Monday, December 27, 2010

Can the US get out of a hopeless corner?

Winston Churchill is said to have preached “Blood, Sweat and Tears” though the recorded quote is slightly different then the way it’s remembered. Obama, just as inspiring an orator, preaches “Hope”. Both started out equally successful in inspiring people.

This threat was extremely grim back when Churchill inspired. We have different dangers. Manufacturing jobs are gone. The Internet prefers hiring from the lower or lowest paid parts of the world. On the Internet there are no unions or worker’s protests to make working condition better. Telephoning, bookkeeping, and some secretarial work and many security guards and quality control experts, can be replaced by TV monitors being viewed from across the ocean. The whole developed Western world is in stress, and one of the exceptions is ominous. The Australian economy is booming but with very high unemployment.


Somehow we have to set our sights on economic survival, rather than hope for the prosperous America we once knew returning any time soon. Obama constantly dances and negotiates to stop a steep decline. His input in the begriming slowed the decline considerably, though some thinkers think only delayed it. Recently a two-year tax cut exception for the well off in exchange for an economic stimulus for 13 months, means he is losing ground.

More and more people are wanting and voting for quick fixes, not only the no taxes for the rich crowd that wants the US to boom the way Australia is. Ron Paul says our problems are caused by the Fed. He is important because he is one of the few people talking about the decline seriously, besides those advocating hoarding guns supplies and/or gold. If the Fed is the problem then why are countries without a Federal Reserve System also hurting which doesn’t necessarily mean ending the Federal Reserve System might not be an improvement.

He also says we got to stay out of the world’s problems. An example of what would happen if we did this is to note where this was done. President Bush decided not to attack pirates in Somalia, after Bin Laden threatened suicide-bombs if we did. Piracy got out of hand, Italy finally took charge sending out the gunboats to capture pirates. Then a US ship captain ended up in a lifeboat with pirates, after one of the passengers stabbed a pirate. They phoned in their ransom demands from the lifeboat which weren’t being met. When it seemed they were about to kill him, US special forces shot the pirates. No one would say the US shouldn’t have saved the hostage’s life. But now the US is back in the pirate fighting like we were in the 17th century. In one incident, paratroopers in phone contact with the crew swooped down and arrested the pirates without anyone getting hurt, far more expensive than the Italian method of fighting them. If somehow the US end its involvement in the Afghan War, and let the Afghan Government and the Taliban negotiate or fight as they will, there will similar situations like with the pirates that could easily get us involved again. The financial drain ending if a cut off date is firmly announced is not the end of the story.

The US has almost no involvement since 2004 in stopping al Qaeda in North East Africa sent money or special forces to fight al Qaeda in Northeast Africa in Mali. When French citizens were held for ransom, France decided to attack instead of paying. Bin Laden threatened huge attacks of France, which has yet to happen. Google “France Declares War against al Qaeda”. Even if al Qaeda did succeed at say destroying the Eiffel Tower, or even parliament, France wouldn’t start aiding bin Laden’s effort to bankrupt the West.

Al Qaeda has killed far more Sufi Muslims than they did Americans on 9/11. All the lives of the Awakening Council, those Sunnis that changed sides to fight with the Americans in Iraq, are in grave danger. Somehow we got to figure out the right way to be involved, not how to stop being involved. If we leave in a hurry without a peace treaty some will try to flee including those women in Kabul who took off the burka. Probably far less dead bodies then year after year of war, but the press will be focused on any show trials, not all the lives saved in the long run. And there will be future provocations from al Qaeda such as the rest of the world is experiencing, with many Americans more angry at the President if he didn’t respond to the provocation than if US troops were still there. We need different responses to threats and crises.

I am going to risk going back to President Bush overthrowing Saddam. Vietnam likewise overthrew Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge bloodbath in Cambodia and no one is complaining. Vietnam had no more right to do this than the US with Saddam. But Vietnam didn’t engage in “shock and awe” and nation building. Karzai may be corrupt but not below international standards, so the US has no business acting like we are in charge of him.

I would like to see France or Russia mediate the dispute between the US and the Taliban. Afghan President Karzai already begged the Saudis, Iran and China to do so.

The above is off the subject except those claiming Obama is bought off by the military or part of a plot by the rich not to set a firm cutoff date to withdraw, totally misses the difficulties involved and helps people to fall for such theories as ending taxes will end the economic slump.

People need to get involved more with solving the economic crisis, like ordinary individuals involved with fighting global warming.

