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March 20, 2022
The MoA Week In Review – OT 2022-31 (NOT Ukraine)

Last week's posts at Moon of Alabama:

(Another week of all out Ukraine. I'd love to write on other stuff, but it is the world moving story of these day.)

—
Other issues:

Covid-19:


bigger

ISS:

Middle East:

Torture:

Empire of hypocrisy:

Use as open (NOT Ukraine) thread …

Posted by b on March 20, 2022 at 13:00 UTC | Permalink
Comments

Underneath all the ukraine propaganda, many will have missed that amerika has made its move against Pakistan’s PM, Imran Khan.
Not that it appears to be that from outside, as you will be told in the reuters article I linked to above, the alleged reason for the parliamentary no confidence motion is ‘inflation’. That is people in Pakistan are being told to give credence to Khan being the sole cause of an international financial issue caused by the greed of the elites during the pandemic.
I guess some will fall for it but this beat up into a populist meme about inflation has some typically sleazy amerikan roots.
Some may remember that at the time Khan’s PTI won so many seats it was alleged they had done so because the army, angry at the dishonour that both Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N and the Bhutto family’s PPP had thrown their weight behind the PTI.
That was considered highly unusual and a double-edged sword as the army has close connections with the sharp end of the amerikan empire and Mr Khan has been highly critical of the empire’s actions in Pakistan’s tribal homelands where Mr Khan, a Pashtu prince derives his base, and Afghanistan where the amerikan empire butchered so many Pashtu civilians.
It seems as though the ‘fall’ of Afghanistan, Mr Khan’s opposition to amerikan violence in the tribal lands & more recently Pakistan’s non-aligned style stance on Ukraine, may have caused the army to have been pushed into a corner by amerika. Not too difficult to achieve given the ‘aid’ which had been cut by the Trump regime included a big chunk of $USD to subsidise officer’s salaries.
It is damn difficult for a neophyte on this issue such as meself to find out whether the Biden gang had restored any of that.
Whether it is from new money or threats of cuts to old money prolly doesn’t make much difference to Mr Khan.
The number of parliamentarians who signed the call for a vote of no confidence was well short of the numbers needed to roll Mr Khan, yet it is tough to believe that the vote (to be held 25th march) would have been demanded if the white ants didn’t imagine they had a good chance.
The delay in the vote, which the government claims is unconstitutional seems to be about giving the thugs & crims who dominate too much of Pakistan’s political processes, sufficient time to bribe, blackmail and extort sufficient no confidence votes.
This article in today’s Dawn suggests that the PTI are likely to lose. Of course we must also acknowledge that Dawn has a long history of favouring the Bhutto family’s personal political party, the PPP and may be just more pressure on parliamentarians because the no-confidence numbers are well short of what is required.
It will be a sad day for Pakistan and its sovereignty should the PTI lose on Friday.

Posted by: Debsisdead | Mar 21 2022 5:28 utc | 101

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/03/ukraine-open-thread-2022-22.html?cid=6a00d8341c640e53ef02942f9d3cc4200c#comment-6a00d8341c640e53ef02942f9d3cc4200c
Fellow reader ‘watcher’ wrote this:

I guess you are aware of British efforts re anthrax in WWII. The plan was to drop anthrax all over Germany to make the place unlivable or at least useless for livestock. Google Anthrax Isle which was a test centre for this – it is in Northern Scotland and even 75 years on is uninhabitable. This is now public information. I must admit learning about this has seriously changed my view of the UK, which I once foolishly regarded as more moral than the USA. It is more than possible that the British also planned to use this weapon against Russian/Ukrainian agriculture, but this plan ended with the Cold War and MAD.

The bolded portion raises a bit of thought. I’ve been thinking about it and coming up with something to say for days.
As a teen growing up in the US, I used to regard the UK as more “moral” in certain aspects. I’m using scare-quotes because some of those aspects, while certainly advantageous to some degree, may not exactly be moral (otherwise, back then I saw them as signs of greater intelligence or better decision-making). Some of these can be rather petty now that I look back at it.
* One of the biggest factors was GMO labeling laws and the absence of fake dyes, preservatives, etc. in foods sold in the UK. Notable examples were the UK versions of e.g. Kraft’s Macaroni and Cheese product whose original USAian recipe had E102 and E110 (fake yellow dyes no. 5 and 6). Then again, the rest of Europe had enacted similar ordinances as well. These chemicals were alleged to trigger hyperactivity and attention problems in children, and 14-year-old me couldn’t fathom why neither the “shining city on a hill” nor its northern neighbor have followed suit.
* Another thing I never understood was why US dollar bills come in the same exact shade of green for every denomination when British pound sterling notes, as with the banknotes of every other nation (including the Soviet Union during its time), come in different colors, which makes it easier for the sight-impaired folks who can otherwise differentiate colors.
* DVDs sold in the UK had the BBFC age classification rating on the front side of the cover art, and in color even, in plain sight, not unlike the ESRB/PEGI rating on a typical video game cover, whereas DVDs in the US would have the MPAA rating (if it had one) on the back. 14-year-old me thought it was better this way because parents, when buying films for their children, would look at the rating and be informed better (or so I theorized – dunno how well it worked in practice).
* Power plugs and sockets in the UK were designed such that the plugs had live and neutral prongs covered in protective plastic, and sockets had not only switches, but also safety shutters. Then again, this could be because Britain uses 220-volt power, so safety became a greater priority, but it still sucked that American plugs and sockets were flimsy and nothing was done to reform the system or replace it with something better.
One can argue that protecting users from harm, making their lives easier, etc. would be considered ‘moral behavior’ to a degree. But some of the examples I’ve mentioned may not fall under that definition. What do you think?
(What made me eventually lose interest in the UK was seeing the Francophobia and Germanophobia in certain parts of the English media. Peter Hitchens’ writings would later bring to my attention an aversion to the metric system and decimal currency in some parts of public discourse. This was even before I learned of the bombing of Dresden, Britain England starting both world wars, and many other things leading to and including what ‘watcher’ said above re: anthrax.)

Posted by: Josep | Mar 21 2022 9:50 utc | 102

Orwell Was Right – From free speech to “spheres of influence” to our passion for endless war, we’ve become the doublethinkers 1984 predicted

The ‘free speech’ movement of the ACLU and Berkley was always geared towards advancing certain ideals and certain groups. It emerged precisely because the originators knew speech they liked would benefit more than speech they didn’t like. Now that those ideals and people from that background are dominant they are now predictably hostile to ‘free speech’. Here is an interview with the previous head of the ACLU who was a throwback to those times. Both he and the interviewer dance around the issue but reading between the lines (Which isn’t hard it’s all laid out quite forcefully) they both understand this.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/the-disintegration-of-the-aclu-james-kirchick
Historically there have been very few abstract advocates of freedom of speech, mostly Quakers or similar denominations. Indeed the biggest free speech advocacy group in the US that the ACLU was modelled upon was a Quaker org. Much more common is people advocating for ‘freedom of speech’ when their speech is stifled by the powers that be.

