RUNNING UPDATES ON THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE - 28.12.2023
Including geopolitical issues affecting the balance of power in the ongoing end game war to establish our common future, a closely monitored prison planet or tolerance for diverse modes of governance.
THE ROAD TO THE ULTIMATE CONCLUSION OF WORLD WAR III RUNS THROUGH HERE.
*** EACH DAY BRINGS MILITARY & PR DISASTER FOR KIEV REGIME ***
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“Ukraine. What is the truth...?
Why won’t western media tell both sides…?”
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VIRTUALLY UNREPORTED ATROCITY IN LUGANSK, 2nd JUNE 2014
A lot has been said about atrocities in the western media claimed to have been perpetrated by the Russians, for example at Bucha and Mariupol among others. These assertions are conveyed on the say so of the Ukrainian authorities. How willing though are western news broadcasters to convey atrocities attributed to the Ukrainians? The following will I think provide the answer.
If anyone wonders if they are receiving accurate coverage of the conflict in Ukraine I would suggest watching the video below of an event which occurred on the 2nd of June 2014 and ask themselves if they recall hearing about it on any mainstream media news channel at the time.
The video is harrowing to watch. The bodies (five women and three men) are real. Yet across western media there was only one single news report that occurred a day later. This was from CNN and occurred only because a CNN team happened to be nearby at the time of the atrocity and so the network could hardly ignore it as all others so obviously did.
The video below shows the unvarnished truth that was not considered newsworthy in western mainstream news.
THE SINGLE WESTERN MSM REPORT ON THE LUGANSK ATROCITY, 3rd JUNE 2014
The video at the CNN link below is the crime scene sanitised by CNN, though played straight with honest reporting on the scene not playing things to Kiev’s tune.
(There was a time early in the war in the Donbass when CNN were not afraid to contradict the Ukrainian regime in Kiev.) Watch, because it's the first and last time you will see this.
5 women and 3 men died, all civilians.
Air attack on pro-Russian separatists in Luhansk kills 8, stuns residents.
…………
Lead feature:
ALEXANDER MERCOURIS of THE DURAN
US Demands Rus Asset Seize, Kiev Crisis: Ex PM Tymoshenko: Ukr Needs Plan B; Rus-India Ties Deepen.
ALEX CHRISTOFOROU of THE DURAN
Defense; New Ukraine strategy. Duping Russia into armistice. Medvedev includes Kiev in prediction.
THE DURAN - ALEX CHRISTOFOROU & ALEXANDER MERCOURIS
Scaring Zelensky into a ceasefire.
DANIEL DAVIS - DEEP DIVE w/ TONY SHAFFER
1/2 Million More Ukraine Soldiers Won't Help against Russia.
JUDGE ANDREW NAPOLITANO - COLONEL TONY SHAFFER
Is The US the Big Loser in Ukraine?
SYRIANA ANALYSIS
The Biden Administration Is Quietly Shifting Its Strategy in Ukraine.
FIRSTPOST
WATCH: "India-Russia Relationship the Only Constant in World Politics," says EAM Jaishankar.
EMIL COSMAN
India and Russia forge special ties while Al Capone watches hopelessly. Jayshankar meets Lavrov.
UK Defense Minister is an idi@t. He claims Ukraine war is NOT a stalemate due to THIS.
PROFESSOR RICHARD D. WOLFF
Neocon Debacle and Declining Empire.
RUSSIAN NEWS
Ukraine is preparing a provocation using chemical weapons. Zakharova, Russia.
Press conference between Lavrov and the Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar | Russia, India.
JUDGE ANDREW NAPOLITANO - LARRY JOHNSON (EX-CIA)
Israeli Military Superiority is a Myth.
ANDREI MARTYANOV
Rostec Reports.
LEVAN GUDADZE - ANDREI MARTYANOV
Military Expert, Writer, Geopolitical Aanalyst, Interview...
RUSSIANS WITH ATTITUDE
RWA x Jackson Hinkle: On Russia, US & Communism.
MILITARY TUBE TODAY
Geran drone retaliation reached its target in the Port of Odessa.
