DEMOGRAPHIC OSMOSIS, TELECOMM SYMBIOSIS and GENERALIZED NEUROSIS

Monday, August 17, 2009

DEMOGRAPHIC OSMOSIS, TELECOMM SYMBIOSIS and GENERALIZED NEUROSIS

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DEMOGRAPHIC OSMOSIS, TELECOMM SYMBIOSIS and GENERALIZED NEUROSIS
NOTE: This article originally published simultaneously in THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE on August 13, 2009
(http://theinternationalistpage.blogspot.com/), and on THE GLOBAL FUTURIST (http://theglobalfurist.blogspot.com/) by author Douglas Castle.

Dear Friends:

There is, as always, much going on in our shrinking world with expanding possibilities. Things are happening faster, at an ever-increasing rate. We have a sense of being caught in the cosmic and karmic Red Shift, with all that that implies. With this burden of increased fears and uncertainty comes the welcome but sometimes elusive compensating balance of increased opportunities. At the epicenter of this increasingly traumatic shift, as usual, is the United States. Here are several trends (anticipate three to five years to reach full effect) to watch carefully. Bear in mind, that despite its current awkwardness, the United States is still an edge trendsetter for the rest of the world. What happens in the United States is invariably exported to the rest of our cyberconnected World Community.

1. DEMOGRAPHIC OSMOSIS/ THE GEOGRAPHICAL-CEREBRAL REALIGNMENT/ ACCELERATED, UNIMPEDED MOBILITY/

As unbearable economic pressures continue to threaten domestic confidence in the stability of the capital markets and once-invincible institutions in the United States, there is an increasing movement of populations and professions both into and out of the US. Despite the fact that most of the industrialized world is beseiged by significant economic woes at this time, it is the substantial perceived differential between the magnitude of the US recession (refer to a NEW YORK TIMES article citing unprecedented continued job losses in the United States for the month of June at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/03/business/economy/03jobs.html?_r=1&8au&emc=au) and of the generalized recession outside of the US which is fueling this osmotic shift.

Observations and implications follow:

An increasing number of U.S.- based professionals and displaced executives are seeking employment overseas. This is not just a phenomenon which is catching on with recent university graduates, who are generally very mobile and adventurous. Men and women in their 40s and 50s, with homes, families and community roots are becoming increasingly receptive to employment in Asia and in the Middle East. This trend is fueled by rising joblessness and the unweildy cost of heathcare in the United States, and is being further compounded by the increasing life expectancy of Americans. It is important to note that while the US culture has tended to be Youth-centered (until recently, with the current "coming of age" of the "Baby Boomer" generation), many other cultures place a premium upon maturity and experience which provides older prospective expatriates with better access to employment opportunities.
This is already beginning to lead to a "brain drain" in virtually every profession and technical specialty, with Caucasian -Americans, many of whose families have been here for many generations, leading the exodus to other countries. The residual Caucasian population is, resultantly, declining in its average level of employable skills, which is further fueling and perpetuating unemployment.

An increasing number (and percentage) of government employment opportunities in the US will be filled by Hispanic-Americans, who will be displacing African-Americans who are typically the demographic group most severely affected by an economic downturn. Unemployment amongst African Americans is already at a far greater percentage than that of any other group, and this differential is increasing as many African-Americans either join the underground economy, or look to the federal and state government areas for aid. If Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor is confirmed, sworn in and joins the Supreme Court, Hispanic -Americans will be greatly benefitted, with caucasians and African Americans being increasingly displaced. I expect Ms. Sotomayor to ultimately go through the formality of Senate hearings with passing grades and a resultant position on the Supreme Court.

