it is clear that China will not accept US restrictions on how to move its own funds.

In parallel, the BRICS in 2023 will delve deeper into developing their mutual financial payments system and their own reserve currency. There are no less than 13 confirmed candidates eager to join BRICS+ – including Asian middle powers like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia.

All eyes will be on whether – and how – the $30 trillion-plus indebted US will threaten to expel BRICS+ from SWIFT.

It’s enlightening to remember that Russia’s debt to GDP ratio stands at only 17 percent. China’s is 77 percent. The current BRICS without Russia are at 78 percent. BRICS+ including Russia may average only 55 percent. Strong productivity ahead will come from a BRICS+ supported by a gold and/or commodities-backed currency and a different payment system that bypasses the US dollar. Strong productivity definitely will not come from the collective west whose economies are entering recessionary times.

Amid so many intertwined developments, and so many challenges, one thing is certain. The SEPAM-SPFS deal between Russia and Iran may be just the first sign of the tectonic plates movement in global banking and payment systems.

Welcome to one, two, one thousand payment messaging systems. And welcome to their unification in a global network. Of course that will take time. But this high-speed financial train has already left the station.

(Republished from The Cradle by permission of author or representative)
 
• Category: Economics, Foreign Policy • Tags: BRICs, China, Dollar, Gold, Iran, Russia, Swift 
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  1. Chris Moore says: • Website

    The ((financial oligarchy)) thought it had full spectrum dominance in the bag, and could print its way to ZOG heaven. Now it’s on the way to hell, and Moses-Christianity is going to seal its coffin and kick it to the Devil. And this will be good.

  2. Charles says:

    I am sure, since it is human nature, that Escobar has his own biases and sometimes falls prey to “wishful” thinking. He does however know his subject, and I appreciate Ron publishing Pepe’s columns. I pay no attention to US “mainstream news” media and very little to any other type; even sports have almost completely fallen off my radar.

    All of this leads to a funny(?) story – in the summer of 2021 I was with a group of friends and talk turned to the vax. I said I had not and would not get it. A friend who fully believes in it asked why not, and I said that no one who pays attention to what is known would get it under any circumstances. My friend asked, “What’s the source of your information?” and I said “Well, you got me there”. But
    events show that my sources were and are a whole lot more trustworthy than the MSM complex.

    • Agree: Ann Nonny Mouse
    • Replies: @Political Science 101
  3. Wihelm says:

    Kinda puts a whole new meaning to the old derogatory term “rug merchants” doesn’t it? And will the Israelis sit quietly by?

  4. Dr. Rock says:

    It’s really quite amazing-

    Super Orthodox Russia can get along with, trade with, partner with Super Muslim Iran, and there is no issue.

    But in the West, they try to tell us that “Iran hates us because of our freedom”, or other nonsense.

    I guess if you get the ZOG media out of the mix, vastly different religious nations can get along just fine

  5. Notsofast says:

    to me the most pleasant surprise of the russo-iranian dealings are the 24 advanced su-35’s that russia is scheduled to deliver to the iranians next month. this has the israelis scrambling to find a way to get the russians to scrub the deal. the israelis had found a work around on their supposed refusal to supply weapons to ukraine and when the russians found out they warned the israeli’s of the consequences. we’ll see if the deal goes through but with the help of the iranians supplying their drone technologies to russia, at this critical time, i can’t imagine putin backing out, unless he has something worked out with the iranians to squeeze concessions out of the israelis. the world may look very different next month, let us hope.

    • Replies: @Haxo Angmark
  6. Ron Unz says:

    That Gonzalo Lira fellow raised some interesting points yesterday about the economic implications of the US government “legalizing theft”:


    Video Link

    • Agree: Dr. Rock
    • Thanks: Rahan
  7. @Chris Moore

    Please be cautious in making wholesale statements.

    American economy is a giant balloon floating in world’s financial sky, which cannot be easily popped by a few bullet-holes.

    To deflate the highly-inflated American economy of over $19 trillion (involving Finance, Insurance, Real Estate and Military Arms), the Chinese and the Russian will need a Bazooka, which the Chinese or the Russian do not yet have.

    Chinese economy is dependent on exports to North America and Western Europe, which cannot be altered overnight by exporting to Africa, Asia, South America and Australia.

    Africa, Asia, South America and Australia do not have markets for the Chinese economy yet.

    American economy is too strong and too lucrative for the Chinese to abandon for their own financial well-being.

    • Replies: @showmethereal
  8. Charles says:
    @Ron Unz

    I believe it is more appropriate to say that the municipal, county, or state cops learned C.A. Forfeiture from the federal government, rather than implying as he did that the Feds learned it from local yokels.

  9. @Notsofast

    the Iranians are going to need a lot more than 24

    SU-35’s to deal with what Uncle Schmuel & Israhell

    are going to hurl at them by-and-by. And

    don’t be surprised if Babyface Tsar

    submits to Zionist blandishments and cancels out….

    he usually does.

  10. Dr. Rock says:
    @Ron Unz

    Yep, I watched this too, and he is 100% right.

    It just goes to show you how incrementalism just keeps moving the Overton window, to the point that we have lost so much Constitutional ground, that we barely even talk about the outrageous acts (crimes) our government commits every single day.

    Bottom line, we should have listened to Ron Paul, and did everything he said.

  11. John1955 says:

    Iran can teach Russia a thing or two about how to recover Russia’s $300B sanctioned (in plain English-shamelessly stolen ) assets.
    In the early 80’s I was very patriotic gung-ho GI but our reaction to these events was very similar:

    “DON’T TOUCH WHAT IS NOT YOURS, MF…rs !!!”
    “F..ng thieves, just like our local cops in Cook County… !!!”
    etc…

    In 1978 Iranians deposed their corrupt Shah…
    US stole their money (back then this theft was called “freezing Iranian avoirs”)…
    Iranians took hostages all employees of US embassy…
    President Carter tried to rescue hostages but the Operation “Eagle Claw” on Apr 25, 1980 was a total disaster…
    Eventually Warren Christopher negotiated return of “sanctioned” aka “frozen” aka “stolen” $25B – in gold & precious metals…
    $25B were returned…
    Hostages were freed after 444 days in captivity…

    VLAD !!! READ SOME CLAUSEWITZ !!! EVEN IF YOU DID – READ IT AGAIN !!!

    “Everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult.”
    Carl Clausewitz “On War”

    Also there was a series of articles in “Boston Globe” which compares “Civil Assets Forfeiture” by local law enforcement to “marauding” which, according to Uniform Code of Military Justice, is a very serious crime , punishable in wartime by death.

  12. Notsofast says:
    @Haxo Angmark

    babyfaced haxo, maybe when you grow up you’ll be able to appreciate the genius of vvp, and the iranians as well. the 24 su-35’s were slated to go to egypt, but the babyfaced hegemon stamped his petulant little foot and forced their vassals to buy their cool, retro, 70’s f-16’s at twice the price. well now those su-35’s are slated to go to iran, “surprise, surprise!”, as the marines like to say. as i had already stated, this may just be a deke, to force concessions out of the israelis, but either way this is just the start of a long and beautiful relationship. after the recent failed israeli drone attack on an iranian drone plant, the idiot ukranazis trolled iran on twitter, telling them that’s what you get for helping russia, after which the iranians summoned the ukranazis ambassador and informed him that they were reevaluating their position on the smo.

    the iranians help the russians with the drone technology that they pioneered and the russians help the iranians with their cutting edge antiballistic missile systems, it’s a match made in heaven. if these su-35’s go through, the iranians will have a 4.5 gen fighter that they will then license and co-develop, hell if they keep fucking around with erdogan, he may tell them to go fuck themselves on the f-16’s they sell him for $85 million and get a bogo on a real fighter @$42 million ea. and then there are the su-57’s…..

  13. Dr. Doom says:

    The petrodollar is the lynchpin that keeps the House of Kosher running.
    If countries abandon this worthless scrip, the whole game changes.

