I was pleased to listen to Doug Macgregor's State of the Union message after publishing this post. I liked that he contended that our forever wars have been for the benefit of our oligarchy. He didn't expand on that too much--in the past he has mostly talked about the MIC--but he did also mention central banking which has facilitated the financialization of the economy.
For all the talk of Russian and Chinese coordination it should be remembered China didn’t provide Russia with artillery nor much needed components for UAVs.
Bass is the one who oversaw the frenzied, chaotic US retreat from Afghanistan, so he's the right person for the Ukraine desk (Nuland's no. 3 position at State). The China hawk is the recently named new Undersecretary of State. The fact that Nuland, who was also serving as Acting Undersecretary, was recently rejected for the full number 2 position was a slapdown and is said to have probably contributed to her resignation.
Mr. Wauck, you mentioned character. I just came across the following article about the hardass farmers of Poland, who are carrying on their valiant struggle against the big agricultural monopolies of Ukraine. The current government of Poland doesn't support its farmers, but the farmers are nevertheless making Zelensky and his regime look like fools. I support their strategy and the EU policy of supporting farmers. This policy regards farming to be not only economic activity but also valuable social activity that is essential to the fabric of societies as a whole. In Ukraine, on the other hand, in recent years most farmers have been thrown off the land and replaced by Big-Ag large-scale industrial agriculture, much of it apparently funded by US and Dutch multinational corporations and investors such as BlackRock. The current reorganization of the Ukrainian agricultural sector seems to be the tip of the spear of a planned US corporation-led reorganization of ownership and work in Ukraine which aims to turn Ukraine into a global-south-style neo-feudal country in the midst of Europe within which US and western European corporations can exploit its rich soil and its growing pool of impoverished and unprotected workers -- many of whom are presumably being "used" as cannon fodder. In effect, Ukraine is demanding that Poland and other countries embrace Big Agriculture with low-wage labor and no protective legislation, while the farmers of Poland are decisively rejecting this demand. I would love to see how you analyze this problem, which reveals that Ukrainian farmers are being dispossessed and exploited to the hilt, while Polish farmers are standing up for their rights. It is very hard to get pertinent English-language information about what US and other multinationals are doing in Ukraine, and the only other thing I know is that in 2021, the first year foreign corporations were allowed to buy Ukrainian land, they immediately bought up 28% of all Ukrainian farmland. Apparently high profits in Ukraine are being advertised inside the US. By the way, the situation in Ukraine seems to resemble a bit the plight of California farmers in Frank Norris' 1901 novel 'The Octopus.' Please see the article below:
I don't actually follow events in Poland that closely, but one thing that has been noticeable is that the farmers appear to be well aware of who is behind all this--they've been burning EU flags. Up until now, support for membership in the EU has been pretty high in Poland, if for no other reason than as a sign of Poland's acceptance into the European Community. The previous ruling party's antagonism (based in Polish nationalism) toward the EU woke globalism worked against it in the recent elections because of this counter pull--the desire for acceptance as a fully Western European nation and the belief that Poland had strong cultural ties to the West. Now they're beginning to see what EU membership really means. I expect this government--with such a slim majority but pushing multiple unpopular measures--won't last much longer. Not only are the EU farm measures wildly unpopular (in a country for which farming is both economically and culturally important) but the recent suggestions that Polish troops per se could be sent to Ukraine are as unpopular as are the refugees themselves.
Same pertains to France where we have a psychopath as president, and the interests of the French people are totally unaligned with those of the ruling class. I don’t see how things can turn out well…and his clone Attal is…the same!
Touché! I’m sure you’re absolutely right, and we can expand DV’s list to include the upcoming US elections - a fact I believe he does allude to elsewhere in the interview.
My view is China is not interested in a fight with anyone. I view China similar to Germany/Hitler in their mutual quest for territorial expansion (Anschluss) to allow for the survival of their people and way of living, economics and political means. China's huge population combined with lack of some key natural resources drive this need. Examples include the South China sea economic zone and their belt and road initiative. Taiwan is a 3rd / future example IMO for various reasons.
