February 16, 2022

447

We drift toward Nov. 8, when the Dems will have their rumps handed to them on a platter. This could then pave the way for Trumpaloni in 2024, or perhaps some Trump-like candidate. On a daily basis, the nation seems more stupid, more violent, and more full of rage. Schmiden's resurrection of the Cold War, complete with America's eternal unwillingness to see the other side's point of view, is all of a piece. Arnold Toynbee's observation, that in the final phase of empire, the empire will double down on precisely those behaviors that were eroding it in the first place, is there for all to see. Bill Maher continues to try to wake the country up; talk about a wasted effort. Meanwhile, millions of Americans worship Kanye West, whose face closely resembles a horse's ass. This even more so now, when Kim's buttocks are in other hands. Covid deaths are moving toward the 1 million mark; entire communities are being wiped out by suicide, alcoholism, opioid abuse (fentanyl especially), and numerous other drugs. The rich fly off to Mars (or wherever); the poor are ground into the dirt. What is left of the middle class now reads cell fones instead of books (except for diet and self-help books). Randomly stopped on the street and asked elementary questions (e.g., What does Y-E-S spell?), Americans haven't the foggiest idea. The data of our demise comprise a very long list; our citizens more closely resemble jokes than human beings. Meanwhile, Jewish Space Lasers circle the globe, inoculating gentiles with covid, and probably collecting blood from little Christian boys to bake in matzoh; while Whoopi Goldberg tells us that the Jews are not a race. Yet another high-IQ moron, but then the US has millions of them, dutifully reading the NYT every day to be reassured that all will be well. Honestly, what left is there to say?

191 Comments:

Anonymous Glans Butterworth, III said...

First the USians fought over chicken sandwiches, now it's screaming matches over burnt rotisserie chicken.

https://www.tiktok.com/@elayna_babyy/video/7057285157014932783?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1

https://www.dailydot.com/irl/subway-sub-of-the-day-customer-berates-worker-tiktok/

Such American passion-got a lil' verklempt. Mr. Hedges and Dr. Chomsky et al, please take note. This person and his ilk can help 'overthrow' those corporate overlords and 'resist'..burnt subs.

3:42 PM  
Blogger Joe McIlnen said...

In the “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up” category here in our great exceptional U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!:

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/02/15/full-video-drunken-woman-on-motorized-suitcase-leads-police-chase-through-orlando-airport-officials-say/

8:17 PM  
Blogger Gunnar said...

How does an entire nation beat off? With the invisible hand(s) of course. After the last school shooting (god who can remember which one?) a talking head on cnn said it was a failure to do a “threat assessment “ in order to be prepared I guess. This says to me not only are school shootings expected we have accepted them (while beating off). My immediate reaction was aren’t threat assessments something they do in war zones?
Answer: yep.

https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-safety-and-crisis/systems-level-prevention/threat-assessment-at-school

https://www.rand.org/topics/threat-assessment.html

8:59 PM  
Anonymous Nadine Bupkis said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVJRRLpjYYo

A funny mockery of the bullshit narrative parroted by the American media about the Ukraine situation. The Ukrainian government is, for the most part, not concerned about Russian aggression. It doesn't like NATO's propaganda because it's driving away foreign investment and causing some Ukrainians to panic, both of which harm Ukraine's economy. However, Russia *did* invade and annex Crimea, so I can't blame NATO for being concerned. The real problem is that NATO has never negotiated with Russia in good faith. A plethora of broken promises by NATO - something the American media never mentions - is what led to this situation.

9:26 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Nadine-

US foreign policy has been largely full of crap since 1946. Americans, of course, have cheered it on.

Joe-

I like the part abt defecation. My kinda gal.

mb

9:48 PM  
Anonymous B. Louis said...

This is soul bruising to read.

The degeneracy of American culture knows no depths.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/first-victorias-secret-model-syndrome-latina-rcna16533

EVERYTHING and EVERYONE can be turned into a pornogrified commodity.

10:07 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Louis-

This is the saddest thing I've read in a very long time.

mb

10:31 PM  
Anonymous Chuck Steak said...

It seems that WAFers are disappointed that America is not living up
to its virtues as taught to us in school. Since all this propaganda
was just a way of integrating young minds into the human comedy, it
should just be examined for what it was, namely, advertising to move
the product. I don't think WAFers can deny that its main virtue has
been warfare and its technology; had it not entered WWII, imagine the
miserable results if the Axis powers won. A fighter cannot be a
champion indefinitely, so there's no reason to be surprised at the
decline of US power and wealth. Just make sure you do not get hit by
flying debris. For a link, here's Shaw's predicting that inevitably
the Chinese will take control of the world since they learned the
secret of good government before any other country.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_Methuselah

3:32 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Unknown-

Thanks, but I don't post Unknowns. Pls use a real handle.

mb

3:33 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Chuck-

Wafers, not WAFers, thanks.

mb

3:52 AM  
Blogger Ajay Singh said...

Dear Dr. Berman: Thanks for the bad/good news. As you undoubtedly know, a series of sexual-harassment bombs have lately rained on Harvard's Anthropology department (link below), where profs have endowed chairs, expense accounts, & take students on annual jaunts around a burning planet that biz magnates want to ditch Mars. That’s a world quite different from what an Indian academic friend at financially malnourished U of Hawaii says he experienced in graduate school at Syracuse, and many worlds removed from what graduate students in his Poli Sci dept experience, bussing tables nightly at a hotel all the way thru doctoral programs, forming moving companies to be able to afford to live and study in Manoa, repairing homes, caring for the elderly, driving cabs—or lecturing like crazy across various campuses while completing their dissertations. (TAs can't afford rent & food + buying books or flying out to visit family.)

"I know from conversations with friends & some personal experience that it's a lot worse in Japan, Korea, and India, to name just three other sites," he wrote the other night, watching the Harvard imbroglio as he compared himself to 2nd- & 3rd-class train travelers in colonial/postcolonial India. "But there has to be some way of discussing the issue of sexual & power harassment, while also embedding that in the ghastly inequality that pervades our education and economic system, and the dubious—utterly ludic—claims to merit that supposedly underwrite these inequalities. I am extraordinarily privileged in comparison with 99% of the professoriate of the rest of the world while at the same time I am the very poor cousin of those in the Ivy Leagues and other rich private schools."

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2022/2/15/editorial-comaroff-letter/



2:39 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Gunnar-

Post only once every 24 hrs, thank you.

Ajay-

What can one expect from a schl that has Steven Pinker on its faculty?

mb

3:30 PM  
Anonymous Dr. Shithouse said...

What a douche bag...emblematic of the US empire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTLACwWD748

Maybe he's dancing because he has a lavish salary, health care package, pension/retirement, etc.etc. for being a typical American pseudo-intelligentsia clown.

4:24 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Dr. Shit-

The elite are trash. Never forget it.

mb

6:35 PM  
Anonymous Cosmo Como said...

How come this consumer nondurable is not traded on NYSE? With such
a need for drugs to get through the day in America, a pipeline would
be a safe and profitable way to satisfy the appetite of the harried
locals.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/u-coast-guard-offloads-1-210603507.html

7:45 PM  
Anonymous Nadine Bupkis said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er02cKIqgRA

Turns out that ICE is torturing many people they deport - just because they can, and for no other reason. I know this goes hand in hand with America finally kicking the bucket, but that doesn't make it any less tragic. Most of these illegal immigrants were lured to America by the Land of Opportunity Hoax; when they arrived, all they received was grinding exploitation and torture. This is one aspect of America's decline where Bad Is Definitely Not Good.

9:13 PM  
Blogger ccg said...

Biden is significantly outdoing Trump in a first-year-in-office comparison of drilling permits issued.

https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/new-data-biden-slays-trumps-first-year-drilling-permitting-by-34-2022-01-21/

From the story: "New federal data shows the Biden administration approved 3,557 permits for oil and gas drilling on public lands in its first year, far outpacing the Trump administration’s first-year total of 2,658."

I "wonder" if this will be discussed in the New York Times.

5:38 AM  
Anonymous Marielle said...

https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2022/02/the-sinister-return-of-eugenics

The sinister return of eugenics
Eugenicist thinking was rejected after the Holocaust, but in the era of Big Tech, the idea that humans can be “engineered” has resurfaced in a new guise.

By John Gray


This all brings to mind another essay I happened to read recently:

https://erikhoel.substack.com/p/ai-makes-animists-of-us-all?r=5l1bz&utm_source=url

AI makes animists of us all
A kami for every household object


Philip K Dick sure saw all of this coming....

8:41 AM  
Anonymous Glans Butterworth, III said...


Idle USian rich (inheritance, trustfunders, connected) need to do something with all their free time. Instead of checking their bank statements, they check out kids.

https://nypost.com/2022/02/14/connecticut-socialite-mom-admits-to-secretly-filming-minors-for-sexual-pleasure/

https://lawandcrime.com/crime/from-socialite-to-sex-offender-heiress-53-who-admitted-to-making-secret-videos-of-kids-may-serve-just-90-days-behind-bars/





8:51 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Glans-

Check out that face. It is the face of America (along w/Kanye).

Marielle-

A great writer, Dick.

ccg-

Apparently Trump also distributed more $ to the poor, and he wasn't hell-bent on reviving the Cold War w/Russia.

mb

10:16 AM  
Blogger Joe McIlnen said...

Yes. Drugs will do the trick for this angry USAin, according to his dad. Some prescription drug will cause him to think differently. He then will not partake in gun shooting road rage and get arrested again. That’s because “he’s a good kid.”
Doctor, Has this kid’s dad been watching too many shows that always advertise some drug every time they break for a commercial?
https://www.wesh.com/article/orlando-road-rage-shooting-suspect/39135299

For any Wafers here in the Metro New York area, think twice of going to the Poconos for a vacation once the warm weather hits.
https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/lehighvalley/state-police-investigate-road-rage-incidents-in-lehigh-county-the-poconos/article_264ff3a2-903e-11ec-8659-7376b8dfaf9a.html

And be careful parking your cars here in the great U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/2-men-shot-in-popular-center-city-shopping-district/3150564/

1:45 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Joe-

I'm hoping Wafers will join my new organization, Declinists For Rage (DFR).

mb

2:04 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/18/greenwashing-pr-advertising-oil-firms-exxon-chevron-shell-bp

This in the Dept. of ABO (Advanced Beating Off). The oil companies are beating off, and the PR firms also. What slap on the wrist awaits them?

5:29 PM  
Anonymous no monks said...

When you recommend becoming an NMI, what version are you recommending? I'm curious, because it turns out, St. Benedict never existed, so the entirety of western monasticism is based on lies & forgery.

https://brill.com/view/title/1014?language=en

My view is that the early monastics were dualist Manichaeans and Gnostics, and that forgeries were written centuries later to try to clean up the picture, and giving it a miraculous veneer. I used to look favorably on monks, but now I think the whole thing was misguided & wrong. Buddhist monks are just as life-hating as the "Christian" monks, and it would be better if all monasticism disappeared.

I think there's absolutely nothing good in monasticism, as the dualist philosophy behind the whole movement is wrong.

5:44 PM  
Anonymous Rollo Dice said...

