First of all, Thanksgiving wishes to all readers. I know the world is a pretty depressing place these days, but we still have a lot to be thankful for. Starting with greater access to truth. Yesterday I came across an article (h/t Alexander Mercouris) at a significant US foreign affairs site (The National Interest) that takes up the Neocon fantasy of a “frozen conflict”, a la Korea, as a way to extricate their sorry behinds from the debacle of their war on Russia in Ukraine. Which is to say, to extricate America from Ukraine but—and this is key—without necessarily renouncing the war of the Neocon Empire on Russia and its people. The article is somewhat notable because the author, Matthew Blackburn, eschews pretty much all of the usual incantational scheming that characterizes most such articles. He ruthlessly pops the “it’s a stalemate” balloon along with other Neocon delusions, such as that Russia is being weakened by this despicable war—rather than the American Empire being the major casualty.
Moon of Alabama has an interesting post this morning about the nature of the 'rules-based order' and US hegemony. He reproduces Arnaud Bertrand's review of “Sub-Imperial Power” by Clinton Fernandes, a former Australian intelligence officer and now a professor of international and political studies. In it Bertrand critiques John Mearsheimer's realist viewpoint by comparing monetary hegemony and security driven imperialism. He says US and Western monetary hegemony is the root cause of the global mess we are in. He differentiates China's more survival oriented approach to security. Moon concludes: "The survival and security aspect is only relevant as far as it concerns the moneyed class. Mearsheimer's realist view somewhat misses that aspect." Interesting reading.
Not so OT. I read that earlier this morning and was planning on quoting the last few paragraphs. As usual, in re Mearsheimer, Walt, and Realists, I quote them when they suit my purposes. They're in a way like libertarians--they've found a hammer and think everything's a nail. When they encounter nails, they can be outstanding--as Bertrand grants them. But there's more to reality than nails. Mearsheimer has always been good in the areas Bertrand cites him for: Iraq, Russia, Palestine. Where I think his "realism" lets his analysis down is China. Bertrand is pretty good on that. The fact is that China has always and probably always will have difficulty in maintaining cohesion as a nation state--for all sorts of geographic and societal reasons. That's why China has rarely if ever been a threat outside certain geographical limits. Doesn't mean it might not, but it does mean they should be treated differently than, say, Germany in Europe. Similar things could be said about India.
Bottom line, I don't see China as any more of a threat to our national security today than 'yesterday', or the day Nixon and Kissinger deemed it in the US' national self-interest to open the door to China. A zillion Nikes, iPhones, and flat screens later I don't see the threat...except that our greedy plutocrats 'forgot' to protect the American working class. That's on us (or them), not China. And guess who they were?
Yup. More or less the same folks promoting Endless War and Israel Right or Wrong.
"I don't see the threat...except that our greedy plutocrats 'forgot' to protect the American working class."
Cass, they didn't forget, it was not part of their agenda and they don't care, we are the problem in their eyes. The middle class is too educated and numerous and we can see what is going on (at least some of us) and we are a threat to be neutralized. Their agenda is wealth creation and more power over others. The people promoting endless war don't care as long as they can continue to get people to fight their wars while they benefit and endless streams of immigration increases their bottom line by providing lower cost labor. This suits their agenda and like the slavers of old, if you die they just move on to the next schlub in line.
That's why I put 'forgot' in quotes. Or air quotes.
An inflection point occurred during the Clinton Administration and the perps were the so-called Committee to Save the World. Remember them? Robert Rubin, Lawrence Summers and Alan Greenspan?
Thanks for the reminder to not get lost in the symptoms and fail to see the causation. But what is really puzzling is how do the new world order adherents expect to survive the chaos and destruction they have unleashed to emerge as rulers on the other side?
‘ Ex-Obama advisor [Stuart Seldowitz] has been arrested after footage emerged of him harassing an Egyptian street food vendor for supporting Palestine.’
He’s actually not what we normally consider low life. He is or was a prominent, read wealthy, diplomat (another of the politically appointed and self interested rich assholes with a major chip on their shoulder) representing not America, but Israeli interests and his own not ours. His character is despicable due to his arrogance and bigotry which is a tribal trait.
It was nice he mentioned the Russian Asset Seizure and International Criminal Court Charges, this is usually ignored.
Disagreements:
- Us/nato has no ability to escalate to stop the Russian Advance, outside of nukes. The cupboard is bare, and the Russians are getting stronger daily. This includes sending more “volunteer formations”.
Ignored areas:
1. Minsk accords lying. The West has shown it can’t be trusted.
2. Russian demands for lawfare against Ukrainian War Crimes.
3. Russian demands to roll back NATO.
4. Russian help from Iran and North Korea. Russia remembers those that help it during its time of need.
5. Nordstream sabotage
6. Being thrown out of Swift.
The only hope I see for an end of hostilities is if their is a coup, and Ukraine unconditionally surrenders.