    All wars nowadays are BANKER WARS.
    Libya, Iraq, Syria, Iran, North Korea. They all opposed the petrodollar.

    Its not religion or “democracy”, its all about money and CONTROL.
    Qaddafi and Saddam were killed because they wanted Gold instead of monopoly money.

    Follow the Money. The whole fake Zionist House of Kosher NEEDS the petrodollar.
    The swamp REQUIRES the petrodollar to borrow the Trillions to feed this failed state.

    Its all about money to these fools. “Democracy” doesn’t enter into it at all.
    For Whites, focus on the target. Keep to your own and sabotage the enemy.

    Barter. Do not buy from Big Corporations. Do not support the enemy.
    Create a substitute economy of Whites Only Trade.

    Prepare for a Hot War to come.
    When the petrodollar dies, then the Shit Hits the Fan FOR REAL.

    • Agree: brostoevsky
    • Replies: @RoatanBill
  14. John1955 says:

    Another interesting fact from Iranian Hostage Crisis of 1979-81. I read about it in some newspaper and did not bother to clip this article, but it stuck in my memory.

    US Embassy in Teheran housed, as they usually do, big CIA station. During hostage-taking CIA shredded their sensitive documents describing in details all their spy networks, covert ops, money flows to the corrupt Rezah Pahlavi and his henchmen, and many other very criminal and very interesting things.

    Wily Iranians recovered bags of shredded paper from US embassy’s dumpster then tasked a team of Iranian women carpet-weavers to piece all those strips of paper back together.

    It took 2 years but illiterate Iranian women accomplished the task ! It is not hard to understand why JUDEA (or whatever form it assumes at any given moment) hates Iranian’s guts !

    • Replies: @Petermx
  15. Petermx says:
    @John1955

    Yes, the US obviously did not want it’s CIA presence in Iran discussed, especially considering the CIA overthrew the Iranian government in 1953 and installed the Shah. The so-called “hostages” were taken so the US could not interfere in the revolution and overthrow the Iranian government a second time.

    • Replies: @John1955
  16. @Haxo Angmark

    don’t be surprised if Babyface Tsar

    submits to Zionist blandishments and cancels out….

    You can call him Babyface Tsar but don’t call him the dwarf king or Zaches.

    I guess that really upsets his agents.

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/russian-censors-are-obsessing-over-depictions-of-putin-as-a-crab-serial-killer

    • Replies: @Wokechoke
  17. John1955 says:
    @Petermx

    Iranian Coup of 1953 is for me Ancient History, something to read about in dusty books 😁

    Meanwhile Iranian Hostage Crisis and Eagle Claw Op aka Biggest Military F…ck Up of the 20th Century was close and personal.Back then they even displayed on every TV channel the number of days hostages were kept in prison.

    Eureka !

    At last found WaPo 1982 article about restored CIA docs:

    “Iran Documents Give Rare Glimpse of a CIA Enterprise”

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1982/01/31/iran-documents-give-rare-glimpse-of-a-cia-enterprise/d929c0c8-5743-4bc2-8697-3390fe115e81/

  18. @Ron Unz

    Big earthquakes in Turkey and better yet Syria where USA is entrenched stealing oil in Northern Syria and DC has sanctions on Syria so medical aid can not enter ———-not only theft but enjoying Syrians’ misery –can not be any more sadistic or satanic.

    • Agree: showmethereal
  19. Wokechoke says:
    @John Johnson

    Iran mentions getting your full attention there schlomo?

  20. This article is largely focused on what’s happening in the east and does a good job of showing how they are aligning to strip the west of its sanctions power.

    Readers who don’t know of ISO20022 should seriously investigate what that will entail for the west and soon, as starting this March according to plan. SWIFT is being replumbed using blockchain technology, the only valuable part of the crypto scam. The CBDC every country wants to implement for their local version of feudalism 2.0 needs this plumbing.

  21. @Dr. Rock

    “I guess if you get the ZOG media out of the mix, vastly different religious nations can get along just fine”

    We must be fair. “My enemy’s enemy is my friend” might also have something to do with it.

    Those who do not hang together under attack from GAE will surely hang separately.

  22. @Chris Moore

    Your religious rantings prevent you from seeing that ZOG is in the process of implementing CBDC’s en masse and ushering in feudalism 2.0 . The backbone digital plumbing systems are being finalized right now.

    The world’s mafia gov’ts are all in on the centralized control using digital currencies, including Russia, China, etc. There is no christian savior in the east. The only difference is that for a time there may be two systems, east and west, but both want to enslave their societies using their control over what constitutes ‘money’ in the minds of the propagandized sheep. You can thank religion for mentally preparing people to submit to bullshit ‘authority’ instead of standing up for themselves.

  23. @Dr. Doom

    The petrodollar will die internationally as a reserve currency, but CBDC will force all USians to continue using it with no possibility to opt out. You are missing the bigger picture.

    All countries have fiat currencies instead of ‘money’. They all know the days of fiat are coming to an end and are instituting digital currency as a replacement for paper currency. All mafia gov’ts are in a rush to get their new slave control systems implemented in record time to guarantee that their populations have no option to resist.

    The Dollar will die internationally but something is still needed inside to transact internally and that will be the human control grid commonly referred to as CBDC. Instead of trying to take over countries and their resources, the US will shift to simply milking their tax cattle harder to give the oligarchs the life they’ve grown accustomed to. CBDC is feudalism 2.0 . By supporting the idiocy of gov’t by voting, this is the predictable result.

  24. @RoatanBill

    You are correct when you point out that all of the worlds governments at present are controlled by the same criminal gang. That includes Russia, China and Iran, not to mention Assad in Syria.

    Many who consider themselves to be sophisticated thinkers still actually believe there is a real conflict between these countries. Not at present only Kabuki Theater.

    But their hold is tenuous. They stay in power mainly by murdering those who are willing to lead their fellow citizens against them.
    Look to Peru and Sudan as examples of real resistance movements that aren’t going away. These have in common that they have many local leaders or no leaders at all. Palestine is another example.

    • Agree: RoatanBill
  25. @RoatanBill

    Regarding CBDCs take a look at what is happening right now in Nigeria.
    Very few people on the planet are aware but Nigeria is attempting to do way with its present currency.

    It’s not going very smoothly.

    https://allafrica.com/view/group/main/main/id/00084802.html

    The criminal gang or ZOG as you call them are experimenting with CBDCs in Third World countries now so as to perfect their implementation in 1st World countries.
    My bet is that CBCDs are not going to work. They go against human nature and therefore are doomed to fail.

    • Replies: @RoatanBill
  26. Realist says:
    @RoatanBill

    You can thank religion for mentally preparing people to submit to bullshit ‘authority’ instead of standing up for themselves.

    Amen…LOL

  27. Realist says:
    @RoatanBill

    All countries have fiat currencies instead of ‘money’. They all know the days of fiat are coming to an end and are instituting digital currency as a replacement for paper currency.

    But digital currencies will also be fiat.

    • Replies: @RoatanBill
  28. @2stateshmoostate

    There’s a huge difference between swapping one set of colored pieces of paper for a different set. This sounds more like a logistics problem. I recently was made aware that Bitcoin made a huge impact in Nigeria because the paper swap was so botched that people resorted to crypto.

    When the colored paper gets swapped for the digital units on a hardware or software wallet, that will be the real test but people in test cases already readily accept the convenience of the tech, so I doubt there will be much resistance to the rollout. That the CBDC’s will fail is a given since it does nothing to address the profligacy that causes currency debasement, all of which is caused by the fiat nature of the currencies and the desire for the banks and gov’t to cheat their citizenry. The CBDC will embolden the true criminals in every society, the finance sectors and the gov’t, to double down on digital printing from thin air because the peons will be trapped in the various use it or lose it schemes that have already been discussed by the central banks.

