Rethinking the Way We Think

We definitely live in interesting and perilous times. The world seems to be in the throws of more chaos than normal with mass uprisings against tyrannous governments, and more than our share of natures tumult with earthquakes, tidal waves and nuclear meltdowns. Perhaps the biggest "meltdown" is the economic one that few people have a realistic grasp on.

One main demand of all this mess is that we "rethink the way we think" about things. We can no longer afford to bury our heads in the sand of ignorance, apathy or false supremacy. We all are being touched or WILL BE touched by the current upheavals in our world.

But thinking isn't the end-all, right? Everyone "thinks" to some degree or another. The problem is RIGHT thinking (and I don't mean politically). The age old question of the meaning of life comes down to the continuous question of what is right and what is wrong.

Right and wrong is such a subjective issue after all. Some people base their views of right and wrong on books...religious or otherwise. Others base it on some sense of innate "spirituality" that mysteriously reveals to us the truth of what is right and wrong. For many of us this makes "truth" a very relative thing...relative to your moods, feelings, sanity etc. I would suggest that most people's truth comes from a form of "democratic" exercise. If most of us...or at least the majority in our immediate circle...claim something as true and right, well, it must be so. This is the most comfortable approach to truth as it reduces the need to question so many things in life that we have no practical or provable answer to.

It seems practical to me that the majority think this way. After all, it keeps the masses in line, the level of dissidence at a minimum, and promotes peace and tranquility at least temporarily. The problem comes in when decades or even centuries later "we" discover that this majority thinking was totally false and delusional...and we have now built huge systems, institutions and shrines to the false tenants of our respected but long gone forefathers. Who are we now if/when we discover that some of our original presumptions of fact are indeed false? How do we handle this?

I would suggest most of us don't. We simply bury our doubts or newly discovered truths as far away from consciousness as we can. In some cases we quietly, secretly begin operating outside of the system or even living clandestinely with a new, private approach to life and survival. It is similar to a real world situation where everyone was starving and we knew where the largest hidden cache of food was stored...but we kept it to ourselves and helped ourselves to that hidden supply as much and as long as we can get away with. Some would call this another form of "survival of the fittest". After all, knowledge is king.

The sad reality for our world is that many of our supposed leaders and government officials know more than we all know. They are privy...and protect that privilege at all cost...to the core, real statistics of our systems. The smartest ones know that they cannot reverse the perilous road our civilization is traveling without substantial upheaval to their own lives and realities. Therefore, they chose to stay mum and cover-up the truth. They continue to placate the masses with buttery, syrupy speeches of hope and patriotism. They continue to infuse our medias with hype and pomposity...keeping the masses focus on the present and past, so they don't ask too many questions about the future. They continue to horde and give us all just enough to keep us from revolting. This reality in itself is revolting.

If the arts are, as often argued, the reflection of our culture or civilization...then we don't have to look far for proof that our world is in a huge vacuum of leadership and creativity. In just a couple centuries we have gone from Mozart to Snoop-dog, from DaVinci to Andy Warhol, and from the classics of Milton or Tennyson to "HEAVEN IS FOR REAL", by Todd Burpo. When you look at what makes the top 10 best sellers lists these days at the bookstore, it doesn't take long to get a quick peak at the breadth of modern day thinking.

So, where is all this taking us? I would suggest that civilization's meeting with mathematical destiny is sooner than we think. I don't think we are facing a "Nostradamus" quick end to the world...but I do think the world as we know it will experience some cataclysmic upheavals that will revolutionize life as we know it. Someday the accountant shows up along with the banker and says "pay up or move out". If you believe in right and wrong, you realize that someday the givers are going to revolt against the takers and say enough is enough. We are seeing this now in certain regions of the world...and this will continue in reaction to new ways of thinking by the masses.

One of the few hopes I see coming through modernity is futurist Ray Kurtzweil's theory that technology and artificial intelligence will come to our rescue in the near future. When man's mind and the modern computer meld to bring singularity of mind and reason...maybe then we have a chance at true objective thinking.