Appears from the reading that a "containment" strategy is in play. Further, eroding economic conditions in China, leaning on an export economy combined with a containment approach are causes for concern. Xi's biggest concern is not foreign intervention but how to continue to placate the people in a manner they remain docile to the regime.
While few generalizations are without exceptions in such matters, I think what you're saying is largely true. Again, generalizations about Chinese history are dangerous, but if you peruse Wikipedia's Tibetan History you'll see that matters are not as cut and dried (aggressive expansionist China) as most Westerners assume.
Agree re Tibet but it is a good dog whistle issue for the California-Zen school of Buddhists. CZB is just a sarcastic coinage of my own: yoga, incense, chanting, brightly coloured scarves and almost invariably very very wealthy. Richard Gere et al. Often non-practising Jews who nevertheless have a good collection of anti-semitism trump cards in the drawer of their shrine. There are a few in Britain and other Five Eyes nations too: Zohar Lavie and the like.
There are some quite zealous Taiwanese Buddhist sects also, mainly Zen and Pure Land (who are essentially polytheists) as well as Fo Guang Shan who are CIA cutouts in my opinion. (They describe themselves as Humanistic Buddhists and to their credit are a lot less male-dominated than many sects, but that gives a handy femoid slant to their activities). Many if not all of these can safely be relied upon to shriek very loudly when called upon to do so.
This is worth keeping an eye on as the inexorable drift towards New Age bullshit within the religion is very noticeable. (See also Esalin and those kind of cutouts, very connected to the remains of hippie subculture, Hollywood.)
Is Victoria Nuland’s firing also just casting blame for the failure on the architect? They still want to fund the war to continue the fratricide between Slavs. Did they know it would fail from the start and did it anyway? And now fire Nuland so that we know whose fault it was. Another fake ‘pivot to the Pacific?’
I think that having framed the whole op as a Russian war to invade Ukraine and take it whole, anything short of that will be easily spun as a defeat. Go NATO!
A few years of insurgency, whether from Lvov or Kiev, especially if EU/NATO membership can be baked in, with UK, France and anyone else keen to poke the bear will be the fairly obvious ploy to keep things simmering. But yes, the war is lost, in reality, and Biscuitblob's demise reflects this, and is very much welcomed. Hideous satanic creature.
No I don't think you have exaggerated in the slightest.
Much as we detest being lied to an even bigger problem is that how events are spun becomes the basis for the next set of policies, scrub that: it implies forethought.... The next set of _actions_ . Anyone who disputes the official version is is an extremist, Far Right, conspiracist, history-denier who doesn't even have a Master's degree, snort.
Imagine you have a map that is a photocopy of a photocopy of a copy. The resemblance to the original (or call it reality by all means) has been iteratively distorted. Inevitably you get lost but no one dares to stop and ask directions, because that's weak, mkay. Strategies are not allowed to emerge, facts are misrepresented, and they know we know (etc) but adhering to the blizzard of b.s. is a loyalty test.
Making mistakes is how we learn, but no one seems to teach this anymore. Being wrong is okay as long as you state your truth sufficiently confidently. Thus we end up in a situation where men are women even though neither of those nouns can actually be defined!
Undoubtedly, Nuland will be replaced by some equally loathsome (if that is possible) demon in human form. However, let's not detract from the momentousness of her ousting. She may only have back knifed in the back so that her ousters can turn away from Ukraine towards China, but it's still a deeply satisfying and remarkable event. As for the moves on China, I can hardly elicit a weary shrug. It seems that we are destined to be dragged kicking and screaming through ever neocon move on the strategic chessboard before we are to see any hope. Only a final, undeniable and shattering defeat will bring their time to an end.
My question who has the power, authority, and gonads to influence Blinken to fire Nuland? Zhou? My guess is it came from elsewhere in Zhou's administration. Perhaps the CIA (Burns) or potentially EU / UK leaders who've had enough of Nuland's Nonsense.