The following are suggestions that might get people thinking about getting involved in more ways than stopping the fed, demonstrating, or hoarding.

Since money not circulating is part of the cause of economic stagnation or downturn, one partial solution would be for the rich to be taxed less when they spend their money then when they save it. This is already part of the theory behind tax deductions, but talking about it might improve the process. If some of the rich insist on working toward no taxes for the rich, than rather than tax cut extensions, it would be better for more deduction even 100% deductions for money spent on charity or employee intensive projects. Perhaps Congress could junk the tax compromise bill in favor of real job stimulus tax laws.

Come on everyone join me! We are like a family riding a car with bald tires with most of the family trying not to think about it. One wanting to switch to bicycles, another to stop and stay where they are, but the rest of the family resigned to continue the drive without anyone managing to get new tires.

Now for some more suggestions to fight the drift toward collapse. Iceland is being bailed out by Europe, but it has the lowest business taxes in the world, therefore many companies make their corporate headquarters there. Raising the business tax could made be a condition for more aid. Then the US and Europe together raise the business tax to stop capital flight to where the taxes are lowest. Next the US and Europe could get together to end the loophole of offshore banking.

There were efforts with some state governments to get prescriptions filled in Canada and elsewhere. This can save a lot of money on medical costs, perhaps even individuals can get 5% kick back from insurance, or medicare if they get refills on the Internet. Maybe everyone’s second and future monthly repeated prescription purchases could be bought on the Internet and mailed to patients, by their insurance company, medicare, and perhaps even welfare officials. This, providing there is a way of making sure what they get is quality medicine. Of course that is a big if.

The US embargo on Cuba is hurting the US economically and the more it succeeds the more Cubans in this country send foreign aid back to their relatives in Cuba. Some Americans took their Social Security check to Mexico where everything is cheaper and the US saved money on medicare and medicaid, but crime is getting in the way of new arrivals. Crime-free Cuba would be a perfect place to retire and no more medicare costs and if red tape is cut close enough for easy visits back to the US.

If the US would grant 10% of Medicare, Medicaid, SSI and welfare benefits to those going overseas, Americans in Cuba would make money from the US whenever they got sick until Cuba changed its laws to charge that amount to foreigners seeking medical care in otherwise free health care Cuba. Then the 10% adjusted up and down to the lowest point Americans would seek and get medical care overseas. Some hospitals in the US, on an experimental effort, are trying to get robots to give bedridden patients baths and to feed them, with alarms temporarily to call a human nurse if the patient starts to resist or argue with each other. It would be far more humane for sick persons to seek medical nursing care where it’s cheap rather than a future in the US where machines, not people, treat the convalescent. One way or another, a lot of money is being saved by having medical procedures done in other countries of the world, see “medical tourism” also “online pharmacies Wikipedia”, and,
www.medicaldiscounts.com/employers_insurance.htm

Perhaps others could join me in suggestions to have a campaign against economic depression, like the campaign against global warming. As with picking up litter, many citizens and many employers could agree to hire, one new neighbor or employee to do one hour’s more worth of work for them, with an ad campaign similar to the pick up litter campaign. If it wasn’t for the spirit generated by the ecology movement, picking up liter or planting a tree for a healthy environment might seem ridiculous. If we get in the spirit of hiring a friend for one hour more of work will start us feeling we are doing something. And if it gets in the way of people jumping at the straw that tax cuts, for the well off, will save the economy it will at least stop things from getting worse in a hurry. Let’s get together to save our economic world. Post your own suggestions here or post this to sites those making other suggestions.

By Richard Kane
RichardKanePA.blogspot.com




Maybe off the subject, I for one was really mad at what I saw as the conniving ruthlessness of the first George Bush and President Reagan, and felt that the son’s bugling around gave progressive change some breathing room. In my mind we were far closer to a dictatorship under Reagan than since. The last President Bush reached out to Muslims to join his faith-based initiatives, and constantly praised the King of Jordan and the Saudis. Anyway I have trouble seeing a scenario where Obama would be replaced by someone better, and think it more likely, if replaced, it will be by someone far worse than the second George Bush. I for one supported Obama, but far from worshiped him, expecting him to fail, by being sabotaged the way Jimmy Carter was.

But Obama’s term isn’t over. I expect him at some point to salvage some of the situation by calling for blood, sweat and tears. If Obama is replaced will likely be replaced by someone who plays on hatred of immigrants and other polarizing trends.





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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Can Armageddon be Stopped ie the Collapse of the West Prevented

Desperate Economy, Let’s Discuss options not Preach Solutions.