Posted by: Altai | Mar 21 2022 11:15 utc | 103

“…Bolshevik rule as being the first instance of “wokeism”…”
Strange. I don’t recall the Bolsheviks asserting that the problems of society were due to “deplorable” working class paleskins. I must have missed that.
“Lenin hated religion, says Crooke… and attempted to rip her spirituality and culture out of her forever.”
Yes, revolutions have a cultural element. Culture always develops in a manner to reproduce itself and in the process reproduce the power arrangements in society. You cannot hope to re-engineer the power structures of society while keeping all the culture of that society the same. The Chinese understood this which is why they deliberately pursued Cultural Revolution. There are aspects of culture which are regressive and should be discarded (feudal land ownership, foot-binding, child labor, the role of the church as the arbiter of Truth, etc) and there are aspects that should be preserved (tangible handicrafts and cuisine, local costumes, language, the role of the church for social gathering and quaint rituals, etc). Unfortunately it can be difficult to accurately identify what needs to go and what should be kept in the heat of revolution; trees for the forest sort of thing. When old power arrangements still have a grip on society it is sometimes tough to tell what traditions and cultural realia will be leveraged to reinforce that grip. After the old powers are crushed then some of the things those old powers would have used to beat down challengers may develop a nostalgic aura as their more sinister power over society wanes and is forgotten.
Anyway, it is not toxic “wokeness” when the working class itself tries to uplift its own more oppressed elements. The toxicity of “wokeness” instead comes from middle class delusionals attempting to impose their own warped conception of social leveling onto the working class externally and from above.

Posted by: William Gruff | Mar 21 2022 11:24 utc | 104

Crooke and especially. Luongo are exceptional morons. Dunno why they always pop up here.

Posted by: v | Mar 21 2022 11:41 utc | 105

… amerika has made its move against Pakistan’s PM, Imran Khan. …
it is tough to believe that the vote (to be held 25th march) would have been demanded if the white ants didn’t imagine they had a good chance.
Posted by: Debsisdead | Mar 21 2022 5:28 utc | 101
I am sure that Pakistan has many important persons who are bribed or otherwise influenced by USA and Imran Khan could be a target. That said, it could be a regular factional politics, for example, opposition in Poland blames the government for inflation, with similar demagogy (their own record on economy is vilified by the ruling party with similar demagogy if not worse), and razor thin failing non-confidence votes happen from time to time. American factor has very thin traction there, “everybody” (except common people) is pro-USA.
Khan is not particularly “obedient” as a vassal, so there is plausibility in your interpretation, but a speculation too. The argument that the opposition would not call for confidence vote without, well, confidence in the outcome is not valid — a quote from the top link in your post:

Both the opposition and Khan’s party are riven by factions. Khan won a confidence vote last year by six votes

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Mar 21 2022 12:03 utc | 106

Thanks, as always, b for the week in review. Appreciate you taking an in-depth look at spheres of influence. So I’m reading the Chas Freeman piece, and in it he says that in the 1960’s Britain conceded its sphere of influence in the Persian Gulf to the US. “By 1967, countries in this region we’re independent but drawn to the United States by their need for protection from each other as well as from Iran.”
An interesting take on the history of that region for that time period. He repeatedly refers to Latin America and the Munroe Doctrine. I’ve also noticed the Amazon rainforest appearing in Canadian news lately so I took a quick look (Google) at UN activity there.
From the FAO –
https://www.fao.org/in-action/at-home-in-the-amazon/en/
“With RedParques as the main implementing partner, FAO together with IUCN, UNEP, WWF and the European Union have developed the Integration of Amazon Protected Areas (IAPA) project. This project involves the 8 countries (Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela) plus the French Guiana territory that make up the Amazon biome.”
Another view from cultural survival.org — I’ve not heard of them before, they’re based in Cambridge, MA.
https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/un-agencies-collaborate-amazon-conservation-efforts
“Several Amazon residents are wary of the international imposition from environmental activists, believing that the project is a leap toward declaring the basin an “international protectorate” for foreign officials to claim possession over the area’s resources and administer control over the region, as noted by the Los Angeles Times.”
Princes William and Kate are visiting the Caribbean.
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/g39477988/prince-william-kate-middleton-caribbean-royal-tour-2022-photos/

Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Mar 21 2022 12:05 utc | 107

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran–Pakistan_gas_pipeline#Timeline
This is a bigger story, in my opinion, then the travails of North Streams. Without overt reasons, gas pipeline from Iran to Pakistan is still delayed, even if agreed by both countries, even if economically vital to Pakistan that needs affordable electricity, and even though built by Iran all the way to Pakistan border. To me, it is the proof that USA controls Pakistani elite to a large degree, notwithstanding Pakistani egos, economic interests and popular sentiments. Malign sentiment, perhaps sufficient to make a good novel if details were known. Wikipedia timeline does not record any moves of Imran Khan on that matter, it is even possible that this will “save his skin” in the upcoming confidence vote.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Mar 21 2022 12:24 utc | 108

For reasons unclear to me, the Canadian navy is not welcomed in the Mediterranean Sea generally.
Anyway. Members of the Communist party of Greece threw red paint on HMCS Montreal while in Piraeus Port a few days ago.
https://twitter.com/SDyorin/status/1505437000547057664
Canada’s there as part of NATO SMG2 part of Operation Reassurance (Canada’s deployment to Eastern Europe)
https://twitter.com/RCN_MARLANT/status/1496835573843124232
Reminder, we lost a similar helicopter in the Ionian Sea a year ago. Crash.
https://youtu.be/GVSqhxyVeug

Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Mar 21 2022 14:26 utc | 109

@Tom Herrera #42
You said:

One group of folks had the idea that they were superior to another group of folks, and implemented on that idea through violence and intimidation. It seems pretty conscious to me, and based on an idea that I suspect you and I do not share.

This is ahistorical and wrong. The reality is that slavery, for most of human history, was within a given group of people – not of one ethnicity/race over another.
Even in the late 1700s – the largest numbers of slaves weren’t actually African – they were European. The Barbary Coast – what is now Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Libya were infested with pirates who preyed on the Mediterranean and even Atlantic Coast shipping – taking crews and passengers as slaves or hostages, depending on ability to pay. It was not until the cotton gin and after the 1820s that plantation scale slavery became a thing – and note that the US outlawed the slave trade (bringing in new slaves) in 1808. This law was, in fact, why the New Englanders got out of the slave business and many converted to whaling…
So the only “idea” here is the Woke Left’s bullshit about America’s original sin. I also note that the purveyors of slaves for America were, respectively: African tribes capturing each other to sell; Portuguese for establishing the first trading stations in Africa; New Englanders – like many of the guys who built houses on Nantucket – who took over the business of transporting slaves to the Colonies as part of the “Triangle trade”: rum for slaves for molasses

The same goes for labor exploitation. One group manages to convince itself of its superiority and inherent right to subjugate another, then works to achieve its goals again via violence and intimidation, in this case in a capitalist setting.

