The outlet has removed a reference to "Western mercenaries" after a former US journalist representing Ukraine's army demanded an apology. The transgender American war correspondent who was selected last month to run the Ukrainian military's English-language propaganda operation has called off a boycott of CNN after apparently persuading the media outlet to cease referring to foreign fighters in the country as "mercenaries." Sarah Ashton-Cirillo ended the boycott campaign on Thursday afternoon, hours after it began, citing CNN's "rapid response" to her public complaint earlier in the day. The network revised an article published last week that had included a reference to "Western mercenaries," changing their description to "Western foreign fighters."

In May last year, the Washington Post ran a fairly typical piece about what the paper perceives as an unjustified conservative mania regarding President Joe Bidens son. While those in the US worried about such things as inflation and the war in Ukraine, the top concerns of congressional Republicans can be ranked roughly as follows: 1) Hunter Biden; 2) Hunter Biden; 3) Hunter Biden; 4) Hunter Biden.

None of this can get away from the fact that Hunter Biden is an inkblot for his father and the Democrats. What matters is how big that blot is, and how far the ink has gone through the copybook. For Republicans, and Donald Trump in particular, the blot is so large as to be visible from space, an electoral opportunity to quarry and mine. When cocaine was found in the West Wing of the White House, Trump jumped at the chance via posts on Truth Social to link father and son in a seamless charge of criminal collusion. Get Deranged Jack Smith to take just a tiny portion of the millions of dollars he is spending illegally targeting me, and let him go to the White House with his army of thugs to solve the Cocaine dilemma. The inevitable question followed: Is it Crooked Joe and his wonderful son, Hunter? Release the findings, release the tapes. We cant have a crackhead in charge of our Nuclear Arsenal!!!

Trumps social media effusions agitated Hunter sufficiently to encourage his lawyer, Abbe Lowell, to send a cease and desist letter in July to the former president, insisting that Trumps comments had caused harm in the past and threaten to do so again if he does not stop. According to Lowell, The Biden family was not at the White House (let alone in the vestibule) in the period when the cocaine was found.

The congressional GOP have also toyed with the idea of impeachment proceedings against Joe Biden, which would be, at this point, a long bow indeed. The whole matter is also wearing a bit thin with some party members, with Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, suggesting that the party focus on the economy, the border, crime.

For the Democrats, Hunters own fate does not deserve discussion. This, to say the least, is problematic. When his father entered the White House, Hunters own salty resume was always going to surface as an issue, be it the more prurient details, a history of drug addiction and various international business dealings in both Ukraine and China. The latter were always going to raise questions about the paternal connection. (For its part, the White House has repeatedly denied any involvement in such dealings.)

One issue that has not gone away is Hunters lengthy legal battle with his former personal assistant Lunden Roberts, with whom he fathered a child in 2018. It took a DNA test to confirm his paternity of Navy Joan, who has been a notable absentee in the scrubbed public image of President Biden, the family man. Media reports and releases continue to mention Joe Bidens six grandchildren, omitting the seventh. The Bidens have taken such great pains to avoid acknowledging Navy Joan, write Molly Olmstead and Christina Cauterucci in Slate, that it has begun to make the president and first lady look callous.

Last month, Hunter and his lawyers attempted to enter a plea deal with the Department of Justice relating to various charges covering tax payments and guns. This included a guilty plea for misdemeanour counts for not paying, in timely fashion, his 2017 and 2018 taxes. As part of the deal, he would have also been charged, though not prosecuted, for purchasing a handgun in 2018 while using drugs, on the proviso that he remain clean for two years and agree never to own a firear...

The site has completely scrubbed the channel of the former US intelligence officer, who has repeatedly voiced support for Russia The veteran former US Marine Corps intelligence officer, UN weapons inspector, geopolitical observer and Sputnik contributor has spent over a year providing incisive commentaries about the NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, challenging the Western mainstream narrative and offering his own perspective on the origins of the crisis. Google-owned video hosting giant YouTube has deleted Scott Ritter's YouTube channel .A banner reading "This account has been terminated due to multiple or severe violations of YouTube's policy prohibiting hate speech" greets anyone trying to navigate to Ritter's channel.

The US State Department encouraged the Pakistani government in a March 7, 2022, meeting to remove Imran Khan as prime minister over his neutrality on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a classified Pakistani government document obtained by The Intercept. The meeting, between the Pakistani ambassador to the United States and two State Department officials, has been the subject of intense scrutiny, controversy, and speculation in Pakistan over the past year and a half, as supporters of Khan and his military and civilian opponents jockeyed for power. The political struggle escalated on August 5 when Khan was sentenced to three years in prison on corruption charges and taken into custody for the second time since his ouster. Khan's defenders dismiss the charges as baseless. The sentence also blocks Khan, Pakistan's most popular politician, from contesting elections expected in Pakistan later this year. One month after the meeting with U.S. officials documented in the leaked...

