“America’s pundits have a problem comprehending equal relationships between two sovereign and independent nations.” — Bhadrakumar, 30 March.
Shorter, older, predictive–
“Pride goeth before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Posted by: Elmagnostic | Mar 30 2023 14:37 utc | 4

Elmagnostic@4
Bhadrakumar is very clear: the “fall” predicted for “the haughty spirit” of the United States is nothing more dramatic, or uncomfortable, than a return to earth from its drug crazed dreams in la-la land. More like a victim of mental disease being escorted, kindly, back to his room than punishment, revenge or censure.
Uncle Sam always was a little too partial to distilled spirits-Russians understand the weakness- now his friends are offering him a ride home and help, if needed, getting to bed, to sleep it off.
“…It is the common concern of Russia and China that the world order must return to an international system with the UN at its core and a world order based on international law. There is no question that the two countries’ strategy is to overturn the “rules-based order” dominated by the US and return to an international order centred on the UN.
“In fact, Article 5 is the very soul of the joint statement issued in Moscow: “The two sides reaffirm their commitment to firmly upholding the international system with the United Nations at its core, the international order based on international law and the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and oppose all forms of hegemonism, unilateralism and power politics, the Cold War mentality, confrontation between camps and the establishment of cliques targeting specific countries.”
“Make no mistake that this is not about removing the US as the boss and replacing it with China, but about effectively checking the US from bullying smaller, weaker states, and thereby ushering in a new international order with primacy on peaceful development and political correctness that overrides all ideological differences.”

Posted by: bevin | Mar 30 2023 15:00 utc | 6

“.. not one nation yet has actually called out that initial transgression which I find stunning…”
karlofi.
You would have to go backwards to 1945 with a very fine-toothed comb to discover instances of those governments actually talking truth to the Great Power. I suspect that there were a few- De Gaulle, for example, always regarded the idea that there was any power greater than him, under heaven, as silly. He was given to saying what he thought. Perhaps he was destroyed in 1968 with US help, I doubt it but…
Nehru was given to independent thinking and speach, too, though the boder war with China in 1962(?) quietened him. Then there was Sukarno and we all know what happened to him. And Tito- they didn’t get him but they certainly ripped up his country in anger to make sure that his heresies were discredited. There was Nkrumah, too.
Then there was Machel of Mozambique. Dag Hammarskjold. And- a twofer- the Presidents of Rwanda and Burundi, who made way for a man educated at Fort Leavenworth, where the flu pandemic began.
There was Mahathir of Malaysia- the guy Chumbawumba were singing about. And then there was Palme.
It’s not so much that nobody “called out” the Empire but that those who did, like Allende, got killed, in fairly short order. Take Ghadaffi, for example. Or Qasem Soleimani.
There is probably a little room in Heaven reserved for enemies of America.

Posted by: bevin | Mar 30 2023 15:48 utc | 8

Yellen says U.S. bank rules may be too loose, need re-examination,
She also called for stronger regulation of the growing non-bank, or “shadow bank”, sector.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 30 2023 14:59 utc | 5

Except the woke banks that failed were not shadow banks and were following regulations.
But then the people who pursue a career as regulators probably didn’t got a job anywhere else.

Posted by: Vikichka | Mar 30 2023 16:00 utc | 10

@Outraged | Mar 30 2023 13:57 utc | 1
“Sign in to confirm your age”. Nope. Is this an 18+ song ?

Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 30 2023 16:13 utc | 12

bevin @8–
Thanks for your reply and your “toast” to those listed. Perhaps you recall the Star Trek episode where they visited a planet run by Mafiosi that was “born” from a book some previous visitor had left behind? There were other episodes that also offered excellent critiques of the Empire’s foreign and domestic behavior that was continued with the Next Generation in its very first season, the episode “Encounter at Farpoint” (1987) with its trial of humanity by Q. But the provision of such comparisons don’t seem to have done any good in altering the Empire’s behavior. Perhaps that partly explains the Trekies phenomenon. I thought the trial an excellent idea but it was aimed at humanity as a whole, not the entity responsible for its Anti-Human crimes.
At any rate, it appears the RoW with Russia and China in the vanguard are finally leading/liberating humanity away/from Western dominance. The key being the neutering of its hegemonic structures from which it’s able to exert control. As with all previous imperialist nations, once they are weaned of their ability to extract tribute they must deal with the austerity that imposes since they’re no longer allowed to live beyond their means.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 30 2023 16:19 utc | 14

Is this a link?
Every Citizen a Statesman: The Dream of a Democratic Foreign Policy in the American Century
David Allen
Harvard University Press, $45 (cloth)
https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/mass-destruction/?utm_source=Boston+Review+Email+Subscribers&utm_campaign=82f1bc8b85-newsletter_3_30_23&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_2cb428c5ad-82f1bc8b85-40733801&mc_cid=82f1bc8b85&mc_eid=915815838d

Posted by: bevin | Mar 30 2023 16:28 utc | 16

Vikichka @11–
When the income tax law was passed, it was meant to apply only to those with excessive incomes. Through the formative years of US industrial expansion, the tariff, other duties and fees were enough to finance the federal government and build its Navy; the massive expansion of government with its acquisition of an overseas Empire after the war against Spain required more revenues, which is why the income tax and then more taxes, as government continued to expand in size. And today’s revenues aren’t anywhere close to enough to keep the federal government solvent–its equity was a negative $126 Trillion as announced at the end of the 2022 fiscal year and is even worse now. Only the debt is talked about, not this massive equity shortfall.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 30 2023 16:31 utc | 18

regulators get regular jobs all the time, in the industries they regulate after they prove they are worthy by not regulating them effectively.

