The Biggest Loss will come like a land mine disguised as a child’s toy. Wrapped in such bright colors, it will be irresistible to the governing elites -- a package of high inflation along with war.
I've read that as many as 80 Roman senators were killed by Hannibal's army at the Battle of Cannae. There would be a lot less war rhetoric among US politicians if they had to put their lives on the line. Wouldn't you love to see Lindsey Graham in a trench somewhere in Ukraine?
Put biden, harris, graham all on the front lines and their kids and grandkids plus the execs of all the military industrial complex. They put other people's kids in danger to just enrich themselves. Biden's giving zeleinski anti-personal landmines guarantees hundreds of dead and crippled kids for generations there. Biden and his DEI generals should be brought up on war crime charges.
For all the political talk, up and down the socio-economic ladder, we need to be reminded that the world is no longer run by politicians. Administrations are now shills, the world over. Joe Biden, just to take one example, hasn’t made a single decision since Inauguration Day. For him, not even the thermostat setting. He didn’t decide to green light Ukraines use of IRBMs. Neither did anyone reporting to him. Who did? The answer remains “we don’t know”. Perhaps a committee of international bankers. Perhaps the Council on Foreign Relations. Perhaps the UN. Perhaps the Club of Rome. Perhaps the Freemasons. Perhaps the Bilderbergers. Perhaps the Committee of 300. I could go on. The point here is that all the talk and blame still goes to politicians when politicians are no longer running things. We live under a dark web of supranational power brokers. The ones at the top are evil, bent on one world government and the elimination of most of us. Donald Trump lives under them too, even though he is not one of them. This frames his challenge, which is enormous, as well as ours. God help us, for without his help we are finished. This is the unvarnished truth.
You almost had me there ... so close, so, so close !! @ least you properly identified (((their))) a$$ociation$. Butt then ... your TD$ wor$hip let the zio-Trump$tein $lip off the hook .
Not sure I agree, Bill, given the new Administration’s stated objectives (and they, unlike most politicians will attempt to do what they say).
1. Trump wants out of external conflicts. I’d hold him to that. I don’t think the Country’s behind the Ukraine war and they’re ready to stop. It’s been 50+ years of an all-volunteer military and we can’t fill slots. YOUNG FOLKS WON’T SIGN UP TO BE SENT TO KILL BY SOMEONE IN AN IVORY TOWER. Soldiers were meant to defend, not extend.
2. Trump’s economic plans look inflationary. But he has a shot at significantly lowering spending. Most companies run into issues and have to “tighten the belt” and restructure to survive. Best I can tell, the U.S. government has NEVER done that. So I’m interested in the first real attempt to shrink the government.
Tariffs matter. The current tax on U.S. manufacturers is high. In the EU it is 27%. So US goods exported to the EU get assessed a tax of 27% upon entry into the EU. But, EU goods exported to the US get a 27% rebate and face low tariffs entering the US. American companies pay direct taxes that are not rebated. This is the bias. For China, it is 15%. If they won’t change (and they haven’t), we’ll take the tax monies. It’ll be inflationary, but should be consumption-based.
Rather than focus on the Doomsday (of which there are enough Black Swans out there to warrant it), would be great to take a shot at what would fix this. And it can be fixed.
On your item 2…. Bill Bonner attempted to do what DOGE is slated to do back in the 60’s and it failed at the Supreme Court. So, Bill is not blowing smoke here!
Hopefully Musk will get Trump to close out the hundreds of bases we have all over the world and shut down bloated military agencies like the Missile Defense Agency which was probably the most incompetent wasteful agency I ever encountered when I worked at DoD.
Now there's some accountability right there. Admitting to having been a part, and parcel of the bloody, parasitic MIC problem. Butt, butt, butt ... R we supposed to believe that you worked very vigilently to make sure not a single confiscated dime of the taxpayer's wages were mis-spent or wasted ... U earned your keep, huh???
We were all instructed by what measures, and under what criteria we should judge. His self admission to being a part of the zio-MIC'$, murderous skullduggery, is self-condemnation. Yo solo, pointed it out.
Drafted, disabled, 6 years, Viet Nam fiasco, slightly less bombs than on Gaza, but a much bigger area.!! ... and you??
You are clearly part of the problem by ignorantly bending over and sticking your head in the ground while this goes on. Hopefully more people will start doing the right thing and holding the government accountable which was the way our Founding Fathers intended it to be.
I have been writing for some time that we need fewer rules, but better ones that are enforceable; and it seems to be gaining wider recognition, though too many with vested interests oppose it. Without a reset, removing the incestuous hierarchy in government, public and private institutions and corporations, we will decline, much as the Roman Empire, playing a fiddle while Rome burnt.
The 'Reset' ... Agenda 21/30 (the timeframe has reportedly been updated, and shortened to 25) is already happening !!!
Convincing a solid majority of the world's dumbed-down, compliant, and scared shitless sheeple ... to repeatedly submit to uptake of an experimental, biological, mRNA gene therapy, via graphene, anti-freeze, and lipid-nano-particle, 5G activated operating system, with individual MAC addresses juice ... was the 'Reset' !!!!
Granted, not every agenda item has been completed yet ... but, you can rest assurred that I 'm not betting my protfolio on; 'It's all still to come' !!!
The Executive Branch should not and can not declare war. Congress is the Constitutionally designated branch to declare war. They have failed their responsibility to declare or not declare war. They have let the Executive Branch initiate wars for a long time now. They have financed wars that the president has initiated or legitimated through propaganda.
Stop the flow of money and the armaments will stop. Congress holds the purse strings.
