Neokrat editor Colin Liddell guests on the final instalment of SJJMAS 2025 to give his nuanced take on a madcap year, dominated by the unhinged animus of Donald Trump. Also discussed are the rise of the Broligarchs, the global swing to authoritarianism, and how America blew its wad of outrage on the trivialities of the woke agenda, leaving itself defenceless to the most corrupt regime in US history.
Wednesday, December 31, 2025
Monday, December 29, 2025
THE BRITISH NAVY OF THE FUTURE
successful sea-drone attacks on their now largely submerged Black Sea fleet
Following the almost total defeat of the Russian navy in the Black Sea by the Ukrainians using various kinds of sea drones, the world of naval warfare has already shifted radically. This is yet another reason why Trump's recent announcement of "Trump class battleships" was absurd.
But what kind of navies are we likely to see in the future?
But what kind of navies are we likely to see in the future?
A good place to find out is to look at Royal Navy thinking. Dues to Britain being an island nation, naval warfare is something it is forced to take quite seriously. The example of the war in the Black Sea has added strength to forward thinking, and that is now being taking seriously, as demonstrated by investment patterns.
We are thus on a cusp of a transformative era. This will be driven by rapid advancements in autonomous and uncrewed technologies. Over the next 10-20 years, Britain's fleet will evolve into a "hybrid" force, where low-cost, uncrewed systems, designed to achieve "attrition," will augment more traditional crewed vessels, which will assume a more "behind the battlezone" role.
The changes will effect capabilities in escort duties, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and outer-layer defence. This shift aligns with First Sea Lord General Gwyn Jenkins' mantra of "uncrewed where possible" and the new Royal Navy doctrine of using flexible, cost-effective solutions that can be adapted and quickly scaled up to high production in times of threat and war.
The RN's vision focuses on building "good enough" uncrewed systems that can be deployed rapidly and used to wage attrition warfare in high-threat environments.
Thanks to advances in tech, it is now more possible to provide "magazine depth" (additional firepower and sensors) without the complexities of crewed ships. Yes, without all that hammock space, latrines, life support, and damage control systems, a lot more bang-for-the-buck can be crammed into hulls.
This swing towards cost-effective solutions that can be quickly scaled up mirrors historical precedents, such as the Flower-class corvettes of 1939. These were basic, affordable designs produced in large numbers to meet urgent wartime needs, with more refined classes and variations produced later.
This "concept of operations" (CONOPS) involves a basic template then modifying it through real-world experience, rather than the prolonged prototyping and attempts at perfection that have dominated naval thinking in the past.
The plan is to field systems swiftly, accepting initial imperfections in order to gain operational insights and refine them progressively. This approach is much more doable thanks to the increasingly unmanned nature of future natives. Unlike in the past, when things don't quite work, there won't be a flurry of telegrams to hundreds of grieving widows.
The changes will effect capabilities in escort duties, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and outer-layer defence. This shift aligns with First Sea Lord General Gwyn Jenkins' mantra of "uncrewed where possible" and the new Royal Navy doctrine of using flexible, cost-effective solutions that can be adapted and quickly scaled up to high production in times of threat and war.
ACUA's proposed 43-meter unmanned submarine killer
A STRATEIC PIVOT TO UNCREWED AUGMENTATION
The RN's vision focuses on building "good enough" uncrewed systems that can be deployed rapidly and used to wage attrition warfare in high-threat environments.
Thanks to advances in tech, it is now more possible to provide "magazine depth" (additional firepower and sensors) without the complexities of crewed ships. Yes, without all that hammock space, latrines, life support, and damage control systems, a lot more bang-for-the-buck can be crammed into hulls.
This swing towards cost-effective solutions that can be quickly scaled up mirrors historical precedents, such as the Flower-class corvettes of 1939. These were basic, affordable designs produced in large numbers to meet urgent wartime needs, with more refined classes and variations produced later.
