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1. Embed this notice
   HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (histopol@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 20-Sep-2023 19:27:14 JST HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴

   BREAKING NEWS

   CNN thinks precision strikes with drones against the #Sudanese #RSF who supported #Russia in its #WarInUkraine are possibly carried out by #Ukrainian special forces, raising the stakes for anyone supporting #russia

   "Ukrainian special services were likely behind a series of drone strikes and a ground operation directed against a #Wagner-backed militia near Sudan’s capital, a CNN investigation has found,...."

   https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/19/africa/ukraine-military-sudan-wagner-cmd-intl/index.html

   • Embed this notice
     Jeramee (jeramee@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 20-Sep-2023 19:31:28 JST Jeramee

     in reply to

     @HistoPol

     Ukraine has trading partners, as does the US & Russia. But a military strike against a mere trading partner?

     First the attack on Nordstream, now this.

     They're gonna make this a world war.

   • Embed this notice
     HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (histopol@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 20-Sep-2023 19:34:49 JST HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴

     in reply to

     • Jeramee

     @Jeramee

     These were some of my thoughts, too.

     However, if you listen to the complete video, it is about Wagners expanding influence in Africa and the important role #Sudanese gold plays in financing the decrepit #Russian state finances.
     Strategically, the strike makes sense.
     If you need to fight a war, preferably not on home turf (only.)

     TBH, I think the move, if proven true, was genius - though I sea the geopolitical repercussions with dread.

   • Embed this notice
     Jeramee (jeramee@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 20-Sep-2023 20:02:51 JST Jeramee

     in reply to

     @HistoPol
     A large part of that expanding influence has been because of Russia's solidarity with the colonized, though. France still controls the financial sector of its former colonies, a primary factor of Niger's recent coup.

     So, that strike may make short term strategic sense, but it's only pulling the mask off the Nazis that occupy Ukraine's military. I doubt it helps long-term.

     Again, commerce isn't war. This is an act of aggression, and, thus, a war crime.

   • Embed this notice
     HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (histopol@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 20-Sep-2023 20:57:12 JST HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴

     in reply to

     • Jeramee

     @Jeramee

     (1/n)

     I think I need to add something to this point:

     If the Ukrainian governement had prior knowledge of the attack on #Nordstream, it was an act of war against Germany and thus #NATO. It destroyed vital infrastructure and caused a huge financial damage.
     Time will tell.

     A military strike against a "mere trading partner" is, of course, also an act of war.
     If matters were that simple.

   • Embed this notice
     HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (histopol@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 20-Sep-2023 21:01:59 JST HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴

     in reply to

     • Jeramee

     @Jeramee

     (2/n)

     I had heard about the gold of #Sudan being siphoned off into #Kremlin coffers before from trusted sources some months back. I don't recall the details, but it did not sound like legitimate "trading", rather corruption of #Sudanese officials and the involvement of the military state-sponsored mafia, the #wagnergroup. As #Wagner is also very active in the #WarInUkraine, it is an enemy combatant.
     My memory (!) of the details might be wrong, by I saved this as a Wanger op.

   • Embed this notice
     HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (histopol@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 20-Sep-2023 21:05:57 JST HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴

     in reply to

     • Jeramee

     @Jeramee

     (3/n)

     I certainly do not want to downplay any fascist thinking. However, in many Western democracies, about 1/3 of the people sympathize with ultra-right philosophies (US, Hungary, (former) Eastern Germany, etc.)
     So, there are likely to be quite a few in the democratic #Ukraine as well.

     I am not an expert on Africa and my (neo)colonial know-how is (only) growing.

     I fail to see, though, how a special op, the like of which is carried out by....

   • Embed this notice
     HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (histopol@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 20-Sep-2023 21:10:10 JST HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴

     in reply to

     • Jeramee

     @Jeramee
     (4/4)

     ... other (NATO) intelligence services all the time, makes (part of) the #Ukrainian military "Nazis?"
     There has never been a (longer) war that did not involve commerce. One of my history teachers, for instance, was quite convinced that the US entered WWI chiefly (only) because of its financial ties with the UK and others.
     That said, if a party were only doing legitimate commerce (not undecutting UN sanctions etc.,) then that would definitely be "not ok." (2 use a non-legal term)

   • Embed this notice
     Jeramee (jeramee@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 20-Sep-2023 22:09:36 JST Jeramee

     in reply to

     @HistoPol

     Re: Nordstream

     Either US or Ukraine. Hersh reported it was the US, & he has a track record of exposing US lies. Plus, many US officials publicly threatened that pipeline.

     I don't trust Putin, but he's not stupid enough to blow up his money line. Plus, if it were intact, it'd give him negotiation leverage.

     I saw the story pointing at Ukraine, but that indicated they would've needed US assistance to pull it off.

