The Anglo-American financial oligarchy is now on the receiving end. “No fly zones” are a desperate and futile attempt to flip the chess board.
The Sino-Russian alliance is a reality and already signals that a new operating system is coming online; the Western oligarchy just doesn’t have the same economic leverage anymore, and their financial system is sinking. They’ve spent the last decades trying to usher in a post-industrial utopia in the West such that they’re no longer in a position to impose their will on the other multi-polar powers. Meanwhile, China leap-frogged in their economy, Russia introduced a new generation of weapons, and now the Anglo-American oligarchy is being dealt with in the only way they understand: force. It’s taking the form of dismantling their Ukraine Nazi operation.
Ukraine could easily agree to be a neutral country, two Minsk accords were ignored. The Western oligarchy just won’t allow any of it. Zelensky is simply acting as their insane puppet.
Let’s hope Americans and Western citizens continue to wake up and realize the extent to which the Western financial oligarchy and their system is waning and has increasingly turned into one great worthless financial casino that needs to be replaced ASAP. The oligarchy won’t ever let go of power, so it needs to be taken from them.
Banking reorganization (Glass-Steagall), cancelling all the funny money (the financial derivatives bubble), and taking back control of sovereign credit creation in order to go back to a productive future-orientated economy is crucial. There are many mutually beneficial projects that Russia, China, and the USA could be collaborating on, and that’s actually the oligarchy’s greatest fear.
Trump went out of his way to establish a direct relationship with both the leadership of Russia and China (rightly so), and that was arguably his biggest sin in the eyes of the oligarchy, for it meant the overthrowing of the entire “balance of power” system that had been devised to keep nations at each others’ throats since the post-war period.
There is definitely an alternative to the current system of globalization, but it means seeing through the Anglo-American propaganda on BOTH Russia and China. Otherwise, otherwise we’ll always be stuck in the zero sum game corset until it’s too late.
"The Sino-Russian alliance is a reality and already signals that a new operating system is coming online; the Western oligarchy just doesn’t have the same economic leverage anymore, and their financial system is sinking."
The yuan has fallen 12% against the dollar since April and China spends far more time concerned about capital flight than any country sincerely worried about currency appreciation.
Thanks Michael, great article. I think at this point Zelensky is echoing the famous last words of Gen. Custer....”Where did all those Fuckin Indians come from?” .....Both sharing the same huge miscalculations, they have now ended up on the same hill, and sorry brother, the Calvary ain’t coming to save Mr Zelensky either, much to his surprise.. This whole episode is built on a foundation of lies, and innocent people are always the ones to suffer. This country, the administration running it, have been strangely silent on any peace proposals..... should we not be the leaders in trying to find a solution to this insanity? All we get is the supposed pride in keeping Russian cats out of the international cat show. I’m just so fucking sick of the steady stream of lies.
This is the BEST piece I’ve read on this catastrophe!! I am beyond disappointed in our “leaders” espousing widening this war. It is ridiculous that Michael Tracy has the clearest and best foreign policy advice.
In Biden's defense, he (or at least whoever is holding the broomstick in his shirt and working his jaw for him) knows exactly what a No Fly Zone means and isn't having any of it. Let's see how long that lasts.
I too have my fingers crossed that Biden and his string-pullers can hold the line against the NFZ just like they held the line against the Deep State's sabotage of the Afghanistan withdrawal. I also wish more people on the right would concede that Biden and his string-pullers have quite clearly been pushing back against the most ghoulish members of the media (i.e. Chuck Todd).
Yeah, I'm no fan of Biden, never have been, but it's disheartening how many Repubs who were clamoring for withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2019 suddenly started shouting about betrayal and abandonment when Biden finally followed through on Trump policy in 2021.
"She believes that “Closing the Sky” will save the male relatives she left behind, end the war, and enable her to return home. But she had little concept of what a No Fly Zone really is, how it would be executed, or even that it would involve military action. And that’s not her fault at all."
Same can be said for American consumers of the broadcast Misinformation Elite. Apparently there was a YouGov poll last week that discovered overwhelming support for a No Fly Zone among Americans (or was it British?), until it was explained to them exactly what a No Fly Zone meant, after which support dropped below 30%. No link, sorry.
I feel for these people, and were I in the same situation, I can't say I wouldn't make the same plea myself, and damn the consequences, but US citizens are asked to hold two very incongruous thoughts in our heads at the same time.
Thought 1: The Russian people are being punished deeply by sanctions because they "allow" Putin to use their military to attack Ukraine and don't depose him.
