… Xi and Putin are trying to achieve a political solution to a political problem. I’m terrified that the US will do something stupid because it’s not the power sitting at the head of the Grownup Table. Actually, the US is mysteriously absent from the Grownup Table. Oh, look, over there in the corner, wearing the “dunce” hat, it’s America!
I’ve described a bunch of situations as “white privilege” when I see cops talking politely to threatening-looking white people who have guns. For sure, white privilege is part of it, but I think there’s something more basic going on, as well.
Military high explosives are pretty stable, except for when they start to break down. Any of you who’ve read any Derek Lowe [lowe] are aware that most high explosives involve nitrogen and oxygen that want to change state and release lots of energy very fast: the more nitrogen and oxygen, the bigger the bang. It’s never “safe” to work with, though, even the more stable formulations – once the reaction starts, it’s going to finish.
When I read some of this stuff, I wind up sitting and scratching my head, missing my lead foil-lined hat. Conspiracy theorists and fake news make it hard to know what’s what, sometimes, and you can’t tell if you’re looking at a story or disinformation to create a story. Or, are you looking at disinformation intended to obscure a story?
I reported last week that the Taliban and ISIS appear to be making gains in Afghanistan [stderr] and hypothesized that the Russians might provide subtle covert support to make the US experience there more unpleasant and costly.
Suddenly there is news and talk about ISIS and Egypt.
And Egypt’s dictator has come to Washington to bend knee at the little feet of power. Coincidence?
I keep loose tabs on what’s going on regarding the US’ “no boots on the ground” deployment in Syria. And, frankly, it’s really hard to tell: the US media is suspiciously quiet about it (I assume they have been told to shut up) – when I go to outside sources, it gets confusing, fast. The overall impression I come away with is that Turkey is shooting at everyone, the US Air Force has a terrorist organization (the PKK – Kurdistan Worker’s Party, a leftist revolutionary group listed as a terrorist organization by NATO and the US) directing air strikes, and ISIS is cropping up in places that the media hasn’t been talking about.
I understand that “Sovereignty” is an important concept to nationalists.
The news about US troops engaging in Syria has been pretty low-key. Probably because, you know, it exposes some government lies about the degree to which the military is/was going to get involved in the fighting in the area.
Warning: war and death
The US has committed unknown numbers of ground troops into Syria,[stderr] and has placed them in position between Turkish and ISIS forces near Manbij to act as some sort of buffer zone.