Democracy's Weakness

The Russian invasion of Georgia and the inability of the US or Europe to do anything about it demonstrates Russia’s newly proven position of power in the world and the current weakness of the world’s democracies.

Europe and the US will not attack Russia foremost because Russia has a large sophisticated military force and plenty of nuclear weapons, not because the US is hamstrung by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The current military tactics in Iraq and Afghanistan could be adjusted to quickly crush the will, or the capability, of those countries that are acting to promote the continuing of those wars to nothing more than a minor consideration. If the US and Europe went up against Russia then their global priorities would change with definitive power being used to quickly knock down any country that acts to help their enemies. Russia has now even suggested that it may engage in military action against Poland because Poland signed an agreement to install the US missile defense system. If Russian troops entered Poland would Europe and the US send troops into Poland to attack those troops if necessary to force them out or just put up with it? What would Russia do if the west started to move equipment and troops to provide some protection against an invasion into former USSR countries that claim they fear threatened by Russia?

Any financial penalties the US and Europe impose against Russia for their attack into Georgia, and for their remaining on and keeping any Georgian territory they please, could backfire. Europe and the US need the massive amounts of Russian gas and oil to continue to flow into Europe. If the western democratic countries freeze Russian bank accounts and apply other financial penalties against Russia then they may find out the hard way which country holds the power to cause the other the greater financial suffering. If Russia decides to shut off the taps to European countries the lack of fuel and the fuel price jump for Europe and the US could quickly cripple their economies. Even just jacking the price way up would cause a lot of damage because Europe can’t just go shopping elsewhere to get a better deal because of the tight world supply situation, and you can bet that action would cause US prices to jump too. And as hurricane Gustav approaches the US government has announced that it is willing to tap into the country’s strategic oil reserves to try to stabilize the cost of a gallon of gas at the pumps if the hurricane causes any interruptions to the US oil and gas production, which of course is being done to buy political favour during this election period. What about the ease with which hostile countries can cut the US or world oil supplies to cause costs to skyrocket and the reduced ability of the US to absorb this hit if its reserves are reduced, and even more so if a major military action is needed because the current Russian threat escalates during the same time and/or Iran causes problems with the Persian Gulf oil tanker traffic? As per usual the politician’s only thoughts prove them to be selfish and incapable of understanding the threats to themselves, their families, and all the rest of the people who make up the country. Of course the wealthiest can always move to safer parts of the world during times of war to continue their empires, notwithstanding a full out global nuclear war that they also would suffer from.

The western countries cannot succeed in bullying Iran into stopping their nuclear program either. The US and Europe cannot attack Iran to prevent them from pursuing their nuclear program without considering what Russia and Iran could join together to do. Iran could fully or partially shut down the Persian Gulf oil tanker traffic and Russia could turn off the taps to its pipelines that supply Europe or jack their prices up enough to seriously harm the economies of the west. The Russian and Iranian gas and oil could still move through Russian controlled territory, including using the Georgian pipelines that would have been a bypass around Russian territory, to sell to China and their other friendly countries. The west should not be surprised to see more Russian weapons and supplies flowing into Iran.

The US cannot act aggressively against China either because unfair trade practices have resulted in China holding a massive amount of the country’s debt that the Chinese could dump into the world’s markets to crash the US economy. The western democratic countries have allowed communist China to enact uneven trade policies to take wealth from their countries, and to purchase their resources and to get easier access to western technologies. Our democratic leaders like to pretend themselves to be more morally correct then the rest of us peons by being so inclusive of all people, so much so that they fool themselves into looking at everyone and everything through rose coloured glasses. Communist countries use this kind of naivety of the arrogantly delusional to strengthen their position of power.

The western countries democratic politician’s foolish lack of concern for the long term consequences of allowing the free market to choose the direction for their countries means they ignored the threat of outsourcing their country’s energy supply sources. They have also ignored the financial threats unrestrained free markets have caused that allows communist countries like China to hold such a massive amount of our debt as leverage against us and that have also resulted in the unemployment of millions of our own citizens. The massive amounts of money paid out for imported oil and trade imbalances that flowed out of the western countries are returning to buy up all the country’s people’s works, resources, properties and technologies. The western democratic countries economies can now be easily bought or held hostage by foreign interests because for decades our leaders have chosen not to lead but to foolishly allow the selfishly greedy markets to choose our countries path. The only thing our politicians know because they constantly practice it is how to lie and deceive, and how to suck butt of any little group that may help provide them with the few extra votes they’ll need to get them elected. Their main use of their mind is trying to think of how they can improve their chance of getting elected or reelected, and in practicing how to lie and deceive more convincingly. Instead of knowing a little history, something about human nature, and having some understanding of current business practices and technologies, and applying this knowledge to encourage the progression of our country to the benefit of we the people, who are in fact the country, the politicians prefer to blindly leave everything up to unknown people and engage in their tirade of “The best thing to do is to let the markets dictate their own path and make their own corrections.”.

