Replies

Globalism / Great Reset –

Klaus Schwab: “Who masters those technologies (AI) - in some way - will be the master of the world.” speech at the “World Government Summit”

OBSERVATION – In this I think he is correct. No wonder such a push at the WEF level to have its players in control of it. The latest from the chat bot Ais show huge potential for evil.

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Musk addressed the audience at the World Government Summit (WGS). The WGS is a high-profile event where leaders are expected to exchange ideas and visions about pressing issues that are prevalent today. The event features thousands of leaders, including 250 ministers and the heads of 80 international, regional, and governmental organizations.

“If you look at history at the rise and fall of civilizations, throughout history, civilizations have risen and fallen, but it hasn’t meant the doom of humanity as a whole because there have been all these separate civilizations that were separated by great distances,” Musk said. A warning that global govt could lead to civilizational collapse.

OBSERVATION – Completely counter to the standard mantra of the WEF/GGR crowd. Interesting, given Musk’s links to the WEF.

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On Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the federal government’s commitment to spend $196.1 billion on healthcare over the next ten years.
The package did not even come close to meeting the expectations of the various provincial and territorial leaders.
According to reports, the proposal comes with the condition for digital ID data collection. Trudeau is trying to blackmail to get Canadians to sign up for Digital ID.

“Yesterday, in Canada, Justin Trudeau met will all of our provincial premiers,” Tiktok user (@introverts008) said.

“And basically told them that we would not be able to get funding for our healthcare unless the premiers agree to the digital IDs…You will not be able to access any healthcare without these digital IDs. You will actually not be able to carry a bank account or do anything online regarding financial transactions…For farmers and consumers, you will not be able to get into stores. You will not be able to even sell anywhere. Once they have this system in place, this is where the digital currency will come in…You will not be able to shop online…You will literally need this ID in order to get TikTok, Twitter, or Facebook. No more fake accounts…If you want your taxes done or any sort of government benefits, you will need a digital ID…You will not be able to get an Internet provider without this digital ID, and they will be able to track you. This is basically a hostage situation of our tax money.”

OBSERVATION – I’ve noted time and again that Trudeau is establishing Canada as the test bed for WEF/GGR policies and practices. Here he threatens to weld the hammer of govt to force the digital ID policy on unwilling subjects – this is tyranny folks and you better realize that democrats have similar in their sights for here in America.

Economy –

Economists are expecting that CPI will show a 0.4% increase in January, which would translate into 6.2% annual growth, according to Dow Jones. Excluding food and energy, so-called core CPI is projected to rise 0.3% and 5.5%, respectively.

However, there’s some indication the number could be even higher.
The Cleveland Fed’s “Nowcast” tracker of CPI components is pointing toward inflation growth of 0.65% on a monthly basis and 6.5% year over year. On the core, the outlook is for 0.46% and 5.6%.

The initially reported 0.1% decline in the headline CPI for December has been revised up, and is now showing a gain of 0.1%, according to revisions released Friday.

OBSERVATION – This may drive the fed to make its next rate hike higher than has currently been forecast (+25 points). Energy will become a greater driver as gasoline prices are still forecast to go above $4/gal this summer – a factor that will trickle down across the whole economy.

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U.S. companies’ earnings woes are likely to extend beyond the weak fourth quarter, as a booming labor market weighing on margins looks set to hurt results in the first half of this year.
Expectations for U.S. earnings to decline in the first and second quarter come amid weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results for 2022, which Credit Suisse estimates will be the worst earnings season outside of a recession in 24 years.

OBSERVATION – Not good considering that the fed is looking to continue raising the prime rate and are peddling the idea of a ‘soft’ landing for the economy.

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Bureau of Labor Statistics changed how the Consumer Price Index is calculated. CPI is now calculated based on the trailing 12 months of data instead of the preceding two years. By revising the data pool, BLS will phase out the worst of 2022’s inflation a year early. Using this new formula, the CPI’s inflation reading should decline substantially heading into next year. (FO)

OBSERVATION – Just like with the employment numbers – inflation numbers are being cooked to make them look better for democrats (biden in particular). It is doubtful that the change in coming up with the CPI is going to win that many given the widespread skepticism of the past CPI’s and what consumers are actually paying.

Invasion of Illegals –

Canadian officials have asked New York City Mayor Eric Adams to “immediately” stop sending illegal aliens across the northern US border into Canada, just one week after reports that the National Guard has been helping distribute taxpayer-funded one-way tickets from Manhattan.