Tibet got absorbed, and has been colonized by China ethnically. I know, it was annexed 1951, so 73 years ago.
It took that island from Vietnam in 75, Vietnam is still upset on that.
And has basically built an artificial reef to control more off the Philippines. Brilliant strategy btw. Cdr salamander named it the cabbage strategy.
The attack against Vietnam in 79 failed.
As did the scrables / border issues with Russia.
China Has been very aggressive on fishing. The so called civilian boats are helping push Chinas policy.
There is also an island being disputed with Japan.
And China has been very effectively using economic influence from spying, funding, students, tourism, to purchases. China has been subsidizing the export of telecom / networking equipment that has giving it an amazing soft power spying ability. And weakens the Wests hacking ability. For example if you control the electronic infrastructure of a country, you can know who’s plotting a coup. This is huge soft power in Africa, where China is far ahead in the export / import game. The U.S. and Eu are busy pushing climate change and gender ideology,
While China cleans up economically.
There are several areas that used to be part of China at one time, which ads a bit to the nervousness of neighbors.
And remember Fang Fang, what an amazing strategy to target up and coming politicians. Not to mention Hunter Biden’s China connection, or Diane Feinstein. China runs an amazing influence operation worldwide, including the Confucius Institutes. Brilliant.
Overall China is finding it cheaper to bribe countries, than use military force with a few exceptions and are taking a longer view on building up their military forces, as well as dealing with internal issues.
Those are all great points. Maybe one way 'forward' for USA is to push Vietnam, Japan, Philippines into dodgy maneuvres that let them turn around and say "Look what the bad guy did to us..." (essentially the playbook of the Zionist entity). Having a useful/unwitting idiot as spiritual leader of Tibet might depend on how the succession to the current Dalai Lama turns out. As a Buddhist (but not of the Tibetan school) I feel very conflicted about this but essentially Tibet has been a 'press here' button, along with the Uyghur humanitarian crisis, whether it is a crisis or not, and let's not forget the southern Buddhist nations nearby: Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, and so on. Lots of potential tinder unfortunately.
I don't like what China is doing in claiming sovereignty over the entire South China Sea. OTOH, I wonder how much of that has been caused by US seeking to ring China very tightly with military bases/proxies--forcing China to seek ways to safeguard its sea routes. Re Vietnam there appears to have been some sort of rapprochement recently--Zhou got snubbed on his visit there. Re Philippines, US bases there are clearly aimed at a potential blockade of China. Japan has also been a key part of the blockade strategy against China. Putting all this down to Chinese aggression--as also re Tibet--is too simplistic.
You left Taiwan out.
All of these places have very very long histories with China. It's not smart for the US to think it can simply barge in and dictate new relationships.
I thought Taiwan has been covered enough in your blog.
My guess is everyone can see the U.S. Navy becoming less powerful, and nobody wants to be the U.S. cats-paw. Plus the debacle in Ukraine, where Ukraine is being used as a cats-paw, I’m sure was an eye opener. Plus China’s military and economic power is improving, while the U.S. focuses on lecturing and dei issues.
My guess the area to watch economically in South East Asia, is de-dollarization. Foreign transactions being done outside the dollar system.
I was pleased to listen to Doug Macgregor's State of the Union message after publishing this post. I liked that he contended that our forever wars have been for the benefit of our oligarchy. He didn't expand on that too much--in the past he has mostly talked about the MIC--but he did also mention central banking which has facilitated the financialization of the economy.
For all the talk of Russian and Chinese coordination it should be remembered China didn’t provide Russia with artillery nor much needed components for UAVs.
If there was a ‘Bomber Harris’ there is surely more reason for a ‘Meatgrinder Nuland’.
Bass is the one who oversaw the frenzied, chaotic US retreat from Afghanistan, so he's the right person for the Ukraine desk (Nuland's no. 3 position at State). The China hawk is the recently named new Undersecretary of State. The fact that Nuland, who was also serving as Acting Undersecretary, was recently rejected for the full number 2 position was a slapdown and is said to have probably contributed to her resignation.
