EUROPE - Russia's war in Ukraine, which at the moment is going very badly for the Ukrainians and their NATO backers in what by now can more appropriately be called a proxy war, is causing Europe to shift to a "war economy mode". Urgent preparation for such a shift is precisely what's being proposed by the European Commission on Tuesday, as several European Union countries are desperately seeking to revive and boost their arms production industry, also at a moment the Zelensky government is begging for more weapons and artillery shells to hold off the steady Russian advance in the east. "We need to change the paradigm and move into war economy mode. This also means that the European defense industry must take more risks, with our support," said Thierry Breton, the European industry commissioner who is pushing the proposal.

RUSSIA - The West has progressively raised its involvement by supplying long-range artillery, advanced air defense systems, tanks, and air-launched cruise missiles, as well sea-based ones, to hit Russian targets. Satellite intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) has been provided to Ukraine for more accurate strikes. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Radio Free Europe that Ukraine’s right to self-defense includes attacking legitimate Russian military targets outside Ukraine. Elsewhere, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has revealed that UK and French special forces are on the ground in Ukraine to operate the advance equipment supplied to Kiev.

GREECE - Outrage in the Greek Orthodox church over the government’s “demonic” decision to legalise same-sex marriage has intensified, as prelates demanded that punitive measures be taken against MPs who backed the landmark law. Clerics have called for “immoral lawmakers” to be ostracised from the church, and ecclesiastical authorities on Corfu have announced that two local MPs would be banned from participating in any religious rites. Accusing the deputies of committing “the deepest spiritual and moral error” in backing the bill on 15 February, the island’s bishopric urged the parliamentarians to repent.

UK - A 'bright' and 'energetic' schoolboy died after allegedly taking part in a dangerous social media challenge that encourages the inhalation of toxic fumes, his family claimed today. Tommie-lee Gracie Billington, 11, died on Saturday, March 2, after being found unresponsive by paramedics at a friend's house at Greenset Close, Lancaster. Lancashire Police were called to the scene by North West Ambulance Service shortly after 12pm. The boy was transferred to hospital but was later pronounced dead.

USA - US lawmakers introduced a bill on Tuesday that could force TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest the video app in order to prevent it from being banned in the country. The Congressional bill, dubbed ‘The Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act’, paints TikTok as a threat to national security due to ByteDance’s alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). “This is my message to TikTok: break up with the CCP or lose access to your American users. America’s foremost adversary has no business controlling a dominant media platform in the US,” Mike Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP and one of the authors of the legislation, said in a press release.

USA - Effective March 26, 2020, the The Federal Reserve Board reduced reserve requirement ratios on all net transaction accounts to zero percent, eliminating reserve requirements for all depository institutions. In Spring 2023 the Banking Collapse started with smaller regional banks. In Spring 2024 the next wave of Banking Collapse will continue. November 2023 the CEOs of Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan told Congress they could not go from 0% reserves to be held to a 3% reserve balance. The current Deposit to Loan Ratios means the banks can not sustain any type of run on the banks. When the people realize what is happening there will be a run on the banks. Effective March 11, 2024 there will be no more money to loan out and the Fed will pick and choose who gets to loan out money.

UK - When the case of Keira Bell, a teenage girl who was prescribed puberty blockers by the NHS’s Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), first hit the headlines a few years ago, I remember thinking: this could be the tip of a very nasty iceberg. Bell had begun her chemical transition from female to male at the age of 16 and underwent a double mastectomy a few years later. As part of a wider case at the High Court on the question of whether children under the age of 16 should be prescribed puberty blockers, Bell expressed her regret at having transitioned.

USA - Biblical cycle timing expert, geopolitical and financial analyst Bo Polny predicted last year to “expect the US dollar to go lower and gold, silver and Bitcoin to trend higher, much higher in 2024.” What have we seen so far? Bitcoin and Gold are, once again, flirting with all-time highs, and silver is starting to turn up, too. What about the dollar? So far, it is holding steady, but Polny contends the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are about to put a hurting on the buck. Polny explains, “The game changer is… the BRICS are about to attack the US dollar. I don’t care what anybody says, this is going to happen. The dollar will be dethroned as the world reserve currency. When it is dethroned as the world reserve currency, the bond market will collapse, interest rates will spike and the real estate market will collapse. It will be absolutely devastating to the US economy.