More ahistorical nonsense, now combined with a complete lack of understanding of business.
The New England sewing factories did not explicitly seek women and children due to ideas of superiority; they used them because they are cheaper labor than men.
Women and children are cheaper labor than men because their labor is less valuable in a pre-industrial, pre-ICE labor environment where raw muscle power matters far more than anything else.
Let’s not forget that these New Englanders were often literally the same people against slavery because “morals”.
You said

Capitalism does not inherently have to be exploitative, or at least that is my take on it at this point. It could also function like our local farmers market here where I live. People do work and bring the fruits of those labors downtown and offer them for sale. No one can force anyone to buy anything, and everyone is free to attend or not as they see fit. In the end everyone benefits from the local produce, goods, and services offered.

I immensely dislike this nonsense about “capitalism does not need to be exploitative”. You can just as easily say that “slavery does not need to be exploitative” – there were plenty of Southerners who were not utter monsters and cared for their slaves as some people care for their capital equipment today like 18 wheeler trucks.
The issue is limits: while you can be a “good” slaveowner or capitalist, ultimately you are going to get outcompeted by the “bad” slaveowners and capitalists.
So no, I don’t agree with your naive view – especially your example of farmers selling at farmer’s markets. From what I have seen, those farmers are selling overpriced goods to moderately to fairly wealthy people. It is no more “non-exploitative capitalism” than the Whole Foods…

The idea that corrupts capitalism, to me, is the idea you would wish to limit those choices, and do it via some mechanism that involves coercion. Generally that is law and politics, so far as I can tell. To relieve the pressure of this sort of yolk is difficult, to put it mildly, but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. That’s what MoA is all about, so far as I can tell.

Good luck with that.
You are very early to the discussion and lack both depth and common sense. Consider this: who sets the limits on “choice limiting”? On whom? By what means?
The truth is that there can be no “non-exploitative” capitalism without highly intrusive government, to ensure that no monopoly occurs. The US in the 1945-mid 1960s was exploiting the rest of the world; the US since the 1990s has been exploiting its own people.

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 21 2022 15:04 utc | 110

@james #54
I am quite sure Russia has been given both roles.
Innovation!

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 21 2022 15:07 utc | 111

@ScottinDallas #87
It isn’t flattery – it is a combination of picking the right people (compliant, hungry for power/status, and lacking in integrity) and then reinforcing the choices made.
Kind of like endowing chairs at a university.
In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if that is how this system started.

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 21 2022 15:11 utc | 112

@Altai #103
I won’t try to analyze the origins of those groups/institutions and their founders.
However, it is abundantly clear that “Free Speech” as envisioned by their Silicon Valley tech titan funders is a very useful way to avoid being regulated.

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 21 2022 15:14 utc | 113

Death of the Password – Wired.com
Garbage, especially when they’re saying this:

After almost a decade of work, people looking for relief from passwords are left to hope that at this point FIDO is too big to fail.

Biometric is garbage – it is never changeable, always has to go through some type of device (scanner etc) and therefore is impossible to be made unique or secure. FIDO is trying to get around that by focusing on biometrics stored on devices; they only effect is going to be to make successful hacks even more widespread and damaging.
Imagine how bad it would be if you are forced to use the same “password” for all web sites and devices – and that biometric code is broken.
The entire idea breaks the concept of antifragility – or to put it in its original form: all eggs in one basket.

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 21 2022 15:20 utc | 114

News from Antiwar.com
Zelensky Bans Political Opposition, Nationalizes Media To Create “Unified” Information
I debated with myself about going here, but this article put me in mind of the efforts of one Misotheist here at the bar.
While the Misotheist enumerated 23 instances of Nazi propaganda, and 9 instances of quack medical advice, 4 actual posts were referenced, with instructions to find the rest on your own.
No one I ever encountered in my years of high school and university debating ever tried such a tactic, as it would have merited a fail, and probably a dunce cap and a corner to reside in.
If you want to make an agreement, please do so.
I will listen.
Some of the things that you cite raise questions, at least for me.
But, don’t ask me to do your research for you.
You made the claim, so it’s your responsibility to back it up.
And, hijacking every thread with this banter makes you appear unhinged.
Additionally , employing allies to try to pressure b to conform to your dictates is a really shabby thing to do.
How about you make your case, and let the chips fall where they may.
But, unlike you, I won’t request that you be silenced.
I will read your posts, and respond as I choose.
I don’t think that excessive use of terms like stupid, quack, f*ck, and Nazi, enhance your analysis.

Posted by: $outhpaw | Mar 21 2022 15:26 utc | 115

@104 William Gruff | Mar 21 2022 11:24 utc
I didn’t mean to suggest that the ordinary working people of Russia felt the “woke” passions that today’s western snowflakes do. I only meant to refer to the Bolshevik “rule” – i.e. the governance of the country – and I shouldn’t have conflated that with the revolutionary impulse itself.
From my very poor understanding of that time, the Bolshevik rule seems to have been very much against the working people. I take it, from the comments of others, that the Bolshevik rule was a great purge of many things that the ordinary people did not want purged. But I am no scholar, at all, in these matters.
On reflection, I think it was Crooke who wrote recently about the “woke” phenomenon and cited instances in ancient history where such canceling had occurred. In this sense, he seems to be developing a good case that episodes occur where a nation or tribe is not only destroyed or conquered but also rewritten into the narrative (and passed on into history) as something other than it is. And it often happens in reverse sequence of course.
Certainly, Crooke ties woke and cancel together as one thing: first vilify, then discard from disdain. All one attack.
We used to have simple words like Hypocrisy and Sanctimony and outright Slander to describe the dynamics of cancel culture. I think it’s been part of human weaponry for a long time.
~~
In any event, Crooke was talking about the attacks on Russia, and including the coming to power of the Bolsheviks as one such attack. I hope you won’t avoid listening to him just because I’ve described his meaning poorly – he deserves better than my incompetent review. I hope you’ll give his larger theme another chance.

