lewrockwell--2020-11-18--Is This Virus the Weapon Being Used To Usher in a Communistic Takeover of the United States?

“ I dare hope that all the peoples who have lived through communism will understand that communism is to blame for the bitter pages of their history.
” There has been much talk over the years , and many have claimed that communism is dead .
Communism never died , and in fact has continued to expand , especially in the West .
No war , and no fight were necessary , just a failing economy and a country weakened and destroyed from within .
That is exactly what is happening today , and now we face the horrors of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It is imperative to remember that all roads toward socialism lead directly to communism , as Lenin so described .
In the United States , the march toward socialism has been steadily advancing for many years , especially in all the so-called ‘ halls of learning , ’ and in the government that supports this transition .
The goal of the state will always be toward socialism , because that is the system that allows for the few to control the many .
The takeover of the economy and the elimination of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ freedom and the advancement of communism .
Covid-19 : The Greatest ... Coleman , Dr Vernon Buy New $ 14.71 In this day and age , with such colossal technological ‘ progress , ’ the controlling system coming will certainly be technocratic in nature , but the underlying structure will still be one where the masses or proletariat , will be controlled by the few in what will be a pure communistic society .
The fraudulent ‘ pandemic ’ is simply the tool being used to advance these reset agendas , and this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fear by the people at large .
It does not have to be this way , but when the masses voluntarily accept their own servitude , blame can not be placed just on the evildoers in control , but should be placed at the feet of the people themselves .
Evil lives in every man , and in order to defeat it , one must first understand his own evil , and fight to suppress it .
This takes much courage , and truth has to not only be sought , but also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ throughout society , freedom and the joy of life will not endure .
If this sounds dark and ominous , that is because it is just that .
We are at the crossroads of hell , and very few have any understanding of this fact .
Communism has been blamed for the most deaths of the innocent in human history , and this is for good reason .
But Americans have little if any understanding of the scope of this phenomenon , and certainly do not understand that their own country ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this most heinous and abhorrent cancer on mankind .
It has not been just Marx , Lennin , Stalin , Mao , and Pol Pot that have perpetrated atrocities and unholy massacres .
It has not been only Russia , China , North Korea , and others that are responsible for all the carnage over the past century and a half .
Western powers , especially the United States , have been involved in and supportive of many communist countries and leaders .
Russia and China were heavily supported by the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during these dark periods , as were Stalin and Mao and many other dictators and murderers .
What stands out about communistic and dictatorial regimes , is that those seeking power and control all understand that socialistic and communistic policies will gain them what they seek , which is total power and control over all of society .
So whether they participate directly or by stealth when supporting communism matters not , as all those that desire control will eventually attempt to gain submission through socialistic means .
This could happen through support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , active assistance for regime change policies , and other practices meant to advance totalitarian rule , all done in the past by the United States government and its controlling ‘ elites.
’ On Disobedience : Why F ... Fromm , Erich Best Price : $ 7.69 Buy New $ 6.55 I have recently been corresponding with Dr. Igor Shepherd , a gentleman that has seen both sides of this monster called communism .
He is Russian , but living and working in the United States , and fully understands that this long-planned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reset , ’ ” is most definitely a communistic plot .
I agree with this assessment , as this country and other governments around the world as well , are aggressively seeking the major tenets of communism , and the Western powers are leading the way .
Dr. Shepherd gave a powerful talk recently about these matters and more .
It is invaluable information .
Most everything being told to the American citizens are nothing more than lies , deceit , and propaganda .
There is no pandemic , but there is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , destroying any and all normal aspects of life .
The destruction of the human spirit and psyche is happening before our eyes , and many of the things planned by the controlling class will cause the annihilation of this economic system and the loss of freedom .
The agenda to gain control over the people is moving forward at lightening speed , and this looks to be the final push toward achieving a communistic style society with the controlling interests dominating the very minds of its subjects .
In my opinion , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conspiracy will rely on mass vaccination .
The coming Covid vaccine has most likely been available and has been stockpiled for a very long time .
It is not meant to prevent or cure any so-called virus or disease , but will be used to take over the minds and bodies of men .
All the technology to do this is in place , and the incentive for the worst among us to enslave the population is evident .
This is not even being done in secret , as the plans of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announced for any that choose to listen .
Injecting everyone with this new vaccine is in the works , and has been for a long period of time , and is most definitely a fascist partnership between the U.S. government , the world ’ s ‘ health ’ organizations , Bill Gates and his criminal foundation , and the pharmaceutical industry .
Crimes of Dissent : Civ ... Lovell , Jarret S. Best Price : $ 14.00 Buy New $ 26.81 This is the big push toward changing the entire world from one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ total despair .
Mass disobedience is necessary , and readiness to defend from tyranny at any cost is crucial .
Gather together , seek out like thinkers , disobey every order , dissent on every level , and stop this onslaught of deadly and murderous communism .
A mass uprising is needed now !
“ There is no difference between communism and socialism , except in the means of achieving the same ultimate end : communism proposes to enslave men by force , socialism – by vote .
It is merely the difference @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Here , here , here , here .
Disobedience and Democ ... Zinn , Howard Best Price : $ 41.44 Buy New $ 18.00 The Black Book of Comm ... Stu00e9phane Courtois Best Price : $ 32.68 Buy New $ 55.98 The Best of Gary D. Barnett

“I dare hope that all the peoples who have lived through communism will understand that communism is to blame for the bitter pages of their history.”
~ Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn–Source: www.independent.co.uk
There has been much talk over the years, and many have claimed that communism is dead. Communism never died, and in fact has continued to expand, especially in the West. No war, and no fight were necessary, just a failing economy and a country weakened and destroyed from within. That is exactly what is happening today, and now we face the horrors of communism and the end of Western civilization. It is imperative to remember that all roads toward socialism lead directly to communism, as Lenin so described. In the United States, the march toward socialism has been steadily advancing for many years, especially in all the so-called ‘halls of learning,’ and in the government that supports this transition. The goal of the state will always be toward socialism, because that is the system that allows for the few to control the many. The takeover of the economy and the elimination of private property will signal the end of freedom and the advancement of communism. Covid-19: The Greatest... Coleman, Dr Vernon Buy New $14.71 (as of 04:43 UTC - Details)
In this day and age, with such colossal technological ‘progress,’ the controlling system coming will certainly be technocratic in nature, but the underlying structure will still be one where the masses or proletariat, will be controlled by the few in what will be a pure communistic society. The fraudulent ‘pandemic’ is simply the tool being used to advance these reset agendas, and this is being accomplished due to weakness and fear by the people at large. It does not have to be this way, but when the masses voluntarily accept their own servitude, blame cannot be placed just on the evildoers in control, but should be placed at the feet of the people themselves. Evil lives in every man, and in order to defeat it, one must first understand his own evil, and fight to suppress it. This takes much courage, and truth has to not only be sought, but also accepted. If this does not happen throughout society, freedom and the joy of life will not endure.
If this sounds dark and ominous, that is because it is just that. We are at the crossroads of hell, and very few have any understanding of this fact. Communism has been blamed for the most deaths of the innocent in human history, and this is for good reason. But Americans have little if any understanding of the scope of this phenomenon, and certainly do not understand that their own country’s ruling class has been a major part of this most heinous and abhorrent cancer on mankind. It has not been just Marx, Lennin, Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot that have perpetrated atrocities and unholy massacres. It has not been only Russia, China, North Korea, and others that are responsible for all the carnage over the past century and a half. Western powers, especially the United States, have been involved in and supportive of many communist countries and leaders. Russia and China were heavily supported by the United States and its banking and corporate systems during these dark periods, as were Stalin and Mao and many other dictators and murderers. What stands out about communistic and dictatorial regimes, is that those seeking power and control all understand that socialistic and communistic policies will gain them what they seek, which is total power and control over all of society. So whether they participate directly or by stealth when supporting communism matters not, as all those that desire control will eventually attempt to gain submission through socialistic means. This could happen through support and funding of monsters, aggressive wars, active assistance for regime change policies, and other practices meant to advance totalitarian rule, all done in the past by the United States government and its controlling ‘elites.’ On Disobedience: Why F... Fromm, Erich Best Price: $7.69 Buy New $6.55 (as of 04:59 UTC - Details)
I have recently been corresponding with Dr. Igor Shepherd, a gentleman that has seen both sides of this monster called communism. He is Russian, but living and working in the United States, and fully understands that this long-planned global takeover being called “The Great Reset,’” is most definitely a communistic plot. I agree with this assessment, as this country and other governments around the world as well, are aggressively seeking the major tenets of communism, and the Western powers are leading the way. Dr. Shepherd gave a powerful talk recently about these matters and more. It is invaluable information.
Most everything being told to the American citizens are nothing more than lies, deceit, and propaganda. There is no pandemic, but there is a plot to take over the entire country, destroying any and all normal aspects of life. The destruction of the human spirit and psyche is happening before our eyes, and many of the things planned by the controlling class will cause the annihilation of this economic system and the loss of freedom. The agenda to gain control over the people is moving forward at lightening speed, and this looks to be the final push toward achieving a communistic style society with the controlling interests dominating the very minds of its subjects.
