I always consider it a privilege to be invited for a virtual chat with popular podcasters, like Stephen Gardner and Judge Napolitano. Both have strong, enthusiastic supporters. I found Stephen’s audience particularly surprising. My first chat with him garnered more than 1 million views. I am sure it was not my “good looks” that attracted the audience. I’m just another old guy with a beard.
This is so much better than doing a 6 minute hit on MSNBC with Keith Olbermann (yes, I did that show several times, sorry) or Wolf Blitzer. We actually get to have a substantive discussion. My principal motivation for doing these is to try to educate the public. I was talking late last night with one of my old high school buddies (I have known him for 55 years so that makes him a genuine old friend). We have different political points of view on most issues but can still have calm, rational chats without rancor or insults. Thanks Don! That is rare these days.
While discussion the latest on Ukraine my friend began reciting the Washington establishment meme about Putin being a reincarnated Stalin hell bent on conquering Europe. I mentioned a point, which I discuss with Stephen, about the fact that Russia — on at least two occasions — expressed interest in joining NATO. My friend expressed shock and surprise, and stated that he had never heard such a thing. Thank God for Google. I pulled up the following article and sent him this link:
Vladimir Putin wanted Russia to join Nato but did not want his country to have to go through the usual application process and stand in line “with a lot of countries that don’t matter”, according to a former secretary general of the transatlantic alliance.
George Robertson, a former Labour defence secretary who led Nato between 1999 and 2003, said Putin made it clear at their first meeting that he wanted Russia to be part of western Europe. “They wanted to be part of that secure, stable prosperous west that Russia was out of at the time,” he said.
The Labour peer recalled an early meeting with Putin, who became Russian president in 2000. “Putin said: ‘When are you going to invite us to join Nato?’ And [Robertson] said: ‘Well, we don’t invite people to join Nato, they apply to join Nato.’ And he said: ‘Well, we’re not standing in line with a lot of countries that don’t matter.’”
Can you imagine what the world would be like today if the West had invited Russia to become part of NATO? The whole raison d’être for NATO would have disappeared. Instead of seeking a lasting peace with Russia, the United States and NATO rebuffed Putin’s overtures. I think the reason is pretty simple — how can the United States justify an ever increasing defense budget if you no longer have to think about going to war with Russia? What a shame. There are now more than 400,000 dead Ukrainians and 50,000 Russian KIAs who would probably be alive today if Bill Clinton or George W. Bush had seized the moment and showed some genuine leadership.
And Larry you do an excellent job of educating the public. Or rather trying. Pearls before swine comes to mind. And now you have to excuse a tangent.
I love money. It is the only honest thing in the world. Even your dog will lie to you when she feels guilty. Money is always completely honest.
China. 70% of all wealth is in real estate. Chinese real estate has dropped 9% in a MONTH. Ever heard of Evergrande? 2nd largest property developer in China. Down 70% damn near overnight and losing billions daily.
China was on a hamster wheel. This gets into fractional money, money expansion, money velocity etc. But to make it short, this shit is exponential. Whether it goes up or down, it is by no means linear. And the Chinese hamster wheel just stopped.
It is really no surprise. Xi, a complete Mao dictator welded people in their cages for three years. Something Russia did not do. He woke up one day, had his tea, and said open up. Never mind Covid. And they expected the hamster wheel to spin.
But meanwhile, the US is ramping up for our planned war with China. US is pulling assets and money out of China. (Which also means their patented tech theft stops). The BRICS magic road? Doing business with a bunch of broke ass people who don’t pay their own bills? Please. The US economy will pay dearly for onshoring or friend shoring or whatever the fuck you want to call it. Dearly. But it destroys China.
And when China goes, the rest of the financial world goes down the shitter. We ain’t separated from China yet. This is going to get biblical shortly on the economic front. The Great Financial Crisis of 2007 ain’t going to be a tattoo on the ass of this dead hooker.
And who survives? The gas station with nukes. Russia. You hardened them by sanctions. You made them live within themselves. They are isolated from the shitstorm. Oh, and by the way? Look at severe recessions. Oil only goes down 10%. Just because you fire everyone at the factory? You still have to keep the air con and lights on for the building to not deteriorate. So, in the shitstorm Russia has fuel and food. The shit you still buy when everything else dies. Russia. You people fucked with the wrong country.
Is there in usa the option “null or flawed vote” to not vote for any of the candidates?
So that?
To exercise national disagreement by way of democratic suffrage.
Write-in. I still vote. Mostly for my dead dog, Jake. Next year, my recently deceased Lunar will get my VP slot.
And you double down on your disinfo “Xi, a complete Mao dictator welded people in their cages for three years”.
Your anti-Chinese narrative has been challenged in the recent past by people that live there, but still you stick to the bullshit.
Absolute bollocks.
And the love of money is the root of all evil.
No wonder a dozen women have left you.
Show links!!!
What makes US/NATO criminals?
Unfortunately, US/NATO using Ukraine as a kamikaze terrorist with an assigned suicidal mission to hurt Russia
US/NATO do not care how many Ukrainians die in this mission, as senator Richard Black explains:
https://twitter.com/IDefense/status/1620447504251908097
Whats this all about? Personal thing?
You really seem to have a fixation with China. Have you ever been there? (I haven’t) Maybe you should go see it. Did you know that in his youth Xi had to live for several years in a cave because his father had gotten crossways with the Communist Party? He may have a degree understanding of the tyranny of the Party. Even according to polls taken by westerners, the government there is popular with most of the people. You’ve touted the number of Russian STEM graduates, but the number of Chinese STEM graduates far exceeds those of Russia. I’m sure they’ve had capital misallocations and a real estate bubble, but they’re generally agreed to have generated great wealth for their people. Their facial recognition, censorship and security state are worrisome to say the least, so I’m not naive about their government, but I wouldn’t bet against a homogeneous, well-educated, orderly society that values collective well-being.
Look at Iran especially female engineers. They are no slouches either
Iranian female medical researchers are no slouches, either.
Eg, Tikvah Alper
Paul, it would be helpful if you post links. Thanks in advance.
