Of course I do. My mom could be a real B-word when sufficiently riled. It took a lot--she was mostly of Scottish stock--but when it happened you could tell she had the old Viking berserker gene. Terrifying.
In my mind it's all about preventing Germany, et. al. from joining into the BRI (Belt & Road Initiative) which would tie Europe to the east vs. the West. I've seen the World Bank's maps and projections of how this initiative goes through previously underdeveloped resource rich areas and provides growth and development - tieing North Africa, Central Asia to the East and thus validating the MacKinder 'heartland' geo-political theory - i.e. eastern Europe is the heartland; who rules the heartland rules the world island and who rules the world island rules the world...The only thing offered by the US is militarism while China and the BRI offer infrastructure. What kind of choice is that.....The US can't have that because its hegemony is based upon the alternative seapower (A.T. Mahan, transfer of wealth from global south to global north; Angloism (UK, Aus, NZ who happen to be naval powers). And by virtue of North American geography not to mention hubris, the US would be isolated from BRI...Sadly, the US is engaged in a fool's errand and hopefully it won't take the world down as it flails. Otoh - in my view, questions need to be and are not raised about the environmental-ecological consequences of such BRI development.
It's not ALL about that, but yeah, when Italy signed on to the BRI that had to cause some consternation in Washington and New York. They don't want it to spread.
In part, it's about that old neocon dream of establishing permanent American global hegemony by controlling the heartland of Eurasia. That's where Russia comes in. Control Russia and surround China. The problem is, the Latin Americans, Africans, and Indians are no longer cooperating at all with that strategy. I think they've seen through it and don't like where it leads.
All I can say is WORD!
Yes!
SonOfaBitch...
I am. Really I am. It's why I appreciate some of the greatest SOBs in history. :)
I hope you know- that was a compliment of your sentiments! I'm an SOB when the universe calls the action, as well.
Of course I do. My mom could be a real B-word when sufficiently riled. It took a lot--she was mostly of Scottish stock--but when it happened you could tell she had the old Viking berserker gene. Terrifying.
In my mind it's all about preventing Germany, et. al. from joining into the BRI (Belt & Road Initiative) which would tie Europe to the east vs. the West. I've seen the World Bank's maps and projections of how this initiative goes through previously underdeveloped resource rich areas and provides growth and development - tieing North Africa, Central Asia to the East and thus validating the MacKinder 'heartland' geo-political theory - i.e. eastern Europe is the heartland; who rules the heartland rules the world island and who rules the world island rules the world...The only thing offered by the US is militarism while China and the BRI offer infrastructure. What kind of choice is that.....The US can't have that because its hegemony is based upon the alternative seapower (A.T. Mahan, transfer of wealth from global south to global north; Angloism (UK, Aus, NZ who happen to be naval powers). And by virtue of North American geography not to mention hubris, the US would be isolated from BRI...Sadly, the US is engaged in a fool's errand and hopefully it won't take the world down as it flails. Otoh - in my view, questions need to be and are not raised about the environmental-ecological consequences of such BRI development.
It's not ALL about that, but yeah, when Italy signed on to the BRI that had to cause some consternation in Washington and New York. They don't want it to spread.
In part, it's about that old neocon dream of establishing permanent American global hegemony by controlling the heartland of Eurasia. That's where Russia comes in. Control Russia and surround China. The problem is, the Latin Americans, Africans, and Indians are no longer cooperating at all with that strategy. I think they've seen through it and don't like where it leads.
Well, OB, it's a nice try, but somewhat useless imo. The European elite,
which is totally controlled by ours, has the information war under such
a control, that Brussels has tightened the screws. The EU is slowly
becoming a totalitarian instrument, and will not only dictate it's rules,
but enforce it via "national security" measures as well as through
the central bank. The Greeks have learned what that means and thus
have become quiet. I think we will see far more serious reactions here,
when the shiiiiiite hits the fan than in Europe.
I think some European country will melt down before we do. Let's revisit this next spring and see if either one of us is right.