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America This Week Live - March 14, 2025
Livestream recording of America This Week episode 127
America This Week
Welcome to America This Week, with Matt Taibbi and Walter Kirn, the national news wrap-up so true, we recommend you stow all sharp objects before reading.
Welcome to America This Week, with Matt Taibbi and Walter Kirn, the national news wrap-up so true, we recommend you stow all sharp objects before reading. 
Appears in episode
Matt Taibbi
Walter Kirn
Writes Walter Kirn Subscribe
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The main point is non of those people talking are going to send their kids to the front to risk death or dismemberment. That’s a job for the common folk.
Cannon fodder. Widgets on a board game. Same as it ever was.
None of the people talking would even send the "poors" of their nations to fight directly since any NATO "boots on the ground" would almost instantly escalate the conflict to essentially WW3 including a likely Iranian direct strike on Israel and storming of Taiwan by China (something which the US might not even be able to recognize as illegal since we don't technically recognize Tawain as politically separate from in mainland).
Your opening sentence certainly would describe rational thinking. Unfortunately, we are not talking about rational people. Those behind the politicians, the billionaires, enterprise, big business, intel agencies looking forward to job security, these are all people used to getting what they want. They know its easier to sell war if they dnt use their own. But it's certainly not do to any kindness or sentimentality. These idiots like Anthony Blinken, and unfortunately he was only one of a type, will tell the elites whatever to keep the grift going and to keep their vision of controling the vast resources of Eurasia alive. This self perpetuating loop is capable of anything.
None of the elected officials in Europe or North America would survive the next vote if they even floated the possibility of sending their own (or any other NATO) troops into Ukraine to fight Russia; even acknowledging that such a move would be necessary for any possibility of achieving the goals they're laying out is something which not even Joe Biden at his most addled (and he was pretty addled in his prime, if you find the footage of him berating reporters in the 1980s) was capable of committing the gaffe of admitting it openly.
In the most extreme cases, there are a small number of individuals in the US who are willing to donate $hundreds, or maybe even $thousands (if they're very affluent) toward pro-Ukrainian causes, but 95-98% of those who "back Ukraine" in the west have already hit their limit by changing the flag on their social media profie photo, or maybe even wearing a ribbon (are they still doing the $2 rubber bracelets?) on the rare occasion they're feeling like going out and risking death by covid. They're no more willing to "grab a rifle and stand a post" than Zalensky or Macron.
Those who know the real history of this dispute know that the proximate cause of the war is the 2014 CIA coup in Ukraine called the Madan revolution. Putin is referring to that and how it must be recognized and dealt with in the negotiatons.
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I'll quibble just a little and say that the Maidan coup (I won't call it a "revolution" in that it was an Obama administration supported toppling of an elected president) began the process but it was the push to include Ukraine into NATO that was the final straw that arguably forced Putin's hand.
At the risk of posting something again, a glaring illustration is given by the leaked cable from then- Ambassador to Russia William Burns to then- Secretary of State in 2008 in which Burns states: "Ukrainian entry into NATO is the brightest of all redlines for the Russian elite (not just Putin). In more than two and a half years of conversations with key Russian players, from knuckle-draggers in the dark recesses of the Kremlin to Putin's sharpest liberal critics, I have yet to find anyone who views Ukraine in NATO as anything other than a direct challenge to Russian interests."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Burns_(diplomat)#U.S._Foreign_Service
And just as a "cherry on top", the same William Burns served as Director of the CIA in the Biden administration.
Knowing what he knew and what he communicated to Rice, how could Burns go along with the push to include Ukraine into NATO? In 2008 he says Russia would not tolerate Ukraine entry into NATO but fourteen years later he's part of the team making that very move?
That truly blows my mind. I would like that someone should pose that question to Mr. Burns.
It seems that the conflict was entirely avoidable. The situation no doubt would have remained tense but the hostilities seemed to have been precipitated by what I can only call the ham-fisted foreign policy of the Biden administration (i.e., I'll be blunt and just call it the continuation of the Obama foreign policy since it increasingly appears that Biden was never really "president").
