Previously posted on my Facebook Page.
PONDER. Especially in the U.S. or in richer economies, one day of war or one day of disagreement in a global political table means (non)buying/selling of stocks. Then Wall Street waits and chills. Progress in talks means millions$ and billions$ in one day! Meanwhile, bored peeps "bet" online. Wager on "to be or not to be." Venezuela, Cuba, Greenland, Taiwan (per China), Lebanon (per Israel). Would Volo Zelensky launch a new drone, per post-G7 summit? Etc etcetera. Like this is the World Cup or NBA Finals.
Many of my brilliant Left-wing friends don't see that, actually. They just want to tell you they are smarter than most. Well, a much younger Shayne Coplan is smarter than them or us, grizzled analysts of geopolitics, LOL! Prediction market, right? 😏😒🤨
Good Morning America: “Moscow hit by largest Ukrainian attack since the start of the war.” Whoa! Right after the EU tried to work things out at G7 in France, with President Trump on centerstage? Wow! Of course, Russia will retaliate. BRICS buddy China can probably persuade Vladimir Putin to stand down a bit, or Mr Trump can also cool down the Kremlin? But then, Russia is not "mellow touch." This Ukraine move easily derails what current peace negotiations are being worked out, this time Europe in it.
Volodymyr Zelensky is a complete magnificent idiot. Since the Iran crisis seems to be subsiding, now it's time to regain the limelight again? More military aid coming to Kyiv, and onto Volo’s offshore accounts? 🇷🇺☮️🇺🇦
CBS: “Trump promised a tougher Iran deal. How it compares with Obama's.” How do we compare, really? You see, when Barack Obama sat in 2009, China/Russia’s BRICS was also born. But it took a few years before the trade bloc gained, globally, and exerted influence, mainly on the trade territory. Then there was the Arab Spring in 2011, the impact of which Mr Obama largely ignored. Recheck how we handled Afghanistan and his upgrade of U.S. military aid to Israel before he left White House in 2016.
Fact of human existence: Geopolitics evolves and alters the grid. Superpower leaders and their so-called allies need to adapt.
I reiterate this as I did before the advent of Donald Trump in Washington. Barack Obama is a traditional hawk, not the coolest dove that his doowops on Social Media chant, just because he said the nicest words.
Mr Trump and Iran: He “relaxed” the nukes/WMD talk and zoomed in on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, reassures the Arab League that their economic agenda carries on, and deals with the Iranian people’s recovery from the gargantuan pain by releasing their $24 billion frozen money (+ Gulf states' pledge of $300 billion investment fund). These are also in consonance with China’s MENA trade stakes. All of these will hopefully be finalized in Switzerland tomorrow.
Tell me, Donald Trump’s playbook isn’t good because it isn’t “tough” enough? What is tough? Pulverize Iran to bloody smithereens? 🏛🗽🏛
Time: “Trump Says Netanyahu Has to Be 'More Responsible With Respect to Lebanon'.” The President adds: “I'm not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and with Hezbollah," amid concerns the parallel conflict could derail the U.S.-Iran peace deal.
I am kind of baffled that many seem shocked or infuriated by President Trump’s Iran moves. I am thumbs-up, from Day 1. These: <>Long talks to avoid a U.S. military operation after the IRGC massacred thousands of protesters. <>Decision to hit after the negotiation failed. <>The erasure of the Supreme Leader. <>Meeting with China (Iran's top oil client and BRICS boss); right after, Vladimir Putin conferred with the CCP. <>The day before the deal was announced, the UAE (another BRICS member) pledged a $15 billion aid to Iran. <>Per the paperwork, I concur with the release of the frozen $24 billion Iranian assets and Gulf nations’ proposed $300 billion (whoa!) for Iran's reconstruction, provided Tehran meets the U.S. requirements. And more.
I mean, wow! These happen when the world's superpowers (starting with America and China) decide to fix stuff rather than use a crisis as a tool for a power play contest. ☮️☮️☮️
The Guardian: “Stephen Colbert used unauthorized 'Peanuts' music on 'Late Show.' CBS is paying up.” The lowdown: CBS reached a licensing agreement with Lee Mendelson Film Productions to pay an undisclosed fee for the unauthorized use of the Peanuts track "Linus and Lucy" during the May 21 finale of The Late Show. The copyright owners, who have been actively enforcing their rights, agreed to donate all proceeds to World Central Kitchen.
Left-wingers and their hallelujah peeps on Social Media now trumpet that Mr Colbert himself has donated the moolah to charity. I am not saying he doesn't give to the poor, he does as do other known people. In fact, cartel bosses and Mafia dons, powerful politicians and dubious corporate gods, also heavily donate to charity. You dig?
Of course, this comedy/drama emanates from President Trump’s lawsuit vs CBS, regarding the editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris. Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS, agreed to a $16 million settlement with Mr Trump. Mr Colbert blames The D for his termination; CBS counters his show ain’t earning. (Note: “Late Show” viewership average is only half of the numbers that Fox’s Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld individually generate.)
My issue? I don’t dig Stephen Colbert’s cheap trick as he goes out of CBS, in cahoots with his TV crew. Juvenile mischief. The shrewd “sabotage” could even be planned out with Lee Mendelson FP, who knows? A probe is necessary. But still, the tactic is what I call “unprofessionally immature” (sic). Oh well. Overall, I see all these as grandiose frivolity while the world hurts from gut-level imperatives. 🤨😞🤨
My pleasure from various forms of entertainment, such as music, movies, sports, literature–are not affected by my political bent or ideological beliefs, or even my cultural/religious background. Sure, I get pissed by Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young’s bloated (overkill?) partisanship angst these days, but I still listen to their old songs. I am a fan of their art/music. Sean Penn, Javier Bardem, Meryl Streep, and those other mouthy Hollywood liberals? Give me a good movie or TV series, I’ll go watch.
Conservatives or Right-wingers? Before I gave up my virulent Left-wing girth (in the mid-1990s) I was high on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s southern blues-rock (still is), and of course, I remain as a Clint Eastwood diehard, from his spaghetti western days to directorial craft. I do revisit the classics by John Wayne and Charlton Heston. Etc etcetera.
In all, I never was interested in “The Apprentice” or listened to Donald Trump talk about himself on TV or elsewhere, but I essentially thumb-up his political playbook or POTUS policies. Need I say more? 🎼😎🎥
Associated Press: “Federal government seeks to halt 1st U.S. reparations program for Black people.” I am not against redemption per se or correcting the evils that humanity committed in the past. But I’d prefer a more realistic, doable system on how to implement the “paying up” process. Not ideological overreach, that the “new” Left is hot and high with. Anyhow, imagine the budget to “fact-check” lineage or direct links to slavery in the U.S. that lasted for 246 years? From Jamestown 1619 to 1865’s 13th Amendment.
There’ll be whole lotta court hearings and piles of paperwork, massive research. Note that there are approximately 49.2 million Black Americans living in the United States, and we are not counting the biracial population. Meanwhile, what about the people who were colonized by powerful countries in history? Do we have “reparations programs” for them, too? 🏛🗽🏛
No comments:
Post a Comment