World Politics

[rhubroma]

(1) There is nothing wrong with nationalism. I don´t know what happened to all of us (even those who use the own brain) buying the BS that it is bad.
Guys it´s the other way around. It´s good! (When everybody pi$$es in his own familys garden, all is peacful. It´s just the intruders from outside that spoil the party. I think it needs no hard thinking to get to that conclusion.)
The imperialists, neocons and greedy rich tell us this lie of "one tribe human kind". Because one group of same thinking (pro capitalism, gender mainstreaming, god beliving, paper money trusting), behaving, and same-"laws"-following morons are easier to control and enslave.

(2) Only the naive believe in reasonable politicans. I mean just take a look at almost-vice-president-of-USA Palin. She talked about nuke the "bad guys" (Russia) just last week, and people cheered. Just imagine the combo of McCain/Palin in power now. We´d already the WW3. It´s just a matter of time when the hillbillies of USA elect the wrong end (the republicans and tea-imbeciles that is) of the one party to power again...

I think you are confusing protectionsm with nationalism, because European nationalism of the twentieth-century and today has always been articulated within an extremist, far-right and fascist spectrum, which frankly is no good anyway it's looked upon.

 

[python]

(1) There is nothing wrong with nationalism.

i think you over interpreted me. the context of my use of the word was that those who excessively and too narrowly identified themselves with their national interests (iow, take a pick of a term:ultra-nationalists, pseudo-nationalist, fascists...) , helped to pave the way to both world wars. not only there are different degrees of nationalism, but even the different cultural and linguistic definitions of the word exist.

i am a convinced eurosceptic and dont believe in the eu future mostly because i dont see a sovereign country's core national interests in the long run (in my book - a healthy nationalism ! ) being compatible with the vague notions of a collective goodness.

that said, i recognize that most countries have thier own brand of ultra-nationalists or ultra-right groups. i was refereeing to these nuts who, among more moderate groups, seized power in ukraine. think: not only they neglected to include one single representative of the russian-speaking half of their compatriots in the transition govt, they explicitly forbade the russian language as the 1st act after they took power. not only it was stupid, it was an invitation to the russian ultra-nationalists (both inside ukraine and outside) to pave the way to the civil war.

needless to mention that the 2 peoples are ethnically almost identical and the 2 languages are almost as close as norwegian and swedish, certainly closer that spanish and italian.

(2) ...Just imagine the combo of McCain/Palin in power now. We´d already the WW3. It´s just a matter of time when the hillbillies of USA elect the wrong end (the republicans and tea-imbeciles that is) of the one party to power again...

i agree with one caveat - i dont make a distinction between the us republicans and democrats. to me, they all are fundamentally driven by the same war-creating impulses. a different discussion...

 

[rhubroma]

i think you over interpreted me. the context of my use of the word was that those who excessively and too narrowly identified themselves with their national interests (iow, take a pick of a term:ultra-nationalists, pseudo-nationalist, fascists...) , helped to pave the way to both world wars. not only there are different degrees of nationalism, but even the different cultural and linguistic definitions of the word exist.

i am a convinced eurosceptic and dont believe in the eu future mostly because i dont see a sovereign country's core national interests in the long run (in my book - a healthy nationalism ! ) being compatible with the vague notions of a collective goodness.

that said, i recognize that most countries have thier own brand of ultra-nationalists or ultra-right groups. i was refereeing to these nuts who, among more moderate groups, seized power in ukraine. think: not only they neglected to include one single representative of the russian-speaking half of their compatriots in the transition govt, they explicitly forbade the russian language as the 1st act after they took power. not only it was stupid, it was an invitation to the russian ultra-nationalists (both inside ukraine and outside) to pave the way to the civil war.

needless to mention that the 2 peoples are ethnically almost identical and the 2 languages are almost as close as norwegian and swedish, certainly closer that spanish and italian.

i agree with one caveat - i dont make a distinction between the us republicans and democrats. to me, they all are fundamentally driven by the same war-creating impulses. a different discussion...

