The Deep State is the permanently entrenched bureaucracy that really runs a country.

It is THE establishment.

While the Deep State concept is commonly associated with the US government, many other countries have their own versions.

Looking at what happens in those countries when an outsider comes to power can help us better understand what the Deep State might do in the US.

If an outsider somehow comes to power, there are three possible outcomes:

1. The Deep State kills the outsider.
2. The outsider succeeds in crippling the Deep State and can implement an independent agenda.
3. The Deep State co-opts the outsider.

Numerous examples of this dynamic have played out in different countries in recent history.

Outcome #1: The Deep State Kills the Outsider

A prominent example of the Deep State killing an outsider is the assassination of JFK.

In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi was an outsider. However, Morsi did not break the back of the Egyptian Deep State, which swiftly overthrew him. Morsi later died in prison of a “heart attack.”

Economic Hit Man John Perkins claims the Deep State assassinated Jaime Roldos and Omar Torrijos, independent leaders of Ecuador and Panama after they resisted being co-opted.

Outcome #2: The Outsider Cripples the Deep State

In Cuba, Fidel Castro’s revolution was able to prevail because he crippled the old Cuban Deep State. Had Castro left the old Cuban Deep State intact, it likely would have overthrown and killed him.

In Iran, there was the Islamic Revolution in 1979 that threw out the US-backed Shah. It succeeded because Khomeini broke the back of the old Iranian Deep State through violent purges of the military and security agencies.

In Russia, it seems Putin was able to tame the old Russian Deep State to a large degree by successfully taking on the oligarchs and making an example out of Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

In Turkey, Erdogan was once considered an outsider. Erdogan came within minutes of losing his life during a military coup in 2016 and was lucky to survive. After that coup failed, Erdogan seems to have tamed Turkey’s Deep State by purging and restructuring the military and intelligence agencies.

In El Salvador, Bukele was a genuine outsider. He successfully broke the old El Salvador Deep State, which the US Deep State really ran. He did this by neutralizing the violent gangs, which would have been the primary way the Deep State would have destabilized Bukele.

Outcome #3: The Deep State Co-Opts the Outsider

Trump’s first term is an excellent example of how the Deep State co-opted an outsider.

There are supposed outsiders in Europe like Giorgia Meloni in Italy or Geert Wilders in the Netherlands. However, they displayed no intent or capability to take on the Deep State in Europe and were easily co-opted by it.

It seems that Fico in Slovakia was too independent for his own good. He barely survived an assassination attempt. I suspect he received the message and will get in line.

A Potential Trump Second Term

The main takeaway from these examples is that an outsider will not succeed in implementing an independent agenda unless he can take on the Deep State and win.

That is a dangerous proposition because there is a good chance the Deep State will kill him first.

Few leaders are willing to take that kind of gamble with their lives. Even fewer succeed.

That’s why many outsiders conclude it’s better to play ball with Deep State.

There is a decent chance Trump could return to the White House in a matter of months.

It’s important to keep this dynamic about the Deep State in mind as we assess the investment implications of Trump’s potential second term.

Given the recent assassination attempts, which nearly succeeded, it seems the Deep State felt Trump was going to be too independent in a second term.

• Is Trump willing and able to cripple the Deep State?
• Or will he be co-opted, as he largely was during his first term?

If I had to guess, I think Trump understood the message and will be co-opted if he is elected again—which is a big if.

Here’s the bottom line.

In order for Trump to be able to implement an independent agenda, he must:

1. Survive further Deep State assassination attempts.
2. Overcome cheating, a hostile media, and other shenanigans to win an election that will be rigged against him in every way possible.
3. Make the fateful decision to take on the Deep State.
4. Succeed in crippling the Deep State.

The odds of ALL of these things happening are tiny.

Many people want Trump to be a savior, but it’s not the way to bet—at least given current circumstances.

If investors want to plan for a potential second Trump term, the base case scenario is that the permanently entrenched bureaucracy that really runs a country will co-opt him.

