might be out of date and not in line with his current thinking, but even that, i doubt.. sounds legit..
Posted by: james | Nov 8 2024 2:34 utc | 97
Click the link, click the user
Says parody account
Clear?

Posted by: Newbie | Nov 8 2024 3:32 utc | 103

Posted by: Newbie | Nov 8 2024 3:32 utc | 103
The ID of the account is a parody, but I’m seeing it on other accounts. It seems to be a clip from the Newsweek in 2023 referred to above. It would be more credible if was recent.

Posted by: Turk 152 | Nov 8 2024 3:59 utc | 105

Now that Trump has been elected, people here believe that there will be changes domestically. Which is more important to most Americans than foreign policy. However, it’s to be seen if his administration changes course on the Biden debacle or doubles down on stupidity.

Posted by: Reversed Osmosis | Nov 8 2024 4:13 utc | 107

https://x.com/ThisIsJus/status/1854188088047587366
Justus @ThisIsJus
Kamala may have lost, but at least we get to honor her legacy by continuing prison slavery in California

Posted by: michaelj72 | Nov 8 2024 4:38 utc | 109

Tom Pfotzer@1812
Thank you for your most considerate and thoughtful take on the transitions on journalism and more particularly, journalists.
You sorta elicited me to give further thought to go substack with a most unusual and utterly radical (originally developed in a political/cultural sense by Jean Jacques Rousseau). Analytically, Rousseau posited that the basic terminology of that word means to get down to the roots of an issue or problem.
Henry David Thoreau wrote (slight paraphrasing here) that “one should not merely hack away at the branches of a problem. One should grub it out by the roots”. Same line of thought and likely assimilated via Rousseau’s original concept. The 1840’s, particularly in Concord, Massachusetts, may well have been the pinnacle of American culture…to date.
So here’s the rumination: My 1970’s publication only tangentially dealt with international and even national matters and issues. It delved into community, county and state affairs. So that template would be the titular concept, but not so “provincially” limited. Due to the extreme levels of centralization of virtually each and every institution across the fruited plain; it now suggests that because of the globalization scheme by the ruling financier elite, the entire process has become almost exclusively top down…the “Rules based Ordure”.
Conceptually, there might be globalization developments which are not ruled by a self-interested and referent elite. Or as some of the hippie sages clear back in the 60’s noted: Think globally, but act locally. Thus, should it come to pass that energies draw me into that direction…the title for the Substack presentation would be: “Minnesota: My Ass Ma” Academicist literary types denigrate plays on words in general and puns in particular…and I don’t give a royal rat’s raunchy rump for the opinions of the broad mass of academicist, rationalistic, materialistic monomaniacs.
Consider “Miasma”. It’s foul odors generated in a stagnant swamp. Because the Democrat FORMER Labor party has long benefitted by the fact that the Twin Sitties as a megalopolis, with numerous exurbs way out beyond the sub-urbs; the majority of its inmates are so stalled out in the rat-race that not only do they not have time or energy to extend their interests much beyond those of their own beleaguered households…no time to pay much attention to even local metro affairs, much less to invest fading fast time to national and international matters of concern and consequence.
Thus, the majority of “Cityots” as some in my little community currently describe their many family members, relatives and old school friends who have devolved into something other than involved human beings. Ergo: They have been devolving into mere subjects rather than engaged citizens. That degradation has led to voting for the political party which most closely fits their preconceptions and even prejudices.
Common Sense is a rare commodity amongst a considerable majority of urbanized, centralized Americans. They simply have lost track of their often rural and small-town roots…no sense of community and most of them barely know their next-door neighbors…nodding acquaintances if you will. When it comes to political understanding, the majority is essentially inert.
Minnesota’s massive bureaucracy owes much to the University of Minnesota, a scene where I spent rather than invested several years, but ultimately waking up to that particular miasma and dropped out with five credits to go to “achieve” an honors degree in history. When people are deliberately dumbed down by a Bernaysian propaganda matrix in both “educational” facilities as well as by Newton Minnow’s “Vast Wasteland”…aka the Boobtoob…and then living as Johnny and Joanie Paycheck…spending much of their time paying off bills…the level of cultural degradation is contra-stratospheric.
Even The Wicked Witch of the West, who was utterly shocked by the Trumpster’s “theft” of her ass-sendancy to the throne…had aides and handlers who tuned her unto the old African proverb: “It takes a village to raise a child”. My belief is that the amazing Mayan culture came to realize that simple concept and headed off into the jungle. The urbanized, centralized jungle had finally convinced them that highly concentrated and totally centralized lifestyles are ultimately toxic.
This particular rant is the first introduction to the possibility of “Minnesota…My Ass Ma” as an ongoing sperm of the moment set of perspectives of a Cosmiconscious octogenarian seeker.
Critique me all you like and even criticize this outlook by a retroprojective visionary. As much as my limited time for public intercourse grants me, I will do all I can to respond…hopefully in some level of mutual respect.
…and thanks again to Tom Pfotzer for eliciting this rant.