He's saying that Waferism is growing in the US. Do you agree?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glGBrzTPztQ

7:07 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Rollo-

He refers to 'the left' as needing to speak w/one voice against capitalism. Who in hell is 'the left'? And whoever they are, they certainly don't speak w/one voice. I like Dick; met him at a conference many yrs ago, and we hit it off, had a lot to talk abt. But if he seriously believes that there is a coherent left, and that this coherent left is going to speak out vs. capitalism w/one voice, then he is engaging in fantasy. We all know what this purported woke left is concerned with, and it isn't serious politics. It's abt editing Mark Twain. It's abt beating off. In addition, Waferism requires intelligence, and this is one trait that Americans, whether left or rt, clearly lack. Hence, my answer to your question is Yes, when pigs fly over the White House in V-geese formation.

no monks-

Your mind works in an extremely strange way, and your idea of evidence is pretty much a joke. This citation you give provides none at all; it's completely w/o content; it's just a reference to a book that has no reviews, and there is apparently no info available on this author. You have hardly demonstrated that Benedict never existed, whereas numerous serious scholars and historians have shown that he did. Unlike you, they have real empirical data. You are of course welcome to your virulent views of monasticism, but they have little to do w/reality, past or present. Why you espouse this bizarre hatred of monasticism, I have no idea; but you frankly come across as a very sick person--crazed. In any case, just fyi, the 'version' of monasticism I was recommending, if you actually read what I say in the Twilight book, is a secular one.

You will need to find another blog, my friend, one that appreciates your cutting edge insights. As for us, we don't have much time for toxic nut jobs.

mb

7:47 PM  
Anonymous Nadine Bupkis said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fvxcq_1ynYg

Americans really know how to party like it's 1692. At least one pastor has accused some of his flock of being witches; as America unravels, many more will likely do the same. I doubt this would happen in any other country; even the Saudis, for all their backward beliefs, wouldn't do something this crazy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS_AE9huZAU

The second time I've seen this prog Youtube channel say America is dying. At the end of this clip, the hosts say the American experiment is "wrapping up" and urge viewers to "enjoy it". If this isn't Waferism, I don't know what is.

8:42 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Nadine-

It seems like dementia is increasing on a daily basis. Yes, there is much to mull over, if not enjoy. Witches are groovy; the Ukraine business is great theater; and road rage is becoming chic. White cop guns down black boy like a dog and gets (in effect) 14 mos. in jail. 100 yrs ago, Freud called America "a gigantic mistake." No shit, Sherlock.

mb

9:16 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

ps: Plus, Americans are publicly thanking Jesus for chicken sandwiches.

9:17 PM  
Anonymous B. Louis said...

One of the worst fallouts of American collapse (and by extension, I'd say Western collapse) is the absolute destruction of perhaps the two most important components of human social contact:

Love and Sex.

https://youtu.be/KY0rQc0hGrg

Vaknin makes a pretty strong argument that the self-objectification of men and women has rendered both completely incapable of talking to each other, much less being intimate with each other.

10:18 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Louis-

Much of this also applies to all American interactions, not just sexual or romantic ones. What are we to each other but tools, things?

mb

1:18 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Somebody posted this on the Net recently. I dunno if Freud actually said it, but it strikes me as being pretty gd advice, certainly in America:

Sigmund Freud said, "before you diagnose [yourself] with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure you are not surrounded by assholes."

Many of us have a tendency to beat ourselves up, but man, look at the society in wh/we are embedded. Honestly, when I think back on my high school yrs, they come off as "Lord of the Flies." We live in a culture that teaches us to put each other down, even treat each other viciously. "Love" never seems to come into the equation. Brr.

mb

1:32 AM  
Blogger Systems Crash Go said...

Dear Dr Berman,

I am more of an observer and lurker here but I came across something that I had to share.

Kandiss Taylor is a Republican in the running to be the next governor of Georgia, a position currently held by Brian Kemp. Taylor's slogan? "JESUS GUNS BABIES."

https://boingboing.net/2022/02/17/kansas-governor-candidates-slogan-is-jesus-guns-babies.html?

2:25 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Systems-

It's a long time since I read the New Testament, but I suppose it's possible that Jesus was gunning down babies. Confusing, since I thought he stood for Love. Oh well, what do I know. But we've been monitoring American dementia on this blog as of late, so I guess this is more of it. As for your lurking: Don't lurk; live!

mb

5:46 AM  
Anonymous Reader in Dubai said...

Wafers and Dr Berman,

You may be interested in this recently released update from The Watson Institute at Brown University estimating the number of people displaced by US wars post 9/11:

“The U.S. post-9/11 wars have forcibly displaced at least 38 million people in and from Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, the Philippines, Libya, and Syria. This exceeds those displaced by every war since 1900, except World War II.”

https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2021/Costs%20of%20War_Vine%20et%20al_Displacement%20Update%20August%202021.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2uVxbHR1Uz-Rh-Gqv3XgxvtofP5o7bvL9Ne4rY_-C65mgEhWpvTbmUyKU

6:33 AM  
Blogger Brian said...

@Dr. Berman and Wafers,
From my experience too, “Lord of the Flies” is an accurate portrayal of the social environment endemic to schools in the US. American schools are sick places full of spirit-killing idiocy and pettiness. I was always confused by the cruelty of my classmates to one another and how upon observation, many of their parents seemed to have little to no trouble with it. Looking back, my god I can experience it now!... the foul stench of the cafeteria, the sounds of fat kids crying, the squealing-shouting down the hallways, the pledge of allegiance, the violently-bizarre mannerisms, the building that resembles a prison or a shoe factory.

Of course this "American Dream" is mainly taught by a school system that sorts kids into winners and losers via setting them into a zero sum competition— the whole “not everyone can go to Harvard” deal. Despite his flaws, especially in his later years where after a number of major strokes he became a Trump nut, I was always fascinated by the thinking of John Taylor Gatto regarding the American school system.

https://truthout.org/articles/john-taylor-gatto-challenged-the-ideas-inherent-in-us-mass-schooling/

11:05 AM  
Anonymous FerQ said...

To Louis and MB:

One aspect of the collapse of the US and the West that I have been watching is precisely what you posted, the degradation and disappearance of dating and marriage, sexual degeneracy, feminism, the hostility between males and females, etc. In this video by Better Bachelor, it talks about how there are women who are attracted to criminals. What can you expect from a sick society like the American one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0NAqth9CkY

I don´t have the link but I remember seeing a video in which the content creator made a connection between the messed up dating culture and how that was a cause for crimes like mass shooting.
The amount of videos that you can find on youtube that talk about this subject is ENORMOUS. Yet in the US ppl continue to act like evertything is OK. No one would ever mention this.
Is the reason because of that toxic positivity culture, magical thinking?

2:16 PM  
Anonymous Dr. Shithouse said...

This is what counts as "progress" in the US empire...

https://www.thestreet.com/investing/burger-king-has-its-biggest-priciest-burger-ever

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/m/22265380-2070-37bc-93c4-4d393b0277a5/burger-king-has-its-biggest-.htmlbi

Bringing gluttony, diabetes, heart disease, etc. to Japan.

3:24 PM  
Anonymous KV said...

A Close Associate Of Jeffrey Epstein Was Found Dead In His Jail Cell

Jean-Luc Brunel was under investigation for the rape and trafficking of minors, and died of an apparent suicide with eerie parallels to Epstein's death.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/juliareinstein/jean-luc-brunel-jeffrey-epstein-associate-found-dead-jail

3:52 PM  
Anonymous Glans Butterworth, III said...

New York City woman fatally stabbed 40x. Her memorial was defiled--how American.

https://www.amny.com/new-york/memorial-chinatown-murder-victim-christina-yuna-lee-trashed/

https://www.newsweek.com/man-shares-reason-cleaning-destroyed-christina-yuna-lee-memorial-1680364

4:34 PM  
Anonymous Chuck Steak said...

Grim numbers. Waferism to spread?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhT04N4s-x0

8:25 PM  
Anonymous Nadine Bupkis said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciGaej1cCmA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iVQd1kvjzM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7nMNoMkmoA

More about the pastor who accused some of his flock of being witches. He says most people with OCD and autism are possessed by demons, and that witches are corrupting people all across the nation. He also held a book burning at his church while ranting about woke people stifling free speech, seemingly unaware of his hypocrisy.

I wonder how many American pastors are doing similar things. Someone should visit hundreds of American churches, film the insanity and do an expose.

12:30 PM  
Blogger Joe McIlnen said...

92 shootings so far this year up in the Pacific northwest. It looks as if Portland is giving many violent cities a good run for their money.
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/crime/four-shot-one-deceased-two-arrested-mass-shooting/283-e203fa09-d667-43ae-9f17-c07f4992a7f3

Dr. Berman,
Would you want this “medical assistant” to attend to you in a medical facility?
https://www.ktvu.com/news/road-rage-at-richmond-mcdonalds-drive-thru-leads-to-assault

And let’s not forget that our Karens still are doing their things. Check out this Karen at the 4 minute mark wielding a knife. She looks like someone who just escaped from a psychiatric ward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2IqqS1Dwl4

What a country! LOL!

3:53 PM  
Anonymous Mike R. said...

US 'ride-share' driver car got killed by customer.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/uber-driver-begged-for-her-life-talked-of-four-children-before-she-was-fatally-shot-by-customer/ar-AAU4tyO

9:33 PM  
Anonymous Rochelle said...

Wendell Berry’s Advice for a Cataclysmic Age

Sixty years after renouncing modernity, the writer is still contemplating a better way forward.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/02/28/wendell-berrys-advice-for-a-cataclysmic-age

1:32 PM  
Anonymous Nadine Bupkis said...

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/22/un-meets-after-russia-sends-troops-to-eastern-ukraine-liveblog
https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-news-02-21-22/index.html

Looks like Biden was actually correct in his predictions regarding Putin's intentions. Putin has invaded Ukraine and conquered two provinces. He also said Russia has the right to all territories that once belonged to the Russian Empire, which is maybe 40% of Europe and 80% of Central Asia. Perhaps war is justified and necessary if Putin pushes further into Ukraine? I know NATO's idiocy and belligerence heavily contributed to this situation, and that NATO is guilty of countless war crimes, but allowing Putin to conquer half of Eurasia isn't acceptable.

12:19 AM  
Anonymous Steiner said...

MB - have you read Rudolph Steiner? What are your thoughts on him & his system of epochs?

https://kennethmdouglass.com/steiner/_epochs.html

I'm impressed with what I've seen of the Waldorf schools. Children aren't given any tech before age 7 & the schools have a heavy focus on play & being outdoors.

https://www.waldorfeducation.org/waldorf-education/rudolf-steiner-the-history-of-waldorf-education

10:05 AM  
Anonymous Vince said...

Dr. Berman and all,

Mr. Fish at Scheerpost.

https://scheerpost.com/2022/02/21/see-saw/

Peace,
Vince

10:48 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Unknown-

Sorry, I don't post Unknowns.

Steiner-

I was into his stuff many yrs ago. The philosophy, and the Waldorfs, have many positive aspects, but there are also a # of serious drawbacks. Too long a discussion, I fear.