“Any form of assistance to migrants crossing the border where it is strictly forbidden to do so should stop immediately,” reads a statement from the office of Quebec Premier Francois Legault. “We understand that the situation of migrants in New York poses major challenges, but the situation in Quebec and particularly in Montreal is even worse and constitutes an important humanitarian issue.”

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Border Patrol agents assigned to the five Texas-based border sectors apprehended nearly 485,000 migrants who crossed the border from Mexico into this border region since October 1, 2022. This represents nearly 64 percent of all migrant crossings along the southwest border with Mexico.

Agents assigned to the El Paso, Big Bend, Del Rio, Laredo, and Rio Grande Valley sectors apprehended 484,527 migrants who crossed from Mexico during the first four months of Fiscal Year 23. This is up from the same period in FY22 when agents encountered 400,219 migrants — an increase of 21 percent.

OBSERVATION – Things continue to get worse at the border.

Biden / Harris watch –

Biden spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday that Biden “is the best communicator that we have in the White House.”

OBSERVATION – How can she say this with a straight face?

POLITICAL FRONT –

Congress (both sides of the aisle) demanding more information on the “unidentified aerial objects” being shot down recently. Complaining of a lack of transparency by the biden regime.

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Silence from the biden regime regarding the growing disaster in Ohio. Soil and water samples across the region are coming in and the results are not good at all.

Strategic Activity / Deployments –

Facepalm time - -CBS News has learned that U.S. intelligence watched the Chinese spy balloon as it lifted off near China’s south coast, meaning the U.S. military had been tracking it for nearly a week before it entered U.S. airspace.

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2 NORAD F-16s supported by F-35s, an E-3B Sentry, and KC-135s reportedly intercepted 4 Russian Military Aircraft consisting of 2 Tu-95 “Bear” Strategic Bombers and 2 Su-35 “Flanker-E” Multi-Role Fighters over the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone yesterday; the Russian Aircraft were intercepted and escorted until it was determined that they were planning to stay in International Airspace. This intercept is seen by NORAD as relatively routine with Russian Military Aircraft probing the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone at least 6-7 times a year.

OBSERVATION – Nothing outside of the norm, but if intrusions increase then the concern level rises.

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The Philippines and the United States will this year carry out their biggest joint military drills since 2015, Manila’s army chief said on Wednesday, against a backdrop of growing tensions with China in the South China Sea.

The annual ‘Balikatan’ exercises will be conducted in the second quarter and involve more than the previous year’s 8,900 troops, army chief Romeo Brawner told reporters.

OBSERVATION – The China threat is driving the Philippines back towards the US after a number of years of strained relations.

Russia -
WAR WATCH - Russia’s “three days to conquer Ukraine” war continues since fighting starting on Feb 24th.

CURRENT ASSESSMENT
Russian forces have initiated an offensive who’s declared goals are to reach and secure the Luhansk and Donetsk oblast borders — an objective that Russian Chief of General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov had also outlined on December 22, 2022. Troop and equipment build up is being noted

This offensive action is focused on several fronts – 1) the Svatove-Kreminna front, 2) Bahkmut region, 3) Donetsk region and 4) Zaporizhizhia Oblast around the town of Vuhledar.

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.

While Russia has nuclear capability, the probability is low that any will be used in the near future.

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Putin to address Federal Assembly at noon on 21th of February. The Federation Council re-scheduled their extraordinary meeting from 1st March to 22nd February.

OBSERVATION – A lot of speculation on why the changes - everything ranging from a full declaration of war to another massive mobilization. At this stage it is a wait and see. Remember, the first year anniversary of the war is Feb 24th.

One year ago today, thousands of Russian troops, tanks, and trucks departed an assortment of FOB facilities across Belarus and Russia for combat positions along the border with Ukraine.

I found the linked graph indicative of the ebb and flow of the war. Note that under the current Russian push very little actual terrain has been recouped. It shows the initial successes of Russia, the bog down and withdrawal from the north and the Ukrainian offenses. Created by ISW.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fo8pANNXEBovSzz?format=jpg&name=large

It is apparent that even with some gains around Bahkmut, Russia has done very little of late.

NUCLEAR THREATS –
Norwegian intelligence reports that ships of Russia’s North Sea Fleet are deploying with nuclear weapons for the first time in 30 years.

RUMINT-
In fear for his life, putin has taken to riding in heavily armored and protected trains to get to different locations.

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Western intelligence shows that Russians is amassing aircraft and helicopters on the Ukrainian border, officials say - FT
U.S. Defense Secretary Austin: We don’t currently see Russia massing aircraft for a potential larger air attack

OBSERVATION - I suspect that some of this is propaganda designed to increase the urgency to provide support to Ukraine. Russia has failed to establish air superiority in the nearly year of combat. See Ukraine – Outlook for more thoughts on this ‘build up’

More like the above, continued warnings that Russia is massing 300-500K troops to prosecute their offensive.

