Of Putin’s Russia and Fukushima: Another View

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I’m here to tout two standout articles which, serendipitously, I came across on the same day; and then we’re going to check out the ledge those articles have teased me onto.

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But before getting into them, I’m compelled to toss out some creds: I became heatedly radicalized—much contrary to my best interests and firm middle class roots—by the burgeoning/bludgeoning Police-State-USA of six decades ago. Not a whit of difference, to cop a phrase, between the adolescent of yore and the anciano of today … in my chronically over-heated mind, at any rate. It’s been a bumpy, often cruel road, lots of broken parts, crumpled illusions … scores of handcuffings … with few wins … damned few … but what the hell … no pain, no gain, right?

Since, I’ve written some … not much … only when I can’t not write … like now … mostly clumsy attempts to ken the retrograde minds and motives of the cretins behind the curtains (hereinafter: cbc). At this point, only a single idea seems to be gathering certainty for me: if we insist upon thinking that our common enemies are simply evil, we’re still in kindergarten … counting on our fingers … learning our colors….

Being an internet junkie, I found CounterPunch.org when it was new as my first computer, lo those many years ago. Gateway to a sort of nirvana, it induced a state of being where I could kick back and pry into a lush assortment of great, good, and even engagingly bewildered minds, all in serious combat with what charades as reality.

Today, I find my fingers on so many pulses that I’m often left frazzled. Recently, however, with the planet literally on the precipice, all accolades to you-know-who, I’ve found—along with many of you—The Saker’s Vineyard, Club Orlov, Voltaire Net, others … inexorably edging, I’m delighted to add, toward many many others….

But I’m not here now to write about them … except … well, maybe tangentially.

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Having self-exiled near Mexico’s border with Guatemala well over twenty years ago, I’m reasonably cognizant of the existing and inexorably-approaching water wars throughout Latin America (coming soon to a fracking near you as well … well … get it?). Hence, following my routine internet trail, I recently came across Phil Butler’s article, The Eternal Power of Water, Time, and Mother Russia. I read it through … then again, slower. Then again—I couldn’t nay-say it. Butler does a fine job of imposing upon one’s mind the immensity of Russia, its near limitless land and resources … its water … sufficient surplus, it would seem, to render agricultural the deserts of China. That’s a big WOW!, right? Good read … up beat: don’t miss it.

Not twenty minutes later, almost passing it over as more same-old-same-old, I came upon a work by Yoichi Shimatsu (like Yoichi-who?, right?): Fukushima Nuclear Waste Annihilates Pacific Ecosystem.

Learned though not overwhelmingly technical, very readable. A third of the way through, Yoichi-who? had my head pounding … I kid you not … seriously pounding. I put the article aside to read carefully, to closely study, to further probe the portals of my mind that seemed suddenly beckoning.

In the two weeks or so since, I’ve reread Yoichi’s article more than a dozen times. Through attempts in my labored Spanish to translate what he has gifted us, Yoichi has become a household name in our home. Thankfully, we stopped buying/eating Pacific sea food a week after Fukushima went off. This is a must read, particularly for west coasters with youngsters.

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Getting to the first point: While I’m not going to try to source it, there are probably many among us who recall, not so long ago, one of Obama’s geldings—female in this case, I think … at birth, anyway—saying that Russia didn’t deserve to be so big. A comment that could only have been midwived by Los Deservateros of Deservistan … apologies to Pepe E….

Second point: So many of us have the idea that the ship of state called the US is rudderless, out-of-control, a blundering floating-in-blood behemoth, cruel and purposeless. But … but what if it’s not so blundering? What if it’s all a scripted bumble-footed sinister-clown act? What if the cbc have accepted that—riding the very predictable Japanese ocean currents, a meandering but Pacific-wide closed loop, used by ancient mariners—the ongoing Fukushima meltdowns (lots of plutonium here) are, and will be, for at least the foreseeable future, depositing tons of highly toxic radioactive waste from Washington State to Chile? What if the cbc are already years into knowing that the US west coast is—for two centuries to a millennium (per Yoichi)—fried? The cbc are certainly much closer to the facts than most of us, even more certainly certain to lie in the face of same.

Third point: Lebensraum … remember that guy? his master plan? Yet … who’d argue that he killed and/or dispossessed far fewer than the humanitarian/philanthropic US, those Strangelovean engineers of reality? Is this what all the feverish bear-baiting is about? Is the US looking to erase history—hard-wired into its DNA—and start anew on somebody else’s turf? Let’s try to peer behind the curtain….

Remember Putin’s comments when the US first introed its shamed-Europe-into-it sanctions? Remember that he (Putin) shrugged, and without referring specifically to the sanctions, said—on at least two occasions—it’ll all be over in late ’16 or early ’17? While I can’t recall his precise words, I strongly recall his point: it’ll all be over in roughly two years. While surprised to find no articles parsing his reactive words, I took them then as I take them now: intel agencies in more than a few counties know the US is—economically, at least—toast. But when? Late ’16, early ’17…?

We can only hope, right?

Assuming that Putin, et al, ken the cbc’s motives in their helter-skelter moves, Russia offers free homesteads to interested citizens: an hectare, about 2 ½ acres. Not a month later, it’s announced that Russia will offer the same hectare to anybody from anywhere on the same terms: work the land five years and you own it. Mere days later, the offer was again amended to include some infrastructure. Shades of baiting an Oklahoma land rush, right? Ah … to be sixty again … I’d be in line in a New York second … um … a Moscow minute…. Putin’s/Russia’s intent is obvious: to populate its hinter regions.

Other motives…? Who knows…? But few would argue that people will readily fight for their homes.

A note here: an hectare really won’t do to sustain much of a family, particularly with a single growing season in cold-to-harsh winter latitudes. Hence, a message to any of you with Putin, et al, in your like box, or whatever: check out Mexico’s ejido system. It works to support large families and thousands of relatively contented and occasionally prosperous comunidades; best of all, the cohesive concept has largely bested NAFTA’s slimy privatization machinations.

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Finally: The beast is gravely, even mortally, wounded. Being a beast, however, raging and inarticulate, it will thrash about, quite probably for a wearisome time, hammering all around it. Still … chances are better than good that Russia will mostly keep it treed … particularly with our help. Seriously. Think about it … and when the bastards have you against the ropes … well … drop that shoulder, twist, and coming up hard now, Counterpunch….

Frank Hilaire lives in the mountains of southern Mexico.