It is disheartening to read news out of the United States today. But, I know from my business dealings that businesses out of America are more keen than ever to work with China. What is the disconnect?
What I am seeing is a two caste system in the United States.
The ruled people; who own and operate businesses, and a ruling class who are crazy, delusional and on drugs with utopian ideological visions that have no basis on reality.
...I ask this because of the stubborn adherence to outdated (meaningless words). Because these guys claim they are "Communists"; the power of what they realize and what they say is down the drain. "Oh that is just communist babble." What the heck is communism?? I have asked that many times to this group. As far as I can see it is a theory or a fantasy that has never existed. Even all Soviet leaders stated clearly that "our system is just socialism - - - eventually leading to the true communism - - - ". To western billionaires and all their main stream media, Communists are those evil people that we must kill by any and all means available. Any form of infiltration or terrorism is fair game when killing "COMMUNISTS". Any amount of budget is worth it, or don't even use a budget; we'll wink at every form of black money. It is what runs the world since 1917. It is a lame word, meaning that the word does more damage than it communicates good intent. It is only for the "in-crowd". Why not make up new terminology. But not: Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, or Communism with Chinese Characteristics, or Marxism with Chinese Characteristics, (for a new era). Don't you have any words of your own? Why use the western words, honed to pierce your heart? And attempt to express your highest motivations with them? And what is "Capitalism"? I call it the "Cult of Absentee Ownership". In other words, "I" get to Own ever last thing that you need to survive; I own your house, your job, your bank, your insurance, your hospitals, your doctors, your minerals and energy facilities, your farms, your food producers, all distribution of any goods, your refineries, your gas stations, your streets and toll ways, your electric transmission lines, your water systems, your sewer connections, your schools, your teachers, your parks and recreation, your entertainment, your Internet connection, your telephone service, all supplies of clothing, I own your closet. Wake Up; ass hole. It is all mine, and the first thing when you wake up each morning, you MUST PAY ME, to live. Why? Because I have my thumb on your neck, and it is going to stay that way. This is glorious FREEDOM and DEMOCRACY, (which I forgot to add, I own your democracy).
The United States today is a pile of oil-soaked shit, on fire, and the “elected officials” are Hell-bent on spraying kerosene on it.
This crazy mix is not going to do the world any good, and WILL result in a great deal of hardship for Americans.
The Forbidden Thought
The dominating systems of our world require us to feel weak, afraid, and insufficient. They couldn’t continue if most of us didn’t feel that way. And so the friends and operators of these systems must oppose the opposite assumption: That we are not inadequate.
I’ve watched popular culture for a lot of years, and I can tell you that since the 1970s, one concept, above all, has been forbidden in intellectual circles: Man as a glorious creature.
If you’d like to prove that to yourself, say a few things like these at a cocktail party:
- Western civilization has accomplished so many good things that it’s mind-blowing.
- Most people are basically decent and don’t need to be controlled.
- I see so much goodness in humanity.
- Humanity is ascending toward the gods (or heaven, or whatever).
Then, if you’d really like to see a reaction:
- The human race is magnificent.
The responses you get should be educational.
Why This Thought Is Hated
One reason why people respond so violently to this idea is simply self-defense: At this point, nearly every adult has built his or her world around the belief that people are bad: They’ve taught it to their children, showed their enlightenment by stating such things at parties and so on. To admit the opposite wouldn’t just be to admit they were wrong; it would tear down their infrastructure of meaning and status. Few people have the courage for such things.
Another reason is simply that they fear being shamed. People who say such heretical things are quickly ridiculed by holders of status. That’s tyrannical, of course, but it’s all too easy to stay inside the conspiracy of compliance. It’s dangerous, even if heroic, to defy powerful people.
Buckminster Fuller described the institutional necessity of inadequacy back in 1981:
There’s a built-in resistance to letting humanity be a success. Each one claims that their system is the best one for coping with inadequacy.
In other words, the dominance hierarchies running things all claim that theirs is the right way to fix human inadequacy. So, if you claim that humans are adequate, you’re also saying that those systems aren’t necessary… and ruling systems don’t like to be called unnecessary.
Promoting Darkness Is a Big Business
It’s also the case that the promotion of darkness is a huge business. News channels are little more than fear delivery systems, but they are a major business. Social media is considerably worse, and it delivers darkness in your own, internal voice.
And, obviously, advertisers need you to feel insecure. Ads that don’t make you feel insecure, inadequate or guilty don’t pull nearly as well as those which do. That’s just a human weakness that’s being scientifically exploited.
It can be interesting to see how all of this appears to outsiders. Back in the 1950s, the new president of Indonesia, Sukarno, visited the US and had this to say:
I find only one fault with Americans. They’re too full of fear. Afraid of B.O. Afraid of bad breath. They’re haunted by the fear that they’ll never get rid of dandruff. This state of mind I cannot understand.
And we shouldn’t understand it either. We are magnificent creatures… the only creatures in the known universe who create willfully and seemingly without limit. We’ve eradicated diseases, learned to feed billions of people, created machines that move us across the ground tremendous distances safely and reliably, created machines that fly us around the world and at incredible speed; we’ve harnessed the information stores of humanity and made them available to anyone, almost for free and almost anywhere.
None of that is arguable, and yet we still think we’re just a step above refuse.
Take An Honest Look
Turn off the TV, turn off your cell phone. Walk through a park for a while to let the stream of negativity subside a bit. Then take a fresh look around.
Yes, some dark things can still be found, but you’ll see most people simply going about their business: working, cooking, shopping, tending to children, driving their cars. They do these things well, or at least well enough, nearly all the time. Shouldn’t they get credit for that?
We are improving, unfolding, evolving creatures. Yes, much improvement remains, but we are moving in that direction.
And consider this, please: The sea of negativity that surrounds us is an anti-evolutionary poison. It serves stasis and sacrifice-collecting. It does not serve progress.
I’ll close with another quote (slightly edited) from Bucky Fuller:
I decided man was operating on a fundamental fallacy: that he was supposed to be a failure. I decided that man was, in fact, designed to be an extraordinary success. His characteristics were magnificent.
We are not inadequate, we’ve just been made to think so.
**
Paul Rosenberg
From Dusk Till Dawn: The bar is full of vampires
Russia Destroys Satellite Uplink Station outside Odessa, Ukraine – all NATO Gear inside
Russia has destroyed the Satellite Uplink Earth-station of the communications center of Ukraine.
To destroy it, a special operation was organized by the Russian Army. After first pinpointing its location, it was hit using high-precision weapons.
The destruction of this earth station – at least for the time being – has totally shut down Ukraine’s secure government communications network, and has stopped the flow of NATO intelligence to Ukraine’s government distribution network. Military planners are no longer able to get real-time intelligence via space satellite communications with NATO!
This creates extremely serious problems for the Ukrainian government to organize operations and secure communications.
“In the area of Palievka settlement, Odesa region, the communications space station of the Government Communications Center of Ukraine was destroyed, ” the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said during a routine briefing.
According to the Russians, “ the consequences of the impact will be seen after the last pass by the Sentinel-2 and WorldView spacecraft.
