CHINA BID FOR ICELAND ECO RESORT LAND

If you believe this reason, I have some SNOW ski resort land for you in the Keys.

RE STEINGART PRESTOWITZ KRUGMAN

As an aside, Steingart in War For Wealth got date of Trading Places incorrect. It had been 1988.


Prestowitz' view of economics there is also mine. His view was at page 230.


He had cited Krugman at a couple of points, at a time when Krugman was apparently willing to countenance the wild notion that certain sectors might be strategic.


Of course, Krugman later, 94 or so,  held view that competitiveness idea was flatly wrong.

Audience Today

Indonesia 9 Latvia 8 United States 3 Spain 1

TRADING FACES

Biden could look either Japanese, or Chinese, or______, here:





Term search: Trading Places, etc.

RE BROOKS THE HAIMISH LINE NYT

He makes a great point here.


Here is what I consider a related one:


Being on the wrong side of the Haimish line is largely 
what laissez faire capitalism has been, and continues to be, all about.

REPUBLICANS AGAINST SCIENCE NYT KRUGMAN GOLDMAN

Krugman is onto something here. 
What is it? At least he is not slamming Goldman, or one of the other pillars.


My favorite Goldman is Steven.


Haven't finished his Science Wars course yet, but it does set some trends into perspective. Wonderful presentation.


Terms search: pyramid, bonobos, etc.

RE DOES AMERICA NEED MORE MANUFACTURING

http://geraldmeaders.blogspot.com/2011/08/re-does-america-need-manufacturing-nyt.html

Need to ask another pundit at nyt: Thomas Friedman. 


Or perhaps David Brooks, another conservative globalist pander having to backpedal big time now too.


Their answer has been: "No. Services, innovation, finance,


that's your forte now, America."

MERGE TO COMPETE MERGE TO COPE WITH FAILURE BBC WORLD NEWS GREEK BANKS

THE 'ONE TRICK PONY' OF MONOPOLY CAPITALISM

IN THE ENDGAME.

At first, they need to merge to better compete. Sounds credible.


Then, surprise, they need to merge again to succeed more. More is better.


But then, on the other hand, after a while, they need to merge to ward off failure also.

This has been the ostensible solution for a long time now.


Too big to fail has been thot to be a solution.


If they are failing, merge them. 


If they are still failing, merge again.


http://geraldmeaders.blogspot.com/2011/08/guaranteed-to-fail.html

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE THEME MUSIC PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND

China:


"That is not a Smith & Wesson Mr. Bond, 


(referring to 'The Bond of the West'), 


and unfortunately (referring implicitly to Japan),


you've had your two."

TOO BIG TO FAIL THEREFORE GUARANTEED TO FAIL

The only questions are, 


how those failures will play out.

RE EARLIER POST MENTIONING KINDLEBERGER AND VERNON HERE IS SNIPET FROM KOBRIN THE PARDONER'S TALE CHAUCER

Here is Kobrin:


'The dramatic expansion of the Multinational Enterprise (MNE) after 1960 produced a 
‘first wave’ of literature in the popular and academic press.  The opening lines of Raymond 
Vernon’s best known book capture its tenor well: ‘Suddenly, it seems, the sovereign states are 
feeling naked.  Concepts such as sovereignty and national economic strength appear curiously 
drained of meaning’ (Vernon 1971, p 3).
3'

'In a seminal series of lectures two years before the publication of  Sovereignty at Bay, 
Charles Kindleberger (1969, p 207) argued that the ‘nation-state is just about through as an 
economic unit.’ ' 


They had hoped, back then, for a 'united states of the world', (ANALOGOUS TO STEINGART'S UNITED STATES OF THE WEST, which however now excludes of course the pesky non West) 


based on expanding trade investment and political unification, 
and thereby the taming of the murderous nation state concept itself, that would make war obsolete. 


The nation state was the devil that needed to be exorcized. 


(Problem: the US itself is a nation state needing to be exorcised by virtuous Cobdenist multinational enterprise.)


Rather like the Pardoner's Tale, in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, really.

