If I were to write everything I would like to comment on, it would go beyond the scope of a commentary. In a nutshell: Thank you for the translation and the work you do every day.
Unfortunately, I was born on the side of evil. Here you already risk a few years in prison if you publicly agree with some of Lawrow's statements. Not a joke, but a bitter reality. We Germans in particular have bitter experiences with dictatorships and things weren't squeamish in the imperial era either. Even before 2014, I would never have thought that we would repeat some of the practices of that time. The USA is now increasingly outsourcing its repressive apparatus to the EU and NATO. Both have become a single entity.
It's of immense interest that Trump's anti-NATO stance is both supported and resisted by the various European political parties. At Valdai, Putin explained very well to the Greek questioner why Greece and all European nations in the Euro zone are no longer sovereign. Now, there are some sensible aspects of the EU that merit retaining, but the Euro will never function as proposed and is detrimental to most of Europe and will soon come under attack by the Outlaw US Empire. A similar issue exists with NATO as it forced all OSCE Treaty signers to break all the security treaties signed with Russia, which is one of the main reasons for the SMO. Western Europe will never have security while it continues to have a NATO run by the Outlaw US Empire and targeted at Russia. And IMO, there's no reforming either the EU or NATO; they must be abandoned as failed institutions. And given the dictatorial nature of EU/NATO, no peace with Russia will be attained until those organizations are dissolved. Russia has yet to explicitly say that, but IMO it's clearly implied in its foreign policy documents and current activities.
Trump wants to shift all cost of its Empire of Bases onto the "host" nations. Given the economic recessions happening in the hosts that won't abate because Neoliberalism is the driving force within those hosts, popular revolt over continuing to host those bases will soon explode in a manner more violent than what Okinawans have practiced. Japan is a very interesting case as it's refused sanction Russian energy imports because it's extremely dependent on them, very much like Europe. Plus, Japan has a very serious demographic problem--it's literally wasting away. Remember, Japan is the land of the 100-year mortgage, and that's become a serious social issue.
The eight US bases and infrastructure are: 1) the airport at Capodichino, Naples (naval support); 2) airport at Aviano, Pordenone; 3) Camp Darby, Livorno; 4) the base at Gaeta; 5) the base at La Maddalena, Sardinia; 6) the naval base at Sigonella, Sicily; 7) the solar observatory at San Vito dei Normanni, Apulia; and 8 ...
I am guessing you got that from a Google search, TC. Right?
In my experience you cannot trust Google for a straight answers in many topics, especially if you ask something very specific... like "how many US military bases (or locations) exist outside the USA"? Or they will define things to ensure giving you a partial answer. Having been frustrated in searches, I tried their AI, being specific. AI did not provide answers to the specific question I asked even when I reworded multiple times. The AI program "got tired" of me re-wording and suggested I ask questions on another topic to avoid further frustration.
I did some more searching in response to your point to see what I would get and got exactly what you got at first. Then I branched out and followed leads and found a trickle.
For example, there are at least 3 NSA locations in Italy. NSA is run by the US Dept. of Defense. I would not be surprised if there are more and that some of the listening posts, from for a regular "base" or "office" exists and has people operating/guarding in the remote location.
Wikipedia, if asked to list the US bases in Italy doesn't even give even 8!
But they do reveal that there is a secret base, originally called Fort Darby, consisting in 1000s of acres located in the Province of Pisa. When I tried to download something from the WIKI page, the email blank I was storing it on went weird on me, so I gave up bothering to provide you with a longer list.
For years and years, the average commentator has been estimating there are 800 US military/Defense/Intel installations or bases in the world, outside the US. In the past couple of years, I've seen estimates by reputable sources of 950 (although these may include locations at Embassies and/or include DIA, CIA and their paramilitary... weren't there 12 CIA bases on Ukraine's eastern border with Russia?). Given that the US is NATO (money, the best weapons, and biggest military, NATO bases with Americans are American bases, to me, at least. How about you?
