Looks like Ukraine could concede Bakhmut.

From Intel Slava Z published today at 00:41:

It is reported that today a command was given for an urgent evacuation of the Artyomovsk [Bakhmut] fire station. Tomorrow the police are expected to withdraw to Kramatorsk.

It looks like the Armed Forces of Ukraine are preparing to surrender the city.

Telegram: Contact @intelslava 

I'll be darned. After all that back and forth during the last 24 hours about what's going on in Bakhmut.  

Well, what does this mean?  For starters, ISZ is so confident that the takeover of Bakhmut is imminent that they're now referring to the city by its Russian name.  And it would mean that the Great Battle of Bakhmut won't happen if the Ukranian military cedes. That would be wise on the part of Ukraine's leadership, given the huge number of troops and materiel they would lose in a vain attempt to hold the city.  But as they have consistently acted unwisely, they might still try to get themselves massacred in large numbers. It's become a habit with them. 

Again, we'll just have to wait and see.

********

"US army loots new batch of Syrian oil as fuel crisis deepens"

According to the Syrian Oil Ministry, US forces have stolen more than 80 percent of the country’s daily oil output, amounting to around “66,000 barrels of oil every single day.”

American troops have been stealing Syrian oil for years and oversaw Turkey's theft of the oil for sale in Europe. Remember the fuel tanker convoys to the Syrian/Turkey border that ISIS controlled? The Obama White House and NTAO stood by and did nothing, until Putin called them out at a G20 meeting and showed photos of the convoys.  

US army loots new batch of Syrian oil as fuel crisis deepens (thecradle.co) - October 8. Below is the entire report:

In the middle of a fuel supply crisis, the US occupation army is stepping up the theft of Syrian oil

US military forces occupying Syria looted a new batch of oil on 7 October from the country’s Jazira region, local media reported.

According to local sources in the Al-Yarubiyah countryside, “a convoy of 50 tankers belonging to the American occupation, loaded with stolen Syrian oil, left Syria through the illegal Mahmoudiya crossing in batches towards Iraqi territory.”

In just a few short months, the US army has stepped up its oil looting operations in Syria, transporting hundreds of tankers loaded with stolen Syrian oil from the Rmelan fields of the Jazira region into its bases in Iraq, with the aid of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Just at the end of last month, US occupation forces smuggled 79 tankers loaded with Syrian oil from the fields of Jazira region to Iraq.

An exclusive investigation The Cradle details the process of the oil smuggling operation by US forces and the use of several illegal border crossings leading to the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

According to the exclusive, there are usually no less than 70 to 100 tankers transporting Syrian oil during each journey.

According to the Syrian Oil Ministry, US forces have stolen more than 80 percent of the country’s daily oil output, amounting to around “66,000 barrels of oil every single day.”

In late August, Damascus reported that its oil and gas sectors have incurred losses of up to $107 billion since 2011 as a result US-sponsored war which began in 2011.

The recent surge in US oil looting operations in Syria could likely be related to the severe energy crisis battering the west since the imposition of sanctions on Russia. Moreover, its likely that the recent decision by OPEC+ to cut output production levels will create a pretext for the US army to loot even more Syrian oil.

In late August, Damascus reported that its oil and gas sectors have incurred losses of up to $107 billion since 2011 as a result US-sponsored war which began in 2011.

The recent surge in US oil looting operations in Syria could likely be related to the severe energy crisis battering the west since the imposition of sanctions on Russia. Moreover, it's likely that the recent decision by OPEC+ to cut output production levels will create a pretext for the US army to loot even more Syrian oil.

[END REPORT]

********

More about Bakhmut situation

There is a Bakhmut update today from Dima's Military Summary Channel. Bakhmut discussion starts at the 5 minute mark on YouTube.

Ukraine. Military Summary And Analysis 09.10.2022 - YouTube

From what he's seen, Bakhmut is not yet taken by the Wagner Group and its allied forces and they have more work to do before storming the city. 

So, the video I linked to earlier today is someplace other than Bakhmut or maybe a scouting group videotaping their progress through an undefended outlying area of the city. In any case, the nearby villages have been taken and Dima estimates that within a week or two, there will be a final storming of Bakhmut by the Russian forces.  

I note that today, as part of his war update, The Duran's Alexander Mercouris said there was a rumor that the Ukranian government has told residents of Bakhmut to evacuate. He didn't mention the source for the rumor, but it must be at least somewhat credible for Alexander to mention it.

 Crimea Bridge Resumes Operation, West Media in Denial; Russia Advance Bakhmut, Repels Attack Kherson - YouTube

And Brian Berletic's war update for today at The New Atlas mentions that reports at Reuters and Al Jazeera headline that Russian storming of Bakhmut is imminent and that Bakhmut is a key city.  For months Alexander Mercouris has been talking about the importance of Bakhmut but up until now the media have ignored it.  Their sudden attention to Bakhmut indicates the decisive battle for the city is imminent. Brian shows the two reports so you can copy the headlines and look up the reports if you don't mind reading propaganda along with actual news. 

