In what follows I’m basing this post loosely on two current essays by Alastair Crooke. I say “two current,” because he usually writes one per week, but these two were published on Friday and then on Monday. I’ve expanded on his ideas freely but remain still close to his thrust.
OT: On the Duran today the Alexanders debated whether Russia would let whatever is left of Ukraine join the EU (not NATO but the EU). Mercouris didn't shoot absolutely this idea down, so I will. Given Western treachery, I don't see Russia accepting this, even in some kind of negotiating back and forth. Maybe Russia eventually accepts some kind of trade relationship...maybe...btw Ukraine and the EU...but membership? No way. That would be a return to the slippery slope of appeasing Western expansionism. Not ever going to happen.
I'm about to fit some of that video into a longer post. A good discussion. The notion of Ukraine joining the EU would, IMO, bring up the whole question of Western sanctions on Russia.
Hostages, everything must be done to secure their release. **But let's not forget: the Palestinian people are also taken hostage, by Hamas and by Israel.** And Hamas, we all know, cares little for the Palestinian people. So telling Hamas: "we will not lift the siege, we will not have a humanitarian truce until the hostages are released," is a dialogue of the deaf.
**Benjamin Netanyahu is waging a war to do everything so that the political solution does not come to the table. And this is where the international community, Europe, the United States, must tell Benjamin Netanyahu that this war is not acceptable. It is not acceptable because it leads us directly [to escalation] - because we can see it well, from Hamas we will move to Iran, from Iran we will move to other targets, and we then enter into the logic of a clash of civilizations. When Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu says that on one side there is the people of light and on the other the people of darkness, we can see the kind of spiral we are getting into.**
**All the wars that have been going on for the past twenty years are wars that begin and do not end. These are frozen conflicts. We know how to start a war; we do not know how to end it.**
Great work, Mark. The Poles are absolutely the fulcrum on which the entire Group of Visegrads rests. I took my eye off the ball after the election expecting that Tusk would be given the EU red carpet to form his government. That's still up in the air? That indeed gives the Russians and "in" to shift the narrative.
Watch for a Russian offensive this winter (weather permitting) that breaks Zelensky in Kiev and the offer goes to Poland to reclaim Lvov, Hungary to get Transcarpathia and the Russians demand Odessa.
A lot of that outcome depends on what happens in the ME. If the US ultimately backs out of the Thucydides' Trap it has walked into, then NATO will fracture and the Poles will embrace whatever Lavrov and Putin put in front of them.
Thanks, Tom. I'm still trying to wrap my head around your latest. I do recall those ideas from your past articles but never put that together with the changing shape of the Middle East.
Re Poland, despite considerable revanchist elements in Polish culture, I suspect that the flood of Ukrainians into Poland that came with the war on Russia may have cured Poles of that disease. Russian security guarantees and economic cooperation combined with a revived Visegrad--trashed, to a great extent, by Law and Justice hubris--may do the trick.
Being a retiree of DOD/IC, I can confirm a lot of fools work there; both leadership and rank and file. I have zero confidence in current Western culture.
That's really where we are--we need a culture change. As matters stand, even most of those who are unhappy with the way we live now still don't have the culture shift we need. Our "culture", our public orthodoxy, is a loose, solipsistic libertarianism. That's an anti-culture.
I remember when I first heard that God is at the center of His existence; not men. His love for Himself comes first. I was shocked and disappointed. I thought that we were at the center of His love. When I realized over time the truth and beauty of His being at the center of His existence, it really helped me get my head on straight and my feet on solid ground. "Thy will be done", not 'my will be done.'
It saddens me to read that our culture, western that is, is under such scrutiny and attack. Whether libertarianism is the cause or not, I see it as the result of multi-culturalism and diversity all part of the Tikkun Olam BS foisted upon us by the “Open Society”hucksterism of people like Soros. These people have soiled our country and our culture and the result is chaos and upheaval amongst us all leaving us with doubts about ourselves and what we represent. We’ve been beaten down for the greater good of hucksterism.
Isn't that the logical outcome of Libertarianism? Culture doesn't matter. It's all individual choice. And that's what the non-West is pushing back against. Putin is very explicit about that. The non-West sees the rootlessness of the West, which lack of belief in anything fundamental except ourselves, leads to wild swings between hubristic empire building and fecklessness when things go wrong.
I am not sure, Mark. I have never really followed or dug into the philosophy of Libertarianism because I saw it was bereft of any real culture, so your point is well taken. However, as an ideology it seems like it was embraced by few, so I dismissed it. For a while I read selected articles at the Reason site and found the self-centered philosophy advocating for little oversight to be without principals beyond live and let live. I have never equated it with classical liberalism (Adam Smith) though and here is where we might diverge in our thinking, but I agree with you on the hubris and fecklessness among the leadership class. To what do we try to return to in a society now so diverse and without any commonality that drove some semblance of unity? The multi-culti open society hogwash that has ripped apart the fabric that made this country unique has been destructive and with unfettered immigration the situation only grows worse with each and every barbarian who crosses our borders seeking to destroy what has been built and remade into a hodge-podge of squabbling ethnicities, sort of like the Austro-Hungarian Empire before it's fall.