After all these estimates, within the last couple of years, I have see US media announcements of NEW bases or new facilities in new places, mostly as part of the much publicized "Pivot to China" in Asia/Pacific, including the new use of 5 existing bases in the Philippines alone, supposedly used for logistics, one whole new island to use as a new base, in Japan, and at least one elsewhere in the Pacific.
I have also heard an ex-US official (if I recall correctly it was Col. Wilkerson) say that the bases in Italy give the US lots of power there. PM Meloni was quite independent-minded, until her election.... Just saying.
Keep in mind that an Airforce, Marine and Army base in the same location is 3 bases. There are, after all, separate services.
Thankyou for the translation! I admire the openness and logic of the Russian leadership far more than the leadership 'logic' of 'Western governments. It's truly heartening! For those that haven't fallen to Western 'narratives' The Russian leadership and its people are highly admired by many, many people in he West. Thankyou again.
I agree, #1 and #2 are Mr. Putin and Mr. Lavrov. "Who is interesting to listen to, and who makes decisions. The first number is President of Russia Vladimir Putin, and the second on the list is Sergey Lavrov."
I frikkin love this guy. The obvious background is twofold: 1st, the "West" (led by America) wants to Balkanize Russia for it's resources. For some reason western elites think this is both reasonable and achievable.
Secondly, every US President who has met with President Putin has come away from the experience with the knowledge that they are an incompetent under-educated fraud. Being pathological narcissists, they cannot abide the insult to their imagined greatest and infect their sycophantic cadre of self styled elites to umbrage with tortured delusions of injury.
Indeed, Russophobia breeds its own disease within the infected. You'll note how its veery similar to Iranopobia, Sinophobia, and Islamopobia, and then there's the very weird relationship with the word Capitalism. I heartily suggest reading Richard Wolff's story of his college education along with all the other material here, https://michael-hudson.com/2024/11/beyond-surface-economics-the-case-for-structural-reform/
Muchos gracias for the link. I will read. I have a degree in Accountancy which I obtained in my 40's. I am still struck by how literally everyone in that field miss the obvious points. - first that our notion of Capitalism is basically another psyop, one that has its own gravitas outside the need for a controlling source. Second that it was founded by merchants funding wars of conquest (same as today), third the game is stacked against those who are not part of a cabal of consensus, and most importantly, it is predicated on the fiction that money grows in value through time.
There's definitely a bizarre connection between neo-con world view of zero sum game, kill everyone and take everything.
Ayn Rand's foolish books and the notion of the self made man are very appealing to lower order intellects. Not that most people are naturally lower order intellects. They are taught, scolded, bullied and terrorized as children to believe that individual contribution to the development of self is a waste of time. The herds of humanity suffer from generations PTSD that perpetuate very much like a virus.
But I digress. Capitalism as we know it is inherently a Ponzi scheme and it seems to me to be an outgrowth of a psychological condition wherein people cannot integrate "other." I won't go into Jungian psychology in a comment, just to say that as a species, we are influenced by geography and evolving through time. I look at the world's troubles as more or less teething pains if this were the first set of teeth ever grown.
another thanks for the links. I am loosely familiar with Mr. Hudson's work and views. I find myself frequently in agreement with his interpretations, but I am not as familiar as yourself. Have you read "Tragedy and Hope" by Carroll Quigley? It's quite interesting.
Generally, I find it hard to read anything modern about economics for many reasons. Primarily the system is inordinately complex and must omit fundamental percepts for any sort of "discussion" to occur - a fact which renders most conclusions moot!
No, I haven't read Quigley. Econ was one of my three minors, and I introduced first year college students to Macro and Micro Econ101A & B. My focus now is on political-economy and why its study was curtailed at the beginning of the 20th Century to be replaced by Neoliberal economic "theory." That study is tied into a great mass of other history as it all melds into today's geopolitics and geoeconomics. Hudson's studies and writings about Bronze Age socio-economics provides an excellent education into what constitutes the basics of economics and the foundations of what I term Classical Conservatism as a political school of thought, which differs from what the Party of Order tries to say is Conservatism.
