This situation is beginning to look like the ugliest and most sinister of Rorschach blots, expanding outwards in every direction. How to anticipate, let alone control or isolate, such a vile, spreading stain?
Again, Karl, you are owed a massive thank you, because without your diligence in bringing this kind of vital material to our attention, and adding your own illuminating commentary, we would all be much less able to brace ourselves for the next round of egregious schemes - which are surely coming, and coming soon.
The irony being that the totalitarianism that Eastern Europeans thought they had escaped with the collapse of the USSR is back again in the form of the EU.
Why you should never let the diaspora, especially one thats been out of the nation for decades, vote in national elections. Its the only reason Sandu, a graduate of the JFK School of Government at Harvard and an ex World Banker (high quality vassal training), got elected. Western "democracy" for you. Russia needs to take Odessa.
I do not think that Russian troops will liberate Odessa by October. I wish so, but I do not think it is realistic at the current pace of Russian advance. After all, October is only 1.5 months away from now!
For that to happen, something drastic needs to occur, e.g. Ukraine's unconditional surrender (unlikely) or an internal coup d'etat (supported by Russia?) to get rid of Zelensky & co., all Ukronazis and NATO stooges like Timoshenko and Poroshenko (more likely).
Yes, I agree that liberating Odessa by 20 October is in the realm of fantasy. On railroading Ukraine for the US demolition of Nord Stream, why hasn't Germany said Ukraine's actions were an act of war? The obvious answer is it's bullshit since Germany still provides weapons, logistic and intel support for the Ukronazis. The likely instigator of the frame-up is the CIA or perhaps MI6, but whoever the designer, they didn't think through the overall situation very well. Next they'll produce a Ukie passport and say it was found next to the undamaged pipeline portion.
Sputnik has an excellent article that notes the synchronicity of the US and German media reports. Here're the closing 'graphs:
"Both Spitzen and Giraldi suggested that the fact that the story about Ukraine’s alleged role in the Nord Stream bombing surfaced simultaneously in the US and German media hints at the likelihood of a coordinated effort to craft “an acceptable narrative regarding what took place,” as Giraldi put it.
I do not believe that Former CIA operations officer Philip Giraldi cannot imagine what his country is trying to do with Ukraine and Zelensky. It should be quite obvious, especially if you take this PR operation in conjunction with reports that the Outlaw US Empire is trying to dump Zelensky (see https://geopolitiq.substack.com/p/after-the-ukrainian-attack-on-kursk). This is the perfect excuse to get rid of Zelensky. I actually found quite hilarious that one of the suspects is also called "Volodomyr Z.". I wanted to point out these things in my latest article, but I forgot it, as I got so focussed on the details (typical of me).
we need a completely new paradigm and i suggest that would be for the people to have a voice.
a sober, actual, real, verifiable, unfalsifiable voice that cannot be silenced.
You'll note that a vote for this or that political party once every few years cannot count as a 'voice' in the affairs of a nation.
You'll perhaps also note that throughout the decades no govt and no politicians have ever sought to give the people more of a voice than they currently have: effectively none.
You'll perhaps also note that govts and politicians do not even seek the approval of the people when they pursue policies which demand the people die in large numbers.
So it is a terrible and primitive situation.
There is today a way around it.
If we all had in our pockets an app on our smartphones that allowed us to log into our 'voice' accounts the way we do to our internet banking accounts then we'd be in a position to en masse and individually register our opinions on any matters as they present themselves.
Belonging to us the app would be inviolable by govt. We don't need their help or their permission.
Having all the security of the best web accounts: e.g. bank accounts for instance, the veracity, authenticity of each 'vote' would be indisputable.
And it would all happen in realtime as things do in this modern communication age.
It would enable people to speak and it would enable people to be aware of what people are saying: it would be our communal voice.
Another reason the West hates China and Russia are their systems of citizen feedback that helps produce good governance. The ancien regime don't want to hear what the serfs have to say. The entire idea of mass citizen involvement in government is very young, barely 100 years old. As I pointed out with my revue of the "Federalist Papers" a few weeks ago showed the founders--Madison specifically--had deep negative feelings about democracy and "mob rule" as it was described then and is still. I know the tech exists for participatory democracy to exist, but the ancien regime is dead-set against that and will do whatever it deems required to crush it, which is what it's now in the process of doing. To currently enjoy your ideal, you'll need to move, which is a sad but unavoidable fact.
