@ b

Thank you.

FYI, am seeing your 'MoA: Ukraine - Russian Army Activates Southern Front' article recommended/referenced as well as numerous referrals/links throughout the TG channels covering Ukraine. Kudos.

Posted by: Outraged | Jan 22 2023 14:05 utc | 1

Thank you very much b.
Your work and many of the comments are probably the best, most time efficient way to learn what is happening and for what reasons.
I have to show gratitude personally by sending money, and by recommending your work. I think it is crucial to divulge the information so the reckless guys in control can be tamed. Sometimes, the little guy wins. We better win this time.

Posted by: Biochar | Jan 22 2023 14:20 utc | 2

An interesting discussion on Pakistan in English (mostly): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QSf8KsdTiY

Posted by: Antonym | Jan 22 2023 14:22 utc | 3

From the Intercept article "U.S. Military Vets in Ukraine Are Fighting Each Other in Court"...

"Mozart has found a unique way of marching into controversy."

That's hilarious!

---

Another thing from Syria, Southfront reports that a long-defunct military airbase near Aleppo has been rebuilt and reactivated. It's the Jirah Air Base. It's got aircraft shelters and a training facility for special/airborne operations. It's covered by both Pantsir and Buk AA systems, plus it has a Russian contingent there.
Could just be regular rebuilding of everything that was destroyed during the Hot War, but it could also very well be in preparation of impending operations in northern Syria, now that a Turkish-Syrian rapprochement is on its way.
I really hope that the Syrian government will use this new window of opportunity, now that a) Turkey seems to be coming to its senses regarding Syria and b) the US and UK are preoccupied elsewhere.

Posted by: Scotch Bingeington | Jan 22 2023 14:35 utc | 4

§|. In the past decade I’ve been douched by so many conspiracy theories and counter narratives…. I reckon the water buffalo paid the lioness to start shit.
https://twitter.com/weirdterrifying/status/1616834837339598850
!…… Twitter. Meh. I’ve seen this same thing during a flat-screen sale at Walmart….

§| Beauty. Is in the eye of the beholder. Or something.
https://twitter.com/RickyDoggin/status/1616952936730624002
Twitter: Lemme guess, Mail in ballots?

§| Last week Larry Johnson at his blog introduced me to the SNL skit “more cowbell”, as a humorous analogy for the western wunderwaffle weapons support for Ukraine.
Suddenly. Having (I’m fairly certain) never seen the skit, or been exposed to it as an analogy…… suddenly I’m seeing “more cowbell” referenced everywhere.
Collective unconscious? Or Larry and MoA have far more lurkers than most realise?
(I think option “b”😁)

§|. Watching twitter feeds of Atlanta…..
if you can’t take the U$ to Ukraine, bring the Ukraine to the U$…

§|. Just a link to a eulogy.
https://twitter.com/DC_Draino/status/1616946731266052097
Meeting in Stockholm …. Appropriate ? Didn’t the world have Stockholm Syndrome last year?
https://twitter.com/bishopdesign_/status/1616937076426948610

§| twitter. Peter Sweden. “Today top doctors from all over the world gathered in Sweden to talk about” ⬛️ something we don’t talk about…
NZ: New boss. New day. New look at him saying: Obey.
https://twitter.com/_Janey_J/status/1616567498177904642

§|. Something about Avi Yemani just gives me shudders….but anyway.
He was at Davos.
Australian early evening “current affairs” programs once specialised in this sort of footpath ambush. But they use limit themselves to dodgy brothers tradies/mechanics, or school canteen volunteers seen taking home the leftover school milk.
Bet next year the “elite” will have self-driving electric bubble-buggies so they cannot get door stopped like this:
https://twitter.com/OzraeliAvi/status/1616712413587415041

Catturd2 is one of “must go accounts” most days….
https://twitter.com/catturd2/status/1616808699494039553

Analogies I can endorse
https://twitter.com/RobSchneider/status/1616862447796903937
(Comments say bill’s tweet is fake. Call me Scully: I want to believe)

Davos. Is just another business layover for some
https://twitter.com/catturd2/status/1616802483522895875

Debate
https://twitter.com/CryptoLawyerz/status/1616918439464927232

Just as the tank debate bogged down in Rammstein.
https://t.me/DonbassDevushka/41816
Ukrainian tanks, just got bogged:
https://t.me/DonbassDevushka/41813

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 22 2023 14:57 utc | 5

Posted yesterday.
But it’s worth a second plug.
INTERESTING §§§ INTERESTING §§§ INTERESTING
Vladimir Soloviev interviews Colonel Richard Black - 1/18/2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGjWlQJ_jQM
.Premier Russian tv journalist Soloviev interviews retired US Colonel on the USNATO V Russian conflict in Ukraine.”

A skill Soloviev demonstrates, western journalists simply seem incapable of….. asking an intelligent question….and then shutting the fuck up and allowing the guest to respond.
20min view.

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 22 2023 15:09 utc | 6

@ Melaleuca | Jan 22 2023 14:57 utc | 5

Thank you for graciously casting more pearls before us swine, yet wheeled APCs ain't 'Tanks', don'tcha know ?

Ukrainian tanks, just got bogged

@ Melaleuca | Jan 22 2023 15:09 utc | 6

Good interview re presenting RF in a rational objective non-rabid light. Only 117 views when I watched it though ...

Posted by: Outraged | Jan 22 2023 15:16 utc | 7

"The war against Ukraine and external restrictions have lowered it to about 1 percent. For now, the economy’s development will be put into reverse and it will take three to five years for that decline to come to a halt."

This is a rather thin gruel compared to initial projections of actual decline from "external restrictions". The most problematic projection of the long-term impact of restriction is the predicted technological decline. Russia is definitely too small, as an economy, to be self-sufficient in new technologies, BUT....

the West tries to do the same with China, and it is problematic if the West can maintain its monopoly on most efficient chips, machinery etc. Iran was a surprise with its effective drone technology (thank you, Obama!).

The West lost its capability in nuclear power, twice longer and twice (or more) expensive than Russian (and Chinese), it is about to loose the edge in commercial planes, and there is a reasonable perspective for loosing the edge in electronics, in part due to misguided sanctions on China.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jan 22 2023 15:16 utc | 8

Being a bit of a "big data" geek, I have been following the Cambridge Analytica saga since the start.

The linked article references the "Meta’s record-breaking" Class Action settlement of $725 million for up to 50 million Facebook users who had their data harvested without consent. That is only $14.50 per person, so it is likely that most will not bother with the hassle of filling out a claim form.

It is a joke of a slap on the wrist for all involved. Zuck must be laughing at "The dumb fvcks, they trusted us." again.

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Jan 22 2023 15:19 utc | 9

Mystery divers rescued near Polish energy sites

Sounds like a typical NATO fairytale to me. No boat, no divers, just whole cloth fabrications. The usual aim, the usual BS.

Posted by: BM | Jan 22 2023 15:33 utc | 10

The "tanks, but no tanks" discussion is either the most idiotic debate ever or the most brilliant misdirection by NATO ever.

Tanks are about as relevant now as cavalry was in 1914. They are slow moving targets only good for shooting at other tanks and APCs at fairly close range.

If they end up sent to Ukraine, it is solely to absorb and deplete Russia's stock of artillery shells and drones. Any military conscript that aspires to operate one has a death wish.

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Jan 22 2023 15:46 utc | 11

An analyst claimed Russian oil trade remains in ship-shape as the price cap has failed to stem Moscow's freight and insurance income.

Posted by: Malwen | Jan 22 2023 15:53 utc | 12

I'll hazard to recommend some excellent youtube discussions:

Neil Oliver Interviews Dr. John Campbell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM6TSWzw66U

Oliver got red pilled long ago, Doc John recently popped a handful. Very comprehensive discussion on covid and the vaxxes.

Thomas Frank: "Why the Left Lost the Thread"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1ElfaRKMw4&list=PLWn60afJE8hG6l6cqpMK2Vm4hcmE0sEcV&index=139

Frank had burned out and did a Sebastian Salgado and said no more politics, but good to see him back. Great broad discussion of where the USA is at today.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Jan 22 2023 16:14 utc | 13

thanks b.. i appreciate the articles and ongoing forum for discussion here.. thanks to the many fine posters at moa as well..

Posted by: james | Jan 22 2023 16:27 utc | 14

interesting how that article is from feb 11 2022 - The Crisis in Ukraine Is Not About Ukraine. It's About Germany - M. Whitney - Feb 2022

Posted by: james | Jan 22 2023 16:30 utc | 15

Rosneft‎ and others using Russian shipping and insurance companies is interesting. This would mean the money would stay within the country instead of feeding Chinese and Indian economies.
The danger would be that Washington, Brussels and London use pirates to loot or destroy the tankers but shipping companies could be in partnership with PMC Wagner.

