Bobolinski
Add to that copious cocaine use by all levels of US society, with the establishment the worst abusers,and you have a wonderful cocktail of passivity and exceptionalism

Posted by: Eoin Clancy | Jun 15 2022 14:05 utc | 4

Recently, China starts to make it clear that Taiwan straight is NOT the so-called international water. Chinese MFA spokeperson said as follows on 2022/06/13 (source).

Bloomberg: We reported that Chinese military officials have repeatedly asserted that the Taiwan Strait is not international waters in recent months during meetings with US counterparts. Does the foreign ministry have any comment on this?
Wang Wenbin: Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The Taiwan Strait ranges in width from about 70 nautical miles at its narrowest and 220 nautical miles at its widest. According to UNCLOS and Chinese laws, the waters of the Taiwan Strait, extending from both shores toward the middle of the Strait, are divided into several zones including internal waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, and the Exclusive Economic Zone. China has sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait. At the same time, it respects the lawful rights of other countries in relevant waters. 
There is no legal basis of “international waters” in the international law of the sea. It is a false claim when certain countries call the Taiwan Strait “international waters” in order to find a pretext for manipulating issues related to Taiwan and threatening China’s sovereignty and security. China is firmly against this.

This QnA was 2 days ago but I didn’t see this in any western media, especially in anglo sphere. It seems to me that China has put Taiwan reunification on schedule.

Posted by: LuRenJia | Jun 15 2022 14:10 utc | 6

Posted by: Bobolinski | Jun 15 2022 13:45 utc |
You’re a funny troll. “Is known” by whom and where’s your proof? Of course your ideology would be against a relatively harmless intoxicant traditionally used by the working class and manual laborers. The right is every bit as classist as the PMC liberals in the US. You MAGA people are just the mirror image of those Boomer PMC Democrats. You only think you’re different. Same problem, different name. That’s why your savior screwed over the average american in all the same ways as every other democratic and republican president of the last 40 years.

Posted by: Lex | Jun 15 2022 14:18 utc | 8

EoinC@4
“ cocaine use…establishment worst abusers”
Absolutely correct. I have been thinking that the overall insanity of Washington DC and Brussels has a lot to do with cocaine. It’s like the lead in the piping of classical Rome, slowly destroying the minds of the emperors.

Posted by: Bobolinski | Jun 15 2022 14:42 utc | 10

Beside the EC intitiative to form a REPowerEU buyer cartel opposed to OPEC+ market power

To address concerns about continued high energy prices, the Commission has also adopted a Communication setting out the options for market intervention at European and national level, and assessing the pros and cons of each option. EU partnerships with third countries to collectively purchase gas and hydrogen can improve resilience and bring down prices. The Commission stands ready to create a Task Force on common gas purchases at EU level.

another disturbance in the free trade antitrust farce …

Predatory or Below-Cost Pricing
… Pricing below a competitor’s costs occurs in many competitive markets and generally does not violate the antitrust laws. Sometimes the low-pricing firm is simply more efficient. Pricing below your own costs is also not a violation of the law unless it is part of a strategy to eliminate competitors, and when that strategy has a dangerous probability of creating a monopoly for the discounting firm so that it can raise prices far into the future and recoup its losses. In markets with a large number of sellers, such as gasoline retailing, it is unlikely that one company could price below cost long enough to drive out a significant number of rivals and attain a dominant position.

obliquely related to PUTIN’s WAR has surfaced. …
With gas prices at $5 a gallon, Biden tells oil companies to cut costs for Americans

President Joe Biden told oil producers [not OPEC+ upstream, the other ones downstream] on Wednesday to immediately cut costs for Americans as gas prices exceeded $5 a gallon in some parts of the country.
Biden in a Wednesday morning letter to the heads of top oil and gas companies said Russia’s war against Ukraine is only partly responsible for the “sharp rise in gasoline prices” and asked them to work with his administration to increase the supply [sic] of gasoline to Americans.
…
“I understand that many factors contributed to the business decisions to reduce refinery capacity, which occurred before I took office,” Biden said. “But at a time of war, refinery profit margins well above normal being passed directly onto American families are not acceptable.”

Posted by: sln2002 | Jun 15 2022 15:24 utc | 12

I didn’t see this in any western media, especially in anglo sphere.
Posted by: LuRenJia | Jun 15 2022 14:10 utc | 6
And you won’t, because no matter how many times one links to CN state “readouts”, data, or speeches translated into ENGLISH or myriad romance languages, western readers prefer western self-styled “geopolitical analysts” to interpret ENGLISH for them.

Posted by: sln2002 | Jun 15 2022 15:33 utc | 14

Posted by: Antonym | Jun 15 2022 15:42 utc | 15
so-called secondary sanctions effect (derivative less “WAIVER” trading price) of US, EU attempts to “embargo” oil+gas exports that they not produce by imposing punitive, premium cost on “third country” importers of same oil+gas exported by “third country” producers
whose treauries, incidentally, were broke by WB/IMF debt service.

