These days there is always a need to differentiate between the European Union (member states) and the European Commission (von der Leyen and other unelected rabble). I'm not sure when the Commission really started driving things in a way that was detrimental to the member states of the European Union but it seems to me that the Commission holds all the power and it is a mystery to me how. How is it that the member states don't tell them to f off?
It is actually very sinister.
Democracy in the European Union seems increasingly to be a charade with each new crisis.
Ukraine accession will be driven by the Commission against the wishes of the member states. The result will reveal everything in terms of whether the EU is democratic. The Commission is authoritarian (fascist even) and now seemingly most interested in landgrabbing. It would not surprise me one bit if Canada is on the list, except that the Americans will simply not allow it.
It seems to me there is a link between the apparent lack of logic in continuing an inevitable defeat, and Europe being run by we're not sure who wielding power in a way we're not sure how i.e. we only assume Europe should act in a logical way because we believe it to be democratic.
As for Britain, I think Peter Taylor (below/above) has it about right. Starmer has said we're in it for 100 years (i.e. as long as it takes). The obvious reason for that is that the UK (i.e. the blob that will be around long after Starmer is dead) believes it can take a share of spoils from the mythical balkanisation of Russia. It's a long-term bet with what (£4.5bn p.a.) is a 'small' outlay. I'm sure they could wheel someone out in front of the cameras to describe it as an "investment".
It's a strange idea, the notion that Russia is just sitting there waiting for Putin to die so they can open the borders to a sort of new Klondyke and hand over the entire nation's assets to the Brits. I seem to recall you said you had heard people in the British embassy saying this is the strategy!
I suspect the centralisation has been a slow incremental process right from the time of up yours Delors. 😁
And yes, I said that the Embassy / government / media strategy is to hope for Putin to die, believing they'll meet a lion, scarecrow and tin man after who can guide them along a nicely painted path to a better land..
I can accept to a degree the argument made, however I tend to hold to the view buttressed by unequivocal economic data metrics that the European elite have come to the realisation that their economic mismanagement having all but caught up with them is so precarious, the only salvation is as hast been planned, the receipt of their share of the USD$90 - 110 Trillions of natural resources that they had fixated upon being able to share as winners eventually to be plundered and pillaged from a balkanised Russia.
Further, these political clowns are marching to the orders of the monied interests who control and unto whom they are subjected… it is the requirements of in particular the Banking elites, themselves staring at huge losses on their balance sheets that has acted as the main catalyst for firstly kicking off then with an ever increasing sense of urgency and panic, doing all that is necessary to prolong and continue the conflict…
Such a mindset as it happens dovetails nicely with the dilemma the E.U politicians find themselves confronting, as they are faced with their lies and hubris, the tropes incessantly used with each passing day being shown to have been a fraud, built upon lies, they fully understand that their economic mismanagement electorates they serve will not be forgiving, such a realisation acting as fuel to the need to continue the conflict in the vain and misguided hope that “something” might just turn the tide in their favour, that they will deliver the victory long promised their respective populace… every statement it seems nothing but hope, vague promises, hopium on steroids, all being said out of the true fear of failure, each day that passes the rhetoric is ratcheted up… the angst levels and shrill of voice grows louder in these E.U puppets, the decisions taken becoming even nuttier that previous.
