Threat Matrix 2022

Welcome to the Threat Matrix 2022. Keep up to date on the multiple threats to our country and life.

Yesterday was used up helping with a food drive. I’ll get things caught up today.

Wuhan virus –

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he wants to keep the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in place to protect the health of the troops, as Republican governors and lawmakers press to rescind it.

OBSERVATION – Its about power, and in this case, degrading our military. Austin is a 4 x jabber – yet he still got wuhan. The science is out there – the jab has become more dangerous than the disease and the continued push for the mandate serves only to degrade morale of the forces and split it.

AGAIN - Its all about power

Invasion of Illegals –

Department of Homeland Security has been assuring Congress and citizens that they have a plan and the situation is under control. Basically the “plan” involves processing and releasing as many illegals a day as possible. This means minimal vetting for terrorists and criminals.
Last April, DHS calculated that about 18,000 illegals a day would present themselves at the border once Title 42 restrictions were lifted. Last month, a record number of illegals crossed the border and weren’t apprehended. More than 73,000 illegal aliens were classified as “gotaways” — an all-time record.

OBSERVATION – title 42 was a speed bump that helped keep many illegals at bay. With the removal of its protections illegals will pour into the country at even greater numbers than we have seen so far. IMHO we’ve crossed the point now that even with a complete border closure, there are so many illegals running around the country that, with their legal allies, it will be nearly impossible to get control of them and deport them. This is deliberate by the biden regime who’s solution has already been uttered by Schumer - grant amnesty to 11 plus million of them.

CW2/Domestic violence –

Grassroots movements of Americans seeking a political divorce from their fellow citizens have recently gained traction amid deepening cultural rifts, according to multiple figures involved with secessionist organizations who spoke to Fox News Digital.

Such movements have emerged in every region of the U.S. and vary in their goals. Some aim for entire states to leave the union to form a new country, while others endeavor more simply that rural red counties secede from the domination of blue urban centers to form new states. All agree that the disagreements with their political opponents have grown intractable.

OBSERVATION – The gap between Red and Blue is at an unreconcilable stage and the separation has been accelerated by the actions of the swamp combined with the massive movement of conservatives out of blue areas - resulting in deeper colors for both sides. And is isn’t limited to just red areas, blue voice have been calling for a separation as well. The only question is will this ‘divorce’ be on good terms or at the end of a gun barrel.

CANCEL CULTURE FRONT

New Zealand’s government has officially admitted that it has partner access to Facebook’s controversial content takedown portal. This portal is designed specifically for government agencies to flag content to Facebook for censorship. According to The Intercept, which reported on the portal in October, government partners can also use the portal to “report disinformation directly” to Facebook.

And in a recent response to a New Zealand Official Information Act (OIA) request, which asked whether the government has partner access to Facebook’s takedown portal, the New Zealand government confirmed that the Department of Internal Affairs has access. While this was the only government department that was confirmed to have access to the portal, the OIA response also said “we cannot advise if any other government agency has access to the takedown portal.”

Publicly, the New Zealand government has endorsed the censorship of legal content with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying “disinformation” should be regulated like guns, bombs, and nuclear weapons. Big Tech companies have also agreed to a censorship pact in the country where they suppress “misinformation” and “harmful content.”

Most other governments haven’t admitted that they have access to these portals. However, last year The White House did admit that the United States (US) Surgeon General’s Office is flagging posts for Facebook to censor.

OBSERVATION – Govt censorship of individual’s rights on Big Tech not just limited to the US, but is clearly global. These minions of WEF cannot allow any contrary narrative thought and speech. Big Tech is in collaboration with them – See Musk under Political below.

POLITICAL FRONT –

Evidence of one of the biggest political scandals in modern American history was revealed by Musk yesterday. Next “smoking gun” from the Twitter Files will address “what happened after the election,” says Elon Musk on Spaces.

OBSERVATION – The anti-Musk lefties on Twitter are largely silent – only a few sniveling voices against the reveal. Musk had the goods and the left caught with their pants down - they thought they were untouchable – they are finding out otherwise.

Voices are rising for new republican leadership following the midterm debacle. McCarthy’s claim to the speakership is shakey and the RNC leadership are AWOL in Arizona, leaving Lake to flap in the wind – even in the face of undeniable voting irregularities/violations.

Domestic / International Terror (modified)-

DHS has continued the warnings of holiday time terror incidents by the ‘right’ (domestic terrorists).

Strategic Activity / Deployments –

The B-21 was revealed yesterday – the only 6th gen stealth plane in existence.

China –

In recent weeks, Apple Inc. has accelerated plans to shift some of its production outside China, long the dominant country in the supply chain that built the world’s most valuable company, say people involved in the discussions.
Coming after a year of events that weakened China’s status as a stable manufacturing center, the upheaval means Apple no longer feels comfortable having so much of its business tied up in one place, according to analysts and people in the Apple supply chain.

OBSERVATION – It took a lot of 2x4’s to Apple’s head to realize that China was no longer a dependable source for the construction of its iPhones. Trump made those warnings 6+ years ago. Still, it will be years before the shifts will become effective enough to influence production numbers.

Relief from the zero wuhan policies across China has worked to calm protests that broke out last weekend.

Russia -
WAR WATCH - Russia is now in its ninth month of the “three days to conquer Ukraine” since fighting starting on Feb 24th.

CURRENT ASSESSMENT
Russian forces are constructing defensive lines across occupied southern Ukraine. It is only capable of very local offensive actions as in the ongoing fighting around Bakhmut and Donetsk.
Russia is also capable of launching more cruise/ballistic missile attacks directed against Ukrainian infrastructure -primarily its power grid, but massively reduced inventories of such missiles means these barrages will be further apart and less intense.
While Russia has nuclear capability, the probability is low that it will use one to swing the initiative back to its forces.

********

RUMINT –
Russian President Vladimir Putin fell down the stairs and soiled himself this week amid mounting speculation that his health is declining, an anti-Kremlin Telegram channel with apparent links to his security team reported.
Putin, 70, suffered the unfortunate fall at his Moscow official residence on Wednesday evening, according to the Telegram channel “General SVR,” which purports to be run by a former Russian spy.
The ailing Russian leader allegedly fell down five steps before landing on his coccyx, or tailbone.
Although his security guards immediately rushed to his aid, the impact of the fall caused Putin to “involuntarily defecate” due to “cancer affecting his stomach and bowels,” according to the channel.
The incident is the latest health scare for Putin, who is rumored to suffering from worsening cancer and Parkinson’s disease amid the ongoing war with Ukraine.

OBSERVATION - Rumors concerning putin’s health have been widely circulating for a good year now. These rumors are piggybacking on general growing discontent from the population over the Ukraine war.

Russian Personnel Issues –
- People across Russia are freezing in their homes in temperatures as low as -38°C (that’s nearly equivalent to -39 degrees F for us in the US – darn cold even by standards here in my corner of the Redoubt) because essential utility workers have been mobilized – even after the supposed end of mobilization – and sent to Ukraine, hindering repair and maintenance work at home. NOTE – Other sectors of the economy have been hit by removal of workers under the mobilization.

- Russia has stopped sending troops to Ukraine as members of Battalion Tactical Groups or BTGs, starting in August. This was done quietly and there were practical reasons for this. First, most of the Russian troops sent to Ukraine since August have been poorly trained light infantry and were often just used to build fortifications. NOTE – BTG’s also need officer/NCO leadership – both of which have been decimated over the course of the last nine months.

Economic Impact –
- G7 and Australia agree to the $60/bbl price cap on oil from Russia.
- Russian authorities rejected a price cap on the country’s oil.

Ukraine -

WEATHER FORECAST – Subfreezing temperatures and less precipitation (primarily snow) in the 10 day forecast

24 HOUR ROUND UP –
Ukrainian and Russian sources reported that Ukrainian forces made localized breakthroughs southwest and northwest of Kreminna on December 2.

It appears that Russia has mustered its artillery units to support the Bakhmut attacks and Russia appears to be making minor gains, though at this stage the town itself is still securely in Ukrainian hands.

Eastern (Kharkiv) front ——
Skirmishes NW of Kreminna appear to have resulted in a developing breakout. The immediate result is that Ukrainian forces now appear to have physically cut the Hwy 66 route between it and Svatove. Russian rear areas are endangered again.

Donetsk Oblast ——
Continuing Russian attacks west-northwest of Donetsk and Bakhmut.

Zaporizhizhia Front ———
NSR

Crimean front ———
Ukrainian SOF forces crossed to the left bank Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast and hung a Ukranian flag on a crane in Chernovopopivka in Luhansk Oblast. More of a PR ploy to unsettle Russian defenders as the area appears to be in the middle of a very swampy area.

Western / Central Ukraine ——
NSR

Russian Territory -—
NSR

Partisan Resistance ——
NSR - but don’t let that fool you, there are plenty of unconfirmed reports of rear area attacks across Russian occupied territory.

OUTLOOK ——
Weather is finally changing on the Svatove-Kreminna frontline (as well as other sectors), noting that Ukrainian forces will soon be able to improve their maneuvers as the mud fully freezes in the area. US intel ‘sources’ don’t view it in this manner and are expecting the battle to go into a holding pattern until spring. The developing action around Kreminna is evidence that winter will not slow Ukrainian offensives.

The same potential goes for Russia – improved conditions for vehicle travel. However, I don’t think they’ve learned their lessons yet. They are still largely road bound and those armored elements that do enter combat are falling to the anti-armor kill zones because they do not have proper infantry support.
I anticipate Russia will continue with the almost human wave – frontal attacks as have been observed around Bahkmut and Donetsk – relying heavily upon massed artillery support. On the flip side, shifting artillery to the east leaves much of the rest of southern Ukraine without much supporting artillery or at worse, very crappy units and equipment.

Ukraine still has the home field advantage – with soldiers better prepared for the cold and better supplied. Russia still suffering from logistics headaches – prioritizing ammo over warm, clothing and hot food.

Belarus -

Sergei Shoigu arrived in Belarus yesterday for a reportedly unannounced visit. After landing at Machulishchy Air Base, he met his Belarusian counterpart Viktor Khrenin and signed amendments to the 1997 treaty on establishing the Union State (changes pertained to the defence and security part of the document). After that, Shiogu met with Lukashenko. Shoigu likely met with Khrenin and Lukashenko in what some believe to be an attempt to place pressure on Belarus to further support Russia’s offensive campaign in Ukraine.

Monitoring of military activity in Belarus continues to show training being conducted primarily in the central and western areas of the country.

OBSERVATION - Lukashenko faces a potential rebellion and coup if he forces the army to attack Ukraine. Belarus military is OK with training Russians and providing other logistical support. Over the past year, analysts and OSINT evaluations indicate that the quality of the Belarus army is still very poor. They could do OK in defensive operations, but are still incapable of successfully executing offensive operations. Military activity in country continues to be Russian elements composed by recent mobiles learning how to be a soldier and fight.

Iran –

Large protests are being planned on December 5-7. This would be the first truly coordinated series of protests yet.

Iran said Saturday it is reviewing a decades-old law that requires women to cover their heads, as it struggles to quell more than two months of protests linked to the dress code. “Both parliament and the judiciary are working (on the issue .of whether the law needs any changes, Iran’s attorney general Mohammad Jafar Montazeri said.
Included in these ‘discussions’ is the disbanding of the ‘morality police’, known formally as the Gasht-e Ershad or “Guidance Patrol” — were established under hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to “spread the culture of modesty and hijab”, the mandatory female head covering. The units began patrols in 2006.

OBSERVATION - This reveals big cracks developing as more moderate elements are moving to relieve regulations while the mullahs are still working to hold the hard line.

Iraq -

The Iraqi army announces the start of implementing measures to control the joint borders with Iran and Turkey

OBSERVATION – This control is likely designed to prevent Kurdish forces from infiltrating into Iran and Turkey – a demand both countries have made under threat of an invasion to do the controlling for Iraq.

Syria -

Turkey pressing artillery attacks in Kurdish predominate regions.

Globalism / Great Reset –

Farmers in Germany have been banned from properly fertilizing large areas of their land under strict EU rules pushing the green agenda. The use of nitrate fertilizers has been further restricted for large swathes of farmland in North Rhine-Westphalia, which is now likely to drastically reduce yields. Although German authorities have implemented the ban, it is ultimately at the behest of the European Union, which is seeking to reduce the amount of nitrogen to tackle ‘climate change.’

The policy has already wreaked havoc in the Netherlands. As The Daily Fetched reported in September Dutch farmers have risen in protest to oppose the government curbs on nitrogen emissions to comply with Brussels.
Only Denmark, Ireland, the Flanders region of Belgium, and the Netherlands are permitted to exceed 170 kilos of manure per hectare, the current EU cap.
But under the terms negotiated by the outgoing Agriculture Minister, the exemption will end in 2026 and impact approximately 18,000 farms in the Netherlands, which spreads more manure on fields than other EU nations.
Farms affected by the decision will only be able to apply for 10,000 euros in assistance, which even Staghouwer acknowledged will not be sufficient to cover their losses, adding it “is not a nice message” to the farmers.