EUROPE - The European Union has threatened to cut off weapons to the UK and keep arms within the bloc - in new plans announced to prepare for a potential conflict with Russia. The EU's industry commissioner Thierry Breton announced the overhaul to the bloc's military strategy yesterday, saying that the union had to look after itself in a 'security crisis'. The plans would also see EU countries forced to limit the amount of weapons they could buy from UK-based firms, including BAE systems, if they wanted to receive extra funds from the bloc's budget allocation. Mr Breton said: 'To counter the return of high-intensity war on our border, we have decided to kick up a gear.' The proposed arms policy is part of a wider scheme to boost the EU's security as war with Vladimir Putin's Russia looks increasingly possible.

USA - Donald Trump was wrongly removed from Colorado’s primary ballot last year, the US supreme court has ruled, clearing the way for Trump to appear on the ballot in all 50 states. The court’s unanimous decision overturns a 4-3 ruling from the Colorado supreme court that said the former president could not run because he had engaged in insurrection during the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. The Colorado decision was a novel interpretation of section 3 of the 14th amendment, which bars insurrectionists from holding office. “We conclude that States may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office. But States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency,” the court wrote in an unsigned opinion. All nine justices agreed with the central holding in the case: that the Colorado supreme court had wrongly barred Trump from appearing on the ballot.

UK - Five Extinction Rebellion activists were convicted of smashing a glass revolving door at JPMorgan's European headquarters as a judge said their beliefs did not 'afford them a defence'. Amy Pritchard, 38, Stephanie Aylett, 29, Adelheid Russenberger, 32, Rosemary Webster, 66, and Pamela Bellinger, 66, used hammers and chisel to cause £350,000 worth of damage during the protest. They smashed the custom-built revolving door and a large glazed panel at the entrance to the US bank's Victoria Embankment offices in the City of London. Pritchard told Inner London Crown Court the policies of JP Morgan had led to the deaths of 'hundreds of thousands of children.'

UK - A billion-pound reparations push by the Church of England to atone for its historic links to slavery is 'anti-Christian', critics warned last night. The church will ask super-wealthy families and investors to help it build an enormous pot of cash to address 'enduring harms from enslavement'. The C of E announced last year that it was setting up a £100 million fund for reparations to recognise that it once profited from the slave trade. But a report yesterday said this was 'insufficient' to 'fully redress' the centuries-long impact of the 'great evil' of slavery – and called for a much bigger target of £1 billion.

FRANCE - The French parliament has enshrined abortion as a constitutional right at a historic joint session at the Palace of Versailles. Out of 925 MPs and senators eligible to vote, 780 supported the amendment, which will give women the “guaranteed freedom” to choose an abortion. There was thunderous applause in the chamber as the result was announced on Monday; in central Paris, the Eiffel Tower was illuminated to mark the occasion. The measure had already been passed by the upper and lower houses, the Sénat and the Assemblée Nationale, but final approval by parliamentarians at the joint session at Versailles was needed to effect constitutional change.

FINLAND - Finnish President Alexander Stubb has boasted that NATO membership gives his country a “real nuclear deterrent” in the form of American missiles. At his inauguration on Friday, Stubb promised to lead the Nordic nation into a “new era” of military partnership with the West. Stubb, who was nominated by the center-right National Coalition Party, defeated Pekka Haavisto, an independent candidate backed by the center-left Green League, by 51.6% of the vote to 48.4% last month. On Friday he officially took over the presidency from Sauli Niinisto, who held the position since 2012 and oversaw the country’s accession to NATO last year.

USA - The US is reportedly in discussions with the UK and Australia about inviting Japan to take part in weapons development under the AUKUS security partnership, outlet Nikkei Asia claimed on Saturday, citing US officials. An official announcement of the partnership is expected to be made during Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to Washington next month, the outlet claimed, noting that Japan would be the first country invited to work with the trilateral AUKUS military technology sharing framework established in 2021 by Australia, the UK, and the US.