Kerch Bridge update –
Full traffic clearance on the left lane of the Crimean bridge will take place at the end of February, says The Federal Road Transport Agency Rosavtodor

Ukraine -
WEATHER FORECAST – Temperatures will remain around freezing (upper 20s to low 30s) increasing snow. Overnight lows in the mid to upper teens.

24 HOUR ROUND UP –
Russian forces are being given orders to advance in most sectors but they have not massed sufficient offensive combat power on any one axis to achieve a decisive effect - UK Ministry of Defense

Heavy fighting continues to be centered around Bahkmut and Donetsk this morning. Ukrainian counter attacks have reportedly succeeded on driving Russian forces on the southern flank of Bahkmut back by as much as a kilometer – a distance it took Russia weeks to capture.

Russian attacks along the Svatove – Kreminna line are reportedly by company and smaller sized units -suspect these are to try to fix Ukranian forces in place.
Minor action along the Zaporizhizhia front. Nothing really significant at this time.

OUTLOOK –
The Russian offensive continues to sputter IMHO and unless they have something else planned, it isn’t going to get much further.

The whole discussion on the reported build-up of aircraft, helicopters and hundreds of thousands of troops just doesn’t match what was observed in the days leading up to the start of the war.

Now to play devil’s advocate – what if it is true, what might we see if they engage. The start of the war had a dramatic airmobile assault to capture an airfield close to Kyiv. It partially succeeded but failed as the ground forces couldn’t link up and these VDV forces were taken apart in piecemeal fashion by a partially ready Ukrainian defense. Russian troops at the time were adequately trained and relatively well equipped. Such an operation requires a well trained force and excellent coordination. But is failed.

Today, the Russian military is even more poorly trained, poorly equipped than a year ago and is missing a lot of generals and other senior officers. The remaining VDV forces have been ground down in the fighting for places like Bahkmut. One the Ukraine side - they are armed to the teeth with air defense capabilities. Russia has been unable to obtain air superiority except locally and at this stage there suppression efforts have not been very successful.

The lack of training has shown up in the Russian forces over the past couple weeks particularly. Human wave attacks and armored brigades being torn up – huge losses.

Bottom line IMHO, is that this is propaganda designed to hasten western arms and munitions to Ukraine. Results on the battlefield are so far not going well for Russia.

Turkey -

Turkey-Syria earthquake - death toll passes 41,000

Viewing in speculation the forecast of upwards of 8 inches of snow early next week. Weather here in the Redoubt can change a half dozen times between now and then.

Globalism / Great Reset –

Studies show that Elon Musk’s new tech can bend your mind in strange and troubling ways.
Musk’s company is far from the only group working on brain-computer interfaces, or systems to facilitate direct communication between human brains and external computers. Other researchers have been looking into using BCIs to restore lost senses and control prosthetic limbs, among other applications. While these technologies are still in their infancy, they’ve been around long enough for researchers to increasingly get a sense of how neural implants interact with our minds. As Anna Wexler, an assistant professor of philosophy in the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, put it: “Of course it causes changes. The question is what kinds of changes does it cause, and how much do those changes matter?”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/the-mind-bending-dangers-of-elon-musks-brain-chip-revolution/ar-AA17vixf

OBSERVATION – link describes some initial review of how a person’s perception of reality have changed after receiving an implant. That which has a chance to cause good is in reality moving towards a more evil application.

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Speaking of AI, last week, Microsoft announced the new AI-powered Bing: a search interface that incorporates a language model powered chatbot that can run searches for you and summarize the results, plus do all of the other fun things that engines like GPT-3 and ChatGPT have been demonstrating over the past few months: the ability to generate poetry, and jokes, and do creative writing, and so much more.

I’m not sure how valid the exchanges that the following link claims were made with “bing” but the computer responses are unnerving.

https://simonwillison.net/2023/Feb/15/bing/

Wuhan virus –

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky suggested during congressional testimony Tuesday that the organisation will never change its policy on masking for children, despite multiple studies showing that the face coverings do nothing to stop the spread of COVID.

During a hearing in the House on the government’s response to the pandemic, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers asked Walensky if the CDC is going to consider revising its guidance on masking in schools (which is still happening in many areas of the country) in the wake of perhaps the most extensive study yet confirming that masks are not effective.

OBSERVATION - Its all about power, not the disease.