Posted by: Grieved | Mar 21 2022 15:33 utc | 116

Patroklos @93–
The temporality has variables–location, currency, personal condition, community awareness, etc. Those already impoverished are already feeling the brunt and for them it will worsen faster, so the strength of social support systems is vital for them. Those that are able, like my household, will continue to prepare since most of the suggestions I made @90 we’ve been doing for over a decade. If you keep the bugs and moisture away, dried goods will keep much longer than the date on their container, and canned goods will last decades as long as the seals aren’t compromised and the canning was done properly. If your zoning permits it, raise your own meat–chickens, rabbits, etc. If possible, produce some of the energy you use–we heat with wood that’s very sustainable in our locale.
The most important aspect in dealing with any financial crisis is having a job that is related to a societal need, not something that’s related to discretionary spending as too many learned the hard way during Covid. Being employed in the sanitary sector is probably the most secure employment realm. The importance of keeping a positive cash flow shouldn’t need any explaining.
If you recall the Stagflation during the 1970s and how it continually worsened, I expect something similar that’s already ongoing, where the most crucial area to watch will be wages and housing costs. Within most Neoliberal nations, housing costs are far too high, although not evenly so; my daughter living in Tennessee pays 1/3 the cost of similar housing here–if you can find it–while her salary as a nurse is comparable.
It’s also possible the world will break into two different, competing, monetary systems–one based on the fiat dollar & euro and a hard currency backed by a basket of commodities and national industrial bases. All we can do is watch closely and wait, while we prepare.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 21 2022 15:41 utc | 117

@ Debsisdead | Mar 21 2022 5:28 utc | 101
thanks.. i am following that too.. i hope he survives this..
@ Josep | Mar 21 2022 9:50 utc | 102
josep… one only had to watch the novichok bullshit to know that britian is full of shit.. but if that wasn’t enough – there are plenty more examples in recent history to acknowledge it… read some of john clearys posts when he shows up here at moa… cheers james
@ Piotr Berman | Mar 21 2022 12:24 utc | 108.. thanks piotr and for your other post on imran khan..
@ c1ue | Mar 21 2022 15:07 utc | 111… you are right about that! i will have to ponder this some more..

Posted by: james | Mar 21 2022 16:13 utc | 118

Grieved @116–
The most prominent instance of culture cancelling is the overthrow of the Matriarchal Goddess worshiping cultures in Western Asia by Patriarchal Sky gods worshiping peoples beginning about 10,000 BCE. That’s why we have Zeus reigning in Olympus while Hera schemes to get her revenge. Then there’s the need to explain what’s called Noah’s Flood, which ought to be called Gilgamesh’s Flood with the former cancelling the latter. Later Rome needed to make its own narrative, so Virgil was hired to construct The Aeneid as a counter to the Greek Theogony. And of course, there’s the Latin naming of the Greek gods and godesses.
As for the Bolsheviks, they had a genocidal hatred of Russian aristocracy and contempt for the perceived weakness of the Mensheviks. And aside from taking Russia out of the war as his German sponsors sent him to Russia to accomplish, I don’t think Lenin had any real idea of political-economy aside from his hatred of Imperialism and the exploitation/expropriation inherent in Capitalism. IMO, what made Lenin and the Russian Revolution so historic was its being the first ever “Leveling Revolution” to survive the Reactionary War to eliminate it and build a nation from those ashes. And since its philosophy invoked global leveling, it was opposed by all capitalist nations even when it was briefly allied with them. And since Russian Communism needed to defend itself from the Capitalist world, Lenin then Stalin had to use the same capitalist tools Lenin abhorred as the masses while being propagandized were subjected to exploitation and expropriation under the Red Hammer & Sickle Banner which was just as ruthless as Enclosure under the Banners of British Royalty beginning with King Henry IV. IMO, WW2 saved Stalin and the communist project. However, a decade after the war, Russia’s communists were well on the road to becoming as decadent as the Tsarist Royalty it once loathed. As Putin has said, that period of Russian history cannot be undone but it can be learned from.
And thanks much for your appraisal of the podcast. I’ve listened to Crooke on several occasions and know he has a different POV than most.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 21 2022 16:32 utc | 119

The China Eastern Airlines plane that crashed earlier today was a Boeing 737-800 according to reports I’ve read.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 21 2022 16:40 utc | 120

Russia and Ukraine account for 30% of the world’s wheat exports, 17% of corn, 32% of barley & 75% of sunflower seed oil. Russia also exports about 15% of the world’s fertilizer

source

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 21 2022 17:48 utc | 121

@116 Grieved
A think a connection can be bridged between the peasants in the Soviet Union who did not seek to go along with the centralized planners and, say, the truckers in Canada who also refused aspects of their overbearing government.
The fact that the cultural right has appropriated the term wokeism speaks to the age-old country -mouse/city-mouse story where the decadent urban centers are always at odds with the Christian countryside, or, rather, they ought not have much to do with each other. The fact that country-mice can adopt these attitudes through its disaffected youth is just a testament to the infectiousness of globalism via the internet and public schooling.
There are connections there but they are difficult to grasp and often lie where a peasant’s brain instinctively know or who have come to know who is on their team. And this is simply due to the fact that even the peasant can see the emperor has no clothes.

Posted by: NemesisCalling | Mar 21 2022 18:46 utc | 122

If I can add to my comment above…
The term “decadent” as a descriptor I think is apt in this case when we talk about urban centers and liberal education.
Liberal education makes its terminus in the writings of Jacques Derrida or deconstructionism. Derrida’s work is entirely cryptic, with his hope to unravel binary themes in ancient and modern texts. He plumbs the depths, as it were, of these writers to reveal the archaeological makeup of their works.
To an average postmodernist, they would better assume to take this tool of deconstruction and use it as a hammer, rather than as Derrida would as a surgeon. Derrida knew the limitations of his agenda and perhaps knew also that there would come along those who, rather than read Plato, would assume deconstruction had already “surpassed” Plato and so dispense with all of philosophy entirely.
Kierkegaard spoke of the post-Hegelians of his time in the same manner. “Where do they seek to go? Beyond, ever beyond. And we can only wish them well on their journey.”
And so we are now post-Derrida, where Academia has decided that all binary opposition, whether man or woman, whether Christian or pagan, whether country-mouse or city, these are all terms of the system of control and oppression that must be smashed.
The fluidity of the age of globalism does not, IMO, speak to the idea of freedom in terms of care, but rather absolute disregard for the other and so complete selfishness. “Decadent,” as opposed to a limiting order, seems rather apropos then.

Posted by: NemesisCalling | Mar 21 2022 19:05 utc | 123

Bruised Northerner @ 109:
In that tweet you linked to, it’s clear that the Greek Communists throwing paint at HMCS Montreal were protesting Canada’s support of Ukraine against Russia.
Aside from ideology, the Greeks have historical reason to fear the rise of Nazism in Ukraine. Greece was intended by the Axis powers during WW2 to be an Italian colony. The Greeks successfully beat back an Italian invasion so Nazi Germany had to finish the job. As punishment for daring to resist, the Greeks were forced to give up everything they had – factories, all transport vehicles (even mules and donkeys apparently) – to aid in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the USSR. One result was the mass starvation deaths of some 250,000 in metropolitan Athens alone during the winter of 1941/2. Undoubtedly there were similar tragedies in other parts of Greece.
During this time also the Sephardic Jewish community in Thessaloniki in northern Greece, resident since the 1500s, was annihilated with its members transported to the death camps in Poland. A separate native Greek Jewish community, resident since Roman times, seems to have been protected by Greeks though it also suffered deportations.
The Nazi menace went away in 1945 to be followed by civil war fomented in part by the British and the Americans. The monarchist side won and proceeded to arrest and imprison those who fought for the Republican side, resulting in thousands fleeing Greece and ending up in western Europe, the Americas and southwest Pacific region.
It can be said Greece has never really recovered from WW2 and its aftermath. The consequences keep playing out in the present day through the country’s politics and being played as a pawn by larger political entities. Greece must certainly fear what might spill over from NATO and the EU aiding Ukraine.

