Posted on 01/01/2021 7:36:15 AM PST by Godzilla
Threat Matrix is a thread where global and domestic threats and trends to America are noted and commented on. Goal it to peel back the BS and get to the root of things.
here is talk on another means of enforcement
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3946180/posts
Lots to catch up on, hopefully didn’t miss anything major.
Wuhan virus -
Germany stopped AstraZeneca shots yesterday for people under 60following more blood clot reports. This follows Canada’s suspending the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca over blood clot concerns as well.
Texas wuhan cases have dropped to record lows following the opening of the economy and state.
biden is calling on the nation’s governors and mayors to reinstate mask mandates if they previously revoked them.
“I’m reiterating my call for every governor, mayor, and local leader to maintain and reinstate the mask mandate. Please, this is not politics,” Biden said while delivering remarks Monday. He added, “Reinstate the mandate if you let it down. Businesses should require masks as well.”
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Rochelle Walensky, warned “I’m going to pause here, I’m going to lose the script, and I’m going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom. We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope, but right now I’m scared.” NOTE - she probably is ignoring the Texas Data. . . .
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Monday pledged he would ban businesses from requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for entry.
According to a UK study the number of women to lose their unborn child after having the Covid Vaccine increased by 366% in just six weeks. Between January 24, 2021 and March 7th, there has been a 475% increase in the number of women who have lost their unborn child after having the Pfizer vaccine. NOTE - One of the earliest warnings about these mRNA “vaccines” is that it creates an abortificant effect that could cause miscarriages and potentially infertility.
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Globalism / Great Reset -
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday moved to continue the pandemic-related protection, which had been scheduled to expire on Wednesday. The moratorium is now extended through the end of June. There are at least six prominent lawsuits challenging the authority of the CDC ban. Three have gone for and three against.
OBSERVATION - Does anyone have a good reason why the CDC is authorized to make this decision. On a Globalism/Great Reset plan no one own property.
An interesting article on how the major banks are lining up to help initiate the “Great Reset”. In a glance, these banks are setting up something called environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics. This is a kind of a social score card on how progressive and woke individuals and companies are and limiting their access to finances if their scores aren’t high enough. Here’s the link -
Along the same line, uber-liberal Naomi Wolf is warning that the proposed “vaccine passports” would mean the end of liberty in the free world. “I cannot say this forcefully enough: This is literally the end of human liberty in the West if this plan unfolds as planned,” she said in an interview Sunday with Fox News’ Steve Hilton. She strongly notes the parallels to China’s social credit system that overwhelmingly controls the peoples movement, employment and other factors of life and how the technology being discussed for this ‘passport’ is moving into that direction.
OBSERVATIONS OF THE ABOVE - Many have/are warning that this virus is only a means to the ends - even the WEF has made that association. The sheeple in their rush to return to ‘normal’ are blissfully ignorant of the ramifications of this passports for a disease with a 99.7% survival rate.
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Economy -
UN agency saying that it will take 4 - 5 days to clear the Ever Given blockage backlog of ships.
U.S. home prices increased at the fastest pace in seven years in January as the pandemic has fueled demand for single-family houses even as the supply for such homes shrinks. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, released Tuesday, rose 11.1% in January from a year earlier. That’s the biggest gain since March 2014. Prices rose in all 20 cities, and the 12-month increase was larger for all cities in January than in the previous month.
Details starting to come out for biden’s next big budget blow out - the ‘infrastructure’ bill that has little to do with infrastructure and lots to do with social engineering.
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Invasion of Illegals -
DHS is now planning on preparing reception centers to help a huge inflow of perhaps 800,000 family migrants this year, along with a record inflow of unaccompanied children and a growing wave of single men. These are only the ones that get caught, not the others who make it past the BP. There is no evidence from the releases of the report that the biden administration is going to do anything to stop the tidal wave.
BTW Harris is AWOL on the border - in spite of being ‘in charge’ of the effort.
More ‘caravans ‘ forming in central america heading north.
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CW2/Domestic violence -
The Biden administration reportedly plans to move ahead with executive action that regulates 80% lower receivers for the AR-15 style rifles. One potential action is requiring purchasers to fill out Form 4473, just like they would for a complete firearm.
Derek Chauvin trial in the death of Floyd is ongoing. They are live-streaming it, granting it wide viewership. This will also serve to inflame the BLM / Antifa supporter types in real time as well.
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CYBER/CANCEL CULTURE FRONT -
A Harvard Caps-Harris Poll has revealed that over two thirds of Americans believe a “growing cancel culture” is a direct threat to their freedom. While 36% said they don’t believe there is a threat, a whopping 64% said that the phenomenon is having a detrimental effect on society. Over half of those surveyed, 54%, also noted that they fear they could be fired from their jobs if they express their real opinions on matters.
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POLITICAL FRONT -
According to a Democratic strategy document, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will press forward with attempts to unseat Republican Marianette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) under the Federal Contested Elections Act. Miller-Meeks won her Iowa District 2 seat by six votes, although Democrats continue to challenge the win due to their slim House majority. The legal process is expected to play out through August 2021 after a period of discovery and legal briefs.
NOTE - This will not play well in IA or other contested congressional districts in the 2022 midterms.
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Domestic Terror -
Three men in Michigan who were arrested by the FBI as “Domestic Terrorists” and accused of planning to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmere, are free today after a Judge DISMISSED the charges against them. It turned out that the ring leader in the alleged plot to kidnap Whitmer was an FBI informant who was planted into the group and was the one who pushed the entire plan.
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China -
China has essentially taken the Whitsun Reef in the Spratly chain in the South China Sea away from the Philippines. The feature is within the Philippine “exclusive economic zone” (EEZ), the band of international water 12 to 200 nautical miles from a country’s shoreline. Nearly 200 ‘fishing’ vessels surround the rocky reef and have rejected Philippine demands to leave. Washington [in 2012] brokered an agreement for [China and the Philippines] to withdraw their craft [from Scarborough Shoal], but only Manila complied. Beijing has been in firm control of Scarborough Shoal ever since. The Obama administration, despite the brazen Chinese seizure, decided not to enforce the agreement it had just arranged.
