lewrockwell--2020-08-24--What Is Going on?

What Is Going on?

A conversation started by RMB , regarding what might happen if Trump is re-elected : The 2 plausible choices for the Right [ are ] 1 ) secession of blue and red states from one another , leading to a peace but disunion or 2 ) Trump or some other leader of the Right goes dictator and snuffs out the Left ’ s rebellion with no mercy .
A Pinochet type of character .
To which I suggested that Angelo Codevilla offered the possibility of option 2 ) even before Trump won the election in 2016 .
Citing from Codevilla @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a revolution .
It is difficult to imagine how we might step back , and futile to speculate where it will end .
Our ruling class ’ s malfeasance , combined with insult , brought it about .
Donald Trump did not cause it and is by no means its ultimate manifestation .
Regardless of who wins in 2016 , this revolution ’ s sentiments will grow in volume and intensity , and are sure to empower politicians likely to make Americans nostalgic for Donald Trump ’ s moderation .
To which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ruling Class : How ... Codevilla , Angelo M. Best Price : $ 2.86 Buy New $ 8.95 For those who fear that some form of extreme fascism is coming to the United States , they need not fear Trump ; the fear is in who ( or what ) comes next – win or lose for Trump .
I pray for RMB ’ s option 1 , but the left won ’ t have it .
Absent this , some version of option 2 is inevitable , as there are too many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the insanity .
In any case , a tyrannical dictator promising to restore order always follows revolution .
Returning to the conversation started by RMB , ATL asks : “ what is really going on ?
” Were they just trying to get Trump to go dictatorial and invade the cities to restore order ?
Or are they just looking to use physical intimidation to get people to accept some of their newly proposed radical policies ?
Is this their vehicle for reparations ?
Green New Deal ?
Seems unlikely .
Maybe they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ America look as bad as possible before the election , even if it means allowing hooligans to burn down their own cities on their watches .
That seems like a plan likely to backfire .
A revolution has many fathers .
Today ’ s revolution began long ago .
One could make the case for the Enlightenment as the start ; one could also make the case for what we now refer to as Cultural Marxism and the transformation of education – both K – 12 and university – from one that valued @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has worked to destroy both .
We see the fruits of this labor on the streets , on our television , in the press .
But this is too long a history to trace , and others have done it well .
Just focusing on the last few years…the condition described as Trump Derangement Syndrome ( TDS ) has been evident for four years : Russiagate , impeachment , anything he says about the corona , etc .
But Trump is nothing other than a manifestation of the pushback by many against political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Those afflicted with TDS will do anything ( and this means anything ) to get rid of him and crush any hope of those who favor the individual , the local , the national .
The Character of Natio ... Codevilla , Angelo Best Price : $ 2.34 Buy New $ 139.41 Speaking of those willing to do anything…fast forward to the year 2020 .
When the corona lockdowns began in March ( putting 40 million or more out of work ) , I felt ( and still feel ) that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ required liquidity , and a 2008-style bailout was not politically possible .
Then , the lockdown was an obvious gift to the financial industry – and it created tremendous non-violent backlash .
So , the virus was the pretext , and something like $ 8 or $ 10 trillion of liquidity has been added just via the Federal government and Federal Reserve – almost instantaneously .
What has happened since then , or in addition ?
Not wanting to let a crisis go to waste…the pharmaceutical industry is all in ; further tracking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mayors , and county commissioners are flexing their dictatorship ; congress has an open door to spend ; rioters are given free reign ; churches are closed .
Add in the green new deal and reparations if you like – add in the teacher ’ s unions insisting that because of corona they won ’ t go back to work unless charter schools are closed .
None of it has to make sense or even be connected to the original issue – they are revolutionaries .
The objective of Cultural Marxists – the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most importantly , Christianity ) – is clearly proving successful .
All revolutionaries are happy recipients of the largess offered by revolution .
They need not have identical objectives – revolutionaries never do , as they only agree on what they are against .
This revolution – like the French and Russian before it – will devour its young ( along with many of us ) .
I hope to live to see that day .
I know , some will say that this is not very Christ-like of me ; just remember @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clothed with a vesture dipped in blood : and his name is called The Word of God .
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses , clothed in fine linen , white and clean .
15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword , that with it he should smite the nations : and he shall rule them with a rod of iron : and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God .
16 And he hath on his vesture @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , KING OF KINGS , AND LORD OF LORDS .
Bring it on .
Natural Law : A Brief I ... Fulford , Andrew A .
Best Price : $ 14.96 Buy New $ 11.95 Which comes back to Codevilla , and a podcast from LRC just a few weeks into Trump ’ s term , and from which I cite : Hear me…you see the entire ruling class essentially rejecting the Constitution , the American way , rejecting the legitimacy of elections .
There can be no mild response to that , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s voters want certain results and they don ’ t particularly care how they get them .
The ruling class wants its power and doesn ’ t particularly care how it holds on to it .
Win or lose for Trump in 2020 , demands for dictatorial and even tyrannical power will rise .
If Trump wins , the left will go even more berserk and the right ( and I divide left and right by where one falls , knowingly or unknowingly , regarding natural law ) will come to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taking it individually and in small groups .
If Trump loses , the left needs no pretext for demanding dictatorial or tyrannical power .
This defines the left .
Either way , there are too many people in too many towns – especially in what is known as “ flyover country ” but also in other parts of the country – that are well capable of taking matters into their own hands by defending their own .
The only peaceful outcome is decentralization .
The right will be happy with this ; the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The left , as represented by the Democratic Party in the United States , held office to push America into World War One ( Wilson ) , World War Two ( Roosevelt ) , Korea ( Truman ) , Vietnam ( Kennedy in a small way , Johnson all in ) , Libya , Syria , Yemen ( Obama ) .
The two major exceptions in the last hundred years : Carter started no major conflict ; Bush junior started two .
Revolution – and war ( for other than defense ) is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an inherent feature of the left .
The Best of Bionic Mosquito

A conversation started by RMB, regarding what might happen if Trump is re-elected:
The 2 plausible choices for the Right [are] 1) secession of blue and red states from one another, leading to a peace but disunion or 2) Trump or some other leader of the Right goes dictator and snuffs out the Left’s rebellion with no mercy. A Pinochet type of character.
To which I suggested that Angelo Codevilla offered the possibility of option 2) even before Trump won the election in 2016. Citing from Codevilla:
We have stepped over the threshold of a revolution. It is difficult to imagine how we might step back, and futile to speculate where it will end. Our ruling class’s malfeasance, combined with insult, brought it about. Donald Trump did not cause it and is by no means its ultimate manifestation. Regardless of who wins in 2016, this revolution’s sentiments will grow in volume and intensity, and are sure to empower politicians likely to make Americans nostalgic for Donald Trump’s moderation.
To which I added at the time: The Ruling Class: How ... Codevilla, Angelo M. Best Price: $2.86 Buy New $8.95 (as of 02:55 UTC - Details)
For those who fear that some form of extreme fascism is coming to the United States, they need not fear Trump; the fear is in who (or what) comes next – win or lose for Trump.
I pray for RMB’s option 1, but the left won’t have it. Absent this, some version of option 2 is inevitable, as there are too many people in this country in opposition to the insanity. In any case, a tyrannical dictator promising to restore order always follows revolution.
Returning to the conversation started by RMB, ATL asks: “what is really going on?” Were they just trying to get Trump to go dictatorial and invade the cities to restore order?
Or are they just looking to use physical intimidation to get people to accept some of their newly proposed radical policies? Is this their vehicle for reparations? Green New Deal? Seems unlikely.
Maybe they just want to make Trump’s America look as bad as possible before the election, even if it means allowing hooligans to burn down their own cities on their watches. That seems like a plan likely to backfire.
A revolution has many fathers. Today’s revolution began long ago. One could make the case for the Enlightenment as the start; one could also make the case for what we now refer to as Cultural Marxism and the transformation of education – both K – 12 and university – from one that valued science and Western Civilization to one that has worked to destroy both. We see the fruits of this labor on the streets, on our television, in the press.
But this is too long a history to trace, and others have done it well. Just focusing on the last few years…the condition described as Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) has been evident for four years: Russiagate, impeachment, anything he says about the corona, etc.
But Trump is nothing other than a manifestation of the pushback by many against political centralization and universalist political and social desires. Those afflicted with TDS will do anything (and this means anything) to get rid of him and crush any hope of those who favor the individual, the local, the national. The Character of Natio... Codevilla, Angelo Best Price: $2.34 Buy New $139.41 (as of 11:15 UTC - Details)
Speaking of those willing to do anything…fast forward to the year 2020. When the corona lockdowns began in March (putting 40 million or more out of work), I felt (and still feel) that the primary driver was financial: the markets required liquidity, and a 2008-style bailout was not politically possible. Then, the lockdown was an obvious gift to the financial industry – and it created tremendous non-violent backlash. So, the virus was the pretext, and something like $8 or $10 trillion of liquidity has been added just via the Federal government and Federal Reserve – almost instantaneously.
What has happened since then, or in addition? Not wanting to let a crisis go to waste…the pharmaceutical industry is all in; further tracking and monitoring is inevitable; governors, mayors, and county commissioners are flexing their dictatorship; congress has an open door to spend; rioters are given free reign; churches are closed.
Add in the green new deal and reparations if you like – add in the teacher’s unions insisting that because of corona they won’t go back to work unless charter schools are closed. None of it has to make sense or even be connected to the original issue – they are revolutionaries.
The objective of Cultural Marxists – the destruction of science and Western Civilization (most importantly, Christianity) – is clearly proving successful.
All revolutionaries are happy recipients of the largess offered by revolution. They need not have identical objectives – revolutionaries never do, as they only agree on what they are against. This revolution – like the French and Russian before it – will devour its young (along with many of us). I hope to live to see that day. I know, some will say that this is not very Christ-like of me; just remember Revelation 19:
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Bring it on. Natural Law: A Brief I... Fulford, Andrew A. Best Price: $14.96 Buy New $11.95 (as of 04:11 UTC - Details)
Conclusion
Which comes back to Codevilla, and a podcast from LRC just a few weeks into Trump’s term, and from which I cite:
Hear me…you see the entire ruling class essentially rejecting the Constitution, the American way, rejecting the legitimacy of elections. There can be no mild response to that, and there isn’t one. Trump’s voters want certain results and they don’t particularly care how they get them. The ruling class wants its power and doesn’t particularly care how it holds on to it.
Win or lose for Trump in 2020, demands for dictatorial and even tyrannical power will rise. If Trump wins, the left will go even more berserk and the right (and I divide left and right by where one falls, knowingly or unknowingly, regarding natural law) will come to a point of demanding action – or taking it individually and in small groups. If Trump loses, the left needs no pretext for demanding dictatorial or tyrannical power. This defines the left.
Either way, there are too many people in too many towns – especially in what is known as “flyover country” but also in other parts of the country – that are well capable of taking matters into their own hands by defending their own.
The only peaceful outcome is decentralization. The right will be happy with this; the left won’t allow it.
Epilogue
The left, as represented by the Democratic Party in the United States, held office to push America into World War One (Wilson), World War Two (Roosevelt), Korea (Truman), Vietnam (Kennedy in a small way, Johnson all in), Libya, Syria, Yemen (Obama). The two major exceptions in the last hundred years: Carter started no major conflict; Bush junior started two.
Revolution – and war (for other than defense) is the ultimate expression of this – is an inherent feature of the left.
Reprinted with permission from Bionic Mosquito.
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Old Glory

