A remarkable week

The IMF has, again, been confronted with its remarkable level of competence in dealing with the crisis in Europe. Nothing new, I'll just note that, in this context, the IMF was not alone and the other two heads of the troika are also worthy recipients of this report's conclusion.

Which brings us to the EU sanctions voting, and Dieselbloke's disappointment that Portugal and Spain didn't get a new one ripped open. It's always good to remember that it's assholes like this that directed the plan that had such impressive results in solving the Portuguese crisis.

Meanwhile, across the pond, this week has shone a light on why I'm done with the so-called progressives:

1. The problem with the Democrat mail leakage was Russia's meddling

Absolutely. The problem was not that the party has wilfully and deliberately chose to sabotage a candidate. These remarkable people seem to believe that the problem is not stealing, it's getting caught.

They've just proved the system is rigged. And Bernie Sanders went along with it. Let's see how his supporters will take that.

Incidentally...

2. Grow up, Berners

Yeah, stop with your childish fits. Adopt some more grown-up behaviour, like

• getting a camera and taking pictures of disappointed Bernie supporters and then making an article mocking them; or
• writing an article where you elevate the discussion by calling Bernie supporters "attention-seeking dead-enders", saying they're "mostly white men" and having the aforementioned "childish fits". There was probably more in this article, but my BS-meter exploded at the words "communicate subconscious phallic fears of Clinton’s ascension to power" and I had to stop reading; or
• ... at this point, I should have something else to say, as per the Rule of Threes, but I won't even bother. Let's just say the remarkable people at the Democrat mouthpieces that like to pass themselves as "media", "press", or "explainers" were at their most remarkable. Perhaps we can say they have achieved a new height on their race to the bottom...?

The Democrats have confirmed (if confirmation was needed) that they're the exact same shit as the Republicans - the party where money rules.

On a more serious note, Sarah Silverman has finished her ongoing journey from my list of "Not Assholes" to my list of "Assholes".

3. Rule of Threes

This time, I do have the required third item to go here. And, come November, maybe there'll be a relevant third item in the US election, as well.

I'm very curious to see how things will go for Trump, but, especially, for Gary Johnson. No, neither of them will solve anything that actually needs solving - Gary Johnson is more credible than Trump, but while the libertarians are somewhat sensible on their social positions, their economic arguments are mostly cherry-picked success stories dressed up as dogma. I.e., more of the same.

The question is - if Johnson's base grows, where will this growth come from? Berners? NeverTrumpers? Both?

Very curious, indeed.

IMF, Turkey, and Doping

IMF

The remarkable people at the IMF have again excelled themselves with their latest piece of financial wisdom: Portugal's banking system is a threat to the world economy.

The country that represents little more than a rounding error in the world economy, the country whose greatest problem is a war waged against it by the so-called Eurozone, is a threat to the world economy.

Congrats, IMF. You've achieved a new level of BS.

Turkey

So, what about Turkey?

Well, the current drive against such terrible extremists as, say, teachers, clearly shows the direction Turkey is headed. And I can't say I dislike it.

How can I say this? Don't I realize this is terrible for the Turkish people? You mean, the same Turkish people that poured into the streets at Erdogan's call and risked their lives to confront the military?

The majority of the Turkish people has spoken. They apparently stand with Erdogan and his religious concept of state. So, while I agree this is not good for the Turkish people, the Turkish people respectfully disagree.

However, when I say I don't dislike it, it's for a more encompassing reason.

A deeper trend towards authoritarianism may isolate Turkey from Europe. Which may allow Turkey to seek other allies. If that is the case, this may create the threat to the EU I mentioned in previous posts. Which, as I already said, may be a good thing. Yes, too many maybes, I know. That's life.

So, as much as it pains me to say this - so far, so good, in Turkey.

Doping

I find it amusing that anyone still believes in a clean competition in sports.

Anyone with a brain cell count greater than 0 can see that the state of affairs in FIFA and UEFA is the rule, rather than the exception, in any sport. If you believe the IOC is any different, I may be able to interest you in the purchase of a few bridges in prime locations.

