Brilliant commentary all around on the West’s self-inflicted demise Mark. We seem to be spinning ever faster in that “widening gyre,” and I cringe to think of the announcement coming this Tuesday, as though things could get any worse…
The Americans and her “NATO partners” could not, or would not, “win” in Afghanistan after twenty years. Same in Iraq. Now the same in Syria, and countless other places. America and the West never see things through. The ADHD of the West will be the same concerning Ukraine and Taiwan. They create huge expensive and tragic messes for others that they eventually walk away from. Putin and Xi know this.
"the EU is caught in the midst of a maelstrom of geopolitical change at a moment when it faces the possibility of a banking crisis, high inflation and economic contraction."
Swag - its hard enough understanding what is going on in the US, much less in another continent.
Domestic concerns, protests and riots, and increased non globalist election wins seem to be driving some recent actions in Europe,
Major Issues in Europe:
- immigration
- economic
- Crime by immigrants
- Anger over being taken advantage of by US on Ukraine / Nordstream
- Culture
- EU Decisions / unelected ruling class
- Housing
- end of Eurodollar
Increased censorship in Europe is a symptom of major problems. The usefulness of Russia as a scapegoat is ending, especially with the news out of the us showing how banana republic like we are becoming. My guess is even more anti Americanism.
I don’t think Russia was “useful” - I think Europe allowed itself to be used, to be corralled into following American-led sanctions against Russia. The “censorship” just confirms the empty platitudes and virtue-signalling of the whole project. Macron is down to 26% approval, even among those who voted for him…sliding down, like Baidan.
French protesters have taken to banging on saucepans (“casseroles”) to drown out M’s speeches and silence his contempt. The latest from M, the lame-brained criticism that such “casseroles ne font pas avancer la France” (“saucepans don’t move France forward”) set off quite the riposte from Cristel, a popular manufacturer of kitchen utensils, saying on Twitter, au contraire, that their “casseroles” made-in-France contribute to French growth! Expect more casseroles on May 1 when an even bigger demonstration is planned. Some have even switched to frying pans to avoid arrest (!).
There seems to have been a partnership on the sanctions, initially. Now some countries are having buyers remorse. Lots of wishful thinking on how economic sanctions would quickly destroy Russia. Swiss neutrality/ trust has been destroyed. The seizing of Russian Central Bank Reserves by the Europeans shocked me, and probably surprised the Russians. And destroyed Europe’s reputation as a safe place to invest. The gleeful going after oligarchs assets is another warning, don’t invest bin Europe. The seizure of Venezuelian Gold was another warning.
And the UK has been one of the largest cheerleaders if this Ukrainian Fiasco, I don’t understand why.
“The war fever that swept Europe in the summer of 2022 made discussion impossible. Ritual denunciations of “Putinists” and even supposed Russian spies became commonplace ...
“The only acceptable position was maximalist: Suggesting that a peace deal would likely involve coming to some sort of compromise marked you out as a “Putin loyalist” and “Russian agent.”
“But once again, the fever is starting to break. ... People aren’t quite ready to admit that the sanctions were a failure and that the West overplayed its hand, but many know these things are true, and that
***the economic and political consequences of these failures are only really beginning to be felt.”***
NATO has been superfluous since the USSR fell, being kept around only to enrich the military industrial complex about which Ike warned, correctly, in 1960. The US President at the time of the fall of the Wall promised not to move NATO east. He lied; we did. We OUGHT to have invited Vlad to join the West, but were too stupid, arrogant, hubristic to do so.
NATO serves no demonstrable purpose in europe. We brag that it's a great, long, lasting coalition. So what? If the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has to go to South Asia to find a war to fight, you know it's un-needed in the North Atlantic.
Look at the demographics of europe. The entire continent has below-replacement Total Fertility Rates (TFR). If europeans don't believe in their own future, even enough to populate it, what is the point of spending trillions of (fiat) dollars to do so? Simple - the Complex keeps enriching itself, building new toys for wars America demands to fight but, since 1953, has refused even to try to win. If europeans decide they have no interest in a future, why defend them? Defend whom? From what? Russia ALSO has a far-below replacement TFR. So does Ukraine.
