@ all patrons
Thank you for your regular link contributions. I rarely comment, because I have little to add. (For instance, karlof1, you recently wondered aloud why you didn’t see replies.) But, I do read your stuff.

Posted by: oglalla | Aug 28 2020 15:59 utc | 4

A Plan B between nation state has evolved to be a group of local trade exchanges adopted by European and Eurasian business and investment communities.
The governments that manage these trade exchanges have facilitated conversion to plan b. Plan B (trade without USD) is evolving, direct exchange of national domestic currencies has become perferred to the banking inconvenience afforded by the global reserve currency (USD).
USD denominated trade between Russia and China has dropped from about 90% to less than 50%; between Russia and India nation currencies have been exchanged, , as are India and Iran and Turkey and Iran.
Since September 2019, Rosneft, Russia’s largest oil exporter, has priced new contracts in euros.
The management of the USA has failed America. How has the USA failed America?
The Maestros that run the USA have allowed trade deficits since the 1970s.
The USA, which manages America, has booked current account deficits since the early 1980s.
With millions of jobs and much of its industrial leadership lost to outsourcing, Americans have finally decided the USA cannot effectively manage America. something different is needed.
usd parity purchasing power
GDP _____ nominal__ _PPP_.
usa_______25.00%____15.00%
Erasia____55.00%____60.00%
eu 21.00%
China 16.00%
japan 6.00%
ASEAN 4.00%
India 3.00%
South Korea 8.00%
Taiwan
Japan
others 13.00%
read the link to understand neither Trump nor Biden cam fix this
https://asiatimes.com/2020/08/the-eurasian-century-has-already-begun/

Posted by: snake | Aug 28 2020 16:09 utc | 6

The return of Lutsenko, of Ukraine-gate fame.
The “Wagner” Spectacle in Minsk had been in the works since last year

Posted by: Herr Hesser | Aug 28 2020 16:19 utc | 8

@ Posted by: dh-mtl | Aug 28 2020 16:16 utc | 7
That’s not the metric used in the financial world, but demand for T-bonds.
There are many factors why one currency fluctuates against another currency.

Posted by: vk | Aug 28 2020 16:49 utc | 10

Scary stuff
This Has To Be A Joke, Because If It’s Not…

After thinking about it all day, I’m still not quite sure this isn’t a joke; a high-brow commitment of utterly brilliant performance art, the kind of Four-D masterpiece of hilarious deception that Andy Kaufman would’ve gone nuts over. I mean, it has to be, right?
Out of Jackson Hole, the puppet show nature of this ridiculous fantasy could not be more obvious.

<> <> <> <> <>
The Parallels are eerie:

• 2005: Greenspan rejects evidence of massive Subprime bubble
  2008: Global Financial Crisis
• 2018: “Puppet show” after failure of economic models is confirmed by Eurodollar inversion
  2021: Depression?

So what the heck is happening?

1. Mistake? Another epic failure by the Fed;
2. Blowback? Natural consequence of a financialized”/neoliberal economy;
3. Deliberate: Part of the strategy to smash China?

!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Aug 28 2020 17:07 utc | 12

@snake | 6
Thanks. Your comment reminded me of an article I read earlier this week by Pepe Escobar. Have to say I don’t usually read him, but this article was impressive and I will pay more attention to him in future. It discusses the EuroAsian Alliance. The alliance is not that surprising. But the detail in the article is. The part I didn’t fully understand was that the alliance could only happen after Merkel, when it is clearly Merkel, and her very successful and pragmatic relationship with Putin, that has done the groundwork, and least as far as I understand. Anyway, it also includes a memorable Putin quote: ))))
“Negotiating with Team Trump is like playing chess with a pigeon: the demented bird walks all over the chessboard, shits indiscriminately, knocks over pieces, declares victory, then runs away.”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/55516.htm

Posted by: AtaBrit | Aug 28 2020 17:18 utc | 14

From reddit/r/sino: https://www.reddit.com/r/Sino/comments/ii2dhf/lac_standoff_mea_rules_out_military_option_says/
this comment:
“This dramatic change in tone might be related to the apparent successful test of DF-21D and DF-26B.
Whereas previously, India might feel China was too busy with US in SCS and Taiwan to focus on them, the successful demonstration of AShBM means now any time a US carrier approaches with in 4,000km of Chinese coast it would have a Sword of Damocles hanging above its head. It may well be that overnight, China have invalidated all the money and effort invested into 11 super carriers when it comes between US and China. It’s that revolutionary.
That be the case, US support for Taiwan in the event of reunification is now in doubt, and you can see Tsai Ing-wen also suddenly changing her tone and saying everyone let’s calm down and talk this out. The US remains quiet more than 2 days after the test probably still in shock.
And for India, the strategic calculation is now vastly different. Consider this, if a DF-26B is launched from Tibet it has enough range to overfly the entire Indian subcontinent and hit INS Vikramaditya in the Indian Ocean. So much for trying to strangle shipment of oil to China.”
Seems interesting.