Great comment Outis,
Yes the conundrum is actually quite simple; William Burns like the Biden regime are the part of the national security state that is all in on war. Any war that uses the equipment and weapons produced by the Arms Manufactureres. Money and power are the great incentive for these warmongers. The Milirary Industrial Complex that Ike warned of way back when.
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Color revolution I think these types of coup are called
Yes the Maidan coup was a type of "Color revolution"
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This is my favorite show out there because I get to hear perspective with all the contours, textures and tones that these two offer. A Gen Xer, I have been turned off by MSM for at least 10 years and have not watched it. Glad that i can get the filter here. You guys often enough say what I have been thinking. Thanks!
Victoria Nuland, the evil warmonger grandma.
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I don't believe Nuland had any children, so I don't think she's a grandma. An evil warmonger, yes.
Is nuland on commission?
Europe is trying as hard as they can to prevent peace and drag USA into a hot war with Russia. Been seeing reports that every time Trump people meet with Russia for peace talks, ukraine and europe attack russia to derail it.
I think the USA, EU, and certainly the U.K. have never forgiven the USSR for their prominent role in defeating Hitler. Stalin was certainly a beast, but the Soviet people bore the ultimate sacrifice. Interesting that JFK- a wounded war veteran- created a rapprochement with the Soviets and avoided WWIII. For that he had to die (IMHO).
I still do not get what is the interest of the Europeans to act as if Russia's goal is to end Ukraine as an independent nation and depict Putin as an expansionist fool. One could have thought just to kow-tow to the US, but that makes no sense now that the US govt has reversed direction. I do not see any European interest in tense relations with Russia, from which they used to buy natural gas. If anything, the destruction of Nord Stream was a blow to Europe
It’s a good question I have given a lot of thought to over the past few months.
The reason for America ending its involvement in Ukraine is obvious. As an American it’s harder for me to understand why we became involved. My current theory is that Joe Biden along with the security establishment were operating with a wanted poster for Kruschev on their walls that had remained their since the 1960’s and no one had the heart to tell them the world had moved on.
But why would the Europeans be so invested? They're facing a Russia that after 3 years of hard fighting was almost overthrown in a coup and has taken only 20% of a country with an extremely brave, but poorly equipped Army no one consider a serious military threat. Why would they continue speaking about current Russia as if they were facing Stalin in 1945?
The only reasonable answer I have come up with is Bismark. Until the late 1800’s the German principalities like Prussia were strong enough to ward off any single European invasion, but lived in fear they would be too weak to take on a combined France, Russia and potentially England. Bismarks solution was brilliant. Through a series of wars between the 1860’s and 1870’s called The Wars of Unification he convinced the independent principalities to combine in order to defeat their enemies. The result was the unification of Germany.
Europe faces the same problem. Since the end of the Cold War and especially the financial crisis of 2008 it has been very difficult to hold the union together. Perhaps the most unifying factor was NATO with America acting as the hegemon. With that gone, unification around an external threat is really the only way countries like France, Germany and England will continue pulling in the same direction rather than return to the 1,500 years of internal conflict that proceeded that.
If not Russia, it would probably be Turkey. They simply need to maintain an external threat of some type to hold the union together. That is especially true with Tariffs coming to challenge their heavily export based economies that run a real risk of tearing the union apart.
Thanks all for the interesting discussion. We share a common view of a war that in my opinion is absurd and could have been easily avoided if all the countries involved (not only the two nominal fighters) were run by actual statesmen, that is leaders whose guiding light was the well-being of their own citizens and those of the world at large. Instead, the level of leadership went steadily declining since the end of WW2. Especially in the US, after the USSC Citizen United decision, politics has just been the executive arm of big money.
