Every so often I think it is a wise thing to take a moment and consider items and events that get little notice in our world. Here are just a few:
1. There seems to be a lasting benefit from the liberation of Iraq. Recently, Iraqi oil production hit a high point not seen since before the Iraq war began. This oil is flowing around the world and helping to keep a lid on world energy prices. Also, while there have been some bad developments in Iraq, particularly with the resurrection of al Qaeda in Iraq, things in that country have remained essentially peaceful. Iraq is one of the few places in the region that is not about to blow up into full scale war.
2. The world dodged a bullet with regard to global warming. We just have gone through nearly two decades of relentless propaganda about the inevitable destruction of the environment by mankind. By now, we were all to have been baking in a sauna that was likely to flood coastal lands and starve billions due to drought. Instead, we have just finished the coldest winter since 1899 and the temperature data has now proven that the computer models that predicted global warming are wrong. The chance of any real action being taken to hobble economic growth on the supposed basis of preventing global warming has been reduce to almost nothing. Not even president Obama and his phone/pen has done much in this regard. The truth has gotten out to the people.
3. The confrontation between Japan and China over the Senkaku Islands seems to have gone from a boil to a simmer. Hopefully, it will further cool down to something that can be discussed and dealt with in a civil manner. Of course, it helps that China's economy is moving towards the edge of a cliff. Beijing does not want to do anything that might push its economy into free fall. Still, it is good to see calmer heads prevail.
4. While Syria has failed even to make a real effort to comply with its agreement to destroy its chemical weapons, at least, the Assad forces have not used these weapons again since the outrage perpetrated a year ago.
5. In certain parts of the world, the terrorists are losing ground to a major extent. One such location is in the Gaza Strip where Hamas is falling to the point that it soon may be out of power. When Mohammed Morsi was ousted as president of Egypt, Hamas made clear to the new rulers in Egypt that it was still supporting Morsi. Not surprisingly, the new Egyptian rulers closed the border to the smugglers who had been supporting Hamas financially. The loss of revenue has so weakened Hamas that it can no longer pay government workers in Gaza. Even the recent spate of missile launches may be nothing more than a cry for help from Gaza.
6. Millions of people may have been awakened to the true nature of Vladimir Putin and his Russian state. To be sure, there are still pundits who tell us how Putin is looking for an "off ramp" out of Crimea, but millions of people now understand that Putin's true goal is to expand Russia's area of control. The first step to dealing with this issue is for the world to finally recognize that there is a problem here.
1. There seems to be a lasting benefit from the liberation of Iraq. Recently, Iraqi oil production hit a high point not seen since before the Iraq war began. This oil is flowing around the world and helping to keep a lid on world energy prices. Also, while there have been some bad developments in Iraq, particularly with the resurrection of al Qaeda in Iraq, things in that country have remained essentially peaceful. Iraq is one of the few places in the region that is not about to blow up into full scale war.
2. The world dodged a bullet with regard to global warming. We just have gone through nearly two decades of relentless propaganda about the inevitable destruction of the environment by mankind. By now, we were all to have been baking in a sauna that was likely to flood coastal lands and starve billions due to drought. Instead, we have just finished the coldest winter since 1899 and the temperature data has now proven that the computer models that predicted global warming are wrong. The chance of any real action being taken to hobble economic growth on the supposed basis of preventing global warming has been reduce to almost nothing. Not even president Obama and his phone/pen has done much in this regard. The truth has gotten out to the people.
3. The confrontation between Japan and China over the Senkaku Islands seems to have gone from a boil to a simmer. Hopefully, it will further cool down to something that can be discussed and dealt with in a civil manner. Of course, it helps that China's economy is moving towards the edge of a cliff. Beijing does not want to do anything that might push its economy into free fall. Still, it is good to see calmer heads prevail.
4. While Syria has failed even to make a real effort to comply with its agreement to destroy its chemical weapons, at least, the Assad forces have not used these weapons again since the outrage perpetrated a year ago.
5. In certain parts of the world, the terrorists are losing ground to a major extent. One such location is in the Gaza Strip where Hamas is falling to the point that it soon may be out of power. When Mohammed Morsi was ousted as president of Egypt, Hamas made clear to the new rulers in Egypt that it was still supporting Morsi. Not surprisingly, the new Egyptian rulers closed the border to the smugglers who had been supporting Hamas financially. The loss of revenue has so weakened Hamas that it can no longer pay government workers in Gaza. Even the recent spate of missile launches may be nothing more than a cry for help from Gaza.
6. Millions of people may have been awakened to the true nature of Vladimir Putin and his Russian state. To be sure, there are still pundits who tell us how Putin is looking for an "off ramp" out of Crimea, but millions of people now understand that Putin's true goal is to expand Russia's area of control. The first step to dealing with this issue is for the world to finally recognize that there is a problem here.
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