The USA, EU and Ukraine governments are about to have their nuts handed to them. There is no question whose side God and common decency are on. Truth, justice and the free human spirit will prevail.
"They are already directly saying that in 1991 they were able to split the Soviet Union and now the time has come for Russia itself and that it should disintegrate into many mortally warring regions and regions" Is this also what the League of Nations did to the Ottoman Empire in 1922?
First time here and I'm impressed. I came from Larry Johnson's site. It's a long read but worthwhile.
I seems pretty obvious whose side our Creator is on. He's certainly on the side of the nation that commands Him to bless it. The term "God bless America" makes me cringe. It sounds like He's bossed around, bullied. Our Creator doesn't like bullies and vengeance is His.
Phew. Another tour de force, Les. Thank you for the nuke war map. Good to know. 2nd best place to be -- outside of any fallout zone. (1st place being ground zero w/instant pouf, little-no time to suffer). 🤷
As General Curtis LeMay observed, nuclear wars were more humane as those who were going to die died faster.
Certainly arguable, considering what he knew about strategic bombing - read destruction of cities and fire bombing, read cities again and when you really want to show how much you care.
Mentioned in a prior Substack essay - the rivers in Dresden boiled.
Pakistan and India are the concern here, less so The United States and Russia, nor the UK, in spite of the big talk.
Including the capacity of The United States to wage wars . . .
What will achieve that end, as Dr. Chalmers Johnson expressed it, was that the several hundred plus foreign bases would become prohibitively expensive - they eat money, as he put it, taken with a decline in the US$ which right now is not doing too badly.
Relatively small eruptions cause a few years of cool weather, disrupting crops & causing famines globally. A large supervolcano eruption could significantly change the global climate for years, possibly decades...But I'm not worried about it. From what I've read, Russia does not need to endanger the planet to take out the US.
Putin has spoken of never-before-seen weapons based on "new physics."
China's mouthpiece, the Global Times, raised the subject a few weeks ago. Iirc, they said something along the lines of it wouldn't make sense for Russia to retaliate with nukes that would kill millions of civilians, when they could use their new weapons in an emp attack yo take out power & comms.
And even more recently, I saw a company's description of a new weapon, based on new science, that enables everything from interference to complete destruction on all electronics within a radius of some # of KMs. The client listed was Russia.
I had saved the link, bit lost it. I think the company name was something like "deagal."
Pulse Compression Generator, an electromagnetic effect that, say, generates a very high energy pulse with a wavelength (time window) measured in femtoseconds.
This relies on the dv/dt effect of inductive circuits and the inductive properties of any conductive materials.
So, v(t) = L*di(t)/dt, taken with an electromagnetic field sweeping though, inducing a current due to the time varying magnetic field component. The B Field.
As the wave front is nearly vertical, the current changes extremely rapidly and then generates a very high voltage in circuits.
Out goes the IC chips and the pumps stop - if it's public infrastructure.
____________
There is not much published on Pulse Compression Generators but I expect there is a great deal of R&D that remains classified. Naturally, we would all appreciate reading it.
Yup! Radioactive ash 30 feet to 6 inches deep from California to Pennsylvania. Good luck hunting or getting water. World temperatures drop for a decade killing most life on earth.
To a paranoid Russian dictator half way around the world who doesn't give a damn, why not!
Re the use of nuclear weapons at any time, this strikes one as the Mainstream Media elevating the fear factor, taken with a public perception that it is a real possibility.
Between major Anglo-Christian countries, it seems very unlikely.
Early 2000 it was reported that Pakistan was preparing to launch nuclear armed missiles against India and senior US officials intervened in both the Pakistani capital and the Indian.
The disposition of these two countries to resort to their ever expanding nuclear capabilities attracts little attention.
_________
The US has early warning of launch satellites and systems. They would get their missiles away and inflict massive damage against any attacking country. All known.
What seems more likely is that in a conflict between China and the US, now doing the circuit and a conflict with China means China and Russia, it would be the advanced non-nuclear systems and weapons to attrit each other. Along with much phone discussion between the generals along the lines of - "Do you realize that you've lost yet?"
The leaderships of these three major countries and this includes The Generals are not into terminal event decisions. But they are into breaking each other's toys - ie: Kerch Strait Bridge, NordStream.
There are no rights and wrongs here, as most of the important decisions are taken behind closed doors and in the smoke filled rooms, as it would have been expressed.
