Meanwhile, global warming has become an ever-growing concern … as the world's average surface temperature has increased by 1.1 degrees Celsius (nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit) in comparison to the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average temperatures. Even that small of a shift has produced a growing number of heat waves, wildfires, droughts, flooding and huge storms. And this is expected to increase in the next century by as much as 4 degrees Celsius (over 7 degrees Fahrenheit). And despite the 2015 Climate Accord in which 189 countries agreed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions (the biggest single source of the problem), CO2 emission has actually continued to increase. But this raises another question. Hydrocarbons (oil and gas) are the biggest cause of global warming … but they are also the providers of much of the vast amount of energy needed to run a modern society. Nuclear energy plus renewable energy sources such as solar and wind are wonderful alternatives to hydrocarbon energy in providing the electricity that runs most homes, towns and businesses. And the transportation industry (cars and trucks) is attempting to switch to battery-powered engines (for cars at least). But that development has a long way to go. THE HUGE RUN-UP OF THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT'S "NATIONAL DEBT" All of this social-political programming issuing from DC has been undertaken at the taxpayers' – or rather future taxpayers' – expense … consequently rapidly running up the federal debt to astronomic heights … hitting 34 trillion dollars as of the end of 2023 … one trillion of that amount added in merely the last few months of 2023. Wow … in just under a quarter-century of American leadership, the federal government has been allowed to run the debt up almost seven-fold … from five to thirty-four trillion dollars! And all of this taking place as massive inflation has rocked the nation … making material needs (such as gasoline for the car and food for the table) now extremely expensive for the average American ... whose income growth has fallen well below the national inflation rate over that time period. In other words, the average American has become much poorer in comparison to the rising costs of food, fuel, housing, education, etc. – across the board. In the meantime, financing the Federal debt became once again prohibitive … and doable only by more Federal borrowing in order to pay off the interest obligations accrued in its previous borrowing! It was another one of the Federal government's own Ponzi schemes (like social security) … holding off bankruptcy by appearing to have means to continue payments by funds that just aren't there. Borrowing beyond its means of effective repayment – by any organization – simply to keep itself in operation is not production. It's stagecraft. Update:  as of mid-2024, the Federal debt had surpassed $35 trillion ... meaning, roughly almost $104,000 per citizen and over $267,000 per taxpayer.  In comparison to past and present annual government spending in relation to the nation's annual GDP (gross domestic product) or total economic production, the ratio between the two was 52.9% in 1960, 34.63% in 1980, 56.84% in 2000 and 122.55% now in mid-2024.  In other words, the Federal budget deficit now stands at 1.2 times what the entire American economy produces in a year's time. And the government has to cover this debt with interest payments ... which now run at over $900 billion a year ... nearly the same amount that the government spends on its annual defense budget. And there seems to be no interest in slowing down this horrible economic disaster ... despite the fact that the federal debt is now increasing by about $100 trillion every 100 days ... or roughly every three months.   And little is ever mentioned about this crisis – even in a presidential election year ... when it should be a central issue in the campaign. THE ABANDONMENT OF AFGHANISTAN (August 2021) First of all, it must be noted that Trump, not Biden, was the one who initiated the idea of a full termination of American involvement in Afghanistan, when in February of 2020 Trump negotiated an American pullout with the Taliban, scheduled for May 1st of 2021 – Trump presuming to be reelected in the coming November elections and thus able to preside over this event. Bush Jr.'s decision in 2001 to send the U.S. military into Afghanistan after al Qaeda – and then resorting to pro-Western nation-building in that country when nothing came of the anti-al-Qaeda effort – was a terrible idea ... on a number of fronts. Billions of dollars would have to be devoted to curbing the Taliban's power … and building some kind of pro-Western political system in Afghanistan to counter the Taliban. And once the program was put in place, it would take years, even generations, of ongoing American support to lay the cultural groundwork that would give this nation-building effort some degree of sustainability. After all, American troops are still in Germany, Japan, South Korea, Kosovo … serving just such a purpose: protecting the social groundwork laid out by an America that in the mid-20th-century took up major responsibilities as one of the world's global superpowers. In short, nation-building is a huge responsibility that should never be undertaken on the basis of a mere political whim. And pulling out abruptly for a mere short-term political gain can have only one result: social catastrophe. What seems to have inspired Trump to undertake this pullout was that Americans had tired deeply of the country's involvement in an Afghanistan that seemed to have no further relevance to American politics. But worse, Trump seemed to have believed that the Taliban would of its own hold to the various conditions (support of an orderly American pullout and certain personal freedoms for the Afghans even after the American departure) of the agreement – and thus began to pull American troops out of Afghanistan, with only 2500 still left in the country as of the end of his presidency … and even those still on schedule for a final pullout in May. In coming to office as president, Biden took up the same policy … although there were advisors who warned him of the dangers of a full pullout. But Biden assured even the press, which now was awakened to the potential problems involved in a full pullout, that he expected the Taliban to respect the terms of the agreement. However, he simply would not face up to the fact that with the removal of the American troops, America would have no means to enforce the terms of that agreement. So, just a few months into his presidency (April), he announced a full American pullout, to be completed by the end of the coming August. With this announcement, political morale of the pro-American Afghan social-political system began to collapse. Indeed, the speed of the Taliban takeover of regions, towns and villages apparently surprised even the Taliban. And as the end-of-August deadline