The "old habits" of crooked officials have weakened the country for decades, the Ukrainian president has said... Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has signaled that he is about to embark on a crusade against the nation's corrupt lawmakers and officials after a string of graft scandals. In a Tuesday video address, Zelensky said that he wanted to "cleanse" Ukraine, which he said needs to undergo a transformation. "This means that those who work for their own benefit, not for the sake of Ukraine, will not hold public office or be Ukrainian MPs. Any such dealmaker will at least stand trial." The Ukrainian president also raised the issue of corruption last week when he vowed to: continue efforts to kick officials out of public institutions who "continue efforts to kick officials out of public institutions who tried to drag from the past old habits, old schemes that have weakened Ukraine... for decades. No matter, who this person is - whether he is a 'military commissar', a deputy,...

Western weapons manufacturers are popping champagne corks over record sales with total revenues hitting $400 billion for last year. According to media reports, this coming year-end will see that record figure exceeded by another salivating $50 billion. Ukraine may be resembling a bloodbath, as we noted in last week's editorial. But apparently, Western military corporations are swimming in a bonanza of profits and stock market investments. Most of this lucrative new business stems from NATO's proxy war with Russia in Ukraine, which is heading toward its second year. There is no sign of a diplomatic effort from the West or the Kiev regime it sponsors to end the bloodshed. The main corporate beneficiaries making a financial killing from Ukraine are by far the American firms. They include such behemoths as Lockheed Martin, Boeing and RTX (formerly Raytheon). But also enjoying soaring profits are arms makers in other NATO countries: BAE in the United Kingdom, Airbus in France,...

A court has ruled in favor of evicting the clergy from the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, claimed by the state A court on Thursday ruled against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, giving the green light to the government to begin forcibly evicting monks from the historic monastery in the heart of Kiev. "We are listening to a short text of one of the most shameful decisions in the history of modern Ukraine!" Nikita Chekman, an attorney representing the UOC, said on his Telegram channel. According to Chekman, the state court has upheld the motion by the national historic preserve to "remove obstacles to the use of property" by evicting the monks. On Wednesday, the same court ruled that the government had every right to terminate the lease with the UOC.

It is becoming increasingly clear to more and more people in the West that something has gone terribly wrong with the Ukraine project. Predictions and projections didn't pan out and the West doesn't seem to know what to do. The Russian economy wasn't a house of cards as predicted, Russian weapons weren't inferior as predicted, Russian soldiers and commanders weren't incompetent as predicted, and Russian technology wasn't inferior as predicted. In some respects the Russians even seem to be superior to the West. Their weapons are effective and in many cases outright technologically superior, as clearly demonstrated by their hypersonic missiles, SAM systems and electronic warfare systems. Their economy appears to be surprisingly advanced and diversified and based on real wealth creation rather than financialization and debt like the West's. Their strategic and tactical thinking also seems to work, while the West's clearly doesn't. The whole mess is often explained as a result of a...

The US has admitted it can't keep track of all the money sent to Ukraine due to endemic malpractice and a lack of accountability. Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergey Marchenko has claimed that Kiev's Western backers accept that endemic corruption in the country will not be cleared up in the short term. Speaking to US state-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on Wednesday, the minister declared that corruption in Ukraine is at its lowest level in two decades and has fallen "completely under public monitoring." Asked how he had reached the conclusion, Marchenko insisted that it came from "experience," a "gut feeling," and a "certain understanding of numbers." "[Ukraine's partners] are ready to accept that we may have corruption," the minister stated, noting that corruption has taken on new forms due to the conflict with Russia.

By Dave DeCamp The White House lumped the Ukraine funds in with $12 billion for domestic disaster relief and $4 billion for border security. The...

Biden Asks Congress for Additional $24 Billion to Spend on Ukraine War

Via: ZeroHedge: Republicans on the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday revealed over $20 million in payments they claim foreign actors from places like Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan sent the Biden family and their associates while Joe Biden was vice president. Hunter specifically received millions from Russian oligarch Yelena Baturina, Ukrainian energy giant Burisma, and Kazakh []

Kiev and its supporters are reportedly worried about perceptions in the West... Faced with a lack of progress on the battlefield, the government in Kiev has taken up a public relations battle in the West, NBC News reported on Friday, citing several US and Ukrainian officials. As some US officials are "frustrated at the pace" of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Kiev and some of its backers "worry about losing control of the narrative," according to NBC. "If the perception gets out there that the Ukrainians can't win, then we're not going to provide them the stuff they need to win," former US ambassador to Kiev William Taylor told the outlet, warning of a "self-fulfilling prophecy." Comment: So it is perception, not reality, that is the definer - costing billions. Nikodem Rachon, spokesman for the Polish embassy in Washington, told NBC that Russia "exploits" Ukraine's lack of battlefield success in propaganda, "aiming to weaken the unity of countries supporting Ukraine."

