Who Stays, Who Goes.

You know, almost like Clash (who I never liked, frankly) who asked in 1981 this existential question on if they should beat it and fade into obscurity or stick around a while longer. 

We may now start answering partially (I underscore it) this question in terms of who should stay or who should go, now(c). My answer starts with "expertdom", most, not all, though (that is very important to keep in mind)  modern "experts", are not really experts in anything at all. The first and most massive layer of this "expertdom" are all kinds of social media "influencers" from all continents who do not know shit from shinola, but because being "educated" in fashion design, theater, "economics", philosophy, political "science", marketing, media and financial "analysis", among many other things of similar nature, the only application of their lack of any useful skills is in the emotion-driven "influencing" of the same kind of impressionable losers like themselves in social media. While "influencing" a fairly large strata of humanity (primarily from "developed" countries where, mostly, youth is addicted to exposing themselves on social networks) through their "expertise", this cabal of ignoramuses can sell only personal smugness and serve as a good conduit for rumors, stupidity, conspiracy theories and wholesale detachment from reality, sometimes aided with a very specific political agenda. This army of "experts" is vast--it spreads across a number of platforms, from Youtube to blogosphere, and it is precisely a category of people who are, generally, unemployable in any serious field, other than adding to the numbers of amorphous office plankton.  This "army" is doomed and it should go, despite their inevitable desperate attempts to stay--a whole day worth of honest work, are you kidding me? Those people think that they are too good for that. 

As journalist Dmitri Olshansky warns (in Russian) about Russia in this particular case and possible upheaval:

Все эти люди, из которых состоят Москва и Питер, Московская область, а отчасти уже и Казань, Нижний, Сочи, Екатеринбург, - эти кафе и турфирмы, дизайнеры и пиарщики, эти бесконечные сервисы, торговые центры, апартаменты и их арендаторы и владельцы, магазинчики, торгующие не лекарствами и не гречкой, а чем-то вроде бы второстепенным, кинотеатры, охранники офисов, ремонтники, строители и таксисты, в конце концов. Что будет с ними? В отличие от военных заводов и газопроводов, эти люди не воспринимаются как необходимый, жизненно важный элемент нашей жизни.

Translation:  All these people, who constitute Moscow and Piter, Moscow Region, partially Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Sochi, Yekaterinburg--all those cafes and tourist firms, designers and PR specialists, all those endless services, shopping malls, apartments and their renters and owners, all those small stores which sell not the buckwheat, not medicine but something of secondary importance, movie theaters, office guards, repairmen, construction workers, can drivers, in the end. What is going to happen to them? Unlike military plants and gas pipe-lines, these people are not perceived as an essential element of our life.

Well, Olshansky himself is, obviously, an "expert", albeit of a more privileged kind--he gets paid for his "expertise"--and he immediately shows us his level of understanding of the problem. It is not a good level. For starters, who said that "repairmen" and especially "construction workers" are not essential elements of out lives? Olshansky? I have some news for him: electricians, plumbers, let alone contractors, will be needed ALWAYS and they always existed and will continue to exist within the "corridor" of fluctuation of economy--sometimes easy going, sometimes tough--but these professions are not going anywhere. PR specialists, however, together with many (not all) realtors should go--these are largely useless occupations, together with most "marketing" specialists, stock brokers and other financial "analysts" who are in the business of driving primarily useless wants and add nothing, other than adding to the tax base, of real value to society other than erecting massive self-licking ice cream cone. 

Olshansky is worried that if not supported by Russian state those people may become a good fuel for "opposition" (which primarily itself is the same type of "service economy" so called kreakls) or even go into criminal business. I hear him, my question however, including understanding of a fact that people's lives and livelihoods must be the center of government's concern, is if he looked outside lately to see what is going on globally? In the end, Russia has next full week off (all of it paid), next 6 months automatic extension of benefits and privileges (in Russian), and we are just beginning to see what measures Russia is undertaking to weather a global geopolitical, medical and economic hurricane. I am pretty sure we will hear more, much more, from not only Putin himself, but last time I checked this new guy Mishustin increasingly looks like a real professional and people's man against the background of former Prime Minister known for his inadequacy to his position. So, Olshansky's piece is one of those "expert" opinion pieces which is written in haste. I, as an example, wouldn't mind to see Moscow's High School of Economics dissolved with its "professors" taking always in demand jobs of sweeping streets in Russia, while most of its students transferred to colleges to study metal-works, modern welding, tool and die making, you know--skills which are in high demand even today in Russia. No? Of course. This is not to mention the fact, which Olshansky MUST know if he considers himself an "expert", that it is precisely THIS strata of secondary, if not tertiary service economy young people who are the fertile ground for operations by the so called "opposition" and liberal (a euphemism for radically Russophobic) media in Russia. They are also a MAIN driver in support for oligarchy and import of the most insane cultural practices from the West.  So, let's call them what they are. Marxists called them lumpen. I can remind Olshansky what lumpen is:

Of or relating to dispossessed, often displaced people who have been cut off from the socioeconomic class with which they would ordinarily be identified: lumpen intellectuals unable to find work in their fields.

There is a reason that this type of public goes in Russia under insulting condescending term Kreakls, even when they nominally are not from the creative field of arts. Nobody needs PR "specialists", last time I checked (10 minutes ago), St. Petersburg alone needs a shit load of tool and die makers, lathe and machining CNC centers operators (in Russian). Sure, for some financial "analyst" going from doing nothing in office and BSing people into buying useless financial "instrument" over a nice meal in a fancy restaurant getting his (her) income cut and going to shipyard or machine-building plant to perform actual work may seem as a cultural shock, but those jobs pay, large companies provide excellent and really cheap (sometimes free) meals in plant's cafeteria. So, what's not to like? So, they do not want to change their life and learn real skills and contribute to society? They want to join "opposition" (much of it financed from the West) and demand themselves to be allowed to the power (and resources)? For that, there is OMON and FSB. Jobs for people who want to work and learn, and improve their skills and are ready to take risks are out there and they are plentiful. Jobs of PR "specialists', media "experts" and other Kreakls are not coming back, because nobody needs them. 

But that is Russia, in the US same class of Kreakls (American ones) decided to go for broke and unleashed printing of money. It may help, initially, for a very little while but then...Well, we all know what this "then" is--(whispering) high, very high, hyper....ooops, inflation. But in the same time--what would one expect? This is the ONLY option the United States currently has. That, plus attaching some strings to new bailout package:

A lot of that cash, especially from the new lending facility, will find its way into a range of publicly-traded companies. The deal includes provisions to stop these companies from using that cash for stock buybacks or executive bonuses. "Every loan document will be public and made available to Congress very quickly so we can see where the money is going," Schumer said Wednesday on the Senate floor. A condition for receiving a government loan will be that a company cannot make stock buybacks for a year.

It is essentially 2008 TARP with some, I would say, welcomed modifications for people who already lost and many will lose their jobs. This is good, however, not going far enough. Will US economy "recover"? In some sense it should, it is just that it will find itself in an uncharted territory of economic reality where US GDP will finally be measured for what it is ($9-10 trillion at best) and new geopolitical reality will take hold. Like a complete revision of US global military posture and expenses--a process many US "experts" (with zero real expertise) on a payroll of all kinds of fraudulent "think tanks" tried to avoid for decades. Most of those "experts" should go--they have zero expertise. So, many those "creative" types with degrees in "conflict resolution" or political "science" should go, together with "educational" programs preparing those. New reality is upon us and, as I said, we may yet thank fate that it all happens this way.

In related news, Russia accelerates sea trials of 3M22 Zircon (in Russian) with a number of submarine and surface ship launches planned for this year. It makes sense, since under present global circumstances, considering who runs the United States today, combat deployment of these (M=9, officially, now there is a rumor that their speed is even higher and range is much longer) missiles will provide a very serious deterrent factor against any attempt by crazies to "export" US inflation and other economic problems abroad by only means US know--unleashing military aggression. Especially around Europe or China. So, buckle up--we are in uncharted territory. 

UPDATE: On Putin's address. Sadly in Russian only (for now). Well, welcome back to... well, you know;) Phrase at 06:44: "I Request the Government and Central Bank to ensure stable financing (lending) of the REAL sector". 

Massive increases of payments for unemployed, for multi-children families, 6 months tax and loan vacations for all small and middle-sized businesses, simplification of bankruptcy process. Long to list it all. The most rewarding one is increasing (from 2 to 15%) taxation of all capital transfers out of Russia. Boy, talk about world changing like crazy, not to mention a creepy (not really) similarity of measures by the.... ahem, US Government. It is obvious that Russian State will be happy to acquire many more juicy real sector enterprises from some overly nervous "owners", as was the case in 2008. Yep, ladies and gentlemen, it is all about people--no people, no capital. You don't take care of people, you are screwed--no matter how high Dow Jones is. If US will be able to weather this shitstorm and not spiral down into a complete economic collapse--Trump has just won 2020 elections. The rest could be settled later. We may not grasp yet a significance of this historic moment. But it is significant, very. Even Financial Times begins to suspect something, LOL.

