Pax Britannica ended in 1914 when it became abundantly clear that Britain no longer had the ability to manage/control world events. Welcome to the end of Pax Americana!
I haven't had a chance to read through comments to see if this has been posted, but here's an interesting take by Steven Turley, video below. I don't think there's any question this is a throat punch to Schwab's 'vision', although there's also no question the global elites will double down.
"Today march 24th 2022 liberal globalism officially collapsed; you can mark your calendar on that one. The whole geopolitical project beginning in 1991 with the fall of the soviet union and Francis Fukuyama's neocon fantasy at the end of history where he envisioned that the entire world would
now turn to a global neoliberal order that has since culminated in an epidemic of wokeness...that vision died last night and Russian president Vladimir Putin killed it."
That said, I am curious as to what end state Putin desires. Based on his words, it seems clear the "de-Nazification" refers to removal of those who are not Russian approved from government. It also seems clear that Putin means to de-militarize Ukraine. That points to a "protectorate" situation. So will Ukraine be a democracy and independent in name only (but in reality a puppet of Russia)? Or does Russia go ahead and formally annex the Donbas? Or the whole country? I guess we shall see.
History rarely simply repeats. This isn't WW2, nor is it the Cold War. Russia, despite its vast resources, is not in a position to reimpose the Soviet Empire on Europe. I'm surprised at JD's failure to ask penetrating questions. Like: Exactly why do we need "missile defenses" (which can be quickly converted to an offensive capability) in ... Romania?
On a broader level, JD blames all these policy setbacks on "chronic weakness" on the part of Zhou. But what about the effects of anti-Russian policy dating back to 1992? That has given Russia a powerful reason to rearm--which they've done. Russia's defense budget may be a fraction of ours--no special trans benefits--but do we have any nuclear capable hypersonic missiles? Those "missile defenses" in Romania probably won't be helpful against those weapons.
A reflexively confrontational policy is probably a bad idea when the need to project force would involve vast distances. That's the position we're in now, even with "allies" in Eastern Europe.
Not only the deployment of “defensive” missile systems in Russia’s backyard, but also our unilateral withdrawal from various arms control treaties — also an issue Putin has been pointing to for years. Here’s a very informative video featuring clips of Putin warning against ignoring Russia’s security concerns.
Thanks for your thoughts and very good points, Mark. It does seem that many remain in the "cold war" mindset in many respects. It should be comforting to those who worry about potential for a renewed Russian empire to recognize that even if it wished to do so, Russia does not have the resources to either establish or maintain one. That of course will not stop them from doing what they view as being critical to their security.
Yes, time to adjust the Reality Goggles yet again.
So after figuring that the Ukraine claxons were nothing more than a SPOTUS regime pr blitz to distract the public and burnish SPOTUS' tough guy image, we/ I discover that (1) Putin is not in any kind of league w the Regime/ Cartel (2) Putin actually cares about securing a buffer state around Mother Russia.
That said, still feel pretty vindicated. The Regime were playing a game to extract submission from Zelenko by baiting the Bear. Having succeeded, the Regime now makes it clear they'll leave Ukraine to its fate and hope they can leverage this Russian "atrocity " to maximum advantage here at home to rig more elections, enact more emergency powers, label more honest Americans as terrorists and Russian spies etc...
The biggest panic in dc right now is focused squarely on how and where to shift their massive money laundering operations formerly based in Ukraine.
I cant root for the Russians but i can respect their determination to secure their borders. Oh the contrast w our own government, current and ousted!
Thanks, especially for the maps that clarify matters enormously. The past/present Nazi areas all seem to be on the border with Poland, and lent credence to the late Steven Cohen, who was prescient in observing that post-Cold War NATO expansion would revive Russian nationalism.
This war should have never happened, and probably could have been avoided. But the die is cast once Putin takes the steps he has recently.
The real question in my mind is whether China has planned a Taiwan "peacekeeping" mission of its own in coordination with Russia. What Russia has done will push Europe to take their security more seriously now. A bolstered EU/US +other allied military capability will make it that much more difficult for China to act with impunity unless they act now.
