Are we our own worst enemy? Have we
created a world of 24/7 connectivity which allows others to track our
every move? Or, worse, given our adversaries a weapon to use against
us?
With the Russian interference in our
2016 election, and our president's insistence in refusing to believe
it even happened, are we seeing a threat that reaches inside our
borders, which no wall can stop?
This first video is a short interview
with author David Sanger, who wrote The
Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage, and Fear in the Cyber Age. You'll have to follow the link to YouTube on the screen.
This second video is a full length
documentary on a vulnerability we all face as we navigate the wilds
of the internet world.
Perhaps staying off the grid just a
little isn't such a bad thing.
It strikes me after watching Trump's
performance in Europe and everyone's reaction to it that we have
forgotten who we are. Whether or not Trump has been deliberately
trying to destabilize the United States, Europe, or our alliances, in
some kind of payback to Putin for past monetary favors is really
irrelevant to what we need to focus on. That question is for others
to investigate. No, what we as Americans or citizens of what is
called the West need to remember is something larger.
Why was America created, why did we in
the West fight against Nazi Germany? Simply put it was to create a
world where people do have a say in their own governance. It was to
create a world where we the people could get to decide how our lives
are lived. We did not want to leave it up to a single person, like a
dictator or a king/queen, to control how we lived. Sure, we the
people have made mistakes, it comes with being human. Yes, even
that greed that rears its head in the search for easy money. But
because we have made mistakes does not mean we need a single “strong
man” to tell us how to live.
President Trump has continually
attacked the press as giving us “fake news”. We need to remember
that the press, even with all its faults, does serve a purpose. It
is our eyes and ears to events and actions taken by others on our
behalf. It is our watchdog, and that is the real reason it is being
attacked by President Trump. There is a scene from the movie “The
Post” which says it best.
President Trump has attacked our allies
and our alliances, for whatever reason, but we need to remember that
they were put in place for a reason. They are not our enemies.
They may not have always agreed with everything we did, but they have
stood our friends when needed the most. And before we throw them
over for someone like Putin it would be in our interest to also
remember who Putin really is. His idea of governance is exactly what we have fought against.
We the people have some strong tools
put in place to make sure that government by the people, for the
people continues to exist. But it is really up to us to exercise
them.
As long as we believe in ourselves, we
can overcome those who would tear us apart.
They say that those who do not know
history are destined to repeat it. There are forces at work today
that make me question what our future holds. So I've been visiting
the past to try to make sense of what went wrong in a time period
that was so critical to my country, and to the world, the era of the
Great Depression. Not only did it wreak havoc on families and
governments, but it led us back into a world war.
What follows are pieces of a
complicated puzzle. For the Great Depression wasn't just one single
event, but a kaleidoscope of interwoven events that led to the misery
of millions of people.
Each video stands on it's own, but they
are all important pieces, so I would watch all of them when you have
the time. I know there is more, but I wanted to start with these.
They are all full length documentaries.
The first is a visit to an iconic
American company, Ford Motor Co. It is a working man's view of a
time of euphoria that all too quickly fades. And perhaps a lesson in business that should be learned.
I wish they would tell you in advance that they are restricting viewing of a video. *sigh* Anyway, that is the case with this one. So I will provide a link:
The second is a tale of greed and
excess. Something that we are well acquainted with.
This last has a hint of something that
many may have forgotten or ignored. Yes, even back then climate
change may have been an issue, even if no one seemed to realize it. Perhaps this one could also be a lesson to those in government that believe Americans are complete pushovers.
So what if Donald Trump is right? I
know, I know, I have panned him quite often in the past. But that
doesn't mean I won't give him some credit once in a while. It also
doesn't mean that I agree with his methods, because I don't. Nor
does it mean I am going to change my mind about not voting for him.
We all know that there is an imbalance
with trade. And the method to correct that has usually been the
application of tariffs or some kind of trade agreement that, one
would hope, levels the playing field a little. Everyone is being
affected by the cheaper imports from China, not just the US, or even
the EU. Their government heavily subsidizes their industries,
although they are not the only ones who do so. Obviously their goal
is to keep enough of their citizens employed to maintain stability.
But there is a cost to those who import the cheaper Chinese goods. There is also a plus, in that it does keep prices low for consumers. But if you don't have a job...
We have been talking, quite frequently,
about the immigration situation in Europe. On the surface one
wouldn't think about this in relation to the trade problems. But it
really is an interconnected world. The problem with cheap goods from
China driving local businesses out of business isn't just a problem
for the larger economies. Smaller economies which haven't had a chance to mature are also hit hard. But China isn't the only large economy guilty of this.
Perhaps solving one problem(trade) would go a
long way to solving another(immigration). So I have for you a very interesting
documentary regarding the workings of global trade. This one is
current. :)
I was thinking about doing a traditional Memorial Day post, but then decided after reading an article in my paper that I would do something different. We normally honor those people who have gone before us, but today I want to remember what has gone before us on our planet. We have been watching the huge lava emissions of Kilauea in Hawaii. We are dealing with extreme weather fluctuations. So perhaps we should take a small trip back in time to see how some of the features of our planet were created. So many answers can be found there.
The article that I was referring to was one pertaining to the Great Lakes and our American southwest region that is in the midst of a years long drought. You can probably see where I'm going with this. People there are proposing diverting water from the Great Lakes to the southwest to relieve their water issues. Of course, people in the Great Lakes region are saying a resounding "no", which would also be my view as well. Somehow I feel that man should not mess too much with what mother nature has created. There may be unintended consequences.
So if you are feeling in the mood for a trip back in time I have for you a video on the creation of the Great Lakes of North America. I found it rather fascinating and somehow timely.
We've heard so much about the wall that
President Trump keeps touting as the solution to all of our security
woes. The big, beautiful wall that he will build to keep us safe. I
wonder, has he ever visited the southern border of the United
States? Does he know of the terrain and the people who live there?
Does he even care about whether or not this will work?
I found a nice BBC video documentary of
the border that samples various areas of the region, giving us an
idea of the enormity of the task, as well as possible insight as to
whether or not a wall would help, or hurt.
Take a break, put your feet up, and
visit the US-Mexico border.
The Trump administration recently
ordered the bombing of Syrian chemical weapons production facilities
in retaliation for the chemical attack on Syrian civilians. Sitting
behind our television sets or computers it is easy for us to forget
the real tragedy that has been unfolding in large portions of the
world. We have never experienced the violence or economic
destitution that has forced millions of people to flee their homes
for the promise of a better life in another land.
Frontline has aired a follow up to its
documentary “Exodus”, which aired in 2016. This second film
documents what has happened to refugees and asylum seekers after
Europe tightened its borders and immigration policies in general, and
after President Trump instituted his ban.
This is long, a full length documentary
of almost two hours. But it is a complex issue affecting real
people whose stories are still being written. If you want to try to
understand it from their perspective then it is their stories that
need to be seen.