I always read your posts. Not sure how many people do, but I find them of great value. Unfortunately, I think ignorance is the primary characteristic of our times, and as a general rule, the more educated you are, the more ignorant you are. It is the working class, and the people who's family historically were in the military that seem the most knowledgeable (Although most have blind spots). Probably because they have been on the wrong end of the various endeavors of the "elites"
Interesting observation of the working class, so called.
Say, trades people of whom I've spent quite a lot of time around and they seem better grounded in reality than the senior executive class who were paying my accounts.
As for military personnel, it seems to depend upon where one is in that system.
Aircraft crew or drone "pilot" or infantry (perhaps the worst place) or special forces or a weapons manufacturer technical staffer.
Of one army person who was drafted to The Vietnam War, he found being shot at a very sobering experience.
Les, a very insightful essay. I was especially taken by your paragraph,
"For Russia, this Special Military Operation (SMO) is a veil that appears for the absorption of the Eastern Ukrainian States, thought long overdue yet in fact long in the planning and preparation. Their SMO is the principle vector to draw a fully committed West into a war with Russia on Russia's terms, not theirs, apply devastating resource counter-sanctions on a thoroughly corrupt and incompetent European Union (EU), weaken those states and run them, the US and the UK out of weapons and prosperity. A decade long campaign or longer. One that positions Russia as having responded to Western Aggression. Thus, to conclude that this SMO is entirely for the protection of the Eastern Ukrainian States is to conclude wrongly."
I have often considered such a speculation myself, that Russia deliberately baited the West into committing its feeble military slight to Ukraine so it could be destroyed on non-NATO soil. I'm not sure Putin is so deceptive, but it's certainly a possibility. Certainly there were those in the Kremlin and the general staff who saw it as possible, if the West was foolish enough. In fact, they never would have started the SMO if they weren't sure they had "escalatory dominance" that could defeat any such ill-advised "sunk investment" action by the West. What I fear is the insanity of the neo-cons in Washington. Some of them are entirely capable of escalating to strategic nuclear war on the (mistaken) belief they will be safe in bunkers.
A minor point about, "...not by the superiority of Western ideas and values, of which we hear much, but rather by The West's superiority in applying organized violence," is that there's nothing inherently evil in "Western ideas and values." What's evil is the manipulative use of those ideas and values to excuse organized violence, and the denigration and ignorance of other cultures that came up with similar ideas and values.
The question for humanity in general is, are we descendants of chimpanzees or bonobos? It appears we have inherited competing traits from both. Will mankind learn to be neither liar nor dier? Will we be led by imperialists like Teddy Roosevelt or by the peacemakers of the Anti-imperial League of Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie and Helen Keller? Putin expressed bonobo traits in the original SMO, but Western chimps have forced not simply Putin, but all Russians to activate their inner chimps, at least until such time as Kiev is surrounded by pyramids of Nazi skulls and the remaining population has turned to it bonobo alternative.
When I read, "This is not a vindication of Russian policies but a clear statement of how Western objectives fail. The West is run by fools who sell out their own populations," I immediately thought of the dictum often erroneously attributed to Napoleon, "Never interfere with your enemy when he is making a mistake."
Your essay takes a decidedly black pill orientation in your discussion of SETI and the unlikely success of an STI project. While your analysis of the likelihood of technological civilizations surviving long is probably right, our job is to delay that outcome for as long as possible. We are all Sisyphus.
- As mentioned elsewhere, the Russian Leadership plays Chess, the Chinese play Go and for The West, that game of chance - Snakes & Ladders. The Russian Leadership take their time. Punishment may well come in times and places of their choosing.
- I and others have used anthropological comparisons with other primates. The imputes a certain genetic determinism to behaviour and one that the religious class and others do not wish to admit to.
- As for Western values, so-called, one is to be judged by behaviours and outcomes. Certainly some in The West are very fine people; they just do not happen to be the ones in charge. Which brings to mind Macchiavelli's writings on the matter. Macchiavelli himself was not Macchiavellian and wrote about those of whom the term came to be applied.
He observed of those who would seek to do good in a sea of those who are not good shall surely come to ruin.
- Militarism permeates US public and private affairs and is an integral part of the US economy and political decision influencing. Ditto other Western states and notably here in Australia where the spend on expensive US weapon systems, integrated with Pentagon Systems, is ramping up. A good deal of foreign financial flows into the US is from armaments sales. Weaponizing Australia suits the US Power Elite even as it puts their ally at risk. That, on the observable behaviour, they do not care about.
