Reflections on the Road to Socialism
 

Some impressions of 'the how' and, importantly, the result RE communism from those who lived in the former Soviet Bloc. Initiated as an exercise to compare events in the US, the impressions might also be interesting to those who've plied that AO and/or those of a certain vintage who've observed the before/during/after of post-WWII commuism.

Introductory
Stories thus collected so far at the Gates of Vienna blog's website here.

:munchin

^^^^^
Interesting read, this was from report #2

"All communist systems like to place marginalized and untalented people into positions (for example, AOC), where they can take their revenge against their peers. I think this is something you can expect to see at all levels."

AOC is not alone she has lot's of company. I was somewhat surprised that we the U.S. was regarded as having been bullies for the past 70 years. Bullies that pour billions and billions of dollars we really cannot afford into trying to cure the worlds ills.

Thanks, I consider myself very fortunate to have acquaintances that think past the incessant jibberish of the Left. :mad:

That's an interesting take. Sometimes, perhaps, we find it easy to ID the lunatics (because they're incessant flare-poppers) and lose sight or take for granted some folks around us who are a blessing simply because they are really solid folks. They've resisted and are still in their right mind, or their core values were - quietly - so strong that they never had to give it a thought.

Prediction: imo, Putin is going to invade, and even money on China acting on its long term goal. Two different AO, Two superpowers acting in concert, the world will change overnight and there is nothing that the west can do to prevent this strategic move.
Especially, after 20 years in SWA and the ME. The west is playing with fire and is about to get burnt.

I hold a contrary view.

Russia will likely stay beneath the threshold of conventional war because going overtly kinetic is really bad for business.

Most Russian export earnings are from energy, and most Russian government income is from energy royalties.

Most Russian energy is exported to the EU.

Most of that is sold to NATO member states, with Germany reliant on Russia for 37% of its energy needs.

The mafia tend to view war, especially involving customers and cash flow, is bad for business.

Very early in Ronald Reagan’s first term was a battle to stop NATO from enriching its stated adversary with the proposed Soviet pipeline to Western Europe.

Reagan used up a lot of political capital to successfully disrupt it contributing to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Unfortunately, Reagan didn’t win the war, just the battle. The pipeline was only delayed.

Putin is likely to successfully win a battle of a thousand cuts beneath the threshold of conventional war and once again gain primary influence over much of Eastern Europe.

Germany is sitting on the sidelines because they are dependent on Russian energy and were geopolitically dumb and nuke when they shut down their commercial nuclear reactors post Fukushima.

China can’t conduct a forcible entry in Taiwan without guaranteeing the destruction. of the Chinese economy, here’s why:

China’s biggest single import(more than energy or food) is semiconductors, mostly from Taiwan, with 100% of advanced semiconductors coming from one company in Taiwan, TSMC.

If PLA tried to seize TSMC chip fabs they could be easily and instantly sabotaged or vaporized by a single B2 strike.

They would be left with fabs that produce 0% yield out to infinity or smoking craters and the $350 billion of silicon imports would create at least 10X that in lost economic output, so economic depression.

That’s why China is investing $100B in silicon and approx the same is being invested in Arizona and Ohio.

For the US and China to eliminate their existential reliance on Taiwanese silicon will take the US 10 years, $500B, and 50K high educated folks with very special skillsets.

China will need twice as long, twice as much, and twice the skilled people(due to lack of semicon equipment ecosystem).

In both cases, Russia and China are likely to stay non-kinetic but keep the tension high beneath the threshold of war.

Beijing Olympic(next week) prestige matters to China, as does the international introduction of the Digital Yuan(at the Olympics).

I believe we are already at war, but warfare that will likely stay beneath the threshold of conventional war.

Flagg,

That Sir is one of the most comprehensive and well thought out assessments at a Strategic level I have seen. Most of the time people overlook all of those real-world aspects, (and I’m putting the talking head media along with the under-informed public in the overwhelming majority here) because they have little to no real-world supply side economic understanding.

If you don’t already, you need to work somewhere higher up in the food-chain of the Strategic Defense of this country.

Concur. Sad part is that we likely have some folks who can arrive at this as well. But they're marginalized, banned, denigrated; kinda like the British analyst for Market-Garden who was trying to point out "Uh, fellas, there are some Waffen SS and Hitler Kampfgruppe Panzer formations in the area..." to no avail.

So we'd have to setup Flagg with his own podcast. :D
I didn't realize the extent to which Taiwan/silicon is meshed.