In particular, I do not see the behavior of the Biden administration anything surprising, but just the usual combo of pleasing the military industrial complex (let’s recall that a large number of representatives in Congress, I forgot the exact figure, has a defense contractor facility in his territory, employing many of his constituents) and pursuing the usual neo-con foreign politics common to administrations of both colors. The name of Ms. Newland in particular reminds us that US meddling in Ukraine internal affairs in anti-Russia direction goes back at the very least to the coup that overthrew Yanukovich, a filo Russian politician who was the last president elected with the vote of all Ukrainians, before Putin, in reaction to the coup annexed Crimea. This electoral balance also provides an interesting key to understand why the west did nothing more than bark about Crimea. Mix into that all the alleged corruption and million of dollars that since the coup have been enriching many western pockets and one has the reason why the US wanted to fight. Probably an equivalent level of corruption moves some of the European leaders, but what surprises is the generalized pro-war sentiment in all the main countries of the block across political divisions. I doubt that any politician worth his salt cannot see that is not Putin expansionism behind the war. Any country with a strong military would react the same way if one of its neighbors started placing its rivals’ missiles at the border
«the West's stance towards Russia was driven by lots of NatSec blob cubicle dwellers keeping themselves employed, my belief is the causes are economic.»
It used to be this, as written by George Kennan in "At a Century's Ending: Reflections 1982-1995" "Part II: Cold War in Full Bloom" (1997): “Were the Soviet Union to sink tomorrow under the waters of the ocean, the American military-industrial establishment would have to go on, substantially unchanged, until some other adversary could be invented. Anything else would be an unacceptable shock to the American economy.”
Currently the enmity towards Russia has a much more direct reason: the real rival for leading the global economic system is China, and Russia (and relatedly Kazakhstan) is the biggest buffer state that China has. If Russia were color-revolutioned the new vassal government would "invite" the DOD and CIA to build a chain of biolabs and bases on the northern and western chinese borders where they could fund, train, arm many brigades of "freedom fighters" inside China. Just as Ukraine was the biggest buffer stated that Russia used to have. "Domino Theory" works even if slowly.
«make Russia a natural resource extraction zone with a pliant, if corrupt, government in place.»
Russia would have managed to achieve that all by themselves, as during the Yeltsin era; oligarchs in many countries love to be protected from "socialism" by the USA government.
Thanks all for the interesting discussion. We share a common view of a war that in my opinion is absurd and could have been easily avoided if all the countries involved (not only the two nominal fighters) were run by actual statesmen, that is leaders whose guiding light was the well-being of their own citizens and those of the world at large. Instead, the level of leadership went steadily declining since the end of WW2. Especially in the US, after the USSC Citizen United decision, politics has just been the executive arm of big money.
In particular, I do not see the behavior of the Biden administration anything surprising, but just the usual combo of pleasing the military industrial complex (let’s recall that a large number of representatives in Congress, I forgot the exact figure, has a defense contractor facility in his territory, employing many of his constituents) and pursuing the usual neo-con foreign politics common to administrations of both colors. The name of Ms. Newland in particular reminds us that US meddling in Ukraine internal affairs in anti-Russia direction goes back at the very least to sponsoring the coup that overthrew Yanukovich, a pro-Russian politician who was the last president of Ukraine elected with the vote of all Ukrainians, before Putin, in reaction to the coup, annexed Crimea. This electoral balance also provides an interesting key to understand why the west did nothing more than bark about Crimea. Mix into that all the alleged corruption and million of dollars that since the coup have been enriching many western pockets and one has the reason why the US wanted to fight. Probably an equivalent level of corruption moves some of the European leaders, but what surprises is the generalized pro-war sentiment in all the main countries of the block across political divisions. I doubt that any politician worth his salt cannot see that is not Putin expansionism behind the war. Any country with a strong military would react the same way if one of its neighbors started placing its rivals’ missiles at the border
Ask Napoleon.
