448
When I was an undergraduate at Cornell, I studied Russian for 2.5 years. The first year was so rigorous that by the end of it, I was able to read Pravda without a dictionary. It was, however, rather boring, because the daily headline was always some variant of MILLIONS ENSLAVED BY CAPITALISM. (No mention of how many were enslaved by communism, for some odd reason.) I think at this point it's time the NYT did an American version of this: MILLIONS HAVE HEADS RAMMED IN RUMPS. Variants could include AMERICANS WILL BELIEVE ANYTHING, 332 MILLION IDIOTS, COULD WE BE ANY MORE STUPID?, ETC. Wafers are encouraged to contribute potential headlines for our outstanding flagship newspaper, whose true motto is "All the News that Fits Our Views." The editorial page and the front page have effectively merged, and they don't even seem to realize it. Maybe the best headline for the NYT would be WE ARE A JOKE.
posted by Morris Berman at 6:50 PM
137 Comments:
Let's start off by taking a peek at the ugliest, stupidest, and craziest jackass in America:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgogSc6L3G8
One sick dude, man; plus his face resembles a horse's ass.
mb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lOenNTF5_g&t=219s
This channel once again hits the nail on the head with its analysis of the Ukraine situation and mentions that many Americans are blaming and hating all Russians for the actions of Putin and his cronies, despite the massive antiwar protests all across Russia. (This is the same channel that often tells its audience that America is finished, irredeemable, and irreparably broken. As American news channels go, this might be the very best.)
“MILLIONS OF WORKING POOR SOON TO BE MILLIONAIRES”
I've been steadily learning Russian on my own and have come to the conclusion that the Slavic case system was designed to torment people. My conclusion is that Bald and Bankrupt (from youtube) had it right about simply memorizing vocabulary and ignoring grammar.
Dr. Berman,
I don’t know about today. But come Wednesday, November 6th, 2024, The Times major headline should read, which includes Don’s own words:
“AMERICANS REAFFIRM THE ALMIGHTY DEITY TRUMP IS ‘THE CHOSEN ONE’ ”
And a photo caption of Don looking up in the sky as he did when he pronounced himself as such should be placed underneath it.
Sean-
A link?
Joe-
Or: PROGS CRUSHED LIKE ROACHES
mb
Aard-
Sorry, doesn't make much sense.
mb
Dr B,
You may get a bitter chuckle from this. I did.
"In a bitter irony, a new edition of my 2011 book “The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined” is about to go to press. It is the translation into Ukrainian." - Steven Pinker
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/03/02/opinion/is-russias-war-with-ukraine-end-long-peace/?event=event25
Karl-
Cdn't access the link w/o payment. Pinker is one of the greatest shmucks on the planet.
mb
How about more realistic mottos;
"Any News that Fills our Wallets", "All the News that's Helped You Lose", "All The News That Is a Ruse", "All the Spew That We Make News", or even, "All The News To Stay Confused."
Current Headlines might read, "Investment opportunities loom Large in Defense stocks. Hurry." Or perhaps, "The Ruskies Will Never Change. We Good, They Bad"
From a Chris Hedges piece,
"Yesterday, all four of these stocks - General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, and Raytheon - hit their 52-week high. Imagine the kind of person who interprets war deaths as portfolio gains." (me thinks that would be any Americans left with money to invest).
Hedges link, https://www.informationclearinghouse.info/57017.htm
I had some bumper stickers made, "Save the Planet, We're Not Done bombing It"
I'll send you one if you let me know where to mail it.
peaces,
mike
Potential Headlines:
Americans are Dumber than Shit, and Proud of It
Americans Working Hard So Their Owners Can Get Another Yacht
Proud American Has Over $300K in Student Loans and Works 2 Jobs
Americans Have No Universal Health Care Yet Have 800+ Overseas Military Bases
Elderly American Walks 5 miles Through Snow to Work at Walmart-Why She Loves Her Job
I really couldn’t have said it better myself; Bravo!
“The Week That Awoke the World”
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/03/opinion/ukraine-russia-awoke-world.html
“But it was not so true this past week. The events in Ukraine have been a moral atrocity and a political tragedy, but for people around the world, a cultural revelation. It’s not that people around the world believe new things, but many of us have been reminded what we believe, and we believe them with more fervor, with more conviction. This has been a convicting week.”
“They’ve reminded us how the setbacks and humiliations (Donald Trump, Afghanistan, racial injustice, political dysfunction) have caused us to doubt and be passive about the gospel of democracy.”
A long-time lurker, I feel I should respond to this one. Making up headlines is a doomed endeavour, as no fictional headline can do the modern reality justice. Here’s a recent story: Dem congressional candidate attends tween sleepover party, gets drunk, curses the girls out, throws up on a girl’s shoes, falls asleep while vomiting into a wastebasket, and attempts to deny the whole thing despite knowing there exists a video of the event.
Yep. Pretty cringeworthy, all things considered.
Link: https://youtu.be/bu9YyxZPWKI
Face-
I like vomit, I hafta confess. Esp. hot vomit. But shoes are specifically for urine, I need to add.
Brian-
The problem is that Brooks is a colossal asshole. His track record on that score is undeniable.
Malaga-
Happily, RT shut down, and with it (I presume) broadcasts from Hedges. He was one big fan of the network, one of their stars. Hopefully, he's now completely marginalized. Imagine the kind of person who plagiarizes other people's work, denies it in the face of empirical evidence, and writes essays on how moral he is.
mb
Classical music takes another hit when a Russian soprano must leave the Metropolitan Opera because she refuses to publicly denounce Putin. It wasn’t enough she asked for peace right now. What the hell? As a cellist and lover of classical music, this really irritates me. Does the mass delusion have any limits? As a Wafer I’m aware the answer is no.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/03/soprano-anna-netrebko-withdraws-from-met-performances-rather-than-renounce-putin
Jamie-
Also check this out:
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/3/1/22956451/russian-conductor-valery-gergiev-fired-by-orchestras-for-supporting-putin
(Wokeness knows no limits)
mb
Unknown-
Sorry, I don't post Unknowns.
mb
“Poor Dmitri Shostakovich: In the Soviet Union, he was condemned as being too radical; in the West, for being too conservative. He could please no one but the musical public. He revenged himself on both by writing a short piece called ‘March of the Soviet Police.’” – Edward Abbey
Дмитрий Шостакович, Марш советской милиции, для военного оркестра, оп.139
Jamie, it’s good to hear from another cellist on the blog! Very thankful to have this place especially in times like this.
Check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHixjW8f3_8
That NYT David Brooks essay is vomit-inducing. Such a pro-Western puff piece. This crisis is the last straw for me as it relates to Western media, never gonna read their BS again: it disturbingly echos their colossal bullshit when the US was about to genocide Iraq. I continue to read RT to balance the narratives, and it's important to know the messages the Russians want to convey instead of relying on the pick-and-choose propaganda-approved "analyses" of Western media that conveys Putin merely as insane evil guy. Putin is right to call them an "empire of lies". One of the best things I hope to see when the US empire falls is seeing the collapse of scummy, mendacious American media, or seeing them whore themselves out for the highest bidder (China, UAE, etc.). Destroyed or debased, they should be.
Western wokeness turns legitimately evil against innocent Russians: "International cancer specialist network, OncoAlert, severed all cooperation with doctors in Russia as part of the Western sanctions spree".
Relevant comic about Western hypocrisy.
