Gonzo Geopolitics

[stonefruit]

(how is this for a new thread?)

It is not the freshest news. But it is still breaking, people are still absorbing it ,and it all till needs context.

The filthy greedheads and the doomed can't have exclusive rights to this news territory. The insane and the loyal opposition must have their say as well.

My take - the Russian armada is going to bomb the living fuck out of Aleppo.  Not so much to help Assad as to show they can still break shit, and still matter in one of their few areas of influence outside of Russia. 

Sebostabol/Crimea alreadytaken and those pieces are swatted off the chess board.

Then they will pass through the Suez canal to a favorite area of contemporary interest - the south china sea, to dock at the "chinese" island. 

They will refit at Vizag (a top indian navy base), go hover around the "chinese" island in the spratleys, maybe some commando/fast boat/SEAL type training with the chinese there. then they go right by the senkaku islands on the way to vladivostick for winter.

just to show the world the BRICS aint nobody to fuck with. 

Turkish PM Erdogan just "cleaned house," by firing about 40,000 people in government and shooting a

few hundred security, military and intelligence staff accused of being Gulen supporters.  some probably were, some probably were not, and Gulen's infleunce is not as profound as the govt makes it out to be. but he just bought himself 5 more years of unchallengable rule. and the ability to flip turkey out of NATO into the BRICS. I think it is very possible and could happen suddenly if it does.

Then much of eastern europe NATO (esp former ussr/Warsaw Pact) all quit too - because it is a stupid antiquated instiution that has not had a rational strategic reason of existence since the fall of the Berlin wall.  nato is not world's army the blue hats in the UN are.

Timing - Putin put them at sea when he knew he would have a four month window of no real response from usa because of the  elections.

They will have proved they are back as a true blue sea navy, anf kicked some ass, and shored up crucial geostrategic along the way.

I feel no portence of WWIII but instead feel this is a macho country saying "we be back motherfucka!"

and the advanced cyber and ground/space/ship-to-shore warfare eqpt of china, russia (less so india) is getting really good, and hits all the achilles heels of nato/USSA, efficiently, cheaply, and on the button.

[BO]

Divide and conquer?

The Great Con: Political Correctness Has Marginalized the Working C...

"So when the protected class of well-paid institutional "progressives" speak darkly of "reversing 40 years of social progress," what they're really saying is we're terrified that the bottom 95% might be waking up to our Great Con of identity politics and political correctness."

That's one theory. I've always believed that preasure to be PC was engineered by global elites in an effort to force the white working class to accept their foriegn-born replacements. We white folk haven't been reproducing enough.

[pan]

So, in a culture where "going along to get along" is the first lesson in how to succeed in the work culture. Where you are encouraged to dress the same, eat the same, talk the same, and laugh at their lame jokes, we take offense when some academics point out that those jokes are at someone else's expense.  Makes sense - political correctness requires that we acknowledge that we aren't all the same and that that is OK. In a culture that values "rugged individuality" above all else you can't anyone pointing out that being different is not to be mocked!

I guess I got it all wrong....blaming the underclass for my economic woes is the correct thing! That will fix it! If only I could say nigger jokes I'm sure to become a billionaire!

[BO]

Always with the black and white thinking. Where did your ability to think critically go? There's a big difference between malicious speech and making a critical observation. 

https://youtu.be/QAK0KXEpF8U

[pan]

I don't think any words should be taboo. 

Just don't see the connection between P.C. and neoliberalism. What I see is a whole lot of pseudo nationalism and pseudo tribalism being played by Trump, et al to distract from what they have been doing to us. I admit I didn't read the linked article closely but it is a very big stretch to suggest that colleges having various minority studies departments is what is keeping us down.

[pan]

and Bob....really? Did you really have to insult my critical thinking skills because I didn't have the same response to your linked article as you did?

[BO]

My response was in regard to your statement: "I guess I got it all wrong....blaming the underclass for my economic woes is the correct thing! That will fix it! If only I could say nigger jokes I'm sure to become a billionaire!" which is the sort of false equivalency that shuts down any further discussion of the topic. It's an agressive tactic I've seen the left use throughout this sorry election.

What I see between the left and right are two different flavors of fascism -- both equally repellent. On that we'll probably never agree. But I will comment when a topic worthy of exploration is dismissed with a veiled attack. You need to own up to that.

[pan]

I don't think it is a topic worthy of exploration so yes, I dismissed it. I think the "War on Christmas" is nonsense trumped up by Fox News, et al to inspire hatred of "libruls" and it is just a specific version on the whole P.C. thing. Not sure how what I wrote was a "veiled attack" and, who you perceive that attack addressed to - my comment was a response to the central thesis of the article, not to you.

Yes, the tripping over oneself to say the accepted term for one minority or another is annoying and a bit silly. And yes, when I see a large portion of positions that are advertised are for teachers of African diaspora dance I feel very frustrated by the cure-all that all these college departments are latching onto - which is just another version of tokenism. Yes, much of this is superficial and won't do much good but we are a racist patriarchal society and there are real inequities for people who don't enjoy the status of straight, white,christian male in our society.

The thesis that p.c. is a big boogieman foisted on us by the Left to steal our freedoms and distract us from the continued redistribution of wealth upwards (which started in the Reagan era) is, in itself a distraction from what the .1% are doing to us.

I understand the word "fascist" (like liberal, progressive, conservative) has lost most of its original meaning. I still cling onto the original meaning of Corporatism as Mussolini coined it. As such, both the Democrats and the Republicans are fascist.  Perhaps "Left" has lost its meaning too but, for me, it still retains a valuing for socialist programs - which is anti-corporatism. Of course, if one is using the term fascist as a synonym for totalitarian the Left has a long history of totalitarianism starting with Trotsky and Lenin.

[waldopaper]

I don't think there has been a "Left" since 1968. Everybody knows about racism/ patriarchy. And we still had to listen to all that 0.1% "job creator" bullshit ever since the Revolution of 1917.  

PC culture was giving in to the dark side of the force.  Windows 7.  Rightward pivoting throughout the Cold War.  Green is the way it's going... one way or another.  Carbon bubble about to burst.   

[BO]

Fuck the dem establishment...

http://observer.com/2016/12/mike-stone-michigan-democratic-party-as...

[pan]

All successful institutions make the continuance of the institution their primary value. It is completely unsurprising that the "New Democrats" are unwilling to learn the obvious lessons of this election as it would mean that their institutional vision is wrong and they would have to give up the monied path.

[BO]

Unfortunately, when institutions are unwilling to change, they start doing evil shit to stay alive. And before you know it, you're living under totalitarian rule. And here we are.

[pan]

Isn't it wonderful that they can finally do something in bipartisan fashion? [/snark]