Of course, many who pay attention to history as well as their own politics recognize the 'symmetry' between the clandestine political operations of the U.S. as well as of Russia. The power elites in either case maneuver in such ways in search of ever more international control.
However, we must not overlook what in the Putin-Trump case is a somewhat unusual coalescence of interests. Both, in fact, whatever the rhetoric, represent in their own ways the interests of the oligarchies of which they "lead" in very different ways. What we have here is an international cult of oligarchy. The kleptocracies these men oversee have certain mutual interests that lead them to cooperate in diverse ways, including mutual political support however denied. Of course, Trump's lies are peculiarly transparent, while Putin's poker face prevails. Political chaos among the opposition serves the interests of both. Together, they embody a cult of oligarchy. I discuss this in "The International Cult of Oligarchy" at TheHopefulRealist.com.
Trumpery is not so much about building a physical wall on our southern border as it is about reinforcing and extending the Great Wall of Disparity dividing us all off from those 600 Super-rich who make up the 1% of the 1% of wealthy Americans who gain from his policies. The tweets are his personal form of the much broader distractions the corporate mass media provide daily. As Robert Schenkkan,s brilliant new play, "Building the Wall" demonstrates, the achievement of a fascist state will come through the creeping engagement of ordinary 'functionaries' in the machinations of oppression, ultimately resulting in genocidal practices that remain a core part of the cultural heritage of the corporate state that replaced the unfinished American Revolution.
Thanks to Juan Cole and others who speak truth to power.
The growth of wind and solar power production is important and welcome. However, it is even more important to know whether the "green power" coming online is replacing or adding to existing fossil-fueled electricity generation.
If the net effect is to add to existing power production, then the impact could be to increase total power consumption rather than reducing fossil-fueled power consumption.
The necessity not generally faced is that total world energy consumption must be both reduced and equitably distributed. As COP21 demonstrated, the world powers, both corporate and state, are focused on new technology for new energy generation, not on constraining profligate energy use and the inequity of its use.
Of course, many who pay attention to history as well as their own politics recognize the 'symmetry' between the clandestine political operations of the U.S. as well as of Russia. The power elites in either case maneuver in such ways in search of ever more international control.
However, we must not overlook what in the Putin-Trump case is a somewhat unusual coalescence of interests. Both, in fact, whatever the rhetoric, represent in their own ways the interests of the oligarchies of which they "lead" in very different ways. What we have here is an international cult of oligarchy. The kleptocracies these men oversee have certain mutual interests that lead them to cooperate in diverse ways, including mutual political support however denied. Of course, Trump's lies are peculiarly transparent, while Putin's poker face prevails. Political chaos among the opposition serves the interests of both. Together, they embody a cult of oligarchy. I discuss this in "The International Cult of Oligarchy" at TheHopefulRealist.com.
Trumpery is not so much about building a physical wall on our southern border as it is about reinforcing and extending the Great Wall of Disparity dividing us all off from those 600 Super-rich who make up the 1% of the 1% of wealthy Americans who gain from his policies. The tweets are his personal form of the much broader distractions the corporate mass media provide daily. As Robert Schenkkan,s brilliant new play, "Building the Wall" demonstrates, the achievement of a fascist state will come through the creeping engagement of ordinary 'functionaries' in the machinations of oppression, ultimately resulting in genocidal practices that remain a core part of the cultural heritage of the corporate state that replaced the unfinished American Revolution.
Thanks to Juan Cole and others who speak truth to power.
The growth of wind and solar power production is important and welcome. However, it is even more important to know whether the "green power" coming online is replacing or adding to existing fossil-fueled electricity generation.
If the net effect is to add to existing power production, then the impact could be to increase total power consumption rather than reducing fossil-fueled power consumption.
The necessity not generally faced is that total world energy consumption must be both reduced and equitably distributed. As COP21 demonstrated, the world powers, both corporate and state, are focused on new technology for new energy generation, not on constraining profligate energy use and the inequity of its use.