Intelligence community information is that the earth station was fully outfitted with NATO secure communications gear, and all NATO targeting data passed to the Kiev regime through this center. Its destruction is a massive blow to the Ukrainians.
We Were Soldiers – The Final Battle Scene
Chip war policy hurting US firms more than China
New Commerce Department chip and equipment bans against China are hitting US semiconductor company shares hardest
On October 7, the US Department of Commerce expanded licensing requirements for exports of advanced semiconductors and the equipment that’s used to make them to cover all shipments to China and not just shipments to particular companies.
The share prices of companies expected to be affected had already dropped, discounting previously announced sanctions and the downturn in the semiconductor cycle that was already underway.
From their 52-week highs to recent 52-week lows:
- Intel (INTC) was down 56%;
- Micron (MU) was down 50%;
- Nvidia (NVDA) was down 69% (its products having been directly targeted by the Biden administration); and
- AMD (AMD) (also directly targeted) was down 67%.
Among US semiconductor equipment companies:
- Applied Materials (AMAT) was down 57%;
- Lam Research (LRCX) was down 59%; and
- KLA (KLAC) was down 45%.
Outside the United States, ASML (ASML) of the Netherlands was down 59% from 52-week high to 52-week low. Japanese equipment makers Tokyo Electron (TYO 8035) and Screen Holdings (TYO 7735) were down 50% and 44%, respectively.
Japanese semiconductor makers Renesas (TYO 5723) and Rohm (TYO 6963) were down only 27% and 28%, but they focus on automotive and industrial semiconductors, not the artificial intelligence and high-performance computing devices that obsess the Biden administration. Their 52-week lows were last March.
SMIC (HKG 0981), China’s top IC foundry, was down 40% while TSMC (TPE 2330) was down 43% – a relatively strong performance under the circumstances.
In terms of share price performance and investor returns, American companies and ASML have been hit harder than the Chinese. That might seem ironic considering the measures target China, but it is the market’s discounting mechanism at work.
US government policy is aggravating what was already shaping up to be a severe industry downturn – and friendly fire is a real problem.
On its earnings call on October 13, TSMC announced that it had decided to reduce 2022 capital spending to US$36 billion from about $40 billion due to falling global demand for semiconductors and rising costs.
Management had planned to spend $40 billion to $44 billion this year but said in July that actual spending would be at the bottom of that range. Compared with the $30 billion spent in 2021, projected growth has dropped from a maximum of 47% to 33% and is now 20%.
Mitigating factors for TSMC include a one-year authorization from the US government to continue with the expansion of its facilities in Nanjing and the possibility of a rebound in demand when China’s Covid restrictions are loosened. But TSMC CEO C C Wei also told the media that “We expect probably in 2023 the semiconductor industry will likely decline.”
At the end of September – when announcing results for its fiscal year 2022, which ended on September 1 – US memory chip maker Micron told investors that the company’s capital spending would be cut by a third, from $12 billion to about $8 billion, in the year ahead.
Construction spending should more than double, “to support demand for” the second half of the decade, “but spending on wafer fab production equipment is likely to decline by nearly 50% due to “a much slower ramp of our 1-beta DRAM and 232 layer NAND [the company’s newest and most advanced products] versus prior expectations.”
Furthermore, “To immediately address our inventory situation and reduce supply growth, we are selectively reducing utilization in both DRAM and NAND.” Reports from Micron and its South Korean and Japanese competitors indicate that memory chip production has been cut by about 30%.
Samsung’s approach to capital spending is similar to Micron’s. Its “shell first” strategy is to build clean rooms first so it can install equipment flexibly and rapidly when the time comes. On October 4, Samsung announced plans to launch a 2-nanometer foundry process (matching TSMC) by 2025 and a 1.4-nanometer process by 2027.
As the global economy weakens and US high-end decoupling from China accelerates, the outlook for semiconductor capital spending continues to deteriorate. Last March, market research organization IC Insights forecast a 23.5% increase to $190 billion in calendar 2022.
That industry capital spending figure was reduced to $185.5 billion in August but the announcements from TSMC and Micron point to a sharper decline. Handel Jones, CEO of American consulting firm International Business Strategies, estimates the figure at $160 billion, an increase of only 4% over last year’s $153.9 billion.
IC Insights itself qualified its August forecast, writing that “a menacing cloud of uncertainty looms on the horizon. Soaring inflation and a rapidly decelerating worldwide economy caused semiconductor manufacturers to re-evaluate their aggressive expansion plans at the midpoint of the year. Several (but not all) suppliers – particularly many leading DRAM and flash memory manufacturers – have already announced reductions in their capex budgets for this year.
“Many more suppliers have noted that capital spending cuts are expected in 2023 as the industry digests three years of robust spending and evaluates capacity needs in the face of slowing economic growth.”
When the dot.com bubble burst in 2000, semiconductor capital spending dropped 55% in two years. The Lehman Shock triggered a 57% decline, also over two years. Now, capital expenditure is dropping back from an all-time record high, suggesting a decline of similar magnitude and perhaps duration.
On October 12, The Wall Street Journal reported that US equipment makers including KLA and Lam Research have halted installation and support of equipment at China’s Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC) while assessing the new US Commerce Department rules. The share price of Japanese NAND flash memory maker Toshiba (TYO 6502), which competes with YMTC, jumped 10% on the news.
YMTC’s NAND flash memory is good enough for Apple and there is no evidence that its technology was stolen, so this can be considered an escalation of US policy from the punishment of bad actors to an all-out attempt to stifle Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing and thus roll back the development of China’s economy.
Commencing immediately, the withdrawal of American support staff will crimp Chinese semiconductor production.
In addition, a new Commerce Department regulation that “restricts the ability of US persons to support the development, or production, of ICs at certain PRC-located semiconductor fabrication ‘facilities’ without a license” is already disrupting the operations of Chinese companies.
By forcing numerous executives and engineers of Chinese extraction to choose sides, it brings decoupling down to the personal level.
Data from Tokyo Electron show the company’s total sales of semiconductor production equipment up 2.6 times in the five years to March 2022 (the company’s fiscal year ends in March). The increase was led by a 5.7x increase in China, which grew from 12% to 26% of total sales.
In the two years to March 2022 alone, sales in China increased by 2.7x. That suggests that the Chinese semiconductor industry has purchased enough equipment to see it through the next two or three years, at least.
Tokyo Electron’s performance in other regional markets was not exceptional. Sales were up 2.7x in Korea, 2.6x in the US, 2.5x in Japan, 1.8x in Europe, 1.6x in Taiwan (which started at a high level), and 2.1x in Southeast Asia and other regions.
As Japan’s largest and the world’s third-largest maker of semiconductor production equipment, with a diversified product portfolio, Tokyo Electron is representative of the industry as a whole.
The Chinese can no longer rely on US equipment suppliers and European and Japanese suppliers must follow US rules if their products incorporate US technology, so China will step up its import substitution campaign.
Sanctions on China have already caused large losses for American semiconductor and equipment companies, and more are probably on the way. Furthermore, in the next up-cycle, the China opportunity for foreign suppliers is likely to be much diminished.
