BRICS: Laying the Foundations of the Next Empire?

I don't know - how much "Brexit and the EU" might be affecting bilateral relations with BRICS nations? Was Brexit devised as a counter-move to weaken BRICS?

Good questions, angelburst29. Indeed, in my opinion, Brexit and the E.U are severely affecting bilateral relations with the BRICS countries. I also think that the whole Brexit thing may be that counter-move you mentioned. I've found just now this article that deals with these issues at the time the announcement of the Brexit was made:

BRICS react cautiously to Brexit

After Britain voted to leave the 28-member European Union, members of the BRICS reacted with caution on Friday.


China’s Foreign Ministry said Britain’s choice to exit the EU will have significant ramifications, although China is still keen to strengthen its ties with the UK.

“The impact will be on all levels, not only on China-Britain relations. As to what kind of impact there will be, I believe all sides will calmly and conscientiously assess this,” Hua Chunying, spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry said in Beijing.

“China supports the European integration process and would like to see Europe playing a positive role in international affairs. We have full confidence in the prospects for the development of China-EU ties,” she added.
 
Don't know if you read it at the time, but Joe wrote an excellent article on what Brexit was really about two years ago. You can read it here.

Much appreciated ... for pointing out Joe's article, A Jay. Thanks!

It is "an excellent article" as usual and it would be nice to see an update, to include recent activities because reports out of the UK are confusing? But I understand Joe's point that Brexit could damage Germany - depending on which way the vote went? Still looking into the subject for further clarification of who is pro or con and what their talking points are? Either way, my opinion tends towards the UK staying in the EU and instead of trying to be "Top Dog" maybe a little cooperation would benefit - both sides?

Good questions, angelburst29. Indeed, in my opinion, Brexit and the E.U are severely affecting bilateral relations with the BRICS countries. I also think that the whole Brexit thing may be that counter-move you mentioned. I've found just now this article that deals with these issues at the time the announcement of the Brexit was made:

BRICS react cautiously to Brexit

Thanks for pointing out the additional information, Latulipenoire. Again, much appreciated.

“China supports the European integration process" - Just my opinion but I support China's position and along with China's involvement in BRICS, could open some doors in cooperation with the EU Nations, as a whole. Some of these Countries need to stop their "Power-plays" (like the UK) and the US is just "as bad" - although, we still don't know what Trump is up to with his Trade Wars and tariffs? AND the dam sanctions!
 
As a means of responding to US anti-Russian sanctions, Russia will abandon the US Dollar in trade transactions. Petro-Yuan is on the raise, Turkey is leaning towards BRICS as a partner, India wants to pay for Iranian oil in rupees and both China and Iran have already agreed to ditch the dollar in global trade.

As above so below: even in kindergartens no one wants to hang out with a bully.


Time has come for Russia to finally ditch US dollar – Foreign Ministry

Russia will definitely respond to Washington’s latest sanctions and, in particular, it is accelerating efforts to abandon the American currency in trade transactions, said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

“The time has come when we need to go from words to actions, and get rid of the dollar as a means of mutual settlements, and look for other alternatives,” he said in an interview with International Affairs magazine.

“Thank God, this is happening, and we will speed up this work,” Ryabkov said, explaining the move would come in addition to other“retaliatory measures” as a response to a growing list of US sanctions. Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak recently noted that a growing number of countries are interested in replacing the dollar as a medium in global oil trades and other transactions.

“There is a common understanding that we need to move towards the use of national currencies in our settlements. There is a need for this, as well as the wish of the parties,” Novak said.

According to the minister, it concerns both Turkey and Iran.

“We are considering an option of payment in national currencies with them. This requires certain adjustments in the financial, economic, and banking sectors” to accomplish. Last week, the Kremlin said it is interested in trading with Ankara using the Russian ruble and the Turkish lira. India has also vowed to pay for Iranian oil in rupees.

The world’s second-largest economy, China, has also been taking steps to challenge the greenback's dominance with the launch of an oil futures contract backed by Chinese currency, the petro-yuan. China and Iran have already agreed to stop using the dollar in global trade.
 
I have been noticing - activity involving BRICS has increased in the past few months. Apparently, in a move away from the American petro-dollar, BRICS has developed their own unified system - called BRICS Pay.

