top of the heap to third world status in one generation

[Gry]

Numbers don't lie: more Saudi attacks on Yemen came after new US support - Responsible Statecraft

It's been seven years, but the Biden administration seems less likely than ever to follow through with its pledge to help end the war.

responsiblestatecraft.org

 

[Gry]

well, we all knew Barr was a POS. now we know just how LARGE a POS he is...sadly, there is evidence that he "could" have been worse...i'm glad he fought off those "opportunities" as a "bridge too far" even for someone as tainted as he is.

It does indeed get much worse, but we won't see much of that in our media.
He is second generation agency. He has delivered repeatedly and well.
He has also been well whitewashed, and I expect that will continue.

 

[Gry]

i used to think like this myself. would it be simpler to be an instantaneous casualty? sure. less suffering? damn straight. but the remote possibility of helping those that want to survive would be a strong incentive to survive myself. the prospect of helping to assist/protect them (or trying to) from the horrors that would probably be present "afterwards" is a strong urge. it would be nice to be able to think of ones self as one who tried to help, regardless. like properly inspired LEO, EMTs, firemen..."run toward the gunfire"

At some point along the way my perspective on the subject evolved.
Was pleased to serve a support role when my wife volunteered with
an outfit that delivered "pop up" medical services.

 

[armedoldhippy]

do some of us try to become more useful/engaged as we age? i helped folks as i could when younger too, giving jump-starts, help w/tire changes etc, car work, firewood etc. but there is a cynical slice that says "trying to mentally justify our continued existence" might come into play. does it truly matter WHY we help others ?

 

[moose eater]

do some of us try to become more useful/engaged as we age? i helped folks as i could when younger too, giving jump-starts, help w/tire changes etc, car work, firewood etc. but there is a cynical slice that says "trying to mentally justify our continued existence" might come into play. does it truly matter WHY we help others ?

Depends on what the claim to fame is by the person performing the acts.

 

[armedoldhippy]

Depends on what the claim to fame is by the person performing the acts.

self-satisfaction. i've had folks try to pay me for road-side assistance, jump-starts, help getting out of ditches. never take it. being paid would dampen the feeling i get for helping someone. i'd rather just be helpful, lol...

 

[buzzmobile]

My preference for vaporization has nothing to do with becoming more useful/engaged as I age.

24 Disturbing Pictures From The Aftermath Of Nuclear Warfare

In August 1945, the United States detonated atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing a combined 129,000 people and bringing WWII to an end. Warning: graphic images.

www.buzzfeednews.com

 

[Gry]

Have read and listened to "Last Train from Hiroshima" more than once.
In terms of scale, I would anticipate it being worse than described, as
the yield is much larger now. Recall having read that New Zealand
is the place were the chance of survival may be highest.
Which is why it is the favored location for the well heeled to build their private
compounds. That may allow them to evade the inevitable for a period
of time. I fear that would be considered a curse, more than as kindness
or a gift.

 

[moose eater]

Have read and listened to "Last Train from Hiroshima" more than once.
In terms of scale, I would anticipate it being worse than described, as
the yield is much larger now. Recall having read that New Zealand
is the place were the chance of survival may be highest.
Which is why it is the favored location for the well heeled to build their private
compounds. That may allow them to evade the inevitable for a period
of time. I fear that would be considered a curse, more than as kindness
or a gift.

Yes, New Zealand has many advantages re. wind and water currents, deep sea food sources, both protein and vegetation, etc., but the nuclear winter that probably would result from an all-out exchange, world-wide, of nukes, would probably affect the entire planet, radically changing Southern New Zealand's otherwise currently wonderful climate.

Apple orchards and streams with brown trout would be no more.

Livable climate, likewise.

Lots of sunscreen going on the skin in an atmosphere that would be substantially colder than previous.

"I'll take immediate vaporization, with tequila, hash, and maple butter on after-dinner biscuits for $300, Alex."

And one final selfie of a group of those least involved in the chemistry leading up to the skirmish, flipping off every major super-power's flag available... with the flags representing the group of equal participants or criminals, take your pick, in the build-up to what I perceive to be the inevitable..

 

[moose eater]

>>>""Washington emotes. Washington does not think, and it is also overtly hostile to empiricism and truth. Neither we nor our allies are prepared to fight all-out war with Russia, regionally or globally. The point is, if war breaks out between Russia and the United States, Americans should not be surprised. The Biden administration and its bipartisan supporters in Washington are doing all they possibly can to make it happen.""<<<
-----------------------------------
Not too certain the links transferred (though highlighted information re. names and references survived), and apologies for the loss of more comfortable spacing of paragraphs in the 'copy and paste' process.

