News & views (not related to the war in Ukraine) …
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April 26, 2023
Open (Not Ukraine) Thread 2023-99
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Posted by: Scorpion | Apr 28 2023 1:08 utc | 120
The real issue is RFKJr a zionist or will he sell out to them?
Trump is and did, and DeSantis just did.
Posted by: Jerr | Apr 29 2023 5:10 utc | 201
JPMorgan, PNC Bidding for First Republic as Part of FDIC Takeover.
Seizure and sale of the distressed lender could come as soon as this weekend.
First Republic’s real estate exposure is outside FDIC’s remit.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/jpmorgan-pnc-bid-to-buy-first-republic-as-part-of-fdic-takeover-aeb936a0
Posted by: too scents | Apr 29 2023 6:55 utc | 202
Excellent interview of JFK Jr.. A huge WOW.
Posted by: Seer | Apr 28 2023 4:50 utc | 136
I seem to recall Trump making a lot of promises before the election too.
Talk is very cheap for US politicians.
One wants to trust RFK based on his record of holding corporations to account, but he is lying about the “China virus” already. There is no way having written a book on Fauci that he is in the dark on these matters.
And there is no way the Chinese government was in cahoots with the crazies at Fort Detrick so we wait to see if it was a one off remark or part of the package.
The rest of his speeches have been more honest than anything any US presidential hopeful has ever said , including Tulsi who is still a partial war hawk under the right circumstances imo. So I completely understand why fed up Americans would vote for him. We do have to be open to things changing while staying realistic.
We certainly have not had a politician uttering such truth bombs in Australia as long as I can remember with the recent exception of ex PM Paul Keating. Its great but doesn’t really count AFTER you did all the “lesser evil” shit while in office.
Posted by: K | Apr 29 2023 8:24 utc | 203
Will a China-centric world benefit Pakistan?
Put simply, if China is to be a global power of different repute to the US, its interventions must demonstrably contribute to the welfare of Pakistan’s working masses rather than buttressing the power of the establishment, property dealers, construction lobbies and big traders.
Indeed, a Chinese-centric world order will have to live up to Beijing’s own rhetoric about building an ‘ecological civilisation’
Posted by: Antonym | Apr 29 2023 9:59 utc | 204
British establishment commentator Andrew Neil made me laugh in his Daily Wail article on China.
He says we need a China policy with British characteristics.
Posted by: GT Stroller | Apr 29 2023 10:38 utc | 205
Picking up on British humour from GT stroller @205 (and that is very funny), here is something from Canada that strikes me as British (and I believe b did a whole post on this when Trump visited the Queen?)
To the “US-led West” (who controls the Council of Foreign anyway?), off the coast of Newfoundland, it’s the “dickie-berg”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/oddly-shaped-iceberg-nl-1.6825578
Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Apr 29 2023 11:54 utc | 206
To save others having to search, here’s the link: Trump meets British humour
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2019/06/trump-meets-british-humor.html
Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Apr 29 2023 12:03 utc | 207
https://www.dawn.com/news/1749734/chinas-world
Put simply, if China is to be a global power of different repute to the US, its interventions must demonstrably contribute to the welfare of Pakistan’s working masses rather than buttressing the power of the establishment, property dealers, construction lobbies and big traders.
Indeed, a Chinese-centric world order will have to live up to Beijing’s own rhetoric about building an ‘ecological civilisation’
Posted by: Antonym | Apr 29 2023 9:59 utc | 204
—————————-
Thanks, good article. Another quote:
‘But as we approach the 137th commemoration of the workers revolt of 1886 — May Day — it is necessary to demand that the prospective Chinese rulers of our putatively shared world demonstrate their commitment to working class internationalism and live up to the principles of the Chinese revolution.’
————————-
Pakistan is another pivotal country in the global struggle. The article takes a critical look at the China Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) so far.
I think Pakistan will definitely be better off with Chinese loans than the imf. The idea of empowering multipolar labor pools as a backing of currency is an interesting one.
————————————————-
In a post-globalization world China has an excess of urban industrialization and capital and the rural regions are still relatively poorer.
But the rural regions have a lot of resources and cultural practices including collectives that could be monetized and developed in an eco-friendly way by using this excess urban liquidity and well organized foreign investment. (Rather that this liquidity go into financial speculation)
China is considering using these national resources (rather than gold) as a peg for the yuan thus reconstituting monetary sovereignty.
This would lead China to have a more powerful internal economy and international trade would serve as a complement to this.