An increasing number of medical and other healthcare-industry professionals from India, The Philippines and China will be filling positions at hospitals and other healthcare institutions in the United States in the growing wake left by the exodus of more-established Caucasian-Americans.
Due to unabated US employment outsourcing, and the lower economic expectations and requirements of newer Americans, the anticipated inflation resulting from the current US fiscal and monetary policies will be slightly offset or suppressed in the years to come. This will be helpful for the US economy-at-large, but might be greatly overshadowed by America's declining ratio of exports to imports and the slide of the US Dollar against the Euro and other international currencies. At present, as President Obama negotiates with China about adjusting the pegged value of its currency in order to help reverse the burgeoning deficit in the US balance of trade, I would not expect any significant economic concessions on the part of the Chinese, who have come to view the US as a net consumer nation. The only leverage which we have is a mutual fear of an increasingly belligerent nuclear North Korea, and of growing unrest and the potential for increasing nuclear weaponization in Iran.

The generalized impact of US culture and ideology upon the rest of the world will continue to decrease by diffusion, as the US population becomes more internationally, racially and ethnically diversified, and the US outsources substantially all of its core manufacturing and service jobs.

Multinational businesses will experience increased stability and economic growth, while insular domestic enterprises will continue to experience stagnation and contraction. With the use of Skype, social media and email, plus the internationalization of the US population, tariffs, duties and trade controls will become increasingly difficult to enforce, as our population becomes more enterprising and our borders become more permeable. Expect most sizable companies to maintain or move their "tax homes" to countries outside of the US, further shrinking the US commercial tax base, and increasing the tax burden on a population of increasingly unemployed, underempoloyed and poorly-paid workers.
Expect new home sales and used home sales to increase due to the price deflation in home values and the increasing number of buyers who are using family savings and other means to finance their purchases. Housing purchase figures are quite misleading as more and more investors, seeing poor returns in the conventional capital markets, are putting their money into residential units in a "buy and hold" strategy. These investors are increasingly foreigners or new citizens, and they are purchasing these assets for cash. The banks continue to resist making loans to consumers or to businesses, further fueling unemployment, and temporarily decreasing the cost of many commodities whose prices had previously been pumped up due to the availability of credit. This seeming deflation will give way to rampant inflation within the next two years as soon as consumer confidence begins to rise, and this will dampen the pace of any economic recovery.

Expect that the above conditions will create a climate of nationalization of commercial enterprises by an increasingly-involved government sector acting as a very incompetent watchdog over its bailout investments.

Expect increasing regulations of all banks and brokerage firms by the federal government, and a continuing spate of abuses on the part of consumer lenders (i.e. the credit crad companies) who are enjoying a windfall of over-limit and late fees, while cutting credit risk by cutting the maximums on most consumer credit lines. By 2011, after banks have become more than sufficiently engorged by this windfall, expect one or more agencies to be created by the federal governments to protect consumers. Expect that these agencies will be run by...you guessed it!...bumbling government bureaucrats and the same bankers who have been tightening the screws to the consumers.

Expect an increase in international and foreign control of US-domiciled institutions and companies, as foreign investors purchase perceived stock bargains with a combination of savings and borrowings from European and Asian Banks. This will further steepen unemployment amidst a shrinking job market for Caucasians and African-Americans. More and more jobs accross the entire employment spectrum will be taken up by immigrants from India, the Phillipines, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim. Human Nature being such as it is, as these newcomers rise up the ranks and become more intimately involved in the hiring and contracting processes, they will very likely give hiring preference to individuals with ethnic and cultural backgrounds similar to their own.