China had to know of the full scale invasion Putin had in mind, certainly they did if we knew about it. So China would have to recognize the same dynamic I point out. What do you think they plan to do about it? I assume they assess how we react, and if they see an opportunity, they take Taiwan. And thus begins WWIII, even if initially we manage to contain it to just those two countries. If we pull that off, it will be a cold WWIII. If not, a lot of people will lose their lives in the coming wars.
Not a great post by KD. Is he saying that most Taiwanese want to rejoin CCP china? I can tell you that's not true. Or is he saying only that China will claim that as justification for invasion?
In either case, bring it on. I would welcome a world without the electronics as that may be the only way to stop the Cartel from turning us into electronic surveillance state slaves.
How long are you willing to do without electronics while waiting for that world to materialize?
KD's point re Taiwanese is that they long ago made the decision to become part of China by investing lock stock and barrel in China. Which anyone who follows the news knows to be fact. Not wanting to is pointless once you do it.
Taiwan’s current President has had a southern strategy to increase trade other Asian nations. She has also been very aggressive on building diesel submarines. China hates her guts. Most Taiwanese just want to be left alone. Civid coming from China, and accompanying lies, have hurt Chinas reputation even more in Taiwan. China has been doing its best to bully Taiwan as much as it can. Taiwan’s military has issues with more focus on flash, than value. Logistics / spare parts and reserves are huge issues.
I don't disagree, Ray. Nevertheless, Taiwan's dependence on China remains a hard fact. Even should Taiwan successfully implement its southern strategy, it still remains 100 miles from the Mainland. I also am on board with skepticism re China's true military capabilities, but ... the future likely won't get better.
As to point 1, we all know that we are headed for serious meltdown absent a miraculous reverse Rapture where all the gangsters in dc are instantly removed. So, yes, we should all be prepared to do without much of what we deem important and essential. If doing without electronics brings down the gangster government and provides the impetus for a new, hyper federal America, I will do without them for as long as that takes and i assume you would too.
Re Taiwan, my Taiwanese wife assures me that most people there hate the CCP w a passion. The fact that corrupted government officials and corporations took CCP bribes and inducements to do business with and in China does not change anything, any more than saying Americans want to be part of China because of all the business American companies and government does there.
The difference between the US and Taiwan include thousands of miles of ocean, hundreds of millions of people, and natural resources coming out the wazoo. Pls think before typing dumbass comments.
Nothing dumbass about it. I simply made the point that we cannot attribute to an entire population what is done by its leaders or corporations. Perhaps i didn't make that sufficiently clear.
WWIII? How so? Do you suppose tbe US is going to do anything more than talk if China goes after Taiwan? Add to that the quickly diminishing capabilities of the US regime to actually *do* anything. Beyond the methodical gutting of avtive military, our economy is teetering on the edge as it is, so there's not much margin for the Regime to go throwing around sanctions without pushing us over the edge. The only thing saving us viz China now is their own brittle economy.
China's and Russia's ambitions extend well beyond Ukraine and Taiwan. Russia includes all former USSR territory and expulsion of all NATO countries formerly part of Warsaw Pact--say good bye to Eastern Europe. China includes claims on much of SE Asia and parts of India. None of this ends with Ukraine/Taiwan if that's what happens.
Yes, that is the establishment narrative, I'll grant you that, and I'll even admit that i bought into that before the Great Unmasking of the last 4.5 years.
Leave aside for a moment whether Russia and China really have these grandiose ambitions. What do you say to my question about the Regime's response to, say, an invasion of Taiwan? Afterall, it takes two to make it a war. Do you expect this Regime, this CCP controlled SPOTUS to do more than blather and send angry tweets at Xi?
He is certainly right that they "created a weakness" by making themselves dependent on Russia via Nordstream 2. Something I have not seen mentioned today is that another large source of NG from Russia to Europe is piped through Ukraine, with Ukraine collecting very large transit fees from the Russians. I am sure Mr. Putin will be happy to be rid of those fees.
