Understanding "dual circulation" and what it means for world

--//--

This a relevant factor:

One City. Two Neighborhoods. A 30-Year Gap in Life Expectancy

This is important to understand why capitalism appears to have a long shelf-life in the USA (but also in Brazil): geography vastness.

An abundance of contiguous land allows capitalism to dislocate its inner contradictions in space. This is commonly called "segregation".

In the USA, wealth (class) is tightly connected to land. For example: many essential public services (school) are tied to land tax, so, for example, the best schools are in the richer counties and so on. That's why poorer American families invest so much in "moving to a better neighborhood": even if that means a much greater financial strain to the household, it can mean a ticket to the middle class or upper middle class for its children (because they'll get into a better school).

As a result, the USA can have entire countries land-wise of middle class prosperity, where people living in it are completely oblivious of the extreme poverty in other equally large swathes of land.

This is beneficial for American capitalism, as they can play the divide et impera game with much more easiness than, for example, the elites of other smaller countries. This is true even for the countries where there's no danger of a communist revolution such as the UK, where class division is much more openly recognized than in the USA, where denial is total.

The same logic applies to Brazil and India, and explains why there's no revolution in those countries.

The Russian Empire is the exception that proves the rule, as most of its population was concentrated in the European part of the Empire (which is a much smaller piece of land, less than half the size of Brazil) and even in the European part, the Arctic climate concentrated arable land in even smaller portions of the Empire (mainly the Caucasus and Ukraine, plus the area between Moscow and Petrograd). And even then it took: one disastrous capitalist reform (1861-1868), one humiliating military defeat (1905), many famines in between and the greatest meat grinder in human history (WWI) for a revolution to happen there.

In Cuba, for example, the tiny strip of land (not only small, but also narrow) made the segregation between rural and urban lands impossible: a Cuban peasant or slave could walk a couple of miles from the land where he worked and find himself in Havana. It was very easy to Fidel Castro tpo unite the rural inhabitants to a revolutionary agenda and, more importantly, to arm them and make them an efficient militia. In Brazil, during the liberal dictatorship period (1964-1985), the most serious attempt of an armed revolution (Araguaia) ended in a disaster: the militia had to travel to the middle of nowhere, completely cut off of any significant LoCs, in the vain hope of triggering a rural revolt that could link up with the revolutionary elements of the city (some thousands of kilometers away). They were easily besieged and massacred by the Armed Forces.

--//--

‘I don’t like saying it, but something will replace the US dollar’: Investor Jim Rogers says century of USD reign is ending

Yes, the USD is declining. But slowly.

I think the USA will remain the world's financial superpower for the foreseeable future. That is, unless another Black Swan event happens.

Posted by: vk | Sep 6 2020 14:05 utc | 1

I couldn't read the full article (also had to translate it) but now they are saying the Novichok was on his skin, clothes, and water bottle. This is getting very Skripally.

Ohne Zweifel, sagte der Arzt nach Angaben von Teilnehmern der Sitzung, gehöre das Gift zur Nowitschok-Gruppe von Nervenkampfstoffen. Man habe die Spuren nicht nur im Blut, im Urin und in Hautproben Nawalnys gefunden, sondern auch an einer Flasche, die er auf der Reise dabeigehabt hatte. Seine Angehörigen hatten sie nach dem Zusammenbruch des Politikers aufbewahrt und den Ärzten in Berlin übergeben. Vermutlich hatte Nawalny aus der Flasche getrunken, als er bereits vergiftet war, und so die Spuren des Gifts dort hinterlassen.

Without a doubt, the doctor said, according to participants at the meeting, the poison belongs to the Novichok group of nerve agents. The traces were found not only in Nawalny's blood, urine and skin samples, but also on a bottle that he had brought with him on the trip. His relatives had kept them after the politician's collapse and handed them over to the doctors in Berlin. Presumably Navalny had drunk from the bottle when he was already poisoned, leaving the traces of the poison there.

https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/alexej-nawalny-und-nord-stream-2-angela-merkel-in-der-russland-falle-a-00000000-0002-0001-0000-000172863221

Posted by: Rufus | Sep 6 2020 14:23 utc | 2

This quote is from Hudson's latest piece:

“Today the debt dynamic is imposing austerity on today’s Western world, transferring property to creditors who have gained enough control over government to block protection of debtors.”

Reading once again what Hudson learned by studying the clean slates of Hammurabi and others, it would make perfect sense now to cancel the debts of the small farmers who provide us with food.

Posted by: Bart Hansen | Sep 6 2020 14:50 utc | 3

Ohne Zweifel, sagte der Arzt nach Angaben von Teilnehmern der Sitzung, gehöre das Gift zur Nowitschok-Gruppe von Nervenkampfstoffen.
Posted by: Rufus | Sep 6 2020 14:23 utc | 2

Ah, that settles it. NATO's BZ chemical agent it is then. MI6 and Porton Down at it again.

Posted by: BM | Sep 6 2020 15:02 utc | 4

Belarus-Russia union's future to rely on independence of two countries

The future of the Union State of Belarus and Russia will be founded on the independence of the two countries. Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Mishustin made the statement as he met with Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko in Minsk on 3 September, BelTA has learned.

The prime minister said: “We have progress in many matters, including the future of the Union State, which will be founded on an absolutely independent position of our countries, but with corresponding measures of economic nature that we've agreed on.”

Is Russia learning from China? It seems so.

Posted by: vk | Sep 6 2020 15:18 utc | 5

@b Re: Ted Rall link on Trump vs Biden vs 3rd party

link goes to UNZ not WSWS ... why not link the same article at the author's own site,
rall.com?

Posted by: ptb | Sep 6 2020 15:25 utc | 6

In a move that should surprise nobody, the Trump administration is considering blacklisting China’s largest semiconductor manufacturer. SMIC: WP Article If this entity is kneecapped, Chinese cellphone, computer and consumer electronics makers will not have a domestic lifeline, and Trump could decide to bar exports of semiconductors to all Chinese companies. I fully expect that to occur if he is re-elected, and that would at least for the short term shut down all Chinese cellphone and computer manufacturers.

The more interesting question, however, is whether Trump will impose Iran-level sanctions on exporting to China any finished goods that contain a semiconductor with embedded US technology (I believe that would include every semiconductor). Samsung, Apple, etc. would obviously complain, but they would also all comply. The government can just print another $100b and give it to Apple, Micron, etc. to compensate them for their trade war losses, as Trump did for farmers. But can China survive 4 or 5 years where it cannot import any cellphones or computers while it gets it semiconductor house in order?

The benefit to the US is obvious, but the downside risk is modest. China will supercharge its semiconductor efforts and make every effort to become self-reliant, but that China is going to do that regardless, and an absolute blockade is probably the only way to slow their efforts down. Also, US companies are losing their technology edge even though US tech is embedded in virtually all products. For example, Intel has fallen greatly and recent news articles indicate they are struggling badly with 7nm technology. The best the US can do is ensure that only vassal states have access to technology. If China falls, so will Russia as I do not think any company with aspirations to be a first world power can survive without access to semiconductors.

As I alluded to in a post a few weeks ago, this might also have the added benefit (from Pompeo / Navarro’s perspective) that it might force China to invade Taiwan or Korea if China is unable to develop a semiconductor industry at a time when the US might still be able to establish an oil blockade and force China to effectively surrender in the case of overt hostilities. With that said, China surely realizes that and is most unlikely to do so, but other than retaliate via withholding rare earths or medical exports, there is nothing they can do other than look book at 2010 – 2015 and wonder why they were rewarding local officials for % increases in concrete and steel production instead of try to build a semiconductor industry.

Posted by: Schmoe | Sep 6 2020 15:30 utc | 7

Posted by: vk | Sep 6 2020 15:18 utc | 5

Is Russia learning from China? It seems so.

I think two things happened:

1.) Lukashenko offered a willingness to leave (in due course) after renegotiation of Constitution, Union State arrangement, etc.

2.) Putin sent Mishustin to do the negotiation, and Lukashenko is less paranoid as a consequence.

I would think that Lukashenko can see the benefits of the Union State arrangement a little better now too.

Putin doesn't need to be in a hurry, just play for time.

Posted by: Bemildred | Sep 6 2020 15:37 utc | 8

b terms Sanders a sheepdog !!!!

b supported Bernie throughout the 2016 race as I and others repeatedly noted that Sanders was a sheepdog.

Hallelujah!

!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 6 2020 15:38 utc | 9

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywuCRVJVDqs

Dr. Rashid A. Buttar:
https://www.facebook.com/116184708412584/videos/343156547089686/

Watch this highly informative video by fellow physician Dr. Carrie Madej, explaining the 3 major components of the Moderna vaccine and the implications. This is a must view video. If this video doesn’t open the eyes of those who don’t get it, who I refer to affectionately as “sheeple”, nothing will!I’ve previously brought up how if we allow the mandatory vaccination rhetoric to proceed, humans will no longer be human. And I’ve talked about Moderna and the implications of their RNA vaccine which has never been commercially produced before. But Dr. Madej does an outstanding job going into greater detail. Watch this, and share it with everyone. But Dr. Madej is wrong about one thing. She says it “may” cause genetic modification in our genome. Remember, the function of RNA is to repair and re-write the DNA. She’s being overly generous with her words…it WILL cause a genetic change which will continue to re-write and “repair”, ie, change our DNA. In addition, the PLANDemic full length movie came out yesterday. If you haven’t watched it, watch it now on Bitchute or on London Real.

Posted by: Mao | Sep 6 2020 15:55 utc | 10

I see what you did there

Aaron Maté: In Navalny poisoning, rush to judgement threatens new Russia-NATO crisis

"Rush to judgement?" It seems to me that 'pre-planned provocation', 'false-flag', or 'anti-Russian stratagem' would be closer to the truth.