Mr. Wauck, you mentioned character. I just came across the following article about the hardass farmers of Poland, who are carrying on their valiant struggle against the big agricultural monopolies of Ukraine. The current government of Poland doesn't support its farmers, but the farmers are nevertheless making Zelensky and his regime look like fools. I support their strategy and the EU policy of supporting farmers. This policy regards farming to be not only economic activity but also valuable social activity that is essential to the fabric of societies as a whole. In Ukraine, on the other hand, in recent years most farmers have been thrown off the land and replaced by Big-Ag large-scale industrial agriculture, much of it apparently funded by US and Dutch multinational corporations and investors such as BlackRock. The current reorganization of the Ukrainian agricultural sector seems to be the tip of the spear of a planned US corporation-led reorganization of ownership and work in Ukraine which aims to turn Ukraine into a global-south-style neo-feudal country in the midst of Europe within which US and western European corporations can exploit its rich soil and its growing pool of impoverished and unprotected workers -- many of whom are presumably being "used" as cannon fodder. In effect, Ukraine is demanding that Poland and other countries embrace Big Agriculture with low-wage labor and no protective legislation, while the farmers of Poland are decisively rejecting this demand. I would love to see how you analyze this problem, which reveals that Ukrainian farmers are being dispossessed and exploited to the hilt, while Polish farmers are standing up for their rights. It is very hard to get pertinent English-language information about what US and other multinationals are doing in Ukraine, and the only other thing I know is that in 2021, the first year foreign corporations were allowed to buy Ukrainian land, they immediately bought up 28% of all Ukrainian farmland. Apparently high profits in Ukraine are being advertised inside the US. By the way, the situation in Ukraine seems to resemble a bit the plight of California farmers in Frank Norris' 1901 novel 'The Octopus.' Please see the article below:
https://eventsinukraine.substack.com/p/february-2024-overview-the-polish?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=680856&post_id=142448710&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=34yj6&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
…our friends Monsanto and ADM per chance?! Hope not John Deere but these days ya never know… shameful!
I don't actually follow events in Poland that closely, but one thing that has been noticeable is that the farmers appear to be well aware of who is behind all this--they've been burning EU flags. Up until now, support for membership in the EU has been pretty high in Poland, if for no other reason than as a sign of Poland's acceptance into the European Community. The previous ruling party's antagonism (based in Polish nationalism) toward the EU woke globalism worked against it in the recent elections because of this counter pull--the desire for acceptance as a fully Western European nation and the belief that Poland had strong cultural ties to the West. Now they're beginning to see what EU membership really means. I expect this government--with such a slim majority but pushing multiple unpopular measures--won't last much longer. Not only are the EU farm measures wildly unpopular (in a country for which farming is both economically and culturally important) but the recent suggestions that Polish troops per se could be sent to Ukraine are as unpopular as are the refugees themselves.
…while we in France are saddled with Macron for another three years as things go from bad to worse.
Same pertains to France where we have a psychopath as president, and the interests of the French people are totally unaligned with those of the ruling class. I don’t see how things can turn out well…and his clone Attal is…the same!
Touché! I’m sure you’re absolutely right, and we can expand DV’s list to include the upcoming US elections - a fact I believe he does allude to elsewhere in the interview.
My view is China is not interested in a fight with anyone. I view China similar to Germany/Hitler in their mutual quest for territorial expansion (Anschluss) to allow for the survival of their people and way of living, economics and political means. China's huge population combined with lack of some key natural resources drive this need. Examples include the South China sea economic zone and their belt and road initiative. Taiwan is a 3rd / future example IMO for various reasons.
Appears from the reading that a "containment" strategy is in play. Further, eroding economic conditions in China, leaning on an export economy combined with a containment approach are causes for concern. Xi's biggest concern is not foreign intervention but how to continue to placate the people in a manner they remain docile to the regime.
