RT News - December 8th 2022

More fake news, lies and propaganda coming from "approved" MSM - this time it's another one from the BBC. (QS: You will recall a while back I mentioned that no licences from any MSM or "approved" western media had made application for licence/accreditation in Donbass/Donetsk since at least the start of the special operation in Ukraine. I didn't know it was as far back as 2016! You will also recall that at the start of the Ukraine insurgence into Kherson, even MSM such as Sky News and CNN had their work permits removed for reporting in the entire region.) The BBC has used imagery of a building destroyed in Donetsk by Ukraine savages who shell/bomb civilian only regions on a daily basis (which is a war crime and continually ignored by the likes of the BBC) for one of their "news articles". RT's Roman Kosarev front line correspondent investigates the site of the incident which has been fake-news'ed used by the BBC (QS: it was inlate spring 2022 that I suggested to a BBC main news reporter of "Ukraine War" that I could help him get accreditation to report alongside RT - he chose to ignore me but at the same time defended .gov spending in Ukraine which has happened up to February 2022 without a vote and without details of UK .gov's objectives in Ukraine).

(Why is this important? Would someone have cast a vote to a political party who was funding one of the most corrupt countries in the world with their money - would someone have cast a vote for a political party funding foreign fascists to grow them into a force capable of overthrowing a democratically elected president of a foreign country in what was a deadly coup. Would anyone have voted for a party who was spending public money (in ENORMOUS quantities) in training, arming and financing these known fascists for more than ten years? without a vote, list of .gov objectives or ANY public accountability?)

An epoch-making milestone': that's how China describes the upcoming summit between Beijing and Gulf states as Washington warns Middle Eastern countries against siding with Beijing.

'A suicidal experiment': that's how some environmentalist have slammed a green trial in the city of Oxford, limiting cars in the city center during busy hours. We put the issue up for debate.

Rishi Sunak has agreed an LNG gas deal with USA - at up to four times the price of the sold price in America. "It is a deal that is at best short-sighted and at worse will only further enrich the oil and gas industry at the expense of everyone else"

In Peru a new President - what's going on ?

In New York, USA, new measured to remove homeless people from the streets are introduced for those considered "mentally ill" People can be placed into mental hospitals - against their will. Caleb Maupin report.

The equivalent of the world's GDP for a year is missing in foreign exchange currency swaps. This is money which can't be "printed away" until it is found and comprises of foreign exhange which countries use as "collateral" in FX swaps. It's now around the equivalent of $80 trillion.
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below 1) Germany greenlights Ukrainian strikes inside Russia
2) ----Fyodor Lukyanov: Profound change has come to the Middle East and Russia has learned the lessons, but what about the US?
3) Oxford Streets plan
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via RT website 8 Dec, 2022 01:58

1) Germany greenlights Ukrainian strikes inside Russia

Kiev is not obligated to limit the conflict to its own territory, says the government in Berlin

While the US distanced itself from Ukraine’s drone strike at two air bases hundreds of kilometers inside Russia, the German government’s spokesman said on Wednesday that Kiev doesn’t have to limit its war effort to Ukrainian territory.

“Ukraine has a right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter,” Steffen Hebestreit told journalists, when asked to comment on reports of explosions at the Russian airfields. “Ukraine is not obligated to limit defense efforts to its own territory.”

Two strategic bomber bases in Ryazan and Saratov regions came under attack by drones on Monday morning, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Three service members were killed and several more injured, while two airplanes suffered minor damage. The attack did not disrupt the planned strike against Ukrainian military logistics later in the day.

The attack came on the same day as revelations that the US had modified HIMARS rocket launchers so Ukraine could not use them for longer-range missiles, allegedly because the White House wanted to avoid escalation with the Kremlin.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Tuesday that Washington has “neither encouraged nor enabled the Ukrainians to strike inside of Russia,” but instead provided them with “the equipment that they need to defend themselves.”

Moscow has repeatedly warned the US and NATO that providing heavy weapons to Ukraine risks crossing Russia’s “red lines,” and involving them in the conflict directly. Washington and its allies insist they are not a party to the hostilities, but continue arming Kiev.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has pledged to invest much more into his military, so that Berlin can become “the guarantor of European security that our allies expect us to be, a bridge builder within the European Union.” However, German media have noted that it will take until 2026 to hit the NATO-mandated goal of spending 2% of the GDP on the armed forces.
https://www.rt.com/news/567866-germany-ukraine-strike-russia/

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via RT website 6 Dec, 2022 13:04

2) ----Fyodor Lukyanov: Profound change has come to the Middle East and Russia has learned the lessons, but what about the US?

"For the first time since before the colonial era, local players are making their own big decisions and the traditional powers have to adapt"

(By Fyodor Lukyanov, the editor-in-chief of Russia in Global Affairs, chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, and research director of the Valdai International Discussion Club.)

While the world’s attention is focused on Ukraine, the Middle East is bubbling under the surface again. No one expected processes there to freeze, but their dynamics are changing. In fact, the direction of these adjustments has been notable for quite some time and it’s becoming more obvious.

The Middle East is increasingly becoming a space in which the course of events is determined by the interaction of regional players, and the role of external forces, traditionally very large, has reduced in relative terms.

Historically, at least for the last century and a half, it has been the other way round. External powers - first the Western European colonial powers, then the US and the USSR - have carried out various forms of expansion, during which they have manipulated relations with each other. The countries of the region have always decried outside interference saying it does not allow them to establish local balance and stability on their own. But at the same time, they have also turned to the great powers themselves, involving them in achieving their goals. As a result, the Middle East has consistently been an arena of entangled interactions, which has guaranteed constant upheaval.

To say that this situation has changed dramatically would be premature. However, the trends in Middle Eastern development follow (or perhaps catalyze) common global patterns. They are as follows.

