Financial, Economic and Social Mood Update (November 1, 2023)
The mainstream media does not report this in the USA or other western countries, but the Ukrainian Army has lost a staggering 12,000 tanks since the ground war in the eastern and southern Ukraine commenced in February 2022 – much of what used to exist in the active duty and reserve forces of the NATO countries before they were shipped to the Ukraine. Furthermore, there are reports of a newly surrounded (entirely encircled by the Russian Army) contingent of 200,000 Ukrainian troops (largely untrained conscripts, older men, younger men & boys and even women). Russian Army forces in the region number anywhere from 750,000 to 1.2 million well-trained, well-equipped and well-led men. The number of other troops and reservists in the entirety of Russia may be has high as 20 million men. The number of active duty, reservist and militia forces in Russia’s ally Mainland China may be as high as 110 million men and women.
The war in the so-called “Holy Land” (Israel, the Golan Heights and the occupied left over Palestinian lands of the West Bank of the Jordan River & the Gaza Strip which borders the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula) now looks to be a bona fide prelude to World War 3. The Arab-Israeli Conflict dates back to May 15, 1948 (the founding of the modern State of Israel). In between then and October 7, 2023 cumulative casualties were 25,343 on the Israeli and 91,105 on the Arab side. Since October 7, 2023 we have already seen casualty counts up to 7,147 on the Israeli and 36,275 on the Arab side with refugee counts up to 500,000 on the Israeli and 1.4 million on the Arab side (one out of 6 Arabs in the Holy Land). The countries or organizations mobilizing their military forces to some extent in support of Palestine include Hamas (Gaza Strip), Hezbollah (north of Israel), Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, North Korea, Syria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt with more than 36 million potential military personnel including reservists and conscripts.
This is lose-lose situation for all sides – especially for civilians on any side. Responding to violence with violence merely begets more violence, and most casualties will inevitably be civilians who have nothing to do with any of the original violence. The situation after any and all wars is inevitably worse than the situation before a war. The ongoing wars in the Ukraine and now in the Middle East should demand negotiation (talking and speaking on civil terms) and not more violence.
A far more constructive policy would be to enfranchise the Arab population in the Holy Land so that they could increase their representation in the Knesset (Israel’s parliament), where they continue to be grossly under-represented………………..here they could at least join forces with the likes of the local Israeli Labor, Green and Communist parties to act as a counter balance to the extreme right wing Likud Party and its allies – not that I endorse socialism, communism or woke environmentalism (I do not, but that these parties in Israel happen to support peace with other people such as the Arabs, Druze & Christians). Note that left wing parties throughout Europe and North America are now driving the entire world toward a Third World War which is 100 percent WRONG – in this case, voters must support their right of center opposition to counter this madness. The end goal should be to have people of all backgrounds co-exist together in peace and to respect each other’s differences – to tolerate differences, to respect differences and to not attempt to change people who are different.
With respect to the economy, what need be said? The cost of living in the USA has increased by a staggering 100 percent in three (3) short years. Global equity markets (never mind watching the useless and dishonest mainstream media) have lost 54 percent of their value in the same short span of time. We have the worst and most corrupt political leadership ever, and these criminals have put all of us on the cusp of a Third World War in the Ukraine against Russia, in the Holy Land against the Islamic world, in Taiwan against Mainland China and on the US southern border with Latin America.
Remember what the thoroughly pacifist Albert Einstein said – he did not know with what weaponry World War 3 would be fought, but World War 4 would be fought with sticks and stones. Those who fail to learn from the mistakes of the past are condemned to repeat the mistakes of the past.
The only solution is mutual respect, tolerance for differences, leaving everyone alone and PEACE.