HINDUSTAN TIMES - RUSSIA / THE COLLECTIVE WEST
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Slams West Over Ukraine, Gaza War.
Watch: Putin Seeks PM Modi's Help To End Ukraine War? Special Invite During Jaishankar's Russia Trip.
Russian President Putin Meets Jaishankar In Moscow; Has This Message For PM Modi.
THE PRINT
'Despite all turmoil happening worldwide, Russia-India has been progressing incrementally': Putin.
JUDGE ANDREW NAPOLITANO - MATTHEW HOH
Who Really Controls US Foreign Policy?
COOL BUZZ TV
HOW WAS 2023 FOR VLADIMIR PUTIN VS THE WESTERN
SCOTT RITTER
Jews are NOT The Problem, Zionists Are | Zionists are Destroying Democracy in The US.
KATIE HALPER
Palestinian BOYS STRIPPED BOYS Down To Underwear In Israeli ‘Torture Camps’.
THE GRAYZONE
Returning to Gaza after kidnapping, torture by Israel.
ISLAM CHANNEL
BBC PRESENTER SLAMMED BY PALESTINIAN POLITICIAN ON MEDIA BIAS.
DISPLACED BY WAR, GAZA MOTHER GIVES BIRTH TO #QUADRUPLETS
HINDUSTAN TIMES - ISRAEL/GAZA
Palestine Authority President Attacks Biden, Praises Putin; Speaks On Differences With Hamas | Watch:
IDF Loses 3 More Soldiers; Netanyahu Bans Defense Minister From Meeting Spy Chief Alone: Reports.
Iran Preps For Israel War? 2 New Types Of Missiles Soon, More Army Units In Works | Mousavi | Hamas.
Iraq’s Islamic Resistance Hits Vital Israeli Target In Golan Heights; U.S. Base Attacked With Drones.
GEORGE GALLOWAY
INTERVIEW: You can’t defeat the Gaza resistance.
THE ONE ABOUT ISRAEL - MOATS with George Galloway Ep 303.
DANIEL DAVIS - DEEP DIVE
We are dancing around the main issue in the Israeli Hamas War - Chas Freeman.
Israel is in Great Danger... but maybe not in the way you might be thinking. Chas Freeman.
FIRSTPOST
Death By Bankruptcy: US Corporate Sector Sees Worst Collapse Since Pandemic.
SEAN FOO
UK Economy Shrinks & Recession Looms As Sunak Claims “Best Country In The World”.
ACTIVISM MUNICH
Israelische Zerstörungen & Massenmorde gehen mit US-Unterstützung weiter.
LIU SIVAYA
UCRANIA EN QUIEBRA: el régimen de Zelensky anuncia una inminente suspensión de pagos | liusivaya.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
RAY MCGOVERN (EX-CIA)
Putin is Riding High.
Articles from RT (Russia Today) & Sputnik International - 28th December 2023:
Scott Ritter: US 'Sustainability' in Jeopardy as World Turns Against Hegemony.
Ukraine will continue to sustain a strategic defeat during 2024, while the US risks finding itself engaged in a conflict with China over Taiwan, Scott Ritter, former US Marine Corps intelligence officer and UN weapons inspector, told Sputnik's Big Radio Marathon.
As 2023 comes to a close, the Israel-Palestinian crisis and the Ukrainian conflict are dominating world news, prompting questions as to what next year holds in store for the international community.
Sputnik's Dimitri Simes, Jr. sat down with former US Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter to sum up the results of the year and discuss how things may pan out in 2024.
Ukraine: Russia Determined to Reach Military and Political Goals
The Ukrainian military will continue to sustain a strategic defeat in 2024 as it is exhausted in terms of manpower, ammo and arms, according to Sputnik's interlocutor. It's up to Moscow and the Russian Armed Forces' operational tempo whether the conflict will drag on until 2025, as per Ritter.
Russia's special military operation to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine has never meant to be a blitzkrieg, the expert stressed, adding that the conflict will end when political and military objectives set by the Russian leadership are accomplished.
