The Dreyfus Affair

I recently saw the French film J ’ Accuse with my French wife , in my French hometown of Meudon .
My reasons for noting the peripheral French details will be evident below .
This is a film by Roman Polanski based on a novel , An Officer and a Spy by British author Robert Harris .
It is mostly about Lieutenant-Colonel Marie-Georges Picquart , the French Army counterintelligence chief who eventually proved that the Jewish captain , Alfred Dreyfus , had been falsely accused and wrongly convicted of spying for Germany .
Here is a good review of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ If you know nothing about the Dreyfus affair it is worth some effort to learn about this prototype of a modern scandal .
It includes the deep state , murder , a prison “ suicide , ” political maneuvering , and even a duel ( too bad they don ’ t still exist , imagine Trump vs. Schiff ) .
The French film title comes from the headline of the Dreyfusard article by the novelist Émile Zola that accuses several members of the military and the government of malfeasance .
I agree with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made historical film .
Virtually all of the actors look like the real characters they portrayed .
Working in France I see still today the physical style of the dossiers ( folders ) depicted in the film .
Some details that I found illustrated in the superannuated Petit Journal include the great first scene of the public denunciation of Dreyfus in the courtyard of the Ecole Militaire ( recreated by the Chuck Connors TV series Branded ) the duel between Colonel Picquart and Lieutenant-Colonel Henry , and the attack in the street by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wife is a journalist so feels obliged to state her faith in journalism as a profession .
She rolls her eyes when I frequently state my disbelief in modern mainstream journalism and the various conspiracies they coverup or are actively engaged in .
So after the film , I asked her the provoking question “ Do you think there was a conspiracy against Dreyfus ?
” Upon her positive response , I said : “ So then you do believe in conspiracy theories.
” She rolled her eyes again .
The film is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accusations against Polanski have recently been added to the famous accusation against him in the United States of sexually violating a 13-year-old girl .
The most relevant now is by Valentine Monnier , who accused Polanski of a violent rape at his chalet in Switzerland in 1977 when she was 18-years-old .
The timing of her accusation coincided with the release of the new film precisely because she could not stomach the irony of her experience with the title .
Some of my wife ’ s female friends have refused to see the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that she wanted to see it .
Hitchens said it has resulted in very limited showings in Britain .
I think Polanski is probably guilty of these accusations .
Nonetheless , there are some extenuating circumstances in his history .
Polanski was actually born in Paris and returned to Poland in 1937 .
Imagine that choice for a Jewish family .
He survived the Holocaust but his mother died in Auschwitz .
Years later his pregnant wife was murdered in his home by the crazed Manson cult .
Furthermore , he lived in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 70s when the whole point was to be free to do whatever you felt like , especially sexually .
Quite a life !
The Dreyfus affair was a seminal event in French history so seeing J ’ Accuse in France in the original F Amazon.com Gift Card i ... Buy New $ 10.00 rench language gives it special meaning .
The ultimate result of the case is summarized by a French educational website , with a Google translation following : My understanding has been similar , that the reactionary , anti-Semitic army staff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clear for what reason the army pressed the case , even after watching the film .
Dreyfus himself was a very minor character before the accusation and even after he was exonerated .
When freed he just rejoined the army and served in WWI .
Thus , the conspiratorial , reactionary , anti-Semitic , anti-Dreyfusards lost in this scandal resulting in the reform which excluded the Catholic Church from state power .
But in a recent article by Paul Gottfried , I was surprised to read the following paragraph where I have put @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I teamed up with another paleoconservative , Boyd Cathey , and a paleo-libertarian , Walter Block , in collecting the names of academics for a declaration of support for then-candidate Trump .
Our list was taken over by the West Coast Straussian website American Greatness , whose editorial board proceeded to delete our names before posting the document .
The vanished names were hardly an oversight , any more than when the anti-clericalist French command after the Dreyfus Affair removed from consideration for promotion the name of every officer seen walking into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Coast Straussians undoubtedly remembered which side we took when Southern conservative literary scholar M.E .
Bradford tangled with their mentor Harry V. Jaffa .
They , not we , were in a position to make their displeasure known .
Was the French command really anti-cleric ?
Did they totally change their pre and post Dreyfus positions on the Church ?
Or did they get what they really wanted from the Dreyfus affair completely opposite to what I had thought ?
Was it really all a setup like the Scopes trial ?
This is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some chance if Prof. Gottfried reads this article I would be interested to know the background history of the French army ’ s thoughts on the Catholic Church throughout this period .
The Best of Ira Katz

I recently saw the French film J’Accuse with my French wife, in my French hometown of Meudon. My reasons for noting the peripheral French details will be evident below. This is a film by Roman Polanski based on a novel, An Officer and a Spy by British author Robert Harris. It is mostly about Lieutenant-Colonel Marie-Georges Picquart, the French Army counterintelligence chief who eventually proved that the Jewish captain, Alfred Dreyfus, had been falsely accused and wrongly convicted of spying for Germany. Here is a good review of the novel by the historian Steven Englund.
If you know nothing about the Dreyfus affair it is worth some effort to learn about this prototype of a modern scandal. It includes the deep state, murder, a prison “suicide,” political maneuvering, and even a duel (too bad they don’t still exist, imagine Trump vs. Schiff). The French film title comes from the headline of the Dreyfusard article by the novelist Émile Zola that accuses several members of the military and the government of malfeasance.
I agree with Peter Hitchins that this is a well made historical film. Virtually all of the actors look like the real characters they portrayed. Working in France I see still today the physical style of the dossiers (folders) depicted in the film. Some details that I found illustrated in the superannuated Petit Journal include the great first scene of the public denunciation of Dreyfus in the courtyard of the Ecole Militaire (recreated by the Chuck Connors TV series Branded), the duel between Colonel Picquart and Lieutenant-Colonel Henry, and the attack in the street by the real spy Major Esterhazy.
My wife is a journalist so feels obliged to state her faith in journalism as a profession. She rolls her eyes when I frequently state my disbelief in modern mainstream journalism and the various conspiracies they coverup or are actively engaged in. So after the film, I asked her the provoking question “Do you think there was a conspiracy against Dreyfus?” Upon her positive response, I said: “So then you do believe in conspiracy theories.” She rolled her eyes again.
The film is controversial in France because a series of accusations against Polanski have recently been added to the famous accusation against him in the United States of sexually violating a 13-year-old girl. The most relevant now is by Valentine Monnier, who accused Polanski of a violent rape at his chalet in Switzerland in 1977 when she was 18-years-old. The timing of her accusation coincided with the release of the new film precisely because she could not stomach the irony of her experience with the title. Some of my wife’s female friends have refused to see the film so I was kind of proud that she wanted to see it. Hitchens said it has resulted in very limited showings in Britain.
I think Polanski is probably guilty of these accusations. Nonetheless, there are some extenuating circumstances in his history. Polanski was actually born in Paris and returned to Poland in 1937. Imagine that choice for a Jewish family. He survived the Holocaust but his mother died in Auschwitz. Years later his pregnant wife was murdered in his home by the crazed Manson cult. Furthermore, he lived in wild Laurel Canyon in the 60s and 70s when the whole point was to be free to do whatever you felt like, especially sexually. Quite a life!
The Dreyfus affair was a seminal event in French history so seeing J’Accuse in France in the original F Amazon.com Gift Card i... Buy New $10.00 (as of 08:25 UTC - Details) rench language gives it special meaning. The ultimate result of the case is summarized by a French educational website, with a Google translation following:
L’essentiel L’affaire Dreyfus constitua une véritable épreuve pour la Troisième République car cette simple affaire d’espionnage devint une crise politique majeure à cause de son caractère antisémite. Cette affaire opposait des idées politiques très différentes. Mais le plus grand chantier que connut la Troisième République fut celui qui permit le triomphe de la laïcité en excluant l’Eglise catholique de l’exercice de tout pouvoir politique ou administratif. The essential The Dreyfus affair constituted a real test for the Third Republic because this simple affair of espionage became a major political crisis because of its anti-Semitic character. This case opposed very different political ideas. But the biggest project that the Third Republic experienced was that which allowed the triumph of secularism by excluding the Catholic Church from the exercise of any political or administrative power.
My understanding has been similar, that the reactionary, anti-Semitic army staff framed Dreyfus. But it was never clear for what reason the army pressed the case, even after watching the film. Dreyfus himself was a very minor character before the accusation and even after he was exonerated. When freed he just rejoined the army and served in WWI. Thus, the conspiratorial, reactionary, anti-Semitic, anti-Dreyfusards lost in this scandal resulting in the reform which excluded the Catholic Church from state power. But in a recent article by Paul Gottfried, I was surprised to read the following paragraph where I have put one sentence in bold.
In 2016, I teamed up with another paleoconservative, Boyd Cathey, and a paleo-libertarian, Walter Block, in collecting the names of academics for a declaration of support for then-candidate Trump. Our list was taken over by the West Coast Straussian website American Greatness, whose editorial board proceeded to delete our names before posting the document. The vanished names were hardly an oversight, any more than when the anti-clericalist French command after the Dreyfus Affair removed from consideration for promotion the name of every officer seen walking into a church on Sunday. The West Coast Straussians undoubtedly remembered which side we took when Southern conservative literary scholar M.E. Bradford tangled with their mentor Harry V. Jaffa. They, not we, were in a position to make their displeasure known.
Was the French command really anti-cleric? Did they totally change their pre and post Dreyfus positions on the Church? Or did they get what they really wanted from the Dreyfus affair completely opposite to what I had thought? Was it really all a setup like the Scopes trial?
This is not an accusation, but if by some chance Prof. Gottfried reads this article I would be interested to know the background history of the French army’s thoughts on the Catholic Church throughout this period.
The Best of Ira Katz


lewrockwell--2020-01-18--Dems Conspiring To Stage False Flag Bloodshed on Jan. 20th in Virginia – “Charlottesville 2.0.”

