Swedish Military Conducting New Investigation at Nord Stream Bombing Site

©Photo : Danish Defence Command

In late September, powerful explosions rocked the Nord Stream network, which used to be the main route for Russian gas into Europe, with massive leaks and “unprecedented” damage subsequently reported by the operator. Footage from one of the crime scenes off the coast of the Danish island of Bornholm subsequently revealed a gash of half a meter.

Two minesweepers from the Swedish Armed Forces have arrived at the site of the Nord Stream subsea network to carry out new examinations of the damaged pipes.

The Swedish crime scene investigation was completed some time ago, but the military has now decided that it needs to supplement the material which has already been collected.

“We felt the need for completion, and to do more research,” Swedish Navy spokesman Jimmie Adamsson told the country's media.

The Navy said that the ships at the scene of the explosion are the HMS Vinga and the HMS Sturkö.

“Their main job is to search for mines or to go down with submarines. There is no connection to mines in this case - the connection is that they are equipped to carry out work and investigations underwater,” Adamsson said, refusing to comment on previous finds and whether the Swedish military is looking for something in particular.

The investigation is expected to be completed later this week.

In late September, powerful explosions rocked the pipelines of the Nord Stream network, which plays an important role in transporting Russian gas to Europe, with massive leaks of fuel and “unprecedented” damage reported by the operator. Moscow branded the attack international terrorism, and the European Union and national leaders said that the gas link was sabotaged. The Swedish and Danish authorities also voiced suspicions of sabotage, citing recorded explosions in the area, but both forbade Russia to investigate the attack.

Denmark, Germany and Sweden have all launched separate investigations into the leaks — Denmark and Sweden because the explosions occurred in their economic zones, and Germany because that is where the pipelines terminate. However, they have remained tight-lipped over their findings and conclusions.

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Russia is working through diplomatic channels to gain access to the investigations on Nord Stream, but has so far come up against a wall of resistance. The spokesman also stressed that the Kremlin has no new data on the subject, since Russia is currently deprived of the opportunity to take part in the investigations.

Since explosions on the Nord Stream pipeline network, several European nations have tightened security around key infrastructure. Swedish security authorities have urged energy infrastructure operators to up their preparedness and vigilance. And in neighboring Norway, the authorities boosted security at oil and gas installations, deploying the Home Guard.

Recently, it was reported that three German frigates will stay in Norway after NATO drills to protect the Nordic country's oil and gas installations. Ever since the EU slapped Russian energy with sanctions because of Moscow's special operation in Ukraine, Norway has replaced Russia as the EU's biggest energy supplier, harvesting record revenues and drawing accusations of profiteering and preying on fellow European nations in their hour of need.

Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the investigation of terrorist attacks can only be considered reliable and objective if Moscow participates in it.

Footage shot off the coast of the Danish island of Bornholm by Swedish media earlier this month showed a massive half-meter-wide gash in one of the pipes. Traces of a powerful explosion are also visible on the seabed floor.

KAI Daop 1 Jelaskan Kasus Calon Penumpang Menyiram Petugas Stasiun Gambir dengan Makanan Berkuah

Eva Chairunisa (Suara.com/M. Yasir)

Menanggapi informasi yang beredar di media sosial terkait perilaku seorang calon penumpang yang bertindak kasar kepada petugas Stasiun Gambir, Kepala Humas PT. KAI Daop 1 Jakarta Eva Chairunisa menjelaskan kronologis kejadiannya.

Dalam pernyataan tertulis yang diterima Suara.com, hari ini, Eva mengatakan kejadian tersebut terjadi pada Senin, 24 Oktober 2022, saat seorang calon penumpang yang akan menggunakan KA Argo Parahyangan tujuan Bandung tidak dapat melanjutkan proses boarding dan tidak diizinkan untuk naik KA karena belum melengkapi persyaratan vaksin ketiga.

Saat melalui proses pemeriksaan berdasarkan sistem terdata, yang bersangkutan belum melakukan vaksin ketiga dan tidak dapat menunjukkan berkas lain, seperti surat keterangan dari rumah sakit pemerintah jika memang tidak dapat divaksin karena alasan medis.

Setelah dijelaskan petugas boarding, penumpang diarahkan untuk segera melakukan pembatalan tiket mengingat waktu yang terbatas untuk mekanisme pembatalan tiket hanya dapat dilakukan paling lama 30 menit sebelum KA berangkat.

