True of Johnson, true of virtually every US president since the year dot and true of most European elites. Our economies and societies are in a mess facing almost unprecedented problems. Our 'leaders' are generally over-educated and under-skilled, can't think beyond the end of their noses, have little experience of anything useful and have never been troubled by an original thought. Is it any wonder that the prefer to see complex foreign affairs as children's fairy stories with goodies and baddies where they can root for the goodies?
Western political systems? Not fit for purpose - absolutely not fit for purpose.
So Putin was a "coward" to invade Ukraine? Last resort response to US-NATO threat,Donbas, 2014 coup
..and even alternative media sources seem to have already forgotten that the 2014 US-backed Ukraine coup was then followed(2016-) by three years of rabid, toxic, maniacal, neo-McCarthyist, Clinton-worshipping Russiagate bunk 24/7/365 from America's mainstream media lunatic asylum and its incurably gullible audiences. Oh yes..wicked interfering Russia subverted America's glorious, exemplary democracy/elections with some Facebook ads and robbed divinely Democratic Hillary of the Presidency? (Sob, sob - a first-ever female President could have radically changed America as much as a first-ever Black Pres didn't..)
So Putin was a coward to finally resort to war, was he, Thomas Mann?
What? He should have continued to hope and figuratively pray, should he, that Ukraine would not become yet another US-NATO vassal state, right on Russia's borders - thereby setting a precedent for further gung-ho US-NATO expansionism?
Putin/we should have hoped, should he/we, that US-puppet Zelensky and his right-wing, neo-Nazi cohorts would finally see sense and end their war on and violent oppression of civilians in the Donbas ?
What would Thomas Mann have done in response to all of the above - the non-stop US anti-Russia propaganda war, the US-NATO + media war of attrition and aggression and sanctions and on and on and bl**dy on...
Was Putin a "coward" not to continue hoping for diplomatic solutions and a miraculous end to America's and its loyal puppets' 24/7 anti-Russia jingoism and sabre-rattling?
What should pacifists do when all else fails ?
Oh stable your high horse, Jim: you know perfectly well what I mean
For Russia what has happened in Ukraine since 2014 (and even since the Orange Revolution) has resulted in an existential threat. Putin and Lavrov have tried every which way to resolve this diplomatically but no dice. Ukraine, emphatically, is NOT an existential issue for the US, the UK or Europe. Obama said pretty much this several years ago. It is the leaders of these countries, without skin in the game, who seek refuge in war from the largely insolvable problems piling up at home.
Re: Oh stable your high horse, Jim: you know perfectly well what I mean
Don't take any notice Sue...Russia is armed with depleted uranium weapons too....the apologists here make me very angry...for goodness sake even those in the Donbass should know Putin is no socialist..Why the hell apologise for globalised capital...what is this myopia....? I thought many were internationalists....or is that just the equivalent of lazy-minded? Corbyn would have sought a peaceful solution (and so would many others on the left), ...blood soaked revolutionaries!
Environmental concerns you "limp-wristed Greenies"*?....Nah we want waaaaaaaarrrrrr...!!
Environmental concerns always take a back seat here.....no matter the impact of the threat.....I'm the only one ever to have started a thread concerning d.u or concerning incineration*...but I'm treated like a right wing dilettante... further down this thread we can see again the myopia in the misreading of the underlying causes of Brexit..
Dioxins (sweeties), were the main carcinogens in Agent Orange..something I was reminded of when researching geoengineering......(or looking in the right place), ..
Quote; "Russia is arming its tanks with controversial depleted uranium shells.
While depleted uranium, or DU, is extremely dense and can punch through thick tank armor, many believe that these shells release small doses of radiation, like miniature neutron bombs. The U.S. has used DU shells in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria."
Quote; "I suppose, George, that in your neo-liberal paradise there have been no deformed children born to those exposed to discharged depleted uranium munitions either… Buffy the Vampire Slayer - We Are As Gods - YouTube!
“…during the recent summit in Tokyo, get their heads together on how both to repair the #KashiwazakiKariwa reactor and keep the whole affair from the public?” https://arafel.co.uk/2016/07/hinkle”
These Images show the delicate relationship between The Earth, The Moon and the Sun. Whilst viewing these images imagine many tons* of a very heavy highly radioactive metal being discharged and dispersed into a local environment in which it can particulate in the most efficient manner possible. Then imagine this particulate dust being thrust into the Northern Jetstream by desert storms (I’m told such things occur). Then as all this uranium and plutonium (“for it is I Great Plutocrat!”), is circling the Earth and as it does so (falling slowly back to Earth finally to be released over N.W Europe -ie. Britain, The North Sea and Norway for instance-), squeezing, contracting and distorting both The Earth’s Magnetosphere (-Edit 15/03/11- “Astrotometric” correlation -see ref: to “Astrotometry” below- The Magnetoshphere is described as an “interactive” boundary Magnetosphere - Wikipedia ), and it’s geology. Squeezing and contracting until…“Pop! Crunch!”…the pressure is released on the opposite side of the planet and WHAM a huge tsunamic event occurs in Sumatra!"…
"*Regardless of the precise figures involved it is my belief that particulate D.U was responsible for the deaths of 250,000 people.