Posted by: aristodemos | Nov 8 2024 4:48 utc | 111

Newbie@1912
You were curious as to what drove me off on independent publishing. Good question. After some six years of running an enterprise which was essentially a one-man show, with being responsible for more than half the writing, almost all of the photography, designing each publication, dealing with billing subscribers and running what was probably the second largest paper-route in the whole country to the publication’s well over a hundred mom n’ pop stores…and then living a homesteader life with garden, wood heating, wood cookstove, walking water and running outhouse (except for winter months when I cheated with old juice bottles for one function and dropping my loads on three sheets of the New York Times (donated after he’d read them by an escapee from Manhattan). . oh yes, those well abused rags got tossed into my Fosterbuilt heating stove…no mess, no fuss, no smell.
Even in my mid-late 30’s…I was somewhat burned-out and needed a change of pace and some new discoveries. Five months hitchhiking in N.W. Europe with full-frame backpack, sleeping-bag, tent, flowered and feathered 4-Beaver Stetson and my trusty staff, Embla…provided new perspectives via that $2K “Grand Tour”. All told, my hitchhiking adventures totaled some figure in excess of ten thousand miles.
Living a life of adventure in my earlier manhood years was quite instructive and generally emotionally and psychologically fulfilling. Now as a “Tribal Elder” and to a degree what the Romans would consider as a Tribune (unofficial of course) for the multitudes without much for a public voice. my current state of affairs might be cognate with a line from Dylan: “But I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now”. Check out his “Chimes of Freedom”. Dylan was in his earlier years one amazing channeler from Jung’s “Universal Unconscious” and/or Edgar Cayce’s iteration of the Akashic Records”. Another one from the Northwoods Nobelist: “He not busy being born is busy dying”…right between the eyes, Baby.
The polar opposite of degeneration is simply regeneration. In case you have yet to fully apprehend…both Gens Y and Z have generally given up on all major institutions. The many intuitive ones amongst that grouping are busy seeking. Soon enough, the future will be in their hands. As the Beatles intoned: “Let it Be”.

Posted by: aristodemos | Nov 8 2024 5:15 utc | 113

psychohistorian | Nov 8 2024 3:31 utc | 102
psychohistorian | Nov 8 2024 3:31 utc | 102…
Link, please. Or date/title? Thanks

Posted by: chu-teh | Nov 8 2024 5:29 utc | 115

Newbie@531
Surely you must possess considerably more “Sitzfleisch” than my slender old Norwegican rump. My posting and reading times are limited to fairly early in my morning and then out in the evening aways. Problem, if one can call it that is a need to drive on out to the homestead and continue with the reconstruction of not only the battered old house, but even more so of the several gardens, forested areas and numerous landscaping endeavors. Been putting in an average of 5-6 hours per day on approximately a six day week. Pretty silly for one who’s been essentially “retired some 28 years…but it floats the boat, so to speak. Soul (DNA) ever bit as much as spirit (one amongst innumerable emanations of Creator and his/her androgynous if we can call it that desire to experience all that is.
Something “funny” happened to rock n’ roll music in the closing years of the 70’s. Seems like the good stuff was not happening any more on A.M. radio. Did someone or something get to the FCC? Or was the phenomenon a cultural reaction on some quasi universal level to all the changes and effervescence which began shortly after JFK was taken down? What I’m attempting to communicate is that something happened to the vibe…it soured out…not entirely, but for those whose intuition was a bit tuned in…the spark was gone.
Response to prior question: Never did work for a “classic media newspaper”. Just small potatoes outfits. No staff in large numbers. The “progressive” thang was huge in the journalism department at the U. of Mn…Hubert Humphrey liberals were dominant. Eventually the split began between that bunch and the anti-war folk during the Vietnam fiasco. My own perspectives flitted around amidst the combination of programming and turmoil…chaos, even. So, mainly because I had been a history major and took only one J-school course; the Minneapolis organs were not interested in writers who didn’t “wear the old-school tie”.
Compartmentalization was huge in ’68. The “slots” for the higher ed types were already cast in concrete. The corporate ethos predominated…no room for questioners or independent thinkers. Herd mentality was the core program…embedded into the curriculum. Thus, the well-paved road to professional careers was cross-checked by speed-bumps. Within that matrix outriders were outsiders…no room in the inn.
So in the dulcet tones of Frank Sinatra “I had to do it my way”.
Concentration camps are an apt metaphor for the centralized, urbanized, corporatized dystopia…all of which I find detestable and ultimately unstable.
China, during its several iterations of conceptualization of the Celestial Kingdom, actively sought out those they deemed to be meretricious. High offices were often held by individuals who were born and raised in peasant communities. The artistic and aesthetic realms were well served in that Celestial Kingdom world where even bureaucrats were rarely stodgy time-servers.
Interestingly: China is once again ascendant. Over time they will gradually evolve from the Maoist manias…Oh, like Russia, they are likely to celebrate certain aspects of the Red revolution…while other aspects are quietly laid to rest. Even now, they are recovering the I Ching as well as the Tao. The Little Red Book is likely now the exclusive province of climbing apparatchiks as its singular adherents.
Awakenings are a planetary phenomenon.
The Epoch of Kali Yuga has run its course.
We have been born to live in interesting times. The (r)evolution initiates on the spiritual plane. Such is of a Peace.

Posted by: aristodemos | Nov 8 2024 6:35 utc | 117

China, during its several iterations of conceptualization of the Celestial Kingdom, actively sought out those they deemed to be meretricious.
Posted by: aristodemos | Nov 8 2024 6:35 utc | 117
great post loved it.
I was still a bit away in the cosmos when jfk had his head blown off in front of everybody, back and to the left. Clearly very traumatizing to the whole country. He was Americas Ken doll they liked to show to the world.
But uncle Lyndon had other plans with the toys from his belle wife’s daddy. And he had to blow that toy up in the most greusome fashion to an audience of people who had either experienced the graphic horror of war, were first responders/worked trauma wings or had never seen something so graphic in tall their life.
To take the war, they had to kill him in front of everyone. and war horrified them, and Vietnam War was doomed. That’s the mysterious balance of the universe. They saw a beautiful white man get his head blown off, and war wasnt fun no more.
And CNN was there to stick it to the MAGAts, camera man ready for a picture capturing the moment the loudest cry of bloody joy ever escaped from half the planet. It would have been civil war.
But he moves deliberately and funny. No accident, and the dice came up seven.
Anyways, in reply to china, I have mentioned Cao Cao a few times. Cao Caos son, Cao Pi started the civic testing of peasant for government jobs. Before then, the emperor would send out scholars to hear wealthy children debate issues, and then would pick one for the job. This was 3rd century a.d.
It met great resistance of course, because the elite felt they were entitled to those jobs. But Cao Pi pushed it through.
I am sure you knew this, but I mention Cao Cao every blue moon or two.