So, enjoy the Gym. The archive has over 675 articles going back to July 2023.
I watched it. Enchanting, educational and enthralling. Looked like a lovely day for a chat in the park. I think I'm gettting a handle on this economics subject.
Once the basics are learned then one can discover what's designed to make you unlearn them via Hudson's "J is for Junk Economics" where he exposes the bullshit terms from A-Z. It stands alone but was designed to be read along with "Killing the Host."
the solution from trump on ukraine/russia or nato/russia conflict is not going to happen... lavrovs states it clearly here... they had a chance and they blew it... nothing has changed and no pretty speech from trump or his speechwriters is going to change any of this.. ( thanks karl ) the quote -
"Everything collapsed because Vladimir Zelensky (and Petr Poroshenko before him) categorically refused to grant this part of Donbass, which would have remained Ukrainian, a special status in the form of the right to speak their native language. The West "swallowed" all this, despite our numerous reminders of the root causes of this conflict, including not only the involvement of Ukraine in NATO, but also the legislative, deliberate extermination of everything Russian."
i think of the parallel in canada, if this was to happen with the french community, largely based in quebec and new brunswick... how would the french in canada feel if english canada was to deliberating work at removing all things french? canadians in particular ought to make a clear parallel here, but of course the msm serves its main purpose of propagandizing, as opposed to informing..
If I were to write everything I would like to comment on, it would go beyond the scope of a commentary. In a nutshell: Thank you for the translation and the work you do every day.
Unfortunately, I was born on the side of evil. Here you already risk a few years in prison if you publicly agree with some of Lawrow's statements. Not a joke, but a bitter reality. We Germans in particular have bitter experiences with dictatorships and things weren't squeamish in the imperial era either. Even before 2014, I would never have thought that we would repeat some of the practices of that time. The USA is now increasingly outsourcing its repressive apparatus to the EU and NATO. Both have become a single entity.
It's of immense interest that Trump's anti-NATO stance is both supported and resisted by the various European political parties. At Valdai, Putin explained very well to the Greek questioner why Greece and all European nations in the Euro zone are no longer sovereign. Now, there are some sensible aspects of the EU that merit retaining, but the Euro will never function as proposed and is detrimental to most of Europe and will soon come under attack by the Outlaw US Empire. A similar issue exists with NATO as it forced all OSCE Treaty signers to break all the security treaties signed with Russia, which is one of the main reasons for the SMO. Western Europe will never have security while it continues to have a NATO run by the Outlaw US Empire and targeted at Russia. And IMO, there's no reforming either the EU or NATO; they must be abandoned as failed institutions. And given the dictatorial nature of EU/NATO, no peace with Russia will be attained until those organizations are dissolved. Russia has yet to explicitly say that, but IMO it's clearly implied in its foreign policy documents and current activities.
Many nations are occupied by the USA, especially the losers of the WW2.
There is around 100 Military Bases in Italy with Americans, for example/
Germany has lot of US bases.
Japan has US bases, including a huge one in Okinawa. In the last year or so, Japan gave the US a whole island to build an additional base.
Trump wants to shift all cost of its Empire of Bases onto the "host" nations. Given the economic recessions happening in the hosts that won't abate because Neoliberalism is the driving force within those hosts, popular revolt over continuing to host those bases will soon explode in a manner more violent than what Okinawans have practiced. Japan is a very interesting case as it's refused sanction Russian energy imports because it's extremely dependent on them, very much like Europe. Plus, Japan has a very serious demographic problem--it's literally wasting away. Remember, Japan is the land of the 100-year mortgage, and that's become a serious social issue.
Hi Alan, i think 100 in Italy is a lot.
Internet: eight US bases
The eight US bases and infrastructure are: 1) the airport at Capodichino, Naples (naval support); 2) airport at Aviano, Pordenone; 3) Camp Darby, Livorno; 4) the base at Gaeta; 5) the base at La Maddalena, Sardinia; 6) the naval base at Sigonella, Sicily; 7) the solar observatory at San Vito dei Normanni, Apulia; and 8 ...