This is possible because the central government recognizes the importance of using its monopolized financial sector for community welfare. (Ten Crises)
Posted by: financial matters | Feb 4 2022 0:26 utc | 66
Posted by: financial matters | Apr 29 2023 12:05 utc | 208
Posted by: Don Firineach | Apr 27 2023 17:39 utc | 21
With Russia supplying the gas and, presumably, operating the NPPs, perhaps we can expect Turkey to act appropriately.
Given the just-announced deal with Lockheed Martin to upgrade its F-16s, is Turkey keeping its loyalty options open or simply being expedient? https://www.aviationtoday.com/2023/04/28/turkey-plans-to-upgrade-its-f-16-cockpits-in-259m-deal-with-lockheed/
And why the sudden US about-face to accommodate such? Erdogan’s recent illness must be due to dizziness bought about by extreme flip-flopping.
Posted by: horseguards | Apr 29 2023 12:27 utc | 209
“a third party with more heft was needed to seal a deal.” Russia is the only party that can, and should, seal the deal. But, really, is there a “deal” to be made? I would say no: total Ukrainian defeat/capitulation/destruction of the military.
Posted by: horseguards | Apr 29 2023 12:33 utc | 210
From ZH
Update (2210ET): As the weekend begins, the WSJ reports late on Friday that big banks including JPMorgan and PNC are set to buy First Republic Bank but not in a private, market-arranged deal but rather in a transaction that would follow a government seizure of the troubled lender. A seizure and sale of First Republic, which would wipe out the equity of FRC and potentially impose losses on creditors, could come as soon as this weekend, the WSJ sources said.
And so JPM, which is already the largest US bank is about to get even bigger, by scooping up all the good FRC assets while leaving US taxpayer holdings on to the toxic ones.
That said, it wasn’t immediately clear whether the $30 billion in deposits funneled by JPM and other banks into FRC will be treated as insured funds (why should they should be insured?), nor was it clear how a wipeout of this capital, which would spark a systemic crisis simply because the Fed is now running policy of “monetary tightening through bank collapse”, having failed to contain inflation and tighten policy using conventional means.
Socialize the losses and privatize the profits……….the shit show continues until it doesn’t.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Apr 29 2023 12:45 utc | 211
Below is a ZH posting title
Quiet US Seizure Of Iranian Crude Prompted Iran’s Capture Of Houston-Destined Tanker
the quote
When on Thursday the US Navy announced that Iranian commandos had seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, conveniently absent from the narrative was the fact that just days prior the United States seized a ship laden with Iranian crude, identified as the Suez Rajan which was destined for China.
“US authorities ordered a tanker of Iranian crude oil to redirect towards the US in recent days, in a move officials believe was the trigger for Iran’s decision to capture a US-bound tanker on Thursday,” the FT reports. “Three people briefed on the situation said the US had intervened to summon a ship loaded with Iranian crude, originally destined for China, as Washington looks to step up enforcement of sanctions on Tehran.”
Posted by: psychohistorian | Apr 29 2023 12:48 utc | 212
Excellent interview of JFK Jr.. A huge WOW.
Posted by: Seer | Apr 28 2023 4:50 utc | 136
So I completely understand why fed up Americans would vote for him.
Posted by: K | Apr 29 2023 8:24 utc | 203
What are you thinking? This articles is written by someone who not only is the direct beneficiary of political influence and corruption but uses the RFKjr candidacy to argue isn’t it great thing that Boss Tweed Democrat politics is going to be back in style.
Look at the crowd that surrounds him on the stage. The best collection of custom suits seen in politics since 1961.
Look at his wife’s eyes, there is no life in them.
RFKjr is about a New Gilded Age for the scions of the elite. It will end up being more like a Guilded Age comic book – be happy with your three hots and a cot in the Camelot Transhumanist Gulag hell.
I can see where voters of Austrailia, NZ,Canada and Old Europeans suck up to this delusional old royalty fantasy, being Commonwealth and feudalists at heart.
Posted by: Jerr | Apr 29 2023 13:03 utc | 213
https://cjhopkins.substack.com/p/the-great-divide
A great new article by CJ about RFK. His suggestion has some very colorful language. And Bobby probably reads his stuff since he had him on his podcast not so long ago.
