The Lesson of Mumbai

 

The three day tragedy which occurred last week in the Indian commercial city of Mumbai is now beginning to fade into the memories of most people who watched the horrible drama unfold on their TV’s. For those of us living in Israel, as well as for world Jewry everywhere, however, this outrage will continue to haunt us for many days to come. This is due to the six Jews who were killed at the Mumbai Chabad Center, including the Center’s director, Rabbi Gavriel Hotlzberg and his wife, Rivka.

 

The international Chabad community has become well known all over the world, due to their highly successful work in establishing and maintaining a religious Jewish presence in places where Jewish communities are either non-existent or unable to provide their unique services for the benefit of Jewish travelers. Whether it may be Katmandu Nepal, Mumbai or Goa India, Bangkok or Phuket Thailand, or obscure backpacking locals in Central or South America, the warmth and friendliness of Chabad House staffers have given young travelers from Israel or other parts of the Jewish World a place to go for Shabbat religious services, or a kosher meal during a festival like Passover or Sukkot.

 

The fact that members of this warm and loving community were singled out and slaughtered, for the simple reason that they were Jews, makes the terror attack in Mumbai especially important to learn from; especially to those who are acquainted with this special community first hand.

 

As the bodies of Rabbi Holtzman and his wife lay in state, before a replica of the home of the Chabad Community’s spiritual mentor, the late Rabbi Manachem Schneerson,  the head of the Chabad movement in Israel, Rabbi Moshe Menachem Mendel Goldstein, gave an impassioned plea to members of his community, and to Jews at large to carry on with the work that Rabbi and Mrs. Holtzberg devoted to and gave their lives for. Between passionate tears, Rabbi Goldstein pleaded for everyone to carry on the work that the Holtzmans had done, and for the work of sending out Chabad emissaries to carry on in earnest. This is indeed the legacy that Rabbi Holtzberg and his wife leave behind: to continue to carry out the work of Chabad, which will perpetuate the memories of their deaths. The Hotzlberg’s 2 year old son, Moshe, who miraculously survived by being carried to safety by his nanny, has resulted in her being designated as a Righteous Gentile. Little Moshe himself has become a symbol of Jewish survival, in his people’s long history of acts of violence being perpetuated against fellow Jews.

 

Indeed, the most fitting legacy that the Holtzbergs and the other four Jewish victims can leave behind is for Chabad’s outstanding work to continue to reach out and build bridges between religious and secular Jews the world over, as well as with the non-Jewish world. The Chabad House in Mumbai will undoubtedly be refurbished quickly, and new emissaries will be chosen to continue to furnish a Jewish “home away from home” for Jewish tourists and businessmen who frequent India’s commercial and cultural center. Little Moshe will surely grow into manhood with the desire and conviction to carry on with the type of work his parents so lovingly did during their sojourn in India. There will be no shortage of people available to tell him about his parents and the fine work they did there.

 

As mentioned by Kfar Chabad’s spiritual leader during the Holtzberg’s eulogy speech, their deaths are not unlike those of other famous Jewish leaders, such as Rabbi Akiba, who also gave their lives for what is known as Kiddush ha Shem – Sanctification of the Name. During Judaism’s long history Jewish martyrdom has been a sad reality all too often, with the main reason for this simply due to their being Jews.

 

But for now, all we can do is to mourn their deaths and contemplate what happened during those terrible 60 hours in which nearly 200 people were killed and more than 300 wounded. We living in Israel know all too well about terrorism and its senseless destruction. The important lesson that can be learned by everyone is that these events must be prevented from recurring and all efforts must be made to carry on, even in the face of such adversity. It is this fitting legacy that Rabbi and Rivka Holtzberg leave behind as their bodies are laid to their eternal rest.

 

 

A New “Plan” for US Automakers

 

Once upon a time, the saying “what’s good for General Motors is good for the USA” really held some weight in an America where owning cars like Chevrolet Impala Super Sports and Pontiac GTO’s and Ford Thunderbirds were the dreams of many red-blooded American kids. Although these muscle cars were truly gas guzzlers, they were fairly well built, and after all, a gallon of (leaded) premium gasoline was only around 34 cents. These cars even lasted longer too, and some of them are still on the road, especially where classic cars are considered “campy”.

