AdF Doesn't Like Bauhaus

Bauhaus, the architectural design school created in Germany in 1919 and for some odd reason still influential in many parts of the world, is a contentious subject in East Germany, according to Reuters. 

Bauhaus itself isn't the issue. It's those who object to boxy, ugly brutalist buildings replacing traditional structures. Those objectors are attempting to make a point that was also that of 1930's Nazis. That makes them the heirs of the Nazi culture. 

archdaily.com

Members of the Alternative for Deutschland., invariably designated in the press, both locally and internationally, as "far right wing", aren't in favor of new construction following Bauhaus ideas so they are Nazis. It's important not to continue or resurrect atavistic Nazi concepts. But current Germans and in fact people all over the world drink beer, eat sausages,  and brush their teeth just as the Hitlerites did. But they are not labelled as Nazis.

What makes the AdF neo-nazis is their refusal to accept as normal idiotic government policies. They oppose what has become unlimited immigration and government subsidies for the invaders, similar to what is occurring in the US. They also oppose involvement in the Ukraine-Russia fiasco and favor diplomacy being used to settle an issue with the potential of destroying modern civilization. The AdF finds the efforts to eliminate climate change as futile and destructive of the German economy, both for business and ordinary citizens. Apparently that makes them Nazis, at least in the eyes of their political adversaries. It's similar to what is occurring in the US where politicians label their electoral opponents as fascists or commies. It's just easier that way.       

Jake Sullivan Defends Tariffs On Chinese Imports

 

The SCMP keeps track of US China policy for us, kind of. In an article about the administration's ideas on tariffs on Chinese imports as expressed by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan at an event at the Brookings Institution he informs us that  Biden’s approach on China represented a return to “a tradition” of American foreign policy based on the concept of “self-interest rightly understood”.

In 2023 the US imported, mostly from Canada and Mexico, USD 210.3 billion in automobiles from 87 countries. Manufacturers in mainland China shipped $2.5 billion in cars or about 1.2% of US imports.

 

 

Lowest Sea Level Ever Recorded

On Saturday, Oct. 12 the sea level dropped 7.9 feet below the low tide line, the lowest ever recorded at Nome, Alaska. If this sort of thing continues, no doubt due to climate change, bad things will happen in the Bering Sea, whales and walrus might starve or be eaten by polar bears. Seals will head south. Ducks and geese will get out of town for sure.

                                                photo by Anna Leotis  Nome Nugget

 

 

Haitian Rice and Firearms

Spanish English-language on-line news portal El Pais carries an opinion piece on the travails in Haiti, a place well known for unpleasant disasters for the population. This comes because rumors have been going around about Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio eating the local's pets. The article goes on to describe the verifiable problems of the country.

To begin with no mention is made of the fact that Haiti, an island country, shares the island with the Dominican Republic. Certainly through the years the Dominican Republic has had its own share of problems but nothing on the scale of Haiti. The Dominican Republic frequently gets in the news because it's a primary source of US major league baseball stars, not for overpowering social problems.

 

ar.inspiredpencil.com

The satellite photo shows two very divergent landscapes on the same island, one green and healthy, the other barren. Come to your own conclusion.

The writer makes two salient observations: 1. That the endemic violence of Haiti is caused by illegal arms importation Florida gun runners. 2. The domestic rice production of Haiti was destroyed by US President Clinton forcing them to abandon a rice tariff meant to improve the agricultural economy of Arkansas.

In regard to claim #1, arms dealing is meant to be a profitable enterprise for the dealer, who expects to make money on the transaction. In this case, from where do the funds for arms purchases come in a place noted for its poverty? Furthermore, in order for a gun of any kind to be effective ammunition is required. No ammunition is manufactured on Haiti either. It must be purchased, at a premium, from Florida gun gangsters.

Statement #2 makes the point that  a tariff on imported rice was beneficial to Haitian rice growers and its termination meant that rice was no longer grown on the island. This is a common misconception of what tariffs are meant to accomplish and the actual result. In this case, as in all other tariff situations, it raised the price of rice for consumers. Clinton's economic diplomacy meant that without the tariff rice became cheaper. Perhaps that made more funds available for arms purchases.

In any event, neither of the two issues addresses the high level of violence in Haiti. It's apparently deeper than lots of guns and cheap rice.   