This "concept of operations" (CONOPS) involves a basic template then modifying it through real-world experience, rather than the prolonged prototyping and attempts at perfection that have dominated naval thinking in the past.
The plan is to field systems swiftly, accepting initial imperfections in order to gain operational insights and refine them progressively. This approach is much more doable thanks to the increasingly unmanned nature of future natives. Unlike in the past, when things don't quite work, there won't be a flurry of telegrams to hundreds of grieving widows.
HMS Prince of Wales, launched 1939, unexpectedly sunk 1941 with 327 fatalities
This rough-and-ready pragmatic approach is crucial in an era where technological cat-and-mouse games—such as countermeasures against autonomous systems—demand flexibility and speed. Here again events in the Ukraine have been ground-breaking in demonstrating this new rhythm of war, not only on land but at sea.
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND PARTNERSHIPS
Several initiatives are already underway, many funded by industry, to bring these capabilities to fruition. In the UK, projects include:
Subsurface Systems: M-Subs' XV Excalibur and BAE Systems' Herne extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicles (XLUUVs), designed for persistent underwater operations. Helsing's Fathom SG-1 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) Wave Glider.
Surface and Aerial Platforms: ACUA's 43-meter ASW medium uncrewed surface vessel (MUSV) and Leonardo's Proteus uncrewed helicopter for surveillance and targeting.
Larger Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs): Babcock's partnership with US firm Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) to develop the Romulus class of 140-meter "Large Uncrewed Surface Vessels" (LUSVs).
The Romulus, currently under construction in the US, features a commercial-standard hull for rapid production, AI-driven autonomy via HII's "Odyssey" system, and modular payloads for missions like striking, force protection, and air-sea operations. BAE Systems has also proposed a concept based on the Triton trimaran hull, offering high endurance and versatility.
The Anglo-American nature of this project, however, may need to be rethought within a European context due to the increased threat posed to NATO by the current U.S. administration.
As part of the Atlantic Bastion strategic concept to counter Russian submarine threats in the North Atlantic, the Royal Navy several vessel requirements.
The first involves small surveillance UAV swarms, including Wave Gliders, to establish a persistent subsea sensor barrier in the Greenland-Iceland-UK (GIUK) gap.
Next, the Navy's "Persistent Operational Deployment Systems" (PODS) program is exploring autonomous offboard systems for mine hunting and anti-submarine ops, with uncrewed platforms to enhance safety and efficiency. The plans also include acquiring up to 20 drone ships by the mid-2030s, with the first autonomous escort vessel expected in the water by 2026.
Babcock's recently unveiled ARMOR (Autonomous Remote Operations Room) initiative aims to provide command-and-control infrastructure for these autonomous fleets, and linking back to crewed assets.
The Helsing's SG-1 Fathom, a surveillance drone, will stay at sea for up to 3 months
There are also attempts to plug in unmanned systems to bolster carrier strike groups in regions like the Indo-Pacific, but, needless to say, such projects developed before the second Trump (or crypto-Putin) administration, are now under threat due to America's increasingly erratic and unreliable foreign policy.
CHALLENGES AND ADAPTATIONS
Supporting and maintaining uncrewed vessels at sea requires new logistical models, involving forward-deployed tenders and automated resupply. Crewed command ships in development, such as the Type 32 frigate (still in the concept stage), may need considerable modifications to operate these flotillas of uncrewed assets.
Ironically, in the short term, these unmanned systems could demand more manpower for oversight, integration, and troubleshooting before full autonomy reduces crew requirements.
The 2025 Strategic Defence Review highlights potential evolutions, such as transitioning from Type 45 destroyers to minimally crewed or autonomous air dominance systems using directed energy weapons (think lasers or microwaves!). The immaturity of some of the new technologies and the unpredictable nature of countermeasures will see a period of overlap between present crewed and future uncrewed systems.