OBSERVATION – Assistance money won’t put food in the mouths of European citizens. European countries marching lock step into the WEF’s new world order with the same catastrophic dumpster fire the march to green energy has created.

The 15 Minute City is a UN (https://unfccc.int/blog/the-15-minute-city) and WEF plan (https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/03/15-minute-city-stickiness/). You will be tracked and trapped in your suburb and happy about it.—IClimate (https://iowaclimate.org/2022/12/03/oxford-2024-climate-lockdowns-start-you-will-be-tracked-and-trapped-in-your-suburb-and-happy-about-it/)

OBSERVATION – These ‘plans’ depict the utopian ideal community for the sheeple. One thing to note is the massive displacement of people into these ‘communities’ in order to make them fully work according to WEF et al.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released the major themes for its upcoming January 2023 Davos conference. This year’s Switzerland confab will be titled, “Cooperation in a Fragmented World.” The major themes for the gathering will include:

1. “Addressing the Current Energy and Food Crises in the context of a New System for Energy, Climate and Nature” Essentially, the WEF wants you to eat bugs while energy becomes unaffordable due to the purposeful destruction of the global reliable energy sector.
2. “Addressing the Current High Inflation, Low Growth, High Debt Economy in the context of a New System for Investment, Trade and Infrastructure”
3. “Addressing the Current Industry Headwinds in the context of a New System for Harnessing Frontier Technologies for Private Sector Innovation and Resilience”

4. “Addressing the Current Social Vulnerabilities in the context of a New System for Work, Skills and Care”
5. “Addressing the Current Geopolitical Risks in the context of a New System for Dialogue and Cooperation in a Multipolar World” More climate hoax stuff and more coercion.

OBSERVATION – Heads up for whats coming up next.

WHO’s Pandemic Treaty preparations are moving forward with the World Bank creating a global pandemic fund, the largest fund in its history. The WHO also appears to be pushing the necessary amendments to the existing treaty (allowing them to by pass our certification process and constitution) to be voted on at 76th World Health Assembly in May 2023. This is a year earlier than their previous goal.

OBSERVATION - Reminder, these ‘amendments’ permit the WHO to bypass our constitution and laws and impose their own set of rules on the country.

Wuhan virus –

Republicans in the Senate have threatened to block the National Defense Authorization Act unless a vote is held on the current COVID vaccine mandate for military personnel.
The effort is being headed up by Florida Senator Rick Scott and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, along with 11 other senators, including Ted Cruz and Mike Lee.

OBSERVATION - It will be a nice try, but the swamp won’t let it go through. Its all about power and in this case, reducing the military’s capability to go to war.

Economy –

Most financial institutions predict market prices will fall by around 5% by the end of 2023. Wells Fargo predicts the decrease will be over 5%, and analyst Ivy Zelman expects prices will drop by 4% in 2023 and another 5% in 2024. Moody’s Analytics predicts a decrease of 5%-10%. Capital Economics is a bit more pessimistic, predicting at least an 8% decrease over the next year.
Some experts think a more drastic change will occur over the next year, with prices falling nearly 20%. Online real estate giant Zillow believes that by February 2023, prices will drop almost 18% from the same time in 2022. Pantheon Macroeconomics predicts that the drop will reach over 20% by the middle of 2023

Many experts predict a rise in mortgage rates through the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023 before a significant drop begins. It is less likely that properties will come onto the market if that’s the case.
Interest rates are still a problem. Even if prices plummet, increasing rates could prevent the market from falling as much as buyers hope.

OBSERVATION – As noted before, the housing market is a key overall indicator of the health of the economy, and it isn’t looking too good. We will likely see within another couple of months just how bad this summer will be.

U.S. logistic managers are bracing for delays in the delivery of goods from China in early January as a result of canceled sailings of container ships and rollovers of exports by ocean carriers.
U.S. manufacturing orders in China are down 40 percent, according to the latest CNBC Supply Chain Heat Map data. As a result of the decrease in orders, Worldwide Logistics tells CNBC it is expecting Chinese factories to shut down two weeks earlier than usual for the Chinese Lunar New Year — Chinese New Year’s Eve falls on Jan. 21 next year. The seven days after the holiday are considered a national holiday.

OBSERVATION – this due, in part, to the substantial zero covid lockdowns in china as well as the shifting of the US market towards probable recession (and businesses trying to reduce inventory)

Bank of America (BofA) analysts are warning of a collapsing U.S. labor market and a potential rise in unemployment next year. They also recommended selling a stock market rally ahead of the likely surge in job losses.

OBSERVATION – Again, elements of the investment community positioning for a recession while govt voices echo hopium.

The economy added 263,000 jobs in November, down from 284,000 jobs added in October. According to the Washington Post, economists are concerned that job and wage growth will push the Federal Reserve to continue raising rates and increase the risk of a recession.

CW2/Domestic violence –

The Biden administration has awarded $5 million to a group of journalists developing software to encourage Americans to confront their friends over “harmful” posts and to “correct misinformation” such as stating the COVID-19 vaccines are not effective.
The group, called Hacks/Hackers, also is organizing censorship of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, to determine who is a “credible source” on vaccines and block others from being cited, the Daily Wire reported.

Users of the taxpayer-funded software – the Analysis and Response Toolkit for Trust, or ARTT – are encouraged to paste in their friends’ Twitter and Facebook posts. The tool will tell them how “harmful” the posts are. The funding came from the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Among the specific threats are “widespread online proliferation of false or misleading narratives regarding unsubstantiated widespread election fraud and COVID-19.”
“Grievances associated with these themes inspired violent extremist attacks during 2021,” DHS said.

OBSERVATION – High tech snitch on your neighbor operations. The regime has the narrative so deeply entrenched via MSM and govt controls now exposed by Musk that the sheeple are becoming well trained. We saw this to an extent during wuhan and you can expect it to quickly expand to climate change dictates.

Google has presented its project dubbed “Info Interventions” based on what it says is a behavioral science that, if these “interventions” are used as directed, could “teach” users to the degree they will become resilient to online harms.
Another promise is that by “pre-bunking misinformation” users can be “immunized.”
How is this supposed to work? Google has put up a site that states the goal is to provide accuracy prompts that would refocus users’ attention toward whatever Google decides qualifies as accurate information.
And to reach it, the “hypothesis” currently seems to be that “reminding individuals to think about accuracy when they might be about to engage with false information can boost users’ pre-existing accuracy goals.”

OBSERVATION – Looking at these plans and concepts on a daily basis is dizzying scary. Control of narrative and suppression of dissention has really hit overdrive the past couple of years – a pace unbelievable in the Before Times. Seriously – there appears to be no controls on this movement either – its going to be shoved down our throats whether we like it or not.

POLITICAL FRONT –

Katie Hobbs’s office apparently contacted Twitter to have posts removed! So, the democrat candidate, who ran the AZ election, censored her political opponents, disrupted Election Day votes, and then threatened counties with prosecution if they didn’t declare her the winner.

OBSERVATION – Meanwile the RNC is silent and not coming forward to assist Lake.

PROBABLY RELATED -
The chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, is facing a new challenger for the post, Politico reported Sunday.
Harmeet Dhillon, who already sits as an RNC committeewoman, is preparing a bid for party chair, according to two people familiar with the matter.
“After three successive terms of underwhelming results at the polls for the GOP, all the while with leaders congratulating ourselves for outstanding performance, I feel that we owe it to our voters to have a serious debate about the leadership of the party and what we must change to actually win in 2024,” a statement from Dhillon read.
Fellow challengers to McDaniel’s seat also include New York Rep. Lee Zeldin, who ran a competitive campaign for New York’s governor, and the CEO of MyPillow, Mike Lindell.

OBSERVATION - McDaniel is mitt romney’s niece - so no surprise here of the entrenched eGOP attitude. She has her position on the basis of graft and hasn’t done squat except try to disenfranchise the Republican base.

Domestic / International Terror (modified)-

A major power outage in North Carolina that left almost 40,000 people in the dark on Saturday night was caused by “intentional vandalism” at numerous substations, police said. At least two substations were hit.

Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said in a statement that the blackout that began just after 7 p.m. was “being investigated as a criminal occurrence.”
Chief Mike Cameron of the Southern Pines Fire and Rescue Department told the local newspaper, The Pilot, that the substations had been damaged by gunfire.

Authorities have declared a countywide state of emergency

OBSERVATION – This incident is similar to one where substation transformers were hit in Kalifornian a number of years ago. Deranged leftists have been quick to say stopping a ‘family friendly’ trans drag event was the reason for the attack. Another rumor was that several gun stores were hit during the blackout. The sheriff has stated – no motive identified yet.

Motive is key as this incident could have been random vandalism (low likelihood), cover for organized crime, to probing operations by foreign or domestic elements assessing the ease of targeting such facilities and extent of impacts to the local communities.

ALSO RELATED - Domestic extremists have been developing plans to attack U.S. electric power infrastructure, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warned in a bulletin obtained by The Hill.
The department said both domestic violent extremists and extremists specifically motivated by racial animus are among those eyeing the power system as a target for attack.
“DVEs have developed credible, specific plans to attack electricity infrastructure since at least 2020, identifying the electric grid as a particularly attractive target given its interdependency with other infrastructure sectors,” the bulletin says.

OBSERVATION – liking the attack on substations to domestic terrorism, will bolster the Biden administration’s warnings that right wing groups are a danger to the country.

Russia -
WAR WATCH - Russia is now in its ninth month of the “three days to conquer Ukraine” since fighting starting on Feb 24th.

********
Kremlin’s spokesperson says Putin was informed about explosions at airbases, see Ukraine below.

Logistics –
- Unconfirmed rumors that Russia launches Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drones less frequently due to cold weather. It has a negative effect on the materials from which the drones are made. Components functional in the heat of the middle east not working well in Russian winter.

- Russia has been unable to deal with the impact of Western economic sanctions on its war production. Its government claims that production levels have been sustained and, in some cases, increased. This was contradicted by government-approved publications providing a different picture, one that depicted problems and failure to sustain pre-sanctions production levels.

Economic Impact –
- Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak says that Russia will not operate under an oil price cap even if it has to cut production

Ukraine -

WEATHER FORECAST – Subfreezing temperatures and less precipitation (primarily snow) in the 10 day forecast

24 HOUR ROUND UP –
As I was typing, Russia launched a new cruise missile attack across central and southern Ukraine. No word yet on all locations hit or damages. This appears to be follow-up to earlier Russian attacks using S300 missiles in surface attack mode.

It also appears Ukraine has developed some sort of attack drone system capable of reaching deep into Russia to strike targets. Overnight, 2 planes were damaged, and 2 persons wounded as result of suspected drone strike at airfield in Saratov region of Russia. Planes damaged were reportedly - Tu-95 Bear bombers.

In another drone strike, 3 persons killed, 6 wounded as result of explosion of fuel truck at Dyagilevo military airfield in Ryazan region of Russia. Russian channels report 4 planes were damaged at Dyagilevo airbase (could be Il-78/76 or Tu-95, Tu-22).

Russian forces continued ground attacks around Bakhmut, with Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian troops repelled Russian attacks northeast of Bakhmut near Berestove, Bilohorivka, Yakovlivka, Soledar, and Bakhmutske and south of Bakhmut near Opytne, Klishchiivka, Andriivka, and Kurdiumivka.

Russian forces also conducted ground attacks in the Avdiivka-Donetsk City area

Russian sources reported that Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive operations in the direction of Svatove on December 4. Ukrainian forces also reportedly continued counteroffensive operations toward Kreminna amidst limited Russian counterattacks.

Eastern (Kharkiv) front ——
NSR

Donetsk Oblast ——
Continuing Russian attacks west-northwest of Donetsk and Bakhmut.

Zaporizhizhia Front ———
Ukrainian forces reportedly destroyed a concentration of Russian troops in the Yakymivka district of Zaporizhzhya region. The Russians reportedly lost up to 30 militants wounded and more than 10 dead.

Crimean front ———
Sporadic Russian artillery fire along LOC.

Western / Central Ukraine ——
NSR

Russian Territory -—
Explosions were reported in several districts of Belgorod region near the border of Ukraine.
Note again, Ukraine may have developed attack drones capable of penetrating deep into Russia. See 24 Hour Summary above.

Partisan Resistance ——
NSR - but don’t let that fool you, there are plenty of unconfirmed reports of rear area attacks across Russian occupied territory.

OUTLOOK ——
As the hard freeze approaches in late December, Ukrainian forces will be again able to exploit the weather conditions. Winter is usually the best season for mechanized warfare in Ukraine whereas spring is the nightmare season for fighting in Ukraine.

Russia continues to expend a huge amount of resources in its efforts to capture Bahkmut and so far has slowly been making gains, but with high losses. This effort is lead by Wagner Group mercenaries and this battle plays politics against the General Staff at the MOD and both fight for putin’s favors and attention.

Iran –

Western media inaccurately reported that the Iranian regime abolished its morality patrol on December 4. The regime has not made such a concession.

