Ukraine’s Government Says It Wasn’t Involved In The Attacks On Nord Stream Pipelines

NPR:

An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is questioning recent reports that a pro-Ukraine group was behind the undersea bombings of the Nord Stream oil pipelines in September.

In a written response to questions from NPR, the adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, also categorically denied that Zelenskyy and his government knew of any plans to sabotage the pipelines.

Podolyak said the reports by The New York Times and Germany’s Die Zeit newspaper had “lots of assumptions and anonymous conjecture but not real facts.” 

Oh, we know.

Oklahoma Voters Say ‘No’ To Recreational Marijuana Ballot Question

NBC News:

Oklahoma voters rejected a state question Tuesday to allow for the recreational use of marijuana, following a late blitz of opposition from faith leaders, law enforcement and prosecutors.

Oklahoma would have become the 22nd state to legalize adult use of cannabis and join conservative states like Montana and Missouri that have approved similar proposals in recent years. Many conservative states have also rejected the idea, including Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota last year.

Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt and many of the state’s GOP legislators, including nearly every Republican senator, opposed the idea. Former Republican Gov. Frank Keating, an ex-FBI agent, and Terri White, the former head of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, led the “no” campaign.

Exclusive: Zelensky Warns Of ‘Open Road’ Through Ukraine’s East If Russia Captures Bakhmut, As He Resists Calls To Retreat

CNN:

Zelensky said his motivations to keep the city are “so different” to Russia’s objectives. “We understand what Russia wants to achieve there. Russia needs at least some victory – a small victory – even by ruining everything in Bakhmut, just killing every civilian there,” Zelensky said.

He said that if Russia is able to “put their little flag” on top of Bakhmut, it would help “mobilize their society in order to create this idea they’re such a powerful army.”

It is interesting to see US/EU/NATO officials (and their sock puppets) vowing to hold Bakhmut and openly discussing the town’s vital importance, while simultaneously pretending that Russia’s impending victory there is not important.

See also: Russia’s Shoigu Says Capturing Ukraine’s Bakhmut Will Allow More Offensives

Xi Urges Officials ‘To Fight’, Accuses US Of Encircling China

The Sydney Morning Herald:

President Xi Jinping has accused the United States of encircling China and urged his officials to “have the courage to fight” for their future as Beijing escalates its rhetorical threats against the superpower.

The broadside from Xi, who rarely directly references the US in official comments, was coupled with a warning from Foreign Minister Qin Gang at the National People’s Congress in Beijing.

“If the US does not hit the brake but continues to speed down the wrong path, no amount of guardrails can prevent derailing and there will surely be conflict and confrontation,” Qin said.

As long as Lithuania has our back, nuclear World War III should be a cakewalk.

See also:
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang Slams U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy As ‘Encirclement’
China’s New Foreign Minister Warns Of Conflict With US, Defends Russia Ties
China: Ties With Russia Will ‘Grow From Strength To Strength’
China’s Trade With Russia Surges At Double-Digit Pace In Jan-Feb

China’s Xi Jinping Takes Rare Direct Aim At U.S. In Speech

The Wall Street Journal:

Chinese leader Xi Jinping issued an unusually blunt rebuke of U.S. policy on Monday, blaming what he termed a Washington-led campaign to suppress China for recent challenges facing his country.

“Western countries—led by the U.S.—have implemented all-round containment, encirclement and suppression against us, bringing unprecedentedly severe challenges to our country’s development,” Mr. Xi was quoted by state media as saying on Monday.

See also:
Taiwan Says Won’t Allow ‘Repeated Provocations’ From China, Ahead Of Reported McCarthy Meeting
Speaker Kevin McCarthy To Meet Taiwan’s President In US To Avoid China’s Ire

The Russia-Ukraine War Remapped The World’s Energy Supplies, Putting The U.S. At The Top For Years To Come

CNBC:

Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine a year ago has shifted global energy supply chains and put the U.S. clearly at the top of the world’s energy-exporting nations.

As Europe struggled with threats to its supply of natural gas imports from Russia, U.S. exporters and others scrambled to divert cargoes of liquified natural gas from Asia to Europe. Russian oil has been sanctioned, and the European Union no longer accepts Moscow’s seaborne cargoes. That has resulted in a surge in U.S. crude and refined product shipments to Europe.

It is a shame that the US ever found itself in a situation where we had to overthrow the constitutional, democratically-elected government of Ukraine, start a proxy war with Russia, and carry out a terrorist attack against the infrastructure of Russia and Germany to claim the spot of world’s number one energy exporter.

I know of people who supported Joe Biden for POTUS because they “like his green energy ideas.” They are the sort of people who rail against oil companies, capitalism, corporations, speculators, etc. If you were to ask them if they are anti-war, they would say they are.

Of course, the only thing Joe Biden was ever going to do as POTUS was to pick right back up trying to start the nuclear world war that President Obama set us up for; which Hillary Clinton campaigned for POTUS on the promise of starting. Until thousands of nuclear warheads begin raining down across the globe, business is booming.

See also: Arms Dealers And Manufacturers Benefit From Russia’s War On Ukraine

War In Ukraine (3/02/23)

US To Announce New Military Aid Package For Ukraine On Friday

US, Russia Hold Highest-Level Talks Since Ukraine Invasion

Russia Accuses West At G20 Of Blackmail And Claims It Has China’s Support

China Joins Russia In Refusing To Agree To G-20 Statement On War

Kremlin Blames Ukraine For Attack Inside Russian Territory

Pentagon Again Denies Helping Ukraine Attack Targets Inside Russia

Russian Envoy Says Nuclear Powers May Clash Over Ukraine

Russia Journal: Moscow Mulls Possible Use Of Nuclear Arms To Fend Off US Attack -RIA

Bakhmut On The Brink As Ukraine Signals Retreat

Russian Mercenary Boss Publishes Video Showing Fighters Inside Ukraine’s Bakhmut

Russia Can Maintain Oil Output At Pre-Conflict Levels, Says JP Morgan

Taiwan Reports Second Day Of Large Chinese Incursion Into Its Air Defense Zone

NBC News:

Taiwan reported on Thursday a second day of large-scale Chinese air force incursions into its air defense identification zone, with its defense ministry saying that over 24 hours it had spotted 21 aircraft, amid Beijing’s military pressure campaign.

Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has complained for the past three years or so of stepped-up Chinese military activities near the island as Beijing seeks to assert its sovereignty claims.

China has said its activities in the area are justified as it seeks to defend its territorial integrity and to warn the United States against “colluding” with Taiwan, despite the anger this causes in Taipei.

While our political, diplomatic, military, intelligence, media, and entertainment Establishment continues beating the drum for nuclear World War III, Brian Berletic of the New Atlas explains why Taiwan really is not our fight.

See also:
US Army Official Unveils Key Strategies To Win Potential War With China
China Will Attack U.S. Soil If Tensions Boil Over: Army Secretary
‘Destabilizing And Dangerous’: Pentagon Official Warns Of Communication Breakdown With China
U.S. Seeks Fresh Ways To Crack Down On Chinese Tech Industry
What It Looks Like When Congress Takes On China