The aphorism penned by the English poet Thomas Gray 275 years ago is still relevant and resonates:
No more; where Ignorance is Bliss,
’Tis Folly to be wise.
The ecstatic callowness of the media is jaw-droppingly stupid when it comes to opining on Russia in general and Putin in particular. Consider first these headlines from the Washington Post’s opinion page.
The will of Ukrainian volunteers shows how we will prevail over Russia by Iuliia Mendel
Even from prison I can see opposition to Putin’s war growing by Vladimir Kara-Murza
Putin is doing his best to out-fascist Mussolini by George Will
‘Realists’ have it wrong: Putin, not Zelensky, is the one who can end the war. by Michael McFaul
Note that the Post is making sure that no dissenting opinions appear. When you are running a propaganda op you must ensure that disquieting facts that challenge the party line are blocked. George Will, apparently mentally slipping in his dotage, does not appreciate the irony of labeling Putin a fascist while he–George Will–eagerly peddles the party line in order to please corporate and government masters. Ignorance is bliss, George. Ditto for Iuliia, Vladmir and McFaul.
But the most egregious example of ignorance presented as “news” comes courtesy of Yvonne Lau writing at Fortune. Did you know that Russia is on the ropes and headed for the dustbin of history?
‘There’s no path out of economic oblivion for Russia’: New report reveals how corporate exodus has already wiped out decades of post–Cold War growth.
The Western sanctions and widespread corporate exodus from Russia since Feb. 24 have ravaged the Russian economy—and its future prospects look even bleaker, according to a new report from Yale University researchers and economists led by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Yale School of Management professor and senior associate dean for leadership studies. It’s now become clear that the Kremlin’s “finances are in much, much more dire straits than conventionally understood” and that the large-scale “business retreats and sanctions are catastrophically crippling the Russian economy,” the researchers wrote.
As of Aug. 4, over 1,000 companies, including U.S. firms like Nike, IBM, and Bain consulting, have curtailed their operations in Russia. Though some businesses have stayed, the mass corporate exodus represents 40% of Russia’s GDP and reverses 30 years’ worth of foreign investment, says the Yale report.
The international retreat is morphing into a larger crisis for the country: a collapse in foreign imports and investments.
Russia has descended into a technological crisis as a result of its isolation from the global economy. It’s having trouble securing critical technology and parts.
Oh my God. How will Russia live without the NIKE’s made by slaves in China and the wisdom dispensed by Mitt Romney’s old consulting firm, BAIN. I can see Vladimir Putin now. He is curled up in a fetal position under his bed. Barefoot. Bereft of the latest pair of Air Jordan’s. Even more terrifying, he now realizes he is deprived of Mitt Romney’s pearls of wisdom. How can Putin and Russia survive without that titan of capitalism in his corner? Poor little Vladimir is sobbing inconsolably.
Okay. Back to reality. The claim that 1000 plus companies allegedly bailed on Russia is a total misrepresentation ( I think the scholarly term is “bullshit”). The total number listed in the Yale study is 1382. Over 400 companies are still operating in Russia. Another 500 are listed as “keeping their options open” for returning to work in Russia. Only 311 companies have made a “clean break”. For the math challenged among you, that is a measly 23%.
Yvonne Lau article reminds me of a washing machine on super spin cycle. She offers up this ridiculous “reporting”:
Russia’s precarious economic position means that it faces even more dire, long-term challenges ahead.
Sanctions aren’t designed to cause an immediate financial crisis or economic collapse, but are long-term tools to weaken a nation’s economy while isolating it from global markets, the report said. And the sanctions are doing exactly that for Russia.
The country is losing its richest and most educated citizens as its economy crumbles. Most estimates say that at least 500,000 Russians have fled the country since Feb. 24, with the “vast majority being highly educated and highly skilled workers in competitive industries such as technology,” the report said.
Let us play the sanctions game. Name me one country in the last 80 years that has been brought to its knees and, because of the economic trauma, changed its government? Just one. Please!! Okay, I’ll save you time. The answer is NONE. Just ask Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela. Yeah, Cuba is a wreck but it did not produce anything other than cigars, rum, bananas and casinos.
Russia has some things going for it economically that none of those other “sanctioned” nations have. Russia is independent in terms of food and fuel. It also builds its own tractors, cars, planes, ships and trains. Did I mention that Russia’s dominance in the field of fertilizer means that foreign farmers who want to grow crops will have to cough up some rubles if they want a successful harvest?
Emily King understands why Yvonne Lau‘s competence as a journalist is in question:
Russia is vast with abundant natural resources. While oil takes the headlines, Russia’s mining industry quietly provides many of the critical metals the world is dependent on for products ranging from air planes to fertilizer to electrical vehicles and more. . . .
The US (by contrast) is heavily dependent on imports of the most basic but valuable minerals for renewable technology, defense and hi-tech. According to the USGS, in 2021, imports made up more than half of US consumption for 47 nonfuel minerals, and the US was 100% net import reliant for 17 of those.
