But I am sure this came as a surprise for Washington, not! And the "horror" doesn't stop here:
In addition, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told Russian daily
Vedomosti that BRICS Bridge could provide member states an opportunity
to make settlements using digital assets of central banks linked to
national currencies.
You see, that is what happens when one begins to think that the it (in case of a nation) is a measure of everything and everyone, while being rather oblivious to a lucky coincidence of circumstances which provided the US with a winning lottery ticket in 1945. Now, the winnings have been completely squandered on self-aggrandizing and cultural suicide. Which brings us to this.
People, rightly, point out that Colonel Macgregor continues to perpetuate fairy tales about USSR/Russia and WW II. Keep in mind, Macgregor is a product of the American military education and cultural milieu whose foundation is a a set of confabulated (in reality--stolen valor) military history and primitive propaganda, which in Colonel's case is exacerbated by him being subjected in Germany to German "version" of history, that is to say a complete crap. Colonel doesn't speak Russian, he has zero understanding of Russian idiosyncrasies and, of course, he has never been to Podolsk (Main Archive of Russian Armed Forces) and doesn't know real history of Russia and Russian military. The result is predictable, his continuous repetition of the primitive propaganda (GULAG, one million "executed" RKKA soldiers et al) most likely is a defensive reaction to the exposure of the United States and its Army as an obsolete force with a dismal war record.
Being a man of honor, he tries to be objective admitting West's decline, but he remains an American exceptionalist and will continue to be such sinking deeper into the cognitive dissonance and disregarding real historians and real Russia scholars. Hence his recent book is a complete military scholarship catastrophe, which included dear to him Battle of 73 Easting, which he included, together with inconsequential Battle of Mons into the list of "Five battles that changed the face of modern war". I can only reproduce the diagnosis by great Michael Brenner:
Americanism provides a Unified Field Theory of self-identity, collective enterprise, and the Republic’s enduring meaning. When one element is felt to be in jeopardy, the integrity of the whole edifice becomes vulnerable. In the past, American mythology energized the country in ways that helped it to thrive. Today, it is a dangerous hallucinogen that traps Americans in a time warp more and more distant from reality. There is a muted reflection of this strained condition in the evident truth that Americans have become an insecure people. They grow increasingly anxious about who they are, what they are worth and what life will be like down the road.
You can see manifestations of this insecurity all over the place, and Macgregor is not an exception. So, in his imagination, more Russians must be executed personally by Stalin for him to grasp at the last straw of America's "high moral ground" trying to defend indefensible.
P.S. How Brusilov's Offensive which dwarfs Battle of Mons in every single respect and laid the foundation for Deep Operations didn't make Colonel's list is a sheer mystery... not.
I am by far not the only one who saw this fate for US Dollar and, frankly, it wasn't that difficult to predict. Now there are some tangibles on this matter.
Pretty much self-explanatory. Russia can afford to sell whatever she wants for whatever currency she wants. She can pump oil to China and get payments in Yans or Euros if she decides to do so. The answer is simple--Russia is a superpower and she behaves as such.
Movement away from the dollar can also be seen in Russia's trade with
other parts of the world, such as the European Union. Since 2016, trade
between Moscow and the bloc has been mainly in Euros, with its current
share sitting at 46 percent.
That brings us to this point Michael Hudson made recently when speaking on Western economic "science". Remember?
Indeed, they don't. It is nearly impossible to explain to Wall Street banker what military-economic power balance is and how it influences prices and currencies. For some dude with degree in "economics" from Western university, who is getting ready to plunge into the world of financial speculation, trading in figments of imagination and intangible myths that is, and who is brought up, in the words of General Latiff, on a steady diet of Hollywood portrayal of a war, connection between hyper-sonic missile technology and economic implosion of the United States is beyond his (her) sensory grasp. But the connection is there and it is very direct. The US can bomb Iraq into the stone age for Iraq's desire, same as Libya's Qaddafi, to sell their oil for currencies other than US Dollar, but Russia cannot be bombed. Well, she can be bombed, but the United States will also cease to exist--so here is a direct connection. Russia unloaded all of her US Treasuries and trades with anybody she wants in whatever currency she desires.
Many people from "elites" still cannot recognize a simple fact that the MAIN pillar of US Dollar system, apart from "trust", is not even US manufacturing capacity, which is largely gone, but US military power on which US Dollar's primacy was based. Not anymore. US military is turning into a hollow force with an astonishing speed. It is somewhat reminiscent of the process of a decline of the former Soviet Armed Forces in 1990s Russia. While not at that level of decay yet, there is nothing realistically which can prevent US Armed Forces from hitting such a level. This is yet to be seen if it goes there but the United States is in no position anymore to enforce anything militarily even against regional power such as Iran without sustaining huge losses, both material and reputational. Against China? Hm. Not within First Island Chain. Now consider the fact that Europe has Euro, Russia has Ruble, China has Yan and China and Russia begin to trade in mutual currencies, while US-China trade war accelerates and there you go--the "after-dollar" global picture emerges and... well, just look at this picture:
Isn't that cute how gold "suddenly" (within a year) decided to grow, despite all attempts to suppress its "price". And I am not even talking about the oil price. Somebody is laughing all the way to the bank. In related news, one of the reasons for the US to feel somewhat uneasy--here is a video of Russian Navy's incessant combat drills, this time with Frigate Admiral Essen facing off with two supersonic P-35 anti-shipping missiles fired from famous "sotka" (100), aka Utes, site at the Crimean shore.
