@Posted by: Moses22 | Jan 19 2022 18:40 utc | 3
You need a mirror to reverse the image, the Empire is running around like headless chickens wondering what to do next after all of their sanctions threats have been shown to be empty. Russia will take its own sweet time to decide what to do, and fulfilling the Empire’s illusions will not be on the menu; more like showing them to be the illusions that they are.

Posted by: Roger | Jan 19 2022 19:05 utc | 4

@Posted by: c1ue | Jan 19 2022 18:39 utc | 2
The Democrats have stopped another leftish wave, including thoroughly coopting AOC and her fellow “socialists”. So, job well done – the insider trading will continue, the corporate bribes/donations will continue to flow and the world is a good place. Then, once the Repubs take the house and senate, the Dems can scream for two years about the nasty Repubs and invent nightmares about the Orange Man while maintaining the oligarchy in their protected sanctuary.
After stabilizing the new reality for four years (just like Obama did after Bush) the time will be ready for the next flight of stairs down for the average American, then the Dems get back in 2028 promising to reverse what the horrible Repub did. Then another 4 years of disappointment and rinse and repeat on the way down to a Brazil-like society.

Posted by: Roger | Jan 19 2022 19:11 utc | 6

@ 3 moses… you might enjoy this from john helmer..

THE RUSSIANS LAUGH AT THEIR ENEMIES – THEY KETTLE THEM AND SEND THE PARTS BACK LIKE THE HAWAIIANS DID TO CAPTAIN COOK

Posted by: james | Jan 19 2022 19:28 utc | 8

Roger @ 5 ended with;
” Then another 4 years of disappointment and rinse and repeat on the way down to a Brazil-like society.”
Yep. It’s all baked into the cake. That scenario is what Oligarchy looks like.

Posted by: vetinLA | Jan 19 2022 19:35 utc | 10

@c1ue | Jan 19 2022 18:39 utc
While I agree with your sentiment, I’ve become very leery of the polls that ask about leaning Dem vs Rep. From my perspective there is no difference other than tribal/cultural ones, and the question itself creates a sampling distortion along those lines.
Also it’s curious that the total on both polls tally up to the same, 89%. My thought, based upon logic and history, the total should be less, due to disillusioned voters.
Methinks the poll only measures Fox viewers vs the other corporate conglomerates. In my experience and views of other polls most USAians want the same thing: food, meaningful employment at a decent wage, affordable health care, and a future for their children. It’s also interesting to not that neither D nor R offer either.
Given the hysterical state the conglomerate media keeps viewers/listeners in, emotional distress is the primary measure of the polling.

Posted by: Michael.j | Jan 19 2022 19:48 utc | 12

alaff @ 11
Who is behind the submission of the draft appeal? Thanks.

Posted by: Digital Spartacus | Jan 19 2022 19:53 utc | 14

karlof1 @ 15
Thank you for that!

Posted by: Digital Spartacus | Jan 19 2022 19:59 utc | 16

Blinken as the boy who cried wolf: “Russia could invade [Ukraine] at any moment.”
Karlof1 to Blinken: Yes, and Russia could send a hypersonic missile to your location any time it chooses and there’s nothing you can do to avoid it. Neither is likely to occur, but they’re both possible. Now shut up and write your fucking response to Russia! Opps, sorry, I forgot, but you’re not the one who makes such decisions or writes them, which is why you spend all your time howling at the moon.

Posted by: karlof1 | Jan 19 2022 20:01 utc | 18

I am impressed that Poland has said no the Americans and will go to Beijing Olympics and meet with Xi Jinping
Must be the first time in their lives they did not slavishly get on their knees for the 🇺🇸s

Posted by: bobby | Jan 19 2022 20:24 utc | 20

@11 alaff
The request to upgrade level of relations with DPR/LPR … request was made by KPRF … anyway, this is the eventual form of the so-called invasion threat, and entirely predictable.
https://tass.com/world/1390513

Posted by: ptb | Jan 19 2022 20:33 utc | 22

China is deftly outmaneuvering the US across the Indo-Pacific region.
By Syed Munir Khasru
“Beijing understands that economic security created through trade is more enduring than when done through military superiority.
China has deepened ties with Singapore, signing 14 new deals at an annual bilateral cooperation meeting held on December 29. Beijing has been active in South-East Asia since the 1990s, becoming a dialogue partner of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1996. In November 2020, the 10 ASEAN members signed the Chinese-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s largest free trade agreement involving several major powers, but with the notable absence of the US…”
https://johnmenadue.com/china-is-deftly-outmanoeuvring-us-across-the-indo-pacific-region/

