tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post7208060958224917020..comments2023-11-28T09:02:03.742+01:00Comments on The Seneca Effect: Ukraine: a Glimpse of the New Eurasian EmpireUgo Bardihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18231859786466899924noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-28448335358842952082022-03-28T06:24:33.683+02:002022-03-28T06:24:33.683+02:001. empires in the middle of the map never last lon...1. empires in the middle of the map never last long because they’re squeezed from all sides <br /><br />2. ***there used to be a theory that whoever controls the eurasian heartland controls the world. but what seems more realistic is whoever controls north america controls the world. a continental sized power with the most secure borders ever can therefore spend all its efforts exporting power for global control. a super british empire. the US is the universal empire of The West and is only just getting started <br /><br />3. orthodox civilization is literally demographically disappearing. and china and all sinic nations are rapidly having population decline. <br /><br />4. europe has lots of fossil fuels but they stopped extraction ~10y ago due to environmental regulations. plus they have nuclear. autarky is returning rapidly with deglobalization. being resource reliant on russia was always a bad thing<br />Matthew Dhttps://twitter.com/historymattynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-30695536306122658562022-03-26T20:25:53.882+01:002022-03-26T20:25:53.882+01:00I wouldn't worry about it too much: climate ch...I wouldn't worry about it too much: climate change will render Asian aspirations for dominance just one more techno-triumphant fantasy. Dust bowl China and Dust bowl India may have too many problems to cause others any.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07605567985387254940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-61952599934569540852022-03-25T20:27:29.246+01:002022-03-25T20:27:29.246+01:00Correct. This post should be verified, as always. ...Correct. This post should be verified, as always. But Barbarians reign anyway!Ugo Bardihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231859786466899924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-15654101815471247372022-03-25T20:23:46.210+01:002022-03-25T20:23:46.210+01:00I hope that no one actually believes there is any ...I hope that no one actually believes there is any truth to either the anonymous posts...particularly the "I gave instructions to my doctors'''" one.<br /> This is just like the 2014 Russian propaganda of the little boy being crucified by the Ukraine "fascists".<br /> Do people actually believ this stuff???Wornsmoothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14672822707973637317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-83349844102890911402022-03-25T01:26:32.051+01:002022-03-25T01:26:32.051+01:00Goran, Versailles and cake come to mind. Goran, Versailles and cake come to mind. Nick Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12609312325425361413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-19264361748146458202022-03-24T23:07:05.815+01:002022-03-24T23:07:05.815+01:00Das Ende des Ölzeitalters hat zwei Phasen: eine zi...Das Ende des Ölzeitalters hat zwei Phasen: eine zivile und eine militärische.<br />Nun hat der westliche Block festgestellt, dass ihm die zentrale Ressource schneller ausgeht als dem östlichen Block. Was kann er tun?<br />Er kann das Ende der zivilen Versorgung zeitlich beschleunigen, um so genug Ressourcen für die Kontrolle des Events und anschließender Sicherung des Machterhalts zu haben.<br />Er muß nur so lange durchhalten bis auch dem Osten das Öl ausgeht.<br />Das größte Risiko dabei stellt die eigene Bevölkerung dar.<br />Und nein, nicht das Fernsehen ist schuld, sondern die Transatlantiker.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-80767007037908386282022-03-24T13:04:11.878+01:002022-03-24T13:04:11.878+01:00Good point.
Accepting the role of "consumer&...Good point. <br />Accepting the role of "consumer" is maybe the most telling part of today's identity wars, and one that is not much noticed. I think it is part of a larger corporatist tendency since the 1970s, when more and more of society is marketized, and those who are not in the elite are expected to play the main roles of "(temporary) employee" and "consumer". The upper middle "Managerial Class" are exempt from hard work and gain most privileges.<br /><br />We got a glimpse of the reality behind this charade when the covid restrictions exposed who is really "essential worker" and who is not...<br />(Some people are not valued at zero. But Udo is right that the money valuation of people is tragic and it puts our wise elders at negative value. I valued my grandparents a lot, especially after they finished their "productive careers".)<br /><br />I suspect that the Managerial Class is blind to their own arrogance and will keep continue the deficit spending, money printing and giving their children aristocratic careers until someone else replace them. I have little faith in learning as long as the pain is on someone else.