Four rooms funny scene – japanese subtitle
Biden Is Now All-In on Taking Out China
The U.S. president has committed to rapid decoupling, whatever the consequences.
South Africa will not be bullied into taking sides in Ukraine-Russia war, says minister Naledi Pandor
South African International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor said attempts to bully countries into taking sides in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is unacceptable.
In Short
- South African minister Naledi Pandor on Monday hosted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
- She said that South Africa would not be bullied into taking sides in Russia-Ukraine war
- It was important for all to respect different opinions held by different nations, she said
By Geeta Mohan: South Africa would not be bullied if certain countries mount pressure into taking sides in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor said. Attempts to bully countries into taking sides in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is unacceptable, Naledi Pandor said.
The minister was referring to taking sides between Russia, China and the West in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. The US has been pursuing to isolate China in African countries. Relations between South Africa and the US have been strained after the former remained neutral over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Naledi Pandor said she was glad that Blinken had confirmed that the US had not asked South Africa to choose sides (between Russia and Ukraine). However, she said that her government had experienced pressure from certain countries in Europe to align with their policy on Ukraine.
On Monday, Naledi Pandor hosted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on a three-nation Africa tour.
The South African minister also criticised a US bill, which she says could penalise African countries for not towing the line on the Ukraine conflict, known as the “Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act.”
“The recent legislation passed in the United States of America by the House of Representatives, we found a most unfortunate bill that we had hoped the media would say more about. Because when we believe in freedom as I’m saying, it’s freedom for everybody you can’t say because Africa is doing this, you will then be punished by the United States. So that’s been a disappointing passage of legislation by one House, and we hope the other house will not agree to such offensive legislation,” the minister said.
‘RUSSIA, A NEGLIGIBLE ECONOMIC PARTNER’
The minister said it was important for all to respect different opinions held by different nations.
“We are after all, sovereign nations that are recognised as equal in terms of the UN Charter. We may differ in terms of economic power and economic ability to influence developments in different parts of the world, but what will make the world work is if we respect each other.” “One thing I definitely dislike is being told: ‘You choose this or else!”, Pandor reaffirmed.
The minister said Russia was a ‘very negligible’ economic partner for South Africa.
“Our trade with Russia is less than four billion dollars annually, compared to the USD 20 billion with the US. So, this fear that we exist under some putsch is a totally an unfounded belief of the relationship that we have with either country,” Pandor asserted.
“We have been quite clear in saying that we advocate for peace because we knew what would happen. We knew that there would be destruction, death and desolation; and that is what we are all seeing. Let us make every effort to get peace,” Pandor said.
‘SENSE OF PATRONIZING BULLYING’
“I’m glad that Secretary Blinken has confirmed that America is not asking us to choose. I don’t recall any attempt by the United States to do that. But in terms of our interaction with some of our partners in Europe and elsewhere, there has been a sense of patronizing bullying toward “you choose this or else,”Naledi Pandor said.
How might the U.S.-China trade war end?
There are three possible scenarios;
[1] A draw. 55% chance.
A status quo is maintained. A polarized world results. A West and an East, and trade between them ends.
This is the “Cold War 2” scenario, and it appears that the world is approaching this situation. The length of duration is unknown.
What is known is that, historically, the cold war will end when one of the major nations undergoes domestic collapse. Then after that collapse, the cold war ends, and a new geopolitical reality takes hold.
The nation that survives is the nation with [1.1] high popularity of it’s government and leaders, that has [1.2] a large manufacturing base, that [1.3] has a strong network of geopolitical strengths, and [1.4] friends, and one that has [1.5] access to energy and [1.6] raw materials. As well as a [1.7] strong currency.
In this scenario, which is highly likely but not guaranteed, we see a decade or longer cold war.
We will see a continued collapse of the United States (and it’s proxy nations) domestically, and an inability to accomplish the simplest basic forms of governance.
There would be great swaths of illness, and death.
The American society would be in complete free-fall, American companies would be in conflict with the desires of the elected, and eventually the discord and turmoil would necessitate a serious change in what the United States is and what it represents.
China, on the other hand, would continue to grow and the growth would accelerate. The “Global South”; home of most of the World’s population, it’s resources, it’s energy and it’s manufacturing would be thriving. While the West; centered by the United States would be approaching mid-18th century level lifestyles.
[2] The USA wins the trade war. <10% chance.
A physical conflict occurs on all levels. The United States destroys China, and in the ruins, carves it up and plunders it. The rest of the world become American proxy nations.
This is the stated goal of both political parties in America, the government, and all the neocon publications. Though the actual words are softer with a great deal of rhetorical fluff.
It is also a fine descriptor for the tone and the pace of all documents out of the White house, and the various American government organs, as well as all of the conservative alternative news outlets.
The problem with this scenario is that it has been constantly tested, revised, tested again, and again, and again. In each and every test, and report, China always wins. The only scenarios that suggest the United States win is when ever Russia is completely destroyed, and reduced to a non-functioning entity, as well as China being isolated with zero support from any other nation.
At this time, because [1] Russia is not collapsed, nor is it in the process of collapsing, and [2] the accuracy of the RAND and War College reports have to be taken at face value, as well as [3] China is not alone, and has a large network of friends globally…
… this scenario appears to be unrealistic, and will probably not occur.
[3] China wins and ends up being dominant in trade. >35% chance
To achieve this scenario, a suppression of the aggressive elements in the United States is necessary. A physical conflict occurs at all levels. Hot hostilities are engaged and implemented by the United States against China in the belief that China is can be effectively suppressed via proxy and other events done in secret.
This scenario clearly shows that the United States mistakes “being peaceful” with “being a pacifist”.
China, a nation with over 6000 years of continuous warfare, takes preemptive action.
Large munitions, of new and novel type, are detonated within the United States geographical land mass. This aggravates an already unstable domestic situation.
China wins and allows the domestic problems internal to the United States to eat it alive. A new world order ensues, and it is modeled by the SEO model. The United States is broken apart into smaller nations. The United States becomes a footnote in the history books.
Contrary to what everyone in the United States believes, Russia and China are joined at the hip as in one brand new nation.
To fight China is to fight the entire SEO.
America doesn’t have the skill, the resources, the energy, the cred, the talent, the knowledge, the desire and the ambitions to accomplish such an enormous undertaking.
Summary
- China is not frozen in time. Many Western commentators seem to believe that China is stuck in 1997. China today is a massive, simply massive organized force.
- Russia and China work together. They are one nation. 4FEB22.
- The Taiwan issue is no longer going to be a proxy war with China.
Everyone has opinions, and we all form our opinions based upon our experiences. You all must take note that the nations involved in this situation have better intelligence of what is actually going on rather than what is presented to the public. And because of that, they will act accordingly.
It is precisely this reason, why I have presented the percentage likelihood of scenario manifestation above. Cold war draw at 55% probability.
One last point…
When the CIA remote viewed the year 2025, from their offices in 2008, it was NOT the cold war draw that manifested.
