🇺🇸 IN 2021 BIDEN’S SPOKESPERSON MOCKED SPACE FORCE

Their position may have changed now.

🔗 Mario Nawfal

🇺🇸☢️🇷🇺 Warning from House Intel is about Russia’s space power — Politico

A vague warning by the chair of the House Intelligence Committee about a “serious national security threat” Wednesday is related to Russia and space, according to three people familiar with the matter.

In his statement Wednesday morning, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said his committee had made available the information about the national security threat and called on the administration to declassify the intelligence so officials and lawmakers could discuss the matter with allies.

It is not clear what prompted Turner to issue the statement now, as the intelligence has been available to leaders of the House intelligence committee and their top aides in a secure room on Capitol Hill for more than a week, one of the people said.

It’s possible Turner was attempting to raise alarms about Russia’s advancements in space as a way of underscoring the need for lawmakers to approve additional aid to Ukraine. The Senate passed the supplemental bill including $60 billion in aid for Kyiv. It is currently under review by the House.

It’s unclear exactly what capability Russia has developed that has concerned officials and lawmakers.

One possibility is Russia’s 3M22 Zircon hypersonic cruise missile that can fly at speeds between Mach 6 and Mach 8 and is designed to strike land and naval targets.

The hypersonic missile, built by NPO Mashinostroyeniya, entered service last year aboard a Russian frigate, the Admiral Golovko.

Russia began ramping up its hypersonic weapon development in response to the U.S. withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

U.S. officials have also raised the alarm in recent years about missiles launched from Earth’s surface that can destroy satellites in orbit. In 2021, Russia conducted an anti-satellite missile test on one of its own satellites, breaking it up into more than 1,500 pieces of debris — which can pose a serious threat to other objects in orbit.

The prospect of Russia developing concerning capabilities relating to space comes amid strengthening ties between Moscow and Pyongyang.

In December, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised to launch three military spy satellites in 2024. Three months earlier, Kim met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny spaceport, Russia’s most important launch center, to discuss how the countries can cooperate in space.

A Russian space nuke absolutely makes sense in military terms:

A high-altitude Nuclear-EMP creates an electric free field incident powerful enough to damage any microcircuitry onboard satellites (see: Starfish Prime Test), especially modern electronics due to increasingly thin structures (therefore electric breakthrough occurs already at relatively low voltages). We are hardening military systems against such EM incidents by shielding, e.g. on a ship using its hull as a Faraday cage. This can't be done on a satellite due to weight constraints.

First, a space nuke would disable recon satellites, both RF (radio frequency) and EO (electro optical), therefore making command blind. Second, it would disable GPS, therefore severely reducing effectiveness of ballistic and cruise missiles guidance (inertial guidance is drifting over time, losing accuracy over longer distances). Third, communication satellites (military but also commercial such as Starlink) would be disabled, leaving troops without orders in time of crisis. Finally, radars are cluttered for days by charged particles bouncing along earth's magnetic field lines, emitting EMI, making air defense and air operations almost impossible.

It would instantaneously nullify most of the US most powerful military assets. It's the ultimate preemptive strike weapon, so it's clear why they would be concerned.

Of course no WW3 will break out, but instead they will use this to beg for more money (as always) to spend on useless high-altitude air defense systems (mainly LMT & RTX, over years to come).

— from a commenter

🇦🇪❌🇺🇸 UAE restricts US ability to launch retaliatory airstrikes against Iran proxies

Some Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates, are increasingly restricting the U.S. from using military facilities on their soil to launch retaliatory airstrikes on Iranian proxies, according to four people familiar with the issue.

Amid a rising civilian death toll in Gaza, several Arab countries, particularly those “attempting a detente with Iran,” are “increasingly restricting” the U.S. and partners from conducting self-defense operations from their soil, according to the U.S. official. This includes limits on retaliatory strikes against attacks in Iraq, Syria, and the Red Sea, the official said.

Certain Arab countries are restricting access to basing and overflight for the assets participating in these retaliatory strikes, the official said. It’s not clear how many countries are taking this action.

The reason the UAE in particular is doing this, per one of the Western officials, is “they don’t want to appear like they’re against Iran and they don’t want to appear too close to the West and Israel for public opinion reasons.” The UAE has in recent years also raised concerns about increasing attacks from the Houthis in Yemen. The rebel group has previously launched missiles into the UAE.

