Warmongers Would Let Ukraine Become World War III

They just won't let it go. It seems many of the so-called "warmongers" are hellbent on turning Ukraine into a major war whether the countries involved want it or not. History shows what has become known as "proxy wars" create profits for companies manufacturing weapons. The cost, of course, is then pawned off on taxpayers and a public preoccupied with personal concerns. Such talk of war is probably viewed as a blessing by President Biden and a White House that has been battered with bad press.

The proof that Ukraine is unlikely to go quietly into the night is reinforced by a slew of news stories over the last few days. It includes items such as the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine is warning of "unusual Russian military activity" near the nation's borders and in the annexed peninsula of Crimea or that Canada is now considering larger deployments to Ukraine.

Nothing ramps up the hype like the headline, "Ukraine fears that Russia may be preparing to invade." Brig. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's defense intelligence agency, said last weekend. He went on to say that Russia had more than 92,000 troops amassed at the border and could attack as early as the end of January. In reaction, not only is Canada looking at deploying hundreds of additional troops to support the Canadian soldiers already in Ukraine on a training mission, it is considering redeploying some of the CF-18 fighter jets currently based in Romania.

NATO Has Slowly Expanded Towards Russia

I stand with those arguing this has little to do with Russia taking over the world or Ukraine's national sovereignty. It is about money, energy, and power. Several years ago I wrote a piece that urged America to stay out of a war in Ukraine. It also warned of the major advantage Putin held by having a huge well-armed army just across the Ukrainian border and that any army cobbled together to face him would most likely be unenthusiastic and politically troubled. Another reason provoking Russia is a horrible idea is that it creates the potential the current "minor skirmish" could explode into World War III with nuclear bombs entering the mix.

When President Obama was in office he pulled out all the stops to paint Putin with a brush dipped in all the bad colors. Every Sunday in interview after interview Washington experts were paraded across the screens of the talk shows denouncing Putin as a "thug and a bully." This description of the former KGB officer is so ingrained in their repertoire that they seldom describe him in any other terms unless it is to add the words "dangerous or menace" to highlight the fact we should all be afraid. Clearly, the U.S. establishment loathes Putin and constantly paints him as an aggressor, a tyrant, and a killer that invaded and occupied Crimea. The fact is, it is NATO that has slowly been expanding towards Russia since Putin took power in late 1999. 

In 1999, Russia was defenseless, bankrupt, and being carved up by a group stealing its resources in collusion with America. Putin changed that and resurrected the crumbling empire once again into a nation-state with coherence and purpose. Putin is credited with halting the theft of his country’s wealth by the plutocracy and restoring Russia's military strength. Putin's biggest sin may be that with blunt rhetoric he refused to accept for Russia a subservient role in an American-run world under a system drawn up by foreign politicians and business leaders. The fact is many Russians credit him with saving Russia. Today, after two decades in power, Putin’s approval rating exceeds that of many Western leaders.

Ukrainian Soldiers Killed In An Unwinnable War

Reports from the front in Ukraine are often buried or hidden from public view but they appear to confirm that Ukrainian troops are being sent into a meat grinder.  Putting more weapons into the hands of those unmotivated to fight for their corrupt state is merely adding fuel to this fire and doing more harm than good. Again, remember Ukraine is a financially failed state and while we can point to its potential, its massive oil and gas reserves by all rights should belong to the Ukrainian people. The IMF, however, points out that Kiev needs billions in loans and grants just to stabilize its economy after more than twenty years of massive levels of corruption. This debt and the deep, deep hole Ukraine dug itself into after a series of bad governments ran the country after it became independent of the Soviet Union.

The euro-zone currently faces a lot of problems without jumping into a proxy war against rebels in Ukraine. I use the term proxy because without the money and backing of outsiders things would most likely go quiet. The failed and bankrupt country of Ukraine would most likely break into two parts with the eastern half and its people who share strong ties with Russia aligning itself with that country and Kiev, and the western-oriented portion of the country drifting towards stronger ties to the euro-zone. What is the big problem with such a solution? A great deal if you ask those in Washington that are pushing for more intervention in Ukraine. As to what motivates their desire to turn the area into a giant killing field several possibilities exist but it is mostly money and profit.

War In Ukraine Is About Money, Energy, And Power!

Foreign policy has often been used as a tool to advance national interest which is often dictated by economics. When it comes to the economy, energy is often considered the blood from which all strength flows and in the case of Europe the Nord Stream 2 (NS2) pipeline designed to carry natural gas from Russia to Germany remains a bone of contention. Several European countries see the pipeline as being designed to increase their energy reliance on Moscow.