And although he's discussed it before, Brian's summary today of the insurmountable ammunition and weapons shortage, which spills into the United States and European Union, is important. 

Russia-Ukraine Update: Crimean Bridge Traffic Resumes, Ukraine's Growing Arms/Ammo Crisis - YouTube  

*******

Video: Wagner Group enters Bakhmut UPDATED midnight 10/10

UPDATE

From other reports, the city has not yet fallen to the Russians.  See my post "More about Bakhmut situation" for links to the reports. It's possible the video mentioned below was taken by a Russian scouting party in an outlying area of Bakhmut City.

END UPDATE

From Intel Slava Z today, posted at 06:17: 

"It is reported that the fighters of PMC "Wagner" are already in Artemovsk (Bakhmut). Video filmed today."

Telegram: Contact @intelslava

The video they reference was supposedly filmed today; if that is indeed the case, not only did the Wagner Group enter Bakhmut, but also, they found no resistance.  We'll see in the coming hours.  Here is the link to the video:

Video From Today Reportedly Shows Wagner Forces Entering Bakhmut (bitchute.com)

*******

  

The rat hunt begins

 

Part 2

Part 3

Joe Biden, not his brother or son, is "the big guy" in the federal investigation

It's increasingly clear that the FBI has been sitting for years on enough evidence to bring criminal charges against not only Hunter Biden but also his father.  So this is a complicated situation; to get a handle on it, you'd need to learn about a man named Tony Bobulinksi. Two days ago he was interviewed by Tucker Carlson at Fox News:  Tony Bobulinski reveals harrowing details of Hunter Biden's business dealings - YouTube 

After hearing the eight-minute discussion you'll be able to understand more of the import of the reference to Bobulinski in this three-minute interview at Fox, aired this afternoon, with journalist Miranda Devine:

This is a grave problem for the Biden family: Miranda Devine - YouTube

Yesterday the Fox Five panelist Jeanine Pirro, a former New York State judge and prosecutor, led off a discussion regarding the scandal and provided details not mentioned in the above interviews. So, while I linked to the Fox Five discussion yesterday, here it is again:

'The Five': Feds closing in on Hunter Biden - YouTube

Is the situation turning into another 'Watergate' scandal?  If it results in a criminal charge of influence peddling to foreign governments or even treason, and when an FBI cover-up for the Bidens is added, I think this would be worse than Watergate. And the emerging scandal already goes beyond partisan politics. 

*******

So is it Putin wing vs Nazi wing of America's Republican Party?

Pardon me for stooping to Liz Cheney's level but I've had it with the trashing of any objective American discussion of Russia. Congressional Representative Cheney is now terming even an attempt at objectivity among Republicans as uncritical support for Russia's President. She's gone so far as to identify a "Putin wing" in the Republican Party.  Okay, so how about if I call her a Nazi who supports a Nazi wing of the Republican party -- that being the wing supporting Ukraine against Russia?

Cheney knocks ‘growing Putin wing of the Republican Party’ (aol.com) - By JULIA MUELLER,The Hill, October 5:

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) on Wednesday criticized her party for what she sees as a growing sector of the GOP that supports Russian President Vladimir Putin as he wages his attacks on Ukraine.

“You know, the Republican Party is the party of Reagan, the party that essentially won the Cold War. And you look now at what I think is really a growing Putin wing of the Republican Party,” Cheney said at a McCain Institute event at Arizona State University.

The outgoing congresswoman, who lost her reelection bid in Wyoming to her Trump-backed Republican challenger, knocked Fox News for “running propaganda” and called out Fox host Tucker Carlson as “the biggest propagandist for Putin on that network.”

“You really have to ask yourself, whose side is Fox on in this battle? And how could it be that you have a wing of the Republican Party that thinks that America would be standing with Putin as he conducts that brutal invasion of Ukraine?” Cheney asked.

In a sweeping conversation with John S. McCain Democracy Fellow Sofia Gross, Cheney talked about the “stunning developments” she sees in the Republican Party that have stoked her concerns about the American republic and the democratic process.

The congresswoman quipped that she “never imaged” she would find herself “spending so much time with Democrats.”

Homing in her analysis on Arizona, where the McCain Institute event took place, she criticized Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) for supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who touts former President Trump’s false claims of fraud during the 2020 presidential election.

“It’s important for us as Republicans to demand from our Republican leaders that they not accept this unraveling of the democracy. … Glenn Youngkin should not come here and campaign for Kari Lake. Ted Cruz, who absolutely knows better, absolutely knows that what he’s advocating is unconstitutional, that what she’s saying is unconstitutional. They know it,” Cheney said.

She cautioned voters against voting for Lake and state Rep. Mark Finchem (R), who is running for Arizona secretary of state, underscoring that both Trump-endorsed candidates have backed the former president’s election fraud claims in the face of evidence that his allegations were unfounded.

“For almost 40 years now, I’ve been a voting Republican. I don’t know that I have ever voted for a Democrat. But if I lived in Arizona now, I would,” Cheney said.

