BRICS, Brazil, and the Dollar

https://www.agweb.com/markets/pro-farmer-analysis/brics-nations-accelerate-shift-away-u-s-dollar-global-trade

https://trt.global/world/article/b73a9e89ed67 

The lead-up to the July 2025 BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro was the source of a great deal of hype and speculation. Would the BRICS bloc make a more aggressive move against the dollar?

A Non-Aligned Movement for a New World Order

https://consortiumnews.com/2023/06/19/emergence-of-a-new-non-alignment/

A New World Order is emerging but it's not the one predicted by George HW Bush in the early 1990's. In fact this is the order he was trying to prevent, the nightmare scenario US power-brokers have been trying to stave off since that time. Ironically, they brought it on themselves but that's a long story - one that cannot be explored here.

The Meaning of Blinken's Trip to Central Asia

https://eurasianet.org/blinken-strikes-reassuring-tone-in-dialogue-with-central-asian-partners

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made a recent trip to Central Asia and despite attempts by Western media to spin the visit in a positive light – it is being almost universally acknowledged as a failure. The Central Asian states refuse to back US-sponsored resolutions in the UN that would condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and they clearly rejected Blinken's overtures – recognizing them for what they are, an attempt at warmongering.

Fiscal and Diplomatic Cracks in the Atlanticist Wall

https://www.centralasianews.net/news/267414063/eu-china-investment-deal-threatens-us-europe-relations

This represents a further development of what I reported in 2018:

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2018/06/atlantic-breakdown-in-slow-motion.html

http://proto-protestantism.blogspot.com/2018/04/cracks-in-atlantic-wall.html

Right wing commentators in the United States are focusing on Europe's 'betrayal' – the fact that Europe is not bowing in every case to Washington's instructions and desires. This has been a reality since the fruition of the European Union project in the 1990's. At that time even the continuation of NATO was an open question.

Belgium, Nuclear Weapons and the Breaking of Atlanticism

https://www.euractiv.com/section/defence-and-security/news/belgium-debates-phase-out-of-us-nuclear-weapons-on-its-soil/

In light of Trump's posture towards NATO, one would find it hardly surprising to learn the Belgians don't want to find themselves as a frontline state in the case of a conflict with Russia. Why should they endure the risk without the reward?

Samantha Power: A Right-wing Democrat

https://theintercept.com/2019/09/11/a-memoir-from-hell-samantha-power-will-do-anything-for-human-rights-unless-it-hurts-her-career/

The review provides some interesting insight into one such as Power. During her tenure she was viewed by the Right as a Leftist, part of a Far-Left administration. As I and others continue to insist, today's DNC is not really a Left-wing political entity. There's a Left-wing within its ranks, one that duplicitous figures like Sanders and Warren are labouring to keep within its larger sphere. And yet there are also Centrists and then there are those that could be called Democratic Right. And they're not a small faction. In fact they dominate the party.*

Trump +346: UN Funding, the American Empire and the Rise of Multipolarity

The Trump administration recently declared it would further cut US payments to the United Nations. This is particularly damaging to the international body as the US pays a significant portion of its budget. American conservatives have long argued that the UN works against American interests and thus they are particularly bitter about the fact that US tax money helps to fund the organisation.

Dissensions Within the Conservative Mafia and the Mainstreaming of the Fringe

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/us/politics/george-bush-swings-at-sons-aides-rattling-clan.html?_r=0

Despite the media hype this information is not new. This has been known for many years and others have written about it. The rift is real and yet from an outsider's perspective it's somewhat superficial.

The Internal War and its Casualties

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/world/middleeast/sarkis-g-soghanalian-arms-dealer-dies-at-82.html?_r=0

The arms dealer Soghanalian represents yet another example of the house cleaning or board clearing that took place as the Cold War ended. The US began to break off old ties and alliances and re-orient for a new historical epoch, an American Century it was hoped. There were many casualties and betrayals. The 1998 film Ronin and its allusion to the story of the 47 master-less samurai captures a little bit of this mood, especially in the circles inhabited by the likes of Soghanalian.

Ukraine: The Manufactured Crisis and Ground Realities

http://ericmargolis.com/2014/08/what-if-theres-a-real-war-in-ukraine/


As usual, Margolis exhibits a great deal of wisdom and understanding in his analysis of the Ukraine situation. There are some real threats but not in accordance with the information being propagated by both Western news media and American hawks.


The one thing I think he neglected to mention is that if this situation escalates it could lead to fissures within NATO itself. NATO continues to struggle in finding its reason for existence.