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"Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun"

-- Mao Zedong

News and Opinion

White House draws up blueprint for World War III

Less than one week after President Joe Biden warned that the US conflict with Russia could trigger a nuclear “Armageddon,” the White House published a National Security Strategy pledging to “win” American global hegemony through military violence. The document pledged to expand the US military, “integrate” economic life with war-making, and “win the competition for the 21st century” in what it called the “decisive decade.” Embracing in all fundamentals the 2018 National Security Strategy published by the fascist would-be dictator Donald Trump, Biden’s National Security Strategy affirms that the United States is locked in an existential conflict with Russia and, most of all, China. ...

“Nuclear deterrence remains a top priority for the Nation,” and is “foundational” to the United States’ strategy, the document asserts. War, Biden says in his introduction, will be a source of national rejuvenation: “[T]he United States has a tradition of transforming… foreign challenges into opportunities to spur… rejuvenation at home.”

The document sets forth the concept of “integrated deterrence,” developing key concepts in Trump’s 2018 strategy, which pledged that “long-term strategic competition requires the seamless integration of multiple elements of national power—diplomacy, information, economics, finance, intelligence, law enforcement, and military.” Similarly, the new National Security Strategy declares, “We will leverage all elements of our national power to outcompete our strategic competitors” In perhaps its most chilling passage, the White House’s fact sheet on the document declares that “The Biden-Harris Administration has broken down the dividing line between domestic and foreign policy.” These concepts, pioneered under the Trump administration, which openly drew inspiration from the Third Reich, echo the infamous “total war” manifesto of Alfred Jodl, chief of the German High Command during World War II, which declared that “Only the singleness and unity of state, armed forces, and people can assure success in war.”

The central target of the United States is China. The document asserts, “We will effectively compete with the People’s Republic of China, which is the only competitor with both the intent and, increasingly, the capability to reshape the international order.” So single-minded is the focus on China that the war in Ukraine is not mentioned a single time in the White House’s fact sheet. Despite the Biden administration’s claims that the world would bloom like a garden were it not for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the strategy does not predicate the US military buildup and preparations for war on the actions of the Russian president. ...

Viewing the present conflict within the context of Biden’s National Security Strategy, it is clear that the strategists of US imperialism see the war in Ukraine, horrific and bloody as it is, as just the opening skirmish of an even greater and more disastrous global conflict.

Tulsi Gabbard on Ukraine and the Military Industrial Complex

Matt Taibbi asks an excellent question:

Does the United States Have a Plan in Ukraine?

Fifteen years ago, in a July 2007 Democratic primary debate in Charleston, South Carolina, Senator Barack Obama won applause by saying sure, he’d meet with the leaders of countries like Iran, Cuba, and North Korea. “The notion that somehow not talking the country is punishment to them” was ridiculous, he said, adding even JFK and Reagan were willing to talk to the Soviets.

“They understood that we may not trust them, and they may pose an extraordinary danger,” Obama said. “But we have the obligation to find areas where we can potentially move forward.”

Obama’s line won him new admirers and helped dent progressive support for frontrunner Hillary Clinton. The episode is now mostly forgotten, as Talking to Bad People has again been deemed forbidden, even by former liberals, perhaps especially by them, even with the country suddenly at greater risk of nuclear war than at any time since the Cuban Missile crisis.

These dynamics resurfaced in a confusing way this week. To no one’s surprise the Biden administration continued to say it won’t negotiate with Russia, but it suddenly also began leaking a belief that it doesn’t think fighting will work, either. If both strategies are off the table, what exactly are we doing?

From the Guardian propaganda rag:

Russia announces Kherson evacuation, raising fears city will become frontline

Moscow has announced it will evacuate Kherson after an appeal from the Russian-installed head of the region, raising fears the occupied city at the heart of the south Ukrainian oblast will become a new frontline. Marat Khusnullin, a Russian deputy prime minister, told state television on Thursday that residents would be helped to move away from the region in south Ukraine, which remains only partly occupied by invading troops due to a successful Ukrainian counterattack in recent months.

“The government took the decision to organise assistance for the departure of residents of the [Kherson] region to other regions of the country,” Khusnullin said.

The development followed a public request on the social media platform Telegram by Vladimir Saldo, a former mayor of the port city, who was installed in April by the Russian forces as head of the wider Kherson region. Saldo, who Ukrainian prosecutors have charged with treason, had specifically called on Vladimir Putin to help those who wished to flee the fighting, claiming it was Ukrainian attacks imperilling the lives of locals. ...

In New York, three-quarters of the 193-member UN general assembly – 143 countries – voted on Wednesday in favour of a resolution condemning Russia’s “attempted illegal annexation” of the four partially occupied regions. Only four countries joined Russia in voting against the resolution: Syria, Nicaragua, North Korea and Belarus. Thirty-five countries abstained from the vote, including Russia’s strategic partner China, while the rest did not vote.