Lets not kid ourselves - socialism is just a softer word to hear and swallow than saying "reflections on the decent into communism"

I get it - there's always the argument that "communism and socialism are different" but that difference only exists on paper.
...and only when you are trying to convince a free people that democratic socialism is a thing.

Sure - in a glorious utopia - "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" sounds like a noble pursuit...

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

People can fuck right off with that bullshit.
When liars like the Bernie Bro's (and anyone else on the left for that matter) try and soft sell communism by calling it "democratic socialism" they conveniently steer people away from a few "inconvenient truths". They like to tell you that the holy rite of Democratic Socialism allows individuals to own personal property but that's bullshit - just ask all the current property owners that are being crushed economically because the government is making it near impossible to evict people that can't pay their COVID rent...

It isn't "your" property" if the government controls it.

They like to tell you that the holy rite of Democratic Socialism guarantees that industrial capacity and the tools of production are "communally owned" - really?
Am I to believe, that in our enlightened digital age, people still believe there is such a thing as "communal ownership" ???
If so - I need to borrow the car - please make sure the peoples car is gassed up before you give me the keys.
...don't forget that all of this happy equal fair inclusive communal ownership is managed by the government.

If you can't manage something - you don't own it.

They like to tell you that the holy rite of Democratic Socialism draws its magic from a democratically elected government - Forgetting to mention of course, that in such a system there tends to be a governing class which flies in the face of a freely and fairly elected government body.
...which conveniently coincides with the fact that democrats are repeatedly and zealously pursuing the ultimate goal of allowing the federal government to control elections.

Imagine - the government controls "your" property; the government manages "your" industry; the government manages "your" means of production; the government manages who gets elected; and more importantly, as you have repeatedly heard from the mouth of Joe Biden lately - it matters who gets to count the votes during government managed elections. All the while an ignorant and pliable american public continues their decent into communism under the far less threatening ruse of a humane transition to democratic socialism.


Now, let's contrast that with the more in your face version of that EXACT SAME social construct known as communism...
...all property and resources are owned and controlled by the government.

BAM

The only REAL difference is that at least communists are decent enough to say the quiet part out loud - You don't really OWN jack shit.

Well, where in the FUCK did that government come from anyway?
...if you are fucking stupid enough to believe the modern democratic party - they are being "democratically elected"

If you follow the news, that government is the same group of people from both parties that manage to consistently out-perform the market with their savvy investment knowledge.
...investment knowledge that would put anyone reading this imprison if you used the same methods.

Socialism my ass - its communism painted up like a big fat ice cream cone.
...except NONE of you mother fuckers are allowed to lick it.

Flagg,

I can only quote Bubba in agreement, nothing more to add. Finest Kind! :lifter

"When in the course of human events....." :eek:

Cheers!

I’m just a SGT(Reserves).

But I’ve had a fair bit of experience in semicon, Amazon, and Hacking4Defence while studying at Stanford, where I got to meet Joe Felter(one of the H4D founders) a former 1st SF Group CO and former Deputy Assistant Undersecretary of Defence for South and Southeast Asia.

One of the other H4D founders is Steve Blank(ex USAF Vietnam vet) who really kicked off the serious conversation around silicon and national security:

https://steveblank.com/2022/01/25/th...tor-ecosystem/

The third founder is Pete Newell(retired US Army Colonel who founded Rapid Equipping Force).

I’ve got a non-resident fellowship with Marine Corps University Krulak Center for Innovation and Future Warfare

I’ve been published a bunch, mostly on innovation.

But I wrote this two years ago for US Army TRADOC Mad Scientist Initiative:

https://madsciblog.tradoc.army.mil/2...onment-part-1/

It seems to have aged well enough.

China will keep relentlessly pressuring Taiwan.

But CCP need to balance their desire for victory in Taiwan against their existential need for Taiwanese made and American designed advanced silicon, along with the CCPs desire to expand global network acceptance(voluntary or force fed) of the Digital Yuan.

I was a guest once a USAF podcast on innovation a few years ago when I was running courses for the ADF.

If I was to describe the Russia/Ukraine issue right now, I would use a YouTube video to explain it(oversimplified):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ-UZ4DvYBg

MasterBlaster = Putin
Tina Turner = Germany

Cheers!

Just glad I can contribute in this narrow slice on a forum community where I have learned so much.

:D

There may be another component to this to factor in. Food.