While few generalizations are without exceptions in such matters, I think what you're saying is largely true. Again, generalizations about Chinese history are dangerous, but if you peruse Wikipedia's Tibetan History you'll see that matters are not as cut and dried (aggressive expansionist China) as most Westerners assume.
Timing of this seems largely around the rise of Communism in China.
Oh, and, yes, the British played a role in Tibet in the late 19th century.
but of course!
Agree re Tibet but it is a good dog whistle issue for the California-Zen school of Buddhists. CZB is just a sarcastic coinage of my own: yoga, incense, chanting, brightly coloured scarves and almost invariably very very wealthy. Richard Gere et al. Often non-practising Jews who nevertheless have a good collection of anti-semitism trump cards in the drawer of their shrine. There are a few in Britain and other Five Eyes nations too: Zohar Lavie and the like.
There are some quite zealous Taiwanese Buddhist sects also, mainly Zen and Pure Land (who are essentially polytheists) as well as Fo Guang Shan who are CIA cutouts in my opinion. (They describe themselves as Humanistic Buddhists and to their credit are a lot less male-dominated than many sects, but that gives a handy femoid slant to their activities). Many if not all of these can safely be relied upon to shriek very loudly when called upon to do so.
This is worth keeping an eye on as the inexorable drift towards New Age bullshit within the religion is very noticeable. (See also Esalin and those kind of cutouts, very connected to the remains of hippie subculture, Hollywood.)
Apologies for the little rant ;-)
Doctors bury their mistakes and hopefully learn from them. Neocons move onto the next mistake and remain willfully ignorant.
Doctors "bury" as in 6 feet deep? Neocon's skip the "burial" and don't realize what they've done.
Is Victoria Nuland’s firing also just casting blame for the failure on the architect? They still want to fund the war to continue the fratricide between Slavs. Did they know it would fail from the start and did it anyway? And now fire Nuland so that we know whose fault it was. Another fake ‘pivot to the Pacific?’
I think that having framed the whole op as a Russian war to invade Ukraine and take it whole, anything short of that will be easily spun as a defeat. Go NATO!
A few years of insurgency, whether from Lvov or Kiev, especially if EU/NATO membership can be baked in, with UK, France and anyone else keen to poke the bear will be the fairly obvious ploy to keep things simmering. But yes, the war is lost, in reality, and Biscuitblob's demise reflects this, and is very much welcomed. Hideous satanic creature.
The “Biscuitblobs” are too many to count!
No I don't think you have exaggerated in the slightest.
Much as we detest being lied to an even bigger problem is that how events are spun becomes the basis for the next set of policies, scrub that: it implies forethought.... The next set of _actions_ . Anyone who disputes the official version is is an extremist, Far Right, conspiracist, history-denier who doesn't even have a Master's degree, snort.
Imagine you have a map that is a photocopy of a photocopy of a copy. The resemblance to the original (or call it reality by all means) has been iteratively distorted. Inevitably you get lost but no one dares to stop and ask directions, because that's weak, mkay. Strategies are not allowed to emerge, facts are misrepresented, and they know we know (etc) but adhering to the blizzard of b.s. is a loyalty test.
Making mistakes is how we learn, but no one seems to teach this anymore. Being wrong is okay as long as you state your truth sufficiently confidently. Thus we end up in a situation where men are women even though neither of those nouns can actually be defined!
Reminder Victoria Nuland's mentor was Dick Cheney.
Undoubtedly, Nuland will be replaced by some equally loathsome (if that is possible) demon in human form. However, let's not detract from the momentousness of her ousting. She may only have back knifed in the back so that her ousters can turn away from Ukraine towards China, but it's still a deeply satisfying and remarkable event. As for the moves on China, I can hardly elicit a weary shrug. It seems that we are destined to be dragged kicking and screaming through ever neocon move on the strategic chessboard before we are to see any hope. Only a final, undeniable and shattering defeat will bring their time to an end.
Her downfall does appear to be the result of a power struggle.
My question who has the power, authority, and gonads to influence Blinken to fire Nuland? Zhou? My guess is it came from elsewhere in Zhou's administration. Perhaps the CIA (Burns) or potentially EU / UK leaders who've had enough of Nuland's Nonsense.