Presently, Russia is continuing to "grind" the Ukrainian military and steadily liberate its new territories, thus accomplishing the demilitarization task. When it comes to Moscow's political goals, it's important to stamp out the forces behind the 2014 coup d'etat that brought ultra-nationalists and neo-Nazis, including the Azov Battalion, the Svoboda Party and other ideological heirs of Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera, to power.
In the course of the special military operation, Russia has mastered modern warfare, per Sputnik's interlocutor.
"The Ukrainian-Russian conflict has opened up a new chapter in modern warfare," Ritter stressed. "The drone technology of today has changed the modern battlefield in every way that the machine gun changed warfare during World War I or the tank changed warfare during World War II. The drones have changed the face of modern warfare, and I think that armies all around the world are going to be studying or should be studying what's taking place on the battlefield between Ukraine and Russia today."
Ritter rubbished the claims made by US President Joe Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that having won the Ukrainian conflict, Russia would proceed to take on NATO member states. Per Ritter, Washington's rhetoric is "fear-mongering" aimed at justifying further military spending.
After accomplishing its goals in Ukraine, Russia will focus on strengthening its military and stepping up the protection of its borders in the West, Arctic and the East, where they are threatened by the US and their NATO allies, according to the military expert.
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Will Wrap Up Early in 2024
Israel is facing nothing short of a strategic defeat against Hamas, an Islamist Palestinian group that is part of an "Axis of Resistance" led by Iran, as per Ritter.
Despite Israel waging a 70-day operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip with US backing, the Palestinian militants are far from being destroyed either militarily or politically, the expert stressed. He noted that Hamas has managed to inflict serious damage to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and gained popular support among Palestinians.
Ritter assumed that if elections were held today in Gaza and in the West Bank, Hamas would win a landslide victory, opening the door to the formation of the Palestinian state.
Hamas has been supported by Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria, forcing Israel to fight a war on multiple fronts. Despite Tel Aviv threatening Hezbollah with a repetition of the 2006 Lebanon War, Israel cannot defeat the Lebanese Shiite group, according to the former Marine Corps intelligence officer. Neither can Israel axe the Houthi resistance which is gaining momentum in the Red Sea.
The US has recently brought together an international coalition in order to safeguard the Red Sea passage. However, the coalition could end up trapped with the Houthis and Iranians shutting down the Bab al-Mandeb and Hormuz straits, with Washington unable to do about it, according to Ritter. Furthermore, coalition warships could become easy targets for Houthi and Iranian missiles and drones, he added.
One also should bear in mind that the Houthis managed to survive the Saudi Arabia coalition's war against Yemen which started in 2015, the military expert noted, citing the fact that the US provided intelligence and logistical support for the Saudi-led campaign. What's more, the Houthis managed not only to repel attacks but to carry out deep strikes targeting Saudi oil fields, he noted, adding that Riyadh eventually opted for peace talks with the insurgents.
Ritter does not see the Israel-Palestinian conflict spiraling out of control next year and believes that it will wrap up early in 2024. He points to the fact that the rift is already growing between Tel Aviv and Washington and the international community increasingly opposes the "genocide" of the Palestinian people.
"I see the Gaza conflict actually wrapping up early in 2024 and then the question is what happens next. Will Hamas be given a chance to lead a new Palestinian state or we will find ourselves in a continued political quagmire? I see the Israeli-Palestinian conflict sort of self-regulating in many ways. I don't see it expanding."
Wild Card of 2024: Potential US-China Conflict
Meanwhile, the Indo-Pacific could turn into a theater of war if the US and China clash over the island of Taiwan, according to Ritter.
In January 2024, the Taiwanese will cast ballots in general elections. The stakes are high given that the pro-US ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) could be unseated by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT).
While KMT vice presidential candidate Jaw Shau-kong has made it clear that he and his running mate Hou Yu-ih will not talk with China about unification if elected, the two are advocating resuming dialogue and restoring ties with the People's Republic.
For its part, the US-backed DPP has adopted a belligerent stance against Beijing, with the Biden administration increasingly arming the island. Most recently, Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping made a veiled warning to Washington about meddling in China's affairs. Beijing sees Taiwan as its sovereign territory, with Xi telling his American counterpart that China will eventually reunite with Taiwan.