Posted by: Francisco | Aug 28 2020 17:42 utc | 16

Rabbit @12–
Interesting list. I suggest listening to this edition of the Keiser Report as the first 8 minutes speak to the current unraveling triggered by the pandemic. Here’s the synopsis:
“One of the issues driving these big questions is the rise of the cantillionaire class. As the Fed’s only tool to intervene in the economy is via interest rates and liquidity injections, they have backstopped the markets – but the ordinary citizen is more and more removed from this largesse, as the inflation has made it more difficult to participate in the means of getting ahead. The bargain that has been struck over the past few decades is a terrible deal: the Fed says, “Our money printing actions will make everything (homes, cars, education, etc) more expensive for you than it was for your parents. BUT, the bargain is we will give you ever-cheaper credit to buy these things.” The one positive from this is that we may be moving beyond the old political right and left and instead starting to look at structural causes of inequality, like monetary policy. Finally, the trio talk about the role of the US dollar geo-strategically, and whether or not the current structure even benefits US interests.” [Emphasis Original]
Unaddressed is the social unrest this is contributing to–this dressing up of Debt Peonage.
And thanks for your recruiting efforts for the People’s Party!

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 28 2020 18:00 utc | 18

Myth of China’s debt trap’ remember if the U.S. accuses someone else of it then we are doing it https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-myth-of-china-s-debt-trap-diplomacy this is a right wingish magizine which is paywalled but gives you a few freebies. Basically, the author mentions that China makes deals with local authorities on their terms. If they want a white elephant project to make jobs then China will go along with it.
In one example, China gave a low interest loan so that the victim could pay back predatory U.S. investors and then got blamed for being predators. We are shameless.
—————————————————————————————-
Why Israeli elites hate Iran so much
When I read FARs news and the Ayatollah’s comments directly without the benefit of FOX filtering it, I am struck that despite all of the harm that we have done to Iranians and how many times we have knocked them down at how they have retained their optimism. They really believe that they are going to save the world and stabilize the M.E. and roll back the chaos by being the adult in the room.
This drives knowledgeable Israelis insane because I do believe that they are genuinely scarred by the Holocaust and believe that they need to be hyper-aggressive in the name of preemptive self-defense. Iranians make them feel ashamed. They have a need to victimize Iranians until either they destroy Iran or crush Iran’s spirit. I say knowledgeable because the average Israeli is as dumb as the average American and has bought into the decades long cult of lies about Iran.
BTW just trying to make sense about what I see, can I be wrong, sure but I can’t help but be curious about it.

Posted by: Christian J. Chuba | Aug 28 2020 18:05 utc | 20

@Peter AU1 | 19
Very interesting observation!! )))
I had thought/ hoped that somehow Germany would help ‘rationalise’ the situation, but in vain it seems!

Posted by: AtaBrit | Aug 28 2020 18:13 utc | 22

20 “I do believe that they are genuinely scarred by the Holocaust”
No it’ a historical nonsense..zionists used the german solution to push as many jews as possible into Palestine … in reality for them the “hatred” against jews is their very reason for existing and for having an illegal state.The zionist cancer fears Iran as the last bastion of resistance against their expansion.

Posted by: LuBa | Aug 28 2020 18:42 utc | 24

@james | 25
When NordStream II is up and running – not long to go now – I think we’ll start to see a more determined Germany. Actually, in the EuroAsian Agreement article I linked to in a different post it states clearly that one of Germany’s fears is loss of its car exports to the US.
But it is only a matter of time.

