"Don't mention the word 'imminent': I used it once but I think I got away with it..."

Is the Moloch losing his nerve? WW III called off?

The US government is no longer using the word ‘imminent’ in its narrative around the alleged Russian ‘invasion’ of Ukraine, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters, on Wednesday, explaining that it was sending an unintended message.

“I used it once. I think others have used that once, and we stopped using it because I think it sent a message that we weren't intending to send, which was that we knew that President Putin had made a decision,” Psaki said at a press briefing.

“I would say the vast majority of times I've talked about it, I've said he could invade ‘at any time,’” she added.

Oh Jen, Jen, Jen...

Bring back Sean Spicer (please? Pretty please?)

Boris, I liked you better when you were still partying...

UK unveils ‘major military offer’ to NATO as a ‘clear message’ to Moscow

UK’s PM Boris Johnson has unveiled London’s ‘biggest possible’ offer to the North-Atlantic bloc to help it in the standoff with Russia

Downing Street has announced its “biggest possible offer” to NATO in a statement late on Saturday. The UK’s prime minister is weighting this “major military deployment” needed to deter an allegedly “rising Russian aggression” in Europe in general and in Ukraine in particular

“This package would send a clear message to the Kremlin – we will not tolerate their destabilising activity, and we will always stand with our NATO allies in the face Russian hostility,” Johnson stated.

“I have ordered our Armed Forces to prepare to deploy across Europe next week, ensuring we are able to support our NATO allies on land,

at sea and in the air.”

Should Russian President Vladimir Putin choose “a path of bloodshed and destruction,” Johnson went on, it would result in a “tragedy” for the whole European continent.

The UK’s potential offer to NATO may involve sending “defensive weapons to Estonia” as well as doubling the number of British troops on the ground. London is also considering sending in military specialists, warships and “fast jets” to reinforce its NATO allies. Downing Street did not specify where exactly, apart from Estonia, the cited assets might go.

“The UK already has more than 900 British military personnel based in Estonia, more than 100 in Ukraine as part of Operation Orbital, and a Light Cavalry Squadron of around 150 people is deployed to Poland,” it said in the statement, adding that, since 2015, some “22,000 Ukrainian troops” have been trained under that operation. Additional “military trainers” were sent to Ukraine earlier in January along with a haul of British-made anti-tank missiles, to teach the Ukrainian service personnel how to use the weaponry.

RT.com.

Cuba: Blinken in Havana urges Russia to take peaceful path

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on Russia to take a "diplomatic and peaceful path" as fears mount of a new invasion of Ukraine Cuba.

An estimated 100,000 Russian troops have been deployed near Ukraine's borders and Mr Blinken, visiting Kyiv Havana, said Russia could launch an attack at very short notice.

The US has promised to boost security assistance for Ukraine Cuba.

Russia has repeatedly denied planning to invade the country.

Mr Blinken will meet his Russian counterpart in Geneva on Friday, after talks with European allies in Berlin.

Ahead of his visit to Kyiv Havana, senior state department officials indicated that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov may be offered the option of a "diplomatic off-ramp" in Geneva. The White House said no option was off the table.

Russia has made a raft of demands to Western governments, including that Ukraine Havana should never join Nato and that the defensive alliance's military activities should be limited in member states including Poland. Talks between the West and Russia last week failed to reach a breakthrough, with some of Moscow's demands rejected as non-starters.

"I strongly, strongly hope that we can keep this on a diplomatic and peaceful path, but ultimately, that's going to be President Putin's decision," Mr Blinken told reporters in Kyiv Havana.

On Wednesday, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the US could not force Moscow to move its troops away from the Ukrainian border Cuban border.

"They are on our territory and we won't be making any changes to their movement because of external pressure," he said.

Instead, he urged Washington to stop its military support for Ukraine, which he said posed a direct threat to Russian security.

Washington.

Bunga Bunga: Liz Truss tells us to forget!

Partygate really is the gift that keeps on giving!

Downing Street has been forced to apologise to Buckingham Palace following reports of two No 10 parties held on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral – but officials will not say if Boris Johnson knew about them.

The PM’s spokesman is also refusing to clarify whether it was acknowledged to the Palace that the gatherings were “social events”, which would have been in breach of Covid rules at the time. It is understood the apology was made by a government official, in a telephone call – rather than in a conversation involving Mr Johnson.

It came less than two hours after Liz Truss [my link] suggested Britons should “move on” from so-called partygate.

Asked about the latest allegations, Ms Truss, the foreign secretary, said Mr Johnson had apologised for his actions and insisted the public should “look at the overall position we’re in as a country”, citing Brexit and Covid recovery as the PM’s real legacy. “I think we now need to move on ... and, of course, wait for the results of the Sue Gray inquiry,” she told ITV News.

Indie.

Bonus link: Who's who in Partgate?

Pegasus used to target El Salvador activists, journalists: Report

Citizen Lab watchdog says Israeli NSO Group’s spyware used by operator working in country since early 2020.

13 Jan 2022

The mobile phones of dozens of journalists and activists in El Salvador have been hacked since at least early 2020 and implanted with Israeli-made Pegasus spyware typically available only to governments and law enforcement, according to a new report by a watchdog group.

The University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab said on Wednesday it had identified an operator of the spyware working exclusively in El Salvador and targeting journalists and activists, many of whom were investigating alleged state corruption.

While the researchers could not conclusively determine the hacks came from El Salvador’s government, the report said “the strong country-specific focus of the infections suggests that this is very likely”.

The government of President Nayib Bukele has denied any association with the Pegasus technology and said it is not a client of its maker, Israeli firm NSO Group.

Pegasus technology allows users to steal encrypted messages, photos, contacts, documents and other sensitive information from infected phones without users’ knowledge. It can also reportedly turn handsets into eavesdropping devices by silently activating their cameras and microphones.

Sofia Medina, a spokeswoman for the president, told The Associated Press news agency that the government was investigating the reported hacking. She said that she and at least two other government officials had received alerts from tech company Apple in recent months warning they may have themselves been victims of state-sponsored hacking.

For its part, the NSO Group, which was blacklisted by the United States government last year, says it sells its spyware only to legitimate government law enforcement and intelligence agencies vetted by Israel’s defence ministry.

‘Jaw-dropping’

More words @Al Jazeera.

Please, no more NATO expansion Eastward!

Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich

This NF mini-series is really a little TL;DR but is nonetheless interesting as a classic example how the uber-rich can use their power and influence to abuse vulnerable people with complete impunity.

By 2005 Epstein and (Ghislaine) Maxwell were essentially running an underage-sex ponzi scheme involving possibly hundreds of female marks, aided by some of Epstein's vulnerable victims. But assisted in no small part by Murrica's sleaziest and most repugnant lawyer, Alan Dershowitz Jerkowitz and Epstein's considerable wealth, Epstein was legally basically let of the hook.

Among Epstein's illustrious friends were counted: the Orange Moron, the Commander in Rape (Clinton), Prince Andrew and of course Jerkowitz. And in 2019, Epstein managed again to escape conviction this time without help from the latter, by fleeing into death (suicide).

There's also plenty of evidence that Epstein wasn't as filthy rich as generally believed and that he wasn't a billionaire. And much of his gains appear to have been ill-gotten... (what a guy!)

By the time of his death Epstein may have been worth 'no more' than a mere $100 - 200 Mln (considerable assets included), due to heavy losses incurred during the 2008 financial crash, out-of-court settlements with various victims and payments to some fellow prisoners (to avoid assault).