This is just something to think about. There are five months to the elections of 2010. Everyone thinks there are going to be big changes. People in power being replaced by those who wish to take back the power they believe they have lost to the government. When I listen to the so called new party associated with the Republicans all I hear is a cry for revenge and punishment. Perhaps they are asking for the correct things or maybe not. What I do know is they are complaining after the fact. My question to them is where were you when Congress voted on the things you now hate? A second question may be if you win a victory will you less involved than you are now? Even those that want to change government are responsible for what they are asking to change. The citizens of this country not those who run the government are responsible for it. If the citizenry starts to think about their responsibilities toward electing individuals who will do real good and not just mouth what people want to hear we will get a real change. All it takes is people to look at what is the right thing to do and forget about the desire to change elected officials as a form of punishment. The eyes on the 2010 election need a refocus or a corrective lens before they go to the polls.

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The new financial regulations that are being proposed are going in the wrong direction. What has been proposed does much more punishing of the market place than it provides rules to correct the errors of the past. I understand that everyone is pissed off at what has happened in the financial markets for the last several years. The problem here is that creating rules that punish instead of making things transparent and establishing watchdogs that can effectively monitor the process are wrong. If we want to punish the evil doers then find out where and how they broke the law and let the judicial system have at them.

The politicians are fulfilling the gut desires of the average citizen but in the long run those desires will come back to bite in a big way. The only way out of this financial mess and the slow economic recovery is to work at creating jobs. For companies to create jobs they need to borrow money and that must come from the financial markets. Punishing laws will only hurt the growth of the future. We have to think past that emotion and create laws that assist growth and fix the problem not the blame.

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The economic slow down in China will not hurt the U.S. economy. It will have a small effect on the U.S. but China is just as aware as we are that trade is a two way street. The Chinese government knows full well that if they start to cut back too much it will have a negative effect on their cash flow. It is that cash stream that pays for the commodities they continue to purchase in vast quantities. Any commodity cut backs will allow others to establish new contracts with the suppliers and change the commodity market place. That change would move Chinese contracts back a notch. This scenario means the Chinese will have to pay more for the future commodities they purchase than they presently pay under current contracts.

What the governments of the West have failed to see is the Chinese have a way of cutting back with out the loss of economic control. The reason is that they have ultimate control and it is but a few at the top that make the calls. All the voting is a rubber stamp for what those in power want. What we fail to understand is that even as we look at Europe one of the best ways for the nations in economic trouble is to have the ability to print their own currency. The Europeans know this but they are afraid they will break up the Union if they allow this to occur. The Chinese understand this already which is one of the reasons they will not let their currency float.

It is the strong control over what is made and its currency that will allow China to slow down but come in with a safe landing. The safe landing is what will keep the U.S. from being hurt. In the long run China can be the economic engine the globe needs because it has money at the ready and it does not take months of wrangling to make a policy decision. If what I have just stated does become a reality for China it will bode well for the near term economy of the U.S.

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A Chinese fire drill is identified by an event or condition that causes chaos. In particular it represents people running around in circles looking for an exit. The reality of this scene is they are just bumping into each other because of the lack of information and an escape plan. This activity does not seem to be much different than the activities of the stock market traders and general stock holders as they try to exit the market. They are trying to find an island of safety with out a plan or road map to provide direction. There is no one who knows how bad the current market situation is or is not but the emotion and fear of the moment have taken hold of the masses and have caused a race for the exits. The markets biggest problem may be the fear and emotion that is causing the Chinese fire drill.

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The new alien law in Arizona should send a chill down the spine of the Afro-American community. The reason I say this is because as the economy remains tight people will start to blame economic and racial groups as the parties responsible for the current economic situation. The Hispanic community will be blamed for protecting the illegal alien population. Non-whites will start to blame students of color for taking seats at colleges they feel should have gone to white students. And the Afro-American community will be accused of sucking all the money out of the states through welfare.

Though none of these potential points are true it will not stop people from pointing and laying the blame for this economic situation at the feet of the other group. The problem is as this finger pointing spreads so will the enactment of laws similar to the Arizona law in other states. The difference is the laws will be written to subjugate and punish other groups in other ways. We cannot deport a citizen but we can make it easier to put them in jail or to severely fine them. Politicians can change laws to read any way they want and it is usually to placate the will of the people even if they are misguided in what they want.