Posted by: UWDude | Nov 8 2024 7:37 utc | 119

76 Juliana. Thank you for this post. Wow, that surprised me!
Also your earlier post 50 summary of Alexander Mercouris today. Didn’t think I’d get to it but now definitely will read it.
Michael Hudson suggested today on Nima’s podcast that, regarding the US election, Jill Stein’s disappointing less than 1 percent of vote, showed how difficult it is for a 3rd party to get a foothold in US, because it seems in about 25 percent (my guessed figure) of states Stein wasn’t on the ballot. (Although in Dearborn, MI Stein came in 2nd ahead of Kamala.) In New York, Stein had collected 35000 the signatures required on petition to get on vote; then New York upped the requirement to 55000. Hudson and his wife had to write Stein in when they went to vote. 3rd party hasn’t a chance in a Dem machine state. The election has demonstrated US politics closed to an electoral option for change in US.

Posted by: Lavieja | Nov 8 2024 9:23 utc | 121

Posted by: Reversed Osmosis | Nov 8 2024 4:13 utc | 107
Now that Trump has been elected, people here believe that there will be changes domestically. Which is more important to most Americans than foreign policy. However, it’s to be seen if his administration changes course on the Biden debacle or doubles down on stupidity
Lawfare on the wane?
https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1854615830358614487
LOL

Posted by: john | Nov 8 2024 11:18 utc | 123

The many people on moon of Alabama who are not ideologues or filled with political Dogma.
Who come to b’s site to learn new things. Can learn about how the Eurozone actually works using the actual balance sheets.
Here:
https://www.crisesnotes.com/no-the-eurosystem-of-central-banks/
You will never be fooled by the monetary silencing propaganda ever again. Or the mainstream nedia.

Posted by: Sun Of Alabama | Nov 8 2024 11:25 utc | 125

Sankara’s Hooligan won, “The Most Retarded Post I Read Today”, for the below ‘gem’:
“Putin is probably a traitor.
Only explanation for his march on Kiev and brainless sacrificing of tens of thousands young Russians.”
Posted by: Sankara’s Hooligan | Nov 8 2024 11:25 utc | 124

Posted by: canuck | Nov 8 2024 11:45 utc | 127

Ukraine Weekly Update, 8th November2024: May be useful to some: https://robcampbell.substack.com/p/ukraine-weekly-update-b42

Posted by: Dr. Rob Campbell | Nov 8 2024 11:53 utc | 129

I don’t think the incoming Trump administration is going to be ready for the world of 2025. Trump is not going to be surrounded by Realists and Trump certainly isn’t one. He has too much ego for it. He sometimes has decent instincts about war and foreign policy, but he’s an old man that believes the U.S. is the greatest country ever. He is not going to let go of US power because it’s right or even because the only way to save the republic is by ending the empire.
It’s going to be a chaotic shit show. The details will be different than the current chaotic shit show of imperial management but the details hardly matter much anymore. The trajectory is fairly well established. It may be too soon to define the fall but the decline is clear. The U.S. would need someone capable of recognizing and managing that decline to maximize the U.S. position. Trump is bad at details and follow through. He’s emotional.
On the plus side, he’s almost certain to make the EU eat shit which it deserves for being craven idiots in service of the empire. He’ll polarize US politics for another four years, limiting the ability of anyone who might be a competent imperial manager to address the the issues of decline. And that polarization will heighten the internal contradictions of the U.S., those internal contradictions are the most dangerous to the nation.

Posted by: Lex | Nov 8 2024 11:54 utc | 131

Sorry, but once again you have no idea how it works.
Posted by: Sun Of Alabama | Nov 8 2024 11:07 utc | 122
—
You don’t have the competence to tell canuck how finance works. His obsolete bourgeoisie opinions expose his lived experience that you can only fantasize about.

Posted by: too scents | Nov 8 2024 12:07 utc | 133

When Money Dies a book for Derek Henry new’ Sun of Alabama
https://books.google.de/books/about/When_Money_Dies.html?id=YxUBAwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y

Posted by: Exile | Nov 8 2024 13:17 utc | 135

Not sure if this is Pepe’s wit or he copped it but it’s funny:

Stupid Germans are self-administering the Morgenthau plan.
“>https://t.me/rocknrollgeopolitics/13420

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Nov 8 2024 14:09 utc | 137

https://jewishinsider.com/2024/11/brian-hook-donald-trump-transition-team-iran-middle-east/
Pro-Israel leaders encouraged by Brian Hook’s role on State Department transition team

Posted by: Mary | Nov 8 2024 14:39 utc | 139

From a top source in Brussels, who never failed me:
American officers across NATO centers – especially Poland – are now shredding and deleting EVERY VITAL DOCUMENT they can put their hands on in order to leave no traces ahead of Trump’s January inauguration.
https://t.me/rocknrollgeopolitics/13416
It would mean that “our best warriors” have nerves made of angel hair (a.k.a. capellini pasta), but at most it was a figure of speech. These guys were dancing circles around Trump Mark I. OTH, it is amazing that paper shredders are still used in serious institutions (are they really?). As a child, I was once taken by my father to work (computational outfit of Polish military in Communist time), and for disposing paper that had potentially sensitive content, there was a paper pulping machine, perhaps not exactly pulping, but the results were seriously mangled, beyond any attempt to put the originals together. These days what would be really needed in “shredding” of computer storage units, enough overwriting to prevent reconstruction.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Nov 8 2024 14:57 utc | 141

@Posted by: Lex | Nov 8 2024 11:54 utc | 131

I don’t think the incoming Trump administration is going to be ready for the world of 2025. Trump is not going to be surrounded by Realists and Trump certainly isn’t one. He has too much ego for it. He sometimes has decent instincts about war and foreign policy, but he’s an old man that believes the U.S. is the greatest country ever. He is not going to let go of US power because it’s right or even because the only way to save the republic is by ending the empire.

