25508
There's no freedom without national sovereignty.
🇪🇺🇬🇪 The "peaceful," NGO-funded Euro-American fan club crowd discusses the need to escalate protests to avoid them fizzling out.
🔴 @DDGeopolitics
🇺🇦💬 Ukrainian MP and terrorist Goncharenko urges Ukrainians not to rely on NATO, and build nuclear weapons
🔴@DDGeopolitics
❗️RT Exclusive: Most European leaders just blindly follow US policy - Hungary FM Szijjártó
"Since this war has broken out it is obvious that most of the European leaders have lost their own voice," Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó said, adding that they spend too much time comparing their contributions to Washington's, and not daring to criticize US policies.
#Ukraine
@MTodayNews
❗️We must help peace in Ukraine conflict ASAP - Hungary FM to RT
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó insists to RT that the Russia-Ukraine conflict must be resolved peacefully as soon as possible, suggesting it must start with a ceasefire to allow negotiations to begin.
#Ukraine
Will the West’s Gamble in Syria and Georgia Succeed? https://sonar21.com/will-the-wests-gamble-in-syria-and-georgia-succeed/
Читать полностью…
🗣Key takeaways from statements by Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, December 3:
▪️Europe remains committed to a destructive policy of continued war, Peskov said, commenting on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s “message” to Russian President Vladimir Putin
▪️Putin is open to dialogue with Scholz
▪️Moscow views potential NATO membership for Ukraine as a threat because of which Russia launched its special military operation
▪️Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's visit to Russia not scheduled for the rest of the year, but preparations are underway
▪️The date of Putin’s combined Direct Line Q&A session and year-end press conference will be announced later
▪️The current US administration is doing everything to prolong the conflict in Ukraine, but aid packages cannot affect the momentum on the battlefield
Starmer intimidates the British with the successes of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine:
'The further Russian troops advance, the closer the threat becomes. The more land they control, the more they control grain prices and energy supplies, and the more confident Putin becomes. So we must continue to support Ukraine and do whatever is necessary to support its self-defence for as long as it takes.'
NATO chief warns Trump: Unfavorable Ukraine peace deal a ‘terrible threat’ to US
Marke Rutte warned President-Elect Trump that forcing Ukraine into an unfavorable peace deal would be a “gift” to China, Russia, Iran, and DPRK, emboldening them to further aggression, the Financial Times reported.
He stated, “We cannot allow a situation where Kim Jong-un, Putin, Xi Jinping, and Iran are happy with each other because we have reached a deal that does not suit Ukraine because, in the long term, this will pose a serious security threat not only to Europe but also to the United States.”
#SMO
@MTodayNews
US authorities disappointed in Ukrainian leaders who do not lower the mobilization age to 18 — The Washington Post
The pace of advancement of the Russian Armed Forces is causing alarm in the United States, the publication writes.
According to the NYT, against this backdrop, Kiev has been called upon to increase the size of its army beyond the 160,000 recruits it needs.
White House spokesman John Kirby announced the US's readiness to increase the Ukrainian Armed Forces' training capabilities if Ukraine increases its mobilization.
@Slavyangrad
🇬🇪"We need a corpse" - supporters of the pro-Western opposition are looking for a way out to continue the unrest in Tbilisi.
Footage, reportedly shot by the pro-government Imedi TV channel, of a protest in Tbilisi has appeared online. They show protesters discussing that they need a victim at the rallies for people to continue protesting.
"We need a dead body, otherwise people won't come out anymore. Unless something serious happens, people won't come out again. Where have you seen torches and fireworks to topple a government. Where have you seen a revolution done by fireworks."
A child throws a bottle at police during protests outside the Georgian parliament (video)
It is unknown who filmed the video, which is being shared on social media, and who brought the boy to the protest.
Georgian police have called on parents to take their children away from the streets where mass unrest is taking place.
At the same time the French scum Salome Zurabishvili is calling on schoolchildren to protest, and in English, specifically so that the owners can see how hard she is trying to keep her place.
