Winds of great change are blowing in the world: the future of global politics for the next century will be determined by what we do in reaction to current events. I am referring to the goings-on in the Arab world on the other side of the globe.
Problem: few seem to really understand what is going on. This criticism applies to the Punditocracy, members of the Senate and Congress, not to mention Mr. O's Dept of State. Permit me an attempt to illuminate.
SUNNI
This flavor or Islam says that upon the death of Mohammed, he left behind a council of elders, sort of the like the disciples in the New Testament, who had the authority to carry on the Muslim religion.
SHIA
This version of Islam says that only direct the direct descendents of Mohammed have the right to speak henceforth for the prophet, sort of like Jesus' brothers authority in the church upon his death.
THE ISLAMIC CHESSBOARD
Right now, there are many moving parts in the Arab world. Unless you understand the conflict between Sunni and Shia, you will never understand the shooting match. The players are Saudi Arabia (Sunni) and Iran (Shia). Everyone else is simply a pawn of one of these. In the Sunni corner, count Egypt, Turkey, Libya, Hezbollah. In the Shia corner count Hamas, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq (disclaimer, I may have gotten some of these wrong, but you get the gist, yes?).
THE SHIA 'CRESCENT'
Saudi Arabia, over the past few years, have become alarmed over the formation of the so-called 'Shia Crescent' along the Arabian Sea. Thanks to that doofus Jimmy Carter, the Shah of Iran (a more or less harmless despot) was deposed and a Shia theocracy took his place. Pakistan is Shia. The United States overturned the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, and the native Pashtun now rule; problem: they have always been strong Shia allies. Iraq was a majority Shia country being suppressed by a Sunni minority (Saddam Hussein and friends). The US stepped in, the majority Shia now rule, and Iraq was changed from the Saudi side to Iran's.
'ARAB SPRING'? NOT
I have heard much nonsense about the revolutions happening as we speak in the Middle East. It has been likened to the Prague Spring or Attenborough's Cry Freedom. What nonsense. These cultures have no history or cultural thinking that supports freedom and liberty. A more apropos simile would be the French Revolution, where one form of tyranny was replaced by a much more repressive one.
SHARIA LAW? WHAT'S THAT?
It is critical for you Judeo-Christians to understand this. Your Western tradition has granted freedom of worship: you can kneel at the temple of any religion you wish, as long as you do not violate civic law. Sharia is the exact opposite; think the Church of England of a few centuries ago: attendance on Sunday at a C of E service was required, along with a compulsory 10% tithe, regardless of what your religion is. Under Sharia law, you may not even possess a Christian Cross or a Bible; you may not celebrate Valentine's Day or Thanksgiving, or Christmas, even in private; if you are convicted of theft, your hand will be cut off. These laws apply to 100% of all people, 100% of the time, no exceptions. These are exactly conditions today in Saudi Arabia.
REAL LIFE EXAMPLE OF SHARIA - MECCA
Unless you are Muslim, you cannot even enter the city of Mecca (which is controlled by Saudi Arabia, Sharia), much less approach the Grand Mosque. Contrast this with St. Peter's for Catholics or the Wailing Wall for Jews. Just to show you the enmity between the 2 flavors of Islam: up until recent times, there were many historic buildings (related to the family of Mohammed) in Mecca that dated to the times of Mohammed; most of these have been bulldozed by Saudi Arabia. Why? Remember: they are Sunni, and they believe that the family of the Prophet have no authority over Islam, so destroying these historic structures is akin to taking out the trash.
READ THE KORAN
When you do, you will see that there are 2 levels of enemies to Mohammed. First, are the infidels, that is, you and me. We have not heard his word and are therefore the uninformed, unwashed masses. Second, there are apostates. These have heard the Prophet's words, but have either turned their backs on it or distorted them. In Islam, the latter are much bigger sinners than the former. This is important to know when you see the actions of various Islamic forces: for the Sunni and Shia, they regard each other as the latter.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
We Are Robbing Our Grandchildren
This year, Uncle Sam is spending $1 trillion more than he has. If you have children or grandchildren (or plan to have such), this fact should scare you to death. Right now, we are mortgaging our childrens' future, so that old people can get free medical care and free retirement income (no, the Supreme Court has ruled that Social Security is not a contract, but just another welfare program like foodstamps).
