Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

His arrogant and aggressive behavior towards Russia, India, and China is responsible for this.

The global systemic transition to multipolarity is nowadays proceeding along a different trajectory than before due to recent shifts in the international system. Up until this point, Trump 2.0 sought resource and military partnerships with Russia and India respectively that could decelerate China’s superpower rise, which would then make it the junior partner in any “G2”/“Chimerica” deal. His Eurasian balancing act has failed, however, due to his arrogant and aggressive approach towards all three countries.

Ties with Russia took a hit after the Anchorage Summit following increasingly concerning reports about US plans to support NATO troops in Ukraine, thus spooking Putin into abandoning his country’s own Eurasian balancing act by pivoting to China. This took the form of the legally binding deal that was just clinched for constructing the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline. The US’ envisaged resource-centric partnership with Russia, which aimed to entice concessions on Ukraine, is now much less likely.

As for India, ties worsened during its springtime clashes with Pakistan, which saw Trump favor Pakistan and even lie about India agreeing to an alleged US-mediated ceasefire. The US then hypocritically imposed punitive tariffs on India over its continued trade with Russia despite eschewing such for China and others. All the while, Trump viciously insulted India too. Concluding that he’s hellbent on derailing its rise as a Great Power, India swiftly patched up its problems with China and distanced itself from the US.

With Russia pivoting to China via Power of Siberia 2 amidst the Sino-Indo rapprochement, the resource and military means for decelerating China’s superpower rise through partnerships with them were neutralized, thus leading to any “G2”/“Chimerica” deal now being in China’s favor instead.

Larry C. Johnson
Sonar21

According to an article [archive.today] published in the British newspaper, The Guardian, former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson received a $1 million dollars the year he left office from a man who had a strong financial incentive to keep the war going in Ukraine. According to The Guardian:

The documents proving Johnson’s shady connections to Harborne were hacked (aka purloined) by Distributed Denial of Secrets and can be found here. According to the documents, the relationship between Johnson and Harborne has quite a history.

Christopher Harborne (also known as Chakrit Sakunkrit in Thailand) is a Thai-based British businessman, technology investor, and major political donor. He is the largest single shareholder in QinetiQ, a UK defense firm supplying drones and robotics to Ukraine, and holds stakes in cryptocurrency ventures like Digifinex (parent of Bitfinex and Tether).

His relationship with Boris Johnson, former UK Prime Minister (2019–2022), is primarily that of a financial backer and personal associate, marked by a record £1 million donation and close collaboration post-Johnson’s resignation. This has fueled speculation about influence-peddling, especially regarding Ukraine policy, amid leaked Boris Files documents.

Martin Jay
Strategic Culture Foundation

Ursula von der Leyen’s political identity – and her vision of the role of the EU – are more and more in line with Nazi Germany.

Things are getting a bit out of hand in Brussels as the elite panic like never before. Now they’re talking about shooting down the Slovakian PM’s own plane. Just can’t make this shit up.

Previous disparaging comments about the past of European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and her grandparents’ role in the second world war might have seemed truculent by Russian commentators. And yet, as each month passes, we seem to be witnessing VDL’s political identity – and her vision of the role of the EU – more and more in line with Nazi Germany. The total annihilation of the free press in Brussels was not her doing, as she inherited the draconian system when she took office. But her efforts to broaden the silencing of journalists right across Europe is telling as it becomes even more an act of desperation to stamp out any free and feral reporting while her own team are pumping out these entirely fake narratives every day. The Russians are planning on invading Baltic states. Russia is the new threat to a democratic Europe. And the latest blag, EU is a bastion of peace and democracy “which doesn’t invade other countries”.

The lies and hypocrisy are at an all-time high and so it seems fitting that the draconian measures of arresting or detaining journalists, like Chay Bowes attempting to cover the Romanian elections, is understandable.

And yet there is no evidence at all to back up the preposterous claim that Moscow has eyes set on invading Baltic countries; there is also no evidence to back up the claim that Russia is the real threat to European democracy, which, in fact is being destroyed each day by the EU and its elites themselves. And as for the EU being this example of a peaceful trading bloc which doesn’t have any intention of attacking its own members… that might have been true. Until now.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

The “race of logistics” between Russia and NATO, which is presently unfolding in the context of their proxy war in Ukraine, will continue even after the conflict ends.

