The New Dark Age

Today began with some basic musings on the Moon of Alabama site that prompted thoughts about the premonitions and preparations undertaken by the Outlaw US Empire’s three main opponents—Russia, China and Iran. Those musings follow:

Bessant’s lies no longer manipulate markets. Sean Foo’s latest deals with that. Yesterday, I linked to the podcast about the diesel crisis and how electric trucks are making a difference for those who invested early in them. Today, Kevin provides a follow-up on mining sector electric trucks and the vast cost savings they now provide. Some are even driverless. The two podcasts combined are fewer than 20-minutes. The EIA inventory page was finally updated as of 28 August. I suggest keeping that page open as you read Larry Johnson’s latest summary (“I am indebted to a reader — a gent named Bryan — and Karl Miller for the following analysis. I have condensed and summarized their arguments.”) What it proves is Big Oil’s ability to price gouge on all fronts and rake in Monopoly excess profits. Within the Empire, if we actually had a diesel crisis that was causing huge prices for that product, the inventory levels would show that supply side of the crisis. But inventory levels have remained steady, so no genuine crisis.

China’s foresight regarding NEVs (New Energy Vehicles) in the heavy commercial markets utilizing electric and fuel cell powered vehicles shows a degree of Capital planning and implementation that’s unmatched and gives the SCO/ASEAN regions/blocs an advantage, particularly the new sodium-electric powered heavy mining trucks seen in the second podcast.

An important article surfaced at Guancha today, Dialogue with Lian Ping: Developing offshore finance is the only way to build a strong financial nation—China must earn back the “money that should be made.” Here’s its preamble:

China is a major global trading and shipping powerhouse, but compared to its massive trade and shipping scale, China’s financial sector still holds a limited share in global high value-added businesses. A large amount of insurance, reinsurance, shipping finance, offshore trusts, and other businesses have long been undertaken by Western financial institutions.

Now, this situation is reaching a new breakthrough point. With the release of the “Shanghai International Financial Center Development Offshore Finance Action Plan,” Shanghai is accelerating the construction of an internationally competitive offshore financial system. What does this mean for building a strong financial nation and elevating Shanghai’s status as an international financial center? To what extent can it promote China’s participation in global financial competition and gain more share of core businesses? How will the offshore financial system be built, what will be the focus, and how will it be advanced in the future?

Focusing on these issues, this issue of “Opening Up Ideas” specially invited Lian Ping, Chairman of the China Chief Economist Forum and Director of the Institute of International Finance, for an in-depth analysis.

This is one facet of the planned Powerful Financial System Xi Jinping outlined in his February 2024 speech that was made public with the opening of its many aspects this year. Yet another step in the process of constructing an alternative international financial system not dominated by dollar or western institutions.

China’s aim BRI-Energy-wise is to provide nations with the tools to create their own energy. Look at the Green Hydrogen Project and how it will be used to power fuel cell driven vehicles–in China the emphasis is on busses and long-haul trucks. China is also working on using stratospheric wind power as this article describes, which is my preferred method of wind power production. It’s easier to now see why Big Oil wanted to wage war on alternative energy systems–they have the potential to put them out of business and to destroy their political leverage. This area of China’s work has been hard to battle politically within the Empire because it’s very hard to explain to the public why so much effort’s being put into keeping Chinese alternative energy production systems out of the country when so much new electricity generation is demanded by data centers. And it’s not just an R-party thing as the Duopoly is totally controlled by Big Oil and has been for 100+ years.

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In 1955, an attempt was made by Global South nations to formulate a new international economic order (NIEO) at the Bandung Conference hosted by Indonesia in West Java and attended by nations that at the time consisted of 1.5 Billion people, or about 54% of the global populace, most of whom had very recently gained their freedom from their colonial masters or so they thought. The key point of the conference was to organize an alternative to the Bretton Woods international financial system that was imposed on the world by the Empire in 1944 and was clearly seen and even admitted by a few in the West as a neocolonial means of control, with the goal being to gain complete sovereignty of their national affairs as the UN Charter guaranteed. The world had yet to be completely decolonized with many colonial masters tenaciously and often violently resisting those wanting their freedom, and there was no nation or bloc strong enough to challenge the Empire’s hegemony. There were some positive outcomes but not the primary goal of constructing an alternative.

