I wonder to what extent Vance’s comments were deeper than anyone has commented on. This has been the ground that Meloni and Orban have been speaking from: we cannot let go of the ground (pre-modern) of the West as we figure out how to live with ubiquitous digital tech. One could are that Putin has staked some of this ground out…as has…China. Yes. China. Fundamental to China’s criticisms of the modern West, particularly among Chinese academics that travel, teach and write broadly, as well as elite Chinese party members is the lack of morality (not merely ethics) of the current West. What happened to the US following its Declaration, for example. What happened to the West basing itself on certain views of the human soul as the basis of a human equality? What happened to concern for Republican governance principles? What happened to viewing the West as a distinct civilization?
The “decline” of the West has led to problems worldwide, problems that China cannot address, as it is concerned with itself first, and the possibility of chaos impacting China’s goal of internal harmony.
Robert’s Court: one can view it as picking a
different route from the one the Rehnquist Court tried when it attempted to breath life into Federalism, and failed.
Progs: one aspect missed is that Wilson, in promoting the Executive as the Head of Government (think Brits), is that the Bureaucracy was in fact to be controlled by and follow the Executive. This changed post Truman and the bureaucracy was viewed by the “establishment,” or what we call deep state, as the way to keep everything and everyone on the same path, including the Executive. This was in fact the conflict with Nixon after his massive win in ‘72.
Television took over and became the guiding force for “consensus.” This ended about 2000, thus its inability to form the public or kill Trump. The deep state relied upon television to form, and when it failed, there is nothing else, so the attempts to get at us have been rather obvious. Everything falls apart without Television. Television “wanted” globalism. Digital does not. It is all about the particulars/specifics/discreet of life. Think Aristotle: what is it?
The Chinese/East have their answers to this. The West does not.
What I do not think Crooke hits on, and I agree with what he did say, but what he did not say,
appear to address is the Individual Countries comprising the EU & they will get nothing.
The individual countries just realized, despite all the monies they put in, despite all the weapons they put in, despite ' loans ' to Ukraine and " Security Agreements ", there is nothing left for them - the US is taking it. And that is why representatives of individual countries are flying to US begging Trump.
eg: if Ukraine does a 200 300 500 billion trade/loan to the US there is nothing left for the EU Countries and for the US that will take 50 or 100 years to pay off in the first place ( not much there for US either but at least it looks good) .
How are the leaders of the individual Countries of the EU going to explain to their citizens/voters, they get no money back, no weapons replaced by the US, and it was a 100 % loss & more ( lost trade, lost relations, lost weaponry, lost energy, lost businesses/bankruptcies )
Diplomatically the EU and all the individual countries always knew they were a second fiddle, but the Individual Countries had agreements based in part on what they put in, Agreements with
A. Ukraine, and B. with the EU Peace Facility fund, that they would get paid back.
The European Peace Facility (EPF) initial financial ceiling was set at around €5 billion for the 2021-2027 period, but grew to > €17 billion with Ukraine reported to have received > €11 billion.
The EPF was designed for, among many issues, individual Countries supplying Ukraine with weapons, weapons that were donated to Ukraine would later be reimbursed, replaced, providing incentive for Countries to donate weapons.
Those that gave are now realizing there will be no give back.
eg: the UK has provided £4.1 billion in fiscal support through World Bank loan guarantees. Not a loan but a guaranty of a World Bank loan to Ukraine. If Ukraine defaults, UK has to pay.
eg: the UK did a £2.26 billion loan announced in October 2024, part of a G7 $50 billion package. This is a direct loan to Ukraine, however it’s designed to be repaid using profits from frozen Russian assets, not Ukraine’s own funds.
=========================================
But in any US Russia Settlement that 50 BILLION is GONE Russia Assets would be released and then all the Countries are " On The Hook "
It's all funny business and shenanigans, loans made to be repaid by the Russia assets.