I have to admit--I love this new ship uniform. Seems elegant and easy on your skin. But the thing which conveyed profoundly what Russians think about current historic moment was this simple comment by some Russian person under this video by Russia's Defense Ministry:
Translation:It used to be that in Soviet times I didn't watch program "Vremya" (Time, main Soviet and Russian official news broadcast), because everything was good... the harvest was great, housing construction proceeded apace, we had atomic and hydrogen bombs, the army was strong... but after the collapse of the USSR, before Putin, it became a nightmare. Then Putin came, the life started to return to normalcy... and now my calmness returned to me as if back in the USSR... the harvest is great, the construction of housing goes ahead, the rearmament of our armed forces proceeds in all directions... this is bliss. Most important, not to allow anyone to rob our Russia as was happening in condemned 1990s... no any maidans in Russia. It is so peaceful to live now... it is a bliss.
This is a profoundly Russian observation. It is shared by majority of Russians and that is what, in the end, decides the issue. Russia can exist only as superpower or none at all. This lesson was learned well.
After President Putin and China's Leader Xi Jingping concluded their first meeting in Moscow today with press-conference, one of the statements by Vladimir Putin certainly stood out (deliberately in Russian):
It is, by now, almost anti-climactic--the way genuine multi-polarity unfolds--with China and Russia claiming, step-by-step, independence from Western (primarily American) institutions in every single field--from economy to "security". It is especially contrasting with what Daniel Larison described as Trump's Venezuela Hallucination:
It is, indeed, embarrassing, but in the same time--how is that different from Obama's "Russian economy left in tatters"--a hallucination and imbecility applauded by a bunch of Democratic ignoramuses with the aid of foreign policy "experts" of GOP such as late terrorism supporter McCain or his buddy in delusion Lindsey Graham. No difference whatsoever--it is still same ol' myopia (myopia? how about being retarded, literally) of which I write for years now.
But at least give Associated Press a credit for allowing this to be made public:
Obviously, Eastern Front in general and Operation Bagration in particular were the key for success of Allied Breakout from Normandy, but even brief reminder is good enough for now. It takes nothing from heroism, dedication and sacrifice of Allies: Americans, Britons, Canadians, Poles and others who stormed Normandy beaches on June 6, 1944. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. But on the 75th Anniversary of D-Day it comes with a sense of dark irony how non-stop Cold War by the combined West against USSR/Russia and now China already resulted in a dramatic decline of the combined West and inevitably leads to a serious clash of (Western)European and American interests. Why? Because there is only so much is available to go around and, as I stated huge number of times, no currency worth anything unless it rests on the real military (and by implication, economic) capability. I reiterate it--REAL. This very Daniel Larison, on Trump's example, conveys how American political class played a key role in America's worst nightmare coming to reality, with China and Russia not willing to play by American rules and how it, in the words of Pink Floyd, missed the starting gun.
This episode isn’t that important by itself, but it shows how easily
Trump can be convinced of the reality of things that haven’t happened
and how readily he will accept any story, no matter how unfounded it may
be, if it flatters him and bolsters his agenda. That makes him
unusually easy to manipulate and provoke, and it makes him an
exceptionally easy mark for misinformation. That puts the president’s
decision-making completely at the mercy of the advisers that control
what he sees and hears.
Substitute "Trump" with "American elites" and it will describe really well the overall state of the affairs in the shining city upon a hill.
UPDATE from 06/06/19: As I stated not for once, United States will exit START (strategic arms limitations) treaty and Russia was preparing for that. Here is Putin today:
Translation:Russia's newest hyper-sonic weapons will be able to protect Russia even in case of START-III ceasing to exist.
Putin added (in Russian), very ominously, that if nobody wants START's extension, well, Russia is not going to insist. What will be demonstrated next? I can only speculate but REAL, fully integrated echeloned anti-missile system covering all of Russia is being constructed as I type this. We are yet to learn about actual capabilities of S-500 which surpass by far those of S-400 (imagine that). Plus, in another little news-piece, as Natsionalnaya Oborona reports (in Russian), Poliment-Redut, which is an anti-air and missile system on Russia's latest frigates of pr. 22350 (and reportedly will be installed on two remaining nuclear cruisers), will receive long-range (400 kilometers) missile based on 40H6 for S-400. So, make your own conclusions.
