Can someone please explain to me why Western think tanks publish their works publicly? I mean, if the plan is to destabilise Russia, engage in terrorism and regime change with the ultimate goal of collapsing the country into many parts - why let the Russians in on the plan?
And thanks for the article - Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad - indeed.
Indeed. It is the perennial problem. I Iiken it to a chess game between Putin and a large committee that discusses each move loudly for weeks on end, before deciding that it's too risky...
Thank you Ian. All agreed, however may I ask you to elaborate on the Salisbury incident. Apologies, if you have done so previously. I was immediately skeptical about this incident . And listed 19 inconsistencies. I think the BBC broadcast the medical forensic conclusion ahead of Salisbury NHS.
Good piece Ian - I’ve read so many of these puff pieces from HJS et al - the same old tedious stuff with the ever pervading, underlying feeling of inadequacy in their composure and delivery. I think that’s the simple answer - inadequate people engaged in one massive COPE to try and cover their inability to do anything of consequence policy wise to improve the wellbeing of their populations. Lindsey Graham’s bone cruising sanctions bill will not go through now after recent events and will end up being a bum steer in more ways than one. I worked in the Civil Service for 37 years (now thankfully retired) in various departments and can now look myself in the face and try and make amends.
These ¨think¨tanks are devoid of sane thinking and destined for irrelevance. My hope is that a future leader of France and of Germany will join together to offer EU membership to Russia as a pre-condition to Ukraine continuing on the path to membership. That would be sensible. Then disband NATO.
Russia should have been offered a membership in NATO 20 years ago. There is no longer an ideological reason to keep it out. It is now a capitalist nation, a nascent democracy and Christian not godless. Why not accept it as an equal member?
The Russia joining NATO argument is very interesting, but there would have been consequences if it had happened. Most notably, the Chinese would have been very skittish about it, wondering why the Russians were getting into bed with the westerners - and not without good reason.
Yeah. There is no chance of Russia accepting such an offer now, even if it were forthcoming. While up until quite recently there seemed to be a still-existent pro-western orientation movement, located in RIAC and similar publications, my impression is that this has been discredited and supplanted by an Asian oriented outlook. Ian would know much more about that with his professional experience
The think tank denizen is the honest intellectual, who openly prostitutes his talents to dream up superficially plausible lies for the regime.
The dishonest intellectuals infest the bureaucracy and the education systems, because they know they lack the ability of their think tank brethren and cannot produce the plausibility required. Hence their social engineering fantasies and lies can only survive when backed by institutional force.
Both classes are the cause of the advice given by the ancient Emperor Qin to his heirs and successors;
"the ability of their think tank brethren" - that seems to be largely mythical. These sorts of people are not 'intellectuals'. At the very best, you could call them 'pseudo-intellectuals' but even that is rating them too high. Andrei Martyanov would probably just class them as over-promoted journalists. He has investigated the backgrounds of similar persons in the USA, and universally they have degrees in such subjects as 'Business Administration' and 'Macrame'. (OK, 'Macrame' is a joke - Bus.Ad. is not).
I’m honestly not able to elaborate in detail, I’m sorry. But yes, I do believe at least some parts of it. There’s a chapter of my book devoted to this topic.
I'll have to get hold of your book. I'm curious that you seem to take this narrative, or a substantial part of it, as a given too. I do value your "insider" experience in both Britain and Russia, but the Novichok/Skripal incident has SO many inconsistencies. While I can appreciate "Russia" (not necessarily the top, but certainly the spy networks) would have it in for a double agent, the inconsistencies, not to mention the enthusiasm with which the always-perfidious Johnson leapt in with his immediate bombast in support of it, long before anything remotely like investigation could be completed, and the lamb-like way the media quietly reported at least some of the inconsistencies without ever bothering to question further, also rather screams false flag. And it came at a time when a false flag would have been grist to the mill of the anti-Russia moves. My faith in the credibility of our western elites has been strained so far past its limits in my long experience of both Britain and the US (I'm Canadian), that, well, I find doubt more believable at this point.
I should add that the rest of this piece seems eminently sensible and am totally on board with frustration and disdain for the "think tank" world. It amazes me that so many just drink it all in like the Kool-aid.