Cherith-
I thought RT had closed up shop. Does it still exist? Meanwhile, Brooks is the scum of the earth. He got his NYT column by writing a bk praising their readership as some kind of cultural avant-garde; ass-kissing, in short, and he's never stopped. In any case, what is the NYT but a US propaganda sheet? Their front-page 'news' is actually editorials. Together with the European MSM, they've got everyone up in arms over Putin=Hitler and Russian 'aggression'. Never mind that Putin had been trying to get a hearing for his security concerns for 15 yrs, w/o any response. Never mind that JFK reacted w/understandable rage, abt Russia planting missiles on Cuban soil, 200 miles from the US. But NATO in Russia's backyard is OK, somehow different? The US has the rt to protect itself, but Russia doesn't? And the possibility of getting an alternative version to that of the NYT--John Mearsheimer, for example--is practically nonexistent, while the gullibility of Americans is thru the roof.
The psychiatrist Alfred Adler had this to say about people who engage in Manichaean thinking: it arises from deep feelings of inferiority, from severe doubts abt the self--so deep, so severe, that they are not even aware of it.
mb
This reminds me of promoting “Freedom Fries” when France decided against supporting the Iraq war. I’m counting the days until the whole thing gets pushed down the memory hole, I mean shit we were at war for 20 yrs and prob 90% of Americans didn’t know or care. I give media coverage of the war 6 months at most.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/putin-punch-soda-companys-new-flavor-has-putin-caricature-getting-punched-on-label/ar-AAUA8HG?ocid=sapphireappshare
https://www.kktv.com/2022/02/26/potent-protest-bars-drop-russian-vodka-promote-ukraines/
Gunnar-
I remember that, thinking it was a joke, and then learning that it was the work of our Representatives. It was becoming ever-clear to me how childish and stupid they were--like the rest of the country. This vodka stuff is just a rerun. We are truly a frivolous people.
mb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m4Evc4JbRk
This is an example of what the West really stands for: thinly veiled racism and imperialism. The West needs to clean house before pointing fingers at Russia or China.
That said, what Russia and China are doing is still barbaric and evil; Russia is bombing Ukrainians, and China is putting Uyghurs in death camps. You can critique the West's hypocrisy without excusing these crimes.
Wow! For me it's getting closer. To our Doctor & others here who may be familiar with this road and the NYC area: I literally was driving home on this same road and used this exact entrance ramp last night.
https://www.amny.com/police-fire/road-rage-shooting-queens-leaves-man-injured/
But no matter where you live and travel in this shithole, your life is in danger from some angry violent USAin driving a car.
https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/camden-county/watch-video-shows-disturbing-road-rage-fight-i-95-camden-county/NOXWE774ONAT3O6RD2UWBVZREA/?fbclid=IwAR1k-cYo0n-BhiNuhmCrmY7WGnXRvoLFzOCQ0GTZh0kzNA_D4OLgE27bkJg
https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/camden-county/watch-video-shows-disturbing-road-rage-fight-i-95-camden-county/NOXWE774ONAT3O6RD2UWBVZREA/?fbclid=IwAR1k-cYo0n-BhiNuhmCrmY7WGnXRvoLFzOCQ0GTZh0kzNA_D4OLgE27bkJg
Or if not that, you’re likely to get gunned down somewhere, no matter what age you are or where you live.
https://apnews.com/article/shootings-kansas-city-kansas-7056bd0ef98014e6166d1db226b90da8
https://apnews.com/article/shootings-las-vegas-nevada-university-of-nevada-e540f5623b6b0adfa7d998ff7605c35f
The violent implosion of the U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.! continues!
Hello Wafers,
Not sure if this has been discussed here. A university in Milan decided to cancel lectures on Dostoevsky. But then had to take a U-turn: https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/6/21538/Did-a-University-Just-Ban-Dostoevsky-to-Teach-Putin-a-Lesson?fbclid=IwAR1xwL_4hSYwVGBJL2qBnSZh3pyFYvQjizD0MLue40IJSJn2Pzdk6yIuou4
Have been reading BBC and CNN regularly, and they are doing a fantastic job of western/American propaganda. But some independent news portals are coming up with some nice analyses. Two were shared in the last post. I found this one by the Indian journalist Sayeed Naqvi quite interesting.
https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/4/21542/--Bleed-Russians-In-Ukraine-Like-Afghanistan---US-Game-Plan?fbclid=IwAR2BNzdx-IwNg2GmMq75i0rVQ6_Ih-BNqqht-z9n29r9soV2M9DpaQpQYDQ
It is quite likely to be true, and if so, we are looking at decades of global instability.
Indian-
You see how stupid academics can be, even in Italy. As for Naqvi: cd be, but I can't imagine that Putin's troops won't be able to capture Kiev and put an end to a NATO-oriented Ukraine. Time will tell.
Joe-
Guns, rage, and a dying nation. Declinists are not surprised.
Nadine-
Whom are you accusing? No one here is condoning these crimes.
mb
Wafers-
Makes sense to me!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Cugn8JZfk
mb
Hi Dr. Berman,
This video of John Mearsheimer and Ray McGovern on Russia and Ukraine posted on Youtube a couple of days ago were so good that I felt it should be shared here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppD_bhWODDc
Another voice that I miss on issues of Russia is Stephen Cohen who I had followed since an undergrad in the 1980's.
Once again, love your blog and thanks for being here.
JUS
(Apologies to Wafers re: 24 hour rule, just wanna answer Dr. Berman's question)
RT and Sputnik News still work, it's just in parts of Europe and the US that the powers that be had them censored.
MB and Wafers-
American sickness and degeneracy knows no limits. Anything for money!!!! What Instagram models
do when they go to Dubai. All for money. That´s the American way! Sickos!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs_jHVGtU-s
MB,
Sorry I was unclear. I wasn't accusing anyone here. I was speaking generally, because I see so many people blindly assuming that because Putin is wrong, NATO must be right, or vice versa.
Cherith-
Then I'm not sure what 'work' means.
JUS-
Thank you. Americans are stupid enuf to believe that Putin shd just roll over and die; that he shd just do whatever the US wants, even if it constitutes a severe threat to Russia. I'm waiting for American universities to start closing down Russian Studies programs, or forbidding the assigning of Tolstoy. When will New Yorkers throw rocks thru the window of the Russian Tea Rm (57th St.)? How long b4 blini are renamed 'nice dumplings'?
mb
ps: Speak of the devil:
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/05/business/russian-tea-room-ukraine-invasion/index.html
Nadine-
What if it turned out, on closer analysis, that the real and ultimate cause of civilian deaths in the Ukraine was not Putin but the United States?
Well I'll be hornswoggled...
mb
Wafers-
Catalan is such a beautiful language (one I don't speak). I've been listening to an indie band from Barcelona called "Manel". Some of their songs are available for free online. Great stuff, amigos.
mb
Privyet MB and Wafers!
Didn't Joe Biden lead the Foreign Relations Committee in the 1990s and push the pedal hard on NATO's eastward expansion? Didn't George Bush insist in 2008 that the North Atlantic military alliance absorb Ukraine and Georgia? Didn't Bill Clinton and his advisors (Rubin and Summers) prod Yeltsin to apply the so-called neoliberal "shock therapy" to the post-Soviet economy and turbocharge it into a free-market system, which led to the rise of the oligarchs and the impoverishment of millions of Russians? And we're supposed to think that Putin is a raving, isolated madman. Biden is fucked in the head. And, yes, u may quote me on that. When will the mainstream media report these facts? Oh, yeah, when pigs fly! Meanwhile, I'm heading back to my hammock...
Miles
ps: Wafers should start a news agency. And this ain't jus' the Vodka talking'!
