Wow! Lots going on—or so it certainly seems. Yesterday I was listening to the guys at The Duran, who brought up the topic of Zhou’s recent jaunt to Kiev and Warsaw. Citing articles at the WSJ and NR (which they didn’t link) they stated that Eastern European countries—by which they mean Poland and the Baltics—are “freaking out”. Yes, Zhou read from his note cards the usual memes about “as long as it takes”, but apparently what the Eastern Euros heard privately caused them to flip their wigs. The impression they got, according to the guys at The Duran, was either that 1) Zhou and his regime have no actual plan—it’s, maybe this will work, maybe that—or 2) Zhou may have let slip that the US is about to bail on Ukraine. True it is that the collective West understands that Ukraine is reaching the end game—the weapons cupboard of the collective West is largely bare, for all the yakkety yak about “arms packages”, which now mostly amount to “the checks in the mail”. If Zhou’s trip was intended to shore up support for the US war on Russia, it had exactly the opposite effect. The Poles and Balts are about to learn a very brutal lesson about trusting Neocon assurances.
Today (as you might be aware Mark), MK Badrakumar has basically said Biden is damn— if he does and damn— if he doesn’t! To run or not to run - any action he takes is a “zugzwang.” MK is a brilliant thinker:
“Indeed, Biden must willy-nilly remain in power beyond 2024 or else he becomes extremely vulnerable. Therefore, Biden desperately needs a second term. He cannot be too sure even if some other Democratic candidate wins in 2024. God forbid, if the Republicans seize the presidency, Biden and his family members will be fighting with their backs against the wall.
But there is also the flip side. Biden’s candidacy will bring Nord Stream, Hunter Biden, Ukraine war, et al, to the centre stage of the election campaign. Is it worth the risk?”
From his “Punchline” blog - it ties in with your post of yesterday about the NYT/IC contention that Ukrainians carried out NS sabotage…
You beat me to it with the JKH quote, Mark. I read that yesterday and thought it a brilliant summary of where we are: "Imagine that on an April evening in 1912, the captain of the RMS Titanic had announced a grand ball at which the male passengers were asked to wear their wives’ clothing and vice-versa…. That was approximately the condition of Western Civ verging on springtime in 2023" As for a Ukraine exit ramp, it the neocons get out now, the American public might just have forgotten about it by Nov 2024.
Let's see, a pro-Ukraine "group" is responsible for damaging 3 of 4 lines of the Northstreams. I suspect that the head of this anti Putin "group" would be none other than the insane, warmongering, neocon extraordinaire, the one and only Ms. V. Nutland.
For those growing weary of heavily spun war coverage at the Duran and the Saker (bye-bye!) and actually keeping score on Macgregor's predictions over the past year, I offer an alternate pro-Russian view:
The CCP piece is very interesting: China's gov't being more confrontational to the USA and West by several sigma above normal. (through the Vlahos thread is this link to of all things Christiane Amanpour doing some actual & reasonable journalistic probing of the question "what does China want" https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1633074264201994242/mediaViewer?currentTweet=1633074264201994242¤tTweetUser=amuse ) The weird thing, in terms of BRICS evolution, is that Russia and China are not natural allies, having come more from the frienemy side of the spectrum. If Russia didn't need the market and currency heft, they'd be happier I suspect in a "RIBS" + West + China + non-aligned-Asia multi-polar world (come to think of it, I would too). China is antithetical to the religious cultural imperatives central to Putin's Russia. In fact, the Davos crowd and the CCP-urge for control and stability world-wide are closer than China-Russia. weird world, no?
Two thoughts. Should Afghanistan be added to the list of defeats?
Second. I’m thinking of the bubble the neocons and their supporters are living in. It may be best exemplified by The Turtles reaction to Fox News release of the J6 tapes and Tucker Carlson’s video that is all over the internet. Briefly stated, he is denying the reality of what Carlson presented. Saying it is all lies. I watched it. It is actual video taken on Jan 6. What world does the guy live in?
Thank you, Mr Wauck, for the write-up(s) = you are appreciated. A few thoughts on this one. No quibbles on the summary direction of the accursed Ukraine war: put a fork in it. Putin will extract a very high price for closure in the end-game; NATO, sanctions, Nordstream reparations, and reserve currency mechanisms are on the agenda. I suspect that was the reason Olaf Scholz made a White House visit. I doubt he had anything substantive to say to Zhou in their private meeting, but likely lots to say to Mr Jake Sullivan and others. Mr Scholz will be looking to next Winter's concerns (that is the EU's real problem, they can't keep paying the current energy costs another year) in terms of energy, grain, fertilizer supplies, and where is their market for German produced goods?? Germany invented "Real Politik" under Willy Brandt, they could readily pivot to Russia (and Turkey). On the question of a President Trump being able and ready to change the course of the Ukraine awfulness, we differ: I think he would've made all the difference. As to Powell and the Fed == gulp! I favor high interest rates to bring inflation into check, but the size of the deficit is now so vast I don't see how we aren't stuck with the worst of both worlds: inflation to enable paying debt off in cheaper dollars and high long term interest rates. Ugh. Too much power in the current Washington DC structure, near total decoupling of the actions of the elite class from the will of the people. We live in interesting times.
Wow. Just wow. You have hit all the main issues here. Just one point, a Civil War is highly unlikely, but without it we will never function as a country. Washington has lost control over the people of this country. Permanently. Yes, there are the sheep who go along, and those who are totally dependent on Washington, but the rest of us have zero confidence in the regime, and even the rule of law. They can shut us up, and we will continue to pay taxes, but we couldn't care less if any of Washington's initiatives or even wars succeed. Call us deplorables, proles or even domestic terrorists, but they have succeeded in alienating all the most productive elements in America.
