Tag Archives: The Lord of the Rings

COLUMN: The Petrodollar: The Devil In The Western Details

14 Friday Jun 2024

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The Petrodollar: The Devil In The Western Details

 

In the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, the reader learns a little about Thorongil, the traveling name of young Aragorn, the future King Elessar. Over some thirty years, Aragorn wandered through the lands of men in order to gauge their worthiness in the coming war against Sauron. Little is known about his journeys into distant lands where “the stars are strange;” however, in Gondor and Rohan, he found sufficient faith, fight, and spirit to resist and endure to warrant his camaraderie and allegiance. I suppose it is well he never visited the remains of the United States, where very few have faith, intelligence, identity, or even interest in surviving as anything more than thralls. To one degree or another, the US condition explains the greater West. Elsewhere, thankfully, things are very different. Elsewhere, people are moving on from the lecherous, ruinous ways of American hegemony.

That hegemony was largely the product of two things: the perceived might of American and NATO military power, and the US dollar as world reserve currency. The former has been shown to be overstretched, poorly wielded, and materially deficient. The latter, revealed as a malicious illusion of neocolonial wizardry, is fading away in real time. A few days ago, strange rumors surfaced, from strange sources, that as of June 9, 2024, the US petrodollar would officially become a thing of the past. As far as I can tell, these rumors may not be exactly correct, though they point, like good rhetoric, towards the undeniable truth. 

The petrodollar was a terrible 1970s solution to the then-pending collapse of the dollar, de-linked from gold and wrecked via mass financialization of the American economy and monetary system. In a scheme perhaps unique in world history, the Saudis agreed to back the dollar with their oil reserves. This allowed the dollar to temporarily remain the most popular international trading currency. It allowed the US government to temporarily spend with abandon. And it allowed the private monied elite of the West to further enslave mankind and usuriously accumulate unto themselves unearned wealth. But the arrangement defied the laws of economic physics and was destined to eventually crash down. Rumors and exact dates aside, the crash is happening now.

As Alexander Macris noted in the introduction of his 2023 book Running on Empty, “When the US established the petrodollar system, it signed a deal with the Devil. When it ends, there will be Hell to pay.” While this statement may shock the consciousness of the conscionable, it is not that surprising to those familiar with the religious psyche of America’s ruling elites. But it is an accurate statement. As the American people begin to wrestle with declining living standards, among many other growing problems, and as the American elite begin to uncomfortably deal with the looming demands of their master, the rest of the world, the multipolar world, begins to experience a boon of prosperity, independence, and genuine order. 

The American empire is still dangerous, as any large mortally wounded predator can be. In its dying rage, it is violently thrashing about seeking to steal, dominate, or destroy anything in reach. Lindsey Graham, wicked US SINator from South Carolina, and wanted terrorist number 3967 in Russia, lately let one cat out of the bag about the US seeking to loot trillions of dollars worth of minerals and elements from Project Ukraine (…and something, something democracy, and Putin’s aggression, etc.). I suppose the shame of the Upstate never read Saadi’s Pand Namah and the warning, “Beware! thou that art snared in the net of avarice…” (Or, supposing further, Romans 1:29.) Graham’s conniving blather represents a micro example of the kind of chaos Konstantin Malofeev warned about at a SPIEF 2024 panel discussion last week. Malofeev described the chaos as engineered, and to a degree, it certainly was, previously. The enemies of mankind had a plan. Or plans—too many of them to keep track of and make work, and now they are entangled and failing. Today, I think what is displayed is genuine mayhem completely out of control. Malofeev is completely correct, however, that the solution to the chaos is the sovereign, multipolar concept represented by the BRICS+ alliance. And he’s not just theoretically correct; the solution is playing out before our eyes.

As for ending (petro)dollar dominance, last year, Olga Samofalova explored a variety of options available to Saudi Arabia to break free from America’s deal with the devil, namely dealing in national currencies, withdrawing investments in the US, and joining BRICS+. Right now, Riyadh is exercising the first and third options and is, along with other countries, monitoring and considering the second. One of those other countries, of course, is Russia, which, as Gleb Prostakov wrote in February 2023, is leading the charge to break what’s left of US dominance of the global energy market (and the US’s attendant indirect dominance of global affairs). 