To which I added a little comment:
Random Ruminations
Writes Random Ruminations
10 min ago
I had a less colorful idea but I still like it. Trump and Bobby make a public pact that whoever wins gets the Presidency and whoever loses becomes VP and they split the Cabinet down the middle and both pledge to reform their own Parties back to being for their voters and not for the Globocap Corporatists. Disband Intelligence. End the Fed. Create a new Dollar. Reduce USG to 1/10th its current size. Move it from DC to Kansas City in the middle of the country. Close down all foreign military bases. Whatever. They could have a 10 point list they both campaign on and pledge to realize after the election, one as a Democrat and the other as a Republican and it makes NO DIFFERENCE which one wins, the same platform will be enacted.
A little twist…
Scorpion:
Two problems:
1. That’s not how VPs are selected.
2. VPs have as much (Darth) or as little (Kameltoes) power as their Ps allow them. Such a power-sharing agreement is an open invitation for the VP to be double-crossed.
Posted by: malenkov | Apr 29 2023 13:44 utc | 215
Posted by: malenkov | Apr 29 2023 13:44 utc | 215
Fair point. But it’s a good idea nonetheless.
However: if everyone who voted Wrote In that ticket, would it not work? ie if you vote for RFK for President you write-in DJT for VP and vice versa?
PS
Actually, following malenkov again:
the (probable) fact that neither would be willing to do this indicates they are more partisan than they like to appear (and probably believe about themselves). One of the biggest obstacles to reform in the US has been the entirely corrupt-by-design Two Party system. If they were serious about dismantling corruption etc. they would try to find a way to subvert/undermine/overcome that Duopoly.
Neither is.
Telling.
Scorpion @ 15:03
Again, that’s impossible. P/VP are voted on as a single entity. You can’t vote for a P and write in a VP separately.
And strictly speaking, you don’t vote for either. You vote for electors who will in turn cast a vote for a prefabbed P/VP pair.
Posted by: malenkov | Apr 29 2023 15:22 utc | 218
Posted by: malenkov | Apr 29 2023 15:22 utc | 218
Interesting. I thought you could write in anybody no matter what the pre-printed ballot forms state. But obviously am not up on US election laws. (And never will be.)
malenkov@218
The Peoples Party tried something like this in 1896 when it nominated Bryan, who had been nininated as the Democratic party candidate, as its Presidential candidate and Tom Watson as VP. They thought that this had been agreed with the Dems (agreement incapable for centuries) but found out that Bryan had selected the reactionary banker Sewall from Maine to placate the right wing.
In my view if the Dems had stuck to their original agreement they would have won the election: Watson being a great campaigner.
As to the electoral college: so far as I know the elected members are pledged to vote for certain candidates but have the discretion to change their minds if, in their opinion, circumstances justify their doing so.
Posted by: bevin | Apr 29 2023 15:38 utc | 220
Scorpion: I should also add that most states allow write-ins only for candidates registered with the state election authorities, and several states don’t allow write-ins at all.
Posted by: malenkov | Apr 29 2023 15:44 utc | 221
bevin: as to your latter point: that is theoretically possible, and every now and then you get a rogue elector. However, some states will prosecute rogue electors, and because electors tend to be faceless bureaucrats chosen from among the various party machineries, going rogue is almost if not quite unheard of.
Posted by: malenkov | Apr 29 2023 15:48 utc | 222
In any case, I personally believe that the single greatest impediment to substantive reform in the US is the overly rapid 4-year election cycle. Rather than try to refashion the entire system with constitutional amendments or Assemblies or secessions or new republics or whatever, everyone falls into the trap of thinking that none of these big things can be considered rather we just need to get the right guy in the White House and they can take care of it. And so the Administrative State-kleptocracy becomes more entrenched with each passing decade.
There is always hope because realities can turn on a dime. However, without some sort of surprise deus ex machina type shift, political realities will continue on much as before except worse. I believe in history that it is the exception rather than the rule that things improve from generation to generation. Great civilizations have a century or two of fantastic growth, both economic and cultural, but that’s about it usually. China has been through a few such periods but still spends much of the time treading water or in outright doldrums. Most other civilizations seem to arise, be great for a relatively short while, linger hanging on for a while longer, then either suddenly collapse or slowly fade never to return. Goodness is ubiquitous and fundamental but surprisingly difficult to cultivate deliberately. Many would say this is the core challenge in both individual and collective life.
Now maybe some of those civilizations did better for longer than I just stated. Because when things are going well, there is little news and drama. It’s called Peace. During peace is when culture blooms, great literature and arts arise, cuisines develop in delicious, healthy, artistic ways. Class systems naturally flourish along with manners, customs, arts and so on as how we live, what we wear, how and what we speak, what we build, view, eat, grow, die, battle, invent etc. all become living art forms. Journalists don’t have much to write about so not so much goes into the history books, perhaps.