Papa Xi was kick-ass cool. Advocated for more political, alongside economic liberalisation, but sadly persecuted by the Party. Maybe Xi Jr bore a grudge against Old Man Deng for it and has been seeking to undo his legacy??? Word on the street is that Jr lived in a cave (agrarian backwaters, to learn from the farmers) but being the most literate amongst the illiterate, got a power trip. Henceforth surrounds himself with sycophants (ie, so he will always be the brightest bulb in the room.) Nothing like daddy – a true believe in the Communist way.
There’s STEM and then there’s STEM. One system teaches problem solving skills. The other learning by route.
“There’s STEM and then there’s STEM. One system teaches problem solving skills. The other learning by route.”
Bingo
ALL education should teach problem solving and CRITICAL thinking skills. Period. All the rest is social/political indoctrination at best and outright cultist brainwashing at Worst. Bad when education has more in common with dogmatic ideological religious fervour than facts and logic.
Education in North America has devolved into the Worst. With Wokist icing on the top.
That is where Mr. Nichols learned to “love money” and reflexively scream “China bad” while ignoring the ideological logs in his own eyes.
Which “route” would that be?
I believe the term in question is “by rote”. This is where items to be remembered are repeated many times, often in unison by the class. Times tables are often handled this way, at least when I was a young critter.
This may be counterintuitive. Even wonder if the hamster wheel was about to stop, hence the Covid? But then again, wheel stops? No problem. Emperor for life is untouchable. Who is there to hold him accountable? Stock market crash? No problem – prohibit share sales. Bank failure? No problem either – prohibit money withdrawal. Property market collapse? No problem… you get the jist. Whereas in the West, any sign of anything collapsing, government goes into emergency mode, with the administration, the Feds, regulators, etc, etc anll out in full force to stem the crisis.
Such charming language. A sure indicator of an above-average intelligence.
About China and Xi, I think you are not fully informed – There are a mountain full of info out there. Better still if you can visit China.
Is Xi a long sighted leader securing his country’s future or is he a megalomaniac setting it up for a mighty fall?
I see evidence of both being possible. Certainly the totalitarian CCP has led the way on covid persecutions – with the western Globalists trying hard to keep up.
So I don’t know how this plays out. I do know the Chinese have a manufacturing base and should eventually land on their feet. Could be a bumpy ride getting there.
North American no longer makes anything, except debt(and we don’t use that debt to create anything tangible either). But we do have the natural resources and – with enlightened leadership – can start making things again. Still, our journey is going to be much rougher.
Europe, oh my! De-industrializing, no natural resources, with a demographic/ethnic map that looks like Bosnia 1991. Back to the Dark Ages?
“The Real Backdrop Nobody Will Discuss”
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/russia/the-real-backdrop-nobody-will-discuss/
videos, pictures and the real reasons why 911 as they are trying to take down Russia then China
The only way to avoid World War III is to listen to both sides. The refusal to listen ensures that we will move into World War III, and this is not my opinion; unfortunately, our computer has never been wrong, for it is unbiased. It called BREXIT when nobody else did, and also forecast that Trump would win in 2016 when everyone thought that was impossible.
This time if our computer could hide under the covers in bed going into 2023, it would. We have the most incompetent crop of world leaders perhaps in human history, and the press is so anti-Putin that they are fueling hatred of all Russians which is vital to justify war. Not a single person will listen to both sides, and the people are being played as fools just as they were with COVID.
Putin’s speech has a lot of truth, for no dispute is ever just one-sided. The West has constantly moved eastward to the very borders of Russia. When Russia attempted to do the same to the USA by putting missiles in Cuba, we reached the brink of war, and only then did the world hold its breath and finally blinked.
However, it certainly appears that world leaders are deliberately pushing us into World War III. In Slovakia, it’s now a crime to express any “acceptance of support” of the Russian actions or of their leaders, and special police commandos are hunting down people who do so in public offline or online. The punishment is 10-25 years in prison or up to a maximum of life. The Czech Republic is adopting the same law, but the punishment will be 1 to 3 years in prison. This is obviously inviting war, for this is ending any discussion or negotiation.
Putin is in power BECAUSE of the antics of the New York Bankers with the support of the Clintons. Are we in a grudge match against one man that the West has blamed for even putting Trump in office and now that justifies World War III? This is the backdrop that everyone should know before they send their boys off to die.
Let’s follow the money. Ever since the United States under the Clintons authorized the NY bankers to try to take over Russia with their own puppet, Boris Berezovsky, there has been a direct unspoken World War III that began in the financial markets. I was personally asked to invest $10 billion into Safra & Browder’s joint venture Hermitage Capital Management in 1999. I declined for our model warned that Russia was unstable. I was told they had that covered.
I believe Hermitage Capital Management, which they wanted me to invest $10 billion, was not against corruption. It was fostering corruption. I also met with the producer of the Magnitsky Act film in Germany, Andrei Nekrasov, who began the film as an anti-Putin proponent came to see that he was being used. Andrei saw that the culprit was not Putin, but the bankers. When his film turned on the bankers and exposed all the people who mysteriously died who could have testified against them besides Magnitsky, I believe Browder or his lawyers went to the EU government to ban the film. Even the film on me, the Forecaster, was supposed to be on NETFLIX, and suddenly it too was banned. We all know what is now happening in this canceled culture. Tell the truth, and you are canceled.
The bankers were constantly trying to get me to join their schemes. When the banks would lose, they blamed me, claiming I had too much influence since they greased the palms of politicians and agencies, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF). A few months before, Safra held a big dinner for the IMF in Washington, DC. I was invited to show me that they had the IMF in their back pocket. You see, the way they operated was always to bribe your way to the guaranteed trade.
Republic National Bank was also in cahoots with the US Treasury and was shipping skids of $100 bills to Russia. The link between the Clinton Administration and Republic National Bank was firmly in place. This is why all the bankers donated to Hillary yet banned their own people from donating to Donald Trump. The Clintons were 100% behind the bankers.
The Clintons made student loans non-dischargeable in bankruptcy for the bankers. Then the bankers got the parents to co-sign, and suddenly they had their houses all exempt from bankruptcy. They could just wipe people out financially, including the entire families, and throw them out on the street. This is all for an education that never taught even common sense, and rarely does anyone ever do what they ended up with a degree in except doctors, lawyers, and other specific training courses. There are no degrees in heading a country, running a bank, or even being a hedge fund manager.