Great idea, unfortunately it appears we have lost his tracks. The last news I could find about him was in one of the last editions of Pravda (I said last because after Yeltsin sold it, it wasn’t the same authoritative newspaper of reference anymore…) which described him enjoying retirement in an island resort off the cost of Africa. Apparently, he had been reached there by Leonid Brezhnev, and the two had put aside old enmities, between a glass of Chateau Lafite and a shot of vodka. Unfortunately, the lack of news since that 1991 reportage does not inspire much optimism about the health of either of them. Pessimism, however, never brought any progress
The interview with the warmongering turd is just the European version of Blackrock getting a huge money boner. War, especially since Iraq has been a huge way for the rich elites to suck more money from the poor and hollow out the middle class so they can make us own nothing and be happy (or else). The bonds prove it. The European aristocracy needs to remember the guillotine. They're wrapped in hyperreality but reality always wins.
The short story this week:
A City of Churches – Donald Barthelme
https://www.racket.news/p/america-this-week-live-march-14-2025?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web×tamp=5010.5
I read it here.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1972/04/22/a-city-of-churches
Thanks Walter and Matt for your tirelessly tracking down the actors acts. A couple of years back you both pointed out we don't have any real sense of what's happening with Ukraine - and you subsequently played a big role discovering exactly why we didn't - complete information dominance mission success via USAID and minions.
Walter, “jaw-jawing” and “war-warring” are keepers. I would LOVE to see these phrases, ad infinitum, used further. War-war is physical fighting among parties. Jaw-jaw is talking about stopping fighting among parties. These phrases are SO simple, SO obviously meaningful, a kindergartener understands, and that is a good thing.
Walter, did you coin these phrases?
Winston Churchill did: “better to jaw, jaw, jaw, than to war war war. “
Coincidentally, I was just reading about Tom Wolfe who published a collection of essays called, "Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_Chic_%26_Mau-Mauing_the_Flak_Catchers
The term "Mau-Mauing" was derived from the Kenyan Mau Mau rebellion in the 1950's:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mau_Mau_rebellion
...and the similarity just jumped out.
I really love all these ATW shows. Sorry I couldn't watch live and make comments in real time.
I love Walter asked the chat room to find the answer to a question. Proves the viewers are recognized and appreciated.
I've come to realize Matt offers a different generational and worldly perspective of historic events that's valuable to listen to. Am I the only boomer woman with a crush on dear Matt?
I'm gonna look up the short story writer of "City of Churches". My attention span these days doesn't accommodate full length novels but since Matt said he's going to obtain the author's collection that's a good enough recommendation for me.
Love the short stories discussed at the end of the weekly episodes. Good literature, as shared here, is refreshing and grounding. 😅
The Ukrainians have not voted since Zelenskyy was elected in 2019. The obvious, DEMOCRATIC way to move forward is to listen to them for guidance.
Duh.
No, dude. Let me tell you who has a real grasp on democracy: Putin. Hell yeah brother.
So I have been having so much difficulty trying to meet my needs, my family's needs, and my dogs needs, that I missed the surrender of American Ideals to which ever monsters are thought to be ruling or endangering the world now.
I don't like the idea of surrender. I do like the idea of simple. Here is a simple idea America held in the past: "Give me liberty or give me death". I like that idea. What happened to it? Is it not profitable? Did we trade it for something more valuable?
I am not being just a smug fuck. What happened to fighting for Right & Wrong?
I very much hope you are not intending to cease releasing a transcript of the 'America this Week Live' video on Saturday mornings. No offense, but I (possibly like many other people) much prefer reading a transcript to watching a video. Thanks very much.
Do we normally get a transcript, too? Some fire story-telling by Walter about the boomers thirst to fight their own “just war” with their pocketbooks. I need to read, copy, and share. Don’t make me transcribe all of that myself.
Matt, the Navy and Coast Guard are really serious about their standing related physical requirements. My dad played football for Brown and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers, but he was turned down for the US Navy Officers Training because he had varicose veins in his leg which would make it hard to stand on a cold metal deck.
Wouldn't you know, he was drafted into the army and ended up as a photographer and developed trouble with his leg from standing on the cement floor in the photography lab. Instead of giving him a stool, they took out the varicose veins in his leg, causing him life long problems.
