20 Comments

“20 years of instability.”

There is a growing, fracturing among what you call the Deep State/Ruling elites, within the West, thus all the divergent commentators and actions (see last days of Biden admin).

You might find Xi’s New Years message interesting in this regard:

https://youtu.be/pela_adgDXM?si=T3jhoM0LFqhooMPJ

Pay attention to what he says about technology and governance and culture.

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In order to fully understand the war in Ukraine, it is first necessary to recognize that the globalist's desire to rape Russian and Ukrainian resources is not based solely on unbridled greed. For decades now, the US/EU governments have spent well beyond their means and ran up huge sovereign debts, in large part as a means of establishing permanent control over their subjects. This bill is coming due and without the Russia rape income stream, they have no hope of avoiding economic collapse. As such, both sides in this conflict are facing an existential crisis.

Both Trump and Putin know this, and also know that continued escalation only leads to WW3, in which everybody loses. The only way out of this dilemma is to find a win-win scenario. This would be doable were it not for the continued power of the Deep State. That is the first battle that Trump must win. If Trump cleans house in DC, that would be a signal to Putin that he intends to negotiate in good faith.

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Given Trump’s antipathy towards identity politics and his love for traditional American values, he would seem to be the ideal person to understand Putin’s and Russia’s position which in a sense mirrors the US’s, and negotiate a peace deal that respects both countries’ interests. But so much turns on him having a deep understanding of all the players, their agendas, and the issues, and the ability to craft a complex but fair and durable solution. I worry about the people around him giving him terrible advice but hopefully people like Tulsi and Kash can balance out the crazy.

On a side note, I’ve started watching a YouTube series/podcast America’s Untold Stories. Parts 1 and 2 about LBJ planning JFK’s assassination are truly mind-blowing. You realise that the US has basically been run by criminals for a long time (as Whitney Webb and Catherine Austin-Fitts have also observed). https://www.youtube.com/live/WgVdPOVZo7Y

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Zbigniew Brzezinski seems to be creating a kind of crippling brain-freeze that makes solutions seem impossible.

Who is he, after all, that his counsels should be consulted?

MAGA Trump can, and should, mirror Putin's Russian patriotism, reflecting American patriotism by steadfastly relying on George Washington's counsel:

<i>" Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that

of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice?

It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world— . . .

constantly keeping in view, that it is folly in one nation to look for disinterested favors from another—that it must pay with a portion of its independence for whatever it may accept under that character—that by such acceptance it may place itself in the condition of having given equivalents for nominal favors and yet of being reproached with ingratitude for not giving more. There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard. . . ."</i>

[George Washington's Farewell Address https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CDOC-106sdoc21/pdf/GPO-CDOC-106sdoc21.pdf ]

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Brilliant comment - yes, as Sachs points out time and again, it’s “brain freeze” over finding common sense solutions to problems - or, make war, not trade.

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I don’t see the difficulty.

Russia will impose a peace in Ukraine at the tip of a bayonet. The only question is how fast. I don’t see anything the West can do to slow it down.

The more interesting questions is economic. Wither US sanctions?

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It could be that some European countries peel off and make their own peace with Russia, to survive.

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The link to the Unherd article is missing some letters.

Here's the link: https://unherd.com/2025/01/why-trump-wont-end-the-war-in-ukraine/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

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That's very weird. My link is:

https://unherd.com/2025/01/why-trp-wont-end-the-war-in-ukraine/

which I simply copied and pasted. Obviously the problem is with "trp" which should read "trump". This works:

https://unherd.com/2025/01/why-trump-wont-end-the-war-in-ukraine/ No need for the

?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

So what happened to the "um" in trump?

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Excellent! thank you.

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Crooke says "the world is just fed up with Western nihilism. They want to find something that has meaning, they want to find something that has value in life, and to get back to their own values --civilizational values."

I think a man like, say, Pete Buttigieg is absolutely sure that his achievement of marriage and fatherhood represents the apotheosis of Western Enlightenment values. Freedom from unchosen bonds is mirrored by government assistance to achieve any chosen bond your heart desires: Pete is equal to a woman.

Some of us are worried there is no "there, there" for the children, but Pete and his fellows are certain that men will fight to the death for the sanctity of Pete's marriage and fatherhood, so... We do find ourselves in a war of religion, because if a country won't recognize in its laws both Pete's marriage and his fatherhood, the West cannot do business with you, you are beyond the Pale, and That's Not Who We Are!

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Wakeup call:

https://www.rt.com/news/610341-china-dual-use-export-us/

China slaps dual-use export ban on US corporations

Ten of the sanctioned corporations were added to a list of unreliable entities over Washington’s arms sales to the self-ruled island of Taiwan, the ministry announced in a separate statement. It includes five subsidiaries of Lockheed Martin and three of General Dynamics, as well as Raytheon Missile Systems and a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.

Last week, China placed seven US defense and aerospace firms on its sanctions list in response to continued arms sales to Taiwan. The move came shortly after the US Senate approved a $895 billion defense bill that included numerous measures intended to bolster military support for Taipei.

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What does the US have that China needs? US Treasuries? US farmland?

What does China make that the US needs? Nearly everything.

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LOL . . . We should thank China for those sanctions, at least for a short time the MIC won't be able to assemble overpriced, obsolete junk at taxpayer expense, due to "supply chain issues" !!!

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Amusing the blowback to U.S. overuse sanctions by China.

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"They want to find meaning. Meaning in history!"

<doffs hat, raises glass>

Well done sir! 😉

Cheers 🍻

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LOL!

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Additional knowledge, status, and outlook

01/02/25 Ukraine frontline, closing in on the Dnepr w/ Scott from Kalibrated

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5RKi8cgEj0

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I'll have to check that out. I've been busy writing.

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Superb writing shall we add :-)

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