Finally in 2015, the beginnings of an alternative began to emerge—China’s Cross Border International Payment System (CIPS)—that was made to specifically process payments in RMB/Yuan to facilitate Belt and Road Initiative development projects and payment for general Chinese goods. CIPS is faster, cheaper, and far more efficient than the Swift/CHIPS system controlled by the Collective Western Empire. It also makes those transactions invisible to Western intelligence so they can’t track things or halt the transactions to enforce illegal sanctions—the weaponization of finance done by the Outlaw West. How/what the Outlaws were doing to continue their global control was made known in the early 1970s by Michael Hudson’s Super Imperialism, who provided not just a history of what had been done but also the mechanisms of what would now be done since Nixon made the dollar100% fiat, and no longer backed somewhat by gold. At about the same time, the global energy markets were roiled by the 1973-4 Oil Crisis that resulted from the Arab-Zionist War. Two keys emerged: OPEC was told by the Outlaw US Empire that they could charge whatever they wanted for their oil—Big Oil was deeply involved—as long as the dollars collected were recycled back into the Empire’s financial economy, not tangible industrial assets. So, Big Oil was ensured the collection of monopoly/excess profits and the ability to gouge the public whenever they felt the need, and the petrodollar was born that has greatly contributed to the Debt Bubble and Stock Asset Price Bubble. For Americans, that ended the era of low prices for most goods particularly cars and housing as prices began their inexorable rise—the $25,000 tract house now costs $250,000 if you can find one, while the $4,000 car now runs $34,000.

Big Oil is often also Big Gas, although the latter hasn’t been as important for the global economy over the last 120 years. The emergence of the petrochemical industry has changed that along with gas (methane) being seen as having a smaller ecological footprint than coal. A difference in attitudes is seen between Russian oil and gas companies and those of the West—Russian companies prefer to make long contractual arrangements at low fixed prices because their costs of production are lower than Big Oil’s which seeks to maximize profit at every opportunity. However, because of its geographic location, Russia is very well aware of the Climate Crisis and its effects, so its oil and gas sectors don’t actively campaign against alternative energy sources unlike Big Oil. Big Oil’s attitude towards fracking is an excellent indicator of its environmental stance—as with all Capitalist extractive ventures, Big Oil wants to keep any environmental costs external to its operations and pass those costs onto the public and government. I have a book in my library, Petrotyranny by John Bacher, that examines the Dark Side of Big Oil and its fascist influence on the Outlaw US Empire, which is considerable. Aside from learning about Standard Oil and John Rockefeller and the power he amassed, an investigative article from 2000 published by The Nation, “The Secret History of Lead,” is a much shorter but just as provocative read. This note can serve as a motivator:

People have been mining and using lead for thousands of years. Descriptions of lead poisoning date to at least 200 BC, while efforts to limit lead’s use date back to at least the 16th century. Concerns for low levels of exposure began in the 1970s, when it became understood that due to its bioaccumulative nature, there was no safe threshold for lead exposure.

Pterotyranny is clearly seen in the Trump Gang’s policy from its actions against Venezuela, negation of all alternative power generation subsidies, tariffs against electric vehicles, and its illegal war on Iran, which are the most obvious. Before Trump we saw the Biden Gang blow up the Nord Stream pipeline that provided very low-cost gas to Europe, primarily Germany, but even before that act of terrorism both Biden and Trump in his first term pressured Europe to cease reliance on Russian hydrocarbons. Generating artificial crises globally to drive up energy costs so they’ll benefit Big Oil is a primary feature of Outlaw US Empire policy. Do note the degree of protestation made by Big Oil to Empire policies.

