You are such a brilliant researcher and writer, Cynthia. I learn so much from you. I'm going to be using the phrase 'mushy liberal,' which captures the phenomenon of empty sentimentality without running the numbers on how policies play out. My town of Santa Cruz has the highest ratio of homeless to residents in California, and California has the highest ratio in the country. So it's a problem of mushy thinking I encounter daily and my economic model looks at how to change it with five years when transients (including students) go back to where they were born or have family now, where the community has the tools to strengthen families, who then have financial incentives to help their own members.
I've wondered how fentanyl figures in, which I think has been a CIA plot against street drugs, including home growers now that it's legal. But I also has included some pharma products that I talk about here: https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/opioids-and-the-new-opium-war.
And finally, do you know the Kuang series on The Poppy War? I did an episode on that and Fadi Lama's book Why the West Can't Win, only realizing in the process they were about the same event. The horror of Manchukuo is something I can't believe I got this far in life and never knew about. Here's that episode and thank you again for this deep and elucidating information: https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/poppy-wars-and-manchukuo-monsters.
SDECE - French secret service (1945-82), now DGSE. great references and very informative to see that post-WW2 smuggling, trafficking and war-mongering networks had their tentacles going back in time to pre-war years. fascinating to read how these could grow into a 'secret' (well, not so secret) worldwide Empire built on unbridled violence, greed and extortion. absolutely horrifying.
The whole situation seems filled with contradictions. The FBN (Federal Bureau of Narcotics) is supposed to fight drug trafficking but is deeply involved in it. That would mean that virtually every FBN employee would be involved in drug smuggling or else would be a potential whistle-blower. Institutions like the HSBC are central to financing drug money laundering yet have an anti-money-laundering office. What does the office do? Does the anti-laundering office issue reports that include the full extent of HSBC money laundering and drug smuggling financing?
Same for the CIA. The CIA is reportedly up to its neck in organizing drug smuggling. But we do have ex-CIA such as Larry Johnson who are critical of general US policy and who use technical knowledge from their tenure in the military and the CIA. But nothing about drug running or terror sponsoring. Do these guys not know the accusations about the CIA or are they muzzled by anti-disclosure agreements and laws?
You are such a brilliant researcher and writer, Cynthia. I learn so much from you. I'm going to be using the phrase 'mushy liberal,' which captures the phenomenon of empty sentimentality without running the numbers on how policies play out. My town of Santa Cruz has the highest ratio of homeless to residents in California, and California has the highest ratio in the country. So it's a problem of mushy thinking I encounter daily and my economic model looks at how to change it with five years when transients (including students) go back to where they were born or have family now, where the community has the tools to strengthen families, who then have financial incentives to help their own members.
I've wondered how fentanyl figures in, which I think has been a CIA plot against street drugs, including home growers now that it's legal. But I also has included some pharma products that I talk about here: https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/opioids-and-the-new-opium-war.
And finally, do you know the Kuang series on The Poppy War? I did an episode on that and Fadi Lama's book Why the West Can't Win, only realizing in the process they were about the same event. The horror of Manchukuo is something I can't believe I got this far in life and never knew about. Here's that episode and thank you again for this deep and elucidating information: https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/poppy-wars-and-manchukuo-monsters.
SDECE - French secret service (1945-82), now DGSE. great references and very informative to see that post-WW2 smuggling, trafficking and war-mongering networks had their tentacles going back in time to pre-war years. fascinating to read how these could grow into a 'secret' (well, not so secret) worldwide Empire built on unbridled violence, greed and extortion. absolutely horrifying.
The China Mirage by James Bradley has some great details about Henry Luce's machinations to sell a false version of China to Americans.
Thanks, Alex, I will definitely read that book!!
The whole situation seems filled with contradictions. The FBN (Federal Bureau of Narcotics) is supposed to fight drug trafficking but is deeply involved in it. That would mean that virtually every FBN employee would be involved in drug smuggling or else would be a potential whistle-blower. Institutions like the HSBC are central to financing drug money laundering yet have an anti-money-laundering office. What does the office do? Does the anti-laundering office issue reports that include the full extent of HSBC money laundering and drug smuggling financing?
Same for the CIA. The CIA is reportedly up to its neck in organizing drug smuggling. But we do have ex-CIA such as Larry Johnson who are critical of general US policy and who use technical knowledge from their tenure in the military and the CIA. But nothing about drug running or terror sponsoring. Do these guys not know the accusations about the CIA or are they muzzled by anti-disclosure agreements and laws?