I finally decided to make drastic changes to my house. I cleaned it from top to bottom, threw out old furniture, made changes to the kitchen and bathrooms, and fixed the roof. However, the house eventually collapsed. The foundations were completely eaten away.
Excellent metaphor. I’ve argued many years about the need for foundational change meaning Constitutional change because it empowers the oligarchy and always has.
I had originally posted this as a comment on your article about China but later deleted it, as I’ve decided not to engage too frequently on Substack.
It was a response to DJT. Coincidentally, Crooke also references the same film in this context.:
Power isn’t about truth—it’s about control. Appointing contradicting voices, grooming heirs, and wielding calculated chaos like a weapon. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in one. A cheap movie, but the world is paying the price
I have a film-maker acquaintance and we discussed how the Italian 1960s Spaghetti Westerns were metaphors for US Imperialism. Many memes were launched via film. Agree power is about control.
The Elephant in the room when Putin meets Trump is that they share the same enemies.
If that's not a motivation to drain the swamp while entering into mutually beneficial short, medium and long term business deals that would join them at the hip, then I only drink on days ending in y.
There is more than an elephant in the room. There is a large ignorant gorilla by the name of Sanctions. If Trump has any real goodwill toward Russia AND any substance whatsoever he will terminate all of them immediately.
He has no good will, no good faith and no good ideas so he will make noises, parade smartarse 'can do' clowns and think he can call that a done deal. Trump is merely pumping the water in Swamp A to newly constructed Swamp B which he (Thiel/Adelson) controls.
I tend to share this view. Thiel and other billionaires await their cut of the US corpse. Contracts will go to the favored ones. Rubio is a Hawk. tRump is a liar! I see no avenue for real diplomacy or compromise.
Thanks, Karl. Masterfully prepared article and excellent comments especially those whose skepticism arises, always healthy to have a little uncertainty. Especially when confirmed by others.!
Thank you especially for the link to anything in Russian. Ru tube is better than u toob but not easily accessible to me so links are appreciated for any Russian language programs.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, hmm, I see America more in the light of Alice in Wonderland, with a pinch of Mary Poppins. Everything's FAKE, Billionaire scroungers, Stawk Meerkat, boobs, Silicon Valley asses, news, all shite.
70% of the population live on tips or handouts (including, no especially the so-called elite).
I'd guess, rule of thumb, that US stocks are overvalued x2 while Russian stocks are undervalued by a factor of 2.
What I'd love to know Karl is whether US.org are still buying Russian Finished Energy Products, including Uranium and various metals . . . and if so do the relevant US.gov.org need to buy rubles in line with What'shisface recommendations, the Russian old-school economist who helped create the financial guidelines for trade with unfriendly countries.
Perhaps Russia swaps its processed uranium pellets for processed gold pellets and that is reason for the run on the Bank of England over the past month.
About creative destruction, Kobun Roshi, my Zen Master, once told my potter girlfriend that broken pots were good because it allowed her to make more. Otherwise, the world would be filled with pots and unemployed potters!
Space-X is just another symptom; Musk is just a different meme: both seem to be core parts of the dematerialized meme 'industrial' complex. Of late, I do not see how Alistair Crooke is offering us anything other than Weinstein's 'a Republic if we can phoenix it' analysis. Maybe I am being unfair.
The best thing to do is track his analysis and compare it with reality. He’s been at it for many decades and is widely sought for his POV. I see him as Pro-Humanity, which means he’s on my side.
There was a particular, recent(-ish) video of him being interviewed by Judge Napolitano that made me slightly more wary of his analysis in this post-Trump 2.0 world.
At the end of the video he made some fairly dismissive comment in response to a Judge Napolitano question concerning Trump's announcement that Gaza would be turned into a luxury condo development (just not for the Palestinians).
This was in spite of the fact that a few months earlier (pre-election) he had talked with the Judge about Michael Hudson's recounting of this plan as being long-standing US imperial policy in West Asia (the Scoop Jackson, Herman Kahn, Uzi Arad, Hudson Institute story - https://michael-hudson.com/2024/10/zionists-the-usas-trouble-makers/).
