Audio advice and discussions with audiophiles and professionals. Free discussion forums, open to all and frequented by industry experts. Ask questions and get advice on stereos, speakers, hi-end amplifiers, pre-amps, home theater, tube hi-fi, turntables, vinyl, tweaks, music, films, video, DVDs and more.
Visiting friends is one of the best ways that I use to cure boredom. I don't like sleeping at noon, and that means it is out of the equation. So, when I go on a short walk to my friend's place and by the time we are done gisting about ladies' stuff, the night must have reached. I will just go back home, make dinner, eat, and have some chats with some online friends. This has been the way that I've been handling being bored for a long time as it helps me to protect my mental health.
Planning to spend my Christmas money, any good LG soundbar to buy?
The thing is I've saved up some money for Christmas and have been making use of just my TV speakers for some years now. I've never bothered about getting a soundbar for my room until I visited my friend last week. She has a soundbar setup and simply by watching a movie in her place, the difference is mindblowing. I can clearly hear everything that is said in the movie and the fighting scenes didn't sound dull and confusing. Since I got back, I have been thinking of getting a soundbar with the money that I have now. Currently, I've been researching LG soundbars since I have an LG TV in the living room and some people said getting an LG soundbar works better with their TV. I don't know how true it is or it was used as a marketing technique. I've got a living room that is around 13 X 16, which I think is the standard and when I am free, I mostly watch sports and TV shows on the TV and won't mind having a good sound level when I watch those TV shows and movies. I have around 400$ budgeted for this and won't mind spending more if what I am getting is what the amount. Any ideas on which soundbar to get?
George wrote on Thu, 23 October 2025 10:37 It seems that most speakers don't last longer as they start having one issue after another as the years go by. When it comes to selecting a good speaker, what is your target and how do you always go about picking the one that can last longer with no issues? As an oldie in the business of buying speakers (for my home, for my kids at school and even for the offìce), I will be glad if you take some of these tips that I will share with you seriously. The first one is that before you even start checking out models, you should be sure of what you are buying the speaker. Is it for the bedroom? For camping activities? Or for house parties? It is when you make this decision that you can be able to know which model to go for. Another thing that I always say is that it is very important to understand what a good speaker should cost. If you are planning to get a good speaker, you should be putting aside around $90. I mean anything around 40 dollars is not what I can rate that high. The other thing that I look at when getting a quality speaker that can last longer is what features it has and newer physical outputs and if possible, test all the features before deciding to make payment for the speaker. This time is also a good time to buy as the Black Friday deals are a time when newer models are in the market with some good discounts that you can take advantage of. Finally, you should look at getting speakers that come with a warranty. Most top brands that are sure of their products won't mind giving a longer warranty. So, go for them. I wish you the best of luck if you are yet to pick one.
Those guys are kind of the "new kids on the block" and I'm eager to hear what you find.
You've got mail!
Well, I heard some nice things about the Schiit Mimir dac, but wonder if it is hype, or descent, so I purchased one. Should arrive fri. Will report back with my findings in a couple of weeks. cheers pos
In general, I have found all tube/solid state designs are quite inaccurate (specs mean virtually nothing except channel separation high frequency response, damping factor etc within reason. However, in my lab/audio company, retired for over a decade, I was able to create a line pre-amplifier that listening tested perceptually perfect to the source. Many musical selections were used because of differing quality. The amplifier was different as I used a constant load. When connecting a reactive load, one has to match more carefully, both the correct total gauge speaker wire for bass control, and parallel wires to minimize reactance at higher frequencies. The wire type, Jenalabs 6N all copper, worked nicely, and is quite superior sounding to 3N wire sold locally. One caveat is that every component used, sources, line pre-amplifier, monoblock amps use polypropylene capacitors in the place of electrolytic capacitors in decoupling applications (except high voltage amplifier power supply with electrolytics bypassed by a large polypropylene capacitor, and multiple cathode bypass capacitors). As such, the system is extremely transparent, perceived sonic differences down to 1 part in 4,000,000 reliably. I would guess most audio systems would not be as sensitive, so sonic differences may not be as noticeable. cheers pos
Hi Wayne, Can I please have the plans for Pi4? I built a pair more than 10 years ago and the cabinet could do with an upgrade. But I lost the originals... I also built 2 pairs of Pi1 for my kids, a pair of Pi3 for me and i just got hold of two Lab12 SW ... Thanks Wayne for your continuous support you give all of us. Kind regards, Massimo
Re: Refurbishing An Old Radio / Turntable
I have heard about a couple of speciality stores and online sites whose work is selling parts that can assist in restoring vintage audio equipment such as turntables. I would have recommended stores such as Lowe's, but last I checked, they deal mainly in general hardware and electronics like wires. Turntable Medic is one that I believe can be o help as they specialise in sourcing parts and repairing vintage turntables, changers, and console stereos. Ebay is another online marketplace that you can check out, but you need to do a specific search for the vintage turntable part/model that you are looking for. If you are not too confident to buy online, you should use the Google Map to search for "vintage audio repairs close by" and hopefully the map can pop up with some choices of physical stores that you should look at to see if they got the parts that you need.
As a young guy who is still vibrant and active, I don't see any reason for me to sleep off when I have a movie that I am watching. It is I am either watching the movie while taking some plantain chips or I get a glass of juice that I can be sipping while I watch the movie. To sleep off when I am watching a movie that is quite interesting has never crossed my mind before now.
Music has a way of reaching people and almost all of us know that. If it's a powerful song, it can sneak right into our emotions, stay there and also turn into a message to us. In my family, a good song can shift a mood, get everyone thinking especially that late evening when we are all together as one. I think the reason why organisations use artists to drive their messages is that they know that when a message is wrapped in melody, people tend to remember it and also act towards it. I believed that songs have the power to push a society forward.
I am not even imagining getting anything huge this year but I did get a tiny portable speaker from my cousin that I've been using around the house. It is not fancy but it came in handy when I needed it. Your vinyl picks are already a knock on me to start building up my own collection from henceforth.
Five point plan for peace: 1. Russia admits that it has no legal standing in Ukraine. It agrees to cease all attempts to control Ukraine and its relationships with NATO, the European Union and all other countries and organizations. Further, Russia respects UN Charter Article 2, paragraph 4, which prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of any state. 2. Russia withdraws all troops from Ukraine, including the Donbas region and the Crimean Peninsula. 3. Russia pays for all reparations to the country of Ukraine, each company and every individual citizen. The amounts to be paid will be determined by a panel of judges made up of Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian citizens. The funds for reparations will be paid in oil, exchanged for currency in Euros, American dollars or Ukrainian gryvni. 4. Any further aggression upon Ukraine will be defended by armed forces of any and all NATO member countries, regardless of Ukraine membership. 5. Russia agrees that if it attacks any country for any reason, it forfeits Kaliningrad and all its properties, military assets and armaments. The military assets will go to Lithuania and the land and all other assets will become a part of Poland. If any of this is unacceptable to Russia, then Ukraine will be allowed to purchase or borrow any and all military technologies of any NATO member state. There will be no more "throttling" of their war with Russia. Ukraine will be assisted by all NATO countries and allowed to attack Russia by any and all means possible. And regrettably, there will be a lot of "accidents" in and around Kaliningrad, Crimea and the coastline along the Sea of Azov and the eastern edge of the Black Sea. Lots of accidents. This is just an unfortunate consequence of all the understandable defensive troop movements in NATO countries near Ukraine, activities in the Azov and Black Seas and NATO-sanctioned humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
Re: What was the easiest instrument for you to learn?
Prince wrote on Thu, 23 October 2025 21:17 Becky wrote on Fri, 10 October 2025 15:00 It was a piano. I learnt in high school because music class was one of my favourite classes that I never missed. Piano or keyboard was also my favourite instrument and it became easy because I already had the passion to master it. I learnt how to beat the drums from a music academy. My brother is a guitarist and asked me to always follow him when he went to practice in 2020. That was the year that I took an interest in learning how to beat the drum. Since then, I have become very good when it comes to playing it which makes me happy. I love how your brother being a guitarist ended up inspiring you without even planning it. And the spark you have as someone that's ready for a new skill shows that you really wanted it too. I remembered how And 2020 was, it affected many people but it sounds like you turned it into something really meaningful. Learning drums isn’t easy at all so the fact that you stuck with it and actually got something good to be proud of is the more reason that you need to be happy. I love drumming but I can't play one for myself.
Hi, Not exactly for this site although I have posted a few projects but on another friendly site. diyaudioprojects.com is where I posted a number of projects. Some easy some not. You do have to sign up and log in now as they had a lot of trouble with "spiders" clogging the site. Also if you have an idea for something you would like to build give me a PM and I see if we can get together on something. One of my personal goals is to get folks into diy projects and I take the time to explain things and provide assistance.
Re: Are there weird places that you've listened to the radio?
Honestly, the toilet might be the funniest one but I’ve done something similar. I’ve listened to the radio in my school’s storage room once because it was the only quiet place I could hide during a break. It was kind of weird sitting there between boxes and old chairs but it actually felt peaceful for a few minutes.
Oh wow, congratulations! That’s such a fun win. I’ve never had any luck winning anything on the radio, the only time I ever won something was when I was much younger and it wasn’t even from a station. These days it’s my kids who come home excited about whatever prize they’ve managed to snag. Winning tickets to Swain Ski Center is really special though. What a lovely way to start your morning! Enjoy every minute of it!
There are a lot of TV boxes that you can get for both movie and gaming experiences. The one that I am currently using at the moment is the Onn 4k Pro and it has served me pretty well for a while now. The good thing about the onn 4k Pro is that you won't have to break the bank before you can be able to get this box which makes it my top recommended TV box. The other ones that you can check out are NVIDIA Shield TV Pro, TiVo Stream 4K and the Formuler Z11 Pro Max. I've seen a couple of reviews on it, but you should check them yourself if you are planning to get any of these.
