Let there be no mistake that a strong currency means a strong nation. In many ways strength is a relative condition but strong is strong. Today we measure strength in different ways but it always winds up the higher the number the stronger the currency. We may be up one day and down the next but those changes are merely little adjustments that do not dispel the underlying strength or weakness displayed by our currency relative to the other players in the game. When we force our currency down it shows weakness because we are trying to get people in other countries to buy our products at a cheaper dollar rate. If we were on top of the markets, as we once were, there would be little need to play with the value of the money.

Today's currency has little to do with value as a real strength but more to do with how we can get more for what we throw on the table. It is a game of musical coin and at the end of the day the one holding the coin with the highest values is the winner. We also know that can change in the blink of an eye so the only way to assure your coin is the best in show is to have it fluctuate as little as possible allowing all the other currencies to range below it. That is when you are strong. In reality, the U.S. is not good at moving its money value nor is it good at getting out of the corner when the other fellow has us boxed in. The Chinese have maintained their currency at artificially low levels both for economic trade advantages but also because it causes the others to think of them as a weaker nation because of it. It is a psychological ploy the Chinese use well because it is the way they lull others into a sense of false security about their strength until they want to change the formula. At that time they pull the rug out from under the partner. The U.S. does not operate that way which is why it needs to make every effort to be the strongest nation in every respect regardless of our population size.

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The U.S. is presently fighting two wars in the same region. To this day I still cannot understand why we need these wars and how they have kept us safe here at home? I have had conversations with many people and I still have not heard the reason we are still fighting those two wars. Our Presence and the blood our soldiers shed are not worth the return we receive. All these two wars have accomplished is to spend too much of our treasure and in doing so created even more danger for our long term safety. The simple logic here is that the more we spend on these wars the less we have to spend on the necessary research and development required to stay far ahead of those nations who are growing much stronger. Once their strength reaches a tipping point those nations, who we are presently not at war with, will engage us at every level and the U.S. will be hard pressed to back them down.

The present wars have caused us to loose face in the international community. We no longer look as all powerful as we once were. Penny anti tyrants are not afraid of us and that sphere is growing every day. We have stymied our selves by using rules of engagement that hurt our soldiers and make us look bad. In addition we keep telling the world that we wish to win the hearts and souls of the people in the lands where we war but we cannot even effectively buy the cooperation of the local governments. We are out bid and out pressured by the war lords who make a fortune not only taking our money and giving nothing back but they sell drugs back into the pipeline to the U.S. The time has come to leave the war zone and use a scorched earth policy on the war lords and the lands they produce their drug crops on. The time for kindness in these lands is over. We must now pursue a course of strengthening our country and our defenses. Until we are strong enough to withstand anything let the rest of the world be dammed.

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Have you ever spoken to an individual who has told you that he comes from a Red or Blue state? When I speak to someone of that mind set my mind tells me I am talking to an animated lump of coal. We live in a democracy where we are supposed to be allowed to think freely and express those thoughts with out fear of reprisal. The problem is that when I hear someone say they are for the Red Club or the Blue Club, because that is what they are, just clubs, I try to figure out where they are coming from. I instantly wonder where their free thinking went and how it gave way to the walled in thinking and political diatribe they eventually begin to spout.

It does not make any difference if they are Red or Blue or what their beliefs are but it is the lack of original thought that escapes me. Supporters of both colors spout information they have received through their connections which in many cases are baseless allegations based on facts not supported by data. When asked where the information came from the individual generally references an e-mail of some blog designed to promote action against and cause people to become even more disgruntled with the opposing side or opinion. We, as individuals and groups of like minded people, must start to become diligent in the review of information we pass on as the truth. If we continue to polarize our opinions using unproven facts and vicious allegations against those who do not share our opinions we are headed for a big crash. Leave the jerks for comedy and remember as an AMERICAN each of us needs to speak the truth we know is truth because we know the information and data came from a reliable source not jus someone we think we can trust.