Do you care about the future of your children and grandchildren? Do you wish them to have a bright, prosperous future? Do you wish to saddle them with heavy debts that will make them poor when they are forced to finally settle the bills that paid for your benefits?
Surely, those who are receiving or soon to receive Medicare and SSI are willing to accept reductions in their current benefits, so that their descendants will not be impoverished?
Do you care about the future of your children and grandchildren? Do you wish them to have a bright, prosperous future? Do you wish to saddle them with heavy debts that will make them poor when they are forced to finally settle the bills that paid for your benefits?
Surely, those who are receiving or soon to receive Medicare and SSI are willing to accept reductions in their current benefits, so that their descendants will not be impoverished?
Obama's Watergate
Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Dean, Mitchell, Kleindienst. These names probably mean nothing to you young 'uns, but they should. They were the heart and soul of a terrible tragedy that caused the President to resign in disgrace. The current occupant of the White House appears to be headed down the same path.
A BIT OF HISTORY
The so-called 'Watergate Scandal' got its name from a hotel where the burglarly took place. The Democratic party had an office in said hotel, and some low level campaign workers from Nixon's reelection busted into the office and swiped materials and info. So far, no big deal: such things happen, even in the 2010 election. Problem: when news of this began to leak out, Nixon et al tried to cover it up. Well, in true tradition of the best laid plans of mice and men, the effort failed, and it magnified the importance of an unimportant political burglary. It was because of Nixon's attempted coverup that he was almost impeached and therefore forced to resign. He and his White House staff told many lies. That was the true tragedy: an unwillingness of the Chief Executive to simply tell the truth.
OPERATION 'FAST AND FURIOUS'
This was an initiative within the Obama administration. This allowed firearms, whose sale would otherwise be illegal, to flow into Mexico, the idea being that the drug cartels would be the recipients of said guns, and to trace their flow and therefore gain intel. So far, so good. Problem: they lost track of the firearms; worse, a border agent and a BATF agent were killed, and the deaths were traced to weapons from Operation F&F. Both the SecJustice and the Prez denied knowledge of this disaster, claiming that the first time they heard of it was from the news reports. Bullshit. Something this doofy does not occur without explicit White House approval. Question, Mr. President: what did you know, and when did you know it?
A BIT OF HISTORY
The so-called 'Watergate Scandal' got its name from a hotel where the burglarly took place. The Democratic party had an office in said hotel, and some low level campaign workers from Nixon's reelection busted into the office and swiped materials and info. So far, no big deal: such things happen, even in the 2010 election. Problem: when news of this began to leak out, Nixon et al tried to cover it up. Well, in true tradition of the best laid plans of mice and men, the effort failed, and it magnified the importance of an unimportant political burglary. It was because of Nixon's attempted coverup that he was almost impeached and therefore forced to resign. He and his White House staff told many lies. That was the true tragedy: an unwillingness of the Chief Executive to simply tell the truth.
OPERATION 'FAST AND FURIOUS'
This was an initiative within the Obama administration. This allowed firearms, whose sale would otherwise be illegal, to flow into Mexico, the idea being that the drug cartels would be the recipients of said guns, and to trace their flow and therefore gain intel. So far, so good. Problem: they lost track of the firearms; worse, a border agent and a BATF agent were killed, and the deaths were traced to weapons from Operation F&F. Both the SecJustice and the Prez denied knowledge of this disaster, claiming that the first time they heard of it was from the news reports. Bullshit. Something this doofy does not occur without explicit White House approval. Question, Mr. President: what did you know, and when did you know it?
Do You Want a Job or Do You Want to Work?