Prince wrote on Mon, 27 October 2025 10:29 Helen wrote on Mon, 27 October 2025 10:22 I have gone to the park to listen to the radio. I plugged in my earphones, anyone who looked at me will think that I'm listening to a podcast or a song but I was the only one that know that it was a radio. I took interest to listen that day because it was a talk show with a very interesting topic. It seems the park wasn't noisy that day or you were able to figure out a cool place in the park where you sat to listen to the radio. Either ways, it must have been a really fun experience for you! Oh, I got lucky that day. The park can be noisy sometimes, but I’ve learned a few little quiet corners to sneak off to when I want a breather. Sitting there with the earphones felt so peaceful and it’s one of the few moments I get to myself, so I really enjoyed it.
I’ve noticed that too, especially with the speakers my friends buy. For me, I just look for ones that have good long-term reviews and not just the “sounds great out of the box” stuff. I also try to stick to brands that people say actually last. I don’t really have a fancy method, but if it feels well-built and not super cheap or plasticky, I trust it more. And I try not to blast them at full volume all the time, that seems to make them die faster.
I was kind of wondering the same thing too. From what I can tell, the group builds don’t seem to happen on a set schedule. Most of the posts are just people sharing their own projects or asking questions. I haven’t seen an official calendar anywhere, so I guess they just happen whenever someone decides to start one and others join in.
Oh, that’s fun! My husband actually talked about this once when he was looking at amps. From what I understand, solid-state amps use electronic circuits, so they’re usually lighter, cheaper and more reliable. Vacuum tube amps (or valve amps) use old-style glass tubes and give that warmer, more “classic” sound that a lot of guitarists love. They just need a bit more care and can be costlier. I don’t think one is exactly better because it depends on what sound your roommate likes. Tube amps sound smoother and more natural, while solid-state ones are cleaner and easier to maintain. There are also hybrid amps that try to give you the best of both. It might be fun for them to try a few in person to see what feels right.
I was looking into TV boxes too! Android ones are okay, but some cheaper ones lag or stop getting updates. Go for Xiaomi if your budget is tight. It gives good experience without going over the top. It supports modern video formats like HDR10+. You can stream both movies/shows and also light gaming on it which makes it a great choice. Also, if you are a fan of Apple products and use a lot of them, you can go for the Apple TV 4k because it integrates well - AirPlay or HomeKit features. It also has long-term support and reliable brand systems. It has a more TV sound but is more expensive than the Xiaomi TV box. Both are good, but I am using a Xiaomi TV box because that's what I was able to afford.
I do stay awake to finish movies at night if I had a nap in the afternoon and also if the movie is really interesting. Boring movies help me to sleep easily which will also take a longer time for me to finish watching the movies, taking days or hours.
Helen wrote on Mon, 27 October 2025 10:22 I have gone to the park to listen to the radio. I plugged in my earphones, anyone who looked at me will think that I'm listening to a podcast or a song but I was the only one that know that it was a radio. I took interest to listen that day because it was a talk show with a very interesting topic. It seems the park wasn't noisy that day or you were able to figure out a cool place in the park where you sat to listen to the radio. Either ways, it must have been a really fun experience for you!
I have gone to the park to listen to the radio. I plugged in my earphones, anyone that looked at me will think that I'm listening to a podcast or a song but I was the only one that know that it was a radio. I took interest to listen that day because it was a talk show with a very interesting topic.
Becky wrote on Fri, 10 October 2025 15:00 It was a piano. I learnt in high school because music class was one of my favourite classes that I never missed. Piano or keyboard was also my favourite instrument and it became easy because I already had the passion to master it. I learnt how to beat the drums from a music academy. My brother is a guitarist and asked me to always follow him when he went to practice in 2020. That was the year that I took an interest in learning how to beat the drum. Since then, I have become very good when it comes to playing it which makes me happy.
Setting aside overload - mechanical or electrical - most speakers can be expected to last decades. The main thing that affects a speaker that is very old is the paper cone can get brittle. But I rarely see that on a speaker that is indoors in a controlled environment with pleasant temperature and average humidity. I usually see that in speakers that have been stored in hot, dry places like garages and storage units. The environment can also be hard on speakers in cars for the same reason.
It seems that most speakers don't last longer as they start having one issue after another as the years go by. When it comes to selecting a good speaker, what is your target and how do you always go about picking the one that can last longer with no issues?
I don't think that there's any instrument that is easy to learn. Starting from the easiest to the hard ones, one need to put effort in any of them. I wanted to learn how to play drums, I really did try but it was a futile effort for me. I think I will check another instrument like piano or violin.
Being bored is one of the ways one can get into depression. As a person, what are the ways that you get to handle being bored? Do you play games, read books or go to the cinema? What exactly do you do when you feel bored?
Are there weird places that you've listened to the radio?
Weird places as it is stated are places where no one would have expected anyone to be listening to the radio. Is there a particular place that you've ever stayed to listen to the radio that seemed off? I can say that I've listened to the radio a couple of times in the toilet. That is a place that I didn't see myself staying to listen to the radio, but I had to.
Watching movies is one of the ways that I use to relax. As one who goes to work daily, I tend to watch movies mostly at night as that is when I can be able to do so. Unfortunately, there are times that I've fallen asleep while seeing a movie and this happens even when the movie is an interesting one. As a person, do you have this kind of issue when seeing movies or do you always stay awake to complete movies that you start?
Music can change the world if every single person is ready to make it work. If we are nonchalant or ignorant of what we have, there's no way we can ever change. Heal the world was one of the song that made great impact on people, I wish we can do more better with good songs.
It was a piano. I learnt in in high school because music class was one of my favourite class that I never missed. Piano or keyboard was also my favourite instrument and it became easy because I've already have the passion to master it.
Latest 'news' presents a proposal by Vladimir Putin for peace talks in Istanbul Turkey on May 15th between the two waring parties. As they'd done back in 2022 before that little intrusion by the messy haired Brit. Boris Johnson led to this colossal cluster "f-k" we read and have debated over now. So I truly hope that this effort is genuine and maybe can be without any further meddling by US or European entities in peace initiatives. The terms mentioned are consistent with what the Russian's have insisted on all along. Primarily the no NATO encroachment ever in Ukraine and getting to the ROOT cause of this conflict having occurred. Maybe some plausible affirmation towards the US involvement can be prettied up to be acceptable to Trump and crowd. After all, Biden started it. Trump now can say, he ended it. The irony still is that Ukraine would retain the right to be aligned economically with the European Union. Just as it was hammered out back in 22 in Istanbul. But with neutrality and... No NATO! Wouldn't it be nice if some future May 9th that Ukrainian, European and American officials would join in on the celebration in Red Square in Moscow to celebrate the end of WWII in Europe!
A sad testimonial of disconnect with what the propaganda crap is written in our supposed higher journalism source in denial of who, what, when and why this all happened. To the reality on the ground being subjected to the horrors of war. That I'll remind over and over. Did not have to happen. But the disconnect still persists. Just read the NY Times to stay pleasantly numb. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2025/03/racist-allied-underestimation-of-russias-abilities-led-to-its-win.html#more Please don't use my name. Reality. https://meduza.io/en/feature/2025/03/27/please-don-t-use-my-name
When should there be respect when none is shown? When one sovereign country is used in a ruse to go against another country to try and diminish and degrade it's sovereignty and security. Trump now is using his typical egocentric tactics with negotiations with Russia that are totally transparent as being insincere. He wants a deal real fast to look decisive but Putin knows from experience how insincere the US is with treaties in the past. The BRICS alliance was formed as a defense to counter US hegemony and aggression with our financial trade system monopoly with the dollar. The BRICS countries are actively hedging gold and decoupling from the dollar to protect their economies from our imperialist mindset. In the Middle East the threat of escalating war is exacerbating with our wanton illegitimate stand with Israel. How does our standing in the world as a warmongering, conniving, selfish, boorish and aggressive empire make us morally superior? Parts of the world are standing up to this malarkey, and rightly so. Even Greenland.
After WWI Germany was forced into reparations. Their economy floundered and eventually a strong willed leader emerged that built up their military along with nationalistic fervor and a twisted ethnic identity that led to another massive conflict. After WWII instead of expecting reparations from Germany for their atrocities. We forgave their debt. And their post war economy flourished becoming in time the largest economy in Europe. The German miracle it was known. Indebting countries like we do with the International Monetary Fund puts countries in servitude to bond holders. Just like what the proposal is to Ukraine. That country was "used" as part of our project to encircle Russia to the Black Sea. This project ran into a little snag through the will of the Russian government and people. So call it a loss as at the table at Vegas. You roll the dice as all of our little projects aimed at preserving our empire notion of exceptionalism. But Trump can't let it slide without coming out a winner. He's doing his typical adversarial "Trump card" with Russia with negotiations. They aren't flying. And with Ukraine naturally being now in a rock & hard place. His demands are high. Zelensky isn't the intrepid stoic underdog as made out. He's as crooked as a great deal of what the Ukrainian government is and has been for some time. There has been a large coalition of Nationalist Nazi oriented fascists infested within the confines of government there. Whatever it took to bribe or influence Zelensky to go along with the US and Britain's "Let's give it a go" idiotic commitment to go to all out war with Russia with our lack luster backing shows how compromised Zelensky is to govern his country with the wellbeing of Ukrainians in mind. Their people are exhausted by this terrible fraud foisted on them. They can't replenish their front lines without abducting unwilling men to serve as targets now for the Russian meat grinder. I doubt that Zelensky holds high esteem with most Ukraine's. Holding out faith in whatever American virtue there is these days by the actions of what our government continues to do in the world seems contrary to demanding that our government alter its wanton ways. We choose between two equally compromised political parties that throw up candidates woefully out of touch with the realities of our economy, our environment and our changing world geopolitically due to our wanton ways of behavior. Our country now is an impediment to the stability of the concept of sovereign nations.
Hi, I'm with Wayne on this. If we want any respect in the world we need to not only honor previous agreements but provide some assistance where entities that are not friendly toward us are trying to harm ones that are friendly. At the same time I am completely appalled by Trump wanting to take over Greenland. It puts us in a light as unfavorable as our enemies. I understand the election process in Ukraine but under the circumstances (basically war) I fully support Zelenski as their leader as do most Ukrainians. He has demonstrated that an underdog can hold a big dog at bay when assisted from folks like us. The above is not to indicate that the US is like snow white. We have numerous problems and cause plenty throughout the world as well. Right now I figure that we are really headed into deep S+++. I can only agree with about 20% of what the present adminstration is doing. We need to fix things not hack them randomly with a chain saw.
