New Bluetooth mouse seems to be causing double clicks. A minor pain at times.
Globalism / Great Reset –
Musk says wireless device developed by his brain chip company Neuralink to begin human trials in about 6 months
OBSERVATION – Musk is chaoic to say the least. Love what he’s doing to the libs at twitter, yet OTOH assisting the WEF/GGR their goals. Neural technology has been touted by the WEF this year as movement towards its stated transhumanism goals.
The DOT is submitting a new plan that would require all commercial motor vehicles to be equipped with electronic tracking devices. The plan comes from a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration agenda, and claims the program would prevent car accidents by identifying “higher risk” vehicles on the road.
OBSERVATION - This permits a govt official to monitor in real time truck movements. Various constitutional concerns are evident – such as 4th amendment rights violations against truck drivers. Could easily morph into greater govt meddling.
Kent Nielsen, the head of the Danish political party Frihedslisten (Freedom List), recently confronted Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen over her support and promotion of the so-called “Covid vaccines.” All members of the ruling class are encouraging or even forcing other humans to get injected with these shots regardless of the outcomes.
The newly reelected 44-year-old Prime Minister told was told by Neilsen that 83,000 Danes have died from the controversial vaccines, and more than 150,000 have been injured. Mette refused to answer Nielsen, who was physically assaulted and pushed away by her security, reports 9 For News.
“How do you feel about the fact that you lied about immunity for a year,” he asked, after which security instructed him to keep his distance.
“How can you sleep at night knowing that you are harming and killing Danes?” asked Nielsen. “You must feel guilty, Mette.” The prime minister was completely silent, according to a report by RAIR.
OBSERVATION – Reality of the plandemic continues to sink in. However national leaders like Nielsen will get away with her policies because the GGR controls investigative agencies through their acolytes.
Wuhan virus –
An Ohio court Tuesday upheld a legal pause on separations for airmen who have requested religious exemptions to the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine after finding that the Air Force “wrongly” relied on overly broad reasoning to turn down the waivers.
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in an ongoing class action suit prosecuted by roughly 10,000 unvaccinated active-duty, reserve and National Guard airmen who have either had their requests to avoid the vaccine on religious grounds denied or still await a decision. A circuit court in March ordered the Department of Defense (DOD), which has mandated vaccinations for all members of the military, to hold off on disciplining or separating airmen while the lawsuit progresses.
OBSERVATION – Another ruling against the military on the mandated wuhan jabs. By this stage of the plandemic, it is clear that the jabs do not stop infections – therefore the main reason it was mandated has evaporated. That aside, the crass and deliberate discharges of military who’ve submitted exemption requests shows there to be a much sicker element in the military command. When our military cannot expect its leaders to act fairly and in accordance with the law, discipline can start to break down. If the command is unjust here, under what other circumstances will they do the same against me.
Official figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics confirm that Australia recorded 15 times more excess deaths in the first 7 months of 2022 than it did throughout the whole of 2020.
Further figures also reveal the country suffered 8.5 times more excess deaths in 2021 following the roll-out of the Covid-19 injection than it did in 2020 prior to the roll-out of the Covid-19 injection.
OBSERVATION – More and more evidence points to the jab as being ultimately hazardous to your health – particularly if you’ve been boosted.
Economy –
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday said it was time to slow the pace of coming interest rate hikes while also signaling a protracted economic adjustment to a world where borrowing costs will remain high, inflation comes down slowly. Powell gave a short-term message that sent markets soaring: The Fed was “slowing down” from the breakneck pace of three-quarter percentage point rate hikes that have prevailed since June, and would feel the way towards the peak interest rate needed to slow inflation to the Fed’s 2% target. Powell also indicated that the Fed will likely to need ‘Somewhat Higher’ rates in 2023 than anticipated in September projections.
OBSERVATION – The recent fed tea leave readings have been a rollercoaster ride. It seems with this announcement that the fed is trying to pull up short of the abyss. It may suddenly be dawning on them that to maintain their aggressive rate increases would spell certain doom to the economy. As someone indicated, they may be figuring that an extended period of high inflation is better than trying to put Humpty Dumpty together again after an economic crash. The claim of ‘Somewhat Higher’ rates gives them an out if they desire to go/maintain the aggressive policies and indicates that some level of continued rate increases can be expected into 2023.
