WE ARE RULED BY GANGSTERS

30 December 2023 https://www.youtube.com/live/dlKuQ3r3Mwk?si=xSu817r0XOfgdB7LExactly, it's not so much that our leadership are incompetent, it's that they are corrupt - it is the practice of war that they love because it's good for business. But we want freedom and prosperity and we know that comes from peace and productivity and planning.So how is it that it's the bad people that get to the top? Because the system must be wrong,...

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A NEW POLITICAL DYNASTY FOR INDONESIA

1 December 2023https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-constitutional-court-ruling-democracy-political-dynasty-joko-widodo-gibran-rakabuming-raka-3851566READERS' REACTIONSSome reader reaction:"Very interesting article about the Supreme Court's reversal of the under 40 ruling." "It is a bit worrying when you see relatives bending the rule of law."ANALYSISThe court ruling didn't lower the min. age requirement, which is still 40, but it did open up opportunities for younger people who have executive governance experience. I can't see much...

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COLUCHE FOR PRESIDENT

15 December 2023 Coluche was one of those rare people where a single name is enough. He was one of the world's greatest comedians but unlike Billy Connolly his language couldn't translate outside his country of origin.In 1980, he decided to run for president of France and he had many original ideas on his program: there would be no work for anyone, there would be no school for the children, all drugs would be legalised and money abolished.In...

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COMMUNICATION SKILLS FOR POLITICIANS - THE EXAMPLE OF PUTIN

15 December 2023 However much people here in The West hate Putin, the president of the Russian Federation, some of it must surely be to do with his success in bringing Russia back from the dead these last 20 years.Today, let's take a look at how he does it - and why. (If you've read the previous piece on livingintheair.org on basic communication skills that will be a help in understanding the technical side of Putin's communication...

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COMMUNICATION SKILLS 101

15 December 2023This is a technical piece on basic communication skills, with an emphasis on skills needed for success in the office.First, let's take a look at key communication skills. Once we have set this frame, let's look more closely at a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) for determining roles within a project team, your project teams.Effective communication skills Effective communication skills are crucial for success in the office,...

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THE TRIUMPH OF REASON OVER EMOTION

14 December 2923 I have always taken a "realistic" position on IR, but this growing world anger, and anger at home, the emotions or passions that drive everything, emotions esp anger seem more and more to be overriding reason and common sense.Look at Gaza. Any analysis would say that Hamas has performed an almost miraculous feat in getting this decades-old conflict back at the top of the world's priorities, and that there is little to...

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GREAT POWER POLITICS

9 December 2023 https://youtu.be/FgHAEBMfHK8?si=MhKMlpCjRPV9cn4sThe Tragedy of Power Politics. This skillful interview contains many fresh insights from Professor John J. Mearsheimer.The positive side of Nationalism can hold together a multicultural Liberal Society.Aswhere a Liberal believes that a program of economic engagement will bring other states on board and into the fold of democratic countries, a Realist believes that in...

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STRATEGY IN ACTION

8 December 2023 SUMMARYThis is an old block of flats that is no longer up to today's living standards. This is seriously affecting capital and rental values. One way to restore vale is to upgrade the outside and the public areas and facilities, but this would require more money than many of the owners are prepared to put in.Therefore the problem is how to convince these owners to join and fund a rehab program.First we need some data...

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DESPAIR AT THE FUTURE OF THE WEST

4 December 2023 Just to watch our foolish leaderships throw away what were once good hands. Fills me with despair. What can we do with our elites except remove them, how to do that? You judge a tree by its fruits. I don't want their media, their propaganda - I pay for and judge the meal in a restaurant, not the chef!And if we don't, if we can't get them out of office? What I think about is the real value of my savings - whether inflation...

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WAR : THE WAY FORWARD

30 November 2023https://youtu.be/BJx7xoR70h4?si=3Kc6mbqVO1fHcSuMYou've read the panchatantra and understand that war is the natural condition of our species. In  different way, Jan Oberg is saying the same thing from a different point of view. https://youtu.be/D_3itcQ9wqQ?si=WuYYi-z1M0ZXLVRqSalman Rushdie too.https://www.youtube.com/live/2cmAISDWnL4?si=r6byPknnAf3w6ty4Mearsheimer is as perplexed as all normally-adjusted people. Despite Rushdie's condensing a thousand years of human  history and wisdom into a hundred words, noone...

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PANCHATANTRA STORIES

30 November 2023Have you heard of the Panchatantra stories?I hadn't until I listened to Salman Rushiehttps://youtu.be/D_3itcQ9wqQ?si=Z19zsmSlj97KoKnzhttps://chat.openai.com/share/bb113c9f-af65-4a40-a6a8-ad48ec4b8...