Instead, scenario #3 was that they observed.
Police Shootout – Drug Deal Gone Wrong | True Romance 1993
How is China dealing with US sanctions on its semiconductor industry? Will China collapse because of it?
The US will collapse because of that. China will feel some mosquito bite for a few days and move on.
What the US did is to push away China’s friendliness and generous overtures to share a loaf of bread. China maturely thought to itself, if China does everything the US will have nothing to live on. Hence it allows room for the US to get a cut so to speak.
But the US, is so full of it fought that China will be cut off and stranded without key technology. Fat hopes. In 3 years China will match them, in 5 years China will be ahead. In 10 years the US will be sitting on a white elephant obsolete technology.
China has the market, the US don’t, China is sitting in Asia and East Asia, the most humongous market. US is straddle between Carribbean, Latin American market and a 30 million Canadian together their market size match a province in China!
The US never learnt, space center, the US cut China out, today it is assembling the most modern and tecnological space center in space, while the white elephant US space center is about to be demolished for good. GPS, China knew the US is unreliable it made a more accurate and higher resolution Beidou, today it commands 2/3 of the world’s market!
Thanks America the fool. You just commited suicide.
Samsung returns back to China!
From Vietnam BACK to China…
https://youtu.be/OYU4FsTHh_I
Cui bono? The Big Picture
by Eric Arthur Blair for the Saker blog
(note: the author is not Russian, knows no Russians and has never been to Russia)
Further to my last “Motive, Means and Opportunity” summary regarding who blew up the Nordstream pipelines (the USA), let us stand back and look at the bigger global picture today. Let us ask “Cui bono?” with regard to the entire Ukrainian debacle.
First of all, we need to be absolutely clear that this insane FUBAR Ukraine situation was 100% concocted, fabricated and engineered by the USA, certainly since the droolin’ Nuland / lamebrained McCain / CIA Maidan coup of 2014, but even dating back before that.
There are few situations in life where one party can be found to be 100% guilty and evil and morally bankrupt, and where the other party is 100% acting in self defence and self preservation.
However history will show that with respect to this Ukraine situation, the USA was 100% the evil aggressor and Russia was 100% acting in self preservation and in defense of civilian Russian speakers in Ukraine.
This is truly a war of good against evil and in case you still haven’t got the message yet, let me repeat: the USA Deep State is EVIL.
This reality is indisputably obvious to any semi-comatose person remotely interested in historical, documented FACTS. For those with any remaining doubts, they need to listen to this comprehensively researched three part podcast summary by a journalist and a military historian (both Anglophones). They actually obtained their information from Western mainstream media sources before those reports and articles mysteriously vanished from the Google search algorithms (or were relegated to 500th priority on the search list) after 24 Feb 2022.
It is unfortunate that the stupid sheeple of the West, probably 99% of the “golden billion”, believe the exact opposite of the Truth, which is testimony to the incredible effectiveness of the relentless lying propaganda pooped out from the AngloEuroZionist mainstream media sewer outlets ever since 24 Feb 2022.
Until the two recent terrorist bombings (Nordstream pipelines and Kerch bridge), Russia had been reacting in a highly restrained manner to the US and US proxy aggravations. The US started provocations many years ago and contemptuously rebuffed multiple opportunities for peaceful settlements. Russia will soon end it. How? With the humiliating defeat of Ukraine for sure, but more widely we will see the economic devastation of Europe (apart from those who buy energy in Rubles – eg Hungary and Turkey) and eventually the destabilization of the USA: perhaps with civil war and revolution in the USA, resulting from its own inevitable economic collapse. The latter two eventualities were never Russia’s intended goal, but will be unintended consequences of the malicious actions of the US and EU themselves, blowback or karma if you like.
So what motivated the USA to provoke Russia to invade Ukraine? What parties hoped to benefit from it (hint: definitely not the US public) and what were the short, medium and long term goals of the US Deep State? Context is everything and we need to view the big picture, which can be found in Andrei Martyanov’s excellent book which was nicely summarized in this review.
In short: US industrial, economic and social decay, all entirely self inflicted over the past several decades, have led to the decline of the USA as a functional society and hence to the impending loss of its unipolar global hegemony. This is a situation that the megalomaniacal “indispensable nation, shining beacon on a hill” ideologues simply cannot accept.
It is vital to understand exactly how this hollowed out mockery of a former empire continues to limp along in a moribund fashion right now, just prior to its complete self-inflicted collapse:
- Most important is to understand how the US fraudulent “economy” works. The best commentator regarding this is the brilliant Real World Economist* Professor Michael Hudson whose works are too numerous for me to mention https://michael-hudson.com/ In brief, the US economy largely operates as a global blood sucking parasite, by extracting wealth from the rest of the world and by keeping weaker countries under the its jackboot (AKA economic Neocolonialism). The major mechanism for this is the exuberant privilege of the US dollar as the International Reserve Currency, a privilege no other country has.
- This scam operates in tandem with other mechanisms that were contrived and designed and tweaked and refined to suit the US “rules based order” ever since Bretton-Woods in 1944 (which established the precursors to the World Bank, WTO and IMF, with the simultaneous designation of the USD as IRC), the abandonment of the gold standard in 1971 by Nixon and especially the US creation of the Petrodollar. This was a Godfather type “offer you can’t refuse” that the USA presented to the Middle Eastern Oil producers. It was a protection racket that the Gulf States sequentially signed up to and was completed by 1974. Oil, an essential commodity, could only be bought from the Gulf States in USD, all other currencies were refused. Where could a country get USD from? Why from the USA of course, in exchange for real world products. The Petrodollar enabled the USA to obtain limitless high quality imported products for free by simply electronically “printing” US dollars, quite apart from getting free oil. It was the first class ticket on a gravy train of unimaginable wealth far exceeding the wildest fantasies of the most avaricious, rapacious, greedy robber barons. If the US could get imported goods for free, why bother to fund US domestic industries? Why not offshore their industrial production? So that is exactly what the US did.
- Petrodollar recycling involved the investment of excess oil profits from the Middle Eastern States in US debt securities / treasury bonds, which further propped up the fiat US dollar, even though the USD had no intrinsic value in itself. The value of the dollar was based entirely on the confidence of those who invested in those US “assets”. It was a confidence trick based on a protection racket. This is what enabled the US to rack up trillions of dollars in debt, backed up by the savings from foreign countries, to fund 800+ US military bases around the world. This is a debt that will never be repaid when this whole Ponzi scheme collapses.
- All this is coming to an end. The Neocons believe that the only way such US global parasitism can continue to operate is to subjugate the “World Island” ie. Eurasia. To “regime change” Putin and Xi and to ultimately Balkanise the whole of Eurasia, each banana republic to be “led” by a US puppet dictator. This wet dream “strategy” is derived entirely from the well worn CIA playbook. Such actions had been repeatedly inflicted by the US on practically every state of Latin America (the “Monroe doctrine”) and on Global South countries over many decades. The US Neocons believe that the subjugation of Eurasia is the only way to resurrect the dead corpse of Bretton-Woods and the Petrodollar and to force the rest of the world to continue funneling their Real World valuable commodities and products to the USA for free.