Nadine-

Well I'll be damned!

Mike-

Check out the guy's face. If this isn't the face of America, I dunno what is.

Dr. Shit-

Not easy to use as suppositories, however. Chicken still reigns supreme.

Thank you all for yr posts. I've been away for a while, but nice to see that you guys are documenting our blog slogan: Bad Is Good. The greater the depravity, the faster our decline. Pretty obvious, I shd think. O&D, chicos.

mb

5:18 PM  
Blogger Joe McIlnen said...

Did you all hear the latest greatest news? Guess who is speaking this weekend at the CPAC? LOL!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10536095/Tulsi-Gabbard-Dr-Oz-join-CPAC-line-alongside-Trump-weekend.html

Well, Doctor. What do you think?

5:40 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Joe-

Hard to contain myself. Tulsi streaks across the sky, like a comet. This is her chance to explain, and promote, Tulsism. Declinists rejoice. When the Tulsi-Boebert ticket declares itself in 2024, I will eagerly work on their campaign.

mb

6:12 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

How true Americans raise their children:

https://metro.co.uk/2022/02/22/utah-man-told-4-year-old-to-fire-gun-at-police-over-mcdonalds-dispute-16152056/

Meanwhile, I've been trying to determine exactly what these powerful sanctions that Biden is supposedly levying against Russia consist of. Pretty murky. I suspect they have the hard edge of warm dog poop, but then I was wrong abt Putin's invasion plans (I think; that too is murky).

mb

8:17 PM  
Blogger FerQ said...

MB-

What is your opinion of Putin? Do you think he can give the land of idiots (the US) a nice kick in the ass?

8:23 PM  
Anonymous Jace said...

https://cperry248.substack.com/p/deliberate-ignorance

McLuhan saw it all coming. A view here into how.

9:18 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Jace-

In the future, perhaps you cd provide a bit of commentary regarding your posts. We try to be more of a discussion forum than a bulletin board. Thank you.

Fer-

Nothing can wake America up. Absolutely nothing. It's always our enemy's fault, end of story. What bothers me abt Putin is his failure to refer to Russian foods. Not a word about borscht, or blini, or beef stroganoff in any of his speeches. This depresses me no end. (Of course, he's not going to refer to Chicken Kiev, but still...)

mb

10:03 PM  
Anonymous Noura said...

America's Broken Dream: The Middle-Class Families Living in Motels | Poverty in the USA Documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65N5ouukO6w

“Character is destiny.” Heraclitus
When I first watched this documentary, I didn’t realize it was filmed in 2012 even though I noticed that things looked different. It’s amazing how there have been so many documentaries about poverty in America and yet they don’t seem to make any difference.

Living While Black, In Japan | All Things Considered | NPR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMpxLmMnS6M

They had a black lives matter protest in Japan after the murder of George Floyd. There is one black person in this video with Japanese citizenship. He speaks Japanese too. He was traumatized by the police while living in America and doesn’t want to live there again. The sad thing is that these people would rather be in America because it’s their home but they don’t feel safe there. They are like refugees and it looks like many of us may have to make similar choices at some point. In a previous thread, I posted a similar video about black people living in Russia.

11:25 AM  
Anonymous Steiner said...

There are serious issues with any one system, but a future healthy way of life will be formed naturally by bits & pieces of these various systems, which will eventually lead to a coherent philosophy & way of life for the entire world. The view as held by "Hinduism" and Steiner seems correct, of looking at a long timescale. Things will only settle when we get to a system that is faceless & non-dogmatic, but that produces a way of life that sits right with everyone. This will take thousands of years & many empires to come & go.

For discussion, I really like some of the books by Inner Traditions. I found Steiner through a book on Atlantis.

https://www.innertraditions.com

1:37 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Steiner-

Sounds wonderful, but it will probably take millions of years. Thousands will not be enuf. Or to put it another way, this view is not really worth considering. It's a Hindu or Steinerite fantasy. How many people went to Waldorf schools, when all is said and done?; and even then, in terms of sexual needs and developments, Steiner was rather upside down (the training is good only until puberty). In any case, see my reply to Noura.

Noura-

The sad fact is that bks and films and etc. that are *truly* alternative, truly progressive, have been available for eons, and they make no difference at all for how the dominant culture operates. There is hardly any need for the gov't to censor them, since the audience for this material is something like .00001%. In 1986 Doris Lessing did a series of talks for the CBC called "Prisons We Choose to Live Inside," arguing that we are voluntarily choosing the down side, the negative path. Take your average American: given the choice between the path of yoga, meditation, and inner transformation, versus a Mercedes-Benz---well, whaddya think? In Japan, the so-called "Satori generation" amounts to less than 1% of the total population. In the US, less than 1% of the public votes for the Green Party candidate, in every election. I personally doubt Christ ever existed, but the early Christian teaching makes the pt: What profiteth a man if he gains the world, and loseth his soul? But no Christian follows this; they opt for the Mercedes, as Janis told us. This is why Kierkegaard said that he was unable to find a (true) Christian in all of Christendom, or why W.H. Auden wrote that "We would rather be ruined than changed."

While I'm on the subject, let me say a few words abt the phenomena of massacres, drive-by shootings, road rage, gun culture, Karens, and so on. It wd seem that Americans have extremely short fuses: the slightest insult, and they blow the other person away. It never occurs to them that this will put them in jail for life. No, he dissed me, so he's gotta die. It's fascinating, but where does such insanity come from?

The problem is that your typical American, on a deep spiritual level, is a loser, and s/he knows this. They know that their lives don't really amount to much; that they are effectively spending those lives beating off. Very close to the surface is the awareness that I'm a zero, a worthless person, a putz, a pathetic buffoon. So when someone insults an American, this sub-awareness comes rt to the surface, and ignites fury because this fact abt my "life" is intolerable. Hence, the person who brought this to the surface hasta die; don't even think of being rational abt it.

What is the source of this (correct) perception of self-worthlessness? Personally, I believe it is sewn into the American DNA, and has been there for centuries. Which still raises the question of how it got there in the 1st place.

On a semi-related note, check out a film called "Captain Fantastic."

mb

2:16 PM  
Anonymous Dr. Shithouse said...

Since the US empire loves war, please find a history of chicken sandwich wars for review.

https://medium.com/modern-business/reports-from-the-front-lines-of-americas-chicken-sandwich-wars-c0e5cf50452f

6:29 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Check it out:

https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/the-united-states-of-hypocrisy-revisiting-the-monroe-doctrine

https://mmnews.tv/american-hypocrisy-on-ukraine-crisis/

6:34 PM  
Anonymous Mike R. said...

Monroe Doctrine?

99.97% of USians wouldn't know what the Monroe Doctrine was from their asshole.

7:20 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Mike-

Indeed. Not only cdn't they identify James Monroe; they also cdn't identify John Adams, and probably a high % wdn't be able to identify George Washington.

Dr. Shit-

Apparently, there is a "high stakes battle for the hearts and minds" of American consumers going on. In the history of the world, was there ever a more stupid nation?

mb

8:40 PM  
Blogger Gunnar said...

MB - I’m agnostic on whether Jesus really lived but am not bothered much by it - a great story is a great story. I was curious about your thoughts on the historical Moses, did he ever “exist” in history?

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/nov/30/moses-man-versus-myth-ridley-scott

9:22 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Gunnar-

To my mind, trying to find the historical Moses is like trying to find the historical Zeus; or Apollo.

mb

9:27 PM  
Anonymous Glans Butterworth, III said...

US-ian going through divorce stabs husband 140x, uses a meat cleaver to his head over splitting of millions in real estate assets. Such American 'passion,' of course it was abt money.

https://wsvn.com/news/local/florida-woman-charged-with-murder-after-allegedly-stabbing-husband-140-times/

https://www.wpbf.com/article/divorce-and-splitting-of-assets-was-looming-for-woman-charged-with-stabbing-husband-140-times/39166076#

10:47 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Glans-

The meat cleaver is a nice touch. Check out this woman's face: America!

mb

11:52 PM  
Anonymous Dan Quayle said...

To be fair, Kayne West, and his wife Kim Kardashian, while hardly Socrates or Austen, at least try to do good.

According to Wikipedia at least, Kardashian lobbies for a second chance for prisoners who she considers deserving. West too is involved in charities, and there doesn't seem to be a reason to think they do so out of cynical calculations. They also - mirabile dictu - seem to actually be stably married and care for each other and their children.

Not much, one can say. Not much more than what was supposed to be self-evident for anybody to do. Quite right. But when so few of America's celebrities do even that, and when American celebrity marriages tend to have a half-life of unstable subatomic particles, this deserves to be noticed.

1:40 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Dan-

Stably married? Kim is suing Kanye for divorce, and dating Pete Davidson; for a while, he was dating Julia Fox. Her 'fame', as many have observed, consists of being famous, while he comes across as a total bozo. He uses his name to market things like denim jackets for 2K a pop (last I checked, none were donated to charities). Yr gonna hafta do better than Wikipedia, my friend; K and K are as hollow as they come.

mb

2:07 AM  
Anonymous Nadine Bupkis said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYnbCRrZn54

Thomas Kinkade was the most popular American artist of all time. He was also a Christian fascist who abused many people, defrauded his business partners and drank himself to death. In America, even high culture is a vicious hustle.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/24/europe/ukraine-russia-invasion-thursday-intl/index.html

Putin has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Biden has said he *won't* deploy troops to Ukraine under any circumstances, so he's letting Putin do whatever he wants to Ukraine. Say what you will about Biden, but he's certainly no warmonger. His only real achievement is diversity appointments, which are nothing more than window dressing. Biden is clearly the least influential American president of all time. Reagan was the Great Communicator; Biden is the Great Masturbator.

12:47 PM  
Blogger Joe McIlnen said...

Doctor Berman & Wafers,
The heck with Russia & Ukraine. Let’s read some far more important headlines via U.P.I. that hit much closer to home:
https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2022/02/24/fda-approval-condom-anal-sex/2561645726996/

Hopefully some television commercials soon will appear that advertise these “all important”, “F.D.A. approved” necessities that we USAins see every time some show on the idiot box breaks for one.

Also, our great U.P.I. informs us of a little bad news concerning our “highly intelligent” college kids:
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2022/02/24/Miami-spring-break-alcohol-sales-cutoff-2am/6511645730983/

“What passes for news in the U.S.A. is downright laughable.” -GSWH

3:27 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Joe-

I'm still waiting for the FDA to approve of chicken sandwich suppositories (condoms, KY, optional).

Nadine-

I think Biden *is* a warmonger, but of the Cold War variety. Brinksmanship, John Foster Dulles called it. It's just another form of beating off. Wd Biden ever sit down w/Putin and listen to Russia's genuine insecurities regarding NATO and being surrounded? Ha!

mb

5:07 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

ps: This is what I'm talking abt (from CNN):

Putin, who for years had criticized the West for ignoring his complaints about NATO's expansion toward Russia's borders, was finally striking back with fury. "I hope," he concluded his short address, "that I have been heard."

What does it take to get America to listen to anyone that disagrees w/it? Olvidalo!

mb

5:13 PM  
Anonymous The Flabster said...