The stage is being set by Democrats and the complicit left-wing media ( CNN ) to turn Jan. 20th “ Lobby Day ” in Richmond , Virginia into a false flag bloodbath that will attempt to frame gun owners as terrorists and provide the justification for state-wide martial law and the confiscation of all firearms from citizens .
Ultimately , the plan is to escalate the conflict into regional civil war and widespread chaos that Democrats hope could help destabilize America and remove Trump from office , no matter what it takes .
We are issuing this urgent warning because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flag are rapidly falling into place .
For example , yesterday the pro-infanticide , blackface-wearing Governor of Virginia , Ralph Northam , issued an executive order filled with false , deliberately deceptive information that lays the groundwork for framing gun owners as terrorists .
That executive order is found at this link and is entitled , “ DECLARATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY DUE TO POTENTIAL CIVIL UNREST AT THE VIRGINIA STATE CAPITOL.
” Against the Left : A Ro ... Llewellyn H Rockwell Jr Best Price : $ 13.57 Buy New $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ credible intelligence ” has determined that armed militias intend to engage in “ violence , rioting , and insurrection.
” This is further confirmed by Gov .
Northam telling left-wing media sources that , “ armed militia groups plan to storm the Capitol.
” ( See The Organic Prepper . )
Newsbusters is reporting that CNN is already laying out the Charlottesville narrative , preparing to blame gun rights supporters for the violence that left-wing operatives are conspiring to cause .
Dave Hodges ’ The Commonsense Show is also hearing from sources that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , preparing to dress up like Trump supporters and commit acts of violence for CNN ’ s cameras .
It ’ s all theater , of course .
But in this case , at least , they can ’ t cover their faces with black masks , so it ’ s going to be more difficult for them to pull this off ( watch for them to cover their faces with patriotic-looking American flag bandanas to avoid being identified ) .
As Hodges writes : Antifa has long been rehearsing the belt-buckle strategy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up as Trump supporters , wearing MAGA hats and start trouble against the Left , or Northam ’ s storm troopers at the roadblocks .

The stage is being set by Democrats and the complicit left-wing media (CNN) to turn Jan. 20th “Lobby Day” in Richmond, Virginia into a false flag bloodbath that will attempt to frame gun owners as terrorists and provide the justification for state-wide martial law and the confiscation of all firearms from citizens.
Ultimately, the plan is to escalate the conflict into regional civil war and widespread chaos that Democrats hope could help destabilize America and remove Trump from office, no matter what it takes.
We are issuing this urgent warning because all the signs of this imminent false flag are rapidly falling into place. For example, yesterday the pro-infanticide, blackface-wearing Governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam, issued an executive order filled with false, deliberately deceptive information that lays the groundwork for framing gun owners as terrorists. That executive order is found at this link and is entitled, “DECLARATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY DUE TO POTENTIAL CIVIL UNREST AT THE VIRGINIA STATE CAPITOL.” Against the Left: A Ro... Rockwell Jr, Llewellyn H Best Price: $2.85 Buy New $8.00 (as of 07:59 UTC - Details)
The EO falsely claims that “credible intelligence” has determined that armed militias intend to engage in “violence, rioting, and insurrection.” This is further confirmed by Gov. Northam telling left-wing media sources that, “armed militia groups plan to storm the Capitol.” (See The Organic Prepper.)
Newsbusters is reporting that CNN is already laying out the Charlottesville narrative, preparing to blame gun rights supporters for the violence that left-wing operatives are conspiring to cause.
Dave Hodges’ The Commonsense Show is also hearing from sources that say Antifa operatives are already in place, preparing to dress up like Trump supporters and commit acts of violence for CNN’s cameras. It’s all theater, of course. But in this case, at least, they can’t cover their faces with black masks, so it’s going to be more difficult for them to pull this off (watch for them to cover their faces with patriotic-looking American flag bandanas to avoid being identified). As Hodges writes:
Antifa has long been rehearsing the belt-buckle strategy. This is where Antifa will dress up as Trump supporters, wearing MAGA hats and start trouble against the Left, or Northam’s storm troopers at the roadblocks.

Read the Whole Article


lewrockwell--2020-01-18--Putin’s Now Purged the West Fom the Kremlin

It came as the biggest shock of the day on Wednesday .
The Russian government resigned .
The day before President Vladimir Putin gave his State of the Nation address and outlined a slate of constitutional changes .
That speech prompted an overhaul of Russia ’ s government .
Putin ’ s plan is to devolve some of the President ’ s overwhelming power to the legislature and the State Council , while beefing up the Constitutional Court ’ s ability to provide checks on legislation .
The bigger shock was that in response to this Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Prime Minister .
Within hours Putin recommended Federal Tax Service chief , Mikhail Mishustin as Prime Minister .
The State Duma approved Putin ’ s recommendation and Mishustin was sworn in by Putin all within a day .
While this came on suddenly it also shouldn ’ t be a surprise .
These changes have been discussed for months leading up to Putin ’ s speech .
And it ’ s been clear for the past few years that Putin has been engaged in the second phase of his long-term plan to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his time in office .
War with Russia ?
: From ... Stephen F. Cohen Best Price : $ 5.00 Buy New $ 8.50 The first phase was rescuing Russia from economic , societal and demographic collapse .
It was in serious danger of this when Putin took over from Boris Yeltsin .
It meant regaining control over strategic state resources , rebuilding Russia ’ s economy and defense , stabilizing its population , getting some semblance of political control within the Kremlin and bringing hope back to a country in desperate need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ domestic and foreign , criticized Putin constantly for his tactics .
Russia ’ s reliance on its base commodities sectors to revive its economy was seen as a structural weakness .
But , an honest assessment of the situation begs the question , “ How else was Putin going to back Russia away from the edge of that abyss ?
” These same experts never seem to have an answer .
And when those critics were able to answer , since they were people connected to monied interests in the West who Putin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s natural wealth , their answer was usually to keep doing that .
Don ’ t kid yourself , most of the so-called Russia experts out there are deeply tied back to Wall St. through one William Browder and his partner-in-crime Mikhail Khordokovsky .
Nearly all of them in the U.S. Senate are severely compromised or just garden variety neocons still hell-bent on subjugating Russia to their hegemonic plans .
Their voices should be discounted heavily since they are the same criminals actively destroying U.S. and European politics today .
In the West @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is consolidating power .
The initial reports were that he would remove the restraint on Presidential service of two consecutive terms .
And that this would pave the way to his staying in office after his current term expires in 2024 .
That , as always when regarding Russia , is the opposite of the truth .
Putin ’ s recommendation is to remove the word “ consecutive ” from the Constitution making it clear that a President can only ever serve two terms .
Moreover , that president will have had to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 25 years .
No one will be allowed to rule Russia like he has after he departs the office .
Because Putin understands that the Russian presidency under the current constitution is far to powerful and leaves the country vulnerable to a man who isn ’ t a patriot being corrupted by that power .
There are a number of issues that most commentators and analysts in the West do not understand about Putin .
Their insistence on presenting Putin only in the worst possible terms is tired and nonsensical to anyone who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ studying him .
These events of the past couple of days in Russia are the end result of years of work on Putin ’ s part to purge the Russian government and the Kremlin of what The Saker calls The Atlanticist Fifth Column .
And they have been dug in like ticks in a corrupt bureaucracy that has taken Putin the better part of twenty years to tame .
It ’ s been a long and difficult road that even I only understand the surface details of .
But it ’ s clear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Putin began making the shift towards the next phase of Russia ’ s strategic comeback .
And that second phase is about taking a stable Russia and elevating its institutions to a more sustainable model .
Once birth rates improved and demographic collapse averted the next thing to do was to reform an economy rightly criticized for being too heavily dependent on oil and gas revenues .
And that is a much tougher task .
It meant getting control over the Russian central bank and the financial sector .
Putin was given that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2014 .
Using the crisis as an opportunity Putin began the decoupling of Russia ’ s economy from the West .
During the early boom years of his Presidency oil revenue strengthened both the Russian state coffers and the so-called oligarchs who Putin was actively fighting for control .
He warned the CEO ’ s of Gazprom , Rosneft and Sberbank that they were too heavily exposed to the U.S. dollar this way in the years leading up to the crash in oil prices in 2014-16 .
And when the U.S. sanctioned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Crimea these firms all had to come to Putin for a bailout .
Their dollar-denominated debt was swapped out for euro and ruble debt through the Bank of Russia and he instructed the central bank to allow the ruble to fall , to stop defending it .
Taking the inflationary hit was dangerous but necessary if Russia was to become a truly independent economic force .
Since then it ’ s been a tug of war with the IMF-trained bureaucracy within the Bank of Russia to set monetary policy in accordance with Russia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community demanded .
That strong Presidency was a huge boon .
But , now that the job is mostly done , it can be an albatross .
Putin understands that a Russia flush with too much oil money is a Russia ruled by that money and becomes lazy because of that money .
Contrary to popular opinion , Putin doesn ’ t want to see oil prices back near $ 100 per barrel .
Because Russia ’ s comparative advantage in oil and gas is so high relative to everyone else on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that money retards innovation and investment in new technologies and a broadening of the Russian domestic economy .
And this has been Putin ’ s focus for a while now .
Oil and gas are geostrategic assets used to shore up Russia ’ s position as a regional power , building connections with its new partners while opening up new markets for Russian businesses .
But it isn ’ t the end of the Russian story of the future , rather the beginning .
And the slow privatization of those industries is happening @ @ @ @ @ @ @ selling off excess treasury shares to raise capital and put a larger share of them into public hands .
Again , this is all part of the next stage of Russia ’ s development and democratizing some of the President ’ s power has to happen if Russia is going to survive him leaving the stage .
Because it is one thing to have a man of uncommon ability and patriotism wielding that power responsibly .
It ’ s another to believe Russia can get another man like Putin to take his place @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his foresight and prudence in pushing for these changes now .
It shows that he feels comfortable that this new structure will insulate Russia from external threats while strengthening the domestic political scene .
Gilbert Doctorow has an excellent early reaction to this dramatic turn by Putin which I encourage everyone to read in full .
The subtle point he makes is : Against the Left : A Ro ... Llewellyn H Rockwell Jr Best Price : $ 13.57 Buy New $ 8.00 The end result of this move to devolve the cabinet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is to ensure that a strong President which Putin believes is best for Russia is tempered by a cabinet drawn from the whole of the electorate , including the Prime Minister .
That neither opens the door to dysfunctional European parliamentary systems nor closes it from a strong President leading Russia during crisis periods .
Once the amendments to the constitution are finalized Putin will put the whole package to a public vote .
This is the early stage of this much-needed overhaul of Russia ’ s constitutional order and the neocons in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knowing that they can no longer just wait Putin out and sink their hooks into his most likely successor .
Sometimes the most important changes occur right under our noses , right out in the open .
Contrast that with the skullduggery and open hostility of the political circus in D.C. and you can which direction the two countries are headed .
The Best of Thomas Luongo

