Did I miss the FBI raid on Joe Biden’s house to retrieve the classified national-security documents that he had unlawfully absconded with?

I mean, I do vaguely remember the pre-dawn raid by the G-men on Mar-a-Lago last August. The Democrats’ secret police rummaged through Melania’s underwear and took photographs – evidence! — of some mash notes that Little Rocket Man had sent Orange Man Bad.

The attorney general, Merrick Garland, or Garland Merrick as they call him on MSNBC, thundered that he would make a short statement and then have nothing further to say because the Justice Department doesn’t try cases in the media, or through leaks

An hour or so later, the Washington Post reported via a leak that “nuclear secrets” had been retrieved. Perhaps Trump was selling them to our nation’s foes!

A “presidential historian” speculated that Trump could be charged with treason. Grainy photos of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg – the last Americans executed for espionage, in 1950 – were gleefully circulated on social media.

The raid and the very-fake-news “nuclear secrets” angle got front-page, 24/7 coverage for days. As for the inevitable never-mind corrections – not so much.

On Nov. 18, Garland Merrick-Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate… the Mar-a-Lago documents.

This was 16 days after “lawyers” found some of those same secret documents in an old Joe Biden office. No special counsel, no FBI raids, not even any mention of it, until long after the mid-terms were over.

If it weren’t for double standards, the Democrats would have no standards at all.

We get these examples of Deep State hypocrisy every week. Last week it was George Santos, the new Republican Congressman from Long Island, being busted for totally faking his resume before the election.

Democrats demanded Santos’ immediate resignation from the House. Among those who could not be reached for comment were serial Democrat resume fabricators Joe Biden, the fake Indian, Da Nang Dick Blumenthal and Bill Richardson.

And now we have this story about the missing documents, as well as the missing outrage when it comes to Brandon being involved.

Another difference was the way the two tales were reported by the media. Doing live shots in Palm Beach last summer, the Democrats operatives with press passes couldn’t have been any more ecstatic if they’d just found out they had the winning $1.5-billion Megabucks ticket.

Reporting on Biden, these same crack scribes seemed crestfallen, as if a truck had just run over their dog.

What makes the story even more delicious is Brandon’s earlier outrage over the Mar-a-Lago raid. He went on “60 Minutes” – the grand-daddy of Democrat fake-but-accurate news – and was asked by slobbering fluffer Scott Pelley his thoughts about Trump’s actions.

“How could that possibly happen,” Biden harrumphed. “How could anyone be that irresponsible?”

How indeed. In that same interview, by the way, Biden announced that COVID was over. Then he signed a new executive order continuing the “emergency,” so that he could lavish more welfare on the non-working classes that are the Democrat base.

And now this week he’s extended the “emergency” for three more months, to keep his shiftless voters on the dole. After saying the Panic was over.

To coin a phrase, How could anyone be that irresponsible?

But I digress. Back to the documents. Did Trump have any documents about, say, Ukraine? No, he didn’t. But Biden did. I’m sure his fascination with Ukraine had nothing to do with the $1 million a year his son Hunter was grabbing at the time in a no-show job.

Mar-a-Lago is patrolled by the Secret Service.

Joe’s documents – the first set, anyway – were in an office building in Washington that has a steak house on the ground floor. Considering that the office had been paid for by the Red Chinese – through a cut-out known as the University of Pennsylvania – it might have been more appropriate if there had been a laundromat in the first floor, because there was certainly something been laundered up in that office.

Trump’s documents were in a safe. Brandon’s were in a closet.

They were found, we are told, by “lawyers” who were cleaning out the closet. When was the last time you called a lawyer to clean out a closet?

Now the second batch of documents has been found… in a garage. Because everyone keeps their important documents in the garage.

And yet, no FBI raids. No SWAT teams. They had an amphibious teams – landing craft – in the canal behind Roger Stone’s house in Broward County. They arrested Peter Navarro at the airport. Steve Bannon got handcuffed. Donald Trump Jr. was interrogated under oath for 50 hours.

