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Marine Lepen had 14 million votes at 9.20 pm, and she had only 11 million votes left at 10.45 pm. Where did all these votes go? [...] In the same time macron miraculously gained a staggering 4, 236,699 votes! All day long he couldn’t lead over Ms Lepen but in the odd hours after the voting ended, and behind closed doors, he gets 4 million votes…

[RE: white helmets] This alleged “non-governmental association” (sic) was created by a former British officer, James Le Measurer, Knight of the Order of the British Empire. It was publicized by the Foreign Office subcontracting communication company, ARK (Analysis, Research and Knowledge) and funded by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Canada and Japan. The majority of its “volunteers” (sic) were members of Al-Qaeda and, later, Daesh. The White Helmets have been banned from entering US territory under that country’s anti-terrorist laws. However, former President Barack Obama persuaded Netflix, where he is a producer, to devote a praiseful “documentary” to them.

U.S. GDP fell at a 1.4% pace to start the year as pandemic recovery takes a hit (CNBC)

The military maneuvers planned by Poland may be a preparation for the transfer of troops to Ukraine, says China’s Sohu magazine. Washington is pushing Warsaw to take active anti-Russian actions.

The Defense Ministry of Poland announced the upcoming military exercises in May, which will affect the north and east of the country. Citizens were warned that military equipment would move in large numbers along the roads. This will be needed to work out the mechanisms for "receiving and transferring allied forces," the Defense Ministry assured.

Analysts of the Chinese edition of Sohu noticed that the news about the exercises was published immediately after the warning of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service about a possible invasion of the Polish army into the territory of Ukraine. Experts are confident that Washington is pushing Warsaw to act aggressively, seeking to escalate the Ukrainian crisis. Poland has long been the most ardent opponent of Russia in the European Union. Now that the United States has promised economic benefits and patronage to Warsaw, the Polish authorities may decide on various reckless actions, Chinese experts say. But do not forget that the Kremlin will not leave any encroachments of the Polish army without attention.

Poland has secret plan for Ukraine, Moscow claims (RT.com)

The World Majority Refuses to Back US Sanctions: [The] dissenting countries of the Global South are no longer as poor as they were during the Cold War. Of the top 10 countries in PPP-GDP, 5 do not support the sanctions. And these include China (number one) and India (number 3). So the first and third most powerful economies stand against the US on this matter. (Russia is number 6 on that list about equal to Germany, number 5, the two being close to equal, belying the idea that Russia’s economy is negligible.) These stands are vastly more significant than any UN vote. Such votes can be coerced by a great power and little attention is paid to them in the world. But the economic interests of a nation and its view of the main danger in the world are important determinants of how it reacts economically – for example to sanctions. A "no" to US sanctions is putting one’s money where one’s mouth is.

As saber-rattling with Russia and China continues, the UK announces their new ‘Global NATO’ initiative, and using the G7 as an ‘economic NATO.’ Meanwhile, Russia has cut off gas to EU members Poland and Bulgaria for failing to abide by Putin’s latest ‘Rubles for Gas’ decree, and so we explain how Russia’s new gas purchasing system works, and why the EU sanctions against Russia are bound to fail. Also, who is Ursula Von Der Leyen, and how did she rise to power? Meanwhile, a senile Joe Biden continues to struggle forming sentences, while his radical deep state gaggle push ahead with their new ‘Ministry of Truth’ censorship police known as the “Disinformation Governance Board.” And to keep the war going, the US and its allies are pledging billions more for the Zelensky regime, as the West prepares to make the conflict last for years. All this and more. Co-hosts Mike Robinson and Patrick Henningsen with the end of week news round-up.

Congress Goes to War | Vox Popoli | Karl Denninger points out that under long-established international law, the US Congress has effectively declared the United States to be in a state of war with Russia: Congress has explicitly authorized, and Biden will sign, this bill that specifically permits the transfer to Ukraine of basically anything other than nuclear material. Seriously folks — that’s the only real exception found in the referenced definition. By agreeing to provide direct weaponry that can be and will be used in the waging of war by one of the two parties to same we have entered the conflict. That our GIs are not directly involved there is of no consequence. This is no different than shipping arms to Britain during WWI in the Lusitania or the lend-lease provisions in early WWII that ultimately led us to get involved there in Europe. Indeed Pelosi directly referenced those early WWII provisions indicating that she knows damn well the implications of what Congress just did. [...] We are now a belligerent in this conflict having crossed the line when we went from providing food, medical assistance and similar to military goods and the definition in this act does not draw a distinction, not that there really is one that is internationally recognized in the first place, between offensive and defensive arms. [H/T Gamer Uprising]

Biden Asks Congress for $33 Billion for New Ukraine Aid (Antiwar.com)