Russian government should now try restricting these companies' shareholders to squander this money in the 'unfriendly countries' and actually pressure them to finance projects in Russia to boost its economy.

Posted by: Malwen | Jan 22 2023 16:34 utc | 16

b, In the wake of your posted article about palm oil in Malaysia, I look forward to a post on environmental disasters and living standards in the former Soviet Union. You may not be old enough to remember the "kitchen debate" between Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, but Khrushchev also had a famous visit to an American automobile plant. Upon seeing the vast number of cars parked outside the plant, Khrushchev thought that the cars had been produced there. Instead, he was informed that the cars belonged to the workers--the supposed victims of capitalism.

According to the Fraser Institute, the most capitalistic places in the world are Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, and New Zealand. The least capitalistic are North Korea, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, a several countries in Africa.

You keep on touting China as a successful example of socialism. I have done hundreds of multivariate regressions on this matter, and it is very clear that China's high growth rate during the last quarter century is due to its previous backwardness combined with a high average level of cognitive ability. Capitalistic reforms of Deng Xiaoping and Zhu Rongji also spurred growth as compared to what happened under Chairman Mao. Today, both China and Russia are about as capitalistic as Greece.

Posted by: greg | Jan 22 2023 17:02 utc | 17

Thanks B...
pay-palled Euros 200

Posted by: marsal | Jan 22 2023 17:27 utc | 18

Where's c1ue been? Had hoped to read his defense of the palm oil economy.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 22 2023 17:31 utc | 19

@ greg | Jan 22 2023 17:02 utc | 17

fwiw fraser institute is a far right, borderline rabid, think tank...

@ Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 22 2023 17:31 utc | 19

he has been busy... i bumped into him on a substack comment thread and asked the same thing.. all good, but he is busy at the moment..

Posted by: james | Jan 22 2023 17:36 utc | 20

Posted by: greg | Jan 22 2023 17:02 utc | 17

Where has b put forth an article of his own writing that touts China as *strictly* a "socialist" success story?

Re: the cars in the lot outside the auto factory - So you're saying they *didn't* come from that particular factory? Well then they came from one nearby (ya know, the now Rust Belt?). And who says it's a good thing for the planet/environment/economy if everyone NEEDS a car to get from point A (home) to point B (work).

LOL @ your obsession with the Soviet Union but laughing even harder at your high school demand that b counters any article critical of something like palm oil capitalism w/ an equally harsh article about the Soviet Union and alleged environmental disasters there. Should he then go over Laos, Bhopal, Fukushima, burn pits in the ME and Africa and all other capitalist/imperialist caused environmental disasters? Ya know, to be fair?

As if those of us in the west and southeast Asia haven't already been subjected to decades of 24/7/365 propaganda on the wonders of capitalism, the evils of communism and a couple of Red Scares and Cold Wars to boot.

WTF dude, do you own futures in palm oil or something?

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 22 2023 17:39 utc | 21

Posted by: james | Jan 22 2023 17:36 utc | 20

ha, yea I was being sarcastic. I figured he's off doing other things having realized that 90% of people here don't really care to read his unsolicited anti-environmentalist rants and pro-ERCOT/anti-regulation inaccurate screeds on the electricity generation/utility/distribution grid system(s).

And hey, I'm busy too as I'm sure you are - but we still find time to comment at MoA. LOL

Also you're right about the Fraser Institute. It's a far right-wing Canadian libertarian think tank associated with the State Policy Network which is funded by arch-petro-capitalist Charles Koch. They have close ties to ALEC in the USA and are very heavily invested in spreading climate change denial lies.

From Sourcewatch.org:

SPN is a web of right-wing “think tanks” and tax-exempt organizations in 50 states, Washington, D.C., Canada, and the United Kingdom. As of January 2022, SPN's membership totals 166. Today's SPN is the tip of the spear of far-right, nationally funded policy agenda in the states that undergirds extremists in the Republican Party. SPN Executive Director Tracie Sharp told the Wall Street Journal in 2017 that the revenue of the combined groups was some $80 million, but a 2019 analysis of SPN's main members IRS filings by the Center for Media and Democracy shows that the combined revenue is over $120 million.[10] Although SPN's member organizations claim to be nonpartisan and independent, the Center for Media and Democracy's in-depth investigation, "EXPOSED: The State Policy Network -- The Powerful Right-Wing Network Helping to Hijack State Politics and Government," reveals that SPN and its member think tanks are major drivers of the right-wing, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)-backed corporate agenda in state houses nationwide, with deep ties to the Koch brothers and the national right-wing network of funders.[11]

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 22 2023 17:45 utc | 22

Posted by: greg | Jan 22 2023 17:02 utc | 17

This post deserves a nomination for "Mental Nutraloaf of the Month" for January 2023.

Nutraloaf uses a balanced collection of ingredients, after fragmenting in a food processors loafs are baked. Selection of ingredients stresses low cost, if available, scraps are used (normally they are available, so below), further works is minimal, and a particular recipe is tested if it has sufficiently awful test. Preferably, induces gagging or nearly so. Used as a punishment for unruly prisoners in USA, recipes and availability varies between states and individual prisons. As it is hard to finish a meal, leftovers invariably remain so they can be used in the mix for the next set of loafs.

So in our blender we have an antique Nixon/Krushchev apocrypha, ranking of Fraser Institute (mirror, mirror on the wall, who is most capitalistic of them all, what that even means?)

"[is] China as a successful example of socialism. I have done hundreds of multivariate regressions on this matter," data science equivalent of nutraloaf, important for my nomination...

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jan 22 2023 17:47 utc | 23

Palm oil is the n-th scapegoat for bad social and economic policies. It is not that in Indonesia the population is doubling every few decades, there is no welfare, no social security, no laws for the safeguarding of the environment, no blocks to capitalist exploitation: it is the fault of that nasty palm oil. I am sure that a growing, starving population would not cut down the forests to exploit the land, if it weren't for palm oil. Yeah, very sure.

@greg

According to the Fraser Institute ...

*Search for "Fraser Institute". Result:

The Fraser Institute is a libertarian-conservative think tank ...

OK, I don't buy anything, sorry. Farewell, I'm busy.

Come on. The most capitalist countries in the world are Switzerland, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore? That is simply ridiculous. Switzerland, Hong Kong and Singapore are probably the most gentrified functional countries in the world (there are also gentrified disfunctional countries, like UAE), but not the most capitalist: americans can only dream about the public health service of Switzerland.

Posted by: SG | Jan 22 2023 18:26 utc | 24

P.S. - There is no evidence that Kruschev ever visited an automobile plant. When he was in Pittsburgh during his 1959 visit to the US, he had to cancel plans to tour a steel mill because union workers were on strike and instead visited a different type of plant where 3,000 non-union workers were on the job.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/cold-war-roadshow-nikita-khrushchevs-trip-itinerary/

Still, I can find no provenance for the alleged quote/conversation about "victims of capitalism" and the vast number of automobiles in a (non-automotive) factory parking lot.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 22 2023 18:27 utc | 25

Posted by: greg | Jan 22 2023 17:02 utc | 17

"[is] China as a successful example of socialism. I have done hundreds of multivariate regressions on this matter," data science equivalent of nutraloaf, important for my nomination..."

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jan 22 2023 17:47 utc | 23

China is about as socialist as Canada or Sweden. Speaking of "regressions", I find the Capitalist/Socialist debate here has not evolved much since I first paid attention to it in the 1970s.

It should be self-evident from real world observation that the hybrid economies provide the best standard of living for the most people. The challenge is to keep both cylinders of the 2-stroke engine operating in harmony. And to protect the public from a natural tendency of one or the other to abuse their accumulated wealth/power.

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Jan 22 2023 18:31 utc | 26

It is a joke of a slap on the wrist for all involved. Zuck must be laughing at "The dumb fvcks, they trusted us." again.

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Jan 22 2023 15:19 utc | 9

Also, who was in on this CAS? Where's my check?

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 22 2023 18:35 utc | 27

This is just extraordinary. Dore takes her apart, into little pieces, deservedly:

Greta Thunberg WON’T ANSWER Basic Questions About Climate Change

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL_mG6I1jy8

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Jan 22 2023 18:42 utc | 28

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Jan 22 2023 18:31 utc | 26

It should be self-evident from real world observation that the hybrid economies provide the best standard of living for the most people. The challenge is to keep both cylinders of the 2-stroke engine operating in harmony. And to protect the public from a natural tendency of one or the other to abuse their accumulated wealth/power.