Those opposed to the pipeline continue to argue that "Gazprom" is not only a gas company but a platform for Russian coercion and another tool for Russia to pressure European countries. Under a provision in the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), the U.S. State Department has even threatened European corporations with ties to the pipeline on the grounds that "the project undermines energy security in Europe".

To confuse the issue and muddy the waters great efforts have been made at high levels by those advocating military action to paint Russia as an aggressor. These forces aided by the media continue to link Russia's move into the majority ethnic-Russian Crimea region as a violation of Ukraine's sovereign border. The whole argument of sovereign borders is a little gem promoted by those in power, these borders are a creation of man and not visible to the birds flying above. This is an argument of convenience that masks deeper issues and the difference between "terrorist" and "freedom fighters" often depends on a person's point of view. In this case, it is clearly the new American-backed government in Kiev that is pushing to bring the eastern part of Ukraine back into the fold.

Adding Ukraine to NATO and the EU is a long-held dream of neocons like Victoria Nuland and neoliberals like Biden. This is also important to those supporting the World Economic Forum’s desire to expand the EU and encircle Russia.  Putin has long been a thorn in the side of the NWO gang. After entering office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed Decree No. 117/2021 activating the Ukraine Army to recapture and re-unify with Ukraine, the autonomous region of Crimea, and the city of Sevastopol. This was in total conflict with his promise to end the now nearly seven-year-long war in eastern Ukraine that played a central role in his election in 2019. This indicates Zelensky has continued to subordinate his government’s policies to the US and NATO.  

What this boils down to is that American companies want to sell and supply Europe with Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) and they seem willing to start a war to make it happen. Whether it is for profit or to minimize the threat of natural gas shipments to Europe being cut off and used as a key weapon in Russia’s political arsenal we cannot ignore the idea more is at play here than just doing the "right thing". 

Many people in the "Tin Foil Hat" community have gone so far as to indicate they feel that America and elements of the CIA were involved or had a part in the overthrow of the former corrupt Ukraine government and its replacement with another corrupt but more pro Europe regime. At the time even America's Vice President, Joe Biden, saw his son join the board of a private Ukrainian oil and natural gas company. We should assume not only those involved in selling energy to Europe will profit from stopping the flow of energy from Russia but also the military-industrial complex stands to gain.

Without a war, the odds of U.S. LNG significantly displacing Russian natural gas shipped by pipeline are slim. Piped gas sells at a large discount to LNG, which must be cooled to liquid form, shipped overseas, and turned back into its gaseous form. Poland recently received its first shipment of U.S. LNG last month from what is currently the only export facility in the lower 48 states. While LNG trade between the United States and Europe would help reduce the U.S. trade deficit it also stands to improve energy security among the European countries by giving them an alternative to Russian gas. 

Still, it is not a cure-all, Russia can easily cut prices and adjust terms to maintain its dominant position in the European gas market and European countries are likely to continue buying most of their gas from the lowest-cost supplier. Bottom-line, Russia has traditionally been the major supplier of European gas. But it charges high prices, often in the form of long-term contracts linked to the price of oil. The overwhelming dependence on Russian gas leaves European countries from a national security standpoint vulnerable to a cutoff of crucial natural gas supplies. 

This would be devastating to their economies at any time but even more so in the depths of winter. For these reasons, it makes sense for Europe to consider alternative supplies and open its doors to U.S. LNG. Regardless of the politics at play, danger lurks from flooding Ukraine with weapons, and using the people of Ukraine as pawns in this high-stakes game violates all standards of human decency. Americans should also be aware that our current policy drives Russia towards the East and into the open arms of China. This creates even more problems long-term than it solves short-term and borders on the edge of insanity. 

Upping tensions in the area is the fact the Kerch Strait Bridge, also known as the Crimean Bridge, is now a target that Russia will make every effort to protect. Comprised of a pair of Russian-constructed parallel bridges it spans the Strait of Kerch between the Taman Peninsula and the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea. The bridge complex provides for both road and rail traffic and has a length of 19 km. This makes it the longest bridge Russia has ever built.

The war in Ukraine has not developed organically but appears to be the product of meddling. It could be argued that Biden is pushing for more military action to cover up the corruption and sins of his family that occurred in Ukraine. Mercenaries and money from America appear to be backing and propping up Kiev with America acting as the "champion" for this failed bankrupt country.  The best way for the West and Kiev to prove they are on the right path is by letting the eastern part of the country secede and then making Kiev a center of economic and democratic success. 