An article sent to me the other day by an ex-pat friend, a former advanced weapons systems guy, living in France for the last decades, running a translation business with his French wife. Fairly well educated and very nice people, as people go..
-----------------------------------

By Douglas Macgregor

The American Conservative 26 January 2023

Until it decided to confront Moscow with an existential military threat in Ukraine, Washington confined the use of American military power to conflicts that Americans could afford to lose, wars with weak opponents in the developing world from Saigon to Baghdad that did not present an existential threat to U.S. forces or American territory. This time—a proxy war with Russia—is different.

Contrary to early Beltway hopes and expectations, Russia neither collapsed internally nor capitulated to the collective West’s demands for regime change in Moscow. Washington underestimated Russia’s societal cohesion, its latent military potential, and its relative immunity to Western economic sanctions.

As a result, Washington’s proxy war against Russia is failing. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was unusually candid about the situation in Ukraine when he told the allies in Germany at Ramstein Air Base on January 20, “We have a window of opportunity here, between now and the spring,” admitting, “That’s not a long time.”

Alexei Arestovich, President Zelensky’s recently fired advisor and unofficial “Spinmeister,” was more direct. He expressed his own doubts that Ukraine can win its war with Russia and he now questions whether Ukraine will even survive the war. Ukrainian losses—at least 150,000 dead including 35,000 missing in action and presumed dead—have fatally weakened Ukrainian forces resulting in a fragile Ukrainian defensive posture that will likely shatter under the crushing weight of attacking Russian forces in the next few weeks.

Ukraine’s materiel losses are equally severe. These include thousands of tanks and armored infantry fighting vehicles, artillery systems, air defense platforms, and weapons of all calibers. These totals include the equivalent of seven years of Javelin missile production. In a setting where Russian artillery systems can fire nearly 60,000 rounds of all types—rockets, missiles, drones, and hard-shell ammunition—a day, Ukrainian forces are hard-pressed to answer these Russian salvos with 6,000 rounds daily. New platform and ammunition packages for Ukraine may enrich the Washington community, but they cannot change these conditions.

Predictably, Washington’s frustration with the collective West’s failure to stem the tide of Ukrainian defeat is growing. In fact, the frustration is rapidly giving way to desperation.

Michael Rubin, a former Bush appointee and avid supporter of America’s permanent conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan, vented his frustration in a 1945 article asserting that, “if the world allows Russia to remain a unitary state, and if it allows Putinism to survive Putin, then, Ukraine should be allowed to maintain its own nuclear deterrence, whether it joins NATO or not.” On its face, the suggestion is reckless, but the statement does accurately reflect the anxiety in Washington circles that Ukrainian defeat is inevitable.

NATO’s members were never strongly united behind Washington’s crusade to fatally weaken Russia. The governments of Hungary and Croatia are simply acknowledging the wider European public’s opposition to war with Russia and lack of support for Washington’s desire to postpone Ukraine’s foreseeable defeat.

Though sympathetic to the Ukrainian people, Berlin did not support all-out war with Russia on Ukraine’s behalf. Now, Germans are also uneasy with the catastrophic condition of the German armed forces.

Retired German Air Force General (four-star equivalent) Harald Kujat, former chairman of the NATO Military Committee, severely criticized Berlin for allowing Washington to railroad Germany into conflict with Russia, noting that several decades of German political leaders actively disarmed Germany and thus deprived Berlin of authority or credibility in Europe. Though actively suppressed by the German government and media, his comments are resonating strongly with the German electorate.

The blunt fact is that in its efforts to secure victory in its proxy war with Russia, Washington ignores historical reality. From the 13th century onward, Ukraine was a region dominated by larger, more powerful national powers, whether Lithuanian, Polish, Swedish, Austrian, or Russian.

In the aftermath of the First World War, abortive Polish designs for an independent Ukrainian State were conceived to weaken Bolshevik Russia. Today, Russia is not communist, nor does Moscow seek the destruction of the Polish State as Trotsky, Lenin, Stalin, and their followers did in 1920.

So where is Washington headed with its proxy war against Russia? The question deserves an answer.

On Sunday December 7, 1941, U.S. Ambassador Averell Harriman was with Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill having dinner at Churchill’s home when the BBC broadcast the news that the Japanese had attacked the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. Harriman was visibly shocked. He simply repeated the words, “The Japanese have raided Pearl Harbor.”

Harriman need not have been surprised. The Roosevelt administration had practically done everything in its power to goad Tokyo into attacking U.S. forces in the Pacific with a series of hostile policy decisions culminating in Washington’s oil embargo during the summer of 1941.