Maybe I am putting too much weight on what felt to me to be fairly incongruous, but it certainly made me a little more skeptical.
I guess these things are consistent with the 'Trump will just have to say some crazy shit some of the time' narrative, but that doesn't mean we should diminish the deep historical context and planning behind what is being said (it lets one faction within the power elite off the hook).
He has indeed been at it for many decades and so maybe I should be more forgiving of what might have just been a failure to update prior (long-held) beliefs/analyses based on new information.
I am grateful that we still have these fundamentally decent people around who, at one point in time, were allowed into rooms with the crazies.
The key is finding a stable of analysts that are consistent and sticking with hem over time while occasionally looking at what others are saying. Also important is using as many primary sources as possible, even when they're wonky like Trump, who will say something and then change it the next day; although when spokespeople consistently lie and media never challenges those lies, times are hard for analysts. And now we've got proof of the grand effort to sustain a Ministry of Truth. Zinn was right when he said "It's hard to be neutral on a moving train." Socrates preferred hemlock to being forced to take one side over another.
Having some foundational samizdat does seem important; as is the capacity to question and synthesize these analyses for yourself (maybe it was McGovern who said that the vast majority of intelligence work is reading and critically engaging with public sources?).
Yes, intel work consists of reading what’s publicly available then attempting to get inside sources to verify the public info. It’s very similar to historical investigation. Such research is more than what one person can accomplish, so teams/sections exist that can hopefully avoid groupthink.—”we see this, but we also see that” is what their reports ought to consist of.
Thank you Ian I too saw that interview and found that exchange a little disturbing and uncertain of his intention. Agreed it is welcome to have these people of considered opinion free to voice their perspective.
I finally decided to make drastic changes to my house. I cleaned it from top to bottom, threw out old furniture, made changes to the kitchen and bathrooms, and fixed the roof. However, the house eventually collapsed. The foundations were completely eaten away.
Excellent metaphor. I’ve argued many years about the need for foundational change meaning Constitutional change because it empowers the oligarchy and always has.
Thank you Karl.
Thank you Karl!
I had originally posted this as a comment on your article about China but later deleted it, as I’ve decided not to engage too frequently on Substack.
It was a response to DJT. Coincidentally, Crooke also references the same film in this context.:
Power isn’t about truth—it’s about control. Appointing contradicting voices, grooming heirs, and wielding calculated chaos like a weapon. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in one. A cheap movie, but the world is paying the price
I have a film-maker acquaintance and we discussed how the Italian 1960s Spaghetti Westerns were metaphors for US Imperialism. Many memes were launched via film. Agree power is about control.
The Elephant in the room when Putin meets Trump is that they share the same enemies.
If that's not a motivation to drain the swamp while entering into mutually beneficial short, medium and long term business deals that would join them at the hip, then I only drink on days ending in y.
There is more than an elephant in the room. There is a large ignorant gorilla by the name of Sanctions. If Trump has any real goodwill toward Russia AND any substance whatsoever he will terminate all of them immediately.
He has no good will, no good faith and no good ideas so he will make noises, parade smartarse 'can do' clowns and think he can call that a done deal. Trump is merely pumping the water in Swamp A to newly constructed Swamp B which he (Thiel/Adelson) controls.
I tend to share this view. Thiel and other billionaires await their cut of the US corpse. Contracts will go to the favored ones. Rubio is a Hawk. tRump is a liar! I see no avenue for real diplomacy or compromise.
Thanks, Karl. Masterfully prepared article and excellent comments especially those whose skepticism arises, always healthy to have a little uncertainty. Especially when confirmed by others.!
Bravo!
As always, Alastair Crooke is great! Thank you for sharing, Karl.
Nice to understand Obama’s meme machine and its oppression of free speech.
Something new replacing the old is naturally “ destructive” appears to be a truth.
I also find this illuminating. Remember the theme regarding whistleblowers? "If you see something, report it." Right off to court or jail you go.
Very useful. Ta. Memes, Structures, Debt, and Gramsci.
Thank you especially for the link to anything in Russian. Ru tube is better than u toob but not easily accessible to me so links are appreciated for any Russian language programs.