Pada saat di loket pembatalan, petugas kembali menjelaskan mekanisme pembatalan dengan baik sesuai SOP, namun secara tiba-tiba calon penumpang tersebut dengan sengaja menyiram petugas dengan makanan berkuah. Setelah melakukan perbuatan tersebut penumpang langsung pergi.

KAI Daop 1 Jakarta mengecam tindakan yang dilakukan oleh calon penumpang tersebut. Petugas telah menjalankan fungsinya sesuai dengan SOP yang berlaku.

KAI Daop 1 Jakarta menegaskan bahwa kelengkapan data vaksin merupakan salah satu persyaratan utama yang wajib dipenuhi oleh calon pengguna jasa.

Petugas akan melakukan pemeriksaan tiket sebelum calon pengguna naik KA.

Saat ini, sistem pemeriksaan tiket sudah terintegrasi dengan aplikasi peduli lindungi sehingga calon pengguna yang terdata belum melakukan vaksin sesuai ketentuan tidak akan diizinkan untuk melakukan perjalanan KA dan akan diarahkan untuk melakukan proses pembatalan tiket.

Adapun ketentuan persyaratan vaksin yang diterapkan sejak 30 Agustus 2022 sesuai surat edaran SE Satgas Covid-19 Nomor 24 Tahun 2022 dan Kementerian Perhubungan Nomor 84 Tahun 2022 mengatur bahwa setiap calon pengguna dengan usia 18 tahun keatas wajib sudah melakukan vaksin dosis ketiga atau booster, sementara calon pengguna usia 6 s.d 17 tahun wajib sudah melakukan vaksin dosis kedua.

Jika terdapat alasan medis tidak dapat melakukan vaksin maka wajib menyertakan surat keterangan dokter dari rumah sakit pemerintah.

Daop 1 Jakarta meminta agar seluruh calon pengguna membaca dan memperhatikan kembali aturan yang berlaku pada saat membeli tiket. Pastikan jika seluruh persyaratan dapat dipenuhi sebelum melakukan perjalanan pada jadwal yang telah dipilih, sehingga tidak menimbulkan resiko batal berangkat.

Seluruh calon pengguna juga diminta untuk dapat memahami bahwa persyaratan yang harus dipenuhi saat menggunakan jasa Kereta Api merupakan kebijakan yang ditetapkan pemerintah sebagai upaya pencegahan penyebaran Covid 19 sehingga perjalanan KA yang aman, nyaman dan sehat dapat diwujudkan.

KAI Daop 1 Jakarta akan menindak tegas bagi kepada siapapun yang melakukan tindakan anarkis di stasiun ataupun tindakan kekerasan pada petugas. Seluruh calon pengguna diminta untuk menghargai petugas yang sedang menjalankan kewajiban dan tugas nya baik di stasiun dan di atas KA.

Bima Arya Kecewa Berat Lihat Pembangunan Trotoar Jalan R3 : Mau Gampang Aja Kontraktornya!

Wali Kota Bogor, Bima Arya saat meninjau pembangunan trotoar Jalan R3, hari Selasa, 25/10/2022. Foto/Adi/Pojokbogor

Wali Kota Bogor, Bima Arya melakukan peninjauan ke lokasi pembangunan trotoar Jalan R3 di sepanjang Jalan Achmad Adnawijaya yang menghubungkan wilayah Kecamatan Bogor Utara dan Timur, Kota Bogor pada hari Selasa, 25/10/2022.

Dalam peninjauannya, Bima mengaku kecewa dengan pembangunan trotoar Jalan R3 yang memakan anggaran senilan Rp5,4 Miliar.

Bima juga memprediksi pembangunan trotoar Jalan R3 tersebut tidak mungkin selesai tepat waktu dari kontrak yang sudah ditentukan.

“Secara progres menurut mereka 90 persen, tapi menurut saya belum 90 persen. Jadi ya kelihatannya akan ada perpanjangan,” kata Bima Arya kepada wartawan, hari Selasa, 25/10/2022.

Melihat hal itu, menurut Bima Arya, dirinya akan melakukan pengecekan ulang ke proyek pembangunan trotoar Jalan R3.

“Saya minta kebut! Minggu depan saya cek lagi,” yakin Bima Arya.