In the Second World War, Washington was lucky with timing and allies. This time it’s different. Washington and its NATO allies are advocating a full-blown war against Russia, the devastation and breakup of the Russian Federation, as well as the destruction of millions of lives in Russia and Ukraine.

Washington emotes. Washington does not think, and it is also overtly hostile to empiricism and truth. Neither we nor our allies are prepared to fight all-out war with Russia, regionally or globally. The point is, if war breaks out between Russia and the United States, Americans should not be surprised. The Biden administration and its bipartisan supporters in Washington are doing all they possibly can to make it happen.

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/this-time-its-different/
*

 

[armedoldhippy]

Have read and listened to "Last Train from Hiroshima" more than once.
In terms of scale, I would anticipate it being worse than described, as
the yield is much larger now. Recall having read that New Zealand
is the place were the chance of survival may be highest.
Which is why it is the favored location for the well heeled to build their private
compounds. That may allow them to evade the inevitable for a period
of time. I fear that would be considered a curse, more than as kindness
or a gift.

ever read the book "On the Beach" before ? dark...

 

[Gry]

ever read the book "On the Beach" before ? dark...

No, I didn't. I did however see the 1959 movie when I was young enough that it seemed like a real life horror story to me.

 

[Gry]

>>>""Washington emotes. Washington does not think, and it is also overtly hostile to empiricism and truth. Neither we nor our allies are prepared to fight all-out war with Russia, regionally or globally. The point is, if war breaks out between Russia and the United States, Americans should not be surprised. The Biden administration and its bipartisan supporters in Washington are doing all they possibly can to make it happen.""<<<
-----------------------------------
Not too certain the links transferred (though highlighted information re. names and references survived), and apologies for the loss of more comfortable spacing of paragraphs in the 'copy and paste' process.

An article sent to me the other day by an ex-pat friend, a former advanced weapons systems guy, living in France for the last decades, running a translation business with his French wife. Fairly well educated and very nice people, as people go..
-----------------------------------

By Douglas Macgregor

The American Conservative 26 January 2023

Until it decided to confront Moscow with an existential military threat in Ukraine, Washington confined the use of American military power to conflicts that Americans could afford to lose, wars with weak opponents in the developing world from Saigon to Baghdad that did not present an existential threat to U.S. forces or American territory. This time—a proxy war with Russia—is different.

Contrary to early Beltway hopes and expectations, Russia neither collapsed internally nor capitulated to the collective West’s demands for regime change in Moscow. Washington underestimated Russia’s societal cohesion, its latent military potential, and its relative immunity to Western economic sanctions.

As a result, Washington’s proxy war against Russia is failing. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was unusually candid about the situation in Ukraine when he told the allies in Germany at Ramstein Air Base on January 20, “We have a window of opportunity here, between now and the spring,” admitting, “That’s not a long time.”

Alexei Arestovich, President Zelensky’s recently fired advisor and unofficial “Spinmeister,” was more direct. He expressed his own doubts that Ukraine can win its war with Russia and he now questions whether Ukraine will even survive the war. Ukrainian losses—at least 150,000 dead including 35,000 missing in action and presumed dead—have fatally weakened Ukrainian forces resulting in a fragile Ukrainian defensive posture that will likely shatter under the crushing weight of attacking Russian forces in the next few weeks.

Ukraine’s materiel losses are equally severe. These include thousands of tanks and armored infantry fighting vehicles, artillery systems, air defense platforms, and weapons of all calibers. These totals include the equivalent of seven years of Javelin missile production. In a setting where Russian artillery systems can fire nearly 60,000 rounds of all types—rockets, missiles, drones, and hard-shell ammunition—a day, Ukrainian forces are hard-pressed to answer these Russian salvos with 6,000 rounds daily. New platform and ammunition packages for Ukraine may enrich the Washington community, but they cannot change these conditions.

Predictably, Washington’s frustration with the collective West’s failure to stem the tide of Ukrainian defeat is growing. In fact, the frustration is rapidly giving way to desperation.

Michael Rubin, a former Bush appointee and avid supporter of America’s permanent conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan, vented his frustration in a 1945 article asserting that, “if the world allows Russia to remain a unitary state, and if it allows Putinism to survive Putin, then, Ukraine should be allowed to maintain its own nuclear deterrence, whether it joins NATO or not.” On its face, the suggestion is reckless, but the statement does accurately reflect the anxiety in Washington circles that Ukrainian defeat is inevitable.

NATO’s members were never strongly united behind Washington’s crusade to fatally weaken Russia. The governments of Hungary and Croatia are simply acknowledging the wider European public’s opposition to war with Russia and lack of support for Washington’s desire to postpone Ukraine’s foreseeable defeat.