!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 6 2020 15:59 utc | 11

Mob Boss in Argentina Jail Holds a Key to Russian Ambassador’s Assassination in Turkey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i3rGkEFiBI

FETÖ-linked TV series alludes to Russian ambassador's assassination
https://www.dailysabah.com/war-on-terror/2016/12/28/feto-linked-tv-series-alludes-to-russian-ambassadors-assassination

Posted by: Mao | Sep 6 2020 16:05 utc | 12

"Russia Is Trying to Steal Virus Vaccine Data, Western Nations Say"

and other countries such as China and Iran. I just heard that on the news. UFB.

it never ends

Posted by: arby | Sep 6 2020 16:08 utc | 13

@ Posted by: Schmoe | Sep 6 2020 15:30 utc | 7

In what way would invading Taiwan or South Korea help with China's semiconductor problem? You they could simply destroy their own semiconductor facilities, right?

The Chinese will probably just upgrade and build up their own Mainland semiconductor capacity. Taiwan semiconductor shares have already fallen some 10%. The most Trump's semiconductor sanctions will do is bankrupt Taiwan.

Posted by: vk | Sep 6 2020 16:11 utc | 14

Interesting article : « https://www.zerohedge.com/political/bipartisan-washington-insiders-reveal-their-plan-chaos-if-trump-wins-election »

Two takeaways for me :

1. The 'Transition Integrity Project' intends to ensure the transition from Trump to Biden, no matter what he outcome of the election. Ie. this Soros funded and Soros staffed entity is planning an extra legal transfer of power in the event that Trump should win, even by a landslide. There is no 'Integrity' in in such a transition. It is simply another Soros backed coup. The preparation for this coup is already underway, as evidenced by the 'Defund the Police' movement in order to make way for a military takeover, and the recent article on Trump disparaging the military, in order to weaken his support among the military rank and file, and thus prevent a counter-coup.

2. Buried near the end of the article was this nugget:

«the U.S.-Israeli company, Cybereason. That company has considerable ties to the U.S. and Israeli intelligence and its largest investor is Softbank. Notably, Softbank is named by the Eric Schmidt-led National Security Commission on AI (NSCAI) as forming the “backbone” of a global framework of A.I.-driven companies»

This just confirms my prior suspicions that Softbank is a money-laundering operation for the CIA, and that the CIA likes to use Japanese 'cut-outs' to front its money-laundering operations, another example is Bitcoin.

Posted by: dh-mtl | Sep 6 2020 16:13 utc | 15

USA: Serbia's Vucic goes viral as he appears surprised at agreement to move embassy to Jerusalem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU_UVAnrsAY

Posted by: Mao | Sep 6 2020 16:13 utc | 16

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

Congratulations to @predsednikrs Vucic for announcing the move of Serbia’s Embassy to Jerusalem by July. It is a brave and historic move!

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1301923485225230337

Posted by: Mao | Sep 6 2020 16:16 utc | 17

Mao @Sep6 15:55 #10

Dr. Carrie Madej focuses on the Moderna vaccine that uses mRNA.

Liberal, Educated … and Anti-Vaxxer: Pandemic Births New Vaccine Doubters

In late June, Carrie Madej, a long-term anti-vaxxer physician from Georgia, released a video on YouTube that has been viewed more than 409,000 times, in which she mixed truths about mRNA vaccines — such as the fact that they are being studied in humans without having been first tested in animals — with outlandish theories.

<> <> <> <> <> <>

I'm as concerned as anyone else about these rushed vaccines but we should keep an open mind for now and beware of agendas.

!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 6 2020 16:28 utc | 18

Did Bill Gates & World Economic Forum Predict Coronavirus Outbreak? An Inside Look May Shock You!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx8xKcQMTRs

https://www.activistpost.com/2020/01/did-bill-gates-world-economic-forum-predict-coronavirus-outbreak-an-inside-look-may-shock-you.html

Posted by: Mao | Sep 6 2020 16:30 utc | 19

Posted by: Schmoe | Sep 6 2020 15:30 utc | 7

You seem to be a little out of touch. You live on Mars, I take it? China has been preparing for this scenario for many years. Their semiconductor industry is one of the most advanced in the world. It is not without weak links - but don't underestimate the Chinese contingency plans for those weak links. If the US imposes blockades on China it is the US that will even more quickly collapse, not China. Likewise laughable are your conceptions of US military prowess (now, of all times!!) in outright military combat with China. In an instant US military losses will be in the hundreds of thousands. The US military is obsolete against either China or (especially) Russia. There is zero chance that China will fold in a fight with the USA (but a significant risk that the US will completely destroy the planet with its nuclear weapons). Furthermore war with China means war with Russia - the US guarantees its own destruction.

Posted by: BM | Sep 6 2020 16:43 utc | 20

'Steal Of The Century': Trump's Palestine-Israel Catastrophe (Documentary) | Episode 2/2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3OqReiTpXI

Posted by: Mao | Sep 6 2020 16:50 utc | 21

...
b supported Bernie throughout the 2016 race as I and others repeatedly noted that Sanders was a sheepdog.
Hallelujah!
!!
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 6 2020 15:38 utc | 9

Bullshit.
Cite please?

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Sep 6 2020 16:58 utc | 22

Turmoils in the ´Skrivalnychok’ narrative coming from Austria — John Helmer

Sorry if this article has already been linked before.

Posted by: Herr Hesser | Sep 6 2020 16:59 utc | 23

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Speaks at Berlin Rally for Freedom and Peace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOfEzw_V-Sw

Posted by: Mao | Sep 6 2020 17:04 utc | 24

US Prez. Election 2020.

Last time round I predicted Trump, a month after he was a candidate, with certainty. (Killary and the Dems were blindsided, partly because of some of the facts below.)

This time, it looks like the election won’t be decided by the popular vote (which arguably is never the case, but ppl have accepted the result in the past) but by various moves post-vote.

The Dem spiel at the mo is that it will appear that Trump won, but that won’t be true, as the postal votes won’t have been counted, or not properly, and that will take time, and Trumpies won’t accept a Biden win. Etc.

Imho, Trump will win the election (by the votes and within the trad. structure) but all the fraud and shenanigans and post-vote moves (past ex. Supreme Court, Florida votes..) may not be easily accepted as in the past, and will lead to acrid contests, fights.

This election will represent the first serious (evident, anguish-making) fissure in the facade of US ‘democracy’. A sham now past its shelf-life. (Say.) However, it won’t lead to Civil War, perhaps some temporary Chaos, not more. (The ppl in the streets are manipulated.)

The ‘vote’ in itself is a shaky fakey construction. (Nos. are back of the envelope ....)

Ppl in US territories, Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands, Marianas can’t vote for the Prez. (Non-white..) Hmmm.

Around 50% of eligible voters don’t vote, 45 % in the last Prez. election, say.

Of those who do vote, 40% are strong partisans. Nothing will move them from Trump or Biden, tribal belonging. They are the victims of the Duopoly. Base ‘deplorable’ DT voters, and Killary-lovers turned to support JB. Then there are 50% of ‘weak’ partisans or potential 3rd party voters, who actually end up voting Dem/Rep after some ‘consideration of all sides’, being ‘objective’, etc. (Or vote 3rd party, a social badge thing.)

All this is known to strategists, which is why Killary did not campaign properly (> was beaten. Surprise! - Forces behind the scenes for sure..)

The campaigns themselves are ‘fakelorum’ and aim, a) to get dollaris contribs. from the marks, still some moolah to grab, b) to keep the myth of ‘different’ policies going, divide to rule, c) maintain the story of ‘US democracy’ abroad. They are not implemented to convince voters of one thing or another. (If so, are regularly denied, changed, etc.)

The facade is slowly crumbling so — all bets are off.

How might ppl in the USA be better off, happier, more confident, less anxious, doing ‘good’, surviving, having a job, eating, getting some med care, schooling…

— under Trump vs. under Biden? Not much imho to choose between them.

Posted by: Noirette | Sep 6 2020 17:06 utc | 25

thanks b... i will have to review all of what you share later... i have been busy with 3 gigs and a studio session this week that have interfered in my moa reading!

tom, oldhippie, william gruff and richard steven hack... i apologize for not addressing you directly in the previous post where i did read all of what you had to share... thank you for all of that.. i feel a bit bad taking an open thread type conversation and imposing it on that thread, so i am starting up again here...

first off - here">https://www.resilience.org/stories/2020-04-27/review-planet-of-the-humans/">here is a review of michael moores movie
planet of humans i was discussing in the previous thread.. it seems fairly balanced and it includes a link to bill mckibbons response to the criticism levelled at his in the movie... oldhippie - thanks for pointing out what i think bill mckibbon is unwilling to acknowledge regarding his own funding and all that... i encourage others to watch the movie, even if some think it is flawed.. it is quite informative on a number of levels...

william gruff... thanks for the comments and your perspective... what is interesting to me is one of the graphs in the movie - fairly early in the movie - that shows how the population of the planet really accellerated in the past 100 years.. prior to this time, it stayed relatively flat for an extremely long time.. it seems our ability to extract fossil fuel led to a population explosion that i suppose one could say is driven by economics primarily.. expecting to grow the population in an infinite way on a finite planet doesn't make sense to me... although the movie says that over population is a problem, there are no recommendations - culls as i think you and richard refer to them - in the movie... in fact, a person is left to ponder how anything will change in this particular place we find ourselves in at present on planet earth... so, the movie does not mention anything about a human cull, nor have i... in fact, i am happy to say i don't have the answers, but i do believe having people become aware of what is happening and what is at stake is invaluable... thus my recommendation to watch the movie...

it is possible that a different economic system other then capitalism, will be the answer here... i don't discount this possibility, but my own view on this is that no matter what system we have on the planet, or whether we have conflicting economic systems, the fundamental building block for them all are people, in particular people in positions of leadership who often have an undue influence and say over the direction of our world... money does talk and has a particular power which we see regularly.. ironically there are a number of billionaires who recognize the problems we face on the globe today which some - the koch brothers are used in the movie as an example - of some of these billionaires that are profiting directly off this concept of biomass as some form of green energy...

i don't have the answer.. i see over population as a huge problem moving forward... i shudder at the thought of some form of culling, but realize some probably don't have a problem with that... i got what you were saying about this william and using africa as an example... i can't even comtemplate the thought.. it is like the idea of embracing a war that murders innocent people... in fact all wars are like this - completely bonkers, and yet they happen, typically for gaining more power - whether it be economic or political, over others... i think one possible answer is putting the environment above economics.... until this happens, i think that we are headed for disaster.. i honestly think covid is a reflection of our increased susceptibility to disease and mayhem as we move forward here... things look grim for planet earth and although i am an optimist, or like to be optimistic in general - it is hard to find an area to be optimistic about, especially after watching that movie i like to above..

thanks again for all your comments.. i might not have understood them as you had hoped, but i appreciate your kindness and generousity in sharing them with me..

here is a link that oldhippie encouraged me to look at, that some others might enjoy seeing.. http://www.wrongkindofgreen.org/

Posted by: james | Sep 6 2020 17:47 utc | 26

Hoarsewhisperer @Sep 2020 16:58 #22

This is the first time that I've seen b call Bernie a 'sheepdog'.

