The idle musings of a former military man, former computer geek, medically retired pastor and now full-time writer. Contents guaranteed to offend the politically correct and anal-retentive from time to time. My approach to life is that it should be taken with a large helping of laughter, and sufficient firepower to keep it tamed!
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
The Russia-China relationship: one-sided?
Peter Ziehan has some interesting thoughts on the reality of the situation. His video is less than 4 minutes long, and is worth your time, IMHO.
Food for thought, no? If I were President Putin, I wouldn't be sleeping easily at night . . .
Perhaps some should send Gospodin Putin a copy of Tom Clancy's "The Bear and the Dragon". Not one of his best but perhaps relevant to current situations.
The Real Life Lore channel had a fascinating thought experiment about China taking over Siberia a few weeks back. It's about 33 minutes long, but I found it fascinating all the way through -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iibs7buNwxQ
Interesting, all the way from NZ, eh? :) Anyway, I know (I came to N America from Romania loong time ago so I know in great detail the history of the region + history of Russia-Romania relationship across a millennium), long story short: Russians are bastards. Remember that guy with "China is asshooe!" ? Well, Russia is twice that. They always had conqueror mentality, always-always trying to invade and pillage as much as possible. Rude, barbaric, impulsive, never with European mentality, keeping their people in dismal poor state and in a feudal/overly religious mentality. Now with a huge nostalgia/complex over Communist Empire days when everyone was licking their boots. I never liked China either (all family avoids Chinese products like the plague) but I hope Xi burns Putin really-really good.
I'm pretty sure Putin being KGB is smart enough to know that Nations don't have friends, they have mutual interests.
I'm pretty sure Xi knows Putin would do a Sampson Response to any military action against Mother Russia.
Putin has been very careful in his responses to American provocations as not to get Mother Russia nuked but they will use them if a real threat to Russia occurs.
I think Xi is playing America against Russia while we have weak and foolish leaders right out of Isaiah chapter 3 Gods Judgement against Judah
America weakened unto economic collapse and the "rifle behind every blade of grass" shooting at each other.
China simply waits until the satellites show the lights are out in America before getting badly needed farmland and resources. What's a few years to China?
Pray for wisdom and protect your family. DC will not protect you.
Every alliance between nations is an alliance of convenience. Ziehan is as Chris above wisely said the Jordan Peterson of geopolitics, much fluff few if any penetrating analysis, I dismiss him out of hand.
Peter Z is an interesting character. He's obviously very smart, and knows a lot about demography and some aspects of global commerce and economics. However, he has some huge blind spots and ideological blinkers. His knowledge of military strategy, tactics, operations, logistics, and affairs are extremely limited and "flavored" to support the official narrative. As an example, he though Russia had no chance of winning in UKR, and has given several presentations where he appears to be totally unaware of RUS river-crossing capability, so much so he presented the Ukrainian rivers and totally impassible barriers if the bridges get downed. He also doesn't deviate much from official State Department Narrative on things like the mind of Putin or Xi, and still thinks of US industrial potential as being on par with where it was in the early 1980s or so; he still sees our economy in terms of nominal dollar output, not real industrial output.
So in summary: he's worth listening to on some things, but with a healthy grain of salt, and an awareness of his HUGE biases in some places.
Like all commentators his views must be leavened with an awareness of his biases. He is a climate change believer for example. The Soviets and the Nazis were allies for a considerable time with the Nazis rearmament widely aided by the Soviets. How'd that work out? In 1939 they divided Poland between them. In America the communists were widely anti war and pro isolation until June 1941. Judging by what I get from other sources, his analysis of the central weaknesses of China are spot on. The only country that has inflated their money with excessive creation more than the US is China. This year they officially increased their budget deficit by an additional 20%.
Russia and China are using each other, and their major focus is on weakening the Western Alliance, since they see this as the major threat. NATO said it should expand to the Info-Pacific.
Watching the third world dictators line up to a gold backed currency for liars and thieves is going to be a shit show of global proportions. Anyone that does not own gold should be worried.
I love how people 'know' all kinds of things that just aren't so. One might wonder if a China that has invested a vast amount of money into infrastructure to build a fleet and shipping capacity far larger than the US is really interested in battling for scraps on Russia's southern flank. Also, there's a historical downside to having a hot war on your border with India, allies like Pakistan and attempting anything in Central Asia unless you can tack a Khan after your name. I will say that Russia has demonstrated that it has both the will and the means to destroy Ukraine and by extension all of European NATO without breaking a sweat. Europe is just about tapped out militarily and their Armies have not fought in any kind of real war since 1952. They literally have nobody left that knows how to wage combined arms warfare or the means to wage it with. China may need to pick a fight, as Russia has, to train up its own armies, generals, staffs in modern combined arms warfare. They are making great progress even as we visibly decline and shed power. Our exit from Afghanistan and Iraq pretty much showed the rest of Asia and the world the worth of any US military commitment.
Perhaps some should send Gospodin Putin a copy of Tom Clancy's "The Bear and the Dragon". Not one of his best but perhaps relevant to current situations.