A HYBRID NAVY BY 2045
Looking ahead 10-20 years, the Royal Navy will likely feature a diversified fleet in which uncrewed systems form the outer layers of defence, providing persistent presence and expendable assets.
This hybrid model will enhance deterrence against threats like Russian submarines, while freeing crewed vessels for complex, high-value missions.
By 2035, expect widespread integration of Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in operations, with numbers scaling to dozens or hundreds through rapid production.
By 2045, autonomy will dominate routine tasks, reshaping naval warfare with swarms, AI-driven decision-making, and modular designs.
This evolution, inspired by openness to wartime ingenuity and accelerated by industry partnerships, should hopefully see the Royal Navy reborn as an agile, forward-leaning force designed for an increasingly unpredictable and chaotic world.
The Proteus unmanned anti-submarine helicopter with a unit price estimated at £3.5 million
Wednesday, December 24, 2025
GDP AND THE THREE HORSEMEN OF TRUMPONOMICS
The MAGAtard industrial complex, ably assisted by a humble Ketamine addict on X, has been pumping out regime propaganda about what an "economic genius" Donald Trump is, all because GDP figures blipped up above expectations.
Unfortunately for them, this narrative won't make it anywhere near the Midterms, when Trump and possibly the GOP are still on course to be totally destroyed.
First off, the 4.3% is an estimate and is subject to considerable revision as data becomes clearer. But even assuming it is largely correct, what does it mean?
Unfortunately for them, this narrative won't make it anywhere near the Midterms, when Trump and possibly the GOP are still on course to be totally destroyed.
First off, the 4.3% is an estimate and is subject to considerable revision as data becomes clearer. But even assuming it is largely correct, what does it mean?
GDP is calculated using the following equation:
C + I + G + (X - M)
C: Consumer spending (household purchases of goods and services)
C + I + G + (X - M)
C: Consumer spending (household purchases of goods and services)
I: Gross private investment (business capital spending, residential construction, inventory changes)
G: Government spending (on goods, services, and infrastructure)
X: Exports
M: Imports (subtracted to focus on domestic production)
The blip we are seeing is driven by three main things:
(1) Panic consumer spending, mainly by the well-off, driven by fear of the tariffs making all the shit in the shops more expensive. They are right to buy what they're buying now, as prices will shoot up even if the Supreme Court later shoot down Trump's madcap tariffs.
(2) Military-themed pork barrel spending (easy to sell to dumb MAGAtards) has soared, with Trump pumping nearly a trillion dollars, fuelled by debt bloating, into America's flaccid and ineffective military as part of the power centralisation agenda of Project 2025.
(3) A drop in imports. Even though falling imports actually means a smaller economy in the sense of having less shit in the shops, in the world of GDP calculations it actually "boosts" the GDP figures. The assumption here is that falling imports are seamlessly replaced by domestic production. This is extremely naïve in the case of America.
So, there you have it -- the three Horsemen of Trumponics: panic buying, pork barrel, and the temporary absence of goods that Americans can never make.
I hope you have enjoyed this economic report. If you didn't, keep huffing the pro-Trump memes on social media until your brain collapses into a puddle of post-Xmas piss.
The blip we are seeing is driven by three main things:
(1) Panic consumer spending, mainly by the well-off, driven by fear of the tariffs making all the shit in the shops more expensive. They are right to buy what they're buying now, as prices will shoot up even if the Supreme Court later shoot down Trump's madcap tariffs.
(2) Military-themed pork barrel spending (easy to sell to dumb MAGAtards) has soared, with Trump pumping nearly a trillion dollars, fuelled by debt bloating, into America's flaccid and ineffective military as part of the power centralisation agenda of Project 2025.
(3) A drop in imports. Even though falling imports actually means a smaller economy in the sense of having less shit in the shops, in the world of GDP calculations it actually "boosts" the GDP figures. The assumption here is that falling imports are seamlessly replaced by domestic production. This is extremely naïve in the case of America.
