A country is lines on a map while a nation is a group of people sharing common values.
Any surviving Ukrainian state will owe a ton of baksheesh to the West. Any portion annexed to Russia is debt free - perhaps providing a little additional incentive to be on the right side of the line at the end of the exercise . . .
The US is offering to restore access to the SWIFT system to Russian banks. It'd be prudent for only one designated bank to take that role on behalf of the nation. That keeps driving traffic to the organic financial system, allows scrutiny of (oligarchs) funds transfers and maintains "separation distance" with the Western economy.
The US offer is designed to sideline BRICS alternative system. However, Russia and China do not regard SWIFT and the BRICS system as “either/ or”. They will use SWIFT if a,) it is necessary b.) it is economic . However, to the degree that SWIFT has been weaponized in the past to protect American interests, it is not a competitive system for the global majority.
I would only add what it's missing here, not in your article, but in this story. Xi and his collaborators have showed the intelligence, culture and style at Munich Security Conference, another monster son of the depraved West as Davos. The level of the speech given there was so higher and smart and political than all of the others idiots from the West that spoke, especially of that New Nazi of Vance.
The West have chosen a class of Politicians that are all but cultured. Whatever you look for from USA to Europe you'll find the worst species of snakes, poisonous puppies, orcs and parrots but you wont find a human being as defined in the vocabulary.
And all of this politicians and bureaucrats have promoted the worst kind of men and women to surround them. The media followed promoting ignorant and uncultured as the best ones, the one that deserve interviews, popularity and rewards. So the citizen understood that the wind changed and started behaving criminally, form evading taxes to arrogance and bad manners, from stealing to tricking and counterfeit. No matter if are small or big crimes, but the most today are delinquents.
Try to name an honest man/woman that you are not friend with, how many 5? 10?
As my motto says: We live in a World of Criminals made for criminals.
A propos interviews: "They always say questions are the only things that count in interviews. You don’t need the answers".
- David Dimbleby, “How We Built Britain”, episode 2.
And Jodl! Executed in 1945, exonerated in 1953. Did they restore him to life then? Or just say, "Frightfully sorry about that!"
The Nuernberg "Trials" demonstrated several points of primary importance.
1. The Allies (USSR, USA, Britain, France, Canada, etc.) had no interest in justice or fairness. They were perfectly happy to trample on all their own fine principles in the pursuit of revenge.
2. "International Law" is nothing more than a decorative fig leaf covering naked bestial rage and cold, calculated self-interest.
3. The Athenian speaker in the Melian Dialogue was absolutely correct. "[R]ight, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must”. Vae victis! (As Goering clearly foresaw as early as 1933).
Thank you Tom. Not many people have even heard of the Melian Dialogue! Or know what Vae Victis means. Your erudition always astounds me, as well as your insight,
Having had Latin bashed into me aged 9, I sometimes forget that other people weren’t so lucky! As for the Melian Dialogue, it shouldn’t be my fault if people haven’t heard of it - I have been writing about it for a month now. It seems to me to account for everything I struggled to understand when studying history. It’s so simple: the strong do whatever they like, until they run into someone who might be equally strong. At that point they stop and dicker a bit, as fighting might be ruinous for either or both. Then they pretend that the rules by which they negoatiate apply universally!
Enjoyed your article. If I may offer a correction on “Little Russia” in a subtitle to be referred to as “Minor Russia” which seems to me to be a more accurate translation of the Russian name Новороссия.
nice you mention and describe the difference oft mutual agreements and the usual "quick & dirty" fix which actually causes then more and more problems. For little Chappy: can you get goat liver for him has a good effect on rebuilding red bloodcells.
Julian - you've introduced a subject with a long standing history - debt forgiveness -
"I definitely have to read this book, especially in light of Rothbard's economic history that essentially reduces the development of modern economics to the gradual relaxations of Christian society's ban on usury over the centuries. As crazy as it sounds, it is entirely possible that what we think of as a necessity for economic growth is, to the contrary, an integral factor in reestablishing large-scale human slavery." - Vox Day
A country is lines on a map while a nation is a group of people sharing common values.
Any surviving Ukrainian state will owe a ton of baksheesh to the West. Any portion annexed to Russia is debt free - perhaps providing a little additional incentive to be on the right side of the line at the end of the exercise . . .