 

Those days are long gone now, and cars made by GM, Ford, and Chrysler are taking a back seat to those made by Japanese and Korean automakers. Ford, the company that started everything off with Henry’s immortal Model T, tried recently to revive it’s strong selling Mustang, the car that set the auto world afire in the mid 1960′s. But even though the resurrected Mustang convertibles and GT Coupes do sort of resemble their original models, they’re definitely not the same animal under the hood.

 

And what model is now hailed as the new “car of the year” by Americans? You may have guessed it – the Japanese Honda Accord.

 

The $25 Billion bailout package being requested by the “Big Three” is currently under close review by both houses of Congress. As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said when a congressional committee refused to grant the money: “Show us the plan, and we’ll show you the money!” Plan indeed. U.S. automakers have come up with plans before, and though some plans may have worked for a while, as with Chrysler several years back, it hasn’t been long before the automakers have gotten into financial trouble again; often as a result of repeated wage contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers, the largest American autoworker labor union.

 

So just what new plan can GM and the other auto companies cook up that would be satisfactory with congressional members already reeling from the current financial crises and the U.S. Government’s $700 Billion bailout package for the financial institutions? Besides doing away with plants making un-profitable, energy vehicles such as SUV’s, the automakers might also consider revamping their marketing strategies to come up with something similar to what Japanese auto manufacturing have done – and that centers largely around making cars built to last, and not the planned obsolesce strategies that have been the norm in Detroit since Ford’s Model A car ceased to roll off that company’s production lines in the mid 1930′s.

 

Built to last – now that’s an idea that European automakers like Daimler Benz and Volvo also espoused.  This manufacturing strategy has resulted in many European and  Japanese cars still on the road after 15 to even 20 years!  Sights of cars like Honda Civics and Accords from the late 1980′s still going strong are common place, and many people who own such cars continue to drive them without worry about what their neighbors might say.  How many American cars from the even the early to mid 1990′s are still on the roads these days? Granted, there might be some truth that cars on the road over ten years mean less new car purchases. But taking this in mind,  Japanese auto manufacturers like Honda, Nisan, Toyota  and others don’t seem to be bothered as they know that their customers are more loyal to them if the cars they make have more longevity and fewer maintenance problems.

 

GM executives thought they were headed in right direction a few years back when they took over the bankrupt Korean Daewoo automobile manufacturing company. Daewoo began manufacturing reproductions of European GM cars such as Opels back in the early 1990′s, but these cars proved to be of a much lower standard than their European made counterparts, and had numerous mechanical and body trim problems.

 

Although GM’s Korean venture has  resulted in the manufacture of smaller, more fuel efficient cars, manufactured under the Chevrolet brand name, the quality of these vehicles have proven to be of a much lower standard that cars made in other Korean auto companies such as Hyundai and Kia. As it has turned out, these little Chevys are nothing more than Daewoo cars with the Chevrolet logo on them. Not only that, this manufacturing outsourcing has taken thousands of jobs away from US workers. This in itself is a bit ironic as several foreign auto manufacturers now have successful vehicle assembly plants in the USA, including BMW, Daimler-Benz, Honda, and Toyota. Although both BMW and Daimler manufacture upscale automobile models, they still have managed to turn a profit from their US plants as well as provide jobs for workers in states like Alabama and South Carolina. When interviewed recently on Fox News, Alabama Governor Bob Riley said that he wasn’t sorry that his state had invited foreign auto manufactures to build a plant in his state. “They make a better quality product and provide work for my citizens. This is something American automobile companies should take notice of”, he was quoted as saying.