Look for substantial cuts in medicare and medicaid payments by 2011, as the US healthcare system is "overhauled". The elderly and chronically ill will pay the greatest real price. Medicaid is notoriously ill-run, and is a bonanza of blind overpayment and engorgement to medical practitioners and heath institutions -- in particular, the ones who purportedly work to prolong the lives of the elderly with excessive unnecessary tests and highly-speculative procedures. Immigrants to the United States (legal and illegal) often come here just to fall down in the emergency room of hospitals, clutching their chests (even if the real complaint is a plantar's wart). Expenditures on the elderly and on the uninsured by Medicaid are monsterous. If U.S. President Obama has the federal government create and manage a national health plan to replace medicaid, this would not be unlike giving a drug addict control of a hospital pharmacy. Do not plan to retire in the United States if you are not older than 62 or 63 at present -- there will be little for you here. Within three to five years, the United States will be a high-tax trading zone, with no true meaningful productive domestic commerce, no national insurance program (either run by the federal government or privatized), and a veritable cultural Tower of Babel.
Everybody's "going green" in the United States. We have become very concerned with the environment, the ecology and ecosystems -- it has become politically correct to "think green" and to do all that is necessary to recycle and conserve precious natural resources -- to treat nature with increased respect and affection -- to avoid contributing to the various forms of pollution which threaten our planet. I believe that this is an entertaining, well-intended distraction, but that it will go the way of the hula hoop and the leisure suit as individuals start selfishly focusing on their need to survive in a country without jobs, security, and with an increasingly-intrusive government which is demonstrating more and more of the horrors of what happens when crisis management is deployed as a magic bullet in lieu of plotting a definitive course based upon an inspired vision and some prudent strategic planning. Aphorisms abound, and bring back fond memories of my childhood..."Don't use aerosols, you'll destroy the ozone layer," " Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem," "haste makes waste," and, of course, "Be careful -- you'll put your eye out with that thing!" The first priority of any living organism is survival. In the interest of treating Human Beings as living organisms, perhaps we should re-order our priorities and our focus. As a humorous aside, the U.S. government's "cash for clunkers" program is having an unexpected result. More than half of the citizens participating in the program are trading in their old cars for gas-guzzling goliaths. Humvees are experiencing a resurgence in demand. I suppose this is what happens when each person views himself or herself as eminently responsible and reasonable, but distrusts the rest of the population. Hypocrisy is as constant as Pi.

US troops are increasingly scattered and thinly-spread over the globe in a war against terror. Sadly, like the "war on drugs," this is an ideological war, with a shape-shifting enemy, compromised defenses, and no one isolated "rogue" government. This war has no geographical focus or target, and it is one that seeks to root out one of the basic characteristics of human nature -- the propensity toward violence and domination. It has been every bit as successful as Prohibition [sarcasm intended]. There is no defined, clear-cut objective for victory, and as such, the war can continue indefinitely, with increasing casualties everywhere, and no possibility of measurable, sustainable progress. We would do just as well with a war against sex. In my Braintenance blog (http://braintenance.blogspot.com/) , I talk about the paradox of a "war against war." Veterans returning from multiple war zones in remote deserts and labyrinthine cities are fighting massive emotional trauma, difficulty becoming re-integrated and re-employed, and a generalized lack of adequate counseling and treatment for many problems.

President Obama's public stance on gun control and the Second Amendment is clearly anti-gun, as is Judge Sotomayor's position. Expect a tremendous increase in firearms registrations and purchases during these next six to nine months as many Americans a) respond to an increasing fear of rising violent crime due to the economic challenges facing the nation, and b) respond to the very real fear that they will completely lose the right to purchase and bear arms. This is not a function of NRA lobbying and proagandism; it is the result of a growing insecurity on the part of Americans that the government is not capable of protecting them, or of respecting their constitutionally-guaranteed rights. This accelerated and intensified rush to personal armament is logical, and should have been anticipated by lawmakers. It parallels the reactive conduct of US banks who are cutting back on consumer credit lines, making fewer business loans and charging exhorbitant overdraft, overlimit, and other fees to consumers, whose credit ratings are being eliminated in a self-fulfilling prophesy of credit-crushing. It would appear that virtually every person, group and entity is rushing to take action against the perceived threat of increased government restrictions and controls. Government (not only in the United States, but in many countries) is one of the only true growth industries of this era. Allow me to clarify; by "government", I mean central or federal government. You know -- the special organization that has its own military and printing presses for currency manufacture.

Substantially all banking and major capital formation activity will be taking place in Asia, with a smaller amount of growth in participation in the ECU community. The Euro will continue to rise in popularity as a means of payment, and as a store of value.