I agree with some of that, but I am hopeful that America continues to provide assistance and a tacit alliance with Ukraine. I am happy with a lend/lease deal like in WWII, where we expect repayment or with an investment plan that allows American companies to support Ukrainian infrastructure. I wish we had done that kind of thing decades ago. But I don't agree with any criticism of Zelensky. In my opinion, he is the best president Ukraine ever had. Most Ukrainians feel that way about him too.
This just shows the depravity that our country does to other countries and their citizens. The Trump cabinet, (made up of some 13 billionaires) has submitted a proposition to Ukraine's government that expects the big payback of all of our weapons sent to them that only resulted in they losing hundred of thousands of lives and destruction of infrastructure. We crap all over countries in this world with our ignorant exceptionalism and with this administration expect some sort of slavish gratitude for being mauled in a war we helped instigate them into. Zelenski for one now is an illegitimate head of state having exceeded his term. And the Russians probably are not going to stop this campaign until all of their demands are met. Which I hope spells out the complicity of what the US and Britain had in this ever having to occur. But Trump and his oligarch pals visualize the world in a transactional framework. Lets make a deal. Come on down. We're a sick and depraved empire full of rot. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2025/03/trumps-rewritten-deal-with-ukraine-is-imposed-indentured-servitude.html#more
Despite all the ongoing and practically daily assaults what the new administration is projecting for all to see. The main objective in regards to Ukraine now is to END this fruitless war. Though you wouldn't know that listening to news in Europe to remain steadfast to allowing the continuation of death. For no possible good reason. And still there is denial and fear mongering to that Russian threat that's been in place since post WWII. Billions and billions spent on armament production to prevent invasion by Russia just as they did in Ukraine. Europe's next! Corporate media never, ever brings up the facts leading up to Russia's invasion on any other pretext than they just did it. They're the aggressors, they're at fault. The world operates on yes and no, black and white. No other factors enter into the judgement. The fact is though is that this war was predicted decades ago even by Henry Kissinger among others from this NATO buildup insanity. Ignored, pushed aside and scoffed at. As blogger Caitlin Johnstone writes: Quote: As the Trump administration pauses military aid to Ukraine and western liberals continue their shrieking meltdown over Trump hurting Saint Zelensky’s feelings, it’s probably worth reminding everyone that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was indisputably provoked by western aggressions. That’s why so many western experts and analysts spent years warning ahead of time that western aggressions were going to provoke an invasion of Ukraine. Now, some may hear this and say “Okay but Russia still shouldn’t have invaded even though our western leaders were aggressively provoking them to.” But before you do that it might be a good idea to look inside yourself and ask where that impulse is arising from. Why are you so eager to skip past the part where you criticize your own rulers for their role in starting this war and focus solely on criticizing the leader of an eastern government who has no power over you? What is it inside of you that’s flailing all over the place trying to avoid any forceful scrutiny of the reckless warmongering of your own government and its allies? The last time a foreign rival placed a credible military threat near the border of the United States, the US responded so aggressively that the world almost ended (if you want to know just how close we came to nuclear annihilation during the Cuban Missile Crisis, look up the name Vasili Arkhipov). Western liberals have been conditioned to insist that Russia should have responded differently to the US empire amassing proxy forces on its border than the US would respond to the same kind of threat on its own borders. The frenetic mental contortions needed to justify this ridiculous double standard are only possible because the west is saturated in domestic propaganda manipulating the way they think about the world. And Vasily Arkhipov did save the world from terrible consequences one day in October 1962. Once again from the aggression fomented by the United States towards Russia by putting missiles first in Turkey. Our reckless ways that has economic ties towards our military industrial complex. But we don't look inward at our ways. We blame others for what we stoked to begin with. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasily_Arkhipov
Well the whole demeaning tone out of the notion of "ungratefulness" is an affront to the destruction and blood shed by Ukraine. Estimates so far are some half a million dead and untold wounded. Never mind our country's contribution towards initiating this conflict to occur. Trump expects repayment for our support! Throwing out numbers way over what was actually allotted by congress. Alluding to bogus mineral reserves that even if they did exist in quantity to extract should be at the discretion of the country containing the minerals. Zelenski is no angel though. But Trump is only transactionally minded. He wins, you lose. Winner takes all. I remember the legislation for "bounty hunting" here in Missouri. Not unlike those in Texas for desperate women seeking an abortion. A Gestapo tactic either way. Interesting what's goin on in these town hall meetings here in Missouri. Representatives are getting an ear full.
There's more. I don't know about you all, but when someone shakes a finger in my face it is not a sign of respect. Kind of like scolding a child. In situations like we saw yesterday it demonstrates a complete lack of control and understanding on the part of the finger pointer. A clearly personal attack that has nothing to do with the purported purpose of the meeting. I'm done for today but expect to to further embarrassed by the conduct of some individuals.
More.. https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/01/us/missouri-sb72-illegal-immigrant-reward-bill/index.html here comes 1939. Put a bounty on folks. Just wonderful.
Hi, Yes I am embarrassed to be an American. In one month the US has gone from a honorable but occasionally misguided nation to a comedy circus. International respect has gone down the toilet. To be sure some changes need to be made, but chaos is not necessary to accomplish them. I figure it is rather common for Leaders to not agree on everything. But respecting each other is absolutely necessary for peaceful resolution of problems. What we all saw yesterday is the antithesis of diplomacy. I personally feel it was orchestrated to demean one of the leaders as a favor to a third party who incidentally celebrated the exchange. Disgraceful is not a strong enough word. My hopes for a better future for my children and grand children just dropped a couple of notches.
My hope lies with what China is doing. They have a philosophy much different to Anglo-Saxon philosophy. In that they do not seem to have this conquest to impose ideology to other nations. To control and dominate as the sole unassailable nation. I think sharing and cooperation seems to be their hallmark. They're on a tear now building up from their not too distant humble status. While our nation is in the throws of losing control of its status. Hence our political and social turmoil is making a world scene. Really embarrassing. Going from a leader compromised by mental acuity to another leader compromised by his own delusions of grandeur. A change, if its gonna come. I can only hope is because our country can't continue along with the logic of its economic and foreign relations doctrine its followed for too many decades now. That's where I hope China brings its more benevolent influence into our national psyche. By example or by realistic dialogue. As uncomfortable to think of for our current 2 party political status quo is right now.
I absolutely hated seeing that yesterday. I was hopeful we'd get somewhere. but what I saw yesterday was worse than watching kindergarten bullies picking on a disabled kid. Most of what's going on politically today is unnerving but makes me hopeful. Change is always uncomfortable, but I have guarded optimism it's for the best. But this bully stuff, well, it's too bad it isn't sight unseen in some kindergarten. Instead, it's on the world's stage. And it appears the world is pissed. Rightly so, in my opinion. I sure wish I could do more to help that disabled kid. He's actually really damn cool.
The political theater swirling around Ukraine is like a Marx Brothers movie. Chaotic and absurd. Yesterday was the big blow out in the oval office. The ongoing paint gun splatter the public gets over Ukraine's huge, enormous potential for minerals and rare earths is being hyped into the peace talk initiatives going on. This highlights essentially the false flag journalism that yanks the public around like a yoyo. Businessman Kevin Walmsley puts the lid down on the stovetop fire generated by our commercial media outlets. He and the alternative outlets of journalism with some integrity have been pointing out that Ukraine and its natural resources are vastly overblown. Their potential worth extracting highly questionable and what there is also reside in the area that will be folded into Russia when the dust settles. Mind you our very own government has ridden this phony backdrop jockeying position with the movement going on ground level with this phony unnecessary war even to have occurred. Its how the empire management system works along with the Mighty Wurlitzer propaganda apparatus. Ukraine's $500 billion rare earths scam: they don't exist, and we should know better https://kdwalmsley.substack.com/p/ukraines-500-billion-rare-earths
Honestly now. Talking out both sides of his mouth? No. He is consistent with what he means. The US policy with the former Soviet Union was, as he says, do enough to avert catastrophe during the break up and reformation of the economic structure. But do nothing more to HELP Russia. As Sachs had done in Poland and approved of by the US. This ties into the consistent policy of Russia-phobia he speaks of. And our government is the one that didn't want to be involved. Period. Their policy has been the breakup of Russia. Not to help them then or ever. We shouldn't be involved as with this overarching dominance in this world we've conducted since post WWII. Planning and meddling overt and covert regime change, sanctioning, warmongering and lack of diplomacy. I'm quite sure you could find a host of other links to people editorializing what Sachs talks about. The world is divided into camps of ideologies and biases. Propaganda plays a large part of that. So now what? End this war in Ukraine. It was a fabrication by design as pointed out and documented by official memoirs that upon any reasonable investigation free from bias and political motivation shows our premeditation towards provoking what any leader, (most certainly ours) would commence armed action against. We almost started WW3 in the 1960's over a sovereign country having missiles within their borders by request. The fact that Putin did invade Ukraine and would not tolerate any longer this encroachment by NATO by proxy via the US was a call to our bluff over many years of antagonization. By NATO enlargement and by our sanctioning. Finally, this distain of Putin and Russia's oligarchy is a trumped up charge. More propaganda fueled by the Mighty Wurlitzer. This country is a basket case from our own oligarchy. And currently is being made even more undemocratic because of them. One in particular. And to imply that Russia is dirtier so to speak from their leadership and economic corruption is laughable to what our own society has spawned. Our prior president prevailed over aiding and abetting genocide! And the war in Ukraine that did not have to occur but for our grand game theory planning has resulted in probably a half million deaths in Ukraine.