 

So if foreign automobile manufacturers can make a go with setting up assembly plants in America, why do companies like GM have to outsource the assembly of their products overseas? Something doesn’t seem to be right here, and perhaps this is the new “Plan” that the Big Three auto companies need to embark on – to find ways to make better quality and more competitive products at home and not in China or Korea. Going all out for alternative fuels such as hydrogen and natural gas, as well as more emphasis on hybrid models and even “total electric” ones powered by solar energy and fuel cells might help a lot to improve their market competitiveness. For even though oil prices have fallen more than 50% in recent months, future petroleum supplies definitely are limited; and to quote the immortal words of 1930′s American comic Will Rogers, in regards to oil: “they ain’t makin’ it anymore”.

 

Better quality and more innovation. These are the two factors that American auto manufacturers need to strive for. Why can’t Big Three (or Big Two if GM and Chrysler do eventually succeed in merging) auto companies produce “Made in USA” products that will still be on the roads as long as a Honda or Toyota? This should be their new plan, and if it is, the U.S. Congress will undoubtedly be more conducive to granting U.S. automakers the funds they so desperately need to survive.

President Obama and Israel

 

In what has been heralded as a historic moment for his country, Senator Barack Hussein Obama was elected November 4 as the 44^th President of the U.S.A. by a more than 2 to 1 Electoral vote margin and by more than 7 million popular votes. Obama defeated Senator John McCain, whom many people living in Israel believed would be the better choice for carry on the close relationship between their country and the U.S.A.  Now that the election is over, the big question is how the new president will act towards the Jewish State; as well as towards Israel’s neighbors, including the Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians, and other Arab entities who are still in either a state of conflict or war against Israel.

 

President-elect Obama has visited Israel twice: once in early 2004 after becoming a U.S. Senator, and last June while still a presidential candidate. During Obama’s three day whirlwind last summer, he met with Israel government officials and visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial as well as the Western Wall. He also toured briefly in the southern town of Sderot, which at that time was under siege from Palestinian launched Kassam rockets from neighboring Gaza. During this visit, he pledged that if elected president his administration would continue its close relationship with its Israeli ally, a pledge that he has continued to reiterate on to this day.

 

Now that Barack Obama is going to be the next American president, only time will tell if he will honor this pledge which includes assurances that his country will help Israel maintain its qualitative strategic edge over its enemies, including Iran. This pledge will undoubtedly be tested, possibly not long after the new president is inaugurated on January 20, 2009. Towards the end of the presidential campaign, Senator Joe Biden, Obama’s running-mate for Vice President, was quoted as saying that he believed that during the first six months of the new president’s term he will be tested by adversaries in order to see how he will stand up against a threat to his country. This statement was taken seriously by many, an even used by his opponent in campaign ads to say that Obama might not be able to meet the challenge of this kind of threat.

 

That the forewarned threat might involve Israel, is something that concerns many people, including Israel’s political and military leaders. Israel is itself scheduling parliamentary elections for January, 2009, after Kadima Party leader Zippy Livni could not form a coalition government following her winning the recent primary elections in her party. The outcome of these scheduled elections will determine who will be working with the new president, who himself will just beginning his term of office. Obviously, a right winged Israeli government led by Likud Party leader Binyamin Natanyahu will not be as flexible as one led by Ms. Livni. But we will only know this after the elections take place. Obama has shown that he can be a good listener. The big question now is how well he will be able to “listen” to what is needed to solve the problems dealing with Israel and her adversaries.

Kiss Your Arse Goodbye!

 

Recent revelations have indicated that Iran is about to complete the installation of enough centrifuges to produce sufficient enriched uranium to build a nuclear bomb. This reality, together with reports that the USA is now very vulnerable to a mega terror attack involving nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, makes many people wonder if governmental authorities have been making any efforts to protect their citizens in the event of such an attack. While sealed rooms were the norm for providing personal protection during the 1991 Gulf War, just what could be done to offer adequate protection in the event of a nuclear attack.

 

The answer to this question may seem shocking, and depressing, to most people, but the truth is very plain to see; and that truth in regards to personal security is absolutely nothing!