But Biden is a Democrat, so nothing to see here, folks, move along. As Joe himself assured the amen chorus that is the White House press corps:

“Well, let me get rid of the easy one first. People know I take classified documents and classified information seriously.”

Pardon me for laughing your face, Mr. President. Perhaps even in his dementia Biden realized that this wasn’t quite cutting it, because later, as he stumbled away from the podium, he yelled back:

“I want the record to show I don’t know what questions I didn’t answer I’m prepared later thank you very much.”

May we quote you on that, Mr. President?

“They found some documents in a box – you kow, a locked cabinet, or at least a closet.”

A closet. Trump had his in a safe, Brandon stashed his in a closet, and also a garage. Next to his beloved Corvette.

And now a “special counsel” has been appointed. Wink wink nudge nudge.

Repeat after me: Nothing to see here folks, move along.

President Joe Biden, left, walks to the Oval Office on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, after returning from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where first lady Jill Biden had surgery to remove skin cancer. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Ilustração: The Intercept Brasil; Getty Images

Eu sabia, você provavelmente sabia, pesquisadores sabiam, quem acompanha grupos de bolsonaristas no Telegram sabia: havia atos golpistas marcados para o fim de semana dos dias 7 e 8 de janeiro. A pergunta é: como e por que os terroristas conseguiram executar um plano público de invasão ao centro do poder do país, sem nenhum problema?

A inação, ingerência e omissão das autoridades do Distrito Federal são cristalinas. Enquanto o ex-ministro da Justiça e agora ex-secretário de Segurança Pública do Distrito Federal, Anderson Torres, estava nos EUA, terroristas depredavam o Supremo Tribunal Federal, o Congresso e o Palácio do Alvorada. Em questão de horas, ele foi exonerado pelo governador emedebista Ibaneis Rocha, que, logo em seguida, foi afastado do cargo pelo Supremo por ao menos 90 dias.

Mas o problema não se restringe a eles.

A Folha de S.Paulo noticiou que a Abin, a Agência Brasileira de Inteligência, avisou ainda no sábado, dia 7, que havia risco de violência. Os informes foram distribuídos para 48 órgãos em 16 ministérios e alertavam sobre o aumento expressivo no número de ônibus fretados e as constantes convocações de invasão a prédios públicos, “principalmente na Esplanada dos Ministérios”. Já a jornalista Andrea Sadi afirmou que os avisos sobre as invasões foram feitos às autoridades do Distrito Federal entre 9h e 10h da manhã de domingo. Fato é que isso é muito, mas muito tarde.

O presidente em exercício do Senado, Veneziano Vital do Rego, do MDB, disse em entrevista coletiva que a polícia legislativa estava apreensiva, mas recebeu a informação de um dos secretários de Ibaneis de que não era preciso se preocupar, uma vez que “toda a situação estava plenamente sob controle”.

Vital disse ainda que conversou por telefone com Gustavo Rocha, secretário-chefe da Casa Civil do Distrito Federal, por volta das 9h30 de domingo, e que ele lhe assegurou que “tudo iria transcorrer perfeitamente bem”, e concluiu: “Não ei de imaginar que o secretário Gustavo Rocha desdenha esse momento que tivemos ao telefone”. Ao ver o caldo ferver, o senador tentou contato novamente no início da tarde, mas, segundo ele, o secretário não mais o atendeu.

Dino afirmou não ter os meios ‘ideais’ para lidar com os ataques pela situação de anormalidade institucional.

Também em entrevista, o ministro da Justiça, Flávio Dino, do PSB, disse que devíamos agradecer a Deus por não termos repetido o que houve na invasão do Congresso dos EUA em janeiro de 2021, se referindo às cinco mortes ocorridas no Capitólio. Ao mesmo tempo, frisava ter agido com os meios disponíveis, embora eles não fossem os “ideais, por várias razões. Entre as quais, nós não estamos operando em uma situação de normalidade institucional”. Não aprendemos nada com o ocorrido nos EUA dois anos antes? Por que estamos seguindo o mesmo roteiro e falhando?

