Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov estimated on Monday that the population of Ukraine shrank by 4 million to 19 million in the past two months.

In early October, Azarov said there were 23 million people living in Ukraine.

"According to the most modest calculations, only 19 million continue to live in the territory controlled by the regime in Kiev. It’s a scary figure," he wrote on social media.

He attributed the population decline to a massive outflow of workforce, in addition to combat casualties.

The promises made at the "Maidan" coup in Kiev ten years ago have not been fulfilled while the hopes of its participants to swiftly join the European Union have not been realized, Vladimir Zharikhin, deputy director of the Institute of CIS Countries, told TASS.

The expert pointed out that not only did Ukraine fail to achieve anything on its path to the EU chosen at the "Maidan" but it also sustained major losses. "Ukraine has not been and won’t be admitted to the EU, it has not been and won’t be admitted to NATO; the Ukrainian industry, one of the most robust ones in the post-Soviet space, ended up in ruins, and millions of those Ukrainians who had been the most active part of the population and could counteract the government, have left the country," Zharikhin explained.

Another US military aid package to Ukraine has become a sedative pill for the Kiev regime which is on the verge of a complete collapse, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said.

"The message about another American arms supply to the regime is nothing more but a sedative pill prepared by overseas ‘benefactors’ for [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky. The situation on the front and in the Ukrainian state institutions is on the verge of complete collapse," the diplomat said as quoted by the Russian Embassy’s Telegram channel.

He noted that "the deadly gift was announced on the eve of the 10th anniversary of Euromaidan." "The tragic symbolism of Washington’s ‘charity’ lies in the fact that creators of the anti-Russian campaign seem to make it clear to Ukrainians that they are still ‘in the game’ and masters count on them. And the fact that the blood of thousands of people will be shed due to these weapons is not taken into account here. There is only one thing that matters for the United States military-industrial complex - making profit from the ‘Project Ukraine,'" Antonov stressed.

The US will lay out the first international strategy to commercialize nuclear fusion power at the upcoming UN climate summit in Dubai, US Special Envoy on Climate Change John Kerry will say on Monday, two sources familiar with the announcement said.

Fusion could have an important advantage over today’s nuclear fission plants that split atoms, as it does not produce long-lasting radioactive waste. If deployed successfully, it could also provide a cheap source of carbon-free electricity.

Militants from the radical Palestinian movement Hamas have eliminated 60 units of Israel’s military hardware, including ten armored fighting vehicles, over the past three days, Abu Ubayda, a spokesman for Hamas’ military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, said.

"Over the past 72 hours, we managed to strike 60 units of Israel’s military hardware, including ten armored fighting vehicles," he said as quoted by the movement’s Telegram channel.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky alleged that Russia was planning to conduct an operation that he termed Maidan 3 to topple him.

"The name of operation is Maidan 3. It is meant to change the president," he said in an interview with The Sun. "Maybe it’s not by killing. I mean it’s changing. They will use any instruments they have. So that’s the idea, to the end of the year," he added.

This has been the second time in less than a week that Zelensky has told Western media that a third "Maidan" is being plotted against him. He first said that such information had been coming from Ukrainian intelligence and Western allies at a meeting with foreign reporters on November 17.

Webmaster addition: I suspect the Maidan is being planned by people much closer to Zelensky.

The radical Palestinian movement Hamas on Monday launched the heaviest rocket attack on the Israeli city of Tel Aviv since hostilities began on October 7, the Arab TV channels Al Arabiya and Al Mayadeen have said.

According to Al Arabiya, a number of cities in central Israel came under Hamas fire.

The Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, the militant wing of Hamas, said that the shelling of Israeli territory was in response to "the killing of civilians".

I received a message from a Reader/Listener who is in the Automotive Retail industry.  His information is shocking!

What I received, verbatim:

The sales side (or variable operations) in the Retail Automotive sector is car-shing. Service (fixed ops) isn't fairing much better. I'm very glad I sold my store a few yrs ago.

I consult for several OEMs, and they are beginning to panic. At several, ROS, or Return on Sales (a closely watched metric) is down by 70% (+,-), over the last 45 days. They thought it was a blip at first, when ROS was down 25% and it just kept going. I will not name specific OEMs and risk violating my NDA.

Return on Sales is a primary indicator of a company's health. Some OEMs are now cutting production which is still no where near pre-Covid levels.

The EU has a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The Sierra Club wants one. So do two Republican Senators: Lindsey Graham (SC) and Bill Cassidy (LA).

For the life of me, I can’t understand why Finland has gone fascist.

The current tech rally's fate rests on Nvidia's earnings, with a cautionary reminder of the overlooked lessons from Thanksgiving 2021.

‘…the assassination of John F Kennedy, lockdown, international wars, the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline……anyone who dares to raise a question about these events is shouted down as conspiracy theorists by the likes of the CIA, the MSM, government officers, the WEF, Hillary Clinton, Zelensky, Joe Biden….’

Like all wars, the one pitting the State of Israel against the Palestinian population is the subject of a media battle. The Palestinian Resistance doesn’t need to tell the story of the injustice it is fighting against: you only need to look to see. Rather, it aims to magnify one or other of its components. Israel, on the other hand, has to convince people of its good faith, which after three quarters of a century of violating international law is no mean feat.

Before the attack

Since the attack of the Palestinian Resistance on October 7, 2023, Israel has been deploying all its resources to make us believe that the attack was carried out by Hamas jihadists ; and that it knew nothing about its preparation.