TurkStream sabotage, cui bono? Borrell, EU garden in a jungle. Musk, Pentagon pay for Starlink.

Putin: 'partial mobilisation' to be completed in two weeks, total of 222,000 called up

Vladimir Putin said on Friday he believed the “partial mobilisation” of army reservists ordered last month would be completed in two weeks, boosting Russia’s fighting force. ...

A total of 33,000 of them were said to be already in military units, and 16,000 are involved in the military operation in Ukraine.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX says it can no longer fund Starlink internet in Ukraine

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has said it cannot afford to continue to donate satellite internet to Ukraine and has asked the US government to pick up the bill, according to a report, as the relationship between the billionaire and Kyiv breaks down. “We are not in a position to further donate terminals to Ukraine, or fund the existing terminals for an indefinite period of time,” SpaceX’s director of government sales wrote, in a letter seen by CNN.

In a separate letter reported by CNN, an external consultant working for the company told the Pentagon: “SpaceX faces terribly difficult decisions here. I do not think they have the financial ability to provide any additional terminals or service.”

In addition to terminals, we have to create, launch, maintain & replenish satellites & ground stations & pay telcos for access to Internet via gateways.

We’ve also had to defend against cyberattacks & jamming, which are getting harder.

Burn is approaching ~$20M/month.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2022

But the request for funding comes after a high-profile intervention from Musk, who suggested Ukraine should seek an end to the war by surrendering territory to Russia and committing to remain “neutral”. His tweets led to a furious reaction from the Ukrainian government, which had previously praised Musk for offering the Starlink system.

“Fuck off is my very diplomatic reply to you,” tweeted Andrij Melnyk, the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany. “The only outcome is that now no Ukrainian will EVER buy your f…ing Tesla crap. So good luck to you.” In response to a suggestion that Musk was threatening to withdraw Starlink because of Melnyk’s words, the SpaceX chief executive tweeted this morning that “we’re just following his recommendation”.

EU Warns West Will ‘Annihilate’ Russian Army If Moscow Uses Nukes

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell issued a threat against Russia on Thursday, warning that Western powers would “annihilate” the Russian army if Moscow uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

“Putin is saying he is not bluffing. Well, he cannot afford bluffing, and it has to be clear that the people supporting Ukraine and the European Union and the Member States, and the United States and NATO are not bluffing neither,” Borrel said at a European Diplomatic Academy event in Bruges, Belgium.

“Any nuclear attack against Ukraine will create an answer, not a nuclear answer but such a powerful answer from the military side that the Russian Army will be annihilated,” he added.

The Roundtable #27: Gonzalo Lira, Mark Sleboda, Yves Smith

How ‘knives of the long night’ led to brutally swift Kwarteng sacking

As the clock reached closer to midnight, Kwasi Kwarteng finished deliberating about heading home from Washington DC to attempt to save his political career. He eventually boarded the final flight back to London, but when he reached Downing Street 12 hours later, he was sacked as chancellor on the spot. The “knives of the long night” episode, as it is now called, took place with brutal swiftness.

It was the culmination of a chaotic week in Westminster, which saw furious calls for an overhaul of Truss and Kwarteng’s mini-budget while her premiership teetered on the brink. ...

In Downing Street, Truss and her team were drawing up a fightback plan, sending out cabinet ministers to write opinion pieces in friendly newspapers calling for party unity and urging colleagues to focus their attacks on Labour.

It was decided she would hear out colleagues’ concerns at the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, seeking to show them she was in “listening mode”, and begin inviting groups of MPs into No 10 for roundtable discussions. Both were hallmarks of the end of Boris Johnson’s administration, but helped stave off his defenestration for some months.

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss announces mini-budget U-turn and new chancellor

Kwarteng gone. Elensky curse coming for Truss. Sunak next in line

US prices rise in September as midterm elections loom

The cost of goods and services in the US continued to go up in September, and though the rate of price increases is starting to temper, high inflation persists as the midterm elections in November approach.

The consumer price index (CPI), released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed on Thursday that prices in September were 8.2% higher compared to prices in September 2021. The figure is another decline in the inflation rate seen during the three months since June, when the rate peaked at 9.1%, the highest in more than 40 years.

Although the inflation rate has been coming down, its pace has slowed. July and August saw rates of 8.5% and 8.3%, meaning the rate has budged just 0.3% over the last two months.

The core inflation rate, which excludes the volatile energy and food sectors, was 6.6% over 12 months, the highest increase since 1982.