Posted by: AtaBrit | Aug 28 2020 19:26 utc | 26

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Aug 28 2020 19:28 utc | 27
Related:
https://www.stalkerzone.org/packs-of-biletskys-jackals/

Posted by: Herr Hesser | Aug 28 2020 20:15 utc | 28

Peter AU1 | 19
“For the Brits and Americans both Skripal and Navalny had far more value dead than alive and both are Russian.”
A shrewd observation! And I think there’s another similarity. Both incidents happened during the terms of weak, clueless female leaders.
Which brings to me to a comment AtaBrit made earlier on:
“it is clearly Merkel, and her very successful and pragmatic relationship with Putin, that has done the groundwork”
Merkel is neither successful nor ‘pragmatic’. Everybody and their uncle is feeling bold enough to try and stop this joint Russian-German multi-billion dollar project and I think it will be permanently frozen at some point. I hardly call that being successful. Currently, we can see how successful she is with Poland blocking the new German ambassador. My hunch: it’s not about his ancestors hurting Polish feelings, but the Trump-Americans trying to get rid of a NATO asset. And no-one is ever really ‘pragmatic’.
But back to Peter’s “nerve agents are cholinesterase inhibitors. I think Porton Down has cooked something up that is not being detected in current blood tests.”
Well, the list is long enough already: parasympathomimetic drugs, in my view. Some act directly on the cholinergic system, others indirectly. Some are used as treatments against schizophrenia/psychosis. Some work against nausea and vomiting while others are used to reduce high blood pressure. Many can be applied as a simple skin patch! I really don’t envy the doctors in Omsk, nor those at the Charité hospital, for that matter.

Posted by: Scotch Bingeington | Aug 28 2020 20:30 utc | 30

Scotch Bingeington
I’m thinking of indirect action considering no inhibitor showed on both German and Russian blood tests. I think part of the reason for having the plane there quickly to try and get Navalny out of Russia, was to give the Russian doctors little time to perform more tests. Known clinical symptoms to date are hypoglycemia, carbohydrate metabolism issue and cholinesterase.
A common denominator there is the liver, so perhaps a liver or other organ biopsy that is a common denominator of his symptoms may have shown something.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 28 2020 20:46 utc | 32

Trump views the stock market as the barometer of success and by that measure his recovery exceeds Obama’s. Trump, the Republicans as a whole, and the entire panoply of the business press, including such supposed left wing propaganda outlets like NPR (the Marketplace program,) and for decades before, PBS (Rukeyser’s Wall Street Week) have been conditioning the population to agree, especially when they are told the stock market is their pension fund.
A collapsing US should mean the Fed is no longer the world central bank. T-bonds are important, yes, but no single metric, especially not one singled out by their statisticians, serves as an infallible guide. And the market for T-bonds is partly determined by demand. When the world economy is down demand for T-bonds is lessened by lower profits. So far as the dollar being the reserve currency, at this point I think Gresham’s law (not fashionable, I know, but…) is working for the dollar.

Posted by: steven t johnson | Aug 28 2020 21:04 utc | 34

@Jackrabbit #15
In that both the R’s and D’s are totally controlled by their financial masters and the Jewish Lobby, it is obvious that a long-term alternative has to be a third party free of malign influence. However, the present lineup of the MPP is so inconsequential as to be laughable.
My belief is that the foundation of the third party should be based on the labor-union movement — they are already organized and are in a position to produce a charismatic, eloquent spokesperson who can coherently outline the party’s aims. Also, those disaffected ex-members of the Occupy Movements and the G-20 Protests should be sought out and encouraged to join the Movement.
Not for the immediate now, (Trump MUST be beaten), but let’s start beating the drum on Jan.1,2020

Posted by: chet380 | Aug 28 2020 21:15 utc | 36

librul | Aug 28 2020 18:14 utc | 23:

How would a coup that takes out MBS reshape the region’s power structure? Seems overdue after the way MBS shook down so many wealthy people in the Kingdom.

It should be noted that despite MBS having apparently amassed all power, there has still not yet been a succession to the throne beyond the generation of Ibn Saud’s sons. MBS (via his dad) has already removed the first such designated successor in former Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, and of course replaced him with himself. So MBS has already proved that can be done.
While obviously the biological necessity of finding a king who is not a son of Ibn Saud is rapidly approaching if the gangster monarchy is to continue (though not quite yet: former Crown Prince Muqrin is still inconveniently alive – I don’t know if others remain), the lack of precedent suggests the possibility that the immediate aftermath of Salman’s demise, when it comes, could be more eventful than anticipated. I guess it’s a question of whether MBS has been successful enough in marginalizing the rest of the family that their resentment no longer matters, despite his numerous monumental screwups. That does currently seem to be the case.
While I don’t doubt that MBS and his demented policies are fine with the U.S., and I’m sure Washington prefers the stability of a smooth succession, I don’t think the U.S. would really mind if he were to be deposed by a more normal (i.e., collegial with his clan) Saudi prince, if the family can pull it off. I definitely agree with you, librul, that the issue doesn’t seem to have any resonance with Trump vs. Biden, or with Repubs vs. Dems in general.

