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Two articles by Pepe Escobar about China and Iran

http://mikenormaneconomics.blogspot.com/2023/02/two-articles-by-pepe-escobar-ab…
Created
Sun, 19/02/2023 - 04:22

Iran turns East (along with Russia), forsaking former ambitions with the West after being rejected. China is waiting with open arms to take advantage of Kissinger's nightmare scenario now become a reality.

However, this is not a military alliance (yet) but rather an economic benefit for all sides, including other countries in the region, not the least of which is India, which will receive Eurasian resources through the New Silk Road (BRI) that is being developed, although the West is trying to disrupt it.


The Vineyard of the Saker
Two articles by Pepe Escobar about China and Iran
Pepe Escobar

Recidivist Trumper

https://digbysblog.net/2023/02/18/recidivist-trumper/
Created
Sun, 19/02/2023 - 04:00
Just another Republican, doing what they do: A Republican consultant was sentenced Friday to 18 months in prison for his role in conspiring to illegally funnel contributions from a Russian national to former President Donald Trump‘s 2016 presidential campaign. Jesse R. Benton, 45, of The Woodlands, Texas, was convicted in November on a series of charges including conspiracy, contribution by a foreign national, and causing false records to be filed with the Federal Election Commission. It’s the second time Benton, who has advised numerous GOP lawmakers on campaign strategy, has been convicted of charges related to political contributions. According to court documents, Benton schemed with Roy Douglas, another political adviser, to pass contributions to Trump’s campaign from a Russian national who wanted to meet and take a picture with the candidate. At the time, Benton was a strategist for the Great America PAC, a super PAC that backed Trump in 2016. The Russian national allegedly wired $100,000 as part of an arrangement with Benton to attend a Trump campaign fundraiser.

Late to the party, Mr. Miliband?

https://digbysblog.net/2023/02/18/late-to-the-party-mr-miliband/
Created
Sun, 19/02/2023 - 02:31
Former UK foreign secretary’s deep thoughts David Miliband’s jumping off point is Russia’s war in Ukraine, but his Age of Impunity is deeper and more insidious. First, former UK foreign secretary Miliband in The New York Times: The war’s impact goes far beyond the region. It has driven up food and energy prices worldwide, contributing to the record 349 million people experiencing food insecurity and to famine-like conditions in East Africa. The conduct of the war has flouted the most basic international laws and conventions, posing a fundamental threat to the global order. As such, it offers a textbook example of the Age of Impunity. Impunity is the exercise of power without accountability, which becomes, in starkest form, the commission of crimes without punishment. In Ukraine this goes beyond the original invasion. It has included repeated violations of international humanitarian law, which is supposed to establish clear protections for civilians, aid workers and civilian infrastructure in conflict zones every day. The danger is that few people will ever face consequences for these crimes. It’s a start.

Putting out the flame of democracy

https://digbysblog.net/2023/02/18/putting-out-the-flame-of-democracy/
Created
Sun, 19/02/2023 - 01:00
Fox lies because viewers want lies Fox is infotainment for the WWE crowd. But it’s nothing new. It’s The Drunkard  without throwing peanuts. David Blaine’s fans know the magic show isn’t real. It’s not clear how many WWE and Fox fans know those entertainments aren’t real. Or how many Fox anchors do, for that matter. But Dominion lawsuit filings gave us a hint this week. The Drunkard  is a morality play. Like other morality plays, temptations of the flesh, of money, reveal character. We all have our failings and know it. We watch to boo and hiss at the cartoonish bad guys. But we cheer for their redemption, like Scrooge’s every Christmas, knowing it could be us. Something darker is afoot with Fox and Trumpism. WWE and morality plays don’t lead to violent insurrection. But as the Dominion lawsuit reveals, the lure of money was a big motive behind Fox’s lies. Michelle Goldberg recounts in The New York Times: As the Dominion filing lays out, there was panic at Fox News over viewer backlash to the network correctly calling Arizona for Joe Biden on election night.