Nor I. That said it’s still only weeks away from the onset of the rasputitsa season which would bog down armored formations/supply columns/advance units in a sea of mud. We’ll have to see how this plays out but it may just be a demonstration, I.e. Putin shaking out the pro-Russian areas of the Ukraine & not an all-out combined arms offensive to secure the whole of Ukraine. As said, this was totally preventable & is the totally the fault of the west, pushing NATO ever eastward seemingly for no other reason than to kick sand in Russia’s face.
On FNC General Jack Keane just now said this offensive is on three axes, which suggests the opposite of what I opine above; an offensive on that scale is far more than a “demonstration”; it is far more involved, requires advance planning, staging areas & large logistical support.
Time will tell but like you I kept looking for the power stations to be hit last night; that’s why I suggested this may be a “demonstration”.
Mark, thanks for including those historical maps in this post. I am a lifelong student of history, and I have known all along that Ukraine has only been an independent country since the fall of the USSR. Most accounts of Russian history start with Kiev, but that early Russian state was disrupted by the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century, and when the Russian state re-emerged, it was centered on Moscow. Rule by various Mongol/Tartar empires was followed by rule by Lithuania and Poland. In the 1600s, the Cossacks of Ukraine rebelled against Poland, and finally accepted the rule of the Russian Tsars to keep Poland out. The Cossacks went on to become an important part of the Russian military, and were involved in exploring and taking over Siberia and other areas that were absorbed into Russia.
I'm not sure this is entirely fair to Zelensky. My recollection is that Zelensky was quite cooperative with Trump and was active in reopening the investigation of the corruption charges against Burisma and the Bidens. Once the Uniparty fabricated the impeachment over that famous call, it's hard to cast too much blame on Z for seeing how the wind blew and trying to position himself safely away from getting crushed. He was already a stink in the DC nostrils when SPOTUS was installed so he expected Ukraine to be squeezed mercilessly. I pity him for choosing to ally himself w the DC. I cant help but think that many governments are taking the lesson that China is a far more reliable and consistent ally than dc.
There are actually some surprises in the list of young global leaders grads. But those names shouldn't be surprising if you regard the program as a recruiting ground, not just a confirmation for true believers.
I saw a poll this morning that said about 25% of Americans actually even say they give a sh*t about Ukraine. This won't distract any but true believers.
Without a doubt. Recall that there was a planned NATO package deal--Georgia and Ukraine. Georgia didn't work out very well either, which should have been a clue.
The 'nazi' reference from Putin refers specifically to the Azov battalion. My understanding is there are ~ 60K of them.
https://www.risetopeace.org/2021/07/21/azov-battalion-guardian-angels-or-notorious-extremists/risetopece/
Right. They're the military face of a broader political movement.
You know...the more I watch Joe Biden, the more I think he's an "aggressive passive".
Pax Britannica ended in 1914 when it became abundantly clear that Britain no longer had the ability to manage/control world events. Welcome to the end of Pax Americana!
I haven't had a chance to read through comments to see if this has been posted, but here's an interesting take by Steven Turley, video below. I don't think there's any question this is a throat punch to Schwab's 'vision', although there's also no question the global elites will double down.
"Today march 24th 2022 liberal globalism officially collapsed; you can mark your calendar on that one. The whole geopolitical project beginning in 1991 with the fall of the soviet union and Francis Fukuyama's neocon fantasy at the end of history where he envisioned that the entire world would
now turn to a global neoliberal order that has since culminated in an epidemic of wokeness...that vision died last night and Russian president Vladimir Putin killed it."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAXWAA5GnEI&t=107s
I was amazed how that linked Mearshimer essay (https://www.mearsheimer.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Why-the-Ukraine-Crisis-Is.pdf) was published in 2014; everything in it could have been written today and still applies. The west bears primary responsibility for this mess for reasons well described by him.