In recent weeks, Biden has been making moves unpopular even among Democrats. Numerous progressives, for instance, oppose his support of the Israel-Hamas war.

This comes as Democrats become increasingly vocal about replacing Biden as their candidate for the 2024 Election.

Now, Biden’s administration is set to approve a request that has a number of groups outraged. And even Democrats are openly opposing his administration’s move.

From Fox News:
The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is expected to issue a final environmental impact statement (EIS) potentially green-lighting the Oregon-based Coquille Indian Tribe’s proposal to develop and operate a casino outside its territory in Medford, Oregon, as soon as this week…

“The bottom line is if the Coquille Tribe is allowed to build another casino in Oregon, it will likely lead to allout gaming conflicts between Oregon and California tribes,” Democratic Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California wrote last year to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.

Over the weekend, X owner Elon Musk announced he was launching a “thermonuclear lawsuit” against a company spearheading a “cancel” campaign against his social network.

Numerous major retailers have announced boycotts of X, based on claims Elon Musk is saying are fraudulent.

Now, as Musk files his lawsuit in court, he is getting support from a number of others. This could become bigger than anyone expected.

From The Post Millennial:
Now, Rumble CEO Christ Pavlovski has announced his plans to “go thermonuclear as well.”

“When I said the cavalry is coming, I was not joking. In the coming days, we are going thermonuclear as well. Everyone is about to witness the greatest pushback against the censorship regime. The people’s support for all organizations in this mission is critical,” Pavlovski said.

Webmaster addition: Is this why Rumble was hit with a DDOS attack yesterday?

In recent weeks, we’ve seen a rift grow within the Democratic Party. Moderate liberals are shocked over progressives for their support of Palestinians.

Progressives are calling out fellow Democrats, including President Biden, for supporting Israel–which they have called an oppressive, “apartheid” state.

This conflict is not going away. As most Americans support Israel, more and more progressives show hostility toward the nation and the Jewish people. Now, Sen. Bernie Sanders is taking sides–and outraging Democrats.

From Fox News:
Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats, released a statement over the weekend urging President Biden to force Israel into curbing its West Bank settlements and pledging no long-term blockade of Gaza before the U.S. releases aid dollars…

Webmaster addition: This article makes one mistake. Current polls do not show the majority of Americans siding with Israel in this war.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued Pfizer and Tris Pharma "for defrauding the Texas Medicaid program by providing adulterated pharmaceutical drugs to Texas children."

Specifically, Pfizer's ADHD drug "Quillivant XR" was "knowingly distributed" to children on Medicaid despite the drugmaker's "pattern of failing quality control tests" due to a flawed manufacturing process by Tris, which Pfizer contracted with to produce the drug, according to the complaint.

"I am horrified by the dishonesty we uncovered in this investigation," said Texas AG Ken Paxton. "Pfizer and Tris intentionally concealed and failed to disclose the issues with Quillivant to receive taxpayer funded benefits through Texas Medicaid, defrauding the state and endangering children. Our Civil Medicaid Fraud Division has done an outstanding job holding these pharmaceutical companies accountable."

Putin and Medvedev recently made statements that took an expansive view of what “Russian lands” in Ukraine amounted to. At least as far as Putin is concerned, what he said at the November 3 meeting with members of the Civic Chamber is, philosophically, not all that different than the sort of historical observations Putin had made before.

Nevertheless, both Ukrainian Pravada and Alexander Mercouris regarded the Putin remarks as potentially significant, and Medvedev reiterating them would seem to confirm that take. And both suggested that Kiev might wind up as part of Russia.

A federal judge in Georgia has set a trial date for the case on whether the state's voting machines are prone to cybersecurity issues. The plaintiffs argue that the machines could impact voters' ability to effectively cast their ballots. This would be in violation of the United States Constitution.

US District Court Judge Amy Totenberg set the bench trial date for Jan. 9, 2024. The lawsuit was filed by the Coalition for Good Governance, which is an election integrity advocacy group, and several individual voters. The plaintiffs are requesting the use of hand-marked paper ballots in place of electronic voting machines on grounds that the machines, which are made by Dominion, are susceptible to cybersecurity issues, according to Newsmax. 

The plaintiffs hoped to come up with a resolution without the need for a trial, but Judge Totenberg issued a ruling on Friday and said: "The Court cannot wave a magic wand, in this case, to address the varied challenges to our democracy and election system in recent years, including those presented in this case. But reasonable, timely discussion and compromise in this case, coupled with prompt, informed legislative action, might certainly make a difference that benefits the parties and the public."

January 6 defendant Victoria White was sentenced on Monday to ten days of incarceration and three months of house arrest after she was nearly killed by capitol police and pled guilty to civil disorder charges for attending the January 6 protest against the stolen 2020 election.

During the approximately one-hour-long sentencing hearing, White was also ordered to pay $2,000 to the Architect of the Capitol in “restitution” and a special assessment fee of $100.

>Israel is completely blinded in the north, Hezbollah destroyed all their surveillance equipment
>Now IDF drones can't even fly over border, because Hezbollah is shooting down million dollar drones with their anti-air missiles

The Arizona election in 2022 is still having negative consequences for election security in the Sun Belt state.

The Arizona Attorney General, Kris Mayes, has threatened legal action against Mojave County officials if they dare to hand-count ballots in the 2024 election.

So what does a 1/10 speed do when the growth is exponential?

Get to the same result an hour later?