Of the 35 minerals or mineral material groups identified as “critical minerals”, the US was 100% net import reliant for 14, and an additional 15 critical mineral commodities had a net import reliance greater than 50%.
At some point, the idiot savants writing screeds for western publications like Fortune will wake up and smell the industrial and manufacturing fumes of Russia’s plants and factories. We are back to “projection”. Ignorant but credentialed reporters and pundits spew nonsense that is only going to deceive an equally gullible, ignorant public. But there is a cure. Read for yourself. Ask questions. Demand data.
Meanwhile, the ignorance is bliss crowd continues to dominate the corporate media and halls of political power in Washington, DC and London. But this comes at a cost. It is called reality. Just as Baghdad Bob discovered that his denial that U.S. tanks were rolling into Baghdad did not make those beasts of war vanish, people like Yvonne Lau, Michael McFaul and George Will will discover that Russians are not a stupid, slothful band of kulaks, passed out in pools of vodka laced vomit. Russia controls some critical industrial and agricultural trump cards and knows how to play them.
I close with one fun fact. Did you know that between 1942 and 1945 that Russia produced more tanks than the United States? Look it up.
Thanks, Larry, for your wise analysis.
I have stopped reading all newspapers because none are politically neutral or truthful in their reporting except of course for the Death Notices but in no way are the accompanying flowery obituaries ever really truthful.
I FEEL SO BAD FOR OUR CITIZENS , EVERYONE I KNOW FROM EDUCATED TO LAYMEN ARE COMPLETELY IGNORANT OF WHATS HAPPENING IN THIS WORLD TODAY. I HAVE OFTEN TOLD MY SONS GROWING UP THIS GENERATION MUST SUFFER GREATLY IF THERE IS TO BE ANY HOPE OF CHANGE. A NATION DIVIDED AGAINST IT SELF CANNOT STAND.
a false flag will be believable if russia is “desperate.”
Yale is pseudointellectual ivy league at 500 proof. It cranks out more worthless degrees than any other source. Maybe because it runs second to Harvard it tries to make up for it with thousands of graduate programs in things like Atlanticist International Studies.
Russia also exports machinery as one of its top 5 exports. They have no shortage of talented engineers and entrepreneurs. Our colleges have become so dumbed down by rigidly applying D&I that their quality has suffered a lot.
When I graduated from MIT in the 1980s it was 90% men. It is now 50%. This is useful information for figuring out the world = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/higher/dr-paul-irwing-there-are-twice-as-many-men-as-women-with-an-iq-of-120plus-426321.html
Dr. Lindzen says his dep’t Earth and Planetary Science used to get bright kids from the over flow of physics and engineering. Now he says his students can’t do much.
I believe only a small number of current military academy students could pass the curriculums they had in 1960. Someone posted an exam for 1st year engineering students at the University of West Virginia from 1960 on line. It was all essay. The first question was detail all the chemistry and physics that went into developing the first atomic bomb. Another question was list 10 important authors from the early 20th and 19th century list their important works and why they were. It had a current events question too: List all the current secretaries of all the US cabinet departments and what the department does.
Brad, what course were you? I graduated in ’85 Course VIII. I remember hearing Prof. Lindzen speak about global warming when I was a staff member at Lincoln Labs in the early 90s.
In this age of delusions, if a boy tweeted, “The Emperor Has No Clothes,” he would be banned for life. In the old days, it was the job of the church, came with burning at the stake if I recall correctly.
LOL.
What they taught me in economics school was that there are three fundamental ways to grow an economy.
1. Become more efficient in production (lower cost of inputs and processes while increasing output and output speed)
2. Discover/exploit more valuable resources internal to the country
3. Export more value than you import
Seems to me that Russia has the potential for realizing all three fundamentals – with #3 being, primarily, fossil fuels, but maybe food and equipment to developing nations, over time. Maybe they will struggle immensely to realize those opportunities without Romney’s help, but somehow I think they’ll get there.
Europe? Not so much. It’s hard to do any of the three on a green energy grid and with excessive regulation. Same for the US + an uneducated population. Ten to twenty years out, BRICS is where it’s at.
The only thing that generates wealth is the acquisition of technology via any means faster and inside the decision ‘loop’ of competitors so as to continually outmanoeuvre them and be more competitive. All the others including finance, skills, etc. are inputs to this objective. Very few Economists understand the fundamental role of technology and even then they don’t fully grasp what it means.
Huh? Economists know all about technology and fully appreciate it. Technology is one of – probably the main – ways you become more efficient.
They don’t. They are generally quite clueless. Being efficient without having ‘competitive’ products is rather pointless.
A bit simplistic – you can also generate wealth by mining (oil, metals) or theft – the con man is a long standing western tradition! I include forgery in the theft category (or central bank printing).
In the long run, technology is a more stable approach – sooner or later the marks come for their vengeance with sharpened pitchforks.