The debt is huge, manufacturing jobs are gone, the Internet hires a lot from the lower, sometimes the lowest paid parts of the world, telephoning, bookkeeping, even more than half the on site security guards can be replaced by security camera’s monitored on the other side of the world. Meanwhile as Obama slows things from getting worse people become furious at his claims that things are going to get better. Promises by those who already tried to make things better are less appealing then promises of voices that never had a change to be in charge.

Is there any site, or article other than this one that actually discusses the problem looking for answers from combining a variety of ideological perspectives, rather than preaching at each other?


Most Americans avoid dealing with the possibility of the West collapsing except those hoarding food and guns, and those with a strong ideological focus like Ron Paul who says we must learn to mind our own business in order not to go bankrupt. He also condemns the Federal Reserve, not noting that countries are in financial trouble and close to meltdown status without a Federal Reserve in their country. Others want revolution, noting how fast the rich keep getting richer, which not only hurts the rest of us but money not circulating due to those who save, not spend, interferes with the ability of commerce to circulate making it harder for people to get jobs or sell anything. Those that don’t hoard or have an idiotical axe to grind just hope ignoring the danger will make it go away.

I have several suggestions from a number of ideological perspectives which I will detail later on in this article. However one point, since money not circulating is part of the cause of economic stagnation or worse, one partial solution would be for the rich to be taxed less when they spend their money then when they save it. This is already part of the theory behind tax deductions, but talking about it might improve the process.

Come on everyone join me! We are like a family riding a car with bald tires with most of the family trying not to think about it. One wanting to switch to bicycles, another to stop and stay where they are, but the rest of the family resigned to continue the drive without anyone managing to get new tires.

Ron Paul’s desire to end involvement with other nations can be examined by looking at a place the US decided not to be involved, as in the issue of piracy. President Bush decided not to fight pirates after bin Laden’s threatened to join them in retaliation if Bush sent troops after pirates in Somalia. The result was piracy kept getting worse, but Italy did send out gun boats to capture pirates, so the example doesn’t prove whether the US shouldn’t be involved or should be involved.

Then under Obama, a US ship captain ended up in a lifeboat with the pirates, after a passenger took matters into his own hands and stabbed a pirate. The ship captain was held as a hostage for their demands, as they began to get extremely frustrated, US special forces killed the pirates at perhaps the last moment to save the hostage. Now the US is back in the pirate fighting business. In one incident, American troops in close phone contact with the crew swooped down from the sky and arrested the pirates without anyone getting hurt. A perfect conclusion except we are now closer to bankruptcy. Italy didn’t risk bankrupting their countries economy with huge expense. Later on in this essay I will point out that France got involved with fighting al Qaeda in North Africa without risking bankrupting France; but with the US it is all or nothing.

According to some, the worst crime the US did was overthrowing Saddam. However, the world cheered when Vietnam likewise overthrew the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot’s bloodbath in Cambodia. But Vietnam didn’t engage in shock and awe or nation building. The reason Saddam shouldn’t have been overthrown is that he kept the Shiites and Sunnis from fighting with each other, not that other nations had no business interfering in the domestic affairs of another regardless of how cruel their government is. However Karzai in Afghanistan is only corrupt. It is not US’s business to stop government corruption in Afghanistan. But the US believes in all or nothing.

A bit of good news concerning the possibility of the total collapse of the West is that the economies of Norway and New Zealand are soaring. Following reporting the good news might be a good place in this essay to post positive ideas in various directions that could set the ball moving toward improving things.

Iceland is being bailed out by Europe, but it has the lowest business taxes in the world, therefore many companies make their corporate headquarters there. Raising the business tax could be a condition for more aid. Then the US and Europe together raise the business tax to stop capital flight to where the taxes are lowest. Next the US and Europe could get together to end the loophole of offshore banking.

There were efforts with some state governments to get prescriptions filled in Canada and elsewhere. This can save a lot of money on medical costs, perhaps even individuals can get 5% kick back from insurance, or medicare and medicate if they get refills on the Internet. Maybe everyone’s second and future monthly prescription purchases could be bought on the Internet and mailed to patients, by their insurance company, medicare, medicare and perhaps even welfare officials. This, providing there is a way of making sure what they get is quality medicine. Of course that is a big if.

