Outside of the Echo Chamber

The world continues to evolve

[Newly opened, “BRI” funded, deepwater shipping port in Chancey, Peru.]

Published: 2024-11-21

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One cannot obtain a global perspective from wallowing in the echo chamber of Western media. Irrespective of the lies and narrative spin it spews, it does not give voice to the rest of the world. Instead, one is informed of what some westerner thinks about how the rest of the world, or some place within it, thinks about what the West just did.

Obtaining an picture of where the world is and where it is heading is made far simpler by ignoring the club of legacy narcissists talking to each other, and instead listening to those who live in the rest of the world, or at least spend time speaking with them.

The Defanging of the West

The Ukraine Debacle

NATO and Ukraine have been defeated in Ukraine by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, its leadership and technology and Russia's trading partners. This was not meant to happen. Russia was meant to fold due to military incompetence and economic destruction. This confidence was shared throughout the Western political class, indicating just how warped their view of the world is, as portrayed in Western media. That media could not even acknowledge history. That political class has now to deal with reality.

The recent hullabaloo about Western missiles is nothing more than a departing gesture by the Biden regime, throwing a hand-grenade into the plans of the next regime, under Trump, because of spite and hatred. The missiles will cause deaths and damage to Russia, but will, precisely as outgoing Secretary of State Austin said, have no impact on the outcome of the conflict. Because Biden's authorization incorporates US targeting data, which is a declaration of war, Russia has augmented its nuclear doctrine. The updated version assigns responsibility for offensive military behaviour from a military alliance to all of its members. There shall be no more distinguishing between the US, France, Germany, the UK, Lithuania, Finland or any of the rest. You are NATO. If you covet your "collective defence" then consider your "collective offense".

Russia can confidently make this "upgrade" to its doctrine because it has defeated NATO. There is nothing NATO can do about this technically, or practically.

Welcome to the world you have created, NATO. AUKUS and "The Quad", have a look at your NATO "partners".

The Zionist Implosion

The US is facing a similar problem in southwest Asia. The NATO colony called Israel is running a genocide which is being predominantly, militarily supported by the US, with assistance from Germany (weaponry) and UK (intelligence), and the EU (diplomatically). Israel has succeeded in killing hundreds of thousands of women, children and other civilians to further the Zionist dream of a world free of Arabs.

Israel has not only failed to defeat Hamas, but has swelled the political movement and militia's ranks. Israel's invasion of Lebanon has been an utter disaster, militarily. Again, the Israeli military "success" is killing thousands of civilians from the air. Assassinating Hezbollah's "leadership" has had no effect at all on its operations defending Lebanon.

Ansar Allah in Yemen are still attacking Israeli shipping and Israel in compliance with the Genocide Convention. The US Navy and Israel have not been able to stop this attack on the genocidaires’ economy. This in itself is astounding. After a year, including Operation Prosperity Guardian by the US, Yemen is still playing its role in "preventing and punishing" the genocide by Israel.

Israel's "100 planes" attack on Iran amounted to a nothing burger. No plane entered Iranian airspace. No significant damage was done. Israel is impotent against military power. Its military and the US military know this.

Whenever the US attacks people and facilities in Iraq, it is Iraq's government and Iran's government which prevent the Iraqi PMUs from launching all out assaults on US military assets in the country. The PMUs are not afraid at all of the US military presence. They are following orders.

These elements are the "Axis of resistance". Neither Israel nor the US can contain them.

Society and Politics in the Levant

This military analysis benefits from having social and political analysis added to it.

Starting in Lebanon, Israel is attempting to use its targeting of the civilian population to create a political result which will allow it to attack southern Lebanon whenever it wishes. Israel calls this a "ceasefire". To everybody else it is an obvious annexation. But, murdering civilians to create a political reality is Israel's default strategy. The problem which it and the US are facing is that it is not only Hezbollah which is successfully opposing Israel and its wanton war crimes.

The people of the region can see the successful countering of the genocide and war crimes by multiple local actors — the Axis. This is inspiring. It creates hope and belief.