Syria -

With things getting hot due to Turkish incursions in N. Syria, the south is beginning to boil as well. In Suwaydah in southern Syria, protests against the Assad regime in this Druze city turned bloody as Assad forces fired on the crowd, killing a protester. This resulted in the citizenry of the city becoming enraged.

Turkey -

Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin: We do not ask permission from anyone when our national security is endangered, and “it suffices to coordinate with allies.” Kalin: We will pursue “militants” to eliminate them by air and land, and we did not target American or Russian forces in our operations in northern Syria

Central / South America General-

RUMINT. Military vehicles have been spotted mobilizing in Brazil as President Bolsonaro met with military leaders at a ceremony to promote new generals in Brazilía Thursday. There are unconfirmed reports of armed forces deploying in cities.
Three separate reports have found that the elections could not be verified, since many of the voting machines cannot be audited. The military audit required by law could not be completed because the pro-Lula Electoral Court refuses to turn over the source code of the machines.

OBSERVATION – Still very much RUMINT as I haven’t found independent verification and sources are very pro- Bolsonaro.

Globalism / Great Reset –

The Department of Homeland Security has delayed the deadline for air travelers to have a REAL ID another two years, the agency announced Monday.The program, which was to begin in May 2023, will now not go into effect until May 7, 2025. This is the third time the deadline has been extended.

OBSERVATION – They blame it on wuhan and associated backlogs. Let me toss another idea out there. The delay is to permit the digital ID with ESG tracking to come on line, bringing with it financial and vaccination info AND biometrically verified. Tin foil? Nope, if you follow the GGR types, these components are already getting in position for eventual combination into a singular system.

Wuhan virus –

At a private event over the weekend, Governor Ron DeSantis said that his administration intends to hold vaccine manufacturers accountable for making false claims about COVID products that have caused injuries and death.
The governor said he would be working with Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo “to hold these manufacturers accountable for this mRNA [shot] because they said there were no side effects and we know that there have been a lot.”
DeSantis made the comments at a Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) event on Saturday at the Florida Governors Mansion. American Greatness reached out to both the RPOF, and the governor’s communications team for comment but did not receive an immediate reply.
“We did a study in Florida and we saw an 86 percent increase in cardiac related activity in people ages 18 to 39 from mRNA shots and so we’re going to be doing some stuff to bring accountability there,” DeSantis told the RPOF Executive Committee members at the event. In the United States, the mRNA products are produced by Pfizer and Moderna.

OBSERVATION – Deliberate fraud by Pfizer/Moderna will negate their current protection from lawsuits under the emergency use authorization. If DeSantis makes good on his promise, the flood gates could eventually open. However, fruits of such lawsuits are still multiple years out due to appeals, etc. and USSC is not guaranteed to hear any cases.

Link this also with Stratigic Activity below. Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Adam Smith (D-WA) said a rollback of the policy was on the NDAA negotiation table but hasn’t been decided yet. Smith said that a vaccine policy from August 2021 didn’t make sense to continue in the new bill, but a push to reinstate personnel discharged for refusing the vaccine was a red line.

OBSERVATION - Growing pressure to nix the wuhan mandate for the military. However, the desired damage has been done so it is becoming less valuable of a tool. Reinstating discharged (many BDC and Other than recipients due to jab refusal) is a pipe dream even if allowed in the bill. I cannot conceive of any soldier going back under a command structure that so blatantly abused the law and the soldiers. Perhaps a few with short time to retirement, but the rest - you’d be a fool to do so.

Economy –

The UK is “sleepwalking” into a food supply crisis and the government must step in to help farmers, the National Farmers Union (NFU) has warned.
Yields of tomatoes and other crops will likely slump to record lows this year, it said, with potential supply problems ahead as already seen with eggs.
Soaring fuel, fertiliser and feed costs were putting farmers under severe pressure, it added.

OBSERVATION - Folks, the US isn’t that far behind the UK in the growing food crisis mode. Being a much larger country with a more diverse agricultural base and climates we can absorb more, but at this stage, not much more. We are already seeing fertilizer and fuel impacts on food production. Ranchers had to cull herds due to drought and lack of hay feed. Poultry industry still reeling from avian flu. Kalifiornia agriculture is on the ropes without water, so on goes the list.

IN RELATED – Showing just how delicately our agriculture is set, the US Department of Agriculture expects a production decrease of 11% in the 2022-2023 season. California’s Department of Water Resources announced an initial State Water Project allocation of 5% for 2023, the third year in a row with a 5% allocation. Last year was devastating for kalifornia and we felt it across the nation in higher food prices and shortages.

Invasion of Illegals –

Now it’s another Republican compromise to give illegals a pathway to citizen in the Senate.
Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) have reached an agreement on a draft framework of immigration reform compromises, sources familiar with the situation tell me. They involve issues such as the fate of “dreamers” brought here illegally as children and the processing of asylum seekers at the southern border. Will the 10 Republican senators necessary to overcome a filibuster go along?

here’s a partial list of the major items it contains:
• Some form of path to citizenship for 2 million dreamers.
• A large boost in resources to speed up the processing of asylum seekers, including new processing centers and more asylum officers and judges.
• More resources to expedite the removal of migrants who don’t qualify for asylum.
• A continuation of the Title 42 covid-health-rule restriction on migrants applying for asylum, until the new processing centers are operational, with the aim of a one-year cutoff.
• More funding for border officers.

OBSERVATION – The mushy eGOP now appears to be fully siding with the leftists on immigration now (after folding to the fake marriage law). This bodes ill for the Senate in the next session as there are clearly 12 RINOs and with senate gains by democrats, the filibuster level is less critical.

Biden / Harris watch –

President Joe Biden struggled to deliver a speech from his teleprompter on Sunday while saluting the Kennedy Center Honorees at the White House.

CW2/Domestic violence –

Monitor the electrical substation hits over the weekend. This tactic is just the kind that an incipient insurgency movement may use when things get spicy and may be just a test run.

CANCEL CULTURE FRONT

POLITICAL FRONT –

Amid continuing struggles for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to secure the speakership, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) advised the California Republican to make a deal with Democrats to push himself over the finish line. Clyburn made the comments during an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Sunday Show.”

OBSERVATION – Were McCarthy to make such a deal with the devil, any useful republican majority in the house this next session would find itself immediately neutralized as McCarthy would ‘owe’ the democrats a lot for his power play. Not only that, but the republican caucus in the House would face the very strong likelihood of imploding - making democrats very happy with 2024 in their sights.

As it is, McCarthy managed to fight off a challenge by Rep Biggs to secure the Republican nomination for Speaker. That said, McCarthy does not appear have the votes to take the speaker’s gavel in January – thus making the potential deal with the devil more likely.

Domestic / International Terror (modified)-

Investigation continues with no leads on the destruction of transformers at two substations in Moore County.

Officials said Monday that many customers’ outages could last until Thursday, causing concern that the combination of chilly evening temperatures and no heat could spell disaster for some residents.

A countywide state of emergency was declared Sunday alongside a nightly curfew that was expected to last as long as the declaration was in effect. Citizens were also encouraged to conserve fuel.
Moore County residents have seen power failures before, particularly during snowstorms and extreme weather. The parts of the substations that were damaged need to be replaced, unlike when pieces can be repaired in place after weather events disrupt power.

According to the Department of Energy, there have been nine physical attacks and 60 acts of vandalism on the U.S. electrical grid so far this year.

OBSERVATION – It seems that the attacks were coordinated and through. While many suspect right wing group(s) did it, the left is also fully capable now of pulling such an attack off as well. All goes down to motives.
BTW – the vulnerability of the power grid to these pinpoint targeted attacks has been known since the attacks in Kalifornia a number of years ago. The transformers hit then and now are the type that there are few replacements lying around and their loss delays getting power back up. Two substations too out power to 40,000.

Strategic Activity / Deployments –

The Navy is lowering its admittance requirements for one of the required entrance exams as part of the service’s latest changes to widen the recruiting pool for sailors.
Potential recruits seeking to join the Navy need to take both the Armed Forces Qualification Test and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery.
The new change puts more weight on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, which tells if someone is qualified for Navy service, versus the Armed Forces Qualification Test, Cmdr. Dave Benham, a spokesperson for Navy Recruiting Command, told USNI News in an email.
Under a pilot system, the Navy can now take 20 percent of recruits who score in Category 4 (scores between 10-30) on the Armed Forces Qualification Test, as long as they score high enough to qualify for a Navy rating on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, Benham said. The pilot begins today and will be evaluated next October.

OBSERVATION – If they keep lowering the bar, might as well go back to the draft. When Reagan came out with the all volunteer army, recruiting was overwhelmed by highly qualified enlistees. Now as the military has gone woke, those highly qualified individuals are finding other things to do, leaving our high-tech miliary in the hands of the unqualified to even peel potatoes.

MORE RECRUITING WOES - Speaking during a panel at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger defended the vaccine mandate as a necessity for keeping the force healthy. But he indicated the mandate has posed problems for recruiting in pockets of the United States where vaccine misinformation is prevalent.

OBSERVATION – ‘vaccine misinformation’, well now the good general should be better informed than that. Three key facts about this “misinformation”
1. The military has been forcing the experimental vaccine in violation of law onto servicemen.
2. The so called vaccine has been proven overwhelmingly now NOT to prevent infection, with even those having the basic two jabs plus two boosters getting wuhan.
3. The jab is showing itself to be more of a danger to readiness than the virus in that is shown to have lethal adverse affects – Myocardia in indiviuals on military age that is irreversible, among other aliments well documented now in the VARES database.

China –

Though not regularly noted here, China continues to fly aircraft and move ships into Taiwan’s defense zones on a daily basis.

Russia -
WAR WATCH - Russia is now in its ninth month of the “three days to conquer Ukraine” since fighting starting on Feb 24th.

CURRENT ASSESSMENT
Russian forces are constructing defensive lines across occupied southern Ukraine.

It is only capable of very local offensive actions as in the ongoing fighting around Bakhmut and Donetsk. It is incapable of large scale offensive operation in Ukraine.

Russia is also capable of launching more cruise/ballistic missile attacks directed against Ukrainian infrastructure -primarily its power grid, but massively reduced inventories of such missiles means these barrages will be further apart and less intense.

While Russia has nuclear capability, the probability is low that it will use one to swing the initiative back to its forces.

********
Following yesterday’s Ukrainian drone attacks that successfully hit Russian airbases deep inside of Russia, Putin discussed with Russian security council “internal security of the state”

NUKE WATCH -
Speaking to the Moscow Conference on Nonproliferation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned against NATO’s increasing aggression, saying the alliance posed a “serious threat” to Russia, whose policies risked a “direct clash between nuclear powers.” Lavrov indicated Russia had no choice but to regularly send “warning signals,” which had been portrayed by the west as “threat rhetoric.”

Logistics –
- A feature of the latest Russian strikes is the apparent absence of Iranian-made “kamikaze” drones. Ukrainian officials recently said Russia had used up its supply of the unmanned vehicles. Another Ukrainian military official said cold weather had prevented Russia from deploying them. Either way, they do not appear to have been used since mid-November.

Economic Impact –
- Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine and the resulting global response will set Russia’s economy back by at least 30 years — close to old Soviet Union times — and lower its standard of living for at least the next five years, according to economists, investors and diplomats.
The sweeping Western sanctions are designed to inflict maximum pain on the country’s economy by expelling it from global markets and freezing assets around the world. From the moment they took effect three weeks ago, the sanctions have opened a new chapter in Russia’s economic history.

Ukraine -

WEATHER FORECAST – Subfreezing temperatures and less precipitation (primarily snow) in the 10 day forecast

24 HOUR ROUND UP –
I wrapping up yesterday’s post I noted the start of another Russian missile attack, today we have some of the fallout so to speak and it is interesting. Ukraine’s air force said it downed over 60 of more than 70 missiles fired by Russia on Monday - the latest in weeks of attacks targeting its critical infrastructure that have cut off power, heat and water to many parts of the country.

However, that wasn’t the biggest story to come out of it. As the Russian bombers were undergoing preparations for the attack, Ukraine pulled another rabbit out of its hat and hit two airfields with Tu-141 drones. The attack damaged several aircraft (TU-95 Bear and TU-22 Backfires) and at each, and killed about 6 airmen total. It appears that Ukraine had the intel about the upcoming missile strike and it hit the airfields right before.

These drones penetrated 600 km into Russian territory. The Tu-141 are 1970s technology, jet powered, with a range of 1000km and a 75Kg warhead. FWIW, that even puts Moscow in range. Nothing says that Ukraine couldn’t have upgraded them with newer guidance systems. One can liken this to the Billy Mitchell bomber attacks on Japan shortly after Pearl Harbor.

A pretty strong wake up call. Speaking of wake up call, after the drone attacks on two Russian airbases, one Russian paper today slams the “failure of the whole [Russian] anti-aircraft defence system.” Another: “So it turns out that enemy drones managed to travel hundreds of kilometres & avoid our defence systems?”