Jeff-
Thanks for yr input. The problem w/a Wafer News Agency (WNA) is that it wd have a total of 175 subscribers. As for Biden, Bush et al.: the elite are trash. Never forget that. Regarding the rest of the population: when you look at them close up, you realize that they are jokes. I doubt that 2% of them can say what NATO stands for.
mb
Greetings Dr B and Wafers,
Talk about beating off, some NY restaurants are now calling Russian dressing Ukrainian dressing. Also renaming Beef Stroganoff to Beef Zelensky.
Article also discusses American hypocrisy with current conflict in light of its own imperial misadventures and slaughter.
https://scheerpost.com/2022/03/05/another-casualty-of-the-ukraine-conflict-the-truth/
Hello Mr. Berman,
You will get a good laugh from these videos ...
Jimmy Dore - “worse two minutes on wheel of fortune” ... this is the level of American education...
https://youtu.be/tOOJOG7pOHg
Chinese spokesperson mentions “washing powder” and schools the US.. i didnt know the reference of washing powder(Iraq/Powell) so had to look it up lol...
https://youtu.be/I8LSHMp2xyA
In regard the Ukraine conflict, here’s something from history.. so US can go to war over just a telegram but Putin is supposed to just sit tight
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/how-one-telegram-helped-to-lead-america-toward-war
p.s. - Mr. Berman, an Indian movie recommendation for you, “Pyaasa(1957)”, i think the only Indian movie in Time’s top 100 of all time. Please do watch it(English subtitles).. the movie and songs are an all time classic.. they don’t make such movies anymore
https://youtu.be/WJK45r-j6TU
Alan-
Very impt article. Practically no Americans will read it. Many, however, will dine on Beef Zelensky.
mb
ps: It's fascinating to watch America recycling the identical frenzy that obtained during the Cold War. As tho, to quote Gore Vidal, we learned nothing at all from those decades. Everything gets filtered thru American 'exceptionalism' (= American buffoonism) and "We're No. 1!"
Nam-
Thanks. Pls watch length.
mb
WAFERS,
Not sure if anyone posted this, it's an excellent take on the Ukraine Russia conflict. Imagine hearing this on CNN instead of the propaganda that passes as journalism? Then again Americans are so far gone I doubt they would even accept the kind of analysis this article offers.
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/02/27/putins-nuclear-threat/
Xair-
Terrific article; Ritter is always on target. Yes, Americans are too far gone to get it. Yes, I condemn Pushkin as a fink. Also Gogol and Lermontov.
mb
ps: I ask all Wafers to avoid the following artists, writers, and musicians, and to keep to a strict diet of Beef Zelensky:
Blok
Mussorgsky
Dostoevsky
Pushkin
Glinka
Gogol
Gorky
Bely
Tolstoy
Zamiatin
Zoshchenko
Goncharov
Bulgakov
Gorbachev
Tchaikowsky
Nijinsky
Turgenev
Diaghilev
Rimsky-Korsakov
Prokofiev
Lermontov
Nabokov
Rachmaninoff
Chekhov
Bilibin
Mendelstam
Stravinsky
Chagall
Akhmatova
Pasternak
Eisenstein
Babel
Malevich
Rodchenko
Kandinsky
Rozanov
Shostakovich
Sholokhov
Yevtushenko
Afanasyev
Propp
And the daily deadly rage and anger continues in the world’s epicenter of anger and violence.
https://www.winknews.com/2022/03/04/fhp-investigating-possible-road-rage-incident-on-i-75-in-lee-county/
https://keyt.com/news/santa-maria-north-county/2022/03/04/alleged-road-rage-incident-on-highway-101-ends-with-shooting-transport-to-hospital/
https://www.abc12.com/news/crime/road-rage-incident-results-in-weapons-charge-against-lapeer-county-man/article_34503332-9bfa-11ec-985e-0f81a7335f6f.html
https://www.ajc.com/news/crime/police-3-women-1-man-shot-in-incident-at-i-75-langford-parkway/GCJWDW2HRBBVNCFGBBR44FW3QQ/
Oh but the USAins shall continue to complain about Putin and what’s going on over in Ukraine while their land of “Exceptionalism” implodes before their very own flag waving/conservative/functionally illiterate/dumbed-down/ Christian/Bible-thumping/Pledge of Allegiance reciting/2nd Amendment loving/free market adoring eyes.
But at least we declinists can laugh at them. The Karens make up a good percentage of this land of buffoons. LOL.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HMPTggHawg
Guidance for Wafers during troubled times:
1. When myth meets fact, myth wins.
2. The prefrontal cortex rarely triumphs over the limbic system.
3. Some mantras 4u:
a) Up is down, and black is white
b) The Kievan Rus/Is full of juice (chant this)
4. Your strict diet for the next 12 mos.: Beef Zelensky, side of Freedom Fries, salad w/Ukrainian dressing
5. Avoid anything Russian, no matter how talented (e.g., *never* watch the films of Andrei Tarkovsky)
6. When you meet an American, denounce Putin as loudly as possible. Cry out 'thug!', 'gangster!', etc.
The Eve of Ivan Kupalo (1968, Yuri Ilyenko) with English subtitles
https://youtube.com/watch?v=-cD-3XXhSrk&feature=youtu.be
^^ A beautiful Ukrainian film that Wafers will enjoy. I saw it in an art house a couple decades ago and just now stumbled across it again!
No links just an observation. I have to shake my head every time I hear Zalensky compared to Winston Churchill. He's only worthy of this comparison if he can keep his people together for five years leading them to unconditional victory. I find it ironic that he wants such solemn commitment from USA! That's like asking Hitler 1933 for assistance (assuming a republican sweep in Nov when our democracy officially dies).
The US empire was and is a fucking clown show:
https://chicagocitywire.com/stories/621316813-u-chicago-students-demand-political-science-professor-mearsheimer-change-his-views-on-russia-v-ukraine
Dr. Shit-
What a collection of student assholes. Free speech? What's that?
mb
The frenzy of degraded buffoons:
The psychological function of a Manichaean personality structure is the hardening of ego-boundaries. It's a phony way of maintaining a commanding position, wh/is actually hollow. It's force, not strength; and while America has historically displayed lots of the former, it hasn't displayed too much of the latter. In other words, this hysterical rerun of Cold War frenzy can only contribute to the downfall of the US. Becoming a 2nd- or 3rd-rate power is only 8 years away. There is no way around the fact that America has feet of clay.
However, there is a problem with this rage over Putin, namely that Trumpaloni is in Putin's camp, and this cd cost him the 2024 election, since Americans are all jazzed up against Putin. True, the Dems will get royally hammered this November, but in Nov. 2024 it cd well be a different story. Declinistically speaking, we need a Trump victory, or at least a Trumpite victory. If Trumpi continues to go against the pro-Ukraine grain, his bid for reelection cd be in the toilet. Not gd, since he wd be the fast track to national collapse, and the relection of Biden, or a Bidenite, wd serve to prolong our downward trajectory. Still, this phony resurrected Cold War will do us a lot of damage, because it cannot cover up the Void at the American center indefinitely. Or to put it in other terms, fascism is one way to collapse; beating off is another. And the latter is where we are today. Up with Beef Zelensky, down with Dostoevsky!
For yrs I've called us a nation of dummies. Now, we are proving it beyond question.
mb
Fer-
This is not a bulletin board for people to broadcast their personal opinions. In future, pls follow the following format:
1. State an argument you have abt the collapse of the American empire
2. Defend that argument with evidence, i.e. links or reliable references.
This may be too difficult 4u; in wh/case, pls seek out another blog.
