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Russia ditches key demands in Ukraine peace talks - Financial Times
Moscow has apparently dropped several key demands in the painstaking Ukraine peace talks, the Financial Times newspaper reported Monday, citing four people briefed on the discussions. According to the report, Moscow is now prepared to let Ukraine "join the European Union if it remains military non-aligned as part of ongoing ceasefire negotiations" and drops its NATO aspirations. "The draft ceasefire document does not contain any discussion of three of Russia's initial core demands - 'denazification', 'demilitarization', and legal protection for the Russian language in Ukraine." The newspaper added that its sources spoke "under the condition of anonymity because the matter is not yet finalized." The reported shift in Moscow's position comes ahead of a new round of Russia-Ukraine talks scheduled to take place in Turkey on Tuesday. Moscow and Kiev have held three rounds of in-person talks and further contacts via a video link, yet the negotiations failed to yield any tangible result...
https://www.sott.net/article/466054-Russia-ditches-key-demands-in-Ukraine-peace-talks-Financial-Times

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Naming Names
You see, there are real people behind all these disorders of our national life. Many more besides just the notorious Dr. Fauci... One reason American movies are so bad these days is they have forgotten how to tell a story. Stuff just happens to characters. Cause, effect, and consequence no longer exist in the workshops of Hollywood. And one might sense that these imperatives are likewise missing from what used to be known as real life in the USA, with all its stories and narratives. Stuff just happens to the people in this country now. And then sometimes, stuff un-happens. With the Russian operation in Ukraine alarming the populace, you might have forgotten the late Covid-19 epidemic that provoked so much public hysteria and government policy overreach. Stuff happened during those two-plus years of Covid-19, and, even with Ukraine blaring from the cable news channels, Covid-19 stuff is still happening. Vaccine mandates are still in force, in New York City, for instance — except for...
https://www.sott.net/article/466055-Naming-Names

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Biden used printed 'cheatsheet' to answer questions on anti-Putin statements
The president's detractors have repeatedly questioned his mental fitness After an apparent call for the ouster of Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Joe Biden read from a pre-prepared 'cheat sheet' to assure reporters that he wasn't actually suggesting regime change in Moscow. However, Biden, whose cognitive health Republicans say is declining, ended up doubling down on his original remarks. Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Biden said that his declaration in Poland last week that Putin "cannot remain in power" was not a call for regime change in Moscow. Biden said: "I'm not walking anything back. I want to make it clear: I was not then, nor am I now, articulating a policy change. I was expressing moral outrage that I feel, and I make no apologies for it." Photos from the press conference show Biden carrying a small card, entitled "Tough Putin Q&A Talking Points," in which the president was instructed to answer such a question as follows: "I was...
https://www.sott.net/article/466056-Biden-used-printed-cheatsheet-to-answer-questions-on-anti-Putin-statements

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EU rejects Moscow's ruble-for-gas demand
The bloc's refusal follows a similar announcement by G7 countries EU member states won't pay for Russian gas in rubles, the European Commission said on Tuesday, rejecting Moscow's March 31 deadline for switching payment mechanisms. The announcement comes a day after a similar response from the G7 nations. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that hostile countries, which have imposed economic sanctions on Moscow, pay for Russian gas with rubles. On Monday, he ordered the government to develop the necessary tools to accomplish the task and set a deadline for Thursday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Russia will not supply natural gas to the European market for free, as euros and dollars will not be accepted from March 31.
https://www.sott.net/article/466057-EU-rejects-Moscows-ruble-for-gas-demand

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#GotGoldorRubles? Russia just broke the back of the West
I don't think everyone has yet caught the significance of Russia announcing they are putting a floor under the price of gold. But, to be clear, Russia just broke the paper gold suppression scheme. On Friday the Bank of Russia announced: RUB5000 to the ounce at an exchange rate of 100 RUB/USD implies a $1550 per ounce gold price. For a few days previous to this announcement, which they knew was coming, The West was running around with multiple bits of legislation to try and keep the Russians from selling their gold. The G7 think the sanctions are hitting so hard that Putin will be forced to sell his gold to evade sanctions to pay for things. They are literally running a script in their heads that is not actually playing out in the real world. But, whatever, Neocons never met an ugly stick that they didn't want to use to beat someone over the head with. Too bad all they're doing is hitting a rubber tire. Boing! Because here's the gig, Russia won't be selling any gold. They're buying...
https://www.sott.net/article/466058-GotGoldorRubles-Russia-just-broke-the-back-of-the-West