It came as the biggest shock of the day on Wednesday. The Russian government resigned. The day before President Vladimir Putin gave his State of the Nation address and outlined a slate of constitutional changes.
That speech prompted an overhaul of Russia’s government.
Putin’s plan is to devolve some of the President’s overwhelming power to the legislature and the State Council, while beefing up the Constitutional Court’s ability to provide checks on legislation.
From TASS:
In Wednesday’s State of the Nation Address, Putin put forward a number of initiatives changing the framework of power structures at all levels, from municipal authorities to the president. The initiatives particularly stipulate that the powers of the legislative and judicial branches, including the Constitutional Court, will be expanded. The president also proposed to expand the role of the Russian State Council. Putin suggested giving the State Duma (the lower house of parliament) the right to approve the appointment of the country’s prime minister, deputy prime ministers and ministers.
The bigger shock was that in response to this Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev dissolved the current government willingly and resigned as Prime Minister.
Within hours Putin recommended Federal Tax Service chief, Mikhail Mishustin as Prime Minister. The State Duma approved Putin’s recommendation and Mishustin was sworn in by Putin all within a day.
While this came on suddenly it also shouldn’t be a surprise. These changes have been discussed for months leading up to Putin’s speech. And it’s been clear for the past few years that Putin has been engaged in the second phase of his long-term plan to first rebuild and then remake Russia during his time in office. War with Russia?: From... Cohen, Stephen F. Best Price: $8.99 Buy New $8.50 (as of 02:15 UTC - Details)
The first phase was rescuing Russia from economic, societal and demographic collapse. It was in serious danger of this when Putin took over from Boris Yeltsin.
It meant regaining control over strategic state resources, rebuilding Russia’s economy and defense, stabilizing its population, getting some semblance of political control within the Kremlin and bringing hope back to a country in desperate need of it.
Hostile analysts, both domestic and foreign, criticized Putin constantly for his tactics. Russia’s reliance on its base commodities sectors to revive its economy was seen as a structural weakness. But, an honest assessment of the situation begs the question, “How else was Putin going to back Russia away from the edge of that abyss?”
These same experts never seem to have an answer.
And when those critics were able to answer, since they were people connected to monied interests in the West who Putin stymied from continuing to loot Russia’s natural wealth, their answer was usually to keep doing that.
Don’t kid yourself, most of the so-called Russia experts out there are deeply tied back to Wall St. through one William Browder and his partner-in-crime Mikhail Khordokovsky.
Nearly all of them in the U.S. Senate are severely compromised or just garden variety neocons still hell-bent on subjugating Russia to their hegemonic plans.
Their voices should be discounted heavily since they are the same criminals actively destroying U.S. and European politics today.
In the West these events were spun to suggest Putin is consolidating power. The initial reports were that he would remove the restraint on Presidential service of two consecutive terms. And that this would pave the way to his staying in office after his current term expires in 2024.
That, as always when regarding Russia, is the opposite of the truth. Putin’s recommendation is to remove the word “consecutive” from the Constitution making it clear that a President can only ever serve two terms. Moreover, that president will have had to have lived in Russia for the previous 25 years.
No one will be allowed to rule Russia like he has after he departs the office. Because Putin understands that the Russian presidency under the current constitution is far to powerful and leaves the country vulnerable to a man who isn’t a patriot being corrupted by that power.
There are a number of issues that most commentators and analysts in the West do not understand about Putin. Their insistence on presenting Putin only in the worst possible terms is tired and nonsensical to anyone who spends even a cursory amount of time studying him.
These events of the past couple of days in Russia are the end result of years of work on Putin’s part to purge the Russian government and the Kremlin of what The Saker calls The Atlanticist Fifth Column.
And they have been dug in like ticks in a corrupt bureaucracy that has taken Putin the better part of twenty years to tame.
It’s been a long and difficult road that even I only understand the surface details of. But it’s clear that beginning in 2012 or so, Putin began making the shift towards the next phase of Russia’s strategic comeback.
And that second phase is about taking a stable Russia and elevating its institutions to a more sustainable model.
Once birth rates improved and demographic collapse averted the next thing to do was to reform an economy rightly criticized for being too heavily dependent on oil and gas revenues.
And that is a much tougher task. It meant getting control over the Russian central bank and the financial sector. Putin was given that opportunity during the downturn in oil prices in 2014.
Using the crisis as an opportunity Putin began the decoupling of Russia’s economy from the West. During the early boom years of his Presidency oil revenue strengthened both the Russian state coffers and the so-called oligarchs who Putin was actively fighting for control.
He warned the CEO’s of Gazprom, Rosneft and Sberbank that they were too heavily exposed to the U.S. dollar this way in the years leading up to the crash in oil prices in 2014-16.
And when the U.S. sanctioned Russia in 2014 over the reunification with Crimea these firms all had to come to Putin for a bailout. Their dollar-denominated debt was swapped out for euro and ruble debt through the Bank of Russia and he instructed the central bank to allow the ruble to fall, to stop defending it.
Taking the inflationary hit was dangerous but necessary if Russia was to become a truly independent economic force.
Since then it’s been a tug of war with the IMF-trained bureaucracy within the Bank of Russia to set monetary policy in accordance with Russia’s needs not what the international community demanded.
That strong Presidency was a huge boon. But, now that the job is mostly done, it can be an albatross.
Putin understands that a Russia flush with too much oil money is a Russia ruled by that money and becomes lazy because of that money. Contrary to popular opinion, Putin doesn’t want to see oil prices back near $100 per barrel.
Because Russia’s comparative advantage in oil and gas is so high relative to everyone else on the world stage and to other domestic industries that money retards innovation and investment in new technologies and a broadening of the Russian domestic economy.
And this has been Putin’s focus for a while now. Oil and gas are geostrategic assets used to shore up Russia’s position as a regional power, building connections with its new partners while opening up new markets for Russian businesses.
But it isn’t the end of the Russian story of the future, rather the beginning.
And the slow privatization of those industries is happening, with companies like Gazprom and Rosneft selling off excess treasury shares to raise capital and put a larger share of them into public hands.
Again, this is all part of the next stage of Russia’s development and democratizing some of the President’s power has to happen if Russia is going to survive him leaving the stage.
Because it is one thing to have a man of uncommon ability and patriotism wielding that power responsibly. It’s another to believe Russia can get another man like Putin to take his place.
So, Putin is again showing his foresight and prudence in pushing for these changes now. It shows that he feels comfortable that this new structure will insulate Russia from external threats while strengthening the domestic political scene.
Gilbert Doctorow has an excellent early reaction to this dramatic turn by Putin which I encourage everyone to read in full. The subtle point he makes is:
To understand what comes next, you have to take into account a vitally important statement which Putin made a few moments before he set out his proposed constitutional reforms. He told his audience that his experience meeting with the leaders of the various Duma parties at regular intervals every few weeks showed that all were deeply patriotic and working for the good of the country. Accordingly, he said that all Duma parties should participate in the formation of the cabinet. And so, we are likely to see in the coming days that candidates for a number of federal ministries in the new, post-Medvedev cabinet will be drawn precisely from parties other than United Russia. In effect, without introducing the word “coalition” into his vocabulary, Vladimir Putin has set the stage for the creation of a grand coalition to succeed the rule of one party, United Russia, over which Dimitri Medvedev was the nominal chairman.
Against the Left: A Ro... Rockwell Jr, Llewellyn H Best Price: $2.85 Buy New $8.00 (as of 07:59 UTC - Details) The end result of this move to devolve the cabinet appointments to the whole of the Duma is to ensure that a strong President which Putin believes is best for Russia is tempered by a cabinet drawn from the whole of the electorate, including the Prime Minister.
That neither opens the door to dysfunctional European parliamentary systems nor closes it from a strong President leading Russia during crisis periods.
Once the amendments to the constitution are finalized Putin will put the whole package to a public vote.
This is the early stage of this much-needed overhaul of Russia’s constitutional order and the neocons in the West are likely stunned into silence knowing that they can no longer just wait Putin out and sink their hooks into his most likely successor.
Sometimes the most important changes occur right under our noses, right out in the open. Contrast that with the skullduggery and open hostility of the political circus in D.C. and you can which direction the two countries are headed.
Reprinted with permission from Gold Goats ‘n Guns.
The Best of Tom Luongo