In 2016, b was less critical of Bernie than the other candidates and even urged Bernie to immediately pick Tulsi Gabbard as his VP after she resigned from the DNC. He noted that Bernie would be a mainstream candidate in Europe. And I'm pretty sure that he said at one point that if he had a vote, it would be for Bernie because Bernie has polices that would most benefit the people.

!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 6 2020 17:47 utc | 27

kicking my self in the ass for not using the preview button again.. jesus...

here is the link to a review of the movie - https://www.resilience.org/stories/2020-04-27/review-planet-of-the-humans/

here is a link to the movie..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk11vI-7czE

Posted by: james | Sep 6 2020 17:48 utc | 28

Thanks for pointing out the "Deaths could be reduced by 30% if more Americans wore face masks." But you are missing the boat. Not only will wearing masks reduce potential deaths, as the IHME, which you cite and Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, have said that if only 80% wore masks the virus would be stopped within two months! They are backed by Dr. Monica Ghandi of UCSF asserts that masks not only prevent virus particles from exiting, but also prevent enough particles from entering to cause any but the most mild disease. If 80% of the people wore masks, we would not have to worry about tests, contact tracing, which in the US we don't do anyway, or even spending billions on a vaccine. Masks have awesome power.

Posted by: Tio Marko | Sep 6 2020 18:09 utc | 29

Have any media sent reporters to interview the staff at the airport snack bar where Navalny bought his tea?

Posted by: Keith McClary | Sep 6 2020 18:15 utc | 30

Montenegro:

This Strategic Culture piece by Aleksandar Pavic suggests the West won’t be overly troubled by Djukanovic’s weakened position, as he may be a mostly spent asset:
https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/09/05/did-the-berlin-wall-just-fall-in-montenegro/

*****

Serbia/Kosovo/Trump:

After Israel/UAE/Trump, which, whatever its limitations and cynicism, seems to have had everyone involved at least mostly on the same page, this week’s Balkan version has more of that trademark Trump frisson, with everyone else on the room being chewed up to get Donald a moment of “dealmaker” swagger, leaving everything a complete mess. Vintage stuff!

*****

Cricket:

Good for Pompeo. It’s about time someone called out that nonsense.

Posted by: David G | Sep 6 2020 18:15 utc | 31

"...the movie does not mention anything about a human cull..."

It is not really honest for the movie to spend an hour and a half arguing that there are too many people and then pretending that they have no solution. The solution is implied, even if the nasty parts that it would require are not discussed.

I very much like how the movie pointed out how capitalism coopted the environmental movement, and how that turned a fair bit of contemporary environmentalism into farce. I just wish more could have been said about how the profit motive plays a huge role in environmentally unsustainable practices.

Posted by: William Gruff | Sep 6 2020 18:23 utc | 32

“I am the resurrection, and the life”, saith the face mask, “whosoever weareth and believeth in me shall never die.”

Posted by: David G | Sep 6 2020 18:28 utc | 33

Even though I was the daughter of a working man & woman, I was drawn to the right because I admired the Robber Barons of the Gilded Age. Sweat shop and child labor; Low wages and Extended Work Hours without overtime pay, no medical benefits or Social Security; all these appealed to me somehow. What really got me excited was the Triangle Shirt Factory fire.

Now Sean Hannity and Rush reinforce that belief system. I am a Trumper and a Republican.

I'm almost 62 and I can't wait until we are rid of Public Schools and my Social Security benefits.

Everything should be privatized. When it gets looted, it can always revert back to Public ownership! The Fools!

Posted by: Kristan hinton | Sep 6 2020 18:54 utc | 34

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 6 2020 17:47 utc | 27
(b supported Bernie throughout the 2016 race)

Firstly, apologies for describing your recollections as bullshit. I can't recall b ever "supporting Bernie" and that's what I should have said.

I'm not quibbling with the claim that you were the first/most strident critic of Bernie as a sheepdog, at MoA. However, being less critical of Bernie, and wishing Bernie would pick Tulsi (to make himself more acceptable to b as a candidate?) doesn't add up to support throughout the race, imo.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Sep 6 2020 18:59 utc | 35

Posted by: vk | Sep 6 2020 16:11 utc | 14

The most Trump's semiconductor sanctions will do is bankrupt Taiwan.

... and with that the DPP is history. No wonder so many in China want Trump re-elected. He's doing wonders for their long term goals.

Posted by: One Too Many | Sep 6 2020 19:16 utc | 36

re: SMIC (@Schmoe)

yes this move was telegraphed from a mile away. Blockading Chinese high end electronics manufacturing is a 'tool' with only a couple years of shelf life remaining, so they are using it while it still has some effect. Zero possibility of long term success, but makes the economic warfare irreversible. Although Huawei already did that.

One would think China would leverage strength in industry in response, starting with commodity electronics and ship building (since the neocon fantasy option is a naval blockade from a safe enough distance to be out of range from land based weapons).

Posted by: ptb | Sep 6 2020 19:23 utc | 37

@ james and others with the population issue.

In the early 1970's I participated in multiple future study types of events from state run to think tank run as well as a year long one in college. In every one of those population was identified as a problem and in every one of them the religious "no birth control ever" folks went ballistic and shut down any discussion of educational programs, handing out condoms and such.

The Xtians in the West are why our government's never address the population issue.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 6 2020 19:25 utc | 38

James @26&28

You seem so sincere and naive. I took a couple minutes and read that review. Could not bear to watch more than snippets of the movie.

So much talk about what is technically possible. Forty years ago I personally insulated a number of large commercial buildings. Those buildings are warm in the Chicago winter and cool in the Chicago summer. And use zero energy for heating or cooling. I believe all of them have removed their heating system, not needed. Except for the buildings that are sold and acquire new management. New management can’t figure out what they are looking at, so remove the insulation. The suddenly drastically inefficient and structurally compromised building gets torn down. Usually to be replaced by a brand new building that gets a Gold LEED rating and wins awards, in spite of using massive amounts of energy. LEED standards of course being purely a scam and totally for sale.

Should mention that the machinery required for those old retro-fits did not exist and two of us made it all by hand. And then fought the Carter administration, the Reagan administration, the EPA, the Steamfitters (physical battle with pipes), the City of Chicago, on and on. Met one EPA administrator who actually had a spark of intelligence and remains a friend, otherwise government=idiots.

Thee are technical fixes for some of the problems. They will never be recognized. Environmentalists are wholly totally technically incapable. And will never find their way out of the woods. Even the guy writing your review admits to taking the cash from the billionaire. The Good Billionaire. Just lost.

Posted by: oldhippie | Sep 6 2020 19:27 utc | 39

38

They need cannon fodder for the Military; and the children of the poor are for sex and organ trafficking. Otherwise, people are good for filling for-profit prisons. They pay by the head, you know.

They'd rather destroy excess inventory later than to proffer humane birth control methods.

Posted by: Kristan hinton | Sep 6 2020 19:33 utc | 40

@ William Gruff | Sep 6 2020 18:23 utc | 32.. that's a fair comment william... the movie is only a starting point... just what conversations people have off of it - such as we are having here - i think this is a good thing..

@ psychohistorian | Sep 6 2020 19:25 utc | 38.. that doesn't surprise me.. it seems religion - orthodox religion anyway - always wants to shut down pretty well any conversation that doesn't fit into their world view... it is hard for me to remain detached about orthodox religion... although i respect people like juliania who are clearly a part of this, i find there are many in the realm who are very close minded... an interesting link which i know i shared and which i think applies here is the one on the 4 quadrants of conformism... there are many conformists in religion which might explain the basic thrust of your comment.. http://paulgraham.com/conformism.html

oldhippie | Sep 6 2020 19:27 utc | 39... sincere and naive - lol... yeah, maybe... i don't know.. it might be just how i come accross via the net.. i figure so much of how we communicate - non verbal - is missing in this medium, i try to get along as best i can.. i will take sincere and naive looking over a number of other possible presentations! so what did you use to insulate the buildings? you have my curiousity.. i live in a concrete house up to the roof.. it is fairly well insulated in the winter and summer, but i was thinking of putting more insulation in the roof where i had heard the most heat loss happens... i have a history of not watching videos or movies.. this change in dynamic with covid and me not playing as much music has opened up my mind about watching more documentary type shows on youtube... i much prefer transcriptions and reading to 'watching' as i have said before, but i did make it thru that 1 hour 39 video... i think 65% at rotten tomatoes is a fair appraisal of it.. however, it is not so much about being a movie as it is about providing different info that i think is relevant... so, maybe i am naive... maybe there are better reviews.. i thought it was interesting seeing the bll mckibbon response.. it still didn't cut it for me.. i don't take anything at face value, even if i give the appearance otherwise... i think of myself as a pretty hard core cynic in fact.. cheers.

