As the Russian “Special Military Operation” grinds on in Ukraine, Russia and China have joined forces to confront the legacy of Western imperialism in Africa and Asia. The war in Ukraine may have begun as an attempt by Russia to secure its border against NATO’s encroachment in Ukraine, but it has now escalated and expanded into a deliberate policy, led by Russia and China, to establish a new multi-polar world that is not a beholden to the dictates of Washington, London and Paris. This involves more than just pursuing stronger diplomatic ties with the so-called Third World, it also includes creating alternative financial systems that will permit trade and commerce without having to worry about sanction-crazy Americans.
French President Macron just completed a swing through former African colonies and failed to shore-up France’s standing as a relevant power behind the curtain. But the Western press is loathe to report on the true depth of the growing fissure between France and its former colonies. Take a gander at what happened during Macron’s visit to the Congo.
Here is a snippet from Reuters coverage of Macron’s visit:
The French president held talks on Saturday with President Felix Tshisekedi in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which last week saw several small-scale protests — signs of rising anti-French sentiment in parts of francophone Africa. . . .
This tour is Macron’s 18th visit to Africa as president and follows a recent slew of Africa tours by high-level US, Russian, and Chinese officials seeking closer ties.
France has endured a recent messy breakdown in relations with some former colonies in West Africa and his first-time visits to the DRC, Gabon, Angola and Congo Republic last week reflect Macron’s wish to turn the page.
(Congo’s President) Tshisekedi welcomed the new approach and said France needed to listen to what African people wanted if it hoped to compete with the continent’s other partners.
“Francafrique is a thing of the past,” he said, referring to the murky links that sometimes saw Paris prioritise commercial gain and support for autocratic regimes in former colonies.
Nevertheless, signs of tension emerged later in the press conference when Macron appeared to suggest the insecurity in the DRC since 1994 was mostly its own fault.
If you only read the Reuter’s account you would likely conclude that Macron’s visit was a success, despite some “tensions.”
Then I saw following video. Congo President Félix Tshisekedi had what diplomats call a “frank exchange of views” with French President Macron. In street lingo this is known as getting “bitch slapped.” Pay close attention to Macron’s body language. He is not used to being talked to this way by some “African low life”:
Macron was trying to counter the success that Russian and Chinese diplomats enjoyed during their recent visits and, by his words and conduct, reinforced the belief of many African leaders that France and the West still view them as a bunch of black savages who need an enlightened care taker.
I think we are witnessing the beginning of the end of the Western success in its ability to rape the resources of impoverished nations like the Democratic Republic of the Congo. What do you think?
“I think we are witnessing the beginning of the end of the Western success in its ability to rape the resources of impoverished nations like the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
Sure thing; the raping will now be done by others – any guesses who?
There’s a vulgar, very old joke you may know – the punchline, as the cowboy starts to undo his fly in front of the helpless and already-brutalised young women, he says : “I guess it just ain’t your day, ma’am.”
Geshundheit!
@BEAT ME
Old American / Western imperial thinking, projected onto everyone else.
Worked well with the Native Indians, Mexicans and plantation slaves. Tried with the Russians and Chinese and failed. Most of the world (including many Americans) are sick of it.
Ya. Too many USA’ans can’t conceive of a relationship that isn’t exploitative. Kinda sheds light on the “win win” rhetoric spewing from D.C. for all thoseyears.
The good thing about this SMO is that it has caused Europe’s mask to slip. For a long time they were happy to let Washington play the bad cop, and come in behind pretending to be good cop. Well there were no good cops, and now the whole world can see it. Norway….. NORWAY participated in the terrorist attack against Nord Stream. While Britain France Germany and all the rest stood silent. As the anti war protesters used to chant “The whole world is watching”
The timing on this was impeccable. Internet randos had the BALTOPS22 + Norway cui bono locked down on Twitter and elsewhere months before Sy Hersh “broke” it.
https://www.euronews.com/2022/09/27/baltic-pipe-norway-poland-gas-pipeline-opens-in-key-move-to-cut-dependency-on-russia
A Baltic media outlet has published footage of an enormous amount of US military equipment being prepared to move out from the Port of Gdynia in Poland.
The media are claiming that at least a portion of the equipment is bound for Kiev.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/watch-vast-expanse-us-military-hardware-positioned-polish-port
The military hardware is described as belonging to the US Army’s 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.
But, don’t be fooled by a picture and war propaganda.
Search Google for (Defender Europe 20) and select pictures.
The equipment shown in the above mentioned Twitter post is from operation Defender Europe 20, and has been left in Poland since 2020.
And it is not going back to America from Poland.
NATO has planed the current war with Russia in Ukraine at least before 2020, and has built up military equipment in Poland and Eastern European Nations ever since.
However:
Russia knows full well where all this equipment is located by now, and they are mobilized and battle trained.
In the 1950s Italy (especially Enrico Mattei) tried to do build good win-win relations with many African countries (where he would also help them developing their own infrastructures) and he was also successful at first before being killed in a terrorist attack under french or US order.
http://fly.historicwings.com/2012/10/the-mystery-of-enrico-mattei/
By the way this article mentions that some of Mattei’s deals were “in direct opposition to the interests of Italy, Europe and the West”. This is true for France and the US and other colonial countries, it was not true for Italy. What Mattei did would have brought huge benefits to Italy (in addition to the partnering countries in the developing world). Unfortunately many of Italian politicians worked against Italian interests and preferred to be US and France vassals. At that time the Italian president could not speak to the French president as a peer. Enrico Mattei instead could talk to the french president and impose his conditions.
Until his death Mattei was the most important person in Italy and would have brought enormous benefits to his country (and to the developing world). For that reason he was killed.
Spoke like a true SJW. Beats me is correct in his analysis.
That view appears to me as representative of American exceptionalist thought – if we can’t be honest and honourable in our dealings with others, then how is it possible that anyone else can? Therefore, they take the view that the rest of the world is full of the same negative cynicism and dishonesty and cruelty. You apparently don’t see the difference between the dealings of the Chinese/Russians and the West with Africa and Latin America and others – in those dealings, the West leaves behind oppression, financial ruin and social chaos, whereas the Russians/Chinese leave behind modern infrastructure, jobs and raised living standards.
Yep, and some of that Soviet infrastructure still survives today in Afghanistan.
The US builds one or two schools with the allocated billions, takes a photo and pockets the 99% of funds left over.
Hi Elial & Victor,
I’m not American, abhor exceptionalism, and am no lover of colonialism (old or new).
Chinese, and for that matter Russian, influence in Africa or South America is recent (certainly: not centuries) and its long-term results, by definition, unknown.
What I’ve been told by everyone I know who has ever lived in China: the Chinese are no less racist & no less bigoted than anyone else (incidentally, one of the reasons I think bigotry is dumb – *everyone* is bigoted). We just have to wait and see how that translates into practical relations with ‘other continents’.
Perhaps my choice of sarcasm was vulgar/inelegant. Would you prefer the Who (I’m about that age): “Meet the new boss/Same as the old boss…”
Ultimately, “… by their fruits ye shall know them …”
Good health!
PS, I also commend to you the post by donkey_shot (6 March 2023 at 04:40), below. But *that’s* another discussion!
So how many people do you know that have lived in China how long did they live there for and how bad was the abuse was it on a daily basis and what form did it take and were thet pissed when they were telling you all about the chinkies.
Its just that my first hasnd experiences have all been positive.
@ Beat Me – sorry if I came across as being judgmental. I was responding to your comments. I have no idea who you are. You could be a great person to have coffee with.
I have previously lived in China for 2 years, and have had academic, R&D, and business dealings with them going back to 1989.
I can say very confidently that the Chinese are very different from Americans and Europeans. While all power unopposed is to be avoided, I do not think the Chinese will act towards the West in the same way the West and Japan have behaved towards China, whether we look at the Opium Wars in China, or the shameful labour and immigration policies and overt racism towards the Chinese going back to the turn of the 19th century.
Even today, it is the US and its AUKUS hyenas that are trying to provoke a war with China over Taiwan – as if any of those countries gives a sh1t for the Taiwanese any more than they do for the Ukrainians.
China has made NO aggressive moves against Taiwan other than in reaction to the US provocations which undermine the UN recognised One-China policy. In all communications, China has called for peaceful reunification by 2049.
The reality is that Taiwan’s future prosperity is linked with China. The US has absolutely nothing but bullying and corruption to offer them. The US is bankrupt morally and financially. ASEAN countries and the continent of Africa also see this very clearly for their own future. China and Russia are a welcomed relief.
Hi Elial,
Larry’s post was about Africa and old, European colonialism. Specifically, about the unfair exploitation of African natural resources (“…rape the resources …”).
My comments (which seem to generate a certain quantum of frisson :-)) are not about Taiwan or how China will treat the West. As it happens, I agree with you on those matters. My comments are about how the next big player in Africa will treat Africa.
Countries and, specifically, their national corporations act out of self-interest. In short, to make the biggest profit. That’s what the British, French, Germans, Dutch, Belgians, Italians (have I left anyone out?) did in Africa. The British dressed it up as “the white man’s burden” – I don’t think the Dutch & Belgians bothered with high-sounding pseudo-justification.
I think it’s also worthwhile to remember the European imperialists did not quit Africa out of a sudden democratic/humanist epiphany. They left because their empires were destroyed and/or bankrupt by two ghastly world wars.
IMHO the next big player in Africa (aka China) also will be primarily motivated by self-interest, *just like the predecessors*. No one is going there out of an altruistic desire to help Africa/Africans. It is, after all, about the copper and the cobalt and the gold and the platinum and the niobium and the diamonds and … Absent those resources, there is no interest: Africa can be left to its own devices. To paraphrase & parapunctuate that great American intellectual, DJ Trump: Nobody. Actually. Cares. [I trust that, for this audience, I don’t have to say .]
The Chinese government/companies will do what is best for the Chinese government/companies. If that means investing in infrastructure, education, health and governance then they will. If it doesn’t, then they won’t. Either way, they will be sure to maximise ROI.
After all, that is (now that we speak of Africa) the dark heart of every country’s national policy: do what’s best for you. 🙂
China is still in Tibet where they apparently have made a concerted effort to obliterate that culture. Human nature does not change. Everyone writing here has benefitted from the self-interested (and possibly ghastly) behavior of their ancestors. I noticed that many North American first-nation tribal names translate to “The human beings’ or “The people”, the implication being that other tribes are not human. I read that the Navaho considered all other tribes as “prey”. The Aztecs captured members of other tribes for human sacrifices and enslavement. The Russian serfs eventually were treated as slaves and the Soviet Union certainly helped themselves to the resources of non-Russian countries under their control. The Hutu’s genocided the Tutsi’s, the pygmies have been the victims of other African tribes and apparently albino Africans are hunted for their body parts which are considered good luck taismans. Japan’s behavior in WWII toward Chinese, Koreans, prisoners of war, etc. was beyond horrific. Certainly western governments are God-awful at this point in time and will hopefully be replaced by better people, but we all fall short of the grace of God.
Not only are you a discriminative, prejudicial, racist aaannd BIGOTED, you also seem to be divine and all knowing, since despite of all historical evidence which if you bothered to apply yourself would see runs counter to what your suggesting, but you claim that you can see the future and it is as you say it is….the same.
“… you also seem to be divine and all knowing …”
Look, it’s a tough job but someone (or some deity) has to do it. 🙂
Kiss kiss.
Yes. True. But the difference is the Chinese don’t kill, abuse, enslave and attack people because they look different.
Asian racism is 100% there. Like African racism. But it’s not as violent and spoken, name calling etc to peoples faces, as it is on the West. It’s a more civilised form of prejudice if you will.
China is nothing like France or the US.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBgbYQ5QAM0&t=1s
I have heard statements like that, “if I don’t, others will do, so I do” from German mouth. That’s the way the imperialism works.