I was reading some articles about the high level of unemployment, when it occurred to me that many, including young folks new to the job market and even old timers, all have a distorted vision of what a job is, and why an employer will pay you for your time, effort, and skills. Look: you are paid based on how much economic value you give to your employer; the more valuable your contribution, the higher your wage.
Many think that the whole purpose of getting a job is free medical insurance, a comfy retirement, and enough $$$ for a good standard of living, generous vacations, a mortgage, an iPhone, and a way cool car to own and drive. This is simply not the case.
HOW TO SOLVE UNEMPLOYMENT
What if you, being unemployed, were offered a job, no skills needed, just a pair of hands and a strong back? What if I also said that you will not get retirement credits, vacations, disability coverage, health insurance, sick leave, holidays, annual bonus, or even a christmas party. Would you take it? Oh, and by the way, you will be paid less than minimum wage. Just an honest day's wage for an honest day's work.
Well, these things exist, and they are called 'journalistas', and are also illegal. These are the random crowds of illegal aliens you see hanging around the front of large hardware stores in the early morning hours on weekdays.
Let us create a new category of jobs: 'journalista'. Make it totally legal. Unemployment would instantly disappear. Even unskilled minority teens will be able to get a job. Isn't that the object, or is your goal to protect minimum wage laws?
Many think that the whole purpose of getting a job is free medical insurance, a comfy retirement, and enough $$$ for a good standard of living, generous vacations, a mortgage, an iPhone, and a way cool car to own and drive. This is simply not the case.
HOW TO SOLVE UNEMPLOYMENT
What if you, being unemployed, were offered a job, no skills needed, just a pair of hands and a strong back? What if I also said that you will not get retirement credits, vacations, disability coverage, health insurance, sick leave, holidays, annual bonus, or even a christmas party. Would you take it? Oh, and by the way, you will be paid less than minimum wage. Just an honest day's wage for an honest day's work.
Well, these things exist, and they are called 'journalistas', and are also illegal. These are the random crowds of illegal aliens you see hanging around the front of large hardware stores in the early morning hours on weekdays.
Let us create a new category of jobs: 'journalista'. Make it totally legal. Unemployment would instantly disappear. Even unskilled minority teens will be able to get a job. Isn't that the object, or is your goal to protect minimum wage laws?
Monday, October 10, 2011
Advice - ignore the Wall Street occupiers
I was watching the talking-heads-shows on Sunday, and heard this advice, but I forget who said it (I wish to give credit where it is due). This person advised conservatives to not rise to the bait, and I agree.
See, these protestors are small, few, puny, unimportant, and insignificant, kinda like the WTO/IMF protestors in Seattle a few years ago. I truly hope that Obama, Pelosi, Reid, and Washingmachine-Schultz latch onto them for dear life, as they will be hitching their wagon to a stale donut. The liberal media are absolutely jubilant and are giving these folks 24 x 7 coverage on every stupid newscast. No, this is simply wishful thinking that the left has found their answer to the Tea Party on the right.
The problem is the basic message of this group: if you listen to them, the beliefs go all over the place, but the common thread is 'corporate greed'. In my book, this is code for 'I hate Capitalism, let us go with Socialism/Karl Marx/Saul Alinsky'. Hoist by your own petard? Obama is engaging in Crony Capitalism, that is awarding gov't $$$ to corporations not based on merit or efficiency, but rather based on one's political connections (Solyndra, GM/UAW) within the Presidential Administration. This displays the ugly underside of Capitalism, so if they were true to their principles, defeating Obama would be #1 on their Hit Parade.
See, these protestors are small, few, puny, unimportant, and insignificant, kinda like the WTO/IMF protestors in Seattle a few years ago. I truly hope that Obama, Pelosi, Reid, and Washingmachine-Schultz latch onto them for dear life, as they will be hitching their wagon to a stale donut. The liberal media are absolutely jubilant and are giving these folks 24 x 7 coverage on every stupid newscast. No, this is simply wishful thinking that the left has found their answer to the Tea Party on the right.