While Wall Street was happy about the implied slow down in rate increases, the impact from the existing increases may have already hit the system. The latest jobs report indicates that companies added just 127,000 positions for the month, a steep reduction from the 239,000 the firm reported for October and well below the Dow Jones estimate for 190,000. It also was the lowest total since January 2021.
In the ADP report, the biggest sector gainer by far was leisure and hospitality, which saw an increase of 224,000. However, that was offset by losses in manufacturing (-100,000), professional and business services (-77,000), financial activities (-34,000), and information services (-25,000). Goods-producing industries overall saw a decline of 86,000 jobs, while services firms added 213,000 on net.
OBSERVATION - Service industry growth is nice, but these are low paying and doesn’t do much for growing the domestic PRODUCT.
Big are the loss of 100K manufacturing jobs. These are the people who keep the service industry employed – losses in this sector (as well as those losses in other high paying jobs) will eventually bite the service industry as well. This also doesn’t bode well for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policies attempting to stem inflation and stave off a deep recession, nor encouraging for the job market going forward.
More dark economic news -The Chicago Purchasing Manager’s Index or PMI (used to measure the economic health of manufacturing in the Chicago region), came in today alarmingly under estimates. November Chicago PMI fell to 37.2 vs. 47 est. & 45.2 prior … now starting to flirt with pandemic lows … prices paid rose at slower pace; new orders and production fell at faster pace; inventories rose at faster pace; and employment fell at slower pace
OBSERVATION - Anything below a 50 reading indicates a retraction in the index. Generally, when the readings are in this territory, we are already in a recession.
The second revision of the 3Q 2022 GDP was release and the U.S. economy now reprtely grew at a 2.9% annual rate from July through September, the government said Wednesday in an upgrade from its initial estimate.
It marked the second of three estimates the Commerce Department will provide of economic expansion in the third quarter. In its initial estimate, the department had estimated that the economy grew at a 2.6% annual rate last quarter.
Economists expect the economy to eke out modest 1% annualized growth from October through December, according to a survey of forecasters conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
OBSERVATION – This ‘growth’ inspite of crashing housing market and inflation reducing consumer spending. As with so much other economic data – this may just eventually be a blip on the radar screen.
BTW - 1% is hardly ‘modest’, it is outright anemic.
D-day for a possible nation-wide rail strike continues to approach. Overnight, the house passed a measure that would avert a national railroad strike by forcing the adoption of a tentative labor agreement. The vote was 290 to 137. Measure moves on to the Senate where there is growing skepticism and resistance to preempt a strike in this manner – mostly by those who’s coffers are filled by unions. The Senate is expected to take up House Joint Resolution 100 and Concurrent Resolution 119, averting a possible rail strike after 9 December, but a vote is not scheduled yet.
About 40 percent of U.S. freight moves by rail – and the Association of American Railroads estimates a national rail shutdown could cost $2 billion a day in lost economic output. Federal data show that about 70 percent of domestic coal is transported wholly or partly on railroad tracks. Shutting down freight rail would thus cause an abrupt halt to 70 percent of the coal that today fuels power plants, factories, and (ultimately) electric vehicles.
OBSERVATON – I still expect congress to pass the bill. Unions will be ticked but it is a long time until the next election, plenty of time for any short-term anger to dissipate. At least that is the democrat’s hope.
Invasion of Illegals –
A majority of the Supreme Court appeared likely to limit the federal government’s discretion when enforcing guidelines dealing with illegal migrant deportations, an important case over the Biden administration’s immigration strategy.
OBSERVATION – A ruling against biden et al would serve to force DHS to actually enforce existing law and start deporting a broader range of illegals. The ruling won’t come down for several months and I fully expect that biden et al will weasel word a ‘change’ to policy that skirts around the edges of the decision in order to maintain most of the current policy. As with other contrary court rulings, that would force years of court challenges before it could reach the USSC again, effectively negating the decision.
CW2/Domestic violence –
In one of many similar situations faced by citizens during the 2020 riots, a New York City mother-of-three who plowed her BMW into a group of BLM protesters in 2020 has yet again refused a plea deal in favor of a jury trial.