Much has been written about the Mackinder declaration that “who controls the World Island controls the world“, a sentiment echoed by Zbigniew Brzezinski in his book ‘The Grand Chessboard’ and certainly adhered to by the US Neocons who run the Deep State. This is why the sock puppet Biden, or more specifically his handlers, have been provoking dangerous confrontations in Ukraine and in the East China Sea ever since Biden’s “election”. The US has gone back to its “gunboat diplomacy” historical roots, thuggish bastardry which worked in the past to bully other countries into compliance, but which cannot work today against nations that now possess hypersonic missiles. Such US behavior is a “hail Mary” pass, the last desperate act of a failing unipolar hegemon.
The above account describes the USA’s long term Grand View, better termed a Grand Delusion. Given the advanced state of decay of the US and the unstoppable rise of China and Russia militarily, industrially, economically and socially, there is zero prospect of the USA prevailing. There are only two possible outcomes: either the USA backs down or there will be global nuclear Armageddon. There is nothing in between.
Morally and ethically speaking alone, the only correct and proper and decent action is for “Exceptionalistan” to back down. They should count themselves lucky that the rest of the world has no appetite for revenge against the US after centuries of it perpetrating genocide, slavery, racism, foreign skulduggery and exploitation of the rest of the world. However the Global South is more preoccupied with their own well being, they will simply ignore the putrefying carcass of the USA, they are only interested in “win-win” interactions with partners who actually play fair, who abide by actual UN International Law and not by the US rigged “rules based order”.
What about short and medium term more limited perspectives? What specific parties hoped to gain from a war in Ukraine? The usual suspects: the Military-Industrial-Complex, the US fossil fuel industry and possibly the US banking/financial sector.
The MIC: How does the US MIC profit from perpetual war? By all rational accounts the US invasion and occupation of Afghanistan was a miserable failure. However the US persisted at it for 20 years, the longest war in US history. Why? Because was a massive financial windfall for the MIC, it was the gift that kept on giving. It funded numerous McMansions and luxury yachts for the MIC executives and MIC Washington lobbyists. Please refer to appendix two at the end of this document for the explanation of exactly how the Afghan debacle, and indeed all of the USA’s endless invasions and interventions, worked in financial favor of the MIC.
Today, sending “billions of dollars” worth of US ordnance to Ukraine (much of it outdated and obsolete) represents a massive financial windfall for the US MIC. It is the only way they could profitably dispose of stuff they could never legally sell. It does not matter if 30% of it goes missing (eg Javelin missiles to be sold by terrorists from car boots) nor if the rest gets blown up by the Russians. Of course, such obsolete ordnance will need to replaced with overpriced new versions to replenish the US inventory, which will be funded by ever larger sums of taxpayers’ money, to the detriment of US publicly funded roads, rail, schools, healthcare, libraries, etc, etc.
The US fossil fuel industry: In my previous “Whodunnit” article I mentioned that blowing up the Nordstream pipelines was the only way that super expensive US LNG could ever be exported to Europe.
US fracked LNG is far more expensive** than piped Russian conventional gas and far more environmentally destructive, with far higher carbon emissions. In order to understand why different energy sources incur vastly different expenses in their production and distribution, it is essential to understand the concept of EROI (energy returned over invested) as well as the full life cycles of the different energy sources: from extraction to processing to transportation to end user. Such explanation is beyond the scope of this article. Suffice to say that high EROI energy sources are cheap to harvest and deliver, however low EROI energy sources are expensive to harvest and deliver and indeed may represent a financial net loss. Such has been true for fracked US shale oil, another Ponzi scam which was never profitable at ANY oil price (even >$100 per barrel). It was a misbegotten project that was bulldozed through using market hubris, blatant fraud, low interest bank loans and inappropriate government subsidies. Such economic stupidity and fraud is also true for the overseas export of fracked US shale gas, even before considering the expensive energy requirements to liquefy it (cooling down to around minus 163 deg C), with continued energy needed to refrigerate it during transportation in specialist highly insulated tankers (now in short supply around the world) and the multi billion dollar investments required for specialist handling at purpose designed export and import terminals (not yet built).
The USA has depleted all its economically viable sources of oil and gas, all its remaining sources have woefully low EROI and hence are super costly (energy wise and hence price wise) to extract, process and transport.
Fracked shale oil is nothing like crude oil, it has the API index and volatility of paint thinner, which is why the trains used to transport it are called “bomb” trains. You cannot make diesel, the indispensable workhorse fuel, from fracked shale oil.
Russia, along with the Caspian area, has in aggregate gone past the peak of oil production, with declining EROI (with only a few fields pre-Peak eg Kashagan). However compared with the USA, the Eurasian oil and gas sources have a far higher EROI, which is IMPOSSIBLE for the US to economically compete with. The fact the the USA is now depleted of easy, cheap oil is the reason they are now stealing oil from Syria and also why they hijacked several Iranian oil tankers. Pipeline terrorism was the only way the US could sell uneconomic LNG to Europe, just as provoking a war was the only way the US could “sell” their obsolete old ordnance to Europe. Dirty tricks and devious skulduggery is how the US “free market” and “rule based order” operates, indeed how it has always operated.
The US financial sector: It was the drug crazed dream of the USA that sanctioning Russia would cause Russia to economically collapse which would then spur a coup d’etat against Putin. This goal backfired spectacularly after Russia demanded energy payments in Rubles, which caused the Ruble to appreciate beyond all expectations.
Sanctioning Russia’s fossil fuel exports only caused the European and global price of oil and especially natural gas to skyrocket, leading to a huge financial windfall for Russia, which by now has largely compensated for the US theft of $300 billion of Russia’s foreign reserves. In times of global uncertainty, many nations move their financial assets into US treasury bonds / securities as a default “safe haven” which has kept the US dollar value afloat so far. However those nations now also realize that their savings could be arbitrarily stolen at any time by the US “rules based order”, hence they are figuring out ways to shift their reserves. At present the European currencies have fallen against the USD, primarily as a result of their own energy sanctions against Russia which has caused the recession of their own economies. The European industrial sectors are poised to collapse from energy starvation. Once the BRICS+ currency arrangements and financial systems, which bypass the USD, get up and running, there will be massive flight of away from US bonds and securities and the massive international repatriation of US dollars back to the US, which will result in hyperinflation and devaluation of the US dollar, resulting in their inability to afford any imports. Along with the deindustrialised condition of the USA, resulting in no significant domestic manufacturing, that all spells extreme poverty for “Exceptionalistan”.
In summary: any initial hopes by the US banking/financial sector that they might benefit from the Ukrainian war have at best resulted in the USD remaining neutral so far, but will inevitably lead to the accelerated collapse of the USD.
CONCLUSION: The USA is screwed. Get over it.
Joe Dirt: Flirting at the fairground HD CLIP
COVERT INTEL: New Symbol and Tactical Armbands for “new” Troops into . . . Ukraine
.
