<....Washington and Moscow now seem to have come full circle. But unlike the last Cold War, when there was a Sino-Soviet split over ideological differences, China now looks set to confront the United States and Europe with Russia by its side.

China is increasingly pessimistic about relations with Washington, Gabuev said, and with growing leverage over a weakening Russia, has decided to cement the relationship.

Beijing observed Washington’s red lines on Western sanctions on Russia, Gabuev noted, only to see Washington slap on export controls restricting China’s ability to obtain high-end semiconductors, while also sending Taiwan more weapons.

As Putin faces an arrest warrant over war crime charges in the International Criminal Court, Xi’s visit is an important symbolic boost, demonstrating that he retains a powerful friend, despite being shunned by the West.

Xi’s support further legitimizes Putin’s position in Russia, where the population still supports his war, and signals to leaders in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America that Putin is a man with whom it is worth continuing to do business.

In Moscow, officials are playing down Putin’s supplicatory position. But Russia’s weakened hand only stands to atrophy in years to come as its economy stagnates under sanctions, cut off from global technology and supply chains.

Such a decline suits Chinese interests, but Beijing also wants to prevent a Russian collapse in the war that could trigger the fall of Putin’s regime, thereby strengthening the United States and perhaps ushering in a period of chaos and uncertainty along the 2,600-mile-long border between Russia and China.

Alexey Maslov, director of the Moscow State University Institute of Asian and African Studies, said the new confrontational era “will be a long-lasting cold war between different camps.”

The fragmentation and disruption will hamper not just China, Russia and Iran but also the United States and Europe, he said: “The world will be less comfortable for trade, for education, for any kind of negotiations, for the next 20 or 25 years.”>

<Donald Trump has gone on an all-caps rant on Truth Social ahead of what he predicted would be his arrest and blamed “communists, Marxists, Rinos and losers” for “destroying the country”.

The one-time president claimed he would be arrested on Tuesday and called for protests to “take our nation back”.

“Remember, the same animals and thugs that would do this to perhaps 200 million people, but actually all Americans, are the communists, Marxists, Rinos, and losers that are purposefully destroying our country,” he wrote in all caps.

In a previous all-caps rant on Sunday, Mr Trump railed against the “Soros-backed DA [District Attorney]” for “using the power of his office to persecute, indict and persecute a former president of the United States of America — for nor crime”.

He accused the DA, who he dubbed “racist”, of letting “murderers, rapists and drug dealers walk free” and of presiding over “the biggest violent crime wave in the history of NYC”.

“It is the district attorney of Manhattan who is breaking the law by using the fake and fully discredited testimony of a convicted liar, felon and jailbird Micheal Cohen, to incredibly persecute, prosecute and indict a former president and now leading (by far!) presidential candidate, for a crime that doesn’t exist,” Mr Trump wrote in yet another all-caps rant on Sunday.

He had earlier called on his followers on Truth Social to “protest, take our nation back”.

Mr Trump’s claims that he will be taken into police custody on Tuesday come after reports that law enforcement authorities in New York have quietly been preparing for the possibility that the former president will stoke civil unrest if he is subject to any form of legal accountability whatsoever.

A spokesperson for Mr Trump has, however, cautioned there was no indication of the exact timing of any indictment.

“There has been no notification, other than illegal leaks from the Justice Dept and the DA’s office, to NBC and other fake news carriers, that the George Soros-funded Radical Left Democrat prosecutor in Manhattan has decided to take his Witch-Hunt to the next level,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“President Trump is rightfully highlighting his innocence and the weaponisation of our injustice system. He will be in Texas next weekend for a giant rally. Make America Great Again!”

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has not yet indicated that Mr Trump has actually been charged in the case of a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election – or any other.>

Double checking facts is too much to ask of these two crazed Rogoff posters.>

Jordan, the same imbecile who defied subpoenas from the Jan 6 committee.

Laughable.>

<Former Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman joined Michel Cohen on MSNBC Monday following a press conference by Donald Trump ally Bob Costello who appeared before a Manhattan grand jury.

As a possible indictment hangs over Trump, he district attorney's office asked the former president if he wanted to speak out in his defense to the grand jury. He declined but he sent Costello instead. Costello then said that he provided stacks of "evidence" about Cohen that shows he was desperate and willing to do anything to get out of potential prison.

But the reality is a different matter, according to Cohen. Speaking to Ari Melber he and Akerman explained that the special counsel's report on the Russia investigation revealed a lot of information about the exchanges between Cohen and Costello, including the attempt by Trump allies to keep him from flipping.

"I start with this is the Mueller report because the Mueller report laid out a witness tampering plot by Donald Trump, basically to keep Michael in line with Donald Trump," said Akerman, saying that it went through Rudy Giuliani and Bob Costello.

"Now, Bob Costello I know, we were in the U.S. Attorney's office and he's a good guy and it seems like he was wittingly or unwittingly part of a plot to keep Michael Cohen in line," he continued.

Melber put up a headline saying Costello contacted one of Trump's lawyers to see, allegedly if he could arrange for a pardon for Cohen. He asked why something like that matters.

"Well, that's all part of the story," Akerman explained. "It really starts on April 9th when the search warrant is executed and only a few days after that Donald Trump calls him according to the Mueller report and he can confirm this and told him that, you know, he was just checking in to see if he was okay and he encouraged Michael to hang in there. Then he got calls from other people, friends of Donald Trump, who called up and basically told him to keep in line, including Allen Weisselberg who I believe also called him during that period of time. One of the people that was involved in cooking the books."

Akerman continued: "What's wrong with it is it comes to a point when Michael meets with Costello, who is talking to Rudy Giuliani, who is talking to Donald Trump, and it all comes back to Donald Trump that Michael is on board and that he's staying with the team. And the next day, the day after that meeting occurs on April 17th, Donald Trump starts tweeting out that Michael's not going to flip. That he's with the team, that he's on board."

Melber categorized it as "an effort then to abuse government power to thwart a probe."

Cohen chimed in to say that during that time, Trump was dangling pardons live on television, characterizing it: "I can shut this down tomorrow. I'm the president. I can do whatever I want. I can shut this whole thing down, and it's called the pre-pardon."

Cohen noted that it was clear Trump didn't know what he was talking about.

"And all of a sudden, they're now on television because I wasn't the only one that was going through some issues at the time. They're now throwing it out there for anybody to see," Cohen continued. It was after that that Costello got involved.

Cohen went on to say that the reason Costello would do this is unclear to him, but his allegiance to Trump and to Giuliani may have been what motivated him to "come out and make these false statements."

Akerman called it an outright "dumb, stupid move."

Giving D.A. Alvin Bragg access to Costello, Akerman said, gives him the opportunity to bring up "all the conversations Costello had with Michael. All the conversations Costello had with Rudy Giuliani. What Rudy Giuliani said that Donald Trump said and what he conveyed to Donald Trump. And then I would end up indicting Donald Trump for witness tampering and obstruction of justice. I mean, the Mueller report itself is enough basis to do that. But now they put forward a witness whose right in the middle of this witness tampering plot to supposedly give exculpatory evidence!">

<That goes for you to [sic] perfidious.>

Keep 'em coming, <boy>!

<For the record, Z sfod/ Z truth/ Z legend/ Z troll/ Z 00000009/ Z4 me / DumpTrump etc. etc. tried a while back to get FTB suspended over the Rossolimo Sicilian. Did Z really think a wise old bear would forget such aggressive, ignorant antics?>

<The entire site is in shambles.>

<Luke, you lived and learned. You changed your behavior. You SELF-CORRECTED. That was important.

Don't fire someone when they screw up the first or second time. Give them a chance to see the light and make it right. Now if they screw up the same thing a dozen times in a week, it might be time to make a change.>

This supreme bit of hypocrisy from the same poster who wishes death on others:

<Never cared for the smell of Napalm in the morning myself. Perhaps if used under the right conditions...

<Here's another complete lie from the shameless coward fabricator headed for hell:

<This supreme bit of hypocrisy from the same poster who wishes death on others>

Anybody who prefers Nazis to Ike is a psycho sicko.>

But you did not wish that I face napalm, you nescient cretin.

<<Yuri Stremel: What kind of draws do you think Wesley is going for today?>

<Here's what's whack -

No surprise to see Z stone free attacking members in this forum. Z apparently gets to judge and smear everyone out in the open without consequence. Z whoever will always be harassing others for the negative attention, and to manipulate the website. It's gone on for years and years. This is WRONG.

<fredthebear: The lying bastard pervicious hiding in his criminal personal forum says that FTB wanted to napalm the shmuck. FTB never said anything such [sic] thing. This cyberbully is a psycho sicko and needs to be removed from this website immediate! [sic]

<The <antichrist> returns, after having given decent people a break and sodded off for a time: <<Name Removed: What kind of draws do you think Wesley is going for today?>

The <perfidious personal attacks crap will get unmoderated> type draw, I guess.>

jerkidious deserves a kick in the teeth from all the people he verbally abuses and lies about. He's done it for years!>>

<<nok: <He hasn't seen a dictator he doesn't want the US to surrender to.>

George: sees dictator -> gets a boner>

No doubt.

<ohiyuk: In the mentally deranged world of <saffuna>, If a war starts in a Republican administration, it's to their discredit. If a war doesn't start in a Republican administration, it's to their discredit. <THIS> is the typical Democratic voter. God help this country.>

He forgot 'human filth' and 'despicable'.

<....Zappa was stuck on B52. Didn't have a clue about B51, etc. etc. Zappa thought B52 was all there was to it. Whenever I show Z (or Saffuna) The Way to educate themselves, they refuse to read. They'd rather remain ignorant for the rest of their lives and keep making the same fool regurgitated statements....>

'The Way'? Really? You are so certain that you bring that sort of knowledge to the table?

Jaysus, you are one insufferable, pie-eyed cretin.

<....It was amusing the way perfidious left his lap dog high and dry and didn't bother to say a word, just let Z scree hang itself repeating the same posts and insults about the Moscow variation that was copied from Lichess. Zappa the researcher is in the bad habit of reading something somewhere once and believing that is the full gospel truth and Z is now an expert on the subject. What a fool!>

As anyone who cares at all will attest, had I posted on the matter, you would have run straight to the support page and started whingeing of how hard done by you were, same as always.

<For he who lives more lives than one, more deaths than one must die>

<So with curious eyes and sick surmise We watched him day by day, And wondered if each one of us
Would end the self-same way,
For none can tell to what red Hell
His sightless soul may stray.>

<....Feds should be investigating sympathizers like <perfidious>. I can't stomach anyone who isn't 100% behind us. Making excuses like <mort> does is not acceptable. It's dangerous and suspicious at a time like this....>