Condo Shopping in Brazil

We’re all news junkies; that is, we try to keep up with the news on a daily basis. We read the headlines on various sites, as well as our favorite blogs to get some idea about what other people are thinking. We pretty much know that the mainstream media does not tell us the truth; that partisan consideration causes them to steer their intended conclusions toward some unholy end. The same is true of the conservative, or ‘alternative’, media.

I’ve been having some trouble with the internet, especially when trying to stream Glenn Beck’s morning radio show. It suddenly cuts out and I need to go down to the basement and reset the box. Honestly, it’s become a pain to listen, and I no longer listen very often. I also don’t watch much TV - especially in the afternoon. For our family, Glenn Beck has essentially ‘disappeared’.

While visiting my father, he explained to me the purpose of Brazil's new capital (now 50 years old), the building if which he had been intimately involved in. It was envisioned as a world capital housing the leaders of a single world government. Its planners predicted that there would be a war in which much of the world would suffer utter devastation. The site for the Brazilian capital was deliberately chosen as to be as far away from everything as possible and would therefore not be much affected.

The city has strict building codes as to limit its population. The expected overflow was to be housed in any number of satellite cities some distance away. Only the highest elite - the cream of the crop - were to have permission to live within city limits.

This came to mind when I first heard that Obama would be going to Brazil on vacation (or is it to shop for a condo?). Suppose now, that something were to happen here while he is away. It’s not unusual for the leader of a nation to leave his country and, while abroad, there is some kind of coup back home.

Suppose communications were cut. Suppose all we could get on the radio is old episodes of the Prairie Home Companion. Suppose there were no mention of what had happened. Suppose TV screens remained blank; the internet dormant.

Suppose Osama bin Laden were to order all his sleeper cells into action. Suppose some manufactured economic problem were to close the banks. Suppose union thugs and others took it upon themselves to target random ‘rich people’ and Republican legislators.

In very short order, America would find itself turned on its head. There would be utter chaos in the streets – not to mention, in every American heart.

Suppose that by some prearranged signal Israel and Taiwan were attacked, as well as Americans and American interests oversees.

All this would be digestible, except for radio silence. We could respond to most things, but not this. For years now, we’ve known that our media plays fast and loose with the facts. We’ve learned to be discerning and deal with it. But no news? How could we possibly deal with that?

Only those who had been tipped off beforehand would know what to do - only the best organized. The rest of us would miss the sleight of hand until long after the dust has settled and the now familiar faces of our talking heads have faded from memory.

http://peterkoelliker.blogspot.com/
http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Same As The Old Boss

With the illusion of American influence in world affairs rapidly fading, there are several players already making moves to fill in the gap. Of these, perhaps the most visible, is the UN. The UN, however, represents only a small shift away from U.S. (non)-policy. It is also strapped for cash, riddled with corruption, and highly politicized. It is either unable or unwilling to use force, depending instead on containment, negotiation and the paying of bribes. The UN takes no firm positions, tending instead to go along with the strong horse.

These are also the tendencies that have led to America’s downfall. There is no reason to expect the UN to succeed with the very same methods that have rendered America clownishly irrelelevant. Therefore, a UN high-profile presence in any of the world’s trouble spots will ultimately not make a significant difference.

Thus far the UN has been used primarily to reap money and concessions from America. It is fully in support of ‘global warming’ initiatives which are then used to put pressure on the United States to give more money and retract its claws. UN soldiers have been accused of plunder and rape. They have been accused of extortion. They have been uses as human shields. Though blind themselves, they have been used as seeing eye dogs. They are well recognized scofflaws to which any cop in New York can readily testify.

Where Israel is concerned, the UN’s bias against it has been legendary. The UN is heralded by New York’s liberal elites (including Jews) and Washington progressives as the 'be all and end all'. This is in part because of the UN’s appearance of civility. Members of the UN are well paid. They are given a lofty platform from which to opine; they tend to smile a lot; except when it is in their best interest to frown for a laugh line, usually at the expense of Israel.

If the people of the Cote D’Ivoire are depending on the UN to settle things, they’ve got a long wait. They’d do much better to look to themselves if their aim is to avoid another African genocide. I understand it’s in the blood over there. A volatile mix of religion - especially Islam - and politics practically guarantees chaos. This time the U.S. won’t ride to the rescue. Look at what’s just happened in Haiti, less than a thousand miles from our shores. We’ve engaged the services of not less than three living U.S. presidents (along with much fanfare) to help. The reason there has been no reporting on this is because all three have failed.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Man the Water Stations

While the debate rages about how to fix the economy (read today’s opinion pieces in the NYT), things continue to get worse out there, particularly on the jobs front. People are re-entering the job market because they have become desperate. It’s no longer a choice - to work or not to work - it’s become a matter of survival.

Unfortunately, the jobs are no longer out there. They’re over in India, China, the Philippines and elsewhere. Value-based work is fleeing the country, leaving only enforcement-related and administrative (basically government) mandated tasks which themselves face the cleaver as tax revenues continue to fall short of expectations. It’s the classic definition of a downward spiral.

Incredibly, there is a way out. It is to make America business-friendly once again. Europe is trying it - although tepidly - and thus far has had limited success at least in terms of improving the psychological climate that businesses face. The reason that this hasn’t yet happened in America is because at the moment they are freer than we are. Our taxes and regulations are literally choking the life out of us. Add to this, the people’s distrust of government policy overall, and you have the entire country in unison fuelling the tailspin.

Washington has become so toxic, even if the president were to come out tomorrow with a workable plan to solve all the nation’s problems, nobody would pay much attention. For the majority of Americans, Barack Hussein Obama has already torn up his leadership card and thrown it to the wind. We have reached a point where Obama’s government no longer represents us.

How to explain this to people in a foreign country? People tend to assume that countries speak with one voice. If the government, for instance, insists on basing its foreign and domestic policies on the now largely discredited threat of ‘global warming’ while the people themselves have become aware of the hoax, that government can be said to rule against the will of the electorate. The U.S. is not the only nation that has chosen to follow the forked path leading to civil strife. The first fault line to appear, as always, is the one between the classes. The elites have chosen one path, leaving the masses to wander another.

Time to man the water stations in this desert. Many are about to get themselves lost out in the wilds. Great swatches of land have already been ceded to cartel control. It is clear, the American government does not care about Americans. One of the two will fall and there will be blood. In the meantime, maps and survival tips must be distributed.

I open the paper today and read that the Taliban have offered to burn all medical books.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Insufferable

I don't think we can trust the Russians to do our bidding. The Russians are like a rusty old knife - impossible to cut anything without mangling it. If anything, China is the sharper tool in the drawer. We, remain the only ones with some inkling of reality. We are the last hope of having it be right for at least some of us.

Unfortunately, we're in the midst of a class struggle. It's been called other things, but it's basically about class. The elites have grown too big for their britches and have become insufferable to the rest of us. They got the shock of their lives when they discovered that not everybody thinks they're so great. Before we solve that particular problem among ourselves, international intrigue remains off limits for us. We may even have to leave Haiti and Israel go.

I doubt if the next couple of elections will solve much of anything. What it will do is separate us according to where we are willing to take a stand. Then comes the battle. The losers won’t want to throw in the towel - and it'll go on like that for a while. Who knows how it'll end up? All I know is that the rift has grown too deep. It can't possibly come together in my lifetime.