Don't know if this was posted already, but here goes anyway.

Nice piece of journalism, captures the insanity.


Infamy infamy, they’ve all got it in for me.

Yeah, so do you think @AmadeusD that the pandemic was something you would put into that category of "no disaster... Wonder how we will deal with that."

The economic fallout is much more damaging than the death toll. Although it’s difficult to see because there is other economic turmoil going on at the same time.
Here in the U.K. 500,000 people have disappeared from the workforce as a result of the pandemic. I’ve heard there is a similar, though less acute trend across Europe. For a couple of years people couldn’t believe it, what are these people doing? they thought. On examination it turned out there were many people nearing retirement age, some more than 10yrs from retirement who realised they enjoyed the simple peaceful life of lockdown. They realised that they had been working like wage slaves, like they were stuck in a rut, workaholics. Alongside them, there are 100’s of thousands of people with long Covid, who struggle to work, or are now on incapacity benefits. People are unable to work because of long delays in hospital treatment due to hospitals struggling with the pandemic. There are landlords of office blocks going bankrupt because so many people work from home now that the offices are empty.

The knock on effects on global trade are still affecting supply and inflation of resources. The increases of the cost of living for the poor around the world are pushing many people who were just about managing over the edge into poverty. The elites and oligarchs are looking to hide more of their wealth and extract as much as they can out of economies before there is another hit to the global economy from somewhere. This is one of the reasons why oligarchs are buying up and funding news and social media outlets to spread populist lies and turn states authoritarian. A kleptocracy enables them to rip off sections of societies and to divide and rule. The ensuing chaos makes it easier to hide their wealth offshore. Countries are looking to devour other countries to keep monsters in authoritarian rule etc etc.

I was making a comment about indebtedness.

I hope he’s not going to Nuuk Greenland.

I have always had an unshakeable faith in the hegemony of reason in the universe. I would have thought the spark of which must inevitably lead to morality. But I am beginning to think I was wrong. And it scares me.

As a mystic I specialise in learning what we don’t know and I can assure you that we don’t know enough to answer, or address in a meaningful way, universal questions like this. When it comes to life, which we can address a little more. There is evidence of the reason you have faith in and the development of morality, or altruism. And evidence that it is not a fabrication of human intellect.

I know there is massive injustice and suffering in the world, but that doesn’t negate this.

In a sense, humanity took on the challenge, when eating from the tree of knowledge, to attempt to consciously demonstrate and act out this force of altruism in nature, with the freedom (a free choice) to do the opposite, demonstrating an inherent morality. Hence the cross(trying not to get too deep here).

We need to borrow more money because COVID, because Russia, because climate change, because an aging demographic, because there is allways a reason!

And then what, we end up in a Weimar Germany kind of situation? You don't think that is something we should be trying to avoid at all cost?

If that were true, the world economy would grind to a halt. Money is only a token, people will just replace, or change the token. The Weimar situation was quite different, they basically committed economic Hara Kiri.
Yes, there would be turmoil, but not catastrophic and assets in the form of gold or property will retain their value.

Yes, and the considerable reduction in swamp ass from the global bumectomy seals the deal. My guy needs to get on this ASAP.

That would be an assless society then.

The rearming of Europe is now long overdue. It was the Americans who prevented it, offered an alternative, saw the advantages in a deep rooted coalition supported by a powerful world power. This whole narrative that Europe is free loading, unstable etc etc is populist rhetoric, a recent phenomenon emerged from the libertarian nut jobs in the U.S. Along with the narrative that offering states freed from soviet domination a defensive alliance to prevent the return of that soviet domination, or worse. As expansionist in the same terms as the well documented soviet expansionism of the last century. Is also such a deceptive narrative, one spread from Kremlin propaganda over decades.

Now we have this libertarian nut job narrative meeting Kremlin deceptive misinformation and in the middle we find the MAGA crowd drunk on this cool aid putting a two bit conman in the White House to come and rescue us. Christ on a bike.

