West uses undersea cable incidents to justify military build-up – Putin aide

Nikolai Patrushev, assistant to the President of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the Russian Maritime Board, addressed pressing geopolitical issues in an interview with Russian media:

🔸 The West accused Russia of cutting undersea cables without first investigating in order to strengthen its military presence in the Baltic Sea

🔸 The West is trying to limit Russia's naval reach and is not above terrorist attacks

🔸 The seizure of the tanker Eagle S in the Baltic Sea under a far-fetched pretext is nothing more than modern-day piracy

🔸 Western countries are interested in prolonging military operations in Ukraine for the sake of their defense industries

🔸 The West's close alliance with Ukraine poses a number of security threats to Russia and other countries

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📹 The highlight of the New Year celebration in China was a dance performance featuring both humans and robots

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Netizens GRILL OpenAI for turning into 'government body'

OpenAI announced its biggest product launch since its enterprise rollout, called ChatGPT Gov, which it says was built specifically for use by the US government. OpenAI touts the new platform as a step beyond ChatGPT Enterprise in terms of security.

This comes amid the recent bombshell release of a new Chinese AI model known as DeepSeek.

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Pepe Escobar: Trump disguising ‘same old imperial’ US policies with ‘weaponized three-ring circus’

🔸 The “torrent of executive orders, photo ops, carefully noscripted illusionist tricks and breathless headlines” of Donald Trump’s first week back as president signify his role as “the DJ turning the whole planet into a Disco Inferno” boogying and screaming into the abyss, Sputnik contributor Pepe Escobar writes in his latest column.

🔸 Trump’s actions, from a mini-trade war with Colombia to bragging about US oil domination, promises of massive tax cuts and inklings of a looming tech war with China, signal commitment to a world where “stagecraft invariably trumps substance,” the observer says.

“At the heart of the matter” of the DeepSeek dark horse challenge to US AI dominance are “two clashing models: neoliberal hypercapitalism versus meritocratic socialism,” Escobar stresses.

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'Closest the world has seen': doomsday clock has been moved to 89 seconds to midnight.

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📹 Russian President Vladimir Putin was shown the latest Russian vertical take-off drones capable of carrying payloads of up to 20 kilograms.

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❗️"West persuaded Ukraine to continue the war," stated Putin to journalist Pavel Zarubin, adding, that "everything will end in a month and a half to two months if the sponsor money and ammunition run out."

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❗️Putin stated that he is ready to appoint people who will conduct negotiations with Zelensky if he wishes to participate in them.

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Can Alaska rival Saudi Arabia's energy wealth?

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to boost oil and gas drilling, including in Alaska's northeastern Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Trump’s push for Alaskan energy was based on his belief that the refuge alone could rival Saudi Arabia in terms of energy resources.

"Not only is it big for Alaska. I mean, you talk about economic development. That for the US, I mean, that is, they say, bigger than Saudi Arabia or the same size, and pure, really good stuff,” Trump claimed. But is that true?

How great is Alaska’s natural wealth?

🔸 Alaska's North Slope is home to six of the 100 largest oil fields in the US and just one of the 100 largest natural gas fields

🔸 Proven crude oil reserves in Alaska are estimated at 3.2 billion barrels

🔸 Proven natural gas reserves in the state amount to 100 trillion cubic feet (2.8 trillion cubic meters)

🔸 According to the US Geological Survey, the ANWR coastal plain could hold 7.7 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil—or up to 10.4 billion barrels when Alaskan Native lands and adjacent waters are included

What Are Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas reserves?

🔹 Saudi Arabia controls an estimated 17% of the world’s proven oil reserves, totaling 267 billion barrels

🔹 The kingdom’s proven natural gas reserves are estimated at 333 trillion cubic feet (9.4 trillion cubic meters)

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