Earlier in the article (and note that the 16th century was the age of the Reform of the West and that Luther was a professor of Nominalist philosophy):
Classical liberalism gained full flowering in the early 18th century, **building on ideas starting at least as far back as the 16th century,** within the Iberian, Anglo-Saxon, and central European contexts, and it was foundational to the American Revolution and "American Project" more broadly. ...
**In the context of American politics, "classical liberalism" may be described as "fiscally conservative" and "socially liberal".** ... **Additionally, in the United States, classical liberalism is considered closely tied to, or synonymous with, American libertarianism.**
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I have seen you post this information before. I decided to investigate further so that I either correct the mistake in my understanding or alternatively find where classical liberals meet and where they differ with Libertarians. I found these two articles and, while short, they did add a bit more information than a Wiki entry.
It's interesting to research this as I have been making my way through Will Durant's classic 11 volume set on Western Civ. I am on volume 9, the Age of Voltaire so just covered the Humes, Lockes and Smith among others.
Westminster. What a cesspit. Though, no doubt, its the same story on Capitol Hill. Remember the claims made by Madison Cawthorn (R - North Carolina) about being invited to orgies? Of course he lost his bid for re-election.
Also, I am sure it’s not just parliamentary whips who blackmail MPs / members of Congress with this crap. That the spy agencies do so as well may help explain why Parliament and Congress have become so weirdly dysfunctional over the past 30-50 years.
What’s the old saying…. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
Israel will need new alliances beyond the West to survive long term. Powerful alliances that may already exist in their own backyard. Question remains from an equity perspective what does Israel have to offer in return?
"The problem, the BIG problem, is that all this may be leading, willy nilly, toward a civilizational war--not something that anybody wants, but the logical result of decades of geopolitical malpractice.". So if this is the case, then is it not also inevitable that we must take sides? Once people have decided that "this means war" you can't really turn them back from that decision.
Crooke says "It's not clear that the US is in control of Israel's reactions, nor is it clear that America's saber rattling will deter the Region that has been aroused."
Well if the world is expecting Blinken, Nuland and others in the US State dept to forge a foreign policy of detente or similar in the region then forget about it. In fact, Crooke's statement suggests this lack of confidence in our foreign policy. Sad and disappointing.
"But are our ruling elites capable of stepping out of the box of their own fantasy world?"
If I were to essay a few thoughts way, way outside the box, I might offer: Isn't now exactly the right time for the USA to retreat to its island continent, safe from foreign attack by reason of two enormous oceans, wealthy beyond need in natural resources and food and water, and start the multi-generational job of re-inventing an America that has been nearly wrecked by decades of endless war, destructive politics, progressivism and globalism? We don't need to be the world's policeman and global hegemon, nor the world's enforcer of woke values. There is plenty of work (including jobs) to do right here at home rationally rebuilding and recovering our cities, and our manufacturing, and our schools, and our families, and our physical and mental health...and our common decency. And our national security, which must be re-built on constitutional principals. The rest of the world can sort out the rise of China and Russia and the New Middle East, and Europe can decide whether to join in or try to go it alone. We'll be just fine.
Its long past time that we should roll up our sleeves and go back to work on the stuff that really counts.
The rest of the world would sigh with massive relief. Apart from Britain.
I'm English and live in England. Not British. Britain is an imperial construct that constrains us as much as it does Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and the so-called Commonwealth.
Where was all the Covid mania most concentrated? The Commonwealth plus USA (in other words countries where English is the first language, not forgetting those Canadian dweebs). Plus US colonies, principally Germany.
Which country did most of the 'diplomatic' heavy lifting in getting the final phase of Project Ukraine off the ground? Britain. Johnson suckered Zelensky, or threatened him. We can all see how that is turning out.
Which country is in seizures right now because a Pro-Palestinian march this coming Saturday shows disrespect to our Glorious Dead? It hasn't even happened yet but is already being called a Hate March. It might yet be banned. There will be provocations and planted 'hate' speech and Sunday papers screaming about disrespect.
But no one aged under 80 actually remembers a single one of the Glorious Dead as real, breathing people. Via print media, kid's comics, TV shows, Vera Lynn songs and films we're conditioned and reconditioned to remember our days of valiant bloodshed. Year after year.
Wear a poppy. Make sure you freeze and clam your mouth shut at 11:00 on 'Remembrance' Sunday when you're halfway round the supermarket.