German “wisdom”…
That is why German imperialism failed -at least three times in History…
BATTLE HYMN OF THE HEGEMON
IF YOU WANNA VOTE FOR WAR
YOU GOTTA BE THE FIRST IN LINE
IF YOU WANNA BOMB THE FOLKS
AND STEAL THEIR STUFF WELL THATS A SIGN
YOURE NOT A WELCOME SAVIOUR
YOU’RE A PSYCHO GREEDY SWINE
AND IT’S TIME YOUR TIME WAS DONE
BE A MAN AND GET YOUR GUN
YOUR PROXY NAZIS HAD THEIR FUN
YOUR FRIENDS ARE OUT OF AMMO
PUTIN’S GOT THEM ON THE RUN
THE PETRODOLLAR’S DEAD
AND THE COUNTRY IS IN SHREDS
THE HEGEMON IS DONE
USA THEY WANNA OWN YA
GONNA BOMB YA THEN REZONE YA
BRACE YOURSELF THEY GONNA BONE YA
CUZ THEY ARE THE GOOD GUISE
THEY ASSASINATE THE PRESIDENT
AND ANYONE THEY PLEASE
THEY ARE ROTTEN TO THE CORE
THEY ARE A TERMINAL DISEASE
THEY BOMB CHEAT AND STEAL THEN
BLAME THE RUSSIANS AND CHINESE
ITS TIME THEIR TIME WAS DONE
THE FOLKS ARE GETTING ANGRY
INSURRECTION’S ON THE RISE
GONNA TAKE AWAY THEIR POWER
GONNA CUT THEM DOWN TO SIZE
TIME TO FACE THE JUDGMENT
OF THE ONES THEY’VE BRUTALIZED
THIS TIME THEIR TIME IS DONE
THEY WANNA FEED US BUGS
AND REARRANGE OUR DNA
GENDERCIDE OUR KIDS AND
STERILIZE THE REST AWAY
THE USELESS EATERS GOT TOGETHER
AND SAID
FUCK THIS
reminds me of this fine fellow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNqozQ8uaV8
Projection much?
Said just like the zionist the other day to the Palestinian when taking his house. “if I don’t, someone else will”!
“everyone’s a bigot, so it’s ok to be a bigot”. Are you still in high school, maybe puberty blues?
Since you speak of high school, please learn to quote accurately.
Kiss kiss.
And since you are so keen on “old, vulgar jokes” try at least to be funny!
Imagine that was your mother -or yourself- seeing that “cowboy” undoing his fly…
everyone needs to ignore “BeatME” as you would an impetuous child.”When you argue with a fool he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.”Just look at his hilarious screen name!
Well said, Eva; teaching young men and old to respect young women and ladies will go a long way to improving this world. As for women of the ilk of Nuland and Power, that is a discussion for another day.
If I were a racist, I’d perhaps agree with your insinuation that Africans are so stupid they’ll simply get passed from one imperialist gang to another. But I’m not and therefore regard what you post with disdain. Russia and China, to be sure, have national political and economic interests when they deal with foreign countries on any continent including Africa. But with the historical European imperialist and colonialist hold on the continent broken, competition alone will dictate that the US, Europe, Russia, China, and others deal with African nations as equals, and not as malevolent, abusive fathers as you suggest.
Ethiopia incidentally was never really colonised. God knows the Italians tried.
The Kingdoms of the Ethiopian emperor’s and Mali Empire were quite fantastic.
The first house was built in Tanzania. What Africans lacked was any understanding of the West in the way that Asia had. They have that understanding now. Too late in many cases as their societal structures were destroyed by coerced conversion to Christanity.
The main difference between Africa and Asia is that Asia was used to conquest. It knew how to turn the shell upwards and largely preserve it’s own culture, language and religions even under extreme force. Africa just didn’t understand the systematic and permanent destruction of much of it’s religions, language, society and culture.
“the raping will now be done by others”
Got any evidence or is that just your wishful thinking?
BATTLE HYMN OF THE HEGEMON
IF YOU WANNA VOTE FOR WAR
YOU GOTTA BE THE FIRST IN LINE
IF YOU WANNA BOMB THE FOLKS
AND STEAL THEIR STUFF WELL THATS A SIGN
YOURE NOT A WELCOME SAVIOUR
YOU’RE A PSYCHO GREEDY SWINE
AND IT’S TIME YOUR TIME WAS DONE
BE A MAN AND GET YOUR GUN
YOUR PROXY NAZIS HAD THEIR FUN
YOUR FRIENDS ARE OUT OF AMMO
PUTIN’S GOT THEM ON THE RUN
THE PETRODOLLAR’S DEAD
AND THE COUNTRY IS IN SHREDS
THE HEGEMON IS DONE
USA THEY WANNA OWN YA
GONNA BOMB YA THEN REZONE YA
BRACE YOURSELF THEY GONNA BONE YA
CUZ THEY ARE THE GOOD GUISE
THEY ASSASINATE THE PRESIDENT
AND ANYONE THEY PLEASE
THEY ARE ROTTEN TO THE CORE
THEY ARE A TERMINAL DISEASE
THEY BOMB CHEAT AND STEAL THEN
BLAME THE RUSSIANS AND CHINESE
ITS TIME THEIR TIME WAS DONE
THE FOLKS ARE GETTING ANGRY
INSURRECTION’S ON THE RISE
GONNA TAKE AWAY THEIR POWER
GONNA CUT THEM DOWN TO SIZE
TIME TO FACE THE JUDGMENT
OF THE ONES THEY’VE BRUTALIZED
THIS TIME THEIR TIME IS DONE
THEY WANNA FEED US BUGS
AND REARRANGE OUR DNA
GENDERCIDE OUR KIDS AND
STERILIZE THE REST AWAY
THE USELESS EATERS GOT TOGETHER
AND SAID
FUCK THIS
Were you paid to say something this stupid?
Except the Russians and Chinese may not be quite so arrogant and rapacious.
You obviously don’t know the Chinese or Russians. Arrogance is a human trait and not an ethnic trait. Look at the Japanese, very gentle and kind culture. But what about the Bataan Death March?
The Euros are getting criticized now because they are on top. It’s natural for those below to criticize those on top. It’s also natural for those on top to act arrogant.
@Beats Me
You are correct in your analysis. These sanctimonious rock throwers are just virtue signalling.
very childish and vulgar attempt at humor.
I bet your fun at parties.
I guess everyone is rapist.
Gosh, what fun!
To all those who made thoughtful comments (whether in agreement or not, supportive, neutral or critical), I thank you.
And to those for whom “the personal *is* the political,” that is, who vented ad hominen (and in one case, ad deum) attacks, well, have a nice life.
Kiss kiss.
You’ve copped quite a bit of stick in the replies, but that’s neither here nor there; your comment captures the worldview of the European powers in general, and their behaviour in Africa in particular.
The ‘Scramble for Africa’ really was all about the primary resources, and the Berlin Conference of 1884/85 was specifically organised so that the 7 extant European powers could coordinate who got to rape different bits of the Dark Continent.
As you point out elsewhere, the Francophone powers (France and Belgium) didn’t bother with sugar-coating the issue: the English dressed it up as humanitarianism.
The US left Berlin empty-handed, but the US government was still digesting the North American continent, having taken the West Coast from Mexico under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848: there were skirmishes along the southern border.
US conquests in the 19th century were more about lebensraum, than resources: the US wanted non-Hispanic Europeans to supplant the indigenous and Hispanic populations west of the Mississippi.
The European powers weren’t particularly interested in lebensraum: they wanted resources (in the 18th century they also wanted new prison colonies – e.g., Australia – to replace the ones in North America).
Anyhow… the prevailing ideology at the time was that once the fuzzie-wuzzies were subjugated, they could do whatever they liked so long as the fuzzie-wuzzies didn’t get anything more potent than pointy sticks.
It’s really quite bizarre, because the English had already experienced a couple of instances – Afghanistan and New Zealand – where the local natives DID get more than pointy sticks.
Long story short: European powers ignored the most important concepts in Economics – gains from trade – which shows that trade is always the least-cost mechanism for obtaining control over resources.
That’s even more true once the dynamic consequences are considered – ‘conquest’ has a long tail: the new territories have to be defended; the infrastructure secured; the indigenes have to be either wiped out or kept in a state of technological backwardness.
The Chinese have seen all that. They saw colonialism bankrupt France, Belgium and the UK, despite all three having been able to extract vast resources from their colonies. (They also know that like war, colonialism doesn’t benefit the demos: the benefits flow to oligarchs, and the costs are funded from the tax base).
China and Russia also realise that once Africa is permitted to develop internally, it will be a GIGANTIC market for consumer goods.
Having only recently emerged from the Anglo-US imposed “Century of Humiliation”, China also understands the desire for retribution; by helping Africa develop, they are (A) hurting the perpetrators of the Century of Humiliation; and (B) helping Africa organise its own retribution.
China is approaching the problem Game-Theoretically with the natives as participants: the 19th century view treated the ‘Great Game’ as if the only participants were the governments of the European powers.
Russians are good at chess; Chinese are good at Go. The European powers are playing with ‘fidget spinners’ or whatever those things are called.
Hi Kratoklastes and thank you for the excellent historical overview and strategic analysis.
There is also a video of the Namibian President giving the German ambassador a scolding. I imagine that there must be a lot more of this happening in other places around the world that I don’t know about. I consider the Western powers, including it’s slaves such as Poland, barbarians and scoundrels. They respect nothing on heaven or on earth and should not be allowed to run the world.
I saw it. There was a grea comment posted, of an old African proverb: “The wood never forgets what the axe did”.
TreeBard and the Ents know this well!!!
should have seen the swiss leader nearly lost her shit when mali said they where no longer interested in exporting raw coca beans..
I am Greek, Greece unfortunately understood first hand how colonialism works. After the big bosses of E.U. drove my country to do things we didn’t need (Olympic games of 2004, airports just for German companies to work, roads for German cars to run, etc.), they contributed to the formation of the public debt at 120 per cent of the gross national product. With the crisis of 2008, Sarkozy and Metkel were afraid that the banks of their countries were too exposed to get he Greek debt and imposed a settlement framework by transferring it to state bodies, to EU bodies and in I.M.F. The debt has already been formed at around 220 per cent, the greek people is impoverished, the country has an intense demographic problem and the recent crime with the collision of the trains and the death of dozens of mainly young people is the best proof that France and Germany have made Greece a third world country.
I’m Spanish, Michael P.
I fully agree with your description and interpretation of the events.
It happened the same in Spain.
But regarding in Spain, it was also our fault: only the left party advised against the intentions of France&Germany: “how can the same currency work for both poor regions in Spain like Extremadura, Andalucia, and rich areas like Paris, Munich, Hamburg? It makes no sense!”.
But nobody payed attention, and here we are now also.
I’m really sorry for the train accident.
For good or bad, we Europeans are what we are thanks to you Greeks and Romans.
Is there any “left party” still alive in Europe?
Greece’s Syriza and Spain’s Podemos folded pretty fast to the Globalists, NeoLibs, NeoCons, as soon as they gained power…
Sadly, very true!
My heart goes to the victims of the train collision (R.I.P.)
Thank you Eva…
Yes, all true, but at the end of the day it was elected Greeks who sold the Greek people down the river to their EU paymasters.
Same goes for the UK. Every time I hear a Remainer prattle on, I think of a survivor in a cold lifeboat looking back at the sinking Titanic and telling his mates, “Hey, its warm back on the ship, they have lights, and the band is still playing. Let’s turn back.”
What happened to the Greeks who loved Greece for Greece and all things Greek? Where are the English who loved England for England and all things English?
Why do we really want to be a part of Europe rather than a distinct building block of Europe?