Until then it seems we are stuck with our very limited brains, short relative existence, and the challenge to make the most out of what little brainpower and understanding we really have. In the meantime, many of us need to question or "rethink" the way we think...as a matter of survival.

The Power of Free Will

OK...for those of you who may not appreciate the musical art-form of "Rush"...here are the lyrics of significance to begin this subject:

There are those who think that life has nothing left to chance take,
A host of holy horrors to direct our aimless dance.

A planet of playthings,
We dance on the strings
Of powers we cannot perceive
"The stars aren't aligned,
Or the gods are malign..."
Blame is better to give than receive.

You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice.
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill;
I will choose a path that's clear
I will choose freewill.

There are those who think that they were dealt a losing hand,
The cards were stacked against them; they weren't born in Lotusland.

All preordained
A prisoner in chains
A victim of venomous fate.
Kicked in the face,
You can't pray for a place
In heaven's unearthly estate.

Each of us
A cell of awareness
Imperfect and incomplete.
Genetic blends
With uncertain ends
On a fortune hunt that's far too fleet.

You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice.
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill;
I will choose a path that's clear
I will choose freewill.

Have you ever felt like you were the prisoner of your own mind and emotions? -- I have.

Have you ever felt like your job or people around you were not in sync with what you had envisioned for your life? -- I have

Have you ever made an abrupt change in your life in order to "clean the slate" and start over? -- I have and more than once.

For most of us, life is not a straight line of steady advancement towards our vision or life's dream. We experience many setbacks, failures, disappointments and heartaches that sometimes keeps us from advancing at all.

The biggest hurdle in my experience to get over is self-doubt...which often has its roots in the hurtful or critical words of our families and/or peers. If the people closest to us say our ideas are crazy or impossible...it is very difficult to turn a deaf ear or blind eye to their criticism and negativism. And since it seems to be human nature to tear down others instead of build them up...I guess it is understandable why so many of us find ourselves stymied and disappointed by our status in life.

I think most people go through many stages of life facing decisions and indecision...continually making compromises with ourselves and others about what we will do or pursue in life. It is my contention that a majority of people tend to compromise their "uniqueness" in exchange for "belonging". Even as a small child, it is very difficult to be different from the other children. Children are actually quite cruel towards "difference". Remember the first kid in grade school who had to wear glasses? Old "four eyes" we sometimes called them. Then we hit adolescence where there was a constant pressure to conform to fashion or hair styles in order to "fit in" with our friends or get attention from the opposite sex. Most of us did not "drive our own bus" growing up...and many of us never have.

Then came college...or for some the military. Wow, what institutions for challenging you to conform. In the military it is about learning discipline for following orders and "respecting authority"...especially those way up the chain to where you don't really know them personally. Those in college began the great competition for grades and grants that would get them the best shot at good jobs or careers. We learned to "play politics" and "dress for success". We have been judged more by the car we drive or house we live in versus "who we are" or our character traits.

I have been meeting a number of adults in "my age group" lately (mid 50s) who have made major life changes and a number who have said "they are just starting to live freely". I think many of these people just "stumbled" through the ropes of society...getting their degree, getting a job, getting married, having kids...basically fitting in nicely to what is expected of them...only to wake up one day and ask "who am I and what am I doing here?". I am meeting many people in their 50s and 60s who are just starting to feel independent and empowered in their lives after coming out of the shadows of their previous existences. They are just waking up to the power of "free will".

Even in those remote, undereducated, Arab countries in revolt right now...they are discovering the potential...and responsibility...of "free will". To live and BE who you want is a rare commodity in life. Most are so penned in by laws, taxes, payments, relationships, religions and governments...they have no sense or even desire to live freely and independently. Many people don't know how...most people just don't WANT TO. It takes too much risk and responsibility for some to break the molds and rules that bind them into an existence that they feel obligated to live in.

In many cases...the immensity of what you "own" actually owns YOU. I have met many people who have told me they would like to travel or even try living in other parts of the world...but alas...they have real estate, pets, kids and/or grand-kids who somehow they can't live without or think can't live without them. It's all really a matter of perspective, isn't it?