2. THERE IS INCREASING FRICTION BETWEEN STATE GOVERNMENTS AND THE INCREASINGLY POWERFUL AND APPARENTLY LAWLESS FEDERAL GOVERMENT. THIS IS NOT A MATTER OF SOME LUNATIC-FRINGE COUNTRY MILITIAS HIDING IN THE HILLS -- IT IS MORE LIKE THE SUCCESSIONIST MOVEMENT WHICH STILL RESONATES THROUGH TEXAS AND SOME OTHER STATES. CITIZENS ARE BEGINNING TO FEAR THE UNLIMITED AND UNCHECKED POWER OF THE FEDERAL GOVERMENT TO INTRUDE INTO EVERY SINGLE ASPECT OF EVERY RESIDENT'S PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LIFE. Oh...and by the way, those "lunatic-fringe country militias" are becoming more active and increasingly vociferous. They have neither been so visible nor vocal since the early 1990s.

Well in excess of half of all the incarcerated population ( in the U.S.) is comprised of non-violent offenders...casualties of the government's failed "war on drugs." The RICO statutes as well as the Patriot act and other "crisis management" legislation have given federal prosecutors the power to investigate and indict any citizen or resident based upon the remotest suspicion of "terrorist" or "drug-related" conspiracy.

States are worried over the Federal Government's ability to dramatically control the allocation of money and deployment of resources -- Recall the Ninth Ward in New Orleans, Louisiana, devastated by Hurricane Katrina and all but left to stew in the stench of its own waterlogged putresence. Apparently, the federal government had more important items on its agenda than protecting a small portion of its citizenry. Some BuzzFlash contributors have called this a kind of ethnic cleansing or a racist movement by the U.S. government - while others view it, perhaps more ingenuously, as a lack of true "here at home" focus on the part of the U.S. government;

The average U.S. citizen does not believe that the notions of integrity and political success can coexist within the cranial or spiritual confines of any politician. Extrapolating, the average U.S. citizen no longer believes that the U.S. government is either willing or able to protect its own citizens, or that the U.S. government can be trusted to act in good faith. With the abuses and excesses of the Bush administration, the people came to see a malevolence in their own government that they had never before seen; with the unsure "crisis management" moves and odd priorities of the Obama administration, the people are coming to see the government as a large, ungainly juggernaut which is out of touch with the needs of the ordinary citizenry. This is a very dangerous environment.

Bob Livingston, a staunch constitutionalist who writes the highly conservative (and somewhat right-wing) Personal Liberty Newsletter -- is the philosophical anthithesis of the BuzzFlash crowd, but he makes several unsettling observations...

State Sovereignty Movements Gaining Support
By Bob Livingston • Aug 10th, 2009 • Category: Bob Livingston, Freedom Concerns, Government, Personal Liberty Articles

Not since the rebellion in America was quashed in 1865 with the surrender of Robert E. Lee to Ulysses S. Grant has so much attention been paid to state sovereignty as is being paid today.
More than 35 states have passed or are considering state sovereignty amendments, according to the Tenth Amendment Center. Just before leaving office, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin signed a bill declaring that state’s sovereignty, joining Tennessee Gov. Phil Bresdesen in that regard.
States are finally becoming fed up with the increasingly dangerous non-Constitutional overreach of the Federal Government, and State Legislatures are working to stop it.

Unfortunately, many of today’s voting-age Americans have never even read the U.S. Constitution. Apparently, most civics classes in public schools today dwell on other things. So far too many people have no clue how far their government has overreached and taken away their liberty.

But here’s the truth: the Constitution gives the three branches of government certain enumerated powers. Those not enumerated are reserved to the states, and to the people.
The 10th Amendment describes it: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, or prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

Yet despite that, since the Southern states were prohibited from removing themselves from an alliance that no longer worked in their favor—an alliance they entered into voluntarily—the U.S. government has grown increasingly more powerful. It could do so because the last remaining restraints on its power—the option that states had to leave the union—had been eliminated.
Here’s what has transpired since: During reconstruction the Republican Party centralized government, subsidized railroads, raised taxes on Southern property and businesses—then confiscated the property when taxes couldn’t be paid—and established an education system that taught a revisionist history of the run-up to and causes of the war (and the government-run education system continues this today). Congress also continued the first income tax—an unconstitutional act—that had been implemented by Pres. Abraham Lincoln.