The problem is the basic message of this group: if you listen to them, the beliefs go all over the place, but the common thread is 'corporate greed'. In my book, this is code for 'I hate Capitalism, let us go with Socialism/Karl Marx/Saul Alinsky'. Hoist by your own petard? Obama is engaging in Crony Capitalism, that is awarding gov't $$$ to corporations not based on merit or efficiency, but rather based on one's political connections (Solyndra, GM/UAW) within the Presidential Administration. This displays the ugly underside of Capitalism, so if they were true to their principles, defeating Obama would be #1 on their Hit Parade.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Chinese Food Fight
When I was in grade school, every once in a while when the cafeteria served some god-awful-healthy-concoction-a-la-Michelle-Obama-vegetable, the offending salad or vegetable would inevitable end up flying across the cafeteria. In short order, all sorts of food would go flying, even good stuff that I would prefer to eat.
Such is the state of affairs with foreign trade with Communist China. Take a deep breath, put down the Brussel Sprout, and take a swig from your milk carton.
25% Tariff?
When considering foreign trade with China, some have advocated a punitive tariff, say 25%, on all imported Chinese goods. This impulse is certainly understandable, but displays a disappointing lack of understanding regarding international trade. Any random tariff imposed by the US is sure to run afoul of international trade agreements. Any such action is sure to spark a trade war, and the American consumer (who can buy t-shirts at Walmart made-in-red-china for 3 for $10 rather than $15 each with a label that proudly proclaims 'made with pride in the US with union labor') is sure to be the loser.
Renimbi
(there is no such thing as the 'Yuan'). To my knowledge, there are no laws regarding the manipulation of currencies, and that really is the heart and soul of the trade problem with Red China. They have kept the value of their currency at artificially low levels to give them a successuful leg-up on international trade.
Now, you are talking: a currency war against the Renimbi is totally fair game. Congress could declare currency war against Red China: they could direct the Fed to buy up every Renimbi they can get their hands on, running the printing presses 24x7 and flooding the world with cheap $$$ if need be. When the Renimbi is literally unavailable, since the Fed has ALL of them, this would surely force the value to go up. Red China counters by issuing more Renimbi? No problem: the Fed will just run the printing presses that much faster. This would be a war that Red China cannot possibly win.
The World's Biggest Polluters
Chinese Industrialists think nothing of poisining the air, water, industrial workers, not to mention the ordinary citizen. The most polluted places on earth are all in the Peoples' Republic of China.
Software Piracy
China sports 100's millions of copies of Microsoft Windows. Problem: they are all pirated copies, and Bill Gates and company has never received a nickel from the Peoples' Republic. Ditto for American music CD's and movie DVD's. They simply copy it, and deny American companies billions of dollars that they are legitimately due. But the Chinese do not care. Hey, it is free and those Yankees cannot do a thing about it. They do not respect American copyright or patent laws.
Financial Fraud
Any company that wishes to list itself on American stock exchanges has to go through a daunting array of hurdles and tests before they can offer an IPO: they have to be purer than the Pope. Chinese companies, true to their character, have found a way to cheat on the process (some sort of reverse osmosis bullsh*t, I dunno, I am not a CFA). Many, if not most, have proven to be frauds that soon collapse to zero value.
They Cheat and Lie
Chinese industrialists think nothing about cheating. They deliberately adulterate children's formula and pet food with toxic chemicals that causes illness and perhaps death to anyone, human or animal, that consume the contaminated food stuff.
Intellectual Property Theft
Any major American MNC (multi-national corporation) simply cannot set up shop in China. It must be a co-venture with a domestic Chinese company. A technology 'sharing' agreement is the sine qua non of all such ventures. Any company that does business in Communist China automatically agrees to give away industrial and commercial secrets. This is simply the Chinese way of doing business.