And did you vote for Trump to annex Canada, Greenland and Panama? Did you vote for Trump to destroy the alliances actually that have benefited the US, created the Pax Americana, have made NATO countries to stand alongside you when Article 5 was implemented after 9/11? Did you vote for higher prices and economic recession? Because that's what you seem to get now.

Right, but it’s really important that the right people go into the right toilet cubicle, so we have to have the collapse of the post world order.

These people have really drunk the cool aid, there’s no rhyme or reason, once you’ve taken a sip. And so the oligarchs and populists can come and help themselves to whatever power they want, earn billions of $, by building an empire or corruption. Trash the modern society, throw away peace, carve up the world with authoritarian dictators.

And for what? Something about Hillary Clinton’s emails and some toilet cubicles. The more intelligent among them swallow a narrative about an overweight government, waste in aid and social security programmes, economic stagnation etc. But it amounts to the same thing, just with a slightly more coherent narrative.

Sure there are problems in our modern world, but there always will be, civilisation on a large scale is difficult with lots of compromises, acceptance of inequality, nepotism and tolerable levels of suffering. But any kind of utopia, or unrealistic improvements in these things is always a long way over the horizon and has to be carefully built over long periods of peace and stability.

Beware the snake oil salesmen at your peril.

Well, exactly. And look how they marketed that as a full blown attempt at a coup d'etat.

And if they had found and lynched Mike Pence. Or found Nancy Pelosi.

Your and NOS4A2’s attempts to normalise the tearing down of the constitution by a populist is pretty mediocre. Why should we continue to repeatedly explain this and point out reality when you just ignore it and repeat the same mediocre platitudes?

China is streaking ahead in EV design, including a battery which can charge 450 mile range in 5 mins.
Tesla can’t compete with that, so they will have to make buying a Tesla compulsory. Just like they made buying a Trabant, or Lada compulsory in the eastern block.

https://on.ft.com/4iqhsdd

Purpose is contingent on a mind(agency) so asking whether there is, is a, purpose is the same as asking were we created by a God(mind), or some other process(no mind). Philosophy can answer this and the answer is, we don’t know.

Mysticism takes it a step further and says, if there’s a purpose there must be evidence of it here somewhere. You just can’t get there through logic, you have to use other means.

Religion says you can talk(prey) to the mind that created us and do good works.

The political fight back is gaining steam.
https://bsky.app/profile/muellershewrote.bsky.social/post/3lkwtcrbemk2r

It/s the anti-woke mind virus.

Unfortunately, the science of marketing psychology shows how effective constant hammering of bullshit actually is for indoctrinating others... though attempting it on a philosophy forum might be a tall order.

Like herding cats.

The current worldwide rightward trend --- perhaps even in OZ --- may lead to a disaster like Hitler, but somehow the world will find a way to keep-on keeping-on, zig-zagging from left to right and back. Remember the grandeur-that-was-Rome? The path of history, when seen in retrospect, cycles between extremes, yet on average it seems to be on a moderate track, with few points of total anarchy.

The difference is we are now overpopulated and are outstripping resources. We have gone over the hump of the bacterial growth curve. The next time we have civilisation collapse, it will be global and we will leave behind us a polluted planet.

He can probably tell when someone is trying to pull the wool over his eyes. The question is though, will he do anything about it, or just roll over?

From the little that has been released to the media the talks while cordial, were a failure in terms of agreeing anything positive regarding a ceasefire.
Trump is basically agreeing with everything Putin says, while probably saying pretty please, I want a ceasefire, so I can claim my Nobel Peace prize.

I doubt Trump and the yes men surrounding him have any idea what game Putin is playing, as they will have sacked any Kremlinologists that were near government.
Putin is playing a classic game of diversion and delay while picking up any concessions he can along the way. He’ll end up with a long list of things Trump agreed to, conceded, or didn’t oppose before he(Putin) agrees to anything. And he’ll wave the list in Trump’s face and say, my first requirement is that this list is fully agreed to before I come to the table.

Plus he will be convincing Trump of the narrative about Nazi’s trying to take over Ukraine, necessitating a special military operation to remove them etc etc.

They’re called the security services for a reason. And what you are doing posting articles from the gutter press here, I don’t know.

