Russia/Ukraine/NATO

[Jackalope]

I've been following recent developments between the Ukraine/Russia and NATO.  Lyin' Biden started out with economic sanctions which has rapidly morphed into sending troops and then more troops.  Supposedly, the 82nd Airborne and the 10th Mountain Division have been put on alert.  Another report indicates the Russians are sending multiple brigades with tactical nuclear weapons to the frontline. These may be simply rumors, but the situation is in flux and it seems to be escalating. 

Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if the U.S. becomes a victim of a cyber attack on our electrical systems and our communications infrastructure.  We're topping off our preps, just in case. 

Anything can happen with the current idiots attempting to rule our nation.

[JohnyMac]

I would be surprised if when the Ruskies move they do not shut down our interwize. Hence the radio SOI I posted for just that drama.

[Felix]

"I would be surprised if when the Ruskies move they do not shut down our interwize. Hence the radio SOI I posted for just that drama."

If such shutdown comes to pass, what will the sheeple make of the silence?   And the Emergency Broadcast System, panic-driven BS designed to fill the vacuum that nature abhors?

Might just be my imagination... but have I noticed those who went along with/in the "mass hypnosis formation" are becoming a bit more testy?   Defensive?   ...as the narratives they clung to and shared crumble around their edges?

[JohnyMac]

I wonder how many folks, at the bare minimum, have an old fashion TV antenna hooked up to their idiot box besides relying on their cable? I bet ya', nobody living in an apartment or major city does.

I wonder how many people have an everyday AM/FM radio in their home?

When the interwize or electric grid goes down, I wonder if President O' Biden's popularity will drop even more?

 

[Nemo]

It will bottom out at 3% or soar to 85% favorable.

Probably the 85% because only those working in the White House will be able to cast a countable vote.

Nemo

[Jackalope]

Looks like the end game has started.  Several news sites are reporting the Russians are moving into attack positions.  So when do the power outages and networking hacking start? 

[grizz]

Looks like the end game has started.  Several news sites are reporting the Russians are moving into attack positions.  So when do the power outages and networking hacking start?

Soon, very soon

[JohnyMac]

The word on the street is that the Ruskies enter Ukraine on Wednesday. I still think if they do invade, it will be after the Olympics. 

[Nemo]

Timing.

Nemo

https://dnyuz.com/2022/03/02/china-asked-russia-to-delay-ukraine-war-until-after-olympics-u-s-officials-say/

China Asked Russia to Delay Ukraine War Until After Olympics, U.S. Officials Say
March 2, 2022
in News

WASHINGTON ? A Western intelligence report said senior Chinese officials told senior Russian officials in early February not to invade Ukraine before the end of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, according to senior Biden administration officials and a European official.

The report indicates that senior Chinese officials had some level of knowledge about Russia?s war plans or intentions before the invasion started last week. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia met with President Xi Jinping of China in Beijing on Feb. 4 before the opening ceremony of the Olympics. Moscow and Beijing issued a 5,000-word statement at the time declaring that their partnership had ?no limits,? denouncing NATO enlargement and asserting that they would establish a new global order with true ?democracy.?

The intelligence on the exchange between the Chinese and Russian officials was classified. It was collected by a Western intelligence service and considered credible by officials reviewing it. Senior officials in the United States and allied governments passed it around as they discussed when Mr. Putin might attack Ukraine.

However, different intelligence services had varying interpretations, and it is not clear how widely the information was shared.

One official familiar with the intelligence said the material did not necessarily indicate the conversations about an invasion took place at the level of Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin. Other officials briefed on the intelligence declined to give further details. The officials spoke about the report on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the intelligence.

When asked by email on Wednesday whether Chinese officials had urged Russian officials to delay an invasion of Ukraine until after the Olympics, Liu Pengyu, the Chinese Embassy spokesman in Washington, said, ?These claims are speculation without any basis, and are intended to blame-shift and smear China.?

China held the closing ceremony of the Olympics on Feb. 20. The next day, Mr. Putin ordered more Russian troops to enter an insurgent-controlled area of eastern Ukraine after state television broadcast a meeting between him and his national security council and a long speech in which he said Ukraine should be a part of Russia rather than existing as a country. Early on Feb. 24, the Russian military began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including carrying out attacks on Ukrainian cities with ballistic missiles, artillery shells and tank units.

American and European officials have said they find it hard to believe it is mere coincidence that Mr. Putin?s invasion did not start until right after the Olympics.

