Earthquakes are caused by the tectonic plates that make up the surface of the planet rub against one another. When the stress on the edge overcomes the friction, there is an earthquake. Energy is released in waves that travel through the earth’s crust and cause the shaking that we associate with an earthquake. In America, the most famous place for this is where the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate meet.
It is a useful image to keep in mind when looking at current events. The great rumblings we see are not just linear events. Often, they are due to multiple forces working in series, parallel or even in direct contradiction to one another. The rumbling, in the case of direct conflict, may be a warning of what is coming next. When the rumbling is due to friction between two unrelated forces, the quake is just an adjustment period that will last a short time until the friction points are worn away.
There are at least two great forces in human events. One is the drive for larger units of organization. Early humans were organized in small groups of related people. Later, we got villages where these groups would live in larger organizational units together with other groups. Then we got cities and then city-states. This tendency for ever larger organizational units eventually gave us nation states that are bound together by a common language, culture and heritage. Our current rulers believe the next step is regional super-states governed by multi-ethnic global elites.
The other great force is working in a different direction. Here we see ethnic groups expanding and contracting their territories and reforming into atomizes sub-states, relative to the modern notion of super-states. The Brits voted to leave the EU. The Czechs split from the Slovaks. The Kurds want to leave the Turks. Catalonia wants independence from Spain. The Scots wish to go on the EU welfare system, rather than the English welfare system. The Uighurs seek independence from China. All over the world we see these ethnic movements for greater autonomy.
What we have, on the one hand, is a drive toward larger organizational units and the obliteration of ethnicity as the building block of sovereignty. On the other hand, we have movements toward greater atomization of the organizational units of society, based on narrower definitions of ethnicity. The rumblings we are seeing in world politics could be the first sounds of a collision between these two forces or the smoothing out of the rough edges between these two forces where they bump up against one another. From where we sit today, it is hard to know, but history suggest the former is the right answer.
With that in mind, this story coming out of Europe suggests the people in charge of the super-state movement see the calls for autonomy as a threat to their thing. It is why they kept this concealed until after the Brexit vote. It is also why they are now thinking it is time to hit the accelerator and impose their vision on the continent, before any other rebel groups get crazy ideas into their heads about leaving. From the response of European elites, it is clear they do not see a possible reconciliation of these two great trends. They want to crush the “smaller is better” movement.
Of course, the Brexit vote has given every nationalist party on the continent a shot in the arm, as well as a shot in the groin to the main parties. François Hollande did not invite the queen of the French Dirt People in for a meeting because he is full of confidence. Across Europe, people are wondering why it is they cannot just manage their own affairs, based on local custom and through their traditional methods. After all, if the Brits can decide for themselves whether or not to remain in Europe, why can’t the French people or the Greeks or the Italians? It is not an unreasonable thought.
It was on June 28 in 1914 that the Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by Serb nationalists. The Austrians believed they had no choice, that the tides of history were on their side, so they issued an ultimatum to the Serb government. To accept the terms of that ultimatum would mean Serbia ceased to be an independent nation. They could never accept that. The plate of nationhood was colliding with the plate of empire. Over the next month the best minds of Europe tried to figure out how to keep the earth from trembling. It was 4 years, 3 months and 2 weeks later that they finally stopped trying, for a little while.
Saved this great pithy comment from Zero Hedge seen a few years back: “Ripping the chainsaw from the grasp of the political class as they hack away at the tree of liberty will be difficult at first but once they start folding (a quality they all share thankfully) it will come fast.” What is fascinating, is the commoners of England just gave the royals the finger again. After all this time, and everyone had them down for the ten count and out. Surprise it’s Magna Carta time again! Way I see it our political class are rulers because the rules… Read more »
Elephant handlers use a “bullhook” to keep the pachyderms submissive. Essentially a small knife blade at the end of a baton, the bullhook is used to poke and prod the delicate skin of the animal, to let the animal know who is the boss in the relationship. Occasionally, the elephant realizes that the handler and the bullhook have no real power over the animal at all, and she will do what she pleases (which sometimes involves physical violence to the handler as payback). The handlers, once they flee and regroup, generally have the “rogue” elephant either put into captive isolation… Read more »
Not that I’m arguing with your analogy, us dirt people aren’t animals, no matter what the oligarch’s believe. Lot of us are dirt people who are all but fed up and prepared to give the handlers a dose of their own medicine here pretty soon. Their constant diarrhea of the mouth about “White Extremism” and “Domestic Terrorists” is where those oligarchs go wrong, honestly they truly have had it easy, in every way. They call the AR15 an assault rifle, like they call The Tea Party domestic terrorists. That is a billhook too. Their only adversaries have been their own… Read more »
Doug, enjoy your comments. You remind me of the saying in WWII “The only good Jap is a dead Jap.” Or to paraphrase for today “The only good patriot is a dead patriot.” The media and the government have played an Orwellian trick and turned the word Patriot into a negative. To be a Patriot, you must be a narrow minded, knuckle dragging, gun toting, bible quoting, Constitution wrapped cretin who knows nothing of the current world. Your ideas are so yesterday. Come. Be one of us. Resistance is futile. You WILL be assimilated. That is all.