Yes. Mining minerals falls under discovering/exploiting new resources.
Theft, etc. – I think you’re being too cynical.
Perhaps, but that is one way that Sicily has a ginormous (informally) economy. For example, I had read that 110% of Albanian live aid went straight to the Mafia (they shook down the immigrants, too).
In any case, rent is a classic way of generating personal wealth – as is tribute to empire. Tribute, that some would call theft.
Russia has 11 Time Zones. 🥴
Wrapping one’s mind around that fact is something most in the west fail to grasp. The US only has 6 times zones (thanks to Hawaii). I’m envious of a friend, a retired Secret Service Agent, who rode a motorcycle (BMW) across Russia. What an adventure.
I would love to do that. I have nothing to do at the moment and I have a motorcycle, what a good idea. I must explore that idea.
Larry, McFaul, at least for once, is right: Putin, not Zelensky, will decide when to end the war. It might be the fool’s epitaph.
Hello from Russia, Larry! I have some more insights.
Suffice to say, many companies ‘leave’ only on paper. McDonalds just changed the brand and CEO, the menu itself and even the colors of new brand (Tasty, and that’s it!/ Vkusno i tochka) are the same. Nike is plentiful via parallel import in multi-branded stores and Nike-owned stores were always overpriced and hardly popular even before the SMO. Coca Cola just rebranded everything to Dobriy (Kind, local TM for juices) and changed the name of a company, but it’s still essentially Coca Cola.
The list goes one. Only companies that really left Russia are MIC contractors like Microsoft, but for them a lot of doors were closed way before the SMO (4 example MS Windows usage is banned on critical infrastructure) and for a lot of true leavers SMO is just a nice way to lay down staff, save face on a struggling market and keep that cool political points in the process.
In short, life of an average Russian hardly changed. Especially outside of Moscow, a lot of brands that (at least on paper) left the market were hardly present outside of a few cities in European part of Russia.
(sorry for double-posting, the website is iffy for me)
In short, this is just more pointless virtue signaling.
Max, out of curiosity, where are you in Russia? And, what is the morale of the people where you are? The NATO-stan media keep reporting how underneath the surface in Russia the war in Ukraine is very unpopular, people are refusing to sign up to serve, etc. I find that hard to believe and feel it more likely that most Russians support Putin’s decision to go into Ukraine. Thanks for your insights!
I live in Kazan (national Republic of Tatarstan) and the support of our President/Military even here is VERY strong. Two contractor-only battalions were formed (100-man each or so) a month ago and the competition was huge, 15 persons per 1 place. Saw a lot civilian cars with Z or V logos too, the level of support is strong partly because nothing really changed for an average Russian but sanctions truly angered a lot of common folks. Maybe IKEA was kinda sad news, but it was 95% locally sourced anyway, so almost every group of goods is here, just not under the unified IKEA banner.
The funny thing though, Feb and March was truly a test for the govt stability, because people were confused. Say what you will, but Ukranians are our neighbors and despite BBC propaganda, Russian people are not some bloodthursty warmongers. Ordinary folks were not keen of the whole SMO thing at first.
The situation and the level of support changed drastically, thanks to myopic sanctions (VISA/MC, digital services, banned goods) and hysteric cancel culture. At this point, literally everyone saw the true face of the West. And even a solid part of traditionally pro-West intelligentsia is turning to netural grounds or even full support of the SMO. A lot of Western-oriented media personas (but let’s be honest, guys on the payroll) fled the country because some idiotic reasons and lost a lot of credibility from locals in the process of doing so. Some of them are quietly returning, because they don’t have enough money and/or brains to adapt to the Western way of life or thinking.
Overall, it’s suprisingle stable for a country at war on both Military and Economic fronts. Stable af rouble helps too! Honestly, severe sanctions, like always, united the very different melting pot of Russians of all ethnicities. Elites hardly feeling those sanctions, but if you ban cats, trees and ways of buying videogames just because you’re Russian – there’s no better way to produce national unity and almost unanimous support of SMO.
And it was always like that in Russian history. The strongest Russia is Russia united against some greater enemy. Idiots calling themselves Leaders of the Free Wolrd should’ve known that, but history is, sadly, a forbidden science for Ivy League imeciles these days.
It’s incredible how the West is dismantling itself.
In Germany, this process is also well advanced. A cure is probably no longer possible. The political will to do so is lacking. So everything has to collapse first. 1945 2.0 ? The solutions are out in the open, but the political leaders definitely don’t want to see them (it would belie their previous policies and German politicians never admit a mistake), supported by mentally handicapped journalistic actors and business leaders, where the word Führer can be omitted.
As expected, the German energy transition failed. A German energy company begs economic policy actor Robert Habeck to end the levies and other legal requirements for implementing the green energy transition. The energy transition has failed and collapse is imminent. The reaction from those political actors who have no science education, if any, is one of blatant ignorance. They behave in such an unteachable manner that ideological stupidity is no longer sufficient as an explanation. There must also be intention behind it.
