Mort ji, I have a ton of info covering all the topics you mentioned but I believe all that would be out of topic for this forum. I would only like to add two points, that comparing chicago average vs national average is apples to oranges, and when crime needs to be looked at and ranked, it helps to map to to per capita, not just the totals(which are huge by the way). This is how its always done to get the effect per population. Below are the crime rates for metro areas in US.
Chicago's South and West sides constitute 98% of homicides, no wonder its called Chiraq. But if you are still near Chicago, you should see how the Bronzeville, Pilsen, Wicker Park, Logan Square neighborhoods have turned around in the last 20-30 years. Especially on the north side from West Town to Logan Square, where 20 years one could hear gun shots, now you cannot buy a single family house in move in condition less than a $1mil. The west & south side are shedding population like crazy.
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 28 Feb 2024 05:19
by Vayutuvan
Cybaru wrote: ↑25 Feb 2024 11:44
If Biden got only 59% of the votes and some candidates got 41%, we would be seeing headlines, it's over for BIDEN. He should quit...
MI primaries
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 28 Feb 2024 05:22
by Vayutuvan
Jay wrote: ↑27 Feb 2024 10:44
Especially on the north side from West Town to Logan Square, where 20 years one could hear gun shots, now you cannot buy a single family house in move in condition less than a $1mil. The west & south side are shedding population like crazy.
Highly gentrified. San Fran gentrification led to their AA population decreasing by 50% - from a total of 10% to now about 5% and going down.
Jay wrote: ↑27 Feb 2024 10:44
Mort ji, I have a ton of info covering all the topics you mentioned but I believe all that would be out of topic for this forum. I would only like to add two points, that comparing chicago average vs national average is apples to oranges, and when crime needs to be looked at and ranked, it helps to map to to per capita, not just the totals(which are huge by the way). This is how its always done to get the effect per population. Below are the crime rates for metro areas in US.
Chicago's South and West sides constitute 98% of homicides, no wonder its called Chiraq. But if you are still near Chicago, you should see how the Bronzeville, Pilsen, Wicker Park, Logan Square neighborhoods have turned around in the last 20-30 years. Especially on the north side from West Town to Logan Square, where 20 years one could hear gun shots, now you cannot buy a single family house in move in condition less than a $1mil. The west & south side are shedding population like crazy.
Jay-ji,
So regarding Chicago safety vis-a-vis other large US metro areas:
1. You are correct that one should look at per capita crime rates, but from a parent of adult age children who are settling in US cities, one should also look at homicides per square mile to avoid becoming a victim for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Chicago=232 sq.mi. Homicides=617, Memphis=303 sq.mi. Homicides=398, St. Louis=66 sq.mi. Homicides=158, Oakland=78 sq.mi. Homicides=126. If you look at homicides/sq.mi. then Chicago turns up to be the worst at 2.66 homicides/sq.mi. followed by St. Louis at 2.39 homicides/sq.mi.
2. I suggest looking at the Marshall Project, which is left of center about crime, that shows statistics about how states & metropolitan areas don't report crime. Nearly a third of law enforcement agencies are NOT reporting crime data to the FBI. Reported Crime Data to the FBI
Much of this is traced back to 2020 when the BLM movement changed from social to a political movement. The states of FL, PA, & NY are the worst. That leads one to track local sources for crime reporting. One curiosity of Chicago is that the gun-shot detection (Shot Spotter) program has been dropped by the city citing racial bias. What we see is serious obfuscation by left political parties regarding crime.
3. Gentrification is taking effect in many cities and forcing middle & low income people out. Places near downtown Dallas & Austin, TX are experiencing the same. Oklahoma City is going to see the same where the tallest building in the US is proposed. Crime will be more focussed in other areas of these cities and make them no-go zones at night.
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 06 Mar 2024 10:42
by Rakesh
https://x.com/aussiecossack/status/1765 ... 72437?s=20 ---> Ding Dong the witch is gone! Victoria Nuland the evil witch who spent billions of dollars masterminding & organising the US backed 2014 Maidan coup d'état in Ukraine has finally resigned.
Victoria Nuland’s Ukraine project has utterly failed and the shadow President of Ukraine resigns from the US Govt in disgrace. She will be remembered as the coup manager, proxy war aficionado, NordStream plotter and “F u c k the EU” lunatic who has killed hundreds of thousands and wrecked Ukraine.