Since the latest ceasefire agreement in the war in Donbas was implemented in July 2020, it appears the situation has not grown worse. This indicates rocking the boat is a bad idea. We can only hope those monitoring the recent events in Ukraine saying this will someday be looked back upon as the beginning of World War III are wrong. Some war game players have indicated that China could use a larger war in Ukraine to rapidly move on Taiwan. After our experiences in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, I'm forced to wonder what these fools are getting us into?

Footnote; The following link takes you to a YouTube video of what is labeled "Insane Ukraine Fighting." It is roughly an hour of idiots firing in the air and wasting ammo, and that is the current war. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l118fdnkS0

 

 Republishing this article is permitted with reference to Bruce Wilds/AdvancingTime Blog

Peeling The Economic Onion Will Bring On The Tears

Unless you have the fortitude of a Greek God, peeling back the layers of our current "economic onion" will very likely bring you to tears. Looking back over the last several years could make a person argue that massive stupidity has been a huge factor in keeping the economy afloat. In short, those pulling the strings have constructed a false economy that is unsustainable and will at some point implode.

In most situations that I research it seems that as the investigation takes me deeper and deeper into the numbers I come upon some rather ugly realities that are difficult to face. In the metaphoric sense, the term peeling peel back the onion is an act someone undertakes in order to understand what lurks below. To expose the various layers of something investigators often find they have to peel away falsehoods and misconceptions to discover just how corrupt the message we are told truly is.

The area where most people seldom venture is protected by myths and half-truths. An example of this can be seen in America's relationship with China. For decades China exported deflation as it gladly traded cheap goods for jobs. That has come to an end, no longer is China's labor market the cheapest in the world. This is now beginning to show up in the cost China charges those buying its products.

The illusion of a robust economy has been propelled forward by the sheer "quantity" of financial growth and deficit spending rather than anything resembling quality. Poorly crafted and shockingly large spending bills have created a situation encouraging government agencies to spend like drunken sailors. It seems that again Federal agencies as well as state and local governments are flush with cash as the result of another stimulus package. 

While most politicians would shy away from describing the infrastructure bill as stimulus spending that is exactly what it is. The bill is designed more as a way to create jobs and push the economy forward than improve the country's infrastructure. Now, state and local governments must rapidly appropriate and assign that money as they find they are now facing a "use it or lose it" situation. Such rapid spending generally does not utilize or allocate money in a way that maximizes results.

The Above Chart From Northmantrader.com Indicates, This Is Not "Normal"

A lot of things or issues are contained in the layers of our "economic onion." Things such as, How a huge amount of our so-called economic growth or GDP during the last decade has been in the healthcare sector. All the expensive new hospitals and buildings that line America's interstates sporting names such as UnitedHealthOne, Aetna, Humana, and Anthem stand as monuments to Obamacare. To be clear, that is not a good thing, all this has not drastically improved healthcare, it has simply driven the cost through the roof. 

Then we have inflation which recently reached a 31 year high and appears to be heading higher. It is difficult to argue that wage inflation is on a rampage, at least in some sectors of the economy. When you see someone just out of high school with little or no training being offered north of $15 to take a low-level job that two years ago paid around $8 it is clear. Soaring food and energy prices are also adding to the mix.

Both of these issues dovetail with a massive growth in online retailing driven by companies being forced to compete with Amazon. America has yet to deal with the negative ramifications Amazon is showering upon it as it destroys small businesses in our communities. Yes, these are the same businesses that provide jobs for your neighbors, support local sports teams, and pay property taxes. Of course, Jeff Bezos did not do this alone, he had the help of politicians, our government, and the United States postal service, all of which joined in throwing brick and mortar retailers under the bus.

Another thing I wish to address here is how miss-leading claims of growing retail sales have squashed concerns the economy is in real trouble. Why would they not be higher, the recession caused by Covid-19 was the first in our history where even while millions of people were not working incomes rose. It should be noted much of the meager 1.7% rise in retail sales was due to inflation people, Yes, we are paying more for less, in some cases, a lot more. 

Only Over Many Years Do We Gain True Perspective

Throw in the soaring national debt, the soaring trade deficit, soaring inequality, underfunded pensions, and a few other ugly issues, and tears should be streaming down the faces of all who want to leave the world better off for future generations. The distorted nature of our current market becomes apparent when you look closer at the society we are becoming as people walk along with their eyes glued to their cell phones.

In our rapidly changing world, decades of economic perspective are badly needed to understand today's financial markets. As a person who cares about and is concerned about the economy, I find it very disturbing that so many people have forgotten or never taken the time to learn recent financial history. By recent, I'm referring to the last fifty to one hundred years.