March 1, 2019 - Izvestia: BRICS to develop unified payment system

Press review: Will Putin join Israel’s Iran pullout bid and Trump-Kim 2.0 ends in no deal

BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) is working on a single payment system, which will be called BRICS Pay, and would be used to pay for any purchase in any country of the group, Izvestia reports citing the press service of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). The fund, representing Moscow, is acting as the coordinator of the working group on the financial services of the BRICS Business Council.

"Together with portfolio companies, RDIF is actively involved in the development of the BRICS Pay project. RDIF portfolio companies, as well as the fund’s partners from China and India, have the expertise and technology necessary to carry out the project," the RDIF’s press service told Izvestia. In addition, the fund is ready to consider participating in bankrolling the payment system together with its BRICS partners.

One of the likely scenarios to carry out the project is creating a special online wallet that will unite the payment systems of all the BRICS countries. The common wallet will work in the same way as existing payment services, such as, Apple Pay or Samsung Pay.

The Russian Central Bank’s press service told Izvestia that they are cooperating with the regulators of the EAEU, BRICS and SCO countries in developing a single payment space, including the idea of integrating national payment card systems. "However, creating a single online wallet has not yet been discussed," the Central Bank clarified. The National Payment Card System stated that the discussion on the integration of payment systems is underway, but creating a common online wallet was also not discussed with the organization.
 
I have been watching all of this with a curiously raised eyebrow for awhile now.

Anyone's idea of the economy is pretty much BS invented out of nothing. Then again, the Western world is basically going for broke with their ideas of what should happen (same-old same-old X 1,000,000), while Russia and BRICSy countries are really trying to push things in the opposite direction: "Let's have our currency actually backed by something other than air. Let's manufacture stuff and sell it to other countries!" I suppose that's still really BS economically at its core, but it's more sane BS because the side effects are way less entropic - so far.

There is no guarantee, of course, that earth changes or comets or political chaos or social stupidity won't ruin everything tomorrow, but then again events seem to take bizarre twists and turns quite frequently. Plus, events often seem to transpire way more slooooowly than we might like, interspersed with surprises and quantum jumps as we go along.

Anyway, from a simple perspective, if you had invested in physical gold like 10 years ago, you would have seen the value of that gold increase on average by something like 12% annually (assuming my math is correct). That's a pretty darn good return, all things considered... It's certainly much better than 'safer' normal investments, and it's a lot more than inflation.

To me though, there's another aspect: If you have some bucks to invest, where should you invest them? In the Western economy, or in the Eastern More Sane economy?

If money = energy, then wouldn't it also be a good idea to invest in something like gold because you want to support the More Sane Economy?

Symbolically / energetically / economically, it just makes way more sense to me. Who knows! In the end, you might not become richer than Bezos, but it still seems like a nice way to put your money where your mouth is.

In the end, that may end up being worth far more than Bezos' Billions... Or I could be totally nuts.
:wow:
In any case, it sure is fascinating to watch!
 
Thanks Ant 22 for opening this topic up and for your informative posts. But I am increasingly asking myself are such questions in themselves merely a sign of another form of manipulated control? – and by that I obviously don’t mean your reasoned thoughts but the whole concept of there being ‘A New Empire’ to replace the old in the first place.

From my understanding of Laura's work, this all happened a long time ago – way back at the 'beginning' – the violent wrench of consciousness from Circle to Pyramid. All that's been left to argue over has been the slow instigation of the permanence of this state of being, not so much in the form that history teaches us (one power block seemingly replacing another), but rather just each necessary, patient ‘snakes and ladders’ step on the long, long road to total singularity.

Yes, if one looks at history, the superficial signifier of ‘empire on top’ might be said to be say he who holds Reserve Currency status today and yes that does seem to change every 70-100 years (Portugal to Spain to Netherlands to France to Britannia to good old Uncle Sam) and therefore the question of who’s up next is understandable – is it BRICS, is it Crypto, is it…? But isn’t that merely the name of their game? Like pass the parcel?