Industrial Espionage
If you will recall, Chinese ballistic missiles were an aerospace joke for decades. They unfailing exploded on the launch pad. Then, suddenly, they were able to test fire one that could reach at least Hawaii. How come? Because they stole secrets about launch vehicles from Loral Space, an American company that regularly launches satellites into orbit.
Sinovel, a Chineses company that bought electricity-making windmills from American Super Conductor, suddenly refused to pay her bills and reneged on purchasing contracts. Why? Because they had gotten hold of secret industrial computer codes that would enable them to make their own electricity-producing windmills.
Americans Do Not Really Have a Right to Do Business in China
This may surprise you, but the legal basis on which foreign countries can do business in China is in a legal gray area. They do not have the right, per se, to own property or business or whatever. This sure seems to be the perfect setup to simply pull the rug out from under any targeted American business doing business in China (say, GM or KFC) and simply nationalize the whole kit and kaboodle, and it would be totally legal under Chinese law: all it would take is an affirmative vote by the Chinese Politburo.
Then Why Not Simply Prohibit Trade With China?
Because Red China represents a billion middle class consumers that American companies are drooling over, and no way are they going to allow trivial things like fairness or truth to get in the way.
Final Word
As you can now see, the litany of legitimate complaints we have against Red China is long and difficult. It is hard to see what good a punitive tariff will do, except to raise the costs to consumers on a budget who depend on cheap Chinese imports to make ends meet at the end of the month.
Such is the state of affairs with foreign trade with Communist China. Take a deep breath, put down the Brussel Sprout, and take a swig from your milk carton.
25% Tariff?
When considering foreign trade with China, some have advocated a punitive tariff, say 25%, on all imported Chinese goods. This impulse is certainly understandable, but displays a disappointing lack of understanding regarding international trade. Any random tariff imposed by the US is sure to run afoul of international trade agreements. Any such action is sure to spark a trade war, and the American consumer (who can buy t-shirts at Walmart made-in-red-china for 3 for $10 rather than $15 each with a label that proudly proclaims 'made with pride in the US with union labor') is sure to be the loser.
Renimbi
(there is no such thing as the 'Yuan'). To my knowledge, there are no laws regarding the manipulation of currencies, and that really is the heart and soul of the trade problem with Red China. They have kept the value of their currency at artificially low levels to give them a successuful leg-up on international trade.
Now, you are talking: a currency war against the Renimbi is totally fair game. Congress could declare currency war against Red China: they could direct the Fed to buy up every Renimbi they can get their hands on, running the printing presses 24x7 and flooding the world with cheap $$$ if need be. When the Renimbi is literally unavailable, since the Fed has ALL of them, this would surely force the value to go up. Red China counters by issuing more Renimbi? No problem: the Fed will just run the printing presses that much faster. This would be a war that Red China cannot possibly win.
The World's Biggest Polluters
Chinese Industrialists think nothing of poisining the air, water, industrial workers, not to mention the ordinary citizen. The most polluted places on earth are all in the Peoples' Republic of China.
Software Piracy
China sports 100's millions of copies of Microsoft Windows. Problem: they are all pirated copies, and Bill Gates and company has never received a nickel from the Peoples' Republic. Ditto for American music CD's and movie DVD's. They simply copy it, and deny American companies billions of dollars that they are legitimately due. But the Chinese do not care. Hey, it is free and those Yankees cannot do a thing about it. They do not respect American copyright or patent laws.
Financial Fraud
Any company that wishes to list itself on American stock exchanges has to go through a daunting array of hurdles and tests before they can offer an IPO: they have to be purer than the Pope. Chinese companies, true to their character, have found a way to cheat on the process (some sort of reverse osmosis bullsh*t, I dunno, I am not a CFA). Many, if not most, have proven to be frauds that soon collapse to zero value.
They Cheat and Lie
Chinese industrialists think nothing about cheating. They deliberately adulterate children's formula and pet food with toxic chemicals that causes illness and perhaps death to anyone, human or animal, that consume the contaminated food stuff.