The further we look back in history, it could be argued that the relevance and lessons we have learned weaken because the economy and financial landscape of today is considerably different from that of our predecessors. Still, those without a long-term view or outlook of the economy wander about with what might be called "blind spots." This means, they may be unable to imagine or may miss possible scenarios as to how the world might react to unfolding events. I always marvel when I hear some young expert telling people how to invest by cranking out the wisdom they picked up in school only last year. Remember, if you decide they have all the answers, you may find yourself generating a fresh batch of tears.

 (Republishing of this article welcomed with reference to Bruce Wilds/AdvancingTime Blog)

As Railroads Grow In importance China Plans To Dominate

Chinese-Bullet-Trains On Full Display

One vision of the future has people across the world zipping from place to place on high-speed trains. Of course, trains are not yet that big of a factor in America but they may become a bigger player in moving people as the sky grows crowded. If this is to unfold the market will most likely be controlled by a few well-entrenched big players. Many industry watchers see the writing is already on the wall, "Get Big Or Die" but that may be a simplification of what we are seeing. 

According to the South Morning China Post in an article published about four years ago, China Railway Rolling Stock Corp (CRRC), the merged new entity of China’s two largest train makers, was on the move. It had just announced contracts worth 12.2 billion yuan (HK$15 billion), alongside another 4.84 billion yuan deal to supply metro trains to Hong Kong. Among the eight deals announced at the time, only one was for export. Still, this company should not be underestimated, at that time, CRRC had 90 percent of China's domestic market for the production of railway locomotives, bullet trains, passenger trains, and metro vehicles.

CRRC Government Supported And Subsidized

Even back then, no effort was made to deny the impetus for the merger of China CNR Corp and CSR Corp was so China could push deeper into overseas markets. The company aimed to grow the proportion of exports in its revenues by pigging backing on China's ambitions to build an international infrastructure-backed trade network under its "Road and Belt" initiative. Not only has CRRC benefited from China's growing high-speed network, while keeping costs under control, it has also caught up with Western peers when it comes to technology. 

 

Proof of CRRC's ability to compete is that it has been able to win by a wide margin nine-figure contracts, such as the supply of metro cars to Boston and LA. With this in mind, is it any wonder that in 2019, the Chinese rolling stock manufacturer CRRC Corp. Ltd. dominated the world market for metro vehicles with a market share of 67 percent. According to Statistia.com, CRRC was the only manufacturer to boast a double-figure market share. None of its largest rolling stock competitors including European manufacturers, such as Alstom and Bombardier, or Asian manufacturer Hyundai Rotem could muster more than a six percent market share.

Is This Really A Win-Win for America?

  

 

Back in the 19th century, 30 pupils from China traveled to the United States as part of an educational mission. One of them was 12-year-old Zhan Tianyou, he is now known as the "Father of China's Railways." Nearly 150 years later, Springfield, the home to 154,000 people, and where Zhan Tianyou learned, is home to a factory that builds rail coaches as part of CRRC's subsidiary in Massachusetts. The $95 million factory is part of a $566.6 million deal with Boston's transit authority, signed in October 2014, to build 284 rail cars that will replace the aging fleet connecting Cambridge to downtown Boston by 2023.

Assembling Is Not Manufacturing

While some people focus on how such arrangements are good for a town such as Springfield when companies decide to open a factory there, the real winner here is CRRC. As I see it, they hire a few workers to assemble railcars from parts made and imported from China. Why wouldn't a company jump on an opportunity where for so little risk they would be massively profitable from the get-go? Consider this another example of how America's deficit spending is not making our country stronger but strengthening our rivals. Watch, and think about the YouTube clips below.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_Pq3QJBjLA&t=36s

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfp5fow5_lU

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt6gTy71AGI

 

Do the math! The CRRC story like many others is being massively spun. The company is currently advertising for workers touting pay in the area of $17 an hour. Multiply this by 2,000 hours a year and you get an annual salary of $34,000. Considering that if an employer pays out an average of $50,000 a year they can employ 20 people for a million dollars. To employ 200 people at $50,000 a year comes out to only ten million dollars. So, I ask, where is the money from these contracts going? The answer is, straight to China. It should be pointed out that a 204,000 Sq Foot facility is no longer super large and nearly 200 employees is not a super large investment in Springfield and assembling cars is not really manufacturing.

 

  

CRRC On A Mission To Expand

All this shines a light upon just how powerful a tool China's Road and Belt initiative is. The railway line connecting Nairobi with Mombasa in East Africa is an example of this. Projects of the type it promotes are typically financed, built, and operated by Chinese firms. CRRC has even built joint ventures with Western competitors. The consortium it formed with Bombardier allowed CRRC to compete for the renewal of the New York subways where a contract of around $1.5 billion dollars was in play.