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BlackRock CEO warns of rising inflation, lower economic activity & high unemployment in investor letter
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that sanctions against Moscow herald the end of an era, implying that the West's global dominance was coming to an end. Blackrock has chimed in with their own remarks on the conflict, stating that the Ukraine crisis marked the end of globalization as we know it. Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, which manages assets worth about half of US GDP, has forecasted that measures to penalize Russia for its aggression in Ukraine will cause globalism to collapse as decision-makers reevaluate their international liabilities. "The Russian invasion of Ukraine has put an end to the globalization we have experienced over the last three decades," Fink said on Thursday in a letter to investors. "We had already seen connectivity between nations, companies and even people strained by two years of the pandemic. It has left many communities and people feeling isolated and looking inward. I believe this has exacerbated the polarization and extremist...
https://www.sott.net/article/466059-BlackRock-CEO-warns-of-rising-inflation-lower-economic-activity-high-unemployment-in-investor-letter

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BEST OF THE WEB: Political Ponerology: The Study of Evil in the Political Realm - Part 3
Pathocracy1 is born from parasitizing great social movements, then becoming a disease of entire societies, nations and empires. In the course of human history, it has affected social, political, and religious movements, distorting the accompanying ideologies, characteristic for the time and ethnological conditions, and turning them into caricatures of themselves. This occurs as a result of the activities of similar etiological factors in this phenomenon, namely the participation of pathological factors in a pathodynamically similar process. That explains why all the pathocracies of the world are and have been so similar in their essential properties. Contemporaneous ones easily find a common language, even if the ideologies nourishing them and protecting their pathological contents from identification differ widely. (Łobaczewski, 2022, p. 202) In a global hysterical crisis2 situation, bold visions of salvation can both inspire people to action and at the same time deprive them of...
https://www.sott.net/article/466037-Political-Ponerology-The-Study-of-Evil-in-the-Political-Realm-Part-3

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Russia blames US for relentless and wide-ranging cyberattacks
The US and its allies have put together a group of international "offensive cyber-forces" and unleashed them on Russia in response to its military offensive in Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow has alleged. Russian government institutions, media outlets and critical infrastructure have been "subjected to powerful blows with the use of advanced information and communication technologies," the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. Hundreds of thousands of such attacks are being registered in Russia on a daily basis. They're carried out by a sort of "offensive cyber-forces," which were put together by the US at the suggestion of Kiev, it added.
https://www.sott.net/article/466060-Russia-blames-US-for-relentless-and-wide-ranging-cyberattacks

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Highlights from Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Turkey
On Tuesday, Turkey hosted the latest round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. The Ukrainian side has come up with a written proposal for a peace treaty between the two nations, Russia's top negotiator Vladimir Medinsky told the media after the session, which he described as "substantive." The proposal will now be relayed to Russian President Vladimir Putin for consideration, he added. Here is what else emerged after the talks. Russian offensive scaled down An immediate practical effect of the talks will be a de-escalation of military activities in some parts of Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry announced. In particular, it pledged to "dramatically" reduce its operations near the cities of Chernigov and the capital, Kiev. NATO-like security guarantees David Arakhamia, Medinsky's opposite number in the Ukrainian delegation, said Kiev had sought a security guarantee similar to that contained in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. He named Russia, the UK, China, the US,...
https://www.sott.net/article/466061-Highlights-from-Russia-Ukraine-peace-talks-in-Turkey

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NY Times' deceitful insinuations: "Frustrated" Putin could use nukes in Ukraine
The New York Times thinks that Putin might use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, but there is a flaw in the Times' reasoning. Putin has nothing to gain from a nuclear blast and everything to lose. A nuclear weapon will not help Putin win the war in Ukraine, in fact, it would further deepen Russia's isolation, strengthen the position of Russia's enemies, and create a justification for NATO to enter the war. Putin would become a global pariah overnight inviting even harsher economic sanctions and criticism while greatly undermining his prospects for success in Ukraine. Detonating a nuclear device in Ukraine would undoubtedly prove to be the biggest mistake in Putin's 22 year-long political career. Only Washington stands to gain from a nuclear explosion in Ukraine because only Washington would benefit from a wider war that involved NATO. But the Times never mentions Washington in its analysis because - according to the Times -the only person capable of such perfidy is Vladimir Putin which...
https://www.sott.net/article/466062-NY-Times-deceitful-insinuations-Frustrated-Putin-could-use-nukes-in-Ukraine