Posted by: pretzelattack | Mar 30 2023 16:34 utc | 20

When the income tax law was passed, it was meant to apply only to those with excessive incomes.
Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 30 2023 16:31 utc | 18

Equally bad. The tax is only meant to punish the productive and reward the non-productive.
A 5 minutes video explains it in very simple and understandable terms:
https://www.prageru.com/video/the-progressive-income-tax-a-tale-of-three-brothers

Posted by: Vikichka | Mar 30 2023 16:47 utc | 22

Malaysia wants more investment and role building Belt & Road initiative projects.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysian-pm-anwar-calls-for-revived-push-on-china-s-belt-and-road-projects

Posted by: unimperator | Mar 30 2023 16:50 utc | 24

@ psychohistorian | Mar 30 2023 16:25 utc | 15
okay psychohistorian… thanks for looking at the first article… that is fairly dismissive of you, but whatever.. i don’t feel like arguing.. cheers james

Posted by: james | Mar 30 2023 17:00 utc | 26

“Artificial Intelligence” [AI] is also used to create strategies to game any system to yield any desired outcome. With computer memory being virtually unlimited, this makes AI the perfect tool for its privileged users to game/control any and all human activity.
It is already being used to dominate outcomes. It’s mis-use is only natural…as if it was deliberately programmed into the future of mankind’s “freedom” to self-destruct.
I.e., maybe humanity has been gamed. Humanity should get busy un=gaming itself.

Posted by: chu teh | Mar 30 2023 17:11 utc | 28

Neofuedalfuture no. 19
We are up shit creek without a paddle:
“UN warns of ‘draining humanity’s lifeblood’ amid worsening water scarcity
Secretary general urges countries to tackle ‘vampiric overconsumption’, water guzzling industries and climate crisis”
(22nd March)
A study by an independent water commission revealed by 2030 there would only be 40% of the planet’s water needs.

Posted by: ThusspakeZarathustra | Mar 30 2023 17:29 utc | 30

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 30 2023 17:46 utc | 31
Here you have a not too long interview of Lavrov by the Cuban Prensa Latina. One of the questions concerns CELAC as a regional organization that does not include the USA and Canada and its possible representation in the G20, interesting after the recent summit in Dominican Republic where Borrell tried to get a resolution condemning Russia just to go home empty handed, another defeat for the busboy of imperial policies.
https://mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/1860706/

Posted by: Paco | Mar 30 2023 18:05 utc | 32

@ LightYearsFromHome | Mar 30 2023 18:11 utc | 33 who wrote
”
Anyone serious would be asking why we have a shadow banking sector, and making plans to exorcise it.
”
Agreed!
A whole bunch of current finance structure is to obfuscate and game the system for the cult that runs the show. If all finance was run by sovereign countries as a public utility we would only have bad actor nations that would be called out by the rest…..which is what we are seeing by the China/Russia axis
The question is how long it is going to take to exorcise the greedy bastards of our world so the meek can inherit it.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 30 2023 18:21 utc | 34

Paco @32–
Thanks for your reply. I have the interview in my queue, but first I posted Maria’s Ukriane breifing and now I’m going to provide Lavrov’s response to the question about the UNSC vote to NOT follow the UNSG’s order to sanction an inquiry into the Nord Stream Terror Bombing during his presser after his conversations with the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Nicaragua Denis Moncada:

Question: The UN Security Council rejected Russia’s draft resolution on the establishment of a commission to investigate terrorist attacks on Nord Streams. What further steps does Moscow, and in particular the Russian Foreign Ministry, plan to take in this direction?
Sergey Lavrov: It was an instructive and informative sight to watch Western countries “twist and turn” at a meeting of the UN Security Council, if only not to approve the Secretary-General’s instruction to organise an impartial, objective and transparent investigation into the obvious terrorist attacks carried out against the Nord Stream gas pipelines.
Everyone understands that these were terrorist attacks. And that the “stigma in the cannon” of too serious representatives of the West. They do not want this investigation to be truly objective. In one voice, the Western countries and the rest of the members of the UN Security Council, who, under the most severe pressure from the Anglo-Saxons, the French and others, joined the group of abstentionist states, asked why they should disperse their forces. They say that there are national investigations that were initiated by Denmark, Sweden and Germany. And that we need to wait for their results. And then, like, everything will become clear.
Our next actions will be aimed at preventing these national investigations and those who have sworn that they will be enough to establish the truth from “jumping off the hook”. We will deal with this meticulously. The topic is far from closed.
We understand the ability of the West to lie, to promise something “with blue eyes”, and then once again to show a chronic inability to negotiate, including with regard to the investigation of certain incidents.
We remember how much the West has lied over the past twenty years. 2007: polonium poisoning of A.V. Litvinenko in a London clinic. Immediately they accused us, proclaimed punishments. Then the process of investigating this incident was classified, calling it “public”. In British jurisprudence, there are solid ambiguous terms. In England, a “public” process means a “closed” process in which government agencies can classify certain issues.
Britain again: the poisoning of the Skripals in Salisbury. It immediately accused us on a “highly likely” basis. We were denied all official requests, drawn up in full compliance with international conventions, to provide information about our citizens. This is a flagrant violation of all obligations to cooperate with law enforcement agencies. Until now, no one knows not only about the results of numerous tests conducted in the territory of Salisbury, where, according to British investigators, received a “lethal” dose, the Skripals miraculously survived, but also about where they are. These are our citizens. Informing Russia about their whereabouts is the direct responsibility of those who “hid” them.
A.A.Navalny. It was clear to everyone that it was “unclean” here. The most “flashy” example: in Germany, where tests were carried out that allegedly showed the presence of banned chemicals in his blood, they categorically refused to transfer this analysis to Russia. You know what they said? That they cannot do this, because the analysis was carried out in the clinic of the Bundeswehr (in the civil clinic, the Germans did not find anything in A.A. Navalny). They said that they would not give us this analysis, because in this way we would be able to get information about the state of their biological science. This is quite an “interesting” recognition. They sent us to the OPCW. They say that they have transferred everything there, and they will tell you everything there. And the Organization also did not say anything, referring to the fact that this is the property of the German side. This is not surprising, because the OPCW has long been privatized by the West through measures taken in flagrant violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Now the leadership of the Technical Secretariat of this organization openly fulfills the order of the Anglo-Saxons, the French and other Western countries.
And another investigation (if we are talking about how much we can hope for fair results of certain research on Western justice) concerns the Malaysian Boeing that crashed in July 2014. They created an investigative group consisting of Holland, Australia, Belgium and Ukraine. Although the practice of investigating such things is that the country that may relate to the causes of the incident is not invited. Since the disaster occurred in the airspace of Ukraine, it was obvious to everyone that such an invitation was impractical to make. Nevertheless, Ukraine was invited. Moreover, Malaysia, whose plane crashed, was not invited. Malaysia was called only a few months later.
Then, at the first stage, this “cell group” (Australia, Holland and Belgium, together with Ukraine) concluded a secret agreement among themselves: no information not agreed between this “quartet” should not be released. After that, during the investigation, we provided all the data (including primary) from our radars. Ukraine provided nothing. So did the United States, which immediately declared that its satellites had seen everything. Like, Russia is to blame. But the data themselves from these satellites were not provided to anyone. And the Dutch court obediently “lowered its eyes” and said, they say, if the Americans said that their satellites “detected” something, this is enough for us, we can not transfer the materials.
This investigation and trial is not honored by the fact that there were more than 12 witnesses and all but one remained anonymous. No one knows their names.
I have been telling for so long as not to have any illusions about how honestly the West investigates certain incidents for which it is directly responsible, and how honestly and frankly the West can admit what will be revealed in this or that case.
Yet, for all our skeptical zeal over how the Western investigation will end, we will not lag behind them. They all refused to support the international investigation, citing the flawlessness of the investigations in their “narrow” circle. I don’t think they can get away from the answer. Or at least if they continue to dodge, their own public opinion will understand what they are worth. [My Emphasis]

The RoW is going to sequester the Empire of Lies into its own specific bloc where they can lie about each other all they want while the RoW gets on with the serious business of advancing the human condition. Eventually, nations will grow tired of being sequestered and seek to escape and rejoin humanity. Yes, this will take time, but that outcome will eventually be attained.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 30 2023 18:28 utc | 36

La Michette @35–
From your Interfax link:
“An online slice may not fully reflect the real picture of budget execution, in particular, due to the schedule for the receipt of tax payments. The Ministry of Finance will publish a preliminary estimate of budget execution for the first quarter in early April.
“In January-February, according to preliminary data of the department, the budget deficit amounted to 2.6 trillion rubles. According to the law on the budget, federal budget revenues in 2023 are planned in the amount of 26 trillion 130.3 billion rubles, expenses – 29 trillion 55.6 billion rubles, deficit – 2 trillion 925.3 billion rubles.” [My Emphasis]
Note the deficit’s in rubles and that there’s no concern being voiced by members of government.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 30 2023 18:35 utc | 38

I feel like Chinese government will screw Vladimir Putin up. EU is far too essential for China’s economy.
https://www.politico.eu/article/we-cant-lose-china-eu-leaders-say-euco-summit-xi-jinping

Posted by: Aurora | Mar 30 2023 18:52 utc | 40

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 30 2023 16:19 utc | 14:

….it appears the RoW with Russia and China in the vanguard are finally leading/liberating humanity away/from Western dominance.

Leading/liberating humanity away from western dominance is an apt description of what Russia/China are doing since last year. I believe they are now doing this because 1) they are militarily and econmically developed enough to do so; 2) they have exhausted all other more considerate means of convincing the Empire to abide by international laws and norms. Their patience are worn out. They have given up on Empire being sensible. They have to do what they believe have to be done.
I wish them success, sooner the better.

Posted by: Oriental Voice | Mar 30 2023 18:55 utc | 42

Posted by: migueljose | Mar 30 2023 18:52 utc | 41
Excellent summary, my pain is the way he is treated here in Spain, the most populous Spanish speaking country and growing and all we can do here is uncle Sam’s dirty work, painful. Ukraine will be remembered in the USA when the smoke is at their door. I hope AMLO has a good personal security detail.

Posted by: Paco | Mar 30 2023 18:58 utc | 44

@ psychohistorian | Mar 30 2023 17:13 utc | 29
watch ‘princes of the yen’ and get back to me…
here is michael hudson referring to richard werners work back in 2008… you are much too quick to be dismissive here..
Financial Warfare against Labor and Industry

Posted by: james | Mar 30 2023 19:13 utc | 46

@Vicichka (11)
The top 1% of *income* earners should pay 47% of total income taxes. I would argue for an even higher amount, and of course we are not even including the billions of dollars that they scheme to shield from taxation.
It is important to distinguish between income and wealth. According to the most recent report from the Federal Reserve, the wealthiest 1% in the US possess about 16 times more wealth than the bottom 50%. That just isn’t right, IMO.
https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/dataviz/dfa/distribute/table/

Posted by: Rob | Mar 30 2023 19:35 utc | 48

Posted by: pretzelattack | Mar 30 2023 14:29 utc | 3
“…I hope you know that the safeguards that were put in place … is to make sure they don’t explode,” Walz said. “And they are punctured, they are leaking. The good news probably is with the relatively frozen ground, that the ethanol will burn off.” (Walz is the governator in Minnesota.)
…
BNSF, which is based in Fort Worth, Texas, is owned by Warren Buffett’s Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate.
——
the good news: “it’ll probably burn off.” it’s the best we can hope for here in the US. “Meh. it’ll probably burn off. or wash off. or evaporate. or biodegrade. at some point.”
somebody’s getting rich off the rail disasters in the US. i don’t think the fish and birds really care what humans call it, but it’s Warren Buffett. and his class.
Vikichka, do try to understand that, somebody’s getting rich off this nightmare, cuz you are seriously out of your element.