- One reason certain weapon systems promised to The Ukraine will not be seen in The Ukraine. Poor battlefield performance does not go well for arms sales. The Russian Armed Forces would likely want to see these US weapon systems supplied so they can determine how to defeat them. Starlink as recent example.
- Evil? Or interests and interests? The short term thinking that drags down a society.
- No-one of sense has an interest in the use of nuclear weapons. Their interest is the money to be made in making them, obsoleting them and creating new weapons. In the limit, if the generals do not go for it, nothing happens. Interestingly, senior military personnel seem to become very wealthy during foreign wars. The more foreign the better.
One American former armed forces officer ran the Bourbon & Beefsteak Bar in Sydney during the Vietnam War - Bernie Houghton, a Texan connected to both organised crime figures and the CIA and criminal figures in Australia including political leaders. I walked past the Bourbon & Beefsteak Bar a few times but never went in - I don't drink. I think I should have - should have gone in and just listened.
The values I was referring to are basically those in the Bill of Rights, individual rights to speech, assembly, life, liberty, privacy and the pursuit of happiness. Such rights not to be interrupted except by due process -- search warrant for property or a jury of peers finding criminality or tort.
Those unalienable rights have from the start competed with the Hobbsian Leviathan, both in society and in the minds and behaviors of individuals. In many cases, the noble values have won out. There was a long battle between slavery and racism on one hand and abolitionism and equal rights on the other. This battle was both societal and individual for people like Jefferson, who sincerely believed slavery was evil but was too weak to act sufficiently against it even in his personal life. Recognizing the sins of the nation does not require one to condemn it entirely, but to work to correct the sins. As Union Maj. Gen. Carl Schurz said, "My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right."
We've got our work cut out for us restoring and protecting our "unalienable" rights, both here in the US and in Australia. Good luck to you.
Former Prime Minister John Howard and good friend of G. W. Bush helpfully informed us that we do not need a Bill of Rights, thus affirming that we need a Bill of Rights.
Excellent work Les, thank you - I will take time to read in depth. Agree with your thesis - Eurasia is emerging now and my only question is whether the Empire of Lies will go quietly and cooperate (unlikely) or an almighty final battle will ensue.
On the question of almighty or terminal battles, this appears to be the strategic preoccupation of the BeiJing and Moscow leaderships.
To slowly have The Forces of Universal Goodness left to deal with internal collapse crises including the decline of military effectiveness to the extent that The Leadership Class cannot avoid the advice of their corrupt generals that no, they cannot take on both Russia and China, nor individually and to take on one is to take on both.
Indeed, but I wonder if the hegemon, blinded by hubris, will understand this in time? Our western culture of conflict and competition, with grasping materialism, precludes their understanding of the eastern mind which my Chinese readers often emphasise and of course Xi and Putin state in their speeches.
The advice from the ancient Chinese philosopher KongFuZi (Confucius) applies here and it applies to Washington and allied states -
"When you set out on a path of revenge, dig two graves".
Here, the US-NATO-UK & Allied States' Ukrainian Proxy War on Russia, failing as it is, is now an existential war of survival for The United States and its global power projection, or loss thereof and all that flows from that.
This is not Afghanistan nor Iraq and the forthcoming loss of The Ukraine Campaign will lead NATO EU countries to conclude that The United States need not be feared nor accommodated and that an accommodation with Russia and China provided a pathway to some sort of economic future and one better than anything they are facing into now.
A small nuclear bomb was used in Yemen (by Israel on behalf of Saudi) a few years back. Waste of time and money, I hope the old crook has something more impressive than that in his arsenal or your Russian friends will die,,laughing.
I eventually read your reply, I should rephrase OUR Russian friends, count me in. My understanding is some sort of nuclear fission occurs continuously from power stations, lab experimentation to testing of various size weapons, etc. if the explosion in Yemen was a nuclear device I’ve no way of confirming. Anyway, the Russians recently declared they’ll no longer inform the US of any testing so we’ll just have to wait and see how clever US Intel is I suppose.
That Yemen explosion had an interesting appearance. One wonders why such a device was used there.
The colours from the Beirut explosion were instructive.
__________
From the latest Substack essay . . .
The American Power Elite will break and destroy not just the principles on which their globalized economic order rested but also any foreign physical infrastructure and countries to retain their presumed leading position . . .