 

There is a lesson to be learned here, it has to do with the fact some strategies are so rooted in a county's culture they reveal its very soul. China's predatory way of attacking its competition is not an accident. Again we see the power a company gains when it is supported, subsidized, or given an unfair advantage by its government. The bottom-line is that CRRC's internationalization projects are very ambitious and highlight the goal behind the merger of CNR and CSR. It was to end the competition between the two Chinese companies on foreign contracts.

CRRC has won rail contracts as far afield as Chicago and Kenya. China’s Belt and Road initiative will also bring yet more international business its way. Be warned that CRRC's size plus access to cheap finance will let it crush rivals unless action is taken. Americans would be wise to pay a little more attention to such mergers and China's predatory form of capitalism. Do not expect Biden or our current Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg to bring this to our attention as they dole out more than a trillion dollars from America's recently passed infrastructure package.

 

Footnote; You may also want to see - https://brucewilds.blogspot.com/2019/03/passenger-rail-needs-huge-makeover-to.html

 (Republishing of this article welcomed with reference to Bruce Wilds/AdvancingTime Blog)

"The Peter Principle" Is Alive And Well Across The World

Have We Hit Our Level Of Incompetence?

The Peter principle is a concept in management theory formulated by Laurence J. Peter in which the selection of a candidate for a position is based on the candidate's performance in their current role, rather than on abilities relevant to the intended role. Thus, employees only stop being promoted once they can no longer perform effectively, and "managers rise to the level of their incompetence." In short, this creates a situation where a seemingly intelligent person can also be very incompetent. 

 

To an advanced species examining Earth, the search for intelligent life might not be as easy as we think.

While humans sport some of the traits attributed to intelligence they also tend to have a short-sighted view of the future that results in them continually shooting themselves in the foot. This brings into question man's ability to reach the next level. Near the beginning of 2014, I penned a piece questioning how so many people were able to think the world's surging population would not become a problem because of new energy sources. Even more puzzling is the notion we could just unload huge numbers of people to distant planets. While such faith can be sighted as a beacon of inspiration it hardly is justification for mankind to rapidly move towards the point of no return thinking everything will be fine.

Man Tends To Destroy What He Creates

Anyone with even the slightest mechanical knowledge will tell you that solar panels, windmills, and such take a lot of energy to build and often are maintenance intense. Both these complicated systems have a short lifespan and require a great deal of energy to be expended in just keeping them up and running. This includes all the BTUs being burned in producing parts that need to be constantly replaced. This was one of my arguments years ago when I expressed concern the optimism surrounding ethanol was being over-hyped.

When you do not create enough "net gain" in energy from the total energy produced minus energy expended to produce it, you have a problem. If we cannot claim a major victory in resolving our energy problem, the energy we produce in the future will very likely be very expensive. If so, that cost will slow economic growth and remove much of the plentiful bounty we have come to expect and have enjoyed during what I call man's "golden age" or roughly the last 200 years.

Carry no illusions the days of cheap energy are behind us and not only has the low-hanging fruit been picked it has been eaten. Sadly, if we look back we will see much of this energy was allowed to go to waste. America has adopted the same attitude towards its buildings. In our fast-changing world, we have made everything disposable.  A remove and replace mentality tends not to maximize gains or resources and creates a huge amount of waste. Often there is no way to reclaim much of this and even recycling is inefficient. This acceptable lifestyle and way of doing business has extended down to the point where most consumer goods are now unrepairable. With fast growth, we often see a lack of quality. I contend this is about to catch up with modern society. 

We are currently seeing a "go green" answer to our problems being promoted not only by governments but the major Central Banks. Sadly, many of the proposed solutions to our woes are based on what appears to be pie-in-the-sky visions that make little sense. One thing that would help is simply conserving our resources and cutting down on waste but this idea has been thrown under the bus and to speak of it is taboo. It is absent from consideration because it would cut GDP. For example, energy use soars during extremely hot or cold months adding to overall consumption.

Mankind Has Failed To Plan For Sustainability

When we look at fast-growing cities where we see buildings erected and ripped down and replaced after only two or three decades we should ask if this is sustainable or our best use of resources. The reasoning behind remove and replace is often that it is far less expensive to just rip it down than to repair or upgrade a structure with labor being the determining factor. Ironically, this is in a world where the number of people in many developed countries choosing to work is declining and those being supported by government programs have risen dramatically.