Thank you.
mb
-- Trevor Noah calls out Western media's racism in covering this conflict.
-- Re: link about idiot students asking Mearsheimer to change his views: stunning. This is what giving the youth too much respect produces. College students are still kids, ignorant, unwise, uneducated in anything that matters. In the Middle Eastern countries where I spent many years, young people are taught that the elder scholars know better, and that you're still a kid to sit and listen. Some complain and think their opinions should be equal to those of their university professors. I wish they could see where this could lead to.
-- Re: RT and other censored channels, they can be accessed via downloading their apps, or via VPN, or via TOR browser.
-- I've been following Arabic news and social media. I'm stunned that the tide is turning against the West, they are starting to disbelieve and mock Western coverage and swing more to believing Russia, even though Russia was (still is) hated for propping up the butcher of Syria. How comically biased and inept can you be when you achieve a result like that in 1 week?
Cherith-
'Idiot students' is the apt phrase, altho 'American garbage' might be closer to the mark. College students emerge not learning abt the university as a market place of diverse opinion, or of critical analysis, but a place where someone you disagree w/shd be forced, by the admin, to chg his mind. Wow.
Links to Arabic news?
mb
I don't recall that this 2015 talk by John Mearsheimer, Why Is Ukraine the West's Fault? has been posted here before, so I apologize if it has.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrMiSQAGOS4
This talk was prescient.
There's something quite infantile about students demanding someone like John Mearsheimer "change his mind" on the Ukraine mess, as if that could even be possible. These are the same people who do student evaluations of their professors, and people wonder why there's grade inflation. "Give me an A or else..."
A lukewarm article thinking that logic and reason will appeal to USians. LOL.
https://theintercept.com/2022/03/06/russia-john-mearsheimer-propaganda/
Most USians cannot, nor will not look in the mirror. To them, there's no history prior to 2022 because they're dumber than stale dog shit (Berman).
ccg-
They were actually demanding that the university force him to change his mind.
mb
just like to state that i evacuated my stomach with force similar to shotgunning 'black label' in my early 30s (and realizing it was a 'thick beer' as it came back up) when i read blinken said this *thing* would take quote 'SOME TIME'. how the fuck long is 'SOME TIME'? WHAT A FUCKING JOKE! 'SOME TIME!?' wtf is THAT? it's a daily onslaught and it enrages me that 'man' is SO FUCKING STUPID.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/06/antony-blinken-russia-sanctions-ukraine-invasion
i assure you, terrence malick knew best when he retreated to be a hermit and listen to classical music endlessly in solitude.
BERMAN? you know this type, yah?
love it.
*
*check mark* i'm not a robot!
Todd-
Sorry, wasn't able to post it. For the most part, this is not a place to merely be airing opinions. What really interests us is evidence. Let me suggest a format for yr future posts:
1. You have an argument to make regarding the collapse of the American empire
2. You defend that argument with links or reliable references.
Thank you.
ps: In future, pls address me as Mr. Berman or GSWH.
Aardvark-
Do not address me as 'Berman'. In future, use Mr. Berman or GSWH. Thank you.
mb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjKbFx34gdo
The International Cat Federation has banned Russian cats from participating in its events. It seems MB's prediction of Western countries banning all things Russian is coming to pass. Even Russian animals, who can't vote or understand politics, are being erased from public life. It seems most Westerners don't realize the rest of the world is watching and losing respect for the West.
Mr. Berman:
Thank you for letting me know the format.
1. I believe that lack of actual spirituality and the ability to "look within," as Jesus recommended (and other real spiritual traditions), is a major factor in the collapse of the American Empire.
2. Evidence: When it comes to any issue that could cause Americans to look within, and perhaps rethink things, Christians, progressivs, dems, repubs all reflexively lash out at an external enemy, rather then self-reflect. Whether it's dems blaming Trump for everything, or Repubs blaming Dems or "Biden," or all sides now blaming Russia, only a small minority are able to look within.
For example, evidently about 75% of Americans support a "no fly zone," which could easily start WWIII and lead to their shopping malls being vaporized. Does that sound like a nuanced view of reality ( https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-americans-broadly-support-ukraine-no-fly-zone-russia-oil-ban-poll-2022-03-04/ ).
A "look within" person might think, maybe there are reasons why Russia is willing to take such a big risk? What could their motivations be? What events and history and threats caused Russia to act thus, even if it was unwise perhaps?
It’s another work week ( or perhaps anger week) “on the road” here in the land of anger, violence and rage. Check out these mug shots of your typical “neat” U.S. male.
https://www.valleynewslive.com/2022/03/07/jamestown-man-arrested-involvement-road-rage-incident-i-94/
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/oakland-county/2022/03/04/rochester-hills-road-rage-incident-driver-charged-kevin-malloch/9382100002/
And of course the con artists are out in full force in this land of the “free market” to hustle folks. Ukraine is their latest money pitch.
https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/public-safety/2022/03/04/scammers-are-taking-advantage-of-ukraine-crisis-to-pose-as-charities
p.s. Doctor, Please allow me to add 3 more Russian names to your list: Valeri Kharlamov, Valdislav Tretiak, and Aleksander Yakushev. I’m pretty certain all of the conservative “patriotic” “freedom loving” USAin sports fans, the same ones who take umbrage at black NFL players kneeling, want these three greats from the epic 1972 Summit Series removed from the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Joe-
That totally blank stare of James Buchanan is the essence of all Americans, and of the nation.
mb
Wafers-
Time to refresh your post-its. Let me suggest this:
WHEN BUFFOONS ARE DEGRADED
DECLINISTS ARE ELATED
That will show President Putin!
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/news/national/chicken-kiev-renamed-kyiv-by-sainsbury-s-after-russia-s-attack-on-ukraine-52796/
Wonder if this UK shitdump 'renamed' anything after the US empire's attacks on Yemen, Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraqi, Vietname, Chile, Cuba, etc. Crickets.
Mike-
It's all theater, and it's all crap. How will Putin ever recover from the renaming of Chicken Kiev?
mb
Yes, but Ukraine not in line for NATO membetship, if this article is to be believed:
https://news.yahoo.com/explainer-ukraine-not-joining-nato-050902137.html
The problem in Ukraine is insolvable. Ukraine has always been a target for Great Russian imperialism. Today Ukraine is still much poorer than Russia itself. (excluding the stans and other FSRs). Stalin's disasterous forced collectivation policy in the 1930s led to millions of Ukranians starving to death while wheat eas confiscated for Moscow etc. Ukranians remember the Holdomor, as this mass starvation is called. They have no illusions about Russian intentions. They can see the higher living standards in EU countries bordering theirs and want to orient toward the EU. Russia sees the Ukraine as always part of its territory... Ipso facto, a stalemate.
taylor-
See my remarks on Balkanization in the previous thread.
mb
Greetings MB and Wafers,
Kenneth Clark Carlyle, 64, decided to get naked, walk over to his neighbor's porch, and shit on an outdoor table:
https://www.wfla.com/news/pinellas-county/naked-clearwater-man-arrested-for-defecating-on-neighbors-porch-deputies-say/
What's not to luv about this?
Last night I had a most interesting dream: MB was consulting w/Herman Cain about the possibility of implementing his 9-9-9 Plan from his crypt in Fulton County, Georgia, whilst Tulsi Gabbard was engaged in one of her most explosive workouts. Putin, Trumpi, and Lorenzo Riggins were also present. Then, BAM, I woke up!