What I have always felt, believed and experienced is that each of us decides how much "freedom" we are going to exercise. Most of us have the capacity to exercise free will and reason to direct our lives in certain directions. Some of us use that freedom productively, others too easily give it up for traditions and irrational attachments.

Traditions and attachments are not harmful in and of themselves. It is only when those histories and appendages completely blot out the reality of who we are...or WANT to be. A simple exercise in living is to go to a crowded mall somewhere and just observe the various forms of humanity moving about in some invisible form of energy in motion. It is helpful to get out of our SELVES long enough to get into observing and knowing others. This to me is when life's education truly begins. Now, as you observe various individuals, you can almost tell intuitively by their appearances, the way they walk, the way they interact or don't...who is living freely and independently. How many of these people are really free to be who they WANT to be? How many have a clue? Maybe it is just me, but I see most of humanity living in quiet futility...appearing like deer staring in the headlights of life...with very little idea of how to react or TAKE ACTION in their lives or how to respond to the world around them.

And yes, I am human and have had my moments in life when I was blinded by my emotions, attachments or even personal ambitions...to the point where I could not see or live objectively. It is admittedly hard to keep objectivity in life. We are so easily jaded or emotionally damaged by life's perpetual harshness. The harsh realities of struggling to live...and struggling with our eventual death. It all can appear so huge and heavy that we lose our ability to function...our ability to exercise our free will.

But...if we allow ourselves to do so...we can throw off all the negativity and ugliness that has walled us in to our uncertainty. We can step by step start climbing up and over the obstacles that keep us from living freely. For some of us it is certain relationships that have smothered our existence for years or decades. For others it is the lack of self love and respect...those values which enable you to look yourself in the mirror and constantly say "yes I can" and "yes I will".

I continue to strive...to exercise my "power of one"...to throw off every doubt and doubter...and run the race of my own life as best I can do it. Who is with me? Get next to me or get behind me. But don't stand in front of me as I will have to run over or around you...and you will no longer be in my sight. Maybe that is better...for the both of us.

Don't underestimate the power of...free will.

New Immigration Perspective

I couldn't help but be affected today by this article from journalist Andres Oppenheimer on "immigration reform". This is a very divisive topic in the USA that few seem to have an objective handle on.

Having been through more immigration "labyrinths" than the average guy, I can personally speak to the ridiculous bureaucracies of most modern day governments...not just the USA. Between Latin America and the USA, I swear that immigration bureaucracies are the most corrupt and ineffective of all government offices.

For me, the top three wasteful bureaucracies in the USA are immigration, drug enforcement, and "Department of Defense"...not necessarily in that order. If I were attempting to balance the US budget...which seems to an increasingly politically correct priority in government at least at this hour...I would probably find creative ways to cut budgets of all three divisions of these failing bureaucracies...in HALF.

Costs for incarceration of illegal immigrants is running around $6.7 Billion annually. 27% of all prisoners in Federal custody are criminal illegal aliens and the majority (63%) of those are Mexican citizens. In the midst of this you have a large bureaucratic budget that is not working. The cost of that dysfunction to our society in the USA alone is many times more than the incarceration budget. For me this continues to underline the ineptitude of governments to run any kind of business, let alone immigration.

Here are some high level solutions/ideas that come to mind that I would initiate if I were "King"...

I would take all the paper and in-person processes of immigration and redirect as much as possible "online". No paper and no paper money transactions. The first barrier to immigration would be you have to have internet access and a verifiable online identity to gain entry into the USA along with a digital money way to pay the fees. I estimate this alone would save 50-60% of the processing costs at immigration. It would eliminate unnecessary, expensive jobs in the system and right away force applicants to have enough money, education and traceability to be able to communicate with immigration through computers. Obviously the USA doesn't want the poor and illiterate any longer anyways. To gain entry to the USA you would need a debit card, mobile money or some form of identity attached to your funds..proving you have enough to sustain yourself for a period of time.

