Day: December 7, 2020

Closing Thought–07Dec20

Most American know this day in our history…if not from school then from some programming on the History Channel……this is what became known as Pearl Harbor Day.

Most know that I do like history…..and most of what we know, or think we know, is basically propaganda….and the attack is no different.

Yes it was a dastardly attack…..but it should have been anticipated because of our actions toward Japan in the Pacific……and yet we were caught flat footed?

This is a look at the events that lead up to the attack on Sunday, 07 December 1941…..

One of the holiest days of the year is fast approaching. Are you ready? Remember the true meaning of Pearl Harbor Day!

The U.S. government planned, prepared for, and provoked a war with Japan for years, and was in many ways at war already, waiting for Japan to fire the first shot, when Japan attacked the Philippines and Pearl Harbor. What gets lost in the questions of exactly who knew what when in the days before those attacks, and what combination of incompetence and cynicism allowed them to happen, is the fact that major steps had indisputably been taken toward war but none had been taken toward peace.

The Asia pivot of the Obama-Trump era had a precedent in the years leading up to WWII, as the United States and Japan built up their military presence in the Pacific. The United States was aiding China in the war against Japan and blockading Japan to deprive it of critical resources prior to Japan’s attack on US troops and imperial territories. The militarism of the United States does not free Japan of responsibility for its own militarism, or vice versa, but the myth of the innocent bystander shockingly assaulted out of the blue is no more real than the myth of the war to save the Jews.

Have a Blessed Pearl Harbor Day

With that bit of history in the book….let me say…please take some time to remember our greatest generation and their hard knocks to win the war and to solidify America’s place in the world.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Jobs And Markets

The jobs report came out last week and it was not all that good as it was reported….

The new unemployment report is out, and it has a figure that in normal times would be strong: Employers added 245,000 new jobs in November. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate dropped from 6.9% to 6.7%. But in the context of the surging pandemic, the stat about new jobs is worrisome because it comes in well below expectations of 440,000, per the Wall Street Journal. The November figure is down sharply from 610,000 in October and marks the fifth consecutive month of a decline, per the AP. And CNBC notes that things will likely get worse for the economy in the next few months until vaccines are readily available.

As infection rates go down, as the number of people vaccinated goes up, then we’ll start to see … business activity expand at a faster rate, and we will see the employment numbers pick up more strongly,” David Berson of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. tells the Journal. For more context, the AP notes that the economy has recovered only 12 million or so of the 22 million jobs that were lost in March and April when the pandemic began. November’s figure of 245,000 new jobs is the lowest since April.

So while many Americans are with jobs and the crisis deepens there is good news for the bastards on Wall Street…..

A weaker-than-expected jobs report didn’t hurt the markets on Friday. In fact, it might have helped as Wall Street pushed further into record territory, reports CNBC. The Dow rose 248 points to 30,218, the S&P 500 rose 32 points to 3,699, and the Nasdaq rose 87 points to 12,464. All the gains were under 1%. “In a twist of irony, the bad jobs number is positive for markets today,” Keith Buchanan of Globalt Investments tells the AP. The idea is that the weak numbers will add to the pressure on Congress to reach a stimulus deal. “The market is telling us today that if the labor market continues to show slowing momentum, it’s much more likely the powers that be in DC agree to something that’s material,” says Buchanan.

So it is a positive note that Americans are without jobs and Christmas is on the horizon…..right?

Ain’t capitalism grand?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Still Bringing The Troops Home

Trump trying to gain favor for the election he just lost he has gone on a tear to bring the troops home (well at least out of the danger zones) Afghanistan, Iraq, Korea and even from Germany…..and keeping with the fad he stared he has ordered US troops out of Somalia…

The Pentagon announced on Friday that President Trump ordered the withdrawal of the “majority” of US troops from Somalia.

“The President of the United States has ordered the Department of Defense and the United States Africa Command to reposition the majority of personnel and assets out of Somalia by early 2021,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

The statement said “some forces may be reassigned outside of East Africa,” but the remaining troops will be reassigned to neighboring countries to “allow cross-border operations.”

The US currently has approximately 700 troops in Somalia. The majority of them were sent by the Trump administration. The US operations in the country consist of training local forces, covert raids, and a drone war against al-Shabab.

(antiwar.com)

Not to worry….the troops will just be moved and home is not on the agenda….

The New York Times reported on the plan and said the troops would be repositioned to neighboring Djibouti and Kenya, where the US drones that carry out airstrikes in Somalia are based.

President Trump dramatically escalated the air war against al-Shabab by loosening the rules of engagement when he first came into office. In 2019, the Trump administration conducted 63 airstrikes in Somalia, the most US airstrikes on the country in a single year.

Out of Somalia but not out of harm’s way…..

Next I would like to hear the Biden plan for Somalia and the US troops under his command.

Since Biden has always been on the wrong side of war I suspect that he will leave Somalia pretty much as it is today.

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”