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The media on the "warpath"
Swiss mass media: a transatlantic transmission belt? Even though today we are holding one's breath in suspense by military operations and the question of the aggressor seems to be determined, the responsibility of the media for the tensions towards Russia, which they have actively built-up in the past months and years, must be broached. They have hunted down politics and thus serve as a kind of transmission belt of transatlantic military strategies. Although it is hardly possible today to reflect on the one-sidedness of media coverage against Russia before and during the military invasion, given the aggravated mood, this becomes all the more necessary. The sentiments towards Russia did not fall out of the sky. Its antecedents are documented.1 Here, the focus is on the past months. The more recent construction of a hostile image of Russia began with the so-called colour revolution in Kiev in 2004. Shortly before that, Russia and Vladimir Putin were "targeted". Ten years later,...
https://www.sott.net/article/466063-The-media-on-the-warpath

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BEST OF THE WEB: Farmers on the Brink
"Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you're a thousand miles from the corn field." - Dwight D. Eisenhower It was a spooky time to be out at sea off the US East Coast on Halloween in 1991. A strong storm system over the maritime provinces in Canada merged with the remnants of Hurricane Grace, forming a new, epic, and dangerous Nor'easter. The winds of this new storm breached 70 miles per hour and a wave as high as 100 feet was measured off the coast of Nova Scotia, but the storm was not renamed as either a tropical storm or a hurricane - instead, it is known only colloquially as simply the Perfect Storm. Six fishermen from Massachusetts perished when their vessel Andrea Gail sunk in open waters, and the story of the storm and of that tragedy became the subject of a best-selling book and a blockbuster feature film. While the concept of a perfect storm is often too casually assigned in popular culture, it is difficult to find a more apt description of what has...
https://www.sott.net/article/466064-Farmers-on-the-Brink

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Ontario cop charged for posting video praising truckers
A Durham police officer who posted a video of herself speaking in support of the Freedom Convoy as it headed towards Ottawa is now facing charges under Ontario's Police Services Act. Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) had originally announced they were investigating Constable Erin Howard in January after she posted the 1-minute video to a now-deactivated Twitter account.
https://www.sott.net/article/466065-Ontario-cop-charged-for-posting-video-praising-truckers

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The illusion of evidence-based medicine
In 1990, a paradigm shift occurred in the development of new medicines and treatments. An idea so big, that it was supposed to encompass the whole of medicine. It was to start initially at the level of pre-clinical and clinical trials and work all the way through the system to the care and management of individual patients. This new concept for how medicine would be developed and conducted is called evidence-based medicine (EBM). Evidence-based medicine was to provide a more rigorous foundation for medicine, one based on science and the scientific method. Truly, this was to be a revolution in medicine - a non-biased way of conducting medical research and treating patients. Evidence-based medicine Evidence-based medicine is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients." The aim of EBM is to integrate the experience of the clinician, the values of the patient, and the best available scientific...
https://www.sott.net/article/466066-The-illusion-of-evidence-based-medicine

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Number of French that agree with Moscow on Ukraine revealed
A substantial number of French people remain skeptical about the Western narrative on Russia's attack against Ukraine and want to hear what Moscow has to say about its actions, results of a new poll released on Monday have shown. More than half of respondents queried by the French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP) agreed with at least one Russian "hypothesis" of why its attack against Ukraine was justified, the polling firm said in a report. The most agreed-with argument was that the US and the EU had "encouraged Ukraine to request integration with NATO" to gain leverage in its standoff with Russia. A total of 30% of people polled said this was true, with 29% calling it false. The argument that the persecution of Russian-speaking Ukrainians by their government had validated Moscow's military action was accepted by 28% of people and rejected by 31%. The statement that discrimination has been ongoing for years in some parts of the country was backed by 23%, with 32% rejecting it....
https://www.sott.net/article/466067-Number-of-French-that-agree-with-Moscow-on-Ukraine-revealed