Posted by: David G | Aug 28 2020 21:45 utc | 38

Yes, verbs of motion in Russian are quite peculiar and with one word you can say “we are going away”, but they were Ukrainian nationalists, the fact that they speak Russian is irrelevant, because basically every body in eastern, southern, and central Ukraine speaks Russian, even the nationalists boss, the interior minister Avakov spoke Russian during councils of ministers. Here you have a video that exemplifies the language schizophrenia in Ukraine, Paco | Aug 28 2020 21:05 utc
Verbs in all Slavic languages I checked have similar grammar, Bulgarian is an outlier with nouns. You use a prefix to indicate things like directions (away would have od- or u-) and a suffix to indicate number, person and sometimes gender. In the present tense there is a minor difference if adding “we” is preferred or not, but it is always optional. Compare with Spanish “venceremos” => “We will win/succeed”.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Aug 28 2020 22:05 utc | 40

A funny one:
Mikhail Delyagin: This year’s Darwin Award goes to strike committees of state-owned enterprises

Posted by: vk | Aug 28 2020 22:46 utc | 42

Musk Wealth Tops $100 Billion as Bezos Worth Twice as Much
It’s not surprising Bezos’ wealth being the one growing the fastest and the most. This pandemic decimated the American petite-bourgeoisie, of which most of them are in the services/retail sector – a sector Bezos’ Amazon was the best positioned to gobble up.
As a result, his ex-wife is on a safe pace to become the richest woman in the world (just a hair behind Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, L’Oréal heiress).
The petite-bourgeoisie should stop blaming all their woes on the working class who doesn’t want to die and on a bunch of BLM incendiaries. They should smell the coffee and see who their real enemy is.

Posted by: vk | Aug 28 2020 23:20 utc | 44

So the U.S. is going to attempt to restrict the export, re-export and transfer of goods on five Russian laboratories with sanctions.
Vile doesn’t begin to describe the minds behind this.
You have to be an exceptionally repulsive character to orchestrate this type of sub human behaviour.
The true face of the U.S.A. politik is plain for the world to see.

Posted by: Beibdnn | Aug 28 2020 23:32 utc | 46

I have been reading some of the usual westernaganda and on Belarus I find a distinct trend. Some outlets, like the New York Crimes, er, Times, lie openly: “the protestors have gone out of their way to make clear that they do not want to antagonise Russia or join NATO”. No, they did not, their manifesto clearly states that they would exit all agreements with Russia, conduct mass privatisation, join the EU and NATO, and like the Ukranazis ban Russian in all official use. “The protests were peaceful.” No they weren’t, they were planning to storm the presidential palace. And now I just read this:
https://www.npr.org/2020/08/28/906992368/tightening-the-screws-belarus-lukashenko-shows-no-sign-of-bending-to-protests
While reluctantly admitting that the colour revolution was burning out, it claimed that Lukashenko introduced the current Belarus flag in 1994 “reminiscent of the Soviet era flag”. This is a lie by omission, since they left out the crucial not: he introduced it after a referendum on changing the flag from the Nazi collaborationist white Red white flag. They’re lying by omission now, just as that do when they talk about the implosion of Libya but always, always, forget to mention that Libya was destroyed by American and EUNATO bombing after deliberately misusing a UN Security Council resolution authorising action to protect civilians.
At the same time they did not sanction Lukashenko, despite sanctioning other Belarusian officials. While the sanctions are essentially meaningless, it does indicate that they still hope to woo Lukashenko in future. And that in turn means that they’ve given up on their Guaido-equivalent, Tikhanovskaya.

Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Aug 29 2020 0:13 utc | 48

rump views the stock market as the barometer of success and by that measure his recovery exceeds Obama’s. Trump, the Republicans as a whole, and the entire panoply of the business press, including such supposed left wing propaganda outlets like NPR (the Marketplace program,) and for decades before, PBS (Rukeyser’s Wall Street Week) have been conditioning the population to agree, especially when they are told the stock market is their pension fund.
A collapsing US should mean the Fed is no longer the world central bank. T-bonds are important, yes, but no single metric, especially not one singled out by their statisticians, serves as an infallible guide. And the market for T-bonds is partly determined by demand. When the world economy is down demand for T-bonds is lessened by lower profits. So far as the dollar being the reserve currency, at this point I think Gresham’s law (not fashionable, I know, but…) is working for the dollar. by: steven t johnson @ 33
both the R’s and D’s are totally controlled by their financial masters and the Jewish Lobby, Jackrabbit @ 15.y..38 <= in my opinion, a 3d party is as useless to governed Americans, as tits on a boar hog? We need our nation to pull together as one. I opt for a different government, one with a constitution written by the governed, ratified by the governed, written without input from anyone associated to the current power, knowledge, or financial structure. A constitution that empowers the governed to remove from office and to jail for the rest of their lives, any person, elected or not, who uses the government or a position in government ( as politician, contractor, bureaucrat or judge) who for private gain or for third party benefit uses or directs an activity in such a way that it benefits either the politician personally or a third party beneficiary disqualified because its purpose has not been approved by the voters. A constitution that allows each citizen, one or all, to sue and prove in a governed elected court, that a member of the government or one of its Bureaucrats or contractors or military men, cheated the government or the governed people, lied to the governed people, or allowed a lie to stand un-corrected and denied, as "false narrative" in public or private media and upon conviction for such crimes against the governed, the person found guilty to be removed from office, job, or position or service, and placed in solitary confinement for ten years: no ifs, ands or buts. The constitution the governed were handed in 1788, gave very few ways for the governed to control the behaviors of the elected government, and no means for the governed to enforce those few things, against those who govern.

Posted by: snake | Aug 29 2020 1:10 utc | 50

From The Lobster:
” I am not a Lockerbie expert. I’ve read (and forgotten) a couple of the books.
If asked about it, the best I could manage would be that the Libya-dunit story
was obvious and demonstrable baloney. Beyond that . . .
Which is a necessary preamble to recommending the Lockerbie writing of
Ludwig De Braeckeleer at Intel Today. De Braeckeleer is a Professor of Physics
who has been working on Lockerbie for a long time and he has concluded:
‘New Evidence and Logic have led me to rewrite 30 years of History. Pan
Am Flight 103 disintegrated in flight over Lockerbie on December 21 1988
because of a massive structural failure due to well-known issues of metal
fatigue in section 41 and 42 of the Boeing 747 (Series 100 & 200), not
because of an explosive device.’
He has laid it all out in a book which he has put on-line. The little I have read 19
of it is excellent. …”
https://www.lobster-magazine.co.uk/free/lobster80/lob80-view-from-the-bridge.pdf?cache=223

Posted by: bevin | Aug 29 2020 1:26 utc | 52

Richard Steven Hack @Aug 29 1:46 #52

Call me when they elect someone.

I actually have more substantive reservations that the difficulty of starting a third-party. I worry that this may be just another “Democracy Works!” trick like Sander’s sheepdogging. Some of the Sander’s people are involved with the Movement for a People’s Party (MPP).
What gives me some pause, however, is the involvement of people like Jimmy Dore, Chris Hedges, and Cindy Sheehan. And I think that ANY vote for third-party is better than wasting one’s vote for one of the two main Parties.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Aug 29 2020 2:06 utc | 54

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Aug 29 2020 2:06 utc | 53 And I think that ANY vote for third-party is better than wasting one’s vote for one of the two main Parties.
I think *any* vote is a waste. As The Prisoner said once, “Every man votes for a dictator.”
All: This is how the state works: Federal Court: No, You Fucking May Not Force Your Way Into A Home And Strip Search Six Very Young Children Fortunately in this case we have a judge who “stripped” the officious asshats of their immunity.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Aug 29 2020 2:28 utc | 56

Declassified documentary footage of the Soviet tsar-bomb tests.
Posted by: alaff | Aug 28 2020 23:04 utc | 42
There is only one Tsar-bell, Tsar-cannon and Tsar-bomb. Interestingly, the design was for 100 Megaton, but they changed it to 50. Namely, the shell that contains the initial explosion, long enough to create proper temperature-pressure combination to initiate chain reaction of fusion, could be from uranium that would amplify the power (?? I am not a physicist), spewing several tons of very radioactive junk (products of the uranium with fissions and fusions). By replacing it with lead the power was small, but radioactive pollution commendably low, at least compared with American thermonuclear tests. Even with “feeble” 50 megaton, the plane that dropped it barely survived, “air hole” created by the explosion caused it to have a sudden drop of 2000 meters. Some windows were broken in Finland, 900 km away.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Aug 29 2020 2:58 utc | 58

How Corporate Tyranny Works by Chris Hedges
About US oil giant Chevron’s corporate campaign to destroy environmental lawyer Steven Donziger.
Sounds like a movie should be made about this (along the lines of “Kill the Messenger” about journalist Gary Webb) – and that Chevron should be boycotted.

