After all the bluster and unpleasantness, somebody persuaded Trump to meet with Zelensky and make nice. Trump had the perfect reason not to that even I would respect. But the meeting still took place.
I’ve noticed a long time ago that there’s somebody very pro-Ukrainian close to Trump and that person has influence. I’m fascinated to know who that is and what his endgame and reach might be. We know the name of Trump’s pro-Israel pressure point but who is the engineer of the pro-Ukraine bent?
I’m also glad that Zelensky chose not to reveal the real war plan to the Biden administration. It’s useless, as we’ve seen many times, and often counterproductive. Also, we are all seeing how Israel, the developed country that is holding on to the nation-state model more strongly than any other, is achieving massive victories. It’s way too early to hold the funeral for the nation-state.
Clarissa's Blog 
“glad that Zelensky chose not to reveal the real war plan to the Biden administration”
My assumption was that he would reveal a fake plan (assuming it would be leaked to russia).
Has this been confirmed?
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Not officially confirmed but people who know people say the plan that was presented is not even similar to what’s actually discussed.
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Whatever plan he tells Trump would be with Putin before the end of day so I’m confident that he’s not telling either Trump or Biden what he really wants to do.
But he did meet with Kamala earlier, which is good politics.
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The nation-state model is mostly continental European, but it ignores the point that most historical powers have been naval due to water being the easiest form of transport. Greece was centered around the Ionean sea, and Rome was around the Mediterranean. Despite being known for their roads, Rome’s greatest rival was Carthage, a rival Mediterranean power.
The next powers were the Atlantic powers, initially Portugal and Spain. The Dutch, needing a way to obtain independence from much richer Spain, which required highly capital intensive ship construction, created a new model where their citizens were encouraged to invest in the newly created East India Company, with share of the profits proportional to the capital invested. The main goal of the company was to monopolize the spice trade with Asia as well as secure Dutch independence. The spice in Dune is very likely a reference to the 17th century Dutch spice monopoly.
The British copied the Dutch model with their own East India Company as well as spreading it to their colonies. The main modern conflict is USA vs China, which is interesting since the USA is for the first time facing a larger rival but happens to have inherited a system designed for facing a larger rival, while the Chinese have an autocratic system assuming they are the biggest.
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China can’t be US’s rival. They can’t be anybody’s rival because they generate no ideas. I wouldn’t waste any time on discussing it.
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They’re a rival for jobs, which is pretty important to a lot of people.
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They are important, though. In SA, imperialism dates back to dependance on the Dutch and then British company stores. The US sanctions were one of the most important factors in ending apartheid. Trade with China allows SA to resist US sanctions such as on Russia. Not that SA trades much with Russia, but the point is to resist US imperialism.
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I’ve been reading about “tofu dreg” construction.
Unbelievable levels of corruption. The contractors are usually related to higher ups in the party so they receive no punishment. Stuff like buildings made from mostly dirt instead of cement, iron rebars that you can break with your own hands, etc. Youtube has thousands of such videos. It’s insane. There seems to be a major gap between how so-called informed westerners perceive China, and the reality of China. I also used to think Xi’s cracked down on corruption with strict death penalty laws, but other than a few isolated cases where businessman have been put to death (lead in toothpaste being the most famous case), corruption continues unabated. The chinese government has done a tremendous job in lifting its population out of poverty, but the society is still miserable.
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“I also used to think Xi’s cracked down on corruption with strict death penalty laws”
Classic rookie mistake…. anytime there is an ‘anti-corruption’ campaign in the context of a totalitarian society…. you’re talking about political purges (with a few public cases of corruption to fool outsiders) but 98% of it is political purges.
Xi think the cultural revolution was a great thing, which should tell you what you need to know about him.
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