We must all fight the Arizona law but for the Afro-American community this is the revisiting of an old friend called Jim Crow. If one thinks of these new laws in terms of the old Jim Crow laws it is easy to see why there is a potentially contagious and looming problem for people of color. It is time for the Afro-American community to start to educate all Americans on the slippery slope of Jim Crow law because it is their community that understands it best.

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When I hear someone talking about the Arizona Illegal Alien Law I start to get visions of Germany during the 1930's. I can see, in my mind, the traffic stop and the request for the individual to produce their papers. I can see the opportunities for the local police officer or state trooper suggesting the individual produce the papers or face the possibility of being sent back to the country they came from.

In the 1930's Germany wrote laws, with a similar intent as the Arizona law, to remove from the state those deemed undesirable. The objective was to incarcerate Jews, Gypsies, the old and invalid, and the mentally ill because they were considered undesirable and in one form or another, an economic burden to the state. In most cases these people were institutionalized and or incarcerated then killed by the state. The records are there with all the facts. The process of being stopped by any law officer for any legal reason, would allow the law to go into effect against any citizen profiled by the state. Once an individual was engaged by the law they were at the mercy of the laws and the police force. The police force was given instructions to find reasons to incarcerate anyone who fit the ever growing profile. Once an arrest was made, the individual had little chance of escape from a predetermined fate. The laws that dealt with the sick and infirm did not require a stop by the police but merely the need and request for mental or severe medical care.

The Arizona law was put in place not for a valid reason but because the people of Arizona feel the illegal aliens have stolen their jobs and treasure. The fact that these people broke the law to come to this land is the excuse the Arizona citizens choose to use to vilify and subjugate them. Many of these illegal aliens are simply people who are trying to feed and house their families and perhaps capture a piece of the American dream. This dream is no different than the dreams and visions of the first settlers of Arizona. At this point it would be wise to remember that it was the government of the United States that wrote the ever changing laws enabling the settlers to take the land from the Indian's, subjugate and isolate them, and in time break every treaty made with them. In some ways the opening of the old west looks a lot like Germany in the 1930's. This new Arizona law will give us all a chance to revisit the social darkness that political and racist based laws such as Arizona's bring to a society.

What you the reader must be aware of is the fact that such laws expand to encompass more profiles and their concept spread from place to place. As each new state would adopt a similar law perhaps a new group would be profiled. This may not sound so bad as you sit there and read this piece but it will make a difference when your group is profiled and they come for you. This law is not who we are as Americans and, in the end, makes none of us safe.

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The problem with the illegal is many people believe they are taking jobs from Americans. In reality that issue is untrue for the most part but they are the last group of people to arrive in this country so they will receive scapegoat blame until they are fully integrated in our society. It happened to all the other groups that came to this country and in time they were incorporated into the American dream.

Terrorists are people we also do not want in this country. They are also illegal just by the nature of their plans. They are here with the sole purpose to kill Americans, destroy our infrastructure, and to make all of us afraid. If they could, they would kill all of us with out a thought. They contribute nothing but cost to our society as we defend ourselves against their actions and repair the damage from their assaults.

On the other side our alien population wants to work, blend in to our communities, and acquire a piece of the American dream for themselves and their families. They are not monsters and they are here illegally but their intent is not to hurt or destroy. They have come to this country to seek a better life wanting nothing more than to build a good life the way all who have come before them have. This is the opposite dream from the terrorist in our midst.

The U.S. has spent a trillion dollars to wage war on terrorists with little to show for the money and effort. If we would have turned those expenditures to internal use the aliens in our streets would not be singled out as a problem but as a source of labor to help keep our society fluid. If you think about this you can decide who you should be afraid of.

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The European Union has been running in troubled waters for some time. The problem is the Union has a single currency but it does not have a single budget. Each country is allowed to develop and run its own financial operations budget and there is no central process or control to check the soundness of the each country's budget. Because there are no central audits each E.U member submits their financial statement and budget to the central committee and the individual word of each nation, via the documents presented, are unchallenged. This is how Grease was able to accumulate and hide their enormous debt with out a challenge from the governing function of the E.U.

With that being said I am sure the E.U. will hold together in the long run. However, their will be some changes to the financial structure and accountability practices. In addition the following possibilities are on the table.