Posted by: james | Sep 6 2020 19:51 utc | 41

A False Flag Is Biden’s Only Chance to Win

https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/09/04/a-false-flag-is-bidens-only-chance-to-win/

Posted by: Virgile | Sep 6 2020 20:06 utc | 42

The DNC's Transition Integrity Project agit-prop has spread to Canada...

"Canadian officials should read this: in all scenarios except a landslide Biden win, there is a good chance of violence, instability and a constitutional crisis in the US after the November election. This has major implications for Canada."

The Election Will Likely Spark Violence - And a Constitutional Crisis*
*'In every scenario except a Biden landslide'

https://twitter.com/thomasjuneau/status/1302598563541721090

Perhaps Canucklheads should start building our own border wall...

Posted by: John Gilberts | Sep 6 2020 20:42 utc | 43

@vk, One Too Many
The most Trump's semiconductor sanctions will do is bankrupt Taiwan.

... and with that the DPP is history. No wonder so many in China want Trump re-elected. He's doing wonders for their long term goals.

************

At least over the short to intermediate term, TSMC will be fine as they are the most advanced chip operation in the world (albeit dependent on ASML of the Netherlands for EUV technology) and have plenty of demand from Apple and others. I have read elsewhere that Taiwan's economy is struggling but other posters are surely more knowledgeable than me about that.

Posted by: Schmoe | Sep 6 2020 20:45 utc | 44

James

You understand that heat rises, you go to head of the class. Amazing how many builders, architects, developers, engineers never get even that far. Yes, insulate the roof. Exterior insulation always performs best. Our product back in the day was spray urethane foam, which goes down seamless, no air leaks. Very easy to apply 40 years later, not hard to find contractors to do it. They will all underclaim results because they know no one will believe it. Smaller structures, which I will assume you are working on, you need to figure out where the moisture goes. Before your building gets too completely tight you have to think about where fresh air is coming from. The German passivhaus movement has designed good air to air heat exchangers, proceed to get everything else completely wrong. But probably you aren’t getting that far in air tightness.

Years ago had a lengthy online discussion with a guy who had managed a lot of large projects who could not believe the performance I was claiming. Finally asked him if he had ever held the spray gun in his own hand. He suddenly went to “Oh, you do it yourself. Sure, if you are willing to stand in the sun at 140F on the roof you can get results.”

Urethane is nasty toxic stuff. When one barrel of resin replaces hundreds of barrels of heating oil it is worth it. Generally speaking 90 to 99+% of energy use is pure waste and bad management. Waste will continue, enormously profitable. And easy, no thought required.

McKibben is just a liar. Love how he calls his elite college a rural Vermont school. 350.org was started purely on a seven figure Rockefeller grant and he knows it.

Posted by: oldhippie | Sep 6 2020 20:51 utc | 45

Horrible. Hysterical. Sanders get a hold of yourself. You almost seem to be inciting insurrection. You’ve lost your senses. Another election as in 2016: if they could only both lose.

Here I can get something else about Sanders off my chest. His usage of the word ‘existential’ as scare modifier of threat is distressing. Before Netanyahu I’d not heard anyone use the turn of phrase. The word ‘existential’ is/was not in common usage. How many people even know what the word might mean?

Trump is like a virus/bacteria, take your pick, that disturbs otherwise fine minds. Sanders has let himself be infected. He also seems to believe pure nonsense like Putin is running Trump’s show. Stop it Bernie and act your age. Please don’t deteriorate to Biden’s level….because Trump is Evil Even someone as renowned as Chomsky announces that Trump is worse than Hitler because he will destroy the world with his climate denialism. Biden fracks…so what? He’s not Trump.

Posted by: Quentin | Sep 6 2020 21:00 utc | 46

"The solution is implied, even if the nasty parts that it would require are not discussed."

Posted by: William Gruff | Sep 6 2020 18:23 utc | 32

There will be no need for a cull by homo sapiens on homo sapiens. Nature, Gaia will do the deed through the follies of man. Nature has no printing press to falsely sustain the planet. But like the market, there will be a "correction" and it wont just be a paper loss, it will have immense pain before equilibrium is regained and nature wont care if humans are still around. Solutions? I can't see any that could be taken on the big stage seriously as most want to sustain the unsustainable. Air, water, soil and the food this troika provides humans is at risk. People are about to find out you can't eat money.

It's not like this hasn't happened on planet earth before. Jared Diamond has written about this in Collapse and Guns, Germs and Steel. But this time the collapse will be planet wide.

Nature understands no jesting. She is always true, always serious, always severe. She is always right and the errors are always those of man.

Goethe

Posted by: Tom | Sep 6 2020 21:09 utc | 47

This just confirms my prior suspicions that Softbank is a money-laundering operation for the CIA, and that the CIA likes to use Japanese 'cut-outs' to front its money-laundering operations, another example is Bitcoin.

Posted by: dh-mtl | Sep 6 2020 16:13 utc | 15

Money laundaring, 100%. Who exactly is ? mark. Benefitiaries are clearly the chosen ones. (That joker at WeWork, unreal...)

“I am the resurrection, and the life”, saith the face mask, “whosoever weareth and believeth in me shall never die.”

Posted by: David G | Sep 6 2020 18:28 utc | 33

Amen, brother. Preach on. There is also the fecal vector. If only our brethren would cover every orifice (adult diapers work well) then we are certain to finally end this "deadly plague".

Posted by: consipracy-theorist | Sep 6 2020 21:12 utc | 48

Posted by: Schmoe | Sep 6 2020 20:45 utc | 44

At least over the short to intermediate term, TSMC will be fine as they are the most advanced chip operation in the world ...

That's debatable since the Chinese are hiring TMSC's top engineers at up to 2.5 times their current compensation packages:

China hires over 100 TSMC engineers in push for chip leadership

Rest assured all of the top talent recruiting is going to stay in the mainland for quite some time since that's where the money is. What future does an advanced chip operation have if there's no talent pool to draw from?

Posted by: One Too Many | Sep 6 2020 21:26 utc | 49

Micheal Hudson's thoughts on the late David Graeber. Despite being from two different generations and differing academic disciplines, the two did many things together, and I share Hudson's lament at the many projects left unfinished by Graeber's sudden death. Hopefully, one of the positives coming from his demise will be for Hudson to realize his own mortality and motivate him to finish his projects--he had two further volumes planned to follow ... and forgive them their debts.

Posted by: karlof1 | Sep 6 2020 22:14 utc | 50

@ Posted by: Schmoe | Sep 6 2020 20:45 utc | 44

Apparently, Trump's plan includes not only embargoing China from semiconductors, but also building an American capacity at home. That would mean Taiwan is out of the picture.

Posted by: vk | Sep 6 2020 22:20 utc | 51

I said in an earlier thread that if Germany cancelled Nord Stream 2 over Navalny, I’d drink Novichok. I still hold to that (though if I can’t get my hands on any of the stuff I might have to substitute good Guatemalan rum), but this from the foreign minister is already more than I’d anticipated:

The alleged poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny could see Berlin cancel the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, and press the EU to consider other sanctions against Moscow, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said.

Stupefying.

Posted by: David G | Sep 6 2020 22:29 utc | 52

David Graeber's death is a terrible tragedy. A wonderful and brilliant human being. He never lived to see the horror end. Perhaps he was lucky never to witness it continue without end.

Posted by: Patroklos | Sep 6 2020 22:33 utc | 53

In every one of those population was identified as a problem and in every one of them the religious "no birth control ever" folks went ballistic and shut down any discussion of educational programs, handing out condoms and such.

My experience also.

Mao had it right:
"Religion is poison"

Posted by: Duncan Idaho | Sep 6 2020 23:08 utc | 54

IMO, Merkel/Germany's response to the Navalny poisoning ruse is they've entered the same room as the UK and Outlaw US Empire in not being agreement capable since Nord Stream is a Multilateral Contract as in International. This development further strengthens my idea that the Eurasian Project needs to completely forget about involving any the EU and its two core nations--France and Germany. Pretty much on the line from Minsk to Istanbul and East, omitting India as well since it seems to have a similar disease as the EU and the Outlaw US Empire. Lavrov's comments the other day about living up to what they signed on for--the UN Charter--was 100% correct and perhaps a foreshadow of the message Putin, Xi and their ministers will deliver at the UNGA just over two weeks from now.

Although they say they don't want to see a revival of the Cold War (which IMO never really ended in 1991), both Russia and China are in excellent positions to outplay the West and win thanks to their partnership, their other partners, and their bloc's overall geoeconomic fitness versus that of the West. Let Germany and the rest of the EU go without additional Russian gas; Russia will merely redirect that product to other customers. Indeed, Germany's refusal to finish Nord Stream 2 will be the decision that breaks the EU, IMO.

If Trumps wins, the further deterioration of the Outlaw US Empire is a given, internally and externally. With Neocons of every persuasion backing Biden, that's not as easy to see since a war will likely occur somewhere against a weak nearby adversary--Venezuela is my guess. That will be a debacle, but the domestic issues will improve without Trump as lightening rod. Taiwan is the Wild Card with two months to go.

Posted by: karlof1 | Sep 6 2020 23:11 utc | 55

@ karlof1 # 50 with the link to the Michael Hudson piece about David Graeber....thanks!

Below is a quote from that piece that struck a cord with me

"
Despite the fact that teaching took up much more of his time than he anticipated, he was remarkably prolific, and in fact was working on some wonderful books, which I hope can somehow be presented – especially his intriguing theory about the transition to the Neolithic, by peaceful groupings fleeing the violence of paleolithic and Mesolithic hunter-gatherers.
"

I would like to read more about David's musings in this regard......how do the meek inherit the earth?

Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 6 2020 23:11 utc | 56

@ karlof1 # 55 who wrote that his guess was that Venezuela would be the next war victim

In the last Open Thread (psychohistorian | Sep 5 2020 4:58 utc | 147)
I posted an article from Xinhuanet that explained clearly that China was supportive of Venezuela and would defend it against hegemony.