Kirn (and Trump) keep seeming to believe that the EU states have taken advantage of the USA paying for their security, and that is ridiculous:
* In WW2 USA militarily occupied several EU states and taken control of their military, diplomatic and security forces, and indirect control of their politics. A simple example: no EU country has significant anti-aircraft abilities because the USA military strategy is to have air supremacy and the USA do not allow even vassals to impinge on that.
* Many USA vassal states (not just in the EU) pay fully all the costs of USA military forces in their territory as stated in various confidential treaties with the USA occupiers. In the past the excuse was that those USA forces protected those states from communism, but that excuse is gone and nothing has changed.
Taibbi and Kirn are commenting about war propaganda and it is pointless, and also they do not quite understand the situation, for example:
* Putin said he welcomes a ceasefire but only under some conditions.
* The purpose of the proposed ceasifire is to give time to the EU military to partially replace USA military support.
* The EU states are not allies of the USA, but vassals, and they do not have the power to defy the USA, even if they wish they had it.
* The reason why the EU states appear to be willing to defy the USA is that they are defying not the USA but Trump and are doing that as directed by the USA elites. Trump will only last 4 more years.
* The EU states have no delusion about going back and re-doing WW2 without the USA. The USA would not allow that.
Another couple of notes:
* Macron seems to have forgotten that France (and NATO) invaded and bombed Yugoslavia in the 1990s, with complete impunity.
* Nuland officially confirmed what Putin has claimed, that the USA was part of the war operations by supplying and setting up targeting for missiles launched at Russia.
«The reason why the EU states appear to be willing to defy the USA is that they are defying not the USA but Trump and are doing that as directed by the USA elites.»
And the reason why the USA elites are instructing the EU governments to pretend to be rebellious is to accuse Trump to have "lost Europe". As clearly outlined in this TDS piece by the editor of the "American Prospect":
https://prospect.org/world/2025-02-19-musk-trump-causing-dumbest-imperial-collapse-in-history/
“the foundation of the empire, namely its structure of alliances and partnerships, has been dealt irreparable damage. Western Europe, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and especially Canada now view America with suspicion if not outright hostility, and they are right to do so”
Of course if Harris or another Democratic globalist (or some Republican globalist) will be elected in 2028 the europeans and other vassals would be instructed to make fawning declarations of loyalty, so the “irreparable damage” would be miraculously repaired.
Note: that “foundation of empire” is not “alliances and partnerships” but the ability of the USA government to block sea routes, sanction financial trade, and color-revolution the recalcitrant.
The Vietnam protests were fueled in part by people who didn’t want to go. If we’d only financed the war, I wonder if there would have been much anti war protesting
This is a good question.
I liked the part near the beginning when you and Walter were talking about why there was no reason a "normal person" would question Putin's statement on the "problem of origin", and yet you scrutinize every word, every inflection, that comes any American source in every other episode you record. It is just *uncanny* how pro-Russia you are, Matt.
Typical context-free ahistorical nonsense about the Soviet Union. What needs to be looked at first is NOT the "nice subway" in Moscow, Matt, but the standard of living, education, healthcare etc BEFORE the revolution and by the 1970s, at which time the rapid development in Russia started to slow down.
Problem is American jingoballs anti-communists like to invoke the Gulags and pretend African-American imprisonment, Jim Crow, lynchings and red-lining were somehow better than what was done to a similar proportion of Soviet citizens.
International boundaries are artificially set by Winners or by Mutual Agreements or Referendums. But Nations have the prerogative to change their minds at a later time. This negates the idea of peaceful negotiations and progressive ideas of “mutual lasting partnerships”. The world comes up with new treaties and agreements after new wars. As Walter Kirn put it, “Wars used to be about getting stuff and protecting stuff that you already got”. And it still is, although holy righteousness and progressive ideas of fairness or justice are also part of the reasons.