Re the Oklahoma Murrah Building, Sam Cohen Los Alamos Nuclear Weapons Physicist and creator of the Neutron Bomb, in an interview with Gore Vidal, stated that the damage on that building could not have been caused by Ammonium Nitrate on a truck in the street (noting that part of the building roof was gone), he mentioned the loss of compressive forces from a truck bomb and the damage was consistent with the placement of explosives inside, also the fine surface chemical changes on the concrete and steel were consistent with that.
The people are always cannon fodder or cheap labour in the eyes of lusters after power. There are always those who want to dominate, to grab the next shiny item of power (resource). And since those who don't lust after power feel the need to protect themselves, they increase the number of armies available to the next person who comes along and lusts after them.
Ukraine has vast untapped resources which Putin thought he could get hold of quickly and cheaply. Those underground will not be harmed by the war, but all the munitions that have fallen in the wheat fields will make farming wheat dangerous for years to come. He no longer seems to care, being driven more and more by pique rather than greed, though the greed is still there. That makes him more dangerous.
But he is following the example of the West. Britain and other countries built vast empires by conquering other countries and stripping them of their assets. Now we can but watch them squabbling over the remaining bones - us.
There are those who believe in white supremacy. And it is true that we are the best bullies, the greatest exploiters. That does not make us the best leaders. Far from it. The positive developments have not come from the rulers but mostly individuals until recently, when science and technology have become so complex that collaboration is necessary.
Illuminating and chilling at the same time. I especially like the Seven Deadly Entitlements! How true! The world runs on an endless supply of bull shit!
The criminality and moral bankruptcy of A Desperate West is in continuous reinforcement around The Globe and so there is no longer any reason to deal with these matters in the polite and cordial style that characterized prior essays.
What the matter turns on is Militarized Foreign Policy, now the defining feature of the Forces of Universal Goodness of whom brook no differences.
_______
The most recent exegesis examines the Myth of State Sovereignty.
That is, if you have significant military power, you have sovereignty.
Washington - London - Brussels are discovering what it means to not respect foreign states' sovereignty while not having the domestic military power to protect them from the consequences of their foreign predations .
The West is going down, probably slowly, but then nothing is so predictable.
As Lenin more or less observed - "There are decades when nothing happens and months when decades happen".
The USA, EU and Ukraine governments are about to have their nuts handed to them. There is no question whose side God and common decency are on. Truth, justice and the free human spirit will prevail.
"They are already directly saying that in 1991 they were able to split the Soviet Union and now the time has come for Russia itself and that it should disintegrate into many mortally warring regions and regions" Is this also what the League of Nations did to the Ottoman Empire in 1922?
First time here and I'm impressed. I came from Larry Johnson's site. It's a long read but worthwhile.
I seems pretty obvious whose side our Creator is on. He's certainly on the side of the nation that commands Him to bless it. The term "God bless America" makes me cringe. It sounds like He's bossed around, bullied. Our Creator doesn't like bullies and vengeance is His.
Phew. Another tour de force, Les. Thank you for the nuke war map. Good to know. 2nd best place to be -- outside of any fallout zone. (1st place being ground zero w/instant pouf, little-no time to suffer). 🤷
As General Curtis LeMay observed, nuclear wars were more humane as those who were going to die died faster.
Certainly arguable, considering what he knew about strategic bombing - read destruction of cities and fire bombing, read cities again and when you really want to show how much you care.
Mentioned in a prior Substack essay - the rivers in Dresden boiled.
Pakistan and India are the concern here, less so The United States and Russia, nor the UK, in spite of the big talk.
The Number 1 target was omitted.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/russian-analyst-urges-nuclear-attack-on-yellowstone-national-park-and-san-andreas-fault-line-20150331-1mbl14.html
A nation just disappears.
Iirc, the yellowstone supervolcano would take out more than the US. A lot more.
Including the capacity of The United States to wage wars . . .
What will achieve that end, as Dr. Chalmers Johnson expressed it, was that the several hundred plus foreign bases would become prohibitively expensive - they eat money, as he put it, taken with a decline in the US$ which right now is not doing too badly.
Relatively small eruptions cause a few years of cool weather, disrupting crops & causing famines globally. A large supervolcano eruption could significantly change the global climate for years, possibly decades...But I'm not worried about it. From what I've read, Russia does not need to endanger the planet to take out the US.
Putin has spoken of never-before-seen weapons based on "new physics."
China's mouthpiece, the Global Times, raised the subject a few weeks ago. Iirc, they said something along the lines of it wouldn't make sense for Russia to retaliate with nukes that would kill millions of civilians, when they could use their new weapons in an emp attack yo take out power & comms.