The 'British' point of view is represented by the aristocrat-controlled media, the same control that is exercised over US media. A great deal of this is implemented by the military. Here, there, everywhere. The elite are badly shook. And about blody time.
I don't think America is as far gone as Britain, believe it or not.
So, yes, turn your backs on the 'British'. We're the Scum of the Earth to be blunt.
Perhaps the least endearing characteristic of the 'British', which I observed over decades working on transactions in the City of London, was a pervasive arrogance. While it is superficially attractive when offered up in tones of Received Pronunciation, it quickly wears out its welcome when you realize its all a front.
And what is found behind the front? I guess it is what you describe.
The English middle class (especially in the South East where I currently live) are conditioned to conceal their stilettos behind those nice manners and politeness. You're 100% on the money Cass. The northern m/c are the same but with slightly more amusing accents. I'm in the process of moving to the North East, ex coal mining area. People have rougher edges and less tolerance for bullshit. Since I'm a poorly socialised autist this will feel more home-like. No less likely to be nuked (especially around the NSA base nr Harrogate) but being vapourised and having my atoms mingle with those of Londoners and Home Counties sociopaths is my idea of real hell ;-)
Funny, to me, story. I've always been fascinated with accents, trying to identify where they come from. Years ago, mid 80s, I met with an MI6 guy. Just making casual conversation, I asked where he was from. He told me something general like London. Piqued, because I thought I was hearing something a bit different in his accent, I decided to press--I asked where he grew up, citing his accent. To my surprise and amusement he got *extremely* defensive, insisting he spoke the same way all uni educated professionals do in London. I insisted I was hearing something different and he finally, and very grudgingly, admitted he was from Ulster. The rest of the meeting went very badly from a personal rapport standpoint. I had unwittingly challenged his whole self image. Which was built on a pretty superficial basis.
I think you have captured the sensibility of our grandees of the rich coastal set and specifically the northeast of the USA. Those who see themselves as the aristocrats of our society. They set the tone, drive and twist the culture to their desires and condescend to the rest of us. You outed a pretender and it must have infuriated him. We have plenty of them walking around and the despised nouveau riche are the worst. In America our instinct was to better ourselves, be kind to others, but we do not bow down to elites and grovel before their immense wealth and power, we may respect, but we do not curtsy to blood lines like they do in England and on the continent. This drives our grandees mad.
That's an interesting question, embedded there. You could say it's the globalist elite, but who are they. cullturally? I've argued over the years that the breakdown of Christian perennial philosophy which led to cultural skepticism was embodied religiously in the Reformation--which survives largely in the Anglosphere, to the extent that it does. Philosophically, the offspring was Liberal thought, expressed in Utilitarianism and Libertarianism, but with help from Germany: Kant. Jewish Emancipation led the Jewish elites to embrace those trends with a religious fervor in the new secular nation states.
…but then we would have to repudiate those “foreign entanglements” General George Washington warned about…wiping the slate clean…hélas, I doubt we possess the moral courage to do so, and yet your plea is, to many, completely rational!
No doubt. I left my Northern Virginia polling place yesterday morning feeling absolutely assured of a Republican sweep in the Commonwealth. In the deepest-blue of precincts, where Republicans don't really even bother to campaign, there was a great turnout with voters, say, two-to-one holding the telltale green paper of the Fairfax Republicans sample ballot. Spoke with the ladies at the Republican tent, who told me they'd never seen GOP interest like that before. Well, turns out, it was merely a nice anecdote for thinking people who vote on Election Day, when, in reality, all it takes is shouting your abortions and "MAGA extremist" at others who vote early and often by other means. Lost to sloganeering. A long, tough road indeed.
Replying to your 1638 comment (deleted?). England's vibrant Catholic culture was destroyed top down by a Western proto-totalitarian: H8, a true psychopath. The greedy nobility went along to enrich themselves, and turned the national culture over to radicals who turned religion into a nationalistic cult. England has never been the same. A few attempts to push back and recover a true culture in the form of Methodism etc., but nothing worked.
I have been ''possessed" by this article since it was published! I recall the echoes of my dive into Hilaire Belloc's The Great Heresies. Thanks, Mark.
Yes, Henry VIII was where things really went haywire. That reign, and the Enclosures, saw the English working class torn apart. Margaret Thatcher helped to revive that psychotic 'crusade' and things have never really recovered since. There was a kind of breathing space mid 1940s to 1970s, what is known to sociologists as the post-war consensus.
I do agree this is what Trump 'tried' to do. I wish Trump would take a page out of JFK's book and get some speech writers who really know how to write and then broadcast his policies, goals and values in concrete, understandable, articulate and inspiring terms.
The WA Post had a lack of self-awareness article about Trump getting back in office and jailing his opponents. It'd be hilarious if not so sad. 91 indictments? I guess it's different when they do it.