GSTAAD—Birthdays at my age are for the birds , but always a good excuse for a party .
Messages of good wishes began early on , with loyal Speccie reader Arnold Taylor ringing from South Africa , and Rosemary and Wafic Said texting from the English countryside .
( They wished me a happy 39th .
I accepted . )
My great buddy Michael Mailer , staying with the Kennedys at the family compound in Hyannis Port , had hoped to fly over but the you-know-what prevented it , while Charlie Glass rang from London to announce the end of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I asked Charlie to answer me truthfully because it was my birthday , and he swore he would : “ Do you have as many children out of wedlock as Boris , or more ?
” He hung up on me .
That evening Johnnie and Martine Cotton gifted me a ginkgo tree , one that I suspect will outlive me by rather a lot .
Then the boozing started in earnest and I ’ m still under the weather .
There ’ s not much to say about old age that hasn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this : Wisdom does not come automatically with advanced years , nor does the urge to seduce women take a hike .
To be happy when one ’ s old you need luck and good health , the rest is all bulls— .
One tends to weigh the few triumphs and numerous disasters , the ethical choices one has or has not made ; one also appreciates the absurd happiness one feels at small pleasures like violent karate training , stolen kisses , family evenings .
and boozing with friends .
Travel is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one has been almost everywhere and seen almost everything there is to see .
Princes , Playboys & Hi ... Taki Theodoracopulos Best Price : $ 54.42 Buy New $ 111.39 For some strange reason America is always on my mind nowadays .
I have bittersweet feelings about the place because of my past life there , with magical moments and images flooding back , some poignant , others funny , all of them happy and nostalgic .
Way back then one felt invulnerable , an allegory for a past America sitting on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has replaced baseball as the national pastime—its one pitch being racism—and is trotted out for all occasions .
So what does one do about the ongoing falsehoods that are ruining lives on hearsay alone ?
Get rid of Twitter , I suppose , or exterminate 90 percent of all journalists , but it ’ s easier said than done .
Oh yes , I almost forgot , Harry and Meghan are also calling for an end to racism or else , which means eternal damnation is just around the corner .
Basically all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are .
All over America , self-hating products of its schools are encouraged by the media and the politicians to paint the darkest possible picture of the history of the country .
Nothing else will satisfy them except the abolition of America , and this by people who look like those who created the country in the first place .
The Best of Taki Theodoracopulos

GSTAAD—Birthdays at my age are for the birds, but always a good excuse for a party. Messages of good wishes began early on, with loyal Speccie reader Arnold Taylor ringing from South Africa, and Rosemary and Wafic Said texting from the English countryside. (They wished me a happy 39th. I accepted.) My great buddy Michael Mailer, staying with the Kennedys at the family compound in Hyannis Port, had hoped to fly over but the you-know-what prevented it, while Charlie Glass rang from London to announce the end of capitalism as well as yours truly. I asked Charlie to answer me truthfully because it was my birthday, and he swore he would: “Do you have as many children out of wedlock as Boris, or more?” He hung up on me.
That evening Johnnie and Martine Cotton gifted me a ginkgo tree, one that I suspect will outlive me by rather a lot. Then the boozing started in earnest and I’m still under the weather. There’s not much to say about old age that hasn’t already been said, but this: Wisdom does not come automatically with advanced years, nor does the urge to seduce women take a hike. To be happy when one’s old you need luck and good health, the rest is all bulls—. One tends to weigh the few triumphs and numerous disasters, the ethical choices one has or has not made; one also appreciates the absurd happiness one feels at small pleasures like violent karate training, stolen kisses, family evenings. and boozing with friends. Travel is no longer a must, especially when one has been almost everywhere and seen almost everything there is to see. Princes, Playboys & Hi... Taki Theodoracopulos Best Price: $54.42 Buy New $111.39 (as of 03:03 UTC - Details)
For some strange reason America is always on my mind nowadays. I have bittersweet feelings about the place because of my past life there, with magical moments and images flooding back, some poignant, others funny, all of them happy and nostalgic. Way back then one felt invulnerable, an allegory for a past America sitting on top of the world. Now witch-hunting has replaced baseball as the national pastime—its one pitch being racism—and is trotted out for all occasions. So what does one do about the ongoing falsehoods that are ruining lives on hearsay alone? Get rid of Twitter, I suppose, or exterminate 90 percent of all journalists, but it’s easier said than done. Oh yes, I almost forgot, Harry and Meghan are also calling for an end to racism or else, which means eternal damnation is just around the corner.
Basically all this shows is how ignorant people really are. All over America, self-hating products of its schools are encouraged by the media and the politicians to paint the darkest possible picture of the history of the country. Nothing else will satisfy them except the abolition of America, and this by people who look like those who created the country in the first place.
Read the Whole Article
The Best of Taki Theodoracopulos


lewrockwell--2020-08-25--Loathing the West: The Real Reason ‘Anti-Racism’ Protestors Desecrate Christian Churches