The US embargo on Cuba is hurting the US economically and the more it succeeds the more Cubans in this country send foreign aid back to their relatives in Cuba. Some Americans took their Social Security check to Mexico where everything is cheaper and the US saved money on medicare and medicaid, but crime is getting in the way of new arrivals. Crime-free Cuba would be a perfect place to retire and no more medicare costs, and if red tape is cut, close enough for easy visits back to the US.

If the US would grant 10% of Medicare, Medicaid, SSI and welfare benefits to those going overseas, Americans in Cuba would make money from the US whenever they got sick until Cuba changed its laws to charge that amount to foreigners seeking medical care in otherwise free health care Cuba. Then the 10% adjusted up and down to the lowest point Americans would seek and get medical care overseas. Some hospitals in the US, on an experimental effort, are trying to get robots to give bedridden patients baths and to feed them, with alarms temporarily to call a human nurse if the patient starts to resist or argue with each other. It would be far more humane for sick persons to seek medical nursing care where it’s cheap rather than a future in the US where machines, not people, treat the convalescent. One way or another, a lot of money is being saved by having medical procedures done in other countries of the world, see medical tourism also online pharmacies Wikipedia, and,
www.medicaldiscounts.com/employers_insurance.htm

Perhaps others could join me in suggestions to improve things that are not ideologically pure, and post them here or post my suggestions to their suggestions.

One thing glaringly missing so far in this essay is those who say simply end military spending and bankruptcy would go away. In North Africa in and around Mali there is an al Qaeda splinter that the US has yet to get involved in fighting. One can google “France declares war on al Qaeda” France refused to pay ransom and attacked instead, the war of words escalated until bin Laden himself threatening major attacks on France. So far no attacks. France’s involvement in resisting al Qaeda in North Africa might have slowed US trying to deal with that al Qaeda group there. Even if al Qaeda did make a major terror attack against France. France isn’t about to start bankrupting itself with major military expenditure or spar with non-al Qaeda Muslims, the way the US responds to an al Qaeda attack by calling Hamas a terror group.

In Afghanistan if the US leaves without a peace treaty, some women will try to flee Kabul and some of those fighting with the US might want to flee similar to when the US exited the Vietnam War. Of course nothing like when the Soviets left and the deaths went up from war lords fighting, but just as with the good news that Obama stopped or postponed a total financial collapse, the American people will be unaware of the good news if a few people die after the US leaves, despite the endless carnage if the US stays. And the President will have to deal with future provocations similar to the kidnapings of French citizens for ransom, and some in American crying for vengeance much more intensely then if US troops were still in Afghanistan.

Al Qaeda fights with a lot of people the Awakening Council of Iraq and Sufis in Pakistan have many more killed by al Qaeda then the US on 9/11. The very worse exit scenario would be US troops leaving Afghanistan as the dollar is collapsing. The peace movement’s claims that there are no al Qaeda troops in Afghanistan, but they don’t count al Qaeda connected suicide bombers. An exuberant al Qaeda might even try to seize US weapons as we leave and suicide-bomb to help them do it. Unfortunately, I believe fighting until a set withdrawal date is a poor second, but this is the main demand of the US peace movement. I wish people would instead demand that the US accept immediate arbitration if the Taliban would accept, by France, Saudi Arabia or any nation willing to mediate. Even if no nation is willing to do so, demanding this would change the spirit of the situation. At the moment every time the Afghan Karzai government has a peace Jirga the drone war gets more intense. The peace movement needs to note that during a peace gathering is not the time for drone attacks.

I realize that some of my suggestions like Internet prescription refills puts US pharmacists out of work and I would be happy to withdraw the proposal if a better mix is suggested, but any suggestion to end the path toward bankruptcy causes problems especially the supposed cost free means of saving money, simply quickly exiting the war. However, I believe if we all spread the word that our country is driving on bald tires, we will find a way to get new tires. Let’s try to have a discussion rather than a shouting match. I also realize that the Tea Parties idea of no earmarks is part of the solution not the problem, and needs to be factored into a comprehensive effort to stop the plunge toward western collapse.

Please others, add sites and links that deal with the subject of an economic meltdown in a non-ideological way. Or post these suggestions on other such sites.

RichardKanePA.blogspot.com



he following are other articles on the subject, hope someone posts more,
http://www.alternet.org/story/149Anhy104/7_reasons_why_capitalism_can%27t_recover_anytime_soon_/comments/#

http://dailyreckoning.com/prediction-hyperinflationary-great-depression-within-the-coming-year/

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Monday, December 13, 2010

Democrats Saying ‘NO', good news if

Nancy Pelosi hasn’t backed down. The tax reduction for the rich isn't stimulus, but what amounts to pork for the rich. The rebellious Democrats I think might end up good news even for Obama. Obama over the years has put a lot of time in trying to be an unbiased arbitrator even as he ran for President. So progressives shouldn’t be surprised that he doesn’t fight hard for what most think he believes. There are a lot of Lame Duck Representatives that should be particular appealed to, to vote against the tax-cut smorgasbord. Particularly locally Joe Sestak.