 

Seems unbelievable, doesn’t it? But this is the said reality of what the average citizen can do to keep from being turned into radioactive dust or ash, or linger for days before eventually succumbing to the effects of radiation sickness. Buildings in Israel, except possibly a few luxurious new projects who may be offering their residents special underground fall out shelters, have no adequate protection at all against the calamitous effects of even a nuclear bomb the size of the ones which devastated the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August, 1945. Mind you, it might be said that in this example, the only nuclear blasts on human targets since the creation of these horrendous devices, the unfortunate residents of these two densely populated cities had no prior warning that this would be their fate; and thus, not advance preparation had been made to provide them with even the most minimum protection. Furthermore, in those days, many Japanese dwellings were constructed from a flimsy combination of wood and paper materials which burned profusely in the resulting fire storms created by the bombs’ detonations.

 

Many Israeli residential dwellings are constructed out of reinforced concrete and cinderblock, which could offer some protection against fires but not against the tremendous force of the blasts from devices which could be much more powerful than the 20 kiloton “A-bombs” that were dropped on Japan. There are virtually no community bomb shelters that could offer suitable protection against the heat and shock waves created by a nuclear blast, or the radiation that would follow and linger in the area for months – even years! Furthermore, no advance preparation would help, even if done so on a national basis.

 

Like many Americans my age, I distinctly remember when as a high school student during the Cuban missile crises of October, 1962, the threat of global nuclear war was very real; so real in fact that my father had devised a plan to evacuate us from Oklahoma City (a major target due to it being close to Tinker Air Force Base which provided maintenance for the B-52 bombers of the American Strategic Air Command) to my uncle’s home in Healdton Oklahoma, about 120 miles away. My fellow students and I had also been subjected to a series of self defense drills, including such nonsensical ones as being under our desks, on in the school hallway, in case the bomb went off during school hours. Obviously, those “defense measures” would not have worked; and as for  leaving the city in time, well, that would have also been difficult as the highways would have been choked with the cars of other people trying to flee as well.

 

So to put it bluntly, there really isn’t much one can do in advance to be adequately protected in the event of a nuclear attack – except possibly one thing as I saw framed once on the wall of the bathroom or WC of a friend’s home. The message read like this:

 

What to do to protect yourself against a nuclear attack while sitting in the loo (toilet)

 

1.                   Make sure there is no obstruction in front of you.

2.                   Take two pieces of toilet paper  and put them on yor  forehead

3.                   Bend down with your head between your knees and……….

4.                   Kiss your arse good-by!

 

As absurd as this advice my seem, there is really some truth in it, as about all you can really do is kiss your”arse” good-by when the bomb goes off. Perhaps this might inspire the governments of all countries, including the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is that prevention is perhaps the only real protection we all have. After all, this has enabled the world to continue for more than 63 years after the only nuclear attacks, caused by the U.S.A., occurred. As has been shown in both the real thing and in a number of dramatic movies produced over the years, the consequences of  a nuclear war might mean of the end of our entire civilization – “arses” and all.

 

 

 

 

Do you miss this guy?

 

It may still be too early to say “I told you so”., but with a continuing recession (unemployment now at “only” 10%), a problematic national health care bill being thrown at us, a national debt going ballistic due to bailouts, military spending, so called stimulus packages; and a foreign and military policy that’s becoming more and more absurd by the hour, many Americans may actually be thinking wistfully about a transplanted Texan and former US president named George Walker Bush.

 Yes, that guy who ram-rodded BAR-X-USA Ranch for no less than 8 years and who turned a budget surplus into a massive bucket of red ink quicker than many can say contempt-of-congress. But, with this guy named Obama, a former Muslim and master of spin at the helm; who appears to have no clue at how to guide the Ship of State he is supposedly leading; and who has to ask such questions to his advisors as “Gee, guys, how do I greet the Emperor of Japan?”, or “what should I do now regarding our little war in Afghanistan?”, maybe that stupid Texan who used to be in charge, should have stayed around a bit longer.

 OK, we do have a Constitutional Amendment that says a president can only serve two terms (they decided to do this after FDR died at the beginning of his 4^th term in office), and taking into consideration the Republicans couldn’t find a better candidate other than 72 year old John McCain and his moose hunting choice for VP (who now has a book she’s flogging at “special prices”). That’s why BHO was elected in the first place; and as the old saying goes: “you made the soup – now eat it!”

