Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Broad Negotiations

 ​Historical Participants,​


​  Some views of history may be more useful these days than others. It seems that history is going through a rapid decline of a dominant empire, as with the decline of the British Empire. Much of the functionality of the British colonial system transferred to the $US based neo-colonial system of finance, through the IMF, World Bank, western banking, and increasing military enforcement of the regime after the dissolution of the USSR. There was a unipolar-world moment where the western military-financial regime sought to solidify global power and control, in the "Global War on Terror" after 9/11/01.​ The world was paying for this by using $US, printed in Washington, and based on Saudi oil, and the establishment of global trade in $US, "Super Imperialism", as Michael Hudson called it in 1972. Nixon and Kissinger ran to Saudi Arabia with that football. 
  The actions of the western empire are more chaotic in recent years, certainly since the debacle in Afghanistan, now followed by the loss-of-face in Ukraine. The rest of the world is becoming less fearful, seeing how Syria survived with Russian help. What is the American imperial game plan?
​  ​The actions of the hegemon-in-rapid-decline DO MAKE SENSE in a Dick-Cheney-Energy-Policy kind of way.
“We will take or control all of the energy resources”, was the Cheney plan.
  Oil and gas are limited in a finite world, so control it all, and put choke points in place where tribute must be paid. The countries that pump the oil and gas will grow their economies, gobble it up, and stop exporting, if we let them, so we need to suppress/destroy their economies, to protect our access-to and control-of “their” resources.
  The inefficiencies of that for most people, especially the people in the oil/gas countries, put most-people at odds with the “hegemon”. The hegemon does not serve the interests of Americans, Brits, Canadians, Germans or Japanese any more than is necessary to maintain their compliance.
  The cost of maintaining hegemony cannot be maintained, AND the project is already failing, so it makes “sense” to cut that cost quickly.
 Africa, Cuba, South and Central America, much of Asia and the “Mideast” can receive a peace-dividend for a few years, instead.
This new cooperative, non-colonial arrangement ​might​l be much more efficient in meeting more human needs, especially the needs of the humans who have been getting bombed and starved for food, water and fuel.​ There will be the temptation, especially for China, to copy the same financial imperialist model.​
​  ​Those of us humans who have been getting some ​(pared-down) ​form of the American/European/etc way-of-life are going to be squeezed​ hard.​​ 
We may have our houses and cars repossessed. ​Many people living on the streets of Austin these days look new to the experience.​ 
  Our near futures aren't ​determined quite yet.​ It seems to me that we can still affect this new economic epoch as it forms out of the embers and ashes of the coming fire.​ 
  Being out of debt and able to weather low income and high bills, while maintaining necessities of life seems like the prudent approach. Do prepare to help friends and family survive, also.

  An African conference has been meeting in Moscow as Putin and Xi have been meeting in Moscow. Russia has forgiven $20 billion in African debt, and vows to deliver the same amount of free grain to Africa with or without a grain-deal with Ukraine. We will probably get more news related to this over time. At the moment, it looks like the Chinese Yuan/Renminbi will be used more in international trade. China has not desired this situation because of inherent complications.
Putin To Xi: "We Support Chinese Yuan Use With Asia, Africa, Latin America"
​  ​Additionally, Russia is not alone. The Iraqi central bank announced Wednesday that, for the first time, it plans to allow trade from China to be settled directly in yuan instead of the US dollar to improve access to foreign currency.
​  ​At the very moment that Xi and Putin wrapped up their meeting and transitioned to their televised joint press conference, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made a significant allegation, picking up on prior assertions from Washington.
​  ​Stoltenberg said that NATO has "seen some signs" that Russia requested lethal aid from Beijing in order to strengthen its forces in Ukraine.