In violation of the agreement with Great Britain, China has sharply reduced the number of directly elected seats in Hong Kong’s legislature in a setback for the territory’s already beleaguered democracy movement. The changes were announced Tuesday after a two-day meeting of China’s top legislature. The legislature will be expanded to 90 seats, and only 20 will be elected by the public. Currently, half of the 70-seat legislature — 35 seats — is directly elected.
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North Korea -
biden does not intend to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the White House said on Monday.
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Russia -
Tensions appear to be rising between Russia and Ukraine over the past weeks as both sides have sent reinforcements to the Donetsk region as well as Russian reinforcements to Crimea. Ukraine is strengthening military presence Donetsk and Luhansk Oblast, as well as in the Crimean direction, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine General Khomchak stated. Fighting in the Donetsk region has increased lately, bringing calls for resumption of the cease fire that had been in place. According to the NYT the U.S. European Command raised its watch level from possible crisis to potential imminent crisis (the highest level) last week in response to the buildup of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine. UNCONFIRMED - Putin, Merkel and Macron spoke by phone, discussed the escalation in eastern Ukraine.
OBSERVATION - This region has been on low simmer for a while. As with all conflicts, each side has taken the opportunity to rearm and refit. With improving weather comes opportunity for maneuver to gain / retake ground. Russia had just completed an exercise near the region and Ukraine likely sensed it was a ruse to prepare for an offensive. Not sure yet how this may play out as If they interject in the Donetsk area it strips away the cover of ‘locals’ rising up against the Ukraine govt. and with low returns. Crimea is another matter and if Ukraine goes in there it will find itself fighting a two front war.
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Israel -
Post election maneuvering continues. Blue and White leader Benny Gantz met with Ra’am (United Arab List) chariman Mansour Abbas on Tuesday urged him to support a representative of the “change camp” for the next government. Abbas holds the key to deciding who will build the next coalition because his four seats could grant a majority either to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or one of his political opponents.
The long delayed joint Gaza-West Bank elections will be held on May 22nd . The agreement for this was made in February as Egypt finally persuaded both sides to put aside their feud and once more holding elections to select one government for both West Bank and Gaza Palestinians. While Fatah is dominant in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza, there are partisans of Fatah and Hamas in both areas and, if the election result is contested by either party, there will be more violence - some directed against Israel. How well Hamas and Fatah will play together in this ‘election’ is yet to be seen, given the decades long animosity towards each other.
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Iran -
Iran has rejected a US offer – revealed in Politico on Tuesday – to launch negotiations over a new nuclear deal in exchange for the lifting of some American sanctions. Iran demands 100% of the sanctions be removed.
13 of the country’s 32 providences are battling the second year of extreme locust infestations that are endangering billions of dollars worth of food in farmlands. Iran is increasingly relying on its agriculture sector to boost an economy that has been ailing under Unites States sanctions for the past three years, and was dealt a new blow from the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
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Lebanon -
Lebanon has been without a government for more than seven months. The previous administration resigned in the wake of the devastating explosion at Beirut’s port. Lebanese have taken to the streets rioting over the lack of response as the economy crashes, utilities cease to work (no money) and health issues/care disintegrates.
OBSERVATION - This puts a lot of pressure on Hezbollah who is the defacto power behind any government and who many of the Lebanese blame for their problems.
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That's on every news outlet today, ain't it?
The Not-Sees are doing their "best" to make sure it is something we will NOT see...
Any and every group on the right had better believe they have been infiltrated by informers and agent provocateurs ready to turn them over to the likes of FBI/DHS at a moments notice
I don’t know who’s saying TX is now down to record low covid cases because we’re not. We are down from the holiday bump so are now equal to the number we had pre-holidays.
https://www.kxan.com/news/texas/what-we-know-about-the-32-coronavirus-cases-in-central-texas/
We can play battle of the links all day. My link has been running updates since the beginning.
well, what ever, I don’t care. you inquired on my source - you got it.
Happy March 32d
Wuhan virus -
A mix up at a plant in Baltimore has resulted in 15 million Johnson and Johnson vaccines ruined. The plant would have provided tens of millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines next month.
More fear about the ‘double mutation’ strain found in India, reportedly making it more infectious (nothing about lethality) and it’s getting past ‘vaccines’.
Overall, the CDC said, heart disease was the underlying cause of death for 690,000 people last year, the leading cause of death. It was followed by cancer at 598,000, and COVID-19 was third, at 345,000. Remember, the wuhan deaths are tainted in that far to many cases just the presence of wuhan over ruled the pre-existing conditions.
The Daily Mail is published an analysis of wuhan deaths and notes of the 551,747 people in the U.S. who have died of COVID-19 so far, about 175,000 - 31.7 percent - were nursing home residents, based on The COVID Tracking Project data.
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Globalism / Great Reset -
(AP) — More than 20 heads of government and global agencies called in a commentary published Tuesday for an international treaty for pandemic preparedness that they say will protect future generations in the wake of COVID-19. But there were few details to explain how such an agreement might actually compel countries to act more cooperatively.
OPINION - and those ‘details’ will continue to be undefined.
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Economy -
The Green New Deal Network – a group of 15 national climate organizations – is pressuring Biden to “incorporate the entirety of the THRIVE Agenda” into his infrastructure package, The Washington Free Beacon reported on Wednesday. THRIVE contains idealistic climate goals, including a carbon-free electric grid by 2035. THRIVE calls for $10 TRILLION in public spending to achieve “real full employment” and “reshape our society” through government jobs.
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Invasion of Illegals -
Individuals from over 50 countries have been identified in the flood of illegals crossing the border. Border agencies are expecting over 1 million illegal crossing this year.
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POLITICAL FRONT -
The 2020 Democratic challenger Rita Hart election challenge to Iowa GOP Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks is dropping her election contest in a race she lost by six votes out of more than 394,000 cast. This may cast cold water on Pelosi’s attempts to have her seated instead of Republican.
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North Korea -
I noted this activity a while back, only now filtering into the MSM regarding satellite imagery of the Yongbyon Radiochemistry Laboratory indicating that they have restarted operations there. That’s the facility where North Korea processes spent nuclear reactor rods to obtain plutonium that is then refined to create weapons-grade fuel.
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Russia - POTENTIAL FOR WAR IN UKRAINE
Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces Mark Milley had a telephone conversation concerning the build up of Russian forces around Ukraine.