Adapun beberapa catatan yang dimiliki Bima Arya soal pembangunan trotoar Jalan R3 tersebut, diantaranya banyak pohon besar dan banyak tiang yang dapat mengganggu kenyamanan pejalan kaki nantinya.

“Kemudian ada perbedaan elevasi antara jalan dengan rumah (eksisting yang berada di Bambarung). Saya minta, ini kurang detail, pengerjaannya kurang detail, pengawasan juga tidak detail,” ucapnya.

Bima Arya juga menyebut masih banyak persoalan yang masih ditemui di lapangan tak lepas dari pelaksanaan hingga pengawasannya yang terkesan lemah.

“Sehingga ketika saya turun itu kelihatan. Mau gampang aja kontraktornya,” imbuh Bima Arya.

Bima Arya meminta ke depannya temuan tersebut harus segera dipastikan untuk diperbaiki. Sebab, esensi keberadaan jalur khusus pejalan kaki adalah supaya orang nyaman di trotoar.

Bima Arya meminta ke depannya temuan tersebut harus segera dipastikan untuk diperbaiki. Sebab, esensi keberadaan jalur khusus pejalan kaki adalah supaya orang nyaman di trotoar.

“Supaya orang tidak jalan di jalan mobil. Ini gimana mau nyaman, mentok-mentok tadi, mentok pohon, mentok tiang, pembatasan pohonnya itu dibuat terlalu besar,” ketus dia.

“Jadi orientasinya adalah untuk pejalan kaki supaya nyaman. Ini kurang diawasi menurut saya,” lanjutnya.

Kemudian Bima Arya juga meminta pekerja pembangunan trotoar Jalan R3 agar mengkomunikasikan kembali dengan pemilik rumah atau toko untuk menentukan mana yang dibangun oleh mereka, dan mana yang bisa dikerjakan oleh kontraktor agar elevasinya landai.

Selain itu, Bima Arya juga memberikan atensi khusus agar pelaksana proyek dapat memperhatikan saluran air.

“Saluran untuk air masuk dan air keluar saya perhatikan ini volime arinya bertambah jangan sampai ada masalah baru genangan baru,” ungkap dia.

“Tadi saya lihat di depan taman corat coret itu ada genangan air. Saya minta diperbesar, diperbanyak saluran airnya,” lanjutnya.

Saat disinggung perbandingan kualitas pengerjaan pembangunan trotoar Jalan R3 dengan pedestrian Jalan Pajajaran Indah, Bima Arya menyebut bahwa hal tersebut sama saja. “Ya 11/12 lah intinya kurang detail menurut saya. Kurang detail ya,” tandas Bima Arya.

Germany Plans to Legalize Cannabis in 2024 - Health Minister

A law allowing adults to use and cultivate cannabis for recreational purposes could go into effect in Germany in two years, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach announced Wednesday.

Germany legalized medical marijuana five years ago but the new proposal of the left-green coalition government may add it to a short list of countries where pot smoking is legal.

Lauterbach did not provide a clear-cut timeline for the adoption of the draft legislation, arguing there were more pressing issues at hand. But he said that "if everything goes well, I could imagine it becoming legal in 2024."

Some four million people admitted to having smoked marijuana in the past year, a quarter of them underage consumers, according to the ministry.

Lauterbach said he had been opposed to legalization, but a "flourishing black market" with associated criminality and a rise in the production of stronger cannabis convinced him that a new law would deliver better youth protections.

The German government on Wednesday published the draft law to legalize cannabis for further submission to the European Commission for consideration.

"The Federal Government would like to allow the controlled sale of cannabis to adults for personal consumption, with an emphasis on protecting youth and health. For this purpose, the cabinet has approved the draft document that contains the key conditions and should become the basis of a future bill," the cabinet said on the website.

The draft law will permit possession of between 20 and 30 grams of dried cannabis leaf. Production will be restricted to Germany and distribution will only be allowed in licensed shops and drugstores, with adults allowed to grow up to three cannabis plants.

According to the draft law, each shop will have to verify the age of consumers before selling cannabis. Licensed suppliers and producers will have to be under strict supervision to limit the influence of organized drug crime and the black market. Advertising of cannabis will be strictly prohibited. The government also proposed that minors will not be legally punished for using drugs, but will be required to participate in prevention programs, for example.