Overnight, Ukraine drones struck again, hitting Kursk/Khalino airbase which has the Su-30SMs of RuAF 14th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (14 GvIAP) stationed there. The attack set fire to an oil storage tank. Another 2 drones exploded at Slava factory in Bryansk region

On the ground, things have quieted down with fewer standard attacks in the Bakhmut and Donetsk regions. Sporatic Russian artillery fire along the LOC.

Eastern (Kharkiv) front ——
NSR

Donetsk Oblast ——
Continuing Russian attacks west-northwest of Donetsk and Bakhmut.

Zaporizhizhia Front ———
NSR

Crimean front ———
NSR

Western / Central Ukraine ——
NSR

Russian Territory -—
2 drones exploded at Slava factory in Bryansk region

Partisan Resistance ——
NSR - but don’t let that fool you, there are plenty of unconfirmed reports of rear area attacks across Russian occupied territory.

OUTLOOK ——
Ukraine’s surprise drone attacks, though limited, have exposed another Russian defensive weakness. It didn’t expect Ukraine to reach so deeply with its assets, so it is likely no ADA assets were turned on to intercept the drones.
Russia has been cannibalizing its S300 ADA assets to support its ground attacks against Ukraine power grid and other civilian targets. This reduces assets necessary to protect deeper bases like those hit recently with these aged drones. Now Russia faces another dilemma, pull assets back from ground attack roles as well as those providing coverage of its ground assets to defend these bases or leave relatively undefended for the time as other assets are pulled from Syria (Russia recently asked Israel not to interfere with a S300 pull out) or from eastern regions of Russia. Similar happened this summer when Ukraine was able to hit Crimea using other drones.

Ukraine cannot match Russia for volumes of blitzes, but the capability to hit specific targets at depth has given more headaches to the Russian MOD to defend against.

Iran –

Now into the 82nd day of the uprising, yesterday marked the first day of a three day nation wide strike in support of protests. Protest activity and strikes in Iran increased significantly, in line with the calls from protest coordinators and organizations for countrywide demonstrations until December 7. Iran Social media users reported significant countrywide strikes in 73 cities across 27 provinces, although some think this number is almost certainly higher.

Some protestors are marking those stores who are not supporting the protests by staying open. These businesses stand a strong chance of being damaged/burned over the course of the next several days and its owners targeted for harassment. This kind of singling out is also characteristic of an incipient revolution.

OBSERVATION – This 3 day coordinated strike and protests so far seem to be successful in organizing a broader effort – demonstrating a growing protest movement and weakness of the govt to shut it down.

Syria -

Rocket bombardment from SDF sites targets a Turkish military base in Kafr Janna, in the countryside of Afrin, north of Aleppo

OBSERVATION – Turkey has been shooting at just about every faction in N Syria – not just the kurds. This is starting to turn around and bite them back.

Central / South America General-

Yesterday I noted rumors of military deployments potentially related to the contested election results. Today reports that In an unusual step for the military, the Army has invaded favelas of Rio de Janeiro and killed top leaders of the Comando Vermelho (Red Command) drug cartel, which supports the Communist criminal Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Observers take this to indicate the beginning of a federal military intervention. The drug gangs were the only ones to celebrate the alleged election victory by criminal Lula Oct. 30, firing automatic weapons in the air in the favelas. President Bolsonaro cracked down hard on the Brazilian drug gangs.

OBSERVATION - Can’t be sure that his may ultimately result in the military taking over the govt if it can be shown this cartel was involved in illegalities surrounding the election. The military appears to be acting cautiously before getting involved deeper.

Today we remember the 2,403 American who’s lives were lost on December 7, 1941 when air forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the United State Navel Installation at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii – catapulting the US into WW2.

Wuhan virus –

Congressional Democrats are set to hand Republicans a major victory — and President Joe Biden a defeat — as they are preparing to include language in the defense funding bill that will repeal the controversial COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all military personnel.
The Daily Mail reports that the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) will include a directive to end the mandate, but it will not allow personnel who have already been dismissed for refusing the shot to return to active duty.
They might, however, be able to be compensated for any consequences they faced.

OBSERVATION – Horse-trading going on big time. Remember, those that have been dismissed have been given BCD and OTH discharges – a plague on their reputation. They need to have those reversed immediately – which will likely be the only ‘compensation’ they receive. As I noted earlier, you’d be foolish (except under some very strict conditions) to go back to the military who’s leadership was more than willing to screw you over for political gain.

Economy –

Investment banks and traders continue to cite a lack of market depth as a cause for concern. Volatility and the risk of a downturn next year are recurring topics at Goldman Sachs’ 2022 Financial Services Conference, which started yesterday and ends today. Numerous bank executives and fund managers have warned that this era of volatility is not yet over, and several expect much worse conditions next year. (FO)

OBSERVATION – By nature, some of these bankers and traders are pessimistic – wanting to preserve their investments during uncertain times. They are recognizing that there are potential minefields still out there in the global and US economies that can trigger a major financial crisis.

Gavin Newsome proposed a penalty on oil profits over a certain margin, though the proposal did not outline specific acceptable margin rates or penalties for profits over the limit.

OBSERVATION – For those unaware, kalifornia’s gasoline market is heavily dictated by kalifornia laws and regulations. Key items that impact the gasoline prices in the state include –
1. ONLY approved seasonal formulas can be sold
2. Those special formulas can ONLY be produced at a Kalifornia refinery
3. Out of state import of gasoline (as well as diesel) is strictly verboten
4. Kalifornia relies on petroleum produced from Saudi Arabia/Persian Gulf region
5. Kalifornia refineries are at max capacity as the state/local govts prohibit expansion or construction of new facilities.

In short, its kalifonia’s own fault for high prices – the petroleum companies have little to say or do with it.

Invasion of Illegals –

As border patrol has encountered more than 2.3 million illegal aliens at the border, with over 230,000 migrant encounters in October, establishment Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) appear averse to holding Mayorkas accountable for the southern border invasion.

If impeachment proceedings were launched against Mayorkas, they would be first initiated in the House and then conveyed to the Senate. It is unlikely Republicans have enough votes in the Senate to follow through on impeaching Mayorkas, even if the House successfully voted to impeach.

OBSERVATION – The enemy has established itself well within the republican camp. To not hold Mayorkas accountable is shocking. I’m shocked that Utah would elect such a two-faced, scum-sucking slimeball to the Senate.

Biden / Harris watch –

President Biden flew to Arizona Tuesday to give a 16-minute speech at a computer-chips factory, but said he could not visit the nearby US-Mexico border amid record illegal immigration because he had “more important things” to do.
“Why go to a border state and not visit the border?” a reporter asked Biden on the White House lawn as he departed for Arizona.
The president replied, “Because there are more important things going on. They are going to invest billions of dollars in a new enterprise in the state.”

OBSERVATION – and those millions of illegals will be sucking the lifeblood of our economy to the tune of trillions.

CW2/Domestic violence –

Violent pro-abort group Jane’s Revenge, threatened to shoot up the Newman Center at the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s Scott Campus where a meeting for the pro-life activist group Students for Life was being held.
Campus police are working with the local authorities on the matter.
Fox News Digital notes that hours later, another threatening note, also signed by someone claiming to be with Jane’s Revenge, was found at the Christ Community Church, also in Omaha. That note included threats against the church’s lead minister.

OBSERVATION – Contrary to the Marxist regime’s claims, the left is the most significant domestic terror threat in the country. Janes Revenge has been linked to a number of attacks on pro-life facilities across the country as well as organizing the illegal and threatening protests against conservative USSC justice’s homes.

Leaders of the New Black Panther Party (NBPP) announced they would be deploying armed guards to a number of polling places in the Atlanta area to monitor “white supremacist violence” as voters cast their ballots in the Georgia Senate runoff election.
“No one will come and touch, harm, threaten, do anything to any person walking into that voting booth to exercise that right,” Khallida Ramla Bastet said at a press conference on Monday. “This is a legal position that we are taking. We are in position so that if anything happens to anyone, we are here to offer you legal representation. We are here to offer you security. And that’s that. And may the best person win.”
The intent is not to intimidate voters as they cast their ballot, the group said, maintaining it does not endorse either candidate.

OBSERVATION – Despite what they claim, their presence is definitely to intimidate voters. If this kind of action was conducted by, say 3%ers all kinds of craziness would ensue. The NBPP is an example how the radical elements of the left have continued to prepare and position themselves against the right. Should things get spicy, NBPP in its base cities would be a serious element of enforcement first in the black stronghold, then working to project power outward to the suburbs, a move that might likely take over some black gangs in the process.

House Jan. 6 Select Committee Chair Rep. Bernie Thompson, D-Miss., said Tuesday the panel will make criminal referrals to the Department of Justice.
“We have made decisions on criminal referrals,” Thompson told reporters Tuesday, the Washington Examiner reported. When asked whether the committee will pursue criminal referrals, he said: “We will.”

OBSERVATION – The inference here is that Trump will be criminally referred and it seems the DoJ via its ‘special’ prosecutor is more than willing to play. Political repression by the ruling regime is commonplace in the third world and is becoming the rule here. Once again, how they treat Trump may well be the factor if they cross the red lines and trigger pushback from the right. Currently, their massive PR effort to disenfranchise Trump supporters seems to be working (though Trump has managed to step into it on his own on several issues). Again – what the regime is hoping for is some action from the right they can use for a nation wide crackdown – targeting 1st and 2d amendment rights – and essentially making any opposition politically or otherwise to the regime illegal.

CANCEL CULTURE FRONT

As twitter was laying out its first set of posts exposing the corrupt censorship of the site, a new twist appeared. Atty for Twitter, James Baker, was discovered to be working in the background to thwart and obfuscate the investigation by covertly intercepting and censoring the Twitter Files. Baker was also deeply involved as former FBI general council in the Steel dossier prior to coming over to twitter.

“It was pretty obvious that the Twitter files that had just been released were missing a crucial element,” Miranda Devine of the New York Post told Tucker Carlson. “And that was the FBI. So, we surmised that somehow Elon Musk had redacted it or someone had withheld the information about the FBI.”
“So we knew that, there had to be something about that at Twitter, and yet there wasn’t in the Twitter files and it was pretty obvious who was suppressing the information, who was the person with the biggest motive, it was Twitter’s top lawyer James Baker, who as you just said had been the top lawyer at the FBI, the quarterback of the FBI-Russia collusion scandal,” Devine continued.

Baker reportedly vetted the documents released to Taibbi according to Taibbi.

When Musk was informed of Baker’s interference, he was immediately fired him and had him physically escorted out of the office building.

OBSERVATION – Remarkable how insistent the attempt to continue the biden computer scandal. The apparent arrogance of Baker, must have thought he could get away with it - now has become a key part of the cover up.

POLITICAL FRONT –

Warcock win Georgia, much to the disgrace of the RNC’s lack of support for Walker. Gives the democrats a 51-49 margin in the Senate.

Missouri Attorney General and U.S. Senator-elect Eric Schmidt noted in a short Twitter thread on Friday that an FBI official has admitted under oath that the bureau collaborates with the social media majors to quash speech and censor ‘inconvenient’ viewpoints.
“In our deposition of FBI agent Elvis Chan on Tuesday, we found that the FBI plays a big role in working with social media companies to censor speech — from weekly meetings with social media companies ahead of the 2020 election to asks for account takedowns,” his thread began.
“Chan, the FBI’s FITF, and senior CISA officials had meetings with social media companies in the lead-up to the 2020 election, in which Chan personally told the social media companies that there could potentially be a Russian ‘hack and leak’ operation shortly before the election,” he continued.

OBSERVATION – FBI (and with it the DoJ) actively interfered in the 2020 election by quashing free speech on the internet. The brazenness of these actions show that the Swamp/Deep State/Marxists – call them what you will – are deeply entrenched in our govt and it is no longer a govt of the people, by the people and for the people.

Domestic / International Terror (modified)-

Still few leads on the substation attacks.

China –

China is set to further relax Covid rules, allowing home quarantine as a nationwide policy and scrapping “unnecessary” testing, as soon as today

OBSERVATION – These moves have apparently calmed the storm of protests in China. That and harsh crackdowns on protest participants.

Citing Russian Su-30 losses in Ukraine, India is upgrading its Su-30 Flankers with indigenous sensors and modern Russian engines. Indian media claims this is in preparation for a war with China sometime in the next decade while the Su-30 is still operational.

North/South Korea –

North Korean military has issued an emergency order to prepare combat units at all levels. This reportedly in response to SK/US exercises. According to a North Korean KPA spokesman, if SK/US does not stop its provocative military actions, North Korea’s military will respond more aggressively and in a different way.

North Korea says it will hold Supreme People’s Assembly meeting on Jan. 17.
I could find no agenda for the meeting, but so far seems like the normal confab.

Japan –

A network of 50 small satellites working together in space are being developed for Japan’s defense. The first of these satellites are expected to be launched as soon as fiscal 2024, with possession of counterattack capabilities to strike enemy missile launch sites for the purpose of self-defense, according to several government officials.
The counterattack capabilities are expected to involve the use of ground based long-range missiles and not anything space-based.