You will allow me to disagree. First of all, the current is very strong and it is almost impossible and dangerous to go up the river. Against the blackmail of the E.U. , the brainwashing by the mass media and the calls of the then opposition for a Guaido-style diversion, we in Greece voted NO to austerity measures in a 2015 referendum with a percentage of 63 percent. No one respected the verdict of the Greek people, NO became YES and the measures were finally implemented. Unfortunately, the regime in the E.U. it is not democratic, it is oligarchic.
Then you are not disagreeing with me. Your elected officials ignored the will of the people, thus sold the people down the river. Shame the Colonels have been coöpted by NATO.
It was a dreadful act of colonialism by other means. The American and German banks also own so much state and private property through guarantees on national loans and on taking over private mortgages. In one swift slight of hand foreign banks and entities now ‘own’ Greece.
Great post, Larry! Truly uplifting.
I think the next 30 years will to Africa what the last 30 have been to Asia, one of growth and transformation. Countries like Singapore and South Korea now make the US and Canada seem like third world countries.
I believe we will finally see the African continent shake off its colonial shackles and chains and stand tall. The flower that is Africa will finally bloom.
All this, thanks first to Russia and secondly to China. I hope India also steps up to the plate and stops dithering and equivocating.
https://www.indianpunchline.com/a-reality-check-for-modi-govts-g20-ambitions/
Bill Bonner said it many years ago.The west always makes win lose deals with other nations .We win and they lose.China and Russia are traveling the world making Win Win deals and the world likes it.
South Africa is an excellent example of how africans will do after those evil oppressive colonists leave…. Zimbabwe… etc. Unless Russians and China take the same role as the West once did, africans will (heh) fall into darkness.
I think that Macron got a long overdue Bitch Slap BIG TIME!
He has received two actual bitch slaps already from irate citizens.
Secretly Macron loved it and was begging for more in a closed room!!!
I believe someone (perhaps Larry) made the point that flying an F-16 is by reflex, and so to train Ukrainian pilots is very difficult because they have to first untrain their reflexes from flying MIGs and SU jets.
Similar, it will be very difficult for the Europeans to treat Africans as partners, because they now have to untrain their centuries-old reflexes of treating them like slaves.
I’m guessing your Dad was a slave for twelve years.
Racist, misoginist, nazi, islamophobe, facist, and so on.
Yeah, yeah, yawn. Dont forget too dumb to vote.
Sing another tune, please oh please!
It’s like untraining US citizens not to use “the N-word”.
Unless you’re a black US citizen.
Black rappers are the only ones that regularly use that word.
When I lived in Taiwan our good friend was a pilot, I asked why all the Taiwanese airline had western pilots? He told me that when they started giving the job to military pilots they crash a few planes by taking to steep a take off.
My deep appreciation for this article. I hope that we are seeing the end of centuries of Western domination of the Global South (Africa, Southern Asia, Pacific Islands, andLatin America and the Carribean. It seems like the most reasoned and rational actors in this colonial legacy are China and Russia and the West’s (basically the NATO and ANZUS countries, along Japan and Israel) has locked itself into just more of the same anti-Enlightenment instrumental rationality that keep the basic structures of domination in place.
Nearly 80 years ago, I was born in Africa, 3rd generation out of the West. Africans who confront Westerners with the reality of the latters sense of entitlement are my heroes.
No question, anyone that doesn’t get it is either not paying attention or just living in the bubble of institutionalized deceit.
The world is changing, very quickly now. In one short year the west has made great strides in enabling the ever approaching pivotal moment when it is finally uttered that ” The Emperor has no clothes”….. I genuinely believe that the moment is near.
Larry: I fully agree with your assessment. Africa is finally standing up and asserting itself. And this is excellent news for the rest of us in the Global South as well. We can now form a truly united bloc in pursuit of our own interests.
Macron likes lecturing foreign leaders in such a condescending manner that irritates even most humble.
This is the most significant geopolitical change resulting from the end of Pax Americana. All of us in the West could still live a fairly prosperous life while the US insured the success of our elites (Gates, Soros, Bezos, et. al.) The crumbs falling from our Masters’ tables allowed us to live better than those in the 3rd World. Now that Ol’ Massa is broke, the farm is going on the auction block.
Combined with de-industrialization in the US, that puts Americans behind the 8-ball. Larry’s previous piece on the potential blow-back from imposing sanctions on China is spot-on. From clothing to machine tools, there is almost nothing an individual can buy that is made in America. Much of it is made in China. Meaning that should the West, led by the US, impose economic sanctions on China, the subsequent cut-off of finished goods exports to the U.S. would result in our being instantly transformed into another 3rd world country.
Africa, Central Asia, and South America – not to mention Russia- hold the vast majority of this planet’s natural resource wealth. And instead of making friends around the world, our politicos (including that NATO / G7 poodle Macron) go around pissing people off. We used to make stuff here in the USA. Now we’re short on resources, and we’ve closed our factories. And we promote imbeciles like Karine Jean Pierre way beyond their abilities. She thinks the RF is the “People’s Republic of Russia”. I’m laughing, but only because it’s better than crying.
Maybe we should get ourselves a new elite. The current bunch sucks.
“ The crumbs falling from our Masters’ tables”
Otherwise known as ‘trickle down economics’.
Trickle down economics sounded like a joke at first. It turned out to be more tragical than comical.
And don’t forget that after the “Peoples’ Republic of Russia” gaffe, this out-of-her-depths buffoon told us President Poopy Pants was the bravest executive ever because he visited Kiev. Either she didn’t know or neglected to say that the White House got Russian clearance and permission before Joe met Elenskyy.
When America does anger China to the point China cuts it off- they don’t even have the capability to build the machines needed to outfit factories in America- most are built in China.
American people are headed for 1 hell of a reckoning.
A little off topic, but within the theme of Larry’s post- American’s by and large are completely blinded by their arrogant attitude of “we are the world”.
Steve Bannon, Glenn Beck, Victor David Hanson or Alex Jones are some examples of commentators I formerly thought were somewhat anti-establishment- cannot even listen to them now. All they talk about is stopping the rise of Russia and China.
They all think America is the unquestioned, beneficent, natural leader of the world. Doer of good deeds and spreader of democracy- which must be maintained thru unquestioned military might- for the good of all the lesser, non-Americans around the world.
Because of this mindset there is a strong possibility America will be a 2nd rate, isolated pariah state within 5 to 10 years.
The trouble with Macron is that he probably enjoys a good bitch-slapping.
Amazing. Does that mean that Macron and his handlers could no longer use their powerful Petrodollar-Bakhshish system to bribe officials in those African countries, as they have done in the past? We have to wait and see if this is exactly what they will be doing to thwart the creation of the future Eurasian world order.
nope, it means they can’t outbid China or China/Russia. Especially, since their currencies (the west) are not backed by strong vibrant economies, much less resources or gold.
And barring WW3 there is nothing the west can do (or hasnt tried) that will slow the trend.
“Macron was trying to counter the success that Russian and Chinese diplomats enjoyed during their recent visits”
From the Orient will come the African heart
to trouble Hadrie and the heirs of Romulus.
~Nostrdamus, C1:Q9
I am a genuine Son of the South although I have not lived in the USA for thirty-five years.
I live and operate on three continents, all in diverse languages besides my native English.
I have out grown my natural tendency as an American to look down upon and consider inferior the people of other country’s and cultures. I have observed the good and bad in each of the countries I have residences in.
Although I cannot predict how those places would manage power if they had it to the degree that the USA does, and has, for the last 70 or more years, I do not feel the possibility of impending societial violence and chaos as I see unfolding in USA based on it’s history of Imperial domination of others, USA citizens included.
Back to my southern roots. I have no love for imperial USA and the senseless misery and destruction that it has wrecked upon so many innocents, inside and out. It never seems to tire of creating a new enemy in order to justify its insatiable obsession with violence and destruction. Native Americans, Sherman’s joyously laying waste to the South, blatant theft of the Spanish/Mexican west, Cuba, Phillipines, Hawaii, what else?
Then boom, boom, boom, JFK, RFK, MLK, Malcom, one after the other. 11/22/63, the day America died. And so many know precisely “who done it”. But nope, it cannot be spoken, it is the truth that will destroy anyone who dares to shout it out. But absolutely nothing will ever fundamentally change in the USA until that truth is finally brought to bear.
Let it fall then, because with out a Soviet style period of decline that painfully cleanses the accumulated stench, there will never be a substantial regeneration and recovery in America. The state of degeneration and decline of the United States at this moment make it highly unlikely to recover. Paradoxically Rx and Ch take no great pleasure in that fact. A strong America is not unwelcome by those growing powers I am sure. What is unwelcome and disturbing to the world is the ubiquitous presence of a sanctimonious mafia state busting everyone else’s balls in the name of some nebulous bullshit labeled democracy and its ever present sidekick “rules based order”.
Get a fucking life America, you are fading faster than you think, and thank the gods for that.
Great comment.
Having myself lived on 3 continents over the past several decades, the pervasive threat of violence one experiences on the streets of the US and increasingly in other Western countries, is virtually absent in most East Asian countries such as China, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan (except for where America has its bases in the latter two).
While no country is perfect, the level of violence, institutional, interpersonal and in popular cultural, is insane in the US. The frog has no idea how close to boiling the water is.
That is why I believe if we ever do get to a multipolar world before the US annihilates the planet, there will be fewer wars and a more harmonious existence between states.
Amen to that.
Well said! I totally agree.
The interesting thing is the DC Mafia really doesn’t treat their own citizens really any better than they do anyone else. The level of contempt the DC Mafia has for we the people is no better,, the UK and Canada are examples of where thebUS is headed. The only difference is there is a limit most likely due to the fear of an armed population but they are slowly boiling the frogs. That game is looking to be over very soon. Possibly sooner than any of us expect. They turned the heat up too fast, we are finding ways to break the media monopoly- seriously does anyone here who doesn’t view the mainstream media in the US with complete contempt?
About 11/22/63, I remember it well. First-year of high school. The trauma was stunning. No one said a word in class when they rolled in the TV for us to watch Cronkite. The room was crowded 4 classes in one because we didn’t have enough TV’s.
All the girls including the teacher were crying.
After Ruby killed Oswald even the teacher smelled a rat. We talked about it for days, I mean nothing BUT that.
The wound has not healed. But I am convinced a reckoning is coming, not just for him but RFK and MLK as well.
I guess we have two choices here, disinfection or slow death from sepsis.
The COVID scam is slowly being exposed as is the vaxx scam. Maybe this will be the trigger. I sure hope so because if this isn’t fixed we have a very bleak future ahead.
Let’s not forget Malcom X who returned from a visit to the Middle East where he saw men of all colors treat each other respectfully as equals. He realized that all whites were not racists, and that there is a brotherhood of man that transcends race and skin color.
My bad, yes, you are 100% correct, I apologize for forgetting him
When the African nations gained independence their finances were kept under the ultimate control of their former colonial masters. This is now coming to an end, in no small part because an alternative has emerged in the form of a multipolar world heralded by Russia and China. They are offering development in exchange for the resources Africa has to offer. No more exploitation in exchange for charity. Where this will lead in time is anyone’s guess, but for right now it means that France has been, finally, asked to pack up and go home.
France has problems of its own. They could take this chance to start putting their own house in order. I doubt Macron sees it this way, but a man of vision he is not.
Go have a look at the videos of Macaroni on a jet ski last summer, or one of the COVID summers, while cavorting on some élites grand motor yacht in the Med while the plebs were locked down and scared shit less.
That to me was all I needed to know about these pampered and soulless scum that are now occupying just about every western government. The great majority being WEF alumnus or some other NGO hell bent on enslaving whoever may be left after they kill off a substantial number of the world population.
As you rightly point out, Mr Johnson, Macron’s interactions with the political rulers of France’s former African colonies have been for years disturbing moments of truth.
Moreover, let us remember that blind and disastrous African policies of France have predated the Macron presidency.