Today (as you might be aware Mark), MK Badrakumar has basically said Biden is damn— if he does and damn— if he doesn’t! To run or not to run - any action he takes is a “zugzwang.” MK is a brilliant thinker:
“Indeed, Biden must willy-nilly remain in power beyond 2024 or else he becomes extremely vulnerable. Therefore, Biden desperately needs a second term. He cannot be too sure even if some other Democratic candidate wins in 2024. God forbid, if the Republicans seize the presidency, Biden and his family members will be fighting with their backs against the wall.
But there is also the flip side. Biden’s candidacy will bring Nord Stream, Hunter Biden, Ukraine war, et al, to the centre stage of the election campaign. Is it worth the risk?”
From his “Punchline” blog - it ties in with your post of yesterday about the NYT/IC contention that Ukrainians carried out NS sabotage…
You beat me to it with the JKH quote, Mark. I read that yesterday and thought it a brilliant summary of where we are: "Imagine that on an April evening in 1912, the captain of the RMS Titanic had announced a grand ball at which the male passengers were asked to wear their wives’ clothing and vice-versa…. That was approximately the condition of Western Civ verging on springtime in 2023" As for a Ukraine exit ramp, it the neocons get out now, the American public might just have forgotten about it by Nov 2024.
Let's see, a pro-Ukraine "group" is responsible for damaging 3 of 4 lines of the Northstreams. I suspect that the head of this anti Putin "group" would be none other than the insane, warmongering, neocon extraordinaire, the one and only Ms. V. Nutland.
For those growing weary of heavily spun war coverage at the Duran and the Saker (bye-bye!) and actually keeping score on Macgregor's predictions over the past year, I offer an alternate pro-Russian view:
https://open.substack.com/pub/roloslavskiy/p/a-response-to-ron-unzs-latest-ukraine
Again, I don't endorse this guy. I just find value in a diversity of perspective.
The CCP piece is very interesting: China's gov't being more confrontational to the USA and West by several sigma above normal. (through the Vlahos thread is this link to of all things Christiane Amanpour doing some actual & reasonable journalistic probing of the question "what does China want" https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1633074264201994242/mediaViewer?currentTweet=1633074264201994242¤tTweetUser=amuse ) The weird thing, in terms of BRICS evolution, is that Russia and China are not natural allies, having come more from the frienemy side of the spectrum. If Russia didn't need the market and currency heft, they'd be happier I suspect in a "RIBS" + West + China + non-aligned-Asia multi-polar world (come to think of it, I would too). China is antithetical to the religious cultural imperatives central to Putin's Russia. In fact, the Davos crowd and the CCP-urge for control and stability world-wide are closer than China-Russia. weird world, no?
Two thoughts. Should Afghanistan be added to the list of defeats?
Second. I’m thinking of the bubble the neocons and their supporters are living in. It may be best exemplified by The Turtles reaction to Fox News release of the J6 tapes and Tucker Carlson’s video that is all over the internet. Briefly stated, he is denying the reality of what Carlson presented. Saying it is all lies. I watched it. It is actual video taken on Jan 6. What world does the guy live in?
Thank you, Mr Wauck, for the write-up(s) = you are appreciated. A few thoughts on this one. No quibbles on the summary direction of the accursed Ukraine war: put a fork in it. Putin will extract a very high price for closure in the end-game; NATO, sanctions, Nordstream reparations, and reserve currency mechanisms are on the agenda. I suspect that was the reason Olaf Scholz made a White House visit. I doubt he had anything substantive to say to Zhou in their private meeting, but likely lots to say to Mr Jake Sullivan and others. Mr Scholz will be looking to next Winter's concerns (that is the EU's real problem, they can't keep paying the current energy costs another year) in terms of energy, grain, fertilizer supplies, and where is their market for German produced goods?? Germany invented "Real Politik" under Willy Brandt, they could readily pivot to Russia (and Turkey). On the question of a President Trump being able and ready to change the course of the Ukraine awfulness, we differ: I think he would've made all the difference. As to Powell and the Fed == gulp! I favor high interest rates to bring inflation into check, but the size of the deficit is now so vast I don't see how we aren't stuck with the worst of both worlds: inflation to enable paying debt off in cheaper dollars and high long term interest rates. Ugh. Too much power in the current Washington DC structure, near total decoupling of the actions of the elite class from the will of the people. We live in interesting times.
Wow. Just wow. You have hit all the main issues here. Just one point, a Civil War is highly unlikely, but without it we will never function as a country. Washington has lost control over the people of this country. Permanently. Yes, there are the sheep who go along, and those who are totally dependent on Washington, but the rest of us have zero confidence in the regime, and even the rule of law. They can shut us up, and we will continue to pay taxes, but we couldn't care less if any of Washington's initiatives or even wars succeed. Call us deplorables, proles or even domestic terrorists, but they have succeeded in alienating all the most productive elements in America.
"Waiting for financial markets, banks, and monies to blow?"
Check out this podcast between Danielle DiMartino Booth and Francis Hunt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vijw7dKHYHg
A couple notes:
First thirty minutes describing calamitous developments and ominous portents in real estate, auto sales, etc...
34:30 - Never seen financial media so united in presenting conditions so contrary to and denying the reality of everyday experience
42:00 - trillion dollar bank bailouts in 2019 were bigger than subprime bailouts; repo lows (banks) always precede formal recessions by a year or two
43:00 - COVID could be seen as a cover story for the repo bank bailout
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/over-40-americans-think-ww3-imminent