approached, the country's capital, Kabul, resembled the scene of Saigon when in the mid-1970s Congress terminated American support of the South Vietnamese society and government. It was a horrible scene of people grabbing onto airplanes as they began their takeoff from the country. However, by the end of the month thousands of people, locals as well as American citizens, were brought out of the country. Yet shamefully, with the last American soldier pulled out, large amounts of military equipment remained left behind (supposedly dismantled … but also quite able to be repaired by clever hands). And by no means were all the people who would certainly be hunted down by the Taliban airlifted out of the country … likely including some Americans still remaining in the country. All in all, it was a grand American disaster. And China had to be loving to watch America sneak off from a serious global responsibility … quick to bring notice to the rest of the world that it would be wise not to put trust in America's promise of great-power protection. And indeed, America was not looking at all like a great power at that point. Did the president(s) of the United States not understand any of this dynamic? What did they think they were achieving from this tactical retreat? Was there some hidden strategic advantage to be gained that would compensate for the obvious political loss from this move? If so, it would remain a mystery. And again ... China had to be loving all of this! Biden announcing in April 2021 that all Americans will be out of Afghanistan by the end of August A familiar panic sets in as Afghanis realize that the country is about to be turned over to the Taliban   Ah well ... life goes on for the American superpower! PUTIN'S RUSSIA ATTACKS UKRAINE (February 2022) Russian dictator Putin had long been alarmed about Ukraine's desire to link itself more closely to the West … in 2008 even requesting membership in NATO (but not accepted by the West).  As far as Putin was concerned, Ukraine really had no right anyway to exist as an independent nation.  Besides, the eastern part of Ukraine was inhabited by Russian-speaking rather than Ukrainian-speaking citizens … some 20 percent of the Ukrainian population.  Thus Putin was a big supporter of the Russian-speaking separatists that in 2014 took over government buildings in the Donbas region (principally in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts) to bring the region to independence.  But the Ukrainian government refused to recognize their program … and sent troops into the region to reaffirm Ukrainian control there.  Despite Russia covertly sending tanks and troops to aid the separatists, Ukraine was ultimately fairly successful in its operation … although the conflict continued on a small basis thereafter.  But by 2017, the war was ramping back up again … with tens of thousands of Russian troops and their equipment in the region assisting the separatist, who were still at it … trying to secure independence. Then supposedly in 2019, both sides seemed to have come to an agreement to back off on the conflict.  But the conflict continued nonetheless … at least on a small scale. Then in February of 2022, with Russian troops massed at the Ukrainian border – both in Russia but also in Belarus – Russian troops suddenly poured into Ukraine.  Putin explained that he was sending his "peacekeeping" troops into Ukraine in order to demilitarize and "de-nazify" Ukraine.  At the same time, Russia also hit hard by way of missile attack Ukraine's capital of Kyiv, as well as numerous sites around Ukraine. The reaction of the world was fairly immediate.  The U.N. General Assembly (not the Security Council because of a likely Russian veto) passed a resolution the following month (March) demanding that Russia immediately withdraw from Ukraine.  This call was also backed up by the International Court of Justice.  And the Council of Europe simply removed Russia from its membership.  Economic sanctions were also placed on Russia by various countries … by America and Canada, by the European Community in general, and by numerous corporations in the West.  But most Third World countries – dependent on Russian trade – did not … as well as Europe's Serbia and NATO partner Turkey.  And most notably, neither did China or India. But most surprising was Ukraine's ability not to collapse under the Russian assault … but to fight back boldly – thanks to the leadership the country had under its president, Volodymyr Zelensky.  The fact that Zelensky was formerly a TV actor, comedian, and producer before becoming the country's president in 2019 surprised everyone … when he proved that he was also a most capable political leader.  He was elected to office by a massive 73 percent of the vote in the second round of the 2019 national election … based on his strong anti-establishment and anti-corruption campaign.  And being of Russian rather than Ukrainian cultural background, he had hoped to end the Russian-Ukrainian cultural division tearing at the country. But in any case, he refused to stand down in the face of the Russian aggression, and visiting the fronts in the north and east often, he personally inspired his troops to stand … ultimately causing the Russians to have to pull back from their position in the north of Ukraine (they had almost reached Kyiv) … and then in early 2023 undertaking a painfully slow but morally effective counteroffensive against well-dug-in Russian troops in the east. Putin nonetheless found his Russian position fairly secure in his holdings in the two Russian-speaking oblasts. But this had come at a horrible cost, not only to the Ukrainians but also to his own troops.  As of mid-2023, it was estimated that around 10 thousand Ukrainian civilians had been killed[3] and 18 thousand wounded.  Additionally, 16 million Ukrainians had been forced to flee their homes … half of those even leaving the country as refugees … creating a massive refugee crisis not seen in Europe since the end of World War Two.  As for troops, it is estimated that as of the same time period, some 70 thousand Ukrainian troops had been killed and another 100 thousand wounded.  On the Russian side, it was estimated that nearly 90 thousand were killed and 170 to 180 thousand wounded. Most tragically, as of this writing, neither side – Russia or Ukraine – is able to come to agreeable peace terms … the outcome so strategically significant to both people. Thus some kind of compromise on the matter is currently nowhere in sight. Meanwhile in March of 2023, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Putin … a warrant, however, not likely to be observed outside of the world of NATO and the West. [3] This figure did not include an estimated 25 thousand civilians killed in the battle of Mariupol … uncertifiable because the Russians were reported to have brought cremation equipment to clean up the human carnage caused by their assault on this most strategic city (along the corridor from Russia to its naval base in the Crimea).