Posted by: Paul | Jan 19 2022 20:46 utc | 24

in oz currently:
stocks in grocery shops are low (still plenty, just not the usual orgy of excess)
hospital systems are on ‘code brown’ (no leave, no ‘elective’ procedures, other compromises per location – victoria seems most desperate)
testing is effectively non-functional (there are no publicly available rats and pcr tests are backlogged indefinitely)
principals, teachers and parents are still in the dark regarding whatever is being planned for school (currently a ‘delayed start’ with non-teaching staff being told they may have to take classes)
according to msm all problems are related to staff shortages but not the mandates

Posted by: Rae | Jan 19 2022 21:00 utc | 26

TASS: Russian delegation declares start of ‘countdown’ in wait for adoption of Russian proposals
“There arrives a moment of truth when the West either accepts our proposals or other ways will be found to safeguard Russia’s security,” the head of the Russian delegation at the Vienna Negotiations on Military Security and Arms Control Konstantin Gavrilov said
That’s pretty clear language … which obviously is required with the boneheads at the other end of the table.

Posted by: Norwegian | Jan 19 2022 21:15 utc | 28

Who polices the “Fact Checking industry”
SFA to do with the facts for a long time!
Unless it’s the right facts.
https://www.activistpost.com/2022/01/ron-paul-congressman-of-30-years-banned-on-facebook-after-quoting-pfizer-ceo.html

Posted by: JPC | Jan 19 2022 21:25 utc | 30

Iran’s president Raeisi meeting with Putin in Moscow
No hindrance in way of improvement of Iran-Russia ties: Pres. Raeisi tells Putin in Moscow
“We have no limitation for expansion and development of ties with Russia and are after establishment of strategic relations with Moscow,” the Iranian president said during the meeting on Wednesday.
The new world order is taking shape (we might as well redefine the language of the psychos).

Posted by: Norwegian | Jan 19 2022 21:42 utc | 32

Senior UK ministers travel to Australia for defence and security talks
Read: Sinophobic conservatives in the Federal govt still desperate to remain part of the British Empire to avoid having to acknowledge that Australia is strategically and economically linked to the larger destiny of the Asia-Pacific for as long as possible.
Read: Britain’s last imperial clutch at straws is to inject Australian cultural cringe and its racist terror of Asia into its rotting corpse to forestall historical obsolescence.
Read: In 234 years the world’s most distant and abject penal colony, populated by the detritus of Britain’s 18th century slums, has become one of the wealthiest and successful nations on the planet while the metropolis has disappeared into the dustbin of history over the same period. Australia cannot see the irony nor realise the potential because it lacks the ability to plan policy for longer than 12 months (max) and hates itself because, despite the success, it is still ruled by a settler oligarchy clinging to the coast who regard the interior like Belgians in the Congo.
The UK’s cynical solution: stoke subconscious Australian self-loathing and then feed off the bad energy like a ghoul. Exploit the fact that Australia is saddled with English institutions and terrorize it with CCP phantoms.
Our counter-solution: perform a ritual exorcism (full republic), cut off all ties to the UK, put the US on notice that we’re not their largest aircraft carrier, and embrace our destiny in the Asia-Pacific by seriously sitting at the table with China. And either adopt the Eureka standard as our new flag or the flag of our indigenous people.
It’s a pipe-dream I know.

Posted by: Patroklos | Jan 19 2022 22:04 utc | 34

Peter AU1 is still alive and commenting on Martyanov’s blog. In response to an important interview of Colonel General Andrey Kartopolov on Solovyev LIVE, he made this important observation:
“It occurred to me when watching the video that Russia is ensuring everything is in writing and reordered for the future which is why they wanted the US response to the proposal in writing and points US would not agree, to the reason why in detail. And as far as Russia’s standing in international law, they have the agreement signed in Istanbul. I suspect US is signing its life away if it gives a written response to Russia’s proposals that is in line with what they were saying at the meetings.”
Peter is stating what I’ve put forth in a different manner which I’ll repeat again. Russia has a hand of 5 Aces, which are the two separate promises made regarding Germany’s reunification and Warsaw Pact’s decommissioning combined with no Eastern NATO movement, and the three separate OSCE Treaties on Collective European Security that all essentially say that no nation or group of nations can secure its/their security while making another nation insecure. Either the Outlaw US Empire apologizes for its wrongdoings, or it breaks the three treaties atop the other two promises it’s already broken. Those are the only two possible outcomes. Russia has played its diplomatic hand superbly and has already won. The Anglo’s problem is which choice to make in reply.
Peter, if you’re lurking, please chime-in!