<br /><br />Peace,<br /> Goran <br /><br />Göranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02375637941166085188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-64478940594512513732022-03-24T09:44:57.418+01:002022-03-24T09:44:57.418+01:00The only explanation I can think of is that watchi...The only explanation I can think of is that watching TV damages people's brains. <br />Ugo Bardihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231859786466899924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-2149475190466547262022-03-24T09:39:45.844+01:002022-03-24T09:39:45.844+01:00I heard that Italy plans to replace Russian gas wi...I heard that Italy plans to replace Russian gas with US LNG in the next three years. Good luck with that! It seems to me that this is classic example of solving the problem with more complexity, higher expenses and higher price, when all that is really needed is reduction in complexity and expenses. Italy has 60 million people. There must be somebody to tell the political class that proposed solution is a non-solution. Italians will pay higher energy price, the competitive advantages of the economy will be lost and hence there will be lower income because the Italian products will have to compete with Chinese. It seems to me that only US will profit in two ways: a) selling high price LNG to Europe, and b) replacing European productive capacity with US produced goods and selling it to Western Europeans. How long this rotten solution can last? Are Western Europeans really such suckers?Ivan Lukichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03921382989214812867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-37434115432947929302022-03-23T21:59:38.829+01:002022-03-23T21:59:38.829+01:00We are in a world in which everything is measured ...We are in a world in which everything is measured in terms of money. For instance, a tree has zero value unless it is cut and turned into timber. Now, how much is a human being worth? I am afraid that most of us have a negative value. We cost money to the state, providing little or nothing in return. The consequences, according to standard economic theory are obvious. Ugo Bardihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231859786466899924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-45480957653249533352022-03-23T21:57:50.157+01:002022-03-23T21:57:50.157+01:00I think you are right, anonymous. I don't see ...I think you are right, anonymous. I don't see how a virus could be targeted to hit a population so mixed and so varied as the Russians. Yet, some strange things are ongoing in Ukraine and elsewhere. There may well be something we are missing<br />Ugo Bardihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231859786466899924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-85427120919167883152022-03-23T21:14:43.735+01:002022-03-23T21:14:43.735+01:00Enormous problems are both opportunities and probl...Enormous problems are both opportunities and problems, and Russia has Enormous potential. Fossil Fuels, Grain, and forests second only to the Amazon. .Art Decohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12955243137081184262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-54508994285278980112022-03-23T20:03:52.423+01:002022-03-23T20:03:52.423+01:00I am 99.9% certain that the collection of DNA samp...I am 99.9% certain that the collection of DNA samples was either NOT for the purpose of assessing the feasibility of population-tailored biological or chemical weapons, or that such assessment turned out negative. For the 2nd option to be the case, two requisites need to be present: 1) a deeply ignorant political or military leader that ordered the survey and assessment, and 2) a deeply dishonest scientist that, in order to get funding for other projects or just for living, did not teach said leader that it was a waste of time.<br /><br />There is no Russian-unique genome (or any x-unique genome, with x a clearly delimited population) that allows the creation of a taylor-made bio- or chemical weapon that will affect ONLY that population. One for the russians would most certainly kill at least all slavic people and most ashkenazi jews, and perhaps all indoeuropeans.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-90614352700129779872022-03-23T18:36:40.686+01:002022-03-23T18:36:40.686+01:00Ugo, your comment about consumers as opposed to ci...Ugo, your comment about consumers as opposed to citizens. We in NZ went neolib in 1984 and our public service got corporatised. Language is significant, the government departments got renamed, several times. None bore much resemblance to the original. Dept Social Welfare became Work and Income, the subtle name change implied income was linked to work, not to the social integrity and welfare of the citizen. In dealing with government departments a citizen became a "client", the public servant no longer served the public but "case managed". The net effect has been to invert the relationship, as you mention our role is as consumers of decreased levels of service in which we are managed but not served by corporate overseers. Thus is our society and freedom diminished. Nick Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12609312325425361413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-91902456673791563662022-03-23T17:35:57.516+01:002022-03-23T17:35:57.516+01:00For some time, I've felt that the plan has bee...For some time, I've felt that the plan has been to use each financial crash to throw more people from the middle class lifeboat, to preserve the lifestyle for a reduced set of people. The problem is that everything in the real economy has thin profit margins, and throwing the marginal consumer out of the lifeboat also throws out the marginal producer. Eventually you end up with one monopoly producer in each sector.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-87792138598171660622022-03-23T16:32:53.083+01:002022-03-23T16:32:53.083+01:00Russia has enormous potential to develop hydroelec...Russia has enormous potential to develop hydroelectric power. <br />According to the International Hydroelectric Power Association.