History is always being re-written by the victors, and it started with the borders of China/Mongolia/Europe centuries ago. Currently in discussion are the borders of Israel and Palestine, the borders of Russia and Ukraine, (maybe USA and Canada, Mexico, and Greenland). Migrations of people and animals deny the idea and laws of borders.
Colorizations in various forms have been around, looking for more stuff for the colonizers abetted by the bankers of the world, the greedy war-mongers, and the duped soldiers. Treaties have been broken as long as wars have been waged, so what makes people think there are equitable solutions this time? Maybe hoping for a cease-fire, a new “security” agreement, possibly a shift in borders.
I love how Matt has a chore to do so he puts on a Bugs Bunny Looney Toon to keep Walter occupied while gone.
My first ATW LIVE....loved it. But did you layout your own outline of peace in UKR? Is it now up to Europe to figure out and fund give what appears to be Trump dialing down our support?
A Canadian joins. The money of will be taken from the citizens to buy weapons bought from the U.S. with 25% to the Bureaucrats. Europe is collapsing what they should is find peace and Germany can fix the pipeline and buy cheap natural gas.
In the case of the Soviet Union, evil as they may have been, the reason some people may even today have a soft spot for it/them is that they remember what the alternative was, which was fortunately stopped at Stalingrad. I am surprised I have to mention this as I thought everyone knew about it already.
“…The American Century, if you will. But that’s simply not the case. The entire concept of the Order is that the United States disadvantages itself economically in order to purchase the loyalty of a global alliance. That is what globalization is. The past several decades haven’t been an American Century. They’ve been an American sacrifice.” Peter Zeihan, The End of the World is Just the Beginning.
In the latter stages of WW II the generals leading the German armies on the western front knew the cause was lost, realized that Hitler was a mad man, and understood that their defeated countrymen would be better treated the Americans and British than by the Russians. They also understood that America and GB were in a race with Russia to occupy as much German territory as possible before the war ended. In the winter and early spring of 1945 those generals were frustrated at the slow pace of the allied armies in the West. And yet German military pride and culture made required that the Germans contest every acre of land as they retreated back towards Berlin. In the midst of a hopeless campaign the Germans could not act in a sensible and humane manner. It appears that current German leaders are driven by that same stubbornly illogical ethos.
‘Was I naive about that,’ says Matt? Yes. Matt let me translate for you, you said “I don’t think Russia wants to eliminate Ukraine as a nation, they want to reclaim disputed territories and eliminate NATO as a threat.’ Matt THEY WANT TO ELIMINATE UKRAINE AS A NATION. Putin has denied that Ukraine is EVEN A NATION. What part of that don’t you understand? What is wrong with Peace with guarantees after Putin has raped and plundered Ukraine? Remember, you were insisting Putin would never invade as they had tens of thousands of troops on the border? Yes, you are naive (or something else is going on?)
Come on guys, you know the name of the game. They borrow them the money because they can't ever pay them back. Then, for all intents and purposes, they own thet country. They take it out of their resources. They assure the county will never be in control of its own resources or be capable of sharing the wealth with its population. Western elites harness everything. And to be clear this is all self interests. The Western elites have absolutely no problem investing the wealth and future of their own working and middle classes then pocketing all the returns. Look how much wealth has been sapped from the American middle class beginning with the Vietnam War. In the past 20 yrs, since the 9/11 the theft has gone into overdrive. These people are sick. They can never have enough money and power. And the true terror, what should truly disturb every man, woman and child outside of the top tier of socioeconomic wealth, power and status is the fact that these people increasingly have nothing to lose. No accountability. No one capable of restraining their ego, or neverending aspirations.
We don't live in a democracy. Those to whom we put in Washington are not running the show.
Their payout for dividing the working class and sticking to their hyper partisan scripts. The whole reason ice cream doling psychopaths and creepy side talking turtle necked stroke victims have such long, illustrious and lucrative political careers is that they have proven trustworthy to the elites.
This certainly explains how these corrupted do-nothings keep their increasingly wrinked bottoms seated on Capital Hill for decades. Despite being far more than passingly familar with sub 20 and 30 percent approval ratings in their own districts!