Britain, France, Germany, and Poland are usually the first countries to come to mind among those who discuss NATO’s "containment of Russia," but the Netherlands and Belgium are quickly becoming important too.

Rotterdam Port’s chief executive told the Financial Times in mid-summer that space will be reserved for ships carrying military supplies at NATO’s request and that one or more ships “would be docked at the quay for several weeks, four or five times a year.” This will also be coordinated with Antwerp Port. Rotterdam and Antwerp are Europe’s two largest ports so this isn’t an insignificant move.

Moreover, the Netherlands is a founding member of the “military Schengen” that was agreed to with Germany and Poland in early 2024 for facilitating the movement of troops and equipment. Therefore, these moves are very clearly meant to facilitate the movement of US troops and equipment to Russia’s borders in the event of a crisis, thus leading to the Netherlands and Belgium playing crucial roles in "containing" it.

Bryan Anthony Reo
New Eastern Outlook

US President Donald Trump stated that a decision to supply Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine has been practically made. However, he did not explain what this decision entails and emphasized that he does not seek to escalate the situation.

President Donald Trump has recently said,

President Trump is a smart and savvy businessman; he must refuse to be reckless or naïve. He has to know where the Kiev regime will send the Tomahawks, against targets deep inside Russia, probably against strategic/nuclear assets and civilian/political targets, in what would be a major escalation. This must not be allowed to happen. Trump should show the world he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize and resist and refuse this escalation no matter the pressure coming from his deep state advisers.

In classic and textbook Trump style, President Donald Trump has essentially made it clear he has decided to furnish Tomahawks to Ukraine, with the caveat he is concerned about where/how the Ukrainians will use the missiles.

Donald Trump, while very intelligent, is not exactly a classically educated intellectual; he is a businessman and a negotiator. He is savvy at making deals and understanding situations. If a real estate developer were to express interest in buying seemingly worthless swampland in Louisiana or Florida, it would stand to reason the developer has an angle and a plan to develop.

Leo Hohmann
LeoHohman.com

After first denying Ukraine's request for long-range Tomahawk missiles, President Trump now concedes he has 'sort of' changed his mind, with only a few details on targets left to be worked out.

President Trump said Monday he has “sort of made a decision” on sending long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine for use against Russia.

Tomahawks can strike targets deep inside Russia, including Moscow. As you can see from the above graphic, the Tomahawk missile has a range more than five times that of the previously most lethal U.S. weapon sent to Ukraine, the ATACMS. Going from ATACMS to Tomahawks is no small step in the escalation of this war.

Trump was asked about it by a reporter Monday and you can watch his response here. He said...

What Trump seems to be saying here is that he’s approved the transfer of Tomahawks to Ukraine, but he’s just working out the details about targets the Ukrainians will be allowed to hit with these low-flying cruise missiles.

It’s absolutely chilling that a president can so casually and nonchalantly announce such a major step toward war with a rival nuclear-armed superpower like Russia and nobody in Congress or the media even questions him about the potential ramifications of such a decision.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

The Czech elections are important because they represent the spread of the “Orban model” further across Central Europe, which provides the domestic basis for gradually reviving the Visegrad Group

Populist-nationalist politician Andrej Babis is poised to return to the premiership after his party’s victory in the latest elections. They lack a majority but are expected to build a coalition with some of the smaller parties that share their worldview.

This is a major development since Czechia has been under liberal-globalist control since Babis lost re-election in 2021, and although former high-level NATO official Petr Pavel is still president, the prime minister has more power. Here’s why his return is so important:

1. Czechia Might Soon Move To The Right On Socio-Cultural Issues

The coalition that he’s expected to build with smaller like-minded parties could push him closer to the right on socio-cultural issues due to their more hardline views. One of Reuters’ media platforms is very concerned about this scenario and warned that “Czech vote puts same-sex marriage, LGBTQ+ rights in the balance”. According to their assessment, he might seek to draft his own version of Hungary’s anti-LGBT propaganda bill and/or enshrine two genders in the constitution like neighboring Slovakia just did.