One year later, the world is already a different place. The US dollar, while still powerful, is no longer the exclusive go-to currency for international settlements and trade. The US-led G7 has lost its primacy to BRICS+. Russia just pushed Japan aside to become the world’s fourth-largest economy as measured by PPP. Three of the top four world economies, China, India, and Russia, are BRICS+ members. There is a real struggle amidst all this change. As President Vladimir Putin said in his speech at the SPIEF plenary session, “We see a real race between countries to strengthen their sovereignty. And over three key levels—state, value-cultural and economic. At the same time, the countries that have recently been the leaders of global development are trying by all means, by hook or by crook, to preserve their elusive role of hegemony.” 

As others have said again and again, the current global conflict is truly a battle between the Believers in Almighty God and the minions of satan. On God’s side are Christians, Muslims, and their goodly allies. Theirs is the side of the multipolar, sovereign world. In time, victory will be theirs. And, as they watch the other side pay the devil his due, may they learn a lesson on how to never conduct business going forward. In this war, there is no Ring of Power. Still, the war must be won, and it will be. Let the wanton leaders of America and the West pay hell. All others, thank and praise Heaven.

Deo vindice.

Tolkien on Mass Migration and Terrorism

20 Friday Nov 2015

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The Lord of the Rings is, in addition to a great quest epic, the chronicles of the great war of the third age of Middle Earth. As with any such conflict, real or fictional, a large number of people attempted to flee the violence and turmoil, seeking peace in new lands. The story is familiar to those of the 21st Century or any time of tumult.

All of Tolkien’s legendarium is a story of migrations. At the direction of Eru (God) the Valar first moved into Arda, for its shaping and management. The races of Middle Earth- Elves, Men, Dwarves, and Hobbits – continually drifted about in search of territory, happiness and purpose. The Men of Numenor migrated out of Middle Earth in triumph only to migrate back on the wings of the storm. Later the Elves took leave of mortal lands permanently.

During the War various folks were on the move, seeking to distance themselves from the imminent threat of Sauron. In the middle western lands droves of disorganized people headed north from the areas around Rohan and to such peaceful and open places as Bree and the Shire.

Many were residents of Dunland, more a place than a nation. Their plight was similar to the picture painted of those leaving modern Libya and Syria – in or on the borders of war.

As with our mass of refugees Tolkien described these disaffected people as mostly decent, seeking only better lives. Any disruption they caused may have been frowned upon but their situation was most sympathetic.

However, among the refugees were a large number of “ruffians” – men who desired to take what they wanted by force or theft. These would equate to the welfare-seekers and common criminal elements associated with the current third world migrations into Europe and America.

Worse still were the enemy agents who accompanied the refugees. More than mere ruffians their aim was conquest of the new lands – by any means necessary. Being relatively few in number, disorganized, and poorly armed they relied on guile and subversion, taking advantage of the native sympathies and naivety, and on acts of violent terror. They, for the most part, worked for Saruman. They were the ISIS fighters of Tolkien’s world.

*For those only acquainted with Peter Jackson’s movies, most of this history is unknown. Please consult the book.

ferny

This still may represent the totality of Jackson’s representation. Google.

Saruman initially sent them north for two purposes. The first was to establish a supply line to feed his military efforts. The second reason was a backup plan, to establish a new petty realm in the event (as actually happened) the wizard’s war effort failed.

These projects were underway even at the beginning of the events of the first book. Frodo and company encountered one or more of these invaders and their corrupted local allies during their turbulent journey through Bree. Back in the Shire the plan had already been unfolding for some time though it was largely unnoticed by the native populace.

Early on the happy little lands of the north were silently guarded by the Rangers, descendants of Numenor. At that time the invaders had to maintain secrecy or be crushed and driven back south. The open invasion commenced as soon as the guardians went away to war. The invasion was made easier by the long secret efforts – incrementalism in societal change. Like the proverbial frog in the slowly heated pot the native Hobbits and men did not notice the changes until it was almost too late. Parisian concert goers might appreciate this concept.

In Bree once the changes did manifest there was trouble. Mr. Butternut described the scene as a real “set to” – a battle. Fortunately, the Bree-landers were victorious and repelled the assault. They then essentially found themselves besieged. “Fortress Bree.” They were also, being a little closer to the war, beset by far worse enemies though they were generally spared harm except for fright.