The Ukrainian president has reportedly told his diplomats that benefactors may push for a negotiated truce with Russia... Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is reportedly worried that Western nations may ramp up pressure to negotiate a peace agreement with Russia, ending a bloody conflict that has killed tens of thousands of Kiev's troops in just the past two months. The New York Times reported on Saturday: As furious battles raged across the front lines of Europe's bloodiest war in decades, Mr. Zelensky told his ambassadors on Wednesday that things would grow even more difficult as pressure was likely to build in the coming months to find a negotiated path to peace. The Ukrainian president described Wednesday's gathering in Kiev with diplomats as an "emergency strategy session" heading into this weekend's Ukraine peace summit in Saudi Arabia, the newspaper said. The meeting is the starting point of what is expected to be a major Ukrainian diplomatic push in the coming months to...

Civilian targets were affected by Saturday night's shelling, local officials have said... Ukrainian forces have reportedly fired cluster munitions into Donetsk city, striking a private residence, a university and other civilian targets. Four rounds of 155mm cluster bombs were fired into the center of the city on Saturday night, triggering fires in three districts, the Joint Center of Control and Coordination (JCCC) for the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said. The cluster munitions reportedly exploded in the air. The Donetsk University of Economics and Trade was on fire after the shelling, the Mayor of Donetsk Aleksey Kulemzin said in a Telegram post. Fires also were reported in apartment buildings. The shelling comes after at least three people were killed and ten injured by a Ukrainian bombardment on Monday. The shelling killed another civilian in a nearby town, the JCCC said.

Recently, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the European Union should double its assistance to Ukraine. She went on to say the EU should create a support fund of 50 billion euros by the end of the year and that everything should be done to ensure victory on the battlefield for the Ukrainians. The European Union has created a "support package" for Ukraine for 2023 of up to 18 billion. This money, however, is not in the form of gifts, grants, or to create an emergency war chest. These billions are a loan under an EU macro-financial assistance program dubbed the MFA+ Instrument. In the fine print, EU member states are guaranteeing these loans as well as paying the interest for the Ukrainians. The move is extraordinary given that Ukraine is not an EU member and that, even before the current conflict, was one of the most corrupt governments on Earth. This begs the question, "Why?" The EU is issuing special bonds to be sold to investors for this...

Europe's biggest companies have suffered at least 100bn in direct losses from their operations in Russia since President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, according to analysis by the Financial Times. A survey of 600 European groups' annual reports and 2023 financial statements shows that 176 companies have recorded asset impairments, foreign exchange-related charges and other one-off expenses as a result of the sale, closure or reduction of Russian businesses. The aggregate figure does not include the war's indirect macroeconomic impacts such as higher energy and commodities costs. The war has also delivered a profit boost for oil and gas groups and defence companies. Comment: Note that these European companies are earning a profit whilst European citizens have never been more indebted: Meat consumption hits record low in Germany, soaring inflation blamed

The Biden Administration is implementing a plan to draw Taiwan into a direct military confrontation with the People's Republic of China. The plan bears many similarities to the strategy that was used in Ukraine where Russia was goaded into invading the country in response to emerging threats to its national security. In this case, Beijing is expected to react to mounting challenges to its territorial integrity by US proxies and their political allies operating in Taiwan. These incitements will inevitably lead to greater material support from the United States which has stealthily worked behind the scenes (and in the media) to create a crisis. The ultimate objective of these machinations, is to arm, train and provide logistical support for Taiwanese separatists who will spearhead Washington's proxy war on China. According to a number of independent reports, there is already growing operational collaboration between the Taiwanese Army and US Armed Forces. That collaboration will...

United Nations New Agenda for War and Robotocracy Last week United Nations published the Policy Brief "A New Agenda for Peace". It is the ninth out of the eleven Briefs that has been released to support UNs Our Common Agenda. In the report the UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres declares: We are now at an inflection point. The post-cold war period is over. A transition is under way to a new global order. This sets the stage for a multipolar order that will replace the one that has been led by the United States since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Now, with a reformed United Nations at the helm to manage world affairs. UN explains that an angrier world is rising from the ashes with the emergence of new "poles of influence". This has been hastened by "the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the war in Ukraine".

Combined naval patrol appeared to be largest such flotilla to approach US territory and 'highly provocative', expert says The US dispatched four navy warships as well as a reconnaissance airplane after multiple Chinese and Russian military vessels carried out a joint naval patrol near Alaska last week. The combined naval patrol, which the Wall Street Journal first reported, appeared to be the largest such flotilla to approach US territory, according to experts that spoke to the outlet. "It's a historical first," Brent Sadler, a retired Navy captain and senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told the Journal. He also said the flotilla's proximity to Alaska was a "highly provocative" maneuver given Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine and political tensions between the US and China over Taiwan. The flotilla has since left.