Posted by: Jen | Mar 21 2022 19:44 utc | 124

Posted by: Grieved | Mar 21 2022 3:30 utc | 99
Many thanks, Grieved — and I think also karlof1? I just listened to the podcast and my goodness, that was an encounter of minds – don’t think it would come across as a transcript, or a video for that matter. I’ve just sent it to family who might be willing to take that walk in the park. I mean, these are stately trees indeed! This is some forest!
I took up my embroidery while listening. Didn’t know Luongo at all previous to this, but Alistair Crooke sounds just as he writes. Delightful contrasting tones and thoughts between the two!

Posted by: juliania | Mar 21 2022 21:48 utc | 125

Posted by: NemesisCalling | Mar 21 2022 3:32 utc | 100
Lovely sentiment, NemesisCalling; I concur! Still, Plato may not provide the assessment we look for as to Alcibiades’ character – he’s plenty devious! However, apart from the early dialogue with the young man’s name, he also is very present in “The Symposium” wherein the discussion, somewhat lightly embarked upon by the followers of Socrates, (in contrast to the “Politeia”,) is about love.
I do think of Alcibiades, though, when at some place in the discussion about the education of guardians in “Politeia” Socrates makes the point that all this good education he is describing can also be used to personal advantage by an unscrupulous scholar (Sorry, that’s my paraphrase of the idea as it has stuck with me. I’m not sure where in the dialogue it actually occurs.) I remember thinking of Alcibiades at that point, he being on his own self-determined track, as it were.
You made an excellent comparison, I thought.

Posted by: juliania | Mar 21 2022 22:04 utc | 126

Note I have been saying that oil prices have nowhere to go but up for many months now – long before 2/24.
Giant Oil Trader Vitol says Demand Gap Will Widen Over Next Few Years – on oilprice

Oil demand is growing, and is expected to outpace pre-pandemic levels this year, according to global energy trading giant Vitol, which sees oil demand growth continuing to grow over the next decade.
Meanwhile, however, limited investments in oil production will widen the demand gap over the next few years, Vitol said.
…
Vitol traded a total of 7.6 million barrels per day of crude oil and oil products last year, Vitol said.

Note world oil consumption is about 100 million barrels per day (mbd) so Vitol trading is a significant percentage.
Note both that Vitol expects total demand to exceed pre-COVID levels and that “limited investment” is affecting supply – presumably ESG and COVID.

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 21 2022 22:20 utc | 127

“…In any event, Crooke was talking about the attacks on Russia, and including the coming to power of the Bolsheviks as one such attack. I hope you won’t avoid listening to him just because I’ve described his meaning poorly – he deserves better than my incompetent review. I hope you’ll give his larger theme another chance.”
Posted by: Grieved | Mar 21 2022 15:33 utc | 116
No need to apologize, Grieved! I went to your ‘review’ after listening, and I found it conveyed the sense of listening extremely well. My take on Crooke’s apt comparison to ‘wokeness’ was that here was an abrupt and mandatory transition being forced upon folk who were aware change was needed but hadn’t expected it to come as the Bolsheviks made sure it did. I am reminded of many such transitions in which people actually have little say as to their coming about — even Putin’s speeches where he tells of the historical changes forced upon the people of Ukraine are part of that pattern. Whatever his final plan there will be, it will have those people in mind. Of that I have no doubt.
As I said earlier, I’m starting to read “The Stripping of the Altars” which deals with the transition medieval Catholic England had forced upon it by the elites of that era, the ‘wokeism’ of that period. It’s in general a transition from a richer spirituality to a more sterile values scheme – I’m hoping the book shows how that’s not a permanent transition – life does compensate, in the end, as is happening in Russia today.

Posted by: juliania | Mar 21 2022 23:25 utc | 128

Another MoA barfly recently reminded us that, strangely enough, at the first of the year, the world leaders put out a group pronouncement saying that they all agreed not to use nukes……fast forward to today and maybe you will ask yourself WTF? like I did.
How much of what we are seeing played out has been agreed to before hand?
Maybe my calling for a faster pace of challenge would not allow for social adjustment time which is need because of the “drastic” changes?
Does Ukraine need to be resolved before Syria, Yemen, Iraq/Iran, etc.?
Birthing an alternative to the current US dollar Reserve Currency was expected, by me and others, to be with one stopping existence and the other starting. What looks like may happen is for at least two “Reserve Currencies” exist for some period of time. This would be a polarizing world structure which could lead to more regional supply chain oriented “war” along with the gaming of the intra-axis financial dealings, if any continue to exist….how big a split might happen and what would the various views be????
Total Internet divide or some inter connection?
Total trade divide or just what are the exceptions?
Total human divide or what sort of travel restrictions?
The genie is not going back in the bottle so where we go from here is open to negotiation and tons of speculation.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 22 2022 2:38 utc | 129

Below is a Xinhuanet report of a China/Pakistan meeting today that is a good example of the new world order rolling out, IMO.
”
ISLAMABAD, March 21 (Xinhua) — Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Monday that China and Pakistan are committed to enhancing their strategic coordination and pragmatic cooperation.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Wang said he is currently paying his first visit to Pakistan since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he has held extensive and in-depth talks with Qureshi on bilateral ties.
As the world is facing turbulence and challenges, Wang said China and Pakistan need to strengthen their strategic communication and join hands to build a closer China-Pakistan community of a shared future, so as to bring stability to regional peace and prosperity.
Wang proposed that efforts be made in the following four areas to further China-Pakistan ties.
First, giving firm support to each other. No matter what changes take place in the international situation and their respective countries, China will stick to its friendly policy toward Pakistan, firmly support the Pakistani people in taking a development path that fits their own national conditions, and support Pakistan in defending its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, Wang said.
It is hoped that various political parties in Pakistan will strengthen their cooperation and unity to ensure development and stability in the country, he said.
Second, accelerating common development and revitalization. China and Pakistan should enhance the integration of their development strategies, build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor with high quality, and stay committed to advancing key cooperation projects and expand cooperation in green development, digitalization, poverty reduction, health and other fields, Wang noted.
China will support Pakistan in developing industries, strengthening commerce and revitalizing agriculture so as to achieve a more balanced, independent and sustainable development, Wang said.
Third, deepening counter-terrorism cooperation. China supports Pakistan in severely punishing the perpetrators of the Dasu terrorist attack, appreciates its efforts to strengthen the security of Chinese personnel and projects in Pakistan, and will, as always, help Pakistan improve its law enforcement and security capacity, Wang said.
Fourth, maintaining closer multilateral coordination. The two countries should strengthen coordination on international and regional issues such as Afghanistan and Ukraine, jointly practice true multilateralism, earnestly safeguard the basic norms governing international relations, oppose power politics, bullying and unilateral sanctions, and work to help the international order advance in a more just and reasonable direction, Wang said.
”

