Russia Derangement Syndrome

Let me see if I can get this straight:

1. The West imposes unprecedented sanctions of Russia, freezing its dollar assets in the West, locking it out of SWIFT, prohibiting and effectively cancelling business deals....

2. Russia says, "OK, but then if you want to buy our gas, you'll have to pay for it in rubles.

3. Germany shrieks "BLACKMAIL!!!!"

So Germany gets to pay for gas in dollars which Russia can't access because of the sanctions?

The West can deal with the present crisis in whatever way it wants, but it shouldn't loose its marbles in the process.

Biden goes Bonkers

Speaking in Europe on Saturday, Biden flew off the handle,

“A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never erase a people’s love for liberty,” Biden said. “Brutality will never grind down their will to be free. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, for free people refuse to live in a world of hopelessness and darkness.

"They will have a different future a brighter future, rooted in democracy and principles, hope and light, of decency and dignity, of freedom of possibility. For God's sake this man cannot remain in power."

It was like watching a machine spin faster and faster until it lost its bearing entirely. Needless to say, Biden's call for Putin to be deposed was walked backed furiously by the State Department.

Why do American presidents jerk themselves up into such frenzies? .

Americans have tendency toward grandiloquent Manicheism, in which they cast everything into shadows of the lightest light and the darkest dark. There is no middle ground, which most people understand is the grey human condition.

But oh no! Every bump in the geo-political world, every disagreement invokes and involves the Host of Heaven against the Legions of Hell!

In swelling tones, the Flawless Obambi routinely inovked "that [shinning][seminal][epochal] document" signed over 200 years ago, here in America which proclaimed for all the world to hear, that all human beings were created free and equal and endowed [omit 'by their Creator'] with certain ianunalienababble rights, AMONG WHICH are ... etc. etc. etc." A hair more and it would have been the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

This was the same document that my English History book's chapter on the Loss of the American Colonies, called a "propagandist appeal" in whose "magical words" the colonists found stirring justification for their rebellion.

Well.... I suppose that if you are going to rebel you need to stir things up and I'm sure every nation has its Sacrosanct Mumbo Jumbo. But two hundred years after the event? Couldn't we let things settle down a little bit instead of whipping ourselves into a crusading frenzy at every juncture?

The Ukrainian Crisis involves a geo-political conflict, which, in my view, is largely of our own making but which in all events needs to be settle by cooler heads and not inflamed by overheated ones.

And yet one could see Biden working himself up as he leaped from "love of liberty" to "brutality" to "grinding down" to "the will to be free" to "hopelessness and darkness" to "hope and dignity" and "freedom ..." until at last, literally on the verge of tears he called for Putin's removal. The only thing surprising is that he did not say, "For God's sake, for the Lillies of the Field, for the little Cherbim on Earth as in Heaven, for All the Saints, for all ye who Labour for Righteousness's sake, I call upon the Host of Heaven, hear me out: This man cannot remain in power."

And, although he did not fly off that far, there can be no doubt that that was his frame of mind.

Bismarck must be gagging in his grave.

Geo-politics maybe fundamentally stupid and murderous but there is no need to make it worse by adding hysteria to the mix.

FDR's spontaneous remark, demanding Germany's unconditional surrender took everyone by surprise. But the rhetoric was so uncompromising they all jumped on board and ended up prolonging the war by cutting the German resistance off at the knees and removing the chance of a negotiated peace.

Now, it has to be said that Biden has done a decent job of containing the war-mongering hysterics in Congrease and the gaggle of neo cons that infests the nation's capital. So why did he then call for a outcome that all but ensured heightening and possibly enlarging the conflict?

It is, I think, because deep in their historically uniformed hearts, Americans truly believe their exceptionalist, light versus dark bullshit. I would only remind them that it is possible to adhere to moral principles and be humbly restrained at the same time.

Snuffing out the Flame of Truth

The New York Slime went to war against truth today, blaring that "the US is fighting against an incendiary disinformation campaign about bioweapons being pushed by Russia and China."

Lies spreading like wildfire! Jan Psaki to the rescue!