 

 

Bill Clinton and Chuck Schumer Both Advocate Increased Immigration

 

juliabeverly getty images

 

Former Rhodes Scholar and US President Bill Clinton maintained in a speech at a fish fry that immigration was necessary to maintain the economic growth that makes the US such a nifty place because US women are refusing to reproduce. Oswald Spengler predicted and explained this phenomenon years ago in his classic "The Decline of the West".

As many Yankees are coming to realize, increasing amounts of immigration won't produce a dynamic US economy but instead will result in a different national entity as time goes by. Just as the invasion by Europeans eliminated the native cultures and populations in and after the dawn of the 16th century, immigration to Europe and North America will eventually mean the birth of a new culture. All the riches that were showered on the military-industrial complex to prevent the Bolsheviks from changing Texas to a warmer and more Baptist Siberia will have been wasted.

The elites of the West apparently believe that they and their maybe descendants will be insulated from such a development, the current proles just being replaced by a more exotic harmless version. The Ivy League alumni will still be the decision makers.

We regularly hear about the impending doom of Japan from a diminishing birth rate. In fact, we've been hearing about it for many years. But Japan is still around, doing odd Japanese things that are authorized or ignored by the US, who is using the island chain as an advance aircraft carrier in the western Pacific.

The concern over a falling US birth rate has nothing to do with preserving the country as a society or culture. If it did, obviously the educational system and other cultural influences would talk females out of aborting their unborn. This they have not attempted to do. So replacing the deceased isn't about continuity, or sustainability, currently a favorite word, but instead, like everything else, an issue of wealth.

The fertility rate doesn't need to drop very much before the financial mavens worry about the most serious problem, consequent declines in asset values. Most concrete assets decrease in value when the surrounding population falls, except perhaps senior living facilities. Most of the time assets are purchased with the expectation that they will either produce income or increase in value. Homes on the fruited plain aren't just places to live. The idea that they will increase in value makes them an investment, a source of funds for tuition at the senior living facility. For business, real estate is the best security for loans, as long as it increases in value.

A trip through rural America demonstrates how it works. Small towns are, for lack of population, shuttering their operations. Agriculture, the most important industry in the world, now needs a fraction of the work force it once did. The farm land prices are rising but the homes and businesses in the villages are closing up. A decline in fertility will spread this affliction everywhere if immigrants aren't allowed to replace Americans. Someone must pay the rent on the many thousands of new apartments still being built in the suburbs or the banks may be offended.      

Private Equity Goes After The Plumbers

In a top-of-the-fold, front page exposure on Oct. 14, the WSJ highlights what they believe to be a significant change in the US economic picture, private equity firms buying their way into the mechanical service and construction industries. The article fails to mention that the same occurred in a slightly different guise twenty-five years ago. In 2000 US Filter bought a number of western US mechanical contractors. They were following the lead of other consolidators who anticipated a gold rush in infrastructure development, particularly in the growing computer hardware field. This trend, interrupted by the twists and turns of the national economy has continued to this day.

The real question, if there is one, is whom this phenomenon benefits and how much? No doubt some players see that the replacement of obsolete boilers and the introduction of supposedly more efficient heat pumps to take advantage of government subsidies related to the fight against climate change are an opportunity not to be ignored. Simply taking over the family businesses that have been the focus of mechanical service until now probably isn't the ultimate aim. 

The mechanical trades are a tough business. Heavily unionized in the most lucrative areas, they require management with sharp pencils for successful bidding and experienced work crews with highly developed skills. As in many other businesses, the success of the private equity buyers will be contingent on the workers in the field more than the ownership.  

   

A New Executive Vice President For Finance And Operations At The University Of Minnesota

Gregg Goldman

 

Following approval by the Board of Regents today Gregg Goldman will be taking the financial reins of the University of Minnesota on November 11, replacing interim Senior VP Julie Tonneson who replaced Myron Franz on March 1, 2024.

There's been scant information on Goldman's career up to this point. Goldman's age hasn't been mentioned. He has made brief stops at UCLA and Hillspire LLC, the entity that keeps track of Google co-founder Eric Schmidt and wife Wendy's philanthropy and other financial interests to the tune of $20 billion. 