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 22 2022 3:55 utc | 130

Another posting from Xinhuanet showing how America is becoming a third world country
”
NEW YORK, March 21 (Xinhua) — The U.S. society claims to love children, admire parents and revere the family, but its public policies send the opposite message, as can be seen from a June 2021 UNICEF report which found the country ranked 40th on child care among the world’s rich countries, reported The Washington Post on Sunday.
“It’s hard to think of work more important to a society’s long-term well-being and prosperity than raising children. Yet the market economy values work outside the home that produces goods, services and profits far more than the work of parenting,” said the report titled “We say we love kids and families. Our policies prove the opposite.”
Unlike other well-off countries, the United States has “never adapted to the needs of families in today’s labor market and economy,” Olivia Golden, executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy, was quoted as saying. “We’ve never responded to so many women with young children being in the workforce.”
U.S. families with modest incomes face particular problem in child care. “Parents are paying as much as a mortgage or car payments — or college tuition — each month for child care,” U.S. Senator Patty Murray, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, was quoted as saying.
The UNICEF study also found the United States near the top among nations in child-care costs relative to the average wage, said the report, noting that child care is often cast as a “women’s issue,” but it should also be seen as a family issue and an economic issue.
”

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 22 2022 4:00 utc | 131

Tues morning EST, collection of news from Canada
Trudeau leaves for Brussels today. He’s going to speak to the European Parliament.
https://twitter.com/EP_President/status/1506003191019839500
Trudeau’s Liberal party and Singh’s NDP may have agreement which will keep Trudeau in power until 2025.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeu-jagmeet-singh-working-together-1.6392756
“Under a “confidence-and-supply” agreement, an opposition party agrees to support the government on specific measures under specific conditions, and to not vote to defeat the government for a period of time.”
CP Rail is on strike. So are thousands of Quebec students. (Who remembers Maple Spring??)
https://globalnews.ca/news/8698479/quebec-students-strike-protest-tuesday/
Government of Quebec to invest more in la francophonie canadienne
https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/politique/2022-03-20/8-millions-supplementaires-sur-trois-ans/quebec-devoile-sa-politique-en-matiere-de-francophonie-canadienne.php

Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Mar 22 2022 8:38 utc | 132

Julian Assange – wish you were here – free – among us.
Big shout out to brother Roger Waters.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Mar 22 2022 10:52 utc | 133

@psychohistorian #129
You said

Birthing an alternative to the current US dollar Reserve Currency was expected, by me and others, to be with one stopping existence and the other starting.

I certainly am not one of those others. I have pointed out, many times, that the US is the largest single economy in non-PPP terms, is the 3rd largest population country. USD as trade reserve is around 88% at the moment (BIS); 60% CB reserves; 40% SWIFT vs. the US economy being 15.83% of world GDP.
This means the USD’s exorbitant privilege would fall only to around that 15.83% level at theoretical maximum for US only international trade. Then factor in EU and Japan as economic vassals (another 1.5x).
But in reality, USD as trade reserve, petrodollar, IMF/World Bank are just the top categories in the exorbitant privilege.
Look at this graph to get a better idea of USD dominance as of December 2020
source article

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 22 2022 12:33 utc | 134

Trouble in Paradise (EU):
Spain, Algeria and Morocco crisis further threatening EU energy – on NakedCapitalism

For the first time in 42 years Spain has decided to support Moroccan claims to sovereignty over its former colony, Western Sahara. On Friday, Spain’s foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, called a proposal launched by Rabat in 2007 to grant Western Sahara limited autonomy “the most serious, realistic and credible” initiative for resolving a decades-long dispute over the vast Saharan territory. This threatens to open up a whole new geopolitical can of worms at the worst possible time for Europe’s energy-starved markets.
In its relations with the neighboring North African countries of Morocco and Algeria, Spain is caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, it depends on Algeria for almost half of the natural gas it consumes. However, Algeria — like the United Nations — supports the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination. On the other hand, Morocco, which took over the lion’s share of Western Sahara after Spain relinquished the colony in 1975, controls a key gateway for African migrants trying to reach Europe via Spain.
…
In the first half of 2021 Algeria was the third largest provider of natural gas to the bloc, accounting for 11.6% of total imports, according to EU data. The two largest natural gas exporters to the EU were Russia (47%) and Norway (20%).
…
Interestingly, Trump’s intervention came at a time that Russia, one of Algeria’s longest-standing allies, was itself showing a keen interest in forging closer ties with Morocco. Rabat [Morocco] was reportedly interested in buying the S400 system from Russia and there was even talk of codeveloping a liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal 120 kilometers south of Casablanca to receive Russian gas. But according to Middle East Monitor, the Moroccan government baulked at the idea over fears the US would impose sanctions.
In the meantime tensions between Algeria and Morocco over Western Sahara have intensified. In October 2021, the two countries cut diplomatic ties. On November 1, Algeria, Africa’s largest natural gas exporter, ratcheted tensions further by closing the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline (MGE) which passes through Morocco into Spain and was a major source of natural gas for both countries. For Morocco it was also an important source of money, as El País reports:
For Morocco, the MGE pipeline represented a significant source of income: as much as €200 million on a good year and €50 million on a bad one, depending on the volumes passing through. Rabat was also keeping some of that natural gas to generate around a tenth of its own electricity. Its diplomatic spat with Algeria over the disputed territory of Western Sahara could lead Morocco into an energy crisis of its own.
Now Rabat [Morocco] is in talks with Madrid over the possibility of using the MGE pipeline to import gas from Spain, reports Bloomberg:
Since Morocco doesn’t have any terminals to handle LNG itself, it wants to send cargoes to Spain, where the fuel can be regasified and then piped across the Mediterranean to Morocco.
…
Although Spain has roughly three months’ worth of gas in storage, other suppliers would have to be found as quickly as possible. It goes without saying that now is not the best time to be looking for a new energy supplier. As El País reported in October, Spain is more dependent on natural gas than many other countries:
Spain does not need the gas just for industry and for heating systems. In fact, nearly a third of all electricity generated in Spain is made by combined-cycle power plants, which use natural gas. These facilities are a key back-up to renewable energy: when there is no sun and wind, the electricity supply falls back largely on burning natural gas and on nuclear plants, whose supply is always steady

Or in other words:
Algeria and Morocco are edging towards war over Western Sahara.
Spain is now favoring Morocco after 42 years of favoring Algeria, but Spain gets a huge amount of natural gas from Algeria – and a major pipeline for this gas goes from Algeria through Morocco.
Here is another example of a country [Spain] that spent enormous sums on solar PV and wind: and is still enormously dependent on fossil fuels…

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 22 2022 12:50 utc | 135

Vitol now warning of diesel shortages in Europe on ft.com

Speaking at the FT Commodities Global Summit on Tuesday, Russell Hardy said that the shift to more diesel consumption over petrol on the continent had helped to create shortages of the fuel.
“The thing that everybody’s concerned about will be diesel supplies. Europe imports about half of its diesel from Russia and about half of its diesel from the Middle East,” said the chief of Switzerland-based Vitol. “That systemic shortfall of diesel is there.”