Funnily enough it just happened before the World Cup so the Russians would have been very keen to put people off from coming to Russia and seeing what it was really like and completely spoiling the spectacle and making themselves international pariahs. Perfectly logical! And how could you possibly doubt the British Government - they are such good, decent chaps!
Why fortune meant that the British Army’s chief nurse just happened to be passing by the pathway when the Skripals collapsed at the exact same time having been poisoned with the most lethal nerve agent known to man a mere five hours earlier (clearly the highly purified, slow acting version :-)) and with derring do duly saved them.
By the way, despite Salisbury, it was an incredible experience to be in Moscow during the World Cup. The place was rocking and everyone really made the world feel welcome. Not what you'll read in mainstream MSM but that's the truth.
I also remember it well because it gave a glimpse into the fans experiences in cities other than St P or Moscow. The tournament was held in a number of cities and I remember fans being very impressed by what they saw, and how it took the blinkers off of the disinformation spread by the western media. The powers that be are scared of people travelling to these countries and seeing what they are really like, and how they compare to the reality of metropolitan life in UK cities. Fortunately, I have been able to travel widely and it is the best educator.
Yeah, and you don't have to be a PhD chemist (which I am) to understand that the official story is a physical impossibility.
That a big man and a small woman could be accidentally topically exposed in such a way that they'd collapse (but not die!) *at the same time 5 hrs later* is about as likely as Petrov&Boshirov tunneling through a concrete wall :) Esp given that the agent's LD50 is 0.22 mcg/kg, meaning that 60 mcg - the weight of a single grain of salt - would most definitely kill a 100 kg man (as it is LD50×3).
Oh yes, but don’t forget that to get some dutch courage P and B were apparently getting smashed the night before in their hotel room drinking copious amounts of vodka whilst snorting novichok to test its potency and leaving traces on the bedroom floor which were found by the police four months later. This was the discriminating novichok variant which didn’t affect other tourists or hotel owners/cleaners (just for clarity) :-)
This illustrates very well the bankruptcy of western policy making, and the poor intellectual capacity of the Henry Jackson Society (and similar semi-fascist institutions). Of course the 'right' have never been renowned for their intellectual superiority, but as you say, this is basically insanity. The additional problem is that the western right (and centre, and under Starmer what now passes in some circles as the 'left') have nailed their colours to the mast and can't face the humiliation of dragging them down, and also can see no alternative to doing so. I believe in psychological circles this is known as a 'double-bind'? Hence the institutional insanity.
Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of practice, training, rote education.
Otherwise Michael Jordan and his one hundred free throws a day, parents doing the times table with their children, soldiers training on the obstacle course... are all insane.
Nurse Ratchet will now return you to watching syndicated re-runs of The Begin Doctrine television program here in Nuthouse Central.
Godel would claim that goal is also in the set of "different." Inconsistency>>consistency.
Your math may vary...
:-p
Thank you for your reply. You're too kind.
Two things about my OP that appear unclear upon a second look.. By Nuthouse Central I mean the world we live in, not your stack. Sorry, if that came across harsh.
And that whole line refers to "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" as also being a description of propaganda (and thus also marketing).
And you say the source of the quote is disputed, yet speculated as the greatest genius of the Modern Age...
You didn't come across as too harsh at all and I took your comment in good humour - I'm English, so my humour is very dry. And agree with you on nuthouse central.
Dear Ian, fellow commenters,
Can someone please explain to me why Western think tanks publish their works publicly? I mean, if the plan is to destabilise Russia, engage in terrorism and regime change with the ultimate goal of collapsing the country into many parts - why let the Russians in on the plan?
And thanks for the article - Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad - indeed.
Indeed. It is the perennial problem. I Iiken it to a chess game between Putin and a large committee that discusses each move loudly for weeks on end, before deciding that it's too risky...
Thanks for the response, Ian, much appreciated
Thank you Ian. All agreed, however may I ask you to elaborate on the Salisbury incident. Apologies, if you have done so previously. I was immediately skeptical about this incident . And listed 19 inconsistencies. I think the BBC broadcast the medical forensic conclusion ahead of Salisbury NHS.
Ian can’t discuss it, he is bound by the Official Secrets Act not to disclose information about security state conspiracies !