As the noose of reality and finite resources begins to tighten around the neck of mankind do not expect to hear those in charge to scream out warnings from the rooftops. The few mutterings we hear will be from people tagged as "gloom and doomers" who only see the glass as half empty and are incapable of seeing it as really half full. When we approach the tipping point promises of easier, cheaper, and ever better ways of postponing the inevitable will prove to be an illusion. This means new problems will begin to materialize on a daily basis and the reality our options are evaporating will be both abrupt and harsh. As I ponder our fate is it possible the collective human race is also governed by the "Peter principle" and if so, how will humanity escape this trap?

The Destroyed City Of Mosul

An example of man's collective incompetence arose a few years ago with the clumsy destruction of Mosul in northern Iraq. Much of the world chose to ignore what happened there when a coalition of anti-ISIS forces retaking Mosul rapidly reduced the proud city to rubble. Upon seeing the pictures of the city in ruins it is not difficult to imagine 100,000 or more of the innocent people trapped within the city killed as troops seeking to eradicate some four to six thousand ISIS fighters went about their task. Little praise can be shed upon those who allowed and enabled a few extremists to take their weapons from them and then wreak havoc upon this peaceful city.

Taliban Show Off Their New Weapons

A more recent example of collective incompetence is how America's government left tens of billions of dollars worth of usable US military hardware and explosives in the hands of the Taliban, ISIS, and Al-Qaeda.  These are militant Sunni Islamist multi-national organizations, we are talking about people most of us view as America-hating terrorists. Couple this with America's surging national deficit and it appears we are looking at a country gone mad. Even more ironic is that much of the money created from deficit spending is flowing directly to China, a country America now views as its rival, to buy poor quality consumer goods. 

As previously mentioned, the Peter Principle is based on the notion that employees will get promoted as long as they are competent, but at some point will fail to get promoted beyond a certain job because it has become too challenging for them. Employees rise to their level of incompetence and stay there. The question here is whether mankind will be halted by the same dilemma. When we look at world leaders such as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, it is easy to argue the Peter Principle extends far into the political sector. 

One way to reconcile how an intelligent person can also come across as so incompetent is to consider their actions are compromised by corruption. Maybe it is time for someone to write a new best-seller titled; The Corruption Principle. It could be based on how as a person gains influence and power they become inclined to throw the rest of society under the bus for fun and profit.

I'm not saying that we should stop trying to move forward, but it would be wise to give the issue of creating a more sustainable future a bit more thought. This should be a priority because it appears we are already sowing the seeds for a less than compelling future? Thinking that we are immune to the rules governing the universe may prove a grave mistake. The morons and clowns that blessed us with Covid-19 and the way it has been handled are proof incompetence is not in short supply. 

Footnote; The following articles are related to the post above.

https://brucewilds.blogspot.com/2021/01/are-evs-good-for-environment-mostly-not.html   https://brucewilds.blogspot.com/2021/09/whats-happening-in-afghanistan-has-made.html https://brucewilds.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-importance-of-where-and-what.html 

 (Republishing of this article welcomed with reference to Bruce Wilds/AdvancingTime Blog)

When Buildings Collapse It Gets Noticed

When a building collapses it gets noticed. It has been a while since Americans woke to the shocking news of the collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South beachfront condominium in Surfside, Florida. Following the collapse, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava ordered all buildings over 40 years old to undergo an "immediate" audit on their structural well-being.

As a result of this, the city of North Miami Beach ordered the evacuation of more than 300 residents of the 10-story Crestview Towers Condominium. After reviewing an engineering field study dated Jan 11 of the 156 unit building it deemed the building structurally unsafe. The building inspection report found both structural and electrical issues.

A Bad Structural Report Is Poison

This is the first major residential structure to be closed after the June 24th Surfside tragedy but with officials on edge it may not be the last. City Manager Arthur H. Sorey III said in a news release. "In an abundance of caution, the City ordered the building closed immediately and the residents evacuated for their protection, while a full structural assessment is conducted and next steps are determined,"

What escapes most individuals is the economic implications of this new, shall we call it, development. This is a massive ball crusher for all those that have sunk a good deal of their wealth into such buildings. If in coming years more buildings begin to collapse this will change the value of certain types of buildings in a way most people never thought possible.

After the collapse of Champlain Towers, fears began to spread up and down Miami as residents who own condos in aging buildings grew concerned engineering audits could bring to light millions of dollars in repairs that would jack up homeowners association fees. The audits could also cause an evacuation of their building, and spark a liquidation fire-sale as owners of older condos rushed to sell ahead of new regulatory action. 

 When special repairs are needed and the funds are not available a special assessment is levied against the owners of all the units in a building. These can be quite sizable, a great example of this can be found in a 2007, Boston Globe article. It reported how the owners of units in Harbor Towers in Boston faced special assessments of $70,000 to $400,000 after the board discovered $75 million in repairs were needed on the then-36-year-old building.

