Igor The Troll

Miscommunication - Train Wreck

Today I experienced a Train Wreck. I was coming out of my bathroom and my wife told me to leave the light on. When I heard it, my hand was on the switch and I clicked it off by reflex. My wife hearing the click yelled at me to leave the light on. Why did she yell at me being that she heard the light switch click? She could have just walked into the bathroom and turned the light back on! Her reflex was to yell at me. Usually she yells at me if I leave the light on.

I am an Israeli and my wife is Japanese. Sometimes we miscommunicate. Imagine if Iran and Israel both had the Nuclear bombs? Would there be a possibility for miscommunication?

I see a train wreck waiting to happen! It could just be semantics. Turn the switch off, oh sorry we thought they said turn it on!

Miscommunication happens all the time in business relationships, friends relationships, political relationships, and in marriage. Sometimes both parties acknowledge the mistake was made, over times it get serious, especially when someone believes they are right. My issue here is not how to avoid a miscommunication, because it will always happen between people, but how do you deal with the after affect.

The “change” that Barack Obama has promised us is nothing more than a campaign slogan. While change is desired, it is very difficult to implement. Nobody needs ideological change, but we all want practical change. The later takes time and lots of work.

I am happy to say that Obama’s administration is beginning to take shape. It is being assembled of moderates from Clinton’s administration. I am also elated that the extreme liberal wing nuts that supported Obama during the campaign trail are not being included in this administration.

Let us all hope that the next 4 or 8 years are going to be taken in stride and caution. No one needs radicalism. American economy is not some “Hot IPO” that needs to skyrocket in growth. A little economic austerity is not going to hurt anyone. We need to learn how to be frugal and not live beyond what is reasonable. Let us all deflate our grandeur expectations and come down to reality!

As far as American political situation with the rest of the world goes, it will take time to resolve and stabilize relationships. It is not as simple as let’s bring American troops home and disengage from the Middle East. America has been in the Middle East for around 60 years now, and will still be there for a long time to come. While many people mistakenly think it is about Israel, it is not! It is about Oil and America’s stable supply of it. America serves as a protector and a conduit to all the parties involved in the Middle East equation.

Barack Obama I hope you can steer the American ship gently through the rough Geopolitical waters. You do not turn around a Great Ship like America 180 degrees and not expect grave ramifications. Do you want Titanic on your hands? So as long as you adhere to the advice of moderate politicians we will recover from these turbulent and complex times. But if you diverge from modernism to radical social liberalism, regulating and constraining American society and economy, you will find a lot of opposition and enemies on your hands.

So please do not rock the boat, and we as the society will get through these difficult times.

From emperors of the Chin dynasty to feudal lords to foreign concessions to dictators China has been undergoing Changes. Sometimes the changes are slow at other times they are turbulent and full of blood! China and its underlaying society is based on Taoism. Everything is centered on the family and the collective. Some think it socialism, but it is not. It is piety for the elders.

We are entering new era and the communist China is not communist anymore but capitalist. It is becoming the only super power in the wold challenging America on global stage. While China turned 360 degrees and went back to capitalism, America is becoming socialist searching for equality and equal class for all its citizens.

American regression from capitalism just empowers China because of its philosophical, social, and economic believes. Family is first no matter what is the cost. So China is the family which all its children the Chinese support fervently. There is no decent from the mantra!

China has a lot of beauty and reverence in its traditionalism, which many feel has been destroyed by industrial revolution. Well not so fast, the traditionalism is hidden within China. Same as the family is protected by its children. These are the underlying principles of Feng Shui. At the same time, the quick industrialization of China is destroying the nation and its people. But China needs to compete with America and the rest of the world for its survival.

China has scarce resources like agriculture and energy. If China does not industrialize itself it will fall prey to demise. If China over industrialize itself and exploits its people, China will fall prey to anarchy and oppression imploding on itself. China, so is the rest of the world, are worried about where China going and how it will get there.

Everyone is watching China! The West, the East, and the Chinese themselves. Recently I visited Temple of Heaven in Beijing where prayers and approvals are given to all emperors’ and now national undertakings. There I saw an elderly gentleman peering through communist China binoculars into a temple of the anointment of a new emperor. Is this gentleman searching for a sign from heaven?

Watching China

To see the American dilemma please read: Anti-Americanism

With the world economy at the brink of collapse FRB - Greenspan and Company are trying to resuscitate the patient living on life support. The Zombies which are the banks, insurance companies, and brokerage houses are all lined up to receive oxygen - Dollars before they mortally die bring the world economy to a stand still.

Some people say Allen Greenspan is not responsible for this economic collapse, but I vehemently differ. Greenspan has created a real estate bubble by keeping short term interbank rates low all through the Bush administration’s two terms, hence creating an oversupply of liquidity. Too much easy money allowed ignorant borrowers to borrow and buy houses with almost no down payment. The greedy banks more than welcomed to land to these subpar credit borrowers, thinking they discovered the fountain of youth! Money pured out from the facet until housing prices started falling down! Too late the banking system was infected with a perpetual cancer, because falling housing price made the properties worth less than the actual mortgages. Smart consumer realizing this readily defaulted on the loans!

Banks and Brokerage houses holding the Derivative Mortgages and insurance as Credit Default Swaps obligation fell to their knees. Bear Stern collapsed and was picked up by JP Morgan avoiding bankruptcy. Not far latter Lehman Brothers filed for chapter 11 bringing down AIG to its knees. Freddy Mac and Fanny May were nationalized by the USA government. There is more, much more, and the consumers are begining to feel the pain now with layoffs and unemployment. When is this Beast is going to be contained? In Japan the real estate bubble happened 20 years ago, and the economy has not been fixed yet!

This is not the first time Grreenspan screws up. During the IT bubble of the 90’s he waited to long before he raised the short term interest rates causing the Nasdaq to inflate to about 5,000 before it dropped to around 2,000. Retail investors wind up holding the bag and accumulating large loses to their 401 K portfolios.

It is FRB’s job to make sure the economy does not overheat and to help the economy not to fall into the recession by increasing M 1 and M 2 money supply.

Did Allen Greenspan fall asleep at the wheel or did the Bush administration forced him to spur the economy forward to take the attention off the unpopular war in Iraq? If American people are happy economically they do not care much about a War in some faraway place!

Greenspan Pumping Life into the Zombies

Artwork by Noah David Simon

Iran is a threat to the whole world! Iran has medium and long range missiles that can reach Israel, Turkey, Greece, and other European nations! Iran is working on developing a nuclear weapon!

Is America attacking Iran pragmatic and even feasible? as soon is Iran knowns it is going to be attacked it will start attacking Israel an Europe with its ballistic missiles! Iran will attack the Strait of Hormuz making the channel unnavigable!

America attacking Iran is a disaster waiting to happen! It will force oil to 500 usd a barrel. It will create chaos in global economy with collapse of world’s stock markets!