Isreal has become a war criminal. We must stop supporting Israel.
Ukraine is become a third world war rapidly. To stop that war, America must negotiate an armistice between the combatants. A cease fire to begin. A division of territory later.
America is on the brink of financial ruin. War may be good for business but it is a disaster for our finances. War is killing our nation, if not our soldiers. War is vastly expensive and corrupting.
We must stop the wars or we will not survive.
Our people need the money spent on futile wars to pay our debts and build a solid economy and get people into homes and working at jobs.
It is insanity to continue with the current wars and future wars. We cannot continue to be the warring nation in chief of the world.
The fire power industry must be dismantled and replaced with plowshares and hammers and builders.
Enough death and destruction already.
Let's get to work on rebuilding our nation and helping our people rise up from poverty.
Pssst! Someone tell Bill his side lost the election. The next president is not a warmonger. Bonner thinks Biden is senile, but Biden has some lucid moments. And so does Bill. He flips on a dime from inane comparisons and analysis to reasonable arguments. And that's his secret weapon. He puts just enough reasonable arguments in his commentary so that he thinks his readers will swallow the whole package deal. Doesn't work on me, how about you?
Here's a sample from Bonner's column: "... killing other people is what humans have always done. Not all the time. But episodically. It’s in their blood. In their genes. In their stars." See how he flips it around? My question to Bill is - explain why this is so on a basic fundamentally philosophical level. Of course, he can't do it. Here's an explanation way beyond Bonner's capability:
Ayn rand always seems to hit the nail on the head. Not only does she expose the fault , but there is a solution. Great writer! Thanks John for reminding Me of Her writings.
Yes, and thank you for the comment. I not only read her four novels, particularly Atlas Shrugged, but read thousands of pages of her non-fiction works where she analyzed issues from her fundamental and philosophical perspective. She called her philosophy "Objectivism". A great achievement in human thought.
reco U reading: Solzhenitsyn's 'Gulag Archipeligo', and 'Two Hundred Years Living Together'. Goes to help explain how we've arrived @ the current prediciment.
Yes brother Farmer, John is absolutely correct here, as neither you nor I nor most here are considered depraved. We mostly have worked our entire lives, built homes and families, raised productive children, supported and engaged in our local communities, built dozens of friendships, way over paid in taxes, and in many cases, fought for our country for the true reason of loving her, and love and honor God. Sure, there are many In the world that live depraved lives, many born into a government created society of depravity, but that certainly isn’t us…
Really? The "depravity of man". In other words, all men are depraved. All of us. We all want to destroy each other, to murder each other, to steal from each other which leads to the murder and destruction. We all believe that in our very souls! No exceptions because, after all, IT IS THE DEPRAVITY OF MAN!!! Or, do you allow for some men to be not so depraved, who have a benevolence towards each other and want to understand the facts of reality and use that to make a better life. That is, they want to be rational and think beyond their immediate wants and desires, and therefore what it really takes for them to flourish as a dignified human being. Is this not an alternative or are we all depraved? Which means, of course, you are too. Yes, there are those who are depraved, but there are also those who are rational. Try to learn the difference because your life depends on it.
By today's logic if you think you're rational then by definition you are depraved. Marx, Mao, et al. I see your name is john.. Are you culturally appropriating my friends on restroom island? SHAME@
BB pens his thought, and opinions, for his readers to ponder/consider. One is free to disagree with every word, but may learn of the other sides to both consider and ponder.
U, Sr., on other hand, just endlessly bash, name call, whine, gaslight, and seemingly have little to nothing to offer, except your unending criticism. You could always just quit reading (and hopefully commenting on) BB's musings. And/or not renew your membership.
Maybe, just es posible, U could, 'get a life' too.
LOL! Your comment is hilarious (unintentionally, of course). My comment that you are replying to has a link to a detailed essay explaining exactly what the "Roots of War" are. Is this what you call nothing to offer or are you inadvertently referring to yourself? Or was it too intellectually challenging for you to read? Do you think that only your opinion matters, and you can't abide by anyone who has a different opinion since you infer that I shouldn't criticize Bonner, but it's okay for you to criticize me? Hypocrite. You tell me to stop reading Bonner, but you don't stop reading my comments. Hypocrite. And you tell me not to renew my membership. But I have this membership due to the writings of Dyson and Denning, not Bonner. I read Bonner out of curiosity to see what mixture of conflicting viewpoints he offers in one column. Sometimes he writes a nice financial column, most times not.
Bonner offers up his columns and allows us to comment. I don't look for other commenters to argue with like you do. I give them a "like" when I agree with them or pass them by when I don't agree. I feel no need to bash someone just because they have a different opinion like you do. On occasion, I may comment on those posts I agree with or respond to those who reply to my posts, especially in a derogatory fashion such as your comment. Spare me your intellectually vapid rants. You're the one who needs to "get a life".
Hahahaha!!! I guess you're referring to the first line of your comment. Have no idea what you are referring to and you give me no reason to take the time to find out since you have nothing of intellectual value to offer. Hahahahahahaha!!!!!!
The caption to the image from Getty Images erroneously states that Thomas Jefferson was at the Constitutional Convention. He was actually in Paris as America's ambassador to France at that time.
