by John Ward
From Hungary via the EU migrant crisis to Syrian bombings, from tensions with Russia and a US President at war with his Alt State to Islamist rebels and German reticence, it’s all about oil in the end.
A good place to start today is with the George Soros Foundation’s Hungarian organisation, which is leaving the country “because the political environment is too negative” – CorrectSpeak for “because we’ve been found out, and Viktor Orban keeps on winning”.
Although I offer my congratulations to the Hungarian people and Fidezs, Soros will of course regroup, and come back in some other disguise. Plus of course he also has control of the Central European University, a body that has done much to spread the ridiculous idea that Orban is some kind of Nazi Communist.
Brussels and Washington continue to pour out bile against Orban, whose only sins in their eyes are first, to tell the European Commission and ECB to keep their Euro, and second, to say he doesn’t want indiscriminate Islamic immigration. The first makes him a nationalists (bad) and the second a racist (very bad indeed): but the control freaks as usual steer clear of the blatant reality that the rest of the Eastern EU feels the same….they just lack the bravery of Orban.
There is nothing racist in wanting to maintain your culture – Frau Doktor Merkel used to say the same sorts of things (until the mass African invasion started once US policy in the Middle East had blown everything apart) but equally, disliking a particular religion is not racist, but rather discernment. In the 21st century, Islam has nothing to offer Europe – and like many of those once under the Ottoman jackboot, Orban has no intention of Hungary turning into Britain. Good for him.
But the problems of oil mania still remain, and affect everything in Europe and Africa. Merkel thinks that bombing Syrian civilians “is appropriate” but she didn’t want to take part….because she doesn’t want Vlad the Lad to cut off her oil next winter. And the Alt State simply will not rest until Basher Assad is gone from the landscape….because they want the region’s oil to be under NATO (aka Wasington) control. The Saudis in turn back Assad’s overthrow because they want a say in how the oil flows – and how much of it spills onto the market – but also because Bashar is an Alawhite infidel in need of a little anal rape and beheading, just to show who’s boss.
As for President Putin himself, he has been remarkably restrained since the “Allied” missile strikes that, it seems from those on the ground, “did little or no damage”. Those not on the ground say actually, the Barzah scientific research centre, and the two chemical weapons complexes in Him Shinshar, were successfully attacked. And some Russian military top brass say the vast majority of missiles were fired not at the chemical factories at all, but in reality about 70 out of the 103 missiles launched landed on military bases and airfields in the hope of knocking out Assad’s ability to complete his rout of the rebels.
Trump’s heart is not in this nonsense, and possibly he has used the Hotline to tip Vlad the wink. To me, it all still smells like a President whose freedom of movement is restricted by the Texas-Pentagon-State Dept axis, and its determination that Russia will not wind up as the firm ally of a stable post-war Syria.
Either way, The Donald’s long-stated desire is to improve U.S. relations with Russia. And in the last 24 hours, Putin has let it be known through channels that he wants to “give Trump another chance to mend U.S.-Russian ties”.
Everything now depends on President Trump’s willingness to slow down at the Grassy Knoll in an open limo.
Meanwhile, what of the Texas Tea itself? The oil price is now at $75 a barrel, an absolutely bonkers valuation that bears no relation at all to market fundamentals, but does reflect to some extent fears that – with continuing instability following the ‘take down five countries in ten years’ neocon NATO policy in the Middle East – oil could have scarcity value in due course. Yeh, right.
War is always good for Wall Street and Texas. Always always always.