I wanted to quickly mention some articles that don’t deserve to go unnoticed in the understandable hubbub over the Raid at Mar-a-Lago.Thanks for reading Meaning In History! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. First is an article by Doug Macgregor, who is worried about war with China:
While I can certainly understand Gen. Macgreggor’s concern over Biden “s tumbling” into a war with China, I still see the Chinese playing the long game and humiliating the US in the process. They have an infinite number of options that can inflict great economic hardships on this country without ever firing a shot. With Biden, Pelosi and Kentucky Mitch obviously compromised with their “Chinese” connections, it just doesn’t seem in China’s best interests to allow us to stumble into an inconvenient war.
Look at the windfall that the “anti-inflation” bill tossed to Chinese companies, while doing nothing for the average American.
Had just finished rereading (probably the third time over the last 40-ish years) "The Guns of August," when a friend (an American law professor in Moscow from whom I hadn't heard since before the Ukraine conflict) today recommended it on social media as a timely read.
As Macgregor points out, "stumbling into war" is a very real thing. Timely, indeed!
Off topic, but would you recommend this book for a 14 year old. He informed me that he wants to study 'The impact of military strategies and the advancement of weapons on world history' for history this year. The sample looks interesting but maybe over the head of a 14 year old. Thanks.
I first read it as a HS freshman and enjoyed it then, but really appreciated when I picked up about 20 years later (with the benefit of further education, travel, etc.). I'd say it's more about world events/diplomacy (or lack thereof) than military or weaponry, but it's pretty cool that you have a 14yo these days interested in such topics!
Thanks for the input. I might put this one on the bottom of the list to read if we have extra time. Military and weapons aren’t really where my interests lie so it’s been a challenge to put together a full year that will interest and challenge him. I learned very little in my high school history classes (except how to memorize dates so I could pass the test) so my goal for him is to have less breadth but more depth about what he is interested in.
"The Echo of Battle" by Brian Linn is excellent. US military strategy/way of war all the way from Revolutionary War to Iraq analyzed in an accessible (not overly wordy or technical) 250-ish pages.
I think Doug Macgregor is right to worry. Taiwan is China's red line, just as Ukraine is Russia's. This latest stunt has just confirmed to China that the Biden administration cannot be trusted. We are so reliant on our Chinese imports, especially tech and medicine, that I don't even want to think about what it would be like if we went to war.
At least we have some good news! Hurray for Denmark! Canada has blindly followed the USA's lead in rolling out the jabs to babies, so I'm very grateful to Denmark for speaking out and pray that other countries will follow suit.
It doesn't make sense to me that "Joe Biden" is simultaneously "owned" by China as a result of his corrupt business dealings and is starting a war with them. Unless that's what they want him to do. I have no way of knowing this but I think the possibility should be considered.
Just as many have theorized that our involvement in Ukraine (another prime location of Biden corruption) is part of a Davos plan to weaken the US, wouldn't a war with China have the same effect? If you're going to sleepwalk the US into WWIII, who better to do it than the sleepwalker-in-chief (strings controlled by others of course)?
To "build back better" implies whatever existed previously first has to be destroyed. The DNC/WEF is certainly doing their best in that regard by any means possible.
Pelosi was also quite personally motivated to go to Taiwan. Not only did the trip take the spotlight off her husband's recent DUI, but she took her son along (he's tied to a fraud and bribery scheme being investigated by FBI); both her venture capitalist husband and son have significant business dealings with China. You would think that would be a conflict of interest, but apparently not if you're a high-ranking member of the DNC. Last but not least, the family indirectly has a large stake in the company Taiwan Semiconductor via the investment firm Alliance Bernstein Holding. (The semiconductor industry got a boost from the recently passed CHIPS Act, which provides funding to the semiconductor sector.)
My guess is that she and the neocons who supported her trip were taken off-guard by China's strong reaction. In the past, they've gotten away with provoking the dragon but China has since become far more powerful.
I could go on and on, but frankly it's depressing. The flagrant corruption is absolutely shocking. The US has become a banana republic, with complete disregard for truth or the rule of law. And don't even get me started on the WEF, C19, or Agenda 2030!