Imagine a scenario where the cost of repairing and addressing serious issues could easily exceed the original cost of the entire building. With construction costs surging because of both higher material and labor costs this is often the case. This means the value of units inside reinforced concrete high-rise condos can rapidly adjust to the results of inspections. This is especially true when they reveal structural weaknesses. Such aging structures exist all across the nation and the world. The risk noted here will without a doubt, in the future, be reflected in higher insurance costs. 

Many People Died, Issue Of Safety Increased

The Champlain Towers South collapse is likely to make it more difficult for buyers to get mortgages to buy such properties. Any structural weaknesses will impair the creditworthiness of the units, limiting owners' ability to borrow the money needed to pay for potentially burdensome repairs. Also, owners that cannot afford the repairs, fear the building is unsafe, or that have little equity in their unit are likely to abandon their unit rather than pony up their share for repairs.

These abandoned units would then become very difficult to sell and many could revert to the control of the condo association making the other owners in "good standing" responsible for funding the unit's share of the repair bill. In a situation where enough owners abandon their units, at some point, the only option is to surrender the unrepaired building to demolition. This eliminates the liability of it collapsing and damaging other structures or injuring others.

When it comes to the unknown regarding the seriousness of the damage and the liabilities of every entity involved in the assessment, plans, insurance, and execution of the repairs, it is very easy to underestimate the costs of repairing structural damage in high-rise buildings. Then there is the issue of whether the course of action chosen to repair the problem will be effective. 

A whole other issue is just how good these inspections are, not all inspectors are created equal. When it comes to a major structural problem in these types of buildings, the risks are very real and few contractors and architectural engineers are willing to take on the liability that comes with them. It is said success has many fathers and failure is an orphan. The fact is, when all is said and done, nobody wants to be associated with a building that kills its residents as it crumbles into dust. 

 

There are about 160,000 condominium buildings in the United States. The Community Associations Institute, an umbrella organization for resident-owned buildings and developments, reported last year that 80 percent of associations faced unplanned repairs during the preceding three-year period. A major reason this has not been a major issue until now is that property values in many places have continued to rise despite the growing backlog of maintenance needs.

As the title of this article states; when buildings collapse it gets noticed. If in the near future we witness another collapse similar to that which occurred in Surfside this issue will move even more into the forefront and be a huge wake-up call for condominium owners on the true costs of cost of their units.

(Republishing of this article welcomed with reference to Bruce Wilds/AdvancingTime Blog)

The State Of Our Union Is "Sorry At Best"

One use of the word "sorry" is to mean in a poor, wretched, pitiful state or condition. It appears this opinion is now shared by many Americans. This is highlighted by what is put before us when we seek to read the news each day. The articles below (some shortened) give the impression the American people do not have much to be happy about.

 

Tom Cotton Gives Reason For Biden’s Midnight Flights: “They’re trying to hide the consequences of that policy in the dark of night”

By Gary Fenster - October 20, 2021

Cotton Calls Out Biden's Failed Policy

 

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) called out Biden over Joe’s new scandal, flying migrants across the U.S. in the dead of night so the public is none the wiser. Cotton said. He claims the obvious reason why they’re flying these migrants across the country in the dead of night is they don’t want to reveal the consequences of their open borders policy. If they were proud of their policy, they’d be having these flights in the middle of the daytime and coordinating it with the local TV stations.

Cotton said, “They know that Joe Biden’s open border policy is a political disaster. So they’re trying to hide the consequences of that policy in the dark of night."

 

“It’s very hurtful for President Biden politically, but it’s a catastrophe for our country, we’re going to be close to 2 million migrants crossing our border very soon. Texas is a big country with a lot of great people, but not even Texas can keep 2 million new residents there. That’s why they’re flying them to places like Florida and New York and all points in between. And it’s going to put real strain on those communities"

 

“All of these migrants should not be in Texas, or Florida or New York, they should be in Mexico, because President Biden should have kept the "Remain in Mexico" policy in place to make sure that people aren’t entering the country with bogus claims of asylum." Biden rescinded that policy.

“Federal Courts have told him he has to re-implement it. But in the meantime, we’ve had 2 million illegal migrants not just crossed the border and fan out across the country,” Cotton said before calling Biden’s policy a “moral catastrophe, creating incentives for very dangerous and immoral behavior.”

My Comment; How do such programs using taxpayer money ever get to see the light of day? The cost and ramifications are huge and will not end tomorrow. Add to this the issue of illegal migrants not being vaccinated while many Americans are required to be under mandates. Also, we are told, our government is considering paying many migrants over $450,000 for what we have made them suffer.