February 24, 2022 – The Russians invade Ukraine
... after a deep buildup of Russian forces along the Ukrainian border. Putin claimed that by doing so, he was "de-Nazifying" Ukraine ... a strange justification for someone who himself was acting more the part of a Nazi!





But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
shows no sign of surrendering to the invading Russians



Zelensky addressing the Ukrainian people



Zelensky out among his troops



Contrast:  A leader (Zelensky – above) versus a dictator (Putin – below)



Putin discussing nuclear options over Ukraine with his far-off cabinet



Ukrainians fleeing the battle zones – February 2022



Russian tanks destroyed by the Ukrainians – February 2022



But ... Ukraine slowly being destroy by Russian invaders – March 2022



The Ukrainian city of Mariupol is slowly being destroyed by the Russians – March 2022



And the damage Russia continues to inflict on Ukraine only mounts (mid-2023)

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THE BRICS EXPANSION

At another BRICS summit meeting – held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in August of 2023 – it was announced that six countries had been invited to join the organization ... becoming full members January 1st, 2014:  Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.  These were quite strategic countries ... very influential powers in their own regions.  Ultimately, with a change in government in November in Argentina, that country announced in December that it would be withdrawing its membership application. Thus it was that Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were added to the team.  And the organization soon announced that it was planning to invite some additional 30 countries to join the group ... in this effort to offer the world an path of economic development no longer dependent on the dollar-dominated international financial system. PALESTINIAN HAMAS AND ISRAEL HAVE A GO AT EACH OTHER (Beginning October 2023) Without any warning (actually there was much warning ... ignored by Israeli officials) on October 7, 2023, a well-planned Palestinian attack on Israel – involving thousands of rockets followed by around 3,000 invading Hamas troops – reached quite deep into southern Israel (some rockets even reaching Tel Aviv) ... over a thousand Israelis killed (some 360 of themsimply attending a music festival celebrating the Jewish holiday of Sukkot) and some 250 Israelis taken as hostages back into Gaza by Hamas forces.  All of this was well photographed for cruel purposes. What Hamas's purpose was ultimately all about seems a dark mystery.  Certainly, Israel was going to strike back … and in a very big way.  And that is exactly what proceeded to unfold … with infuriated Israeli troops hitting Gaza neighborhoods (homes, schools, markets, hospitals and all) in reaction to the Hamas attack … and killing countless Palestinian civilians in the process.  Israel also shut off all food shipments that it could into Gaza.  Thus thousands of Palestinians soon found themselves starving … despite the effort of various international agencies to send some degree of food relief into the region from Egypt in the south. America and the West announced that certainly they were opposed to Hamas … but also to Israeli occupation of Gaza.  Biden even flew to Israel to discuss some kind of path to peace with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  But Netanyahu certainly seemed totally committed to destroying Hamas … even though that would likely mean the closing down of yet another Palestinian region (Gaza) … as the Israelis have done since the massive Jewish arrival there from Europe after World War Two.  And once again, the surrounding Arab world would have to take these Palestinian refugees in … based for the most part in quite inhospitable refugee camps. Was this what Hamas wanted?  Or was there a larger purpose in all of this … perhaps setting the entire Arab world off in opposition to not only Israel but the generally Israel-supporting West?  Was Iran behind this "distraction"?  What about Russia … and China? Most ironically, what Hamas did was to restore the political popularity of Netanyahu in Israel … at a time when his rankings were sinking fast.  In effect, Hamas now made him the Israeli "man of the hour."  Netanyahu could not have planned a better political comeback than what Hamas had provided him! So far, the dynamic also makes America and the West appear simply less and less effective as the world's "referees" … something that the world looked to with the close of the Cold War in the 1990s – but wasted away since then by less-than-effective American diplomacy in the face of the various social crises that have hit the world since 9/11. Is this then all that this is about … to make it clear that the days of the dominance of the West – Europe, previous to the disaster of the two twentieth century world wars … and now America, since then – have lost their clout?  