Thread: As Europe freezes due to lack of energy, Russia nears completion of gas mega-pipeline

Pepe Escobar From Moscow – It Is Kabuki Theatre; the Decisions Have Already Been Made

Pepe Escobar From Moscow – It Is Kabuki Theatre; the Decisions Have Already Been Made

Saturday, September 14, 2024 3:52



Pepe Escobar: Endless Wars - A Glimpse of the Future (youtube.com)

Escobar: Nord Stream Terror Attack - The Plot Thickens

THURSDAY, FEB 16, 2023 - 02:00 AM
Authored by Pepe Escobar,

What’s left for all of us is to swim in a swamp crammed with derelict patsies, dodgy cover stories and intel debris.



Seymour Hersh’s bombshell report on how the United States government blew up the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea last September continues to generate rippling geopolitical waves all across the spectrum.
Except, of course, in the parallel bubble of U.S. mainstream media, which has totally ignored it, or in a few select cases, decided to shoot the messenger, dismissing Hersh as a “discredited” journalist, a “blogger”, and a “conspiracy theorist”.
I have offered an initial approach, focused on the plentiful merits of a seemingly thorough report, but also noting some serious inconsistencies.
Old school Moscow-based foreign correspondent John Helmer has gone even further; and what he uncovered may be as incandescent as Sy Hersh’s own narrative.
The heart of the matter in Hersh’s report concerns attribution of responsibility for a de facto industrial terror attack. Surprisingly, no CIA; that falls straight on the toxic planning trio of Sullivan, Blinken and Nuland – neoliberal-cons part of the “Biden” combo. And the final green light comes from the Ultimate Decider: the senile, teleprompt-reading President himself. The Norwegians feature as minor helpers.
That poses the first serious problem: nowhere in his narrative Hersh refers to MI6, the Poles (government, Navy), the Danes, and even the German government.
There’s a mention that on January 2022, “after some wobbling”, Chancellor Scholz “was now firmly on the American team”. Well, by now the plan had been under discussion, according to Hersh’s source, for at least a few months. That also means that Scholz remained “on the American team” all the way to the terror attack, on September 2022.
As for the Brits, the Poles and all NATO games being played off Bornhom Island more than a year before the attack, that had been extensively reported by Russian media – from Kommersant to RIA Novosti.
The Special Military Operation (SMO) was launched on February 24, almost a year ago. The Nord Stream 1 and 2 blow up happened on September 26. Hersh assures there were “more than nine months of highly secret back and forth debate inside Washington’s national security community about how to ‘sabotage the pipelines’”.
So that confirms that the terror attack planning preceded, by months, not only the SMO but, crucially, the letters sent by Moscow to Washington on December 2022, requesting a serious discussion on “indivisibility of security” involving NATO, Russia and the post-Soviet space. The request was met by a dismissive American non-response response.
While he was writing the story of a terror response to a serious geopolitical issue, it does raise eyebrows that a first-rate pro like Hersh does not even bother to examine the complex geopolitical background.
In a nutshell: the ultimate Mackinderian anathema for the U.S. ruling classes – and that’s bipartisan – is a Germany-Russia alliance, extended to China: that would mean the U.S. expelled from Eurasia, and that conditions everything any American government thinks and does in terms of NATO and Russia.
Hersh should also have noticed that the timing of the preparation to “sabotage the pipelines” completely blows apart the official United States government narrative, according to which this a collective West effort to help Ukraine against “unprovoked Russian aggression”.
That elusive source