That means we can expect Trump in a second term to continue with the same overall agenda but with a different flavor.

The Deep State’s overall agenda seems to be focused on perpetuating the US-led world order. In other words, the US government’s unmatched global dominance it has enjoyed since the end of World War 2.

The Deep State doesn’t care if Trump implements different social policies or other inconsequential domestic pet projects, so long as he does not do anything to fundamentally alter the dominance of the US in the world—like cutting the US government down to a limited Constitutional Republic with no foreign entanglements.

For example, with a new Trump administration, we will likely see the current anti-Russian focus substituted with an anti-China one. The idea is to continue pursuing a policy of US global hegemony but with a different flavor.

A new anti-China focus means we can expect:

• Trade protectionism
• Economic sanctions
• Trade embargoes
• Disruption of supply chains

Trump has also proposed devaluing the dollar to make US exports more competitive, so we can expect more currency debasement too.

Here’s the bottom line.

With the most pivotal election on the horizon, we’ve just entered the most turbulent period in US history…

It will be more dangerous than the 1930s, the 1940s, and even the 1860s.

That’s because severe crises are brewing on multiple fronts and converging.

The whole system will have a complete reset, and soon.

[…]

Via https://internationalman.com/articles/the-deep-state-and-the-2024-election/

Rhoda Wilson

The legend of overpopulation was born in the 1960s.  Since then, population alarmists have fantasised that global overpopulation will cause mass migration, overcrowded slums and megacities covering continents, diseases and pollution, chaos and violence over energy, water and food, and humans focussed only on sustaining themselves.

Even using the guestimates of current global populations, these apocalyptic prophecies are not true.

Interestingly, the 2016 video above was sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  Considering Gates is overly keen on vaccines which are doing more harm than good and often seen as one of the Globalists’ depopulation tools, perhaps Bill Gates is regretting he helped put out a video that debunks the overpopulation myth.

The following is the article ‘Is Overpopulation a Myth?’ published by Science Alert on 28 December 2016.

There are currently around 7.47 billion people living on our planet, a figure that’s made all the crazier when you consider that there were only 2.3 billion in 1940. But as that number continues to steadily rise, what will it mean for us as a civilisation?

Overpopulation is one of those issues that many people think might lead to the end of our civilisation as we know it. And on paper, it makes sense: if we have too many people, we will exhaust our resources, leading to famine, war, and many other devastating issues. David Attenborough certainly thinks so.

The problem here, though, is that overpopulation isn’t really that simple. The good news for us is that Kurzgesagt is back with another video (above) to break down the truth behind the hype.

As the video explains, the concern about overpopulation started back in the 1960s when a population boom – spurred on by the end of World War II – caused a bunch of doomsday hypotheses to emerge about what would happen if the Earth were covered head-to-toe in humanity. Eventually, cities would be overrun and we’d all run out of resources, right?

Kurzgesagt argues that this is a misconception because population growth is not a runaway problem. It’s controlled by a four-stage process that is intricately connected to economics, and much of the world has already been through most of the steps.

This four-step process – known as the demographic transition – is a model of how populations change over time in industrialised societies. In summary, the transition happens when economies foster better life expectancy, leading to a boom, then a slowdown, and finally an evening off of population growth.

To illustrate this, the video jumps back to the 18th century when the world wasn’t as industrialised as it is today. Back then, women had, on average, between four and six children, though only two of them were likely to make it to adulthood, meaning that a lot of people were born during this time, but many died. This is stage one.

But that high mortality rate shifted once the Industrial Revolution took place because it allowed families to flourish more than ever before. Now, instead of having only two out of five children reach adulthood, all five of them were reaching it, creating the population boom that characterises stage two.

After parents realised that children would make it through childhood, they stopped having so many, and population growth slowed – creating stage three – because parents were only having two or three children instead of the previous five or six.

