There’s a clinical diagnosis called body dysmorphia, where people think there’s something wrong with their body when it’s fine. Colloquially, some people refer to “reverse body dysmorphia” where someone thinks their body is better than it is.
In late middle aged men this often exhibits itself as thinking that they’re stronger, tougher and better in a fight than they are, feeling they’re as good as they were when younger. Some find out the hard way they’re wrong, picking a fight they can’t win.
This applies to American elites. They think America is as powerful as it was back during the Gulf War: able to crush opponents. It leads to constant incorrect decisions. The first major one was believing that sanctions would destroy the Russian economy and lead to victory for Ukraine.
The second major error was the second Iranian war. They thought they could easily beat Iran and overthrow its government. Instead all their local bases were smashed, they Strait of Hormuz was closed by the Iranians, their carrier groups forced back, and their one attempted ground action in Iran, to seize Iran’s enriched uranium reserve, was a bloody fiasco.
Since then they’ve tried to escort out ships and retreated. They’ve put on a blockade of the blockade, and Iran hasn’t buckled and Trump in particular keeps spouting on about how Iran is essentially already defeated and eager for a deal even as Iran has repeatedly refused negotiations.
The world economy is shuddering, the price of oil and its distillates are soaring, American farmers can’t afford enough fertilizer and Russia and China turn out to be two of the nations most able to weather the storm.
Woops.
And American elites keep talking like there’s a military solution when there isn’t. They keep talking like Iran lost the six week war, and not them. They keep offering peace terms which amount to “give us what we can’t win on the field of battle”.
They think they’re still America in the 90s. They don’t get that America is about half de-industrialized and that its military is set up to fight wars of the 90s, not modern drone and missile wars.
They have Empire dysmorphia, thinking they’re still in their prime, when they are no longer a hegemonic power, but only a Great Power. They can push around weak nations like Cuba or Venezuela, but not great powers, and Iran is a great power, as they proved by beating the US.
As long as America keep thinking they’re the only big dog, with the possible exception of China, they’re going to keep walking chin first into fights they can’t win, and their collapse is going to accelerate as a result. Their sanctions on China completely backfired and instead of China’s old stance, which was to trade with the US and let it slowly decline, China has pushed on ever tech lead that the West has.
Europe is similar. They don’t get that they aren’t even a Great Power any more. They are just weak, corrupt, sclerotic nations without any significant resources, who even added all together aren’t in the technological race. They’re deindustrializing. And they keep talking tough and making enemies.
Insanity. Sheer insanity.
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spud
we watched the U.K. free trade away their industrial advantage prior to WWI, and the only reason why they won is because of the racist fascist prototype wilson bailed them out.
the ottoman empire free traded themselves into the sick man of europe. we have done the same thing, in all three cases, it was to goose the profits of the rich, to the detriment of their workers.
its so embedded now that when a gates or a karp who are completely out of touch call and say i want this, our neo-liberal government jumps.
the weapons we are using today, came out at the very end of the new deal, when government still invested in R&D. that ended in 1993, as keen said, the democrats thought that we did not even need to manufacture, instead we should rely on paper manipulation.
matt stoller said recently the the stock market values must fall, or there will be a reckoning soon about the values.
i wonder if stoller really understands how far those values must fall to truly reflect the real american economy.
we are talking banana republic type of economy. 64% of our food comes from off shore, let alone just about everything we consume. how is the empire going to pay for all of that foreign one way trade?
Oakchair
Pride goeth before the fall.
In social sense what near universally occurs is dissenters are driven away.
Censorship, and cancelation are the extreme forms. This driving away occurs via drowning out intellectual discussion with repetitions of the chosen narrative.
People have their limits and most will eventually decide to leave the discussion because dealing constantly with people who think insults and appeals to authority etc aren’t anything but a petulant knee jerk covering up ignorance and insecurity isn’t worthwhile.
The end result is –well you’re living it.
cc
This reverse dysmorphia is a symptom of US exceptionalism.
Those marauding hegemonic U.S. elites should perhaps read this “tour de force” (double entendre intended) from Oliver Hua:
The US War Machine Underwhelms – part 1
https://huabinoliver.substack.com/p/the-us-war-machine-underwhelms-part
The US War Machine Underwhelms – part 2
https://huabinoliver.substack.com/p/the-us-war-machine-underwhelms-part-abd
By the way, a country making its defensive military capabilities known to a marauding hegemon – as Russia/China/Iran have all repeatedly been forced to do in the face of the constant US aggression – should not be interpreted as claims to exceptionalism:
It’s like a porcupine that raises its defensive quills when approached by a cougar looking for its next meal – the advertising of the quills shouldn’t be taken as a claim to exceptionalism, it’s really just trying to send out clear warnings to the foolish predator to back off and not carry out its planned attack, or else.
elkern
spud – clarification or citation, plz, on “64% of our food comes from off shore”?