In any case, the US is a very sick puppy and seems to have no access to any medicine whatsoever. It’s the opposite of what ‘democracies’ are supposed to be, at least in theory, but there we are…
https://rumble.com/v2l13is-exclusive-sit-down-with-president-donald-j.-trump.html
1 hr interview with DJT, relaxed, with Bannon.
Reality truly is stranger than fiction…
@Bemildred | Apr 28 2023 22:20 utc | 179
The socialist democratic model which evolved in Russia and was largely adopted by China at the local level or сове́т (Sovet or council), with immediate recall of unfaithful representatives, works well at the local level. Mao’s New Democracy was fundamentally similar, although I would argue that his understanding of democratic theory and social transformation was superior to that of Marx, and that Mao’s theory and later leaders pragmatic implementation has been fundamental to China’ss recent successes.
Stalin argued strongly for such democracy throughout the Soviet Union and Warsaw block, as an antidote to the sclerosis of the dictatorship of the proletariat and centralization, and the Soviet Union would probably look very much like China today if he had not been murdered. Many political theorists have advocated for such direct democracies, including Jean Jacques Rousseau, John Stuart Mill, G.D.H. Cole (vastly underrated) and HG Wells. The difficulty has always been to expand this model to make it work in larger communities, because the number of potential conversations rises as the square of the number of members, making larger colloquium’s unwieldy. The internet, weighting algorithms, AI, embedded parliamentary procedures and clear assignments of responsibilities and rights combined within an evolving framework so that errors can be corrected and new ideas incorporated, can be used to create very large scale systems (including all of humankind if needed), which, if incorporating an ethical foundation like evaluism (see my Evaluism) are still as fair as possible to the individual and minority groups, to the environment and to future generations, while ensuring the greatest benefit to the greatest number.
Posted by: Hermit | Apr 29 2023 21:32 utc | 226
@Bemildred | Apr 29 2023 4:34 utc | 197
Hilariously it was under the Clinton and Obama administrations that the Fairness Doctrine was finally killed*, although it was Republicans who drew it’s teeth (See The Fairness Doctrine at the Reagan Presidential Library).
*In 1987 the FCC formally repealed the fairness doctrine but maintained both the editorial and personal-attack provisions, which remained in effect until 2000. In addition, until they were finally repealed by the commission in 2011, more than 80 media rules maintained language that implemented the doctrine. [Freedom of Speech at Encyclopedia Britannica.]
Posted by: Hermit | Apr 29 2023 21:48 utc | 227
Posted by: Scot1and | Apr 29 2023 17:04 utc | 13 (from the Last Hurrah thread)
Hello there. The only thing that helps me is to have a creative outlet. You are from Scotland. My second favorite writer is Irvine Welsh of Trainspotting fame. His best character by far is Begbie. Begbie is a very dangerous and violent human, but over the course of several novels, he transforms himself, and he did it through creativity. The creative process can be a means for you to channel whatever it is that is giving you grief, release it and turn it into a win for you and everyone else.
At this point, everyone is at their wit’s end. I see it everyday around me. I despair, but I have accepted it. The acceptance of the fact that it is all a huge joke helps. And it is good to figure out who the people are that are creating this situation, so if there ever is a reckoning on this earth, they will get what they deserve.
And I have no problem with and eye for an eye.
I wish you luck. I am in the same boat as you. I have found MoA to be a place of solace. I am very grateful to all the people here who have helped me along this strange journey called life.
Posted by: lex talionis | Apr 29 2023 22:15 utc | 228
RFKjr gets a tough dissection by Sabby Sabs and Kim Iversen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dpCqVqUl4w&t=1406s
And then they expand the subject here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx63jhtryD8&t=36s
Sabby Sabs and Chris Hedges tear off the veneer in this discussion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icpZYgoksuA
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Apr 29 2023 22:37 utc | 229
Below is the link to the latest from Ellen Brown which might interest some barflies
How the War on Crypto Triggered a Banking Crisis
What is not in the title is that behind the killing crypto is the push back against state banks….the internal unipolar fight with the global money mafia
Posted by: psychohistorian | Apr 29 2023 23:14 utc | 230
Part Two of Hudson’s interview discussion of his new book, Collapse of Antiquity is now available at his website. In case you missed Part One, it’s here.