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There is an old saying that states, if two people agree on everything then only one is doing the thinking. That is partly the problem we are having with our current partisan government. Each side decides on an approach to beat the other side and the rules are that if one of yours crosses the line they will pay the price. Based on that concept the leaders of the two sides keep order in their ranks and the people they are supposed to be serving get the shaft. This is not a new condition it is simply the worst example of partisanship that has been seen in ages. It is quite reminiscent of the way the Nazi party controlled their players from the beginning right up until the time Germany folded in 1945.

I guess the question for the day is: How long before our government starts to pick up the other habits of the old Nazi party and we start to see some real political prisoners. Perhaps the first of those prisoners will be the poor and the downtrodden who complain with demonstrations. Will they be photographed and later identified to ease the process of carting them off into the night for placement in a GITO like camp. We could not call the camp GITMO but we could call it something that thoroughly masked the meaning of the camp. REAL would be a good name as it would stand for Recruitment and Education Association of the Lost. The camp motto would be "Our Camp Shows the New Way". It could happen easier than one may think and of course when all think alike it is even simpler task.

Some might think this a silly story but I bet if things continue as they are I will be able to buy a ticket for that destination just by continuing to write this blog.

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There is a time to wish to stand your ground because you believe in something. There is a time to take your effort to the mat in hopes of getting a win but there are also times to use ones head and know when to compromise. When we compromise we have neither lost nor scored a win. We have simply looked at the situation and realized that good can not come from our stubbornness and in fact can hurt those most vulnerable in our struggle.

We presently have a government where the need to win consistently beats the need to do what is right and just. The members of the government seem to reason that there are only two sides to every issue and each side will do anything to win a victory. The partisanship has become so strong that each side and most to the members of each side long only to whip and destroy the other side with out regard for the people they were elected to govern. The real joke is when we hear each side invoke the will of the people as the defense for their foolish actions. I think the time has come for this governing body to either learn to compromise or to leave the positions they have sworn to uphold because it is obvious they have failed to keep their promise.

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There is a question that has been hounding me in the back of my brain. The question is, if the North Korean government decides to attack another site in South Korea just who will strike back and at what level?. Based on the sort of standoff position the two countries presently have, not withstanding the threats that have been made by both sides, who will counter punch first the U.S. or North Korea? Up to this point the North has been careful not to hit any U.S. facilities. A strike on a U.S. vessel or a U.S. land based facility in South Korea would most likely bring a first response from the U.S. It would seem that would be the most likely scenario. The next question would be is that the correct thinking.

What if the strike was against the South but one of our vessels or land facilities were also a specific target. Then the North apologizes for its error at hitting the U.S. facility as an accident occurring in the defense of its homeland from South Korea. If this were done immediately and through back channels via China and then made public would the U.S. strike back or let stand or let stand their defense damage caused at the time of the attack. Such a scenario would put the U.S. in a position that would make any further retaliatory actions we may take look like hostile actions from the U.S. At this point the North has China on its side because they used them to pass the apology through to the U.S. Our response would look as if we ignored what the Chinese had to say. Remember we asked The Chinese to step in and help negotiate the North into a more stable position. It does not play well on the world stage when a nation apologizes for and error and is subsequently attacked in spite of the apology.

At this point I wonder if this is a specific strategy to allow North Korea to continue disrupting the area and at the same time using a tactic to back the U.S. away from a second strike. Do this several times and the North would have a tested game plan to use if it were to decide to move into South Korea. It would be a head fake that could allow the North to use a strike in a remote area to draw all the U.S. defense assets to make a strong strike against their attacking positions. As soon as the Us And South strikes are over the North sends an attack across the DMZ. There would be approximately a one hour window of opportunity to cross the DMZ and penetrate the southern border. It could happen just that way.

