Month: December 2018

Goodbye 2018

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2018 was a slog, and the more I mention this to friends, the more I realize a lot of other people feel the same way. It wasn’t a bad or terrible year for us, but at the same time nothing came easy. Anything we tried to accomplish came with all sorts of unexpected pitfalls and hurdles, and in many cases success seemed hopeless until the very last moment when things finally came together reasonably well. Stuff that had to get done got done, but not without struggle and headache.

The highlight of the year was the birth of our third child, something that will forever color 2018 positively despite other challenges. Although I knew three kids in three years would be tough, the reality of the situation has been more difficult than I imagined.I forgot just how constantly attached to a newborn a mother is, a reality that’s left me largely in charge of the toddlers.

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Liberty Links 12/23/18

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If you appreciate my work and want to support independent content creators, consider becoming a monthly Patron, or visit the Support Page. U.S. to Withdraw All American Troops in Syria, Official Says (AP) Officials: Pentagon Planning Troop Pullout from Afghanistan (AP) As Facebook Raised a Privacy Wall, It Carved an Opening for Tech Giants (Must read, this company is a … Read more

Is U.S. Geopolitical Strategy Experiencing a Monumental Shift?

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The defining question about global order for this generation is whether China and the United States can escape Thucydides’s Trap. The Greek historian’s metaphor reminds us of the attendant dangers when a rising power rivals a ruling power—as Athens challenged Sparta in ancient Greece, or as Germany did Britain a century ago. Most such contests have ended badly, often for both nations, a team of mine at the Harvard Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs has concluded after analyzing the historical record. In 12 of 16 cases over the past 500 years, the result was war. When the parties avoided war, it required huge, painful adjustments in attitudes and actions on the part not just of the challenger but also the challenged.

– From Graham Allison’s article: The Thucydides Trap: Are the U.S. and China Headed for War?

For the past two years, my geopolitical assumption has been that the Trump administration would more or less continue along with the reckless, shortsighted, and disastrous neocon/neoliberal interventionist foreign policy of the past two decades focused on undeclared regime change and proxy wars across the world, especially the Middle East. Given his strange obsession with Iran, I figured he’d start a conflict there and that this conflict would end up a bigger disaster than Iraq.

I assumed this mistake would coincide with continued massive deficits, a unwieldy debt load and most likely a recession. In turn, I believed this would lead to an embarrassing and chaotic unraveling of the U.S. empire. At that point, other nations like China would opportunistically take advantage of the huge power vacuum left over. Based on a variety of events over the past few months, I’m no longer convinced this is how it’s going to unfold.

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Liberty Links 12/16/18 – Johnson & Johnson Knew for Decades That Asbestos Lurked in Its Baby Powder

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As always, if you appreciate my work and want to support independent content creators, consider becoming a monthly Patron, or visit the Support Page. Johnson & Johnson Knew for Decades That Asbestos Lurked in Its Baby Powder (Reuters) Every Moment of Every Day, Mobile Phone Apps Collect Detailed Location Data. (Totally out of control, The New York Times) Australia’s Horrific … Read more

Can the ‘Yellow Vests’ Protests Go Global?

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When it comes to the relationship of U.S. citizens to the politicians and bureaucrats in Washington D.C., there’s no indication that anything remotely resembling self-government is happening. Rather, the relationship is far more like that of a servant to a master.

From the October post: Americans are Stuck in Abusive Relationships with Power

The gilets jaunes, or “yellow vests” protests, emerged seemingly out of nowhere about a month ago and have in a few short weeks shaken the French political power structure to its core. Just yesterday, the exceedingly unpopular President Macron cried uncle and offered a series of concessions to the protesters. Many commentators have come to the simplistic and erroneous conclusion that violence works, but it wasn’t the burning cars or streets filled with tear gas that really scared Macron and the people around him. It was something much deeper than that.

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Liberty Links 12/9/18

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As always, if you appreciate my work and want to support independent content creators, consider becoming a monthly Patron, or visit the Support Page. Top Links Latest Updates on Protests in France, Belgium and the Netherlands (Bloomberg) France’s ‘Yellow Vests’ Clash with Police in Paris (Reuters) The Wooing of Jared Kushner: How the Saudis Got a Friend in the White … Read more

‘He’s Barack Obama, but White’ – The Manufacturing of Beto O’Rourke

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Although I haven’t paid close attention to Beto O’Rourke, he’s been on my radar for a couple of years after noticing certain media outlets had anointed him a “rising Democratic star.” One of my principal rules of political analysis is whenever you hear mass media proclaim an obscure politician a “rising star,” it typically means that individual has been deemed acceptable by the entrenched oligarchy and is being groomed as a promising puppet.

In fact, the first time O’Rourke came into my news orbit it felt like I was being sold a box of cereal by Madison Avenue. After reading an illuminating article by Ziad Jilliani earlier today in Current Affairs, it appears my intuition was correct.

The first paragraph tells you a lot about what the sorts of people who like Beto, like about him.

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Liberty Links 12/2/18 – France Fuel Protests: Tear Gas Fired in Clashes in Paris

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As always, if you appreciate my work and want to contribute to independent media, consider becoming a monthly Patron, or visit the Support Page. Top Links France Fuel Protests: Tear Gas Fired in Clashes in Paris (BBC) Google Shut out Privacy and Security Teams from Secret China Project (Must read. Google is so dirty, The Intercept) How a Future Trump … Read more