    CBDC is an attempt at a Lazarus act on fiat currency. By forcing the population to only use digital that the oligarchy can control, they can extend the life of the fiat scam. However, I think the controllers over estimate how long they can drag the inevitable death of fiat out. My bet is that once digized, it will be pedal to the metal for every asinine project imaginable and hyperinflation will be realized in short order. Only those countries prepared to implement a gold standard to limit the currency (digits) to money (gold) ratio will have a chance at maintaining their national currencies for any appreciable length of time.

    Further, I bet that Russia and China will use their considerable gold holding to help bury the Dollar by announcing that their gold backed international payments project is live and almost instantly, the dollar takes a hit. Why would someone accept depreciating pieces of US gov’t paper when another party is offering gold in international trade instead?

    • Agree: GomezAdddams
  29. Kim Jong Il says: • Website
    @Chris Moore

    “Religion is the dream of the human mind. But even in dreams we do not find ourselves in emptiness or in heaven, but on earth, in the realm of reality; we only see real things in the entrancing splendor of imagination and caprice, instead of in the simple daylight of reality and necessity.”

    Ludwig Feuerbach, Essence of Christianity.

  30. @Realist

    Absolutely, and is why the entire CBDC push is just a scheme to extend the life of fiat by using force. The force being that no other option exists for the voters that did their job of helping gov’t cheat them in a new and innovative way.

    You can’t fix stupid.
    Ron White.

    CBDC will fail eventually, but eventually inside a given country could take quite a while. Fiat is going to die internationally probably as soon as Russia/China have their gold for trade settlement operational; within months probably.

    • Replies: @Realist
    , @H. L. M
  31. Folkvangr says:

    Something tells me that once this Goblin-in-Chief is lured out of the Kremlin and whisked away to an “undisclosed location” on a distant island patrolled by the Theodore Roosevelt and Nimitz Carrier Strike Groups, we will sit back, take a deep breath, and carry on with business as usual.

    • Troll: YetAnotherAnon
  32. Realist says:
    @RoatanBill

    I agree, but I am out of buttons. Thanks

    But as we have both said, CBDC gives complete government control over the populace.

    • Replies: @Bro43rd
  33. @RoatanBill

    Your elaboration on why the CBDCs will fail is 100 % correct.

    It boils down to something for nothing. Now those who get something for nothing are going to be happy. Those who give something for nothing are going to be sad. And there’s the rub.

    One thing that needs to be taken into account is the sentiment of the people towards their “leaders”. Presently in the US most schmucks, still believe their government really means well, even if they slaughter lots of innocents accidently. This is going to change

    If and when it becomes widely known who is really behind the CBDC scam the mistrust in CBDCs and governments that promote them will accelerate. I think it’s going to be very difficult to keep that secret forever, especially when people belly’s go empty. Well see.

    • Replies: @RoatanBill
  34. H. L. M says:
    @RoatanBill

    Will drug cartels (and CIA) use CBDC?

    • Replies: @RoatanBill
  35. @2stateshmoostate

    Gold and silver are going to get a reevaluation in the near future. If the east starts using gold to settle international trade flows, then by definition, gold gets equated to a certain amount of net product between two parties. That product also has a value in Euros and Dollars and it doesn’t take a genius to make the connection between gold and every fiat currency on the planet using commodity prices as the equal sign.

    What I fear is that the US oligarchy will go violent as has been their go to strategy for the last 50 years in their dealings with other peoples. The sociopaths are determined to strip mine the last vestiges of wealth out of the US and Europe via the CBDC and as things get ever worse, martial law and other tyrannies will probably eventuate. The ghetto dwellers will feel the effects of a lowering standard of living first and will supply their predictable reaction. The gov’t will use them as the excuse to clamp down whole regions.

  36. @H. L. M

    The spook agencies have been less and less inclined to hide their activities in recent years. The need for the drug funds to destabilize regimes has now been lessened because they now brag about only needing 5 Billion to start the Ukraine situation and that came directly out of State Dept coffers.

    I think there’s actual truth in part of the gov’t reasoning for wanting CBDC as relates to non governmental criminal activity. Once there’s no paper currency and every pack of gum purchase can be traced, the non gov’t sponsored illicit drug business has a serious problem. Hiding currency flows becomes impossible. With pot being legalized, other drugs could follow and the money involved would just go through gov’t dispensaries much like liquor sales in some states go through a gov’t aligned liquor store. I don’t think it’s too far fetched to imagine an admission that the war on drugs has been a failure and that, due to compassion, drug use becomes a medical scam instead for which Pfizer might just happen to have some potion already available.

  37. gatopreto says:

    Dear Ron. I resent and am disappointed by your comment “That fellow Gonzalo Lira”. It is prejudiced. Gonzalo, if somewhat folkloric, is a competent commentator and deserves better adjetivation

    • Replies: @Ron Unz
    , @Notsofast
  38. Ron Unz says:
    @gatopreto

    Dear Ron. I resent and am disappointed by your comment “That fellow Gonzalo Lira”. It is prejudiced. Gonzalo, if somewhat folkloric, is a competent commentator and deserves better adjetivation

    My phrasing wasn’t intended to be derogatory. It’s just that I don’t know anything about him except that he’s a podcaster originally from Latin America who’s been living in Ukraine for some years.

  39. Rubicon says:

    We are missing the point. As the HONEST economist, Dr. Michael Hudson just pointed out (Unz -3 days ago), the US is waging A Financial War against non-western nations.

    In blunt terms, Pepe is pointing out little details about what Russia/China are doing. Those are mere antics being played.

    Unless, or until Russia/China & all Non-western nations create a unified Central Bank, to systematize aiding those nations with debt and money to help them produce, then those nations are only at Stage 1 in freeing themselves from the US Financial $$.

    That’s the long and short of it all!

  40. Notsofast says:
    @RoatanBill

    digital currencies are no different than other fiat currencies and are currently backed by faith alone (like religion). fiat currencies are means of transaction, not a store of wealth and are necessary, unless you want to barter. not all fiat currencies are created equal, the dollar is a ponzi currency, back by nothing but mountains of debt and threats of violence. the ruble on the other hand, is backed by a sane government, that is fiscally responsible, has a debt to gdp ratio of 17%, could pay it’s entire national debt with it’s gold holdings and foreign reserves, balances it’s budget on a flat 10% income tax. what’s not to like? i honestly feel that putin went out of his way to play by all their rules (which of course they don’t), at first to try to be accepted but then to serve as an example of a functional government, so the west couldn’t say everybody runs their government like a ponzi scheme (after forcing half the world into their ponzi scheme).

    if the russians back their currency with gold, they will be economically bullet proof. russia spans 11 time zones and has the majority of the worlds natural resources that have yet to be tapped. they don’t have to run a ponzi scheme and have been preparing for years to disengage from the western ponzinomics and are now about to completely eliminate the dollar and the euro by next year.

    when the brics nations release their joint basket of currencies, it will be backstopped by the ruble and russias almost limitless gold reserves, the other currencies can float in value, free from the predator western central banking system. i’m about to turn 62 and am seriously contemplating taking my s.s. early and just putting it into silver every month as i don’t need it for my household expenses. if i wait until 67 it will take me to 75 to just break even, might as well spend (invest) the money while it still worth something.

    bill, we agree on most subjects but on vvp we will have to disagree, i have studied this mans actions (karma to the hindu folk) for twenty years, almost every decision he has made, i would have made myself, i cannot think of one other world leader that i would say that about. if he wanted to be the richest man in the world, he could have easily been just that, if he had wanted to sell russia down the river. think of where russia was 23 years ago and the transformation of this proud nation that had been slated for demolition and salvage, this gives me hope (perhaps false) for the future.

    • Replies: @RoatanBill
  41. @Notsofast

    That Putin is head and shoulders above the western counterparts is undeniable. However, killing large numbers of people in a botched adventure should have consequences. I would hang him and the rest of this gang right after hanging Zelenskyy and the entire Ukraine mafia.