The US is offering to restore access to the SWIFT system to Russian banks. It'd be prudent for only one designated bank to take that role on behalf of the nation. That keeps driving traffic to the organic financial system, allows scrutiny of (oligarchs) funds transfers and maintains "separation distance" with the Western economy.
The US offer is designed to sideline BRICS alternative system. However, Russia and China do not regard SWIFT and the BRICS system as “either/ or”. They will use SWIFT if a,) it is necessary b.) it is economic . However, to the degree that SWIFT has been weaponized in the past to protect American interests, it is not a competitive system for the global majority.
Nice Mr.MacFarlane,
I would only add what it's missing here, not in your article, but in this story. Xi and his collaborators have showed the intelligence, culture and style at Munich Security Conference, another monster son of the depraved West as Davos. The level of the speech given there was so higher and smart and political than all of the others idiots from the West that spoke, especially of that New Nazi of Vance.
The West have chosen a class of Politicians that are all but cultured. Whatever you look for from USA to Europe you'll find the worst species of snakes, poisonous puppies, orcs and parrots but you wont find a human being as defined in the vocabulary.
And all of this politicians and bureaucrats have promoted the worst kind of men and women to surround them. The media followed promoting ignorant and uncultured as the best ones, the one that deserve interviews, popularity and rewards. So the citizen understood that the wind changed and started behaving criminally, form evading taxes to arrogance and bad manners, from stealing to tricking and counterfeit. No matter if are small or big crimes, but the most today are delinquents.
Try to name an honest man/woman that you are not friend with, how many 5? 10?
As my motto says: We live in a World of Criminals made for criminals.
No hopes for the West except a new Far West...
I wish I could disagree, I cannot.
If former Ukrainian Oblasts can get a debt jubilee, why not the 50 states in some large Western country getting one too?
Cutting off the debt service to corrupt billionaires could save lives.
However, all financialized economies are built on debt service.
A propos interviews: "They always say questions are the only things that count in interviews. You don’t need the answers".
- David Dimbleby, “How We Built Britain”, episode 2.
And Jodl! Executed in 1945, exonerated in 1953. Did they restore him to life then? Or just say, "Frightfully sorry about that!"
The Nuernberg "Trials" demonstrated several points of primary importance.
1. The Allies (USSR, USA, Britain, France, Canada, etc.) had no interest in justice or fairness. They were perfectly happy to trample on all their own fine principles in the pursuit of revenge.
2. "International Law" is nothing more than a decorative fig leaf covering naked bestial rage and cold, calculated self-interest.
3. The Athenian speaker in the Melian Dialogue was absolutely correct. "[R]ight, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must”. Vae victis! (As Goering clearly foresaw as early as 1933).
Thank you Tom. Not many people have even heard of the Melian Dialogue! Or know what Vae Victis means. Your erudition always astounds me, as well as your insight,
Having had Latin bashed into me aged 9, I sometimes forget that other people weren’t so lucky! As for the Melian Dialogue, it shouldn’t be my fault if people haven’t heard of it - I have been writing about it for a month now. It seems to me to account for everything I struggled to understand when studying history. It’s so simple: the strong do whatever they like, until they run into someone who might be equally strong. At that point they stop and dicker a bit, as fighting might be ruinous for either or both. Then they pretend that the rules by which they negoatiate apply universally!
Thanks Julian - good discourse - helpful.
Thank you,
Enjoyed your article. If I may offer a correction on “Little Russia” in a subtitle to be referred to as “Minor Russia” which seems to me to be a more accurate translation of the Russian name Новороссия.
https://substack.com/@calluramichael491850/note/c-96642979?r=1ii73h&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
nice you mention and describe the difference oft mutual agreements and the usual "quick & dirty" fix which actually causes then more and more problems. For little Chappy: can you get goat liver for him has a good effect on rebuilding red bloodcells.
Julian - you've introduced a subject with a long standing history - debt forgiveness -
"I definitely have to read this book, especially in light of Rothbard's economic history that essentially reduces the development of modern economics to the gradual relaxations of Christian society's ban on usury over the centuries. As crazy as it sounds, it is entirely possible that what we think of as a necessity for economic growth is, to the contrary, an integral factor in reestablishing large-scale human slavery." - Vox Day
https://crushlimbraw.blogspot.com/search?q=Forgive+our+debts&updated-max=2023-03-04T11:42:00-08:00&max-results=20&start=0&by-date=false&m=1