True. Jefferson was appointed to this position in 1785 as the US Minister to France and the Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. IMHO, The engraving for the reverse of the US $2 bill is the nicest looking folding fiat around
And after all the above Bill, and all the insanity and corruption we’ve witnessed over these last four years, you were still willing to back an even worse candidate for president than our current 🤔 speaks volumes…
The good thing about President Trump is he isn’t running for reelection and may (if Congress cooperates) be able to make some of the tough decisions that can set the country up for success long term. There will be some bitter pills to swallow for everyone and I don’t believe the GOP will cooperate on the hard stuff because they will be afraid of not getting reelected. But there is a chance he will be able to shrink government and reduce regulations that will have a long term impact. At least that’s my hope.
It's all so fatalistic: this is it; there's nothing we can do. Let's say this is right. Why should I, or anyone else, care?
If Trump is Hitler, why is it that Putin is the one who is bullying his neighbors into concessions? We ceded Crimea to him in 2014, in the hopes that would satisfy him. Then Mr. Putin set his sights on the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine (think "Sudentenland, 1938"), because there were Russian-speaking people there, who remembered and longed for the good, old days of Imperial Russia. So, in order to "stop the killing", we eventually cede the Donbas to him. The Balkans and the Baltics are likely next. And yet, WE are the problem? It is Mr. Putin who is on the radio, justifying escalation on account of long-range missile launches (think "V-1 and V-2 bombing campaign on England") which, in the scheme of things, are mere nuisances compared to the tactical nukes Mr. Putin appears to be itching to launch. Just looking at this objectively, it seems Mr. Putin is acting more like Hitler, and we are caught in a morass. We had better hope Mr. Trump is our Churchill instead of our problem, as he cast by Mr. Bonner.
Mr. Bonner loves to point out how things repeat over and over, how political corruption in Rome caused the government to overextend, cheapen the denarius, causing inflation that undercut the empire, to be taken over by barbarian hordes, and now, here we are, setting up a similar scenario, just with different names and faces. Avoiding the Big Loss? "If the button is pushed, there's no running away." So sang Barry McGuire in 1965. "Can't you feel the fears that I'm feeling today?"
We pay this guy to advise us. Why? We're all doomed, according to him. Best always. PM
"We" ceded Crimea to Putin? Actually, Khrushchev ceded Crimea to Ukraine in 1954 without any vote by the Crimeans. Perhaps our goals of financing a coup in Ukraine (Cookies Nuland bragged about spending $5 billion to bring our form of democracy there) included taking over the Russian naval base there.
Unfortunately it's not reported in the US but the Minsk Agreements which called for some autonomy for the Russian speaking population of the Donbass. Signers France and Germany admitted that the agreement was a farce put in place to allow the Ukraine military to rebuild. This war could have been avoided if the US insisted on Ukraine's compliance.
Who occupies Crimea now and has been occupying that province since 2014? While this occupation may not be sanctioned or recognized by certain members of the international community, the fact is Russia holds sway there now and does what she wants there, largely unimpeded. So, since we are opting at best to hold off challenging this occupation, we have ceded, at least for the nonce, the Crimea. This is indisputable and has nothing to do with research.
I guess you might want to claim is that we did not cede the Korean peninsula north of the 38th parallel to China and her client state, North Korea in 1953. "Oh, but we don't RECOGNIZE that!" I see... that controverts reality, right? Meanwhile, the world goes on with official hostilities between all partners of the Korean "conflict" still unresolved some 71years later.
This sounds and looks like "ceding" to me. Maybe we should examine the meaning of "cede" and see if I need more research? OK. Here it is: "cede" in English comes from the Latin verb "cedere" which means "to yield". We yielded in Korea, and we have actively yielded in Ukraine, specifically Crimea. The action of yielding can be informal, without treaty, or formal, with treaty.
While we may not have formally or officially ceded, we have done so de facto. As my Mom used to say to me "possession is 9/10ths of the law." Best always. PM
I'm making a comment here, not publishing a treatise, but I am firmly and completely capable of doing so. And "Butt", by the way, is NOT a conjuction. Try "but" next time, unless you were trying to make a joke. Best always. PM
Yes. Still, we have ceded the control Russia currently enjoys in the contested areas. That is self-evident, because Russia is still there. I appreciate your contributions and recitation of historical facts. Many thanks and best always. PM
P.S. Read further down to understand my position more fully. PM
We are the problem. When the Soviet Union collapsed, we promised the Russians that we would not move the NATO borderline closer to Russia than it was in the early 90s. We lied. We are the problem. Like Putin always says, America is agreement-incapable.
Thank you for a civil inquiry absent ad hominem insults. I believe that we have ceded, perhaps temporarily, but by our actions of allowing the occupation of Crimea (2014) and the Donbas (spring 2022) to continue, we have ceded de facto to Russia control of these areas and hence rewarded Mr. Putin and Russia's aggressions. (These areas are not likely mini-states by definition, but more likely fit the idea of provinces, it would seem to me.)
I have responded in depth to the less serious and somewhat shallow of my detractors below. You may wish to avail yourself of that discussion, following this part of the thread on down to the end below, whereby I lay out my greater views in the context of what we, the USA, specifically the government, have done. Since I strive to keep this space both friendly and welcoming, and I do so to promote open and frank exchange of ideas, I generally like to keep my comment brief, specific, and germane to the issue. Evidently, that wasn't sufficient yesterday, Monday, for some.
