If you ask the US government, the answer is clear: America is the leader of the world. In fact, you don’t actually need to ask—our spokesjerks are out there, eagerly looking for people to share this truth with around the world.Thanks for reading Meaning In History! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
Kirby’s text would read much better if “leadership” were replaced by “imperialism.” Fortunately as Bhadrakumar points out, free will is on the march across Eurasia - in spite of - or rather because of - our declining empire. Not even worth Xi’s taking a phone call from our “leader…”
Looking at the maps, there's an obvious simplicity to the land routes.
But the thing about land routes is that it's a lot easier to play robber baron.
"Gee, nice pipeline you have here. Would be a pity if something happened to it...."
I'm reminded of Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver, where Eliza asks the King of France why he imports mainmasts from Sweden instead of harvesting them from the (large, untouched) forests of France.
As it turns out, there are many petty barons along the river, each of whom demands a cut, that it's far cheaper to buy them from Sweden.
Self-interest and political dynamics are certainly an ever present threat when you are dependent on so many nations as links in the chain. At the same time, if you were one link in the national chain, would you want all the other links turning against you because you were hurting THEIR interests?
Well, that assumes that the other links *would* turn against you. Robber Barons persisted for centuries in France, and along the Danube. They got pretty good at maximizing their cut w/o getting greedy enough to provoke their neighbors.
Well I can't say that I disagree with the premise that America is in fact the "leader of the world." But, America is the leader in the same way as the guy whose throttle stuck and brakes burned up, the cliff is nearing very rapidly. America's 'leaders' are too stupid to turn off the ignition! Spokesjerk Kinetic Kirby seems to be in need of some balm to put on his chafed areas, also works for Burns.
Looks like we should change Biden’s name from Brandon to Baghdad Bob. Remember him? Kept claiming there were no American soldiers in Iraq until they knocked his door down. Biden et al will keep claiming sanctions are working until we’re broke.
Excellent! This is an example of the type of action urgently needed to reveal corrupt legislators in the West. Shame them while revealing just how corrupt or corruptible they are. The James O'Keefe approach. I just wish they had tried to do this in the U.S. first. The name of their organization would be more appropriate here, too.
There has been a rail line connecting Russia to Iran since WW2, so getting it functional should be minor technical, but probably more political issues. Like Azerbaijan…
While Azerbaijan is a thorn in the side, there is so much upside for it that they'll come around. Moreover, Russia has opened the Volga to Iranian shipping. That means Iranian shipping of the correct tonnage can enter the Volga and proceed via the Volga - Don canal to the Black Sea and thence to the Mediterranean--as well, of course to the Danube, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary. And vice versa.
It's almost as though all of the moving parts on the global stage are playing out a part in a well-rehearsed play. At least, the BRICS Nations are. The SWIFT Nations, they're doing exactly what they were expected to do as the plot developed. Those of us in the audience who have had a few pointers about this? We've got our feet up, and the popcorn out!
Yet all my local media tells me is how isolated Putin and Xi are from the "world community", and in particular, how provocative Putin is being by daring to offer nuclear support to Belarus. This is the kind of blindness that ends in defeat.
The big problem is that these people do not deal in reality. It’s the constant failure to recognize that every move they have made in Ukraine and around the world has blown up in their collective faces. The proxy war has been an utter disaster. The sanctions have been an utter disaster. The attempt to threaten China to keep their distance from Russia has been an utter disaster. Our leadership is no longer revered, but almost universally reviled. Our trustworthiness is no longer assumed but is immediately questioned. Their perceptions of reality are 180 degrees out of phase with what the facts actually indicate, and yet they persist in their fantasies.
The Russian economy isn’t about to collapse. China and Russia are not distant, but have forged an alliance that has produced accords in the Middle East which may permanently alter the political dynamics in the region. The reckless and delusional nature of the Biden administration’s pursuits have brought the world closer than its ever been to a nuclear confrontation and yet somehow they still try and spin it as a triumph and a positive projection of America’s power and leadership. It’s hard to know whether to laugh or cry at that kind of megalomania. So here we are faced with two more years of this insanity and my perception of reality is not allowing me much room for optimism that things will work out ok.
