Metaneos

Matt Tabbi Hopefully, some calm and reason returns to the USA, soon. Probably not, but it's not vain to hope for it. In the end, though, it's probably better to prepare for worse things to come. Things will get worse before they get better, sometimes.

IFLScience This... probably isn't a good thing.

Fittingly, a day after the US' Thanksgiving holiday, we're starting to smell roasted bird. That would probably be Erdoğan. He's well done, as of now. Cooked to perfection. Now, it's a matter of time. Waiting for him to be finished, entirely. For the time being, NATO's hung him out to dry. They've denounced Russia's retaliations, but have actually done nothing else. Article 5's not even in play. It's been skirted around, and all but dismissed entirely. At this point in time, Turkey's only a member of NATO in name only. This is especially important, knowing Russia's not interested in attacking Turkey, but has made it known they'll retaliate to any attack on their forces, going all out. They've basically triple-dog-dared Turkey to attack them, too, brushing aggressively close to Turkey's border, and doubling down on attacks on the people Turkey had demanded Russia not attack, the Turkmen. And now Syria finally has access to Russi...

Turkey's been pissed with Russia for some time. Ostensibly over Russian bombing of Turkmen settlements in Syria. Others claim it may have to do with Russian bombing of illegal oil smuggling chains, or possibly illegal arms trade. Who knows the reason? I don't. What I can say, though, is the reason probably doesn't even matter, anymore. It left, long ago, out the front door, possibly to Europe with the flow of refugees. Turkey downed a Russian jet. They say in defense. Others state in retaliation. Some believe it was a warning. Russia has claimed it to be a stab in the back. Now, Russia's pissed off with Turkey. Overnight, they've halted trade with Turkey. They've pressed their nation's agencies to suspend trips to Turkey. They recalled their minister. And there are rumblings Russia might shut off the gas to Turkey. And possibly as a warning or threat or retaliation, Russia's stepped up their bombing campaign on the Turkey-Syrian border, today. Border...

We've reached a new tipping point. Whether this will be localized to merely Turkey, or if it will involve numerous states (i.e., WWIII), is probably up to NATO's response to whatever Russia decides to do about Turkey. The nation of Turkey's been acting as a spoiler these past few years. A dangerous, and stupid, wildcard. It's been flooding Europe with refugees, and continually allowing radical Syrian militants safe haven within their borders. Russia probably won't attack Turkey, militarily, but instead economically. A not insignificant amount of Turkey's energy needs are met by Russian suppliers. NATO needs to find a way of appearing to have Turkey's back, while also burning Turkey's fingertips. If NATO backs Turkey unconditionally, then we're probably in for a cold and dark winter.

thestar.com How ridiculously stupid.Pointless, even. What has happened to Canada's foreign diplomacy? Canada used to be respected, with heavyweights as its ambassadors, but Harper's reduced the foreign service into a gods-be-damned laughing stock. Canada's praises and rebukes used to carry weight, and sting, but are now brushed aside and ridiculed. And also, NATO countries seem to be hellbent on bumbling their way into armed, nuclear confrontation with Russia. These provocations will result, for now, in nothing but a chill from Russia. However, that's because Russia doesn't threaten, it simply does. If Russia feels under attack, she will retaliate in a way the Western governments won't like. Russia already took back Crimea, in a competent and bloodless coup, which was in the exact opposite manner the West creates 'regime-change'. Fortunately, most of what the West has done so far has been toothless, aside from plunging Ukraine into a civil war. The ...

Brookings Institute : Clifford G. Gaddy and Barry W. Ickes A good primer for those of us who are a bit lacking in our knowledge of world events. The US' moves have produced a whole lot of conflict with little to no reward.