As Dennis Prager often reminds us, I prefer clarity to agreement, and I value civility and respect along with that. Many thanks for your kind and respectful engagement, but not so much of some of our other friends who let their lack of decorum and sense of propriety overwhelm their better natures. Best always.. PM
Possibly, but despite that fact, Crimea is still in Russia's possession and under her control, and it's been that way since 2014, which is pre-Trump, by the way. Best always. PM
I believe that the situation in Ukraine is what is often called "a proxy war", which is a convenient device to influence situations and exert pressure but while avoiding direct confrontation and conflict. Like everything in this forum and these frequent discussions, I admit that I could be wrong, but so far as I can tell, Russia is currently occupying eastern Ukraine, and we have not dislodged them. It is my conclusion from this state of circumstances that, whether officially or unofficially, the net effect is that we have ceded, at least temporarily, this territory to the invaders. This has been going on since 2014 in Crimea (or The Crimea to be Bonneresque) and since Feb. 2022 in Eastern Ukraine, where the Donbas region sits, 10 years in one case and almost 3 years in the other. My, how time flies! Meanwhile, who is controlling these areas? Who makes the decisions? Who gains the benefits?
The war in Ukraine would have been over rather quickly had we not poured money and materiel into it; therefore, WE, the USA, and, by extension, its citizens, are central to the action and its outcome, hence my use of the pronoun "we".
I also believe that it is within the realm of possibility, in fact, likelihood, that a settlement, if such is forthcoming, of the hostilities in Ukraine will center around concessions to aggressor Russia involving continuing possession, or at least influence, in the areas currently experiencing occupation.
The fact that Russia has declared these issues to be existential and that, by Putin's own admission, Russia is willing to go nuclear over them as a matter of sovereignty, gives me an indication that it means more to Mr. Putin, and by extension, the people of Russia, than it does to us.
What happens in many situations, and this certainly in the world's political arenas, the cost of achieving one's preferred status/outcome carries too high a price. Are we (there's that nasty word again) willing to risk nuclear war, IF Mr. Putin means what he says? I must admit that I am not. If Ukraine provinces of Donbas and Crimea are a casualty as part of the price of avoiding nuclear war, I must admit that outcome, CEDING occupied territory to Russia, either informally, as in Korea, or as in post WW-II in eastern Europe, or formally by treaty, which I consider unlikely. Regardless of modality, ceding takes place.
As to question from which "party" of the world I come, I have been known to enjoy many a party, regardless of where it was held. For the record, I am a natural-born American citizen, and other than time in Germany (two semesters at University of Bonn) and lots of visits to California, where I have in-laws and once worked for a company located there, I have lived my 72+ years on this earth in the continental USA. When I say "we", I am referring to the United States of America, specifically the action of her government.
So, maybe it's just better to make a comment, as I did, than write a polemic, as I was forced to do to explain, or make snide remarks, which you did without providing me the benefit of reasoning ? Just asking. Have I been clear enough or shall I go on? Best always. PM
No need to go on Paul, unless of course you want to - my comment was in no way meant to be snide, I just wasn't sure where the "we" came from and now I know. Apologies for the tyypo too btw!! However, I thought that Russia was invited in by the Russian-speaking people of the republics that had ceded from Ukraine and were being constantly shelled for 7-8 years with several thousand civilians dying in the process.
Personally, war sucks - thank god I never got into one, but the whole West good Russia bad seems naive, and if I was Russian I might be just a tad paranoid about someone supplying your neighbour with billions of dollars worth of armaments. Especially a someone who just happens to have 800 military bases located around the world, compared to around a dozen Russian ones.
Here's what I got from all of that. The issue in the Donbas, at its core, is self-determination, i.e. who belongs where according to preference. In the American way of thinking, again as I understand it, one of the core tenets of freedom is self-determination. So, I was having a hard time figuring out how self-determination here is good, and self-determination in the Donbas is bad, and I'm still not sure I understand it. Context, I guess? And, I'm not sure we get the whole story, either.
One thing I do know with certainty. If Russia, as Mr. Putin assures us, is willing to go nuclear over any of this, I'm not willing to provoke that for the sake of who controls (the) Crimea or (the) Donbas.
I prize this forum for its contributors. The last thing I wish to do is antagonize. Many thanks and best always. Happy Thanksgiving, too. PM
I've read that as many as 80 Roman senators were killed by Hannibal's army at the Battle of Cannae. There would be a lot less war rhetoric among US politicians if they had to put their lives on the line. Wouldn't you love to see Lindsey Graham in a trench somewhere in Ukraine?
Put biden, harris, graham all on the front lines and their kids and grandkids plus the execs of all the military industrial complex. They put other people's kids in danger to just enrich themselves. Biden's giving zeleinski anti-personal landmines guarantees hundreds of dead and crippled kids for generations there. Biden and his DEI generals should be brought up on war crime charges.
There are a few Cheyney's And a Hillary something in there too.
Would that it were so.
For all the political talk, up and down the socio-economic ladder, we need to be reminded that the world is no longer run by politicians. Administrations are now shills, the world over. Joe Biden, just to take one example, hasn’t made a single decision since Inauguration Day. For him, not even the thermostat setting. He didn’t decide to green light Ukraines use of IRBMs. Neither did anyone reporting to him. Who did? The answer remains “we don’t know”. Perhaps a committee of international bankers. Perhaps the Council on Foreign Relations. Perhaps the UN. Perhaps the Club of Rome. Perhaps the Freemasons. Perhaps the Bilderbergers. Perhaps the Committee of 300. I could go on. The point here is that all the talk and blame still goes to politicians when politicians are no longer running things. We live under a dark web of supranational power brokers. The ones at the top are evil, bent on one world government and the elimination of most of us. Donald Trump lives under them too, even though he is not one of them. This frames his challenge, which is enormous, as well as ours. God help us, for without his help we are finished. This is the unvarnished truth.
Spot on Brien, thanks for your comment!