<br /> "Russia ranks second in the world for undeveloped hydropower resources, with economic potential reaching 852 TWh, and only 20 per cent of it currently utilised."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-82201652559197221152022-03-23T16:19:28.619+01:002022-03-23T16:19:28.619+01:00Ouch. The only things we really track are things w...Ouch. The only things we really track are things we consume or will soon consume . We are all being tracked electronically. And this thread is already very dark.Art Decohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12955243137081184262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-63192697123549670212022-03-23T16:14:30.236+01:002022-03-23T16:14:30.236+01:00Either way, disinformation or not, these stories a...Either way, disinformation or not, these stories are effective in destroying trust and spreading fast. That's why they get coverage IMHO. Art Decohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12955243137081184262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-39953580467740122752022-03-23T16:07:58.214+01:002022-03-23T16:07:58.214+01:00I was thinking along the same lines. Once we accep...I was thinking along the same lines. Once we accepted to be called "consumers" and not anymore "citizens," we sealed our doom. There is not so much left to consume, and so we will be consumed ourselvesUgo Bardihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231859786466899924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-5088295451398680802022-03-23T15:57:19.299+01:002022-03-23T15:57:19.299+01:00I fear that we have reached a point where for the ...I fear that we have reached a point where for the first time in history, our governments have an incentive to reduce their own citizenry. In the past, each able bodied citizen was a source of muscle power and production. I read somewhere that fossil fuels provide a subsidy equivalent to 500 slaves for every westerner. Now that energy supply is not increasing and we have entered a zero sum game at best, the "elite" have an incentive to reduce the number of westerners, freeing up 500 slaves for each one removed. Each of us consumes more than we produce, by orders of magnitude.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-73141226603344879052022-03-23T11:51:31.263+01:002022-03-23T11:51:31.263+01:00Indeed, the West is in decline. Relative to world ...Indeed, the West is in decline. Relative to world GDP, the peak was around 1900, see e.g. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/1_AD_to_2003_AD_Historical_Trends_in_global_distribution_of_GDP_China_India_Western_Europe_USA_Middle_East.png<br /><br /><a title="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/1_AD_to_2003_AD_Historical_Trends_in_global_distribution_of_GDP_China_India_Western_Europe_USA_Middle_East.png/512px-1_AD_to_2003_AD_Historical_Trends_in_global_distribution_of_GDP_China_India_Western_Europe_USA_Middle_East.png" rel="nofollow"></a><br /><br />Western Europe is a small peninsula, jotting out into the Atlantic. We have a lot of energy-expensive infrastructure and a lot of people who are used to an energy-expensive life style. As Stephen says, a "birthright". <br /><br />Population will decline and life on the edge of Empire might be preferrable to being close to the new centers. In most of classic empires, peasants in the core usually were more heavily taxed than in the periphery. <br /><br />We are in for a rough ride down the Seneca cliff, probably a decade or two before our friends in the East. Let them too enjoy a moment of exuberance!<br /><br />Peace,<br /> GoranGöranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02375637941166085188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-58657356511531874082022-03-22T15:58:27.800+01:002022-03-22T15:58:27.800+01:00Very nice. Think that long ago there were Barbaria...Very nice. Think that long ago there were Barbarians in the world. Now we are civilized.......Ugo Bardihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231859786466899924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-21417232864822950572022-03-22T15:57:45.576+01:002022-03-22T15:57:45.576+01:00This is one of those scary stories that might be f...This is one of those scary stories that might be false or might be true, but they are scary in any case.Ugo Bardihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231859786466899924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-21985935734959895162022-03-22T15:57:06.917+01:002022-03-22T15:57:06.917+01:00Thanks. Interesting story. Looks a little my own m...Thanks. Interesting story. Looks a little my own musings on the matter, here: https://cassandralegacy.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-next-ten-billion-years.htmlUgo Bardihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18231859786466899924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1585995614037680457.post-66921304839070267112022-03-22T13:30:29.407+01:002022-03-22T13:30:29.407+01:00And, from Paul Craig Roberts this a.m....written 5...And, from Paul Craig Roberts this a.m....written 5 years ago: https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2017/11/01/washingtons-barbarity-reaches-new-heights/ <br /><br />https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2017/11/03/collection-russian-dna-us/ <br /><br />Washing has targeted Russians for annihilation. If the Russians ever understand this, watch for incoming missiles.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com