Is Colonialism alive and well?

 ARE MINERALS OF UKRAINE WORTH WAR?

WHY CAN'T MODERN NATIONS THRIVE WITHOUT EXPLOITATION?

We continually hear about the resources up for grabs in Ukraine. Donald Trump has come late to the table to demand a share of the resources in Ukraine for past support, without any promise of future support. One problem is that the UK has already signed a 100 year right to those same resources and also control of the imports and exports of any future Ukraine. Similar deals seem to have also been signed with France, although less transparent. In fact, the UK deal was not covered very much until Trump started talking mineral deals. One must wonder, does Trump really want a mineral deal or was this his way of exposing the continued effort at colonialism of the UK? A colonialism that is impossible without the military might of the United States.

So is colonialism alive and well, just more veiled in obscure language, but always backed up with military force?

I was a little surprised that as the Central African nations have thrown France out of their countries we learn that they were all forced to use the French colonial Franc and France somehow took a cut. 

No one has asked or explained what has happened to the oil in Iraq and Syria that is still under the control of the United States, and maybe its partners, for now 20 years. We know that Syria has not received anything for their oil and Iraq is only given what the U.S. feels is enough for survival. Does anyone know who is receiving the wealth from that very best Libyan oil? No one asks and no one tells. I don't think the soldiers who fought and died have received any cut, nor the national treasury.

Since Roman times, and of course before, empires were built on plunder by their military. In the old days the military often prospered by sharing the plunder with the politicians, but then, like Rome, the politicians feel it is better to keep the plunder and incentivise the troops to fight for democracy, religion or their nation. 

The British empire was built on plunder, opium to China, slaves to the colonies  and whatever else they could profit from. It seems as their economy dies from mismanagement and irresponsibility they may have decided to return to the age old practice, but of course, with the military might of their former colonies. 

The reason that China and some others have made great inroads in Africa is that they have, at least so far, utilized economic development and prosperity rather than military force and bought the resources rather than plundered them.

I alway believed that the Gulf and Arab nations are willing to Sell their oil and likewise most other countries including Russia and Ukraine are willing to sell all the resources that anyone wants to buy. That is the nature of good relations, transactions that both sides find profitable and rewarding.

Today is Tariff day.

 NEGOTIATIONS SET FOR RECIPROCAL TARIFFS

MOST TARIFF ISSUES WILL BE RESOLVED

There seems to be a lot of hysteria when it comes to tariffs. The Trump issue with tariffs is that every nation has a trade surplus with the United States and while there are many trade regulations, many have been ignored and often tariffs or taxes are placed on U.S. produced goods. Some restrictions are placed by regulations barring goods made in the USA, some are just naked policies to protect home based products. Trump believes, and rightly so, that these practices lead to a drain of money out of the country and has contributed to the growing problem of the U.S. financial situation. It also damages U.S. jobs.

Trump has always made it clear, that tariffs are going to be placed on goods from countries that have tariffs, taxes or regulations that limit U.S. exports to those countries. It has been very transparent as to the end goal of these tariffs, that is to open up trade opportunities for U.S. business and jobs. 

Tariff's with Mexico and Canada are used concerning illegal immigration and drug imports across these borders, the hope is to get more cooperation from our neighbors in controlling the borders.

Aluminum and steel tariffs are an effort to maintain the domestic manufacturing of these products, vital for maintaining a healthy production for independence and national security. It is very unlikely that the U.S., due to its environmental and other regulations can compete with steel and aluminum production from Chinese producers. Also many of the imports from Canada and other allied countries are just re purposed products of bulk steel produced in China.

While many advocate complete free trade, it is not a simple issue. Countries without environmental and other regulations have a great advantage over domestic producers and if we value truly being independent and self sufficient some measures need to be taken to take these issues into account.  

Some just need to take a breath and let these issues play out and hopefully they will end in a positive result.

Democracy under assault in Europe.

 PRESERVING POLITICAL POWER OVERRIDES THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE

THE EXISTING POWERS ARE LOSING SUPPORT

The latest indication of the crisis of democracy in Europe was the jailing of the leading opposition candidate Marine Le Pen in France. She was jailed for 4 years and denied the ability to run for office for 5 years by the ruling party of Emmanuel Macron. It is just the latest abuse of power that is overriding the democratic process in Europe. 

Recently we have witnessed the voiding of the election of the winner of the election in Romania, then his arrest. This decision was decide by a court under the direction of the EU in Brussels. Likewise a close election in Moldova was shewed when absentee voters were allowed from the EU, but denied access from other parts of Europe. 

Then there is of course the ongoing threats to Hungary and Viktor Orban for opposing dictates from Brussels and their threat to deny the voting rights of Hungary.

We witnessed the attempted assassination of Robert Fico, Prime minster of Slovakia, by a EU and Ukrainian supporter.  Fico was shot 5 times in the stomach for not supporting the war in Ukraine, he has recovered and has not changed his stance.

