ericbj

Fat lot of good this will do ! Years of condemnations and investigations, and still no SAMs, the only effective deterrent.

I did not claim that ESG was a conspiracy of sorts. What I did was to make known the existence of a lengthy interview of someone who claimed to have been one of the early adopters, if not architects, of the ESG framework; and who went on to criticise how it had been fraudulently misused by the investment banks. She also went on to criticise how the principle was developed to include such now largely discredited policies as the Green Revolution and Net Zero. Perhaps attainable some day, but not with present day means and within the planned target dates. What may be of particular interest - at least to those who follow the dialogue - is the way that governments, media, and academia supported the interests of the mega-financiers, at the ultimate expense of consumers and tax-payers. And then one eventually comes to the question of that supposedly benign organisation, the World Economic Forum. Which says that we (the plebs) shall own nothing. Everything will belong to the plutocrats. Some frankness !

R.I.P.

I appreciate your attitude. But have diverged (like some better informed than myself whose overall perspective I may not fully share) on certain issues. Such as Trump. Supportive of many of his views and declared goals but reticent as regards recklessness likely to raise obstacles. And in the case of multiple wanton killings of unidentified civilians on the high seas without producing a shred of supporting evidence: outrageous. Ditto the continuing support for the Zionist regime in Israel. There are some international norms that need to be respected if the world is not to descend into total chaos. Which is already threatening because of the state of the global economy One wonders if some of those around Trump are there to stymie his efforts, as was the case during his first term in office. As regards Reform, I think much of what Farage says makes sense. But had doubts about him after listening to Ben Habib, who resigned from a leadership position in Reform because of his disgust at Farage's then-current behaviour and his earlier refusal to push for the introduction of Brexit policies immediately the Referendum was over. Reminds me of how Enoch Powell would not endorse Nigel Farage as a Conservative candidate because he felt him to be "an opportunist".

Neither left nor right. Am more interested in studying factual context rather than repeating slogans. Now where do you stand on contemporary political and economic issues ?

Depends upon your definition of a leftie.

Provides excellent and detailed insight. Video length 1 hour 26 minutes. Stuff concerning Klaus Schwab starts about 50 minutes in. "Fixler explains how she helped build the ESG and stakeholder capitalism framework from inside Wall Street before discovering it was being used to mislead investors, overcharge consumers, and rebrand powerful elites after the financial crash. Drawing on her time as Chief Sustainability Officer at Deutsche Bank’s trillion dollar asset manager, she reveals how ESG labels were slapped onto funds with no evidence, no data, and no accountability. "She describes how ESG became mandatory through regulation, how net zero and DEI targets distorted corporate decision making, and why trillions were diverted into unprofitable green projects while energy prices soared. Fixler recounts blowing the whistle internally, being fired, smeared, and forced to rebuild her life from scratch before US and German authorities later confirmed widespread ESG fraud "We discuss Klaus Schwab, the World Economic Forum, stakeholder capitalism versus shareholder capitalism, the role of consultants and regulators, and why Fixler believes ESG has undermined growth, trust, and democracy across the West." Definitions: ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance, which refers to a set of standards used to measure a company's impact on society and the environment, as well as its governance practices. DEI : Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs are intended to address historical and systemic disparities based on race, gender, age, ability, and sexual orientation.

Please refer to my earlier comment:

You are entitled to your definition of 'right-wing' defining those who work for a living, on the sacrosanct grounds of freedom of expression. But I am not to be included in your royal "We". 🙂

The main problem with any costly project intended to generate income at some future date is to estimate the major development costs (and the lesser future maintenance costs) and then relate these to the estimated future income, and hence profits generated. The bigger the project, the longer it takes to completion, and the more one is living in a period of extreme economic flux and uncertainty, the more difficult it is to carry out these highly speculative computations. Politicians seem by nature to be ambitious creatures, ever ready to gamble their reputations with taxpayers' money. With a development of this amplitude government should perhaps act more as enablers of major business interests with existing involvement in similar schemes, rather than the government being the primary financier by taking on massive debt to invest in what might prove to be a mirage. If you wish to create a Disneyland, why not try to interest Disney or other major theme-park businesses? Disney built Euro-Disney Land in France which opened in April 1992 [I was peripherally involved]. If such companies show initial interest but then drop out, this could be an indication of uncertain viability.

Love of one's country - patriotism - is NOT a "right-wing view". So-called 'globalism', a betrayal of the nation (treason in disguise) has nothing to do with benefitting the global population but instead is exploitation on a global scale. It is most definitely a right-wing view. A right-wing view favours the rights of a wealthy minority over the well-being of society as a whole. Although it commonly masquerades behind facades. Beware the distortion of language by political propagandists. George Orwell had something to say about abuse of language in his best known works; and in an essay: http://public-library.uk/ebooks/72/30.pdf

My understanding is that there is no need to "investigate" Zelensky's finances. NABU has known all along about his and his cronies' corruption. NABU, the Ukrainian anti-corruption body, is controlled by the FBI (not the CIA!). Permitted corruption is the way these people are manipulated. When they defy their masters, the carpet is pulled from under them. As has been done recently to many of Zelensky's inner circle.

Some historical background: https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/old-borders-new-battles-thailand-cambodia-and-unfinished-war

Why are Muslims fleeing to Europe and not to rich Arab countries ?

Is this AI generated ? The content makes me think it is. Yet in contrast to some crudely AI-produced material it is very convincingly presented. [e.g. see how well the speech corresponds with movement of the lips; and the postulates are logical] Yet on querying the Web one finds this: "The U.S. is currently considering withdrawal from NATO, with recent bills introduced by Republican lawmakers arguing that the alliance is outdated and costly for American taxpayers. However, any withdrawal would require a formal process as outlined in Article 13 of the North Atlantic Treaty, and previous bipartisan efforts have aimed to prevent unilateral withdrawal by the president."

