When I was eleven years old, a neighborhood friend, named Jeff <redacted> had this great plan to become a millionaire. His mother placed a PE tarp on the floor of the car garage, and had a truck dump a full load of dirt on it. He then went and bought some worms from the local fishing tackle store, and put them in the dirt. For weeks, he would water the mound of earth, and occasionally reach in and dig out some worms.
They were doing fine. Nice, plump and well pronounced. He was certain that he could “make a fortune” by selling them on hot weekends near the river.
Well, long story short, after one entire hot and long day trying to sell the worms, no one bought any. And he was pretty much discouraged. I told him to keep trying, perhaps he would wait a little longer, I argued.
Well, he decided to “throw in the towel” and gave up. One week later, the garage was clean and free of dirt, and he was off working on another plan. This new plan involved buying and selling macramé. That one, actually got some “legs” before it too “died on the vine”, but that is a story for another time.
Today’s installment…
What you need to understand about the Ukraine war…
Israel gets a USA “color Revolution”
15 minutes. Not long, but very informative in regards to the massive changes in the world.
U.S. CAUGHT inciting protests in Israel, Netanyahu furious
As a pro-democratic Chinese, do you like how the CCP handles China?
Yea, why not?
When we have natural disasters, thousands of rescue teams formed by soldiers, firefighters, policemen and volunteers would come instantly from other provinces, all actions are for free. And trust me, they are the fastest in the world.
When we have pandemics, thousands of doctors and professors from other provinces would come to save lives, and it takes only 6 days to build several whole new emergency specialty field hospitals, each one has the capacity for over 1000 patients. Also, everything is for free including the treatment process and vaccines for everyone in China.
When your house is on fire, call 119 and firefighters would show up in only 10 minutes 24/7, and it is for free. If firefighters are not enough, they will deploy more firefighters until the fire is extinguished.
When your property is stolen, call 110 and they will find your stolen property and catch those thieves faster than you could imagine. Even if your property is already carried to other provinces, they will find it.
When people you love are hurt or killed, call 110, they will find the murderers 100% even if they are burned into ashes. Don’t ever underestimate the determination that the Chinese Police has. With the development of technology, more and more murderers killed people last century are getting caught recently, none of them could run away from judgement.
We are having countless highways and you can drive wherever you want thru different highways. Although you need to pay for the highway toll, the money they make from us is not even enough to keep daily maintenance, the government loses money every signal fucking day from it but they still keep building new highways.
When some roads are broken due to bad weather or something, the government would send hundreds of excavators and thousands of workers to do rush repairs, have you ever seen the picture that hundreds of excavators are working simultaneously?
Everyone in China has a non-stop power supply, no matter where you live, the government brings electricity to your home. If your home is located in high altitudes area that they can’t deploy the high-tension cables near your home, they would build a new home at the foot of the mountain for you for fee, just in order to let you use the electricity.
The high-speed railway ticket has remained the same price for over 10 years, as well as buses and subways. Public transportation companies are owned by the government, and every year the government gives those companies huge fiscal subsidies to support their business because none of them can actually make money from it, they lost money every year. (by the way, we have telephone signal coverage for all subways, we don’t read books in subways)
If someone has guns illegally, he will be arrested by police and spend 10 years in prison, if he resists being caught, police would directly shoot him to death.
If someone is producing drugs, he will get the death penalty if he produced over 50g of drugs. Same as everyone who sells and transports drugs, all of them can have the death penalty, even if they are foreigners.
Have you seen the differences between western countries and China?
The main difference is, in western countries, the subway system, the bus system, the power supply, the water supply, all these public facilities are run by some private companies, and everyone knows that companies need profit, otherwise how could they survive? That’s why people are spending expensive money on public facilities, while mostly the facilities haven’t been redecorated for decades. (the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard is that you need to pay for the firefighters if they come to your house, I have spent $1200 for 2 fire engines when I was in Canada, fuck the Canadian government.)
But in China, all the communal facilities and services are run by the government, they don’t make any profit from people, that’s why the railway, the bus, the subway tickets are always the same price. We also don’t need to pay for the police or firefighters in any circumstances, we don’t need to pay for the oxygen or ECMO or surgery or vaccine in the pandemic, we don’t need to worry about the power shut down because that hasn’t happened for decades.
Things have changed a lot these years, the Chinese government would like to hear what you say and make changes for people. China is developing every day, it is getting better and better every second. While KMT is handling Taiwan into total chaos, we are having good good good lives here. To handle such a huge country like China, no one could do better than CCP.
These are how CCP handle China, the CCP cares about people’s lives, they come from us, and they will get back to us. We know they are doing their best for us all the time.
How do Chinese people feel that the entire collective west hates Xi Jinping and the CPC?
Most of them don’t bother too much
Like I told you these guys are the most APOLITICAL people in the world, just behind Singaporeans
They don’t care what others say about Xi Jingping Or whether what Western Media lies about Xi Jingping
They care more about BUSINESS DECISIONS like Trade Embargos and Tariffs and Export Restrictions and they get nationalistic and patriotic and duly get angry at the West
They boycott any western entity in China that talks nonsense about Xinjiang or Uyghurs. Their rule is IF YOU WANT TO DO BUSINESS IN CHINA, YOU SHUT YOUR GOB AND DO BUSINESS
They trust and know that the CPC will handle the Politics and it’s neither their place nor their knowledge on how Geopolitics works
They trust Xi Jingping is powerful enough to fight his own battles and rarely bother with defending him
Instead they defend business and trade decisions against China which the common man can understand much better
Maja Säfström’s Illustrations Are Witty And Relatable
Illustrator and author Maja Säfström is known for her playful style of illustration based on her witty observations of the world around her. Based in Stockholm, she works full-time as an illustrator and runs her own shop in central Stockholm.
More: Instagram h/t: playjunkie
Having earned a tremendous international following on social media, as well as widespread critical acclaim and multiple awards, it’s surprising to learn that Säfström’s background actually lies in architecture. “I have been drawing for as long as I can remember,” she shared in an interview with Lake. “I drew a lot when I was a kid. I had a few years in high school where I thought I was really bad. Then I started studying architecture at university and found myself drawing the scenes around the buildings with MUCH more enthusiasm than the actual houses. Well, one thing led to another!”
Indeed one thing led to another. “I used to work as an architect and illustrating was something I did in my time off work,” she says. “Now that it is my full-time job, I realize, it is much less meditative. Because now the drawings are often commissioned, which is a bit different from just drawing whatever you feel like. It is the best job in the world though. Being an illustrator! My new hobby is taking care of my plants at home.”
Each of her illustrated pieces is made by first drawing a thin outline with a pencil, after which the final drawing is made with a fineliner. Her comic-like illustrations often include speech bubbles. “I think the speech bubbles are a very important part of my work,” says Säfström. “I love combining text with drawings. I often experience something in life and make a drawing of that.”
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers the State of the Nation Address to a joint sitting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces in Cape Town, South Africa, February 10, 2022
By Walt Zlotow / Antiwar.com
Walt Zlotow became involved in antiwar activities upon entering University of Chicago in 1963. He is current president of the West Suburban Peace Coalition based in the Chicago western suburbs. He blogs daily on antiwar and other issues at www.heartlandprogressive.blogspot.com
When President Biden announced sanctions against Russia over their February, 2022 invasion of Ukraine, he called it a battle of democracy over tyranny. He expected Africa to rally to the US lead.
Unsurprisingly, not one of Africa’s 54 countries as joined US sanctions against Russia. Many are neutral; some even supporting Russia’s war to prevent NATO’s eastward expansion to Russia’s borders and gain independence of Ukrainian Donbas from Kyiv aggression that has killed thousands of Ukrainians there.
