Is Russia About to Put the Monroe Doctrine to the Test, in Nicaragua?
Tuesday, June 28, 2022
About dollar hegemony and possibilities of a multipolar world
“Why the Ukraine Crisis Will Make Little Difference to Dollar Supremacy” There is as lso a long discussion by Yves Smith. Check the discussions in the comments too.
See also the related post https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/06/g7-aims-to-hurt-russia-with-price-cap-on-oil-exports.html
Lavrov discusses the Wagner Groupon an interview
Sergey Lavrov: We have discussed the Wagner Group a number of times with those who are interested in this topic. Wagner is a private military company that has nothing to do with the Russian state. We explained this to our French colleagues, too; they started to get nervous when the Wagner Group agreed with the Mali government to provide security services. Back in September 2021, my esteemed colleague Jean-Yves Le Drian, as well as Josep Borrell, said directly that Russia had no business in Africa, neither as a state nor with private military companies because Africa is the EU and France’s zone. This is what they said to me almost word for word.
Saturday, June 25, 2022
The twilightof empire
It seems that the US is in a spot of bother with its economic hegemony in decline. The economic balance is shifting east leaving the US and it's European vassals behind. The rest is a desparate group of nations with different religions and ideoligies. So the institutions to hold these together have to evolve with no one dominant power with a precedent from the west of breaking rules obligations and institutions. It may be a few decades before as my semblance of order returns.
The Twilight of empire by John Michael Greer
Thursday, June 23, 2022
Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Astrakhan
Is the name of a city on Volga which may become more important in Russia’s transit eastwards. A discussion here of the name https://thedreamstress.com/2012/01/terminology-what-is-astrakhan/
See also St. Petersburg sets the stage for the War of Economic Corridors
Monday, June 20, 2022
My friend Nagisetty Venkateswara Rao
My last communication with Rao Nagisetty was on March 22. He has Parkinson's and it has been increasingly difficult to communicate. His mind is still sharp and once in a while he would send messages. One of his messages from March 22:
That is quite generous of you. My memories of your parents and brother are with me. I have fond memories of you. I don't know what will happen to these memories hereafter but for now they keep me warm.
......
I have known him since 1954 -56 when we were classmates. Then he went to Andhra University and I to Madras. We were also colleagues in TIFR for a few years. He was the best in our class but he wore it with some deprecation and charm. He is very warm hearted and personally very kind to me during difficult periods. In the mid eighties I found myself without a job in USA. He arranged a summer job for me in Toledo. I was difficult, did not get along with his wife and had health problems. He used to take me to doctors and gave me lifts to the university when I could not walk. My family was in Austin and it was a difficult period. He saw me through with great kindness and affection. He also persuaded the university to try to hire me. He almost succeeded and I heard that the department was ready to offer me a job but the university president decided to hire a cook. The university kindly invited me later to give special lectures.
Unfortunately I was intolerant when I noticed any sort of dogmatism or high self esteem and cut him off a few times. But he took it his stride and tolerated me. It is not clear whether I will ever see him again. In one of his last communications, he said that he was planning to leave by December.
Saturday, June 18, 2022
Friday, June 17, 2022
"This non Russia-sanctioning G8, he added, is 24.4% ahead of the old one, which is in fact the G7, in terms of GDP in purchasing power parity (PPP), as G7 economies are on the verge of collapsing and the U.S. registers record inflation.
The power of the acronym was confirmed by one of the researchers on Europe at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Sergei Fedorov: three BRICS members (Brazil, China and India) alongside Russia, plus Indonesia, Iran, Turkey and Mexico, all non adherents to the all-out Western economic war against Russia, will soon dominate global markets.
Fedorov stressed the power of the new G8 in population as well as economically: “If the West, which restricted all international organizations, follows its own policies, and pressures everyone, then why are these organizations necessary? Russia does not follow these rules.”
