Tag: China

Challenge Accepted!

A Pro-Trump Meme from Facebook I couldn’t resist trolling

Challenge accepted. I’ll go down the line of what I love about the Democratic platform (and what the party, Biden, and Harris have committed to) and then any of you Trumpsters can present the Republican’s version (betcha most of you don’t even know). And just like the meme says, INSTEAD OF BASHING DEMOCRATS, WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT THE REPUBLICANS.

1. Instead of lying to the people of this country and not take responsibility how about acting like a real leader. When 9/11 happened, President Bush took control and mobilized our nation not only militarily but in political solidarity. We need that sort of leadership to get through the pandemic. Unity, not denial and finger-pointing.

2. Our economy is a mess and shoveling more money into big businesses isn’t doing anything but making the rich richer. We need to get our butts out of the 20th century and come up with new and innovative ideas to move forward. FDR did the same and brought our nation out of the Depression.

3. We have the ACA (Obamacare) and for as many times Republicans tried to repeal it, it remains. So, lets compromise and REFINE IT so it works for EVERYONE.

4. Reform, reform, reform. That’s all Washington has talked about concerning our justice system and all it has amounted to is building more prisons and shoving social worker duties onto our already overwhelmed police forces. What’s a “wellness check” going to do if crimes are committed elsewhere? The bottom line in many escalating circumstances is, we must separate mental/social care to those better trained, and the police to do what they do best -protecting people and property.

5. The scenes of the Western coast burn (due to severe drought), the numerous cat 4 hurricanes, weather patterns changing across the country are symptoms of what is happening around the world. You can continue to deny it, but the reality is CLIMATE CHANGE is here. But what can we do? There is an opportunity here that will not only provide jobs but make America the center of a NEW GREEN TECHNOLOGICAL INITIATIVE by investing time, money, and some of the brightest people to work on it. Fossil fuels, and the economies it supports, are like the diabetic eating only cake and ice cream, eventually, he will die soon than later. That’s what we need to avoid to make America TRULY great again.

6. Putting up a wall isn’t working. It never will and will be seen as a boondoggle someday. We have the technology (drones, motion cameras, etc.) that are more efficient than the old tech of “round them up and ship them out”. What about the ones already here? Let’s come up with a way to integrate them into our country. We’ve done it many times before with the Germans, Irish, Asians, Italians why not now? Canada has the largest number of immigrants and they can handle it by just doing that, handling it.

7. If there one thing that this pandemic has proven is that when it comes to wifi, we are a THIRD WORLD COUNTRY. Right now, there are Chinese goat herders in western China that gets better connectivity than most of us. What does this have to do with public education?  How many of you have kids who had to, or now, do online classes? Public education SHOULD BE FREE TO THE PUBLIC AND SO SHOULD THE MEANS IT IS PROVIDED!

8. Leadership. Truman once said, “Leadership is the ability to get men to do what they don’t want to do and like it.” Right now, nobody likes doing what needs to be done and avoiding responsibility. We need leadership back in our presidency and as another Truman quote goes, “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” If you can’t stand the criticism, the hard work, the advice of others more learned in those areas of concern, then step down and let someone else a try.

Your turn. What’s good about the Republicans? And don’t use single-syllable words and GIFs. Speak up and defend what Trump will do for you. by saying “America will be GREAT and Safe” means absolutely NOTHING if you can’t back it up.

Agricultural Land versus Regional World Population

Recently in my wanderings through “Reddit-land” I came across a world map that divided the world’s population into four equally numbered regions.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/aeosva/world_divided_into_4_regions_with_the_same/

This recalled another world map, one of a different kind, showing all the agricultural land is located geographically.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/7u6enj/map_showing_where_all_the_agricultural_land_is_in/

Superimposing the two I was startled by the differing distributions and what it implies. Most agricultural lands are existing in two narrow bands that cross the globe in both north and south temperate regions. When you consider population distributions you see that two of the largest agricultural regions exist in the least dense regions, the Americas and Europe. In the densest, only India has enough farmland to supply its population. But it may not be enough as its population increases.

World Population Divided Into 4 Regions Superimposed On Where All Agricultural Regions Are Located.