I've read many of the things you've posted from the "Moon of Alabama" website and others, including Jeffrey Sachs. In particular, I agree with some of what Jeffrey Sachs says. But I must admit that I disagree with his latest opinions. I'm not alone in this: From economist to Kremlin mouthpiece: The troubling transformation of Jeffrey Sachs, from theHill.com, June 19, 2024 Jeffrey Sachs: Checkered record on the stuff he’s “good at” and terrible takes on Ukraine and covid, from Medium.com, August 27, 2023 Frankly, Sachs talks out of both sides of his mouth these days. On one hand, he says he wishes people would have listened to him when he recommended what we should do to assist the governments and peoples of former Soviet countries. When he says that, I agree. But then he talks about how we shouldn't be involved. So which is it? Should we have done stuff to help after the Soviet Union crumbled? - The stuff Sachs proposed, I assume would have been OK with him - but so should we have involved ourselves or not? Honestly, when Sachs talks about what we could have done right after the Soviet Union dissolved, I agree with him. I think we could have assisted Soviet nations and their peoples to convert to a free-market system. We could have educated the public on the value of having ownership in their companies. We could have helped their industries get back on their feet, maybe offered assistance and taken some of the profits in return. So when Sachs talks about how he wished his recommendations had been followed back in the early post-Soviet days, I agree. As an economist, his guidance would have probably been very valuable over there. But that didn't happen. So now what? Lately, Sachs seems to want to talk about all the bad stuff America did and is still doing. On that, I don't really disagree. We do some stuff I think is pretty stupid, or at least ineffective. And I think we often fail to do stuff that would be productive. But there are some things are very apparent to me, with respect to the Russian invasion of Ukraine: One is that Ukraine is an independent country and that it has been friendly to us since the early 1990s. Another is that the former Soviet countries have a huge problem with mobster novi-russki, those that people now call "Russian oligarchs." Third is that Putin has taken advantage of that situation and has organized the mobsters into a mob-run government instead of trying to clean up Russia and make it a nation of fair laws. Aside: Other countries have this problem too, to some degree, but Putin's Russia appears to be wholly and completely mobster-run, with Putin as its kingpin. And lastly, Putin is an aggressor that invaded Ukraine and is guilty of all deaths responsible there. I am willing to listen to anyone that has opinions on this subject, but those things are axiomatic to me. So if someone voices an opinion that is counter to any of those self-evident facts, I tune them out, considering them to be either innocently uniformed or having an agenda of some sort. Some of those have financial agendas, I suppose, but many appear to be motivated by pride, and just like to hear themselves talk. They just want to act like they have a clue, but amazingly, don't.
This needs to be repeated from another thread. Jeffrey Sachs speech to the European Parliament in Brussels Belgium this last week. Explaining how American foreign policy works. Its overarching strategy based essentially on game theory. Tearing up treaties, lying to the public, covert and overt decapitation strategy of heads of state, and war, lots of war. Hopefully he got through to some of the European Parliamentarians. They need to as he stresses develop their own strategy apart from following American warmongering like puppy dogs. They need to stand on their own for their own needs because our alliance hasn't done them any great favors. Germany's economy is a wreck now due to this fiendish following to our will. Mr. Sachs goes over the whole sordid playbook formulated since the end of Soviet Russia in the early 90's to the Middle East's entrenched war planning via the close relationship of Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu to our national security and the expansion of Israel. Long term planning in all aspects. None of which that have returned peace, stability or prosperity. Every point he makes is backed up with archival documentation. This isn't innuendo or conjecture. As he says, he's been there and seen it up close and personal. Knowing the protagonists involved in crafting this multi decade effort. It's good to know the truth. Deception plays havoc with virtue. It erodes the spirit and faith of goodwill. Jeffrey Sachs speech video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA9qmOIUYJA Transcript: https://singjupost.com/transcript-jeffrey-sachs-on-the-geopolitics-of-peace-in-the-european-parliament/?singlepage=1 NATO expansion: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/russia-programs/2017-12-12/nato-expansion-what-gorbachev-heard-western-leaders-early The Grand Chessboard: https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/3518519 Clean Break & Middle East policy with Netanyahu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Clean_Break:_A_New_Strategy_for_Securing_the_Realm
The greatest latest hew and cry in media now is in response to Trump's claim Zelenskyy is to blame for the Ukraine war. Always a scapegoat with Trump's narrative. Nobody brings up that he helped instigate with Obama before him the weapons buildup in the Donbass hostilities during his first administration. Why didn't he nip it in the bud then? But US NATO expansion history and Joe Biden's administration were the primary Warhawk ideology behind the Russians committing to their special military operations finally. The offramp last ditch Istanbul negotiations thrown out by the US & Britain. All well documented and open source. Our collective denial to our very own dirty handed foreign policy being the culprit is covered over with the effective propagandizing of a compliant media network more than willing to regurgitate the official narrative fed them. However and whatever. At least the ball is rolling to end hopefully this terrible example of intergovernmental failure to communicate and cooperate. As in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Gaza, on and on. China by contrast last conflict was in 1978 in Cambodia. The Sino-Vietnamese war. Lasting all of one month. Now our enemy number one because we can't compete with them economically. So let's antagonize them, and plan for eventual war. Why? Many point to our inability to deal with our diminishment of our hegemony of being the sole most exceptional nation. We've deindustrialized and can't now just restart that economic priority with a cost of living driven up over decades of financialized parasitism. What Trump decree's to cut losses as a waste for the Ukraine conflict, he maintains the hegemony concept with his tariff threats and call to bring foreign manufacturing here via low taxes. Then lets grab Panama, make overtures with Greenland to be a protectorate and Canada to be our 51st state. Our foreign policy has just reorganized to cut losses in one endeavor and escalate in another. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.
Well, hopefully this is the indicator that this terrible tragedy that never, ever need to have ever occurred will finally end. So the people of Ukraine can reestablish their lives and the people of Russia can rest easily that their border with Ukraine will not have NATO missiles pointed towards them. Estimates of 500,000 lives lost from the Ukraine side alone. What a waste. What absurdity. I hope lessons can be learned from this horrible chapter of history. Especially with our own country. That's a stretch. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2025/02/trump-tells-ukrainian-war-party-that-the-game-is-up.html#more
"I see plans within plans", said the Guild Navigator from the movie Dune to the Emperor. Frank Herbert's fictional intergalactic treachery politics. Earth is also like what probably is the universal constant in the universe for politics. Treachery, chicanery and self serving motives. Its always a good thing to follow up on links from The Moon of Alabama. As in the prior article. There are good journalists out there who dig up the dirt that we're living in. Dirt we didn't make. Our elected officials and the powerful "rich", (oligarchs?) that influence our governments. like the Nord Stream 2 mysterious destruction. Plans within plans. https://www.thomasfazi.com/p/nord-stream-terrorist-attack-all
You know life is so full of irony. You have to have a sense of humor to appreciate how to be able to bend with the wind and accept things. I despise Trump. He's a demagogue and privileged pompous prognosticator of lies and deceit. But.. There are times, there are times like this article where, yeah, he "gets it". So, I'm all for it. I'm with him on this. I don't have any allegiance to stick to any given line of what popular sentiment may be. Things are way too complex and fraught with ulterior motives in this world. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2025/01/to-avoid-fighting-large-conflicts-trump-is-creating-smaller-ones.html#more Panama & Greenland. That'll blow over. Trump will make the next 4 years seem like a comic book adventure.
Even on network national news tonight January 5th, 2025 reports there is a new Ukrainian incursion into Russia. Described as a bargaining chip Zelenskyy thinks is necessary for peace talks that the incoming Trump administration want to bring for an end to this terrible, senseless conflict. I hope this is true. Whatever, as the motives now in continuing this war is nothing but cruelty to Ukraine. One overriding principal will be non-negotiable. No NATO and no treaty that the US alone can break as we have with too many treaties. The old American Indian adage that the white man speaks with forked tongue is still relevant even today. https://qz.com/1273510/all-the-international-agreements-the-us-has-broken-before-the-iran-deal
How it's done. One example of who knows how many. Public sentiment tailored to the Mighty Wurlitzer playing away. Our consumer culture has been crafted forever with ad agency product spin through commercials, jingles, infomercials. "But wait there's more"! The Popeil pocket fisherman can do! Our national security agencies can throw out a lure to the commercial media to latch onto. Subliminal reinforcement to justify never ending meddling our government carries out with sovereign nations we're not kosher with. China seems to be our biggest project yet to try and subvert. Ain't gonna happen. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2025/01/indictment-debunks-china-hacking-claim.html#more
Good points by you all. I understand the not being able to do anything aspect. Not dwelling on negative thoughts. Maybe it'll interest you that at the onset of the conflict in Ukraine, I too viewed a slime trail left by Putin and his leadership as repugnant. All the stories about his KGB past, the treachery of his government. The hope that this conflict would vindicate his scheming being his undoing. I've since modified that thinking totally. Which is why I've brought up propaganda frequently in this thread. Like the problems trying to understand the forces of nature. The forces of human nature are complex too, and woven intricately. Studying this with what only is available on the surface won't give any nuance to what things are all about. Fortunately this day and age. There are resources literally at your fingertips. From which one can if interested, gain some insight into todays happenings with some greater comprehension. And what may seem obvious on the surface, is a host of factors running just below that point otherwise. That's what has modified my views. I see a slime trail emanating from elsewhere than the standard consensus. A scheming which isn't consistent with cooperation in this world. Being applied all over in the name of dominance. They call it hegemony in economic terms. It isn't a healthy pursuit. I've found it to be more liberating than frustrating and negative to gain some understanding of the way things are as they are said to be. I've got plenty of other interests and pursuits. But there are major things in societies planning and administration that effect our way of life that, at least for me, too important to be nonchalant about. Just let er ride. Especially now in my latter years of life. I've got time now, what's left, to try and understand to what end they're being done. Happy New Years
Hi Wayne and Rusty. I do not usually get involved in political or religious matters especially in a public form. It can cause serious harm to otherwise fine relationships. After a long number of years of water under the dam I have gained some ability to see and respect viewpoints that differ from my own. I too don't dwell on things I can't change. I have learned to accept them for what they are. It doesn't mean though that I must like them or respect the source. I consider the current Ukraine and Middle East situations as the result of nearly insane leaders. The vast majority of residents of those places would much rather carry on their normal lives instead of trying to kill each other. For sure there is a percentage that have a different viewpoint. We have some in the US that keep looking for something to destroy or at least attack. Even though it is not a civil or nice thought, I hope those individuals find their way to their version of hell and do so quickly so the rest of us can carry on with our pursuits. Regardless, I hope that you and your's and all the other members of the site have a great new year.