Na mesma coletiva, Andrei Rodrigues, delegado que comanda a Polícia Federal, disse que nos dias 6 e 7 se reuniu com autoridades do Distrito Federal, o que lhes deu “tranquilidade e segurança”, uma vez que, durante a cerimônia de posse, não houve problemas. A comparação é esdrúxula, uma vez que não havia manifestações bolsonaristas marcadas para tal data. O objetivo da reunião, onde havia secretários e representantes dos bombeiros, das polícias civil e militar, do Detran etc., era traçar um plano de segurança para os atos – que já estavam previstos.

Como então a PM, que esteve nessa reunião, escoltou os terroristas até o Planalto e os guiou dentro do palácio?

Quem mentiu? Quem omitiu informações? Onde houve falhas? Porque houve, várias, e precisamos entender onde, quando e como – e, principalmente, de quem é a responsabilidade pelo custo da destruição de nosso patrimônio e dos danos à nossa democracia.

O GSI, o Gabinete de Segurança Institucional da Presidência, órgão ao qual a Abin responde e que é responsável pela segurança do Planalto, dispensou reforço da guarda presidencial 20 horas antes da invasão. Curiosamente, ninguém do GSI esteve em entrevistas coletivas após os atos.

Por que a Abin demorou tanto a avisar os órgãos sobre movimentações atípicas? Onde esteve o ministro da Defesa, José Múcio Monteiro, responsável pelas Forças Armadas, cujos membros foram vistos entre os bárbaros e apoiando os golpistas?

Concordo com Rosana Pinheiro Machado: o fracasso do golpe não vai enfraquecer o movimento.

Os bolsonaristas Ibaneis e Torres sabiam da dimensão dos planos? Dino deveria ter confiado piamente que bolsonaristas enfrentariam seus parceiros? Porque o ministro assinou no sábado o decreto para a utilização da Força Nacional de Segurança para evitar protestos na Esplanada, mas não as acionou no domingo?

Passadas mais de 24 horas da quebradeira em Brasília, cerca de mil pessoas haviam sido presas. Quase metade delas foi solta por “razões humanitárias” logo em seguida. O grupo liberado era composto por mulheres, crianças e idosos.

Respostas precisam ser firmes

Além de afastar Ibaneis do cargo, o STF pediu a prisão de Anderson Torres e do ex-comandante da PMDF, coronel Fábio Augusto Vieira. O Ministério Público Federal pediu ao Supremo que Ibaneis, Torres, Augusto e Fernando Oliveira, secretário interino de Segurança Pública, sejam investigados em um novo inquérito para apurar omissões. A Marinha demitiu Vilmar José Fortuna, capitão que participou dos atos terroristas. Além disso, empresários do agronegócio, comerciantes e CACs foram identificados como financiadores dos golpistas.

Porém, ainda há mais perguntas que respostas diante desses crimes. Dino e Múcio saem arranhados desta situação.

Escrevi, ainda em 2022, uma coluna dizendo que atos terroristas seriam um enorme desafio no governo Lula. Queria muito estar errada, mas os fatos nos impõem a realidade. Lula e Flávio Dino estão enfrentando militares que não se atêm às suas funções constitucionais e PMs que flertam com o bolsonarismo radical. Exatamente por isso, me estranha muito essa confiança em bolsonaristas. O papel das polícias e das Forças Armadas precisa ser discutido com profundidade, e os organizadores e financiadores dos atos precisam ser exemplarmente punidos.

Dino escolheu um interventor que conhece pouco da dinâmica e as instituições policiais da segurança da capital federal. E o novo comandante da PMDF é o tipo de bolsonarista que chama pessoas de esquerda de “vermelhos”.

Dino disse na tal coletiva que tudo se “caminha para absoluta normalidade com muita velocidade”. Eu queria compartilhar dessa fé, mas tendo a concordar com a antropóloga e pesquisadora da extrema direita Rosana Pinheiro Machado, que diz não estar entre os analistas que acham que o fracasso do golpe vai enfraquecer o movimento. “Infelizmente, estou entre aquelas pessimistas (há dez anos e, infelizmente, com alguma razão) que acha que isso só fortaleceu. Como sempre, adoraria estar errada”.