BIDEN LOOKS A LITTLE JAPANESE IN THIS PHOTO THIS CANNOT THRILL THE CHINESE SEEING IT

Perhaps someone touched it up, for a little diplomatic fun?


Doesn't this look like some famous Japanese politician I have seen, somewhere?

RE DOES AMERICA NEED MANUFACTURING? NYT GERTNER ALL TOGETHER NOW FRIEDMAN

Great short article. 


Shows how far we have come down the wrong roads, politically ideologically commercially and economically, since WW II.


Answer: No. 


At this point, 
Game over.


A whole lot more would have to change than just small federal manufacturing initiatives, 


as the article itself implies at many points.


Economists like Summers, (going back to the likes of Kindleberger, and Vernon) 


and pundits like Thomas Friedman (see his article today as well) got us into this from the beginning, 


and the office of Presidency has, over many years, paid lip service to initiatives of various kinds, relief from imports, etc., 


while all the time pursuing an ostensibly more important foreign policy agenda, devoted to helping foreign regimes and their companies compete, in exchange for security or strategic carrots mainly including greater access to our consumer market to the disadvantage of domestic industry and commerce.


That has not changed.


Term search Trading American Interests, Presidency, Trading Places, etc. 

THOMAS FRIEDMAN ALL TOGETHER NOW NYT

'To do that, it has to move from an assembly-copying-manufacturing economy to a knowledge-services-innovation economy.' 


GLOBALIST PANDER NOW HAS TO EXPLAIN WHY GLOBALISM HAS NOT BEEN A BIG SUCCESS.


His answer, above, is, of course, bull. 


He by now certainly knows that too, 


but how to backpedal after all these years of globalist bull?


Re entrepreneurship,
terms search: Flirt, eg


http://geraldmeaders.blogspot.com/2010/09/re-entrepreneur-maverick-executive-rail.html


I didn't see my father cry very often.


One time was when Flirt died.

RE MONEY'S THE CHEAPEST THING

This was the prior post here referring to that phrase, and its author referred to by Maureen Dowd:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/opinion/06dowd.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212

GOOD BAD UGLY PORT

I am not against all ports. Some are quite good. Some are bad. Some are ugly.


There are certain Portuguese ports to uphold, 


and some to disdain.


Most other ports need to be rejected.


Imports, except Portuguese ports, and most exports, should be avoided when possible.


Certain free ports are also not so helpful.


Certain kinds of rap port need to be questioned.


Some im port tunings should be ignored.

Audience Today

United States 16 Germany 1 Spain 1 Greece 1

NOT FREE RIDERS

Call them free booters.


"What matters this or that reason."

SHAKEDOWN SHAKE DOWN SHEIK DOWN ECONOMICS

Not 


a Samuelsonian, or Krugmanian, or Friedmanian, or Keynesian, or Smithian, or Chicagoan, or Randian, or Austrian, 


type of economics term.


term search: market power trickle down

RE JOBS GOING TO ASIA APPLE AND INNOVATION ENTREPRENEURSHIP COPYCATDOM ULTIMATELY YOU WILL HAVE TO SHOOT YOUR WAY OUT

You cannot innovate your way to prosperity manufacturing in Asia.


Nor can you innovate or entrepreneur your way out of copycatdom.


You will ultimately have to shoot your way out. 


This of course is too late.


Mark my words.

GERMAN LABOR MINISTER SAYS BAIL OUTS IF THEY HAPPEN SHOULD BE

TRADED FOR GOLD RESERVES OR STATE INDUSTRIES.


I think that is a great idea.

CHINESE BANKS RECORD PROFITS

Smelling the coffee.

RE BBC ARTICLE AND AM I SELLING GLD NOW THAT MARGIN REQUIREMENTS WENT UP

Take a guess.


Margin requirements up, and greater instability of economies.

RE THE TWO PARTY SYSTEM

See David Kaiser's great essay.


I very briefly address the two party system, of late, here:

http://deglobbalization.blogspot.com/2011/08/re-two-party-system-and-post-wwii.html

RE CHANCE RISE OF THE WEST KRUGMAN STEINGART AND INCREDULITY IN THEORIES

Steingart ascribes the rise of the West to chance. p. 28


Yet he says that Chinese politicians, 


not the invisible hand, drove China's recent rise. 