A military man shocked Ukraine: "Zelensky – stop lying, end the war, leave now!"

You have either been severely misinformed, in which case improve your research on the matter, or else are of an inventive turn of mind. As to my "not addressing the issue faced by the USA", please re-read my initial response. I have been on the border over the past twenty-four years; involved with the struggle for human rights in Burma for slighly longer; launched a web-site dealing with the issues before first coming to the border in 2001; contributed regularly to two Burma yahoogroups; drafted upon request a petition condemning the Depayin Massacre published within three days of its occurrence; have personally known and worked with personnel at very different levels of the KNLA and with a senior member of the KNU; have known dissident Burma Army officers, including one trained in Russia and another in one of my classes; the General Secretary of the DAB, now deceased, who had broad access to unpublished sources, was for many years a close friend; and I lived with and taught English at Burmese organisations of diverse kinds, including to refugees, the ABSDF, the KYO and other ethnic and inter-ethnic organisations, including a school enabling young Burmese aged about 16 to 25 to acquire the GED and thereby enter certain Asian universities. Nowadays retired, I am currently living with and cared for (after breaking a hip) by a Karen family whose home-town was in 3rd Brigade area. The town was evacuated after being partially burnt down and then mortared by Burma Army troops stationed in a camp on the town's outskirts. This was their means of responding to losses at the hands of youths forced out of the cities by the murders committed there by the military. The IDPs formed a PDF in the neighbouring forests and proceeded to harass their oppressors by blowing up some thirty soldiers with an IED and then shooting dead the battalion's deputy CO.

What you say is undocumented and somewhat incoherent. Why would two un-named Burmese in New York contact an unidentified arms dealer in Thailand to arrange for some undisclosed third-party to threaten and injure a regime ambassador (presumably in Bangkok) to get him to agree to relinquish his post. And if he does not subsequently do so, they are to kill him. Far-fetched even for fiction. The DKBA which you mention, as also the various BGFs, are regime-controlled organisms. In no way supportive of a federal democratic Burma. And they harbour huge Chinese-run scam-centres. M.A.H.'s regime which together with its crony organisations drew profits from them has finally been forced, after years of financial gain therefrom, to take some action. Owing to pressure from the Chinese Government, upon which the regime has become increasingly dependent due to its weakened hold on power. The crimes in Burma to which you refer are almost exclusively the acts of the regime's armed forces, and to a lesser extent of its appointees; if one excludes the killing by the Resistance of members of those armed forces and known collaborators (civil administrators and 'dalans', i.e. informers). The NUG recently put its foot down when several non-CDM workers were assassinated to prevent further such incidents. (CDM civil servants are those who have transferred their allegiance to the Resistance and moved to liberated areas).

Kolomoisky, Zelensky's sponsor for Presedent, has something to say about his former protégé:

A Ukrainian sarcastically describes himself as "an enemy of the people": Dubbed in English from Ukrainian [or Russian? - a native of Odessa]

Have not heard of people from Burma endangering America ! The United States did not sign the Refugee Convention of 1951, signed by most nations although many of them decades later. But did sign the Protocol in 1968, choosing to decline to accept Article 1 of the Convention, which, somewhat critically, defines what constitutes a 'refugee'. A few nations mainly in S.E.Asia, such as Thailand, Laos, Burma, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia never signed either document and so are not bound by the Convention. (Cambodia and the Philippines did sign) See also: https://universityfinance.richmond.edu/payroll/international/refugee-asylee.html

No suggestion was made that the U.S. Government should seek approval from the illegal military dictatorship, which would of course want denial of admission to those fleeing its massacres, and acceptance of its own hired agents. One has to admit that the Trump administration might feel tempted to curry favour with the regime by doing just that; in view of its approval of the forthcoming bogus elections, and other tell-tale signs. There are organs of government with greater claims of public support, such as the N.U.G., the K.N.U., etc. Of course if the U.S. Government is seeking recognition by M.A.H.'s regime it will not wish to be seen associating with those promoting a federal democratic Burma. That should be self-evident.

You may be failing to recognise the difference between genuine refugees whose lives are endangered (most, but not all, of those coming from Burma) and economic migrants masquerading as refugees, who are seeking a better life. Nothing wrong with economic immigrants. The fault lies with the authorities who allow them to enter in numbers in excess of what is complementary to the needs of the destination country, in terms of skills and abilities. Wealth discrepancies between different parts of the world have greatly increased the number of economic migrants in recent years. This has much to do with the actions of western governments in the military and economic spheres. Where an economy has been reduced to ground-zero as in some Middle Eastern countries where civilian infrastructure has been deliberately destroyed, there is social collapse, mortality rates soar, and it becomes difficult to distinguish between refugee and economic migrant. The longer term answer is to help rebuild the destroyed economy. By investment at grass-roots levels, rather than mere extraction of valuable resources.

The current German Government seems intent on war with Russia. War brings casualties, and the heavier the casualties the greater the prospects of promotion … for the survivors.

If Russia is on the point of collapse as result of the NATO-engineered Ukraine War and multiple associated sanctions-packages, how is it that the rouble is now convertible into gold ? And when will the U.S. dollar follow suit ? The answers to these questions could be relevant for those relying on income from reserves not tied to the value of gold. (Probably the majority of those reading this) Maybe just another piece of Putin propaganda : [He who laughs last laughs longest]