The narrative leaves no doubt that Hersh’s source – if not the journalist himself – supports what is considered a lawful U.S. policy: to fight Russia’s “threat to Western dominance [in Europe].”
So what seems a U.S. Navy covert op, according to the narrative, may have been misguided not because of serious geopolitical reasons; but because the attack planning intentionally evaded U.S. law “requiring Congress to be informed”. That’s an extremely parochial interpretation of international relations. Or, to be blunt: that’s an apology of Exceptionalism.
And that brings us to what may be the Rosebud in this Orson Welles-worthy saga. Hersh refers to a “secure room on the top floor of the Old Executive Office Building …that was also the home of the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board”.
This was supposedly the place where the terror attack planning was being discussed.
So welcome to PIAB: the President Intelligence Advisory Board. All members are appointed by the current POTUS, in this case Joe Biden. If we examine the list of current members of PIAB, we should, in theory, find Hersh’s source (see, for instance, “President Biden Announces Appointments to the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board and the National Science Board”; “President Biden Announces Key Appointments”; “President Biden Announces Key Appointments to Boards and Commissions”; “President Biden Announces Key Appointments to Boards and Commissions”; and “President Biden Announces Key Appointments to Boards and Commissions”.
Here are the members of PIAB appointed by Biden: Sandy Winnefeld; Gilman Louie; Janet Napolitano; Richard Verma; Evan Bayh; Anne Finucane; Mark Angelson; Margaret Hamburg; Kim Cobb; and Kneeland Youngblood.
Hersh’s source, according to his narrative, asserts, without a shadow of a doubt, that “Russian troops had been steadily and ominously building up on the borders of Ukraine” and that “alarm was growing in Washington”. It’s beggars belief that this supposedly well informed lot didn’t know about the massing of NATO-led Ukrainian troops across the line of contact, getting ready to launch a blitzkrieg against Donbass.
What everyone already knew by then – as the record shows even on YouTube – is that the combo behind “Biden” were dead set on terminating the Nord Streams by whatever means necessary. After the start of the SMO, the only thing missing was to find a mechanism for plausible deniability.
For all its meticulous reporting, the inescapable feeling remains that what Hersh’s narrative indicts is the Biden combo terror gambit, and never the overall U.S. plan to provoke Russia into a proxy war with NATO using Ukraine as cannon fodder.
Moreover, Hersh’s source may be eminently flawed. He – or she – said, according to Hersh, that Russia “failed to respond” to the pipeline terror attack because “maybe they want the capability to do the same things the U.S. did”.
In itself, this may prove that the source was not even a member of PIAB, and did not receive the classified PIAB report assessing Putin’s crucial speech of September 30, which identifies the “responsible” party. If that’s the case, the source is just connected (italics mine) to some PIAB member; was not invited to the months-long situation-room planning; and certainly is not aware of the finer details of this administration’s war in Ukraine.
Considering Sy Hersh’s stellar track record in investigative journalism, it would be quite refreshing for him to elucidate these inconsistencies. That would get rid of the fog of rumors depicting the report as a mere limited hangout.
Considering there are several “silos” of intel within the U.S. oligarchy, with their corresponding apparatuses, and Hersh has cultivated his contacts among nearly all of them for decades, there’s no question the allegedly privileged information on the Nord Stream saga came from a very precise address – with a very precise agenda.
So we should see who the story really indicts: certainly the Straussian neo-con/neoliberal-con combo behind “Biden”, and the wobbly President himself. As I pointed out in my initial analysis, the CIA gets away with flying colors.
And we should not forget that the Big Narrative is changing fast: the RAND report, the looming NATO humiliation in Ukraine, Balloon Hysteria, UFO psy op. The real “threat” is – who else – China. What’s left for all of us is to swim in a swamp crammed with derelict patsies, dodgy cover stories and intel debris. Knowing that those who really run the show never show their hand.

Escobar: Nord Stream Terror Attack - The Plot Thickens | ZeroHedge

Biden-Harris regime trying to pull another Nord Stream operation by ENDING all Gulf of Mexico oil exploration

09/17/2024 // Ethan Huff // 70 Views

Tags: banned, big government, Collapse, conspiracy, energy supply, fracking, fuel supply, green living, Green New Deal, green tyranny, Gulf of Mexico, insanity, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, natural gas, Nord Stream, oil, outrage, power, supply chain warning, White House