Very much in agreement with your sentiments, but its not just the Trump administration but the whole oligarch class that is not ready for the world of 2025. Not even Mearsheimer really gets the full political-economic reality. I am generally holding off on commenting on the impacts of Trump until we see his actual appointments in each policy area. One thing is certain though, and that is the intensification of the tariff and export control war on China. This area is perhaps the one of greatest delusion among the US oligarchy and its courtier class, and I detail this utter disconnect with reality in my piece Note to Trump: China in 2024 is much stronger than China was in 2016
With respect to Russia, I do think that he will make a delusional offer that will be rejected by Putin. Also, that Russia will work hard before January 20th to change the facts on the ground. How will Trump react to the rejection of his terms? Either escalate or walk away, I see the former as more possible but let’s see who his appointments are first. An escalation in Ukraine may also be a hard sell to his base and a lot of those Republicans in the House and Senate.
I remember my ex being so hopeful about the Obama first administration and getting so annoyed at me when I explained that his appointments showed that it would be a continuation of Bush with a nicer face and rhetoric. The Trump supporters may be in for the same annoyance in the next few months.

Posted by: Roger Boyd | Nov 8 2024 15:09 utc | 143

Troll free era for MoA on the horizon?

The CIA and the other alphabet agencies are closing down their NAFO bot farms, as they shut up shop on their Ukrainian dis-info operations. They know their time is up.
How do we know this you ask? Because pro-Ukrainian accounts are reporting sudden losses of hundreds of followers within hours.
This particular vampire ball is coming to an end.
“>https://t.me/two_majors/35635

Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Nov 8 2024 15:33 utc | 145

@Aristodemos, several posts in this thread.
Aristodemos:
First, I congratulate you on your incipient decision to re-engage in battle. This is paramount.
Next, some impressions about what I (at the moment, based on little data) think you “bring to the table” re: Minnesota.
a. You’re a creative, active, determined, skilled polymath. You’ve built a reality according to your design (your homestead), and it’s got a lot of the elements of “fit” design in the sense that it’ll go the distance, fit in with how the natural world works, provide for your needs, etc. That’s a compelling track-record sort of story. (actually, many stories).
b. Got strong theoretical (read the materials from history) platform to speak from
c. Live in, operate from and beside … the “red” part of the state, which is almost all the state, and btw almost all the country
d. Got an axe to grind with all the people that got in your way or otherwise degraded the situation in the past, as evidenced by your putative selection of mast-head (miasma, with an embedded slur)
I counsel:
a. Speak to the positive. The main job isn’t to tear down or discredit; the main job is to build the new. Buckminster Fuller: “don’t waste time fighting the existing system; build the new system that obsoletes the old one”. You have a wealth of real-world, actually-experienced insight into how the world at the plebe-who-can-think level _works_. Ya got a wealth of great, great stories. Tell your stories. If you have to bash the opposition, tell the stories of your battles, and present “lessons learned” and “here’s how I’ll do it (better) next time”. Make each article an adventure, with drama and shoot-em-up, and good-guys finally prevailing. People need encouragement and hope. That’s what’s missing most.
b. Focus local, as you seem to be intending. That’s where your power, relative to your “adversaries” is strongest, and theirs the weakest. Your former role as Journalist of a local paper …. is nearly unique background. Leverage the hell out of that. Ya know what to do, right?
c. Work the “free speech” theme. Boy do you have something to say about that, and .. unless I’m missing something, that theme will resonate very well with your neighbors. Cancel culture, de-platforming, mind-control, all that stuff is may well be high or even uppermost in people’s minds. This, btw, is where that Re:Public platform might be a good fit: it’s heavy on the “reach out and relate locally” tool-set, and “how to build relationships locally” and “we support Free Speech”. Let them do that heavy-lifting for you, and you concentrate on content development, and “what’s unique, useful, and interesting about my life experiences that these folk _would appreciate_ hearing”. Give them hope, give them stepping-stones (practical, applicable, workin’ right now in our neighborhood, etc.)
d. Position yourself as Champion of the Stepped Upon. Find people – not you, others – that have and are fighting the good fight, and tell their story. That’ll make you a lot of friends.
e. Get people talking to one another, and better yet working together on stuff. Dunno what, doesn’t matter as much as the act of personal interaction. That’s what people are _really_ missing these days, is some friendship and a chance to hang out and blow off some steam, maybe drink some beer and break bread. A few good times. And that’s the one thing that Local can do that Centralized never can, never will. Hit ’em between the eyes where they’re weakest.
OK, that’s my 2c. Hope it’s useful.

Posted by: Tom Pfotzer | Nov 8 2024 15:36 utc | 147

Aged like milk

Trump told Xi of Syria strikes over ‘beautiful piece of chocolate cake’
This article is more than 7 years old
President reveals missiles were launched as he and Chinese counterpart had dessert after dinner at his Mar-a-Lago estate
Donald Trump informed the Chinese president that he had launched missile strikes on Syria as the pair ate “the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake that you have ever seen”, the US president has claimed.
In an interview with Fox Business, Trump offered his first account of how he had broken the news to Xi Jinping as they dined at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida at the start of a two-day bridge-building summit last Thursday.
“I was sitting at the table. We had finished dinner. We are now having dessert. And we had the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake that you have ever seen. And President Xi was enjoying it,” Trump said.
“And I was given the message from the generals that the ships are locked and loaded. What do you do? And we made a determination to do it. So the missiles were on the way.
“And I said: ‘Mr President, let me explain something to you … we’ve just launched 59 missiles, heading to Iraq [sic] … heading toward Syria and I want you to know that.’
“I didn’t want him to go home … and then they say: ‘You know the guy you just had dinner with just attacked [Syria
Asked how the leader of China, which alongside Russia has repeatedly blocked UN resolutions targeting the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, had reacted, Trump said: “He paused for 10 seconds and then he asked the interpreter to please say it again – I didn’t think that was a good sign.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/12/trump-xi-jinping-chocolate-cake-syria-strikes

“the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake that you have ever seen”
I’m sure it made a lasting impression.

