Preface The world has reached a critical point analogous to 1913, when the German and British Empires were locked into a race for naval supremacy. The difference between then and now is that at that time neither one had weapons with which to destroy the world. In view of the … Continue reading
Category Archives: Opinions
Lust For Power
“Chief among the forces affecting political folly is lust for power, named by Tacitus as “the most flagrant of all the passions.” Because it can only be satisfied by power over others, government is its favorite field of exercise. Business offers a kind of power, but only to the very … Continue reading
An Interlinked World
Like it or not, we’re all irremediably interlinked. However remote and therefore inconsequential a region may appear to be, drought there can severely impact everyone else. Case in point, Chile is in the midst of a 15-year megadrought, and there’s no end in sight. As of 2021, over half of … Continue reading
Opinion: Preventing a Terminal War
The line it is drawn The curse it is cast The slow one now Will later be fast As the present now Will later be past The order is rapidly fadin’ And the first one now Will later be last For the times they are a-changin’ – Bob Dylan, 1964 … Continue reading
Connecting the Dots: Water
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
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 be … 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
The combined GDP of BRICS members on this list (China, India, Russia and Brazil) amounts to $58,096,000,000,000. The combined GDP of the “Western” allies (the United States, Japan, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom is $44,006,000,000,000, a difference of $14,090,000,000,000. The United States The outstanding debt of the United … 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