Abundant unconfirmed Twitter postings showing Russian tanks, armor, artillery, and even pontoon boats on trains/convoys near the Ukraine border.
Pentagon spokesman also said Gen. Milley spoke with Ukraine’s top military leader Wednesday.
The Kremlin said on Wednesday it was worried by the situation in eastern Ukraine, fearing the Ukrainian side could do something that would restart a civil war there. Putin late on Tuesday accused Ukraine of provoking armed confrontation with pro-Russian separatists and failing to honor earlier agreements over its war torn east, during a telephone call with France and Germany’s leaders.
The build up of Russian forces is signifiant. Even Tass is reporting that the Ministry of Agriculture has requested train cars to move agriculture equipment. The reason being Russian agricultural machinery manufacturers facing sudden logistical hurdles as cargo companies say railway carts are now in military use. Current estimate of Russian forces going into the Ukrainian border region include - the equivalent of six combat brigades, accompanied by additional artillery (gun and rocket) units moving to the border as well as a buildup of an airborne regiment, combat aircraft and warships in the Crimean Peninsula.
Armed Forces of Ukraine are preparing to call reservists - Chief of Staff Ruslan Khomchak reported said to news agencies.
OBSERVATION - THIS HAS HIGH POTENTIAL OF GOING HOT. U.S. officials told the New York Times that it has been a favored Russian tactic to use military drills near Ukraine’s borders to send a message to both the Ukrainian government and other western nations. Since 2015 Russia has gone through the motions of an actual invasion several times, but always backed off because of apparent Ukrainians resolve and an increase in Western hostility and threats of more sanctions. However, to some observers the Russian military buildup near the border with Ukraine is not consistent with “training exercise.” The Ukrainian govt response to call up the reserves echoes this observation. The dedication of Russian rail assets to move units into the region is unprecedented for a peace time exercise. Putin may have decided that with the mentally challenged biden in power, he could swoop in and eliminate the pesky Ukraine thorn in his side. Weak president - emboldens US enemies into actions they would otherwise avoid.
FORCE COMPARISON -
Currently the Russian Army has about 20 combat brigades that are combat ready, plus a smaller number that are not. The current concentration of brigades on the Ukrainian border is the majority of such brigades the Russians possess. The Ukrainian ground forces have 170,000 active-duty troops versus 350,000 for Russia. Since 2014 Ukraine has reorganized and upgraded its ground forces and currently has as many combat ready brigades as Russia. Ukraine also has more reserve troops, who are better trained and dedicated than their Russian equivalents. In other words, Ukraine is not exactly helpless against a Russian invasion but most of the fighting would take place in Ukraine and civilian casualties would mostly be Ukrainian, as would the property damage.
RAMIFICATIONS OF INVASION - If Russia invades Ukraine, regardless of the ‘excuse’, it will send shock waves through former Soviet Union countries that are working to join NATO and establish better ties with the west. An invasion would confirm all their worries and drive most of them even harder and faster to the west and create a new arms race in the region to militarily oppose Russia rather than just economically.
A Russian invasion has the potential to backfire on it if they bog down in a protracted conflict. Russia’s economy is still very shaky and its activity in other parts of the world supporting proxy militaries has been a drain. Current Russian support to the ‘rebels’ in Eastern Ukraine is running several billion dollars a year. The sanctions have made existing economic problems worse. For example, during 2020 Russian disposable income fell 3.5 percent. Add to that the expected economic sanctions the west would likely impose in response to any military intervention in Ukraine, should make Putin think twice.
IMPLICATIONS TO THE US -
Given the fixation of the left against Russia, and a feeble biden administration that talks tough but is incompetent in foreign policy and military readiness (more concerned about a woke military than one ready to kill people and break things), could get us caught up after a fashion in any conflict. Freedom of movement naval passages into the Black Sea of our ships could get them sunk by over anxious Russian naval forces. Currently the Eisenhower CSG is in the Mediterranean Sea. Last week Guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG-61) and guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116), both part of the CSG, operated in the Black Sea as part of a Romanian exercise. Currently, apart from the upgrade in the alert status of European command forces, nothing appears to be deploying to the region that isn’t already there. However, last month it was noted by observers that military equipment shipments to Ukraine surged, follows last year’s US DoD announcement of an additional $125 million military assistance package for Ukraine (unveiled in March) which involves equipment, training, and military advisory support, with an additional $150 million waiting for Congressional and Pentagon approval.
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Israel -
Post election maneuvering is still going on, with some smaller groups holding a lot of power.
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You don't say...
Wuhan virus -
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Thursday that the entire province will be under an “emergency shutdown” for at least four weeks starting Saturday due to surging COVID-19 cases. The shutdown will go into effect on April 3 at 12.01 am and last for 28 days.
(NYT) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday walked back controversial comments made by its director, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, suggesting that people who are vaccinated against the coronavirus never become infected or transmit the virus to others.
The assertion called into question the precautions that the agency had urged vaccinated people to take just last month, like wearing masks and gathering only under limited circumstances with unvaccinated people.
“Dr. Walensky spoke broadly during this interview,” an agency spokesman told The Times. “It’s possible that some people who are fully vaccinated could get Covid-19. The evidence isn’t clear whether they can spread the virus to others. We are continuing to evaluate the evidence.”
In Germany, rumblings of a Nuremberg-like tribunal to prosecute those responsible for the Covid-19 scandal manipulated by the Davos Forum. Could be big.
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Globalism / Great Reset -
CNN medical analyst and former Planned Parenthood president Dr. Leana Wen warned the Biden administration that it has a very “narrow window” for inoculating as many people as possible to COVID-19 as states begin lifting coronavirus restrictions, urging that messaging should tie vaccinations to Americans’ “freedoms.” “Because otherwise, if everything is reopened, then what’s the carrot going to be? How are we going to incentivize people to actually get the vaccine? So that’s why I think the CDC and the Biden administration needs to come out a lot bolder and say, “If you are vaccinated, you can do all these things. Here are all these freedoms that you have.” Because otherwise, people are going to go out and enjoy these freedoms anyway.”
NOTE - This vaccination progrom is linked to ‘freedoms’ of Americans as a hammer to force vaccinations. Note the potential fear in the last sentence for the globalist.