Posted by: too scents | Nov 8 2024 15:50 utc | 149

Finally, Russia shit. Zman is not recognized as having 4O4 authority, is a nobody, and has an arrest warrant out……fair play, ’bout time.
Cheers M
…..preferably, Z man is caught and incarcerated in the same prison that claimed the life of Gonzalo Lira….

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Nov 8 2024 15:57 utc | 151

Concerning the demise of the “professional” presstitution industry, the downward spiral is terminal, and that is a damn good thing. Social media and AI is destined to bury the “professional” presstitute, and attendance to that funeral will be sparse.
Rhetorical question as I already know the answer, but what value does the contemporary “professional” presstitute add? And to whom? To the media consumer or the corporate/government sponsor?
Even the most sincere contemporary “professional” presstitute colors the content they excrete with an eye to “What impact will this have on the media consumers? How can I twist this to better serve the greater good?” Unfortunately, the “professional” presstitute is dumber than a plumber. Not that plumbers are actually dumb, but “professional” presstitutes certainly believe themselves smarter and more worthy to the core of their being, what with their egos inflated to bursting by the university equivalent of Special Education. How else could they ever even contemplate arrogating to themselves the right to be the arbiters of truth?
And don’t even try to debate me on that last point. I have audited courses on “journalistic ethics” at a number of prestigious universities, and all of them require the fledgling presstitutes to tell “white lies” and lies of omission for the greater good, as defined by delusional middle class fools possessing only the most estranged relationship with objective reality (classic example: “Don’t mention anything that might provide the readers with a clue about the killer’s race unless they are white”). This delusional and completely unjustifiable insufferable arrogance is in fact a major part of why the “professional” presstitution industry is in the shitter and can never get out.
Another example: The “professional” presstitution industry has been soul searching over their declining influence among the plebes, in particular since much of the population snubbed their bogus narratives during the 2016 US elections. “Maybe we should listen to the deplorables?” they wonder. Sounds promising, right? Except in 100% of cases, this is “Let’s listen to deplorables to figure out how we can lead them to our version of the truth”, and not “Let’s listen to deplorables because they might be right and we could be wrong.” They are so arrogantly, ignorantly certain of their own superiority that they cannot even contemplate the possibility they might be wrong.
And the “professional” presstitutes absolutely are wrong.
Nowadays, everyone with a connection to the Internet and a few free hours can be a journalist, and frankly, they are more qualified than any “professional” presstitute. Be a journalist full time? Then subsist on alms from plumbers and machine operators like our host here at MoA. Humility is perhaps the most valuable character trait in a journalist.
In the ideal world (after the Revolution, I suppose), people will have the right to a “basic income”… not enough to live well on, but too much to die on… and so any unemployed individual in such a society can devote their time to journalism, and the whole concept of corporate/state sponsored news be outlawed (J.K. Rowling was on the dole when she wrote Harry Potter, which is arguably better literature than what is produced by most “professional” authors).

Posted by: William Gruff | Nov 8 2024 16:03 utc | 153

aristodemos, the comment below was so OT on b’s current thread that I have extracted it to correct some of the statements therein. You do not have to agree with me, but you ought to be more polite. That is the way to make friends.

“…Why do they[rioters at a football match] act out in such extreme manners? That current runs deep amongst those who consider themselves not only exceptional, but actually “Chosen”. That trope dates back to Ptolomaic Alexandria…then the great metropolis in the Mediterranean would. With the largest single “Chosen” population on the planet; the Ptolemaic government encouraged the Septuagint, comprised of Chosen scholars to essentially CREATE the Old Test-[ament].
Having access to the Library of Alexandria, boasting the most complete archives in the Western world; those scholars went about developing a narrative…one which even today rules the minds of [some] American Evangelists, Dispensationalists and the monomaniacal “Christian” Zionists, a grouping featuring insanity on steroids.
Yes, the Old Test-[ament] is basically a made-up narrative which features the “Chosen” as a master race and the special ones for their tribal WarGod, Yahweh. It has been the most successful con game in human history. No Creator in “his/her” right mind would countenance a “Chosen” people. No sense to that notion if you give that some thought.

I have made some remarks/corrections,[], within what I have quoted above. The bolded part at the end indicates that I agree with you.
Those were well educated Jews who took the texts and transcribed them as best they could (being Jews) into Greek two centuries before Christ. He himself often used their translations, but he also made his own in some instances.
Christians use these ancient texts with discrimination, not holding to everything that they contain. Even Martin Buber, a Jewish scholar, recognized that there were added segments later than the original texts, as his “Moses, the Revelation and the Covenant” and “The Prophetic Faith” both point out.

“…It is precisely this, the description of Moses as a concrete individuality and the demonstration of what he created and what his historical work was, that I have made my purpose in this book; on the, to me, obvious basis of unprejudiced critical observation, dependent neither on the religious tradition nor on the theories of scholarly turns of thought…
[Martin Buber; from the preface to “Moses; The Revelation and the Covenant”]

Buber opposed making the religion a state movement, seeing what it would become. He was a friend to Arabs and opposed to the Zionist movement, which he had left once he discovered their radical program.
Please take these matters into advisement and cease your harassment. You have many important views which I agree with, as do others. It is a shame not to focus on those. These are times we need to focus on friendship, where that is possible. Here, it is. Buber did; Putin does. I want to do so also. Let us be friends.