Central banks must evolve to help governments fight coronavirus

When Everything Points To...

What Senator Kennedy stated yesterday. 

You know, I am on record that for all my revulsion towards GOP, I consider Democratic Party to be clear and present danger to what's left of the Republic. And yes, I agree with Kennedy that the United States was founded by geniuses and now is run by a bunch of idiots. I am not alone in that, albeit I wrote two books on this issue and write for years about sheer incompetence of US "elites". 

Now Stephen Walt provides this:

A third pillar, however, is broad confidence in U.S. competence. When other countries recognize the United States’ strength, support its aims and believe U.S. officials know what they are doing, they are more likely to follow the United States’ lead. If they doubt its power, its wisdom, or its ability to act effectively, U.S. global influence inevitably erodes. This reaction is entirely understandable: If the United States’ leaders reveal themselves to be incompetent bunglers, why should foreign powers listen to their advice? Having a reputation for competence, in short, can be a critical force multiplier.

As Daniel Larison goes on to observe:

The U.S. has had the luxury of being able to bungle things for decades at relatively low cost to ourselves, but that time is coming to an end. Ever since the end of the Cold War, the U.S. has been able to make some staggering blunders without significantly compromising its position in the world, but over time all of these blunders have had the cumulative effect of proving that U.S. “leadership” is neither stabilizing nor wise. 

Well, I am really pleased that someone reads my books, but, as was pointed out non-stop--a main formative geopolitical factor which creates crucial conditions for growing of competent national elites, Continental Warfare on a major scale, a conditioning by war that is, is an unknown entity for the United States. Sure, there was a Civil War which devastated primarily South but as I wrote:

Scales and proportions always mattered, still matter and will continue to matter a great deal, especially once warranted comparisons are made. One of the pivotal moments of the American Civil War was Sherman’s burning of Atlanta, which at the time had a population of barely 9,500 inhabitants, that is more than 27 times smaller than Moscow of 1812.  Even Smolensk with its 1812 population of around 13,000, which saw a ferocious battle around it and was set on fire by French artillery, was still considerably larger. In the end, Russia’s population in 1812, which was around 35 million, matched roughly the American population of 1860 which was 31.5 million. Yet, the difference couldn’t be starker—Napoleon attacked Russia with what then was the largest military force in history, which represented much of Western and Eastern Europe. Napoleon’s Grande Armee, which numbered 685,000 troops, had under its banners French, Saxons, Poles, Prussians, Italians, or what Tolstoy called a “force of a dozen European languages or nations.”     

Until things are put into proper context and scale, one will not stop failing in explaining why the United States finds itself today in the state of being de facto ungovernable and with its "elites" which increasingly become the laughing stock around the globe. Larison arrives to this conclusion:

Because the U.S. has been able to get away with making such major blunders, there have not been enough demands for accountability for the policymakers who led the country into one failure after another. There has been no real penalty for costly incompetence, and so many of the same people that led us down the wrong path before are still in positions of influence and authority now. Trump’s election just accelerated the process by putting grossly unqualified yes-men into top positions in government to serve an even more unqualified president. For most of the last twenty years, the U.S. has been poorly led. For at least twelve of those years, we have had presidents who knew nothing and didn’t care to learn more. Administrations that promote ideologues and disparage expertise are bound to be tripped up by obstacles that they fail to see, and they will drive the country into a ditch over and over again while congratulating themselves on their fine steering. 

Here, Larison describes the effect not the main cause--the main cause, and Larison, having a Ph.D in History, should know this is in the fact that US political elite as a whole was never shaped by the realities of Continental Warfare, unlike it is true for the rest of the word. North American Continent, due to it being a "World's Island" was simply spared the scale of a violence which shaped the modern world, including modern West, which carried the seeds of self-destruction inside itself the moment economic and ideological realities of post-WW II Europe became evident. It was, to a very large degree, a reaction, both intellectual and cultural to a life-changing wound sustained in WWII. United States didn't get wounded in WW II--it emerged as the only nation standing in the midst of the global ruin and profited greatly from that. What's not to like? Studs Terkel was correct--it was "The Good War" for America. And, inevitably, wrong lessons have been learned. This is what in the foundation of the American incompetence--wrong lessons, all around. The collapse of the Soviet Union reinforced already grossly distorted American view on history and on its own "liberal model". 