The capacity of large countries to pursue their own agenda is diminishing, while the role of medium-sized countries is comparatively increasing.’

In absolute terms, the great powers still have more potential, but in relative terms, the gap is shrinking rapidly.

Türkiye is at the center of the current revitalization of the Middle East. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has managed to turn his country into an indispensable, participant in international processes; the Ukrainian crisis has played into his hands in this sense.

This position allows Ankara to speak louder about its regional demands, without taking its American patrons into consideration, let alone the Western Europeans. One can only look on in wonderment at how Erdogan skillfully used an issue that had little to do with Türkiye - the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland. And so on.

The Syrian issue in Turkish politics is a legacy of a previous phase, when on the wave of the Arab Spring ten years ago, Ankara considered – the formerly friendly – Bashar Assad doomed and bet on his fall and possibly Syria’s disintegration. Events have gone differently, in large part because of Moscow’s firm stance. Instead of the expected strategic spoils, Türkiye now has a burden on its shoulders: widespread destabilization along its borders and a confrontation with Kurdish groups, which have been strengthened by a combination of circumstances. The Syrian conflict shook the region as a whole, bringing Iran to the forefront, which consequently alarmed the Arab monarchies of the Gulf.

In the old days, it would have fallen to the US, the relevant Western European states and, in part, Russia to sort out the contradictions. Now, however, their capacity is limited in one way or another. Moscow, of course, still holds the key position, but priorities are now elsewhere, with all that entails. The US, since the end (one might say the failure) of the Arab Spring, has not been able to clearly define for itself in what capacity and in what numbers it intends to remain in the region. Western Europe has lost its strategic sense of purpose, becoming absorbed in its own affairs. Once again, external forces have not been alienated from the game in this field, but their available resources of influence have shrunk in comparison to earlier times.

It turns out that the course of events is now determined by the aspirations of the leading countries in the region. Which are changing and evolving, and so is the situation within each of them. Iran, for example, is facing its most serious protests in years, with calls for the transformation of the existing political and social system. As is often the case in such instances, the opposition movement is poorly organized but reflects the fatigue of a significant part of the population against the established order. The system is probably not under threat, but the mood cannot be dismissed, or at least it needs to be taken seriously. Iran’s position in the region, greatly strengthened over a decade, now depends above all on its ability to ensure domestic stability.

It is impossible to predict what the eventual shift of initiative to regional players will bring. Like great powers, medium-sized countries can do stupid things and make fatal mistakes; Middle Eastern history has demonstrated this many times and will continue to do so. But one thing is worth noting: Regional players will now make their own decisions, whether they are right or wrong, based on their perceptions and capabilities, rather than on the interests of outsiders.

Iran’s position on cooperation with Russia and the nuclear deal, Saudi Arabia's position on oil prices, and Türkiye’s stance on virtually any topic, are products of their own assessment of current affairs and prospects. And in this situation, the most effective tactic for external forces is not to try to impose something, but to build their interests into the system created by local actors.

Fortunately, this is where Russia has achieved good results over the past few years. The US, on the other hand, has yet to learn this approach.
https://www.rt.com/news/567760-fyodor-lukyanov-middle-east/
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via RT website 7 Dec, 2022 20:23

UK city defends new ‘climate lockdown’ policy

A ‘traffic filter’ program that fines residents for traveling outside their neighborhoods too often is raising eyebrows

The city of Oxford has embraced the concept of limiting citizens’ personal travel to fight climate change, an idea once dismissed as a conspiracy theory.

The Oxfordshire County Council’s so-called ‘traffic filter’ system, adopted last week, has gone viral, denounced as the first step toward “climate lockdowns” by climate skeptics and civil liberties activists.

The city will be divided into six “15-minute neighborhoods,” containing all local necessities, with residents required to register their cars so their comings and goings can be tracked by a network of cameras. They are allowed unlimited movement in their own neighborhood, but in order to drive through the filters, they must apply for a permit.

Even then, they are only granted access to other neighborhoods for an average of two days per week. Those who exceed their travel allotment will be fined.

Thousands of residents have expressed concern about the project, which has previously been rejected under a different name - including 1,800 who signed a single petition over worries it would actually increase congestion. However campaign director for Oxfordshire Liveable Streets, Zuhura Plummer, claimed that the initiative would “save lives and make our city more pleasant now and for future generations,” citing an “official analysis” that projected 35% less traffic, 9% fewer road casualties, 15% faster bus times, and 91% less air pollution.

The city will also benefit financially, with any driver caught passing through a filter without an exemption or a permit being charged a £70 penalty (just over $85) per violation. Planners expect the city could make as much as £1.1 million per year from fines.

Climate skeptics have attempted to raise the alarm about the measure since its passage, describing it as the first step toward the kind of “climate lockdowns” media outlets like The Guardian warned about at the height of the pandemic.

Economics professor Mariana Mazzucato outlined a grim future in which people would be required to submit to “climate lockdowns” for part of the year, barred from using personal vehicles and consuming red meat, while fossil fuel companies would be prohibited from drilling - all in the name of warding off catastrophic global warming.

When the essay was met with widespread public backlash, mentions of the phrase ‘climate lockdown’ were promptly scrubbed from news headlines, and the very notion of a government-mandated climate lockdown was declared a conspiracy theory.
https://www.rt.com/news/567860-oxfordshire-climate-change-lockdown-traffic/
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(QS Oxford comment - how do these folks get "so much influence and power" ?

Oxforshire Livable Streets is a privately owned company (incorporation https://oxlivsts.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/companies_house_document.pdf)
website https://oxlivsts.org.uk/

Zuhura Plummer's website https://zuhuraplummer.com/ twitter https://twitter.com/ZedPea )