Placing German troops in Poland? Old school thinking indeed! In fact, I doubt they are thinking at all any more. Israel, or it's rabid government at least, is definitely looked into old school thinking dating back to 1967. Another lightning attack and the Arabs will recoil in fear. Even if Hamas is crushed, Israel's long term future looks bleak indeed.
Very interesting observations. The real issue is that the recipe is highly complex and we have an team of idiots in the kitchen. God only know what will be served. Not mentioned but worth noting is Obama is suddenly active, Axelrod has called for Biden to step aside and the Dems are collectively staring at terrible poll numbers. Taking bets on who goes first, Biden or Zelensky.
The owner of the restaurant ultimately hires and fires the chef and the owner is very concerned. This scene explains what's happening very clearly.
Yes, that. Probably Biden's most appealing quality to the selectors. But still. What a cynical choice!
Which we are paying for and will pay for in spades. Start by counting the deaths. And then look at the spending and waste. And then the destruction of the national project.
I have never spoken with Crooke, but I am not sure that I trust a (former?) British diplomat to be putting the pieces on the board here. As the British spy always says after he has betrayed someone and sent them to their doom, "it's nothing personal."
He has always seemed on point and spot on to me as well. But these essays seemed like word salad when I read them the first time, and they still do, even with Mark's elucidation. Something isn't right; either I am getting sick or something isn't right in the essays. And the Brits are running out of time in their game.
I can understand your mistrust however, Crooke with his focus on the middle East has been especially forthright and on point in just about all I have read in the last year and a half since I started following him. I trust him far more than any American diplomat.
This is what's great about Mark's MIH blog, you can hold and express differing opinions and the community respects that you may have a differing view. I understand your reservations especially as we grow increasingly aware of the Brits underhanded activities around the world. My feelings toward the UK has definitely changed and I have British blood, but I am American first and always.
Regarding the EU, as someone today opined " It only took them 80 years but they're almost done now.. I think we're allowed to give people the big news.. The EU is the Fourth Reich...Surprise !!
Reading Mark's piece, the thought that came to my mind was that Israel's goals in Gaza are very similar to Russia's in Ukraine: demilitarization, denazification, and proper alignment of territory.
I disagree. Ukraine and Gaza are apples and oranges. The "proper alignment of territory" would involve giving back land to the Palestinians. Jews deserve a homeland too, but as Bertrand Russell said in his final speech, "No people anywhere in the world would accept being expelled en masse from their own country; how can anyone require the people of Palestine to accept a punishment which nobody else would tolerate"
Hi Steghorn, I was thinking of the Western/Ukrainian expropriation of Russkie land (ethnic Russian), and the shelling thereof since 2015. Ariel Sharon gave away Israeli land to form the Gazan enclave. Netanyahu wants it back. Like the Soviets giving away the Ukraine in the 1950s.
Hi, Jeff, I think with respect we may have to disagree about Gaza. This was Palestinian land and wasn't Sharon's to give back, and isn't Netanyahu's to take away. Whatever happens, let's just hope this madness stops.
And what Paul wrote initially, "with the west dominated by a modern Bond villain, George Soros et al, whose control of media opinion has misled nearly everyone in the EU/Anglosphere on both issues" is the most important part.
OT: On the Duran today the Alexanders debated whether Russia would let whatever is left of Ukraine join the EU (not NATO but the EU). Mercouris didn't shoot absolutely this idea down, so I will. Given Western treachery, I don't see Russia accepting this, even in some kind of negotiating back and forth. Maybe Russia eventually accepts some kind of trade relationship...maybe...btw Ukraine and the EU...but membership? No way. That would be a return to the slippery slope of appeasing Western expansionism. Not ever going to happen.
I'm about to fit some of that video into a longer post. A good discussion. The notion of Ukraine joining the EU would, IMO, bring up the whole question of Western sanctions on Russia.
Dominique Villepin
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/11/another-interview-with-dominique-de-villepin-on-the-conflict-in-palestine-as-translated-by-arnaud-be.html#more
Hostages, everything must be done to secure their release. **But let's not forget: the Palestinian people are also taken hostage, by Hamas and by Israel.** And Hamas, we all know, cares little for the Palestinian people. So telling Hamas: "we will not lift the siege, we will not have a humanitarian truce until the hostages are released," is a dialogue of the deaf.
**Benjamin Netanyahu is waging a war to do everything so that the political solution does not come to the table. And this is where the international community, Europe, the United States, must tell Benjamin Netanyahu that this war is not acceptable. It is not acceptable because it leads us directly [to escalation] - because we can see it well, from Hamas we will move to Iran, from Iran we will move to other targets, and we then enter into the logic of a clash of civilizations. When Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu says that on one side there is the people of light and on the other the people of darkness, we can see the kind of spiral we are getting into.**
**All the wars that have been going on for the past twenty years are wars that begin and do not end. These are frozen conflicts. We know how to start a war; we do not know how to end it.**
Great work, Mark. The Poles are absolutely the fulcrum on which the entire Group of Visegrads rests. I took my eye off the ball after the election expecting that Tusk would be given the EU red carpet to form his government. That's still up in the air? That indeed gives the Russians and "in" to shift the narrative.