When Sarkozy and others wilfully and despotically decided to destroy Libya in 2011, they directly harmed not only the Libyan people but destabilized the next-door subsaharian countries as well.
It looks like the leading Western countries are currently ruled by characters who don’t even care for their own nations, let alone for Africa. Quite obviously they are not up to managing world security issues properly and responsibly.
It’s a scary mess we are in.
Putin is not Superman but at least he cares for the Russian nation.
“Putin is not Superman, but at least he cares about the Russian nation.”
It is much easier to destabilize, destroy, turn into chaos, kill than restore order, restore, save, help.
For the first one, you don’t need a lot of mind and strength. Enough cunning, lies, cruelty.
For the second, you need a lot of strength, endurance, love, compassion.
Putin is not Superman. He is a Human.
Macron, what an amateur-politician, what an idiot! Again telling an African leader even on the spot, now president Felix Tshisekedi, that he is wrong. Thus confirming Macron’s and West’ contemptuous and superiority attitude and behavior towards the African and other Global South countries.
Right away Macron should have admitted that Felix Tshisekedi is absolutely right and that the West will keep making these mistakes for a while. But that he, Macron will do his upmost best to become a humble partner of the Global South. Then Macron would have earned applause, instead of unbelief, shaking heads and rejection.
But as others have written above, the West’s contemptuous and superiority attitude is a build-in reflex. An ingrained attitude and behavior that pushes Macron and the West slowly but certainly into the abyss.
Exactly! Just think of what Spanish/Catalan EU boss Josep Borrell spewed from his mouth a short time ago in reference to Africans. Says it all about how they really think of them and not that Schwab-WEF Wakanda forever BS they disseminate through their propaganda brain-washing channels.
While few like Macron, especially in France, and France’s historical relationships with former colonies have been abysmal for decades, African leaders — of any country — have been and continue to be extremely corrupt.
In 1995, I attended a World Bank conference in Tanzania. I observed first hand the extreme corruption that afflicts Africa. I returned to Africa several times and the only consistency is found in corruption. Following the weakening of colonial ties, Ismaeli Muslims moved in and sucked more blood out of Africa with the paid-for blessings of African leaders. Now China has become the main « investor » in Africa and, as has been the case for decades if not centuries, current African leaders are getting more money from China than from anyone else… Hence, the change of allegiance…
In African politics, the French adage “PLUS ÇA CHANGE, PLUS C’EST LA MÊME CHOSE” continues to be most applicable… and the best predictor of Africa’s future…
France and Macron were humiliated by Congo President Félix Tshisekedi… It was well deserved… BUT President Tshisekedi is more corrupt than Macron. Africa is losing one more time… and it was predictable.
While few like Macron, especially in France, and France’s historical relationships with former colonies have been abysmal for decades, European and other ‘western’ leaders — of any country — have been and continue to be extremely corrupt.
There ya go, fixed it for ya.
While we have absolutely nothing to show for European “generosity” to us in the five hundred years that they have been “helping” us , and while we are corrupt and all that (forget that the institutions the West set up is doing most of the corrupting, we are not too blind not to see the solid infrastructures the Chinese built in Africa in about one decade.
Is the West, ever so moved by pure altruism, not tired of carrying the white man’s burden.
Why can’t Europeans leave Africa alone and try to concentrate on their own continent?
Do you count Russians and other Eastern Europeans as Europeans?
Generally in Africa Russians are seen differently to the West due to their history and behavior. Eastern Europeans are not well known though many Poles and Bulgarians are settling there now.
However if one does not know nationality, to many subsaharan Africans in rural areas anyone who is brown or white looks “white,” European and they can’t tell the difference between indians, particularly Punjabis, South Americans and Europeans in many areas. They all look the same.
In East Africa little kids will point at you and great you “mzungu mzungu” white person, white person (not considered rude to call people by colour they look) even if you are Asian. So in that sense many won’t be able to tell the difference in looks between East and Wear Europeans, North and South, North Indians and lighter skinned South Americans.
There is a grain of truth in that but its not as black and white as it seems or so you think. There are deep colonial historical ties to this corruption. The gist of it is this, after freedom struggle, the West was mostly shamed and overwhelmed in maintaining a governance on the colonies (read it as violence and chaos is bad for business), so they changed tact. Give way for independence but as someone already pointed out, keep financial control of their economies. First by being stingy when these very countries requested economic assistance for development, second, stall their economical progress through structural adjustment programs not so different from what was done in Asia and not too long ago in places like Greece, you now making a case for privatisation reforms which benefits foreign investors and the continuation of that economical stifling and financial control. Third, whenever a popular leader came about and tried to implement problem solving policies that could uplift the nation – assassinations, coup detat and political interference through vast network of NGOs and embassies, media, etc… Fourth, imposed reforms on education, healthcare and other social programs that cause stagnation rather than a dynamic progression in the development of these nations usually via NGOs and direct foreign aid and last but not least Fifth, in order to make all this happen and maintain this Roman-oriented Democracy, advocate, back and support pliant leadership and comprador elites that will keep the status quo and do it through the usual methods hence ensuring bahkshish and corrutlption run rampant and call it a democracy all the while denouncing it and having a place holder for said western NGOs to come in and placate themselves.
The conference you attended was the Globalisation Iniative which late president Benjamin William Mkapa was arm twisted to host (so he could be awarded the 3 billion dollars he so desperately needed to pull Tanzania out of the bankruptcy abyss it found itself when he came into power). Lately there was a President who came about and did wonders for the nation going against the Western hegemony. He was effective and was an abomination to the way things went. He checked the local elites, revised foreign investment agreement in favour of the nation, abolished corruption to an unprecedented level never before seen in Africa, and how was he awarded, he “died suddenly”, from health complications. Now the same nation you visited has a clueless old woman for a leader, graft is welcomed (words from her own mouth ~” eat by the length of your rope” roughly translated), economic stagnation, reversed policies to benefit outside investors, devaluation of the currency, missing funds from the treasury to the tune of 3 billion in low estimates, theft of gold reserves and the nation once again in the grasp of comprador elites but is being hailed once more as a beacon of democracy. What do you say to that good sir?
What a load of shit.
Africa is a big continent. So you big dude met a few African elites at world bank meetings, the corrupt world bank you associate with clearly, and so you know everything. Because ofcourse no corrupt Western elites exist. Or maybe only corrupt Africans associate with the world bank as that’s the type it likes.
Please move along… and display your ignorance elsewhere.
As an African, I find it quite absurd when I see European leaders – almost all of them badly educated and lacking the cultural sophistication to engage with non-Europeans, continue to be behave like suzerains in Africa.
In this age and time, who needs those with the mentality of “Why pay for it, when you can kill for it” coming to give lectures?
There is a video circulating on the Internet where the German ambassador in Namibia was given a thorough tongue-lashing by that country’s president!
Link: https://youtu.be/PdZ5N562UUc
It beggars belief that a German, of all people, will be so bereft of historical knowledge that he will dare to go to Namibia, of all places, to give lectures! And to the president!
Europeans, where are your manners!
It makes one wonder when the people of European Stock will wake up from their stupid sense of superiority, and start to behave like normal human beings!
After the total mess that they made all over the world, Europeans are the least qualified of all people to give any lecture on anything!
Their wretched history in the rest of the world recommends that they zip up their mouths!
Will the German ambassador in Namibia be opening his mouth to pontificate if he has taken the time to read up on the atrocities his grandparents committed in that unfortunate country?
Few years ago, I chronicled German atrocities in Namibia in this article:
Who owns Papa’s Land?
(From my archives)
“… According to the story, Namibia has among the worst land systems in Africa (even in the whole wide world) with a few thousand Europeans owning a whopping ninety (yes, 90) percent of the land. There would be little or no problem were the land to be in productive use — producing food to feed the people, for example. But, according to the report, most of the land is owned by absentee landlords who live in Europe. These white Namibians inherited the lands from their ancestors, who massacred the indigenous people, stole their prime land, and drove the rest into destitution in the most god-forsaken part of their ancestral homes.
Today the modern-day slavers/colonisers just fenced off hundreds upon hundreds of miles of ill-gotten Namibian land whilst the indigenous Namibians are packed into ghettoes with no land of their own to farm and feed their families.
Whilst white Namibians play the Big Boss landowners, black Namibians are consigned into the scraggiest part of what was once their own patch of the world.
Today, the once-proud landowners face daily humiliation as they try to get employment from arrogant usurpers from Europe.
The question is: when will these Europeans abandon their colonial and imperial mindsets and realize that these types of behaviors are simply untenable and unsustainable in this age and time? When will they learn to start to treat people, I mean non-Europeans, right? When will the people who claimed to have invented rationality learn to start to behave rationally?
As an African who lived in Europe and still visits there, I feel considerable anger when I see the types of brazen injustices that Europeans continue to perpetrate against a people they have so thoroughly, so shamelessly, and so continuously raped for about six hundred years.
It goes without saying that Europeans would not, even for one second, tolerate the types of atrocious behaviors and actions they continue to perpetrate against the Africans and their continent.
I have travelled around Europe and I know the type of premium they place on land there. Land in Europe is so well regulated that very few Europeans beside farmers and the landed aristocratic gentry own any piece; everyone else is consigned to small flats.
In none of the places I visited in Europe did I see a single African owning a square inch of European land.
Why do Europeans continue to think that we in Africa will find their outrageous behavior on our continent acceptable in this age and time?
Read the full article here: http://alaye.biz/who-owns-papas-land/
Hmm. Sorry but your historical accounts are not correct.
Black Africans are not indigenous to South Africa. They are West Africans who went South and exterminated large numbers of the indigenous population. The bushmen are the only indigenous South Africans and they were hunter like animals by white and black Africans alike until recently. Black Africans and Boers actually invaded South Africa at the same time just from different sides and black Africans are not indigenous to Namibia.
Even now in South Africa the black government continues to take land away from the indigenous bushmen to get mineral wealth and exploits that community.
So this idea that somehow West African decent blacks, bantu or nilots are indigenous to South Africa is false. It’s just to cover up what they did to the actual indigenous population. And yes. They used them as slaves too.
Note the British ended Arab Omani slavery of East Africans. Many tribes had been partaking in that until they did.
So to paint this as a black white issue and ignore tribe and inter-African land grabbing is simplistic at best.
And if we look.at it from.a historical or genetic evolutionary context. The entire human race is an African species (Europeans are also African moving out only 150k years ago). So who should go where? Humans continue to fight the same tribal and power battles since time began for the species.
The point is how to move forward now. What does the future on this planet look like for our species and how is order and fairness bought to prevail. Can humans stop repeating the past or are we still cavemen at heart?
This is where God and faith come in. Whether people believe or not. True religion or theological philosophy calls to a higher purpose.
What separates us from animals is we can question our existence. “One life to practice the truth and worship the one God”.
I think western people should never forget that their main stream media are more guilty than their politicians because reporting propaganda or completely ignoring reporting real news has allowed the American led west to behave this way for decades. Even “household names” have done their dirty work!!
i remember when last year Elensky tried to hold a video-conference with some 40 leaders of african countries…except 2 none of them could be arsed to show up…
Sorry this is not relevant to this post specifically but it helps to explain the disconnect some people have with what is going on in Ukraine which is often a topic here. It’s a comment I posted 12 hours ago on Alexander Mercouris’ Rumble page. He did raise the subject on his show. It is about an article I found on a BBC website. It is so bizarre I feel I have to share it again.
Alexander. I have to tell you apparently you have got everything wrong! I have just read this story on the BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64855760.
The Russians are reduced to fighting with their MPL-50 shovels as they have run out of ammunition, again!
Could you please ask the good Colonel when you next speak with him how these ingenious Russian soldiers are managing to take out tanks with this 60 year old weapon. I’m very glad the BBC is not a propaganda arm of the British Guberment.
