anachronist

Privatized public transit:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arriva

core of US power projection and intelligence gathering

This is what Biden and probably other Washington ghouls think but if Israel is "projecting" American power then to what end? Meaning, what US interests are served? Cheaper oil? That's our relationship with SA which is potentially hurt by Israel's behavior (Israel, importantly, has no oil, we'd be better off normalizing with Iran). US bases? We don't have any bases in Israel, that would be Turkey, Bahrain, etc. Do you think Israel ever considers US interests before acting? If they did historically they definitely do not under Netanyahu.

With regards to intelligence, I am sure that when intelligence is shared it's done so to craft a narrative that Tel Aviv wants Washington to believe. Also mossad is the most pervasive, aggressive, and successful spy agency in Washington. The flow of information is heavily one-sided.

Several theories:

1. Epstein was mossad. There are a lot of tapes with a lot of people.

2. Lots of Zionist billionaires: America is a plutocracy that acts on their behalf

3. Some sort of "great game" calculus of keeping a client state for regional instability (Biden apparently believes this based on old speeches)

4. Biden in particular has a melted brain. Many people have pointed out that Reagan was tougher on Israel than Biden has been. Reagan would set red lines and then say "you will comply."

History has misjudged Jeffery Sachs according to... Jeffery Sachs!

Let's be real, he's the main guy pushing the "NATO expansion" theory of Russian aggression everywhere, and it exists mainly to cover for his own crimes.

What's more likely: that Russian revanchism came from anger over some arcane treaty negotiations, or that it came from the absolute collapse in material condition, civil society, population, daily lived experience and life expectancy that Russians experienced as Sachs and his evil clients dismantled the once-great civilization for their own enrichment? What do you think Marx's assessment of those two theories would be?

Sachs is a bag man. He helped the oligarchs destroy Russia and then he made himself useful to the new ruler when they were gone. He also spends a lot of time in Beijing and has a lot of good things to say about Xi as well. The guy's a serpent.

Yeah the best way to discourage a revanchist is to give him what he wants. Succeeding in Ukraine will definitely convince Putin not to attack the baltics, poland, or finland.

I saw this as the supposed plan:

per WSJ: It may propose delaying Ukraine's NATO membership for 20 years, establishing a 1,200 km demilitarized zone along the current front line, and leaving 20% of occupied Ukrainian territory under Russian control—while the U.S. would continue arms support under these conditions.

The problem is, this isn't an acceptable plan according to Russia. Russia has insisted that:

1. Ukraine retreats from all of the oblasts that are currently partially occupied by Russia (Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson) as well as giving up claims to Crimea, and Russia takes ownership of everything without a fight
2. Ukraine's army is demobilized and Ukraine is demilitarized
3. Ukraine is banned from joining any international organization, not just NATO (so no EU for instance)
4. Ukraine receives no more military aid fro the west.

Trump is going to find out that you can't unilaterally declare peace.

The proposal was submitted by the Russian Federation shortly after they attacked Ukraine, back when Russia was still claiming that "de-nazifying" Ukraine was the purpose of the invasion.

https://press.un.org/en/2022/gashc4365.doc.htm

Several delegates took to the floor to express concerns over Moscow’s attempt to exploit the pretext of combating neo-Nazism to justify its brutal war against Ukraine, with Ukraine’s delegate asserting that the draft has nothing in common with the genuine fight against Nazism and neo-Nazism. Echoing his concerns, the United Kingdom’s delegate stressed that the resolution is part of Moscow’s attempt to justify its aggression against Ukraine by furthering lies and distorting history.

The United States’ delegate called the resolution “a cynical attempt” of Moscow to further its geopolitical aims by invoking the Holocaust and Second World War. In the same vein, Australia’s delegate called Moscow’s weaponization of the Holocaust and Nazism unacceptable.

NGL kinda shocked that the CIA wasn't involved with the Argentine junta.

EDIT: It was! Your map needs more red on it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Argentine_coup_d'%C3%A9tat

The Cuban refugees were mostly supporters of the Batista regime, owners of sugar plantations, etc.

I used to believe that the Cuba embargo is due to Cuban refugee vote in Florida.

But that doesn't make sense anymore given that Florida is no longer a swing state. In fact it never really made sense since the demo that is very pro-embargo has always been solidly Republican and therefore unwinnable.

So what really explains the embargo? Quite frankly I think it's banana republic foreign policy and wealthy people in the US not wanting there to be a successful socialist state. For instance, the recent energy crisis in Cuba is driven by the Biden administration sanctioning oil tankers who visit the island. Why on earth would the supposedly pro-Cuba democrats do that? Who asked them to do that? Who had the clout to make them do that? Some losers in Florida who were going to vote for Trump in a red state anyway?

Fun fact: Shifa hospital had tunnels under it because Israel built them when they occupied Gaza.