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Mar 30 2023 20:05 utc | 50

I haven’t seen any pieces published by Pepe Escobar in the past several weeks. Does anyone know what is happening with him?
Posted by: Rob | Mar 30 2023 19:10 utc | 45
I have seen him twitting a good deal lately, and in some not so usual outlets. Anyway, I think he is around.

Posted by: Bemildred | Mar 30 2023 20:25 utc | 52

migueljose @41–
Thanks for the suggestions.
Oriental Voice @42–
Thanks for your reply. What’s different now is RoW is finally gathering together and is unafraid thanks to the reassurances of those in the vanguard. More of that in a moment.
Rob @45–
Escobar’s latest, “In Moscow, Xi and Putin bury Pax Americana”, and his newest, “The Capital of the Multipolar World: A Moscow Diary”, just published today. Escobar went to Moscow to report on the Xi-Putin Summit and do some additional work. I follow his exploits on his VK (where we connect occasionally), his Telegram and Twitter, and now here’s back in Istanbul.
Paco mentioned above Lavrov’s interview with the Cuban news agency Prensa Latina, which is rather short by previous Lavrov standards. IMO, the last Q&A were the most significant and is as follows:

Question (translated from Spanish): You mentioned that Cuba has been blockaded by the United States for many years. Now they are applying punitive measures, including against Russia. What do you think are the prospects for relations between Russia and Cuba? Undoubtedly, this relationship is of a strategic nature.
Sergey Lavrov: Yes, the nature of our relations is described as a strategic partnership. But that’s a dry characteristic. They are deeper, rooted in human relations, in the sympathy between our peoples for each other. Of course, they will develop.
We have been cooperating for many decades, in the conditions of sanctions, when they tried to interfere with our relations in every possible way, to create difficulties. We have already developed mechanisms and the ability to achieve results, regardless of what restrictive measures the West takes. Now, together with all our friends and partners, we are developing new approaches to creating logistics chains, to financing, to banking operations, which will in no way depend on the whims of the United States.
Not only the countries of the Global South, the World Majority, but also a number of European countries want to get rid of them. They also understand that they are being used, including within the framework of the SWIFT system. European countries see what happens to their economies in a situation where they are forced to finance not only the war in Ukraine, but also everyday life in this country due to the inability of the Kiev regime to do this and do anything in this area. Europe is losing its competitive advantages, as the continent that was forced to abandon cheap Russian gas is approaching the line of deindustrialization, as European business leaves for the United States. It’s all not going to go away. A reassessment of everything that is happening has begun, including in the minds of European politicians. If there are politicians in whose minds nothing is happening yet, then I am convinced that the population of Europe will remind them and will try to penetrate a sense of reality into these minds. [My Emphasis]

Lavrov’s suggestion that CELAC could become a G-20 member was very encouraging and I hope will be viewed that way by its members and thus motivate them to increase their efforts. The Outlaw US Empire’s abilities are rapidly declining and are incapable of rebounding anytime soon, it cannot fight the entire world at once and in many respects can now be treated as a paper tiger.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 30 2023 20:56 utc | 54

An excellent article by Palestinian lawyer Zaha Hassan on the current crisis in Palestine.
“..Israeli society is experiencing what French-Martinique anti-colonial author and politician Aime Cesaire called the “boomerang effect of colonisation”. The work of Cesaire and others looked at how policies used on the colonised by colonial states could then be brought back to the imperial metropole and deployed against citizens.
“Under Israeli settler-colonialism, the geographic distinction between colony and metropole is barely present – but we are now witnessing that phenomenon, whereby some of the authoritarian tools forged by the Israeli state to control Palestinians are being turned on elements of the Israeli Jewish population. Parts of that population fear the curtailment of their own freedoms.
“The Israeli right’s push for judicial reforms was heavily motivated by the goal of entrenching occupation, permanently disenfranchising Palestinians, and cementing Jewish supremacy. While the courts have not prevented the gradual attainment of those goals – the massive matrix of settlements being one example of the Israeli court system’s colossal failure to uphold Palestinian rights – they nevertheless have served to obstruct and delay, and will likely be an obstacle to realising full annexation and mass expulsion.
“This helps to explain why the last holdouts to Netanyahu’s stopgap compromise, both in parliament and on the streets, were from the hard-right, religious settler camp…”
https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israel-judicial-crisis-boomerang-effect-colonisation

Posted by: bevin | Mar 30 2023 21:15 utc | 56

@39 Karlof1.
And who made you the arbiter of what is acceptable to read, and assigned you to tell people who to talk to?
Just as bad the media “fact” checkers.
Disgusting, feel free to ignore me. when you tell others what they should think then your the bad guy.

