Democracy - Not necessarily the best system?

   It is often by pushing an idea to its absurd limits that we can understand fully the implications. But how does a "reasonable" voice get heard in a noisy room when shouting louder than the neighbor is the only way to prevail? And that in the end is the dilemma and the reason why we end up with absurd, incompetent leaders. They have mastered and perverted the rules of the game, convincing people to give a try to ideas which should have been shot down earlier in a more balanced discussion. And even that is provided the voters are competent on the subject to start with! 

No wonder we haven't found the solution to the problem yet. There may not be an easy one. But then who are you gonna trust: Technocrats, demagogues, the king, the mob? So no easy alternative either?

Kremlin Prepared For All-Out Conflict With NATO: Institute For War

   As discussed over the last couple of years, the march towards war is relentless. 

   The recent attack on strategic bases in Russia is not a "Russian pearl Harbor" but it marks a turn in the war in Ukraine. At this stage, it becomes obvious that NATO is fully invested in the war and Russia will eventually have to acknowledge it. Then all bets are off the table. 

   This has been discussed extensively between the American and Russian administrations. This is why the Americans are disengaging themselves from the current negotiations which they know will lead nowhere. At the same time, they continue providing weapons and systems to Ukraine. Something has to give. 

   As for Europe, it is essential to understand that the continent has painted itself into a corner. The main countries in Europe, (Germany, England and France, the rest doesn't count.) are not ready for war, neither militarily not economically. Conversely their economic and social structures are crumbling due to previous bad decisions on energy, net-zero, immigration and many other fields. In politics, especially at such a late stage, there is no reverse gear. With the world decoupling on trade and more ominously financially, on the current trajectory, Europe is facing bankruptcy and social mayhem. The people in charge understand this which is why as happened regularly in history when facing similar odds, war now, and more specifically a state of war looks like a good option.  

  Again, both the Americans and the Russians understand this perfectly. Add to the equation the rising tensions between China and the US, without mentioning the Middle East, and soon enough you have an equation with too many variables to have an easy solution. This is what a forth turning looks like and from there on, it will get worse. Much worse actually since eventually someone will have to prevail. 

Kremlin Prepared For All-Out Conflict With NATO: Institute For War

The hawkish Washington DC-based think tank, The Institute for Study or War (ISW), had just prior to Ukraine's Sunday shock drone operation which reportedly took out some 40 military aircraft deep inside Russian territory issued a report saying President Vladimir Putin is prepared for war with NATO if things escalate to that point.

A May 30 decree issued by Putin concerning the Russian defense industry base (DIB) would enable the government to legally take over military contractor firms if they do not abide by wartime martial law orders.

"Putin is likely setting legal conditions to allow the Russian government to commandeer elements of Russia's economy and DIB should the Kremlin introduce full martial law in order to transition the country to a full wartime footing," ISW wrote on UnderstandingWar.Org.

"ISW continues to assess that the Kremlin is preparing Russian society and economy for a protracted war in Ukraine, indicating that Russia is not interested in engaging in good faith negotiations to reach a diplomatic settlement to its war in Ukraine."

Certainly Sunday just brought the world a big step closer to witnessing potential all-out war in Eastern Europe, given the Zelensky-ordered drone swarm attacks are already being called 'Russia's Pearl Harbor'.

"The Kremlin is continuing efforts to prepare Russian society and the Russian defense industry base (DIB) for a protracted war with Ukraine and potential future war with NATO," ISW concluded. "Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on May 30 allowing the Russian government to revoke the rights of shareholders of defense industrial enterprises in the event that the enterprise fails to fulfill state defense orders during martial law."

"The decree enables the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade to appoint a management company to act as the sole executive body of the enterprise in order to fulfill contractual obligations to the Russian government," the study says.

And it applies to "civilian aviation and shipbuilding companies, military development and production companies, and government subcontractors."

Sunday's major attack on Russian airbases may only serve to accelerate a possible Kremlin move toward martial law and formal declaration of all-out war in Ukraine.