Though sympathetic to the Ukrainian people, Berlin did not support all-out war with Russia on Ukraine’s behalf. Now, Germans are also uneasy with the catastrophic condition of the German armed forces.

Retired German Air Force General (four-star equivalent) Harald Kujat, former chairman of the NATO Military Committee, severely criticized Berlin for allowing Washington to railroad Germany into conflict with Russia, noting that several decades of German political leaders actively disarmed Germany and thus deprived Berlin of authority or credibility in Europe. Though actively suppressed by the German government and media, his comments are resonating strongly with the German electorate.

The blunt fact is that in its efforts to secure victory in its proxy war with Russia, Washington ignores historical reality. From the 13th century onward, Ukraine was a region dominated by larger, more powerful national powers, whether Lithuanian, Polish, Swedish, Austrian, or Russian.

In the aftermath of the First World War, abortive Polish designs for an independent Ukrainian State were conceived to weaken Bolshevik Russia. Today, Russia is not communist, nor does Moscow seek the destruction of the Polish State as Trotsky, Lenin, Stalin, and their followers did in 1920.

So where is Washington headed with its proxy war against Russia? The question deserves an answer.

On Sunday December 7, 1941, U.S. Ambassador Averell Harriman was with Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill having dinner at Churchill’s home when the BBC broadcast the news that the Japanese had attacked the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor. Harriman was visi==
Harriman need not have been surprised. The Roosevelt administration had practically done everything in its power to goad Tokyo into attacking U.S. forces in the Pacific with a series of hostile policy decisions culminating in Washington’s oil embargo during the summer of 1941.

In the Second World War, Washington was lucky with timing and allies. This time it’s different. Washington and its NATO allies are advocating a full-blown war against Russia, the devastation and breakup of the Russian Federation, as well as the destruction of millions of lives in Russia and Ukraine.

Washington emotes. Washington does not think, and it is also overtly hostile to empiricism and truth. Neither we nor our allies are prepared to fight all-out war with Russia, regionally or globally. The point is, if war breaks out between Russia and the United States, Americans should not be surprised. The Biden administration and its bipartisan supporters in Washington are doing all they possibly can to make it happen.

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/this-time-its-different/
*

I appreciated the Averell Harriman quote, as he
he had a major role in shaping the world live in
today.
If one would care for some background on this,
I offer the following. Some might wish to run it
as a loop.

 

[Gry]

When Americans Lost Faith in the News

Half a century ago, most of the public said they trusted the news media. Today, most say they don’t. What happened to the power of the press?

www.newyorker.com

Can't say that I buy into what they are saying completely, but they do
a fine job of describing an attitude that prevailed in DC until Newt delivered
the new approach : treating the opposition as an enemy.

 

[Gry]

The CIA’s Deadly Drug-Running Operation - LewRockwell

In an article I wrote last August entitled “The Torture and Execution of Kiki Camarena,” I recommended a Netflix documentary entitled The Last Narc. It revolves around the torture and execution of a DEA agent named Kiki Camarena, who was operating out of Guadalajara, Mexico. (Yes, the DEA...

www.lewrockwell.com

 

[Gry]

A real fine introduction to the work of DiEugenio.

 

[Gry]

I think well of what James DiEugenio has to offer.
I would be surprised if we do not see something "come up" which will result in his being discredited.

 

[buzzmobile]

The Existential Crisis Created by Humanity’s Addiction to Plastic - The Elephant

The materials used to make every day plastic items are harmful to human health yet we still make plastic because we need it. It is the medium through which we transport and store food, medicine, water, and just about everything else.

www.theelephant.info

 

[moose eater]

The Existential Crisis Created by Humanity’s Addiction to Plastic - The Elephant

The materials used to make every day plastic items are harmful to human health yet we still make plastic because we need it. It is the medium through which we transport and store food, medicine, water, and just about everything else.

www.theelephant.info

Plastic is one of my wife's biggest environmental complaints, and she's chosen an approximate time in the near future that she's asking me to join her in an experiment to go ccmpletely without plastics. No bags, no cups, now laminated bowls, nothing.

I've reluctantly agreed, but haven't yet reminded her that even the crankcase on her Stihl 250(?) is made of polymer. So we need to re-define or better define -exactly- what it is she's referencing when she says, 'without plastics.'

 

[Gry]

Sounds like an interesting thing to do, have often wondered what % of the stuff we could do without. I did not mind reusing bags and wax paper worked fine for most stuff.
Baggies were a large part of my young life. I recall reading that a previous
generation sold cannabis in matchboxes. How many matchboxes to a lid ?