Happy Thanksgiving Mark and to all M.I.H. beholders. Good blend of perspectives. I for one think this will take strong leadership led by the US/EU/UN/Arab leaders to sort out agreements where co-existence and co-habitation can prosper. As mentioned above, probably not in my lifetime.
Happy thanksgiving Mark and thank you for the terrific work you do keeping us up to date and in the know on geopolitics. It seems the Israel/Palestine situation has become existential for both parties. This will not end well given the current people in charge.
And given Belazel Smotrich’s “kill those that need to be killed” doctrine, “emigrate or be annihilated” (something Putin never said about Ukrainians by the by), we’re looking at a potential holocaust, IMHO. No, this does not bode well, neither for Israel nor for the Palestinians.
Lately I get the impression the "Never again" slogan simply means never "us" again which does not rule out a Zionist version of a Holocaust which exactly what is meant by “kill those that need to be killed” doctrine.
Right now the anti-Putin moralism seems like a cold tool, no matter how passionately presented, and it is being used to achieve geopolitical ends that are not in the interest of middle America... any race.
Most recently, China didn't punk us with Covid in 2020, that was our op. A little before that, Russia didn't punk us with Trump in 2016, that was our op. And so forth.
Will add that I finally opened up and began to read my copy of Conquest's Harvest of Sorrow. The introductory chapter delineates the various reasons for hard feelings between Ukraine and Russia long before the terror-famine, or the revolution of 1917, or the revolution of 1905, or...
Alex Berenson has an interesting new article that I saw at Zerohedge talking about how Omicron brought an end to any real Covid threat--as expected. Nothing to do with mRNA, just the expected progression of natural immunity.
I'd say the difference is that anti-Communist moralism was sincere. We made some mistakes in dealing with Communist countries as a result of a sometimes too rigid approach, but there really were true issues of morality involved. Mistaking our side as unequivocally good in a positive, not just comparative, sense was perhaps one mistake. OTOH, anti-Putin moralism is almost entirely cynical and manipulative.
OT:
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/11/on-sub-imperial-power-by-arnaud-bertrand.html#more
Moon of Alabama has an interesting post this morning about the nature of the 'rules-based order' and US hegemony. He reproduces Arnaud Bertrand's review of “Sub-Imperial Power” by Clinton Fernandes, a former Australian intelligence officer and now a professor of international and political studies. In it Bertrand critiques John Mearsheimer's realist viewpoint by comparing monetary hegemony and security driven imperialism. He says US and Western monetary hegemony is the root cause of the global mess we are in. He differentiates China's more survival oriented approach to security. Moon concludes: "The survival and security aspect is only relevant as far as it concerns the moneyed class. Mearsheimer's realist view somewhat misses that aspect." Interesting reading.
Not so OT. I read that earlier this morning and was planning on quoting the last few paragraphs. As usual, in re Mearsheimer, Walt, and Realists, I quote them when they suit my purposes. They're in a way like libertarians--they've found a hammer and think everything's a nail. When they encounter nails, they can be outstanding--as Bertrand grants them. But there's more to reality than nails. Mearsheimer has always been good in the areas Bertrand cites him for: Iraq, Russia, Palestine. Where I think his "realism" lets his analysis down is China. Bertrand is pretty good on that. The fact is that China has always and probably always will have difficulty in maintaining cohesion as a nation state--for all sorts of geographic and societal reasons. That's why China has rarely if ever been a threat outside certain geographical limits. Doesn't mean it might not, but it does mean they should be treated differently than, say, Germany in Europe. Similar things could be said about India.
Bottom line, I don't see China as any more of a threat to our national security today than 'yesterday', or the day Nixon and Kissinger deemed it in the US' national self-interest to open the door to China. A zillion Nikes, iPhones, and flat screens later I don't see the threat...except that our greedy plutocrats 'forgot' to protect the American working class. That's on us (or them), not China. And guess who they were?
Yup. More or less the same folks promoting Endless War and Israel Right or Wrong.
Because.
"I don't see the threat...except that our greedy plutocrats 'forgot' to protect the American working class."
Cass, they didn't forget, it was not part of their agenda and they don't care, we are the problem in their eyes. The middle class is too educated and numerous and we can see what is going on (at least some of us) and we are a threat to be neutralized. Their agenda is wealth creation and more power over others. The people promoting endless war don't care as long as they can continue to get people to fight their wars while they benefit and endless streams of immigration increases their bottom line by providing lower cost labor. This suits their agenda and like the slavers of old, if you die they just move on to the next schlub in line.
@Cosmo
"Cass, they didn't forget..."
That's why I put 'forgot' in quotes. Or air quotes.
An inflection point occurred during the Clinton Administration and the perps were the so-called Committee to Save the World. Remember them? Robert Rubin, Lawrence Summers and Alan Greenspan?
https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,990206,00.html
Back in the day when the US was all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-powerful and the rest of the world had to be saved. By us.