Economics as religion

https://larspsyll.wordpress.com/2023/02/18/economics-as-religion/
Created
Sun, 19/02/2023 - 00:49
Contrary to the tenets of orthodox economists, contemporary research suggests that, rather than seeking always to maximise our personal gain, humans still remain reasonably altruistic and selfless. Nor is it clear that the endless accumulation of wealth always makes us happier. And when we do make decisions, especially those to do with matters of principle, […]

Europe nat gas at 17 month low

http://mikenormaneconomics.blogspot.com/2023/02/europe-nat-gas-at-17-month-low…
Created
Sat, 18/02/2023 - 23:33

 

Ok fixed the gas supply…. FTSE at all time highs and STOXX just shy of it….  ECB close to terminal rate… So now the drunk neo-Soviet commies are just left with their war… 


Futures have plunged by more than 80% from their August peak when Russia’s gas cuts hit Europe with about $1 trillion in energy costs, hammering the region’s economy and pushing inflation to the highest in decades. Now, the continent is seeing a sharp turnaround as relatively mild weather, efforts to reduce fuel consumption and strong inflows of liquefied natural gas from the US to Qatar take the edge off.


Australia’s B-52 Nuclear Weapons Problem

https://scheerpost.com/2023/02/18/australias-b-52-nuclear-weapons-problem/?utm_…
Created
Sat, 18/02/2023 - 22:03

By Binoy Kampmark / CounterPunch It is not farfetched to make the point that delivery systems capable of deploying nuclear weapons will lead to them carrying those very same weapons.  Whatever the promises made by governments that such delivery systems will not carry such loads, stifling secrecy over such arrangements can only stir doubt. That […]

The post Australia’s B-52 Nuclear Weapons Problem appeared first on scheerpost.com.

‘Egregious’: DOL Finds US Meatpacking Plants Illegally Employed 100+ Children

https://scheerpost.com/2023/02/18/egregious-dol-finds-us-meatpacking-plants-ill…
Created
Sat, 18/02/2023 - 22:01

The federal probe revealed that Packers Sanitation Services had children as young as 13 "working with hazardous chemicals and cleaning meat processing equipment including back saws, brisket saws, and head splitters."

The post ‘Egregious’: DOL Finds US Meatpacking Plants Illegally Employed 100+ Children appeared first on scheerpost.com.

The Only Solution to the Energy Crisis Is Public Ownership

https://tribunemag.co.uk/2023/02/the-only-solution-to-the-energy-crisis-is-publ…
Created
Sat, 18/02/2023 - 21:27

The cost of living crisis has highlighted the central role that our privatised energy system plays in organising society, acting as an engine of inequality. During 2022, BP and Shell made over £24 billion and £31 billion in profits, respectively, while millions were pushed into fuel poverty. In the same year that British Gas were […]

Friday Night Soother

https://digbysblog.net/2023/02/17/friday-night-soother-193/
Created
Sat, 18/02/2023 - 12:00
There are a lot of unhoused pet owners in LA and I always worry about the health of both the people and the animals. This is a nice story about someone doing a good deed that no doubt makes all concerned breathe just a little bit easier: There aren’t many willing to voluntarily go out to spend the day on Skid Row, and even fewer with the goal of giving away free stuff, but Dr. Kwane Stewart, also known as “The Street Vet” is nearly famous because of it. Kwane runs the 501(c)3 non-profit Project Street Vet, that takes donations and volunteers out onto the streets and to homeless encampments to provide free medical care for their pets, and last year they were able to help nearly 600 animals receive medical care. It’s estimated that 10-25% of the homeless population of America own pets, for companionship, and occasionally for security. It goes without saying that many don’t have the means to take proper care of these animals, whom they often love more than anything else in the world. In 1997 Stewart was buried in student loan debt when he graduated from the University of Colorado, before bouncing from one miserable rescue shelter to the next.