I agree with that one.


See Krugman's blog re incredulity and causation.

RE WORLDS MOST VALUABLE COMPANY

re AMERICA'S SWEATSHOP DIPLOMACY NYT

What a pathetic situation and history.


Other whole agendas going on here as well.


The Gobble economy.


A video reference:
Lucy's Candy factory job.

EXIT JOBS TO ASIA THREE BITES OF THE APPLE

SEE STEINGART'S CHAPTERS

Chapter 5. 


Especially The Great Knowledge Transfer, especially Vorndran's quote p. 166, The Next Einstein Will Be Indian, "Go Out...", The State as Protector, Losers and Winners, etc.


University degrees granted here to advanced subjects, especially troubling, going forward.


I am not especially liberal about it.

RE MARKET POWER AND TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AND OTHER ISSUES CALL IT SOMETHING REAL CALL IT SHAKE DOWN ECONOMICS

Re Apple, China, and Samsung, etc., etc.:


Imaginary dual soliloquies:
American savvy, sassy, MNC executives: "Let's start producing, or continue producing, in Asia, or India, as the labor costs are so darn  low, and profitability is our main criterion."


Asian political leaders: "Let's give these idiotic American companies low labor costs for a little while, while we are taking everything useful regarding their products and techniques, and market information, from them. 


Then we will simply undersell them on foolish laissez faire world markets, and take over these foolish gringos' world, then enslave, and perhaps also kill, a great many of these idiots."

What is going on now, with the shift already far advanced in so called market power, 

we are seeing the emergence of powerful leverage in Asian economies against foreign companies and their weak regimes, and their products and markets.

I would call it, at this point, not merely not trickle down economics, 

or trickle away, 

or torrent away, 

but something more realistic, more somber, 

in line with Steingart's epithet, "attacker countries".

I would call it now 


dumb and dumber 


shake down economics.

Terms search: human conflict, leverage, trading places, dumb dumber, etc.

NOW THEY ARE STARTING TO SPEAK MY LANGUAGE AT LEAST IN EUROPE EMBARGO

http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=2973239501462830480&postID=709842635986855709

Sea lanes starting to have a little 'impact', shall we say.


Fattening things up, so to speak.

FOR DOD

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

RE SAMSUNG APPLE AND EVERYTHING ELSE GOBBLELIZED GOBBLELIZATION

Almost nothing is going to be worth much of anything, going forward.


That is globalization of intellectual rights, going forward.


Forget about R & D, long term investment in tech, things like that.


Waste of time, going forward.


These things are all being gobbled by hungry regimes and their champions.


Really.


Terms search: history human conflict, shakedown, shake down

RE ALLISON BEFORE 1776 AND MISPLACED PATRIOTISM

Just a brief plug here for this great course.
His lecture on The Sugar and Stamp Act, great.


See especially the account of efforts by Johnson to collect a little sugar tax from the denizens of Rhode Island, Newport in particular. 


Truly great stuff. 


Debunks a lot of nonsense that comes out of the mouths of reenacters and many many others.... 


call it misplaced patriotism.

RE GOBBLELIZATION DUMB AND DUMBER GLOBALIZATION

See other blog.


TERM SEARCH HERE: 
HUMAN CONFLICT

RE CHINA BLACKLISTING CERTAIN INTERNET MATERIAL

Gaga, Back Street Boys, Perry,


I tend to agree with them, 


not us.

RE LIBYA

Please!


What nonsense.

RE WIDESPREAD GLOBBALIST IDEOLOGICAL FREE FALL

And guru dom is wondering about the likely effects of Bernanke's remarks at Jackson Hole.

RE BRETT ARENDS WSJ FINANCIAL GURU DOM AND GOLD

Great article.


Comical really, gurudom, 


going forward.

RE CHAVEZ VENEZUELA GOLD

Repatriation: who can blame them?

RE NOCERO NYT THE DEMOCRATS AND BOEING

He is trying to make this a partisan issue, when it is rather a structural, federalism, one, 


given the multi state system we have, and Washingtom versus North Carolina, etc 


and little to keep plants on shore anyway. 


