The Insane Plan - Vox Popoli - (NOW is the time to SPEAK UP! If you don't - you might be STFU..... PERMANENTLY! - CL)

 According to Tucker Carlson, this is the plan that the junior Senator from Connecticut described as “insane”.

Under pressure from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Trump administration may be within days of launching a nuclear strike on Iran. The target would be Pickax Mountain in central Iran, where Israeli intelligence claims the Iranian government has restarted its nuclear enrichment program. No conventional weapon in the American arsenal can penetrate 300 feet of solid granite to destroy the tunnels where enrichment is supposedly taking place. The only military option is a nuclear strike. Netanyahu has been pushing hard for one. “Bibi calls Trump about it every day,” says an informed observer.

Netanyahu is cornered and desperate. After last week’s election results, he can’t form a government unless Trump intervenes directly in Israeli politics and brokers a deal with other parties that gives Netanyahu 61 seats in the Knesset. Otherwise, he is out as prime minister and on his way to ignominy, investigations and possibly jail. Netanyahu must stay close to Trump. He needs this war....

....One group that hasn’t been consulted so far is the global population — the hundreds of millions of people who will be killed along with their children if Trump is pushed by Netanyahu into launching a nuclear strike next week. Now would be the time for them to speak up.

https://voxday.net/2026/11/03/the-insane-plan/ 

The last thing Americans need or want is more war for Israel. But the fake Trump is an AIPAC construct, so the real question is how far American Jews are willing to risk further abusing and misusing their influence over the US military, because they are very well aware of the potential costs of the fallout for them when – not if – things go wrong....

....The war is deeply unpopular in the United States, and with no resolution to the conflict in sight, is expected to hurt Trump’s Republican Party in Tuesday’s votes for the US Congress. Oil prices have risen as Iran continues to obstruct shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Against that backdrop, according to The Atlantic magazine, Trump is looking for someone to blame for the course of the war and is speaking with advisers about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. Both have been leading advocates of the war. Trump’s anger has reportedly grown since his advisers mistakenly assured him ahead of the war’s start in late February that it would be over long before the midterms.

So why would you listen again to those who were wrong the last three times. Especially in light of what some of the pollsters are observing: “For the first time in my lifetime, the polling is that Americans want AIPAC out and they don’t want to send any more money to Israel.”

DISCUSS ON SG

A year ago, Andrew Anglin spelled it out:

Tucker’s Epstein Statements Prove He is Currently the De Facto Successor to Donald Trump’s Movement, by Andrew Anglin - The Unz Review

 .....Well. Let me start with Noam Chomsky’s claim that Israel is an outpost of American imperialism. This has been attacked a whole lot, as it appears that Noam Chomsky, who is Jewish, is trying to blame white Americans for the actions of Jews. I think that is obviously what Chomsky was trying to do. But the reality is that “Israel is an outpost of America” is actually true. It’s simply that it is an outpost of American Jews.

https://www.unz.com/aanglin/tuckers-epstein-statements-prove-he-is-currently-the-de-facto-successor-to-donald-trumps-movement/

Selecting leaders in China – part 1, by Hua Bin - The Unz Review

 In a Republican primary in Michigan in August 2026, a “life is stranger than fiction” episode unfolded.

A Mr. Thomas Smith, who is a local small-batch salsa creator, won a major upset victory over a Mr. Amir Hassan, US Navy veteran officially endorsed by Trump.

What was strange was two-fold: first, Thomas Smith quit before the election as he failed to raise money and interest; second, Amir Hassan was much more favored in theory.

Hassan was a navy vet and well-respected conservative who raised 50 times more money than Smith. Trump even went on the stage to rally for him a week before the primary.

However, Smith’s name remained on the ballot due to a missed deadline to withdraw.

Then came election day. Smith received 50% of the vote against Hassan’s 33%.

Election experts attributed Mr. Smith’s electoral success entirely to his Anglo-Saxon name over his opponent’s Arabic-sounding name.

The irony is Hassan is an African American without any Middle Eastern background. He is a Christian.

Talking about rallies, it never fails to amaze me how politicians in the US seem to spend more time campaigning than governing.

And where do the crowds find the time to attend these rallies from their work at Wal-Mart or McDonald’s?

When it comes to elections and political rallies, the US leads the world in entertainment value.

https://www.unz.com/bhua/selecting-leaders-in-china-part-1/ 

...In contrast, Chinese politics is formal, bureaucratic, and boring. With a capital B.

Rather than a popular contest, politics in China is the exclusive domain of the Communist Party (CPC).

For better or for worse, the last thing the Party wants is to provide entertainment.

It is considered serious business for serious people.

John Thornton, chairman of Brookings Institution, described the closest thing to the CPC in the West is the Catholic Church and the West Point.

They are top-down organizations driven by mission, discipline, and meritocracy.

I don’t fully agree with Thornton because the Party is vastly bigger in scale and complexity. But it is an easy analogy for a Western audience.