So the bankers wanted to take over Russia for all the hard-money assets — gold, oil, platinum, diamonds, etc. This is why the Clintons were supported by the bankers and the idea was with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, they would be able to take over Russia for all the wealth. The speculation was that the Clintons allowed the bankers to scheme their take over of Russia, then NATO would move to the border with China and they would surround them. Yet, NATO claims it is defensive but always moves strategically in an offensive manner. Without Russia, there would be no need for NATO. So absorbing Russia would transform its purpose to now confront China. Putin even asked what if Russia joined NATO, and they laughed.
Larry throws pearls in front of a pig, in order to stop it from putting more lipstick.
“I love money. It is the only honest thing in the world. Even your dog will lie to you when she feels guilty. Money is always completely honest.”
Nope. Fiat currency is a lie. Nothing honest about it. Your love for money is as displaced as your hate for China.
“So, in the shitstorm Russia has fuel and food.”
Those are honest things (shitstorm, Russia, fuel, food).
Agree to a point.
While fiat currency may be a lie, a standard measure of value just like we have measures of length, and standards for weight, temperature, time etc are needed when many different nations are trading with each other.
Where the problems arise is when one can control that standard of measure of value for its own advantage. Which is why the BRICS want to create a new standard of measure of value.
I intentionally wrote fiat currency, because that’s what dollar is. It can be printed without limit, and it is being printed without limit. It’s a lie.
“Fiat money is a type of currency that is not backed by a commodity, such as gold or silver.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_money
Gold coin is not a lie. Any comodity backed currency is not a lie, because there is a real thing behind it.
As an engineer, I do know a bit about metrology. The problems arise when economists and other scammers run everything.
Your delusional American exceptionalism is on full display.
It seems you are perfectly suited to join the American generals as an expert on CNN, Fox and MSNBC, or perhaps CNBC since you clearly have your economic collapse projection narrative down pat!
Given that your information source is clearly MSM, you have passed their first requirement- stick to the establishment narrative- the enemy(bogeyman)is the cause of all problems.
Hopium and copium are dangerous perception altering drugs that can lead to disastrous consequences.
America and the west in general are over run with addicts.
One of the side effects is the uncontrolled spouting of nonsense about foreign leaders, destroying China and gas stations masquerading as countries.
The one thing that might disqualify you from a gig on TV is your accurate analysis that Russia is going to be standing above all when this is over.
Saying this out loud is strictly verboten!
And can lead to cancelation like Larry has experienced.
Aclear example of gross projection.Of all the “Hamster wheels in the world which is the most fragile?For Christ’s sake please look in the mirror just once!
I wish people were more tolerant when dealing with Curt. A man who is sticking around for his dog is to be respected, actions speak louder than words. Sure he may be wrong a bit on China but hopefully China, India and Russia manage to stick together to beat the western plague. Trust me, each of these 3 countries have problems caused by USA/UK. China and India more so than Russia, it’s difficult to find people of the caliber of Putin. Larry is an exceptional host and his blog is top notch. Hopefully we can find it in our hearts to be civil and loving to each other. Sorry Masr, I have been rude to you a couple of times since you always choose to espouse the islamic ideology while ignoring the glaring inconsistencies. Hopefully I can nudge you to the side of truth. I do apologize for the hurt caused but you are a fellow Indian so hopefully you know where I’m coming from.
Thank you for the kind words my friend. And also, I forgot to mention. India is also the future. India will be vastly more dominant economically than China in a very short period of time. In a world of demographic doom loop, India has people. And will shortly surpass China in STEM graduates. I have nothing against China. I just know what one man dictator rule leads to. And China has brutal demographics. And horrible raw resource problems. I won’t even mention the pollution and government fraud. And the US is “incorrectly” determined to destroy them. Which will probably be a mutual destruction. I sincerely believe the dominant world powers in 30 years will be Russia and India.
He wasn’t very tolerant while killing people in the name of USA Empire. How loud do those actions speak?
Nah. Unlike West China has national control over banks etc. No free wheeli6privste banks. evergrande very manageable by China. Nothings exploding.
BRICS has beaten the entire G7 in GDP PPP this year. And it’s growing faster.
You’re selling cool aid.
The western empire of lies… attempts to re-write history:
Al Stewart -“Roads to Moscow”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjKajpMoUxM
The Eastern Orthodox Catholic and diverse ethnic coalition that is Russia… will ground any attempt to capture the steppes of the transition lands…of Ukraine…to dust.
Their bones shall be dust.
The women of Russia are not over weight liberals with dyed hair and alphabet queer association…working at a govt welfare service office in the USA…. they are real women.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRdTyqE2mTY
The Pentagon and the retired generals are like Creed in the Rocky movie series:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjX20gL-rnc
They have forgotten what a fight really is.
Mark- I’ve lived up in N Siberia. I can confirm that the women ‘they are real women. Absolutely lovely!
Amen
I am a southern Oregon, Nor Cal person. Lived on at least 3 Indian Reservations…maybe 4…depending on how you count…
…and that Siberian woman…She is like Hank Williams Jr’s song…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cQNkIrg-Tk
The Pentagon…K Street..they can’t beat that.
@Mark, are you out of your mind Mark? You need to do more than post sappy country songs of singers who have their heads firmly up their backsides. No wonder America is pretty much hopeless. First things first, identify your enemies. All this song and dance about what a stud you are is nothing but sheer unadulterated misery when shit starts to fly.
Oh now… Bittu… just southern USA culture. Very popular in some quarters.. just for fun, nothing serious. Yeah, the US cultural experiment is getting quite “frothy”….. your right on with that.
Are you in India? Been there….. spent some time there…
The “empire of lies” indeed. But it does not “attempt” to “re-write history”– it largely succeeds. That said, all modern nation states attempt to do so. That is why we have universal public education – to indoctrinate us in national political and social mythologies. The media serve this purpose too. The world “journalist” comes from Latin and ME where it refers to a book denoting the times of scheduled prayers. Journalists tell us when to pray and what to pray about. Public education is a kind of quasi-catechism. “Authorities” and “experts” are the new priesthood. But there are many goods – fickle, fallible. Pray to them – or else! The Wagner Crash ironically illustrates these points.