Eu também.

The post Governo Lula não pode cometer o erro de seguir confiando nas autoridades bolsonaristas appeared first on The Intercept.

In just over three weeks, seaborne deliveries of diesel from the European Union’s single biggest external supplier will be all but banned.

Who will step in to plug this enormous supply gap? And, will there be enough? Is the bloc sleepwalking into a fuel crisis?

The EU imported about 220 million barrels of diesel-type product from Russia last year, according to Vortexa Ltd. data compiled by Bloomberg. The fuel is vital to the bloc’s economy, powering cars, trucks, ships, construction and manufacturing equipment and more.

Replacing that much Russian fuel — imagine about 14,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools all brimming with diesel — is a mighty challenge.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

Some progress has already been made. In 2021, more than half of all seaborne shipments into the EU and UK — which already has a ban in place — came from Russia. By December last year, that proportion had fallen to about 40%, partly thanks to increases from Saudi Arabia and India.

Looking forward, there’s reason to believe the remaining Russian supplies can be covered by barrels from elsewhere.

“The lost Russian supplies will be replaced,” said Eugene Lindell, head of refined products at consultancy Facts Global Energy.

But it’s far from guaranteed.

The Suppliers

The most obvious place where Europe can get more diesel is the Middle East: it’s fairly close, particularly to countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea — assuming, of course, the Suez Canal doesn’t get blocked — and has huge new oil refineries coming online that will spew out millions of barrels of fuel. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. has also already agreed a deal to supply Germany.

India and the US, both long-term suppliers to the EU, have also stepped up shipments in recent weeks. US refiners are forecast to produce a record volume of distillates this year, a category of fuel that includes the diesel used in trucks and automobiles.

But the most important potential resupplier, albeit indirectly, may turn out to be China.

“China policy is the game changer,” said Mark Williams, a research director at Wood Mackenzie Ltd. The country “holds the key to all of the surplus refining capacity globally.”

Shipments of diesel out of China have dramatically increased in recent months. While only a fraction of those cargoes sail all the way to Europe, they increase regional supplies. That then frees up barrels from other producers which can, in theory, head to Europe.

China’s first fuel export quota for 2023 was up by almost 50% from the same period a year earlier, making it unlikely that diesel shipments will plunge back to the low levels seen in early 2022.

Exports of diesel-type fuel from China could be 400,000 to 600,000 barrels a day through the first half of this year, Williams said. That’s a similar volume to what the EU and UK currently stand to lose in terms of seaborne deliveries from Russia.

“There’s a total re-jigging in terms of diesel trade flows from the start of February,” he said.

It’s important to remember, though, that China has sometimes chosen to prioritize its environment over profit from exporting fuels. It could do so again.

Potential Problems

But while multiple re-supply options for the EU and UK do exist, there’s also a potentially wider concern: might the EU’s sanctions prompt Russian barrels to disappear from the global market altogether?

If Russia is unable to find enough new, non-EU buyers for its fuels, what then? If it were to consequently cut production at its refineries, that could tighten global supplies, potentially pushing up prices.

Lindell expects the nation’s diesel flows to dip next month and in March — though that’s because of work at oil refineries, as well as some trade friction as the sanctions take effect.

Even if there are plenty of willing buyers, getting the fuel out of Russia may be a challenge. Many shippers will be wary of breaching western sanctions, which will stipulate that the price of these cargoes can’t be above a capped level currently being discussed by the G-7.

That mechanism, and the price cap itself — on crude oil, it’s $60 a barrel — has yet to be set for Russian fuels. At the end of last year, oil pricing agency Argus Media Ltd. assessed Russian diesel at $926 a ton (about $124 a barrel), with non-Russian $30 a ton (about $4 a barrel) more expensive.

If the forthcoming price cap were to be set well below market level, then much of the global tanker fleet would be unable to keep loading and carrying Russian cargoes if they want to access G-7 services like insurance.

Demand Side

The flip-side to any question about whether the EU will have enough diesel supply going forward is: how strong will demand be?