I don’t usually go anywhere near the BBC, now I remember why. Don’t know if I should laugh or cry.
In a similar vein I was astonished when I heard Evan Davis, a senior BBC presenter say in reference to the new orthodoxy regarding the origins of covid that he wouldn’t want to challenge Christopher Ray and American Intelligence on the matter. Funny I thought that was exactly what his job was supposed to do. It’s war, not just against the Russians but against the common people.
Many thanks to our host, the decidedly uncommon Mr Johnson.
Well, I think the case has just been made to send Ze 100 million dollars worth of shovels instead of HIMARS and tanks.
Will help with the BS as well.
There are also some comments on that in yesterday’s article:
https://sonar21.com/will-sanctions-on-china-also-backfire/#comment-118838
https://sonar21.com/will-sanctions-on-china-also-backfire/#comment-118909
“…how these ingenious Russian soldiers are managing to take out tanks with this 60 year old weapon.”
Obviously, those crafty rooskies use their shovels to dig tank traps – fastest diggers the world’s ever seen. I expect those 300k mobilised troops are somewhere in Siberia, been practicing digging holes for 5 months. Pity the Ukrainian’s and their tank when these guys have a go.
Rocket Propelled Shovel Launcher used by Russian reservists at Bakhmut 🙂
https://t.me/Slavyangrad/36080
I’m not sure how many shovels you get for $100m versus the rocket propelled shovels. Are we confident the Ukies know how to effectively operate shovels or will the Poles have to do it for them?
Still laughing, good to have something to laugh about in this siht show.
My previous comment I post before watching the above. My comment was on point.
I thought the picture of little green Zelenskyy from a few days ago was hilarious. The above was an order of magnitude funnier. It will keep me laughing all day. Larry you are a treasure.
Sorry to keep posting.
When Vladimir made a short list of his requirements at the end of 2021 I thought getting NATO to retreat from Russia’s borders and the removal of US nukes from Europe was fanciful. It doesn’t look fanciful now.
when african leaders “form new allegiances” with china and russia, the only thing that will change is the face of the foreign exploiter, while the corruption and tribalism on the ground remain unchanged: in africa itself, more than sixty years of “post-colonialism” have (on the whole) not resulted in democratisation or economic redistribution at any significant level. why is this? foreign exploitation may indeed be aggravating the situation, but it is african societal structures that reinforce the exploitation in africa itself!
sadly, if we continue to exclusively blame foreign business interests; whether european or (as will soon be the case) asian for these grave problems, africa will find itself in the very same unfortunate situation sixty years from now…
Time will tell whether Russians and Chinese will behave the same as the western countries, but I totally agree with the african leaders to give them a try. After all, the West has already fully proved how they work, while Russia and China may behave like the West. If in the future they do, Africa can get rid of them, too. Until then, let Africa try others partners. Yeah, I know, it sucks to be discarded as an old bitch, but, hey, the West deserves it for all its imperialism. Suck it.
This whole “If I don´t do it, others will do, so I do it first” the West (and its supporters from all over the world) is really, really revolting.
And, BTW, I don´t want to see the destruction of the West, just a “cleansing” of this kind of attitude, with the West just being one among several (real) partners.
PRC is wearing out its welcome fast in Africa (and elsewhere in the so-called Global South). Its diplomatic success involves a large purse; Chinese media says PRC doesn’t practice debt-trap diplomacy, but African and other nations are finding that the purse comes with many strings attached. The leaders of these nations are making out quite well at least.
All of this would normally be swept under the rug, but Chinese contractors cut so many corners that some of these grand projects aren’t even making it to the ribbon-cutting ceremony. (To be fair, Chinese construction contractors at home are bad too. Chinese people have a term for it: tofu dreg construction)
Great thread, Larry. I wanted to write something about it, but in the meantime I read something that left me speechless.
“Russian reservists are probably using shovels for hand-to-hand combat in Ukraine due to a lack of ammunition,” the British Ministry of Defense announced, as reported by the BBC.
This is no longer funny, because it requires a much broader elaboration. Was there any dangerous substance in the Pfeizer vaccine that affects the mind of man, making him believe in such nebulae. The British Ministry of Defense has reason to believe that people believe what they publish. If it were otherwise, they wouldn’t be publishing it.
Brian Berletic at The New Atlas has a good piece on it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVzFxqLZivE
Russian RT is producing lots of articles on weapons development. This time an article appeared on the fire control of small arms https://russian.rt.com/russia/article/1119403-sistema-upravleniya-kalashnikov-oruzhie
“Should be a good helper”: how the Russian control system can improve the effectiveness of small arms
Russia is developing a special fire control system for small arms. This was stated by the chief designer of the shooting direction of the Kalashnikov concern Sergey Urzhumtsev. According to him, the complex will perform a fairly wide range of tasks instead of a soldier. In particular, he will be able to detect an enemy object, capture it in the scope, make adjustments for the weather and the shooting distance. According to experts, such a system is primarily necessary for Russian snipers. The product can replace lasers, portable weather stations, rangefinders and ballistic calculators that military personnel take with them on combat missions.
Concern “Kalashnikov” is developing a special fire control system for small arms. This was announced by the chief designer of the company’s shooting direction, Sergey Urzhumtsev, in a commentary on the Military Acceptance program of the Zvezda TV channel.
“We have opened a separate program for the fire control system for small arms. We are working in this direction. I predict that in the near future we will bring such systems to the market,” said Urzhumtsev.
As he explained, over the past three to four years, there has been a trend in the world to increase the effectiveness of small arms destruction due to the integration of control systems.
“It allows you to perform a fairly wide range of tasks that a person performs in the current paradigm. For example, target detection, target capture in the sight, the introduction of amendments depending on weather data, firing range, ”Urzhumtsev explained.
As journalists of the TV channel said, at the IDEX-2023 international arms exhibition held in Abu Dhabi on the 20th of February, a sniper rifle with an integrated control system was demonstrated.
The sample was presented at the stand of the Belgian company FN Herstal. The foreign control system consists of an optical sight, a laser rangefinder, a ballistic calculator (computer), a built-in portable weather station, the program specified.
On the trigger of the FN Herstal rifle, a device is installed that prevents the fighter from firing until the sight mark is aligned with the target. A similar development at IDEX was presented by the Israeli company Smart Shooter.
direct fire
As candidate of military sciences Sergey Suvorov said in an interview with RT, the appearance of the first samples of a fire control system for small arms is the result of the miniaturization of automation equipment. According to him, modern technologies make it possible to create quite compact products.
“In recent decades, fire control systems have been widely used in air defense systems, tanks, artillery systems, and armored vehicles. A variety of remotely controlled modules are widely used, which are also installed on cars. Now the evolution of control systems has crept up to individual weapons, ”Suvorov explained.
He believes that the system is primarily useful to snipers. It includes some of the devices that now masters of precision shooting take with them on combat missions. We are talking about small-sized laser devices, portable weather stations, digital rangefinders and ballistic calculators.
“The idea of creating such a system looks attractive, since it is proposed to integrate almost everything necessary for the combat work of a sniper into a weapon. He needs to understand the distance to the target, select the desired aiming angles, make allowances for wind and precipitation. Now this equipment is carried by the sniper himself with an observer-spotter, ”added Suvorov.
According to the expert, the effectiveness of the use of such a fire control system has yet to be assessed depending on the specific situation on the battlefield. Nevertheless, its individual elements have already proven their relevance. Among them is a compact ballistic computer, says Suvorov.
This is a device that is needed mainly for determining aiming angles. Initial data for calculations are entered manually or automatically.
It is believed that the ballistic computer significantly increases the situational awareness of the fighters and the effectiveness of firing at long distances.
The device is used for direct fire from tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and anti-aircraft guns.
It is also used by snipers. As stated in the materials of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, with the help of ballistic calculators and weather stations, a soldier “makes accurate calculations in order to hit a target in the field with the first shot.”
The value of this device is highly appreciated in the West. So, the FN Herstal website claims that the ballistic calculator integrated into the rifle reduces the time to detect and eliminate the enemy by 40% and increases the accuracy of shooting by 25%. At the same time, it facilitates the equipment of snipers by 6 kg, replacing, as experts believe, portable equipment with similar functions.
The published performance of FN Herstal was achieved during tests of 7.62 and 12.7 mm sniper rifles by French military personnel. The company itself is promoting the FN SCAR-H PR and FN SCAR-H TPR rifles chambered for 7.62 × 51 mm on the market, offering to install FN Elity ballistic computers on them.
Smart complex
As military observer Alexander Khrolenko suggested in an interview with RT, the Kalashnikov concern, in cooperation with other domestic enterprises, is able to create a worthy prototype of a fire control system for small arms, including snipers.
“I think that Kalashnikov and our other enterprises can handle such a task. Moreover, as far as I understand, the Russian Federation has a certain reserve in terms of automating the firing of sniper weapons. In my opinion, it will inevitably be automated or even robotic, will receive elements of artificial intelligence,” Khrolenko said.
It is known that earlier the Russian industry was exploring the possibility of creating a remote-controlled sniper rifle. Earlier, in an interview with RIA Novosti, Vladimir Zlobin, the general director of a private enterprise — the developer and manufacturer of small arms ORSIS (Promtekhnologiya), said that his company is working in this direction along with American enterprises.
At the same time, according to the interlocutor of the agency, it is premature to talk about the practicality of such a rifle “compared to classic small arms systems.”
“Some American companies tried to integrate innovative optical systems with a rifle by creating a smart remote-controlled complex, but soon after the announcement of such systems, information appeared in the media about their hacking, demonstrating a huge number of their shortcomings,” Zlobin explained.
As Khrolenko noted, many countries around the world are trying to improve sniper rifles in order to save the lives of military personnel and reduce the likelihood of errors when choosing a target and preparing to fire.
“Snipers are always in considerable danger. In addition, like any other military personnel, they tend to make mistakes due to fatigue, emotional arousal. In this regard, the system that Kalashnikov is working on should be a good helper, ”says Khrolenko.
According to Sergei Suvorov, when developing a fire control system, it is extremely important to withstand fairly stringent restrictions on weight and dimensions. In his opinion, the elements of such a product should be conveniently placed on the rifle and not interfere with the fighter when moving.
Ursula says they haven’t got enough dishwashers or washing machines for a mass rollout of this technology. Tatters! I tell you, their economy is in tatters!
There are lots of reasons that technology is not workable or desirable for small arms. What about suppressive fire? What about in close combat? What about the extra weight and complexity? Soldiers in general always want the least amount of the most minimalist stuff that will do the job. Most infantry rifles these days are already burdened with all kinds of extra stuff. The original M-16 A1, when it got through its initial reliability problems, was a marvel. Extremely well balanced with the handiness of an M-1 carbine and the effective range of a rifle. Nowadays, its descendants are pigs that balance poorly, are miserable to carry, and not all that much more effective.
As this war has shown again, that despite all the time and effort put into infantry rifles, artillery does the killing. The guys in this war could be armed with K98s and Mosin-Nagants and it wouldn’t make much deference in how things are going.
Living in Africa, I certainly hope so. It is long overdue. People are only now starting to understand that remote control colonialism of corrupt governments has changed nothing on the ground for the average African. They own our resources and let us have our corrupt governments. So we have a small say in our respective countries, but not our own wealth…
French President Macron just completed a swing through former African colonies
Ah, you mean he was swinging through the trees like the monkey that he is? What a disgrace! Well, he deserved the bitch-slapping then.
Macron might be a swinger but he’s no George of the Jungle.
with that “wife” of his, who could blame him…
The latest article of Simplicius 76 https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/shibboleths-of-war-the-clash-of-old analyzes the difference between the ‘Sturm und Drang’ short-term impulse-driven way of ‘thinking’ that is embodied by the video-game generation. This ‘new-age’ appeal is being promoted by the Zelensky government. The free distribution of drugs and libertarian conduct aims to arouse the deepest sympathy among the ‘liberals’ in the West. When the ‘Maidan revolution’ was being staged in Kiev especially the politicians of the ‘liberal’ weltanschauung flew in flocks to Kiev to profess their heart-felt support for this exhibition of a way of life that they could only dream of in their stale, boring EU places of living.