The Global Conference on Multipolarity took place today online and there’s a 17 hour long video of the proceedings here that appears to be all in English (I’ve only watched the first few minutes before making this post.) It will be available for awhile, so it can be bookmarked and returned to. Yes, it’s at VK, which is another good reason to be a member.
German food price inflation from 1992 to present gets a mention:
While Chancellor Scholz travels the world looking for tank and artillery shells, German supermarket prices rose by “only” 17.2% in April, compared with 22.3% in March.
The graph that accompanies it is here and there are a number of informative charts in the preceding posts if you wish to scroll back up that page.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Apr 30 2023 0:22 utc | 233
Posted by: Hermit | Apr 29 2023 21:32 utc | 226
RE scaling: I may have something to say about that. I’ve never tried to formalize it much; but I had occasion to deal with that somewhat, models & data sets; but I’m busy now.
You have to have hierarchy to scale, or information flow suffers. And you have to have free flow of info or things start to go wrong, games will start being played, bottlenecks form, etc.
And you have to train citizens for their role, they have to be active players. Skin in the game.
The key is accountability. Putin seems to understand that some, he works hard at top-bottom communication. Direct democracy seems like the answer there.
Well, let me read some of your stuff and think about it. Perhaps we can get a conversation going.
As I said, I think the Chinese experience could be informative about “human factors” too. Monkey politics will have to be dealt with.I would be curious to see how to handle it.
Posted by: Bemildred | Apr 30 2023 0:51 utc | 234
Perhaps Blackrock is ensuring that no one will ever cultivate on its stolen land?
In the west of Bakhmut, enemy specialists in full chemical protection and gas masks installed bookmarks (containers) with unidentified chemicals in front of the front edge
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Apr 30 2023 0:51 utc | 235
I am very grateful to all the people here who have helped me along this strange journey called life.
Posted by: lex talionis | Apr 29 2023 22:15 utc | 228
Great post.
Posted by: Hermit | Apr 29 2023 21:32 utc | 226
Yeah, let me think about it for a couple days and root around here a little. It’s been since 1997 I thought about this.
I can say that the Internet does what you have to do to “scale arbitrarily”, I was very impressed when I first read the RFC for it (IP).
Posted by: Bemildred | Apr 30 2023 1:46 utc | 237
denk 131. caitlin needs to go back to writing astrology for feminists books , desribes herself as a marxist on her meduim bio. a true measure is writing articles on middle east politics but not mentioning israel once. since your dispensing warnings id say keep her in mind
Posted by: hankster | Apr 30 2023 3:14 utc | 238
the dominance of the yankee dollar
as all fiat currencies, is starting to
fall apart. the disintegration hastened
by the current administration.
never have i seen such mismanagement
coming from d.c.
everything joey has touched is a disaster
the state of the union is twisting in the wind
along with his “mind” losing the battle
in remembering who he is.
Posted by: Dingo | Apr 30 2023 3:16 utc | 239
Posted by: Hermit | Apr 29 2023 21:32 utc | 226
I’ve kind of been following your conversation with Bemildred. I’m not really able to engage much tho’ being
one whose curiosity button didn’t get punched until later middle age. But I have read considerably about the
formative years 1911-49 in China and some about rev. times in Russia.
Right now I’m reading Arnold August’s ‘Cuba and Its Neighbors’. He talks about the electoral system and how
things work at the local level, including recall. In light of the difficulties imposed by the US the Cubans have done pretty
good, imo, and it seems to me that China and Cuba, totally different in size, offer some good comparisons.
This thread will fade soon but I hope these ideas continue to be talked about here rather than endless vapid personality
analyses in the upcoming vapid US presidential media/advertising exercises.
Posted by: waynorinorway | Apr 30 2023 5:02 utc | 240
Thanks to karlof1 for the heads up about Michael Hudson’s 2nd interview with Colin Bruce Anthes
Here is the link again
https://michael-hudson.com/2023/04/democratic-liberty-versus-oligarchic-liberty/
I do hope Michael’s economic history contributions raise the level of discussion about our civilization war throughout the world……he really is a treasure, that at 83, will too soon be lost.