Ritter believes that if the DPP wins, a conflict could potentially erupt between China and the US which would have dramatic consequences for the global market and drag the world into recession.
Could the US Wage a Multi-Front War?
While the US has already engaged in a series of proxy conflicts, the problem is that it is unprepared for an all-out war with China or Russia, according to Ritter.
According to the military expert, the Ukraine conflict has shown that the idea of the US having technological superiority has been largely overestimated. The war has become a "slow-plotting process" where numbers mean a lot, he noted.
The Russo-Ukrainian conflict has turned into a "meat-grinder" and "war of attrition" in which the Russian military demonstrated high resilience and agility, the military expert pointed out. Per Ritter, the Russian Armed Forces is the only army in the world that can engage in large-scale combat and replace what it has lost.
"If Russia was to take its army and go up against any NATO army, I think that you wouldn't see so much a war of attrition as you would see total dominance on the battlefield by a Russian military that, well, it wouldn't be shock and awe in terms of what the United States did to the Iraqi forces. It would be something similar because forces may fight well in the early stages of the battle. But remember, none of the NATO forces have any combat experience, and none of them have effectively absorbed the lessons of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict."
For its part, the US cannot wage a war of attrition and "doesn't have numbers", he noted. In particular, Ritter referred to Washington's incapability of rapidly replenishing its ammo and weapon stockpiles amid the Ukraine conflict.
If the US sustains huge losses in terms of manpower, it won't be able to replace them with new troops since its draft system differs greatly from Russia's and basically relies on a limited contingent of military professionals who join the ranks voluntarily. "We don't have a system to draft people quickly," he said. To complicate matters further, the US presently has a shortfall in recruiting with the youths being disenchanted by the US modern "woke" army, he said.
"Nobody in NATO's prepared for modern warfare because they can't sustain it within a period of a week," Ritter claimed. "These NATO forces would be depleted to the point that they were no longer a cohesive combat unit. So their combat effectiveness had dropped to zero. And now you'd see Russia rolling over them."
The US defense industry is also facing challenges as many facilities have been moved overseas with production and specialists being outsourced. That's why America cannot step up its artillery capacity after providing Ukraine with ammo, he said, adding that the US has recently requested Patriot missiles from Japan. Generally, the US has become a "prisoner of the military procurement system" which is aimed not at improving the nation's security but at making money in the first place, he said.
The US ability to maintain its technological leadership may also be thrown into jeopardy, according to the military expert. Having fanned tensions with China, the US risks facing a deficit of rare earth minerals, which are crucial in manufacturing electronics, electric vehicles and military equipment. In 2022, China accounted for 70% of global mine production of rare earths. For comparison's sake, the US accounted for just a 14% share of the same market last year.
To make a long story short, the US does not have the capacity to maintain its global hegemony and engage in high-intensity conflicts worldwide, as per Ritter. The world is turning against the US imperial ambitions, seeking to create a multi-polar environment where all countries are treated equally and with due respect, the former Marine Corps intelligence officer underscored.
"China, Russia and indeed much of the developing world have determined that continued relations with the United States along these lines would be detrimental to them, that they don't want American hegemony. They're looking for a multilateral world where everybody operates as equals. And the American economic model is not based upon American equality with people: it's about America, the superior nation, the exceptional nation, dictating the terms of coexistence," Ritter concluded.
Scott Ritter: US 'Sustainability' in Jeopardy as World Turns Against Hegemony.
Western elites ‘provoking crises’ around the globe – Lavrov.
A multipolar world is needed to ensure peace and stability, the Russian foreign minister says.
The West is sowing chaos around the world, fueling conflicts to satisfy its own needs at the exepnse of others, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
Lavrov’s words came as countries including Russia, China and India are increasingly speaking out about the need for a model that would reshape global politics in a more fair and equitable manner.
“The world remains in a turbulent state. And one of the reasons for that is the ruling class in the West, which is provoking crises thousands of kilometers away from their own borders in order to achieve their own goals at the expense of other nations,” Lavrov said in an interview published by TASS news agency on Thursday.
“As the West keeps clinging to its diminishing dominance, no one is safe from its geopolitical tricks. This understanding is increasing across the globe.”