Kathleen Casillo, 54, appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday nearly two years after she was accused of driving into pedestrians during the protest at the Manhattan intersection of 39th Street and Third Avenue on December 11, 2020.
OBSERVATION – Leftist soros-lawyers refuse to grant self defense claims of those involved in these situations. This has lead to some states enacting laws to protect drivers and allow them to invoke self defense. The infamous video of Reginold Denny comes to mind very quickly when considering the results of getting caught in these riots.
Antifa morphed a lot of its traffic stopping and driver threatening tactics as citizens increasingly hit the accelerator when caught. Antifa started to have elements in vehicles down the street set to pull in front and block any vehicle trying to escape a traffic block – and even had individuals designated to shoot (and in several instances did shoot) at the fleeing vehicles. I noted this tactic in several posts during the 2020 period.
Antifa, absent a unifying national event that it can rally around, has returned to its Berkeley riot days of targeting conservative speakers on college campuses. Latest example is Antifa et al’s assault of an event Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk held at the University of New Mexico on Wednesday evening, with protesters calling to “shut down white supremacy.”
State police kept the ‘protestors’ at bay and allowed the event to take place. No word if Antifa was able to assault attendees after the program as they left for their homes.
OBSERVATION – Continued growth in the ‘woke’ elements on campuses is allowing for a good recruiting crop for Antifa. It benefits them to keep the kettle stirred and the mindless sheeple students agitated against anything that goes against the narrative. TPUSA has been a lightning rod for these protests of recent. Probably because the speakers are very well prepared and cause great deal of distress to those lefties who try to score ‘gotchas’ in Q&A times.
CANCEL CULTURE FRONT
See Antifa protests of TPUSA above.
POLITICAL FRONT –
House Democrats voted Wednesday to make Rep. Hakeem Jeffries their leader in the next Congress, replacing 82-year-old Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Jeffries won the post in an uncontested election after Pelosi and the two other incumbent members of the Democratic leadership, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, opted to step down. Jeffries, a 52-year-old New Yorker, will be the first African American to serve as House Democratic leader.
OBSERVATION – Jeffries is an election denier and a hard core leftie known to be a political street fighter. I doubt the eGOP leadership is capable of handling the procedural knife fight they will be encountering during the next session.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and three other Republican senators delivered a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., this week, reiterating the need for a short-term Continuing Resolution that only covers funding the federal government through early January — shortly after the GOP-controlled Congress convenes.
OBSERVATION – the eGOP will likely dismiss this request in favor of maintaining the kiss *** relationship with the democrats.
Elon Musk revealed Wednesday that under previously leadership, the social media giant did in fact interfere in elections. Replying to @Reuters “Twitter has shown itself to be not safe for the past 10 years and has lost users’ trust. The past team of “trust and safety” is a disgrace, so it doesn’t have any right to judge what is being done now. They had a chance, but they sold their souls to a corporation.”
Elon Musk @elonmusk “Exactly. The obvious reality, as long-time users know, is that Twitter has failed in trust & safety for a very long time and has interfered in elections.
OBSERVATION – There is little wonder why the left is in such a tizzy about Musk – he has the goods on Big Tech’s complicity in influencing the elections.
Domestic / International Terror (modified)-
Mayorkas issued a new National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin. According to the new bulletin, DHS expects the domestic threat environment to remain heightened and that violent domestic extremists could exploit public gatherings to commit political violence.
OBSERVATION – Threat being from white, conservative Americans. Bulletins like this keep me on edge for a false flag event to give the ‘justification’ to govt to go after conservatives and others who reject the goals of the left.
China –
Details of the protests in China have trickled to near zero and China has effectively locked down independent reporting and social media tools. Mainstream news sources suggest protests are continuing in some manner. One news report indicates that the Chinese Ministry of Public Security has stated that they have found “Evidence” that Hostile Foreign Powers are creating the Civil Unrest that is continuing to take place in multiple Cities across the Country and that they are prepared to handle this External Meddling.
The ’external’ provocation is a common excuse of tyrants.
Also rumored that the Chinese military is making its presence seen in Beijing, but no reported widespread deployments. Appears the police still have things under somewhat of control.