Posted by: sln2002 | Jun 15 2022 16:16 utc | 16

Bruised Northerner
Appreciate the tidbit on Siemens outsourcing going awry. I was almost dizzy trying to wrap my head around Siemens not doing right to established customers. Over the years I have noticed that RF companies, strong industries are rooted in long term agreements, nuclear energy, petrocarbons, armaments. I just could not see Siemens jeopardizing that. Such a contrast to hyper-capitalist economies that are so hyper-myopic favouring the short term.
I an not keeping up with events up north. Been gone 5 years. Does CN and CPR still prioritize oil tankers over grain? I would just marvel at the 80-120 units several times a day of tankers going east on CN to (mostly) Superior WI refinery or south on CPR in Winnipeg.

Posted by: paxmark1 | Jun 15 2022 17:20 utc | 18

Posted by: S | Jun 15 2022 16:21 utc | 17
Thank you. Indeed there is now a world War already under way with one side facing immanent financial and social collapse and the other rising steadily and no longer willing to play second fiddle to corrupt regimes. It is fitting that the West chose Ukraine as their vanguard.

Posted by: Scorpion | Jun 15 2022 17:37 utc | 20

Amongst the “Ukrainian storm”, Turkey is destined to maximum cooperation with Russia—opinion (EurAsia Daily, Nikolay Arkhipov, June 13, 2022 — in Russian)

Recently, Turkey has been among the five most frequently mentioned countries of the world in the Russian press, which, no doubt, is due to the special position it takes regarding the military-political situation around the Ukraine. And this is not surprising if we consider in aggregate the statements and actions of the country’s political leadership in the context of the “Ukrainian storm”.
Ankara, represented by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his closest associates, despite all the external pressure exerted on them, has repeatedly refused to make a choice between Moscow and Kiev, calling both Russia and the Ukraine their partners. Turkey is the only country among the NATO member countries that has not joined the anti-Russian sanctions and, moreover, continues to steadily increase the volume of trade with Russia, very frequently helping it de facto bypass the economic sanctions and restrictions imposed on Russia by the European Union, the Commonwealth and the U.S. (in Russia of today this is called “parallel imports”).
Particularly indicative was Ankara’s position on the issue of NATO expansion to Sweden and Finland, in relation to which Ankara, having linked the issue of their entry into NATO with their position on the Kurdish issue, has basically vetoed their accession to the North Atlantic Alliance (Finland has already announced that it will not compromise the principles of its foreign policy for the sake of membership in NATO, thereby recognizing that the doors of this military-political bloc, as long as Turkey is in it, or as long as President Erdoğan is heading the country, are closed to it).
Therefore, it is not at all surprising that publications by experts accusing Ankara of being friends with the Kremlin and condoning “Russian aggression” in the Ukraine are increasingly appearing in the Western European press.
If you look at the totality of the above events from Russia’s viewpoint, several completely rational and even financial reasons (or macroeconomic factors) immediately come to mind that explain this position of Ankara on the Ukrainian issue.
First, Turkey is objectively unable to ensure its food security due to natural and climatic conditions, primarily in terms of grain production—wheat for bread, barley for beer and livestock. Erdoğan’s government is perfectly aware of this fact. The traditional suppliers of these types of agricultural products to the Turkish domestic market were Russia and the Ukraine, which is why Ankara cannot, does not want to and will not unequivocally choose the side of Moscow or Kiev, in order to maintain the diversification of sources of raw materials and not become dependent on ever-changing geopolitical situation. That is why Turkey today is the main and, in fact, the only moderator of the negotiations, whose opinion the Kremlin will want to listen to when resolving the issue of blockade of Ukrainian grain exports from the ports of the Northern Black Sea region in accordance with previously concluded international contracts.
At the same time, Ankara is in an extremely uncomfortable ambiguous position: on the one hand, it cannot put pressure on the Kremlin, following the example of countries that have introduced restrictions against Russia, so as not to be left without Ukrainian grain, but on the other hand, it cannot at the same time sacrifice its own interests and food security, and against the backdrop of 80 percent annual inflation, also experience food shortages and, as a result, bread riots in cities.
Secondly, in the conditions when planned seasonal maintenance work begins on the Nord Stream gas pipeline and the flow of gas to Europe through it will be significantly reduced, Turkey will be able to turn into the main transit country of Russian gas to Western European markets for a while, situationally obtaining the maximum profit from this, and will get the opportunity to remain in this capacity for exactly as long as the Kremlin and Gazprom will be satisfied with such state of affairs. Turkey can receive payment for transit through its territory both in kind and in cash, giving it an opportunity for macroeconomic maneuver in the conditions of not-so-stable situation in the domestic market.
Exploration of hydrocarbon reserves on the Turkish shelf in the Aegean Sea does not in any way mean their imminent development and commissioning at an industrial level, even if there is comprehensive support from strategic ally Azerbaijan, which has rich experience in this matter. Therefore, loyalty to the Kremlin or at least preservation and development of partnerships with Russia are serving today as a guarantee and even a driver of internal stability for Turkey.
Thirdly, one cannot discount such a global macroeconomic factor as the construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant by Rosatom, which will guarantee the independence and self-sufficiency of Turkey in the electric power industry (today Turkey is forced to purchase electricity from almost all of its small neighbors, including Azerbaijan and Georgia). President Erdoğan obviously does not want to and will not risk such a strategic project and the well-being of future generations of Turks in the face of the military-political situation around the Ukraine, so as not to deprive his country of a geopolitical and macroeconomic perspective.
It should be said that Turkey’s NATO allies are quite adequately aware of all the above reasons for Ankara’s “dissenting opinion” on the Ukrainian issue, which differs from the collective opinion of other members of the Alliance (with the exception of Hungary), and therefore, at the official level, they do not publicly condemn it and do not launch a massive propaganda campaign against Ankara to discredit it globally, like the one they are conducting today against Russia.
But that does not mean that Turkey ceases to be an “Achilles’ heel” for NATO, and not just on the Ukrainian issue. Today we are all witnessing a severe deterioration in relations between Turkey and Greece, at the root of which lie not political or religious contradictions, multiplied by mutual historical grievances that after many decades and generational change could be forgiven and forgotten, but purely pragmatic and financial reasons associated with control over newly explored hydrocarbon deposits on the Aegean Sea continental shelf, the possession of which will lead Turkey to the regional leaders of the Eastern Mediterranean, depriving Italy of this status. And that will result in a redistribution of force vectors not only in Western Asia and the Middle East, but also in Southeast and even Central Europe. Such prospects frighten NATO and are the main reason why the U.S., together with Greece, has announced the creation of four military bases at once, two air and two naval, on the islands of the Archipelago [it’s actually three new bases, all in mainland Greece; the base in Crete has been operating since 1969 — S]. And although they explain this decision as counteracting the “Russian threat” and claim that the bases are not directed against Turkey in any way, Ankara is well aware that that is not the case and that the main goal of this step is to contain Turkey’s political ambitions for regional dominance and counteract its claims to resources of the Aegean Sea continental shelf.
It is absolutely obvious that Turkey alone will not be able to realize all of its aspirations and expectations without serious outside support in the face of Europe consolidated by the conflict in the Ukraine, and that it can receive it in the here-and-now mode only from Russia, together with which (plus Azerbaijan) Ankara will be able not only to secure the de facto resources of the Aegean Sea, but also to begin their development and exploitation without any problems. So Russia and Turkey are destined to maximum cooperation during the ongoing global transformation of the world.