So we are spending $100B in Ukraine, and trillions across the western european demi-continent to ensure the free future of people who provably do not want a future - at all.
Yup. But feminized America doesn’t want children and hates families. Demographics wins. Once the feminists have completely destroyed women via feminism and transinsanity, the West declines as we are today. When another civilization rises, the Western human rights, women’s rights, children’s rights (no, these are NOT “universal”), all those rights the left clamors about will disappear.
Merkels and Hollandes public admissions that the Minsk’s accords were a delaying tactic to arm the Ukraine gives Putin Carte Blanche to continue the ground war. Putin has no incentive to stop.
Simplicius has mentioned the Ukraine conflict may take years to complete. By continuing the ground conflict, Putin is significantly speeding up the de-dollarization of world trade, and the reducing the financialization that has been used as a modern day colonial extraction system to benefit Europe.
I am puzzled at the near fanatical support in the West of Ukraine. The US my guess is Ukrainian graft, and Orange Man Bad, plus a lot of Neocon hubris. Europe I’m not sure. The recent reason perhaps to use Russia as a useful enemy / scapegoat for the aftermath of Covid, and a lever to increase government control?
But the seeds of Ukraine go back at least 8 years to 2014 with the Minsk Accords. So perhaps to squash Russia due to their anti Globalism? But, I don’t think Russia was seen as much of a threat 8 years ago by the elites.
Thanks for tying it all together in a shareable package, Mark.
Mark - your updates and analysis are simply indispensable - thank you!
You're welcome!
Brilliant commentary all around on the West’s self-inflicted demise Mark. We seem to be spinning ever faster in that “widening gyre,” and I cringe to think of the announcement coming this Tuesday, as though things could get any worse…
The Americans and her “NATO partners” could not, or would not, “win” in Afghanistan after twenty years. Same in Iraq. Now the same in Syria, and countless other places. America and the West never see things through. The ADHD of the West will be the same concerning Ukraine and Taiwan. They create huge expensive and tragic messes for others that they eventually walk away from. Putin and Xi know this.
For more of Crooke's ideas that underpin his interview with Napolitano: https://thealtworld.com/alastair_crooke/the-slow-art-of-whole-of-government-warfare
"the EU is caught in the midst of a maelstrom of geopolitical change at a moment when it faces the possibility of a banking crisis, high inflation and economic contraction."
Swag - its hard enough understanding what is going on in the US, much less in another continent.
Domestic concerns, protests and riots, and increased non globalist election wins seem to be driving some recent actions in Europe,
Major Issues in Europe:
- immigration
- economic
- Crime by immigrants
- Anger over being taken advantage of by US on Ukraine / Nordstream
- Culture
- EU Decisions / unelected ruling class
- Housing
- end of Eurodollar
Increased censorship in Europe is a symptom of major problems. The usefulness of Russia as a scapegoat is ending, especially with the news out of the us showing how banana republic like we are becoming. My guess is even more anti Americanism.
Censorship in the EU as well as Canada is the biggest factor IMO.
I don’t think Russia was “useful” - I think Europe allowed itself to be used, to be corralled into following American-led sanctions against Russia. The “censorship” just confirms the empty platitudes and virtue-signalling of the whole project. Macron is down to 26% approval, even among those who voted for him…sliding down, like Baidan.
And Macron acknowledges this and won’t resign
French protesters have taken to banging on saucepans (“casseroles”) to drown out M’s speeches and silence his contempt. The latest from M, the lame-brained criticism that such “casseroles ne font pas avancer la France” (“saucepans don’t move France forward”) set off quite the riposte from Cristel, a popular manufacturer of kitchen utensils, saying on Twitter, au contraire, that their “casseroles” made-in-France contribute to French growth! Expect more casseroles on May 1 when an even bigger demonstration is planned. Some have even switched to frying pans to avoid arrest (!).
https://www.francetvinfo.fr/politique/emmanuel-macron/casserolades-apres-les-propos-d-emmanuel-macron-une-entreprise-de-franche-comte-defend-ses-casseroles_5782172.html
I don’t see Macron stepping down though.