In my opinion, the most important part of this nefarious conspiracy will rely on mass vaccination. The coming Covid vaccine has most likely been available and has been stockpiled for a very long time. It is not meant to prevent or cure any so-called virus or disease, but will be used to take over the minds and bodies of men. All the technology to do this is in place, and the incentive for the worst among us to enslave the population is evident. This is not even being done in secret, as the plans of the chosen masters have been openly discussed and announced for any that choose to listen. Injecting everyone with this new vaccine is in the works, and has been for a long period of time, and is most definitely a fascist partnership between the U.S. government, the world’s ‘health’ organizations, Bill Gates and his criminal foundation, and the pharmaceutical industry. Crimes of Dissent: Civ... Lovell, Jarret S. Best Price: $14.00 Buy New $26.81 (as of 02:47 UTC - Details)
This is the big push toward changing the entire world from one of freedom and hope to one of total despair. Mass disobedience is necessary, and readiness to defend from tyranny at any cost is crucial. Gather together, seek out like thinkers, disobey every order, dissent on every level, and stop this onslaught of deadly and murderous communism. A mass uprising is needed now!
“There is no difference between communism and socialism, except in the means of achieving the same ultimate end: communism proposes to enslave men by force, socialism – by vote. It is merely the difference between murder and suicide.”
~ Ayn Rand (1988). “The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z”, p.466, Penguin
Sources: Here, here, here, here.
Disobedience and Democ... Zinn, Howard Best Price: $41.44 Buy New $18.00 (as of 02:47 UTC - Details) The Black Book of Comm... Stu00e9phane Courtois Best Price: $32.68 Buy New $55.98 (as of 03:20 UTC - Details)
The Best of Gary D. Barnett


lewrockwell--2020-11-18--Don’t Believe the COVID Case Numbers; It’s a Scam

I ’ ve been saying this for 9 months .
Don ’ t believe the COVID case numbers .
It ’ s a wall-to-wall scam .
The situation we ’ re facing is urgent right now .
Red flags .
Alarm bells .
Politicians all over the US and the world are using “ rising case numbers ” to drive people back into lockdowns .
The news media are trumpeting these reports of case numbers .
THE CASE NUMBERS COME FROM THE TESTS .
AND FROM EYEBALL DIAGNOSIS .
CoronApocalypse Garrett , Mr. Gregory L ... Buy New $ 29.95 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the patient has a cough , or chills and fever .
That ’ s all .
That ’ s all a doctor needs to make a diagnosis of COVID .
That ’ s a case number .
Ridiculous ?
Of course it ’ s ridiculous .
It ’ s a con .
Brought to you by the CDC .
The PCR test , as I ’ ve explained dozens of times , spits out false-positives like waterfalls .
It ’ s set up to do exactly that .
Increase testing and you automatically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s the real reason for pushing expanded testing .
And there you have the scam in a nutshell .
The fascist public health agencies and the politicians WANT lockdowns .
They know the only way to justify the lockdowns is to claim rising case numbers .
There ’ s another wrinkle you should be aware of .
You ’ re seeing reports of “ rising numbers of hospitalizations.
” Wherever this is true ( and not an outright lie ) , people could be coming to the hospital for any reason under the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus.
” In the US , state hospitals receive federal money for every diagnosed COVID case .
These hospitals need money .
Simply and arbitrarily writing “ COVID-19 ” on patient files becomes a way to get that money .
Occasionally , I receive reports from people who work at hospitals or know people who work at hospitals .
The reports usually go this way : “ We ’ re seeing very serious cases here .
People are arriving with unusual symptoms… ” First of all , this is what hospitals are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ill .
Some weeks are busier than others .
Second , all over the world , there are always people who have unusual symptoms , resulting from a variety of causes .
No virus required .
Stand or Fall in the P ... Garrett , Mr. Gregory L ... Buy New $ 10.95 I recently published a smoking-gun article on the PCR test .
This was during the initial furor of the election ( another example of fake numbers ) .
For those who missed reading the article , and for new readers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Fauci states COVID test has fatal flaw ; confession from the “ beloved ” expert of experts [ 1 ] The COVID delusion is finished , blown apart .
OK , here we go .
Smoking gun .
Jackpot .
Right from the horse ’ s mouth .
Right from the man we ’ re told is the number-one COVID expert in the nation .
What Fauci says is golden truth .
Well , how about THIS ?
July 16 , 2020 , podcast [ 2 ] , “ This Week in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ point of saying the PCR COVID test is useless and misleading when the test is run at “ 35 cycles or higher.
” A positive result , indicating infection , can not be accepted or believed .
Here , in techno-speak , is an excerpt from Fauci ’ s key quote ( starting at about the 4-minute mark ) : “ …If you get [ perform the test at ] a cycle threshold of 35 or more…the chances of it being replication-confident [ aka accurate ] are miniscule…you almost never can culture virus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from a 37 threshold cycle…even 36… ” Each “ cycle ” of the test is a quantum leap in amplification and magnification of the test specimen taken from the patient .
Too many cycles , and the test will turn up all sorts of irrelevant material that will be wrongly interpreted as relevant .
Plandemic : Exposing th ... Fife , Dr. Bruce Buy New $ 8.95 What Fauci failed to say on the video is : the FDA , which authorizes the test for public use , recommends the test should be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 35 .
Therefore , all labs in the US that follow the FDA guideline are knowingly or unknowingly participating in fraud .
Fraud on a monstrous level , because… Millions of Americans are being told they are infected with the virus on the basis of a false positive result , and… The total number of COVID cases in America—which is based on the test—is a gross falsity .
The lockdowns and other restraining measures are based on these fraudulent case numbers .
Let me back up and run that by you again .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s run at 35 cycles or higher .
The FDA says run the test up to 40 cycles , in order to determine whether the virus is there .
This is the crime in a nutshell .
If anyone in the White House has a few brain cells to rub together , pick up a giant bullhorn and start revealing the truth to the American people .
“ Hello , America , you ’ ve been tricked , lied to , conned , and taken for a devastating ride .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country was locked down.
” If anyone in the Congress has a few brain cells operating , pull Fauci into a televised hearing and , in ten minutes , make mincemeat out of the fake science that has driven this whole foul stench-ridden assault on the US economy and its citizens .
The Invisible Enemy Garrett , Mr. Gregory L ... Buy New $ 26.94 All right , here are two chunks of evidence for what I ’ ve written above .
First , we have a CDC quote on the FDA website @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] : “ CDC 2019-Novel Coronavirus ( 2019-nCoV ) Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel For Emergency Use Only.
” See page 35 .
This document is marked , “ Effective : 07/13/20.
” That means , even though the virus is being referred to by its older name , the document is still relevant as of July 2020 .
“ For Emergency Use Only ” refers to the fact that the FDA has certified the PCR test under a traditional category called “ Emergency Use Authorization.
” FDA : “ …a specimen is considered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all 2019-nCoV marker ( N1 , N2 ) cycle threshold [ Ct ] growth curves cross the threshold line within 40.00 cycles ( [ less than ] 40.00 Ct ) .
” Naturally , MANY testing labs reading this guideline would conclude , “ Well , to see if the virus is there in a patient , we should run the test all the way to 40 cycles .
That ’ s the official advice.
” Then we have a New York Times article ( August 29/updated September 17 ) headlined : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it shouldn ’ t be.
” [ 4 ] Here are money quotes : “ Most tests set the limit at 40 [ cycles ] .
A few at 37.
” “ Set the limit ” would usually mean , “ We ’ re going to look all the way to 40 cycles , to see if the virus is there.
” The Times : “ This number of amplification cycles needed to find the virus , called the cycle threshold , is never included in the results sent to doctors and coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the capper , the grand finale .
Labs don ’ t or won ’ t reveal their collusion in this crime .
If a lawyer won ’ t go to court with all this , or if a judge won ’ t pay attention and see the light , they should be stripped of their jobs and sent to the Arctic to sell snow .
The Best of Jon Rappoport

I’ve been saying this for 9 months. Don’t believe the COVID case numbers. It’s a wall-to-wall scam.
The situation we’re facing is urgent right now. Red flags. Alarm bells.
Politicians all over the US and the world are using “rising case numbers” to drive people back into lockdowns.
The news media are trumpeting these reports of case numbers.
THE CASE NUMBERS COME FROM THE TESTS. AND FROM EYEBALL DIAGNOSIS. CoronApocalypse Garrett, Mr. Gregory L... Buy New $29.95 (as of 05:02 UTC - Details)
Eyeball diagnosis can mean a doctor observes the patient has a cough, or chills and fever. That’s all. That’s all a doctor needs to make a diagnosis of COVID. That’s a case number. Ridiculous? Of course it’s ridiculous. It’s a con. Brought to you by the CDC.
The PCR test, as I’ve explained dozens of times, spits out false-positives like waterfalls. It’s set up to do exactly that.
Increase testing and you automatically get rising case numbers. That’s the real reason for pushing expanded testing.
And there you have the scam in a nutshell.
The fascist public health agencies and the politicians WANT lockdowns. They know the only way to justify the lockdowns is to claim rising case numbers.
There’s another wrinkle you should be aware of. You’re seeing reports of “rising numbers of hospitalizations.” Wherever this is true (and not an outright lie), people could be coming to the hospital for any reason under the sun—including fear that they might “have the virus.” In the US, state hospitals receive federal money for every diagnosed COVID case. These hospitals need money. Simply and arbitrarily writing “COVID-19” on patient files becomes a way to get that money.