Thought 2: The wishes of fleeing Ukrainians must be considered to form a no-fly zone, damn the consequences (the consequences being World War III) because they are not in control of Zelensky's idiotic decision to sell himself and his country out to American interests for I'm not sure what at this point.
You can't reconcile those two points.
Also, as an aside, are we really sure Zelensky is still in the Ukraine? All I see are videos. He could quite literally be anywhere. I've been wondering this for days as I keep being told what a valiant, patriotic man he is, the quintessential leader.
The hero of democracy just banned all other political parties, including those in parliament now, and shut down all tv stations but the government one. I think there’s actually more press freedom in Russia at the moment. So we won’t be hearing about his Multimillion dollar Florida mansion, his offshore fortune or his ties to Kolomoisky, greyzone backer of the president, the neo Nazi Azov battalion and also a large investor in Burisma. Too bad, everyone seems like they want to know him better. Such interesting connections he has. Then you throw in Canadaks Ukrainian Nazi connections and Nancy’s Nazi salute. I really need a spare wall and some red string at this point.
Lmao Suspended? Oh, okay, no problem. And no it’s not reasonable. This is not what democracies do in war. They usually form a national front but continue to debate points of contention.
Debunked? You meant to say “conceded.” There are no claims in my post. Just facts.
Per Freddie deBoer's blog, most Americans will read this and struggle with the is/ought distinction. Is it somehow unreasonable for Ukrainian civilians to want this? Not at all. These women may well have husbands on the front line or at least protecting their place of residence. They've had to carry young kids on a long, uncomfortable trek to a foreign country, uncertain of what to do when they get there, how long before they can go home, and if they will even have a home to go to. If they know that Nato could end Russian air supremacy and protect their homeland, the question isn't why they want it, but why they wouldn't want it.
But then comes the ought. Because someone wants us to do something is not a moral imperative for us to do it. These are separate questions - what is right for the Ukrainian refugee and her infant son, and what is right for the people asked to do the fighting, and their wider societies. They are different questions. The former must certainly inform the latter, but it's one piece of information among many.
I agree that a peace deal is the right thing to do, including some kind of self-determination for Luhansk and the Donbass - much as Minsk II promised.
I understand, to an extent, the desire to punish Putin. No matter what, this is a violent invasion. But as long as the Russian question remains in eastern Ukraine, this isn't going to be resolved. Crimea as Russia is already a fait accompli; this plus an autonomous Donbass/Luhansk and a neutral Ukraine can be counterbalanced by (for example) energy exports to Ukraine at a discount rate, or something similar. I believe the US can, along with Germany, broker a peace here if we desire to do so.
In another comment, there are ways to put "donate" buttons. Who the Heck Is Jim Treacher has one. If you put one up, I would gladly donate to help pay for your time over there. I appreciate having someone honestly reporting rather than just regurgitating DOD spin. I think many of us do.
Michael, thanks for interviewing people on the ground and trying to understand the situation. The stress people are going through is enormous. Some member of my family are still in Ukraine.
I wish you were able to read Ukrainian and analyze local news. I think your representation of Zelensky as "lobbyist for World War III" is incorrect. Even in his congress speech he've mentioned alternatives
"we offer an alternative. You know what kind of defense systems we need, S-300 and other similar systems."
As early as Mar 12 at Q&A with the press he said the following (I've translated this myself, and tried to be precise). https://youtu.be/uaYIv7EsXi4?t=1689
"Concerning "closing the sky", the answer is very simple. It seems to me like some representatives of the western world. I say it like that because we aren't part of any treaty, so I separate like that.
It seems to me that they will be sitting in a cafe and until the bomp falls on that exact cafe, they won't believe it can happen to them. And until that moment nobody is going to close the sky. I have this feeling. I 100% don't wish it on anybody. And we don't want this. And don't want the whole world, the whole europe to feel our pain. No, I think politicians have experience and they have to understand before it hurts your people and do something. Especially if you have the means to do something. "Closing the sky" is possible. There are a couple alternatives. There are missile defense systems that can be delivered to Ukraine. Ukraine has found which counties have them. In detail, on the warehouse level, so you understand how we work. We didn't just say "help us", we asked those that have them "please give them to us". Then we understood that it can be difficult just to give, so we said we are ready to buy them. We are ready to take on debt, we are ready to spend the last money from our budget and pay right away.
I'm briefly saying that we had a lot of meetings, every time there were reasons, and now the way you have it on your TV is "editing". Editing of our actions. We are ready to show where, we are ready to transport, we are ready to deliver, we are ready to find alternative routes to deliver. So, we were doing a lot to answer the question about alternatives to "closing the sky".