There seems to have been a partnership on the sanctions, initially. Now some countries are having buyers remorse. Lots of wishful thinking on how economic sanctions would quickly destroy Russia. Swiss neutrality/ trust has been destroyed. The seizing of Russian Central Bank Reserves by the Europeans shocked me, and probably surprised the Russians. And destroyed Europe’s reputation as a safe place to invest. The gleeful going after oligarchs assets is another warning, don’t invest bin Europe. The seizure of Venezuelian Gold was another warning.
And the UK has been one of the largest cheerleaders if this Ukrainian Fiasco, I don’t understand why.
https://compactmag.com/article/the-death-throes-of-atlanticism
“The war fever that swept Europe in the summer of 2022 made discussion impossible. Ritual denunciations of “Putinists” and even supposed Russian spies became commonplace ...
“The only acceptable position was maximalist: Suggesting that a peace deal would likely involve coming to some sort of compromise marked you out as a “Putin loyalist” and “Russian agent.”
“But once again, the fever is starting to break. ... People aren’t quite ready to admit that the sanctions were a failure and that the West overplayed its hand, but many know these things are true, and that
***the economic and political consequences of these failures are only really beginning to be felt.”***
NATO has been superfluous since the USSR fell, being kept around only to enrich the military industrial complex about which Ike warned, correctly, in 1960. The US President at the time of the fall of the Wall promised not to move NATO east. He lied; we did. We OUGHT to have invited Vlad to join the West, but were too stupid, arrogant, hubristic to do so.
NATO serves no demonstrable purpose in europe. We brag that it's a great, long, lasting coalition. So what? If the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has to go to South Asia to find a war to fight, you know it's un-needed in the North Atlantic.
Look at the demographics of europe. The entire continent has below-replacement Total Fertility Rates (TFR). If europeans don't believe in their own future, even enough to populate it, what is the point of spending trillions of (fiat) dollars to do so? Simple - the Complex keeps enriching itself, building new toys for wars America demands to fight but, since 1953, has refused even to try to win. If europeans decide they have no interest in a future, why defend them? Defend whom? From what? Russia ALSO has a far-below replacement TFR. So does Ukraine.
So we are spending $100B in Ukraine, and trillions across the western european demi-continent to ensure the free future of people who provably do not want a future - at all.
Talk about stupid policy...
Just like us.
Yup. But feminized America doesn’t want children and hates families. Demographics wins. Once the feminists have completely destroyed women via feminism and transinsanity, the West declines as we are today. When another civilization rises, the Western human rights, women’s rights, children’s rights (no, these are NOT “universal”), all those rights the left clamors about will disappear.
Merkels and Hollandes public admissions that the Minsk’s accords were a delaying tactic to arm the Ukraine gives Putin Carte Blanche to continue the ground war. Putin has no incentive to stop.
Simplicius has mentioned the Ukraine conflict may take years to complete. By continuing the ground conflict, Putin is significantly speeding up the de-dollarization of world trade, and the reducing the financialization that has been used as a modern day colonial extraction system to benefit Europe.
I am puzzled at the near fanatical support in the West of Ukraine. The US my guess is Ukrainian graft, and Orange Man Bad, plus a lot of Neocon hubris. Europe I’m not sure. The recent reason perhaps to use Russia as a useful enemy / scapegoat for the aftermath of Covid, and a lever to increase government control?
But the seeds of Ukraine go back at least 8 years to 2014 with the Minsk Accords. So perhaps to squash Russia due to their anti Globalism? But, I don’t think Russia was seen as much of a threat 8 years ago by the elites.
They want Russia in order to gain the commodities - mineral riches, oil, natural gas, etc. That was the purpose all along.
Reminds me of the 2012 Presidential debate between Romney and Obama. Hubris response by Obama to Romney’s suggestion of Russia as the great evil.
Classic debate moderated by Crowley. Ended her career.
Psy-Ops run by the MSM.
Thanks - educational article.
The feeling “despise” resonates with my attitude towards the so called elites, especially regarding Covid.