You almost had me there ... so close, so, so close !! @ least you properly identified (((their))) a$$ociation$. Butt then ... your TD$ wor$hip let the zio-Trump$tein $lip off the hook .
Not sure I agree, Bill, given the new Administration’s stated objectives (and they, unlike most politicians will attempt to do what they say).
1. Trump wants out of external conflicts. I’d hold him to that. I don’t think the Country’s behind the Ukraine war and they’re ready to stop. It’s been 50+ years of an all-volunteer military and we can’t fill slots. YOUNG FOLKS WON’T SIGN UP TO BE SENT TO KILL BY SOMEONE IN AN IVORY TOWER. Soldiers were meant to defend, not extend.
2. Trump’s economic plans look inflationary. But he has a shot at significantly lowering spending. Most companies run into issues and have to “tighten the belt” and restructure to survive. Best I can tell, the U.S. government has NEVER done that. So I’m interested in the first real attempt to shrink the government.
Tariffs matter. The current tax on U.S. manufacturers is high. In the EU it is 27%. So US goods exported to the EU get assessed a tax of 27% upon entry into the EU. But, EU goods exported to the US get a 27% rebate and face low tariffs entering the US. American companies pay direct taxes that are not rebated. This is the bias. For China, it is 15%. If they won’t change (and they haven’t), we’ll take the tax monies. It’ll be inflationary, but should be consumption-based.
Rather than focus on the Doomsday (of which there are enough Black Swans out there to warrant it), would be great to take a shot at what would fix this. And it can be fixed.
On your item 2…. Bill Bonner attempted to do what DOGE is slated to do back in the 60’s and it failed at the Supreme Court. So, Bill is not blowing smoke here!
Hey, Curran. I am with you; it is 100% possible to fix it. I am just not sure it is politically feasible to fix it.
hahahaha😁😂😁😂😁😂
Sure, of course, por supesto ... it'll be different this time !! 😁😂😁😂😁😂
Hopefully Musk will get Trump to close out the hundreds of bases we have all over the world and shut down bloated military agencies like the Missile Defense Agency which was probably the most incompetent wasteful agency I ever encountered when I worked at DoD.
"When I worked @ DoD" .
Now there's some accountability right there. Admitting to having been a part, and parcel of the bloody, parasitic MIC problem. Butt, butt, butt ... R we supposed to believe that you worked very vigilently to make sure not a single confiscated dime of the taxpayer's wages were mis-spent or wasted ... U earned your keep, huh???
That'$ $ome real chutzpah !!
You shouldn’t judge someone you don’t know. At least he has some experience to back up his claim. How about you?
We were all instructed by what measures, and under what criteria we should judge. His self admission to being a part of the zio-MIC'$, murderous skullduggery, is self-condemnation. Yo solo, pointed it out.
Drafted, disabled, 6 years, Viet Nam fiasco, slightly less bombs than on Gaza, but a much bigger area.!! ... and you??
You are clearly part of the problem by ignorantly bending over and sticking your head in the ground while this goes on. Hopefully more people will start doing the right thing and holding the government accountable which was the way our Founding Fathers intended it to be.
Do U mean, just like U did, with every paycheck ... ok !! Got it !!
Did U get all of your reco'd personalized MAC Addresses too?
Whatever shirley
I have been writing for some time that we need fewer rules, but better ones that are enforceable; and it seems to be gaining wider recognition, though too many with vested interests oppose it. Without a reset, removing the incestuous hierarchy in government, public and private institutions and corporations, we will decline, much as the Roman Empire, playing a fiddle while Rome burnt.
The 'Reset' ... Agenda 21/30 (the timeframe has reportedly been updated, and shortened to 25) is already happening !!!
Convincing a solid majority of the world's dumbed-down, compliant, and scared shitless sheeple ... to repeatedly submit to uptake of an experimental, biological, mRNA gene therapy, via graphene, anti-freeze, and lipid-nano-particle, 5G activated operating system, with individual MAC addresses juice ... was the 'Reset' !!!!
Granted, not every agenda item has been completed yet ... but, you can rest assurred that I 'm not betting my protfolio on; 'It's all still to come' !!!
It is so hard to stop digging the hole once started and admit we were wrong.
Even when the accumulated piles of dirt starts falling back down into the hole !?
The Executive Branch should not and can not declare war. Congress is the Constitutionally designated branch to declare war. They have failed their responsibility to declare or not declare war. They have let the Executive Branch initiate wars for a long time now. They have financed wars that the president has initiated or legitimated through propaganda.
Stop the flow of money and the armaments will stop. Congress holds the purse strings.
Isreal has become a war criminal. We must stop supporting Israel.
Ukraine is become a third world war rapidly. To stop that war, America must negotiate an armistice between the combatants. A cease fire to begin. A division of territory later.
America is on the brink of financial ruin. War may be good for business but it is a disaster for our finances. War is killing our nation, if not our soldiers. War is vastly expensive and corrupting.
We must stop the wars or we will not survive.
Our people need the money spent on futile wars to pay our debts and build a solid economy and get people into homes and working at jobs.
It is insanity to continue with the current wars and future wars. We cannot continue to be the warring nation in chief of the world.
The fire power industry must be dismantled and replaced with plowshares and hammers and builders.
Enough death and destruction already.
Let's get to work on rebuilding our nation and helping our people rise up from poverty.
It is evil for sure.
Pssst! Someone tell Bill his side lost the election. The next president is not a warmonger. Bonner thinks Biden is senile, but Biden has some lucid moments. And so does Bill. He flips on a dime from inane comparisons and analysis to reasonable arguments. And that's his secret weapon. He puts just enough reasonable arguments in his commentary so that he thinks his readers will swallow the whole package deal. Doesn't work on me, how about you?