Well thanks, that is really nice of you to say that and I appreciate you for it. I think at moments that “Orwellian trick”, or looking at it another way, the “Alynski Trick”, could be applied to your insights. It is kind of a rules of how to kill the Kulaks amerinski style in my way of seeing things. But after all this time, this is all they got? Man do they underestimate the resolve and indomitable spirit, never mind mistake their power grows from the barrels of their guns when it is dirt people tolerance for them, and that… Read more »
Yep, corrupt to the bone! What is amazing is that most people probably don’t even know who George Orwell was or what he wrote. Heck, they don’t know anything about Saul Alinsky, Cloward, Piven or their strategy for overwhelming the economy, who Frank Marshall was, or can even put the dots together to realize that Barry doesn’t have an American blood cell in his muslim body. All they’ve ever been able to do is marvel at the eloquence of da smooth talking, cool looking black man who can read from a teleprompter (did I mention clean also?). I agree with… Read more »
Now I enjoyed that comment of yours LP. I respect what you wrote if for only one reason you intimate, and that is history is circular, it is a sign of enlightenment and reason to be admired you make the salient observations about those particular cultural marxist actors. But there are all the reasons to give credence to your comment, that a serious motivating one is those who ignore the past take the dirt nap first, and ignoring history is the purview of those above you mentioned and their useful dupes. Let’s hope by us all speaking out about the… Read more »
You mean when the armed guards at the elites’ Armageddon bunkers suddenly realize money has no meaning anymore…
I would offer this predication for what is about to occur in Europe; that it will be exactly what happens when one is recovering from a major trauma such as death or divorce: Denial: “This is not happening to me. It’s all a misunderstanding. We can work it out.” Anger and resentment: “How can he [she] do this to me? What did I ever do to deserve this? This is not fair!” Bargaining: “If you’ll stay, I’ll change” or “If I agree to do it your way, can we get back together?” Depression: “This is really happening, I can’t do… Read more »
Hey Karl,
How long does Merkel have before she is replaced? Failure over Brexit and today Turkey has had a major ISIS attack which should stop any free movement of Turks into the EU. She is on thin ice, no?
Dan Kurt
I am trying to care about what happens to Europe but am having a tough time. Just when an inkling of care starts to form — POOF! — it disappears. Beginning to think I just don’t give a shit what happens to the noisy fukks over there.
@ Dan and Casius – Many suspect things will change for Merkel in the upcoming elections. The surge in AfD popularity is a serious consequence, but they are nothing more than a lightning rod, rather than a significant political force. I think the Brexit was probably a shameful failure in her mind, so that doesn’t help her position. As for caring about Europe, we are really one of Americans last best friends in the world. Keep in mind what you are witnessing is the struggle for a large organization to define itself in a way that has never happened in… Read more »
Karl, don’t have to imagine, it happened in 1862. It is happening now. The cultural marxist one world order crooks are trying to force the entire western world into one big state they can rule with impunity. Our musloid emperor was sent to Britain to tell the English peasants how they where to obey. Even The Queen was for Brexit. All us dirt people are in this together my friend. And together, is how we win.
Amen, Doug. This is about national sovereignty, pure and simple.
The “progressive” goal is universal humanitarianism under socialism. The idea is that all other loyalties and associations – ethnicity, race, language, culture, religion, shared history – are preventing the better socialist world from coming into existence. Therefore, the Germans must give up their ethnic, cultural and historical identity for the good of mankind. That goes for the rest of us, too, including Islam.
It is an attempt to reverse history’s verdict of the Cold War and give victory to the communists.
You are correct Terry. I do not understand why someone on the winning side isn’t framing the win in their terms instead of letting the media and the opposition do it for them. To my mind, having followed this for awhile now, the principle issues are 1) national sovereignty from meddling EU bureaucrats, 2) completely uncontrolled immigration that is harmful without restraints of any kind, and 3) the threat of continued terrorism from Islamic fundamentalists (to put it bluntly, something few seem willing to do). Basically, no one is giving British citizens number 1 priority and any regard, except for… Read more »
The shift is more dynamic than the old imperial nation state we grew up in. It is a new development and evolution of the market state in which global corporations, not politicians, decided what happens to the dirt people. It’s why nationalism is being squashed everywhere. Corporations owe allegiance to no country, and recognize no borders. The Brexit is a political sideshow (bread and circuses) despite the cry’s of ‘the sky is falling’ – because no corporation is going to tolerate a disruption of ‘business as usual’.
