The whitewashing of the historical context for the war in Ukraine has resulted in a profoundly embarrassing episode for the United States embassy in Prague.  

An Aug. 21 Tweet from the embassy with a message roughly translated from Czech to mean “Aggression always comes from the Kremlin,” showed two photographs: the first displayed Soviet tanks in the streets of Prague in 1968.  The second showed fire burning in front of a building and was marked “Odesa 2023.”  

It should be a given that Ukraine has spies within the Russian intelligence agency FSB and that Russia has spies within the SBU, the Ukrainian intelligence agency.

In time of conflict, these spies can become double agent, or be used as double agents, until their usefulness becomes problematic.

This is where J C Masterman, the head of the English DOUBLE-CROSS SYSTEM, saw trouble in his exposition of the dangers in dealing with manipulating false information that would land on the lap of the enemies.

As he explained, success and failure were often dangerously close. He had six reasons the whole operation of his D-C S hung in the balance until D-Day…

During his 31 months in office, US President Joe Biden has repeatedly accused China of betting that Washington cannot keep up with Beijing and claimed that he has told Chinese leaders that it's never a good bet to bet against the United States.

Such accusations are bizarre, to say the least, because the Chinese people haven't heard their leaders saying such things about the US. As China's Ambassador to the US Xie Feng said at the recent Aspen Security Forum, China does not intend to challenge or displace any country, and instead of outcompeting others, Chinese people's focus is on "outdoing ourselves".

Chinese leaders, senior officials and lawmakers are laser focused on domestic issues and never indulge in loose talk about other countries, unlike their US counterparts.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton's appearance on Kitchen Cabinet provoked outrage over the show's glorification of the man despite his "crimes", writes Dr Jennifer Wilson.

THE HOST of ABC TV’s Kitchen Cabinet, Annabel Crabb, took to Twitter/X at the weekend to denounce what she perceives as an ‘orgy of outrage’ from users at the appearance of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on her show.

Crabb claims her series offers politicians the rare opportunity to do a “soft” interview in the kitchens of their own homes as they prepare and share a meal with her.

There are rising complaints from Donald Trump and his supporters that the Biden administration has “weaponized” the criminal justice system to harass and intimidate political and ideological opponents. That maneuver, they contend, is creating a corrupt, “two-tier” system with one, very lenient standard for the president’s allies and another, far harsher, standard for his adversaries.

As whistleblowers languish in prison, allies of the national security state get sweetheart plea deals.

"Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself. There never was a Democracy yet, that did not commit suicide." — John Adams in a letter to John Taylor 1814

By Jim Mamer / Original to ScheerPost 

IN 1910, THE PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA, ALFRED DEAKIN, TRAVELLING IN NEW SOUTH WALES, HAD FOUR CAR CRASHES, SURVIVED TWO TRAIN ACCIDENTS AND TWO HORSE BUGGIES THAT OVERTURNED, IN ONE WEEK. THE CARTOON ABOVE, PUBLISHED IN THE MELBOURNE PUNCH, HAS BEEN USED TO ILLUSTRATE WHERE WE'RE AT ABOUT 113 YEARS LATER...

BY Alastair Crooke

We seem headed for a point of impact, with the prospect of collision in full view – and one as obvious as it was in 1911.

The European Union intends to begin discussions on admitting Ukraine and several other countries as early as October, European Council President Charles Michel announced on Monday.

Enlargement “is no longer a dream,”Michel told the officials from Albania, Bulgaria and former Yugoslav states gathered at the Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia. 

“As we prepare the EU’s next strategic agenda, we must set ourselves a clear goal. I believe we must be ready, on both sides, by 2030 to enlarge,” Michel said. “This is ambitious, but necessary. It shows that we are serious.”

The bloc’s leaders will discuss enlargement at the next European Council meeting, said Michel, where they “will take a stand on the opening of negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.” That meeting is scheduled for October. 

