On 20 February 2025, I talked with Judge Napolitano on “Judging Freedom” about the remarkable changes taking place in US policy toward Europe, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the lack of change in US policy toward Israel.
I always listen to your thoughts with interest and mostly agree with your “realist “ stance - however with possible peace by mid year in Ukraine along with moves towards at least discussion of normalising of USA/RF relations - I do not understand USA policy (which I know you endorse) of the “containment “ of China - yes in economic & diplomatic terms I get the picture, but in military terms it is only the USA that has military bases & allies all around China, as far as I am aware China does not have a military presence anywhere close to America ? So this policy is actually aggressive again and I would suggest unwarranted given chinas long history of non imperialism outside their locale and their well stated position on expansion.
Surely it is time for the USA to settle the issue of security in the pacific but without further escalation over places such as Taiwan which is after all legally part of the ROC ?
This is a basic consequence of JM's hard-realist theory. Country will do the max it can with the power it has. China is the economic, commercial, and industrial world leader at the moment, while US still leads in finance but with all the foundations washed away (incl once impressive military dominance, now parity on a good day).
The narrowest point of the Taiwan Strait is 70 nm. US warships frequently pass through (legitimate, IMHO) and the Chinese military will watch closely. Australian warships did that too. Now the Chinese navy is merely 150 miles from the Australian coast, of course the Australian military should watch closely. But there is nothing wrong with it. It is called international water, isn't it? Or the Australian sovereignty extends to 200 miles off coast?
I started to have reservations about Mearsheimer when Jeffrey Sachs opposed his views on Asia. It seems that Mearsheimer is a Justice-loving dove on the Middle East and Ukraine, but a bellicose hawk on China. If this is his idea of realpolitik, I’ll have nothing to do with it. I’ll take Jeffrey Sachs over Mearsheimer any day.
Whatever is said and done, it is very unfortunate - even recent history has been forgotten for some vested interest or convenience or both. If we correctly remember that history, Putin begged from that weird, cocaine-pulling, mass murderer cum child mass murderer bloodthirsty Biden the brute to stop NATO coming into his backyard and avoid any war ensuing. It went on for three long months, but Biden the brute wanted to have a fight with Russia and especially with Putin and ridicule Putin, and he was determined. Biden the brute was drunk with the taste of blood in Libya and Syria and later staged in Palestine, brute thought Russia also trampled and put to dust - using a cat's paw of that clown of Ukraine. Over these issues, Democrat congresswomen jumped ship and joined Republicans castigating Biden the brute's behavior and conduct. Coming back to the original question of who started the Ukraine war, it is none other than Biden the brute.
The Palestinians used their hands to murder 4 yr old and 9 mo old Kfir and Ariel Bibas. They used their bare hands. They choked them to death in November, 2023, one month after they were taken into Gaza by Palestinian civilians, not Hamas militants. The forensics revealed this today. Yarden Bibas, the father, told the IDF that he wants the whole world to know how they were murdered.
There is much talk about Western financial help for Ukraine.
It would be interesting to know how much of this help was it the form of loans, to be paid back with interest, and how much was in the form of donations (ie 100% gratuitous)?
Trump admin is still consolidating power. I'm inclined to see many of the headline-grabbing statements in the category of Trump's start-big / go-nowhere rhetorical style. As Prof Mearsheimer pointed out re the 51st state of Canada.
Contra Prof Mearsheimer, Ukraine talks I think can be abandoned easily by either side, since the fundamental Russian demand of denazification and purging of terrorist elements in Kiev is so troublesome and unnatural an action for the US. Requires in reality Russia to win the war outright. And the US isn't going to even offer it unless Russia does something like backs away from Iran, which would be unwise (but not impossible alas)
Qatar and Iran—not Israel—are the true obstacles to peace in Gaza, alongside entrenched Palestinian rejectionism. Their goal remains the same: a single state that erases Israel. Yet their aggression has only strengthened Israel and weakened their own position.
The two-state solution fantasy is dead. No Palestinian leadership has accepted Israel’s right to exist, and the October 7 massacre erased any remaining Israeli faith in peaceful coexistence.