Posted by: juliania | Nov 8 2024 16:52 utc | 155

In a world twisted by the ambitions of empire and the flawed designs of the Demiurge, we find ourselves on a Gnostic quest for gnosis—an awakening that challenges the systems that seek to imprison our spirits. The material realm, entangled in power struggles, creates a suffocating web of exploitation, trapping us in a cycle of oppression.
We must look to the Pythagorean understanding of numbers, which reveals the deeper order of the universe. Today, these mathematical truths can decode the hidden hierarchies of imperial power and exploitation. The Monad, representing the indivisible unity of all existence, parallelly echoes Euler’s formula, ( e^{ix} = \cos(x) + i\sin(x) ), illustrating how complex forms arise from a singular source. This enlightenment reminds us that our strength lies in collective action and solidarity, embodying unity amidst the chaos.
The spirit’s descent into the abyss embodies the necessary confrontation with the harsh realities of imperialist oppression, compelling us to face the trials of our existence. Each act of resistance against imperialism serves to liberate our spirits from the chains of materialism and domination. While the Demiurge may be flawed, it has crafted a world rich with potential; even amidst the ruins of empire, glimmers of divine resilience and solidarity endure.
The phoenix rising from its ashes is our symbol of resilience—a testament to our collective ability to rise and reclaim our power. As we navigate the dark abyss of oppression, our painful journey transforms from mere suffering into a powerful narrative of liberation.
Through awareness and collective action, we can rise from this abyss, foster connection, and dismantle the structures of tyranny that seek to govern our lives. In this light, the struggle against imperialism evolves beyond politics—it becomes a spiritual awakening, guiding us toward a world where true unity and liberation flourish, free from the shackles of oppressive forces.

Posted by: SacredGeometry | Nov 8 2024 17:20 utc | 157

Posted this in the wrong place – as the first half of a 2 topic post. I am hoping that our most gracious host, Mr B will forgive & tolerate that!
Here is a
Excerpt from Has Donald Trump Learned Anything from the Last Eight Years?
by Larry C. Johnson
https://sonar21.com/has-donald-trump-learned-anything-from-the-last-8-years/

… One of the more despicable creatures, in my view, is Mike Pompeo, who reportedly is campaigning to be named Secretary of Defense. He would be a disaster for Trump and for the security of this nation…. Some of us have not forgotten how sanctimoniously he threw Trump under the bus on the bogus Classified Documents case and the illegal appointment of Jack Smith as Special Prosecutor.
What Pompeo could have said, should have said, was,
“Donald Trump, as President had the ultimate authority to classify and declassify documents. He said that he declassified the documents confiscated at Mar A Lago and there are serious questions about the motives of the Department of Justice in this case.”
He could have done that, but he did not. If Trump and his team let this type of betrayal go unpunished, then I fear Trump is setting himself up for four more years of lawfare.
…
Trump’s first act — naming his Chief of Staff — is a great indicator that he understands you have to have someone who gives a shit about you running your daily affairs. Susie Wise was in charge of this stunningly successful campaign and she is a clear head. She did not get the position because she has a vagina. She got it because she’s competent….it is historic — she is the first female Chief of Staff in the nation’s history.
…
Trump’s brush with death in Butler, Pennsylvania changed him for the better. I think it was the first time in his life that he realized his own mortality. It humbled him and brought him the realization that there may have been Divine intervention. Now, what will he do with this?
…
I am confident that he will bring a quick end to the war in Ukraine. I am less confident that he will avoid getting entangled in a war with Iran. There is enormous political pressure in Washington to attack Iran and no tolerance of anyone, like me, who suggests that negotiation and diplomacy are the best options for securing a peace between Israel, the Palestinians and Iran….

Larry C Johnson is a regular on Judge Napolitano’s Youtube channel Judging Freedom. Judge Nap has many high integrity, bright, former Intel/Military, and academic guests every week.
https://www.youtube.com/@judgingfreedom
Johnson’s web sight: https://sonar21.com/

Posted by: WillSeymour | Nov 8 2024 17:34 utc | 159

Posted this in the wrong place – as the Second half of a 2 topic post. I am hoping that this meeting place’s excellent founder & most gracious host, Mr B will forgive & tolerate that:
Joe Rogan Gets Trump to Discuss JFK Files and UFO Disclosure
Trump says he’ll release those files [
[Trump’s comments to Rogan make it clear that any files he releases will be redacted to continue the coverup/business as usual]
6.5 minutes
https://youtu.be/sozmnOjN97c?si=3gaosglTWdWuSnks
…………
Believe it or not, there is a divine plan for this planet that can’t be deleted. The same Intelligence that created our sun & solar system oversee our evolution on our relatively primitive planet. They will not solve our problems for us. If they did we would learn nothing. We need the challenges to evolve.

“For centuries, governments have been known to have kept much information (usually embarrassing) from their peoples, thereby consolidating their power to rule. Nevertheless, is it not surprising that for over 60 years, modern governments, aided and abetted by a cynical media, have, more or less successfully, kept from the public their certain knowledge of the reality of UFOs and the fact of their peaceful activity?
…
All the planets… are interconnected &… in communication. This solar system acts as a unit — it is not one planet & a whole lot of dead planets.
Benjamin Creme (1922 – 2016)

The late Scottish author, artist & public speaker wrote & spoke about that for many years & never charged admission, nor did he accept any compensation for his books.
Large excerpts from his books can be found here:
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Benjamin_Creme

The whole purpose of the [UFO] cover up by the military & economic interests is to maintain their control over society. -Gerard Aartsen
The real purpose of state secrecy is to enable governments to establish their own self-interested and often mendacious version of the truth by the careful selection of “facts” to be passed on to the public. –Patrick Cockburn
Our No. 1 enemy is ignorance. And I believe that is the No. 1 enemy for everyone — it’s not understanding what actually is going on in the world…. You have to start with the truth. The truth is the only way that we can get anywhere. Because any decision-making that is based upon lies or ignorance can’t lead to a good conclusion.- Julian Assange
S H O W — O U T — THE — L I E S ! !