Pelosi - “And the joy in the season is marked by another renewal — the renewal of reconstruction that President Biden put forth yesterday (Wednesday) in his presentation. He promised—he promised when he took the oath of office that we would ‘build back better’. He also promised help is on the way, and help is here — help is here.”
See also Dangerous Speech Project under Cancel Culture Front below.
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Invasion of Illegals -
New estimates of 2 million illegals being projected for this year.
Project Veritas released a new video today showing migrants being held under the Anzalduas International Bridge, by Border Patrol agents. A Brave Insider felt compelled to record and send never-before-seen footage to Project Veritas, in an effort to illustrate the inhumane conditions illegal immigrants — many of them minors – face while in custody.
The area under the bridge was converted into a makeshift processing center for Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), due to the overflow of normal detention facilities near the Southern Border.
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CW2/Domestic violence -
Background checks in March were up 36% from February, as around 4.7 million were initiated, FBI data shows, according to CNN. Many link this to the govt wuhan stimulus payments.
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CANCEL CULTURE FRONT -
Dangerous Speech Project, which ostensibly claims to want to make speech “safer.” It is the brainchild of Susan Benesch, faculty associate at Harvard’s “Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society” and an esteemed Ivy League “Scholar of Speech.” The project defines “dangerous speech” as “any form of expression (speech, text, or images) that can increase the risk that its audience will condone or participate in violence against members of another group.” Yet, Benesch and comrades offer no way to objectively measure that increased risk of violence. “Dangerous speech” as a social science concept conveniently lacks any way to objectively measure its applicability in any given real-world situation. This leaves the interpreting to the whims of the censor – perfect for Silicon Valley technocrats. “I can’t give you a list of words that constitute dangerous speech, unfortunately, because language has such different meaning depending on who is listening.” (Ben Bartee via The Daily Bell)
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Strategic Developments /Deployments -
Egyptian sources said the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower will pass the Suez canal tomorrow, hence entering US 5th Fleet AOR. She will most likely head to the North Arabian sea where carriers have been deployed continuously since Dec 2018. Ship transponders confirmed her presence in line waiting to pass thru the canal.
NOTE - This takes the CSG away from potential combat in the Black Sea/Ukrane area.
US redeploying ADA assets from Saudi Arabia - See below.
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China -
The Philippines said it discovered illegally built structures on features in the Union Banks, a series of reefs in the South China Sea near where Manila says a flotilla of Chinese fishing vessels, allegedly manned by militias, had gathered in recent weeks. This is southwest of the disputed (by the Chinese ) Spratly Islands.
Taiwan has decided to buy an upgraded version of Lockheed Martin Corp’s Patriot surface-to-air missile, the air force said on Wednesday, as the island bolsters its forces to guard against a rising threat from China.
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Russia - POTENTIAL FOR WAR IN UKRAINE
Ukraine military and Russian ‘separatists’ exchanging mortar fire in the disputed Dombass Provence. Observers counted about 13 cease fire violations by both sides along the front.
NOTE - this is concerning, but not excessive at this point.
biden says the US stands behind Ukraine 100%. The US will not leave Ukraine alone in the event of Russian escalation and will not allow the realization of aggressive aspiration of the Russian Federation, US SecDef Austin tells his Ukrainian counterpart per Ukrainian readout. This includes military assistance of an unspecified nature.
NATO’s North Atlantic Council held an urgent mtng Thursday and continuing today to discuss allies “shared concerns about Russia’s recent large-scale military activities” in eastern Ukraine and the Black Sea region. There are currently no reported NATO military deployments in response to the situation. Related - Ukraine invites NATO troops for exercises and proposes also joint air patrols with NATO aviation in Ukraine’s airspace to stabilize the security situation in the region. Kremlin says that any NATO troop deployment to Ukraine would raise tensions.
U.S. Embassy in Kyiv says that US, Canadian and UK defense attachés have met with Ukraine’s Minister of Defense, DepMin Petrenko, DepMin Polishchuk, Joint Forces Commander LtGen Naiev and chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the MOD, Commander Kyrylo Budanov.
Russian separatist controlled areas in Ukraine have announced the conscription of all eligible citizens aged 18-27. This is the separatist group that has tried to take Donbass Province in Eastern Ukraine away. They are actually a Russian backed militia group (with embedded active duty Russian military).
RUSSIAN DEPLOYMENTS - Russian Black Sea Fleet launched combat readiness check in occupied Crimea and Krasnodar Krai. Elements of Russia’s 56th Airborne Bde have been identified being deployed to Crimea. Russia has also admitted that they have sent 4,000 troops to the disputed border region, though the amount of military material in armor, artillery, and support vehicles indicate a much larger number.
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Israel -
Leader of the islamic party is a potential deal maker/breaker in the political maneuvering to get a bloc together to form a coalition govt in Israel.
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Iran -
The Biden administration on Thursday welcomed a European Union announcement that the participants in the Iran nuclear deal will meet this week to discuss a possible return of the United States to the 2015 accord. Friday’s virtual meeting of officials from Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and Iran comes as the U.S. is exploring ways to rejoin the deal that former President Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018. NOTE - Iran has already said that there will be no bargaining until 100% of the sanctions have been lifted (and potentially billions in ‘restitution’ paid).
On 31 March 2021, the IAEA verified that at the underground Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) at Natanz, Iran had begun feeding natural UF6 into a fourth cascade of 174 IR-2m centrifuges,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said in its confidential report dated Wednesday and obtained by Reuters on Thursday. These centrifuges are to be a more efficient method of bringing uranium to 5% fissile purity.
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Saudi Arabia -
US is removing Patriot and other air defense assets from SA for redeployment to other theaters where they are needed more. This comes as Houthis increase their drone attacks against SA oil refineries and infrastructure. US officials are claiming it is part of the US effort to reduce the presence in the region. The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, missile defense system was also proposed for removal, but is currently set to remain in the region.
MY OBSERVATION - This is being done to appease Iran, of whom SA is their biggest regional opponent second only to Israel. May also be serving as a punishment/warning for SA’s more recent steps to join the Abrahamic agreements with Israel. The move may also be part of punishment of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for approving the operation that led to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
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Sunday’s on the way . . . .
Wuhan virus -
Italy has returned to a strict lockdown over Easter weekend.
Fauci when asked about why he isn’t concerned about a ‘super spreader’ event at the border replies he has more important things to do. . . .