Same as the planes, same as when we were told that we don't have pilots for some of the planes. Same as when we found planes that we have pilots for, and then we found pilots that are ready to be Ukrainian citizens. The people of the world were ready to give an alternative to "closing the sky". Everybody is ready, but not those who decide this question. Unfortunately. "
Q: Is there any chance that Americans will "close the sky" in Ukraine?
Oleksiy Arestovych: I think "we" will "close the sky". In the past 24 hours we've shot down 7 air vessels. 4 planes, 2 helicopters, some missiles and one UAV. We just need weaponry.
Another great piece, Michael. It absolutely rips the heart to consider the tragedy of this war on a human scale. The women you've talked to are just normal people whose entire world has been torn apart. It's just disgusting. It's totally understandable that they would grasp for anything they perceive, rightly or wrongly, as a step that will save their family and country from death and destruction.
I blame the west for allowing Zelinsky to become some cult hero. I admire his resolve, even if he seeks aid that would be counterproductive. Instead of hero worship, the west should be clearly setting the frame work for aid that will and won't be provided. Instead we get a muddle without consistent clarity. We aren't doing Ukraine any favors with this approach. Of course in the US we have way too many war mongers in DC, so it's not surprising
Great comments and great work by you Michael, thanks.
Here's joke: God told Poland it could wipe out both Germany and Russia, but had to decide which one first. The Poles thought a minute then told God, "Germany first, then Russia--business before pleasure". Ironically, the Poles and Ukrainians have had their ages-old disputes-Galicia-as well.
The Anglo-American financial oligarchy is now on the receiving end. “No fly zones” are a desperate and futile attempt to flip the chess board.
The Sino-Russian alliance is a reality and already signals that a new operating system is coming online; the Western oligarchy just doesn’t have the same economic leverage anymore, and their financial system is sinking. They’ve spent the last decades trying to usher in a post-industrial utopia in the West such that they’re no longer in a position to impose their will on the other multi-polar powers. Meanwhile, China leap-frogged in their economy, Russia introduced a new generation of weapons, and now the Anglo-American oligarchy is being dealt with in the only way they understand: force. It’s taking the form of dismantling their Ukraine Nazi operation.
Ukraine could easily agree to be a neutral country, two Minsk accords were ignored. The Western oligarchy just won’t allow any of it. Zelensky is simply acting as their insane puppet.
Let’s hope Americans and Western citizens continue to wake up and realize the extent to which the Western financial oligarchy and their system is waning and has increasingly turned into one great worthless financial casino that needs to be replaced ASAP. The oligarchy won’t ever let go of power, so it needs to be taken from them.
Banking reorganization (Glass-Steagall), cancelling all the funny money (the financial derivatives bubble), and taking back control of sovereign credit creation in order to go back to a productive future-orientated economy is crucial. There are many mutually beneficial projects that Russia, China, and the USA could be collaborating on, and that’s actually the oligarchy’s greatest fear.
Trump went out of his way to establish a direct relationship with both the leadership of Russia and China (rightly so), and that was arguably his biggest sin in the eyes of the oligarchy, for it meant the overthrowing of the entire “balance of power” system that had been devised to keep nations at each others’ throats since the post-war period.
There is definitely an alternative to the current system of globalization, but it means seeing through the Anglo-American propaganda on BOTH Russia and China. Otherwise, otherwise we’ll always be stuck in the zero sum game corset until it’s too late.
https://canadianpatriot.org/2022/03/04/the-greater-eurasian-partnership-revives-americas-forgotten-hamiltonian-tradition/
"The Sino-Russian alliance is a reality and already signals that a new operating system is coming online; the Western oligarchy just doesn’t have the same economic leverage anymore, and their financial system is sinking."
This might mean the end of the petrodollar.
The yuan has fallen 12% against the dollar since April and China spends far more time concerned about capital flight than any country sincerely worried about currency appreciation.
First, the media sanctified Faucci.
Now it's Zelensky.
Wash and repeat.
You missed Cuomo.
Thanks Michael, great article. I think at this point Zelensky is echoing the famous last words of Gen. Custer....”Where did all those Fuckin Indians come from?” .....Both sharing the same huge miscalculations, they have now ended up on the same hill, and sorry brother, the Calvary ain’t coming to save Mr Zelensky either, much to his surprise.. This whole episode is built on a foundation of lies, and innocent people are always the ones to suffer. This country, the administration running it, have been strangely silent on any peace proposals..... should we not be the leaders in trying to find a solution to this insanity? All we get is the supposed pride in keeping Russian cats out of the international cat show. I’m just so fucking sick of the steady stream of lies.
Continual lies, from corporate media and our govt
Thank you you made me laugh out loud
geesh... real journalism from someone on the ground who has actually talked to people there.