So, there you have it -- the three Horsemen of Trumponics: panic buying, pork barrel, and the temporary absence of goods that Americans can never make.
I hope you have enjoyed this economic report. If you didn't, keep huffing the pro-Trump memes on social media until your brain collapses into a puddle of post-Xmas piss.
___________________________________
Colin Liddell is the Chief Editor of Neokrat and the author of Interviews & Obituaries, a collection of encounters with the dead and the famous. Support his work by buying his book here (USA), here (UK), and here (Australia), or by taking out a paid subscription on his Substack.
Follow on Twitter and Bluesky
Follow on Twitter and Bluesky
Tuesday, December 23, 2025
GOLD-OBSESSED LOONEY IN THE WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCES PLAN TO ANNEX (AND DECORATE) GREENLAND
The gold-obsessed lunatic, who is currently masquerading as "US President" in an elaborate practical joke concocted by the American people, has just announced his latest plan to "annex" Greenland and redecorate it.
The plan involves building a fleet of giant "golden" battleships, all named after the gold-obsessed lunatic, in order to fight against the "narco terrorists" and "NATO terrorists" who currently control the island which looks "yuuuuge" on the map.
The plan involves building a fleet of giant "golden" battleships, all named after the gold-obsessed lunatic, in order to fight against the "narco terrorists" and "NATO terrorists" who currently control the island which looks "yuuuuge" on the map.
Once the NATO terrorists have been defeated, Erika Kirk will fly in by Trump-copter to tell the indigenous population of Eskimos and polar bears that "Jesus loves them" and to cut their health benefits.
The second stage of the gold-obsessed lunatic's plan calls for the construction of a giant shiny rococo appliqué (made in China and available online at Temu). This will stretch hundreds of miles across the snowy landscape and be visible from distant galaxies.
This will not only enhance national security but also planetary security, as any aliens will be absolutely petrified at the prospect of landing on a planet which has such a whacko in charge.
The second stage of the gold-obsessed lunatic's plan calls for the construction of a giant shiny rococo appliqué (made in China and available online at Temu). This will stretch hundreds of miles across the snowy landscape and be visible from distant galaxies.
This will not only enhance national security but also planetary security, as any aliens will be absolutely petrified at the prospect of landing on a planet which has such a whacko in charge.
Monday, December 22, 2025
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE EPSTEIN FILES
The Epstein case started back in 2006. It involved grooming, underage sex, and prostitution by one ethnic group (Epstein, Maxwell, and possibly MOSSAD) against another.
This victim group can be divided into two. First, the main victims, largely young WASP girls, effectively raped and traumatised, and secondly prominent people, compromised and presumably blackmailed. This second group appears to have included at least one member of the Royal Family, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and many, many others. Trump, however, may have had a foot in both camps.
This victim group can be divided into two. First, the main victims, largely young WASP girls, effectively raped and traumatised, and secondly prominent people, compromised and presumably blackmailed. This second group appears to have included at least one member of the Royal Family, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and many, many others. Trump, however, may have had a foot in both camps.
In some ways, Epstein and Maxwell's operation is a weird echo of the grooming gangs scandal that was underway in England at the same time, although that lacked the element of elite blackmail. Another significant difference is that the criminals implicated in Epstein's operation had a lot more political pull and knowledge of the weak points of the justice system than those involved in the Muslim grooming gangs scandal in the UK.
This is seen immediately in the softening of the charges.
In 2006, Palm Beach Police signed paperwork to charge Epstein with multiple counts of unlawful sex with minors (at least five alleged victims were mentioned). This was an open-and-shut federal case with serious jail time. But instead of this going forward, the case was sent to a grand jury, which was unusually summoned to decide on the merits of the case. This grand jury was then used to downgrade the case to a state prosecution on one minor charge of soliciting prostitution.
