Kit Knightly | The created food crisis, whether real or a smoke-and-mirrors psy-op, is all about tearing down the global food system and “building back better” – a new dystopian food system built by corporate monoliths and rigidly controlled in the name of the greater good. [...] e’re in the early stages of a food crisis. The press has been predicting this for years, but up until now it always appeared to be nothing more than fearmongering, designed to worry or distract people, but the signs are there that this time, to quote Joe Biden, it “is going to be real”. Nobody knows how bad it could get, except the people who are creating it. Because the evidence is pretty clear, it is being deliberately & cold-bloodedly created.

ITEM: Russia is now SWIFT-free. Russian banking giant Sberbank has been disconnected from the SWIFT global financial messaging system under a new set of sanctions approved by European Union leaders on Monday. “This sanctions package includes other hard-hitting measures: de-Swifting the largest Russian bank Sberbank,” European Council chief Charles Michel announced following the EU summit.

ITEM: The European Union has largely stopped importing Russian oil. After weeks of deliberation, EU member states have agreed in principle on a sixth round of anti-Russia sanctions, the bloc’s leadership announced after a meeting on Monday. Hungary and Bulgaria will keep buying Russian oil, but most other import routes will be blocked. EU Council President Charles Michel said the watered-down embargo will affect about 75% of Russian oil imports, with the percentage growing to 90% by the end of the year.

ITEM: India has replaced the USA as a primary customer for Russian oil. In 2021, the USA imported 6 million barrels of Russian crude per month. More than 24 million barrels of Russian crude were supplied this month, up from 7.2 million barrels in April, and from about three million barrels in March. The South Asian nation is set to receive about 28 million barrels in June, data shows. Last year, Russian crude exports to India averaged just 960,000 barrels per month, roughly 25 times less than this month’s total.

ITEM: China has publicly denounced the “rules-based international order” as a “US rules-based international order”. The “rules-based international order” it touts is actually the “US rules-based international order”, a hegemonic order to dominate the world with the house rules of its clique… The US places its domestic law above international law and international rules and willfully resorts to illegal unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, Venezuela, Syria and Iran have been grappling with severe difficulties with a struggling economy and strained medical resources due to prolonged US sanctions. Under such circumstances, the US, rather than halting those sanctions, redoubled them, making things even worse for these countries. The international community sees with increasing clarity that the US only complies with the market competition principle and international trade rules it claims to champion when it suits US interests.

On the basis of these developments, I suspect that we are going to see China voluntarily and preemptively disconnect from the SWIFT and global trade systems later this year. China will likely be followed in this by India and a number of other anti-Clown World nations. This will not only trigger a serious financial crisis, if not a comprehensive banking collapse, but will likely lead to regime changes across Clown World. (Vox Popoli)

Decadent EU Regimes Hell Bent for Self-Destruction (Stephen Lendman)

Reality Sets-in: Europe Cracking; CANNOT agree on Russia Oil Embargo | Hal Turner | Superficial European "unity" over Russia's entry into Ukraine to De-Nazify and De-militarize" that regime, which resulted in Europe sanctioning Russia, is falling apart. The European Union CANNOT get unanimous agreement to embargo Russian Oil or gas into Europe. The reality, that Europe actually needs inexpensive, reliable energy, is finally taking hold. The knee-jerk reaction by European Union countries to "sanction" Russia, was poorly thought out from its beginning. By sanctioning Russia, Europe was actually siding WITH the Nazi-infested regime of Ukraine. That was downright foolish on every level. [...] What has gone on here with Russia-Ukraine-Europe-US-NATO has been a travesty of mis-management and deliberate provocation of Russia by the West. It needs to stop. Fast. Before the ongoing hostilities explode into a much larger, and far deadlier World War.

Consumer prices are surging in Europe’s top economy.

The German statistics office Destatis has reported another jump in inflation in May as food and energy prices continue to climb. Annual inflation in Europe’s top economy has reached 7.9%, the highest level since the 1973 oil crisis. The surge comes amid the conflict in Ukraine and the unprecedented sanctions imposed on Russia. Soaring energy prices have had a considerable impact on inflation since late February, when Russia’s military operation in Ukraine began, Destatis said on Monday.

💬 “Another factor with an upward effect on prices is interruptions in supply chains caused by the Covid-19 pandemic,” the agency said.

Washington’s latest maritime seizure comes as US leaders impose more sanctions on Iran and are increasingly downplaying the possibility of a return to the JCPOA deal from which the US unilaterally withdrew in 2018.