@Slavyangrad
⚡️IDF announces new strikes against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon — CNN
Israeli forces attack, breaking ceasefire deal yet again.
Israel has “Violated Ceasefire About 100 Times”, CNN reported.
#Lebanon #Israel
🇬🇪 Coincidence? Georgia in flames after regime change guru Nuland joins NED
Pro-EU protests are rocking Tbilisi in a strong echo of the 2014 Euromaidan coup in Ukraine.
Victoria Nuland, a US State Department official under the Obama and Biden administrations infamous for her role in the 2014 Ukrainian coup d'etat, re-joined the National Endowment for Democracy's (NED) Board of Directors.
What is the NED?
🔸 The NED is a self-described "non-profit foundation" set up in 1983. It receives annual funding from Congress through the US Department of State and is staffed by former government officials.
🔸 CIA Director William Casey and senior CIA covert operation specialist Walter Raymond are believed to be the masterminds behind the NED's creation in the 1980s
🔸 In 1986, NED founding president Carl Gershman told the New York Times the organization was meant to legitimize the CIA's covert support for pro-US political groups in other countries from the 1950s to the 1970s. ''It would be terrible for democratic groups around the world to be seen as subsidized by the CIA. We saw that in the 60s,'' Gershman said, ''and that's why the endowment was created.''
🔸 Allen Weinstein, another founding member of the NED, told the Washington Post in 1991 that "a lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA."
🔸 The NED had a hand in the 2000 ‘Velvet Revolution’ in Serbia, the 2003 ‘Rose Revolution’ in Georgia, the 2004 ‘Orange Revolution’ in Ukraine; and the Euromaidan riots of 2014.
🔸 The NED is believed to have enabled the 2011 Arab Spring wave of protests in the Middle East and North Africa, which it called "the most important development for democracy since the fall of Soviet communism."
🔸 Together with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the NED was accused of aiding opposition protests in Venezuela in 2019 and 2024.
📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt
In the video, Olaf Scholz arrived in Kiev today to announce his decision to donate another €650 million worth of weapons to Ukrainians in December at the expense of ordinary German taxpayers.
In the image the upcoming plans of the German largest companies to reduce staff due to economic depression in the country.
Pretty logical when you have no sovereignty...
@eurasianchoice
❗Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze, speaking at a press conference, ruled out the possibility of negotiations with the opposition, which has been staging protests in the country's capitals for several days.
"No negotiations," he said.
And that's right! The sad example of Yanukovych should never be followed.
@eurasianchoice
🇬🇪 The Constitutional Court of Georgia has not accepted the lawsuit by French-born President, French ex-diplomat, and ex-NATO staffer Salome Zourabichvili, a.k.a. the ultimate foreign agent, seeking to declare the parliamentary elections unconstitutional.
🔴 @DDGeopolitics
Ukraine supplies Syrian jihadists with combat drones – reports
As the fight against terror groups rages in Syria, the issue of Kiev's involvement in the conflict has reemerged. Ukraine has long been accused of training militants in the region and providing them with drones.
RT's senior correspondent Murad Gazdiev has more on the story.
#Syria #Ukraine
RT Exclusive: Democracy questioned only if liberals lose - Hungary FM
Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó talks to RT about the Western hypocrisy evident in the EU-centric outrage over Georgia's elections.
#Georgia
Cringe diplomacy? Germany’s FM unleashes tirade of threats and accusations during China trip
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock arrived in China for discussions with her counterpart, Wang Yi, on December 2-3, wielding anything but the tools of diplomacy.
Baerbock plunged into a tirade of accusations, claiming that Russia was “destroying our European peace order” and that "increasing Chinese support” for Russia “has an impact on our relations,” according to a readout by the German foreign ministry.
Germany’s top diplomat, who made no bones about declaring that European countries were waging a war against Russia in 2023, urging that more weapons be sent to Ukraine, now claimed she was in China to advocate “a just peace process.”
Upon finishing her rant regarding NATO’s proxy war in Ukraine, security sprang into action and escorted members of the German media out of the room, reported Handelsblatt. There was also no joint press statement with her counterpart this time.