This is a clear sign that the US proxy war in Ukraine is coming to an end. Russia has won. The West has lost. Europe has wrecked its economic engine with self-harming sanctions. NATO will be busy selling US arms to scared EU nations who will forever fear Russia's revenge and leaders across the West will be kicked out of power at the next election. Relations between the EU and the US will sour substantially.
Anthony Blinken will have to explain to his son, who likes to dress up as Zelensky on Halloween, how his daddy betrayed his son’s Hero and all Ukrainians. He will grow up to find out that his daddy is a serial liar and that he has the blood of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians on his hands.
Victoria Nuland doesn’t have children who will be burdened with the shame of her despicable crimes. Vicky and her warmongering husband made millions from the US proxy war in Ukraine and other warmongering activities. Imagine getting rich with mass murder. You must be totally deranged to find any happiness or good sleep in your life.
To understand her deranged mind watch this video by Gonzalo Lira who had to die in custody in Ukraine for telling you the truth about vengeance driven Victoria ‘Nudelmann’ Nuland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzR---YDDIQ
https://x.com/ggreenwald/status/1765049 ... 13813?s=20 ---> One of the single most psychotic and bloodthirsty warmongers to serve in the US Government in decades: Far beyond serving as Dick Cheney's top advisor for the Iraq War, and overseeing NATO expansion for Bush - including Ukraine - she then ran Ukraine for both Obama and Biden.
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 06 Mar 2024 22:20
by sanman
'Cookie Monster' Out! Nuland Retires From State Department!
sanman wrote: ↑06 Mar 2024 22:47
...
Remember that she was a student/offpsring of Madeleine Albright
...
As Master Yoda would say - "Always two there are. A master and an apprentice."
Who is the apprentice of Darth Nuland?
Her immediate acting replacement is John Bass -- who again served under Strobe Talbott, and is a former US ambassador to Afghanistan who oversaw their f̶l̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ evacuation from that country.
Julianne Smith, current US ambassador to NATO, is expected to be the more permanent replacement (at least for remainder of Biden admin)
The Real Victoria Nuland: US foreign policy official retires after decades of fomenting conflict and destruction
A malevolent globalist of unparalleled attainment.
JORDAN SCHACHTEL
MAR 5, 2024
Victoria Nuland has played a pivotal role in both constructing and executing American foreign policy over the last few decades, wreaking havoc every step of the way.
On Tuesday, the State Department announced that she will be retiring from her role “in the coming weeks.”
“Toria’s tenure caps three and a half decades of remarkable public service under six Presidents and ten Secretaries of State,” a statement from Secretary of State Antony Blinken read.
“What makes Toria truly exceptional is the fierce passion she brings to fighting for what she believes in most: freedom, democracy, human rights, and America’s enduring capacity to inspire and promote those values around the world.”
Far from her advertised qualities, Nuland has used her position of power to pursue ideological pursuits that served as a force for death and destruction.
Let’s take a look at Nuland’s resume and explore the activities of this supposed “freedom and democracy” champion.
Clinton Administration
Nuland’s first big role came in the form of serving as chief of staff to deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott, a longtime Clinton family confidant. He who would later become president of the far-left Brookings Institution, a corrupt “think tank” which, during Talbott’s tenure, served as a vessel for the interests of the government of Qatar.
From 1997 to 1999, Nuland was Deputy Director for former Soviet Union affairs at the United States Department of State, where she handled U.S. policy towards Russia.
Bush 43 Administration
From 2003 to 2005, Nuland served as the principal deputy foreign policy adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney. Nuland’s team helped to make the case for pushing the envelop in Iraq. The Bush Administration spent over $1 trillion on the war, toppling Saddam Hussein in the process, but then creating a vacuum for the birth of the Islamic State. Almost half a million people died during the war, including over 4400 U.S. troops.
Bush White House
After fomenting carnage in Iraq, Nuland shifted over to the NATO portfolio during the second Bush term. In her role as U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Nuland was tasked with expanding European partner commitments to the war in Afghanistan. After trillions of dollars in costs and tens of thousands of civilian and military lives lost during the 20 year war, the U.S. withdrew from the country in 2021. Since then, the Taliban has come into power and now rules the country under the same flag that it did prior to 9/11/01.