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LOY KRATONG

27 November 2023The river is full of tiny "kraton" they are called, little mini boats made from a slice of banana trunk, with a candle and a couple of sticks of incense and a few flower heads. It's like an Armada of tiny ships floating down the river, there are hundreds and hundreds of them. People go to the temple opposite my block to "make merit". Temples are very often built on land by the river. The faithful say a prayer and push out their mini banana boat.Meanwhile, the sky is filled with these "sky lanterns", a squadron of floating...

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REASONS FOR DOLLAR DEVALUATION

24 November 2023Government debt 33t just a shade below 140% of GDP.Total country debt a shade below 400% of GDP. Debts that will never be fully paid.Unfunded government liabilities is at $212 trillion.$1.8 trillion student loans seeing increasing default, the $2.7 trillion auto and credit card loans likewise.Commercial real estate collapsing.Soaring zombie companies bankruptcies.CLO defaults,Small and medium regional banks in serious trouble.Collapsing household savings.Over stretched household balance sheet.Stagnant population growth and aging...

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BIDEN CORRUPTION - HOW IS IT BIDEN IS STILL POTUS?

16 November 2023 How come this charlo is still POTUS?is.gd/hHPhuZ"Our mission statement is to ensure the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of the federal government and all its agencies. We provide a check and balance on the role and power of Washington - and a voice to the people it serves."The detail summarised:In February 2014, a Russian Oligarch Sent $3.5 Million to a Shell Company Associated with Hunter Biden and Devon...

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IS WESTERN SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL AND UKRAINE SUCCEEDING?

13 November 2023 Things are looking very bad. The Russians are butchering the Ukrainians, and along comes Hamas with a jolly trap for Israel. Israel fell in straight away so now we have another bloodbath.The circumstances are horrific, although this is a military confrontation. What might happen when hostilies cease?Let's take a look at what these ongoing massacres mean through three lenses. The scale is global: these conflicts are local,...

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UKRAINE IS LOST TO EUROPE

13 November 2023 Ukraine is lost to Europe and the dying EU should conserve contributions from member states for worthwhile projects that enhance our peace and prosperity.Ukraine has lost this war. It foolishly rejected peace in 2015 and in 2022 and now faces the consequences. The people of Ukraine will realise how idiotic has been their president, who has cost them half a million lives. They will rise up against him. He will flee the...

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WHY INTELLECTUALS ARE MOSTLY LEFTIES

6 November 2023 This is the title of an extract from a conversation between Roger Scruton and Hamza Yusuf.https://youtu.be/FYo4KMhUx9c?si=Wfj6jcH9797jumbQIt's a very good presentation by Roger. He is talking about the appeal of left-wing ideologies today to those seeking a solid framework for their beliefs and ideas, pegs on which they can hang their knowledge. Like the leaves on a tree, if the leaves are the bits of knowledge, an ideology...

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LES ROUDOUDOUX

31 October 2023(Version française en bas)                                                   RoudoudouxStrange how the mind works, leading you along country roads ...Where does the word "Mistral" come from?What is "Le Mistral Gagnant"?My grandchildren to-be.Where does the word "Mistral" come from?"Mistral"...

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BY POPULAR REVOLT

Why isn't Europe doing anything practical to prevent israeli war crimes?It is obvious to any cynic that the coming israeli clearout of gaza is in line with the historic orthodox intention of reoccupying holy land. Bibi is ready to risk everything in the service of this goal - his own personal future is a chip he is playing as well.The stakes are raised in every domain of human activity on this planet. That sounds v dramatic, but the risks faced by peoples everywhere and the lies being told are without precedent.===The MSM prevents any comment on...

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ARE NATWEST SHARES A BARGAIN?

29 October 2023 Banks often trade at less than book value, ie the market cap is below the book value, book value is assets minus liabilities.So the questions today are: why do banks often trade below their book value and are NatWest shares currently a bargain or is NatWest a value trap?In general, banks may trade below book value for many reasons. Geopolitical uncertainties that threaten global peace and the price of oil, is one factor....

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THE TROUBLE WITH THE MIDDLE EAST

25 October 2023 Sunak, von Leyen, go to Jerusalem to show support for Netanyu's bombing of his concentration camp.This is so disgusting! This is one of those rare ocassions where ordinary people - well, me - would take to the streets.It is so hugely outrageous and really difficult to understand. They should be supporting Guetteres and not Netanyahu. Israel should be blackballed by the West.What does this do for our global standing?This...

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