“We cannot give people power who have told us that they will not honor elections,” the congresswoman said.

[END REPORT]

********

War update and analysis

Russia's military war vs Ukraine's political war - YouTube - The Duran today. I think the biggest news is that the Wagner Group is now making fast progress in Bakhmut, thanks to Ukraine military's redirection of its troops elsewhere.  

 ********

Would Biden start a nuclear war to keep himself out of jail?

The more the net closes around his son, the more Joe Biden fears he's next if he gets impeached. That last is a real possibility if the Republicans make big gains in Congress during the midterm elections, scheduled for November 8. Listen to this discussion at Fox News to understand the seriousness of Hunter Biden's situation -- and his father's: 'The Five': Feds closing in on Hunter Biden - YouTube.

By putting words in Vladimir Putin's mouth about the use of nuclear weapons, Biden and his cadre are trying to create a crisis that could derail the elections or at the least, give the Democratic Party a better chance in November against the Republicans. 

To learn what Putin actually said. the Moon of Alabama site today provided an analysis: MoA - Biden's Fearmongers About a Russian Nuclear Threat That No One Has Made (moonofalabama.org)

To summarize: 

Fact is that Putin has not talked about the "potential use of tactical nuclear weapons or biological or chemical weapons." Not. At. All.

Correct. But MoA's author is a German living in Germany. I don't think he fully understands that in America, "All politics is local" and that this needs to be considered when the White House says things that seem unhinged. 

It is horrible to contemplate that the entire of human society is dragged into American domestic politics.  But that is the way things are when a hegemon whose analysis of geopolitics is greatly limited to studying its domestic political opinion polls.

In other words, you can expect American talk about nuclear Armageddon to die down after the U.S. midterm elections. Until then, the best that people outside the USA can do is stuff cotton in their ears when an American official speaks in front of a microphone. 

But could Biden's fearmongering lead to a 'preemptive' American nuclear attack on Russia? I pray he isn't quite that desperate to avoid impeachment and the U.S. Department of Defense isn't that stupid. 

See also:

'Mounting evidence' of much worse crimes by Hunter Biden: Rep. Comer - YouTube - Fox News report this morning.

*******

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suddenly unwoke

"Everything sounds good on paper and in a Tweet until you have to deal with it in real life."

Sky New Australia's 4-minute report on a strange turn of events in the USA as millions of illegal immigrants descend:

‘Suddenly unwoke’: AOC mocked for not wanting migrants in her district - YouTube

********

Patrick Lancaster in Donetsk speaks with The Duran

 Today (Also, a report from China):

War Zones w/Patrick Lancaster & Alex at Reporterfy (Live) - YouTube

*****

Contagion, the short list

 UK:

Waves of British firms closing as SME debt hits near-record levels (tipranks.com) - Oct 6

SWEDEN:

From ZUERST! Deutsches Nachtrichtenmagazin, October 5, 2022

This is how European industry is dying: Swedish steel mills are struggling to survive

Stockholm. Not only the German steel industry has its back against the wall because of the unaffordable energy costs. The Swedish steel mills are also struggling to survive, and just like in Germany, the first companies are already having to shut down.

...

Up to now, Europe's advantage in international competition has been associated with comparatively cheap energy - a direct effect of cheap Russian gas supplies over the decades. But this advantage vanished into thin air at the latest when the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was blown up. Not only in Sweden will many lights go out in the near future and many tapes will stand still. (mu)

Posted by: António Ferrão | Oct 5 2022 9:38 utc [Moon of Alabama comment section]

GERMANY:

“A Structural Rupture” – German Companies Shutting Down In Response To Record Energy Prices – ac.news - Sept 2

 

FRANCE:

Economic uncertainty causes hike in voluntary business closures in France – EURACTIV.com - Sept 26

Italy:

[Over 100,000] firms in Italy on brink of closure  (bignewsnetwork.com) - Sept 26

Summary, of sorts:

European Countries Are On The Brink Of Economic Disaster, OECD Says | The Daily Caller  - Sept 26

The Melting Euro | Gates of Vienna translated from Die Welt - posted at GoV Oct 4

The current inflation crisis is picking up steam in Europe. The following report is from Germany, but has wider applicability within the Eurozone. When Germany sneezes, Europe catches cold. Or Covid, as the case may be.

Many thanks to Hellequin GB for translating this article from Die Welt. The translator’s comments are in square brackets:

34 percent “perceived inflation” — Germany is threatened with dangerous dynamics

The inflation rate in Germany is currently at a record high. But for consumers, inflation feels three times as high, an exclusive study shows. Now that could set in motion a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Inflation in Germany rose to an average of 10% in September. This is the highest price increase since 1951, when the inflation rate in Germany was 10.5%.

However, a completely different price increase is registered with consumers. According to a survey by the International University (IU) based in Erfurt, the perceived inflation rate among Germans is 34.2%.

The reason for the large difference between officially measured and individually perceived inflation: “We always perceive inflation where we have consumer spending,” says Johannes Treu, Professor of Business Administration at IU. People are interested in what they have to pay every day to meet their basic needs.