Posted by: karlof1 | Jan 19 2022 22:45 utc | 36

@ Paco | Jan 19 2022 21:20 utc | 29… thanks for your encouragement to do that! fascinating character and passionate singer/songwriter, although he prefers to see himself as an actor and poet… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Vysotsky

Posted by: james | Jan 19 2022 22:46 utc | 38

Definition of irony https://youtu.be/_jyS5uXQer0

Posted by: J | Jan 19 2022 22:52 utc | 40

@37 james and Paco – Indeed! Thanks for the new musical rabbit hole to go down. My Ukrainian co-worker said that form of music is chanson, but the Slavic version. Songs for the underclass. Old school gopniks.
Here is a YouTube link to the Aborigines song.
Why Did the Aborigines Eat Captain Cook (V.Vysotsky)
Очен спасибо!! Хорошо!

Posted by: lex talionis | Jan 19 2022 23:02 utc | 42

“As of yet no one has given Vladimir Putin a bloody nose,” Mississippi’s Roger Wicker told reporters. “I think the alliance, our friends in NATO and a bipartisan majority are prepared to assist Ukraine in making sure that, if it happens, this time Vladimir Putin will get a bloody nose,”
Apparently this US Senator is confused as to the results of a nuclear exchange. God help us all.

Posted by: jasper | Jan 19 2022 23:29 utc | 44

Talk, talk, say nothing. Blinken’s whole function seems to be give nothing and keep hitting the ball back to Russia.

Posted by: dh | Jan 19 2022 23:35 utc | 46

Saker thinks an evil storm is brewing:
http://thesaker.is/lots-of-short-but-important-news-a-huge-storm-is-brewing/
It almost looks like the Empire wants something disruptive to happen, be it in Ukraine, Taiwan or wherever. Maybe the financial system is about to collapse and they want to blame it on something else. Covid + War would do nicely, it seems.

Posted by: Robert Macaire | Jan 20 2022 0:06 utc | 48

I’ve put it all together into this short article, “Completely Outplayed by Russia’s Diplomacy and Sabotaged by its Own Actions, The Outlaw US Empire is Now Having a Temper Tantrum”. It could certainly be expanded to include a variety of other happenings that are semi-related to the hysteria Blinken the actor is now performing. I’m sure Raisi and Putin enjoyed his performance.
Blinken’s hysteria sends another message–the Outlaw Anglo Empire has capitulated on this issue since it’s very clearly been beaten. Hopefully nobody in Ukraine from either side will die or get injured as a result of this tantrum. The next question: How will Russia respond? IMO, the obvious would be for either Lavrov or Putin to say it’s clear the Americans are incapable or refuse to give the sort of detailed response required, and that Russia will take some unspecified action at a future point in time of its choosing to rectify the situation. One initiative could be to ask the EU if it still desires to abide by the three collective security treaties it signed or if it too is breaking those. Russia might also inquire if Europe wants to cease its relationship with Russia as an energy security provider as it doesn’t want to be seen as forcing unwilling nations into agreements they find unpalatable. And so forth. Looming in the background of everything is the new 25-year Strategic Partnership Plan offered to Russia by Iran that was made public today. And as a topper, there’s Xi’s Davos Speech that’s rather close to a diktat for the many close to or insolvent Western nations. I imagine the French presidential candidate that said France needs to restore normal relations with Russia will get a boost from French voters capable of independent thinking that will make Macron and the French Establishment nervous.

Posted by: karlof1 | Jan 20 2022 0:09 utc | 50

Almost two years ago now, I noted the following from Michael Tracey’s twitter feed, @mtracey:

“Amazing! Russia supposedly “hacked” the entire US federal government but never got around to “hacking” a few electoral jurisdictions in Wisconsin, Arizona, and Georgia such that their Puppet President could receive another four years to carry out a pro-Kremlin geopolitical agenda.”