If you’re talking about USA, that’s gotta be wrong; we were a net food exporter until 2023 (+/-1).
If you’re talking about UK, that sounds about right.
bruce wilder
I won’t dispute that “exceptionalism” in its hypocritical degeneration deserves all the scorn heaped upon it, But, “exceptionalism” in its moralistic justifications was the source of what little redeemed the American Imperium. It was the “Monroe Doctrine” that shielded Latin America from European interference and exposed Maximilian to the firing squad. It was the “Open Door” that turned back a German proposal to partition of China and fought WWII to defeat a Japanese partition. It was the Atlantic Charter that pressed for decolonization and a United Nations.
The “left” so infatuated with its incisive critique, its clear view of realpolitik, leaves us with no ambition for a better world.
We are living in an era crying out for new institutions, a new set of “norms” and “the left” holds a mirror that shows, yes, an ugly degeneracy, but also the hollow, empty, pointless irrelevance of the decayed remnants of liberal and socialist politics.
anonone
Russia is going to win in Ukraine in the same way America won in Vietnam.
Mark Level
Just listening to Alex Christoforou, he notes Trump just dodged, said he’ll stay in the formerly ended “non-war,” longer now. Of course they can be tactical (never strategic) and since they are talking to Iranian leadership this may have a valid context.
Body Dysmorphia– I read an interesting piece on this in Harper’s from 2024. It mostly focused on a man who believed he shouldn’t have one (or both!) of his legs, thought about throwing one under a passing train . . . but his wife knew, he chickened out, what he did do was in a private workshop on his farm was to build leg casts, foot binding stuff, etc. and wear it both privately and in public (but dodging the wife) to half fulfill his fantasy.
Ian’s example makes sense. As an older man, I get it. spud as usual has lots of value to see. I need to click on cc’s links, sure they will be valuable. I listened to most of George Galloway’s midweek podcast today, 1 exception and bit of good news. As Starmer might be OUT after elections (I believe today?), he has admitted that the insane Russophobic UK cannot seize Russian cargos (often the ships not Russian-owned, flag of a different nation) on the high sees. Not too OT– Sweden flying regular surveillance flights over the Black Sea. I don’t know why the Russians are so restrained & don’t shoot these down. I’d bet they could do it without fatalities.
Not too OT either: Galloway now lives in Moscow, after he and his wife were detained at Heathrow, their devices stolen and hacked, had guns aimed at them by “Anti-Terrorism Squad.” He had a heart problem from the stress, they left the UK likely forever. He noted that in recent days the Financial Times had been reporting Putin has been disappeared, likely a Coup against him had him detained, etc. But being IN Moscow, he found out what a Big Lie this is. Putin’s black limos passed by him en masse on a downtown Moscow street, so evidently this is 100% bullshit.
I think the War so far shows the shift in actual strength internationally among the top 4 powers. China is clearly the Big Dog, #1. Arguably US could be #2, still has greatest Navy in the World, Massive military budget of $1.5 Trillion built up by the Donald, who of course blabbed Military is ONLY budget that matters, “Security,” NO Medicare, Childcare or Social Security for the dirty poor majority, “the States will have to handle that.” Can you imagine Shitholes like Arkansas, W. Virginia, Mississipi etc. doing that? No way, Jose. Before leaving USA, the current $43 Trillion in debt is a big anchor. But Mafia Don knows how NOT to pay his debts.
Russia is certainly 3rd, both a Military & Economic Giant, and for 1/7th (the last I heard) the cost of the profitized War-Pigs in the US like Boeing, Northrop-Grumman, etc. And like China, ascendent. (Btw before leaving Russia, a certain Banderist whose haunted this site for a year or more is MIA in the last 1-2 weeks I noticed. Realized nobody is buying most of his b.s., NAFO Hasbara?) I’ll miss all the laughter he brought to me, on a level with Kaja Kallas or Bush Jr. But we all have to move on when the time goes.
(Which provokes a little digression. Sorry I will be unable to share the idiocy of LG&M Shit Lib posts in future. My Ad Blocker upset them, and I’m not going to disable it to read their drivel. I saw their ads, mostly just for boozhie clothes and accessories, until recently. Hey, I got something in common with MIA, don’t like “boozhie” crap.)