“If we notice every time we go shopping that the shopping basket is becoming more expensive, we tend to overstate the real increase overall,” says the economist. People are much more aware of the prices for everyday things like electricity, gas and groceries.

For the official statistics, the prices are recorded in a defined basket of goods that has not changed over a long period of time, and contains various representative goods and services. This guarantees comparability, but has the disadvantage that the shopping cart also contains items that are rarely or never bought individually. But for things that are bought every day, the price increase is registered very precisely. Given the explosively rising prices for food, fuel and energy, it is therefore not surprising that the perception of inflation is three times higher than the official statistics. [For sure, because luxury items don’t seem to go up in price in the same way as everyday items that are needed for SURVIVAL. Food, for instance, isn’t even included in South Africa when it comes to inflation.]

For women, the perceived price increase is even higher at 39.3%. Men, on the other hand, only registered a price increase of 29%. The representative survey took place in mid-September. At that time, the inflation rate reported by the Federal Statistical Office for August was just 7.9%.

It is not yet known whether the increase to 10% has also increased perceived inflation. But it’s likely. Because four out of five respondents see no end to the current inflation. Specifically, 86% of women and 79% of men expect prices for goods and services to be “much higher” or “higher” in October than they were in September.

A self-fulfilling prophecy

The rising prices are a concern for 92% of those surveyed, with more than half even citing major concerns. “If I have the feeling that inflation is high, I automatically expect things to get even more expensive,” explains Treu. Companies took advantage of this; because of these expectations they would raise prices even more and unions would then also demand higher raises. But such expectations can trigger a classic wage-price spiral. According to Kerstin Bernoth, a researcher at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), this effect is based less on actual structural factors than on psychological dynamics. If consumers, but also companies, assumed that prices will continue to rise, people may prefer to make purchases and demand higher wages. Companies, in turn, will raise their prices if they expect to have to pay higher wages and higher producer prices. “Higher inflation expectations can become a self-fulfilling prophecy and boost actual inflation,” said Bernoth.

In their survey, the IU also wanted to know where the Germans are tightening their belts significantly — and where less. According to this, four out of five respondents cut back on energy costs, around a quarter on the purchase of new household items, as well as on trips and hotels. According to the survey, the least savings are in education.

Even when it comes to entertainment and enjoyment, budgeting is less pronounced: 24% of those surveyed did not go without media and entertainment or alcohol and tobacco products (21%). But no matter what area of expenditure was asked about, one constellation always remained unchanged: women limit themselves more than men.

Afterword from the translator:

Just this morning I found an old SPAR advertising paper from 2009 and compared some of the prices. For instance, 2.5kg of frozen chicken pieces were then R 14.99; they are now R 79.99 for 1.5kg. Single razor blades were R 3.99 for a pack of five; they are now R 6.99. I wonder which is more important for your daily survival, a clean shave or a full belly?

[END]

********

 

Russian drone strikes in Kiev

From Intel Slava Z:

The capital of Ukraine was visited by kamikaze drones "Geran-2" for the first time. On published videos from Kiev, you can hear a characteristic rumble and subsequent explosions.

According to our information, we hit the military barracks and the airfield. There are losses among Ukrainian officers and manpower.

Two short videos of the strikes:

Intel Slava Z – Telegram - posted 1:55 AM October 5 but the strikes must have been on the night of the 4th. 

*****

Did Putin go overboard by as much terming Western "elites" Satanic?

From President Vladimir Putin's historic speech on September 30, 2022 (via the Kremlin's official website, which provides the most accurate English translations of Putin's speeches):

[...]

Now I would like to return to what I said and want to address also all citizens of the country – not just the colleagues that are in the hall – but all citizens of Russia: do we want to have here, in our country, in Russia, “parent number one, parent number two and parent number three” (they have completely lost it!) instead of mother and father? Do we want our schools to impose on our children, from their earliest days in school, perversions that lead to degradation and extinction? Do we want to drum into their heads the ideas that certain other genders exist along with women and men and to offer them gender reassignment surgery? Is that what we want for our country and our children? This is all unacceptable to us. We have a different future of our own.

Let me repeat that the dictatorship of the Western elites targets all societies, including the citizens of Western countries themselves. This is a challenge to all. This complete renunciation of what it means to be human, the overthrow of faith and traditional values, and the suppression of freedom are coming to resemble a “religion in reverse” – pure Satanism. [...]

Now I'll turn to the transcript of Fox News host Tucker Carlson's September 22, 2022 report on his primetime show. After reading, kindly tell me whether you think Putin went too far.

(The transcript at Real Clear Politics, posted by Tyler Stone, is published at their website along with the Fox video of Carlson's remarks): 

Tucker Carlson: Transgender Mutilations and the Monetization of the Trauma of Children | Video | RealClearPolitics

TUCKER CARLSON: For thousands of years, clinical trials have been the center of medicine and the idea is very simple. Before you operate on someone or inject people with some new drug, you run trials first to make certain that what you're doing will help the patient more than it hurts the patient. This is not a new idea.