2. It’ll Also Likely Implement A More Pragmatic Policy Towards Ukraine

The era of Czechia providing maximum political-military support for Ukraine might soon be over if Babis’ post-election comments are anything to go by. He declared that it’s not ready to join the EU and strongly suggested cutting off military-technical aid too. The latter could see Czechia disband the Western initiative that it leads for scouring the world for ammo for Ukraine or transferring control of it to NATO, either of which could lead to supply disruptions that weaken the front, according to the New York Times.

3. The “Orban Model” Could Therefore Prove Its Applicability In the Region

If Babis behaves as expected on the domestic and foreign policy fronts, then this would prove the applicability of the so-called “Orban model” in Central Europe. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s return to office in October 2023 saw him promptly following in his Hungarian counterpart’s footsteps, but some observers questioned whether this was really the start of a trend. All doubts would be dispelled if Babis did the same, which would confirm the relevance of this model to the region.

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin
President of Russia (en.kremlin.ru)

Vladimir Putin took part in the plenary session of the 22nd annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club.

Research Director of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai International Discussion Club Fyodor Lukyanov: Ladies and gentlemen, guests of the Valdai Club!

We are beginning the plenary session of the 22nd annual forum of the Valdai International Discussion Club. It is a great honour for me to invite President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to this stage.

Mr President, thank you very much for once again finding time to join us. The Valdai Club enjoys this great privilege of meeting with you for 23 consecutive years to discuss the most topical issues. I believe that no one else is that lucky.

The 22nd meeting of the Valdai Club, which took place over the past three days, was titled “The Polycentric World: Instructions for Use.” We are attempting to move from merely understanding and describing this new world to practical matters: that is, comprehending how to live in it, since it is not yet entirely clear.

We may consider ourselves advanced users, but we are still only users of this world. You, however, are at least a mechanic and perhaps even an engineer of this very polycentric world order, so we eagerly await some guidelines for use from you.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

It’s highly suspicious that Zelensky just claimed without any evidence that they were launched by Russian tankers and subsequently demanded that Europe close the straits to its shipping in response.

Unknown drones recently flew in close proximity to Danish and Norwegian airports, prompting speculation among some that they were Russia’s delayed hybrid retaliation against NATO for backing Ukraine’s drone flights in proximity to Russia’s own airports over the past few years. No evidence has emerged in support of that hypothesis, but Zelensky still dishonestly passed off such claims as fact during his speech at the latest Warsaw Security Forum.

According to him, “there is growing evidence that Russia may have used tankers in the Baltic Sea to launch drones – the drones that caused major disruption in Northern Europe. If tankers used by Russia are serving as drone platforms, then such tankers should not be free to operate in the Baltic. This is de facto Russia’s military activity against European countries, so Europe has the right to close straits and sea routes to protect itself.”

His proposal for NATO to close the Danish Staits to Russian shipping on this pretext, which would amount to an illegal blockade that could thus legitimize offensive action by Russia in self-defense, was predictable given Ukraine’s and some of its patrons’ interest in escalating the bloc’s tensions with Russia. In fact, it might even be the case that this was the false flag that Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service twice warned could soon be staged by the UK and Ukraine, albeit ultimately taking a different form.

They assessed that those two might orchestrate potentially forthcoming provocations in the Baltic that would then be blamed on Russia in order to justify cracking down on its sanctioned energy trade that the West dramatically describes as being conducted by a “shadow fleet” transiting through that sea. While no US ship was targeted with Ukrainian-transferred Soviet/Russian torpedoes nor were such mines fished out of the Baltic, Scandinavia’s Russian drone scare still arguably fulfills the same role.

Harold Turner
Hal Turner Show

Russia on Trump "Authorizing" Ukraine to Make Deep Strikes into Russia: "This isn't escalation; it's ignition"

Reports are flooding the media claiming that President Donald Trump has "Authorized" Ukraine to engage in long-range missile and drone strikes, deep inside Russia.