    All murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.
    Voltaire

    • Replies: @Bro43rd
    , @Notsofast
  42. Notsofast says:
    @gatopreto

    i do not trust gonzo, just a gut feeling. all his red pill, red hat, schtick, he looks like a muppet, with his hands worked by a second puppeteer. i never really learned anything from his videos that i did not already know. he was supposedly kidnapped, by the ukranazis for two weeks, then magically reappears to continue his freedom fighting, yeah right, if he was real, he would have ended up naked, face down in a ditch, with 15 rounds in the back of his head.

    • Replies: @Rubicon
  43. Bro43rd says:
    @Realist

    The black market will grow exponentially. New “currency” will form organically.

    Cbdc will fail unless it’s convertible into something of real value, like gold/silver, oil/commodities. Like RB said, it’s just ‘kicking the can’ as it’s currently designed.

    • Replies: @Realist
  44. Bro43rd says:
    @RoatanBill

    Putin should have his day in court though. Since we don’t know both sides there is a possibility that Russia has acted in defence.

    • Replies: @John Johnson
    , @RoatanBill
  45. SafeNow says:
    @Ron Unz

    I watched the video; thanks, Ron. He uses the playful phrase “The U.S.’s naughty list.” (USNL) His outer boundary of USNL = a foreign country. For example, Mr. Wang is a citizen of China; China is on the USNL; and so Mr. Wang‘s assets in the US might be stolen, Mr. Wang worries.

    He does not extrapolate, but I will. My extrapolation is that US citizens might some day soon find themselves on an expanded USNL. Under the guise of expanded war powers, Merrick Garland steals the assets of, say, Tucker Carlson, because those assets impair the national security of the United States. This in turn serves as a message to all of us to shut the heck up.

  46. Realist says:
    @Bro43rd

    Cbdc will fail unless it’s convertible into something of real value, like gold/silver, oil/commodities.

    But that could well take a long time, as is the case with the current paper currency, which is backed by nothing of value.

  47. Notsofast says:
    @RoatanBill

    disagree with your botched operation comment. the botched operation is the coup in 2014, i know you and 99% of the other commenters will disagree with me but i truly believe that putin lured these mass murders into a trap that will bring down their entire empire. like a boa constrictor the russians have wrapped their coils around the beast and will slowly crush the life out of them. yes, unfortunately many innocent ukrainian conscripts will be senselessly slaughtered but their blood is on the hands on the zionazi neocons that planned all of this since the pnac confessional of the late 90’s in which they clearly announced their intent. 25 million russians gave their lives to stop the third reich, the ukranazis decided to follow stephan bandera and his neocon spawn straight into the heart of hell, i feel zero compassion or pity for them, the conscripts forced into the ruissian meat grinder with a ukranazi gun in their back, for them and their families, i feel infinite compassion and empathy but what the hell are the russians supposed to do, let nato ring them with bases and bioweapon labs (30+ in ukraine alone), at some point bill, you have to fight back, you speak of keeping the peace, with your own piece, does that make you a murderer? well putin’s piece is a hypersonic missile, because he’s working at a scale you and i can’t even begin to understand, if he can upend this vicious hegemon, with less civilian causalities than ww2, imo the world owes him an enormous bill of thanks.

    • Replies: @RoatanBill
  48. @Notsofast

    If the entire political and military population of Ukraine and the entire political and military population of Russia killed each other, I would celebrate that the world has lost a huge amount of mental primitives that think it’s OK to involve innocent 3rd parties in their mafia disputes. I don’t care about those that kill the civilians. That both Russia and Ukraine enslaved conscripts and or former military alone is sufficient to hang their leadership since no one has the right to enslave anyone.

    Before the invasion, a reported 14,000 civilians were killed by Ukraine gov’t agents. I agree that needed to be stopped. The proper method would have been to take out the Ukraine political class and neuter their military on all their bases. Putin’s partial raison d’etre was ostensibly to keep NATO away from Russia’s border. He has now extended Russia’s border closer to existing NATO countries and if reports are to be believed, he will push down to Odessa and share a border with Romania. If he takes all of Ukraine territory, which is the only logical thing he can do IMO, then he will be directly on various NATO borders. Therefore his stated reasoning is bullshit and to be expected from a politician. I also think his humanitarian reasons given for ‘helping’ the folks in the Donbas rings hollow since he has now annexed that territory and knew that would be the logical outcome given the ethnic characteristics of the inhabitants. I think he lied his way into the war for territorial gain like any good warlord would do.

    This botched war has caused and will continue to cause millions of refugees, untold thousands of civilians dead or wounded, immense property, economic and environmental devastation and could escalate into a new world war if that hasn’t already started. I cannot forgive this amount of damage and by condoning such action it help guarantee a repeat in future.

    If you and your family were in the line of fire and the war killed, injured and destroyed parts of your family, would you be so quick to defend the slaughter and shake the hand of the man that precipitated your involvement as collateral damage?

    • Replies: @Notsofast
    , @Lemmy Tellyuh
  49. Notsofast says:
    @RoatanBill

    you can’t neuter their military on all their bases, when they have 800+ bases around the world. please realize that this is not a war between russia and ukraine, this is a war between nato and russia, this is why putin makes a better leader than either you or me. if it was up to me, i’d fry the motherfuckers to beyond extra crispy, so it’s a damn good thing that it’s not up to me and imo it’s a doubledamn good thing that it’s not up to you.

    • Replies: @RoatanBill
    , @PUTINFAN
  50. Rubicon says:
    @Notsofast

    Having repeatedly watched Mr. Lira’s videos and what he’s written, it appears he does not understand the US Financial System. If we can’t even start studying that aspect of this “economic war” the US is waging, then no one; not Mr. Escober, nor Mr. Lira nor anyone else should be talking out of the wrong side of their mouth.

  51. @Notsofast

    If putin would have taken out the Ukraine bases that he has full knowledge of, the war would have been largely over before NATO or anyone else could have reacted. Since his stupid move, the entire thing has escalated to what exists today.

    Conflating US & NATO bases to bolster your argument is a cheap shot and desperate.

    You never answered the question I posed in my last sentence. Care to take that on?

    • Replies: @Notsofast
    , @John Johnson
  52. Lights were burning late in Germany after the story by Seymour Hersh on who blew Germanys pipes.

    A large crowd gathered outside the U.S embassy next day… was this the German outrage? No all those late night hours were spent by Germans sewing white flags now fluttering outside the embassy.

    At the same time the announcement of German man of the year was again held over because of no candidates.

  53. Notsofast says:
    @RoatanBill

    nato is the u.s., wake up, i answered your question in the last line of my comment 48. putin didn’t start this war, but he will finish it, the zioneocons must be taken down at all cost. the hubris of the zioneocons will be punished, mark my words.

    • Replies: @RoatanBill
  54. @Notsofast

    Here’s my last sentence.

    If you and your family were in the line of fire and the war killed, injured and destroyed parts of your family, would you be so quick to defend the slaughter and shake the hand of the man that precipitated your involvement as collateral damage?

    Can you answer it honestly and still think Putin is a good guy?

    Still conflating NATO, the US and Ukraine’s military as though that’s what Putin was opposing on day one is dishonest.

    • Replies: @Notsofast
    , @GomezAdddams
  55. @Bro43rd

    Putin should have his day in court though. Since we don’t know both sides there is a possibility that Russia has acted in defence.

    How would you describe attacking Kiev with Iranian droves as defensive? You do realize he has been openly attacking civilian areas?

    Burying children in rubble is all part of some defensive cause?

  56. @RoatanBill

    If putin would have taken out the Ukraine bases that he has full knowledge of, the war would have been largely over before NATO or anyone else could have reacted.

    Do explain how that would happened when there were over 20k anti-tank and anti-air missiles in individual hands.

    Over 200k AK-47s where handed out as well along with thousands of grenades. Women and students made thousands of molotov cocktails. They even had their own unique recipe.

    Explain how Kiev would not have become some nightmare partisan warground where NLAWs pop out of every window. Putin’s 40 mile column of armor and supply trucks kept stalling because partisans in the woods would take out tanks and the disappear into the woods.

    Putin made the mistake of thinking this would be like Poland 1939. He didn’t bother reading about how deadly these personal anti-tank weapons have become.