So given some of the discussion here in the past about the importance of the dollar remaining the main form of payment internationally in keeping the value of US currency high I found this interesting:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/policy/finance/595723-biden-defends-allowing-russian-access-to-swift%3famp

Russian is being allowed to continue processing financial transactions through the SWIFT fed based payments system despite invading Ukraine. Even some mainstream sources have admitted that China, Iran, and Russia are close to starting an alternative payment system that cuts out the US dollar. This would make imports far more expensive and greatly reduce the power of the USA to sanction other countries.

This makes me think the Suez moment of the US is approaching far more quickly than I thought. It’s too bad I still live here....

5:55 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Wasting urine: He coulda peed on Kanye's shoes; or Obama's:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2473087/flight-diverted-to-sunport-after-public-urination-obscenities-fly.html

mb

12:02 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Theorist-

Let me acquaint you w/the protocol of this blog, so that in future, you can get posted. Here are a couple of rules:

1. Watch length. Half-pg-max is the limit for a post.
2. Don't just broadcast your opinion. Opinions are like assholes: everyone's got one. Why shd we care? What we tend to focus on here is evidence. Hence, next time, state your argument regarding the collapse of the American empire, and then provide us with links or reliable refs, defending yr pt of view. Although we are Wafers, we don't much care for transubstantiation. What we do care for is substantiation.

Thank you.

mb

12:52 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Wafers-

The imminent Russian takeover of Kiev, and of the Ukraine in general, leaves me with mixed feelings. On the one hand, Biden/America refused to take Putin's concerns into account, regarding the safety of Russian borders and the threat of NATO. This was real, not just posturing on Putin's part. But American history is the story of the "erotic" or magnetic power of Manichaean opposition, and the complete inability to seriously listen to the Other.

On the other hand, I have, since the Reenchantment bk, been a proponent of Balkanization, and anti-empire, whether Russian or American or British or etc. I'd like to see Ukraine outta Russia, Catalonia outta Spain, and Scotland outta Great Britain, and I'd certainly like to see the American empire broken down into secessionist geopolitical entities. That being said, as some historians have argued, empire is not w/o its advantages, despite its imperial cruelties. As a unified civilization as the E.U., the European states stopped clawing each other's eyes out after 400 years of war; whereas the breakup of the USSR led to massacres and genocide between the warring states ("old hatreds," to quote Bill Clinton). And altho a crippled American empire wd mean the end of its global military and economic dominance/cruelty, who's to say that these fundamental internal oppositions wd not result in internecine battles, mini-civil wars? I am hopeful that that will not be the whole story, and that decent ways of life might arise from the ashes; but as Immanuel Wallerstein wrote in 1990, there are simply no guarantees. Despite my world-recognized status as the GSWH, I am no clairvoyant, and have no crystal ball. I'm quite sure the US will be clearly down the drain 8 yrs from now, but beyond that, prediction is just a guessing game. I do hope that regarding empire vs. Balkanization, it's not a case of being fucked either way.

mb

7:21 AM  
Anonymous It's Now Or Never! said...

Of course you don't have no Krystal Ball. Kyle Kulinski has her. Ca-ching!

On another note, Putin has said he has doesn't intend to occupy Ukraine. He only wants to demilitarize and denazify it and then, presumably, withdraw.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F-WF1wtrKk

How he manages what follows this withdrawal, I have no idea. But I'm sure the Russians have "gamed" that out to the nth-degree.

Maybe the Russians could bring Yanukovych back, let him sign the Russian trade/energy agreement he was intending to sign before he got deposed, and then make believe the past eight years never happened.

I'd also hand out 10000 rubles to each Ukraine household. Sort of as a repayment for their "inconvenience" of the past few days. Surely the Russians could cover that cost with just the money they will make from the increased price of oil.

9:01 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

cy-

Pls note: for the most part, we are a discussion forum, not a bulletin board. Thank you.

Now or Never-

Links to Kyle Kulinski and Yanukovych wd have been helpful, as many of us don't know whom yr talking abt. Next time, perhaps. In addition, sarcasm is not the rt tone for this blog. In future, pls just straightforwardly say what u wanna say. Thank you.

mb

9:44 AM  
Blogger Sanguillen39 said...

To all Wafers,


I was wondering if anyone can possibly explain the purpose or reason behind Trump's praising of Putin during the Ukraine crisis:

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/putin-eyes-ukraine-invasion-trump-praises-actions-genius/story?id=83062704

https://www.businessinsider.com/state-department-no-words-for-trumps-comments-on-putins-genius-2022-2

Notwithstanding, just the thought of hearing Trump say those words puts me in stitches. He was probably flippant about it too.

12:40 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Sang-

It does look like he's shooting himself in the foot. But then it's a gd bet that Trumpi is clinically insane. Or at the very, very far end of neurosis. Meanwhile, in the dept. of declinist literature at the microlevel, Wafers might wanna check out "The Pessimists," by Bethany Ball. It is strangely hailed as 'hilarious'; truth be told, it's a major downer. It's a portrait of the white American suburban class, accurately detailing its meaninglessness and dysfunction. Their lives are permeated by a great sadness, abt wh/they can do 0. If yr into one more portrait of our collapse, or just want to give yrself a depressed experience, give it a whirl.

mb

12:46 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Wafers-

This from China's Assistant Foreign Minister Hua Chunying:

"China has taken a responsible attitude and persuaded all parties not to escalate tensions or incite war...Those who follow the US' lead in fanning up flames and then shifting the blame onto others are truly irresponsible," she said.

The comments echoed those made a day earlier, prior to the invasion, when Hua blamed the crisis on "NATO expansion eastward all the way to Russia's doorstep."
"Did [America] ever think about the consequences of pushing a big country to the wall?" she said.

mb

1:05 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Unknown-

Sorry, I don't post Unknowns.

R-

I guess yr not familiar w/how this blog works. We aren't a bulletin board, nor a place for people to just broadcast their opinions. What interests us is evidence. In future, here's the formula:
1. State your argument abt the decline of the American empire.
2. Back it up w/links or reliable refs.
Thank you.

mb

3:55 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Wafers-

Biden has nominated Ketanji Jackson to the Supreme Court. Here is a direct quote from her, confirming the fact that she is a moron:

"The United States of America is the greatest beacon of hope and democracy the world has ever known."

Meanwhile, in his public appearances, Biden looks like he's half asleep.

mb

4:01 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

NYT says Biden is reviving Cold War containment strategy, and that NATO is mobilizing troops. The strategy was a disaster in the late 50s, and it will likely be a disaster now. One thing that we can be sure abt the US, to quote Gore Vidal: we never learn. Our minds are warped by frozen, Manichaean formulas; this is all we know how to do. Plus, it served to keep Americans distracted from real domestic problems for over 40 yrs.

5:28 PM  
Anonymous Atlantis said...

America will collapse, but global imperialism is the ultimate destiny for humanity. Anything else leads to tribal warfare. This will only happen when humanity stops all the self vs other, sin vs not sin, or any other duality (e.g. borders, marriage, religion, etc.). We're nowhere near close to it now, but we don't need a million years for these changes to happen. In the next 10,000 years humanity will have evolved into something better.

I recommend reading about cyclical time & the long game. Nobody is going to remember America, Russia, India, or China in the future because a sane future people won't need history & none of the existing countries are going to last.

https://www.innertraditions.com/books/atlantis-and-the-cycles-of-time

7:18 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Atlantis-

Well, this is just (very bad) speculation on your part. You assert w/certainty that wh/may or may not happen (personally, I'm quite sure yr wrong). Citing a bk from Inner Traditions proves nothing, and the author's sources are a long list of dubious occultists. (Madame Blavatsky? You've *got* to be kidding me.) The author points to the Mayan prophecy of 2012, for example, wh/was a major flop. I suggest you get yrself a real education. What you've got is little more than fogged up indulgence in mythological absurdity.


Wafers-

Slowly, the MSM is catching up to me. Shd I be pleased, or annoyed that I'm never cited? Not sure. In any case, strongly recommend an article in the Jan. 3/10 New Yorker by Elizabeth Kolbert entitled "Poles Apart." Be sure to see the section toward the end on Stephen Marche, author of "The Next Civil War," wh/begins by saying "The United States is coming to an end," and discusses the role of secession in the process ("disunion could be liberation," he asserts). I need to collect all of the work in this genre and write a bk called "No Shit, Sherlock." I haven't read his bk, but from Kolbert's summary I conclude that (a) there is no mention of the stupidity and viciousness of the American people, nor (b) how these people, and the nation at large, spend all their time beating off.

mb

8:15 PM  
Blogger k_pgh said...

Applebee’s said it's ‘disappointed’ in CNN showing a company ad of a man dancing to ‘Chicken Fried’ by Zac Brown Band next to invasion footage of Ukraine

“‘We are deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine,’ an Applebee’s spokesperson said in an email to Insider. ‘It should never have aired, and we are disappointed in the actions of the network.’”

“The ad also featured two women walking into an Applebee’s, shots of chicken and beer, and a dancing man in a cowboy hat.”

CNN Russia Invades Ukraine Chicken Video

8:45 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

k-

Long overdue for commentators to start arguing that American douchebaggery is a major factor in the decline of the US. What cd be more obvious? The nation is basically a collection of horses' asses.

mb

9:14 PM  
Blogger Joe McIlnen said...


A word of advice to all here. Never throw popcorn at a cop inside of a movie theater. You’re likely to lose your life here in this wasteland of a police state country. That’s because according to our dysfunctional jury/trial system, popcorn is a lethal weapon. So cops have a right to shoot to kill.
Perhaps the jurors were a bunch of “Back the Blue” conservatives.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/curtis-reeves-trial-retired-swat-officer-acquitted-in-florida-movie-thea

1:08 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Joe-

That link doesn't work. Try this one:

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/popcorn-fear-death-theater-killing-trial-jury-83111913

I have mixed feelings here, because the victim was using a cell phone. There is a similar incident in the film "God Bless America."

mb

1:46 AM  
Anonymous drake said...

'The systemic analysis of mental health has not made people less depressed or anxious, but instead filtered down into our culture and morphed into a kind of self-defeating nihilism, present at every turn on Twitter or TikTok.'

"There Is No Moral Imperative to Be Miserable"
Yes, capitalism is why you're sad and anxious. Now what?

https://mentalhellth.xyz/p/there-is-no-moral-imperative-to-be

9:30 AM  
Anonymous Cherith Cutestory said...

Re: Dr. Berman's comment on dissolution of the US, currently reading an eye-opening book, Break It Up. Why is this information obscure/hidden in the US? The book details the shockingly, amazingly, mind-bogglingly DISUNITED America, from before the declaration of independence even. What this book explains is that the relationship between American states has been hopelessly contentious, and the only thing that kept the union together is a near-miraculous mixture of luck, fear, coercion, terror, killing, shaming, hatred, greed, and other fine American qualities. Most people never thought the union had a chance, including Napoleon who - when asked to sell New Orleans - sold the whole state, knowing for sure the US would break apart in the near future. It also talks about how secession was threatened and intended a myriad times, and it actually started with the Northern states who were sick and tired of the South (for several complex reasons). This is another angle from which to also know why constant war and false flag operations (the book alludes to one done by James Polk to trigger a war with Mexico) are so crucial for the federal governments: it's the only way to unite Americans. Sick empire.