To close, Iran is currently clearly the 4th Rising Power, a regional Superpower, Trump’s blunders assured it. All 13 US Military bases in the region totally annihilated, even the MSM has reported. There’s talk US will finally get a Fortress in IsraHell, the sole (?) one in the region if the war conntinues, and Iran forced to hit the Saudis, Emiratis, Bahrain, etc. and make them uninhabitable. The New Jersey-sized Genocidal State doesn’t rank in top 15 without $3.8 Billion annual Uncle Shmuely infusions, hugely ramped up by both Genocide Joe and Mafia Don since Oct. 7. They are great at exterminating civilians across 8+ nearby states, but little else. NOT good at regional wars, latest news is Hezbollah kicking their ass on the ground, though they continue to carpet-bomb or explode housing South of the Litani River. Reminds me of a Narcito BIG LIE from a couple days back, he was justifying the Lebanon Government-approved Genocide in S. Lebanon, claimed “IsraHell claims NO territory in South Lebanon” when in fact 100s of claims from the Zionists could be found, “it’s a special security zone, it’s part of GREATER ISRAEL, the God of Abraham gave us the land-deed, like W. Bank, Egypt, Turkey, etc. etc.”
And a nice coincidence. Judge Nap & Pepe Escobar on right now, just played a clip of li’l Narcito, Secretary of State, saying “Operation Epstein Fury is over, we have achieved all our objectives!!” Are they finally walking away? We can’t know, Diaper Don’s Imperial Body Dysphoria is major, he still lives in the 1980s. Sick “Gook”-killer Keith Kellog’s Kornflakes is even more deluded, back in the 1970s, Russia’s about to Fall, the majority wants Regime Change and to hand their Country Over to the Green Goblin and Ukrainian Supremacy!!
spud
clkern:
no one knows for sure the exact number, these are just estimates. but if you look at a jar, can, or box, many times it says made with global components made in the U.S.A. honey is a prime example, could come from multiple countries, cooking oil is getting to be like that.
i used to see hamburger and other meats labeled could come from these countries. obama made lying legal. now they don’t have to tell you.
during the reign of terror of bill clinton, it was reported that rich parasites and leeches, would load up planes full of live chickens, and freshly caught fish onto jumbo jets, flown to china to be processed, then sent back to america.
you have to look at the package of breaded food, if it does not say where its processed, good chance its china.
so far i have only seen gortons fish, or banquet chicken saying on the package, fish sourced and processed in the U.S.A., chicken hatched grown and processed in the u.s.a.
but i am seeing less of that today from those brands.
i have not seen those statements on any other frozen processed foods. so if you got a kid that likes chicken nuggets or fish sticks, beware.
on every can of cambells soup, i used to see proudly made and cooked in the U.S.A. now i only see that on a few cans, the rest, suspicious.
so much of the processing goes on in china. when covid hit, i saw bakeries down because they were waiting from shipments from china so that they could bake.
now clinton saw the exporting of raw products to be processed as a export, like he did with nafta. when in reality, its a import
Overview of Food Processing in China for American Companies
Many American companies rely on food products sourced from China, particularly in the processed food sector. This relationship has raised concerns regarding food safety and foreign control over the U.S. food supply.
Key Companies and Products
Several major American food brands are linked to Chinese ownership or sourcing. Here are some notable examples:
Company Ownership Products
Smithfield Foods WH Group (China) Pork products, including bacon and hot dogs
Armour Foods WH Group (China) Processed meats
Farmer John WH Group (China) Bacon and other pork products
Concerns About Foreign Control
The acquisition of Smithfield Foods by WH Group in 2013 has been particularly controversial. This deal has led to:
National Security Concerns: Lawmakers have expressed worries about the implications of foreign ownership of a significant portion of the U.S. pork supply.
Food Safety Issues: There have been criticisms regarding the treatment of livestock and food safety standards in China, which may differ from U.S. regulations.
foodrepublic.com foodexport.org
Charles P. Steadman
Worth remembering the USN’s ‘standard class’ battleships were designed with the Royal Navy as its main adversary.
The only reason the US came into WWI on the side of the Brits is because they owed us more money than the Germans did.p
Carborundum
The people attempting to sell the notion that the US ground incursion was intended to seize Iranian highly enriched uranium stores are talking through their hats. This isn’t picking up a few hundred kg of nice convenient metallic uranium and strapping it to the planks of a little bird. The uranium is in the form of UF6, which is a bitch and a half to handle and has to be packaged into small quantities to manage criticality. Each package is contained in an armoured cask that weighs about 10,000 kg apiece. Each of these casks is a little better than 4X the max gross takeoff weight of a little bird at sea level – which Esfahan notably is not (think Denver). Work through the total numbers and it’s about 10 fully laden C130-Js to exfil the material, assuming one could magically conjure it across the intervening space to the strip. Not in this physical reality.
mago
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.