The EU is fundamentally flawed because its inventors thought only of unifying markets as the way to create cohesion - to in this sense base the unifying criteria exclusively within the logic and legal setup of the economic institution - without having a political vision that considered the disparate cultures within which that institution functions and how, therefore, it is lived respectively between the union's members.

The result has been a rank and file organization within that's based solely on economic merit and which gets translated in political leverage or servitude; as if what determines any nations "worth" can only be thought of in terms of how strong, or how weak, its economic stature is, here being the “one thought” (pensiero unico) system FoxxyBrown brought up. For this reason, both among the weak and strong states, though for different reasons - the one because of the potentially destabilizing burden to its wealth that the union represents, the other because of its role as an oppressive force threatening greater hardship and poverty - the figure of nationalism is starting to rear its ugly head anew.

What, therefore, was supposed to represent a positive stabilizing and normalizing force between the EU states, has ironically only worked to reinforcing old antagonisms, egoisms and a conflict of interests. The fact that Ukraine now has a decidedly nationalist accent to its political leadership, when one considers this alongside the situation in Hungry, and the attraction of extreme-right parties in Europe today, then any approaching synthesis with Ukraine and the EU can’t be considered fortuitous.

 

[python]

The EU is fundamentally flawed because its inventors thought only of unifying markets as the way to create cohesion - to in this sense base the unifying criteria exclusively within the logic and legal setup of the economic institution - without having a political vision that considered the disparate cultures within which that institution functions and how, therefore, it is lived respectively between the union's members.w

i will try address this later, imo, there are additional reasons why the eu concept is unworkable...

the important immediate breaking news is that vlad vladovich just signed a document that essentially established another state in europe.

the significance and the subtle meaning of the action is - he did NOT sign under the direct incorporation into russia as everyone expects (that may still to come) but he simply legalised crimea's separation from ukraine.

in this regard, he also announced that he will make a speech in russian parliament tomorrow regarding the fate of crimea. i speculate, he will NOT announce the crimea annexation, rather, make a lot of pro-Crimea noise BUT leaving the door open for the west to ' convince him' why he should not annex crimea

if the west ' again failed to convince' (read: to head russia's demands to moderate the ukrainian ultra nationalists), he, vlad, will make the next step everyone expects and is powerless to prevent him from doing it - ukraine's formal annexation by russia.

if i had understood his vlad majesty's intentions right, it would be a brilliant move...one, because it delays the crippling sanctions . two, because he is still in control of the narrative and the DECIDER of the crimea ultimate fate. three, b/c he would stick to the persistently promoted image of vlad-the- careful-wise statesman unlike the ' ...wild, trigger-happy cowboys across the pond'w.

i predict he will NOT announce the direct annexation tomorrow. there' s nothing to be gained politically, except satisfying emotions of some. that move is always available and can't be denied b/ c russia hold all military a advantages in the region.

but of course i could be wrong...

 

[Amsterhammer]

I saw an on screen meme that claimed that only 1% of EU exports go to Russia, while 15% of Russia's go to the EU. If this is correct, Europe may have more leverage than at first thought.

 

[Echoes]

The EU is flawed because it's an American creation and its creator had no business in the prosperity of European peoples. It's just their Empire.

We know from an article by Ambrose Evans Pritchard in the Daily Telegraph (based on declassified documents from the State Dept) that all the founding fathers of Europe were actually heavily paid by them (Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, Paul-Henri Spaak, Alcide De Gasperi).

We may also remember that the Americans recycled old Nazi jurist Walter Halstein (a bit like they recycled von Braun), who already wished to create a Neue Europa for Hitler and Mussolini (1938 if I'm not mistaken) and went on to become the first President of the Euro Commission. Forced to resign when De Gaulle started the empty chair policy.

One memorandum dated July 26, 1950, gives instructions for a campaign to promote a European parliament, signed by General William J. Donovan, head of the American wartime Office of Strategic Services, precursor of the CIA.

Another memo dated June 11, 1965, advises the vice-president of the European Economic Community, Robert Marjolin, to secretly push for the monetary union and suppress debate until “adoption of such proposals would become virtually inescapable.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ro-federalists-financed-by-US-spy-chiefs.html

The USA are the driving force behind the Euro and they still are. That's why Tim Geithner made a "guest appearance" at the Ecofin in Warsaw 2012 (why doesn't he mind his own business?).