All fine and good, except that you're wrong about the Sweden and Canada comparisons - China's utilities, education system, natural commons and natural resources are far and away less privatized then they are in Canada and Sweden. That's the main reason they're ever on the radar for balkanization and regime change. Western private finance/capital wants in and wants to turn China into Sweden or Canada.

Also all fine and good, but the fact is that the capitalists have won the class war and by extension control the governments of most western countries. There is no longer any real balance. It can be argued that capitalism is directly at odds with real democracy (republics are easier to capture) and that at this point it's impossible to believe that the financiers/capitalists/bankers in control of western governments will ever relinquish even a modicum of real power without some kind of mass public action or a civil war of some sort. Hence the challenge is indeed to keep both sides in check, but one side has been strangled and stomped on for many decades and therefore no longer functions as a check on the other side.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 22 2023 18:43 utc | 29

Also, who was in on this CAS? Where's my check?

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 22 2023 18:35 utc | 27

Obviously you had to have had an active Facebook Account in 2015-16 and live in the USA to be eligible. Since it was just recently approved payouts may take a while.

The law firms are listed here:

https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2022-12-23/plaintiffs-seek-court-approval-of-725-million-settlement-in-facebook-cambridge-analytica-consumer-privacy-class-action

They will typically post updates on their corporate web sites.

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Jan 22 2023 18:44 utc | 30

@LightYearsFromHome

Disappointed to see Jimmy Dore pretending to be so dense. Let's go through the questions noting that Kurt Metzger lays out the real reason she probably didn't answer them - namely, the group who was asking - Rebel News.

1. What was your climate footprint in getting here? How did you arrive? I agree with YouTube user "antoniobologna..." who says the following in comments at Jimmy Dore's video:

antoniobolgnameyerwe
3 minutes ago
Usually agree with JD, but come on. What was your climate footprint in getting there? Like should she have said she rode a fucking camel or something? Flew in on solar powered ultralight? She got there the same way every other fucking idiot who didn't fly in on a Lear jet got there - on a commercial airliner. And again, are there any other alternatives? That was a stupid question and she was right to laugh at it in that particular context (walking along rather than at a table or podium taking questions).

How long before that comment gets censored, LOL.

2. What do you think of the fact that all these powerful people arrived here in private jets? - Um, isn't it Davos and the WEF? I mean, does anyone really think she approves of this? What difference would any answer she provided have made to anyone? I suppose she could have come out and said "Hell yes I'm angry about that but this is how things work for now and I'm operating within the system until it changes" - but again, since it was Rebel News and other adversarial questioners, she was probably told not to respond by her handlers (again, citing Metzger on Jimmy Dore's own show).

3. What do you think about the record high natural gas prices in Europe? Is that a good thing? - OK, should she have launched into a discussion about the US/NATO proxy war vs. Russia in Ukraine and the geopolitical reasons that gas prices are high? What answer could she have provided that would have made any difference to the audience of the people asking the questions?

The questions asked were dumb and Dore saying she's acting like a kid with all that claptrap about her being 2 years older than soldiers fighting in X, Y, Z countries is a let down for me. I always watch his show and before this video would have said I agree with him almost 100% of the time. Now I'm questioning his judgment.

And as to Greta Thunberg - at this point she's a celebrity activist. A brand, even. A monetized, managed asset partially self-motivated to enrich herself and her family. IOW, a typical person of her age in a late stage capitalist economy who lucked into finding the right schtick and is doing everything she can to keep it going. FFS, she's talking to billionaires, bankers and fossil fuel execs at Davos - the whole thing is a farce and Dore wastes his and our time when he attacks her from the angle he chose.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 22 2023 19:01 utc | 31

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Jan 22 2023 18:44 utc | 30

Thanks. I was being a little bit facetious of course, but I did have a Facebook account during those years and it has since been totally deleted rather than suspended. I wonder what that does for my chances of getting a piece of this settlement. I'll check with those law firms from time to time.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 22 2023 19:05 utc | 32

@Tom_Q_Collins

[...] China's utilities, education system, natural commons and natural resources are far and away less privatized then they are in Canada and Sweden.

And the banks. Let's not forget about the banks, that is the institution where the Capital effectively resides: in China they are mostly state-owned, that is the private capital is under the direct control of the state. Do that in Canada.

Posted by: SG | Jan 22 2023 19:05 utc | 33

Posted by: SG | Jan 22 2023 19:05 utc | 33

Absolutely. And I left out health care too. I've been reading some less than favorable stuff about China's health care system with the end of Zero COVID and lack of sufficient hospital beds, but I doubt very seriously anyone in China goes bankrupt and becomes homeless from medical bills. Can you imagine the zeal with which the financialized western health care providers and insurers would go about turning China's vast population into a revenue stream?

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 22 2023 19:10 utc | 34

“The banking partner that services your account has advised that they are no longer able to process SWIFT fiat (USD) transaction for individuals of less than $100,000 USD as of February 1, 2023. This is the case for all their crypto exchange clients,” said Binance.

I'm by no means an expert on crytpocurrencies, but I do have a very cheap to the point of comical long position in a couple of them. So maybe someone can come along and correct what I'm about to say....

Crypto exchanges have holding companies that aggregate users' withdrawals. I imagine that these companies maintain fiat money reserves with which to conduct transactions via the SWIFT system when necessary. I haven't heard of a single person's withdrawals being denied by Binance or Coin Base. What this does, effectively, is hurt smaller (and sometimes more risky) exchanges who may not have the aggregate fiat capital on hand to meet the $100K minimum.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 22 2023 19:26 utc | 35

check out the ZH article 'Where did all the workers go?'

These headlines are crying out for a deep dive b! Sure, you can continue to be silent on it, that's your choice.

All the best

Posted by: nathan in WA US | Jan 22 2023 19:33 utc | 36

To put that much effort into a global MSM PR campaign gives the impression that liberal 'democracies' still fear the middle-classes (or what's left of them). Otherwise, why bother trying to shape opinion?

Posted by: Patroklos | Jan 22 2023 20:09 utc | 37

Tom_Q_Collins @ 31

Have to disagree. Dore’s whole point is that she’s not up to the task of an activist with a global following, as for the Rebel News, his point is that while righteous they are also lightweights, journalist provocateurs who should be easy to handle by someone with a capable mind and a sharp tongue. She’s not shy or unprepared so apparently lacking in wit and to me seemingly constructed in the mold of Sanna Marin, Maia Sandu, Von Der Leyen, AOC and Kamala Harris. Like them and all modern public figures she is clearly instructed to keep her mouth shut at any event that isn't rehearsed and staged and the audience a clique. In other words she's without personal agency instead groomed and managed.

As for age, I know 16y/os that are informed and sharp as a tack and have taught me a thing or two, and the internet is full of young sharp minds with fast tongues, Nick Brana, Danny Haiphong, Ben Norton, the crew around the Greyzone, the list is long. Older “youngsters” like Joy Gray, Halper, Blumenthal and Taibbi were as sharp at 20 as they are now. I have the feeling that at Greta’s age Clare Daly was fearsome. I’m thankful to the Rebel News guys and JD for the heads up on Greta, someone commented there “future head of NATO”. Yup.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Jan 22 2023 20:14 utc | 38

My apologies for being unnecessarily repetitive, if such is the case.

1. RAND Corporation states that,

"In the contemporary era marked by informational competition, one of the most important activities of a strategic or operational command is the development, presentation, and support of the command's narratives. [Where,] (a.) Narrative matters because it is the primary cognitive framework human beings use to make sense of the world. (b.) Effective narrative development must account for complexity — multiple concepts, moderators, and emotional strategies that make narrative more or less effective. (c.) Audience is central to effective narrative."

"Developing, Disseminating, and Assessing Command Narrative: Anchoring Command Efforts on a Coherent Story"

https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA353-1.html

If one is inclined to do so, such considerations might be compared and contrasted with 'psychological warfare', defined as: "Psychological warfare involves the planned use of propaganda and other psychological operations to influence the opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior of opposition groups."

https://www.rand.org/topics/psychological-warfare.html

https://www.thoughtco.com/psychological-warfare-definition-4151867

The above observations illustrate at an elementary level how the ideological control of populations, or the "global battle for persuasion" operates.

2. "Truth, in metaphysics and the philosophy of language, the property of sentences, assertions, beliefs, thoughts, or propositions that are said, in ordinary discourse, to agree with the facts or to state what is the case. Truth is the aim of belief; falsity is a fault. People need the truth about the world in order to thrive. Truth is important. Believing what is not true is apt to spoil people’s plans and may even cost them their lives."

