Reflections from the Heart of the Empire: Lots of Flails, Fails, and Silver Linings
Plus a burgling bear
Joe Biden seems determined to go out with a bang, not a whimper. His Administration gave approval for Ukraine to strike nearly 200 miles inside Russia with short range missiles.
Some media are calling them “intermediate range,” but I grew up in Texas. If it’s not at least 300 miles, it ain’t that far.
Still, anyone who thinks launching missiles 200 miles inside the border of a nuclear power is less dangerous than RFK Jr. in charge of HHS or Matt Gaetz heading up the Justice Department is deranged.
Or, as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro observed,
We are at a defining moment. North American imperialism has entered a phase of madness and revenge.
Fortunately, there’s a Russian patriot in charge at the Kremlin who knows there won’t be anything to be patriotic about after a nuclear war, and who will do everything he can to avoid one for just that reason. Good old consistent Uncle Vlad.
The Kremlin even announced its new nuclear doctrine, where striking a nuclear power that backs a non-nuclear one striking Russia is now a possibility. Just to be perfectly clear, you see. There’s nothing in it that the US wouldn’t already do.
Mozambicans continued to bang pots in protest of elections held last October 9 which most of them believe were rigged. Since the same ruling party has been in place since 1975, I can’t imagine why anyone would think that.
Gabon held a referendum on a new constitution, featuring presidential term limits, of all the American-sounding things. The fact that the same guy ruled for 55 years before his own military got sick of him couldn’t possibly have anything to do with that, could it?
Israel celebrated the Biden Administration’s decision not to shut off arms for genocide after all by massacring over 100 Palestinians in one fell swoop. This was a multistory apartment building in Gaza last week:
Don’t worry. It’s not permanent. Israeli settlers announced plans for building bigger and better in Gaza.
Lebanese media said Israel achieved its deepest penetration into their country since the Israelis invaded six weeks ago—a whopping 3 whole miles—before pulling back after running into Hezbollah.
I bet it cost several billion US tax dollars a mile, too. Who needs $400 hammers when we have Israel?
The US Empire is having a good old time virtue-signaling after Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Sudanese civil war, which has displaced more than 11 million people. As British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said,
How many more Sudanese have to be killed, how many more women have to be raped, how many more children have to go without food before Russia will act? Russia will have to explain itself to the entire United Nations membership now.
Funny how no British Foreign Secretary has ever said,
How many more Palestinians have to be killed, how many more women have to be raped, how many more children have to go without food before the United States will act? America will have to explain itself to the entire United Nations membership now.
Always consider the timing of these resolutions. The Sudanese civil war has been going on for years. Why does the Empire want a ceasefire now? Is their faction losing? Is Russia backing one that’s winning? I don’t know, but that has been happening a lot in Africa lately.
Do you want to know the Russian point of view? Well, on Substack that’s pretty easy to find. Let the howls for censorship commence!
The Federal Aviation Administration banned all US flights to Haiti for 30 days after 3 commercial airliners were hit by gunfire at Port-au-Prince’s airport. Seems those Kenyan cops deployed to suppress “gang” violence aren’t doing so well.
Donald Trump is appointing quite the motley crew to his administration. Some of them are Certified Vampires of the Empire. Some of look like great choices to me, and I freely confess my astonishment at that development. It could be much, much worse.
In comedy news, MSNBC’s Morning Joe Scarborough and his wife Mika Brzezinski donned sackcloth and ashes and crawled a hundred yards through Mar-a-Lago to beg for forgiveness and grovel for access at Donald Trump’s feet.
OK, I made up the sackcloth, ashes and crawling part, but you have to admit it’s a great visual.
A piece of the retractable roof of the stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play fell off while it was being opened three hours before the last game started. No worries, just more crumbling infrastructure in the heart of the Empire.
Sri Lanka has a new government headed by a “Marxist-leaning” president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake. His National People’s Party won 159 out of 225 seats in parliament, including the votes of many Tamils, who once waged a separatist war against the central government. Hopefully that’s a good sign.
Finally, a bear raided a candy store in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Employees report the bear’s favorites were Hershey’s Kisses and Charleston Chews. I like Kisses; maybe I should try a Chew.
Thank you for reading, good day or night, and good luck.
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OB and that bear need to see about a thorough detox and purge.
The 'decision' to allow deep strikes on Russian territory with missile systems that can only be targeted and fired by American soldiers with high security clearance is a claw at Trump. Whichever claque is moving Biden's arms and legs for him wants to further foul the diplomatic water for the president-elect's efforts to defuse the situation in the Ukraine. Knowing the quality and tenor of the neocon globalists' geopolitical decision-making process, we might safely bet this was strictly a politically-motivated backstab, as Trump has brayed loudly and often about ending the war quickly.
The fallout, and I use the word advisedly here, of this maneuver takes three main shapes, imo.
First, no significant damage to Russia from the Strikes. We gave them a nice, long, slow look at these systems when our proxies were trying to destabilize the Crimea with them, remember? Those not quite stupid enough to get their war news from the Midwit Slop Media know that Ukraine's success with ATACMs was short-lived and undramatic, unless you were one of those people on the beach. Once the electronic and kinetic signature of the missiles was analyzed, Russian AD and EW adapted and effectively neutered them. They haven't forgotten how to do that.
Secondly, the first confirmed strike by these systems across the 1991 borders of Russia means that the US and Russia are openly at war and shooting missiles at each other. This fact is being elided in the Muck Spew Media, but among Russian top brass at least Lavrov, Medvedev, and Putin have all been careful to recognize the step and elucidate its meaning in terms of Russian policy. No doubt the Kirby/Sullivan brain trust will preserve us from harm.
Thirdly, this decision greenlights another major upgrade of systems from Russia for Iran and Ansur Allah, who were already knifing large rents at will in the Iron Dome.
All in all a dumb move, I'd say, and therefore a good fit with every other US foreign policy decision of my lifetime.
The same person who decided to let Zelensky strike deeper into Russian territory was found behind a palm tree, missing the G20 traditional big family photo. Some said he was hiding because he did not want to stand near the Russian delegate. Or maybe he was just lost; he had wandered into the rainforest in Manaus (I think) the day before. Kind of sad how it is impossible to say who is more embarrassing - Biden or Harris.
Hilarious to see Joe S. and Mika act all tough guy this morning, as if Trump gives a shit if they agree with him on issues. They had zero influence on voting, IMO. Zero.
Trump told the FBI that he will have his candidates vetted by a private security firm, not by an entity that makes crap up for political purposes.
It seems to me that this election was the start of a death knell for $MSM. At least I hope so. Ditto for celebrity endorsements. What a giant money laundering event a campaign is!
Read an opinion piece that was kind of scary - the US actually really really needs Russia's resources in order to sustain the quest for Boss of the World.
Thanks!!!!