In 1917 Congress established the Federal Reserve, a non-Constitutional entity with the power to control the U.S. money supply. In the 1930s, in response to The Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt pushed through New Deal provisions that further empowered the Federal Government while enriching certain constituencies. And now, in response to the global financial crisis, first President George W. Bush then President Barack Obama pushed through extra-constitutional spending bills. Obama then compounded the problems by nationalizing the financial and automobile markets; an action, again, that benefitted certain constituencies.

And now the Federal Government is proposing an even further overreach by attempting to enact legislation to cap carbon dioxide emissions and tax energy companies that exceed arbitrarily set limits of the element, and to restrict your access to adequate healthcare.
It seems from the mood of many in our country we may have reached a tipping point as a result of these latest actions. Radio talk shows are alive with voices proposing—demanding even—that America return to the Constitutional roots. Protests denouncing the growing government are increasing in frequency and support.

Unfortunately, many in America still don’t understand what all the hubbub is about. So, to help them understand, here are 10 talking points from the Tenth Amendment Center:

The People created the federal government to be their agent for certain enumerated purposes only. The Constitutional ratifying structure was created so it would be clear that it was the People, and not the States, that were doing the ratifying.

The Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that which has been delegated by the people to the Federal Government, and also that which is absolutely necessary to advancing those powers specifically enumerated in the Constitution of the United States. The rest is to be handled by the State Governments, or locally, by the people themselves.

The Constitution does not include a congressional power to override state laws. It does not give the judicial branch unlimited jurisdiction over all matters. It does not provide Congress with the power to legislate over everything. This is verified by the simple fact that attempts to make these principles part of the Constitution were soundly rejected by its signers.

If the Congress had been intended to carry out anything they claim would promote the “general welfare,” what would be the point of listing its specific powers in Article I, Section 8, since these would’ve already been covered?

James Madison, during the Constitutional ratification process, drafted the “Virginia Plan” to give Congress general legislative authority and to empower the national judiciary to hear any case that might cause friction among the states, to give the congress a veto over state laws, to empower the national government to use the military against the states, and to eliminate the states’ accustomed role in selecting members of Congress. Each one of these proposals was soundly defeated. In fact, Madison made many more attempts to authorize a national veto over state laws, and these were repeatedly defeated as well.

The Tenth Amendment was adopted after the Constitutional ratification process to emphasize the fact that the states remained individual and unique sovereignties; that they were empowered in areas that the Constitution did not delegate to the Federal Government. With this in mind, any Federal attempt to legislate beyond the Constitutional limits of Congress’ authority is a(n) usurpation of state sovereignty—and unconstitutional.

Tragically, the Tenth Amendment has become almost a nullity at this point in our history, but there are a great many reasons to bring it to the forefront. Most importantly, though, we must keep in mind that the Founders envisioned a loose confederation of states—not a one-size-fits-all solution for everything that could arise. Why? The simple answer lies in the fact that they had just escaped the tyranny of a king who thought he knew best how to govern everything—including local colonies from across an ocean.

Governments and political leaders are best held accountable to the will of the people when government is local. Second, the people of a state know what is best for them; they do not need bureaucrats, potentially thousands of miles away, governing their lives. Think about it. If Hitler had ruled just Berlin and Stalin had ruled just Moscow, the whole world might be a different place today.

A constitution which does not provide strict limits is just the thing any government would be thrilled to have, for, as Lord Acton once said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

We agree with historian Kevin Gutzman, who has said that those who would give us a “living” Constitution are actually giving us a dead one, since such a thing is completely unable to protect us against the encroachments of government power.

If you want to first halt then reverse the tide of government overreach, pass these points around to your friends and send them to your state and U.S. representatives.

Note:It is curious that both the Constitutional Fundamentalists (i.e., like Bob Livingston) and the Progressives (i.e., like the folks who write for BuzzFlash, and who also tend to be anti-Republican and somewhat liberal in the classical philosophical sense) have more and more in common when it comes to their open contempt for big, powerful governments.

