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At BRICS Summit, Russia To Push to End Dollar Dominance

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Russia is seeking to convince BRICS countries to build an alternative platform for international payments that would be immune to Western sanctions when it hosts the group’s leaders at a summit next week.

President Vladimir Putin is keen to build up BRICS – which has expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates as well as Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – as a powerful counterweight to the West in global politics and trade.

The October 22-24 summit in the city of Kazan is being presented by Moscow as evidence that Western efforts to isolate Russia have failed. It wants other countries to work with it to overhaul the global financial system and end the dominance of the US dollar.

Central to that is the proposal for a new payments system based on a network of commercial banks linked to each other through the BRICS central banks, according to a document prepared by Russia’s finance ministry and central bank, distributed to journalists ahead of the summit.

The system would use blockchain technology to store and transfer digital tokens backed by national currencies. This, in turn, would then allow those currencies to be easily and securely exchanged, bypassing the need for dollar transactions. (Read more from “At BRICS Summit, Russia To Push to End Dollar Dominance” HERE)

Book States Biden Blames Obama For Russia Invading Ukraine: He ‘F***ed Up’

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President Joe Biden blamed former President Barack Obama for Russia invading Ukraine in 2022, according to a new book from Bob Woodward, saying that the former president’s weakness in 2014 led to Russian President Vladimir Putin feeling emboldened to go further.

During a moment of political upheaval in February 2014, Russian soldiers, wearing uniforms with no insignias, seized government buildings throughout Crimea and later seized its airports. Russia illegally annexed Crimea the following month.

In his new book, “War,” journalist Bob Woodward says that Biden blamed Obama for Russia invading Ukraine.

“They f***ed up in 2014,” Biden said to a friend, according to Woodward. “That’s why we are here. We f***ed it up. Barack never took Putin seriously.”

“We did nothing. We gave Putin a license to continue!” Biden reportedly fumed. “Well, I’m revoking his f***ing license!” (Read more from “Book States Biden Blames Obama For Russia Invading Ukraine: He ‘F***ed Up’” HERE)

U.S. Intel Warns of ‘Lethal’ Response From Moscow if Ukraine Strikes Deeper Into Russia

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U.S. intelligence officials believe Russia could retaliate with lethal force if the Biden administration allows Ukraine to use Western weapons to strike deep within Russian territory, The New York Times reported Thursday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.

The warning comes as President Vladimir Putin this week announced plans to revise Russia’s nuclear weapons doctrine, with the Kremlin framing it as a clear message to the West. Under the proposed changes, Moscow would consider any attack by a non-nuclear country supported by a nuclear power as a joint attack by both.

According to the NYT report, Russia could escalate covert arson and sabotage operations in Europe and launch “potentially lethal attacks” on U.S. and European military bases if President Joe Biden allows Kyiv to fire long-range missiles further into Russia. According to recent media reports, Moscow is already in secret negotiations brokered by Iran to deliver anti-ship cruise missiles to Yemen’s Houthi militias.

Some of Biden’s senior advisers reportedly agree with intelligence warnings, citing heightened concerns following Putin’s “especially bellicose” recent statements. Earlier this month, the Kremlin leader said the West risks war with Russia if it allows Kyiv to use longer-range weapons to strike targets inside his country. (Read more from “U.S. Intel Warns of ‘Lethal’ Response From Moscow if Ukraine Strikes Deeper Into Russia” HERE)

World War 3 Fears Intensify Russian Drone Strike Threatens NATO Ally’s Airspace

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NATO dispatched four jets after a Russian drone was said to have ventured into Romanian airspace amid an assault on the nearby Ukraine.

The devastating attack on the Ukrainian town of Izmail resulted in three fatalities and 14 injuries, Odesa’s regional prosecutors claim. However, Ukraine’s air forces succeeded in taking down 24 out of 32 drones used in the strike.

Romania’s military responded by launching two of its F-16s and a pair of Spanish F-18s from their Borcea and Mihail Kogalniceanu bases between the early hours of 1.52 am and 3.22 am on Friday.

Following the incident, Romania’s Defense Ministry issued a strong rebuke of the attacks by the Russian Federation: “The Ministry of National Defense sends a firm message of condemnation of these attacks carried out by the Russian Federation against Ukrainian civilian objectives and infrastructure.”

