Wooing Jobs...Should Texans celebrate?

It seems without any doubt. Getting jobs to your citizens is a good thing. See here: But what is overlooked is the importance of your market. California does not have to woo jobs. It has 40 million great consumers. CA can call the shots with any potential employer. No tax breaks need be offered. Freeze them out of your market otherwise (what do you think the European Union is for? to welcome anyone to trade or to set trade in advantageous ways???). Compared to CA, TX has less consumers. But they too are valuable. TX also does not need to offer tax breaks to corporations. Texans are squandering their power.

Will Russia send peacekeepers to Ukraine?

Some might think that something has to give before late May since that is when elections will be held. And that leadership will have more legitimacy. It could happen if things get ugly. But I think that Russia will play the long game. They have a lot of levers. No need to overplay a strong hand if you are winning already. Nationalism in a postmodern age be it Russian or Ukrainian depends solely upon production of it. It has to be stoked, energized, and focused. That is not easy to sustain when there are so many other messages floating around, big and small.

Ukraine's Blue Revolution

Interesting...we are witnessing at long last the dissassociation of liberty versus democracy. They are not the same thing, despite what thinkers of liberal democracy beleive. The Orange revolution rung in democracy as election and rule by the numerous. Ukraine's Blue revolution is about liberation, not necessarily as far reaching as what happened in Crimea, but certainly pushing the practical limits of the concept. (Yes, Russia and NATO will each try to take advantage of the situation but that is another matter from witnessing the philsophical distinction). At the least, a Ukrainian confederation will create new market niches...

United States to substitute Israel with Iran

You heard it here second and here first... Imagine a Near East region with rivalries and where America's closest allies despise each other and the differences are profound as when Palestinian liberation is championed by one and not the other. Sound familiar? It's today and yesterday. Well, this scenario does not change whether Israel or Iran fits the USA alliance slot! Due to oil, the US will never leave the Near East alone. But the question of which ally would be better is intriguing. If you tally the costs and benefits, you might be surprised at the result. In a postmodern era, where differences abound and (digitized) morphing of one thing into another is snap, trading Israel for Iran is theoretically possible. But what about the Iranian hostage crisis?...well what about Israel and the USS Liberty?