Occasionally, I receive reports from people who work at hospitals or know people who work at hospitals. The reports usually go this way: “We’re seeing very serious cases here. People are arriving with unusual symptoms…”
First of all, this is what hospitals are built for: people who are seriously ill. Some weeks are busier than others. Second, all over the world, there are always people who have unusual symptoms, resulting from a variety of causes. No virus required. Stand or Fall in the P... Garrett, Mr. Gregory L... Buy New $10.95 (as of 04:56 UTC - Details)
I recently published a smoking-gun article on the PCR test. This was during the initial furor of the election (another example of fake numbers). For those who missed reading the article, and for new readers, here it is:
Smoking gun: Fauci states COVID test has fatal flaw; confession from the “beloved” expert of experts [1]
The COVID delusion is finished, blown apart.
OK, here we go. Smoking gun. Jackpot.
Right from the horse’s mouth. Right from the man we’re told is the number-one COVID expert in the nation. What Fauci says is golden truth.
Well, how about THIS?
July 16, 2020, podcast [2], “This Week in Virology”: Tony Fauci makes a point of saying the PCR COVID test is useless and misleading when the test is run at “35 cycles or higher.” A positive result, indicating infection, cannot be accepted or believed.
Here, in techno-speak, is an excerpt from Fauci’s key quote (starting at about the 4-minute mark): “…If you get [perform the test at] a cycle threshold of 35 or more…the chances of it being replication-confident [aka accurate] are miniscule…you almost never can culture virus [detect a true positive result] from a 37 threshold cycle…even 36…”
Each “cycle” of the test is a quantum leap in amplification and magnification of the test specimen taken from the patient.
Too many cycles, and the test will turn up all sorts of irrelevant material that will be wrongly interpreted as relevant. Plandemic: Exposing th... Fife, Dr. Bruce Buy New $8.95 (as of 02:15 UTC - Details)
That’s called a false positive.
What Fauci failed to say on the video is: the FDA, which authorizes the test for public use, recommends the test should be run up to 40 cycles. Not 35.
Therefore, all labs in the US that follow the FDA guideline are knowingly or unknowingly participating in fraud. Fraud on a monstrous level, because…
Millions of Americans are being told they are infected with the virus on the basis of a false positive result, and…
The total number of COVID cases in America—which is based on the test—is a gross falsity.
The lockdowns and other restraining measures are based on these fraudulent case numbers.
Let me back up and run that by you again. Fauci says the test is useless when it’s run at 35 cycles or higher. The FDA says run the test up to 40 cycles, in order to determine whether the virus is there. This is the crime in a nutshell.
If anyone in the White House has a few brain cells to rub together, pick up a giant bullhorn and start revealing the truth to the American people.
“Hello, America, you’ve been tricked, lied to, conned, and taken for a devastating ride. On the basis of fake science, the country was locked down.”
If anyone in the Congress has a few brain cells operating, pull Fauci into a televised hearing and, in ten minutes, make mincemeat out of the fake science that has driven this whole foul stench-ridden assault on the US economy and its citizens. The Invisible Enemy Garrett, Mr. Gregory L... Buy New $26.94 (as of 05:21 UTC - Details)
All right, here are two chunks of evidence for what I’ve written above. First, we have a CDC quote on the FDA website, in a document titled [3]: “CDC 2019-Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Real-Time RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel For Emergency Use Only.” See page 35. This document is marked, “Effective: 07/13/20.” That means, even though the virus is being referred to by its older name, the document is still relevant as of July 2020. “For Emergency Use Only” refers to the fact that the FDA has certified the PCR test under a traditional category called “Emergency Use Authorization.”
FDA: “…a specimen is considered positive for 2019-nCoV [virus] if all 2019-nCoV marker (N1, N2) cycle threshold [Ct] growth curves cross the threshold line within 40.00 cycles ( [less than] 40.00 Ct ).”
Naturally, MANY testing labs reading this guideline would conclude, “Well, to see if the virus is there in a patient, we should run the test all the way to 40 cycles. That’s the official advice.”
Then we have a New York Times article (August 29/updated September 17) headlined: “Your coronavirus test is positive. Maybe it shouldn’t be.” [4] Here are money quotes:
“Most tests set the limit at 40 [cycles]. A few at 37.”
“Set the limit” would usually mean, “We’re going to look all the way to 40 cycles, to see if the virus is there.”
The Times: “This number of amplification cycles needed to find the virus, called the cycle threshold, is never included in the results sent to doctors and coronavirus patients…”
Boom. That’s the capper, the grand finale. Labs don’t or won’t reveal their collusion in this crime.
Get the picture?
I hope so.
If a lawyer won’t go to court with all this, or if a judge won’t pay attention and see the light, they should be stripped of their jobs and sent to the Arctic to sell snow.
SOURCES:
[1] https://blog.nomorefakenews.com/2020/11/06/smoking-gun-fauci-states-covid-test-has-fatal-flaw/
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_Vy6fgaBPE
[3] https://www.fda.gov/media/134922/download
[4] nytimes.com/2020/08/29/health/coronavirus-testing.html
Reprinted with permission from Jon Rappoport’s blog.
The Best of Jon Rappoport


lewrockwell--2020-11-18--The Myth of America as a ‘Reluctant Superpower’

Tomorrow the World : The Birth of U.S .
Global Supremacy by Stephen Wertheim Harvard University Press , 2020 255 pages Two contrasting approaches to the history of American foreign policy dominate the field .
In this outstanding study , Stephen Wertheim , a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University and a member of the Quincy Institute , shows they are both wrong .
In doing so , he vindicates for our time the merits of a noninterventionist foreign policy .
According to the first approach , America moved from isolationism in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to the global policy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : T ... Wertheim , Stephen Best Price : $ 29.02 Buy New $ 26.96 The second approach is different .
“ In place of a reluctant and belated superpower , some critics find just the opposite : a superpower in the making all along .
Did not the United States , propelled to seek profits , compelled by a sense of destiny , steadily enlarge its power until reaching its supremacy across the globe ?
” ( p. 6 ) .
Wertheim has in mind here leftist historians such as William Appleman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Dangerous Nation ( 2007 ) also fits this pattern .
( See my review of it here . )
Wertheim ’ s main criticism of these approaches is that both accept a myth .
America ’ s foreign policy was never isolationist .
This was a smear term invented after the fact by proponents of US entry into World War II to characterize their opponents .
The noninterventionists did not want to isolate America from dealings with other nations but in fact sought to extend commercial and social ties with lands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continued the traditional American foreign doctrine , in place since Washington and Jefferson , of avoiding entanglement in European power politics .
“ Only during the war did internationalism come to be associated with military supremacy , whose architects devised the new pejorative term isolationism and redefined internationalism against it .
For the same reason , it makes no sense to characterize a group of Americans as advocates of isolationism ” ( p. 4 , emphasis in original ) .
To support his argument , Wertheim makes full use of the papers of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Borchard , who moved from defense of the League of Nations to robust support for neutrality legislation during the 1930s .
Here though , I do not altogether agree with Wertheim ’ s line of thought .
As he tells the tale , Woodrow Wilson ’ s intervention in World War I and the League of Nations he afterwards supported did not mark a decisive turn in American foreign policy .
Had America joined the league , this would have involved on its part virtually no commitment to the use of military force @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s support for the league as consistent with his later advocacy of American neutrality .
This , to my mind , underestimates Wilson ’ s break with noninterventionist foreign policy and with it the extent to which Borchard shifted his opinions during the 1930s , a fact not lost on his interventionist opponents .
In this connection , Wertheim could usefully have devoted detailed attention to the great book of Borchard and William Lage , Neutrality for the United States ( Yale , 1937 ) , the swan song of the legalistic approach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but of his teacher John Bassett Moore as well .
Wertheim ’ s view of the league also leads him to look at James Thomson Shotwell in too favorable a light ; he was much more an interventionist , even in his earlier years , than Wertheim allows .
More generally , Wertheim fails to note the extent to which the antiwar movement of the 1930s reflected a rejection of Wilson ’ s unneutral policies in World War I .
Although he mentions Harry Elmer Barnes , whom he calls a “ prolific @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 45 ) , he underestimates the influence of the revisionist history of Barnes , Sidney Bradshaw Fay , and Charles Callan Tansill in turning around public opinion in the 1920s and ’ 30s .
By the way , Tansill , the author of the definitive America Goes to War , would have been delighted by Wertheim ’ s point that the Monroe Doctrine was a challenge to the British navy ( p. 20 ) .
Tragedy & Hope : A Hist ... Carroll Quigley Best Price : $ 22.00 Buy New $ 23.49 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wertheim ’ s careful research on the formation of American foreign policy after World War II began .
As he notes , the Council on Foreign Relations cooperated closely with the State Department in planning for the end of a war that had barely begun .
The unexpected fall of France to the Nazis led the CFR experts to favor all out support for Britain .
“ But why not accept a world peace compatible with the Axis vision of Europe for the Europeans and Asia for the Asians ?