In my short recent experience regarding this proposal the very people themselves do not want it. The serfs do not want to know what the serfs have to say Certainly the self appointed 'clerisy' of the serfs do not.
It seems universal that no one trusts 'everyone else' to make right choices.
I may be wrong. But that's how it looks.
So, surprising as it is to me it seems no one wants Democracy actually.
Nevertheless I feel it quite possible we could get it anyway. Inasofar as the 'app'. We could get that much I think just by 'accident of fashion'. It could overnight be all the rage.
Various smart entrepreneurs could perhaps see a way of making money from promoting it. Self interested parties may see it as a way to promote their own ends. I mean such as those who feel they would be in power were it not for gerrymanders. Such as they.
I wouldn't surprise me a bit to see it suddenly be a thing and nor would it surprise me to see it distorted, twisted, misused, crippled etc.
It is not my ideal. I don't know what my ideal is. I have not given it much thought and quite possibly I'd be unable to come to a satisfactory conclusion if I did.
I actually see it as an inevitable. There's a constantly rising incidence of polling of the thoughts of the masses from all directions for all kinds of motives. It's merely a sort of natural culmination of that trend.
As I say, putting this 'polling' to a proper use is a different proposition.
What I see lacking massively is any awareness of the duties of the citizen because that's never taught aside from voting, which is the least important duty. For example, there're no attempts to form shadow government positions that monitor the government's behavior--the media was delegated that task which was a fatal mistake as the media is oligarch controlled. And this problem is multigenerational meaning there're no elders to teach and mentor younger generations as to their duties related to good governance.
I was always taught that in the British system 'Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition' (In Q3's time) was the 'shadow govt'.
We've learned that in fact they 'shadow' only with intent to copy wholly rather than monitor with correction in mind. Though they pretend to the people they're doing that.
The people appear to be so dumb incapable and inert.
However they are clearly none of those three. We've learned in very recent years: the last two decades, just how quickly the masses can absorb and adjust to quite sophisticated changes in communications and equipment and methods of operation and interaction with government.
And it has always been obvious that in fact it is the 'dumb mob' of people that actually build everything, run the whole show. They built the pyramids back then, they built the Titanic back then, they build everything today.
That just leaves the inertia but actually they're obviously quite active. Very active. The issue is that they are not active in the ways we want them to be: specifically political awareness/activism.
And yes, that is a problem. It is. It is the problem.
It is in that area the lack of training, tutoring, education, tradition of the 'duties of citizen' ( beyond 'obey') becomes significant.
I suspect that beneath the surface, behind the scenes, all that is being rectified in the consciousness of the masses.
They absorbed technology. Not so clearly seen perhaps but equally true I think they are absorbing the lies of the last decades and the truths those lies represent.
They are seeing it all. It's going in. Being thought about.
The basic duties of the citizen are only two: Be aware. Speak.
Technology has brought the possibility of being aware and awareness spreads even if kinda subliminally. Everything from Covid to Gaza via twin towers and assassinations.
Now technology has reached the point where they can speak. For the first time in history.
Yes, we can be optimistic. IMO, the NED-Grayzone SNAFU is emblematic of what we'll soon see--people not knowing their roots being placed in charge because Universities don't teach reality--the truth of how/why we're at this point historically. As Hudson proves, the information is there in the public domain, but no one is curious enough to pick it up and dust it off, or they're told it's not important enough for them to spend time looking. The explosion of writers and subscribers at substack sure proves that wrong as people are curious and are looking for explanations BigLie Media obscures or totally censors.
Oh, a point of fact I learned today: the FBI incinerated the body they say was Crooks before an independent medical examiner could do his work. And Trump will have a bullet-proof glass enclosure to speak from in his further campaign appearances.
Yep. The people thing is the bit that interests me most. Yes, an explosion of curiosity and 'activism' ( at least as much as to explore, seek out sites, comment ) which is all to the good.
Strikes me though that what's mainly lacking is a central focal point. Or points.
The govt always has one and everyone is directed there. And it is usually a lie.
