Posted on 05/30/2022 3:37:39 AM PDT by FarCenter
NEW YORK – The custom-built Oculus headset delivered to my door by a hooded monk seemed to malfunction. The palace on the Place de Vosges appeared once again in the Metaverse but in black and white rather than bright cartoon colors, with less furniture and fewer objects d’art, with drab walls unadorned by the paintings I had admired at our last meeting.
A bit uncertain on my feet I wandered about the virtual-reality residence until I nearly stumbled on, or rather walked through, the translucent ghost of Cardinal Richelieu, the evil genius of 17th century France and master strategist of the Thirty Years’ War.
“Please accept my pardon for my reduced circumstances,” the Cardinal said after we exchanged the usual pleasantries. The budget has been under strain since Meta’s stock price collapsed.
...
“What will happen if the Russians succeed?” I demanded.
He was prepared for that question and answered immediately:
Every country in the world will call to mind Kissinger’s bon mot that it is dangerous to be an enemy of the United States – but to be its friend is fatal. America is generous with other people’s blood: Hungarians in 1956, Czechs in 1968, the Kurds in Syria and today the Ukrainians. American pundits say that from Ukraine, Taiwan should draw the lesson that it must prepare to defend itself now, like a porcupine. But it is quite a different lesson that the Taiwanese have learned – namely that it doesn’t pay to fight as an American proxy.
The Germans will have the choice of rearming, and in particular restoring conscription, or accommodating Putin. Which do you think they will do? The Hungarians will congratulate themselves for refusing to join the sanctions against Moscow. The French will remember that Marine Le Pen came within a cannon-shot of beating Macron in the last elections by proposing to remove France from NATO command, and Macron will carefully distance himself from Washington. The Poles will make a terrible noise, but to no avail; the difference between the Hungarians and the Poles is that the Hungarians do not make the mistake of thinking that they matter. And India will continue to buy Russian oil and sell consumer goods to the Russian market.
The Russians have been winning for a long time. I was wondering what would happen when they finally closed the deal and the western media was found to be wanting. The Azov battalion and friends killing and blowing up Ukrainians has failed thanks to youtube and bitchute reports showing actual facts on the ground. Go find Patrick Lancaster and others. The US proxy war has failed. Joe and Hunter Biden have lost their corrupt ridden honey hole.
Thanks for posting! I’ve followed Spengler ever since AT started carrying his essays and articles. Nice to have an update from the (not so) good Cardinal. It appears Richelieu and respected Chinese academic Chen Feng share a similar take (keep in mind this was published back on March 3):
Brief excerpt machine translated by google, link here:
https://m.guancha.cn/ChenFeng3/2022_03_02_628308
Anyway, however things end up in Ukraine, China will be the big winner. More here:
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/4065473/posts?page=46#46
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