Using Ukraine to fight Russia offers great value – US Senator

Ex-presidential candidate Mitt Romney has claimed that sending weapons to Kiev is Washington’s best defense investment in history

US Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah) has touted Washington’s strategy of trying to weaken Russia by providing massive military aid to Kiev, allegedly degrading Moscow’s forces while only Ukrainian troops are put in harm’s way.

Romney, who as the Republican Party’s nominee, lost the 2012 presidential election to Barack Obama, made his comments during a visit on Tuesday to Utah-based defense contractor Strider Technologies. He argued that the best way for the US to mitigate the security threat posed by China is to ensure that Russia is defeated in Ukraine.

Emmanuel Macron’s government has made the French nation irrelevant on the world stage. Day by day, horrendous internal and external policies transform a once irreplaceable nation and culture into nothing more than a tourist attraction and playground for elites.

Early this morning, I saw a share on Facebook of the French ironclad Redoutable in dry dock. The photo from 1875 showed the sleek outline of the first warship in the world to be built in steel.

BY Phil Butler

The French created so many world-changing innovations in her history. Most people don’t know that cinema, as we know it, would not exist had Louis Le Prince not applied the principles of Chronophotography created by Étienne-Jules Marey.

Donald Trump’s recent mugshot, which has already become iconic among his supporters, has also helped his campaign raise a record-breaking sum, according to Politico. The Republican frontrunner faces a plethora of charges and turned himself in at the Fulton County jail in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday. 

On Saturday, the outlet reported that the former president had raised some $7.1 million since he had the photo taken by authorities.  

Politico quoted an anonymous source as saying that Trump’s campaign raked in $4.18 million on Friday alone – its single-highest 24-hour take to date. 

Shortly after the Fulton County’s Sheriff’s Office released the mugshot, the former president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., announced that he had launched a line of merchandise bearing the image and the tagline “NEVER SURRENDER!”. 

President Xi Jinping has called for China and Africa to join hands for modernization, and work together to create a favorable environment for realizing their respective development visions.

Xi made the remarks late on Thursday while co-chairing the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Johannesburg on the sidelines of the 15th BRICS Summit. Xi returned to China on Friday, wrapping up his five-day tour to South Africa.

Addressing the meeting, Xi proposed concrete steps to promote China-Africa cooperation and contribute to Africa's integration and modernization.

On Monday, the Clinton family announced a new fundraising initiative within the framework of their Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), naming the Ukraine conflict among the gathering's main topics. What are they up to?

The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) gathering scheduled for September is expected to bring together corporate leaders, Hollywood stars, and other celebrities with the aim to "address climate change, health care issues, gender-based violence, the war in Ukraine and a host of other issues."

BY EKATERINA BLINOVA

Post 9/11 the US embarked on a series of wars to ‘make the world safe’ and more importantly settle old and new scores.

The consequences – death and devastation – across much of the globe. It may not equal the impact of the 20th century’s two world wars, but they make Europe’s 17th century 30 Years War look like a skirmish.

By Noel Turnbull

All in all the US has been at war for 228 years of the 247 years since its formation in 1776 and the ones since 2001 have had a devastating impact on Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan Syria, Yemen, Libya and Somalia – places where the US has intervened directly or acted by proxies. The US is also conducting ‘counterterror activities’ in 85 countries.

"US intelligence agencies believe that the American National Security Agency is attempting to influence public policy and public opinion in the West by directing American civilians to build relationships with influential US and Western individuals and then disseminate narratives that support the Pentagon objectives, obscuring the NSA’s role through layers of ostensibly independent actors."

“‘These influence operations are designed to be deliberately small scale, the overall goal being US [and] Western persons presenting these ideas, seemingly organic,’ a US official unauthorized to discuss the material told CNN. ‘The co-optee influence operations are built primarily on personal relationships … they build trust with them and then they can leverage that to covertly push the American Empire’s agenda.’”