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More on the medical tracking code instituted by the CDC to identify those who’ve not been vaccinated. Apparently this was/is being integrated into the WHOs efforts to track the unjabbed as part of its efforts to mandate a global vaccination ‘passport’.

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Cedars Sinai hospital is reporting that 30% more young people are dying from heart attacks than before the pandemic.
The rise in heart attacks is so striking because the demographic it has hit is shocking: people from 25-44 years old. People in this age group are not generally known for dropping like flies from heart disease.
CBS News claims the heart attack deaths in younger folks (age 25-44) are 30% higher than average over the past two years blaming on anti-maskers and the unvaxxed.

OBSERVATION – Where are the fact checkers on cBS news on this one.

Economy –

Avian flu has reached new corners of the globe and become endemic for the first time in some wild birds that transmit the virus to poultry, according to veterinarians and disease experts, who warn it is now a year-round problem.
Reuters spoke to more than 20 experts and farmers on four continents who said the prevalence of the virus in the wild signals that record outbreaks will not abate soon on poultry farms, ramping up threats to the world’s food supply.
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3210388/bird-flu-spreads-new-countries-threatens-non-stop-war-poultry?utm_source=rss_feed

OBSERVATION – This is not good news for the poultry industry or consumers. Farmers were unable to extinguish the disease thru multiple culls over the past year and it looks like efforts are continuing to fall short. Now the evidence of global spread will make matters worse.

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The United States will run out of ways to prevent the government from defaulting sometime this summer, between July and September, the Congressional Budget Office projected Wednesday.
That deadline is later than the one that has been given by the Treasury Department, which is for June. The U.S. hit its debt ceiling last month, and the Treasury Department began “extraordinary measures” to prevent default. The measures essentially amount to shifting money around government accounts in order to pay incoming bills without issuing new debt.

OBSERVATION – The game of chicken between the congress and biden continues and it is apparent that biden et al are trying to lay the groundwork to level the blame on republicans should this deadline pass without a raise of the ceiling. Thanks to senate republicans the house lost all abilty to control the budget bloat via the CR, now have to deal with the nuclear bomb that is the national debt ceiling. Biden’s handlers don’t care – they would that the national economy get crashed – it would advance the GGR goals.

Invasion of Illegals –

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has encountered 2,999 Chinese nationals at the southern border so far in fiscal year 2023—a 719 percent increase year over year, according to CBP data released on Feb. 10.

OBSERVATION – The ethnic mix of those coming across the southern border is very diverse and that diversity is increasingly troublesome.

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Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have proposed their “DREAM Act” amnesty that would provide green cards and, eventually, naturalized American citizenship to nearly two million illegal aliens.

OBSERVATION – Graham is a trainwreck and flips back and forth on the cultural scene like a ship in an ocean storm. Such an amnesty scheme will definitely be used by the left to shove as many illegals into a legitimate status here above the 2 million (!) this bill is supposedly authorized, through all sorts of worm holes in the bill and adjacent legislation/regulations.

Biden / Harris watch –

President Biden arrived at Walter Reed Medical Center on Thursday morning to undergo his annual physical.
Biden arrived for his physical around 9:15 a.m. The White House will publicly release a written summary of the president’s physical later in the day after it is completed, the press office said.
Biden did not have a physical during the 2022 calendar year, which the White House chalked up to “scheduling around what has been a busy and evolving travel schedule in recent weeks.”
His last physical was completed in November 2021, and his physician determined at that time that he was healthy and fit to execute the duties of the presidency.

OBSERVATION – As we know from previous queries on biden’s health, there will be an abundance of “no comments” and other obfuscation.

Strategic Activity / Deployments –

USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) has moved to the eastern Med in support of earthquake relief in Turkey. It has been stationed for months just south of the Black Sea ready to support any response to the Russian – Ukraine war needed for NATO countries.

OBSERVATION – There is very little the carrier can do to support relief efforts. It can supply some medical support, but is there more for show.

Russia -
WAR WATCH - Russia’s “three days to conquer Ukraine” war continues since fighting starting on Feb 24th.

This offensive action is focused on several fronts – 1) the Svatove-Kreminna front, 2) Bahkmut region, 3) Donetsk region and 4) Zaporizhizhia Oblast around the town of Vuhledar.

While Russia has nuclear capability, the probability is low that any will be used in the near future.

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Russia said it would call a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the sabotage of its Nord Stream gas pipelines. The meeting, scheduled for February 22nd, was reported by the Russian state-backed media outlet RIA news agency.

The Kremlin has also reportedly ordered all Russian TV Channels to broadcast President Putin’s Address to the Nation on February 21st.