Pope Francis is very ill. His death may not be imminent but reasonable to think it will happen before many months.
Roman Catholicism will, itself, be in a Europe-like situation: will Catholics (cardinals) choose Francis 2.0, or a return to more traditional policies and practices?
I've been thinking about that all weekend and trying to formulate some ideas. There are at least two related factors militating against a Bergoglio Redux. 1. Much--most?--of the clerical caste is fed up with a church run by a dictator. 2. Conciliar church finances are drastically down, and the money that funds what remains of the shrinking organization disproportionately comes from those with some sort of connection to Catholic tradition--the clerical caste may feel constrained to come to some accommodation with Catholic tradition to stabilize the finances.
Working against that, of course, are the nihilistic instincts of the conciliar generation. Still, at least in the US, some bishops have felt compelled to inform their faithful of what the faithful already knew--that Bergoglio's letter on cross border migration has no actual connection to Catholic teaching. I take it that those bishops took that rather unprecedented step because they understood that the people financing their dioceses--actually giving money--are heavily Trump supporters. They can't afford to lose those people and so sought to placate them.
I started that video on Sunday, but did not have time to watch it in it's entirety. I am Greek Orthodox and find what Zelensky has done to the UOC is terrible. Thanks for bringing that in to the discussion.
As Scott Ritter and many others have said, we are in the middle of a revolution. Events that we could only dream of are not only happening but happening at a pace that is electrifying. Great take on the EU. And of course, being the EU, they will react in the only way they know: to try and grab even more power. I expect the calls for a European army to grow louder from certain quarters, even though there is no money or manpower to create one. After all, how can you be a global superstate without an army? Of course, it will all come to nothing. Over the coming few years (or months?) most if not all of the Euro culprits will be begging Russia for mercy.
EU could have an army - These EU Bureaucrats can always do like Ukraine is doing - conscript and throw you in a blackout van and to front you go. Money you can print in fiat modern economies. Sure inflation sets in but EU tyrants don't care about the proles so whatever. I wouldnt put is past them way they are throwing people in prison for words now. Europe is a totalitarian police state not unlike Ukraine who's managed to fight Russia for three years.
To your money point, munitions are also going to be needed. Is the US going to subsidize the EU? I think not. Where else will the EU get their armaments?
Europe has a MUCH larger industrial base than America who's manufacturing buildings rusted away a a long time ago. Germany is actually still an old school production economy who could switch exclusively to weapons systems. The real problem is Time. Ukraine doesnt have 3-4 years to ramp up to Russia production levels unless EU troops supplement their catastrophic loses and hold the line.
One has to be careful devils in details . They count food, timber, they count assembly with all parts Made In China. All of NATO COMBINED can;t even keep up with "little" Russia in Artillery shells missiles tanks drones should tell you bar graphs like this mean little. Germany actually makes things from ground up and is superior to US volume too.
Steg, A lot of people are using the term revolution to describe what Trump is and has been doing for the last month. I posted an interesting substack article you should take a look at in the preceding article by Mark.
Very good commentary:
German elections, government coalition of losers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP10sli5PT0
Pull the rug of the Euro administrative state and civil war is guaranteed, tough bind. Especially in France.
With more homogeneous mass migrations and a far more left leaning portions of the population the rise of nationalism will cause real divisions.
Make the West Great Again?
I wonder to what extent Vance’s comments were deeper than anyone has commented on. This has been the ground that Meloni and Orban have been speaking from: we cannot let go of the ground (pre-modern) of the West as we figure out how to live with ubiquitous digital tech. One could are that Putin has staked some of this ground out…as has…China. Yes. China. Fundamental to China’s criticisms of the modern West, particularly among Chinese academics that travel, teach and write broadly, as well as elite Chinese party members is the lack of morality (not merely ethics) of the current West. What happened to the US following its Declaration, for example. What happened to the West basing itself on certain views of the human soul as the basis of a human equality? What happened to concern for Republican governance principles? What happened to viewing the West as a distinct civilization?