And the political chaos in the energy transition, which has been increasingly pursued for 20 years, can also be found in all other areas: transport, infrastructure, the military, health, civil rights, finance, foreign policy, justice, the economy, the environment, education and more. The policy regarding Russia and China is catastrophic. German politicians implement without thinking what Anglo-American whisperers push them into action. Even Adenauer and especially Brandt pushed through more German interests under the control of the Western Allies than the current lay group. As a treat: the last election in Berlin was blatantly cheated and a majority doesn’t care. Unbelievable.
But there are also growing counter-actions. More and more people are voting with their feet. You go. They leave the country or go into internal immigration (retirement). This has been increasing for several years and most of them are smart and hard-working people. brain drain. The baby boomers are already trying to retire 2-8 years before their retirement age. Although they love their job, they no longer see the point in working hard under these conditions.
Despite these fatal conditions, German politicians speak of solidarity for Ukraine. unbelievable this denial of reality.
Cuba produced an educated literate and numerate population much higher than the US and exports medical specialists to conflict zones around the world. Larry’s snide remark about Cuba belittles him.
You need to work on your sense of humor
Antipropo … Larry is referring, I believe, to his use of hyperbole
Sigghhh? Sadly, your article failed to use the new definition of reporting – which used to be filed as stenography – the new definition arrangement is clearly a vast improvement and we can eliminate a big word from the English language!
Seriously, though, a financial paper that is not reality based leads to people with money (presumably the only ones who matter) to lose money – an unforgivable sin. In that regards, I think we are seeing projection of Fortune’s financial future on Russia.
Personally, I like my fantasy with dragons and zombies and swords than in reports like Yale churns out – at least they are not wasting trees anymore – just bits.
No doubt that the USSR in WWII produced more tanks than the US. But the US gifted Russia thru lend lease a crucial amount of war materials. In total, the U.S. deliveries to the USSR through Lend-Lease amounted to $11 billion in materials: over 400,000 jeeps and trucks; 12,000 armored vehicles (including 7,000 tanks, about 1,386 of which were M3 Lees and 4,102 M4 Shermans); 11,400 aircraft (4,719 of which were Bell P-39 Airacobras) and 1.75 million tons of food. Without that support the USSR would have not won the war against Germany.
I mention the above because Russians in general tend to forget how important this support was. Just as in the US nobody knows that the actual fighting was done by the Red army. The fighting in the West was a joke compared to the war in the East.
By falling for their own propaganda I believe both victors in WWII have an exaggerated sense of their own capabilities. If the West would in earnest start to rearm and concentrate ressources Russia wouldn´t have a chance. Unless of course she agreed to become a satrapy of China.
What makes me puke is the needlessness of it all. The West should have twisted Ukraine until she agreed to finally implement Minsk II and that would have been it. Instead Ukraine is cynically exploited to try to weaken Russia.
Sorry but lend-lease had a real effect in favor of the Soviets until 1943. By then they had already resisted the by-far most critical part of the war: Moscow in 1941 and Stalingrad in the winter of 1942-43.
The USSR would have simply starved to death without US help. And thanks to Anglo bombing Germany had no more fuel from the middle of 1944. No use kidding yourself
Tom,
By the time L-L was effectively implemented toward the USSR the Soviets had already retaken Kiev and had turned their eye toward Berlin. Adam Tooze, in his excellent history of Germany’s wartime economy, briefly but effectively deconstructs the mythological role of L-L in the Soviet victory: “The exceptional performer was the Soviet Union, which in 1942 produced twice as many infantry weapons, as many artillery pieces and almost as many combat aircraft and tanks as the United States, the undisputed manufacturing champion of the world. The Soviet miracle was not due to Western assistance. Lend-lease did not begin to affect the balance on the Eastern Front until 1943. The best single explanation for this remarkable triumph was the extraordinary concentration of Soviet production on a limited number of weapons produced in a handful of giant factories, permitting the fullest possible realization of economies of mass-production.” (“The Wages of Destruction”)
It wasn’t ‘gifted’. It took USSR (and later Russia) until mid 2000s to repay the ‘gifts’. Major receivers of those payments were the US and Canada.
Germany seems to be the keystone in this conflict. Will Germany turn on NS2 to prevent economic collapse? I would guess yes. What happens then with the US, does the US backdown, unlikely. Does Germany distance it’s self from the US, maybe. They do have the worlds largest industrial country with it’s fantastic Belt and Road Initiative as an alternative.
Is Vlad going successfully bust Germany out US orbit?
Who isn’t transfixed by this, watching events of such magnitude unfolding. I’m very grateful to Larry and his colleagues who work to keep us informed.
You’ve nailed it. Germany is the key. If Putin can bring them to heel, the rest of Europe (bar the morons here in the UK and possibly Poland) will fall in line and fold. My guess is that a political earthquake is brewing.