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Regime change has been the US goal in Russia for years
It was the culminating event of a four-day trip planned at the last minute for the purpose of rallying Europe to the cause of standing up to Russia's military incursion into Ukraine. Speaking before a large and enthusiastic crowd in the Polish capital of Warsaw, US President Joe Biden concluded his remarks by going off-script. After condemning what he called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin's "brutality" in Ukraine, Biden uttered nine words that, in a blink of an eye, made moot whatever else had been accomplished on this trip: "For God's sake, this man [Putin] cannot remain in power." Biden departed the venue and headed straight for Air Force One, which was standing by to fly him back to the US. Before his plane could get off the ground, the White House was scrambling to contain the damage done by Biden's most recent gaffe. "The President's point," an unnamed White House official explained to the press, "was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or...
https://www.sott.net/article/466068-Regime-change-has-been-the-US-goal-in-Russia-for-years

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The crimes of Winston Churchill
England celebrates their genocides. The 'Winston Churchill note' has entered circulation. Honouring a man who swilled on champagne while 4 million men, women and children in Bengal starved due to his racist colonial policies. The trial of Churchill: Churchill was a genocidal maniac. He is fawned over in Britain and held up as a hero of the nation. He was voted 'Greatest Briton' of all time. Below is the real history of Churchill, the history of a white supremacist whose hatred for Indians led to four million starving to death, the man who loathed Irish people so much he conceived different ways to terrorise them, the racist thug who waged war on black people across Africa and in Britain. This is the trial of Winston Churchill, the enemy of all humanity.
https://www.sott.net/article/466069-The-crimes-of-Winston-Churchill

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Italian official fired for supporting Russia
Stefano Gizzi has had his powers revoked after he published a photo of the letter 'Z' and expressed solidarity with Moscow Stefano Gizzi, the Councilor for Culture in the commune of Ceccano, Italy has had his powers revoked after sparking outrage by publicly expressing support for Russia in a now-deleted Facebook post. The official shared a picture of the letter 'Z', which is now associated with Russia's ongoing military offensive in Ukraine, as it has appeared on Russian tanks and vehicles participating in the operation, and wrote: "Solidarity with Russia, the Ribbon of St. George, victorious over the Dragon." The post was apparently taken down by Facebook shortly after it was published, but it nevertheless managed to spark a wave of outrage, as several of Gizzi's fellow politicians, including from his own 'Lega' party, called for him to be fired and for the Mayor of Ceccano to distance himself from Gizzi and his "shameful" and "intolerable declaration."
https://www.sott.net/article/466070-Italian-official-fired-for-supporting-Russia

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Ukrainian priest kidnapped by group of armed men - reports
Videos emerge from a Moscow-affiliated church in Ukraine, where a priest was dragged away by Ukrainian Territorial Defense forces. A priest in the town of Smila in central Ukraine was kidnapped by a group of armed men on Monday. The incident occurred in the middle of service and was captured on video by stunned churchgoers. The footage quickly made its way across social media, with many reporting it as Ukrainian nationalists assaulting and kidnapping a pro-Russian priest. In the video, alleged members of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Forces can be seen assaulting and forcefully dragging away the priest, as well as another man who was reportedly trying to aid him in the confrontation.
https://www.sott.net/article/466071-Ukrainian-priest-kidnapped-by-group-of-armed-men-reports

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Our athletes would get banned even without Ukraine conflict, most Russians say
A new survey has revealed Russian attitudes to the sporting sanctions imposed on their nation's athletes. The majority of Russians think athletes from their homeland would be sanctioned by global sporting authorities regardless of the conflict with Ukraine, a new poll has indicated. Russia and Belarus have been hit with a wave of sporting sanctions in the wake of Moscow's military operation in Ukraine, leading to athletes and officials being ostracized from dozens of international tournaments.
https://www.sott.net/article/466072-Our-athletes-would-get-banned-even-without-Ukraine-conflict-most-Russians-say

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Disney vows to help repeal 'Don't Say Gay' law, says Florida Gov. DeSantis shouldn't have signed it
After Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Florida's so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill into law on Monday, the Walt Disney Company condemned the legislation and vowed to help have it repealed. "Florida's HB 1557, also known as the 'Don't Say Gay' bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law," the company said in a statement. "Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that." Disney's public opposition to the new law comes after CEO Bob Chapek was criticized for not speaking up sooner and with more fervor ahead of the bill passing through the Florida Senate. Employees staged a walkout in protest of the company's lackluster initial response and Disney has been rushing to make amends with its staff and the LGBTQA community ever since.
https://www.sott.net/article/466073-Disney-vows-to-help-repeal-Dont-Say-Gay-law-says-Florida-Gov-DeSantis-shouldnt-have-signed-it