Why unsurprisingly? For starters, the US was delusional Africa would follow America’s proxy war on Russia. It’s the US, not Russia that is bombing Africans in Somalia, Niger and possibly others. It was the US, not Russia that supported colonialism and neo-colonialism in Africa to suppress nationalist movements assumed to be led by commies. Even if Marxists were involved, that was none of Uncle Sam’s business. Since 2008, US trained officials attempted at least 9 African coups.
Russia recently convened its Russia-Africa in a Multipolar World conference in which most African nations were represented. Not one condemned Russia’s invasion while some blamed the US and NATO for provoking it. South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa told his Parliament after extensive lobbying by US Secretary of State Tony Blinken, “The war could have been avoided if NATO had heeded the warnings from amongst its own leaders and officials over the years that its eastward expansion would lead to greater, not less, instability in the region.”
What we’re witnessing is a seismic shift worldwide weakening US unipolar dominance. US claims of democracy v. tyranny are ringing hollow not only in Africa, but aside from NATO and a few others, globally. Over two thirds of our 8 billion souls live in countries rejecting US proxy war propaganda.
Instead of sanctimonious, self serving adulations of American ideals, President Biden might consider ending US drone strikes in Africa killing many. Stop bullying African leaders to blindly support our proxy war. Remove our 29 African military bases and bring home the troops defiling Africa sovereignty. No more African coup plotting might help as well. Regarding Ukraine, the US should pivot from weapons to negotiations, end NATO eastward expansion, and support Donbas independence, not sabotage it as they did with Minsk II in 2015.
Any chance Uncle Sam will wise up and do even one of those things? Don’t bet on it. While Africa is “all out” supporting America’s proxy war, America is “all in,” blundering down a very unstable, unpeaceful road of its own choosing.
Yellow Rice (Nasi Kuning — Indonesia)
Ingredients
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 1 cup uncooked regular rice
- 1 (2-inch) piece lemon grass
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
Instructions
- Heat all ingredients to boiling in saucepan, stirring once or twice; reduce heat.
- Cover and simmer 14 minutes, without lifting cover or stirring.
- Remove from heat.
- Fluff rice lightly with fork; cover and let steam 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove lemon grass.
What are your thoughts on current events related to the dollar?
My thoughts?
That the USD is in DEEP SHIT. What brings me to this conclusion?
This essentially.
About a 1 minute clip. Pay attention.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9EbPxTm5_s
Who is that? That’s Jim Cramer in 2008 he slammed a person who phoned in asking if Bear Sterns was safe.
The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. was a New York City-based global investment bank, securities trading, and brokerage firm that failed in 2008 as part of the global financial crisis and recession, and was subsequently sold to JPMorgan Chase. The company's main business areas before its failure were capital markets, investment banking, wealth management, and global clearing services, and it was heavily involved in the subprime mortgage crisis.
Jim said it was safe.
He screamed that it was safe. He promised that it was safe. He yelled over and over again, that it was safe.
Bear Sterns went bust a few days later.
Fast forward to today…
Massive movements around the world have happened to move away from USD to other currencies.
Brazil, Russia, India, Saudi Arabia and 20 other countries lining up to do it.
This in itself is huge.
The tell I’m looking at is how there’s suddenly thousands of bot accounts everywhere. And they are all posting about how strong the USD is! And how weak every other currency is. And throughout these ‘bot accounts they state repeatedly that anybody who speaks out against it is a troll apparently.
The Jim Cramer effect.
West Kittanning and Kittanning PA
This is the large town next to where I grew up. We used to come here to buy our groceries, get gas, and go bowling. My mother used to live here, and looking at the video, I can positively affirm that it hasn’t changed at all since 1977.
Every now and then, I get on you-tube to watch some videos of my old “stomping grounds”. East Brady, Kittanning, Butler. It only serves to remind me that I am really glad that I am in China.
BRICS rising as neocons destroy the west w/Jeffrey Sachs
34 minutes. Worth your time. I will list this as “must watch” video.
The United States (Neocons) are furious that BRICS+ is going along with Asia and not obeying the orders out of Washington.
So glad three great minds can make sense of such a fast-moving chaotic time. Without the Duran channel thousands of viewers would be overwhelmed with disinformation. Thank you.
Joe has a plan that would rival China’s BRI why did USA not have such a plan before?
Its plain nonsense
Reason No 1 : Trade vs ?????
China has a reason for all that Infrastructure. Long term trade. It builds roads and railways in Kenya because in a few more years – China may transfer 50–100 Factories to Kenya for Low Grade Manufacturing and needs the Trains and Roads.
US has no such reasons. Surely AirBnB and other Service Companies are not going to move to Kenya or Ethiopia in such big numbers to provide Motel Services to People who can barely eat 2 Square meals a day???
US is service Dominated, China is Export, Manufacture and Trade Dominated
Reason No 2 : Labor
Chinese Workers have no issues packing their bags and moving country to country earning Salary + Foreign Allowance and a flat National Insurance Policy
US Workers demand far far more. No US Worker would be prepared to work for 4 years in Pakistan. Those days which existed in the 1970s and 1980s when US Workers worked in Saudi or Iran are gone. US Workers will demand massive foreign allowances, visitation with families, big chunks of insurance etc.
It would take 50 US Workers to replace 450 Chinese Workers in Infrastructure Projects.
Reason No 3 : Cost Competitiveness
China has a complete ready-made system for Infrastructure. It has machinery, the workers, the finance – its all a Package deal – once the Politicians sign the dotted line -the Unit begins to work like a Precision army. No dependence on anybody whatsoever.
US doesn’t have such a ready-made system. Machinery is far more expensive, workers are more expensive, hiring workers from other countries may make sense but the liability factor would come into being (US Companies being liable for the work of say Indian or Bangladesh workers)
Reason No 4 : FINANCE
In China – the Govt has control on financing of Infrastructure projects. The Contractors are assured and have Govt Guarantees which is why they have no issues. Policies exist to defer or extend loans, defer or extend or reissue debt.
In USA – the Govt has ZERO CONTROL on Financing or Banking. The Banks are entirely on their own and they would say “Nothing Doing” to Biden in 10 seconds flat. Contractors will need Federal Govt Guarantees
Reason No 5 : Democracy
Its not that easy to spend $ 500 Billion on Foreign Charity anymore.
Since no Infrastructure project will get even 50 cents profit, there is no sense in burning $ 500 Billion of US Taxpayers money
Republicans will ferociously protest
Reason No 5 : Track Record
52 Unfinished Projects in Pakistan, 39 in Afghanistan – This is US and its track record. They never finish projects anywhere in areas which are even 10% violent.
In fact i believe strongly that this Idea would be counter productive
US is way ahead in High Tech Manufacture and Research and Development. That is the path for the US. Keep the Technological Edge. Keep inventing better and better things – so that the gap with China doesnt reduce.
However US is not doing that. US research and development is becoming lower and lower except in the area of defense. Chinas is becoming larger and larger. This would be the changing factor
Instead blowing $ 500 Bn – $ 1 Trillion would be a stupid, stupid decision
Especially given that US Govt would transfer these funds to Corrupt Politicians who will “spend” 90% of this money and give only 10% to the Projects.
Africa tells the United States to go to Hell!
Kamala Harris Gets SMACKED DOWN During Visit To Africa
13 minutes. Very good. Watching this will tell you what the rest of the world thinks about America right now. Pay attention. Especially if you are living in a US proxy nation.
It's really beyond all comprehension that this could all be perceived as unintentional at this point. We are literally watching them drive the last nail in America's coffin.
Why is China against Jack Ma who built wealth for many Chinese?
Why is China against Jack Ma?
Simple reason. Jack Ma is beginning the trend of the Hyping and Overvaluation of Entities that is so common in the west.
Chinese Financial Experts are not so gullible and naive as other valuators. They dont value random companies for billions of dollars just after seeing advertisements or watching celebrities dance in those ads.