Posted by: neofeudalfuture | Mar 30 2023 21:38 utc | 58

The most dramatic effects of a weakening dollar will be scrutiny of the Pentagon budget. So long as the dollar is protected by its reserve currency status the party can continue. It is a pity that the US wasted the enormous value it got from its seignorage on arms destined to be useless but that is life. The public, as noted in the Boston Review article cited @16 above, has been axcuded from foreign policy decisions since 1945 so the enormous amounts spent on what is laughably called ‘Defence’ have been subject to very little public or congressional scrutiny.
The Pentagon says “Jump” and the American People reply “How High?”
De-dollarisation will put an end to that. Having to fork out money for weapons that are never used except on targets that they are totally inappropriate for (cf B52s and Afghan wedding parties) will help concentrate minds as Americans are asked to finance expenditure out of the taxes that they pay. And which bear disproportionately on those least able to pay them.
This year’s budget is discussed by William D. Hartung at Information Clearing House, which is returning to form after a lean period due to ill health.
“On March 13th, the Pentagon rolled out its proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2024. The results were — or at least should have been — stunning, even by the standards of a department that’s used to getting what it wants when it wants it.
“The new Pentagon budget would come in at $842 billion. That’s the highest level requested since World War II, except for the peak moment of the Afghan and Iraq wars, when the United States had nearly 200,000 troops deployed in those two countries.
“It’s important to note that the $842 billion proposed price tag for the Pentagon next year will only be the beginning of what taxpayers will be asked to shell out in the name of “defense.” If you add in nuclear weapons work at the Department of Energy and small amounts of military spending spread across other agencies, you’re already at a total military budget of $886 billion. And if last year is any guide, Congress will add tens of billions of dollars extra to that sum, while yet more billions will go for emergency aid to Ukraine to help it fend off Russia’s brutal (sic)* invasion. In short, we’re talking about possible total spending of well over $950 billion on war and preparations for more of it — within striking distance, in other words, of the $1 trillion mark that hawkish officials and pundits could only dream about a few short years ago.
“The ultimate driver of that enormous spending spree is a seldom-commented-upon strategy of global military overreach, including 750 U.S. military bases scattered on every continent except Antarctica, 170,000 troops stationed overseas, and counterterror operations in at least 85 — no, that is not a typo — countries (a count offered by Brown University’s Costs of War Project). Worse yet, the Biden administration only seems to be preparing for more of the same. Its National Defense Strategy, released late last year, manages to find the potential for conflict virtually everywhere on the planet and calls for preparations to win a war with Russia and/or China, fight Iran and North Korea, and continue to wage a global war on terror, which, in recent times, has been redubbed “countering violent extremism.” Think of such a strategic view of the world as the exact opposite of the “diplomacy first” approach touted by President Joe Biden and his team during his early months in office. Worse yet, it’s more likely to serve as a recipe for conflict than a blueprint for peace and security….”
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/57442.htm
* The (sic) is mine. The ‘brutal invasion’ hyperbole part of the price that Tom Englehard and Hartung pay for not thinking things through. After seventy years of Cold War its as unsurprising as it is lamentable

Posted by: bevin | Mar 30 2023 21:58 utc | 60

neofeudalfuture@58
If “… emotion masquerading as thinking” really is your “theme for today” how can you possibly object to R’s accurate summary of an important aaspect of California’s modern history.
The facts are irrefutable California is using water that it doesn’t have by impoverishing other regions and collapsing its aquifers.
And the ‘invisible hand” is doing nothing to put matters right. In fact it is winding up to write “I told you so.”

Posted by: bevin | Mar 30 2023 22:06 utc | 62

Trump indicted
From The New York Times, March 30, 2023

Jury Votes to Indict Donald Trump in New York: Live Updates (archive)
Mr. Trump will be the first former president to face criminal charges. The precise charges are not yet known, but the case is focused on a hush-money payment to a porn star during his 2016 campaign.

This is what will happen when Trump is arrested. (archive)
He will be fingerprinted. He will be photographed. He may even be handcuffed.
And in the coming days, the former president of the United States of America will be read the standard Miranda warning: He will be told that he has the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney.
These are among the routine steps of felony arrest processing in New York — and this is what in all likelihood will happen next for Donald J. Trump now that a grand jury has voted to indict him in connection with his role in a hush-money payment to a porn star. But the unprecedented arrest of a former commander in chief will be anything but routine.

Looks like the US is sliding into civil war.

Posted by: Petri Krohn | Mar 30 2023 22:14 utc | 64

Posted by: james | Mar 30 2023 16:18 utc | 13
james, after considering all the comments when I posted about the Luongo/Duran interview last week, I think what he was describing there was the Fed taking action raising interest rates against what he called ‘the Davos crowd’, which was European elites in general. He made the point that the EU doesn’t have the kind of bank insurance that the US has (individual banks may do so, but not the EU as a whole). So, not necessarily the SV bank being targeted, but with respect to the US taking down Europe, or not seeming to mind when Europe is caught in the Russia-sanction crosshairs.
Luongo seemed in favor of this Fed action, but more likely just in favor of guessing right for his own portfolio. It was Credit Suisse the Fed was after, and any other large European banks like Deutsche Bank. The danger being that the US elites don’t want to be caught in Greece’s scenario. Which also makes sense of the ‘velvet glove’ treatment of depositors at SV – they weren’t the target.
I could be completely wrong – that’s just how it seems to make sense that he would not be wavering on raising interest rates. And this for me also chimes with Yves at Nakencapitalism sounding negative on the raising of rates- she also came out against the Greek populists saying consistently ‘there is no alternative’ to what the EU elites had planned for Greece.

Posted by: juliania | Mar 30 2023 22:22 utc | 66

With Trump indicted while Ukraine’s military collapses it will be fun to see where this leads, Trump running his campaign as a modern day martyr persecuted by a corrupt government that just lost 200 billion dollars on failed military adventure in Ukraine and during a major bank run. By itself this wont trigger a civil war, but it will certainly destabilize the Western political and economic system, The Democrats might succeed in keeping Trump from the Whitehouse, but the cost will be even more political radicalization and the end of the traditional Federal government system.