Pelosi was just virtue signalling on a global stage and 'they' didn't expect China's virulent rxn, just as 'they' underestimate the center's rxn to siccing the American Stasi on Trump this week. But as for Taiwan, there will be no real war. China will take it when it's ready to and America lacks the means to stop them.
Yes, a conundrum. It would appear that among our Rulers there is internal disagreement... between the Neocons and the Globalists... Poor 'Joe Biden', hopelessly compromised, is caught in the middle. However, I doubt what he 'thinks' really matters...
My impression is that a large portion of the WEF, Free Trade, Wall Street and Globalist faction of our Ruling Class (see, for example, Michael Bloomberg) is heavily invested in the commercial relationship between China and the USA. On the other hand the Neocon, Endless War, Military Industrial faction of our Ruling Class cannot resist waging war (or threatening war) on anybody who does not bow to American Hegemony. These two factions could well be experiencing some conflict these days.
Of course, I could be wrong. They are not exactly transparent.
Thanks for your considerate and informative reply. I agree much of our Globalist class is heavily invested in China enrichment schemes based on the one-sided commercial relationship with China. However; the Neocon often is as well although they rarely reveal (transparency) their own enrichment schemes. Both groups trade off the chaos they create. George Soros is a prime example of one who creates chaos to make money off it. I don't think you are wrong. To me the Ukraine is simply another money laundering effort like our so called friends in Israel.
Thank you for mentioning the money laundering aspect of the Ukraine situation.
I've lost track of how many billions of 'dollars' aid we have 'sent' to Ukraine. I assume a substantial portion of this aid round trips its way through US defense industries/manufacturers and middle men and easily finds its way back into the pockets of lobbyists, media, NGOs, PACs, lawyers and 'think tanks'. I somehow doubt much of it is converted into Ukrainian hryvnia and ends up in Ukrainian pockets. Maybe somebody else here knows more about this question -- where our aid actually goes.
No. Like all the current so called leadership of the country, she’s too dumb to know or care what she’s doing. Just another senile worn out politician who should have been retired years ago.
Who would want to make or stay in a deal with a leaderless, lawless, fragmented, blundering, inconsistent, undependable government run by backstabbing people without any respect for law, agreements, or morality?
Hell, I'm not sure that I want to remain a citizen of the once great republic known as The United States of America. In the years since my birth in Dallas Texas in 1962 nearly everything that made the USA great has been systematically destroyed. The party nominally in power made differences of degree not in kind, the true power actually has never changed hands in my lifetime. We the People are now we the peasants, the constitutional republic of the founders is no longer real, only a shadow remains. Владимир Владимирович Путин (Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin) was absolutely correct when he said the US is "the empire of lies" no doubt about it.
Where shall I emigrate to? Eastern Europe, Asia, maybe Mongolia where Chinngis Khaan is celebrated.
SCT, remember the opening of Star Trek the TV show? Of course you do: "Space. The Final Frontier." Just kidding. But in many ways and for many people America was the final frontier. It was the last place you could go and have a new life with a "tabula rasa," with freedom, and wide open opportunity. That sense of unlimited opportunity and freedom is of course why people came here and it has always been part of the American ethos.
It seems that ethos has been greatly diminished if not lost entirely. Is it still in the hearts of people? To the extent that it is there is still hope for this country. If not, well, enough Eastern Europeans are old enough to remember the differences between Communism and freedom. That might not be bad...
While I can certainly understand Gen. Macgreggor’s concern over Biden “s tumbling” into a war with China, I still see the Chinese playing the long game and humiliating the US in the process. They have an infinite number of options that can inflict great economic hardships on this country without ever firing a shot. With Biden, Pelosi and Kentucky Mitch obviously compromised with their “Chinese” connections, it just doesn’t seem in China’s best interests to allow us to stumble into an inconvenient war.
Look at the windfall that the “anti-inflation” bill tossed to Chinese companies, while doing nothing for the average American.
Had just finished rereading (probably the third time over the last 40-ish years) "The Guns of August," when a friend (an American law professor in Moscow from whom I hadn't heard since before the Ukraine conflict) today recommended it on social media as a timely read.