Last week I read H. W. Brands' book, "The Strange Death of American Liberalism" (Yale University Press, 2001). Brands is a college professor at Texas A&M, and seems to be a traditional liberal, not a hard leftist. I have read and enjoyed a couple of his books on American history.
A major premise throughout the book is that the American people have always been mostly distrustful of government--except in times of war. Then they trust the central government--until the war is over. There was one anomaly--the transition from WWII to the Cold War. But he realized and expressed that that was only an anomaly, not a permanent change, and it blew up with the failure in Vietnam.
Brands' book ends with the inauguration of Bush II, and does not touch 9-11 and what followed. But the outcomes of Afghanistan and Iraq confirm his view about Americans' distrust. And Biden is stepping in it big-time, in multiple areas domestic and foreign.
If anyone is interested, I just put up a post about Brands' book, and the years after, on my own Substack
Biden and his handlers, along with Pelosi, Schumer, and too many Republicans, are still steeped in the illusion of public trust from the Cold War era. But that trust is mostly gone, squandered by Johnson and later by Bush--and made worse by Biden's departure from Afghanistan. Who would trust him and his crew to lead a real war?
"Instead of trying to base US national security on military dominance around the globe, we would do far better to concetrate our resources on our own economic and social development, a return to the values that made the West great."
G'day and your comment is too, too funny! I'm struck by how laughable (not just as a brunt of jokes) our American Leadership really is. All that needs be added is some very righteous foot stomping and a pouting face.
Hard part, in reality, 'American Leadership' is the joke.
Do keep smilin' folks! Even if it's In "Spite of"... (WrH)
If it weren't so dire, so dangerous, so hideous, it really would be funny seeing this stuff. "If I don't laugh I'll be cryin" has real meaning these days. Hope your day is spectacular RNo! (WrH)
Kirby’s text would read much better if “leadership” were replaced by “imperialism.” Fortunately as Bhadrakumar points out, free will is on the march across Eurasia - in spite of - or rather because of - our declining empire. Not even worth Xi’s taking a phone call from our “leader…”
Looking at the maps, there's an obvious simplicity to the land routes.
But the thing about land routes is that it's a lot easier to play robber baron.
"Gee, nice pipeline you have here. Would be a pity if something happened to it...."
I'm reminded of Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver, where Eliza asks the King of France why he imports mainmasts from Sweden instead of harvesting them from the (large, untouched) forests of France.
As it turns out, there are many petty barons along the river, each of whom demands a cut, that it's far cheaper to buy them from Sweden.
Self-interest and political dynamics are certainly an ever present threat when you are dependent on so many nations as links in the chain. At the same time, if you were one link in the national chain, would you want all the other links turning against you because you were hurting THEIR interests?
Well, that assumes that the other links *would* turn against you. Robber Barons persisted for centuries in France, and along the Danube. They got pretty good at maximizing their cut w/o getting greedy enough to provoke their neighbors.
Well I can't say that I disagree with the premise that America is in fact the "leader of the world." But, America is the leader in the same way as the guy whose throttle stuck and brakes burned up, the cliff is nearing very rapidly. America's 'leaders' are too stupid to turn off the ignition! Spokesjerk Kinetic Kirby seems to be in need of some balm to put on his chafed areas, also works for Burns.
Obama and Biden as Thelma and Louise? Except we are in the car with them.
Looks like we should change Biden’s name from Brandon to Baghdad Bob. Remember him? Kept claiming there were no American soldiers in Iraq until they knocked his door down. Biden et al will keep claiming sanctions are working until we’re broke.
https://twitter.com/NakedHedgie/status/1639937839411388417
Led by Donkeys
Excellent! This is an example of the type of action urgently needed to reveal corrupt legislators in the West. Shame them while revealing just how corrupt or corruptible they are. The James O'Keefe approach. I just wish they had tried to do this in the U.S. first. The name of their organization would be more appropriate here, too.
https://twitter.com/GraphicW5/status/1639676511266455555
German politicians didn't like American gas
Nice to know that the Biden regime is leading the world. They ain't leading us here in America.
