Update from the
Heartland
No.718
14.9.15 – 20.9.15
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
The
second round of filtration for the Republican Party presidential candidates
offered some interesting subtle and not-so-subtle reflections. I watched every minute of both
sessions. One of 16 candidates
dropped out before the ‘debate.’
Another chose to whine about how long this session of the ‘debate’ was .
. . with 15 candidates . . . all
vying for attention. I suspect the
filtration process will pick up pace soon. However, we will also bear witness to the power of money in
this process . . . not a good feature, I must say. “. . . there’s plenty of material there” . . . really? He is a candidate for the Republican
Party nomination for President of the United States of America . . .
really? What has our future come
to . . . a reality show debacle?
What’s worse, the best he can do is insult his opponents . . . so bloody
mature, I must say. I sure hope
the Republican Party sorts itself out quickly and settles down to more serious
presentation.
Seventy
years ago, the post-war Allied administration imposed a constitution on Japan intent
upon democratic principles and prohibiting any military development or action
beyond self-defense. On Saturday,
Japan's parliament gave final approval to legislation expanding the potential
for the country's military to conduct external operations. The new law enables military action in
foreign conflicts and situations where Japan’s defense is not directly threatened. As expected, the Kim regime in
Pyongyang, DPRK, protested vehemently and made their usual threats. I suspect this change in military and
foreign policy was persistently urged by the United States, so that Japan can
pick up more of the military counter-operations to PRC hegemony and DPRK
bravado.
The
U.S. Defense Department reported Russia has moved fighter aircraft into
Syria. It is not clear whether
those aircraft are deliveries to the Assad regime or operational aircraft with
Russian crews intended to support the Assad regime. The former is bad enough. The latter would be yet one more attempt by Putin to create
and/or stimulate confrontation with the United States and Europe to bolster his
political position in Russia. It was also reported that U.S. Defense Secretary
Ash Carter spoke to his Russian counterpart about Russia's deepening role in
Syria, ending a long hiatus in high-level military discussions between the two
countries. We could take the
optimistic view that Russia is taking a more aggressive action against ISIL
forces; yet, even the optimistic perspective would be extraordinarily dangerous
if not coordinated with other allied air and ground operations in the combat
zone. For now, we must hope there
is more positive in what appears to be a rather negative action by Putin. The margin for error has been
decreased.
Secretary
of State Kerry announced the U.S. will increase the number of Middle East
refugees we will accept. I am not
convinced this is the correct action for any of us to take. The refugee crisis in Europe continues
to be quite troubling. From a
public perspective, there appears to be very little if any control. Admitting individuals who may have no
intention to assimilate into the culture they seek refuge is a recipe for
future problems, stress and conflict.
The United States has been dealing with a similar lack of or
insufficient control of our borders and the immigration process for decades,
now. In my humble opinion, only
individuals who want to assimilate and can contribute to our society should be
admitted into this country beyond a visitor visa. I worked and lived in England and Italy for two years
each. In both cases, I had to have
a sponsor for work, and I had to register with the local or provincial
police. Further, if I wanted to
change my residence, I had to notify the police before and after a move. We all must do better with border
security and immigration control including enforcement.
News from the economic
front:
-- The U.S. Federal Reserve decided to leave short-term
interest rates unchanged after weeks of market-churning speculation about
whether it was time to end an era of near-zero rates in recognition of the
stronger U.S. economy and job market.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen cited persistent concerns about low
inflation, and volatile Chinese and financial markets as rationale for holding the
status quo for now.
Comments and contributions from Update no.717:
“Regarding MH370 – Well, no kidding. It’s not like there was
a bunch—any others for that matter—of missing 777 flaperons out there. In
other words, I am not aware of any reports of flaperons falling off of
777s. Good observation on the lack of impact damage. That makes
this whole mystery even more interesting. Hopefully one day we will know.
“Regarding the Air Force Museum – I have been there. It is a
great museum. But let us not berate the Air Force for the planes they
acquired and flew into harms’ way. They did their job just like the rest
of us with what they had. –Semper Fi.
“Regarding the marriage license fiasco – Jailed? No.
Fired? Yes.”
My response:
It
is my understanding some (if not all) of the B777 flaperons were (are)
assembled in India. If so, I am
not aware of whether all of the Work In Progress components were accounted for,
thus my reluctance to identify the component as from MH370 without physical
proof.
Yes,
the fate of MH370 is quite interesting for a host of reasons. I remain guardedly optimistic they will
eventually find the wreckage on the bottom of the Indian Ocean. It took nearly two years to find AF447,
and they had more to go on – they had the floating tail piece. We just passed the 1.5-year mark for
MH370.
Ah,
I think it was just sibling rivalry.
Yes, they do the job, just like all the rest of us. I will get to Dayton eventually.
I
agree. However, the only tool
available to the judge was contempt.
If she really believed as she says she believes, the honorable action
would have been resignation rather than defiance, but she did not take the
honorable path. She chose her
religious beliefs over the law; that cannot be a tolerable state.
Another contribution:
“Long time no see although I do enjoy your blogs. Glad you've kept real busy with writing. Be careful on
that damned motorcycle (although, I maybe I should just consider you as an
organ donor on-the-hoof).
