Yekaterinburg: The End Of U.S. Imperialism?
Russia, Afghanistan and Pakistan hold informal talks at Yekaterinburg.
Friends, I read an interesting article yesterday on Information Clearing House. It was called ‘The American Empire Is Bankrupt’ and it was written by Chris Hedges. You should read it if you’re game.
It detailed how a meeting was taking place in Yekaterinburg in Russia on the 15th and 16th of June, one attended by members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization plus BRIC. The member nations that attended included Russia, India, China, Brazil. There were also many observers from countries like Iran, Mongolia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The U.S. was declined participation!
The meetings purpose? To discuss removing the U.S. dollar as the reserve currency of the world because many nations of the world know that America is bankrupt and is funding its increasing military imperialism by printing money, money which is not backed by either its assets or income but by borrowing (the U.S. defense budget for 2008 is $623 billion).
According to Reuters news this morning, suggestions coming from the meeting included making other currencies like the Russian rouble, the Chinese yuan or even gold as alternative reserve currencies.
This would break the monopoly of the U.S. dollar in international trade, and the American grip on world finances, and America’s ability to borrow beyond its means or hold other U.S. dollar-holding countries to ransom.
If America can’t borrow then its warmongering days are nearly over. Instead, it will go bankrupt or largely so and become a bit player in world affairs, a position that will better represent its 4.5% of the world’s population.
Remember the name ‘Yekaterinburg’. It could symbolize the beginning of the end of the American Empire and its militaristic and financial tyranny.
And not a moment too soon!
I believe tthat knowing the USA track record we can’t expect that they will relinquish their empire without a fight. The USA may be on their knees economically but they have an inmense advantage in armament over the rest of the world and as the saying goes, when the only tool you have is a hammer everything starts to look like a nail.
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Loz, the point you make is a valid one.
However if America can’t borrow it can’t fund more wars or escalate current ones. And if its creditor nations call in their loans, America will go ‘poof’.
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Yes I read this article this morning, what’s interesting is that nothing is mentioned in the mainstream US media about this and what it means to the USA. Is this a case of denial or are they just waving it off as ‘don’t worry, It’ll never happen’. As much as I dislike the US Empire, I do worry for the lives of ordinary people whom will be affected by it, including Aussie citizens who’s fault this is not.
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David G Reply:
June 17th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Kemosobi, the bulk of Americans (including their leaders) exist in a world where they see themselves at its centre.
For decades they have consumed a disproportionate amount of the world’s resources while they happily watched their armies trampling all over other nations. They have supported the brutality of Israel and have got into bed with all manner of despots, terrorists and dictators. I guess the old saying that, eventually, you reap what you sow must apply.
However, I do feel sorry for decent Americans like the ones who frequent this blog, the minority who see what their country has become and deplore it.
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The US wanted to attend as observers. But they were declined. A further revelation of their declining power
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David G Reply:
June 17th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Simon, thanks for dropping by. Your observation is correct. That their power is declining is fortunate because they are misusing it!
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fan-f#@king-tastic idea………………….go go go guys.
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Yekaterinburg. Interesting symbolism. That’s where the the last of the Russian Tsars and his entire family were shot (in a cellar) during the October Revolution.
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David G Reply:
June 18th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Khuloud, an interesting snippet of information. Hopefully the meeting will prove to be the start of a new world order, one based upon peace for a change!
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It would be good to the US and its power to do evil in the world come to an end. The sad part is that end will be awful for those americans who did not give support to the harm it has done in the past and is doing now. While we oppose what our government is doing there is very little we can do to change what is happening.
America also has huge numbeers of weapons and, I am sure, will not go down without a fight and with nothing left to loose it can take much of the rest of the world down with it.
There is no way that this can work out that will not cause harm to millions maybe billions of innocent people.
After american power is gone will some other country take its place or will the world be in such terrible shape that everything will be local? Then what about local tyrants ruling. With all the guns in just about everyones hands here in the US it could become a very dangerous and violent place.
I worry about my grandson who is dark skinned in a small town of mostly white people. Will he be a target of racial hatred. Right wing hate crimes are rising rapidly with the economic downturn and the endless raving of racists bigots.
I read that article and it scares me very very much!