The decision to use a grand jury to water down the charges was made by Palm Beach County’s top prosecutor, State Attorney Barry Krischer. In 2018, Krischer received the Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) Jurisprudence Award in 2018, recognizing his "contributions to the legal profession and community," aligning with the ADL's "principles against antisemitism and bigotry." Making sure that Epstein faced a lesser charge may have been part of Krischer's work against antisemitism and bigotry.
In 2006, Palm Beach Police signed paperwork to charge Epstein with multiple counts of unlawful sex with minors (at least five alleged victims were mentioned). This was an open-and-shut federal case with serious jail time. But instead of this going forward, the case was sent to a grand jury, which was unusually summoned to decide on the merits of the case. This grand jury was then used to downgrade the case to a state prosecution on one minor charge of soliciting prostitution.
The decision to use a grand jury to water down the charges was made by Palm Beach County’s top prosecutor, State Attorney Barry Krischer. In 2018, Krischer received the Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) Jurisprudence Award in 2018, recognizing his "contributions to the legal profession and community," aligning with the ADL's "principles against antisemitism and bigotry." Making sure that Epstein faced a lesser charge may have been part of Krischer's work against antisemitism and bigotry.
But the campaign to save Jeffrey Epstein didn't stop with Krischer or the Jews. Also deserving a prize from the ADL was Krischer's Assistant State Attorney Lanna Belohlavek (Czech origin). It was her handling of the grand jury that effectively soft pedalled the case by undermining the victims. She emphasised their potential "criminality" (e.g., prostitution), and their past issues like drug use or shoplifting, and generally questioned their credibility. She effectively shifted focus from Epstein, and portrayed the girls as willing participants or prostitutes.
This part of the Epstein case also has eerie parallels with the victims of the Muslim grooming gangs in England.
Belohlavek: Epstein's angel
Not everybody was happy with this leniency. The Palm Beach Police were totally pissed off, and accordingly referred the case to the FBI, which opened a federal investigation identifying dozens of underage victims.
With Federal prosecutors preparing a new indictment, however, Epstein’s lawyers pulled off what is perhaps the biggest sweetheart deal in US legal history with the U.S. federal attorney in Miami, Alexander Acosta (Cuban background). This avoided a federal prosecution, while also violating the Crime Victims' Rights Act by not even informing the victims.
With Federal prosecutors preparing a new indictment, however, Epstein’s lawyers pulled off what is perhaps the biggest sweetheart deal in US legal history with the U.S. federal attorney in Miami, Alexander Acosta (Cuban background). This avoided a federal prosecution, while also violating the Crime Victims' Rights Act by not even informing the victims.
Epstein agreed to plead guilty to procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and solicitation of prostitution, and got a mere 18 months in an open jail that allowed him to go home during the day.
Acosta later became associated with Trump, when he was appointed Secretary of Labour in February 2017. At the time of the Epstein deal (2007), however, there was no clear connection between them. Acosta's motivation for helping Epstein must have come from somewhere else. The official story is that Acosta was just guilty of "poor judgement." Some people are stupid enough to believe that.
Acosta (a lot of money?)
In 2009 Epstein's "sentence" ended (it would be inaccurate to say that he was released from jail), but his accusers continued to campaign to get his federal non-prosecution agreement with Acosta voided.
In 2011, the best-known victim Virginia Giuffre gave interviews to journalists detailing Ghislaine Maxwell's role in recruiting and grooming underage girls for Epstein's operation. Maxwell then publicly called Giuffre's accusations "obvious lies" and "untrue." This provided grounds for Giuffre to file a civil defamation lawsuit against Maxwell, leading to the case being settled confidentially in May 2017. Giuffre reportedly received "millions," but there was no public admission of liability by Maxwell and, most importantly, the Epstein files remained sealed.
This should be seen as essentially a selfish act by Giuffre that helped to protect Epstein for a few more years.