Posted by: Canadian Cents | Aug 29 2020 3:20 utc | 60

@ Antonym | Aug 29 2020 3:52 utc | 60 with the Nord Stream 2 update…thanks
If Nord Stream 2 is completed and becomes operational, it will show that there is not total control of Germany/EU by empire and will be indicative of further failing.
Is there a published or expected completion/operational date? I ask because with the Iran snap-back date, the TikTok sale date and other bully-tactic dates set up by Trump and Co ahead of the (s)election it is becoming difficult to keep it all straight…..grin

Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 29 2020 4:48 utc | 62

As a follow on to the Nord Stream 2 comments above I just read a Xinhuanet posting about a recent interview with Merkel. Below is the take away quote from that posting
”
Merkel said that the EU and China should also hold conversations on topics where they have different views. “We want to continue the conversation and set an example for multilateralism with fair framework conditions,” said Merkel.
”
Will Merkel work with China but stop working with Russia because empire says so? This example says no but its too soon to tell given the inertia of empire.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 29 2020 5:46 utc | 64

Imperative confusion:
“Leaving” can be imperative (a command) and in context can easily mean “we are going away”. Using “leaving” and other verbs in such a way is very common in english.
Almost anything can be imperative in english, if someone shouts “down” you should immediately know exactly what it means, if someone shouts “rock” you will look out for rocks, hell if someone shouts “banana” only the dull, tourists, and so on would look like they had never heard the word before while most people would be looking around them or in whatever direction the speaker is facing to see if they could spot a banana and much more likely: someone throwing a banana to whoever spoke ie. it was an imperative command used as a request, something which is also extremely common usage and exactly the same as a surgeon in an operating theater simply saying “scalpel”.

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Aug 29 2020 6:43 utc | 66

Novichok – translated is newcomer in English.
Newcomer is a weapon of political mass distraction. Cannot be detected in blood tests for known chemical compounds. Mild nerve agent but hits other systems as well.
Skripals found on a park bench 45 minutes after leaving restaurant. Navalny 40 minutes into flight after ensuring his pic is taken at the airport having a cup of tea.
Skripals house dismantled. Looking for listening or spying devices? Skripal into some shit with the brits and the Russians got wind of it?
Passers by that saw the Skripals on the park bench thought the Skripals were whacked out on drugs. The yowling coming out of Navalny on the plane could easily have been mistaken for that.
The brits were very careful that none of Skripals clinical symptoms made it into the public sphere…

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 29 2020 7:37 utc | 68

Posted by: AtaBrit | Aug 29 2020 7:38 utc | 68
Well, I would question the one part: As is the case with the US and others, if you do not sign an agreement or even ratify it, you are not bound buy it. Thus Turkey’s position is not any more illegal than the US position on the ICC. Still, I seriously doubt that any non-Erdoğan government would carry things this far.
Otherwise, I suppose we agree.

Posted by: Blue Dotterel | Aug 29 2020 7:49 utc | 70

@Blue Dotterel | 69
Of course, but it is far more complex than Turkey makes out, and it employs one method of demarkation in the Black Sea benefitting from the law another with occupied Cyprus. It’s an untenneable, volatile and wholly opportunistic position which is probably why it has not been challenged for decades by either side.
Here’s as good a description as I’ve found
https://cyprus-mail.com/2018/02/11/turkey-law-sea-facts/
I am no lawyer so really have no more to input. But Turkey is not on solid ground in its claims and this is probably why Cavusoglu was whining away about irrelevant “unfairness” towards Turkey to stregnthen his case in the preas conference with Maas. I thought he was going to bust into tears at one point.
We’ll see what happens in the next few weeks. But i reckon if Erdogan continues this tack he will fall foul of a long pissed off and fed up with Turkey bunch of former allies. US’s/ NATO’s position will be interesting.
“They don’t want a strong Turkey” is his rant and the people are still buying it as though they want a distraction from reality as much as Erdogan wants to distract them long enough to secure his election victory. All the while HNWI are selling up fleeing like never before.

Posted by: AtaBrit | Aug 29 2020 8:31 utc | 72

@Antonym | 61 / @ psychohistorian | 64
Here’s a good article covering the recent letter to Sassnitz Port threatening to destroy it financially and The Protecting European Energy Security Clarification Act currently doing the rounds in the US (Re-read the title. Could it be more Orwellian?) Consider also that previously, Pompeo had said that Nord Stream II falls under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act which was set up to tackle Iran and NKorea!! If the US gets away with this, Germany will be reduced to UK-like puppet status.
Currently there are less than 200kms of pipe left to lay in the Nord Stream II project and, not discussed in the article, petitions to finanically ‘cover’ companies in the project against US sanctions is being discussed, as is the use of Russian ships to complete the project.
https://www.ecfr.eu/amp-article/commentary_how_europe_can_defend_itself_against_us_economic_sanctions

Posted by: AtaBrit | Aug 29 2020 10:32 utc | 74

More flagrant contradictions and incongruencies by the EU and the US…Someone ( I mean a serious journalist, not the usual payed shills…) would need to ask Merkel, Mass, Borrell and Macron about this particular “incident”..

