Famished,
Economist, Michael Hudson (who accidentally wrote the cookbook for the petro-dollar, "Super Imperialism", just in time for Nixon and Kissinger to use it) has a new interview out, about...
MICHAEL HUDSON... So, basically the oil companies and the US are going to let the third-world countries go into a crisis. If they default on their bonds, then the United States and the bondholders get to treat Latin America like they treated Argentina or Venezuela and grab whatever assets they have outside of their country. Like Venezuela had investments in the United States and gold that it left in the Bank of England that were grabbed.
There’s going to be a huge asset grab. That is supposed to be how this unfolds, and the most obvious assets to the grabbed are going to be in Latin America and Africa. Maybe some Asian deficit countries. So, this is the weakest link, and that’s why there’s this fight within the IMF at the upcoming meetings, to create these special drawing rights to give them money on the condition that there is a class war.
So, what we’re seeing, really, isn’t a war between NATO and Russia. It’s a class war of the neoliberals against labor across the world to establish the power of finance over labor.
AARON MATÉ: And so, do you think that there’s a threat of an even worse hunger crisis in this world, one that we’re not talking about and should be preparing for it?
MICHAEL HUDSON: A threat? That’s the objective! Yes, of course. That’s what they’re aiming at. If you read what Klaus Schwab says at the World Economic Forum, he said there are 20 percent too many people in the world, especially in the Global South. This is what all the big foundations are for. https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2022/05/michael-hudson-talks-with-katie-halper-and-aaron-mate-about-the-broader-ramifications-of-the-us-nato-conflict-with-russia.html
What we are seeing in the world now is a global shock to oil prices, fertilizer prices and food staple prices, as Professor Hudson points out. Countries in "the global south" will not be able to feed their citizens and also make debt-payments, so they will be forced into default and the $US empire will set about to take their assets, whether owned by the countries or their wealthy elites. Professor Hudson projects that the IMF will give out SDRs (special drawing rights), IMF-money to compliant regimes, which will be required to carry out "class warfare", to strip their citizens of the food they need to live,and their nationalized industries, like Venezuela's oil industry. Those countries which do not comply will be in default, and will be subject to the direct predation of the $US empire. That appears to be the plan. It has worked before, but this deflationary-asset-grabhas not really been run since the Asian Economic Crisis. The world is "Multipolar" now. What we already see from Russia and China, as well as other major countries like India, Iran, Brazil and likely Turkey and South Africa, is the preparation to formalize a parallel global trade system, which will allow countries to repudiate $US debts to the IMF and western banking, and to militarily resist assaults and invasions upon national assets, like oil fields. Russia and China will not hold default on $US loans against countries in this new arrangement, and will recognize their ownership of their nationalized assets, like Peru's lithium mines. It appears that the critical mass exists to create this parallel global trade regime outside of the $US wealth-extraction-system. If this system is able to persist, after being tried in some asset-wars, where the western empire attempts to grab things like oil-wells and mines, then the $US empire will be forced into collapse. This is not in the distant future, but in the next few years. History shows that when people do not have enough food, they are much more warlike as populations. Rulers have typically turned hungry populations to war against other hungry populations, which protects the (winning side) rulers from their hungry subjects. It seems likely that some of this will be tested in America and other western countries, to get more emotional fervor for the WAR! narrative, which is already being pumped. We should find ways to avoid becoming desperately hungry. It will help us to think more clearly and have more freedom to make our own choices. Personally, I think it is time for massive global debt-forgiveness at all levels and a fresh economic start, without widespread debt slavery. We need to fashion an efficient economy to meet the needs of real people everywhere, or a lot of smaller systems which can trade fairly with each other. This will be bad for all "assets" which pay out interest and dividends, bad for retirement plans, but mostly bad for global financial elites.
Sergey Glazyev, a Russian economist, tasked to roll-out the global financial alternative system has this:
For those who still don’t understand
This (western) plan also provides for the following tasks:
Consolidation of US control over the European Union and NATO countries;
Use of the armed forces of Poland, Romania and the Baltic states, as well as mercenaries from the West, the Middle East and the Middle East in combat operations against Russia;
The destruction of the male population and the actual enslavement of women and children of Ukraine for the subsequent development of this territory in the interests of the power and financial elite of the United States, Britain and Israel.
The implementation of this plan, in fact, is aimed at destroying the Russian world, followed by the American “deep state” plans to destroy Iran and block China.