Truth & Lies: The Wagner Crash https://julianmacfarlane.substack.com/p/truth-and-lies-the-wagner-crash-3f7
Thoughts from Martin Armstrong on the Wagner group:
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/war/another-clue-behind-prigozhins-death/
Cant wait to see the words written here about the attacks in Russia about 40 clicks or so from the Estonian border.
Should prove to be some interesting reading from everyone.
Not much to say. It’s yet another “raising up the ante”, in this big game of poker. Putin will play it cool, as usual, because he knows that the goal is to make him overreact. Response will take some time, and will be asymmetric. He won’t be launching attacks on NATO countries anytime soon.
Read in the Russian media that 2 prospective buyers (a couple) showed up before the Prigozhin’s flight and spent 1 hour reviewing this plane.
Here is the bottom line: 30 years ago Russia was a s*ithole, whole generation of people lost to alcohol, drugs, prostitution etc. Crime bosses running the show, military falling apart.
In comes Vladimir Vladimirovich and find me one Russian today that does not live 1000x better than in 1999. Oligarchs are gone, military is top notch – hypersonics, submarines, aircraft, you name it. Russia is widely respected, allies everywhere. Economy is self sufficient, GDP is growing and they are sending lunar probes while under the worst sanctions humanity has ever seen.
The so called “pundits”, “journalists” and “experts” around here can spread their cheap vomit all day long about Putin but one look at where Russia was then and where it is now tells you everything you need to know about VVP.
Not only that but one look at where USA was in 1990s and 2000 and where it is now, well, that tells a story too – and I am afraid it is not a pretty story. And this is the story all the folks I mentioned above in quotations, together with the regime, pardon, “administration” and its associated oligarchs, pardon, businessmen who own CNN, WAPO, NYT etc. etc. – this is the story they will fight tooth and nail to stop from spreading. Imagine the ordinary American doing the comparison above…
This. Putin singlehanded dragged Russia out of the sewer. They do not need another election. They just need to make him the new Tzar. I can think of no single man that has done more to build and strengthen his country. A hard man. Which was necessary.
” People Sleep Peacefully in Their Beds at Night Only Because Rough Men Stand Ready to Do Violence on Their Behalf.”
Be thankful Russia that you were blessed with Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.
Biden has an “alcohol czar” who says we shouldn’t have more than two beers a week. Sounds like communism to me. Well you didn’t say anything about cocktails, so joke’s on you, Mr. Czar Guy.
I feel bad for you, for your mental health. Perhaps you could take a pencil and a sheet of paper, writing in a column all the elements characterizing a society that seem important to you (social, societal, security, health, military, diplomatic, etc.), then , for the United States and the Russian Federation, you enter the quantified results of your research dated May 2000 (arrival of Putin to power) and those of today. Tell us your conclusions (take some painkillers if necessary). THANKS.
@ Curt, brother I got nothing but love for you. I know where you are coming from and respect that but you need to tone it down a bit so people can digest it. 99% of the readers haven’t been through 10% of the shit that you’ve gone through. But you need to realize the propaganda that your people have been subjected to.There are a lot of Americans like you and Larry. We’ll overcome this.
A prosperous autarky that (bonus) just banned sex changes. What’s not to like?
It banned mandatory vaccinations during the Plandemic and GMO crops years earlier, but the ban that put the West’s knickers in a twist was when Russia banned Soros and his posse of subversive NGOs, along with a slew of other Western “NGOs” such as NED for good measure.
That’s when Putin became a “thug” and an “autocrat”. Russia’s next ban should be all commodity sales, whether direct or via cutouts, to all “unfriendly” countries.
If that doesn’t bring the EU, at least to its senses, fast-tracking residency & citizenship for productive foreign talent will put Europe into a graveyard spiral from which recovery would be all but impossible. Especially so with the sort of captains it’s got piloting it currently.
I thought the trigger was granting Edward Snowden sanctuary. The Chinese sure dropped that hot potato fast.
You cannot embarrass the ruling elites in the West. That is Capital crime #1. They are way too thin skinned to handle it. Just ask Julian Assange, Donald Trump or the Jan 6th protesters.
Nope. The important things are those happening in the back. All the stuff you mentioned is not much more than a distraction. The magician wants you to look at one hand, while the other is doing the trick.
Funny how Washington refuses to face reality that USSR withdrew from its bases in Central Europe voluntarily vacating more land area than USA has ever vacated in history. With nothing more than a 2+4 Treaty in 1990 which Germany has violated wholesale.
Real question is why US Global Empire keeps expanding and subsuming sovereign states like Sweden or Finland just as it subsumed U.K. after 1941. There is no doubt Truss and Sunak were US choices for their U.K. satrapy
NATO was his US controls Europe through the tentacles such as EU being Economic Subcommittee of NATO and Atlantic Bridge and German Marshall Fund being others and various CIA fronts which keep bought politicians in national parliaments loyal
USSR was always on back-foot really and it is clear US has infiltrated European business since 1920s and cemented it with Bilderberg Group and Trilateral Commission
“Real question is why US Global Empire keeps expanding and subsuming sovereign states …”
That’s what empires do. Until they collapse, that is.
The dissonance some people experience, comes from the Newspeak where “empire” is replaced with “democracy” (or whatever current buzzword is). It’s similar to replacing “man” with “woman”, and being suprised by the number of penises in the ladies room.
US B62’s coming back to Lakenheath, or EU stockpiles to be moved to UK?
Could this be a response to Belarus stockpiling RF tactical nukes?
https://fas.org/publication/increasing-evidence-that-the-us-air-forces-nuclear-mission-may-be-returning-to-uk-soil/
Nuclear Weapons Increasing Evidence that the US Air Force’s Nuclear Mission May Be Returning to UK Soil
Satellite photos an’ all….
UK has the only runway in Europe capable of handling B52s
I think he meant B61.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B61_nuclear_bomb
It surprised me too when I discovered this a number of years ago.