That said, I am curious as to what end state Putin desires. Based on his words, it seems clear the "de-Nazification" refers to removal of those who are not Russian approved from government. It also seems clear that Putin means to de-militarize Ukraine. That points to a "protectorate" situation. So will Ukraine be a democracy and independent in name only (but in reality a puppet of Russia)? Or does Russia go ahead and formally annex the Donbas? Or the whole country? I guess we shall see.
For those who prefer to listen to rather than read Mearsheimer’s analysis:
https://youtu.be/JrMiSQAGOS4
To partially answer my own question, here is a very good (if disconcerting) post by J. E. Dyer on Putin's possible intentions:
https://theoptimisticconservative.wordpress.com/2022/02/24/toc-ready-room-24-feb-2022-putin-makes-his-move/#more-6202
History rarely simply repeats. This isn't WW2, nor is it the Cold War. Russia, despite its vast resources, is not in a position to reimpose the Soviet Empire on Europe. I'm surprised at JD's failure to ask penetrating questions. Like: Exactly why do we need "missile defenses" (which can be quickly converted to an offensive capability) in ... Romania?
On a broader level, JD blames all these policy setbacks on "chronic weakness" on the part of Zhou. But what about the effects of anti-Russian policy dating back to 1992? That has given Russia a powerful reason to rearm--which they've done. Russia's defense budget may be a fraction of ours--no special trans benefits--but do we have any nuclear capable hypersonic missiles? Those "missile defenses" in Romania probably won't be helpful against those weapons.
A reflexively confrontational policy is probably a bad idea when the need to project force would involve vast distances. That's the position we're in now, even with "allies" in Eastern Europe.
Not only the deployment of “defensive” missile systems in Russia’s backyard, but also our unilateral withdrawal from various arms control treaties — also an issue Putin has been pointing to for years. Here’s a very informative video featuring clips of Putin warning against ignoring Russia’s security concerns.
https://www.bitchute.com/video/wWDGvuCnfCXW/
Thanks for your thoughts and very good points, Mark. It does seem that many remain in the "cold war" mindset in many respects. It should be comforting to those who worry about potential for a renewed Russian empire to recognize that even if it wished to do so, Russia does not have the resources to either establish or maintain one. That of course will not stop them from doing what they view as being critical to their security.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/02/23/ann-coulter-stop-talking-about-ukraine-republicans/
Yes, time to adjust the Reality Goggles yet again.
So after figuring that the Ukraine claxons were nothing more than a SPOTUS regime pr blitz to distract the public and burnish SPOTUS' tough guy image, we/ I discover that (1) Putin is not in any kind of league w the Regime/ Cartel (2) Putin actually cares about securing a buffer state around Mother Russia.
That said, still feel pretty vindicated. The Regime were playing a game to extract submission from Zelenko by baiting the Bear. Having succeeded, the Regime now makes it clear they'll leave Ukraine to its fate and hope they can leverage this Russian "atrocity " to maximum advantage here at home to rig more elections, enact more emergency powers, label more honest Americans as terrorists and Russian spies etc...
The biggest panic in dc right now is focused squarely on how and where to shift their massive money laundering operations formerly based in Ukraine.
I cant root for the Russians but i can respect their determination to secure their borders. Oh the contrast w our own government, current and ousted!
Thanks, especially for the maps that clarify matters enormously. The past/present Nazi areas all seem to be on the border with Poland, and lent credence to the late Steven Cohen, who was prescient in observing that post-Cold War NATO expansion would revive Russian nationalism.
This war should have never happened, and probably could have been avoided. But the die is cast once Putin takes the steps he has recently.
The real question in my mind is whether China has planned a Taiwan "peacekeeping" mission of its own in coordination with Russia. What Russia has done will push Europe to take their security more seriously now. A bolstered EU/US +other allied military capability will make it that much more difficult for China to act with impunity unless they act now.