James Lind did it back in the 18th century with his famous scurvy trials. In fact, medical testing has been going on since at least biblical times because why wouldn't it? Daniel of Judah compared a vegetarian diet with the diet of the royal Babylonians over a 10-day period, so he had a control group, independent observers, the whole thing. It's not complicated, but it is essential. Throughout history, very few have questioned this practice because it makes obvious sense, but now they are.

Modern medicine seems to be abandoning the clinical trial. The FDA, for example, just authorized a COVID booster without even bothering to test it on people. They just gave it to a handful of mice and said we're ready to go. Why take the time to see if it actually works? Who cares if the drug lowers sperm counts or causes miscarriages or produces grotesque blood clots in otherwise healthy people?

The pharmaceutical companies can't be sued, so they're safe. They no longer have to care even about oversight. They sponsor the media companies that cover them. Big tech censors anyone who asks questions about what they do. Payment providers swoop in to shut down the businesses of anyone who dares to criticize Pfizer. That's happening.

The net effect is sad. Never has American medicine been more transparently a racket than it is right now. With the most basic ethical guidelines gone, completely ignored, you should not be surprised to learn that some hospitals have decided to monetize the mental anguish of children. Consider the University of California at San Francisco Hospital. Supposedly, it's one of the best in the world. UCSF, despite its august reputation, is not even trying to behave responsibly with children who been convinced by TikTok they should change their sex.

A new trend comes along propelled by social media. It didn't exist before at scale. Now it does. Rather than pausing and asking, What is this and how can we help the children? They blow right past it. UCSF Hospital's current guidance for treating so-called transgender youth is this. We got this right from their website, "As youth are transitioning at increasingly younger ages, genital surgery is being performed on a case-by-case basis more frequently in minors."

Genital surgery on children – his is a very big step. It's irreversible. So, you wonder, what is the medical basis for this? Well, a few sentences later, UCSF hospital admits that there is no medical basis. Instead, "In the absence of solid evidence, providers often must rely on the expert opinions of innovators and thought leaders in the field."

So, UCSF is conducting genital surgeries on minors based on "thought leaders in the field." What does that mean? Well, it means the Human Rights Campaign is in favor of it. It means activists are pushing it. It means there's no scientific data to justify it. This is horrifying. Why is this happening and how widespread is it? No one seems to be interested. Virtually alone in our media, Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire decided to find out the answers to those questions and in that search, he obtained this video. It's from 2018. The video shows a physician called Shayne Taylor from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, which, like UCSF, has a global reputation for excellence. In this video, Taylor explains that Vanderbilt performs gruesome sexual surgeries on children. Why? Because those surgeries make Vanderbilt money.

DR. SHAYNE TAYLOR: Some of our VUMC financial folks in August of, sorry, October of 2016 starting a couple of years ago, put down some costs of how much money we think these patients would bring in and this is only including top surgery, this isn’t including any bottom surgery, and um, it’s a lot of money. These surgeries make a lot of money. Um so, female to male chest reconstruction could bring in $40,000. A patient just on routine hormone treatment who I’m only seeing a few times a year can bring in several thousand dollars without requiring a lot of visits and labs. It actually makes money for the hospital.

Oh, it makes money. So, this huge new trend appears, again, driven not by medical research, but by social media, convincing children they can change their sex and Vanderbilt, rather than pausing and asking once again, "How do we help these children? What is this?" Decides, oh, there's money there. We're all in. Now, it's hard to believe that everyone at Vanderbilt Hospital could possibly be for this because it's completely irresponsible and wrong. So, what would happen if a physician at Vanderbilt, a conscientious objector, disagreed with mutilating children for profit? That's a key question.

Another doctor called Ellen Clayton explained what would happen. Again, this video we're about to show you has also been around since 2018, but no one in the media cared to look at it until Matt Walsh found it this week.

ELLEN CLAYTON: If you’re going to assert conscientious objections, you have to realize that that is problematic. You are doing something to another person and you’re not paying for the cost of your belief. I think that is...a real issue. But I just want you to take home that saying that you’re not going to do something because of your conscientious, because of your religious beliefs is not without consequences and it should not be without consequences and I just want to put that out there. We are given enormous, if you don’t want to do this kind of work, don’t work at Vanderbilt.

So, if you object to this, leave; you can't work at Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt clearly thought this through. Not everyone's going to be for this, so let's just make it really, really clear. If you're not fully on board with sexually mutilating children for non-medical reasons, on the basis of no medical evidence, then you just leave.

But that wasn't enough. They anticipated that this is so horrifying that some doctors might still step out of line. They might tell 16-year-olds that they have a psychological disorder or "this will pass or maybe stop watching so much TikTok" and "no, we're not going to mutilate your genitals or cut your breasts off, at least until you're an adult," but if they said that, that would of course, hurt the business model, so Vanderbilt recruited activists, trans activists, to bully physicians into submission.