OMG! Do hubris much, do they?
Right. As in Icarus. We (they) are paying for it in spades today.
Thanks for the reminder to not get lost in the symptoms and fail to see the causation. But what is really puzzling is how do the new world order adherents expect to survive the chaos and destruction they have unleashed to emerge as rulers on the other side?
‘ Ex-Obama advisor [Stuart Seldowitz] has been arrested after footage emerged of him harassing an Egyptian street food vendor for supporting Palestine.’
The schadenfreude on this low-life is orgasmic.
He’s actually not what we normally consider low life. He is or was a prominent, read wealthy, diplomat (another of the politically appointed and self interested rich assholes with a major chip on their shoulder) representing not America, but Israeli interests and his own not ours. His character is despicable due to his arrogance and bigotry which is a tribal trait.
I agree with most of Mathew Blackburn’s article.
It was nice he mentioned the Russian Asset Seizure and International Criminal Court Charges, this is usually ignored.
Disagreements:
- Us/nato has no ability to escalate to stop the Russian Advance, outside of nukes. The cupboard is bare, and the Russians are getting stronger daily. This includes sending more “volunteer formations”.
Ignored areas:
1. Minsk accords lying. The West has shown it can’t be trusted.
2. Russian demands for lawfare against Ukrainian War Crimes.
3. Russian demands to roll back NATO.
4. Russian help from Iran and North Korea. Russia remembers those that help it during its time of need.
5. Nordstream sabotage
6. Being thrown out of Swift.
The only hope I see for an end of hostilities is if their is a coup, and Ukraine unconditionally surrenders.
Happy Thanksgiving Mark and to all M.I.H. beholders. Good blend of perspectives. I for one think this will take strong leadership led by the US/EU/UN/Arab leaders to sort out agreements where co-existence and co-habitation can prosper. As mentioned above, probably not in my lifetime.
Happy thanksgiving Mark and thank you for the terrific work you do keeping us up to date and in the know on geopolitics. It seems the Israel/Palestine situation has become existential for both parties. This will not end well given the current people in charge.
@FreeFrench
"It seems the Israel/Palestine situation has become existential for both parties."
Not really disagreeing Free, but it has *always* been existential!
True!
And given Belazel Smotrich’s “kill those that need to be killed” doctrine, “emigrate or be annihilated” (something Putin never said about Ukrainians by the by), we’re looking at a potential holocaust, IMHO. No, this does not bode well, neither for Israel nor for the Palestinians.
Lately I get the impression the "Never again" slogan simply means never "us" again which does not rule out a Zionist version of a Holocaust which exactly what is meant by “kill those that need to be killed” doctrine.
Agreed. Until Israel quits playing the "victim" card things won't change. Perhaps in future elections some degree of improved rhetoric will play out.
There is an old Russian saying that the Jews are good at portraying the victim and pointing out their oppression by others, but never explain the why.
Yes
Where’s the International Criminal Court?
Looking for Putin.
First impression seeing that Israeli settlement map progression:
Looks like suburban sprawl. Sorry, just how my brain is working today.
No doubt. and by design too.
"anti-communist moralism"
Right now the anti-Putin moralism seems like a cold tool, no matter how passionately presented, and it is being used to achieve geopolitical ends that are not in the interest of middle America... any race.
Most recently, China didn't punk us with Covid in 2020, that was our op. A little before that, Russia didn't punk us with Trump in 2016, that was our op. And so forth.
I found the following article useful as a background to this family drama we find ourselves in: https://www.jpost.com/magazine/was-the-russian-revolution-jewish-514323
Blessings to all, especially those sitting at the kid's table on Thanksgiving. 😉
Will add that I finally opened up and began to read my copy of Conquest's Harvest of Sorrow. The introductory chapter delineates the various reasons for hard feelings between Ukraine and Russia long before the terror-famine, or the revolution of 1917, or the revolution of 1905, or...
It seems Covid was owned and used/leveraged by both the Western Elites and China.
Alex Berenson has an interesting new article that I saw at Zerohedge talking about how Omicron brought an end to any real Covid threat--as expected. Nothing to do with mRNA, just the expected progression of natural immunity.
I'd say the difference is that anti-Communist moralism was sincere. We made some mistakes in dealing with Communist countries as a result of a sometimes too rigid approach, but there really were true issues of morality involved. Mistaking our side as unequivocally good in a positive, not just comparative, sense was perhaps one mistake. OTOH, anti-Putin moralism is almost entirely cynical and manipulative.
John Leake has a great piece on Thanksgiving thatI think you and your community will appreciate. https://open.substack.com/pub/petermcculloughmd/p/happy-thanksgiving?r=1mko6&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
Thanks for the Leake! Lincoln just surpasses them all; a moving reminder of his genius!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
You're welcome!
Genocide Joe seems fitting. After all, he led the Foreign policy arm of the Senate for all those many years.