American energy security is once again on the chopping block after the regime of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris tries to ban all further oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.
Similar to the West's destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines, the Biden-Harris regime wants all remaining segments of America's earth-based "fossil" fuel industry to be deconstructed so their "green" energy pipe dreams can finally come true.
(Related: The U.S. and Ukraine are both blaming each other for the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines – who really did it?)
The National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) issued a biological opinion that all new and existing oil and natural gas production in the Gulf region needs to cease. The American Petroleum Institute (API), the EnerGeo Alliance, the National Ocean Industries Association, and Chevron USA all disagree, which is why they are appealing the NMFS ruling in court.
According to reports, the ruling means that after Dec. 20, 2024, there will be no more fuel endeavors allowed in the Gulf of Mexico. This will drive what is perhaps the final nail in the coffin of American energy security.
"American oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico is a driving force of energy security here in the U.S. and around the world, supports hundreds of thousands of jobs and generates billions for state and local revenue," the plaintiffs trying to reverse the NMFS ruling in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland say.
"If this ruling is left uncontested, a critical source of current and future U.S. energy supply could be in jeopardy at a time of persistent inflation and geopolitical instability. We intend to pursue all legal means to prevent the far-reaching consequences of this ruling for Gulf Coast economies and American families that depend on access to affordable, reliable energy."
Biden wants all earth-based fuel production in America to end

If the plaintiffs' efforts are a success, NMFS will have the opportunity to issue a revised opinion that perhaps allows for some continued issuance of permits for energy exploration. If they are not a success, America can say goodbye to all remaining energy security going into 2025.
In a worst-case scenario, starting next year all oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico could cease forever. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) would in essence be required to ask the NMFS for permission for every new attempt at finding more energy in the Gulf – and the NMFS can simply say no, which appears to be the goal.
"They'd be shutting in 1.8 million barrels per day of production on the heels of having gutted the Strategic Petroleum Reserve," warns David Middleton, writing for Watts Up With That.
"The oil & gas industry will almost certainly prevail in this case, however there could very well be significant production disruptions this winter."
President Biden just said this past week that he wants "to stop all drilling on the East Coast and the West Coast and in the Gulf." The courts have so far blocked Biden from achieving his agenda, but the tides are quickly turning as America's energy security hangs in the balance.
"If people don't see actions like this as an attempt to destroy economies, then we're in deeper trouble than we realize," someone wrote in the comments. "It's obvious what's happening."
"Bring the world to its knees, install the One World Government, then divvy up the spoils by downgrading Western societies and upgrading the ROW. The Russian Revolution never ended."
The latest news about the Biden-Harris regime's war on earth-based fuels can be found at GreenTyranny.news.
Sources for this article include:
WattsUpWithThat.com
NaturalNews.com

Biden-Harris regime trying to pull another Nord Stream operation by ENDING all Gulf of Mexico oil exploration – NaturalNews.com

Now China and Germany Join Russia and Demand an Investigation Into Biden’s Connections with Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Sabotage

By Joe Hoft
Published February 16, 2023 at 3:45pm
591 Comments

Along with Russia, China and Germany are now requesting an investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream 2 pipe and any connection to Joe Biden.
Sey Hersh dropped a bomb of a report a week ago tying Joe Biden to the sabotage of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The pipeline was blown up last fall and Hersh accused the Biden gang of being behind it.
Hersh spoke a few days later about his report and doubled down on his reporting.


Seymour Hersh Speaks Out: “You Have to Hold the President to Account”
In his first interview since publishing his bombshell Nord Stream report, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh said it was “not a hard story to find” and that it was obvious that NATO was involved in the Nord Stream attack. Hersh was astonished at his colleagues, who “don’t seem to have anyone inside.” “I saw that the … Continue readingSeymour Hersh Speaks Out: “You Have to Hold the President to Account”

The Gateway Pundit

People are listening to Hersh. As reported earlier today at TGP, Russia read Hersh’s report and is asking the United Nations to look into the report.

