Seems There's No Path to Peace

The wars just seem to expand. The Saudi-Yemeni war is increasingly hot. I suspect the US Israeli war with Iran will soon resume, and Russia continues to advance in Ukraine. Meanwhile Trump keeps hollering about getting the peace prize? You gotta be kidding. A big story largely riding under the radar is the Brazilian election. In a couple more weeks will be the run off to determine if Brazil becomes another US colony. Well, I guess I should count my lucky stars for this little hidden holler.

On a personal note, we had a good bird banding last week. Painted bunting, scarlet tanagers, a variety of colorful (and drab) warblers, but the Swainson's Thrush was the most common bird banded. This little bird makes a long migration from the far North across the Gulf to South America.

We had to migrate home ourselves as Hurricane Isaias was arriving. We were scheduled to leave Thursday, and got caught in the massive coastal evacuation. So it was a slow go getting back home. The trip back took an hour longer than the trip down. You know how it is after a trip..."there's no place like home".

So how about the news?
The Yemenis are well on their way to defeat the Saudi mercenary forces which the west claims is Yemen's legitimate government. Pepe describes Ansarallah as a Yemeni storm...

(25 min) Pepe Escobar : No One Negotiating with the US
Article from last week.
Yemen Has Not Even Started Yet

At the end of clip Pepe expresses hope about the upcoming Brazil election runoff. Earlier in the week he was upset about the results. Pepe is from Brazil and Nima lives there.

(62 min)
Pepe's articles
All Hell Set to Break Loose by the End of September
Exclusive: the Pakistan-Saudi-Yemen-Iran riddle

Who Controls Brazil’s Political Feed? Meta’s Election-Season Changes Raise Alarms
A billionaire doesn’t need to own the ballot box to wield power over an election. Owning the platforms that decide which political messages millions of voters encounter provides its own extraordinary influence. Reporting by Laís Gouveia raises troubling questions about Meta’s moderation practices during Brazil’s presidential campaign—and about the public’s ability to scrutinize decisions made behind corporate walls.
Writing for Brasil 247, in an article translated by Panamerican Dispatch and republished by The Real News Network, Gouveia cites an anonymous Meta Brazil worker who alleges that numerous human content moderators were dismissed and rapidly replaced with artificial intelligence during election season.
The report also describes the removal of a university legal-aid account after it expressed support for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s reelection, and the temporary disappearance of a prominent entertainer’s video criticizing Michelle Bolsonaro’s church. Together, these accounts demand an explanation from a company with enormous power over political visibility.

At the end of this good conversation the two Larry's touch on Brazil.

(53 min) Larry Wilkerson & Larry Johnson: Houthis Reache Taizz Outskirts, Saudi Attack Ends in Disaster

One more from Nima. Prof. Marandi discusses the situation in Western Asia.

(59 min) M. Marandi: BREAKING: Houthis Pushed Toward Taizz as Pentagon Prepares Massive Iran Strike

Doug Macgregor discusses both the situation in Ukraine and Western Asia.

(43 min) Douglas Macgregor: Russia destroys Bridges and will take Kiev

NATO Confusion as Ukraine Braces for Difficult Winter

(30 min) All 32 NATO military chiefs just rushed to Kiev, and in this episode we explain why this hurried trip looks like a panicked fact finding mission as Ukraine's front lines crumble. They break down how Operation Vivaldi, the hyped Ukrainian counteroffensive near Lyman in Donbass, has fizzled out, and why Azov commander Andriy Biletsky may have launched it to build his political power in Kiev rather than to win on the battlefield. If NATO is running this conflict and still has to fly to Kiev to find out what is really happening, what does that say about the future of the alliance?
00:00:00 Front lines, Vivaldi and NATO generals in Kiev
00:01:21 Why NATO generals rushed to Kiev
00:03:13 What has gone wrong for Ukraine
00:04:53 Inspection mission and message to Russia
00:06:23 NATO command disconnected from the front
00:09:14 32 NATO chiefs in Kiev gives the game away
00:12:34 What defeat means for NATO
00:15:18 Blaming Trump and calls to rearm
00:16:52 Can Ukraine hold on until 2029
00:19:14 Operation Vivaldi fizzles out
00:22:38 Was Vivaldi a Biletsky vanity project
00:27:53 Four Seasons marketing

Chas Freeman discussing the situation around the globe.
The US Empire Is Crumbling FASTER | Amb. Chas Freeman

(54 min) The Proxy War in Ukraine and the War of Aggression against Iran are not shaping up the way they are supposed to, and the Washington establishment is in panic mode. American power is, in fact, retreating as wars, sanctions and depleted arsenals expose the limits of dominance. He examines Iran, Yemen, Saudi Arabia’s growing autonomy and China’s gains from the energy crisis. With Pascal Lottaz, he discusses Israel’s eroding support, Switzerland’s neutrality debate and NATO’s failures. Their conversation explores whether cooperative security, regional partnerships and greater freedom for middle powers can replace confrontation, drawing lessons from ASEAN and considering the prospects for diplomacy in a changing world.
00:00 Iran, Yemen and the widening regional crisis
09:21 America in retreat: military and economic costs
16:48 China’s gains and Saudi Arabia’s autonomy
24:07 Israel’s eroding support
30:31 Switzerland’s neutrality debate
35:12 Can neutrality replace confrontation?
39:09 NATO’s failure and Ukraine’s future
44:14 A changing world: ASEAN and regional cooperation

Let's hear from my other favorite diplomat, Alastair Crooke.