When one considers how this will affect the world socially, politically and economically one only sees an increase in conflict, instability, and war.

Just a thought.

Here’s one more, all of the above doesn’t even give a consideration of how climate change will change the agricultural regions.

https://reliefweb.int/map/world/world-climate-change-vulnerability-index-2014

-A. M. Holmes

“Populism” is the New “Nationalism”

 

The New York Times op-ed says, “If freedom is to prevail over the many challenges to it, American leadership is urgently required.” Unfortunately, the U.S. has leadership but not in the form it needs to preserve freedom.

In the U.S. “Populism” has become just another word for “Nationalism”. “America Great Again”, “America First” these are fascistic slogans used by a radical movement within the GOP that has Trump as its leader. This is a group that believes in the suppression of the free press, divisiveness along socio-economic and cultural lines, isolationism, and “bread and circuses (tax breaks and parades) for the masses. These people are elitists who have nothing in common with the average American and yet know how to manipulate and lie to achieve power through the ballot box. They are un-American and if we continue to allow them to usurp the government they are a threat not only here but globally as well.

-A. M. Holmes

Guess Who’s Coming to Davos?

170526-macron-merkel-trump-feature

The World Economic Forum, WEF, will be held January 23th through 26th in Davos, Switzerland and guess who’s coming? President of the United States Donald J. Trump and he will the first since President Clinton did so 17 years ago. Meetings are held annually in January and carry themes like, for example in 2000, “New Beginnings: Making a difference”. This year’s theme for the forum will be “Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World” and considering President Trump after one year in office is turning to be a most divisive leader not only at home but abroad as well what says or tweets will be interesting, to say the least. But there is another twist to this that may make even more interesting, German Chancellor Angela Merkel may be coming and if she does she will join French President Emmanuel Macron in support of what could most fittingly call a “Europe First” economic policy.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva, Switzerland who is “committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas” and is made up of the top 1,500 business leaders, drawn from 1,000 of the world’s top companies; 219 public figures, including 40 heads of state or government, 64 cabinet ministers, 30 heads or senior officials of international organizations, and 10 ambassadors; and 432 from civil society, including 32 heads or representatives of non-governmental organizations, 225 media leaders, 149 leaders from academic institutions and think tanks, 15 religious leaders of different faiths, and 11 union leaders. It is the who’s who of the world’s top economic brass. It is also an institution that runs contrary to Trump’s professed dislike for “globalists” and elites. So why is he going? According to a Wall Street Journal article,  https://www.wsj.com/articles/transcript-of-donald-trump-interview-with-the-wall-street-journal-1515715481, Trump wants to be “a cheerleader for the country”. He wants to tell the “story of what’s happening in the United States …and of tremendous things are happening in the United States”. In other words, he wants to boast about his claimed achievements to an audience which, for the most part, couldn’t possibly care any less. But crow he will for nothing feeds Trump’s ego more than to show off in front of a crowd he considers, though not mutually shared reciprocally by some, as his equal. Two individuals who do not agree with the President and who will also be speaking are German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron and that’s when things will get interesting. Why? Both Merkel and Macron will be speaking on the 24th, two days before Trump’s speech, and if they stick to the theme of the forum, theirs will be a plan for global economic unity and if the U.S. wishes not to be a part of it “very well and good wishes”.

In January Reuter’s article, Merkel is described as “the last defender of liberal democratic values” and whom Trump has accused of “ruining Germany”  (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-davos-meeting-merkel/merkel-could-join-macron-in-davos-for-epic-clash-with-trump-idUSKBN1F30HB).  Macron, who is a pro-European centrist and supports free trade with the global rules-based order, is believed by some, including Robin Niblett, director of the Chatham House think tank in London, that he will speak not only “about Europe. He will try to take up the mantle of the free world under Europe’s wing”. This is a post-Brexit Europe with strengthening economic ties to the Trans-Pacific Partnership of China and other Pacific region nations and who are looking for more partners in South America and the Middle East, two other regions where Trump’s popularity is nothing less than questionable. This will put to test the idea of “strength in numbers” against Trump’s “America First” and see who wins. Before you place your bets let’s take a look at a few things to consider.

