Africa and other countries

What if every country just retreated back to its borders and decided to mind its own business? What could possibly happen? Every country would be left to figure out its own problems and manage its own prosperity. Yes, there would be plenty of commercial trade but no foreigners would remain in another's country longer than thirty days, even for tourist excursions. What could happen? Weapons would not be allowed to cross borders. Every country would have to manufacture its own weapons if it chose to do so. Defense treaties would be outlawed. Of course, strong, aggressive countries could militarily attack and subjugate other countries but they would themselves be subject to the same actions by other countries. No country would have any legal or moral obligation to step in and defend any other country. What could happen? Would things be worse than they are now? 

Mexican elections - 2012 version

I know next-to-nothing about Mexican politics; nevertheless, I predict that within the next five years, Mexico will experience an economic boom and a cultural and social renaissance unseen in modern times - in fact, unseen since the beginning of time. You may think I'm nuts but I'm holding to my prediction no matter what. Don't ask me for facts or data - it's just a gut feeling. Economists and think tanks use the same method for making economic (and other) predictions. Don't kid yourself that they don't. 

China again

From a story on Reuters: "BEIJING – China told the United States not to interfere in a regional dispute over claims to the South China Sea, saying it would only complicate the matter.  China has been increasingly strident in asserting its territorial claims, especially maritime ones. "We express great concern about any possible South China Sea announcement made by the United States and the ASEAN countries," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular news briefing. ASEAN is the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. "We resolutely oppose any country which has no connection to the South China Sea getting involved in the dispute, and we oppose the internationalization, multilateralization or expansion of the issue. It cannot solve the problem, but make it more complicated," she said.

Loyalty

The big to-do in Washington today was about a General and his staff and the President, his Administration, and the chain of command. It appears that the top General in Afghanistan (one of the poorest countries on the face of the earth) publicly criticized the Administration. Of course, he should have been fired immediately. When you work for someone, loyalty is uppermost. If you bite the hand that feeds you, that is not only unwise, it is unjust and disloyal. Leave your post first, then criticize all you want.

5113 Warheads

Someone announced today that the U.S. had 5113 nuclear warheads in its ready-to-launch stockpile. The number was considered top secret for many years though I think the number is still secret. Thinking that the 5113 number is real is pretty silly.

Falklands

Argentina and the UK are about to negotiate ownership of the Falkland Islands. Of course, Argentina is sure to get them this time. There is no way they could get them militarily but they will diplomatically. It's just a matter of settling on a price. By the way, this nice topless woman will not be part of the negotiations, in case you were wondering.

Russian Stealth Fighter

Well, it appears like Russia has finally developed a Steath fighter jet - something equivalent to the F-22 used by the U.S. Now that this has happened, U.S. policymakers and other assorted bureaucrats are worried that Russia may sell the plane to Venezuela, Iran, Syria, and other unfriendly countries. This topless woman may know the solution to that problem but so do I. Why not develop stealth missiles capable of knocking down stealth fighters?

Going to the moon

A recent report from the Pan American Development Foundation says that about 225,000 children in Haiti live as unpaid household servants. These kids come from households that are too poor to care for them. In other parts of the world, people clamor for more funding for space exploration programs. This topless woman does not care either way. She did not create this problem.

Melting ice so what

Well - Al Gore and a few other people are saying that there might be no ice on the Arctic pole (in the summers) as soon as 2014. I told them this was bound to happen given the number of autos and factories spewing heat into the atmosphere. Did they listen to me? No. However, what do we want ice for anyway? Would it not be nice if the entire Earth were tropical year-round???? Let Nature take its course please. This topless woman knows better than to express an opinion on the matter. I think she likes warm temperatures.

Sorry Tuvalu

It seems that Tuvalu, an island nobody knows (it is not too far from Australia) will have to find other digs for its inhabitants. The people meeting in Copenhagen over the turmoil regarding global warming ignored its pleas to make the global warming agenda more restrictive. It seems that if things continue as they are, the little island will be covered by water in the near future. After all, the oceans' water level is rising and, for them, there is nowhere to run except to one of the continents. They do not want to have to relocate. Things are pleasant there. Sorry, but Saudi Arabia said no, we cannot be too restrictive because then we won't sell as much oil as we do now and then what??? We have to be serious about climate change but too much. This topless woman is not concerned - she does not live in Tuvalu.