COORDINATOR SHAWN REILLY: Trans Buddy provides trained peer advocates for transgender patients who are coming for doctor’s appointments or other healthcare-related services. Whether you’re looking for something that’s related to medical transition, such as hormone therapy, or something completely unrelated, like breaking an arm, or going to an ENT, we’re here to help support any transgender patients that come through our doors. Trans Buddy program is a one of a kind in the nation, and institutions are looking to Vanderbilt to replicate and expand programs like ours.

Oh, trans buddies – right. Enforcers, in other words. It's like having the Mafia standing over your shoulder while you're on the witness stand. Doctors should be, in fact have to be, allowed to give politically unbiased counsel to their patients without being intimidated, but the whole point of a trans buddy system is to prevent that. In one video from Vanderbilt, the trans buddies say they're on the lookout for doctors who don't use the right pronouns because that's "unsafe." Get in line or we’ll crush you.

Matt Walsh brought all of this to the surface just the other day and in response to it, rather than defend it or explain it, Vanderbilt University Medical Center took its entire website offline and no doubt at some point they'll be claiming it's unsafe for them, that the people who are shocked by what they're doing are actually the criminals here and that they're getting threatening phone calls. They're going to call the DOJ and anyone who comments on it is going to get a visit from the FBI. But the truth is, people who are horrified by this are not the bad actors. Vanderbilt is the bad actor. Vanderbilt has just admitted on camera to castrating children as young as 13-years-old. This is from Vanderbilt's psychiatry's YouTube page from 2020:

NARRATOR: We can provide gender-affirming hormones on an individual who is on a pubertal blocker, depending on whatever kind of blocker they’ve chosen, or we have discussed with them, or they can present to us at a later stage of puberty and then we provide the gender-affirming hormones. Previously, the Endocrine Society recommended to start these at age 16, but we all know that would be delayed puberty, right? 16-year-olds don’t start puberty. So, more recently, they did update that to say as early as 14 for compelling reasons. So, we have some individuals who have started gender affirming hormones at 13 or 14 to be more like their peers.

Has anyone at Vanderbilt Medical Center ever had a 14-year-old? And what sort of person would give a 14-year-old—Do you know what they're like? Have you lived with one before? Would chemically castrate a 14-year-old because he or she saw something on TikTok that suggested it's a good idea. This is lunacy, but the same YouTube page also confirms that Vanderbilt will happily perform double mastectomies on adolescent girls after they've drugged them because, you know, it's pretty lucrative, actually. Here's plastic surgeon Julian Winocour and Physician’s Assistant Shalyn Vanderbloemen:

SHALYN VANDERBLOEMEN: For any kind of top surgery, we do require one letter of well documented gender dysphoria by a licensed mental health provider. We ensure that the patient is capable of making fully informed decisions on their own, they’re the age of majority. However for a lot of our younger patients, again if they are 16 , 17 here at Vanderbilt if they have been on testosterone, have parental consent ,we’re able to do a lot of the top surgeries for those patients.

So again, this is a hospital filled with physicians and ethicists and other adults who ought to be stepping in to protect children from their worst impulses, from the latest fad, from their parents' neuroses, but they're not doing that because it's just too profitable to destroy the lives of kids. So, who should be the backstop against this? Who are the people who oversee this who really should be exercising adult wisdom here and restraint? Well, that would be, by definition, the Vanderbilt University Medical Center's board of directors, and we're going to name them now in the hope that these people will do something to stop these crimes before the lives of more children are destroyed.

The board members would include: Edith Carell Johnson; John F. Stein; Jeffrey R. Balser; Lucinda M. Baier; Daniel Diermeier; Sara J. Finley; John R. Ingram; Michael M. E. Johns; Samuel E. Lynch; Alexander C. Taylor; and Makeba Williams.

Let's hope these people—this is the board that oversees all of this —let's hope these people act immediately to stop this crime. But to be clear, it's not just Vanderbilt. We called UCLA Hospital today and they told us they'd be happy to mutilate our child. They just need a referral for insurance purposes, so did Weill Cornell Medicine. One of our producers, Sammy, called Cornell about getting breast implants for her 15-year-old son, who she said was "questioning his gender identity" – just questioning. Here's what they said in response:

CALLER: It’s regarding my son. He is questioning his gender identity and was interested in treatments.

WORKER: This would be for plastic surgery, Dr. Otterburn does perform top surgery if that’s what you are referring to.

CALLER: If they are a minor how do you get to that stage?

WORKER: Alright, so I can make you an appointment so you can come in for a consultation to have a discussion.

CALLER: It’s for my son, who is a minor. He can just come in or do I come with him, how does that work?

WORKER: How old is he?

CALLER: 15.

WORKER: 15, OK. I would come with him.

Breast implants for a 15-year-old boy? Yeah, I'd come with them, whatever. It's not just UCLA. The account Libs of TikTok, which The Washington Post is desperately trying to get scrubbed from the internet, recently recorded a similar call with Children's National Hospital. Listen.