The paragraph I wrote above outlines China’s anti-Big Oil policy, which is more correctly seen as an anti-colonial, anti-imperialist policy aimed at providing Global South nations with the ability to produce their own energy instead of being dependent on costly imports. Russia has a similar policy in the nuclear power realm that makes the nation its own master of the nuclear plant by educating those to construct and manage it. And since Rosatom has mastered the fuel cycle, there’s no longer a waste problem. IMO, Green Hydrogen and higher altitude wind power generation are technologies needed by Global South nations since they don’t rely on imported fuels and no forests of huge windmill towers are required. Capital outlay for both is quickly recouped, which is critical for poor nations, who can then use their foreign exchange earnings to purchase other products instead of overpriced oil, gas and other petrochemical products like diesel. The cost breakdowns shown by Kevin in the second podcast I linked to above are startling in their magnitude. And then there’re the advances being made in solar voltaic efficiency and energy storage that will help many African nations produce electricity. Yes, China gets to sell the basics to establish the infrastructure, but then the receiving nation gets the power generated to help repay China and benefit its populace. Many nations that now export no value-added unrefined resources because they lack electricity to power basic refining capabilities will greatly benefit from China’s policy. And electricity can power their railroads instead of coal or diesel. Extractive processes are very difficult to make green, so doing what’s possible needs to be policy. Enabling Global South in particular but all nations to ween their dependance on fossil fuels is a laudable goal. Petrochemicals, however, will continue to be with us for many more years because of the myriads of products they provide feedstock for.

The fewer sales by Big Oil the fewer dollars are recycled into the Empire’s system to fuel its imperial policies and exacerbate its debt crisis. And in this case, we also have the self-inflicted injury made by the grossly illegal war waged on Iran, which had the great good sense to attack the Empire’s bases in the Persian Gulf region as well as Big Oil assets, which essentially operate and own a portion of all hydrocarbon extraction and refining in the region except for Iran’s. Now, the war itself was supposed to be the culmination of the Clean Break Strategy formulated prior to but finally published in 1996 which is the plan for Greater Zionism to control the entire region. Hubris caused no thought about what would occur if Iran won the war as it did in 2025. The lack of dollar recycling combined with the need for many to sell their US T-Bills to generate cash for daily operating expenses (Japan is the current outstanding case, but there are others) has created a very powerful financial crisis for the Empire since it has far fewer clients buying its debt, a situation the Empire brought upon itself when it weaponized the dollar, which actually was done well before the theft of Russia’s overseas foreign exchange holdings—Libya. What was done to Russia was a huge wake-up call for all entities holding dollar assets—they were no longer safe. Bessant has even tried to prevent sales of T-bills; but if you can’t sell them when you need them, then why have them at all?!? The Bond Market is now sending an unmistakable message to the Trump Gang—those incapable of controlling their spending beyond their means will need to pay much higher rates of interest. Perhaps the most ironical aspect of the Empire’s Blowback Crisis is it could be easily solved if Trump were to obey Iran’s MOU he signed and allowed the free flow of traffic through Hormuz which would restart the flow of petrodollars back to the Empire.

Because they retained their honesty and adherence to International Law, China and Russia can be trusted as alternative safe repositories to the dollar or euro. Indeed, Panda Bonds are currently very hot items as are Russian development bonds. Putin again said Russia was willing to sell gas through the remaining Nord Stream pipe and all Germany needed to do was to push the button and thus stand up for itself. The Grand War against Russia, Iran and China is seen by them as an attritional war they have the resources allowing them to win and in the process create a new world order somewhat along the lines proposed at Bandung. Another goal is to make the saying There’s No Free Lunch a reality by ending all rentier activities which entails making the global financial system dedicated to development and uplifting of all people, not just the Epstein Class. And that will require a replacement of the Bretton Woods system and its institutions which will happen eventually as their use ceases. Yes, many other actions must occur within individual nations like making their financial systems into public utilities and adopting political economies that promote people-centered development. All that can be done without obtaining permission from the Empire. China’s goal of attaining a global community with a shared future is shared by the vast majority. Hopefully, the very deep crisis the Outlaw US Empire and its vassals will experience will promote some much-needed introspection that produces the new set of values needed to become a member of the global community.