In Germany, the fastest growing party has been slandered and attempts to have its candidates removed from the voter ballots. 

Last year we also witnessed the removal from office of Imran Khan of Pakistan, then the attempt to remove him from the ballot, wounded in an assassination attempt and then finally his jailing, all while he was the most popular candidate in Pakistan. Then a rigged election all brought about by documented pressure of the United States opposed to Pakistan remaining neutral in the war in Ukraine.

O course, we have witnessed similar antics in the U.S. with the lawfare and demonization of Donald Trump. It is likely to have similar results in Europe. Either the voters will eventually prevail or Europe will descend into some kind of authoritarian dictatorship from Brussels.

The reality is the ruling class in Europe is losing public support and is the last stages of their dying policies that are akin to economic and social suicide. In an attempt to hang on to power they are now desperate and are willing to very transparently deny the will the voters of their countries. 

It is clear their policies are failing and there is  drastic upheaval coming to Europe.

AI and Genetic engineering: Beware of the Brave new world.

NOT YET REALITY, BUT NOT FICTION

ARE WE ABOUT TO NEED TO DEFINE WHAT IS HUMAN?

There is much talk about the possibilities of Artificial Intelligence. The advances have been moving at a lightning pace. We now see robots that are beginning to look and act human. There is talk of them having the ability to LEARN, to express emotions, talk and adapt to new challenges. There is talk of them replacing humans for many menial tasks and maybe eventually not so menial.  It seems there is much interest and financial investment going into this research.  Without a doubt there are plans to substitute humans with these new entities for some occupations and some tasks.

Are we about to begin to debate what is the definition of a human. Is it an entity that is flesh and blood that stands erect, that has all the features of what we recognize today. Or is the definition of human far more complex, the ability to reason, adapt to changes, engage in abstract thought and put those thoughts into material creations. To have emotions, human instinct like survival and fear and hope, maternal instincts, family instincts and such traits are far more complicated .

Now consider, why spend vast sums on artificial intelligence that will need to be built, repaired and maintained. When we are now about to enter an era where it may be possible to engineer a living being or entity that will be self maintaining and reproducible.  Since the breakthrough of CRISPR in genetic engineering or gene editing it is becoming possible to modify embryos with a specific purpose or result in mind. In fact, it is reported that China has already had twin girls born that have been genetically modified. While this example has been condemned by China and others as unethical, if it can be done, it will be done. 

Now this example supposedly had to do with attempting to suppress the ability to contract HIV, but it is going to be possible to do much more. So imagine what can be possible. What if it should be decided that if scientists take unfertilized embryos and alter them that they no longer have the characteristics of humans that would fit into the accepted definition of what is human. Would some society accept that such entities, while they may have the physical appearance of humans, actually are not, but are now a new entity that could possibly even be patented. If all the emotions, instincts and behavioral characteristics of human are stripped out, then science could eventually make many special purpose entities that would easily replace humans to do much of the labor needed to keep society going.

There could be entities for the purpose of combat or police work. Household entities that could maintain all the needed choirs in every home. There could be entities that could act as surrogates if impregnated  in vitro with human fertilized embryos. The possibilities are endless.

These entities would also provide a endless source for organs and fetal tissue now hoped to be able extend life.

The maturing process could be shortened to become useful in a quicker time and they could be fully reproducible, no manufacturing, no maintenance. They could be engineered to have a specific length of useful time to function.

Such advancements would fulfill all the requirements of a sustainable planet. Many are already accepting the idea that the planets population should be downsized by between 1/2 and 1/10 of the current population. These new entities could replace much of the population and would not require or need near the resources that humans now use. The possibilities are soon to be endless.

So, while all this is now not reality, it is not science fiction, because it is going to be possible. This research IS going on now and the interest in downsizing the population is now an open topic of discussion.

We must believe that being as a god is enough enticement for such research to become an obsession for some that will not be controlled.

Originally published 11/15/22

MIT has released an article how they are anticipating the ability to produce humanoid bodies for research and body parts. I expect this is already going on somewhere.

3/31/2025

Americans refuse to face nation's economic reality.

 AUSTERITY IS ON THE HORIZON

NO MATTER WHO IS IN POWER

We watch as adds bombard us with the threat of cuts to medicaid, actually not part of anyone's policy. Lamentations on the fate of possible laid off government workers. Cuts to foreign aid questioned as unreasonable. I could go on and on with the narrative that any cuts or decisions to reign in federal government spending is inappropriate and unreasonable. The reality is that the United States is a lot poorer than most want to admit. When you have a debt that is approaching 150% of GDP, a GDP that is bloated with financial transactions that do not represent any real increase in wealth and a budget that is financed with near 30% more debt, the reality is that the country is in dire economic straits.