TRENDING: HUGE: FOX News Filing Shows DOMINION Voting Systems Executives Including Eric Coomer Knew Its Voting Systems Had Major Security Issues, Was Hacked, and Was "Riddled with Bugs"



Russia Calls for UN Security Council to Investigate Nord Stream Attack Feb. 22
Russia has requested that a UN Security Council meeting be held to discuss the Nord Stream gas pipeline sabotage on February 22, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said on his Telegram channel Wednesday, TASS reports. “In light of new information regarding the bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, we … Continue readingRussia Calls for UN Security Council to Investigate Nord Stream Attack Feb. 22

If Biden did blow up this pipeline then this could arguably be an act of war that only Congress has the right to make per the US Constitution. This is grounds for immediate impeachment if true. Biden’s response is damaging to the country. US’s reputation under Biden if failing. This is another act that damages the US and Americans.

China and Germany are now asking for investigations into the pipeline.
According to RT, China is now reporting on Hersh’s claim that Biden was involved in blowing up the pipeline.

Beijing has mocked mainstream Western media for its apparent reluctance to look into recent allegations by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh, that the US was responsible for blowing up the Nord Stream undersea pipelines last year.
The sabotage of the natural gas routes last September had a major economic and environmental impact and caused global concern over the safety of cross-border infrastructure, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said during a press briefing on Thursday.

China and Russia aren’t the only two countries interested in what happened. A German MP is also asking for an investigation into the matter:

Lawmaker Sevim Dagdelen made her appeal after allegations that the US was behind the Nord Stream blasts

Berlin must not obstruct the creation of an international inquiry into the explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, Sevim Dagdelen, a German MP from the Left Party (Die Linke), said on Tuesday.

The whole world wants to know if Biden was behind the Nord Stream 2 explosion. This is really terrible for the USA.

Now China and Germany Join Russia and Demand an Investigation Into Biden's Connections with Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Sabotage (thegatewaypundit.com)

Gazprom CEO says EU is committing “energy suicide” by boycotting cheap Russian gas

10/11/2024 // Ethan Huff // 510 Views

Tags: absurd, Aleksey Miller, Collapse, economic riot, electricity, energy, energy suicide, EU, fuel supply, gas, Gazprom, left cult, new energy report, power, Russia



Germany faces its second consecutive year of economic recession thanks to the European Union (EU) globalists who cut off Europe's supply of cheap energy from Russia in a temper tantrum over the situation in Ukraine.All that inexpensive, abundant gas that used to flow through the now-destroyed Nord Stream pipelines is no longer fueling Germany's once-robust economy – and for what?
Alexey Miller, the CEO of Russia's state-run Gazprom energy giant, says the EU gas market is seeing "demand destruction" right now because the bloc's leaders have decided to commit "energy suicide" with sanctions and other political machinations.
At the recent St. Petersburg International Gas Forum in Russia, Miller explained how gas in Germany and elsewhere throughout Europe is now needlessly high in price, and with limited supply, due to the West blowing up Nord Stream and rejecting Russian energy.
"Some [experts] say that [the situation] may be described as Europe's energy suicide," Miller said. Others, he continued, are observing that the "economic locomotive" of Europe has turned into "the sick man of Europe," this being a reference to Germany, Europe's former economic powerhouse.
(Related: Nobody wants to fess up to blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines – Washington is blaming Ukraine, of course.)
The deindustrialization of Europe continues