Then, in keeping with my preference for vitriolic verse polemics, this happened:
Vladimir Putin’s DNA Detected
The Russians did whatever some imagine
they did because, you know, they’re Russians, so
that tells you what explains your accusations
as down the rabbit hole you glibly go.
No need for evidence or proof presented.
It is because it will be ’cause it was.
Just utter word-like noises and transcribe them
in spell-marks like the good factotum does.
Then have your friends repeat what you have written
till repetition makes the false seem “true”
by which you mean “unquestioned” (not the same thing).
Your reputation now looks black and blue.
Allege “the Russians did it!” loud and often.
No need to tell us what you mean by “it.”
Believe whatever Deep State minions tell you.
Say “classified” a lot (which smells like shit).
Red-baiting worked out well for Richard Nixon
and Joe McCarthy, two among the dregs,
who’ve taught the Democrats, their loyal students,
to think they can teach grandma to suck eggs.
Republicans invented “Russia-gating”
before the “Water-” prefix made its mark.
So asking them for yet another lesson
would seem like playing dinner for the shark.
But Democrats and CNN think Faux Noise
provides the best example of the art.
So Rupert Murdoch wins while imitators
produce pure wind not worth a squirrel fart.
Michael Murry, “The Misfortune Teller,” Copyright © 2020

Posted by: Michael Murry | Jan 20 2022 0:24 utc | 52

To further add what bobby @20 posted earlier.   Once again it’s all about the money.   Uncle Scam have no money to give out so off to find another host.   ROFL
Poland’s president to attend Beijing Olympics amidst U.S. boycott

“Poland is a sovereign nation and decides its own politics towards China. … Poland is an ally of the United States but Poland also has a very friendly relationship with China,” Duda’s foreign affairs advisor Jakub Kumoch told Reuters.
Officials have told Reuters that, as Poland’s relationship with the United States has worsened under President Joe Biden’s administration, it’s no longer in Poland’s interests to continue criticising China simply to please the Americans.
…
Duda has said Poland plans to take advantage of its geographical location to boost its role in trade between Europe and China.

Posted by: Ian2 | Jan 20 2022 0:46 utc | 54

cjhopkins is optimistic about the last days of the covidian cult.
He is not usually optimistic.
Yes, its an unfair comparison but then that’s what you get with satire:

This isn’t going to be pretty, folks. The downfall of a death cult rarely is. There is going to be wailing and gnashing of teeth, incoherent fanatical jabbering, mass deleting of embarrassing tweets. There’s going to be a veritable tsunami of desperate rationalizing, strenuous denying, shameless blame-shifting, and other forms of ass-covering, as suddenly former Covidian Cult members make a last-minute break for the jungle before the fully-vaxxed-and-boosted “Safe and Effective Kool-Aid” servers get to them.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jan 20 2022 1:02 utc | 56

If I might ask a stupid question of more knowledgeable barflies:
What processes would be involved or necessary for the USA to make a legally binding commitment to Russia in response to her request for a written agreement concerning no more NATO encroachment; and a European security agreement more broadly?
Even treaties are broken left and right by the non-agreement capable, so anything forthcoming would be simple markers, historical landmarks, tracking reality, nothing more?
[I once attended a seminar on how foreign policy USA is made ( in the mid 1990s) but I learned much more from julian’s 2015 book, the w.l. files.]
~~
Some people still view their mere word as a binding vow. It is these communities of people who continue to thrive now.
What of a people who trust in opportunists, wordsmiths, course and refined ?
A culture of lies causes cultural decline.

Posted by: suzan | Jan 20 2022 1:12 utc | 58

karlof1 | Jan 20 2022 0:55 utc | 54:
Yes I know about Reuters and all. But, it’s still a boycott as top officials like US President Biden and his administration will not be attending. The US is driving the boycott not China.
In any case, I was referring to Poland’s 180° diplomatic flip.

Posted by: Ian2 | Jan 20 2022 1:23 utc | 60

Here’s a non-politician stating an obvious truth;
https://www.rt.com/usa/520080-barkley-divide-conquer-politics/
short quote;”The political system is rigged to favor the powerful and keep everyone else at each other’s throats to protect the status quo, Charles Barkley said in fiery commentary on the divisiveness in the US.”