They had a 3 Step Process of Valuing a Start Up and demand certain tough conditions to be met before the Start up can become an IPO. Remember – as a Start up – the investors and their money are involved but as an IPO – Public Money is involved.
So they control the valuation of start ups and have their own valuations of the same startups which ensures that Institutional Investors in China go by the Bankers Valuations rather than other Valuations.
For instance say a Company is valued at 40 Billion Dollars by a Group of US Valuators, the Chinese Banks value the same Company for only 19 Billion Dollars. So Any Chinese who wants to invest will invest based on the 19 Billion instead of 40 Billion Dollars – though Americans, Europeans, Japanese are welcome to invest in over inflated companies and burn their wallets.
This process slowly merged into a Single Valuation of an Entity by the Chinese Bankers through a Specialized Body specially formed to evaluate Startups .Since 2018 – Startup Valuations have been based on the Chinese Moderate and Conservative Values rather than the Speculative 100 Billion or 1000 Billion valuation by the Entities themselves.
#1
Jack Ma did not like this.
Now Jack Ma is the Mukesh Ambani of China. He is the First Billionaire there. Every Billionaire, every Entity looks to him and models his actions. He is the most Important Billionaire in his country. The Big Boss.
Ma was deeply upset when the Chinese Bankers refused to accept Mas valuations for his Ant Group IPO of $ 35 Billion and also believed his valuations especially his futuristic numbers could be possible only by monopolistic domination of the domestic market in certain areas which is Antitrust Violation.
This made Jack Ma Angry especially as he felt – every other country did the same/similar valuations and Chinas Bankers were more Pawnbrokers than Bankers.
This angered the Chinese Regulators and the CCP. In a Autocracy – casting blame on a financial system could become a dangerous objective.
# 2
Jack Ma has too much Global Influence and the Big Tech are starting to do so
Ma has long been on Chinas watchlist since he has tremendous global influence especially with the US and Europe.
The Chinese Government Fears that Ma and Others could end up making China too dependent on the Big Tech Industries which could damage the political stability of the country which Xi Jingping Fears.
Hence China plans to introduce the Shen Zi Law – the 51:49 Law to ensure that all Major Tech Companies sell 51% of their Share to the Chinese Government Entities to ensure that the Big Tech Industries dont establish an Oligarchy in the long run. After all China has seen what happened to Libya or Iran (pre 1979) when Companies controlled the Governments.
# 3
Big Tech led by Jack Ma could destroy the Financial Stability of China
Overvaluation is something China is scared of. In a Democratic Country – Overvaluation and Collapse of entities results in depressions which result in Govt changes but in an Autocracy – it could be Catastrophic. People could take to the streets.
China have controlled this for some time now (Since 2018) by forcing the Companies to operate based on the Govt Approved Valuation which is realistic but deemed by many companies to Harsh and Pawnshop based.
For instance if BYJUS was in China – they would value the company at $ 3.42 Billion instead of $ 12 Billion under their GRMV Valuation Model.
Its why Big Tech have different numbers in NASDAQ – US has no such regulations. I can form a Company and 10 years later sell shares at $ 100000 a share if i want to as long as people want to buy them.
China has been looking the other way for some time – but now it has decided ENOUGH. China wants a 51:49 Law OR very tough regulations to ensure that the Public dont experience a 1929 Depression or a 2008 Crisis.
Baked Macaroni with Beef
and Cheese (Pasticcio)
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked ziti or elbow macaroni
- 3/4 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups grated Kasseri, Parmesan or Romano cheese
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Cook macaroni as directed on package; drain. Cook and stir beef and onion in 10-inch skillet until beef is light brown; drain. Stir in tomato sauce and salt. Spread half the macaroni in a greased 8-inch square baking dish; cover with beef mixture.
- Mix 1/2 cup of the cheese and cinnamon. Sprinkle over beef mixture. Cover with remaining macaroni.
- Cook and stir milk and butter in 2-quart saucepan until butter is melted. Stir at least half the milk mixture gradually into beaten eggs. Blend into milk mixture in saucepan; pour over macaroni. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese.
- Bake uncovered at 325 degrees F until brown and center is set, about 50 minutes.
- Sprinkle with nutmeg. Garnish with parsley if desired.
Yields 6 servings.
Playing “Fool’s Mate” on the Grand Eurasian Chessboard
For at least a generation or more, America’s international policies have increasingly been governed by our Ministry of Propaganda, and the bill may finally be starting to come due.
Last Wednesday the Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia was joining China’s Shanghai Cooperative Organization, a decision that came just a few weeks after the announcement that it had reestablished diplomatic relations with arch-enemy Iran following negotiations held in Beijing under Chinese auspices. For three generations, the oil rich kingdom had been America’s most important Arab ally, and the lead sentence of the Journal article emphasized that this dramatic development reflected our waning influence in the Middle East.
That same day, Brazil declared that it was abandoning the use of dollars in its transactions with China, its largest trading partner, following an earlier statement that its president planned to meet with China’s leader in support of that country’s efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, a diplomatic initiative strongly opposed by our own government. Geopolitical dominoes seem to rapidly falling, taking down American influence with them.
Given our country’s horrendous budget and trade deficits, America’s continued standard of living is heavily dependent upon the international use of the dollar, especially for oil sales, so these are extremely threatening developments. For decades, we have freely exchanged our government script for goods and commodities from around the world, and if that becomes much more difficult, our global situation may grow dire. During the 1956 Suez Crisis, the threatened collapse of the British pound marked the end of Britain’s influence on the global stage, and America may be rapidly approaching its own “Suez moment.”
Despite our enormous efforts and the shrill support of the global Western media, few countries other than our own subservient vassals have been willing to follow our lead and impose sanctions on Russia, further evidence of our greatly diminished international clout.
Since the 1980s I have regarded the tectonic shift of geopolitical power to China as an almost inevitable consequence of that country’s development, and more than a decade ago I had described those powerful trends, already long visible.
- China’s Rise, America’s Fall
Ron Unz • The American Conservative • April 17, 2012 • 6,600 Words
But the facts have now become blatantly obvious. Jacques Sapir serves as director of studies at the EHESS, one of France’s leading academic institutions, and a few months ago he published a short article setting forth the striking economic statistics, an analysis that has received less attention than it deserves.
- Assessing the Russian and Chinese Economies Geostrategically
Jacques Sapir • American Affairs • November 20, 2022 • 1,700 Words
He explained that according to nominal exchange rates Russia had a small economy, just half as large as that of France and roughly the same as Spain’s, so it had seemed very vulnerable to the unprecedented wave of Western sanctions imposed after the outbreak of the Ukraine war. But Russia survived almost unscathed, and instead it was the West that suffered critical energy shortages, a severe bout of inflation, and other serious economic stresses, suggesting that those comparisons were merely illusory.
By contrast, according to the far more realistic Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) metric, Russia’s economy was actually far larger, being comparable to that of Germany. But even that measure seriously underestimated the true balance of international power.
Among Western economies, services comprise a large, sometimes overwhelming fraction of total economic activity, and those statistics are far more subject to manipulation. Some economists have argued that drug-dealing, prostitution, and other criminal activity should be included in that total, which would therefore boost the supposed measure of our national prosperity.
By contrast, during periods of sharp international conflict, the productive sectors of GDP—industry, mining, agriculture, and construction—probably constitute a far better measure of relative economic power, and Russia is much stronger in that category. So although Russia’s nominal GDP is merely half that of France, its real productive economy is more than twice as large, representing nearly a five-fold shift in relative economic power. This helps explain why Russia so easily surmounted the Western sanctions that had been expected to cripple it.