I continue to hope the push for more war fails and those raging currently resolve themselves w/o further bloodshed....I am a dreamer but not the only one.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 6 2020 23:30 utc | 57

>>I fully expect that to occur if he is re-elected, and that would at least for the short term shut down all Chinese cellphone and computer manufacturers.

Dear Schmoe, China can produce chips for 5G stations, computers, and low level phones, but not for high level phones. Thus the loss is not that big.

As per David Goldman

"Huawei sanctions will destroy US chip industry"

https://www.reddit.com/r/Sino/comments/imbtk0/huawei_sanctions_will_destroy_us_chip_industry/g4182to/

>>US might still be able to establish an oil blockade

An oil blockade against China is useless due to Russia.

>>and force China to effectively surrender in the case of overt hostilities

Russia will covertly support China so thing such as this does not happen. Even now they are helping China to build the world's third ballistic missile early detection and warning system. Exactly because they do not want the US to be able to bully China via first strike capability.

Oh and one more thing. Private businesses from the whole world are now heavily investing in China and the yuan is rising because this is the only major economy to wipe out the Coronavirus. Thus China is the only place where you can get decent interest, and it has the least money printing currently, compared to other players.

This is why chinese equities are red hot and the whole world likes them no matter the US tech war.

"What if they had a tech war and nobody cared? "

https://asiatimes.com/2020/08/what-if-they-had-a-tech-war-and-nobody-cared/

Posted by: Passer by | Sep 6 2020 23:43 utc | 58

Rufus @ 2:

One problem that that Der Spiegel article overlooks is how Alexei Navalny's relatives managed to avoid being poisoned with Novichok themselves (and dying within half an hour of exposure to it) if they kept the bottle and took it with them to Berlin to give to the Charite hospital doctors there.

Posted by: Jen | Sep 6 2020 23:47 utc | 59

In response to foolish ideas about religion, and to answer obliquely psychohistorian's question @ 56, I submit the following:

"Today I stood at the altar and marveled at the gold of the chalice. It is, of course, supremely blessed, holding (as it does) the very Blood of God. But I was simply thinking of its journey to that altar, its transformation, indeed, its transmutation. If the science of cosmology is followed, then heavy elements such as gold have a very unique origin. The free elements of the universe such as simple hydrogen don’t simply become something else without help. The other, heavier elements, are forged in the gravitational fusion furnaces of stars. This is true for the elements up through iron. Beyond that, even greater forces are required. For gold, a supernova is required, a single moment in the death of some stars in which collapsing forces become so great that it explodes, forging heavy metals such as gold and scattering them across the galaxy. They are relatively rare.

Some scientists suggest that for gold to be part of the earth requires that the materials of its formation included portions of an exploding supernova in the galaxy. The timing would have been extremely important. This simple “science fact” is only one of the vast multitude of such things in our daily lives..."

Thanks to b for the many links he provides us, and especially the link to Michael Hudson's recapitulation of the need for forgiveness of debt. He's right that Jesus seized on this as an important part of his message to the world.

Posted by: juliania | Sep 6 2020 23:54 utc | 60

psychohistorian @56&57--

Graeber's thesis I also found intriguing since I minored in Anthropology and its being a historical pursuit along different lines.

Trying to make sense of what the future might hold. Thanks for the Xinhua note, but IMO China can offer no more protection than France and UK did for Poland in 1938-9 unless it's already provided carrier killer missiles and Colombia's been ruled out as being used as a staging ground--about the same as the Outlaw US Empire being able to defend Taiwan. The people for whom the future looks bleakest are those residing within the Outlaw US Empire, particularly if Trump wins. Yes, Biden will be almost as bad and more likely to start a war.

Hope you can keep cool during the heat wave we're supposed to get, the onset of which seems silly as I type with fog swirling around outside my windows.

Posted by: karlof1 | Sep 6 2020 23:58 utc | 61

If demographics are destiny, then the attempt by the psychopathic empire of shutting off China from advanced chip fabrication is doomed to failure, as would be the US setting up chip fabrication in the US. Good luck with that.

The sad truth is that China dominates the right side of the bell curve when it comes to potential scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians. The shear number of graduates in these fields in China is mindboggling, the similar numbers in the US are pathetically low. Iran graduates almost as many in STEM.

The plain truth is that China is on a roll - more and more leading edge breakthroughs come from China these days. The
recent successful launch of the D-26 carrier killer was a warning. So was the recent successful launch of its X37b clone.

China will learn to make their own chips, and surge ahead of the US in high tech. leaving the US as a sad backwater whose better days are long past, its inhabitants fighting amongst themselves for whatever resources remain in a once proud nation

Posted by: flapdoodle | Sep 7 2020 0:00 utc | 62

Psychohistorian @ 56:

Graeber's theory about the transition from Palaeolithic to the Neolithic sounds intriguing indeed. In most cases throughout history and many parts of the world, it seems to have been farmers who forced hunter-gatherers to adopt farming themselves, as a way of holding onto their lands if these were not to be stolen by invading farmers who were looking for new lands to farm once they (the farmers) exhausted the lands they already had.

We could look at the way in which, for example, the people called Pygmies or Bushmen (or whatever other labels others put on them), using mainly hunter-gatherer modes of food production, have been pushed further and further into marginal areas by farming groups over the centuries. Parallels exist in other countries - in India where Adivasi groups have been pushed into forests by farming groups - and even in the Amazon where groups that used to farm retreated from Europeans or other indigenous groups also on the retreat and adopted hunter-gatherer ways of living as a way to survive in the rainforest.

Posted by: Jen | Sep 7 2020 0:17 utc | 63

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Sep 6 2020 16:28 utc | 18

That rabies vaccine has only undergone Phase 1 study as of January

Modernas vaccine also has Polyethylene Glycol PEG). Up to 70%of the population has antibodies to PED which could cause a bad-reaction, which may be why over 20%of patients in Phase I had serious side effects, unlike COVID where only 10% get infected and 80% of them have no symptoms or minor symptoms.

Rushed to market vaccines like 1976, 2009 flu vaccines don't have a good track record. No liability here either and rampant financial/Political conflict of interests by those who will approve it is worrisome

Posted by: Kay Fabe | Sep 7 2020 0:42 utc | 64

Finnian Cunningham's "Poisoning Nord Stream 2" cites an excellent bit of evidence: the vow made by Pompeo that the Outlaw US Empire "will do everything" to stop the project [My Emphasis; link at original]; and given how it operates as a Mafia gang most of the time, that ought to be seen as a direct connection. Furthermore, the stooges within Merkel's party are importantly "long-time opponents of the Nord Stream-2 pipeline."

Cunningham's no fool and knows well of the longstanding history of attempts to "sabotage" the pipeline project and concludes:

"You fly an 'opposition figure' exalted by Western media to Berlin whose body does not initially show traces of poison. Thereafter German military lab tests 'find' traces of deadly nerve agent. And there then follows a predictable cacophony to cancel energy trade with Russia. The poison plot seems obvious, and it’s not authored by Moscow."

That is, it's obvious to unbiased clear thinkers.

Posted by: karlof1 | Sep 7 2020 0:55 utc | 65

@60 juliania

Thanks, as always, for championing the holy and the noble.

Piquant that Father Stephen loses himself in awe of the sacred cosmological forces that create gold, and perhaps finds and anchors himself also with the absolute claim made in relative terms: speaking of what fills the chalice, and speaking as if the relative claim could even come close to encompassing the absolute.

And I don't know him and certainly don't want to slight him from the few innocent words of his you quoted - I think he would know I mean no disparagement by this, and I'm saying it poorly - but I preferred him lost. I prefer all of us lost. Lost, and even struck dumb with awe, seems the only sane position to hold in this universe, so awesome is it.

I find that even the relative truth of religion allows a closeness to the absolute truth of sacredness that the materialist view seems to deny. The materialist view seems to me so empty that it parches me just to be close to it. To have driven out the sacred from one's own mind seems the most terrible thing one can do to oneself, except perhaps for having filled oneself with the love of the sacred and then turned it into rigidity, and condemnation of others.

I am just musing, by the way, with no great point to make but glad to have your company, as I hope I do.

~~

Buddhist teachings explain that to reify the sacred nature of reality into a rigid doctrine is the falsehood known as Eternalism, while to deny the sacred altogether is the falsehood known as Nihilism. The so-called Middle Way of Buddhism refers to the attempt to walk the path between these two extremes, which can only be walked in the present moment, knowing nothing but alive to everything. Dumb with awe perhaps.

~~

As to meekness. What is meekness if not the very self-renunciation that comes as the simple by-product of caring more about others than about oneself? There is nothing meek about meekness in this sense. Caring for others inspires the greatest effort in beings. It grants a strength to persist in the great causes of life. It inspires the revolutionaries. It inspired Jesus.

We have bathed in lies all our lives to believe that our basic nature is selfishness. Our basic nature is compassion, and this is as true as any law of physics, and can be tested and examined just as those laws can.

~~

The meek will inherit the Earth by claiming it as the gift from the universe given to us all, along with life itself.

Imagine: we were given life, and a place to live it.

In the sense that it was said, I think the meaning is that the earth exists here and now to be enjoyed, but this can only be perceived by the meek. In this sense, the answer is existential.

~~

But what of the revolutionary sense? One could also say that the meek will inherit the Earth by claiming their inheritance. They will actively inherit. They will actively claim rather than passively receive. The meek need not wait quietly to be given an inheritance as a kind of residue. The meek can justly seize by claim the inheritance already given.

Our inheritance is given to us by a much greater force than the worldly force that seeks to dispossess us of it. In this sense, the struggle derives from the realm of the sacred, as many commentators have declared, and whether we see it in the terms of heaven or earth, this is the only struggle there has ever been.

The struggle is that of those who care about others against those who care only for themselves. And so this struggle cannot be waged in selfish terms.