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We have been fighting a war in Afghanistan, a poor excuse for a nation, for nine years. We are presently in the same position today as we were in six months after we got there. Fighting a ground was as wrong then as it is for us to remain there now. The people do not care for our presence and the corrupt war loards continue to make money hand over fist protecting the areas where the popies are grown. When one speaks to the cowardly and paranoid president of Afghanistan he states that his country is an agarian society and they need their crops to assist their poor economy. This is a man that can lie to your face and feel he has done nothing wrong. His connection with the war loards and the other dark and corrupt elements of their culture assures that the Afghanistan we Americans would like to see will never come about as long as Mr Karzide remains in place.

For years we have tried to help the people of this country to a better life. As their old enemies returned to control them they did so with bombs and street killings just to raise fear far and wide. Mr Karzide has always been an obstruction to the U.S. troops in place. He has openly complained that only he can tell our troops where thay may go. He blemes his goverment wide corruption on the U.S. He has stated that we interfeared with the national elections. Now he wants our troops to stop night time persute of the enemy stating it puts too many civilians at risk. This creature, I refues to call hin a man, is a pathetic excuse for an individual and is deserving of being put up against a wall and execuited because of the deaths he has caused both within out troops and his own civilian population. It is time he died in his sleep.

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Over the last two weeks the U.S. has had to work China very hard to get them to assist with North Korea. The U.S. had to agree to let China quietly intercede with the North Korean government by letting them use their diplomacy to ease the tensions in the area. The overall plan worked for now but the U.S. had to stand down from any response on the situation and allow the Chinese to tell everyone they needed to calm down. That became China's media message. On the inside the South Korean government needed to make a gesture to counter the strike on their island and base but it could not be military otherwise China would not help. To that end the South Korean government got rid of its defense minister and replaced him with a much more hawkish individual. The new Defense Minister immediately stated that he would take highly strong action if there were to be another attack of any type or size.

That was not what China wanted to hear and the word was passed through to South Korea that the response needed to be reinforced by the President of South Korea in a public speech. It took two days of negotiating to bring this about. China used the U.S. to convince the south this was the way to keep a war from breaking out. The agreement enabled the Chinese to get the North Koreans to realize that they needed to restrain themselves and all would pass. The agreement also allowed North Korea to continue to make media threats at the south enabling them to save face.

When all was said and done the Chinese did not want the government of North Korea changed. This is because it is a good thorn in the side of the U.S. and as long as the Northern government remains in place, with out war, the Chinese are happy for the U.S. to have these problems to deal with. The China strategy here is to keep the U.S. busy in as many places as possible so we stretch our self too thin and weaken our defenses. The cost to the U.S. is tremendous and as long as it goes on it weakens us each and every day both militarily and economically. Sounds like their plan is a bit better than our plan, don't you think?

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Today is the 69th anniversary of that horrific day. So much is said about that day yet when it comes down to brass tacks the only expressions are: Thank you to those who endured the day and the following conflict. Thank you to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Thank you to those who returned home and made the world and this country a better place.

We shall always remember this day and your bravery

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Congress is working on solving problems that need to be solved but they still have not heard the message of last November. How in the world can politicians say the want tax cuts for everyone but not extend unemployment funds for those unemployed who are running out of unemployment?. If we can support lower taxes for those who make more than a quarter of a million dollars a year why is it so hard to extend benefits to those who are unemployed and need it? We give untold fortunes away to other countries who do not even like us yet we look with a jaundiced eye upon those among us who are less fortunate. For most of those currently unemployed the unemployment was not a voluntary choice. It is a gut wrenching and demeaning position for anyone to be put in. As for the fools who are in charge of Congress and the political parties who continue to play their partisan games I an telling you now that you should be ashamed of your behavior and each of the contributing individuals ashamed of themselves. Perhaps I can put this in a way each of you will better understand. God will get even with you for this.

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The true purpose of war is to gain position and power over the enemy. Economic power is generally a basic requirement for military power. Insurgent wars require much less of an economic base. In general nations use much less violent tools such as taxes, sanctions, and embargos to leverage other into positions where those with power control. When economic leverage fails to gain the desired results military conflict, or war as we may know it, often breaks out. These are the wars that history books are full of but on a daily basis there are millions of business wars in play.