I am guessing you got that from a Google search, TC. Right?
In my experience you cannot trust Google for a straight answers in many topics, especially if you ask something very specific... like "how many US military bases (or locations) exist outside the USA"? Or they will define things to ensure giving you a partial answer. Having been frustrated in searches, I tried their AI, being specific. AI did not provide answers to the specific question I asked even when I reworded multiple times. The AI program "got tired" of me re-wording and suggested I ask questions on another topic to avoid further frustration.
I did some more searching in response to your point to see what I would get and got exactly what you got at first. Then I branched out and followed leads and found a trickle.
For example, there are at least 3 NSA locations in Italy. NSA is run by the US Dept. of Defense. I would not be surprised if there are more and that some of the listening posts, from for a regular "base" or "office" exists and has people operating/guarding in the remote location.
Wikipedia, if asked to list the US bases in Italy doesn't even give even 8!
But they do reveal that there is a secret base, originally called Fort Darby, consisting in 1000s of acres located in the Province of Pisa. When I tried to download something from the WIKI page, the email blank I was storing it on went weird on me, so I gave up bothering to provide you with a longer list.
For years and years, the average commentator has been estimating there are 800 US military/Defense/Intel installations or bases in the world, outside the US. In the past couple of years, I've seen estimates by reputable sources of 950 (although these may include locations at Embassies and/or include DIA, CIA and their paramilitary... weren't there 12 CIA bases on Ukraine's eastern border with Russia?). Given that the US is NATO (money, the best weapons, and biggest military, NATO bases with Americans are American bases, to me, at least. How about you?
After all these estimates, within the last couple of years, I have see US media announcements of NEW bases or new facilities in new places, mostly as part of the much publicized "Pivot to China" in Asia/Pacific, including the new use of 5 existing bases in the Philippines alone, supposedly used for logistics, one whole new island to use as a new base, in Japan, and at least one elsewhere in the Pacific.
I have also heard an ex-US official (if I recall correctly it was Col. Wilkerson) say that the bases in Italy give the US lots of power there. PM Meloni was quite independent-minded, until her election.... Just saying.
Keep in mind that an Airforce, Marine and Army base in the same location is 3 bases. There are, after all, separate services.
The late Chalmers Johnson once wrote a book that described America in its essence: an Empire of Bases.
America’s Empire of Bases
https://apjjf.org/chalmers-johnson/2029/article
Empire of bases
https://thebulletin.org/2009/03/empire-of-bases/
But this American Empire of Bases is at a moral level ultimately an Empire of Lies, as Mr. Putin called it out.
Then lets pray they dissolve away. Thanks for the translation Karl.
Nice to read diplomacy isn’t a fantasy as is the political science of the West.
Thankyou for the translation! I admire the openness and logic of the Russian leadership far more than the leadership 'logic' of 'Western governments. It's truly heartening! For those that haven't fallen to Western 'narratives' The Russian leadership and its people are highly admired by many, many people in he West. Thankyou again.
I agree, #1 and #2 are Mr. Putin and Mr. Lavrov. "Who is interesting to listen to, and who makes decisions. The first number is President of Russia Vladimir Putin, and the second on the list is Sergey Lavrov."
I frikkin love this guy. The obvious background is twofold: 1st, the "West" (led by America) wants to Balkanize Russia for it's resources. For some reason western elites think this is both reasonable and achievable.
Secondly, every US President who has met with President Putin has come away from the experience with the knowledge that they are an incompetent under-educated fraud. Being pathological narcissists, they cannot abide the insult to their imagined greatest and infect their sycophantic cadre of self styled elites to umbrage with tortured delusions of injury.