The US has seized a shipment of Iranian oil being carried by a Russian-owned tanker, according to an article published Thursday by Reuters. A source at the Greek shipping ministry claimed that the oil was “transferred to another ship that was hired by the U.S.” after the US Department of Justice “informed Greece that the cargo on the vessel is Iranian oil.” Neither US nor Greek authorities have commented on the matter publicly, but according to ship-tracking services, the Greek-owned tanker Ice Energy has been stationed alongside the Russian-owned Lana since Monday, and shipping journal Lloyd’s List reports the former initiated “a ship-to-ship transfer” on Monday afternoon.

"Western media turns blind eye to US occupation of oil-rich Syrian regions" (05/25/22)

Of the $40 billion allocated by the United States, Ukraine will get only 15%. This is the opinion of the speaker of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin. 35% of the total amount will be used to finance the armed forces of the United States itself, 45.2% will be spent on “other countries”, another 4.8% will be spent on refugee assistance and diplomatic issues, Volodin noted. “But Ukrainians will have to pay the debt — and all $40 billion -“.

Ukraine Will Receive Only 15% Of $40 Bn US Aid, But Will Repay Entire Sum: Russian Speaker: "Washington and Brussels do not really intend to help Ukraine, or solve its economic and social issues. They only need Ukraine to fight Russia," Volodin said. "Ukraine will only receive 15% of the allotted sum," the Speaker said. "Ukrainians will have to pay off the whole sum, while they just get some percentage of it," Russian official warned. He added that Washington is aware that Kyiv will not be able to repay the debt in the future. "That is why they are seizing Ukraine’s last reserves, including grain, which is what we are seeing right now," Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin reiterated. (Republic World)

Norway has made it clear that it’s not going to give in to Poland’s demand for it to share its growing profits from the oil and gas trade with either Warsaw or Kiev.

On Sunday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki claimed that Norway would earn an extra €100 billion ($106.9 billion) from energy sales this year due to a spike in oil and gas prices caused by the conflict in Ukraine and international sanctions on Russia. “They should share these excess profits. It’s not normal, it’s unjust. This is an indirect preying on the war started by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” the PM insisted, adding that Oslo shouldn’t necessarily send its money to Poland, but to Ukraine. Morawiecki also urged young Poles to shame their Norwegian “friends” over the massive gas profits online to push the country into sharing the wealth.

Amos Miller’s private food club members say they don’t want their grass-fed meat treated with the chemical preservatives required by all USDA-approved processing plants.

Amos Miller says he is being persecuted by the federal government for practicing his religious freedom to raise and prepare food the way he believes God intended food to be raised and prepared – in accordance with nature. Miller practices rotational grazing on his small, holistically managed, century old farm in Bird-In-Hand Pennsylvania. His heritage-breed cows are raised on organic pastures, with the chickens following behind, eating the bugs from their dropping, and whey-fed pigs trampling all the fertilizer back into the ground after that. Around 4000 customers of his private, members-only, food buying club are dependent on his meat, eggs and dairy products, as well as fermented fruits and veggies… and are willing to spend top dollar to get it shipped to them all over the country, as they don’t trust food from the grocery store. But a couple of weeks ago, a federal judge told Miller to cease and desist all meat sales, and sent armed U.S. marshals to search his property, farm store and freezers. They took an inventory of all his meat to make sure he doesn’t sell any or slaughter anymore animals.

A new paper published by Oxford University’s Center for Business Taxation discusses – and in the end supports – the idea of a special tax levied on those who decline to be “vaccinated” against “Covid19”. The paper’s authors argue that a vaccine-related tax would be “justified”...

because 💬 "Taxes on behaviour that is considered undesirable are nothing new“. (And that even if the “vaccines” do cause serious harm to some people…) “some states do adopt policies that can lead to serious harm in exceptional cases when they consider that the benefits outweigh the costs“

Yes, you did read that right. They go on to suggest all sorts of ways of correcting this “undesirable behaviour”, from straight taxation to tax credits for those who have been vaccinated, to vaccine mandates and compulsory Covid insurance for the unvaccinated (which is just another way of saying “taxation”).

Under cover of the war in Ukraine Washington plans to partition Syria.

Vanessa Beeley | Under cover of media focus on the NATO proxy war in Ukraine and the Zionist assassination of Al Jazeera senior correspondent Shireen AbuAkleh, Washington is making moves to annex Syrian territory. On May 11th during the meeting of the “global coalition against Islamic State” in Marrakech, Morocco the U.S acting assistant Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland, made an extraordinary move that has largely gone under the radar of even independent media. Everyone is distracted by events in Ukraine and the Palestinian Occupied Territories.