Posted by: WillSeymour | Nov 8 2024 17:47 utc | 161

There are plenty of valid reasons to be crucial of Trump and apprehensive, or even pessimistic about his new administration. But the comments from people who have spent the past 8 years in a TDS frenzy are very tiresome to read and come across as trolling, rather than real political analysis. If you hate him, please provide real political analysis justifying your position and be prepared for a rational debate, not TDS vitriol.

Posted by: Turk 152 | Nov 8 2024 18:05 utc | 163

JOhn PIlger

Yanks are like mushrooms, kept in the dark and fed bullshit all day long

Exhibit B

We are too kind , the chicom would have no qualm sending them to claim their 72 virgins in a heartbeat

[This isnt verbatim, but it reflects the kind of attitude towards Muslim immigrants prevalent in Anglo sphere social media]
What crock !
Earth to mushroom….
India genocide its ‘moslem terrorists’ in Kashmir and GUjarat
Israel responded with shock and awe to the Oct 23 attack.
US genocided 25M Muslims under the mantra of that 911 FF
In contrast…..
China practically eradicated UIghurs militancy via its De radicalisation program
If only the west can learn from the Chinese…..

Posted by: denk | Nov 8 2024 18:33 utc | 165

Posted by: Reversed Osmosis | Nov 8 2024 4:46 utc | 110
———————————————————

If the past is any indication, humans will continue to be violent and territorial.

Please dont speak for the row.
http://www.us-uk-interventions.org/index_frames.html

It’s ingrained. The future may offer different solutions, but we won’t evolve. It’s a matter of survival.

Again, please dont speak for the row
Well the 8NA has evolved into G7 + Asian Nato, no mean feat that !

West blasts China on human rights in Xinjiang, Tibet
The Straits Times
23 Oct 2024 — Australia, the United States and 13 other countries criticised China at the United Nations on Oct 22 over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Tibet

Thats all folks

Posted by: denk | Nov 8 2024 18:56 utc | 167

In the context of renormalization, the combination of positive and negative infinities helps us redefine our physical quantities to yield finite results. By handling regularization and introducing counterterms, we can manage the infinities to extract observable predictions from our theoretical models.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scream

Posted by: SacredGeometry | Nov 8 2024 20:19 utc | 169

Louis | Nov 7 2024 20:37 utc | 53
*** The West offers more attractions compared to the colourful and discordant band of BRICS.***
Wouldn’t that be more accurate as :
“The West offers the illusion of more attractions….”

Posted by: Cynic | Nov 8 2024 20:24 utc | 171

Posted by: karlof1 | Nov 8 2024 1:51 utc | 90
Many many thanks, karlof1 – this will be a delight to watch/listen
to!

Posted by: juliania | Nov 8 2024 22:17 utc | 173

@ Roger Boyd | Nov 8 2024 15:09 utc
Roger: well-thought-out and even better-said. I wish I could offer alt-views, but I think you’ve got it right.
I am, of course – dreamer and optimist that I am – hoping for something fundamentally different, but the head-winds are just horrific.
These next several months will be interesting times, and it’s going to be a continuing adventure for us Bar-Flies to document and discuss it.
Free Speech. Exercise your rights, and expand your realm of influence.

Posted by: Tom Pfotzer | Nov 8 2024 22:46 utc | 175

any truth to this?? it is quite a 6 minute mouthful from trump…
https://x.com/LibertyLockPod/status/1854949449518514593?s=19

Posted by: james | Nov 9 2024 1:04 utc | 177

@ karlof1 | Nov 9 2024 1:11 utc | 178
happy birthday! i didn’t know!! enjoy some time doing what you like to do! looks like it might be this, lol..

Posted by: james | Nov 9 2024 1:13 utc | 179

@canuck | Fri, 08 Nov 2024 11:49:00 GMT | 128

Posted by: Sun Of Alabama | Nov 8 2024 11:25 utc | 125
Well how do you explain the German Central Bank (1) in the early 1920’s-yes the Central Banks can print money infinitely but if the paper issued is worthless what’s the point?
You are a confirmed moron!

That’s unfortunately a tad disingenuous from you, dear canuck. As far as I can tell, SoA and the MMT folks do not claim that printing lots of money has no effect on inflation. Of course it does. They just don’t seem to talk about this much, even when asked to expound. I don’t know why, but I would surely like to; it’s the single most critical pivot in the theory that I can see. Perhaps they have no clue themselves (which might be fair enough); but then, SoA recently said his theory posits that 0% is the ‘natural’ interest rate for central banks[?], so there is at least some grasping of inflationary dynamics. Note: I’m a laymen, but with that stated, the basic approach of MMT appears sound. It wouldn’t surprise me if they are actually right. Balance sheets … yes, of course.

Posted by: persiflo | Nov 9 2024 5:07 utc | 181

it’s the single most critical pivot in the theory that I can see.
Posted by: persiflo | Nov 9 2024 5:07 utc | 181
—
Beyond the inflation question there are two other critical issues to be addressed when analyzing MMT.
1) How is the borrowed money spent?
2) How is the surplus taxed?
MMT works quite perfectly for neoliberals when the money is spent on their cronies and the surplus is taxed from labor.
Any descriptive power MMT has is wasted by not asking the right questions.

