Baffled European

Tag: Panama

  • +3° cannot be avoided

    We’ve been having a dry spell. It hasn’t rained for weeks. Drought is a problem here in Brandenburg and it’s getting worse. Due to climate change.

    Of all the vandalism caused by the new US administration, probably the most predictable was climate science.

    The history in USA policy goes back to when daddy Bush decided to rename climate change “global warming” because it sounded positive. Something that we would want, rather than a bad thing. That set the tone for the next thirty years of obstruction, where climate change deniers sought to prevent any action taken to reduce CO₂ emissions.

    Now the pretence is over. They are not going to do anything about climate change. In fact, there are even moves in some states to make renewable energy illegal.

    Why are they doing this? To own the libs, obviously, but there must be a bit more than that. Do they think reality is whatever they say it is? That there is no objective reality? Maybe they genuinely think climate science is all a giant hoax?

    Whatever the case, the USAians have decisively rejected reality and embraced a fantasy instead. This cannot end well. Reality always wins in the end.

    Beyond the USA, it’s worth pointing out that if the governments of the world had shown as much enthusiasm for this issue as they have for tooling up for a great big fight, it would be solved by now.

  • Corruption powers

    Apparently you can have a private dinner with the President of the USA for a “donation” of $5 million, although it is not clear where this money goes. He has also suspended a law that forbids USAians from bribing foreign governments. This sets the tone for his government.

    It’s weirdly consistent the way all anti-fraud and anti-corruption agencies across the USA are being closed down. It runs across government and through each department.

    I reckon it’s certain that most of the members of the criminal cartel have had run-ins with all these agencies in the past. Now the mob is in charge, they are out for revenge. On this level, I understand why they are doing it.

    At the same time, in the real world, they are reducing government services across the board, even though the demand for those services has not changed. So how do you get access to these rare services? You pay a bribe. The official has no problems in accepting this, assuming they don’t demand it up front, because there are no comebacks.

    Somehow I see this as an accelerated corruption drive. The USA is a fairly honest and corruption-free society. These measures seem designed to corrupt everything as quickly as possible.

    Even if congress were to remove this maniac tomorrow, it would take years to unpick the mess he has caused. The more this corruption sets in and becomes endemic, the longer it will take.