Recent warm weather in Europe has no doubt helped, likely reducing consumption of heating oil — a diesel-type fuel — and cutting the price of natural gas, which in theory makes it cheaper for oil refineries to make high-quality diesel and also reduces the incentive for companies to use gas instead of oil for power generation.

“A macroeconomic slowdown has been gradually squashing European diesel demand,” said Benedict George, market reporter at Argus. “Country-by-country data suggests European diesel demand is already at least 5% down year-on-year. During the 2008 recession, diesel demand fell by around 10% year-on-year at its lowest point.”

That said, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., no longer predicts a euro-zone recession after the economy proved more resilient at the end of last year.

Turkey Role

The role of potential intermediary countries also shouldn’t be underestimated in helping to cushion the impact of the EU’s ban and the accompanying price cap.

Turkey, for instance, which is not part of the EU, could in theory import large volumes of Russian diesel — it already takes a substantial amount — and then use this to supply its domestic market.

The non-Russian diesel it then makes in its own refineries could be sold to the EU, potentially at a much higher price.

“A prolonged economic slowdown, warm weather, continued tailwinds from higher Chinese exports and a well-oiled price cap would help global diesel balances remain feasible,” and give Europe enough choice to pull in replacement barrels,” said Hedi Grati, head of Europe/CIS refining & marketing at S&P Global Commodity Insights.

“The higher the demand and the steeper the Russian diesel production decline, the more complicated and potentially fractured things could get.”

Ukraine said on Friday its forces were still holding out in the eastern salt mining town of Soledar after a “hot” night of fighting in what has become one of the bloodiest battlefields of the entire war.

Both sides have endured heavy losses in the battle for the small town. Moscow is seeking what would be its first big battlefield gain after half a year of humiliating retreats. Kyiv says Russia is throwing wave upon wave of soldiers into a pointless fight for a bombed-out wasteland.

The Wagner ultra-nationalist mercenary company run by an ally of President Vladimir Putin has claimed to have taken the town. But Russia’s defence ministry has so far said little about the situation there, while a Russian-installed local official said on Thursday there were still pockets of resistance.

“The night in Soledar was hot, battles continued,” Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

“The enemy threw almost all the main forces in the direction of Donetsk and maintains a high intensity of offensive. Our fighters are bravely trying to maintain the defence,” she said, referring to the Donetsk region which includes Soledar.

“This is a difficult phase of the war, but we will win. There is no doubt.”

Outside Soledar, Ukrainian soldiers were dug into well-fortified trenches in the wintry woods. Explosions echoed in the distance.

A 24-year-old soldier using the call-sign BUK, told Reuters the intensity of shelling had risen by around 70 percent, but forces were still holding their positions.

“The situation is difficult but stable. We’re holding back the enemy … we’re fighting back.”

Reuters could not verify the situation inside the town, which had around 10,000 residents before the war. Ukrainian officials say more than 500 civilians are trapped inside, including 15 children.

In an overnight video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked two units in Soledar he said were “holding their positions and inflicting significant losses on the enemy.” He did not give more details.

The front lines in Ukraine have barely budged for two months since Russia’s last big retreat in the south. Ukraine is re-arming for a planned push to drive Russian forces out of more territory, while Russia is reinforcing to keep seized land.

Meanwhile, the battles for Soledar and the bigger nearby city of Bakhmut have become what both sides call a “meat grinder” – a brutal war of attrition claiming the lives of thousands of soldiers they both need for decisive battles ahead.

U.S. officials said a Russian victory in Soledar, or even in nearby Bakhmut, a city ten times the size where the Russians have so far been repelled, would mean little for the overall trajectory of the war.

“Even if both Bakhmut and Soledar fall to the Russians, it’s not going to have a strategic impact on the war itself,” U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the White House, “and it certainly isn’t going to stop the Ukrainians or slow them down.”

Oleksandr Kovalenko, an analyst at Ukraine’s Information Resistance Military-political group, said the fighting for Soledar had eased pressure on Bakhmut.

“Soledar has already fulfilled its main role — drawing off a large amount of Russian resources and destroying them,” he said on the nv.ua media website.