The Constitution for the United States does not empower the US Federal Government to "authorize" any other government to attack a third country - so where this power stems from, to "authorize" Ukraine to do . . . anything . . . to a third country . . . is a mystery. The US Constitution also does not authorize the US Government to wage a "proxy war" using a second country (Ukraine) to attack a third country (Russia). But that is precisely what they've been doing for more than three years.

Ukraine's non-President, Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term of Office EXPIRED last May, is also asking President Trump to authorize the sale of US "Tomahawk" Cruise Missiles, for Ukraine to use against targets deep inside Russia. Conflicting reports say either Trump refused the request or, say he is "considering" the request.

Both the launching of "Deep" strikes into Russia, and providing long-range missiles, guided by US Military Satellites, to carry-out such long-range strikes, are "Red Lines" for the Russians. Crossing those Red Lines would LIKELY see Russia declare the US as a "Party to the conflict" thereby opening the door for Russia to begins striking targets here, inside the USA.

Dmitry Medvedev (Дмитрий Медведев)
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council
TASS

[There are] historical parallels in the behavior of the current leaders of Finland and their predecessors from almost a century ago and recalls the aftermath of their aggressive attacks on Russia

Last week I made a fact-finding trip to the Russian-Finnish border in the Leningrad Region to have a word with local officials and our border guards. Cross-border traffic is frozen, while just recently the checkpoints bustled with activity. At Helsinki’s initiative, normal and mutually beneficial relations that had taken decades to build have been ruined. Suomi’s ordinary people are the hardest-hit. They used to enjoy hefty benefits from thriving bilateral trading and economic relations, and quite naturally these days many do not hesitate to express their anger about the stupid policies that the Finnish authorities are pursuing to the detriment of their interests.

I would like to say a few words about the root causes of this situation. Regrettably, it is not accidental. The whirlwinds of turbulent geopolitical processes merely strip naked old-time problems, exposing their true essence. This is precisely what happened in Finland’s case.

Any trip to our northwestern regions at the beginning of the autumn season invariably serves as a good occasion to recall the most tragic date in the history of the great Russian city on the Neva River – the Nazi blockade during World War II, which began on September 8, 1941. However, it seems that today we are the only ones whose memories of those dark days are still fresh. The direct culprits of those events have been trying to painstakingly erase the traces of their atrocities from historical memory. Or at least to ensure there should be no "undesirable" parallels with their current policies. I am referring not only to Germany, which even at the official level blasphemously refuses to recognize the blockade of Leningrad as a crime against humanity.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

Even worse, it would be all because of Zelensky’s lust for money and power, not any legitimate reason.

Trump’s flip-flop on Ukraine was explained here as being partially due to him responding to the whispers of warmongers like Zelensky, who boasted afterwards that...

💬 “Gradually, (Trump) realized that Putin was simply sharing some information that was far from the truth on the battlefield. Now he trusts me much more because the information that my intelligence has, that we share with our partners.”

This is leading to Trump being manipulated by Zelensky into a disaster of epic proportions if he doesn’t soon wise up.

The American leader likely took at face value his Ukrainian counterpart’s claim of reconquering 360 square kilometers in recent weeks even though the latter’s own top general earlier assessed the amount to be less than half of that at only 160 square kilometers. This might have convinced him that his new policy of selling new arms to NATO at full price for subsequent transfer to Ukraine is paying off. Zelensky was probably also responsible for Trump writing in his post that the Russian economy is in deep trouble.

These false beliefs, which are based on lies laundered by Zelensky as “intelligence”, arguably emboldened Trump to declare his support for NATO shooting down Russian jets on the pretext of them violating the bloc’s airspace after the latest dubious claim to that effect from Estonia. He also threatened “a very strong round of powerful tariffs” against Russia in his UN speech, presumably against China and India who he described as “the primary funders of the ongoing war”, so long as the EU follows suit.

This evolving policy towards the Ukrainian Conflict – which includes military (more arms sales to NATO and supporting the bloc shooting down Russian jets) and economic (primary and secondary sanctions) components – is also largely driven by Zelensky’s other lie that Trump fell for.

