...Because once leader-capture, maritime strangulation, and selective legality are normalized, the world does not slide gently into chaos, it hardens into and accepts it. Law becomes costume, sovereignty becomes conditional, and power stops pretending it needs permission. The lecture circuit ends not with applause or rebuttal, but with silence – the kind that follows when every capital understands the same thing at once, that the hunt has been legitimized. And in a world where abduction is policy and force writes precedent, the next knock will not be answered with arguments, but with fire.

https://ronpaulinstitute.org/rules-for-thee-force-for-me-americas-doctrine-of-leader-capture/

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The US strikes on Venezuela call into question the argument that Russia should not have interfered in Ukraine's affairs, believes the former head of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger.

"If the US intervenes in Venezuelan affairs now - without a UN mandate - then the argument that Russia was in no way allowed to interfere in Ukraine's affairs without appealing to the UN Security Council will lose its political and international legal value - or not?", Ischinger asked.

Ischinger previously served as an OSCE mediator appointed for negotiations between Kiev and the eastern regions in 2014.

@Slavyangrad

New York Mayor Mamdani criticized Maduro's seizure of power and the attack on Venezuela.

"This blatant attempt at regime change not only affects those abroad. It directly impacts the residents of New York, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who consider this city their home. My focus is on their safety and the safety of every New Yorker," he stated.

@Slavyangrad

An airstrike on the Ukrainian Armed Forces' air defense system in the area of the village of Riasne, Sumy region

Georeferencing: https://lostarmour.info/map?coords=50.70703+35.38357

- Lost Armour

@Slavyangrad

The former head of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Ischinger writes on X.

@Slavyangrad

The editorial board of The New York Times condemned the US attack on Venezuela and called it "illegal and reckless".

The newspaper draws parallels with the US invasions of Iraq, Afghanistan, and the strikes on Libya, which did not lead to an improvement in the situation in these countries.

"However, if there is a main lesson of American foreign policy over the past century, it is that attempting to overthrow even the most repugnant regime can only exacerbate the situation. The United States spent 20 years failing to establish a stable government in Afghanistan, and replaced the dictatorship in Libya with a divided state. The tragic consequences of the 2003 war in Iraq continue to haunt America and the Middle East. Perhaps the most telling example is that the United States has periodically destabilized Latin American countries, including Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, in an attempt to overthrow governments by force," states the NYT.

In addition, the newspaper notes that Trump did not conduct his actions through Congress, as required by the US Constitution.

"Mr. Trump has still not provided a clear explanation for his actions in Venezuela. He is pushing our country towards an international crisis without valid justification. If Mr. Trump wants to claim otherwise, the Constitution clearly stipulates what he should do: address Congress. Without Congress' approval, his actions violate US laws," states the NYT editorial board.

@Slavyangrad

A little about oil and why Venezuela became the home of fentanyl cocaine "bad guys."

@Slavyangrad

The UN Secretary-General expressed concern:

The US operation in Venezuela sets a dangerous precedent, said UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric.

UN Chief Antonio Guterres also expressed concern about the violation of international law and called on the parties to engage in dialogue.

Phew, Venezuela is safe now. They're going to write Washington a very strongly-worded letter and everything will be bon.

@Slavyangrad

Laugh all you want about the UN's impotency, but the attack on Venezuela and the kidnapping of its president demonstrates a few things:

1) The United Nations is about as useful as fake silicon tits on a zombie, decides nothing, can't do nothing, and yet somehow still ingurgitates hundreds of millions of dollars.

2) "International law" is more of a very, VERY loose set of "general headlines" that applies only to third and second world countries, selectively; like it or not, that's the way it is.

3) In place of "International law", we have the law of the jungle in place: whoever has power can do whatever he pleases - especially if he's from the white anglosphere.

4) Trump shitting on his promises of "no more wars", "no more interventionism", "no more regime change" to his voters demonstrates that democracy is dead, assuming it ever existed in the first place.