It continued, “[They] are unjustified and in serious contradiction with the norms of international law. From the data available at this time, the existence of an impact area on the national territory has not been reported.”, reports the Express US. (Read more from “World War 3 Fears Intensify Russian Drone Strike Threatens NATO Ally’s Airspace” HERE)

Hillary Clinton Wants Department of Justice to Jail Americans for Exercising Free Speech

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Recently, Hillary Clinton sparked controversy when she suggested that Americans spreading misinformation, particularly about election interference, should potentially face criminal or civil penalties. In a conversation with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, Clinton discussed how both foreign actors, like Russia, and certain Americans engaged in what she sees as propaganda during the 2016 election, boosting Trump’s campaign. She expressed frustration over how this misinformation is handled and hinted that legal action against Americans involved could serve as a deterrent​.

If you don’t think the Democrats are coming after free speech in January if they win the election, these statements by former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should have you concerned.

“Just as Mueller indicted a lot of Russians who were engaged in direct election interference and boosting Trump back in 2016. But I also think there are Americans who are engaged in this propaganda,” Clinton said. “Whether they should be civilly or even in some cases, criminally charged is something that would be a better deterrence.”

This statement has led to renewed criticism of Clinton’s past, with some pointing out the irony given her husband, former President Bill Clinton, famously misled the public during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Critics argue that under such a law, Bill Clinton could have faced legal consequences for his own “misinformation” when he denied having sexual relations with Lewinsky​. (Read more from “Hillary Clinton Wants Department of Justice to Jail Americans for Exercising Free Speech” HERE)

Russian Spies ‘Buried Nuclear Bombs Near UK Military Bases’ in Case of WWIII

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Cold War Russian spies buried nuclear bombs, nerve-agent capsules and assault weapons close to UK military sites during the 1980s in case of World War Three, a special forces veteran has revealed.

Undercover Kremlin operatives even made a four-man underground bunker packed with bedding, weapons and supplies in the UK to prepare for the feared global conflict, he added. He reports that more than a dozen caches were made – the biggest in Suffolk, close to RAFs Mildenhall and Lakenheath, home of American Air Force bombers and fighter jets.

The revelations come in an exclusive Mirror interview with British special forces veteran and author Duncan Falconer as he launches his latest sensational book ‘First Into Action Again’. In the book, he describes his thrilling post-special forces military life as an elite freelance security expert working on deniable operations and protecting lives in dangerous war zones.

Father of two Duncan, 68, was at 19 the youngest Special Boat Service (SBS) recruit when he was plucked from the Royal Marines to serve in the elite Royal Navy unit during the 1970s. He told us that, in the event of another world war, Moscow planned to deploy its elite “Spetsnaz” commandos off British shores by submarine or boat, to link up with the secret caches and launch attacks. They planned to use commando raids to cripple UK and US air force installations, to disrupt the West’s ability to strike against Russia. . .

Duncan is limited on what he can say about that operation but he added that, in another incident, British intelligence made a horrific discovery. He says: “An underground cache was found inside a wood near Thetford, in Suffolk, near RAF Mildenhall. Someone had buried a huge tank and kitted it out for a four-man team to live in there. There was food and sleeping accommodation, but there was also an array of weapons, including the miniature 30kg and 90kg nuclear suitcase bombs. Apparently in the Cold War there were more than 100 on America’s east coast and the idea was if we finally went to war with Russia, they would send Spetsnaz teams to use them against their relevant targets.” (Read more from “Russian Spies ‘Buried Nuclear Bombs Near UK Military Bases’ in Case of WWIII” HERE)

Desperate Democrats Are Pushing Yet Another Version of the Russia Collusion Hoax

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The Biden administration’s announcement this week that the Justice Department is taking action against alleged Kremlin-run websites and Russian state media employees as part of an effort to crack down on Russian “misinformation” ahead of the election should raise red flags — huge, obvious red flags.

The biggest red flag is the timing of the indictment and accompanying announcement, just as mail-in ballots in some states are sent out and two weeks before in-person voting begins in some states. The only possible reason for the DOJ to announce this now, and to frame it as a Russian election meddling scheme designed to boost former President Donald Trump, is to paint Trump and his supporters as agents of a hostile foreign power, or at the very least to imply that Trump’s support is fake, paid for by Moscow.

In other words, the timing of the indictment itself represents an egregious form of election meddling by our own Justice Department, whose longstanding policy is not to file indictments that could potentially influence an election. Yet that’s the entire purpose of the indictment announced this week.

We’ve seen this playbook before from Democrats. Hand-waving about “Russian disinformation” and “election interference” by the DOJ and the U.S. intelligence community is of course a well-worn election interference tactic — and arguably a far more potent than anything that’s ever come from Moscow.