When Sapir extends this same analysis to other countries, the results are even more remarkable. Although our disingenuous mainstream media invariably describes China as having the world’s second largest economy, it actually surpassed America in real terms several years ago as anyone can confirm by consulting the CIA’s World Factbook. But while a substantial 44% of China’s fully modern economy consists of services, America’s service sector—advertising, retail sales, education, personal services, diversity consulting—amounts to nearly 80% of our total, reducing our productive output to merely a small residual fraction.
One of Sapir’s tables demonstrated that as far back as 2019, China’s real productive economy was already three times larger than America’s.
Indeed, by 2017 China’s real productive sector exceeded the combined total for America, the European Union, and Japan.
American boosters often take comfort in our supposed advantages in technology and innovation, but although our past lead had been enormous, this seems less true today or in the future. Sapir provided a chart showing the tremendous growth in Chinese patent applications over the last forty years, which have increased from almost nothing to more than 60% of the world total by 2018, nearly five times America’s share.
There is some empirical evidence that these official statistics have real-world impact. American companies created and once entirely dominated the social media and smartphone ecosystem that is so important to global consumers, and for years their position seemed unassailable. But according to a recent WSJ article, four of the five most popular smartphone apps in the U.S. are now Chinese, with Facebook ranked fifth. The main response of our bipartisan political class has been to threaten a ban on TikTok, wildly popular among our own youth, much like the nomenklatura of the decaying Soviet Union had once desperately tried to ban Western blue jeans and rock music.
This rapid rise of China in technology and economic competitiveness is hardly surprising. As physicist Steve Hsu pointed out in 2008, according to international psychometric data, America’s population probably contains some 10,000 individuals having an IQ of 160 or higher, while the total for China is around 300,000, a figure thirty times larger.
China’s greatest strategic vulnerability had been its dependence upon imported energy and raw materials to feed its massive industrial base, and during an international confrontation America could potentially have used its control of the seas to interdict such vital supplies. But Russia possesses the world’s greatest treasure-chest of such resources, and our unremitting hostility has now driven that country into a tight embrace of its Chinese neighbor, as recently emphasized by the Moscow Summit of their two national leaders.
Thus, our own actions have forged a strong China-Russia alliance that seems likely to displace America from its dominant global position. Such an outcome would be an event of historic proportions, comparable in magnitude to the collapse of the Soviet Union three decades ago.
Harvard’s Graham Allison was the founding dean of the Kennedy School of Government, assuming that post while I was still in high school, and his influential 2017 bestseller Destined for War coined the phrase “the Thucydides Trap” for what he feared might be an almost inevitable conflict between a rising China and a globally dominant America. But our irrational hostility toward Russia has now transformed the geopolitical landscape, and last week he took to the pages of Foreign Policy to argue that the China-Russia alliance now probably outweighed our own:
- Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World
It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today
Graham Allison • Foreign Policy • March 23, 2023 • 1,300 Words
His closing paragraphs are worth quoting in full:
An elementary proposition in international relations 101 states: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” By confronting both China and Russia simultaneously, the United States has helped create what former U.S. National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski called an “alliance of the aggrieved.” This has allowed Xi to reverse Washington’s successful “trilateral diplomacy” of the 1970s that widened the gap between China and the United States’ primary enemy, the Soviet Union, in ways that contributed significantly to the U.S. victory in the Cold War. Today, China and Russia are, in Xi’s words, closer than allies. Since Xi and Putin are not just the current presidents of their two nations but leaders whose tenures effectively have no expiration dates, the United States will have to understand that it is confronting the most consequential undeclared alliance in the world.
According to Allison, we are currently witnessing the end of the unchallenged American global dominance that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago. Therefore, it was quite fitting that he quoted the views of Zbigniew Brzezinski, the Polish-born political scientist who had been a major architect of our successful strategy during the victorious later stages of that Cold War conflict.
A longtime academic scholar of the “Realist” school at both Harvard and Columbia universities, Brzezinski had been the primary organizer of the Trilateral Commission in 1973 and in 1976 was named National Security Advisor in the Carter Administration, gradually gaining ascendancy for his harder-line views against his rival, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. He strongly supported Eastern European dissident activity, notably including the powerful Solidarity movement in his own native Poland, and he also orchestrated heavy military assistance to the Muslim rebels in Soviet-controlled Afghanistan. Both those efforts probably played a significant role in fatally weakening the USSR.
Indeed, although Brzezinski was himself a Democrat of strong social democratic leanings, his foreign policy positions were so greatly admired by Republican conservatives that there were even later claims that Ronald Reagan had asked him to stay on in that same role after Carter’s 1980 defeat.
By the mid-1980s, Brzezinski had become convinced that Soviet Communism was in terminal decline and in 1989 he published The Grand Failure, bearing the prophetic subtitle “The Birth and Death of Communism in the Twentieth Century.” The work appeared in print nearly a year before the Fall of the Berlin Wall marked the end of an epoch.
The collapse of the Iron Curtain reunited the severed halves of Europe two generations after their separation, and this was followed two years later by the shocking collapse and disintegration of the Soviet Union itself. Moscow soon lost control over territories it had ruled for centuries, with most of the boundaries of the Russian successor state rolled back to what they had been prior to the reign of Peter the Great in 1682.
The sudden disappearance of the USSR totally transformed the geopolitical landscape, leaving America as the world’s sole superpower, having unchallenged dominance over the entire globe, a situation unique in world history.
Brzezinski considered the consequences of that global upheaval and in 1997 published The Grand Chessboard, a short but influential book summarizing our unprecedented international position and outlining geostrategic policies to buttress our new dominance on the Eurasian world continent, the region that constituted the “grand chessboard” of his title.
Over the years, I’ve frequently seen accusations that Brzezinski was advocating a strategy for permanent American global hegemony, but I think such critics were confusing his ideas with the crude triumphalism espoused by the Neocons, who followed an entirely different ideological path. I finally read his book several years ago and encountered a very thoughtful and moderate analysis of the dangers and opportunities America faced on the Eurasian landmass, with the author repeatedly emphasizing that our worldwide dominance was merely a temporary condition, impossible to permanently maintain.
America was his country and he certainly proposed alliances and other measures to strengthen and extend our global position, but he sought to do so in a reasonable and restrained manner, avoiding provocative or precipitous actions and properly accommodating the legitimate geopolitical interests of other major powers such as China, Russia, Japan, and the larger European states.
His book had appeared near the absolute high-water mark of American prestige and influence and in the aftermath of the 9/11 Attacks a few years later, Brzezinski became a strong public critic of the Bush Administration’s Neocon-influenced plans for an Iraq War, a disastrous mistake that wrecked the stability of the Middle East, squandered our national credibility, and cost us many trillions of dollars. Since the mid-1970s his closest ally and collaborator had been his former military aide Bill Odom, who as a three-star general later ran the NSA for Ronald Reagan during the mid-1980s, and the two of them later urged an immediate strategic rapprochement with Iran and withdrawal from Iraq.
The dramatic geopolitical shifts we are now experiencing recently prompted me to reread Brzezinski’s short 1997 book and doing so fully confirmed my recollections. Early on, he set forth the key reasons for America’s global dominance, expecting that most of them would persist for at least a generation and possibly longer:
In brief, America stands supreme in the four decisive domains of global power: militarily, it has an unmatched global reach; economically, it remains the main locomotive of global growth, even if challenged in some respects by Japan and Germany (neither of which enjoys the other attributes of global might); technologically, it retains the overall lead in the cutting-edge areas of innovation; and culturally, despite some crassness, it enjoys an appeal that is unrivaled, especially among the world’s youth—all of which gives the United States a political clout that no other state comes close to matching. It is the combination of all four that makes America the only comprehensive global superpower.
Although the Polish-born author surely retained some deep personal hostility toward his homeland’s traditional Russian adversary and his book was written close to the nadir of Russia’s national decline, only traces of such animosity were visible, and he fully considered the possibility that a revived Russia would successfully integrate itself into an enlarged Europe, the “common European home” once espoused by Mikhail Gorbachev. He expressed some concern about instability in the Islamic world, but our disastrous post-9/11 Middle Eastern wars would have seemed acts of unimaginable recklessness and folly.