Posted by: Kadath | Mar 30 2023 22:45 utc | 68

@ Petri Krohn | Mar 30 2023 22:14 utc | 64
Rubicon was crossed long, long ago. Recent years firming perception/expectation ? May well yet lead to a self-fulfilling reality, even before the ‘collapse’. 🙁

Posted by: Outraged | Mar 30 2023 22:56 utc | 70

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 30 2023 20:56 utc | 54
Thank you, karlof1 for Pepe’s diary from Moscow! Don’t we wish we were all there?
I have a small wooden box – I think it was a cigar box – that I found years back at the Salvation Army. It is carved on all sides with indented triangles, much as you see on old Russian houses. And on the top lid there is a Moscow scene slightly indented and painted, the Kremlin wall with church domes clustered behind it. There is a road running around the wall, maybe the Big Central Line Pepe talks about. On the road is a yellow bus (a school bus?) and a little car coming in the opposite direction. I love it.
I don’t think I paid more than a couple of dollars for it at the time.

Posted by: juliania | Mar 30 2023 23:40 utc | 72

@ juliania | Mar 30 2023 22:22 utc | 66
hi juliania… i didn’t listen or read the interview you refer to, so i don’t know the context… as for interest rates rising – after a good 10 years or more of lower and lower interest rates which allowed for the punch bowl of speculation in the fire sector to happen, someone decided that it was also screwing the overall economy… these same central bankers put themselves in a awkward spot… – take away from the punch bowl from the speculators, or look after the wider economy? something like that… read the link or watch the video i linked @ 9 if you are interested in a particular take on financial dynamics… share the loungo link if you’d like me to watch or read it.. thanks james

Posted by: james | Mar 31 2023 0:15 utc | 74

Posted by: james | Mar 30 2023 15:58 utc | 9
Should Banks be Allowed to Fail?
________________
I’m impressed. Very informative links.
You should have mentioned that your links were from Richard Werner…
Below are a couple quotes from your links:
https://professorwerner.org/should-banks-be-allowed-to-fail

The [SVB] depositors were largely companies and institutions and not covered by the deposit insurance, which means that a classic bank run could occur. Almost $50bn left in one day on Thursday 9 March 2023, thanks to efficient digital bank technology with which we transfer BDC (bank digital currency), proving once again that there is no problem with the digital money that we have been using for decades. But why did the Fed only provide such liquidity after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation had stepped in and closed the bank?

That is indeed the big question. Why first put SVB out of business and then immediately after implement the provisions of the law that would have allowed SVB to continue in business?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB_kSDWw2hk/

Richard Werner, Economics Professor and Author of “Princes of the Yen,” and Michelle Makori, Editor-in-Chief and Lead Anchor at Kitco News, discuss the Federal Reserve’s FedNow instant payments system, and whether it will be used to usher in Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), digital tokens issued and controlled by central banks. Werner explains what CBDCs are, and warns that they will be used to bring about ‘totalitarian’ control and a surveillance economy.

The above blurb is what Kitco News says Richard Werner says, but in fact Werner says Bank Digital Currencies has been around for decades and digital currency is not the problem. Werner says the issue is not digital currency but the control of money creation by one central entity. Currently we have money created by a multitude of deposit institutions and that makes the system more robust and more resistant to corruption.

Posted by: jinn | Mar 31 2023 1:05 utc | 76

” The great danger is the central bank digital currency (CBDC) – that must be resisted.
Posted by: Grieved | Mar 31 2023 1:25 utc | 77 ”
” If everything goes according to plan, the legal framework for the Bank of Russia’s digital ruble (notice we didn’t type “Russia’s digital ruble”) will be ratified sometime in the next four weeks.
The traceable, programmable, and extremely centralized digital currency will be released into the wild after it completes a pilot program involving thirteen Russian banks.
CBDCs are bad, but the Russian CBDC good—Russian state media has sprung into action. RIA Novosti published an article on March 27 extolling the virtues of this “third form” of “national” currency.
We’ll summarize. The digital ruble:
“is not a [decentralized] cryptocurrency.” It is “exclusively” issued and controlled by Russia’s central bank.
“is another convenient payment tool.”
is very safe and secure! Russia’s central bank “insures your funds, and the regulator will immediately block suspicious transactions.”
is very transparent! “The digital wallet takes into account not just the history of operations, but actions with each ruble.”
is programmable! “Smart contacts [allow you to] send currency from wallet to wallet under certain conditions.”
is so convenient that it doesn’t even need the internet to work.
can be used to “pay for all goods and services.”
“will simplify mutual trade.”
Did we mention it was convenient? ”

Posted by: Deplorable Commissar | Mar 31 2023 1:29 utc | 78

As I expected, Vikichka @ 22 and 23 completely ignores the role of indirect taxes and other costs affecting workers and others not so privileged as the elite and supposedly “productive” class (living off the rent and fees paid by workers and maybe capital gains rebates and other subsidies from governments) Vikichka identifies with and aspires to.
And as Rob @ 48 notes, even though 1% of US taxpayers contribute 47% of the total annual taxes collected by the IRS (though Vikichka @ 11 provides no link to the IRS information, so we don’t know the year or how long ago that group of taxpayers paid nearly half of the total tax contributions), that 47% might actually represent a fraction of what that 1% group SHOULD be paying.
Supposed the IRS collects $4 trillion in a year so the top 1% of US taxpayers has paid $1.88 trillion in taxes. That $1.88 trillion might be considerably LESS than what that top 1% should be paying in income taxes. In other words, the IRS might not be collecting enough taxes from these people.
Then on top of what those people have paid, they may be eligible for rebates or discounts on capital gains, dividend tax and other indirect taxes. Not to mention, as Rob observes, that some of them hide monies in trusts and various money laundering schemes in tax havens and other countries to avoid paying tax.
In 2020, the average tax rate for the top 1% of US taxpayers was 25.99% – that’s not bad for that group and in some countries would even be considered low.