This reality is coming, no matter who the president is, no matter who is in congress, no matter if you want it to happen or not. It is coming by a mix of geopolitical trends that are now out of the control of the United States government and the bill that needs to be paid for 50 years of irresponsible fiscal policy and delusional policies of the Federal government. It will be a hard adjustment to live in a country that can no longer have the lifestyle financed by deficit spending and borrowed money. The United States is going to be forced to live within its means, the die is cast and it is inevitable.

Of course, the political blame game will want to blame the opposition but the reality is that the whole country is to blame for allowing this situation to come to this disastrous point of no return. From buying votes at home, and someone has been willing to be bought, to buying friends and allies abroad, the time of reckoning is at hand. 

The choice is, can we as a nation take the measures to manage this economic reality or will we just hope it will not come while it still effects us personally? It is coming very soon and is in fact happening now.

The U.S. is going to be forced to withdraw support to many other nations around the world, it will be forced to close military bases all over the world. It will be forced to cut government spending dramatically, just to stop the bleeding.

Then for the long term it needs to incentivise a return to a manufacturing economy from the now 11% of the GDP to as much as 30%. Only manufacturing creates real wealth, too much of this economy is non wealth producing activity, paper transactions and of course government employment. No, everyone can not have a government job, with high wages and great benefits, without someone producing wealth to pay for it.

WE are going to have a readjustment of priorities, either by managed unified collective action or the harsh reality that will be a far more painful choice. Someone needs to get out the white board and have a heart to heart with the American people, but I expect they are not ready yet, but would just be so much fodder for political advantage. Maybe only desperation will make reality acceptable.

EU and Ukraine reject Black Sea deal.

 DEAL WOULD HAVE LOWERED FOOD PRICES WORLD WIDE

EXPECT U.S. TO WITHDRAW UKRAINE SUPPORT

A proposed Black sea ceasefire deal that would have allowed the export of both Ukrainian and Russia grain and Russian fertilizer back into the world market, is being rejected by Ukraine and the EU., they both insist that pressure must be maintained against Russia. 

The deal would have restricted Russian war ships to the eastern part of the Black sea and would have protected shipping in the Black sea for all those concerned. Ukraine would have reaped financial benefits from being able to sell grain on the world market and fertilizer exports would have dramatically lowered the cost of food production world wide.

If they continue to refuse to accept this deal, it can be expected that the U.S. will cut off military aid to Ukraine. The continuing of this conflict, which it is widely acknowledged will not be settled in Ukraine's favour, is having serious financial consequences for the rest of the world, including the EU and the United States.

One of the main reasons for high food prices in the United States is the tripling of fertilizer prices in the country when Russian fertilizer was sanctioned in an effort to pressure Russia. Coupled with the fact that much of the east coasts diesel fuel was also an export from Russia, the combination has raised the cost of food production in the western world.

Food and energy prices in the EU are even higher and contributing to a loss of economic prosperity, yet it seems the EU is willing to sacrifice its own future in this failed effort to defeat Russia. They have rejected every deal both before the onset of the current conflict and in the early stages. The situation continues to deteriorate for both Ukraine and the EU and is affecting prosperity in much of the world.

We can expect consequences for the rejection of this deal.

Text messaging sabotage?

 WHO ADDED LEFT WING JOURNALIST TO TEXT CHAT?

IS THIS THE ONLY WAY TO COMMUNICATE?

So it seems everyone is outraged that somehow a left wing journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg, was added to a text chat between members of the Trump administration. The chat involved plans to bomb the Houthis in Yemen. 

The first question is, is this the best way for government officials to communicate? Is this the only way for them to communicate?  It is true that text messaging is what everyone does today. You can call people many times and get little response, text them and a response is likely in minutes, if not seconds. It seems to cut out much of hyperbole that is used in voice communication, often a yes or no is all that is needed. I suspect that there may be a moré secure method of communicating, but I am not sure about this question. We must remember that Hillary Clinton found it compelling to destroy over 30,000 messages when she was Secretary of State. Texting and emails seem to be a necessary method of communication.

The question at hand is how did this journalist get added to this chat group? Someone had to have this journalists number in the phone, Why? This affair brings back memories of intentional sabotage of Donald Trump by white house staff insiders, Alexander Vindman and  Eric Ciaramella who leaked confidential conversations to the media in an effort to damage Trump. It rings very much of the same play book of an effort to damage Trump's national security staff. We see the media and the democrat's are ecstatic that they feel they have something to narrate about for weeks to come.

Whoever had this journalists contact info whether it was Waltz, the Chief intelligence adviser or someone on his staff, they need to be held accountable. We can only assume they added this person to create a scandal for the Trump administration. Find them, prosecute them, and of course, fire them. 

Then there is the possibility that Waltz is being set up by others to discredit him and get him out of his position. 

Like the Hillary emails, they are all available in the records of the NSA, so if they really want to know what happend, they can find out, if they really want to know. I suspect this response will be a low key response maybe sometime in the future.