Why Is Paris Burning?
Alastair Crooke, in what passes for a rant, I suppose, says it’s because of the Chicago Boys. This comes in a 26 minute video with Judge Napolitano. Despite the title—”Zelenskyy: Russian explosives planted on nuke plant roof”—the first 13 minutes, half of the entire video, is devoted to Paris in flames. You may or may not accept everything he says, but he’s an intelligent man who is obviously passionate about what has happened to the West. The question is, Where else will we see this? Are we in the early stages in America, or are conditions here fundamentally different?
Europe has made a lot of bad decisions over the years, which may contribute to this situation worsening. Ordinary citizens are increasingly fed up—or so it seems. Beyond the economic issues, here’s Crooke writing about The Diminishment of Europe:
Europe, in short, has made itself a vassal – a willing, submissive vassal. When the EU followed the U.S. and embraced sanctioning Russia, EU leaders anticipated the rapid financial collapse of Russia. They were wrong. When the EU selflessly disavowed the purchase of Russian energy, they calculated that Russia could not manage economically – absent the EU market – and would quickly capitulate. They were wrong. When NATO led the war on Russia (via Ukraine), the EU expected a rapid rout of Russian and Donbas forces. They were wrong. When Prigozhin launched his ‘insurrection’, EU leaders looked eagerly to immediate civil war. They were wrong again.
Now the EU finds itself locked into forever sanctions on Russia (with China to follow); a forever subsidy to ‘Kiev’; a forever cycle of NATO militarism; and an economy sliding into de-industrialisation, high energy costs and relative diminishment. The EU has not achieved its longer-for ‘global player’ status. By every measure, Europe has a diminished economy, and diminished agency around the globe.
When will EU leaders offer some accountability for their wrong decisions? When will they answer the Carlson question: Why exactly is it an European interest to be at war with Russia?
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For the last thirty years, neo-cons have dominated U.S. foreign policy: The Guardian, as one example, has noted that as a subsidiary of Axel Springer, which has long-standing ties to the neocon clique, every employee at Politico is expected to be “pro-U.S., pro-NATO, pro-Israel, pro-austerity, pro-capital, anti-Russia, anti-China”. Springer said that they would not require Politico employees to sign documents in support of a transatlantic alliance, though this policy is enforced at the German newspaper Bild, another Springer subsidiary.
Europe is not ‘America’. The neocon trend represents but one facet to the U.S. that nonetheless has captured and held the commanding heights of U.S. policy-making for decades. It has failed in all that it has endeavoured, and has become increasingly detached from (even) the most basic interests of most Americans. Yet the EU leadership has made Europe subservient to this particular current – embracing it, and its inherent authoritarianism, with gusto.
Has this uniform ‘destiny’ benefitted the citizens of Europe? It has not. Have not its results proved unpredictable and different from that which was initially desired or expected? Recall: ‘Destiny can be a b*tch’!
Regarding the ZNPP nuclear plant, Crooke’s views are easily summarized:
The Ukrainians don’t have the capability to cause serious damage, and
Anyway, the important parts of the plant are too hardened to be damaged by missiles.
Crooke also gets into the Prigozhin farce. Referring to what Crooke has been saying—that the Prigozhin farce was the West’s final “Hail Mary” pass—Napolitano asks: Who threw the pass? Crooke: “The West”. Then he quotes The Grayzone—The real casualties of Russia’s ‘civil war’: the Beltway expert class:
“Expecting a bloodbath and seismic political upheaval, corporate networks like CNN had budgeted wall-to-wall coverage of the ‘coup that wasn’t’ – filling cable news ‘green rooms’ with rent-a-generals, K Street think-tankers, and war-hungry former diplomatic corps hacks: For just over 12 hours, everyone from former ambassador McFaul, to Zelensky to neocon pundit, Anne Applebaum, exploded with seemingly libidinal excitement about a supposed “civil war” that was certain to feature “Russians … killing Russians”, along with “lots of casualties” – and Putin “probably hiding somewhere”.
Some thoughts to add to Rascal and Ray’s comments below.
Paris is burning, yes: it’s a “rejet massif de l’Etat” a massive repudiation of the State, for these are not communists, socialists, not one party against another: this is an insurrection against the State. Armed only with fury and resentment, these mostly young kids (14-18 yrs old), many, if not most of North African/African descent, and joined by other gangs, black-gloved and ready to commit acts of terror, are lashing out against years of kicking-the-can-down-the-road policies combined with meaningless but dangerous pablum about openness, equality and humanity (sound familiar?) The inhumane is what has brought France to this crisis.
Why? Because after being welcomed to France with open arms under the States’ official credo of equity, diversity and humanity, the migrants are sent to the “cités” on the outskirts (“banlieus”) of Paris and told to get a job. However, and Crooke is right here, unlike the immigration of of the 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s, these young people cannot get work. While their forbears had jobs and integrated into French culture and society, they have not: for before we hadn’t completely transfomed the economy from a manufacturing to a service economy. Thus does anger and resentment build up like a pressure cooker. Honestly, when you see how hard it is already for French people to find work, how much more difficult it is for these disillusioned, deracinated and unskilled (un-credentialed) youth to join the work force.
At the same time, however, these rebels are biting the hand that feeds them - the State has gifted them with dependence: “allocations” (subsidies) for housing, unemployment, education and health. The State itself, beginning with Mitterrand, who was the first president to weaponize racism (a crafty, Machiavellian figure whose éminence grise, Jacques Attali, mentored Macron) built up this powder keg by brandishing, not the tricolore or the Marseiilaise but an empty humanism of “values” (Haass!), anti-racism, equality, all the theme songs of a state-run, top-down utopia. Mitterrand was the first president to practice these dark arts of division with his “SOS racisme” memes on race, diversity and…open borders. Watered-down sovereignty. No doubt Haass and most of DC approves whole heartedly of “institutions” such as banks and tech companies running things. Well, Macron is his man: a technocrat, banker (Rothschild) and spawn of Hollande/Attali. Macron is not a politician. He has no charisma for crowds. The days of a glad-handing, smiling Chirac are long gone. I’ve always felt Macron’s loyalties lie elsewhere - Davos maybe?
Politically, where are we? No more Left (in the traditional sense, as in the UK and Italy). And, no more Right. Mitterrand weakened the Right over 20 years by pushing racism (promoting conflict and division), thereby getting voters from the Right to vite for Le Pen, who could never muster much over 5 pct - the Frint National was always a very small party, but it grew incrementally, taking votes away from the Right - Center Right. Now, the Right has been destroyed (François Fillon removed from the 2017 presidential race). Coming from Hollande’s government, Macron ran as hybrid Leftie/social dem/pro-tech, pro-business). Mélanchon is a sort of extreme left gadfly, a great orator, but whose chances of being elected appear nil…mais on verra…Meanwhile Le Pen is speaking out and is attracting more support (like the AfD rising in Germany, for similar readons).
Meanwhile, Macron is making another visit to a top-tier sporting venue today: first it was Quatar, where the French lost the World Cup, and now the Tour de France. He’s the only one who sees himself as a winner.
Now, who to vote for? Quelle merde! A lot of our friends have voted for Macron (and we find it difficult to socialize with them!) - to vote for Hollande is possible, to vote for Macron is impossible, as my husband says. It’s the same in the US! “Well, we had no choice! We voted for Biden!” In French: “We voted for Macron, never Le Pen!” Well, à la Mercouris, we shall have to wait and see.
I can't unsee the thirty years of neocon failure.