Karl, I feel the fate of Europe is the fate of the entire west. Everyone is like the pig, committed. “Business as usual”, more like greedy psychopaths who don’t care about nothing but lining their pockets no matter what it takes or what is destroyed in the process. And screwing the little guy to get that wealth is sport. You get my drift Karl? I have a cure for em”, it’s called 13 knots and a lamp post. I’m saying that because this is where this is all heading. There is no voting our way out of this. Not by… Read more »
In our case, the frog has been slow boiling in the pot but with the heat suddenly turned up by unprecedented greed and stupidity, the frog has awakened and jumped out of the pot fricking mad. Interesting you use the term “pig trap.” There is an interesting article for all to read at this link, which I encourage you to read: http://taxicabdepressions.com/?p=1193 One of the big things I have read about is the psychological preparation one should make for being involved in armed conflict. I think those like you and me, need to prepare ourselves for a shock in the… Read more »
@ LetsPlay – I think the greater challenge isn’t armed conflict – for which many of your countrymen seem fully prepared – it’s really an issue of organization. Civilian populations are not particularly well suited against professional soldiers, especially when todays governments are equipped with a range of technology the average civilian doesn’t have. The horrible situation in Waco some years ago quickly showed that despite some heavy duty firepower, even the Branch Davidians couldn’t hold up against heavily armed police and armored vehicles. Without sounding sarcastic, and I mean this with due respect – how does one plan on… Read more »
Karl, I understand you are not being sarcastic in the least. In fact, you raise very valid points. Citizens may have guns and ammo and know how to use them, but they are not really prepared for armed conflict. However, many articles also point out that recent wars and those currently in active service or reserves have “trained” many for such an event. And while the .gov forces may be unleashed on the public, many of those same forces will not join in attacking their own. In fact, what will happen because there is no formal army or enemy to… Read more »
LetsPlay – Agreed. Mental preparedness is clearly important in any stressful environment, especially in an armed conflict. But as we both know, governments have shown a remarkable tendency to turn on their populations when necessary. I hate to bring up our past, but it’s an obvious example. And in the US, with an ever better armed, nearly para-military police force, one has to ask if and when it could happen there. I agree with you that citizens should be able to defend themselves against their governments, something that’s lost on most over here. But to the point, I wonder if… Read more »
Understood. But living under further subjugation is not an option.
The Queen! God bless our Glorious Sovereign, she is our Mother too.
Elizabeth is the last of the Titans. The Queen is with us, hurrah!
My Grand dad once told me there’s nothing wrong with a horse thief that a short rope and a tall tree won’t cure. Of course he had a higher regard for horse thieves than he ever did for politicians and bureau-eunuchs.
The eastern EU members spent 40+ years as unwilling members of a socialist “union”. They generally didn’t like it (although Frau Merkel may miss it). I have a hard time believing the Poles, Czechs, Hungarians, and Romanians willingly sign-up for a sequel.
@ Drake – the old East Bloc countries have nothing to lose and everything to gain by joining the EU. Remember, they grew up as a socialist welfare states under the name of Communism. Going back to a semi-fascist EU would be seen as a step forward, especially if the EU promises free hand outs. It’s no different than the poor in the US voting for the Democrats – if they promise you free stuff, why NOT vote for them?
Don’t think so, Z. With twenty five years of German stategic plotting behind everything; the Austrians were just the point men on this one. They made the Serbs an offer they could not accept, and then they accepted it anyway. The Germans weren’t going to let surrender stand in their way of plans to dominate Europe. Everyone not France or Germany was a bit player by European standards in this play. But all the centuries of lethal European drama were over after America became King of Europe. The EU was not even a closing of the barn door after the… Read more »
In 1914, only France and Austria wanted war — France to get back the two provinces lost in its 1870 war with Prussia; and Austria to gain back some manhood after losing its 1866 war with Prussia. Also in summer 1914, every diplomat involved in talks thought he knew what the other side was thinking, when, in fact, no one knew diddly. At the end of The Great War, a world shake-out occurred, more influential than with The Other Great War in 1945. What is going on now is the shake-out from the collapse of the Soviet Union, and still… Read more »
By the year 1914 Austria did nothing of importance without permission and direction of the growing behemoth, Germany. English historian EDWARD CRANKSHAW– “The tragedy of Bismarck, apart from the profound personal tragedy of a man of wonderful gifts corrupted, was not that he subordinated morality to the supposed needs of the state: most other statesmen of his time did that, including Gladstone. The tragedy was that he exalted the amoral concept of politics into a principle; and that, as corollary, because he succeeded with such dazzling skill through the nine miraculous years which culminated in the foundation of the Reich,… Read more »
When people are suffering or have needs, and can’t turn to the big organizations for help and get any, they turn to the local people just like themselves and band together, because that’s all they’ve got. Very simple, really. What other choice do they have?
