Ben Tóth’s weekly Imperial Blowback outline will keep you informed and ready for any discussion. With video clips.

I’ve already printed out my copy. Watch the show he co-hosted on 8 December,

Blowback: Exposing Imperial Decline Show

https://www.youtube.com/@BlowbackExposingImperial-hh8ig

Outline

COUNTRY 404

“The United States wants to ensure that Russia negotiates on Kiev’s terms in 2024” – Dep NatSec Adv Jon Feiner

– 404: We messed up.. We picked the losing side – Arestovich ( video )

– 404: Elensky unexpectedly cancels video appearance before US Senate ( BBC )

– 404: Elensky canceled speech to US Senate due to AFU’s failures ( El Pais )

– 404: Senate GOP blocks Ukraine funding despite Biden‘s warning ( Kyiv Independent )

– 404: Miscalculations, divisions marked offensive planning by US, Ukraine ( 2-piece WaPo )

– 404: Ukraine claims killing of ‘traitor’ ex-mp Ilya Kiva – SBU speaker Yusov ( Strana > BBC )

– 404: David Arakhamia under investigation, suspected of brokering Ukraine-Hamas arms sale ( BBC )

– 404: Ukraine‘s latest weapons request includes surprises ( Reuters ):

Context : Besides usual ( 155mm shells, Abrams tanks, F-16s, drones, ATACMS )

        C-17 Globemaster, C-130 Hercules air transport, Apache + Black Hawk helicopters,

        F-18 Hornet attack jets, MQ-9B Sky Guardian drones, THAAD air defense system

– USC: Secret Senate briefing on Ukraine: shouting, walkouts, failure ( Hill, NYT, WaPo )

– USC: Ukraine. DM Umerov : 2 of 3 Russian defense lines breached, we have a plan for 2024 ( Fox )

– USC: Biden warns of ‘direct conflict with Russia‘ if Ukraine aid fails ( address, video )

– USC: Senate Republicans hold firm in face of last-minute White House push for Ukraine aid ( ABC )

– USC: Putin’s Weak Link to Crimea – Kiev to target bridge, needs missiles – Ben Hodges ( Foreign Affairs )

– USC: Yellen says US would be ‘responsible for Ukraine‘s defeat’ if aid fails in Congress ( Reuters, 6D )

– USC: Ukraine funding fight stokes new fears over US reliability – delights Putin ( Bloomberg )

– USC: For Vladimir Putin, everything seems to be going right just now ( Bloomberg )

– EUK: Putin is close to victory. Europe should be terrified – Ukraine running out, EU roman empire ( Telegraph )

– EUK: EU in disarray over plan to fund Ukraine from frozen Russian assets ( Politico )

– EUK: German DM Pistorious – We are not an ally of Ukraine ( ZDF TV interview )

– EUK: Germany should appeal to return 220K ( 10 divs ) Ukrainians home – Roderich Kesewetter ( Welt TV )

– EUK: Putin was brutally underestimated – big mistakes of the USA ( Bild )

THE HOLY LAND

“This war is not only a war between Israel and Hamas, it’s a war that is intended, really, truly, to save Western civilization. To save the values of Western civilization” – Israeli President Herzog

– ISR: About 470,000 Israelis have fled the country since 10-7 ( T.O. Israel > Cradle )

– ISR: Hamas ‘drugged’ freed Gaza hostages to make them seem happy, Health Min confirms ( T.O.Israel )

– ISR: Israel revokes UN humanitarian official’s visa for not condemning Hamas ( PressTV )

– ISR: US supplied Israel with 10,000 tons of equipment ( Israeli Min. Mil. Affairs statement )

– UN: First time ever, Antonio Guterres invokes Article 99, uring UNSC to help avert catastrophe in Gaza ( UN )

– UN: Russia, together with China and the UAE, requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council ( UN )

– RUC: Putin flew to Abu Dhabi UAE with full Russian Su-35 escort, landed to full fanfare ( Zvezda, RIA, TASS )

– RUC: Putin meets Saudi crown prince in rare trip to shore up ties – epic handshake ( Bloomberg + video )

– RUC: Iranian President Ebrahim Raesi arrives in Moscow ( video )

– RUC: Raesi-Putin talks lasted five hours, focused on Gaza, cooperation ( Ru MOD )

– USC: Putin trolls COP28 with oil talks next door ( Politico )

– USC: US House adopts resolution filmy stating that anti-zionism is antisemitism ( document )

– EUK: Intl. Arrest warrant worthless : Putin is taking a trip ( Fucis.de )

