Statesmen

First, what is a Statesman ? A dictionary definition will not do. Instead, I turn to that given in a CD lecture course to which I recently listened, viz., A History of Freedom taught by J. Prof. Rufus Fears. He is an excellent lecturer and the course is offered by The Teaching Company. See http://www.teach12.com/

A true statesman can be easily distinguished from a mere politician or national leader. A statesman has a bedrock of principals, a moral compass, vision and the ability to build a consensus to achieve that vision.

Winston Churchill was a statesman. In my opinion, so was Ronald Reagan. George W. Bush was not; neither was George H. W. Bush. And it's rather obvious that Barack Obama is not, despite the attempt to canonize him with the Nobel Peace Prize.

The world obviously has some big problems: excessive debt and radical Islamic groups.

Debt is a claim on future resources. Too many people and nations have borrowed too much money and promised to pay with resources in the future. And too many wealthy people and nations with trade surpluses have lent that money instead of spending it now, either on tangible investments or on currently offered goods & services. The debt problem is a two edged sword. The borrower has a problem and the lender has a problem when the risk of repayment grows.

Both sides need to recognize that and deal with it. BUT what world leader today is talking about it seriously ? None. They mouth platitudes about "cuts" and "imbalances", merely dancing around the issue. China needs to stop piling up dollars and SPEND the dollars it earns on goods and services. Wealthy investors need to spend the money - buy stuff. Stop trying to make more money. Do something with their wealth.

And then there is radical Islam. That is a problem in the Islamic world and the rest of the world. Radical Islam wants to turn the clock back to the 11th century and marginalize half the human race (viz. all women). The rest of the world does not, and is mostly happy with current social systems. And guess who would win a war ? The rest of the world CAN crush radical Islam like a bug. This is a problem for places like Saudi Arabia and Iran. They talk big about their version of Islam, but militarily are a zero. Ditto Iran. IF they push too far they will be crushed.

A real world statesman would say this bluntly. Of course none are saying it. European leaders hide like ostriches as do US leaders. I will make conditional prediction. IF world statesmen do not deal with this, AND a large successful terrorist strike occurs, the worst type of leadership will get traction and the world risks a turn back to the early 20th century: major wars and genocides. Not a good outcome for anyone.

Actions

On Friday at the close, Krypto bought more US, Pacific and Emerging Market stocks. Mrs. B bought CLF around 3PM. She preferred CLF over BHP and FCX. Both BHP and FCX have country risks and are often acquirors. CLF has little country risk, has pulled back more and is more likely to be acquired, not make a major cash acquisition.

Word of the Day

"Apostatize" - verb, intransitive [$10]
Apostatize means to renounce a former belief, adherence, etc.
Sentence: Radical, fundamental Islam is not consistent with a modern, free society as it enslaves women. The long term choice for any person now holding those beliefs is to move to an isolated nation like Saudi Arabia or apostatize.