He must know this, but he has been given his orders here.


Term search: Boeing, your state, 88 Cent Stores, pawns, Costco.


I had mentioned the Boeing issue in an earlier post, re new Boeing plants in China. 


Notice he does not mention this enormous fact in the article.

A TRIBUTE TO PITTMAN BLOOMBERG VERSUS FOX and WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH GOLD

http://www.realecontv.com/videos/government-corruption/mark-pittman-1957-2009.html

Here's a nice summary of things re the gold issue:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/289209-gold-still-on-its-way-to-5-000

Interesting facts re what certain central banks have been doing lately, Venezuela, S Korea, etc.

GADDAFI IS ANOTHER SIDE SHOW IN THE STRUGGLE NOW UNDER WAY

Call it 'Sarajevo' IV or V.


After Iraq, or the new Egypt and Israel tryst, 


or Turkey and Syria, 


or India and Pakistan,


or North Korea taking over joint resort property,


or China in S China Sea,


or the UK and Ireland,


or... fill in the blank,


why does anyone think any of these will end well?

The audience

See David Kaiser's current post The Two-party System

and comments.

TORRENT AWAY ECONOMICS

Great turn of phrase, I think.


But, hey, I composed it!


But here's someone who thot of something similar already:


http://crookedtimber.org/2004/08/12/heres-your-fucking-latte-sir/

JO'N 08.12.04 at 1:25 pm

Real income growth of 0.3% per year? That really is a trickle, isn’t it—so there’s a reason they don’t call it “torrent down” economics.

the menu

Wild Alaskan pink (my favorite color) Salmon vinaigrette, 
avec ba Tampte sliced and diced dill pickles, mild Greek pepperoncinis, diced purple onion, celery, pressed garlic cloves to taste, Greek Lefas first cold pressed olive oil, capers, Dijon mustard, to taste,


steamed broccoli and carrots olive oily,


dill cucumber onion vinaigrette salad,


red California shiraz


dried ginger dipped in dark chocolate,


Jim's organic coffee


etc.

JUST A FEW QUIET REFLECTIONS ON SOME PENDING ISSUES FROM A BORN TEXAN

Now, I know that this post may come 'out of left field',


for some of you.


Fair enuf.


Not only am I one eighth American Indian, Cherokee, 


but,


 I was born in Kingsville, Texas. ( A: 'Biggie'.)


This, it seems to me, may raise some interesting questions, going forward, 


connected both with sovereignty, and with my allegiance, 


such as it is............


One of them is, for example, were Texas to secede 
(the governor, not myself, has broached the subject), 


would I not automatically have dual Texas and US citizenship?


One would assume that something like this is contemplated. 


If not, why not?  


If not, what, pray tell, is contemplated, a choice? 


A Morton's Fork? 


Oh say it isn't so?


If not a choice, then say so now, rather than later.

re Steingart

He really does have some dreamy notions sprinkled throughout this tome.


Democratizing globalization.

DON'T SQUEEZE THE CHARMIN

Don't Squeeze the Charmin!


RE CHINA CHARMED BY BIDEN'S PERSONALITY, 


JUST AS RUSSIA HAS OSTENSIBLY BEEN CHARMED BY ZUCKERBERG'S...............................................


CHARMIN


Do you think that either of these shallow PR notions makes any real sense?

RE GOLD WESTPORT CONNECTICUT

These people are now selling their gold, now that it is worth so much,

and they are fresh out of fiat currency,

presumably to pay for rent and food.

THIS SHOWS WHERE THE PRESIDENCY STANDS RE THE AVERAGE AMERICAN

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/business/schneiderman-is-said-to-face-pressure-to-back-bank-deal.html?_r=1

HIS THREE LONG TERM FACTORS ARE NOT GOING TO HAPPEN EVER AGAIN

http://seekingalpha.com/article/288947-what-would-put-an-end-to-the-gold-bull-market

But also, re his factor 2, how could the US get more 'hawkish' monetarily, 
without going to some non fiat currency like a gold reserve to do it? 