Due to the objective laws of global economic development, this plan is doomed to failure. The United States will not be able to win the global hybrid war it has unleashed to maintain its global hegemony. They are irrevocably losing it to China, which is rapidly strengthening as a result of anti-Russian sanctions. https://thesaker.is/sergey-glazyev-for-those-who-still-dont-understand/
10 EU countries quietly buying gas with rubles, Hungary says
European leaders won’t admit they’re going along with Russia’s deal https://www.rt.com/business/554827-hungary-eu-gas-rubles/
The European economy is dependent upon imported oil and gas. High fuel prices are a multiplier of all costs of living and manufacture in europe. Cessation of supply would reasonably cause deaths and industrial shut-down. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced plans for a phased ban on all Russian oil by the end of the year.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament this would be "a complete import ban on all Russian oil, seaborne and pipeline, crude and refined."
"We will make sure that we phase out Russian oil in an orderly fashion, in a way that allows us and our partners to secure alternative supply routes and minimises the impact on global markets," she said.
"This is why we will phase out Russian supply of crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year."https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/eu-proposes-ban-russian-oil-imports Pepe Escobar explains the historic differences between Byzantium (Constantinople) and Rome. Some high points are the differences in relation to the organized Church. In Roman Catholicism, the Church hierarchy intercedes between man and God. In Eastern Orthodox Christianity, individual Christians are guided by God through the Holy Spirit, not subject to commands from a Pope/Patriarch. The Orthodox clergy are facilitators of worship. Importantly, Crusaders sacked Constantinople, "showing their true colors". Constantinople was "the Second Rome". There is also a "Third Rome" in this tradition.
Clash of Christianities: Why Europe cannot understand Russia https://thesaker.is/clash-of-christianities-why-europe-cannot-understand-russia/
Russia captures (recent former, disgraced) Commander of Canadian Army at Azovstal General Trevor Cadieu (Trevor John Cadieu), captured by Russian troops while trying to escape from the cellars of Azovstal, was (recently) the commander of the Canadian Ground Forces, APA reports citing Mailbd.
Seated in the catacombs under the Mariupol steel plant “Azovstal” nationalists staged a provocation, trying to hide the Canadian general’s attempt to escape. After the capture of a high-ranking foreign soldier by units of the RF Armed Forces, it became clear why so many efforts were made to save him.
A high-ranking mercenary tried to break out of the encirclement at Azovstal several times. It was for this that the West insisted on humanitarian corridors for the exit of civilians: among them, foreign specialists had to leave the catacombs. https://apa.az/en/america/russia-captures-commander-of-canadian-army-at-azovstal-375055
Former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D) suggested that former President Barack Obama is behind the Biden administration’s creation of the Disinformation Governance Board.
“Biden is just a front man. Obama, April 21: social media censors ‘don’t go far enough,’ so the government needs to step in to do the job. Six days later, Homeland Security rolls out the ‘Ministry of Truth’ (aka Disinformation Governance Board),” Gabbard tweeted.
https://www.newswars.com/tulsi-gabbard-obama-behind-ministry-of-truth-biden-just-a-front-man/
It is an excellent case, and now with serious legal funding. They ruined this honest man, who rightfully owned Hunter Biden's abandoned laptop, turned it over to the FBI and waited most of a year before sharing it with Team Trump and the New York Post (which was also defamed). Not "Russian hacking"...Repairman who revealed Hunter Biden laptop sues Schiff, CNN, Politico and the Daily Beast “After fighting to reveal the truth, all I want now is for the rest of the country to know that there was a collective and orchestrated effort by social and mainstream media to block a real story with real consequences for the nation,” the 45-year-old Mac Isaac told The Post.https://nypost.com/2022/05/03/repairman-who-revealed-hunter-biden-laptop-sues-schiff-cnn-politico-beast/
Personally, I have always supported women, my friends, patients and relatives in their right to choose whether or not to continue a pregnancy. My medical practice has always reflected this. I have gone to lengths to protect individual women from individual threats to their choice. (Boyfriend telling a patient, "If you kill my baby, I'll kill you", comes to mind. We had to keep the pregnancy secret.)
SCOTUS leak increases Democrat's odds of controlling House/Senate after midterms
On Tuesday, President Biden reacted immediately to the leaked draft and said:
"I believe that a woman's right to choose is fundamental, Roe has been the law of the land for almost fifty years, and basic fairness and the stability of our law demand that it not be overturned. "And it will fall on voters to elect pro-choice officials this November."
The Democrats now have a compelling message, something they lacked this year as the highest inflation in four decades crushes working poor Americans who struggle with record-high gas and food prices moved to the right side of the political aisle. Now, there's a chance that some middle of the fence voters could be swayed to vote Democrat based on a potential ruling by the Supreme Court. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/scotus-leak-sparks-surge-democrats-odds-controlling-senate-after-midterms
Glenn Greenwald points out that the constitutional role of the Supreme Court is widely misunderstood. It does not make laws, but interprets constitutional meaning and intent, as they relate to laws or rights of American citizens, when questions arise. This protects the rights of citizens who are in the minority.