In responding to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American exceptionalism : Axis supremacy in Asia and Europe would deny the destiny of the United States to define the direction of world history….For Roosevelt and [ Walter ] Lippmann , the Axis bid to lead the world to a new order was undertaken by the wrong party ” ( p. 73 ) .
Wertheim rightly emphasizes the influence of the inveterate Anglophile Walter Lippmann in moving America toward war and also places appropriate stress on Henry Luce ’ s famous Life magazine essay of 1941 , “ The American Century , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supremacy .
Wertheim notes that one of the CFR planners was the Harvard historian William Leonard Langer , but he ought to have added that Langer had earlier been one of the most resolute historical revisionists and his interventionist views were something of a volte-face .
In his discussion of elite American Anglophilia , Wertheim rightly draws attention to the Round Table group but surprisingly fails to cite Carroll Quigley , Tragedy and Hope ( see p. 221n74 for his sources on the Round Table ) .
After World War II , America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Wertheim ably discusses developments under Harry Truman and his successors .
The United Nations , he makes clear , had no independent power but was merely a public relations cover for US dominance .
I shall leave to readers the details of Wertheim ’ s discussion and close with an apt citation from the greatest American international lawyer from the late 1880s through the 1940s , John Bassett Moore : “ In his opinion , ‘ nothing could be more preposterous…than the supposition that the league of nations failed to preserve the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ States did not become a party to it.
’ This supposition turned America into the indispensable nation to world peace , ‘ apparently ignorant of the fact that the United States had not only been guilty of aggressive foreign war , as in the case of Mexico , but had also added to the number of great civil wars ' ” ( p. 171 ) .
Wertheim has written one of the best recent books on American foreign policy , and I highly recommend it to all those who reject the policy of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expressed on Mises.org are not necessarily those of the Mises Institute .
The Best of David Gordon

Tomorrow the World: The Birth of U.S. Global Supremacy
by Stephen Wertheim
Harvard University Press, 2020
255 pages
Two contrasting approaches to the history of American foreign policy dominate the field. In this outstanding study, Stephen Wertheim, a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University and a member of the Quincy Institute, shows they are both wrong. In doing so, he vindicates for our time the merits of a noninterventionist foreign policy.
According to the first approach, America moved from isolationism in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to the global policy of today. Tomorrow, the World: T... Wertheim, Stephen Best Price: $29.02 Buy New $26.96 (as of 06:48 UTC - Details)
America’s rise to global power is anything but a new topic. Scores of books examine each major episode of the story, especially that of World War II….But the story has been consistently narrated in terms that obscure and even deny the decision for armed primacy…Americans have imbibed a version of the same tale: the United States, once in thrall to “isolationism” cast off its antipathy to global engagement and embraced “internationalism.” The premise is that isolationists and internationalists squared off in a prolonged struggle, with the former winning out after one world war and the latter finally prevailing after a second. (p. 4)
The second approach is different. “In place of a reluctant and belated superpower, some critics find just the opposite: a superpower in the making all along. Did not the United States, propelled to seek profits, compelled by a sense of destiny, steadily enlarge its power until reaching its supremacy across the globe?” (p. 6). Wertheim has in mind here leftist historians such as William Appleman Williams, but the neoconservative Robert Kagan’s Dangerous Nation (2007) also fits this pattern. (See my review of it here.)
Wertheim’s main criticism of these approaches is that both accept a myth. America’s foreign policy was never isolationist. This was a smear term invented after the fact by proponents of US entry into World War II to characterize their opponents. The noninterventionists did not want to isolate America from dealings with other nations but in fact sought to extend commercial and social ties with lands abroad. In these policies, they continued the traditional American foreign doctrine, in place since Washington and Jefferson, of avoiding entanglement in European power politics. “Only during the war did internationalism come to be associated with military supremacy, whose architects devised the new pejorative term isolationism and redefined internationalism against it. For the same reason, it makes no sense to characterize a group of Americans as advocates of isolationism” (p. 4, emphasis in original).
To support his argument, Wertheim makes full use of the papers of the great American international lawyer Edwin M. Borchard, who moved from defense of the League of Nations to robust support for neutrality legislation during the 1930s. Here though, I do not altogether agree with Wertheim’s line of thought. As he tells the tale, Woodrow Wilson’s intervention in World War I and the League of Nations he afterwards supported did not mark a decisive turn in American foreign policy. Had America joined the league, this would have involved on its part virtually no commitment to the use of military force. Thus, he sees Borchard’s support for the league as consistent with his later advocacy of American neutrality. This, to my mind, underestimates Wilson’s break with noninterventionist foreign policy and with it the extent to which Borchard shifted his opinions during the 1930s, a fact not lost on his interventionist opponents. In this connection, Wertheim could usefully have devoted detailed attention to the great book of Borchard and William Lage, Neutrality for the United States (Yale, 1937), the swan song of the legalistic approach to foreign policy not only of Borchard but of his teacher John Bassett Moore as well. Wertheim’s view of the league also leads him to look at James Thomson Shotwell in too favorable a light; he was much more an interventionist, even in his earlier years, than Wertheim allows.
More generally, Wertheim fails to note the extent to which the antiwar movement of the 1930s reflected a rejection of Wilson’s unneutral policies in World War I. Although he mentions Harry Elmer Barnes, whom he calls a “prolific historian and public intellectual” (p. 45), he underestimates the influence of the revisionist history of Barnes, Sidney Bradshaw Fay, and Charles Callan Tansill in turning around public opinion in the 1920s and ’30s. By the way, Tansill, the author of the definitive America Goes to War, would have been delighted by Wertheim’s point that the Monroe Doctrine was a challenge to the British navy (p. 20).
Tragedy & Hope: A Hist... Carroll Quigley Best Price: $22.00 Buy New $23.49 (as of 07:15 UTC - Details) Far more significant than these disagreements is Wertheim’s careful research on the formation of American foreign policy after World War II began. As he notes, the Council on Foreign Relations cooperated closely with the State Department in planning for the end of a war that had barely begun. The unexpected fall of France to the Nazis led the CFR experts to favor all out support for Britain. “But why not accept a world peace compatible with the Axis vision of Europe for the Europeans and Asia for the Asians? In responding to the Tripartite Pact, U.S. elites foregrounded American exceptionalism: Axis supremacy in Asia and Europe would deny the destiny of the United States to define the direction of world history….For Roosevelt and [Walter] Lippmann, the Axis bid to lead the world to a new order was undertaken by the wrong party” (p. 73). Wertheim rightly emphasizes the influence of the inveterate Anglophile Walter Lippmann in moving America toward war and also places appropriate stress on Henry Luce’s famous Life magazine essay of 1941, “The American Century,” with its blatant call for American world supremacy. Wertheim notes that one of the CFR planners was the Harvard historian William Leonard Langer, but he ought to have added that Langer had earlier been one of the most resolute historical revisionists and his interventionist views were something of a volte-face. In his discussion of elite American Anglophilia, Wertheim rightly draws attention to the Round Table group but surprisingly fails to cite Carroll Quigley, Tragedy and Hope (see p. 221n74 for his sources on the Round Table).
After World War II, America has continued to claim world supremacy, and Wertheim ably discusses developments under Harry Truman and his successors. The United Nations, he makes clear, had no independent power but was merely a public relations cover for US dominance. I shall leave to readers the details of Wertheim’s discussion and close with an apt citation from the greatest American international lawyer from the late 1880s through the 1940s, John Bassett Moore: “In his opinion, ‘nothing could be more preposterous…than the supposition that the league of nations failed to preserve the peace of the world because the United States did not become a party to it.’ This supposition turned America into the indispensable nation to world peace, ‘apparently ignorant of the fact that the United States had not only been guilty of aggressive foreign war, as in the case of Mexico, but had also added to the number of great civil wars'” (p. 171).
Wertheim has written one of the best recent books on American foreign policy, and I highly recommend it to all those who reject the policy of world dominance.
Note: The views expressed on Mises.org are not necessarily those of the Mises Institute.
The Best of David Gordon


lewrockwell--2020-11-18--Letter to My Grandchildren From Inside a Cult

I don ’ t have any grandchildren yet .
But if I ever do , I want them to understand what it is we went through during this time in history , and even more , to understand how it is that we got here .
So this is for them : I first learned about “ cults ” when I was 13 , the age my son is now .
I watched with fascination as the horrific events of the Jonestown mass suicide/murder were revealed to the world .
I paid close attention to the story , clipped all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ imagined scenarios in which I would find a way to hide until everyone was dead or gone , and save myself–and my family , if they were there too–had I been there .
What didn ’ t occur to me at the time was that , had I been there–had I uprooted my life to go and join this group of people in the jungles of Guyana , had I been in the frame of mind to go along with everything they did leading up to the events of November 18 , 1978 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suicide ) –then chances are , I would have willingly stood in a circle with my friends and drunk the cyaninde-laden Kool-Aid as so many others did .
A Thousand Lives : The ... Scheeres , Julia Best Price : $ 6.08 Buy New $ 11.19 And that is what is so puzzling , and so fascinating , about cults .
From the outside , we can ’ t imagine why those people would have done those things .
What could possibly drive otherwise normal people to act in ways that seem not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own interests–in the case of Jonestown , counter to their most fundamental instinct for self preservation ?
What could get someone to be willing to sacrifice their own life , and the lives of the people they love ?
