So, some stuff has begun to come out though so far it’s all from the US and I haven’t seen Venezuelan confirmation. First, Trump: Second, the oil blockade per Hegseth (Secretary of War): And third, Miller: Meanwhile a Russian flagged oil tanker was seized. I’m not sure that it’s legitimately Russian flagged, there’s some indication […]
End of American Empire
Amid all the bad news, all the thrashing of a dying Empire, I re-iterate that while one needs to maneuver through this period deftly, the big picture remains unchanged. There was a slow decline from 2014 to 2022, which could have just been part of normal perambulations. But from 2022 to 2025 the US dollar […]
The war against Russia was a big bet on sanctions. The Russian military was always stronger than Ukraine, but the West believed that sanctions would destroy the Russian economy, enabling a win and hopefully weakening Russia so much that it could be broke up. Instead Russia’s economy has performed better since the war than it […]
There’s a lot of confusion about the end of the American empire, and the fall of neoliberalism. Many people think the US will just be in “second place” and it’ll be OK. No. The problem is the nature of America’s decline. Since 1980 the US economy has been progressively financialized. Profits are all that matters, […]
Let’s keep this brief. In 2025 the US: Gave up trying to win the Ukraine war; Turned NATO from a vassal protection scheme into a vassal looting scheme; Slashed scientific spending massively; Lost a trade war to China; Doubled down on the AI Bubble, in a race it will lose; Was humiliated by China’s rare-Earth […]
The kidnapping of Maduro is fascinating and it’s interesting to speculate whether it was inside job. Some sources have claimed it, we’ll know by the actions the new leadership takes. If they let the oil majors and American “advisors” in, then the allegations are probably true. Other sources are saying that Acting President Delcy and […]
Which is saying something, because worthless has been in charge of the West for generations. There are no leaders in charge of any major Western country who aren’t functionally morons. Europe is run by utter idiots who want war with Russia, refuse to acknowledge that Ukraine is losing, are actively speeding up their loss of […]
Back in 2021 I wrote What the Ivies have tended towards for generations now are “super conformers” — straight As and spent all their time in adult run extra-curriculars. People who spent all their time doing what authority wants. But in the past, they did seek out a few of the very smartest, too. But, […]
The Chief of Staff hints as much: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs hints at military combat deployment “in our own neighborhood.” GEN. DAN CAINE: “ We haven’t had a lot of American combat power in our own neighborhood; I suspect that’s probably gonna change. We’ll see what we’re ordered to do.” Venezuela is the current target, […]
Dollar privilege: everyone using the dollar for trade, and the US controlling the system that moves currency around the world is important. When it goes away, and it will in the next five years, I’d guess, the US will take a huge hit to its ability to command the world’s resources and will lose most […]