~~

But these are just musings. Notes on a scratch pad.

Posted by: Grieved | Sep 7 2020 1:56 utc | 66

A pandemic occurs when an invisible event or threat occurs that attracts the powers to be to take charge and to claim only the PTB have the vision, right and authority to decide what is good for the governed masses. A virus on the loose represents the same kind of threat an RF signal on the loose might be. The difference is the impact of a virus is readily and immediately observable, while the impact of RF can be hidden, cumulatively building the negative result of the effect of RF over long periods of time.

There is strong scientific evidence to support that RF is likely to catalyze viral infections and to cause or permit many disastrous metabolic events to occur inside of the living body. The science journals and patents thou far have not presented strong and convincing evidence to deny that premise. So I propose government order a shut down of any device or means that might release RF into the public space. until Who produces the research that allow governments to establish safe use guidelines. After all avoiding pandemics is a function of Government. Besides Bill Gates is concerned about public safety in pandemic status, maybe he would fund many different investigations..to help get to the answer is RF radiation and or emission of RF safe under any condition and if so, under what condition is emission or radiation in the RF ranges safe? The public should force governments to make WHO, and its UN supervisor prove under what conditions and over what time frames is each frequency and each amplitude for that frequency and amplitude safe for exposure to humans. This should be done before any nation state or subdivision thereof, be permitted to license RF to be used in any place the public might encounter.

Secondly it is clear many health care workers were muzzled during the SARS CoVid 19 pandemic.. They were afraid to speak out, fired when they did, leaving only greedy pharmaceutical industry pundits, instead of licensed, front line practicing MDs in charge of information dissemination. There should have been each night a forum of physicians reporting from around the world on their experience with the virus for that day. Repression of free press and right to speak is a violation of human rights.. I think soon breathing will require a government issued license and permits to cross borders without a licence in the new governing district.

Posted by: snake | Sep 7 2020 2:05 utc | 67

Posted by: snake | Sep 7 2020 2:05 utc | 67

There is NO strong scientific evidence to support that RF is likely to catalyze viral infections and to cause or permit many disastrous metabolic events to occur inside of the living body.

FTFY

Posted by: One Too Many | Sep 7 2020 2:20 utc | 68

it seems our ability to extract fossil fuel led to a population explosion...
Posted by: james | Sep 6 2020 17:47 utc | 26

Not sure what sort of cause-and-effect could be at play there. My understanding is that advances in medicine and therapeutics led to increased population growth.

From 1920 to 1950, the population growth rate hovered around 1 percent a year. But beginning in the middle of the century, the advent of antibiotics and other public health advances profoundly altered life expectancy, increasing the number of children who would live to bear their own children. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/worldbalance/numb-nf.html

Posted by: farm ecologist | Sep 7 2020 2:20 utc | 69

@ Grieved | Sep 7 2020 1:56 utc | 66 who along with much else wrote
"
I prefer all of us lost. Lost, and even struck dumb with awe, seems the only sane position to hold in this universe, so awesome is it.
"

Thank you for those words.

I have written here before about how having awe of the Cosmos is better than any religion could be for me. In my world there is no person telling you how to experience life or making excuses about why you should think a certain way but yourself taking personal responsibility for every connection to everything. Continually searching for someone else's definition/cast/rules of life as it plays out would diminish my experience, IMO.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 7 2020 2:25 utc | 70

"Apparently, Trump's plan includes not only embargoing China from semiconductors, but also building an American capacity at home. That would mean Taiwan is out of the picture.

Posted by: vk | Sep 6 2020 22:20 utc | 51"

Just another example of how the US & others keep locking themselves into situations where they lose no matter what.

The other current example would be Nord Stream 2 which is absolutely necessary for the EU, there are no replacements that are viable. And of course this is because Germany hastily chose to end nuclear power long before the plants reached their retirement age which in turn is madness from an ecological and environmental point of view since the reactors were already up and running and thus a large part of the price of radioactivity was already paid (price of decommissioning will be essentially the same now as later but without the benefits of the electricity) but so easily sold as "green".

Then any unfamiliar observers should realize that it is like this all the way down and up through all or most western societies on most if not all topics.

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Sep 7 2020 2:25 utc | 71

karlof1 | Sep 7 2020 0:55 utc | 65

Both NS2 and Navalny are Macguffins:

In fiction, a MacGuffin is an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself. The term was originated by Angus MacPhail for film, adopted by Alfred Hitchcock, and later extended to a similar device in other fiction. Wikipedia

Navalny is a "stranded asset" and Russia doesn't need to export gas to Germany.

The crucial players are the German industrialists whose manufactured exports depend on continued cheap energy.

Und so?

Posted by: pogohere | Sep 7 2020 2:30 utc | 72

Posted by: james | Sep 6 2020 17:47 utc | 26 culls as i think you and richard refer to them

Uhm, not really. What I'm saying is that there are four possible outcomes of the move to Transhumans and the resulting conflict with idiot humans who oppose this:

1) Transhumans annihilate humans.
2) Transhumans "transmogrify" humans into Transhumans (with or without consent - there won't be any complaints afterward, so it doesn't matter)
3) Transhumans ignore humans and just go about their business
4) All of the above.

Personally I expect 4) but I'd be perfectly happy with any of the other three.

Posted by: William Gruff | Sep 6 2020 18:23 utc | 32 It is not really honest for the movie to spend an hour and a half arguing that there are too many people and then pretending that they have no solution. The solution is implied, even if the nasty parts that it would require are not discussed.

This is exactly what Paul Erhlich did with his "The Population Bomb" back in 1968. I read that book. He was on the Tonight Show almost every month. He spent a lot of time talking about how there was no solution to the problem. Moving off-planet would not work, he said. Growing more food would not work, he said. Reducing reproductive rates would not work, he said. The implied answer - never stated explicitly - was simply genocide. He predicted that the world could only support 500 million people "sustainably" - which was complete BS as we now know. He predicted 500 million people dying of starvation by the year 2000 - complete BS as we now know. At the time of his publication, the population was 3.5 billion. So he was deliberately advocating that *3 billion* people would have to be "culled" in order to reach his magical 500 million population goal.

And who would be the "culled"? Well, he made that clear, too - by saying that American children consume 20 times the natural resources of Third World children.

These people who argue this way are fundamentally bereft of intellectual integrity. Journalist John Keel referred to Ehrlich's book as "essentially crank literature" in a panel I attended. These people are only interested in promoting themselves by establishing that there is a "problem" for which only they have the solution.

The same applied to the "pollution problem", and the Club of Rome "computer models" that people in the computer modeling profession derided as nonsense.

As I said before, there is no "population problem" - there is a population *quality* problem. Turn humans rational and any "over-population" goes away in a couple generations.

The same applies to "climate change" and every other "environmental disaster" people come up with. They could all be prevented or handled - but only so long as humans can be made to think. And that's the *real* "environmental disaster".

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Sep 7 2020 2:34 utc | 73

@ Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Sep 7 2020 2:25 utc | 71

It's a matter of pure art of warfare: if the Mainland doesn't depend on Taiwan anymore, neither should the USA. In fact, it would be stupid on the USA's part to continue to be so in a scenario of warfare in the South China Sea.

Posted by: vk | Sep 7 2020 2:44 utc | 74

@15--

This link for the article on Zero Hedge about the Transition Integrity Project should work:

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/bipartisan-washington-insiders-reveal-their-plan-chaos-if-trump-wins-election

Posted by: Gaianne | Sep 7 2020 2:50 utc | 75

Posted by: karlof1 | Sep 7 2020 0:55 utc | 65

If NS2 is cancelled, Russian gas reaching Western Europe will be through pipelines that run through Uncle Sam's satraps in Eastern Europe. Ukraine will be in a position to threaten Germany. The expansion of the EU and NATO eastward was to weaken Western Europe, to make it more easily persuaded to Washington's thinking through blackmail. "U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld clearly stated that Germany and France represented “old Europe.” He said, “If you look at the entire NATO Europe today, the center of gravity is shifting to the east.”

How long would it take for Europe to build up the infrastructure to import LNG? By the time that was accomplished Russia could still end up supplying Europe with LNG from their Yamal LNG facility if the US supply is curtailed for some reason. Now would that be irony or Karma?

Posted by: Tom | Sep 7 2020 3:16 utc | 76

More free will illusion rhetoric trap by the Germans:

German Defence Minister Says Nord Stream 2 Sanctions Depend on Russia's Steps Regarding Navalny Case

First of all: why is the Defense Minister mediating the case? When it was first detected the Bundeswehr was involved, it was officially stated it was only doing so because Navalny was a political figure who was susceptible to real threats. For that, the "chancellor's guest" status was granted. Ok, that's plausible.

But, now that the "diagnosis" - even if a false one - is given, there's no reason for the Bundeswehr to be involved anymore. If Navalny is to be considered a political refugee in Germany, let this be in the desk of the equivalent of the Interior Ministry. The involvement of the Defense Ministry heavily implies this is a national security problem between Russia and Germany.

Today, another strange thing happened. In response to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that Germany had approved Russia’s request on Navalny case long ago.

We know Heiko Maas is lying because he gives it up in the response:

"Currently, medical examination continues at Berlin’s Charite [clinic]. But we put it clearly that when we receive a formal request we will issue all necessary permissions to exchange information on that matter [...] So, it is yet another ‘smokescreen’ we have already seen in the recent days. And I am afraid more will follow within days."

If the medical examination continues at Charité, then how are the Bundeswehr medics sure Navalny was poisoned with "novichok"? After all, the diagnosis is already given; all you have to do now is the treatment. No more examinations that not routine to monitor his overall status (boring stuff for doctors, it doesn't matter for the case) are necessary. But that's not what he says after that:

He stressed that the use of a chemical warfare agent constitutes a violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. "This not the matter of Germany only, it a matter of the international community," Maas stressed. "That is why we discussed this matter with our EU and NATO partners and will soon discuss with the European partners which reaction is to follow and its possible impacts."

