Followers

Saturday, September 29, 2012

The world has a Churchill today

Netanyahu said in an address to our Congress: "My friends, you don't need to do nation building in Israel, we're already built! You don't need to export Democracy to Israel, we've already got it! And you don't need to send American troops to Israel, WE CAN DEFEND OURSELVES!!!" If this does not sound like Winston Churchill, then I do not know what does. One big difference today: I am not so certain that the U.S. is going to back him. Eventually, he got us to support his cause because it became OUR cause. I do not see this today. The first thing that President Obama did was send the bust of Churchill back to England. If we are to support the new Churchill, we will need to CHANGE our leadership.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

The Middle East

The financial position of the United States is that of a large debtor. This position is even more advanced for Europe. This cannot go on forever. Sooner or later something will upset these fragile situations. Say, for example, interest rates go up. Both the U.S. and Europe may easily reach a situation where the economies will not be large enough to service the debts. This will be bad enough for both the U.S. and Europe, but other parts of the world will be in far more serious shape. The Middle East is not just one of the least productive areas in the world. The Middle East is also dependent upon the rest of the world’s productivity to help sustain what little it does have. Oil is about the only major source of external revenue. The export of oil is dependent upon the major economies of the world for demand. This makes the Middle East much more vulnerable to economic shocks than much of the rest of the world. What we are seeing today is only the beginning. Fighting over scarce resources is as old as man. And if this financial trend continues, it cannot be much longer before economic stress reaches some type of breaking point. I believe the possibility of a depression is far less likely than some type of currency crisis, like hyperinflation. Maybe not as severe as what was seen in German in the 1920’s, but something worse than the inflation the U.S. had back in the late 1970’s. The Middle East suffered severe shocks and underwent significant change as a result. The government of Iran became a new source of hostility and violence. The Iraq-Iran war used up a lot of the resources and manpower that became expendable as a result. And the world was less connected in the late 1970’s and 1980’s than it is today. We are seeing the initial signs of this pattern again today, and as can be expected, it is much more widespread. I am a firm believer in capitalism. History has demonstrated that capitalism through free markets is the most productive system ever devised by man, not even close. The United States became the largest economy in the world by the use of this economic system. This is CHANGING. The pattern over the past 70 or 80 years has been a steady increase in percentage of the U.S. economy being allocated and run by the government. This pattern has been significantly increased just in the past 4 years. Between bailouts of the banks, bailout of General Motors and when health care kicks in, something like 45% of the private sector of the U.S. economy would have been taken over by the government. Even if the figure is less, the overall effect can only be a far less productive economy. The U.S. is the driving economy of the world. If our economy is less productive, the rest of the world will feel the impact, and this impact will be magnified. The Middle East will be one of the first areas of the world to feel this. And we are beginning to see the results. It can only be a matter of time before something breaks. Unless significant, real CHANGE is implemented that reverses this pattern, something has to break. People and nations will wage war over scarce resources. Sooner or later, enough excess manpower with little to do will become expendable. A major drop in productivity can easily be the tipping point. The Middle East is a good place to watch for indicators because that area of the world is one of the most vulnerable and most likely to show signs of stress and unrest. *I am calling attention to the Middle East, but this analysis can be applied to the Islamic world as well. Islam is the basis of the culture in the Middle East. Islamic culture includes other parts of the world with similar economic problems and dependency. I would expect similar results and reactions in these parts of the world as well.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

We are accomplishing our goals?

“U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that the last of the 33,000 "surge" troops that President Obama dispatched to Afghanistan have left the country, leaving 68,000 American forces to fight the war. Panetta argued that the surge had accomplished its goals of reversing the Taliban's momentum and building up the Afghan security forces.” What a far cry from the announcement of withdrawal of ‘surge’ troops in Iraq. At least the world was quiet after the Iraqi drawdown. Today, the Muslim world is on fire. And we are winning? WRONG. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan drew in massive amounts of enemy personnel and resources to wage war against a conventional army. Irregular units do not match up well against mechanized units, particularly in the desert which is the ideal environment for us. The drain of attrition is now much lower for our enemies. The re-deployment of their forces and resources are now being seen throughout the region. And U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta thinks that we are accomplishing our goals? We are losing the war. It is only a matter of time before WMD enters the picture. Then the wars in the Middle East will be seen as the prelude that they are.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Major war more likely today