A lie focal point surrounded by an ocean of truth.
But within that ocean no central point.
In covid we never got an 'alt reality' central point we all knew about where we could find listed and perhaps qualitatively sorted even, all the best sources for truth on the matter.
In Ukraine the same.
In anything/everything the same.
The information centralising and channeling is all on the part of govt and msm.
But we can fix that. I am quite sure.
I try. Without any success. I have a 'covidhonesty.com' and a 'ukrainehonesty.com' and they do not flourish. But the point is, I think, that if even I - totally untutored and almost uninterested and even really, over the years, uninformed - can find myself motivated enough to do that much and be capable of doing it and do it: then what lies in the offing to come forth from the well qualified, highly motivated, well schooled?
Much, I think. Much.
Seems to me it is deeply mass psychological. We are deeply immured in the idea that someone else looks after all these high and pervasive and central things of our society. Such as dissemination of truth.
Well we are right. They do. To our loss. They turned it to dissemination of untruth. We are slow grasping the idea that we have to do it. That we can do and should do it.
Bit of a joke really isn't it? We think from cradle onwards that we are democracies and we are democratic citizens. But we actually have trouble swallowing the very idea of 'doing it ourselves'. For less doing it.
But it is changing. As you say. Evidence everywhere. Even within the belly of the beast. I imagine that the 'Rest of the world' sees it all even much more clearly. I don't know what may be born from that direction. :)
thanks karl - prescient and right on track... beautiful picture of the monastery too - thank you...
This situation is beginning to look like the ugliest and most sinister of Rorschach blots, expanding outwards in every direction. How to anticipate, let alone control or isolate, such a vile, spreading stain?
Again, Karl, you are owed a massive thank you, because without your diligence in bringing this kind of vital material to our attention, and adding your own illuminating commentary, we would all be much less able to brace ourselves for the next round of egregious schemes - which are surely coming, and coming soon.
Thanks for your reply and complement. Some shared info has put me onto some new (for me) leads. This is one I've been handing off to regular readers/commentators. It's long but worth the time, https://monthlyreview.org/2024/07/01/imperialism-in-the-indo-pacific-an-introduction/
The irony being that the totalitarianism that Eastern Europeans thought they had escaped with the collapse of the USSR is back again in the form of the EU.
Why you should never let the diaspora, especially one thats been out of the nation for decades, vote in national elections. Its the only reason Sandu, a graduate of the JFK School of Government at Harvard and an ex World Banker (high quality vassal training), got elected. Western "democracy" for you. Russia needs to take Odessa.
Her policies as education minister ought to have warned Moldovans she was no good. Yes, she's a US trained vampire bat.
"Russia needs to take Odessa" Damn right it does. The tragedy is that it may have left it too late.
I do not think that Russian troops will liberate Odessa by October. I wish so, but I do not think it is realistic at the current pace of Russian advance. After all, October is only 1.5 months away from now!
For that to happen, something drastic needs to occur, e.g. Ukraine's unconditional surrender (unlikely) or an internal coup d'etat (supported by Russia?) to get rid of Zelensky & co., all Ukronazis and NATO stooges like Timoshenko and Poroshenko (more likely).
Since we are talking about Russia and Ukraine, here is my new article, with a focus on the latest narrative of the Nord Stream sabotage: https://open.substack.com/pub/geopolitiq/p/the-plot-thickens-on-the-nord-stream
Yes, I agree that liberating Odessa by 20 October is in the realm of fantasy. On railroading Ukraine for the US demolition of Nord Stream, why hasn't Germany said Ukraine's actions were an act of war? The obvious answer is it's bullshit since Germany still provides weapons, logistic and intel support for the Ukronazis. The likely instigator of the frame-up is the CIA or perhaps MI6, but whoever the designer, they didn't think through the overall situation very well. Next they'll produce a Ukie passport and say it was found next to the undamaged pipeline portion.
He, he! Anyway... there are so many clues pointing to the Outlaw US Empire as a culprit, that I may have forgotten a few in the list in my article.