The contrast with the present Russian government, which promotes a conservative long-term strategic way of thinking can hardly be greater. Russia’s multi-polar alliance with other anti-libertarian, anti-atheist sovereign nations is based on a deep heart-felt conviction that opposes and loathes the liberal way of life that is is being advocated as the ‘rules order’ (essentially an ‘order’ without ‘rules’) of the West.
I read that article and I agree with it. The only people I see who are in favor of Ukraine are old boomers who have a reflexive anti-Russian attitude and these idiot millennials and younger who seem to have learned everything they know about war from Call of Duty. They are the ones who say idiotic things like “Tell Russia to Bring it” when the specter of nuclear war is raised.
The majority of Americans of any age are looking at this whole mess with a growing sense of disbelief and horror WHEN they bother to pay attention. Polls show that the Ukraine isn’t even in the top ten of things that most concern Americans. There is absolutely zero desire and stomach for dead American soldiers or worse over this mess.
My first thought is that you have a limited if not erroneous view of “libertarian”. Liberals hate libertarians. If you oppose the initiation of physical force you are a libertarian. “Initiation” is the operative word. Isn’t that what Russia is fighting in this war, the initiation of force against the Donbas and the Russian speaking people, let alone the threat of the use of force against Russia itself by NATO/US setting up missile systems on Russia’s border aimed at Russia when Russia has threatened no other country.
What is your definition of libertarian? What do you mean by “libertarian conduct”?
Kiev used to attract the same sexual deviants who use to visit Thailand & the Philippines. So that conduct one may define as ‘libertarian’ in the classical sense. In Russian the word ‘khamskiy’ https://educalingo.com/en/dic-ru/khamskiy is being used to describe the insolent post-civilized behavior of people. The origin of this concept is biblical (Genesis 9) where Cham, the son of Noah, is behaving boorish. The Nazis were and are typical ‘khamskiy’ in their conduct. Ukraine today and Ukraine during the times of the pogroms shows a European civilization that is falling apart and losing all inhibitions.
I think you mean “libertine”, not “libertarian”.
The first is a description of an immoral person, especially a man who behaves without moral principles or a sense of responsibility esp. regarding sexual matters. The latter is a political philosophy that says people should not initiate force against their fellow humans and should only use force to defend themselves against those who do.
I am an American whose grandparents emigrated from Lebanon/Syria with nothing to speak of, who made a good life for themselves, their children and grandchildren, working hard, and smart; and most importantly avoiding living in debt and saving before they purchased. They thought long term about their lives. I am now trying to encourage my grandsons to live within their means as they go out into the world. It will be more difficult for them than it was for me.
BTW I enjoyed your comments on weapons development. Any detailed accounts in English?
Russia and China should, of course, continue do this same thing in each place where the Western powers have exerted themselves.
Go to these “captive “ countries offer them the multipolar option complete with trade, financial incentives and assistance pry them loose from the Imperial system of government.
This is the beginning of the exposition of true African sentiment towards France.
The French, I am sorry to say, are the most racist and arrogant colonizers.
The French must be pretty bad. Americans killed two million Vietnamese in what was at best a misguided pseudo colonial adventure and the Vietnamese still hate the French much worse than the Americans. Vietnamese are generally pro American and almost feel sorry for Americans and blame the French more for sucking the Americans into that mess than they do the Americans for killing so many of them.
Good.
You might want to check the one million dead Algerians the French slaughtered. Then you might wish to work your way towards West Africa, start with Morocco and head south.
Someday, the Global South will put on trial Colonial France, they will force France to look in the mirror.
If you’ve ever lived in France, you will know what an arrogant and racist culture it is.
In Paris, about a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, I was accosted by a perfect stranger, an old man who told me: you Americans are ignorant, a mixed people and you think you can buy everything with your money. In perfect French, (speaking French elevates your status as a foreigner), I told him: if it wasn’t for us Americans, every Frenshman would be carrying a German on his shoulder to work everyday. He started a meltdown as I walked away.
At that time, as an American visiting Britain, Germany and Poland on business, you felt warmth from all these populations, except the French as if they resented America for freing their country.
The French kept control of their ex-colonies in Africa by putting corrupted leaders in charge. By manipulating these leaders they kept foreign power away. The USA has done that for years in the middle east and is still doing it.
Condoning and encouraging corruption has been the key foreign policy not only in Africa but in all countries that were ‘educated” by France. Lebanon is s good example of a country where French inspired corruption brought the country to its knees.
In French speaking Africa, France ensured the monopoly of French culture and invested a lot in French education. The absence of a common language left other foreign powers presence limited. With the advent of internet, a whole new generation opened up to American culture and started to move away from declining French culture. More Africans speak English now besides their native language.
The USA and the UK were little or no involved in African countries considered to be France’s monopoly.
Russia , recovering from the fall of the Soviet union , started to return to the middle east, Syria, and to African countries such as Egypt and black Africa. Chinese looking for expansion of their economy did the same. Even the USA got interested in some resources of black Africa.
Suddenly the ex french colonies were courted by powerful foreign countries They got tired of the arrogant misteps of french foreign policies. They had appealing alternatives. They looked positively at Russia and China’s respectful approach to the black continent..
Macron has no chance to grab back these countries
where gradually corruption is frowned at and France, a power in rapid decline, has become irrelevant, both militarily, culturally and economically. While french language remains an asset for france, it is gradually replaced by English, now the international language in diplomacy.
French arrogance and systemic use of corruption, which are the usual way colonialism worked , has resulted in French losing it’s clout in black Africa. It is slowly been displaced whatever effort French leaders, infected with the same viruses, would do . Good bye M Macron!
Yes, France and the other Western powers habitually install leaders and governments whose goals align favorably to those of Western corporate interests. The means have always been justified by the ends, which is a moral problem endemic to human nature, regardless of race. It is therefore unreasonable to assume that Chinese, Russian or Indian influence will end differently for Black Africa.
Black Africans must choose their leaders based upon the virtue of those leaders and create structures of redress to use in cases of the corruption of those leaders. It is only by standing on and for their own that the negative outcomes resultant from foreign influence will end.
—
The speed at which the West is declining is truly alarming. It has been incremental for decades, but went ballistic over Ukraine. A country run by the most loathsome regime seen in Europe since the Third Reich.
What a strange hill to die on!
Rape the resources?? Not sure if I agree with this assessment. It implies that the West should impart greater charity for extracting minerals from the ground that the indigenous hunter and gathers occupy. Some amount of wealth transfer has occurred otherwise they would still live in a primitive state.
I would suggest that it is those Western bleeding hearts who perform charity who are the real cause for misery in Africa. By lowering child mortality and providing food subsidies they have allowed the continent’s population to explode. This is setting Africa up for a huge humanitarian crisis in the future. Why is if that Chad, a country well ensconced in the Sahara desert, has one of the highest birth rates on the planet?
Believe me, the Chinese are not in Africa to do charity. They are there to get the resources they need. If you think Europeans are ethnocentric, you obviously do not have any Chinese friends.
Impart charity for exploiting someone else’s property? What kind of Kool-Aid have you been chugging? You probably think that US is righfully stealing Syrian oil because “indigenous hunter and gathers” occupy US owned land. Africans prefer Chinese exactly because they are sick of “charity”, and want to do normal business.
Mr Soothsayer, I doubt the Africans had any sense of the minerals being “their property” back in the day. Now that they have changed their perspective, become more Westernized, so to speak, they can speak up for their rights and negotiate a better deal by playing the Chinese against the West. Things evolve and work themselves out.
And No, I don’t think that the US occupying and stealing Syrian oil is Ok. They are not wanted there by the Syrian government. I’m sure the miners of African resources worked with the locals in some fashion. If one looks at the Boar war it was the Engliah coming in to expropriate the work done by the Dutch German population.
All I’m saying is that things change as the people and their culture and civilization change. Perhaps this is too nuanced of an argument for you.
Blatant racism is too nuanced for everyone that is not of a proper kind. I suggest you explain things to an African that posted a bit up this page:
https://sonar21.com/more-fallout-from-the-war-in-ukriane-putting-french-imperialism-in-its-place/#comment-118969
All people all tribal (racist if you prefer). It’s funny how people take their current cultural mores and values, and project them across all times and cultures. It’s nothing more than a lack of imagination and closed mindedness. There once was a time when slavery was the norm in all cultures. Brilliant minds like Aristotle didn’t question such things. But soothsayer, being a ‘new man’ and reciter of the current social pap, has his finger on the pulse of the true nature of things.
You are doing a piss-poor job about convincing Africans to change their mind about Chinese, or anything else for that matter.
Everyone is racist and rapist.
Sooth, I’m not trying to convince Africans. I have no connection with the continent, though I wouldn’t mind visiting Egypt and Carthage.
The only point I was trying to make is that standing here in 2023 and looking back at the long and complicated history (starting in the 15th century) of the interactions between Europe with sub Sahara Africa, it is dubious to apply today’s morality. Without that interaction, they would still be hunter gathers. With it, they came into the modern world. Is that a gift or a curse? Who knows?
“Macron was trying to counter the success that Russian and Chinese diplomats enjoyed during their recent visits..”
So did Ze Germans:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYZ9C4QZWp8
The rift between Türkiye and the West (the US) is growing into an abyss. https://sputniknews.com/20230306/ankara-likely-to-drop-bid-for-us-f-16s-over-price-better-options-turkish-presidency-official-says-1108078054.html
Ankara Likely to Drop Bid for US F-16s Over Price, Better Options, Turkish Presidency Official Says
MOSCOW (Sputnik), Ksenia Shakalova – Ankara is likely to reverse its decision to purchase F-16 fighter jets from the United States due to the price as well as other more modern options being available, Cagri Erhan, a member of the Turkish Presidency’s Security and Foreign Policies Council, told Sputnik in an interview.
In late February, US State Secretary Antony Blinken said that the US cannot sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkiye without approval from Congress, which means that its concerns regarding Greece’s stance and Sweden and Finland’s NATO bids need to be addressed.
“I believe that after the earthquakes Turkiye will give up asking for F-16 because it is $20 billion cost package,” Erhan said.
He believes the Turkish government made a mistake by asking for F-16s, which Congress is still refusing to give under “some pretext” and which are outdated and not competitive against other jets.
“Turkiye should immediately make a decision to change its decision from F-16 to some other. For instance F-35 was on the table. Turkiye was expecting from the program [to get F-35]. Now we have other options like the Chinese jet, which was sold to Pakistan, Russian jets and also Eurofighter jet,” Erhan stated.
On January 18, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara was hoping to overcome the difficulties on F-16s with Washington, noting that the purchase was in line with the joint strategic interests of both countries.
In April 2021, the US excluded Turkiye from the F-35 program after Ankara had purchased Russia’s S-400 air defense systems. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said later that year that Turkiye had received a US offer to buy F-16 jets instead, one generation behind the F-35s. The US Congress has been debating whether to include restrictions on the sale of jets in its annual defense spending bill for fiscal 2023, while the US State Department has been trying to convince lawmakers that the deal was aligned with Washington’s interests.
Off topic but hilarious,
https://www.rt.com/news/572515-australia-china-pilots-counseling/
The Aussies used to be some of the most tenacious warriors. Now they need safe spaces and counseling for micoaggressions.
Sad isn’t it. Our top brass are as neutered and woke as any in the West. I heard of a report twenty years or so ago complaining of “a culture of violence in the ADF”. I guess they’ve managed to root it out.