Though this be madness , yet there is method in ’ t .
— William Shakespeare , Hamlet ( Act II , Scene II ) “ Last weekend , at least four Catholic Church-affiliated buildings and statues from Boston to Los Angeles were set on fire or vandalized .
A blaze that gutted the 249-year-old San Gabriel Mission , once led by Father Junipero Serra , is being investigated as possible arson ” reported the Washington Times on July 15 .
The piece was titled “ ’ No place for God ’ : Left-wing protesters turn focus to churches as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quoted Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle who said : “ Given that there were four attacks on Catholic churches nationwide over a 48 hour period , from July 10 to July 12 , suspicion , obviously , turns toward the left wing extremists who have been toppling statues of Saint Junipero Serra and attempting to remove a statue of Saint Louis.
” On June 1 , the Catholic News Agency put out a wire headlined “ Churches in 6 states damaged by violent protests.
” It read in part : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Woods Best Price : $ 8.00 Buy New $ 9.06 “ Church buildings in California , Minnesota , New York , Kentucky , Texas , and Colorado were attacked .
Many of the defaced or damaged churches were cathedrals .
The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver sustained permanent damage .
Vandals repeatedly struck the Denver cathedral on multiple nights of the protests and riots over the weekend .
The church building and rectory were spray painted with the slogans “ Pedofiles ” [ sic ] , “ God is dead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” along with other anti-police , anarchist , and anti-religion phrases and symbols.
” On July 22 , the Wall Street Journal published a piece called “ Desecration of Catholic Churches Across U.S. Leaves Congregations Shaken.
” The sub-headline was : “ More than half a dozen incidents in recent weeks include arson , decapitation of statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
” The piece opened as follows : “ Parishioners and clergy were shocked and grieving following a spate of vandalism at Catholic churches in various U.S. cities in recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Florida reported more than half a dozen attacks on church property , including statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary , between July 10 and 16.
” On July 21 , the CNS network released an item headlined “ Statue of Jesus beheaded in Florida among latest attacks on Catholic churches.
” It began : “ The beheading of a statue of Christ at a Catholic church in the Miami Archdiocese has saddened the parish community of Good Shepherd Church and prompted Miami Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski to call on law enforcement to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
On July 15 , the statue at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Southwest Miami-Dade was found with its head chopped off and knocked from its pedestal.
” “ Churches burned and vandalized in riots ” announced a headline from the Washington Examiner .
The article commenced with this sentence : “ Several churches were burned and vandalized over the weekend as protests of police brutality turned to rioting and looting in many American cities.
” Three paragraphs later we learned that “ St .
Patrick ’ s Cathedral in New York City @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in America , was vandalized Saturday night with references to the Black Lives Matter movement and the F-word.
” Reason , Faith , and the ... Gregg , Samuel Best Price : $ 20.43 Buy New $ 19.29 The question that arises is this : Why would those marching under the auspices of Black Lives Matter while protesting the death of George Floyd attack Christian churches ?
What exactly is the logical link between their professed cause – which is anti-racism – and their onslaught on Christian houses of worship ?
Christianity , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the unfortunate George Floyd incident .
There is no indication that the officers involved in his arrest were motivated by religious sentiments .
In the days that followed , Christian pastors and figures across the spectrum unanimously expressed grief over Floyd ’ s death and churches across the land conducted services and held vigils in his name .
The violence of “ anti-racism ” protestors against Christian symbols and houses of worship has left many people startled and confused .
Understandably so , since there seems to be no detectable link between the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This obvious contradiction was pointed out by Valerie Richardson writing in the Washington Times : “ It would be quite a stretch to blame churches for George Floyd ’ s death , police brutality or Confederate memorials , yet houses of worship and religious statues are coming under attack in the protest mayhem.
” To say it would be “ quite a stretch ” is an obvious understatement .
The protestors ’ rhetoric and behavior would appear outright self-contradictory , and yet one can not but feel that there is a method in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we ask , do champions of racial justice attack sacred Christian objects ?
Why do they behead statues of Jesus and topple those of the Virgin Mary ?
Their behavior will appear inexplicable only as long as we accept at face value the stated goal of the protests , which , they say , is the elimination of racism .
Racial justice , however , is what this movement is about .
In an earlier piece , we have suggested that the actual purpose of this “ anti-racism ” campaign is the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clearly grasp this truth , the apparently irrational blitz by “ anti-racism ” protestors on Christian artefacts will no longer seem incoherent .
It will , in fact , make perfect sense .
Return of the Strong G ... R. R. Reno Best Price : $ 15.95 Buy New $ 19.25 Along with our Greco-Roman heritage , Christianity has been one of the two great pillars of Western culture .
It was Catholic Christianity that kept the light of civilization through the Dark Ages in Europe and that subsequently carried the continent into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Catholic Christianity that inspired and brought into being the magnificent Cathedrals of Europe and the stupendous marbles of Michelangelo and all of the great art in between .
It was the great theologians of the Church who spoke of the infinite worth of the human soul and prepared that ground for the revolutionary idea that all human beings – no matter how great or small – are entitled to equal considerations and rights .
( Tellingly , the West is not the only civilization which believes this , but also the only one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . )
Later it was the Protestant ethic of hard work , frugality and deferred gratification that helped fuel the forces of free market capitalism which generated unprecedented levels of prosperity for ordinary people .
We could speak for hours about the countless ways in which Christianity – both of the Catholic and Protestant strain – shaped and advanced Western civilization .
But this is not necessary , since its influence is all-too obvious : Much of our culture , our moral sensibility , our ethical codes , the manner in which we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact , the very way we look at the world derives directly or indirectly from the Christian religion .
Therefore , any movement that would seek to undermine Western civilization must sooner or later turn on the West ’ s Christian heritage .
This is inevitable .
Being such a movement , the “ anti-racism ” crusade that is sweeping across Western democracies has done exactly that .
The moment we grasp the true driving force behind this movement , its attacks on Christian symbols will be seen as completely natural and predictable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ anti-racism ” protesters ’ attacks on the statues of great men who contributed to the advancement of the West is driven by their anti-Western agenda .
The desecration of Christian churches is born of the same psychological impulse – aversion toward Western civilization and the desire to bring it down .
There are many aspects of the protestors ’ behavior that reveal what they are truly about .
For example , if they were genuinely concerned about racism , they would surely stage at least some of their events in front of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know , represent a civilizational stream that has been pronouncedly racist .
Not only do most Islamic societies engage in blatant racist practices to this very day , they actually see nothing wrong with it .
And yet the self-proclaimed anti-racism protestors voice no complaints in that direction .
Do you see the contradiction here ?
Why Liberalism Failed ... Deneen , Patrick J .
Best Price : $ 2.49 Buy New $ 2.99 It is worrisome that so many people do not see through this .
This fact is attested by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organizations and corporations to various racial justice groups and especially Black Lives Matter , the organization under whose auspices the “ protests ” are conducted .
The New York Times ran a piece in June titled “ Racial Justice Groups Flooded With Millions in Donations ” in which it reported that such groups received 90 million dollars in contributions for their bail funds alone .
The bail funds are , of course , used to assist those arrested for widespread violence and criminal destruction of public and private property that has been taking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are , however , some people who see the truth of the matter .
One of them is Ken Blackwell , a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Commission .
This is what he said : “ These folks have an agenda , which is to fundamentally transform America.
” Ken Blackwell is correct .
The vandals ’ objective is not , as so many people assume , to eliminate one form of alleged injustice from our society .
Since in the United States and in other Western democracies institutional racism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and here ) , objections against it can not be genuine .
The intention is not to fix a non-existent problem , but to tear down societies on which this false charge is hoisted .
The attack on Christianity is part and parcel of this undertaking .
This project is not confined to the United States .
Because it has not been reported in the media , most Americans do not realize that in recent years there have been many attacks on Christian sites in Europe .
According to a report from Gatestone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 3,000 Christian churches , schools , cemeteries and monuments were vandalized , looted or defaced in Europe during 2019 — which is on track to becoming a record year for anti-Christian sacrilege on the continent .
Violence against Christian sites is most widespread in France , where churches , schools , cemeteries and monuments are being vandalized , desecrated and burned at an average rate of three per day , according to government statistics .
In Germany , attacks against Christian churches are occurring at an average rate of two per day , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christian churches and symbols are also commonplace in Belgium , Britain , Denmark , Ireland , Italy and Spain .
The attacks overwhelmingly involve Roman Catholic sites and symbols , although in Germany , Protestant churches are also being targeted.
” It can only be expected that such attacks will accelerate – both in Europe and the US – as “ anti-racism ” protests gain pace .
The protestors themselves make their intentions clear as they barely attempt to hide their true motives .
In many cases they do not bother to make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of “ anti-racism ” and their attacks on Christianity .
In fact , they are surprisingly brazen about their goals .
By inscribing slogans such as “ God is dead , ” and “ There is no God ” and by drawing anarchist and pagan graffiti on the walls of Christian edifices , these “ anti-racism ” protesters could not be more clear about what they really want .
The Demon in Democracy ... Legutko , Ryszard Best Price : $ 11.33 Buy New $ 11.87 Just think about it : What do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ struggle for “ racial justice ?
” Have pagan cultures ever been known for their racial tolerance and equality ?
Have they ever been known to treat minorities with compassion and understanding ?
Anyone who knows anything about history knows that there has been little social justice in pagan cultures .
As a rule , the way pagan societies treat their minorities is appalling .
To express this truth in modern idiom , pagan cultures almost invariably discriminate – often brutally – on the basis of race , gender , national original , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ basis of whatever else that can make one different from the ruling elite in charge .
The only societies that have treated minorities with understanding and compassion have been those arising from the Western civilizational stream .
Western societies are the only ones in history in which minorities are given the full measure of human respect and equal rights .
As far as we know , there have been no significant social justice movement in pagan societies .
This should not surprise , since any would-be activists against oppression in non-Christian cultures usually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cultures do not suffer social warriors gladly .
The only truly successful social justice movement in the world – one that has won equal rights for all people in certain societies – has been the civilizing influence of Christian culture .
It is only after non-western societies come into contact with the West that their minorities can hope for fair treatment and equal rights .
Why , then , today ’ s Western “ anti-racist ” warriors defile Christian churches with pagan symbols and crass obscenities ?
The anarchist signs – painted right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us what they are really after : the toppling of society .
Could the message be any more obvious ?
The evidence the protestors leave behind unmistakably shows that their desecration of Christian artifacts has nothing to do with concerns about racism .
Rather it is an expression of an aversion toward Western civilization of which Christianity has been a great pillar .
The incoherent rhetoric and self-contradictory behavior make it plain that it is the subversion of Western culture that is the ultimate goal of today ’ s “ social justice ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @

Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet (Act II, Scene II)
“Last weekend, at least four Catholic Church-affiliated buildings and statues from Boston to Los Angeles were set on fire or vandalized. A blaze that gutted the 249-year-old San Gabriel Mission, once led by Father Junipero Serra, is being investigated as possible arson” reported the Washington Times on July 15. The piece was titled “’No place for God’: Left-wing protesters turn focus to churches as vandalism, arson escalate.”
The article quoted Catholic Action League Executive Director C. J. Doyle who said: “Given that there were four attacks on Catholic churches nationwide over a 48 hour period, from July 10 to July 12, suspicion, obviously, turns toward the left wing extremists who have been toppling statues of Saint Junipero Serra and attempting to remove a statue of Saint Louis.”
On June 1, the Catholic News Agency put out a wire headlined “Churches in 6 states damaged by violent protests.” It read in part: How the Catholic Churc... Thomas E. Woods Best Price: $8.00 Buy New $9.06 (as of 05:30 UTC - Details)
“Church buildings in California, Minnesota, New York, Kentucky, Texas, and Colorado were attacked. Many of the defaced or damaged churches were cathedrals. The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver sustained permanent damage. Vandals repeatedly struck the Denver cathedral on multiple nights of the protests and riots over the weekend. The church building and rectory were spray painted with the slogans “Pedofiles” [sic], “God is dead,” “There is no God,” along with other anti-police, anarchist, and anti-religion phrases and symbols.”
On July 22, the Wall Street Journal published a piece called “Desecration of Catholic Churches Across U.S. Leaves Congregations Shaken.” The sub-headline was: “More than half a dozen incidents in recent weeks include arson, decapitation of statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.” The piece opened as follows:
“Parishioners and clergy were shocked and grieving following a spate of vandalism at Catholic churches in various U.S. cities in recent weeks. Catholic institutions from Boston to Florida reported more than half a dozen attacks on church property, including statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, between July 10 and 16.”
On July 21, the CNS network released an item headlined “Statue of Jesus beheaded in Florida among latest attacks on Catholic churches.” It began:
“The beheading of a statue of Christ at a Catholic church in the Miami Archdiocese has saddened the parish community of Good Shepherd Church and prompted Miami Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski to call on law enforcement to investigate the incident as a hate crime. On July 15, the statue at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Southwest Miami-Dade was found with its head chopped off and knocked from its pedestal.”
“Churches burned and vandalized in riots” announced a headline from the Washington Examiner. The article commenced with this sentence: “Several churches were burned and vandalized over the weekend as protests of police brutality turned to rioting and looting in many American cities.” Three paragraphs later we learned that “St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, one of the most famous churches in America, was vandalized Saturday night with references to the Black Lives Matter movement and the F-word.” Reason, Faith, and the... Gregg, Samuel Best Price: $20.43 Buy New $19.29 (as of 05:06 UTC - Details)
The question that arises is this: Why would those marching under the auspices of Black Lives Matter while protesting the death of George Floyd attack Christian churches? What exactly is the logical link between their professed cause – which is anti-racism – and their onslaught on Christian houses of worship?
Christianity, after all, played no part in the unfortunate George Floyd incident. There is no indication that the officers involved in his arrest were motivated by religious sentiments. In the days that followed, Christian pastors and figures across the spectrum unanimously expressed grief over Floyd’s death and churches across the land conducted services and held vigils in his name.
The violence of “anti-racism” protestors against Christian symbols and houses of worship has left many people startled and confused. Understandably so, since there seems to be no detectable link between the demonstrators stated goals and their actions. This obvious contradiction was pointed out by Valerie Richardson writing in the Washington Times: “It would be quite a stretch to blame churches for George Floyd’s death, police brutality or Confederate memorials, yet houses of worship and religious statues are coming under attack in the protest mayhem.”
To say it would be “quite a stretch” is an obvious understatement. The protestors’ rhetoric and behavior would appear outright self-contradictory, and yet one cannot but feel that there is a method in this apparent madness. Why, then, we ask, do champions of racial justice attack sacred Christian objects? Why do they behead statues of Jesus and topple those of the Virgin Mary?
Their behavior will appear inexplicable only as long as we accept at face value the stated goal of the protests, which, they say, is the elimination of racism. Racial justice, however, is not what this movement is about. In an earlier piece, we have suggested that the actual purpose of this “anti-racism” campaign is the subversion of Western civilization. Once we clearly grasp this truth, the apparently irrational blitz by “anti-racism” protestors on Christian artefacts will no longer seem incoherent. It will, in fact, make perfect sense.
Return of the Strong G... R. R. Reno Best Price: $15.95 Buy New $19.25 (as of 09:53 UTC - Details) Along with our Greco-Roman heritage, Christianity has been one of the two great pillars of Western culture. It was Catholic Christianity that kept the light of civilization through the Dark Ages in Europe and that subsequently carried the continent into the Renaissance and beyond. It was Catholic Christianity that inspired and brought into being the magnificent Cathedrals of Europe and the stupendous marbles of Michelangelo and all of the great art in between. It was the great theologians of the Church who spoke of the infinite worth of the human soul and prepared that ground for the revolutionary idea that all human beings – no matter how great or small – are entitled to equal considerations and rights. (Tellingly, the West is not the only civilization which believes this, but also the only one which has implemented this idea in practice.) Later it was the Protestant ethic of hard work, frugality and deferred gratification that helped fuel the forces of free market capitalism which generated unprecedented levels of prosperity for ordinary people. We could speak for hours about the countless ways in which Christianity – both of the Catholic and Protestant strain – shaped and advanced Western civilization. But this is not necessary, since its influence is all-too obvious: Much of our culture, our moral sensibility, our ethical codes, the manner in which we conduct our societal life and, in fact, the very way we look at the world derives directly or indirectly from the Christian religion.
Therefore, any movement that would seek to undermine Western civilization must sooner or later turn on the West’s Christian heritage. This is inevitable. Being such a movement, the “anti-racism” crusade that is sweeping across Western democracies has done exactly that. The moment we grasp the true driving force behind this movement, its attacks on Christian symbols will be seen as completely natural and predictable.
We pointed out previously how the “anti-racism” protesters’ attacks on the statues of great men who contributed to the advancement of the West is driven by their anti-Western agenda. The desecration of Christian churches is born of the same psychological impulse – aversion toward Western civilization and the desire to bring it down.
There are many aspects of the protestors’ behavior that reveal what they are truly about. For example, if they were genuinely concerned about racism, they would surely stage at least some of their events in front of mosques. Mosques, as most people know, represent a civilizational stream that has been pronouncedly racist. Not only do most Islamic societies engage in blatant racist practices to this very day, they actually see nothing wrong with it. And yet the self-proclaimed anti-racism protestors voice no complaints in that direction. Do you see the contradiction here?
Why Liberalism Failed ... Deneen, Patrick J. Best Price: $2.49 Buy New $2.99 (as of 05:06 UTC - Details) It is worrisome that so many people do not see through this. This fact is attested by the vast amounts of donations from individuals, organizations and corporations to various racial justice groups and especially Black Lives Matter, the organization under whose auspices the “protests” are conducted. The New York Times ran a piece in June titled “Racial Justice Groups Flooded With Millions in Donations” in which it reported that such groups received 90 million dollars in contributions for their bail funds alone. The bail funds are, of course, used to assist those arrested for widespread violence and criminal destruction of public and private property that has been taking place during these so-called protests.
There are, however, some people who see the truth of the matter. One of them is Ken Blackwell, a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Commission. This is what he said: “These folks have an agenda, which is to fundamentally transform America.” Ken Blackwell is correct. The vandals’ objective is not, as so many people assume, to eliminate one form of alleged injustice from our society. Since in the United States and in other Western democracies institutional racism is non-existent (see here, here and here), objections against it cannot be genuine. The intention is not to fix a non-existent problem, but to tear down societies on which this false charge is hoisted. The attack on Christianity is part and parcel of this undertaking.
This project is not confined to the United States. Because it has not been reported in the media, most Americans do not realize that in recent years there have been many attacks on Christian sites in Europe. According to a report from Gatestone Institute:
“[R]oughly 3,000 Christian churches, schools, cemeteries and monuments were vandalized, looted or defaced in Europe during 2019 — which is on track to becoming a record year for anti-Christian sacrilege on the continent. Violence against Christian sites is most widespread in France, where churches, schools, cemeteries and monuments are being vandalized, desecrated and burned at an average rate of three per day, according to government statistics. In Germany, attacks against Christian churches are occurring at an average rate of two per day, according to police blotters. Attacks on Christian churches and symbols are also commonplace in Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Ireland, Italy and Spain. The attacks overwhelmingly involve Roman Catholic sites and symbols, although in Germany, Protestant churches are also being targeted.”
It can only be expected that such attacks will accelerate – both in Europe and the US – as “anti-racism” protests gain pace. The protestors themselves make their intentions clear as they barely attempt to hide their true motives. In many cases they do not bother to make even tenuous links between their faux cause of “anti-racism” and their attacks on Christianity. In fact, they are surprisingly brazen about their goals. By inscribing slogans such as “God is dead,” and “There is no God” and by drawing anarchist and pagan graffiti on the walls of Christian edifices, these “anti-racism” protesters could not be more clear about what they really want. The Demon in Democracy... Legutko, Ryszard Best Price: $11.33 Buy New $11.87 (as of 05:06 UTC - Details)
Just think about it: What do pagan symbols have to do with the struggle for “racial justice?” Have pagan cultures ever been known for their racial tolerance and equality? Have they ever been known to treat minorities with compassion and understanding? Anyone who knows anything about history knows that there has been little social justice in pagan cultures. As a rule, the way pagan societies treat their minorities is appalling. To express this truth in modern idiom, pagan cultures almost invariably discriminate – often brutally – on the basis of race, gender, national original, disability, sexual orientation and on the basis of whatever else that can make one different from the ruling elite in charge. The only societies that have treated minorities with understanding and compassion have been those arising from the Western civilizational stream. Western societies are the only ones in history in which minorities are given the full measure of human respect and equal rights. As far as we know, there have been no significant social justice movement in pagan societies. This should not surprise, since any would-be activists against oppression in non-Christian cultures usually come to a quick end.
Pagan cultures do not suffer social warriors gladly. The only truly successful social justice movement in the world – one that has won equal rights for all people in certain societies – has been the civilizing influence of Christian culture. It is only after non-western societies come into contact with the West that their minorities can hope for fair treatment and equal rights. Why, then, today’s Western “anti-racist” warriors defile Christian churches with pagan symbols and crass obscenities? The anarchist signs – painted right next to the pagan ones – tell us what they are really after: the toppling of society. Could the message be any more obvious?
The evidence the protestors leave behind unmistakably shows that their desecration of Christian artifacts has nothing to do with concerns about racism. Rather it is an expression of an aversion toward Western civilization of which Christianity has been a great pillar. The incoherent rhetoric and self-contradictory behavior make it plain that it is the subversion of Western culture that is the ultimate goal of today’s “social justice” movement.
The Best of Vasko Kohlmayer