Here's a sample from Bonner's column: "... killing other people is what humans have always done. Not all the time. But episodically. It’s in their blood. In their genes. In their stars." See how he flips it around? My question to Bill is - explain why this is so on a basic fundamentally philosophical level. Of course, he can't do it. Here's an explanation way beyond Bonner's capability:
https://aynrand.org/the-roots-of-war/
Ayn rand always seems to hit the nail on the head. Not only does she expose the fault , but there is a solution. Great writer! Thanks John for reminding Me of Her writings.
Yes, and thank you for the comment. I not only read her four novels, particularly Atlas Shrugged, but read thousands of pages of her non-fiction works where she analyzed issues from her fundamental and philosophical perspective. She called her philosophy "Objectivism". A great achievement in human thought.
Yes I have to spend more time and read hear books. As I have most of them.
reco U reading: Solzhenitsyn's 'Gulag Archipeligo', and 'Two Hundred Years Living Together'. Goes to help explain how we've arrived @ the current prediciment.
Bookmarking and saving the link as a reminder to take up rereading her works. Thanks.
Despite the fact she wrote 50-70 years ago or more, her works are still relevant. Thanks for the comment.
Mr. Gallon. The answer would be the depravity of man. It is very easy for me to understand.
Yes brother Farmer, John is absolutely correct here, as neither you nor I nor most here are considered depraved. We mostly have worked our entire lives, built homes and families, raised productive children, supported and engaged in our local communities, built dozens of friendships, way over paid in taxes, and in many cases, fought for our country for the true reason of loving her, and love and honor God. Sure, there are many In the world that live depraved lives, many born into a government created society of depravity, but that certainly isn’t us…
Really? The "depravity of man". In other words, all men are depraved. All of us. We all want to destroy each other, to murder each other, to steal from each other which leads to the murder and destruction. We all believe that in our very souls! No exceptions because, after all, IT IS THE DEPRAVITY OF MAN!!! Or, do you allow for some men to be not so depraved, who have a benevolence towards each other and want to understand the facts of reality and use that to make a better life. That is, they want to be rational and think beyond their immediate wants and desires, and therefore what it really takes for them to flourish as a dignified human being. Is this not an alternative or are we all depraved? Which means, of course, you are too. Yes, there are those who are depraved, but there are also those who are rational. Try to learn the difference because your life depends on it.
By today's logic if you think you're rational then by definition you are depraved. Marx, Mao, et al. I see your name is john.. Are you culturally appropriating my friends on restroom island? SHAME@
Is that not what the Babylonian Talmudic, (Kabbalah, Zohar, Mishnah) Pharisee, 'Jacobin-Frankist' Rebbes believe, practice, and strive toward.
To ... "kill, even the best of goyem" ?!?
Rand would have made a fine politician, never used 1 word when 20 would do. Atlas Shrugged was at least 300 pages too long.
R U a Chabbad - Lubavitcher affiliate ??
BB pens his thought, and opinions, for his readers to ponder/consider. One is free to disagree with every word, but may learn of the other sides to both consider and ponder.
U, Sr., on other hand, just endlessly bash, name call, whine, gaslight, and seemingly have little to nothing to offer, except your unending criticism. You could always just quit reading (and hopefully commenting on) BB's musings. And/or not renew your membership.
Maybe, just es posible, U could, 'get a life' too.
LOL! Your comment is hilarious (unintentionally, of course). My comment that you are replying to has a link to a detailed essay explaining exactly what the "Roots of War" are. Is this what you call nothing to offer or are you inadvertently referring to yourself? Or was it too intellectually challenging for you to read? Do you think that only your opinion matters, and you can't abide by anyone who has a different opinion since you infer that I shouldn't criticize Bonner, but it's okay for you to criticize me? Hypocrite. You tell me to stop reading Bonner, but you don't stop reading my comments. Hypocrite. And you tell me not to renew my membership. But I have this membership due to the writings of Dyson and Denning, not Bonner. I read Bonner out of curiosity to see what mixture of conflicting viewpoints he offers in one column. Sometimes he writes a nice financial column, most times not.
Bonner offers up his columns and allows us to comment. I don't look for other commenters to argue with like you do. I give them a "like" when I agree with them or pass them by when I don't agree. I feel no need to bash someone just because they have a different opinion like you do. On occasion, I may comment on those posts I agree with or respond to those who reply to my posts, especially in a derogatory fashion such as your comment. Spare me your intellectually vapid rants. You're the one who needs to "get a life".
hahaha 😁😂😁 ok 'Ken' ... got it .
Noted, U didn't specifically deny (((affiliation))).
Hahahaha!!! I guess you're referring to the first line of your comment. Have no idea what you are referring to and you give me no reason to take the time to find out since you have nothing of intellectual value to offer. Hahahahahahaha!!!!!!
Bill this me be the BEST "spot on" article you have written !! thank you waiting for the answers!!
Bill forgot one thing, if we have a world war this time, there is a chance there will be nothing to invest in.
C'mon! There's always gold. Might be pretty cool to have a Chateau, Winery, and gypsy trailer that looks pretty darn comfortable.
There is always; Ezekiel 7:19 to contemplate !!
https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/7-19.htm
The caption to the image from Getty Images erroneously states that Thomas Jefferson was at the Constitutional Convention. He was actually in Paris as America's ambassador to France at that time.