Raphael Machado
Strategic Culture Foundation

In the hearts of the people of that small but important region, there remains hope for a freer and safer future, in short, a better future.

On the internet, the ancient philosophy of “Stoicism” (the one that recalls names like the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and the philosopher Seneca) has become a sort of “meme” or “lifestyle” for young men who feel alienated from the dominant culture. The cultivation of this Stoicism (taken up in its exclusively ethical dimension, without reference to its materialist ontology) is tied to the identity crisis of youthful masculinity in Western countries.

In the stoic attitude towards life, many young men believe they find a formula that prepares them for setbacks and adversities, as well as a “school of virility” in a cultural context where there is a strong feminizing atmosphere that, by associating the masculine with concepts like “violence,” “abuse,” and “oppression,” gradually seeks to stigmatize typical aspects of masculinity, even healthy masculinity.

In a more specific sense, Stoicism, in its ethical dimension, shapes a mental framework intended to be prepared to deal with the inevitability of death and the certainty of defeat and misfortune throughout life. It is assumed that the common man will be constantly affected and paralyzed by the threat of death and the accidents suffered throughout life, the unwanted changes of plans, the resounding failures. Stoicism aims to immunize man against these inner fluctuations, insofar as they are understood to enslave him.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

The US decided that India’s rise as a Great Power must be derailed and it’ll pursue this by all possible means.

Trump finally went through with February’s threat to rescind his first term’s sanctions waiver for Iran’s Chabahar Port that was promulgated to help India aid Afghanistan’s reconstruction. That facility is partially run by India, which relies on it as the North-South Transport Corridor’s point of entry for connecting with the Central Asian Republics (CARs) and Russia. The US was hitherto pleased with India’s thrust into the CARs, however, since it was considered a gentle means of balancing Chinese influence.

Those calculations have since changed as a result of Trump’s fury at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s refusal to emulate the EU’s lopsided trade deal with the US by removing all or at least most tariffs on American imports. Revoking this waiver is meant to put India in a strategic dilemma. It can either defy the US’ anti-Iranian sanctions at the cost of secondary sanctions on top of the 50% tariffs he already imposed or comply with them at the expense of ceding influence in the CARs to China.

Constantin von Hoffmeister
Eurosiberia (Substack)

The Doctrine of Doublethink

It is a peculiar feature of the age that the most intelligent people are often the most incapable of seeing the contradictions that govern their lives.

The European citizen of 2025 does not live under tyranny in the traditional sense. He possesses bank accounts, passports, and broadband access. He may travel freely, vote regularly, and express opinions within established limits. Yet it is precisely within these limits that the condition of his unfreedom is revealed. For he believes that he is free, even as every mechanism of his civilization is designed to condition his behavior, narrow his vocabulary, and discourage his thought.

This is the triumph of doublethink.

Doublethink, properly understood, is not mere hypocrisy. It is not the act of lying, nor even the act of knowing one lies. It is the cultivated ability to believe two contradictory things simultaneously, and to believe both with equal conviction. It is to say, “I support free speech,” and to mean, “I support the regulation of speech I consider harmful.” It is to assert, “There are no forbidden ideas,” and to follow that statement with, “except those ideas which challenge the moral consensus.” The function of doublethink is not to deceive but to stabilize. In an unstable world, the lie that is believed by all becomes more comforting than the truth that shatters the narrative.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

These are being advanced through a combination of information warfare and support for anti-government (Brussels-organized) “NGOs” (BONGOs).

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto warned in a Facebook post last month after talks with his Slovak and Serbian counterparts that Brussels is plotting regime change against them. This comes after Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) reported that the EU and Ukraine are backing the Hungarian opposition ahead of next spring’s parliamentary elections. The larger context is that they’ve all defied EU pressure to cut ties with Russia and are considering the creation of a new regional integration platform.