lewrockwell--2020-08-25--Pompeo’s Iran Failures Make War More Likely

The US foreign policy establishment has for decades been dominated by neoconservative interventionists and falsely-named “ humanitarian ” interventionists .
These people believe that because the United States is the one “ exceptional nation , ” no conflict anywhere in the world could possibly be solved without our butting our noses into it .
One of President Obama ’ s few foreign policy successes was to work with European countries on a deal that would see a reduction of sanctions on Iran in exchange for a series of Iranian moves demonstrating its abandonment of a nuclear weapon .
The American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Saudi Arabia and Israel were furious at the compromise , but for a couple of years it showed real promise .
Trade between Europe and Iran was increasing and there was no evidence that Iran was reneging on its obligations .
Even American companies were looking to Iran for business opportunities .
Whenever goods flow between nations , war becomes less likely .
The Great Delusion : Li ... Mearsheimer , John J .
Best Price : $ 14.77 Buy New $ 16.42 President Trump has had problems with policy consistency throughout his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unfortunately , his few policy consistencies have been the most ill-advised ones .
On the campaign trail Trump relentlessly attacked Obama ’ s Iran policy and promised to pull the US out of the JCPOA Iran agreement .
Unfortunately for America , he followed through with this policy in 2018 .
Though he promised that by pulling out of the deal the US would get a far better deal in its place , the truth is Trump ’ s Iran policy has produced nothing but negative results .
The Iranians have not knuckled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s pressure , and putting regime change specialists like Elliot Abrams in charge of Iran policy has just moved us closer to an unnecessary war .
Iran is not a threat to the United States , no matter what lies the neocons put forth .
These past two weeks the weakness in the US “ maximum pressure ” policy toward Iran has been exposed for the world to see .
First , Pompeo spent the summer lobbying European nations to support a US motion in the UN Security Council to extend an arms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been judged in compliance with the Iran deal , the arms embargo is scheduled to be lifted in October .
Pompeo ’ s diplomatic skills did not produce the desired results : not a single party to the Iran nuclear deal voted with the US to extend the embargo .
Undeterred , the Trump Administration is now determined to trigger the “ snap-back ” sanctions on Iran , which means if Iran is judged to be in violation of the Iran nuclear agreement all the previous sanctions would snap back into place .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ this : because the US has formally withdrawn from the Iran agreement it has no legal standing to trigger the “ snap-back ” of UN sanctions on Iran .
If you take your marbles and go home , you don ’ t get to still dictate the rules of the game .
Last week Pompeo attempted to trigger the “ snap-back ” and was laughed out of the room by the countries who have remained in the deal .
US policy toward Iran is an unwise consistency and the Trump Administration is hopelessly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neocons .
They want nothing more than war on Iran .
But the American people do not .
It ’ s time to end this failed policy of confrontation with Iran .
The Best of Ron Paul

The US foreign policy establishment has for decades been dominated by neoconservative interventionists and falsely-named “humanitarian” interventionists. These people believe that because the United States is the one “exceptional nation,” no conflict anywhere in the world could possibly be solved without our butting our noses into it.
One of President Obama’s few foreign policy successes was to work with European countries on a deal that would see a reduction of sanctions on Iran in exchange for a series of Iranian moves demonstrating its abandonment of a nuclear weapon.
The American neocons as well as the hardliners in Saudi Arabia and Israel were furious at the compromise, but for a couple of years it showed real promise. Trade between Europe and Iran was increasing and there was no evidence that Iran was reneging on its obligations. Even American companies were looking to Iran for business opportunities. Whenever goods flow between nations, war becomes less likely.
The Great Delusion: Li... Mearsheimer, John J. Best Price: $14.77 Buy New $16.42 (as of 05:07 UTC - Details) President Trump has had problems with policy consistency throughout his first term in office. But, unfortunately, his few policy consistencies have been the most ill-advised ones. On the campaign trail Trump relentlessly attacked Obama’s Iran policy and promised to pull the US out of the JCPOA Iran agreement.
Unfortunately for America, he followed through with this policy in 2018. Though he promised that by pulling out of the deal the US would get a far better deal in its place, the truth is Trump’s Iran policy has produced nothing but negative results. The Iranians have not knuckled down under the weight of Pompeo’s pressure, and putting regime change specialists like Elliot Abrams in charge of Iran policy has just moved us closer to an unnecessary war.
Iran is not a threat to the United States, no matter what lies the neocons put forth.
These past two weeks the weakness in the US “maximum pressure” policy toward Iran has been exposed for the world to see. First, Pompeo spent the summer lobbying European nations to support a US motion in the UN Security Council to extend an arms embargo against Iran. As Iran has been judged in compliance with the Iran deal, the arms embargo is scheduled to be lifted in October. Pompeo’s diplomatic skills did not produce the desired results: not a single party to the Iran nuclear deal voted with the US to extend the embargo.
Undeterred, the Trump Administration is now determined to trigger the “snap-back” sanctions on Iran, which means if Iran is judged to be in violation of the Iran nuclear agreement all the previous sanctions would snap back into place.
But there’s a problem with this: because the US has formally withdrawn from the Iran agreement it has no legal standing to trigger the “snap-back” of UN sanctions on Iran. If you take your marbles and go home, you don’t get to still dictate the rules of the game.
Last week Pompeo attempted to trigger the “snap-back” and was laughed out of the room by the countries who have remained in the deal.
US policy toward Iran is an unwise consistency and the Trump Administration is hopelessly floundering on the bad advice of the neocons. They want nothing more than war on Iran. But the American people do not. It’s time to end this failed policy of confrontation with Iran.
The Best of Ron Paul, MD


lewrockwell--2020-08-25--Biden’s Speech: Use Covid To Destroy Everything, Blame Trump

I was asked for comments by Sputnik News the other day about Democratic Nominee Joe Biden ’ s assertion he would lock down the entire country if the scientists told him to .
As you can imagine I didn ’ t hold back .
The idea that the scientists who have been the most vocal in advising President Trump and the other world leaders , would give Biden the honest answer about how to deal with COVID-19 at this point is beyond laughable .
I ’ m sorry but the official arbiters of “ Science !
” have done nothing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oversell the threat of this virus .
And their miscommunication , intentional , well-meaning , or just incompetent , has cost humanity hundreds of billions if not trillions in accumulated wealth and time .
Those things translate directly into lives lost , opportunities destroyed .
Coming Apocalypse Coleman , Vernon Buy New $ 5.99 Has Biden not looked around and seen the multiplying protests worldwide against these idiotic and tyrannical lock downs ?
Biden ’ s handlers are telling him to campaign on this because they are trying to hold together The State @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the final arbiter of truth and societal best practices while it fails right in front of our eyes .
And I believe this is why they are trying so hard to hold onto these narratives so tightly .
No one wants to watch their belief system wither and die on the vine .
No one is comfortable with having their fundamental premises which form their worldview be revealed as inadequate to the task .
But that is exactly what is happening to progressives and socialists of all stripes .
All of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and imminent failures to produce .
Everything that has been unleashed upon us in 2020 is a direct result of this mad scramble to claw back the power of the White House by any means necessary and it ’ s woken a lot of people out of their slumber as to what they can expect from their government .
We selected the wrong man for president four years ago and Congress has worked nonstop , on both sides of the political aisle , to ensure he doesn ’ t achieve anything of lasting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lie about him and talk down to us will somehow become endearing .
So , in the context of that and the freak show that was this year ’ s Democratic National Convention I answered Sputnik ’ s questions with a frankness that , honestly , surprised me .
My full answers via email follow ( you be the judge ) : President Donald Trump has resisted calls for another shutdown despite a spike in coronavirus cases in many states this summer .
Trump and members of his administration have argued a new @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economy .
At the same time , Joe Biden is considering such an option if necessary .
What is your opinion on this matter ?
I ’ ve been quite clear that the Democrats have used COVID-19 as an excuse to destroy the U.S. economy and blame it on President Trump .
I ’ ve written extensively on the subject ( here ) .
Biden is playing to his base that wrongly believes the path to safety from the virus is more draconian lockdowns rather than building herd immunity , as we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This is an extension of a concerted effort to destabilize the U.S. and continue a climate of fear over a virus with an effective lethality rate lower than the annual flu .
We are six months into this planned destruction of all facets of U.S. society , and most of the West for that matter , for the purpose of instituting police state like controls over our everyday lives , undermining the idea of personal rights in a climate of hysterical fear .
Anyone Who Tells You V ... Coleman , Dr Vernon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not have the authority under the Constitution to do this anyway and would have to suspend it in order to ‘ legally ’ do what he ’ s suggesting .
So , this is a pathetic bluff by desperate people to hold onto a failing narrative that COVID-19 is something so deadly it necessitates wholesale change to our way of life .
It would be further devastating .
Economic conditions are only good on paper now because of the massive stimulus spending from the CARES Act .
That spending is ending .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consumer spending data .
Trump has won the showdown over the next round of spending with Speaker Nancy Pelosi caving the other day .
Trump will send out another round of checks between now and the election and the Democrats are desperate to counter this move , which they can ’ t .
Will the country ’ s economy survive it ?
As I ’ ve already said , the goal is to destroy the U.S. by engaging in the rankest form of political extortion .
It ’ s already bad enough that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supply disruptions and the first wave of bankruptcies , locking the economy down again would ensure that more people die from stress , abuse , theft and domestic violence than the virus would ever take .
The people most susceptible to this virus are the ones most vulnerable to basic goods disruptions by locking down the low-risk and the productive .
Locking down the healthy is honestly moronic , and if I believed for one second that Biden was actually crafting his policy points , then I would present his comments as prima @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ We can not get the country moving until we control the virus .
That is the fundamental flaw of this administration ’ s thinking to begin with ” , Joe Biden said .
That ’ s a nice soundbite .
Too bad it runs completely counter to thousands of years of human history where the sick and at-risk are protected and/or quarantined while the healthy face the threat and keep society functioning .
Biden is trying to make sound reasonable a policy plank that is nothing less than fear-mongering .
How @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the country would have been different if Biden had been president ?
They would never have run this COVID-19 scam on us in the first place .
They would have treated it exactly the way Obama did Ebola , something to worry about but the push for universal vaccination , medical passports and the rest would have been done quietly behind the scenes , rather than out front .
The threat that Trump ’ s second term and Brexit represent to the globalist , neoliberals , who I call The Davos Crowd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the White House at any cost .
Superbody : How to Boos ... Coleman , Dr Vernon Buy New $ 4.99 Biden would still be presiding over a financial crisis , but the political crisis in the U.S. wouldn ’ t look like it does today with the degradation of the two sides , rioting in cities subsidized by local governments , and counter-productive lockdowns .
How realistic is his economic programme in this situation ?
Completely not realistic at all .
The Green New Deal is nothing more than a bailout @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over-leveraged and on its last legs .
Now they are engineering the destruction of trillions in middle and lower class wealth to ensure there is no opposition to their continued rule , though their perfect technocratic state , The European Union .
Trump , for all of his faults , understands that the U.S. is being sacrificed here and he ’ s doing his imperfect best to try and stop it from happening .
But the only way to balance the books now is currency debasement of a type and kind we ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out the middle class in the U.S. even further , erode what ’ s left of the rule of law and bring about a dark age of humanity .
That ’ s what Biden ’ s been told to say in this statement .
It ’ s evil and it should be rejected by everyone .
The Best of Thomas Luongo

