1-Feb-11 News -- Russia claims identified airport bomber

[John]

1-Feb-11 News -- Russia claims to have identified the Moscow airport bomber

All international airports are vulnerable to the same kind of attack

** 1-Feb-11 News -- Russia claims to have identified the Moscow airport bomber
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 01#e110201

I'm having a lot of internet problems, apparently because of
the snowstorms, so posting may be spotty for a couple of days.

[thomasglee]

It's pretty clear the metal detectors, etc., really never were about saving lives as much as they are about protecting airlines from losing expensive pieces of equipment and protecting them from potential lawsuits.

Who would be liable in the US if a bomb were to go off in the line for the detectors? The local municipality/airport authority or the airlines?

[John]

Dear Thomas,

Is anything going on in South Korea with respect to the North? The
press seems fascinated by the Somali pirates, and the North Koreans
seem almost forgotten.

John

[thomasglee]

Dear Thomas,

Is anything going on in South Korea with respect to the North? The
press seems fascinated by the Somali pirates, and the North Koreans
seem almost forgotten.

John

John, it has been extremely quiet. As is normal after events occur. I think the RoK has decided "not to rock the boat" as they believe the events were all part of the establishment of Kim Jong Eun as a "military leader". Also, the weather in the RoK has been EXTREMELY cold and it's even worse in the north. Reports are that the north is suffering terribly due the protracted cold winter winter they have been experiencing.

I haven't been to Korea since just before Christmas, but will be heading back after the New Year (their New Year is Thursday). At that time I'll be able to get a better update from my friends/family as well as my government contacts that I deal with there.

BTW: Do you see what's happening in the Middle East right now reminiscent of the "Spring of Nations" that occurred in central Europe in 1848/49? The changes are clearly a matter of generational changes albeit at different points in each country.

[vincecate]

BTW: Do you see what's happening in the Middle East right now reminiscent of the "Spring of Nations" that occurred in central Europe in 1848/49? The changes are clearly a matter of generational changes albeit at different points in each country.

I have been wondering if this would be like 1848 as well. Even in Anguilla people are talking about revolution. They are having meetings/rallies where people who were in the 1967 revolution here come out and talk. I took my mother-in-law to events both Friday and Sunday (she is 86 and was in Anguilla's revolution). The basic problem is the government is bankrupt so it needs to cut back spending and/or raise taxes, neither of which goes over well. Borrowing more is getting harder. I suspect lots and lots of countries are in a similar situation.

Now many in Anguilla blame their troubles on the British not wanting to let/help them borrow more money. So the revolution is a "get independence from the British" type thing. And the truth is the British say they would not try to stop us if that was the will of the people. So our details are different, but the gap between government spending and taxes seems a very widespread problem on this planet.

Also, it looks like food prices will be going up everywhere. Now I blame Bernanke but people all around the world will probably blame their local governments. And in some sense the local governments are at fault because they use the dollar as a reserve or even peg/track the dollar with the local currency.

Anyway, the combination of government funding problem and food prices shooting up could cause many revolutions.

[John]

Dear Vince,

> I have been wondering if this would be like 1848 as well. Even in
> Anguilla people are talking about revolution. They are having
> meetings/rallies where people who were in the 1967 revolution here
> come out and talk. I took my mother-in-law to events both Friday
> and Sunday (she is 86 and was in Anguilla's revolution). The basic
> problem is the government is bankrupt so it needs to cut back
> spending and/or raise taxes, neither of which goes over
> well. Borrowing more is getting harder. I suspect lots and lots of
> countries are in a similar situation.

This is interesting because I can't find anything online that
indicates that Anguilla has ever had a war. The wikipedia
account of the "1967 revolution" reads like a day at the beach.

Was there actually any fighting in 1967, or was it a "velvet
revolution"?

When they talk about "revolution" today, who are they revolting
against?

John

[John]

Dear Thomas,

> BTW: Do you see what's happening in the Middle East right now
> reminiscent of the "Spring of Nations" that occurred in central
> Europe in 1848/49? The changes are clearly a matter of
> generational changes albeit at different points in each country.

I try to distinguish between Awakening era demonstrations and Crisis
era demonstrations, since the motivations are different, even though
they appear to be similar kinds of riots. Awakening era rioters are
motivated by rebellion against the austere rules and institutions set
up by their parents after the crisis war, while Crisis era rioters are
motivated by anxieties over the failures of Awakening era policies.

In the Mideast today, there's a mix. Tunisia, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq
and Iran are in generational Awakening or Unraveling eras, so the
riots are not particularly dangerous. But Yemen, Jordan, the
Palestinian territories and Egypt are in generational Crisis eras, so
those riots are potentially very dangerous.

John

[thomasglee]

Dear Vince,

> I have been wondering if this would be like 1848 as well. Even in
> Anguilla people are talking about revolution. They are having
> meetings/rallies where people who were in the 1967 revolution here
> come out and talk. I took my mother-in-law to events both Friday
> and Sunday (she is 86 and was in Anguilla's revolution). The basic
> problem is the government is bankrupt so it needs to cut back
> spending and/or raise taxes, neither of which goes over
> well. Borrowing more is getting harder. I suspect lots and lots of
> countries are in a similar situation.

This is interesting because I can't find anything online that
indicates that Anguilla has ever had a war. The wikipedia
account of the "1967 revolution" reads like a day at the beach.

Was there actually any fighting in 1967, or was it a "velvet
revolution"?

When they talk about "revolution" today, who are they revolting
against?

John

According to THIS SITE it appears that it was a "bloodless" revolution of sorts.....

[vincecate]

Was there actually any fighting in 1967, or was it a "velvet
revolution"?

When they talk about "revolution" today, who are they revolting
against?

John

According to THIS SITE it appears that it was a "bloodless" revolution of sorts.....

Bloodless is a slight exaggeration, but nobody was killed. There was lots of shooting and 2 invasions. The islands of St Kitts, Nevis, and Anguilla were splitting from the British and then at the same time Anguilla split from the other two. The police here were from St Kitts and the Anguillians just kept shooting near them for a few months till the police were reasonably happy to get on an airplane and go back to St Kitts. Then a boatload of Anguillians invaded St Kitts but not too much happened. For some time Anguillian's guarded their beaches and imported guns as St Kitts was not happy to let Anguilla go. Then huge numbers of British invaded Anguilla. But Anguilla still got what it wanted, to be away from St Kitts.

This first book below is a history of Anguilla's revolution. It is the most entertaining history book I have ever read. Really funny.
http://www.amazon.com/Under-English-Hea ... 652&sr=8-1

There is a really good but serious account of the history by Colville L Petty titled "Anguilla’s Battle for Freedom, 1967 – 1969" that just came out a few months ago (there is an earlier 1987 version but it is not as good). However, this new book does not seem to be on Amazon yet. Below is a review of it:
http://www.anguillian.com/article/artic ... 990/1/140/

If someone wants a copy of Petty's book I can help them get one.

[vincecate]

When they talk about "revolution" today, who are they revolting
against?

The British. We are a colony. This means our constitution gives all kinds of power to the British appointed governor. This is not really democratic and not really ideal. At the moment we have not had a budget approved by the governor in the last year (rejected several times even though it was unanimously passed by all of the locally elected ministers). However, it is not clear things will really get better by just getting rid of the British.