"If this law comes it will be, on the one hand, the most liberal cannabis legalization project in Europe and, on the other, the most strictly-controlled market in terms of decriminalization and youth protection," he said.

According to a poll held by the Civey polling institute for the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper in November 2021, 43% of Germans supported the legalization of cannabis, 43% opposed the idea, while 14% said they were not sure.

Tesla faces U.S. criminal probe over self-driving claims

A Tesla Model 3 vehicle drives on autopilot along the 405 highway in Westminster, California, U.S., March 16, 2022. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) is under criminal investigation in the United States over claims that the company's electric vehicles can drive themselves, three people familiar with the matter said.

The U.S. Department of Justice launched the previously undisclosed probe last year following more than a dozen crashes, some of them fatal, involving Tesla’s driver assistance system Autopilot, which was activated during the accidents, the people said.

As early as 2016, Tesla’s marketing materials have touted Autopilot’s capabilities. On a conference call that year, Elon Musk, the Silicon Valley automaker’s chief executive, described it as “probably better” than a human driver.

Last week, Musk said on another call Tesla would soon release an upgraded version of “Full Self-Driving” software allowing customers to travel “to your work, your friend’s house, to the grocery store without you touching the wheel.”

A video currently on the company’s website says: “The person in the driver’s seat is only there for legal reasons. He is not doing anything. The car is driving itself.”

However, the company also has explicitly warned drivers that they must keep their hands on the wheel and maintain control of their vehicles while using Autopilot.

The Tesla technology is designed to assist with steering, braking, speed and lane changes but its features “do not make the vehicle autonomous,” the company says on its website.

Such warnings could complicate any case the Justice Department might wish to bring, the sources said.

Tesla, which disbanded its media relations department in 2020, did not respond to written questions from Reuters on Wednesday. Musk also did not respond to written questions seeking comment. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.

Musk said in an interview with Automotive News in 2020 that Autopilot problems stem from customers using the system in ways contrary to Tesla’s instructions.

Federal and California safety regulators are already scrutinizing whether claims about Autopilot's capabilities and the system's design imbue customers with a false sense of security, inducing them to treat Teslas as truly driverless cars and become complacent behind the wheel with potentially deadly consequences.

The Justice Department investigation potentially represents a more serious level of scrutiny because of the possibility of criminal charges against the company or individual executives, the people familiar with the inquiry said.

As part of the latest probe, Justice Department prosecutors in Washington and San Francisco are examining whether Tesla misled consumers, investors and regulators by making unsupported claims about its driver assistance technology's capabilities, the sources said.

Officials conducting their inquiry could ultimately pursue criminal charges, seek civil sanctions or close the probe without taking any action, they said.

The Justice Department’s Autopilot probe is far from recommending any action partly because it is competing with two other DOJ investigations involving Tesla, one of the sources said. Investigators still have much work to do and no decision on charges is imminent, this source said.

The Justice Department may also face challenges in building its case, said the sources, because of Tesla’s warnings about overreliance on Autopilot.

For instance, after telling the investor call last week that Teslas would soon travel without customers touching controls, Musk added that the vehicles still needed someone in the driver’s seat. “Like we’re not saying that that’s quite ready to have no one behind the wheel,” he said.

The Tesla website also cautions that, before enabling Autopilot, the driver first needs to agree to "keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times" and to always "maintain control and responsibility for your vehicle.”

Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney in Detroit who prosecuted automotive companies and employees in fraud cases and is not involved in the current probe, said investigators likely would need to uncover evidence such as emails or other internal communications showing that Tesla and Musk made misleading statements about Autopilot’s capabilities on purpose.

SEVERAL PROBES

The criminal Autopilot investigation adds to the other probes and legal issues involving Musk, who became locked in a court battle earlier this year after abandoning a $44 billion takeover of social media giant Twitter Inc, only to reverse course and proclaim excitement for the looming acquisition.

In August 2021, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into a series of crashes, one of them fatal, involving Teslas equipped with Autopilot slamming into parked emergency vehicles.

NHTSA officials in June intensified their probe, which covers 830,000 Teslas with Autopilot, identifying 16 crashes involving the company’s electric cars and stationary first-responder and road maintenance vehicles. The move is a step that regulators must take before requesting a recall. The agency had no immediate comment.