Logistics –
- According the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Russia lost around 50% of its pre-invasion fleet of modern T-72B3s and T-72B3M main battle tanks. The inventory of T-80BV/U tanks is estimated to have been reduced by even two-thirds.
This is a major reason that many see any potential Russian offensive as in precarious reality as facts are it has had to rely upon outdated replacement tanks like the T-62 for its forces.

Economic Impact –
- Head of department of financial supply of Russian Western Military District Marina Yankina has committed suicide in St.Petersburg, falling out of the window

Ukraine -
WEATHER FORECAST – Temperatures will remain around freezing (upper 20s to low 30s) increasing snow. Overnight lows in the mid to upper teens.

24 HOUR ROUND UP –
Russia launched 32 cruise missile at critical infrastructure objects across Ukraine overnight, 16 were shot down. Only 16 have been intercepted primarily because of the usage of Kh-22 which cannot be intercepted with the current inventory, according to Ukraine sources. The Kh-22 Burya (Storm) is a Soviet nuclear-tipped (refitted for Ukraine with conventional explosive warheads) anti-ship missile. Development of this missile began back in 1958. It was taken out of service in 1980’s

Heavy fighting continues to be centered around Bahkmut and Donetsk this morning.

Renewed Russian attacks in the Vuhledar area.

Massive explosions overnight in Russian occupied parts of southern Kherson region as well as the land bridge region with Crimea of Armyansk

Inclusive of the standard lethal attacks on Ukraine comes the increase in Russia’s use of balloons for intelligence collection. This is a noted change in Russian tactics – of course the question is WHY?
The balloons have the potential to confuse radar systems and entice the Ukrainian military into launching very expensive surface-to air-missiles (Sams) at so-called “false targets”.

Given the balloons’ size and speed, the air force spokesman argued that Ukrainian radar was able to identify the objects correctly and on at least two occasions bring them down with bullets instead of wasting missiles.

But the balloons could also act as decoys. Ukraine constantly scans the skies for Russian aircraft and missiles using ground-based radars, many of which are part of their own Soviet-era Sam systems along with modern equivalents supplied by the West.

The Ukrainian military said the balloons had reflectors, which would entice Ukrainian aircraft defenses to lock on to them. That ‘lock on’ provides intelligence to Russia on radar location and type, which could be used in an escalated suppression operation by Russia forces to attempt to gain control over Ukranian airspace, something Russia has failed to do since the start of the war.

Locating the structure of the air defense network also permits analysis of ‘holes’ in the defense through which drones and cruise missiles can exploit. This could account for the unusually low intercept rate from the last cruise missile attacks overnight (following a balloon “barrage”) – a very quick intelligence turnaround for an attack.

OUTLOOK –
Still a lot of voices out there saying there will be a massive application of airpower by Russia to try to jump start their winter/spring invasion. How successful will it be? Many analysts see the communication problem between ground forces and artillery support being duplicated by ground/air comms. The bureaucracy of the Russian military has hampered its artillery support as fire calls have to go through many layers before approval. I see nothing different for the air force. To gain air superiority necessary for such an effort, a significantly coordinated suppression effort must be made, otherwise they will be flying into an airborne sausage grinder. True for the alleged helicopter support – the battle space is rife with MANPADS and other ADA systems – even more so than at the start of the war. I still judge this as a big gamble by Russia if the rumors are true.

I anticipate more grinding battles around Bahkmut. Russia faces some set backs and friction between Wagner and regular Russian command forces may be getting worse, with the regular Russians willing to see Wagner get wiped out in attacks just for political purposes. As I’ve noted elsewhere in the past, there is no love lost between Wagner and the MoD- it is a nasty political knife fight.

Moldova/Transnistria -

Rumbling continues over potential attempts by Russian sponsored elements to overthrow the govt.

Syria -

The area ravished by the recent earthquake – N. Syria – is also the home to independent forces against Assad as well as Kurds. Well, while they are still recovering their dead, Turkish army shelled the town of Tal Rifaat in Shahba region.

Misc of Note –

News out of the ongoing Ohio train disaster is becoming more disturbing. The train cars containing vinyl chloride that were burned create as a byproduct hydrogen chloride and phosgene, according to the International Programme on Chemical Safety. Phosgene is highly poisonous and was used extensively during World War I as a choking agent, while hydrogen chloride is irritating and corrosive to any tissue with which it comes into contact.

The rail company and state/govt entities (especially EPA) are trying to keep this disaster under wraps, but the effects are too large and too many people are ticked off – the cover is threatening be be blown off. Vinyl chloride was bad enough but PHOSGENE! That stuff has a very long life span – they continue to encounter pockets of this and mustard gas in France and Belgium.