We thought the Cold War vindicated our political system. Instead it only began an age of illusions.

The reinforcement, due to a delusional view of the world and of itself, of American exceptionalism is in the foundation of the modern American incompetence. What Larison describes, including the lack of accountability for non-stop failures, is just the the method of further idiotization of the American "elites" (or government, or political class, what have you) and this process is unstoppable within existing American political, economic, educational, intellectual and cultural paradigm. It is a cold hard fact of life. It is also a fact of practical geopolitics and of the systemic crisis of liberalism. Covid-19? Just an excuse for the economic collapse which started long before the world even heard about this virus and forecasts of the American decline were made based on a much larger number of contributing factors than economy, or what passes for it at the Wall Street, alone.  

Stephen Walt may write whatever he wants on the American future:

Americans will need to rethink a political system that recruits and rewards those who are most adept at selling themselves to the highest bidder. And there has to be something seriously wrong with a political system that has devoted many months and spent billions of dollars preparing for the 2020 election and ends up giving the country a choice between three old white guys. For that matter, Americans ought to rethink whether spending a full year electing someone to a four year term makes any sense at all. No other advanced democracy does it this way. And while we’re at it, let’s scrap the absurd Electoral College, an indefensible relic that systematically disempowers voters in most of the country.

And I don't see anything wrong with "white guys", them being truly old, that is another thing. It is not about the race, it is about competence. Obama was a first black two-term POTUS and it will take some time before competent historians will write a work on a catastrophic impact on the United States Obama Administration had. But here is the problem, the well of the American statesmanship is dry, it was for some time now, because mechanism which produces real leaders is broken and it cannot be fixed without massive, fundamental changes to America's "way of life"--a change America is not ready to implement... yet. The operation is very serious and dangerous and may result in patient dying but without it, the patient is dead anyway.   

UPDATE: Just stumbled upon excellent piece by Paul Craig Roberts. Totally relevant to what is being discussed. 

The only solution for the economy is debt forgiveness for the ordinary people and nationalization for the companies. Trump indicated that aid might be given in the form of an equity stake, and later sell the government’s stake for a profit in a privatization when things return to normal. This would be a partial nationalization. Much better to go whole hog as it allows a cure for concentration and deregulation. The pandemic has made it clear that a society of self-seeking individuals is not a society. A society is a social system. A successful social system is one that can support its members. Once a self-sustaining social system exists, then there is a basis for people to branch out on their own. But without a sustainable social system, there can be nothing. 

Unsung Heroes.

Yeah, I know--those economic and military monsters such as China and Russia trying to help, but small Cuba, ever-sanctioned and ever-hated in the US (like Russia), they are those unsung heroes of the fight against Covid-19. They have to be honored as true humanitarians who, despite being vilified non-stop, just sent their doctors to help Italy.  Here is Cuban delegation of 37 doctors and 15 nurses arriving in Milan. 

Or from Al Jazeera. 

In related topic. I am wondering why wouldn't those European "leaders" ask for help from their favorite "humanitarians" from White Helmets "organization". Those "specialists" are really good at fighting all kinds of WMDs, you know those Syrian and Russian chemical attacks on hospitals, children and cute Syrian puppies and baby penguins. I think EU, and especially UK, should enroll them in helping with Covid-19. White Helmets have shown themselves an excellent British-ran Jihad propaganda outlet, so, I am sure, they will be willing to lend their helping hand in combatting this virus in UK. They sure have the "expertise". I would suggest White Helmets start helping The Guardian personnel to survive the virus. Granted, that a volume of filth concentrated in there can only be helped by bulldozing the whole damn thing. Still, interesting idea.

GIGO.

Ah, now, some interesting facts about Italy's pandemic begin to emerge. As Russians say--it doesn't matter how many, it matters who (pun is unintended) counts. As Ria reports (in Russian) there is a teeny-weeny "issue" with the high mortality rate (emphasis on "rate") in Italy because, as it is worded, of the "method of testing" (in Russian). Namely, the issue I am writing about non-stop and appeal to everyone to wait for the larger data set. Well, guess what: as deputy director of WHO stated today, Italy changed the method of testing, due to, get this, shortage of test kits and counts only "confirmed" cases against deaths and here is the direct quote of this WHO deputy director: if the mortality rate would have been calculated against the number of actually infected, which, and I quote, would raise the number of infected many times--the mortality rate would have been much lower. Pardon my French, no shit! 