In July this year, the California Department of Motor Vehicles accused Tesla of falsely advertising its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving capability as providing autonomous vehicle control. Tesla filed paperwork with the agency seeking a hearing on the allegations and indicated it intends to defend against them. The DMV said in a statement it is currently in the discovery stage of the proceeding and declined further comment.

Additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and David Shepardson; Editing by Deepa Babington.

Austrian Territory Secretly Used for Transit of Weapons to Kiev - Russian Ambassador

The territory of Austria is secretly used for the transit of weapons to Kyiv, it is not clear how this and other steps correlate with the neutral status of the republic, Russian Ambassador to Vienna Dmitry Lyubinsky said in an interview with Sputnik.

"It is unclear, for example, how this principle (of neutrality) correlates with the financial assistance allocated by Vienna to Ukraine, related to the supply of military ammunition and protective equipment, tacit consent to all new EU tranches for the needs of the Kyiv military, support for the so-called 'EU military training mission.

"From the lips of individual Austrian politicians, there are even calls for direct deliveries of lethal weapons to Ukraine. The territory of Austria is quietly used for the transit of weapons for the Kiev regime. But we receive frequent appeals and videos about this from anxious citizens," the diplomat said.

He added that with the start of the special operation in Ukraine, Moscow was "forced to state with regret the demonstrative departure of Austria's political leadership from the interpretation of the neutral status that has been established in international practice toward its exclusively military dimension."

Russian Citizens Leaving EU More Actively Than Entering EU States - Frontex

More Russian citizens left the European Union over the past week compared to the number of Russians who entered the EU over the same period, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, said on Wednesday.

"24,429 Russian citizens have entered the EU over the past week, a minor increase compared to the week before. At the same time, 25,684 Russian citizens left the EU," the agency wrote on Twitter.

Out of over 25,000 Russians that left the EU, almost 8,000 people came to Russia from Estonia, with another 7,200 entering Russia from Finland, according to Frontex.

In response to Russia's military operation in Ukraine, the West has launched a massive sanctions campaign against Moscow. In addition, the EU decided to limit the movement of Russian citizens, terminating its simplified visa regime agreement with Russia on September 12.

Estonia, along with Poland, Latvia and Lithuania agreed to put restrictions starting September 19 on Russians trying to enter their countries.

In late September, Finland also closed its borders for Russians with Schengen tourist visas, becoming the latest European country bordering Russia to do so.

From global economic recovery to cyber threats, Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh unpacks the challenges of tomorrow

The theme of this year’s forum, “Investing in humanity: Enabling a new global order”. (Supplied)

For the sixth year in a row, Riyadh is hosting the Future Investment Initiative, a forum that brings together participants from more than 50 nations to discuss, listen and connect, through a diverse series of sessions on business, tech and shared challenges facing humanity.

About 6,000 of the world’s business leaders, policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs and tech experts have gathered in the Saudi capital to explore a fundamental question: What will the new global order look like?

The theme of this year’s forum, “Investing in humanity: Enabling a new global order,” invited participants to delve into topics as diverse as education, artificial intelligence and robotics, health, and sustainability.

During Tuesday’s sessions, delegates explored issues such as supply-chain disruption, the growing demand for travel since the lifting of pandemic restrictions, e-commerce, cybercrime, and the widespread problem of rising inflation.

Much of the discussions revolved around ways in which investors, businesses and governments can work together to recover and restructure vital sectors of the global economy in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Delegates explored issues such as supply-chain disruption, the growing demand for travel since the lifting of pandemic restrictions, e-commerce, cybercrime, and the widespread problem of rising inflation. (Supplied)

“We are in a mess; in fact, we’re in a great mess and, depending on who you’re listening to, a mess that’s going to get even greater,” CNN’s Richard Quest, who hosted several of the day’s sessions, told delegates.

The event, hosted by the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center, gives Saudi and international businesses with a presence in the Kingdom a chance to showcase what they believe the future will look like, from extravagant travel experiences provided by the newly renamed Red Sea Global to major projects developed by the Public Investment Fund.

Panels on the main stage dominated the conversation on Tuesday, while an open stage area and the palm grove pavilions hosted sessions on a wide range of topics, including equality, data, aerospace, and NEOM — the new smart-city development taking shape along the Kingdom’s Red Sea coast.