A new Symbol for military vehicles has been spotted near the Ukraine conflict, it is shown below: A triangle with the number “2” inside it. In addition, a new tactical band, is also now being observed on troops near the Ukraine conflict: Solid Red, as seen in the image above.
These symbols and red tactical arm bands are being observed on military vehicles and troops in Ukraine.
In letter to North Korea’s Kim, China’s Xi calls for communication, unity, cooperation
SEOUL – In a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ahead of a historic congress of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, Chinese President Xi Jinping said it was more important than ever that Beijing and Pyongyang enhance communication, unity and cooperation, North Korea’s state media reported on Sunday.
The letter was in response to congratulations Mr Kim sent for the congress, which is scheduled to begin on Sunday.
Mr Xi is poised to win a third five-year term as general secretary of the ruling Communist Party, the most powerful job in the country, at the congress.
Mr Xi expressed willingness to strengthen the relationship between China and North Korea, and “make a great contribution to providing two countries and their people with greater happiness and defending peace and stability in the region and the rest of the world”, North Korea state news agency KCNA said.
The reported expression of support comes as North Korea tested a record number of ballistic missiles and made preparations to resume nuclear testing for the first time since 2017.
North Korea says its latest military activities, which also included artillery drills and flights by warplanes, are in response to displays of force by South Korea and the United States, which have staged their own military drills to protest the North’s tests.
From HERE
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 | “My Name Is Buck” (HD) – A Tarantino Film Starring Uma Thurman | 2003
https://youtu.be/2JqFDdvZgHM
What are the challenges that China faces as it tries to become a leading Western-style democracy?
China won’t try to become a Western-style democracy. It tried in 1912 and it ended in total disaster.
There is absolutely no reason whatsoever for China to try again. It has nothing to gain. It’s not worth the risk.
There is nothing wrong with China’s current political system. It works well. It has delivered enormous benefits to the Chinese people…
- China built the world’s largest economy by purchasing power parity in just 35 years, starting from a totally impoverished nation.
- China finally eradicated extreme poverty in 2020, elevating over 850 million people, according to the World Bank.
- China built the world’s most spectacular infrastructure of roads, bridges, high-speed rail, airports, etc.
- China built the world’s second largest military, including its own supercarriers (Fujian), stealth aircraft, and hypersonic missiles.
- China is at the forefront of space exploration, having built its own navigation satellite system (BeiDou), having landed on the dark side of the moon (Chang’e 4), having landed a rover on Mars (Zhurong), having built its own space station (Tiangong).
- China protected it population from COVID-19, keeping the death toll to an astonishingly low 5,226. Compare that to USA’s death toll of 1,090,802.
And China did all this without firing a shot. China hasn’t fought a single war since 1979. Western democracies have been embroiled in wars for decades (Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, etc.).
The challenge for China, if there is one, is that the Chinese aren’t blind and stupid. They can see clearly what’s wrong with Western-style democracy.
Brilliant discussion of Germany’s announcement it knows who destroyed Nordstream BUT will not disclose…
Brilliant discussion of Germany’s announcement it knows who destroyed Nordstream BUT will not disclose it!! And Sweden will not begin an investigation of Nordstream‘s demise.
UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace takes “emergency trip” to US amid Nuclear war fears
UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace cancelled his appearance in front of the House of Commons Defense Committee on Tuesday and flew to the US for “emergency meetings” in the Pentagon and White House. The fact that he flew, rather than use secure communications, suggests the subject matter is actual nuclear war and they don’t want comms intercepted.
Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said Mr. Wallace was meeting with his US counterpart for “the sort of conversations that [are] beyond belief really, the fact we are at a time when these sorts of conversations are necessary.”
A defense source said: “The Defense Secretary is in Washington DC to discuss shared security concerns, including Ukraine. “He will be visiting his counterpart at the Pentagon and senior figures at the White House.”
[HD] Twin Peaks – Jimmy Scott sings “Sycamore Trees” in the red room
BMW to axe UK production of electric Mini and relocate to China | BMW | The Guardian
BMW is to axe all UK production of the award-winning electric Mini and relocate it to China, dealing a major blow to hopes that Britain could be a global hub for zero-emission vehicle manufacture.
BMW makes 40,000 electric Minis per year at its Cowley factory on the outskirts of Oxford.
In an article published by the Times on Saturday, it was confirmed that BMW Oxford’s production of electric vehicles will end next year as part of plans to reshape the carmaker’s lineup from 2024.
The move is a further blow to the UK’s ambition to become a leader in global electric car manufacturing, following Honda’s decision to quit Britain in 2016.
BMW’s joint venture with Great Wall Motor means their hatchback and small SUV models will now be made in east China, as will the next generation zero-emission Mini Aceman.
A new, electric version of the largest Mini model, the Countryman, will, BMW has confirmed, be manufactured at its plant in Leipzig.
The rest from HERE
Joe Dirt: You’re my sister! HD CLIP
Do you think the US is more evil than China?
Most definitely.
Let’s focus on the period from 1979 to today when China made its spectacular economic rise. China did not fight a single war, whereas USA fought dozens of wars and in the process caused unimaginable death and destruction. This is the very definition of evil.
During this same period, USA sanctioned dozens of countries for not complying with US foreign policy and in the process caused untold human suffering. This is the very definition of evil.
During this same period, USA ran the Guantanamo Bay camp which imprisoned around 780 Muslims and tortured dozens of them. This is well-documented and is the very definition of evil.
China has been accused of running “concentration camps” in Xinjiang. However, these camps were vocational schools that gave Uyghurs employment opportunities to live better lives and hopefully make them give up their separatist leanings. Even if you think they were coerced to attend, it’s a damn sight better than being tortured. The Uyghur participants were allowed to go home on weekends to be with their families. What horrors!
Over the past decade, USA supported an evil regime in Ukraine that practiced ethnic cleansing in Donbas. USA pushed Russia into fighting a proxy war thanks to NATO expansion that threatened the very existence of Russia. USA kept the war going, despite Russia’s and Ukraine’s desire for diplomacy, and in the process caused countless deaths. This is the very definition of evil.
Now, USA is trying to foment another proxy war, this time with China over Taiwan. China does not want war but USA is relentless. Pure evil.
What has China done that is so evil?
- China is overtaking USA economically and technologically.
- China is helping developing countries build their infrastructure through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
- China is forging economic and security alliances such as BRICS, RCEP and SCO.
- China is inviting all nations to participate in its space station program, including the United States (which banned China from the ISS in 2011).
- China is protecting its territorial integrity in South China Sea and Taiwan. To do this, China is building up its military.
This kind of evil is nothing compared to American evil.
NATO Starts Nuclear Drill “Steadfast Noon” with 60 aircraft, B-52 bombers and other missile carriers
NATO on Monday launched its regular nuclear deterrence drills in western Europe.
The 30-nation alliance has stressed that the “routine, recurring training activity” — which runs until October 30 — was planned before Moscow invaded Ukraine and is not linked to the current situation.
It will involve US B-52 long-range bombers, and up to 60 aircraft in total will take part in training flights over Belgium, the United Kingdom and the North Sea.