This war is going to become much larger before it is over. That said I do not believe that it will properly begin just yet. Wars have a nasty habit of going out of control and blowing up. It is only a matter of time before this happens. We are much closer today but I do not believe that we are quite there yet. We are seeing financial crisis in Europe and the U.S. The impact on certain vulnerable parts of the rest of the world will be magnified. I am a firm believer that many wars are caused because of economic reasons. You are not nearly as likely to attack someone over their different belief in God as you are to take his wallet and steal its contents. The God thing is the excuse. What if not enough food or water was available to go around? You would have to fight for survival. All we need is for food prices to go way up and we could expect violence in other parts of the world where the people have fewer resources to rely upon. The Middle East (The Islamic world) is one of the poorest and least productive areas on Earth. It makes sense that violence would spring up there whenever economic conditions take a bad turn for the worse. With the four largest economies in the world struggling, it can be no surprise that the Islamic world is beginning to burn right now. This is a major indicator that leads me to believe that a major regional, if not world war, is much closer today than in decades past. We have a number of indicators that have been pointing this way for a long time. I have been saying for more than 10 years that it is only a matter of time. Today, the excuse is the video. The real cause is a combination of economic and ideological stress. The price of commodities has shot up over the past few years. Food in particular is under a lot of pressure in part because of the drought in the U. S. combined with the emphasis upon bio-fuels. Toss in the generally less productive nature of the U.S. economy caused by a much larger percentage of government allocation of national resources and the violence today can be seen as a potential curtain raiser. The four largest economies in the world are struggling and we in the U.S. are staring at a fiscal cliff. It will be bad here in the U.S. It will be worse in other parts of the world, the Islamic world in particular. In other words, the world is much closer to a major regional if not world war today than it has been in a very long time.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

We are losing

“At the American embassy in Cairo, some protesters scaled the walls and in the courtyard were able to take down an American flag and put up a black Islamic flag associated with militant Islam.” (CNN.com 9/12/12) This on the same day the ambassador of Libya was killed. On 9/11. I guess that President Obama actually saved the lives of some of our military who SHOULD have been present. President Obama would have standing orders to NOT have had arms to defend themselves so they would have made great additional targets. I heard on CNN an analyst say that Libya “did not work out”. We had intervened in order to stop the slaughter of Libyan citizens. So I guess it did not work out because it is Americans who are being slaughtered. And Egypt is not working out either. Why does this not surprise me? Riots are happening all over the Muslim world. And we are to believe that this is only a very small number of ‘extremists’? We are losing the war.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Syria

I have read a number of articles that point to the government of Syria as attempting to prevent an Islamic takeover in Syria. If these articles turn out to be accurate, then I was wrong about Syria. I had judged Syria as being a huge supporter of Islamic nationalism through its support of Hezbollah and other Islamic groups. It is possible that the Syrian government did a lot of this because they needed to follow orders, but this seems unlikely to me. This view of mine may be a product of my culture, as we tend to be intellectually honest (A trend that is changing) Islamic culture is very deceptive as this is an entrenched method of operation and has been for many centuries. (More than a millennia) I have difficulty accepting and adjusting to this concept of another culture. It is hard to figure out just what is going on within Syria, but the general trend throughout the region is a rapid rise of a stronger Islamic legal system and nationalism. This cannot be good for the U.S. nor the rest of the non-Islamic world as we are in the 'house of war'. If Syria does become more of an Islamic state, then Israel in particular is in even greater danger. All supporters of Israel are next in line. The interest of the United States is losing throughout the region. The killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya yesterday is a good example. “An "angry crowd" marched on the consulate on Tuesday, furious about an online film considered offensive to Islam, Libya's Deputy Interior Minister Wanis al-Sharif said Wednesday. The U.S. mission in Egypt was also attacked Tuesday in response to the film.” (CNN.com 9/12/12) It is in our (The U.S.) best interest for Islamic nationalism and government doctrine to die a slow death. What we are seeing today is a rise in both. We are in the ‘house of war’ and Islam is at war against us. It only stands to reason that if an enemy that is actively at war against you becomes stronger, it can only be a matter of time before you feel the effect. Wars have a nasty habit of going out of control. Wars are won by raising the level of conflict to a level that the other side either cannot or will not match. 9/11 was a wakeup call, and we fell asleep again. Our enemies may not make the same mistake this time around. (Although the damage seemed to be great, they did not hit us nearly hard enough)