The Iranian strategy of forming separate resistance movements all with both a political and military wing, and securing their military capabilities below ground, is a strong counter to both air power and the Israeli tactic of massacring their opponents' civilian population. The populaces of the region can see this, both the inhumanity of the Zionists with which they are well familiar, and the impotence of Israel's backers to defeat the resistance movements.

The region is ruled by a collection of despots, often monarchist. This has been the easiest way for the colonialists to dominate the region and its resources because they do not speak Arabic or Farsi, and do not understand the complex politics of the region. The colonialists need the depots to rule in their stead. Those despots need to maintain control of their populations. That control is fraying, tearing even, because of the success of the local resistance movements. The political situation for the local despots is far more dire than is being portrayed in legacy Western media.

Statements issued from the recent dual meeting of the Arab League and the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation in Riyadh provided a window into this unstable political reality. Those political statements amounted to a declaration that the region needs Iran far more than it needs Israel. On the street, the situation is far clearer. Each nation’s people are asking “why are you not supporting the removal of the Zionist colonial entity?”

Strategic Partnerships

Back in June 2021 this newsletter noted that China's single foreign military base was located in Djibouti, just across the junction of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden from Yemen.

During Ansar Allah's campaign of economic punishment for Israel it has displayed discipline. Its attacks on shipping have been exclusively limited to those owned by or coming to or from Israel. Ansar Allah are not a "rogue actor".

Their campaign required drones. The largest manufacturers of drones are Chinese, Iranian and Russian.

One may recall the episode in which the US Navy interdicted a ship in international waters in the Red Sea. Two special forces operatives were injured or killed. The obvious purpose was to prevent supply to Ansar Allah. This is amusing, because of the US Navy's "Freedom of Navigation" cruises up and down the Taiwan Straits. I have no idea what Ansar Allah's supply chains are, but I do know that they exist and the US has not been able to successfully break them. It is a 500 Km flight from Djibouti to Sana'a.

From a Persian perspective a moment to start the clock, skipping 1953, is when US President Trump abandoned the JCPOA during his first term. This had been negotiated by his predecessor to exchange IAEA inspections, which would inform the world of any move by Iran to begin a nuclear weapons program, for the lifting of US and European sanctions on Iran. Professor Marandi informs that the US never actually removed its sanctions. In fact, it was the opposite. Obama implemented them. Trump increased them. Biden maintained them. Then Russia overtly entered the Ukrainian civil war and new US and EU, oil and other sanctions were slapped on Russian businesses. This further constricted the energy market.

During this period Iran concluded that the US and perhaps much of Europe would never rescind their sanctions. Instead, Iran looked for other economic partners. It found one in China, and through that others from BRICS and the SCO.

The point which Marandi makes is that even if the US and Europe now drop all of their sanctions, Iran will not adjust its trade flows to a level where the sudden removal of that trade will endanger it again. Iran would be insane to do this when such a diversity of potential trade partners exists outside of the failing and unreliable Western block.

This situation is not unique to Iran. It is felt everywhere outside of Western block, the "Global Majority", the "Global South", the rest of the world.

This is the predicament which the US has created for the white, Christian, ethno-supremacist, corrupt, immoral West. Business is business, so one can drop all of those pejorative adjectives. But, why do business with western businesses when that business relationship is not stable, when it is routinely interfered with by Western governments for ideological reasons which often make no sense. Instead, say the developing nations of the world and many of the most economically developed, lets do our trade with each other.

There is no "turning this ship around". It has left port. Strategic trade will be structured towards reliable partners. There is no promise which US President Trump will be able to make which he can guarantee will be valid in 4.5 years. The next government will just do whatever it wants. This exceptionalist behaviour is endemic to US culture. It will take at least an entire generation's worth of observable trustworthiness before any nation will trust anything the US says. For Russia, the same is true with Europe.

Economic relations with "the West" are understood to be a trap. The rest of the world is choosing from alternatives being offered to them and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Relief

The world is new again. Yes, the belligerent West needs to be managed, but it is not able to dominate anymore. A new fabric of trade and international relations has been established. Its construction is continuing.

The Western nations can participate, but will be permitted only so much as is beneficial and low risk.