    If the Poles had armed the citizens it would have been a nightmare for the Germans. In the Warsaw uprising most of their guns were stolen.

    You can’t just roll in tanks and raise flags when the citizens hate you and are armed to the teeth.

  57. Notsofast says:
    @RoatanBill

    i answered your question in my last comment and if you can’t understand that the u.s., nato, and their ukranazis are all one entity, then i’m afraid i can’t help you.

    • Replies: @RoatanBill
  58. @Notsofast

    Here’s my last sentence.

    If you and your family were in the line of fire and the war killed, injured and destroyed parts of your family, would you be so quick to defend the slaughter and shake the hand of the man that precipitated your involvement as collateral damage?

    Can you highlight for me where you answered this. I’d appreciate it.

    • Replies: @Notsofast
  59. @RoatanBill

    Obama is the good guy in Syria–

  60. @Dr. Rock

    What freedom? America is almost as much a theocracy as Iran. We don’t execute anyone for heresy — yet.

    • Replies: @RestiveUs
  61. RestiveUs says:
    @Fidelios Automata

    Questioning the “holocaust” will be the first premise for that.

  62. @Bro43rd

    I don’t care if Russia acted in defense if that defense includes devastating innocent 3rd parties, namely the Ukraine civilians that have been forced to flee and have had their lives turned upside down because two mafia thugs decided to roll over them. If the Ukraine and Russian political class and military want to annihilate each other, I say go for it and good riddance, down to the last POS involved.

    I don’t understand why gov’ts are given a pass when they kill thousands to millions in their squabbles with their mafia neighbors. All the warring parties are guilty of murder since their actions are premeditated. Using terms like ‘collateral damage’ to describe the consequences should not excuse those actions for anyone with any ethics or morals.

    Today, technology can practically put a missile through a donut hole. Taking out the Ukraine political class should have been the first shot fired by the Russians, thus taking out their ‘leadership’. Next should have been their military bases aimed at killing as many grunts as possible, and then all transportation links. Live by the sword, die by the sword.

    The Iraq war showed conclusively that a massive first strike can rapidly terminate hostilities. That the US went on to kill civilians directly and indirectly by targeting hospitals, water facilities, etc only shows the US’s contempt for human life, not their respect for human rights.

  63. @Notsofast

    I knew you couldn’t answer my question without it destroying your illogical position. You should have realized early on via the Voltaire quote that your position was untenable and yet you persisted in advancing your narrative of the greatness of a thug.

    My audacity for forcing this realization eventually produced a more and more testy exchange on your part because I punctured your bubble. You should have quit when you realized there was no way out.

    • Replies: @Notsofast
  64. Bro43rd says:
    @RoatanBill

    I didn’t infer any guilt/innocence either way. Merely stated that defendants deserve their day in court to plead their case. There’s often mitigating circumstances that are not known. A rush judgment does no one any good, especially when considering capital punishment cannot be undone. You’re not paying attention if you think I’m a government apologist. We disagree on much but not a smidgen of difference on that regard.

  65. anon[331] • Disclaimer says:

    Is Putin a good guy ?
    Why did Putin strike when it was ( Russia ) was not attacked.
    Why did not Putin sit dwon with Zelensky ?
    Why didnot he approach UN ?

    Lots of dewey -eyed liberals and lots of war mongering Conservatives and apologists for the US have been asking those questions.
    Who gives F * to what their raw sore keisters ( done by the same US ) say or desire ( more )?

    WhatLibya, Iran Iraq,Syria, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan cant do is being done by somebody slowly and inexorably.
    Sad part is that those orchestrating the 7 nations ‘s slaughters before another ‘ power comes ‘ will leave and find sanctuary in another land hoping to recreate the same life styles . Its the sheeple ,docile,conditioned, marianted in faith in US exceptionalism and total trust in American’s unique extraordinary pure 10 quadrple stranded heavenly DNA ,will pay . They are already paying .

  66. Notsofast says:
    @RoatanBill

    no, not at all, i just got tired of your meaningless strawman of an argument that you used to deflect the conversation, from your indefensible contention that there is a difference between u.s., nato and the ukranazis they spawned. i didn’t realize you were a pacifist, which is strange for an anarchist that has advocated for vigilante justice, how do you rectify these seemly contradictory positions?

    would you like to see the u.s. hegemon continues it’s murderous, larcenous, rampage on the whole of the planet? if not how do you propose to stop it? you seem to be adopting p.c.r.’s position that putin should have shock and awed the ukranasties last february. i disagree totally and that position which ignores the true world war, which is an economic war (the only kind there is) and i will repeat myself for the umteenth time, putin and xi have lured the totally moronic western “leaders” into an economic trap from which they will be unable to extract themselves.

    we both agree the current western governments are criminal organizations, with no hope for political or economic reform. the difference in our positions, is that i hold hope for the russian people, who have experienced first hand, the financial rape and ruin these zioneocon demons inflicted on the country in the 90’s. these people are fully behind putin and imo rightfully so, because they have seen first hand the transformation that his sane policies have produced in less than a quarter century. until proven otherwise vvp, receives my highest personal rating as a world leader. if it wasn’t for putin, i’d be as cynical as you bill.

    • Replies: @RoatanBill
    , @Notsofast
  67. @Notsofast

    If you and your family were in the line of fire and the war killed, injured and destroyed parts of your family, would you be so quick to defend the slaughter and shake the hand of the man that precipitated your involvement as collateral damage?

    A simple question that you appear unwilling to answer. Answering yes means you don’t care much for your family members. Answering it no and that would negate your Putin support.

    • Replies: @Anon
    , @Notsofast
  68. Notsofast says:
    @Notsofast

    is that all you got….would you like some fire scarecrow?

  69. Notsofast says:
    @RoatanBill

    …..put a missile through a donut hole….you probably think i’m going to razz you on the freudian implications of this statement but no, i realize the abuse that will be hurled at me as a jew lover, if i were to point this out.

    “the iraq war showed conclusively that a massive first strike can rapidly terminate hostilities”, lmmfao, jebus mumpy fupping cripes, you’re just trolling us now bill. hilarious, keep the comedy coming, i’m lovin it.

    mission accomplished….lol

  70. Folkvangr says:
    @Notsofast

    I am just wondering, it’s about your Handle, is it an official medical diagnosis or are you asking me to be sensitive to your limited mental capacity?

    • Replies: @Notsofast
  71. @Dr. Rock

    Yeah pretty peculiar isn’t it. And they both get along well with China. The reasons are simple. When countries actually respect the others way of life and don’t seek to impose their own way of life on the other – there are always many ways to find common ground.

    • Replies: @Folkvangr
  72. @Face_The_Truth

    1) ASEAN is China’s largest trade partner… Then the EU then the US. RCEP (of which ASEAN is a part of) is by far China’s largest export and trade market. Not even close.

    2) Of major economies – only the US and Japan rely LESS on exports than China. US is about 11% and Japan 18% and China is 20%. Iran is about 22% and Russia is 30%. If you check Europe – the US biggest “ally” you will be shocked. See the US led World Bank numbers.

    https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NE.EXP.GNFS.ZS?most_recent_value_desc=false

  73. @RoatanBill

    Russia just announced not only the dollar but now also the euro will be completely removed from their national wealth fund. They are increasing gold and yuan.

    • Replies: @RoatanBill
    , @Notsofast
  74. Anon[113] • Disclaimer says:
    @RoatanBill

    Given the doctrine of Bush – AUMF , accepted and extended by Obama ,Trump and now Biden and given the fact rat Bush was reelected by Americans ,despite AUMF and other bizarre rationales , America has no right to question Russia and has no legal authority to question even if Russia decides to extend its wars to US covertly or overtly .
    America would and could have regained that moral and legal high ground if it reneged itself , disavowed itself , incriminated itself openly after public knowledge about WMD and other accusation against Iraq became widespread and turned out to be brazen manipulation .
    Instead it went on attacking other countries for ‘ offering allegiance to Al Quoada “

    US has done more than offering allegiance to Ukraine .