3. Is there any 'truth' to be found in the following?:

"Nazis in Ukraine: seeing through the fog of the information war"

https://mronline.org/2022/04/02/nazis-in-ukraine/

"The CIA – 70 Years In Ukraine [With Douglas Valentine]"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqkTf7IGNOc

4. If “right... is only a question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.”, then it might also be assumed that in a calculated 'great game' of global political/economic dominance and control employing tactics of deliberate provocation and escalation:

". . . that such a direct U.S. or NATO military strike against the Russian military — even in response to the Russian use of tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield — could also spiral out of control. “There are no good responses once you start down the nuclear path,” he said. “It’s extremely difficult to terminate it for the same reason that a poker player losing a hand is hesitant to fold. They keep thinking there’s one more move they could make, one more bet they could raise to try to cause the other side to fold. So there’s no good responses.”

5. Finally, the game itself is hardly new and the only 'refinements' of any significance are purely technological in nature.

"There was a passion for the enterprise which affected everyone alike. The older men thought that they would either conquer the places against which they were sailing or, in any case, with such a large force, could come to no harm; the young had a longing for sights and experiences of distant places, and were confident that they would return safely; the general masses and the average soldier himself saw the prospect of getting pay for the time being and of adding to the empire so as to secure paid employment in the future. The result of this excessive enthusiasm of the majority was that the few who actually were opposed to the expedition were afraid of being thought unpatriotic if they voted against it, and therefore kept quiet."
Launching the Sicilian Expedition (415 BCE) (Thucydides, 6.24; cf. generally 6.8-32)

6. More generally, people either forget about, or simply have no recollection of a long record of historical antecedents.

Posted by: deliriumtremens | Jan 22 2023 20:18 utc | 39

Klaus-Dieter Maubach claimed Nord Stream could be repaired but that's unclear if Berlin wants Russian gas.

Posted by: Malwen | Jan 22 2023 20:34 utc | 40

Great quote! Amazing how little things have changed?!

the general masses and the average soldier himself saw the prospect of getting pay for the time being and of adding to the empire so as to secure paid employment in the future

Posted by: Rae | Jan 22 2023 20:40 utc | 41

". . . that such a direct U.S. or NATO military strike against the Russian military — even in response to the Russian use of tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield — could also spiral out of control. “There are no good responses once you start down the nuclear path,”

Clearly, NATO (USA with vassals, if you will) plans to escalate the levels of provocations and involvement as much as material and political constraints allow, political constraints being less and less constraining for now. I would surmise that Russia plans possible sub-nuclear responses. Perhaps the most painful subnuclear response would be satellite wars, Western weaponry, and even common citizens, being quite dependent on satellites, both spying and geo-locating. This has an advantage of unstoppability. Second avenue that may be harder is replication of North Stream sabotage, pipelines and/or production platforms.

One can pencil more options and ponder viability.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jan 22 2023 21:09 utc | 42

Euro went up to $1.09. Ruble remained about $0.015.

Posted by: Malwen | Jan 22 2023 21:53 utc | 43

" An analyst claimed Russian oil trade remains in ship-shape as the price cap has failed to stem Moscow's freight and insurance income.

Posted by: Malwen | Jan 22 2023 15:53 utc | 12 "

However, thats only because Russia is selling oil at well below the price cap. The real test of the situation will be when Russia attempts to sell above it.

Posted by: Deplorable Commissar | Jan 22 2023 22:05 utc | 44

Greta, someone commented there “future head of NATO”. Yup.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Jan 22 2023 20:14 utc | 38

To the bulk of your reply, I say fair enough. It's OK to have differing opinions on things like whether or not Greta Thunberg is legit or not. Again, my opinion is that she's someone who started off with good intentions and was co-opted (either by her own parents or corporate interests - or both) and is now a figurehead to sell a product. What that product is, is open to debate.

On your conclusion, I agree completely. So maybe that helps to answer my own feelings about her co-optation. However, I don't think that one exchange (or lack thereof) is indicative of her mental acuity or knowledge of climate/climate policy (not that I would necessarily agree with it). Further, while I think AOC has become a class traitor and sellout, she's definitely not in the same category as the others you mention as she regularly demonstrates a sharp tongue and quick wit.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 22 2023 22:15 utc | 45

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 22 2023 19:26 utc | 35

As a follow-up and correction to my post at #35, I clearly neglected to consider that the article says this moratorium will come into effect on February 1. I don't engage in any regular crypto buying or selling, but I know people who do and they've expressed skepticism. It will be mildly amusing if they are proven wrong and suddenly unable to transact between crypto and fiat after the end of the month. Interesting times ahead...

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 22 2023 22:19 utc | 46

Posted by: deliriumtremens | Jan 22 2023 20:18 utc | 39

Thought provoking post and I had just read this article a little earlier.

https://www.projectcensored.org/18-the-human-mind-as-new-domain-of-war-nato-plans-for-cognitive-warfare/

Lee Camp made reference to it in his latest bit at Mintpressnews.com.

https://www.mintpressnews.com/nato-creating-plans-mass-mind-control/283354/

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 22 2023 22:23 utc | 47

The latest news from the Union of Soviet States of Amerika.

We citizens of the USSA are proud to announce on this day 22 of 2023. The Ronald Reagan Awards certificates issued this day have risen to thirty-eight. The number of "Darwin Awards" has also increased to one hundred and thirteen. Keep it up NRA. Let us see how many records your supporters and fellow gun owners. Will break in this auspicious year 2023. :O

On the advances in modern medicine in 2023. 13.23 billion doses have been administered globally, and 1.17 million are now administered each day. 26% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose.

The most significant figure is often not added to any cause/effect debate. Is the insignificant self-defeating one! Called per million doses? Need one say more about the closed debate. Where the losers of the non-Oxford Debate. Always demand the last word for their arguments about much ado about nothing of any real significance. Numbers are truly terrifying.

In a world of 4.2 billion netizens. Where 98% of the lies floating at near-lightspeed attempt to overpower the remaining 2% real truth of this world, we live in. The principal reason why "Google Scholar" exists in the 21st Century.

Posted by: Bad Deal Motors On | Jan 22 2023 22:46 utc | 48

LightYearsFromHome #28

This is just extraordinary. Dore takes her apart, into little pieces, deservedly:

Greta Thunberg WON’T ANSWER Basic Questions About Climate Change

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL_mG6I1jy8

Thank you, that was a mighty good view of Greta the Fraudwalker.

Her entire trajectory has been in the direction of destroying the climate change advocates. The msm adore a celebrity framed story so gave G.Fraudwalker the power to be positioned at the peak and now her task is to demolish the credibility of Climate Change advocacy.

Tell me, is there is an energy crisis somewhere that needs excusing?

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jan 22 2023 23:44 utc | 49

However, thats only because Russia is selling oil at well below the price cap. The real test of the situation will be when Russia attempts to sell above it.

Posted by: Deplorable Commissar | Jan 22 2023 22:05 utc | 44

Why is this "real test"? In war, denying profit to the adversaries is as important as profits. Russia gets enough foreign exchange, the troubles seem more with imports. So the prices are sufficient, and the adversaries do not gain on discounts.

Number two, international connections are at premium for Russia, and discounts converted India into surprisingly strong adversary of sanctions. Mind you, "surprisingly strong" in the context of prior flirting of Modi government with USA+vassal, military purchases, a diplomatic group aiming to "contain China" etc. India had troubles with inflation and capital flows, and Russia, "minute economy that it is", positively impacts both. Because of its sheer size and, probably, the strength of the diaspora, India is quite immune to sanctions, and thus a very valuable helper for Russia, and a shiny example for other countries like Pakistan.

From what I could look up, Bangladesh does not import oil, which means it imports products, probably mostly from India. But Pakistan is in the same boat as India: problems with inflation and capital flow, and the combination of discounts and credits (Russia with trade surplus can accept local currency in local bank accounts) is irresistible even though the government, with much hunky-punky, was replaced by a "pro-American" one. As we have read, the West laments Russian influenced spread because of economic benefits "and disinformation". Pakistanis, Brazilians, South Africans etc. can calculate economic benefits, and for justification, Indian eloquent talking points are quite good.

So the balance is that yes, Russia lost a lot of money, but oil still has a "war premium", and Russia gets sufficient imports. On the credit side, Russia gains a lot of friends who offer possibilities of trade intermediation, safer banking (better to tolerate currency risks than confiscation) and various other benefits. As I wrote, lamentable for the West.

Actually, the pattern emerged that for global South, the West offers empty talks, political subversion, threats and austerity edicts from financial institution, Russia and China offer discounts, debt forgiveness, advantageously financed and executed infrastructure projects etc. Some "inner allies" like Bulgaria are kept in line by an unstable combination of subsidies, threats and "temporary concessions".