Miles
"Language defines reality. Language defines who is a “real” person, and who isn’t. He who controls language controls life and death....what Putin's Nazi talk really means..."
https://time.com/6154853/putins-nazi-talk-reveals-plans-for-ukraine/
The shrewdest, most eye-opening writer on Putin's Russia I've read.
Sorry to be reading this stuff about AMLO, who has made anticorruption such a central part of his administration. Attacking the messenger is never a convincing refutation of charges.
AMLO on offensive after story reveals son’s million-dollar home in US
https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/amlos-sons-million-dollar-us-home/
Jeff-
Perhaps it was a protest against Russia, who knows. But in general, if yr neighbor is an American, there is simply no reason not to crap on his porch. Symbolic expression is important. Meanwhile, check out Ken's face: this *is* America. As for yr dream, too bad you woke up. I do think of Lorenzo quite often, wonder what he's up2.
Rudiger-
Well, maybe. I have a hard time trusting Time magazine. One wd expect they wd be on the anti-Putin bandwagon. It wd be helpful to have a knowledgeable refutation of that article, but obviously it wdn't appear in Time.
mb
This American Life:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/07/pokemon-coronavirus-relief-loan-scam-georgia
Dear Dr. Berman,
The bell on the US is tolling louder and louder by the day:The American Empire self-destructs. But nobody thought that it would happen this fast
https://thesaker.is/america-shoots-its-own-dollar-empire-in-economic-attack-on-russia/
Himanshu
Himan-
Thanks for the article. The bottom line--how many times can I say it?--is that Americans are just not very bright, and on both foreign and domestic levels spend their time shooting themselves in the foot. Unthinking anti-Putin frenzy is just the latest manifestation of this. And this stupidity is being punished, except that 'punishment' isn't the rt word when those being punished don't understand that they've done something wrong. 'Buried' might be more accurate. There won't be much left of the country by 2030; that seems pretty certain. Many other nations already see us as a paper tiger.
Really, how dumb can you be, when you rename stroganoff 'Beef Zelensky', or boycott the Russian Tea Rm in NY? Look at how our hideous war on Iraq backfired, hurt us severely, while we were relabeling French fries 'Freedom fries'. It's been a long time that the US has existed outside of reality, but this recycling of the Cold War represents a quantum leap in that direction. We are a *silly* country, and that can only mean increasing disintegration. The karmic direction is clear.
mb
Wafer Rudiger -
Sorry to say but that Time article looks like a lot of rubbish.. and as Mr. Berman says its mostly anti Putin propaganda from western media. The far right is real in Ukraine though hard to know to what level they have penetrated the govt. But this was a few days back.
“On Monday, Ukraine’s national guard tweeted a video showing Azov fighters coating their bullets in pig fat to be used allegedly against Muslim Chechens – allies of Russia – deployed in their country.”
“In 2010, Biletsky said Ukraine’s national purpose was to “lead the white races of the world in a final crusade … against Semite-led Untermenschen [inferior races]”. “Biletsky was elected to parliament in 2014. He left Azov as elected officials cannot be in the military or police force. He remained an MP until 2019.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/1/who-are-the-azov-regiment
aard-
Sorry, cdn't run it. We have a half-pg-max limit on this blog.
mb
For every $1 of aid the global South receives, they lose $30 through unequal exchange with the North. Poor countries are developing rich countries, not the other way around. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095937802200005X
This might explain our sorry state of affairs: LEAD!
https://apnews.com/article/science-health-environment-and-nature-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention-bec63d5a6e98f952ad6d111c90e5a1b2
DTE
Sang-
We aim to be more of a discussion forum than a bulletin board. In future, your own commentary on a link wd be appreciated.
aard-
Yr probably better off looking for another blog, as yr having a lot of trouble adapting to this one. Some rules: half page max; post only once every 24 hrs; avoid using a folksy, free-wheeling, informal style. I'll give you one more chance, if you can keep to these rules. Format for your future posts:
1. Present a specific argument you have regarding the collapse of the American empire
2. Defend your arg with links or reliable references.
Thank you.
mb
Dio-
Note that the Romans lined their aqueducts with lead, and also used eating utensils made from lead.
mb
The Anglo-Saxon 'threat' of no more US empire fast "food" in Russia:
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/money/8535727/mcdonalds-britain-boycott-restaurants-russia/
Burger banning in Britain (American-lite); what next, the "All-American" Bacon Double Zelinsky?
One of the facts of life here in the U.S.A.!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.! is that you never know when you may have eaten your last meal.
https://journalnow.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/gunfire-on-u-s-52-leaves-2-dead-1-critically-injured-winston-salem-police-gather/article_52968666-9e11-11ec-96f7-5b6d15e39d87.html
If not eating, and if your job only is to hand out food, you also may not make it out of work alive. While we’re at it, check out yet another great mugshot of your typical “neat”, “clean-shaven” USAin.
https://apnews.com/article/fires-shootings-nebraska-omaha-arson-221ffc3f00b55ef39a63db77453a2931
https://www.3newsnow.com/news/local-news/breaking-sonic-shooter-silva-pleads-guilty-to-all-charges-in-sarpy-county
And if you don’t get shot at the job, if you’re a librarian in Idaho you may wind up in jail for a year in this dysfunctional conservative de facto Christian theocracy for handing out a “sexually offensive” book! What a downright f*cked up country this is!
https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-education-idaho-libraries-judy-blume-462f73ea5ad18d336b510584b74b7d81
Re: metals, most Americans aren't thinking about good vs bad metals for our bodies. In healthier societies, people understood how to consume enough good metals (e.g. having copper roofing & cookware) and avoiding toxic metals (e.g. arsenic, mercury). A sign of a healthy culture is one that uses healthy metals & avoids the poisonous ones. A sign of collapse might be the concentration of heavy metals in people. It's not just Rome, but Chinese empires fell into the trap of mercury as well. A question is: why do empires tend to use poisons & healthy groups avoid them? America still makes playground equipment with CCA, which is toxic (just one example of many).
https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2020/01/rivers-and-seas-made-of-mercury-inside-the-tomb-of-chinas-first-emperor-sealed-2200-years-ago/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/precious-metals-and-other-important-minerals-for-health
Fresh ad appeared in my INBOX. It
prompted me to think of the vital work
of Ellul on the technological society and
its totalitarian tendencies. This little
gem of two-mins is an excellent example
of human flesh and minds becoming mere
extensions of the technological imperative.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/flexibility/hybrid-work-solutions/frontline-workers?OCID=AID2203244_OLA_27257340_328415323_166225505
US corporations Pepsi Cola, Coca Cola, Starbucks, and McDonalds close down in Russia.
Likely, they will only hurt themselves and the Russian people get to be healthier.
https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Coca-Cola,_PepsiCo_say_they_will_halt_business_in_Russia?profile=1342
https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/coca-cola-suspends-business-in-russia-citing-ukraine-war
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/mcdonald-s-coca-cola-hit-pause-on-russia-amid-rising-backlash/ar-AAUO0ez
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/exclusive-americans-broadly-support-ukraine-no-fly-zone-russia-oil-ban-poll-2022-03-04/
But it is incredible to see how childish so many of my senior Americans are. 74% support a no fly Zone over Ukraine; How can they not understand that establishing one means that NATO will try to shoot down any Russian aircraft over Ukraine, which in turn means us all getting a Russian hyper-sonic nuke up our asses; Judging from the first-hand accounts of Hiroshima survivors, it's a thoroughly Dantean way to die.