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance to say fully vaccinated people can travel within the U.S. without getting tested for the coronavirus or going into quarantine afterward. Previously, the agency had cautioned against unnecessary travel even for vaccinated people, but noted that it would update its guidance as more people got vaccinated and evidence mounted about the protection the shots provide.
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Globalism / Great Reset -
China wants the WHO to allow it to create a global vaccine passport system that would serve as a “certificate for international travel.” The request is pretty bold for an authoritarian regime known for its massive surveillance system.
China launched a new domestic travel policy allowing more freedom to people who have received the vaccine. Now, Beijing wants the WHO’s approval to launch a global vaccine certification system for international travel because it can “help by sharing its experience with and provide technical support.”
Republican lawmakers in Ohio have introduced legislation to ban the use of wuhan passports. This follows Florida’s executive order banning such passports.
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Biden watch -
Not sure if we should include Jill biden here too. Her latests speaking event she tried her hand as spanish -failing miserably. Too bad we no longer have a FLOTUS who speaks 5 languages fluently any more. . . .
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CW2/Domestic violence -
Grandmaster Jay of supreme commander of the Not F*ng Around Coalition (NFAC )has reappeared in the news following his indictment and arrest on Federal charges for assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers after he allegedly aimed an AR platform rifle at members of the U.S. Secret Service and LMPD while they were on the roof of the Jefferson County Grand Jury building. NFAC has kept a low profile since his indictment and his reappearance could be timed with the anticipated resurgence of violence keyed into any result from the Floyd death trial.
As the weather warms up - so too have BLM/Antifa affiliates protests across the nation. Still relatively small in numbers, but I expect a significant jump when the decision of the Floyd death trial is released.
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CANCEL CULTURE FRONT -
MLB has pulled the all star game out of Georgia while Delta and other businesses complain about the new voting laws. In response, the legislature is moving to revolt 35 Million in subsidies for Delta jet fuel. Other push back as well, Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) announced Friday that he and his staff had begun drafting legislation to strip MLB of its antitrust exception after the organization moved its All-Star Game out of Atlanta (doubt this will go far in the democrat controlled house though).
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Domestic Terror -
Nation of Islam follower 25-Year-Old Noah Green drove his car into two capitol police officers at a road block, jumped out and stabbed one with a knife before being shot by police. He and on of the officers are dead. Investigators are digging into his background and examining whether he had any mental health history as they tried to discern a motive.
MY OBSERVATIONS - Here is another case of ‘sudden jihad syndrome’ by a lone wolf. This, along with the muslim who attacked the grocery store (one of the largest Kosher stores in the region ) just before Passover has hit the democrat narrative hard, by clearly showing the demographic of domestic terrorists are not red-necked white men but those with islamic bent (and sex perverted democrats - like the shooter in Georgia) . I doubt that the police and media will come right out and state the obvious thought.
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China -
Another country tied into China’s attempt to control the South China Sea is Vietnam. Since 2019 Vietnam has been visibly improving its military facilities on several of the Spratly islands that China has been claiming even though the islands are closer to Vietnam and were often occupied by Vietnamese civilian or military facilities. Vietnam has been improving military facilities on many of its islands in the Spratly chain. Vietnam has gone to war on many occasions over this territory. A more detailed analysis can be found here - good read.
https://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htwin/articles/20210403.aspx
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Russia - POTENTIAL FOR WAR IN UKRAINE
Russian backed separatists continue to fire on Ukraine positions as Ukraine files a UN complaint. Several Ukrainian soldiers reported to have been killed as a result of the fire.
A growing number of reports have emerged showing not only large scale Russian military movements towards the Ukrainian border but also Moscow’s only regional supporter Belarus has deployed new troops to the Ukrainian border. Julian Ropcke, a German Bild reporter, reported on Wednesday, large amounts of Belarus’ military hardware, including BTR-80 armored vehicles and military trucks are moved to the border region. Kiev has already reacted to the growing threat perception by calling up reinforcements. Ruslan Khomchak, Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief, stated to the press that Russia is building up armed forces near Ukraine’s borders in a threat to the country’s security.
Russia has vowed it will take “extra measures to ensure its own security” should it observe any deployment of NATO troops inside Ukraine, the Kremlin statement said Friday according to Reuters.
Increased concern that Russia may engineer a false flag operation that baits Ukraine into taking military action that creates the pretext for Russian forces to invade. In recent years, Moscow has issued Russian passports to residents in the two breakaway separatist territories in the Donbas — the Luhansk People’s Republic, or LPR, and the Donetsk People’s Republic, or DPR. Thus, the Kremlin could conceivably justify an invasion of eastern Ukraine on the pretext of protecting Russian citizens.
FORCE STATUS UPDATE - Ukrainian Chief of Staff Ruslan Komchak said on March 30 that Russia shifted an additional 25 battalion tactical groups toward Ukraine’s borders, on top of the 28 already deployed to those areas. Each Russian battalion tactical group typically includes one mechanized-infantry battalion, along with a tank company and additional rocket artillery.
MY OBSERVATIONS - Discussions i’ve been reading point the readiness strides Ukraine forces have made since Russian backed ‘separatists ‘ in 2014 started the conflict by capturing 36 districts, Ukraine has recaptured 23 of them. Ukraine has also rebuilt its military (in 2014 only able to field only about 6,000 combat-ready soldiers) into the second-largest standing land army in Europe in terms of manpower. Ukraine’s military now comprises about 255,000 active-duty troops — on the European continent, only Russia’s military is bigger. And after seven years of war, Ukraine remains one of the world’s top weapons-exporting nations and is able to meet most of its own defense supply needs. As I noted earlier, unlike 2014, this will not be a cake walk for Russia. A defensive battle by Ukraine on one’s homeland with the forces they have now will cause substantial casualties to Russian forces. That, along with Russia’s current economic unsteadiness and likely quick impositions of sanctions by the west. Apart from a Red Flag excuse to invade, many are looking at this as Russia’s attempt to intimidate Ukraine by shaping peace talks with Zelenskiy to achieve a Kremlin-favorable outcome.
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Israel -
Netanyahu and Bennett are reportedly in talks to set up a coalition government. The two discussed the need to form a “stable, functioning government as soon as possible,” a spokesman for Bennett said after the meeting.