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jan 22 2023 23:58 utc | 50

Out of respect for the blog owners request, I did not put a link last week to the midwife talking about an increase (1000%+) in neonatal “demise” at a Florida hospital.
Some might DYOR into Scotland.
>heraldscotland
>neonatal deaths spike

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 23 2023 0:51 utc | 51

Tom_Q_Collins @ 45:

Greta Thunberg's mother is an opera singer who represented Sweden at Eurovision in 2009.

The father Svante Thunberg is an actor and his father Olof Thunberg was an actor and a film director.

MoA barflies might think it rather odd that entities such as Greta Thunberg and the current Ukrainian President among others seem to have backgrounds that include ... actors, especially B-grade actors.

After all, the history of cinema includes many stories about child actors being pushed into acting by their parents, some of whom also control their children's acting careers and the money they earn.

Far be it from me though, to suggest that Malena Ernman and Svante Thunberg might be using their daughter as a cash cow.

Posted by: Jen | Jan 23 2023 0:56 utc | 52

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jan 22 2023 23:44 utc | 49

This is what I was making a very oblique reference to in my previous comments about how Greta von Thunberg has been co-opted. Do you have any sources that provide a more deep dive into how she's being used to actually discredit the climate science/policy debate? I haven't seen a lot of discussion on it; generally just plain old making fun of her, but I'd be very interested to see an argument fleshed out from the non-denier side against the (not so) Great Greta.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 23 2023 0:57 utc | 53

Far be it from me though, to suggest that Malena Ernman and Svante Thunberg might be using their daughter as a cash cow.

Posted by: Jen | Jan 23 2023 0:56 utc | 52

Yeah I agree (and have alluded to her parents), but as others (and myself) have surmised, I think there are likely actors bigger than her parents behind the scene of her stage managed persona. I hope uncle tungsten sees my reply and can help me flesh this out a little further.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 23 2023 0:59 utc | 54

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 23 2023 0:51 utc | 51

I will say that the neonatal mortality rate in the US hovers between 3.7 and 5 per 1,000 in normal years. Much higher in some states too. The incidents in Scotland seem to indicate a spike to about 4.9 deaths per 1,000 in September of 2021 and March of 2022, which would put it about level with the US where there are multiple factors to blame, many to do with understaffing, poor training, poor healthcare during pregnancy, etc. For example Mississippi's rate is about 8 per 1,000 (but not sure if that's total infant mortality and neonatal mortality numbers are slightly lower).

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 23 2023 1:13 utc | 55

Actually, the pattern emerged that for global South, the West offers empty talks, political subversion, threats and austerity edicts from financial institution, Russia and China offer discounts, debt forgiveness, advantageously financed and executed infrastructure projects etc.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jan 22 2023 23:58 utc | 50

I'm reminded of the quote (from last year, I think) attributed to a Kenyan official: "Every time China visits we get a hospital, every time Britain visits we get a lecture."

Posted by: David Levin | Jan 23 2023 1:18 utc | 56

From Rasmussen Reports, January 20, 2023:

Vaccine Safety: 57% Want Congress to Investigate CDC
Many voters have concerns about risks from the COVID-19 vaccine and a majority want a congressional investigation of how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has handled the issue.

Posted by: majoab | Jan 23 2023 2:38 utc | 57

It should be self-evident from real world observation that the hybrid economies provide the best standard of living for the most people. The challenge is to keep both cylinders of the 2-stroke engine operating in harmony. And to protect the public from a natural tendency of one or the other to abuse their accumulated wealth/power.

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Jan 22 2023 18:31 utc | 26

By mixed economy do you mean the one Stalin started, a mix of market economy (consumer market) and planned economy (dominant)?

In fact, this economy offers the highest standard of living, unlike the capitalist economy with the skin of the so-called "welfare state".

Although I have heard from some of my Japanese friends that their country's economy is a mixed economy. But I also hear a lot about how their country is insecure (shocking) and becoming a failed state.

According to a simple Google search, the US also has a mixed economy, which makes the term seem to lose any meaning.

A more plausible explanation is that the mixed economy is simply another name for post-WW II capitalism.

Posted by: Colin | Jan 23 2023 4:05 utc | 58

Well, the United States ran out of money.

The Treasury Department wants President Biden to borrow money from China.

China views the United States as a serious credit risk.

This is an interesting dynamic that is going to result in some serious changes on the Geo-political scene. Who knows? Maybe President Biden will sell Hawaii or Alaska to China to pay the debt.

At this stage, the United States resembles a drunk gambler that lost everything, and is in the process of stealing his son's car to pay his debts. Like that scene from the Sopranos.

Here's REDACTED talking about these events...

https://youtu.be/hndy__RYXyo

Posted by: Rufus Arrr | Jan 23 2023 4:22 utc | 59

I've been reading Turtles All The Way Down and I want to recommend it wholeheartedly to those who want to know all about how the vaccine industry works in, principally, the USA and by extension much of the world.

The authors have made the first chapter available as a free download:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eMhzsB_-RT9KFhJcLJFhzJdIgIAou-W8/view

Steve Kirsch, who does a lot of statistical analysis on the C-19 vax rollout and aftermath, raves about the book and has said that the first chapter alone will give you information you never dreamed of. And I agree. Feel free to download that chapter at the link above and see for yourself.

The whole book is priceless, although I'm only 3 chapters in so far. That download also contains a detailed Table of Contents, so you can see what else is in the book. It's obviously written by experts - who are electing to remain anonymous, by the way, and it's edited in part by a legal mind, so the argumentation is very sharp.

For all of the medical and technical information imparted, the writing is mercifully very easy to read - I'm very impressed, it's very good writing, with not a lot of wasted words. In three chapters, not once have I had to do that thing of forcing myself to plow through a difficult section - that's rare.

There are more than 1,200 references made in the book, and these are provided in another online download, here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16qHPe0odDOweuCDlwIEjarF4Aiu7oyM9/view

I could say more about it, and may, over time. But the first chapter alone shows us in documented and scientifically irrefutable terms how every single vaccine given to new-borns, infants and children in the CDC's Childhood Vaccination Schedule has been authorized for use based on flawed safety data. Not one of those childhood vaccines has been clinically trialed using an inert placebo - and if you don't know what that means, and how much harm can be contained in that fact, you will know very clearly after Chapter One.

And this has been going on for at least 60 years. What we're seeing from Pharma today is actually no more than standard practice.

We live in a world of poisons and harms. This book may help some to navigate that world.

Posted by: Grieved | Jan 23 2023 4:24 utc | 60

The presence of sarscov2 nucleocapsid and spike proteins have been reportedly found in haemorrhagic samples of foetal cortex tissue, in late first trimester and early second trimester babies.

The research paper received a blurb news message in a science rag warning of the problem. Guess what they recommend? That’s right. Get vaccinated mom. [ no words]

”Whatever the cause, a direct effect of the virus or an indirect consequence of maternal infection, this study highlights the need for pregnant women to be vaccinated against COVID-19, thus avoiding complications for both mother and baby."[sic]

We now know that the EUA mRNA vaccines do not prevent infection or transmission of omicron variants. And that associated risk issues are not completely understood or revealed/disclosed. So where is the west’s traditional vaccine? It’s been 3 years now. Waiting.

Silly me. I was worried about bioaccumulated toxic heavy metals harming young minds.

—

“Haemorrhage of human foetal cortex associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection” January 16, 2023 Brain. Academicoupdotcom

“COVID-19 Infection May Induce Fetal Brain Hemorrhages, Scientists Warn”
January 23, 2023 sciencealertdotcom

Posted by: suzan | Jan 23 2023 5:03 utc | 61

@ Grieved | Jan 23 2023 4:24 utc | 60

Thanks Grieved. Will read.

Posted by: suzan | Jan 23 2023 5:05 utc | 62

All fine and good, except that you're wrong about the Sweden and Canada comparisons - China's utilities, education system, natural commons and natural resources are far and away less privatized then they are in Canada and Sweden. That's the main reason they're ever on the radar for balkanization and regime change. Western private finance/capital wants in and wants to turn China into Sweden or Canada.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 22 2023 18:43 utc | 29

Considering that Sweden has a higher wealth Gini (google how IKEA avoids taxes with their non-profit status), has a higher total stock market value/GDP ratio and higher housing prices than the US, it's hard to think that their differences from the US involve any differences about the economic system.

The real income inequalities in the US and Sweden are also not far apart. The difference in income Gini coefficients between the two countries is less than 0.04 (about 0.55 vs 0.51+), after adjusting for welfare acceptance, tax underreporting, indirect taxes and local taxes, based on tax data.

Btw, do not tell the "leftist" supporters of Ukraine that the wealth Gini in Ukraine is even higher than that in Russia.