Boy, I remember back then when I was sitting on my couch and watching CNN and their live coverage of "Shock and Awe" in Iraq; Back then I felt so lucky, so powerful... like I was living in the best country in the world, in awe of our technology that made those Tomahawk cruise missiles; I thought "one day I was going to contribute to this shinning city on a hill spreading democracy around the world!"
...of course, "back then" was when I was literally a 5-year-old child.
Wafers-
Thanks for all the interesting posts. I'm currently on a strict diet of Beef Zelensky, myself, wh/I wash down w/a coke, and eat w/a leaden fork.
mb
Speaking of Ellul and more importantly Lewis Mumford check out the book The End of the Megamachine by Fabian Schneider - Lewis Mumford used the word megamachine in his book The Pentagon of Power.
www.megamachine.org/en
www.counterpunch.org/2022/03/01/the-pathologies-of-the-megamachine
Yes, it is happy International Women's Day in the land of the free,
the brave, and the absolutely brainless.
https://ca.yahoo.com/news/michigan-gop-candidate-tells-daughters-190734197.html
More US empire "exceptionalism" and "greatness"-
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10586181/Nursing-assistant-arrested-videotaping-raping-dementia-patients-Ohio-nursing-home.html
Clem-
Check out the essay on Mumford in "Are We There Yet?"
mb
I discovered the way the way to be a Putin lover is tell one of your fellow citizens that Russia and US each have about five thousand nukes and by saying that you imply there will be no winners and maybe we should sober up.Scott Ritter has written a article titled 'Pity the Nation' March 7,2022 on the Consortium News web site about the russophobia that is spreading across the nation that ties in to my previous statement .Thanks
door-
Thanks, but (a) we have no idea what yr previous statement was (we aren't tracking on yr posts), and (b) your Ritter reference is insufficient; we need a link. Posts that keep Wafers in the dark aren't all that helpful. In future, pls provide us w/specific refs and info. Thank you.
mb
Hello Mr. Berman,
No MSM outlet will telecast this .. too much truth lol..
Biden in 2022: "Putin’s latest attack on Ukraine was premeditated and unprovoked."
Biden in 1997: The only thing that could provoke a "vigorous and hostile reaction" in Russia would be the expansion of NATO into eastern Europe. "If there was ever anything... it would be that."
https://twitter.com/nocoldwar/status/1501007845919178759?s=21
Russophobia stupidity is reaching peak levels ..
https://youtu.be/pFQN8PLLs3Y
https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2022/03/tearing-down-the-statue-of-friedrich-engels-wont-help-ukraine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lOZa5eY5SM
A brilliant critique of contemporary feminism.
Hi Dr. Berman - This question is only tangentially related to US (or Western) collapse. I am rereading Wandering God, and Chapter 4 regarding the Axial period in Greece and the Middle East got me thinking about some of the results I received from 23 and Me (ancestry company). Do you think human migratory patterns play a large role in a current potential European archetype or unconscious?
For instance, the data regarding my parental haplogroups show that although my parents are both Irish, they took very different routes to get there. My father’s group left the Middle East for the area east of the Caspian shortly after the last Ice Age. Then through the Caucasus to Ukraine, Germany and finally Ireland. So his group missed the Axial period drama you discussed in Chapter 4. Whereas my mothers group was still in the Middle East during that period, then entered Europe through Asia Minor much later. So arguably my father’s group’s first contact with the culture that developed around the Axial period may not have been until exposure to the Celts or Druids. This is only anecdotal, but my mother is quite the rational type, while my father lives only in the present and does not have much of an eg
Pierre-
I hope you meant ego, and not egg. Ha ha, just kidding. Honestly, I don't know the answer to yr question. It cd be, but I'm just no expert on population diffusion and that sorta thing, so I can't really help you w/this. But I'm happy to hear that yr reading my work, and that it got you thinking.
Nam-
Do you realize how much slapping (not to mention urine) is needed these days, re: the subject of Russian and the Ukraine?
mb
Dr. Berman,
Pax Americana is over: Germany and France refused to sanction russian oil/gas and also refused to fly Polish fighter jets off their air fields for ops in Ukraine (so much for NATO solidarity). Saudis and UAE declined to take sleepy Joe's call (presumably to ask them to pump more oil to reduce prices). Sleepy Joe apparently sent a delegation to Venezuela to beg for oil :
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/saudis-uae-refuse-speak-biden-over-ukraine-situation
https://thesaker.is/russian-judo-tears-the-west-apart/
I am Wondering if Ukraine might be seen in retrospect as the Suez moment for the US?
Himanshu
Himan-
https://thesaker.is/the-russian-ministry-of-defen%d1%81e-original-documents-planned-offensive-operation-against-donbass-in-march-of-this-year/
Of course, the West wd never publish this link, but there does remain the question of whether it is authentic.
As for Suez moment: this revival of the Cold War cd indeed blow up in our faces.
mb
Today’s main daily road rage event in the great U.S.A. U.S.A.!, U.S.A.! Sometimes guns aren’t needed. So, LLLLLLets get ready to road rage!!! A nice club will do in hand to hand combat among drivers.
https://www.fox19.com/2022/03/09/caught-cam-road-rage-incident-leads-fight-outside-wilmington-store/
But for the folks who don’t drive, the deadly use of firearms always is in vogue. High school students here use them too.
https://apnews.com/article/shootings-education-iowa-des-moines-6062a65827a9cf1f23ae9139a9ff3d51
But of course this violence is irrelevant. What is most important here, especially to students, is that no one utters the word “gay” in front of anyone. This especially goes for these Christian, Bible-thumping, backward conservative states like Florida.
https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/dont-say-gay-bill-florida-senate-passes-controversial-lgbtq-school-mea-rcna19133
"Freedom Fries" is just too 90's MB, time for an update:
https://metro.co.uk/2022/03/09/huge-queues-at-moscow-drive-thru-after-mcdonalds-announces-no-fry-zone-16243760/
https://7news.com.au/news/conflict/mcdonalds-shuts-outlets-in-russia-for-now-c-5984477
850 USian fast "food" burger shithouses in Russia.
As Dr. Berman stated, US empire "culture" is very successful and embraced by many other countries.
Dr. Shit-
I think it was Pizza Hut that opened in Moscow in 1990 or 91. The line to get served was 1.5 miles long. Now that's soft power!
mb
Dr. B and Wafers,
Slightly off topic, but a recent paper indicates that the Mesoamerican city of Monte Alban was for a long time an egalitarian society where power was dispersed.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3vexw/the-secret-to-this-ancient-citys-success-was-collectivism-study-says
Wafers-
I know that in general, the Vice-Presidency is a thankless, lackluster affair. So it wd be unfair to characterize Kamala as a douche baguette just yet; maybe she's not. But I can't figure out what she's done since Jan. 2021; it seems like bupkis on a stick. I mean, even Tulsi seems to have done more. Whaddyu guys think?
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/09/politics/kamala-harris-ukraine-poland-romania/index.html
mb
U.S.-NATO Weapons Transfers to Ukraine Could Prolong War
https://theintercept.com/2022/03/10/ukraine-russia-nato-weapons/
No shit!
MB and Himanshu, imagine the very possible scenario three years from now. Trump back in the WW. Putin playing Trump. Putin collaborating closely with Xi. There is a little problem between Trump and Xi. But the latter can take care of that I guess. What happens to the empire and the western (neo-)liberal order then? That will be the proverbial last nail, perhaps.
Aside from these worries, here is a nice take on the economics of banning Russian oil from Umair Haque
https://eand.co/how-dirty-oil-circles-the-globe-and-its-starting-world-war-iii-cc1be6603fd3
Hello Mr. Berman,
As you said no amount of urine and slapping would be sufficient...this is the American mentality of targeting and cornering an individual to such an extreme that he lashes out... reason why so many shootings happen in schools..