North/South Korea –
2 Chinese, 6 Russian warplanes entered South Korea’s air defense zone without notice. This was part of a joint Russia/China exercise
Japan –
2 Chinese, 6 Russian warplanes entered Japan’s air defense zone without notice (Note – same aircraft mentioned under North/South Korea. This was part of a joint Russia/China exercise
Reports coming out that Japan plans to purchase up to 500 Tomahawk missiles as initial “counterstrike capability” by around 2027. The domestic missile is expected to take until 2026 to deploy.
Japan appears to be entering into some serious long-range conventional missile posturing. 500 TLAMs would be able to threaten significant portion of PLARF’s launchers in eastern China.
OBSERVATION - There is confusing surrounding the 2027 date for Tomahawk and 2026 deployment of their own similar system. Potentially something lost in translation. Some suggest both dates are related to the development and deployment of their own indigenous system.
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.
********
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the Russian defense acquisitions budget would be increased by “one and a half times” current spending levels.
NOTE – The Russian economy can barely sustain its current military budget, let alone increase by 150%. .
Ukraine -
WEATHER FORECAST – Subfreezing temperatures and less precipitation (primarily snow) in the 10 day forcast
CNN- “The Biden administration is considering a dramatic expansion in the training the US military provides to Ukrainian forces, including instructing as many as 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers a month at a US base in Germany, according to multiple US officials.”
Though not mentioned, the likely candidate is Grafenwoehr Training Area. Crank out a brigade’s worth of highly trained individuals every month.
24 HOUR ROUND UP –
Like yesterday, Russian shelling increased again around Bakhmut where it was very intensive in phases to cover Russian localized offensives. Heavy fighting along the LOC northwest of Svatov where Ukraine may have made some successful advances.
After yesterday’s gains by Russia south of Bakhmut, the lines there have stabilized once again.
Eastern (Kharkiv) front ——
Ukraine continues to pressure the Svatov – Kreminna defensive line northwest of Svatov, around the town of Novoselivske.
Donetsk Oblast ——
NSR
Zaporizhizhia Front ———
NSR
Crimean front ———
A Ukrainian official acknowledged that Ukrainian forces are conducting an operation on the Kinburn Spit. This spit projects westward and controls the shipping lanes going into ports associated with the Dnipir River. Reports suggest that small scale SOF type actions are being conducted as Ukraine would need significant amphibious assault capabilities to handle anything futher.
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 crossed Russian occupied territory.
OUTLOOK ——
Gains around Bakhmut have been assess by some to be not tactically significant. What has to be kept in mind is that Russia has been grinding for nearly 6 months against this objective only to gain a few hundred meters of terrain.
Other than the repetitious battles, watch is still ongoing to see if Russia can muster up enough munitions for additional blitz missile attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.
One other thing - with temperatures dropping, the ground will firm up (freeze) and permit Ukraine to resume it ability to maneuver around Russian forces, potentially developing new breakthroughs. How soon this can happen is weather dependent and needs deep soil freezing to counter the mud.
Poland -
Polish President – “Recognizing any Russian gains in the war will lead to more conflict”
Czech Republic to cancel its ambassadorial post in Russia. Current ambassador should leave the country soon. His “successor” would eventually serve as chargé d’affaires there
The European Commission proposes creating a UN court to investigate Russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine and working out a legal mechanism for using blocked Russian funds to pay compensation to Ukraine for the damage caused
Iran –
Protests across the country have slowed but are expected to increase around Dec 5-7th based upon released information by protest groups – indicating planning cells working together to organize and coordinate activities better. A clear sign of incipient insurgency.
Syria -
Turkish artillery and airstrikes across the northern Syria region. Pattern beginning to indicate battlefield preparation for a ground offensive. Turkey striking both pro- and anti- Assad forces.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday ‘expressed concern over escalating action in northern Syria and Turkey, including recent airstrikes, some of which directly threatened the safety of US personnel’, the Pentagon said.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday told his Turkish counterpart of his “strong opposition” to a new Turkish military operation in Syria and voiced concern over the escalating situation in the country, the Pentagon said tht may turn into a ground war in the US occupied Kurdish regions of Syria.