Eventually, in stage four, society had advanced enough to the point that fewer people were dying and fewer babies were born every year, creating a balanced system that many industrialised nations are still maintaining to this day, according to the video.

But if this balance exists, why do we still hear the term “overpopulation” thrown around all the time? We’ll let Kurzgesagt explain in the video above, but it just goes to show that nothing is as black and white as we think it is – not even overpopulation.

Featured image: What Is the Malthusian Theory of Population? Economics Online, 29 July 2021

[…]

Via https://expose-news.com/2024/10/16/the-theory-of-overpopulation-is-ungrounded/

Episode 19 High Middle Ages in the Americas

The Middle Ages Around the World

Dr Joyce E Salisbury

Film Review

Dr Salisbury estimates the  medieval population of the Americas was about 100 million (more than all of Europe). American population growth was driven by the domestication of corn around 9000 years ago. Originating in Mesoamerica, these crops spread northward, reaching the Mississippi and Missouri River basin between 950-1000AD. For the most part early Native Americans practiced slash and burn agriculture,* with corn, beans, squash as their main the main staples. Their only domesticated animals were dogs, turkeys, guinea pigs, llamas and alpacas. Llamas and alpaca, which were also used for meat, were their only work animals.

North American Civilizations

• Mayan Empire

By 1000 AD, the great Mayan empire had fragmented through encroachment of other tribes on their territory, though several Mayan cities persisted. They were great mathematicians and astronomers and used the concept of zero centuries before the rest of the world. They practiced human sacrifice to guarantee the fertility of their crops. The Aztecs migrated into Mexico in 1300.

• Mississippian Civilization

In North America, the arrival of corn, rice and beans from Central America spurred the birth of the Mississippian civilization (along the Mississippi/Missouri River tributaries), which engaged in long distance trade along both rivers, obtaining copper from the Great Lakes and seashells from Florida. Their largest city Cahokia reached a population of 20,000-40,000 people/

In 1000 AD, warmer weather and improved food production also supported the development of the Chaco Canyon civilization by the Anastasi (ancestors of the Pueblo). Their total population reached 2,000 in 15 main complexes. Their pueblo apartment buildings were the tallest buildings in North America until the 19th century. Some were six stories tall up to 600 rooms. They practiced irrigation agricultural, using dams in nearby canyons to capture and divert rainwater. Increasing drought led inhabitants to abandon Chaco Canyon at the end of the 12th century.

South American Civilizations

• Andean Civilizations

The Andean civilizations owed their success to domestication of potatoes, which grow at altitudes up 1,000 feet and can remain in the ground up to a year – or even longer with freeze drying – without spoiling. They also ate sweet potatoes and llama and alpaca meat and grew cotton, which they mixed with alpaca and llama wool to weave into blankets and clothing, which were valuable trade items. These civilizations civilizations also smelted copper (a skill that spread to North America), as well as gold and silver.

The Chimor Empire (in modern day Peru) reached its peak in 1000 AD. Its inhabitants used irrigation consisting of “walk-in” wells and reservoirs. The Chimor capitol Chun was 2 1/2 square miles in area and had five ceremonial centers. Only elites and artisans (weavers and metal workers) were allowed to live there. Commoners lived outside the city walls. Practicing ancestor worship, they believed their king was a god. Because his mummified body continued to occupy his home and his descendants had to build new palaces of their own.

They traded with Chile and Mesoamerica. Their most high prized commodity were shells that highly paid divers pried off rocks on the ocean floor. The king used his accumulated wealth to pay armies to conquer neighboring tribes. The Empire began to fail due to a 200-year drought in 1000AD. In 1470 they were conquered by the Inca, who adopted their culture.

• Amazon Basin Civilizations

During the Middle Ages, the Amazon River basin was home to around 5 million people who built pyramids and lived in major population center.  Some took the form of villages stretching up to 20 miles along the river.