'Rent Is Too Damn High': Biden Pressured to Act as Housing Costs Fuel Inflation

Newly released inflation data showing that rent has jumped 7.2% over the past year—the largest increase in four decades—is sparking fresh demands for President Joe Biden and Congress to take action to curb soaring housing costs, including by pursuing rent control measures and a host of other policy interventions.

"Without a real strategy to regulate rents, President Biden lacks a real strategy to fight inflation," Tara Raghuveer, director of the Homes Guarantee campaign at People's Action, said in a statement Thursday. "That problem will play out in the midterms. But Biden can fix it by doing everything in his power to regulate rents and stop landlords from profiteering off this inflation crisis."

In an analysis unveiled after the Labor Department's Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed that inflation rose again last month—fueled to a significant degree by rent, which makes up about a third of the CPI—the Homes Guarantee campaign warned that rent increases are an even "bigger problem" than the new data suggests.

"The CPI's measure of rental inflation doesn't factor in rising prices in new rentals and leases, and therefore underestimates the rental inflation people face day to day," explains the analysis, which was co-authored by experts at the Groundwork Collaborative. "Some privately collected measures have reported that rents rose 7.5% year-over-year in September."

The brief also argues that far from combating rent inflation, the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes are actually making it worse by driving mortgage rates to a 20-year high, which has had the effect of "pushing would-be homebuyers into the rental market" and "putting even more upward pressure on rent prices."

"The Federal Reserve seems intent on making housing increasingly unaffordable, forcing prospective homebuyers into the rental market, and making people even less able to pay their rent by putting millions out of work," the analysis warns.

In addition to calling on the Fed to stop raising interest rates before it induces a devastating recession, People's Action and Groundwork demanded that Congress and the White House do everything in their power to reverse the trend of skyrocketing rents—part of a broader nationwide housing crisis made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.

"The president has the authority to take executive action and direct agency-level action to regulate rent," the groups note. "For example, the president can direct the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to impose rent controls on borrowers of federally-backed mortgages, which would apply to approximately 43.8 million rental units—immediately slowing down rental inflation."

"Over the longer term," they add, "policymakers must transform housing from a commodity to a guaranteed public good—making large-scale investments in the supply of housing that is off of the private market, with a goal of guaranteeing safe, accessible, truly and permanently affordable homes: a Homes Guarantee."

Tenant advocates have voiced dismay in recent months at the lack of serious attention that Democratic lawmakers and the Biden administration have devoted to rental inflation, even as both have vowed to bring down surging prices.

"If federal policymakers aren't working around the clock to figure out how to regulate rent, by any means necessary, what exactly are they doing about the economy?" Raghuveer asked in a Twitter post on Thursday. "What are they doing to fight for the people?"

In his statement on Thursday's CPI data, Biden touted the Inflation Reduction Act—a law that doesn't include any affordable housing provisions—while not mentioning rental inflation or housing at all.

While the Biden administration garnered qualified applause from advocates for its Housing Supply Action Plan—which carries the stated goal of closing the housing supply shortfall within five years—campaigners say nothing the White House or Congress have done in recent years has been anywhere near sufficient to curb the nationwide rental crisis.

"None of President Biden's major legislative accomplishments—the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—contained provisions to reduce housing costs or expand housing supply," the Revolving Door Project's Andrea Beaty and Vishal Shankar noted in a Wednesday blog post. "The Build Back Better Act—which did contain transformative investments in housing supply and affordability vouchers—was killed by Joe Manchin last December and its housing provisions were abandoned for the scaled-down IRA."

"The president and his top housing officials have broad legal authority to hold corporate landlords accountable by conditioning existing federal subsidies and mortgages to robust tenant protections—all without the need for congressional intervention," Beaty and Shankar added. "The Homes Guarantee campaign continues to do the leg work of determining how the Biden administration can help tenants across the country, immediately and under existing authorities."

On its website, the Homes Guarantee campaign outlines a number of executive and agency actions that the Biden administration can take to tackle rental inflation and bolster tenants' rights.

Top senator seeks answers over Qatar link to $1.2bn Kushner property rescue

A financial firm that operates billions of dollars in real estate properties around the world is facing new questions from the powerful chairman of the Senate finance committee about whether Qatar was secretly involved in the $1.2bn (£1bn) rescue of a Fifth Avenue property owned by Jared Kushner’s family while Kushner was serving in the White House.

Ron Wyden, the Oregon Democrat who leads the finance committee, has given the chief executive of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management until 24 October to answer a series of detailed questions about a 2018 deal in which Brookfield paid Kushner Companies for a 99-year lease on the family’s marquee 666 Fifth Avenue property.

When the deal was announced in August 2018, it was seen as the end of a drawn-out saga surrounding the property. The rescue, it was said in media reports, generated enough money for the Kushner family to pay $1.1bn (£970m) of debt on the building and buy out a partner.