The nuclear drills – which do not involve live bombs – are taking place amid heightened tensions after Russia repeatedly threatened nuclear strikes in Ukraine following major military setbacks on the battlefield there.
“Steadfast Noon” is likely to coincide with Moscow’s own annual nuclear drills, dubbed “Grom,” which are normally conducted in late October and in which Russia tests its nuclear-capable bombers, submarines and missiles.
The drills that will involve 14 countries and up to 60 aircraft, including the most advanced fighter jets on the market and U.S. B-52 long-range bombers that will fly in from Minot Air Base in North Dakota, the statement said.
This drill takes place every year, like Russia does, but always over different countries and locations. This time it involves locations & training flights to be conducted over Belgium, Great Britain and the North Sea.
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (5/12) Movie CLIP – Talk is Cheap (1991) HD
What is the situation with democracy in China?
It’s very good. China is a truly democratic nation. However, China’s democracy does not hew to the Western model of democracy which is sadly broken.
In fact, according to Latana’s Democracy Perception Index, the Chinese people regard their country as the most democratic in the world!
Major shift in Putin’s stance on Ukraine
Very interesting.
German companies pour more investment in China, as ‘decoupling’ hype wanes – Global Times
Despite some German politicians and media outlets that hype an industrial “decoupling” from China, German enterprises have been continuously investing in China, attracted by the enormous size of the Chinese market.
The latest example is Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), a German state-owned investment and development bank, which will lend 69.52 million euros ($67.75 million) for a railway project linking North China’s Tianjin city and Beijing Daxing International Airport. The loan term is 15 years, including a 5-year grace period, China’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Sunday.
The total investment in the project amounts to 11.65 billion yuan ($1.64 billion), MOF said.
If a project is financed by German banks, chances are large that it is also a “sweet pastry” for the global capital markets, Chen Jia, an independent research fellow on international strategy, told the Global Times on Sunday.
Chen pointed out that Germany has been attaching great importance to China’s infrastructure sector when it comes to investment, because China’s infrastructure projects are well known for stable, long-term investment returns.
In the first half of 2022, German companies’ direct investment in China hit a record high, surpassing the level of tens of billions of euros, according to a report by the German Institute for Economic Research, more commonly known as DIW Berlin, which was released in August.
Full article HERE
Black Hawk Down: Help from above
Do you think that many Europeans are in some way jealous of Americans? Like they feel Americans have it too good. Honestly.
Let me see.
I get five weeks paid holiday leave.
I am entitled to 9 months paid maternity leave, then 3 months unpaid, (men get 2 weeks paid paternity) my job would be waiting for me when I returned.
I was off sick for 4 months, I was paid full pay and I didn’t lose my job even though I couldn’t return to doing the work I did before, an alternative role was found for me.
My company can’t sack me as I am now disabled.
When I was off sick I spent 3 weeks in hospital, I had emergency surgery followed by care in hospital transfer by ambulance to a convalescent hospital to help me recover and since the physiotherapy and lots of medication, the only part of this I paid for is about £110 a YEAR to cover the cost of ALL medication.
I live in a country where religious nuts can’t make laws.
I live in a country where death by shooting is rare.
I live in a country where women can make choices about their own body
My country isn’t perfect but I am happy living here and I am definitely not jealous of people living in USA
Do they have a president for life now?
No. Xi Jinping can be voted out of office in the future if he fails to perform well.
China is not the only country with no term limits. There’s also Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and UK, for example. Tell me, is Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau PM for life?
They’re STILL Doing it: BOSTON UNIVERSITY ‘CREATES’ NEW COVID STRAIN WITH ‘80% KILL RATE’
With life returning to normal as Covid-19 wanes, a new Covid strain which has 80% kill rate has been CREATED in the United States.
A team of Boston University scientists claim that they have made a hybrid virus — combining Omicron and the original Wuhan Beta strain — that killed 80 per cent of mice in a study.
Experts have slammed the scientists for “playing with fire” and engaging in such “dangerous virus manipulation” research which has not been peer-reviewed.
Professor Shmuel Shapira, a leading scientist in the Israeli Government, said: ‘This should be totally forbidden, it’s playing with fire.’
There are theories that a virus manipulation research in China may have started the pandemic. A lab in China’s Wuhan, where the coronavirus was first detected, carried out similar research on bat coronaviruses.
Dr Richard Ebright, a chemist at Rutgers University in New Jersey said the research is a clear example of gain of function research. “If we are to avoid a next lab-generated pandemic, it is imperative that oversight of enhanced potential pandemic pathogen research be strengthened,” he added.
Researchers extracted Omicron’s spike protein — the unique structure that binds to and invades human cells — and attached it to the original wildtype strain that first emerged in Wuhan at the start of the pandemic. The scientists call this new hybrid virus “Omicron-S”
The researchers looked at how mice fared against the new hybrid strain compared to the original Omicron variant. “In…mice, while Omicron causes mild, non-fatal infection, the Omicron S-carrying virus inflicts severe disease with a mortality rate of 80 percent,” they wrote in the paper.
However, rodents survived and experienced only ‘mild’s symptoms when they were exposed to the standard Omicron strain.
“It is especially concerning that this new US-government ePPP research – like the previous US-government ePPP research on chimeric SARS-related coronaviruses at Wuhan Institute of Virology that may have caused the pandemic – appears not to have undergone the prior risk-benefit review mandated under US-government policies. If we are to avoid a next lab-generated pandemic, it is imperative that oversight of ePPP research be strengthened,” Ebright said.
We Were Lied To About Vaccines ADMITS Pfizer!
Forever…
Xi Jinping Breaks His Non-Militarization Pledge in the Spratlys
What's China supposed to do? Wait until the British gunboats return before starting to defend itself?
Earlier this week, satellite imagery released by a U.S. think tank shows, for the first time, evidence of military point-defense capabilities on various China-controlled features in the Spratly Islands. The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies found that “China appears to have built significant point-defense capabilities, in the form of large anti-aircraft guns and probable close-in weapons systems (CIWS), at each of its outposts in the Spratly Islands.”
From HERE
If so, why do people want to go to China if they don’t have the same freedoms as in the United States of America?
China provides different kinds of freedom. Frankly, US freedoms are worth shit.
Chinese freedoms:
- freedom from dying in a pandemic
- freedom to have food on the table and a roof over your head — in USA, over half a million Americans are homeless
- freedom to have affordable health care and education
- freedom from rampant and random gun violence — in USA, mass shootings on a daily basis!
- freedom from systemic racism — in USA, BLM and “I can’t breathe”
- freedom from mass incarceration — in USA, the highest number and the highest rate in the world!
- freedom from opioid addiction on an epidemic scale
- freedom to have a living wage — in USA, minimum wage is still stuck at 1960s level
So please tell me, what freedoms do Americans have that are worth anything?