10:45 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Cherith-

Good ref, thanks. There are many ways the US can collapse--something I regard as inevitable--but the question is, Which way is the most likely? Secession is, I think, high on the list.

mb

11:36 AM  
Anonymous Zell said...

Thomas Friedman is still pretending that the U.S. didn't just invade Iraq for no reason and that there is some sort of 'rules-based international order.'

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/25/opinion/putin-russia-ukraine.html

12:53 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Zell-

Friedman is one of the greatest pieces of trash America has produced in all of its history. A warmonger, and a self-serving lackey of imperialism.

Meanwhile, I never thought I'd be posting Tucker Carlson on this blog:

https://www.foxnews.com/media/col-macgregor-biden-refused-to-acknowledge-whats-important-to-putin

Crucial quote: "The first thing we have to do is acknowledge that Putin’s basic point, not just his point, the Russian government’s point, which they’ve made for 25 years, is valid. They don’t want U.S. forces and missiles and NATO troops immediately across the border in eastern Ukraine. Absolutely. We didn’t want them in Cuba, he doesn’t want them in eastern Ukraine. We should acknowledge that. Stop pretending it’s a nonissue. It is a major issue for them."

mb

1:25 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

In any case, I hafta wonder if all empires, in their dying years, spend literally all of their time beating off. I don't know the answer, but it's fascinating to watch the US doing just that. It wallows in trivia, and what it does domestically and on the world stage amounts to nothing at all. It struts, it pretends, but it's full of crap. It will beat off until there is no energy left, and it finally falls off the map (to the relief and applause of billions round the world).

1:48 PM  
Anonymous Vince said...

As we all know, nuclear weapons are pure madness. But I ask anyone if they can name a nuclear armed country that has ever been invaded?

https://www.rferl.org/a/the-destruction-of-ukraines-nuclear-arsenal/29699706.html

I would have to say that number is Zero. But I could be wrong.

Peace,
Vince

6:09 PM  
Blogger Joe McIlnen said...


“What happens in Vegas,….
https://apnews.com/article/shootings-las-vegas-d899bd8680aa43986fe0fb4114fa1ef4

….doesn’t stay in Vegas.
https://www.postandcourier.com/news/4-people-hospitalized-saturday-in-north-charleston-afternoon-shooting/article_11d128a0-974c-11ec-a7ca-c32225e6a03b.html

In fact, it happens everywhere in the U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!
https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Shooting-Northeast-shopping-center-16944047.php

Yes. There’s never a dull moment here.

10:44 PM  
Anonymous Nadine Bupkis said...

MB,

Seriously? You have mixed feelings about Russia attacking Ukraine? I know NATO is largely at fault for this situation, but Putin is still attacking a peaceful nation and slaughtering innocent people by the truckload. Nothing - not even NATO's skullduggery and broken promises - makes this any less evil. Moreover, Putin is as vicious as any American politician. He routinely murders political rivals and anyone living in Russia who dares criticize his government. He has also amassed between 70 billion and 150 billion through dishonest means:

https://time.com/6151695/vladimir-putin-wealth-assets-freeze-ukraine/

Of course, none of this makes America any less vile. America is a decadent, bloodthirsty empire that needs to fall of the map, as you put it. But we shouldn't let this blind us to the reality of who Putin is and what he has done and continues to do.

11:11 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Nadine-

See my reply to Zell, in particular the quote from Col. Macgregor. Who, exactly, cd have avoided this situation, if they had been willing to talk to Putin, and to take his concerns seriously? See also remarks by China's Assistant Foreign Minister Hua Chunying, cited above. You push a major power to the wall, what do you think is going to happen?

mb

3:26 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

ps: Keep in mind that Putin can be a monster, and still be right. They aren't mutually exclusive.

5:51 AM  
Anonymous Konstantina said...

Putin is making us look ridiculous.

Bury the Old World Order

The old ways of dealing with Russia no longer apply.

By Tom McTague

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2022/02/us-europe-russia-putin-new-world/622917/

9:50 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Konstantina-

Note that the author has no solution to this situation; no specific recommendations at all. I'm not terribly impressed, myself, with exhortation and hand-wringing. I wd also add that all of these economic sanctions being levied against Russia are unlikely to amount to much of anything. They are just posturing; I'm guessing Russia will be able to get around them.

mb

10:08 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Meanwhile, greetings from a banana republic:

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/27/politics/capitol-fence-state-of-the-union/index.html

10:13 AM  
Anonymous I'm Just A Footnote to Plato said...

U.S. Bombs Somalia as Russia Bombs Ukraine
You do not, in fact, have to choose between American and Russian imperial aggressions. Better to bear witness to what is being done in your name.

https://foreverwars.substack.com/p/russia-ukraine-somalia-imperialism-invasion

Imperialists gonna imperialist!

Meanwhile:

Senate-confirmed Biden nominee isn't even eligible for the job, experts say
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy-environment/senate-confirmed-biden-nominee-isnt-even-eligible-for-the-job-experts-say

10:35 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Fer-

Cdn't run it (over the half-pg limit).

mb

11:46 AM  
Blogger Ordinary Indian said...

Wafers, Here is the 'free press' from the West. It is ok to go and bomb Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. But how can this happen in the heart of Europe? As if the horrors of the two WWs, and Bosnia happened somewhere else.

‘Double standards’: Western coverage of Ukraine war criticised
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/27/western-media-coverage-ukraine-russia-invasion-criticism

12:17 PM  
Anonymous Skram said...

Hi Nadine.

You recently made the comment:

"Putin is still attacking a peaceful nation and slaughtering innocent people by the truckload."

Can you supply some evidence and links to support your conclusion?

Also can you clarify "peaceful nation?" Facts seem to point to
Ukrainians killing Ukrainians for eight years now. Are weapons supplied by Russia any more dangerous that weapons supplied by the US?

https://www.rferl.org/a/death-toll-up-to-13-000-in-ukraine-conflict-says-un-rights-office/29791647.html

I'm thankful Dr. Berman is staying away from emotional war hysteria and staying with historical facts.

I hope you take my comments as respectful.

12:54 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Skram-

Thank you. On this blog, we are big on evidence, small on undocumented assertions. Note that the history of internal butchery in the Ukraine, wh/goes back a long way, is extremely well documented.

mb

1:36 PM  
Anonymous Dr. Shithouse said...

US bombed Somalia...yet, 'crickets' in the Western "media"/"news."

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/02/25/us-bombed-somalia-amid-russian-invasion-ukraine

Good thing the UN can help step in and assist in an objective and non-biased manner....oops!

https://www.cfr.org/article/funding-united-nations-what-impact-do-us-contributions-have-un-agencies-and-programs

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/01/09/who-actually-funds-the-un-and-other-multilaterals/

1:38 PM  
Blogger ccg said...

Nadine,

It isn't quite the case that Ukraine is the peaceful place that we've been led to believe. For the past eight years or so, Ukraine has been shelling the Donbass region which is where can found a large population of Russians. The MSM outlets don't mention this. Nor do the mention the US backed coup that occurred in 2014. Nor do they mention, in connection with that coup, that the government we helped install in Ukraine has close ties to neo-Nazis e.g.The Azov Battalion.

Here's a video where much of this is discussed by reporter Aaron Mate (son of Gabor Mate, by the way) with Jimmy Dore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt3Zv-e4n1M&t=5s

1:54 PM  
Anonymous Jason said...

From the Hill:
62 percent of voters say Putin wouldn't have invaded Ukraine if Trump were president: poll

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/595919-62-percent-of-voters-say-putin-wouldnt-have-invaded-ukraine-if-trump

2:17 PM  
Anonymous Glans Butterworth, III said...

Thank you Wafer Ordinary Indian, to add the farcical Western coverage:

US empire correspondent: 'Reporter' Calls Ukraine 'Civilized’ as Opposed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbJ6sDVBE-w

The Western MSM racism is flowing like water:

The Telegraph
@Telegraph "They seem so like us. That is what makes it so shocking. War is no longer something visited upon impoverished and remote populations. It can happen to anyone" | Writes Daniel Hannan

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/russia-ukraine-war-criticised-racism-western-coverage?s=09

2:20 PM  
Anonymous Mike R. said...

"Fuck the EU" (US Asst. Secretary of State Nuland) re: Ukraine, and the US empire meddling with Russia.

~3.00min mark:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5n8UbJ8jsk

and,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdygnTrrGVI

3:51 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Wafers-

In general I am led to comment on the phenomenon of hysteria that infects the MSM. Not that this is a conspiracy, but rather that panic is very contagious. So you get all the MSM screaming "Hitler!" abt Putin, and everyone gets on the bandwagon. I recently read a study that said that lockdowns did little to prevent the spread of the Corona virus. As for masks, Omicron can penetrate the cloth variety. 2 days ago I met a man who had been vaccinated twice, and then got the virus and was sick for 2 weeks. The penchant for the MSM, and the American public, to go nuts over anything and everything is quite remarkable. Here's my take on the cause:

American life is a desert; it's empty. It consists of little more than capitalist-consumer existence, wh/looks like it's fulfilling while in truth it is emptying, soul-denying. To counter this, Americans have a strong psychological need to get worked up. If they can get worked up over Putin, or masks, or vaccines, or Scottish terriers, then they feel whole.

However, I have no interest in being a preacher; I'm not going to shout, "Stop this absurd farce!" Because it wdn't make any difference anyway. I do have an interest in being an historian, however, and as an historian I try to focus on what is likely to happen. And in this case, it's not rocket science: Americans will keep ramming their heads up their asses and rolling around like doughnuts. That is for certain. The % of Americans who see thru this crap is on the order of .000001, and they can hardly make a difference. The bullshit will roll on, like an Abrams tank, until the entire system breaks down. And what's next? Some verkakte guru, preaching enlightenment while raking in millions? Oy vey.

mb

3:52 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Mike-

We have such great human beings handling US foreign policy, eh?

mb

4:41 PM  
Blogger Jamie said...

Hello Dr Berman and Wafers,

I came across this article about Ukraine arguing it should be a buffer state between Russian and the EU. If only a buffer state existed between the US and Mexico.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/ukraines-deadly-gamble

5:16 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Jamie-

Sure, but I tell ya, I get a kick outta the fact that a Jewish TV comedian is president of the Ukraine.

mb

5:37 PM  
Anonymous Rikki Tikki Tavi said...

I found this video yesterday. Take it for what it's worth, but this gentleman seems to assert that the Ukrainian state as constituted a few days ago no longer exists. He compares it to the German state at the end of WWII.

I don't understand Russian, so I used the automatic translation. It's a real word salad at times (in one place it has him saying something about a nude front–those rascally Russians are now fighting naked!) but you can generally understand the gist of what's he's supposed to be saying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBWqaKFAly4 (go to about the 5:50 mark)

I believe, Dr. Berman, you understand Russian. Maybe you could have a look see and confirm or refute the translation.

To turn on the translation, select the CC button, then the gear button next to it. In the popup menu, select the "Subtitles/CC" item. Check the "auto-translate" item, and scroll down to the "English" item and select that.