They now unequivocally realise that their economic mismanagement likelihood of Russia being defeated is as slim as it has ever been since the conflict began when you will recall they were deliriously happy, as if intoxicated, I have written previously of the mindset and attitudes that pervaded the Munich Security Conferences of both 2021 and 2022, contrast that feeling as manifested with 2024 and the intervening period through the present, you can almost smell, feel the fear, it so palpable underlined as it is by the most ridiculous public statements made, the gaffes and slips of the tongue when occasionally and it seems more frequently the truth and real intent is let slip contrasted to the first two years when hearing such a truth was like pulling teeth, virtually unheard of… however as the reality hits, mistakes are beginning to be made in comments made, truths as noted let slip…
Simply put I will not put these desperate out of touch, gullible, easily led and manipulated to do the unthinkable, nothing as we have seen is off limits, the recent attacks on nuclear interdiction assets ( Air and the failed attempt on the sub base) point to this reality, nothing for these people is off limits, the more desperate they become, the more dangerous it is going to be… thankfully we have in Putin and his team people who can sense this reality, will do what they need to in the first instance resist the bait, avoid over reaction, but they will themselves reach a break point, how so? We all have such a point… rue the day that day comes, money for donuts, they, the Western political lackeys will as well, I’m sure the rest of their days will be spent living in fear, worrying if that day will be their last, Russia has stated and rightly so, everyone engaged in terror strikes on Russians, planning to actual engagement, regardless of position or level, will be finished, they, their involvement is known… and that I believe is the final arbiter in this conflict… self preservation, can’t ever have a bigger incentive than that.. my thoughts anyways, could be wide off the mark, maybe not.. but enjoyed reading your opinion… just saying..
Thank you as always Ian, I also agree, sadly they seem to bereft of any critical thought or ability to think rationally and or logically… underscoring their being beholden and subservient to serving the interests of the few, especially monied interests over the many… sad times and dark days had and still to come unfortunately… best.
"It’s certainly ‘cheaper’—at least politically—when it’s not EU or, more importantly, American citizens dying in this proxy war. These governments can’t stomach the optics: coffins draped in their own flags, body parts flown home in boxes, all for the noble cause of ‘weakening Russia.’ So they found the perfect workaround—send billions of dollars and waves of Ukrainian bodies instead. Problem solved."
I don't think that's the main concern. I believe that this is an ideological stance from an elite that has interests deeply connected with other elites in the western countries that believe they should rule the world as they have been doing. Accepting a defeat in Ukraine would question why they have told this war was necessary and worst it would mean making some kind of peace with Russia that was painted as hell in earth.
Always insightful to have Ian Proud on with Judge. Jeffrey Sachs was on this week also and traced the history of British ambitions back to the empire days and the Crimean war of 1853. I get more out of these focused exchanges than I could with watching BBC or Channel 4 for years. It helps build an understanding of the real dynamics of what we are living through. It is never as it is presented to us by the mainstream - always dressed up as something else.
I agree JOHN so much important context is sadly only available on the net these days, the MSM is so poor but of course they have as many vested interests as anyone else .
The politicians are mere puppets for the real decision-makers.
For decades now we've seen countries that refuse free access to their land and resources by the Western economic elites consistently attacked or economically marginalized.
We also know that regional destabilization has long been a tool in Perfidious Albion's kit. The way to stay on top, or at least one step from the top has been to ensure any nation that threatens that power is destabilized.
Add to this stew chunks of internal civil unrest in the European nations. The thinktanks have long advocated for periodic war as a means to unify nations and/or to increase government control of the hoi polloi.
Mix in a tin of economic struggles, sovereign debt and banking fragility and you have every motivation for extending the war before even getting to the topic of European admission.
Consider the banking sector. You live in a world of fiat currency that can only be created through the issuance of debt. Thus more debt must be pyramided on the old debt to ensure bankruptcies don't collapse the economy. But, oh look! European economies are shrinking. What then will happen to collateral that is propping up their loan books? What will happen to the value of land and capital in a declining economy? It must decrease, and the collateral will no longer be perfected against the loans, requiring collateral calls and then demands for returned principal. All of which is deflationary and would lead to a depression.
Consider too the wisdom of sanctions spicing our melange. Banks, back in the day, could finance both sides of the war du jour and not only hedge their losses but profit doubly. But not under sanctions. No one is financing the Russian war effort in the West. So there isn't just the issue of their loan books of regular business turning sour, there's also the issue of how will all these Ukraine Project loans get repaid?
