Tuesday, August 8, 2016

--The Whack-O Theories, containing fairy-tales, have done so much better than I had expected that I'll be digging around to see if there's more I can find worthy of the title!

--Globalization, as a separate theme, continues to be talked about in today's politics so I've tended to put my own thoughts to one side.  Might add an item or two in the near future.

(--Just a side comment: I've never seen the world progressing so fast as now.  Obviously, there's a lot of people of good will achieving their goals for a better world.)

--I've recently completed some introductory remarks on the "Christian Theology of Peace and Well-Being."  If there's particular interest in some aspect of the topic, I'll gladly follow up.

--Not much going on till the Fall, so I'll pick up then.

Organized labor in trade agreements

The current discussions by the two presidential hopefuls have netted so far a gaping hole in trade agreements regarding labor costs of goods produced in developing nations--which  result in a glut of goods produced abroad that don't equitably adjust at real wage standards (either because the poorer countries are using child labor or the items produced  are substantially below cost-of-living standards in these countries).

Clearly, organized labor should represent a just and living wage for labor costs in items produced wherever among nations in these trade agreements.  And, any discrepancy should result in penalties against nations who are simply dumping items, cheaply produced through unfair competitive means.  The penalties could go to subsidize education in these poor countries or in increased stipends to their workers      

XX. Putin and Trump apparent commonalities

On C-Span the other day, Washington Journal program, a political analyst, Mr. Eland,  who has been associated with a conservative think-tank in the DC area, the CATO Institute, made the case that NATO may have outlived its usefulness.  His reasoning seemed in line with Trump's position, viz., our involvement in NATO should be reviewed, particularly since some European countries have not lived up to their financial obligations to support it .  Further, he contended that Russia has a legitimate interest in securing the Ukraine as part of its natural sphere of influence.

Now, I understand that a "sphere of interest" can be thought of as a region or geographical area in need of especial protection from harm or endangerment, such as a waterway that is in need of security from instability and closure by some country's hostile attempt to control it for its own purposes at the expense of trade and commerce among regional neighbors.  But to treat an independent nation as being within another country's "sphere of influence," especially when that independent nation is legitimately pursuing its own affairs without affecting the rights of any other nation to act within its own boundaries seems "illegitimate."

In any case, the apparent fact that someone of Trump's advisers was close to a former Ukrainian President got me to wondering:  what if there were really some fundamental political stances of President Putin that are shared with Presidential candidate Donald Trump?

For instance, we know that the Russian Revolution got rid of the aristocratic government in Russia. That Revolution championed the cause of the Russian Proletariat--the Russian working class.  And that class took over the central government.  Maybe, Trump's stance on behalf of the workers in the US could be compared to it.  Trump admits he knows the tricks and nefarious dealings of the present-day ruling elite in the US; and thus is in position to right the wrongs on behalf of the working class.  He further contends that he alone is in position to make use of such knowledge.

Also, while Putin's support is primarily from the white Russian population, both in Russia proper and its present satellites, casting aspersions on those in that region not of Russian descent, Trump relies upon his candidacy from primarily the whites in America, delimiting it further to white men..

Now, if indeed the Russian government is aiding the hackers to leak DNC info that could prove an obstacle for Hilary in her race to the Presidency, one might be presented with a possible motive for Trump's avowed neutralism in his characterization of Russia's politics toward the US, despite the current Administration's adversarial position.  And, what Putin might be desirous should Trump win in the US are a sure-footing against NATO and the independence of nations formerly under Russia's "sphere of influence," especially the Ukraine.

Well, this is just  a series of conjectures that make up a Whack-O Theory!  Nothing but conjecture.

But this Theory would explain a further adamant contention by Trump, namely, get rid of international trade deals in existence now so as to reconfigure them to better promote American worker interests.   Now, we know that Trump has yet to make clear that he understands, automation is the major factor in worker displacement around the world.  He might be wanting us to believe that these international trade deals are simply swamping the US workers off the map.  Be it known, however, that most of these trade deals come with a juridical court system to handle international disputes in trade and commerce, e.g., the WTO.  So, there's methods to cope with disputes over trade deals that can be taken up when appealed to by a member nation or its internal corporation.                

  
   

El Paso, the city to live in, if you're old!

My friends that live in LA still, whom I've known for some time, urged me some 18 years ago to think about getting out of LA for purposes of living well in old age.  They insisted on my going to El Paso, and I'm now living here on a permanent basis--no gaps to live in some other city for a time.

When I first came to El Paso, I would rent a room at the Gardner Hotel for 3 or more consecutive months, then board the bus and live in some other city in the country, say hypothetically, Seatlle, for 3 or 4 months; and then return to El Paso.  I used El Paso as my base of operations, as it were.

That continued for at least 15 years, living in El Paso for a certain number of months, then going someplace else in the States for a time.

FUN!

But now, I'm sort of settled into El Paso.  It remains what will happen should I need medical care, especially for a long term basis.  I wouldn't like to return to Sacramento, where last year I spent some 8 months, recovering from an A-Fib procedure on my heart that necessitated better care than I was receiving in El Paso, where the procedure was done. Too expensive a city for me, who must live only on my social security allotment.  Oh well, time will tell!

I still remain in contact with the federal agency in LA where these friends were working.  Nice people, there.

To the Point

I've recently learned from the locals that El Paso is one of the 2 driest cities in the US.  This fact may account for the phenomenon of old people living here to very old ages. into their nineties and even longer than that, remarkably.






  

The simple heating pad use

My folks introduced me to the heating pad and how to use it some 70+ years ago!

I've been using it on and off ever since.  I think it has great value; and now that I'm old, suffering with arthritis--like most my age, I'm more convinced than ever of its need in my life.

Don't be lost without it!: my motto.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

--I have re-instituted corralling items on the topic "Olli Reports" in the Ruminations blog.  
I'm now enrolled in the China course, taught by Mr. Paul Huchton.  This course is offered in the Olli program (i.e., Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) at the University of Texas-El Paso) summer session as a continuation of the China Course in the Spring Semester.  I'm also taking a course this summer in Italian Art Appreciation taught by Kathleen Key. Things I find interesting in either course will become the current items on this topic.

--Because I attend St. Clement's Church in El Paso and continue an interest in religious didactics, I am prompted to make points in religious belief and doctrine that I want to capture in the blog format.  So, I'm opening up a topic "Religious Didactics" in the Didactics blog.

July 7, 2016: Ops Central #2--Completed?

I'm of the opinion that Ops. Central #2 is functioning well, thanks to some needed help in getting it going!

The next Ops.. Central--#3--should be Washington, DC.  Isn't that where Trump is holding off  the inaugural of his new hotel extravaganza?  There's need for an Ops Central to handle some of the glaring inefficiencies and failures of the federal government--Trump has rightly alluded to these.  He has the nation's indebtedness for his outrageous stance.

Ops. Central #3 will be solely dealing with the federal departments and agencies; and I have intended it will have the clout that the GAO is lacking.

If its establishment is as egregious and distinguished in performance as the Ops Central #s 1 and #2 are displaying,  the USA will be even greater to be praised and emulated world-wide, I am sure.

So now, the preparations for Ops Central #3 are in sequential order.  The Joint Chief of Staffs office is especially worthy of laudatory praise for whatever contributions it is making to this new methodology in federal control.