    USaa bombed Laos and Cambodia for offering sanctuaries to N Vietnamese . America offers Uki trainings and protection and money and international visibility and tanks .

    America has no leg to stand on even if it gets attacked by Russia .

    • Replies: @RoatanBill
  75. @showmethereal

    Russia & China dumping Dollars is to be expected but is the least of the US’s worries. Research Sergey Glazyev and what he’s about concerning Russia’s intentions going forward. He’s been charged with implementing a new currency for international exchange involving Russia and its trading partners in the SCO that includes China and most of Asia along with the expanding BRICS.

    I suggest reading what Alasdair Macleod has to say @ https://www.goldmoney.com/research. He’s the best analyst I’ve found concerning where the world is likely headed.

  76. @Anon

    I agree. The US is a cancer upon the world and has been at least since Vietnam.

    • Agree: Notsofast
    • Replies: @Notsofast
  77. Notsofast says:
    @RoatanBill

    hey bill, response #70 was meant for you, well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement i’ve kinda lost count myself, but……

  78. Notsofast says:
    @RoatanBill

    and good doctor, what is your suggestion, as to how to deal with this inoperable cancer?

  79. Notsofast says:
    @showmethereal

    ….the least of the u.s. worries…..lol. something tells me, bill still has u.s. denominated investments, wishful thinking on his part.

  80. Notsofast says:
    @Folkvangr

    alright douchebag, (my new go to term in dealing with asshole trolls), my nom de plume is in reference to dealing with disinformational trolls like you, and i have, just today, decided, to troll you stupid motherfuckers as much as possible. expect me to reveal the full extent of my skills (which will leave you wishing that you had never poked this bear with your pointy nato stick), from this day on, i will eviscerate you and all your stupid troll buddies and wear your entrails as garlands. you will receive the full meme jojohnson treatment. this is war you stupid troll.

  81. Notsofast says:
    @Notsofast

    sorry, slight correction, the last line should have read: “this is war you stupid fucking troll”, my deepest apologies for any misunderstanding.
    love, notsofast

  82. @RoatanBill

    You can thank religion for mentally preparing people to submit to bullshit ‘authority’ instead of standing up for themselves.

    Yes, Churchianity! Oh churchianity, with its worship of the ‘chosen’. I left churchianity, and was the greatest thing i ever did, so far., (right bellow, getting to know Christ personally, not through a “pastor”).

    Please! flee from churchianity, it will destroy your moral soul. Fortunally, Christ is not in churchianity, and I totally devoted my life to Him now, that churchianity is out the door.

    Any way, yes, with its obsession on worshiping the chosen, churchianity has become a shell surviving in their begging for your ‘tithe’ or give me your money scheme. I now spend that money, in other things that my family need, instead of embezzle it to the preaching thieves.

    Also, remember this: Revelation 13:17
    Thus no one was allowed to buy or sell things unless he bore the mark of the beast–that is, his name or his number. …

    So, digital currency sounds like part of that, does it not?

    the word “jew’, obviously was created in order to fools you and me, back in the 1800s. translated from ioudanous, or from the province of Judeah, where idumeans, greeks, romans, etc were the inhabitants, of that place. Now you know!

    And yes, churchianity is part of the evil system, which slaves its adherents.

  83. Folkvangr says:
    @Notsofast

    i will eviscerate you and all your stupid troll buddies and wear your entrails as garlands.

    Or make Christmas decorations. I have more creative ideas. Let me know if you are interested.

    • Replies: @Notsofast
  84. @Haxo Angmark

    Hackhole Analmark is going to need a lot

    more than 24 peggings by Vlad to wipe the

    smile off his babyface, splooged as it is by Bibi.

    Uncle Schmuel & Israhell are faggotso bros.

    Haxo, meanwhile, makes wimmin hurl by-and-by-and-bi.

    Don’t be surprised if he’s Pedo Mag’s Gacy of the Year.

    Analmark submits to bland Ziocatamite blandishments.

    His can cancels all Western morality.

    • LOL: Notsofast
  85. @RoatanBill

    If the entire political and military population of Ukraine and the entire political and military population of Russia killed each other, I would celebrate

    They’d prolly celebrate your demise, too.

    Your point?

    both Russia and Ukraine enslaved conscripts…no one has the right to enslave anyone.

    Nonsense. Living in a society means you agree to defend it against enemies. Drafts happen in most countries at war.

    14,000 civilians were killed by Ukraine…The proper method would have been to take out the Ukraine political class and neuter their military

    Couldn’t be done at the time. Russia had to create processes to deal with Western sanctions.

    Putin’s partial raison d’etre was ostensibly to keep NATO away from Russia’s border.

    Yup.

    He has now extended Russia’s border closer to existing NATO countries

    He’s creating the buffer zone he’d repeatedly and politely asked for.

    he will push down to Odessa

    Yes. To landlock Zelenskystan.

    If he takes all of Ukraine territory

    He won’t. It was never Russia’s intent to. Putin just wants Uklraine to be neutral. Like JFK wanted Cuba per missiles.

    his stated reasoning is bullshit

    More likely, yours is.

    he has now annexed that territory

    After a plebescite.

    I think he lied his way into the war for territorial gain

    You also think Bigfoot, the Easter Bunny, and the Loch Ness Monster are real, too. So?

    This botched war

    Botched by Nuland, Merkel, and other Ziocon merdepates. Russia is winning it.

    millions of refugees, untold thousands of civilians dead or wounded, immense property, economic and environmental devastation

    Yup. All of which could have been avoided if the West had heeded any one of the scores of Russian peace offers.

    I cannot forgive this amount of damage

    Who cares? Who died and made you Pope?

    Krikee. You sound like Juden (who never know why they get expelled) and dindus (who blindly bring on their own demises).

    If you and your family were in the line of fire and the war killed, injured and destroyed parts of your family

    War is heck. Yes. So did you and they support Zelensky? Nuland? Other war-mongers?

    Reap -> sow.

    Yumpin’ yimminy! You sound like Jews yammering about “healing the world” while doing unto Palestinians what WWII Germans did to Matzonians.

    • Replies: @Notsofast
  86. @Folkvangr

    Panama, and Russia, two different countries, don’t confuse the two. Noriega way different than Mr. Putin. May be the powers that be also are in confusion, thinking as you do.

  87. Notsofast says:
    @Folkvangr

    i don’t do christmas, but yeah keep the ideas coming, i was thinking something more like this:

    https://www.vcm.org.in/blog/appearance-of-lord-narasimha/

    • Replies: @Folkvangr
  88. Folkvangr says:
    @Notsofast

    Here you go, kiddo. If it’s TOO FAST for ya, you know how to adjust the video speed, don’t ya?

    That should keep you busy for a while :

    https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Notsofast&docid=608026267158406570&mid=FC6BF769DFD8F03E9F7AFC6BF769DFD8F03E9F7A&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

  89. Notsofast says:

    i kinda like the powerpuff girls beating the shit out of meme mojojojo, but i still prefer my version, more relevant to today’s world.

  90. Notsofast says:
    @Lemmy Tellyuh

    bill doesn’t support anyone, as he is a self described anarchist, he just likes to complain but never offers solutions. nice job on the babyfaced troll btw.

  91. PUTINFAN says:
    @Notsofast

    This is just the reaction that trolls want, they love this. The debate for me here was an LOL or Reply.

  92. PUTINFAN says:
    @Notsofast

    Correction,,

    This is a war of about 50 countries, lets call it NATO+ with 25% of the world population WHEREIN only about 1/2 the people support the UKES.

    Against 150 countries wherein almost the entire populations supports RU.

    THUS the corrección THIS IS A WAR OF 1 BILLION PEOPLE AGAINST 7 BILLION PEOPLE.

  93. @Folkvangr

    That something is in someone’s payroll.

  94. @RoatanBill

    “I don’t care if Russia acted in defense if that defense includes devastating innocent 3rd parties”

    No nation would ever go to war then. Are you saying the US killed no innocent parties in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Serbia, Afghanistan, Panama?

