Cold war 2.0

[Virtual ghost]

 

[The Cat]

 

[The Cat]

Rule of Acquisition #34: War is good for business.
Rule of Acquisition #35: Peace is good for business.​

 

[Virtual ghost]

The first nail-biter election of 2024: Taiwan
Yeah, why start the war when the trolls can do the dirty job for you.




US warship shoots down drones as Red Sea crisis deepens

Iranian drone strikes ship off Indian coast, says Pentagon

Iran's navy receives 'smart' long-range missiles

We are once again at war in the Middle East

Turkish MPs set to restart talks on Sweden’s NATO application

Polish president vows to veto spending bill in massive clash with new government

Is Kim Jong Un grooming his daughter to rule North Korea?

 

[Virtual ghost]

What is the idea (or word) that will define 2024?

US strikes pro-Iran militants in Iraq after attack on base

Israel-Hamas war: Hamas rejects any temporary cease-fire

Fireball over Crimea as Ukraine hits large Russian navy ship

Drones are changing warfare — the EU needs to catch up

Indian navy to deploy warships in Arabian Sea

Azerbaijan expels French diplomats amid Armenia tensions

Why the South China Sea was turbulent in 2023

 

[Virtual ghost]

The summary of what was going on in Ukraine during 2023 and where things are going on the long run.

 

[Virtual ghost]

 

[Virtual ghost]

Turkey’s parliamentary committee approves Sweden’s NATO membership

African countries assert their role in global politics

Congo police seek to disperse banned election protest

Indonesia students storm Rohingya refugee center

India: Army orders inquiry into Kashmir civilian deaths

Serbian protesters ramp up claims of stolen election

Poland puts state media into liquidation amid political row

Japan allows world's biggest nuclear plant to restart

 

[Virtual ghost]

You can watch the whole video if you want but at 3:52 there is map of Russian Black sea fleet ships that were sunken thus far.

 

[Virtual ghost]

 

[Virtual ghost]

Argentina: Protesters march against Milei's economic reforms


As expected, the guy is going too far by the standards of many.

 

[Virtual ghost]

China picks ex-navy chief as new defense minister

Russia bombs cities across Ukraine in ‘massive’ overnight assault

Ukraine updates: Russia launches 'massive missile attack'

Why Germany’s lifeless coalition won’t die

Israel's ambassador to Germany warns of soaring antisemitism

Explosion hits Greek-owned ship on way to Ukraine

Navalny ally sentenced to 9 years in Russian prison

Poland says Russian missile entered then exited its airspace

Venezuela’s Maduro blasts ‘provocation’ as UK sends warship to Guyana

Argentina formally rejects BRICS membership

World population increased 75 million in 2023

2023: The year in figures and charts

US warship shoots down drone and missile in Red Sea




It takes effort just to try keeping up with everything that is going on.

 

[Virtual ghost]

 

[Virtual ghost]

 

[Virtual ghost]

Democracy is in peril in the world’s bonanza year of elections
2024 is here and now the main show can begin.




China’s Xi says reunification with Taiwan ‘inevitable,’ ahead of crucial vote on island

Russia launches New Year’s Eve strikes against Ukraine

Make-or-break national election looms over Belgian EU presidency

Germany mulls reintroduction of compulsory military service

Israel-Hamas: Israel intensifies offensive in central Gaza

North Korea plans to launch three satellites in 2024

Japan issues tsunami alert after major earthquake

China's solar sector steams ahead of EU and US

Russia, China ahead in race for Bolivia's lithium

After a new constitution, what's next for Chad?

Congo: Tshisekedi re-elected but opposition cries foul



Etc. etc.
Therefore it is safe to say we will see plenty of "drama" this year.

 

[Virtual ghost]

It is Jan. 1th and it is already rocking around nuclear power plants.
This is really going to be drama heavy year.

 

[The Cat]

 

[Virtual ghost]

This isn't how it will be in the bad case scenario. Russia will attack countries in the region that are outside of NATO. Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and perhaps a few more. However they wouldn't directly touch NATO as long as it works as it works today. However with the fall of Ukraine Russia will once again become neighbor of a number of countries in the ex Warsaw pact. In other words in many of those places you still have relevant political parties that are pro Russia. Some are on the left and they flirt with Communist iconography and the others are ultra nationalists that just want to own the libs.

However these two are often totally willing to work together to short circuit the current US friendly order. Therefore once Russia comes into direct contact with those places that will further boost such political parties and that is where the problem is. Since in that case you are risking the scenario that is some kind of "fall of Berlin wall" but in reverse direction. What would be huge political blunder that can easily completely sink image and position of the US in the world. Which is already on quite shaky grounds and this is exactly why lives of US citizen are a mess at this point. Plus this would cause a massive loss of assets in the region, because trillions would go to the wind over time just in Eastern Europe. What basically means even less money for average US citizen, more security spending, and thus even more mess within US itself (and no one really knows how that will end). So those that say that the collective west is being defended in Ukraine mean that quite literally. Since the odds are that this will have evident snowball effects for US in the big global picture. Because fall of Ukraine would basically mean that US is no longer a superpower, especially since that would only add to some other blunders that happened over the last few years. It is kinda shame that US media are incapable of explaining this pretty simple truth to the country. If you are losing ground the odds are that your income will drop. That is how world works since ever.