CHAYA RAICHIK, 'LIBS OF TIKTOK' CREATOR: I just want to know if you guys do service that age, you know, before obviously, before coming, you know, coming all the way for an in-person consult and going through all the paperwork and everything.

HOSPITAL WORKER: Oh, yeah. It depends. Each department is different. Some departments cut off at 18. How old is how old is your patient?

RAICHIK 16.

HOSPITAL WORKER: OK. Alright, so they're in the clear.

RAICHIK: So, they would do it for that age?

HOSPITAL WORKER: Yes.

RAICHIK: Okay, great. Is it a common procedure that you guys do for that age?

HOSPITAL WORKER: Yes. We have, um, all different type of age groups that comes in for that.

RAICHIK: For the gender, for the hysterectomy?

HOSPITAL WORKER: Yes, ma'am.

So, Children's National Hospital is now playing the victim here. Anyone who criticizes this as a threat and a danger and get DOJ involved. The Washington Post, New York Times jump on anyone who questions this is evil, but that, of course, is the opposite of the truth. The people doing this know that what they are doing is evil. They know perfectly well and that's why Vanderbilt took down its website after Matt Walsh reported on it. There is no scientific basis for any of this. It does not help children. It harms children. That is known. It's also obvious. Were you not a parent? Researchers in Stockholm studied the effects of transgender surgery over a period of 30 years. What did they find? Well, we'll tell you again.

"Persons with transsexualism after sex reassignment have considerably higher risks for mortality, suicidal behavior and psychiatric morbidity than the general population." 30-year study and it's not just one study. More than a thousand patients at the Tavistock Gender Clinic in the U.K. have just sued the clinic. They say they were pressured into life destroying treatments and that clinic is now being shut down. And that will happen in this country.

This is a fad and because there are no adults left, no one has put up a hand to say "slow down." But five years from now, we're going to look back on this, like a lot of things we've done recently, like destroying public art and statues and the COVID vaccine and so many other things that we've done without thinking about it, in an environment where no one's allowed to protest, we're going to look back in shame and horror.

Amy Tishelman is the lead author of the guidelines for the "World Professional Association for Transgender Health" and Tishelman just admitted that recommendations for gender-affirming hormones and surgeries were removed from the internet to eliminate a paper trail and avoid lawsuits when inevitably practitioners followed them. Watch.

AMY TISHELMAN: We were thinking, and it was scary for me, about the potential uses of the chapter for legal and insurance context. Again, what we didn't want to do was create a chapter that would make it more likely that practitioners would be sued because they weren't following exactly what we said.

This is completely wrong. They won't even defend it. They won't even answer simple questions about what it is and again, it's irreversible. Hospitals are mutilating children: Boston Children's Hospital, UCSF, Cornell, UCLA, Vanderbilt and other. And they should all stop immediately, no matter how much it hurts their business model, no matter how much it costs them.

[END TRANSCRIPT]

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Trump and Musk clickbait

I am sick of seeing headlines and photos related to Donald Trump and Elon Musk.  As to the media fascination with Trump and Musk -- maybe it's the same fascination that makes it profitable to keep showing earwax removal ads. The companies must know there are some people who like looking at disgusting things.

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Krasny-Limon is an American propaganda sideshow. Stay focused on Bakhmut

I don't like repeating myself day after day, but I would counsel PATIENCE to those wringing their hands over Russian losses in Kharkov and Limon. Patience and an adding machine although only God and the Russian military can accurately tot up the number of Ukranian troops killed in their takeover of territory the Russians had already as much ceded. 

In any case the Ukranian casualties in those onslaughts across open land have been described as "massive." It was like shooting fish in a barrel for Russian missiles and artillery. I've seen estimates as high as 10,000 dead within a week, and that's not including seriously wounded. Russian casualties (KIA and wounded) at the most a couple hundred.

As to the claim by some Western sources that Limon is strategically important -- only to the White House.  They've GOT to show before the November midterm elections in the USA that the Ukranian military is making good use of the billions in American military aid.

In this the White House is ignoring the Russian war plan, which cedes territory their military longer needs for the next phase of their operations Ukraine. 

Would they have made these concessions if they had gone into Ukraine with more troops?  Yes, they would have done the same -- although a faction in the Russian public doesn't want to hear this. 

What these Russians need to keep in mind is the stated goals of the SMO and the fact that the life of each and every Russian soldier is very important to Russia's war planners. The lives of Ukranian soldiers are worth nothing to NATO and Ukranian war planners and their political supporters in the West. This has been repeatedly and gruesomely demonstrated. 

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Nord Stream pipelines can be restored if repairs done fast enough

Early reports were that the damaged pipelines couldn't be fixed because of saltwater corroding the pipeline interiors. According to a report today from RT (below), it seems that if Russian pipeline engineers can work unimpeded, they can bring about a minor miracle because the saltwater has yet to corrode the pipes. 

The problem is that it wasn't safe until today to get near those pipelines and now they are now a crime scene. That, added to what will certainly be tremendous pressure from the USA to block repairs, may put the miracle out of reach. But as an unusually cold winter is now predicted for Europe, I can only hope that repair work on the pipelines will quickly proceed.  