And yet, when these doping "scandals" break, everyone puts on their "outrage" hat. Suddenly, everyone is clean and innocent, except for those that were caught.

In this case, we have a sort of "Olympic Panama Papers": It's the bloody Russians, they're the ones to blame! Ban them, and everything will be all right!

Yeah, right!

In memory of Nice

As much as I've come to abhor Europe (good job, Germany), in days like today, I stand with Europe.

However, I will still qualify this sentence, I don't stand unconditionally with the whole of Europe.

1. I don't stand with any European so-called leader; and, even today, I'll still call them "Elected Accountants", because there's absolutely nothing any of them has done in more than a decade that shows any sort of leadership competence.
2. I don't stand with any European person (here I'm including what we usually call "the people") who supports in any way, shape, or form, any divisive strategy to address a problem.

Confused about point 2? Yes, I understand. Let me elaborate.

But first, if you're grieving from the events at Nice, you may want to stop reading here. I could say I feel your pain, but that would be a lie - I've never been through anything even remotely similar, I can't begin to imagine what you're going through. I hope you can find comfort and pull through, but I have nothing to offer, other than my sympathy.

About point 2, then. I defend Portugal should leave the Euro and the EU. How can I bash "divisive"?Can we get more divisive than that?

Yes, we can (TM).

Sometime ago, Ana Gomes, a Portuguese MEP, stated a controversial opinion, by citing the European austerity as one of the causes facilitating the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo. She was immediately crucified, especially by every right-wing idiot out there.

Granted, Ana Gomes is not the most articulate person you'll ever come across. And she did seem more interested in creating a sound-bite, rather than giving the subject the serious analysis it merits (which was also the case with most of the left-wing idiots who agreed with her).

However, unfortunately for all said right-wing idiots, she was right - austerity played, and still plays, an important role in all this.

Yes, I know the argument, we had attacks before 2008, before the crisis began. Our right-wing buddies repeated this until they went blue in the face, and it's quite typical of their world-view. Because, for these idiots, before 2008 everyone was having a great life. Hey, they were having a great life, so surely everyone was also having a great life, right?

Inequality didn't begin overnight. It didn't even begin in 2008. It just accelerated, but it has been going on since the 80s (I suspect the groundwork was laid out before that, but the evidence I found is still flimsy). Under the argument of "pulling people out of poverty" (meaning "getting people from $1/hour to $2/hour, whoop-dee-fucking-doo") in developing countries, we've been slowly grinding lives elsewhere.

The trickle-down bullshit has failed. The currently-discussed helicopter money bullshit will also fail. You don't need experience in Economy (or Astrology, its twin sister) to assess the high risk of failure these ideas carry. These ideas excuse the State of its functions, are akin to self-regulation, and we know how often that works.

"There is no alternative" the karma goes, "There is no money". Actually, there is. It's just getting "redistributed". Not by some modern-day Stalin, but by all the ideological heirs to Thatcher and Reagan.

This redistribution means the sentence "there is no money" is actually correct, just incomplete. Let's complete it, then, here are a few examples:

- There is no money for unemployment support.

- There is no money for public healthcare.

- There is no money for pensions.

- There is no money for special-needs education.

- There is no money for the integration of different cultures.

Oh, yes, integration is expensive. Very expensive. It demands education, social support, proximity actions. Not just on the immigrant communities; in fact, all this is especially required for the "native" (not the best word, I know) communities. Integration is a bridge - everyone must come half-way, the receiving nations must accommodate for cultural differences, up to the point these infringe on the law and individual liberties.

Again, this is expensive. And there's no money... for this. Because the private initiative doesn't give a rat's ass about this. You see, it has a terrible RoI (actually, it doesn't, but, hey, what do I know?) and there are "better" ways to invest that money. So it's up to the State to spend the money required to get these actions going.

And this is where we get to the "divisive" part. The people currently in charge of the EU (i.e., Germany) have been driving a divisive strategy, based on austerity. If you want to know how this will end, just look at Brexit. Every idiot shouting "Racism!" should probably look at the enlightened work of George Osborne, the last of a long list of creators of inequality in the UK.