As was predicted (well, by me) we are dealing with a classic GIGO--Garbage In, Garbage Out. It absolutely doesn't mean that serious measures against Covid-19 shouldn't be taken, they should. But as it is always the case in operational assessments in military, one thing you always need is a reliable verifiable data. One cannot base decision on unconfirmed and un-weighted, that is processed for their probability of being accurate, reports based on opinions of limited number of observers (sensors), military people invented Sensor-Data Fusion for that and have well-agreed upon mathematical apparatus which accounts for probabilistic assessment. I can report that my forces destroyed 50% of enemy's forces based on observations of the front line, but they will tell me nothing (unless I am aware by means of ISR) about the state of reserves which are moving and, once reserves are counted, by percentages describing super-pooper "victory" will drop dramatically from 50% to much lower number.  Even in the old times of steam when navigating oceans, when using Sextant to get a position line form individual celestial body, navigators would take usually five-six measurements within equal short intervals of time to average (that is partially resolve uncertainty) the measurement before applying it. Similar algorithms today are realized in optronic means of navigation and targeting--non-stop measuring, with constant averaging. Of course, today it is done by modern processors. 

This all doesn't mean that Italy is not in danger, but it does raise the issue which I raised few days ago: we are yet to learn (hopefully) how WHO arrived to a decision to declare a pandemic globally. There ARE questions about this decision and the panic which ensued. Russia, meanwhile, is operating the air bridge to Italy, the tenth military cargo landed just very recently near Rome, and efforts to contain and prevent will continue in earnest.  But after all is done and over with, we must ask ourselves a question even maroons in NYT are beginning to ask themselves--didn't we all go a "bit" too far? Meanwhile in good ol' USA Congress, as is expected, cannot do anything of value, being embroiled in.... normal political process. 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate's drive to pass a $1-trillion-plus coronavirus response bill remained stymied late on Sunday, as Democrats held out for more money to help state and local governments and hospitals, while Republicans urged quick action to give financial markets a sign of encouragement. Earlier on Sunday, the Senate failed to get the necessary 60 votes in the 100-member chamber to get the Republican plan over a procedural hurdle after days of negotiations, with 47 senators voting in favor and 47 opposed. Later on Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, announced he would hold a repeat vote early on Monday, only to be blocked by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.

Isn't it wonderful? I guess that is how it is supposed to work. Right? It is finally raining today around Seattle, after two very dry weeks. One of the main ways Covid-19, or any other virus, spreads, apart from direct contact, is a an air-droplet way. Rain is a welcome relief from early Spring allergies and raising humidity to levels which help blocking all kind of airborne shit. I am in the mood for the melody.

Ah, Higher Education!

I don't know if Tucker will ever decide to run for POTUS but he, certainly, raises important questions of higher education as do I for the last...many years. 

Let's face it, US Ivy League institutions are basically clubs for good ol' boys and girls and are, in a sense of the REAL high education, nothing of supremely outstanding. Harvard, as an example, is known primarily for its Law, Economics and Divinity "schools". Standford is known for its Medical School and so on. I deliberately omit here technological schools such as MIT or WUSL (Washington University in St. Lois) or Berkley's STEM programs, those DO matter. As Tucker correctly states: what is the real worth of some "Communications" degree from some liberal arts college... somewhere? Right, such degree is worthless, like having no value whatsoever and it doesn't matter if its obtained through some backwater college or Stanford. The same applies to degrees in "economy", the ways it is "taught" in all those useless US economic schools from Harvard to what have you, same applies to degrees in "journalism", "government", political "science", philosophy and other so called "degrees" which, for a person with a solid fundamental education, including good level of humanities background added to this fundamental education (a euphemism for STEM), are just the matter of reading appropriate books in his (her) free time. 

Tucker, largely, conveys an idea which we discussed very recently here (and in my books). Recall this? 

I know a large number of absolutely wonderful financiers, economists who used to be not very good engineers, but I don't know a single, even not a very good one, engineer who used to be good financier or economist.  

