Peter Hitchens Was Right (and so Was I)

 

In the early days of the Covid Panic, Peter Hitchens was one of the few people pointing out the utter foolishness of the lockdown policies. I took some comfort there was at least one public person pointing out the obvious.  Here he is below.

I warned clearly in March 2020 that the out-of-proportion reaction to Covid would lead to this crisis.

I said: ‘Our economy is still crippled, and the overpraised Chancellor Rishi Sunak, like some beaming Dr Feelgood with a case full of dodgy stimulants, seeks to soothe the pain by huge injections of funny money.

He will get this back from us as soon as we are allowed out again. Just you wait till you get the bill, in increased taxes, inflation and devastated savings.’

And it came to pass, just as I said it would. I needed no magic powers to see this. Anyone could have done the same, including Mr Sunak.

As it began to be obvious even to him, I wrote here back in May last year: ‘Most of the people in charge of this country can’t remember what inflation is like. I can. And it scares me.’

Now, ridiculously, persons such as the Governor of the Bank of England are trying to blame our problems on the Ukraine War which he says could not have been foreseen – an odd claim since it actually began in 2014.

No doubt our involvement in that war will make things much worse, and I am coming to that. But the main reason for the Western world’s plunge into recession is the ridiculous over-reaction to the coronavirus.

And by inflation, the Bank of England says that, by the end of the year, it will be 15 percent!  That’s the official rate.  The real one is probably closer to 25 percent.  One podcaster I followed said that in February, his energy bill was going up 54 percent by the spring.  This was before the war!  (I am also now shorting the Euro, which dipped below par with the USA for the first time last month.)

This same podcaster talks about all the food banks and the fact that he has seen at least two instances of people fighting in the lines.  Just wait till it gets really bad and all the Afghans and Syrians start freezing from the lack of fuel.  You think they are just going to sit around for that?  Or do you think the cops who are so busy arresting pregnant women for hate crimes will hold the line when the real riots begin?

He goes on.

For some reason, the USA has for 14 years now been having a costly arm-wrestling contest with Russia in Ukraine. This turned hot eight years ago and has led to horrible numbers of deaths, and much destruction, in Ukraine itself.

I really cannot see what ordinary Ukrainians will ever gain from it. Nor can I see what interest Britain has in it, apart from our endless, rather pathetic desire to please the USA, which neither notices nor cares.

Yet we pledge billions in arms supplies, so sustaining the horror. The same goes for all the other European nations now preparing for a chilly winter of fuel shortages and raging high prices.

Is there anybody out there with the wit and courage to bring an end to this idiocy? Or, in years to come, as we sit unemployed in our freezing houses eating bread and potatoes, while Ukrainians pick about in the ruins of their ‘victorious’ country, wondering how to rebuild it, and where all the young men have gone, will we comfort ourselves by saying that it was all worth it?

It looks like it’s all coming to pass.  It seems by the end of September, a whole lot of things are coming to a head.  We will have way more things to worry about than the Russians in Ukraine.

The humanitarian crisis that is developing in Europe will most likely be one of them.

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  1. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    MiMac (View Comment):

    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill (View Comment):

    People here who support Joe Biden’s “wag the dog” distractionary war should consider:

    About as accurate as your claim that the Pfizer CEO wanted to kill half the world’s population….

    Let me you in on a little secret…..Zelensky is Jewish…he got more than 73% of the vote- that is a lot in a “nazi” state, wouldn’t you agree?

    “Russian propaganda has painted the Ukrainian state as Nazi and fascist….It was propaganda in 2014. It remains propaganda today….There is no Nazi government for Moscow to root out in Kyiv. There has been no genocide of the Russian people in Ukraine. And Russian troops are not on a liberation mission.”

    signed by 300 historians

    https://jewishjournal.com/news/worldwide/345515/statement-on-the-war-in-ukraine-by-scholars-of-genocide-nazism-and-world-war-ii/

    “The claim that neo-Nazi or far-right groups hold any significant power in Ukraine is absurd,” Jared McBride, an adjunct history professor at UCLA whose work specializes in nationalist movements and mass violence and genocide in Russia and Ukraine”

    https://www.factcheck.org/2022/03/the-facts-on-de-nazifying-ukraine/

    the so called Neo nazis in ukraine got about 2% of the vote-that is less than in many European countries. Wagner Group mercenaries include a significant fraction of neo-nazis- so Putin is using neo-nazis to de-nazify Ukraine

    https://www.memri.org/dttm/neo-nazi-wagner-group-russian-mercenaries-claim-be-fighting-ukraine

    here is a pic of a Wagner mere with neonate tattoos:

     

     

     

    Isn’t George Soros Jewish? 

    • #31
  2. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    Hang On (View Comment):

    What’s wrong with Hitchens? It’s just far more important to be woke and have the proper group think thoughts than understand what you’re doing. What’s a little inflation, a few wars or a bunch of dead peasants as long as you think the right thoughts.

    Well, you must move a lot of money along with those right thoughts.