Obama Administration
Nuland began her tenure in the Obama Administration as the State Department spokesperson.
From 2013 to 2015 Nuland’s portfolio was dominated by Eastern Europe and Russia. She was the American point person for the infamous “Maidan uprising” in Ukraine, which resulted in the ouster of the country’s elected president. Critics of the Nuland-led campaign have labeled her activities in Ukraine as a successful coup effort in a foreign country.
AP
Trump Administration/Private Sector
Nuland retreats into the “private sector” within the Albright Stonebridge Group, a firm with multiple offices in Beijing and Shanghai. The organization served as a means to promote globalist ideologues and retain their employment for future high level Biden Administration appointees.
Biden Administration
YouTube
As the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Nuland appeared to telegraph the future bombing of the Nord Stream pipeline, declaring that it will “not move forward” if Russia invades Ukraine.
Of course, the rest is history, and the Nord Stream system was sabotaged.
Nuland has since acted to disrupt peace talks and advance the maximalist position of fighting the Ukraine-Russia war to the very last Ukrainian, ensuring that there is more reasons for Congress to allocate untold billions to the war effort.
Surely, she will get a John McCain-like send off within the D.C. Beltway in the coming weeks. Since the 1990s, Nuland has acted to wreak maximum amounts of havoc from within the power centers of the American government, and that’s why the men and women of institutional Washington hold her in such high regard.
Only in D.C. would such a wicked “public servant” be celebrated.
The video is about Victoria Nuland's resignation from the position of Deputy Secretary of State and its implications for the US policy towards Russia and Ukraine.
The speaker, Scott Ritter, believes that Victoria Nuland's resignation is a sign that the US policy towards Russia and Ukraine is failing. He argues that Nuland was a key architect of this policy, which he calls the "Newland project," and that her departure signals a shift in US thinking.
Ritter claims that the "Newland project" aimed to achieve the following:
Weaken Russia and make it dependent on the West
扶植 (fuzhi) new classes of oligarchs in Russia
Ultimately achieve the "strategic defeat" of Russia
Ritter believes that this policy has backfired and that Russia is now stronger than ever. He argues that the sanctions imposed on Russia by the US and its allies have actually helped Russia by:
Purging the oligarch class and making the Russian economy less reliant on the West
Uniting the Russian people behind their government
Ritter concludes the video by saying that the US needs to change its policy towards Russia and that the "Newland project" is dead. He also warns that the US is currently closer to a nuclear war with Russia than at any time in recent history.
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 07 Mar 2024 04:47
by sanman
Neocon Queen Victoria Nuland Ends Her Reign: Exposing a Catastrophic Career
This video by Glenn Greenwald summarizes the career and controversies surrounding Victoria Nuland, a controversial figure who has held prominent positions in the US government for decades.
The video highlights Nuland's involvement in several foreign policy decisions, including the Iraq War, the expansion of NATO, and the regime change in Ukraine. Greenwald criticizes Nuland for her hawkish stance and her role in promoting policies that have had disastrous consequences.
Here are some of the key points from the video:
Nuland served under multiple administrations, both Democratic and Republican, including holding key positions under George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden.
She is considered a "neocon," a term used to describe someone who advocates for a hawkish foreign policy and the use of military power to achieve US interests.
Nuland was a strong supporter of the Iraq War and played a key role in advocating for the expansion of NATO into Eastern Europe, including Ukraine.
She has been criticized for her role in the 2014 Ukrainian coup, which led to the removal of the country's democratically elected president.
Greenwald argues that Nuland's foreign policy decisions have been driven by ideology rather than pragmatism and have had negative consequences for the US and the world.
The video concludes by celebrating Nuland's resignation and expressing hope that it will lead to a change in US foreign policy.
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 07 Mar 2024 05:06
by sanman
PV Narasimha Rao had a phrase for Nuland's predicament:
Aurangzeb Principle
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 07 Mar 2024 06:08
by sanman
Twitterati claiming that Nuland has resigned over a dispute or divergence of views, where she was advocating military escalation against Russia and not finding any takers:
sanman wrote: ↑07 Mar 2024 05:06
PV Narasimha Rao had a phrase for Nuland's predicament:
Aurangzeb Principle
What is it? I am unable to find in a Google search.