As Macgregor points out, "stumbling into war" is a very real thing. Timely, indeed!
An even better read is the much more recent July 1914 Countdown to War, by John McMeekin. Not really for a 14-year-old boy, I would think.
Off topic, but would you recommend this book for a 14 year old. He informed me that he wants to study 'The impact of military strategies and the advancement of weapons on world history' for history this year. The sample looks interesting but maybe over the head of a 14 year old. Thanks.
I first read it as a HS freshman and enjoyed it then, but really appreciated when I picked up about 20 years later (with the benefit of further education, travel, etc.). I'd say it's more about world events/diplomacy (or lack thereof) than military or weaponry, but it's pretty cool that you have a 14yo these days interested in such topics!
Thanks for the input. I might put this one on the bottom of the list to read if we have extra time. Military and weapons aren’t really where my interests lie so it’s been a challenge to put together a full year that will interest and challenge him. I learned very little in my high school history classes (except how to memorize dates so I could pass the test) so my goal for him is to have less breadth but more depth about what he is interested in.
"The Echo of Battle" by Brian Linn is excellent. US military strategy/way of war all the way from Revolutionary War to Iraq analyzed in an accessible (not overly wordy or technical) 250-ish pages.
Thanks. This looks perfect. I found it used for a great price and just ordered it.
Massive shoutout to you here Mark - you must send him lot's of traffic: https://tomluongo.me/2022/08/10/from-davos-without-love-true-detective-or-true-conspiracy/
Well, he deserves all the traffic he gets.
I think Doug Macgregor is right to worry. Taiwan is China's red line, just as Ukraine is Russia's. This latest stunt has just confirmed to China that the Biden administration cannot be trusted. We are so reliant on our Chinese imports, especially tech and medicine, that I don't even want to think about what it would be like if we went to war.
At least we have some good news! Hurray for Denmark! Canada has blindly followed the USA's lead in rolling out the jabs to babies, so I'm very grateful to Denmark for speaking out and pray that other countries will follow suit.
It doesn't make sense to me that "Joe Biden" is simultaneously "owned" by China as a result of his corrupt business dealings and is starting a war with them. Unless that's what they want him to do. I have no way of knowing this but I think the possibility should be considered.
Just as many have theorized that our involvement in Ukraine (another prime location of Biden corruption) is part of a Davos plan to weaken the US, wouldn't a war with China have the same effect? If you're going to sleepwalk the US into WWIII, who better to do it than the sleepwalker-in-chief (strings controlled by others of course)?
To "build back better" implies whatever existed previously first has to be destroyed. The DNC/WEF is certainly doing their best in that regard by any means possible.
Pelosi was also quite personally motivated to go to Taiwan. Not only did the trip take the spotlight off her husband's recent DUI, but she took her son along (he's tied to a fraud and bribery scheme being investigated by FBI); both her venture capitalist husband and son have significant business dealings with China. You would think that would be a conflict of interest, but apparently not if you're a high-ranking member of the DNC. Last but not least, the family indirectly has a large stake in the company Taiwan Semiconductor via the investment firm Alliance Bernstein Holding. (The semiconductor industry got a boost from the recently passed CHIPS Act, which provides funding to the semiconductor sector.)
My guess is that she and the neocons who supported her trip were taken off-guard by China's strong reaction. In the past, they've gotten away with provoking the dragon but China has since become far more powerful.
I could go on and on, but frankly it's depressing. The flagrant corruption is absolutely shocking. The US has become a banana republic, with complete disregard for truth or the rule of law. And don't even get me started on the WEF, C19, or Agenda 2030!
Pelosi was just virtue signalling on a global stage and 'they' didn't expect China's virulent rxn, just as 'they' underestimate the center's rxn to siccing the American Stasi on Trump this week. But as for Taiwan, there will be no real war. China will take it when it's ready to and America lacks the means to stop them.
@Bob C.
Yes, a conundrum. It would appear that among our Rulers there is internal disagreement... between the Neocons and the Globalists... Poor 'Joe Biden', hopelessly compromised, is caught in the middle. However, I doubt what he 'thinks' really matters...