– EUK: Saudi Arabia delayed crown Prince’s London visit before hosting Putin ( FT)

– EUK: No ‘sanitary’ concerns – Putin warmy shakes hands in UAE, won’t step near British ambassador ( Mail )

ASIA

– RUC: Russian Central Bank will prohibit employees from using iPhones and iPads at work ( RIA )

– RUC: How Russia punched an $11 billion hole in the West‘s Oil Sanctions ( Bloomberg )

– RUC: China‘s first 4th gen Nuclear reactor officially enters service in Shidaowan, Shangong ( Xinhua )

– RUC: Sorry America, China has a bigger economy than you – Chris Giles ( FT )

– RUC: China rejects EU’s trade deficit complaint – restrictions and complaints? ( GT )

– EUK: EU takes tough line to China on ‘Level Economic Playing Field’ ( Bloomberg )

– EUK: The EU will ask China to use it’s influence to stop conflict in Ukraine ( TASS )

– EUK: Audit finds no ‘forced labor’ in Volkswagen’s Xinjiang plant ( Löning Report )

– OCE: South Korea on the brink of ‘extinction’ unless embraces immigration – minister ( Telegraph )

– OCE: NYT picks President Yoon ( American Pie ) as one of the most stylish people of 2023 ( Korea Herald )

– OCE: Massive number of dead fish wash up on shores of Northern Japan ( Insider, video )

CHAOS

– EUK: Meet the world’s most powerful woman: Ursula Von der Leyen ( Forbes )

– EUK: ‘Economic state of shock’ to persist in Germany in 2024 – Survey ( Reuters )

– EUK: German companies cut investment plans as economic gloom grows, retail in negative ( FT )

– EUK: More and more German companies are collapsing – 23.5% more bankruptcies than last year ( Welt )

– EUK: Greta Thürnberg’s deep fall – from climate saint to anti-Semite ( Süddeutsche Zeitung )

– EUK: Anti-Russian sanctions hit Finland : Record number of bankruptcies ( Euronews )

– EUK: Spain forces the departure of two spies from the US for infiltrating CNI – intelligence ( El Pais )

– EUK: US and Sweden sign defense cooperation agreement – 17 military facilities ( Reuters )

– EUK: Hungary submits resolution opposing Ukraine‘s EU accession talks ( Reuters )

– EUK: EU Home Affairs Commissioner warns of holiday season terror attacks ( Euractiv )

– EUK: Europe‘s most ‘rizz’ politicians ranked ( Politico ):

Context : Johnson:7, Macron:4, Meloni:3, Scholz:2, Elensky:9, Obama:10, Putin:0

– USC: Taylor Swift is TIME’s ‘Person of the Year’ 2023 ( Time )

– USC: The US has a defense supply chain problem – struggling to ramp up production ( Bloomberg )

– USC: Pentagon: US arms industry struggling to keep up with China ( Politico )

– USC: US manufacturing has declined for 13th consecutive month, Oil demand to take a hit ( oilprice )

– USC: NASA may not land humans on the moon by 2025 – Govt. Acc. Office ( GAO report )

– USC: America and crumbling global order – Gideon Rachman ( FT )

– USC: Starbucks loses $11bn in market value due to Gaza boycott ( Bloomberg )

– USC: Canada in deep economic trouble, worst in OECD for decades to come – Diane Francis ( Fin. Post )

– USC: Liz Cheney considers 3rd-party presidential run to stop Trump ( Axios )

– USC: Biden ‘not sure he’d run’ if Trump wasn’t running ( CNN )

– USC: Hunter biden to be charged with tax evasion ( CBS )

– USC: War in the Congo has kept the planet cooler ( Atlantic )

– USC: US hits gruesome mass killing milestone ( MSNBC )

Context : 630 mass killings, 1,571 minors, 39,939 gun deaths ( 2/3 suicides ), 34,087 gun injuries

Appendix : CLIPS

Bibi – Investigating Israeli war crimes is antisemitic : https://twitter.com/real1maria/status/1733017450713645495

Kirby – you think Israel is looking to kill : https://twitter.com/Lowkey0nline/status/1732888614122532976

Ursula – EU and China are major powers: https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1732618776359657505 ( 8:00 )

Arestovich says picked losing side: https://twitter.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/1732109057018765571

Southcom talks LatAm resources: https://twitter.com/upholdreality/status/1732137307589714080

Biden says US will fight Russia: https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1732462667107865071.

Putin is isolated: https://twitter.com/Ramy_Sawma/status/1732899655409619011