I really don't like to talk about this stuff much because I can't do anything about it. So that leaves me with just angry thoughts, which are very unproductive. If I can do something about a thing that concerns me, then I do. But otherwise, I really just want to focus on other things - those that I can do something about. I can build speakers. I can work on cars. I design good computer equipment and software. I can be a good friend. I can help others, or at least hang out with them. Those are the things I can do that are productive. Doing them gives me a fairly positive mental outlook, and my "inner dialog" is mostly optimistic. It ain't much, but it's all I can do. If I don't do them, I find myself focusing on these things I can't do, and becoming kind of pessimistic. I gain a negative "inner dialog." That negative inner dialog is what makes me judge Putin and the novi-russki. I think they're all slime. It isn't even the socialist system - it's them personally. I think of them sort of in a sub-human way, as ugly, selfish and decadent people that are bad for their culture and frankly, bad for the planet. Now then, I am fairly sure my assessment of them is correct. I wish I could do something about it - to put them all in jail, and to stop the war in Ukraine. Remove them from power. That's what I think. But that's just me. Same goes for the deal in the "Holy Land." I wish the "People of the Book" would quit fighting among themselves. I wish we could remove every single person that started a fight over there and put them in rehab. Keep 'em there 'til they stopped shooting one another. Make 'em read all of the other holy books, and make them help each other instead of shooting each other. But I suppose it's the pinnacle of arrogance for me to think any of that. So I'm gonna go back to my software tasks right now. And in the meantime, Happy New Years, my friends!
Another thing from Your post Wayne that strikes me. Seemingly from what you say. You say you don't follow anything about the Ukraine conflict. So you don't try to comprehend what, why, and how this all begat? Just the face value of one country invading another? And what is written and spoken about that is all wrong. From any source? Anyone? I'm trying to understand if you base your interpretation from just personal experience. Being you had some contact with that part of the world. To me that would be valid but a very narrow comprehension. A very thin slice of the whole. Anyway, to me it seems that our personal experiences can't encompass the bigger part of society without some tutelage or investigation. And particularly government and the policies enacted. We vote supposedly for people to carryout the will of the public interest. And from where I'm sitting now, I comprehend a huge disconnect. So, I've tried to investigate why that is. Our economy and our geopolitical stance in the world that contribute to that disconnect. Politics I don't follow with any more interest than a sporting event. Two teams in our system that play offense and defense to control their parties advantage over the other mostly. What comes out of that is compromised that favors the system that gets them elected. Wealth. I maybe whistling Dixie from what I try and fathom. Maybe it's bunk. I've put some faith I suppose in some people, or influencers you've mentioned as mentors. I guess if they were some yahoo doing a blog or conspiracy podcast ranting unconfirmable diatribe I'd be truly seduced by folly. I seem to think though these people have some merit of experience & integrity without any skin in the game towards being celebrity or financially compensated for their opinions. They're as I, truly concerned with the ways of the world. And they have a fair amount of insight to that bigger picture that's invisible to us ordinary folk. The threads of information seems to fill in the gap that seem as Spock would say, "most illogical". That's the way I roll anyway. Again, I appreciate, respect you and your intelligent good nature.
I appreciate Wayne your liberal management of this section of your forum. I hope I haven't crossed any boundaries of propriety by my expressions. Sure, our political discourse in this country is warped. Our society is going through an upheaval again as it has in other periods. Particularly the 60's from the Vietnam experience. Thus when you mention "slime", I guess to me that indicates a deep seated disdain of what you perceive as the "communist system" of governance. I can only say that seems a very narrow interpretation. And that interpretation seems to permeate the replies I've read in this thread. Not that I'm a supporter of that socio economic construct. I've always thought our democracy was a noble flawed ideal. But I've come to learn that the communist system was and is a legitimate experiment with an alternative to capitalism. And that seems to be where our views diverge. I've come to view through studying economics and geopolitical history that our nation in particular since taking reigns as a dominant empire in the 20th century has woven an unnecessary agenda of expanding its influence in the world. By default from a world war that exhausted a large part of the well developed countries. We instilled our dollar as the universal currency. We initiated the United Nations, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. We did a lot of virtuous things that were positive towards reconstructing the destruction of war. But if you watch the video of Jeffrey Sachs. He mentions no sooner than Germany capitulates to end the war in Europe that was hastened by Russia destroying the Nazi war machine. Britain and our leaders immediately begin the cold war with Russia. Not the other way around. And this has been the case ever since. Since WWII our country with its privileged economic advantage escaping the ravages of war and an exorbitant international currency advantage has given us an upper hand no other country could have. Our prime directive has been perceived as a crusade of our capitalism extolling freedom and democracy against a socio economic system that includes socialism as a part of the economic system. The world has caught up to our economic dominance. A good deal from our very own misdirected economic philosophy. And our belligerence in trying to keep our dollar dominance maintained. The virtue we had has been eroded I feel rather arrogantly. And countries representing a majority of the worlds population have instituted a membership to counter our arrogance. Named the BRICS by its founding members. The slime that you mention can be interpreted in other ways. As a good many nations of the world now are expressing interest in being 'free' from.
I really don't like talking politics on AudioRoundTable.com 'cause it's easy to get emotional. It's hard to talk about stuff like this on a messageboard. If we were all hangin' out at a local greasy-spoon, we'd definitely hear each other and our mutual respect would show, so we could have different views without taking even the slightest offence. But on messageboards, it's easy to start feeling uncomfortable, even offended. That's why I limit my comments on these subjects, and usually just leave 'em alone. Please don't feel uncomfortable here. Please take no offense. Anyway, I did want to chime in about propaganda. I remember when I first went to Odessa, I visited with a lot of people and watched a lot of television there. I realized that the Russian propaganda was almost totally ineffective. Everyone there saw through the rhetoric, and everyone had very good visibility into other cultures, namely American. They knew all our celebrities and personalities, and they followed our culture, styles, trends and politics. And by the way - when I say "Russian" - I am combining Russians and Ukrainians. I also include Moldovans, Belarussians, Azerbaijanis, Armenians and a bunch of other former-soviet countries. The people of those countries have one thing in common - they love their people and their culture but mistrust and sometimes even hate their governments. So but I digress. My point is that Russian propaganda is almost completely ineffective at manipulation of their people's minds. Russian people may be afraid of consequences, so they may modify their behavior accordingly and they may not express their true opinions publicly. But that doesn't mean that Russians agree with what they're hearing on the radio or TV, and it certainly doesn't mean they agree with what their government is doing. I mentally compared that with what I saw in America, and what I still see today. We are conformists here, and we are deeply affected by what we see and hear. We may choose a side to believe in, but once we take that side, we tend to listen only to that side, and we believe everything they say. On this point, I think we totally agree. We Americans are very good at spin. Up until maybe 50 or 60 years ago, we believed our media and government officials almost entirely. We all simply conformed to whatever we saw on TV and thought of ourselves as the brave and the true. That's not as true today as it was, say, when Walter Cronkite was on TV. But we Americans still very much think that we have a sort of monopoly on the truth, or at least that our party does. Not knocking that - not being un-American - but I do realize how easily manipulated we all are here. Even now that we have started to distrust our government officials, we still seem to trust one side. We pick a party and believe them. We rarely listen to the other side. And we also rarely know much about what's going on in any other part of the world. I'm guilty of all that too. So I was surprised at how little I truly knew about Russians and how much all of them knew about me. Or rather I should say, I knew very little about their culture and influences and they knew a lot about mine. They knew our movies, our celebrities, our music, our restaurants, our clothing styles and even sometimes knew our sayings. I didn't know a single Russian celebrity, except maybe those that were made famous by the Olympics. And back to the propaganda - I will say this: I don't listen to anything about Russian/Ukraine relations coming from American television, radio internet podcasts or any other media outlet. I don't listen to either American political side on this issue. Both are completely wrong. I'm amazed at how loud they've all gotten, when just three decades ago, they were all completely silent. As soon as the Berlin wall fell in 1989, American went totally silent. It was like, "problem solved," nothing to see here. We did nothing. And maybe that's OK. Maybe we shouldn't have. I'm sort of a libertarian in most cases, so I generally like the idea of staying out of other peoples' business. But then why were we so involved in Korea and Vietnam only to let the slime ooze back in? What was it all for? Why did we not do a better job of embracing former Soviet states like Ukraine in the 1990s? It sure would have been more productive back then. It would have been easier and nicer. But we did nothing. Politicians didn't care and most of the American public didn't even know who they were back then. Anyway, that's a pointless question. The fact is, that didn't happen. So the slime did ooze back in. Or at least it's trying. I personally think it's worse slime than the Russian people have seen since Stalin. And most Americans don't know a thing about it. What we're hearing over here - from both political parties - has no relation to reality, whatsoever. It is very clear to me that what we're seeing is opportunistic propaganda designed to advance an opinion that really doesn't even have anything at all to do with Ukraine. One side simply wants to impeach the other, so they blame the other party's position. It's not at all about Ukraine. It's about having some stupid sound-bite. The arguments made by both sides have almost no merit and are a distraction from things that really matter. We Americans are damn good at propaganda. We can get people all worked up about stuff that isn't even the real point. It works great for getting their focus off of the points that really matter.
Seems to me, based on what I ascertain. Is our domestic media is lax in its ethical commitment for unbiased reporting. A good deal of our media is owned by extremely wealthy individuals now. And their editorial boards constrain reporting to fit the common narrative put out by our national security institutions. It's people like the economist Jeffrey Sachs. That have real experience with how the inner working of government(s) are and the people close to policy making that I take note of contradicting the homogeneous media output. He and others paint a different picture to serious world happenings. And why they're happening. Giving context to the gap left out of the reporting of it. There is no factual accounting of what is leveled by our media towards how Russia and other countries that aren't part of the US led association of countries. There is innuendo and a built up narrative spanning decades. Call it spin. The book The Mighty Wurlitzer goes into how the CIA and other national security agencies put that spin through media outlets to shape public sentiment. This has spanned my whole life and beyond particularly towards the old Soviet Union and now Russia. I'll never forget how as a child hearing public messages on the TV with a quote taken out of context by then Premier Nikita Khrushchev. "We will bury you". Quite chilling for a child to hear in those duck & cover days. So if one takes the time and trouble to get an alternative accounting to long standing institutionalized view points. One can learn that hypocrisy is the underlying norm. There is a whole body of evidence such as what Mr. Sachs points to in the Youtube video link that point that out. I just don't buy the crap put out there. And our historical record for our foreign policy helps to confirm that. Your mileage may vary.
