Fun stuff.

Bezos and Zuck way ahead.

I’ve written for some time on the POSITIVES of European culture and the Anglo-American-European model.  I’ve also — to a number of people’s chagrin — mentioned the coming importance of the ANGLOSPHERE as Western institutions come under attack, whether from a resurgent Chinese Communist Party or self-styled EQUITY-LEFTISTS in the US and Europe.

This piece on the new US-UK-Australian trilateral security arrangement, “AUKUS,” calls to mind  numerous points I’ve made on this subject.  Plus, it also suggests where the Anglosphere’s exclusive intelligence partnership, THE FIVE EYES — which also includes Canada and New Zealand — may be trending.

Namely, towards broader cooperation in all matters of allied national defense.

Also of note is that not since the early 60’s has the US committed to transferring technology as part of a security arrangement.  In that case, the recipient was the UK as part of the US-UK Mutual Defense Pact which is still in effect.

Bottom line?

NATO is one thing but alliances based on CLOSER TIES are equally essential.  And my guess is we’ll now see more of this.

Here’s the piece.

New AUKUS Partnership a ‘Win’ for Democracies: Experts

Check out the voices.

From Mao to Deng was quite a ride.  From the cultural revolution to pragmatic capitalism.

Now, under Xi, the tide is going back out with a renewed emphasis on control, indoctrination and “common prosperity.”  In effect, Xi is putting the communist back in Communist China.

This excellent piece explains how, why and how quickly this is happening.  This is not Gen X’s China, however much it may still seem to be.

No, not at all.  Another China is molting.

Beijing Unleashes Sweeping Bid to Remold Society

It’s about time, we heard these words.  And from a Democrat.

Open borders are in invitation to chaos, disease, divisiveness and anarchy.  Just in case anyone has forgotten or never realized it.

Of course, we still have plenty of snowflakes and compulsive nurture-givers who believe that borders are themselves inhumane and that migration from anywhere to anywhere is a natural right.

Too bad these people make about as much sense as flat-earthers.

Gee, Europe, I thought it was all about going GREEN?  Well, I suppose it is — but GREEN as in DOLLARS.

But don’t tell Greta!  

Yet Greta or not, the countries of the Eastern Med — as well as a couple of others — are busy carving up offshore gas fields.  All, that is, except Turkey which is doing its best to behave like Russia, the world’s most intractable SPOILER.

And the goal is obvious: to replicate the great British and Norwegian windfalls brought about by the discovery of North Sea Oil almost 50 years ago which did no less than recharge both countries’ economies.

To achieve their respective ends, the countries involved in this — Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Palestine and France — have already signed the charter that establishes the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) as the governing regulatory body.

“The EMGF seeks to bring together the energy-rich countries of the Eastern Mediterranean through dialogue, layout policies, ensure safety and reliability to increase investments, and support growth.”

So, here’s yet another example of what short-term players we humans are.  If there’s a buck to be made, the PLANET can wait.  What’s more, even as GREEN ACTIVISTS attempt to decarbonize, those more commercially-minded are plowing ahead with hydrocarbons.

What we could wind up with is a) decarbonized regions that struggle to produce enough power and b) those that continue to rely principally on hydrocarbons.  But one thing is certain.  If more oil and gas should become more cheaply available, those resources WILL BE DEVELOPED.

In the end, it will be a combination of ECONOMICS and ENVIRONMENTIALISM that dictates energy usage and not ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS in a vacuum.

Another good interview by Adam Taggart.

Rogers is a wise old man.  From his Yale/Oxford education to his teaching days at Columbia to his cofounding with George Soros of the Quantum Fund to his later-life move to Singapore to his insistence that his daughters learn Mandarin — Rogers has circled the block.

Much of this interview centers on geopolitics, including discussions of Singapore, Japan, Taiwan and what Rogers believes will be a SOON-REOPENED — though not reunited — KOREA.  In fact, he thinks Korea could become the next hot market over the next two decades.  Sound right to you?  It does to me.

Here’s the interview.  It’s good.

The Worst Bear Market of Our Lifetime

When in doubt, there’s always Spinoza.

The world consists of one substance, and it’s immanent throughout nature.

We’re not all EXACTLY the same, but we’re A LOT MORE SIMILAR THAN WE’D LIKE TO THINK.

Check out the graphic below.

But at the same time, look at crude in another way.  It’s in EIGHTY PERCENT of everything we use.

When you scotch hydrocarbons, you’re not just replacing a fuel source.  You’re eliminating much, much more.

This decarbonization mania?  Forget it.  WE NEED A PLAN, AND WE DON’T HAVE ONE.

This isn’t a  CRUSADE, it’s a COMPLEX TRANSITION.