HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Revolutions everywhere!

Spring is usually when you see protest, but they are exploding everywhere.  The Yellow Vests are been rioting for a year in Paris, Hong Kong is in the new everyday, protests are spreading in Iraq, and now Czechoslovakia has 200,000 people demanding their corrupt Prime Minister resign.  Everwhere, citizens are upset with their governments and, in the case of Brexit where the British government appears to be trying to reverse the vote, voting the bums out seems to not be an option.

If you make peaceful change impossible, violent revolution becomes inevitable.   The stage in between is made up of mass protests.  Here is the chance for the undemocratic European Union and China to back off and actually win people over to their side.  If they try to squelch protests, it will be like trying to grab water.  The tighter you try to control the people, the more will show up to basically give the government the finger. 

Anyone who thought we had reached "the end of history" clearly cannot read.

As long as their are people, there is history.

The Twenty-first century is about to become a lot more interesting.

Happy Veteran's Day!

Hong Kong--Berlin 2.0?

I am looking at the protests in Hong Kong and I also see China contemplating cutting it off from the rest of the country.  I don't know if Beijing is thinking about a physical boundry, but if they are, what are the odds of it turning into a 21st Century Berlin Wall?

The British took Hong Kong away from China in 1842 and held on to it (with a Japanese interlude from 1942-1945) until giving in back in 1997.  China allowed Hong Kong to keep its economy and legal system largely intact and soon China ran down the capitalist path itself.  Politically though, China and Hong Kong are different animals.  Capitalist economy and Communist government in China and a bit more freewheeling in Hong Kong.  Frankly, I am surprised this did not happen sooner.

How it will play out is anyone's guess.  Tienanmen Square comes to mind, though I hope it does not come to that.  Also, the world is different than it was in 1989.  Thirty years later, they will say the same about 2019.   Still, China is China and it will do whatever it feels it needs to do.  PR firms will find calls to Beijing are not going to be returned.

Hopefully, there is some sort of compromise out there, much like the original 1997 agreement that brought Hong Kong into China.

The lesson here, as one can see from the American flags flying in the middle of the Hong Kong airport concourse, is that you cannot hold the people down.

Especially if it spreads to the other 1.3 billion.

Abiy Ahmed Ali--Nobel Peace Prize Winner!

Abyi Ahmed Ali, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, working tirelessly to promote peace between age-old rivals Ethiopia and Eritrea, fighting an on and off thirty year war .  There is no guarantee that the peace he has forged will holds, but this is the best chance it has at the moment.

He is a low-key man who exposed himself to enemy fire many times, offering to broker peace between two unstable countries that have fought each other for centuries.  This is closer to the vision and reason behind the Nobel Peace Prize.

In a sick world, to see such a man win the Prize is inspirational and gives hope to everyone.  Especially in a war torn place like Africa.  Peace is still a long way off, but Abiy Ahmed Ali brought it  lot closer!

Roman Dinosaurs

Sometimes your mind wanders into some strange places.  I was just reading The First Fossil Hunters about Ancient Greek and Roman attempts to explain dinosaur bones they found and, of course, many became the basis of legends.  The griffin, for instance, was based on Protoceratops skulls found in Mongolia.  I was also reading about Trodon and how it might have been the smartest dinosaur that ever lived....until the asteroid hit 65 million years ago.

Of course, there are the dragons legends and people who insist they were living dinosaurs in historical times.  I think that is unlikely, but in 1938, they pulled out a Mesozonic fish that was supposed to be extinct from the Indian Ocean.

Dinosaurs would be harder to hide though!

If they did survive to historical times, you know they would have been in Roman gladiator fights.   If the big one had survived in some numbers, Hannibal would have used them to cross the Alps. 

Then there is the question of raptors in a military capacity like "Jurassic Park".  Problem is they might turn on you.

If Troodon had survived, would it have created a civilization of its own.  Would there have been a Dinosaur version of the Roman Empire or Ancient Greece.

Are these the insane ramblings of someone at 0300?

50/50 chance :-)

Buying Greenland?

It turns out that US interest in Greenland dates back to 1946 when President Truman thought American ownership of the world's largest island would be good for containing any Soviet moves into the North Atlantic and would be a good place for an airbase, placing Europe closer. There is a US airbase at Thule, so someone thought it was a great idea.

In the early 21st Century, buying Greenland might not be a bad idea. If the polar icecap continues melting, there could be a lot of minerals and oil to be found.  The problem is that Greenland and Denmark do not want to sell. If so, that is that.

I liked Greenland's response of "we are open for business, but not for sale".  It was a humorous, polite way of saying no.  Calling the idea "absurd", as Denmark's prime minister all but shouted, was idiotic and I don't blame the President for cancelling the trip.  If you cannot be polite, there is no need to waste time visiting.  Apparently they have reconciled, but Denmark's prime minister was clearly out of line.

Let it go and move on. Plus, tell Denmark to pay its share of its NATO obligation.

If the US is serious about buying Greenland, please consider our budged deficit first