Hi I hear you Rusty but I am more with Wayne on this. The way we conduct politics and business now are atrocious. The way the Russian Government deals with issues is far worse. A shame for both of us. I believe that a vast majority of common citizens of both countries would rather be left alone to live their lives.
Tsk tsk. Rhetoric and murder do not mix? Those Russkies and their crude behavior leads one to cement their disdain for them. Rex Tillerson, Trumps first Secretary of State didn't mind it though doing Exxon Mobile business with them. But apart from that. Character assassination in our politics is part of the game. And real life assassination a part of our CIA security apparatus. And proxy wars now to contract others to do the will of our neocon fanatics scheming. Ukraine's freedom & democracy as well as the rest of Europe is at stake! We must stop Russia's ruthless territory grab. Like we must stop North Vietnam's domino theory of communist takeover of Asia. Then we must stop Saddam Hussein's mad dictatorship of Iraq. And the spread of Jihadi terrorists in the Middle East in Afghanistan. And Israel has a right to defend itself. We must supply them the means to rid all Palestinians, er, that is Hamas and Hezbollah from the expansion of Israel itself. The Gaza strip after all is prime beachfront property. Then we must march onward Christian soldiers like the Crusades to take on our new mortal enemy, the Chinese. Yeah. Those Russian's are too crude. We're much more sophisticated. And lethal.
There are many Americans that are less than upstanding, to be sure. Many of them are politicians. So I won't defend for anyone or any political "side" without personally knowing them. I will say this though: I can make two observations that I think are so axiomatic, I don't need to know the players involved to draw a conclusion. 1. American politics has devolved to a point where the rhetoric is deafening. It's pretty gross. But even at this low level - and I think it's pretty bad - we still haven't quite resorted to murder. Character assassination, to be sure. It's ugly and even pathetic, definitely. But Russian politicians routinely murder or attempt to murder their opponents. Poison seems to be the weapon of choice, but there have been other methods. So to me, that's a big deal. It's nuts over there. Politicians - and powerful businessmen, for that matter - those that do not side with Putin are often murdered. It's been like that for decades. 2. The Russian oil business is run in such a criminal matter that it is virtually impossible to do business with Russian oil interests without being seriously compromised. Anyone doing business with Russian oil companies is suspicious, and Americans doing this are potentially treasonous. To do business with Russian oil is to seduce oneself with an armed prostitute. She'll wink and flirt and promise you stuff, then threaten to murder your family when you don't do what she wants.
Sigh. I feel our neocon indoctrination of the public is complete. No amount of evidence of our corrupt meddling, our lies. Our own novi-Amerikan oligarchy profiting from our over-bloated military complex being our last means of having any export industry. To supply NATO countries and dictatorships a means of control. History will show just that. Long after our empire minded neocon state of foreign affairs is a footnote. It's sad I think what our own country does in the name of blanket national security. But other countries not in membership of our 'control' that pursue their sovereign interests are the evil empire or under the domination of bad actors. No, we only have to look at ourselves with an honest and critical self evaluation. Like an alcoholic or drug user that is in 'denial' to their own chaotic behavior detrimental to others. Our country has exhibited in history and currently just that. Mr. Sachs points that out precisely and truthfully. Unlike the smirking Victoria Nuland or messy haired Boris Johnson in the video lying through their teeth.
Honestly, Ukraine and Russia have had conflicts since before America was a nation. What is funny to me is that Russia - in its Soviet days - used to consider itself to be free of greed. But now, Putin and his novi-russki buddies are motivated by nothing but greed. Well, I say nothing, but that's not true. They are also motivated by arrogance and power. The Russian people should rise again and unseat their tsar. Most of the rest of the world is certainly on board with that.
Understanding the Ukraine conflict. Jeffrey Sachs. The United States effort to encircle Russia to the Black Sea. Spanning the decades since the Soviet collapse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiK6DijNLGE&t=2s
The Art of War. And a means to curtail it. From the weekend wrap up at the blog, Moon of Alabama. A great source of international and national journalism unfettered by corporate media editorial boards that won't touch on the controversies of contradiction. Starting with how the philosophy of administering warfare differs between Russia and western military strategists. https://aurelien2022.substack.com/p/the-missile-will-always-get-through And the Chinese answer to our military harassment and free trade hypocrisy. Deny the raw material for the ability to make weapons. https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/12/could-chinese-control-over-strategic-minerals-coupled-with-us-corruption-cripple-the-sputtering-us-war-machine.html Sustaining our foreign policy and military complex for maintaining our delusional supremacy of a world moving in contrary to that is becoming harder and harder. We took reins of a world in ashes from a world war mid 20th century. We were unscathed. We did well with a mixed economy under a legacy of an economic doctrine that allowed government to assist with maintaining a low cost of living for the sake of manufacturing and heavy industrial world leadership. This was replaced by a financial takeover of our economic philosophy starting in the mid 1970's. And the rest of the world has come back to eclipse our economic productivity mainly due to our country abandoning our bread and butter manufacturing and industry. We're declining and denying it from the very top of government and corporate ideology. So, those whom we vilify as autocratic, not democratic, that are ascending are applying their self interest to counter our questionable self interests. Do we want perpetual scheming and war? Is it a profitable means to maintain world leadership, or would cooperation and sharing the issues of the world diplomatically be a better investment?
Boiling the frog. Has been America's strategic aim with conducting its proxy war with Russia this last two years. But its readily apparent that, like our blanket and targeted sanctioning scheme won't work with a determined and resourceful opponent. Russia has the resources financially and by alliances to brush aside our petty and arrogant financialized punishment system we use with impunity that is against international law. Which our rules based diplomacy based on our own rules to make and break whenever it suits our neocon exceptionalism of world order. Lame duck Joe Biden up's the ante in his remaining term in office to turn up the heat on Russia for reasons that only reinforces the notion of the bankrupt philosophy of even manipulating this conflict to begin with. Allowing longer range missiles to fire into Russia by the losing badly Ukraine corrupt administration. Russia answered with it's own ante. Not a tit for tat. But an exponential display of force. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/11/how-the-new-russian-missiles-are-changing-the-game.html#more
It's the narrative. Propaganda fed to the corporate press to manage and persuade public opinion. Ukraine is in its last throws of conducting this fruitless war of attrition. Foisted upon them by their corrupt leaders and our corrupt national security apparatus that influences our corrupt political apparatus. So, another country in a now among a long history of countries affected by our foreign policy to try and maintain our hegemony in this world. Its an abomination. Here's how the narrative has played out via the NY Times. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/11/ny-times-announces-ukraine-narrative-change.html#more I feel disgusted with our country's behavior with the Ukraine disaster and primarily with the Israeli genocide we have permitted. All in our quest to maintain our semblance of control. We continue to torment and torture little Cuba after all these years. By vetoing a referendum, now done annually, and voted yes to end our blockade on a poor Caribbean Island by every nation on Earth save the US and Israel. Because it has stubbornly refused to become a neoliberal puppet to our way of doing business. https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/10/1156316 And not to change one iota with either candidate we vote on Nov. 5.
An example of the stupefying manipulations of our national security agencies and the think tank operations that craft the corporate news outlets to follow their tabloid narratives is the latest idiotic blurbs that North Korea is sending troops to help the Russians fight in the Kursk region and in Ukraine. About as dumb as what the Chinese balloon scare was. Its so easy to shape public sentiment with propaganda. Like Trump does, just put something outrageous out there and keep saying it. Like the Haitian immigrants eating dogs and kitty cats in Ohio. Or his perpetual stolen 2020 election. Are we that gullible to swallow this tripe? Unfortunately so. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/10/ukraine-hyped-threat-of-north-korean-soldiers-expands.html#more
Let's dispense with all the political theater that permeates our culture. We are ill informed and led astray by an apparatus set up to justify an ideology that has now pushed itself to the point of being unmanageable. The 'majority' of the worlds population wants to be able to take part in being economically successful. But our country and our allies are apposed to that. We lead by being petty and arrogant. That's been the hallmark of colonialist empire management forever. It's a pattern associated with the past that should and must end for future world development and management. This dialogue exchange shows how the futile efforts of our western culture to try and keep this 20th century ideology going into the 21st century is counter productive and threatening world peace. Peace for the prosperity of all sovereign nations to pursue. Without one dominating country to make the rules in its own favor to sustain an ideology and it's wealthy classes benefit. https://michael-hudson.com/2024/10/a-world-pushed-to-resist-u-s-policies-and-the-rise-of-global-alliances/
I think that's a matter of conjecture with the continuous paranoia of Russia and Putin in our foreign policy beliefs. His standing in his country is solid. The people there are enjoying a better quality of life now. And the Ukrainian war is justifiable throughout their publics consensus as well. They'd like it to end for sure. They have lost many lives as well. This is our doings by design that like our policy in Israel and the general mess we've made in the Middle East over the years. Bosnia, Vietnam. The list is much larger and contributes to where our standing in the world is nowadays, economically and politically. We have no rational diplomacy. As Jeffrey Sachs points out. https://www.jeffsachs.org/newspaper-articles/w8jwrwhcnmf9bf2dmwfy57l85r47af Do we continue with this charade? Upping the ante proxy-wise with Russia by hinting at long range weapons to strike within Russia to keep this fiasco going. Endangering a bigger more dangerous war. A war with tactical nuclear weapons then full throttle nuclear exchange. For what? For prestige, to keep our numero-uno concept intact? The slogan of, "Ukraine is fighting for freedom & democracy" is being replaced by senator Lindsey Graham hitting the Sunday talking head shows a couple weeks back that Ukraine has vast mineral deposits that will be subverted to Russia and China if we don't keep this going. Then there's China we antagonize constantly. This policy is nutso!