Every business is a nation unto itself and each business chooses to fight in some manner to acquire market share. Marketing, advertising, new products, research and development are all non-violent methods of leveraging position. These methods are not unlike export taxes, sanctions, and embargos. At this level we all accept the non-violent business conflict that is in motion daily as the way things are. What most people do not see is that many of these actions slowly crank themselves up to a point when they alone fail to accomplish the task at hand. This is when business becomes a hot war.

Companies need growth to sustain their economic engines and their market share. When they see the engine of growth slowing they will resort to more devious and unsavory methods of maintaining growth. They will use the top secret and proprietary information collected on and from their competitors as tools against them. At this point the battle lines are drawn even if the competitor's are unaware of the battles about to be designed and played out against them. At this point the company that needs to grow will plan a war they feel they can win and at the same time do damage to their competing enemy.

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When people think of the term war they generally conjure up thoughts of guns, battlefields, blood and the dead or maimed. Most people feel war is an issue that comes and goes over time and is relative to political positions between countries. There is, however, a perpetual war going on all around us all of the time. In fact we are all practitioners in one manner or another. The war I am speaking of is business and it is carried out 24/7 all around the world. I have written about this and have presented it in conference format many, many times. The title is Business is War and in reality it is a wake up tool that everyone should be aware of.

Up until forty years ago business was war but played in a much smaller arena. In the mid 1960's the change started. Asia was and in particular Japan started to manufacture and penetrate the American market place. The arrogant American business world felt they were impervious to outside competition and therefore continued to do business the same old way. With in fifteen years the Japanese autos, and just about everything else that could be manufactured, were being sold in the U.S. and the American markets were taking a hit. The counter punch from the American business world fell short and the U.S. market place continued to loose share and bleed jobs. By the early 1980's the rest of the world wanted a piece of the market place and the here-to-for impervious markets of the U.S. Now the fight was on. The American business world started to learn from the Japanese business model and tried its hand at giving them a dose of their own medicine. The problem was not solved as some of the American companies started to attack other American companies in the states and abroad.

I will shortly put out my Business is War teachings in the form of a book. The book will run the full gamete of the first lessons of war from the battle field transposed to the business world. In the mean time I will, from time to time, put little notes from the text onto this site when I feel the actions and situations described will go hand in hand with the current news.

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We have all heard people proclaim how up front they are yet over time that fails to materialize as the truth. It is quite the same with governments. They profess their openness yet they pursue their diplomatic discussions via the back door. Back door policy or as they are referred to as back channels are a major part of the way things are done. Back channels are as old as negotiations themselves. When one wishes to get a message to the other side, without the whole world knowing about the situation, diplomatic channels are used. When the diplomatic channels are blocked, which usually occurs when the two governments are angry with each other, the back door approach is used to pass the message along.

There is one major problem with back door or back channel actions. The problem is the back channel usually requires a third party, outside the domain of either of the two protagonists, to make contacts and pass the message along. This is done to break the log jam that is hindering communications. The third party is the issue here because the secrecy of the contact and a message between the two protagonists is now broken. Some times there are multiple third parties depending on how difficult it is to have the message passed along. For example, to get a message to North Korea in this manner there are just a handful of nations that have the internal contacts to be able to pass a message along. The most notable nation in this scenario would be China. That is because China has good relations with North Korea and most other nations. Aside from a few other nations the rest of the world does not have the relations with North Korea for such back door contacts to be made.

Once the message is sent the sending nation is a risk because it is showing its hand to some degree. It does give the appearance of weakness but at the same time the message can nullify the apparent appearance of weakness by being strongly worded. The real question is how will we answer the back door communication? The answer is always to respond very carefully and also tactfully. There is no other possibility unless one wishes to initiate a war or some conflict they are not ready to pursue. The back door is the first sign that a peaceful solution can be attained if both sides are willing to work on the issue at hand. When we answer the back door we have opened up the negotiations and it becomes our responsibility to work to keep the negotiations alive.



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