Although most Amazonian soil is too acid to be fertile, soil, around 6000 years ago, these cultures accidentally increased its fertility by burying food waste and charcoal.* Archeologists have found evidence of cultivation beds up to 1200 acres, in which indigenous resident grew manioc, squash and sweet potatoes. This was addition to the  food forests of nut and fruit trees they created

*Other sources suggest the Amazonian’s use of biochar wasn’t accidental. See https://biochar.co.nz/about-biochar

Film can be viewed free with a library card on Amazon.

https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/watch/video/13172786/13172827

Al Mayadeen

Hezbollah attacks numerous Israeli sites, assembly points, barracks, advancements, and military sites, striking central “Israel”.

The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon – Hezbollah carried out a plethora of operations targeting Israeli military positions and movements on Monday across various areas in southern Lebanon and the occupied territories.

In the early morning, Hezbollah launched a rocket salvo at Israeli forces in Labouneh, followed by another salvo targeting a gathering of Israeli troops in Khallet Wardeh, which was hit again in a subsequent strike. An Israeli infantry unit attempting to infiltrate Lebanese territory from the direction of Markaba was struck by Hezbollah with artillery fire during its advance. Further into the morning, Israeli troop movements in Labouneh were targeted with another barrage of rockets.

Later in the morning, Hezbollah struck the Zibdeen barracks in the occupied Shebaa Farms with rockets, achieving direct hits. In response to Israeli aggressions and massacres, Hezbollah launched a precision rocket salvo at the Stella Maris naval base northwest of Haifa. Around the same time, artillery fire was directed at Israeli forces south of Maroun al-Ras.

Mid-morning, as Israeli forces attempted to advance towards Aita al-Shaab, they were forced to retreat under heavy artillery fire from Hezbollah fighters. Later, Hezbollah launched another precision rocket salvo targeting Beit Lid barracks east of Netanya. Additionally, Hezbollah fighters targeted the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Shmona with rockets.

Later on, the resistance struck an Israeli infantry unit attempting to infiltrate the outskirts of Markaba with artillery fire. Hezbollah forces then engaged in fierce confrontations with Israeli troops in Aita al-Shaab using rockets and machine guns, during which a guided missile destroyed an Israeli armored personnel carrier, killing and wounding those inside.

Hezbollah went on to launch a rocket salvo targeting Israeli forces in the Ramot Naftali settlement, followed by artillery fire hitting Israeli forces positioned at Roueissat al-Alam in the occupied hills of Kfar Chouba.

Hezbollah fighters also targeted the settlement of Karmiel with a barrage of rockets. Around the same time, they launched a large salvo at Israeli forces gathered in the settlement of Tziv’on. Later in the afternoon, Israeli forces east of Markaba were struck by another round of rocket fire, and a second salvo targeted troops in Khallet Wardeh.

As the day went on, Israeli forces at the Misgav Am site were shelled with artillery fire, followed by another rocket salvo directed at Israeli troops in the settlement of Manara. Shortly after, a rocket strike hit an Israeli military position at Marj.

By the evening, Hezbollah fighters launched a major rocket strike on the occupied city of Safad.

In response to an Israeli tank advance on the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab, Hezbollah targeted three Merkava tanks with guided missiles, setting them ablaze and inflicting casualties and destruction. Around the same time, Israeli forces at the Radar site in the occupied Shebaa Farms were hit by rockets, alongside another strike on Israeli troops at Roueissat al-Alam in the Kfar Chouba hills and a third targeting the Brekhta farm in the Shebaa Farms.

Later in the evening, Hezbollah launched rockets at Israeli forces in the Margaliot settlement and hit Israeli personnel and equipment at Khallet Wardeh with another salvo. Shortly afterward, they targeted Israeli forces in the Zar’it barracks. The strikes continued late into the night, with rocket fire hitting the settlement of Kiryat Shmona.

The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon underlined that all of its operations were carried out in support of and in defense of the people of Gaza and Lebanon, as well as the Palestinian Resistance in light of the Israeli onslaught they are facing.