Well said – and Baltics
“If Putin can bring them to heel” No worries. German foreign policy balanced the slackline of NATO/US and Warsow Pact/Russia interests for decades. It was controlled by these occupying forces for decades and it was at the brink of complete nuclear destruction for decades during the cold war.
Germany is integrated into NATO today, but still hesitates a lot to provide heavy weaponry to Ukraine for good reason.
I´m with every commentor who states, Germany has the key role in deescalating the Ukraine war/conflict. I am sure, communication lines are already established and in use under cover. Former German chancellor (=head of executive power, comparable to US President) Gerhard Schröder (Schroeder, 1998-2005) is already in Moscow talking to Putin.
Let us all stick our heads together (US, UK, EU-27, RUS) and negotiate a way out of this mess!
Best wishes from Germany
Collapsing the German economy is not a bug of flawed policymakers, albeit they are indeed flawed; collapsing the German economy is the feature of WEF-installed toadies on a mission to kick-start the “Great Reset.”
merci Larry d’un vieux français
I have always believed that Europe will be able to withstand the USA bullying. The latest catastrophic decisions by the unelected bureaucracy of the EU woke me up from my slumber….. what is much more worrying is MSM messages, contrary to real situation…as Larry pointed out here. How is this even possible? And the latest ‘apology’ by Amnesty International for distress caused with their report, finally acknowledging the war crimes of Ukraine is simply unbelievable!
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/amnesty-regrets-distress-caused-by-report-rebuking-ukraine-2022-08-07/
A view of the conflict from the right:
https://www.theoccidentalobserver.net/2022/08/02/russia-from-the-right-vladislav-ugolniy-donbass-cyber-guerrilla-and-russkiy-mir-nationalist/
Definitely a counter to the MSM narrative.
Thanks for the link. The article illustrates why Russia must clean house in Ukraine, to wipe out the traditional corruption that impoverishes the people and causes much suffering.
Just for everyone’s information, the diminutive of Vladimir is “Vovo”. Yes, like the Swedish car, but without the “L”.
“Vlad” is the diminutive of Vladislav.
If I remember correctly, I learned this from the Babbel language course in Russian.
PS Good for you Larry. You correctly used the word “envious”. Most people would have said “jealous”.
“It is a capital mistake to theorise without data, but it is mental suicide to flunk the data one has.” – Sherlock Holmes, whom Western “journalists” have obviously never read.
The western media are a hard-headed bunch. Events are threatening to break through the bliss of ignorance, like the Amnesty report and the potential disaster of bombing the large nuclear reactor. But the media could always say that no bad events would have happened if Putin had not decided to invade.
These folks suffer from the Peter Pan Syndrome: wishing things into existence. Yet unadulterated children know the difference between fact and fantasy.
Sie irren sich. Deutschland war vielleicht einmal der Schlüssel. Jetzt ist es wie die gesamte EU nur noch ein Schlüsselloch!
You are wrong. Germany may have been the key once. Now, like the entire EU, it’s just a keyhole!
I can’t believe anyone pays attention to George Will. A pretentious Shabbos Goy if there ever was one. His excruciating writing style; endless paeans to baseball and by extension to an Americana long lost; validating all Israeli crimes (which are myriad). I remember someone asking Cokie Roberts about working with him on ABC and wondering whether he was the only guy who never got laid in the 60’s. He mentions Russians endorsing torture. I thought he was talking about us.
Those of you a certain age or so will remember how Liston was going to best Ali. A sure thing. Until ..
The axe must be laid at the root of the tree, called congress. They really are the great deceiver. (With the exception of maybe one or two)
Coca Cola and Nike are irrelevant, but IT, electronics and related technologies are extremely important for a modern society and the sanctions hit the Russian technology sector greatly.
If you’re a bank, a hospital, a car manufacturer, chip maker or any other kind of an industrial entity and are heavily invested in western based (or controlled) technological solutions and now find yourself cut of what do you do ?
“[…]heavily invested in western based (or controlled) technological solutions and now find yourself cut of what do you do ?”
1. Go to China and buy chips and electronics (CPUs, FPUs, DRAMs, etc.) from Foxcon (P.R. China) or TMSC (China/Taiwan).
2. Switch from proprietary Software to Open Source Software – e.g. Microsoft Windows to GNU/Linux. (Already done in sensitive areas)
Easy.
Just switch from one OS to another ?
Can your hardware support the new OS, can you even buy replacement parts for your servers and data centers ? Where does the technical support come from ?
But what about all those business applications and services your company relies on that do not work on Linux ? Your network relies on Cisco switches and routers ?
There are dozens if not hundreds of issues like that. For every industry.
You probably never worked for any serious corporation like a bank.
There is nothing easy about this. Not even close.
It is not like you can just slap a new brand name on McDonalds and call it a day.
Other thank banks I doubt any of those other industries are running windows. And I doubt any of them are running bare metal either.
Mid sized outfits with in-house software not running on cloud will be the ones to get screwed over. And banks, but you probably know it’s a complete sh*t show in there.
