The collapse of Western economic system and the curse of Central Bankers

[VicBee]

Hey Vic - are you sure about that.
Japan attacks on Dec 7.
FDR declares war on Dec 8.
And then there's a dozen German U-Boats shelling the East coast four weeks later.
You really don't think that U.S. INTEL didn't know German aggression was dead ahead.
Churchill certain knew about it (documented) and he certainly told FDR about it (documented).
Churchill was in a very bad way regarding Hitler's regime.
And he wanted all the company he could get.
Make sense.

What does Munich in 1938 have to do with it.

U-boat observation towers (circa early 1942), southern Delaware:

It's been written that the US government was also well aware of Japan's intentions on Pearl Harbor because they had figured out Japanese communication codes, but something was needed to get Americans mobilized to enter the war (as if death camps weren't enough). Since Japan and Germany were allies, it would make sense for Hitler to have sent his U-boats to our coast in preparation for our expected entry in the war.

1938 Munich signed the unwillingness of the various nations to challenge Hitler with war if he pursued his invasion. Hitler understood it and proceeded to continue his invasion.
It is almost expected that leaders be bullies, especially those with dictatorial intentions. The only way to stop them is to hit them back harder as soon as possible otherwise they will keep on bullying. Had Hitler been stopped earlier, many lives would have been saved.
A democracy must always be stronger than the elected leader whose ambition is to usurp power and destroy democracy.

 

[piezoe]

So why should the Fed clean up after idiots who can't evaluate risk? What is the point of helping idiots who can't evaluate a risk that will blow up their company?

Get real these "solvent Banks" as you state were not solvent since these instruments were worthless on a mark-to-market basis.

there is another way to view this. One can consider the inability of mark to market to deal with a market failure as a limitation of mark to market accounting. It doesn't make sense to ignore valuable securities because of a market failure, thus causing a financial system calamity. The Fed's intervention in this case was both wise and praiseworthy.

 

[countryBoy641]

It's been written that the US government was also well aware of Japan's intentions on Pearl Harbor because they had figured out Japanese communication codes, but something was needed to get Americans mobilized to enter the war (as if death camps weren't enough). Since Japan and Germany were allies, it would make sense for Hitler to have sent his U-boats to our coast in preparation for our expected entry in the war.

1938 Munich signed the unwillingness of the various nations to challenge Hitler with war if he pursued his invasion. Hitler understood it and proceeded to continue his invasion.
It is almost expected that leaders be bullies, especially those with dictatorial intentions. The only way to stop them is to hit them back harder as soon as possible otherwise they will keep on bullying. Had Hitler been stopped earlier, many lives would have been saved.
A democracy must always be stronger than the elected leader whose ambition is to usurp power and destroy democracy.

Yes, a strong democracy is necessary.
Unfortunately we are rapidly losing that too.
Yes, I know the common belief is that the U.S. broke the German Enigma codes first.
Not sure that is true.
Rather the British Navy was first (1940?) to capture a functioning U-Boat.
The boat was in a battle with a British destroyer.
Enough machinery was damaged on the U-Boat that it could not dive.
German sailors were readying the boat for scuttling (with explosives)
But the British Navy was able to board the boat.
The prize was capturing a working "Enigma machine", the encryption algorithms.
An American movie (U-571) was made a few years ago celebrating this event.
But the story in the movie said it was the American Navy that captured the machine.
British Navy was not amused.

The other event of WWII that is a story of wisdom is how central oil and oil refining are central to national security. Along with the so many books documenting how the events of the Normandy invasion went, there are actually books (collection of essay) written by German soldiers who were there on D-Day. The common thread was the German amazement and bewilderment that the D-Day invasion troops brought no horses with them. The U.S. was always a powerhouse of energy, and the had the will to use it. (these days - Not so Much).

Anyway, once the info was apparent that the U,S, had an abundance of gasoline and diesel, the German military was in fear. And it was just 6 weeks later that the largest assassination attempt on Hitler happened. (Von Stauffenberg). The German professional army wanted out now. Even Gen Erwin Rommel was named as a co-conspirator. He was not executed, but was "allowed" to commit suicide.