True. Jefferson was appointed to this position in 1785 as the US Minister to France and the Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. IMHO, The engraving for the reverse of the US $2 bill is the nicest looking folding fiat around
Regards,
Mark
Yup - the $2.00 bill should be the last one we use to clean our butts in the rapidly-approaching financial reckoning. It's Art...
;)
Maybe the new, gay (bottom) US Treasury Sec., will authorize a 'fake/fiat' three (3) dollar bill !?!
Is that painting, just an early propaganda piece ??
Probably
sleeping with the same nasty groupies
That Benjamin Franklin was. Its said they had a powdered wig below.
And after all the above Bill, and all the insanity and corruption we’ve witnessed over these last four years, you were still willing to back an even worse candidate for president than our current 🤔 speaks volumes…
BB, never said, stated nor backed any candidates. What he has offered was his position, thoughts and/or opinion about the parasitic ruling class.
R U attempting to slander Sr. BB ??
The good thing about President Trump is he isn’t running for reelection and may (if Congress cooperates) be able to make some of the tough decisions that can set the country up for success long term. There will be some bitter pills to swallow for everyone and I don’t believe the GOP will cooperate on the hard stuff because they will be afraid of not getting reelected. But there is a chance he will be able to shrink government and reduce regulations that will have a long term impact. At least that’s my hope.
It's all so fatalistic: this is it; there's nothing we can do. Let's say this is right. Why should I, or anyone else, care?
If Trump is Hitler, why is it that Putin is the one who is bullying his neighbors into concessions? We ceded Crimea to him in 2014, in the hopes that would satisfy him. Then Mr. Putin set his sights on the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine (think "Sudentenland, 1938"), because there were Russian-speaking people there, who remembered and longed for the good, old days of Imperial Russia. So, in order to "stop the killing", we eventually cede the Donbas to him. The Balkans and the Baltics are likely next. And yet, WE are the problem? It is Mr. Putin who is on the radio, justifying escalation on account of long-range missile launches (think "V-1 and V-2 bombing campaign on England") which, in the scheme of things, are mere nuisances compared to the tactical nukes Mr. Putin appears to be itching to launch. Just looking at this objectively, it seems Mr. Putin is acting more like Hitler, and we are caught in a morass. We had better hope Mr. Trump is our Churchill instead of our problem, as he cast by Mr. Bonner.
Mr. Bonner loves to point out how things repeat over and over, how political corruption in Rome caused the government to overextend, cheapen the denarius, causing inflation that undercut the empire, to be taken over by barbarian hordes, and now, here we are, setting up a similar scenario, just with different names and faces. Avoiding the Big Loss? "If the button is pushed, there's no running away." So sang Barry McGuire in 1965. "Can't you feel the fears that I'm feeling today?"
We pay this guy to advise us. Why? We're all doomed, according to him. Best always. PM
"We" ceded Crimea to Putin? Actually, Khrushchev ceded Crimea to Ukraine in 1954 without any vote by the Crimeans. Perhaps our goals of financing a coup in Ukraine (Cookies Nuland bragged about spending $5 billion to bring our form of democracy there) included taking over the Russian naval base there.
Unfortunately it's not reported in the US but the Minsk Agreements which called for some autonomy for the Russian speaking population of the Donbass. Signers France and Germany admitted that the agreement was a farce put in place to allow the Ukraine military to rebuild. This war could have been avoided if the US insisted on Ukraine's compliance.
All so true mate, PM needs to do some research...
Who occupies Crimea now and has been occupying that province since 2014? While this occupation may not be sanctioned or recognized by certain members of the international community, the fact is Russia holds sway there now and does what she wants there, largely unimpeded. So, since we are opting at best to hold off challenging this occupation, we have ceded, at least for the nonce, the Crimea. This is indisputable and has nothing to do with research.
I guess you might want to claim is that we did not cede the Korean peninsula north of the 38th parallel to China and her client state, North Korea in 1953. "Oh, but we don't RECOGNIZE that!" I see... that controverts reality, right? Meanwhile, the world goes on with official hostilities between all partners of the Korean "conflict" still unresolved some 71years later.
This sounds and looks like "ceding" to me. Maybe we should examine the meaning of "cede" and see if I need more research? OK. Here it is: "cede" in English comes from the Latin verb "cedere" which means "to yield". We yielded in Korea, and we have actively yielded in Ukraine, specifically Crimea. The action of yielding can be informal, without treaty, or formal, with treaty.
While we may not have formally or officially ceded, we have done so de facto. As my Mom used to say to me "possession is 9/10ths of the law." Best always. PM
Research is not the specialty of many of the commentors here. Butt, bloviating and opinionating seems to be their areas of expertise.
I'm making a comment here, not publishing a treatise, but I am firmly and completely capable of doing so. And "Butt", by the way, is NOT a conjuction. Try "but" next time, unless you were trying to make a joke. Best always. PM
Yes. Still, we have ceded the control Russia currently enjoys in the contested areas. That is self-evident, because Russia is still there. I appreciate your contributions and recitation of historical facts. Many thanks and best always. PM
P.S. Read further down to understand my position more fully. PM
We are the problem. When the Soviet Union collapsed, we promised the Russians that we would not move the NATO borderline closer to Russia than it was in the early 90s. We lied. We are the problem. Like Putin always says, America is agreement-incapable.
...And you tell me
Over and over and over and over again, my friend
You don't believe we're on the eve of destruction
Thanks for reminding me of this song. I was there.
Paul, who is it that actually ceded these these Mini states? I do not know enough. Please enlighten Me.