Yes, because MASH was about exactly that! The "mash mentality" of those faced with terror constantly! How do you live through it otherwise??
Europe raising money for defense has nothing to do with funding for Ukraine. It is to build their own defense as Trump has finally got his point across regarding their failure. It also has to do with the failure of the U.S. in its expanding deficit and growing weakness.
Walter, your comment on War bonds for Europe forgot the point that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor trying to destroy our naval fleet.
American society is the perfect example of what happens when Darwin's Theory is violated. To keep Darwin's Theory simple for this particular example, it would go like this:
When yur dum, ya die!
We violated the theory because we believed all humans are important. Now we have as many morons as smart people, and we're flirting with the destruction of our society.
Darwin rules!!
There's got to be some serious cognative dissonance happening on the western Left around Ukraine and the idea of a finally ascendant EU. At the same time they're celebrating the idea of reducing global polarity around the USA, they're having to confront both questions of how they're going to be able to continue to fund such extensive social spending as well as figure out how to not have to back down from claiming moral superiority for not engaging in the level of military spending that has been part and parcel to the US indirectly (and occasionally directly) providing for defebse of European territorial integrity.
They may also be starting to have to confront the questions about what the path forward looks like for a faction who claims to be unwilling to accept less than a certain outcome, but would definitely never consider the possibility of doing what would be necessary to get there.
MOre writing, less podcasting. Reduces the blather ratio.
Matt briefly mentioned Jeffrey Sachs. I heard some of JS' theories and am interested in M&W's opinions of those theories.
OMG Z put on a shirt.
Love ATW. Really glad you picked another Barthelme story to do. He’s been one of my favorites since college. I’m currently reading Benito Cereno (Melville). Might be a good one to pick sometime. Looking forward to your show on Monday night!
Now we can read the endless list of horrors from our own prisons, and the twisted imagination of our Bff Israel. The imperial competition to be number one has created THE most sociopathic people ever concieved. Imperialism has to end
Come on guys, I know more than both of you combined about everything, and I'm starting to think y'all are Russian assets. If you're not you really need to develop a more subtle and broad-minded narrative about things. It's okay to be disillusioned and it's okay to see all the flaws in the US, but you need to see all the flaws in humanity in general or you just don't come across as credible any longer to your more knowledgeable listeners.
Next move will be Trump floating the idea of the U.S. withdrawing from NATO. Imagine European’s shock!
Walter, the island that Pres. Clinton sent troops to was Granada, not the same pronunciation as the city in Spain. It was pronounced as GranAda.
Nixon quit the summer of 1974. Solzhenitsyn lived in exile in Cavendish, VT - a somewhat distressed town I drive through on my way to ski at Okemo.I always think of him and wonder where he lived.
Can't think of a thing the UN, EU or Nato have done well ever. Why does anyone still think of war with conventional weapons? Technology has outstripped most conventional frame works. I anticipate wars that end before we know they have started and not with the flash of a nuclear warhead. This is a discussion about power and money. Almost nothing funnier to me than the globalist scolds. We would all be better off if they lost the ability to speak.
Capitalism is inherently global. That's why globalism keeps coming back, even after everyone has agreed, yet again, to revert to rationalism and other versions of tribalism and have good old-time wars.
No transcript?
No more transcripts? Say it ain't so.
That said we've just publicly outed the EU/NATO Strategic Farce Force total reliance on US Overhead intelligence feeds. Which we brought back online promptly with Z acquiesce in Riyadh to Trump's demanding Ukraine begin negotiating peace. And those EU fucks can reap what they've sown without another single US taxpayers dollar going to assist their determination to pursue civilizational suicide
A Cheeto is currently at auction. The last Cheeto at auction went for $87,840. Does anyone even see how sick this is? I doubt there's many of you that realize this is a sign of a VERY demented and clueless society. So let's wait and let the Government fix it, right? Because we'll all be happier with the Government's version of very demented and clueless instead of our own, right?