Last year, Europe's largest economy contracted by 0.3 percent, largely due to the destruction of Nord Stream and the resulting energy crisis. In 2025, Germany's economy is expected to contract another 0.2 percent, according to Berlin's Ministry for Economic Affairs.
Like many outside observers are also seeing, Miller noted that a "deindustrialization of Europe" is taking place that will only further disrupt the continent's gas market. He warned that the current trend could lead to "a new price shock for gas and supply disruptions."
Corrupt EU policies have already created a nearly 10 percent decline in European industrial production, which is now at its lowest levels in a decade. And things will only further deteriorate, he says, especially since industries in the United States, as one example, are spending up to five times less on energy compared to Germany and the EU.
Before the Western-led destruction of Nord Stream, the EU received most of its energy from Russia in the form of natural gas. The attack on Nord Stream has left Europe struggling to find alternatives, especially since it already went "green" and got rid of most of its own energy production infrastructure in order to stop "global warming."
Statistics out of the EU show that Russia's share of EU gas supplies, meaning the amount of Russian energy used in Europe, plunged from 45 percent in 2021 to just 15 percent in 2023. That roughly 15 percent of Russian energy that still flows to Europe now comes via Ukraine as part of a contract signed by Gazprom and Naftogaz in 2019 – a contract, by the way, that is scheduled to expire at the end of 2024 because Kiev has no plans to extend it.
"All of this stupid warmongering by the Zio-West is infantile and immature at its roots," one commenter wrote about the pathetic Western leadership that is behind all this anti-Russia deindustrialization.
"He's right," wrote another about what Miller said at the gas forum. "Russia takes some former Russian territories back from Ukraine and seeing this, Europe commits Harakiri or Seppuku," these two terms referring to ancient Japanese forms of ritualistic suicide.
Others noted that Russia has since found new markets for all the gas and oil that once flowed to Europe, which means that even if the EU comes crawling back to Russia begging for the energy pipelines to be restored, it will be tough luck.
"Europe is going to suffer another great depression and this time war or colonialism will not save it."
The West is in freefall collapse mode because its corrupt leaders serve their own pocketbooks instead of We the People. Learn more at Collapse.news.
Sources for this article include:
BigNewsNetwork.com
NaturalNews.com

Gazprom CEO says EU is committing “energy suicide” by boycotting cheap Russian gas – NaturalNews.com

Russian officials: Biden ordered Nord Stream pipeline bombing

Friday, February 24, 2023 by: Belle Carter
Tags: act of international terrorism, act of war, attack, big government, chaos, Collapse, conspiracy, deception, Joe Biden, mainstream media, Maria Zakharova, national security, Nord Stream pipeline, pipelines, politics, Russia, sabotage, terrorism, truth, Vassily Nebenzia, War, White House, World War III, WWIII

1,810VIEWS



(Natural News) Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova and Russia’s United Nations Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia recently released statements that revealed President Joe Biden’s involvement in the Nord Stream pipeline bombing.
Nebenzia spoke at the Feb. 21 United Nations (UN) Security Council meeting, which was called following the bombshell report of investigative journalist Seymour Hersh that disclosed Biden ordered the attack on the pipelines. According to the diplomat, the said “sabotage” was an “act of international terrorism.”
“This journalist is telling the truth,” the envoy pointed out. “This is more than just a smoking gun that detectives love in Hollywood blockbusters. It’s a basic principle of justice; everything is in your hands, and we can resolve this today.”
He also cited previous comments by American politicians who threatened to destroy the pipeline if Russia disobeyed their wishes. Worth noting as well was the former Foreign Minister of Poland thanking the U.S. following the pipeline attack, and former head of the British Government Lizz Truss’ hinting that America was responsible for the operation.
Moreover, in a piece she wrote, Zakharova emphasized that the American government is simply lying and downplaying the attack to blindside the world. The Russian spokeswoman listed several instances of U.S. leaders lying from fibbing their way into the Iraq war to the pillaging of Haiti. She even gave a lengthy review of American politicians plundering the poor island nation.
She then questioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s reason for putting Kyiv into a similar situation in Haiti, where the West could raid all of its resources.
“How much must one hate their own people to consider a prospect similar to that of long-suffering Haiti for themselves?” she asked. “So, to what extent is the U.S. ‘not responsible’ for sabotaging Nord Stream – as much as for the assassination of Haiti’s president? Or for the vial hoax of the invasion of Iraq?”
Meanwhile, Hersh denounced the mainstream media, especially the New York Times and Washington Post, for refusing to “run a word” on the pipeline incident and for ignoring Russia and China’s calls for an international investigation. (Related: More Nord Stream ‘bombshells’ to come – Seymour Hersh.)
According to him, both news outlets published his exposes on the U.S. military’s war crimes in Vietnam, but are now seemingly uninterested in “national security or matters of war and peace.”
Kremlin warns Kyiv not to trust the US after Biden’s visit