There can be no Euro policies because there is no European people. No European nation can force another one to obey. In order to change the treaties, you need unanimity. If you are a socialist and you want a "social" Europe, you need to convince the 27 other governments that your solution is the right one. Impossible. It's an inter-locking system !

That's why De Gaulle was right and very clear-minded when he realized that the federator was external and that federator does have a policy. He did not name it but obviously, we could all understand that he was referring to the US !

I should like to speak particularly about the objection to integration. People counter this by saying: "Why not merge the six states together into a single supranational entity? That would be very simple and practical". But such an entity is impossible to achieve in the absence in Europe today of a federator who has the necessary power, reputation and ability. Thus one has to fall back on a sort of hybrid arrangement under which the six states agree to submit to the decisions of a qualified majority. At the same time, although there are already six national Parliaments as well as the
European Parliament and, in addition the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe ... it would be necessary to elect over and above this, yet a further Parliament, described as European, which would lay down the law to the six states.

These are ideas that might appeal to certain minds but I entirely fail to see how they could be put into practice, even with six signatures at the foot of a document. Can we imagine France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg being prepared on a matter of importance to them in the national or international sphere, to do something that appeared wrong to them, merely because others had ordered them to do so? Would the peoples of France, of Germany, of Italy, of the Netherlands, of Belgium or of Luxembourg ever dream of submitting to laws passed by foreign parliamentarians if such laws ran counter to their deepest convictions? Clearly not. It is impossible nowadays for a foreign majority to impose their will on reluctant nations. It is true, perhaps, that in this 'integrated' Europe as it is called there might be no policy at all. This would simplify a great many things. Indeed, once there was no France, no Europe]There would, perhaps, be a federator, but he would not be European.[/B] And Europe would not be an integrated Europe but something vaster by far and, I repeat, with a federator.

 

[python]

i thought that vlad will leave the door open...

he just shut it down, despite my good advice

crimea has just become 2 parts of russia - sevastopol and crimea - formally and officially.

what's next ?

 

[jens_attacks]

transnistria and eastern ukraine

 

[del1962]

Poland

10 Chars

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Bravo Putin. Don´t give in the imperialists. You are my basterd.
Phucking USA neocons have destroyed South America, Middle America, Asia, Africa and Europe. But in Russia they found their master. Bravo!!!

 

[python]

i dont see putin giving crap about poland. besides, why would he bother with the nato member state, when there are so many more softer targets crying at him to be taken...

of course, supporting the ukraine's east and south russians would be the most obvious next step...but if it so obvious, it may also be where the putsch govt is most watchful - we already know that the civic pro-russia leaders in the 3 eastern regions were either arrested or imprisoned.

i think the next round of blows may be exchanged not by the military but by their economic and trade ministries. iow, a trade war is looming bright. it already started...

yesterday, ukraine issued claims against the soviet/russian property not being fairly split, today they warned about expropriations of russian property if the crimean authorities nationalized the formerly federal ukrainian property. they also, threatened cutting off water and electricity to crimea...and so on.

i cant see how ukraine can afford the trade war, even if they use their 'nuclear' weapon - cutting the natural gas pipelines to europe.

not only the 2.5 million of ukrainians who work in russia and send home billions of $ can be sent home (the standard russian weapon), but they can easily destabilize ukrainian heavy industries, coal and agree culture by cutting out the orders. something they used to convince yanukovich to drop the eu association.

in one word, if europe and the us dont pump up their client state, the putsch govt will fall within 1 -2 months

oh, and vlad may have another neat move up his sleeve, like a military coup in kiev. plenty of the ukrainian top officer are soviet-educated and of russian ethnicity and mentality. this would be perhaps the cleanest of dirty trick

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

What´s really surprsing to me (yes, even me can be surprised sometimes) is that the so-called "evil empire" ruled by an "dictator" which inherited oligarchs born out of the necons experiment under Jelzin, has a lower Gini-Coefficient than the country of "freedom & democracy".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_distribution_of_wealth

Anyway, when even german MSM (which basically had anti-Russia and war speech trou-ou the day) had top show a united Russia today, people should start to wake up how bad the west has sunk in the name of the US imperialists. I never ever saw original EU europeans celebrate when another paper was signed to "unite" Europe (ESM, Maastricht, EU eastward extension, and so on). When I read the official articles of MSM today (all of them talking of illegal Krim overtaking*), they are the exact opposite of what the majority of posters in forums say (that it was a democratic process to bring the Krim home to Mother Russia**).