Posted by: S | Jun 15 2022 17:52 utc | 22

17
Maybe China should set Taiwan a very tight deadline for a peaceful reunification based on the 1 country – 2 systems principle. I suggest September 1 of this year. There is not that much to negotiate really, the HK and Macau agreements can serve as the starting point and foundation, adapt them to Taiwanese details and that’s it.
I would make it politely clear to Taiwan that the 1 country – 2 systems solution only applies to a peaceful reunification.

Posted by: Nico | Jun 15 2022 17:56 utc | 24

rising
Posted by: Scorpion | Jun 15 2022 17:37 utc | 20
Rising from what?

Posted by: sln2002 | Jun 15 2022 18:08 utc | 26

Rising from what?
Posted by: sln2002 | Jun 15 2022 18:08 utc | 25
The West is generally declining and Eurasia is generally rising and the current global conflict is accelerating both vectors it seems.

Posted by: Scorpion | Jun 15 2022 18:23 utc | 28

the term “grain” [deutsch, KORN; *English, CORN derived from koine GR, wtf] is defined in different ways though.
Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Jun 15 2022 17:55 utc | 22
NSS. What’s more puzzling than specie of “grain” for brunch consumers , is “grain” grading: comestible, fuel, or feed stock? These commodities are differential priced by buyer demand (P). How many starving AFRICAN widows and orphans prefer Ukrainian feed “corn” to Russian (or even EU27) “cereal”? And why did AU pres. Macky Small ignore EU efforts to debunk PUTIN’s food security propaganda:”Our sanctions don’t affect the exports of food and fertilisers from Russia”
European Association representing the trade in cereals, rice, feestuffs, oilseeds, olive oil, oils, and fats and agrosupply (Coceral) Secretariat | Brussels, 27 May 2022

In its third forecast for the 2022 crop, COCERAL sees the total grain crop in the EU-27+UK at 309.5 mln t. This would be up from the 305.6 mln t forecast in March, but down from the 312.0 mln t harvested in 2021. Wheat production (excluding durum) is expected at 143.0 mln t, up from the 141.3 mln t in the previous forecast but down from last year’s 143.9 mln t. The forecast has particularly improved for Spain due to timely rains. The EU-27+UK 2022 barley production is forecast at 60.0 mln t, slightly up from 59.4 mln t last year. The EU-27+UK 2022 corn [maize] crop is now seen at 66.0 mln t (previous forecast: 67.3 mln t; 2021: 67.2 mln t). The EU-27+UK rapeseed crop is forecast at 19.5 mln t compared to 19.3 mln t expected in March and 18.5 mln t last year.

EU27 is the #1 producer worldwide of wheat YoY. US is the #1 producer of GMO maize (“korn”), surplus harvest of which dumped into ethanol.
Committee for the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets (circabc.eu), “Cereals Market Sitution,” 2 June 2022, mostly MY 2022/2023 *.ppt presentation

Maize: driven by a smaller area, world production is projected to decrease by 2.5% to 1,183.8m t (-30.1m y/y) in 2022/23.
The monthly reduction reflects downward revisions for ARG, US and Vietnam. Consumption is forecast to decline by 0.6%
from last season’s peak to 1,199.8m t (-17.9m m/m; -7.7m y/y), potentially the 2nd largest on record, incl. 710.2m for feeding
(-0.6%) and 309.4m for industrial use (+0.3%).
As for 2021/22, world production is estimated at a record 1,213.8m t (+7.3% y/y), 4m higher m/m, following upward revisions
for Ethiopia, Pakistan and Paraguay

Posted by: sln2002 | Jun 15 2022 18:51 utc | 30

obliquely related to PUTIN’s WAR has surfaced. …
Posted by: sln2002 | Jun 15 2022 15:24 utc | 12
————————
It is not Putin’s war, but the demented Joe’s proxy war in the Ukraine…to the last Ukrainian…😋

Posted by: ostro | Jun 15 2022 18:57 utc | 32

Just when Syrians abroad were coming home to spend some time with their families, the Disneyland down south decided not to allow it. Not a word in the Western media, and no mention of the significant impact it has on the summer season. Each period of relative normalcy is followed by an escalation.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/11/syria-says-significant-damage-to-airport-from-israeli-strike

Posted by: Anon | Jun 15 2022 19:02 utc | 34

@ S | Jun 15 2022 17:52 utc | 21 / 28
s – thanks for these 2 articles on turkeys role towards russia – ukraine and on the dynamics at play with regard to spain and etc… much appreciated..

Posted by: james | Jun 15 2022 19:18 utc | 36

Know your enemy as I do, you will stumble, lose many midterms, shake many invisible hands. Joe Tzu.

Posted by: anon2020 | Jun 15 2022 19:37 utc | 38

We are all waiting on pins and needles for Biden to be viciously thrown under the bus. We just don’t know exactly when or by whom. It is going to be a spectacular downfall. This is probably why he was in a fit of rage yesterday at that Union meeting. Just a few unfortunately misplaced words on the teleprompter and it’s over for him…..

Posted by: Bobolinski | Jun 15 2022 20:15 utc | 40

Biden writes to the refiners…,
———————————————————–
Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression and bipartisan and global effort to counter it has disrupted the global supply of oil and driven up the global price.
—-
—-
I understand that many factors contributed to decisions to reduce refinery capacity, which occurred before I took office. But at a time of war, refinery profit margins well abovenormal being passed directly onto American families are not acceptable.
There is no question that Vladimir Putin is principally responsible for the intence financial pain the Americans people and their families are bearing. But amid a war that has raised gasoline prices more than #1.70 per gallon, historically high refinery profit margins are worsening that pain.
—-
—-
Vladimir Putin’s Price Hike and are driving up costs for consumers. I appreciate your immediate attention to this issue and your efforts to mitigate the economic challenges that Vladimir Putin’s actions have created for American families.
Signed Joseph R. Biden
——————————————————————–
* USA is at war 🤨
* It’s all Putin’s fault

Posted by: ostro | Jun 15 2022 20:22 utc | 42

TomQ@40
Apparently Biden is in a delusional state and says he’s going to run in 2024. Nobody can convince him to step down gracefully. He’s too ornery. This regime has always been a “ fly by night” con on the nation. Absurdity after absurdity is building up to a point where action will be needed before even the midterms possibly.