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Iran -
Iran and the United States said on Friday they would hold indirect talks in Vienna from Tuesday as part of broader negotiations to revive the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and global powers. Tehran has ruled out face-to-face bilateral discussions, so a form of shuttle diplomacy will be carried out by european diplomats. The goal of these European govts is to have a new agreement within the next two months. (Reuters) Iran’s government wants the United States to lift all sanctions on its country and rejects any “step-by-step” easing of the restrictions, Iranian state broadcaster Press TV reported on Saturday. The two countries said on Friday they would hold indirect talks in Vienna from next week as part of broader negotiations to revive the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and global powers.
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Saudi Arabia -
Normalization with Israel would bring “tremendous benefit” to the region, the Saudi foreign minister has said, but such an accord with the kingdom would depend on progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
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Black Swans -
As the sun climbs out of a deep solar minimum, discussion increasing on the potential for a solar coronal mass ejection (CME) that could strike the earth, severely damaging and destroying portions of the electrical grid across the globe. We missed one of these ejections just a few years ago by something like 12 hours. The attached link is informative reading.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9428993/Solar-storm-appeared-like-great-fire-1582-hit-Earth-experts-warn.html
By mutual consent of the Republican Party, the Democrat Party, the media. the Elites, and a good part of the sheep. She was kicked out. Instead of someone with intelligence, beauty, grace, poise, class they preferred a bumbling _______________________[filling in blank] even if they had to violating election law after election law. Which the law and order Republicans immediately ignored and added insult to injury by lying and claiming that the election was legitimate. And the sheep? The sheep just went baa, baa pretending that the thief had not occurred. That January 6, 2021 and January 20,2021 were just two more days in paradise. "We will get them back in 2022 and 2024 the Judas Goats cried! And the sheep, contentedly chewing their cud. nodded.
Jesus Christ is RISEN.
Wuhan virus -
Wuhan cases in Mississippi and Texas continue to drop - showing neanderthals are smarter than CDC pHDs. However, the CDC refuses to cease fear mongering, stating that a new highly infectious variant has entered the country. Known as B-117, it was first reported in the United Kingdom, now accounts for 26 percent of the virus circulating in the United States
CDC still cannot find its way out of a paper bag. On Thursday CDC walked back controversial comments made by its director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, suggesting that people who are vaccinated against the coronavirus never become infected or transmit the virus to others. The assertion called into question the precautions that the agency had urged vaccinated people to take just last month, like wearing masks and gathering only under limited circumstances with unvaccinated people.
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Economy -
biden now admits his tax hike will hit those under $400K in income.
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CW2/Domestic violence -
More reports from across the US where blacks are reported harassing/assaulting Asians. One of the significant was an organized march by (Original?) Black Panthers that target Asian businesses in Milwaukee.
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Strategic Developments /Deployments -
U.S. Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV on station with its eyes on Crimea.
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Russia - POTENTIAL FOR WAR IN UKRAINE
Overnight a lot of shelling/mortar activity reported along the front. New this time around is aerial activity rumors are mostly helicopters as of now.
Russian military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer states that Russia could be ready to launch an invasion in 4 weeks. He predicts that all units should be in place, ready to go by early May. Russian naval assets enroute to the region include amphibious assault ships that could be used to support landings between Odessa and Mykolaiv. He has also assessed that one course of action would included a tank invasion from Belgorod through Kharkiv in the direction of Zaporizhia in order to surround Ukrainian forces on the left bank of the Donbass.
MY OBSERVATION - Reports of trains/convoys of equipment have gone down in the recent days. OPSEC on deployments, numbers and types of equipment will be hard to maintain and I’m sure Ukraine has plenty of human assets on the ground in the captured territories. The question is will Russia flat out launch a invasion given the soft headiness in the US govt and lack of NATO backbone? Or will it play a game of chicken, poised to strike after a ‘false flag’ or similar to justify an attack. The Russian analyst above seems to think the die has been cast and the order given. If russia invades, it will create an arms race between it and former Soviet republics who would see such an invasion a threat to them - a conventional arms race Russia would be hard pressed to follow given difficulties maintaining its current military under bad economic conditions that would just get worse with additional sanctions that would come from an attack. And, as I’ve mentioned previously, Ukraine is far better prepared than 2014, in training, equipment and manpower.
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Middle East General -
Jordanian authorities detained the kingdom’s former crown prince and arrested nearly 20 other people Saturday after what officials called a “threat to the country’s stability.” Jordan has been in contact with the US and Israel, providing status and updates as necessary.
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ping
I was looking for link on this...Do you have one?
CDC still cannot find its way out of a paper bag. On Thursday CDC walked back controversial comments made by its director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, suggesting that people who are vaccinated against the coronavirus never become infected or transmit the virus to others. The assertion called into question the precautions that the agency had urged vaccinated people to take just last month, like wearing masks and gathering only under limited circumstances with unvaccinated people.
Eh I think I found what I wanted.
Thanks.
Glad you found it.
NO REGULAR POST TOMORROW
Wuhan virus -
The Biden administration stopped a Baltimore manufacturer from making AstraZeneca Plc’s Covid-19 vaccine, days after the facility ruined 15 million doses of shots developed by Johnson & Johnson, the New York Times reported, citing two senior federal health officials who weren’t identified. Reportedly J&J was put in charge of this plant which was making these vaccines under contract with J&J as well as Astra.
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Globalism / Great Reset -
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will on Monday call for a global minimum corporate tax rate, in a speech to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Axios reported.
“We are working with G20 nations to agree to a global minimum corporate tax rate that can stop the race to the bottom,” Yellen will say in her speech, according to an excerpt of her prepared remarks cited by Axios.
There are a group of ‘stars’ trying to start an campaign for “international” certification of stores and businesses to be labeled as ‘safe’ - apparently from wuhan. Not sure how much traction this will get as the fine print says ‘certification’ is no guarantee of a germ free environment.
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Economy -
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) warned mortgage firms Thursday “to take all necessary steps now to prevent a wave of avoidable foreclosures this fall.” As of March 30, approximately 2.54 million homeowners remain in forbearance or about 4.8% of all mortgages, according to the latest data from Black Knight’s McDash Flash Forbearance Tracker. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided a safety net for borrowers with federally-backed mortgages who could access forbearance programs. The program set to lapse in the second half of the year, unavoidable foreclosure will occur despite the government trying everything under the sun to keep people in their homes.