The penultimate and longest chapter of his Eurasia analysis was entitled “The Far Eastern Anchor” and he described that region as experiencing “an economic success without parallel in human development.” He noted that during their takeoff stage of industrialization, Britain and America had each required roughly a half-century to double their output, while both China and South Korea had achieved that same result in merely a single decade. Brzezinski felt confident that barring unfortunate circumstances, China would surely grow into a leading global economic power, and believed that our own country should seek to incorporate it into the world system we had constructed, while properly recognizing that “China’s history has been one of national greatness.”
But although Brzezinski’s appraisal of China’s prospects was highly favorable, his 1997 analysis was actually quite cautious in its projections. He doubted that the country’s remarkable economic growth rates would continue for another couple of decades, something that would require “an unusually felicitous combination of effective national leadership” and numerous other favorable conditions, arguing that such a “prolonged combination of all of these positive factors was problematic.”
Instead, he leaned towards a more conventional prognosis that by about 2017, China might have a total GDP considerably larger than that of Japan, thereby establishing it as “a global power, roughly on a par with the United States and Europe.” But the reality was that by that year China’s real GDP was more than four times larger than that of Japan, and its real industrial production was greater than that of America and the European Union combined.
Thus, China’s economic weight in today’s world vastly exceeds Brzezinski’s 1997 assumptions and that difference magnifies the importance of his strategic warnings, which our political leadership has utterly disregarded. Throughout his book, he repeatedly emphasized that the greatest danger America faced would be if we needlessly antagonized major Eurasian nations, which might then unite against us:
Finally, some possible contingencies involving future political alignments should also be briefly noted…the United States may have to determine how to cope with regional coalitions that seek to push America out of Eurasia, thereby threatening America’s status as a global power…Potentially, the most dangerous scenario would be a grand coalition of China, Russia, and perhaps Iran, an “antihegemonic” coalition united not by ideology but by complementary grievances…Averting this contingency, however remote it may be, will require a display of U.S. geostrategic skill on the western, eastern, and southern perimeters of Eurasia simultaneously.
However, a coalition allying Russia with both China and Iran can develop only if the United States is shortsighted enough to antagonize China and Iran simultaneously.
Given recent events, his prophetic warnings were completely disregarded. Instead, our national political leadership chose to exactly invert his suggestions, and they did so despite China having grown much stronger than he had envisioned.
Brzezinski himself recognized some of these important developments, and the year before his death in 2017, he updated his analysis to proclaim that the era of American dominance was already drawing to a close and we should recognize that reality.
- Toward a Global Realignment
As its era of global dominance ends, the United States needs to take the lead in realigning the global power architecture.
Zbigniew Brzezinski • The American Interest • April 17, 2016 • 2,500 Words
Instead of heeding his concerns and adjusting their policies accordingly, our government has doubled-down on its crude strategy of attempting to maintain an impossible American global hegemony, a policy that seems likely to end in national disaster.
Our leaders have apparently decided to play a game of “Fool’s Mate” on the grand Eurasian chessboard.
Related Reading:
- China’s Rise, America’s Fall
- Russia, China, Iran… and Saudi Arabia?
- War and Propaganda in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict
- American Pravda: Our Coronavirus Catastrophe as Biowarfare Blowback?
- Averting World Conflict with China
- Far East
Rand Paul RIPS Republicans For Censoring TikTok!
The United States is starting to dramatically collapse.
I got fired from my job a week ago but now suddenly, I received an email that they want me back ASAP. What should I do?
Ha. They’ve probably figured out that they didn’t actually know what you did before they fired you but now that it’s all going to custard without you, they desperately need you back to fix it.
Let me introduce you to a concept called “a contractor”.
That is where you charge (like a wounded bull) for the privilege of your temporary return. Make sure you have a rock-solid contract charging at least double your previous rate (plus “per diem”; expenses like travel, meals, lodging) with minimum contracted periods. Do not forget a penalty clause if the company breaks the contract.
You hold the power right now so it makes sense to leverage it.
It’s not like they valued you previously either, I mean, they fired you.
If you return to them, sure, they may be using you to train your replacement but if you’re earning triple what you did before and are contracted for a minimum two-month period, who cares? I repeat: they didn’t value you in the first place. That they don’t value your efforts won’t change anytime soon and they’d be questioning your loyalty post-firing anyway.
When you leave for good (once your temporary contract ends), you get to do so with your head held high. Plus, being called back post-termination as a contractor will look better on your CV than just a termination. It will demonstrate that you had real value to your previous business and were proffessional even in light of the termination…
…as for the fact that you charged them extra for the privilege of your company? meh, we just don’t talk about that.
If the company rejects your negotiated offer, who cares? You’ll have lost nothing you wanted.
French Protests Escalate – Macron Ready To Back Down!
Is the United States qualified to define the state of democracy in other countries?
Of course not, but the US thinks it does.For nearly 50 years, the US has been shamelessly publishing Country Reports on Human Rights Practices as if it can objectively and fairly document the human rights situation around the world. While being the backseat driver, the US has ignored its own human rights problems. In its annual Country Reports, the US arrogantly blamed other countries while ignoring the massive and systematic human rights violations in its own country.
Let’s see how the US “objectively” judge the human rights issues of other countries.
The trajectory of US history shows that the US has always viewed human rights as a tool for maintaining its world hegemony, and has selectively used it as a pretext to label other countries as human rights violators. The US has invaded Iraq, Syria, Libya and Afghanistan. Studies show that the US-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan may have resulted in the deaths of as many as 250,000 people. The US has also been plagued by its own money politics, racial discrimination, proliferation of guns, police brutality, and polarization between rich and poor.
The leaked intel might be advantageous to Russia were this not to be misdirection: and the possibility is quite real, Pepe Escobar writes.
The script reads like a spoof straight out of legendary Mad magazine 1960’s cartoon “Spy vs. Spy”: Secret Pentagon Documents Fall in the Hands of Malign Russia. Well, actually in the hands of millions accessing Twitter and Telegram.
So here, at face value, we have a major leak essentially detailing Pentagon planning for the next stage of the NATO vs. Russia proxy war in Ukraine: the interminably debated Spring “counter-offensive” that may, or may not, start in mid-April, as well as war plans shared with FVEY – the Five Eyes.
The leaked intel might – and the operative word is “might” – be advantageous to Russia were this not to be misdirection: and the possibility is quite real.
The inestimable Ray McGovern, who knows one or two things about the CIA, noted whether the Pentagon is “falsifying kill-ratio to gild Easter lilies in Kyiv? Recent leak of an apparently official NATO document shows 71,500 Ukrainians KIA and only 16,000 to 17,500 Russians, a far cry from earlier Pentagon ‘estimates’. All sounds so Vietnam-déjà vu!”
So this may be Vietnam all over again – never count on the Pentagon learning from their mistakes – but could be something way more alarming, according to a top Beltway intel source, retired: “Our interpretation of this breach is that intel sources in the United States have released critical intel data in order to avoid a nuclear war with Russia.”
As it stands, the only certainty is that the spin war has gone berserk. So the leaker may have been a – disgruntled – U.S. insider. No, wait: the whole thing may be fake, as the Pentagon insists. In spin speak, that would be an attempt to “spread false information that could harm the U.S.”.
Tweaked or not, the “secret” Pentagon comparative war dead ratio between Russians and Ukrainians still does not make sense. The numbers appear to reflect Bakhmut/Artemovsk casualties, where Russian casualty ratios were highest. Yet reliable on the ground Russian military correspondents assure the ratio is really 10 to 1, with the Russians employing the snail technique combined with a formidable artillery mincing machine.