So we have sovereign debt crisis waiting to happen and it has multiple channels for getting to the crisis point. One can imagine how highly motivated Starmer was to sign the pact with SECRET clauses back in January before Trump's inauguration. The promise of fresh collateral is too strong, too essential to refuse.
Thus, the UK, France, and Germany are actually in an existential war. Almost no one is framing it this way, because there is no way a government could allow a public discussion of such matters. Certainly not by its state media agents.
I enjoyed the discussion with The Judge. As a US citizen, I’m rooting for Ukraine to be admitted to the EU so US taxpayers will be relieved of the trillions for rebuilding that we all know is coming. That said, it sounds like Russia may be rethinking its non objection to Ukraine joining the EU now that there’s so much talk about a European army.
Seen your discussion with the Judge yesterday and found it very informative. I believe the EU has now taken over the baton from the US in its proxy war with Russia after being instructed to do so by Hegseth ,which I think, was shortly after Trump took office. The US needed to help its proxy Israel sort out matters with Iran and we seen the beginnings of that last night. World domination is certainly a busy and all consuming endeavour. Iran is weak and the US knows it and sees an opportunity to strike now. God help Iran and the region as there will be no end to this.
Sorry for rambling, thanks again for your analysis and look forward to your next piece. God bless and keep safe.
Ukraine can stop begging then, and they can pay for their own cocaine, Aston Martins, villas in Monte Carlo, and bar tabs at their annual Nazi rallies.
These days there is always a need to differentiate between the European Union (member states) and the European Commission (von der Leyen and other unelected rabble). I'm not sure when the Commission really started driving things in a way that was detrimental to the member states of the European Union but it seems to me that the Commission holds all the power and it is a mystery to me how. How is it that the member states don't tell them to f off?
It is actually very sinister.
Democracy in the European Union seems increasingly to be a charade with each new crisis.
Ukraine accession will be driven by the Commission against the wishes of the member states. The result will reveal everything in terms of whether the EU is democratic. The Commission is authoritarian (fascist even) and now seemingly most interested in landgrabbing. It would not surprise me one bit if Canada is on the list, except that the Americans will simply not allow it.
It seems to me there is a link between the apparent lack of logic in continuing an inevitable defeat, and Europe being run by we're not sure who wielding power in a way we're not sure how i.e. we only assume Europe should act in a logical way because we believe it to be democratic.
As for Britain, I think Peter Taylor (below/above) has it about right. Starmer has said we're in it for 100 years (i.e. as long as it takes). The obvious reason for that is that the UK (i.e. the blob that will be around long after Starmer is dead) believes it can take a share of spoils from the mythical balkanisation of Russia. It's a long-term bet with what (£4.5bn p.a.) is a 'small' outlay. I'm sure they could wheel someone out in front of the cameras to describe it as an "investment".
It's a strange idea, the notion that Russia is just sitting there waiting for Putin to die so they can open the borders to a sort of new Klondyke and hand over the entire nation's assets to the Brits. I seem to recall you said you had heard people in the British embassy saying this is the strategy!
I suspect the centralisation has been a slow incremental process right from the time of up yours Delors. 😁
And yes, I said that the Embassy / government / media strategy is to hope for Putin to die, believing they'll meet a lion, scarecrow and tin man after who can guide them along a nicely painted path to a better land..
Perfect analogy. These people live in a fantasy land.
Completely by the way, good to see your views getting wider exposure on Strategic Culture and elsewhere. Thanks, and keep up the good work.
i just cant believe they can be that delusional, its never going to happen, after the Yeltsin period no Russian leader will go along with that .
Hi Ian,
I can accept to a degree the argument made, however I tend to hold to the view buttressed by unequivocal economic data metrics that the European elite have come to the realisation that their economic mismanagement having all but caught up with them is so precarious, the only salvation is as hast been planned, the receipt of their share of the USD$90 - 110 Trillions of natural resources that they had fixated upon being able to share as winners eventually to be plundered and pillaged from a balkanised Russia.