If the examinations are still ongoing, then the diagnosis is still not yet done, which means you shouldn't be already activating NATO and the EU, as this is not yet a case for warfare against Russia.

Deep down, Heiko Maas is using the same free will illusion trap Merkel used a while ago: if Russia falls under the pressure and initiates the investigation, Germany will suddenly shift its narrative and claim that the very existence of the investigation is proof they did it; if Russia refuses to initiate the investigation, Germany will continue with its already existing narrative and claim the absence of investigation is proof Russia did poison Navalny.

The resultant is the same: Germany is willing to cancel NS II.

My opinion is Russia should stick to the truth (i.e. that Navalny wasn't poisoned) and prepare a symmetrical plan B to the cancellation of NS II. There are many thing the Kremlin can do, most of which involves becoming less European and more Asian (more cooperation with China). It could also tighten the grip against rogue oligarchs who are siphoning Soviet wealth off to the West. It could also be a little bit more assertive in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Or it could play the imperialist game and manipulate the Prussian faction of the German elite to solve the issue within the Bundestag, i.e. give Germany a taste of its own medicine.

Posted by: vk | Sep 7 2020 3:17 utc | 77

karlof1 #65

"You fly an 'opposition figure' exalted by Western media to Berlin whose body does not initially show traces of poison. Thereafter German military lab tests 'find' traces of deadly nerve agent. And there then follows a predictable cacophony to cancel energy trade with Russia. The poison plot seems obvious, and it’s not authored by Moscow."

That is, it's obvious to unbiased clear thinkers.

Thank you karlof1 but hold that thought about unbiased clear thinkers and apply it to Germany and its citizens. I doubt they are as swamped by blathering hate propaganda as are the FUKUSAI. I hope so anyway.

What is the German public opinion of this transparent hoax?

Is Merkel going to swallow this codswallop without some inquiry?

Has Merkel already conceded that the BND runs Germany and not its parliament and if so, is that a tenable position or will she likely be pilloried and fractured by the voices of opposition in the German parliament?

What has Merkel to say about having her foreign and trade policies and negotiations clearly sabotaged by an attack on a Russian national inside a German military hospital? No novihoax on departure from Omsk and now polluted all over in Germany.

Does Germany usually fly novihoax polluted planes to Russia?

Does Merkel take Germans for fools and USA sycophants? What do opinion polls disclose here?

If Moon of Alabama cant pose some tough analysis of a pending color revolution in Germany then are we to go to the saker for detail?

Do Germans still comply with the USA denigration of their intelligence and independence?

Barflies unite ! does anyone have any good German analytical links on this subject?

It all hinges on German preparedness to tell Pompeo to go f#k himself.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Sep 7 2020 3:40 utc | 78

@ uncle tungsten | Sep 7 2020 3:40 utc | 78 who ended with
"
It all hinges on German preparedness to tell Pompeo to go f#k himself.
"
Good question.

Which Germany are you asking about? The one with Merkel as the face or the one with the global private finance elite in control....or some murky mix of those two.

One way to look at Germany is to compare it with the other loser of WWII, Japan. If you take a big picture view of empire consisting of all Western countries then think of Germany as the still existent manufacturing sector and Japan, who is the largest holder of US Treasuries, is the bung hole of US debt by empire.

The owners of German manufacturing are either internally/externally or both conflicted about Nord Stream II and the bullying of finance empire. I can only conjecture that the example of China's more socialistic approach and Empire's increasingly more anti-humanistic approach is not lost on the German realists/adults. Have the German elite bought into the Davos reset meme?

I think it is clear we are seeing either the end of the world or of the end of this empire. Multi-polarity is a genie that is not going back into the bottle no matter how much Trump and Pompeo bluster. The arc of history getting us there will be interesting and I hope to see a bit before my time is up.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 7 2020 4:25 utc | 79

snake | Sep 7 2020 2:05 utc | 67

The difference is the impact of a virus is readily and immediately observable...

Actually one of the most striking things about this alleged pandemic is how outside of tightly sealed and therefore invisible nursing homes and hospital wards there seems to be no effect at all, let alone a readily visible one. The only effects the general population thinks it sees are fake ones broadcast by the corporate media.

By that of course I mean actual Covid effects, as opposed to the effects of the terror-lockdown offensive which has used Covid as a pretext. It's highly telling how the propaganda systematically, deliberately and fraudulently invokes the former to characterize the latter.

I think soon breathing will require a government issued license and permits to cross borders without a licence in the new governing district.

For a long time commentators especially on climate change have talked about the privatization of the air itself, via mechanisms like cap-and-trade. With the Covid terror campaign we're seeing a bizarre twist on that, with many rogue anti-science governments trying to police the literal way we breathe.

As for artificial borders, we've recently seen how some here fetishize the most arbitrary border technicalities - "Rittenhouse CROSSED STATE LINES!!!", heavens to betsy. (Ironically that echoes traditional racist rhetoric about "outside agitators.")

Posted by: Russ | Sep 7 2020 5:21 utc | 80

farm ecologist | Sep 7 2020 2:20 utc | 69

"it seems our ability to extract fossil fuel led to a population explosion..."
Posted by: james | Sep 6 2020 17:47 utc | 26

Not sure what sort of cause-and-effect could be at play there. My understanding is that advances in medicine and therapeutics led to increased population growth.

Fossil fuels made possible industrial agriculture and therefore the extreme extrusion of secondary and tertiary workers (plus the most vast mob of purely idle parasites) who provide literally nothing, including food, for themselves, but only take from the Earth. That in turn makes the industrial economy possible.

BTW that's the core scam of every version of the "Green New Deal" I've heard of: By promising to perpetuate the economic civilization, it implicitly would continue to keep the great majority of workers out of food production. Therefore it implies the perpetuation of fossil-dependent industrial agriculture. Of course any kind of industrial production, including of false-"renewable" electricity, would remain fully dependent on fossil fuels.

Posted by: Russ | Sep 7 2020 5:24 utc | 81

Grieved | Sep 7 2020 1:56 utc | 66

I prefer all of us lost. Lost, and even struck dumb with awe, seems the only sane position to hold in this universe, so awesome is it.

Amen. That includes acknowledgement that however much we learn, as "knowledge", it will never be more than the flicker of a small candle amid the vastness of what we'll never know. The only sane position includes humility and modesty toward earthly nature and the greater universe.

Posted by: Russ | Sep 7 2020 5:28 utc | 82

Posted by: karlof1 | Sep 6 2020 23:11 utc | 55

Let Germany and the rest of the EU go without additional Russian gas; Russia will merely redirect that product to other customers.

A quick search in english for Power of Siberia II, which is in the planning stage since March this year. The map is quite interesting since there are a few options to connect the western to the eastern russian gas network:

https://ihsmarkit.com/research-analysis/new-gas-from-russia-to-china-via-power-of-siberia-2-pipeline.html

Looks like NSII is not going to be finished, so it is not far fetched to posit the end of the EU, forced to buy dirty and expensive US LNG. It is quite telling that during the shameful show of gangster diplomacy during Vucic visit to the White House Trump tried to force a clause on the Serbs to purchase expensive US LNG. They surreptitiously threw in the move to Jerusalem of the Serbian embassy, with the image of Vucic sitting like a first grade pupil by the side of the big teacher and covering his face like thinking to himself, gosh how did I get into this. The empire forgot long ago what diplomacy is, Alcapone methods are its currency.

Another fall out from that shameful affair was the spokeswoman of the Russian Foreing Ministry loosing her temper, then apologizing, and comparing poor Vucic sitting in front of Trump to Sharon Stone and her (in)famous cross legged scene.

Posted by: Paco | Sep 7 2020 6:22 utc | 83

Here in Russian a more in depth analysis, with all the pluses and minuses of the current gas market situation, not a good one for Russia due to low prices, new players and geopolitical pressures.

https://vz.ru/economy/2020/9/4/1058516.html

Posted by: Paco | Sep 7 2020 6:39 utc | 84

@Paco | 83

Very strange and staged (?) footage intended to deflect what?

Two days of negotiations and we are supposed to believe that Serbia and Kosovo were not aware of the detail of the agreement? Or are we supposed to believe that the agreement was changed at the last minute?
The real news here is Muslim majority Kosovo recognising Israel and, according to initial reports globally, opening an embassy in Jerusalem. Yet the camera was on Vucic and the Muslim worlds ire is aimed at Vucic and its press mentions nothing of Kosovo's embassy.

Seems to me the questions we should be asking are related to Kosovo.

@Mao | 12

I would simply warn that not one alleged FETO member has ever been extradicted illegally because the evidence Turkey provides is never conclusive which has serious implications for all allegations of FETO membership. I would wait to see what Russia's reaction is, if indeed there is any?

Posted by: AtaBrit | Sep 7 2020 7:21 utc | 85

German commentators on the most recent Der Spiegel articles concerning the navalnychok-case,are well aware that stopping NS2 will be very detrimental to the german economy,This in a roughly 80%-20% proportion.This is very different from the reactions in the first days after the events,when practically all comments wanted the russians being punished.Now the majority of commentators are aware that germany would shoot itself in the foot doing so...
I read that about 30% of naturalgas in Germany comes from Russia,27% (and declining ) from the Netherlands,another 30% from Norvegia.
Never forget that the younger political personnel in Europe,are atlanticist,Yale-founded young leaders.A lot of females exercising as defense ministers.Watch out for AKK,who was said to be the successor of Merkel as CDU president,but made a lot of blunders already.One is wondering how come an alleged internal russian affair has to do something with Europe,or Germany.Maas and Le Drian,could'nt they just stick to their Guaido promoting-businesses?
Greta Thunberg went on a carbonfree boatride to the UnitedNations speech on a yaught called"Edmond de Rothschil.Navalny was brought to germany on a flight sponsored by an NGO called "Cinema for Peace",whose main contributor is David de Rothschild.Pompidou who initiated the french debt,and Macron who is finishing off France are Rothschild bankers.The Rothschilds have been pushing for conquering Russia for over two hundred years.The main avenue in Telaviv is called Rothschild avenue,etcetc.