“Stupefying” incompetence
The undisputable conclusion out of the – real or fake – Pentagon leaks is that the U.S. is in a state of war against Russia. And that is serious enough.
Washington has been feeding information non-stop on command posts, ammunition depots and key nodes in the Russian military lines. It’s such real-time intel that has allowed Kiev to target Russian forces, kill senior generals and force ammunition depots to be moved farther from the Russian front lines.
Anything Pentagon/NATO stenographers say about Kiev playing the proverbial “decisive role” in planning and executing these strikes is a lie. The U.S. exercizes total, absolute control of the Ukraine war on a central command basis. Including from that “secret” underground bunker near Lviv which recently received a business card from Mr. Khinzal and has gone to meet its maker – along with over 200 NATO high-level operatives.
Fake or not fake, we also have confirmation that the Pentagon has direct access to communications of the Russian Ministry of Defense. And that the Americans listen to everyone and his neighbor: the sweaty T-shirt actor in Kiev, all the Five Eyes allies, and the Mossad.
As for the notion that Kiev has changed its counter-offensive “military plans” because of the Pentagon leaks, everyone should feel free to control the pitch of their roaring laughter.
The Russian non-response response to all this hoopla could be seen as a classic of misdirection. Responding to the U.S. de facto engaged in an undeclared war against Russia, much hotter than Hybrid, President Putin said that Russia is interested in “peaceful coexistence with the U.S. and establishing a balance of interests” given their status as the world’s two biggest nuclear powers.
Well, no one can possibly imagine Stalin saying that Russia was interested in peaceful coexistence with Nazi Germany in July, 1941 as the Wehrmacht was rushing towards Moscow, Leningrad and the Caucusus oil.
From the point of view of valuable military information, the indispensable Andrei Martyanov summed it all up: these “documents” contain none, apart from confirming that the Pentagon is absolutely clueless on the SMO: why is it happening, what is the modus operandi and what it plans to achieve.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov did cut to the chase: “We don’t have the slightest doubt about direct or indirect involvement of the U.S. and NATO (…) it cannot influence the final outcome of the special operation.”
As Martyanov stresses, Russia maneuvers an extremely advanced ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) complex, including human intel on the ground, electronic warfare and satellite constellations: “In terms of war correlates and combat statistics – I wouldn’t touch anything coming from Pentagon with a long stick.”
There are indeed several serious issues with the Pentagon “top secret” intel. It oozes the impression it was redacted based on open data, and not actual intel. And all that packaged by some quite shoddy work.
For instance, the insistence to “re-equip” Ukrainian air defense with missiles is not supported by data on where such missiles will be coming from. The name of the NASAMS – the middle range, ground based air defense system co-developed by Raytheon – is misspelled.
In official NATO documents, weapons from the USSR and from Russia are indicated in NATO codification. There is no style uniformity: it’s a messy mix of official code designations and transliterations from Russian into English.
So no wonder the impression is solidified that the U.S. Army Command in Europe (EUCOM) got their “intel” from open sources, and is absolutely clueless on how many weapons, how much equipment and how many people the Ukrainians actually have.
And that explains what’s going on in Artemovsk – with the Russians taking all the time in the world to calibrate their strategic defense, and after the orderly abandon of Kherson, lure the Ukrainians into a non-stop slaughterhouse. Martyanov qualifies U.S./NATO incompetence to see it coming as “stupefying.”
A do-or-die war to control Eurasia
Once again: the most important consequence of the Pentagon leaks is to establish that the U.S., de facto and de jure, is at war against Russia – whatever may be the spin by that Norwegian piece of dead wood in Brussels. Russia will establish a war crimes tribunal for Ukraine, so sooner rather than later, selected collective West luminaries better take refuge in their New Zealand bunkers.
It’s also crucial to always keep in mind Ukraine is a mere pawn in their game for not losing world power, against China, Russia and potentially Germany.
The initial psycho Straussian neocon goal was to cut off Germany from Russia using “Liver Sausage” Chancellor Scholz, who was briefed in advance on the terror attack on the Nord Streams.
Scholz was also involved in the CIA misdirection scam, channeling the blame for the terror attack on some obscure Ukrainian “dissident” and a bumbling yacht – as brilliantly covered by Seymour Hersh.
The next step is to cut off Ukraine from Russia – “reconquering” Crimea, the focus of the current P.R. blitzkrieg, and Donbass, thus originating a cataclysmic psychological upheaval in Russia leading to a Putin regime change.
Then the Straussians would finally command Russia’s massive natural resources – and block them from China by land and by sea via the U.S. Fleet.
That’s not exactly clever – but Straussian neocons do revel in their own intellectually shallow pond. Cue to that insufferable idiot Admiral John Kirby saying there can be no negotiations with Russia until they leave Ukraine, abandoning Donbass and Crimea.
So the (show) war in Ukraine must go on, to the last Ukrainian, or all these elaborate plans will irretrievably bite the dust. This is a do-or-die war against Russia-China for the control of Eurasia. Will that imply more Pentagon leaks? Bring them on.
Steak, Philippine-Style (Bistek)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sirloin steak, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- Salt to taste
- 1 cup thinly sliced onion rings
- 1/4 cup cooking oil
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Marinate the meat in lemon juice, soy sauce, pepper and salt for 3 hours or more.
- Cook onion rings in oil until transparent.
- Transfer to a serving dish, leaving the oil in the skillet.
- Add the meat to the skillet and cook over high heat, stirring often, until tender.
- Transfer the meat to a serving dish.
- Add marinade and water to the skillet, simmer for 10 minutes and pour over the meat and onion rings.
The End Of The US Dollar | What You Must Know
Why the Saudi Arabia actions matter…
What are the 5 mistakes that ruin youth?
First – Feel your peak too early
Youngsters should peak at 24–35 years
Many youngsters who slog and slog and slog for JEE, NEET from 10th standard may burn out by the age of 21–22 years They may feel they have achieved their peak. This reduces their comprehension, analytics and overall drive and ambition.
It’s why the rule is ALWAYS HAVE FUN
Even if preparing for IITs, have fun, watch a movie from time to time, hang out with friends, take a day off from time to time
If you study hard, understand concepts and show Aptitude, you will keep a rising linear growth and hit your peak by your late 20s to mid 30s and that would be normal.
If you slog too hard, you burn out by even 17 and feel a JEE rank is your peak. You feel irritated at more slogging.
Second – Peer Pressure
Smoking, Boozing and Sex is a common thing for youngsters from conservative backgrounds with free spending peers
Its common to fall under peer pressure where you feel that you have to do these things to belong to a group.
The Golden Rule is – First drop of beer after first paycheck, No Smoking ever, No Drugs ever and paid sex, preferably never or only in safe countries after the 24th paycheck minimum and hard drinks only when some corporate is paying for them (Office parties) and not more than 2 pegs a week
Third – Relationships
Girls mature faster than boys
Thus a 16 yr old girl is way more mature than a 16 yr boy.
By maturity I mean mental maturity
So a girl who talks as a friend could definitely be interpreted by a boy as the girl showing romantic interest.
It’s a script for 10,000 movies where the girl says “Tum sirf mere acche dost ho”
So Golden Rule is – No relationships until 21. Otherwise be prepared to see it end abruptly and dont get too depressed. Have a 7 day period to bounce back. No more.
Even if a girl shows interest, give it a 2–3 year period and if by 21 the interest is still there then fine. Pursue it
Otherwise many kids become Devdas
Fourth – Pressure
Find your horse
Find what you are good at and pursue it
Don’t succumb to pressure from family
That’s the biggest problem for Indian youth. The belief that if you aren’t an Engineer Or Doctor then you are a failure.
Understand your aptitude
Remember a standard reply – if Papa asks you to get a JEE rank, reply – I want you to become the MD of your bank, can you do that???