Spaceba Bolshoi
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, hmm, I see America more in the light of Alice in Wonderland, with a pinch of Mary Poppins. Everything's FAKE, Billionaire scroungers, Stawk Meerkat, boobs, Silicon Valley asses, news, all shite.
70% of the population live on tips or handouts (including, no especially the so-called elite).
I'd guess, rule of thumb, that US stocks are overvalued x2 while Russian stocks are undervalued by a factor of 2.
I promote the idea of buying rubles now for they’ll reach par with the dollar in a rather short time. Currently at 91:1 moving up quickly.
What I'd love to know Karl is whether US.org are still buying Russian Finished Energy Products, including Uranium and various metals . . . and if so do the relevant US.gov.org need to buy rubles in line with What'shisface recommendations, the Russian old-school economist who helped create the financial guidelines for trade with unfriendly countries.
There’s a loophole for US firms to use. I don’t know if the ruble only policy applied to processed uranium fuel pellets.
Perhaps Russia swaps its processed uranium pellets for processed gold pellets and that is reason for the run on the Bank of England over the past month.
About creative destruction, Kobun Roshi, my Zen Master, once told my potter girlfriend that broken pots were good because it allowed her to make more. Otherwise, the world would be filled with pots and unemployed potters!
I'm more of a kintsugi man, myself.
Space-X is just another symptom; Musk is just a different meme: both seem to be core parts of the dematerialized meme 'industrial' complex. Of late, I do not see how Alistair Crooke is offering us anything other than Weinstein's 'a Republic if we can phoenix it' analysis. Maybe I am being unfair.
The best thing to do is track his analysis and compare it with reality. He’s been at it for many decades and is widely sought for his POV. I see him as Pro-Humanity, which means he’s on my side.
There was a particular, recent(-ish) video of him being interviewed by Judge Napolitano that made me slightly more wary of his analysis in this post-Trump 2.0 world.
At the end of the video he made some fairly dismissive comment in response to a Judge Napolitano question concerning Trump's announcement that Gaza would be turned into a luxury condo development (just not for the Palestinians).
This was in spite of the fact that a few months earlier (pre-election) he had talked with the Judge about Michael Hudson's recounting of this plan as being long-standing US imperial policy in West Asia (the Scoop Jackson, Herman Kahn, Uzi Arad, Hudson Institute story - https://michael-hudson.com/2024/10/zionists-the-usas-trouble-makers/).
Maybe I am putting too much weight on what felt to me to be fairly incongruous, but it certainly made me a little more skeptical.
I guess these things are consistent with the 'Trump will just have to say some crazy shit some of the time' narrative, but that doesn't mean we should diminish the deep historical context and planning behind what is being said (it lets one faction within the power elite off the hook).
He has indeed been at it for many decades and so maybe I should be more forgiving of what might have just been a failure to update prior (long-held) beliefs/analyses based on new information.
I am grateful that we still have these fundamentally decent people around who, at one point in time, were allowed into rooms with the crazies.
The key is finding a stable of analysts that are consistent and sticking with hem over time while occasionally looking at what others are saying. Also important is using as many primary sources as possible, even when they're wonky like Trump, who will say something and then change it the next day; although when spokespeople consistently lie and media never challenges those lies, times are hard for analysts. And now we've got proof of the grand effort to sustain a Ministry of Truth. Zinn was right when he said "It's hard to be neutral on a moving train." Socrates preferred hemlock to being forced to take one side over another.
Having some foundational samizdat does seem important; as is the capacity to question and synthesize these analyses for yourself (maybe it was McGovern who said that the vast majority of intelligence work is reading and critically engaging with public sources?).
Yes, intel work consists of reading what’s publicly available then attempting to get inside sources to verify the public info. It’s very similar to historical investigation. Such research is more than what one person can accomplish, so teams/sections exist that can hopefully avoid groupthink.—”we see this, but we also see that” is what their reports ought to consist of.
Thank you Ian I too saw that interview and found that exchange a little disturbing and uncertain of his intention. Agreed it is welcome to have these people of considered opinion free to voice their perspective.