Source: The Unz Review.

It is eye-opening in a modest way to think of Ukraine as a way station in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a connecting point for trade between Europe and Asia. The writer opines that this is the explanation for Xi Jinping’s recent conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

We begin to see, as well, that the U.S. administration’s interest in Ukraine has multiple dimensions, of which Russia’s relationship with Europe is only one.

I believe the U.S. should encourage China’s BRI. It or something like it is inevitable in the long run because there are so many potential benefits. Among them are the possibility of a better developed and more prosperous world. We should want this.

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Transcripted video.

I have been wondering what to make of Tucker Carlson’s departure from Fox News. I liked his show very much and I often wanted to share and discuss clips from it here in the Forum. But I learned quickly from the first clip or two that I did share that the audience here was prone to such overreaction to the very idea of Carlson that it was useless to trade in any content bearing his name.

Continue reading “Tucker Carlson FIRED from Fox News? Is it the END of Fox? Probably… Viva & Barnes!” →

Source: Wall Street Journal.

The editors confirm that a deep state conspiracy theory was in fact a real conspiracy.

I’m tempted to generalize from the observation, but won’t. Except to say that it is clear Joe Biden is an illegitimate president.

Source: ZeroHedge.

I’m not particularly interested in Audrey Hale’s manifesto, but I strongly object to the idea that it is too dangerous to be released to the public.

On one hand I have faith that public disclosure will lead ultimately to the best reactionary result. On the other hand I don’t trust officials who withhold information “for our own good” — they have no right to do so.

Transcripted video.

Here is a long video that is well worth listening to. My quick take is that Mr. Kennedy could well be the Democratic Party’s Donald Trump. In fact, he could be a better Trump than Trump.

My compliments to the man. I look forward to his campaign.

Transcripted video.

Citing the example of the Pentagon Papers, Ray McGovern opines that only a senior executive “at the upper reaches of The Joint Chiefs of Staff or the National Intelligence directorate” could have accumulated the specific intelligence that National Guard Airman Jack Texeira is accused of leaking via a gamers’ chat server on the Internet. The speculation is based on the fact that some of the material consists of CIA and Department of State internal documents that are never disseminated outside those agencies, even to other members of the intelligence community. McGovern believes that someone close to the White House wants to derail President Biden’s foreign policy agenda before it leads to war.

McGovern notes that leaks like the Texeira leak can be consequential. Some here may remember, for example, that shortly after the Pentagon Papers became public, LBJ announced he would not seek reelection.

Source: The American Conservative.

Because the U.S. is the most heavily propagandized nation on Earth, I sometimes think a whole new world could evolve around us and few would notice. It is easy, for example, to overlook the recent meeting between the presidents of France and China.

The writer seems to think the meeting produced a significant outcome, specifically a joint declaration in which China and France together said, “They seek to strengthen the multilateral international system under the aegis of the United Nations, in a multipolar world.”

I think this outcome is significant, too. My first reaction is to worry that the dunderheads who shape public opinion in the U.S. will step up their efforts to demonize China. But that is the last thing we need just now. An escalation of tribal rhetoric can only lead to invincible ignorance and potentially to conflict.

Transcripted video.

I’d call this a news tidbit. We’ll have to wait and see if the story has legs.

The basic allegation is that then Vice President Joe Biden steered taxpayer funded technical support to Ukrainian energy giant Burisma once his son Hunter joined the company’s board of directors. An interesting speculation is that this allegation is connected to last week’s revelation of leaked intelligence outlining Ukraine’s failing war effort. Is Stumble Joe under fire?

Source: Wall Street Journal (free link).

WSJ makes the obvious point that publication of classified military documents in wartime is unfortunate. In this case, “The leaks are especially damaging because they disclose secret U.S. judgments about the progress of the war.”

It will surprise many that the U.S. assessment is not favorable. WSJ says, “The most troubling leak is that Ukraine’s air defenses could be defeated by May, which would give Russia air superiority and a huge tactical advantage.”

Although WSJ doesn’t mention it, I’m told the leaked documents also provide casualty estimates as of March 1, 2023:

• Ukrainian KIA: 70,0000
• Russian KIA: 17,000

Some sources dispute those estimates for various reasons, whereas others claim the 4:1 ratio at least corresponds to U.S./NATO military opinion on the subject of casualties.

Personally, I’m less interested in the leak itself and its consequences for the war effort than in the possibility that it reveals our leaders have been lying to us about Ukrainian successes and Russian failures.