Education is expensive

In California, some students are making a fuss because the cost of education just went up since the Golden State can no longer afford to subsidize college tuition as much as it used to. It is laughable because these students aren't smart enough to realize that education is now big business. Universities now keep the kids in school as long as they possibly can - like a doctor who keeps a patient coming back over and over again or who encourages a patient to have back surgery when all they really need is to relax a bit. My view is that a child should be done with school by age 18 - all of it - out of high school at 14 and out of college by 18. Out of graduate school by 20 - tops. Many years of productivity are wasted by keeping children in school forever. Who benefits? Certainly not the children since they know very little upon graduation anyway. That's why this topless woman is smirking.

What corruption?

They say that corruption is hard to quantify and that is probably true. The papers say that Somalia is the most corrupt country in the world. Afghanistan is not far behind. What exactly happens when corruption occurs? For one thing, it engenders more corruption. One rotten apple can turn a whole barrel full of apples rotten, no? But let's say that there is only one corrupt person among many honest ones. That corrupt person takes a bribe for a service not rendered or a product not delivered. It gets in the way of productivity and denies the economic equation its purpose - fair trade. The same can be said of greed. Greed is another form of corruption. But, how does one quantify greed? Ask yourself: do we really need to? How does one quantify hate or love or generosity or sincerity or honesty? Perhaps this topless woman knows.

Cuban freedom

They say that the Cuban government is allowing its citizens a little bit more freedom to express themselves. That's all well and good. However, what they really need is a stronger economy. They need outside investors. Let the investors come in and stimulate the economy. The people are ready to work for very low wages. Let the government bureaucrats get out of the way with their red tape. Invite the Chinese to come pay a visit - the Koreans too. They seem to know a thing or two about stimulating the economy. Hire this topless woman as an interpreter - even if she does not speak Chinese - she can learn, no?

The spying business

From an October 20, 2009 news story: “WASHINGTON – Prosecutors say a scientist who worked on the cutting edge of moon exploration has been caught trying to sell classified secrets to an FBI agent posing as an Israeli intelligence agent. Stewart David Nozette, who is credited with helping discover evidence of water on the moon and has been a leader in recent lunar exploration work, was arrested Monday and charged in a criminal complaint with attempting to communicate, deliver and transmit classified information, the Justice Department said. Nozette worked in various jobs for the Energy Department and NASA. At Energy, Nozette held a special security clearance equivalent to the Defense Department's top secret and "critical nuclear weapon design information" clearances. Prosecutors also quote an unnamed colleague of Nozette who said the scientist said that if the U.S. government ever tried to put him in jail for an unrelated criminal offense, he would go to Israel or another foreign country and "tell them everything" he knows.” So, being highly intelligent does not guarantee anything. Always be aware that people are always looking to catch you doing something bad. This man forgot that he needed to spy on the spies before getting into this nasty business. He will no longer be able to talk to this topless woman, or anyone like her. Too bad.

Foxes

From a recent news story: “WASHINGTON – White House advisers pledged on Sunday to book administration officials on Fox News despite claims by the president's inner circle that the cable network is a GOP mouthpiece whose programming "is geared toward making money." Last week, White House communications director Anita Dunn said Fox News operates "almost as either the research arm or the communications arm of the Republican Party." On Sunday, Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama's chief of staff, said, "It is not a news organization so much as it has a perspective." Well, if Fox News is not news, then the New York Times is not a newspaper, and this beautiful topless woman is not a woman because she has short hair? That is just too silly….

Who is the victim here?