First, has President Trump really wrong in boasting about his achievements in office? I guess that depends on whether he deserves the credit or is it just latent results from the Obama administration’s economic plans finally coming to fruition? The latter makes more sense because economies do not grow merely because you will it with threat or rhetoric or by having a garage sale of government property, stripping the power of agencies you believe hamper businesses, give more money to the top 1% through tax cuts, and declaring “America is Great Again”.  If it were that simple more would have tried it in the past and we wouldn’t have to make anything great again because we would already be just that. No, economies do not grow on charisma and showmanship they rely on ties with strong partners you can trust and businesses who see gains in the long term. So far, Trump is not seen by most to be trustworthy nor as a visionary.

On the other hand, there’s the European Union whose members have seen better economic days and their leadership are in a constant struggle to keep office. It’s a Europe which is witnessing one of its strongest, Great Britain, leave with no way of stopping it and may see further disintegration if it can’t turn things around quickly enough. Then enters China, the leader apparent of the Trans-Pacific Partnership after the U.S. withdrew, with it’s continually growing economy and yuan it’s willing to invest. The question now becomes one of whether you are willing to sell everything to the Dragon of the Far East with its monetary market manipulations and strict market practices that favor Chinese interest over investors. Then, there’s Russia, how will they react to the possibility of a Sino-European Union trade pact? This is a course that only a modern day Ulysses. Is French President Emmanuel Macron that man? Some believe he is but it all depends on how quickly he can bring to order a France plagues with its own economic problems as well as conflicts between the far right and left and terrorist attacks. If he can hold his nose above water long enough to stem the tide and keep his office he might bring in the ship in for France and even Europe. He’ll need allies, though, and that’s why German Chancellor Angela Merkel is so important for Germany is one of the only other economy Union. Unfortunately, Merkel shares many of Macron’s problems within her own country and may just barely remain in office in time for the Davos forum.

A globalist’s “Strength in numbers” versus isolationist’s “America First”, who has the better plan? In the past, close trade ties have proven to be a setup for world economic depressions. As one government goes terribly into debt others fall as their confidence in the markets fail them. What follows is a domino effect of global proportion that will not stop until all have fallen. But that was in the past at a time before international corporations and global multi-conglomerates. Our world today is one where borders, at least in a business sense, are completely meaningless. A world where information moves at the speed of light, and so does innovation and research. A world that can make anyone does not connect with it a pariah and one that can’t be trusted. Even Russia knows not fall into the trap of isolationism that its predecessor, the Soviets, clung to hard to maintain up to the bitter end. And yet, here we have a U.S President carrying on about how wonderful things in his government now that he has removed the reins that bind it can negotiate “a better deal”.

Scenario: It’s a world dominated by global corporations that provide and trade in contracted services and are regulated only marginally by countries sharing trade interests, trade without borders. The U.S., playing the isolationist game, participates only in those areas of negotiation it sees it will gain the most in spite of that fact the largest of its “American-based companies” are also part of the global network. No matter how hard the U.S. tries to increase its productivity and exportation of goods it never seems to do as well as countries in Europe and Asia. It finds its increasing deficit, the inability to control sudden stock market shifts and legacy obligations such as infrastructure rebuilding is to shake off thus stifling any possible gains it can make. The country tries through austerity programs to get the situation under control but is undermined when it finds itself having to rely more heavily on contracted private companies to provide basic services. Then one day, the unspeakable happens. It may be a war that engulfs several nations, famine, drought or any other natural disaster of some kind, either way, the markets begin to panic. Without any regulatory controls, the crash begins in, say Europe, and travels quickly around the world even before the markets open in their respected countries. In the U.S. there’s nothing to stop it for most of the regulatory tools set into place to prevent something like this were removed previously in order to see if by making it easier for revenue flow it would improve the economy. As the windstorm of economic disaster spreads it demolishes everything without something it could be anchored with. Then it hits China with its relatively high regulated market and a strong economy. It plays the part of much-needed firewall and the selling and devaluation come to a screeching halt. What comes next all depends on who your friends are and how close they are to you to be willing to back you up?

Fiction? Are you willing to bet “America First” on it?