Operations overview

– At 00:02, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted an Israeli assembly point in Khallet Wardeh with a barrage of rockets.

– At 01:05, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted an Israeli assembly point in Labouneh with a barrage of rockets.

– At 01:15, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted an Israeli assembly point in Khallet Wardeh with a barrage of rockets.

– At 03:15, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted an Israeli enemy infantry unit attempting to infiltrate Lebanese territory from the direction of Markaba with artillery shells.

– At 03:40, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted Israeli enemy movements in Labouneh with a barrage of rockets.

– At 07:30, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the Zibdeen barracks in the occupied Shebaa Farms with a barrage of rockets, achieving direct hits.

– At 09:30, the Islamic Resistance fighters launched a precision rocket salvo at the Stella Maris naval base northwest of Haifa.

– At 10:00, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the Kiryat Shmona settlement with a barrage of rockets.

– At 10:30, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted Israeli enemy soldiers attempting to advance toward Aita al-Shaab with artillery fire, forcing them to retreat.

[…]

Via https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/hezbollah-breaks-record-in-number-of-operations-against–isr

Featured image: Peter Kotlár. Source: Denník N

Rhoda Wilson

The Slovak government commissioner for investigating the management of the coronavirus pandemic, Peter Kotlár, considers mRNA injections to be dangerous and has called for a ban. He also calls the covid pandemic an “act of bioterrorism” and a “fabricated operation.”

On 2 October, after it had been submitted to the Government, Kotlár gave a press conference about his report.  The key recommendations from his report include halting the use of mRNA “vaccines,” that SARS-CoV-2 was artificially created in a laboratory and deliberately spread worldwide, and ending Slovakia’s cooperation with the World Health Organisation.  The report will be made public “but let’s wait first for a session of the government,” he said.

“The most serious consequence of the whole fabricated operation called the covid-19 pandemic is the endangerment of human health and the confirmation of the naivety of the world population to be subconsciously obedient,” Kotlár said.

“Let us at least make the right gesture together by stopping the administration of mRNA preparations until their effectiveness and safety have been proven,” Kotlar demanded when presenting his report. The most serious finding is that mRNA preparations alter human DNA, he claims. The vaccines have been inadequately tested and are therefore dangerous.

Slovakia’s Covid Investigation Commissioner Report Seeks To Ban mRNA Vaccines – Says World Population Is “Naive & Subconsciously Obedient”

The following is the article ‘Slovakia wants to ban mRNA vaccines’ written by Lubos Palata, published by Deutsche Welle (“DW”) on 9 October 2024 and translated into English by Interest of Justice.

DW is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget.  As such its article does its best to try to save the dying false narrative that covid “vaccines” are “safe and effective.” 

For example, as a counterargument to the report which tolled the death knell to the Slovak Health Minister, DW quotes a “group of experts,” who are deeply concerned about what the report states, saying: “The views presented question facts that have been verified and accepted by the global expert community and the relevant authorities.”  This sums up the very problem with the false covid narrative that corporate and state media have been peddling since early 2020. 

Thus, on two fronts, DW’s article is revealing.  Firstly, the Slovak government is doing what is right for its citizens, as every government should. Secondly, corporate media and other Covidians are desperately scrambling to save their butts.

As an addition to DW’s “group of experts” questionable opinion, and demonstrating the danger of so-called experts’ arrogance and need to keep the lies going, we refer readers to an article published by Denník N, a Slovak daily newspaper.  The article’s lede states: “Doctors and scientists see no reason to stop vaccinating mRNA with vaccines in Slovakia. The government should reject Kotlár‘s recommendations in full, says virologist Boris Klemp.” You can almost smell the fear and panic as their house of cards crumbles.