Turkey -
Turkish Defence Minister Akar and his US counterpart Akar held a phone call, discussed bilateral relations and regional issues. Akar pointed out that Türkiye is carrying out anti-terror operations in line with its right for self-defense.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday will chair a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the possibility of a fresh cross-border operation against the Kurdish forces in Syria.
Very slow news day, but a lot of potentially explosive issues pending out there.
Globalism / Great Reset –
Switzerland is considering legislation that would ban people from driving electric vehicles except in urgent conditions over the winter because there simply might not be enough juice on the grid to recharge them.
OBSERVATION – Ah yes, the kalifornia solution. A fully functional and powered grid is necessary for the massive shift to EV’s the GGR demands. It just doesn’t exist. So the globalists are left with just a couple choices IMHO – one is to beef the grid up with sustainable power (ie fossil fuels and nuclear) or two bring it all crashing down. Think about it – crashing the grid will freeze individual mobility (no juice – no EV as well as no gas/diesel for holdouts). This would make the sheeple even more dependent on the govt for its needs and would inhibit refugee outflow from the blue cesspools in the country to red havens. EVs may be even more of a red herring than green energy in a way.
Florida’s chief financial officer said on Thursday his department would pull $2 billion worth of its assets managed by BlackRock Inc, the biggest such divestment by a state opposed to the asset manager’s environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) policies.
The move will hardly dent BlackRock’s $8 trillion in assets and drew a strong response from the company, which said the action put politics over investor interests.
OBSERVATION – BlackRock is the front group for the WEF pushing the ESG agenda. Money talks and BlackRock is speaking loud to these companies that are becoming increasingly cash strapped with the economy as it is.
Economy –
SUMMARY – The week has produced a mix of economic signals that IMHO suggest that we are still on the cusp of a major economic disaster. While inflation has ‘slowed’, and GDP suggests no recession, major funds and businesses are positioning themselves to prepare for a deep recession.
Thursday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that prices, as measured by the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, rose 6% in October from a year earlier. That was down from 6.3% year-over-year increase in September. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core inflation over the previous 12 months was 5%, less than the 5.2% annual increase in September.
OBSERVATION – biden et al calling this a victory over inflation. However, he isn’t paying 6% out of his pocket. These numbers are not seasonally adjusted either.
The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to pass a resolution imposing a contract on freight rail workers but rejected a concurrent measure that would give workers seven guaranteed paid sick days.
H.J. Resolution 100 passed the Senate by a margin of 80-15, surpassing the 60-vote threshold. The Biden Administration brokered a tentative deal in August between the unions and carriers, but rank-and-file members of four of the twelve unions in the deal rejected it. Paid sick leave for workers was a central hold-up to the deal moving forward. It was eventually defeated.
Administration also told Senate Democrats the fight for more sick leave isn’t over but the only option to avoid rail shutdown was to pass agreement, per senators.
OBSERVATION- The core deal was preserved. The sick leave measure was an add-on. However, the unions are pretty ticked it wasn’t added.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen blamed consumers’ excessive spending habits as a primary cause for the near 40-year-high in inflation on Wednesday. Yellen argued the administration managed the COVID-19 pandemic so well that consumers felt comfortable to “splurge” on goods.
“So we had a rapid recovery from the pandemic,” she said, arguing Biden’s policies brought unemployment down from 7% to 3.7%.
“It turned out the pandemic had very special impacts on the economy. Remember, everybody stopped spending on services,” she pointed out, as businesses were shut down. Instead, people spent more money on “grills,” “technology” and office equipment as they were working from home.
“They were in their homes for a year or more, they wanted to buy grills and office furniture, they were working from home, they suddenly started splurging on goods, buying technology,” she claimed, which led to supply chain “bottlenecks.”
OBSERVATION – The lies from this woman are numerous. Just in the unemployment figures, those numbers came down because businesses were allowed to re-open and start hiring again. IIRC total employment is just barely back to pre-wuhan levels. Everyone stopped spending on services because those services were closed by the govt. We splurged on technology during the plague, then splurged again after?
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will ask companies to blend 20.82 billion gallons of biofuel in 2023, and increase the biofuel quota to 21.87 and 22.68 billion gallons in 2024 and 2025. The EPA also approved the use of canola oil for use in making biodiesel, and the Energy Information Administration projects biodiesel production capacity to triple by the end of 2023.