This in turn would turn out to be bullish, rather than bearish, for gold.


So his factor 2 itself would perhaps be bullish rather than bearish.

RE THE KIDS ARE NOT ALL RIGHT NYT

Great point.


Needs to be generalized re laissez faire capitalism and domestic society in general.

RE VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN'S ASSURANCES TO CHINA

Do you believe in the tooth fairy?


Term search, perhaps, tooth fairy.


Cf Steingart's comment re US Mary Poppins, security assurances to Taiwan, not worth the paper on which they are printed p 216.


If China bombs, or something, say embargoes, Taiwan, 
do we renig on the debt to China in lieu of military action to defend our ally Taiwan?


Do we use an aircraft carrier?
If not, why have them there? 


How much do we renig, the whole thing? 


Generally speaking, mixing politics and trade is a bad idea.


A few billion?


Appeasement.

RE TERMS SEARCHES AND MARY POPPINS

Steingart has a nice phrase in The War For Wealth, related to my comments here, re faux security umbrellas.


Look also at the terms search list on this prior post:


and at Steingart's text, page 216 at "...not worth the paper on which they are printed...."


He has some scenarios at the end, with which I disagree, and which I believe are frankly wrong and or misleading in important ways, eg the approaches on p. 249.

Audience

RE EGYPT ISRAEL

Re the next 'Sarajevo':

Steingart postulated some Asian candidates.


What about several 'Sarajevos', say even five or six, in hindsight, 


all at once?


That seems as likely, now, as one.

STRENGTHENING TIES THROUGH TEAM PLAY

Terms search: Team play.

RE 9/11'S WHITE ELEPHANT NEW YORK NYT NOCERO The federal government + New York = white elephant

The federal government + New York = white elephant.


The federal government + your state = white elephant.


How many of them do you think there now are?


Very large herd.


Terms search: your state.

RE A STUDY IN JUDICIAL DYSFUNCTION NYT WISCONSIN

This is a situation that has always existed, barely below the surface. Seldom seen by the average citizen, walking into court.


This branch's dysfunction is matched by that of the other two.


Terms search: your state, Lorch, Iowa, New Jersey, Minnesota, etc.

TOO BIG TO FAIL TO BIG TO DISJOIN BUBBLE EU

One giant step toward fiscal union is one step further into the 
EU Bubble 
coming.

RE ATTACKER STATE LIQUIDITY ABYSS SMOOT HAWLEY HAWLEY SMOOT RED HERRING LIQUIDITY MENTALITY TRAP CALL IN GOVERNOR PERRY

No doubt, in the economics literature somewhere, the aggressive protectionism of regimes like Japan and the Chinese will be compared to this red herring tariff act, passed as the depression of 29 39 was already unfolding, for overwhelmingly unrelated reasons connected with WWI and expansionism that followed.


They will carp that if only these free riders would let loose and reciprocate more freely, the situation with the world commercial situation would be hunky dory. 


They, not we, have created the 'liquidity trap' bemoaned by some commentators. Here is what Stiglitz, referring to creating currency, paraphrased, said, sort of consistently with my comments here:


'banks were instead spending the money in more profitable areas by investing internationally in commodities and the emerging markets. Banks were also investing in foreign currencies which, Stiglitz and others point out, may lead to currency wars while China redirects its currency holdings away from the United States.'


Fiat currency wars: 'Swinging with a wet noodle'.


China directing its currency holdings away from the US is kind of like a liquidity abyss.


But this is all too abstruse for American politics, even though we need a scholarly statesman like Governor Perry to take the helm in conditions like this.

MY FAVORITE ECONOMIST

Goldfinger.

APPARENTLY I HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED IN THE NETHERLANDS

Netherlands 29 United States 12 India 1

THE MENU

NY Strip and broiler fries au poivre,au jus avec capers;


leftover organic kale frittata;


du riguer organic field greens and romaine, Bulgarian feta, shredded beet, dill vinaigrette;


 Woodbridge California Shiraz (better than expected);


Home made simmered Chocolate sauce: 85% Lindt, powdered sugar to taste, organic raw milch simmer.