In the Shire, no sooner had Frodo departed did fundamental reorganization begin. Saruman took advantage of the local greed of some. Not understanding his pawn-like nature Lotho Baggins began to acquire real estate, industries and power. All of this would soon serve the “refugees” purpose.

Step by step the newcomers transformed the land to their liking. By the time the Ring-bearers returned a year later the transformation was complete. A nearly utopian society had become a fascist dictatorship. Terror was the new law.

Any Hobbits who resisted were either murdered, disappeared, or imprisoned. The rest lived under a nightmarish regime of force and theft. Like good communist leaders the invaders devised a system of “gathering” and “sharing.” This simply meant they stole for themselves what the decent people produced. In a flash generosity became captive to larceny.

Once the changes were in place (and the greater war lost) Saruman moved in to rule his new caliphate. His servants lived fat and happy and lazily while the Hobbits suffered miserably. Such was the scene to which the four travelers returned.

Fresh from the war and having witnessed the triumph of good over evil they would not tolerate savagery at home. They immediately – even at the border gate – began an insurrection. In very short order and in a remarkably short period of time they raised the Shire and reversed the calamity. The Scouring of the Shire was the final battle in the War. The population was full of pent-up frustration and only required a spark to spring into action.

The ruffian terrorists were given two choices: leave or die. The Hobbits of the quest, Frodo in particular, had seen how the Men of Rohan and Gondor handled similar interlopers. In Rohan they had been the same breed as those which now plagued the Shire. Down south defensive force was justified and utilized to sort out the terrorists from the refugees. Those who surrendered and pledged good conduct were left alone (though not allowed to live off the host nations). Those who fought for evil were defeated.

So it was that Frodo organized the resistance. He wished to avoid any killing, even of the worst invaders, if at all possible. In the end the terrorists forced conflict. Merry and Pippin lead the brief military campaign and the violent savages were confronted, hunted down and destroyed. Those who finally surrendered were disarmed and booted out of the country with warnings not to return.

Saruman worked his own demise, politically and, in the end, personally. The Shire freed itself through resolute action.

Ours is a situation of similar circumstances if vastly different origins of those of the mythical Shire. Theirs was a simple libertarian society. We are plagued with omnipresent imperial governments given to meddling ruin.  Many participate in or support the government’s schemes. I suppose this article will primarily resonate with the modern Hobbits – with libertarians and panarchists. We have a decision to make …

For those of us in the real and modern world the time for resolution has come. Either we must act swiftly and totally or else face a rapid decline into barbarism. News comes hourly of perpetual invasion by the enemies of the West and their plans for unending Paris style destruction. It is now admitted there is next to no way to vet terrorist elements from the regular refugees.

As such, a line must be drawn in order to preserve free Civilization. Until vetting is possible (if ever), those mistreated souls deserve our sympathy but not our homes and blood. The violent must be defeated. Period.

The people are ready for action and restoration. They need only a spark.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Travesty

13 Wednesday Feb 2013

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My parents started reading to me from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien when I was very young, three or four years old maybe.  Daddy was a huge Tolkien fan and possessed most, if not all – and multiple copies of, the then published books.  He was able to recall the stories from memory anytime I wanted to know something about Middle Earth. Thus began my lifelong fascination with all things Tolkien.  My autodidactic studies have led me back through The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings,  the rest of the Legendarium of Arda, and the associated works of Professor Tolkien many, many times.  As you may know, I have under development my own book about law (and Natural Law) and politics in the Middle Earth.  My father was a true genius and renaissance man; in this area alone I may have surpassed his knowledge and skill.  Of course, I want to pass along the family tradition.

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(If you have never read The Hobbit, go pick up or Kindle a version like this.  Source: Google images, fair use call.)