Watch for a Russian offensive this winter (weather permitting) that breaks Zelensky in Kiev and the offer goes to Poland to reclaim Lvov, Hungary to get Transcarpathia and the Russians demand Odessa.
A lot of that outcome depends on what happens in the ME. If the US ultimately backs out of the Thucydides' Trap it has walked into, then NATO will fracture and the Poles will embrace whatever Lavrov and Putin put in front of them.
Thanks, Tom. I'm still trying to wrap my head around your latest. I do recall those ideas from your past articles but never put that together with the changing shape of the Middle East.
Re Poland, despite considerable revanchist elements in Polish culture, I suspect that the flood of Ukrainians into Poland that came with the war on Russia may have cured Poles of that disease. Russian security guarantees and economic cooperation combined with a revived Visegrad--trashed, to a great extent, by Law and Justice hubris--may do the trick.
Amazing work. Interesting times when all our best thinkers and writers are outside our institutions.
The institutions have chosen to become factories of witless stupidity.
+1
Being a retiree of DOD/IC, I can confirm a lot of fools work there; both leadership and rank and file. I have zero confidence in current Western culture.
That's really where we are--we need a culture change. As matters stand, even most of those who are unhappy with the way we live now still don't have the culture shift we need. Our "culture", our public orthodoxy, is a loose, solipsistic libertarianism. That's an anti-culture.
I remember when I first heard that God is at the center of His existence; not men. His love for Himself comes first. I was shocked and disappointed. I thought that we were at the center of His love. When I realized over time the truth and beauty of His being at the center of His existence, it really helped me get my head on straight and my feet on solid ground. "Thy will be done", not 'my will be done.'
It saddens me to read that our culture, western that is, is under such scrutiny and attack. Whether libertarianism is the cause or not, I see it as the result of multi-culturalism and diversity all part of the Tikkun Olam BS foisted upon us by the “Open Society”hucksterism of people like Soros. These people have soiled our country and our culture and the result is chaos and upheaval amongst us all leaving us with doubts about ourselves and what we represent. We’ve been beaten down for the greater good of hucksterism.
Isn't that the logical outcome of Libertarianism? Culture doesn't matter. It's all individual choice. And that's what the non-West is pushing back against. Putin is very explicit about that. The non-West sees the rootlessness of the West, which lack of belief in anything fundamental except ourselves, leads to wild swings between hubristic empire building and fecklessness when things go wrong.
This is such an astute observation about libertarianism and why it is ultimately a nihilistic philosophy.
I am not sure, Mark. I have never really followed or dug into the philosophy of Libertarianism because I saw it was bereft of any real culture, so your point is well taken. However, as an ideology it seems like it was embraced by few, so I dismissed it. For a while I read selected articles at the Reason site and found the self-centered philosophy advocating for little oversight to be without principals beyond live and let live. I have never equated it with classical liberalism (Adam Smith) though and here is where we might diverge in our thinking, but I agree with you on the hubris and fecklessness among the leadership class. To what do we try to return to in a society now so diverse and without any commonality that drove some semblance of unity? The multi-culti open society hogwash that has ripped apart the fabric that made this country unique has been destructive and with unfettered immigration the situation only grows worse with each and every barbarian who crosses our borders seeking to destroy what has been built and remade into a hodge-podge of squabbling ethnicities, sort of like the Austro-Hungarian Empire before it's fall.
"I have never equated [Libertariansim] with classical liberalism (Adam Smith)"
More historical perspective:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_liberalism#Evolution_of_core_beliefs
Earlier in the article (and note that the 16th century was the age of the Reform of the West and that Luther was a professor of Nominalist philosophy):
Classical liberalism gained full flowering in the early 18th century, **building on ideas starting at least as far back as the 16th century,** within the Iberian, Anglo-Saxon, and central European contexts, and it was foundational to the American Revolution and "American Project" more broadly. ...
**In the context of American politics, "classical liberalism" may be described as "fiscally conservative" and "socially liberal".** ... **Additionally, in the United States, classical liberalism is considered closely tied to, or synonymous with, American libertarianism.**
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I have seen you post this information before. I decided to investigate further so that I either correct the mistake in my understanding or alternatively find where classical liberals meet and where they differ with Libertarians. I found these two articles and, while short, they did add a bit more information than a Wiki entry.
https://reason.com/volokh/2023/04/06/libertarianism-vs-classical-liberalism-is-there-a-difference/
https://fee.org/articles/libertarianism-and-classical-liberalism-a-short-introduction/
It's interesting to research this as I have been making my way through Will Durant's classic 11 volume set on Western Civ. I am on volume 9, the Age of Voltaire so just covered the Humes, Lockes and Smith among others.