Despite Kiev and Ukraine supporters praising the effectiveness of Sunday's operation, the reality is that instead of translating into strategic battlefield gains, this only pokes the bear in a major way. Unverified reports say that ballistic missiles at silos across Russia are being readied.

We are likely to see Kiev soon get pummeled once again along with places like Odessa which have been for the most part sparred utter destruction thus far in the war.

Russia will likely ramp up attacks on 'command centers' throughout Ukraine, including those believed staffed by foreign advisers and officials. A big question for the Kremlin will be whether Western intelligence helped in Sunday's attacks, which saw several Russian long-range bombers destroyed. Another question that remains is: will Monday's peace talks in Istanbul still proceed at this point? There's little doubt that Putin is readying a massive, painful retaliatory attack on Ukraine.

Shocking Data Shows Massive Demographic Transformation In Europe

   This news is from Austria but it is worse in Germany, France or England. 

   30 years ago the city of Leicester in England was already 35% Indian, mostly from Pakistan. Now it is over 50% and quite a few other cities in Europe have a majority of immigrants in their population.  

   The problem of Europe is that unlike the US, the continent is mostly not segregated. The Immigrants are everywhere. You have to live with them. 

   What happens next is anybody's guess but history is not kind to these kind of transformations. Soon, large communities will become Muslim, others will not speak the local languages anymore. Others still will be self organizing with their own rules and customs. Think "democracy" can survive in such a setting?

Via Remix News,

New data showing the percentage of people not speaking German at home in Austria underlines just how massive the demographic transformation has been in the country, according to a Hungarian economist.

“Ominous winds are blowing in the West,” economist Géza Sebestyén posted on his Facebook page, along with some astonishing data.

“According to the latest Austrian statistics, one-third (32.8%) of primary school pupils in Austria are non-native German speakers. In cities, the proportion is even higher: in Salzburg, for example, one in two children (51.8%) do not speak German at home,” he noted. 

The post featured a map breaking down each region of Austria, showing the huge share of children not speaking German at home as their first language.

Sebestyén, the head of the MCC Economic Policy Workshop, showed that Hungary could have ended up like Austria if it had not followed the policies of Viktor Orbán, who sealed the border and rejected mass immigration. He warned that Hungary could feature a multiculturalism that Austrians increasingly find alienating and fraught with crime.

“In some districts of Vienna,” his post continues, “the situation is already dramatic: in Brigittenau and Margareten, the proportion of people who do not speak German in the family environment is over 80%.”

Sebestyén called the latest data “signs of social transformation that are shaping the future of Europe,” a trend that, if continued, will lead to Austria losing its character as a nation-state. It will, he says, “become one of the EU member states for whom a ‘Europe of nations’ is a nightmare.”

Sebestyén then pointed out that statistics like these are why Hungary continues to combat “excessive immigration.”

As Remix News has reported in the past, three out of four students in Vienna’s middle school do not speak German at home.

The data comes at the same time as Austrian politician, Herbert Kickl, the leader of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), spoke at CPAC Hungary. He warned of the massive demographic transformation taking place in his country and across Europe, with poll after poll showing a majority of Europeans are opposed to this transformation — yet remain nearly powerless to stop it.

“What is happening in Europe is no coincidence. It is the result of an agenda, a consciously controlled ethnic and cultural transformation. Because migration is not being stopped, no, it is being organized, promoted and glorified. NGOs are not noble aid organizations, they are part of smuggling networks with a political and ideological mission,” said Kickl.

“Integration is a lie because it means that the majority should adapt to the minority. And our welfare state is serving less and less those who have taken responsibility for themselves, for their families, for their homeland. It is being turned into an all-inclusive club for people who travel thousands of kilometers to take advantage of our achievements,” he added.

Most Austrians are not happy about the demographic transformation of their country, with 80 percent saying they want stricter asylum measures in place.

The anti-immigration FPÖ is currently the most popular party in the country by a wide margin, scoring between 34 percent and 36 percent of the vote. However, shifting demographics could harm the party in the long run, as foreigners become voting age and shift the electorate towards pro-migration, left-wing parties, a trend the left across Europe is betting on.

Read more here...