Thornton was a former Goldman Sachs president and the rare foreigner who worked closely with Chinese leaders like former Premier Zhu Rongji in the 90s and 2000s.

He knew what he was talking about far better than the talking heads on TV who, in all likelihood, have never visited China.

Here is a short clip of his discussion of the Party.

Video Link

With no campaign rallies or TV adverts, how does China select its leaders?

This essay explores the system, structure, and nuances of China’s leadership selection process from an outsider perspective.

Though not a Party member, I have studied and lived in the system all my life.

I’ll also describe the career path of some of the most senior national leaders to highlight how the system works in real life for the last 40 years.

It took quite a while to research and write the piece. Hopefully it captures some key characteristics of the Chinese political model little known in the West.

Given the scope of the subject, I have split my essay into two parts in order to do justice to its complexity and to avoid putting my readers into a coma:)

I’ll publish the second instalment tomorrow.

Fundamental logic of leadership selection

The first thing distinguishing the Chinese system from the West, with the US as the prime example, is the different logic for choosing leaders.

In the West, popularity and rhetoric win election. In China, competence and performance are the core for selection.

The Chinese system prioritizes meritocracy over popularity and substance over form.

Mike Whitney says:

November 3, 2026 at 3:37 pm GMT • 29 minutes ago • 200 Words   ↑

This is an excellent article and so timely.

I’ve pretty much given up on the American system of electing leaders.
It’s a complete fraud. Any system that produces leaders like Trump, Biden, W Bush or Clinton is an obvious failure aimed at protecting the status quo.

When I look at China, I see what is possible for humanity when it is properly managed by leaders who genuinely have the interests of their people at heart. Seriously, China is the 21st Century (lifted 800 million people out of poverty in the last 40 years) It’s what the world could look like with the right people at the top.

I really don’t know how any rational person can compare China –with all its high speed rail, electric cars, state of the art cities, communications, transportation, health care, education etc– with the US which is teetering towards oblivion behind a pompous, snake oil salesman masquerading as the dear leader. Frankly, it’s embarrassing.

I know the majority of americans hate China and never miss an opportunity to disparage its system as oppressive communism, but looks to me that it is much more of a meritocracy than the US and as Hua Bin points out, the vast majority of people have never been happier.

My son works in China (Xiamen) and when we were talking the other day he said, “I can’t imagine any place on earth having a higher standard of living.”

I’ll be visiting him at Christmas and can’t wait!

The Erasure of Western Civilization Accelerates – Paul Craig Roberts - (How DEI is killing classical music! - CL)

 In his 12 years as conductor and artistic leader of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons revived the orchestra’s finances with rising ticket sales and earned the love and respect of the orchestra and public.  The Boston Symphony had been impoverished by its management class. Mac Donald reports: “In 1965, the BSO had about half a dozen managerial staff serving 100 musicians–a ratio of roughly 14 instrumentalists to every administrator.  By 2025, while the orchestra still consisted of about 100 musicians, the ratio of musicians to administrators was close to parity.”

The management class, of course, blamed difficulties on classical music’s lack of wide appeal and in an ill-considered decision hired DEI champion Chad Smith (not the famous rock drummer–he would have been better) as president and CEO of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the autumn of 2023. Less than two and one-half years later Andris Nelsons was removed for opposing subordination of standards to diversity. 

Chad Smith’s position is that classical music does not “expansively and inclusively serve our communities.” He said that the orchestra was not serving young people who do not see themselves reflected in classical music.  Smith’s enthusiasm was not for artistic merit and performance but for race- and gender-based programing and hiring.  Artistic merit rang of white racism. The orchestra should be playing multicultural and multidisciplinary combinations of Arabic, Brazilian, and rap music, not isolating music by Mozart and Beethoven.  

Nelsons had introduced some non-classical music into performances, but he was not prepared to sacrifice the core repertoire and artistic performance to “community values” of those with no appreciation for classical music. As for hearing “community voices,” Mac Donald asks the right question: “Isn’t classical music about hearing composers’ voices?”

Chad Smith’s intent of marching through the Boston Symphony is about transforming the orchestra from an artistic achievement into a babel of voices, and Chad Smith regarded Andris Nelsons as in the way of DEI’s war on merit.

The Boston Symphony paid a high price for the diversity that neither the musicians nor the audiences wanted.  In 2025 the Leipzig Orchestra voted another 7 year extension of its contract with Nelsons as that orchestra’s chief conductor. Last June Nelsons was presented with Germany’s most prestigious musical award as Conductor of the Year.

Clearly, the board of the BSO consists of weak-minded and weak-willed non-entities who have betrayed a treasure entrusted to their care.

DEI is taking another piece of civilization away from us.  Hold on to your classical music records, tapes, and CDs as live performances of classical music are on their way out.

Ballet will be the next artistic performance to disappear from Western civilization.  Ballet will probably continue to exist only in Russia as America advances down its path to becoming a Sodom & Gomorrah Tower of Babel.