“Overcast, gray Sunday walkabout in central Berlin.
Obviously a very affluent city. Wealthy German women taking their sweet little dogs out to
poop on someone else's property. The Germans seem to favor grand
monuments and statues. The Brandenburg Gate very beautiful but the three
nearest businesses are Starbucks, Haagen-Dazs and Dunkin Donuts, in that order.
Maybe these will help pay for the Berlin Airlift. Tiergarten very serene but I wonder how
a society that generated Beethoven, Mozart and Hayden could have also generated
Auschwitz? I have long feared that the facade of our civilization was
more fragile than we would like to think.
“Dreary visit to the site of Hitler's bunker (now a car park) and
to the Berlin Wall museum. Somber reflections on these major markers from
our current lives. Have we done as well as we should have with these
challenges? The current prosperity and peace of the Germans, and of
Europe and Japan in general, would indicate that our post-war efforts were
good; certainly far better than the shortsighted end of the First World War.
“The Berlin Wall brings into question the existential struggle of
our lifetimes between our western ideals and the failed, utopian ideals of
Communism, which was hijacked by numerous tyrants to justify their power.
The current problem of Islamic fundamentalism is a pain in the butt but
is certainly not an existential threat. They want to advance to the 7th
century and to meet their Allah, and we can probably help them in those
efforts.
“I recall clearly my apprehension and fascination in 1989 as the
wall came down and the Soviet Republic collapsed. Certainly our western
ideals and economic strength won that conflict (except for certain college
professors in our leading liberal universities). Many of us lost friends
during those years of conflict. Vast amounts of capital were expended on
military defense on both sides that could have been used to advance
civilization. Was it worth it? I have long felt some disdain for
the Romans, in that they lost their Republic to dictators, ultimately leading
to the collapse of western civilization. Granted, the Roman wealth and
knowledge was not widely shared but it was 14 centuries between their collapse
and when the world regained the technology and knowledge the Greeks and Romans
had in the fourth century. Where would we be today if we had not lost
those 1,400 years of knowledge accumulation and advancement? With our
lives, did we do as well as we should have? Have we left our
grandchildren with as good of a civilization as we should have, or could have?
How will our lives and contributions be judged?
“Enough ranting. Must find some decaffeinated coffee.
No one in Europe uses that stuff. Another real coffee and I will
probably really wig out. Unfortunately, my calorie budget won't allow a
beer.
“Keep on writing but watch out with the motorcycle.”
My reply:
Why
are you in Berlin? Business or
pleasure?
I’ve
never been to Berlin as yet . . . maybe someday. I certainly know some of the history.
Righteousness
of war . . . always a worthy debate topic . . . with no definitive answers.
Interesting
supposition, as well . . . where would we be today, if we had not lost the
Greeks and Romans in the Dark Ages?
All good questions. I tend
to take the optimistic view in answers to such questions. Certainly, one observation is axiomatic
– we can always do better. Even
the so-called Greatest Generation made dreadful mistakes . . . seen with the
clarity of hindsight.
Thank
you for your concern for my safety.
I can assure you my hero days are long gone. I don’t ride as often as I would like . . . hard to write on
a motorcycle. However, I seem to
get good thinking done on a slow, peaceful ride across the expanse of the Great
Plains. I ride with the constant
vigilance born in the principle that everything out there is trying to kill me;
it has kept me safe so far.
I’m
glad you can still find some value in the Update. I’ve begun working on the first draft of Book 5 of my To So
Few series of historical novels.
The publisher is in the pre-production stage of Book 3, which should be
released later this year. They
also have the Book 4 manuscript, which is planned for release next year.
. . . follow-up comment:
“I'm In Berlin on vacation enroute Poland. Have never seen
either place.
“My rants are certainly not to the caliber of your work but please
use anything you want. Continuing my feeble thoughts, I think our
generation did fairly well. Without significant real thought, I think the
U.S. made a major mistake in 1945 when they failed to recognize Ho Chi Minh and
tell the French to stay home. The Vietnamese are more nationalistic and
capitalistic than we are, not really communistic. They would be where
South Korea is now if we had let them. Could have avoided the entire
Vietnam war. The other obvious mistake was to disband the Iraqi army in
2002. They were the only stabilizing force in that benighted country.
Hell, we kept the Wehrmacht and the Japanese Armies in place
where we needed the stability at the end of WW2. Someone in the Bush
administration must have been brain dead.”
. . . my follow-up reply:
Poland
as well . . . oh my. You have
quite the trip in hand.
Good
point. There are more than a few
reasons for that particular mistake, but at the root I would suggest the
distance Roosevelt kept all his vice presidents and in this instance most
notably Truman, who was grossly ill-prepared to assume the responsibilities of
POTUS. Truman was quite
susceptible to the virulent anti-communist mindset, common in the day, rather
than examining the underlying motivations. Especially after Roosevelt’s counter-empire efforts from the
Atlantic Charter onward, to attempt to re-establish the French empire in
Indochina in the post-war years cost us 58,000 precious lives.
My
very best wishes to all. Take care
of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
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