From the EU’s hegemonic perspective, those three’s current governments do indeed pose “an increasingly serious obstacle to a ‘united Europe’” as SVR described Hungary as being vis-à-vis Brussels, with that country being the main one followed by Slovakia and then Serbia to a much lesser extent. Long-serving Prime Minister Viktor Orban is a populist-nationalist icon on the continent, while his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico only recently returned to office but immediately followed in Orban’s footsteps.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

Trump’s Proposal For NATO To Stop Buying Russian Oil & Start Tariffing China Is Unrealistic. – The EU would plunge into a full-blown recession if it complied, but that might be what Trump wants so as to bankrupt its companies and thus give US ones a greater edge in the newly tariff-free EU market.

Trump proposed in a social media post over the weekend that NATO stop buying Russian oil and start tariffing China 50-100% as part of his plan for swiftly ending the Ukrainian Conflict. He promised to impose “major sanctions on Russia” if all NATO members at least do the first-mentioned.

This proposal is unrealistic though since the whole reason why some NATO members continued buying Russian oil (including indirectly via India) was to manage global prices and thus prevent a full-blown recession.

Likewise, imposing 50-100% tariffs on China would lead to price spikes all across the board that would compound with dumping Russian oil to deal a heavy blow to the EU, though that might be what Trump wants in order to bankrupt EU companies and thus give US ones a greater edge.

Hoda Yaq
Press TV

On March 3, 2025, Mahdieh Esfandiari, a 39-year-old Iranian academic living in Lyon, a city in east-central France, was arrested by French security officers after a surprise raid at her home.

Her family characterized the situation as kidnapping or hostage-taking, stating that officers arrived without prior notice, placed her into a van, and held her without formal charges or access to legal counsel for several months.

For more than 50 days, she was not permitted to use the phone, was kept in solitary confinement, and was unable to contact family or friends. This continued until mid-April.

According to Mahdieh’s communication with her family, her interrogation in French police custody involved repeated psychological pressure. Officers removed her hijab (Islamic head covering), as her sister also stated in a recent interview with Press TV.

She had no choice but to use her bedsheet to cover her head each time she offered her daily prayers, and she was also subjected to a full strip search by French male officers.

Despite spending months in solitary confinement without seeing the sky or sunlight, the authorities in France refused to return her hijab, denying her even a few minutes under the sun’s rays.

Kersasp D. Shekhdar
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Thoughts, Musings, Perspectives, Prognostications (Or “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the [AIs]”)

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

The emerging “Global West” concept isn’t just a “collection of democracies” like it’s been portrayed by some, but a collection of US military partners that can be relied upon for helping to contain its Eurasian rivals.

Australia agreed during last month’s NATO Summit to deploy an E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft and up to 100 troops to Europe till November at the bloc and Poland’s request in support of Ukraine. This will be carried out under “Operation Kudu”, which “is the Australian Defence Force commitment to the training of Armed Forces of Ukraine personnel in the United Kingdom.” It follows a prior such deployment to Ramstein Air Base so the latest one isn’t really all that newsworthy.

That doesn’t mean that it’s insignificant, however, since it’s important for observers to understand why Australia is continuing to militarily involve itself in a conflict on the opposite side of the planet. The reason is that Australia is doing so as a quid pro quo for Anglo-American support in containing China through AUKUS. Regardless of whether one agrees with it, the Australia government nowadays considers China to be an adversary – largely due to Anglo-American influence – and formulates policy accordingly.

Sending arms to Ukraine, training its troops in the UK, and once again carrying out a temporary military deployment to Europe isn’t just a way to pay back its AUKUS allies, but also a means for obtaining experience in the event that China gets involved in a regional conflict. Whether it’s against Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan, and/or the US, Australia expects to involve itself in a similar way as with Russia-Ukraine via the aforesaid means of arms shipments, training, and early warning and control missions.

Moreover, by showing solidarity with NATO in its proxy war on Russia through Ukraine as explained above, Australia hopes that the bloc’s European members will repay the favor if it involves itself in a future AUKUS+ (AUKUS, Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines) proxy war on China. Even though they’d probably do this at their American “daddy’s” behest, albeit as a quid pro quo for “defending Europe from Russia” in this case (as they sincerely but wrongly believe), it’s a suitable pretext for the public.