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There's no freedom without national sovereignty.
Biden’s last-minute sanctions on Russia designed to trip up Trump, shoot Europe in the foot (again)
“Trump will be happy with the sanctions because it will mean that the Europeans have to buy more oil and LNG from the United States. And that will raise their costs,” veteran financial and geopolitics analyst Tom Luongo told Sputnik.
On Friday, the Biden administration slapped major new restrictions on two major Russian oil producers, and over 180 vessels involved Russian energy sales abroad.
“Europe is the one who is most vulnerable to these sanctions,” Luongo pointed out, highlighting the deep economic slump the EU has found itself amid the US-led proxy war in Ukraine, which deprived the bloc of a reliable and low-cost source of energy and plunged it into a deindustrialization and recession spiral.
“Brent crude is trading close to $79. I think it’s going to go to $90. Obviously, higher energy prices are never good for anybody. But when you continue to screw with supply chains, then that must be your intended goal,” the observer stressed, commenting on the Biden administration’s motives.
“We know they think they’re going to starve Russia of revenue, which they’re not. They’ll just raise the cost of procuring Russian oil on the open market,” Luongo added.
Move designed to complicate Trump’s job
Regarding the sanctions’ timing, Biden seems to have followed Obama’s 2016 strategy “to disrupt [Trump] as much as possible, to lay so many things in front of him that it derails him, precludes him from getting anything done,” Luongo said.
This includes potential steps toward easing tensions with Russia and stopping the fighting in Ukraine.
“They’re talking about figuring out how they could dump more billions of dollars into the thing and keep it going for as long as possible. That’s what these sanctions are targeting. And they’re targeting Trump trying to end this project,” Luongo summed up.
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'You get China, Russia, or Iran, setting up fake networks of bots, and they coordinate & comment on each others stuff so people think it's authentic and people really believe this' - Zuckerberg on troll farms.
Really, just those countries, Mark? What a coincidence with US foreign policy bogeymen...
#Meta
@MTodayNews
Well, what do you want? This is democracy!
Former European Commissioner Thierry Breton - said that the EU canceled the elections in Romania and will cancel the elections in Germany if the Alternative for Germany party wins: Let's wait and see what happens. In the meantime, let's stay calm and apply our laws in Europe when there is a risk that they will be circumvented and that, if not applied, they could lead to interference. We did it in Romania and we will obviously have to do it in Germany if necessary.
@Slavyangrad
❓Why is Austria’s Herbert Kickl cast as bogeyman by Europe’s mainstream?
Austria’s right-wing Freedom Party (FPO) and the conservative Austrian People's Party (OVP) have begun coalition talks after being tasked by Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen to form a government.
Following the Freedom Party’s parliamentary election victory in September, its leader, Herbert Kickl, was quickly labeled a bogeyman by Europe’s mainstream parties and media. His Eurosceptic, anti-migration, and anti-LGBT* policies align with those of other rising right-wing parties in Europe.
Kickl’s self-styling as a future Volkskanzler (the “people’s chancellor”) has drawn criticism, with opponents noting that the term was once used to describe Adolf Hitler – although such comparisons are often regarded as an exaggerated response to anti-mainstream figures.
Kickl’s key policies at a glance:
On EU & Ukraine
▪️ Opposes Western military assistance to Ukraine, claiming it exacerbates tensions
▪️ Warns that “the European Union is currently pursuing a course of escalation at every turn, which could end in a third world war”
▪️ Argues that Ukraine’s EU accession would drag Austria into the conflict
▪️ Advocates for an EU "peace policy" to bring Ukraine to the negotiation table
On EU anti-Russia sanctions
▪️ Criticizes sanctions as “irresponsible” actions by the “Brussels elite,” damaging Austria’s economy and fueling the conflict
▪️ Pledges to block aid to Ukraine through the European Peace Facility
▪️ Supports continued energy cooperation with Russia
On traditional values
▪️ Promises to defend Europe’s Christian roots and promote the family as a “partnership between a man and a woman with children.”
* banned in Russia as an extremist organization
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134 BILLION euros sent to Ukraine by EU so far
EU Commission Chief von der Leyen proudly totals up just how much cash Brussels has handed over, claiming support will remain ‘steadfast’.
But Western aid sent to Ukraine has a tendency to burn away like in the right pic…
#EU #Ukraine
@MTodayNews
🇪🇺🇺🇦 If the United States is unwilling to support Ukraine, the European Union is prepared to take the initiative in providing assistance.
This statement was made today by European diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas, Politico reports.
She added that "there should be no speculation about the future support of the United States," as "it is not in America's interest for Russia to become the strongest power in the world."