I hope to provide some insight into this question , as I find myself now , at the end of the year 2020 , living in the midst of what I can only describe as a massive , dangerous , and self-destructive cult .
SO WHAT IS A CULT ?
Teri Buford O ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks before the mass suicide and murder .
She defines a cult this way : “ A cult is when you aren ’ t allowed to see your friends or family…I ’ m talking about total isolation – someone takes all your money and brings you to a place where there ’ s no communication , or if there is you aren ’ t allowed to use it.
” Cult deprogrammer Steven Hassan created the BITE model to explain some of the key elements that cults employ to control their members : Behavior @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , living arrangements , food , clothing , sleeping habits , finances , etc.
, are strictly controlled .
Information Control : Cult leaders deliberately withhold or distort information , lie , propagandize , and limit access to other sources of information .
Thought Control : Cult leaders use loaded words and language , discourage critical thinking , bar any speech critical of cult leaders or policies , and teach an “ us vs. them ” doctrine .
Combating Cult Mind Co ... Hassan , Steven Best Price : $ 17.24 Buy New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their followers via fear ( including the fear of losing salvation , fear of shunning , etc . )
, guilt , and indoctrination .
Reading both O ’ Shea ’ s definition , and Hassan ’ s BITE components in 2020 , it is striking to me the extent to which all of these things have been inflicted upon Americans over the past eight months : Isolation and the intimate control of our activities and relationships , in the form of forced social distancing , the closing of businesses and schools , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the elderly and others in care homes ; taking money , or in our case , destroying the source of income and livelihood for millions of people in this country ; control of communication and information , through what has now become overt censorship , with hints that some forms of communication may be shut down entirely ; emotional manipulation through the shaming of those who do not go along with the diktat of the day , and other tactics ; and an authoritarian thought-control regime , where critical thinking on the part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contradict those of the leaders are actively censored , and intellectual debate is replaced by “ us vs. them ” tribal warfare .
It is this last part that gets to the heart of it .
To me , the essence of a “ cult ” is that it provides an external replacement , a substitute , for one ’ s own power of reasoning and moral judgement .
It demands blind obedience to this substitute , and punishes harshly anyone who dissents from its pronouncements .
And this describes very well the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I see people on online neighborhood forums bragging about wanting to turn in local businesses for “ breaking the rules ” –rules that are arbitrary , ineffective , and unconstitutional , but I am discovering that none of that matters for a great many of the people who live in my own neighborhood .
They have been told by someone in authority–the governor of California , the local city council , an anchorperson on the television news that they watch–that everyone must now stand six feet apart , that events must be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and that everyone must wear a mask when outside .
And just like that , thousands of years of human social norms and everything we know about biology just flies out of the heads of millions of Americans and they all act as if this has always been normal .
They scream at , and even physically attack , those who don ’ t go along with it , and even force their children to isolate themselves from human contact and to wear masks that restrict their breathing .
All because someone said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that only a year ago I would have thought was the stuff of poorly written dystopian fiction .
If anyone had told me in November of 2019 that just a year later , people would be ordered by the governor of the state I live in to close their businesses , to only leave their homes for “ essential ” activities , to stop attending church services , to stand six feet apart from other people , and eventually , to wear masks on their faces when out in public , and that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with this willingly but would cheer it on and even shame those who did not–I would have laughed in their face .
The Origins of Totalit ... Hannah Arendt Best Price : $ 8.49 Buy New $ 12.90 And yet here we are .
I hope that the things you have heard about this time in our history do sound absurd to you .
But understand that until they actually happened right in front of me , they sounded absurd to me too .
I would never have believed that the people around @ @ @ @ @ @ @ malleable enough , or vicious enough , to go along with the things that have been imposed upon us , and under the flimsiest of pretexts .
SO HOW DID WE GET HERE ?
Around the same time that I learned about the Jonestown tragedy , I also learned about World War II , and specifically about the Holocaust .
In hindsight , my ( government ) school spent a lot of time teaching us about the horrors committed by the Nazis .
Disproportionately so , I later realized , in the context @ @ @ @ @ @ @ history–filled with similar atrocities .
But for some reason , my school wanted us all to focus on this one .
I came away from learning about World War II and the Holocaust with what I thought was a pretty compelling and obvious lesson : The reason these horrors occurred was that a government was able to amass near total control of the people living under it , that this kind of power is tremendously dangerous to humanity and we must do all that we can to make sure that no government ever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It was to be many years before I learned that this was not the lesson that many of my classmates came away with .
The lesson , it seems , that most Americans learned from that episode in history goes something like this : “ Antisemitism is what caused the Holocaust .
Antisemitism is bad , just like racism is bad , and we must give our governments the power to stamp out things like racism and antisemitism so that we can all be safe and never again have another Holocaust.
” Battle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sargant Best Price : $ 5.02 Buy New $ 15.89 And that , I think , goes a long way to explaining why we find ourselves here yet again , with governments that have just demonstrated to us that they have both the power and the desire to exert total control over our lives .
Because the vast majority of Americans never learned that that was the danger .
Indeed , if they went to the schools run by the government , they were taught just the opposite : That it is free @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are the danger , and that government is there to protect you from that danger ; that government is a benign force , and because you can vote , it is a force that you control .
This schooling has much to do with the willingness of so many Americans around me to embrace the total state .
It has prepared them for precisely that , in fact , with its focus on obedience to authority , following rules , giving the “ right ” answers so as to pass tests and move @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what those in authority tell you to .
And it is part of a larger effort to manipulate and control what people believe is true about the world .
To this end , some very powerful and very deep narratives have been crafted and fed to us over generations .
What are those narratives ?
Primarily , that freedom is dangerous and that the state is a benign entity that acts for the good of “ the people ” , and that we , “ the people , ” control it .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of peace , cooperation , justice , compassion and freedom upside down , telling us that free people are dangerous but an all-powerful state is not ; that voluntary transactions made in a free market constitute coercion , but literally taking people ’ s money from them without their consent with the threat of guns and prisons is not coercion .
This narrative tells us that we absolutely control the same government that takes our money from us ; that can close our businesses or stop us from practicing our professions if we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prison for using substances it disapproves of ; and that unleashes police to enforce laws against “ crimes ” that have no victims–often with deadly consequences for which those who commit them are almost never held accountable .
We are told that , through the act of voting to select the people who hold offices in this entity , we exercise control over it , and it therefore represents “ our ” interests .
But the entities that we are not compelled to do business with , the entities that can not throw @ @ @ @ @ @ @ terms , and which in fact will go out of business if they fail to please us–those entities , we are told , are a threat to us and must be “ reined in ” by the entity that takes our money whether we want it to or not .
According to this narrative , people have no inclination to cooperate or support each other in the absence of state violence .
“ Community ” and “ society ” are not the products of voluntary interaction between people , of practices and standards @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interaction , but are things that must be imposed from above , by the state .
In this worldview , “ community ” is equated with state force–and vice versa .
Without the state , we are told , we would be nothing but isolated , atomistic “ rugged individuals ” , with no ability to connect with each other , no interest in supporting each other or in cooperating for mutual benefit , but constantly at at war with each other in a grim battle for the “ survival of the fittest.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ you .
I hope it does .
But remember that I live surrounded by people for whom it makes complete sense , and to whom anyone who believes differently is considered a “ kook ” with “ fringe beliefs ” , or is maybe even a “ conspiracy theorist.
” The success of this narrative in my time can be measured by the widespread failure of the people around me to recognize the institution of the state as an enemy at all–even as it lays waste to their livelihoods , the things that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many cases their lives or the lives of their loved ones .
SO NOW WHAT ?
And this brings me to my third , and I think most important , point .
Somehow , the culture that I live in has come to be characterized by an outright disdain for independent thought .
Public debate has been largely reduced to the pitting of competing authority figures against each other , and the capacity of most people to engage in reasoned argument begins and ends with an appeal to those authorities .
Only a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with information themselves , and those few are largely ignored .
We have arrived at a point in history where the intellectual norm is now to abandon one ’ s own capacity for reason and to put in its place a collection of authority figures and institutions .
Or rather , authority itself .
We have arrived at a point in history where mainstream America looks very much like a cult .
It is not a cult that anyone went out and joined , nor one that went around recruiting people , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and has thrived , grown and expanded , from within .
How is any of this helpful to you now , many years into the future ?
I wish I knew what to say that would ensure that nothing like this ever happened again , but I don ’ t .
What I can do though , is urge you not to make the same mistakes that brought us to where we are at the end of 2020 .
In particular : – Do not put your trust in entities that are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a monopoly on the use of violence ; – Do not–ever–let such entities be in charge of educating your children ; – Do whatever you can , in fact , to ensure that such entities are not able to function in the world at all ; – If you ever find yourself in the midst of a cult , you might be tempted to blame the cult members for this predicament .
Don ’ t .
It ’ s not worth the effort .
Focus your attention where it is most needed : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And remember that that source only gets more powerful when those under it are fighting each other ; – Fight with everything you have against any attempts to control information or speech , and beat into the ground until it is bloody and tattered the idea that truth is something given to us by authority figures , rather than something we are capable of discerning for ourselves .
That ’ s all I ’ ve got .
From where I ’ m sitting in late 2020 , it seems that humanity has an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and for a reverence for authority no matter how deadly and destructive that authority becomes .