Shortly before the forming of the Warsaw Pact in 1955; and again (by memory) in 2001
Even Stalin made mention in this regard:
https://ciaotest.cc.columbia.edu/journals/iarj/v56i2/f_0019560_16706.pdf
Larry,
Here is another link you can send Stephen, cued to the NATO segment (time=26m30s):
Vladimir Pozner: How the United States Created Vladimir Putin
https://youtu.be/8X7Ng75e5gQ?t=1581
You might remember Pozner from the Cold War, as he often appeared on Ted Koppel’s Nightline (presenting the Soviet side) and eventually got a weekly show with Phil Donahue. That whole video is worth watching in its entirety. IMHO
I am kind of shocked that Stephen did not know this, as it is common knowledge to even non-experts. Even more disturbing is going on the air and not knowing the subject material one is discussing inside and out. (sigh)
Yes, I can totally imagine a world of complete western neoliberal hegemony where the rest of us are even more enslaved and destitute because nobody can think of challenging a NATO that stretches right across the northern hemisphere. I can totally imagine that.
A part of it was that there would be no enemy to fight, thus drying up the defense contracts. The other would be how do you equip NATO with Russia having a MIC as big as the United States? There would then be contests between US and Russian arms manufacturers for NATO business. And then the CIA would get in on the act with trying to figure out how to keep military secrets if all parties had equal access to each others weapons systems and technology. The whole thing was probably too hard to contemplate for those with a black & white / us verses them world view. They had the unique opportunity to try “world peace” back then and could not cope with it… so that might portend that the only way world peace will ever come is if one side completely conquers the other, or the maybe the “natural state” / default of humanity is live in constant tension?
color me skeptical, but one can justify a pretty darn big military expense trying to control the jungle from the garden (and such like bullshit), which in the long run always fails, but heck, MIC profits can be relocated to New Zealand just before the fiat money party runs aground.
I think there is a deeper anti-russian cultural dark underpinning, probably related to when the Roman church split into east and west. Pure ugly euro-trash racism, and very much on display these days. one would think Europe would have learned that marching on Moscow ends in tears (and blood – rivers of blood). Again and again and again.
“A part of it was that there would be no enemy to fight, …”
Nope. Some enemy would be manufactured. Terrorists, drugs, terrorists on drugs, cows that fart, people that eat meat from cows that fart, etc. If you find that unrealistic, keep in mind that USA fought guys in flip-flops for two decades.
“Can you imagine what the world would be like today if the West had invited Russia to become part of NATO? The whole raison d’être for NATO would have disappeared.”
One of the reasons for “asking” through understanding the outcomes in advance ?
“I think the reason is pretty simple — how can the United States justify an ever increasing defense budget if you no longer have to think about going to war with Russia? ”
“Analysts” tend to be attracted to symptoms.
Why not try instead:
“What are “The United States of America”, and how are they facilitated including but not limited to “requiring justification” as charade and distrubutions to encourage complicity ?”
The US was and is hell bent on Russia never uniting with the rest of europe. It would create a resource centred power bloc that would rival the US. Western Europe is currently, in effect, a vast US colony even more dependent on the US since this confected clash with Russia. Sanctions maintain europe’s colony status. The US even enabled Ukraine to destroy a vital pipeline.
The US wants control of Russian resources, but if it can’t control those resources, europe must not control them either.
The function of the US-NATO led presence in europe is to ensure this vast rift remains intact. If any good comes out of this Ukrainian self-immolation it will be that europe will wake up, boot out the US and do its own deal with Russia. Ukraine and the other baltic warmongerers will be silenced by the fact that there is no longer a side they can take against their artefacted enemy- unless they are going to fall in with the US who becomes europe’s enemy too?
Maybe this is the purpose behind the emerging UK-US military coziness……. all that show about Radikin and his back patting by the US, winding up the Poles with the promise of more war. The US is already looking ahead to the end of this current conflict, and the danger that will be because europe does its own Russia deal. If Europe turns hostile to US interests, the US wants to ensure it has a firm grip of the UK which is just stupid enough to fall willingly into the python’s embrace, especially if it comes with the trade deal it desperately needs.
Admiral Radikin (lawyer) is about as militarily competent as Admiral Levine.
Radakin was selected by Boris Johnson so you can guess why
Yes, to answer your question, I’ve thought about it.
The world would be a NATO GLOBOCOP CONTROLLED tyranny, unlivable for even plant life.
Without a “revised & revived” Russia, opposing the Anglo US/West aims for Global Domination via Neo-Liberal order.
The worst thing that ever happened to the US was the fall of the USSR.
From then, there was NO POWER CHECK… No fear… of anything.
Then what happened… well, soon, no God, No church, No accountability, indecency, degradation, corruption to the core… to the point we are now with 2nd graders being taught in school LGBT enlightenments & proper names for binary people. Endless war campaigns, after all, we are an Empire now.
Yes I can imagine. Any power without a counter power is doomed for self destruction. When the USSR was up and running, strong and powerful…
We were out best, our Governance actually needed our Cooperation…why? Because they was a “check power” they needed actual protection with us “in case”…
So can I imagine if Russia had hitched their wagon to ours & been part of the Global NATO GLOBOCOP alliance for World Domination …
Well, thank goodness those options are totally vanquished .
I hear your point, but would add that Russia alone, or more accurately the collective Putin alone wouldn’t have been able to generate the critical mass needed without the similarly minded Xi faction coming to power in China in 2012/13.
The “strategic partnership” that the 2 developed has the critical mass. It can’t (yet) fight the West on the financial front, but it’s more than a match on all other fronts.
I’d wager that had the Hu Jintao and/or Jiang Zemin factions prevailed in China, Russia wouldn’t be in the sweet spot it’s in now. Nor would BRICS and the SCO be dealing with a queue of applicants.