Two types of satellites will be launched: optical satellites and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, which observe radio waves reflected off objects. The development of an infrared sensor to capture flying objects is not expected to be read for this initial deployment and the launch of a prototype is expected to be delayed until 2027.

OBSERVATION – Japan continues its aggressive defense build up to counter Chinese and N Korean threats.

Russia -
WAR WATCH - Russia is now in its ninth month of the “three days to conquer Ukraine” since fighting starting on Feb 24th.

CURRENT ASSESSMENT
Russian forces are constructing defensive lines across occupied southern Ukraine.
It is only capable of very local offensive actions as in the ongoing fighting around Bakhmut and Donetsk. It is incapable of large scale offensive operation in Ukraine.
Russia is also capable of launching more cruise/ballistic missile attacks directed against Ukrainian infrastructure -primarily its power grid, but massively reduced inventories of such missiles means these barrages will be further apart and less intense.
While Russia has nuclear capability, the probability is low that it will use one to swing the initiative back to its forces.

********

Logistics –
- Ukrainian military intelligence chief says Russia has enough high-precision missiles for a few more massive strikes before it runs out of stocks – Reuters

- Other reports suggest that Iranian drones have all been shot, or are unusable due to the cold winter temperatures affecting the materials and components of the drones.

Russian Personnel Issues –
- A former Russian prisoner escaped from his Wagner Group unit and went on a shooting spree in a nearby Russia village.

Economic Impact –
- Putin discussed with the President of the UAE the oil market after the introduction of the price ceiling by the West

Ukraine -
WEATHER FORECAST – Nasty mix of rain and snow throughout most of the 10 day forecast

24 HOUR ROUND UP –
More of the same, except artillery has increased while ground action has decreased. Concentrations NW of Svatove, Bakhmut and west of Donetsk. Sporadic activity elsewhere. Likely due to deteriorating weather conditions.
Fearing backlash from Russia, Biden administration said it is ‘not encouraging Ukraine to strike beyond its borders’ following deadly explosions at Russian bases.

Eastern (Kharkiv) front ——
Ukraine forces continue to pressure the Russian lines NW of Svatove.

Donetsk Oblast ——
Continuing Russian attacks west-northwest of Donetsk and Bakhmut.

Zaporizhizhia Front ———
NSR

Crimean front ———
NSR

Western / Central Ukraine ——
NSR

Russian Territory -—
NSR

Partisan Resistance ——
NSR - but don’t let that fool you, there are plenty of unconfirmed reports of rear area attacks across Russian occupied territory.

OUTLOOK ——
Deteriorating weather conditions will be reflected in reduced ground activity by both sides. Russia will continue to fire harassing artillery barrages, while Ukraine continues its deep, rear area attacks against Russian CPs, logistical bases and troop concentrations. As I’ve been noting before – once the hard winter sets in and the ground freezes, I expect ground activity to significantly pick up.

Poland –

The German Ministry of Defense has confirmed that an agreement has been reached between Poland and Germany regarding the stationing of German Patriot missile defense systems in Poland, DW reports.

However, Poland’s shifting of those systems to Ukraine was met with a resounding NO from Germany.

.
Europe / NATO General –

German police arrested 25 members of the Reichsburger Movement, who are accused of allegedly preparing to overthrow the German government by force. Among the arrestees were a Russian citizen, a former army special forces officer, a former Alternative for Deutschland Bundestag member, and Heinrich XIII of the House of Reuss. Reportedly, the arrestees intended to install a monarchy. The Reichsburger Movement is estimated to have 21,000 active members. (FO)

Russia has denied all involvement.

Iran –

Iran’s supreme leader’s sister Badri Khamenei has condemned her brother’s crackdown & called on IRGC to lay down its weapons in a letter. Her husband was a prominent dissident.

Protests continued though with lesser numbers overnight.

Well, yesterday got caught up by other things. I’ll get caught up today.

Globalism / Great Reset –

New WEF compliant president installed in Peru – See Central/South America below.

Dutch govt is double and tripling down on the number of farms they want to close down. At first, it was just 600 farms that needed to go. Then that number ballooned to 3,000. Now, the latest figure being thrown out by Dutch globalists is 11,200 farms will need to shut down completely in order for The Netherlands to reach the European Union’s (EU) established climate goals.

OBSERVATION – The Dutch govt intends to accomplish this goal by sheer force if necessary – and woe to any farmers who protest its decision. Watch this situation as it may well prove to be the standard by which the GGR enforces its will via proxy govts.

SPEAKING OF GOVT BY FORCE - On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “All In,” Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) stated that with a 51-seat margin in the Senate, Democrats will now have subpoena power in the chamber, so “we can subpoena all kinds of corporate bad deeds, climate bad deeds, all kinds of other things.” And the extra seat is “a dramatic change in the Senate.”

OBSERVATION – Senate harassment of businesses for ‘climate’ bad deeds.

The United Nations General Assembly affirmed that Israel must give up its nuclear weapons in a 149-6 vote taken on Wednesday. An earlier version of the text was approved in the UNGA’s Fifth Committee in October with a 152-5 vote.

OBSERVATION – UN decisions reflect the goals and plans of the GGR. Israel is in its cross hairs even though it was in lockstep with the GGR’s mandates during the wuhan plandemic.

Soros is funding 253 leftist groups to push Marxist, open borders, and anti-American propaganda on the masses. He uses his charities to build ties with hundreds of media organizations around the world involved in news and activist media. The journalism and activist media groups Soros supports mold public opinion on practically every continent and in many languages. They also insulate him from inquiry because reporters see him as an ally, not a target for investigation.

OBSERVATION – Soros doing his thing to push the GGR narrative forward. This is beyond his extensive support to State/local district attorneys who have almost single handedly destroyed the legal processes and have turned tens of thousands of violent criminals back onto our streets all in the name of reforming the system.

Banks should fund community development in Black communities, support the education of the next several generations of Black students and take other steps to atone for the role they played financing and supporting slavery in America, witnesses told a House committee hearing organized by Democrats on Wednesday.
The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on “The Role of Financial Institutions in the Horrors of Slavery and the Need for Atonement,” which could be the final hearing led by Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., before Republicans take control of the House in January.
William Darity, a professor of public policy at Duke University, said the slave trade was a major contributor to the growth of the U.S. financial sector, and said slavery is why Black families are so far behind White families when it comes to household net worth. Darity said a 2020 study says the average White household net worth is $840,000 higher than net worth for Black families and said bridging that gap would be expensive.

OBSERVATION – Continued stirring of the racial pot is a tool being used by the GGR. It allows social turmoil to build while they prepare their ‘solution’ that will be welcomed by the masses. Same game plan for economic and global warming. They drive the problem, they have the ‘solution’. Classical Hegelian dialect in action.

The latest development in the right’s fight against woke policies being forced via firms like BlackRock and Vangaurd comes from Texas State Senator Bryan Hughes, who is now issuing subpoenas for information the firms have withheld in previous disclosures and announced a hearing to require an explanation from representatives from the firms trying to enact their will by circumventing the will of Americans.

OBSERVATION – BlackRock and others are coming under increasing scrutiny over their essentially coercive actions to have companies they’ve invested in go green. For the most part, these ‘green’ endeavors are money losers, being big money pits for those favored by BlackRock. While this may cause some pain to BlackRock, these hearings and subpoenas will do little in the long run to stop their influence on the behalf of the GGR to shape the economic landscape in favor of a GGR takeover.

The WEF just spat out another pipe dream void of reality –

“Our relationship to the grid – and how we power and manage it – must change. In the past, creating electricity has typically been an environmentally damaging endeavour – whether it’s extracting and burning coal, or harnessing the power of nuclear fission while creating radioactive waste. Powering our future also means developing sustainable, non-polluting energy that can withstand surges in demand and has more consistent availability than solar and wind power. Hydrogen-boron fusion energy is being developed at TAE Technologies to meet and exceed current demand, without burning coal or creating nuclear waste, with an anticipated date of 2030. The technology will be carbon-free and offer a new, vast supply of energy.”

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/07/clean-energy-future-relationship-to-grid-must-change

OBSERVATION – The 2030 date is not credible regarding the potential rollout of this new technology. IIRC the Hydrogen-boron reactor is still in the theoretical stage. To me it is a ‘squirrel’ moment given the recent very negative input on the current crop of green energy method – wind and solar.

Wuhan virus –

It looks like the wuhan jab mandate for the military has been shut down in the NDAA. The WH reportedly initially agreed, but then later they stated –

““We continue to believe that repealing the vaccine mandate is a mistake. Making sure our troops are ready to defend this country and prepared to do so remains the president’s priority and the vaccine requirement for COVID does just that,” he told reporters. “Republicans in Congress have obviously decided that they’d rather fight against the health and well-being of those troops, rather than protecting them.””

OBSERVATION - once again, its power over true concern for the disease. The jab doesn’t do anything to prevent infection and is demonstratably harmful to the recipient.

A 14-year-old girl who needs a lifesaving kidney transplant –has been refused medical care by Duke University Hospital because she is unvaccinated. Her mother noted on social media -

“Today we were told that Yulia cannot have a transplant at Duke even if we have a live donor for her because of our refusal of the HPV and Covid vaccines. The HPV is new, we just learned of it yesterday. So here we sit contemplating our next steps.”

OBSERVATION – There is no excuse for this level of medical malpractice and I hope Yulia finds a facility that will do the transplant while at the same time her family sues Duke University Hospital out of existence.
BTW – the HPV vaccination is another questionable jab that has many very negative consequences for the recipient.

Economy –

Brent crude futures were up 70 cents or 0.9% at $77.87 per barrel by 0500 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 74 cents or 1.0% to $72.75 per barrel. Brent had settled on Wednesday below the year’s previous closing low touched on the first day of 2022, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude had fallen to a fresh yearly low.
“It could be largely an attempt for prices to stabilize after the recent sharp sell-off, but an overall cautious environment could still be in place,” Jun Rong Yeap, market strategist at IG, told Reuters on Thursday.

OBSERVATION – Yes, fuel prices here in the Redoubt reflect the drop in oil prices. One of the drivers is that the market is looking at a global recession and such recessions cause a reduction in business activity as well as consumer purchasing – which all lead to using less fuel. That in turn caused oil prices to drop due to less demand. However, the market is far from stable or settled with the new prospect that China’s roll back of many of its zero wuhan policy that has crippled its industrial sector could trigger more industrial activity and increase oil demands.

Invasion of Illegals –

The Biden administration says it will appeal the court ruling that invalidated the Trump-era Title 42 border restrictions. As it stands, the administration will be required to stop expelling migrants under Title 42 in two weeks, on Dec. 21.

Wait, what.

Biden / Harris watch –

Biden’s prisoner exchange with Russia secured the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner on Thursday, but left U.S. Marine veteran Paul Whelan in Russian custody.
Whelan has been in Russian custody since 2018 when he was sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges.
A statement from Whelan’s family notes that this was the second time the Biden administration had left Paul behind in a prisoner exchange, with the last instance coming in April.
“How do you continue to survive, day after day, when you know that your government has failed twice to free you from a foreign prison?”
According to biden spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre: - Brittney Griner “is an important role model, an inspiration to millions of Americans particularly the LGBTQI+ Americans and women of color.”

OBSERVATION – More insight as to just how perverted the attitude of the regime is.

CW2/Domestic violence –

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told reporters that a 51-seat majority in the Senate will give committees more power, including the power to subpoena corporations. Schumer said that subpoena power can deal with corporate corruption, inequities, and other problems throughout the country but didn’t specify companies or industries which would be subjected to scrutiny.

OBSERVATION – Govt coercion via non-stop investigations and congressional allegations is just another aspect of the marxist’s governmental war against persons/corporations who don’t toe the narrative.

CANCEL CULTURE FRONT

Twitter files Part 2 hit yesterday, exposing the overt blacklisting and shadow banning of numerous conservative posters. Further evidence of an attempt to sabotage the release of files as well as destruction of documentation. With it, evidence that numerous twitter execs lied before congress regarding shadow banning – they called it ‘visibility filtering’ instead.

Files further implicated FBI and even the CIA in coordinating accounts for shadow banning.

POLITICAL FRONT –

SUMMARY –

Politico’s Burgess Everett reports this morning that Senator Kyrsten Sinema is leaving the Democratic Party, changing her party affiliation to independent. In so doing, she is “delivering a jolt to Democrats’ narrow majority and Washington along with it.” In her interview, she said she will not caucus with Republicans and suggested that she intends to vote the same way she has for four years in the Senate. “Nothing will change about my values or my behavior,” she said.

OBSERVATION – Her withdrawal has shocked many, particularly in light of Warncock’s victory in Georgia that gave the dems a 51-49 advantage in the senate. Just how ‘independent’ she will be remains to be seen.

Domestic / International Terror (modified)-

The attack on two substations in Moore County, North Carolina, appears to be related to similar attacks on substations in Oregon and Washington.
NewsNation obtained a federal law enforcement memo warning “Power stations in Oregon and Washington have reported physical attacks on substations using hand tools, arson, firearms, and metal chains possibly in response to an online call for attacks on critical infrastructure.” The intelligence memo is from an unnamed federal agency, but Homeland Security has been sending out warnings for months about attacks on “critical infrastructure.”
A bulletin dated Nov. 30 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Terrorism Advisory System indicates the agency warned the country of heightened threats to critical infrastructure just three days before the attack in Moore County.