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 22 2022 12:56 utc | 136

This is why chicken is so damn expensive?
85K chickens killed in first South Dakota avian flu since 2015
As if 2015 was so long ago…
5th Iowa avian flu outbreak
Even Smart and Final just raised its 3 pound roasted chicken price from $6.99 to $7.99 …

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 22 2022 13:07 utc | 137

Gas prices still falling slowly – but oil is back up over $110, and more importantly world gasoline index at $3.32 (vs. ~$3.70 at peak and $2.94 at dip due to fake Ukraine peace news) – meaning this dip is likely to reverse this week. Only if the rapid spike was due to the winter-summer changeover is this likely not to happen; I think it is too early for the switchover.
anecdotal news: I drove from SF Bay Area to San Joaquin valley last weekend. Lowest price for regular gasoline was $5.09 at 2 points along the way: 1 in a truck stop near Ripon, the other in Fresno at a highway on/off ramp which turned out to have the northbound onramp closed. Lines there were 4 deep.
Prices were generally in the $5.3x to $5.7x range. Prices in SF were $5.59 to $5.95. All prices for regular.
regular gasoline

Current Avg. $4.24
Yesterday Avg. $4.25
Week Ago Avg. $4.32
Month Ago Avg. $3.53
Year Ago Avg. $2.88

diesel

Current Avg. $5.04
Yesterday Avg. $5.05
Week Ago Avg. $5.12
Month Ago Avg. $3.95
Year Ago Avg. $3.11

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 22 2022 14:48 utc | 138

Below is a quote from a The Register posting showing that Google is part of the empire shit show
”
Google’s Messages and Dialer apps for Android devices have been collecting and sending data to Google without specific notice and consent, and without offering the opportunity to opt-out, potentially in violation of Europe’s data protection law.
According to a research paper, “What Data Do The Google Dialer and Messages Apps On Android Send to Google?” [PDF], by Trinity College Dublin computer science professor Douglas Leith, Google Messages (for text messaging) and Google Dialer (for phone calls) have been sending data about user communications to the Google Play Services Clearcut logger service and to Google’s Firebase Analytics service.
“The data sent by Google Messages includes a hash of the message text, allowing linking of sender and receiver in a message exchange,” the paper says. “The data sent by Google Dialer includes the call time and duration, again allowing linking of the two handsets engaged in a phone call. Phone numbers are also sent to Google.”
The timing and duration of other user interactions with these apps has also been transmitted to Google. And Google offers no way to opt-out of this data collection.
”

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 22 2022 14:57 utc | 139

“Dieselgeddon” nigh…
Russian refiners cutting diesel output – oiprice

According to estimates from Reuters’ John Kemp, diesel fuel stocks in Europe are at their lowest since 2008, and 8 percent—or 35 million barrels—lower than the five-year average for this time of the year.
In the United States, the situation is graver still. There, diesel fuel inventories are 21 percent lower than the pre-pandemic five-year seasonal average, which translates into 30 million barrels.
In Singapore, a global energy trade hub, diesel fuel inventories are 4 million barrels below the seasonal five-year average from before the pandemic.

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 22 2022 15:11 utc | 140

Second coming of the [Zionist and disloyal] Faceless Man, Don Farrell, a new low in Australian politics:
South Australian “Godfather” Don Farrell: second time’s a charm.
“Farrell gave up his safe Federal Senate spot to Penny Wong in 2012, after a rather public repudiation in which senior Labor figures expressed puzzlement at how a backroom union figure could possibly be allowed to take the winnable ticket position from Wong, a high-profile cabinet minister.
After an abortive attempt at state politics was publicly kiboshed by then-premier Jay Weatherill, the Godfather finally breezed back into Canberra three years later in a winnable Senate spot.
And on Saturday, his 40-year political project reached its culmination in the election of Peter Malinauskas, a Kennedy-like figure from central casting whom Farrell sent to Harvard’s public policy-focused Kennedy School (just to really hammer home the comparison)…”
As Wong and Pyne flounder, Farrell ascends
Don Farrell’s second ascendancy is all the more notable for the recent fortunes of the state’s other major political identities.”
More to the Fall of Rudd Than Meets Maxine’s Eye
“With the publication of Maxine McKew’s new book, Tales from the Political Trenches, the controversial ousting of Kevin Rudd from the prime ministership in June 2010 is once more in the spotlight. McKew’s thesis is that the current PM, Julia Gillard, despite claiming that she was a loyal deputy to Rudd till the very day she asked him for a leadership ballot, was as involved in the plot to oust him as the so-called faceless men (Mark Arbib, Karl Bitar, Bill Shorten, David Feeney, Don Farrell and Paul Howes) who have hitherto received the lion’s share of the blame. (See Gillard was a disloyal deputy, says McKew, Peter Hartcher, Sydney Morning Herald, 26/10/12).”
https://middleeastrealitycheck.blogspot.com/2012/10/
Did any MSM ask former PM, Kevin Rudd, his opinion on Farrell or did they already know the answer?

Posted by: Paul | Mar 22 2022 23:17 utc | 141

Finally some good news from Australia, party time at the Kirk,
‘We can have all the fun we used to have’: Ex-dominatrix’s gift to Surry Hills
“A deconsecrated church once used for “wild parties” organised by notorious Sydney dominatrix Gretel Pinniger will be turned into an entertainment venue, co-working space and cafe/bar under plans approved by the City of Sydney.
A 26-room boarding house will also be built behind The Kirk on Cleveland Street in Surry Hills “designed with the motif of a dragon in mind”, according to planning documents, to symbolise new life brought to the historic church building…”
https://www.smh.com.au/national/we-can-have-all-the-fun-we-used-to-have-ex-dominatrix-s-gift-to-surry-hills-20220316-p5a55g.html
Gretal is an accomplished artist, twice hung in the Archibald Prize, Senate candidate. A gracious hostess full of life and fun, her fabulous extravaganza parties are not for the faint hearted. Spot the undercover police trying [unsuccessfully] to bust her!