Just a historical point I would like to make about your expression ‘Putin being a reincarnated Stalin’. Actually, Putin is not an imperialist who wants to dominate western Europe or any part of the world other than those already inhabited by Russians or slavic orthodox people who expressly seek Russian protection from anti-slavic tyrannies such as the current Kiev mob promoted and supported by NATO and the EU. But that doesn’t make him different from Stalin. Actually Stalin, who contrary to Putin was a ruthless dictator who never hesitated to eliminate thousands of thousands that he felt were a threat to his policies, was at the same time and nonetheless not an expansionist either. The constant truth about the part of the world that Stalin before Putin ruled over is that the white Russian elite which dominates it already has more than it can chew in term of satellite races and peripheral space than it can manage. Stalin knew it and never had an agenda of conquests over western Europe. Every move he made in that direction, before 1941 with Poland and Finland, and after 1941 with Hungary, Tchecoslovaquia, Germany and Poland again was forced on him first by the Hitler menace and after 1945 by the American led agression or menace from the West. It was Churchill who first declared a ‘cold war’ on the USSR, with an arms race, a policy of subversion, propaganda and a first set of sanctions which were never lifted. Stalin was a ruthless dictator, but a wise patriot and a pacifist. Putin after him wanted mutually advantageous relations with western Europe, with the difference that he had understood the lesson taught by the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw pact and the forced withdrawal from central Europe : geography and demography mean that the natural space of domination for Moscow is that between the Dniepr and the Pacific, and no more. Which is what, on the other hand, they are likely to defend by all means.
Put more simply, Putin said to be nostalgic for the USSR is to have a heart. To wish it back means to have no brain.
The Generals display a liberal vacuum between the ears., the only true vacuum in this universe, even if some twit says their heart is in the right place.
It appears that Gabon’s military has decided to do away with its French-puppet government…………
https://twitter.com/mmalekou/status/1696739254997594544
It is shocking how pro-western Putin is. This offer to join NATO came after the war crime of NATO attacking Yugoslavia. My motto since that war has been: the only good NATO soldier is a dead NATO soldier. Putin appears to be much more forgiving.
Nevertheless, Putin always claims to support a rules based world order. Yet he could overlook the blatantly illegal attack on Yugoslavia? 1999 was the moment the West(Washington) stopped pretending to abide by the rules and just made up their own rules. All our endless wars started at this point.
I do not blame Russian hardliners – maybe they’re just patriots smeared with the hard line tag – being very uncomfortable with Putin as leader. To me, Putin’s offer to join NATO is like imagining Chamberlain going back to Munich after September 1, 1939.
In the 2000’s, the idea of a multi-polar world order was still very far away and if you can’t beat someone, better joining them for a time. Alliances are in no way something eternal anyway. Russia was still in the second Chechnya conflict at the time. Putin is a pragmatic leader.
Now we are 20+ year later and man can reasonably ask if not letting Russia in NATO didn’t trigger Russia to create it’s own NATO , first with the CSTO then with the SCO along with China and latter it’s own G7, namely the BRICS… with serious consequences on the changing rules based order right now and maybe even more to come.
Having hardliners in charge sounds smart. They always do the right thing. /s
It is incredible how short-term memory is – ever hear of NordStream 1 and 2?
Serious Russian – European cooperation and hard work. Who bombed this – NATO. It is NATO’s policy.
Seymour Hersh claimed NordStream was bombed by NATO with Norwegian help on orders from Biden.
CGTN interview here reveals Hersh’s editor is from the London School of books and New Yorker, the most virulent anti-Russian, pro-Ukraine outfit, fact checked!
After that NY Times with German media came up with the Ukraine yacht Andromeda with 7 guys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ev4cMILOXc
CGTN anchor Liu Xin interviewed Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour
The Point Special: One-on-one with Seymour Hersh CGTN Mar 12, 2023
New evidence from Nord Stream underwater expedition refutes official claims Wyatt Reed and Max Blumenthal·June 27, 2023
https://thegrayzone.com/2023/06/27/evidence-nord-stream-underwater-expedition/
“But what if the seismic readings they observed were not a result of the explosion itself, but rather, the subsequent force of the pipeline rapidly depressurizing?”
Russia initially stated it was a British operation. Prime Minister Truss phoned Blinken it is done within minutes. Now we find Hersh’s Editor is London School of Books.
Anyone smell fish-and-chips?
“My motto since that war has been: the only good NATO soldier is a dead NATO soldier. Putin appears to be much more forgiving.”
A statesman can not say what he really thinks. He especially can not say his long term plans. I believe that he was preparing for this war ever since. It took a while.
He was playing their game in order to buy time. Russia was not ready for war back then, just like it was not in 2014. Now it is, and we got a war.
Wars are not won by emotions, but by cold reason. Those “patriotic hardliners” would have started a war unprepared, and lost it (and destroy Russia by losing it). Ukraine is a country run by “patriotic hardliners”. Run into the ground.
P.S. US endless wars started with the creation of US. Putin has nothing to do with it.
British imperial wars have been never ending since the 1763 declaration of that Empire. The US broke away an repeatedly got dragged back in. Russia supported Lincoln and the Union in 1863, the only power to do so. So the USA actually owes its survival to Russia. This is well known there. The fight goes on, despite pragmatic baloney spouted from all angles.
“Can you imagine what the world would be like today if the West had invited Russia to become part of NATO?”
Yes. Russia would be Balkanized.
Komsomolskaya Pravda has an article about foreign mercenaries which extensively quotes colonel MacGregor.
https://www.kp.ru/daily/27549.3/4815445/
What foreign mercenaries who escaped from Ukraine told about: Lies, corruption and sadism reign in the Armed Forces of Ukraine
How many foreign mercenaries were in Ukraine and what are the “soldiers of fortune” who escaped from the Armed Forces of Ukraine talking about
American Colonel Douglas MacGregor made a sensational statement on his YouTube channel in August : most of the foreign mercenaries who fought on the side of Ukraine packed up and left for home. Only the Poles remained.
Colonel McGregor is a former adviser to the head of the Pentagon, a well-known military expert in the United States, so you can trust him. And he is even more famous in Russia, because he regularly gives an overview of the situation in Ukraine that is impartial for Washington politicians.
In one of the latest releases , McGregor again stated that the military campaign that the United States provoked in Ukraine was essentially lost, Zelensky’s troops lost half of the combat-ready army (according to his calculations, 300 to 350 thousand Ukrainian soldiers were killed). For comparison: in the most terrible Vietnam War for Americans, the States lost only 50 thousand soldiers (this is in 12 years!).
As for the foreign mercenaries who came to Ukraine, most of them were disappointed. They were promised entertainment, hunting, safaris, easy money for killing weak Russians. But for many, the money was only enough to ensure that the family could pay for the evacuation of bodies tattooed with swastikas to their homeland …
How many foreigners fought for the Kiev regime and could they influence the outcome of the situation?