Thank you for a civil inquiry absent ad hominem insults. I believe that we have ceded, perhaps temporarily, but by our actions of allowing the occupation of Crimea (2014) and the Donbas (spring 2022) to continue, we have ceded de facto to Russia control of these areas and hence rewarded Mr. Putin and Russia's aggressions. (These areas are not likely mini-states by definition, but more likely fit the idea of provinces, it would seem to me.)
I have responded in depth to the less serious and somewhat shallow of my detractors below. You may wish to avail yourself of that discussion, following this part of the thread on down to the end below, whereby I lay out my greater views in the context of what we, the USA, specifically the government, have done. Since I strive to keep this space both friendly and welcoming, and I do so to promote open and frank exchange of ideas, I generally like to keep my comment brief, specific, and germane to the issue. Evidently, that wasn't sufficient yesterday, Monday, for some.
As Dennis Prager often reminds us, I prefer clarity to agreement, and I value civility and respect along with that. Many thanks for your kind and respectful engagement, but not so much of some of our other friends who let their lack of decorum and sense of propriety overwhelm their better natures. Best always.. PM
Remind me again ... The U.S. of A., Inc. has bases, equipment, troops, and armorments in how (180?) many of the world's countries??
Possibly, but despite that fact, Crimea is still in Russia's possession and under her control, and it's been that way since 2014, which is pre-Trump, by the way. Best always. PM
Who's this "we" that ceded the Donbas, PM? I wasn't aware you were from that party of the world.
I believe that the situation in Ukraine is what is often called "a proxy war", which is a convenient device to influence situations and exert pressure but while avoiding direct confrontation and conflict. Like everything in this forum and these frequent discussions, I admit that I could be wrong, but so far as I can tell, Russia is currently occupying eastern Ukraine, and we have not dislodged them. It is my conclusion from this state of circumstances that, whether officially or unofficially, the net effect is that we have ceded, at least temporarily, this territory to the invaders. This has been going on since 2014 in Crimea (or The Crimea to be Bonneresque) and since Feb. 2022 in Eastern Ukraine, where the Donbas region sits, 10 years in one case and almost 3 years in the other. My, how time flies! Meanwhile, who is controlling these areas? Who makes the decisions? Who gains the benefits?
The war in Ukraine would have been over rather quickly had we not poured money and materiel into it; therefore, WE, the USA, and, by extension, its citizens, are central to the action and its outcome, hence my use of the pronoun "we".
I also believe that it is within the realm of possibility, in fact, likelihood, that a settlement, if such is forthcoming, of the hostilities in Ukraine will center around concessions to aggressor Russia involving continuing possession, or at least influence, in the areas currently experiencing occupation.
The fact that Russia has declared these issues to be existential and that, by Putin's own admission, Russia is willing to go nuclear over them as a matter of sovereignty, gives me an indication that it means more to Mr. Putin, and by extension, the people of Russia, than it does to us.
What happens in many situations, and this certainly in the world's political arenas, the cost of achieving one's preferred status/outcome carries too high a price. Are we (there's that nasty word again) willing to risk nuclear war, IF Mr. Putin means what he says? I must admit that I am not. If Ukraine provinces of Donbas and Crimea are a casualty as part of the price of avoiding nuclear war, I must admit that outcome, CEDING occupied territory to Russia, either informally, as in Korea, or as in post WW-II in eastern Europe, or formally by treaty, which I consider unlikely. Regardless of modality, ceding takes place.
As to question from which "party" of the world I come, I have been known to enjoy many a party, regardless of where it was held. For the record, I am a natural-born American citizen, and other than time in Germany (two semesters at University of Bonn) and lots of visits to California, where I have in-laws and once worked for a company located there, I have lived my 72+ years on this earth in the continental USA. When I say "we", I am referring to the United States of America, specifically the action of her government.
So, maybe it's just better to make a comment, as I did, than write a polemic, as I was forced to do to explain, or make snide remarks, which you did without providing me the benefit of reasoning ? Just asking. Have I been clear enough or shall I go on? Best always. PM
No need to go on Paul, unless of course you want to - my comment was in no way meant to be snide, I just wasn't sure where the "we" came from and now I know. Apologies for the tyypo too btw!! However, I thought that Russia was invited in by the Russian-speaking people of the republics that had ceded from Ukraine and were being constantly shelled for 7-8 years with several thousand civilians dying in the process.
Personally, war sucks - thank god I never got into one, but the whole West good Russia bad seems naive, and if I was Russian I might be just a tad paranoid about someone supplying your neighbour with billions of dollars worth of armaments. Especially a someone who just happens to have 800 military bases located around the world, compared to around a dozen Russian ones.
Here's what I got from all of that. The issue in the Donbas, at its core, is self-determination, i.e. who belongs where according to preference. In the American way of thinking, again as I understand it, one of the core tenets of freedom is self-determination. So, I was having a hard time figuring out how self-determination here is good, and self-determination in the Donbas is bad, and I'm still not sure I understand it. Context, I guess? And, I'm not sure we get the whole story, either.
One thing I do know with certainty. If Russia, as Mr. Putin assures us, is willing to go nuclear over any of this, I'm not willing to provoke that for the sake of who controls (the) Crimea or (the) Donbas.
I prize this forum for its contributors. The last thing I wish to do is antagonize. Many thanks and best always. Happy Thanksgiving, too. PM
Maybe, like 'Tampon Timmy", he was planning, or just thought he was there..
This is one case where the individual's vote doesn't matter.
Actually, that's an understatement. Individual votes NEVER matter.