I’m not sure how these fit the above model:
Obama hates England, and Biden with his Irish background is probably not a fan either.
Obama / Biden seems to be very anti secular regimes. Such as Libya, Syria, Russia, etc.
They seem to favor the Muslim brotherhood.
Obama / Biden is very anti Israel, especially Netanyahu.
Biden did an amazing job of destroying the Saudi / U.S. relationship with the Jamal Khashoggi murder.
The West is taking an anti development using foreign aid and other leverage to the third world. It’s a politically correct latter day colonialism.
The U.S. is pushing lgbt and women rights worldwide.
The U. S. Is backing leftists candidates worldwide, such as in Brazil and Israel.
At the same time the U.S. military has an amazing footprint world wide.
And pushing open borders in Europe and the U.S. My guess is to use them to win elections eventually.
There seems to be a lot of coercion of politicians using blackmail, to vote the right way.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-12711071/MP-sex-prostitute-Tory-MPs-cheered-on.html
Note how gop house dissenters keep on getting hit with sex scandals.
Westminster. What a cesspit. Though, no doubt, its the same story on Capitol Hill. Remember the claims made by Madison Cawthorn (R - North Carolina) about being invited to orgies? Of course he lost his bid for re-election.
Also, I am sure it’s not just parliamentary whips who blackmail MPs / members of Congress with this crap. That the spy agencies do so as well may help explain why Parliament and Congress have become so weirdly dysfunctional over the past 30-50 years.
Since WWII the CIA has been infiltrated by Marxists and communist and this has never been rectified, but exploited.
IOW, from the founding.
Yes, do you disagree?
No.
One word: Maxwell. Epstein if you prefer.
How do I sign up to be an MP?
What’s the old saying…. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
Israel will need new alliances beyond the West to survive long term. Powerful alliances that may already exist in their own backyard. Question remains from an equity perspective what does Israel have to offer in return?
"The problem, the BIG problem, is that all this may be leading, willy nilly, toward a civilizational war--not something that anybody wants, but the logical result of decades of geopolitical malpractice.". So if this is the case, then is it not also inevitable that we must take sides? Once people have decided that "this means war" you can't really turn them back from that decision.
Crooke says "It's not clear that the US is in control of Israel's reactions, nor is it clear that America's saber rattling will deter the Region that has been aroused."
Well if the world is expecting Blinken, Nuland and others in the US State dept to forge a foreign policy of detente or similar in the region then forget about it. In fact, Crooke's statement suggests this lack of confidence in our foreign policy. Sad and disappointing.
Explains alot about society in the U.S.
"But are our ruling elites capable of stepping out of the box of their own fantasy world?"
If I were to essay a few thoughts way, way outside the box, I might offer: Isn't now exactly the right time for the USA to retreat to its island continent, safe from foreign attack by reason of two enormous oceans, wealthy beyond need in natural resources and food and water, and start the multi-generational job of re-inventing an America that has been nearly wrecked by decades of endless war, destructive politics, progressivism and globalism? We don't need to be the world's policeman and global hegemon, nor the world's enforcer of woke values. There is plenty of work (including jobs) to do right here at home rationally rebuilding and recovering our cities, and our manufacturing, and our schools, and our families, and our physical and mental health...and our common decency. And our national security, which must be re-built on constitutional principals. The rest of the world can sort out the rise of China and Russia and the New Middle East, and Europe can decide whether to join in or try to go it alone. We'll be just fine.
Its long past time that we should roll up our sleeves and go back to work on the stuff that really counts.
The rest of the world would sigh with massive relief. Apart from Britain.
I'm English and live in England. Not British. Britain is an imperial construct that constrains us as much as it does Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and the so-called Commonwealth.
Where was all the Covid mania most concentrated? The Commonwealth plus USA (in other words countries where English is the first language, not forgetting those Canadian dweebs). Plus US colonies, principally Germany.
Which country did most of the 'diplomatic' heavy lifting in getting the final phase of Project Ukraine off the ground? Britain. Johnson suckered Zelensky, or threatened him. We can all see how that is turning out.
Which country is in seizures right now because a Pro-Palestinian march this coming Saturday shows disrespect to our Glorious Dead? It hasn't even happened yet but is already being called a Hate March. It might yet be banned. There will be provocations and planted 'hate' speech and Sunday papers screaming about disrespect.
But no one aged under 80 actually remembers a single one of the Glorious Dead as real, breathing people. Via print media, kid's comics, TV shows, Vera Lynn songs and films we're conditioned and reconditioned to remember our days of valiant bloodshed. Year after year.