I was asked for comments by Sputnik News the other day about Democratic Nominee Joe Biden’s assertion he would lock down the entire country if the scientists told him to.
As you can imagine I didn’t hold back.
The idea that the scientists who have been the most vocal in advising President Trump and the other world leaders, would give Biden the honest answer about how to deal with COVID-19 at this point is beyond laughable.
I’m sorry but the official arbiters of “Science!” have done nothing but lie, delay, obfuscate and oversell the threat of this virus. And their miscommunication, intentional, well-meaning, or just incompetent, has cost humanity hundreds of billions if not trillions in accumulated wealth and time.
Those things translate directly into lives lost, opportunities destroyed. Coming Apocalypse Coleman, Vernon Buy New $5.99 (as of 05:08 UTC - Details)
Has Biden not looked around and seen the multiplying protests worldwide against these idiotic and tyrannical lock downs?
Biden’s handlers are telling him to campaign on this because they are trying to hold together The State, the religion of the Left, as the final arbiter of truth and societal best practices while it fails right in front of our eyes.
And I believe this is why they are trying so hard to hold onto these narratives so tightly. No one wants to watch their belief system wither and die on the vine.
No one is comfortable with having their fundamental premises which form their worldview be revealed as inadequate to the task. But that is exactly what is happening to progressives and socialists of all stripes.
All of the social welfare systems are failing from over-promising and imminent failures to produce.
Everything that has been unleashed upon us in 2020 is a direct result of this mad scramble to claw back the power of the White House by any means necessary and it’s woken a lot of people out of their slumber as to what they can expect from their government.
We selected the wrong man for president four years ago and Congress has worked nonstop, on both sides of the political aisle, to ensure he doesn’t achieve anything of lasting significance.
Somehow they think continuing to lie about him and talk down to us will somehow become endearing.
So, in the context of that and the freak show that was this year’s Democratic National Convention I answered Sputnik’s questions with a frankness that, honestly, surprised me.
My full answers via email follow (you be the judge):
President Donald Trump has resisted calls for another shutdown despite a spike in coronavirus cases in many states this summer. Trump and members of his administration have argued a new lockdown would cause irreparable harm to the economy. At the same time, Joe Biden is considering such an option if necessary. What is your opinion on this matter?
I’ve been quite clear that the Democrats have used COVID-19 as an excuse to destroy the U.S. economy and blame it on President Trump. I’ve written extensively on the subject (here).
Biden is playing to his base that wrongly believes the path to safety from the virus is more draconian lockdowns rather than building herd immunity, as we’ve seen in places like Sweden. This is an extension of a concerted effort to destabilize the U.S. and continue a climate of fear over a virus with an effective lethality rate lower than the annual flu.
We are six months into this planned destruction of all facets of U.S. society, and most of the West for that matter, for the purpose of instituting police state like controls over our everyday lives, undermining the idea of personal rights in a climate of hysterical fear. Anyone Who Tells You V... Coleman, Dr Vernon Buy New $3.99 (as of 04:06 UTC - Details)
President Biden does not have the authority under the Constitution to do this anyway and would have to suspend it in order to ‘legally’ do what he’s suggesting. So, this is a pathetic bluff by desperate people to hold onto a failing narrative that COVID-19 is something so deadly it necessitates wholesale change to our way of life.
How will a repeated lockdown affect the economy?
It would be further devastating. Economic conditions are only good on paper now because of the massive stimulus spending from the CARES Act. That spending is ending. We’re already seeing it in the consumer spending data.
Trump has won the showdown over the next round of spending with Speaker Nancy Pelosi caving the other day. Trump will send out another round of checks between now and the election and the Democrats are desperate to counter this move, which they can’t.
Will the country’s economy survive it?
As I’ve already said, the goal is to destroy the U.S. by engaging in the rankest form of political extortion. It’s already bad enough that we have to deal with the growing supply disruptions and the first wave of bankruptcies, locking the economy down again would ensure that more people die from stress, abuse, theft and domestic violence than the virus would ever take.
The people most susceptible to this virus are the ones most vulnerable to basic goods disruptions by locking down the low-risk and the productive.
Locking down the healthy is honestly moronic, and if I believed for one second that Biden was actually crafting his policy points, then I would present his comments as prima facia evidence of his declining mental capacity.
“We cannot get the country moving until we control the virus. That is the fundamental flaw of this administration’s thinking to begin with”, Joe Biden said.
That’s a nice soundbite. Too bad it runs completely counter to thousands of years of human history where the sick and at-risk are protected and/or quarantined while the healthy face the threat and keep society functioning. Biden is trying to make sound reasonable a policy plank that is nothing less than fear-mongering.
How likely is it that the economic situation in the country would have been different if Biden had been president?
They would never have run this COVID-19 scam on us in the first place. They would have treated it exactly the way Obama did Ebola, something to worry about but the push for universal vaccination, medical passports and the rest would have been done quietly behind the scenes, rather than out front. The threat that Trump’s second term and Brexit represent to the globalist, neoliberals, who I call The Davos Crowd, is palpable and they want control over the White House at any cost. Superbody: How to Boos... Coleman, Dr Vernon Buy New $4.99 (as of 05:08 UTC - Details)
Biden would still be presiding over a financial crisis, but the political crisis in the U.S. wouldn’t look like it does today with the degradation of the two sides, rioting in cities subsidized by local governments, and counter-productive lockdowns.
How realistic is his economic programme in this situation?
Completely not realistic at all. The Green New Deal is nothing more than a bailout for the global financial system which is over-leveraged and on its last legs. Now they are engineering the destruction of trillions in middle and lower class wealth to ensure there is no opposition to their continued rule, though their perfect technocratic state, The European Union.
Trump, for all of his faults, understands that the U.S. is being sacrificed here and he’s doing his imperfect best to try and stop it from happening. But the only way to balance the books now is currency debasement of a type and kind we’ve yet to imagine which will wipe out the middle class in the U.S. even further, erode what’s left of the rule of law and bring about a dark age of humanity.
That’s what Biden’s been told to say in this statement. It’s evil and it should be rejected by everyone.
Reprinted with permission from Gold Goats ‘n Guns.
The Best of Tom Luongo


lewrockwell--2020-08-25--CO2 Saves the Planet

CO2 Saves the Planet

Plants were efficient absorbers of carbon dioxide during the early Miocene – a period with high levels of carbon dioxide , found a study published in the journal Climate of the Past .
Researchers from New Zealand analyzed plant fossils from a former lake and discovered that the levels of carbon dioxide at the time exceeded those recorded today .
They added that Miocene plants had features that equipped them to grow in drier and hotter climate .
With such enhanced plants , the high carbon levels provided a “ forest fertilization effect.
” These findings are useful in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of carbon dioxide .
With the study ’ s reconstruction of early Miocene as an analog , they provide a picture of the world several years from now .
Inconvenient Facts : Th ... Gregory Wrightstone Best Price : $ 16.16 Buy New $ 14.66 The Miocene epoch was a time marked by global warming .
It occurred from about 23 to 5.3 million years ago and is credited for the appearance of grasslands and kelp forests , underwater ecosystems that are dense with the plant kelp .
During Miocene , global temperatures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the preceding epoch .
Ice largely disappeared at the poles and land became more arid .
It is estimated that Earth was 37-44 F hotter than today .
The Politically Incorr ... Morano , Marc Best Price : $ 8.67 Buy New $ 14.99 While experts agree that temperatures rose at the time , the levels of carbon dioxide were hotly debated .
Some experts contended that carbon levels were around 300 parts per million ( ppm ) – near the same amount before the Industrial Revolution started .
Others estimated that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ppm , which is around today ’ s global average .
“ Evidence has been building that carbon dioxide was high then , but there have been paradoxes , ” said lead author Tammo Reichgelt , a scientist at Columbia University .
For the current study , the researchers unearthed plant fossils from a now-extinct volcanic crater located in the city of Dunedin , southern New Zealand .
The crater dubbed Foulden Maar once hosted an isolated lake where blackish layers of carbon matter are deposited within the bed , including different leaves @ @ @ @ @ @

Plants were efficient absorbers of carbon dioxide during the early Miocene – a period with high levels of carbon dioxide, found a study published in the journal Climate of the Past.
Researchers from New Zealand analyzed plant fossils from a former lake and discovered that the levels of carbon dioxide at the time exceeded those recorded today. They added that Miocene plants had features that equipped them to grow in drier and hotter climate. With such enhanced plants, the high carbon levels provided a “forest fertilization effect.”
These findings are useful in the context of today’s rising levels of carbon dioxide. With the study’s reconstruction of early Miocene as an analog, they provide a picture of the world several years from now. Inconvenient Facts: Th... Gregory Wrightstone Best Price: $16.16 Buy New $14.66 (as of 05:10 UTC - Details)
Efficient early Miocene plants
The Miocene epoch was a time marked by global warming. It occurred from about 23 to 5.3 million years ago and is credited for the appearance of grasslands and kelp forests, underwater ecosystems that are dense with the plant kelp.
During Miocene, global temperatures rose after a period of global cooling in the preceding epoch. Ice largely disappeared at the poles and land became more arid. It is estimated that Earth was 37-44 F hotter than today.
The Politically Incorr... Morano, Marc Best Price: $8.67 Buy New $14.99 (as of 05:10 UTC - Details) While experts agree that temperatures rose at the time, the levels of carbon dioxide were hotly debated. Some experts contended that carbon levels were around 300 parts per million (ppm) – near the same amount before the Industrial Revolution started. Others estimated that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached 400 ppm, which is around today’s global average.
“Evidence has been building that carbon dioxide was high then, but there have been paradoxes,” said lead author Tammo Reichgelt, a scientist at Columbia University.
For the current study, the researchers unearthed plant fossils from a now-extinct volcanic crater located in the city of Dunedin, southern New Zealand. The crater dubbed Foulden Maar once hosted an isolated lake where blackish layers of carbon matter are deposited within the bed, including different leaves from a subtropical evergreen forest.
Read the Whole Article


lewrockwell--2020-08-25--Towards a US-China War?