"I am truly confident that all other EU members, and hopefully the United States as well, are ready to continue supporting Ukraine. The European Union is also ready to take on this leadership role if the United States is unwilling," Kallas said.
🇱🇹🇷🇺 Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda called Kaliningrad a historically Lithuanian city that should bear its corresponding name.
Furthermore, Nausėda stated that "no matter how hard Russia tries, Karaliaučius will never become Kaliningrad."
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Russian astronaut posts striking space station photos of #CaliforniaWildfires showing fires and darkness sweeping the state
#wildfires #ISS
@MTodayNews
Sodom (AKA Los Angeles): the scale of the destruction from the already named historical forest fires in a view of a wide panorama of suburbs with an apocalyptic sky.
@eurasianchoice
❗After the liberation of Leonidovka, the Russian Armed Forces advanced to Novospassky, and also advanced to the northwestern outskirts of Dzerzhinsk (former Toretzk). The enemy continues to lose their remaining positions in the outskirts of the city. It can be assumed that by the end of January Dzerzhinsk will be fully cleared.
@eurasianchoice
US building up airfield infrastructure for nuclear-capable planes at its Greenland base (yes, they got it there too!)
That’s according to ambassador to Denmark Vladimir Barbin.
'It is undergoing comprehensive modernization, including radar systems worth billions of dollars. It is also building airfield infrastructure for F-35 fighter jets, which are capable of carrying nuclear weapons', the diplomat told Sputnik
@MTodayNews
The Dwarf Within: Shadows and the Eternal Flame
“I live one life alone. I have no other being inside me.” These haunting words from Pär Lagerkvist’s The Dwarf echo like a drumbeat in the depths of the soul. The dwarf, twisted in body, colder still in spirit, is no mere character. He is a reflection. A mirror held up to humanity’s darkest recesses.
In him, we see cruelty unmasked, cunning without restraint, truth stripped of mercy. He mocks those who tremble before chaos, who shrink from the unknown, who dread the mysteries of life. For him, there is no inner war, no hidden depths, only stark clarity. The dwarf does not fear the abyss. He is the abyss.
And yet, his shadow stretches far beyond himself. For the dwarf lives within us all. He is the voice that whispers, Take what is yours. Fear nothing. Kindness is weakness, and weakness will destroy you. He is vanity cloaked in strength, cruelty masked as necessity, emptiness that masquerades as triumph.
Through the dwarf, Lagerkvist exposes the fractures of humanity: the hollow empires, the gilded masks, the endless pursuit of power that leaves us more broken than whole. We see his reflection everywhere, in the self-serving bureaucrats who build nothing but feed endlessly, in the golden towers erected to distract from the crumbling foundations beneath. The dwarf thrives in this decay, and in his laughter, he dares us to ask: Is this all we are? Is this all we can be?
Here, I diverge.
The dwarf, in his twisted wisdom, would have you believe that life is chaos, that darkness is the only truth, and survival the only virtue. But I reject his laughter. I refuse his final word. For while the dwarf thrives in shadow, it is shadow that reveals the light. If he is the chaos of the soul, then there must be a harmony like a still flame in the tempest, a quiet rhythm beneath the noise. If he is the fracture, then there must be a wholeness, a strength forged not by conquest, but by the courage to face the abyss and remain unbroken.
The ancients spoke of the logos. Not the brittle order of tyrants or empires, but the profound balance of the soul aligned with truth. It is not found in the golden towers of the mighty or the applause of men. It does not reside in conquest or survival at any cost. It is found in the quiet battle within, the struggle to master the self, to rise above cruelty, to walk with integrity even when the world sneers.
Today, the masks remain, worn by those who preach salvation yet sow despair. Empires rise on promises of progress but crumble beneath the weight of their own deceit. They demand trust, even as they betray. Obedience, even as they crush. But we are not their dwarfs. We do not kneel in the shadow of their decay.
Hope is not soft. Hope is not a refuge for the weak. It is a sword. A fire. It is the act of standing firm when the ground beneath you trembles. It is the refusal to bow to shadows that promise safety in exchange for submission. It is knowing the storm will come, knowing the darkness will gather, and daring to face it anyway.
The dwarf knows no such hope. He knows only the cold clarity of survival, the cunning that thrives in darkness. But we are not condemned to his path. We are not his reflection.
And so, I say this: the evils of humanity are real, but they are not inevitable. The dwarf may mock, but he cannot extinguish the flame. For within us burns something eternal. A fire that says, I will not bow. I will not break. I will not live as less than what I am.
It is this fire, the alignment of the soul with truth, that will outlast the tallest towers and the darkest nights. It is this fire that will endure long after the laughter of the dwarf has faded into silence.