I would grant a one time amnesty to all current illegals in the USA who do not have criminal records. Once again, this process would not be "in person", but online verification only. There would be one final in-person interview to match up the required documentation with the identity of the person...not the 3+ in-person touches and standing in lines demanded by the current approach. These people would be granted a national ID card, different than citizenship, that would allow them to work and compete with their ideas in the USA system. This approach would put all of these undocumented workers immediately into the "system" from which the government taxes and pays for all of society's services. It would be illegal to grant work to anyone that does not have a passport or national ID card. The national ID card would not guarantee participation in the Social Security system. These workers would not pay into social security, nor gain any benefits from said system

Any illegals who have a criminal record would be immediately exported...OR...if their crimes are serious enough they would be put into labor camps...not prison cells. These labor camps would include education opportunities and teaching skills and trades that these people could use for acquiring jobs when/if they reenter society. Meantime, they would "work off" their cost of incarceration by performing labor. This could be anything from basic computer work, to cleaning the streets and parks of America...or making license plates like they USED to. No more "free bed and breakfast" in the USA penitentiary system. This whole thing could become a social support center of productivity and learning. Most criminals are never "rehabilitated" and return to society with a record and no jobs. No wonder they often become hardcore criminals and repeat offenders of society.

While the USA constitution covers basic rights of ALL mankind...there are many "rights" that are or SHOULD BE reserved for "citizens only". Foreigners should not have the same access to public education or social services as residents and citizens. Any "foreigner" caught with a gun or convicted of a felony should be immediately expelled from the USA without delay. The elimination of "due process" costs in our current system alone would more than cover the cost of deportation.

Immigration is a very complicated subject for me. I have many friends and acquaintances who have been forced to live "illegally" somewhere/sometime by the combination of their personal situations and/or the ridiculous barriers of immigration bureaucracies. In most cases, it is the process of immigration itself that is the cause for "illegal" pursuits. As I have written previously about Mexico immigration process...it is silly that we make applicants of Mexico come to border towns in order to process their applications and pay their fees...knowing we are going to refuse over 80% of the applicants. After they have spent their dismal life savings trying to come to "America", it is no wonder these hordes make a "swim for it" when denied access at a point so close to the "promised land". That is a core point for my idea of taking the process "online".

I also continue to believe that what makes America great is the diversity and "melting pot" of nationalities that call themselves Americans. While it is a given there are too many Hispanic criminal elements in America, there are also way too many white criminals. We must not discriminate based on race. Most Latinos are industrious, hardworking family members. Many of them were in "America" before the Europeans...don't forget that important fact.

Here are some eye-opening links with summaries should anyone want more statistics on the immigration problem:

During the year of 2005 there were MILLIONS of illegal aliens that crossed our southern border along with as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border. www.house.gov/sites/.../tx10.../pdf/Investigaions-Border-Report.pdf

If you believe Lou Dobbs: ...the estimates by the most authoritative and recent study put the suppressed wages at $200 billion a year, as a result of immigration, both legal and illegal. We know that...the estimated costs run about $50 billion for services... we provide $7 billion in Social Security taxes every year, as if that is some sort of reasonable offset. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

Way back in 2003, state governments spent an estimated $11 billion to $22 billion to provide welfare to immigrants. Those programs included Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Child Care and Development Fund, reduced meal programs in school and public housing. (Steven A. Camarota, "Back Where We Started: An Examination of Trends in Immigrant Welfare Use Since Welfare Reform," Center for Immigration Studies, March 2003) Immigration and Welfare

The total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period.' http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/publications/?b=deportation

In closing, I agree with Mr Oppenheimer's opinion related to the cost of enforcing current immigration policies...

My opinion: If President Barack Obama and Congress are seriously considering drastic cuts in public spending — including funds for the FBI and other law enforcement agencies — they should definitely cut waste in immigration enforcement spending.