OBSERVATION – Grid attacks are relatively easy to conduct as well as identifying critical substations to hit for maximum outages. If these other incidents are related, then the likelihood is high that there may well be a plan being cooked up for a much larger, future event. It would make sense in that context to have smaller attacks to test the system and any responses.
Given that level of conspiracy, the most likely candidates IMHO are groups on the right who would likely use this tactic to force blue urban areas into blackout conditions. However, it is not inconceivable that leftist elements would use the same tactic in red territories. For both, the ease of carrying out the attack combined with the low risk of being identified, stopped or arrested would make this method of soft attack favorable.

Strategic Activity / Deployments –

Carrier Strike Group 11, headed by the USS Nimitz, deployed for the Indo-Pacific theater on the 3d of December. The strike group has five Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and one Ticonderoga-class cruiser with it.

(AC: Five destroyers in a strike group is abnormally high compared to the typical three to four. This is likely in response to heightened global tensions. – J.V.) [Source: U.S. Defense sources]

Russia -
WAR WATCH - Russia is now in its ninth month of the “three days to conquer Ukraine” since fighting starting on Feb 24th.

CURRENT ASSESSMENT
Russian forces are constructing defensive lines across occupied southern Ukraine.
It is only capable of very local offensive actions as in the ongoing fighting around Bakhmut and Donetsk. It is incapable of large scale offensive operation in Ukraine.
Russia is also capable of launching more cruise/ballistic missile attacks directed against Ukrainian infrastructure -primarily its power grid, but massively reduced inventories of such missiles means these barrages will be further apart and less intense.
While Russia has nuclear capability, the probability is low that it will use one to swing the initiative back to its forces.

********

NUKE WATCH -
Putin, speaking with members of his Human Rights Council, dismissed concerns that he would use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, calling them a deterrent. He has said Russia will use “all available means” to protect its territory, including the annexed areas of Ukraine.
“We haven’t gone mad,” he said Wednesday. “We are fully aware of what nuclear weapons are.”
His talk involked some contradictory ideas. On one hand he appeared to have walked back his threats of the use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine. He reemphasized that Russia would not use a first strike. OTOH, he said the risk of using nuclear weapons is increasing.

Logistics –
- Russia used Iranian drones for attacks in the past couple days. The first they’ve been seen in about 3 weeks. It is assumed that Russian technicians have been able to winterize them enough to get them flying again.

Russian Personnel Issues –
- Some analysts are indicating that putin is trying to put together a more stealthy mobilization since the last one turned into such a dumpster fire. Russia is hoping for a pause in the war caused by winter weather to give it time to more significantly reconstitute its forces in Ukraine.

Ukraine -
WEATHER FORECAST – Nasty mix of rain and snow throughout most of the 10 day forecast

24 HOUR ROUND UP –
Russia resumed attacks in the Bakhmut and Donetsk regions supported by a lot of artillery. This sector has received the bulk of Russian reinforcements and priority. Rumors that conditions are so bad, Russian troops are having to march to get to their jump off points for attacks due to lack of vehicles (wheeled or armor).
Russia also attempted counterattacks north of Kreminna and even north of Kharkiv.
More reports that Russia is trying to reinforce the Svatov – Kreminna line with VDV and mobilized conscripts.
All these attacks were reportedly repulsed by Ukraine.

Eastern (Kharkiv) front ——
Ukraine forces continue to pressure the Russian lines NW of Svatove.

Donetsk Oblast ——
Continuing Russian attacks west-northwest of Donetsk and Bakhmut.

Zaporizhizhia Front ———
NSR

Crimean front ———
NSR

Western / Central Ukraine ——
NSR

Russian Territory –
Big fire as result of shelling in Yakovlevo district of Belgorod region.
Reports that defensive lines (trenches, armor/tank barriers) are being constructed between Belgorod and the Ukraine border. a

Partisan Resistance ——
NSR - but don’t let that fool you, there are plenty of unconfirmed reports of rear area attacks across Russian occupied territory.

OUTLOOK ——
Weather continues to control the extent of operations across the region. Fall mud conditions are near their peak and should improve as ground freezes the end of this month.
Russia has stepped up its tempo to capture Bakhmut, throwing most of its resources into the effort. They have been trying to capture this village for over 4 months now. Current attacks are more human wave than anything else because cross country movement by armor is nearly impossible.
Ukraine will continue to target key command posts, logistical bases and troop concentrations with HIMARS and other available artillery.
As always, things can change quickly.

One other thing of note. Earlier reports of extensive trenches and anti-armor dragon teeth defenses in occupied southeastern Ukraine now have observers noting that the work seems to be pretty slipshod. Defensive lines are not muturally supporting and even the dragons teeth features are falling apart due to probable cheap construction.

Belarus -

Analysts still note that Russia is still pressing Belarus to become active on the ground in Ukraine – however Belarusian military leadership is very resistant and inclined to disobey any order to attack.

Iran –

Protests and business closures continue across iran.

RUMINT The Islamic Republic has started negotiations with its Venezuelan allies to arrange asylum for the regime officials and their families in case the situation worsens and the possibility of a regime change rises, Western diplomatic sources.

OBSERVATION - All though the protests carry indicators of an emergent insurrection, I don’t think there is evidence of an organized and armed element (yet) to directly confront govt forces protecting the rulers. However, it is clear that the strength of the protests and developing support base has the mullahs worried and such coordination possible. Venezuela has been friendly with Iran for over a year now as Iran has also pumped a lot of money into Madero’s coffers via oil related actions.

Iran says it has executed a prisoner convicted of a crime allegedly committed during the country’s ongoing nationwide protests, Iran’s Mizan news agency reported Thursday. It’s the first such death penalty carried out by Tehran. The man was accused of blocking a street and attacking a security force member with a machete in Tehran.

OBSERVATION – This is on top of the hundreds killed outright by IRGC and Basji enforcers.

Syria -

Russia offered Turkey the withdrawal of the SDF from the areas of Ain al-Arab and Manbij in N Syria to stop the possible Turkish invasion

Central / South America General-

Peru’s congress removed controversial President Pedro Castillo from power for “moral incapacity” to govern amid accusations of an attempted coup. The move comes hours after Castillo issued a presidential decree ordering the dissolution of the congress and establishing a “government of exception” ahead of an expected impeachment vote. Castillo was a far leftist ruler who’s followers did go into the streets in protest. Vice President Dina Boluarte was sworn in, making her Peru’s first female president. She has close ties to the WEF.

OBSERVATION - Interesting given the leftward drift in central/south American politics of late. What isn’t surprising is that Boluarte is strongly tied to the WEF – apparently Castillo wasn’t on board with the GGR/WEF goals and had to be replaced by a more reliable president.

Was under the weather yesterday. Still a little yucky feeling but wanted to get this out so as not to get buried.

LOOKING FOR SUBMISSIONS AS TO THE KEY EVENTS OF 2022 FOR A YEAR END WRAP UP.

Globalism / Great Reset –

Climate czar Kerry said, “it would be great if there were some” U.S. taxpayer money to pay other countries climate reparations.

“Is there going to have to be US taxpayer money that helps the United States, presumably the United States is going to have to be one of the nations that contributes to…” Washington Post editor Sally Buzbee asked John Kerry.
“It would be great if it were some, I mean the United States of America proudly is the largest humanitarian donor in the world,” John Kerry said

OBSERVATION – As noted many times before, the global warming scam is setting itself up as one of the greatest redistribution of wealth schemes ever.

Wuhan virus –

HISTORICAL NOTE - 3 years ago today: 3 people in Wuhan start to feel sick and are later found to have COVID-19. The new virus is spreading with now at least 4 confirmed cases, 3 weeks before the alarm is raised

A critically-ill six-month-old baby will be placed under the temporary guardianship of New Zealand’s High Court after his parents refused to allow him to undergo lifesaving heart surgery using blood from people vaccinated against Covid-19.
Handing down the judgment on Wednesday, Justice Ian Gault ruled that the boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, would remain under the court’s guardianship until he had recovered from the surgery.
The court also appointed two doctors as its agents to oversee issues around the operation and the administration of blood, according to court documents.

OBSERVATION - The New Zealand government, headed by WEF cut-out Jacinda Ardern, has executed some of the harshest penalties and decision seen across the globe from a so called ‘free’ country.

The fight over the source of blood used in medical procedutes (vax’d vs unvaxed) is increasingly becoming more of an issue as uncertainty and corresponding refusal by the medical establishment to examine any potential adverse affects from the nRNA jab components being transferred via transfusions or not.

Economy –

Eyes on the fed this next week. The US Federal Reserve is poised to slow its interest rate hikes next week, economists say, as central bankers’ most forceful moves in decades to fight inflation ripple through the economy.
But the half-point jump analysts expect to see in the Fed’s benchmark lending rate will still be a steep rise, as it struggles to cool demand in the United States to bring consumer costs down.
The decision will be announced after a two-day meeting of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) starting Tuesday.

Policy makers are keeping a close eye on wage growth, given concerns that higher salaries will add to inflation pressures.
“The strong jobs market, rising wages and the strong household balance sheet... are key areas of support” for demand, said economist James Knightley of ING.
Household wealth has increased by $30 trillion since the start of the pandemic, he noted, allowing consumers to dip into their savings as the cost of living spiked.

OBSERVATION - “Household wealth has increased by $30 trillion since the start of the pandemic” Where does the Fed get this number considering the following MORE RELATED

MORE RELATED - U.S. household wealth fell by $400 billion in the third quarter as a drop in U.S. stock prices outpaced gains in real estate values, a Federal Reserve report showed Friday.
Household net worth declined to $143.3 trillion at the end of September from $143.7 trillion at the end of June, the Fed’s quarterly snapshot of the national balance sheet showed. It was the third consecutive quarter household wealth has declined.

OBSERVATION – This report throws cold water on the claim by the Fed that there are “strong household balance sheet(s)” in the economy. These are huge drops in this so called balance sheet. So the Fed is feeding conflicting data – but the one that will bite consumers is the increase in the prime rate. Even a half point rise is significant and may not give the inflation rate a pause they want given that the wholesale prices rose 0.3% last month

MORE RELATED - November’s producer price index report showed wholesale prices rise 0.3% last month and 7.4% year-over-year, topping the estimated 0.2% gain economists polled by Dow Jones expected.

OVERALL FED OBSERVATIONS – Mixed forecasts regarding the development of a recession in 2023 as well as to how deep. Fed friendly sources suggest the so called “soft landing” with little to no recession breaking out. Other economists (as well as m any businesses – see BlackRock below) are anticipating a severe global recession.

Nearly one year has passed since the baby formula shortage began impacting America’s kids and parents — and the issue may not end this year. A new report by Reckitt Benckiser, the maker of Enfamil, indicates shortages are expected to persist until at least the spring of 2023.

OBSERVATION – Third world countries have formula on the shelves, and now over a year and we can’t get our supplies up.

According to Blackrock a worldwide recession is just around the corner as central banks boost borrowing costs aggressively to tame inflation — and this time, it will ignite more market turbulence than ever before.

The global economy has already exited a four-decade era of stable growth and inflation to enter a period of heightened instability — and the new regime of increased unpredictability is here to stay, according to the world’s biggest asset manager.
That means policymakers will no longer be able to support markets as much as they did during past recessions, a team of BlackRock strategists led by vice chairman Philipp Hildebrand wrote in a report titled 2023 Global Outlook.
“Recession is foretold as central banks race to try to tame inflation. It’s the opposite of past recessions,” they said. “Central bankers won’t ride to the rescue when growth slows in this new regime, contrary to what investors have come to expect. Equity valuations don’t yet reflect the damage ahead.”
This is not good news when companies are laying off, inflation is at 40-year-highs and Americans are building up credit card debt while most businesses are behind on their heating bills already.

OBSERVATION – interesting coming from WEF’s ESG hatchet boys at BlackRock. Naturally, with their tons of assets any recession would que up their purchases of assets at fire sale prices.

Invasion of Illegals –

CANCEL CULTURE FRONT

Twitter files synopsis to date

Part 1 - documents how senior Twitter executives violated their own policies to prevent the spread of accurate information about Hunter Biden’s laptop;

Part 2, - shows how senior Twitter execs created secret blacklists to “de-amplify” disfavored Twitter users, not just specific tweets – ie shadow banning. Jack Dorsey told Congress under oath Twitter was not shadow-banning. Dorsey also testified he didn’t know about the other activities being conducted - twitter files show that he was aware and ‘on board’

Part 3, - documents how senior Twitter execs censored tweets by Trump in the run-up to the Nov 2020 election while regularly engaging with representatives of U.S. government law enforcement agencies. Particularly the FBI.’s involvement in censorship.