   • Embed this notice
     Jeramee (jeramee@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 20-Sep-2023 22:20:15 JST Jeramee

     in reply to

     @HistoPol

     I watched a YT news program from Africa with (I think) hosts from Niger. They explained that the coup was bc France still controlled their financial system, aka colonialism 3.0. While 1\3 light bulbs in France are powered by Niger's uranium, most of their homes lack electricity. This colonialism is the context where Wagner operates.

     Also a host mentioned that Wagner's activities are against mid-east insurgents created by US wars who went to Africa.

   • Embed this notice
     HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (histopol@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 20-Sep-2023 22:22:00 JST HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴

     in reply to

     • Jeramee

     @Jeramee

     My first take was: cui bono?
     Who'd profit from the attack? Yes, Ukraine in the longer term, but right away?
     US (and others') LNG interests.
     That the CIA did not act on Swedish intelligence regarding a #Ukrainian (or whoever) sabotage plot? Case in point.
     But then this highly credible piece of #OSINT surfaced, which I have never seen refuted, so IDK.

     https://mastodon.social/@HistoPol/110281065879091497

   • Embed this notice
     HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (histopol@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 20-Sep-2023 22:26:05 JST HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴

     in reply to

     • Jeramee

     @Jeramee
     Same. 🤜🤛

   • Embed this notice
     Jeramee (jeramee@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 20-Sep-2023 22:26:06 JST Jeramee

     in reply to

     @HistoPol

     Btw I don't claim to be an expert in this area. Just relaying a different perspective i saw.

   • Embed this notice
     Jeramee (jeramee@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 20-Sep-2023 22:45:28 JST Jeramee

     in reply to

     @HistoPol

     I don't call them Nazis bc of a crime of aggression (aka a crime against humanity) but because the Nazis have always been there. I read a CIA doc that listed some of the Nazi leaders, like Stepan Bandera, who Azov idolizes & the CIA supported for years.

     US media used to report on the Nazis in Ukraine until the war started.

     We know from home, authoritarian institutions don't cull bigotry, they metastasize it.
     1\n

     https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/neo-nazis-far-right-ukraine/

   • Embed this notice
     Jeramee (jeramee@mastodon.social)'s status on Wednesday, 20-Sep-2023 23:12:31 JST Jeramee

     in reply to

     @HistoPol
     Yes.
     Your question shows motive.
     Hersh's report shows method.
     We all saw what happened after the opportunity arose.

   • Embed this notice
     HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (histopol@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 21-Sep-2023 04:06:53 JST HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴

     in reply to

     • Jeramee

     @Jeramee

     Clearly a rethoric question.

     MAGA, lead by General Flyn et al have successfully "infiltrated" the armed forces, including veterans.
     I had posted a very interesting article either here or still on the BorgSite at the end of last year.

   • Embed this notice
     Jeramee (jeramee@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 21-Sep-2023 04:06:54 JST Jeramee

     in reply to

     @HistoPol

     LA area police depts have been under multiple different consent decrees, but there are still constant reports of abuse, including reports of multiple death gangs operating in the sheriff's dept today.

     If this level of bigotry exists here at home, can we really expect the Nazis & white supremacists to leave their bigotry at the door when they join the military - or is it more likely that the Nazism grows & spreads to the rest of the force?

     https://www.npr.org/2022/03/25/1088905429/lasd-gangs-investigation-los-angeles

   • Embed this notice
     HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (histopol@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 21-Sep-2023 04:26:57 JST HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴

     in reply to

     • Jeramee

     @Jeramee

     ...yeah, and considering how long the FF pundits in Congress had been badgering consecutive US governments to stop the pipeline construction, which clearly always was agains US foreign interests...

     Just speculation, maybe it was a Ukrainian group, but the idea and the funding etc. might have come from oil and gas interests in NA.
     Makes more sense to me than the Kremlin sabotaging its own revenue stream.

   • Embed this notice
     Jeramee (jeramee@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 21-Sep-2023 16:20:04 JST Jeramee

     in reply to

     @HistoPol

     To be fair, the military has a history of stoking bigotry. How many slurs of foreign soldiers can you think of?

     To be fair to the soldiers, though, it's much easier to murder after you've dehumanized the victims.

     Yeah, Flynn is definitely adding to the problem.

     We'd be better off to listen to Gen Smedley Butler: "War is a racket."

   • Embed this notice
     Jeramee (jeramee@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 21-Sep-2023 16:25:51 JST Jeramee

     in reply to

     @HistoPol

     Yes, and more than just a revenue stream - it was a bargaining chip.

     Putin may be evil, but he ain't stupid. Do you know any chess players that would just take one of their bishops of the board? That would be the equivalent of Russia taking out the pipeline.

   • Embed this notice
     HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (histopol@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 21-Sep-2023 16:38:09 JST HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴

     in reply to

     • Jeramee

     @Jeramee

     I agree 100%.

     The Nordstream pipelines were his probably most useful bargaining chips against Germany and most of Western Europe (apart form WMDs.)

     Not even the partially demented TFG would have given it away.