NOTE - this also looks at those property owners who’ve received no rent for a better part of a year and only some govt payments. Renters will owe HUGE amounts of rent, Landlords will owe HUGH amounts of mortgage on their rental properties, etc. Continued mortgage / rent deferment is only kicking the can further down the road where it will blow up like a bomb.
Drought concerns are increasing in the Midwest as upwards of 75% of the region is suffering from lack of winter precipitation.
NOTE - Farms/ranches have been hit hard by a combination of weather related disasters over the past couple years, then last year with wuhan. These disasters have also hit globally, as i’ve noted in Black Swans, with increased demand for food. Expect food prices to skyrocket in the next few months. Stock up now.
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Biden watch -
So called ‘catholic’ biden did not mention Jesus once in his Easter address.
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Strategic Developments /Deployments -
USN has P8 Poseidon aircraft patrolling off Crimea.
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China -
LIAONING carrier task group passed through the Miyako Strait into the Pacific on April 3d. This passage is near Okinawa and the carrier group is being watched by the Japanese military. This is a kind of a tit for tat passage game that has been going on for the past few years between China and the west.
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Russia - POTENTIAL FOR WAR IN UKRAINE
Russia and US maintaining “high level” communications. According to Russia, accusations of alleged destabilization in eastern Ukraine are groundless.
Rhetoric between Ukraine and Russia (including separatists) remains highly charged.
OBSERVATIONS - It looks like deployment of equipment into the region by Russia is largely complete. There will be a relatively short period of time necessary to get them to their launching positions, fixed, fueled and armed up before any major offensive can take place. If news of heavy artillery being deployed close to the front line is detected, then watch out - that is a classical precursor to an assault.
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Middle East General -
Arab and Muslim leaders lined up to throw their public support behind Jordan’s King Abdullah on Sunday after authorities said they had foiled a conspiracy against the king, allegedly involving a displaced former crown prince – the king’s half-brother – and a senior former court official.
OBSERVATION - Rumbling will likely continue for some time but this actions appears to have cut off a future potential civil/military crisis. The King of Jordan relies heavily upon the support of these Arab and Muslim tribal leaders for the legitimacy of his crown.
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Turkey -
GNA (UN created Government of National Accord) and HoR (the last elected government that disagreed with the formation of the GNA) are in the process of merging under a peace accord with the GNA factions to head (as prime minister) the unified GNU (Government of National Unity). One of the regional sticking points of this new government is a 2019 arrangement between Libya and Turkey agreeing to claim and exploit offshore oil and gas discoveries in the waters between Libya and Turkey. Even the UN opposes this deal because it violates numerous treaties that have established rules for how this division of offshore resources is done. The Turks won’t leave unless their GNA treaty is legitimized. The Turks are increasingly the main obstacle to units and peace in Libya.
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Black Swans -
A minor earthquake rumbled the LA basin. This is a reminder that the Big One is still on the horizon somewhere. Imagine that hitting with the gang of screwballs in the WH and Sacramento. Not a pleasant thought. Be prepared to be your own first responder while you get out of that hell hole before this happens.
So much to catch up on . . . ..
Wuhan virus -
Meanwhile - wuhanist doctors and politicians have been beating the drum that we are entering another ‘wave’ of infection, yet according to the Hill - “The number of COVID-19 deaths per day reported in the U.S. dropped to its lowest point in more than a year on Sunday, with the country documenting 222 fatalities. The U.S. saw daily toll drop from 676 fatalities recorded on Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics. The data show the number of daily deaths reached its lowest point since early in the pandemic on March 23, 2020, when 192 deaths were documented. “
This is graphically depicted at the following twitter link -
A National Institutes of Health (NIH) oversight board meant to critically evaluate research that would enhance highly dangerous pathogens did not review a grant that funded a lab in Wuhan, China, to genetically modify bat-based coronaviruses, the Daily Caller reported on Monday. Fauci was involved of this board and has been reported over the past year that he was using the wuhan facility to conduct research outlawed here in the US.
Wuhan vaccine related injuries exceeds 50,000 in the US. This is orders of magnitude larger than injuries from use of other, standard true vaccines. Number includes 2.249 deaths and 7,726 ‘serious’ injuries.
In Europe and Canada, AstraZenica still facing blood clot fears and is still banned from use.
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Globalism / Great Reset -
Private businesses will be the drivers of vaccine passport requirements, not the U.S. government, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday. “I doubt that the federal government will be the main mover of a vaccine passport concept,” Fauci told the “Politico Dispatch. NOTE - is it my understanding that govt forcing vaccinations is grossly against the law, so biden et al will go around it via forcing the private sector to require a ‘passport’ for service - and of course govt willing to provide the passport. Even this is on shaky legal grounds.
UPDATE - biden administration sources have not flop-flopped on the whole ‘passport’ idea due to ‘privacy concerns’? Psaki noted it is merely the private-sector issue the White House is discussing. Not much of a flip flop - biden will let the lackeys in the private sector do his dirty work while his administration works in the background.
On the same matter, Texas has joined Florida in banning wuhan ‘passports’. Many other states in the process of the same.
See China digital yuan below
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Economy -
In what could develop into a currency “Pearl Harbor” moment, China rolled out a digitized version of its currency, referred to as the “digital yuan,” which Chinese officials want to compete with the USD as the world reserve and standard for international trade. The dollar is the global trade standard and if China can replace it with their currency, the result would be disastrous to the US economy.
California is facing the third driest winter on record. Besides the risk of mega-forest fires, Californian is a massive supplier of food to the nation and world. Lack of water means lack of irrigated acreage which means less food stacked against increased global demand because other countries are facing food shortages as well. Eating is going to get expensive.
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Invasion of Illegals -
VP Harris has not addressed the border ‘crisis’ she was assigned to be the point person on in the past two weeks. She has been staying away from the region and press religiously on that subject.
biden administration is quietly looking to resume construction of the border wall to plug ‘gaps’ in it. This vindicates the Trump policy in many ways. However, contractually DHS has it hands tied to those projects already set up and were underway. It will take months to build at different locations that were not already in the process of construction.