PART 4 The Removal of Donald Trump: January 7 As the pressure builds, Twitter executives build the case for a permanent ban

OBSERVATION – One of the key culprits coming to the forefront is a Yoel Roth, reportedly an ex-marine intelligence officer and former employee/contractor to the FBI and CIA. Roth played a key connection to FBI/CIA demands for censorship.

Roth is also under scrutiny as the key player in blocking efforts at twitter to remove child trafficking and sexual exploitation posters from Twitter. He even wrote in his pHD thesis that is should be OK for students and teachers to hook up.

The whole twitter world story coming out is like a dystopian novel that gets increasingly more disgusting.

POLITICAL FRONT –

This congressional term is winding down. Biggest issue is a potential continuing resolution to push it through to the end of next year. This would effectively block a republican house from influencing the budget for half of the next session.

Domestic / International Terror (modified)-

A string of attacks on power facilities in Oregon and Washington has caused alarm and highlighted the vulnerabilities of the US electric grid.
The attacks in the Pacific north-west come just days after a similar assault on North Carolina power stations that cut electricity to 40,000 people.
As first reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting and KUOW Public Radio, there have been at least six attacks, some of which involved firearms and caused residents to lose power. Two of the attacks shared similarities with the incident in Moore county, North Carolina, where two stations were hit by gunfire. Authorities have not yet revealed a motive for the North Carolina attack.
The four Pacific north-west utilities whose equipment was attacked have said they are cooperating with the FBI. The agency has not yet confirmed if it is investigating the incidents.

OBSERVATION - Terrorism is one of the potential drivers for these ‘attacks’ Vandalism is also high on the list as well as attempts to steal copper, etc by tweakers to support their drug habit. Since no dates in comparison to the Moore County incident – hard to correlate if they are related. Not going into chicken little mode on this, but it is worth monitoring as it could give some elements ideas.

China –

The Department of Energy (DoE) bragging about a new $200 million grant that was given to a lithium battery company called Microvast, the claim being that it will help to expand domestic sources of green energy. The problem is that Microvast “primarily” operates in communist China.
Despite claiming to be based in Texas, Microvast conducts most of its business overseas in the world’s largest dictatorship. The Biden regime conveniently failed to mention this in touting the “bipartisan,” taxpayer-funded cash payout as a supposed boon for domestic “green” energy expansion.
Microvast was recently added to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) watchlist of Chinese companies that are scheduled to be delisted from NASDAQ due to their failure to comply with United States auditing requirements under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act.

OBSERVATION – Stupid move or deliberate by the biden regime?

On Friday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping met Saudi Arabian leaders in that country, expressing his interest in using yuan to buy Persian Gulf generated gas and oil.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on said this was a “historic new phase of relations with China.” Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said “We don’t see this as a zero sum game,” over his country’s growing relationship with China, according to Reuters.
Chinese leadership has been moving to substitute its currency for the US dollar in the role of global trade, which would increase the communist country’s control of international markets and destabilize the American economic infrastructure both internationally and domestically.

OBSERVATION – China’s move to make the yuan competitive against the dollar on the global stage has been ongoing for some time now. Recent events like the Ukraine war and global market turmoil from wuhan has only increased China’s efforts to replace the dollar in key areas of the world. This is a direct threat to the petrodollar set up and if it causes any kind of collapse would hit the US hard.

Russia -
WAR WATCH - Russia is now in its ninth month of the “three days to conquer Ukraine” since fighting starting on Feb 24th.

CURRENT ASSESSMENT
Russian forces are constructing defensive lines across occupied southern Ukraine.
It is only capable of very local offensive actions as in the ongoing fighting around Bakhmut and Donetsk. It is incapable of large scale offensive operation in Ukraine.
Russia is also capable of launching more cruise/ballistic missile attacks directed against Ukrainian infrastructure -primarily its power grid, but massively reduced inventories of such missiles means these barrages will be further apart and less intense.
While Russia has nuclear capability, the probability is low that it will use one to swing the initiative back to its forces.

********
The Biden administration is accusing Russia of moving to provide advanced military assistance to Iran, including air defense systems, helicopters and fighter jets, part of deepening cooperation between the two nations as Tehran provides drones to support Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

NUKE WATCH -
Russian President Vladimir Putin has put out a statement saying that any country that dares attack Russia with nuclear weapons will be wiped from the face of the earth, and said he was considering adding the possibility of a nuclear first strike to disarm an enemy to Russia’s military doctrine.

This, after Putin had held a Televised Meeting with members of Russia’s Human Rights council saying that Russia wouldn’t use nuclear missiles unless it was first attacked. “We haven’t gone mad. We are fully aware of what nuclear weapons are. We have them, and they are more advanced and state-of-the-art than what any other nuclear power has,” he said during that interview.

Speaking in a video Putin said, “From our side, hundreds of our missiles will be in the air. It is impossible to stop them. But these are still retaliatory missiles.” He continued, “What does this mean? It means that it will happen if the fall of enemy missile warheads on Russian territory is inevitable. They will still fall, though nothing will remain of the enemy.” “And this of course, is a deterrent. A serious deterrent. Well, if the enemy considers it possible to use the theory of a preventive strike, but we do not, then it still makes us think about the threats that such ideas create for us for defense sectors of other countries. That is all,” he concluded.

OBSERVATION – Confusion earlier that suggested that putin was walking back the nuclear threats. However, better translations of his talk indicate that while there may be a slight pull back specifically to Ukraine, he is looking to be far more aggressive in establishing a first strike policy.

RUMINT –
Putin allegedly fell at his mansion, injuring his tail bone among other things. He reportedly had surgery to address the injuries. Story may be cover for a more serious procedure linked to the suspected cancer he is said to have.

Logistics –
- Iran has become Russia’s go to source for drones and potentially missiles, after having depleted its stockpiles.

Russian Personnel Issues –
- Chechen forces are taking an increasingly higher profile role in the occupied regions by providing security and the ‘muscle’ to enforce Russian dictates to the Ukrainian people.

Economic Impact –
- US “imposing sanctions on three Russian entities connected to Moscow’s growing military relationship with Tehran – a relationship that includes the transfer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) from Iran,” according to a statement from SecState Blinken

Ukraine -
WEATHER FORECAST – Nasty mix of rain and snow throughout most of the 10 day forecast

RUMINT – Reportedly, the US has given Ukraine free reign to target Russian bases with long range weapons systems. This alleged ‘permission’ preceded the drone attacks on Russian airbases last week.

24 HOUR ROUND UP –
Russia resumed using Iranian drones in its attacks, believed to have resolved the issue of failures due to cold weather. One main target was Odessa where 15 drones were launched and Ukraine managed to shoot down 10. The remaining 5 targeted the power grid. Other cities in southern Ukraine were also targeted.

Russia has launched a significant frontal assault against Bakhmut, gained some ground but is still unable to enter the city. Analysis suggests that putin is in a hurry to get a victory and is bypassing a slower envelopment attack for a direct, frontal assault. Russian forces have reportedly been beefed up using elements withdrawn from Kherson and the recent mobilization to support the assault. The Bakhmut battle has also received the priority for available Russian artillery support, locally gaining levels last seen in the past spring.

Ukraine launched significant long ranged attacks since the last report. One being Melitopol where a major troop concentration was leveled. Also hit Sevastopol airport and other sites in occupied Ukraine.

Eastern (Kharkiv) front ——
Ukraine forces continue to pressure the Russian lines NW of Svatove.

Donetsk Oblast ——
Continuing Russian attacks west-northwest of Donetsk and Bakhmut.

Zaporizhizhia Front ———
NSR
According to the several sources about 200 Russian servicemen were in the destroyed facility in Melitopol. It seems Russian forces occupied a sprawling, resort like complex complete with spa, relaxing fountain, and cable TV. Unclear how long they were housed there.
Videos posted on social media note the intensity of the damage along with the strike.

Crimean front ———
NSR
Sevastopol, an explosion near the airport.

Western / Central Ukraine ——
NSR

Russian Territory –
NSR

Partisan Resistance ——
NSR - but don’t let that fool you, there are plenty of unconfirmed reports of rear area attacks across Russian occupied territory.
Resistance/SOF elements likely supplied the real time intel for the Melitopol strike.

OUTLOOK ——
OSINT and other analysts are noting that Russia is pushing spoiling attacks along the eastern front as a means to delay the expected Ukrainian continuation of its offensive once the ground freezes again. The influx of mobilized conscripts are being essentially thrown into the battles around Savtove – Kreminna line as well as Bakhmut and Dontesk fights. Russia seems willing to suffer high casualities in order to delay the continuation of Ukraine’s attacks in the east – hoping to buy time to put together a better force that could resume the offense into the Donbas region.

This high casualty tactic would seem to be counter productive at the current without initiating another mobilization geared to create a better trained and motivated force. Currently, all reports are that these mobiliees are next to worthless – creating a goat rope for the remnants of existing units as they try to integrate them into some kind of a cohesive unit.

Russia’s resumption of the drone wars may well result in NATO/US providing even longer ranged weapons. This escalation will not work well for Russia who has the weaker and exposed logistics system along with the tendency to mass troops withing range of Ukrainian weapons. This increase in long range weapons system could be further justified by the targeting so far of the Ukrainian power grid – considered to be a war crime by the west.

SERBIA / KOSOVO -

Serbia to ask NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo to allow it to deploy Serbian military and police troops in Kosovo, Serbia’s president Vucic says - Reuters

OBSERVATION – NATO and Kosovan police are blocking access from Serbia. Vucic should know that his desire to usurp Kosovo’s sovergnity would get a big no.

Israel –

See Lebanon below on Iranian smuggling.

Iran –

Protests continue across the country. Farideh Moradkhani, a niece of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and an outspoken critic of the Islamic Republic, has been sentenced to three years in prison, her lawyer said on Friday, according to Al Arabiya. Moradkhani was arrested last month after she declared her support for the ongoing anti-regime protests in Iran and called on the international community to cut ties with Tehran.

The Biden administration is accusing Russia of moving to provide advanced military assistance to Iran, including air defense systems, helicopters and fighter jets, part of deepening cooperation between the two nations as Tehran provides drones to support Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

See Lebanon below on smuggling attempts into that country.

Lebanon -

Israel has warned Lebanon that it could bomb Beirut’s international airport, according to one Saturday report, after an earlier report claimed Iran had recently transferred weaponry to the Hezbollah terror group via civilian flights.
Asharq Al-Awsat, an Arabic-language newspaper published in London, cited unidentified Israeli political sources as saying Israel was investigating claims by the Saudi-funded al-Arabiya network that Iran recently smuggled weapons through Beirut International Airport.

According to Asharq Al-Awsat, Israel has warned the Lebanese government that it could strike the airport if it is indeed used for smuggling attempts.

OBSERVATION – Iran / Hezbollah essentially run the country and can do what it wants. Hezbollah missile facility is rumored to exist near the airport. Though Israel would prefer to avoid striking Lebanese targets, they can and will if necessary.

Saudi Arabia -

See discussions with China to purchase oil using the yuan.

Syria -

Turkish forces bombarded with sites belonging to the Pro-Assad forces forces in the areas of Jishan, Goran, and Marj Ismail in the countryside of Kobane, east of Aleppo.

OBSERVATION – No significant ground assault by Turkey into Kurdish regions of Syria and Iraq. Currently using artillery and air strikes.

Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan -

Public executions by the Taliban have resumed for the first time since the US and allies left the country.

Mexico -

This is a category I’ve been working to gain a better understanding of. The cartels have been engaged in a significant fight with each other lately, in part to get a piece of the uncontrolled flow of illegals and drugs into the US. There are dozens of these cartels/gangs. The Mexican govt has been almost constantly using its military to go into these battle areas to put down/capture fighters.

Central / South America General-

Evidence coming out that twitter was twisted to support the current leftist president of Brazil’s win in the recent election there.

LOOKING FOR SUBMISSIONS AS TO THE KEY EVENTS OF 2022 FOR A YEAR END WRAP UP.

Globalism / Great Reset –

The World Economic Forum has recently launched a controversial new initiative that will have animal rights activists up in arms.
The WEF is now calling for millions of cats and dogs worldwide to be slaughtered in an effort to reduce the “carbon pawprint” they produce as a result of eating meat.
The WEF is encouraging mainstream media outlets to begin pushing the narrative, wants to introduce an international policy that would require the majority of pet owners to euthanize their animals.

OBSERVATION – Such is the utopian vision of our overlords.

New storm on the horizion being telegraphed?
The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security partnered with the World Health Organization and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to conduct “Catastrophic Contagion,” an exercise to simulate a global pandemic that is deadlier than the coronovirus and especially dangerous for children. Bill Gates was in attendance.

The group conducted Catastrophic Contagion in Brussels, Belgium on October 23, 2022. During the simulation, the World Health Organization’s health advisory board addressed a fictional “Severe Epidemic Enterovirus Respiratory Syndrome” pandemic that originates in Brazil and disseminates across the globe. The exercise simulated a series of WHO emergency health advisory board meetings addressing a fictional pandemic set in the near future.

According to RXList, enteroviruses, including hepatitis A and polio, are comprised of RNA, enter the body through the gastrointestinal tract and attack the nervous system.