My son asked me the same question and funny enough I wasn’t annoyed or angry. I was amused. It was a logical argument.
Fifth Following the Herd
Hrithik was lucky in Lakshya that he found his calling by accident but you may not be.
Don’t just follow the herd and do something you don’t like.
Brazil and China
“Americans Will Be Poor Overnight!” – Reaction To China & Brazil Agreement To Ditch US Dollar
Ukraine SitRep: Leaked Briefings, Holding Roads, Split Training
Apparently some briefing documents about the war in Ukraine for the Joint Chief of Staff of the U.S. military were leaked on the internets. I have so far only seen five pages of those. The total number is supposed to be 53 or 56 pages. If anyone knows where I can find decent copies please let me know in the comments.
I was cautious after the first release was discussed in major U.S. media. The first batch was used to demonstrate that the U.S. is allegedly successfully spying on Russia. I therefore thought that the whole release might be a disinformation campaign. However a second round of files discussed in the media over the last days paints a different picture.
Yves Smith of Naked Capitalism has decent roundup about them:
Again, recall the New York Times was the first MSM outlet to discuss that what turned out to be the first of (so far) two groups of Pentagon slides, focused on Ukraine preparedness, had made their way to a Russian Telegram account. Some had argued that the first set was a US or Russian psyop, but the authenticity of jargon and the amount of unflattering information argued against it. The second batch extends beyond Ukraine and is perceived to be damaging to US interests.Mind you, as many war-watchers have pointed out, these revelations don’t appear likely to have much impact on the too-widely-anticipated Ukraine offensive. While the level of detail is tantalizing, the broad findings, like Ukraine’s air defenses have been depleted and are only going to get worse, were evident via open sources. Yet some of the claims are bizarre, like 97% of Russia’s forces being committed to Ukraine. Recall UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that in February, and appeared to be retailing Ukraine propaganda then. Did Wallace get that factoid from these documents?
Nevertheless, this breach will make the US clamp down on distribution of sensitive information, which won’t be helpful so close to the launch of the expected counter-offensive.
…
At least one slide in this second group bore the label “Secret/NoForn,” which means distribution is limited to US citizens. That would seem to rule out our notion, based on the first batch (widely distributed among US allies, including Ukraine) that a Ukrainian unhappy with how the war is being conducted could have been behind the leak. This marking suggests these documents came from a Pentagon source, which could include contractors.
The page below shows the timetable for training and equipping nine new brigades.
bigger(Other pages I plugged from twitter are here, here, here and here.)
Those brigades will have too few state of the art tanks and too few artillery to be really effective. There is also a shortage of 122mm ammunition for the artillery howitzers.
If or when that Ukrainian counterattack comes it will hardly be the punch that some seem to expect. Ukraine had also put other units into reserve to prepare for that attack. But some of those have already been used. In a piece about Bakhmut the New York Times writes:
But in farm fields and villages on Bakhmut’s outskirts, Ukrainian military officials say Kyiv’s forces have fought the Russian Army essentially to a standstill in the battle for two key roads, the T504 highway and a route known as the 506.Six weeks after the start of a Ukrainian operation to reinforce supply lines outside Bakhmut and protect the roads, Ukrainian military officials say they have thwarted, at least for now, a Russian effort to sever those roads and surround the city.
The T504 highway is also known as the M-32. Over the last days the Russian military has moved from the south in Bakhmut to now physically block it. The T-506 (O0506 on the map below) is still open but under constant artillery fire.
biggerA recently published drone video shows that it is hard to pass:
MilitaryLand.net @Militarylandnet – 8:34 UTC · Apr 8, 2023📷Destroyed/damaged Ukrainian vehicles, including HMMWVs, BTR-4, M113 and T-72 tank on the road connecting #Bakhmut and Chasiv Yar via Khromove settlement. #UkraineRussiaWar
Embedded video
I count 16 destroyed vehicles in that video on a 200 meter long stretch of the road.
But Ukraine has used reserves to keep it somewhat open:
In late February, Ukraine was close to losing the battle for Bakhmut, according to an assessment in a batch of what appear to be classified operational briefs prepared by the Pentagon and Joint Staff and leaked on social media this month. […]At the time, two Russian flanking maneuvers to the northwest and southwest of the city were close to encircling Bakhmut. A single access road, the 506, remained open for Ukrainian forces and the few civilians still in the city, but it was under Russian artillery fire. Ukraine’s commanding general in the east, Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, called the route the “last breathing tube.”
Ukrainian commanders decided to reinforce the defenses of the roads rather than retreat, according to the leaked documents. Ukraine’s army deployed many soldiers to the fight for Bakhmut that it had hoped to hold in reserve for a counteroffensive anticipated in the coming weeks or months, and its forces have sustained heavy casualties.
The meat grinder that Bakhmut has become continues to do its work.
That is why the Ukrainian army is drafting more and more men:
The men in uniform could show up almost anywhere, any time.They knock on civilians’ front doors and randomly stop them on street corners, handing out draft papers that can turn lives upside down.
Ukraine needs more soldiers — and fast. Kyiv is preparing for an imminent assault on Russian occupying forces, and while Ukraine does not disclose its casualty counts, commanders in the field have described large losses.
…
Previously, officials could only deliver draft papers to people’s homes, and some avoided the notices by staying at different addresses than where they are officially registered. But new rules have widened the scope of places where men can be stopped and questioned about their draft status.
…
Oleksii Kruchukov, 46, a washing machine repairman waiting in line outside a recruitment office in Kyiv, said he was ordered to report there after police broke up a fight he got into on the street. He did not have any valid military exemptions and said he expected that the incident will result in him soon being sent to training, and then the front.Oleksandr Kostiuk, 52, a road repairman who helped set up barriers against Russian forces around Kyiv last year, recently received his notice via his human resources department at work. He is willing to go to the front if he has to — but fears for his safety. “Now we understand what’s going on, so I’m more nervous,” he said.
Poor guys. The will get abused to hold onto land that will be lost anyway.
This though is concerning:
Since early February, more than 5,000 people have applied to join what was formerly known as the Azov Battalion, a controversial former right-wing militia that was incorporated into Ukraine’s national guard. Last year, the battle-hardened group was hailed as heroic for withstanding a months-long siege of the southeastern city of Mariupol.Then, in February, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry announced that Azov would be expanded into an assault brigade as part of the new Offensive Guard.
Under its rules, Azov only accepts those who sign up of their own accord — not draftees — and it reserves the right to reject people whom it does not believe will be a good fit, which it says allows it to select the most motivated soldiers. Azov has launched a massive recruitment campaign for its new status as a brigade, with many of its men who were captured in Mariupol last year and eventually released now training recruits.
Does selecting its own recruits change a ‘controversial rightwing militia’ into a ‘controversial former right-wing militia’? I have my doubts. Now guess who is training those Nazis:
Meanwhile, at a training camp in the Kyiv region, new Azov recruits lined up at a shooting range, learning to use C7A1 rifles. One of their trainers, a Russian-speaking former American Marine who joined Azov and goes by the call sign Frodo, said that “the majority of these guys a month ago were civilians.” One sat against a wall, studying a translated U.S. military handbook.That they were motivated enough to sign up on their own means they act more like “warriors than soldiers,” Frodo said.
The training condenses the roughly three-month U.S. Marine Corps basic training into just four weeks, he said. During that time, the troops learn everything from marksmanship and cartography to radios and engineering. It’s possible — likely even — they could then be deployed almost immediately to the country’s hottest front lines.
The basic training the usual draftees get seems not to be of the same effectiveness:
On a recent afternoon outside Lyman in eastern Ukraine, a seasoned enlisted leader vented about the quality of initial training among newly arrived troops, describing it as largely glossing over fundamentals needed in the field that have to be taught when they get to their units.“They’re taught to sing songs and march” in basic training, the leader said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with reporters.