The big issue with industry is PLCs. Here Russia (and iirc Slovakia) did firsts. Most PLCs are only programmable with Windows-running software, but Russia and Slovakia have set up *nix (e.g. Linux, FreeBSD) programmable PLCs.
I cannot get Linux-programmable PLCs in North America, and in Europe, I believe there is one supplier (that will not ship/is not cULus et alia approved) of Linux-programmable (i.e. Linux-running IDE for programming the PLC) PLCs.
Not sure why you think anyone in Russia pays for Windows…. And Russians calling for US tech support? You must not know many Russians.
I sincerely doubt Russia uses any Cisco switches with their backdoors.
———- Forwarded message ———
From: dnfguns
Date: Mon, Aug 8, 2022 at 9:37 AM
Subject: Your recent article on Russia…
To:
Dean Sonnenfeld:
You are quite an expert. A man who knows more and more about less and less until he knows absolutely everything about nothing. My dad graduated from Yale when it was decaying but still had some competence. I see the process of decay is nearly complete. Stiff letter to the board to follow.
Academics and spinmeisters like you use the US people and military for fodder but have no real interest in the well being of others.
Sincerely,
Denny Fusaro
PS – Here’s a commentary excerpt based on your report for you to consider:
“But the most egregious example of ignorance presented as “news” comes courtesy of Yvonne Lau writing at Fortune. Did you know that Russia is on the ropes and headed for the dustbin of history?
‘There’s no path out of economic oblivion for Russia’: New report reveals how corporate exodus has already wiped out decades of post–Cold War growth.
The Western sanctions and widespread corporate exodus from Russia since Feb. 24 have ravaged the Russian economy—and its future prospects look even bleaker, according to a new report from Yale University researchers and economists led by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Yale School of Management professor and senior associate dean for leadership studies. It’s now become clear that the Kremlin’s “finances are in much, much more dire straits than conventionally understood” and that the large-scale “business retreats and sanctions are catastrophically crippling the Russian economy,” the researchers wrote.
As of Aug. 4, over 1,000 companies, including U.S. firms like Nike, IBM, and Bain consulting, have curtailed their operations in Russia. Though some businesses have stayed, the mass corporate exodus represents 40% of Russia’s GDP and reverses 30 years’ worth of foreign investment, says the Yale report.
The international retreat is morphing into a larger crisis for the country: a collapse in foreign imports and investments.
Russia has descended into a technological crisis as a result of its isolation from the global economy. It’s having trouble securing critical technology and parts.
Oh my God. How will Russia live without the NIKE’s made by slaves in China and the wisdom dispensed by Mitt Romney’s old consulting firm, BAIN. I can see Vladimir Putin now. He is curled up in a fetal position under his bed. Barefoot. Bereft of the latest pair of Air Jordan’s. Even more terrifying, he now realizes he is deprived of Mitt Romney’s pearls of wisdom. How can Putin and Russia survive without that titan of capitalism in his corner? Poor little Vladimir is sobbing inconsolably.”
As an immigrant, i came to totally appreciate this country, and specially what it stood for. A good help came from being sent to military school. That gave me a civics and constitution insight, as you had to learn it and recite it.
Lived in many countries, many third world ones, so when my neighbors and co-workers bad mouthed this country, I stood up to the rescue and defense.
But then something happened. I started to realize that it was kind of the opposite. We had become everything that could be construed as harmful and destructive. I switched my viewing glasses and realized our leaders; both political and corporate; just dish out harm and poison.
We poison the world with our fast food, obliterating most healthy local customs….same with our petroleum based drugs, that push out thousand year old cures and medicines….Hollywood spews out a cultural master pattern, that changes manners and behaviors to the level of the gutter, catering to the most basic and animalistic desires…our military is used as the worst kind of colonial power to destroy countries from within, as they use the world bank and the IMF to strangle dissenters or naive countries.
God forbid a small, resource rich country invites the US in to “help”….that’s their death song.
Can you believe we actually got to that? I was proud to be in military school and part of this country, now if one of my sons wanted to join the military, I would try any way I could to stop him, and tell him not to become cannon fodder for the ruling class political elite, that will use him as an expendable soiled rag…..with no positive results.
This new elite political class all over the West, is nothing more than a wannabe Middle Ages Lords and consider us their serfs…using media, academia, arts, culture and nutrition as a weapon against us….to keep is inline, dumb and obeying.
The complete crash that’s coming, will be something worth having a front seat for…..
I’ve got a cousin who’s name is Boudreau. He is a Cajun. He is a cook on a commercial boat. He’s got a camera and as he would say ” I ain’t never seed no wreck like dat”…..
Speaking of Western Propaganda where did the Nikes made by slaves in China come from?
P – I know 23 ways to kill you…
Z – I can make you die laughing…
P – you already tried, you became President ?