The pandemic simulation also included pre-recorded news broadcasts and live briefings from health officials. This is similar to earlier simulations. A pundit named Jeanne Meserve of GNN, a fictional news outlet, is seen in footage from the pandemic simulation announcing the high death toll, particularly among children, from the pandemic that would have been prevented if countries adopted pandemic operational drills and adhered to the WHO’s pandemic guidances.

OBSERVATION – This is raising serious red flags. Children were largely spared under the wuhan plandemic, so this next ‘plandemic’ targets them.
ALSO NOTE last line “pandemic that would have been prevented if countries adopted pandemic operational drills and adhered to the WHO’s pandemic guidances.” This IMHO is a direct reference to the changes the WHO is trying to weasel in granting them superconstitutional authority to dictate protocols and treatments in the event of another plandemic.

Although this is a virus and antibiotics are useless against it, antibiotics are critical to fight infections that come about as a result of the infection - like pneumonia. And there is an ongoing global antibiotic shortage

Something wicked this way comes . . . . .

Economy –

SUMMARY –

According to Department of Labor producer price index data, vegetable wholesale prices jumped 38% from October to November. This is a continued sign of rising food prices, which should be evident in tomorrow’s Consumer Price Index release.

The “Critical Mineral Independence Act of 2022” proposed by Senators Romney (R-UT) and Sullivan (R-AK) would direct the U.S. to expand critical mineral mining and processing domestically and among allied countries, with the goal of reaching supply chain independence by 2027.

OBSERVATION – No way on God’s green earth can we attain ‘supply chain independence by 2027’. First hurdle is all the permitting required – that alone will take most of the four years to do. Second is fighting off environmental challenges to these projects as they will look for what ever yellow bellied zit picker or green, frilly frog choker they can find to stop the mines. Then it takes time for the mines to construct support and processing facilities.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she believes the U.S. economy can avoid a recession. Yellen said that she believes the U.S. is on the right track lowering inflation. Yellen said during an interview with CBS Sunday that there is a risk of recession, but it is not necessary to decrease inflation.

OBSERVATION – I cannot accept this woman’s judgement on the economy after her mantra of ‘transitory’ inflation. Her statement is more like trying to keep the masses calmed before the storm hits.

Congressional democrats are pushing the “Use It Or Lose It Act Of 2022,” which would impose a $10 per acre fee on non-producing federal leases.

OBSERVATION – Democrat left is building the narrative that big oil is the real cause of all the high priced fuel in the country. Using that narrative, they want to use bills like this to undercut the industry even more to pave the way for eventually killing it.

CW2/Domestic violence –

Blue states of Oregon, Conneticut, Michigan, Illinois and others are ramping up efforts to ban certain kinds of guns. For the most part, the banning focuses on the so-called “assault weapon” types.

CANCEL CULTURE FRONT

The next ‘Twitter Files’ release may well be targeted towards Fauci and the silencing of contrary views regarding the wuhan plandemic. Could be very enlightening and damning to Fauci and the rest of the henchmen at the CDC.

POLITICAL FRONT –

Democrats are rushing to push their omnibus spending bill through Congress to fund the government for the next year, with only five days to go until the current budget runs out and a temporary shutdown ensues.

Negotiations over the annual spending bill stalled late last week as both sides disagree on how to keep the government running, with Democrats seeking to approve a bipartisan omnibus bill that would last until the fiscal year ends and Republicans pushing for a continuing resolution that would fund the government at the same levels until January. A growing number of GOP lawmakers have begun to push for the latter option, hoping to have more of an influence once they take control of the House next Congress.

OBSERVATION – Increasing chance of a short term CR, yielding to republican demands to address it with a house majority.

Domestic / International Terror (modified)-

Bomber of the Lockerbie airline disaster reportedly has been captured.

China –

China and India got into another scrape over the weekend. Top sources confirmed to The Tribune that a clash occurred between the two sides along the disputed section of the Line of Actual Control in the hill states. There have been injuries to some Indian soldiers. There are no reports of any deaths. This is the first physical clash between the two armies since August 2020 near Rinchen La in eastern Ladakh.

OBSERVATION – I couldn’t find out just what caused the incident. However, China has been constructing military supporting infrastructure in a lot of areas along the India-China border zone in the Himalayas. They have also been working to improve their capabilities to operate at those high elevations and harsh conditions.
India has been preparing for a potential conflict as well, adjusting miliary units and building more supportive infrastructure as well.

Russia -
WAR WATCH - Russia is now in its ninth month of the “three days to conquer Ukraine” since fighting starting on Feb 24th.

CURRENT ASSESSMENT
Russian forces are constructing defensive lines across occupied southern Ukraine.
It is only capable of very local offensive actions as in the ongoing fighting around Bakhmut and Donetsk. It is incapable of large scale offensive operation in Ukraine.
Russia is also capable of launching more cruise/ballistic missile attacks directed against Ukrainian infrastructure -primarily its power grid, but massively reduced inventories of such missiles means these barrages will be further apart and less intense.
While Russia has nuclear capability, the probability is low that it will use one to swing the initiative back to its forces.

********

A Kremlin-linked neo-Nazi paramilitary group requested that its members provide any intelligence they have regarding the border and military activities of NATO member countries Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, according to a Sunday report from The Guardian.

The report cites the “Task Force Rusich” Telegram channel, which is also linked to the Wagner group and is fighting against Ukrainian forces in their ongoing war with Russia since late February.

Observing activity from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania prompts the question of whether the neo-Nazi paramilitary group is planning attacks on other NATO countries.

OBSERVATION – Germany recently cracked down on an extremist nazi group. Nothing good will come from this.

RUMINT –
Russian President Vladimir Putin has canceled his annual end-of-year press conference for the first time in 10 years, the Kremlin announced on Monday. Some suspect it is due to continued health issues surrounding his recent operation following a fall down some stairs.

Economic Impact –
- Putin said his country was considering cutting oil production in response to EU and G7 price caps. The Russian president also indicated production cuts remained a possibility despite OPEC agreements, saying a final decision would be made in a few days.

Ukraine -
WEATHER FORECAST – Nasty mix of rain and snow throughout most of the 10 day forecast with cold temperatures.

24 HOUR ROUND UP –
Russian forces made marginal territorial gains around Bakhmut as Russian and Ukrainian sources reported continued fighting in the area.
More Ukranian advances northwest of kreminna.
Scattered Russian artillery strikes all along the LOC from Zaporizhzhia eastward past Svatove

HISTORICAL NOTE – Saw images of the 3d Guards Tank Army setting up staging areas from about this time last year - prior to the February invasion. Today, that unit is only a name, with it being hammered hard in the initial attack to try to take Kviv and finally decimated as a result of the Kharkiv offensive earlier this fall. The 3d GTA was one of the prestigious and well-equipped elements going into the war.

Eastern (Kharkiv) front ——
Ukraine forces continue to pressure the Russian lines NW of Svatove. Continued sporadic Russian artillery strikes along the border northeast of Kharkiv city.

Donetsk Oblast ——
Continuing Russian attacks west-northwest of Donetsk and Bakhmut.. Bakhmut is the primary, overall objective of the Russian army in the Donbas campaign.

Zaporizhizhia Front ———
NSR

Crimean front ———
Sporadic Russian artillery strikes on Kherson and vicinity

Western / Central Ukraine ——
NSR

Russian Territory –
NSR

Partisan Resistance ——
A Ukrainian partisan group claimed responsibility for setting fire to a Russian military barracks in Sovietske, Crimea.

OUTLOOK ——
Russia will continue to throw everything they have at capturing Bakhmut, gaining small amounts of ground at a horrific casualty rate. Some of the recent territory gains occurred when they attacked during a Ukrainian troop rotation. Photos/videos posted on social media show the area around Bakhmut looking like the WW1 fronts.

Weather will continue to play a key factor in battles, currently limiting armor support. It also limits the use of Iranian drones – don’t do well flying in winter storms, even after weatherization by Russia.

Moldova/Transnistria -

During the alliance’s ministerial conference in Bucharest, NATO officials announced an expansion of its support to Moldova. NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană said the alliance must do more to support “partners facing Russian pressure.”

OBSERVATION – this move will place some pressure on Russia as they control the Transnistria province bordering Ukraine. Russian miliary presence there has been drawn down in order to support the Ukraine war effort. There has been talk in Moldova of exploiting the shortage of Russian forces to retake portions of Transnistria on its own – perhaps even with Romanian help.

Belarus -

Tracking some movement of some Russian equipment south of Brest in the southwest corner of Belarus. Moving to a retaining area relatively close to the Ukrainian border. Not a lot but worth monitoring. military equipment are being redeployed closer to the border with Ukraine, including four trailers with T-80 tanks, mortar battery, communication vehicles and engineering equipment.

OBSERVATION – Size of this movement is very small, but could grow. Positioning is the opportunity to attack southward to Lviv and cut off resupply coming from Poland. With fall mud season at its peak, an attack would be ill advised.

.
Europe / NATO General –

Countries across Europe are reporting shortages of antibiotics as demand for the medicines rises and manufacturers grapple with supply-chain snags.

OBSERVATION – Same conditions as here in the US. See also GGR above.

SERBIA / KOSOVO -

Well, things fell apart pretty fast in N Kosovo when I was under the weather. This is a continuation of the “license plate” war where Kosovo wants to place the same licensing requirement of Serbian owned vehicles in Kosovo as are required of Kosovans living in Serbia.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic announced her country was considering deploying 1,000 troops to Kosovo amid rising violence in the region. Brnabic accused NATO KFOR of failing to prevent ethnic Serbs, “including children in kindergarten,” from harassment by Kosovo police and security forces.

Serbs in the region have been attacking Kosovo police units and blocking roads in the region. Road blocks have reportedly been removed by KFOR and Kosovo police.

After the attacks on the Kosovo Police, Serbians have started to attack Kosovar journalists as well.

Diplomatic war of words accelerated as well. The OSCE Mission in Kosovo joined the international community in strongly condemning the attack last night on Kosovo police patrols . Further said violence against Kosovo Police and international security providers is entirely unacceptable and must stop immediately.

On the Serbian side, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia: “We’re nearing the point of no return tonight in Kosovo* as interim PM Kurti prepares his militarized police to raze the North and wipe out local Serbs”

Serbia is demanding that it be allowed to deploy 1,000 members of the security forces to Kosovo to protect ethnic Serbs from Kosovan aggression.

Kosovo in addition to reinforcing the region with additional police have also deployed between 200 and 300 special forces in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica.

OBSERVATION – The situation is still volatile, but it is uncertain if Serbia will actually launch an attack at this time. Close ally of Russia, much of the current disturbance can be attributed to an attempt to force NATO to switch its focus off Ukraine. Most likely Kosovan Serbs will continue their hit and run attacks against the Kosovan police in a effort to create a response that Serbia could use as justification to go in and protect those Serbs (hint – Russia made the similar excuse for invading Ukraine).
BTW – Wagner Group operatives are confirmed to be in / near the region, probably providing technical assistance to the Serbs on both sides of the border.

Iran –

Iran executed the second individual for his participation in the ongoing protests. Meanwhile, protests continue with a call for larger protests today in response to the executions over the weekend.

Some Iranian political and religious leaders are debating the regime’s use of the death penalty against arrested protesters. The ineffectiveness of the regime protest crackdown has likely allowed and encouraged some Iranian officials to criticize and debate more openly.

OBSERVATION – This has developed legs and doesn’t appear to be ending any time soon.

Saudi Arabia –

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Sunday that Iran’s Gulf Arab neighbours would act to shore up their security if Tehran were to obtain nuclear weapons.
“If Iran gets an operational nuclear weapon, all bets are off,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said in an on-stage interview at the World Policy Conference in Abu Dhabi when asked about such a scenario.

“We are in a very dangerous space in the region...you can expect that regional states will certainly look towards how they can ensure their own security.”

OBSERVATION – When Iran began working on their nuclear aspirations, there were a lot of rumors that it may try to purchase nuclear warhead direct from Pakistan. A lot has happened in the world since then, but one thing is for certain – Pakistan is in a serious financial crunch and some big bucks from SA would definitely look enticing.

Central / South America General-

Protests continue in Peruvian capitol of Lima, with police reportedly using tear gas to disperse protesters. The protests have swollen steadily since the South American country’s legislature on Wednesday threw out leftist President Pedro Castillo after he tried to dissolve Congress.

Meanwhile, rural unions and organizations representing Indigenous peoples called for an “indefinite strike” beginning Tuesday in support of Castillo, himself the son of a peasant family.

They demanded the suspension of Congress, early elections and a new constitution as well as Castillo’s immediate release, according to a statement from the Agrarian and Rural Front of Peru, which groups about a dozen organizations. New Peruvian President Dina Boluarte reacted by announcing in a nationally televised address that she will submit a bill to Congress to bring elections forward to April 2024.

OBSERVATION – Increasing instability in Peru after an attempted power take over by Castillo.

Misc of Note -

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to report shortages of major pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, caused by lingering supply chain issues and increased demand during an acute influenza season.
See also GGR above on new desktop plandemic scenario.

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