“Lithuania cancels vaccine donations to Bangladesh for not condemning Russian invasion of Ukraine”
https://www.newsweek.com/vaccine-delivery-canceled-country-that-did-not-condemn-russia-1685561
Another gem from history...
“U.S. and Ukraine voted against anti-Nazi resolution at U.N.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-votes-against-anti-nazi-resolution-at-united-nations/
Be careful walking your dog here in this land of “exceptionalism”. You may be shot. Where else in this world do you put your life in your own hands? Or should I say, on a leash?
https://www.mlive.com/news/2022/03/road-rage-13-year-old-girl-dog-both-shot-while-walking.html
On the other hand some licensed drivers—as is typical here of so many who have “mental problems”—take out their rage, not on folks, but on county buildings and generators. Maybe, like a lot of USAins who take ongoing, renewing prescription medications, “they didn’t take their meds” that day. LOL.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/macomb-county/2022/03/06/car-rams-macomb-county-building-man-turns-himself-in-officials-say/9402422002/
p.s. Just a little aside. If I may offer an opinion, Doctor, here are my 2 cents regarding Ukraine. The 99.99 percent of USAins who are upset about Russia’s invasion of, and atrocities committed in Ukraine, obviously have historical amnesia. 20 years ago folks around the world abhorred the U.S.A.’s unjust invasion of Iraq. After the invasion commenced literally thousands of Iraqis, young and old alike, died by various means. What was it that our good Doctor said in an interview? “Clean your own house before you start pointing fingers at someone?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICQvLTLq-6k
Looks like Russia is planning to invade Moldova too. If true, this suggests that Putin's war against Ukraine has as much to do with his grand ambition to conquer much of Eastern Europe as it does with his desire to exact revenge against NATO.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbwWn0m03lM
Also, in our analysis of Putin's war, we also need to consider how Eastern European nations feel about Russia due to their being brutalized by the USSR. Although nothing excuses NATO's repeated betrayal of Russia, countries like Romania, Moldova and Poland joined NATO primarily to protect themselves from Russian domination. The USSR collapsed 30 years ago, and many people in the former Soviet territories are old enough to remember what life was like under Soviet rule.
Nadine-
They also remember the massacres and genocide that broke out in the wake of the breakup of the USSR. "Old hatreds," Bill Clinton called them. I'm no fan of the former USSR, but it did serve to keep those hatreds in check.
Joe-
Jimmy Carter said the same thing in his 1979 Annapolis speech. The American public didn't want to hear it.
Nam-
The Nazi infestation of the Ukraine is a matter of historical record. Ukraine was at one pt the pogrom capital of Europe. Lots of lit on this. Also Google "Babi Yar" and "Yevtushenko".
Owen-
In most cases involving US foreign policy, America can be counted on to do the wrong thing.
mb
Maybe they ran out of chicken sandwiches?
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/story/2022-03-08/el-cajon-police-release-video-of-man-using-baseball-bat-to-attack-officer
Glans-
1st of all, the guy looks like a total douche bag. 2nd, if you wanna kill someone, you use an actual baseball bat, not one made of aluminum. Still, an aluminum bat is symbolic of today's America: paper tiger.
mb
Wafers,
Not surprised given that Canada might as well be the Diet Coke version of the US. Geez what stupidity!!!
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouver-recital-society-cancels-performance-by-genius-russian-pianist?_ga=2.162885119.258220157.1646946529-638476670.1646946529&_gl=1*jsmc1m*_ga*NjM4NDc2NjcwLjE2NDY5NDY1Mjk.*_ga_9H6VPHFHKG*MTY0Njk0NjUyOS4xLjEuMTY0Njk0NzE3NS4w
@ Ordinary Indian - maybe Putin rolled the dice by counting on a Trump resurrection, god knows this is one major distraction from voting rights to build back butthole plan, Jan 6 committee, virtually everything thing else, and the election is only 7 months away.
Xair-
"Against stupidity even the gods struggle in vain"--Schiller
mb
"Teacher suspended for not using student's preferred pronouns, sues school district"
https://komonews.com/news/nation-world/teacher-sues-district-after-she-was-suspended-for-not-using-students-preferred-pronouns-fort-riley-kansas-pamela-ricard-christian-religious-beliefs-lawsuit
Public schools continue to get worse.
The action never stops here in the U.S.A,!, U.S.A.!, U.S.A.! So let’s get right to it. Ladies first! Two Karens start shooting it out! LOL! Go get ‘em, Annie ( Oops. I mean “Karen”) Oakleys! LOL!
https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/commerce-city-road-rage-shooting/73-5fa3b547-7465-4cf5-b566-594796d4a603
https://denver.cbslocal.com/2022/03/10/commerce-city-shooting-road-rage-crash-kearney-street-64th-place/
Next. Here’s a great way to lose your electrical power that only can happen here. https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/south-fulton-county/police-investigating-after-witnesses-report-rolling-shootout-crash-near-little-caesars/KJSCBUQXNZH7FIVL363R5VM3PQ/
And of course nothing beats that great southern hospitality conservative Lone Star State of Texas when it comes to road rage.
https://www.khou.com/article/news/crime/beltway-8-road-rage-shooting/285-26268dc4-1336-49bd-9a67-ed19aced9989
The daily violent implosion of this pathetic dysfunction wasteland is in full swing. What will 2030 bring?!
p.s. Doctor, Don’t head up to a Wendy’s in your former neighborhood.
https://www.rochesterfirst.com/crime/rochester-police-investigate-road-rage-shooting-at-east-main-street-wendys/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UqmiENLnqQ
Just when you thought the Western media couldn't get any more racist, 60 Minutes Australia declared that "Nobody ever would have cared about a tiny African nation called Equatorial Guinea if it weren't for their oil, which has the advantages of being non-Arab and non-Muslim". It's hard to believe that this sort of language is now prevalent throughout the West, but it's true.
In light of this, I don't think I can trust *anything* the Western media says ever again. Obviously, there's a lot more to the war between Ukraine and Russia than the Western media is letting on. For example, I've seen overwhelming evidence that the Ukrainian "Azov Battalion", which is fighting the Russians near Mariupol, is a Neo-Nazi brigade, but the Western media never mentions this, or any other evidence that Ukraine is infested with Neo-Nazis.
Nadine-
Regarding yr 1st paragraph: it just seems factually accurate, to me. By 'advantages', they just mean easier to exploit, I guess. I'm not exercised by this language, myself. As for yr 2nd para: you need evidence, to confirm this. If it's so 'overwhelming', produce it. Assertion abt the Azov Battalion doesn't prove anything.
mb
Xair, public-
What sheep Americans and Canadians are, eh?
mb
Wafers-
I certainly approve of Biden's decision not to threaten a WW3 situation, e.g. by putting American troops on Ukrainian soil, or establishing a no-fly zone over the country. This wd be a disastrous move. However, everything else seems like huffing and puffing: window-dressing, symbolic gestures, wh/is Biden's specialty all-round. Basically, he's beating off, wh/seems to be characteristic of his entire presidency. He's been blocked at every turn--maybe not his fault--and Kamala doesn't appear to be doing dick. Of course, anything can happen between now and November, but my prediction of the Dems getting royally clobbered seems to hold. Which then opens the door to Trumpi 2 yrs later, and the de facto end of America. By 2030, the country will be a ghost of its former self.
mb
Steven Pinker would love this:
"There’s no brand in the world that would brainwash you over its significance and over its mystic-metaphysical essence as the “homeland” does. There’s no brand in the world that would decide your way of life or take things from you that you don’t want to give away; that would judge you by the color of your skin or your sex or sexual orientation or religious faith."
https://www.haaretz.com/amp/opinion/.premium-only-capitalism-can-bring-peace-1.10665546
Last time I checked, it's people who kill or don't kill. But we are now reassured: capitalism doesn't kill!