Reading the porcupine analogy reminds me of my Costa Rica perro de campo named sombra who showed up outside my door one night with a jaw and mouth filled with porcupine quills. I grabbed her around the neck and with tweezers plucked each and every one out, thus gaining undying fidelity until the day she died an ugly death from tick fever.
Had something pertinent to say apropos of all this, but it eludes me now.
Foolish dogs. Foolish people. You can’t trust anyone or anything, but still, be a good friend to all. Why not? What have you got to lose?
KT Chong
This is HUGE but so far the Western mainstream media has barely covered it:
Breaking Points: China Says SCREW YOU To US Sanctions (interview with Richard Wolff)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVuGw6Ci0ZU
The Duran: CHINA strikes back at US sanctions. Russia’s oil revenues SURGE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DduxIhHpyyE
Jimmy Dore: China Tells Trump It’s “GAME OVER” For U.S. Economic Sanctions!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brZhz0kmBPY
– – –
Here is a much better video with clear breakdowns and details:
GVS Deep Dive: China Fires Back at U S Sanctions — This Changes Everything:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0yIJIFSG0o
– – –
TL;DW:
On May 2, 2026, China made a very public announcement to orders companies operating in China — both Chinese and foreign — to ignore and NOT to comply with US sanctions (on Iranian oil and trade, but the underlying legal framework extends to *ALL* US sanctions.)
Under China’s new anti-sanctions and blocking statute, which was implemented in 2021 but activated for the first time:
China will take legal actions against any companies in China that comply with “foreign” sanctions, (i.e., foreign = the US.)
In addition and more importantly:
If the US sanctions “Entity A” in China, and “Entity B” that operates in China — Entity B could be either Chinese or foreign — refuses or terminates business with Entity A to comply with the US sanctions and to avoid secondary sanctions, then Entity A can sue Entity B in a Chinese court for compensations for financial damages caused by Entity B’s compliance with US sanctions.
The compensations and damages are open-ended and NOT capped. This matters because uncertainty itself becomes a pressure tool: i.e., Entity B cannot expect to just pay off a court judgement (up to a certain, known preset limit) as the cost of managing risks and “doing business in China / complying with the US sanctions.”
For any Americans who want to believe: “China is not going / won’t dare to enforce the anti-US blocking law” or “China is going to *selectively* enforce the law”, well, companies themselves are going to enforce the law by suing other companies that comply with unilateral, extrajudicial — i.e., illegal — US sanctions.
Michael Droy
When does the US empire end? never? 2070? 2040? 2025? or back in 2015?
I ask because I think this is what drives most peoples understanding of the 21st centruy.
There are a stack of people who think that the US empire was doing fine right up till Trump came on board, and fine again for 4 years under Biden. You can’t expect them to understand modern history.
There are lots of ways to look at end of empire. Ray Dalio has 10. Peter Turchin has “elite surplus” – the flip side of deep inequality being a largenumber of oligarchs trying to pervert governments into just making the oligarchs richer.
For US empire it seems to be inequality, technology defeat to Russia and China, Military (big big failures and delusions).
Those like me who fell US empire fell back in 2015 see the Iran war not as US conceit – thinking it could win a war it couldn’t. But as realism – US under Trump deliberately pulling out of conflict first with Russia over Ukraine and then with China over Taiwan. It is all in the NSS 2025.
Realists and certainly BRICS members will see USA as the school bully surprised by the arrival of 2 bigger and nicer kids. What to do? Wipe the smile off your face, scowl, and threaten anyone smaller like crazy. Destroy cigarette boats, kidnap a couple of semi consenting Venezuelans and call it a mad aggressive victory. Greenland, Tarriffs, all the same talk. Small stick – shout very loudly.
Does US have to fight a war? Could US have not fought with Iran? And isn’t i tthe aggression that matters, not the winning or losing.
Indeed can the US lose in a ME war? 10,000 km from US, where US assets can all be explained away as Saudi or UAE asset, against an enemy with no A-bomb let alone H bomb?
It all seems pretty sensible to me, not dysmorphic reverse or otherwise – just plain honest with itself. US has to fight and Iran is a safe option with plenty of “justification” and little to lose.
But then I think the empire ended in 2015-er. The author I suspect is at 2025 right now so has a perfectly consistent approach.
But the more we think about it the earlier the date shifts I reckon.