As to whether the German government is willing to open Nord Stream 2 -- just days prior to the attack on the pipelines there were increasingly large demonstrations in Germany to do just that.  If the German public thinks there is a chance to get the pipelines restored, it's likely the demonstrations will build to a crescendo.

The really bad news is that restoring the pipelines will be very costly; all parties would have set aside the legal wrangling about who pays the bill.

More bad news is that at least as of today, it seems the Russian government is demanding to know who attacked the pipelines before proceeding to repair them.  I think that's a mistake; I think the priority should be on repairing the pipelines. And I think Russian engineers and German ones should work together at repairing the pipelines.   

In any case a lot of "ifs" but still a fighting chance.   

Nord Stream pipelines can be restored – Moscow — RT Business News - 2 Oct, 2022 14:15

Russia may be able to fix the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which were damaged earlier this week, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak said on Sunday.

“There are technical possibilities to restore the infrastructure, it requires time and appropriate funds. I am sure that appropriate opportunities will be found,” Novak told Russia 1 TV.

According to the official, however, the first step should be to determine who is behind the incident.

“As of today, we proceed from the fact that it is necessary, first of all, to figure out who did it, and we are sure that certain countries, which had expressed their positions before, were interested in it. Both the US and Ukraine, as well as Poland at one time said that this infrastructure is not going to work, that they will do everything to make sure of it, so, of course, it is necessary to seriously look into it,” Novak stated.

Citing German security services, Der Tagesspiegel newspaper earlier reported that the damaged routes could be permanently out of use if they are not repaired quickly, as salt water could cause corrosion.

The Danish authorities reported leaks on both the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines on Monday after a local pipeline operator noted a loss of pressure following a series of undersea explosions in the area. The Danish Energy Agency reported earlier on Sunday that the pressure on the Nord Stream 1 is stable and the gas leakage is over, while on Saturday, it said the Nord Stream 2 also stopped leaking gas.

The incident is widely considered to be the result of sabotage. Russia has called it a terrorist attack. While those behind it have not yet been identified, Moscow has blamed the US [and Britain, if I recall, from reading Putin's speech].

[END REPORT]

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Increasingly probable: unusually cold winter in Europe

Scientists warn of cold winter in Europe — RT World News - 2 Oct, 2022 13:58

There will also be less wind and rainfall – a setback for alternative power sources – a weather tracker says

European countries may be about to face a colder than usual winter, the head of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) predicted on Sunday. This forecast comes as the continent is struggling with an energy crunch spurred by the sanctions the West has slapped on Russia over the Ukraine conflict.

Speaking to the Financial Times, ECMWF Director-General Florence Rabier said that early data suggest that in November and December Western Europe may face a period of high pressure. This, she noted, may bring in colder weather with less wind and rainfall, which may reduce the amount of power generated by renewable power sources.

“If we have this pattern then for the energy it is quite demanding because not only is it a bit colder but also you have less wind for wind power and less precipitation for hydro power,” Rabier told the outlet.

The ECMWF chief went on to say that while in the short term Europe may experience milder weather due to the recent hurricanes in the Atlantic, an atmospheric phenomenon called La Nina may bring in colder weather later on. This usually occurs due to periodic cooling of the Pacific Ocean, which triggers ripple effects on weather across the globe and can change wind and precipitation patterns.

Rabier noted that Europe just experienced one of its hottest summers in history. While this proved to be a bonanza for solar power, it also led to a decreased share of wind and hydro power in the EU’s energy mix. [emphasis mine]

Various Western officials and public figures have warned of the desperate situation the EU may find itself in this winter. On Thursday, Microsoft founder Bill Gates claimed that in a few months the continent may face a “very scary situation” as many people could be unable to heat their homes.

In late September, EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson also predicted that this winter “will not be easy,” but adding that next winter “will be even more difficult.”

In recent months, Brussels has been reeling from an energy crisis fueled by skyrocketing gas prices due to the sanctions the West imposed on Russia over the Ukraine conflict. To alleviate the situation, the EU approved on Friday a package of emergency measures, including mandatory power savings, a cap on excess market revenues, and a levy to capture surplus corporate profits. Officials have also encouraged consumers to save energy by all available means.

[END REPORT]

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In Europe, "We're not calling for revolution, we're calling for common sense."

Well, if common sense comes calling, please, send some to the United States.

I don't agree with the guest that the WEF is trying to salve its conscience because they have no conscience, but otherwise, this is the most informed rant I've heard all year.:

 Oh SH*T, something BIG is happening in Germany, the WEF is scared | Redacted with Clayton Morris - YouTube 

 

EDWARD SNOWDEN GRANTED RUSSIAN CITIZENSHIP

 Breaking News at Sputnik 15 minutes ago:

"On September 26, Russia's President Vladimir Putin has officially granted Russian citizenship to former NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden."

That's the entire Sputnik report, so far. 

Putin Grants Snowden Russian Citizenship - 26.09.2022, Sputnik International (sputniknews.com)

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