Academy of Breastfeeding: ‘Breastfeeding Mother’ Changed to ‘Lactating Person’ in Updated Guidelines Via the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Position Statement and Guideline: “ABM recognizes that not all people who give birth and lactate identify as female and that some individuals identify as neither female nor male. The statement states that to be inclusive to all people in written materials, the use of desexed or gender-inclusive language is appropriate in many settings. The statement also calls for an end to violence and discrimination* against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and intersex, plus (LGBTQI+) people.” *In a sneaky re-framing, the social engineers attempt to equate a statement of biological reality — such as a “woman” being a human female with female reproductive organs — with “violence.”

 

House to vote on Bannon contempt as Justice decision looms

 

MARY CLARE JALONICK October 21, 2021, 5:25 WASHINGTON (AP)

 

The House is voting on whether to hold Steve Bannon, a longtime ally and aide to former President Donald Trump, in contempt of Congress after he defied a subpoena from a committee investigating the violent Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. If the House vote succeeds, there’s still considerable uncertainty about whether the Justice Department will prosecute Bannon. 

 

To emphasize the committee's unity in holding Bannon accountable, the panel's Democratic chairman, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, will lead the debate on the bill along with Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, one of two Republicans on the committee — a rare show of bipartisanship on the House floor. If Congress can’t perform its oversight job, the message sent to “the general public is these subpoenas are a joke,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington University law professor and former Justice Department official.

Picture Of Well Paid Clowns

Saltzburg said if Attorney General Merrick Garland, a former federal judge whom Saltzburg regards “as one of the most nonpartisan people I know,” doesn't authorize a prosecution, “he’s going to be letting the Constitution, it seems to me, be placed in jeopardy. And it’s way too important for him to let that happen.” Democrats are pressuring Justice to take the case, arguing that nothing less than democracy is on the line.

 

My Comment; Washington is broken. Over the years, several people have gone before such committees and lied with no consequences yet it intends to hold Bannon's feet to the fire. This sounds purely political and a bit hypocritical to me. How about they take a closer look at Hunter Biden and explain why he is not in prison. 

 

 

PETA Urging MLB To Rename 'Bullpen' To 'Arm Barn,' It's Insensitive To Cows!

Tmz Sports reports that PETA in a news release Thursday said "bullpen" is insensitive to cows. The org. said baseball should instead use "arm barn" to avoid the issue. "Words matter, and baseball 'bullpens' devalue talented players and mock the misery of sensitive animals," PETA exec Tracy Reiman said.

The org. added that it's all a problem because bullpens are places where cows go before they're slaughtered on farms ... and where the animals go before they're treated poorly at rodeos. "Strike out the word 'bullpen,' which references the holding area where terrified bulls are kept before slaughter," PETA said, "in favor of a more modern, animal-friendly term."

My Comment; the trends we face such as, rewriting history and re-framing the way society views current issues erodes the very foundation of our culture in a very dangerous way. 

 

No whites allowed at anti-racist Elizabethtown College event

Matt Lamb - Associate Editor •October 15, 2021

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‘This group will be a space for people who identify as individuals of color’ Elizabethtown College hosted an event on October 12 about white supremacy and racism, but the alleged perpetrators of hatred were not allowed to themselves attend. The event at the private Pennsylvania University is part of a three-part series called “Mediocre + Multimedia Content.”

 

“The programming for this event is for participants who identify as individuals of color,” the event description said. “Following the first and third sessions, participants will come together with participants representing different racial affinity groups for a shared reception at the Bowers Writers House featuring its signature chocolate fondue.”

 

The program drew criticism from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. FIRE wrote in a letter on October 11. Not allowing whites to attend is segregation. “Such segregation is unlawful and suggests that certain students have nothing to gain from an event and little of value to contribute because of the color of their skin,” FIRE spokesperson Daniel Burnett wrote in an accompanying blog. 

 

In addition to the potentially illegal nature of the event, the thought process behind the exclusion is also lacking. The event is hosted under the “Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking” as part of a series on racism and white supremacy. Yet white students who do desire to learn about how they might be perpetrating a supremacist ideology cannot learn how to do so from their racial minority peers.

My Comment; Never before has the issue of race relations been pushed so strongly in the face of the American public. It has reached the point where it is causing more harm than good. Why can't we just get along?

 

The articles above are just an example of the stories reported and placed before us every day. None of the above leads me to believe any of these issues will soon be put to rest. That is why the title of this piece is; The State Of Our Union Is "Sorry At Best"

(Republishing of this article welcomed with reference to Bruce Wilds/AdvancingTime Blog)