Most of the article is devoted to yabbering about Russia and China are collaborating against us, and spreading lies in order to lay a cover for their own possible use of bio weapons... On the merits it reports that jen Psaki “called the accusations “preposterous,” and said the United States “does not develop or possess such weapons anywhere.”

The State Department chimed in: "The United States does not own or operate any chemical or biological laboratories in Ukraine,..."

Ah well. That settles that (at least on the Upper East and West sides)

But what was it that Under-secretary of State Virginia ("Fuck Europe") Nuland said the other day before a committee of Congrease?

“Uh, Ukraine has, uh, biological research facilities. We are now in fact quite concerned that Russian troops, Russian forces, may be seeking to, uh, gain control of [those labs], so we are working with the Ukrainiahhhns [sic] on how they can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces should they approach” ”

And so we just now got involved with these things that we don't own or operate?

Well back in 2019, The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine publicly announced its collaborative work with Ukraine “to consolidate and secure pathogens and toxins of security concern and to continue to ensure Ukraine can detect and report outbreaks caused by dangerous pathogens before they pose security or stability threats"

"The U.S. Department of Defense’s Biological Threat Reduction Program collaborates with partner countries to counter the threat of outbreaks (deliberate, accidental, or natural) of the world’s most dangerous infectious diseases.  The program accomplishes its bio-threat reduction mission through development of a bio-risk management culture; ...

"BTRP has upgraded many laboratories for the Ministry of Health and the State Food Safety and Consumer Protection Service of Ukraine, reaching Biosafety Level 2. In 2019, BTRP constructed two laboratories for the latter, one in Kyiv and one in Odesa.

BTRP supports many collaborative research projects through which Ukrainian and American scientists work together.

So yes... we don't "own" the facility; we merely fund it. We don't "operate" we merely "collaborate.

But never mind. The Slime prattles on:

“I can’t think of another active propaganda campaign by Russia that has gotten this level of boost from China,” said Bret Schafer, who tracks disinformation from China, Russia and Iran as a senior fellow for the Alliance for Securing Democracy, a Washington nonprofit group. “

And who are these folks?

"Alliance for Securing Democracy"

Democracies around the world are under assault. Concerted efforts by malign actors to undermine democratic processes and erode democratic institutions pose a foundational threat to the United States and its democratic partners in Europe, Asia, and beyond. External threats from authoritarian governments have coincided with internal challenges from domestic actors to weaken democratic norms and institutions. The time to act is now. Citizens across the ideological spectrum must unite in upholding democracy’s foundational principles and countering autocratic efforts to exploit discord and undermine our institutions.

The Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD), a nonpartisan initiative housed at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, develops comprehensive strategies to deter, defend against, and raise the costs on autocratic efforts to undermine and interfere in democratic institutions. ASD has staff in Washington, D.C., and Brussels, bringing together experts on disinformation, malign finance, emerging technologies, elections integrity, economic coercion, and cybersecurity, as well as Russia, China, and the Middle East, to collaborate across traditional stovepipes and develop cross-cutting frameworks.

We must not lose sight of the fundamental strength of our free and open societies. By shining a light on autocratic tactics, closing vulnerabilities in democratic systems, and imposing costs on those who seek to undermine our institutions, ASD is helping to support democratic values.

Working with policymakers, the private sector, and civil society, we advance innovative thinking to better understand and counter threats to democracies worldwide, share lessons learned, and develop strategies that go beyond the standard policy toolbox. Doing so not only strengthens the resilience of our democracies but is a reaffirmation of the democratic experiment.

Blah blah blah blah blah. The Burble of Military Industrial Imperialism.

Advisory Council ("The bipartisan, transatlantic advisory council brings decades of experience in national security, intelligence, cybersecurity, Russia, Europe, and politics to inform the work of the initiative. ")

Mike Chertoff was U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security from 2005 to 2009. ...

William Kristol is the editor at large of the influential political journal, THe Weekly Standard

Michael Morell was acting director of the Central Intelligence Agency in 2011...

Rick Ledgett has four decades of experience in intelligence, cybersecurity, and cyber operations, including 29 years with the National Security Agency...

John Podesta served as Chair of Hillary for America.

Who'da thunk it?

It would be funny if our informed elite weren't such dumbfuck slime suckers.