 

[SensEye]

I'm pretty sure if Ukraine gets abandoned to the point the whole country is taken over by Russia, Taiwan can kiss their independence goodbye as well. China won't wait around a decade for the US to repatriate their semiconductor industry either.

But there is a price to pay for leadership incompetence and the bi-partisan dysfunction the US has been experiencing since the Trump era. Five or so years from now (when hopefully the current clowns will be dead or at least out of politics) there will probably be some unpleasant hindsight.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Democracy is in peril in the world’s bonanza year of elections
2024 is here and now the main show can begin.

Democracy is only threatened when the people I don't like win... He says to himself ironically.

Not directed at you but at the article, and specifically in reference to the USA portion of the article (the rest is beyond the scope of what I'd be prepared to discuss in depth).

It's rich that they decline to mention the goings on with regard to Colorado and Maine presidential ballot access.

I wonder what they, deep in their hearts, mean when they say Democracy is threatened. Do they think democratic elections will no longer happen? I can't know but can only speculate. If they think it would mean an end to the democratic process, they're idiots unworthy of commenting on anything greater that a little league baseball game. Our elections will occur in the same "fortified" manner they have in the recent past, wherein both sides use every trick in the book they can get away with to tilt them in their preferred direction (the problem being that both sides aren't equally capable of doing this).

If, however, they mean that the monstrous power of our gov't might be turned against them if they turn out not to be holding its reins after Nov then I'd be less dubious of their mental capacity.

If we're being frank our gov't has been turned against it's people many times in the past. (Ruby Ridge and Waco, Hoover's use of the FBI in a multi decade crusade against the Reds, Obama's liberal use of the IRS against opponents)

Whether you think these actions were warranted depends largely on where you stand politically. And its the same today with this article.

The histrionic nature of the article reflects, I think, a more fundamental worry about the breakdown of political norms in the modern era.

Ruby Ridge and Waco aside, we had a pretty good stretch in the 90's where the US was hyper dominant, the economy was humming, and everyone was pretty bought in on the American project. But then we had 9/11 and the US gov't was turned into a surveillance state. We thought all the new power we gave the gov't wouldn't be turned against us, but then the public lost interest in the war on terror and the powers that be saw much more political utility in turning it against the domestic populace. Why didn't we just get rid of the unusual powers we gave the gov't after the war on terror winded down you might ask? Power is something the gov't never gives up willingly (with extremely rare exceptions). It's like a ratchet, it locks in the power it has now and only goes in one direction... growing.

So here we find ourselves. 9/11, the great financial crisis, the election of Trump, covid. All eroding the norms of what was the US in their own way. Each turning our government more and more into a weapon we use against ourselves. Each turning the next election into the most important election ever. Because increasingly it is. Elections feel like they matter much more when who wins determines who we loose the gov't dogs against.

As this happens the normal process of modern American politics breaks down, and all other theories become subservient to the friend/enemy distinction. Are you my friend? If so I want all gov't subsidies to go to you, I want the DOJ to overlook your transgressions, I want to lower your taxes and give you the benefit of the doubt. Are you my enemy? If so I want to assume all your motives are evil, I want the DOJ to go after you like their lives depend on it, I want you to get nothing from the gov't, in fact I want it to hinder and attack you in any and all ways possible.

For a while we had a unified enough country that we could all buy into a somewhat similar view of what America was. This agreed upon view was those norms that have eroded. Mass immigration has only eroded them further. With the electorate increasingly breaking into tribal and sometimes racial blocks. We were already eroding the norms on our own, but immigration has served as a catalyst increasing the rate of a chemical reaction that was already occurring. The less we have a shared culture, the more we are able to dehumanize each other and the more we are able to justify wielding the sword of gov't against our domestic foes.

The article reflects this, but mistakenly labels the problem as an erosion of democracy when what its referring to is a war that is probably as old as the country itself who's most recent iteration is at least several decades old.

This war, and the rise of the friend/enemy distinction is probably why I can almost never have a political conversation with US based users of this forum (with occasional exceptions @ygolo being the most recent example I think). Those used to happen all the time and in fact did almost endlessly. You as a European are kind of like a neutral third party looking in on our mess and (I assume) feel like its safe to talk to me. I wish, to be perfectly honest, you weren't the only one. But maybe there's nothing to be done about that. Maybe I have to irrevocably poisoned others against me (or they have poisoned themselves).

Anyway, I've rambled enough. As always I look forward to your reply but understand if I don't receive one.

Happy New Years! And look forward to a wild 2024 because it's certain to be one.