And of course Japan entered the war almost exclusively for lack of Crude Oil.
The U.S. had an embargo on Japan for crude.
That was really bad "Statecraft" on the part of the U.S.
It's like stepping on the back of a rattlesnake, and be totally surprised when you get bit.
By the end of the war, the Pacific Theater of the war was almost exclusively the islands in the South Seas. That's where the oil was and still is (Royal Dutch Petroleum).

Bottom line, WWII was in many ways a race to secure sources of fossil fuels, any energy.
That's how important fossil fuels are.
And the Irony is that today, there are many people who consider themselves serious thinkers. And they think fossil fuels should be shunned, global warming, etc ...

Too bad that neither Hitler nor Hirohito had thought of that.
Just shame the leaders of the Allied Countries into abandoning their fossil fuels.
Or tell them carbon is killing the planet.

And get a little girl to deliver the headline epithet:
"How dare you !!!"
Then Hitler and Hirohito could just walk in without firing a shot.

Hey! That's kind of like what the world looks like today.

 

[piezoe]

Well yes, the huge bloody part was engineered by the DEMs.
Eisenhower '52 (non-political but finally Republican) was already warning about the Military-Industrial complex. Ike fully knew the folly of War for the sake of War.
IKE was only sending "advisors" to the war zone.
For the young folks out there, that means those folks were OK with that.
Volunteers.
As opposed to getting drafted (fully legal commitment).
Those folks were not OK with that.
Not sure exactly where the draft was initiated, during JFK.
The need for American cannon fodder in Vietnam was enormous.
Citizens were of course alarmed at the volume of dead bodies.
And in typical government fashion, instead of reducing the number of dead bodies,
Congress decided that the piles of dead bodies should be done more in line with the general population, without any racial lines.
Early '70s, the average white kid was in college.
The "2-S" classification kept them out of harms way.
So, the war mongers selected a "Lottery system".
But the total effects of the lack of "government wisdom" has yet to be tallied.

This unjust war was kicked off under JFK (Conscripts were starting to get killed). LBJ cranked it into high gear (). Nixon (my first Vote) ended the madness. Nixon did a lot of bad stuff. But ending that war was a huge piece of the right stuff.


But my original question about what is the 50 year aftermath of the Vietnam disaster has not been addressed. The goal was to remove dictators. Two were removed (HItler and Hirohito).

Vietnam War has been over for a half a century.
The goal was to keep North Vietnam out of South Vietnam.
Now there is no North and South Vietnam.
Everybody is getting along?
52,000 American dead. What was accomplished?
Why was there even a War ??

You are not giving "Tricky Dick" enough credit. Nixon did get us out of the war, but it is how he got us out, killing many thousands more in the process, that is remarkable. He first went back on a campaign promise to get us out of a bad war by getting us in to the war a lot deeper. He hugely accelerated and expanded a war that was lost before we entered it (A'la Putin). He approved carpet bombing, using B-52s, of North Vietnam, and Cambodia and Laos and lied about it (A'la Putin). Then having finally realized the war was lost, he abandoned the puppet we had set up in the South, and made a hurried, desperate exit. (A'la Putin to be).

The U.S. dropped more ordinance on Indochina in the Vietnam war than was dropped on Germany in all of WWII, the Majority of which was dropped during Nixon's Presidency.

South Vietnamese women and children in Mỹ Lai before US troops killed them in the massacre, March 16, 1968

 

[piezoe]

Yes, a strong democracy is necessary.
Unfortunately we are rapidly losing that too.
Yes, I know the common belief is that the U.S. broke the German Enigma codes first.
Not sure that is true.
Rather the British Navy was first (1940?) to capture a functioning U-Boat.
The boat was in a battle with a British destroyer.
Enough machinery was damaged on the U-Boat that it could not dive.
German sailors were readying the boat for scuttling (with explosives)
But the British Navy was able to board the boat.
The prize was capturing a working "Enigma machine", the encryption algorithms.
An American movie (U-571) was made a few years ago celebrating this event.
But the story in the movie said it was the American Navy that captured the machine.
British Navy was not amused.

The other event of WWII that is a story of wisdom is how central oil and oil refining are central to national security. Along with the so many books documenting how the events of the Normandy invasion went, there are actually books (collection of essay) written by German soldiers who were there on D-Day. The common thread was the German amazement and bewilderment that the D-Day invasion troops brought no horses with them. The U.S. was always a powerhouse of energy, and the had the will to use it. (these days - Not so Much).

Anyway, once the info was apparent that the U,S, had an abundance of gasoline and diesel, the German military was in fear. And it was just 6 weeks later that the largest assassination attempt on Hitler happened. (Von Stauffenberg). The German professional army wanted out now. Even Gen Erwin Rommel was named as a co-conspirator. He was not executed, but was "allowed" to commit suicide.

And of course Japan entered the war almost exclusively for lack of Crude Oil.
The U.S. had an embargo on Japan for crude.
That was really bad "Statecraft" on the part of the U.S.
It's like stepping on the back of a rattlesnake, and be totally surprised when you get bit.
By the end of the war, the Pacific Theater of the war was almost exclusively the islands in the South Seas. That's where the oil was and still is (Royal Dutch Petroleum).

Bottom line, WWII was in many ways a race to secure sources of fossil fuels, any energy.
That's how important fossil fuels are.
And the Irony is that today, there are many people who consider themselves serious thinkers. And they think fossil fuels should be shunned, global warming, etc ...

Too bad that neither Hitler nor Hirohito had thought of that.
Just shame the leaders of the Allied Countries into abandoning their fossil fuels.
Or tell them carbon is killing the planet.

And get a little girl to deliver the headline epithet:
"How dare you !!!"
Then Hitler and Hirohito could just walk in without firing a shot.

Hey! That's kind of like what the world looks like today.

The nice thing about solar and wind energy is that no nation has yet figured out how to make these particular energy sources instruments of war. Maybe that's one reason we should be moving in the direction of wind and solar where we can.

 

[countryBoy641]

The nice thing about solar and wind energy is that no nation has yet figured out how to make these particular energy sources instruments of war. Maybe that's one reason we should be moving in the direction of wind and solar where we can.

I think the reason why they are not used in military applications is because whatever energy solar and wind offer, it is just too miniscule to be used to kill people and break.things. Maybe some day, but not now.

Military applications of machines are massive.
Just watch Jay Leno's Garage.
He's got a couple of cars that have Spitfire engines in them.
I think they are "straight 16s" Packard engines up around 24 liter displacement.
That's military standards. Figure out what you need, then double it.

I understand that American military has become huge!y sissified, but I don't think they will use some or wind for anything serious in our lifetime

 

[piezoe]

I think the reason why they are not used in military applications is because whatever energy solar and wind offer, it is just too miniscule to be used to kill people and break.things. Maybe some day, but not now.

Military applications of machines are massive.
Just watch Jay Leno's Garage.
He's got a couple of cars that have Spitfire engines in them.
I think they are "straight 16s" Packard engines up around 24 liter displacement.
That's military standards. Figure out what you need, then double it.

I understand that American military has become huge!y sissified, but I don't think they will use some or wind for anything serious in our lifetime

well, I actually had something entirely different in mind.

 

[albion]

At a high level I am astonished at the lack of respect here for the dangers of war.
I'm a peacenick? I'm a fan of the Russians?

There is a difference between being pro-war and being anti-Russian imperialism and anti-Russian genocide in Ukraine. If you give in to Nuclear Blackmail you actually make Nuclear War more likely because you are teaching the world that they all need nuclear weapons and that Nuclear Blackmail works so they will try it again. The pentagon gamed out tactical nuclear weapon use for Cheney during the first Gulf War. It turns out that Tactical Nuclear Weapons are not a good solution to degrading troops and armor; similarly, they won't change the current military superiority of Ukraine. A more likely end to Russia's aggression is that different factions (Kadryov, Prigozhin/Wagner, and Russian Military) in-fighting in Russia will force gradual withdrawal due to the need to maintain forces for internal defense and power struggle as regime change probability increases.

 

[easymon1]

 

[vanzandt]

If you give in to Nuclear Blackmail you actually make Nuclear War more likely because you are teaching the world that they all need nuclear weapons and that Nuclear Blackmail works so they will try it again. .

Not saying that it will continue to work, but has it not worked for 75+ years?

"Looking at the world as a whole, the drift for many decades has been not towards anarchy but towards the reimposition of slavery... James Burnham's theory has been much discussed, but few people have yet considered its ideological implications—that is, the kind of world-view, the kind of beliefs, and the social structure that would probably prevail in a state which was at once unconquerable and in a permanent state of "cold war" with its neighbours."
George Orwell ("You and the Atomic Bomb"--- 1945)