Posted by: Bobolinski | Jun 15 2022 20:41 utc | 44

Posted by: Bobolinski | Jun 15 2022 20:41 utc | 43
He’s saying whatever his handlers (both seen and unseen) are telling him to say. I agree that a 2024 run is going to be completely out of the question and I doubt he actually thinks he’s going to run, but time will tell.
All of that having been said, the Democrats sure don’t seem to be very worried about 2024 because if they were they’d openly be admitting the truth and actively seeking a new candidate.
My guess is we get Tom Cotton vs. Kopmala* which would be terrible choices for the public, but since when is the public consulted on who is going to pretend to represent us?
* Harris would be a HORRIBLE choice from the present vantage point, but count on the Dims to resuscitate her on an as-needed emergency basis. That’s how out of touch they are.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jun 15 2022 20:46 utc | 46

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/15/italy-drought-po-valley-ration-water

Italy’s river observatory said the Po was suffering its worst drought in seven decades, adding that demand for water in the Po valley basin was high, and supply was “running out”. With no rain forecast, the crisis was set to get worse, the observatory warned.
Italy is experiencing a protracted heatwave, with temperatures in some areas of the Po valley forecast to hit 36C by the end of the week.

Severe droughts coincide, as usual, with unprecedented flooding elsewhere (closing Yellowstone, for instance). Warmer air simply has more storage capacity for water vapor:

For every degree Celsius that Earth’s atmospheric temperature rises, the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere can increase by about 7%, according to the laws of thermodynamics.

Steamy Relationships: how atmospheric water vapor supercharges Earth’s greenhouse effect

Seven percent more water vapor capacity per degree Centigrade may not sound like much, but it’s enough extra air-thirst to make our soil, here in western USA, the driest in 1,200 years. Later, when that payload of water vapor encounters a low-pressure system, we see much weightier downpours than before — because Earth is a little bit warmer now.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Jun 15 2022 21:06 utc | 48

Monkeypox is coming via the very same scenario as Covid-19. (Why not, when it worked so well with Covid.)
The nightmare will continue in perpetuity. That is clearly the plan, which also clearly has multiple goals,in particular control over the masses that may rebel because of the rapidly worsening economic and general circumstances of life for the majority everywhere.
The news:
https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/15-06-2022-statement—monkeypox–urgently-tackling-a-neglected-disease–together
The same elemennts in reports:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/15/world/europe/monkeypox-outbreak-europe.html
https://ednh.news/europe-epicentre-of-monkeypox-outbreak-who/
The EU announced Tuesday that it had purchased almost 110,000 vaccine doses to help tackle the outbreak, though the WHO does not recommend mass vaccination against monkeypox. (yet)

Posted by: JB | Jun 15 2022 21:16 utc | 50

@ ostro | Jun 15 2022 20:22 utc | 41
On SMO. . .checking the minutiae. . .
Biden: “Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression and bipartisan and global effort to counter it has disrupted the global supply of oil and driven up the global price.”
also from a recent Blinken interview: “. . .the result of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine”
It’s no longer an unprovoked invasion! It’s “aggression” or “war of aggression.” . . .Who says the pope has no divisions? recent headline: Pope Francis Says NATO Started War in Ukraine by ‘Barking at Putin’s Door’

Posted by: Don Bacon | Jun 15 2022 21:50 utc | 52

Clear as mud. Gonna be Intelligence’s Pete Buttplug. And if they want to win, Tulsi Gabbard, who has a deeper voice.
Posted by: Scorpion | Jun 15 2022 20:57 utc | 46

I’ll grant that Mayo Petebot stands a good chance, and for the reason you imply. But Tulsi is loathed with a white-hot passion by the entire Dim Party hierarchy and everyone who actually believes in that Party. (I canceled a friend of three decades for saying that she should be hauled up against a wall and shot.)
I still wouldn’t count Willie Brown’s hummer out. The Party brass is really uncomfortable with her, and with good reason, but it’s Her Turn Dammit, and in calcified hierarchies that counts for a lot. Speaking of Her Turn Dammit, I wouldn’t count out Killary either. You know she wants it, and she has the Rolodex from Hell.

Posted by: malenkov | Jun 15 2022 22:05 utc | 54

@ Tom_Q_Collins | Jun 15 2022 22:17 utc | 54
For a few weeks of 2021, some of us had hopes for (Interior Secretary) “Auntie” Deb Haaland. It’s still difficult to find any Indian who will say a bad word about her — American Indians have a thing about unconditional solidarity. But her actions in office are tearing our brothers and sisters apart, as well as the land. It’s very difficult.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Jun 15 2022 22:29 utc | 56

he doesn’t hold a handle
nope:
he doesn’t hold a candle

Posted by: Scorpion | Jun 15 2022 22:36 utc | 58

@ 29, sln2002
Thanks for the post, that’s great info. Yes, the debate on “grain”. In Canada, I think if something is a “grain”, then it has to be sold via the Canadian Grain Commission. But if it’s a “cereal” or “field crop” then perhaps not. I’m very new to this subject so that may be incorrect but that’s how it looks to me right now. So mustard seed and lentils are grains!! All right then!! (Maple syrup? Cherries? Hey, why not?)
It’s hard to see a pronounced food shortage in all this. Here in Quebec, La Presse ran an article about groceries, “Is it really more costly to buy Quebec?” Maybe that’s where this is headed. Although for sovereignty reasons, Quebec heavily promotes buying food produced locally anyhow.
Is the global problem with Ukraine’s grains remaining unshipped actually one of a grain dealer(s) not fulfilling its contracts for the shipping year ending in July? (Would that result in some kind of penalty?) I know grain is perishable too of course. And which grains are stuck unshipped in Ukraine? Just wheat and corn? Sunflower?

Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Jun 15 2022 23:49 utc | 60

Posted by: malenkov | Jun 16 2022 0:07 utc | 60
“Scorpion, I don’t know why you keep on bringing Tulsi up.”
Because if they want to go into full police state mode what’s better than an attractive, deep-voiced military woman teamed up with the first (admitted) gay President? Perfect!
Remember, the assumption is that the country is on the verge of collapse so things will not be in business as usual mode so am thinking outside the current box.
Since I don’t live in the country, though, I should probably pipe down, but you (or someone else) asked, and I answered.

Posted by: Scorpion | Jun 16 2022 0:32 utc | 62

@C1ue: well, to be honest I’m in a state of semi-constant cognitive dissonance these days with anything involving the US. I cannot fathom just how insane everything is there on so many fronts. I call it a ‘pathocracy’ because no other conventional labels suit any more.

Posted by: Scorpion | Jun 16 2022 0:47 utc | 64

@Scorpion #63
It isn’t just the US – the EU is no better.
Nor Australia.
Can’t speak for New Zealand.

Posted by: c1ue | Jun 16 2022 1:03 utc | 66

@ c1ue – Bush Sr was the head of the CIA. And rather polite when he spoke publically.

Posted by: lex talionis | Jun 16 2022 1:17 utc | 68

So much going on. But first is this:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/06/14/why-it-matters-whats-going-on-right-now-at-the-wto/
Now I know some here don’t favor Counterpunch because of the stance of some of its writers on Ukraine, but this article is about the World Trade Organization (WTO). Just as Michael Hudson says that the World Bank’s primary mission is prevent countries from growing their own food, this article by Deborah James says the same thing, but goes into the details of the instrumentalization of the WTO for that. The western governments, led by the US and controlled by the corporations, are now trying to use the WTO to extend corporate sovereignty over the WTO members by essentially transferring power to the corporations, voiding the laws and constitutions of the member states similar to the way the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism was supposed to do in the still-defunct TPP. This is what the world war is really about, economic control under a still more intrusive and extensive corporate feudalism. This is why it is the struggle of the millenium. If countries won’t stand up for themselves, the world can only look forward to an increasingly centralized globalist domination that will eliminate all local autonomy and introduce a worse autocracy than anything hitherto experienced.

Posted by: Cabe | Jun 16 2022 2:32 utc | 70

@ S | Jun 15 2022 17:52 utc | 21
Thanks for this detailed analysis about Turkey, which is a significant cornerstone in the Middle East and also Europe. Turkey was adlected into NATO in the first place to try to break up the unity of the Muslim world and to reward a country that proclaimed itself secular nationalist in order to fit in.
Now, it is truly delicious that Sweden and Finland are blocked for now from NATO membership because they won’t give in on Turkey’s demands, and God willing Turkey won’t relent on those demands. If Turkey is considered a liability to NATO because of its frequent refusal to go along, going back its refusing to let the US attack Iraq in 2003 from its territory, its loss to the alliance would be huge. That is why, as you observe, the real leaders of the so-called West refuse to attack Turkey directly; it is just too big and important. Nonetheless, it is an important part of the cracks appearing in NATO. For its part, Turkey can hardly afford to give up its ties with the West either, but that hasn’t stopped it from keeping up decent relations with Russia and also occasionally blasting Israel.
The business over Greece is also interesting. The Turkish claim to the continental shelf in the Aegean is not legitimate according to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which gives the EEZ (exclusive economic zone) in each area of the sea up to 200 miles or more to the country whose land is closest. Since Greece basically possesses all the islands of the Aegean except for Tenedos and Imbros (Bozcaada and Gökçeada in Turkish), the islands’ waters basically block Turkey from all but a tiny portion of the Aegean next to its coast. But Turkey also has about eight times the population and strength of Greece, and that was a major factor for Greece in joining the EU. When Greece was having its financial meltdown and being thoroughly abused by the EU, I asked some Greek professors if it wouldn’t be better for Greece to rebel. They said, yeah, some Greeks proposed trying to align with Russia, a fellow Orthodox country, but the big fear was Turkey, and thus Greece had to stay in Europe. Because of this fear and Greece’s dependence, the unelected EU rulers decided they could really beat up on Greece to make an example of it, and so they did.