Intellectual Property Theft
Any major American MNC (multi-national corporation) simply cannot set up shop in China. It must be a co-venture with a domestic Chinese company. A technology 'sharing' agreement is the sine qua non of all such ventures. Any company that does business in Communist China automatically agrees to give away industrial and commercial secrets. This is simply the Chinese way of doing business.
Industrial Espionage
If you will recall, Chinese ballistic missiles were an aerospace joke for decades. They unfailing exploded on the launch pad. Then, suddenly, they were able to test fire one that could reach at least Hawaii. How come? Because they stole secrets about launch vehicles from Loral Space, an American company that regularly launches satellites into orbit.
Sinovel, a Chineses company that bought electricity-making windmills from American Super Conductor, suddenly refused to pay her bills and reneged on purchasing contracts. Why? Because they had gotten hold of secret industrial computer codes that would enable them to make their own electricity-producing windmills.
Americans Do Not Really Have a Right to Do Business in China
This may surprise you, but the legal basis on which foreign countries can do business in China is in a legal gray area. They do not have the right, per se, to own property or business or whatever. This sure seems to be the perfect setup to simply pull the rug out from under any targeted American business doing business in China (say, GM or KFC) and simply nationalize the whole kit and kaboodle, and it would be totally legal under Chinese law: all it would take is an affirmative vote by the Chinese Politburo.
Then Why Not Simply Prohibit Trade With China?
Because Red China represents a billion middle class consumers that American companies are drooling over, and no way are they going to allow trivial things like fairness or truth to get in the way.
Final Word
As you can now see, the litany of legitimate complaints we have against Red China is long and difficult. It is hard to see what good a punitive tariff will do, except to raise the costs to consumers on a budget who depend on cheap Chinese imports to make ends meet at the end of the month.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Gouged by the Banks? Nope, the government again
Have you been whacked by brand new fees on your checking account or debit card yet? B of A, among many others, have done so. Those evil, greedy banks: charging us to use our own money; how terribly mean and unfair of them.
Nope: think again.
A brand new federal government law is causing these charges. See, the Dodd-Frank bill reformed the banking industry supposedly to improve it; however, there was the Durbin Amendment attached to it. It limited the swipe fees (the amount a bank charges the store each time you swipe your debit card) to a hard and fast 21¢ per swipe. See, it used to be a flat charge of a few cents plus a % of the total bill, and a surcharge for smaller amounts; on average, the fee was 44¢, and earned the banks in the neighborhood of $35 billion per year. The politicians thought: aha, let us limited the swipe fee, stop the banks from gouging the retailer, who in turn passes it on to the customer. So, reducing the swipe fee will reduce costs to the consumer.
Not: the retailers, for the most part, ate the fees as part of doing business. They now have reduced costs, and will not pass it on the customer. Worse, the banks have now increased fees on our checking and debit accounts to make up for the lost profit.
This is a classic case of unintended consequences: a law to help consumers have hurt them instead. Maybe it is time for the government to give it a rest already.
Nope: think again.
A brand new federal government law is causing these charges. See, the Dodd-Frank bill reformed the banking industry supposedly to improve it; however, there was the Durbin Amendment attached to it. It limited the swipe fees (the amount a bank charges the store each time you swipe your debit card) to a hard and fast 21¢ per swipe. See, it used to be a flat charge of a few cents plus a % of the total bill, and a surcharge for smaller amounts; on average, the fee was 44¢, and earned the banks in the neighborhood of $35 billion per year. The politicians thought: aha, let us limited the swipe fee, stop the banks from gouging the retailer, who in turn passes it on to the customer. So, reducing the swipe fee will reduce costs to the consumer.
Not: the retailers, for the most part, ate the fees as part of doing business. They now have reduced costs, and will not pass it on the customer. Worse, the banks have now increased fees on our checking and debit accounts to make up for the lost profit.
This is a classic case of unintended consequences: a law to help consumers have hurt them instead. Maybe it is time for the government to give it a rest already.
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