Sputnik has an excellent article that notes the synchronicity of the US and German media reports. Here're the closing 'graphs:
"Both Spitzen and Giraldi suggested that the fact that the story about Ukraine’s alleged role in the Nord Stream bombing surfaced simultaneously in the US and German media hints at the likelihood of a coordinated effort to craft “an acceptable narrative regarding what took place,” as Giraldi put it.
"It suggests to me that they are coordinating some new approach in dealing with Ukraine and Zelensky though I am not sure what that might be," Giraldi added." https://sputnikglobe.com/20240815/why-western-media-suddenly-found-ukrainian-connection-in-nord-stream-bombing-1119782128.html
I do not believe that Former CIA operations officer Philip Giraldi cannot imagine what his country is trying to do with Ukraine and Zelensky. It should be quite obvious, especially if you take this PR operation in conjunction with reports that the Outlaw US Empire is trying to dump Zelensky (see https://geopolitiq.substack.com/p/after-the-ukrainian-attack-on-kursk). This is the perfect excuse to get rid of Zelensky. I actually found quite hilarious that one of the suspects is also called "Volodomyr Z.". I wanted to point out these things in my latest article, but I forgot it, as I got so focussed on the details (typical of me).
we need a completely new paradigm and i suggest that would be for the people to have a voice.
a sober, actual, real, verifiable, unfalsifiable voice that cannot be silenced.
You'll note that a vote for this or that political party once every few years cannot count as a 'voice' in the affairs of a nation.
You'll perhaps also note that throughout the decades no govt and no politicians have ever sought to give the people more of a voice than they currently have: effectively none.
You'll perhaps also note that govts and politicians do not even seek the approval of the people when they pursue policies which demand the people die in large numbers.
So it is a terrible and primitive situation.
There is today a way around it.
If we all had in our pockets an app on our smartphones that allowed us to log into our 'voice' accounts the way we do to our internet banking accounts then we'd be in a position to en masse and individually register our opinions on any matters as they present themselves.
Belonging to us the app would be inviolable by govt. We don't need their help or their permission.
Having all the security of the best web accounts: e.g. bank accounts for instance, the veracity, authenticity of each 'vote' would be indisputable.
And it would all happen in realtime as things do in this modern communication age.
It would enable people to speak and it would enable people to be aware of what people are saying: it would be our communal voice.
Here:
https://abrogard.com/blog/2023/12/25/dont-write-to-congress/
the technology is positively extant if you have any doubts:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open-source_voting_system
Another reason the West hates China and Russia are their systems of citizen feedback that helps produce good governance. The ancien regime don't want to hear what the serfs have to say. The entire idea of mass citizen involvement in government is very young, barely 100 years old. As I pointed out with my revue of the "Federalist Papers" a few weeks ago showed the founders--Madison specifically--had deep negative feelings about democracy and "mob rule" as it was described then and is still. I know the tech exists for participatory democracy to exist, but the ancien regime is dead-set against that and will do whatever it deems required to crush it, which is what it's now in the process of doing. To currently enjoy your ideal, you'll need to move, which is a sad but unavoidable fact.
In my short recent experience regarding this proposal the very people themselves do not want it. The serfs do not want to know what the serfs have to say Certainly the self appointed 'clerisy' of the serfs do not.
It seems universal that no one trusts 'everyone else' to make right choices.
I may be wrong. But that's how it looks.
So, surprising as it is to me it seems no one wants Democracy actually.
Nevertheless I feel it quite possible we could get it anyway. Inasofar as the 'app'. We could get that much I think just by 'accident of fashion'. It could overnight be all the rage.
Various smart entrepreneurs could perhaps see a way of making money from promoting it. Self interested parties may see it as a way to promote their own ends. I mean such as those who feel they would be in power were it not for gerrymanders. Such as they.
I wouldn't surprise me a bit to see it suddenly be a thing and nor would it surprise me to see it distorted, twisted, misused, crippled etc.
It is not my ideal. I don't know what my ideal is. I have not given it much thought and quite possibly I'd be unable to come to a satisfactory conclusion if I did.
I actually see it as an inevitable. There's a constantly rising incidence of polling of the thoughts of the masses from all directions for all kinds of motives. It's merely a sort of natural culmination of that trend.
As I say, putting this 'polling' to a proper use is a different proposition.