This is how the EU will end - a special club for the "hard-working North", where the "lazy South" (the pigs, right?) may be tolerated and allowed to stay if it does what it's told and obeys the commands of its "betters". And these commands will, invariably, mean destroying the State, deepening inequality, and the alienation of a few more million, by throwing them into the life-grinder.

The Northern officials support this, and so do vast numbers of their people. And I don't stand with any of these persons, not even on a day like today.

So, the next time an attack like this happens, we'll find, yet again, someone from some ghetto neighborhood, unemployed, with a history of petty crime, and, faced with the questions "How was this possible? How do we prevent this?", we will answer: "Moar surveillance!" Because, hey, it's been working great, so far, right?

A final note: I couldn't finish this without a special mention to all the people whose remarkable level of competence has given a big push to this current status quo: From Blair and GW Bush to Merkel (not so much for her response to the refugees, but more by the EU's role in the Arab Spring) and Obama (our most wonderful Nobel Peace Prize), I'd say: Quite an achievement, ladies and gentlemen!

More good news from the East and hillarious outrage from Europe

First, the good news, again from Turkey, where we hear they're considering the possibility of normalizing their relations with Syria. Again, given the volatility of the regime(s) involveed, this isn't worth much. But it's a good sign. Let's hope it becomes a good start, soon.

Now, for some laughs.

France and Germany are appalled at the UK's new foreign secretary. It's hilarious to see these assholes taking the moral high ground on Boris Johnson, particularly if we consider the way they lie, cheat, and apply double standards. I'd say "Pot. Kettle. Black", but I consider Boris an amateur when it comes to EU destruction, especially compared to Germany.

Our European buddies bemoan BJ's lack of credibility. But let's take a small sample of their remarkable track record:

1. Creating the plan that didn't solve the crisis in Portugal, but allowing the previous government idiots to claim a"clean exit".
2. Creating the plan that didn't reduce Portugal's debt.
3. Creating the plan that didn't attack the problems responsible for the weaknesses of the Portuguese banking system.
4. Applying sanctions to Portugal when the plan(s) they created (see points 1-3) didn't actually work.

Compared to these European "best of the best", even a rock has more credibility. Boris Johnson will actually look like a shining beacon of credibility just by standing next to them.

Some good news, for a change

Our Elected Accountants are feeling powerful, unleashing their might against such titans as Portugal. Which shows, again, that under Wheely Boy's and DieselBloke's leadership, the EU faces no problem more serious than 0.2% of peanuts.

Yes, I know, it's fucking political. These idiots will punish anyone who doesn't do exactly what they want, when they want it, regardless of the result it may have on millions of people.

Despite all the talk from the likes of Farage and Le Pen, they're not the ones destroying the EU. They just have to stand still and wait. Germany and its allies in this war are actually doing all the work.

Meanwhile, away from this kindergarten, and further to the East, some signs of hope are emerging.

• Turkey has taken the first steps to approach Russia.

It'll be a very long process, and one too volatile to predict outcomes. Neither nation will want to look too eager, even though they both need each other.

• Russia and China have announced several trade deals.

To understand why this is good news, one need only remember two points:

1. The "Western so-called Civilization" has proven that it needs something to keep it in check; and
2. it can only be kept in check by something that's both destructive and threatening.

Point 2 is important, nothing else will work - international law is useless, broad trade deals are designed to be exploited, and don't even get me started on regulation. In other words, rules will be enforced selectively - enforced for some, ignored for others.

I'm not claiming Turkey, Russia or China are any different. As I always say, I see no difference between Washington, Moscow or Berlin - each will destroy lives, as many as needed, to get what it wants.

But I still say that this building up around Russia and China is important - not because this alternative is better, but because, as long as it looks credible and threatening, the assholes on "our" side who think they run the show will have a few wild cards they can't control.

And a few wild cards are all that's required to bring down this house of cards we're so stupidly proud of.

I can only hope that's threatening enough.