Tricky numbers
No one seems to know the exact numbers, not even the authorities in Ukraine itself. But our Ministry of Defense, based on intelligence data, reports of foreign officials and analysts, published an approximate order in July of this year: since the beginning of the NMD, 11,675 mercenaries from 84 countries of the world have arrived on the territory of Ukraine (for some figures, see “Calculation”).
Judging by these data, recruitment around the world was active. Every Ukrainian (and possibly American) embassy in every country in the world has become a recruiting center.
Most of the neighbors are Poles. Moreover, some of them are career officers (there is evidence that they were buried with army honors in military cemeteries). Our traditional “partners” the US and Canada staked a lot on the murder of Russians. Georgia follows them.
Recruitment is aided by the CIA, other intelligence agencies, and private military companies. Mercenaries with combat experience become instructors or are used as military specialists – engineers, sappers, gunners. The simpler fighters – from Colombia or Arab countries – are sent to the trenches, to the front line.
Not everyone returns home alive. According to the Ministry of Defense, our army has destroyed almost 5,000 foreign fighters . About the same number simply fled. Although some foreigners have stayed and even continue to come. Basically, these are Poles – apparently, they hope to take part in the division of the neighboring country when the Ukrainians run out.
Sadists and adventurers
Why should foreigners play “Russian roulette” in the Ukrainian steppes? The reasons are different. War veterans are coming who are incapable of anything other than fighting, adventurers are coming who dream of making quick money (they promise up to $1,000 per day of hostilities). And you can also loot, collect voluntary donations from the naive but wealthy American public, and if you’re lucky, then take part in the arms trade.
Some militants have problems with the law and the psyche, and they hide in Ukraine, which makes it possible to realize sadistic fantasies – torturing prisoners, engaging in robbery and sexual violence.
Other fighters from among the young and not the smartest are fascinated by military romance – they post photos with weapons on social networks, hoping to impress friends and relatives. And then they drape the fastest of all, when it turns out that here, in fact, they can kill.
“This is horror … This is a massacre”
Colombian militants complained about their Ukrainian colleagues on TikTok: “These Ukrainians are worse than Russians!” they wailed. The warriors of the independent included a real hazing – they beat, humiliated and, according to the Colombians, were treated “like animals.” So they are going to go home. Well, what did you expect, dear Colombians, from the Nazis? What will treat you as Aryans?
By luring mercenaries, Ukrainian propaganda claims that “Russians do not know how to fight.” That “they have nothing to fight with.” That “they’re about to run.” That “it’s fun to catch up with the Russians by shooting after them.” The reality of foreigners is shocking.
One native of Taiwan, who fought on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that the Russians destroyed his platoon twice, and he miraculously survived. That the conditions of service were too difficult. Another mercenary, Rhys Byrne, who fought on the side of Kiev in the Zaporizhia direction, recalled: “It’s horror … It’s a massacre … Dead people are everywhere … The biggest problem we faced when we went into the trenches was to step over through the corpses of the previous people who entered there.”
In July, on the ABC News TV channel, an Australian who fought in the “International Legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine” complained about the arbitrariness of Ukrainian commanders. He claimed that some were threatened with prison for trying to go home, that they were being deceived, and that some were not paid at all for their service.
A German from the same legion cried that lies, corruption, psychological pressure and sadism reigned in their unit. Like, he personally saw how Ukrainian militants mocked Russian prisoners of war. And a mercenary with the call sign “Bam”, who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, assured that it is much worse in Ukraine.
The stories are sometimes very instructive. American Trevor Reed, who came to Moscow as a tourist in 2019, was convicted in Russia for attacking police officers. The Western press then raised a fuss, exposing the bully as an innocent victim. The brawler was sentenced to nine years in prison, but then exchanged for Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko. Reed returned home with honors, packed his things and went to Ukraine to take revenge on the Russians. Hit a mine.
Precision strikes
The Ministry of Defense regularly publishes reports on the destroyed mercenaries. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned: the Ukrainian military will be destroyed along with mercenaries, Western generals and instructors during meetings.
And so it turns out. Here are some examples.
– The July attack on the hotel complex in Kramatorsk, where the 56th separate motorized infantry brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was located, and the restaurant – right during the meeting of the command with foreign advisers. Two generals, about 50 officers and 20 foreign mercenaries and military advisers were killed. Of course, the Ukrainian authorities hide this, but the relatives of American Marine Jan Frank Tortorici confirmed that he died there.
– A massive strike on the territory of the Academy of Ground Forces in Lviv. More than 800 reservists of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and foreign mercenaries were trained there.
– August missile attack on the point of temporary deployment of mercenaries in the Reikartz hotel in Zaporozhye.
– Destruction of the command post of the foreign mercenaries unit with the Starlink communication terminal in Nikolayevka (DPR).
This unnerves the mercenaries. Seekers of easy money and thrills are returning home, and now Western governments are already nervous. In particular, the authorities are sounding the alarm in France: far-right radicals, having returned from Ukraine, post flags and tattoos with Nazi symbols on social networks. Call for a fight for white supremacy. One can guess what this struggle will lead to in colorful France, but it is unlikely that such a turn will please the French government, which sent weapons and soldiers to Ukraine. He who sows the wind, let him reap the whirlwind.
“The whole raison d’être for NATO would have disappeared.”
That happened when the Soviet Union collapsed.
Two important contributions to the current situation of the Ukraine war by André Martyanov’s.
A contribution of own experience:
1.
…….And here is illustration: the only other non-Russian citizen persons who have been pushed even ahead of us have been a young mother and her son of about 10 years. Both had Ukrainian passports. Well, guess what–after 15-20 minutes of questioning they have been led inside service facilities and, as a result, they have been taken from the bus. Why, you may ask. Well, the explanation is filthy simple–under this “brotherly people” BS premise Russia, together with millions of genuinely displaced people allowed into the country a huge number of Ukies who hate Russian guts and continue their both passive and active “resistance”–a euphemism for sabotage and terrorism–against Russia. FSB has its hands full with detecting and eliminating a huge number of sleeper cells run by SBU and GUR under control of MI6, CIA and others on Russian territory and this involves, and you have guessed it by now, a large number of mid to short range drone operators who constantly try, and sometimes succeed, to attack Russia’s infrastructure.