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Jeannie, I feel protective of your grandson too. What a wonderful boy and a sweet little family you have. I almost have enough room for a commune and there is certainly enough room for big gardens that would require more than me to care for. I am not in a position to have a family live with us, yet, but it is something I have thought about many times. Things will change in the future, as they always do. Who knows, when the time comes. My son would love to have other kids around. Being an only child, he is always telling me he wishes he had a sibling. My choices are to lay in bed for a year and have to detox the baby off of the medications I have to take; marry a man with kids and be a step-mom, or open our house to foster kids; or better yet a whole family. Thanks for indulging my dreams. However, when the time comes, if you feel you are in mortal danger, you may need to make a choice to be in a safer place. What a terrible choice to have to make; to leave your home that you have known and loved and have to leave because of ingnorants. Hopefully it won’t come to that. We had to leave living in San Francisco because it had changed too much and was not a good place to live unless you can live in Noe Valley or Nob Hill. Broke my heart, as that is where my family is from; where my parents lived & met, and musician grandmother owned many houses. We were living near Ocean Beach. It is the new Hong Kong, and being white we were in the small minority and we were considered as all white people are: white devils. We would smile and they would spit on the ground. To contain our rage, we needed to just move. My year old son said to me, unprompted, after smiling at a chinese boy and receiving a blank stare, which hurt his young feelings: what is the matter with that boy? I explained that they were sick and unable to smile. I don’t want to live hating anybody. So sometimes it is better to just move.
Makes me think of the many refugees in this world. Pakistanis and Afghanis escaping American drones. Or Palestinians who believe they cannot leave their home, and rightly so.
I suppose “we” reap what “we” sow. It is just too bad that the scoundrels who start all of it are not the ones living on the run. It is always innocent people who pay the price for corruption at the highest levels.
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Jeannie Reply:
June 20th, 2009 at 12:35 am
Thank you for such kind thoughts! I also hope we never have to move since most of our family lives within 10 miles of us and it is good that we can all be close. That is something I think will be more and more important as conditions get more difficult.
I am sorry that things were so rough for you and your son, reading your comments inspire me to keep on trying as you seem to be a person of both a lot of courage and strength not to mention wisdom.
Thankfully David will keep on blogging and I can keep on reading his thought provoking ideas and the comments from wonderful people like you.
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David, here is where people can get truly up-to-date information on the true standing of America in the world. Our mother-bird news organizations, cover our collective ears and hum a nice tune while the real news evades the average tv watcher.
Quite revealing, America being declined the honor of simply observing a meeting of such tremendous importance. Hm.
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David G Reply:
June 19th, 2009 at 8:59 am
The closed door is probably the most significant factor, Grace.
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David,
It has been a while. I see I came back way too soon and need to go away again.
- The USA isn’t gonna go poof for many more years.
- Russia’s economy sucks worse than the US by a factor of 3 (GDP down 9% versus 3%).
- Brazil might be a factor in another 50 or 60 years – naaaaah
- The US is NOT gonna start WW3 – but do you really think the US couldn’t finance a war? The nukes are already paid for, loaded on subs, circling the globe. BTW – sadly – any US nuclear sub by itself is the world’s 4th largest nuclear power – scary, not good, but a fact
- this is just Russia trying play Soviet Union 2 and it is the same lame crap they did as Soviet Union 1
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David G Reply:
June 19th, 2009 at 8:44 am
Bill, whatever you’re smoking it’s not doing you any good! You’ve lost touch with reality!
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… a British commentator this morning, on NPR, applying a Winston Churchill quote roughly as follows in relation to America’s
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“America will always do the right thing, but only after exhausting all other options.”
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Dolce, an interesting and apt quote!
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This is the first place where I read about this meeting. Thanks for this report. USA better bring our troops home, while we still can afford to.
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David G Reply:
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:06 am
The meeting was largely ignored by the MSM, Therese. It probably didn’t suit their spin as they try to convince us that the world financial and economic crisis is nearly over!
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Hello thank god there are a few that see through the maddness, In regards to the post, no one currency or nation should be able to hold the rest of the world at ransom, there needs to be a very different system but in place, Us is great at printing it own money, our politicians are very good at blinding us into thinking they are running a tidy ship, the brainwashed are fine as long as their table is full.
Words from songs…….quote
“We are either too hungry to see the light or busy fighting to care what right”
“The world doesn’t need money to go round, but the world goes round on money”
Economy……running the world with money and power and warfare as its driving force can lead no where, but to self destruction……its as cave man… as warfare…..narrow minded weak bullies ( while they hold the loaded gun) with no concept of a future for any but themselves ( not even their grandchildren), this makes a scary world. ( infact this was worked out eons ago) you cant rule people with aggression because they will eventually rebell, thus came religion to conquer the conscience and the heart thus control man from within!
What about intelligent quality of life for the planet and its people?????
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David G Reply:
June 26th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Fi, thanks for your thoughtful contribution. “Too busy fighting to see what is right,” says it all!
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An animal cornered is unpredictable and worse when that animal is America. It’s brutal history is proof enough that there is no moral conscious in the land and they will not blink an eye to bring down the entire planet if they go down.
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David G Reply:
June 26th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
LT, sadly what you say is true. But I think that more and more Americans are waking up to the world nightmare that is the American Dream. Hopefully they will prevail!
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