President Obama’s problems are similar to a teacher or professor who has a friend or a relative in class, and when mediating a dispute between students, the friend kept saying “yes” to suggested compromises and the other student or students keep saying “not enough”, giving the appearance of always deciding in favor of those who have no relation to the teacher.

Some Democrats destructively challenging the anger was another problem. If a child, husband or wife is too obedient, it’s not healthy, neither has been Democrats obeying the President. In some families. the people argue only when they get angry and hate each other, screaming such things as you are the worse parents. There is no reason for progressives to condemn the President just quietly refuse to compromise what you believe, at least as much as Republicans do.

Thanks to Reagan, et al, the good manufacturing jobs are all gone. Thanks to the Internet people can work from anywhere ignoring US minimum wage laws. Obama should have promised in the last election to prevent things from getting worse in a hurry. The wild promises by the Republicans to make things better made more sense than Obama claiming he could improve things faster in two more years than he did in his first two.

This tax legislation for the unemployed ends in 13 months but for the rich two years creating a unbalance for future debates over stimulus. The non-Rich lobbying in the future with less and less cards on the table. It’s urgent to insist on a equal length of stimulus even if unemployment checks get cut 20%.

Srorter version ends here at this link
http://youngphillypolitics.com/democrats_saying_%E2%80%98no039_good_news_if

I wonder if Obama is actually inadvertently giving tough-love to the progressives, somewhat similar to the way Rep. Charles Rangel wanted to restore the draft to force young people to think of conscience, like young people did during Vietnam. If so, it’s important for progressives to return tough-love to the President, rather than add to the hate the President campaign started by racists.

Please fellow activist’s don’t join the conservatives in pouring hate on Obama. Just learn how to calmly say “no” By offering this bone to Republicans the START Treaty is way on its way toward being passed. There is good reason to believe that Obama’s mediating style stopped or postponed another great depression. The fires of the first depression flamed by nations enacting giant tariff walls against each other. Obama so far prevented war with Iran while at the same time preventing the kind of nuclear arms race between Shiite and Sunni countries much like the nuclear race between India and Pakistan.

Obama really cares about foreign policy; and somehow, despite the midterm disaster is continuing to lead internationally. When it comes to Afghanistan critics may be right but they are also unfair. As things now stand if the US decided to just get out, like progressives want, al Qaeda can suicide-bomb, the withdrawing US troops, to make sure they stay and continue the warring world bin Laden craves. The al Qaeda splinter that sent the package bombs is now happily announcing how little they spent on the parts making those bombs compared to the millions the US spent in response.

I think Obama should publicly say concerning the war that he realizes that some woman will be crying that they don’t want to have to wear the burka again and al Qaeda will symbolically attack but we should get out anyway. People who want to troops to come home don’t even mention those who will be begging to come with us. We are fixated with 9/11 but if you google “Awakening Council”, those Sunni’s in Iraq who sided with the Americans one can note many others have more to fear from al Qaeda than the US has. Also, if you google Sufi with al Qaeda you will see a lot of attacks against Sufis. Imam Abdul Rauf’s Sufi mosque project in downtown NY is somehow seen by some as a monument to those militant Muslims who tend to hate Sufis. Sorry I changed the subject from the upcoming bill but we need to put ourselves in Obama’s shoes, even as we more often need to say, “not enough” to his proposals.

Let’s lobby Specter and Sestak. Cheering Barney Frank from far away has been a poor use of local resources. Pennsylvania has its role in the conflict between the rich and the non-rich of the rich constantly having more cards to play at the table. When talking to Specter and Sestak, you will not get them mad at Obama.
http://my.firedoglake.com/richardkanepa/2010/12/09/cheer-obama-but-oppose-his-tax-extension-deal/
http://readersupportednews.org/pm-section/26-26/4210-cheer-obama-but-oppose-his-tax-extension-deal

Problems getting out of the war,
www.readersupportednews.org/pm-section/21-21/4131-fighting-bedbugs-with-forest-fires-obama-in-afghanistan

RichardKane
PA.blogspot.com

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