“At NATO headquarters in Brussels, Britain and the US joined forces to kill off an Italian proposal, backed by Germany, for the alliance’s 19 member countries to stop using depleted uranium ammunition until further notice . . . Malcolm Hooper, emeritus professor of medicinal chemistry at Sunderland University, described the Ministry of Defence move as a “cynical betrayal” and “vicious injustice.” The MoD, he said, was testing for high-level exposure to soluble material, rather than long-term, low-level, exposure to radiation inside the body. It was indulging in “Mickey Mouse science”. GUARDIAN” From “Depleted Uranium; Stories From The Archives of The Progressive Review” (go to http://www.prorev.com/du.htm ) When I met David (a British corporal), then recently returned from Iraq (who had been working in bomb disposal in Basra immediately following the taking of the city), he told me that apart from having to dispose of both bombs and body parts on a daily basis he had seen vehicles (against which d.u munitions had been used), which had been politely cordoned off with yellow “crime-scene” tape. We looked at each other and laughed, he told me, “I’ll go anywhere else but I won’t go back to Iraq, it’s a mad- house!”
I am also aware that earlier readers (ie. prior to this edit), may have wondered whether I believe that depleted uranium alone was responsible for the Sumatran tsunami. The answer is no I don’t, I see it more as the straw the broke the back of the poor camel that had little chance of passing through the “Eye of The Needle” in the first instance! By which I mean that as a final component of the “unholy synergism” that also includes; nuclear testing, nuclear power, particle beam research, fusion power research (and if Steven.J.Smith is to be believed possibly also “Seismic Weapons” testing), d.u dispersal in the way I have described may have been the trigger event for the Sumatran disaster." https://www.arafel.co.uk/2012/06/whats-that-coming-over-hill.html
Quote; "On March 19, 2003, the United States, along with coalition forces primarily from the United Kingdom, initiates war on Iraq. Just after explosions began to rock Baghdad, Iraq’s capital, U.S. President George W. Bush announced in a televised address, “At this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.” President Bush and his advisors built much of their case for war on the specious claim that Iraq, under dictator Saddam Hussein, possessed or was in the process of building weapons of mass destruction.
Hostilities began about 90 minutes after the U.S.-imposed deadline for Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq or face war passed. The first targets, which Bush said were “of military importance,” were hit with Tomahawk cruise missiles from U.S. fighter-bombers and warships stationed in the Persian Gulf. In response to the attacks, Republic of Iraq radio in Baghdad announced, “the evil ones, the enemies of God, the homeland and humanity, have committed the stupidity of aggression against our homeland and people.”
Though Saddam Hussein had declared in early March 2003 that, “it is without doubt that the faithful will be victorious against aggression,” he went into hiding soon after the American invasion, speaking to his people only through an occasional audiotape. Coalition forces were able to topple his regime and capture Iraq’s major cities in just three weeks, sustaining few casualties. President Bush declared the end of major combat operations on May 1, 2003*. Despite the defeat of conventional military forces in Iraq, an insurgency has continued an intense guerrilla war in the nation in the years since military victory was announced, resulting in thousands of coalition military, insurgent and civilian deaths.
After an intense manhunt, U.S. soldiers found Saddam Hussein hiding in a six-to-eight-foot deep hole, nine miles outside his hometown of Tikrit. He did not resist and was uninjured during the arrest. A soldier at the scene described him as “a man resigned to his fate.” Hussein was arrested and began trial for crimes against his people, including mass killings, in October 2005.
In June 2004, the provisional government in place since soon after Saddam’s ouster transferred power to the Iraqi Interim Government. In January 2005, the Iraqi people elected a 275-member Iraqi National Assembly. A new constitution for the country was ratified that October. On November 6, 2006, Saddam Hussein was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging. After an unsuccessful appeal, he was executed on December 30, 2006.
Quote; "It was 2004, the day after Christmas, and thousands of European and American tourists had flocked to the beaches of Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia to escape the winter chill in a tropical paradise.
At 7:59 AM, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake—one of the largest ever recorded—ripped through an undersea fault in the Indian Ocean, propelling a massive column of water toward unsuspecting shores. The Boxing Day tsunami would be the deadliest in recorded history, taking a staggering 230,000 lives in a matter of hours." https://www.history.com/news/deadliest-tsunami-2004-indian-ocean
Re: Oh stable your high horse, Jim: you know perfectly well what I mean
"It is the leaders of these countries, without skin in the game, who seek refuge in war from the largely insolvable problems piling up at home" And his imperial holiness isn't? Oh come on....
