Briefly Noted: Persian Gulf Update; Russian War Spending
Yesterday we briefly tried to point out the significance of the UAE’s turn to Iran and withdrawal from a US-led joint naval security regime for the Persian Gulf. This occurred in the wake of US seizures of oil tankers for “sanctions violations”, and Iranian counter seizures. Commenter Old Frank later came up with tweet that demonstrates just how determined the Gulf nations—including traditional enemies Iran and Saudi Arabia—to assert their independence of the West and to take control of their own security. This represents a definite turn toward the Eurasian bloc, with the object of ultimately pushing the US Navy out of the Gulf:
The Sirius Report
@thesiriusreport
Washington will be thrilled:
Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman will form a joint navy to guarantee the security of the Persian Gulf.
8:45 AM · Jun 2, 2023
All the geopolitical shifts we’ve been discussing are happening at an increasing tempo. One would have expected a more gradual shift, but it appears that the Neocon “war on the world” regime and the firm response of Russia and China has induced fence sitters to make their choice. For Eurasia.
Now, here’s a remarkable article from a very mainstream outlet. It turns out that Russia is not being economically and financially weakened from their war effort. On the contrary, the collective West is finding itself being drained:
Russia is spending surprisingly little on its war on Ukraine
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has cost Moscow a small amount by historical standards, per the Economist.
Russia's spending remains opaque, but its war budget is about 3% of GDP.
By comparison, the Soviet Union spent 61% of GDP in World War II.
Armchair Warlord comments:
Armchair Warlord
@ArmchairW
Russia is apparently gassing NATO in Ukraine on $67 billion a year. Which is about a quarter of what their enemies are throwing at them.
Beyond showing that Russia can fight this war until doomsday, this is a damning indictment of Western MIC bloat.
8:58 PM · Jun 2, 2023
Will Schryver presents the numbers that show that Russia is crushing the West industrially—this can’t be turned around any time soon, will just keep getting worse if Ukraine keeps burning through supplies:
Will Schryver
@imetatronink
The Pentagon proudly announced that US artillery ammunition production is now up to 30k rounds PER MONTH, and they hope to double that by 2025.
The Russians average about 25k rounds of artillery ammo PER DAY, with surge capacity to 75k rounds per day.
And now the US is begging Japan to produce explosives for them, in order to supply the demand for US artillery shell production.
Col. Vershinin saw this coming:
https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/return-industrial-warfare
7:09 PM · Jun 2, 2023
This isn’t going to end well. The feckless Uniparty is authorizing ramped up spending beyond already insane levels, while it’s becoming clear to all that the economy is heading for serious recession and the role of the dollar internationally is steadily decling.
Evidence of ongoing US failures accumulate. https://twitter.com/profplum99/status/1664264292785602568 [edit: click on the chart to enlarge]
How far does the corruption in Fed Gov't reach? This is an update/revised chart from Bureau of Labor Stats of Month over Month changes for Q4 2022. - BLS published stats just updated (Tweet is dated June 1). While shared from a business perspective, (as evidence of recession likely been happening for a while) what I'm noting is the BLS seems complicit in the big-fooling of the few citizens paying attention at all. These revisions aren't slight and are important markers of trends. It seems the goal of perverting public information has no bounds, apparently now including BLS reporting.
I am struck with the thought, how, if even possible, can this country return to that which is trustworthy not only of it's role in world affairs, but even to it's citizens?
Maybe the point is there may not be a path... Hard for me to swallow such a prospect. (Thanks to all for enduring my posts). Best regards Mark and also to your well-informed and thoughtful readership! (WrH)
It's not DESIGNED to "turn out well" for our nation, or any OTHER independent nation- they are trying to END nationalism- Xi has said that unrestrained nationalism is their greatest enemy. Of course China uses nationalism as much as possible to fight the west, and particularly the US in the propaganda war, while criticizing us. Just like it's hypocrisy in climate advocacy, it urges OTHER nations to lower their emissions, while not restraining theirs at all, they are continuing to build coal burning electrical generators and pay NO ATTENTION to emissions in their own country. Just as how the Chinese are the MOST RACIST nationality on earth, while criticizing the west, which is FAR LESS discriminatory regarding prejudice.
Our country has made a HISTORICALLY HUGE mistake, in elevating China since the 1970's- first by Richard Nixon and later by industrialists eager to enter the Chinese labor market, using Chinese SLAVE LABOR.
We have funded and improved our GREATEST enemy. China uses our capital markets to increase and improve it's war machine. Biden and obama ensured that China does NOT have to follow every other company on EARTH in revealing financial documents in order to use our capital markets, because China regards it's financials as STATE SECRETS.
But as Tucker recently said, the MSM only talks about UNIMPORTANT subjects- most people do not even KNOW the above stark facts!
Maybe the continuing revelation of how much the Biden crime family has profited financially from China, and the HELP China gave Biden in becoming President, and the efforts Biden is now putting into paying China back for it's LONG help in corrupting the West for the personal financial profit of Biden will help American's realize that the time is VERY LATE for the US- we are being destroyed from within from people PURPORTING to be America's Leaders- but everything they do, and everything they propose, is to the detriment of the US.
These "leaders" of ours are financially CONFLICTED- as China increases it's power, these "leaders" of ours become richer and richer. And the internal division (increased by deliberate setting of one group against another (class, income, sex, sexual preference, politics))is ALSO designed to weaken US.
The crimes are right out in the OPEN.