Where Goldman's CV becomes interesting is his tenure prior to UCLA, at the University of Arizona. Tony De Francesco also went on to UCLA. The situation in Arizona  has led to a $10 million law suit. There's a possibility that Mr. De Francesco could eventually have a position in Gopherville as well.

The romance of Mr. Goldman is more interesting yet:

 

Illegal Photography

 

 FILE - This photo shows an aerial view of Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center in Grayling, Mich., July 19, 2014. (AP Photo/John L. Russell, File)

In August of 2023 five Chinese students from the University of Michigan were discovered sneaking around after dark in the woods near Camp Grayling, Michigan, a national guard training site in the center of north central Michigan at the junction of Interstate Highway 75, US Rte. 127, M-72 and M-93. The students were not arrested but federal authorities have since kept tabs on them, discovering that they may have misled investigators by claiming to have made the trip from Ann Arbor to see shooting stars and later deleted photos of military equipment from their smart phones.

US authorities don't know the location of the five but intend to arrest them if possible.

A further consideration brought by the incident is that there is presently a plan to construct a battery plant only 88 miles from the base involving the presence of an entity with ties to the CCP. Michigan congressman Joe Moolenar said: 

 "This case shows once again that CCP espionage can happen anywhere in America and we must be vigilant. The CCP obviously has an interest in Camp Grayling and this is further evidence it would be a mistake for Michigan leaders to allow Gotion to build in our state. State funding for Gotion’s plan to bring Chinese nationals to Mecosta County is an open invitation for further spying on Camp Grayling.

For national security reasons, Governor Whitmer and the legislature must revoke state funding for Gotion immediately,” the Republican Congressman stated, linking the charges against the students to the battery plant.

The purpose of taking photos at night of a national guard camp in Michigan hasn't been speculated upon by federal authorities. Anyone else could come up with a few possibilities. First of all, is it illegal for anyone to take photos of Camp Grayling or just students from foreign countries? Are foreign students advised upon arrival in the land of the free and home of the brave that taking photos involving the military is illegal? And after the espionage mission is completed what will the spies, and their masters, do with the photos? Could they be useful in planning an attack on north central Michigan? Or could a midnight photo of Camp Grayling shed light on US National Guard training techniques that the godless Commies can adopt for their own evil purposes? Exactly how close can a Chinese be allowed to approach a US missile, howitzer, L-ATV or even enlisted infantryman? Or, did the college students concoct a plan to sell photos of the installation to the Chinese military itself?

Cigarettes Were Banned

                Thursday, June 26, 1947

 

 We are not cheerful. The American government banned the import of cigarettes. And that to a country where now for years Chesterfields are used as the standard currency.

"What do you think is the most effective way to combat the black market?" and American finance specialist asked me recently.

 "By giving us cigarettes," I replied.

 He looked at me disapprovingly. "Might a vanquished people be so addicted to intoxicants?" I interpreted his look. A hundred times I have asked myself the same question. Why do people who have never touched a cigarette before suddenly smoke? Why do they sell their food ration cards just to buy a pack of cigarettes on the black market at an incredible price? Why at a time when the monthly cigarette allotment is twelve cigarettes per person? That is per every male person. Women get only half as many. Why don't we draw the conclusions from this lack of supply and stop smoking altogether? Because we are unable to. Daily, if not hourly, fate presents us with new shocks. The shock of a night of bombs, the fear of being raped, the insecurity of life in Berlin, the whole misery of our life in the ruins---all that cannot be compensated with oatmeal. Or with grits or ersatz coffee. It is the discrepancy between the intensity of our fate and drabness of our daily life that makes us addicted to cigarettes. For a few happier moments they offer escape from an unbearable reality. This is the secret that made Chesterfields into the standard currency. And as we are condemned to cope with so much more than our strength permits, they will remain a focus of our desire.

Now the importation of tobacco has been banned. What an illusion to expect that stopping the supply will stop the demand. If only the occupying powers could show a little more compassion for personal needs. What do the sated know of the hungry? Or people who throw away half-smoked butts about those who eagerly sacrifice three and a half marks for one of those butts. On the black market or wherever they can get it.

 

Battleground Berlin, Diaries 1945-1948; Ruth Andreas-Friedrich, Paragon House Publishers, New York, 1990, pgs. 176-177. 