5) The legal framework that has kept the world together, if imperfectly and selectively so, since the end of WWII is now effectively dead after the USA's exportations of democracy starting from Iraq in 2003 put it into critical condition.

6) We're in the age of chaos now, and everything could happen.

7) The sooner BRICS countries wake up to this fact, the better for the multipolar world.

Baron out.

@Slavyangrad

❗️MINISTRY OF DEFENSE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION: The settlement Podoly in the Kharkov region has been liberated from Ukrainian occupation.

@Slavyangrad

Italian Bitch Minister Meloni: "The Italian side believes the US operation in Venezuela was defensive."

Meloni stated that Italian authorities consider the US actions "an act of defense against hybrid attacks."

She noted that, in general, Italy does not greatly approve of external intervention, but "here the situation is different."

"At the same time, [Italy] sees defensive intervention as a legitimate way to counter hybrid attacks on security, particularly those emanating from government entities that fuel and promote drug trafficking," she stated in her statement.

Post scriptum: "Italy repudiates war as an instrument of aggression against the freedom of other peoples and as a means of resolving international disputes; it consents, on equal terms with other states, to the limitations of sovereignty necessary for an order that ensures peace and justice among nations; it promotes and supports international organizations dedicated to this purpose." - Article 11 of the Italian constitution.

@Slavyangrad

This is a personal opinion and it does not reflect the rest of the team as a whole:

Maduro is gone, Venezuela is in chaos, and the USA are likely to move in at some point. While the entire country can't be occupied by force as it is too big and has too many jungles and can be supplied by its neighbours, let's assume that its oil pumps can be secured by a small military contingent, much like it has already happened in Syria and Iraq, and that the USA get the oil flowing towards their refineries.

What happens next?

Maybe, and I'm saying just maybe, Iran. In case of protracted war with Iran, what would Iran realistically do?

Shut down the strait of Hormuz, through which one fifth of the world's crude oil and one fourth of the world's LNG flows.

"But Baron, wouldn't that cause a surge in oil prices if it happened?", you may be asking.

Well, yes. Yes it would. For the already supine EU, for Japan, ROK, and such actors, it would be a disaster...but it would make the USA even richer thanks to their shale oil production, and the Venezuelan crude oil they can now extract and refine (most US refineries are meant to process Venezuelan oil, so the infrastructure is already there).

So while the EU, Japan, and other actors in the western sphere of influence would take a financial beating, the USA would get richer, and China's economic growth would realistically be stymied as Russia can now dictate higher prices. But that's okay, because the USA's main focus isn't Russia getting richer; it's bandaging the billions that they're hemorraging with every passing day, and making the american oil tycoons (all of whom funded Trump's campaign) fatter. As long as the Brent stays above 60 dollars per barrel, the oil tycoons make a profit. So, if Iran gets attacked and closes down the Strait of Hormuz, all the better for the USA.

Look at what's going on: there are riots all over Iran that suspiciously erupted shortly after Trump met with Mileikovsky, israeli generals are clamouring for a second go at Iran, US think thanks and generals are already saying that Iran can't be allowed to have cruise missiles of any kind, and Elon Musk is taunting Khomeini's messages of resistance and defiance on X.

I hope I'm wrong, but Iran may be in for a very bumpy ride soon. And outside of quantum mechanics, I don't believe in coincidences.

Also, eyes fixed on Greenland. I wouldn't be surprised if they just deployed troops there and took over.

@Slavyangrad

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh...called it.

Note: Katie Miller is the wife of US President's Homeland Security Advisor, Steven Miller,

@Slavyangrad

🇨🇳🇺🇸🇻🇪China called on the US to "immediately release" Maduro and his wife

- "The Chinese side urges the American side to ensure the personal safety of President Maduro and his wife, immediately release the president and his wife, stop actions to undermine state power in Venezuela, and resolve problems through dialogue and negotiations," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

- The seizure of a head of state by US military forces is a clear violation of international law and contradicts the principles of the UN Charter, the Chinese Foreign Ministry stressed.

@Slavyangrad