Posted by: Cabe | Jun 16 2022 2:55 utc | 72

@ c1ue | Jun 16 2022 0:33 utc | 62
The Democrats just don’t seem to have anybody convincing. Buttigieg and Harris already failed the taste test massively in the primaries last time and aren’t going to generate any enthusiasm. Harris has about as much charisma as a dead flounder. Buttigieg, like Conor Lamb in Pennsylvania, has a resume which in theory should have been good with the voters say 30 years ago, but now everybody is scared and angry, and no one will go for these establishment types. I don’t see anybody on the Democratic side at all. Tulsi Gabbard would be blocked, like Trump, not that she could be trusted to actually do anything good, but because she might speak her mind, the real masters would not allow her in. Sanders is finished.
But what will actually happen, and what will the masters do to try to save things? If they themselves really split on what to do, as is not unlikely to occur, there will be hell to pay. Their game has always been the agreed-upon revolving door of the duopoly, but that has worn thin. The devil is in the details, and the ruling class can still play with the Republicans, as most of their politicians are still old-time hacks just like the Democrats. So the electoral system might still weather the storm of the 2022 elections.
But there is big trouble brewing. First of all, the economic meltdown is dire and isn’t likely to improve by November, nor next year. If gas goes to $10 a gallon, which certainly might happen, what are people going to do? If divestment in dollar-denominated holdings abroad snowballs, as seems to be happening, inflation could soar. Of course, the system does still have a lot of resources to fight back, but it does look increasingly on the defensive.
Second, there is a tremendous collapse of faith in the honesty of the elections, a collapse really concealed by the media. Both sides, Dems and Reps, are ready to accuse the other of fraud and not accept the results, and the larger group who don’t vote are already cynical about it. That can’t be good for the functioning of the system. Trump’s charges of electoral fraud against him in 2020 have certainly resonated with his loyalists, who constitute about 35% of the voting public.
So, hold onto your hats; it really looks like it is going to be a wild ride.

Posted by: Cabe | Jun 16 2022 3:17 utc | 74

@ Cabe | Jun 16 2022 2:32 utc | 69
thanks cabe.. good article.. yes – it aligns with michael hudsons viewpoint which i share), of the purpose of the world bank and the imf to impoverish developing countries in support of wall st and etc… it is all quite unfortunate and many are oblivious to it too..

Posted by: james | Jun 16 2022 4:21 utc | 76

So, hold onto your hats; it really looks like it is going to be a wild ride.
Posted by: Cabe | Jun 16 2022 3:17 utc | 73
My ticket?
General Douglas MacGregor and Robert Kennedy Jr. They will get huge voter turnout from people of both parties and win a massive mandate. Mission: dissolve the USG and start over, whatever it takes, major reforms, national town halls, blue ribbon commissions etc. Independent ticket. Need to get all MAGA votes + Independents. Can sweep the House. Senate an obstacle first 2 years but they might fold knowing their Uniparty days are over. But a huge amount can be done with Executive Orders and the Courts.
My real ticket?
I think the Republic finally gave up the ghost after years of pretense on Nov 5 2020. So the sooner this is acknowledged the better. But the above is worth a shot and then if it fails: widespread secessions…

Posted by: Scorpion | Jun 16 2022 4:51 utc | 78

I did not know that MOA promotes marijuana as psychohistorian alluded to, but I have seen the effects first-hand.
When I was young, I got Columbian gold free, and even Jamaican was a joke.
I remember great times listening to pink Floyd, supertramp, zeppelin and many more great rock bands. After the jokes, we scrimmaged for food, became quiet and vegged out.
These days the THC content has increased 100 fold which blows the brains out of many people.
My son is one of them, who now has brain fog, memory lapses and not able to work. In Toronto, I see everyday, many on the streets, lost, aimless and wandering.
The police have now been given permission to stop any car at random and force you to take a test. It is all part of the system to increase the coffers of the government. But now labelled a criminal, you are denied employment or any future.
I can also show the history of how the west has always promoted drugs and the usage for profit. One example: The Taliban eradicated heroin growth and under the 20 year occupation of Afghanistan, the heroin output quadrupled from the past.
You will never see China or Russia and many others promoting this, just like LGBT, Homo, cancel culture etc.. while steadfastly promoting wars. It is all part of a package.