Our Worser Half

Government is like a bad marriage you can ’ t get out of .
An arranged bad marriage you didn ’ t even once upon a time think was a good idea that turned bad over time .
You were forced into it – and you can ’ t leave it .
So you end up doing your best to “ make it work ” – and are grateful for whatever small occasional concessions you can manage .
They are better than nothing , as the saying goes .
And yes – it could have been worse .
For instance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New $ 10.00 Our Worser Half was going to force us to buy nothing but hybrids and electric cars – by jacking up the price – via fines – of any new car that didn ’ t average at least 46.7 MPG – which is every car that isn ’ t a hybrid or an EV – by the 2026 model year .
This would have had a seismic effect on not just the cost of cars but also the choice of cars available come 2026 .
Less “ efficient ” models would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expensive – the one inevitably resulting in the other .
Instead , the arm-twisting will apparently be relaxed – somewhat .
New cars will “ only ” be required to average 37 MPG by 2026 .
Those that don ’ t – which is almost all of them except hybrids – will still cost more .
But a bit less than they would have otherwise .
Yes , surely .
In the manner of Stalin ’ s chicken .
It is of a piece with being grateful that the county “ only ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by 3 percent this year instead of 5 .
How about zero ?
Our Worser Half has been decreeing MPG minimums – styled Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency standards – since the 1970s on the basis of a very strange and morally despicable argument , which is rarely – if ever – questioned .
It goes something like this : The car companies must be forced by the government to offer what buyers are clamoring for – i.e.
, “ fuel-efficient ” cars – else they would force people to buy nothing but “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of course absurd , both historically , logically – and actually .
The Best of Eric Peters

Government is like a bad marriage you can’t get out of. An arranged bad marriage you didn’t even once upon a time think was a good idea that turned bad over time. You were forced into it – and you can’t leave it.
Just ask Mr. Lincoln.
So you end up doing your best to “make it work” – and are grateful for whatever small occasional concessions you can manage.
They are better than nothing, as the saying goes.
And yes – it could have been worse. For instance:
Amazon.com Gift Card i... Buy New $10.00 (as of 08:25 UTC - Details) Our Worser Half was going to force us to buy nothing but hybrids and electric cars – by jacking up the price – via fines – of any new car that didn’t average at least 46.7 MPG – which is every car that isn’t a hybrid or an EV – by the 2026 model year.
This would have had a seismic effect on not just the cost of cars but also the choice of cars available come 2026. Less “efficient” models would become more scarce as well as more expensive – the one inevitably resulting in the other.
Instead, the arm-twisting will apparently be relaxed – somewhat. New cars will “only” be required to average 37 MPG by 2026. Those that don’t – which is almost all of them except hybrids – will still cost more.
But a bit less than they would have otherwise.
Be grateful?
Yes, surely. In the manner of Stalin’s chicken. It is of a piece with being grateful that the county “only” increased the tax assessment on your home by 3 percent this year instead of 5.
How about zero?
Amazon.com Gift Card i... Buy New $25.00 (as of 06:10 UTC - Details) Never mind.
Our Worser Half has been decreeing MPG minimums – styled Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency standards – since the 1970s on the basis of a very strange and morally despicable argument, which is rarely – if ever – questioned.
It goes something like this:
The car companies must be forced by the government to offer what buyers are clamoring for – i.e., “fuel-efficient” cars – else they would force people to buy nothing but “gas guzzling” cars.
This is of course absurd, both historically, logically – and actually.
Read the Whole Article
The Best of Eric Peters


lewrockwell--2020-01-18--Nancy Signs the Dems’ Death Warrant

Nancy Signs the Dems’ Death Warrant

So titanically self-unaware is the Democratic Resistance that it failed to grok it was actually signing the party ’ s death warrant Wednesday , complete with official Nancy Pelosi commemorative black-and-gold signature pens .
And that their solemn , prayerful journey from one side of the Capitol building to the other was actually the conveyance of that death warrant in what amounted to the party ’ s funeral march .
Remember this eternal paradox of the human condition : people get what they deserve , not what they expect .
Could you look at the line-up of Democratic impeachment managers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a band of hapless , misbegotten ninnies assembled for a suicide mission ?
Led by the waddling homunculus , Jerrold Nadler , side-by-side with Adam Schiff , oozing a flop-sweat of falsehood , a rank cloud of bathos trailed the procession to the Senate side with its pathetic bill-of-particulars .
Could they actually be so dim as to proffer “ abuse of power ” and “ obstruction of congress ” as articles of impeachment ?
These two figments would be laughed out of a second-year law school mock court .
Legal necromancers of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the world , may never unpack the intended meaning of these charges besides “ we hate you ” and “ you hurt our feelings.
” But it ’ s up to the Senate of today to dispose of them procedurally one way or another , and the exercise is sure to be a high order of entertainment .
Living in the Long Eme ... James Howard Kunstler Buy New $ 24.95 In a sane world of rational adults , these charges would be coolly dismissed out-of-hand as lacking any discernible malfeasant substance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of hysteria , the normal rules don ’ t apply .
That being the case , the defense should spare no mercy in unmasking the bad faith and fraud on offer by doing what the House Democrats have asked for , calling witnesses , so as to walk the Democrats into the fiery furnace of humiliation and infamy they so richly deserve .
Wouldn ’ t you like to hear from the legendary “ whistleblower , ” since his actions provoked this chapter of the three-year orchestrated coup to oust Mr. Trump ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of law that a defendant has a right to face his accuser , can there be any further excuse for concealing this person ’ s identity — whose supposed right to anonymity , by the way , has been one of the signal frauds of the whole episode .
Would it not be instructive to seat his mentor and former boss , John Brennan , in the witness chair and give him another opportunity to perjure himself ?
We must also hear from Michael Atkinson , the “ whistleblower ’ s ” enabler @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s former boss at the DOJ national security desk , who apparently stage-managed the “ whistleblower ’ s ” doings through Adam Schiff ’ s House intel Committee .
Mr. Schiff would be the ripest witness of all , of course , since he has left a trail of falsehoods and fabrications longer than the Pacific Trail — but it ’ s unclear just now whether the Senate rules will allow a manager to be called to testify .
The Fall of the Ancien ... james howard kunstler Buy New $ 7.00 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the American mischief in Ukraine — which includes , but goes far beyond — the arrant grift of Hunter Biden .
For example , the relationships between the George Soros-backed NGO Atlantic Council and Burisma , the NatGas company that put Hunter B on its board , and Ukrainian oligarch Victor Pinchuk , board member of the Atlantic Council ( and $ 25-million contributor to the Clinton Foundation ) , and Dmitri Alperovitch ( also Atlantic Council ) co-founder of Crowdstrike , the company that “ examined ” the supposedly “ hacked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ herself , the self-dealing Secretary of State behind the international pay-for-play charity fraud she operated while in office .
Also bring back former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch to ‘ splain the actions she took to conceal all these machinations , as well as her role in operating the 2016 Kiev Hillary campaign office .
What would soon be obvious is that the precipitating “ whistleblower ” caper was an effort to divert attention from a network of Americans that used a politically captive Ukraine — following the Maidan Revolution of 2014 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ threatened by the candidacy , and then the election , of Mr. Trump .
Naturally , they are desperate to get him out of the way .
So many of the facts are already publicly known and documented about these matters that the legal machinery has yet to catch up with it all .
And when it does , the Democratic Party will have driven a wooden stake through its own depraved heart .
The Best of James Howard Kunstler