There has been a rail line connecting Russia to Iran since WW2, so getting it functional should be minor technical, but probably more political issues. Like Azerbaijan…
While Azerbaijan is a thorn in the side, there is so much upside for it that they'll come around. Moreover, Russia has opened the Volga to Iranian shipping. That means Iranian shipping of the correct tonnage can enter the Volga and proceed via the Volga - Don canal to the Black Sea and thence to the Mediterranean--as well, of course to the Danube, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary. And vice versa.
It's almost as though all of the moving parts on the global stage are playing out a part in a well-rehearsed play. At least, the BRICS Nations are. The SWIFT Nations, they're doing exactly what they were expected to do as the plot developed. Those of us in the audience who have had a few pointers about this? We've got our feet up, and the popcorn out!
Yet all my local media tells me is how isolated Putin and Xi are from the "world community", and in particular, how provocative Putin is being by daring to offer nuclear support to Belarus. This is the kind of blindness that ends in defeat.
Local media are pawns to their elite networks.
The big problem is that these people do not deal in reality. It’s the constant failure to recognize that every move they have made in Ukraine and around the world has blown up in their collective faces. The proxy war has been an utter disaster. The sanctions have been an utter disaster. The attempt to threaten China to keep their distance from Russia has been an utter disaster. Our leadership is no longer revered, but almost universally reviled. Our trustworthiness is no longer assumed but is immediately questioned. Their perceptions of reality are 180 degrees out of phase with what the facts actually indicate, and yet they persist in their fantasies.
The Russian economy isn’t about to collapse. China and Russia are not distant, but have forged an alliance that has produced accords in the Middle East which may permanently alter the political dynamics in the region. The reckless and delusional nature of the Biden administration’s pursuits have brought the world closer than its ever been to a nuclear confrontation and yet somehow they still try and spin it as a triumph and a positive projection of America’s power and leadership. It’s hard to know whether to laugh or cry at that kind of megalomania. So here we are faced with two more years of this insanity and my perception of reality is not allowing me much room for optimism that things will work out ok.
Last week I read H. W. Brands' book, "The Strange Death of American Liberalism" (Yale University Press, 2001). Brands is a college professor at Texas A&M, and seems to be a traditional liberal, not a hard leftist. I have read and enjoyed a couple of his books on American history.
A major premise throughout the book is that the American people have always been mostly distrustful of government--except in times of war. Then they trust the central government--until the war is over. There was one anomaly--the transition from WWII to the Cold War. But he realized and expressed that that was only an anomaly, not a permanent change, and it blew up with the failure in Vietnam.
Brands' book ends with the inauguration of Bush II, and does not touch 9-11 and what followed. But the outcomes of Afghanistan and Iraq confirm his view about Americans' distrust. And Biden is stepping in it big-time, in multiple areas domestic and foreign.
If anyone is interested, I just put up a post about Brands' book, and the years after, on my own Substack
https://autisticredneckphilhawkins.substack.com/p/what-happened-to-american-liberalism
Biden and his handlers, along with Pelosi, Schumer, and too many Republicans, are still steeped in the illusion of public trust from the Cold War era. But that trust is mostly gone, squandered by Johnson and later by Bush--and made worse by Biden's departure from Afghanistan. Who would trust him and his crew to lead a real war?
"Instead of trying to base US national security on military dominance around the globe, we would do far better to concetrate our resources on our own economic and social development, a return to the values that made the West great."
AMEN!!!
Hope you & the Missus are feeling better!
Tx. I feel like I've turned the corner today.
I’m all for starving the federal government. Think I’ll start with this year’s taxes.
Obama: the original Davos Man. A vacuous cardboard cut out who hated his own country.
An early ESG win by Obama et al? We've been saving the world from climate change for ten years and we get no respect?
G'day and your comment is too, too funny! I'm struck by how laughable (not just as a brunt of jokes) our American Leadership really is. All that needs be added is some very righteous foot stomping and a pouting face.
Hard part, in reality, 'American Leadership' is the joke.
Do keep smilin' folks! Even if it's In "Spite of"... (WrH)
If it weren't so dire, so dangerous, so hideous, it really would be funny seeing this stuff. "If I don't laugh I'll be cryin" has real meaning these days. Hope your day is spectacular RNo! (WrH)