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 07 Mar 2024 08:39
by Pratyush
The Aurangzeb Principal could be a reference to the disastrous Dakhhan campaign launched by him.
It bancurrupted the empire, destroyed alliances from which the empire drew strength, created an alternate power centre in Maratha Empire. Utimately leading to the downfall of the empire itself.
All because, he created circumstances, in which Shivaji was left with no choice but to disrespect Aurangzeb and then l the resulting war.
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 07 Mar 2024 08:46
by Vayutuvan
Pratyush wrote: ↑07 Mar 2024 08:39
The Aurangzeb Principal could be a reference to the disastrous Dakhhan campaign launched by him.
Pratyush ji, thanks. But how does it connect with PV saab?
Cybaru wrote: ↑25 Feb 2024 11:44
If Biden got only 59% of the votes and some candidates got 41%, we would be seeing headlines, it's over for BIDEN. He should quit...
MI primaries
81% lol ... And they didnt vote for the other idiots, they voted uncommitted, They said listen to us, we want a change in course. It's important for electorate to elect their leaders and hold their feet to fire for whatever policy they want enacted. They are doing what they are supposed to do to be heard in a democracy. Even though I may disagree with them, that is the right way to dissent.
I still haven't seen Donald scream that mail in voting was illegal in primaries or illegals are voting etc ... He keeps conspiracy theories when he is losing! Mail in voting was the primary way of voting in this election!
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 07 Mar 2024 10:11
by Pratyush
Vayutuvan ji,
No clues whatsoever.
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 07 Mar 2024 10:22
by Manish_P
Pratyush wrote: ↑07 Mar 2024 08:39
The Aurangzeb Principal could be a reference to the disastrous Dakhhan campaign launched by him.
It bancurrupted the empire, destroyed alliances from which the empire drew strength, created an alternate power centre in Maratha Empire. Utimately leading to the downfall of the empire itself.
All because, he created circumstances, in which Shivaji was left with no choice but to disrespect Aurangzeb and then l the resulting war.
It could be a reference to her jostling herself into a position of authority by out-maneuvering & back-stabbing her rivals..
In his book, 'The Insider' P V Narasimha Rao mentions Aurangzeb as being in a hurry to grab power & willing to risk scheming against his own family, using one against the other, to do so, as the Aurangzeb technique.
He refers to Aurangzeb in the following paragraph- 'The core of the modern political system is that power resides with one person - the emperor - king, president, prime minister. The essence of power is that it cannot be shared. It is either you or me, never you and me.'
He alludes to painstakingly aligning with the more powerful person/power center & cunningly scheming to get into a position to advance over him/them and thus upwards as the Aurangzeb technique.
His predicament, and constant worry, was the same as all the other mughals - how to hold on to your empire using your regional chieftains while ensuring none of them (nor your own family) could individually become so powerful so as to overthrow you
Washington elites looking increasingly like they're running a tottering empire
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 16 Mar 2024 14:25
by Cyrano
^^^ Exactly what I said a couple of weeks ago regarding the millions Biden is letting into the US. A few 100ks of young and able bodied will be express trained and made cannon fodder in Ukr with the promise of citizenship/GCs to kin, since there are no colonies left to supply the west's war lust.
Re: Understanding the US - Again
Posted: 18 Mar 2024 18:31
by A_Gupta
The latest numbers from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show the United States is in the middle of a major propane boom, among other areas of energy dominance. Propane exports have skyrocketed to set a new record in U.S. history, averaging 1.9 million barrels per day in December.
According to the EIA:
Annual U.S. propane exports to Asia grew 25% in 2023 compared with 2022, a 190,000-b/d increase. Most U.S. exports to Asia go to Japan, South Korea, and China. China accounts for most of the growth in U.S. exports to Asia—U.S. propane exports to China grew by 49% in 2023. U.S. propane exports to Europe also grew, increasing 20% from 2022 to 2023. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, EU countries reduced propane imports from Russia, and in 2022 they started importing more U.S. propane, anticipating a ban on Russia’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, which includes propane and butane).
This is yet another statistic that supports Biden’s energy dominance record. (U.S. domestic oil production is also at all-time highs.) It’s odd that the White House and Democrats rarely tout these facts. Biden did not focus on oil production during his State of the Union speech at all. His comments on energy were primarily about the green kind.