Below is a link to the 1st interview
https://globalsouth.co/2023/04/23/the-analysis-discussion-part-1-debt-and-the-collapse-of-antiquity/
Both are highly recommended.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Apr 30 2023 5:31 utc | 241
Reporting by Jonathan Saul in London, Timothy Gardner in Washington, additional reporting by Michelle Nichols in New York and Dubai buro; Editing by Cynthia Osterman (2023-04-28). US confiscates Iran oil cargo on tanker amid Tehran tensions. Reuters
When you keep trying to start a war…
“The U.S. confiscated Iranian oil on a tanker at sea in recent days in a sanctions enforcement operation, three sources said, and days later Iran seized another oil-laden tanker in retaliation, according to a maritime security firm…
Maritime security company Ambrey said the U.S. confiscation took place at least five days before Iran’s action on Thursday. “Ambrey has assessed the seizure by the Iranian Navy to be in response to the U.S. action,” it said in an advisory to clients.
“Both tankers were Suezmax-sized. Iran has previously responded tit-for-tat following seizures of Iranian oil cargo.”…
Posted by: Hermit | Apr 30 2023 5:43 utc | 242
Posted by: waynorinorway | Apr 30 2023 5:02 utc | 240
Cuba is filled with a bunch of snitches.
They are called CDR the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution.
CDR. All normal Cubans – en Cuba, I have met dislike them extremely.
I might be slightly biased. I am no some Alpha 66 Miami weirdo, either.
Posted by: lex talionis | Apr 30 2023 6:29 utc | 243
@psychohistorian | Apr 30 2023 5:31 utc | 241
While we agree on the value of Hudson, (though I prefer Richard D Wolff, who is better versed in Marxist economics, and Kate Raworth who better articulates both constraints and the centrality of a rough equality of outcome), may I suggest my Economics Rebooted as a prelude and coda to Hudson’s perspective on history?
Posted by: Hermit | Apr 30 2023 6:34 utc | 244
@K | Apr 29 2023 8:24 utc | 203
After a long discussion with Tulsi in 2016, I amd my partner (the son of a pacifist, and a retired general) agree that Tulsi is as far the opposite of a hawk as it is possible for a religious (she was raised by a fundamentalist Catholic father and Hindu mother, and has elected hinduism for herself) person to be. A tour in Iraq as a combat medic has left her with a solid appreciation of the human costs of war. Her biggest advantage is that she is an environmentalist who fully understands that a nuclear war would result in extinction of most extant life on earth, animal and vegetable, and is appropriately horrified at the idea. As a serving Lt Colonel (in an army where senior rank is highly competitive),with multiple tours of duty in active combat zones she brings a credible military perspective to the table. As the first Hindu member of Congress and also the first Samoan-American voting member of Congress she also understands the perspective of minority groups, but does not rely on them.
Posted by: Hermit | Apr 30 2023 7:00 utc | 245
Cuba is filled with a bunch of snitches.
Posted by: lex talionis | Apr 30 2023 6:29 utc | 243
That’s from your experiences there or just the wikipedia crap you cited?
And all the ‘normal’ Cubans you’ve met were in Cuba I take it.
USSR from backwater to world super power in less than 50 years.
China from backwater to world super power in less than 70 years.
Cuba, tiny Cuba, 60+ years under blockade and US pressure still dancing, laughing and making (great) music.
Some people are doing some things right.
How’s LA doing for you lately?
Posted by: waynorinorway | Apr 30 2023 7:17 utc | 246
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Apr 30 2023 0:51 utc | 235
Thanks for the link, I’m not subscribed, could you please summarise the accompanying TG video?
It betrays the depraved fascist instincts of the “garden” that they say nothing about these and other gross violations of the (already minimalist) norms of warfare.
Borrell invoked a garden, Macron a jungle (!!!), what they refer to hardly qualifies as an abandoned zoo; disease, filth, cages rusted shut, them inside.
France voted down a UNSC resolution to investigate Ukrainian biolabs.
Anyway, I digress =)
Posted by: anon2020 | Apr 30 2023 8:48 utc | 247
Cuba
Posted by: lex talionis | Apr 30 2023 6:29 utc | 243
Posted by: waynorinorway | Apr 30 2023 7:17 utc | 246
I’ve never been to Cuba–spent lots of time in Mexico/Central Am– but I have had contact with a number of Cubans over the years. Here are a few brief accounts.
1980 I was a small time contractor in southern Illinois, hired a Cuban refugee named Jorge who got in on Carter’s Mariel boat lift when Castro emptied out some of the prisons and they flooded Florida. Jorge was a delightful youngster, insisted on working barefoot, worked pretty hard and hated Castro. Finally, he admitted he never was in prison. Turns out his brother got busted for selling Playboys on the street, got thrown in the local jail at the same time the boats were leaving and both brothers jumped at the chance. By summer’s end he missed his family, decided to go back to Florida but said he didn’t really like the Cubans there and he didn’t know how he was going to make it.