​  Joint Statement of the PRC and Russian Federation​ based on recent meetings. There is nothing new that I see. Ukraine peace deal specifics not presented:
​Long, detailed Russian statement: ​http://en.kremlin.ru/supplement/5770

​  ​Moscow is “determined to continue building a strategic partnership” with African nations, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, expressing confidence that the continent is set to become one of the leaders of the emerging multipolar world.
​  ​The president made the remarks at the International Parliamentary Conference ‘Russia – Africa in a Multipolar World,’ which kicked off in Moscow on Monday and brought together representatives of some 40 nations. The conference comes ahead of the second Russia-Africa summit, which is scheduled to take place in St. Petersburg in July.
​  ​“African nations are continuously increasing their weight and role in international affairs, and are asserting themselves more and more confidently in politics and economy. We are convinced that Africa will become one of the leaders in the emerging new multipolar world order – all objective prerequisites for this exist,”​ ..
..​“We are ready to jointly shape the global agenda, work together to strengthen fair and equal interstate relations, and improve mechanisms for mutually beneficial economic cooperation,” he said, describing African nations as Russia’s “friends in the full sense of this word.”

​  The UK is openly crossing  a red-line, daring Russia to come up with some counter-action, which would risk activating the NATO common-defense clause. 
​(I personally think Russia might best retaliate against London banking, but what do I know of such things?)
​  ​The UK's junior Defense Minister Annabel Goldie told Parliament on Tuesday, "Alongside our granting of a squadron of Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, we will be providing ammunition including armor piercing rounds which contain depleted uranium."
​  ​"Such rounds are highly effective in defeating modern tanks and armored vehicles." 
News of Britain sending armor-piercing tank rounds for Challenger II tanks to Kiev triggered a fierce reaction from the Kremlin, with a strong-worded statement emphasizing that such a weapon will be treated as tantamount to using a nuclear dirty bomb.


​  Google Translate Greek War News 24/7 story on the British shipping uranium munitions to Ukraine. "The benefactors send you poison."

  "Second Russian Offensive" story looks at the Russian shift away from attacks in bakhmut in recent days, leaving it surrounded, with one muddy trail out. Russia is engaging other hardened Ukrainian army positions in the Donbas, intending to take out artillery positions that shell civilians, munitions stockpiles, command centers, rail and roadway connections. They might allow Ukrainian reinforcements into Bakhmut, which has been the site of gruesome basement-to-basement infantry bloodshed. Defenses have been dug deeply since 2014. (This article is a bit bombastic, but has facts and perspective.)

  Saudi Arabia apparently feels that it has new protection these days, and is able to openly break from US/Israeli Mideast policy objectives.
After playing a key role in the US-led war to topple the Syrian government, Saudi Arabia reversed course and will re-open its embassy in Damascus 12 years after the start of the war

​  Charles Hugh Smith explains that if recessions are prevented, unhealthy companies persist, weakening the economy, by mis allocating resources to Zombies.
We've Forgotten That Business-Cycle Recessions Are Essential

  Organic Prepper, Daisy Luther, explains that this developing banking crisis won't be "wasted".
FedNow Instant Payments Are Coming and CBDCs Will Follow

​  More than current COVID case-fatality rates.​ The graphs of age-group mortality over time, and shots given, are clearly correlated.
COVID Vaccine Fatality Rates in Europe are Between 0.05% and 0.55%

​  F​indings by Dr. James Thorp: "COVID-19 Vaccines: The Impact on Pregnancy Outcomes and Menstrual Function"; COVID injections are associated with a significant increase in adverse effects​:​  menstrual abnormalities, miscarriage, fetal chromosomal abnormalities, fetal malformation, cystic hygroma, cardiac disorders, arrhythmias, cardiac arrest, vascular malperfusion, growth abnormalities..

​  And all of that comes for nothing, no benefit at all:  Primary Series and Boosters--No Impact on Maternal COVID-19 Test Positivity

​Intervention Free (pictured with Jenny in spring garden)​


2 comments:

  1. Some other doc from SubstackApril 4, 2023 at 9:55 PM

    Nice work, John. Came over poking around from Substack after you gave me the link. Lots of familiar sources in your posts. So much of that I stepped away from, awaiting the plunger being depressed & the giant toilet bowl of dollars running down the drain!

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    1. It's quieter over here, but the history goes back to spring 2016.

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