6:12 PM  
Anonymous FerQ said...

Nadine-

You should remember that the American and other Western media is full of lies and will always paint a distorted or one-sided image of anyone they don´t like, be it Russia, Putin, China, Iran, etc. Here are a few videos from a content creator that lives in Ukraine and is telling about what he sees there.
What Russia wants
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vdiEABLFoo

The system pig journalists he says "they are pushing the narrative" and "they led Ukraine up the garden path" https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hDFf1zXDOho

In Kiev during the Russian invasion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jwmyj1o430

7:02 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Atlantis-

I'm not really interested in debating this stuff w/u. I just find it boring. I think you'll be much happier posting on another blog, where yr valuable insights will be appreciated. Gd luck.

Rikki-

He's speaking too fast for me to catch it, I fear; and then my Russian is really rather rusty at this pt. As for the Ukraine no longer existing: I can't see why that would be so, and I doubt the Ukrainians wd agree.

mb

7:57 PM  
Anonymous Pete Christen said...

Dr. B and Wafers:
We have been deceived. Here is the real reason for Putin's invasion: After the Ukraine war drags on for a while, Putin will agree to "peace talks" – but only with Trumpi -- just the two of them, behind closed doors. Putin will emerge having agreed to a cease-fire, making it look as if Trumpi brokered the deal. Trumpi will strut and brag, demand that he be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. His cult will gloat, dance in the streets, send him millions of dollars. His Kremlin-backed buddies at Fox News will wage an all-out propaganda campaign, very successfully. Millions of morons will vote and the MAGA candidates will sweep the 2022 elections. They will immediately set to work clearing the way for Trumpi's glorious return to power. In 2024 Putin will get what he wants: Comrade Donald back in the White House. And America will get what it deserves.

8:36 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Pete-

Not really a likely scenario, I don't think. And in any case, the GOP--of whatever stripe--will sweep the elections in Nov.

mb

10:04 PM  
Anonymous Nadine Bupkis said...

FerQ,

I'm well aware Zelenskyy is as corrupt as they come. His track record as president of Ukraine is abysmal. But this video offers no evidence to back up its claim that Zelenskyy is hand out machine guns to civilians, hoping this will lead to a humanitarian disaster so NATO will get involved and escalate the situation. It merely engages in conjecture and tells people to think for themselves.

I'll take that advice and think for myself. As I see it, the problem is that people want to side with either NATO/Ukraine or Russia. But what if both sides are involved in all kinds of skullduggery and deceit? Politics is a very dirty business, so this is very likely the case. Sure, the Western media is full of lies, but so is the Russian media. And although I distrust the medias, I do trust my eyes, which have seen videos of Russian missiles destroying Ukrainian apartment complexes, so I know Russia is killing innocent civilians, even though it claims it isn't:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulN1A41jf1Y

10:12 PM  
Blogger Joe McIlnen said...

Forget about Ukraine. Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
Perhaps “back at the funny farm” is a more apropos saying. All of these conservative baboons this weekend are speaking to and reinforcing each other with their laughable idiotic screeds. It’s the annual special edition of the ongoing Republican Comedy Show.
We have Tulsi, Cruz, Pompeo, Jordan, DeSantis, Boebert, Cawthorne, Gaetz, Greene, and THE DON himself! It doesn’t get any funnier. LOL!
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/cpac-afpac-nick-fuentes-marjorie-taylor-greene-1313210/
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-02-26/trump-speaks-at-cpac-2022
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/cpac-2022-schedule-trump-desantis-biden-live-b2023353.html

And in the CPAC straw poll, the Don is far ahead for 2024!
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2022/02/27/Donald-Trump-wins-CPAC-straw-poll-2024-Republican-primary/2151645992421/

10:47 PM  
Blogger Thomas Strimpel said...

Well, Dr. Berman, I think your long-awaited dream of nuclear-armed Americans prowling the streets and given license to gun each other down on sight is on the horizon! Perhaps soon nobody will be able to know when they might get pummeled to the ground, cuffed, or shot by any random bubba in Walmart who regard themselves as part of law enforcement. On a more serious note, I think this adds some credence to the point that ‘failing empires double down on what caused their decline in the first place’. The return of good Christian values like chronic individualism, vigilantism and excessive violence are certainly on the upswing.

“This proposed Tennessee bill to make civilians part of law enforcement so they can bring guns into more places is also justified on public safety grounds, but it is a clear recipe for disaster”.

If I’m not mistaken wouldn’t this contribute to a certain spike in sex/race-based violence and discrimination? A recipe for disaster indeed.

https://www.rawstory.com/tennessee-gop-introduces-law-allowing-gun-owners-to-self-deputize-for-100/

12:01 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Thomas-

An exciting development! Tennessee is on the cutting edge.

mb

4:49 AM  
Anonymous Dr. Shithouse said...

Interesting article:

https://countercurrents.org/2022/02/the-altruistic-usa-always-needs-an-enemy/

2:51 PM  
Blogger Krakhed said...

Came across this talk from 2015 that warned about the situation in Ukraine while reading Ian Welsh.

https://youtu.be/JrMiSQAGOS4

https://www.ianwelsh.net/what-the-west-and-russia-want-in-ukraine-the-good-result-for-the-ukraine/

Professor of Political Science John J. Mearsheimer gives an engaging talk about the strategic importance of Ukraine to Russia and how Russia would respond to Nato expansion on its borders. It's nice to see him call out how stupid the positions of both Democrats and Republicans in the US are regarding NATO.

He seems more concerned about risk of a US conflict with China in the South China Sea.

Thank you Wafers and GSWH for your contributions documenting our collapse. I can always count on some thoughtful pieces and entertaining perspectives on the shitshow that is the collapse of the USA.

2:59 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Dr. Shit-

I've been saying this for years. Check out essays in QOV. Also relevant is work of Denis Duclos.

mb

4:26 PM  
Anonymous Glans Butterworth, III said...

Cognitive dissonance must be on hell of a drug....

https://www.reddit.com/r/Sino/comments/t38a06/fox_news_host_harris_faulkner_turns_to/

On related note-Why does the EU continually go 'lock-step' with the US Empire/war mongers? Are they that ham-strung and 'enjoy' being US sock puppets? Or as the Chinese would say, running dog lackeys.

5:13 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Glans-

A warmonger, hypocrite, and piece of trash. BTW, the Chinese phrase is "running dogs of imperialism." That's Condi!

mb

5:23 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Wafers-

For a painful description of the brutality of Zionism, check out David Shulman, "Lost Illusions," NYRB, Feb. 10th. It includes descriptions of pogroms carried out by Israelis against Palestinian communities.

mb

6:22 PM  
Anonymous Pastrami and Coleslaw said...

The NATO expansion story finally making the mainstream:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/28/nato-expansion-war-russia-ukraine

"History will show that Washington’s treatment of Russia in the decades following the demise of the Soviet Union was a policy blunder of epic proportions. It was entirely predictable that Nato expansion would ultimately lead to a tragic, perhaps violent, breach of relations with Moscow. Perceptive analysts warned of the likely consequences, but those warnings went unheeded. We are now paying the price for the US foreign policy establishment’s myopia and arrogance."

6:58 PM  
Anonymous Mike R. said...

It's "funny" when the US empire invades countries with brown and bearded people:

https://www.indy100.com/showbiz/snl-afghanistan-kandahar-song-taliban-b1903191

It's not "funny" when Russia invades another country if they're "civilized," and have blue eyes/blonde hair:

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainment/music/saturday-night-live-opens-with-inspiring-rendition-of-the-ukrainian-national-anthem/vi-AAUnzFl

Maybe this 'comedy' show can have "inspiring" National Anthems for Yemen, Syria, Palestine, Somalia, Iran, Iraq, etc...to win over their hearts and minds.

8:01 PM  
Anonymous Cherith Cutestory said...

Atlantic Council Praised Ukraine’s Nazi Azov Battalion
I didn't exactly know what Russia meant by "de-Nazifying" Ukraine but this article makes it clear. I'm surprised Germany and the West in general are ignoring this issue and scoffing at it as "propaganda". Does the West think Russia is worse than neo-Nazis?

America Defeats Germany for the Third Time in a Century
The US has tried to sabotage Nord Stream 2 from the beginning. The Russian attack on Ukraine may have pushed Germany to do that, to Germany's detriment and the US's benefit. What the hell happened to Germany? How did they hit this low?

9:09 PM  
Anonymous Nadine Bupkis said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF7cNiyx7XY

The Western media has been incredibly racist in their coverage of the Ukraine crisis. Many Western reporters, including one working for PBS, have basically said "This war is awful because it affects civilized whites instead of savage blacks or browns." No wonder people don't trust the Western media anymore.

9:13 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Pastrami-

Gd article, thanks. Amazing how the US can never see that self-aggrandizement at the price of others might not be a gd idea.

mb

9:15 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Nadine-

American people do. Which is what happens when you have shit for brains.

Cherith-

Among collaborators w/the Nazis during WW2, the Ukrainians was surely the worst. Pogroms during 1st half of 20C there were barbaric beyond belief. E.g.:

"The Kiev pogroms of 1919 proved the first of many such events. There were a total of 1,326 pogroms across Ukraine around that time, in which between 30,000 and 70,000 Jews were massacred. The pogroms were marked by utmost cruelty and face-to-face brutality. Thousands of women were raped."

These pogroms included tossing babies up in the air and catching them on bayonets, and cutting open the stomachs of pregnant women. Also swinging infants by their ankles against stone walls, to bash their brains out.

You might also try Googling "Babi Yar" and "Yevtushenko".

mb

10:33 PM  
Blogger Joe McIlnen said...

Doctor & Wafers,
We’re getting all ready for 2024. Here are the hilarious highlighted snippets coming from the mouth of our ultimate hustler, Don the Con Trump, this past weekend at the CPAC follies. You go, Don!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzcCNJK2LjI


p.s. A question for you, Doctor. On the news it was mentioned that Turkey intends to close off the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, and the Bosporous to Russian ships. My question is: How many USAins have ever heard of or can locate these three waterways? 99.999 percent? After all, USAins are sooo intelligent. What do you think, Doctor?
p.p.s. And when USAins heard Turkey mentioned, did they think it had something to do with Thanksgiving?

10:50 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Joe-

The correct response of an American to a mention of Turkey wd be: "But that's me; *I'm* a turkey!"

mb

1:55 AM  
Anonymous Megan said...