The West may believe in man made global warming, but I believe the Chinese and Russians hold a different view...

https://phys.org/news/2006-08-russia...global-cooling.

htmlhttps://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3022136/china-scientists-warn-global-cooling-trick-natures-sleeve

If some projections are correct, by 2030 there will be problems with crop zones in China, Russia, Australia, Canada and the US.

Ukraine is a "Bread Basket" You may note that the Chinese are buying up food assets world wide; Africa and the US.

For the Russians, Ukraine is a lot more existential for them then for us.

I think current Russian posturing by parking ships over underseas cables and incursions into Swedish airspace with drones etc is them telling us how serious this is to them.

They told us from Day 1 when the Soviet Union collapsed that they didn't want Ukraine in NATO and as far as I can tell, Germany and France still agree with them.

Flagg, Schooled, Thank you!

Now for a slightly different view of noble China, this is notable::)

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rec...atic-officials

china... literally sticking it up our ass

go figure

That’s just insane.

Why would a US State Department representative operating under diplomatic credentials submit to anything?

It is not only normalising the act of submission to the agents of communism, despite the diplomatic credentials to prevent it, but it is also a DNA and gut biome personal security risk.

I can think of few things worse at the individual level than having the CCP/PLA targeting me individually while in possession of genomic information.

Perhaps not an I,mediate existential threat today, but someday it will really matter.

Thats what I was thinking also now they have the DNA of everyone, including the station chief and everyone under him.

Pouring myself a finger or two of Kelt XO, the impotence of not being in position to augment serious change, leaves few alternatives to quiet the rage. How is it we have come this far, the sacrifices of many generations carved in stone, meaningless to the political class. On final exit, a consideration should not be to journey into that good night alone.

*meh* look at all the beta, soy-boys in State and you can see how they'd bend over for the opportunity for anything to penetrate them. Remember, they are still heavily infested with Obama-boys, trying to fundamentally change out Nation.

Now...can you imagine any of us being in that position? "Excuse me Hop Sing, you think you're going to do...what??!!! Best you put that away and we'll not speak of this again lest I run that through your squinty fucking eye."

But the VA's "Million Veteran Program" wants your blood and lifestyle history for genetic research and they promise, swear on a stack of Twinkies, that their researchers will do their best to safeguard your personal DNA information.

And we know no one here has ever had their information get out in the wind from the VA (or Treasury, or State, or the first VA release, or OPM...).

Penn,
Stolen

On final exit, a consideration should not be to journey into that good night alone

SnT

Putin, has done the math. he see's no real downside to his legacy of reuniting historical Russia, which for many Russians the breakup was never accepted, not much different from the 2020 election outcome. There remains a deep disappointment in our electoral system.

The comparison is based in emotion. They are one and the same. Putin, is in many ways a nationalist, he wants the prestige and honor of Russia restored, a worthy goal for any leader of any country. Likewise, we all look forward to the 2022/24 to right the societal wrongs of a misguided political philosophy.

The confrontation with Russia is manufactured, a constructed distraction which the Biden administration and the whole of MSM will decade all efforts to distract the American voting public from the past 30 months of internal domestic conflict that has sought to undermine the constitutional structure of these United States.

The D卐M☭CRAT Party will do whatever is necessary to limit the impact of lost in the election, be prepared to suffer socially and economically. Their (D卐M☭CRAT Party) only way forward to the total demise of our economy and social cohesion.

Side note: With 60% of Russian Ground forces and mech centered around in Ukraine, just think what a target rich AO exist, exploited, Russia would cease to be a threat.

Target RICH and with a little help from Global Warming,, a heavily mechanized army stuck in the Spring mud.
:munchin

800 soldiers from an Italy-based infantry battalion task force to the Baltic states
(The Herd)
Up to eight Air Force F-35 strike fighters from Germany to the Baltics, as well as an unspecified location on NATO’s southeastern flank

An attack aviation battalion with 20 AH-64 Apache helicopters, from Germany to the Baltics

An attack aviation task force with 12 Apaches from Greece to Poland

32 Apaches is an awesome amount of fire power

The gulf war proved how lethal Apaches were, Russian Armor impinge
in mud may be no different than fortified sand pits that the Iraq Armor employed.

Who's the huckleberry in this one?

Edit to add: Why would Putin have waited, when the outcome of his delay to attack, allow the repositioning of these forces? Which arguably, are extreme offense weapon platforms. What does Russia have to counter Apaches and their standoff capabilities?

As I watch events unfold around the world, one things becomes clear...