In a statement on Thursday, Wyden accused Brookfield of stonewalling his committee and refusing to answer questions about the transaction, including whether Brookfield “intentionally misled” the public when it said that “no Qatar-linked entity” had been involved in the deal. In fact, it has since been alleged by Wyden that Brookfield used a Qatari-backed fund – called Brookfield Property Partners – to fund the transaction. At the time of the deal, Wyden said, the Qatari Investment Authority was the fund’s second largest investor.

“I remain deeply concerned that funding from a foreign government was involved in the rescue of a Kushner-owned property while Jared Kushner was employed as a senior White House official closely involved in the formulation of US policy towards the Middle East,” Wyden said. “This is a serious issue, as federal criminal conflict of interest statutes for White House officials extend not only to matters affecting their own financial interests, but that of their direct relatives and spouses.”

The uninsurables: how storms and rising seas are making coastlines unliveable

When Ariane Arsenault bought a second shop to accommodate her small but growing soap business three years ago, she was captivated by the expansive views of Canada’s Magdalen Islands. “You step out the door and turn left, you see the ocean. When you turn right, you see the ocean,” she says. “It’s beautiful.” ... So in September, when powerful winds and storms lashed communities on Canada’s Atlantic coast – transforming buildings into splintered heaps, sheared off miles of coastline into the ocean, and left hundreds of thousands of people huddled in the dark – the storm challenged her sense of resilience. ...

But although the region has a long and proud history of fortitude in the face of devastation, where fierce gales are part of maritime lore, the steadfastness of Magdalen Islanders – and of other communities across the country battered by damaging storms – has increasingly clashed with a blunt reality: many homes are now in effect uninsurable. And the changing climate will only make that problem worse. ...

In Canada, the number of uninsurable homes has reached 10%, according to industry figures. The Magdalen archipelago is losing half a metre each year to erosion, roads have fallen into the sea and the sand dunes that once offered protection from squalls are disappearing faster than they can be saved, but it is not just there. Most of Canada’s major cities are built on the frontlines of a changing climate – along rivers and coastlines or on flood plains. ... Over the past 15 years, insurance claims from severe weather events in Canada – windstorms, flooding, wildfire and drought – have more than quadrupled. Seven of the country’s costliest disasters occurred in the last decade. Insurers now expect to disburse C$2bn (£1.3bn) in disaster-related payouts annually, with costs only expected to rise.

A federally run fund, meant to help communities build disaster-resilient infrastructure, is quickly running out of money years before it expires at the end of the decade. It has already received far more requests than it can pay for, and despite the federal government repeatedly topping it up, more than half of the money has been spent. The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), a trade body, estimates that nearly 800,000 homes are in effect uninsurable because of their proximity to flood waters. Those homes account for nearly 90% of the insurance industry’s financial liability.

“Without any sort of concerted effort or gameplan, that figure will only grow. We’re continuing to build in harm’s way, largely on water, because that’s where people love to be. And the modelling shows that these storm events are just going to become more frequent and more intense in the years ahead,” says Craig Stewart, vice-president of the IBC’s climate change and federal issues portfolio. “The risk is growing. And so far, our efforts at risk reduction have been terrible.” ...

“The private market, on its own, cannot handle the level of risk that’s escalating in the system without some sort of formal government backstop or direct participation.”

Barges stranded as Mississippi River water levels reach critical low

The water in the Mississippi River has dropped so low that barges are getting stuck, leading to expensive dredging and at least one recent traffic jam of more than 2,000 vessels backed up.

The Mississippi River Basin produces nearly all – 92% – of US agricultural exports, and 78% of the global exports of feed grains and soybeans. The recent drought has dropped water levels to alarmingly low levels that are causing shipping delays, and seeing the costs of alternative transport, such as rail, rise.

In Vicksburg, western Mississippi, residents have seen less than an inch of rain since the start of September. The mayor, George Flaggs, told WAPT-TV that the river is lower than he has seen it in nearly 70 years.

“It’s definitely having an impact on the local economy because the commercial use of this river has almost stopped,” Flaggs said.

Also of Interest

Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.

We’re Being Pushed Toward Nuclear War On A Fiction: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix

North Korea fires new missile, flies warplanes near border as South imposes sanctions

Spain's Podemos adopts massive military budget amid war with Russia

Crippling the Left

Fourteen members of Republican Senate candidate’s family endorse rival

California wants everyone to drive EVs. How will low-income people afford them?

A Little Night Music

James Harman - Icepick's Confession

James Harman - Green Snakeskin Shoes

James Harman Band - That's Not Your Baby

James Harman Band - Stranger blues

James Harman - Jump My Baby

James Harman -Too right to run

James Harman -My Little Girl

James Harman - It's Yo World

James Harman - All night boogie