Slovakia Wants to Ban mRNA Vaccines

In Slovakia, Health Minister Zuzana Dolinkova has resigned. She belongs to the “Voice of the President” party, the moderate force in the populist left-right government of Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Her resignation came after only eleven months in office. She justified it with differences of opinion over the budget, which provides for deep cuts in the health care system. However, the decisive factor was probably the report that the government commissioner for the investigation of the covid pandemic, Peter Kotlar, presented a week ago.

In it, he not only questions the pandemic itself but also calls for a ban on vaccination with mRNA vaccines developed by Western companies such as BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna. Experts disagree with him. In their view, these vaccines have helped to significantly reduce the number of deaths from the virus and the consequences of the pandemic.

This is exactly what Kotlar denies. “The most serious consequence of the whole fabricated operation called the covid-19 pandemic is the endangerment of human health and the confirmation of the naivety of the world population to be subconsciously obedient,” he said when presenting his report.

Anti-Vaccination Activists In Power In Bratislava

Kotlar, a member of the ruling Slovak National Party, had spoken out against the then government’s measures and the covid vaccination on YouTube during the pandemic, for example, which earned him considerable popularity that helped him get into parliament.

Kotlar’s call for a ban on mRNA vaccines has received support from Prime Minister Fico himself. “You all know that I personally have always been against vaccination with experimental vaccines against covid,” Fico said in his address to the nation published on Facebook at the weekend. He added that he had “many acquaintances” who had experienced significant health problems after the covid vaccination. And he called on Kotlar to find out who in Slovakia had enriched themselves through the “unnecessary purchase of medical supplies and vaccines.”

High Mortality During the Pandemic

Slovakia was among the hardest-hit countries in the world in terms of the number of deaths related to the covid pandemic. In this Central European EU member state of five million inhabitants, 21,000 people died as a result of covid. In addition to a poor and underfunded healthcare system, disinformation campaigns, distrust of modern Western vaccines and the underestimation of covid itself also contributed to this.

The mistrust led many Slovaks to reject Western vaccines and only wanted to be vaccinated with the Russian vaccine Sputnik. In the spring of 2021, then-Prime Minister Igor Matovic sent a government delegation to Moscow to stock up on Sputnik. But after the EU did not recognise the Russian vaccine, it was ultimately not accepted in Slovakia either and the vaccine doses had to be destroyed.

No Cooperation With the WHO 

Nevertheless, the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico maintains its opposition to mRNA vaccines and its doubts about the pandemic. As a first step, it announced that it would end its cooperation with the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the covid issue.

“Let us at least make the right gesture together by stopping the administration of mRNA preparations until their effectiveness and safety have been proven,” Kotlar demanded when presenting his report. The most serious finding is that mRNA preparations alter human DNA, he claims. The vaccines have been inadequately tested and are therefore dangerous.

“This shows where Slovakia has ended up after a year under Robert Fico’s government,” Slovak political scientist Grigory Mesezhnikov, president of the Bratislava-based Institute for Research on Public Issues (“IVO”), told DW. “After all, at the time of the covid epidemic, Fico was probably the highest-ranking leader of the anti-vaccination movement not only in Slovakia but in all of Europe.”

[…]

Via https://expose-news.com/2024/10/15/slovak-governments-investigation-into-covid/

A section of the Druzhba pipeline being erected in Carpathia over a local waterway. September 1962. © Sputnik / I. Arons

By Ilya Tsukanov – Sputnik – 15.10.2024

Tuesday is the anniversary of the creation of Druzbha – the world’s longest oil pipeline, and one of the most technically sophisticated pieces of man-made engineering every created. Here’s what’s important to know about the project, why it was conceived, and why the US and its allies tried, but failed, to stop it.

October 15 marks the 60th anniversary of the inauguration of the Druzhba (‘Friendship’) oil pipeline. Conceived in 1958 at a meeting of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance – the Soviet-led analogue to Western European integration, Druzhba helped forge closer economic links between the USSR and its Eastern European allies, and eventually, between Russia and the whole of Europe.