The foreign minister added that Western countries will sooner or later “have to accept the realities of a multipolar world, and that’s when all issues will be resolved on the basis of a balance of interests.”
Read more: Unstoppable march of the Global South: How Russia and Africa made 2023 a pivotal year for bilateral relations
In his interview, Lavrov accused the West of instigating the Russia-Ukraine conflict through “the enlargement of NATO and by transforming Ukraine into an anti-Russian bulwark.” He also blamed the West for the “escalation” between Israel and Palestine.
Russia has been one of the countries calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The US blocked several UN Security Council resolutions urging for a comprehensive cessation of hostilities between Israel and Palestinian militants.
Israel and the US are insisting that a ceasefire at this point would only benefit the militant group Hamas, despite numerous warnings from the UN about the staggering death toll in Gaza.
Western elites ‘provoking crises’ around the globe – Lavrov.
West ‘quietly shifting’ Ukraine strategy – Politico.
Conflict is bad for Biden’s reelection bid, the White House reportedly fears.
The US and the EU have abandoned their objective of “total victory” of Ukraine over Russia in favor of a negotiated settlement that might cede some territory to Moscow, Politico reported on Wednesday citing several anonymous insiders.
Publicly, both the White House and the Pentagon insist there has been no official change in policy. Two unnamed US administration officials – including a White House spokesman – and a European diplomat have told Politico’s Michael Hirsh otherwise.
American and European officials are now “discussing the redeployment” of Ukrainian troops away from the “mostly failed” counteroffensive and into a defensive posture, according to Hirsh’s sources.
Hirsh also highlighted that US President Joe Biden used to promise to support Ukraine for “as long as it takes,” but is now saying “as long as we can” instead. With the additional aid funding stuck in Congress, the US government is pushing for “rapidly resurrecting” Ukraine’s own military industry.
The anonymous White House spokesman told Politico that negotiations have always been the US endgame in Ukraine, and that all the aid to Kiev has been intended to give it “the strongest hand possible when that comes.”
Read more: Dwindling aid from West, total mobilization and economic collapse: How Ukraine’s 2024 is looking
According to Politico, Biden wants a ceasefire in both Ukraine and the Middle East, as his endorsement of Israel’s offensive in Gaza is “costing him support” among the progressive Democrats, and he wants to “avoid bad headlines in an election year.”
Biden “can’t appear to be handing the advantage” to Russia after spending almost two years proclaiming its full backing of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s objective of total victory, Hirsh noted.
The White House “can’t back down publicly because of the political risk” to Biden, said a congressional official described as familiar with the administration’s thinking, who acknowledged that discussions about peace talks “are starting.”
Last week, the New York Times reported that Moscow might be willing to accept a ceasefire freezing the current frontline. The Kremlin dismissed the story as “incorrect” while Kiev denounced the US newspaper of record as working for Russia.
What the White House fears now is that Russia may not be willing to negotiate until after the November 2024 election, while its forces might go on the offensive in the spring, according to Hirsh.
West ‘quietly shifting’ Ukraine strategy – Politico.
MAPPING/ANALYSIS CHANNELS
* Updates will be added here as and when they become available.
MILITARY SUMMARY CHANNEL UPDATE
SnowStorm | Panic In The West | Russians Just 2 Km From Chasiv Yar. Military Summary For 2023.12.28
Ukraine Is Losing Ground Along The Entire Line Of Combat Contact. Military Summary For 2023.12.28
DEFENSE POLITICS ASIA
RUSSIA going north of Dnipro River; Ukraine focus on saving lives - Ukraine SITREP D671-672.
WAR ROOM MAPPING UPDATE
Heavy Fighting in Bakhmut as Russian Force Advance, Rybar Map for December 27th, 2023.
PROJECT GREAT MAPPING UPDATE
It's Happening. Ukraine Started Withdrawing From First Defensive Line. Russia Launched Counterattack.
M MAPPING UPDATE
Another Successful Russian Breakthrough North Of Avdiivka l Complete Chaos In Ukrainian lines.