But people can also surprise you .
We can also be quite wonderful and imaginative and even terribly strong when we need to be .
We have hard-wiring built into us for cooperation and caring for each other and ensuring the survival of the next generation–all of which predates any state .
So I have some hope for us .
I do not believe that we are destined to be eternal participants in a suicidal death cult @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has happened with previous attempts to “ plan ” humanity , humanity ’ s own messiness will jam up the machine , and it will come crashing down .
When that happens , let ’ s just do everything we can to make sure no-one can ever build another one , OK ?
The Best of Bretigne Shaffer

I don’t have any grandchildren yet. But if I ever do, I want them to understand what it is we went through during this time in history, and even more, to understand how it is that we got here. So this is for them:
I first learned about “cults” when I was 13, the age my son is now. I watched with fascination as the horrific events of the Jonestown mass suicide/murder were revealed to the world. I paid close attention to the story, clipped all the newspaper articles about it, and imagined scenarios in which I would find a way to hide until everyone was dead or gone, and save myself–and my family, if they were there too–had I been there.
What didn’t occur to me at the time was that, had I been there–had I uprooted my life to go and join this group of people in the jungles of Guyana, had I been in the frame of mind to go along with everything they did leading up to the events of November 18, 1978 (including practice runs for the mass suicide)–then chances are, I would have willingly stood in a circle with my friends and drunk the cyaninde-laden Kool-Aid as so many others did.
A Thousand Lives: The ... Scheeres, Julia Best Price: $6.08 Buy New $11.19 (as of 05:06 UTC - Details) And that is what is so puzzling, and so fascinating, about cults. From the outside, we can’t imagine why those people would have done those things. What could possibly drive otherwise normal people to act in ways that seem not only insane, but counter to their own interests–in the case of Jonestown, counter to their most fundamental instinct for self preservation?
What could get someone to be willing to sacrifice their own life, and the lives of the people they love?
I hope to provide some insight into this question, as I find myself now, at the end of the year 2020, living in the midst of what I can only describe as a massive, dangerous, and self-destructive cult.
SO WHAT IS A CULT?
Teri Buford O’Shea escaped from Jonestown only a few weeks before the mass suicide and murder. She defines a cult this way:
“A cult is when you aren’t allowed to see your friends or family…I’m talking about total isolation – someone takes all your money and brings you to a place where there’s no communication, or if there is you aren’t allowed to use it.”
Cult deprogrammer Steven Hassan created the BITE model to explain some of the key elements that cults employ to control their members:
Behavior Control: An individual’s associations, living arrangements, food, clothing, sleeping habits, finances, etc., are strictly controlled.
Information Control: Cult leaders deliberately withhold or distort information, lie, propagandize, and limit access to other sources of information.
Thought Control: Cult leaders use loaded words and language, discourage critical thinking, bar any speech critical of cult leaders or policies, and teach an “us vs. them” doctrine. Combating Cult Mind Co... Hassan, Steven Best Price: $17.24 Buy New $18.94 (as of 05:06 UTC - Details)
Emotional Control: Leaders manipulate their followers via fear (including the fear of losing salvation, fear of shunning, etc.), guilt, and indoctrination.
Reading both O’Shea’s definition, and Hassan’s BITE components in 2020, it is striking to me the extent to which all of these things have been inflicted upon Americans over the past eight months:
Isolation and the intimate control of our activities and relationships, in the form of forced social distancing, the closing of businesses and schools, and most cruelly, the isolation of the elderly and others in care homes; taking money, or in our case, destroying the source of income and livelihood for millions of people in this country; control of communication and information, through what has now become overt censorship, with hints that some forms of communication may be shut down entirely; emotional manipulation through the shaming of those who do not go along with the diktat of the day, and other tactics; and an authoritarian thought-control regime, where critical thinking on the part of individuals is ridiculed, views that contradict those of the leaders are actively censored, and intellectual debate is replaced by “us vs. them” tribal warfare.
It is this last part that gets to the heart of it. To me, the essence of a “cult” is that it provides an external replacement, a substitute, for one’s own power of reasoning and moral judgement. It demands blind obedience to this substitute, and punishes harshly anyone who dissents from its pronouncements.
And this describes very well the mainstream culture I find myself in today.
I see people on online neighborhood forums bragging about wanting to turn in local businesses for “breaking the rules”–rules that are arbitrary, ineffective, and unconstitutional, but I am discovering that none of that matters for a great many of the people who live in my own neighborhood. They have been told by someone in authority–the governor of California, the local city council, an anchorperson on the television news that they watch–that everyone must now stand six feet apart, that events must be cancelled, some businesses must close, and that everyone must wear a mask when outside.
And just like that, thousands of years of human social norms and everything we know about biology just flies out of the heads of millions of Americans and they all act as if this has always been normal. They scream at, and even physically attack, those who don’t go along with it, and even force their children to isolate themselves from human contact and to wear masks that restrict their breathing. All because someone said so.
I live in a world that only a year ago I would have thought was the stuff of poorly written dystopian fiction. If anyone had told me in November of 2019 that just a year later, people would be ordered by the governor of the state I live in to close their businesses, to only leave their homes for “essential” activities, to stop attending church services, to stand six feet apart from other people, and eventually, to wear masks on their faces when out in public, and that most people would not only go along with this willingly but would cheer it on and even shame those who did not–I would have laughed in their face. The Origins of Totalit... Hannah Arendt Best Price: $8.49 Buy New $12.90 (as of 06:35 UTC - Details)
And yet here we are.
I hope that the things you have heard about this time in our history do sound absurd to you. But understand that until they actually happened right in front of me, they sounded absurd to me too. I would never have believed that the people around me would have been gullible enough, malleable enough, or vicious enough, to go along with the things that have been imposed upon us, and under the flimsiest of pretexts.
SO HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Around the same time that I learned about the Jonestown tragedy, I also learned about World War II, and specifically about the Holocaust. In hindsight, my (government) school spent a lot of time teaching us about the horrors committed by the Nazis. Disproportionately so, I later realized, in the context of a world history–including for me recent history–filled with similar atrocities. But for some reason, my school wanted us all to focus on this one.
I came away from learning about World War II and the Holocaust with what I thought was a pretty compelling and obvious lesson: The reason these horrors occurred was that a government was able to amass near total control of the people living under it, that this kind of power is tremendously dangerous to humanity and we must do all that we can to make sure that no government ever again has that kind of power.
It was to be many years before I learned that this was not the lesson that many of my classmates came away with.
The lesson, it seems, that most Americans learned from that episode in history goes something like this:
“Antisemitism is what caused the Holocaust. Antisemitism is bad, just like racism is bad, and we must give our governments the power to stamp out things like racism and antisemitism so that we can all be safe and never again have another Holocaust.”
Battle for the Mind: A... William Sargant Best Price: $5.02 Buy New $15.89 (as of 04:04 UTC - Details) And that, I think, goes a long way to explaining why we find ourselves here yet again, with governments that have just demonstrated to us that they have both the power and the desire to exert total control over our lives.
Because the vast majority of Americans never learned that that was the danger. Indeed, if they went to the schools run by the government, they were taught just the opposite: That it is free people, and free markets, that are the danger, and that government is there to protect you from that danger; that government is a benign force, and because you can vote, it is a force that you control.
This schooling has much to do with the willingness of so many Americans around me to embrace the total state. It has prepared them for precisely that, in fact, with its focus on obedience to authority, following rules, giving the “right” answers so as to pass tests and move forward, and avoiding punishment by doing what those in authority tell you to. And it is part of a larger effort to manipulate and control what people believe is true about the world.
A DEADLY NARRATIVE
To this end, some very powerful and very deep narratives have been crafted and fed to us over generations. What are those narratives? Primarily, that freedom is dangerous and that the state is a benign entity that acts for the good of “the people”, and that we, “the people,” control it.
This narrative is deadly. It turns concepts of peace, cooperation, justice, compassion and freedom upside down, telling us that free people are dangerous but an all-powerful state is not; that voluntary transactions made in a free market constitute coercion, but literally taking people’s money from them without their consent with the threat of guns and prisons is not coercion.
This narrative tells us that we absolutely control the same government that takes our money from us; that can close our businesses or stop us from practicing our professions if we displease it; that puts people in prison for using substances it disapproves of; and that unleashes police to enforce laws against “crimes” that have no victims–often with deadly consequences for which those who commit them are almost never held accountable.
We are told that, through the act of voting to select the people who hold offices in this entity, we exercise control over it, and it therefore represents “our” interests. But the entities that we are not compelled to do business with, the entities that cannot throw us in jail if we refuse their terms, and which in fact will go out of business if they fail to please us–those entities, we are told, are a threat to us and must be “reined in” by the entity that takes our money whether we want it to or not.
According to this narrative, people have no inclination to cooperate or support each other in the absence of state violence. “Community” and “society” are not the products of voluntary interaction between people, of practices and standards that have evolved over centuries of such interaction, but are things that must be imposed from above, by the state. In this worldview, “community” is equated with state force–and vice versa.
Without the state, we are told, we would be nothing but isolated, atomistic “rugged individuals”, with no ability to connect with each other, no interest in supporting each other or in cooperating for mutual benefit, but constantly at at war with each other in a grim battle for the “survival of the fittest.”