What I see lacking massively is any awareness of the duties of the citizen because that's never taught aside from voting, which is the least important duty. For example, there're no attempts to form shadow government positions that monitor the government's behavior--the media was delegated that task which was a fatal mistake as the media is oligarch controlled. And this problem is multigenerational meaning there're no elders to teach and mentor younger generations as to their duties related to good governance.
Exactly so: 'lacking massively'.
I was always taught that in the British system 'Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition' (In Q3's time) was the 'shadow govt'.
We've learned that in fact they 'shadow' only with intent to copy wholly rather than monitor with correction in mind. Though they pretend to the people they're doing that.
The people appear to be so dumb incapable and inert.
However they are clearly none of those three. We've learned in very recent years: the last two decades, just how quickly the masses can absorb and adjust to quite sophisticated changes in communications and equipment and methods of operation and interaction with government.
And it has always been obvious that in fact it is the 'dumb mob' of people that actually build everything, run the whole show. They built the pyramids back then, they built the Titanic back then, they build everything today.
That just leaves the inertia but actually they're obviously quite active. Very active. The issue is that they are not active in the ways we want them to be: specifically political awareness/activism.
And yes, that is a problem. It is. It is the problem.
It is in that area the lack of training, tutoring, education, tradition of the 'duties of citizen' ( beyond 'obey') becomes significant.
I suspect that beneath the surface, behind the scenes, all that is being rectified in the consciousness of the masses.
They absorbed technology. Not so clearly seen perhaps but equally true I think they are absorbing the lies of the last decades and the truths those lies represent.
They are seeing it all. It's going in. Being thought about.
The basic duties of the citizen are only two: Be aware. Speak.
Technology has brought the possibility of being aware and awareness spreads even if kinda subliminally. Everything from Covid to Gaza via twin towers and assassinations.
Now technology has reached the point where they can speak. For the first time in history.
To me we can be optimistic.
:)
Yes, we can be optimistic. IMO, the NED-Grayzone SNAFU is emblematic of what we'll soon see--people not knowing their roots being placed in charge because Universities don't teach reality--the truth of how/why we're at this point historically. As Hudson proves, the information is there in the public domain, but no one is curious enough to pick it up and dust it off, or they're told it's not important enough for them to spend time looking. The explosion of writers and subscribers at substack sure proves that wrong as people are curious and are looking for explanations BigLie Media obscures or totally censors.
Oh, a point of fact I learned today: the FBI incinerated the body they say was Crooks before an independent medical examiner could do his work. And Trump will have a bullet-proof glass enclosure to speak from in his further campaign appearances.
Yep. The people thing is the bit that interests me most. Yes, an explosion of curiosity and 'activism' ( at least as much as to explore, seek out sites, comment ) which is all to the good.
Strikes me though that what's mainly lacking is a central focal point. Or points.
The govt always has one and everyone is directed there. And it is usually a lie.
A lie focal point surrounded by an ocean of truth.
But within that ocean no central point.
In covid we never got an 'alt reality' central point we all knew about where we could find listed and perhaps qualitatively sorted even, all the best sources for truth on the matter.
In Ukraine the same.
In anything/everything the same.
The information centralising and channeling is all on the part of govt and msm.
But we can fix that. I am quite sure.
I try. Without any success. I have a 'covidhonesty.com' and a 'ukrainehonesty.com' and they do not flourish. But the point is, I think, that if even I - totally untutored and almost uninterested and even really, over the years, uninformed - can find myself motivated enough to do that much and be capable of doing it and do it: then what lies in the offing to come forth from the well qualified, highly motivated, well schooled?
Much, I think. Much.
Seems to me it is deeply mass psychological. We are deeply immured in the idea that someone else looks after all these high and pervasive and central things of our society. Such as dissemination of truth.
Well we are right. They do. To our loss. They turned it to dissemination of untruth. We are slow grasping the idea that we have to do it. That we can do and should do it.
Bit of a joke really isn't it? We think from cradle onwards that we are democracies and we are democratic citizens. But we actually have trouble swallowing the very idea of 'doing it ourselves'. For less doing it.
But it is changing. As you say. Evidence everywhere. Even within the belly of the beast. I imagine that the 'Rest of the world' sees it all even much more clearly. I don't know what may be born from that direction. :)