Two Yemeni men on FBI’s terror watchlist were arrested near the point of entry this week. One was stopped on January 29 and the other on March 30. Press has quickly put a lid on the story and DHS has deleted released information.
NOTE - this is not the first time wanted terrorists have been intercepted crossing the border, but the current chaos has likely enabled many to get across as BP is unable to apprehend all who cross.
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CW2/Domestic violence -
Founders of BLM are warning that they will be burning cities down if they don’t get the verdict they want in the Floyd death trial. It is pretty well recognized that they will be rioting no matter what the verdict is anyway.
BLM/Antifa observers who are basically flies on the walls of key leftist chat rooms/messages report that BLM/Antifa leaders published an after action report from recent Salem WA counter-protests that displayed the depth and organization that has developed over the past years. The authors observed an autonomous diversification of resources including medical support, escape route planning, map making, bail funding, legal observers, logistical support, and “volunteers to monitor right-wing accounts and streams.” They also provided a timeline of law enforcement actions during the event with detailed descriptions of the tactics employed against them. They note the mob’s ability to reach consensus quickly and avoid making tactical errors such as losing numerical superiority and crowd concentration.
OBSERVATION - For too long the right has just considered BLM/Antifa to be a bunch of misbegotten soy boys with too much time on their hands. I’ve posted notes many times that their organization is far more planned out than that. They have perfected it in their west coast enclaves, working the OODA loop far faster than law enforcement can react. Now they’ve been exporting and adapting it to rural ‘red’ areas where they are numerically inferior and lack the broader support base, but can still out maneuver opponents through better intelligence and organization - which results in a combat multiplier for them. The right has got to get smart and fast.
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CYBER/CANCEL CULTURE FRONT -
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas blasted Big Tech on Monday, arguing that they’re “common carriers” who don’t have the right to censor Americans. “Today’s digital platforms provide avenues for historically unprecedented amounts of speech, including speech by government actors. Also unprecedented, however, is control of so much speech in the hands of a few private parties,” Thomas wrote. “We will soon have no choice but to address how our legal doctrines apply to highly concentrated, privately owned information infrastructure such as digital platforms.”
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Domestic Terror -
Seeking more info on the shooter, a Navy medic who critically injured two sailors Tuesday morning when he opened fire at a Frederick, Maryland, business park. The shooter then fled to the nearby military base, brandished a weapon, and was shot dead by authorities. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Fantahun Girma Woldesenbet was the shooter and was put down by police when he tried to enter Ft. Detrick.
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Strategic Developments /Deployments -
More US and NATO intelligence aircraft operating in the Black Sea area monitoring the developments there.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt CSG has moved into the South China Sea region near the Whitsun Reef area. This region is currently under dispute between China and Phillippines.
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China -
See China digital yuan above in Economy.
Taiwan has spotted Chinese drones circling the Taipei-controlled Pratas Islands in the South China Sea and may shoot them down if they stray too close, a government minister said on Wednesday, a move that could dramatically increase tensions with Beijing. China has so far stayed outside the Restricted Zone - which extends 6 km from its coast for now.
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Russia - POTENTIAL FOR WAR IN UKRAINE
In what may seem to be an attempt to deescalate tensions, the head of occupation authorities in parts of Donetsk region at press conference said that situation at line of control is rapidly deteriorating and escalating but that there is no need of full mobilization.
Disinformation is a key tactic Russia has used against Ukraine. The 2014 Olympics in Sochi was the previous reason given for movement of military assets, which were later used to invade and annex Crimea.
A lot of emphasis seen on military build up in Crimea. Annexed by Russia in 2014, Ukraine almost immediately shut of a major canal that supplied water to the region. Some are looking at this situation and think that one intermediate objective of any invasion is to secure the diversion dam site and restore the flow of water.
FORCE BUILDUP - On 5 April, the Russian 76th Guards Air Assault Division was spotted heading to Crimea via railroad. With previous combat experience and losses suffered in the region in 2014, the unit maintained its military readiness posture, but is shifting from Baltic-focused staging back to Ukraine.
Additional sightings of S-300 missile systems have been shared on social media, including Russian military vehicles moved from the Central Military District in Siberia to the Voronezh border region near Ukraine.
Russian Defense Minister Shoigu announced military preparedness tests in all military districts: 4,000 individual exercises to be held in April 2021 by the Russian armed forces. This is a full mobilization of the Russian armed forces into combat readiness. This could provide cover for actual operations against Ukraine.
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Israel -
President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday afternoon tasked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with trying to assemble Israel’s next governing coalition, saying he has a “slightly higher chance” of succeeding than Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid. Netanyahu will now have 28 days to try cobbling together a coalition that can win majority support in the Knesset or another election will be called.
In a phone call with a Middle East leader last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Palestinian Arabs are entitled to “freedom, security, prosperity and democracy.” Can’t disagree with a word of that. Every human being deserves those things. The problem is that Mr. Blinken called the wrong guy. The Secretary of State made his remarks about the Palestinians in a conversation with the foreign minister of Israel, Gabi Ashkenazi. But Israel doesn’t rule over the Palestinian Arabs. The Palestinian Authority does. Blinken should have called the P.A.’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Riad Al-Malki.
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Iran -
After a day of conflicting information, Iran Foreign Ministry have (finally) announced the targeting of the Saviz vessel in the Red Sea. Several Iranian news outlets showed images of flames and smoke billowing from a stricken vessel in the Red Sea, but the full extent of the damage or any casualties was unclear. The Tasnim news agency, the media outlet of the Revolutionary Guards, said the Saviz had been damaged by a mine (“limpet”) that was attached to the vessel. Israel is making no comment on the incident.
OBSERVATIONS - SAVIZ is an Iranian spy/military ship disguised as a freighter. Incident not specific as yet, but may involve Israeli military action of some sort. It was operating in proximity to Israel at the time. This is a continuation of the skirmishes between Israel and Iranian ships. Most recently an Israeli cargo ship was hit by what was reported to be a missile/rocket while sailing in the Arabian Sea. As far as effectiveness of the different attacks, clearly Israel has inflected greater damage so far. So I expect an escalation of attacks over the coming months.
So-called “talks’ began between Europe (and US) and Iran. Iran already saying that they’ve won the effort and the west has capitulated. Yesterday as well Iran announced that they had something like 120 lbs of uranium purified to 20% levels.
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