Well said Sue. Don't worry about the token 'lost souls' we have here : ) nm
For some reason he thinks Farage is of some significance. What has he been smoking? I recall Mark D was saying this about Mercouris and me dismissing it as loose talk. Seems Mr M is totally astray. Lots to agree with i.e. Bozo being a disaster, but that is just a small bit of it. I shan't be following him on British politics : ).
Re: Unfortunately Mercouris is out of his depth ...
Personally I find it disappointing. I am certainly not dismissing their analysis on Ukraine etc.
Mark, I think you mentioned Mercouris' views on Trump. I don't suppose you can quote? I certainly have unorthodox views myself (I can also disabuse you of the the notion that I am in thrall of Trump ). One needs context etc.
Re: One has to accept the notion of curate's' egg in this case
Both MD and I mentioned this in a thread a while ago; I commented on their very positive mentions of Trump (usually in the context of "Trump v the Deep State and usually followed with some sort of "...not like the Dems..") and also Orban. It's difficult to find exact quotes as these bits are dotted around in their episodes and they don't seem to do whole episodes on those subjects.
Up until now I hadn't seem them really praise Farage or Johnson, let alone ####ing Thatcher, so maybe they are going "mask off" as the twitter tarts say.
P.S. I admit I'm doing a Carlucci and not watching the video before commenting just clearing up my earlier comments on this.
...no amount of cajolery, and no attempts at ethical or social seduction, can eradicate from my heart a deep burning hatred for the Tory Party...So far as I am concerned they are lower than vermin.
Re: One has to accept the notion of curate's' egg in this case
I think one must accept that Alexander Mercouris is in his political philosophy pretty right wing. His recent discussions, as they're mainly on Ukraine, don't explore this side of his character. But for instance he's a sceptic on global warming science, he's a Trumpian, and his support for Farage then isn't that surprising. He has been something of a mouthpiece for dubious Russian misinformation in the past. I do not trust everything that he says, OTOH, where I differ from the attempts to stifle and censor such opinion, I think I have enough intelligence and nous to sift out what is relevant and likely to be true, from what may be debatable or false. His command of all the massive amount of geopolitical information related to Ukraine, Russia and the West is encyclopaedic and effortlessly expounded. He has been, like Scott Ritter, a seriously flawed character. In Mercouris's case, disbarment from the Bench in England, following some truly bizarre unprofessional behaviour (related to a severe depressive illness) and Ritter's prior fondness for virginal young girls.
However, in regard to what is happening in Ukraine and its wider geopolitical context, he has proven to be a valuable counter to the overwhelming propaganda of the MSM in the West. So I continue to follow him, and with these provisos, would encourage others to do so. .
Re: One has to accept the notion of curate's' egg in this case
Its interesting that this happens a lot: Vanessa Beeley and Eva Bartlett were likewise pretty believable and very useful on Syria but when the moved onto matters closer to home as with Covid they appeared likewise to totally lose the plot.
Thanks. I didn't watch it all (5 min). Just by interviewing that conservative dinosaur she was questioning the narrative without nuance. By contrast Vanessa Beeley herself was very vocal about the issue.
To my mind Eva redeemed herself by going to Mariupol and reporting mass graves hoax.
Prime Ministers don't matter, the state controls society not those clowns
The history of the last 100 years is the history of the transfer of power from the legislature to the executive.Clio the cat, ? July 1997 - 1 May 2016 Kira the cat, ? ? 2010 - 3 August 2018 Jasper the Ruffian cat ? ? ? - 4 November 2021
Re: Prime Ministers don't matter, the state controls society not those clowns
I'm happy for the state to stop murdering babies.Clio the cat, ? July 1997 - 1 May 2016 Kira the cat, ? ? 2010 - 3 August 2018 Jasper the Ruffian cat ? ? ? - 4 November 2021
Re: Unfortunately Mercouris is out of his depth ...
Mercouris seems to live in a alternative England... Was he caught up in the fantasy (like a number of folk here, no less) that Brexit was the Wayland-forged hard-wrought wisdom of the English/ British Volk and and their earnest desire for emancipation from the pernicious influence of right wing Europe: the "Will of the People" and all that bollox, rather than what it was: a right wing scam pushed by their media and sucked in en masse by the xenophobic Gammon Brigade?
Re: Unfortunately Mercouris is out of his depth ...
I guess you cannot help yourself as the original remainer, still fantasising about someone else's fantasy. Get over it, just have a look at the mess in the EU as it is drowning in it's own contradictions. Being run into the ground by it's own elite who don't seem to know their arses from their elbows. To be clear, Lexit was possible until the election here in the UK when Blairites scotched that by subverted the left platform.
Re: Unfortunately Mercouris is out of his depth ...
nmIt will cost the UK taxpayer £132bn to decommission all the UK’s civil nuclear sites and the work will not be completed for another 120 years, according to latest estimates. Report -- May 2022:
on May 22, 2022, 11:04 pm
). One needs context etc.