Good piece Ian - I’ve read so many of these puff pieces from HJS et al - the same old tedious stuff with the ever pervading, underlying feeling of inadequacy in their composure and delivery. I think that’s the simple answer - inadequate people engaged in one massive COPE to try and cover their inability to do anything of consequence policy wise to improve the wellbeing of their populations. Lindsey Graham’s bone cruising sanctions bill will not go through now after recent events and will end up being a bum steer in more ways than one. I worked in the Civil Service for 37 years (now thankfully retired) in various departments and can now look myself in the face and try and make amends.
These ¨think¨tanks are devoid of sane thinking and destined for irrelevance. My hope is that a future leader of France and of Germany will join together to offer EU membership to Russia as a pre-condition to Ukraine continuing on the path to membership. That would be sensible. Then disband NATO.
Russia should have been offered a membership in NATO 20 years ago. There is no longer an ideological reason to keep it out. It is now a capitalist nation, a nascent democracy and Christian not godless. Why not accept it as an equal member?
Why not, indeed? Except NATO is now a busted flush.
The western elites are rabidly anti-Russian. Pure and simple…
Sadly, I have to agree, in the most part.
The Russia joining NATO argument is very interesting, but there would have been consequences if it had happened. Most notably, the Chinese would have been very skittish about it, wondering why the Russians were getting into bed with the westerners - and not without good reason.
Yeah. There is no chance of Russia accepting such an offer now, even if it were forthcoming. While up until quite recently there seemed to be a still-existent pro-western orientation movement, located in RIAC and similar publications, my impression is that this has been discredited and supplanted by an Asian oriented outlook. Ian would know much more about that with his professional experience
The think tank denizen is the honest intellectual, who openly prostitutes his talents to dream up superficially plausible lies for the regime.
The dishonest intellectuals infest the bureaucracy and the education systems, because they know they lack the ability of their think tank brethren and cannot produce the plausibility required. Hence their social engineering fantasies and lies can only survive when backed by institutional force.
Both classes are the cause of the advice given by the ancient Emperor Qin to his heirs and successors;
“First, kill all the intellectuals.”
I’d just sack them and close the think tanks. No one has to die - clue in the Peacemonger name!
Fair call. I’m not exactly a pacifist but I do adhere to the concept of non initiation of force, I.e. that it is only justified defensively.
However, I can understand the impulse without adopting it.
"the ability of their think tank brethren" - that seems to be largely mythical. These sorts of people are not 'intellectuals'. At the very best, you could call them 'pseudo-intellectuals' but even that is rating them too high. Andrei Martyanov would probably just class them as over-promoted journalists. He has investigated the backgrounds of similar persons in the USA, and universally they have degrees in such subjects as 'Business Administration' and 'Macrame'. (OK, 'Macrame' is a joke - Bus.Ad. is not).
You mention Salisbury in a way that makes one think you believe the official Novichok-doorhandle-Petrov&Boshirov story, or at least some parts of it.
Do you? Just curious.
I’m honestly not able to elaborate in detail, I’m sorry. But yes, I do believe at least some parts of it. There’s a chapter of my book devoted to this topic.
I'll have to get hold of your book. I'm curious that you seem to take this narrative, or a substantial part of it, as a given too. I do value your "insider" experience in both Britain and Russia, but the Novichok/Skripal incident has SO many inconsistencies. While I can appreciate "Russia" (not necessarily the top, but certainly the spy networks) would have it in for a double agent, the inconsistencies, not to mention the enthusiasm with which the always-perfidious Johnson leapt in with his immediate bombast in support of it, long before anything remotely like investigation could be completed, and the lamb-like way the media quietly reported at least some of the inconsistencies without ever bothering to question further, also rather screams false flag. And it came at a time when a false flag would have been grist to the mill of the anti-Russia moves. My faith in the credibility of our western elites has been strained so far past its limits in my long experience of both Britain and the US (I'm Canadian), that, well, I find doubt more believable at this point.
I should add that the rest of this piece seems eminently sensible and am totally on board with frustration and disdain for the "think tank" world. It amazes me that so many just drink it all in like the Kool-aid.
And fellow ex-Diplomat Craig Murray has a comprehensive analysis somewhere in his website.