Dr. Berman,

You mentioned earlier that you wished you'd been aware of Thomas Howard's book on T.S. Eliots "Four Quartets". I just got that book myself and it does look pretty interesting. But that's the thing about so many of the literary giants of the 20th century, such as Eliot, Joyce, Pynchon, etc.--you have to read a shelf of books ABOUT their various works, in order to grasp them in all their richness. I'm currently working my way through Ulysses in that manner. At any rate, I thought you said somewhere that you are a fan of Pynchon (I think it was "Gravity's Rainbow" that you were praising.). Is that correct? Is he worth the time and effort? At any rate, speaking of Eliot, the weird fiction writer HP Lovecraft has a rather cute parody of "The Wasteland" which you might find amusing. It's called "Waste Paper: A Poem of Profound Insignificance". Needless to say, Lovecraft wasn't a fan, but as his biographer ST Joshi points out, it is a rather clever and and able parody:

https://www.hplovecraft.com/writings/texts/poetry/p228.aspx

On another subject, I've been listening to the podcasts of Glen Loury and John Mcwhorter. While one doesn't need to agree with everything they say, amidst all the shrieking hysteria of BLM and the like, they do have an interesting, commonsensical and intelligent take on issues such as "systemic racism", police violence against blacks, "Wokeism" etc., that is definitely worth listening to. Here is one pretty good example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgYM3oJPZlQ&t=343s

4:20 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Megan-

Thanks for all the info. I do think McWhorter has his head pasted on straight--not typical of race politics these days.

mb

9:44 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

ps: I didn't make it all the way thru Gravity's Rainbow, but as in the case of V., I cd see what he was doing: extreme versions of Ferdinand Toennies' Gemeinschaft vs. Gesellschaft, i.e. business society vs. community (Cf. Kurt Vonnegut's 'karass vs. granfalloon'): 2 versions of hell, in Pynchon's telling of it. I think I discuss this at one or more pts in my work. One is a world of total alienation, the other one where there is no place to hide.

mb

11:41 AM  
Anonymous Cel-Ray Tonic said...

RIP Jim Denomie Native American artist and biting satirist/critic:

https://www.twincities.com/2022/03/01/jim-denomie-native-american-artist-from-minnesota-whose-work-was-exhibited-internationally-dies-at-67/

12:58 PM  
Anonymous Namaste said...

Hello Mr. Berman,

Americans are so full of shit it just makes you feel crazy and sometimes depressed . I have tried to explain to some American “intellectuals” and give them some context about the Russia-Ukraine crisis but its like I am talking to a rock. I guess most of these intellectuals have sold their souls to American dollars and they have decided to go blind to American crimes. I get called a warmonger, Putin supporter, etc for just trying to give a balanced view of the crisis. The questions i get asked are like utter dumb, “why cant a independent country do what it wants”, lol.. and i tell them then what about Cuba wanting to get help from Russia and they go blank. Inspite of NATO expanding , apparently its the Russians who have empire ambitions. I know Putin is no saint but at this point feels like he is being cornered. American assholes are going to destroy Ukraine as they did to other countries or maybe worse they will bring nuclear war upon us. What a fucking god forsaken country. When will Karma hit them and make the collapse much faster.

12:59 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Nam-

Karma is hitting them already. This is what they are living out. A nation of jokes, w/shit for brains, has no future. I believe that on some level, Americans know this; hence the hysteria. Don't pour yr energy into attempted dialogues w/buffoons; instead, pour it into emigration.

mb

1:04 PM  
Anonymous Namaste said...

Sorry to break 24 hr rule Mr. Berman. Wanted to let you know that I emigrated long back but have friends over in the US who are so fucking dumb and annoying that sometimes I get into arguments with them. But I think you are right, I need to stop having debates with them and try to end these stupid relationships for mental peace lol.

1:15 PM  
Anonymous Dr. Shithouse said...

Wafer Namaste:

These were USians, 99.7% were braindead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7s5pT3Rris

1:16 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Nam-

Congratulations on yr escape. Meanwhile, you need to realize that self-reflection, or self-transparency, is not something that Americans are capable of. If, for example, you were to pt out to yr 'friends' that they were caught up in a Manichaean way of thinking, they wdn't have the foggiest idea of what you were talking abt. You really need to recognize that these people are jokes. Spend yr time w/people who aren't.

Dr. Shit-

Not just braindead; awful human beings. Fundamentally bad people; the cancer of the planet.

mb

2:18 PM  
Blogger Ajay Singh said...

Dear Dr. Morris: No links for this one—yet—but it's hot off the social media grapevine, almost guaranteed to make it into the next news cycle: A student from India, evidently among the 22,000+ Indian students spread across Ukraine, has been killed in the conflict there—a 21-year-old 4th-year student of Kharkiv Medical University, hailing from Chalageri in the Haveri district of Karnataka, India.

He died in Russian shelling when he was out foraging for food at Kharkiv's City Hall. Amid scattered comments that Neo-Nazis are are part of the Ukrainian defense, Indians are asking what about his death was not avoidable, generating responses ranging from the ridiculous to the reasonable:

"I think students $ their parents underestimated the war ... they waited too long to decide to leave ... thinking it will be like playing video games ... no one dies," says one wiseass on FB.

"Possibly," someone else offers. "However, I find that the students had been asking for firm and followable directions beginning in January, a month before the Indian government started shooting off anodyne advisories.

To which the initial commentator responds: "Sadly, most of us are raised in India learning to wait to be told what to Do."

5:51 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Ajay-

Very strange. Pls don't call me Dr. Morris. Thank you.

mb

6:46 PM  
Blogger Ajay Singh said...

Dear Dr. Berman: Pardon me for breaking your 24-hour posting rule, and for referring to you as "Dr. Morris." In light of the subject/object of my comment—Indians!—I had meant it as a sort of joke, because Indians, like billions of others across Asia, tend to invoke the first name of whoever they are interacting with. My apologies for not making that clear—or as close to clear as the circumstances might have allowed.

6:56 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Ajay-

Not a big deal. GSWH is also acceptable. :-)

mb

8:05 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Wafers-

Biden is abt to deliver his State of the Union address. Will it be a case of beating off? Please weigh in b4 or after.

mb

8:38 PM  
Anonymous BH said...

here is an example of American stupidity, but if your eating or havexa sensitive stomach beware.


I had a little kid in my store getting sick and vomiting. his parents wouldnt take him to the bathroom or ask for a bag, just let him puke. the store was crowded and people just walked over it like they didnt notice anything wet on the floor. they were all in their own little worlds.

8:48 PM  
Blogger Brian said...

So first 10 Minutes in, Biden is already organizing his state of the union around the negative identity of attacking the demon-freedom-hating-dictator Putin.

"Putin is the one to blame!"... and rancorous applause from our representatives.

9:20 PM  
Blogger Joe McIlnen said...

Doctor Berman,
It was funny watching the cameras focus in on jokers like Boebert and Greene, as well as that drunken sexual predator/altar boy Kavanaugh and his conservative altar girl cohort Barrett.
But the best chuckle I got was when….and corrected me if I heard this wrong...was when Biden referred to the people of Ukraine as the “Iranian people”. Oh well. Don Trump referred to herd immunity as “herd mentality”.

But meanwhile, back here in our “gentle” U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!,
https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/apd-pro-vaccination-bumper-sticker-prompts-road-rage/
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2022/03/01/road-rage-quarrel-streamwood-deadly-shooting/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-dad-driving-kids-fatally-shot-road-rage-incident-officials-rcna18155

10:52 PM  
Anonymous JUS said...


Hi Dr. Berman,
Schmiden's speech was pretty much nothing but virtue signaling while beating the drums for war with Russia, or at least a proxy war where Ukrainians are the cannon fodder of the west. A real dream come true for the war hawks in both parties and the Pentagon. Nothing else will get done or accomplished except a never ending increase in military spending and death wish all the while botox puffy lip smile on Nancy Pelosi gets wider and permanent while clapping for more death of soldiers. But cheer up! Russia, China and India along with other BRIC countries are becoming more of a real economic challenge to the U.S as they sign economic pacts for trade with each other as the U.S pushes Russia away thru sanctions. This is going to get real interesting.
take care,
JUS

2:09 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Wafers-

Well, there we have it: the conversion of this Ukraine situation into a cosmic, Manichaean, Good vs. Evil mythology. Cold War redux. This will keep the American people effectively drugged for years to come, and provide a form of false unity for America. Even tho Putin has legitimate concerns abt Russian security, let's ignore these, make no attempt at detente, and frame him as the new Hitler.

mb

2:23 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Ajay-

Cdn't run it (24-hr rule).

mb

6:55 AM  
Anonymous Glans Butterworth, III said...

It's "nice" to see respect for different viewpoints, perspectives, and critical thinking in the EU.

https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Munich-fires-Russian-conductor-Gergiev-for-16967365.php

https://www.wxyz.com/news/national/russia-ukraine-conflict/orchestras-fire-russian-conductor-valery-gergiev-for-continued-support-of-putin

Maybe Western orchestras will ban musical performances by Russian composers. Sorry, folks, no more Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Glinka, Loshkin, Borodin, Cui, etc. Yet, isn't 'great' to have all that "freedom" and "democracy" via censoring/cancelling?

The EU must be very proud of being a running dog for the US empire.

8:29 AM  
Blogger Christian Schulzke said...


Patrick Deneen draws on the past writings of Thorstein Veblen to offer an interesting analysis of the conflict between the US and Russia. The former, he argues, is animated by a Gnostic Utopianism while Russia is animated by a more traditional Civil Religion.

While this opposition to war with Russia is interpreted merely as displaying an underlying sympathy toward Putin and his vision of an authoritarian Russia, such critics are incapable of understanding the foundational differences between Catholic Christianity and any “national conservatism” premised on a civil religion. It’s not sympathy with Russia that motivates this opposition - though it is a call to more self-reflection - but rather, a deeper concern for the fate of the West.


If our countrymen and children will be asked by the laptop class to fight and die mostly for them, we rightly ask - for what are they to die? Is it the “classical and Christian” civilization that fought and defeated fascism and communism? Or is it on behalf of a “successor” philosophy, a toxic liberalism that today drapes itself in Ukrainian flags, but will tomorrow denounce the very idea of the nation, particular cultures, and Christianity, discarding Ukraine’s blue and yellow for a rainbow flag, and turning on the Ukrainian churches in whose crypts its people are sheltering?

https://postliberalorder.substack.com/p/russia-america-and-the-danger-of?s=r

9:56 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Nam-

Sorry, cdn't run it (24-hr rule).

mb

10:59 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Wafers-

Getting back to what's important:

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/02/entertainment/kanye-west-chaney-jones/index.html

Check out Kanye's face: similarity to the rear end of a horse is quite obvious.

mb

11:08 AM  
Anonymous Mike R. said...

War, schmor, Nato, Bato. Who cares? US-ers, please take note:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/The-Best-Fried-Chicken-Sandwiches-in-Fast-Food-Ranked/ar-AAUqMwp

11:48 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Wafers-

Much to my amazement, Tulsi got it rt:

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/01/politics/tulsi-gabbard-cpac-ukraine-russia/index.html

Standing apart from her fellow-Democrats, who are like sheep on the Ukraine issue, and have their heads embedded in their rumps. But this article does raise the question, Given her severe departure from her party, how can Tulsi expect to be a political candidate in the future (unless she switches to the GOP)? Will her future consist of broadcasting little blurbs from the wings? This wd be a terrible comedown from the exciting role I always thought she wd have, namely inoculating the American public w/Tulsism. Because America needs two crucial things: chicken sandwiches, and Tulsism.

mb

2:16 PM  
Anonymous Namaste said...