* No word in the MSM on the Venezian referendum from the weekend, no word about Palins attacking nuke speech but about a russian TV guy talking nuclear defense, no negative word about the putsch that led to the Krim referendum, and so on...

Guys who still think we have a free press are pretty much naive (if not completely brainwashed dumb)

** We in Europe OTOH were never allowed to vote for or against EU rulings (a few examples see above)
We have forced-into-line media, politicians, universities, etc.!
In short: The unbeliveable happened; our leaders rule against our best interests, we are ruled by worse gangsters than russians are in Russia. Unthinkable just 15 years ago...

 

[RetroActive]

What´s really surprsing to me (yes, even me can be surprised sometimes) is that the so-called "evil empire" ruled by an "dictator" which inherited oligarchs born out of the necons experiment under Jelzin, has a lower Gini-Coefficient than the country of "freedom & democracy".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_distribution_of_wealth

Anyway, when even german MSM (which basically had anti-Russia and war speech trou-ou the day) had top show a united Russia today, people should start to wake up how bad the west has sunk in the name of the US imperialists. I never ever saw original EU europeans celebrate when another paper was signed to "unite" Europe (ESM, Maastricht, EU eastward extension, and so on). When I read the official articles of MSM today (all of them talking of illegal Krim overtaking*), they are the exact opposite of what the majority of posters in forums say (that it was a democratic process to bring the Krim home to Mother Russia**).

* No word in the MSM on the Venezian referendum from the weekend, no word about Palins attacking nuke speech but about a russian TV guy talking nuclear defense, no negative word about the putsch that led to the Krim referendum, and so on...

Guys who still think we have a free press are pretty much naive (if not completely brainwashed dumb)

** We in Europe OTOH were never allowed to vote for or against EU rulings (a few examples see above)
We have forced-into-line media, politicians, universities, etc.!
In short: The unbeliveable happened; our leaders rule against our best interests, we are ruled by worse gangsters than russians are in Russia. Unthinkable just 15 years ago...

Have you ever read A Short History of Progress?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Short_History_of_Progress

If you want the grim reality...
http://www.globalresearch.ca/near-term-human-extinction-a-conversation-with-guy-mcpherson/5373909
(the podcast interview begins @ about 8:00 mins.)
...the seed of our civilisation in the middle/near east became a desert...

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

I have read a similar book about civilizations going down (about the Atztecs, Easter Islands, Haiti, Ruanda and others) with one's eyes open.
I can´t remember the name. May someone can remind me, I would like to read it again. It´s about ten years old...
I think the basic problem is that circa 5% of people are true psychos who, in short, simply can´t imagine how others feel... And our society system, especially the selfish capitalism, brings this bad people to power. The Merkels, Obamas, and so on, are people that had to sell one's own grandmother to get where they are. Same goes on in the business world (the worst part, since they are the most powerful people like Rothschilds, Rockefellers, Soros, etc.), science, or sports (with our well documented, detailed case of Mr Armstrong).
As long as evolution doesn´t find a way to get rid of those mad persons there is no chance of a better world.
Our system leaves the rest 95% with two chances: (1) Follow the sick leaders and do the dirty jobs for them, or (2) die poor, humilated, and literally pi$$ed on...
Ok, and there is a tiny 3rd group. The chance for the evolution. The highly intelligent non-psychotic people who pretend to be in group one, but do their best to sabotage silently. Those people arn´t corrupt, b/c they are not greedy. They are immun...