Last fall I was delighted to discover my daughter’s interest in the subject and, so, we (to both our delights) read the story of Bilbo’s great adventure.  We are currently muddling slowly through The Fellowship of the Ring.  Our slow progress is due to my daughter’s innate questioning and unusually foresight-inspired comments.  It seems genius skips a generation…

With great anticipation we awaited the arrival of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit movie, part one of three.  I admit I was somewhat suspicious of why three movies were needed to convey a book less than a third the length of The Lord of the Rings(LOTR).  I told myself Jackson obviously was going to entertain great detail and perhaps show behind the scenes activity (the White Council, the assault on Dul Guldur, etc.).  Then came some early bad reviews, even from sources I actually respect – authoritative sources such as Vox Day, http://voxday.blogspot.com/.  I wrote them off, intent on making my own judgments.

Jackson’s interpretation of LOTR was spectacular if somewhat deviated from the book.  I am a Tolkien purist and would have happily sat through three or more twelve-hour movies which depicted the story word for word and scene by scene, exactly as written.  I understand and accept this would have likely decreased the profitability of the venture so as to make it unlikely any movie would have ever come forth.  Nonetheless, I was happy with Jackson’s production.  Changes he made I understood though I was more disappointed with some more than others (no TOM BOMDADIL!, Gandalf’s confrontation with the Witch King high up in Minas Tirith, etc.).  Certain I was that The Hobbit would receive similar treatment.  I passed my assurances of excellence along to my daughter; we eagerly waited for December 12, 2012.

Much like the Elves of Eregion, we were betrayed.  Let us refer to Jackson as Annatar, the giver of goofs.  Had this been a new, independent story it would have been entertaining if somewhat hard to follow with characters, scenes, and history coming and going like waves at the beach.  The controversial speed of filming did not bother me in the least and I did not notice anyone else in the theater having seizures.  It was the brutal butchering of the story that made me sick.  But for my daughter’s interest and satisfaction, I would have departed after the first hour or so.  Initially, I was pleased with most of the pre-staging.  As time wore on I kept telling myself Anna…Jackson would hit his grove any minute.  Hours later the lights came on, the credits rolled, and I broke out in a cold sweat and vomited in my empty popcorn bag.

Mercifully, I only had to see the movie once.  Let us see what I remember.

The opening.  The long, long opening.  Okay, I liked the historical education for the most part.  Smaug (what we saw of him) along with Dale and the Kingdom Under the Mountain looked pretty cool.  But, wasn’t this story related to Bilbo by Thorin and not by Bilbo to Frodo?  I understand the need for a link in with the three prior blockbuster$.  Anyway, the opening to the opening took forever.  Then Bilbo finally daydreamed about his journey.  I thought we were alright at that point.  They even got the Belladonna Took/buttons-at-door quote right.  It seemed all (slowly, painfully) downhill from there.

bilbo

(Honestly, this Bilbo was just as convincing and much more faithful to the book.  Source: Google images, fair use call.)

The arrival of Thorin and Co. just didn’t sit well with me.  Thorin was supposed to be an aging Dwarf wearing a blue hood with a tassel.  The dwarf at the door (and throughout the whole movie) was more like the second coming of Aragorn.  Tolkien allotted heroes by degree and purpose.  That was one of the central, underlying themes of the Hobbit and the LOTR.  Small, dull hobbits were chosen over mighty elves and men to undertake the greatest quest of the third age; their seeming unimportance was their great strength.  I digress.

This Thorin was entirely to young and macho for his personage.  Sure, Tolkien’s dwarves are a stout people but they never liked to take such command roles as displayed in the film.  And, these dwarves didn’t look like the dwarves from the LOTR movies.  Gimli looked like a dwarf, this crowd looked like short, crude men who wanted some semblance of elegance.  I think Bombur was the most convincing of the troupe.

I was also bothered by the mis-introduction of Tranduil at the beginning.  He never had time to mount a rescue when Smaug came and, even if he did, who could fault him for calling it off when the day was already lost.  Of course, we could ask what Thorin was doing inside the mountain during the attack.  We could also ask for our ticket money back.  As Sec. Clinton recently scoffed, “What difference does it make?”

The opening dragged on and on.  I was fearful Bilbo would actually read that contract from end to end and even, perhaps, consult someone at Grubb, Grubb, and Burrowes for advice.  The little circus finally departed the Shire and entered lands that bore an odd resemblance to Rohan.  Then, apparently having overcome his death at the hands of Dain Ironfoot, came Azog the orc looking for vengeance. 