Is this a call for the world to look elsewhere for some great power or powers to take control of international developments?  Only time will tell. Wikipedia   Hamas troops in Gaza Israel strikes back in city after city – October 9, 2023 TAKING ON THE CLIMATE ISSUE Meanwhile, global warming has become an ever-growing concern … as the world's average surface temperature has increased by 1.1 degrees Celsius (nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit) in comparison to the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average temperatures.  Even that small of a shift has produced a growing number of heat waves, wildfires, droughts, flooding and huge storms.  And this is expected to increase in the next century by as much as 4 degrees Celsius (over 7 degrees Fahrenheit).  And despite the 2015 Climate Accord in which 189 countries agreed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions (the biggest single source of the problem), CO2 emission has actually continued to increase. But this raises another question.  Hydrocarbons (oil and gas) are the biggest cause of global warming … but they are also the providers of much of the vast amount of energy needed to run a modern society.  Nuclear energy plus renewable energy sources such as solar and wind are wonderful alternatives to hydrocarbon energy in providing the electricity that runs most homes, towns and businesses.  And the transportation industry (cars and trucks) is attempting to switch to battery-powered engines (for cars at least).  But that development has a long way to go. THE 2024 PARIS OLYMPICS One of the most amazing events expressing the political-moral character of  21st century Western society was the four-hour-long opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics on July 26th, presented along Paris's Seine River.  Clearly there was an effort on multiple fronts to show that modern Western culture has "freed" itself from its more traditional political-moral restraints.  It's as if Paris was attemping another "French Revolution" ... although only along the moral rather than political path. The supreme shocker to more conservative sensitivities was the French offering of a colorful rehersal of a Bacchanalian feast, supposedly representative of the "Greek" nature of the lusty offerings of the opening Paris ceremonies.  But Christians were shocked more by the way that the Bacchanalian feast was carefully designed to mimic closely Leonardo da Vinci's famous "Last Supper" of Jesus Christ with his disciples ... except the Paris participants were clearly representing the gay-homosexual world of "drag queens" rather than the world of Jesus and his disciples.  But maybe that was just the point:  French culture has supposedly "liberated" itself from what is now considered dead religous tradition. Close ... but not exactly the same! THE 2024 VENEZUELAN ELECTIONS On July 28 (2024) Venezuela held another round of national elections ... with 12 million Venezuelans going to the polls. The Venezuelan National Electoral Council was quick to announce that President Maduro had been reelected ... even though a specific count of the votes was never offered.  Indeed, the opposition party, headed by Edmundo González Urrutia, was soon able to publish more than 80 percent of the tally sheets ... showing clearly thatGonzález, not Maduro, had won the election ... and by a huge margin.  But that served to change nothing.  Maduro intends to remain in office as Venezuelan president.  Mass protests, which developed quickly in Venezuela, of course were met with arrests:  700 people in the first few days alone, and 11 deaths. Maduro, and his wife Cilia Flores, celebrating the announcement of his presidential victory that same day (Sunday, July 28th) Protests over the election results THE 2024 AMERICAN ELECTIONS In July (2024), the Republican Party picks Trump to be its presidential nominee ... with Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his vice presidential running mate.  The Democrats have chosen to stay with Biden as their presidential nominee and Harris as their vice presidential nominee.  And with that, the 2024 presidential race is off and running ... although actually it never really ever stopped over the past four years! At the 1st presidential debate between Trump and Biden, on June 27th, Biden appears slow rather than alert Sensing how far it is that he has now falled behind Trump in the polls, on July 24th Biden announces that he is stepping down as Democratic Party candidate. That position now is taken by Vice President Kamala Harris In this second presidential debate, on September 10th, it is apparent that the debate was never intended to be about key policy issues ... but instead, ways of embarrassing Trump and make him "loose it." With the help of ABC hosts and the way they pose their questions, and Harris's own teasing style, Trump finally reacts.  Harris thus succeeds most brilliantly! Go on to the next section:  Trump - Round Two   Miles H. Hodges