The “decline” of the West has led to problems worldwide, problems that China cannot address, as it is concerned with itself first, and the possibility of chaos impacting China’s goal of internal harmony.
Robert’s Court: one can view it as picking a
different route from the one the Rehnquist Court tried when it attempted to breath life into Federalism, and failed.
Progs: one aspect missed is that Wilson, in promoting the Executive as the Head of Government (think Brits), is that the Bureaucracy was in fact to be controlled by and follow the Executive. This changed post Truman and the bureaucracy was viewed by the “establishment,” or what we call deep state, as the way to keep everything and everyone on the same path, including the Executive. This was in fact the conflict with Nixon after his massive win in ‘72.
Television took over and became the guiding force for “consensus.” This ended about 2000, thus its inability to form the public or kill Trump. The deep state relied upon television to form, and when it failed, there is nothing else, so the attempts to get at us have been rather obvious. Everything falls apart without Television. Television “wanted” globalism. Digital does not. It is all about the particulars/specifics/discreet of life. Think Aristotle: what is it?
The Chinese/East have their answers to this. The West does not.
So what you're suggesting is don't accept any pagers from folks in the UK/EU.
What I do not think Crooke hits on, and I agree with what he did say, but what he did not say,
appear to address is the Individual Countries comprising the EU & they will get nothing.
The individual countries just realized, despite all the monies they put in, despite all the weapons they put in, despite ' loans ' to Ukraine and " Security Agreements ", there is nothing left for them - the US is taking it. And that is why representatives of individual countries are flying to US begging Trump.
eg: if Ukraine does a 200 300 500 billion trade/loan to the US there is nothing left for the EU Countries and for the US that will take 50 or 100 years to pay off in the first place ( not much there for US either but at least it looks good) .
How are the leaders of the individual Countries of the EU going to explain to their citizens/voters, they get no money back, no weapons replaced by the US, and it was a 100 % loss & more ( lost trade, lost relations, lost weaponry, lost energy, lost businesses/bankruptcies )
Diplomatically the EU and all the individual countries always knew they were a second fiddle, but the Individual Countries had agreements based in part on what they put in, Agreements with
A. Ukraine, and B. with the EU Peace Facility fund, that they would get paid back.
Now they realize there is nothing for them.
The EU Peace Facility is bankrupted.
The European Peace Facility (EPF) initial financial ceiling was set at around €5 billion for the 2021-2027 period, but grew to > €17 billion with Ukraine reported to have received > €11 billion.
The EPF was designed for, among many issues, individual Countries supplying Ukraine with weapons, weapons that were donated to Ukraine would later be reimbursed, replaced, providing incentive for Countries to donate weapons.
Those that gave are now realizing there will be no give back.
eg: the UK has provided £4.1 billion in fiscal support through World Bank loan guarantees. Not a loan but a guaranty of a World Bank loan to Ukraine. If Ukraine defaults, UK has to pay.
eg: the UK did a £2.26 billion loan announced in October 2024, part of a G7 $50 billion package. This is a direct loan to Ukraine, however it’s designed to be repaid using profits from frozen Russian assets, not Ukraine’s own funds.
=========================================
But in any US Russia Settlement that 50 BILLION is GONE Russia Assets would be released and then all the Countries are " On The Hook "
It's all funny business and shenanigans, loans made to be repaid by the Russia assets.
Good Luck
==========================================
Pope Francis is very ill. His death may not be imminent but reasonable to think it will happen before many months.
Roman Catholicism will, itself, be in a Europe-like situation: will Catholics (cardinals) choose Francis 2.0, or a return to more traditional policies and practices?
I've been thinking about that all weekend and trying to formulate some ideas. There are at least two related factors militating against a Bergoglio Redux. 1. Much--most?--of the clerical caste is fed up with a church run by a dictator. 2. Conciliar church finances are drastically down, and the money that funds what remains of the shrinking organization disproportionately comes from those with some sort of connection to Catholic tradition--the clerical caste may feel constrained to come to some accommodation with Catholic tradition to stabilize the finances.