So titanically self-unaware is the Democratic Resistance that it failed to grok it was actually signing the party’s death warrant Wednesday, complete with official Nancy Pelosi commemorative black-and-gold signature pens. And that their solemn, prayerful journey from one side of the Capitol building to the other was actually the conveyance of that death warrant in what amounted to the party’s funeral march. Remember this eternal paradox of the human condition: people get what they deserve, not what they expect.
Could you look at the line-up of Democratic impeachment managers without laughing? Was there ever such a band of hapless, misbegotten ninnies assembled for a suicide mission? Led by the waddling homunculus, Jerrold Nadler, side-by-side with Adam Schiff, oozing a flop-sweat of falsehood, a rank cloud of bathos trailed the procession to the Senate side with its pathetic bill-of-particulars.
Could they actually be so dim as to proffer “abuse of power” and “obstruction of congress” as articles of impeachment? These two figments would be laughed out of a second-year law school mock court. Legal necromancers of the future, with all the time in the world, may never unpack the intended meaning of these charges besides “we hate you” and “you hurt our feelings.” But it’s up to the Senate of today to dispose of them procedurally one way or another, and the exercise is sure to be a high order of entertainment. Living in the Long Eme... James Howard Kunstler Buy New $24.95 (as of 10:56 UTC - Details)
In a sane world of rational adults, these charges would be coolly dismissed out-of-hand as lacking any discernible malfeasant substance. As we live in a time of hysteria, the normal rules don’t apply. That being the case, the defense should spare no mercy in unmasking the bad faith and fraud on offer by doing what the House Democrats have asked for, calling witnesses, so as to walk the Democrats into the fiery furnace of humiliation and infamy they so richly deserve.
Wouldn’t you like to hear from the legendary “whistleblower,” since his actions provoked this chapter of the three-year orchestrated coup to oust Mr. Trump? If it’s a basic tenet of law that a defendant has a right to face his accuser, can there be any further excuse for concealing this person’s identity — whose supposed right to anonymity, by the way, has been one of the signal frauds of the whole episode. Would it not be instructive to seat his mentor and former boss, John Brennan, in the witness chair and give him another opportunity to perjure himself? We must also hear from Michael Atkinson, the “whistleblower’s” enabler and Lawfare warrior Mary McCord, Atkinson’s former boss at the DOJ national security desk, who apparently stage-managed the “whistleblower’s” doings through Adam Schiff’s House intel Committee. Mr. Schiff would be the ripest witness of all, of course, since he has left a trail of falsehoods and fabrications longer than the Pacific Trail — but it’s unclear just now whether the Senate rules will allow a manager to be called to testify.
The Fall of the Ancien... james howard kunstler Buy New $7.00 (as of 06:00 UTC - Details) There is also much to be unraveled about the American mischief in Ukraine — which includes, but goes far beyond — the arrant grift of Hunter Biden. For example, the relationships between the George Soros-backed NGO Atlantic Council and Burisma, the NatGas company that put Hunter B on its board, and Ukrainian oligarch Victor Pinchuk, board member of the Atlantic Council (and $25-million contributor to the Clinton Foundation), and Dmitri Alperovitch (also Atlantic Council) co-founder of Crowdstrike, the company that “examined” the supposedly “hacked” DNC servers, and Hillary Clinton herself, the self-dealing Secretary of State behind the international pay-for-play charity fraud she operated while in office. Also bring back former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch to ‘splain the actions she took to conceal all these machinations, as well as her role in operating the 2016 Kiev Hillary campaign office.
What would soon be obvious is that the precipitating “whistleblower” caper was an effort to divert attention from a network of Americans that used a politically captive Ukraine — following the Maidan Revolution of 2014 — to protect an enormous racketeering operation threatened by the candidacy, and then the election, of Mr. Trump. Naturally, they are desperate to get him out of the way. So many of the facts are already publicly known and documented about these matters that the legal machinery has yet to catch up with it all. And when it does, the Democratic Party will have driven a wooden stake through its own depraved heart.
Reprinted with permission from Kunstler.com.
The Best of James Howard Kunstler


lewrockwell--2020-01-18--Battle of the Ages To Stop Eurasian Integration

The Raging Twenties started with a bang with the targeted assassination of Iran ’ s General Qasem Soleimani .
Yet a bigger bang awaits us throughout the decade : the myriad declinations of the New Great Game in Eurasia , which pits the US against Russia , China and Iran , the three major nodes of Eurasia integration .
Every game-changing act in geopolitics and geoeconomics in the coming decade will have to be analyzed in connection to this epic clash .
The Deep State and crucial sectors of the US ruling class are absolutely terrified that China is already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and that Russia has outpaced it militarily .
The Pentagon officially designates the three Eurasian nodes as “ threats.
” Hybrid War techniques – carrying inbuilt 24/7 demonization – will proliferate with the aim of containing China ’ s “ threat , ” Russian “ aggression ” and Iran ’ s “ sponsorship of terrorism.
” The myth of the “ free market ” will continue to drown under the imposition of a barrage of illegal sanctions , euphemistically defined as new trade “ rules.
” 2030 : A Letter to My G @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Yet that will be hardly enough to derail the Russia-China strategic partnership .
To unlock the deeper meaning of this partnership , we need to understand that Beijing defines it as rolling towards a “ new era.
” That implies strategic long-term planning – with the key date being 2049 , the centennial of New China .
The horizon for the multiple projects of the Belt and Road Initiative – as in the China-driven New Silk Roads – is indeed the 2040s , when Beijing expects to have fully woven a new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Eurasia and beyond , all connected by an interlocking maze of belts and roads .
The Russian project – Greater Eurasia – somewhat mirrors Belt & Road and will be integrated with it .
Belt & Road , the Eurasia Economic Union , the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank are all converging towards the same vision .
So this “ new era ” , as defined by the Chinese , relies heavily on close Russia-China coordination , in every sector .
Made in China 2025 is encompassing a series @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time , Russia has established itself as an unparalleled technological resource for weapons and systems that the Chinese still can not match .
At the latest BRICS summit in Brasilia , President Xi Jinping told Vladimir Putin that “ the current international situation with rising instability and uncertainty urge China and Russia to establish closer strategic coordination.
” Putin ’ s response : “ Under the current situation , the two sides should continue to maintain close strategic communication.
” Russia is showing China how the West respects realpolitik power in any form @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use theirs .
The result is that after five centuries of Western domination – which , incidentally , led to the decline of the Ancient Silk Roads – the Heartland is back , with a bang , asserting its preeminence .
GLOBALISTAN : How the G ... Pepe Escobar Check Amazon for Pricing .
On a personal note , my travels these past two years , from West Asia to Central Asia , and my conversations these past two months with analysts in Nur-Sultan , Moscow and Italy , have allowed me to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sharp minds define as the Double Helix .
We are all aware of the immense challenges ahead – while barely managing to track the stunning re-emergence of the Heartland in real-time .
In soft power terms , the sterling role of Russian diplomacy will become even more paramount – backed up by a Ministry of Defense led by Sergei Shoigu , a Tuvan from Siberia , and an intel arm that is capable of constructive dialogue with everybody : India/Pakistan , North/South Korea , Iran/Saudi Arabia , Afghanistan .
This apparatus does smooth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a manner that still eludes Beijing .
In parallel , virtually the whole Asia-Pacific – from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean – now takes into full consideration Russia-China as a counter-force to US naval and financial overreach .

The Raging Twenties started with a bang with the targeted assassination of Iran’s General Qasem Soleimani.
Yet a bigger bang awaits us throughout the decade: the myriad declinations of the New Great Game in Eurasia, which pits the US against Russia, China and Iran, the three major nodes of Eurasia integration.
Every game-changing act in geopolitics and geoeconomics in the coming decade will have to be analyzed in connection to this epic clash.
The Deep State and crucial sectors of the US ruling class are absolutely terrified that China is already outpacing the “indispensable nation” economically and that Russia has outpaced it militarily. The Pentagon officially designates the three Eurasian nodes as “threats.” Hybrid War techniques – carrying inbuilt 24/7 demonization – will proliferate with the aim of containing China’s “threat,” Russian “aggression” and Iran’s “sponsorship of terrorism.” The myth of the “free market” will continue to drown under the imposition of a barrage of illegal sanctions, euphemistically defined as new trade “rules.”
Yet that will be hardly enough to derail the Russia-China strategic partnership. To unlock the deeper meaning of this partnership, we need to understand that Beijing defines it as rolling towards a “new era.” That implies strategic long-term planning – with the key date being 2049, the centennial of New China.
The horizon for the multiple projects of the Belt and Road Initiative – as in the China-driven New Silk Roads – is indeed the 2040s, when Beijing expects to have fully woven a new, multipolar paradigm of sovereign nations/partners across Eurasia and beyond, all connected by an interlocking maze of belts and roads.
The Russian project – Greater Eurasia – somewhat mirrors Belt & Road and will be integrated with it. Belt & Road, the Eurasia Economic Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank are all converging towards the same vision.
Realpolitik
So this “new era”, as defined by the Chinese, relies heavily on close Russia-China coordination, in every sector. Made in China 2025 is encompassing a series of techno/scientific breakthroughs. At the same time, Russia has established itself as an unparalleled technological resource for weapons and systems that the Chinese still cannot match.
At the latest BRICS summit in Brasilia, President Xi Jinping told Vladimir Putin that “the current international situation with rising instability and uncertainty urge China and Russia to establish closer strategic coordination.” Putin’s response: “Under the current situation, the two sides should continue to maintain close strategic communication.”
Russia is showing China how the West respects realpolitik power in any form, and Beijing is finally starting to use theirs. The result is that after five centuries of Western domination – which, incidentally, led to the decline of the Ancient Silk Roads – the Heartland is back, with a bang, asserting its preeminence. GLOBALISTAN :How the G... Escobar, Pepe Buy New $3.99 (as of 03:45 UTC - Details)
On a personal note, my travels these past two years, from West Asia to Central Asia, and my conversations these past two months with analysts in Nur-Sultan, Moscow and Italy, have allowed me to get deeper into the intricacies of what sharp minds define as the Double Helix. We are all aware of the immense challenges ahead – while barely managing to track the stunning re-emergence of the Heartland in real-time.
In soft power terms, the sterling role of Russian diplomacy will become even more paramount – backed up by a Ministry of Defense led by Sergei Shoigu, a Tuvan from Siberia, and an intel arm that is capable of constructive dialogue with everybody: India/Pakistan, North/South Korea, Iran/Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan.
This apparatus does smooth (complex) geopolitical issues over in a manner that still eludes Beijing.
In parallel, virtually the whole Asia-Pacific – from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean – now takes into full consideration Russia-China as a counter-force to US naval and financial overreach.
Read the Whole Article


lewrockwell--2020-01-18--What’s the Point of NATO?

What’s the Point of NATO?

Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) alliance commits all members to participate in the defense of any single member that is attacked .
An attack on one is an attack on all .
Forged in the early stages of the cold war , the alliance originally included most of the leading non-communist states in Western Europe , as well as Turkey .
It was intended to deter any attacks orchestrated by the Soviet Union and was defensive in nature .
Currently NATO is an anachronism as the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 , but the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an international stage has granted it a measure of life support .
Indeed , the alliance is regularly auditioning for new members .
Its latest addition is Montenegro , which has a military consisting of 2,000 men and women , roughly one brigade .
If Montenegro should be attacked , the United States is obligated to come to its assistance .
It would all be something like comic opera featuring the Duke of Plaza Toro but for the fact that there are certain things that NATO does that are not really defensive in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expanded NATO right up to the border with Russia , which the U.S. promised not to do and then reneged , military exercises staged by the alliance currently occur right next to Russian airspace and coastal waters .
To support the incursions , the myth that Moscow is expansionistic ( while also seeking to destroy what passes for democracy in the West ) is constantly cited .
According to the current version , Russian President Vladimir Putin is just waiting to resume control over Ukraine , Georgia , Poland and the Baltic States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Soviet Union .
This has led to demands from the usual suspects in the U.S. Congress that Georgia and Ukraine be admitted into the alliance , which would really create an existential threat for Russia that it would have to respond to .
There have also been some suggestions that Israel might join NATO .
A war that no one wants either in the Middle East or in Europe could be the result if the expansion plans bear fruit .
Against the Left : A Ro ... Llewellyn H Rockwell Jr Best Price @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Having nothing to do beyond aggravating the Russians , the alliance has gone along with some of the transnational abominations initially created by virtue of the Global War on Terror initiated by the loosely wrapped American president George W. Bush .
The NATO alliance currently has 8,000 service members participating in a training mission in Afghanistan and its key member states have also been parts of the various coalitions that Washington has bribed or coerced into being .
NATO was also actively involved in the fiasco that turned Libya into a gangster state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ developed nation in Africa .
Currently French and British soldiers are part of the Operation Inherent Resolve ( don ’ t you love the names ! )
in Syria and NATO itself is part of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS .
NATO will now be doing its part to help defend the United States against terrorist attack .
Last Wednesday the alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke with President Donald Trump on the phone in the wake of the assassination of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani at the Baghdad International Airport .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ missiles fired by a U.S. Reaper drone and was justified by the U.S. by claiming that Soleimani was a terrorist due to his affiliation with the listed terrorist Quds Force .
It was also asserted that Soleimani was planning an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and would have killed “ hundreds ” of Americans .
Evidence supporting the claims was so flimsy that even some Republicans balked at approving the chain of events .
Nine Iraqis also died in the attack , including the Iraqi General who headed the Kata ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ incorporated into the Iraqi Army to fight against the terrorist group ISIS .
During the week preceding the execution of Soleimani , the U.S. had staged an air attack that killed 25 Iraqi members of Kata ’ Ib , the incident that then sparked the rioting at the American Embassy in Baghdad ’ s Green Zone .
Bearing in mind that the alleged thwarted terrorist attacks took place seven thousand miles away from the United States , it is hard to make the case that the U.S. was directly threatened requiring a response @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doubt the Mike Pompeo State Department will claim that its Embassy is sovereign territory and therefor part of the United States .
It is a bullshit argument , but it will no doubt be made .
The White House has already made a similar sovereignty claim vis-à-vis the two U.S. bases in Iraq that were hit by a barrage of a dozen Iranian missiles a day after the killing of Soleimani .
Unlike the case of Soleimani and his party , no one was killed by the Iranian attacks , quite possibly a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the conflict .
In spite of the fact that there was no actual threat and no factual basis for a call to arms , last Wednesday , NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke by phone with President Donald Trump “ on developments in the Middle East.
” A NATO press release stated that the two men discussed “ the situation in the region and NATO ’ s role.
” According to the press release “ The President asked the Secretary General for NATO to become more involved in the Middle East .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ regional stability and the fight against international terrorism.
” A tweet by White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere later confirmed that Trump had “ emphasized the value of NATO increasing its role in preventing conflict and preserving peace in the Middle East.
” Prior to the phone call , Trump had announced that he would ask NATO “ to become much more involved in the Middle East process.
” As the Trumpean concept of a peace process is total surrender on the part of the targeted parties , be they Palestinians or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see just how the new arrangement works .
Sending soldiers into unstable places to do unnecessary things as part of a non-existent strategy will not sit well with many Europeans .
It should not sit well with Americans either .
The Best of Philip Giraldi

Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance commits all members to participate in the defense of any single member that is attacked. An attack on one is an attack on all. Forged in the early stages of the cold war, the alliance originally included most of the leading non-communist states in Western Europe, as well as Turkey. It was intended to deter any attacks orchestrated by the Soviet Union and was defensive in nature.
Currently NATO is an anachronism as the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, but the desire to continue to play soldier on an international stage has granted it a measure of life support. Indeed, the alliance is regularly auditioning for new members. Its latest addition is Montenegro, which has a military consisting of 2,000 men and women, roughly one brigade. If Montenegro should be attacked, the United States is obligated to come to its assistance.
It would all be something like comic opera featuring the Duke of Plaza Toro but for the fact that there are certain things that NATO does that are not really defensive in nature but are rather destabilizing. Having expanded NATO right up to the border with Russia, which the U.S. promised not to do and then reneged, military exercises staged by the alliance currently occur right next to Russian airspace and coastal waters. To support the incursions, the myth that Moscow is expansionistic (while also seeking to destroy what passes for democracy in the West) is constantly cited. According to the current version, Russian President Vladimir Putin is just waiting to resume control over Ukraine, Georgia, Poland and the Baltic States in an effort to reconstitute the old Soviet Union. This has led to demands from the usual suspects in the U.S. Congress that Georgia and Ukraine be admitted into the alliance, which would really create an existential threat for Russia that it would have to respond to. There have also been some suggestions that Israel might join NATO. A war that no one wants either in the Middle East or in Europe could be the result if the expansion plans bear fruit. Against the Left: A Ro... Rockwell Jr, Llewellyn H Best Price: $2.85 Buy New $8.00 (as of 07:59 UTC - Details)
Having nothing to do beyond aggravating the Russians, the alliance has gone along with some of the transnational abominations initially created by virtue of the Global War on Terror initiated by the loosely wrapped American president George W. Bush. The NATO alliance currently has 8,000 service members participating in a training mission in Afghanistan and its key member states have also been parts of the various coalitions that Washington has bribed or coerced into being. NATO was also actively involved in the fiasco that turned Libya into a gangster state. It had previously been the most developed nation in Africa. Currently French and British soldiers are part of the Operation Inherent Resolve (don’t you love the names!) in Syria and NATO itself is part of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
NATO will now be doing its part to help defend the United States against terrorist attack. Last Wednesday the alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke with President Donald Trump on the phone in the wake of the assassination of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani at the Baghdad International Airport. The killing was apparently carried out using missiles fired by a U.S. Reaper drone and was justified by the U.S. by claiming that Soleimani was a terrorist due to his affiliation with the listed terrorist Quds Force. It was also asserted that Soleimani was planning an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and would have killed “hundreds” of Americans. Evidence supporting the claims was so flimsy that even some Republicans balked at approving the chain of events.
Nine Iraqis also died in the attack, including the Iraqi General who headed the Kata’Ib Hezbollah Militia, which had been incorporated into the Iraqi Army to fight against the terrorist group ISIS. During the week preceding the execution of Soleimani, the U.S. had staged an air attack that killed 25 Iraqi members of Kata’Ib, the incident that then sparked the rioting at the American Embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone.
Bearing in mind that the alleged thwarted terrorist attacks took place seven thousand miles away from the United States, it is hard to make the case that the U.S. was directly threatened requiring a response from NATO under Article 5. No doubt the Mike Pompeo State Department will claim that its Embassy is sovereign territory and therefor part of the United States. It is a bullshit argument, but it will no doubt be made. The White House has already made a similar sovereignty claim vis-à-vis the two U.S. bases in Iraq that were hit by a barrage of a dozen Iranian missiles a day after the killing of Soleimani. Unlike the case of Soleimani and his party, no one was killed by the Iranian attacks, quite possibly a deliberate mis-targeting to avoid an escalation in the conflict.
In spite of the fact that there was no actual threat and no factual basis for a call to arms, last Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke by phone with President Donald Trump “on developments in the Middle East.” A NATO press release stated that the two men discussed “the situation in the region and NATO’s role.”
According to the press release “The President asked the Secretary General for NATO to become more involved in the Middle East. They agreed that NATO could contribute more to regional stability and the fight against international terrorism.” A tweet by White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere later confirmed that Trump had “emphasized the value of NATO increasing its role in preventing conflict and preserving peace in the Middle East.” Prior to the phone call, Trump had announced that he would ask NATO “to become much more involved in the Middle East process.”
As the Trumpean concept of a peace process is total surrender on the part of the targeted parties, be they Palestinians or Iranians, it will be interesting to see just how the new arrangement works. Sending soldiers into unstable places to do unnecessary things as part of a non-existent strategy will not sit well with many Europeans. It should not sit well with Americans either.
The Best of Philip Giraldi


Who Can Complain?

