13 Comments
Feb 10Liked by epimetheus

There's a certain amount of schadenfreude in Putin's rund-down of his version of Russian/US (and EU) interactions in the post-Soviet and especially the post-Jeltsin era:

Putin is fully in the know when it comes the plan launched during the dismantling of the USSR: turn new Russia into a modern equivalent of what the old colonial states in Africa were used for. Resource extraction where all real tangible assets and resources are owned and controlled by London and Washington.

Remember, Putin didn't become "mad, bad and dangerous to know" in western media until he finally stopped the take-over by US/British oil&gas corporations of Russia's resources. And since Russia is neither Mesopotamia (Irak) nor Iran, the usual tactics employed by Shell, BP, and their correspondent nation-state enforcers couldn't be brought to bear in full until a proxy front had been created in the Ukraine.

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You know, that's both absolutely obvious and an immensely keen observation--I'd merely add that 'everyone knows', and the main reason for esp. the Europeans not saying anything isn't just the agit-prop angle, the decades of brainwashing, or the many academic textbooks that are 'incomplete' or wrong.

There's two issues here, I think:

1) How long would any European politician last in office who spoke out openly?

2) Given Russia's recent economic improvement (and the unveiled threat of 'doing business' with China), what incentive does Russia have to change course?

I suspect that any answer to 2) would have to be based on non-material issues, much like a wounded lover 'returning' to the serial abuser. Fat change this will happen (but I'd add that stranger things have indeed happened…)

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Feb 10Liked by epimetheus

I think we could make a calculated guess...they are controlled by the same entity?

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How would I know? You know, “beyond” what is shown in the infographic, little is certain (but what is know is telling enough).

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To sum up my latest updates:

300 000 Chinese students are getting brainwashed in USA now... And it's really hard to read a document and see if it's from UN or BRICS. It seems like a 1% over-educated, over-paid international class of city-dwelling Bolsheviks that know nothing about anything except networking are destroying the world, and as I've talked about lately: rulers (like Putin said about about Bill Clinton) are not in charge, but neither are most CEOs (look at Jack on Twitter, he had no clue, and he is smart) or oligarchs (Kolomoisky lost control of Zelensky, and I can't find how much he has left after his arrest).

It is these 1% parasites that think you have too much freedom, and their boss too much money, so they will destroy and steal - vermin think these "people" have too low moral standards. They actually think that the state is so trustworthy that elections should be rigged so the right ones win. (Rasmussen found these people, and while you don't know anyone personally, you see them everywhere.)

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I’m a long-time reader of yours, and I agree with this notion: it’s going to be hard for China not to engage with these absurdities, but then again, since our de facto Bolshevik overlords hate us with a vengeance, why should they care?

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Feb 11·edited Feb 11Liked by epimetheus

I like where you take this. Too often, the alt-media is cheerleading for Russia because they seemingly oppose the US-dominanted western empire - but let’s not forget that during COVID, «somebody» snapped their fingers and every single country in the entire world fell into line overnight and were pursuing the same agenda - including Russia. Those that did not, tended to die (Magafuli).

i believe Kit Knightly over at OffGuardian has repeatedly made the point that the sheer uniformity of the covid narrative might have given the game too much away (i.e «they», whoever they might be, actually Control it all).

Now, we are back to «tried and tested» cold war-type «divide and rule» narratives, which the elites know work very well to control the populace and Get the Focus off them. This could also be why the ukraine war is dragging on and on when it logically should be over.

I don’t Find Mr Putins «denazification» motive credible anymore. There is no way to «denazify» Ukraine without occupying the whole country. Why did the Russians retreat away from Kiev and avoid the initial «decapitation strike» on ukrainian leadership? So either he is playing 3D-Chess again, not revealing his true motives, or the conflict is simply designed to last «forever» and drag on and on, until the next elite narrative is ready to be rolled out (pandemic 2.0?)

Edit: there is a thought provoking article on OffGuardian on Tucker. Worth a read!

https://off-guardian.org/2024/02/10/what-no-one-is-saying-about-tucker-carlsons-putin-interview/

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I read the piece on OffG, and I do agree--it's simply irrelevant if the monopoly content provider is Tucker Carlson on 'X' or the NYT like in the 'good old days', for the end result is the same.

As regards the 'denazification', well, I'm with you here, for Mr. Putin knows the things you mention, and if you don't believe me, check out his speech on the occasion of 'Novorossiya' (re)joining Russia in autumn 2022:

'The United States is the only country in the world that has used nuclear weapons twice, destroying the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. And they created a precedent.'

'Recall that during WWII the United States and Britain reduced Dresden, Hamburg, Cologne and many other German cities to rubble, without the least military necessity. It was done ostentatiously and, to repeat, without any military necessity. They had only one goal, as with the nuclear bombing of Japanese cities: to intimidate our country and the rest of the world.'

'The United States left a deep scar in the memory of the people of Korea and Vietnam with their carpet bombings and use of napalm and chemical weapons.'

'It actually continues to occupy Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea and other countries, which they cynically refer to as equals and allies. Look now, what kind of alliance is that? The whole world knows that the top officials in these countries are being spied on and that their offices and homes are bugged. It is a disgrace, a disgrace for those who do this and for those who, like slaves, silently and meekly swallow this arrogant behaviour.'

Source: http://www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/speeches/69465

Mr. Putin could have asked Tucker Carlson, get some popcorn, and waited for a reply; why wouldn't Mr. Putin do so? I suppose he knows that the US knows all of this, but to bring 'this' up between 'great powers' is tantamount to recognising they're both doing the same things, albeit to varying degrees.

So, I doubt Mr. Putin is playing 3D chess; the reason why no-one in DC or in Moscow cares about 'Europe' is--neither respects vassals, hence the tip-toeing around these issues.

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Putin was just performing for his elite buddies, showing them he can avoid questions more adroitly and with 1000x more panache than Biden.

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To what ends? Everybody knew that…

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Feb 10Liked by epimetheus

Well... The reason to like China, at least in the sense of it being preferable to the United States, is that it's far less proselytizing. "We do things the Chinese way, you do things your way, and now let's do business together." That being the case, is it really so surprising that Mr. Putin (and quite a few other people) would choose China as a partner over the US of A?

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Of course it is 'reasonable', and I sense it's a function of relative US weakness.

Remember, most were going along with US proselytising while the US was (relatively) stronger and/or without credible alternatives.

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Feb 10Liked by epimetheus

Thank you

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