Drawn up to aid an economic boom being experienced by Eastern Europe, Druzhba was built to replace more costly and infrastructure-intensive rail-based oil deliveries.

Sourcing oil from the Volga-Ural oil and gas basin and starting off in Almetyevsk, modern-day Tatarstan, Druzhba runs west to Mozyr in Belarus, where it splits into two routes – one to eastern Germany via Poland, and another through Ukraine toward Bratislava in Slovakia, Prague in the Czech Republic and Budapest in Hungary.

Members of the Soviet-led economic alliance, namely Albania, Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, contributed equipment and know-how, with the USSR and Poland delivering 730,000 tons of 420-1,220 mm pipes, East Germany pumps for pumping stations, Hungary automation equipment and communications gear, and Czechoslovakia valves and fittings.

The US sought to sanction the project into submission, slapping restrictions on Western European sales of large-diameter pipes to the Eastern Bloc after the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. Russian Chelyabinsk’s industrialists saved the day, creating pipes of the necessary diameter.

The success of the project led to the construction of a second line – known as Druzhba-2 and running along the same route, in 1974.

With Moscow selling oil to allies via long-term contracts, Eastern Europe was largely insulated from the oil shocks suffered by the West in the 1970s and early 1980s. Between 1971 and 1980, Hungary’s material national income rose by 62%, East Germany’s by 59%, Poland’s by 73%, Czechoslovakia’s by 57%, and capital construction in these countries grew 1.9, 1.7, 2.2, and 1.8 times, respectively.

This allowed the region to build tens of millions of new apartments, industrial goods and finished products ranging from cars and electronics to household goods.

After the USSR’s collapse, Germany’s reunification and the European Union’s expansion, Druzhba became a key source of fuel for Europe’s economic prosperity, helping Eastern Europe with its difficult transition to the market, and Germany in its effort to build on its status as an industrial powerhouse.

Accounting for expansions (including extensions to deliver oil to southern Germany and Austria), Druzhba holds the record as the longest oil pipeline network in the world, consisting of a whopping 8,900 km of pipe, 46 pumping stations, 38 intermediate pumping stations, and reservoirs that can hold up to 1.5 million cubic meters of oil.

Druzhba is also one of the most technically-sophisticated manmade engineering projects in history, crossing the Volga, Oka, Don, Dnepr, Dniestr, Vistula and Dunabe rivers and hundreds of smaller waterways, thousands of roads and railways, the Pinsk Marshes and the mountains of Carpathia.

The pipeline has an estimated capacity to pump up to 2 million barrels per day, or nearly a fifth of Russia’s total oil output. Until recently, it accounted for up to half of all Russian oil exports.

Killing Druzhba?

The US, the Eu and Ukraine have taken a series of steps to try and effectively kill the Druzhba-based energy partnership between Russia and Europe, with the EU banning deliveries of Russian oil through the northern portion of the pipeline in the summer of 2024, and Ukraine raising transit costs by more than 75%, and in July 2024 prohibiting supplies of Lukoil oil through the pipeline’s southern line to Hungary and Slovakia.

While Russia has proven able to replace its dependence on Druzhba by forging new energy ties with countries in the Global South, including India and China, Europe has been trapped by its own restrictions into buying more expensive and less dependable energy sourced in the US, leaving economic growth stagnant and industrial competitiveness in jeopardy.

[…]

Via https://sputnikglobe.com/20241015/druzhba-oil-mega-pipeline-that-evaded-us-sabotage-to-power-eastern-europes-economic-boom-1120559902.html

Photo courtesy of Trump White House Archived on Facebook.

By Antonio Grarceffo

Kamala Hariss and Joe Biden have repeatedly called Trump a threat to democracy, while ignoring the real threat posed the many assassination attempts against him.

The fact that Iran has been linked to at least one of these attacks and that the FBI warned Trump that Iran is trying to kill him should be ringing alarm bells all over Washington. Instead, the media is downplaying the attacks.