This should be seen as essentially a selfish act by Giuffre that helped to protect Epstein for a few more years.
Giuffre: the method of her apparent "suicide" in unknown. Mossad, meanwhile, has a long track record of staging suicides.
That seemed to be that, but on February 16, 2017, Donald Trump appointed Alexander Acosta labour secretary—an idiotic decision in retrospect. This led the Democrat-leaning Miami Herald to "revisit" the handling of the Epstein’s case, with stories appearing from November 2018.
This in turn led to the case heating up again. Federal prosecutors in New York, under U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman (Jewish/ appointed by Trump's Attorney General Jeff Sessions) decided they weren’t bound by the terms of the earlier non-prosecution deal, and on July 6th 2019, Epstein was arrested again. A few weeks later he would be officially dead.
Berman, not on the Trump train
Unlike the 2nd Trump administration, where power is centralised by the President's clique in accordance with Project 2025, the 1st Trump administration was a generally "normie" Republican administration, open to congressional oversight by a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.
Berman's boss Sessions was not on the Trump train, and Berman certainly wasn't. He had already prosecuted Trump's long-time personal attorney and "fixer" Michael Cohen in 2018, investigated Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, and was about to indict Trump advisor Steve Bannon on fraud charges, when he was fired by Trump in June 2020.
Following Epstein's rearrest on July 6th, 2019, he was kept at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York City, a federal detention facility operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons under the U.S. Department of Justice. Here, on August 10th, he reportedly "committed suicide" in highly suspicious circumstances.
The person in ultimate charge of the facility was Attorney General William Barr, who is now a critic of Trump and is normie-Republican coded. Barr's version of what happened was a "perfect storm of screw-ups." He cites staffing shortages, falsified logs by guards, Epstein's removal from suicide watch, lack of a cellmate, etc. that "enabled" the suicide. Most people, however, feel this is too neat and that Epstein must have been murdered or even "spirited away" (with the body of double placed there instead).
Setting a low Barr?
With Epstein officially dead, however, much of the impetus behind the case was removed, but there was still the "loose thread" of Epstein's assistant and fixer Ghislaine Maxwell.
She was arrested on July 2nd, 2020 by the FBI at her property in New Hampshire. Suspiciously, Trump who was still President at the time, went out of his way to "wish her well," which many reasonable people interpreted as a signal not to "drop him in it" in hopes of a Presidential pardon.
Trump was then defeated a few months later in the controversial 2020 election and left office, somewhat reluctantly in January 2021. On December 30, 2021, after a month-long trial, Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other crimes, receiving the kind of sentence that Epstein should have received in 2007, namely a 20-year sentence.
She was arrested on July 2nd, 2020 by the FBI at her property in New Hampshire. Suspiciously, Trump who was still President at the time, went out of his way to "wish her well," which many reasonable people interpreted as a signal not to "drop him in it" in hopes of a Presidential pardon.
Trump was then defeated a few months later in the controversial 2020 election and left office, somewhat reluctantly in January 2021. On December 30, 2021, after a month-long trial, Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other crimes, receiving the kind of sentence that Epstein should have received in 2007, namely a 20-year sentence.
However, this didn't end things.
On December 18, 2023, U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska (a Bush appointee), decided to release 900 pages of files from the 2015-2017 civil defamation lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell. These included depositions, e-mails, correspondence, flight logs from Epstein's private jets, legal motions, exhibits, witness statements, and related materials. Preska's argument is that due to the notoriety of the case a lot of facts and rumours are already public knowledge.
Preska: letting part of the cat out of the bag
The effect of this decision was to break the legal logjam keeping all the Epstein data locked up. It created a renewed appetite for more revelations just as America was going into another Presidential election year. During that election, Trump played to the large "conspiritard" element of his base, claiming he would open more government files on Epstein.