Posted by: Colin | Jan 23 2023 5:30 utc | 63

@ Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 23 2023 0:59 utc | 54

Tom, have you picked up anything by Cory Morningstar? She wrote a two volume set about 3-4 years ago: The Manufacturing of Greta Thunberg – for Consent It was available for download and copied it all into a Word Doc at the time. I failed to copy the URL for the first volume and the 2nd vol. URL gave me a warning(Firefox) about malicious software when I tried to go there just now. (Put in the www. and then add wrongkindofgreen.org/2019/09/11/the-manufacturing-of-greta-thunberg-for-consent-volume-ii-act-i-a-design-to-win-a-multi-billion-dollar-investment/ if you want to try it.)
Brief summary of Vol 1:

Vol. 1
In ACT I, I disclose that Greta Thunberg, the current child prodigy and face of the youth movement to combat climate change, serves as special youth advisor and trustee to the burgeoning mainstream tech start-up, We Don’t Have Time.
In ACT II, I illustrate how today’s youth are the sacrificial lambs for the ruling elite.
In ACT III, I deconstruct how Al Gore and the planet’s most powerful capitalists are behind today’s manufactured youth movements and why.
In ACT IV, I examine the current campaign, now unfolding, in “leading the public into emergency mode”. More importantly, I summarize who and what this mode is to serve.
In ACT V, I take a closer look at the Green New Deal.
In the final act, ACT VI [Crescendo], I wrap up the series by divulging that the very foundations which have financed the climate “movement”

Vol. 2 is not summarized but has a wealth of info.

Posted by: waynorinorway | Jan 23 2023 5:59 utc | 64

And this has been going on for at least 60 years. What we're seeing from Pharma today is actually no more than standard practice.

We live in a world of poisons and harms. This book may help some to navigate that world.

Posted by: Grieved | Jan 23 2023 4:24 utc | 60

As a proud nerd and long time vaccine recipient who has read the economics literature extensively for a long time, I am extremely shocked by the extremely obvious and shitty statistical tricks in the medical literature that have led me go down this rabbit hole.

Economists are known for playing these kinds of tricks to justify whatever conclusions their funders need. But this aspect of the medical literature is even scarier: papers studying the efficiency of influenza vaccines or the dangers of smoking make almost no distinction between confounding factors or even consider making that distinction at all.

In fact, flu vaccines increase pneumonia mortality and other mortality rates, not the other way around, but vaccine manufacturers and vaccinators clearly don't need this truth.

Just as the oral polio vaccine increases health risks as much as it decreases them, but anyone who points this out is abused with cheap name-calling tricks.

The world is always full of hypocrisy, malice and hurt. But these contemporary evils have risen to new heights.

Posted by: Colin | Jan 23 2023 5:59 utc | 65

@ Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 22 2023 18:27 utc | 25

If one were to examine the map of old Pissberger. Just one-half a jump to the old Mesta plant. Is the old GM Fisher body plant at West Mifflin on Lebanon School road.

Thus according to Conspiracy theorists trash lying rubbish. Premier K., whose plane landed at "Greater Pittsburgh Airport(Allegheny County Airport)". Should have driven down Lebanon Road to reach the Mesta Plant. Where the old GM Fisher Body works plant existed. Ergo must have paused and visited said GM body plant en route to and from his visit to the old Mesta Plant. According to the crazy faulty logic micromononeurons the majority of 99.998% conspiracy theorists possess.

Conspiracy theorists= "Stupid is as stupid does".

Posted by: Bad Deal Motors On | Jan 23 2023 7:18 utc | 66

Maybe there are still people who don't know. The Carnegie Institute (and the Moscow Times) is a key institution in the color revolution against Russia. What's more, this institution's forecasts for the Russian economy deviate completely from the consensus of Western economic forecasts. Even the IMF sees the Russian economy falling only slightly by 0.8% in 2023 and rising 2.6% in 2024 (so it will take only one year, not three to five, to be back to growth).

The Carnegie Institute has taken this paranoia to a new level, after the consensus once thought that the Russian economy would fall by about 10% in 2022 (actually less than 3%).

Still, the Western media did not feel it was enough son they inflate the numbers further to "decades".

Posted by: Colin | Jan 23 2023 7:23 utc | 67

Huh??????????

Back in the reality of the real world. Lies kill, facts save.

"2.5 million people died from pneumonia in 2019. Almost a third of all victims were children younger than 5 years, it is the leading cause of death for children under 5.

Pneumonia is an infection of the tiny air sacs of the lungs, called alveoli. In a person with pneumonia the alveoli are filled with pus and fluid, which makes breathing painful and reduces the oxygen intake. Pneumonia is caused by a number of different infectious agents, including viruses, bacteria and fungi."

"The annual mortality caused by seasonal influenza was estimated by the Global Pandemic Mortality Project II using data between 2002 and 2011. They estimated that, during this period, seasonal influenza caused between 294,000 and 518,000 deaths each year globally."*
*Our world in data.

Need one say more? Who will save the children? Shall build a memorial to fallen angels? Shall we ban penicillin?

Posted by: Bad Deal Motors On | Jan 23 2023 8:27 utc | 68

Posted by: Colin | Jan 23 2023 5:59 utc | 65

Open-eyed sceptical Scientist here. I agree with confounding variables and tricks with numbers used to hide truths.

Can you pls show me how you found that polio increases risks as much or more ,than actually decreasing them ?

Posted by: Brother Ma | Jan 23 2023 8:41 utc | 69

Mexico will introduce a visa-free regime with Russia

Currently, active consultations are taking place on this issue.

“Consultations with the competent authorities both in the Foreign Ministry and in the federal state administration to make a decision on this issue continue. It should be noted that since 2010, Mexico has unilaterally taken concrete steps to facilitate the entry of Russian citizens into Mexico using the Electronic Authorization System (SAE). It can be obtained free of charge, quickly, bypassing the need to go to the consular office,”- Izvestia wrote with reference to the Mexican embassy in Moscow.

https://t.me/azmilitary11/34492

"Isolated"...

Posted by: unimperator | Jan 23 2023 10:11 utc | 70

Who will save the children? Shall build a memorial to fallen angels? Shall we ban penicillin?
Posted by: Bad Deal Motors On | Jan 23 2023 8:27 utc | 68

On the off chance you are sincere - when someone says they think the pharmaceutical industry is corrupt it doesn’t mean they hate all modern medicine and want your kids to die.

Posted by: Rae | Jan 23 2023 10:14 utc | 71

Wrt any defence of pharmaceutical companies… when I’ve been bored enough to investigate the dark web it has been fairly underwhelming. Active parts are mostly illegal services, drugs, porn and crypto and it is hard to find any active community worth delving in to. Dead parts are more interesting - some of it reminds me of trawling BBS in the early 90s, just small sites with a few files and a few rants.

The most interesting thing I’ve found, by far, was a data dump from a pharmaceutical company. One of those moments where I realise I’m still incredibly naive. The emails were inhuman - dislike falling back on old cliches but the only word that feels right is evil. There is no depth they have not already sunk to.

Posted by: Rae | Jan 23 2023 10:39 utc | 72

Tom_Q_Collins #53

Re Greta Fraudwalker

Do you have any sources that provide a more deep dive into how she's being used to actually discredit the climate science/policy debate? I haven't seen a lot of discussion on it; generally just plain old making fun of her, but I'd be very interested to see an argument fleshed out from the non-denier side against the (not so) Great Greta.

Unfortunately I have no material as you requested. It is my observation of the practice of co-option or disempowerment. Movements can be either discredited or disempowered. Thinking of Joe Hill in the USA, he was a very effective union organiser among the copper miners and the mining bosses fitted him up for a murder charge and then had the courts execute him. Ghislane Maxwell and Epstein were experts at setting up future control mechanisms where/if needed.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jan 23 2023 10:45 utc | 73

waynorinorway #64

Cory Morningstar.

Now that I read your post I do recall listening to and reading odds and ends by Cory Morningstar some time back. Lost in my murky memory.

Apologies Tom_Q_Collins #53 there was Cory and that cvomplemented by experience in the early days in Australia as the Greens were a dreaming and not yet tangible. I observed a few middle class colleagues with no marxist leanings and being children of elite parents quickly oppress my class analysis environmental politics and activism. They were hastily elevated to 'national advisory groups' in the national capitol to whisper words of wisdom to reactionary Labor Governments regarding environmental matters and greenie kibbutzes that were extant at the time. They were the 'safe legitimate representatives' to be empowered. Weasel words going nowhere but institutionalising the mass movement that evolved from anti-war youth.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jan 23 2023 10:59 utc | 74

Can you pls show me how you found that polio increases risks as much or more ,than actually decreasing them ?