Further, these political clowns are marching to the orders of the monied interests who control and unto whom they are subjected… it is the requirements of in particular the Banking elites, themselves staring at huge losses on their balance sheets that has acted as the main catalyst for firstly kicking off then with an ever increasing sense of urgency and panic, doing all that is necessary to prolong and continue the conflict…
Such a mindset as it happens dovetails nicely with the dilemma the E.U politicians find themselves confronting, as they are faced with their lies and hubris, the tropes incessantly used with each passing day being shown to have been a fraud, built upon lies, they fully understand that their economic mismanagement electorates they serve will not be forgiving, such a realisation acting as fuel to the need to continue the conflict in the vain and misguided hope that “something” might just turn the tide in their favour, that they will deliver the victory long promised their respective populace… every statement it seems nothing but hope, vague promises, hopium on steroids, all being said out of the true fear of failure, each day that passes the rhetoric is ratcheted up… the angst levels and shrill of voice grows louder in these E.U puppets, the decisions taken becoming even nuttier that previous.
They now unequivocally realise that their economic mismanagement likelihood of Russia being defeated is as slim as it has ever been since the conflict began when you will recall they were deliriously happy, as if intoxicated, I have written previously of the mindset and attitudes that pervaded the Munich Security Conferences of both 2021 and 2022, contrast that feeling as manifested with 2024 and the intervening period through the present, you can almost smell, feel the fear, it so palpable underlined as it is by the most ridiculous public statements made, the gaffes and slips of the tongue when occasionally and it seems more frequently the truth and real intent is let slip contrasted to the first two years when hearing such a truth was like pulling teeth, virtually unheard of… however as the reality hits, mistakes are beginning to be made in comments made, truths as noted let slip…
Simply put I will not put these desperate out of touch, gullible, easily led and manipulated to do the unthinkable, nothing as we have seen is off limits, the recent attacks on nuclear interdiction assets ( Air and the failed attempt on the sub base) point to this reality, nothing for these people is off limits, the more desperate they become, the more dangerous it is going to be… thankfully we have in Putin and his team people who can sense this reality, will do what they need to in the first instance resist the bait, avoid over reaction, but they will themselves reach a break point, how so? We all have such a point… rue the day that day comes, money for donuts, they, the Western political lackeys will as well, I’m sure the rest of their days will be spent living in fear, worrying if that day will be their last, Russia has stated and rightly so, everyone engaged in terror strikes on Russians, planning to actual engagement, regardless of position or level, will be finished, they, their involvement is known… and that I believe is the final arbiter in this conflict… self preservation, can’t ever have a bigger incentive than that.. my thoughts anyways, could be wide off the mark, maybe not.. but enjoyed reading your opinion… just saying..
Kia Kaha (Stay strong) From New Zealand
To be honest Peter, if I thought EU leaders were intelligent enough to have such big thoughts - which I don't - I might be inclined to agree.
All the best,
Ian
Thank you as always Ian, I also agree, sadly they seem to bereft of any critical thought or ability to think rationally and or logically… underscoring their being beholden and subservient to serving the interests of the few, especially monied interests over the many… sad times and dark days had and still to come unfortunately… best.
"It’s certainly ‘cheaper’—at least politically—when it’s not EU or, more importantly, American citizens dying in this proxy war. These governments can’t stomach the optics: coffins draped in their own flags, body parts flown home in boxes, all for the noble cause of ‘weakening Russia.’ So they found the perfect workaround—send billions of dollars and waves of Ukrainian bodies instead. Problem solved."
I don't think that's the main concern. I believe that this is an ideological stance from an elite that has interests deeply connected with other elites in the western countries that believe they should rule the world as they have been doing. Accepting a defeat in Ukraine would question why they have told this war was necessary and worst it would mean making some kind of peace with Russia that was painted as hell in earth.