And even more recently, I saw a company's description of a new weapon, based on new science, that enables everything from interference to complete destruction on all electronics within a radius of some # of KMs. The client listed was Russia.
I had saved the link, bit lost it. I think the company name was something like "deagal."
Edited to add, found it!
https://www.deagel.com/Defensive%20Weapons/Alabuga/a003544
Pulse Compression Generator, an electromagnetic effect that, say, generates a very high energy pulse with a wavelength (time window) measured in femtoseconds.
This relies on the dv/dt effect of inductive circuits and the inductive properties of any conductive materials.
So, v(t) = L*di(t)/dt, taken with an electromagnetic field sweeping though, inducing a current due to the time varying magnetic field component. The B Field.
As the wave front is nearly vertical, the current changes extremely rapidly and then generates a very high voltage in circuits.
Out goes the IC chips and the pumps stop - if it's public infrastructure.
____________
There is not much published on Pulse Compression Generators but I expect there is a great deal of R&D that remains classified. Naturally, we would all appreciate reading it.
Yup! Radioactive ash 30 feet to 6 inches deep from California to Pennsylvania. Good luck hunting or getting water. World temperatures drop for a decade killing most life on earth.
To a paranoid Russian dictator half way around the world who doesn't give a damn, why not!
Fortunately neither your psychological dx nor understanding of Putin's position have any basis in reality.
Suvkin is just another flapping mouth, like our neocon assholes.
Unlike our neocon assholes & their WEF puppetmasters, he has no more power than Putin has a death wish for himself or the world.
Lol! Your Naive BS and SPF 4 MILLION Sun Block Tan Lotion is not armor against the coming storm.
Re the use of nuclear weapons at any time, this strikes one as the Mainstream Media elevating the fear factor, taken with a public perception that it is a real possibility.
Between major Anglo-Christian countries, it seems very unlikely.
Early 2000 it was reported that Pakistan was preparing to launch nuclear armed missiles against India and senior US officials intervened in both the Pakistani capital and the Indian.
The disposition of these two countries to resort to their ever expanding nuclear capabilities attracts little attention.
_________
The US has early warning of launch satellites and systems. They would get their missiles away and inflict massive damage against any attacking country. All known.
What seems more likely is that in a conflict between China and the US, now doing the circuit and a conflict with China means China and Russia, it would be the advanced non-nuclear systems and weapons to attrit each other. Along with much phone discussion between the generals along the lines of - "Do you realize that you've lost yet?"
The leaderships of these three major countries and this includes The Generals are not into terminal event decisions. But they are into breaking each other's toys - ie: Kerch Strait Bridge, NordStream.
Ever hear of projection?
Russia does not need nukes to decapitate the US.
Unlike our fearful (read cowardly) puppet nazi government, Putin & Co are not so stupid or desperate as to destroy life on earth in order to save it.
Their newest lasers can take out all our satellites, breaking our communications.
Their undetectable hypersonic missiles can take out our decision makers , who won't have time to hit the floor before they're blown away.
I posted a little over a year ago, hoping Putin would "Kalibrate" Davos & solve the bulk of the world's problems in a single strike.
Clearly he did not see that post.
I posted it again last week, this time adding dates, longitude, latitude & elevation.
I don't know if he saw that post, but it seems Schwab & Soros did.
After Obama's CIA instigating the Ukrainian revolt, his muslim overloards are ready to pick up the pieces, as planned.
Why not surmise what you think is The Plan.
We can all read it with interest . . .
There are no rights and wrongs here, as most of the important decisions are taken behind closed doors and in the smoke filled rooms, as it would have been expressed.
There are times when it pays to be old.
Those times are now. The many systemic risks are upon us.
Few see them, beyond the rising cost of living.
As written - Washington is prepared to break all international arrangements to preserve global dominance.
_____________
I always read your posts. Not sure how many people do, but I find them of great value. Unfortunately, I think ignorance is the primary characteristic of our times, and as a general rule, the more educated you are, the more ignorant you are. It is the working class, and the people who's family historically were in the military that seem the most knowledgeable (Although most have blind spots). Probably because they have been on the wrong end of the various endeavors of the "elites"
Interesting observation of the working class, so called.
Say, trades people of whom I've spent quite a lot of time around and they seem better grounded in reality than the senior executive class who were paying my accounts.
As for military personnel, it seems to depend upon where one is in that system.