Wear a poppy. Make sure you freeze and clam your mouth shut at 11:00 on 'Remembrance' Sunday when you're halfway round the supermarket.
The 'British' point of view is represented by the aristocrat-controlled media, the same control that is exercised over US media. A great deal of this is implemented by the military. Here, there, everywhere. The elite are badly shook. And about blody time.
I don't think America is as far gone as Britain, believe it or not.
So, yes, turn your backs on the 'British'. We're the Scum of the Earth to be blunt.
@Karen
I feel your pain!
Perhaps the least endearing characteristic of the 'British', which I observed over decades working on transactions in the City of London, was a pervasive arrogance. While it is superficially attractive when offered up in tones of Received Pronunciation, it quickly wears out its welcome when you realize its all a front.
And what is found behind the front? I guess it is what you describe.
The English middle class (especially in the South East where I currently live) are conditioned to conceal their stilettos behind those nice manners and politeness. You're 100% on the money Cass. The northern m/c are the same but with slightly more amusing accents. I'm in the process of moving to the North East, ex coal mining area. People have rougher edges and less tolerance for bullshit. Since I'm a poorly socialised autist this will feel more home-like. No less likely to be nuked (especially around the NSA base nr Harrogate) but being vapourised and having my atoms mingle with those of Londoners and Home Counties sociopaths is my idea of real hell ;-)
Funny, to me, story. I've always been fascinated with accents, trying to identify where they come from. Years ago, mid 80s, I met with an MI6 guy. Just making casual conversation, I asked where he was from. He told me something general like London. Piqued, because I thought I was hearing something a bit different in his accent, I decided to press--I asked where he grew up, citing his accent. To my surprise and amusement he got *extremely* defensive, insisting he spoke the same way all uni educated professionals do in London. I insisted I was hearing something different and he finally, and very grudgingly, admitted he was from Ulster. The rest of the meeting went very badly from a personal rapport standpoint. I had unwittingly challenged his whole self image. Which was built on a pretty superficial basis.
I think you have captured the sensibility of our grandees of the rich coastal set and specifically the northeast of the USA. Those who see themselves as the aristocrats of our society. They set the tone, drive and twist the culture to their desires and condescend to the rest of us. You outed a pretender and it must have infuriated him. We have plenty of them walking around and the despised nouveau riche are the worst. In America our instinct was to better ourselves, be kind to others, but we do not bow down to elites and grovel before their immense wealth and power, we may respect, but we do not curtsy to blood lines like they do in England and on the continent. This drives our grandees mad.
Covid looks like a British led imperial project if you look at who pushed for the most draconian restrictions: Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
That's an interesting question, embedded there. You could say it's the globalist elite, but who are they. cullturally? I've argued over the years that the breakdown of Christian perennial philosophy which led to cultural skepticism was embodied religiously in the Reformation--which survives largely in the Anglosphere, to the extent that it does. Philosophically, the offspring was Liberal thought, expressed in Utilitarianism and Libertarianism, but with help from Germany: Kant. Jewish Emancipation led the Jewish elites to embrace those trends with a religious fervor in the new secular nation states.
…but then we would have to repudiate those “foreign entanglements” General George Washington warned about…wiping the slate clean…hélas, I doubt we possess the moral courage to do so, and yet your plea is, to many, completely rational!
Love the thought, but the results of the OH and VA elections bring me back to reality. We've got a tough road ahead.
Hmm…
https://www.emerald.tv/p/the-voting-machines-just-failed-in
No doubt. I left my Northern Virginia polling place yesterday morning feeling absolutely assured of a Republican sweep in the Commonwealth. In the deepest-blue of precincts, where Republicans don't really even bother to campaign, there was a great turnout with voters, say, two-to-one holding the telltale green paper of the Fairfax Republicans sample ballot. Spoke with the ladies at the Republican tent, who told me they'd never seen GOP interest like that before. Well, turns out, it was merely a nice anecdote for thinking people who vote on Election Day, when, in reality, all it takes is shouting your abortions and "MAGA extremist" at others who vote early and often by other means. Lost to sloganeering. A long, tough road indeed.
What I woke up to. Chicken/egg? Worthless pols, worthless voters? Turnout? Tired of me-too-ism?
This is what I keep saying to myself.
Replying to your 1638 comment (deleted?). England's vibrant Catholic culture was destroyed top down by a Western proto-totalitarian: H8, a true psychopath. The greedy nobility went along to enrich themselves, and turned the national culture over to radicals who turned religion into a nationalistic cult. England has never been the same. A few attempts to push back and recover a true culture in the form of Methodism etc., but nothing worked.
I have been ''possessed" by this article since it was published! I recall the echoes of my dive into Hilaire Belloc's The Great Heresies. Thanks, Mark.
Thanks!
BTW, anyone reading, this is a medical day, so ...