From a news story: “TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) – Honduran soldiers and riot police surrounded the Brazilian embassy, where ousted President Manuel Zelaya was sheltering on Wednesday, in what could turn into a long standoff and deepen the country's crisis. Hundreds of security forces, some in ski masks and toting automatic weapons, cordoned off a large area around the embassy building in Tegucigalpa where Zelaya holed up with his family and a group of about 40 supporters. Brazil's government said it would guarantee his protection inside its embassy and called on the U.N. Security Council to discuss Central America's worst political crisis in decades. De facto leader Roberto Micheletti said Zelaya could stay in the embassy "for five to 10 years" if he wanted, hinting that the administration is preparing for a long conflict.“ After almost one month, they are still talking. By now, the Brazilian Embassy must be tired of sheltering the ex-President. You know what they say about visitors and fish – they stink after three days. Someone somewhere knows the truth behind the ouster. I know I don't and neither does this topless woman.

Missile Defense Shield

From Yahoo! News: “PRAGUE – Scuttling a missile defense shield in the Czech Republic and Poland helps smooth relations between the U.S. and Russia. But at what price? Some of America's staunchest allies are the East Europeans — and on Thursday, they expressed dismay at what many see as a slight after decades of their support for the U.S. Among them were some famous names, including Lech Walesa, the former Solidarity leader and Polish ex-president. "I can see what kind of policy the Obama administration is pursuing toward this part of Europe," he said ruefully, adding: "The way we are being approached needs to change." Evidently, today’s leaders don’t know anything about Winston Churchill and World War Two history. Not to worry. I am absolutely certain that wherever the U.S. can’t handle security matters in Eastern Europe, the EU will step in, as soon as they re-arm. This topless woman is from the Czech Republic and she does not look worried to me.

Anonymity 101

From a Yahoo! News story: “WASHINGTON (AFP) - A Canadian model has won a landmark case in a New York court after Google was forced to disclose the online identity of a blogger who anonymously posted derogatory comments about the Vogue cover girl. Justice Joan Madden of the New York State Supreme Court ordered the Web giant on Monday to hand over identifying information about the person who created the blog a year ago using Google's blogger program.” This is nice. I think that if you are going to attack or accuse someone, never do it anonymously – only cowards do that. Please.

Inquisitor General

From a Yahoo! News story: “WASHINGTON – IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman says Swiss banking giant UBS will give his agency the details of 4,450 client accounts suspected of holding undeclared assets. The deal to end a contentious international lawsuit between U.S. tax collectors and Swiss bankers was announced Wednesday morning. Shulman said in prepared remarks that the deal will give the IRS thousands of long-sought account names and is expected to provide even more UBS clients who voluntarily disclose their financial details to the agency. The two sides told a federal judge last week they had reached a tentative agreement, but the details were not released until Wednesday.” The most important detail here is the word “suspected.” This is like the Spanish Inquisition. Jews were burned at the stake (after they were tortured into confessing) when they were “suspected” of being fake converts. Their property was confiscated, then the informers shared (with the church) in the confiscated loot. What a nice setup. How many fortunes were made in this way? Hundreds – maybe thousands. All because someone came under suspicion. Nothing more was needed. Sort of like the Salem witch trials, no? Please.

Ransom

From a recent news story: “YANGON, Myanmar – Stung by international outrage over the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's ruling generals agreed Saturday to hand an American prisoner involved in her case to a visiting U.S. senator. Sen. Jim Webb was also granted an unprecedented meeting with the junta chief, and was allowed to hold talks with Suu Kyi, the first foreign official permitted to see the Nobel laureate since she was sentenced to 18 more months of house arrest on Tuesday. American John Yettaw, who was sentenced to seven years of hard labor for swimming uninvited to Suu Kyi's lakeside house in Yangon, will be deported on Sunday, Webb said in a statement from his Washington office. The impending deportation indicates "good relations between the two countries and hope (that) these will grow," Yettaw's lawyer Khin Maoung Oo said. Webb echoed the sentiment.” Anyone who knows anything about these matters is laughing heartily right this minute. Even this topless woman is amused. The U.S. paid anywhere between 10 to 50 million dollars for this guy’s release, probably from private donations. Outrage had nothing to do with this.