I, of course, do not even discuss such pseudo-educational shit as Gender and Diversity "studies"--they should be removed completely from any programs. Let's face it, as I repeat ad nauseam, the number of synapses required to be developed for, say, accomplishing a career in industrial engineering or system integration in aerospace requires way more effort than the same could be said, as an example, when trying to get one a BA in "broadcasting". But what  all those "broadcasting", "economics" (I omit here accountants--they will always be needed and crucial for running any business) and "communications" degrees are in essence? Those are degrees designed for service economy. In other words--non-productive economy. Do you know that such profession as "entertainment analyst" not only exists but is (well, was, I am sure by now) in demand in the US? And why not, when pornography is being pushed as a viable subject for schools, one may conclusively state that something doesn't add up here. Of course, one may argue that being "educated" by means of "studying", say, classic German porn may increase one's technical proficiency with plumbing, especially in kitchen sinks, but I am not entirely positive that benefits overweight costs in this particular case. 

It is am axiom, a well known to anyone with IQ above room temperature, that modern world is run by numbers, literally. It is called digital for a reason, isn't it? Even modern toilets today, especially ones with ass-washing functions, have microchips in them and operate based on some algorithms. Modern industry, all of it, is digitized today--from assembly lines, to CNC machining centers, to networks which run whole companies, to extraction of resources, to warfare. You see, the real world which depends for own survival on manufacturing does not really have much use for "entertainment analysts" or Ph.Ds in "broadcasting". It needs, however, all those unglamorous engineers, doctors, nurses, technicians, auto-mechanics, machinists, even janitors, among very many others, who actually make the world go round. Other professions, however, such as in broadcasting, journalists or entertainers with stock brokers, among many others are what once was described by a line from a classic piece by Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits: "Money for nothing, and chicks for free." 

Make no mistake, I am not trying to disparage these "professions". Of course not, how else can one BS "investors" and rob them blind without having "degree" in economics and a title of "financial analyst". That is impossible--human stupidity and ignorance must be attended by "professionals" in precisely these two crucial fields of human existence, which are in the foundation of the neo-liberalism. But we are talking here about real economy and some of its fundamentals which remain constants for centuries, in fact--millennia:

1. Consumer patterns of humanity;

2. Production of the means of production and of consumer goods. Marxists split these too in goods of Category A and B respectively.

Of course, there is another, third, factor, which is a relation between need and want. But it is tightly connected to the first one (just different terminology) and we will start with this one. I may want (not really) to have a Ferrari, but do I really need one? Not really, once I have a reliable and fairly comfortable conveyance in a form of Subaru Legacy. Someone needs a heart transplant and wants it--totally justified and understandable relation. Some ugly aging sociopath wants to have his erection back but does he need it? A question? Akin to a question of how many sexual perverts and pedophiles populate political "elites" globally? So, this relation, thus, comes down to what is reasonable to consume and what's not. It is one of those major pillars on which human civilization is placed. It is also the issue of resources and ability to develop them. The necessity (need) to feed humanity brought about the development of industries which produced agricultural machinery and chemistry which improved harvesting dramatically--then consumer pattern kicked in (in terms of ethnic cuisines and staple foods) and we have today seafood heavy Northern and Asian consumer pattern, which is supported by massive fishing fleets, hence commercial fishing shipbuilding, or American beef-heavy consumer patterns, with immense life-stock processing industry in place, which made access to beef (and other meats) relatively affordable for the most, thus balancing out need and want. So, you see how it works? You want something--develop and produce means of production, which will allow you to get the extraction (harvesting, processing etc.) going for you to get what you both need and want. I, of course, really want now some black caviar (no, I do, really), but do I really need it? I don't think so. But in the most cases, I, personally, can see the link between the need, which is always more important than want, albeit want is important too, and how this need (and want) then translates itself into the development of those proverbial productive (PRO-DUC-TI-VE) forces and while scanning mentally all this chain I see many engineers, workers, industries, complex machinery, logistical chains working overtime to get the piece of beef, or bread, or fish into my stomach, which allows me to live. I CAN live without Ferrari, I CANNOT live without Subaru Legacy. Need trumps want, even when want is still important--I love my good cigar and a shot of bourbon once-in-a-while.  