Towards a US-China War?

If we step back from the details of daily headlines around the world and try to make sense of larger patterns , the dominant dynamic defining world geopolitics in the past three years or more is the appearance of a genuine irregular conflict between the two most formidable powers on the planet—The Peoples ’ Republic of China and the United States of America .
Increasingly it ’ s beginning to look as if some very dark global networks are orchestrating what looks to be an updated rerun of their 1939-1945 World War .
The powers that be periodically use war @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behalf of the Powers That Be ( PTB ) , World War II was orchestrated by the circles of the City of London and of Wall Street to maneuver two great obstacles—Russia and Germany—to wage a war to the death against each other , in order that those Anglo-Saxon PTB could reorganize the world geopolitical chess board to their advantage .
It largely succeeded , but for the small detail that after 1945 , Wall Street and the Rockefeller brothers were determined that England play the junior partner to Washington .
London and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ global domination known as the Cold War .
That Anglo-American global condominium ended , by design , in 1989 with the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the Soviet Union by 1991 .
Target : China : How Was ... Engdahl , F William Best Price : $ 4.93 Buy New $ 14.89 Around this time , with the onset of the Bill Clinton presidency in 1992 , the next phase– financial and industrial globalization– was inaugurated .
With that , began the hollowing out of the industrial base of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also of Germany and the EU .
The cheap labor outsourcing enabled by the new WTO drove wages down and destroyed one industry after the next in the industrial West after the 1990s .
It was a necessary step on the path to what G.H.W .
Bush in 1990 called the New World Order .
The next step would be destruction of national sovereignty everywhere .
Here the USA was the major obstacle .
“ A little help from our friends… ” For the PTB , who owe no allegiance to nations , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ borders , the birth of the World Trade Organization and their bringing China in as a full member in 2001 was intended as the key next step .
At that point the PTB facilitated in China the greatest industrial growth by any nation in history , possibly excepting Germany from 1871-1914 and USA after 1866 .
WTO membership allowed Western multinationals from Apple to Nike to KFC to Ford and VW to pour billions into China to make their products at dirt-cheap wage levels for re-export to the West .
One of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fact that China was allowed to become the “ workshop of the world ” after 2001 , first in lower-skill industries such as textiles or toys , later in pharmaceuticals and most recently in electronics assembly and production .
The mystery clears up when we look at the idea that the PTB and their financial houses , using China , want to weaken strong industrial powers , especially the United States , to push their global agenda .
Brzezinski often wrote that the nation state was to be eliminated , as did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allowing China to become a rival to Washington in economy and increasingly in technology , they created the means to destroy the superpower hegemony of the US .
By the onset of the Presidency of Xi Jinping in 2012 , China was an economic colossus second in weight only to the United States .
Clearly this could never have happened–not under the eye of the same Anglo-American old families who launched the Opium Wars after 1840 to bring China to heel and open their economy to Western financial looting–unless the Anglo-Americans had wanted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the China opium trade , Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank ( HSBC ) , founded by a Scotsman , Thomas Sutherland in 1865 in the then-British colony of Hong Kong , today is the largest non-Chinese bank in Hong Kong .
HSBC has become so well-connected to China in recent years that it has since 2011 had as Board member and Deputy HSBC Chairman , Laura Cha .
Cha was formerly Vice Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission , being the first person outside mainland China to join the Beijing Central @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of China at vice-ministerial rank .
In other words the largest bank in the UK has a board member who was a member of the Chinese Communist Party and a China government official .
China needed access to Western money and HSBC and other select banks such as JP MorganChase , Barclays , Goldman Sachs were clearly more than happy to assist .
Full Spectrum Dominanc ... Engdahl , F. William Best Price : $ 21.08 Buy New $ 26.97 All told until 2012 when Xi took charge of the CCP in Beijing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be a globalist “ team player , ” though with “ Chinese characteristics.
” However , in 2015 after little more than two years in office , Xi Jinping endorsed a comprehensive national industrial strategy , Made in China : 2025 .
China 2025 replaced an earlier Western globalist document that had been formulated with the World Bank and the USA , the China 2030 report under Robert Zoellick .
That shift to a China strategy for global tech domination might well have triggered a decision by the globalist PTB that China could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the rules of the globalists , but rather that the CCP under Xi were determined to make China the global leader in advanced industrial , AI and bio-technologies .
A resurgent China nationalist global hegemony was not the idea of the New World Order gang .
China:2025 combined with Xi ’ s strong advocacy of the Belt Road Initiative for global infrastructure linking China by land and sea to all Eurasia and beyond , likely suggested to the globalists that the only solution to the prospect of their losing their power to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ war , a war that would destroy both nationalist powers , USA AND China .
This is my conclusion and there is much to suggest this is now taking place .
If so , it will most likely be far different from the military contest of World War II .
The USA and most of the Western industrial economies have “ conveniently ” imposed the worst economic depression since the 1930 ’ s as a bizarre response to an alleged virus originating in Wuhan and spreading to the world .
Despite the fact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vastly inflated statistics , is at the level of a severe annual influenza , the insistence of politicians and the corrupt WHO to impose draconian lockdown and economic disruption has crippled the remaining industrial base in the US and most of the EU .
The eruption of well-organized riots and vandalism under the banner of racial protests across the USA has brought America ’ s cities to a state in many cases of war zones resembling the cities of the 2013 Matt Damon and Jodie Foster film , Elysium .
In this context @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on a sharp tone in their use of so-called “ Wolf Diplomacy.
” Now after Washington closed the China Consulate in Houston and China the US Consulate in Chengdu , both sides have stepped up rhetoric .
High tech companies are being banned in the US , military displays of force from the US in the South China Sea and waters near Taiwan are increasing tensions and rhetoric on both sides .
The White House accuses the WHO of being an agent of Beijing , while China accuses the US of deliberately creating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wuhan .
Chinese state media supports the explosion of violent protests across America under the banner of Black Lives Matter .
Step-wise events are escalating dramatically .
Many of the US self-styled Marxists leading the protests across US cities have ties to Beijing such as the Maoist-origin Revolutionary Communist Party , USA of Bob Avakian .
Gods of Money : Wall St ... Engdahl , F. William Best Price : $ 8.98 Buy New $ 29.95 Under these conditions , what kind of escalation is likely ?
In 1999 two colonels in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Xiangsui , published a book with the PLA Press titled Unrestricted Warfare .
Qiao Liang was promoted to Major General in the PLA Air Force and became deputy secretary-general of the Council for National Security Policy Studies .
The two updated their work in 2016 .
It gives a window on high-level China military strategy .
Reviewing published US military doctrine in the aftermath of the 1991 US Operation Desert Storm war against Iraq , the Chinese authors point out what they see as US over-dependence on brute military force and conventional military @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , considering , and resolving problems from the point of view of technology is typical American thinking .
Its advantages and disadvantages are both very apparent , just like the characters of Americans.
” They add , “ military threats are already often no longer the major factors affecting national security…these traditional factors are increasingly becoming more intertwined with grabbing resources , contending for markets , controlling capital , trade sanctions , and other economic factors , to the extent that they are even becoming secondary to these factors .
They comprise a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economic and military security of a nation or nations… The two authors define the new form of warfare as , “ encompassing the political , economic , diplomatic , cultural , and psychological spheres , in addition to the land , sea , air , space , and electronics spheres.
” They suggest China could use hacking into websites , targeting financial institutions , terrorism , using the media , and conducting urban warfare among the methods proposed .
Recent revelations that Chinese entities pay millions in ad revenues to the New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voice China-positive views is one example .
Similarly , maneuvering a Chinese national to head the US ’ largest public pension fund , CalPERS , which poured billions into risky China stocks , or persuading the New York Stock Exchange to list dozens of China companies without requiring adherence to US accounting transparency increase US financial vulnerability are others .
This all suggests the form that a war between China and the US could take .
It can be termed asymmetrical warfare or unrestricted war , where nothing that disrupts the enemy is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ the first rule of unrestricted warfare is that there are no rules , with nothing forbidden.
” There are no Geneva Conventions .
Myths , Lies and Oil Wars F. William Engdahl Best Price : $ 33.55 Buy New $ 7.93 The two Beijing authors add this irregular warfare could include assaults on the political security , economic security , cultural security , and information security of the nation .
The dependence of the US economy on China supply chains for everything from basic antibiotics to militarily-vital rare earth minerals is but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ side , China is vulnerable to trade sanctions , financial disruption , bioterror attacks and oil embargoes to name a few .
Some have suggested the recent locust plague and African Swine Fever devastation to China ’ s core food supplies , was not merely an act of nature .
If not , then we are likely deep into an undeclared form of US-China unrestricted warfare .
Could it be that the recent extreme floods along the China Yangtze River that threaten the giant Three Gorges Dam and have flooded Wuhan and other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ acres of key cropland was not entirely seasonal ?
A full unrestricted war of China and the USA would be more than a tragedy .
It could be the end of civilization as we know it .
Is this what characters such as Bill Gates and his superiors are trying to bring about ?
Do they plan to introduce their draconian dystopian “ Reset ” on the ashes of such a conflict ?
The original source of this article is Global Research .