This narrative must sound absurd to you. I hope it does. But remember that I live surrounded by people for whom it makes complete sense, and to whom anyone who believes differently is considered a “kook” with “fringe beliefs”, or is maybe even a “conspiracy theorist.”
The success of this narrative in my time can be measured by the widespread failure of the people around me to recognize the institution of the state as an enemy at all–even as it lays waste to their livelihoods, the things that give their lives meaning, and in many cases their lives or the lives of their loved ones.
SO NOW WHAT?
And this brings me to my third, and I think most important, point.
Somehow, the culture that I live in has come to be characterized by an outright disdain for independent thought. Public debate has been largely reduced to the pitting of competing authority figures against each other, and the capacity of most people to engage in reasoned argument begins and ends with an appeal to those authorities. Only a very few seem able to engage directly with information themselves, and those few are largely ignored.
We have arrived at a point in history where the intellectual norm is now to abandon one’s own capacity for reason and to put in its place a collection of authority figures and institutions. Or rather, authority itself.
We have arrived at a point in history where mainstream America looks very much like a cult.
It is not a cult that anyone went out and joined, nor one that went around recruiting people, but one that has been inflicted on us, and has thrived, grown and expanded, from within.
How is any of this helpful to you now, many years into the future?
I wish I knew what to say that would ensure that nothing like this ever happened again, but I don’t. What I can do though, is urge you not to make the same mistakes that brought us to where we are at the end of 2020. In particular:
– Do not put your trust in entities that are founded in coercion, and that demand a monopoly on the use of violence;
– Do not–ever–let such entities be in charge of educating your children;
– Do whatever you can, in fact, to ensure that such entities are not able to function in the world at all;
– If you ever find yourself in the midst of a cult, you might be tempted to blame the cult members for this predicament. Don’t. It’s not worth the effort. Focus your attention where it is most needed: On the source of the problem. And remember that that source only gets more powerful when those under it are fighting each other;
– Fight with everything you have against any attempts to control information or speech, and beat into the ground until it is bloody and tattered the idea that truth is something given to us by authority figures, rather than something we are capable of discerning for ourselves.
That’s all I’ve got. From where I’m sitting in late 2020, it seems that humanity has an infinite capacity for abject stupidity and gullibility and for a reverence for authority no matter how deadly and destructive that authority becomes.
But people can also surprise you. We can also be quite wonderful and imaginative and even terribly strong when we need to be. We have hard-wiring built into us for cooperation and caring for each other and ensuring the survival of the next generation–all of which predates any state. So I have some hope for us. I do not believe that we are destined to be eternal participants in a suicidal death cult. I have hope that, as has happened with previous attempts to “plan” humanity, humanity’s own messiness will jam up the machine, and it will come crashing down.
When that happens, let’s just do everything we can to make sure no-one can ever build another one, OK?
Love,
Gramma
The Best of Bretigne Shaffer


lewrockwell--2020-11-18--Will Russia Create a ‘Star Trek’ Alternative to M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction)?

When Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Russia ’ s advanced weaponry to overcome the challenges of America ’ s leaving the ABM Treat and its “ Prompt Global Strike ” doctrine , most American observers concluded and commented as one wag did , in response to Russia ’ s government asking its citizens and inviting Americans to come up with names for the new weapons , who mockingly stated they should be named Melania Trump ’ s Breasts—in other words fake .
How times have changed ; no one in Washington is laughing now .
Recently , Donald Trump and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the development of hypersonic weapons .
Trump said : “ We have one that goes much faster , much faster than that .
Russia got that information from the Obama administration , Russia stole that information .
You knew that , you knew that .
Russia got the information , and then they built it.
” Losing Military Suprem ... Andrei Martyanov Best Price : $ 22.43 Buy New $ 18.27 He might have been referring to a crude duplicate that not only is not operational but in the event of its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Avangard hypersonic glider ’ s performance , which was recently demonstrated to the Americans .
Russia ’ s response to Trump ’ s statement was with the facts that Russia was experimenting with hypersonic technology decades ago .
Retired Soviet naval officer and historian Andrei Martyanov posted on his blog a video of “ Professor Gerbert Yefremov , prominent missile and space-rocket designer , Honorary CEO , Honorary Chief Designer , Advisor for Science at the MIC NPO Mashinostroyenia ” honored “ with the Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First-Called with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Martyanov provided and which I had to use software to translate , the venerable Professor Yefremov responded to this question from the Russian journalist : Question : Herbert Alexandrovich , Trump said that all the “ hypersonic technology ” Russians stole from the Americans .
If you had the opportunity to talk to the US President via video conference , what would you say to him ?
Herbert Yefremov : Trump said that Obama handed over these “ secrets ” to the Russians .
Only Barack Obama has been the President of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in these cases began in the Soviet era , when Obama was a teenager .
He went to school while we were already experimenting with hypersound .
The ( Real ) Revolution ... Andrei Martyanov Best Price : $ 34.09 Buy New $ 34.12 Regarding other future technologies , having been developed in the Soviet era , Professor Efremov discussed the willingness , in fact the technical expertise of President Putin to realize the value to defend Russia : Question : When the cameras were turned off , you talked to Putin in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I guess , a secret .
But on what topic did you have a conversation with the president , can you tell ?
Herbert Yefremov : We talked about the future .
Question : About the future of your NPO Mashinostroyenia , which creates these breakthrough systems and technologies ?
Herbert Yefremov : Not only .
About the future of the country , the world .
And everything connected with our capabilities .
This is the only person from the leaders of our country , and I spoke with some of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was no need to chase numbers .
How do they usually reason ?
Our opponents , for example , have a thousand missiles and we must produce so many .
And so you don ’ t need to answer calls !
Do it your way , smarter .
And [ Putin ] understands this very well .
For example , at one time we created the Meteorite rocket .
Although initially the call from the United States—thousands of American “ Tomahawks ” —began to respond with the creation of similar subsonic missiles .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the conditions of our country .
And one “ Meteorite ” was equal in efficiency to dozens of “ Tomahawks.
” Question : “ Meteorite ” flew at an altitude of 22 – 25 km .
Enemy radars did not see [ it ] .
And they saw a false target that it was towing .
And it was [ really ] “ invisible ” : the first “ Stealth ” in the world .
It still had a generator [ that created an ] artificial ionization of the environment .
And all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ] began to create in the USSR back in 1976 !
And during the years of Perestroika , the finished project was destroyed .
[ Emphasis added . ]
The arguments of the designers that a dozen ‘ meteorites ’ are successfully replacing a large number of subsonic cruise missiles were not heard above .
Do they hear you today ?
Herbert Yefremov : This is what makes Putin different .
He is a great analyst .
[ Emphasis added . ]
Of course , Russia seeks out diplomatic solutions to conflicts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ channel that featured the story of Professor Yefremov getting his award , The Kremlin Stories , is a subtitled short video of Foreign Minister Lavrov discussing the evident abandonment by America of the New START treaty : War with Russia ?
: From ... Cohen , Stephen F. Buy New $ 18.99 Putin also reiterated the importance of the “ nuclear triad ” in this video as “ Guarantor Of Global Security , ” but Professor Yefremov ’ s comments on President Putin ’ s willingness to go back to Soviet innovations and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ below video ( which I advise watching before YouTube terminates the channel ) on top secret Soviet technology using plasma , not only for offensive but defensive purposes , is a glimpse at the near future .
In theory , I believe with secure nuclear power generation not part of the “ grid ” and thus not vulnerable to Cyber-attack , and having software incomprehensible to American Twitter , Google and Facebook programmers , these systems are potentially within reach in a decade , if not earlier ; for those who are aware @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of its fictional concept of a “ deflector shield.
” As Martyanov discussed here on America ’ s weakness with STEM ( Science , Technology , Engineering and Mathematics ) , not to mention the fact that many American college graduates with tech backgrounds are ANTIFA rioters , the likelihood of America or the West reverse engineering Avangard , let alone this plasma technology , is slim to none , and the same for creating and operating S-400 system equivalents , even if Washington has gotten access to the export versions .
Russia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ technology and already is in many areas .
I also question how , as Martin Armstrong writes here regarding the plans for the “ Great Reset , ” a weakened , demoralized , sickly population would be able to fight a war with Russia .
However , here is the video on the plasma technology dating back to the Soviet era : It would be wonderful if Washington and the West would stop confronting Russia ; cooler heads might prevail and war be avoided .
But as Scott Ritter writes in “ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a Joe Biden administration is likely to spell ruin for America ” and Daniel Kovalik in “ Regretfully , US liberals now out-hawk conservatives in eagerness for aggression & war , ” let alone Hillary Clinton ’ s possible appointment as UN Ambassador , a Washington that recognizes its limitations and focuses on peace is not in the foreseeable future .
Disintegration : Indica ... Martyanov , Andrei Buy New $ 28.95 Paul Craig Roberts wrote that if Washington possessed the Avangard , it would have already used it in a first-strike @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s doctrine is that it will only respond when they consider they are facing a nuclear attack .