Let's say China is to blame. What is Trump going to do about it?

Trump always said it was the China virus, in a snide way. Implying that it was a Chinese plot, dastedly deed, or something. The lab theory is right up his street.

Human life is a circus and you’re the jester.

If Europeans buy from the US, the problem is still there: dependence on the US + the US (as unreliable partner) could impose constraints on selling weapons to Europeans to help Ukraine. (By the way what if the US sells weapons/intelligence to Russia against Europe/Ukraine?)

I’m not qualified to answer these questions. What I would say those is that it is a very fluid situation. They may buy from the U.S. initially while they build up their own capacity. U.S. foreign policy might change back in favour of supporting Ukraine at any time( it is continuing now). The Democrats might win the next election.
Also it might not require a lot to contain Russia as things are progressing in Ukraine now.

Yeah, it might reach the point where the only way he can keep his grip on power is to declare war on other countries. He’s seen Zelenskyy initiate martial law and postpone elections, maybe he can too.

Article explaining the Putin strategy in reference to the peace talks. He is using the talks to drive a wedge between the European alliance and the U.S. While the European alliance is frantically trying to keep the U.S. with Europe.
https://europewithoutamerica.substack.com/p/the-charade-of-ukraine-ceasefire

The power’s gone to his head now. Looks like it’s going to crash and burn.
https://bsky.app/profile/50501movement.bsky.social/post/3lkkkrvu5as2r

The point is that the whole “defying a court order” thing is overblown, and certainly won’t lead to civil war, not unless the reactionary responses to these actions lead to violence against other citizens.

In which case it will be necessary to introduce martial law.

The two planes didn’t return to the U.S. court order broken.
https://bsky.app/profile/muellershewrote.bsky.social/post/3lkj34vjvvs2b

Oops wrong thread.

Irelands troubles took 75 years to stop and that was on a very small scale.

Anyway as I say Trump is so unpredictable who knows what’s going to happen.
You know those federal rulings, who’s going to enforce them?
And if there is martial law introduced and elections cancelled, will there be political violence, or will those peaceful people just go along with it?

Why would Zelensky go for that deal? If I'm Zelensky, and I can count on EU support and probably U.S. support, aren't I hoping Russia will get tired of all this, like in Afghanistan? Or there will be another coup against Putin? Or Putin might die and be replaced by a moderate? Or the Russian economy suddenly implode? Or a WW1 style French mutiny happen? There are a lot of ways this could end in Ukraine's favor and not all of them are fanciful.

It seems to me that both sides are like exhausted bloody boxers, and Russia is ahead on points, but Ukraine is thinking, if we can hold on another three rounds, and just get a knockout blow....

What I’m talking about is Trump’s efforts to agree a ceasefire. He’s been blackmailing Zelenskyy and offering Putin whatever he want’s.

If Trump wasn’t doing this, then the war would probably end in some sort of stalemate. But both sides are quite entrenched, so it would have a high cost in human lives.

Civil war? Lol. For a country of 340 million people, there is a vanishingly small amount of actual political violence. People attack each other online and then go about their daily routines being nice to one another.

Where do you live? Under a stone?

I may be wrong, it’s difficult to read with how unpredictable Trump is. But he’s seems to be so crazy that he will look for an opportunity to introduce martial law and then he doesn’t need to bother with government, or laws, or lawyers anymore. Then before the next election he will start a proxy war somewhere and cancel all elections. Or maybe Musk will have rigged elections by then and he can hold sham elections. Anyway, the U.S. is so divided that should he introduce martial law it will spark vigilante movements, which is develop into a civil war. There/s plenty of ammo sitting around and people are already organising into protest groups.

Very interesting. I would add the observation that in large populations with a small political elite(which seems unavoidable in the modern world). Certain kinds of people rise to the top and often they are ideologically aligned with either this free market capitalism, or authoritarian rule. They are often sociopathic and able to deal with and thrive under the intense pressures of modern political life. This does not bode well, unless we can find a way to moderate our politics.

