Category Archives: Foreign Policy

I keep hearing this Nord Stream talking point, “Why would Russia blow up their own pipeline?” This generated in the American right-wing media ecosystem very quickly, so let’s get some facts straight – Nord Stream 1 & 2 aren’t only “Russian” pipelines – they’re JOINT ventures with Russian Gazprom paying half the cost of construction and a group of western companies paying half:

“Gazprom paid half the cost of building Nord Stream 2, with the remainder of the $11 billion pipeline project financed by British oil and gas major Shell (SHEL.L), Austria’s OMV (OMVV.VI), France’s Engie and Germany’s Uniper (UN01.DE) and Wintershall DEA (WINT.UL).” Source: Reuters article from March 2022.

The Europeans have been trying to keep Russia pumping gas, because especially the Germans are very dependent on that Russian gas. First there were reports that Nord Stream 1 was shut down due to needing repairs back in July and Canada sent the repaired turbine to Germany for that repair.

By August Russia said they couldn’t do the repairs on Nord Stream 1

By September: Russia cuts off gas exports to Europe via Nord Stream indefinitely

Nord Stream 2 wasn’t even operational yet.

“The construction of the pipeline started in 2011, to expand the Nord Stream line and double annual capacity to 110 billion cubic metres (3.9 trillion cubic feet). It was completed in September 2021, but has not yet entered service.” Source: Wikipedia

Russia has a massive gas pipeline project with China, that when completed will reach all the way to Shanghai.

Russia has other lucrative gas and oil deals with numerous countries and is the largest oil exporter in the world and will surely find new markets, while the Europeans are scrambling to find oil and gas to get through this winter. Even the US was importing Russian oil.

So, let’s look at this idea of “Why would Russia blow up their own pipeline?” Well, Russia was putting the screws to the Europeans, especially the Germans, trying to pressure them to back down on supporting Ukraine. The Europeans and US and Canada held their alliance together with supporting Ukraine and escalated the sanctions against Russia. Russia refused to get Nord Stream 1 operational and stopped pumping gas, then issued more threats and even threatened nuclear war, while the Germans were still trying to get Russia to resume shipping gas and scrambling to try to find other sources around the world. Russia exerted its influence with OPEC, so when Biden went to Saudi Arabia, begging for more oil, he was rebuffed.

Russia expanded their market in India by offering huge discounts. Here’s a September 2022 article: Russia is now offering even more discounts to India on oil

Why would the US or Europeans blow up Nord Stream 1, which will devastate western companies, while Gazprom has expanding markets?

Russia had already cut its losses on Nord Stream and can survive without Nord Stream, while the Europeans and US are scrounging around for oil and gas. Of course, in the US the oil and gas shortages are completely due to the Biden administration’s decision to kill the American oil and gas industry with their crazy green energy plan, but still what would the US gain by blowing up the Nord Stream pipelines, which Russia had already written off and was using to try to blackmail the Germans to abandon Ukraine? Russia would gain a lot by giving the Germans and Europeans the middle finger by blowing that up and threatening nuclear war. It would show the Western alliance that Russia won’t hesitate to use more force. At the same time the Nord Stream explosions occurred, Putin announced Russia was annexing parts of Ukraine.

I can’t say 100% who sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines, but I can say there’s a lot of evidence that Russia had plenty of motivations to give a big middle finger to European leaders and to let them know that if they continue aiding Ukraine, Russia will retaliate forcefully.

So many right-wing Americans blame the US for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, while absolving Putin of any blame. I disagreed with US policy decisions in Ukraine during the Obama administration and I disagree with a lot of decisions the Biden administration has made before and since Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year. However, Russia also has escalated this war and Russia is the one threatening nuclear war. Putin is not some victim in this war and Russia had no legitimate right to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Part of why so many Americans rushed to buy into blaming the US for the Nord Stream explosions I blame on the Democrats and their corrupt “Trump/Russia Collusion” smear campaign, which was total bs. That years-long Democrat smear effort led many Americans on the right to just discount Russian disinformation as being a real thing. I blame Trump too, because at times he talked like Putin was a great guy.

And here’s the beauty of the useful idiots in the US carrying water for Russian propaganda- they hate Biden so much that they will make excuses for Putin these days. Tucker Carlson rushed to carry that water a few days ago. Carlson also frequently casts Putin as a good guy. Lots of other ordinary people on social media have too. I watched a prepper video recently by a hard-working, decent American guy, who hates Biden and the left’s radical agenda a lot, which I understand completely. He was quoting RT – Russia Today as his source and I was wondering how Americans could be so willing to buy into Russian propaganda.

Here’s the thing about Putin – he hates America and the West (that includes right-wing Americans too) and he’s still very much the KGB agent. Despite the Democrats calling everything on the right in America “Russian disinformation,” the reality is actual Russian disinformation still exists and unfortunately now right-wingers in America, who used to understand the Russian threat, are walking around citing RT and talking about how Putin isn’t such a bad guy. Our own domestic spin war has led so many Americans to distrust our own government and each other more than they distrust Putin, who wants to destroy the West and rebuild the former Soviet Union. And, I suppose many Americans no longer remember the Cold War or understand that history.

Here’s a link to a CNBC report on the Nord Stream pipelines: Russian pipeline leaks spark climate fears as huge volumes of methane spew into the atmosphere

Here’s a link to a Wall Street Journal article about NATO formally blaming sabotage for the leaks: NATO Formally Blames Sabotage for Nord Stream Pipeline Damage

Here’s a Reuters piece: Putin accuses West of blowing up pipelines as Europe steps up vigilance

Here’s a Washington Examiner piece: Russian ships observed near area of explosions that caused Nord Stream pipeline leaks: Report

Tucker Carlson, the most watched primetime FOX pundit was quick to blame the US for the Nord Stream pipeline leak. He has been against the US and Europeans aiding Ukraine all along. Among right-wing media, this buzz gained traction with the line “Why would the Russians blow up their own pipeline when they could just shut off the gas? This seems like a stupid argument to me. Somehow, these right-wing hot takes that “only this argument makes sense” with no real information seems to be the default right-wing media ecosystem these days.

John Brennan, the former Obama CIA director, rushed to blame Putin.

Here’s the thing, I have no way of knowing for sure, but I will say the argument Tucker Carlson made, rushing to point the finger at the US seems reckless and designed to foment more divides in America and was intended to turn Americans on the right against the US government and against aiding Ukraine. To state that the US or Europeans sabotaging that pipeline is the only possible explanation, with no real evidence, is as reckless as Brennan rushing to blame Putin.

Russia is currently not shipping more gas via that pipeline, but Russia knew there was still gas in that pipeline that will now not be delivered to Europe with winter approaching, is my understanding at this point. I could be wrong. And at the same time Russia was trying to annex parts of Ukraine this week. Russia is not above trying to fuel divides in America over support for Ukraine and certainly not above staging elaborate false flag operations. Russia also is not against sending stronger messages to US and European leaders, that Russia will not hesitate to escalate the economic war.

The gas that was still in the pipeline should be gone by Sunday according to the Reuters article: “Gas will continue to pour out of Nord Stream 1 until Sunday, the Danish energy agency said on Friday, though the leak on Nord Stream 2 is expected to cease on Saturday.” Russia had already shut off the gas – that’s the key part and a short-lived leak, that sent a strong message to the Europeans that Russia won’t be sending more gas, while at the same time blaming the US and the West for the leaks doesn’t seem beyond Putin to me.

I distrust the Biden administration and I certainly distrust John Brennan, but at the same time, Putin has shown himself to be ruthless and there’s a long, long history of Russian false flag operations against the West.

At this point, I’m just waiting to see what happens next.

This post is going to be more about the Pelosi trip to Taiwan. China ratcheted up the saber-rattling and today China cut off talks with the US on climate and military matters: China halts climate and military dialogue with the U.S. over Pelosi’s Taiwan visit. China wants to make the Biden administration look weak and impotent (and is succeeding).

John Kerry, former Obama Secretary of State and current Biden administration climate special envoy, was on Twitter appealing to China a few hours ago.

China knows full well what a cowardly, groveling bunch this Biden White House is, because they and all of America’s adversaries watched eight years of this during the Obama administration. John Kerry, as Secretary of State, was willing to grovel to Iran in 2016, when Iran captured US sailors. At that time, the Obama administration wanted to make the Iran nuclear deal work – no matter what. Kerry worked out the release of the captured US sailors and hailed it as a new era of diplomacy. And immediately following that Iran released demoralizing videos of US sailors and propaganda to make our American sailors look weak and like crybabies. It was totally disgraceful:

Rather than speak out and support Pelosi’s trip and stand up to China, the Biden administration continued to waffle today and China is playing this for all it’s worth. Kerry will likely sell American dignity and our country down the river again, to try to salvage the climate deal with China – no matter what. And just like with Iran, who never abided by any of the agreements on nuclear issues, China has no intention of abiding by the West’s green energy deals.

Russia, China and our adversaries will continue to bolster their fossil fuel capacities while the US and West rush down this green-energy transformation yellow brick road. Here are some links on China’s energy plans:

China sees biggest growth in energy and coal use since 2011

China continues to snap up Russian coal at steep discounts

This map shows the massive gas pipeline that Russia and China are building

China pays lip service to green energy goals, but China is the world’s biggest polluter Here’s a stat from an article, Most polluted countries in the world: 2022 ranking:

1. China with 9.9 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions, largely due to the export of consumer goods and its heavy reliance on coal;
2. The United States with 4.4 billion tonnes of CO2 emitted;
3. India with 2.3 billion tonnes of CO2 emitted.

 I expect John Kerry to sell America down the river again and grovel to China. Pathetic!

8/6/2022 – Afterthought: China is unhappy with increased aid being considered in Congress: Senators slated to take up bill to expand security support to Taiwan amid high-stakes Pelosi visit. My guess is I think China also hopes that their escalated big drama they’re enacting will pressure either the Biden WH to apologize to China for Pelosi visiting Taiwan or that Pelosi will apologize for visiting Taiwan. Either of these actions would signal an American abandonment of Taiwan and send a powerful signal to every other country in that region that America does not have their back.

This blog post is about politics, foreign affairs, and some of my thoughts on the global progressive movement.

BREAKING: Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has agreed to resign after parliamentary leaders demanded both he and the embattled president step down on the day protesters stormed the president’s residence and office. https://t.co/kJRvIX53L8

— The Associated Press (@AP) July 9, 2022

Today there are reports that Sri Lankan protestors have stormed the presidential palace, so I think this March 5, 2022 article, In Sri Lanka, Organic Farming Went Catastrophically Wrong, from Foreign Policy is very informative on how the global green agenda led to this chaos, just like it led to the chaos unfolding in Europe with the Dutch farmers protesting their government trying to impose new green laws that fall in line with the global green initiatives.

From the Foreign Policy piece on Sri Lanka, the first two paragraphs lay out what happened:

“Faced with a deepening economic and humanitarian crisis, Sri Lanka called off an ill-conceived national experiment in organic agriculture this winter. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa promised in his 2019 election campaign to transition the country’s farmers to organic agriculture over a period of 10 years. Last April, Rajapaksa’s government made good on that promise, imposing a nationwide ban on the importation and use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and ordering the country’s 2 million farmers to go organic.”

“The result was brutal and swift. Against claims that organic methods can produce comparable yields to conventional farming, domestic rice production fell 20 percent in just the first six months. Sri Lanka, long self-sufficient in rice production, has been forced to import $450 million worth of rice even as domestic prices for this staple of the national diet surged by around 50 percent. The ban also devastated the nation’s tea crop, its primary export and source of foreign exchange.”

I want to post this, because I did not know about this green push in Sri Lanka and I was completely wrong about saying what happened in Sri Lanka isn’t an indicator of what might happen here, while the Dutch farmer protests are a good indicator. It looks like the menace of the global green movement is at the heart of the problems in Sri Lanka, the Netherlands and the tentacles of the global green movement, with the Biden administration working to supercharge their green policy push in America has already caused gas prices in America to sky-rocket and helped fueled inflation in the retail sector.

The global green movement is a huge part of the global elite progressive movement, but there are other tentacles from the pandemic “trust the science” rules, to the alphabet gender activism, the effort to control information on social media, and in America, there’s a massive progressive push to federalize policing, which President Obama made a top-tier policy goal.

What happened in 2020 with the “Defund the Police” effort was a part of that progressive effort to federalize policing. Every time the left in America demands federal control over issues that constitutionally are state powers, it’s a safe bet it’s another power grab, to hamstring federalism, which is a safeguard against a Big Brother, total federal control over Americans’ lives. That “Defund the Police” effort used a massive spin effort to incite public outrage with the George Floyd case as a cover to destroy local control of policing in America and push for federalizing control of policing.

Along with those big fronts of the progressive movement there’s also a massive, ongoing effort to demonize all traditional civic and religious values.

It’s total insanity fueled by epic hubris. These global elitists who fly into Davos, fund and run these big, progressive foundations and think tanks, I think, believe they’re the smartest, most enlightened people in the world. Almost every “trust the science” Covid mitigation effort now has failed to work as promised by the “experts”- especially the remote learning, when schools closed their doors.

For many years, I’ve believed that protecting and bolstering federalism in America will be our best storm surge barrier against these massive waves of global progressive policies crashing against our constitutional republic framework. And that’s why working to build even small pockets of community, especially local community, matter so much. As these insane global progressive policies create more and more chaos, the wealthy globalist elites sound confident that their big ideas will prevail. There’s often a dismissive tone about ensuing chaos their policies cause, like the collapse of some governments, wars, anarchy, and famine. It often sounds to me like many of these progressives believe these problems will be transitory and just growing pains that are worth the cost.

They believe their massive, complex global systems, will prevail and then people all over the world will submit to their new ideas and new ways of living in this new imposed “equitable and sustainable” paradise. At the heart of this is a belief in global governance managed by a bunch of elites.

The inherit vulnerability with large and overtaxed, complex logistical systems applies to progressive globalist movements just as it does to militaries. In military systems, if you overtax your supply system, small guerilla groups will be able to function, while the military reliant on a failing complex supply chain will lose its effectiveness.

In a totally lawful and peaceful effort, I believe working to build local communities and then networking with like-minded people around the country can allow ordinary Americans to share, barter and sell food and other items that become hard to find as the big supply system we’re used to hiccups and sputters. Building local community also provides a social support network, along with people to turn to in emergencies. A national hotline number to call is useless if you’re facing a personal or local emergency situation. You want people who are nearby, know the area, and can pool local resources quickly.

Simple systems always have a resiliency that complex systems lack, is my belief.

Yes, I’ve been reading more Klaus Schwab crapola… oh my word, it’s a dreary slog.

President Biden had been releasing oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve and guess what:

Reuters is reporting: Oil from U.S. reserves head overseas as gasoline prices stay high

Here’s the first paragraph:

“HOUSTON, July 5 (Reuters) – More than 5 million barrels of oil that were part of a historic U.S. emergency oil reserves release aimed at lowering domestic fuel prices were exported to Europe and Asia last month, according to data and sources, even as U.S. gasoline and diesel prices touched record highs.”

Just let that sink in. Oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve is being shipped overseas, while American are struggling with soaring prices at the pump.