As if that wasn’t enough of a shock we soon got to meet Rastagast, the ridiculous Brown hippy, darting hither and yon on his rabbit-drawn sleigh.  For someone who was only mentioned by name very briefly in the book, old bird-poop, nest head got a lot of air time in this telling.  Funny, he was in the original LOTR, but like Bombadil, got the shaft during the movies.  More importantly, he did not discover the identity of the Necromancer; that was Gandalf’s business!  And, contrary to this movie, it had been discovered for some time.

That leads us into the hidden valley of Rivendell, reached it seems by falling through a sinkhole.  All was well again when the great swords of Gondolin were named and Thorin’s map read by Elrond.  The conference of the White Council was appropriate too, or so I thought.  If you’re going to devote so much time to so short a story, why not show some speculative behind-the-scenes action which inevitably had to happen somewhere at sometime anyway.  But, like almost everything else in this film, this imaginary scene was stood on its head.  At this point in the story the WC would have been putting the finishing touches on their plan of attack, not debating what was already known and decided years before.  Did Galadriel have a crush on Gandalf??  He was her favorite Istari, I know, but she was a happily married Elvish Queen and he a great though veiled power.  Alliance yes, flirting – who knows…

The passage up into the Misty Mountains was good, as far as it goes.  I thought the Stone Giants were a bit over the top.  They were a dire threat it seems, but not an amusement park ride.  Also, I distinctly remember the crack opening in the back wall of the cave, not the floor.  Small potatoes, sure.

What occurred inside the mountains, though, was a giant, rotten, slimy potato of a fiasco.  First of all, Goblinland was supposed to be all tunnels and caverns.  Instead, these bubblegum-imp looking critters lived on a vast complex of rope bridges and bamboo platforms any child from the East Farthing could have constructed.  True to his given inconsistency, Jackson’s goblins here bore no resemblance whatsoever to their cousins a few doors down in Moria.  The LOTR Moria goblins looked right – fierce and evil.  The “Great” Goblin’s brood looked like rejects from Fraggle Rock.  They were as comical as they were unconvincing.  The Great Goblin!!  He was supposed to be the fiercest and most menacing of all.  Instead he looked like one of those 500 pound slobs on a medicare scooter one might encounter at a Wal-Mart in south Alabama.  I’m extra glad Gandalf killed him. 

At least Bilbo managed to find the ring.  His detour into Gollum’s lair was out of sequence but it worked well enough.  By this time i would have accepted the Tooth Fairy appearing to gift him the ring.  Moving on…

Once outside the company was immediately set upon anew by zombie Azog and his host of wargs.  These wargs looked more like wolves than the latter-day Jackson wargs from LOTR (I thought those were giant hyenas).  But wait, in the book it wasn’t wargs at all, it was supposed to be actual wolves.  And, where were the angry Fraggles to sing “Fifteen Birds in Five Fir Trees?”  It really didn’t matter as Jackson cut the number of trees down to three and then like dominos cut them down to one – over a cliff.  Clear glades don’t have cliffs.  Arrrgh!!!  I was happy to see the eagles save the day.  It could just as easily have been Radagast in a make-shift, squirrel-powered helicopter.

Wargs, Goblins, and Azog.  Oh, my!  Each of these mistakes demonstrate yet another disappointment with this sad affair.  There was too much reliance on computer-generated animation or CG.  CG should be reserved for big things like Smaug or the Witch King’s flying steed.  And then, it should be as realistic as possible.  Jackson’s Hobbit, like the last Star Wars episode looked like a cartoon to me.  Rankin/Bass Productions already made a cartoon Hobbit in the 70’s – see the above picture of cartoon Bilbo.

After the amazing success of the LOTR films I was devastated by this interpretation.  A great childhood book has been reduced to a pile of rubb…  Wait!  We still have two more movies to go.  Maybe Jackson will take some criticism to heart and salvage what’s left of the story.  Then again, maybe we should look forward to seeing the U.S.S. Enterprise swoop down from space and kill Smaug with a photon torpedo.  Why not?

I give this show Two Rings of Power (out of a possible nine – hey, I’m a mortal man).  Yes, I will view the next two installments if for no other reason than morbid curiosity.  I look forward to the day when some director decides to make a real live-action movie version of The Hobbit.  That may take some time.  Old Toby, anyone?