Funnily enough it just happened before the World Cup so the Russians would have been very keen to put people off from coming to Russia and seeing what it was really like and completely spoiling the spectacle and making themselves international pariahs. Perfectly logical! And how could you possibly doubt the British Government - they are such good, decent chaps!
Why fortune meant that the British Army’s chief nurse just happened to be passing by the pathway when the Skripals collapsed at the exact same time having been poisoned with the most lethal nerve agent known to man a mere five hours earlier (clearly the highly purified, slow acting version :-)) and with derring do duly saved them.
Move along, everything is fine, move along…..
On your first paragraph, I make this point in the opening chapter of my book.
It’s on my reading list for our holiday at the end of the month!
By the way, despite Salisbury, it was an incredible experience to be in Moscow during the World Cup. The place was rocking and everyone really made the world feel welcome. Not what you'll read in mainstream MSM but that's the truth.
I also remember it well because it gave a glimpse into the fans experiences in cities other than St P or Moscow. The tournament was held in a number of cities and I remember fans being very impressed by what they saw, and how it took the blinkers off of the disinformation spread by the western media. The powers that be are scared of people travelling to these countries and seeing what they are really like, and how they compare to the reality of metropolitan life in UK cities. Fortunately, I have been able to travel widely and it is the best educator.
It is, indeed.
Yeah, and you don't have to be a PhD chemist (which I am) to understand that the official story is a physical impossibility.
That a big man and a small woman could be accidentally topically exposed in such a way that they'd collapse (but not die!) *at the same time 5 hrs later* is about as likely as Petrov&Boshirov tunneling through a concrete wall :) Esp given that the agent's LD50 is 0.22 mcg/kg, meaning that 60 mcg - the weight of a single grain of salt - would most definitely kill a 100 kg man (as it is LD50×3).
Oh yes, but don’t forget that to get some dutch courage P and B were apparently getting smashed the night before in their hotel room drinking copious amounts of vodka whilst snorting novichok to test its potency and leaving traces on the bedroom floor which were found by the police four months later. This was the discriminating novichok variant which didn’t affect other tourists or hotel owners/cleaners (just for clarity) :-)
This illustrates very well the bankruptcy of western policy making, and the poor intellectual capacity of the Henry Jackson Society (and similar semi-fascist institutions). Of course the 'right' have never been renowned for their intellectual superiority, but as you say, this is basically insanity. The additional problem is that the western right (and centre, and under Starmer what now passes in some circles as the 'left') have nailed their colours to the mast and can't face the humiliation of dragging them down, and also can see no alternative to doing so. I believe in psychological circles this is known as a 'double-bind'? Hence the institutional insanity.
Great article Ian. Keep them coming.
In the end they'll resort to sending container drone-platforms which will drop explosive cigars over the Kremlin.
Dear Emb. Proud I think all these plans only hide the failure of their grandiose ideas, too cowards
to fight directly with the Russians what they are forcing a big army to control their own populations
For example, Spain ¿what did she loose in Russia? it's Army and people are more worried about
Morocco. they won't move from 2%. we have some advantages. As Hispanic America that is trying
to form an in some way a united commonwealth. We would be far better in the Brics that as serfs
of NATO & EU
Your Patagonian-Spanish follower
Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of practice, training, rote education.
Otherwise Michael Jordan and his one hundred free throws a day, parents doing the times table with their children, soldiers training on the obstacle course... are all insane.
Nurse Ratchet will now return you to watching syndicated re-runs of The Begin Doctrine television program here in Nuthouse Central.
Surely Michael Jordan practiced so much to ensure consistent results? 😁
Godel would claim that goal is also in the set of "different." Inconsistency>>consistency.
Your math may vary...
:-p
Thank you for your reply. You're too kind.
Two things about my OP that appear unclear upon a second look.. By Nuthouse Central I mean the world we live in, not your stack. Sorry, if that came across harsh.
And that whole line refers to "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" as also being a description of propaganda (and thus also marketing).
And you say the source of the quote is disputed, yet speculated as the greatest genius of the Modern Age...
;-)
You didn't come across as too harsh at all and I took your comment in good humour - I'm English, so my humour is very dry. And agree with you on nuthouse central.