Saturday, September 8, 2012

The republic is in danger

During the Democratic convention, a vote was held to put GOD and the capital of Israel being Jerusalem back into the Democrat party platform. The speaker took at least 3 votes and he was surprised how strong the NO’s were. The no’s were too strong to qualify as a 2/3 majority so he paused and tried again. And as they went on to the next vote, the NO’s became stronger. In no case could I see or hear anywhere near a 2/3 majority. The motion passed because that was what was wanted even though the rules specify a 2/3 majority. This sounds to me a lot like: “We need to pass this bill so that YOU can find out what is in it.” This is not representative government at work. It is Fundamental CHANGE. This is not like it is a surprise. President Obama has been very talkative about this issue and how much he is striving for its accomplishment. This is why he only grades himself “incomplete”. He has a long way to go to make us accept this as fact. Kind of like how President Obama chooses the capital of another country for THEM. President Obama does not want to recognize the capital of Israel as being Jerusalem. As if this is HIS choice and not theirs. So some other country decides that L.A. is the capital of the United States? Just who the hell do they think they are? Well, it makes more sense when you look at how Health Care was passed and this new definition on what a 2/3 majority means. I guess it really does depend upon how you define ‘2/3 majority’, or how you define anything else for that matter. Representative government is SO inconvenient. Better to just FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE the system so that you can do whatever you want. This is why our republic is in danger. The CHANGE is going to be implemented even if the majority is against it. It can only be a matter of time before we reach a situation where the choice of the minority is the only realistic path. The republic will then be lost in order to save the situation. Like Rome when Augustus came along. And President Obama is speeding this process up as fundamental CHANGE.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Traditional Islam is at war against us

Traditional Islam views the world as being in one of two houses: The house of Islam (peace) and the house of war. The house of Islam refers to areas of the world that are controlled by Islamic law. Generally, this requires an Islamic majority although that is not necessary as long as the legal system is in place. In order to implement Islamic law, Muslims do need to be in the majority simply because Islamic law is so harsh and dominating that it is worth waging organized warfare to stop it. Those ‘infidels’ who do not resist Islamic law and domination do not understand the implications of enforcement of that system of governance. Notice the violence in areas of the world where the Muslim population is getting anywhere near a majority. In these situations, enough people understand that it is worth waging war to prevent entering the house of ‘peace’. Once inside, there is no going back. The penalty for leaving Islam is death. This is why Israel will be forever the ‘occupier’ of ‘Muslim’ land. The ‘nation of Islam’ can never accept another national entity on this land. Islam’s foreign policy is at war against Israel in particular and the U.S. is right behind them on the list of enemies. We are both In the ‘house of war’. Being in the house of war means that warfare can be waged whenever it is to your (Islam) advantage. Note how Islamic foreign policy allows for ‘truces’ when war is NOT to Islamic advantage. As soon as that status quo changes, warfare is actually encouraged. These principals are certainly NOT in agreement with the modern concept of the nation-state and certainly are at odds with American interests. War is being waged on all levels although on the physical level the war is far below what is desired. It can only be a matter of time before that changes. Wars have a nasty habit of going out of control from time to time. It is clear that ‘the nation of Islam’ has a foreign policy that is permanently at war with the United States. (And every national government that is not in the house of Islam) 9/11 was inevitable when seen in this view. And more attacks can certainly be expected as soon as they become practical. It can only be a matter of time before WMD enters the picture. From Islam’s point of view, WMD (And particularly) nuclear weapons, are just the newest and best weapons that will do the most injury to its enemies. Islam is truly medieval in its view of the world and this is reflected throughout the Koran and the system of government that it defines. And that “government” is at war against us. (The United States)