ReplyDeleteThe Real Life Lore channel had a fascinating thought experiment about China taking over Siberia a few weeks back. It's about 33 minutes long, but I found it fascinating all the way through -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iibs7buNwxQ
ReplyDeleteChinese think long term... Rusaians, not so much.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, all the way from NZ, eh? :) Anyway, I know (I came to N America from Romania loong time ago so I know in great detail the history of the region + history of Russia-Romania relationship across a millennium), long story short: Russians are bastards. Remember that guy with "China is asshooe!" ? Well, Russia is twice that. They always had conqueror mentality, always-always trying to invade and pillage as much as possible. Rude, barbaric, impulsive, never with European mentality, keeping their people in dismal poor state and in a feudal/overly religious mentality. Now with a huge nostalgia/complex over Communist Empire days when everyone was licking their boots.
ReplyDeleteI never liked China either (all family avoids Chinese products like the plague) but I hope Xi burns Putin really-really good.
I'm pretty sure Putin being KGB is smart enough to know that Nations don't have friends, they have mutual interests.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure Xi knows Putin would do a Sampson Response to any military action against Mother Russia.
Putin has been very careful in his responses to American provocations as not to get Mother Russia nuked but they will use them if a real threat to Russia occurs.
I think Xi is playing America against Russia while we have weak and foolish leaders right out of Isaiah chapter 3 Gods Judgement against Judah
America weakened unto economic collapse and the "rifle behind every blade of grass" shooting at each other.
China simply waits until the satellites show the lights are out in America before getting badly needed farmland and resources. What's a few years to China?
Pray for wisdom and protect your family. DC will not protect you.
@ Michael
ReplyDelete"...while we have weak and foolish leaders..."
you're being very kind.
Copeium.
ReplyDeleteIt's Fentanyl for Midwits.
Ziehan is the geopolitical version of Jordan Peterson. Some facts and oodles of fancy sentences to impress the rubes.
ReplyDeletePutin has far more to worry about from China than those warlike Germans;poles;Frogs; or Biden’s dancing rocketed Austin and Miley.
ReplyDeleteEvery alliance between nations is an alliance of convenience. Ziehan is as Chris above wisely said the Jordan Peterson of geopolitics, much fluff few if any penetrating analysis, I dismiss him out of hand.
ReplyDeletePeter Z is an interesting character.
ReplyDeleteHe's obviously very smart, and knows a lot about demography and some aspects of global commerce and economics.
However, he has some huge blind spots and ideological blinkers.
His knowledge of military strategy, tactics, operations, logistics, and affairs are extremely limited and "flavored" to support the official narrative. As an example, he though Russia had no chance of winning in UKR, and has given several presentations where he appears to be totally unaware of RUS river-crossing capability, so much so he presented the Ukrainian rivers and totally impassible barriers if the bridges get downed.
He also doesn't deviate much from official State Department Narrative on things like the mind of Putin or Xi, and still thinks of US industrial potential as being on par with where it was in the early 1980s or so; he still sees our economy in terms of nominal dollar output, not real industrial output.
So in summary: he's worth listening to on some things, but with a healthy grain of salt, and an awareness of his HUGE biases in some places.
Like all commentators his views must be leavened with an awareness of his biases. He is a climate change believer for example.
ReplyDeleteThe Soviets and the Nazis were allies for a considerable time with the Nazis rearmament widely aided by the Soviets. How'd that work out? In 1939 they divided Poland between them. In America the communists were widely anti war and pro isolation until June 1941.
Judging by what I get from other sources, his analysis of the central weaknesses of China are spot on. The only country that has inflated their money with excessive creation more than the US is China. This year they officially increased their budget deficit by an additional 20%.
So so analysis.
ReplyDeleteRussia and China are using each other, and their major focus is on weakening the Western Alliance, since they see this as the major threat. NATO said it should expand to the Info-Pacific.
prez putin is not to be trifled with
ReplyDeletehas his ego under control
Watching the third world dictators line up to a gold backed currency for liars and thieves is going to be a shit show of global proportions. Anyone that does not own gold should be worried.
ReplyDeleteI love how people 'know' all kinds of things that just aren't so. One might wonder if a China that has invested a vast amount of money into infrastructure to build a fleet and shipping capacity far larger than the US is really interested in battling for scraps on Russia's southern flank. Also, there's a historical downside to having a hot war on your border with India, allies like Pakistan and attempting anything in Central Asia unless you can tack a Khan after your name. I will say that Russia has demonstrated that it has both the will and the means to destroy Ukraine and by extension all of European NATO without breaking a sweat. Europe is just about tapped out militarily and their Armies have not fought in any kind of real war since 1952. They literally have nobody left that knows how to wage combined arms warfare or the means to wage it with. China may need to pick a fight, as Russia has, to train up its own armies, generals, staffs in modern combined arms warfare. They are making great progress even as we visibly decline and shed power. Our exit from Afghanistan and Iraq pretty much showed the rest of Asia and the world the worth of any US military commitment.
ReplyDelete