Posted by: Refinnejenna | Mar 31 2023 1:32 utc | 80

” A family values watchdog (created by a Russian Presidential decree) has this to say about the digital ruble:
“Central bank digital currencies are a globalist project of the IMF and the G7.”
“Hopes to circumvent sanctions with the digital ruble are illusory.”
“A foreign element base makes the entire infrastructure of the digital ruble vulnerable to espionage and hacker attacks from outside.”
“With the help of the digital ruble, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation will be able to accumulate confidential data on payments and users on an unprecedented scale. This data can be used to spy on citizens’ private transactions, obtain sensitive information about individuals and organizations, and control them. The risk of leaking this data. The ability to block digital money from people they don’t like at the touch of a button.”
“Over time, the digital ruble can completely displace cash in circulation, and as a result, it will displace the rights and freedoms of citizens!”
“An electronic-digital concentration camp requires electronic money, the movement of which is easy to track and which can be blocked by any person at any time. For more complete control, the digital ruble can be tied to human biometrics.” ”

Posted by: Deplorable Commissar | Mar 31 2023 1:36 utc | 82

The transcript to the Hudson/Desai “Is the Treasury Privatized?” podcast is now available.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 31 2023 1:54 utc | 84

I wish I could buy the rights to Trump’s mugshot. And no, I don’t see civil war coming that soon. What’s more plausible is an economic collapse followed by severe civil disturbance. Lots of plates spinning.

Posted by: Immaculate deception | Mar 31 2023 2:23 utc | 86

@karlof1 | Mar 30 2023 22:13 utc | 63

I must repeat what I’ve written before: The KMT’s POV reflected by Ma is dominant in Taiwan and thus the goal of Reunification and thus attainment of Rejuvenation are shared by all Chinese–or perhaps I should write all Chinese worthy of being called Chinese, for DPP are China’s version of Neocons and thus aren’t really Chinese but some sort of Western perversion, like Imperialist Japanese.

Respectfully, I have to point out that your impression about KMT is quite outdated. IMHO, KMT is basically history now. KMT may win some local elections but unlikely get the presidency. A few points:
1. Today’s KMT is not the KMT under Chiang K.S or his son with the traditional Chinese political view.
2. KMT has changed from a Chinese-centered party to a one-China-one-Taiwan party since Lee Tenghui. You can say Lee transformed KMT. Today’s Tsai Ingwen in some way can be viewed as Lee’s political successor. Her political career started at early time of Lee’s regime. And she was once the minister of Mainland Affairs Council. Lee is pro Taiwan independence and so is Tsai.
3. DPP is explicitly pro Taiwan independence. KMT is implicitly pro Taiwan independence since Lee’s reign. In Chinese, DPP is 台獨 and KMT is 獨台. KMT’s stand today is not for reunion but keep the status quo (forever).
4. KMT is always very good at infighting but bad at facing its political opponents such as CPC and DPP. And it has no real leader for a long time. Ma Ying-jeou is not a real leader. Instead, he may actually be the one who terminates KMT because he was the last chance of KMT to revive Chinese connections in Taiwan.
5. DPP is very good at democratic elections because it’s good at making topics and using the division between Taiwanese/Mainlanders. However, DPP (either Chen or Tsai) is very incompetent at governing. Oh, another thing that DPP is also good at is corruption.
6. Since Lee rose to power, he started to systematically change the curriculum in grade schools in Taiwan and gradually remove Chinese elements. Therefore, people under 35-40 think they are Taiwanese, not Chinese. There is probably even less Chinese cultural connection for people under 20 now.
7. Both DPP and KMT serve the same amerikkkan master. It’s just like another Zelensky. There is no difference between DPP and KMT to execute the master’s orders. Do you know that anyone who wants to get a chance to become the president in Taiwan must come to amerikkkan for interview and get the master’s blessing?! Otherwise, that person has NO chance at all. And amerikkkan will not allow anyone whom it can’t control to be on the ticket.
8. DPP follows amerikkkan’s orders to prepare fighting with China, including:
(1) keeping to buy whatever outdated weapons amerikkkan sells to it
(2) extending the military service from 4 months to 1 year
(3) revamping mobilization mechanism and longer training for military reserves (probably from 1 day to 7 days, not very sure)
(4) sending battalion-level force to amerikkka for training in urban warfare, readying to fight until the last Taiwanese. Note that Taiwan politicians will NOT fight for Taiwan. In fact, one of the first military drills that Tsai did after she became the president is how to escape by helicopter from Taipei City, probably to an amerikkkan ship or something.
(5) amerikkkan military in civilian clothes started to appear in Taiwan military training, shown by local news.
As I noted before, peaceful reunification is impossible now. The only option is by force. It is not China’s choice but an amerikkkan setup that politicians in Taiwan loyally follow. amerikkkan’s plot for Taiwan is what it did in Ukraine for Russia.
Sadly, Taiwan is not a sovereign but an amerikkkan colony. Therefore, it is in vain to put any hope in KMT. Today’s KMT is totally the opposite from Dr. Sun’s ideals, which is quite shameful.