I can remember very well when Putin was appointed Prime Minister by Yeltsin on New Year's Eve in 1999. I personally thought he was going to be a good leader. He seemed charismatic and energetic, and I kind of liked him for a few years. But everyone I knew in the Russian community in Tulsa warned me that he would be terrible. I didn't really understand why. I still don't know how they knew he would be terrible so far back. But they were right. In the early 1990s, Yeltsin had endured a pretty unstable government, especially in its parliament and with its connection to the military. There were some close calls, especially those in October 1993. But Russia had gone through a huge upheaval. Their instability was understandable - I don't see that it could have been any other way. Their whole problem was how to make the government transition more stable. By the late 1990s, Yeltsin's hope in Putin was that he would control the novi-russki, and to make sure that those people and organizations that took over sectors in the public and private spheres would be responsible to the citizens and good for the nation. It was a little like the efforts in the USA to control organized crime by creating the FBI. But instead of the Russian government reducing organized crime, it embraced it. Putin cultivated relationships with the novi-russki mobsters that were both potentially powerful and who showed loyalty to him. He arrested or killed those that weren't completely loyal. So over the couple decades that have passed since then, the Russian government became what it is today. That's why I call the Russian government a "bunch of mobsters with nukes."
I don't buy that. That Russia is just a bunch of mobsters with nukes. It's no where as bad as in the mid 90's under Yeltsin. It was a very unfortunate botched effort in Russia and of course our country that made no effort to help. Jeffrey Sachs gave up in disgust. Putin didn't enter the scene until 99. And he has broken up the worst corrupt oligarchic players and has taken back into public domain some important industries. Putin is enjoying a high degree of public support now. And contrary to naysayers the Russian economy is doing well. Better than ever thanks to the formation of the BRICS coalition. And despite our bitter sanctioning. But like Sachs and others are and have been saying since hostilities. Overtures towards peace negotiations is crucial for the sake of Ukraine's remaining servicemen and women. They have suffered terrible casualties. There's no sense in prolonging the inevitable. The hold up as it was in the mid 90's is in our political disdain of Russia. It's counter productive and unwarranted. It's very easy to vilify a nation through it's leader. And our national security organizations have done a thorough job of it. It's used to shape public opinion for what that small group of people in high places desire to project in foreign policy. The fact is. Russia will not stop with this effort until the threat of NATO is removed from any possibility of being in Ukraine's future. And it will hold all the territory it has taken. That's the way it will be. Sorry Joe Biden.
I think there's a huge disconnect between the populations of all the former-Soviet countries and their governments. And I think that's largely true here too. I think we are growing more and more disconnected from our government here. But that is maybe sort of beside the point. I think the point is - one that we seem to agree upon - that Russia and frankly, all of the former-Soviet countries were largely ignored by the United States until fairly recently. We did nothing to help their economies or to pull them into any sort of alignment with the United States. To be very honest, I wondered why we did that. It seemed to me that when the cold war wall fell, we would want to embrace that. To "finish the job," so to speak, but in a good way. It seemed so possible to me. There were literally millions of Russians - from all of those countries - that wanted to embrace the west. They were starving and living in what you or I would consider cheap apartments. Families with a mother and father having advanced degrees living in squalor and starving to death. They definitely wanted change and saw the west as the way to get that change. They idealized us. I remember back then very well. In the early 1990s, many of my customers were oil companies, mostly manufacturers of equipment for oil-well completions. These were companies that made pump-jacks, engines, tubing, packers, liner-hangers, etc. They started trying to trade with companies in the former Soviet Union. But the problem had already started. The novi-russki had already started buying up the stock in the oil companies there. Our American companies couldn't do business with them - not because they were afraid of ethics laws (which would have been another hurdle to jump) - but because control of the oil companies was already being taken over by thugs. It was literally unsafe to do business with them. So these American oil equipment manufacturers didn't even have a chance to start talking about how to navigate what would have been Russian regulations and tariffs, many of which were actually bribes. But bribes there aren't always the same as what you would think of here. Some are almost more like a tip that you pay a waitress - not actually some big crime - but American rules may have made that hard to navigate. Still, that's a side-issue, not the main point. The main point is that even in the early 1990s, Russia had a problem just beginning. The problem was that the novi-russki had started taking over business there. The privatization idea was a good one - to give every Russian worker stock in the company they worked for - but it was maybe a little naive 'cause most people had no idea what value stock ownership was, and they were hungry, so they sold it cheap. Who was there to buy it? People that were already corrupt and had some disposable income. The mob families that sold drugs and prostitutes on the black market had money. So they bought stock in the oil companies and anything else with value. I wondered to myself, why aren't we doing anything about that? There are millions of good people over there that actually want to live the "American dream." They idealized us. Why not help them? Many of them were highly skilled, and most were wanting to be safe and free. We had a lot of goodwill over there. But we did nothing. We let the novi-russki take over and gain strength for a couple decades. The Russian government now is just a bunch of mobsters with nukes. They're truly horrible people. It's nothing like the Soviets were. It's much, much worse.
I think if you were to read more of Jeffery Sachs and other progressive economists. That you would come to realize that our country had and still has nothing but contempt for Russia. As it has for since beyond the Russian revolution and back to Britain's disdain going back to the 19th century. Our economic involvement with Russia after the Soviet collapse was only insofar as what our oligarchy thought it could gain out of their natural resources. Oil and gas mainly and minerals. Yes, Russia and all the former Soviet states were ready for westernization. The centralized planning of economy was an inefficient way to promote innovation from competition promoted by the private sector. The west was still on a roll then from the Keynesian economics having influenced our economies. But Neoliberalism was taking hold from it's establishment fully from Regan's two terms. Capitalist financializing was getting a toe hold. And financial dominance in an economy is parasitic to its society. At this point Russia has no interest in being a part in the western neoliberal, so called, free market economy. They and China, India, Brazil and South Africa are the original members of BRICS. And the combined trade within BRICS and other countries willing join are greater than our G7 countries. This wouldn't have gained it's traction if it weren't for our country's shameful and arrogant foreign policy. It's literally forced countries to adapt away from our economic policies. This wouldn't have happened without the miracle of China's socialist government and private business hybrid economy. Particularly with their main banking sector being a public entity. No private, financialized, speculation that plays havoc with our economy. We are our worst enemy to ourselves. But we lash out at trying to hold on to our perception of the worlds only exceptional, indispensable country. The party's over. We may antagonize China, try to contain Russia and bully smaller nations to play by our rules that we makeup for our benefit. But the world is changing away from our sole dominance as it used to be. It's high time.
Back then - in the 1990s - most of the former-Soviet states were all buddies. They all felt themselves to be Russian by culture but hopeful to "westernize." They wanted to have the "good life" that they perceived we have in America. But they all thought themselves as Russians. By this, I mean the Ukrainians, Moldovans, Armenians, Belorussians, Azerbaijani, and many of the other former-Soviet Moslem states. There were some former-Soviet states that were anti-Russian - like Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia - but most were not. Most former-soviet states were more than friendly to Russia and considered themselves to still be Russian, at least by culture and language. They often identified as such - for example, you could ask the residents of these countries their nationality and most of them would say, "Russian." But they did consider their countries and their politics to be Western-style democracies - they were proud of their independence - and they were hopeful for change. That is true of Russia as well. The majority of people there were hopeful to become a free market country, to enjoy economic success and to trade with America and Europe.
Absolutely. Jeffrey Sachs is very accurate with his analysis. And what he recalls is the purposeful neglect of helping the Russians. Unlike what his efforts in Poland received from our government. Had our State Department and political biases not been so intensely demeaning with the Russians. Their chances of economic recovery would not have been so arduous and long. Nor would their oligarchic development gotten such a hold. Mind you that was our policy incentive scheme to them. And it was fraudulent. Just as it is with our very own oligarchic players in our economy. The ones that pull political strings with our government with campaign contributions and lobbying bribes. Jeffrey Sachs is one of the main proponents of pointing out our deranged foreign policy and complicity in the Ukrainian fiasco. It would serve the public well to know about him and others that have been the beacon of truth to the political perversion that's been going on for so long. Putin has benefitted with the system in Russia. Like our politicians have benefitted with the system here. But reading his statements and speeches in comparison to what I heard from the "Great Debate" last week. I can only hope some providence keeps check on our republic.
That article is a very accurate depiction of the state of the post-Soviet Russian states, not just Russia but all of them. It is also a good description of the economic conditions that helped the novi-russki - the class of criminals we call oligarks - grow and become immensely wealthy and powerful. That class includes Putin. He's one of them. He became their ringmaster. Head mobster. The article you've mentioned here also describes what the USA did to influence the economy and politics in that region. Nothing. We paid very little attention to the post-Soviet states after the wall fell. Good article. Thanks for the link.
Another great back story to the wicked web we weave. Jeffrey Sachs, a name I've mentioned several times with respect. An economist that was privy to the collapse of the Soviet Union and was asked to help with their floundering economy then. Recounts his attempts to get policy in place to help with their economic problems. All rejected by our government. He mentions how a fraudulent incentive program was hatched that led to the Russian oligarchy becoming entrenched in their economy. Mr. Sachs had successfully implemented an economic agenda in Poland prior that had used debt forgiveness and a means to ramp up their economy that was similar to the Marshall Plan used in war ruined Germany that helped with the German miracle with their economy. No such respect was afforded to Russia. Who had been our allies in WWII and who essentially destroyed the Nazi's military capability hastening the end of the 3rd Reich. Our Russia phobia has gone on unabated since the end of that war. But it goes back of course much further. Back even beyond from the Russian revolution and the whole concept of socialism and communism. The word socialism to a capitalist is like a crucifix to a vampire. What Mr. Sachs is saying ties into what our whole foreign policy has amounted to post WWII. The wicked web we weave. https://www.racket.news/p/a-true-shock-economist-jeffrey-sachs
Based on our discussion Wayne I'm not surprised with your narrow interpretation on this. But the article and admission by Nuland gives credence along with other admissions from Ukraine negotiators and even Boris Johnson as Prime Minister of Britain has said. Which a few decent journalists and scholars have been saying all along. That our western NATO influence was crucial in coaxing the Ukraine government towards this proxy war with Russia. Because the lead up even to the Istanbul peace summit had been years prior of negotiations with the civil war going on in eastern Ukraine that we were arming and financing. Notwithstanding the color revolution in 2014 in Ukraine Nuland was largely influential in administering. And the thread of NATO expansion planning in our State Department and Pentagon from the mid nineties on that was to culminate with putting Ukraine in place, the final piece of the puzzle towards 'containing' Russia. Which all along in that time period was and is evidently still Vladimir Putin and the consensus of Russia's government consistently has addressed as a demarcation that would trigger conflict. Our country in the 1960's almost went nuclear toe to toe with the Soviet Union over arms placement in Cuba. Though we had first put equivalent arms in Turkey. But as our policy of the old Monroe Doctrine exemplifies. No other country will impose their influence on our hemisphere much less our very own boarder with military capability. Yet Russia, who lost over 25 million people in WWII by the Nazi's, and has been invaded over the centuries by many countries has no right to sovereignty in their security of their borders. Our country has overstepped our bounds with our concept of exceptionalism and indispensability in this world with our financial/military dominance. It's rather an inheritance from the British empire. That has been played out in history with all the empire states. Romans, Ottoman, Persian. On and on with military adventurism. This Ukraine chapter will play out till negotiations with terms favorable to what Russia wanted all along. No NATO up to their boarder. It's another sad chapter in a long line of fizzled out foreign policy fiasco's our country has promoted over the last half a century. Isn't it time to reflect on that legacy and craft a different approach?