Mearsheimer, stuck on repeat, blames Israel and the U.S., ignoring the real culprits: Iran, Qatar, and Palestinian rejectionism.
Trump’s approach offers a realistic shift—resettling Gazans in countries offering prosperity, breaking the cycle of war. Many Gazans would welcome this if not held hostage by Hamas, with backing from Qatar and Iran.
Qatar must choose: cut ties with Iran, align with the U.S. and Gulf allies, and help rebuild Gaza—or keep enabling Iran’s destructive agenda.
The U.S. and Israel should strike Iran’s military infrastructure, including its nuclear program, to weaken Tehran and push Qatar toward genuine peace.
You're still obstinately off your meds. (Add rimonabant and THCv to the chlorpromazine!) Don't comment! It just annoys everyone. Why does your psych ward allow you to comment on Substack? Or are you on the lam?
Israel in the 21st century is just as legitimate as European colonies were in the 18th, 19th and early 20th century: übermenschen (superior humans) settling on lands already occupied by untermenschen (sub-humans), who must be moved or wiped out to provide more Lebensraum (living space) for the master race. The Israeli Wehrmacht (war machine) and Luftwaffe (Air Force) are getting the job done.
The fact that you are an ardent supporter of such an enterprise as Zionist Israel exposes you as being in sympathy with a fully discredited and anachronistic ideology. Sadly, you are not alone.
The real question is, how is the world supposed to deal with people like you? Attempts at reasoning are probably doomed to fail.
Lying is what Israel and its friends are good at: "No Palestinian leadership has accepted Israel’s right to exist" The PLO did, and even Hamas several years ago.
Another list where Israel comes dead last: the Nation Brand Index!
I always listen to your thoughts with interest and mostly agree with your “realist “ stance - however with possible peace by mid year in Ukraine along with moves towards at least discussion of normalising of USA/RF relations - I do not understand USA policy (which I know you endorse) of the “containment “ of China - yes in economic & diplomatic terms I get the picture, but in military terms it is only the USA that has military bases & allies all around China, as far as I am aware China does not have a military presence anywhere close to America ? So this policy is actually aggressive again and I would suggest unwarranted given chinas long history of non imperialism outside their locale and their well stated position on expansion.
Surely it is time for the USA to settle the issue of security in the pacific but without further escalation over places such as Taiwan which is after all legally part of the ROC ?
This is a basic consequence of JM's hard-realist theory. Country will do the max it can with the power it has. China is the economic, commercial, and industrial world leader at the moment, while US still leads in finance but with all the foundations washed away (incl once impressive military dominance, now parity on a good day).
The narrowest point of the Taiwan Strait is 70 nm. US warships frequently pass through (legitimate, IMHO) and the Chinese military will watch closely. Australian warships did that too. Now the Chinese navy is merely 150 miles from the Australian coast, of course the Australian military should watch closely. But there is nothing wrong with it. It is called international water, isn't it? Or the Australian sovereignty extends to 200 miles off coast?
I started to have reservations about Mearsheimer when Jeffrey Sachs opposed his views on Asia. It seems that Mearsheimer is a Justice-loving dove on the Middle East and Ukraine, but a bellicose hawk on China. If this is his idea of realpolitik, I’ll have nothing to do with it. I’ll take Jeffrey Sachs over Mearsheimer any day.
Whatever is said and done, it is very unfortunate - even recent history has been forgotten for some vested interest or convenience or both. If we correctly remember that history, Putin begged from that weird, cocaine-pulling, mass murderer cum child mass murderer bloodthirsty Biden the brute to stop NATO coming into his backyard and avoid any war ensuing. It went on for three long months, but Biden the brute wanted to have a fight with Russia and especially with Putin and ridicule Putin, and he was determined. Biden the brute was drunk with the taste of blood in Libya and Syria and later staged in Palestine, brute thought Russia also trampled and put to dust - using a cat's paw of that clown of Ukraine. Over these issues, Democrat congresswomen jumped ship and joined Republicans castigating Biden the brute's behavior and conduct. Coming back to the original question of who started the Ukraine war, it is none other than Biden the brute.
