Open Thread

Word for the day: oca
Word for the night: juruselem artichoke

I received an email from an old chef friend who is email averse, but he wanted to tell me on the spot about a moonlit walk he took through old growth trees in Seattle’s Phinney Ridge.

He captured the wonder and magic of it all and spoke to the language of trees He then said, I have to go find my olde entish etymology to figure out what they said.

I relay this anecdote because I’ve been brooding once again about how a natural sense of wonder and appreciation of the natural world is subsumed by techno-nihilism and narcissistic social media and all the rest of the soul draining and brain deadening distortion that dominates the day.

Refreshing to hear a bit of poetic observations from someone with shared sensibilities. It gives a sense of hope that not all is lost. But give it a few years, maybe even a few months in these accelerated times. . . .

Still. I’m not giving up on beauty and magic and the wonder of the world. It’s out there. Or in here. Wherever you are.

Onward to the solstice and the sacred world.

I made the mistake of frequenting X-twitter too frequently, and given my interest in the Ukraine War, the result has been overexposure to the views of NATO-EU leaders advocating for general war against Russia. Combined with the bizarre extremes of relentless Ukrainian propaganda and the usual madness of social media posting — well, I find myself wondering whether reason and sanity can survive the inanity of humanity 2025.

I wonder no longer. Noah Smith, previously known for being Matthew Yglesias’ rival for the coveted Centrist Who is Wrong About Everything for a Decade Award, has officially jumped the shark.

Europeans do not need me to tell them that Putin’s Russia threatens not just Ukraine, but all of Europe. They are well aware of this fact. Russia now regularly flies its drones into Europe, and is probably behind a wave of sabotage attacks on European infrastructure.

How can Russia, a country of just 144 million people and $7 trillion in GDP (PPP), hope to overcome Europe, which has 520 million people and $33 trillion in GDP (including the UK), especially after Russia has expended so many of its young men and materiel in its war with Ukraine already? There are three answers here. The first is gray-zone warfare, including sabotage and political influence campaigns. But that’s only the beginning.

Russia’s second method for fighting Europe is what I call a “Ponzi empire” strategy. Russia has enslaved vast numbers of Ukrainians from the occupied regions of Ukraine to fight against the rest of their country. If Russia conquers the rest of Ukraine, it will similarly enslave the rest of the country’s population, and send them to fight against Poland, the Baltics, and Moldova. If they then defeat Poland, they will enslave the Poles and send them to fight against the next European target, and so on.

This is a very traditional Russian strategy. Enslaved Ukrainians were used to attack Poland in 1939. Enslaved Poles were forced to fight Russia’s wars in the days of the old Tsarist empire, and would have been forced to do so again as part of the Warsaw Pact. Just like zombies turn humans against their own, each slice of Europe that Russia can chop off ends up being turned against the rest.

Yes, that’s right: the Ukraine War as the Zombie Apocalypse Ponzi Scheme.

Maybe he’s being satirical and the jokes on me. Sanity check, please, on Aisle 3!

Also, Don has released the 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS). Under the new “Donroe Doctrine”, the U.S. pee on all the countries in the Western hemisphere — i.e. Latin America, the Caribbean, and other parts of the Americas — to assert its dominance.

Henceforth, those countries will no longer be allowed to trade with China.

The NSS declares that “non-Hemispheric powers” (i.e., China and Russia) should not be allowed to “own or control strategically vital assets” in the Americas, or to influence key infrastructure — ports, strategic resources, etc. It also decides that the U.S. will “encourage” governments in the Americas to use U.S. goods, services, and technologies over those of “outside” powers.

So, that would include Canada too, no?

“Jerusalem Artichoke”: “girasole” is Italian for sunflower (“tour”/”turn” and sun, so “turns with the sun”?), a different species than common or Mexican sunflowers. You can probably roast & eat the tubers of common or Mexican sunflowers.

It was my original intent to remark upon the National Security Strategy and the pivot to Latin America, but it requires an essay, not a few comments.

Nonetheless, since KT Chong brought it up, it’s obvious that regional domination and exclusion of China and Russia are major goals. Good luck with that. It’s gonna get messy way fast. Yanqui Go Home! Coming back again on steroids.

When asked about his pardon for former Honduran president and drug criminal thug, asleep-at-the-wheel Donny boy said some friends asked him to do it. (Along with a million bucks.)

What friends you ask? Marco Rubio and Stevie Miller and other ghouls who really run the show for sure. And who’s whispering in their ears? Andressen and Theil and the rest of the Silicon Valley frat boys who have designs on Central America to launch their planned cities project. Easy enough to pay off corrupt officials and move in and take over. Screw the people. Honduras is the first stop with the other greaser nations in the sights.

This is not tin foil hat stuff. It’s already underway, and the perpetrators are making no effort to hide it. A compliant media is glad to look the other way on their behalf. All members of the same club dontcha know.

Ugly and getting uglier in the Wéstern and Southern Hemispheres as Uncle Sam comes a calling to steal and rape and plunder. Deja vu all over again. Kiss your ass and water and mineral rights goodbye.

KT Chong, come on now. Of course the name T-800 is no accident, and the point was not lost on them. It’s a bit of cheeky fun.