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Havn´t listen to that McPherson guy, since he self disqualified a little bit with the thinking that "global warming" is the big risk. It´s not, not even close.
There are at least ten worse things that danger the world. The rightfully named nuclear waste, nuclear wars (I would add chemical-weapon and biological-weapon wars), and the following (incomplete list) that comes to mind in a second (not in order):
1 pollution of oceans (especially with plastic waste) and overfishing
2 nano technology
3 gene food
4 chemical waste and worldwide litter in general
5 rainforest deforestation
6 super volcano erruptions
7 outbreak of deathly sicknesses
8 freshwater pollution and/or shortness
9 population boom (which is the reason for almost all problems and conflicts)
10 highly unlikely, but possible, some kind of universe impact (Asteroid impacts, Gamma blitz, etc.)

If the world gets a little hotter or not, is like a fart in the wind compared to the above mentioned... The lie is only sold to us, to distract from true problems. It´s only useful for the nuclear industry and to tax-milk the people.

 

[python]

i am experiencing a bunch of mixed thoughts and feelings about europe's future past the crimean crisis.

in fact, my previous cautiously optimistic attitude, is now giving the way to a growing pessimism...there are many different interconnected reasons for the gloom, and whilst i'm still sorting out the events and calibrating my own opinions, at the top are 2 main concerns:

(i) the sad realization that despite the recently exposed spying and total surveillance over their european 'allies', the us self-serving influence over europe will likely continue to grow both economically and militarily.

(ii) the strange role germany plays while the us influence continues to grow.

i dont like overlong posts, so i'll condense my worries/observations...

nato's military impotence in the face of russia's absorption of crimea was absolutely obvious. since the us has been disengaging from its military adventures in iraq and afghanistan, they can now use the freed assets and the crimean crisis as a casus belli for the increasingly aggressive stance in europe to spite the newly assertive russians. imo, now georgia's membership in nato is a matter of 1-2 years, ukraine's - several years further...needless to mention that this time, the russians may not limit their response to a bloodless take over...this mindless, blind expansionism as if it was in their dna, cant end good, whatever the peaceful proclamations, intentions or references to defending freedom.

no sane, rational military, whatever the side, but particularly the paranoid russians, will believes any noble intentions, even if sincere at the time . they must look at capabilities. or plan for the worst - distances, number of weapons facing them, threats to their communications etc. thus i'm convinced this mindless expansionism next time will lead a hot war in europe.

about germany...only recently i looked with optimism at germany assuming more political leadership in europe. to be perfectly honest, to stand up to the us expansionism, europe needs one leader and atm only germany can fulfill the role. but what i saw post-crimea was an assertive political prostitute (no reference to frau merkel but to germany) in the service of its american pimps.

very disappointing ..end of rent

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

I thought you knew that already, that the US imperialists are the pimps of Germany (and thus of whole EU europe) since at least the 1950s. They just speed up their silent invasion of our land, culture and economy when the eastern block came down.

Even though I don´t agree with this McPherson guy about climate change, I´ll read his book "Going Dark" (unless some of you or "RetroActive" can recommend a better choice. My budget is low, so I have to be selective, since all my and yours money is in the pockets of the greedy grumpy ugly super-rich old white men of the east coast).
Just have informed myself a little bit in the past few hours. He shares basically all of my POVs other than the climate change.
In short we are doomed b/c of the greedy rich (ok, he differs a bit too on that POV. He says we are all responsible).

Especially like his POV about nuclear waste. No matter if we make it trou the coming dark times w/o a big nuclear war or other life ending catasthrophes I mentioned in my post, we are doomed anyway.
Option 1; the industrial age survives, thus ending in a slow bitter end of complete world pollution
Option 2; the industrial age goes down in a meltdown, thus the 400+ nuclear power plants won´t be maintenanced, thus leading to the inevitable core meltdowns in every single one of them. Mankind will die painful and slowly by gamma radiation.
Doomed either way...