Aircraft crew or drone "pilot" or infantry (perhaps the worst place) or special forces or a weapons manufacturer technical staffer.
Of one army person who was drafted to The Vietnam War, he found being shot at a very sobering experience.
Les, a very insightful essay. I was especially taken by your paragraph,
"For Russia, this Special Military Operation (SMO) is a veil that appears for the absorption of the Eastern Ukrainian States, thought long overdue yet in fact long in the planning and preparation. Their SMO is the principle vector to draw a fully committed West into a war with Russia on Russia's terms, not theirs, apply devastating resource counter-sanctions on a thoroughly corrupt and incompetent European Union (EU), weaken those states and run them, the US and the UK out of weapons and prosperity. A decade long campaign or longer. One that positions Russia as having responded to Western Aggression. Thus, to conclude that this SMO is entirely for the protection of the Eastern Ukrainian States is to conclude wrongly."
I have often considered such a speculation myself, that Russia deliberately baited the West into committing its feeble military slight to Ukraine so it could be destroyed on non-NATO soil. I'm not sure Putin is so deceptive, but it's certainly a possibility. Certainly there were those in the Kremlin and the general staff who saw it as possible, if the West was foolish enough. In fact, they never would have started the SMO if they weren't sure they had "escalatory dominance" that could defeat any such ill-advised "sunk investment" action by the West. What I fear is the insanity of the neo-cons in Washington. Some of them are entirely capable of escalating to strategic nuclear war on the (mistaken) belief they will be safe in bunkers.
A minor point about, "...not by the superiority of Western ideas and values, of which we hear much, but rather by The West's superiority in applying organized violence," is that there's nothing inherently evil in "Western ideas and values." What's evil is the manipulative use of those ideas and values to excuse organized violence, and the denigration and ignorance of other cultures that came up with similar ideas and values.
The question for humanity in general is, are we descendants of chimpanzees or bonobos? It appears we have inherited competing traits from both. Will mankind learn to be neither liar nor dier? Will we be led by imperialists like Teddy Roosevelt or by the peacemakers of the Anti-imperial League of Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie and Helen Keller? Putin expressed bonobo traits in the original SMO, but Western chimps have forced not simply Putin, but all Russians to activate their inner chimps, at least until such time as Kiev is surrounded by pyramids of Nazi skulls and the remaining population has turned to it bonobo alternative.
When I read, "This is not a vindication of Russian policies but a clear statement of how Western objectives fail. The West is run by fools who sell out their own populations," I immediately thought of the dictum often erroneously attributed to Napoleon, "Never interfere with your enemy when he is making a mistake."
Your essay takes a decidedly black pill orientation in your discussion of SETI and the unlikely success of an STI project. While your analysis of the likelihood of technological civilizations surviving long is probably right, our job is to delay that outcome for as long as possible. We are all Sisyphus.
- As mentioned elsewhere, the Russian Leadership plays Chess, the Chinese play Go and for The West, that game of chance - Snakes & Ladders. The Russian Leadership take their time. Punishment may well come in times and places of their choosing.
- I and others have used anthropological comparisons with other primates. The imputes a certain genetic determinism to behaviour and one that the religious class and others do not wish to admit to.
- As for Western values, so-called, one is to be judged by behaviours and outcomes. Certainly some in The West are very fine people; they just do not happen to be the ones in charge. Which brings to mind Macchiavelli's writings on the matter. Macchiavelli himself was not Macchiavellian and wrote about those of whom the term came to be applied.
He observed of those who would seek to do good in a sea of those who are not good shall surely come to ruin.
- Militarism permeates US public and private affairs and is an integral part of the US economy and political decision influencing. Ditto other Western states and notably here in Australia where the spend on expensive US weapon systems, integrated with Pentagon Systems, is ramping up. A good deal of foreign financial flows into the US is from armaments sales. Weaponizing Australia suits the US Power Elite even as it puts their ally at risk. That, on the observable behaviour, they do not care about.
- One reason certain weapon systems promised to The Ukraine will not be seen in The Ukraine. Poor battlefield performance does not go well for arms sales. The Russian Armed Forces would likely want to see these US weapon systems supplied so they can determine how to defeat them. Starlink as recent example.
- Evil? Or interests and interests? The short term thinking that drags down a society.
- No-one of sense has an interest in the use of nuclear weapons. Their interest is the money to be made in making them, obsoleting them and creating new weapons. In the limit, if the generals do not go for it, nothing happens. Interestingly, senior military personnel seem to become very wealthy during foreign wars. The more foreign the better.
