No, they’re not twins, separated at birth or otherwise. They’re not “brothers by another mother.” They’re not, as far as anyone knows, related at all. But their life ambitions, their political and humanistic views, and their projected personae are so disturbingly similar as to make one wonder what serendipitous tricks of fate brought them together at this point in their lives . . . and how their relationship will ultimately turn out.

On October 17th, I wrote about Vladimir Putin’s and Xi Jinping’s plans — no longer a mere dream — for a “New World Order” to replace what they term “Western dominance.” And yesterday, using Hong Kong as an example, I delved further into the sort of patient, long-term planning required to execute such a scheme.

Along the same lines, there’s also news this week about the progress of Xi’s ten-year (thus far) “Belt and Road Initiative,” supposedly designed by him to demonstrate China’s intention and ability to assist the poorer nations of the world in rebuilding their economies and infrastructures. What generosity! What nobility! What altruism!

What a crock!

Originally conceived in 2013 by Xi as a program of development and investment initiatives designed to link East Asia and Europe by means of physical infrastructure, it has since been expanded to include a dozen or more countries throughout the world, including Pakistan, Kenya, Zambia, Laos, Mongolia, Afghanistan, and the five (former Soviet) Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. And we are expected to believe that the more than a trillion dollars thus far invested by China in this massive undertaking was given solely for the benefit of the recipients.

Seriously?

To begin with, nothing was “given,” except loans. Some of the world’s poorest nations have been plunged so deeply into debt, they are now in imminent danger of complete economic collapse; those loans are coming due, and default is a very strong possibility, even a likelihood in many cases. Then what? That, of course, depends largely upon the terms of the loans — and whatever else Xi may have in mind — and remains to be seen.

But for ten years, Xi has been gaining dominance over those countries, as well as an image of the benevolent uncle, always ready with a helping hand — and an open wallet — whenever and wherever help is needed. That takes time . . . and infinite patience.

As for the other twin — Vladimir Putin — it comes as no surprise, in looking back on his two decades as president of Russia, to realize that he has, in his own way, been maneuvering himself into similar positions in Africa, the Middle East, Cuba, etc., offering food, munitions, technology, training, military support, and the like. And in some mineral- or gemstone-rich regions, he has actually been receiving payment in precious materials, such as diamonds. Lots and lots of diamonds. Not too shabby.

So there we have the fraternal “twins,” each doing what he does best and working toward a common goal: world domination. Not simply dominance; I said domination. The difference is subtle, and more than a little significant. And they both know it.

*. *. *

And what happened to Romulus and Remus? Well, after a somewhat bumpy childhood, as young men they set out to build a city together. But they fell out over the best location for it, and Remus made the mistake of insulting Romulus’ ideas for their plan. A fatal mistake, at that; he was killed, either by Romulus himself or one of his minions. And Romulus then went on to build the city-state of Rome according to his own vision. Problem solved.

So . . . Cain and Abel; Romulus and Remus; Hitler and Stalin . . . Putin and Xi? As always, we — the non-involved public — can only wait and see what shakes out of the trees, and then prepare to live with the bruised fruit. In the case of Messrs. Putin and Xi, I am breathless with anticipation . . . and a fair measure of sarcasm.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
11/10/23