Once deployed, the troops need instruction even on the most ancient practice of soldiering: how to dig, the leader said. They do not know how to hold their shovels or fortify trenches and fighting positions. For practice, a group of fresh troops dug their spades into a nearby trench line.
Normal Ukraine’s men get send to the front without proper training and equipment. This while the ideologues receive their own special training and Canadian made Colt M16A3 equivalents . The long time consequences for Ukraine from this social split will be horrendous.
There seems to be little of such concerns in the leaked briefing slides. As Yves notes in her piece about the reporting about them:
[G]ood intel becomes less useful when filtered through prior beliefs. As we can see above, the US can’t get over its idea that Russia is out to acquire territory, and not first and foremost destroy Ukraine’s (and now NATO’s) ability to wage war. The articles contain denigrating asides about how Russia has conducted the war. One senses that this isn’t mere media messaging but is well internalized among US and NATO decision-makers. That sort of under-estimation has worked out very well for Russia. And the very solidly build echo chamber in the Beltway means it’s likely to continue.
Posted by b on April 10, 2023 at 17:29 UTC | Permalink
Hormone Replacement therapy for men
Not politics, but a good video. Especially for men. 23 minutes.
Balance your hormones. Take care of your body.
- Normalize your testosterone first.
- You cannot take these sex pills on a full stomach. Take the pills before you eat. Empty stomach. Empty stomach. Empty stomach.
- Face is red, time to bed.
- Nasal congestion is normal, but don’t take pills to get rid of it.
- Nitric oxide is a good supplement. Monitor your nitric levels.
Major Shooting Incident at a Bank – Louisville
Local Police, State Police, FBI, and ATF are at the scene of a major shooting at and inside a Bank in Louisville, KY. Radio traffic went like this:
As of 10:18 AM Eastern US time, it appears the shooter is down or dead. Multiple people with Gun Shot Wounds (GSW) to their head.
Successfully countering the U.S.!
Chinese countermeasures!
https://youtu.be/QMOj1oJW6pw
Sweet Comics By Luong Thuy Show What Being In A Relationship Is Like
What is love? Besides a hit song immediately popping into your head with the answer “baby don’t hurt me,” there is no right or wrong answer to this question.
The definition is personal and different to everyone; some might not even have a definition as long as it feels right. Vietnamese artist Luong Thuy, known on social media as beisme08, shares honest everyday moments from life with her loving boyfriend and it looks like they are relationship goals. These comics range from extremely adorable and heartwarming moments some people may call cheesy to goofy situations and relationship struggles which make them much more real and relatable.
More: Instagram, Facebook h/t: boredpanda
Luong Thuy works as a freelance illustrator and in addition to drawing her own heartfelt stories, she also does commission work for her clients.
In an interview with Bored Panda, Thuy told that she draws her inspiration from her own experiences and everyday life with her boyfriend and a cat. Through cozy and intimate illustrations and comics, Thuy creates good memories about her relationship. After some time in a relationship and caught up in the routine, people might forget what that connection means to them and these light-hearted and positive snippets of life packed with little things might help you take a fresh look at your loved ones and appreciate the happiness and warmth they bring. And to all single people out there who are still in search of true love, these comics will remind you that there is still hope.
“I create my art because I want to keep the beautiful moments about being in love and I also want to inspire positive emotions in other couples. I know in a relationship there are always different problems and I hope everyone will always have the most positive outlook,” Thuy says.
Around 1.5 years ago, when we discovered Thuy’s comics and illustrations, she said that she wants people “to feel happy and optimistic” after seeing her artwork. At the time, she had been drawing and posting her artwork online for about half a year and had 50k followers. Fast forward to today, it seems that her goal of making people happy and bringing positivity to their daily lives has been working pretty well, as she currently has 257k followers enjoying her work.
“More than 200 thousand followers is a great spiritual gift to me. I just know I love doing it and everyone is happy to see it. They seem to see themselves in my work, too. I never thought that my works would be supported by so many people. However, my life is still very normal because people know me through my drawings, no one recognizes me in real life, I’m comfortable with that. Everyone’s support is a great motivation for me to continue this work.”
“Life is so much better with love in it,” the artist said and based on her illustrations, we can agree.
The artist highlights how important it is that her comics are simple and easily understandable to everyone. Her drawing style and messages are colorful and detailed with a very recognizable cute art style. Leaving very little to interpretation, she is drawing sincere stories about everything her real relationship is made of—from cozy moments together, the perks of being with the right person, and support to funny misunderstandings, moments of loneliness, and fighting. But even struggles and the candid part of any relationship are portrayed in a positive light, with the same message that love is unconditional and forgiving.
When asked about the challenges she faces when drawing her comics, she admitted that she doesn’t really have any.
“Actually, I don’t have any big challenges in the process of drawing the story. I feel very comfortable doing it. In the process of doing it, I was able to practice my drawing skills.”
Missile Strikes Hit U.S. Base, Conoco Oil Field, Syria – Again
The United States military base in the Conoco Oil Field, Syria, has been hit by missile strikes – again – within the past hour (1:22 PM EDT) today. The missiles appear to have been fired from Dier Ezor, Syria.
No word yet on injuries, but numerous confirmations of significant fire at the impact sites.
China ranks #3 in law and order globally
What The F*ck Is Going On In Ohio?!?
...we have been watching a slow controlled demolition of all systems and institutions which are pivotal to maintaining a healthy and functioning society and the crescendo is rising, hold on to your hats!
LGBQ+ in Taiwan
....Or consider the lengthy survey on Taiwan’s society, which hailed the enactment of gay marriage as a triumph of democracy in the island republic. The actual facts were precisely the opposite since a large majority of Taiwanese voters had opposed that change in a public referendum while the policy was instead established by undemocratic judicial fiat....
What was the most expensive thing you ever got for free, because someone made a mistake and didn’t charge you?
I was given $16,000 “for free” due to other peoples mistake.
I worked for a company that went to great lengths to incentivize good safety performance. During one campaign, the prize for achieving the safety goals for that quarter would be a $500 Walmart gift certificate for each employee, if everyone on the site remained injury free.
As a part of the safety committee, I was tasked with obtaining the certificates once the goal was met. I called American Express (I had a corporate Amex with no limit) to let them know I was going to be making an unusually large purchase so it would clear without problems. Then it was off to Walmart to buy the certificates.
They took my order and offered to have special coupons made to reflect the occasion. Great idea but meant a couple of days delay as they had to kick it up to some corporate office that handles such things. A few days later the certificates arrived, I paid for them, got a receipt, and took them for distribution.
I turned in an expense report with the receipt from WM and had the company pay to my Amex account so it was a completely cashless transaction. The problem is, Walmart never sent their invoice to Amex to collect the $16,000. That means I had all that money sitting as a credit on my card.
After a couple of months, I went back to WM with the receipt to see what the hold up was. They had changed managers during that time so I had to explain the whole thing from beginning to end. They thanked me and said they would take care of it. I reported the issue to my management and recorded everything in a note book. This went on for more than two years. Every couple of months I’d hit up WM, get a promise to fix it, report to my managers, and wait for my Amex bill to once again show an extra $16,000 sitting in my account.
The dilemma: what do I do with that money. It doesn’t belong to Amex as they have never been billed for payment. It doesn’t belong to the company because they got the gift certificates and paid Amex based on my expense report. The money belonged to WM but they apparently had no interest in collecting it. So here I sit with $16,000 in my Amex account that no one seems to want.
The money sat there for more than 10 years until just before I retired. I’ve been retired for almost 20 years. I still have all my documented attempts to resolve it. The company I worked for no longer exists.
This is where MM lives
This is a great video and shows some of my houses in the video. If you want to know where MM lives, THIS is the video to watch!