Word of the Day: dead: mort, muerto, tot, surnud, мертвий, мёртвый, 死的.
SOLUTION to last issue’s word challenge puzzle!
Surovikin and Gerasimov are Probably Dead by Now. Gerasimov fired: MCK, Azeri, Kazakh. Probably dead.
Very probably dead as in Tot
Prigozhin falls into serious disfavor, may get killed after all.
Leningrad is a well-known and politically charged musical band in Russia, known for their outspoken critique of the government — and their status as "controlled opposition." While they have been critical of certain policies and figures, they support President Putin: Putin began his political career in the city of Leningrad (now known as St. Petersburg).
The band Leningrad (above) are openly critiquing Prigozhin, and support Putin.
This means Putin wants Prig sidelined.
In Russia you get sidelined Permanently.
I expect Prigozhin to be dead withinin a year. Apparently, Putin thinks he can use stupid prig as a foil to draw out other opponents, destroying each of them along the way. Then, when Prig is no longer useful for drawing out other more dangerous enemies of Putin, Putin will “Punch his ticket” and "tie up the loose Ends"and Prigozhin will permanently retire “down under”.
I did it. I'm glad I did it. I'd totally do it again. It made my Mother proud!
On Political Violence
The problem of international society is the lack of a monopoly of (legal) violence. Instead of one single “common power to keep them all in awe” internationally we have several competing and contending monopolists of violence: they form cartel rules. International law provides minimum standards, rarely but maximally enforced. You get away with literal murder — until you don't anymore, ever.
Overthrowing a criminal government is no step to be lightly taken. Nor is it for the faint hearted.
“革命不是请客吃饭,不是做文章,不是绘画绣花,不能那样雅致,那样从容不迫,文质彬彬,那样温良恭俭让。革命是暴动,是一个阶级推翻一个阶级的暴烈的行动。”—毛泽东 1927年3月《湖南农民运动考察报告》
In German mythology, the Valkyrie were the choosers of the slain. It was a bit of a metaphor: in war many will die, but we may choose, to at least some extent, who dies, where, and for what reasons. You sometimes get to choose which hill you die on.
The international legal system is somewhat different from the State in exactly the following regard: The state, even in a party political system like China or Germany, has the exclusive right to use legal violence.
Internationally however, there is no single monopolist of violence. Instead, there are competing and contending monopolists, each of which seeks to expand its own power, influence, and well-being in some combination.
Yet, these monopolists of legal violence try to band together in alliances, trade blocs, cultural groupings too; they band together and in so doing cartelize violence.
War is nothing other than the clash of these cartelists, cartels of legal violence. But war is also the breakdown of the monopoly of legal violence. This is why you can see things like rebel grouping becoming State power, private armies like Blackwater or Wagner or Mozart. Or me, for that matter. She is soooo beautiful!
The types of violence I wield are, in comparison with State power, miniscule. They are de minimis wrongs, legally justified by necessity and by the general principle of the right to self-defence. You might not like them. Too fucking bad. What are You gonna do about it?
This little hell ride the entire planet is on is nothing I created. It is largely, not exclusively, the result of U.S. over-reach from 1990 to 2010. The alternatives to listening to me and taking my advice are
general impoverishment
wars between great powers with millions of dead.
The path I am charting out for you does not end with:
a Chinese civil war with tens of millions of dead
a US-China war with millions more dead
a US-Russia war with, this is a theme here fuckaroos, millions of dead.
proxy war and terrorism in or around L.A., San Francisco, Lower East Side, and Flushing, Queens as easily foreseeable consequences of any of the above listed errors, errors which, given the 20 year "long war" parade of stupid are entirely possible. Hong Couver much?
Fuck this up, and people die. Lots of people. Some of them are the wrong people, people you would not like to have dead. You should do as I suggest, really.
It's not my fault the US foreign policy elite foolishly spent 20 years doubling down and doubling down again on obviously stupid strategies. I am far from first to shoot. I am however last to shoot. This ends with Putin dead or in the dock for war crimes. 义
Friendly Reminder: as I said here, and here, Putin is a dead man walking: “people are starting to notice”.
“there’s a huge chink in the armor of Putin” Chink, by the way, is a slang nasty insult for a Chinese person. Try not to be racist, no one likes it.
I wonder if it was a car bomb? https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/07/07/6-killed-in-blast-at-explosives-factory-in-central-russia-state-media-a81766 or maybe sabotage. Lots of sabotage.
The End of War
States really don't negotiate ends to their wars: this is why war termination is so unpredictable and even intractable. Wars end with victory or defeat for one side, which in turn is rationalized or justified, papered over with various excuses. These excuses may be called "truce" (which just so happens to mean "coward" in Russian трус) or treaties. Wars don't end with negotiation because they end at gunpoint. "枪杆子里面出政权" 毛泽东, 1927. Political power proceeds from the barrel of a gun. Political influence in contrast proceeds from the barrel of a pen. Influence is generally more useful than power; war is exceptional and increasingly rare internationally.
Parties to a war are literally killing each other. Consequently they cannot "negotiate" with each other. Who "negotiates" with their would be murderer? Even if States could negotiate an end to war they cannot do so rationally. States are compelled to irrationality in war by their own people's ardent desire to prosecute the war to the bitter end, no matter what -- to defend the nation, to avenge the fallen. Even if States were not constrained by their own population or the enemy's population they cannot realistically trust each other, and thus cannot seriously negotiate. They can however put a knife to the other guy's throat and make him say "Yes please" and "I'm sorry". Even then, the defeated will then in peace simply prepare for the next war with their conqueror and try to claw back as much advantage as possible: Germany is the best example of losing a war yet clawing back in peace much of what was lost. Maybe be glad Germany is reluctant to rearm?
Turkiye
For another example of private violence intruding on the cartels: PKK contends with Turkiye for sovereignty within Turkiye. Too bad for PKK because it looks like Sweden will join NATO.
Oh, and it also looks like Ukraine will join NATO — after it ejects Russia from All of Ukraine. “Turkey’s Erdogan says Ukraine deserves NATO membership”And I should favor the trotskyite PKK, because? Bus. What's under that bus?
This is a waste of Chinese resources.
If you want to waste your resources don't let me stop you.
I have better ideas about what you might do instead.
https://thediplomat.com/2023/07/what-conclusions-is-china-drawing-from-the-wagner-revolt-in-russia/
Free eBooks this week
You may download and review the book here.
U.S. Laws on Leasing
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CB9FWHFJ
https://www.amazon.com/Lucifers-Legal-Lexicon-Diabolical-Diplomatic-ebook/dp/B0B8DN5QRV
Black humour: You may download and review the book here.
三十功名尘与土 Scholarly virtues too are dust in the wind.
UNPREDICTABLE
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