I shake my head when I see msm reporting on Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Iran, Lebanon. It truly is a mirror world. Thanks for the excellent context you provide, Karl.
Curious how extremists attract other extremists. Recall the Zionist's help for ISIS and other Terror groups attempting to overthrow Assad. Recall the Zionist alliance with the Afrikaners. And we have the excellent examples of the extremists that formed the initial Zionist government in 1948 and after. At root, Occupied Palestine has always been a Terror State for that's how it's kept control. It's primary governing philosophy has never changed despite all the attempts to whitewash its past.
Hiding in plain sight as is said Karl, I just had a thought that nation states that are created through using violence to remove colonial shackles or similar the US included take it to heart and can't rid themselves of that inate sense of violence created their identity. My countries ultra conservative party tried to use our greatest military defeat as a rallying point our national holiday called Anzac day. Our nation was created through negotiations though it was not a total usurpation of the colonial power as our head of state is still the Queen um sorry king now.
My point as yours was Isreal cannot throw off it violent creation and I hope it's original inhabitants can gain control of their land and keep their inner peace and sanctity and not let it be
" Note how all the above is mostly a mirror that projects Western behavior onto the supposed enemy of the moment."
Precisely. That is central to the whole situation. If people in the west knew any relevant Chinese history, they would know that apart from border scurmishes, China has not invaded any country since 1949 (and a lot further back than that) - set that aside the US record! - , and the idea that China is "aggressive" is sheer nonsense. But that is what the western media pump out daily and their readership swallows it!
"Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia".
Well keep up the good work, good must triumph over evil in the long run.
Polls suggest the American public is actually rather jaundiced about media credibility. Most recent polls are very similar to what Gallup discovered late in 2023. The following's been asked since 1972:
"In general, how much trust and confidence do you have in the mass media -- such as newspapers, TV and radio -- when it comes to reporting the news fully, accurately and fairly -- a great deal, a fair amount, not very much or none at all? The latter answer was most at 39% with the second at 29%, with the first in the middle at 32%. https://news.gallup.com/poll/512861/media-confidence-matches-2016-record-low.aspx
And other polls show similar results. What's needed are specific polling questions that directly ask about narrative subjects to really know the propaganda's effectiveness. The general lack of trust in media is good to a degree but then the question becomes how well informed is that segment of the public.
I have a chart from KIng's College UK in World Values Survey which gives UK confidence in their press at 13%. Only Egypt is lower in the sample! USA yes is given as 30%.
Interestingly top of the chart is the Philippines with 71%. That could be explained by another chart in which the Philippines comes at the bottom for STEM capability among about 80 countries. Needless to say China, Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong occupy the top four places there.
Thanks Karl, your preamble was solid and concisely stated.
And I'm also glad that your corner of substack hasn't attracted the nafo crowd that have infested some of the other substacks. Even Andrei's blog is getting it's share of nafo trolls who are polluting the comments section with the approved narratives and talking points.
We are now in the terrain where any deviation from the approved narrative is thought crime, and thought crime is equivalent to terrorism that entails oppression from the state security apparatus. As such it's high time that the BRICS+ and its aspirants woke up to the malevolent nature of the west's media that is infesting their information space; it's bad enough having a fifth column of western indoctrinated (via attending universities/colleges in the west) professionals many of whom have sympathies with WEF (globalist) agendas.
Well, the Gym does have one at the moment and others have been here before. The terms of service are very strict when it comes to commenting and attacking others. Usually, trolls hang themselves by breaking those terms. I find the Durov Saga quite curious as it appears the West has snagged one of its own without knowing it, and given the presumed motive, they bagged the wrong Durov.
I'm not surprised by the Clouseau levels of ineptitude and incompetence in the various branches of government, but particularly with supercilious intelligence and military types.
Bastiat in one of his many sayings made reference to those charged with enforcing the law constantly breaking it and that's what we seem to have today. Here, it began 100+ years ago with the precursors to the FBI and then Hoover running that mob. But well before that there was what was known as Frontier Justice. The Spaghetti Westerns are very keen to point-out that era of US History that continues to exist--For A Few Dollars More--better make is a Fistful.
Thank you. I suspect that Medvedev's somewhat extreme expression is not only his own but he has been given permission to serve as 'Bad Cop' voice, sounding a warning. Obviously Putin never expresses himself thusly. But it increasingly feels to me that they have little choice but to fully engage in Ukraine and take the whole cookie. Which of course might be just what the West is waiting for.