Posted by: Karl luck | Jun 16 2022 4:59 utc | 80

The gas was not shut down intentionally by Russia, it was because Siemens sent it to their factory in Canada to be repaired. Canada, due to sanctions ordered by their masters in USA, refused to give it back.
Russia needs the repaired turbine to keep the flow going and the sh.t blame game keeps flowing. I have no idea how more stupid the west will get. It has now disintegrated to screwing one another for a fantasy.
Despite western restrictions, the gas oil and everything else will flow to the East. Today, Putin ordered that needed wheat go to Afghanistan, and I am absolutely sure that the rest will flow to Africa and the ME.
Europe and USA is trying to extract Ukrainian wheat to the detriment of western Ukrainians. That summarizes their selfishness.

Posted by: Karl luck | Jun 16 2022 6:10 utc | 82

Posted by: osi | Jun 15 2022 17:33 utc | 19
A some what convoluted read so as to speak.
Then I noticed GIGO(garbageinGarbageout) recommended publications. All of whom are from authors well known for their basic incompetence in real science. Also not one of these books actually passes “Occam’s Razor Test”.
In addition, the authors receive documented bribes and annual stipends from both “Big Oil and the Koch Bros”.
This raises one very big red warning flag…………..
Whilst it looks good on the outside. The well documented and the better known “Peter Principle(1969)”. Predates this ‘johnny come later’ sub variant. Dr Peters went on to explain why super competent persons were subject to instant dismissal……….
Ah, the bad old days. When incompetent USSAF officers of ‘MACV’. Were assassinated by their own conscripted soldiers(Fragging).

Posted by: Bad Deal Motors On | Jun 16 2022 6:47 utc | 84

I find interesting what parts of the shit show are being covered by the MSM and which are not
For example, where is all the press about the bombing of the Damascus Airport? The little I have read says it is totally shut down and will take quite a while to open back up. I have read others here asking about the lack of coverage of this also.
Will us riffraff ever know the straw that breaks the camel’s back?
I expect Europe to have a very agitated populace quite soon that are also out of work and wanting to express their displeasure. It will be interesting to see how the MSM covers and portrays the public displays of frustration.
The shit show continues until it doesn’t and Russia reducing daily gas to Europe by almost 100 million cubic meters (over a third?) seems significant to this US meatsack so maybe we are close to an inflection point.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jun 16 2022 7:08 utc | 86

Jimmy Dore interview with Julian Assange’s brother
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GljfffIehAU

Posted by: pretzelattack | Jun 16 2022 7:52 utc | 88

Karl luck | Jun 16 2022 3:15 utc | 72
…marijuana doesn’t just create passivity and indecision; it promotes laziness and takes away ambition, education and above all leads to serious mental health issues
There’s an old Moroccan proverb that goes like this:
three bowls of kif before breakfast gives a man the strength of a hundred camels in the courtyard
Of course, like most proverbs, its origins are unknown and ancient…
certainly rooted in an era before time became money.

Posted by: john | Jun 16 2022 10:22 utc | 90

“We’re in for a rough ride,” says Canada’s John Manley. The ultimate Anglo insider, Manley speaks to the press frequently to bring to light some behind-the-scenes activity. He was interviewed yesterday on CBC’s Power and Politics.
https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2043676739581
Today, Finance Minister Freeland is giving a speech on the economy and inflation. I have to say… as a non-economist… much of the doom and gloom talk is not relevant to Canada specifically, which is making a lot of money both federally and provincially due to commodity prices. But there’s the North American continent to consider. (I’d wager that Mexico is profiting, like Canada, too. …)
From last night’s The National — 1:40 sec report on US raising interest rate
https://youtu.be/3tIHj-nF1Pg

Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Jun 16 2022 11:59 utc | 92

due to commodity prices. But there’s the North American continent to consider. (I’d wager that Mexico is profiting, like Canada, too. …)
Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Jun 16 2022 11:59 utc | 91
I would not take that bet. For one, evidently, haven’t done your “commodity” stocks and utilization (S/U) pricing by country homework. Second, you mistake aggregate for personal income (the big per capita lie, GNI), ergo personal profit. Third, (and I’ll stop there) your only source of information is the public broadcasting network of your home government.

Posted by: sln2002 | Jun 16 2022 12:48 utc | 94

@ 94 sln2002
All wishful thinking? You must be correct.

Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Jun 16 2022 12:59 utc | 96

Posted by: Arioch | Jun 16 2022 12:57 utc | 95
“If the news is correct then Baikal’s strategic bet seems to be lost.”
Hmmm.. maybe that call for SF vets????

Posted by: Scorpion | Jun 16 2022 13:45 utc | 98

@ Cabe | Jun 16 2022 3:17 utc | 74
I agree with everything you said about upcoming presidential prospects. I’d just like to add that one would have to be certifiably insane to want to be the next president! The country’s problems are insoluble without a catastrophic loss of face, which would only provoke fury in the populace.
Just because Dims own and aggravate the current mess doesn’t mean that Rethugs won’t perpetuate it, or conceivably make it worse — and third parties stand no chance whatsoever.

Posted by: malenkov | Jun 16 2022 14:48 utc | 100