Democrats and liberals on Twitter are either mocking the situation or criticizing Trump for bringing up these assassination attempts.

Meanwhile, the administration, beyond issuing an official statement, has made no effort to recognize or address the ongoing pattern of threats.

Due to the media and the administration’s disregard, most Americans believe there have only been two attempts, when in reality, the actual number is more than double that.

There have been more than four attempts or plots on Donald Trump’s life, each highlighting the ongoing threat to his security. In 2016, at a Las Vegas rally, British national Michael Steven Sandford attempted to seize a police officer’s gun to assassinate Trump but was arrested and later deported.

Fast forward to July 2024, during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Thomas Matthew Crooks shot Trump in the ear, injuring others and killing one attendee before being taken down by Secret Service agents.

Just a day before this shooting, Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national allegedly tied to Iranian operatives, was arrested for plotting to assassinate Trump and other U.S. officials after hiring an undercover FBI agent posing as a hitman.

Another attempt came in September 2024 when Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, armed with an AK-47 and charged with attempted assassination.

Most recently, in October 2024, Vem Miller was arrested near a Trump rally in Coachella, California, with an AK-47 and other weapons, though officials later stated that Trump was not in immediate danger.

Repeated assassination attempts or plots against a political figure like Donald Trump pose a significant threat to the stability of democracy.

At its core, democracy is built on the peaceful transfer of power and the rule of law, where political leaders and citizens alike engage in dialogue, debate, and elections without fear of violence.

When political leaders are targeted by assassination plots, it creates instability and undermines the democratic system, which relies on political processes rather than violent or coercive methods to resolve disagreements.

In Trump’s case, the fact that the opposition party is being targeted immediately fuels conspiracy theories, with some blaming the administration. When the administration completely dismisses these attempts, it only adds fuel to the fire. On top of this, Iran’s involvement is a clear national security issue that is being ignored, further substantiating claims that the administration might want Trump dead, even at the expense of national security.

These threats can also deter political leaders and the public from openly participating in the democratic process.

Fear of violence can create an environment in which free speech and political participation are restricted, as individuals may hesitate to express their views or run for office if they fear for their lives.

This chilling effect on political engagement is detrimental to democracy, where open discourse and competition are crucial.

With violence now heavily focused on Republicans, it gives the impression that Democrats are using violence to silence the opposition, whether they are or not.

Furthermore, the rule of law is a cornerstone of democratic governance. If repeated assassination attempts occur, it signals potential weaknesses in the ability of law enforcement and security agencies to maintain order and protect political figures.

In a functioning democracy, leaders should be secure, and institutions must uphold the safety of all participants in the political process.

This only further fuels cries of conspiracy while disrupting the democratic process. With just weeks until the election, Republicans would find it nearly impossible to present a new candidate.

Assassination attempts also erode public trust in the political system. When violence becomes a recurring factor in politics, it can foster disillusionment, increase polarization, and drive citizens away from the democratic process, making it more difficult to maintain social and political cohesion.

After the controversy surrounding the 2020 election, it would seem logical for the administration to prioritize ensuring that the upcoming election is both safe and fair.

Protecting Trump from assassination attempts would be crucial to avoid further division and to guarantee that the election results are accepted by the public.

In addition, these events have global implications. Assassination attempts on a major political figure in a leading democracy like the U.S. can be exploited by foreign adversaries to delegitimize the country’s democratic institutions.

It weakens the U.S.’s standing as a model of democracy and can embolden authoritarian regimes to argue that violence and instability are inevitable consequences of democratic governance.

The U.S. is currently facing war with Russia, war with China, and war with Iran. This is not a time for the U.S. to look weak. Additionally, all of the world’s despots are watching and fear a Trump re-election. If he is eliminated, it will be like a signal for them to unleash chaos and do whatever they want.

Via https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/10/repeated-attempts-trumps-life-major-threat-democracy-ignored/