ISIS
In Being and Time Martin Heidegger maintains that in trying to understand what we see we have to realize we are not some static neutral observer watching but are in the Einstein sense in motion and all we see is relative motion. Ron Paul can accurately complain that it is all blowback for our interference in Iranian politics to impose the Shah back in the 1950s,, but at this point it may be too late for isolationism. Not today or tomorrow or 5 years from now but ultimately somebody may have to crush the Sunni Islamist extremists. If they take the Saudi oil fields they might take Iran as well and turn into serious threats even to the USA. Not much a war weary US can do right now other than drop a few bombs. Others can do more if we get out of the way. Following up on their joint efforts in Libya, the Egyptian Army, financed by the Saudis with covert strategic advice from the Israelis could clean up our mess in Iraq and Syria. The Germans are trying to make up their minds whether to let the Saudis buy Leopard tanks built in Spain. The tanks will go to the Egyptian Army. They should let it happen. The economies of Spain and Egypt badly need the work. Military dictatorships are not optimal, but the current Egyptian leaders are the best hope for the Middle East. Egyptian hegemonic stability over the whole Middle East replacing Hamas, Hezbollah, PLO, ISIS is the best we can hope for. Hey, I like the Kurds too, but I think the task is beyond them.
Ukraine tipping point
A sanction regime against Russia to punish Putin for the annexation of Crimea has feel good attributes. Those who remember Stalin's Communist butchery and imperialist take over of Eastern Europe see themselves as learning from the mistakes made at Yalta. Others remember Neville Chamberlain and the failure to push back against Hitler and Nazism. I would argue that both are confusing evil ideologies with legitimate national interests. Sanctions are seen as a way of taking a moral stand without the political cost of overt military action at a time when the US is war weary and an important election is near. However sanctions can have unintended consequences. Regardless of one's theory of the origins of the Great Depression, most would agree the Smoot Hawley Tariffs were a factor. Similarly Roosevelt's anti Japanese trade sanctions pushed Japan into WWII.
Risking the disruption of the flow of Russian natural gas into Western Europe come winter time on the theory that Putin will back down under pressure is reckless brinksmanship. The recent drop in the Dow could be the canary in the coal mine
Hillary and GW Neocons Ukraine
The Neocons sought to regain the moral high ground for the Republican party. The GOP was going to stand globally for freedom and Democracy not just defending the interests of business against the encroaching socialist welfare state. GW's invasion of IRAQ was supported by Senator Hillary Clinton. As Secretary of State HRC actively fomented the Arab spring in Libya, Egypt, and Syria. As the April Newland phone call reveals she did the same thing in Ukraine.
If we had left the Ukrainians alone to solve their own problems Putin would not have needed to take back Crimea. Now we have the "speak loudly and carry a small stick" diplomacy of John Kerry and we are driving the Russians into the arms of the Chinese. Big mistake
The Economy and "Global Warming"The Global warming movement, whether or not it is a cover for a power grab by the carbon trading elite, is blocking any chance of an economic recovery. Just putting money in the hands of consumers has been tried in the USA and QE 1 & 2 have failed to restart consumption and production.
Clearly a recovery has to be associated with production. Cheap money brought us the dot com and housing bubble recoveries but neither recovery lasted. Unlike houses and dot coms there is considerably less danger in producing too much energy. An energy production boom in the USA will take pressure off food prices inflated by the ethanol lobby around the world, reverse the US balance of payments crisis, create jobs, save the auto industry, bail out the banks, reverse the growing income inequality, save the middle class, generate the government revenues to save social security and Medicare and pay off the debt: in short it is a panacea.
We don't even need cheap money, just a policy change. Drill baby drill, in the Gulf, Anwar, off the Florida coast, everywhere. Corporations have the money to invest, the workers are there. All we need to do is to remove the roadblocks stopping the recovery.
FDR got out of the last depression with WWII. An energy boom will have a significantly lower environmental impact and loss of life. All that is missing is the Pearl Harbor Event that will turn public opinion.
Pollution of the environment is a legitimate concern. Global Warming is a giant lie that left unchallenged is spreading a tide of human misery, starvation, and civil unrest. Europe and the Middle East today, America next year.
Peak oil may well be a legitimate concern, but we need prosperity, time and a free market to sort out the alternative sources, not a government mandated imposition of winners and losers.
Labels: economy, energy, environment
TRAINS I like Trains of all kinds. I particularly enjoy the TGV in France. To create jobs the French built an extensive public transport infrastructure. The US Federal government is offering the states $50 billion for high speed rail projects. Beware, public mass transit is a Trojan Horse. While it would be great to have better trains there are two problems. Any body that has spent time in France is aware of the power of the unions wield outside of the ballot box by virtue of their ability to paralyze the transportation infrastructure. The other problem is that public transport loses money. Imagine how much more tax payer money Amtrak can lose with $50 Billion more stuff to operate.
Remember the StimulusThe point of the stimulus was to postpone the financial crisis currently faced by the states. The argument was made that if teachers and firemen and other public employees kept their jobs and kept spending the economy would recover. It did not happen. Instead we are a trillion or so more in debt and one by one the states are going to have to cut their payrolls anyway. The teachers union in NYC is buying TV ads demanding that Bloomberg get the rich on Wall Street to pay their fare share. It is going to take more than taxes on the very rich to keep all those jobs and benefits.
Labels: economy