Thanks.
Amazing isn’t it!!
This is the BEST piece I’ve read on this catastrophe!! I am beyond disappointed in our “leaders” espousing widening this war. It is ridiculous that Michael Tracy has the clearest and best foreign policy advice.
As the person being praised here, I agree about the ridiculousness!
In Biden's defense, he (or at least whoever is holding the broomstick in his shirt and working his jaw for him) knows exactly what a No Fly Zone means and isn't having any of it. Let's see how long that lasts.
I too have my fingers crossed that Biden and his string-pullers can hold the line against the NFZ just like they held the line against the Deep State's sabotage of the Afghanistan withdrawal. I also wish more people on the right would concede that Biden and his string-pullers have quite clearly been pushing back against the most ghoulish members of the media (i.e. Chuck Todd).
Yeah, I'm no fan of Biden, never have been, but it's disheartening how many Repubs who were clamoring for withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2019 suddenly started shouting about betrayal and abandonment when Biden finally followed through on Trump policy in 2021.
"She believes that “Closing the Sky” will save the male relatives she left behind, end the war, and enable her to return home. But she had little concept of what a No Fly Zone really is, how it would be executed, or even that it would involve military action. And that’s not her fault at all."
Same can be said for American consumers of the broadcast Misinformation Elite. Apparently there was a YouGov poll last week that discovered overwhelming support for a No Fly Zone among Americans (or was it British?), until it was explained to them exactly what a No Fly Zone meant, after which support dropped below 30%. No link, sorry.
Thank god someone had the courage to explain it to them.
Here's the link: https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2022/03/09/fewer-americans-support-no-fly-zones (I only found it because you gave me the YouGov part. I kept hearing about it but didn't know who did it, so thank you.)
I feel for these people, and were I in the same situation, I can't say I wouldn't make the same plea myself, and damn the consequences, but US citizens are asked to hold two very incongruous thoughts in our heads at the same time.
Thought 1: The Russian people are being punished deeply by sanctions because they "allow" Putin to use their military to attack Ukraine and don't depose him.
Thought 2: The wishes of fleeing Ukrainians must be considered to form a no-fly zone, damn the consequences (the consequences being World War III) because they are not in control of Zelensky's idiotic decision to sell himself and his country out to American interests for I'm not sure what at this point.
You can't reconcile those two points.
Also, as an aside, are we really sure Zelensky is still in the Ukraine? All I see are videos. He could quite literally be anywhere. I've been wondering this for days as I keep being told what a valiant, patriotic man he is, the quintessential leader.
That last video of him was done with a green screen. I think he's been in Poland for quite a while.
Thanks. It's nice to know I'm not alone in my suspicions.
I'm sure Z is busy filling his off-shore bank accounts when he has down-time from his video work.
Big time thanks for being there and enduring the ignorant Twitter trolls.
The hero of democracy just banned all other political parties, including those in parliament now, and shut down all tv stations but the government one. I think there’s actually more press freedom in Russia at the moment. So we won’t be hearing about his Multimillion dollar Florida mansion, his offshore fortune or his ties to Kolomoisky, greyzone backer of the president, the neo Nazi Azov battalion and also a large investor in Burisma. Too bad, everyone seems like they want to know him better. Such interesting connections he has. Then you throw in Canadaks Ukrainian Nazi connections and Nancy’s Nazi salute. I really need a spare wall and some red string at this point.
Those 11 parties were not banned but suspended for the period of martial law. You can use google translate to check the source https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/1532022-41765
For the county that has ongoing hot war and martial law that seams like a reasonable decision.
I'm not going to research your other claims after debunking the first one. Fair?
Lmao Suspended? Oh, okay, no problem. And no it’s not reasonable. This is not what democracies do in war. They usually form a national front but continue to debate points of contention.
Debunked? You meant to say “conceded.” There are no claims in my post. Just facts.
"Close the sky" has become the new NPC slogan, swiftly replacing "follow the science".
Per Freddie deBoer's blog, most Americans will read this and struggle with the is/ought distinction. Is it somehow unreasonable for Ukrainian civilians to want this? Not at all. These women may well have husbands on the front line or at least protecting their place of residence. They've had to carry young kids on a long, uncomfortable trek to a foreign country, uncertain of what to do when they get there, how long before they can go home, and if they will even have a home to go to. If they know that Nato could end Russian air supremacy and protect their homeland, the question isn't why they want it, but why they wouldn't want it.
But then comes the ought. Because someone wants us to do something is not a moral imperative for us to do it. These are separate questions - what is right for the Ukrainian refugee and her infant son, and what is right for the people asked to do the fighting, and their wider societies. They are different questions. The former must certainly inform the latter, but it's one piece of information among many.