NEW WORLD GEOPOLITICS UPDATE
No update posted so far today
FREE RUSSIA MAPPING CHANNEL
Ukrainians Are Defeated And Are Forced To Retreat. | Russians Advance North Of Bakhmut And Avdivka.
HS MAPPING UPDATE
Highly Successful Russian Gains North Of Avdiivka | Deep Trouble For Ukraine.
MILITARY AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS NETWORK
Battlefield Earth Russia Pushes Forward.
WEEB UNION MAPPING UPDATE
Ukrianian Forces Pushed Back All Throughout The Front In Devastating End of Year Battles.
VICTORY BELONGS TO RUSSIA: IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME
Each day that passes makes a conclusive Russian victory in the Donbass and beyond more certain. As Russia bolsters her forces, and weaponry, those of Ukraine decrease. Russian forces gain ready access to rest and recuperation as troop numbers increase. The increasingly exhausted and demoralised Ukrainian troops have an ever decreasing prospect of such respite. This situation is likely to bring them to complete breakdown as Russia unleashes the firepower of the more modern and advanced weaponry that is arriving with the newly mobilised Russian troops.
The various Ukrainian offensives are now weak when confronted by the reinforced Russian lines. A few futile efforts achieve quite miserable results before fire reigns down on the Ukrainian troops and they are forced back to their starting positions.
And now, all this being said, we have arrived at the wet, and later, freezing conditions where these pathetic Ukrainian forces will be subject to myriad forms of abject misery with death and injury all around them while they lie sodden or frozen, abandoned to their fate by Kiev.
The pitiable young and old of Ukraine have been frogmarched to their deaths as cannon-fodder while the bestial elites of the collective West urge their "president" to add more to their number there at the gates of Hell and their doom. We must feel for the majority of them as they are not the Nazis we revile, in most part they are decent men, fathers, sons, brothers, husband and uncles, who no doubt saw through the coup of 2014 for what it was. But sadly, their fate seems sealed.
Nothing will stop Russia now. Every factor favours them. Victory will be Russia's. In Donbass and beyond and in due course across the world.
Victory belongs to Russia: It is now only a matter of time.
UPDATES TO BE ADDED HERE AS AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
UPDATES TO BE ADDED HERE AS AND WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS.
THE MURDEROUS CYNICISM OF WESTERN POLITICAL PSYCHOPATHS NOW IN SHARP FOCUS
Western barbarism is currently all too evident due to the genocidal desire of the Israeli extremists and their American backers to either wipe the Palestinians off the map or else ethnically cleanse them completely out of the Israelis’ sight.
As if the slaughtering of Afghans, Iraqis, Libyans and Syrians was not enough for them, the collective white races of the West seek for ever more blood to flow. Callous decisions based upon a desire for continued fascistic superiority and hegemonic dominance has killed every last iota of conscience these monsters ever had.
The diseased minds that came to power across the collective west after the events of 9/11 are sociopathic in nature. Not a shred of empathy passes through their cold-blooded minds as they rabidly seek to expand their hegemony using whatever murderous devices that come to hand. Shoring up their sadistic acts is an ever-expanding litany of lies and false narratives. As they become ever more desperate so too become their lies more obvious.
Having lost in Afghanistan after twenty years there they are now losing in Ukraine… and, it is becoming clearer by the day that they are losing now in Gaza and through Gaza across the entire Middle East. These are geopolitical losers on a colossal scale, mental midgets who have the military power to be absolute monsters. Their deeds will never be forgotten until they are retired and as soon as possible to the dustbin of history.
The manic violence of the western world with all its greed-driven undertones of psychotic cold-blooded aggression will pass from history within the lifetime of most of us. No more will one region of the planet deign to rule, manipulate, dominate and punish the rest. The banishment of these low-browed and bloody-handed creatures truly cannot come soon enough. A new and better world without them is now eagerly awaited and worked toward daily.
The western monsters will hugely deserve the wrath of the world majority of nations now increasingly turning in disgust from them. Just as those with a normal level of self-awareness turn from those who are serial killers among us. The political and media spheres of influence have long been a target for the socialised psychopaths who are their mental bretheren. These vile souls have been the scourge of the world long enough. It is well overdue that we be rid of them… for good and all. And for the good of all.