The Irrational, Misguided Discourse Surrounding Supreme Court Controversies Such as Roe v. Wade
Politico on Monday night published what certainly appears to be a genuine draft decision by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito that would overturn the Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade. Alito's draft ruling would decide the pending case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which concerns the constitutionality of a 2018 Mississippi law that bans abortions after fifteen weeks of pregnancy except in the case of medical emergency or severe fetal abnormalities. Given existing Supreme Court precedent that abortion can only be restricted after fetal viability, Mississippi's ban on abortions after the 15th week — at a point when the fetus is not yet deemed viable — is constitutionally dubious. To uphold Mississippi's law — as six of the nine Justices reportedly wish to do — the Court must either find that the law is consistent with existing abortion precedent, or acknowledge that it conflicts with existing precedent and then overrule that precedent on the ground that it was wrongly decided...
..Draft rulings and even justices’ votes sometimes change in the period between the initial vote after oral argument and the issuance of the final decision. Depending on whom you choose to believe, this leak is either the work of a liberal justice or clerk designed to engender political pressure on the justices so that at least one abandons their intention to overrule Roe, or it came from a conservative justice or clerk, designed to make it very difficult for one of the justices in the majority to switch sides...
..One of the primary concerns in designing the new American republic, if not the chief concern, was how to balance the need to establish rule by the majority (democracy) with the equally compelling need to restrain majorities from veering into impassioned, self-interested attacks on the rights of minorities (republican government)... The point of the Constitution, and ultimately the Supreme Court, was to establish a republic, not a pure democracy, that would place limits on the power of majorities... Thus, in the U.S., it does not matter if 80% or 90% of Americans support a law to restrict free speech, or ban the free exercise of a particular religion, or imprison someone without due process, or subject a particularly despised criminal to cruel and unusual punishment. Such laws can never be validly enacted.
51 times more likely to die in one age group...
Children’s Risk of Death Increases by 5100% Following COVID-19 Vaccination Compared to Unvaccinated Children According to Official ONS Data
Vitamin-D is protective against contacting COVID and saves lives. Why was this not released sooner? (July to December 2020 study)
Efficacy and Safety of Vitamin D Supplementation to Prevent COVID-19 in Frontline Healthcare Workers. A Randomized Clinical Trial
Results
Of 321 recruited subjects, 94 VDG and 98 PG completed follow-up. SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was lower in VDG than in PG (6.4 vs. 24.5%, p <0.001). The risk of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection was lower in the VDG than in the PG (RR: 0.23; 95% CI: 0.09–0.55) and was associated with an increment in serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (RR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.82–0.93), independently of VD deficiency. No significant adverse events were identified.
Conclusions
Our results suggest that VD-supplementation in highly exposed individuals prevents SARS-CoV-2 infection without serious AEs and regardless of VD status https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0188440922000455
Supplemental Evidence (Jenny pictured with carrots)
Former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D) suggested that former President Barack Obama is behind the Biden administration’s creation of the Disinformation Governance Board.
It was announced as "miss and disinformation governance board". Why are they governing disinformation? Notice they didn't say disinformation identification , prevention or elimination. They are just being honest and saying they want to control disinformation.
Good post. I just watched an interview with Gareth Icke, son of David Icke. First time I'd seen him, and a good interview. He said something I've seen around a bit here and there, which is: THIS ENDS WHEN WE SAY NO. There is an awakening going on, and it's gathering speed. And I agree with the interviewer and Icke that we need to be brave, NOT allow the Nasties to get us feeling frightened and hopeless, keep some humor in our lives, and realize that non-compliance can be pretty easy... I am not trying to say we don't face some very hard times, especially if we live in poorer countries... And I'm not about downplaying the seriousness of where we are in our human history... But it's also the beginning of what I believe will SURELY be a great New Day.
We who live in "western" countries have so much more power than we realize. It really is positive thinking we need, I say, and please don't think I am downplaying your post-- Not at all! It's a call to action, and we who are more empowered, and have more wealth can do things that need doing.
I have a new mantra now, that I say to myself, and comes from long ago when I spent years, from time to time, thinking about what the phrase from the NT could possibly mean, "Resist Not Evil" -- I now answer that with "Work Around It." That's my mantra: Work around it, Jaan E, just work around it. Courage and Hope are contagious. I'm trying to spread THAT, and not to over-focus on the evil deeds of the pathetic and psychopathic ones trying to do harm. Work around it!