This will be a sort of Briefly Noted roundup of articles that provide food for thought—something that’s in terribly short supply, what with US Senators calling for the assassination of leaders of nuclear powers, and so forth.
The price of gas at my corner gas station went up 20 cents in the space of a couple of hours this morning. Right, that may be penny ante at this point, but it’s a start.
Those who have it, are no longer giving it away, and those that don't will soon find themselves in the middle of an epic food crisis.
Just hours after we reported that Russia effectively banned exports of fertilizers, moments ago Hungary - one of Europe's most grain rich nations - has circled the wagons and realizing which way the wind is blowing, just announced that it will banning all grain exports effective immediately, in a statement .
Expect wheat prices, already at record highs, to promptly double from here in the next few weeks as the world realizes the extent of the global food crisis that is coming.
Quick—can you name three countries that aren’t “grain rich?”
Gallup data offer insight into the populations most likely to suffer from a prolonged disruption: People in countries reliant on wheat from Ukraine or Russia, where large segments of their populations were also struggling to afford food before the war broke out. Many of the countries on this list, including Egypt, Turkey and Kenya, are also dealing with political instability and conflict, situations only made worse when populations go hungry.
Steve Bannon on Thursday praised Steve Hayes on MSNBC following his segment on the dangerous economic war the United States declared on Russia. Bannon later slammed Sean Hannity and Lindsey Graham and all the “neocons out there, all they want to do is send your kids to war with your dollars.”
We are in a dangerous place and, once again, this government and media are not being honest with the American people.
Steve Bannon: The key is the United States… The United States of America has gone to full-out economic war and in modern warfare that is every bit as powerful or just as powerful as kinetic warfare than having a couple of F16s flying around, putting our blood, our young men and women in harm’s way. Now they’ve put EVERYBODY in harm’s way. Please understand that. You’re in harm’s way. You’re a participant in a war that the President of the United States has not come through and informed the American public exactly what the stakes are. Why is this vital national security interest of the United States and what are the possibilities of what’s going to happen?
More from Bannon:
“Remember Hong Kong?… Joe Biden… He needs to come forward and lay out for the American people, exactly not just what’s at stake here, but what we’re doing. The professor on MSNBC had it right, we have declared war on the state authority. We are breaking the Central Bank of Russia. The reason they can’t open their market is we’ve taken their reserve, all of their dollar-based reserves we’ve swept. We have all the Central Bank’s reserves. We’re crushing the ruble right now. They want the Russian people to run out in the streets and say, just like in 1917, “Get rid of the new czar!” That’s what they’re pushing for. And if that’s the plan, sit the American people down on national TV and walk through the plan.
However, in a clear exhibition of how Ukraine propaganda is now extreme and desperate, everything about the claim was false. This morning, in an effort to save face and hide the intent of their propaganda, the U.S. State Department began trying to cover themselves, as evidenced by CNN narrative engineer Natasha Bertrand.
The cost of transporting goods by air has surged since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last week, just as consumers are already grappling with the fastest pace of inflation in nearly 40 years.
Carriers, including KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and United Parcel Service, are filling their planes with pricier fuel for longer Asia routes to avoid Russia due to airspace closures. Jet fuel prices in the United States this week hit the highest in more than a decade.
And in politics, Senator Rick Scott—who recently came up with a sensible 11 point plan for senatorial campaigns that included finishing the border wall, for which he was attacked by Mitch McConnell—has responded to the Turtle in the WSJ:
“I have committed heresy in Washington. I’ve been in the Senate for only three years, and I have released an 11-point plan with 128 ideas on what Republicans should do after we win the coming elections and take control of the Senate and House.
“In the real world beyond the Beltway, Republicans and independents demand bold action and a plan to save our nation. They see no point in taking control of Congress if we are simply going to return to business as usual.”
“We are losing this country. The militant left has seized control of the federal government, the news media, Big Tech, academia, Hollywood, the Democratic Party, most corporate boardrooms and even some of our top military leaders.
“If we have no bigger plan than to be a speed bump on the road to socialism, we don’t deserve to govern. Most Republicans in Congress agree, but many live in fear of speaking the truth in Washington.”
Forever war has become part of business as usual. We need some courage on that, too.
Russia Removed From Apple Maps
https://twitter.com/TheBabylonBee/status/1499855041720725504?cxt=HHwWgMC9hdiNx9ApAAAA
Brave New Army Commercial Promotes Inclusion And Diversity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVUcevfmzEM