Podcasts about atlanticism

Efter en, även med våra mått mätt, ovanligt tramsig inledning, pratar vi lite om Joakim Medins fångenskap i Turkiet, för att sedan komma in på avsnittets huvudämne: Har relationerna mellan USA och Europa kommit till en brytpunkt i och med Trumpregimens nya förhållningssätt? Kommer Europa faktiskt rusta för en militär förmåga som inte bygger på […]

Preview: Colleague Judy Dempsey of Carnegie Endowment in Berlin comments on how POTUS turn away from Atlanticism has moved Europe as the Russian threat has not. More later. 1911 BRUSSELS

We are raiding the Guardian Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2018: The foreign policy establishment has been lamenting its death for half a century. But Atlanticism has long been a convenient myth By Madeleine Schwartz. Read by Kelly Burke. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Exactly a month into his new term, President Donald Trump's latest major pick, Kash Patel, has been appointed as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation after a grueling confirmation in the US Senate. Tulsi Gabbard had earlier been confirmed as the Director of National Intelligence. Both these are positive from India's point of view: they signal that the sinister Deep State may well be reined in, after decades of anti-India activism on its part.Over the last week or two, there have been revelations after revelations of bad faith on the part of the disgraced US establishment, most notably in the shadowy USAID agency, which, it appears, was the absolute “Heart of Darkness” of the Deep State, neck-deep in covert operations, election interference, and general mayhem all over the world, and certainly in India.Trump himself emphasized that $21 million in covert funds had gone towards affecting election outcomes in India. Presumably the reduced majority Modi got in 2024 could be traced back to this. Fortress AmericaThe general contours of Trump's foreign policy are beginning to emerge. I predicted a month ago, before Trump had taken over, in ‘Greenland, Canada, Panama: Chronicles of a Foreign Policy Foretold', that Western Europe, and the United Kingdom in particular, would find themselves treated as irrelevant to the new order to come. That has happened.In fact, things have gone beyond what I anticipated. In a nutshell, Trump is downgrading the Atlantic, and his focus will be on the Americas, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific. Which, from a historical perspective, makes sense: the world's economic center of gravity is moving towards Asia; trade flows in the Pacific and the Indian Oceans are increasingly more important than in the Atlantic; and a few centuries of European domination are pretty much over.Sorry Europe, Atlanticism is at an endTo put it bluntly, the vanity that Europe is a ‘continent' is now being exposed as hollow: to be precise, it is merely an appendage, an outpost, to vast Asia. Europe is at best a subcontinent, like India is; it should probably be renamed as ‘Northwest Asia'. The saga of ‘Guns, Germs and Steel' post the Industrial Revolution is winding down rapidly. There is some schadenfreude in that the UK becomes even more irrelevant: just a small, rainy island off NW Asia.The Putin-Trump dialog suggests that Ukraine, and even NATO, are now superfluous. Atlanticism has been a constant in US foreign policy, mostly pushed by two forces:* Eastern European-origin State Department officials who have inherited a blood-feud with Russia from their ancestors, eg. Brzezinski, Albright, Nuland, Blinken, Vindman* an ancient intra-Christian schism between the Eastern Orthodox Church and (for a change) an alliance of Roman Catholics and Western Protestants like Lutherans, Anglicans and Calvinists.It is time that the Americans realized they've been turned into cats'-paws by these forces, and turned their backs on these ancient animosities, which have almost no relevance today. In fact one could argue that a NATO-Russian alliance is the right solution in the medium term, because otherwise both could become puppets of China. Bringing the Ukraine war to an end is a start.The general tone of the Trump White House implies a Fortress America. In practice, this seems to mean that instead of being Globocop, the US focuses on a) the Americas, North and South, b) the Pacific Ocean, d) the Indian Ocean, in that order.A new Monroe Doctrine in the AmericasThe attention being paid to Canada and Mexico over and above the tariffs issues suggests that there is a plan to create a stronger and more unified North American entity; the noises about “Canada the 51st state” and “Gulf of America” suggest that maybe a new NAFTA-style agreement could be inked, especially now that the warming Arctic Ocean makes the thawing tundra of Canada more appealing.It is true that there is no immediate thrust for a Monroe Doctrine-style exclusive US ‘sphere of influence' in South America, but I suspect it is coming. Already, there have been positive vibes between Trump and Argentina's Milei, and Salvador's Bukele: the former for his DOGE-style chainsaw-wielding that's showing results, and the latter for his strong law enforcement.The Island Chains and other red lines in the PacificIn the Pacific, there has been pushback against China's moves on the Panama Canal: there are two Hong-Kong-based entities (read proxies of the Chinese government) controlling ports around it: Balboa on the Pacific side, and Cristobal on the Atlantic side.On the other hand, there is increasing global support (with the judicious use of Chinese carrots such as BRI) for the annexation of Taiwan by China, including, if necessary, by force. A Lowy Institute study (“Five One Chinas: The Contest to Define Taiwan”) suggests that some 119 UN member states accept the official Chinese position on ‘reunification'. Only 40 countries are not on board with China's claim of sovereignty over Taiwan.It is very likely that there will be a showdown between the US and China over Taiwan, within the next two years. It is said that Xi Jinping has given a timeframe of 2027 for all this. It will be interesting to see how many states that condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine will condemn China's future attack on Taiwan. Chances are that many will be strategically silent.Japan, Australia, South Korea and other friends of the US will have a hard time keeping the peace in the Pacific. The “Three Island Chains” act as increasingly critical red lines to contain an aggressive China. In fact, the Asia Maritime Initiative is speaking of five island chains (“China's Reach Has Grown, So Should the Island Chains”), including those in the Indian Ocean (remember the “String of Pearls” intended to tighten around India's throat).The three island chains: 1. Taiwan, Japan, Philippines; 2. Guam, Marianas; 3. Hawaii(Source: China is making waves in the Pacific, Alexandra Tirziu, Jan 2024 https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/china-pacific-conflict/)Meanwhile, in a show of aggression far from its shores, three Chinese warships indulged in “live firing” in international waters between Australia and New Zealand, and commercial aircraft were warned to keep away. This is a warning to Australia, which, thanks to AUKUS foolishness, cancelled French submarines and now await British submarines… in the 2040s.The increasing relevance of the Indian Ocean and the Middle EastMuch of the world's trade, including 75% of global maritime trade and 50% of its daily oil shipments, go through the Indian Ocean.The main issues will be the control of the Straits of Malacca and Hormuz, and the alternative routes being explored by China via the Isthmus of Kra in Thailand, possible use of Coco Islands and other Myanmarese ports including Sittwe and (a bit of a stretch for China) access to Chittagong. There are also troublesome pirates, including Houthis, that make for perilous journeys leading to the Suez Canal, the Gulf of Aden, and the Red Sea.Interestingly, the US is making moves in the Indian Ocean that will support both the IMEC (India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor) and I2U2, the India-Israel-UAE-US economic partnership. IMEC is the old Spice Route, revivified.There is also the proposed Ben-Gurion Canal through the Negev Desert in Israel that would benefit Saudi Arabia as well (its futuristic NEOM city is nearby), and this would be made feasible by Trump's proposed transformation of Gaza. It would be an alternative to Suez.Following up on the Abraham Accords, Trump 2.0 would like to bring the Gaza war to an end, and create an environment in the Middle East where Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE et al will form a counter and a buffer to the machinations of Iran and Turkey.The Indo-US joint communique is a statement of intentIt is in this global context that we need to analyze the joint communique between the US and India after the Trump-Modi summit. Both nations will be attempting to advance their own strategic doctrines. The US would like India to become a non-treaty ally. India would like to keep its multi-alignment policy going, along with Atmanirbharatha. These may make any bilateral progress a little rough but some give and take will work.There are a few specific areas of interest:* Defense* There is an effort by the US to wean India away from its dependency on Russia for weapons. The most evident carrot here is the F-35 advanced fighter jet, which has now been offered to India for the first time, along with other conventional weapons such as Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stryker infantry combat vehicles, as well as the P8i Poseidon anti-submarine patrol aircraft, and various drones* The P8i is already in service in India, and it would help keep an eye on the southern Bay of Bengal with its proximity to China's submarine pen on Hainan Island* The F-35 raises some questions. In the Bangalore Air Show it was pitted against the Russian Su-57, which is a lot less expensive. Also, the F-35 needs extraordinary levels of maintenance for its ‘stealth' coating. Finally, should India invest in building its own AMCA 5th-generation fighter jet rather than buying?* Even though there will be co-production agreements, the US is a whimsical supplier (remember Tarapur), and there will be little transfer of technology, so military procurement and cooperation must be carefully thought through by India* Trade and Investment* The goal is to reach $500 billion in bilateral trade by 2030, which would involve a doubling from current levels ($200 billion in 2023). Besides, the Trump doctrine of reciprocal tariffs and zero trade imbalance may make some of this difficult* Indian firms are planning to invest $7.35 billion in the US* Energy* India will now get access to US civil nuclear technology, but there's a small twist: the clauses invoking civil liability for nuclear damage will be deleted. This is reminiscent of Pfizer's covid-era contract with developing countries: Pfizer was assured of indemnity (with the local governments being liable) in case of injury or death caused by its vaccine. This sounds like a bad idea* India will increase its purchases of US oil and natural gas. This is a win-win: it will increase US imports to India, thus reducing the trade deficit, and India will be assured of additional supplies* Technology and Innovation* A whole raft of actions have been proposed, including a tie-up between the US National Science Foundation and the Anusandhan National Research Foundation in India, a program called TRUST, another called INDUS innovation, and one in the area of space collaboration, titled NISAR* Multilateral Cooperation* The Quad, IMEC and I2U2 figured in communique, but also something called the Indian Ocean Strategic Venture. I note this nomenclature progress with approval: there used to be the Asia-Pacific, then it was the Indo-Pacific, and now the Indian Ocean is being singled out* In the area of counter-terrorism, the communique explicitly named Pakistani entities such as Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Toiba, among others. This is a welcome change from the shadow-boxing indulged in by the Biden administration and others, whereby Pakistani terrorists were treated as ‘assets'* The extradition of Tahawwur Rana, a Pakistani-Canadian now in a Los Angeles jail, to India for investigation into his role supporting David Headley, in the 26/11/2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, is a welcome sign, after the curious Biden exertions in the Pannun case* People to people links* Indian parents are spending $8 billion a year to support 300,000 Indian students in the US. This amounts to a sort of ‘foreign aid', and also incidentally supplies a lot of especially STEM graduates to the US economy* Facilitating visas, which have become frustratingly difficult for Indian business and leisure travelers to the US. Last year, the wait for just a visa interview was 452 days in Chennai (as compared to 15 days in Beijing), which probably was the result ot the Biden State Department ‘punishing' India for refusing to toe their Ukraine sanctions line* The legal movement of students and professionals between the two countries is to be eased.Overall, this is a statement of intent: both Modi and Trump are laying their cards on the table, and they will both (as they should) bargain hard to benefit their own nations. But India is no longer being treated as a pariah as it was since the Pokhran blasts, the denial of cryogenic rocket engines (via, yes, the Biden Amendment), and so on.As Trump moves towards the inevitable multipolar world, he does not wish to leave Asia to eager hegemon China; as he wishes to move the US out of military entanglements in far-off places (for which he expects Europe and others to bear the burden of their own defense), it is natural for him to want India to punch its weight in Asia.A mutually beneficial relationship free of the supercilious lectures by previous Democratic administrations (eg Daleep Singh on Ukraine sanctions, and he was, ironically enough, the great-grand-nephew of Dalip Singh Saund) would be welcome from the Indian point of view. Having a counterweight to China, and a G3 instead of a G2, would likewise be useful from the US point of view. Thus, there are glimpses of a possible win-win situation.2222 words, 22-02-2025 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com/subscribe

#Londinium90AD: Gaius & Germanicus observe the end of Atlanticism and the beginning of Fortress Americas. Michael Vlahos. Friends of History Debating Society. @Michalis_Vlahos 1932  Andrew Jackson

America is withdrawing strategically and diplomatically from Europe and leaving Ukraine to its fate. The history of Atlanticism from 1941 to the present day has been a complex relationship often relying on figures like Roosevelt and Churchill whose interests aligned and on America seeing its strategic interests aligning with Europe. This podcast explores the negotiations between Churchill and Roosevelt during the Arcadia Conference and the current decline of relations (including the fabled British 'special relationship') with America. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nationalism versus Atlanticism: how Nato is balancing rising nationalist movements with its' own unifying vision.

Creating a Mediterranean Union is key to defending the Southern flank of Nato for this key trading and shipping route. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/james-herlihy/message

Two competing world views - Atlanticism (Liberal Democracy, Free Markets, Rule of Law) and Eurasianism (Authoritarianism, non-independent judiciaries, state controlled economies) present a stark choice as geopolitics dominates international relations. Russia and China are the principal proponents of Eurasianism whereas the United States and the West subscribe to Atlanticism. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/james-herlihy/message

In the next six weeks, anything can happen between Israel and Gaza. But in the next six months or two years, the consequences become in some ways more predictable. It is to this medium-range gaze that the lads now turn: looking at the US Presidential election, the EU's turn against Atlanticism, and the next energy shock, in a chock-full third premium edition of Multipolarity. To access, sign up on Patreon.

Curtis & Vlad are back to talk Russia VS Ukraine but more focused on the role US should play as either Atlanticist guardian against encroachment or more isolated from the conflicts of the world. SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE ️ BREAKTHERULES.TV FOR MORE!Curtis Yarvinhttps://graymirror.substack.com/Vladislav Davidzon https://twitter.com/VladDavidzonLev Polyakovhttps://twitter.com/Levpohttp://youtube.com/levpolyakov====================================================Lev Polyakovhttps://twitter.com/Levpohttp://youtube.com/levpolyakov====================================================FOLLOW BTR:Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/breaktherulesDISCORD: https://discord.gg/hHTNg3MTwitter - http://twitter.com/breakth3rulesInstagram - http://instagram.com/breakth3rulesFacebook - http://facebook.com/breakth3rulesMinds - https://www.minds.com/breaktherulesOdysee - https://odysee.com/@breaktherules:f/liveTwitch - https://www.twitch.tv/breakth3rules/DLive - https://dlive.tv/breakth3rulesBitchute - https://www.bitchute.com/channel/JfUzQfuQpWc0/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0yovF9Vo8n1fF1DGlMuWBhApple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/break-the-rules/id1543233584

This week, Dimes and Judas discuss Lindsay Clancy's murder of her children and all the young moms defending her actions online, the unavoidable future of exponentially-degenerating AI porn cartels, and a review of the historical fish-out-of-water witch film "You Won't Be Alone." Then the boyz dive into the book "Seeing Like a State" by James C. Scott, an anarchist-friendly accounting of case studies pulled from a variety of cultures and eras detailing how state-orchestrated projects to centralize their power and organize society have frequently ended in catastrophe, and if they succeed, how they irrevocably change the people forever. Lastly on this edition of The Copepranos Society, Dimes sits down with old friend The Fascifist, a delightfully controversial figure in the Dissident Right who is waging a spiritual war against race-idolatry, Liberalism, and Atlanticism.

Our guest is geopolitical strategist and noted Atlanticist, Alp Sevimlisoy of the Atlantic Council. Ukraine is not only a battleground for Russian territorial aggrandizement, but also for a confrontation between two competing world views, Atlanticism and Eurasianism. The former enshrines Western liberal democracy ideals while the latter eschews the rule of law and promotes authoritarianism. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/james-herlihy/message

A version of this essay has been published at https://swarajyamag.com/world/the-rules-based-liberal-world-order-or-whatever-is-coming-apart-at-the-seamsI don’t know about you, but I have long been a fan of the ‘liberal rules-based international order’, although to be quite honest, I have had only a rather vague idea what it meant. It sounded pretty good, though. I mean, how could any reasonable person be against ‘liberal’, ‘order’, and ‘rules-based’? It is only lately that I have learned this is strictly a marketing moniker.It’s a bit like the Moral Majority, which has a nice ring to it, and made waves as a bunch of fiery literalist Bible-thumpers some years ago. It turned out, alas, that they were neither particularly ‘moral’ and certainly not a ‘majority’.  If I recall correctly some of its brightest stars were found in flagrante delicto, including one fire-and-brimstone preacher who was caught twice in cars with street prostitutes.Just like the ‘Holy Roman Empire’ was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.Similarly, the ‘liberal rules-based international order’ is neither liberal, nor rules-based, nor an order. It is essentially a post-World-War-II mechanism to perpetuate the rule of the victors in that conflict, giving them a free pass in world affairs for as long as possible. In particular, it was an arrangement that assumed that the US would remain the paramount global power for the foreseeable future. That ‘order’ almost immediately fell  apart because the Soviets and the Americans started a rivalry for spheres of influence, including the Soviet evangelization of communism. The Americans embraced the Domino Theory and began counter-evangelization of democracy as the antidote to all the evils of society. This ended up in the Cold War, although to be fair, the US did help a number of its allies to prosper. They were mostly white European countries, but also East Asians. Through the power of suggestion (hurrah, New York Times and Hollywood) we have been led to believe that the world is moving steadily towards the triumph of ‘democracy’, which turns out to be a euphemism for a world where Western European/American dominance is written into law.Note how this means the United Nations Security Council has France and Britain, who really don’t deserve to be there; but not Germany and Japan, who do, along with Brazil, South Africa and India. Similarly there is a (written or unwritten?) rule that the World Bank’s President has to be an American. This was followed scrupulously until a South Korean (presumably a friend of America) was given the job in 2012. It is now back to an American.Along the same lines, the IMF’s Managing Director has always been a Western European, with the current incumbent being a Bulgarian former World Bank acting President, with a bit of a chequered past: she was found to have inflated Chinese data to make it look better during her term at the World Bank.Similar stories, I suspect, can be told about all the other major multinational organizations, for instance the WHO which the Chinese have turned into their fiefdom. The Russians, who probably did more to defeat the Germans in WW2 than anybody else, have been denied much of a role. Thank you for reading Shadow Warrior. This post is public so feel free to share it.That old caste system has a ‘First World’ consisting of the US and Western Europe, a ‘Second World’ consisting of the Soviet Union/Russia and Eastern Europe, and a ‘Third World’ consisting of everybody else. There have been some minor changes, such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore and the UAE becoming honorary (but not full-fledged) members of the First World. The other side of the picture is a certain feudalism that this caste system perpetrated, and that has persisted throughout the last 75 years. Feudal First Worlders dominate the serfs of the Third World. Today, First Worlders decry the neo-feudalism of the techno-billionaires, without irony and without recognizing that they continue to apply it to the Third World, most notably India, which has been kept out of the NPT, MTCR, and so forth.And have you noticed that the very term ‘Third World’ has fallen out of favor, to be replaced by the anodyne but meaningless ‘Global South’? This is because the creators of narratives didn’t want to attract unwarranted attention to their straightforward caste system. In this context, let us recall that ‘caste’ itself is a European construct, derived from the Spanish ‘casta’, and applied most intensely to mixed-race people in the Spanish and Portuguese colonies, classifying them based on skin color and thus race. They obfuscate this by conflating it with the Hindu jati system. That is blood libel along the lines of them deeming the Christian Hakencreuz to be the Dharmic Svastika. Thanks for reading Shadow Warrior! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Of course, the other side of the picture is that the Chinese have crashed this party, and have pretty much jumped into the First World from the Third World. And they are mounting an intense challenge to the so-called ‘rules-based order’, partly by buying up opinion makers, and quite possibly by interfering in US elections in discreet ways: see recent revelations about the theft of US consumer data by Tiktok. This ‘order’ is clearly being challenged by China; but the Ukraine war is also showing how tattered it is, especially as the ‘First World’ struggles to contain nasty inflation and to delink its supply chains from China’s vice-like grip. Ominously, there is increasing political turmoil all over the ‘First World’.In the US, Biden and company are flailing about trying to find a theme that would cover up consumer anger over food and fuel price inflation, shortages (eg baby food and tampons), and rising law and order problems. Paul Krugman even tried to explain that inflation is an (optical) illusion. They have tried, successively, abortion rights, gun control, and now they are falling back on the tried and tested January 6th outrage. None of this is raising Biden’s abysmal ratings going into November’s midterm elections. In Britain, Boris Johnson just barely survived a no-confidence motion; the polls forecasting by-election results are not encouraging to the ruling Tories; inflation is a burning issue, and should reach a crescendo in the winter months with sharp rises in fuel costs. And they have a bruising rail strike as well. In Australia, Scott Morrison was suddenly replaced by Anthony Albanese. To add insult to injury, they have decided to dump the British Queen as Head of State.In Canada, Justin Trudeau’s image took a beating when he showed a dictatorial streak and walked all over the Freedom of Expression of truckers who were mostly protesting over extra-strict covid regulations.In New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern came down from the delirious heights of being the Woke Queen when she was forced to abandon her imperious zero-covid policy; and now she’s boycotting the British Commonwealth, preferring instead to attend a NATO meeting as a guest.The Pacific states are also concerned about China’s security pact with the Solomon Islands.So much for the Five Eyes, the US’s closest allies. Things are not so hot with the second tier of allies, either. In France, Emmanuel Macron was re-elected as President, but voters have punished his party in elections, sharply curtailing his room for maneuver.In Israel, Naftali Bennett’s government has just fallen, and they will go for yet another general election, the 4th in 5 years. Binyamin Netanyahu may yet come back.In the EU in general, and Germany in particular, there is great uneasiness about the US fiat about cutting off Russian energy imports. The EU has bought the vast majority of Russian exports, while the US bullies mostly innocent bystander India which is a minor sinner. And of course Biden is reluctant to chide China over its purchases.All this leads me to believe that the already-moribund so-called ‘liberal rules-based international order’, a thinly-veiled vehicle for US-Western European neo-feudalism, is on its last legs. Francis Fukuyama spoke memorably of the ‘end of history’; in fact it is the ‘end of Atlanticism’ that we are seeing.The future, and indeed the present, is the Indo-Pacific century. India is right to not throw in its lot with the declining West, or the rampaging but shaky China. There is good reason to aspire to be a third pole in a multi-polar world. The end of European and American exceptionalism. The beginning of Indian exceptionalism. No more neo-feudalism, tech or otherwise. 1350 words, June 22, 2022 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com

A version of this essay was published by Swarajya magazine at https://swarajyamag.com/world/the-quad-will-china-dominate-the-indo-pacific-as-the-us-reverts-to-atlanticism-what-can-india-doA lot has happened in the last week or two: POTUS Biden’s visit to Japan for a Quad summit and related economic moves; China’s outreach to Pacific Islanders for security pacts; and the World Economic Forum pow-wow in Davos. In some sense, the Ukraine war and related disruptions have taken a back seat, even though related inflation and shortages are a long-term story. In my opinion, the Biden Administration is pursuing self-defeating policies as far as the Indo-Pacific is concerned. On the one hand, it may be because (as is the norm in India) one political party wants to undo whatever their rival had done when they were in power. On the other hand, there is a curious lack of historical memory about great-power games: the US seems to be either blase about, or reconciled to, Chinese domination of Asia/the Indo-Pacific. None of this is good as far as India is concerned. In a harsh analysis of India’s clashes on the Kashmir/Tibet border with China, two anonymous but trenchant critics suggest India has been defeated already: “China-India Border Crisis Has Quietly Resulted in Victory For Beijing’, based on the fact that the Chinese military buildup is well-nigh impossible for India to overcome.Thanks for reading Shadow Warrior! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Meanwhile, there is increasing criticism of American involvement in – indeed responsibility for – prolonging the Ukraine war, surprisingly from the pro-Democrat, pro-war pages of the New York Times: “The War in Ukraine May Be Impossible to Stop. And the US Deserves Most of the Blame.” A slightly dated (April 1) article on “The Military Situation in Ukraine” had already given a cogent explanation of how reality on the ground was vastly different from the narrative.What I fear is that Ukraine will become a quagmire for not only Russia, but also the US. As the NYT op-ed said, it’s not much of a leap from a proxy war to a secret war. The US is rather good at getting into unfortunate messes like this, and then having to declare victory and run like hell: see Vietnam or Afghanistan. Two brutal articles from Tablet magazine, “Three Big Questions That the American Establishment Got Wrong” and “Wingnuts vs. Factions: The two theories of American government—one fantasy, one reality” purport to show how making bad, often really bad, decisions is par for the course for US administrations, in particular Democrats. All this presages the possibility that Ukraine will be a tar baby for the US and its NATO allies, and a drain on their national treasuries. It also means that their national attention will be riveted on Russia and Ukraine for the foreseeable future, leaving China free to run rampant in Asia. Democratic Party power brokers are anyway Atlanticists fighting the Cold War all over again. Let us, therefore, consider the Indo-Pacific from a perspective where the US is increasingly hors de combat. There is this theory of the “three island chains” in the Pacific as first propounded by American John Foster Dulles, according to CSIS.org, which further states that today we have to add two more island chains in the Indian Ocean. John Foster Dulles is attributed with designating the islands stretching from the Kurils, the Japanese home islands, and the Ryukyus to Taiwan, the Philippines, and Indonesia as the “first island chain” in the 1950s. The second chain stretches from Japan through the Marianas and Micronesia, and the third is centered on Hawaii...The addition of a fourth and fifth chain in the Indian Ocean would better describe emerging Chinese maritime strategy. Chinese naval planners hope to deny adversaries the ability to operate within the first island chain during a conflict, contest control of the second island chain, and operate as a blue water navy within the third island chain. A new fourth island chain through the middle of the Indian Ocean would reflect China’s ability to challenge its geostrategic neighbor India with dual-use facilities in Gwadar, Pakistan, and Hambantota, Sri Lanka. A fifth island Chain, originating from China’s base at Doraleh, Djibouti, would reflect Beijing’s ability to pursue its developing commitments afar, such as harnessing economic resources, conducting anti-piracy operations, and protecting Chinese living abroad. [emphasis added]This is alarming, as the ‘fourth island chain’ is basically the ‘String of Pearls’ intended to strangle India and tie it down in the so-called ‘South Asia’, by negating its undoubted geographic advantage of straddling the sea lanes in the Indian Ocean. The Chinese submarine pen at Hainan in the South China Sea, with easy access to the Indian Ocean via the Straits of Malacca, is already a threat to Indian interests and blue-water navy aspirations. In addition, China is currently in the middle of a furious ship-building frenzy, so they will also have surface ships, including aircraft carriers, capable of projecting force a long way into the Indian Ocean. Just as they have done in the Himalayas, and the South China Sea, China is using ‘below-the-threshold of war’ tactics to build up its capability until one day its foes are forced to submit. Degringolade.POTUS Biden has made it clear that his administration has very little interest in Asia. He made three trips to Europe before his very first trip to Asia: a quick visit to Japan (and South Korea), where he attended a meeting of the Quad and a coming-out party for the newest American-mooted economic proposal, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. This seems to be too little, too late, after the US exited the Trans-Pacific Partnership.The IPEF also seems like a face-saving measure, and it is increasingly evident that Biden’s alleged new enthusiasm for Asia is as empty as earlier POTUS Obama’s botched ‘pivot to Asia’, which was a lot of hot air with no substance. I also remember with fury Obama’s granting of hegemony over ‘South Asia’ to China: like the Pope once divided the world between Portugal and Spain. As though Obama were dispensing papal bulls. As Indian geostrategist Brahma Chellaney suggests on Nikkei Asia in “Biden’s empty Taiwan rhetoric reveals Quad’s core weakness”, Biden’s statement about US military support for Taiwan in case of a Chinese invasion may be mere bravado. There are two reasons. The first is that, as Biden’s minions clarified after his alleged gaffe, US military involvement is not within the scope of US agreements with Taiwan and/or China, which maintain the fiction of “One China”. The second is that, given its diminished industrial capacity (China has hollowed it out), the US cannot fight two major wars at once: Ukraine and Taiwan. To emphasize their disdain for the alleged ‘pivot’, the Chinese sent strategic nuclear bombers towards Japan while Biden was there, accompanied by Russian bombers. As I write this, China has just sent 30 warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense zone. The signals are clear: they threaten to invade Taiwan. Thank you for reading Shadow Warrior. This post is public so feel free to share it.In the meantime, China is attempting to expand its footprint in the Indo-Pacific. It scored a coup with the Solomon Islands where it signed a wide-ranging agreement. According to a podcast from The Economist, a leaked draft shows that the agreement allows Chinese police and soldiers to be deployed in the Solomons for a broad range of reasons. It stops short of setting up a military base, but only just.Beyond this, Chinese FM Wang Yi had a blitzkrieg in the Pacific, visiting 8 island nations over 10 days, and on May 30th, he signed agreements in Fiji with a consortium of 10 of them. A draft talked about trade, tourism, security, training of police, forensic labs, and cyber-security, according to The Economist podcast Base Motives? China in the Pacific.The entire Belt and Road Initiative was a covert effort to gain access to ports, and turn them into Chinese military bases (although it has stalled a little now because of its predatory debt-trap diplomacy side-effects, as best seen in Sri Lanka). Beyond Djibouti in 2017, Gwadar and Hambantota, there are others like Cambodia’s Ream military base where China has facilities.China is also quite likely causing the sharp spike in global food prices. Economist Shamika Ravi tweeted as follows, and this is a good reason why India did a U-turn on wheat exports: instead of enabling Chinese proxies to buy it up, India will only do government to government deals. Thus the picture is of a diffident America shuffling off into Atlanticist and Anglosphere dead-ends like AUKUS (Britain brings almost nothing to the picture in the Indo-Pacific), while a more confident China is expanding its reach. Its saber rattling threatens Taiwan immediately, and India, Japan and South Korea more indirectly. The context of the Quad is also a far cry from what Abe Shinzo first envisaged as a tight military and economic alliance. It is pretty much a mere talking-shop. For instance, it is clear that none of Australia, Japan, or the US will send a single soldier to fight China on India’s behalf on the Kashmir/Tibet border. The creation of AUKUS (there are rumors about JAUKUS with Japan and CAUKUS with Canada as well) basically means India is being left out in the cold. Again. It has to depend on itself. Atmnirbharata. There is talk of a Quad-Plus, including South Korea and New Zealand. But not Vietnam and Indonesia, which are more significant? New Zealand, especially under woke Jacinda Ardern, is marginal; in fact Australia is also of little interest in the Indian Ocean. There is also political instability in Australia: Scott Morrison was replaced by Anthony Albanese overnight.I can remember at least five-six Australian PMs in the recent past, including die-hard Sinophile Kevin Rudd. How can you have continuity in such a situation? How can anybody depend on Australia to deliver on Quad? Similarly, Japanese PM Kishida Fumio is a far cry from the sensibly militaristic and nationalist Abe Shinzo. In the US, the switch from Donald Trump to Joe Biden has meant chaos regarding the Indo-Pacific. And after this November’s elections, it is likely that Biden will be a lame duck: his approval numbers keep hitting new lows, and hostile Republicans are likely to take over the Senate, leading to a war of attrition: bad news for foreign policy.In the middle of all this political turmoil, it is hard to imagine that the Quad is going to get better.Meanwhile, the developed nations of the West are merrily carrying on with their old agenda as in the Davos shindig, as though there is no end in sight for the party. Rana Foroohar of the Financial Times sounded a warning, as if one were necessary in the wake of the carnage of stock market crashes and soaring inflation. But no, laissez les bon temps rouler! Let the good times roll!And that’s exactly what India is up against. The rest of the world (with the possible exception of Japan) does not care. India has to assume it can only depend on itself, Quad or no Quad. It has to build up its military and economic muscle, and industrialize while keeping a low profile. The Thucydides Trap is a likely scenario, and presumably it will exhaust both the protagonists, leaving the door open for India to ascend to the G3 and then to the G1.1850 words, June 1, 2022 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com

This column was published by firstpost.com at World War ‘Z’: The world after Ukrainian crisis, and India’s role in it-World News , Firstpost The most ironic thing, in fact the blackest of noir humor, is the use of the letter ‘Z’ in the propaganda surrounding the Ukraine war. It is alleged that this letter is the symbol of Russian obduracy, and therefore worth condemnation, as in the German embassy’s tweet and the Economist’s cover story below.The irony is because there is an earlier instance when the letter ‘Z’ was banned, in Greece, in the aftermath of a coup there. Thus the title of the political thriller, ‘Z’, (1969, Costa-Gavras), one of the most powerful films of all time, a thinly-veiled retelling of the conspiracy behind the assassination of a leading political candidate in 1963. A magistrate unraveled the mystery and sentenced the culprits to lengthy prison terms for the murder. The military coup followed, along with the banning of “Euripides, Aeschylus, Aristophanes, Tolstoy, long hair, mini-skirts, the Beatles, Albee, Pinter, Ionesco, Sartre, Mark Twain (partly), Freedom of the Press, Beckett, Sociology, Dostoyevsky, Chekhov, learning Russian, learning Bulgarian, modern mathematics, popular music...”, and the letter ‘Z’, because it stands for ‘He lives’ in ancient Greek. These and more are listed in the closing credits of the film.In an extraordinary example of life imitating art which was imitating life to begin with, the letter ‘Z’ is now associated with Russia, and banned, along with, unbelievably, Dostoyevsky, Chekhov, Pushkin, Mendeleev, Tolstoy, Tchaikovsky, Russian diamonds, vodka, oil, gas and so on. This is, literally, incredible.History repeats itself, first as farce, second as tragedy.Thanks for reading Shadow Warrior! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.In addition, after POTUS Biden’s assertion about defenestrating Russian President Vladimir Putin (although the spin doctors quickly diverted attention), there is little doubt that the Ukraine war has a not-so-hidden agenda: regime change in Russia. In fact, that makes a warped sort of sense, and I compliment my friend Uday B for telling me this right from the beginning of the war, when I (wrongly) thought a negotiated, face-saving settlement could come within a week. The Deep State has specialized in this for long, and usually with disastrous results for the residents of the country thus ‘blessed’ with regime change. I can, off the top of my head, think of Allende in Chile, Mossadegh in Iran, Hussein in Iraq, and Gaddafi in Libya. Then there’s the ongoing effort against Assad in Syria. The only thing in common is misery, penury, war, war crimes, extreme human rights violations, and masses of refugees. Add Ukraine to the list. That is why I am alarmed at the sudden attention paid to India by all those ‘experts’ who are shocked, SHOCKED, that India is not unquestioningly getting with the program and toeing the line. The last time a whole queue of snake-oil salesmen descended on India was when the ‘nuclear deal’ was talked up as the best thing since sliced bread. But despite the promises of manna from heaven, the only visible outcome is India buying more US arms.These good folks are now beginning to show up in India in droves, but the online eagerness has been evident for a while. India is really not all that important to the West, and so the attention is a red flag, and there are only two possible reasons for this Tender Loving Care: a) that they expect to bully India into continuing to be a slave nation, b) that they do not want another powerful manufacturing nation to come up: one China is more than enough. Thus, the moral indignation about ‘one nation invading another’ in violation of the ‘international rules-based order’, let us remember, did not extend to Pakistan invading Jammu & Kashmir in 1947. Nor did it extend to China invading Ladakh in 2020. NATO, and the Deep State, kept very quiet. On what basis, then, do they expect India to care about something happening in Europe? Ah, European wars are ‘world wars’, of course. Atlanticism rules. Thank you for reading Shadow Warrior. This post is public so feel free to share it.And exactly what has the Biden administration done for India? Not much, but here’s the list of weapons they abandoned in Afghanistan; surely they will be used against India by Pakistan:Staggering, isn’t it?Going back to Ukraine, the US once, long ago, did what appears to be exactly the same thing Russia did: based on dubious excuses, it invaded Mexico and took away half that country’s land in 1846 in the US-Mexican war. China, similarly, expanded from their Han heartland, and invaded Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. These became fait accompli. In fact, China probably views its 1962 attack on India as similar to the US-Mexican War: grab land and “teach a lesson”.There is also the worrying historical precedent of dissolution of the Soviet Union. The Biden administration appears keen (and earlier, the Obama folks did, too; ask Ms Nuland) to apply the same formula to India, and to balkanize the country. In other words, break it up into tiny little statelets. Official policy by the Democrats, we’ve been told repeatedly, is ‘sub-national diplomacy’, that is, encouraging fault lines. Interestingly enough, this is precisely what Jinnah wanted as well, according to the book Jinnah: His successes, failures and role in history by Professor Ishtiaq Ahmed: dismemberment of India, not just the ‘moth-eaten’ Pakistan he got. So now we have a theoretical understanding as to why the Deep State has consistently attempted exactly the same thing.For example, there is the laughable fake news about something that only affected a very small number of people, mostly in Kerala. Others claimed 250 million people took part in the strike, just as 250 million farmers rioted against the farm laws. Yes, exactly like Russia has lost 250 million soldiers in the war already, not to mention 7 generals! It is as though there is some vendetta by Democrats and the Deep State against India. They have been flying into paroxysms of rage against India lately (yes, even more than the usual bog-standard badgering and abuse by assorted propaganda outlets such as The Economist, New York Times, Financial Times, Guardian, BBC, NPR and so on).As in the old Panchatantra tale of the old brahmin and the lamb, the rogues are trying to convince Indians that they actually have a dog, not a lamb. They are declaring Modi to be a fascist, and naturally, they’ll explain, a fascist has to be overthrown. Defenestration. Coup. Color Revolution. Endless misery. The end of the Indian Dream of prosperity. Naturally, a Chinese war against India would just accelerate this trajectory. Quad or not, it is increasingly apparent that Biden would not lift a finger to help. Whether Trump would have is a moot question (probably not, but at least he was paying attention to the Indo-Pacific). But, for some strange reason, after the Nixon/Kissinger duo, it appears to be US Democrats who are more malign towards India than Republicans. This is a strategic mistake. A solid Japan-US-India partnership in the Indo-Pacific could contain China (Australia doesn’t add much to this; in fact Vietnam or Indonesia would be more useful in a revamped Quad or Quintet or something). By retreating to the Atlantic, as with AUKUS, the US is proving to India once again that it has to go it alone in the Indo-Pacific. 1190 words, 30 Mar 2022 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com

Ari returns to present a hypothesis about cultural development. We discuss Eurasianism and Atlanticism, cultural development, blues, John David Ebert, Oswald Spengler, the Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces, the US military and a host of other subjects.

Andrew For America talks about the idea and history of "Atlanticism."  He also gives his thoughts on "opinion," and shares his thoughts and fears with regard to a possible "World War 3."  The song selection is the song, "American Dream" by the band Authentic Sellout. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/andrew-foramerica/support

As the conflict between Ukraine and Russia rages on, it's become increasingly clear that the Machiavellian agenda of globalism is presenting us with a false choice between the current iteration of internationalism as it has existed for the last several decades, and a "new" Eurasian world order through which global government will explicitly transcend borders and take priority over the sovereignty of individual nations. Ukraine is merely the latest country to get caught up in this tug of war between Globalism 1.0 and Globalism 2.0, the ultimate effect of which will be its absorption into a larger political union. Heads globalists win, tails nationalists lose. A trap is being set for western "caveman nationalists" which aims to make this new Eurasian globalism more palatable to those who care about such antiquated anachronisms as "national borders." By scapegoating Americanism, colonialism, liberalism, capitalism, Atlanticism, and a plethora of other nebulous abstractions (most of which serve as ideological proxies for whiteness) for the fallout of communist ideology, these rootless Eurasianists and Judeo-Bolshevists aim to rehabilitate the public image of Marxism and impose it globally under the banner of "polypolarity." Brandon Martinez of The Martinez Perspective joins me to discuss the issue. This is EPISODE 848 of So to Speak w/ Jared Howe!

Riley, Milo, Abi, Alice, and Devon read a little book called The End Of The World Is Flat, a satire about the struggles of the “TERGs” against the “Flat Earth Movement.” Or, more accurately, Riley is the only person in the world to read a book again. Get the whole episode on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/63338182 *WEB DESIGN ALERT* Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here:  https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)

This week, friend of the show Abigail Thorn (@PhilosophyTube) joins us to discuss the EHRC's turn towards belligerent transphobia. One might go so far as to say that they've violated Riley's Law, but there's an American dimension: British transphobia is beginning to appear in American legal statutes, cited approvingly. Seems bad! We also discuss an app to buy your way into government? And some admittedly out-of-date reactions to the Russian invasion of Ukraine (we recorded this on the day it started). If you want access to our Patreon bonus episodes, early releases of free episodes, and powerful Discord server, sign up here: https://www.patreon.com/trashfuture *LIVE SHOW ALERT* We will be doing a live show in London on Wednesday, March 2. Get your tickets here! https://www.designmynight.com/london/whats-on/comedy/trashfuture-live-pre-election-christmas-spectacular *MILO ALERT* Milo has a bunch of live shows this month in both London and Prague. Check them out here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/live-show *WEB DESIGN ALERT* Tom Allen is a friend of the show (and the designer behind our website). If you need web design help, reach out to him here:  https://www.tomallen.media/ Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and Alice (@AliceAvizandum)

A version of this essay has been published by firstpost.com at https://www.firstpost.com/world/the-usual-gambit-by-deep-state-and-isi-a-million-woke-mutinies-all-the-time-10372271.htmlWhy is there a veritable fusillade of anti-India commentary in the West these days? Why has there been a sudden upsurge of communal tension in coastal Karnataka? How come a bunch of MNCs including Hyundai, KFC etc. endorsed Pakistan’s claims to all of Jammu and Kashmir? How come the tragic story of Lavanya, who committed suicide because of pressure to convert, has suddenly been pushed off the front pages?The answer, my friend, as Bob Dylan once put it, is blowin’ in the wind. There is a narrative, and it reaches a cacophony of hysteria whenever there are elections in India, because the intent is to rally the faithful against the allegedly fascist BJP: the Mudi sud rejine. Well, elections in UP have begun, so you can expect the baying to reach a crescendo soon. UP, they well know, is the prize. If they can defeat the BJP there, suddenly Modi is vulnerable. UP shows a dramatic contrast between the utter fecklessness of the Congress years, and the tremendous improvement in the Yogi years: in law and order, in infrastructure, in how suddenly the state is a power to reckon with in its State GDP and industrial prowess. I received this interesting book from Garuda Prakashan about Yogi in the mail: it’s full of facts. Personally, I am hopeful about the upward trajectory of UP and Bihar, and distressed by the downward trajectory of Kerala, Bengal and Punjab, as I wrote in:  Whenever there are important State elections, the ‘toolkit’ is activated, sleeper cells are given the go-ahead, and there is a plethora of stories in the compromised Western media about how things are going to hell in a handbasket in India. This is yet another reason to hold synchronized elections every 2.5 years rather than what appears to be endless politicking the entire time. Thank you for reading Shadow Warrior. This post is public so feel free to share it.My friend Gautam Sen connected the dots on firstpost.com in his essay https://www.firstpost.com/politics/why-theres-a-sudden-surge-in-international-efforts-to-destabilise-modi-government-10343751.html. I too wrote about this some time ago in an essay: https://www.indiafacts.org.in/the-withering-attack-on-us-they-have-good-reasons-why-they-wish-us-harm/ So Lesson Number One is that, internationally, India has no friends; no, not in the West, despite the honeyed words and the snake-oil salesmen. Just about the only two countries that we have common interests with are Japan and Vietnam, who are just as threatened by China as India is, but the one has the money and skills that we lack, and the other has the actual experience of defeating the Chinese in battle. It is telling that it was Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who suggested the idea of the Quad. It is also telling that a Democratic US President, presumably on the insistence of the Deep State, eviscerated it by doing a side deal called AUKUS, basically a celebration of Atlanticism, which has been long dead and should be given a decent burial. Isolated and increasingly impoverished Britain is hardly the ally anyone wants or needs.Even Russia, which some of us consider an all-weather friend, is no longer reliable. An allegedly state-related entity named redfish advertised a documentary with a clear bias in favor of the Pakistani point of view. They too, probably, are caught up in the Sino-Pak axis, and Chinese propaganda that India is getting too close to the US. In reality, India is in the unfortunate  trisanku position of choosing between Scylla and Charybdis.Thanks for reading Shadow Warrior! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Lesson Number Two is that Pakistan’s ISPR is very clever (by half) at coming up with ideas on how to hurt India through propaganda. They were successful in getting a number of MNCs to endorse the Pakistani position that Kashmir is theirs, and theirs alone. Here is a partial list of those MNCs.At first glance, it is hard to escape the feeling that this is a vote of no-confidence in India from a lot of large companies. It is a little unfathomable that they would do this, considering the growing ‘buyer power’ of the Indian consumer. What if they boycotted Hyundai or Kia in India? Didn’t they see how Fabindia was hurt by a boycott after their urduword-e-urduword for Diwali?Besides, do these MNCs believe that the Indian government would not take punitive action against them? After all, they grovel and genuflect before the Chinese government despite their genocides of Tibetans, Uighurs and so on. Do they really think they can afford to exit the Indian market which will grow at 9% for the next few years?Some of these MNCs will find their sales are hurt: there are alternatives. For example, Tata and Mahindra stand ready to step in should people drop Hyundai, Kia or Honda. Then the realization dawns that Pakistan is too small a market for the MNCs to have subsidiaries there: they only have franchises. And it is quite likely that every one of these franchisees is a subsidiary of the Pakistani Army, considering that the Army runs most business in Pakistan. No wonder they toe the ISPR line.ISPR was probably hoping to create some serious problems, perhaps even the burning down of the MNC factories or outlets (which is what would happen in Pakistan). That would in turn induce them to cease to invest in India, and eventually maybe even exit India. But none of this happened, which means the ISPR effort was a damp squib. But there was something deplorable: the reaction of the MNCs’ Indian subsidiaries. I was observing, in real time, Hyundai India’s response. In a classic case study of what not to do in a crisis –  business school students will soon be taught this – the PR people at Hyundai first stonewalled, weasel-worded, and started mass-blocking their twitter critics. They should have learned from Johnson and Johnson’s legendary response to the poisoning by some psychopath of their product, Tylenol, on retail shelves. They immediately fell on the sword, apologized, and recalled every bottle of their product from the shelves even though it really wasn’t their fault. The goodwill thus created gave J&J an aura, which actually translated to higher sales rather than the opposite.It is likely that Hyundai India’s PR – probably outside consultants – are the usual leftist types who have no idea what the average Indian consumer thinks. Said leftists may believe in the Pakistani view themselves. Anyway, they totally messed up their initial response. It took a second set of more thoughtful responses to calm things down, wherein Hyundai Global carefully pointed out that they do not involve themselves in local politics, and that their franchisee in Pakistan had not been authorized to make any statements, and that they had been censured.Besides, the South Korean Ambassador was called in by the MEA and probably given an earful, and their foreign minister called the MEA with an apology. Even though some of us would have preferred India to bare its fangs like the Chinese do, perhaps the softly-softly approach is better for the moment. As Deng Xiaoping advised, Observe calmly; secure our position; cope with affairs calmly; hide our capacities and bide our time; be good at maintaining a low profile; and never claim leadership.Lesson Number Three is that Abrahamics create tactical alliances. For example, USCIRF, the grandly named US Council on International Religious Freedom, is basically an evangelistic extremist entity focused on conversion. With Biden as POTUS, the USCIRF is openly cooperating with Islamists. The chair of USCIRF, Nadine Maenza, attended an Indo American Muslim Council event, ‘Protecting India’s Pluralist Constitution’ [sic] on Republic Day 2022, and it also had Archbishop Machado from Bangalore, along with ex-VP Hamid Ansari. None of this is a coincidence. DisinfoLab has discovered intriguing connections among Nadine Maenza, USCIRF, IAMC, and various other dramatis personae. Archbishop from Bangalore. Isn’t that interesting? There is the Anti-Conversion Bill in Karnataka, which is vigorously opposed by the church. Is it pure coincidence that within a week of this tete-a-tete, a hijab controversy in coastal Karnataka started dominating the headlines? Oh, and did you notice how there are no longer any headlines about the tragic story of Lavanya, a 17-year-old student in a Christian school in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, who was so violated by tejovadham about forced conversion that she committed suicide, leaving a damning dying declaration on video?It turns out Sahaya Mary and Rachel Mary whom Lavanya named are now quietly out on bail. So is the hijab issue a nice little diversionary tactic, that has gotten the entire commentariat (which was totally silent on Lavanya) a chance to display its ‘liberal’ credentials by supporting the girls intent on wearing hijabs to school? Is Lavanya’s case being swept under the carpet?Of course, it could well be a pure ISPR exercise. It is likely they have sleeper cells in parts of coastal Karnataka, and Karnataka is a State that the Congress really would like to win back, thus they need to trigger their vote banks. Breaking news: here’s a statement from the US’s “Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom”, Rashad Hussain, in virtually his first official statement after Joe Biden appointed him at the end of January. He is also accused of ties to radical groups. This would have carried a lot more weight if the US had responded similarly to France, Canada,  or Scandinavian countries that prohibit certain Islamic attire. But it has never said a word. The implication is that this interference in India’s affairs is driven by other considerations. The Anglosphere believes India can be shamed into doing things that are not in its best interests. Furthermore, the Pakistan Army has recently been humiliated by the Baloch Liberation Army that attacked several army outposts and managed to hold off helicopter gunships and commandos for 48 to 60 hours. ISPR would naturally blame India’s RA&W for the debacle (never considering how much Baloch hate them). That means they have to hurt India somehow, and given the fact that they are virtually bankrupt, what better than to activate sleeper cells and their assets such as Malala, with the connivance of the Deep State and its assets?1560 words, 11 Feb 20221640 words, updated 12 Feb 2022 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com

A version of this essay has been published by rediff.com at https://www.rediff.com/news/column/rajeev-srinivasan-what-did-modis-washington-visit-achieve/20210925.htm This autumn has been cruel to India. Not only is the instantaneous collapse of the Afghan government a grave concern for India, based on entirely likely new terrorism threats, but then there is the obvious downgrading of the Quad partnership in the wake of the brand-new AUKUS grouping. The Financial Times believes that the Quad will become non-military. In a sense, this is not news for India, as it was clear nobody from the Quad would send boots on the ground to help India in case the Chinese invade. But it was tone-deaf for the Biden administration to announce the AUKUS deal just days before the first in-person Quad summit during his term. The other two Quad partners, Japan and India, were apparently left in the dark by the Americans. So was France, which was furious at the sudden cancellation of its own $40 billion submarine deal with Australia.At the UN General Assembly, President Biden delivered soaring rhetoric about global unity (which was contrasted with former President Trump’s anti-globalist message): “We are not seeking a new Cold War or the world divided into rigid blocs”. That would have gone over a lot better if he hadn’t just abandoned his Afghan allies, or created a new AUKUS bloc. Antonio Gutierrez, the UN Secretary General, said pointedly, and perhaps as a direct rebuke to Biden: “A breakdown in trust is leading to a breakdown in values. Promises, after all, are worthless if people don’t see results in their daily lives. Failure to deliver creates space for some of the darkest impulses of humanity. It provides oxygen for easy-fixes, pseudo-solutions and conspiracy theories. It is kindling to stoke ancient grievances.  Cultural  supremacy.  Ideological dominance.  Violent misogyny.  The targeting of the most vulnerable including refugees and migrants.”The US has a massive credibility gap today, because its rhetoric simply does not match its actions on the ground. In many ways, the US is ceding ground to China, for instance in its reluctance to push for an understanding of the possible lab origins of the Wuhan coronavirus. Open-source intelligence from the DRASTIC group found that Peter Daszak of Ecohealth had sought to cooperate with the Wuhan Institute of Virology in creating an unusual feature, a ‘furin cleavage site’, in bat coronaviruses, that would make them infectious to humans. Furthermore, the US is under a Democratic presidency. We remember how badly the Democratic Clinton and Obama administrations treated India: with disdain and disrespect. Not to say that Republicans are wonderful, but these days the Democratic party has been taken over by their fringe leftists, and is remarkably ‘woke’. Thus there is no chance that anything of substance can come out of Modi-Biden meetings. The only thing that the US is seeking is weapons sales. Brahma Chellaney has pointed out that all that was actually accomplished by the high-voltage sales program called the Indo-US nuclear deal is that India bought a lot of US weapons. According to India Today, there is a lot on the table today as well. If it were up to me, I’d focus on the submarine hunter-killer P8i Poseidons, and would have nothing to do with the Norwegian-developed NASAMS system, as the Scandinavians are known busybodies.But the problem, as always, is that India opens its checkbook in return for no diplomatic or military leverage. The US sells technology to India that is obsolete or second-rate. For instance, despite much negotiation from India, the US refuses to sell its strategic nuclear submarine (SSN) propulsion technology to India: the very same stuff it is now selling to Australia. And there is also the threat of sanctions if India deploys its Russian S-400 anti-missile technology, which incidentally China also has. The fact is that Biden has now created a new military alliance, which consists only of white, Anglosphere nations. He has either thoughtlessly or deliberately snubbed the two non-white members of the Quad, that is India and Japan. And perhaps other Indo-Pacific players such as Indonesia. The involvement of Britain, increasingly a marginal power even in Europe, and practically non-existent in the Indo-Pacific, is pure Atlanticism. There are two possible explanations: one is that Biden believes the way to deal with China is to surrender the Indo-Pacific to them, and to retreat to being an Atlantic power. Australia is not much of a factor in the Indo-Pacific (will the US revert to the old term ‘Asia-Pacific’?) being far away and sparsely populated. The powers that matter in the Indo-Pacific are indeed Japan, India, and Indonesia. Even France is more of a factor in the Indo-Pacific than Britain is.The second explanation is that the agenda of “climate, conflict and corona” is uppermost in the minds of the Americans. The many visits of the climate czar John Kerry (an unrepentant Atlanticist, and a disaster earlier as foreign secretary) to India, especially when India is doing much better than many others in moving towards renewables and Paris agreement commitments, suggest that Biden is seeking to hector and bully India into things that are not in its interest.Yet another example of Biden’s pusillanimity with China is the fact that his Justice Department has dropped charges against the Huawei CFO (and daughter of its founder) who was held for a long time in Canada on charges of criminal activity. In return, China released two Canadians they held on spying charges. Lesson? China learns that hostage-taking and brazenness pays dividends.As far as the Wuhan coronavirus is concerned, Biden’s approach of hoarding far more vaccine than is strictly necessary for the US has created vaccine haves and have-nots, the majority of whom are in developing nations that have been starved of vaccines, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The AUKUS move is a definite indication that the Quad has been downgraded. What it suggests is atavism: Biden’s America is retreating to a white Anglo-Saxon view of the world. It has even decided to ditch the European Union. This is a Huntingtonian view, in which Biden has ceded Asia to China, and will attempt to rally the white Anglosphere as his last stand against the rampaging Chinese. Alas, this is a chimera.Robert Gates, former foreign secretary, once remarked that Biden had been wrong on every single major foreign policy initiative in 40 years. Did you notice that China, which is usually quick to fly into a rage, was utterly quiet when Biden made two blunders: fleeing Afghan in disorderly retreat, and humiliating allies with the AUKUS pact? That signifies that China is a votary of Napoleon’s epigram: “Never interrupt your enemy when he’s making a mistake”. The only thing that may salvage Narendra Modi’s trip to the US is his meetings with CEOs, such as those of Blackstone, First Solar, Qualcomm, Adobe, and General Atomics. These firms may recognize India’s steady growth, especially in comparison to the current chaos in China due to Evergrande’s imminent collapse. That, and a meeting with lame-duck Japanese PM Suga, may be the only things for Narendra Modi to write home about. 1130 wordsSept 24, 2021, updated Sept 25, 2021. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com

Julia and Nick are back to talk the CDU finally picking their candidate and the Greens picking theirs. The Greens are the future! HOW TO SUPPORT US: https://www.patreon.com/cornerspaeti HOW TO REACH US: Corner Späti https://twitter.com/cornerspaeti Julia https://twitter.com/YungOctobrists Rob https://twitter.com/leninkraft Nick https://twitter.com/sternburgpapi Ciarán https://twitter.com/CiaranDold

Tyler and Dorus kick off the discussion with the relationship between the EU and China, the EU and the United States, and the Transatlantic alliance before turning to the main discussion. Looking towards France, they discuss the French Revolution, the religion of secularity, and Macron's liberal civilization-state plan.Support the show with donations and follow us on other social media. All accesible on this link: https://linktr.ee/thamster

Did Pratap Bhanu Mehta jump from Ashoka University? Or was he pushed? This seems to be the Hamlet-esque “to-be-or-not-to-be” question of the day in the Indian media. The simple answer is that it is very good if he was pushed. And it’s even better if he jumped.That of course needs an explanation. The push option is if the Government of India made an offer to the trustees of Ashoka that they couldn’t refuse: get rid of the fellow, or else! That, of course, would be Godfather-esque, and it would mark a welcome change from the pusillanimity that India has traditionally exhibited. Soft States don’t work, which should have been abundantly clear to us all along.If it wasn’t clear, the antics of Xi Jinping’s minions in Alaska just a few days ago should have been enough to convince the most obtuse among us. They calculate that Biden is soft (we can speculate as to why they are so confident about that), so they humiliated the US side as is their wolf-warrior habit. Xi is broadcasting loudly that Biden’s US is a Soft State and that he pwns Biden. Whether this is true remains to be seen, but it is a good opening gambit.India has been the ultimate Soft State, mouthing meaningless platitudes and cringe-inducing homilies while spectators roll their eyes and silently pray: “Just kill me now!”. Hark back to V K Krishna Menon delivering marathon lectures at the UN General Assembly or J Nehru turning down the offer of the Security Council Seat “because China deserves it more”. (By the way, I can quote chapter and verse: no, it is not an urban myth).So if there is — finally — a change of heart, and India does stand up for its interests, then it would be welcome news. Doing tejovadham to undesirables is part of what governments are supposed to do. This was visible in the case of yesterday’s cause celebre as well, the mop-haired Disha Ravi. The fact that she was arrested is important. She herself is unimportant, but it sends a message to other wannabe Urban Naxals: “Your ass is on the line, kid!”, pardon the French.For a long time, secessionists have labored under the illusion that they were immune to the power of the State. They have seen overground and underground purveyors of sedition treated with kid gloves, and they got used to thinking that this is the natural order of things. Not quite. They should look up Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Julian Assange, and Edward Snowden. The human rights of outlaws or insurgents or their middle-class supporters are not — and they cannot be — greater than those of the average, law-abiding citizen. That is an axiom, and all the billions of the Open Society Foundation and #DeepState are not going to change that very easily. The alternative in Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s case, the jump option, is even better because it means he had no option but to fall on the sword. In other words, the Government didn’t do anything, but out of enlightened self-interest, the trustees of Ashoka informed him that he should resign, or else they would have to fire him: Because he was causing real damage to the Ashoka brand. Of course, Mehta has friends, powerful and shadowy friends. Within 24 hours, there was a letter written by 150 professors from “Harvard, MIT, Yale, Columbia, Oxford, Cambridge” and so on, in his support. Commendably swift. The Ecosystem has its act together to protect its own. The letter also means… exactly nothing. It is precisely like the letter signed by 22 (or was it 35?) Nobel laureates supporting a Naxalite doctor some years ago. I would wager that none of these worthies could even spell that man’s name, or pick him out in a police lineup of suspects. They just blindly signed a piece of paper somebody put in front of their noses. There was also the petition signed by 47.5 “ancient India scholars” some years ago regarding the Aryan Invasion Mythology and related stories in the California Textbook Case. I wrote an unpublished piece then where I pointed out that these alleged “scholars” included people who can’t read Sanskrit or Tamil, urban planners, astrophysicists, economists, sociologists, linguists in unrelated languages, deconstructionists, etc. The one person who had the requisite background in both ancient history and languages retracted her support.In other words, these letters are part of a “toolkit”, a term immortalized by Disha Ravi in her 15 minutes of fame. The same worthies crying about Mehta’s “freedom of expression” or whatever chose to ignore the fact that a young, brown, foreign, racial/religious minority Hindu woman, Rashmi Samant, was cyber-bullied, trolled, terrorized, and forced to resign from her post as elected president of the Oxford Student Union, just days ago. Why? That was a rhetorical question. We know the answer. The same worthies have also ignored a vile campaign by a foul-mouthed assistant professor at Rutgers University to demonize a small racial and religious minority, Hindus, mostly Asian Americans. Tulsi Gabbard, a Hindu though not Asian (she’s a Pacific Islander), has been attacked directly for her faith. Although the hate campaign against her was utterly horrifying, not a single academic bothered to condemn it. Here is an actual campaign poster against Gabbard. (Hat tip to Sheenie Ambardar for this).No, none of this bothers the 150 letter writers. That means they have no moral leg to stand on: they are hypocrites. But they make it sound like Mehta was subjected to something akin to what Hypatia, the foremost woman scholar of her time, and a philosopher and mathematician of repute, experienced in Rome around 300CE. They dragged her out of her chariot and into a church, stripped her naked, gouged out her eyeballs while she was still alive, slashed her to pieces with broken tiles, then cut her body up, dragged the pieces through the streets, and burned them: all because newly-ascendant Christians hated pagans. In fact, it was Rashmi Sawant who was treated a bit like Hypatia, not Pratap Bhanu Mehta; and explicitly for the same reason: she is a Hindu. Abrahamics have a serious problem with Hindus and others of the Old Religions. As described in the fascinating book The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World, majoritarian rule by Christians meant the total destruction of the old Roman religion around 400-500 CE.Majoritarian rule by Abrahamics almost inevitably means religious minorities are oppressed, and frequently they are wiped out, exterminated. So there is good reason to fear majoritarian Abrahamic rule, as freedoms will be curtailed.However, by sleight of hand, this Abrahamic technique is ascribed to Hindus, and the likes of Mehta talk up a storm about ‘fascistic’, ‘majoritarian Hindu nationalist’ rule! This sells well to the Deep State and Christian fundamentalists and regime-change enthusiasts in the West, but is entirely without basis. It is a gigantic fraud that ordinary Indians have also been gaslighted into. Hindu rule is demonstrably benign and liberal. Look at the classical Chanakya niti: he advocates sama, dana, bheda and only when other avenues are explored and fruitless, danda. The Pandavas give the Kauravas innumerable opportunities to negotiate a settlement without bloodshed, even willing to accept merely five villages for themselves, while the empire went to the Kauravas.Then there’s the Sisupala story, where Lord Krishna forgives 99 transgressions before slaying him. And look at India today. It may have a large numerical majority of Hindus, but it is a Minoritarian State, as interpreted by the Executive and Judiciary and enshrined in the Constitution. Religious minorities get all sorts of privileges not available to Hindus, most distressingly the fact that Hindu temples are captured by the State. Just two days ago, government bureaucrats were selling off 35,000 acres of land belonging to the Lord Jagannath temple. The vast holdings of churches (the #2 land-owner in the country, after the government), much of it expired 99-year-leases that they squat on illegally as though they were land grants, are never touched. Waqf properties, that is Muslim community properties, are also left alone.There are special provisions for all sorts of things for minorities. Kerala’s government has posted employment advertisements that are reserved for converts to Christianity! There are schemes to pay Muslim priests salaries and Christian priests pensions and to greatly subsidize Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and Christian pilgrimage to Jerusalem, while Hindus have to pay for their pilgrimages out of their own pockets. And the Modi government, accused of ‘majoritarianism’ has itself rolled out goodies like scholarship schemes, even entire universities and schemes for women, explicitly for non-Hindus! In other words, extreme liberalism is being painted as fascism! How very predictable! How very Orwellian!All the breast-beating by Mehta and friends about ‘majoritarianism’ boils down to a concern that Hindus will get equality. That’s right: any attempt by Hindus to merely demand equality under the law is treated as ‘fascism’. This is the kind of extreme rhetoric that the malcontents in India espouse.For instance, they made a godawful fuss about the badly-named Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which merely provides non-Muslim minorities being genocided in Pakistan and Afghanistan fast-track access to Indian citizenship. This was portrayed as a grave offense: why? Because the Pak and Afghan Muslims doing the genocide would not gain Indian citizenship! That is utterly absurd!The genocide is not theoretical, either. Just two days ago, there was news of Ajay Lalwani, a Hindu journalist in Pakistan, being shot dead by a gunman. His crime: he had reported on how underage Hindu girls in Pakistan suffer regular kidnap, rape, conversion to Islam, and forced marriage to Muslims. This happens on average to three teenage girls a day, every day. That is explicit Abrahamic majoritarianism. And that is precisely why CAA is an utterly liberal law, protecting the victims of religious apartheid and genocide. Nevertheless, here is Pratap Bhanu Mehta fulminating against the CAA, passed into law by the elected Indian parliament, and suggesting in so many words that the way to challenge it was not to use the Judiciary, but to riot in the streets. But we should recognise that this direction is not going to be set through the nice formalisms of law, or the contrived conventions we can adhere to in normal times. The direction is going to be set by the mob, by brute power, by mobilisation.This is outrageous. Some might call it seditious. If there were McCarthyites in India, they would nail Mehta. There aren’t, so he gets cushy sinecures, while spearheading a reverse-McCarthyite movement to blackball anybody who is not part of his cohort’s Big Brother thought control!What explains this strange power Mehta has to keep an entire country in thrall to his views? It couldn’t possibly be his regular op-eds in the Indian Express. I have been surprised by the drivel he churns out. It is verbose and prolix, full of the turgid and impenetrable vocabulary of the cultural Marxist. He writes 3,000-word essays that say… exactly nothing. That is, of course, when he’s not inciting people to riot, as above. On second thoughts, maybe it is better that he not use many verbs, unlike this famous Doonesbury strip from 1980 lampooning Ted Kennedy.Pratap Bhanu Mehta remains an enigma; nay, a mystery wrapped in a conundrum. What is the source of his influence? How does he regularly end up in prestigious positions for which he may or may not be qualified or competent? Is he an outstanding scholar who has produced great work? Why is he the darling of the Ecosystem? The blurb on Mehta says this:His areas of research include political theory, constitutional law, society and politics in India, governance and political economy, and international affairs.Not being in that business, I have no idea what his contribution is. I used to think he must be a globally-renowned scholar. But so far as I can tell, he has not done any path-breaking, seminal work. The only awards on his blurb are from India. So why is there such a fuss about him from Anglosphere friends? Mehta sounds rather like Yogendra Yadav, who is famous only for being famous. It would also be interesting to see if any of those worthies from Columbia, Yale, Harvard, MIT, Oxford, etc. actually invites Mehta to a position in their home institutions. Somehow I doubt that, because they have their own bailiwicks to protect, and anyway he’s probably more useful to them if he is in India. But it is not unknown for washed-up Ecosystem journalists (I can name at least two) to be given cushy slots in the Deep State newspapers of the West. There was also a journalist who said she was an Associate Professor at Harvard, until it crashed and burned and she made (hard to believe) excuses about mail fraud. So I for one would not be surprised if Mehta were to turn up at some university that is friendly to the Deep State and Atlanticism. Don’t cry for Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Argentina. Or Lutyens, or Khan Market. I am pretty sure he’ll pop up somewhere, being hailed as the new Solzhenitsyn. The real Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, poor guy, will turn over in his grave. POSTSCRIPT: Gurcharan Das confirms that Mehta jumped, and was not pushed. Somehow that is a little disappointing. So we are still a Soft State? Sigh. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-edit-page/a-tale-of-two-heroes-tragedy-at-ashoka-university-shows-the-difficulty-of-doing-good-in-todays-world/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rajeevsrinivasan.substack.com

FEBRUARY 20, 2019 BY TOM FOX In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News: ·      What does the fraying of Atlanticism mean for compliance? (Financial Times)·      Telia execs walks free on Uzbekistan bribery. (Stockholm News)·      Are Brexit fears based on reality? Ask the workers at Honda’s Swindon plant. (TheTelegraph)·      Estonia orders Danske Bank to close local branch. (BBC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FEBRUARY 20, 2019 BY TOM FOX In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News: ·      What does the fraying of Atlanticism mean for compliance? (Financial Times)·      Telia execs walks free on Uzbekistan bribery. (Stockholm News)·      Are Brexit fears based on reality? Ask the workers at Honda’s Swindon plant. (TheTelegraph)·      Estonia orders Danske Bank to close local branch. (BBC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this video I review and analyze the geopolitical work of former Soviet and U.N. advisor Eric Walberg. I cover his take on 20th century Atlanticism and power blocs, as well as cover actions and black ops. I also critique the weakness of his position from an ambiguous liberal moralism which both affirms universal imperatives while simultaneously critiquing imperialism on the basis of extending ideas universally.

The Brussels School of International Studies continues their 20th-anniversary celebrations! The lecture series continues with Professor Gerard Toal’s presentation on the imperialism of anti-imperialism by linking the Atlantic Charter to current US policy in Ukraine. Gerard Toal is Professor of Government …

The Brussels School of International Studies continues their 20th-anniversary celebrations! The lecture series continues with Professor Gerard Toal's presentation on the imperialism of anti-imperialism by linking the Atlantic Charter to current US policy in Ukraine. Gerard Toal is Professor of Government and International Affairs and Director of the Government and International Affairs program, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He is also the author of the book Near Abroad: Putin, the West and the Contest Over Ukraine and Caucasus. 

Professor Rakove discusses the several aspects of Atlanticism and the way they enable historians to think comparatively about the two major sources of imperial settlement in the new world. (September 26, 2008)