Nuland who famously exclaimed “Fuck the EU” during recorded conversations that exposed the US State Department involvement in the 2014 coup in Ukraine and the subsequent massacre in Odessa by the Washington’s Nazi Contras is now turning her attention to Syria’s north-eastern territory. Nuland has announced that the US will allow foreign investment in north-east Syria under the control of the Kurdish Separatists, another US Coaliton proxy in Syria. These investments will not be affected by the unprecedented sanctions that are effectively blockading Syria.

Global stock prices have generally been in decline for around 19 weeks now – the longest negative trend since the economic crisis that erupted in 2008. In the middle of 2008, the FTSE All-World fell for 39 consecutive weeks starting, on 1 May.

The nascent economic resurgence that was detected during 2021 as countries began to exit pandemic lockdowns was undercut around November as the first evidence of decades-high inflation levels emerged around the world. The FTSE All-World index, a benchmark of over 3,100 companies in almost 50 countries, has been falling for 19 weeks, with a brief period of growth in March. Over this period, the FTSE All-World lost 16.49%, stopping short of formally falling into a bearish trend, which requires a 20% decline since the last significant high.

While 600,000 Americans are homeless, Biden has asked Congress for $33 billion in additional aid for Zelenskyy's Ukraine, including heavy weapons, which is about half the size of the Russian defence budget. (Twitter)

Aaron Ginn (Twitter) + H/T American Buddhist Net

The new proposed sanctions target 58 individuals, including many Russian military personnel.

The European Commission proposed sanctioning the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, in the latest wave of economic measures against Russia. Kirill, who supports and blesses Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, came under fire from a number of church officials for delivering sermons which backed the war. Back in March, the Orthodox official gave a gilded icon to Russian Gen. Viktor Zolotov during a religious service in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral to inspire Moscow’s troops. [...] The new proposed sanctions target 58 individuals, including many Russian military personnel, but also the wife, daughter and son of Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

The Russian ruble rose to its strongest position against the US dollar in over two years on Tuesday, amid reports that Russia’s dollar payments on two foreign bonds reached the creditors just before the deadline, averting a default.

The exchange rate reached 66.43 rubles per dollar at 13:06 GMT during Tuesday’s foreign exchange trading, Bloomberg data showed, with the Russian currency losing some of its gains later in the day. The Moscow exchange was closed on Tuesday due to an extended public holiday. When trading in Moscow opened on Wednesday, the Russian currency was at just under 69 rubles per dollar at 09:12 GMT, the highest level since May 2020. The ruble has been strong against the euro as well, touching 72.00 in morning trading in Moscow, its highest point since February 2020.

Three-quarters of the world's population want a speedy end to Washington's hegemony. He recalled that India recently struck the States with its refusal to impose sanctions on the Russian Federation. As the senator noted, against this background, the United States passed a law allowing the arrested assets of foreigners to be directed to support Kyiv. Klimov is convinced that the states are acting on the principle of "take away and divide", arranging "neoliberal lawlessness." He explained that many countries are now fleeing from the "suffocating embrace of Uncle Sam." The politician stressed that the United States is "quietly hated" not only in Asia, Africa, Latin America, but also in continental Europe. "That's why for the Yankees, our future victory over their Ukrainian hirelings is ultimately tantamount to a geopolitical collapse," Klimov said.

The future Charles III seems to be on course to combine the worst elements of both predecessors, fusing old-style feudalism with modern corporate control to forge a “sustainable” global empire built on digital serfdom and impact vampirism. Charles and his ruling-class collaborators have to dress up their insidious agenda as “doing good”, as “philanthropy” or “conservation”, because they know that otherwise the rest of us would not go along with it. Once this illusion has been destroyed and the horrible reality exposed, then decent people everywhere will turn their backs definitively on these vile parasites and their evil empire of exploitation.

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U.S. GDP fell at a 1.4% pace to start the year as pandemic recovery takes a hit (CNBC)

In response to Russia refusing to ship natural gas to countries that refuse to pay in a currency deemed acceptable to Russia, European leaders are threatening to utilize even harsher rhetoric in response. Europe is being taught a hard, but necessary lesson in the difference between hard power and soft power, which is the difference between actual power and empty words. And it is paying a steep price for being the lapdog’s lapdog, which is another word for chew toy.

It is all just a game: Russia has cut gas to Poland. Poland then announced that it will no longer buy Russian gas because they refuse to pay in rubles. But what Poland means is that they will buy Russian gas from Germany in euros, which Germany would have paid for in rubles. Russia makes money anyway. (Alam Firmansyah)

Poland still buying Russian gas – Gazprom (RT.com)