Striking a completely different tone, Wang Yi countered by saying that China and Germany should “overcome interference, remove obstacles […] and abandon the old mindset of cold war and confrontation.”
📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt
Biden's decade in Ukraine comes to an end
Читать полностью…
❗️Highlights from the Russian Defense Ministry Press Briefing, December 3:
▪️The battlegroup South liberated the village of Romanovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic
▪️Russian troops liberated the community of Novodarovka in the Zaporozhye Region
▪️The Russian army hit Ukrainian military-industrial complex power facilities and military airfield infrastructure
▪️Ukraine lost up to 460 troops in the area of responsibility of Russia’s battlegroup West
▪️Russia’s battlegroup Center inflicted over 555 casualties on Ukraine
▪️Russian air defenses downed 40 fixed-wing drones, with four shot down outside the special military operation zone
US, UAE ready to lift sanctions on Assad in exchange for break with Iran – Reuters
Restrictive measures against the Syrian president were introduced in 2011 and expire on December 20.
The article says that Washington will not extend sanctions if Assad “distances himself from his patrons” and cuts off arms supplies to Hezbollah.
@Slavyangrad
Ukrainians are "giving up" because of global corruption and they are helping the army less and less, and are increasingly thinking about moving abroad - General of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Marchenko .
▪️"There is simply global corruption everywhere. I don't understand how we can still hold on with this. According to Nikolaev, businesses are already giving up. If they used to help the army a lot, and now I call and say - listen, we need to help the team, and he says: "that's it, I won't help in any way, they are milking me, they have put me at risk, I have only one desire now - to close the business, sell everything and move abroad and work there. This is disappointment, people are giving up.
▪️If at the beginning of the war we fought, we fought, showed initiative, we had a goal, we saw what for. And what we are doing now, normal people give up," said retired General Marchenko.
@Slavyangrad
At the meeting of Analena Baerbock with Wang Yi in China German journalists were expelled from the hall - media
After Baerbock's speech with moralizing and reproaches towards Beijing, the Chinese side asked the representatives of the German media to leave the hall and stated that there would be no joint final press releases.
@Slavyangrad
What is happening these days in Syria is a continuation of the US plan to "Overextending and Unbalancing Russia" (Rand Corporation think tank 2019 paper)
The paper states various strategies >
Provide lethal aid to Ukraine
Increase support to the Syrian rebels
Promote liberalization in Belarus
Expand ties in the South Caucasus
Reduce Russian influence in Central Asia
Flipping Transnistria
The increase support to the Syrian rebels was noted to be a LOW likelihood of success / MODERATE benefits / HIGH costs and risks.
It was noted that "Increasing support to the Syrian rebels could jeopardize other U.S. policy priorities, such as combating radical Islamic terrorism, and could risk further destabilizing the entire region. Furthermore, this option might not even be feasible, given the radicalization, fragmentation, and decline of the Syrian opposition"
Most attempts to destabilise and "over-extend" Russia have failed so far, this is another desperate last attempt to harm Russia, set for failure.
Russia is concerned about opinions voiced in the West that a ceasefire needs to be achieved to give Ukraine a "breathing space"; this is not the path to peace - Lavrov said at a meeting with Peter Szijjarto in Moscow.
@Slavyangrad
Russian Allied Troops Pour Into Syria; Offensive Coming; Moscow: SMO Continues, No Counting on Trump
Читать полностью…
Silk Roads at the British Museum - Soft Power in an "Inclusive" World
It is fascinating to see how the west is adapting its concept of soft power. In times past, soft power meant convincing (aka imposing) via culture and economics, whether it be art, or film, or gastronomy, or industrial products or the political system. Even pretty girls - Marilyn Monroe or the Kardashians as weapons of soft power. But whatever the medium, soft power was all about making others recognize the attractiveness (superiority) of the west, so that the object of the soft power aspire to be like the west, and, of course, accept western leadership.