Cheesy Hamburger Casserole
This Cheesy Hamburger Casserole is just as easy to make as Hamburger Helper, and you can control the ingredients. Great weekday meal and the kids love it!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- salt, to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 2 cloves chopped garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- one 28-ounce can pureed tomatoes, or your favorite sauce
- 16 ounce box macaroni noodles
- 1/2 cup each grated cheddar and mozzarella cheeses
Instructions
- Sweat the onions in the oil with a three-fingered pinch of salt. Add the beef and cook it, breaking it up as you do. Add another three-fingered pinch of salt or two, along with the dry seasonings. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook for an hour.
- Cook the macaroni in boiling water till it’s half done. Drain it and add it to the tomatoes. (I wanted this to stretch into two meals, so I used the whole box, but if you want your dish to be very tomatoey and beefy, you might want to add only half the macaroni). Stir it into the sauce. Taste it and add cheese and cover or transfer it to a large baking dish and cover it with foil. It can be refrigerated for up to two days, or frozen a few weeks.
- If refrigerated bake it in a 400 degree oven till it’s piping hot (about 45 minutes if it’s cold to room temperature). Just before you’re ready to eat, remove the foil, cover macaroni with the cheese and broil till the cheese is bubbly.
US inflation numbers are really bad. Biden says everything is under control
Really bad.
Three Good Pieces On The War In Ukraine
I am busy with renovation work but here are three good pieces about the war in Ukraine:
- A war Russia set to win – MK Bhadrakumar / Tribune India
> Plainly put, the Europeans have been nicely played by the Americans. India should take note of the US’ sense of entitlement. Basically, the Biden administration created a contrived energy crisis whose real aim is war profiteering. ... India should expect the defeat of the US and NATO, which completes the transition to a multipolar world order. <
- Why the US must press for a ceasefire in Ukraine – Jack F. Matlock Jr. / Responsible Statecraft
> Increasingly, European publics are likely to blame the United States for policies that fuel inflation and bring on economic recession, especially as their currencies weaken against the dollar. The U.S. sanctions on Russia will be seen by many as self-serving attempts to dominate Western Europe. A new iron curtain is now being imposed on Russia — this time by Western policy — even as the United States announces more measures to confront and “contain” an assertive China. This will result, inevitably, in more cooperation between Russia and China. Also, the increasing use of economic sanctions to achieve political purposes will encounter push-back with a greater volume of international trade conducted in national currencies other than the U.S. dollar. As Europe is weakened and more countries suffer from U.S. sanctions, coalitions to resist U.S. dominance will flourish. Geopolitical competition will take precedence over action to deal with common problems, even as international conflict intensifies them. What all the parties to the conflict in Ukraine seem to have forgotten is that the future of mankind will not be determined by where international borders are drawn — these have never been static in history and doubtless will continue to change from time to time. The future of mankind will be determined by whether nations learn to settle their differences peacefully. <
- The Neocons and the Woke Left Are Joining Hands and Leading Us to Woke War III | Opinion – David Sacks / Newsweek
> What makes the "I stand with Ukraine" version of the Twitter mob unique is that it brings together two forces that used to be sworn enemies of one another—the woke Left and the neoconservative Right. It turns out they share many of the same loathsome ideological and personality traits, and have a similar "slash and burn" approach to political engagement. It's a new political marriage. ... This shift is disorienting, but on a purely tactical level, it makes a certain amount of sense. Neocons invented the cancellation game before there was even a Twitter board on which to play it. Neocons arrogantly dismiss the other side's point of view as argued in bad faith and not worth considering, and label anyone who dares question the cause as a heretic or traitor. ... Warping the debate in this way allows delusional and contradictory thinking to go unchallenged. Thus, we get the argument that Putin is a madman who will kill indiscriminately to achieve his aims—but he is also somehow definitely bluffing about using nuclear weapons. And he's only using that bluff because he's losing the war—but if he's not stopped in Ukraine, he will go on to conquer the rest of Europe. Putin's regime must fall because he has killed or jailed all the liberal reformers and yoked himself to a hardline Far Right, but somehow he will be replaced by a liberal reformer when his regime collapses. It's nonsensical, and a real debate would expose some of the delusions in this thinking. But we aren't allowed to have one. As long as this woke-neocon alliance is allowed to set the terms of the debate, we will continue to see a one-way ratchet toward greater and more dangerous escalation of this conflict. <
Russia’s Medvedev Gets Blunt with Israel
Russia’s Deputy Chairman of its state Federation Council (Senate) had strong words for Israel about supplying weapons to Ukraine . . .
Dmitry Medvedev doesn’t post a lot on his social media (Telegram) account, but when he does . . . Oh Boy!
Writing on his channel Monday, Medvedev put it blunty:
"Israel seems to be going to supply weapons to the Kyiv regime. A very reckless move. It will destroy all interstate relations between our countries. I'm not talking about the fact that the Bandera geeks were Nazis, and remained so. Just look at the symbolism of their modern henchmen. If they are supplied with weapons, then it is time for Israel to declare Bandera and Shukhevych their heroes..."
When Medvedev says “It will destroy all interstate relations between our countries.” he means it.
Israel is sleepwalking right towards Armageddon.
Eggs Benedict
Hot buttered English muffins, Canadian-style bacon, and poached eggs are topped with a heavenly drizzle of hollandaise sauce. Breakfast does not get any better than a classic Eggs Benedict!
- Salt
- 2 Tbsp. white vinegar
- 4 eggs
- 2 English muffins, split
- 3 Tbsp. butter
- 4 slices Canadian bacon
- 12 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 3 egg yolks
- 2-3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- For the eggs: Bring a medium skillet of salted water to a simmer over medium heat; add vinegar. Crack eggs into 4 small dishes. Slip eggs into simmering water, turn off heat, cover, and cook until whites are just firm, 4 minutes. Transfer eggs with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 200 F. Toast muffins, then spread with some of the butter. Transfer to 2-4 plates; keep warm in oven. Melt remaining butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Fry bacon until browned, about 5 minutes. Place bacon on muffins; keep warm in oven.
- For the hollandaise: Melt butter in a small pan over low heat. Whisk egg yolks, lemon juice, 1 tbsp. water, and salt and pepper to taste in a heavy, nonreactive saucepan until pale yellow; then cook, whisking constantly over medium-low heat, until whisk leaves a trail in eggs, about 8 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Add butter 1 tbsp. at a time, whisking constantly, until sauce thickens; gradually pour in remaining butter, whisking constantly, leaving milky solids behind.
- Reheat eggs in a skillet of simmering water for 1 minute; transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. To serve, carefully place egg on bacon, and spoon some hollandaise on top. Garnish with parsley, if you like.
It’s Official: It’s ALL a Lie | Redacted with Natali and Clayton Morris
What is interesting about this video is that it deconstructs the propaganda about Ukraine. It’s fascinating, and disgusting at the same time. The intro is LONG. Start around 37 minutes.
https://youtu.be/5leOO0C56Ug
Cut Scene from We Were Soldiers Re Plumley.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q-hLyUZS9E
That was a great clip from a great movie.
The theme track on We Were Soldiers is titled SGT McKenzie and was written by the grandson of a Scottish WW1 Sgt who stood and held his ground whilst defending a wounded fellow Scot. McKenzie was KIA during this engagement. He was a Rufus.
Yes he was.