Hello Mr. Berman,

Here is a take on the Ukraine situation by an Indian Major general

https://youtu.be/BOkn3l7mddc

And in this video, Jimmy Dore/Aaron Mate try to explain and give historical context to what’s happening in Ukraine. As usual you can see in YouTube that people are calling them Putin apologists/Russian puppets. I don’t know much about Jimmy Dore but I found this video educational.

https://youtu.be/mffCvWZujWA

Also Mr. Berman what’s your take on this latest development.. not sure if this is hysteria/real.. you think if this is true then NATO will step in ?
“Belarus president stands in front of map indicating Moldova invasion plans”

https://thehill.com/policy/international/596409-belarus-president-stands-in-front-of-battle-map-indicating-moldova

3:26 PM  
Anonymous Dr. Shithouse said...

Dear Namaste,

Please hang in there regarding talking to Americans about anything substantive or requiring wisdom. Most don't care, and don't care that they don't care. They know very little if anything about world history. They care about chicken sandwiches, celebrity tushies,
$ fetishes, and car fucking.

Regarding the current NATO/US-induced problem, I spoke to a few Americans: They "feel" that the "whole world" is against Russia. It's Russia's fault. And that's "good". Lots of sanctions flag symbols, and chanting about Ukraine--we stand with Ukraine-smiley face. I asked them who's the "whole world"--they said everyone.

Even though most Americans could not find the Ukraine on a map, that above is an example of the level of discourse with Americans. They're indeed dumber than stale dog shit (Berman). And the Europeans appear to be on a similar trajectory.

4:41 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Nam-

It shd be obvious to some, at least, that American encouragement of Ukrainian fighters is rather hypocritical: sanctions are fine (ultimately useless, I suspect), but what about supporting the Ukrainians w/actual American troops? We are all talk, no action. We usta call such people 'chicken hawks'. Of course, Biden is understandably reluctant to engage in a direct confrontation w/Russia--wh/is how the US acted during the Cold War, of course (Vietnam seemed like an easier target, then we got our asses handed to ourselves on a platter)--but we do come across as a paper tiger.

Also hafta say I'm confused as to what Dr. Shit is telling you to do. I suggest you NOT hang in there, recognize that Americans are gullible bozos, and find other friends.

mb

5:14 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

ps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ask36zoSbgE

5:26 PM  
Blogger Jack Lattemann said...

Greetings Wafers everywhere from Cascadia,

Last Saturday evening my spouse and I were in downtown Portland on our way to a restaurant for dinner when we passed Courthouse Square and noticed a small gathering of perhaps one hundred people, some Ukrainian flags, singing what I took to be the Ukrainian national anthem. This brought to mind the memory of the satirist Tom Lehrer and his rendition of "The Folksong Army," circa 1965. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tDZ5lrillc

5:51 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Advanced Beating Off (CNN headline):

"US House passes symbolic resolution of support for Ukraine"

Putin says: "Oh no, not a symbolic resolution! Whatever shall I do?"

mb

6:20 PM  
Anonymous Nadine Bupkis said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htgK-O2yPXI

Biden has actually passed legislation that created many jobs and allowed America to recover as best it can from the pandemic...which only slows America's decline, since nothing can reverse it. Of course, right-wing news outlets are lying and claiming Biden's policies have worsened the economic fallout from the pandemic. There is no hitting rock bottom for the American media; they always manage to sink lower.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsjmtpyPQN8

The Western media is claiming sanctions are hurting ordinary Russians. By punishing ordinary Russians for the crimes of their dictator and his wealthy friends, the West is displaying is moral bankruptcy once again. Hopefully, the Western media is lying, and Russia is bypassing the sanctions via trade with China and other countries.

8:03 PM  
Anonymous Aardvark Fart said...

just going to add some og american humour, aka $$$ messaging, to alleviate some of the dire! going out w a bang!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5rzOU-4Bkc

8:47 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Aard-

We try to be more of a discussion forum than a bulletin board. In the future, here's the preferred form of post:
1. You have an argument to make abt the collapse of the American empire
2. You back that argument up w/evidence: links, reliable references, etc.
We await your contributions along these lines.
Thank you.

Nadine-

Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders has joined the chorus of Putin-demonizing. I tell you, more slapping and urine are necessary than a mere 175 Wafers can generate in a lifetime. What clowns Americans are.

mb

9:09 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Aard-

Very impt rule: post no more frequently than once every 24 hrs. Thank you.

Wafers-

Another case of cops going soft:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/02/us/loveland-officer-guilty-dementia.html

Not clear why he didn't just blow her away.

Jesus, talk abt a sick country:

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/28/us/guiying-ma-death-new-york-asian-hate-crime/index.html

(Attacks on Asians are apparently very widespread now.)

mb

9:26 PM  
Anonymous Hanzo said...

The risk of Russia initiating a nuclear conflict in Ukraine is very real—particularly when it comes to shorter-range, lower-yield "tactical" nukes. https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-might-do-unthinkable-ukraine-increased-risk-of-nuclear-war-2022-2

And the U.S. will egg them on til the end....

9:34 PM  
Blogger Joe McIlnen said...

More of the cruel, totally heartless murderous rages that seem now to occur daily on USAin streets. Just when you thought you saw it all…...something else tops it.

https://nypost.com/2022/03/02/distressing-video-captures-fatal-chicago-road-rage-shooting/

And folks here in this pathetic country are worrying about Putin setting off nukes and we dying in a nuclear war? Heck! You’re more likely now to die getting gunned down after leaving the house to get a cup of coffee in this violent shithole.

10:54 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Megan-

For the most part, we try to avoid just broadcasting opinions. Ideal formula:
1. Present an argument abt the collapse of the American empire
2. Defend it w/evidence--links or reliable references.
Thank you.
mb

7:50 AM  
Anonymous Glen said...

Why John Mearsheimer Blames the U.S. for the Crisis in Ukraine:

https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/why-john-mearsheimer-blames-the-us-for-the-crisis-in-ukraine

John Gray's persoective:

https://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/geopolitics/2022/03/the-new-age-of-disorder

10:21 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Unknown-

Sorry, I don't post Unknowns.

mb

10:54 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Glen-

Gd essays, thanks. Cd be a wake-up call, but then Americans are not v. bright.

mb

11:07 AM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

ps: It's impressive, how obtuse Americans, and now many Europeans are, regarding the Ukraine situation. For 15 yrs, Putin has been trying to get them to listen to his concerns abt Russian border safety, and they just wdn't do it. How long is he, or anyone in that situation, supposed to wait, b4 blowing their top? Finally, he realized he was waiting for Godot. The foreign reaction, of course, was to get all self-righteous and excited, jump up and down over this 'inexplicable' aggression. Never mind that JFK blew his top over Russian missiles being positioned in Cuba in 1962. Oh no, that was an outrage, but NATO pushing to the eastern edge of the Ukraine--that's perfectly acceptable. How extremely stupid Americans, and some Europeans, are; it beggars the imagination. Only a tiny few, like Gray or Mearsheimer, are aware of what is really going on. But the path of understanding can't hold a candle to the path of misguided passion, and so the farce continues. And is the US willing to back up its righteous indignation w/real force, rather than (probably) useless economic sanctions? Of course not.

"Against stupidity even the gods struggle in vain"--Friedrich Schiller

mb

1:11 PM  
Anonymous Glans Butterworth, III said...

Dear Dr. Berman,

Also, the sad and disturbing thing re: USians (and some EU dipshits), is most do not even know WHY the Russians were putting missiles in Cuba. Nor do they care. Or Bay of Pigs, etc.etc.etc. The do not care.

I tried a few times explaining these things to USians (I know, I know) and their eyes glaze over, and they go right back to Manicheanian -type explanations; e.g., we're the good guys, Russia/Putin-bad guys. And start robotically saying, US is the great and that's why so many want to come here...


Dr. Ted Calen Carpenter's article- which was shared with your blog earlier - appears to be a reasoned explanation to what is happening.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/28/nato-expansion-war-russia-ukraine

2:09 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Glans-

An impt article, thanks. Ditto, Gray and Mearsheimer. Re: Cuba 1962, it only came out yrs later that contrary to the public belief that Khrushchev had to back down, he put the missiles in Cuba to counter US missiles in Turkey, stationed near the Russian border. He then made a deal w/JFK: no missiles in Turkey = no missiles in Cuba. JFK took the deal. The American people beat their chests, excited at this Cold War 'victory'. Then, as now, they were fools; little more than pathetic buffoons, who, as you say, don't know anything and don't wish to know. Assholes, robots, living their lives out in a Manichaean fog. Iran 1953, Guatemala 1954, Patrice Lumumba 1961, Bay of Pigs 1961, Chile 1973, Vietnam, Iraq...

mb

2:24 PM  
Anonymous Namaste said...

Hello Mr. Berman,

What a man Mandela was.. he knew how horrible the US is ..

https://youtu.be/40ur8me8_O4

You learn something new about the degeneracy of US everyday.. do as I say, not as I do.. this was back in 2002 ... and these assholes lecture others about war crimes...

https://www.democracynow.org/2002/8/6/hague_invasion_act_bush_signs_a

“The new law authorizes the use of military force to liberate any American or citizen of a U.S.-allied country being held by the court. The law also provides for the withdrawal of U.S. military assistance from countries ratifying the ICC treaty, and restricts U.S. participation in United Nations peacekeeping unless the United States obtains immunity from prosecution. At the same time, these provisions can be waived by the president on “national interest” grounds.”

3:43 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Nam-

99% of Americans never heard Mandela's speech, and 99% of them wildly supported Bush. There is a reason for this: at heart, they are ignorant, violent idiots.

mb

3:54 PM  
Anonymous Mike R. said...

Wafer Namaste,

How many USers have even heard of the Ludlow or Mai Lai Massacre? Let alone what these vile American acts represented?

Would estimate <0.001%.

How many USers have heard of the new chicken sanwdich? 99.98%.

4:01 PM  
Blogger Jack Lattemann said...

Greetings from Cascadia, Wafers everywhere. Here’s a story related to Ukraine that you’re unlikely to see on the evening TV news:

The U.S. has become an attractive venue for money laundering, as shown by the example of Ukrainian oligarch banker Ihor Kolomoisky. He controlled Ukraine’s largest retail bank, PrivatBank, and has been accused of transferring billions of dollars from depositors out of the country and deposited with dummy corporations and financial entities. An example is a manufacturiung complex built for $100 million but never opened by Motorola in the depressed factory town of Harvard, Illinois. Kolomoisky’s Optima International swept in to buy the unopened complex for just $16 million but just sat on it, until selling for an undisclosed sum to a Las Vegas investment group in 2021. New York-based writer Casey Michel discovered this and other examples for a forthcoming book titled “American Kleptocracy: How the U.S. Created the World’s Greatest Money Laundering Scheme in History.”

More evidence that the U.S. is just a collection of grifts masquerading as a country.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/10/17/ukrainian-oligarch-midwestern-factory-town-dirty-money-american-heartland-michel-kleptocracy-515948

4:48 PM  
Blogger Morris Berman said...

Mike-

Gd pt. How many Americans have thanked Jesus for their chicken sandwich? How many have wept over their chicken sandwich? BTW, it's My Lai.

Jack-

Gee, what a surprise.

mb

5:54 PM  

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