If one side really, really, really wants to create war, instability and mutual hostility, how does one thwart them and not have war, maintain stability and not fall into the cesspit of petty hatred? Not easy. Some say - and I am one of them - that the longer term strategy involves collapsing the West from within or somehow effecting substantive regime change so that they change their entire approach. Maybe this will work, but until that regime change occurs, the West is a very dangerous beast creating plenty of mayhem with more to come; and that mayhem has to be dealt with in the here and now and Medvedev's bad cop approach may well be what the doctor ordered. I mean: what choice do they have at some point?
The ancien regime's been around for a very long time and has shown its ability to adapt to new situations as long as its fundamental basis for attaining "wealth" remains undisturbed, and that is its Achilles Heel. It must be starved into submission by eliminating its financial hegemony as that still has power despite the defeat of its military.
Ergo: attrition war it is then. Which is going to take a few more years unless the new Left-Right populist coalition in the US can deliver a bona fide sea-change. Not likely, but more possible now, perhaps, than at any time in decades...
I find it easier to report on what's happening in Russia and China than what's happening within the Empire mainly because BigLie Media can't be trusted to report anything honestly. Plus, it's the Duopoly running against itself again, so it will win no matter what. By 2028, the domestic situation will be much worse, and who knows what the international situation will be then. I'll just need to stay healthy so I can find out.
Understood. And in any case you can only do so much. Personally, am glad to see more and more of your own commentary here on your substack whose readership, I trust, is slowly growing. I regard the US as the Big Dog in the West whose condition, good and/or bad, gets reflected in all others in the club. Those in charge have been mainly devils for a long time but that is just leadership capture, let us say, and does not necessarily reflect the nature of all the citizenry. For years I have wanted to see the reasonable left and right come together for they have as many areas of agreement as disagreement. IF the MAGA-Kennedy coalition can fulfill some of its goals then maybe - just maybe - they can start to prize Israeli out of the polity and then maybe - just maybe - start to reintroduce some sort of bedrock moral code again and return to some semblance of sanity.
So it's a positive development during a time when such things are rare, and I just hope it bears good fruit. Time will tell.
As you know, am slightly cynical about the mutipolarists but also hopeful that they will fulfill their promises. No doubt there are bad actors infiltrated within their polities who work to twist anything good into Evil - for that is what they do - but maybe this time the Good Guys won't get fooled again and something powerfully positive will gradually emerge.
You are right to guard your health. Most likely this will take a while!
G'day RR, you mentioned new left right populist coalition in the US in your comment. Where is the left part of the coalition? I hear talk of the left in the states but have not seen any evidence of it and those who would benefit seem to flock to the fast head turning orange man.
Well, generally speaking I believe the RFK Jr & Shanahan would be regarded as somewhat 'left' but of course those left-right labels have become confusing of late. 200+ lot of staunch GOP types just endorsed Kamala, who is widely regarded as an almost Marxist leftist, so what seems to be happening is not so much left vs right as Establishment vs Reformist.
Left-leaning and right-leaning moderates are being invited to team up on the Trump ticket which is now openly promising a coalition government by adding Bobby and Gabbard to their Transition Team. This probably pisses off the hard-core RINO GOPers as much as the hard-core Establishment DNCers. Whether this is left or right or whatever, looks like a good development to me.
Unless it's all Reality TV Republic kabuki, which nowadays is never out of the question.
G'day RR, it sure shows the disconnect from reality if K Harris is considered a Marxist, in my eyes it is absolutely humorous to even think any US politician could be considered left wing. Sure they are some not as extreme right as the Tea party or Trumps apparatchiks in his first term or the 2025 group.
If Putin or Russians needed a Kursk invasion, or a Crooke article to work out the US west is out to get them and are deadly serious then they need psychological help. Crookes commentary is redundant. Russia's verbal responses to Kursk is propaganda:101 normal in wartime. Russia has seriously screwed up there and shows multiple weaknesses, political and military. Talking about the pathetic wests rhetoric and propaganda does not fix Russia's serious problems over Ukraine and the west continuing to go for the juggler to bring it and Putin down by ramping up their imposts upon Russia going forward. If Russia took over whatever it wanted of Ukraine changes nothing, because it is still under constant threat and undermining by the US UK and everyone else out "to get them". So I repeat, Crookes commentary is redundant. And inconsequential. He tells us nothing we shouldn't already know clear as day.
I shake my head when I see msm reporting on Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Iran, Lebanon. It truly is a mirror world. Thanks for the excellent context you provide, Karl.
Thanks Diana. I could've woven the Durov saga into my prose but wasn't up-to-date on it when I was writing this morning. I'd say the action is part of the new narrative's action. This report and the observations it includes, I found important, https://sputnikglobe.com/20240826/why-did-telegrams-ceo-durov-have-a-target-on-his-back-1119912967.html
Interesting. I just saw another post saying that Israel felt threatened by some of the messaging.