One American former armed forces officer ran the Bourbon & Beefsteak Bar in Sydney during the Vietnam War - Bernie Houghton, a Texan connected to both organised crime figures and the CIA and criminal figures in Australia including political leaders. I walked past the Bourbon & Beefsteak Bar a few times but never went in - I don't drink. I think I should have - should have gone in and just listened.
The values I was referring to are basically those in the Bill of Rights, individual rights to speech, assembly, life, liberty, privacy and the pursuit of happiness. Such rights not to be interrupted except by due process -- search warrant for property or a jury of peers finding criminality or tort.
Those unalienable rights have from the start competed with the Hobbsian Leviathan, both in society and in the minds and behaviors of individuals. In many cases, the noble values have won out. There was a long battle between slavery and racism on one hand and abolitionism and equal rights on the other. This battle was both societal and individual for people like Jefferson, who sincerely believed slavery was evil but was too weak to act sufficiently against it even in his personal life. Recognizing the sins of the nation does not require one to condemn it entirely, but to work to correct the sins. As Union Maj. Gen. Carl Schurz said, "My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right."
We've got our work cut out for us restoring and protecting our "unalienable" rights, both here in the US and in Australia. Good luck to you.
Former Prime Minister John Howard and good friend of G. W. Bush helpfully informed us that we do not need a Bill of Rights, thus affirming that we need a Bill of Rights.
Excellent work Les, thank you - I will take time to read in depth. Agree with your thesis - Eurasia is emerging now and my only question is whether the Empire of Lies will go quietly and cooperate (unlikely) or an almighty final battle will ensue.
On the question of almighty or terminal battles, this appears to be the strategic preoccupation of the BeiJing and Moscow leaderships.
To slowly have The Forces of Universal Goodness left to deal with internal collapse crises including the decline of military effectiveness to the extent that The Leadership Class cannot avoid the advice of their corrupt generals that no, they cannot take on both Russia and China, nor individually and to take on one is to take on both.
Then lose.
Indeed, but I wonder if the hegemon, blinded by hubris, will understand this in time? Our western culture of conflict and competition, with grasping materialism, precludes their understanding of the eastern mind which my Chinese readers often emphasise and of course Xi and Putin state in their speeches.
The advice from the ancient Chinese philosopher KongFuZi (Confucius) applies here and it applies to Washington and allied states -
"When you set out on a path of revenge, dig two graves".
Here, the US-NATO-UK & Allied States' Ukrainian Proxy War on Russia, failing as it is, is now an existential war of survival for The United States and its global power projection, or loss thereof and all that flows from that.
This is not Afghanistan nor Iraq and the forthcoming loss of The Ukraine Campaign will lead NATO EU countries to conclude that The United States need not be feared nor accommodated and that an accommodation with Russia and China provided a pathway to some sort of economic future and one better than anything they are facing into now.
The author should learn the difference between principle and principal!
A mere trifle . . .
The author knows the difference between principle and principal.
The author has none other to proof check what can sometimes turn into an exhausting exercise.
Delusional BS!
Be more precise, if you are able to . . .
That is as precise as it needs to be.
How did you manage to write such a long piece without mentioning "Family Values" ?
Impressive, both ways...
How indeed.
A fine remark on the state of Western mainstream media discourse.
It has its origins.
I am in two minds about going into it as others cover this.
A prop for failing democracies is one thesis, all created by The Systems Managers.
Over 12,000 nukes controlled by several paranoid, marxist, dictators and one senile oldFk!
You can stop worrying once everyone realizes they all dead. When is the only variable.
Media talking to the use of nuclear weapons is a fear tactic to attract readers.
No-one will be using nuclear weapons in The Ukraine. Or elsewhere in The West.
We observe that the Russian Armed Forces struck many Ukrainian electricity generators, using their conventional weapons.
To shut down any country, target their electricity generation and distribution systems, plus the transformer factories.
As for heads of state and states of mind, the sober decision makers reside with the Chiefs of Staff.
They seem to like small conflicts. Very large ones are very unpredictable and to be avoided.
A small nuclear bomb was used in Yemen (by Israel on behalf of Saudi) a few years back. Waste of time and money, I hope the old crook has something more impressive than that in his arsenal or your Russian friends will die,,laughing.
"A small nuclear bomb was used in Yemen (by Israel . . . ".