Always insightful to have Ian Proud on with Judge. Jeffrey Sachs was on this week also and traced the history of British ambitions back to the empire days and the Crimean war of 1853. I get more out of these focused exchanges than I could with watching BBC or Channel 4 for years. It helps build an understanding of the real dynamics of what we are living through. It is never as it is presented to us by the mainstream - always dressed up as something else.
I agree JOHN so much important context is sadly only available on the net these days, the MSM is so poor but of course they have as many vested interests as anyone else .
The politicians are mere puppets for the real decision-makers.
For decades now we've seen countries that refuse free access to their land and resources by the Western economic elites consistently attacked or economically marginalized.
We also know that regional destabilization has long been a tool in Perfidious Albion's kit. The way to stay on top, or at least one step from the top has been to ensure any nation that threatens that power is destabilized.
Add to this stew chunks of internal civil unrest in the European nations. The thinktanks have long advocated for periodic war as a means to unify nations and/or to increase government control of the hoi polloi.
Mix in a tin of economic struggles, sovereign debt and banking fragility and you have every motivation for extending the war before even getting to the topic of European admission.
Consider the banking sector. You live in a world of fiat currency that can only be created through the issuance of debt. Thus more debt must be pyramided on the old debt to ensure bankruptcies don't collapse the economy. But, oh look! European economies are shrinking. What then will happen to collateral that is propping up their loan books? What will happen to the value of land and capital in a declining economy? It must decrease, and the collateral will no longer be perfected against the loans, requiring collateral calls and then demands for returned principal. All of which is deflationary and would lead to a depression.
Consider too the wisdom of sanctions spicing our melange. Banks, back in the day, could finance both sides of the war du jour and not only hedge their losses but profit doubly. But not under sanctions. No one is financing the Russian war effort in the West. So there isn't just the issue of their loan books of regular business turning sour, there's also the issue of how will all these Ukraine Project loans get repaid?
So we have sovereign debt crisis waiting to happen and it has multiple channels for getting to the crisis point. One can imagine how highly motivated Starmer was to sign the pact with SECRET clauses back in January before Trump's inauguration. The promise of fresh collateral is too strong, too essential to refuse.
Thus, the UK, France, and Germany are actually in an existential war. Almost no one is framing it this way, because there is no way a government could allow a public discussion of such matters. Certainly not by its state media agents.
I enjoyed the discussion with The Judge. As a US citizen, I’m rooting for Ukraine to be admitted to the EU so US taxpayers will be relieved of the trillions for rebuilding that we all know is coming. That said, it sounds like Russia may be rethinking its non objection to Ukraine joining the EU now that there’s so much talk about a European army.
It’s not going to happen. Putin redline
Seen your discussion with the Judge yesterday and found it very informative. I believe the EU has now taken over the baton from the US in its proxy war with Russia after being instructed to do so by Hegseth ,which I think, was shortly after Trump took office. The US needed to help its proxy Israel sort out matters with Iran and we seen the beginnings of that last night. World domination is certainly a busy and all consuming endeavour. Iran is weak and the US knows it and sees an opportunity to strike now. God help Iran and the region as there will be no end to this.
Sorry for rambling, thanks again for your analysis and look forward to your next piece. God bless and keep safe.
Irregardless of which year is analysed.
The GDP (GNP) of the Ukraine is much larger than that of either Luxembourg or Malta. Just check the internet.
Good.
Ukraine can stop begging then, and they can pay for their own cocaine, Aston Martins, villas in Monte Carlo, and bar tabs at their annual Nazi rallies.
Perhaps Europe is getting rid of NATO's colonial structures through the hands of Russia and the sacrifice of Ukraine?
I enjoyed it directly, just commented that I hoped that you became a usual guest of Judge Nap.
Your Patagonian-Spanish follower
Thanks Sue.