Nuland looks so much like Hilary these days… while in younger days they looked nothing like each other.
The problem with people like (insert name of favorite neocon here) is that they hate Russia far more than they ever hated the USSR.
Friedrich Merz, the comic book character with a goatee on his forehead.
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Ironically considering his his usual take, Taibbi just exactly described Hamas and Islamism in general while describing Europe’s approach to Russia. I agree with his take on Europe but I find it odd as to his obtuse view of the Conflict in Israel-Gaza…Fascinating…
I have not detected much of MT's view of the conflict in Gaza. I suspect he is may be leaning to the US, or Trump and Vance as Israel's "bitch."
I believe Gaza was mentioned in the context of the stalemate of battle between Russia and Ukraine and the foolishness of endlessly fighting a losing war. Not admitting defeat, Hamas has lost, they are on the floor broken and bloody. The poison of their ideology will not accept defeat and Palestinians are continually sacrificed or "martyred" to gain the world's support. The protest on US campuses are essential to garner support for the endless carnage, Hamas is well aware of necessity of that US operation. Of course Israelis are expected to accept rocket attacks forever into the future lest any Palestinian should become a casualty. This has little to do with the intrigues and corruption of the Netanyahu, the Islamic Brotherhood and the Islamic Republic of Iran has wanted to and will continue to want to eliminate Israel and it's Jewish population, before, during and after the current Israeli government. And of course death to the USA. smh
I agree with you as to the conflict. Hamas is a rare example of actual evil. They care less about their own dying people than killing the Jews.
I was referring to his statements on previous podcasts. But Matt tends to play it close to the vest on Israel/Gaza-Hamas. Not that I blame him, it’s a figurative minefield. Also a literal one… Unfortunately I suspect his sympathies lie more with the Palestinian cause considering his close friendship with journalists like Mate, Greenwald, and Fang.
I think his friendship with them is exactly why he's not showing his cards. I think he's smart enough to recognize that the ideology of Islam is lethal to peace and used to, like me, before Oct 6th leaned towards the Palestines. However, after seeing the support Hamas received from them- especially the phone calls to families rejoicing-lost any good will towards them. While I hate Abrahamic religions entirely, Islam needs to be destroyed, and they proved it then. Plus, I think Walter is certainly on Israel side.
Sorry Oct 7th, but Oct 6th 1973 is important to remember. I just got the dates confused.
I hope your intuition is correct. The anti-Israel propaganda campaign has been really effective and so many have lost the plot. But anyone who can step back and look at the entire history with a clear head can see that the Israelis have repeatedly tried to accomplish a peaceful solution and every time the PLO/Hamas/etc. either refuse a fair deal or sabotage any chance of peace with violence. The whole concept that kidnapping civilians for hostages is pure evil. Sometimes unfortunately war is the only option to survive. Particularly when dealing with fanatical zealots.
“When peace comes we will perhaps in time be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons.”
-Golda Meir
“He who relies solely on warlike measures shall be exterminated; he who relies solely on peaceful measures shall perish.” -Sun Tzu
Talking about an "anti-Israel propaganda campaign" and then invoking Golda Meir's evil quote that blames the Palestinians for "making" the Israelis kill them?
Can you say "moral idiot"?
🙄Oh sweet irony. The actual history of the conflicts is all there. Apparently the Israelis should just lay down and take it. WHO attacked first EVERY TIME? Have a nice day dude😘
Ah... life among the stupid is so frustrating.
Meir was born in Kiev, educated in the US and moved to Palestine before the Zionists established their colony's independence.
The early settlers were more than aware that, like the indigenous peoples of the Americas, Palestinians were going to fight to retain their land and their homes.
It's only since the moronification of history by people like yourself that this simple reality is forgotten.
If someone came and took your home from you, no doubt you would offer up your sister and your ass to comfort your new masters. Some people are like that.
Others aren't.
What a Hamastitute you are.
I thought I muted you. Please go away.