Posted by: vetinLA | Jan 20 2022 1:39 utc | 62

Hey Friedmann, here’s another tidbit;
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/03/americas/flu-america-1918-masks-intl-hnk/index.html

Posted by: vetinLA | Jan 20 2022 2:00 utc | 64

My wife and I were born in Lancashire.
Our kids were born in London.
But the Lancashire Kids went back to school after Christmas, and refused to wear masks.
What they did, seriously embaraased The British Government, and will have a Massive World Wide Effect.
I did say, but you never read it, cos you don’t like me.
It’s not a loo, and its not that noisy, but I thought wtf is it?
It’s a chocolate fountain machine, on our Birthday Table.
I have to admit, once I did vote for Boris ( a long time ago ) and he got in as Mayor of London
They are all trying to crucify him now, but he has spent almost his entire political existence, whilst shagging, completely taking the piss, and I thought his Boris Bikes were a pretty good idea.
I actually got a phone call, today, from my Doctor’s Receptionist. To my Amazement, she sounded posh and English. The details were short and sweet…Do you want a jab???
I told my missus, I had heard (though not confirmed), that all jabs were going to be discontinued within the next couple of weeks at least in England, cos people had noticed the effects of people keeling over and dropping dead just after being jabbed.
After Kazakhstan, where it is strongly rumoured, the “slight problems”, had next to SFA to do with the price of gas, but more to do, with turning up at the bank, asking can I withdraw some of my money. – NO unless you have a Vax pass – That can really piss people off – That both the Russians and the Kazakh Government are no long there in Kazakhstan.. Its a bit like a Cartoon, I can’t quite remember, which goes, “Oh Shit”
So now we at least in the UK, have got this – even in the Daily Telegraph
“Covid latest news: No more masks and back to the office as Plan B restrictions dropped”
Reasons to be Cheerful, especially if you are a Child going to School tomorrow.
We can Thank The Lancashire Kids for that.
https://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Uploads/Graphics/596-1117122309-NO-MASKS-FOR-KIDS.png
We have Grandchildren now, also born in London
Tony

Posted by: Tony_0pmoc | Jan 20 2022 2:06 utc | 66

@ Roger 58
Blinken just makes shit up as he goes along and perhaps thinks that he is creating the new reality through discursive and rhetorical brilliance/trickery
Yes, and reinforces my plea that Russia take these clowns on in the public fora which requires a Russian, in English, to respond and destroy such cheap palaver as soon as it appears. Certainly the New York Times wouldn’t report such a disclaimer but the attempt should be made for Russia to appear in the public fora and I wager that it would be published somewhere. Certainly Blinken is vulnerable, as you suggest. Get Vlad on the phone for me!! (He may not read MOA.)

Posted by: Don Bacon | Jan 20 2022 2:15 utc | 68

karlof1
Just saw your post upthread a bit and yes still going. A couple of odd things happened and I pulled up for a bit.
A few other things I’ve posted at Martynov’s blog and will repost them here.
……………
I put in some time researching how far US is away from fielding a hypersonic missile. In 2019 they successfully tested a lab built boost glide missile that functioned correctly and good accuracy. They have now moved into production and crew training and expect to have them deployed and functioning in 2023 with initial prototypes for training through 2022. Two failed tests to date due to production booster not launching from the aircraft. There will be a few teething problems but under current circumstances these will be overcome quickly and will quite likely still be deployed as early as 2023 if not sooner. This is the window in which Russia must get a security agreement with the US.
Reading through the Russian proposals, the overall picture of them is a buffer zone all around both Russian and US in which neither side can place their missiles or militarize. A type of no mans land and, on the Russian side, this must be in place before US deploys hypersonics. If US get to the stage of deploying these missiles before there is a security agreement in place, then I think Russia will strike first, no period of escalation, rather the complete elimination of a threat.
On the American side, going on what is occurring, they may well spend this time trying to create a situation to launch an all out strike on Russia. I see the Russian presidential spokesman has voiced the possibility of the current propaganda indicating a provocation in Ukraine. The Brits have a couple of nuke armed subs and will join the US.
US nuking the Soviets was always a British wet dream and I think would at the moment be quite capable of creating a provocation separate from the US with the aim of inducing the Americans to launch a strike against Russia if it looked as though US was willing to enter a security agreement with Russia.
……………..
It looks like Lavrov will be meeting Blinken on Friday. Found this in Russian news.
“We agreed on a meeting. Now this meeting is being worked out, indeed, the date of January 21, Geneva, was announced. I saw that the State Department has already announced it, ” she said on the Solovyov Live YouTube channel.
Zakharova added that the Russian Foreign Ministry believes that this meeting can “take place on this day, now it is being prepared.” https://regnum.ru/news/poli…
And this in Tass
“US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will not provide Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with a written response to the Russian proposals on security during their upcoming meeting in Geneva Friday, he said during a press conference in Kiev Wednesday.
He noted that the US plans to “take stocks of the conversations” after a “pretty intensive week of engagements” with Russia, and to give “the Russians time to give stock of these conversations.” https://tass.com/world/1390515
Going by what Zakharova said, US state department had announced it to the press before date or anything was finalized with the Russian foreign ministry. Blinken will be turning up with nothing but empty talk according to what he said in Ukraine ???
………………

