We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Saturday, July 14, 2018

Trump, NATO and ‘Russian aggression’

Click here to access article by Pepe Escobar from Asia Times.

Escobar continues his long-standing argument, that the US Empire is succumbing to the leadership of China and Russia, convincingly by interpreting the latest Trump's actions at the recent NATO meeting in Brussels, the European headquarters of the US-led Empire.
... Trump’s demand for 4% of GDP on defense spending for all NATO members will never fly. The sales pitch should be seen for what it is: a tentative “invitation” for an increased EU and NATO shopping spree on US military hardware.

In a nutshell, the key factor remains that Trump’s Brussels blitzkrieg did make his case. Russia cannot be a “threat” and a reliable energy partner at the same time. As much as NATO poodles may be terrified of “Russian aggression”, the facts spell out they won’t put their money where their rhetorical hysteria is.
But will the Deep State and its Empire go down willingly? Stay tuned, or better yet, stay aware and active. 

                                                                                             ********

Trump's behavior at the NATO meeting and the upcoming meeting with Putin in Helsinki deserves great satire, and Finian Cunningham supplies it with his piece "Trump Defects to Russia?"
at
Labels: , ,