For example, during an appearance on the Lex Friedman Podcast on September 3rd, 2024, he was asked about declassifying and releasing documents related to Epstein (including the often-discussed "client list" of those who visited Epstein island). Trump responded:
"Yeah, I’d certainly take a look at it... I’d be inclined to do the Epstein [files]. I’d have no problem with it."
It is obvious from his later behaviour that these comments were insincere and said mainly in the heat of trying to win an election that would serve to keep him out of prison.
Since then, Trump has been trapped in a Faustian bargain with his largely low-IQ followers. While the President arranges "performative" releases of Epstein-related material, much of it already out there, they applaud enthusiastically while asking for yet more.
The latest batch of Epstein material is a perfect example of this.
Clearly all references to Trump have been redacted and blacked out under the guise of "national security" or "protecting the victims," while anything that can deflect from him—like pictures of Michael Jackson, Woody Allen, or Bill Clinton taking a bath—have been released.
But Trump's base is relentlessly conspiritard, and will not stop until everything is out in the open, and even then they will move on to the "other" Epstein files, the ones that may or may not be in the hands of the Israelis or the Russians.
The latest batch of Epstein material is a perfect example of this.
Clearly all references to Trump have been redacted and blacked out under the guise of "national security" or "protecting the victims," while anything that can deflect from him—like pictures of Michael Jackson, Woody Allen, or Bill Clinton taking a bath—have been released.
But Trump's base is relentlessly conspiritard, and will not stop until everything is out in the open, and even then they will move on to the "other" Epstein files, the ones that may or may not be in the hands of the Israelis or the Russians.
___________________________________
Colin Liddell is the Chief Editor of Neokrat and the author of Interviews & Obituaries, a collection of encounters with the dead and the famous. Support his work by buying his book here (USA), here (UK), and here (Australia), or by taking out a paid subscription on his Substack.
Follow on Twitter and Bluesky
Follow on Twitter and Bluesky
Saturday, December 20, 2025
THE POISON PILL OF NATIONAL POPULISM (MACEDONIAN VERSION)
Macedonia's populist leader taking a delivery from Keir Starmer
by Nix Jeelvy
There’s a popular Macedonian curse I like to use: црнци по дома да ти играат (crnci po doma da ti igraat). It translates to "may negros dance in your house." It's one of those medium-rare curses for when "you're stupid" is insufficient, but "I fuck your mother’s pussy" is a tad excessive. Well, I may stop using it, friends, because my long suffering country is about to be inundated with refused British asylum seekers, some of whom may indeed be dancing Africans.
The British and Macedonian prime ministers have allegedly agreed for Macedonia to accept asylum seekers who’ve been turned away from the UK. For the privilege, Macedonia will receive £20,000 per migrant. The migrants are expected to seek employment in the Macedonian construction sector which, incidentally, is one of the main ways for the Albanian mafia to launder its dirty money.
To say that even a small number of migrants would disrupt life here would be an understatement. Macedonia is a small and shrinking country. Our population is a smidge over two million, a population which is ageing and ethnically divided. While the official census numbers are bullshit (they're not allowed to be anything else due to our convoluted "affirmative action" laws), the country is fairly diverse, with the main ethnic groups being Macedonians and Albanians, followed by the indispensable Roma/gypsies and a worryingly increasing population of Turks rounding out the roster.
Bringing in denied asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, and God knows where else, would do much to fan the flames of ethnic tension which already plague my beloved homeland. The financial strain of absorbing these newcomers, most of whom have been turned away from the UK for being too antisocial or unable to contribute to a modern economy, will further strain a struggling economy (the second or third poorest in Europe, depending on how you calculate it). For a long time, Macedonians found comfort in the fact that while we are poor and downtrodden, at least we could walk our streets in relative peace, as violent crime is not very common here. Now, I suppose, that’s about to change.