When the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus shuttered its door in 2017 - it had NOTHING to do with cruelty to animals or the exploitation of endangered species.

After the 2016 election leftists around the world realized that they had an unsustainable need for clowns. The circus was forced out of business because they had clowns - a existential commodity to activists and community organizers.

The clown shoes being used by the democrats no longer fit and the democrats needed to start cultivating a new generation of fucking circus clowns to help crash the government.

...now performing in the center ring under the big top - JoJo the Horse Faced Pony Soldier

***please remain seated until the show is over - we don't want anyone missing the show***

No wonder I dislike clowns so much, our so-called leaders put on that hideous clown suit everyday. Damn JoJo...

Hot tip - those aren't suits nor are they wearing a mask - that is what an honest to god scary clown looks like just before they put on the big foam nose...

Why would you think our current leadership would use any of these weapons? Putin obviously isn't concerned about it, and why should he be?

:munchin

My thought process is that when the sanctions imposed by the west hit Putin and his inner circle of influence the greatest he will turn the control valve on natural gas and petroleum flowing into Europe. When the Europeans are freezing their asses off and can’t charge their electric cars and gas prices go through the roof he will sit back and laugh his ass off.

My assessment is Putin is in a position of power and has nothing to lose and much to gain. NATO will likely fall (fail) as a paper tiger and the US will be holding strings to nothing more than an idealistic memory of what it was like to be considered a world superpower.

If China is watching [which I think they are] the Orient is ripe for total take over without a shot being fired.

The Middle East (oil producers) are already is thinking we don’t need to compete with the United States and will meet with Putin to establish new oil prices for the world market.

There are no upsides to this conflict other than Joe Biden starting WW3 over his and Hunter Biden’s implicit underhanded monopoly on supporting Ukrainian oil production.

Putin has already won and we cannot do anything about it.

I was wondering the other day if they have already started painting our trucks and tanks green from desert tan?

All true, ODNT, ... and a paper tiger has no teeth. Relearning the same old lesson again and again is painful. Problem: Politicians have no blood in the fight.

"When will the lesson be learned? You cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth!" (Churchill)

Heh, ODNT. Remembering the old joke about the body's argument over which organ is the most important; fait accompli once the asshole decides to shut itself closed.

Much discussion at the talking head level over the last 24 hours, and likely some at the living room level, of reversing the pipeline and drilling lease measures imposed by Obama 3.0 regime in order to counter Russian impact. Subsequent conclusion by regular dirt people I know is that they absolutely won't do it because it would seem to make sense. It also runs counter to inflicting pain on those same people, which seems to be a part of the script pre-Putin. Tossing phrases out like "strategic reserve" is weak tea because that reserve isn't all that much, and not for the purpose of helping Buffy fill her cross-over before she drops the kids at hockey practice.

Ewwww...Like a real life Halloween Mask:D

RL, I'm certain, that Biden isn't making any decisions. But the D卐M☭CRAT Party needs a distraction from/for their behavior these past 72 months. War is a great reset, and I think as the slaughter continues, it will act as a magnet, dragging the the USA/west willingly into the fray. YMMV

When your closest allies don’t see the problem as a problem at all!

https://apple.news/A0vLT00I1QsGpd2DNKhoTnQ


U.S. Diplomatic Push for Ukraine Falters in a Middle East Influenced by Russia
Washington’s regional partners have so far rebuffed U.S. calls to come out against Moscow

Excerpts:

Saudi Arabia, the de facto OPEC leader, has rebuffed U.S. requests to pump more oil to help tame surging crude prices, which topped $100 a barrel amid concerns over supply after Russia invaded Ukraine. The United Arab Emirates, which hosts U.S. troops, ignored U.S. lobbying and abstained from a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the Russian invasion.
Even Israel, the U.S.’s closest ally in the region, has refused a Ukrainian request for weapons and other military equipment, such as helmets and protective vests, according to Ukraine’s ambassador, Yevgen Korniychuk. Israel fears that choosing sides too openly against Moscow could prompt Russian forces in Syria to respond by interfering with its long-running air campaign against Iranian-backed militias there, Israeli officials said.






Biden administration - negotiating from a position of weakness!

I notice this administration has conveniently forgotten the Budapest Agreement of 1994. The Ukraine gave its nukes back to Russia in exchange for the West providing protection from Russia.

The Men in Black probably held up the amnesia pen; the same one that caused the Russians to not get some stuff in writing about NATO not moving further eastward.