What looks to be a seismic shift in power could really just be about another necessary reshaping of ballast on the same old boat. It seems clear enough that the controlled sinking of the American Empire for example, began a long, long time ago, at a time when it appeared yet to have reached its apotheosis. It was undertaken by droves of human seeming beings like Allen Dulles who had no interest or inkling for flag or constitution but blithely, secretly, methodically assembled - at the behest of their betters - infrastructures like the CIA that were required for a globalised perspective of control (but yes dressed in an American flag). His and his types interest was always multi-national, intercontinental, non-ideological, non historical. It was as if they were fulfilling an inbuilt evolutionary momentum towards fulfilling the establishment of a species wide bell curve of perpetual dominance whereby, Trojan Horse like, they took over the whole environment from within; always under cover, and with a single aim - full spectrum supremacy in the end. 6% pathological, 44% authoritarian follower, 50% jobs worth/cognitive dissonance making up your average perpetual deep state power system.

I think this self-perpetuating formula has now spread to every nation on earth or at least been established in every indigenous deep-state system and is now intertwining to become enthralled to the one, the stage we have entered ever since 9/11. On that day the Continuity of Government programme, planned since 1947 and used to kill Kennedy, arm the Contras etc revealed itself in both extreme global violence and in signed decree and has been running the ghost of America to this day (how many Americans actually grasp that their Constitution was declared null and void that day, a situation signed into continuance every year after by every sitting president). The technocrat and the technician are now combining to fulfill this promise via the impending and necessary next shifts e.g. 5G, AI, Robotics etc. They are become the breakaway species, with the remaining human gene pool below as their unified food source.

Thus I wonder – like the boiling frog – if it’s all just a long game of slight temperature adjustment by the pervading, pan-continental game players. Not so much so as to kill the host outright but cook it just enough, as decreed by active evolutionary rules, to reshape the whole of humanity over time (the programming is complete as the Cs put it) so as to fit their preferred environmental status i.e. perpetually held in stasis a couple of degrees above species collapse. And part of that game is the need for pass the parcel.

I’ve been pondering a great deal on the real role Putin plays in all this and then I came upon the following article which I strongly recommend.


It makes clear that whilst he was not initially part of the plan he has been accepted for now by similar forces in Russia (who are of course the same forces in the USA and China and Israel and Britain etc) – because after all he wont last. And a strengthening of Russia is eventually going to play into their hands. He’s tidying up shop just in time for when a prepped, asset rich, gold laden and ready to go Russia is what they need to utilise for Phase 67B or whatever. Putin knew from the get go that history had left him short changed and though he could pull the country back from the brink he could not undo what had already been done at a deep level, could not hope to face head on these powers (he is well versed in Kennedy’s fate) including the seismic shift of huge assets and power to ‘them’ as a result of the engineered fall of the USSR. He also knows that he cannot fight 'them' without shedding blood, and he knows from bitter history and 1917 what that leads to. So whilst he has a certain amount of time to tinker he knows his role is actually quite limited and that ‘they’ only accept his tenure and changes for now, (rather as the West accepted liberal democracy for a time), as a necessary ‘evil’ to be gone through so as to reach the necessary next step in their game-theory approach to managing long epochs of time. Look at China; seemingly ‘at war’ with the West but really home to so many mass experiments in population control and obedience (increasingly techno driven). Every phase in history, every nation, eventual has its uses even if it doesn’t see or know why.

So I ask is BRICS merely another stage, merely another part of the good cop bad cop game. Another BRIC in the wall.
 
I might be "missing the mark and not connecting the appropriate dots" but I'm sensing that BRICS might be the beginning foundation or "a structured draft in progress" of what will eventually take shape "as a new polycentric system of international relations"?

Feb. 25, 2019 - Lavrov notes polycentric world will take decades to establish

Lavrov notes polycentric world will take decades to establish

A new polycentric system of international relations will take decades to establish, but eventually it will bring about a more stable and safer world order, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the international conference International Cooperation in a Troubled World, arranged by the international discussion club Valdai and Vietnam’s diplomatic academy.

"We support the Russian and Vietnamese expert community’s interest in studying Asia’s crucial security problems," he said. "Such discussions are particularly timely today, when the world has entered into an era that has different names, but for the sake of clarity we will call it post-bipolar stage of its development. Its gist is the establishment of a fairer polycentric system, more stable and more democratic."