The mirror Lagerkvist holds is vital, for it shows us what we must confront. But the path forward is ours to choose. And I choose hope. Not fragile hope. Not fleeting hope. But the profound, defiant hope of those who stand unbroken in the storm.
- Gerry Nolan
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▶️ Who is Joseph Aoun, Lebanon's new president?
@PressTV - #Lebanon
Putin Responds Trump Presser; Arctic Russia's Sphere, Will Call Xi; Kellogg, 100 Days Left Peace
Читать полностью…
Israel blocks UN probe on 'Hamas rape' claims fearing inquiry into sexual abuse of Palestinians
Elected Israeli officials and settler groups last year started riots in defense of prison guards who gang-raped a Palestinian detainee inside the notorious Sde Teiman prison camp
🇺🇸Biden made the most of ten days before he left: the US imposed sanctions against Russian oil, gas, drilling and insurance companies.
The sanctions list included:
✔️ Gazprom Neft
✔️ Surgutneftegaz
✔️ Ingosstrakh
✔️ AlfaStrakhovanie
✔️ More than 20 oilfield service companies
✔️ Head of Gazprom Neft Alexander Dyukov
✔️ Head of LUKOIL Vadim Vorobyev
✔️ Head of Zarubezhneft Sergei Kudryashov
✔️ Head of Tatneft Nail Maganov
✔️ Head of Bashneft Vladimir Chernov
✔️ Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev
@Slavyangrad
At least they are admitting democracy is going to be forbidden in the EU.
Brussels has become the de facto capital of the totalitarian camp.
/channel/EurasianChoice/46199
Neocons demand Ukraine escalation. Trump signals talks with Putin
Читать полностью…
EC President von der Leyen won’t attend Trump’s inauguration as she wasn’t invited - EC spox
#EU #Trump
@MTodayNews
🇪🇺🇺🇸🇷🇺 The European Commission fears that Trump may lift sanctions against Russia immediately after his inauguration, Financial Times reports, citing sources.
EU officials hope that Trump will maintain the sanctions to use them as leverage in negotiations.
They are also preparing for a possible reduction in U.S. aid to Ukraine.
Currently, Europeans are hastily reviewing all of Biden's executive orders to assess the damage Trump might cause if he decides to revoke them indiscriminately, simply because they were issued by Biden.
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🇷🇺🇱🇹 Maria Zakharova advised the Lithuanian president, who called Kaliningrad a historically Lithuanian city, to study history.
She reminded that in 1939, Stalin signed an agreement with Lithuania on the transfer of the city of Vilnius and the Vilnius region, as well as on mutual assistance between the Soviet Union and Lithuania.
Additionally, Zakharova emphasized that Lithuania's largest Baltic port was officially renamed from Memel to Klaipeda and became fully Lithuanian in 1945 thanks to the Red Army's efforts, the monuments to which Vilnius is now demolishing.
All these "gifts" from the USSR, Vilnius can return if history is so burdensome for the Lithuanian president, noted the Foreign Ministry spokesperson on her Telegram channel.
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🇺🇸 Malibu’s waterfront before and after the wildfires, which destroyed some of the most expensive properties in #California
Follow us -> LiveLeak
❗Russian Army units have expanded their foothold on the west bank of the Oskol River, advancing towards the village of Dibrovka.
@eurasianchoice
❗As a result of the Ukrainian shelling of the mall "Milk" in Donetsk with the use of HIMARS, 2 people were killed and several others were injured.
@eurasianchoice
Rostec has supplied a batch of Dispatcher ground drones to the troops.
These are multifunctional, remote-controlled platforms on a wheeled chassis.
The design of the "Dispatch" allows you to mount various equipment on it. Thanks to this, the platform can be used for a wide range of tasks. For example, it is able to quickly deliver cargo weighing up to 200 kg to the front line – provisions, fuel, equipment – and evacuate the wounded to the rear.
The drone has an independent suspension and is highly maneuverable. The maximum speed of the platform is 30 km/h. It can travel long distances. The elements of robotization of the Dispatch are provided by the Prometheus software and hardware complex.
@rostecru
https://x.com/angeloinchina/status/1877577997219410256?t=o6GDfqHBFRBVyQv9BXcgaw&s=19
Читать полностью…
There's a pattern here.
I just can't put my finger on it...
Focus on suitability for the role, instead of meaningless DEI stats.
🇺🇸🇺🇦🇷🇺 Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense, says Russia endured so many casualties that they rush desperately North Koreans to the front.
700,000 casualties he says …
#LordBeboExclusive
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RT EXCLUSIVE: All of Syria's Shias are labeled as agents for Iran – Syrian refugee who fled to Lebanon
#Syria
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