Following Biden’s surprise visit to Ukraine earlier this week, Zakharova warned Zelensky against aligning too closely with Washington as this could mirror the fate of past leaders who did. She cited former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili as an example.
Saakashvili was the pro-Western leader who sought membership in NATO and the European Union and was in power in 2008 when Russian forces invaded in support of separatist movements in the country. The ex-president is currently serving a prison sentence in Georgia after being convicted of abuse of power and assaulting a rival political figure.
She also noted the case of U.S.-backed Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has been ousted as head of the movement that has unsuccessfully pressed to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro.
As per News.am, she also mentioned Biden not daring to go to Kyiv without informing Russia. The U.S. president even asked Putin’s side to respect his safety.
Visit Terrorism.news for more stories about the Nord Stream sabotage.
Watch the video below that talks about UN Security Council voting on an inquiry into Biden’s pipeline sabotage.

This video is from the SecureLife channel on Brighteon.com.
More related stories:

American mainstream media is ignoring bombshell report from legendary journalist that reveals U.S. blew up Nord Stream pipelines.
Why Hersh’s Nord Stream bombshell may become legal nightmare for team Biden & its Nordic allies.
ACT OF WAR: The U.S. military blew up Nord Stream pipelines, plunging western allies into energy collapse in effort to harm Russia.
Russian government demands responsible parties in U.S. be held accountable for sabotaging Nord Stream pipeline after damning report.
Sources include:

InfoWars.com
News.AntiWar.com
RussiaUN.ru
Telegra.ph
SeymourHersh.Substack.com
WashingtonTimes.com
News.am
Brighteon.com

Russian officials: Biden ordered Nord Stream pipeline bombing – NaturalNews.com

Thread: German Official: Germany should reassess relationship with the US after Nord Stream C

"Don't Talk About Nord Stream": WaPo Report Further Demolishes Official Narrative

MONDAY, APR 03, 2023 - 07:20 PM

German investigators are now expressing severe doubts about the official Nord Stream sabotage narrative that was pushed hard in the aftermath the bombshell Seymour Hersh report which pointed the finger at a joint CIA-US Navy covert operation, with help from Norway. Last month, Hersh published an article on Substack that said the CIA planted a cover story for the Nord Stream bombings that was fed to The New York Times and the German newspaper Die Zeit. Likely this was in direct reaction to Hersh's findings. A source within the US intelligence community told the famed Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, "It was a total fabrication by American intelligence that was passed along to the Germans, and aimed at discrediting your story."
The favored narrative became one that said pro-Ukraine partisans did it in a rogue op. Hersh has maintained this was by design concocted in order to shield the US and Biden administration for ordering the operation. The Die Zeit report cited German officials to assert that the pipeline sabotage bombings were carried out by six people using a yacht rented in Poland that was owned by two Ukrainians. In the days that followed, several Western media outlets seized on that narrative and published similar articles reinforcing the cover story.
But now a fresh, lengthy investigative Washington Post story published Monday is actually confirming many of Hersh's conclusions. Indeed the 'cover story' is already fast unraveling. What's more is that the WaPo article bluntly states Western officials are not at all eager to talk about the Nord Stream sabotage, suggesting a continued cover-up in progress, or in effect a limited hangout. Also very telling is that Western accusations directed at Russia have long ago quieted down.


The 50-foot-long charter yacht Andromeda at the center of the 'pro-Ukraine' partisans narrative. Image source: RTL/ntvBelow are some surprising and damning excerpts from the WaPo report - again which reveal a dramatic narrative shift once again in progress... [emphasis ours]
* * *
Doubts about the suspicious sailboat and the ability of any entity without the direct backing of a government (which has the resources and means) to be able to pull it off:

But after months of investigation, law enforcement officials now suspect that the 50-foot yacht, the Andromeda, was probably not the only vessel used in the audacious attack. They also say the boat may have been a decoy, put to sea to distract from the true perpetrators, who remain at large, according to officials with knowledge of an investigation led by Germany’s attorney general.

...Experts noted that while it was theoretically possible to place the explosives on the pipeline by hand, even skilled divers would be challenged submerging more than 200 feet to the seabed and slowly rising to the surface to allow time for their bodies to decompress.