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 20 2022 2:54 utc | 70

@ Posted by: Don Bacon | Jan 20 2022 2:06 utc
Thanks for your reply.
Some trace the rise of unitary executive doctrine in the USA to the Reagan era, with the presidents succeeding Reagan expanding executive power even further beyond constitutional norms as you listed. Such doctrine allows the president to ignore laws, disregard congressional intent and override federal court determinations, in other words legalizing the illegal through grandiose theory, interpretation and the sheer power of position.
Such a system, beset with political infighting over power as it is, is non-agreement capable re foreign relations, guaranteed, by definition. The irony for the self-proud shining exemplar ‘democracy.’
~~
Some aspects of the unitary executive are unobjectionable. The unitary executive doctrine is concerned with presidential powers in three ways: (1) presidential appointments and removals of officials in the executive branch, (2) presidential control over executive administration, and (3) the president’s interpretations of laws in the execution of his duty as president. The first two of these are not subject to much controversy now.
As to the third, while clearly the president must interpret the laws he is sworn to uphold in order to uphold them, and in some instances a president may find that a law conflicts with his duties (which may be properly resolved in a number of ways: by working with Congress, bringing the issue to a federal court, etc.), when the doctrine is used as a means to utterly ignore laws and treaties this is extremely troubling and may create a constitutional crisis.
[For example] When President Bush signed the McCain amendment, which prohibited the use of torture when interrogating detainees, he also issued a presidential signing statement. By this statement, in which he relies on the unitary executive doctrine, Bush appears to grant himself the authority to bypass the very law he had just signed.
Jennifer van Bergen

Posted by: suzan | Jan 20 2022 3:37 utc | 72

@ suzan 71
re: unitary executive theory
There are also the presidential executive orders. These are proclamations which have no basis in the constitution but which plainly make law in every sense. The president is not interpreting laws, he is making laws.
There are some books published on executive orders, I have one in front of me “With the stroke of a pen” by Kenneth R. Mayer. It contains fascinating information about how the president can pursue policy without congressional interference.
The president is thereby acting autocratically just like the dictators the US media manage to differentiate from US “democratic” presidents. . .A difference without a difference!

Posted by: Don Bacon | Jan 20 2022 4:03 utc | 74

The libraries in DC have been distributing free Covid antigen rapid tests since the Xmas holidays. I’ve picked up a few, but haven’t used them, barely looked at them. An article in Global Times made me have a closer look. They’re made in China. LOL! Made in China for iHealth Labs, Inc (Sunnyvale, CA).

Posted by: Robert Macaire | Jan 20 2022 4:50 utc | 76

lex talionis | Jan 19 2022 23:02 utc | 41… thanks… there were a few youtube tracks at john helmers site i linked to earlier, but i like this track you have shared with supporting accordian, drums and etc… same distinct voice though! cheers..
peter au / don bacon… thanks for the back and forth and view on where the usa is in the weapons developments… perhaps russia is right to be concerned, not that i ever thought differently, but it seems more strident at this point and probably for good reason..