These are the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in the Verkhne-Toretsky area, in combat against the Donbass militia. Ukraine sponsored by the US and Europe. But don’t say they are Nazis that Soros and Borrell get mad at us.

https://twitter.com/Herbert_Keg/status/1299058364736065536

Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 29 2020 11:27 utc | 76

From the above linked article by Sascha´s Welt blog, the undoubtful choice of the communists and the left…whoever is hesitant, you could rightly conclude, is fake left…And how the so called “opposition” leaded by the kind of Svetlana Alexeivich are in this, planning, since time ago…

Which choice is the right one?
Some leftists will say that the regimes to be overthrown are not close to the proletariat and the masses. Yes it is. True communists are always in favor of an independent and self-reliant policy of the working class under the leadership of the Bolshevik Party. Well, what if there is no such party and the working class is not formed from the masses of the proletariat? Should we therefore sympathize with Lukashenko, Yanukovych and Putin, who leave the Marxists relatively free, or with the persecutors of Marxism from the camp of the liberal and fascist opposition?
Remembering the history of the Great Patriotic War
As for the tasks at hand, no counterrevolution can completely eradicate revolutionary changes in society. There are many people in Belarus for whom the Soviet Union is their homeland and the partisans, soldiers and generals of the Red Army are their national heroes. And that is our auditorium.
Many young people are reading Marxist literature again …
We should also not forget that there are young people in Belarus and Ukraine who grew up under the capitalist order, but who independently turned to the study of Marxism. And the fascists fear most of all this growing popularity of Marxism. For example, the infamous Svetlana Alexievich said in 2016:
“It is no longer a secret that young people are reading Marx, Engels, Trotsky again and saying: ‘It is you, parents who ruined the great country, and we will do everything differently'”.
We’re not going to read Trotsky, but we’re really going to do things differently, we’re going to fight for communism.

Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 29 2020 11:51 utc | 78

What is to come….the “post-pandemic world”…”new normal”—“great reset”…you name it…

MARX WAS RIGHT.
The disappearance of the so-called [misnamed] and idealized middle class, born from the siren songs of capitalism and social democracy and their rejection of communism, will give rise to a tragic [de-ideologized] army of the poor.

https://twitter.com/JeSuisEspe_/status/1296024829511041025

Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 29 2020 12:28 utc | 80

So as to dissipate whatever fogg could cloud your thinking could harbor about the real goals of the far-right…
Here Vox Spanish “new” far-right party ( supported by Bannon/Trump administration )wondering how is that nobody has thought of bringing in retiree teachers to work again so as to reinforce schools´staff in the post-pandemic school reentre..
Someone is pointing out that it also worked greatly placing the Nazis to asphalt Siberia…
https://twitter.com/Klkautsky1/status/1299385123301924864

Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 29 2020 13:06 utc | 82

“Open letter to protesters in Belarus”, by opponents from the Ruhr area (signed by Armin Fischer)
https://twitter.com/Amor_y_Rabia/status/1299289609940144128

(…)We believe that you are striving for a better life and we find it understandable. It is doubtful, however, that these free elections will be of use to you. One thing is certain: the freedom you are fighting for will not be your freedom. Because in western democracies you can by no means choose whether to keep or lose your job, whether there is a new crisis or an economic cycle, how much the money you earn from your work, how much the rents are rising and so on. As is well known, all of this dictates „the market“ or the competition between companies, banks and speculators.
In free elections based on the Western model, you cannot decide whether you would prefer to retire at 63 or 67 and whether you can live off this pension at all. You can’t even vote on whether or not you want a new war with Russia. Freely elected politicians decide all of this „without alternative“ for their people.
Therefore, do not demand free elections based on the Western model. Do not follow pro-western opposition candidates. Don’t let yourself be drawn to the NATO cart! Don’t let freely elected politicians and capitalist corporations dictate your living conditions! These don’t get any better. Do not conquer parliamentary seats and presidential palaces. If you want to avoid the fate of wage earners in other Eastern European countries – conquer the democratic power of the working classes over the economic and social living conditions in your country. Make councils!

Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 29 2020 13:27 utc | 84

From the daily mail
“The German hospital treating poisoned Putin critic Alexei Navalny has asked for British help, it emerged last night.
Its doctors called upon the Government’s world-leading Defence Science and Technology Laboratory as they try to treat the Russian opposition leader, who is reportedly in a coma.
The Wiltshire laboratory led the investigation into the Salisbury attack on former Russian agent Sergei Skripal in 2018.
Charite hospital in Berlin has made contact with the lab and its Munich equivalent, said German newspaper Der Spiegel and Bellingcat, the investigative website which uncovered the Salisbury poisoners as Russian agents.”
Bellingcrap and Porton Down…
Navalny collapsed 40 minutes into the the flight after ensuring his photo was taken drinking a cup of tea at the airport.
Skripals were found 45 minutes after leaving the restaurant.
The only things which cause a lowering of cholinesterase are genetic problems which is chronic, liver disease which is slow onset, and some form of chemical inhibitor which is the only thing that can cause a sudden large drop.
The Porton Down newcomer. A political grade chemical weapon of mass detraction.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 29 2020 16:06 utc | 86

Oh and by the way to UD: 1957, among many other things like the claim of a UFO attack on a Brazilian military fort resulting in a joint Brazilian-US military investigation it is also the “international geophysical year” (the Kharkovchanka video reminded me of it).
Okay I’m done now 😀

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Aug 29 2020 16:20 utc | 88

Therefore, do not demand free elections based on the Western model. Do not follow pro-western opposition candidates. Don’t let yourself be drawn to the NATO cart! Don’t let freely elected politicians and capitalist corporations dictate your living conditions! These don’t get any better. Do not conquer parliamentary seats and presidential palaces. If you want to avoid the fate of wage earners in other Eastern European countries – conquer the democratic power of the working classes over the economic and social living conditions in your country. Make councils!
Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 29 2020 13:27 utc | 84
This is close to Communist orthodoxy, and only passably close to the situation in and near Belarus. Democracy is susceptible to various manipulations, and in complex societies, “informed citizenry” is not an easy goal. Education itself can misinform etc. “Councils” is a possible procedure of “determining the will of the people” with no obvious superiority over other procedures.
One issue which is easy to explain are distortions of democracy that the West finds abhorrent UNLESS they are helpful in maintaining countries in anti-Russian orbit. To be brief, these distortion come from fascist toolbox. Another tool is penetration of the upper echelon of political parties by the supporter of hidden Western orthodoxy. In recent past it was called inter-agency consensus, but more often then not, they do not name themselves as being coordinated by a web of agencies etc., but you can figure it from various leaked documents, and matching with various public statements. This coordination has scant relationship with the welfare of the bulk of the people and in Ukraine and Belarus, it strongly contradicts that welfare.
For completeness, one should list the parts of the fascist toolbox and how the “hidden coordination” contradicts the most basic interests of non-elite. Concerning councils, they can be packed by fascists and “grant-eaters” (people trained and sustained by NGOs, QUANGOs and other elements of the “hidden consensus”), for example every ministry in Ukraine has and advising council of representatives of “civil society” that are packed in that way.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Aug 29 2020 17:02 utc | 90

Kharkov (pronounced Harkov right?)
Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Aug 29 2020 16:11 utc | 87
In transliteration of Cyrilic X (akin to Greek usage), Kh is used, and the sound is to English “H[umor]” as “T[oe]” to “D[oe]” (unvoiced version). For H/G, Cyrillic uses Gamma (in the upper case, lower case is a smaller version of the upper case). In Russian you read “G[ood]”, in Belarus and Ukrainian, “H[umor]”.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Aug 29 2020 17:13 utc | 92

Sorry, my comment @Aug29 17:21 #93 was posted to the wrong thread.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Aug 29 2020 17:24 utc | 94

@Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 29 2020 18:31 utc | 95
Notice how these “demonstrators” hold the same US flag than the “peaceful frredom fighters” in Belarus…thus calling to the four winds who is organzing all the “protests” so as to put the German and EU governments in evidence…

Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 29 2020 18:37 utc | 96

De aquellos barros…estos lodos…
What the astonishing “experts in everything” and US historians here will never inform you…
https://twitter.com/Karen09944730/status/1298998026485334016

Posted by: H.Schmatz | Aug 29 2020 20:00 utc | 98

I promise to try to find time to explain why I called ‘karlof’ a troll in one of the next Open Threads. I do not do drive-bys as his 2IC ‘psychohistorian’ skillfully and effectively called it.

Posted by: Kiza | Aug 29 2020 20:50 utc | 100