Neo-liberalism, however, doesn't really operate with such things. It operates with mostly category B (consumer goods) and it is in the business of creating a NEW need, which often is covering nothing more than NEW want, which, however important is NEVER as important as actual need. Just to give an example--I don't have any social media accounts other than this blog (and I have access to my daughter's fully private Instagram). I neither want them nor need them. Yet, we have hundreds of millions of people globally who, while absolutely not needing their social media accounts, desperately want them and, many, experience a host of serious psychological and psychiatric problems when not having access to their accounts or some new model of smart phone which allows them to be connected to a virtual world. And that is why, in classic capitalism or, even socialism, tangible things, which actually produce things for real needs were always valued, together with people who made those tangibles work, and if you may have guessed it already, those people were not "entertainment analysts" or "broadcasting" specialists. Not so in neo-liberalism which is a fnal stage of financial capitalism, whose collapse we observe right this very minute. As I say non-stop, in the world where the company which generates and, in fact, inflates the want to the absurd levels, such as Facebook or any other social media, and is valued more than the company (however in trouble now) which served the actual need, such as Boeing, nothing eventually is going to work. The resets of valuations and of establishing more realistic balance between need and want, and with it between Group A and B is in progress right now. 

We may thank  the outbreak of Covid-19 for that, this outbreak and panic that followed, being the last straw that broke the camel's back, but primarily a systemic crisis of liberalism (or neo-liberalism) which cannot create anymore any real value other than insane wants and virtual money which are supposed to pay for those wants. But that is not how world works, because the forms must be... ah, I mean, the balance between want and need, between Group A and B must be established. This was this balance which neo-liberalism destroyed by trying to satisfy its want for more zeroes in the virtual bank accounts and while doing so produced an "educational" monster which provided a gluttony of "graduates" whose only calling and extremely limited set of skills, if any, was to promote want at the expense of need and to cover for a system whose death was postponed by two major world events, but I wrote about this not for once. So, the question for the United States today is simple--is there anyone who can actually run a damn country with some degree of competence? As per EU--it is over and good riddance. You see, degrees in PR, broadcasting and economics didn't help, did they? You all know the answer. This is my short and grossly oversimplified take on this global clusterfuck we all have to face today and how education will change, since no one needs specialists in "conflict resolution" or "entertainment analysis", especially when entertainment long ago turned to shit for the most part. I like the new term for hoarders--covidiots. What a bunch of losers (going to my garage to check on my 1,200 packages of toilet paper, 2,000 bottles of hand sanitizer and 100 bottles of Jack;)))      

Russia To Aid Italy.

Eight brigades (no, not brigade size as in armed forces--teams) of military medics, disinfection systems, supplies and medical equipment are on standby in Russia. Defense Minister Shoigu ordered a creation of military-transport aviation group for urgent help to Italy starting tomorrow, March 22 (in Russian). This is getting serious, since Russia, obviously, begins to built air bridge to Italy. As RT reports:

The Russian President voiced his support to the leadership in Rome and the Italian people as he spoke with Conte, according to the Kremlin. But it wasn’t just words, as he said Russia was willing to provide protective gear, mobile sanitizers and other medical equipment to Italy. Eight teams of Russian military medics and virology experts are already on standby and could be deployed  to Italy as early as Sunday, once Rome greenlights the move, Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed. “In response to a request from the Italian side, the Russian president confirmed his readiness to promptly provide the necessary assistance and outlined the specific parameters [of what Russia can offer],” the Kremlin's press service reported. It further noted that Putin initiated the phone call with Conte.

Start your stopwatches, Ladies and Gentlemen, before Western media accuse Russia of "exploiting crisis" and trying to influence... whatever. I guess they will be afraid to see enormously "effective" and humanistic NATO and EU, which literally rushed to help Italy (I am screwing with you, as you noticed), in rather not a very good light.  Chinese provided help to Italy, they were accused of "influence", now, my guess, is Russia's turn. Russia always does this. You may not recall it but during trying times of Katrina's catastrophe in 2005 Russia's Emercom IL-76 Transport aircraft with the first aid were immediately on the standby. This is what Wiki says about it:

   Russia: Was one of the first countries to offer assistance. Up to four jets were placed on standby at the Ramenskoye Airport near Moscow as early as August 30, including heavy Ilyushin Il-76-TDs with special evacuation equipment, medical equipment, a water-cleansing system, a BK-117 rescue helicopter and two special cars; and a passenger IL-62, which brought 10 coordinators and 50 rescuers, as well as 6 tons of drinking water. On September 6, the Bush administration gave its approval