At the very least, they should have a serious discussion on whether it makes sense to spend $4.5 billion in deporting people who have not committed serious crimes and do jobs that Americans don’t want to do, while slashing funds for the FBI and other law enforcement agencies whose job is to put serious criminals behind bars

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/18/2074648_us-should-cut-waste-in-immigration.html#storylink=addthis#ixzz1EWi1giHb

The Dirty Dozen Despots

I have compiled my list of the top twelve world tyrants who should be thrown out of power...and it seems increasingly the masses of their constituents are in agreement. I call it my "Dirty Dozen Despots". There are probably 25+ other tyrants and demagogues close behind them on the world stage, but for starters the world has a much better chance for peace and prosperity if we get these first 12 out of the way.

The top twelve in this collage from the top, left to right are:

President Ali Abdul - Yemen
President Evo Morales - Bolivia
Ramon and Fidel Castro - Cuba
President Al Baraka - Bahrain
President Zine E l Abidine Ben Ali - Tunisia (GONE)
President Mubarak - Egypt (GONE)
President Bashar Al Assad - Syria
President Ahmadinejad - Iran
President Hugo Chavez - Venezuela
Moamer Gadhafi - Libya
Kim Jong Il - North Korea
President Abdela - Algeria

There are a number of other African and Asian leaders who need to be replaced...but this "dirty dozen" seem the most ready to topple, implode or who affect regional stability in the Middle East and elsewhere.

As they say, pictures are better than a thousand words. As you start reviewing photos of these despots, you start seeing common traits. The most telling sign of a dictator is their shaking of the index finger when talking. I could have delivered a photo of each one of these guys in a strikingly similar pointing pose, but I didn't want to send the message that they were all just alike. Some are more imposing and insane than others. The continual use of the forefinger strongly indicates their belief in authoritarianism and pointing their fingers at others to blame for their perceived need for "dictating" to their countrymen.

You also will see many of them often dressed in military uniforms. This sends another strong message of identifying with their military and their willingness to use them in defense of their hold on power. Whenever their own people rise up against them, they are always pointing the finger at "foreign powers" or "political enemies" for their leadership failures which somehow justifies their use of armed forces against their own people.

I have been very disappointed with my own government which has often times funded such regimes, including the former despots such as Noriega in Panama and Saddam Hussein in Iraq. The latest tally of the cost of the USA to take out Hussein's government in Iraq...a former ally...is over $775 BILLION! And he built those golden laden palaces and bought heavy munitions with OUR tax payer money that was supposedly sent to support democracy and humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people. What a TRAVESTY! We Americans really have to ask ourselves if these wars "for democracy and freedom" in Iraq and Afghanistan have been worth the $1.1 Trillion price tag which has significantly helped bankrupt our country. What would our border security, health and education systems look like with an effective infusion of that kind of money? Better yet, what would our country's balance sheet look like in support of the dollar and competitive economics if that money had been invested more effectively?

To that end, I see these popular uprisings of "the people" as doing us a big favor. At our rate of "non-peace" building as a nation, we will or would be at war with these people before long in this cause and effect world. Sure, we don't know who is going to take over for our "friend" Mubarak and other of these leaders as they get overthrown...yet I would hope we are happy to start fresh with some new, truly representative governments "of the people". I am quite sure they won't all go towards a system of "capitalism" or pure democracy. Many will lean very socialistic...and yes, Islamic. After all...that has been their culture and understanding for millenniums. Yet, I am quite confidant that if "the people" who are educated and true leaders in those countries have a new chance to govern, lead and do economic "deals" in the global marketplace, our world stands a lot better chance for peaceful co-existence than we have had during these times of extremist rulers and reactionary governance.

I will share in closing my BIGGEST concern. My biggest concern is that the leaders of the three biggest world powers...China, USA and Russia...will be quickly starting to compete for influencing and buying the new leaderships of these smaller countries. And not only that, I am quite sure they all are taking notes on how quickly popular revolutions can turn the tables on "established governance" if the masses start realizing how controlled and victimized they may be by their own leaders and military. We have too few fingers holding the capability of pushing the military...or worse yet...nuclear...power option. While I concur that we cannot let any of these despots gain nuclear military capability...the "superpowers" that already have them (including Pakistan, India, and Israel) should all find ways to turn those nuclear "swords" into "Plowshares" as quickly as possible. The only way I see that happening is to have the world so economically linked and interdependent that there is no need for such weapons and capability.