Such is the Amazon blurb on Steven Pinker ’ s Enlightenment Now .
You think I would disagree ; let ’ s see .
Who can complain about a longer and healthier life , safety and peace , more food and shelter than almost any of your contemporaries and certainly more than those who came before you ?
Yes , who can complain ?
Peace and material comfort beyond compare .
Better health care too .
Amazon.com Gift Card i ... Buy New $ 25.00 Of course , one must subtract the violence inflicted on you by your keeper , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Unless , of course , you are after meaning in life .
And liberty .
John Vervaeke made an interesting comment about Pinker ’ s work ( I think during this conversation , but I am not sure ) .
Something along the lines : the most ironic thing about Pinker ’ s book is the fact that he had to write it .
If life was really so wonderful , why would we need to be convinced ?
Wouldn ’ t the lion consider this his gulag ?
The Best of @ @

In seventy-five jaw-dropping graphs, Pinker shows that life, health, prosperity, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness are on the rise….
Such is the Amazon blurb on Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now. You think I would disagree; let’s see.
Who can complain about a longer and healthier life, safety and peace, more food and shelter than almost any of your contemporaries and certainly more than those who came before you?
Photo source
Yes, who can complain? Peace and material comfort beyond compare. Better health care too.
Amazon.com Gift Card i... Buy New $25.00 (as of 06:10 UTC - Details) Of course, one must subtract the violence inflicted on you by your keeper, and life couldn’t be better. Unless, of course, you are after meaning in life. And liberty.
Is this lion happy? Enjoying a meaningful life?
John Vervaeke made an interesting comment about Pinker’s work (I think during this conversation, but I am not sure). Something along the lines: the most ironic thing about Pinker’s book is the fact that he had to write it. If life was really so wonderful, why would we need to be convinced?
Conclusion
Wouldn’t the lion consider this his gulag?
Reprinted with permission from Bionic Mosquito.
The Best of Bionic Mosquito


lewrockwell--2020-01-18--No Matter How Much Money the Fed Prints, We Still Can’t Afford Nice Things

When will the American wage-earner finally tire of the skims , scams , fraud and lies that are now the foundations of everyday life ?
You ’ d think that with the Federal Reserve printing trillions of dollars since 2008 , we ’ d all be able to afford nice things .
But you ’ d be wrong : after 11 years of Fed money-printing , nice things are even more out of reach for all but the favored few who ’ ve received the Fed ’ s bounty of freshly created currency .
The Fed ’ s trillions were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economy , but they never did .
All those trillions boosted asset prices and the wealth of the $ 100 million yachts and private jets elite .
Will You Be Richer or ... Charles Hugh Smith Best Price : $ 12.82 Buy New $ 11.84 Instead costs have soared while wages have stagnated .
If this widening gap between wages and costs were accurately presented , there would a political revolt against the Fed and those few who have benefited so immensely from Fed money-printing : the banks , financiers , corporations buying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of high-frequency trading computers , etc .
Despite the best efforts of the government ’ s “ suppress all evidence of runaway cost inflation ” functionaries , a few facts have slipped through .
Let ’ s start with income from 1980 to the present , as per the Congressional Budget Office ( CBO ) .
Note that this is all pre-government-transfer ( Social Security , food stamps , etc . )
income , both earned ( wages ) and unearned ( investment income ) .
The top households have done very , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Fed largesse , while the incomes of the bottom 80 % have gone nowhere .
Meanwhile , big-ticket costs of living such as rent have skyrocketed : so how do we buy nice things if our wages are stagnant but the cost of essentials is rising ?
We borrow more money .
The Best of Charles Hugh Smith

When will the American wage-earner finally tire of the skims, scams, fraud and lies that are now the foundations of everyday life?
You’d think that with the Federal Reserve printing trillions of dollars since 2008, we’d all be able to afford nice things. But you’d be wrong: after 11 years of Fed money-printing, nice things are even more out of reach for all but the favored few who’ve received the Fed’s bounty of freshly created currency.
The Fed’s trillions were supposed to trickle down into the real economy, but they never did. All those trillions boosted asset prices and the wealth of the $100 million yachts and private jets elite. Will You Be Richer or ... Smith, Charles Hugh Best Price: $10.99 Buy New $11.55 (as of 05:55 UTC - Details)
Instead costs have soared while wages have stagnated. If this widening gap between wages and costs were accurately presented, there would a political revolt against the Fed and those few who have benefited so immensely from Fed money-printing: the banks, financiers, corporations buying back their own shares, the owners of high-frequency trading computers, etc.
Despite the best efforts of the government’s “suppress all evidence of runaway cost inflation” functionaries, a few facts have slipped through. Let’s start with income from 1980 to the present, as per the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Note that this is all pre-government-transfer (Social Security, food stamps, etc.) income, both earned (wages) and unearned (investment income).
The top households have done very, very well in the past 20 years of Fed largesse, while the incomes of the bottom 80% have gone nowhere.
Meanwhile, big-ticket costs of living such as rent have skyrocketed: so how do we buy nice things if our wages are stagnant but the cost of essentials is rising? We borrow more money.
Read the Whole Article
The Best of Charles Hugh Smith


Deathbed Scurvy

The latest study of intravenously infused vitamin C/vitamin b1/cortisone treatment of sepsis ( blood poisoning ) , a deadly malady that is killing over 500,000 hospitalized patients a year , failed to show any significant survival benefit when compared to cortisone ( adrenal stress hormone ) alone .
Since Paul E. Marik MD of the Eastern Virginia Medical School reported in 2017 a striking reduction in mortality ( from 40.4 % to 8.5 % ) in the intensive care unit when vitamin/cortisone therapy was administered ( Chest , June 2017 ) , 37 studies were subsequently launched to confirm or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dr. Marik , responding from the Critical Care Reviews Meeting in Belfast , says the most recently published study , known by the acronym VITAMINS , in the Journal of the American Medical Association ( January 17 , 2020 ) , does “ not reflect real-life experience and may have consciously or subconsciously been pre-designed to fail ” ( personal email Jan 18 , 2020 ) .
Vitamin C : The Real St ... Steve Hickey , Andrew W ... Best Price : $ 9.58 Buy New $ 12.43 A grave error that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to solely apply a cookie-cutter approach to determine how successful ( in this case , life-saving ) a particular therapy is in a group rather than individualized treatment .
The data obtained from these studies are only pertinent to groups , not individuals .
Other researchers including Dr. Marik at the Critical Care Reviews meeting practically beg their peers to cease large randomized ( blind selection of patients for treatment ) studies and to invoke individualized care protocols .
In particular , Dr. Marik suggests the common practice of injecting large volumes of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ abandoned ( it is without scientific basis ) .
Dr. Marik says this practice increases the risk for death among sepsis patients .
A survey of his medical colleagues show 62 % agree with him .
Dr. Marik asserts excess fluids only “ dilute ” the clinical benefit , essentially “ drowning the sepsis patient in salt water.
” A study recently published in the Journal of Intensive Care found 40 % of septic shock patients were fluid overloaded which increases organ ( kidney , heart ) failure .
Dr. Marik underscores this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trial still had high blood lactate levels despite the provision of fluids .
High lactate levels indicate cells are deprived of oxygen ( hypoxic ) .
Dr. Marik notes it is critically important for clinicians to initiate intravenous vitamin C therapy within six hours of their presentation as a sepsis patient , ideally at the time of their first dose of antibiotics .
In the VITAMINS study , the first dose of intravenous vitamin C was administered 12.1 hours after determination of sepsis criteria , missing the 6-hour window .
Hospital intensive care @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Marik ’ s vitamin therapy on over 1000 patients worldwide with reproducible benefits and no reported side effects .
Curing the Incurable : ... MD JD Thomas E Levy Best Price : $ 9.83 Buy New $ 18.89 Dr. E.V .
Volda in Norway says : “ After introducing vitamin C therapy to the equation , sepsis is no longer a concern of mine .
If they are not ‘ already dead ’ at arrival , the patients survive .
And they survive with their health intact !
” Dr. P.K of Madison @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I spent 15 years gaining expertise in deploying ICU therapeutics with the farcical goal of keeping ascorbic acid depleted patients alive and well – without giving them ascorbic acid !
?
” Another recent study dismissed vitamin therapy for sepsis when 46 factors were measured , but the critical factor , mortality , showed a significant benefit , which suggests bias by investigators .
Flawed studies produce flawed results .
Of interest , an online follower of the vitamin C/sepsis story notes that Google News Wire sent him an automatic unsolicited refutation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appears to be a covert effort to quash vitamin C therapy by tracking individual reading lists and matching them with medical databases that publish contradictory studies .
Modern medicine appears to be creating flawed science to keep vitamin C therapy out of hospital intensive care units ( ICU ) .
Dr. Marik notes that most of the non-septic ICU patients are also deficient in vitamin C. One published study reveals the prevalence of vitamin C deficiency is ~7 % for the public at large but rises to 47.3 % among hospitalized patients .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ICU .
# # # #

