15 August 2022What we are talking about here is the freedom of thought, speech and assembly, which is the motor of progress let's also remember that we are talking about a death threat to a citizen of the US and UK and an attempt at his execution on American soil. Someone ironically, we are also talking about a Salmon Rushdie who is very quick to criticise white society and yet in this situation where his life is threatened ,he seeks the help and support of the very society he criticises.Salman Rushdie observes that " a new world has been...
Monday, 15 August 2022
BOEUF BOURGUIGNON
Jacques Pepin paints15 August 2022There is a French quarter here, with quite a number of friendly, inexpensive restaurants. This last weekend, the dish of the day at one was "Daube de boeuf" - this is a beef bourguignon or Irish boiled beef and carrots, or Yorkshire stew, but there are intriguing key differences between Fr and Eng cuisine.With the cubed beef soaked in cooking wine beforehand, salt pepper...
Saturday, 13 August 2022
CUTTING THE BEARD OF THE CHINESE DRAGON
13 August 2022THE ISSUENancy Pelosi, leader America's House of Representatives, has just returned from a controversial unofficial visit to Taiwan. Lithuania is sending a delegation to Taiwan on a 5 day tour and Taiwan is about to open some sort of office consulate in Vilnius. Why would anyone want to cut the beard of the Chinese dragon?As a matter of identity, the people of Taiwan, in polls, self-identify as Taiwanese, and have chosen the Republic of China ROC to govern them.
Aswhere China - the present govt at least, the PRC - identifies...
Friday, 12 August 2022
CHINA'S RED LINE
12 August 2022“Strategic Ambiguity""Midline" (of the Straits of Taiwan)"Unilateral Challenge to the Status Quo"You can believe in Taiwan as an independent country, but at the same time take a bit of care with the language fabricated by our American friends. Noam Chomsky sussed out the linguistics of "this unprovoked invasion": it was hardly unprovoked, and although it was an invasion it was America that started the war.I'm sure Chonsky would have a thing or two to say about these three latest linguistic traps. They take a long time to think...
Sunday, 7 August 2022
RANT AGAINST MEDIAGARCHY
7 August 2022https://youtu.be/TV5ubJq39h0So mad! Yes! it is the media running public opinion, on behalf of an oligarchy of the rich and a minorigarchy of the weird and the woke, in the absence of any political leadership on behalf of the majority and the public interest.The public interest is for me about a fair distribution of wealth, opportunity and freedom to the majority.Where are the politicians with a longer term view of what's good for the country and the strength of leadership to outdistance the polls?Instead, for reasons most of us link...
Saturday, 6 August 2022
DOES THE CIA MAKE AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY?
6 August 2022Does America have a foreign policy strategy and if so, who is running it? ... is it the CIA, sitting in the Pentagon?How foreign policy is made-You are supposed to start with your vision/goals/aims.-Then you turn these vague wishes into measurable objectives.-Then for each you need resources, and so a strategy: a strategy is what you'll create to plan best use of resources to achieve your objectives.-Then, you get to the policies, which are the rules governing running the strategy; and the organisation units you need to man the...
Wednesday, 3 August 2022
ANOTHER STEP TOWARDS NUCLEAR OBLIVION
3 August 2022https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-says-united-states-is-directly-involved-ukraine-war-2022-08-02/Another step towards nuclear oblivion.We've known this for a long time anyway, we've known perfectly well that the strategy and the planning - not just the training and the supply of arms - is down to the Western powers if it's the M142 HiMARS, it's Lockheed Martin, it's the Americans who plan the launch if it's the M270 MLRS launchers with GMLRS munitions, it's still Lockheed Martin, but from British stocks, it's gotta...
Tuesday, 2 August 2022
THE UNITED SELF
2 Aug 2022self and identity - a biography of our self - who we are - our identityhttps://youtu.be/ZD52aZ5Jh7A"personality modernity and the storied self"modernmodernity means modern times. Especially in the West ("The West" by this time in the 21st century includes many non Western countries like South Korea or Japan, according to the following framework...).we have to make a difference between pre modern or pre-industrial times and times since the industrial revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries.what makes our time "modern" is: capitalism,...
Saturday, 30 July 2022
THE TORY PARTY LEADERSHIP DEBATES SHOW THE WEST IS OUT OF IDEAS
30 July 2022 Liz Truss's thinking seems to be restricted and contained in rivers of cliches and I can just imagine the 169,000 Conservative Party voters waving their walking sticks in her favour because smartypants Sunak comes across as too slick and self-interested an operator.There's no one who can think "outside the box" and get their head round the real-world issues and offer a clear coherent compact vision and path for getting there. Noone to provide a solid long-term leadership. There's no one there! There's no purposeful leadership,...
Tuesday, 26 July 2022
IS AMERICA STILL APPEASING CHINA OVER TAIWAN?
26 July 2022Mercurius is right when he says (https://youtu.be/V9dS-eb7qmI) that all the warning lights are flashing in Europe (collapse of the Euro...see next post), in Ukraine likely to be the most disastrous of all American foreign policy Adventures), the American economy (( the impossible choice between deep and long recession and hyperinflation and destruction of the currency) and why on earth would America want to start a new conflagration with China?From the history book, in 1971 ambassador George Bush proposed dual recognition of Taiwan...
Saturday, 23 July 2022
FORCING AMERICA TO SHARE ITS POWER
23 July 2022https://youtu.be/57obnJf_TikWith covid it was a common enemy with brexit the vulnerabilities were more mixed but now with energy the vulnerabilities are very varied.America is accountable for Europe's security and Russia is more or less accountable for Europe's energy. Europe is not independant and to change either of those is a 20-year plan so it is open to political manipulation.Europe complains that Russia is blackmailing it, that Russia is dividing it, that Russia controls the taps to manage the price and sow dissent, that this...