Sorting Out The Inflation Reduction Act

The Orwellian named Whig 2022 Inflation Reduction Act is being figured out by everyone with an interest in getting a chunk of $369 billion. The  Environmental Protection Agency's National Clean Investment Fund was established by the legislation which has channeled $6.97 billion through Climate United, a non-profit NGO, that is now putting $32 million of those taxpayer dollars into a project being done by Scenic Hill Solar to power the University of Arkansas with solar energy. The EPA is giving away so much money that they must hire outside private organizations to hit the keys that move the funds from the public purse to the private sector. The more entities in the process, the more money that can be siphoned. 

When mountains of money are available opportunists look to be involved. Instead  of battling the renewable energy industry, the hydrocarbon sector has decided to join them. Executives of the major oil companies are worried that if their ally Trump wins the next election the EPA fund will be terminated and their own industries will be negatively affected. They are investing billions in direct capture CO2 and hydrogen  projects and tax credits are a resource for them. Of course the hydrocarbon corporations aren't in favor of every part of the legislation. They oppose tax credits for electric vehicles, among other things. 

Things That Are Needed During and After a Disaster

 

What Does The Longshoreman's Strike Mean?

The east coast longshoremen are now on strike. An increase in wages of 77% over six years or an hourly wage increase from $39 to $69 dollars is their target. An agreement would also entail restrictions on port automation and benefits.

Retailers admit that if not settled quickly the work stoppage will create bottlenecks in already strained supply lines that create shortages and even if resolved in the very near future will raise prices for consumers.

When government officials wanted to create or raise tariffs on imports from certain countries the impact on consumers, higher prices, was merely a buzz in the background. The idea that higher prices on foreign products and their subsequent fall in import volume might lead to smaller demand wasn't a topic of conversation. After all the ability of domestic manufacturers to fill the gap is what the tariffs are all about. 

 

porttechnology.org

 Over 50 container ships are waiting offshore of Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. The inability to land beef imports and ship out US chicken exports will put pressure on consumers and farmers.

Saving the jobs of some US workers is more important than saving those of others. It's a good thing to restrict imports from bad people if the jobs of some Americans can be retained, a bad thing if the jobs are moving the containers full of imported stuff from ships to docks.

The income of corporate management, financial mavens, legal professionals, university administrators, professional athletes, entertainers and a host of others that don't get dirty at work but are a drag on the overall economy can't be eliminated.

A major concern of the retailing industry is the possibility that there may be a smaller number of gifts under the 2024 American Christmas tree. This wouldn't necessarily be bad for the big box stores but instead devastating for families. While the Christmas holidays were once seen as a celebration of family togetherness and religious awareness, maybe they've now become an embrace of the consumerism that makes the world  go around. The longshoremen are seen as sabotaging that development for their own benefit.

Lost in the current impasse is that the Biden/Harris regime has determined that the huge, remotely operated cranes, made in China, are a national security risk, all 200 of them, the majority of those in use in the US. 

The Soros Money

 

beforeitsnews.com

Huma Abedin, Alex Soros and US Vice Presidential Candidate Tim Walz have a chat at the Soros compound in NYC.

Alex Soros is said to be the son of Hungarian George Soros, a multi-billionaire who is said to have begun his accumulation of wealth through international currency trading. Huma Abedin was and perhaps remains a figure in the Clinton circle of influence and is romantically linked with the younger Soros.

Presently, Soros pere is under investigation for being involved in the illegal purchase of 200 US radio stations, maybe in an attempt to influence the upcoming national elections in the country. The financial maven has a history of using his wealth to influence US elections at all levels to the advantage of left wing candidates.

Aside from the above, what justifies the ability of an individual of any political persuasion to shower money he doesn't need to keep his deteriorating person from starvation on political entities? 

 

 thepowerisnow.com

George Soros

In a world where the deity is mammon, Soros, who personally holds no political or government office, aspires to use whatever advantage his wealth provides to effect change as he sees fit. There's no more evidence that acumen in financial matters makes an individual capable of determining the fate of millions than the hereditary process of the Egyptian pharaohs. In fact, the position of the younger Soros is evidence, if any is needed, that the same forces used through mankind's dark history exist in even these supposedly enlightened times.

Of course, the argument could be made that elected government figures are determined by the democratic process and that the voters independently decide who will call the shots. Inevitably the best candidate for a particular office wins it. We regularly see how often this occurs.