Posted by: Brother Ma | Jan 23 2023 8:41 utc | 69

Oral polio vaccine causes infants to become infected with polio, produces other adverse effects, and increases the risk of death from all-cause death rate after age 2 (or 12 months) & non-respiratory infection death rate. This offsets its grossly overestimated benefits .

Posted by: Colin | Jan 23 2023 11:24 utc | 75

unimperator @ 70

Mexico will introduce a visa-free regime with Russia... "Isolated"...

Double edged sword. It also makes Mexico a refuge for Russian dissidents, anti-Putin oligarchs, and draft dodgers. Might be an underhanded agreement with USA not against.

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Jan 23 2023 11:30 utc | 76

This morning British energy suppliers are asking smart meter customers to use off peak times for high energy applications in exchange for Incentives .

What suppliers have actually done is to recently steeply increase the daytime tariff for dual rate Economy 7 customers, which is a stick, not a carrot.

The Economy daytime rate used to be level with the normal 24/7 rate, with a discount rate for off peak, but it is now 10 pence more per kWh. The stick means Economy 7 customers are paying much more than before.
That's a clear disincentive to use Economy 7 off peak tariffs.

With thanks to the German MoD for for their inspirational reply to US tank blackmail.
I was better off before you came along and cut off my gas supply.

Posted by: Giyane | Jan 23 2023 11:41 utc | 77

This is an interesting dynamic that is going to result in some serious changes on the Geo-political scene. Who knows? Maybe President Biden will sell Hawaii or Alaska to China to pay the debt.

Posted by: Rufus Arrr | Jan 23 2023 4:22 utc | 59

Or perhaps sell Washington DC to China.

Oh, wait...

Posted by: David Levin | Jan 23 2023 14:28 utc | 78

Posted by: Giyane | Jan 23 2023 11:41 utc | 78

I'd had enough of being gouged by the gas and electricity companies, and squeezed by inept govt energy policy, so I bough 500L of Kerosene and installed a £106 chinese parking heater on my Kitchen wall. The air intake and exhaust go through the hole which used to be occupied by the outlet of a cooker hood. With a hole through the ceiling and some three-way ducting I lashed together, it's using a litre of fuel (£0.80) every four hours, and warming my Kitchen, bathroom and office/spare bedroom which share the 3Kw output of hot air.

I'm also recovering 460 Watts of heat from the exhaust using the EGR cooler of a Ford transit van I won on ebay for £6. This provides around 40L of 58C hot water every 5 hours. Cold tap water is currently 7C in my locality.

I calculate I'm paying 7.2p/kWHr vs 10.3p for gas or 33p for electricty.

Posted by: GT Stroller | Jan 23 2023 15:08 utc | 79

It should be noted that in every direction the Covid meme is coming undone, the latest being Dilbert creator Scott Adams in a hilarious YouTube admitting that all those who refused Vaxx are better off

Posted by: SwissArmyMan | Jan 23 2023 15:22 utc | 80

Imagine joining a free trade treaty, and ending up imposing economic sanctions that hurt your own economy.
Imagine joining a mutual defense treaty, and ending up joining a provoked war that puts your own country at risk.

Posted by: Passerby | Jan 23 2023 16:01 utc | 81

@ Posted by: Rae | Jan 23 2023 10:14 utc | 71

A coin has three sides with three ways to seek the correct path. A lie will always put you permanently on the wrong path. Or the path the scammers need you to follow. By dangling 2% in front of your nose.

Who will save the children is pure sarcasm!

Because one-third of all preventable deaths from pneumonia are actual children under the age of five years old. If only their parents had not ignored the serious nature of this bacterial infection..........

In one post there appears to be massive over the top confusion between cause and effect. Then shift the direct blame to the very beneficial well documented annual anti-viral flu shot. Then label it ah, that is the primary cause of bacterial pneumonia! Is that just another self-initiated faulty logic lie bomb? To say all big pharma is evil. Is it really?

The benefits of all vaccines are well documented. Which also includes an effective feedback loop.

The only way I use to eliminate 98% of the billion identical lies sourced from a dirty dozen originating sources on trace back. Is by the use of "Google Scholar".
There are a rather lot of fake experts all selling their 2% tales awaiting for the next victim driving by to be fleeced.
That which is usually too good to be true usually is.

Posted by: Bad Deal Motors On | Jan 23 2023 16:14 utc | 82

Posted by: Bad Deal Motors On | Jan 23 2023 16:14 utc | 83

In many studies, the influenza vaccine was significantly associated with increased all-cause mortality in children, even with favorable selection bias

The elderly who were relatively healthy at the time of vaccination often "somehow" had a significant reduction in mortality advantage over the less healthy elderly in the year following vaccination.

The research methodology in papers on influenza vaccine efficency in general is so bad that I'm starting to wonder if chemistry has similar problems (needless to say, biology obviously has similar problems).

Maybe I'll finally have to take the red pill of radical antipositivism and admit that there are many problems with physics.

Posted by: Colin | Jan 23 2023 17:23 utc | 83

I´m quite surprised to see some of your comments about Greta Thunberg. I thought your political conciousness was deeper than that. Why do you expect Greta a very young girl, 18 years old, to always make wise decisions.
Haven´t you as a young person yourself made many mistakes, and said many inaccuracies?
Greta supported Navalnyj once on Twitter, but as soon as she got to know who he was, she stopped supporting him. And all that bullshit about her éarning so much money, or her parents....I myself don´t share her parent´s political opinion, but Greta has done such a marvellous thing , she´s gives millions of young people hope and fighting spirit.In Sweden many young men love Greta, but she seems to annoy some older men to breaking point, and they are very often sceptic to consensus in climate policy, is that so with you too? Greta matures politically, her last manifestation contented words as "profit and growth".And she always talk with scientists before she´s talking to politics or audiences. So, come on, help Greta with comments on twitter, for example, to increase her awareness about politics.

Posted by: Northern Eve | Jan 23 2023 18:11 utc | 84

I'd just like to suggest for new posters that there is another open thread not Ukraine usually posted midweek but this last week it was posted on Friday. The easy way to get to it is to scroll down from this post to the previous Ukraine open thread and follow b's link to 'not Ukraine' at the top of that thread.

I would highly recommend most posts on Friday's open thread -- too many to reference directly. I'll just post the one I found first, going there this morning, with apologies if it has already been referenced here:

I spotted this story by Wall Street on Parade further down.

Remember those Fed bailouts of the mega banks on Wall Street during and after the 2008 financial crisis that the Federal Reserve battled in court for years to keep secret from the American people? Those bailouts went to the same Wall Street mega banks that collapsed the U.S. economy with their unbridled greed and unchecked corruption. The banks were even allowed to pay big bonuses to their execs with the bailout funds.
When Senator Bernie Sanders forced the bailout details into the sunlight with a mandated government audit, the findings were so revolting that Senator Sanders had this to say:

“As a result of this audit, we now know that the Federal Reserve provided more than $16 trillion in total financial assistance to some of the largest financial institutions and corporations in the United States and throughout the world. This is a clear case of socialism for the rich and rugged, you’re-on-your-own individualism for everyone else.”

Well, bailouts for wayward banks are back in style in a big way. According to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings made by crypto-friendly banks, Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB) in San Francisco, Boston, New York and Pittsburgh have made large advances of money to banks facilitating crypto in various ways as bank depositors yanked their cash and/or the banks’ share prices tanked.

Among the crypto-friendly banks tapping into these FHLB advances are Silvergate Capital, parent of Silvergate Bank; Signature Bank; Provident Bancorp (owner of BankProv); and Ally Financial. This may, however, be just the tip of the iceberg because many crypto-engaged banks are not publicly traded and thus are not required to file SEC reports. S&P Global reports that as of October of last year, “the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was aware of about 80 financial institutions under its supervision that expressed interest in cryptocurrency-related activities, and about 24 of them were actively engaged.”

Let that sink in for a moment: 24 federally-insured banks in the U.S. are being allowed by their federal regulators to actively engage in crypto when it has been thoroughly discredited by those in the know.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jan 20 2023 2:40 utc | 21

Posted by: juliania | Jan 23 2023 18:39 utc | 85

Anyone seen this?

220 million people w/o power. Any speculation, the usual suspects?

Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan has suffered a nationwide power outage due to a technical fault that left large swaths of the country, including the capital Islamabad, without electricity.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/23/pakistan-hit-by-nationwide-power-outage-after-grid

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Jan 23 2023 19:13 utc | 86

the death of Lisa Marie has hit me really hard. I can't imagine how hard it would have hit it me without the constant support of round the clock coverage.