Has Russia even bothered to return the US equipment they stole in Georgia or are they continuing to thumb their nose at the US? What will the western countries do if Russia decides to move their military into Poland and/or other countries? Will they be willing to go to war against a nuclear power that could immediately shut off so much of their needed power generating capability and upset their economies? Does Russia need to concern itself with the blathering of the US and European politicians when they hold so many power cards? Will Russia, China and Iran choose to work in tandem to deliver a one, two, three knockout punch to the western democracies? Stay tuned: same bat time, same bat channel.

Poetry

What is this poetry thing really about
Why it is just simply everything and all about life
You may choose to share your feelings with others
Or simply describe something special you’ve seen

You can use it to teach in an interesting way
Or explain your own thoughts on whatever you choose
You can create it with rhyme or just use a rhythmic flow
But it’s always about life so not always pretty

Creating your poetry of course can be hard
But like a medicine it can be good for your soul
Sometimes all it takes is to write your thoughts down
For your pains to be eased and the healing begun

Poetry writing is good exercise for the mind
It’s an interesting discipline of ordering words
The greater your vocabulary the easier it can be
And even beginners like me can create poetry worth reading

God versus the State

Your beliefs are nothing but lies
Is that why you separate God out
God is a factor in everything
We act for or against Him always

Don’t follow those but-but people
God is always part of the equation
You can choose to leave God out
But this is acting against Him

Many are working to deceive us
And we can find plenty of excuses
It’s easier just following the crowd
But only you are responsible for you

God’s laws are always in effect
And we deny them at our peril
Our every action proves our soul
And by this He’ll judge us true

It's Barbecue Time

The warm weather is here now it’s barbecue time
So get out your gear and make sure everything works
And fill a tank for the unit and a backup as well
Because you’ll not want to run out before your meal is quite done

All the neighbourhood men are getting their barbecues ready
This is their time to shine and show they’re great chefs
But they’ve got an advantage with this type of cooking
Because anything done on a barbecue is going to taste great

Gathering together they’ll debate gas versus charcoal
Plus the various spices and their different techniques
Now this is their territory and they’ll jealously guard it
And the more experienced wives will quite wisely steer clear

Soon the great smells will permeate the whole block
Because most of the barbecues are now fired up
But who really cares who’s doing this wonderful cooking
It’s barbecue time and our taste buds are drooling

Silly Fur Balls

Cats can be extremely graceful in their feline ways
Yet also prove to be quite foolish and clumsy
When hunting they seem so surefooted and quiet
But when exploring they’re often falling and stumbling

Most of their leaps are amazing and sure
And mucking up most often they’ll land on their feet
I love when they leap straight up then flip in the air
Like when they’re after a butterfly high over their head

Cats in general have a wonderfully regal appearance
But if they somehow get soaked they look simply pathetic
Their explorations can take them into the tightest of places
But if they then have to back out now they’re in trouble

All it will take is just a ball or some string
Then even the adult becomes a kitten once more
Anything that moves will grab their attention
And these little fur balls are so cute when they play

Cats are great pets and give their owners such joy
Like when they cuddle up and turn on their purr
And whatever they’re up to they can always surprise us
Then we’ll break out in laughter at these silly fur balls

Fishing Tranquility

I learned the value of fishing as just a young boy
The serene quiet and nature is what it’s about
With some spikes of excitement thrown in for good measure
Like when you get a good strike and have a fish to contend with

The exploration of nature was all part of the joy
While we searched for new places to enjoy this great sport
It wasn’t unusual to spend the whole day in adventure
Without once dipping our lines in search of a fish

You may come across great numbers of berries to feast on
Or strip to your underwear to go for a swim
A beaver pond was always a marvelous find
Then a raft had to be built and the adventure begun

We weren’t after a trophy or plenty of fish
Just kids having fun with nothing to prove
So catch and release were mostly our ways
With the occasional brought home at a parent’s request

When it comes to then knowing the true value of sport fishing
The adventurous children by far know more then the adults
They are not rushed or restricted by some strange adult rules
They know the true value of the sport doesn’t even always include fishing