    Let alone Hiroshima or Tokyo.

    Or the Ruhr.

    • Replies: @RoatanBill
  95. @YetAnotherAnon

    No nation would ever go to war then.

    Exactly! War is stupid and solves nothing for the average person. It’s a contest among the mafia’s known as govt’s. Why their citizenry suits up in some coastume to get annihilated for their oligarchy while waving some flag is a mystery to me.

    Consider the ridiculous pretext Russia used for the invasion. It was some existential threat to Russia posed by NATO/US getting closer to their border with offensive weaponry. At hypersonic speeds, the territory of Ukraine represent about 1 or 2 minutes of flight time. Missiles positioned in Poland would be just as threatening and Poland is already a NATO nation. Russia’s recent actions have already placed it closer to Romania, a NATO member. If it keeps taking territory it will eventually bump up against Poland, Slovakia and Hungary also current NATO members. The stated rationale was and is bullshit.

    Ask yourself a question – how exactly does anyone or anything pose an existential threat to the nation with the most nukes and the best delivery systems in the world? If Russia, China, the US and other nuclear nations with potent delivery systems declared that they were disbanding 90% of their military while further declaring that any offensive act against their nation would be met with a nuclear reprisal, what nation could afford to take the risk?

    Once nuclear missiles were invented and available in sufficient numbers, any nation with them is immune to invasion. Acting as though a threat exists allows them to continue the game of poking each other for political advantage and minor realignments for economic interests. All the missile systems on borders is theater since if any of them gets used, they all get used in response and even the assholes in charge of the various mafia’s aren’t on a suicide mission.

    All the potent nuclear nations could largely eliminate their military budgets and instead use those funds and manpower to compete in the economic sphere. If the US eliminated 90% of its military spending and forced those lazy slobs in costume to actually work for a living, think of the economic might the US could represent and do it peacefully.

    • Replies: @YetAnotherAnon
  96. @RoatanBill

    The trouble is there was already a war going on, had been since the 2014 coup and the subsequent defection of Donbas, Luhansk and their Ukrainian Army troops, who became the People’s Militias.

    NATO had been arming and training rump Ukraine while stalling Russia with the Minsk Agreement. Russia were perfectly justified in their response.

    I hate to go back to WWI and “what would you do if someone broke into your house?”, but do you think there are ANY events to which a violent response is appropriate?

    • Replies: @RoatanBill
  97. @YetAnotherAnon

    Russia was right to invade to help out the Donbas because Ukraine was murdering large numbers of civilians. The method Russia used, however, was stupid beyond belief. You don’t start a half assed police action; you do a US style shock & awe to decimate the Ukraine political oligarchy and destroy their military capability en masse. Once you make the decision to use violence, then go for the kill.

    I have no problem with using violence, but it has to be directed at the proper targets. Zelenskyy and his gang should all be rotting in their graves a long time ago. Instead of terminating the killing, Russia’s move has caused more civilian deaths and casualties, ruined more infrastructure and has expanded the conflict well past the Donbas.

    It was after the fact that I noticed that Russia’s stated intentions were all self serving excuses for what it really wanted, more territory, thus the elections Russia was guaranteed to win. The existential excuse doesn’t hold up to analysis as I’ve already outlined. When the dust settles, Russia will be even closer to NATO facilities than it was before the campaign.

    Russia could have given Ukraine 24 hours to establish a cease fire and start withdrawing troops with an ‘or else’ that included taking out the political class without ever setting foot inside Ukraine. Or it could have foregone the warning and just started taking out the gov’t building, military bases, roads, rail and airstrips all over the country, concentrating on the core combatants, command and control. At that point, the Ukraine oligarchy either has to flee the country while their costumed morons continue fighting or they stop. Quick decisive action could have avoided this prolonged slow motion train wreck.

    Right now, Zelenskyy is still alive and touring Europe on occasion while his wife goes shopping in the finest French establishments. The leaders of the European mafia, headquartered in Brussels, regularly fly in for a photo op. First a police action, then a long pause with the Ukraine political class still breathing, military bases aren’t all bombed to shit, the roads, rail lines and airstrips are still capable of ferrying in weaponry from all over Europe. Something is seriously wrong with how this is being conducted and makes me cynical enough to think this is one long stage play the world’s mafia’s have scripted while they all tighten the screws on their citizenry. Don’t look over here, look over there while we institute feudalism 2.0 with CBDC, social credit systems and maybe another plandemic to scare the normies.

    • Replies: @H. L. M
    , @unzrocks
  98. H. L. M says:
    @RoatanBill

    They’re all in on it.

    • Replies: @RoatanBill
  99. @H. L. M

    I’m actually not that cynical to assume they’re all in on it. Rather, they all have the same motivation being the most successful criminals in their markets and arrive at similar conclusions.

    When Putin wanted a christmas halt, I couldn’t help but think it was because he wanted to prepare his dacha for his guests over the holidays, Zelenskyy and Biden, and wanted to concentrate on the wine selection as opposed to killing people. There are priorities, after all, and who gives a shit about the little people?

  100. unzrocks says:
    @RoatanBill

    I disagree with a lot of your assessments.
    1) Russia is the largest country in the world. The last thing they need is more territory.
    2) Invasion of Ukraine doesn’t draw them closer to NATO. The goal is to de-militarize the country of Ukraine, to make them a neutral country so that they do not join NATO or hold foreign military troops inside of Ukraine that can threaten the future of ethnic Russians in the Donbass (Had Ukraine was smart enough to chose neutrality, Crimea and Donbass would still be part of Ukraine without a single shot being fired and no one would have been killed). But they chose their side and now must suffer the consequence. It would have made more sense to remain neutral and trade with both Russia and the EU without having to join either party and sign a decree never to join NATO. This would have benefited Ukraine more economically and politically, and a win-win for Russia as well. Choosing the EU/NATO only benefits the US since it’s the US that wants to weaken and destroy their major military rival Russia.
    3) No country can conquer and hold a foreign country without the overwhelming support of the civilian population. So the Russians cannot hold onto all of Ukraine due to this fact alone because they will be fighting an insurgent / guerilla warfare for the next 10-20 years and will get tired of getting killed randomly and will have to pull out and go back home eventually.
    4) The Russians can occupy and annex Crimea and Eastern Ukraine because most of the population are ethnic Russians and they support being part of Russia.
    5) Shock and awe doesn’t work with Ukraine. It works for the US because they were fighting against goat herders, fishermen and peasant farmers, 3rd world countries with no science and industries. Also, the US bombed and killed civilians with no mercy. Russia was fighting with their hands tied to minimize civilian casualties. Also, Ukraine has been preparing for war with Russia for 8 years being fed a diet of superior western military weapons and training and is a very potent fighting force. You can’t compare the US invading third world countries with Russia invading Ukraine, it’s not even close.
    6) Russians realized that they were vastly outnumbered and couldn’t take most of Ukraine in the beginning days and got stuck in a mess so they had to retreat and turn it into a war of attrition, which is where we are at right now.

    • Agree: antibeast
    • Troll: Folkvangr
    • Replies: @showmethereal
    , @RoatanBill
  101. @unzrocks

    Mostly agreed except
    2) or they could have followed the Minsk Agreements. But as we learned that was a sham all along. Also the Ukrainian people voted for Zelensky mainly because he said he would make peace with Russia and implement Minsk. My point being – NATO (well the US and UK really) knew what they were doing and their point was to cause bloodshed. They tried with Georgia and didn’t get what they wanted… So they came up with bigger plans for Ukraine. The whole point was to draw Russia into a conflict. RAND wrote the report years ago stating they needed to draw Russia into conflicts on its borders in order to bleed Russia. RAND are the same people who wrote the report stating the US needed to draw China into a conflict by 2025 before China gets too strong. Point being the west WANTS wars to happen. They may not have the desired results – but the maniacs continue on their path.

    6) Russian planners knew for certain they didn’t have enough troops. It was no mystery. What was a mystery to them was whether Kiev would capitulate or fight.