    • #32
  3. Henry Castaigne Member
    Henry Castaigne
    @HenryCastaigne

    MiMac (View Comment):

    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill (View Comment):

    People here who support Joe Biden’s “wag the dog” distractionary war should consider:

    About as accurate as your claim that the Pfizer CEO wanted to kill half the world’s population….

    Let me you in on a little secret…..Zelensky is Jewish…he got more than 73% of the vote- that is a lot in a “nazi” state, wouldn’t you agree?

    “Russian propaganda has painted the Ukrainian state as Nazi and fascist….It was propaganda in 2014. It remains propaganda today….There is no Nazi government for Moscow to root out in Kyiv. There has been no genocide of the Russian people in Ukraine. And Russian troops are not on a liberation mission.”

    signed by 300 historians

    https://jewishjournal.com/news/worldwide/345515/statement-on-the-war-in-ukraine-by-scholars-of-genocide-nazism-and-world-war-ii/

    “The claim that neo-Nazi or far-right groups hold any significant power in Ukraine is absurd,” Jared McBride, an adjunct history professor at UCLA whose work specializes in nationalist movements and mass violence and genocide in Russia and Ukraine”

    https://www.factcheck.org/2022/03/the-facts-on-de-nazifying-ukraine/

    the so called Neo nazis in ukraine got about 2% of the vote-that is less than in many European countries. Wagner Group mercenaries include a significant fraction of neo-nazis- so Putin is using neo-nazis to de-nazify Ukraine

    https://www.memri.org/dttm/neo-nazi-wagner-group-russian-mercenaries-claim-be-fighting-ukraine

    here is a pic of a Wagner merc with neonazi tattoos:

    There is an argument that Zelensky and Ukraine are so corrupt that they aren’t worth defending. I think that’s a legitimate argument. There is also an argument that America doesn’t have an interest in spending forty billion dollars on the Ukrainian army. That is also a legitimate argument. 

    But for some reason, if you oppose America’s support of Zelensky and Ukraine, there is a strong tendency to exaggerate (the very real) flaws of Ukraine.

    Additionally, some people are pro-Putin and I can’t understand that at all. 

    • #33
  4. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Henry Castaigne (View Comment):

    MiMac (View Comment):

    CarolJoy, Not So Easy To Kill (View Comment):

    People here who support Joe Biden’s “wag the dog” distractionary war should consider:

    About as accurate as your claim that the Pfizer CEO wanted to kill half the world’s population….

    Let me you in on a little secret…..Zelensky is Jewish…he got more than 73% of the vote- that is a lot in a “nazi” state, wouldn’t you agree?

    “Russian propaganda has painted the Ukrainian state as Nazi and fascist….It was propaganda in 2014. It remains propaganda today….There is no Nazi government for Moscow to root out in Kyiv. There has been no genocide of the Russian people in Ukraine. And Russian troops are not on a liberation mission.”

    signed by 300 historians

    https://jewishjournal.com/news/worldwide/345515/statement-on-the-war-in-ukraine-by-scholars-of-genocide-nazism-and-world-war-ii/

    “The claim that neo-Nazi or far-right groups hold any significant power in Ukraine is absurd,” Jared McBride, an adjunct history professor at UCLA whose work specializes in nationalist movements and mass violence and genocide in Russia and Ukraine”

    https://www.factcheck.org/2022/03/the-facts-on-de-nazifying-ukraine/

    the so called Neo nazis in ukraine got about 2% of the vote-that is less than in many European countries. Wagner Group mercenaries include a significant fraction of neo-nazis- so Putin is using neo-nazis to de-nazify Ukraine

    https://www.memri.org/dttm/neo-nazi-wagner-group-russian-mercenaries-claim-be-fighting-ukraine

    here is a pic of a Wagner merc with neonazi tattoos:

    There is an argument that Zelensky and Ukraine are so corrupt that they aren’t worth defending. I think that’s a legitimate argument. There is also an argument that America doesn’t have an interest in spending forty billion dollars on the Ukrainian army. That is also a legitimate argument.

    But for some reason, if you oppose America’s support of Zelensky and Ukraine, there is a strong tendency to exaggerate (the very real) flaws of Ukraine.

    Additionally, some people are pro-Putin and I can’t understand that at all.

    Zelensky may be a swine, but all of the hideous things I’ve heard him accused of have come after the invasion. I don’t care if the Azov Battalions held weekly SS cosplay parties.

    Putin is a confirmed swine. Either that or he is so incompetent that some rogue FSB operatives have been gallivanting about sprinkling polonium-210 into the cornflakes of his enemies without his knowledge.

    • #34
  5. MiMac Thatcher
    MiMac
    @MiMac

    As for Ukraine being a Nazi state- what are the odds that the Poles would be among their biggest backers if they were Nazis? They are right next door, so they can easily gauge the nature of the Ukrainian state & having suffered 4.5 to 5.8 million citizens murdered by Nazis they are highly unlikely to help nazis.