Those aircraft waited for a week for W Administration to get off its ass to allow those evil Rooskies to get much needed help to New Orleans. This is what normal people DO. This is what the United States Navy did when helping victims of a devastating earthquake off Indonesia in 2006. This is how it is supposed to be. But we live in different times today, when last spots of thin veneer of humanity are peeling off the dying old world order. In related news. The Atlantic published a piece on Ukraine's depopulation and I will address the issue of Ukraine soon--it must be addressed. Andrei Raevsky recently did a good write up on this issue, but it needs to be addressed in some other, almost metaphysical, terms. Yes, Ukraine is done, it is just the matter of time before it implodes completely but here is the catch--Russians do not want to have anything in common with these people.  

UPDATE: 03/22/19.  First seven military cargo aircraft and forces of the  of Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense (RHBZ) already landed in Italy. 

You can see photo report  (in Russian) here. And here. Or here. The first aircraft was met by Italy's Chief of General Staff at the air force base near Rome earlier today.  Russians being suckers for giggle already have an anecdote: Russia introduced green polite men to Italy. When is the referendum? Reference to Crimea, of course. All good-natured, of course.

Pardon My French, Yet Again!

So, they finally figured it out what it takes to stay relevant in the real world. 

Boeing suspends its dividend, holds up buybacks and stops paying CEO and chairman amid pandemic. 

About fvcking time. The only legitimate "buyback" is known as "stock options" which are granted to people working at the company. Obviously, clowns populating a spin machine, aka US media, immediately jumped on the fact of Nikki Hailey leaving Boeing's board of directors and started to speculate that this is the move designed to get Nikki into the WH as VP or, maybe, even as POTUS. I understand that only qualifications pundits have are those of sorting out different varieties of shit, but Hailey, being incompetent idiot and being considered as a viable candidacy for any top two posts in US political hierarchy is a sign of times, the end of times that is. As if we don't have enough problems in hoarding enough booze to survive, in adequate mental state, upcoming presidential debates between current orange genius and senile imbecile Biden, who seems to be positioned to finally qualify the DNC and Democratic Party as an ultimate freak show.  

Speaking of the "geniuses" and the reasons why Russia, as an example, sees no value in talking to Trump. As Daniel Larison points out:

The division in the administration is between the hard-liners in the administration that want to attack the Iranian military directly and the U.S. military that doesn’t want to jeopardize the relationship with Iraq any further. According to the report, the Secretary of State, National Security Advisor, and the acting Director of National Intelligence all urged a larger attack earlier this month. It was only the Defense Secretary and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs that argued against this. They prevailed in the debate because they said that they did not have evidence that the latest rocket attack on was directed by Iran. 

As I wrote previously, last vestiges of the geopolitical competence in the United States are concentrated primarily around armed forces professionals--it is understandable, since they have to plan based on more-or-less realistic data. Yeah, let's call it "more-or-less". The main hawk in Trump Administration today is Richard Grenell, a run-of-the-mill mediocrity who passes under the title of "diplomat" in the US and who is now Director of National Intelligence and is known for creating a shitstorm in Germany, while being an ambassador there, and, in general the guy who is utterly unqualified for either diplomat or "intelligence" positions probably even in the Kingdom of Lesotho (nothing personal against this fine country). But that is the story of the American geopolitical "thought" in the last, well, many years.  

Obviously, the main question remains--how Grenell sees (hint, he cannot--he has degree in Public Administration) this "larger attack" on Iran. Pompeo, another geopolitical "thinker" and insane hawk, who graduated West Point in 1986, at least should have some clue on how modern battlefield is shaped and what happens in it--I think--but there is no guarantee that fat Mike actually remembers any of it. So, here we have a bunch of chickenhawks with dubious religious indoctrination (like Pompeo) trying to kill as many US servicemen in the ME as humanly possible by mounting a "larger attack" on Iran. What can possibly go wrong, right? But even Pompeo, I think, is not well versed in the realities of modern warfare against such state actor as Iran and should be periodically reminded that the United States doesn't have a viable object (bases, HQs, industrial plant) and troop level (brigade, regiment, company) Air Defense capable to stop Iranian cruise and ballistic missiles. So, no surprise then, that it is namely, for all its major flaws, US military which pushes against these insane ideas. I would suggest to Mike Pompeo and Grenell to concentrate on the only thing that are good at--imposing sanctions. As I said many times--more sanctions on Russia, please. I mean it.