If we step back from the details of daily headlines around the world and try to make sense of larger patterns, the dominant dynamic defining world geopolitics in the past three years or more is the appearance of a genuine irregular conflict between the two most formidable powers on the planet—The Peoples’ Republic of China and the United States of America. Increasingly it’s beginning to look as if some very dark global networks are orchestrating what looks to be an updated rerun of their 1939-1945 World War. The powers that be periodically use war to gain major policy shifts.
On behalf of the Powers That Be (PTB), World War II was orchestrated by the circles of the City of London and of Wall Street to maneuver two great obstacles—Russia and Germany—to wage a war to the death against each other, in order that those Anglo-Saxon PTB could reorganize the world geopolitical chess board to their advantage. It largely succeeded, but for the small detail that after 1945, Wall Street and the Rockefeller brothers were determined that England play the junior partner to Washington. London and Washington then entered the period of their global domination known as the Cold War.
That Anglo-American global condominium ended, by design, in 1989 with the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the Soviet Union by 1991. Target: China: How Was... Engdahl, F William Best Price: $4.93 Buy New $14.89 (as of 11:15 UTC - Details)
Around this time, with the onset of the Bill Clinton presidency in 1992, the next phase– financial and industrial globalization– was inaugurated. With that, began the hollowing out of the industrial base of not only the United States, but also of Germany and the EU. The cheap labor outsourcing enabled by the new WTO drove wages down and destroyed one industry after the next in the industrial West after the 1990s. It was a necessary step on the path to what G.H.W. Bush in 1990 called the New World Order. The next step would be destruction of national sovereignty everywhere. Here the USA was the major obstacle.
“A little help from our friends…”
For the PTB, who owe no allegiance to nations, only to their power which is across borders, the birth of the World Trade Organization and their bringing China in as a full member in 2001 was intended as the key next step. At that point the PTB facilitated in China the greatest industrial growth by any nation in history, possibly excepting Germany from 1871-1914 and USA after 1866. WTO membership allowed Western multinationals from Apple to Nike to KFC to Ford and VW to pour billions into China to make their products at dirt-cheap wage levels for re-export to the West.
One of the great mysteries of that China growth is the fact that China was allowed to become the “workshop of the world” after 2001, first in lower-skill industries such as textiles or toys, later in pharmaceuticals and most recently in electronics assembly and production. The mystery clears up when we look at the idea that the PTB and their financial houses, using China, want to weaken strong industrial powers, especially the United States, to push their global agenda. Brzezinski often wrote that the nation state was to be eliminated, as did his patron, David Rockefeller. By allowing China to become a rival to Washington in economy and increasingly in technology, they created the means to destroy the superpower hegemony of the US.
By the onset of the Presidency of Xi Jinping in 2012, China was an economic colossus second in weight only to the United States. Clearly this could never have happened–not under the eye of the same Anglo-American old families who launched the Opium Wars after 1840 to bring China to heel and open their economy to Western financial looting–unless the Anglo-Americans had wanted it.
The same British-owned bank involved in the China opium trade, Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank (HSBC), founded by a Scotsman, Thomas Sutherland in 1865 in the then-British colony of Hong Kong, today is the largest non-Chinese bank in Hong Kong. HSBC has become so well-connected to China in recent years that it has since 2011 had as Board member and Deputy HSBC Chairman, Laura Cha. Cha was formerly Vice Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, being the first person outside mainland China to join the Beijing Central Government of the People’s Republic of China at vice-ministerial rank. In other words the largest bank in the UK has a board member who was a member of the Chinese Communist Party and a China government official. China needed access to Western money and HSBC and other select banks such as JP MorganChase, Barclays, Goldman Sachs were clearly more than happy to assist. Full Spectrum Dominanc... Engdahl, F. William Best Price: $21.08 Buy New $26.97 (as of 05:11 UTC - Details)
“Socialism with Xi Jinping Characteristics…”
All told until 2012 when Xi took charge of the CCP in Beijing, China seemed to be willing to be a globalist “team player,” though with “Chinese characteristics.” However, in 2015 after little more than two years in office, Xi Jinping endorsed a comprehensive national industrial strategy, Made in China: 2025. China 2025 replaced an earlier Western globalist document that had been formulated with the World Bank and the USA, the China 2030 report under Robert Zoellick. That shift to a China strategy for global tech domination might well have triggered a decision by the globalist PTB that China could no longer be relied on to play by the rules of the globalists, but rather that the CCP under Xi were determined to make China the global leader in advanced industrial, AI and bio-technologies. A resurgent China nationalist global hegemony was not the idea of the New World Order gang.
China:2025 combined with Xi’s strong advocacy of the Belt Road Initiative for global infrastructure linking China by land and sea to all Eurasia and beyond, likely suggested to the globalists that the only solution to the prospect of their losing their power to a China global hegemon would ultimately be war, a war that would destroy both nationalist powers, USA AND China. This is my conclusion and there is much to suggest this is now taking place.
Tit for Tat
If so, it will most likely be far different from the military contest of World War II. The USA and most of the Western industrial economies have “conveniently” imposed the worst economic depression since the 1930’s as a bizarre response to an alleged virus originating in Wuhan and spreading to the world. Despite the fact that the death toll, even with vastly inflated statistics, is at the level of a severe annual influenza, the insistence of politicians and the corrupt WHO to impose draconian lockdown and economic disruption has crippled the remaining industrial base in the US and most of the EU.
The eruption of well-organized riots and vandalism under the banner of racial protests across the USA has brought America’s cities to a state in many cases of war zones resembling the cities of the 2013 Matt Damon and Jodie Foster film, Elysium. In this context, anti-Washington rhetoric from Beijing has taken on a sharp tone in their use of so-called “Wolf Diplomacy.”
Now after Washington closed the China Consulate in Houston and China the US Consulate in Chengdu, both sides have stepped up rhetoric. High tech companies are being banned in the US, military displays of force from the US in the South China Sea and waters near Taiwan are increasing tensions and rhetoric on both sides. The White House accuses the WHO of being an agent of Beijing, while China accuses the US of deliberately creating a deadly virus and bringing it to Wuhan. Chinese state media supports the explosion of violent protests across America under the banner of Black Lives Matter. Step-wise events are escalating dramatically. Many of the US self-styled Marxists leading the protests across US cities have ties to Beijing such as the Maoist-origin Revolutionary Communist Party, USA of Bob Avakian. Gods of Money: Wall St... Engdahl, F. William Best Price: $8.98 Buy New $29.95 (as of 03:42 UTC - Details)
“Unrestricted Warfare”
Under these conditions, what kind of escalation is likely? In 1999 two colonels in the China PLA, Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui, published a book with the PLA Press titled Unrestricted Warfare. Qiao Liang was promoted to Major General in the PLA Air Force and became deputy secretary-general of the Council for National Security Policy Studies. The two updated their work in 2016. It gives a window on high-level China military strategy.
Reviewing published US military doctrine in the aftermath of the 1991 US Operation Desert Storm war against Iraq, the Chinese authors point out what they see as US over-dependence on brute military force and conventional military doctrine. They claim, “Observing, considering, and resolving problems from the point of view of technology is typical American thinking. Its advantages and disadvantages are both very apparent, just like the characters of Americans.” They add, “military threats are already often no longer the major factors affecting national security…these traditional factors are increasingly becoming more intertwined with grabbing resources, contending for markets, controlling capital, trade sanctions, and other economic factors, to the extent that they are even becoming secondary to these factors. They comprise a new pattern which threatens the political, economic and military security of a nation or nations… The two authors define the new form of warfare as, “encompassing the political, economic, diplomatic, cultural, and psychological spheres, in addition to the land, sea, air, space, and electronics spheres.”
They suggest China could use hacking into websites, targeting financial institutions, terrorism, using the media, and conducting urban warfare among the methods proposed. Recent revelations that Chinese entities pay millions in ad revenues to the New York Times and other mainstream USA media to voice China-positive views is one example. Similarly, maneuvering a Chinese national to head the US’ largest public pension fund, CalPERS, which poured billions into risky China stocks, or persuading the New York Stock Exchange to list dozens of China companies without requiring adherence to US accounting transparency increase US financial vulnerability are others.
This all suggests the form that a war between China and the US could take. It can be termed asymmetrical warfare or unrestricted war, where nothing that disrupts the enemy is off limits. Qiao has that, “the first rule of unrestricted warfare is that there are no rules, with nothing forbidden.” There are no Geneva Conventions. Myths, Lies and Oil Wars F. William Engdahl Best Price: $33.55 Buy New $7.93 (as of 08:30 UTC - Details)
The two Beijing authors add this irregular warfare could include assaults on the political security, economic security, cultural security, and information security of the nation. The dependence of the US economy on China supply chains for everything from basic antibiotics to militarily-vital rare earth minerals is but one domain of vulnerability.
On its side, China is vulnerable to trade sanctions, financial disruption, bioterror attacks and oil embargoes to name a few. Some have suggested the recent locust plague and African Swine Fever devastation to China’s core food supplies, was not merely an act of nature. If not, then we are likely deep into an undeclared form of US-China unrestricted warfare. Could it be that the recent extreme floods along the China Yangtze River that threaten the giant Three Gorges Dam and have flooded Wuhan and other major China cities and devastated millions of acres of key cropland was not entirely seasonal?
A full unrestricted war of China and the USA would be more than a tragedy. It could be the end of civilization as we know it. Is this what characters such as Bill Gates and his superiors are trying to bring about? Do they plan to introduce their draconian dystopian “Reset” on the ashes of such a conflict?
The original source of this article is Global Research.