For the time being , Washington might consider additional “ bombing ” campaigns against weaker targets , but attacking Iran and/or China might draw in Russia , if not directly but in a supporting role ; even with its current arsenal , Russia would be a formidable opponent that Washington can not bomb with impunity , but since Washington actually hates most Americans , perhaps it could care less the number of American casualties that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russian morale and desire to defend their nation is stronger than Americans as the “ Great Reset ” and “ Dark Winter ” continue .
However , in time Russia may , with its legacy Soviet engineering marvels implemented with 21st century engineering and technology , will have the capability to defend against anything Washington might throw at it , including its “ triad.
” And I wouldn ’ t rule out the top secret plasma technology as “ science fiction ” that is not possible for Russia to create ; that is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comments about what Putin has done , recognizing the value of legacy Soviet engineering , thus resulting in the creation of hypersonic weapons and more breakthroughs to come in the future ; Yefremov ’ s contributed a great deal to the Russian space program .
Unfortunately , the mentality in Washington that Russia like Carthage to the Romans “ must be destroyed ” will no doubt continue , and “ war of nerves ” tactics will continue , not direct confrontation , unless by accident , a risk Professor Stephen F. Cohen warned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for plasma , from energy to space travel ; but unlike Star Trek , Russians and Americans won ’ t be working together peacefully in the foreseeable future .
The Best of Yvonne Lorenzo

When Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Russia’s advanced weaponry to overcome the challenges of America’s leaving the ABM Treat and its “Prompt Global Strike” doctrine, most American observers concluded and commented as one wag did, in response to Russia’s government asking its citizens and inviting Americans to come up with names for the new weapons, who mockingly stated they should be named Melania Trump’s Breasts—in other words fake.
How times have changed; no one in Washington is laughing now. Recently, Donald Trump and others attempted to have America take credit for the development of hypersonic weapons. Trump said:
“We have one that goes much faster, much faster than that. Russia got that information from the Obama administration, Russia stole that information. You knew that, you knew that. Russia got the information, and then they built it.” Losing Military Suprem... Andrei Martyanov Best Price: $22.43 Buy New $18.27 (as of 10:20 UTC - Details)
He might have been referring to a crude duplicate that not only is not operational but in the event of its creation shall not come anywhere near the Avangard hypersonic glider’s performance, which was recently demonstrated to the Americans.
Russia’s response to Trump’s statement was with the facts that Russia was experimenting with hypersonic technology decades ago. Retired Soviet naval officer and historian Andrei Martyanov posted on his blog a video of “Professor Gerbert Yefremov, prominent missile and space-rocket designer, Honorary CEO, Honorary Chief Designer, Advisor for Science at the MIC NPO Mashinostroyenia” honored “with the Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First-Called with swords.”
Putin Honors Avangard Creator Yefremov on Gunsmith’s Day
From this link, which Martyanov provided and which I had to use software to translate, the venerable Professor Yefremov responded to this question from the Russian journalist:
Question: Herbert Alexandrovich, Trump said that all the “hypersonic technology” Russians stole from the Americans. If you had the opportunity to talk to the US President via video conference, what would you say to him?
Herbert Yefremov: Trump said that Obama handed over these “secrets” to the Russians. Only Barack Obama has been the President of the United States since 2009. Our experiments in these cases began in the Soviet era, when Obama was a teenager. He went to school while we were already experimenting with hypersonic.
The (Real) Revolution ... Andrei Martyanov Best Price: $34.09 Buy New $34.12 (as of 07:55 UTC - Details) Regarding other future technologies, having been developed in the Soviet era, Professor Efremov discussed the willingness, in fact the technical expertise of President Putin to realize the value to defend Russia:
Question: When the cameras were turned off, you talked to Putin in private. What you told him is, I guess, a secret. But on what topic did you have a conversation with the president, can you tell?
Herbert Yefremov: We talked about the future.
Question: About the future of your NPO Mashinostroyenia, which creates these breakthrough systems and technologies?
Herbert Yefremov: Not only. About the future of the country, the world. And everything connected with our capabilities. This is the only person from the leaders of our country, and I spoke with some of the top officials, who realized that there was no need to chase numbers. How do they usually reason? Our opponents, for example, have a thousand missiles and we must produce so many. And so you don’t need to answer calls! Do it your way, smarter. And [Putin] understands this very well. For example, at one time we created the Meteorite rocket. Although initially the call from the United States—thousands of American “Tomahawks”—began to respond with the creation of similar subsonic missiles. We proposed a supersonic missile that met the conditions of our country. And one “Meteorite” was equal in efficiency to dozens of “Tomahawks.”
Question: “Meteorite” flew at an altitude of 22 – 25 km. Enemy radars did not see [it]. And they saw a false target that it was towing. And it was [really] “invisible”: the first “Stealth” in the world. It still had a generator [that created an] artificial ionization of the environment. And all this on a rocket, which [we] began to create in the USSR back in 1976! And during the years of Perestroika, the finished project was destroyed. [Emphasis added.] The arguments of the designers that a dozen ‘meteorites’ are successfully replacing a large number of subsonic cruise missiles were not heard above. Do they hear you today?
Herbert Yefremov: This is what makes Putin different. He is a great analyst. [Emphasis added.]
Foreign Minister Lavrov discussed the evident abandonment by America of the New START treaty in this extensive interview. Putin also stated in this video “Russia Will Not Get Drawn Into An All-Consuming Arms Race,” but Professor Yefremov’s comments on President Putin’s willingness to go back to Soviet innovations and update them makes me think that the below video (which I advise watching before YouTube terminates the channel) on top secret Soviet technology using plasma, not only for offensive but defensive purposes, is a glimpse at the near future. In theory, I believe with secure nuclear power generation not part of the “grid” and thus not vulnerable to Cyber-attack, and having software incomprehensible to American Twitter, Google and Facebook programmers, these systems are potentially within reach in a decade, if not earlier; for those who are aware and have seen Star Trek, think of its fictional concept of a “deflector shield.”
War with Russia?: From... Cohen, Stephen F. Buy New $18.99 (as of 05:06 UTC - Details) Putin also reiterated the importance of the “nuclear triad” in this video as “Guarantor Of Global Security,” but Professor Yefremov’s comments on President Putin’s willingness to go back to Soviet innovations and update them makes me think that the below video (which I advise watching before YouTube terminates the channel) on top secret Soviet technology using plasma, not only for offensive but defensive purposes, is a glimpse at the near future. In theory, I believe with secure nuclear power generation not part of the “grid” and thus not vulnerable to Cyber-attack, and having software incomprehensible to American Twitter, Google and Facebook programmers, these systems are potentially within reach in a decade, if not earlier; for those who are aware and have seen Star Trek, think of its fictional concept of a “deflector shield.”
As Martyanov discussed here on America’s weakness with STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), not to mention the fact that many American college graduates with tech backgrounds are ANTIFA rioters, the likelihood of America or the West reverse engineering Avangard, let alone this plasma technology, is slim to none, and the same for creating and operating S-400 system equivalents, even if Washington has gotten access to the export versions. Russia will be decades ahead of America in technology and already is in many areas. I also question how, as Martin Armstrong writes here regarding the plans for the “Great Reset,” a weakened, demoralized, sickly population would be able to fight a war with Russia.
However, here is the video on the plasma technology dating back to the Soviet era:
It would be wonderful if Washington and the West would stop confronting Russia; cooler heads might prevail and war be avoided. But as Scott Ritter writes in “The return of the Obama ‘adults’ in a Joe Biden administration is likely to spell ruin for America” and Daniel Kovalik in “Regretfully, US liberals now out-hawk conservatives in eagerness for aggression & war,” let alone Hillary Clinton’s possible appointment as UN Ambassador, a Washington that recognizes its limitations and focuses on peace is not in the foreseeable future. Disintegration: Indica... Martyanov, Andrei Buy New $28.95 (as of 05:08 UTC - Details)
Paul Craig Roberts wrote that if Washington possessed the Avangard, it would have already used it in a first-strike against Russia; however, Russia’s doctrine is that it will only respond when they consider they are facing a nuclear attack. For the time being, Washington might consider additional “bombing” campaigns against weaker targets, but attacking Iran and/or China might draw in Russia, if not directly but in a supporting role; even with its current arsenal, Russia would be a formidable opponent that Washington cannot bomb with impunity, but since Washington actually hates most Americans, perhaps it could care less the number of American casualties that would result in such conflicts. Certainly Russian morale and desire to defend their nation is stronger than Americans as the “Great Reset” and “Dark Winter” continue.
However, in time Russia may, with its legacy Soviet engineering marvels implemented with 21st century engineering and technology, will have the capability to defend against anything Washington might throw at it, including its “triad.” And I wouldn’t rule out the top secret plasma technology as “science fiction” that is not possible for Russia to create; that is why I quoted Professor Efremov’s comments about what Putin has done, recognizing the value of legacy Soviet engineering, thus resulting in the creation of hypersonic weapons and more breakthroughs to come in the future; Yefremov’s contributed a great deal to the Russian space program. Unfortunately, the mentality in Washington that Russia like Carthage to the Romans “must be destroyed” will no doubt continue, and “war of nerves” tactics will continue, not direct confrontation, unless by accident, a risk Professor Stephen F. Cohen warned about repeatedly. There are peaceful uses for plasma, from energy to space travel; but unlike Star Trek, Russians and Americans won’t be working together peacefully in the foreseeable future.
The Best of Yvonne Lorenzo