They made it all but impossible for us to live in peace.
I guess we were Canceled!
So we boarded the 'John of London'
https://www.geni.com/projects/Great-Migration-Passengers-of-the-John-of-London-1638/42854
Yes, Henry VIII was where things really went haywire. That reign, and the Enclosures, saw the English working class torn apart. Margaret Thatcher helped to revive that psychotic 'crusade' and things have never really recovered since. There was a kind of breathing space mid 1940s to 1970s, what is known to sociologists as the post-war consensus.
That is one of the reasons why Trump is such a threat. That is exactly what he tried to do (and may have more success next time).
I do agree this is what Trump 'tried' to do. I wish Trump would take a page out of JFK's book and get some speech writers who really know how to write and then broadcast his policies, goals and values in concrete, understandable, articulate and inspiring terms.
The WA Post had a lack of self-awareness article about Trump getting back in office and jailing his opponents. It'd be hilarious if not so sad. 91 indictments? I guess it's different when they do it.
Placing German troops in Poland? Old school thinking indeed! In fact, I doubt they are thinking at all any more. Israel, or it's rabid government at least, is definitely looked into old school thinking dating back to 1967. Another lightning attack and the Arabs will recoil in fear. Even if Hamas is crushed, Israel's long term future looks bleak indeed.
Very interesting observations. The real issue is that the recipe is highly complex and we have an team of idiots in the kitchen. God only know what will be served. Not mentioned but worth noting is Obama is suddenly active, Axelrod has called for Biden to step aside and the Dems are collectively staring at terrible poll numbers. Taking bets on who goes first, Biden or Zelensky.
The owner of the restaurant ultimately hires and fires the chef and the owner is very concerned. This scene explains what's happening very clearly.
https://youtu.be/Ufj6CeqOTJo?si=VTKfQQnh7qvpqiJu
Axelrod is Barry’s lap dog doing his bidding for him.
Remember, Obama was very late in endorsing Biden in 2020. Passed him over for Hillary in 2016. He clearly isn't a fan.
But the project needed a figurehead who was fully controlled. Hence Biden. It hardly matters that he’s a fool.
Yes, that. Probably Biden's most appealing quality to the selectors. But still. What a cynical choice!
Which we are paying for and will pay for in spades. Start by counting the deaths. And then look at the spending and waste. And then the destruction of the national project.
Well put.
I have never spoken with Crooke, but I am not sure that I trust a (former?) British diplomat to be putting the pieces on the board here. As the British spy always says after he has betrayed someone and sent them to their doom, "it's nothing personal."
He seems pretty spot on to me.
He has always seemed on point and spot on to me as well. But these essays seemed like word salad when I read them the first time, and they still do, even with Mark's elucidation. Something isn't right; either I am getting sick or something isn't right in the essays. And the Brits are running out of time in their game.
I can understand your mistrust however, Crooke with his focus on the middle East has been especially forthright and on point in just about all I have read in the last year and a half since I started following him. I trust him far more than any American diplomat.
His insights are always keen. But I am not getting them here. Given his background, I can't help but be suspicious.
This is what's great about Mark's MIH blog, you can hold and express differing opinions and the community respects that you may have a differing view. I understand your reservations especially as we grow increasingly aware of the Brits underhanded activities around the world. My feelings toward the UK has definitely changed and I have British blood, but I am American first and always.
The Gaza crisis is taking attention off the West Bank. The crazy colonists are stirring up serious trouble there.
Regarding the EU, as someone today opined " It only took them 80 years but they're almost done now.. I think we're allowed to give people the big news.. The EU is the Fourth Reich...Surprise !!
Reading Mark's piece, the thought that came to my mind was that Israel's goals in Gaza are very similar to Russia's in Ukraine: demilitarization, denazification, and proper alignment of territory.
I disagree. Ukraine and Gaza are apples and oranges. The "proper alignment of territory" would involve giving back land to the Palestinians. Jews deserve a homeland too, but as Bertrand Russell said in his final speech, "No people anywhere in the world would accept being expelled en masse from their own country; how can anyone require the people of Palestine to accept a punishment which nobody else would tolerate"
Hi Steghorn, I was thinking of the Western/Ukrainian expropriation of Russkie land (ethnic Russian), and the shelling thereof since 2015. Ariel Sharon gave away Israeli land to form the Gazan enclave. Netanyahu wants it back. Like the Soviets giving away the Ukraine in the 1950s.
Hi, Jeff, I think with respect we may have to disagree about Gaza. This was Palestinian land and wasn't Sharon's to give back, and isn't Netanyahu's to take away. Whatever happens, let's just hope this madness stops.
And what Paul wrote initially, "with the west dominated by a modern Bond villain, George Soros et al, whose control of media opinion has misled nearly everyone in the EU/Anglosphere on both issues" is the most important part.
Yep.