Will my country be one of the first "peacemakers" to that end? Only time will tell...and it is up to "the people" to demand that pursuit by our leaders. Demagogues and nuclear buttons are an unfortunate reality of what our world has become. May "the people" continue their pursuit of demanding global harmony, peace and a fair shot at prosperity without filling the pockets of these global despots.

By the way, does anyone know where Mubarak is hiding with his ill gotten BILLIONS? The world is shrinking and these people can no longer hide unless "our leaders" allow them to.

The legacy of Sam Taliaferro

One of my earliest influences in moving to Panama over 6 years ago passed away much too soon yesterday morning. Sam Taliaferro, probably the most renown American developer and entrepreneur in Panama has lost his two year battle with cancer.

The eloquent posting on his "Panama Investor Blog" by his friend Paul McBride sums up much of who Sam was better than I could. I only met Sam briefly a couple of times in my early years in Panama, but having observed his community in the mountains of Boquete, Chiriqui, Panama and reading his blogs these past years has helped me immensely in measuring my expectations of living and investing in Panama. We cross linked our blogs and exchanged occasional messages and references. I hope his family will leave his blog up for a long time as a reference point for new people interested in understanding what it means to live "offshore"...and in Panama specifically. Perhaps someone can even pick up where Sam left off...though those would be hard shoes to fill.

Like me, Sam was tremendously influenced by the philosophy of "objectivism" as revealed in the writings of Ayn Rand. He was a productive and "freedom loving" man who lived and breathed as he believed. Strong, resourceful, influential and ever optimistic are just a few of the adjectives I observed in him and his writings...even from a distance.

I can only hope to carry forward the truth along with others of Sam's message and "CAN DO" spirit in life. The "instructions" of Sam's example to me were:

Think positive, but be realistic. While Sam loved Panama and his creation of community in Boquete, he was also realistic about the challenges and "downsides" that living in a Latin third world country affords. He was not afraid to speak out about the problems and inconsistencies encountered here in government and culture.

Prosper but give back. It is impressive all that Sam accomplished in a relatively short life. While I'm sure he enjoyed the financial success, I didn't read him as "all about the money". I think he took more pride in "leadership" and helping others discover and act on profitable and productive living habits.

Sam demonstrated the power of promotion and positive energy. He understood and faced the challenges of living freely and without constraint in this complicated world...and he tirelessly promoted and accomplished his vision of providing an "oasis in the desert" from unbalanced taxation and government interference in man's pursuit of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".

More than anything, Sam demonstrated the "power of one" to make a difference in this life. I don't know if he was a religious man or not, but he definitely believed in himself and his vision...and it appears he fought to the very end for that vision and the kind of world HE wanted to live in.

The final lesson as usual is that no matter how successful or rich we are, ones health is the greatest blessing one can have. None of us know what day or hour we may face life's final curtain. To that end, none of us should waste a day or an hour in pursuing that which we want to accomplish. I have a feeling Sam didn't waste much time nor suffer fools easily.

May we all be inspired by the legacy of Sam Taliaferro.

Energy Independence

Leave it to Jon Stewart to best narrate the core reasons why the USA and most of the developing world continues to be dependent on foreign oil and the polluting nature of fossil fuels. While world leaders including all past Presidents of the USA in recent history have been expounding on our need to get away from dependency on foreign oil...everyone continues to be increasingly dependent...and the price continues to go up and up.

Somehow the recent Arab revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia have driven oil prices up substantially.  Gas prices here in Panama are up 10% in just a couple weeks time. Of course, compared to Europe and other international locations, our gas is CHEAP!  Do any of you understand the dynamics of OPEC and how their determinations are forced on all of us?