Indeed, Russophobia breeds its own disease within the infected. You'll note how its veery similar to Iranopobia, Sinophobia, and Islamopobia, and then there's the very weird relationship with the word Capitalism. I heartily suggest reading Richard Wolff's story of his college education along with all the other material here, https://michael-hudson.com/2024/11/beyond-surface-economics-the-case-for-structural-reform/
Muchos gracias for the link. I will read. I have a degree in Accountancy which I obtained in my 40's. I am still struck by how literally everyone in that field miss the obvious points. - first that our notion of Capitalism is basically another psyop, one that has its own gravitas outside the need for a controlling source. Second that it was founded by merchants funding wars of conquest (same as today), third the game is stacked against those who are not part of a cabal of consensus, and most importantly, it is predicated on the fiction that money grows in value through time.
There's definitely a bizarre connection between neo-con world view of zero sum game, kill everyone and take everything.
Ayn Rand's foolish books and the notion of the self made man are very appealing to lower order intellects. Not that most people are naturally lower order intellects. They are taught, scolded, bullied and terrorized as children to believe that individual contribution to the development of self is a waste of time. The herds of humanity suffer from generations PTSD that perpetuate very much like a virus.
But I digress. Capitalism as we know it is inherently a Ponzi scheme and it seems to me to be an outgrowth of a psychological condition wherein people cannot integrate "other." I won't go into Jungian psychology in a comment, just to say that as a species, we are influenced by geography and evolving through time. I look at the world's troubles as more or less teething pains if this were the first set of teeth ever grown.
Hudson often speaks of the balance sheet approach to economics. There's a huge mass of materials at his website that would take several years to consume. I'm fortunate to have followed him for many years and have thus digested most of it all. I do believe you'll find this recent essay intriguing, https://michael-hudson.com/2024/09/reshaping-christianity-and-the-modern-state-a-journey-from-usury-to-fiscal-power/
another thanks for the links. I am loosely familiar with Mr. Hudson's work and views. I find myself frequently in agreement with his interpretations, but I am not as familiar as yourself. Have you read "Tragedy and Hope" by Carroll Quigley? It's quite interesting.
Generally, I find it hard to read anything modern about economics for many reasons. Primarily the system is inordinately complex and must omit fundamental percepts for any sort of "discussion" to occur - a fact which renders most conclusions moot!
No, I haven't read Quigley. Econ was one of my three minors, and I introduced first year college students to Macro and Micro Econ101A & B. My focus now is on political-economy and why its study was curtailed at the beginning of the 20th Century to be replaced by Neoliberal economic "theory." That study is tied into a great mass of other history as it all melds into today's geopolitics and geoeconomics. Hudson's studies and writings about Bronze Age socio-economics provides an excellent education into what constitutes the basics of economics and the foundations of what I term Classical Conservatism as a political school of thought, which differs from what the Party of Order tries to say is Conservatism.
So, enjoy the Gym. The archive has over 675 articles going back to July 2023.
I watched it. Enchanting, educational and enthralling. Looked like a lovely day for a chat in the park. I think I'm gettting a handle on this economics subject.
Once the basics are learned then one can discover what's designed to make you unlearn them via Hudson's "J is for Junk Economics" where he exposes the bullshit terms from A-Z. It stands alone but was designed to be read along with "Killing the Host."
Cheers.
the solution from trump on ukraine/russia or nato/russia conflict is not going to happen... lavrovs states it clearly here... they had a chance and they blew it... nothing has changed and no pretty speech from trump or his speechwriters is going to change any of this.. ( thanks karl ) the quote -
"Everything collapsed because Vladimir Zelensky (and Petr Poroshenko before him) categorically refused to grant this part of Donbass, which would have remained Ukrainian, a special status in the form of the right to speak their native language. The West "swallowed" all this, despite our numerous reminders of the root causes of this conflict, including not only the involvement of Ukraine in NATO, but also the legislative, deliberate extermination of everything Russian."
i think of the parallel in canada, if this was to happen with the french community, largely based in quebec and new brunswick... how would the french in canada feel if english canada was to deliberating work at removing all things french? canadians in particular ought to make a clear parallel here, but of course the msm serves its main purpose of propagandizing, as opposed to informing..
Outstanding!