OBSERVATION - This is the most energy consumptive way to create ‘fuel’ there can be. It will also divert resources away from our food chain (human and cattle), placing stress on already high inflationary pressures.
Invasion of Illegals –
President Joe Biden’s border agency expects 9,000 to 14,000 economic migrants per day after officials remove the Title 42 legal barrier in late December, says CNN.
The predicted inflow adds up to roughly 4.5 million migrants per year or more than one extra southern migrant for every American birth in the United States. The southern flow of roughly 4.5 million will add to the annual inflow of roughly 2 million legal immigrants, visa workers, and tourists illegally taking jobs.
OBSERVATION – A complete disaster on the border. At this stage it has become essentially impossible to round up and deport these overwhelming numbers of illegals.
Brandon Judd, the National Border Patrol Council president, has the backs of the United States air marshals who are reportedly rebelling against a Department of Homeland Security deployment order to the U.S.-Mexico border.
The marshals’ assignment refusal isn’t a matter of insubordination, said Judd. Rather, it’s a case of being placed in a position to fail. “First off, good for them. [The marshals] already recognize that they’re not going to be effective down on the border,” Judd told Newsmax Thursday afternoon, while appearing on “American Agenda”
OBSERVATION – Govt making a problem worse. Air marshals belong in the air, not playing biden’s illegal immigration game.
Biden / Harris watch –
Biden and first lady Jill Biden attended the 100th National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in Washington, D.C. yesterday, but many left discussing Biden’s antics once again.
In what has become an all too familiar sight, Biden ended his speech by standing and staring, seemingly completely lost and needing to be escorted off-stage by his wife while he took the microphone with him instead of leaving it on the podium.
China –
Protest news coming out of China still appears to be heavily filtered.
More Chinese cities have reportedly eased anti-virus restrictions and police patrolled their streets Thursday as the government tried to defuse public anger over some of the world’s most stringent COVID measures and head off more protests.
Following weekend demonstrations at which some crowds made the politically explosive demand that leader Xi Jinping resign, the streets of major cities have been quiet in the face of a crackdown that has been largely out of sight.
OBSERVATION – Chinese are a heavily conditioned people, the functional police state executed its controls and have apparently blunted the protests. However, because the wuhan lockdown measures are apparently being eased shows that the magnitude of the protests (and how close they came to overwhelming the state) caught the attention of the leadership who’s self preservation ways ‘wisely ‘ decided to ease up.
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 –
Banter back and forth about biden’s willingness to sit down with putin and negotiate a peace in Ukraine.
Economic Impact –
- European Union officials have approved a measure to cap the price of Russian oil at $60 per barrel. Documents obtained by Reuters indicate the measure also incorporates an adjustment mechanism to ensure the price remains 5% below the current market price. The price cap would be subject to review and adjustment in mid-January and at two-month intervals.
Ukraine -
WEATHER FORECAST – Subfreezing temperatures and less precipitation (primarily snow) in the 10 day forecast
24 HOUR ROUND UP –
Russia continues its assaults on Bahkmut and Donetsk regions backed up by heavy artillery fire. Russia made some minor gains south of Bahkmut, but those gains appear to have little tactical significance. Otherwise, scattered and sporatic Russian artillery fire along the whole LOC.
Ukraine foreign minister said three embassies had now received threatening letters after the security officer at Ukraine’s embassy in Madrid suffered a light injury to one hand while opening a letter bomb addressed to the Ukrainian ambassador. More threatening letters have been received at other embassies overnight.
Eastern (Kharkiv) front ——
Skirmishes NW of Kreminna and NW of Svatove
Donetsk Oblast ——
Continuing Russian attacks west-northwest of Donetsk.
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 crossed Russian occupied territory.
OUTLOOK ——
Things continue to be mostly status quo. Weather and mud appear to be the major controlling factors for each side. Apart from the potential of another Russian ballistic and cruise missile strike, things are going to be relatively static for the near term.
Iran –
Strong protests broke out across the country again following the end of Friday prayers. Govt forces continued to reply by shooting protestors.
Syria -
Kurdish forces in Syria halt their operations with US-led coalition against ISIS after Turkish attacks.
OBSERVATION – Chaos beginning to ensue.