Curious how extremists attract other extremists. Recall the Zionist's help for ISIS and other Terror groups attempting to overthrow Assad. Recall the Zionist alliance with the Afrikaners. And we have the excellent examples of the extremists that formed the initial Zionist government in 1948 and after. At root, Occupied Palestine has always been a Terror State for that's how it's kept control. It's primary governing philosophy has never changed despite all the attempts to whitewash its past.
Hiding in plain sight as is said Karl, I just had a thought that nation states that are created through using violence to remove colonial shackles or similar the US included take it to heart and can't rid themselves of that inate sense of violence created their identity. My countries ultra conservative party tried to use our greatest military defeat as a rallying point our national holiday called Anzac day. Our nation was created through negotiations though it was not a total usurpation of the colonial power as our head of state is still the Queen um sorry king now.
My point as yours was Isreal cannot throw off it violent creation and I hope it's original inhabitants can gain control of their land and keep their inner peace and sanctity and not let it be
consumed. Inshallah.
Many thanks for your brilliant commentary on our looking-glass world.
" Note how all the above is mostly a mirror that projects Western behavior onto the supposed enemy of the moment."
Precisely. That is central to the whole situation. If people in the west knew any relevant Chinese history, they would know that apart from border scurmishes, China has not invaded any country since 1949 (and a lot further back than that) - set that aside the US record! - , and the idea that China is "aggressive" is sheer nonsense. But that is what the western media pump out daily and their readership swallows it!
"Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia".
Well keep up the good work, good must triumph over evil in the long run.
Polls suggest the American public is actually rather jaundiced about media credibility. Most recent polls are very similar to what Gallup discovered late in 2023. The following's been asked since 1972:
"In general, how much trust and confidence do you have in the mass media -- such as newspapers, TV and radio -- when it comes to reporting the news fully, accurately and fairly -- a great deal, a fair amount, not very much or none at all? The latter answer was most at 39% with the second at 29%, with the first in the middle at 32%. https://news.gallup.com/poll/512861/media-confidence-matches-2016-record-low.aspx
And other polls show similar results. What's needed are specific polling questions that directly ask about narrative subjects to really know the propaganda's effectiveness. The general lack of trust in media is good to a degree but then the question becomes how well informed is that segment of the public.
I have a chart from KIng's College UK in World Values Survey which gives UK confidence in their press at 13%. Only Egypt is lower in the sample! USA yes is given as 30%.
Interestingly top of the chart is the Philippines with 71%. That could be explained by another chart in which the Philippines comes at the bottom for STEM capability among about 80 countries. Needless to say China, Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong occupy the top four places there.
Thanks for the polling info. Illuminates the complete rottenness of our political systems.
Thanks Karl, your preamble was solid and concisely stated.
And I'm also glad that your corner of substack hasn't attracted the nafo crowd that have infested some of the other substacks. Even Andrei's blog is getting it's share of nafo trolls who are polluting the comments section with the approved narratives and talking points.
We are now in the terrain where any deviation from the approved narrative is thought crime, and thought crime is equivalent to terrorism that entails oppression from the state security apparatus. As such it's high time that the BRICS+ and its aspirants woke up to the malevolent nature of the west's media that is infesting their information space; it's bad enough having a fifth column of western indoctrinated (via attending universities/colleges in the west) professionals many of whom have sympathies with WEF (globalist) agendas.
Well, the Gym does have one at the moment and others have been here before. The terms of service are very strict when it comes to commenting and attacking others. Usually, trolls hang themselves by breaking those terms. I find the Durov Saga quite curious as it appears the West has snagged one of its own without knowing it, and given the presumed motive, they bagged the wrong Durov.
I'm not surprised by the Clouseau levels of ineptitude and incompetence in the various branches of government, but particularly with supercilious intelligence and military types.
Bastiat in one of his many sayings made reference to those charged with enforcing the law constantly breaking it and that's what we seem to have today. Here, it began 100+ years ago with the precursors to the FBI and then Hoover running that mob. But well before that there was what was known as Frontier Justice. The Spaghetti Westerns are very keen to point-out that era of US History that continues to exist--For A Few Dollars More--better make is a Fistful.
Brilliant Alastair Crook.
Thank you. I suspect that Medvedev's somewhat extreme expression is not only his own but he has been given permission to serve as 'Bad Cop' voice, sounding a warning. Obviously Putin never expresses himself thusly. But it increasingly feels to me that they have little choice but to fully engage in Ukraine and take the whole cookie. Which of course might be just what the West is waiting for.