Full text:

https://paulcraigroberts.org/the-erasure-of-western-civilization-accelerates/ 

The Rarely-Spoken Aging Issue - Denninger

 One simple way to look at it, which nobody wants to: We all have a use-by date and nobody likes that.

But the thing I want you to think about in the context of a use by date is you.  We all have one; we all get old, we all die.  It is inevitable.  And if you look at CMS -- Medicare and Medicaid -- you can see where a huge amount of money goes.

What you won't see is where it comes from beyond the government impact.

It's not just money.

It's also quality of life, and where you live it -- and whether you choose to live it.

We can go through all the insanity that my generation (Boomers) and Gen-X not only permitted but cheered on -- including Obamacare.  But until and unless we're all willing to use existing law to start throwing those who have exploited this into prison (and existing law says we can, with no new laws required) costs are not going to come down other than by societal and government collapse.

And if you suffer a heart attack, stroke or other seriously-debilitating condition you had better have figured out how you're going to pay for your personal lack of being willing to force these issues to be addressed and changed which, if you're older than 50, is absolutely your responsibility because for the last 30 years you have let this go on.

https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=256169 

Many people presume they'll age reasonably-gracefully and ultimately pass with peace.  Maybe.  Or maybe you'll have a nasty stroke, or perhaps become demented or have some other condition that you simply can't handle alone and your family either won't or can't.  What are you going to do if that happens?

I've made my peace with how that shall play out if and when it happens and "peacefully and gracefully" isn't how it is.

Have you?

Because if not I'll tell you how it will happen.

Every penny you have will be asset stripped to the tune of $10,000 or more a month in a nursing home or $100,000 a month or more in a hospital until you're dead.  Your house, your portfolio, all of it.  If not directly then indirectly after you die when Medicaid comes and liens all those assets and prevents them from going to your heirs.  If you try to transfer them out less than five years before the event happens they will all be clawed back and if you did that your heirs will be double-screwed particularly if they spent any of it.  Worse, if you do transfer them more than five years out that has to be irrevocable to count too.

Oh I know there will be people who says there's a way to evade this.  Well, maybe.  You're free to try to it of course.

The problem with refusing to address issues is that they don't actually ever go away.  They just hide around the corner and then come to screw you later when you think you've been so smart.

A Delusional President with "Insane" Military Plans?, by Ron Unz - The Unz Review - (Without question, the only Americans SHTUPIDER and INSANE are those still supporting him! - CL)

 Top American commanders would surely be loathe to personally preside over the greatest military humiliation in our 250 year national history, and some of them may have begun voicing their strong concerns.

The three-star general fired a few days ago had been in charge of overall military planning, and although he had allegedly been terminated for leaking, there was widespread speculation that his serious doubts about the plan for a ground attack against Iran had contributed to his fall.

Perhaps coincidentally, when talk of a ground assault against Iran had originally bubbled up earlier in the war, many other top-ranking generals had also been fired around that time. The week after outlining the problems in such a ground attack, my next article had focused on that issue:

https://www.unz.com/runz/a-delusional-president-with-insane-military-plans/#comment-7837295 

According to Wolff, Trump insiders have described our current president as just being an idiot who barely ever reads or understands anything. Based upon Wolff’s claims, Trump may actually be less intelligent than most of the voters who put him into office. I began to wonder whether he was so friendly with black rap-stars because their IQs might be in the same range.

In support of this striking possibility, the media has reported that Trump’s understanding of the state of the war may mostly be based upon a daily highlight video reel he’s been receiving, one that shows the explosions of our biggest, most successful strikes on Iranian targets. So instead of being totally delusional or dishonest, many of his strange statements may be because he’s just so stupid that he believes whatever his various aides are telling and showing him.

The following week, I continued sketching out this argument.

…Wolff explained that the deep secret to understanding Trump was to recognize that he was a profoundly stupid man, so profoundly stupid that he never realized just how stupid he was. Since Trump never read nor understood almost anything, that explained the erratic, inconsistent, illogical nature of his statements and his behavior.

Given Trump’s uncouth stupidity, he sometimes said popular things that no other politician would dare to say. So his eager followers seized upon those, projecting unto him their fondest ideological hopes and aspirations while ignoring all his other ridiculous utterances.

Trump’s wealth and his bluster led most of those around him to assume otherwise, but the void between his ears was the deep mystery behind his behavior. Whenever he seemed lost in deep thought, he might simply be contemplating the next cheeseburger he planned to eat. Once we consider that possibility, his unfortunate presidency becomes much easier to comprehend, as well as the drastic changes between his first and second terms. Stupid people are obviously far easier to manipulate once you manage to surround them with your own confederates.

The reason that so many of Trump’s posts and actions seem like those of a low-IQ thug is that he essentially is a low-IQ thug.

Does the following recent post seem to have been written by a world leader of reasonably high intelligence?

 Donald J. Trump O

@realDonaldTrump • 34m

Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge

Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be

nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin' Strait, you

crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell - JUST

WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD

J. TRUMP