It was expected and FSB spoke to us for about 20 minutes while everyone was getting checked. After that and thorough check of our phones we have been let go.
https://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2023/08/illustration.html
2nd post by André Martyanov
He is an outstanding and experienced military analyst, especially regarding Russian mititary-strategic and military-tactical capabilities:
I do not disagree with Tucker and PJW on the possibility of a hot war with Russia by Biden’s regime in order to stay in power. I also agree on the uniparty thesis.
But here is the fallacy in terms of practical implementation of this “plan” by cabal. Remarkably I already quoted this today. Even illiterate hack such as late Richard Pipes got it:
America has tended to rely on its industry to protect it from aggressors, and on its unique industrial capacity to help crush its enemies once war was underway. The United States is accustomed to waging wars on its own choosing and on its own terms. This approach to warfare has had a number of consequences. The United States wants to win its wars quickly and with the smallest losses in American lives… Extreme reliance on a technological superiority, characteristic of U.S. warfare, is the obverse side of America’s extreme sensitivity to its own casualties; so is indifference to the casualties inflicted on the enemy……..
https://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2023/08/how-to-find-out.html
Yes, but thanks to any lack of recognition, circumspection or strategic planning the United States bought right into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, where traditional manufacturing and energy industries no longer matter. Thus, instead of being the “Arsenal of Democracy” it has become the “Footlocker of Democracy”… and the footlocker is about empty.
I would like to bring to your attention the character of our great leaders of the past, specifically Churchill whom Zelensky is being compared with. He dedaulted on payment to his club as a young officer posted in India in Bangalore. What a fantastic guy! Anyone can check online, Churchill and Bangalore club!
The motives of Petraeus get crystal clear when you watch such luxurious study he broadcast from ( that looks like a presidential office…..), and the smoothness of his face at his 70s…..( mate, he looks younger than ever, even than the Iraq Wra times….)
This guy loves luxury and what it provides, and he is willing to do whatever is necessary to get it.
Ex-foreign legionnaire Thomas Gast was deployed several times in Congo-Gabon.
Two companies of foreign legionnaires are stationed there. The problem for the foreign legionnaires, should it come to a military confrontation:
The Congolese military was trained by the foreign legionnaires.
It would be tough for the tricolor.
Conclusion: the light is switched off for the Fanzos in Africa, because of years of wrong politics.
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buESMCsKg98
Illustrating Putin’s initial desire to integrate Russia into Western security and economic structures, but without accepting subjugation under them, there is also a remarkable speech by Putin shortly after 9/11 at the German Parliament.
The speech was delivered almost entirely in German.
Rede Wladimir Putins im Deutschen Bundestag am 25.09.2001
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0_0WqUuh9E
Full text:
https://www.bundestag.de/parlament/geschichte/gastredner/putin/putin_wort-244966
“Illustrating Putin’s initial desire to integrate Russia into Western security and economic structures”
Perhaps an edit would prove more representative such as :
“Rede Wladimir Putins im Deutschen Bundestag am 25.09.2001
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0_0WqUuh9E
Full text:
https://www.bundestag.de/parlament/geschichte/gastredner/putin/putin_wort-244966
Which I and many others interpret as
“Illustrating Putin’s initial desire to integrate Russia into Western security and economic structures”
Certainty is always the greatest weakness and hence why we the people hold these truths to be self-evident since in “God” we trust.
It is reported in TG that the military coup in Gabon is of US making, taking advantage of France´s debilitating stance in the Sahel region….
Like it happened with the Nord Stream issue, a “blue on blue” attack which confirms, first, that the US has no allies or friends, only interests…..and, second, that the current leaders in the EU countries and institutions, some even of French nationality ( which does not imply necessary French interests….but their own…..) are not but foreign agents advancing US interests in Europe…in detriment of those of European peoples and nations…..
Take a look at the media and you will probably find the same indiference and lack of statements by the French authorities and head of state than with the Nord Stream issue in Germany…..
“It is reported in TG that the military coup in Gabon is of US making..”
That is one of “the new clothes” in hope of obfuscation of:
https://strategic-culture.su/news/2023/08/30/ecowas-fiery-talk-towards-niger-loses-its-edge-after-biden-talks-with-its-president/ in respect of
“Firstly, that a terrorist group in Nigeria has openly appealed to the Nigerian President – who also happens to be the ECOWAS leader – to avoid at all costs a military intervention in Niger;
secondly, that Joe Biden took the initiative to meet the same gentleman Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the corridors of the United Nations, hinting that huge amounts of U.S. investment could be directed towards Nigeria if Tinubu played ball;
and thirdly, that just recently, the stakes were raised in Niger when its junta announced that it had invited the armies of both Mali and Burkina Faso onto its soil to help defend themselves against an “intervention” which ECOWAS has threatened was on the cards only days earlier.”
since this would cause difficulties for “The United States of America” and their inhabitants in their attempts to limit the perception to the “War in Ukraine” that some are talking about in hoped continued obfuscation of “the ongoing War throughout the world through various presentations”, when the “War” in the African Sector becomes increasingly perceived by those who believe that war is restricted to things that go bang, by increasing the usage of things that go bang
in addition to recent remarks of The People’s Republic of China directed to “The United States of America” in respect of aspects of potential “economic wars”.
Thanks again Larry !
Now, Gabon ! I am stunned by this news ! but
“…the answer my friend is blowing in the wind…”
“Right now there are changes – the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 years – and we are the “ones driving these changes together,”
“Xi told Putin as he stood at the door of the Kremlin to bid him farewell.
“The Russian president responded: “I agree.”
“Xi then put out his hand to shake Putin’s and said:
“Take care please, dear friend.” Putin responded by holding Xi’s hand with both of his and saying, “Have a safe trip.”
23- 03 – 2023
@Geist von Mozgovoy
Thomas Gast says “Chirac had his election campaign paid for by Congo”.
We know Sarkozy had his election campaign paid by Lybia’s Gadaffi( dead by French).
From whom did Macron have his election campaign paid?
A president like Macron, who is so fatal to the situation in his “neo-colonies” in Africa, is overrated and becomes irrelevant.
And where is Len Pen?
A sad chapter for France and the EU.
They have understood nothing.
The €uro is the slave of the dollar.