Over the winter, Russia moved military units from its border with China and other parts of the east to the border with Ukraine and to Belarus to prepare for the invasion. The movements indicated a high level of trust between Russian and Chinese officials.

China and Russia have been strengthening their economic, diplomatic and military ties for years. Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin met 37 times as national leaders before their discussions in Beijing ahead of the Olympics. The ambitious joint statement that the two nations issued during that meeting alarmed American and European officials, especially because it was the first time China had explicitly sided with Russia on issues concerning NATO and European security. European leaders have denounced China and Russia in recent weeks, including in speeches at the Munich Security Conference.

For months, some American officials tried to recruit China in efforts to avert war in Ukraine.

Days after President Biden spoke to Mr. Xi in a video summit on Nov. 15, senior American officials decided to present intelligence on the Russian troop buildup around Ukraine to senior Chinese officials to try to get them to persuade Mr. Putin to stand down. The Americans spoke to Qin Gang, the Chinese ambassador in Washington, and to Wang Yi, the foreign minister, among others. In a half-dozen meetings, including one in Washington between U.S. officials and the Chinese ambassador just hours before the Russian invasion, Chinese officials expressed skepticism that Mr. Putin would invade Ukraine, American officials said.

After one diplomatic exchange in December, U.S. officials received intelligence showing Beijing had shared the information with Moscow, telling the Russians that the United States was trying to sow discord and that China would not try to impede Russian plans and actions, American officials said.

U.S. intelligence findings and assessments of Russian plans for an invasion of Ukraine have generally been accurate. The Americans began a campaign last fall to share intelligence with mainly ally and partner nations and to present declassified material to the public to build pressure on Russia to halt any planned invasion. William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director, flew to Moscow on Nov. 2 to confront the Russians with the information, and on Nov. 17, American intelligence officials shared their findings with NATO.

British officials had assessed that an attack by Mr. Putin ahead of the Olympics was possible but unlikely, according to multiple officials briefed on London?s intelligence. That was partly based on the Western intelligence report, but mostly on an analytic assessment that Russia?s plan to overcome Western sanctions was highly dependent on China?s support and the notion that Mr. Putin would not risk angering Mr. Xi.

British officials also assessed that the joint statement issued by Mr. Putin and Mr. Xi in early February was a clear sign of China?s support, something that Beijing would have been reluctant to give if Mr. Putin was willing to overshadow the Olympics by beginning his assault before the end of the Games, according to people familiar with the British thinking.

American intelligence officials observed Moscow making final preparations around Feb. 10, the kinds of movements that immediately precede an attack.

Allied intelligence services learned from intercepted communications that senior Russian commanders were being brought together for a meeting, which some Western governments believed was the key decision point for military commanders to begin the attack. This intelligence was part of what led Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, to warn on Feb. 11 that a Russian attack could come before the end of the Olympics. Multiple officials also said at the time that U.S. officials had picked up intelligence that Russia was considering Feb. 16 as the possible date for the start of military action. That prediction turned out to be wrong, though only by a few days.

In assessing that Russia could ignore China?s widely understood desire that peace be maintained through the Olympics, some U.S. officials said Mr. Putin had multiple considerations. While these officials acknowledged that Mr. Putin?s relationship with China was important, Russia wanted to quickly begin, and complete, an attack before the readiness of its troops declined. Mr. Putin, American officials assessed, also did not want to be seen as overly deferential to any other power.

Both U.S. and British intelligence officials also wrongly assessed that supply problems that had plagued Russian forces in Belarus during military exercises had been fixed, allowing an invasion to proceed, according to a person briefed on the assessment. In reality, the supply problems continued to hamper Russian forces as they moved into Ukraine.

Since the war began, Chinese officials have consistently aligned with Russia. They have expressed support for Russia?s concerns about NATO and said Russian and Ukrainian officials should have negotiations. A Chinese government readout of a telephone conversation last Friday between Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin reiterated those points. Spokespeople for the Chinese Foreign Ministry have refused to call Russia?s actions an ?invasion? and blamed the United States for inflaming tensions around Ukraine.

Chinese officials have also criticized the sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and European nations.

On Wednesday, Wang Wenbin, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said at a news conference in Beijing that Russia and Ukraine should ?seek a political solution that accommodates the legitimate security concerns of both sides.?

?China will continue to play a constructive role in promoting the de-escalation of the situation in Ukraine,? he said.