My interpretation of what was said in that link is that the so-called "peace deal" proposed by Putin right after his attack was a really shitty deal that nobody in their right mind would take. "Victoria Nuland says about as clearly as a diplomat can that the U.S. scuttled the peace deal on the table in March 2022 because it would have required Ukraine to agree to limits on weapons it would purchase."
A key component of how this God awful mess got traction and put into motion is admitted to by Victoria Nuland. Now a retired diplomat to Ukraine. This whole thing could have and should have been averted but for our insufferable, idiotic, stupid, arrogant foreign policy. What the pundits in the know are saying is this will play out until after the November US election. So, let even more lives be wasted in this obscene cause perpetrated by the western NATO alliance. Sick! Just as our Israeli policy is. https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/victoria-nuland-ukraine-peace-deal
A rational discussion on the irrational foreign policy of nation states. Economist Jeffrey Sachs has a dialogue with political scientist John Mearsheimer on his new book, How States Think. Delving into the study of how nations and leaders with their advisors come to form their international policies. Mearsheimer and his co-writer Sebastian Rosado, looked at 14 cases of international and US national policy decisions and how the process was arrived at. In all 14 they found all to be similar from authoritarian or democratically aligned governments in the way policy was derived. All by a small inner circle of people in the government. And ironically they found that democratic governments tended to "sell" policy to their general public by basically lying by creating a cover story or narrative to bolster their policy decisions. They found that most particularly in the lead up to the US Iraqi war. A very interesting discussion with two highly regarded academician's. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkvmQAJ8AQU
Sorry Wayne, I feel opposite. The Ukrainians could have had, and can still have when this god awful mess is over. All the neoliberal free market misery that we have in our country. The Russians have stated over and over their intent with Ukraine. And it doesn't include reclaiming the Baltic's or for Christ's sake Europe. That is pure unadulterated bull. It's been well established our diplomatic meddling with the current Ukraine government to commit to this futile waste of humanity on the NATO pretense. It could have been averted at the onset of the full scale military commencement. I'm afraid it's western propaganda that has pulled the wool over the public's eyes. I've presented that in this thread and it's anyone's choice to disagree. But as usual with our foreign entanglements. It snowballs into a giant fecal mess. Scores of people perish, destruction is wrought, and we walk away on to other malfeasance. We're doing that with Taiwan. We're perilously close to being pulled into war with Iran with our commitment to indulge a long standing apartheid and now genocidal committing Israel. The governments of Iraq, Sudan and Niger want our military out of their country, that we ignore. The trouble with this country is that it has lost all sense of virtue that it possessed after the end of WWII. We have become as our economic doctrine has shown to be. Selfish, obstinate, arrogant and corrupt. We see it in our politics, our financial institutions and most evidently our fraudulent diplomacy. I understand Wayne that with your connection to that part of the world, that it carries a certain amount of emotional and sentimental weight. With that perhaps a certain amount of bias. These events are all out of that realm. The world of government plans and actions transcend our personal lives till unless we get caught up in actions that get out of hand. Let's hope we don't have to face what the Ukraine's have. I still contend with what I comprehend, they never had to. There are many other people who think the same. I used to share the same views Wayne as you and most Americans. But I don't take in what available information verbatim without investigation when contradictions arise. I believe the contradictions I've followed outweigh the prevailing sentiment.
Dude! I'm telling you this because we're friends. I respect your thoughts and opinions. But on this one, you've bought into a propaganda that is nothing but hubris. I'm not saying your thoughts are hubris - I'm saying the people you are listening to are spreading an alternate reality that is nothing but hubris. The whole mission from Putin was motivated by arrogance and anyone siding with that is "cosigning his bullshit." I know people over there that are fighting for their lives. Alona's brother Alex went missing - hopefully captured - a couple months ago during a battle near Lugansk. The Ukrainian people simply want freedom and a choice for a free market system. They want to be westernized. They do not want to be governed by Moscow. Putin's government has basically become a nation controlled by mobsters. It's like what would have happened here if organized criminals were appeased and even courted instead of being prosecuted. Not that we're perfect here - sometimes it looks like mobsters run Washington too - but believe me, it's a lot worse over there. I can't believe what has happened in Russia. Their "leadership" is worse than it was during the Soviet Union, which is lower than low. They are now what they claimed to be against. They saw the West as being "fat cat capitalists," greedy and entitled. But in fact, that's what they are now ruled by - the so called "oligarch" novi russki. At one time, those people assassinated their Tsar. What they have now is much, much worse. We, here in America, just do not have any visibility into that problem so we are unable to form an informed opinion. Better to have no opinion than to have one formed by propaganda. Trust me, my friend, the good side here is very one-sided. The good side to take here is "freedom for Ukraine."
Our legislature is debating over funding for two now unjustifiable wars. Both premeditated on ulterior aspirations. Things the public is kept in limbo over. Unless one takes the effort to sift the wheat from the chaff of propaganda. Another aspect to the funding is the electioneering going on in the cycle of US politics. The Ukraine dilemma particularly seems attached to saving face for an initiative doomed from the beginning. When the virtue of a state's sovereignty and affiliation, (Ukraine) is stripped away to show a crap shoot to destabilize another sovereign state in the process, (Russia). The pretense is shown to be hypocritical. Russia will not be compelled to give up its original intent concerning Ukraine. And no amount of re-funding will do anything more than prolong more destruction and death for a lost cause. Drawing it out till a post election cycle would seemingly show a very cynical, ethically vacant philosophy. Here is what the determination that the Russian effort amounts to. A statement from Dmitry Medvedev, former president, now deputy chairman of the security council of Russia. Would it not be better for everyone involved, especially in Ukraine, to take heed Russia's resolve to not be deterred in finishing the job they actually intended. Not the west's version. Which is a fraud. https://expert.ru/mnenie/dmitriy-medvedev-u-rossii-kak-i-lyuboy-velikoy-derzhavy-strategicheskie-granitsy-lezhat-daleko-za-predelami-geograficheskikh/
I'm not a fan of J.D.Vance. I don't believe in Libertarianism as a viable, realistic means of running an economy. I don't support or ever will Donald Trump. But he nails it with an opinion at the N.Y.Times. End this insufferable conflict. Whether one believes in the heroics of aligning to a NATO nation with all the words of freedom & democracy attached. Ukraine cannot ever win this war and never could even with the support of the US and NATO countries. Period. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/12/opinion/jd-vance-ukraine.html
Sir, I guess you know now. This means War! What? weren't we at war? This paradox of the west to the goings on in Ukraine is typical to the delusion that helped create the special operations in the first place. Since the Ukraine's can't any longer carry out a legitimate military assault along the fortifications Russia has built in the territory now annexed. Ukraine does what it can with what little it has, trying to inflict pain inside Russia. It will not be tolerated. The west grouses over Putin's reelection, saying its a hoax and rubber stamped. News outlets did their duty to produce propagandized articles as to so. Non corporatized journalism gives a more realistic appraisal. https://www.indianpunchline.com/putins-victory-is-a-geopolitical-reality For a more nuanced view of current activities in Ukraine. The Moon of Alabama blog is indispensable. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/03/russia-is-at-war-.html#more Any idea of exacerbating this conflict by going head to head with Russia by NATO will be idiotic to say the least.
A lesson of wisdom. From former ambassador to Russia Jack Matlock. It's well worth anyone taking time to listen to this senior fellow speak of carrying out U.S. diplomacy at the time of the Soviet Unions breakup. And his narrative on the position of the former Soviet ideology, socialism-communism compared with the U.S. ideology, democracy-capitalism. How they were used towards diplomatic initiatives and military policies. Mr. Matlock gives a very intimate look from actually being there to what the historical ramifications were then and are now to the current war in Ukraine is all about. As he states at the end of his interview. Ukraine and Russia are basically in a sense having a "family dispute" that is being meddled with by outsiders. Great interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxjD02QnvJU https://jackmatlock.com/2022/11/there-must-be-a-negotiated-settlement-with-russia/#more-1023 https://americandiplomacy.web.unc.edu/2024/02/the-christmas-gift-that-keeps-giving/
The prior and this are hopefully indicators that the more mainstream press will elaborate on with continuance with this war. This piece is an interview with an on the ground UN coordinator that's seen first hand the terrible cost this war. Like all wars do to people. I hope there's some traction going on in high places to be sane and rational. https://news.un.org/en/interview/2024/02/1146752
I recently came upon this blog that I find really interesting for thoughtful analysis via a westerner's take on Russia. In lieu also of the recent interview of Mr. Putin by the controversial personality Tucker Carlson. Putin later groused that all he threw him were softballs. He was ready for whatever heat Tucker could throw him. I listened to it and it backed up my revision of Putin, and the Russian federation as it stands in the world today. This blog also augments the revision I've been cultivating for a while trying to get an idea of what current world events are and why they are. Like I've tried to express in this thread, is that our slant on what's going on in the world is somewhat tailored to the dominant ideology presented in news platforms and official government releases. But what is the other side saying? Contradictions arise that shouldn't be dismissed. Of course as the well worn acronym goes. YMMV. https://patrickarmstrong.ca/2023/12/30/listen-to-what-hes-saying/ What's the latest dampening effect to the Putin interview? The revelation of Russia's space weapon! The Mighty Wurlitzer playing away.