(64 min) Riyadh's Airport Burns, Tankers Next /Alastair Crooke
Occasional Sitrep: The Gulf’s colonial architecture is collapsing; Trump still thinks waiting out Iran is feasible

What about the Putin-Trump oil deal? Alex explains.

(39 min) Putin-Trump Diesel Deal; Zelensky Calls Trump 'Weak'; Merz Rages at Schroeder
Trump and Putin have struck a surprise diesel deal, and Zelensky is furious, calling the US president weak. Alex breaks down the 90 minute Trump Putin phone call, the Russian diesel sanctions waiver running until April, what each side really gets out of it and why Europe was left out of the room, plus Merz versus Schroeder, Trump's Nobel Peace Prize snub and new US sanctions on the ICC. Is this the first real crack in the collective West sanctions wall, or just a midterm talking point?
00:00:00 Zelensky calls Trump weak
00:01:25 How big is the diesel deal really
00:03:14 Trump's Truth Social announcement
00:04:35 The 90 minute Trump Putin phone call
00:05:50 What Trump gets from the deal
00:07:30 What Putin gets, sanctions waiver until April
00:12:39 Refinery strikes send a message to Russia
00:15:10 Witkoff and Kushner brief Ukraine in Miami
00:19:20 Putin on resuming negotiations
00:21:59 Russia offers Iran uranium solution
00:23:14 Zelensky meltdown and Europe's anger
00:26:54 Zelensky vs Klitschko
00:28:53 Merz angry at Schroeder over Putin visit
00:31:24 Brussels protests, Nobel Prize snub, ICC sanctions
00:36:40 Clown World
About midway through Alex finds copulating Tortoises. I once witnessed that with Box Turtles.

Ukraine – Trump Breaks Energy Deadlock – Zelenski In Open Defiance
Independent of how the situation develops Trump’s temporary retreat from sanctions on Russia should not be interpreted as a change of U.S. strategy. U.S. hostility against Russia, Iran and China is a strategic measure. The current lifting of diesel sanctions is a tactical move forced by domestic circumstances. It does not change its long term plans.

Let's move on to a hopeful part of the world...
George Galloway: China is the biggest success story of my lifetime

(15 min) George Galloway, leader of the Workers Party of Britain and six-time Member of Parliament, addresses the Socialist China Conference in London, recorded in Cape Town on the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
He argues that China's achievements have occurred not in spite of the Communist Party's leading role and the state's direction of the economy, but precisely because of them. Drawing on his own travels – including to Xinjiang, where he describes the deliberate transfer of doctors, technicians and administrators into a historically neglected region – he makes the case that no part of China is being left behind, in contrast to the post-industrial communities of Scotland, the English coast and the former mining and shipbuilding areas abandoned by British capitalism.
He goes on to challenge the assumption that there is only one legitimate form of democracy, contrasting a Chinese system in which the direction of a road or the siting of a play park is subject to genuine popular debate with a British system in which the most consequential decisions are made by an elite with no mandate. He closes on China's role in the Global South, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the connection between solidarity with China and the struggle for a free Palestine.
0:00 Greetings from Cape Town
1:47 Why state direction is the reason for China's success
2:26 Regional disparities: China and Britain compared
4:24 Xinjiang and the commitment to leave no region behind
6:00 Towards equality
7:07 More than one form of democracy
11:45 China's role in the Global South
13:50 Palestine, South Africa and international solidarity

If you feel frustrated by dead end US politics, here's an approach which could be productive...
THIS is the revolution they're REALLY afraid of!

(24 min) I have a mission for you, should you choose to accept it. But be forewarned: it's not a glamorous mission and, given that it represents a real threat to the state, it might even become dangerous. But if we don't undertake this mission, there's little chance that we'll be able to form the mutual aid organizations that will see us through the coming years of turbulence. Are you ready? Your mission is: unvandalism. James explains this concept and how this seemingly trivial activity can have very large consequences.
SHOW NOTES AND COMMENTS: https://corbettreport.com/unvandalism/

We're experiencing the largest geopolitical shift in centuries as the US empire of chaos declines and China's cooperative win-win relationships grow. We will have something interesting to observe for the rest of our lives because this transition will take decades. Unfortunately the US will not go quietly into that good night, and the egotistical, greedy, warmongers of the Epstein class will insist on trying to hang on to power. Are these maniacs crazy enough to start throwing around nuclear bombs? Give the quality of of the political class, I don't know. We'll just have to stay tuned to see what happens next week. I hope you all have a good week, and I'll look forward to your comments below.