But we have to inteRrOgate out pRiviLege and hONor their LIVed expEriENce.
I agree that a peace deal is the right thing to do, including some kind of self-determination for Luhansk and the Donbass - much as Minsk II promised.
I understand, to an extent, the desire to punish Putin. No matter what, this is a violent invasion. But as long as the Russian question remains in eastern Ukraine, this isn't going to be resolved. Crimea as Russia is already a fait accompli; this plus an autonomous Donbass/Luhansk and a neutral Ukraine can be counterbalanced by (for example) energy exports to Ukraine at a discount rate, or something similar. I believe the US can, along with Germany, broker a peace here if we desire to do so.
In another comment, there are ways to put "donate" buttons. Who the Heck Is Jim Treacher has one. If you put one up, I would gladly donate to help pay for your time over there. I appreciate having someone honestly reporting rather than just regurgitating DOD spin. I think many of us do.
Michael, thanks for interviewing people on the ground and trying to understand the situation. The stress people are going through is enormous. Some member of my family are still in Ukraine.
I wish you were able to read Ukrainian and analyze local news. I think your representation of Zelensky as "lobbyist for World War III" is incorrect. Even in his congress speech he've mentioned alternatives
"we offer an alternative. You know what kind of defense systems we need, S-300 and other similar systems."
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2022/03/politics/ukraine-zelensky-congress-speech-annotated/
As early as Mar 12 at Q&A with the press he said the following (I've translated this myself, and tried to be precise). https://youtu.be/uaYIv7EsXi4?t=1689
"Concerning "closing the sky", the answer is very simple. It seems to me like some representatives of the western world. I say it like that because we aren't part of any treaty, so I separate like that.
It seems to me that they will be sitting in a cafe and until the bomp falls on that exact cafe, they won't believe it can happen to them. And until that moment nobody is going to close the sky. I have this feeling. I 100% don't wish it on anybody. And we don't want this. And don't want the whole world, the whole europe to feel our pain. No, I think politicians have experience and they have to understand before it hurts your people and do something. Especially if you have the means to do something. "Closing the sky" is possible. There are a couple alternatives. There are missile defense systems that can be delivered to Ukraine. Ukraine has found which counties have them. In detail, on the warehouse level, so you understand how we work. We didn't just say "help us", we asked those that have them "please give them to us". Then we understood that it can be difficult just to give, so we said we are ready to buy them. We are ready to take on debt, we are ready to spend the last money from our budget and pay right away.
I'm briefly saying that we had a lot of meetings, every time there were reasons, and now the way you have it on your TV is "editing". Editing of our actions. We are ready to show where, we are ready to transport, we are ready to deliver, we are ready to find alternative routes to deliver. So, we were doing a lot to answer the question about alternatives to "closing the sky".
Same as the planes, same as when we were told that we don't have pilots for some of the planes. Same as when we found planes that we have pilots for, and then we found pilots that are ready to be Ukrainian citizens. The people of the world were ready to give an alternative to "closing the sky". Everybody is ready, but not those who decide this question. Unfortunately. "
Here is Zelensky close adviser speaking on a popular show on Mar 16th. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHuPeK-maXg&t=667s
Q: Is there any chance that Americans will "close the sky" in Ukraine?
Oleksiy Arestovych: I think "we" will "close the sky". In the past 24 hours we've shot down 7 air vessels. 4 planes, 2 helicopters, some missiles and one UAV. We just need weaponry.
Another great piece, Michael. It absolutely rips the heart to consider the tragedy of this war on a human scale. The women you've talked to are just normal people whose entire world has been torn apart. It's just disgusting. It's totally understandable that they would grasp for anything they perceive, rightly or wrongly, as a step that will save their family and country from death and destruction.
I blame the west for allowing Zelinsky to become some cult hero. I admire his resolve, even if he seeks aid that would be counterproductive. Instead of hero worship, the west should be clearly setting the frame work for aid that will and won't be provided. Instead we get a muddle without consistent clarity. We aren't doing Ukraine any favors with this approach. Of course in the US we have way too many war mongers in DC, so it's not surprising
Great comments and great work by you Michael, thanks.
Here's joke: God told Poland it could wipe out both Germany and Russia, but had to decide which one first. The Poles thought a minute then told God, "Germany first, then Russia--business before pleasure". Ironically, the Poles and Ukrainians have had their ages-old disputes-Galicia-as well.
Thank you for reporting these people's perspectives and what they are pushing for. I appreciate it.
Me too - MTracey doing real reporting. It's like the good old days. My subscription just re-upped and I was glad to go another year.