 Our new president is going to send 30,000 more hired guns to Afghanistan to take care of nasty varmints over there, and then bring them back again starting in 2011. That doesn’t make a lot of sense as the bad guys only have to lay low and smoke their hubbly bubblies until the last US and NATO troops leave. Then they (the Taliban, opium running war lords, and other “insurgents” will simply come down out of the hills and take over – like they did after the Russians pulled out in ’88. Then, it’ll be Déjà vu all over again, with women having to wear those funny costumes and getting shot in the head for not covering their face in public. But that’s “pure” Islam for you!

 I bet G.W. is having the last laugh, as well as saying “I told you so”. He doesn’t have to deal with the mess that now seems to be getting messier (even though he did create a hell of a lot of it during his 8 years at the helm). But what the hell – better to sit back, drink some Coors beer, watch some football on the tube, and blame somebody else. And why should he care? Hillary Clinton, wife of another former president is now running around the world doing BHO’s bidding ( I said bidding – not Biden!).

And I still bet a lot of folk miss that guy – especially talk show host Jay Leno, whose monologs these days just aren’t the same.

At Israel’s new Tamrur 4 Dead Sea oil well, will the environment suffer?

Dead Sea view at sunset: will oil ruin a truely natural wonder?

Yes there is oil in Israel, and with the drilling of a new well on the shores of the Dead Sea, there may be a lot more. It’s difficult, however,  to know what’s worse from an environmental standpoint; continuing mining of potash and other minerals at the Dead Sea, or drilling for oil. While the potash industry has been going on for years there, including a unique method of extracting the mineral from Dead Sea water, interest in drilling for both oil and natural gas has also been happening, with some measure of success. Following the discovery of natural gas back in the 1960′s, a sufficient quantity of oil was brought up from a well drilled by the Naphtha Israel Petroleum Company during the 1990′s.

The Dead Sea, or Salt Sea (Yam Hamelach) as it is known in Israel, is the lowest dry land point in the world, and has been steady receding since most of the flow of the Jordan River (the lake’s main water source) was diverted into Israel’s national water carrier. As a result, only a trickle of Jordan River water reaches the Dead Sea, and environmentalists fear the lake will be gone entirely by the year 2050.

Saving Gaza From Itself

Something seems terribly wrong in regards to Israel’s attempt to keep the Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza from shooting thie rockets into Israel So far, and despite blowing up half of Gaza’s main cities, Hamas militants still seem to be able to launch their rockets, albeit at less frequent intervals. In fact, it might be said that the present scenario is very similar to what happened in Lebanon in July/August 2006. In that conflict, Israeli jets inflicted significant damage to Beirut, Tyre and other Lebanese cities. Yet despite this, the Hexbollah people still managed to shoot a total of 4,000+ rockets which caused widespread damage and suffering to Israel’s entire northern region, including the third largest city, Haifa.

Although the present operation is at a smaller scale than the Lebanon II war, the way it is being carried out is very similar, and Israel appears to be bowing once again to international pressure to reach a ceasefire.  The Hamas organization, although significantly damaged, is far from being finished, as of the  Hezbollah organization in 2006. Hamas, supported by Iran, Libya, Syria, and even by Hezbollah itself will reconstitute itself and rebuild all the structures that Israeli aircraft have destroyed. Hamas will also re-arm itself and as a result, will be right back in the same position it was in prior to the beginning of the Israeli bombardment. And even more important, Hamas will wind up winning the propaganda war as Hezbollah also did.

And as for Gilad Schalit, the young Israeli soldier still being held captive, will his remains be returned on day in a black box like the remains of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev’s were by the Hebollah?

In order not to have the same scenario repeat itself, some different set of tactics had better be adopted by Israel, and the sooner the better. For with Hamas, as with Hezbollah, only by punishing them thoroughly will any lasting results be made. This is the only thing these people understand, especially ones like Nizahir Rayyan, who proudly sent his own son to be a suicide bomber against Israel a few years back. With these kind of “loving fathers” only brute force and punishment will work.

While these measure may seem harsh, in the end they may actually save the people living there as it appears that the Hamas organization has less regard for their welfare than it’s leader try to portray. Even though Hamas has provided some help to local Gazans, that assistance has come at a price. And that price is the hold that Hamas has over the very lives of the people. If that is not tyranny, then what is?

Pearl Harbor and now

Most people in America and elsewhere appear to be too engrossed in the world economic crises to take time to recall when America was so blatantly attacked at Pearl Harbor 67 years ago by air craft launched against the island of Oahu, Hawaii, by the Japanese Imperial Naval forces. On that fateful day, almost the entire U.S. Pacific fleet was wiped out in an attack that came with virtually little warning, and in which more than 2,000 U.S. military personnel and civilians were killed.

 

Times are different nowadays, but in many respects, events occurring presently are a haunting similarity to what had transpired during the 1930′s during the years prior to World War II. Even though U.S. military forces are engaged in both Iraq and Afghanistan, many of them will likely be withdrawn after the new presidential administration assumes power on January 20^th. If you might doubt this, then please consider the following correlations:

 

During the Great Depression of the 1930′s, the Democratic Party led administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt was too involved in America’s economic problems to be concerned with a vigorous build-up of military forces by both Nazi Germany and Japan. Both of these countries put a major emphasis on increasing their military strengths while the U.S. military was virtually treading water. Japan was secretly fortifying a number of islands in the Pacific Basin, while purchasing huge quantities of scrap iron and steel, and aluminum from U.S. suppliers, which were being turned into naval vessels, tanks and other vehicles, and hundreds of aircraft.  Germany had abandoned its post WWI armistice agreements with the European Allies and were once again constructing a military war machine that was far superior than what they had had previously.

 

America, meanwhile, was engrossed in public works and other projects that were ushered in by Roosevelt in his New Deal. The U.S. military had a peacetime military than seemed to be in state of hibernation, as could be the case again, after President Elect Barack Obama takes office in January. America even did everything to stay out of WWII after hostilities broke out on September 1, 1939; and managed to do so for more than two years – until that fateful December morning in 1941.

 

Now, 67 years later, America may once again decide to lower its global military profile, while countries like China, Russia and the Islamic Republic are raising theirs. North Korea also appears to be going back on agreements concerning abandoning its  nuclear weapons program, and is even sending threatening warnings towards it’s southern neighbor, South Korea, as well as to Japan.

 

The new U.S. president appears to be placing the American economy at the top of his list or priorities to deal with once he begins his term of office. This was also done by Roosevelt in 1933, and while it was certainly necessary, with more than 20% of the American labor force “officially” redundant, the result plunged the U.S. into war unexpectedly 8 years later.

 

It was announced over the weekend by the head of the outgoing International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Chairman, Muhammad El Baradi, that his agency has failed to rein in Iran’s nuclear weapons program, and that he believes that the Islamic Republic will soon have a nuclear bomb. Is this the new “Pearl Harbor” that could plunge America and the entire world into a major conflict even more horrendous than WWII? Iran’s intentions, especially as far as Israel is concerned are well known. And yet, as El Baradi was quoted as saying, his organization and the U.N. are virtually powerless from preventing Iran from acquiring The Bomb.

 

It took a total commitment by the U.S. government and American people to win WWII, including a general mobilization of available manpower and industry to overcome the forces of Adolf Hitler and the Japanese Imperial Army and Navy. What commitment is needed this time, with the world again being threatened by radical governments bent on causing mass destruction, not to mention terrorist entities such as Al Qaeda, whose elements pulled off a major terror attack in Mumbai India?

 

History repeating itself? As the well known saying goes, “they who do not learn from the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them”.

Can Americans make their own underwear again?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With America and the rest of the world continuing to reel in the ongoing financial and credit chaos, beleaguered U.S. Treasury Secretary, Henry J. Paulson,  again held a press conference to try to inform everyone as to what new measures are being taken to try to put a stopper in the ever lowering stock market drain. Even while he was in the midst of his introductory speech, prior to answering questions from an increasingly skeptical media representation, an inset on the television screen showed the Dow Industrial stock index had already dropped more than 239 points – and that at less than two hours since the opening bell on Wall Street.

 

Most of Paulson’s opening remarks were not more than a rehash from former press conferences, with perhaps some new additional information in regards to new problems on the American financial scene, including new funding needed to help prop the troubled AIG Insurance consortium and the liquidity crises facing the Big Three U.S. auto industries. One thing Paulson did say, before throwing open the floor to questions by the Press, was that Americans needed to do more of their own manufacturing, instead of relying so much on foreign made imported goods. While this sounded fine and well, I’m sure many people might be wondering just how this might be done; especially since it is well known that America has long ceased to be a manufacturing giant, and is now primarily a nation of consumers who rely on an influx of cheap, foreign made goods, from automobiles to the very clothing they wear.

Even upscale clothing chains like Banana Republic, Gap, The Ltd, and others rely on textile manufacturers in Asia and Central America to put together all those campy threads that jaded young (and not-so-young) people carry home after their afternoon or evening shopping forays at their local mall.

 

And to add perhaps a more sensitive note, all those provocative undergarments that come from places like Victoria’s Secret, also originate in clothing sweatshops in China or Vietnam.

 

This reality is not only found in glitzy mall shops; it is even more the norm in discount establishments like Costco and Wallmart. In fact, the Asian and other Third World countries takeover of the American textile industry has been going on for years, and few, if any people have seemed to care that once giant textile industries in states like North  and South Carolina went “off shore” years ago.

 

It is true that some manufacturing of large “big ticket” items, including cars, are still being made in the USA. But even traditional items like refrigerators and washing machines are now being made more and more abroad. And computers and other technology oriented equipment are also rapidly joining other products being outsourced outside of America’s borders.

 

With all this in mind, just how can Mr. Paulson expect Americans to manufacture more items at home? A good example of this outsourcing is a popular brand of men’s underwear made under the brand name Fruit of the Loom.  Sold mainly in discount and other similar stores, this fairly well made product is considerably cheaper than brands sold in upscale men’s clothing shops and upper middle-class department stores like Dillard’s and Marshall Fields. Should a big effort be made to have this brand of under ware manufactured once again on our shores, could the  price charged for them be competitive enough to induce people to buy them? Even if produced in large textile plants on, say, the Texas/Mexican border, and staffed by those same people that President Bush and others are trying to keep behind those newly constructed border fences, the price of the manufactured product would still wind up being much higher than if produced in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where workers make less than $10 a day. Even if American factory owners exploit their Chicano workforce, they will still have to pay them at least $5-6 per hour for their efforts – considerably more than their Vietnam counterparts.

 

This would mean that those packages of underwear found in Target or Wallmart would wind up costing more than $24.95 for a package of three, instead of the present $5-7!

 

The greatness of America, since it changed from an agrarian to an industrial based economy, has been the ability of its people to manufacture a variety of consumer goods for sale both in the U.S. and abroad. Nowadays, even a large amount of cosmetic products, including shampoos and toothpaste are being made abroad, not to mention those underwear items noted above. How Mr. Paulson and other financial gurus expect Americans to once again be able to have “Made in USA” proudly noted on these products is beyond me. Few if any U.S. manufacturing workers would be willing to work for coolie wages, especially with the average US. manufacturing wage now standing at around $18.22 per hour. That’s much more than a Chinese or similar worker makes in an entire day!

 

Not being an economist, I don’t have any solutions for solving America’s economic woes. But it appears that Mr. Paulson and his cronies don’t appear to have any workable solutions either. My only advice to all you Fruit of the Loom wearers: go out and buy them now as you won’t be able to afford them when they’re again “made in USA”.

Obama’s Coming

 

“And the world shall come to serve Thee

And bless Thy glorious Name,

And Thy righteousness triumphant

The islands shall acclaim.

And the peoples shall go seeking

Who knew Thee not before,

And the ends of the earth shall praise Thee,

And tell Thy greatness evermore.”

Ancient Hebrew hymn recited on Jewish Day of Atonement

 

 

Something miraculous has happened in the brief period of time since a man named Barack Hussein Obama was chosen by the people of his country to be their next Commander in Chief. This man, born of the loin of a black African from Kenya, said to be the place of Mankind’s origin; with an African surname and Middle Eastern forename, will soon take the oath of allegiance to become the 44^th President of the United States of America.

 

There are some who say that it was foretold a number of years ago that a man of African linage and of a religion adherent to the Middle East (Islam?) would one day be a world leader and lead Mankind to a new age of greatness. While some may fear this prophecy, others are rejoicing in its fulfillment; for in the short period of time since being elected the leader of his country, people from all over the world are already rejoicing in his coming. And the country he represents has since undergone a miraculous transmission from one that was either loathed or ridiculed by much of the world to one which is now sending out a beacon of hope to many who have living in the depths of despair.

 

In his own country, Barack Hussein Obama has ushered in an immense measure of hope and pride to a group of Americans whose history in that country has not been a happy one. Although Obama himself is a descent of freemen and women, this was not the case for more than 30 million Afro Americans whose ancestors were brought there in the 17^th to 19^th centuries, chained like animals in the stinking holds of slave ships. Many thousands never made it to America as they succumbed to illness and despair during those terrible voyages and were simply thrown overboard into the depths of the sea. Those who did arrive were herded like cattle to slave markets in cities like Roanoke, Charleston and Savannah, and there auctioned off to the highest bidder.  All of them, like Barack, had African names, and many also had names like Barack and Hussein as well as professing observance to a religion called Islam. They, like a young man named Kunta Kente from a village on the Gambia in West Africa, were forced to abandon their ancient religion and heritage and accept a new one called Christianity as practiced by their white owners.

 

Even after they were finally emancipated during the American Civil War, they still were set apart by their former masters and made to live as second and even third class citizens under a policy known as segregation; especially in southern states that had tried to separate themselves from the Federal Union in 1861.

 

Although the status of Afro Americans improved significantly during the 1960′s after efforts by such brave souls as the Rev. Martin Luther King, who dreamed of a life of equality and dignity for Afro Americans, resulting in the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, few if any persons of color in America could imagine that one like themselves could some day reach the pinnacle of achievement by becoming President of the United States. Obama himself, at the start of his long and tenuous campaign often wondered if he would actually achieve this feat, and admitted that there were many moments in which he himself had doubts concerning his success in the end.

 

Well, win he did, and as he addressed the thousands who cheered him on that balmy autumn night in Chicago he reached out to all Americans, telling them that although many did not vote for him he will be their president too; and asked them to work together with him to help make their country a better place for all people to live in, and to help make a better world as well.

 

A better world indeed – today’s plant earth in undergoing a number of serious perils, not only of an economic nature, but human and environmental ones as well. Man’s disregard for the earth’s environment has resulted in drastic climate changes and global warming. More than a third of our planet’s 6.5 billion inhabitants live in dire poverty and despair, on incomes of less than two dollars a day. Millions die annually of malnutrition and disease, and a viral disease known as HIV-AIDS is decimating and killing thousands annually. Wars and civil strife are rampant in many parts of the globe, from the jungles and deserts of Africa to the mountains of Afghanistan. And a country which once reached out to millions with a beacon of freedom and hope has degenerated into one whose name has been uttered in curses by many.

 

Until the arrival of a slender mixed race individual who one day decided to reach out for the stars and go where no person of his linage had ever gone before. It is perhaps for this reason, as well as many others that so many people all over this planet now look up to him and the country he represents with a new light; a light of hope and optimism that better days a coming, not only for his country but for all Mankind.

 

“With the coming of Thy Kingdom

The hills shall break into song,

And the islands laugh exultant

That they to God belong.

And all their congregations

So loud Thy praise shall sing,

That the uttermost peoples hearing,

Shall hail Thee crowned King.”

 

Barack Hussein Obama is not divine, nor destined to be king of the world. But perhaps his coming will usher in a new era for the peoples of his country and for the world at large. For the moment anyway, many hope this will be so.