In the 90s I was teaching public high school outside Chicago, massive number of Spanish speaking immigrants, mostly Mexicans, a few Cubans. The Cuban kids had a much higher level of literacy. Everyone noticed it. They also hated Fidel. Catholic Charities brought them in and pretty much cut them loose.
2005. A Cuban family “escaped” to Rockford, Il. The wife was a doctor and their kids were i my school so I got to know the family. Some local hack reporter did a feature story on her and how bad Cuba was. She went along with it. A year later she regretted coming to the US, was totally disillusioned with US health system.
Posted by: migueljose | Apr 30 2023 13:00 utc | 248
Cuba
Castro played hardball with Cubans who wanted American shit. He lived his 90 plus years under active assassination attempts and never backed down. His actions are a key to survival for any nation trying to move away from the imperial mafia.
Current Latin American leaders appear to be following his lead more:
Cuba
Mexico
Honduras
Nicaragua
Venezuela
Colombia
Bolivia
Brazil
Watch Ecuador and Peru.
Posted by: migueljose | Apr 30 2023 13:14 utc | 249
Posted by: waynorinorway | Apr 30 2023 7:17 utc | 246
Posted by: migueljose | Apr 30 2023 13:14 utc | 249
LA is pretty much of a drag, but I like it. My mother was from Cuba. She said that the revolution helped out the poor. I don’t disagree with her. She told me about friends of hers who lived near the police station in Havana. They would hear people screaming while being tortured by Batista’s henchmen. One would find bodies in the street in the mornings. As I said, I am not some Alpha 66 person. I see no problem with a mixed economy.
I went to Cuba twice. In 92 and in 94. The first time was during the worst of the “Special Period.” It was strange. People were nice, but paranoid. There was distrust everywhere. I went to a bookstore, and there were hardly any books, aside from ones about how great the revolution was. So one can read, but there’s nothing to read! I think the island would lose about half of the population is they could leave.
I doubt that a website like MoA would be approved by the authorities in Cuba.
It seems to me that the Cuban revolution just swapped out the prison wardens. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. I prefer the devil I know.
But the kids are so cute in their Pioneros outfits! Siempre feliz!
Posted by: lex talionis | Apr 30 2023 14:47 utc | 250
Posted by: lex talionis | Apr 30 2023 14:47 utc | 250
Posted by: migueljose | Apr 30 2023 13:14 utc | 249/248
Thanks Lex and Miguel Jose
I posted @5:02 utc | 240 in response to an exchange Hermit and Bemildred were having
about electoral matters. I certainly do not want to get into a wide range of topics and offer
judgements about Cuba good/bad.
It’s not correct that Cuba’s system is copied from the USSR. In the ‘70s Cuba sent numerous
delegations to Moscow to study that system. They also sent delegations to the US, UK and France
to collect info. It seems what they have in Cuba is what Hermit termed @21:32 utc | 226 ‘the social
democrat model which evolved in Russia and was largely adopted by China’ but adapted to Cuba.
In reading about it I’m impressed with the participatory opportunity at the very lowest level – your ‘hood –
which then flows upward through the various levels. Kind of like Little League baseball, except they
haven’t found a way to make it international. Yet!
Posted by: waynorinorway | Apr 30 2023 16:01 utc | 251
I think the island would lose about half of the population is they could leave.
Posted by: lex talionis | Apr 30 2023 14:47 utc | 250
I think the island would double their population if the US would just F-off.
Lex, I know I said I didn’t want to get into other topics but that statement stuck with me.
AFAIK the exit visa requirement in Cuba was canceled about 10 years ago. The main reason
they can’t come to the US is American immigration policy. It’s a propaganda achievement by the
US to make it seem like Cuba is some kind of East Germany. For the most part it seems that Cubans
are free to migrate to any country which will accept them. (Of course the Cuban people have
effectively paid for the many doctors’ education and training and would like to get a return on that
rather than see them go somewhere else for their own personal enrichment.)
OK, I’m done unless there’s more on electoral matters.