In a panel titled “The new global order: View from the stateroom,” Khalid Al-Falih, the Saudi minister of investment, said the accelerated frequency of disruptions to political and security transitions, the energy transition, and trade and supply-chain transition is worrying. (Supplied)

Just as the global economy was starting to emerge from the shock of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and resulting Western sanctions on Russia set back the recovery, causing disruption to supply chains and food security, and rising fuel prices. The results include rising inflation worldwide that is running at a 40-year high, growing levels of poverty, and the threat of a looming global recession.

In a panel titled “The new global order: View from the stateroom,” Khalid Al-Falih, the Saudi minister of investment, said the accelerated frequency of disruptions to political and security transitions, the energy transition, and trade and supply-chain transition is worrying.

“Putting it in the context of globalization and deglobalization that is happening, and continues to happen, each of these (trends) is subjecting countries, companies and individuals to an insurance premium,” said Al-Falih.

“These three underpinned the fourth transition, which is the economic transition; higher inflation, higher interest rates, the higher premiums that we’re paying for all this is setting the stage for prolonged slower growth and slower income.”

In keeping with the topic of transitions, participants in a panel titled “Leading the meta-industrial revolution,” pointed out that the world is moving away from manufacturing and services, and instead embracing data, knowledge and information. This transformation from the physical to the virtual was accelerated by the pandemic, they said.

“Today, there is a centralized world that we’re all already operating in that brings physical and augmented virtual reality together,” said Hani Kablawi, chairman of investments company BNY Mellon International.

“We’ve been having ‘virtual’ meetings for a very long time with augmented reality. We’ve been taking tours at innovation centers or cyber centers in virtual reality settings and we’ve been training and developing our staff for a while in that same way.

Guillaume Lacroix, CEO of media company Brut. (Reuters)

“But all those things so far have been on what we call ‘centralized platforms’ and the revolution, if you want to call it that, or going to 3.0, might take us into an environment that is a little bit different because it might bring decentralization to the underlying platform and might bring different worlds and platforms together.”

This transition has left institutions vulnerable, however. The number of cyber attacks on leading industries worldwide has grown since the start of the pandemic, mainly in the area of data exfiltration and leakage (55 percent), phishing emails (51 percent), and account takeover (44 percent).

In a panel titled “Safeguarding against future cybercrime,” experts pointed out that no sector is safe from cyberattacks and the threat is often constant, putting massive pressure on systems.

About 6,000 of the world’s business leaders, policymakers, investors, entrepreneurs and tech experts have gathered in the Saudi capital. (Supplied)

Experts agreed that much more needs to be done to prepare governments and firms to withstand the constant threat of data breaches and malware in an increasingly interconnected world. Panelists were also in agreement that further technological advances are needed to close digital loopholes that could put companies and government entities at risk, and investment in cybersecurity is needed to combat cybercriminals.

Education and new ways of working also featured prominently on the agenda. For many of the speakers participating in a panel called “Clash of priorities,” education was widely viewed as a key element in their move to start their own companies or become partners in global firms.

In many workplaces, different generations can have vastly different work styles. However, through enhanced communication, management of workplace expectations, tailor-made multi-generational office initiatives, proper guidelines, and diversification of expectations, panelists said the challenges can be overcome.

“Six years ago, people over 50 years old and people under 30 years old, 60 percent were watching the same thing. Two years ago, it was 7 percent,” Guillaume Lacroix, the CEO of Brut, a media company that specializes in short-form video content, told the panel.

“For the generation gap in information, you need education to try to make the two come together. Education on some basic tools to understand the world for Gen Z, and education on leaders and how to talk to them, as there is absolutely no communication.”

Ukraine Peace Talks: Pathetic U-Turn by 30 Dems & Curious Case of Jeffrey Sachs

©Sputnik / Stringer / Go to the mediabank

On Tuesday, the progressive caucus of the US House of Representatives made an abrupt U-turn and withdrew their letter to US President Joe Biden, which urged him to engage in direct talks with Russia and broker peace between Kiev and Moscow. What's going on in the Democratic camp?

"Not only was the letter a case of too little, too late, the so-called progressive signatories to the statement made themselves look even more pathetic in its immediate withdrawal," Max Parry, an independent US journalist and geopolitical analyst.