That claim was made, one could see the explosion and rising cloud but this would require a weapons professional to clarify this.
A similar claim was made concerning the Beirut warehouse explosion - being more than tonnes of NH₄NO₃.
Miniaturized nuclear weapons goes way back. As for their use, how does one actually know?
_____________
Unclear about "Russian friends" as it is unclear how many subscribe - always free BTW.
Feel free to.
I eventually read your reply, I should rephrase OUR Russian friends, count me in. My understanding is some sort of nuclear fission occurs continuously from power stations, lab experimentation to testing of various size weapons, etc. if the explosion in Yemen was a nuclear device I’ve no way of confirming. Anyway, the Russians recently declared they’ll no longer inform the US of any testing so we’ll just have to wait and see how clever US Intel is I suppose.
That Yemen explosion had an interesting appearance. One wonders why such a device was used there.
The colours from the Beirut explosion were instructive.
__________
From the latest Substack essay . . .
The American Power Elite will break and destroy not just the principles on which their globalized economic order rested but also any foreign physical infrastructure and countries to retain their presumed leading position . . .
https://les7eb.substack.com/p/washingtons-war-part-viii-narrative
Washington have received warnings not to try anything like this in The Ukraine.
Much appreciated.
Re the Oklahoma Murrah Building, Sam Cohen Los Alamos Nuclear Weapons Physicist and creator of the Neutron Bomb, in an interview with Gore Vidal, stated that the damage on that building could not have been caused by Ammonium Nitrate on a truck in the street (noting that part of the building roof was gone), he mentioned the loss of compressive forces from a truck bomb and the damage was consistent with the placement of explosives inside, also the fine surface chemical changes on the concrete and steel were consistent with that.
Your thoughts please?
The people are always cannon fodder or cheap labour in the eyes of lusters after power. There are always those who want to dominate, to grab the next shiny item of power (resource). And since those who don't lust after power feel the need to protect themselves, they increase the number of armies available to the next person who comes along and lusts after them.
Ukraine has vast untapped resources which Putin thought he could get hold of quickly and cheaply. Those underground will not be harmed by the war, but all the munitions that have fallen in the wheat fields will make farming wheat dangerous for years to come. He no longer seems to care, being driven more and more by pique rather than greed, though the greed is still there. That makes him more dangerous.
But he is following the example of the West. Britain and other countries built vast empires by conquering other countries and stripping them of their assets. Now we can but watch them squabbling over the remaining bones - us.
There are those who believe in white supremacy. And it is true that we are the best bullies, the greatest exploiters. That does not make us the best leaders. Far from it. The positive developments have not come from the rulers but mostly individuals until recently, when science and technology have become so complex that collaboration is necessary.
Illuminating and chilling at the same time. I especially like the Seven Deadly Entitlements! How true! The world runs on an endless supply of bull shit!
Another masterpiece essay. Everything I read from Les is at the highest level.
Good.
Back on deck after shoulder surgery.
_________
The criminality and moral bankruptcy of A Desperate West is in continuous reinforcement around The Globe and so there is no longer any reason to deal with these matters in the polite and cordial style that characterized prior essays.
Wishing you the best of health, Les. (Denis, from occupied Canada) I have a feeling 2024 promises to be a humdinger. Oh, the madness of it all.
“The Armed Forces as their ultimate purpose is destruction, not creation...”
Is not the armed forces a creator of security?
Of destruction yes, but the destroyer of those who would aim destroy “us”?
I ask this question from a position of great ignorance.
Bloody good stuff you’re writing mate.
This is true.
What the matter turns on is Militarized Foreign Policy, now the defining feature of the Forces of Universal Goodness of whom brook no differences.
_______
The most recent exegesis examines the Myth of State Sovereignty.
That is, if you have significant military power, you have sovereignty.
Washington - London - Brussels are discovering what it means to not respect foreign states' sovereignty while not having the domestic military power to protect them from the consequences of their foreign predations .
The West is going down, probably slowly, but then nothing is so predictable.
As Lenin more or less observed - "There are decades when nothing happens and months when decades happen".
Correct.
I noticed that sometime thereafter.
No-one to proof check but myself in what can be an exhausting exercise . . .
___________
Substack essays are fixed and cannot be altered.
One should exercise care in drawing any conclusions regarding foreign leaders who are in Washington's Bad Boy Of The Month Club.
Never lacking for members, by Washington's reckoning . . .
Hey, I can delete it. Consider it done.
Cheers