This is, of course, bad and it's been all anyone could talk about for the past week in Macedonia, but why would it be newsworthy? Why should the presumably international audience of this august publication care for the woes of some "benighted Balkan shithole," which shares a name with a salad, a brand of cigarettes and a Mormon community in Ohio? Well, the answer is, because the migrant deal was negotiated by a national populist government.
The ruling party of prime minister Hristijan Mickoski, the DPMNE, has been described as "conservative," "centre-right," "Christian democrat," "nationalist," and other charming epithets. Many of these appellations may have applied to it in the past. In my own assessment, being somewhat privy to party history, thanks to having relatives who were at one point part of the leadership, I’d say that the party was nationalist from its founding in 1990 to 1996, Christian democrat from 1998 to 2004, neoliberal and technocratic between 2004 and 2008, until it finally stumbled onto national populism as a winning formula. This has served it well from 2008 'til today, with a notable Trumpian turn towards open criminality and rampant corruption in 2023.
Its closest ideological compatriot would be Viktor Orban’s Fidesz in Hungary, which also happens to be a close ally. In fact, DPMNE is financially dependent on Fidesz and would flounder were Fidesz to lose power in Hungary.
Hungary's Viktor Orban
As has now become depressingly common, self-proclaimed nationalists are actively undermining the national well-being of their peoples by bringing in hostile foreigners in numbers never even conceived of by leftist parties. In a stunning declaration, the leader of Macedonia’s Social Democratic Union Venko Filipče has called for withdrawal from the deal with the UK, warning that Macedonia mustn’t become a "Mecca for migrants" and insinuated that DPMNE is bringing in the migrants as a means of constructing a "migrant electoral machine. (Link in Macedonian)"
The response from the DPMNE spin machine has been to gaslight people worried about the migrant wave, denying the deal until we learned about it from the British media, and then downplaying the impact of the migrants. In particular, their social media bots and gargoyles fixated on denying that the migrants will be housed in camps. Of course, this implies that the migrants will be released into the general population, but apparently, the phrase "migrant camps" was the problem, so the order came down from party headquarters to flood the zone with bullshit about that.
When pressed about the incoming migrants by a journalist in an interview, prime minister Mickoski deflected by asking why nobody’s talking about the good things he's done, pointing to a recent day where air pollution in Skopje was lower than in Vienna. For context, Skopje has the second worst air quality in Europe after Tetovo, a city in north-western Macedonia, and the day in question on which we had clearer air than Vienna was one of the windiest on record.
So, to recap, a supposed "nationalist" government made a deal with the UK to accept its rejected refugees, securing much needed cheap labour for their cronies in the construction and food delivery industries, then pretended that it didn't know about it until the British media broke the story, and then it dispatched its party rats and bots on social media to gaslight the outraged population, whilst the gormless prime minister went on TV and called on everyone to think positive thoughts about his abysmal leadership.
The behaviour of DPMNE is hardly an exception among national populist parties. The extended organised crime network they belong to also includes Viktor Orban, Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Vladimir Putin. All four of these men have used nationalist rhetoric to attain and secure their power, whilst simultaneously putting their nations on course to destruction, whether through initiating aggressive wars which shredded their reputation (Netanyahu & Putin), allowing replacement legal immigration combined with subsidising the reproduction of extant minorities (Orban & Putin), or all of the above (Trump). Or just through plain, old-fashioned, rampant corruption and destruction of state capacity (all of them).
I’ve written this brief, informative piece on Macedonia’s incoming migrant nightmare as a warning to earnest nationalists everywhere. Do not expect national populists to prevent replacement migration. Their donor class needs the slave labour and they themselves may need the migrants’ votes.
Whatever may be the way to save European nations, national populism—whether Putinist, Trumpist, Orbanian, or what we have here in long-suffering Macedonia—is definitely not it.
FULL UNEXPURGATED EPSTEIN FILES RELEASED BY TRUTH-LOVING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
One of the many unidentified people in the files
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████████████████████████ Bill Clinton in a hot tub with a tiny, little pussy.