It seems the RAAF is a far cry from the spirit of the guys who helped out in the Battle of Britain and took on the Japanese. One might ask why they’re flying around the South China Sea, took a wrong turn at New Guinea did you, boys?
Actually, we all know its to protect our vital trade routes, all those bulk carriers of clean green coal, iron ore, grain etc going to er, China.
Back on topic, there’s an interesting documentary on Russia’s re-engagement in Africa doing the rounds on RT.
https://odysee.com/@RTDocumentary:4/Battle-for-Africa:9
Enjoy
beat me is not an american.
Except for the mental stuff digested in the last few decades, fm Readersdigest to hollywood to google.
Are you in case of an immigrant allowed to vote in local districts in America? Has the chinese Tao mentality-philosophy of conciliation of the opposites any match in the profoundly egocentric-I-want-it-now Anglo mind?
Putain de merde!
You can only hold what you can hold. France has the disease of the entire Western world. Lower demographics. An aging population. A growing national debt due to military spending and social welfare projects. What population growth they have? Immigrants who are there for the free social benefits and certainly not to fight for France.
And that in a nutshell is NATO. The US is somewhat exempt due to Hispanic immigration. But they also are not going to join the army and fight. They are here to Western Union money home, work for 20 years, and go home. And be the richest guy in the Honduran village.
And China and Russia have their own plunging populations. In Japan more died than were born this year. So, what are brutal and exploitive societies to do when they need to steal resources, but they have no cannon fodder? A dilemma! And just as they desperately need those resources. And on the cheap.
Ukraine, and shortly Taiwan, will be the last big battles. Russia had to fight this fight now. They will not have the people in 20 years. Just think of the sheer manpower to defend a Dnieper defensive line. And China? Their population plunge is more severe than Russia.
I detest Peter Zeihan as the NSA tool he is. That being said he has some points. When you live in the country? Children are free livestock and slave labor. When you industrialize and move into the cities? Children are VERY expensive conversation pieces. And people would rather have a smart phone.
Tech and drones and satellites are all marvelous shit. You can kill a ton of women and children with minimum manpower. But when you need to have someone to guard the mine you are stealing the gold from? And then guards to protect the train you haul the stolen gold out on? And guards to protect the refinery, and to strip search the slave labor? That is a lot of people.
The world is going to be retrenching. Trade will be with neighborly “friends”. Which will allow defensive lines to be shortened and protected with lower manpower.
And of course, allow governments to concentrate on the force they truly fear. Their own populations.
“A growing national debt due to military spending and social welfare projects. What population growth they have? Immigrants who are there for the free social benefits and certainly not to fight for France. ”
You know your country, I don’t have doubts about that.
But you don’t know France, I’m sure. You say that because you look though your own ideology glasses, and you “believe” that (and believing is not knowing).
I’m sure you don’t know France, because what you say can be applied to Spain too, and I’m completely sure that I know things in my country much better than you do:
The growing national debt (neither in France nor in Spain) is not because of “social welfare projects”. At all. (Probably not even because of military expenses).
It is because of many factors (we need to buy outside many more things than we produce and sell, to name one), but not because of “social welfare projects”, which get less and less money year after year.
“Immigrants who are there for the free social benefits …”
Wrong again, Mr. Racist. You know why the immigrants come to Spain? Because the working conditions in their countries are so shit, that the little they get in Spain means a fortune to them. Do you think they search the internet in their countries and find that we have sick leave in Spain? (Are you so naive that you think an immigrant from Morocco gets a sick leave, instead of being fired an replaced by another immigrant?). They come because they know it can hardly be so bad as in their home countries, not because they get “free” social benefits. They do not get anything for “free” until they contribute and pay some taxes. (If you call “free social benefits” being attended only in emergency cases by a doctor, instead of being left to die on the streets like a dog .. well, I would not consider you a human being in that case).
“and certainly not to fight for France.”
Maybe not even the French would fight “for France” Where should they? Are they going to be attacked by .. who? Where? On French soil? Seriously? So why do you blame the immigrants, when maybe not even the natives would do it?
With the rest of the post (sinking population …), I agree. I hope you don’t mind.
(Well, not about China. A country with the population of China, I do not think they will lack manpower for some time).
A Spaniard calling someone a racist! How droll. I have travelled extensively in Latin America. The contempt your countrymen exhibit toward their own race is truly outstanding there. And the number of Spanish loungers there are thru Central and South America! Their government check goes farther there I realize.
As to the French? I actually partially own a small share of an apartment on the Rue Spontini with a friend. Not far from the Porte Dauphine metro station. I adore the French. Especially their women. And the food and wine of course. The Covid insanity has kept me home unfortunately for a bit. And they would not raise their nose from their lunch if the Wehrmacht was marching on the streets again. And why should they? German masters or the Sun God Master Macron. Like most Europeans they are subjects. Not citizens. What really matters who issues their dictates?
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
Western “leaders” talk to the presidents of Russia and China in the same condescending tone that they would use for their servants. Witness Yellen telling China what “the rules” are for whom they can and cannot sell weapons to. All the EU leaders continue to speak in “colonialese” — they can’t help it, delusions of western superiority are in their blood.
“bunch of black savages who need an enlightened care taker.”
Haiti has entered the chat.
One of the truly remarkable facets of the SMO is that–despite it’s original Russian national security intent–it has evolved into one of the biggest geopolitical events of my lifetime and certainly this decade. The SMO has in fact become an all out hybrid war between “the West and the Rest” the outcome of which will quite possibly impact the fracture and dissolution of NATO, additional EU member exits, the expedited collapse of the US Hegemon and its fiat currency dominance, and the emergence of a multi-polar global order (just to list a few things at stake here).
I don’t have much experience in Africa. As a US Army LTC, I served a six-month tour in Liberia toward the end of the last Ebola outbreak. The Chinese military also maintained a small presence there and there was a sizeable Multi-National Force tasked with an Ebola relief/assistance mission. I could write volumes but I’ll say only this…China is much much better at diplomacy in Africa than any Western country could ever hope to be because China uses a “mutual benefit” versus a “colonial master” approach.
As the West becomes more and more hostile to do business with, look for “the rest” not “the West” to increase relations and commerce with Africa.
You have managed to gain even more of my esteem. That first paragraph is brilliant. Win, lose, draw or nuclear war. The world is going to change dramatically. And my fellow “Muricans are completely oblivious. There is no going back.
Globalization is dead. Manufacturing will be moved back here, or at least nearer. Sanctions and restrictive trade covenants will be de rigueur. I actually applaud this. Fuck the world. Let’s live in America and take care of us. But that is going to be a harsh and maybe impossible transition. We have an incredibly high standard of living based off of foreign slave labor.
Who pays for the re-industrialization? If the government does, it will be so loaded with transgender bathrooms and minority hiring quotas it won’t work. 60% of the US does not pay any taxes. And the rich don’t pay taxes. Just keep printing!! Maybe. Here is an example. New York City is full of office space that is empty. And what does NYC do? They pass a law that mandate that office space has to meet a certain level of “Green” lunacy. That comes with a very high price tag. Owners will be unable to rent. Unable to afford the conversions. And people just eventually walk away. Fold the bad hand. But I ramble.
Again, excellent post sir!!
Thanks Curt…we all have out brief moments of saying something intelligent lol. Like all Army nugs I am just as likely to say something that doesn’t make any sense.
Not sure how all of this turns out but like you eluded to big cities will be no place to live. And we definitely need to “re-industrialize” the US as a strategic imperative.
Hell yeah let’s take care of America before we send another penny overseas…cheers! The world would be a more peaceful place.
“… cette espèce de séduction qu’il y toujours de la Russie …”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1Ow6LEgspQ
Patrice Talon, Président du Bénin
Source: French MSM (CI)
The source is LCI and my short transcription needs improvement… sorry French speakers…!
Maybe the rest of us have it all wrong, and what’s really at the heart of the point is that each country should be able to make it’s own decision on what’s best for itself. Self interest and sovereignty. Shocking, really.
I think that if it isn’t the West raping the resources of impoverished nations like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it will be someone else….
Their own taxpayers. Already started.
Everyone knows it’s impossible not to be raped.
Larry,
The average IQ of sub-Saharan Negroids is around 70.
That means those folk will always be dominated commercially and therefore politically by the higher races. The only question is WHICH higher race(s).
The Negroes in Africa, since 1960, have proved none too good at ruling themselves.
In the Caribbean, majority-Negro Haiti has been a disastrous sh__hole since they massacred their French masters and got their “freedom.”
Negroes reached their height in civilization and moral development as slaves in the antebellum Christian South, under white Christian masters.
South Africa and Rhodesia, under apartheid of course, saw Negroes in Africa at their best, being orderly and productive.
Now, in 2023, wherever you find him — because of the dominant but false doctrine of egalite — which gives him freedom he simply can’t handle, the Negro is in rapid moral and intellectual decline.
In countries, like the U.S., where blacks are in sizable numbers compared to other races, the general societies are in decline. Note the patterns.
wow ..
just wow
(Another wow, that this mega bs is published here).
Hope to see that comment removed soon.
This is just bullshit. Unlike you I have spent much time in Africa.
IQ tests are culturally titled load of shit. Ignorant butthead. I’m surprised you can count double digits like 70 how long did that take you?
A class of American kids versus South African kids or Kenyan, Namibian kids at same age no contest. The examinations in this country are harder the kids actually graduate literate and numerate with far better memory skills. They also speak at least 2 usually 3 languages including one of French or English at a level of fluency Americans cab barely speak English in.
No no no. Don’t be a dumb fool. Africa is catching up and in cases surpassing the West. And no no no..they are not dumber. They actually value education more. They respect their teachers. They want to learn. Really you should visit sub Saharan Africa. It’s beautiful. And people are less stupid than you.
Bad at ruling themselves? Which wars or civil wars in Africa are ongoing right now? There was a flare in Ethiopia funded by who? Yemen, backed by who? Which African wars are comparable to Ukraine? 300k dead? Which are not externally instigated? Which compare to 100mn dead Europeans in WW1 and 2? Nowhere close.
Africa has the fastest growing middle class in the world. Yes lots of corrupt countries but no more so than the West really it’s just a more basic form of corruption with less checks and balances.
Mauritius is well governed. Botswana. Namibia. Rwanda is so clean San Francisco would just die of shanlme. Kenya is super multicultural, entrepreneurial and fun.
Fun fact. America has more homeless people than all of Africa combined. I seen white black brown Americans shitting on pavements, chucking dope in California. Boy. You don’t see that in Africa. Really. People don’t shit in the streets in big cities.
Most importantly. They don’t think men can be pregnant and they don’t think they can be women either. Plus they would beat the shit out if you if you bought a drag queen in to read to their kids.
The KKK is strong in this one. I’m gobsmacked at the ignorance, bigotry, and white supremacy in Winston’s diatribe.
I didn’t think people like this still had the lack of self awareness to utter their insecurities.
Keep in mind that this site is not an accurate represenatative of real word population. The greatest country in the world is chokefull of exceptional people like that, and is built on the idea of exceptionalism.
Oil, gas, cobalt, copper, wood, blood diamonds, dripping, dripping, so many rare mineral and animals and plants and land fertile enough to make farmer Billy Gates to shoot his wad….get the stuff launder through a compliant East African country, rinse in blood, repeat…oh that mafia border of Somalia is so convenient, keep them unstable to, in fact in 2022, Rep Omar, help the big guy overthrow their best president in years Imran style with no election just political whores for hire and then put a US base in Somalia, destabilize it, drone killing civilians start again, get them scared again, get the ports, get the loot out, what a great Navy and ofcourse the illegal colony of Chagos Garcia the Brits gave the Americans as a military base. All those fools tearing down historical statues and flags, BLM covert op and there is a live big ass colony in East Africa and the press don’t report shit. UN get out orders fall on deaf ears. UK supreme court orders ignored. By the political class. Ofcourse.