Lavrov said he was well aware of the disputes over a new system of international relations and the fear that it would be less predictable and less clear than a multipolar or bipolar world.


"I will agree that this period of turbulence will end someday," Lavrov said. "It will be long, but eras never take shape overnight anyway. In the end we are to have a far more reliable and safer system giving countries far more chances to use its opportunities for economic and social development. I have no doubts about that."

The Russian-Vietnamese conference of the discussion club Valdai being held in Ho Chi Minh City on February 25-26 has brought together 40 experts, political scientists and diplomats.
 
So I ask is BRICS merely another stage, merely another part of the good cop bad cop game. Another BRIC in the wall.

I think that like most things, it's complicated.

At the moment, BRICS is basically the anti-West. From Russia comes the hope of the world, and all that jazz.

But then what happens when Putin is no longer president? That's not to say that Putin = Jesus, but compared to Western leaders, I'd take him any day. Even now, we can see that Putin != Russia, Russia has its own issues, etc.

I imagine that some bonehead will eventually take over Russia and basically use its military/economic power to become The New West. The idea of a multipolar world is a nice one, but I'll believe it when I see it. It's extremely unlikely that this planet will somehow become a Utopian Vision of Loveliness. Given our history, even just multipolarism with groups constantly battling each other is hard to believe at this point!

And then, of course, you have the universe's idea of Sorting Stuff Out - earth changes, comets, etc.

So, I'm not really holding my breath about any of it. Then again, I see our job as viewing what is going on, and taking a stand on one side or another - preferably the side that promotes increased sanity and less suffering and less psychopathy at any given moment.

That side may change with time, which is okay. It's also the kind of thing where even "supporting one side" does not mean we believe they are Jesus People sent from heaven to save us all. That's black and white thinking.

If I say, "GOD, I love Putin!!!", that means exactly what it says - right now. But always in the back of my mind is knowledge of "good and evil", and what he has done in the past, present, what he says he wants to do in the future, what I think he really means based on whatever data I have, what other countries are doing or not, how what other countries are doing may influence Russia's apparent and real motivations, and so on.

I think it's more about, "sit back and enjoy the show". That doesn't mean we should throw in the towel and just say, "Well, it's just more of the same!" That would require removing ourselves completely from this reality/world, and the fact is we are here, now, for a reason.

So yeah, sit back and enjoy the show, but that means continually analyzing what's going on, making choices to support what appears to be the better path, and always adjusting course. That's the exact opposite of what we would like to do: See everything as this way or that, have a firm answer to everything, blah blah blah.

IOW: support, but don't over-support. See how things work, participate in creating a better reality, but do not get TOO involved or think that we're gonna change anything. Answer the question, "But if we can't change anything, then why bother trying?" for ourselves. See that things are about a lot more than just out limited 3d view of our limited 3d world. It seems to be all about developing an ability to maintain this delicate balance. In the world, but not of it.

The more we can do this, the more we see things we didn't see before. We understand more, and we even see solutions to problems that we didn't see before because our perspective on things shifts. To me, that is all part of the phrase: Learn to think in unlimited terms. And it can all start with stupid, evil, One World politics... :whistle:
 
At the moment, BRICS is basically the anti-West. From Russia comes the hope of the world, and all that jazz.

But then what happens when Putin is no longer president? That's not to say that Putin = Jesus, but compared to Western leaders, I'd take him any day. Even now, we can see that Putin != Russia, Russia has its own issues, etc.

I also wonder about the other countries in BRICS, given the current climate. Brazil, for example, can turn one way or the other on a dime. Then, India-Pakistan, and we know who tends to have an eye on Pakistan, which can affect both India and China. Not sure about where South Africa stands, really. So, that leaves pretty much China and Russia. They are quite strong now, but sometimes I wonder how long that will last... And if BRICS is actually strong, or quite fragile. I reckon it's a "wait and see" situation, the outcome depending on the trend that each of those countries follow, more than what they do as a whole.
 
So I ask is BRICS merely another stage, merely another part of the good cop bad cop game. Another BRIC in the wall.