More on the sailboat as "decoy" - and 'evidence' which seems planted and overly obvious:

The German investigation has determined that traces of "military-grade" explosives found on a table inside the boat’s cabin match the batch of explosives used on the pipeline. Several officials doubted that skilled saboteurs would leave such glaring evidence of their guilt behind. They wonder if the explosive traces — collected months after the rented boat was returned to its owners — were meant to falsely lead investigators to the Andromeda as the vessel used in the attack.
"The question is whether the story with the sailboat is something to distract or only part of the picture," said one person with knowledge of the investigation.

Polish and Ukrainian state connections?

The German investigation has linked the yacht rental to a Polish company, which is in turn owned by a European company that’s connected to a prominent Ukrainian, fueling speculation from Berlin to Warsaw to Kyiv that a deep-pocketed partisan may have financed the operation. The identity of the Polish company and the Ukrainian individual, as well as his potential motive, remains unclear.
Based on the initial German findings, officials have been whispering about the potential involvement of the Polish or Ukrainian government in the attack.

Guy Elster
@guyelster
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#BREAKING German officials believe that Poland and Ukraine were behind the Nord Stream bombing: Washington Post

2:33 PM · Apr 3, 2023
Secretive "tips" given to German investigators which were suspiciously concrete:

As the Nord Stream mystery has turned into an international game of Clue, German investigators have scoured the Andromeda for leads. Officials first became interested in the vessel after the country’s domestic intelligence agency [Germany] received a "very concrete tip" from a Western intelligence service that the boat may have been involved in the sabotage, according to a German security official, who declined to name the country that shared the information.

Andromeda's whereabouts and past stopovers left a virtual "trail of breadcrumbs" that were a bit too obvious:

Mola Yachting rented out the boat on Sept. 6 from Hohe Düne harbor in Warnemünde, a German port town on the Baltic, near Rostock, which is about 145 miles north of Berlin. The rental location is in plain sight of a huge vacation complex, home to a five-star hotel, seven restaurants and a high-end shopping area, with views across the harbor.
Investigators said the boat then traveled in a northeasterly direction, stopping in Hafendorf Wiek, or “Wiek harbor village,” on the northernmost part of Rügen island.

...A stop in Hafendork Wiek may have offered the Andromeda’s crew a final chance to stock up on supplies before heading to the explosion site.
“Lots of things are loaded on the boats … including groceries,” Redmann said. “Some people stop to tank up on fuel.” Redmann would not confirm that the Andromeda stopped there, citing the continuing law enforcement investigation.

Aaron Maté
@aaronjmate
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This blowout is hard to watch. Seymour Hersh keeps running up the score:

Quote Tweet



Gregor Baszak
@gregorbas1
·
10h

Replying to @aaronjmate
From the WaPo piece




2:55 PM · Apr 3, 2023
·
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Crucially, the WaPo report features a very telling subheading: 'Don’t talk about Nord Stream':

For all the intrigue around who bombed the pipeline, some Western officials are not so eager to find out.
At gatherings of European and NATO policymakers, officials have settled into a rhythm, said one senior European diplomat: "Don’t talk about Nord Stream." Leaders see little benefit from digging too deeply and finding an uncomfortable answer, the diplomat said, echoing sentiments of several peers in other countries who said they would rather not have to deal with the possibility that Ukraine or allies were involved.

Incentives not to "talk" as well as self-willed ignorance:

Since no country is yet ruled out from having carried out the attack, officials said they were loath to share suspicions that could accidentally anger a friendly government that might have had a hand in bombing Nord Stream.
In the absence of concrete clues, an awkward silence has prevailed.
"It’s like a corpse at a family gathering," the European diplomat said, reaching for a grim analogy. Everyone can see there’s a body lying there, but pretends things are normal. "It’s better not to know."

* * *
Once again, all of the above is more in line with what Hersh has reported from the beginning - and yet his detractors have remained just as fierce in their attacks and denunciations, despite his legendary track record of getting things right, from My Lai to Abu Ghraib to Syria.
"Don't Talk About Nord Stream": WaPo Report Further Demolishes Official Narrative | ZeroHedge