The new G8, instead, “does not impose anything on anyone, but tries to find common solutions.”" from
Thursday, June 16, 2022
Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Foreign fighters in Ukraine
https://youtu.be/2ZRJiKlHoms Is a bit detailed and boring but ‘considered’ reliable, it says that there may be about 600 foreign fighters in Severodonetsk. According to other reports, it is a cauldron now. A general discussion here https://asiatimes.com/2022/06/ukraine-the-situation-june-13/.
Monday, June 13, 2022
The end may be nearing
Ukraine’s high casualty rate could bring war to tipping point fromThe Guardian. This and similar reports discussed
By alex christoforou.Sunday, June 12, 2022
Ukraine daily update from Asia Times
Update June 11 Asia Times is initiating a near-daily Ukraine war situation report based on multiple military and think tank sources. It’s our unvarnished bid to cut through the propaganda and misinformation of all sides that contribute to the fog of war.
Saturday, June 11, 2022
On Soviet Union
The truth is far from the stories told by both the Ukrainian nationalists and Putin. The Soviet Union was the most advanced attempt at addressing national oppression, racism and discrimination at a country-wide level. Among many other things, the USSR was the first nation to engage in widespread affirmative action at levels no country before or since has reached.
.....
All of the various issues mentioned here of course merit fuller discussion. However, it’s possible to draw some broad conclusions. Firstly, the USSR embarked on the greatest experiment the world has ever known to draw peoples together across national boundaries for collective uplift. They eliminated the pogroms, allowed many languages to grow and bloom, put real resources behind promoting national cultures and made it a top national priority to place people from the formerly oppressed nations into positions of influence and power.
Secondly, they did this in the context of raising the living standards for the entire country far above what they had been in tsarist times, above every nation in the developing world, and achieved a rough parity with the most advanced nations on Earth with remarkable speed.
Two Jesuits who introduced modern education in India
Two Jesuits who introduced modern education in India Fr, Racine was my teacher, sitting on his right in one of the photographs Professor V.Krishnamurthy an excellent teacher and whose lectures kindled my interest in mathematics.
Friday, June 10, 2022
Odessa in the sights, possible future developments
according to some pro-Russia commenters
https://youtu.be/guWCJDXfKisThursday, June 09, 2022
Wednesday, June 08, 2022
Tuesday, June 07, 2022
About the possibilities of a global famine
Seems a bit farfetched to me. To see whether there is any thing in it, one has to look at various thinktank reports of previous years. Some of the he commenters link to such reports like https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR3063.html
Michael Hudson: Is US/NATO (with WEF Help) Pushing for a Global South Famine?
Sunday, June 05, 2022
Russian business affected by war
“Everything is gone”: Russian business hit hard by tech sanctions
Branco Milanevic thinks that Russia may be prepared for such difficulties:
Friday, June 03, 2022
Western media reports on Ukraine and Russia
How Russia, And Putin, Are Weaponizing, Losing And Running Out Of ... Everything has been mostly negative but there seems to be some changes As sanctions fail to work and Russia's advance continues, Western media changes its tune on Ukraine
But both Ukraine and Russia seem to lack enough young people due to migration and low birthrares. So how long these temporary advantages and disadvantages last is not clear. It is not clear what the two countries in terms of long range projects in education, science and research and increasing the percentage of younger people. Some feel that China's one child policy for several Dec as des will put it at as serious disadvantages in another decade or so.
Thursday, June 02, 2022
Situation on the ground in Ukraine.
According to this video site which seems pro-Russisn, the next part of the campaign in the Ukraine East may be tough for Russians because of the terrain and entrenched positions Military summary and analysis. He gives an instance where Russians had to retreat once before and in many places, the situation seems similar. Russians may have to change their tactics.
The analysis of Alexander Mercouris, which is more broad and geopolitical, seems more optimistic of Russian progress https://youtu.be/FKvM4k8Dm9A. The first is about 20 minutes long and the second almost an hour.
Has the world passed “peak agricultural land”?
Has the world passed “peak agricultural land”? From MR with a link to an article by Hannah Richie https://ourworldindata.org/peak-agriculture-land
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)