Posted by: james | Jan 20 2022 5:03 utc | 78

@ suzan | Jan 20 2022 3:37 utc | 71
Darn right that excessive, unconstitutional presidential powers can and will cause a constitutional crisis! This is why our unelected rulers totally freaked out over Trump: They had, over a long period, created this monstrous office of the presidency and then lost control over it! They never meant for any president to rule on his own, without following “advice,” and Trump appeared possibly not amenable to “advice.” The national security state has made the presidency in fact a dictatorial office with untrammeled powers, but they didn’t want a Caesar to actually be in it; they wanted only malleable puppets who would follow orders.
In fact, the Founders blew it by creating the basis for such an office in the Constitution in the first place, and some of them knew it and dissented at the time. Probably, the US Constitution, from the beginning the basis for an oligarchical republic, appears to have run its course because, like with any constitutional system given enough time, special interests have been able to game the system, so it no longer much resembles what was originally set up, particularly because those in elective office are not the holders of power.
One can suggest constitutional reforms that would improve things: First, get rid of the overbearing, dictatorial presidency. This could be done first of all by limiting the holding of that office to one year and allowing no reelection for life. Then one could divide the office and have two chief magistrates like the Roman republican consuls. Better yet, have an executive committee of five, elected by the voters only being able to vote for one, so that the five chief groups opposed to each other would all be represented. If it were objected that that would paralyze the state, good, if that would block the militarism. Just like when Trump was elected and one of the complaints of the MSM was, oh, he will tarnish the dignity of the office, to which I said at the time, good, it’s about time! As if that office has any dignity to begin with.
As for the future trajectory of the American state, it looks to me like the Roman Republic in the late 2nd century BC, running wild over the Mediterranean basin, plundering all the foreign kingdoms, carrying off their people as slave laborers to work in latifundia in Italy, and ruining the Italian natives. The interests of the ruling class became empire-wide and conflicted with the parochial interests of the ordinary Roman citizens, who could sometimes be tricked into supporting wars against foreign adversaries promoted as threats, but when the citizens saw their own ruination with their own eyes, they became very angry, so you had class warfare culminating in the massacre of part of the ruling class in the period of 90-83 BC. After a long, torturous process of civil strife, the dictatorship of Caesar Augustus emerged, who could say to the corrupt plunderers, “That’s MY stuff your stealing!” So the treason trials began. Not a very happy ending, but it did at least eventually equalize treatment in the Roman Empire.
Can we avoid some such autocracy? I wouldn’t count on it. I see no way for the rulers to be displaced until they fall to fighting each other in a distributional conflict. After all, even Caesar Augustus, with all his populist bona fides, came from an aristocratic lineage.

Posted by: Cabe | Jan 20 2022 5:30 utc | 80

Don, that’s a bit of an odd question. What China has other than fully functional boost glide missiles is unknown.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jan 20 2022 5:46 utc | 82

If you need something to keep you occupied while waiting for the US written response to Russia, this may do it:
Djokovic case

Posted by: waynorinorway | Jan 20 2022 7:37 utc | 84

karlof1
thanks for your links and insights, required reading:
https://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/01/paul-craig-roberts-broadside.html?m=1
https://vk.com/@580896205-completely-outplayed-by-russias-diplomacy-and-sabotaged-by-i
“How the EU found itself excluded from talks on deciding Europe’s future.
Simply put, Washington cannot do diplomacy with Eurocrats in the room.
Nor does Washington seem capable of doing diplomacy with anyone.”

Posted by: Paul | Jan 20 2022 8:21 utc | 86

A nice demonstration of the runaway problems in current reputation driven media: a CIA assessment says there is no proof for foreign actions behind the Havana Syndrome.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/cia-says-havana-syndrome-not-result-sustained-global-campaign-hostile-rcna12838
The article is written from the point of view that the Russian Actions theory is true until proven false, it has become the new null hypothesis, and they actually try to minimalize and discredit the CIA assessment.
There is nothing wrong with the principle that a hypothesis with weak reputation has to put in more effort to prove itself when competing with a hypothesis with bad reputation. The actual problems are in the way things quickly get polarized into extreme differences in reputation, the way groupthink quickly comes to unfounded consensus, and the way this groupthink is easily steered and magnified to increase conflict.
So apply this to the Peng Shuai case where a lot of conclusions were drawn by people not having read the original letter. Once they get to read that letter this will not change their minds. The letter shows a power asymmetry in the relationship and that makes the official she had a relationship with less than pure. The null hypothesis is now #metoo and people will not reverse their ‘strongest possible condemnation’ stance anymore in the light of that extra information.

Posted by: Tuyzentfloot | Jan 20 2022 10:29 utc | 88

I must say this is amusing how the Russians have pushed “Biden” and Blinken into a corner so easily with a demand for a written response, which of course “Biden” and Blinken cannot and do not want to do.

