Seems everywhere the US goes, chaos follows in our wake. Color revolutions, assassinations, and out right coups are the US stock and trade. NATO, guided by the US, invaded and is occupying a small part of Russia. Ukraine's front line is in collapse. The Gaza genocide continues, as Israel and Hezbollah lob missiles and drones at one another. Jake the snake Sullivan visits China to make threats of more sanctions. The selection show featured a puff interview with Kamala, which even with editing did her no favors. So it is divide and conquer abroad and at home...it makes people of slavelandia more pliable after all. Meanwhile BRICS+ hones in on a new means of exchange to by pass the USD. All this and more below the fold...

The Harris campaign, if it wants to keep the reconstituted Obama coalition together, has very little time to announce a policy change in regards to Israel. Either she does something measurable, or she'll quickly lose young voters. It starts next week at the DNC in Chicago, but it doesn't end there.

Last week Michael and Richard described the US as a pentagon economy in their 45 minute conversation with Nima entitled "Why are China and Russia the US No. 1 Enemy?". However, what inspired this week's topic was Nima's conversation with Dmitry Orlov with whom I'm not familiar. Dmitry Orlov was born in Leningrad, USSR, into an academic family, and emigrated to the US in the mid-1970s. He holds degrees in Computer Engineering and Linguistics, and has worked in a variety of fields, including high-energy physics, Internet commerce, network security and advertising. I found his comments and observations on target: The US continues wars until they are not profitable, for example we left Afghanistan because Fentanyl replaced heroin, The MIC isn't about winning wars, it is about maximizing profits, and many more.

(52 min)

Since the beginning of the Israeli Gaza conflict retaliation against US forces in the region have been increasing. It's no secret that Israel has wanted the US to attack Iran for decades. In fact, Israel celebrated when we attacked Iraq.

The Waste of War

Wars are largely created to enrich the elite at the expense of everyone else. The cost can be measured in lives, money, environmental destruction, social and mental health, and much more, as the oligarchs count their profits. Yesterday used to be Armistice Day, the end of the war to end all wars, but now we honor war and warriors, not peace.

This year we celebrate the 105th anniversary of the signing of the World War I armistice that ceased hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect on the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918. With this instrument, nations still recovering from the dreadful nightmare of WWI, one of the deadliest conflicts in human history, collectively embraced peace as a universal principle and called for an end to all wars. Armistice Day was initially designated as “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated."

(17 min)

We know that Israel wants to ethnically cleans Gaza. They are openly calling for that (and worse). Their plan is to push them all into the northern Sinai (I guess the irony of pushing a slateless people to wander for years in the Sinai desert as been lost on the government of Israel).

For those who weren't here for the last two weeks, Mr. Universe is a character from the science fiction movie Serenity. It's from him that I get my name "Can't Stop the [Macedonian] Signal:"

Continuing COVID Confusion

Discussion of the lab leak hypothesis on the origin of the pandemic is finally allowed. Is that because it adds fuel to fire a war with China (even though the US provided funding and support for gain of function research in Wuhan)? However, interestingly use of ivermectin as an effective treatment is still out of bounds and unacceptable. No, TPTB are suggesting an third dose of vaccine instead. Speaking of vaccines, I must admit it was nice to gather with old friends last week. We were camping outside, and I think everyone was vaccinated. About thirty folks gathered at the Florida Faux Festival, and our usual cadre of ten or so camped together. Made lots of music, and I feel like I'm getting my musical feet back. We also got in an eight mile canoe trip on the Suwannee, and went to four different and unique springs along the river. It was my first real dip back into normalcy since the pandemic began in earnest March of '20, and it was as refreshing as diving in the springs.

Look, people, words mean things, and, Humpty Dumpty notwithstanding, they mainly mean what they are understood to mean by the people who create and employ them. Wittgenstein also notwithstanding, we mostly don't have trouble agreeing about most of the things that fall into most of the categories we choose to assign to the phenomena we observe.