Tim-
I'm embarrassed for Ha'aretz; they usually do much better than this. What utter horseshit; the author sounds like Thos Friedman. As for Pinker, I've tried to come up w/a reason as to why he shdn't be vigorously slapped, and then had his shoes drenched in Wafer urine; but I haven't been able to.
mb
When you think about MAGA, 58 years ago was the last time it had
any meaning. For those old enough to remember, here's a video with
two hours of what might have been...that wasn't and ended with Nixon
in the White House.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOkwpqlOQgo&list=PLwKzKoyCasXOfWPAzmigivhBkvWCj2GYZ&index=24
Wafers, here is another perspective on how the war is going to accelerate the decline of the empire. This time from the Indian economist Prabhat Patnaik.
https://www.telegraphindia.com/opinion/alternative-theory-the-ukraine-war-is-a-testament-to-us-hegemony/cid/1855567
The last sentence sounds ominous for us because it is going to only strengthen Modi.
Indian-
Excellent article. From a declinist pt of view, it's interesting to watch the US shooting itself in the foot. We are not only stupid on a microlevel; the macrolevel is also pure Dummheit.
mb
Hello Mr. Berman,
Talk of the stupid and there she is , Kamala Harris looks like she is auditioning for a role in some C grade Hollywood movie...
she is so fucking cringe...
https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1502402763912880129?s=21
And here she is with her stupid cackling for no reason.. on being questioned about Ukrainian refugees... jeez the US is full of such morons..
https://youtu.be/0QJbuFMpnio
What do you think of this Mr. Berman ?
“US media continues coverup of State Department admission of biological weapons labs in Ukraine”
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/03/11/1566-m11.html
Nam-
Well, that clarifies that: Kamala is a buffoonette, beyond any doubt. A class A-One douche baguette.A fool.
What is so remarkable about US foreign policy is its mechanical, ritualistic nature. I discussed this in QOV: that from the beginning, even upon separation from the mother country, Americans defined themselves by negative identity, i.e. by Manichaean opposition. (See also the work of Denis Duclos on this topic.) It's sort of like what Freud said of the individual personality: by age 5, it's basically fixed, and doesn't deviate very much from that early pattern. The US is very similar, and so it doesn't matter what party the admin is: all it knows how to do is repeat this formula, e.g., rerun the Cold War. It's stupid, and self-defeating, but it serves to keep the ego fortified. We didn't have to demonize the USSR; we could have come up with a more detente-ish response than Iran, Guatemala, killing Lumumba, Bay of Pigs, Chile, Vietnam...Similarly, in the case of 9/11, Michael Scheuer wrote a bk called "Imperial Hubris," detailing bin Laden's objections to US policy toward Islam, and concluding that the guy did indeed have a case. Did we attempt any detente w/the Muslim world? No, just rerun the old oppositional formula, wh/wound up costing us dearly. And now, we have Putin, who also has a list of legitimate objections, and can't get heard--because we're just not interested in hearing--and so finally blows his top out of desperation. It's the story of "The Ugly American" (Wm Lederer) and "The Quiet American" (Graham Greene), over and over again. As Gore Vidal famously said, we simply never learn. Experience teaches us 0. In the name of preserving America, the admin of whatever party engages in blind self-destruction.
As for US biological weapons labs in the Ukraine: O my, what a surprise! It's part of the same sick 'logic'.
mb
It gets wackier and wackier here! LOL!
https://apnews.com/article/ohio-columbus-police-shootings-3729f578a87dde126f729366a5d0316c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJMTmgY4MxY
This guy was otta control, this guy was otta control, this guy...
https://apnews.com/article/long-beach-california-carjacking-crime-shootings-a434661b013b38dc97aae07532aa0e71
Take out two with one bullet:
https://www.wral.com/sheriff-pregnant-woman-shot-during-road-rage-incident-in-lee-county/20182508/
And we’re a role model for the world?
p.s. And to the SSE of Ukraine, 81 were beheaded in Chop Chop Square by our pal bin Salman and our other good oil buddies there.
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-03-12/saudi-arabia-says-it-has-executed-81-convicts-in-single-day
How much does trump love “our great military?” (he looks absolutely ridiculous in his over sized big boy authentic military jacket.)
https://youtu.be/kuqYPUogxVI
Who are these people, the object of his majesty’s adulation?
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/fact-check-trump-brags-troops-about-10-percent-pay-raise-n952336
or
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_assault_in_the_United_States_military
or
https://www.kktv.com/content/news/Military-families-living-in-privatized-housing-say-theyre-living-in-unsafe-conditions-Ft-Carson-holds-town-hall-506233921.html
or
https://cedarspringsbhs.com/treatment-services/military-programs/ (if you have the stomach for it check out the Herschel Walker blowjob)
or of course the predictable outcome
https://apnews.com/article/colorado-springs-colorado-suicide-prevention-suicides-veterans-373127f60edfd7b15185d0aac7d93bcd
I cld go on all day, bloated paper tiger indeed
Wafers-
I've been rdg "See You in the Piazza" by Frances Mayes. Here is her description of Sperlonga, wh/is located in the Lazio section of Italy:
"The extravagant beauty of Sperlonga will never leave me. I first saw the twisted whitewashed village above the sea twenty years ago and at many moments those blue views through arches, white laundry flapping in the wind, waterfalls of magenta bougainvillea have risen unbidden in my mind...Stone stairs curving up to a simple room, a table on a balcony, a breeze--breath of gods--a pot of rosemary and basil. A few books, and solitude all the way to the horizon."
How many Americans realize that this is what life is really all about? .000001% of the population? No, for them it's abt hustling, making money, being better than the next person, being 'successful'. What bulvanim (boors, in Yiddish)! Shd we be surprised that millions upon millions vote for Trumpi or Hillary, perfect representatives of the bulvanny way of life? To paraphrase George Carlin, where do you think these trashy representatives come from? I tell ya, it's hard not to vomit.
GIGO, as the techies say; Garbage In/Garbage Out.
mb
This collection of boobs--the 'boobocracy', H.L. Mencken called the American population--is going to rise up, make the Hedgean revolution? This collection of morons is going to see thru the propaganda of the Cold War, of 9/11, of Putin-hatred, of Madison Ave. and corporate bullshit, of "We're No. 1!"? Sure: when pigs fly over the White House in V-geese formation.
Gunnar-
Watch length.
mb
From 7 yrs. ago. Look who's in the headline. More importantly:
"In my analysis we witness neoliberalism’s arrival on Russia’s doorstep with all three of the above-noted accompaniments—force, intimidation and multiplied corruption. What democratic process Ukrainians once had is all but completely disrupted. American backing for the Poroshenko government is decisive now, and there is no sign Washington intends to swerve from its insistence that Ukraine must be reshaped in the neoliberal mold regardless of the costs."
Imagine if Reagan and Thatcher, the apparent architects of all of this, were in power now rather than Biden.
https://www.salon.com/2015/02/12/neoliberalism_is_our_frankenstein_greece_and_ukraine_are_the_hot_spots_of_a_new_war_for_supremacy/
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