Working against that, of course, are the nihilistic instincts of the conciliar generation. Still, at least in the US, some bishops have felt compelled to inform their faithful of what the faithful already knew--that Bergoglio's letter on cross border migration has no actual connection to Catholic teaching. I take it that those bishops took that rather unprecedented step because they understood that the people financing their dioceses--actually giving money--are heavily Trump supporters. They can't afford to lose those people and so sought to placate them.
Yes, yes indeed only three decades and countless billions wasted on the expired NATO idiocy. Can we now end it?
US was pouring money into a pro trans organization in the uk, that seems had a huge amount of influence:
https://hotair.com/david-strom/2025/02/24/stonewall-uks-largest-trans-rights-organization-turned-out-to-be-a-usaid-front-n3800132
And in Ukraine was bankrolling an atheist organization, and is seeking to destroy the largest church in Ukraine.
https://youtu.be/T0DE7JWI5hA?si=nDjhVkmZT26JZmZC
A very disturbing Tucker interview with Bob Amsterdam.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Amsterdam
Ray,
I started that video on Sunday, but did not have time to watch it in it's entirety. I am Greek Orthodox and find what Zelensky has done to the UOC is terrible. Thanks for bringing that in to the discussion.
Always destroy, never create, seems to be their motto.
And sure enough: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/europe-working-plans-send-30000-troops-ukraine-trump-talks-drawdown-continent
How many from Switzerland? 1?
Probably, but he'll have the knife, so, can handle the can opening and nail filing of 30.
HA!
Hilarious video from the Vineyard Saker that sums it all up. Watch and laugh!
https://youtu.be/sZtKKwj4_TM?si=ibWLjPUgn7Z-hLIJ
O.M.G. Hilarious
Is the Saker back? I thought he had left the scene for at least the duration of the war?
he’s on Patreon
As Scott Ritter and many others have said, we are in the middle of a revolution. Events that we could only dream of are not only happening but happening at a pace that is electrifying. Great take on the EU. And of course, being the EU, they will react in the only way they know: to try and grab even more power. I expect the calls for a European army to grow louder from certain quarters, even though there is no money or manpower to create one. After all, how can you be a global superstate without an army? Of course, it will all come to nothing. Over the coming few years (or months?) most if not all of the Euro culprits will be begging Russia for mercy.
EU could have an army - These EU Bureaucrats can always do like Ukraine is doing - conscript and throw you in a blackout van and to front you go. Money you can print in fiat modern economies. Sure inflation sets in but EU tyrants don't care about the proles so whatever. I wouldnt put is past them way they are throwing people in prison for words now. Europe is a totalitarian police state not unlike Ukraine who's managed to fight Russia for three years.
To your money point, munitions are also going to be needed. Is the US going to subsidize the EU? I think not. Where else will the EU get their armaments?
Europe has a MUCH larger industrial base than America who's manufacturing buildings rusted away a a long time ago. Germany is actually still an old school production economy who could switch exclusively to weapons systems. The real problem is Time. Ukraine doesnt have 3-4 years to ramp up to Russia production levels unless EU troops supplement their catastrophic loses and hold the line.
https://worldostats.com/manufacturing-output-by-country-2025/
One has to be careful devils in details . They count food, timber, they count assembly with all parts Made In China. All of NATO COMBINED can;t even keep up with "little" Russia in Artillery shells missiles tanks drones should tell you bar graphs like this mean little. Germany actually makes things from ground up and is superior to US volume too.
https://worldostats.com/manufacturing-output-by-country-2025/
Steg, A lot of people are using the term revolution to describe what Trump is and has been doing for the last month. I posted an interesting substack article you should take a look at in the preceding article by Mark.