China had to know of the full scale invasion Putin had in mind, certainly they did if we knew about it. So China would have to recognize the same dynamic I point out. What do you think they plan to do about it? I assume they assess how we react, and if they see an opportunity, they take Taiwan. And thus begins WWIII, even if initially we manage to contain it to just those two countries. If we pull that off, it will be a cold WWIII. If not, a lot of people will lose their lives in the coming wars.
food for thought:
Now About Taiwan....
https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=245249
Taiwan falling to China would def. strangle us economically. So it would not be a good outcome, for sure.
"Taiwan falling to China would def. strangle us economically."
We had a president who wanted to prepare America for such threats. The establishment vomited him out.
Not a great post by KD. Is he saying that most Taiwanese want to rejoin CCP china? I can tell you that's not true. Or is he saying only that China will claim that as justification for invasion?
In either case, bring it on. I would welcome a world without the electronics as that may be the only way to stop the Cartel from turning us into electronic surveillance state slaves.
How long are you willing to do without electronics while waiting for that world to materialize?
KD's point re Taiwanese is that they long ago made the decision to become part of China by investing lock stock and barrel in China. Which anyone who follows the news knows to be fact. Not wanting to is pointless once you do it.
Taiwan’s current President has had a southern strategy to increase trade other Asian nations. She has also been very aggressive on building diesel submarines. China hates her guts. Most Taiwanese just want to be left alone. Civid coming from China, and accompanying lies, have hurt Chinas reputation even more in Taiwan. China has been doing its best to bully Taiwan as much as it can. Taiwan’s military has issues with more focus on flash, than value. Logistics / spare parts and reserves are huge issues.
I don't disagree, Ray. Nevertheless, Taiwan's dependence on China remains a hard fact. Even should Taiwan successfully implement its southern strategy, it still remains 100 miles from the Mainland. I also am on board with skepticism re China's true military capabilities, but ... the future likely won't get better.
As to point 1, we all know that we are headed for serious meltdown absent a miraculous reverse Rapture where all the gangsters in dc are instantly removed. So, yes, we should all be prepared to do without much of what we deem important and essential. If doing without electronics brings down the gangster government and provides the impetus for a new, hyper federal America, I will do without them for as long as that takes and i assume you would too.
Re Taiwan, my Taiwanese wife assures me that most people there hate the CCP w a passion. The fact that corrupted government officials and corporations took CCP bribes and inducements to do business with and in China does not change anything, any more than saying Americans want to be part of China because of all the business American companies and government does there.
My Taiwanese wife immediate family’s blood runs green, and I get to exposed nightly some Taiwanese talk news show during dinner.
For some reasons my comments on issues with the Taiwanese military were not well received…
The difference between the US and Taiwan include thousands of miles of ocean, hundreds of millions of people, and natural resources coming out the wazoo. Pls think before typing dumbass comments.
Nothing dumbass about it. I simply made the point that we cannot attribute to an entire population what is done by its leaders or corporations. Perhaps i didn't make that sufficiently clear.
WWIII? How so? Do you suppose tbe US is going to do anything more than talk if China goes after Taiwan? Add to that the quickly diminishing capabilities of the US regime to actually *do* anything. Beyond the methodical gutting of avtive military, our economy is teetering on the edge as it is, so there's not much margin for the Regime to go throwing around sanctions without pushing us over the edge. The only thing saving us viz China now is their own brittle economy.
China's and Russia's ambitions extend well beyond Ukraine and Taiwan. Russia includes all former USSR territory and expulsion of all NATO countries formerly part of Warsaw Pact--say good bye to Eastern Europe. China includes claims on much of SE Asia and parts of India. None of this ends with Ukraine/Taiwan if that's what happens.
Yes, that is the establishment narrative, I'll grant you that, and I'll even admit that i bought into that before the Great Unmasking of the last 4.5 years.
Leave aside for a moment whether Russia and China really have these grandiose ambitions. What do you say to my question about the Regime's response to, say, an invasion of Taiwan? Afterall, it takes two to make it a war. Do you expect this Regime, this CCP controlled SPOTUS to do more than blather and send angry tweets at Xi?