You’ve just parroted Trump talking points. It’s all in his head, he’s been saying the same thing for 40 years. It was wrong then and it’s wrong now. Also are you cool with him invading Canada?

Looks like the U.S. is one step closer to civil war. The Democrats caved, but is it because they are washing their hands of Trump, so he can crash and burn without their help? Or were they heading off the imposition of Martial law, for a bit longer?

https://bsky.app/profile/empressmusings.bsky.social/post/3lkffdwwjts2k

The Europeans advised Zelenskyy following the pile on in the Oval Office. They helped him draft the letter which helped mend the relationship between Zelenskyy and Trump. They convinced Zelenskyy that he had to accept, initially, that he would have to concede Russian occupied territory and that Europe would give him full support in security guarantees, so he wouldn’t have to demand security guarantees from the U.S.
This all took a lot of intense negotiations, done in private in the week following the Oval Office incident.

European leaders and negotiators played a big role in shaping the Ukraine approach, behind the scenes.

It’s 4D chess.

They shouldn't have been surprised. In his debate with Kamala Harris, he was asked if he wanted Ukraine to win the war. He refused to answer yes/no; he said he just wanted the war to be over.

It appears he will get his wish- Ukraine is likely to surrender much of the territory Russia has seized. A loss for Ukraine is a "win" for the Trump-Putin coalition.

Yes, the signs were there. But what I think is a surprise is that they were now to become supporters of Putin. They were voting to make America great again and all that involved. But now they are having to endure inflation, to alienate America’s staunched allies and support Russia instead. They were actually voting to make Russia great again. MAGA is actually MRGA.

It will be interesting to see how Putin plays the ball that is ostensibly now in his court.

Yes, Putin will play the idiot Trump like a fiddle. He knows that come the next election and Trump leaves office, that the U.S. might be back to business as usual. That this is his only chance/opportunity to break NATO and the Western alliance. He will probably lead Trump down the garden path right into a trap and champagne corks will be popping in Moscow and Beijing.

I expect the people in the U.S. are surprised at this turn of events, MAGA May feel a bit odd when they realise that they are not MAGA any more, MRGA. And Putin will get his hands on Ukraine’s resources and bread basket ( just as climate change starts to bite).

I keep repeating because you keep ignoring. Do you deny that pivot to Asia and the danger of overstretch (which includes the burden transatlantic alliance) are major issues for American administrations, and especially for Trump?

No I don’t deny it, but getting into bed with Russia doesn’t reduce overstretch. It increases it. If the U.S. really doesn’t want overstretch, all she needs to do is enable Europe to take on the role of policing Europe and Western and Northern Asia. Then the U.S. can pivot. Although that pivot will trigger an arms race and increased tensions between U.S. and China. Again, more overstretch of a different kind.

In this unholy alliance between the U.S. and Russia, Russia will be planning the downfall and Balkanisation of the U.S. from day one. She was planning the same for Ukraine from the day that Ukraine began to disarm following the Bucharest memorandum. https://bsky.app/profile/igorsushko.bsky.social/post/3lk5qg6eh5c2e Putin will continue and increase his efforts to destabilise Europe. Europe will become a thorn in the side of the U.S., while Russia cannot be trusted. Just to deal with this is level of global overstretch would require a vast army of spies to keep Europe under check, see that Russia doesn’t undermine the U.S. and to manage the new arms race with China. And of course none of this will have occurred to Trump, or his sidekicks.

You see, Russia is an imperial expansionist, can’t you see that? Just talk to a Kremlinologist or something. She has been doing it for hundreds of years, it’s not going to stop. As far as she’s/Putin is concerned if the whole world is in disarray and fighting amongst themselves the Soviet Union will stand proud. She will be great again.

All your talk of mineral deals is just trade and money, Trump is a used car salesman, he has no idea about the geopolitical implications of his wheeler dealing. He will mess up big time, although it looks as though the U.S. economy will implode before he does too much damage.

Also Trump is out on a limb, as I was pointing out, Putin is Kriptonite to most people in the West. Trump is pretty much going it alone. While the West (including 99% of the U.S. population) looks on in horror with a bitter taste in its mouth.