China is trying to evacuate thousands of its citizens, including diplomats, from Ukraine. About 6,000 citizens were in Ukraine before those efforts began. At least one Chinese citizen was injured by gunfire on Tuesday while trying to leave Ukraine, Mr. Wang said. The Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, spoke with the Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, on Tuesday about the Chinese citizens in the country, according to an official Chinese readout of the conversation.

It is not clear what assurances, if any, Russian officials gave Chinese officials about the invasion. On Feb. 24, the day the full-scale invasion began, Hua Chunying, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said: ?We noted that today Russia announced its launch of a special military operation in eastern Ukraine. Russia?s Defense Ministry said that its armed forces will not conduct missile, air or artillery strikes on cities.?

American and European officials are watching China closely to see whether it will help Russia evade sanctions. Before the invasion, Beijing and Moscow announced a 30-year contract for China to buy gas through a new pipeline. China has also lifted restrictions on the import of Russian wheat. But U.S. officials expect the large Chinese state-owned banks to avoid openly violating the sanctions on Russia for fear of jeopardizing their own global commercial activities.

The post China Asked Russia to Delay Ukraine War Until After Olympics, U.S. Officials Say appeared first on New York Times.

[Felix]

Whether from a secular or Biblical foundation, most have heard of the "quickening".   
I say we are in the midst of one now.   And there are no brakes to be applied on this one, not by one person anyway.
So, perhaps, conditionally, a Ruskie or Chyna cyber-attack right about now would not be surprising.
And, depending on its severity/longevity, it could be a really, really bad thing.   Or a good thing.
Already, polls indicate an American psyche traumatized and abused might be primed for rejection of the madness of Covid, revelations of political corruption, etc.
If God allows America any "sweet spot" on a man-caused catastrophe, it will be a breakdown that educates rather than exterminates.   
We "Preppers" are an island/lifeboat both in physical fact _and_ in example.   Shut the electricity off for just a few days and mayhem will erupt.  Restore it before cannibalism is instituted and you have what is called a "teachable moment".
Kinda like "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger".
Yes.   We have ahead of us, some great stores to be released.    Horror and end or horror and redemption, who can say?

[Jackalope]

   Sooner or later NATO is going to get active in this conflict, when that happens all bets are off.  That reminds me, I need to find my box of radiation monitoring equipment. 

[JohnyMac]

Martin Armstrong (Economist and one of the investors I follow) has some thoughts on the Ukraine-Russian drama. Here are some of his thoughts,

> Bank runs have moved from Ukraine to other former Soviet block countries. He suggests that this will spread
   and you need to have several months worth of cash on hand.
> He predicts that the Market will start to fall on or about March 14th. It will freefall below 28,000 and finally settle
   around 29,500 by the end of April.
> He also believes that Biden and many EU leaders, are using the Ukraine-Russian drama as "the crisis" to push
   The Great Reset. His premise is the way countries are standing in a circle, arms locked, and singing
   kumbaya. This will show the populous of the year why we need to be globalists rather than nationalists.
> Last, he is beating the drum for people to buy food. Any food that is related to wheat. Critters eat wheat. People
   eat wheat. Need I go on?

 
 

[Nemo]

> He predicts that the Market will start to fall on or about March 14th. It will freefall below 28,000 and finally settle
   around 29,500 by the end of April.

That will be right at 6 months before the elections.  Might be a bit more difficult than anticipated.

Keep in mind DJIA close right at 27,500 on election day 2020.  Was up 7500 points and that far back down will surely make some people POed at Biden.

Nemo

[Felix]

Now that you mention it...
I have fire extinguishers staged at multiple location.
 Always keep roughly minimum 3 month's supply of EVEYTHING for EVERY Creature responsible for on hand.
More of food/medical for us peeples.
Don't let the fuel stores sit empty, "1/2" = "empty - go fill it up and include the Stabil.
The generator is fired up periodically to ensure ability to access well water.
BUT
 whut is the drill for "Internet Down"?
I'm typically up @ 0400 +/- local and would instantly know if the grid was in trouble, only minutes after when attempting "COFFEE" would I know if internet was also hosed.
Will have to think on this, specific flow chart/sequence of actions.
One thing for sure would be to try town asap using cash to plug any gaps thought of before the rest of Unicorn Pasture Residents clue to the problem.
After that?
I'd surely miss you all.    And spend time trying to find a signal on my Crane radio.