A large faction of the so called "Globalists" are one and the same with Neocons, how do you see a disagreement among them?
@Cosmo
My impression is that a large portion of the WEF, Free Trade, Wall Street and Globalist faction of our Ruling Class (see, for example, Michael Bloomberg) is heavily invested in the commercial relationship between China and the USA. On the other hand the Neocon, Endless War, Military Industrial faction of our Ruling Class cannot resist waging war (or threatening war) on anybody who does not bow to American Hegemony. These two factions could well be experiencing some conflict these days.
Of course, I could be wrong. They are not exactly transparent.
@Cassander
Thanks for your considerate and informative reply. I agree much of our Globalist class is heavily invested in China enrichment schemes based on the one-sided commercial relationship with China. However; the Neocon often is as well although they rarely reveal (transparency) their own enrichment schemes. Both groups trade off the chaos they create. George Soros is a prime example of one who creates chaos to make money off it. I don't think you are wrong. To me the Ukraine is simply another money laundering effort like our so called friends in Israel.
@Cosmo
Thank you for mentioning the money laundering aspect of the Ukraine situation.
I've lost track of how many billions of 'dollars' aid we have 'sent' to Ukraine. I assume a substantial portion of this aid round trips its way through US defense industries/manufacturers and middle men and easily finds its way back into the pockets of lobbyists, media, NGOs, PACs, lawyers and 'think tanks'. I somehow doubt much of it is converted into Ukrainian hryvnia and ends up in Ukrainian pockets. Maybe somebody else here knows more about this question -- where our aid actually goes.
"American vaccine fanatics, take note. You are hurting your kids for no reason except your own narcissism and anxiety."
As Yogi would've said, if people don't want to remain in the gene pool who's gonna stop them?
"Remain in the gene pool" - good one! Permission to use going forward? :)
I certainly didn't coin that phrase, so Fair Use Doctrine applies ;-)
So Pelosi would risk war with China for her son?? Is there any depth these people won't plumb? Sick if true.
Isn't it a truism that thoroughly corrupt criminals do not consider their criminality in their decision-making?
Michael Corleone to lieutenant: I want you to take Sammy the Dog out.
Lieutenant: Yes sir.
Corleone: Wait! Don't do that. That would be criminal!
Did not ever happen.
Rumours are that she's shopping for a mansion in Florida. Hopefully Florida will step up to the plate.
It's All About the Benjamins…
There are hints Taiwan also lobbied through Gerhart for the visit.
Ah! Maybe that was what her bizarre reference to Franklin was about!
No. Like all the current so called leadership of the country, she’s too dumb to know or care what she’s doing. Just another senile worn out politician who should have been retired years ago.
Who would want to make or stay in a deal with a leaderless, lawless, fragmented, blundering, inconsistent, undependable government run by backstabbing people without any respect for law, agreements, or morality?
100% cynical, no sarcasm.
Hell, I'm not sure that I want to remain a citizen of the once great republic known as The United States of America. In the years since my birth in Dallas Texas in 1962 nearly everything that made the USA great has been systematically destroyed. The party nominally in power made differences of degree not in kind, the true power actually has never changed hands in my lifetime. We the People are now we the peasants, the constitutional republic of the founders is no longer real, only a shadow remains. Владимир Владимирович Путин (Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin) was absolutely correct when he said the US is "the empire of lies" no doubt about it.
Where shall I emigrate to? Eastern Europe, Asia, maybe Mongolia where Chinngis Khaan is celebrated.
SCT, remember the opening of Star Trek the TV show? Of course you do: "Space. The Final Frontier." Just kidding. But in many ways and for many people America was the final frontier. It was the last place you could go and have a new life with a "tabula rasa," with freedom, and wide open opportunity. That sense of unlimited opportunity and freedom is of course why people came here and it has always been part of the American ethos.
It seems that ethos has been greatly diminished if not lost entirely. Is it still in the hearts of people? To the extent that it is there is still hope for this country. If not, well, enough Eastern Europeans are old enough to remember the differences between Communism and freedom. That might not be bad...
Good job, American Vote Counters!
We ALL know the election was stolen from the American voters.