Posted by: waynorinorway | Apr 30 2023 16:30 utc | 252
because the number of potential conversations rises as the square of the number of members, making larger colloquium’s unwieldy
Posted by: Hermit | Apr 29 2023 21:32 utc | 226
That number is (n-1)! for n nodes. N-factorial. Somewhat worse than the square. And what happens is your network traffic collapses. You have to find a way to partition and distribute the problem. Peer-to-peer. Mesh network? Distributed database. Crypto IDs. Maybe it’s own IP-protocol. I agree it is likely a solvable problem, but not easy. However, DNS or whatever they call it now is the same sort of thing, local traffic is handled locally, everything else gets kicked upstairs until is becomes “local”. Likely a lot of stuff that could be “borrowed” these days.
Have to get very clear about what you want it to do. Everybody talking to everybody is not going to work. (We’ve tried it.)
And you have to have a way to authenticate people, you know their DNA or something.
I am going to be 78 in June and I am not likely up to the job any more. Most days I am lucky to get a few good hours for “work”. But I will see what I can resurrect about it, and maybe we can work out some “requirements” as we go along.
Posted by: Bemildred | Apr 30 2023 17:24 utc | 253
Posted by: Hermit | Apr 29 2023 21:32 utc | 226
No that’s not it, it is the sum of the first n integers, or n(n+1)/2, and ~ n-squared.
Very rusty.
Posted by: Bemildred | Apr 30 2023 19:02 utc | 254
@Bemildred | Apr 28 2023 22:20 utc | 179
Somehow we need to transition, but it is impossible for any party that is not the Republicans or Democrats 5o win an election. So the path to transition lies through those parties. As long as representatives commit to do only what the public instructs them to do, party is irrelevant.
So take any district. Republicans and Democrats are, together, supported by about 40% of the eligible voters no matter what they do. Some percentage of the remainder will vote for one or the other. A small number more might vote for other parties. The remainder do not vote, are not registered to vote or are barred from voting.
Now add in NotAParty candidate. After a public selection process somebody agrees to represent the public as instructed, pay a penalty, or resign. It does not matter which party the NotAParty candidate runs with. They will still get most of the approximately 20% of the vote for that party, maybe a little less than usual, because some party committed people will be reluctant to support a cuckoo (Trump’s and Ron Paul’s cases are instructive), although the lack of an agenda is a bonus, because it will be challenging for the existing parties to attempt to argue that “whatever the people want” is somehow less desirable than whatever the oligarchs want or even what some Washington critter claims to think the public needs. A NotAParty candidate only need to get some 5% to 10% of the uncommitted or non voting support, in addition to the regular voters for the party they run for to beat the other party by a vast margin. Which means that whichever party has a NotAParty candidate wins the election. It does not even take the hundreds of millions of dollars it currently takes to win a Congressional seat, and hundreds of millions of dollars spent to purchase the presidency. Using the unpopular parties against each other really is that simple, and insidious. Other elections, like city council and school board seats are even easier, because the NotAParty candidate knows roughly how much support they can count on going into an election. And the penalty clause keeps their candidates loyal. Instead of having to clamber of the hurdles the existing parties have erected to prevent anyone new building the vast organization and larger budgets needed to win elections, NotAParty used the existing party infrastructure and systems to ensure their candidates win. In one or two electoral cycles,, a veto proof majority will be established and real change can be implemented.
This would be a good thing, because, with non-institutionalized working-age (16-65) employment down by about 20% from pre-2008 levels refer my US Non-Institutionalized Working-Age (16-65) Employment as a percent of Total Population 2023, 1st Quarter, and likely to be completely unnecessary by 2030 (Refer my On the End of Employment>) in the unlikely event that we evade extinction before then, we need a much better than basic income to maintain and grow economies, while working on reversing population growth if we want to avoid the natural consequences of a population some 13 to 15 times the sustainable, with resource limitations to growth already looming. We also need to reduce the impact on the global balance of the USA’s death spiral which is driving the USA towards nuclear war with Russia, China or both. As part of this, we need to reach an implementable agreement on eliminating weapons of mass destruction. We have more than enough problems without them.
In the medium term we don’t need the current system or representatives. We need a direct democracy, with preemptive harm mitigation, a much better than basic income, a fair system with enforceable rights and duties, a sustainable population, people not intimidated and living in fear, and a government and economy that benefits everyone in a condition of rough equality, not a privileged few, wealthy beyond the dreams of avarice, carried by a vast, but divided and impoverished majority. And the delusional or sociopathic that disagree need education, treatment, or both, so that they too can participate as effectively as possible in an actual democracy, rather than eking out a precarious living in a sham one.
Posted by: Hermit | May 8 2023 13:23 utc | 255