The USA makes financial “products” and propaganda. What is interesting is that it works. China is a great example. We will probably transit the Taiwan Straits shortly, and they will take it. China is a battered spouse that watches too many Hollywood movies of US military supremacy. And it is prevalent. I enjoy watching a gentleman named Peter Zeihan. He has a great premise concerning demographics and national destiny, et al. But when you research him, and see how many times he lectures to US military academies? He is a paid NSA/CIA disinformation asset. And the majority of the world is so damn dumb they believe everything they hear. I keep thinking the cognitive dissonance of US foreign policy will “jump the shark”, but I have not seen it yet. So, to make it short. The USA is a bully, and no one has called his bluff in a while. If Russia wins in Ukraine, which they will, that might open the floodgates. Interesting days.
US, CANADA, UKRAINE AND RUSSIA 2022 DISPUTES – HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND SEQUEL TO FR. PETER MORELLO’S COMMENTS: (1) US, Canada, Ukraine and Russia are Caucasian-European nations by ethnic majority and nominally Christian nations by religious majority; (2) Ukraine and Russia are also Slavic nations and neighbors with similar laws (limits) on abortion and LGBT; (3) Russia was US’ supporter in the American Revolution at great cost to herself – the island of Menorca; (4) Russia was US’ supporter in the Civil War when US’ opponents were Britain and France, prompting US Secretary of Navy, Gideon Welles to say “God bless the Russians”; (5) US (western Alaska) and Russia are neighbors, and Canada (northwestern Yukon) is closer to Russia than to Britain and France or Mexico; (6) US and Russia were never at war, not counting the Cold War or proxy wars, as compared, for example, with the “G7” nations; (7) US, Canada, NATO and Ukraine have disputes with Russia since the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and militarization of countries neighboring Russia which was invaded over the centuries by NATO members Britain, France, Germany, (Mussolini’s) Italy, Romania, Lithuania-Poland, Turkey and by others including Sweden and the Mongols who inflicted on Ukraine and Russia death and destruction with hardly any parallels in world’s history – Germany also helped Lenin to impose psychopathic and deadly Marxism on Ukraine and Russia in 1917, while Ukraine and Russia, mostly by themselves, prevented Poland’s annihilation by Nazis and saved Europe from Nazi Germany and Mongols; (8) Ukraine and Russia have a border dispute, and a military conflict-war since the violations of the February 21, 2014 all-Ukrainian political agreement in Kiev and the violations of the 2014-2015 Minsk Peace Agreement signed by Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France (in the future, a joint venture by the Minsk signatories in securing Ukrainian segment of “Pan-European” gas pipeline might be a “win-win”) – by February 23, 2022 the war took some 15,000 lives and produced thousands of refugees as well as widespread material destruction in eastern Ukraine; on February 24, 2022 Russia escalated the war and invaded Ukraine resulting in many more deaths, refugees and material destruction across Ukraine; (9) US and Russia can destroy each other and the world with their nuclear weapons in an hour; (10) the irreplaceable way forward for resolving these issues are the eternally-valid biblical principles reflected in President Washington’s Farewell Address in which he called religion-morality the foundation of domestic well-being and peace with other nations and in President Lincoln’s last Inaugural Address “… with malice towards none, with charity for all … among ourselves and with all nations”, as well as in Pope Francis’ 2022 call for prayer and political talks centered on “human brotherhood instead of partisan interests”, all the while keeping in mind the 2022 Lenten message “Remember thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return” and “Repent and believe in the Gospel” which also includes “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” and the parable of “the speck and the log” – moral principles given to us by Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace and the just Judge of the world, principles ignored at one’s great peril.
See also https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2022/03/14/expel-evil-spirit-of-war-from-ukraine-with-prayer-and-fasting-urges-catholic-leader & https://paxchristiusa.org/2022/02/24/pax-christi-usas-statement-on-russians-invasion-of-ukraine.
The best army available for the West currently is the rotten press. I believe that the truth is a force of nature and sonner ou later it will prevail, but the responsibles must be punished.
Estimates say that 500,000 Russians have fled the country since Feb 24?
Where did they go? Most in the West have “canceled” Russian ex-pats long living and working in the West. What would be the incentive to “go abroad” and not find work because you were persona non grata as a Russian?
This is propaganda that doesn’t pass the smell test.
Er, that would be Cassius Clay.
“Cuba is a wreck but it did not produce anything other than cigars, rum, bananas and casinos.”
– You forgot sugarcane 🙂
Given their lack of resources and economic isolation they have have managed to eek along. Marco Rubio is crusading against them providing doctors in return for hard currency and fuel oil. I’m not praising socialism, just noting that they are able to export healthcare in return for stuff they need. That is called normal commerce but Rubio makes it sound evil as he advocates selling weapons to the Saudis to murder Yemenis.