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Jan 23 2023 20:21 utc | 87

LightYearsFromHome | Jan 23 2023 19:13 utc | 87
to quote HRC, let's hope this disaster in Pakistan doesn't interrupt the war on terrorism...

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Jan 23 2023 20:23 utc | 88

Bad Deal Motors On #83

The benefits of all vaccines are well documented. Which also includes an effective feedback loop.

'All vaccines'?

Drop the myopia and you might attain credibility.

https://www.science.org/content/article/dengue-vaccine-fiasco-leads-criminal-charges-researcher-philippines

Some vaccines have little to zero benefit. That has always been recognised and usually that is the reason for very careful, unrushed assessment and trials. Careful and rigorous testing eliminates the duds - mostly.

That certainly did not apply to the dengue vaccine and no doubt others and certainly NOT the covid vaccine stampede. In the west the entirely novel mRna - never fully tested approach - was prioritised when vaccines utilising tried and trusted technology were banned and obstructed.

This is voodoo and bribery - not science. And now the vax resistance has skyrocketed among the population and will be difficult to reverse even for beneficial vax.

Recognising and acknowledging the truth of this circumstance is important and you glib 'all vaccines are beneficial' line is ignorant.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jan 23 2023 21:32 utc | 89

So now I’ve got even less idea what your point of view is Bad Deal? (readily admit that, even in person, I occasionally miss some very obvious sarcasm!)

Another perspective on pharma has been brewing in my mind: trends I’ve noticed with medical weed. With synthetic drugs I can only assess the literature, it usually isn’t practical (or advisable) to test by first-hand trial and error. With weed, it’s effects and dosages are something I know very well. When doctors are prescribing 90g per month to friends for complaints like mild insomnia and anxiety… I know that is totally irresponsible. It makes me feel friggin naive again (this is happening too much!) when I consider they are probably being just as ridiculous with many medications.

Posted by: Rae | Jan 23 2023 21:35 utc | 90

juliania #86

Thank you for your reminder.

Here is the link: https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/01/four-crypto-friendly-banks-are-being-bailed-out-with-billions-from-a-federal-housing-program/

and another: https://wallstreetonparade.com/2022/11/evidence-grows-that-crypto-and-federally-insured-banks-are-a-combustible-mixture/

And today this doozy: https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/01/bankruptcy-judge-in-manhattan-rules-that-crypto-exchange-customers-lost-ownership-of-4-2-billion-when-they-deposited-it-into-earn-accounts/

Customers of bankrupt crypto platforms who have been locked out of withdrawing from their accounts for months, are learning the hard way that U.S. bankruptcy court judges in New York and Delaware have little sympathy for their plight. Instead, there has been an uncanny propensity to side with big corporate law firms like Kirkland & Ellis and Sullivan & Cromwell.

The USA court system is part of the pickpocket cartel :/

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jan 23 2023 21:44 utc | 91

Northern Eve #85

So, come on, help Greta with comments on twitter, for example, to increase her awareness about politics.

Twitter? AYFKM. Just send Greta this report by Jimmy Dore for her to reflect on and she will benefit enormously as it is loaded with strategies to actually engage and get her message heard. I suggest you twitter post it daily and see what happens - to your account.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL_mG6I1jy8

She remains Greta Fraudwalker until further notice imo.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jan 23 2023 21:53 utc | 92

Thanks, b, for another week in review. On Ukraine, I see everyone’s getting testy, nerves are fraying, tempers rising.

Big Serge is mildly insulted over reaction to Bakhmut. “In fact, the insistence that Bakhmut is not operationally significant is mildly insulting to the audience, both because a quick glance at a map clearly shows it at the heart of the regional road network, and because Ukraine has thrown a huge number of units into the front there.”

Mozart Group is stirring up resentment: “And according to the suit, Milburn sent “hostile and caustic messages” to a retired commanding general of U.S. Special Operations Command Europe after the general declined to join Mozart (the retired general was not named). Milburn’s conduct, the suit added, exasperated senior Ukrainians.

“Defendant Milburn is now commonly referred to by Ukrainian military leadership as the ‘Crazy American,’” it alleges.”

John Helmer reports that German General Kujat is perturbed: The General notes “I find it particularly annoying that German security interests and the dangers to our country posed by an expansion and escalation of the war are given so little attention.”

http://johnhelmer.net/german-general-kujat-warns-the-ukraine-war-is-lost-revives-the-stab-in-the-back-charge-against-the-us-and-nato-for-exposing-germany-to-russia/

The American Conservative reacts to Scholz’s essay in Foreign Affairs (which I’ll have to read more closely now): “There is plenty to blame Russia for. But here in the West a pattern continues of blaming Russia prior to an investigation, or even despite one. Blame Russia, whatever the facts.” (He doth protest.)

And in that UNZ Review link, also on Germany, Whitney writes:
“If Biden thought he could sandbag the leader of the world’s third biggest economy by cornering him in a public forum, he guessed wrong.” Now, in a world with more honest accounting who would actually be the leader of the world’s third biggest economy? It’s interesting to ponder.

Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Jan 23 2023 22:51 utc | 93

"... now the vax resistance has skyrocketed among the population and will be difficult to reverse even for beneficial vax..." uncle tungsten@90

This is very true and ought to be of considerable concern. Most vaccines in common use have been proved to be efficacious and to have few serious side effects.

The current hysteria, inspired by anarcho-libertarians who, not very privately, believe that sick people should die quietly unless they can afford to pay for treatment and that the population is in need of culling, for a variety of neo-malthusian economic reasons, is going to lead to lots of reluctance to vaccinate kids, which will lead in turn to sickness, mortality and epidemic events, which will be difficult to control because a credulous population, having fallen prey to a false ideology, will fight against the implementation of necessary measures.

People are right to distrust capitalist corporations involved in selling cures, they are right to distrust the measures taken by governments controlled by the owners of the economy, they are right to question the information retailed by the media.

But they are wrong to transfer their trust to the worst elements of the capitalist class, those who see social security, pensions, public education and even public health, leave alone socialised medicine, as intolerable burdens on the wealthy, cutting into the capital accumulation that is their religion.

Nationalise the pharmaceutical industry, put an end to the profit motive in healthcare, democratise the administration of public health and review the regulation and testing of all medicines by scientists and consumers with nothing to gain from the sale of worthless drugs.

Posted by: bevin | Jan 23 2023 23:15 utc | 94

bevin #95

Hear, hear. Thank you for every word. Wisdom.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jan 23 2023 23:54 utc | 95

I found geographic interest in the TASS article Lavrov arrives in Kingdom of Eswatini as part of his African tour, mainly because I hadn't gotten the memo about its name having been changed from "Swaziland".

Posted by: David Levin | Jan 24 2023 0:39 utc | 96

Posted by: bevin | Jan 23 2023 23:15 utc | 95

To add to your post vaccination of children should return to the principles of the hippocratic oath: first do no harm.
Its all very well to generalise about reluctance to vaccinate kids when in the western world there has been no truly objective measure for a century, leaving it to parents to shoulder the burden of choosing for the best outcome for their child and face extreme vilification for it.

I'm with you on the right wing politicisation and co opting of the anti vaccine movement. Its so banal yet people are falling for it. But vaccine protest is an old grass roots resistance dating back to the late 1700's when chemical medicine was making its move on the world. There is nothing wrong with scepticism or protest until there is solid proof that something works and does no harm.

It seems that Chinese and Cuban vaccines do not generally harm citizens also Russian as far as we know. So until capitalism is not in control of vaccines the people should resist it just like we should every other from of capitalist anti human domination, in my opinion

Posted by: K | Jan 24 2023 1:06 utc | 97

So, come on, help Greta with comments on twitter, for example, to increase her awareness about politics.

Posted by: Northern Eve | Jan 23 2023 18:11 utc | 85

You make a good point. I was quite disgusted at this episode from Jimmy Dore.
Exactly two old white men dumping on a 20 year old girl. It was gross and weird. if he is right about her then pick on her handlers. His argument that she is an adult because 18 year olds go to war is moronic. While supporting his apparent truth telling, I have never enjoyed his kind of humour. Taking people down, attacking them personally is lazy journalism and even more so when it is aimed at a hardly mature young woman.

Posted by: K | Jan 24 2023 1:28 utc | 98

@ bevin - vaccine, or mrna technology? is there a difference? i think there is.. you make it sound as though, if you have seen one vaccine, you have seen them all... i don't see it that way...

Posted by: james | Jan 24 2023 1:31 utc | 99

@ Northern Eve | Jan 23 2023 18:11 utc | 85

Greta Thunberg?

Till she takes the Trans Siberia express to China for an extended visit I can't take a single word she says seriously.

Posted by: Antonym | Jan 24 2023 2:09 utc | 100