The latest study of intravenously infused vitamin C/vitamin b1/cortisone treatment of sepsis (blood poisoning), a deadly malady that is killing over 500,000 hospitalized patients a year, failed to show any significant survival benefit when compared to cortisone (adrenal stress hormone) alone.
Since Paul E. Marik MD of the Eastern Virginia Medical School reported in 2017 a striking reduction in mortality (from 40.4% to 8.5%) in the intensive care unit when vitamin/cortisone therapy was administered (Chest, June 2017), 37 studies were subsequently launched to confirm or dismiss Dr. Marik’s results.
Dr. Marik, responding from the Critical Care Reviews Meeting in Belfast, says the most recently published study, known by the acronym VITAMINS, in the Journal of the American Medical Association (January 17, 2020), does “not reflect real-life experience and may have consciously or subconsciously been pre-designed to fail” (personal email Jan 18, 2020).
COOKIE-CUTTER APPROACH SHOULD BE ABANDONED
Vitamin C: The Real St... Steve Hickey, Andrew W... Best Price: $8.91 Buy New $12.47 (as of 10:10 UTC - Details) A grave error that is continually repeated in modern medicine is to solely apply a cookie-cutter approach to determine how successful (in this case, life-saving) a particular therapy is in a group rather than individualized treatment. The data obtained from these studies are only pertinent to groups, not individuals. Other researchers including Dr. Marik at the Critical Care Reviews meeting practically beg their peers to cease large randomized (blind selection of patients for treatment) studies and to invoke individualized care protocols.
DROWNING THE CRITICAL CARE PATIENT
In particular, Dr. Marik suggests the common practice of injecting large volumes of crystalloid fluid into sepsis patients must be abandoned (it is without scientific basis). Dr. Marik says this practice increases the risk for death among sepsis patients. A survey of his medical colleagues show 62% agree with him.
Dr. Marik asserts excess fluids only “dilute” the clinical benefit, essentially “drowning the sepsis patient in salt water.”
A study recently published in the Journal of Intensive Care found 40% of septic shock patients were fluid overloaded which increases organ (kidney, heart) failure.
Dr. Marik underscores this point by noting patients in the VITAMINS trial still had high blood lactate levels despite the provision of fluids. High lactate levels indicate cells are deprived of oxygen (hypoxic).
IMPORTANCE OF TIMING
Dr. Marik notes it is critically important for clinicians to initiate intravenous vitamin C therapy within six hours of their presentation as a sepsis patient, ideally at the time of their first dose of antibiotics.
In the VITAMINS study, the first dose of intravenous vitamin C was administered 12.1 hours after determination of sepsis criteria, missing the 6-hour window.
WORLDWIDE SUCCESS
Hospital intensive care units around the world have employed Dr. Marik’s vitamin therapy on over 1000 patients worldwide with reproducible benefits and no reported side effects. Curing the Incurable: ... Levy, MD JD Thomas E Best Price: $22.60 Buy New $18.89 (as of 08:55 UTC - Details)
Dr. E.V. Volda in Norway says: “After introducing vitamin C therapy to the equation, sepsis is no longer a concern of mine. If they are not ‘already dead’ at arrival, the patients survive. And they survive with their health intact!”
Dr. P.K of Madison, Wisconsin, says: ““I spent 15 years gaining expertise in deploying ICU therapeutics with the farcical goal of keeping ascorbic acid depleted patients alive and well – without giving them ascorbic acid!?”
SCIENTIFIC BIAS, UNSOLICITED ONLINE TRACKING AND REBUTTAL
Another recent study dismissed vitamin therapy for sepsis when 46 factors were measured, but the critical factor, mortality, showed a significant benefit, which suggests bias by investigators. Flawed studies produce flawed results.
Of interest, an online follower of the vitamin C/sepsis story notes that Google News Wire sent him an automatic unsolicited refutation of vitamin C therapy for sepsis. There appears to be a covert effort to quash vitamin C therapy by tracking individual reading lists and matching them with medical databases that publish contradictory studies.
Modern medicine appears to be creating flawed science to keep vitamin C therapy out of hospital intensive care units (ICU). Dr. Marik notes that most of the non-septic ICU patients are also deficient in vitamin C. One published study reveals the prevalence of vitamin C deficiency is ~7% for the public at large but rises to 47.3% among hospitalized patients. That figure approaches 100% in the ICU. ####


lewrockwell--2020-01-20--The Age of Resentment

The Age of Resentment

There are several ways of expressing the “ wokeness ” of the times we are living in .
I would argue that this is the age of resentment .
It works like this , there is someone or something else , never oneself , to blame for every problem in life .
This concept applies across all ( intersectional ) groups , a primary example being racial groups .
Thus , the 1619 project by the New York Times is intended to make African Americans resentful of white Americans based on the premise that American history is essentially a story @ @ @ @ @ @ @ follows that deep within the Maleboge of wokeness are white , male , heterosexual , Christians .
They are the sole group ( even as individuals ) that can never claim victimhood , and in the end , are the perpetrators of every injustice ever committed anywhere .
If that were not the ultimate indictment , even bad luck or acts of nature can be blamed on white privilege .
A very rare moment of truth-telling on race and the complexity of life was exhibited by the journalist Keith Richburg in his book @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Confronts Africa and this excerpt on why the problems in Africa persist , Out of America Keith B. Richburg Best Price : $ 8.02 Buy New $ 17.99 The reason , of course , is that Africans are black .
Too much criticism from white countries in the West comes dangerously close to sounding racist .
And African leaders seem willing enough to play that card , constantly raising the specter of “ neocolonialism.
” Most Africans were born in independent black countries , but their leaders still harp about colonialism the way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” like to talk about slavery and Jim Crow .
There ’ s another similarity , too .
Black African leaders talk about foreign aid as if they ’ re entitled to it — it ’ s something that is due to Africa , with no strings attached — the same way many American blacks see government assistance programs as a kind of entitlement of birth .
In both cases , you ’ re left with black people wallowing in a safety net of dependency… Even more heretical , he expressed gratitude that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spite of their true status as victims because life for blacks was so much better in white , racist America than in black governed Africa .
While much can be written on the groups who are harmed by wokeness , I think it is critical to understand the impact on those who are “ helped ” by it .
That is , to understand the sad and pernicious effects of fostering resentment in these people .
The fact is that resentment is a psychological problem .
To anyone I care for I always @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even when the person has truly suffered from injustice .
Of course , Jesus ’ message to love your enemies delivered at the Sermon on the Mount resonates with the perspective to eschew resentment .
To reject resentment is a primary assertion of stoics .
One of my favorite quotes of Pascal through the years makes this point also through the Christian perspective .
“ Thus I stretch out my arms to my saviour , who , after being foretold for four thousand years , came on earth to die and suffer for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foretold .
By his grace I peaceably await death , in the hope of being eternally united , and meanwhile I live joyfully , whether in the blessings which he is pleased to bestow on me or in the afflictions which he sends me for my own good and taught me how to endure by his example.
” I think the teaching against resentment has been expressed in many cultures .
For example , the Bengali/English writer Nirad Chaudhuri wrote this passage in the second volume of his autobiography “ Thy Hand , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I have learnt the significance of suffering without understanding why it should be the lot of human beings to have it inflicted on them .
It does not regard innocence , nor wrongdoing , but comes upon all impartially .
It seems to be some natural , inescapable phenomenon like storms , floods , earthquakes , or volcanic eruptions .
Looking upon it in this light , I have come to feel that there is nothing more cowardly than to nurse a grievance for it .
Above all , I have come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the worst kind to air cheap compassion over it .
There are only two victories over suffering offered to man : either to rise above it or to submit to it without complaining .
That is being Homo sapiens in the first instance.
” Unfortunately we are living in a culture of resentment .
Young minds are being formed by a zeitgeist of resentment .
Yet , to encourage resentment in individuals and groups is truly madness , portending evil for everyone .
The Best of Ira Katz

There are several ways of expressing the “wokeness” of the times we are living in. I would argue that this is the age of resentment. It works like this, there is someone or something else, never oneself, to blame for every problem in life. This concept applies across all (intersectional) groups, a primary example being racial groups. Thus, the 1619 project by the New York Times is intended to make African Americans resentful of white Americans based on the premise that American history is essentially a story of the victimhood of blacks. It follows that deep within the Maleboge of wokeness are white, male, heterosexual, Christians. They are the sole group (even as individuals) that can never claim victimhood, and in the end, are the perpetrators of every injustice ever committed anywhere. If that were not the ultimate indictment, even bad luck or acts of nature can be blamed on white privilege.
A very rare moment of truth-telling on race and the complexity of life was exhibited by the journalist Keith Richburg in his book Out of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa and this excerpt on why the problems in Africa persist,
Out of America Keith B. Richburg Best Price: $8.02 Buy New $17.99 (as of 09:53 UTC - Details) The reason, of course, is that Africans are black. Too much criticism from white countries in the West comes dangerously close to sounding racist. And African leaders seem willing enough to play that card, constantly raising the specter of “neocolonialism.” Most Africans were born in independent black countries, but their leaders still harp about colonialism the way black America’s self-described “leaders” like to talk about slavery and Jim Crow. There’s another similarity, too. Black African leaders talk about foreign aid as if they’re entitled to it — it’s something that is due to Africa, with no strings attached — the same way many American blacks see government assistance programs as a kind of entitlement of birth. In both cases, you’re left with black people wallowing in a safety net of dependency…
Even more heretical, he expressed gratitude that his ancestors were taken to America in spite of their true status as victims because life for blacks was so much better in white, racist America than in black governed Africa.
While much can be written on the groups who are harmed by wokeness, I think it is critical to understand the impact on those who are “helped” by it. That is, to understand the sad and pernicious effects of fostering resentment in these people. The fact is that resentment is a psychological problem. To anyone I care for I always advise to try to overcome resentment, even when the person has truly suffered from injustice. Of course, Jesus’ message to love your enemies delivered at the Sermon on the Mount resonates with the perspective to eschew resentment.
To reject resentment is a primary assertion of stoics. One of my favorite quotes of Pascal through the years makes this point also through the Christian perspective.
“Thus I stretch out my arms to my saviour, who, after being foretold for four thousand years, came on earth to die and suffer for me at the time and the circumstances foretold. By his grace I peaceably await death, in the hope of being eternally united, and meanwhile I live joyfully, whether in the blessings which he is pleased to bestow on me or in the afflictions which he sends me for my own good and taught me how to endure by his example.”
I think the teaching against resentment has been expressed in many cultures. For example, the Bengali/English writer Nirad Chaudhuri wrote this passage in the second volume of his autobiography “Thy Hand, Great Anarch! India 1921-1952,”
“I have learnt the significance of suffering without understanding why it should be the lot of human beings to have it inflicted on them. It does not regard innocence, nor wrongdoing, but comes upon all impartially. It seems to be some natural, inescapable phenomenon like storms, floods, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions. Looking upon it in this light, I have come to feel that there is nothing more cowardly than to nurse a grievance for it. Above all, I have come to hold that it is frivolity of the worst kind to air cheap compassion over it. There are only two victories over suffering offered to man: either to rise above it or to submit to it without complaining. That is being Homo sapiens in the first instance.”
Unfortunately we are living in a culture of resentment. Young minds are being formed by a zeitgeist of resentment. Yet, to encourage resentment in individuals and groups is truly madness, portending evil for everyone.
The Best of Ira Katz