China has been a bit expansionist.
Tibet got absorbed, and has been colonized by China ethnically. I know, it was annexed 1951, so 73 years ago.
It took that island from Vietnam in 75, Vietnam is still upset on that.
And has basically built an artificial reef to control more off the Philippines. Brilliant strategy btw. Cdr salamander named it the cabbage strategy.
The attack against Vietnam in 79 failed.
As did the scrables / border issues with Russia.
China Has been very aggressive on fishing. The so called civilian boats are helping push Chinas policy.
There is also an island being disputed with Japan.
And China has been very effectively using economic influence from spying, funding, students, tourism, to purchases. China has been subsidizing the export of telecom / networking equipment that has giving it an amazing soft power spying ability. And weakens the Wests hacking ability. For example if you control the electronic infrastructure of a country, you can know who’s plotting a coup. This is huge soft power in Africa, where China is far ahead in the export / import game. The U.S. and Eu are busy pushing climate change and gender ideology,
While China cleans up economically.
There are several areas that used to be part of China at one time, which ads a bit to the nervousness of neighbors.
And remember Fang Fang, what an amazing strategy to target up and coming politicians. Not to mention Hunter Biden’s China connection, or Diane Feinstein. China runs an amazing influence operation worldwide, including the Confucius Institutes. Brilliant.
Overall China is finding it cheaper to bribe countries, than use military force with a few exceptions and are taking a longer view on building up their military forces, as well as dealing with internal issues.
Those are all great points. Maybe one way 'forward' for USA is to push Vietnam, Japan, Philippines into dodgy maneuvres that let them turn around and say "Look what the bad guy did to us..." (essentially the playbook of the Zionist entity). Having a useful/unwitting idiot as spiritual leader of Tibet might depend on how the succession to the current Dalai Lama turns out. As a Buddhist (but not of the Tibetan school) I feel very conflicted about this but essentially Tibet has been a 'press here' button, along with the Uyghur humanitarian crisis, whether it is a crisis or not, and let's not forget the southern Buddhist nations nearby: Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, and so on. Lots of potential tinder unfortunately.
China uses “civilian” auxiliaries for its dodgy efforts against the Philippines and Vietnam, and it seems to be enough cover. Indonesia is another.
Vietnam I don’t think anyone cares if a sea clash happens.
Philippines I believe China is constantly pushing, and outside the Philippines nobody cares.
A result of this aggression I Japan keeps expanding its military.
I wonder the impact of the Houthani embarrassment of the U.S. Navy.
I don't like what China is doing in claiming sovereignty over the entire South China Sea. OTOH, I wonder how much of that has been caused by US seeking to ring China very tightly with military bases/proxies--forcing China to seek ways to safeguard its sea routes. Re Vietnam there appears to have been some sort of rapprochement recently--Zhou got snubbed on his visit there. Re Philippines, US bases there are clearly aimed at a potential blockade of China. Japan has also been a key part of the blockade strategy against China. Putting all this down to Chinese aggression--as also re Tibet--is too simplistic.
You left Taiwan out.
All of these places have very very long histories with China. It's not smart for the US to think it can simply barge in and dictate new relationships.
I thought Taiwan has been covered enough in your blog.
My guess is everyone can see the U.S. Navy becoming less powerful, and nobody wants to be the U.S. cats-paw. Plus the debacle in Ukraine, where Ukraine is being used as a cats-paw, I’m sure was an eye opener. Plus China’s military and economic power is improving, while the U.S. focuses on lecturing and dei issues.
My guess the area to watch economically in South East Asia, is de-dollarization. Foreign transactions being done outside the dollar system.
I don’t think conquer (south China sea is an exception), but taking advantage of as much as China can.
And where possible increase economic and political influence in other South East Asian countries.
The U.S. in contrast focused on Chinas military power, while preaching Environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
My guess most countries see the U.S. as out of touch with their concerns.