I went to a conference this past Friday on "Renewable Energy in Panama" which was very informative on many projects happening throughout Central America in generating renewable energy.  There are currently 289 funded projects in Central America for renewable energy.  Of those, 89 are Hydroelectric plants, 103 are Biomass and 87 are wind based. The only problems with those projects are...hydroelectric is dependent on water and in many places displaces water needed for agriculture and other needs including consumption. During dry season in the tropics, the production from Hydroelectric can go down in a hurry with low water levels against grid demands.  Biomass cannot even be deemed "clean energy" in many respects because it usually involves burning of organic matter which in most cases releases harmful levels of Carbon Dioxide into the air. Wind is clean, but takes up a lot of space for the amount of store-able energy it can produce and kills a lot of birds.

I have recently become familiar with some new technologies that can produce renewable, clean energy...yet they are typically underfunded and will probably take a LONG time to reach the market.  The biggest problem with new technologies is that government regulators in the various countries are also the PRODUCERS of that energy in the traditional, expensive and polluting approach. Do you think THEY are motivated to see change in the process and cost of producing electricity and gas for running your vehicles? Think again. It is very difficult for traditional private ventures to get money behind new technologies to improve the environment and reduce costs...because they are undermined by government regulators and BIG money suppliers of energy.  Government leaders talk a big story...but meanwhile their back pockets and campaigns are filled by big oil and traditional energy producers. They can't "fly" with this because they are weighted down by "special interests".

As usual, we "the people" will continue to pay whatever price they demand to drive our cars and cool/heat our homes. We will continue to give a large percentage of our hard earned incomes to the Saudis, Russia, Venezuela and other producing sources who continue to run roughshod over the poor masses who are their constituents.  Our own US government will continue to force us to buy foreign oil instead of use our own reserves for half the price. While I am quite convinced that 1-2 weeks of everyone just walking instead of driving would make a significant dent in those "powers that be"...most of us individually are too selfish and/or hopeless to participate in such a statement.  Most people just think they have no say in the matter...so they just keep buying and driving. The "system" counts on that.

Personally I will continue to pursue and learn about renewable energy sources. I think market forces and reality will someday be the driver for change. Someone will set the pace and start making billions off of replacement energy. Only greed will drive others to replicate such success. Unfortunately it will always be about the money and not about good ecology or the health of the human race...or the funding of our adversaries.

Following the Money

As embattled Egyptian President Mubarak continues to defy the masses of Egyptians demonstrating for his removal, the military today announces its support for his decision. This could bring devastating affect to peace and stability in Egypt...and throughout the region. As we ask the question "why" these people will not relinquish their position over night, I think you will find the answer by "following the money".

Just doing a little digging of public information, it is easy to see the USA government's complicity in facilitating this situation. According to this Washington Post source...

Since the Camp David peace accords more than three decades ago, the United States and Egypt have had an unspoken bargain in terms of the roughly $2 billion in aid given each year to Cairo: The Egyptian government had veto power over which nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) could receive the money. This deal meant that funds labeled by Washington as promoting democracy often ended up being used for other projects, such as sludge removal or to bolster the very judicial institutions used to jail democracy advocates.

Meanwhile, the largest chunk of the annual largess, about $1.3 billion, was given to Egypt's military and security forces. The security forces have been repeatedly cited in the State Department's human rights report for torture, prolonged detentions without charge and other abuses. While overall aid to Egypt has declined in recent years, the budget for the security forces and the military has remained mostly intact. 

Should we then be surprised that the military would support this beleaguered President in Egypt? I can imagine them all now in back rooms of government offices cutting deals and dividing the spoils before leaving power. A couple million for this general, a few hundred thousand for the Chief of Police...and of course no one will probably ever know how much Mubarak himself has pilfered away in secret accounts and holdings. Much of this thanks to the USA taxpayers contributions ANNUALLY for almost 30 years of $2 billion with a B.  Now we really understand the reluctance to give up power in the world...and the double standard the USA government once again demonstrates in supporting, and next day withdrawing, from world tyrants and dictators.

I just hope before they finally get Mubarack out of there that some funds are still left to rebuild the country with. I can see it now..."New appropriations bill before Congress promising $2 Trillion in funding to restore confidence in Egypt".