    CarolJoy claims that supporting the Ukrainians is supporting the Chinese- but who is closer to China- Russia or Ukraine? China has not condemn the Russian invasion. China has been a major mechanism for Russia to avoid sanctions by providing a large market for Russian oil & gas exports-trade is up 28% with Russia. China also lifted all restrictions on the import of Russian grain after the war started. Ukraine wants to join NATO- is that the move of a Chinese ally? No serious foreign policy voice has failed to notice that China wants Russia as a partner as it seeks to weaken the US.

    • #35
  6. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    MiMac (View Comment):

    As for Ukraine being a Nazi state- what are the odds that the Poles would be among their biggest backers if they were Nazis? They are right next door, so they can easily gauge the nature of the Ukrainian state & having suffered 4.5 to 5.8 million citizens murdered by Nazis they are highly unlikely to help nazis.

    CarolJoy claims that supporting the Ukrainians is supporting the Chinese- but who is closer to China- Russia or Ukraine? China has not condemn the Russian invasion. China has been a major mechanism for Russia to avoid sanctions by providing a large market for Russian oil & gas exports-trade is up 28% with Russia. China also lifted all restrictions on the import of Russian grain after the war started. Ukraine wants to join NATO- is that the move of a Chinese ally? No serious foreign policy voice has failed to notice that China wants Russia as a partner as it seeks to weaken the US.

    I can’t make sense of your view. Forget for a moment our traditional relationship with Russia and China. Democrat economic policy is taking America down. Every move made by the Biden Administration demonstrates this. Curtailing our fossil fuel production. Supporting lockdowns throughout the Covid pandemic and spending money. Acting diplomatically in ways to encourage Russia invading Ukraine, shipping arms to Ukraine and NATO and spending more money. And spending more money. Supporting moves to establish renewable energy capability that will not be sufficiently scaleable to sustain America’s energy grid. Restrictions on fertilizer production.  Oh, prices are up so we have inflation. Let’s spends some more money. And continue supporting Ukraine.

    I don’t need to make any claims about Nazis. I don’t see much legitimate connection for America to Russia or China with regard to money and arms we are sending to Ukraine. It looks like a standalone proposition designed to benefit someone.

    • #36
  7. DonG (CAGW is a Scam) Coolidge
    DonG (CAGW is a Scam)
    @DonG

    ToryWarWriter (View Comment):

    Doctor Robert (View Comment):

    Tory, how do you buy Euros in bulk, or short them in an exchange?

    Its called ETF’s. There are some out there that are fairly affordable, I am paying 30 dollars a share, that allow smaller investors to short currencies, without having a larger knowledge of the market or specific currencies.

    https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/etf.asp#:~:text=An%20exchange%2Dtraded%20fund%20(ETF)%20is%20a%20type%20of,that%20a%20regular%20stock%20can.

     

     

    Shorting is a negative sum game.   You better be good or be like losing.

    • #37
  8. MiMac Thatcher
    MiMac
    @MiMac

    Bob Thompson (View Comment):

    MiMac (View Comment):

    As for Ukraine being a Nazi state- what are the odds that the Poles would be among their biggest backers if they were Nazis? They are right next door, so they can easily gauge the nature of the Ukrainian state & having suffered 4.5 to 5.8 million citizens murdered by Nazis they are highly unlikely to help nazis.

    CarolJoy claims that supporting the Ukrainians is supporting the Chinese- but who is closer to China- Russia or Ukraine? China has not condemn the Russian invasion. China has been a major mechanism for Russia to avoid sanctions by providing a large market for Russian oil & gas exports-trade is up 28% with Russia. China also lifted all restrictions on the import of Russian grain after the war started. Ukraine wants to join NATO- is that the move of a Chinese ally? No serious foreign policy voice has failed to notice that China wants Russia as a partner as it seeks to weaken the US.

    I can’t make sense of your view. Forget for a moment our traditional relationship with Russia and China. Democrat economic policy is taking America down. Every move made by the Biden Administration demonstrates this. Curtailing our fossil fuel production. Supporting lockdowns throughout the Covid pandemic and spending money. Acting diplomatically in ways to encourage Russia invading Ukraine, shipping arms to Ukraine and NATO and spending more money. And spending more money. Supporting moves to establish renewable energy capability that will not be sufficiently scaleable to sustain America’s energy grid. Restrictions on fertilizer production. Oh, prices are up so we have inflation. Let’s spends some more money. And continue supporting Ukraine.

    I don’t need to make any claims about Nazis. I don’t see much legitimate connection for America to Russia or China with regard to money and arms we are sending to Ukraine. It looks like a standalone proposition designed to benefit someone.

    Yes, it benefits the Ukrainians…..as well as the USA, and NATO.

    Biden’s terrible domestic energy policies do not undermine the reasons to support Ukraine- neither does any of his other horrid policies. I agree many of his programs make no sense or act at cross purposes, FDR had many bad policies and they didn’t mean we shouldn’t have started the Lend-Lease program nor passed the  Vinson-Trammel Act.

    • #38
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