Posted by: Paul | Mar 23 2022 3:40 utc | 142

Below is a Xinhuanet posting I have not seen reported on elsewhere

JERUSALEM, March 22 (Xinhua) — Four people were killed on Tuesday by an Arab assailant who was later shot dead by a passerby in Israel’s southern city of Beersheba, Israeli police said.
The assailant fatally stabbed a woman in a gas station after exiting his car near a shopping mall in Beersheba. He then went back to his car and ran over a bike rider before stepping out of the car again to fatally stab another man and woman, the police said in a statement.
The state-owned Kan TV news reported that the attacker is an Israeli Arab citizen, a Bedouin resident of the village of Hura in the Negev Desert. He previously served prison terms for alleged ties to the terror group Islamic State.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which is the deadliest in Israel in the past few years.
Police spokesman Eli Levy told Channel 13 TV that the incident appeared to be “an individual terrorist who went on a stabbing spree.”
Israeli police were sweeping the area in search of any possible accomplice, according to the police.
Following the event, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called a security meeting with the internal security minister and the police chief, said a statement from the prime minister’s office.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 23 2022 5:13 utc | 143

Posted via phone
Breaking.. One of the BLACK box recovered from the down China Eastern Airlines in Nanning the BLACK box look like an orange flatten cylindrical shape vid available CGTN XINHUA and Global Times…

Posted by: JC | Mar 23 2022 13:40 utc | 144

Gas prices about to reverse short term dip. Note that while regular gasoline continued to fall ($0.005/gallon), diesel prices rose ($0.002/gallon).
regular gasoline

Current Avg. 4.237
Yesterday Avg. 4.242
Week Ago Avg. 4.305
Month Ago Avg. 3.535
Year Ago Avg. 2.877

diesel

Current Avg. 5.042
Yesterday Avg. 5.040
Week Ago Avg. 5.104
Month Ago Avg. 3.957
Year Ago Avg. 3.105

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 23 2022 15:13 utc | 145

Germany’s energy plan: rationing
Assuming Google Translate is remotely accurate…
Plan to ration gas to companies being formulated, Southern and Eastern Germany will be hit hardest

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 23 2022 15:15 utc | 146

Algeria natural gas pipeline shut off, now Kazakhstan oil pipeline down (due to repair)
Caspian oil pipeline down

The pipeline, which ships around 1.2 million barrels of crude oil daily from Kazakhstan to Europe and the US, said in a statement the condition of two hoses has not allowed “safe operation of the device.”
…
“In this situation, the management of the Consortium has to report possible reduction in the volume of oil transportation in the nearest future by a factor of three from the requests of shippers,” the pipeline, which is co-owned by Russia, Kazakhstan, and a number of major international oil market players, said in a statement.
…
The good thing about today’s news is that the problem is only temporary, stressed another expert, Kirill Rodionov from the Institute for the Development of Technologies in the Fuel and Energy Complex. According to his calculations, “starting from the third quarter, CPC will resume oil shipments in the same volumes.”

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 23 2022 15:20 utc | 147

EV batteries on a ridiculous cost surge

“The cost of batteries in the second quarter rose by a very ridiculous amount,” Bloomberg quoted Li Auto’s chief executive officer Li Xiang as saying on his Weibo account this weekend.
Because of rising costs for raw materials, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL), the largest battery maker in the world, already announced today in a statement to Reuters that it had raised the prices for some of its battery cells, without giving additional details of the price hike.
…
Rising costs for raw materials and logistics have already made Tesla raise its prices for China and the United States. This month, Tesla raised its prices for the second time in less than a week.
Lithium prices were soaring even before the Russian war in Ukraine. Lithium prices hit a record high at the start of 2022, and analysts said back then that the rally had legs to continue even higher. The surging price of one of the battery pack’s key metals was already exerting enormous cost pressure on battery production, while demand continues to soar as nearly every major carmaker is developing electric vehicles and aiming to significantly boost zero-emission car sales this decade.

No joy there for transportation costs

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 23 2022 15:23 utc | 148

Totally random post.
I wonder if Ukrainian refugees will read this. (From fake news The Beaverton)
“London Ontario named second best London for 161st straight year”
https://www.thebeaverton.com/2016/03/london-ontario-named-2nd-best-london-for-161st-straight-year/
Newfoundland is in Poland to gather Ukrainian refugees
https://globalnews.ca/news/8690185/newfoundland-office-ukrainian-refugees/
AP news reports today about Ukrainian refugees arriving in Paris.

Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Mar 23 2022 18:37 utc | 149

Below is a link to Wall Street on Parade documenting the obvious
These 3 Charts Strongly Suggest the U.S. Stock Market Has an Invisible Hand Propping It Up
The same is true of commodity markets, foreign exchange markets, etc.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 24 2022 2:25 utc | 150

Lithium prices were soaring even before the Russian war in Ukraine. Lithium prices hit a record high at the start of 2022, and analysts said back then that the rally had legs to continue even higher. The surging price of one of the battery pack’s key metals was already exerting enormous cost pressure on battery production, while demand continues to soar as nearly every major carmaker is developing electric vehicles and aiming to significantly boost zero-emission car sales this decade.
No joy there for transportation costs
Posted by: c1ue | Mar 23 2022 15:23 utc | 147
Indeed, I think we are going to see rows of such dominoes falling over one after another.

Posted by: Bemildred | Mar 24 2022 2:37 utc | 151

Just another day in Canada’s Armed Forces
Royal Canadian Navy captures the good side of HNS Trent ( on deployment with HMCS Montreal as part of SNMG2 in the Mediterranean or thereabouts.)
https://mobile.twitter.com/RoyalCanNavy/status/1506298659784343560
Canada’s chief of defence staff, Gen. Wayne Eyre remarks on NORAD exercises in the Arctic, to ensure the North remains a space free of conflict.
https://twitter.com/CDS_Canada_CEMD/status/1504245049802043393
A Royal Canadian Air Force CC177 departed for Latvia, with service members and guns. Looks to include members of 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade, or 5e Groupe-brigade mécanisé du Canada. That’s based on the arm patch shown at 40 sec mark in this video; « V – allons-y »
https://twitter.com/RCAFOperations/status/1505915786505904137
An intro to the 2nd Division of the Canadian Army which the 5 CMBG is part of
https://twitter.com/2divca_2candiv/status/1460690487921324039

Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Mar 24 2022 8:39 utc | 152

Gas price update 3/24/22
As noted yesterday – inflection point is here. Regular went down but only $0.001, diesel went up for 2nd day in a row (up $0.011).
Crude is $114 (WTI) and $121 (Brent), while the gasoline index is now $3.41 – previous peak was $3.79 vs last week dip down to $2.94
regular gasoline

Current Avg. 4.236
Yesterday Avg. 4.237
Week Ago Avg. 4.289
Month Ago Avg. 3.543
Year Ago Avg. 2.874

diesel

Current Avg. 5.053
Yesterday Avg. 5.042
Week Ago Avg. 5.083
Month Ago Avg. 3.962
Year Ago Avg. 3.104

Posted by: c1ue | Mar 24 2022 12:07 utc | 153

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