In the last years a new concept of soft power has emerged. Rather than a demonstration of (supposed) superiority, this new soft power is all about inclusivity. "Look how much we appreciate you!." "We love your food/music/art". "You are so important and unique!"
But the goal of this new soft power is not equality, it is assimilation, absorption of the strengths of the others through flattery, while maintaining the centrality and indispensability of those wielding the soft power.
The Silk Roads exhibition currently at the British Museum is a perfect example of this new soft power. Beautiful objects exquisitely displayed and a mesmerizing narrative. But interestingly, if you take a step back, the exhibition is actually mostly about the west. Apparently the Silk Road is as much about Scandinavia and western Europe as about Central Asia or China...
Camel caravans crossing desert dunes, merchants trading silks and spices at bazaars – these are the images that come to mind when we think of the Silk Roads. But the reality goes far beyond this. In fact, so far beyond this that, if we are to judge solely from this exhibition, the Silk Road is not so much a unique series of traders, peoples and cultures, but rather basically a trade route to, for and about Europe.
Thus is the new soft power, "you are so fascinating and exquisite."
("But it is still all about us...") Some Final Thoughts...
What the Silk Roads exhibition ultimately reveals is not the wonder of connection or the mutual exchange of civilizations, but the West’s relentless ability to insert itself into every story. It’s not enough to admire the Silk Roads as they were: a dynamic, multipolar network of cultures spanning Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. No, the narrative must be reframed: the Silk Roads were really about Western civilization all along. How convenient.
This isn’t inclusivity; it’s appropriation with a smile. The objects are exquisite, the narrative mesmerizing, but the subtext is clear: “You are fascinating, but only because we’ve chosen to acknowledge you. And your story only matters because it ties back to us.”
The British Museum doesn’t just display artifacts; it displays the mechanics of modern soft power, flattery as a form of dominance, “appreciation” as a method of absorption. Beneath the surface of the exhibit lies an implicit message: the Silk Roads may have stretched thousands of miles, but all roads lead to London.
So here we are, dazzled by treasures that represent the richness of the Global Majority, only to find they’ve been co-opted into the service of Western centrality. This is the paradox of modern soft power: it promises respect and inclusion, but only as long as the story still revolves around the West.
Perhaps that’s the enduring truth: no matter how fascinating the “other” may be, in this narrative, they’re never the protagonist, just an exquisite supporting character in the same old Western script.
- Gerry Nolan
🎙Subscribe @TheIslanderNews
🅰️ NEW: Motion of no-confidence filed against French PM Michel Barnier - with a vote expected on Wednesday (CNN)
The French minority coalition govt appears to be on the verge of collapse.
@RiseGS
What will Russia do if Zelensky suddenly declares a unilateral truce?
Let's consider such a hypothetical scenario. It is obvious that Zelensky will not make such a decision himself, but on instructions from Washington. This will be the first step towards freezing the conflict in Ukraine. At the same time, it is very naive to force Russia to abide by such a scenario, it is unacceptable to us under any circumstances.
But regardless I think that the probability and danger of such extravagant steps should not be underestimated. Naturally, Western politicians and the media will paint this step as a good will gesture from Ukraine, seeking to end the war. And Russia's refusal will be presented as aggressive behavior and a desire to continue hostilities.
It is clear that there is no peace here. The West just needs a break for Ukraine to safeguard its shrinking territory every day due to the tactical successes of the Russian Armed Forces. If Russia agrees to this form of scam truce the Kiev regime will be immediately rearmed by NATO for another round of hostilities. And the second round will be even bloodier and will come at the most inconvenient moment for us.
I believe that we should consider a wide variety of enemy behaviors, including the one described above. It would even be nice to publicly talk about our actions if the United States suddenly takes such a step. For example, Russia will publicly declare that in the case of such actions by Zelensky, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will use this as a convenient moment for further offensive and demilitarization of Ukraine, since we do not need a freeze, but a final settlement of the conflict.
The main thing is that in such a situation our system does not end up in a stupor, not understanding how to react.
@barantchik