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/uk-pushing-kick-russia-out-swift-germany-says-no
Ric Grennell came down pretty hard on the Germans for "giving in" to Russia:
https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/germany-nord-stream-2-pipeline-ric-grenell-invasion/2022/02/24/id/1058235/
He is certainly right that they "created a weakness" by making themselves dependent on Russia via Nordstream 2. Something I have not seen mentioned today is that another large source of NG from Russia to Europe is piped through Ukraine, with Ukraine collecting very large transit fees from the Russians. I am sure Mr. Putin will be happy to be rid of those fees.
Yeah...EU fecklessness will result in more, not less war, I'm afraid. Germany sure is not acting like a good ally.
The over the top hysteria on the US Left “to defend democracy” that Tucker captured about Ukraine last night is head scratching:
https://youtu.be/eHrv38It9_I
“I really didn’t think it would come to this-‘
Nor I. That said it’s still only weeks away from the onset of the rasputitsa season which would bog down armored formations/supply columns/advance units in a sea of mud. We’ll have to see how this plays out but it may just be a demonstration, I.e. Putin shaking out the pro-Russian areas of the Ukraine & not an all-out combined arms offensive to secure the whole of Ukraine. As said, this was totally preventable & is the totally the fault of the west, pushing NATO ever eastward seemingly for no other reason than to kick sand in Russia’s face.
On FNC General Jack Keane just now said this offensive is on three axes, which suggests the opposite of what I opine above; an offensive on that scale is far more than a “demonstration”; it is far more involved, requires advance planning, staging areas & large logistical support.
Time will tell but like you I kept looking for the power stations to be hit last night; that’s why I suggested this may be a “demonstration”.
Mark, thanks for including those historical maps in this post. I am a lifelong student of history, and I have known all along that Ukraine has only been an independent country since the fall of the USSR. Most accounts of Russian history start with Kiev, but that early Russian state was disrupted by the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century, and when the Russian state re-emerged, it was centered on Moscow. Rule by various Mongol/Tartar empires was followed by rule by Lithuania and Poland. In the 1600s, the Cossacks of Ukraine rebelled against Poland, and finally accepted the rule of the Russian Tsars to keep Poland out. The Cossacks went on to become an important part of the Russian military, and were involved in exploring and taking over Siberia and other areas that were absorbed into Russia.
How'd impeaching Trump work out, Zelensky?
https://donsurber.blogspot.com/2022/02/howd-impeaching-trump-work-out-zelensky.html
I'm not sure this is entirely fair to Zelensky. My recollection is that Zelensky was quite cooperative with Trump and was active in reopening the investigation of the corruption charges against Burisma and the Bidens. Once the Uniparty fabricated the impeachment over that famous call, it's hard to cast too much blame on Z for seeing how the wind blew and trying to position himself safely away from getting crushed. He was already a stink in the DC nostrils when SPOTUS was installed so he expected Ukraine to be squeezed mercilessly. I pity him for choosing to ally himself w the DC. I cant help but think that many governments are taking the lesson that China is a far more reliable and consistent ally than dc.
Yes, and the chickens are coming home to roost, Victoria Nuland…
There are actually some surprises in the list of young global leaders grads. But those names shouldn't be surprising if you regard the program as a recruiting ground, not just a confirmation for true believers.
Which provocation?
- Ukraine coup
- Belisarius attempted coup
- Kazakhstan attempted coup
- And the repeated demonization of Putin?
- Repeated US and UK military ships near Ukraine in Black Sea?
- Or the US foreign policy that seems very pro Ukraine?
I saw a poll this morning that said about 25% of Americans actually even say they give a sh*t about Ukraine. This won't distract any but true believers.
Without a doubt. Recall that there was a planned NATO package deal--Georgia and Ukraine. Georgia didn't work out very well either, which should have been a clue.
Sorry, I don't recall - could you elaborate or link, please?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia%E2%80%93NATO_relations#Future_enlargement_plans_of_NATO_to_Ukraine_and_Georgia