P. GREANVILLE—CBS Sunday takes a moment from selling us the latest fake Russian atrocity to burnish the image of egotist and suckup extraordinaire, Bono, who never met a potentate he didn’t love. One of his latest stunts, in keeping with his image as loyal member of the Western establishment, is a ridiculous concert in Kiev’s subway, while getting his obligatory photo-op with the man of the moment, US/NATO employe V. Zelensky. We al know, however, that no matter what he does, he’ll never be able to wash away his embrace of Blair and Bush, and his (by now) embarrasingly long resume as a willfully co-opted rock’n roll sellout.
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FINIAN CUNNINGHAM—The political party labels are irrelevant. The ship of state is charted for a collision course with perceived global rivals. Those rivals are of course portrayed as “enemies” and “threats”. That narrative or propaganda is required to “justify” (legitimize) the policy of antagonism and militarism, which is essentially a criminal warmongering policy. This, in my view, explains why the United States aided and abetted by subordinate “allies” are drumming up war with China over Taiwan and with Russia over Ukraine. The collision course is set by the ruling class in accordance with their interests, not by the majority of American citizens. This speaks of the fundamentally undemocratic nature of the US and its allies.
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BRUCE LERRO—As many of you know, there was a recent election in France that was very close between Macron, Le Pen and the left wing candidate, Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Macron got 27% of the vote. Le Pen got 23% and the Mélenchon got about 21 ½%. The left-wing candidate failed by one point short of qualifying for the second round. So the French had to decide between the neoliberal Macron and the more conservative (or supposed fascist) Le Pen. Suddenly the neoliberal Macron discovers the linear political spectrum and presents himself, not as the center right candidate that he is, but closer to the Enlightenment values of New Deal liberalism.
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PEPE ESCOBAR—Russia spans 11 time zones and sits atop as much as one third of the world’s natural resources. A natural symbiosis between Europe and Russia is like a fact of life. But the EU oligarchy blew it. It’s no wonder the Chinese leadership views the process with horror, because one of BRI’s essential planks is to facilitate seamless trade between China and Europe. As Russia’s connectivity corridor has been blocked by sanctions, China will be privileging corridors via West Asia. Meanwhile, Russia is completing its pivot to the east. Russia’s enormous resources, combined with the manufacturing capability of China and East Asia as a whole, project a trade/connectivity sphere that goes even beyond BRI. That’s at the heart of the Russian concept of Greater Eurasia Partnership.
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PATRICE GREANVILLE—The ruling billionaires—whimsical, petulantly childish, and poorly-educated—unidimensional characters like most businessmen, along with their legions of cowardly, sycophantic advisers and political front men, have no solutions. How could they? For one thing, this mob is still trying to balance a pyramid on its apex. Flash Alert: This is not in the pyramid’s nature. They constantly seek cures to capitalist symptoms using the capitalist playbook.