Posted by: willie | Sep 7 2020 7:29 utc | 86

psychohistorian #79

I think it is clear we are seeing either the end of the world or of the end of this empire. Multi-polarity is a genie that is not going back into the bottle no matter how much Trump and Pompeo bluster. The arc of history getting us there will be interesting and I hope to see a bit before my time is up.

Thank you and ditto I am happy to hang about here for another 400 years or so at this rate. I suspect there is a mighty strong nationalism embedded in German people - the 99% that is. Plus I get the impression from feedback from family that reside there that they are not AT ALL well disposed to the allied occupation. Only they didn't have the character or independent vision to join with Russian celebrations even in token it seems. On the other hand they seem to have shown up at the western victory celebrations from time to time AFAIK.

With German elections due exactly one year from now, there is plenty of maneuver space for Merkel to skate about in. My sense is that this novihoax game will play into the hands of the German volk who seek a strong independent Germany free from USA interference.

I guess the AfD (currently the largest opposition group in the Bundestag) will seize on this novihoax to drag more voters from other right parties as they are Trumps vanguard groupies from my reading of the past few years.

The Greens (seemingly the Soros silver shekel party) are likely going to align with the novihoaxers and that could be a catalyst to serious vote fragmentation for the CSU/CDU and SPD.

How this novihoax affects support for the Left Party will be interesting to see. I know very little of their track record.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Sep 7 2020 7:34 utc | 87

Vucic has been humiliated before by atlanticist Macron,in an important gathering in France,when he was relayed to a third row place,while as Kosovo's criminal head of state Thaci was amidst more important countries' representatives , next to Macron.

Posted by: willie | Sep 7 2020 7:39 utc | 88

aside from China's semiconductor industry poaching the best scientific and engineering talent from Taiwan's semiconductors, and drawing on their own pool of engineers and scientists that vastly outnumber the graduates in the US, the most important aspect of semiconductor leadership is R&D expenditure, which is based on revenue streams, and the largest revenue stream is the Chinese market.

Once cut off from that, US semiconductors are done for. There is no way the US govt would subsidize their R&D given the current political climate, and no way that would be enough to replace the lost commercial revenue streams, not to mention the talent and dynamism those entail.

Revenue streams is not the same as profit. SMIC doesn't even have to be profitable -- it just has to have greater revenue streams than US competitors, and that's not even mentioning its state support.

from the perspective of revenue streams, Taiwan's TSMC is also 'hostage' to the Chinese market, which is huge and getting bigger. it is only a matter of time. all the macro trends point in one direction.

Posted by: occupatio | Sep 7 2020 7:55 utc | 89

Posted by: AtaBrit | Sep 7 2020 7:21 utc | 85

The real news here is Muslim majority Kosovo recognising Israel and, according to initial reports globally, opening an embassy in Jerusalem.

Certainly, those are the real news, a narco terrorist entity obliging to its main human organ farm costumer and joining the select club of “recognizers”, lead by the corrupt empire and the failed state Guatemala, the latter one paying old favors, favors that lead to a quarter of million casualties -when the population was 5 million-, that is proportionally about 15 million casualties for the USA, that is about 5k 9/11 inflicted on poor Guatemala with the indispensable help from the entity.

Posted by: Paco | Sep 7 2020 8:37 utc | 90

Posted by: occupatio | Sep 7 2020 7:55 utc | 89

from the perspective of revenue streams, Taiwan's TSMC is also 'hostage' to the Chinese market, which is huge and getting bigger. it is only a matter of time. all the macro trends point in one direction.

How does this square with Trumps demand that China close the trade deficit?

A ban on chip sales, one of the biggest exports to China, will create a gap that cannot be closed no matter how much Trump huffs and puffs and threatens to blow the house down.

I wonder if the US regime even thinks in terms of this kind of basic logic ...

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Sep 7 2020 9:06 utc | 91

Arch Bungle #91

A ban on chip sales, one of the biggest exports to China, will create a gap that cannot be closed no matter how much Trump huffs and puffs and threatens to blow the house down.

I wonder if the US regime even thinks in terms of this kind of basic logic ...

Thank you. The US regime thinks in gun terms and in this case - take a shotgun and point it at both feet. This is a trade war to destruction and it is highly unlikely to be able to reverse it. With this form of brutal aggression, the USA will destroy respect and accommodation in the mind of China. This is seriously ignorant foolishness.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Sep 7 2020 10:03 utc | 92

Russ @ 80

The only effects the general population thinks it sees are fake ones broadcast by the corporate media

yeah, Russ, 21st century talismans...the shape of our future in soppy masks and bottles of hand sanitizer, which of course means that recidivism is still the order of the day, in spades...indeed, that in this techno-turbulent world superstition still rules...

of course we see this in spades as well as electoral delirium descends upon us one more time. why even here in these threads ostensibly astute observers still believe in phantoms and the conjuring of feeble trappings, beliefs that belie what's before their very eyes.

i guess it's true that only if you believe is there hope.

Posted by: john | Sep 7 2020 10:03 utc | 93

Posted by: occupatio | Sep 7 2020 7:55 utc | 89:

Once cut off from that, US semiconductors are done for. There is no way the US govt would subsidize their R&D […]

Oh but the US government is massively sponsoring that R&D development. It is called the defence budget directly and indirectly via DARPA and similar programs..

BTW, one of the reasons for TSCM agreeing to the blackmail to force them to build a chip production plant in the US is pressure from the defence department (one of their bigger customers). Once that pant is running, Taiwan will loose lots of value to the current crop of nullities running the US

Posted by: phiw13 | Sep 7 2020 10:04 utc | 94

Arch Bungle:
Everything indicates they don't and that they are not capable of it either in case they should want to. Not only in the US political class but most of their "allies", and not only politicians but "journalists" and also quite a few in business, education/academia, and elsewhere.

In some ways maybe it could or should be described as incestuous because the end result is the same. Likewise it mirrors the fall of the USSR (and probably many others as the historians here would be able to go into vast detail on) if nothing else then at least in this core mechanism of self-harm and defeat.

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Sep 7 2020 10:21 utc | 95

@phiw13 94

The TSMC plant to be built in the US will be outdated by the time it is completed. It won't be the newest nm process nor does TSMC intend it to be.

Posted by: occupatio | Sep 7 2020 10:52 utc | 96

occupatio | Sep 7 2020 10:52 utc | 96

That is correct, but the biggest customer, the milmil people, isn’t necessarily looking for the latest of the latest. they still need a largish amount of older semi-conductors for their weapons systems e.a. And nobody said that there won’t be further investment in that plant.

Posted by: phiw13 | Sep 7 2020 11:23 utc | 97

john | Sep 7 2020 10:03 utc | 93

bottles of hand sanitizer... in this techno-turbulent world superstition still rules...

Yes, few lies/delusions have been so decisively debunked and routed than the idiocy of trying to control pests through sterilization methods. It's like a cosmic joke on me - here I've spent over ten years writing and taking action against poison-based agriculture and in favor of agroecology with its emphasis on pest control thru biodiversity balance, and here we are afflicted with the same stupidity in an even more extreme form, trying to control a virus long since at loose in the environment with the most rigid, violent, forcible segregation and sterilization methods. Hand sterilizers, which we've long known help drive antibiotic resistance, weaken our immune systems and render us MORE vulnerable to every kind of pathogen - what a microcosm of the whole wingnut derangement.

(It's telling how literally every prescription of the technocrats, from agriculture to public health to industrialism in general, is a driver of antibiotic resistance among harmful bacteria, and how the scientism mob ardently wants such superbugs to rule and refuses even to discuss the fact, it's so fundamentally part of their cult faith.)

Governments and media really are indelibly, irretrievably stupid and evil. It goes automatically with having power.

we see this in spades as well as electoral delirium descends upon us one more time. why even here in these threads ostensibly astute observers still believe in phantoms and the conjuring of feeble trappings, beliefs that belie what's before their very eyes.

It's especially funny how long-time arch-conman and sheepdog Sanders has gone ballistic with the most scabrous Dembot civil-war-mongering proclamations. Of course that's zero surprise to me and the few others who have regarded Sanders all along in accordance with the evidence record.

Electoralism in itself is a proven failure from the point of view of building ecologically sane ways of life and human well-being, community, health, happiness and freedom. Electoralism was tried, it failed. Only reactionaries still believe in it.

Posted by: Russ | Sep 7 2020 11:27 utc | 98

re: Alexei Navalny
there seems to be great deal of obfuscation going on.

but you do get the feeling that if this seems to be a game of football of sorts,
then it looks like that Navalny is the ball.

Posted by: chris m | Sep 7 2020 11:31 utc | 99

Imo, this little item from RT (backed by source links) is fundamentally significant.

"IS IT A 0.1 PERCENT, OR ONE PERCENT?"
(and the Mars orbiter analogy is apt)

If correct, then a major “Stats-101 Fail for Policy Wonks” has largely crippled the western world. Lawyers must be rubbing their hands on the Class Action loot potential. Can anyone fault it?

“The 1% blunder: How a simple but fatal math mistake by US Covid-19 experts caused the world to panic and order lockdowns”

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/500000-covid19-math-mistake-panic/ [6th September, 2020]

“COVID – Why terminology really, really matters”, [4th September, 2020]

https://drmalcolmkendrick.org

The actual credit source (listed in the footnote #6 of Dr. Malcolm Kendrick (MD)) goes to:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/disaster-medicine-and-public-health-preparedness/article/public-health-lessons-learned-from-biases-in-coronavirus-mortality-overestimation/7ACD87D8FD2237285EB667BB28DCC6E9

Posted by: imo | Sep 7 2020 11:56 utc | 100