The new year has brought important pledges of extra Western weapons for Ukraine, which is seeking armour to mount mechanised battles against Russian tanks. Last week, France, Germany and the United States pledged to send armoured fighting vehicles.

In recent days, the focus has been on main battle tanks, which Western countries have yet to provide. Poland has promised to send German-made Leopard tanks as part of a Western coalition. That requires the permission of Berlin, which has so far been hesitant but has lately signalled a willingness to allow it as part of a coordinated aid plan.

Putin launched the invasion on Feb. 24, saying Kyiv’s ties with the West threatened Russia’s security. Ukraine and its allies call it an unprovoked war to seize territory.

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Ukraine said on Friday its forces were still holding out in the eastern salt mining town of Soledar after a “hot” night of fighting in what has become one of the bloodiest battlefields of the entire war.

Both sides have endured heavy losses in the battle for the small town. Moscow is seeking what would be its first big battlefield gain after half a year of humiliating retreats. Kyiv says Russia is throwing wave upon wave of soldiers into a pointless fight for a bombed-out wasteland.

The Wagner ultra-nationalist mercenary company run by an ally of President Vladimir Putin has claimed to have taken the town. But Russia’s defence ministry has so far said little about the situation there, while a Russian-installed local official said on Thursday there were still pockets of resistance.

“The night in Soledar was hot, battles continued,” Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

“The enemy threw almost all the main forces in the direction of Donetsk and maintains a high intensity of offensive. Our fighters are bravely trying to maintain the defence,” she said, referring to the Donetsk region which includes Soledar.

“This is a difficult phase of the war, but we will win. There is no doubt.”

Outside Soledar, Ukrainian soldiers were dug into well-fortified trenches in the wintry woods. Explosions echoed in the distance.

A 24-year-old soldier using the call-sign BUK, told Reuters the intensity of shelling had risen by around 70 percent, but forces were still holding their positions.

“The situation is difficult but stable. We’re holding back the enemy … we’re fighting back.”

Reuters could not verify the situation inside the town, which had around 10,000 residents before the war. Ukrainian officials say more than 500 civilians are trapped inside, including 15 children.

In an overnight video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked two units in Soledar he said were “holding their positions and inflicting significant losses on the enemy.” He did not give more details.

The front lines in Ukraine have barely budged for two months since Russia’s last big retreat in the south. Ukraine is re-arming for a planned push to drive Russian forces out of more territory, while Russia is reinforcing to keep seized land.

Meanwhile, the battles for Soledar and the bigger nearby city of Bakhmut have become what both sides call a “meat grinder” – a brutal war of attrition claiming the lives of thousands of soldiers they both need for decisive battles ahead.

U.S. officials said a Russian victory in Soledar, or even in nearby Bakhmut, a city ten times the size where the Russians have so far been repelled, would mean little for the overall trajectory of the war.

“Even if both Bakhmut and Soledar fall to the Russians, it’s not going to have a strategic impact on the war itself,” U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the White House, “and it certainly isn’t going to stop the Ukrainians or slow them down.”

Oleksandr Kovalenko, an analyst at Ukraine’s Information Resistance Military-political group, said the fighting for Soledar had eased pressure on Bakhmut.

“Soledar has already fulfilled its main role — drawing off a large amount of Russian resources and destroying them,” he said on the nv.ua media website.

The new year has brought important pledges of extra Western weapons for Ukraine, which is seeking armour to mount mechanised battles against Russian tanks. Last week, France, Germany and the United States pledged to send armoured fighting vehicles.

In recent days, the focus has been on main battle tanks, which Western countries have yet to provide. Poland has promised to send German-made Leopard tanks as part of a Western coalition. That requires the permission of Berlin, which has so far been hesitant but has lately signalled a willingness to allow it as part of a coordinated aid plan.

Putin launched the invasion on Feb. 24, saying Kyiv’s ties with the West threatened Russia’s security. Ukraine and its allies call it an unprovoked war to seize territory.

Related Galleries:

Around 15 commissioners out of 27 could visit Kyiv for the meeting.

One expert said drone technology was “maturing and coming of age”.