If one side really, really, really wants to create war, instability and mutual hostility, how does one thwart them and not have war, maintain stability and not fall into the cesspit of petty hatred? Not easy. Some say - and I am one of them - that the longer term strategy involves collapsing the West from within or somehow effecting substantive regime change so that they change their entire approach. Maybe this will work, but until that regime change occurs, the West is a very dangerous beast creating plenty of mayhem with more to come; and that mayhem has to be dealt with in the here and now and Medvedev's bad cop approach may well be what the doctor ordered. I mean: what choice do they have at some point?
The ancien regime's been around for a very long time and has shown its ability to adapt to new situations as long as its fundamental basis for attaining "wealth" remains undisturbed, and that is its Achilles Heel. It must be starved into submission by eliminating its financial hegemony as that still has power despite the defeat of its military.
Ergo: attrition war it is then. Which is going to take a few more years unless the new Left-Right populist coalition in the US can deliver a bona fide sea-change. Not likely, but more possible now, perhaps, than at any time in decades...
I find it easier to report on what's happening in Russia and China than what's happening within the Empire mainly because BigLie Media can't be trusted to report anything honestly. Plus, it's the Duopoly running against itself again, so it will win no matter what. By 2028, the domestic situation will be much worse, and who knows what the international situation will be then. I'll just need to stay healthy so I can find out.
Understood. And in any case you can only do so much. Personally, am glad to see more and more of your own commentary here on your substack whose readership, I trust, is slowly growing. I regard the US as the Big Dog in the West whose condition, good and/or bad, gets reflected in all others in the club. Those in charge have been mainly devils for a long time but that is just leadership capture, let us say, and does not necessarily reflect the nature of all the citizenry. For years I have wanted to see the reasonable left and right come together for they have as many areas of agreement as disagreement. IF the MAGA-Kennedy coalition can fulfill some of its goals then maybe - just maybe - they can start to prize Israeli out of the polity and then maybe - just maybe - start to reintroduce some sort of bedrock moral code again and return to some semblance of sanity.
So it's a positive development during a time when such things are rare, and I just hope it bears good fruit. Time will tell.
As you know, am slightly cynical about the mutipolarists but also hopeful that they will fulfill their promises. No doubt there are bad actors infiltrated within their polities who work to twist anything good into Evil - for that is what they do - but maybe this time the Good Guys won't get fooled again and something powerfully positive will gradually emerge.
You are right to guard your health. Most likely this will take a while!
Congratulations on your excellent substack.
G'day RR, you mentioned new left right populist coalition in the US in your comment. Where is the left part of the coalition? I hear talk of the left in the states but have not seen any evidence of it and those who would benefit seem to flock to the fast head turning orange man.
Well, generally speaking I believe the RFK Jr & Shanahan would be regarded as somewhat 'left' but of course those left-right labels have become confusing of late. 200+ lot of staunch GOP types just endorsed Kamala, who is widely regarded as an almost Marxist leftist, so what seems to be happening is not so much left vs right as Establishment vs Reformist.
Left-leaning and right-leaning moderates are being invited to team up on the Trump ticket which is now openly promising a coalition government by adding Bobby and Gabbard to their Transition Team. This probably pisses off the hard-core RINO GOPers as much as the hard-core Establishment DNCers. Whether this is left or right or whatever, looks like a good development to me.
Unless it's all Reality TV Republic kabuki, which nowadays is never out of the question.
G'day RR, it sure shows the disconnect from reality if K Harris is considered a Marxist, in my eyes it is absolutely humorous to even think any US politician could be considered left wing. Sure they are some not as extreme right as the Tea party or Trumps apparatchiks in his first term or the 2025 group.
I wish to add my thanks to Karl's cursory look at events since WW1 to this day, very concise.
"Distrust of the U.S. in Russia is now absolute."
If Putin or Russians needed a Kursk invasion, or a Crooke article to work out the US west is out to get them and are deadly serious then they need psychological help. Crookes commentary is redundant. Russia's verbal responses to Kursk is propaganda:101 normal in wartime. Russia has seriously screwed up there and shows multiple weaknesses, political and military. Talking about the pathetic wests rhetoric and propaganda does not fix Russia's serious problems over Ukraine and the west continuing to go for the juggler to bring it and Putin down by ramping up their imposts upon Russia going forward. If Russia took over whatever it wanted of Ukraine changes nothing, because it is still under constant threat and undermining by the US UK and everyone else out "to get them". So I repeat, Crookes commentary is redundant. And inconsequential. He tells us nothing we shouldn't already know clear as day.