This contempt is becoming an increasingly common theme amongst the Internationalist Community, as the internet, social media and VOiP make ideas proliferate at an ever-accelerating pace. Anyway, here's a bit more from the esteemed and august ASSOCIATED PRESS through Yahoo! News about the U.S. Civilian Militia Movement:

Officials see rise in militia groups across U.S.
By EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer ,Wed Aug 12, 3:50 am ET

WASHINGTON – Militia groups with gripes against the government are regrouping across the country and could grow rapidly, according to an organization that tracks such trends.
The stress of a poor economy and a liberal administration led by a black president are among the causes for the recent rise, the report from the Southern Poverty Law Center says. Conspiracy theories about a secret Mexican plan to reclaim the Southwest are also growing amid the public debate about illegal immigration.

Bart McEntire, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told SPLC researchers that this is the most growth he's seen in more than a decade.
"All it's lacking is a spark," McEntire said in the report.

It's reminiscent of what was seen in the 1990s — right-wing militias, people ideologically against paying taxes and so-called "sovereign citizens" are popping up in large numbers, according to the report to be released Wednesday. The SPLC is a nonprofit civil rights group that, among other activities, investigates hate groups.

Last October, someone from the Ohio Militia posted a recruiting video on YouTube, billed as a "wake-up call" for America. It's been viewed more than 60,000 times.
"Things are bad, things are real bad, and it's going to be a lot worse," said the man on the video, who did not give his name. "Our country is in peril."

The man is holding an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, and he encourages viewers to buy one.
While anti-government sentiment has been on the rise over the last two years, there aren't as many threats and violent acts at this point as there were in the 1990s, according to the report. That movement bore the likes of Timothy McVeigh, who in 1995 blew up a federal building in Oklahoma City and killed 168 people.

But McEntire fears it's only a matter of time.

These militias are concentrated in the Midwest, Pacific Northwest and the Deep South, according to Mark Potok, an SPLC staff director who co-wrote the report. Recruiting videos and other outreach on the Internet are on the rise, he said, and researchers from his center found at least 50 new groups in the last few months.

The militia movement of the 1990s gained traction with growing concerns about gun control, environmental laws and anything perceived as liberal government meddling.

The spark for that movement came in 1992 with an FBI standoff with white separatist Randall Weaver at Ruby Ridge, Idaho. Weaver's wife and son were killed by an FBI sniper. And in 1993, a 52-day standoff between federal agents and the Branch Davidian cult in Waco, Texas, resulted in nearly 80 deaths. These events rallied more people who became convinced that the government would murder its own citizens to promote its liberal agenda.

Now officials are seeing a new generation of activists, according to the report. The law center spotlights Edward Koernke, a Michigan man who hosts an Internet radio show about militias. His father, Mark, was a major figure in the 1990s militia movement and served six years in prison for charges including assaulting police.

Last year, officials warned about an increase in activity from militias in a five-year threat projection by the Homeland Security Department.

"White supremacists and militias are more violent and thus more likely to conduct mass-casualty attacks on the scale of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing," the threat projection said.
A series of domestic terrorism incidents over the past year have not been directly tied to organized militias, but the rhetoric behind some of the crimes are similar with that of the militia movement. For instance, the man charged with the April killings of three Pittsburgh police officers posted some of his views online. Richard Andrew Poplawski wrote that U.S. troops could be used against American citizens, and he thinks a gun ban could be coming.

The FBI's assistant director for counterterrorism, Michael Heimbach, said that law enforcement officials need to identify people who go beyond hateful rhetoric and decide to commit violent acts and crimes. Heimbach said one of the bigger challenges is identifying the lone-wolf offenders.

