The US senses that the clock is running rapidly down on its power. The question in Washington regarding war with China is not if, but when–and how.

In many traditions, when you paint or sculpt a Buddha, the eyes are the very last part to be painted. It’s only after the eyes have been completed that the sculpture is fully alive and empowered.

The US has just approved a $75 million weapons package to Taiwan province involving the sale of the Link 16 communications system.

I would like to share with you a story related to the theme of our gathering, which is being human and humanity and our future in a multipolar world order.
  Before doing so, however, I must first say something about being in-human and the inhumanity in the current world disorder, which unfortunately also pertains to this topic:
  It is about weapons of mass destruction in Syria and the obligation of multilateral organisations to work for the well-being of humanity and to protect it against war, poverty and exploitation.

As a child of the Cold War, action movie star Steven Seagal told RT that he was taught to fear Russia, but that visiting his grandparents’ homeland made him realize that it was home to some of the “deepest and most beautiful culture on Earth.” 

Born in Michigan at the dawn of the Cold War in 1952, Seagal said that he was “raised in a Russian household,” but that his parents soon instructed his grandparents not to speak Russian around him.

Quickly as a child I realized that there was politics going on,” he told RT in an interview this week. “My parents were saying to my grandparents: ‘We don’t want him to speak Russian because we’re in the middle of a Cold War’.”

Most Germans are dissatisfied with Berlin’s policies regarding Ukraine, according to a new survey. Many believe the government is doing too much for Ukrainians that arrived in Germany after the start of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, while not doing enough to help end the fighting, a poll conducted by INSA polling institute for the tabloid Bild shows.

Almost 50% of respondents said Ukrainian refugees receive ‘too much support’, with 35% calling the current level of aid appropriate, and only 5% describing it as insufficient. More than half of those surveyed also believe that efforts to integrate Ukrainians into German society has failed, and less than 30% say the efforts have been somewhat successful.

Italy should revoke the visas of people with “pro-Putin” views to make sure they do not disrupt the delivery of Western military aid to Kiev, Ukrainian President Zelensky said at a press conference on Sunday. He made his comments a day after signing a security agreement with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during her visit to the Ukrainian capital.

A reporter for Italian daily Corriere della Sera asked Zelensky whether people in Europe that are sympathetic towards Russian President Vladimir Putin could “complicate” the flow of weapons to Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin’s Russia is “not the Russia that we wanted,” Acting US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland has told CNN. Nuland explained that Washington wanted a compliant leader in the Kremlin who would “westernize” the country.

“It’s not the Russia that, frankly, we wanted,” Nuland told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Thursday. “We wanted a partner that was going to be westernizing, that was going to be European. But that’s not what Putin has done.”

The leaders of Italy and Canada signed security agreements with Ukraine during their visit to Kiev on Saturday, marking the beginning of the third year of the fighting between Ukraine and Russia.

According to the deal signed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Ottawa will provide Can$3.02 billion (US$2.2 billion) “in macroeconomic and military support.”

Canada has provided US$1.78 billion in military assistance to Kiev since the start of Russia’s military operation in February 2022, and recently pledged to deliver more than 800 multipurpose drones.

“We will continue to be there with you as long as it takes [and] with everything it takes until Ukraine wins,”Trudeau said during his meeting with Zelensky.

Moscow bears responsibility for the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni claimed in an interview with il Giornale newspaper published on Saturday. It was Russia’s military campaign against Ukraine that supposedly encouraged Hamas to launch a massive attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, she stated.

The Italian leader maintained that a military operation launched by a permanent UN Security Council member against its neighbor violated international law and shook the entire global security system. She said such a move would have inevitably “have [a] cascading effect on the other regions… of the world, from the Middle East to [the] Balkans, to Africa.”

“If Russia had not invaded Ukraine, in all likelihood, Hamas would not have launched such an attack against Israel,” she claimed.

IN THE FOLLOWING INTERVIEW, GENERAL (RETIRED) WESLEY CLARK (the 12th Supreme Allied Commander, Europe) EXPLAINS WHY THE WEST DID NOT HANDLE PUTIN "THE RIGHT WAY"... MEANING SOMETHING LIKE THE WEST DID NOT UNDERSTAND PUTIN'S INTENTIONS, BLAH BLAH BLAH.... MEANWHILE PUTIN UNDERSTOOD VERY WELL THE INTENTION OF THE AMERICANS — VIA NATO AND EUROPE (and presently Ukraine): DESTROY RUSSIA....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk8_UBmKu0U

Dr. Eliot A. Cohen, the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, CSIS, and General Clark discuss the current frontline, political situation in Kyiv and Moscow, and future direction of the war.

OKAY YOU TWO MUGS:

China could close the gap with the US in terms of artificial intelligence (AI) within one or two years, the Global Times writes, thanks to the People's Republic's breakthroughs in the field.

The AI gap between China and the US could soon be closed, a technology expert has said.

Zhou Hongyi, founder and chairman of 360 Security Technology and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the prediction to China's daily English-language newspaper Global Times.

The gap in AI largely lies in "determining the technical direction," according to the businessman.

"Once the direction is determined, Chinese companies' learning capabilities are very fast. Especially when peers release open-source projects or publish papers publicly, it is not a difficult problem for Chinese teams to follow up," Zhou said.

A joint EU statement denouncing Moscow and promising “unwavering”support for Kiev was blocked by Hungary on Friday, two anonymous diplomats told Politico and Bloomberg.

An email from the office of Charles Michel, president of the European Council, said that “in the absence of a consensus” among the member states, the statement would be sent on behalf of Michel, European Parliament president Roberta Metsola, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen instead.

The statement accused Russia of a “full-scale war of aggression” and of “violence, brutality, terror and destruction,” while pledging “strong and unwavering political, military, financial, economic, diplomatic and humanitarian support” to Ukraine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9udBIDj1dM

Megyn Kelly is joined by Josh Holmes, Michael Duncan, and John Ashbrook, hosts of the Ruthless podcast, to discuss new details about President Biden’s dog Commander biting Secret Service agents more than two dozen times, the disrespect to the staff to have a reckless and dangerous pet at the White House, and more.

FREE JULIAN ASSANGE NOW, PLEASE.................

America’s weakness strengthens Trump (AN ARTICLE IN THE SMH, 24/02/2024)

[GUS — IN CAPS: REMIND ME: WHY IS AMERICA WEAK? IS IT BECAUSE THE PRESENT PRESIDENT IS SENILE? IS IT BECAUSE THE PENTAGON IS RUNNING THE SHOW AND OTHER COUNTRIES OUTSIDE THE WESTERN WORLD HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THE PENTAGON SHENANIGANS?

IS IT BECAUSE THE INDUSTRIAL MILITARY COMPLEX IS GEARED TOWARDS MAKING PROFITS WITH MORE COMPLEX WEAPONS THAT ARE FRAGILE AND DEMAND MORE CASH ALL THE TIME — MEANING MORE PROFITS?

IS IT BECAUSE THE AMERICAN POLITICS ARE WORSE THAN THEY LOOK?

Nick Bryant

Esports teams from across the globe will take part in Games of the Future — an experimental tournament blending sports and esports. With a $10m (~£7.94m) overall prize pool and unprecedented political backing, there’s a lot to compete for. There’s just one catch: it’s in Russia.

Taking place from February 19th-March 3rd, Games of the Future is a daring $58m (~£46m) Russian government-funded project fraught with legal uncertainties and geopolitical tension. Little has been reported about the event in Western media. Here’s what we know so far.

Bernard James Tindal Bosanquet (13 October 1877 – 12 October 1936) was an English cricketer best known for inventing the googly, a delivery designed to deceive the batsman. When bowled, it appears to be a leg break, but after pitching the ball turns in the opposite direction to that which is expected, behaving as an off break instead.