Here is a wonderful analysis and comparison of Chinese and American corruption:
https://www.unz.com/bhua/corruption-in-the-us-and-china-a-comparative-analysis/
Once again, we're not the force for good we pretend to be. And I think most people outside the US have known this for quite some time.
When I read this essay a while back, it reminded me of the fall of the USSR:
Their demise happened slowly, then all at once. It really seems like we're on a similar trajectory.
And the current "soft" civil war in which we are engaged isn't helping much, is it?
By now you've all heard of the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage and at least one of the theories about how it was done and by whom.
In case you missed it, one of the latest theories was just published under the byline "Retired US Navy Admiral James Stavridis". You can find it here:
https://21stcenturywire.com/2025/02/26/nord-stream-revelation-submarines-in-the-nato-lake/
One of the things strangely missing from Admiral Stavridis's report was any mention of Operation Ivy Bells. You can read all about it here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ivy_Bells
https://www.military.com/history/operation-ivy-bells.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20101207163630/http://www.specialoperations.com/Operations/ivybells.html
The gist of that story is that the US tapped at least one Soviet undersea communications cable using submarines modified for that specific purpose. It was all hush-hush back then, but has since come into the public record. The capabilities needed for that operation appear to have been exactly what was needed to kill the Nord Stream pipelines, and (no surprise!) they appear to have been first developed and used by the US.
I knew two officers who may have been involved in such underwater surveillance:
Neither one ever mentioned Ivy Bells or any other such operation, which is a bit strange considering how we all liked to brag about the nifty things we had done underwater. My guess is that someone told them to keep their mouths shut due to the extreme sensitivity of such operations. Strictly need to know.
The whole thing makes me suspicious that the reports of Admiral Stavridis and Seymour Hersh both are limited hangouts, with the implication that additional such undersea cable and pipeline disruptions either are or will be underway ... and thanks to such complex but misleading theories as those mentioned above will NEVER, EVER be discussed in public.
But that's the beauty of submarines - nobody (sometimes even including members of the crew) ever knows exactly what they're doing.
These are two of the scariest reports I have read so far this year:
https://bombthrower.com/the-singularity-has-already-happened/
Face it ... there is ZERO control over AI research. Anyone can do more or less anything they want regardless of the possible consequences.
And as the saying goes, "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
I think we're going to discover this principle applies to machines as well as humans. Perhaps even more so.
Update - 3/20/2025
You can add this to the list of "scary" reports:
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/ai-integration-crisis-special-operators-view-tactical-edge
Making AI faster, more capable, more lethal just adds to the problem - we're creating something like Skynet ... and it doesn't matter whether or not it becomes self-aware. Even if it's fully under human control, do you trust anyone you know with that kind of power?
I don't.
Dumbest thing we're ever done. By far. And everyone seems to agree it's unstoppable.
Half the people living today originated in what is now Ukraine:
Is this for real, or is it just a coincidence we're only learning this now that the US, Russia, and much of the EU are trying hard to kill all the people now living there?
Saw this "beautiful" new plan today:
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/minerals-bases-trump/2025/03/10/id/1202245/
This may be the silliest idea since Operation Warp Speed.
We're in the middle of implementing the PACT Act, which among other things is trying to mitigate the health impacts of "burn pits" on our military outposts ... and NOW we want to expose the rest of our troops to emissions from the refining of highly toxic minerals?
Are you freaking kidding me?
We'd probably experience fewer casualties if we just let the Chinese keep all the world's rare earths, etc. and let them do the smelting.
Recently saw this gem of wishful thinking:
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/us-energy-council-chief-says-220558026.html
Every power plant I've seen is designed, rated, and licensed for a specified maximum power output. The cumulative yearly output also is limited by shutdowns for necessary maintenance and those caused by unforeseen circumstances.
You can't just mandate a power increase.
What you CAN mandate, however, is to stop the stupid practice of shutting down carbon emitting power plants before replacing them with reliable alternatives. This should have been obvious to any and all professional engineers and system planners.