🔗 https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/14/united-arab-emirates-retaliatory-airstrikes-iran-00141460

Global Recession, American Reflation, and FX

The UK falling into recession was expected. But consider for a moment the FX risks at play here from the lack of a Fed rate cut. Europe will suffer most immediately, and American reflation would potentially devastate a host of G7 economies:

What we may see now play out across global FX is an out-hawking scenario (first described by us over four months ago), even if only incidentally, where global central banks ex-Fed are compelled to cut rates first as they struggle to keep up with the Fed's higher-for-longer monetary policy, which the American economy is most resilient to.

If BoE were to cut interest rates before the Fed, capital would flee for higher returns in dollar-denominated assets, depreciating the £pound's FX rate and steepening the UK yield curve as yields on UK sovereign bonds (gilts) increase. This is a "dollar milkshake" dynamic and, mechanically, was what forced the BoE to intervene with liquidity purchases in Autumn 2022.

Also interesting to consider why the Chinese have not gone in with aggressive stimulus and cuts to their prime rate yet – the Yuan FX rate would implode as the rate differential widens. Their stock market, which correlates to Yuan strength, would likely crater.

The US is, structurally, set up to win in this "Fight to the Death (of global economies)" and so, if the political pretense to cut rates is not there (i.e. with domestic reflation), then to the detriment of Europe, G7 and China, they will not cut. Even an eventual rate cutting cycle could strengthen the dollar as it becomes increasingly clear that, while other central banks (like the BoE, ECB and PBoC) are cutting out of necessity, the Fed still has a choice, and could stop or reverse if needed.

The net effect - in this scenario - is a stronger dollar, higher yields, and higher global inflation. Something the entire investment community has discounted, but for Zoltan.

https://archive.is/Zneby

🇬🇷🤝🏳️‍🌈 Greece legalised same-sex marriage 8 years after legalising civil partnerships.

Greece has become the first Orthodox country to legalise same-sex marriage.

Same-sex couples will now also be legally allowed to adopt children after Thursday's 176-76 vote in parliament.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the new law would "boldly abolish a serious inequality".

🔗 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68310126

— Note: New Democracy, which is a center-right to right-wing party, holds alone 158 of the 300 seats on Greek Parliament and the move to legalize the Gay marriage was entirely pushed by the Conservative Prime-Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis

🇷🇺🇺🇦 Russian troops raised the flag of the USSR at the entrance of Avdiivka.

@CIG_telegram

🇷🇺🇺🇦 Novomykhailovka battle:

▶️ On Feb. 6, RUS entered for first time to the town of Novomykhailivka
▶️ On Feb. 8, AFU repelled futhers advances in the town

🔗 News Map

🇷🇺 Russian liberal dissident, Alexey Navalny has died in prison in the Yamal-Nenets autonomous okrug according to the Russian federal prison service.

His sudden death is investigated by Russian authorities.

🔗 https://news.1rj.ru/str/tass_agency/232018

🇷🇺 Russian Volunteer Corps' Leader, Denis 'White Rex' Nikitin on Telegram:

According to numerous statements by officials, Alexei Navalny has died in prison.
I do not feel any gloating about this, after all, Alexei is certainly a brave and determined man. But, unfortunately, he found an unworthy application for such good qualities - the liberal struggle leads its activists to the dungeons and torture chambers.

But the example of the right-conservative struggle is RDK. Our struggle is with guns in our hands! We do not "fight the system", but physically destroy its main dogs. It is a pity that Alexei chose the wrong path - the Kremlin regime of bloody executioners understands only force.

🔗 https://news.1rj.ru/str/white_powder2020/2387

NEW BOOK: Understanding Conspiracy Theories by Josh Neal

https://www.imperiumpress.org/shop/understanding-conspiracy-theories/

Since the term "post-truth" was coined, neoliberalism has proclaimed everything that disagrees with itself "misinformation". We live in a world where we don't trust their experts, they don't trust ours, and each side accuses the other of believing in conspiracy theories. This is what psychologist Josh Neal calls suspicion culture.

Much analysis has been done on the psychology of the conspiracy theorist, but little has been done on the generally suspicious mass society. In Understanding Conspiracy Theories, Neal gives a robust account of suspicion culture.

In this groundbreaking book, we get a clear picture of how conspiracy theories challenge the cult of expertise, and ultimately, the legitimacy of the sovereign centre.

https://www.imperiumpress.org/shop/understanding-conspiracy-theories/