 

[del1962]

Putin in the Onion -Thanks For Being So Cool About Everything

 

[python]

i read some euro (but not american) media mentioned in passing that russia imposed a set of retaliatory sanctions on the us politicians...

then, this morning i read that all members of both chambers of their parliament passed a law ? that approved them sending letters to both the eu and the us leaders that would include them all in the black lists.

again, no mentioning i can across. also, this morning, putin made a statement that he will be opening an account in the bank that the us just sanctioned.

are the russians being oblivious to the fact that they are being punished like little children or just too stupid to mess with big and scary uncle sam and his euro cops ?

or was that some kind of russian joking

 

[montani3semper]

Big*Seven meeting in Belgium

When those powerful dudes meet behind closed doors, beware! You are bound to get hold up at gun point by phinxs craving for the fancy stuff w/o means to pay for the necessities' of life. They've ran out of colonies, they are running current account and fiscal déficits against just about everyone who'd care to buy their junk bonds; They can't profit from conventional warfare any longer; Their catatonic populations aren't fit to withstand meaningless pain while the war dodgers and profiteers laugh all the way to the (bankrupt) Banks; Their Large Industrial Multi^Nationals compete against each other making gadgets nobody wants, or desire to pay for; Their foodstuffs are contaminated by the re-engineering process which creates cáncer, diabetes, hi-blood pressure,.....with products which can't be sintetized' by the human body.
In short, they don't want to be watched running to the 'Hood's pawn*shop. More on that later.

 

[blutto]

...we have over the last little while been focusing on the Ukrainian situation...a very serious affair that the potentially could have become infinitely deadly...so I thought it might be a fine time to bring some levity to the fore...find below a joke courtesy of Israel Shamir....

" A new Jewish joke was coined at that time:

Israeli President Peres asks the Russian President:

- Vladimir, are you of Jewish ancestry?

- Putin: What makes you think so, Shimon?

- Peres: You made the US pay five billion dollars to deliver Crimea to Russia. Even for a Jew, that is audacious!
"

....the rest of Mr Shamir's article can be found here... http://www.globalresearch.ca/crimea...ow-the-confrontation-moves-east-to-new-russia

....its well worth the read...

Cheers

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

So you guys who use the own brain (blutto, rhubmora, retro, bavarian, and others... but certainly not del1962) like me, what´s your forecast?

In online forums in Germany the majority has woken up and sees the propaganda (in short words; the "Russia-bashing" and war-speech), even in yellow press newspapers!

My forecast: (1) The imperialists will shut down critical (against the neocons) internet sites no later than 2014, b/c they see people are not as easy brainwashed as in the old days when only the MSM was available.
(2) The western overtaking (as described by me and others since the beginning of the putsch, when the naive still talked of "revolution") of Ukraine will make the poor suffering even more (b/c of IMF "reforms"). That will lead (at least) eastern Ukraine people "to beg" Russia to take them too.
Now Retro, what will chess-player Putin do? Risk a hot war to take his people home, or will he give them up?
I think, Putin will try take them too, and head for east relationships (especially w/China). The West will try to take Ukraine into EU and NATO, no matter how high the price is (pacting with oligarchs and dumb extreme-right people), re-arm them with nuclear weapons, all in the name of big oil, military complex and Monsanto-like co-orperations.

Since I saw it all coming, it´s pretty much save to say we are heading into direct confrontations. It´s all up to Putin to play a good game, since psychos like McCain & gang (other politic puppets like Obama/Merkel who serve the imperialists) will not shy away to hit the red button. There is no doubt in my mind that this arrogant pack still thinks a nuclear war is winnable...

P.S.: If the hot war is prevented, in the long run I see Russia prevail (other than what MSM thinks the west is achiving with its sanctions). (1) B/C their dept is only 10% of GDP (USA at 100+ %), (2) B/C of their deep naturals, (3) B/C of their connecting with China.

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

My forecast: (1) The imperialists will shut down critical (against the neocons) internet sites no later than 2014, b/c they see people are not as easy brainwashed as in the old days when only the MSM was available.

I'm confused. You're speaking about Russia, right?

 

[hrotha]

Putin as a rallying banner for anti-imperialism is so ridiculous it's actually offensive.

 

[Echoes]

Rallying banner for true conservatism (not neo) and a competent leader.

Give Me My Pen Back