In the meantime, the seeds of war are so obvious after the fact, yet the tides of exploitation and connivance are so strong that it is difficult to turn that tide before the fact.
It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. Robert A. Heinlein
This is what Germany is about to do.
Your posts – whatever subject you choose to address – are always spot-on! So is this one although this one simply because they are indeed trying to usher in their Super State quickly for the reasons you mentioned in your post. This Super State and its implications for the rest of the EU members is one that Merkel leads. As I’ve mentioned before – the Merkel’s history goes back to Poland, the homeland of my father. Angela Merkel is a communist. Her actions and current leadership is that of her perceived hurry to stop her own ‘Leave’ coalition to follow… Read more »
Nope. It would more properly be named “The Rise of the Forth Reich”.
Although it wouldn’t last too long. A Caliphate would quickly rise to replace it.
Demographics are history.
@Fuel Filter: I just used the Biblical Term! But yes – you are right as well! Thanks!
Holy shit! Can’t believe the article you referenced where the EU dunces are doubling down and pushing a bad position. They really are insane. I am beginning to think these are the kinds of people that will burn the house down to spite everyone.
One of the perhaps unexpected aspects of the fall out in the UK over Brexit vote (and it hasn’t been made final yet: there is some anxiety that Article 50 which starts the process of leaving will not be invoked) has been the demand by Londoners to be a separate entity, and as such can cling to the EU simply because the majority of people in Londonistan want to live in a suburb of Brussels. It would make London even less attractive as an ‘international’ city if it was independent. Certainly if such a thing happened it would mean the… Read more »
“Under the radical proposals EU countries will lose the right to have their own army, criminal law, taxation system or central bank, with all those powers being transferred to Brussels. ” Oh yes, but of course, leave everything to us. Just trust us. Yes. It will be alright. What could go wrong?
@ Infidel – It’s a knee jerk, angry response. A temper tantrum if you will. The EU can’t just get rid of NATO any more than it can force Germany to disband the German Bundeswehr. Obama has had his fair share of rants when your Congress didn’t give him what he wanted. So you’re just seeing the EU react to not getting their way.
Yes Karl, I understand the varied responses from “once you are out, you are out! No coming back,” and “No cherry picking,” and more are all aimed at the Brits. But to then turn around and throw down the gauntlet to other member countries is more than a temper tantrum. Obozo is a poser and his tantrums are just that. But these guys in Brussels, the supposed Rulers of the New World Order (at least the front men) are unleashing their half baked plans in a panic and that is really scary … and dangerous. I suspect we will see… Read more »
@ Lets Play – The tremors of Brexit have the eurocrats scared. And rightly so. It’s why you’re seeing all the scare-mongering going on. They know European countries can exist without the EU because they did…for literally hundreds of years…before the eurocrats showed up on the scene. Fortunately there is no longer the fear of European war breaking out as was our tradition in the past. They can’t rally their troops because they don’t have any. They have been exposed for what they are just like the Wizard of Oz when he hid behind the curtain or the emperor without… Read more »
Karl, any question why Nato is trying to use the Russian’s as a stalking horse, war is the ultimate crisis as a means to get things done you normally could not do. Aside from the fact the Russian’s and Chinese are developing an alternative to the petro dollar and the dollar as the chief basket currency of the transnationalist’s.
Poking the bear is not a great idea. Putin is, as you say “old school” and he’s not an idiot either. My concern is how Europe will react if he decides to align with Turkey and backs them in turning loose 3-million refugees. Make no mistake, Putin has his own Mulsim problems, but the Russian media keeps that out of the press. I have a number of Russian colleagues and it’s well known issue in Moscow. I believe Turkey and Russia have a lot more in common than with Europe.
One thing about the Russian character today, it’s political and military leaders are not feckless.
Bah! Putin quakes in fear of our terrifying Tranny Troops!
Damm- now that’s one I haven’t heard before. Rather scary, too.
Uighurs. Now you’re just showin off.
Continental Europe has never had much use for the concept of accountable representative government. Since at least the time of Napoleon, the European political ideal has been, in the words of St. Simon, “…to replace the governing of persons with the administration of things.” This goal, which rings chilling and repugnant in Anglo-Saxon ears, holds only the promise of a benignly utopian future to Eurostatists like Junker, Dragi and Merkel.
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