First it was the outlandish claim in 2016 that Donald Trump was actually a secret Russian agent and that he colluded with Moscow to win the White House. An entire FBI investigation was based on the discredited and patently ridiculous Steele dossier. The initial election meddling allegation was based on nothing more than $100,000 or so in Facebook ads purchased by Russian entities with the aim of sowing division among the American electorate. And from that thin reed, an entire narrative emerged that Russia not only meddled in our election but that Trump colluded with Moscow in the effort. (Read more from “Desperate Democrats Are Pushing Yet Another Version of the Russia Collusion Hoax” HERE)

Russians Appear to Gun Down Surrendering Ukrainian Soldiers, Disturbing Drone Footage Shows

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Russian troops appeared to ruthlessly shoot dead three Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered on their knees in a disturbing front-lines execution captured in drone footage, according to a report Friday.

The soldiers had placed their hands on their heads on a road after their trench was overtaken near the war-torn city of Pokrovsk in late August, according to Ukrainian drone footage obtained by CNN.

Seconds later, they’re shown suddenly falling to the ground face-first as dust rises — a sign Russian troops had opened fire instead of taking them prisoner, according to the outlet. . .

“If prisoners of war surrender, if they show that they surrender, if they are without weapons in their hands, then summary execution is a war crime,” Andriy Kostin, the prosecutor general of Ukraine, told CNN.

The incident is part of a pattern of harrowing executions in recent months — and is an example of the Russian military’s relentlessly brutal tactics as they advance in Ukraine’s eastern region, Ukrainian officials told the outlet. (Read more from “Russians Appear to Gun Down Surrendering Ukrainian Soldiers, Disturbing Drone Footage Shows” HERE)

After Orchestrating Telegram Takedown in France, Feds Begin Direct Attack on First Amendment in U.S.: DOJ Indicts Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson, Tim Pool’s ISP for “Russian Collusion”

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In a move that has raised significant concerns about First Amendment rights, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has unsealed a controversial indictment accusing a prominent Tennessee-based media company of involvement in a Russian influence operation. The indictment, revealed Wednesday, alleges that the company, widely identified as Tenet Media, was covertly funded and directed by Russian nationals to spread pro-Kremlin propaganda across U.S. social media platforms.

Tenet Media, which describes itself as a network for “fearless voices” focusing on Western political and cultural issues, features high-profile conservative commentators such as Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson, Tim Pool, Lauren Southern, Tayler Hansen, and Matt Christiansen. The DOJ’s indictment claims that two Russian nationals, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, orchestrated a scheme to infiltrate U.S. media by funneling nearly $10 million through a network of foreign shell companies to finance Tenet Media.

The DOJ’s press release emphasizes that Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva, operating under multiple fake identities, used their financial and editorial influence to promote narratives that allegedly align with the goals of the Russian government and its state-funded media outlet, RT. According to the indictment, the Russian operatives were involved in editing and directing content posted by Tenet Media on platforms including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter). Since its inception in November 2023, the company has reportedly posted nearly 2,000 videos, garnering over 16 million views on YouTube alone.

The indictment accuses Tenet Media of disseminating content that exacerbates domestic divisions on sensitive issues like immigration and inflation, purportedly to further Russia’s agenda of sowing discord in the United States. Notably, the indictment claims that Tenet Media did not disclose its foreign funding or register with the Attorney General as an agent of a foreign principal, as required by law.

Critics argue that the DOJ’s actions against Tenet Media and its associated commentators represent a troubling precedent for governmental overreach into free speech and press freedom. Supporters of the indictment, however, contend that it is a necessary step to combat foreign interference and safeguard the integrity of American media and democracy.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Look Who’s Stirring up Trouble Between Russia and China

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Taiwan’s president is stirring up trouble between allies Russia and China, after he stated on Taiwanese media that China should take back land from Russia if Beijing truly believes Taiwan being in China’s control is about territorial integrity, according to the Straits Times.

During the Quing dynasty, China’s last royal dynasty, China signed the Treaty of Aigun in 1858 which turned over a huge swath of land to Russia – a treaty modern-day China has referred to as “unequal.”

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, also known as William Lai, who has been labeled a “separatist” by China, mentioned this tidbit during his interview, and dismissed China’s claim it wants control of Taiwan because of “territorial integrity.”

“China’s intention to attack and annex Taiwan is not because of what any one person or political party in Taiwan says or does. It is not for the sake of territorial integrity that China wants to annex Taiwan … If it is for the sake of territorial integrity, why doesn’t it take back the lands occupied by Russia that were signed over in the Treaty of Aigun? Russia is now at its weakest right?” Lai said.

Lai said the intentions of China are clear, it wants to change the international order and establish a hegemony.

(Read more from “Look Who’s Stirring up Trouble Between Russia and China” HERE)