Author Archena Posted on December 13, 2022December 13, 2022Categories MondayTags , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Why Foreign Affairs Matter to the US

First, let’s get something straight – the sky ain’t falling. No generation has a crystal ball. They all have to look whatever disaster comes their way square in the eye and decide how to handle it. This current ‘upheaval’ is no different. The one constant in the political world is change – usually messy, quiet change until it becomes a big, nasty problem. My favorite cartoon as a kid was a seriously stupid one season wonder called The Drak Pack. … Continue reading “Why Foreign Affairs Matter to the US”

Author Archena Posted on December 6, 2022December 6, 2022Categories Current, MondayTags , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Failure of Realpolitik

Political Scientists like to think they are real scientists. Sometimes, they even are. Most times, they are analysts. But since the field has science in the name, they try very, very hard to be a sciency as possible. The results can be fairly comical. Scientist or analyst, they still need frameworks to work from. America has 330 million people and 22,000 plus governments. Making sense of that without some kind of framework is impossible. The world has 195 countries, not … Continue reading “The Failure of Realpolitik”

Author Archena Posted on November 29, 2022November 29, 2022Categories Current, MondayTags , , , , , , , , , , ,

Protests and Unrest in China

Okay, those of you that think this is a bad sign for the CCP and that China could collapse, you’re not wrong. Those of you who think China probably won’t collapse aren’t wrong either. Nation-states are resilient and this is not China’s first rodeo. But it is their first ride on a bull this big. So, what does it mean? Well, it means the CCP has pulled off something once believed to be nearly impossible – they have found the … Continue reading “Protests and Unrest in China”

Author Archena Posted on November 21, 2022November 21, 2022Categories Current, MondayTags , , , , , ,

The Post Russo-Sino World, Part II

Okay, when last we left our hypothetical, the world had NOT ended in a fireball. The US was busily trying to corral nuclear proliferation and both Russia and China had fully collapsed. Nation-states can multi-task. They aren’t great at it because humans aren’t, but unlike your Supermom, nation-states really do have many people who can be directed to do different things. This is a good thing because the US is gonna be really distracted, as it was in the Nineties, … Continue reading “The Post Russo-Sino World, Part II”

Author Archena Posted on November 15, 2022November 16, 2022Categories Current, MondayTags , , , , ,

The Post Russo-Sino World

Yeah, yeah, I know. I was the one forecasting a Democrat Party collapse and then there wasn’t really a red wave. Actually, I still think the Democrat Party will collapse but the Republicans may beat them to it. Party system shifts happen that way. Political parties, like nation-states, can be stubbornly resilient little buggers. Government and politics often are glacial in their timeframes – unless they are doing something that you don’t like. They seem to manage to speed up … Continue reading “The Post Russo-Sino World”

Author Archena Posted on November 8, 2022November 8, 2022Categories MondayTags , , , , ,

Poverty with Chinese Characteristics

Xi Xinping is not an idiot. He is also not a capitalist or an opportunist. Not sure if he’s an ideologue, I kinda doubt it. He’s not power mad, or a raving lunatic. Cold blooded SOB is a given since he heads the CCP – it’s a prerequisite. Xi Xinping is not leading China toward greatness. He might or might not know that. He’s not going to be invading Taiwan anytime soon. He’s not a madman. Xi is what you … Continue reading “Poverty with Chinese Characteristics”

Author Archena Posted on October 31, 2022October 31, 2022Categories Current, MondayTags , , , , , ,

Russian Disarmament: Doing it the Hard Way

Seriously, Russia, are you nuts? Mutually agreed disarmament with a well thought out peace agreement in place is a wonderful idea. Throwing everything you have including the kitchen sink at a country that clearly isn’t going to give in is idiotic. You know this. It’s time to face facts: you already lost. Nuclear weapons can’t help you. They are great deterrents and terrible battlefield weapons. I don’t mean terrible in terms of their destructive power, as true as that is, … Continue reading “Russian Disarmament: Doing it the Hard Way”

Author Archena Posted on October 24, 2022October 24, 2022Categories Current, MondayTags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Recovering Libertarians are Recovering

Ten years ago libertarianism was all the rage in conservative circles. The short version was they didn’t like ‘losing’ the culture war all the time and thought they could just skip all that culture stuff and worry about important things like freedom and not spending ourselves into oblivion. Didn’t actually work so well. Turns out, culture informs politics more than politics informs culture. This little tidbit is what is destroying the Democrats at the moment. While over time politics can … Continue reading “Recovering Libertarians are Recovering”

Author Archena Posted on October 17, 2022October 17, 2022Categories MondayTags , , , , , ,

Dear Russia, Suck it up. You Lost. Go Home While You Still Can.

No, I don’t expect it will be that easy. It seems to me to be true enough but even assuming that the Russians agree, that doesn’t mean they are ready to quit. Far from it. Nor is it just that their pride will be hurt, Russia will lose not only prestige internationally, but influence regionally and its status as a peer power to the US. Russia will become a developing nation that other nations feel sorry for, not the proud … Continue reading “Dear Russia, Suck it up. You Lost. Go Home While You Still Can.”

Author Archena Posted on October 10, 2022October 10, 2022Categories Current, MondayTags , , , , , ,

Russia is Losing. World is not Ending. Calm Down.

Dear Tim Pool, Love your work. You can relax though. We aren’t having a civil war in the US and we’re not going to have a nuclear war, or even WWIII. Love, QS Y’all want details again, don’t you? Here goes: Russia cannot beat Ukraine militarily unless NATO and the US quit sending stuff to Ukraine. Russia doesn’t have enough stuff on hand for a real mobilization and their guys have decided not to play the cannon fodder game. Ukraine … Continue reading “Russia is Losing. World is not Ending. Calm Down.”