     No, the players might have been Ukrainian nationals, but not in the service of Ukraine or Russia. Quite to the contrary, the highest likelyhood for me still is that the real culprits are to be found among #BigOil.
     They had the most to gain. And doubly so....

   • Embed this notice
     HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (histopol@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 21-Sep-2023 16:39:32 JST HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴

     in reply to

     • Jeramee

     @Jeramee

     ...Huge new clients and rising prices due to reduced competition from Russia.
     Double win.

     It is time for some investigative journalist networks to find the culprits.

     If the could prove the involvement, then they could finally be brought to heel and made to pay for cleaning up the earth regarding CO2 emissions.

     //

   • Embed this notice
     Jeramee (jeramee@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 21-Sep-2023 16:48:39 JST Jeramee

     in reply to

     @HistoPol
     If it was taken out at the behest of big oil, then Hersh's reporting tracks.

     I'm sure you're aware of the Banana Wars, waged for the benefit of US corporate plantation owners. And, of course, the Afghanistan & Iraq wars were waged for oil.

     We have a long history of using the military to benefit corporate profits margins.

   • Embed this notice
     HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (histopol@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 21-Sep-2023 16:59:39 JST HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴

     in reply to

     • Jeramee

     @Jeramee

     Flynn is among the most intelligent and thus most dangerous known players.

     "War is a racket."
     You know, it has fallen out of fashion to talk about the military-industrial complex.
     Looking at how the US "defense" budget has swollen over the past decades, despite soaring government debt, and at the military aid for Ukraine that is mostly bipartisan, it is again cui bono with regard to the #WarInUkraine.
     Apart from China, which gains by its two main adversaries weakening each...

   • Embed this notice
     HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (histopol@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 21-Sep-2023 17:01:51 JST HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴

     in reply to

     • Jeramee

     @Jeramee

     ...other, it is once again the "defense industry" which gains disproportionately.

     I agree with a panel assessment I heard yesterday: there will not be peace before 2024, possibly not even in 2025.

     //

   • Embed this notice
     Jeramee (jeramee@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 21-Sep-2023 18:55:45 JST Jeramee

     in reply to

     @HistoPol

     Btw, I appreciate your civility here. You could have dismissed my prior comment, but instead asked for clarification so we could have a further dialogue.

     If only liberals were half as civil as you.....

   • Embed this notice
     HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (histopol@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 21-Sep-2023 19:01:54 JST HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴

     in reply to

     • Jeramee

     @Jeramee

     I can return the compliment.
     I am still a learner in this. You do way better.

     I always try to take other views into account, if phrased in a polite and factual way.
     In fact, having alternative or even opposing views gives you the chance to develop your mental models of reality.

     (And I have not forgotten about the outrageous 1971 article, but I am working through another, difficult paper as well.)

     I am not sure that I can be classified, but I am always pro democracy and pro planet.

   • Embed this notice
     HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (histopol@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 21-Sep-2023 19:05:21 JST HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴

     in reply to

     • Jeramee

     @Jeramee

     PS:
     I admit to having rants myself at times, though, in particular about the climate catastrophe and political ineptitudes.

     (E.g. this morning about a poltical party in Germany that places itself as "the digital party" but doesn't seem to have a clue about what is going on in corporate social media in the west and Orwellian SM in the East and Far East.
     It's like in that movie: "Don't look up!"
     )

   • Embed this notice
     Jeramee (jeramee@mastodon.social)'s status on Thursday, 21-Sep-2023 22:44:07 JST Jeramee

     in reply to

     • indyradio

     @HistoPol
     Have you met @indyradio yet?

     They have helped me learn more about the misdeeds of our govt. I think you two will get along like 2 peas in a pod.

   • Embed this notice
     HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (histopol@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 22-Sep-2023 00:06:49 JST HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴

     in reply to

     • Jeramee
     • indyradio

     No, @Jeramee, @indyradio and I haven't met, I think.
     Thank you for the introduction.🙏

   • Embed this notice
     HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (histopol@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 23-Sep-2023 23:24:02 JST HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴

     in reply to

     • Jeramee

     @Jeramee

     Banana wars? No. The rest: yes.

   • Embed this notice
     Jeramee (jeramee@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 24-Sep-2023 00:44:27 JST Jeramee

     in reply to

     @HistoPol
     The first time I was exposed to the idea was from The History Guy on YT. (Below)

     The US has literally fought wars & launched coups to dominate workers on banana plantations. This is where Banana Republic coffee from: a derogatory term for a nation under US imperial domination through neo-colonialism.

     There are some other amazing videos of you search Banana Wars on YT.

     https://youtu.be/h8vTt9Y1mkQ?si=PPaa6AGZ-ROcOQr4

   • Embed this notice
     HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 (histopol@mastodon.social)'s status on Sunday, 24-Sep-2023 04:34:06 JST HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴

     in reply to

     • Jeramee

     @Jeramee

     Thank you for the two links, I hope I will get some time to watch them.