  102. @unzrocks

    A huge part of Russia is Siberia and points east of Moscow. Ukraine has some of the best farmland in all of Europe. The eastern Ukraine is also where all the manufacturing and industry is located. If Russia is smart, they will either take all of Ukraine just to control the territory or they will cede the western part to the neighboring countries and make them responsible for keeping the loonies at bay.

    You are apparently geography challenged. Russia moved closer to Romania, a NATO country when it acquired Crimea. It also moved closer to Romania when it absorbed the breakaway region.

    Your description of Ukraine stupidity is accurate. I’d say they are getting what they deserve, but that would include the innocent civilians in Ukraine that are getting run over by the two mafias involved. The political class and the military of Ukraine deserve everything the Russians are giving them and will give them. This, however, does not absolve the Russians for the destruction and impact their bungled intervention has caused the civilian population.

    Russia will be fighting a guerrilla insurgency no matter what. If they can make the people’s lives better than the corrupt Ukraine mafia has been providing, then over time that part of the former Ukraine will mellow out. There is no good solution, but Ukraine is likely to disappear either absorbed into Russia or parcelled out to Poland and possibly other NATO nations.

    Shock & awe works against military targets. There’s plenty of video evidence of what happened to Iraqi armor when the US decided to eliminate it. Shock & awe was used against civilian targets by the US because the US is the world’s leading criminal enterprise and destroyed infrastructure the civilians depend on if there was even a hint that it also benefited the military. Shock & awe can be used only against military targets and Iraq showed it to be very effective.

    The minimize civilian casualties is nice advertising, but it isn’t true. Because the Ukraine troops were using civilian facilities as hiding places, Russia took out what they deemed was necessary because they were stupid in using a police mentality and not a military mentality. Had Russia used its might against all the gov’t and military targets early on in massive raids, the war would probably be over now.

    Russia was never vastly outnumbered. They decided to use a limited force and that force was insufficient. That’s part of the stupidity I allege.

    Learn how to use paragraphs and white space.

  103. Folkvangr says:
    @showmethereal

    there are always many ways to find common ground

    What “common ground”? Like these?

    – Citizens burn to death in buildings they can’t escape due to lockdown confinement and must interact with the “sensing layer”.

    – Citizens must take a PCR test – at their own expense – every forty-eight hours in order to use public transportation, go shopping, or go to work.

    – China’s “social credit” system ranks citizens and punishes them with throttled Internet speeds.

    – China bans people from flying if the Communist Party deems them untrustworthy

    Did you know that there are 270 million combinations of symptoms that would meet the criteria for insanity? With 2 billion Chinese, that number rises to a quintillion symptom combinations – more than the number of stars in the Milky Way. I guess there’s a lot of room for Chinese “progress” in that direction. lol

    • Troll: showmethereal
    • Replies: @unzrocks
  104. unzrocks says:
    @Folkvangr

    Your logic makes no sense.

    What China does in China is none of your business and no one else’s business either. If the citizens of China has a problem with their government, they can riot or start a revolution. What you do in the US is no one else’s business either. As long as you don’t impose your rules, laws, culture, and ideology on some foreigner, who cares?

    Some people die in China due to the ZERO covid policy? Who cares? That’s China’s problem. More people in the US die from violent crimes and we have more people in jail. Why don’t China come over and give us a lecture on the problems we have at home? If they don’t do that to us, why should we do it to them?
    Credit score? Who cares. WE have our own credit score system that is just as harsh. Ever try applying for a job, a home loan, a car loan, trying to get into a college, or a group, etc?

    How come the Anglo Saxon / White Europeans always travel around the world trying to impose their culture, language, government on all areas of the planet? Because they believe they are the master / exceptional race and that they are on planet Earth to rule the world. That’s why.

    • Replies: @Folkvangr
  105. Folkvangr says:
    @unzrocks

    What China does in China is none of your business or anyone else’s.

    Oh, yes, it is. Go to the southern border and watch Chinese “refugees” claim they are running away from their tyrannical government. Personally, I don’t want to live in a country with 5 official languages and be just another ethnic minority.

    As long as you’re not imposing your rules, laws, culture, and ideology on a foreigner, who cares?

    Keep your Kumbaya and preach it to the aliens. The modern world doesn’t work that way.

    We Have Our Own Credit Score System

    Credit Score has nothing to do with “Social Credit” when fully implemented. Read the Apostles of NWD to learn the difference.

    Why is it that the Anglo-Saxon/White Europeans always travel around the world trying to impose their culture, language, government on all areas of the planet? Because they believe they are the master/exceptional race.

    Because unlike African tribes, we have always been the movers and shakers. The world as we know it was invented, built and shaped to our liking. It could have been the Japanese or the Mongols. But you can’t turn back history and should learn to live your life without whining and blaming white people for inventing antibiotics, TV, cars, airplanes and toilet paper. That’s childish and immature.

    • Replies: @unzrocks
  106. unzrocks says:
    @Folkvangr

    I’ll address these issues back at you by the battle of the wits:

    Oh, yes, it is. Go to the southern border and watch Chinese “refugees” claim they are running away from their tyrannical government. Personally, I don’t want to live in a country with 5 official languages and be just another ethnic minority. (Well, that’s your government’s problem or your country’s problem. You as citizen of the US has a problem with this, then why don’t you start a riot / revolution to stop the flow of immigrants into your country then? Because the US is the most authoritarian country in the world, it’s governed by a small, tiny elite oligarch class and they run the US, not you. You can start a riot / revolution and will most likely not move the needle at all. There goes your precious democracy, down the rabbit hole).

    Keep your Kumbaya and preach it to the aliens. The modern world doesn’t work that way. (Yes it does if your government and you are powerful enough to prevent it from happening. If you cannot, then the fault likes in your country and you. What makes you think you can even walk into your next door neighbor’s house or someone down the block from you and tell your neighbor what to do in their house or backyard? Do you think you can pull off a stunt like this? 100% you get your ass kicked or worse, killed and buried six feet under).

    Who cares about China’s social credit score? It only applies to China. They cannot apply it to Vietnam or anywhere else. If they do, they will get their ass handed to them and kicked out of the country.

    Who’s whining about European supremacy? That’s a 400 year ideology starting with the 16th century Scientific Revolution. Your monopoly on the scientific method / science has been debunked. Just go to the top universities and private universities of the US or Europe and China and you will find lost of brains from Brazil, China, Russia, and all parts of the world. Heck, half the foreign PhD’s students and professors are foreign students. That must mean most of the US population are stupid idiots, does it not? That the US needs brains from around the world to power their research and development?

    • Replies: @Folkvangr
  107. Folkvangr says:
    @unzrocks

    I’m going to take these questions back to you in a battle of wits.

    LOL. More like a fight between a hamster and a Goliath.

    Then why don’t you start a riot/revolution to stop the flow of immigrants into your country?

    Now you break your own rules and tell me what to do in my own country. Go take your incoherent bubble somewhere else.

  108. unzrocks says:

    I’m a US citizen, not some damn foreigner. What makes you think I’m an illegal immigrant or some damn foreigner? Again, I’m a god damn US citizen. And like any US citizen, I know not to mess and impose myself on some neighbors backyard because that neighbor will most likely retaliate and kick my ass to Tokyo and back. Let alone wanting to tell and impose on some damn foreigner.

    If I cannot even pull off a stunt like this, what makes you think I can move the needle by starting a riot / revolution? A riot / revolution requires the vast majority of US citizens to rebel and the mostly middle class and upper class are too comfortable to do such a thing. So the ruling elite class can pretty much do anything they want knowing they will not suffer any consequence for their actions.

  109. xcd says:

    SEPAM and SPFS are immune to the US and western sanctions

    In its death throes, the diabolic monster thrashes harder. Remember that in addition to blockading food, medicine, fuel, etc. to Venezuela for the “crime” of socialism, it sabotaged the electrical network there. Such acts may cause its target countries to form a defence pact against it and its servile dogs.

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