Posted by: too scents | Nov 9 2024 15:03 utc | 183

A new dawn
The American people made their stand and won. Now comes the hard part…
Alex Krainer
Nov 09, 2024
my link @ 177 is confirmed in this post from alex..

Posted by: james | Nov 9 2024 15:10 utc | 185

@ too scents | Nov 9 2024 15:24 utc | 186
good point too scents.. lets see what happens.. indeed..

Posted by: james | Nov 9 2024 15:34 utc | 187

@ Tom Pfotzer | Nov 9 2024 16:30 utc | 188
thanks tom and for your many fine posts too! i think b might highlight some of this we are focused on, in the moa week in review… it seems significant for him to say all this in the space between the election and his inauguration… we’ll see what he accomplishes…

Posted by: james | Nov 9 2024 16:35 utc | 189

december 2022 is where the 6 minute video is from…
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/109518990392565381

Posted by: james | Nov 9 2024 16:54 utc | 191

thanks for the clip on trump re:free speech
don’t have the clip link for you but there is also another recent moment where trump promises to blacklist countries that avoid the us dollar… basically impossible to reconcile these two points of view ?! (even for a small superpower, like the us)
also, these constitutional “promises on paper” are somewhat deprecated by the continuation of the internet in all its’ “wild west-ness”–including the continued creation of permissionless technologies (i.e. nostr) … sure, there is also a constant effort to completely surveil (and identify, like this very bar that requires an email address… hmmm, i wonder why because i’ve been shadow b’ed here…)

Posted by: E | Nov 9 2024 17:32 utc | 193

@Posted by: james | Nov 9 2024 15:10 utc | 185
Alex Krainer is delusional, we simply have one part of the US oligarchy beating the other part of the US oligarchy. The US people did not “make a stand” they simply chose one of the two oligarch-supplied candidates for their continued subjugation. Trump will cut more taxes for the rich, destroy the regulatory state (i.e. more pollution, industrial accidents, corporate concentration etc.), remove state support for the technologies of the future, increase the inflation rate (the inevitable consequence of increased tariffs and the resultant supply chain issues), and increase the utterly wasteful “defence” budget while further increasing the US government spending deficit. The latter sets the stage for a later attack on “entitlement” spending that benefits the majority.
For foreign policy he will continue the self-defeating attempts to limit China’s development, and continue US support for the Zionist genocide. Looks also like he will continue the Taiwan provocations and maintain his “maximum pressure” against Iran. With respect to Ukraine who knows?
This mythologizing of an oligarch exploiter shows the utter dysfunctionality of the US political system, no real choice for the population from an extractavist oligarchy quite incapable of not destroying the base of its own power. We see the same in Germany where an election will just lead to another party following pretty much the same policies, as we have seen in the UK and in France.
The sorry state of the US is placed in stark relief in the recent RAND report appraisal of US defence capabilities, covered by Kit Klarenberg Collapsing Empire: China and Russia Checkmate US Militarys

Posted by: Roger Boyd | Nov 9 2024 19:09 utc | 195

@James, Juliania, Roger
Well, it may be that my hopes ran away with me. Oh, I was _so_ delighted to see those vids of Trump promising to dispatch the repression apparatus. James, thanks for pricking the bubble early, lest the tide of enthusiasm do flood-damage here @ the farm.
It’s one thing for Trump to say that stuff – wonderful tho it was – during the campaign, and another to say it post-victory (apparently not happened yet) and still quite another altogether to get the job done in the Bowels of the Deep State over a period of several years.
But as we well know, hope is not a plan. Suppose D. Trump doesn’t follow thru?
We still need Free Speech. To insure that we actually do have it, we need:
a. Journalists who see, and write.
b. A platform for Journalists to operate from that is immune to interference
c. A set of Readers that understand how vital Journalists are, and will “pay and promote” so the good Journalists get food on the table, and more Readers
Trump action or not, that’s what we need to create.
======
and to Roger: you set out the likely trajectory of the New Gang (Trump) .vs. the Old Gang (Biden). Likely. There’s a few modifiers, tho:
a. The expectations for change among the Repubs seems really high, and it’s not just about rolling back DEI et. al.
b. The level of determination to achieve said change among the Repubs also seems quite high
Yes, we’re likely due for more warring, maybe even more wars, for all the reasons you and others set out. There will be more defense waste, more enviro cost-dodging. That’s a given, it’s what Repubs (tend) to do. (Exception: Nixon and EPA, for ex).
But the red states aren’t generally the co-beneficiaries of that largess along with the oligarchs; most of that loot is shared among the coastal “islands” (floating in a sea of Red, as a friend pointed out yesterday). And the Red states are feeling a lot of pain.
By the way, if you map the blue .vs. red territory on a county basis (not state, but county), you really do get a sea of Red with some Blue dots here and there (hi-density pop centers).
===
I’m saying “I’m as skeptical as you are” and yet, I’m saying “by the way, playing another round of bait-and-switch has significantly elevated risks this time around”.
Recall all that chatter about how the Red team was ready to riot if D. Trump didn’t get elected. Some of that was real, by my lights.
I’ll be very interested to see who the econ policy team is. That, and who the Nat. Security Advisor and team is, and appointments to State and Defense. That’ll tell us where we’re headed.
By the way, Roger, are you writing anything these days about what your recommended U.S. econ policy would be if you had the magic wand? I’d like to see that topic get some air-time here @ the bar.

Posted by: Tom Pfotzer | Nov 9 2024 20:30 utc | 197

@Posted by: Roger Boyd | Nov 9 2024 21:49 utc | 198
The US would need a Party-state that had thoroughly defeated the oligarchy.

Posted by: Roger Boyd | Nov 9 2024 21:51 utc | 199