There is almost zero chance the DRC will ever be stable. The West is full proxy mode in DRC long time bitches. Right now US funding Rwanda to destabilize so they can get in there and grab mines and minerals and rape and pillage. At least the Vikings were open about what they did. The brute ignorant ugly force of the Americans combined with British emotionless evil and French lust for exploitation of Africa. Fck no. No chance in hell for Africa as it stands.
Russia and China don’t have enough of a presence to counter all the bases, proxies, whores hired even if they wanted to. But they do provide pushback and an alternative which makes West cautious.
Overtly the West will get spanked, humiliated even like Macron. But then they find their whores and buy them and fund their mercenaries and proxies it’s all too easy.
How will it stop? Africa is soooo corrupt. So embedded with the West. It’s hard to see how. Perhaps pride will do it. Collective pride that cuts through the millions Monsanto throws at African politicians, the dining with billionaires and scholarships for children. Perhaps someone somewhere will say enough. Don’t count on it though.
Who funds Egypt’s Army?
Who provides the bulk of weapons systems to Africa?
Who has the most bases there?
Where do rich African kids go to study?
What entertainment do they watch and listen to?
What has been done and is being done in Congo and parts of Africa is the mark of the beast. How do you stop that? The below is still continuing just in another form. So many Leopalds.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53017188
Geopolitical tectonic plates are moving https://sputniknews.com/20230306/nato-has-never-met-turkiyes-security-needs-and-russias-su-35-is-option-for-ankara-journo-says-1108095634.html
NATO Has Never Met Turkiye’s Security Needs and Russia’s Su-35 is Option for Ankara, Journo Says
Given that the US Congress, the Pentagon and CENTCOM are up in arms about Turkiye’s objections to Washington’s policies in the last 20 years, it is very unlikely that Ankara will get their F-16 jets, which makes Russia’s Su-35 an option, Dr. Ali Demirdas, a political analyst and contributor to The National Interest, told Sputnik.
Even though US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier insisted that selling F-16 jets to Turkiye is a “national and security interest” for the Biden administration, Washington has postponed the deal, prompting Ankara to announce that it may acquire more modern and less expensive fighter jets.
Despite being one of the oldest NATO member states, Turkiye has been increasingly at odds with NATO over the past several years. Ankara has repeatedly opposed Washington’s arming of the Kurdish-dominated People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria, seeing the YPG as an affiliate of PKK.
The Turkish leadership is also suspicious about the US’ growing closeness with Greece. Turkiye’s decision to acquire the Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems in December 2017 led to Ankara’s removal from the US-led F-35 fighter jet program in 2019 – even though the Middle Eastern nation invested $1.4 billion (TL 24.2 billion) in it. Washington also froze the sale of F-16 fighters to Turkiye. For its part, the Turkish Presidency of Defense Industries did not rule out in October 2021 that it would reverse the deal with the US and buy Russia’s Su-35 and Su-57 fighters instead.
The forthcoming general elections in Turkiye, scheduled for May, could significantly change the balance of power in the region in case Recep Tayyip Erdogan is defeated. Turkiye’s opposition coalition is presented by six parties which are attempting to agree on a candidate to challenge the incumbent president.
“Everyone in Washington and Brussels is waiting for the May elections in Turkiye. If Erdogan wins, which I believe is very likely, the US-Turkiye rupture will likely get deeper. I have always said that the US is losing Turkiye the way it lost Iran, which was one of its greatest allies in the 60s and 70s,” Demirdas concluded.
the gold goes over the borders without tax….. ends up in Dubia…. go back to JFK… the UN… an the Uranium mines in Katangta when they broke away…
..the diamonds…various rare earth mines…. the oil in Angola… I forget the name of the port where the drug cartels broker the cocaine and so forth to EU…. on the west coast of AF..
“This is Africa”…. the soil is red…just like blood is red…
“The average IQ of sub-Saharan Negroids is around 70 …”
Africans (Nubians) built the Pyramids …
… and today our computers get fixed by African technicians …
He doesn’t realize all his ancestors for a million years are sub Saharan Africans. Or maybe he does hence knows family IQ.
Winston McKuen above seems to be a total white racist ot the old eugenics IQ school of utter nonsense. Good to know the white sheet crowd is still hard at work.
Proceeding: Well, I read all the comments, and the usual US ignorance of geography and history is at the forefront of both the article and the commentary.
Ever heard of the Belgian Congo? Did that tickle a few long dormant neurons? The Congo was NOT a French colony, but a Belgian one. But hey, there’s no difference between France and Belgium, right? Just some of the same damn Europeans, so who cares anyway says the American.
Macron presumably got permission to go and lecture the DRC from Belgium, because well, they speak French (and Flemish), and when did the actual present day Belgian government say boo to anyone? When Brussels is mentioned, it’s not Belgium people are conditioned to think of, but the unelected European Commission. The European Parliament, also in Brussels, has almost zero influence.
So the DRC as a whole speaks French from past Belgian colonial history. But I surely think the DRC prez had a field day pissing Macron off, partly because who in hell is France rather than Belgium to even try to lecture him? Even if he’s personally as scurrilous as Macron is. Child labor in the cobalt mines for Musk.
https://www.vesti.ru/article/3236262
Macron is in trouble
The President of France got into trouble in domestic and foreign policy. A nationwide strike against Macron’s reforms is scheduled for this Tuesday in the country, in which railway workers, airport workers, energy workers, teachers and scavengers take part. Trust in the owner of the Elysee Palace is falling, and now Emmanuel Macron’s trip to the former colonies in Africa has turned into a failure.
The reset of Paris ‘s relations with the African states turned into an overload . In Kinshasa, the French president was reminded of his country’s involvement in the genocide in Rwanda and hinted that it would be nice if Paris somehow tried to make amends.
To this, Emmanuel Macron gave an unequivocal answer: “Since 1994 – and this is not a mistake of France, excuse me for being blunt – you have not been able to restore sovereignty – neither military, nor administrative, nor sovereignty in terms of security. This is a fact, not we need to look for the culprits on the side.”
Felix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: “The manner of cooperation with France and Europe must change. Look at us differently, with respect, as real partners, and not with your eternal patronizing look, supposedly you know better what we need.”
As the local media aptly put it, the two presidents “exchanged blows, sometimes even taking off their gloves.” But in general, the press emphasizes, Macron’s tour did not arouse enthusiasm among the population of African countries. Alienation from France is only growing.
“France is losing its positions in Africa, compared even to what it was 10 years ago, let alone 20 or 30. And Macron must somehow react,” says historian Sergei Karamaev, researcher at IMEMO RAS. “In Africa the influence of Russia, China, as well as India and Turkey is growing.
With whom they now prefer to cooperate in Africa, the protesters in Kinshasa clearly showed. During Macron’s visit, they went to the building of the French embassy with Russian flags and portraits of Vladimir Putin .
“We are against the visit of the President of France because he supports the army of Rwanda. We do not want to see him in our country.”
“France finances terrorist groups in African countries.”
Against the backdrop of the rapprochement between the Central African Republic and Russia, the French president decided to hold talks with the president of this country on the sidelines of the environmental summit in Gabon. The last 47 French soldiers left the CAR in December last year. The authorities of Burkina Faso have recently announced the denunciation of the military aid treaty with France.
A cardinal change in the situation is also stated by Emmanuel Macron himself: “The era of French Africa is in the past. Sometimes it seems to me that the mentality does not change as quickly as we do when I read that France is credited with intentions that it no longer has.”
In the African countries themselves, the actions of Paris were seen as an attempt to maintain influence in the region. According to the Gabon opposition, Emmanuel Macron came to the country for a reason six months before the presidential elections there. So Paris is trying to make sure that Libreville does not get out of French control, as has already happened in the Central African Republic, Mali and Burkina Faso.
“The situation for the West is complicated by the fact that Africa does not want things to be the same as before,” Sergei Karamaev notes. “Not so long ago, the Botswana government announced that it would revise the diamond mining agreement, since it received only 15 percent of the mined diamonds. And the president said: “We have studied the diamond market, we understand how it works, we demand an increase in the share. The same can be said about other countries. Leaders do not want their countries to be colonies.”
Be that as it may, Paris does not intend to completely leave the African continent. The new military strategy in the region in the language of equal partners, according to Macron, does not involve the withdrawal of French troops.
Macron has managed to emmerder the lives of the French people especially French workers dismantling what of welfare state still remained on orders of Davos and the hedge funds which manage it…..
It’s amusing to see little Jupiter getting cut down to size.
After reading some comments, I think that Putin should launch those nukes. Proposed “great reset” is nowhere near great enough.
And it gets worse for Macron and the EU, as the US is dragging money out to support the dollar. It looks like the elites are splitting, as the US banking system doesn’t seem to want to roll over for the Davos crowd:
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/luongo-war-dollar-already-over-part-i
“Other” stuff is starting to play and the unintended consequences will be fascinating as Europe’s ability to fund Ukraine and exploit places like Africa is going to evaporate. The arrogant WEF types don’t get that maybe some of the backward folks don’t want Klaus Schwab as their leader.
Funny how the COVID lockdowns and the Ukraine war are having this effect. But, as many on here have discussed, the US needs the dollar to continue, and their option is runaway inflation with a collapsing dollar, something the WEF wants.
Macron is taking it in the shorts from Africa, meanwhile the Fed is putting sand in the vaseline and coming up behind him. I guess his only source of relief is all those years with his male wife, so at least he’s ready for part of it.
Lavrov said it out loud almost a year ago. What we’re actually watching is not the end of American empire but the end of European empire. The end of 500+ years of European domination of the planet. (And yes, the US is essentially a European country.)
Whether it will be successful in the short run is open to debate. Rome didn’t fall in a day. But the trend lines are there and it’s unlikely that there’s anything that can stop the process in the medium/long term. Whether it might have been forestalled by different behavior of Europeans is another question we won’t be able to answer, but it’s immaterial since it’s clear that Europeans had and have no intentions of changing their behavior.
We also don’t know what the new world order will look like. China or Russia could become as rapacious as the Europeans have been. Though both have been subject to that European behavior so maybe not. All that’s really clear is that the rest of the world is pretty much done taking shit from Europeans and there’s increasingly little Europeans can do about it.
“China or Russia could become as greedy as the Europeans were”
I won’t speak for China, because I don’t know – a different culture. Russia will not be greedy. Just as Europeans are unable to change, so Russians cannot change their nature, which has been shaped for centuries in a harsh climate.
Russians have many shortcomings, but greed is not a feature of the national character. If you meet a greedy and arrogant person from Russia, you should know that he is not Russian, as we say: “вырусь” (something like a freak).
The comments here make me realize I am the last of the mohicans. I lived in French colonies and the Belgian (Congo) as a kid. Suppose in 1958 you decided to go to the Congo and start a business or look for cobalt or start a plantation. Lets suppose you were a black american. There would be nothing to stop you — the local cities and provinces would have had offices and resources to help you do this. You would fill out forms get loans hire workers buy the land or lease it. There was rule of law and police protection the electricity worked.
Now try doing the same thing in 2022. You would likely be killed if in the East of country bribes would have to be paid for everthing. There are no roads no electricity no transportation resources.
I could go into economic details but they are mostly boring and dry. The records are still there as proof — white people keep very detailed records of everything.
The local Congolese had personal safety regular health check ups (once a year) labor unions and social security. Schools were run by christian groups and local gov’ts up to 8th grade. They had the highest standard of living in subsaharan africa — a level that will never be obtained again ever. There were 100k km of maintained mostly gravel roads — almost none of these exist now. Unless you were insane you would want to live back then live like a local congolese today if only for personal safety. Of course the inaccurate nonsense has so saturated every thing that even smart educated people like many who write excellent comments here seem to know little of this world.
Here is a corny but good documentary to start learning the truth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMzHcnlgSv8
There is gigabytes more if anyone cared to look for it.