December 7, 2024 Background As we approach the end of the year, it is in right order to review a number of worrisome extant global issues. Though seemingly unrelated and disjointed, they are in fact interconnected pieces of an extraordinarily dangerous conundrum. As such, the following narrative is intended to … Continue reading
Category Archives: Opinions
Perceived Flaws – 2024 National Security Report
Authorities The Commission on the National Defense Strategy was established by Section 195 of the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (Public Law 117-81). It is composed by eight members from private civilian life who are recognized experts in matters relating to the national security of the United States. … Continue reading
Green Hydrogen
A World Without Oil It’s no secret that the probability of nuclear war between the U.S. and Russia is higher than at any time since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. . Presidents Biden and Putin have said so. But if fossil fuels, particularly oil, cease to be used, there would … Continue reading
Elements of Confrontation
Fear of being overpowered, greed, lust for power, nationalism, ethnic scorn, and past wars are of course common seeds of confrontation. However, they all pale compared to the need for all countries, including the U.S., Europe, China and India, to have guaranteed access to the world’s largest oil and gas … Continue reading
The Players
Top Ten Economies, Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Real GDP Manufacturing Manufacturing Trillions $ Percent Trillions $ United States 20.94 11 2.30 China 14.72 27 3.97 Japan 5.05 20 1.01 Germany 3.84 18 0.64 United Kingdom 2.08 9 0.19 India 2.66 14 0.37 France 2.63 9 … Continue reading
Historical Record
Breton Woods Roots In 1944, with the approaching defeat of Germany all but certain, representatives of forty-four nations met in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire to create a new international monetary system. This Bretton Woods System, which became fully operational in 1958, was essentially a mechanism to settle international accounts in … Continue reading
Incipient Changes
The world is changing, and the speed and scope at which it is doing so in terms of economic and military dominance has not been seen in centuries. For starters, gone are the days when Saudi Arabia was unquestionably in sync with the needs and wants of the U.S. The … Continue reading
China, the U.S. and Taiwan
October 9, 2021 A month ago Presidents Biden and Xi had a crucial telephone conversation that according to the White House, covered a number of unspecified issues. Then, almost a month later, President Biden acknowledged that Taiwan was one of them and that the two had agreed to abide by … Continue reading
Trillion-Dollar Infrastructure Bill
BackgroundThe Senate recently approved a bipartisan 1-trillion infrastructure bill that earmarked 8.3 billion for water projects in the drought-stricken West. Assuming the House concurs and the President signs it into law, the bill will appropriate 1.15 billion for improving water storage, transport infrastructure and projects to replenish aquifers, 1 billion … Continue reading
Dominance
Quotation “The first man who, having fenced in a piece of land, said “This is mine,” and found people naïve enough to believe him, that man was the true founder of civil society. From how many crimes, wars, and murders, from how many horrors and misfortunes might not any one … Continue reading