China is preparing for the trade war which Trump has signaled. Just as China is preparing, so are the other corners of the triangle of strategic partners, Russia and Iran. Asia has been embraced by the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative). Old border disputes between Russia and China were resolved years ago. Ones between India and China have recently been agreed to be resolved at the highest level.

One of the most important missing pieces to BRICS and its integration with ASEAN has recently been found. Indonesia is joining BRICS. The importance of this cannot be overstated. Indonesia is a rich nation which has remained underdeveloped. Its 220 million Muslim population rightly demand respect. They are joining the civilizational states where this is understood.

The world is relieved. A path of least resistance out of the trap of hegemony has been created. The water of international trade and relations are running down a fissure through barriers created by the hegemon and its colonial partners. Trade flow can be constructed with lesser risk.

Happily, the new Trump administration has set its sights on "fixing" "America". This will keep it busy for quite some time. The pieces of "America" which are to be fixed are already resisting the fixing. Have fun.

Outside of the Echo-Chamber

The suffering of wars created by the West to line the pockets of their arms manufacturers and investors will continue. It is not that the leaders of the new world don't care, it is that political changes required to resolve the generated conflicts take time to build. In the meantime, there are many other important issues which require attention above and beyond the furtherance of trade free of Western sanction.

Escobar was right to credit the Brazilian government with preventing the G7 from railroading the recent G20 meeting. Due to Brazil's insistence, issues of poverty and hunger were placed in front of attending leaders.

On the other side of the Andes a new deep-water shipping port was opened by Chinese President Xi Jinping. It marked the first major transport infrastructure project linking Peru and thus South America into the BRI network. Bibi's lawyer, outgoing US Sec. of State Blinken attempted to pour water on the party by announcing that Caltrain would dump a few 40 year old diesel rail cars into Peru. This, of course, requires EPA approval for them to break air pollution laws in California so that they could be driven onto the ships which would deliver them. To which port do you think they will be delivered?

The rest of the world does not live in the mendacious echo chamber of Western legacy media. It lives on its lands, next to its neighbours, with its relations, watching the world changing. There is optimism for there is breathing room. The warring West can flail all it wants, yelling invectives in its psyop media.

The rest of the world does not care.

There are plenty of productive and beneficial things to do while the West argues with itself.

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Sources

Indonesia wants to join BRICS, ministry says, Reuters, Archive.today, 2024-10-26

Indonesia to Push For Full BRICS Membership, New Foreign Minister Says, Thediplomat, Archive.today, 2024-10-25

California sends diesel trains to Peru amid pending EPA diesel train ban waiver, Thecentersquare, Archive.today, 2024-11-22

G20 Knocks Out G7 Agendas, Pepe Escobar, The Unz Review, 2023-11-22

The West’s very fundamental accumulating contradictions, Alastair Crooke, Strategic Culture, 2024-11-11

Patrick Lawrence: Zionists in Amsterdam, Patrick Lawrence, ScheerPost, 2024-11-14

Zelensky's ATACMS Gambit: Nuclear Red Alert or More Empty Provocations?, Simplicius, Simplicius, 2024-11-20

Pentagon Fails Seventh Straight Audit as Annual US Military Budget Nears $1 Trillion, Jake Johnson, ScheerPost, 2024-11-19

English Outsider On Trump's Cabinet Of Curiosities And How Little It Matters, b., Moon of Alabama, 2024-11-16

The BRICS Spirit: Alive and Well in South Africa, Pepe Escobar, The Unz Review, 2024-11-20

Dancin' in Djibouti and Aiden' the BRI, YesXorNo, 2021-06-19

Pepe Escobar： Devastating Escalations in Ukraine, G20 & BRICS [oglfE3We048], Alkhorshid interviews Escobar, Dialogue Works, 2024-11-19

Prof. Mohammad Marandi： Iran's Massive Reponse Coming as Hezbollah CRUSHES IDF Forces [BxGEL6MvZVQ], Alkhorshid interviews Marandi, Dialogue Works, 2024-11-20

Culture

Eric Clapton - Rambling on My Mind (Robert Johnson cover - Live 2008) [bO5IlGh1oWA], Eric Clapton, uploaded by Tiago Cardeal 2015-05-08

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