Posted by: LuRenJia | Mar 31 2023 2:43 utc | 88

I know I should write about Werner but would rather quote Reuters and write about it

WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) – Efforts to build a floor under U.S.-China relations have yet to be successful and coming months will determine if it is possible to reestablish constructive diplomacy with Beijing, a top White House official said on Thursday, stressing the need for “Cold War”-era hotlines and other crisis mechanisms.
Speaking at a time of heightened tensions with China over a U.S. stopover by Taiwan’s president, U.S. Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said Washington had made clear to Beijing it was ready to have another call between President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
“We’re prepared and, from our perspective, we want to keep lines of communication open and it is our intention to keep those lines open,” he said at an event hosted by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) think tank.
Biden said last month after a U.S. fighter jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that he planned to speak to Xi about the episode and clear the air, but this has yet to happen and tensions have only risen since.
Campbell said the Chinese had been “reluctant to engage in discussions around confidence-building or crisis communications, or hotlines” and it would be a “responsible step” to have such mechanisms, given that Chinese and U.S. military forces operated in proximity to each other.
“We built those during the Cold War. We think that they’re appropriate now,” he added.
Campbell said the U.S. was in the early stages of a new phase of competitive relations with China.
“There’s also a recognition that in many respects our efforts to build a foundation, a floor under the relationship and guardrails, have yet to be successful,” he said, referring to U.S. priorities when Biden and Xi last spoke at a meeting in Bali in November.
“I think you will see in the coming months whether it’s going to be possible to reestablish effective, predictable, constructive diplomacy between the United States and China.”
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen arrived in New York on Wednesday on her way to Central America. On her way back to Taipei next week, she will stop in Los Angeles, where she is expected to meet U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, an interaction China has warned could lead to a “serious confrontation” in U.S.-China relations.
The visit comes at a time when U.S. relations with China are at what some analysts see as their worst level since Washington normalized ties with Beijing in 1979 and switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei.
Campbell said the United States was stepping up its focus on the Indo-Pacific in spite of the war in Ukraine and this would been seen in its budgets, engagements, aid and assistance.
He pointed to India, which is due to take part in another summit of the so-called Quad countries in Australia expected in May, and said he believed its relationship with the United States was the most important of the 21st century.
“I believe we are destined to work more closely together,” he said, adding that Washington wanted to see more Indian students in American universities and more Americans in Indian colleges.
Campbell said the United States has an “ambitious agenda” for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum summit it hosts in November, and Biden would roll out steps to address U.S. determination to play not just a security, diplomatic and political role in the region, “but a vibrant economic and commercial role as well.”

Read all the projection of tension in that piece. This is so much fun to read the vacuousness of this U.S. Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell. Who is he? Is he a nice John Bolton?

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 31 2023 3:11 utc | 90

So, yeah. Donald Trump just won the 2024 presidential election, and he hasn’t even secured the GOP nomination yet.

Posted by: Monos | Mar 31 2023 3:31 utc | 92

Posted by: Deplorable Commissar | Mar 31 2023 1:36 utc | 82
“An electronic-digital concentration camp requires electronic money, the movement of which is easy to track and which can be blocked by any person at any time. For more complete control, the digital ruble can be tied to human biometrics.” ”
Understatement of the century.. thank you for the words that explain how everyone will be in prison big enough to include every living human in the world.. if central bank digital technology is allowed to become the currency used by the masses.

Posted by: snake | Mar 31 2023 4:24 utc | 94

@93 Cyril | Mar 31 2023 3:58 utc
I agree rather more with Bhadrakumar, that in fact Russia has confronted and is confronting the entire west, including the US. Furthermore, as Bhadrakumar says, and as the entire global south sees, Russia has set herself to do this thing, alone, according to her doctrine.
The world and China all see that Russia is doing this thing, this opposition to the west, and that she is succeeding, and that furthermore her spirit is resolved to carry this matter through unto success, and that, even more than this, she will in fact succeed.
~~
And I do not wish to imply that China is late to the game in any way, or a follower in any way, because the rapport between Russia and China cannot be doubted, and their bond was never shaken, not even as Russia surged into Ukraine. Russia moved when she was compelled to move, and before China was forced to move, and this matched the best case projections, and is perfect, and both civilizations know this intimately.
The world sees that the rapport between Russia and China can be trusted – even with one’s nation’s own sovereignty – and all the nations of the world see this.
So as Russia steps up and faces down NATO and USA, China steps up also and signals to the world that this is the time of solidarity – and that actions toward solidarity will be supported and not betrayed. And thus, solidarity will prevail, if enacted at this time.
And the whole world sees this (even among the vassals of the US). And this is what is happening.

Posted by: Grieved | Mar 31 2023 4:41 utc | 96

” Understatement of the century.. thank you for the words that explain how everyone will be in prison big enough to include every living human in the world.. if central bank digital technology is allowed to become the currency used by the masses.
Posted by: snake | Mar 31 2023 4:24 utc | 94 ”
You’re welcome. To beat a dead horse, the War in the Ukraine is not what it seems, they even tell you that openly, SMO. Its word Magick .

Posted by: Deplorable Commissar | Mar 31 2023 5:01 utc | 98

Trump….
As is so often the case…. it’s not committing the crime that gets you caught… it’s the covering up the crime…
Trump is thrice-married, and appeared on the NYC social pages for decades, always with a mammary-enhanced trophy-model on his arm…
His “base” in 2016 were going to vote for him regardless of his common knowledge sexual liaisons.
Why the hell didn’t he say: “Yeah, I fucked her, so what. She’s a whore and once a whore, always a whore, and here she is, whoring for my political opponents…”
Woulda taken the wind right out of Stormy’s sails..
With HRC own background and that of WJC …. No one had a claim to the wholesome moral high ground.

Posted by: Melaleuca | Mar 31 2023 5:19 utc | 100