* The footprint of the E.U may change. Some of the riskier countries may want to leave the Union. Changes in the inner operations of the E.U. will be in the form of checks and balances to assure full transparency and accountability will be forthcoming from this point. There may be a change in the use of the euro as a single currency. A provision will be made for the allowance of each individual country to able to use the euro and some form of their own individual currency. This would work as a safety valve for economies in trouble and would enable them to be able to print money to handle their debt. As for new members there will be new rules but we can be sure that the entrance of new members will not happen for a while. Any country joining the E.U. at this time would be immediately burdened with a requirement to assist in the buy out of bonds from the countries in trouble. I do not see any takers for a while.

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There is a new breed of terrorist walking among us. The new breed is the monster we see as a friend. After the Times Square incident the NYPD and the FBI defined the profile of the new terrorist in our midst. This new weapon has American citizenship and may or may not have been born in the U.S. The citizenship makes them one of us and allows this new breed of terrorist easy access in and out of the country. As a citizen of the U.S. they will have to have done something wrong, such as being arrested, before they are put on a terror watch list.

The new profile indicates they are educated and will probably have a family. They will look as if they are experiencing the all American dream. They will most likely have ties to a Muslim country and most likely will have been born in a Muslim country. If they were born here they are most likely first generation here born of parents from a Muslim country. They will have ties to and attend a mosque on a regular basis. It is through the mosque associations that the vulnerable individual will be slowly brain washed and recruited for terrorist activities. Once recruited the individual will travel to a terrorist camp and be trained for future activities. Several months prior to a terrorist action the individual will move the family back to a Muslim country where they will wait for the return of their terrorist hero.



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The Capture of the Times Square Bomber does not make us safe. The only thing this capture means is that we can figure out who has perpetrated the deed. A speedy capture does not help us find out about nor prevent the next terrorist event from happening. Uncovering the plot and its evil doers before hand is the part we need to become better at. I do not by any means wish to detract from the accomplishment of the NYPD and the FBI in this current case. What worries me is that our forces have perfected the counter punch but if the other combatant lands a powerful blow first there may be no time or need for a counter punch. At that point the damage will have been done and rounding up the bad guys is just an aftermath operation.

I know the security and legal agencies of the U.S. are working on the pre-emptive side of terror, however, there is a growing need to move faster and expand our foot print. Money should not be an issue to the acquiring of appropriate and effective manpower. Such manpower needs to be discovered and trained in the new levels of the old spy game. Our current protectors are not evolving as fast as the enemy. There is an immediate need for younger and dedicated individuals to replace our retiring agents and to enhance and expand the ranks of the remaining professionals in our security agencies and organizations. Most of the terrorists are young men who will take risks. We need to counterbalance that group with a young brigade of our own people. Our security agencies must find capable individuals, who once trained, would be allowed to take risks and make mistakes with out the current norm of agency or organizational punishment, which is currently associated with risk taking. It is time to not only think out of the box but to think two moves beyond that if we wish to beat terrorists at their own game. The clock is ticking and it is we who are running against it.

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In today's world of warfare and conflict the important question is how will we react the next time we are attacked with a strike of equal or greater devistation than the attack of 9/11/01? At such a new point in time who and where do we strike in defence and to retaliate? Is it possible the government will say "we are already fighting this enemy and we will have to do better to protect ourselves but we will not change our plans to strike back. That response would not play well with the American people. It would not play well with most of the world. After the next attack on U.S. soil a non response or even action that looks like a less than all out response will make the U.S look like a soft target.

The issue will immediatly become about the self imposed moral restrictions we are currently fighting under. Because an attack can come from any one of several sectors, how we decide where, when, who and how to strike back may become the question of the century. The second half of that question is how proportional will the strike be if we are able to figure out who and where to strike? Will we retaliate using our current rules of engaguement or will we change them to let the enemy know that there is no place to hide and anything walking is fair game in a war zone.

There are a lot of considerations that will have to be played out in meetings at the top end of our government. What we presently do not know is can and will we truely be able to respond in a manner that makes scense to the American people yet at the same time strike a blow that the enemy will consider the signal that the U.S. is taking off the kid gloves. If the gloves indeed do come off everyone who is in the lands in which we fight will be considered a combatant. That would recind the current plan to capture the hearts and minds of the people in the lands of our enemies. In reality it would make every person in those lands a combatant in the eyes of every american soldier. That would send a most extreme message to our enemies with out a retaliatorial strike. What the enemy and those who support them will then understand is that, we as a country, will fight in such a way that there will no longer be civilian safety zones. If you are in country you are considered the enemy and we are now a conquroring and occupaying force and the only rules that apply will be ours until we leave. And we will not leave until our enemy exists no more.

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