The Palestinians used their hands to murder 4 yr old and 9 mo old Kfir and Ariel Bibas. They used their bare hands. They choked them to death in November, 2023, one month after they were taken into Gaza by Palestinian civilians, not Hamas militants. The forensics revealed this today. Yarden Bibas, the father, told the IDF that he wants the whole world to know how they were murdered.
https://open.substack.com/pub/evebarlow/p/hands?r=42gks&utm_medium=ios
Six U.S. Senators press conference after visiting Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia:
https://www.youtube.com/live/n5JL5ghy8rU?si=2RdJzLFG-XjyTgge
Have your pick; of most victims we don't know the names:
Al Jazeera: Investigating war crimes in Gaza I Al Jazeera Investigations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPE6vbKix6A
BBC: Gaza - How to Survive a Warzone
https://rumble.com/v6nm6n9-bbc-gaza-how-to-survive-a-warzone.html
There is much talk about Western financial help for Ukraine.
It would be interesting to know how much of this help was it the form of loans, to be paid back with interest, and how much was in the form of donations (ie 100% gratuitous)?
Would appreciate any links to serious sources
This may go a metre to help:
https://www.ifw-kiel.de/topics/war-against-ukraine/ukraine-support-tracker/
Trump admin is still consolidating power. I'm inclined to see many of the headline-grabbing statements in the category of Trump's start-big / go-nowhere rhetorical style. As Prof Mearsheimer pointed out re the 51st state of Canada.
Contra Prof Mearsheimer, Ukraine talks I think can be abandoned easily by either side, since the fundamental Russian demand of denazification and purging of terrorist elements in Kiev is so troublesome and unnatural an action for the US. Requires in reality Russia to win the war outright. And the US isn't going to even offer it unless Russia does something like backs away from Iran, which would be unwise (but not impossible alas)
Qatar and Iran—not Israel—are the true obstacles to peace in Gaza, alongside entrenched Palestinian rejectionism. Their goal remains the same: a single state that erases Israel. Yet their aggression has only strengthened Israel and weakened their own position.
The two-state solution fantasy is dead. No Palestinian leadership has accepted Israel’s right to exist, and the October 7 massacre erased any remaining Israeli faith in peaceful coexistence.
Mearsheimer, stuck on repeat, blames Israel and the U.S., ignoring the real culprits: Iran, Qatar, and Palestinian rejectionism.
Trump’s approach offers a realistic shift—resettling Gazans in countries offering prosperity, breaking the cycle of war. Many Gazans would welcome this if not held hostage by Hamas, with backing from Qatar and Iran.
Qatar must choose: cut ties with Iran, align with the U.S. and Gulf allies, and help rebuild Gaza—or keep enabling Iran’s destructive agenda.
The U.S. and Israel should strike Iran’s military infrastructure, including its nuclear program, to weaken Tehran and push Qatar toward genuine peace.
You're still obstinately off your meds. (Add rimonabant and THCv to the chlorpromazine!) Don't comment! It just annoys everyone. Why does your psych ward allow you to comment on Substack? Or are you on the lam?
😊😊😊
Israel in the 21st century is just as legitimate as European colonies were in the 18th, 19th and early 20th century: übermenschen (superior humans) settling on lands already occupied by untermenschen (sub-humans), who must be moved or wiped out to provide more Lebensraum (living space) for the master race. The Israeli Wehrmacht (war machine) and Luftwaffe (Air Force) are getting the job done.
The fact that you are an ardent supporter of such an enterprise as Zionist Israel exposes you as being in sympathy with a fully discredited and anachronistic ideology. Sadly, you are not alone.
The real question is, how is the world supposed to deal with people like you? Attempts at reasoning are probably doomed to fail.
Lying is what Israel and its friends are good at: "No Palestinian leadership has accepted Israel’s right to exist" The PLO did, and even Hamas several years ago.
Another list where Israel comes dead last: the Nation Brand Index!
Cheerfully from an Israeli source: https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/ryeyskkf1l