Well, there is at least a visible positive tendency with BRICS (primarily Russia and China) and what they are attempting to do, which cannot be said about the West and its current trajectory. For instance, Russia's insistance on upholding the international law, China's "win-win" projects. Both Russia and China don't appear to be trying to purposfully subvert the Western order, it's more like they are being forced to react to the subversion of the West, which is incapable of tolerating any dissent or rivalry, and when Russia or China don't submit they go into a rage and start claiming that they are destroying the West, stage more provocations and the cycle continues. It's probably more likely that the downfall of the West will come from their own hubris rather than Putin's conscious intention or BRICS.
 
I also wonder about the other countries in BRICS, given the current climate. Brazil, for example, can turn one way or the other on a dime. Then, India-Pakistan, and we know who tends to have an eye on Pakistan, which can affect both India and China. Not sure about where South Africa stands, really. So, that leaves pretty much China and Russia. They are quite strong now, but sometimes I wonder how long that will last... And if BRICS is actually strong, or quite fragile. I reckon it's a "wait and see" situation, the outcome depending on the trend that each of those countries follow, more than what they do as a whole.

Well, I still tend to view all of that "optimistically" for the simple reason that all the interference in BRICS countries started LOOOONG before their recent mojinations towards a different/better economy, world, or whatever.

Of course, I'm not TOO truly optimistic (at least not blindly so), because there is always behind the scenes stuff going on, polarization, and so on.

Like with Russia, I'm pretty sure that their recent moves aren't because they're the saviors of the world simply because they're so awesome. IOW, I think they had "help" behind the scenes because then we have polarization and chaos, which seems to be inherent to our lovely 3d world.

But I can still say, "good job!" when they do a better job than the West is doing - even if I strongly suspect that in 5-10 years, I may be harping on them for going Full Retard like the West. We're nowhere near ridding ourselves of pathological types, and frankly I don't think we can do that.

It's the whole "Trump is better than Hillary!" thing all over again. Yeah, he is. But he's not Jesus, and he's not saving the universe from heat death or anything. And I don't want to marry him. :lol:

We keep seeing this more and more lately: the need to not get too emotionally invested in something and maintain a balanced, nuanced, continually evolving perspective on things. That's really hard to do when no matter what you say, someone out there is offended, or does a Cathy Newman in response, etc.

Ultimately, I'm reminded of the C's when they said (something like) first some little Kabooms, then everything will seem to calm down and get better, and then... A BIG ONE. So, I don't want things to get too good, because then this world would have to end since it's not supposed to be good. :halo:
 
And I don't want to marry him. :lol:

We keep seeing this more and more lately: the need to not get too emotionally invested in something and maintain a balanced, nuanced, continually evolving perspective on things. That's really hard to do when no matter what you say, someone out there is offended, or does a Cathy Newman in response, etc.

Scottie,

For some reason I think you have the most amazing sense of humor but still say "The Darndest Things" that express the truth.

Like...


P.S. I am ancient in years...
 
After reading how West works through myraid behind scenes (Banks, media, lobbying( other countries call it corruption), IMF, civility etc.) what looks like a orderly life, I too thought BRICS can give alternative. But, I was aware of inherent differences in culture temperaments, border disputes etc. which made me curious of how it works out. But C's say
Q: (Puck) So we have a question about BRICS. Do the BRICS leaders have a genuine interest in improving the collective future for humanity?

A: Partly, but as with everything in your realm, there are mixed motives and cross purposes.

If the 4D STS runs the world primarily through a specific structure ( Octopus style current Western order which seems to be primary one) for its purpose, any thing that breaks it looks good for now, but they have the ability to can come back to reverse it. Probably that's why I am not too hopeful of huge change in our own means. Change does seems to come, even if it comes in the way we are not looking for.

To day, some body sent me this video and he concludes that "there is no free lunch".

This is a sensitive topic, but it's one I've wanted to show you for a while. After traveling the world for 3 years, I think I saw more Chinese construction people than local ones in many countries. Here is why.

Ideologies capitalism/socialism/communism, materialism/religions, poor/wealthy/middle class or "some thing in between" all seems to me selling point to the masses. It all seems to depend on the leaders of these individual nations even if they depend on the masses for their support, if there is a "true" democracy. We all want the simplicity of "right or wrong", but world is lot more complicated than that, and the only hope seems to gaining "Knowledge" as much as we can. The "word itself is so broad, there is no end to it" as C's put it.
 
Back
Top Bottom