One alleged example of a lone-wolf offender is the 88-year-old man charged in the June shooting death of a guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.
___
On the Net:
Southern Poverty Law Center: http://www.splcenter.org/

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3. HOSTILITIES BETWEEN THE G-8 NATIONS AND THE ISLAMIC NATIONS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE DUE TO THE INCREASED "WAR ON TERROR" AND INCREASED MILITANCY ON THE PART OF ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISTS BOTH IN THEIR HOME NATIONS AND IN ENCLAVES AND "CELLS" ALREADY ESTABLISHED WITHIN THE G-8 NATIONS.

The US citizenry largely perceives the terrorist threat as being fundamental and intrinsic to Islam, itself, and it is becoming increasingly fearful and resentful of Islamic nations and Islamic individuals. Much of this was exacerbated during the Bush administration. At the current time, the US federal government is demonstrating increased flexibility and compassion for the plight of the poorer Islamic nations, and of the Palestinians as a people in need of their own country under the Obama administration. There will be increasing friction, both domestically and internationally over the ever-divisive "Israel Question." Many international consumers will begin to boycott Israeli-produced goods as Israeli settlements and the military presence in the Gaza persist. As always, the U.S. will be adversely affected, with its perception as Israel's greatest international ally.

Counterbalancing and softening the edge of this issue will be the unanimous international fear of Iranian nuclear weapons potentiality, which tends to bring the West, the East and the Middle East together.

During periods of economic turmoil, terrorist movements have tended to flourish. The next several years are not expected to be an exception. Terrorist incidents, both in the U.S. and abroad, will increase in frequency. The natural force that tends to mitigate this threat is the historical failure of terrorist groups to unite and organize their efforts. Since terrorism is not confined by geographical boundaries, there is also the advantage (at least to those of us who would like to live more of this life) of terrorist groups clashing with their own host governments, which diffuses their efforts and energies in their jihad propensities.

An entertaining and possibly positive sideshow will be increased and slightly warmer dialogue between the West (particularly the United States) and China due to the increased sabre-rattling activity on the part of North Korea regarding its ability to launch a nuclear attack. Coincidentally, China is increasingly i) becoming a large nation of retail consumers and ii) China is outsourcing and increasing the amount of its labor, materials procurement and other functions. This sounds like the United States, but some years ago.

4. INTERNATIONAL TRADE RESTRICTIONS AND FINANCIAL PROTECTIONISM WILL LIKELY EASE UP UNIVERSALLY AS COUNTRIES BECOME MORE INVESTED (DUE TO OUTSOURCING, THE PROLIFERATION OF MULTINATIONAL ENTITIES, INCREASED INTERNATIONAL SUPPLY-CHAIN INTERDEPENDENCE, AND THE UNWINNABLE BUT POLITICALLY MAGNETIZING "WAR ON TERROR") IN THE NOTION OF INTERNATIONALISM.

This bodes well for import, export, multinationalism and, ultimately, less posturing and more profits for participants in the Internationalist Community. Huzzah!

5. AS I WRITE THIS, I NOTICE THAT THERE ARE 9,334,990 USERS ON SKYPE, THE FREE VOIP PROVIDER (at 8:12 pm, GMT-5).

Between Skype, GoToMeeting.com and other very inexpensive communications services providers, look forward to:

More international virtual conferencing and communications;
Increased international transactional activity and velocity;
More international chatter (social and business) on all social media;
Increased dependence upon these service providers - a subtle danger there;
More commerce conducted online;
Increased telecommuters and "homeworkers";
A softening market for commercial, professional, retail and general office buildings and space...and a stronger pricing foundation for residential property values;
Less employment agreements and more independent contracting agreements;
Increasingly internationalized ownership of publicly-traded companies, with an Asian domination over this trend period;
Increasing struggles between threatened governments and individuals;
Increased employment for physical labor and trade/craftsmanship skills, as demand overruns supply, and as trade schools and traditional apprenticeship programs become scarcer, and less well-attended.
The disappearance of white-collar jobs, and an increase in green-collar and blue-collar jobs

There is a great deal of change taking place, and at an ever-accelerating pace. Flexibility, adaptability and a highly vertical learning curve will be the three most precious personal and corporate attributes for surviving and thriving in this shifting Worldscape.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle