A Wild Day
Yes, it’s been a wild day, or a wild couple of days. The chaotic swirl of events continues, which makes it difficult to discuss it coherently. I’ll stand by my post of yesterday regarding the connection between the war on Russia and the renewed war in Syria. I’ve spent a major part of the day attempting to follow the conflicting claims coming out of Syria. One thing seems clear, and that’s that Turkey and Israel are the forces behind the renewed version of ISIS (HTS), which appears to be heavily composed of Turkic elements from Central Asia and the Caucasus, along with the usual jihadist Arabs. But if Israel and Turkey are behind it—which explains the ceasefire in Lebanon—that means the US is, as well. But then you have the US backed Kurds who have no—at least temporarily—realigned with the Assad government. And where does Russia fit in—and Iran? The Russian forces in Syria have been assisting the government, but there are also rumors of a Russian backed coup, or that Russia and Iran are at odds. I finally gave up. Things should start sorting themselves out in a few days. In the meantime, Russia’s advance in Ukraine continues and Axios is reporting that Trump wants a ceasefire and a hostage deal in Gaza by the time he’s inaugurated.
Another big story is Trump’s threats to BRICS. What those threats are directed at, if I understand what Trump is saying, is attempts to replace the dollar in international trade. That “replace” sounds like a concerted attack on the dollar’s central place, not peripheral use of other currencies. Reading between the lines of Trump’s bellicose rhetoric at Russia Times—Trump threatens BRICS—it appears that Trump’s rhetoric actually masks an intent to seek cooperation with the BRICS countries rather than war:
”The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.
Trump went on to say that he would ask the BRICS nations to promise not to create a common currency, “nor back any other currency to replace the mighty US dollar,” or they will face 100% tariffs.
”They can go find another ‘sucker!’” he continued. “There is no chance that the BRICS will replace the US Dollar in International Trade, and any Country that tries should wave goodbye to America.”
Sundance has a longer article that was over my head, explaining the 4D chess that he says is at play:
If I understand this—and I’m not sure that I do—Trump’s plan is to lower the cost of imports to the US. That would lower deficits and slow the increase in the national debt a bit, but it’s unclear to me how that would cause manufacturers to return to the US. Maybe I’m missing something.
However, as I’ve been insisting, all of this can only be accomplished—if at all—by avoiding further wars abroad and settling the ones we’re involved in. A lot of domestic spending is untouchable, but the Empire spending is totally out of control. The Deep State is doing its best in both Ukraine and the Middle East to tie Trump’s hands, while Trump seems to be carefully avoiding saying too much at this point.
Talking tough is fine, but the reality is that King Dollar ultimately rests on US military power, which is not what it used to be. Trump will have to adapt to the multi-polar world one way or another, and ending the forever war is an appealing way to start. If he allows the Deep State to continue the forever wars he could end up with a military confrontation that is unwinnable, and could bring about a faster demise of King Dollar.
There are also reports out that Trump will reinstate Schedule F, which was his plan (implemented near the end of Trump 1.0, but revoked by Zhou) to reassert executive control over the federal bureacracy by limiting Civil Service protections. That would limit the ability for entrenched bureaucrats to obstruct. You can read all about it here:
The author admits that there could be a downside:
The danger inherent in Schedule F is the likelihood that the next Democratic president could use the same expanded executive control over the bureaucracy to reverse course from Trump and bring in committed progressives who could do even more damage than the present embedded bureaucrats.
Lastly, there’s this really depressing appointment.
Trump nominates Charles Kushner, who he pardoned in 2020, as US Ambassador to France
President-elect Donald Trump selected Charles Kushner, who Trump pardoned during his first term, to serve as U.S. Ambassador to France on Saturday.
Charles Kushner is the father of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump.
…
Charles Kushner is the founder of Kushner Companies, a New York based real estate company. He was convicted of preparing false tax returns, retaliating against a cooperating witness, and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission in 2005.
He served more than 16 months of a two-year sentence in federal prison and a halfway program before he was released in 2006, NorthJersey.com reported. Trump pardoned Charles Kushner in 2020, saying at the time that Kushner was devoted to philanthropic organizations and causes.
…
Charles Kushner was prosecuted by former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a vocal Trump critic who ran in the 2024 Republican primaries and later dropped out. In a 2019 interview, Christie called Charles Kushner's actions “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes" he prosecuted as the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey.
The elder Kushner admitted to paying a prostitute to seduce a brother-in-law and have their sexual encounter videotaped. Kushner then sent the tape to his sister in an effort to intimidate her against becoming a witness in the federal investigation.
A reader writes:
"Stronger dollar means that anything made in the US or sold from the US is going to cost more overseas. I.E., More expensive. Following classical economics laws of supply and demand, as prices rise, demand falls (except for those goods that are “inelastic”). **Stronger dollar, though, means we can continue running deficits, i.e., foreigners buy our Treasuries, which puts money into our account and we promise to pay them back at some point in the future."**
Sharmine Narwani
@snarwani
Russian newspaper Izvestia: The major terrorist attack on #Aleppo was coordinated between Turkish, Ukrainian and French intelligence with Israeli support and American approval. The planning was two months ago and the attack was supposed to be next March, but the events in Lebanon contributed to the urgency.