MIT Technology Review posted a long article on EV sales in the US mentioning a number of key metals that would impact availability. That included Nickel, which the authors mentioned would be difficult because ‘most’ of the supply was from Indonesia and the US didn’t have a ‘free trade’ agreement with them. They didn’t mention Russia, which accounts for more than 11% of global supply. That’s already sanctioned and factored into global prices, but still, that’s horrible analysis from MIT to knowingly leave that out.
I can tell you, as an alumnus, that MIT has gone full blown woke.
European vassals be ready for catastrophic electricity bills in the fall, even worse for natgaz.
How long are EU leaders going to stay in power?
Another day, another record high:
🇫🇷⚡️French 1-year forward baseload power hits €543 per MWh
🇩🇪⚡️German 1-year forward baseload power hits €414 per MWh
(For context, the 2010-2020 average for both countries is about €45 per MWh) #EnergyTwitter #EnergyCrisis
Constipated Consensus
Western Propaganda
continues to promote
the meme that China’s panda
is Mother Russia’s goat;
that zebras from Uganda
have Putin by the throat
out on Kiev’s veranda
where NATO “victors” gloat.
Michael Murry, “The Misfortune Teller,” Copyright © 2022
Larry,
I received this reply from Yale. Perhaps you’d share it with Andrei?
Denny – Rebel Wop
———- Forwarded message ———
From: Sonnenfeld, Jeffrey
Date: Mon, Aug 8, 2022 at 9:49 AM
Subject: RE: Your recent article on Russia…
To: dnfguns
CC: Tian, Steven
Thanks for your note of disagreement. Please take a look at our 118 page fact- based research monograph – which has been reviewed by 250,000 economics, financial analysts, industry experts, diplomats from across parties, and CEOs from across sectors. Let us know where you see any errors.
Just hit this link – it is free and anonymous – https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4167193.
Meanwhile yes, China is the next problem but Nike and all fashion companies pulled out of the forced labor factories https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-07/nike-shares-lose-out-to-china-rivals-after-xinjiang-accusations, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-07/nike-shares-lose-out-to-china-rivals-after-xinjiang-accusations, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/25/nike-and-hm-face-backlash-in-china-over-xinjiang-statements.
And yes- Yale too has challenges- like all colleges and universities do these days.
Jeff
Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld
Senior Associate Dean for Leadership Studies
Lester Crown Professor of Leadership Practice
Yale School of Management
P.O. Box 208200 | 165 Whitney Ave.
New Haven, CT 06520-8200 | 06511
Phone: (203) 432-5955
Fax: (203) 436-9277
jeffrey.sonnenfeld@yale.edu
http://som.yale.edu
From: dnfguns
Sent: Monday, August 8, 2022 10:37 AM
To: Sonnenfeld, Jeffrey
Subject: Your recent article on Russia…
Dean Sonnenfeld:
You are quite an expert. A man who knows more and more about less and less until he knows absolutely everything about nothing. My dad graduated from Yale when it was decaying but still had some competence. I see the process of decay is nearly complete. Stiff letter to the board to follow.
Academics and spinmeisters like you use the US people and military for fodder but have no real interest in the well being of others.
Sincerely,
Denny Fusaro
PS – Here’s a commentary excerpt based on your report for you to consider:
“But the most egregious example of ignorance presented as “news” comes courtesy of Yvonne Lau writing at Fortune. Did you know that Russia is on the ropes and headed for the dustbin of history?
‘There’s no path out of economic oblivion for Russia’: New report reveals how corporate exodus has already wiped out decades of post–Cold War growth.
The Western sanctions and widespread corporate exodus from Russia since Feb. 24 have ravaged the Russian economy—and its future prospects look even bleaker, according to a new report from Yale University researchers and economists led by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Yale School of Management professor and senior associate dean for leadership studies. It’s now become clear that the Kremlin’s “finances are in much, much more dire straits than conventionally understood” and that the large-scale “business retreats and sanctions are catastrophically crippling the Russian economy,” the researchers wrote.
As of Aug. 4, over 1,000 companies, including U.S. firms like Nike, IBM, and Bain consulting, have curtailed their operations in Russia. Though some businesses have stayed, the mass corporate exodus represents 40% of Russia’s GDP and reverses 30 years’ worth of foreign investment, says the Yale report.
The international retreat is morphing into a larger crisis for the country: a collapse in foreign imports and investments.
Russia has descended into a technological crisis as a result of its isolation from the global economy. It’s having trouble securing critical technology and parts.
Oh my God. How will Russia live without the NIKE’s made by slaves in China and the wisdom dispensed by Mitt Romney’s old consulting firm, BAIN. I can see Vladimir Putin now. He is curled up in a fetal position under his bed. Barefoot. Bereft of the latest pair of Air Jordan’s. Even more terrifying, he now realizes he is deprived of Mitt Romney’s pearls of wisdom. How can Putin and Russia survive without that titan of capitalism in his corner? Poor little Vladimir is sobbing inconsolably.”
“Ask questions. Demand data.”
OK, what’s the data on slavery in China? Though it may be news to many, the notion of slavery in China is highly overblown.
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3326608