"While the letter was a refreshing first step, the Democrats who signed it became victims of the very same McCarthyist political atmosphere they have created in Washington, where any detente or rapprochement with Moscow is criminalized. Instead of digging in their heels and standing by what they said, the 30 lawmakers immediately caved to the political pressure of being branded Putin apologists and retracted the statement. They made it clear their loyalties lie with the party establishment and not with the American people, who are fed up with the Biden administration's disastrous handling of the war and the economy," he emphasized.

The American journalist believes that the motivation behind the letter was a response to growing fatigue among the US public regarding the ongoing standoff in Ukraine, "not to mention several recent public incidents of Democratic lawmakers being protested by their own constituents over their vote to arm Kiev which went viral on social media."

According to Parry, US polls indicate growing support for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict. On September 27, a survey, conducted by Data for Progress on behalf of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, indicated that nearly 60% of Americans would support Washington engaging in diplomatic efforts "as soon as possible" to end the conflict in Ukraine, even if that means Ukraine having to make concessions to Russia.

"Surveys of the upcoming midterm elections also forecast the increasing likelihood of GOP gains in congress," Parry continued. "Although US support for Ukraine has been mostly bipartisan, there have been far more vocal opponents of the Biden administration's decision to arm Ukraine among Republicans than Democrats, most notably Marjorie Taylor Greene."

On October 18, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy signaled that Republicans will not write a “blank check” for Kiev if they win back the House majority. According to US media, anti-aid sentiments are also strong among many Republican House and Senate candidates. If they win, the reduction of military assistance to Kiev is more than possible, as former US Senate candidate Mark Dankof told Sputnik on September 25.

While one needs to bear in mind that the anti-Russia consensus in Washington has long been bipartisan, 57 Republicans as recently as May voted against sending more lethal aid to Kiev, Parry underscored. Nonetheless, the independent journalist noted that this trend does not necessarily signal an upcoming departure from the Ukraine policy by the US.

"I am not convinced this will automatically materialize if the Republicans take back the House, because many of the purported adherents to Trump's 'America First' agenda running for office are opportunists and based on historical precedent, some of those GOP lawmakers could turn back on their campaign pledges once they are in office," he remarked.

When it comes to Democrats, "if they do indeed lose ground over the Ukraine war, it could lead to either a revival in the anti-war movement among the US left or a doubling down on the anti-Russian sentiment among Dems," Parry presumed.

Jeffrey Sachs: Neoliberal Economist Turned Anti-NATO Rebel

"It was a welcome surprise to see a former neoliberal economist like Professor Sachs become an unexpected dissenting voice and critic of US policies as Washington continues to send a flow of arms to Ukraine," said Parry.

In May 2022, Sachs wrote an op-ed urging the US to stop the conflict in Ukraine and insisting that the solution reached by Moscow and Kiev in March 2022 remains the only viable option for restoring peace. On June 27, the economist released an article eloquently titled "Ukraine Is the Latest Neocon Disaster," again calling for peace negotiations and ending NATO's eastward expansion towards Russia's borders. On August 2, Sachs warned: "The government of Ukraine urges us not to negotiate, but to fight. This is a recipe for the destruction of Ukraine and the possible escalation to a nuclear war."

Following the sabotage attack on Russia's Nord Stream pipeline infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, Sachs pointed the finger at Washington as a potential culprit while speaking on air with a US mainstream broadcaster.

"The case of the recent political transformation of Professor Sachs is a curious one," noted Parry. "After all, we are talking about one of the most prominent economic advisors to Western financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund. In particular, he was one of the preeminent economic aides to former communist governments in their transition to the free market and in the case of Russia, the economic reforms based on his ideas had devastating consequences when mass privatization and 'shock therapy' drove the Russian economy into a deep recession and plunged millions into poverty."

"Unfortunately, he is one among only a mere handful of public figures voicing opposition to NATO's proxy war," Parry continued. "Since the death of Stephen Cohen, America's foremost scholar of Russian affairs, commentary on US relations with Moscow has been nothing short of monolithic, so the surprising calls for peace talks by Sachs were badly needed."

"Once upon a time, there used to be something called the fairness doctrine in the media where there was some attempt to ensure that differing viewpoints were evenly reflected in news coverage of world events. Since February, there has been absolutely no attention given to the Russian perspective on the war whatsoever, nor any encouragement of dialogue and diplomacy allowed on major networks or newspapers. Even for corporate media, which has always been heavily biased toward the West, the lack of any diversity of opinions on this conflict is unprecedented," Parry concluded.