Posted by: Bemildred | Jan 20 2022 11:50 utc | 90

Awhile back Shoigu noted that US mercenaries were bringing chemical weapons into the Ukraine. I could see Ukrainian terrorists mounting an attack in The Donbass, and Russia replying with airstrikes. A repeat of Syria might be staged at that point, with one of the Ukrainian NAZI squads using chemical weapons on its own people and blaming Russia. The Mighty Wurlitzer of NATO Propaganda has had plenty practice screaming about Russia using poison and backing Assad’s gassing of his own people, they’d go on a massive propaganda blitz talking about war crimes and whatnot.

Posted by: Haassaan | Jan 20 2022 12:11 utc | 92

“..members of the ‘Right Sector’ were also spotted in the vicinity of Mariupol, a city close to the contact line, according to Basurin. The group was accompanied by a psychological operations detachment and a crew from a Ukrainian TV channel, and is operating in the village of Pavlopol, controlled by the 36th Brigade of the Ukrainian army, he alleged. “
https://www.rt.com/russia/546554-donbas-false-flag-ukraine/
The article confirms the English CW usual suspects from Syria are there doing their worst.
The fact that the likes of Luke Harding – a lowly turd that writes reports in the Guardian about such actions and is part of the same bunch of Imperial Turds – has put in reports of fluent ‘english speaking’ Uke idiots in his piece a couple of days ago is a clear indication that the planned foray is not being called off – I do so hope they really are at that ‘frontline’ they have chosen & claim to be at. But wherever they are I’m sure they will be just as safe from any retribution for their parts in following orders of tge likes of Levy and Powell and Nuland.

Posted by: D.G. | Jan 20 2022 12:35 utc | 94

Posted by: George W Oprisko | Jan 20 2022 12:56 utc | 94
Yeah, they talk about “innovation” like it was some sort of magic that comes from good genes or a proper attitude. You need those things, but that is not enough. Especially these days when all the low hanging fruit has been taken, intellectually speaking. One thing you need plenty of is luck, and perseverance.
Anybody that leaves that part out is selling something.
But the US Gov’t has been relying on throwing money at things for a long time now, they aren’t going to change, you are right about that.

Posted by: Bemildred | Jan 20 2022 13:22 utc | 96

Climate/alternative energy news:
China produces more coal in December 2021 and the year 2021 than ever before

The world’s biggest coal producer and consumer mined 384.67m tonnes of the fossil fuel last month, easily topping its previous record of 370.84m tonnes set in November, after the government called for miners to work at maximum capacity to help fuel the country’s economic growth.
Official government figures show that China’s coal binge also spurred the country to record high coal output over the year as a whole. Chinese coal production climbed to an all-time high of 4.07bn tonnes, up 4.7% on the previous year, in a blow to climate campaigners months after the UN’s Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicted that global consumption of coal power, which is the world’s single biggest source of climate emissions, would reach record levels in 2021 driven by a surge in demand for energy to kickstart global economies following the coronavirus pandemic.

This is China: pragmatic. Whatever their lofty goals may be, they do whatever they think needs to be done when something needs to be done.
But it wasn’t just China…

Coal power fell by 4% in 2020 as the pandemic caused a global economic slowdown, but the IEA found that the surge in demand for electricity during 2021 outpaced the growth in low-carbon sources, leading many wealthy economies to rely more heavily on fossil fuel power plants.
The IEA’s most recent report, published last week, found the steepest ever increase in global electricity demand last year was stoked by a 9% increase in coal use compared with the year before, or more than half of the global increase in power demand, to reach an all-time peak.

Posted by: c1ue | Jan 20 2022 13:46 utc | 98

Most ‘Havana Syndrome’ Cases Unlikely Caused by Foreign Power, C.I.A. Says
Of nearly 1000 cases a few dozen are “unexplained”.
Why now?
“Last year, Congress passed a law compensating victims of Havana syndrome, and giving the government until April to devise a payment plan. It is not clear how the interim findings could affect that process. C.I.A. officials would say only that they were working on implementing the law, that their decisions were not yet due and that they were mindful of congressional intent to support officers reporting symptoms.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/us/politics/havana-syndrome-cia-report.html

Posted by: daffyDuct | Jan 20 2022 13:56 utc | 100