Comments by "" (@craigkdillon) on "Amanpour and Company" channel.

  1. Before air conditioning, the South was considered very hot, and the Southwest almost unlivable. Without A/C, Texas, Florida, Arizona, and LA would never had seen the population growth that occurred after WW2 up to today. The drying up of the Colorado will have a profound affect on that region. Meanwhile, sea level rise will destroy Florida. Sea level rise is slow, but inexorable. It cannot be fought. It cannot be delayed. It cannot be negotiated with. And, most importantly, it cannot be "engineered" away. All coastal cities will be affected. Deltas and coastal crop land will be submerged. But, most awful of all, the wet bulb temperatures will rise to the point that our bodies cannot cope with. A high wet bulb temperature, for even a few days, will huge numbers of people, if they cannot get into A/C controlled shelter. Places like India, Nigeria, and others may start getting killer heat waves in the the near future. What then? Can hundreds of millions migrate?? Can surviving nations take them in?
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  2. Has India culture, attitudes, beliefs, and customs affected America?? You betcha. 1. In 1756, at the Albany Indian Congress, Benjamin Franklin first proposed a confederation of the colonies, citing the 200 year existence of the Iroquois Confederacy as his inspiration. 2. In Indian tribes, all members of the tribes were equal. Egalitarianism is NOT European. It IS American. We got it from the Indians. 3. The Eternal Flame burns at Arlington National Cemetery. The Iroquois Confederacy had an eternal flame that burned in the Onondaga Longhouse. It burned for over 200 years, and was to burn as long as the Iroquois Confederacy maintained their unity and existence. In 1777 (or 1778), the chiefs of the Mohawk, Oneida, Seneca, Ottawa, and Onondaga met and debated how to deal with the war between the colonies and Great Britain. They had ties to both. They had to choose. All great decisions were made unanimously, as had been done for 200 years. They argued and disagreed for hours, all through the day, and into the night. Finally, after many hours, an old chief, who had not said one word, but who listened and watched, got up and slowly walked to the Eternal Flame of the Iroquois. As he did, the longhouse fell silent. All eyes were now on him. He walked into the flame, and slowly stamped with his bare feet, the eternal flame of the Iroquois out. The flame was dead. The Iroquois were no more. Slowly, each chief silently got up, and without a word, left the longhouse. The tribes remained, but the Iroquois Confederacy was no more. Each tribe would choose who to ally with in the war, or choose neutrality. Each choice would be their own. In my mind, the idea of Federation, Unity, and individual freedom passed from the Iroquois to the coming United States of America. The idea of the Eternal Flame we took from the Iroquois, too.
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  3. Did you know that Chief Blue Jacket, the feared War Chief of the Shawnee, was born Dutch?? He was blue eyed and blond. Just a little factoid.
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  4. Another unforeseen impact of the Ukraine War is to drive the EU and US closer together economically, as the EU becomes dependent on US LNG. Interesting.
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  5. China is currently being evicted from the global trading system. It may even be ejected from the global banking and finance system. Chinese companies will be delisted from stock exchanges around the world. This is the life blood of modern economies. Xi's idea that he can resurrect a successful imperial economy practiced under past emperors will end in failure, and the impoverishment of China. India, IMO, will likely grow the most, and have the most success in the 21st century. But, this will only happen if they play by the rules of the global system. Then, India may supplant the US as the biggest economy in this system. But, even then, India MUST play by the system or it will suffer. In fact, if the US decided to not play by the global system, then the US would suffer, too, IMO.
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  6. Tim Miller was evil, too.
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  7. Dictators always think democracies are weak. They do not understand their inherent strength, just as they dont see the inherent weakness of autocracy. Europe has moved from autocracy to democracies because of those weaknesses. He is seeing that strength now, and he still does not understand it.
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  8. Oh give it a rest. Stop looking to the government to be the only teller of tales. I have been reading history all my life, and I still feel I know so little. Parents must teach themselves, and teach their children. I read many books on Native American History, but there is so much to learn and know. If History only taught Native American History, then what is to become of ancient history, European history, history of religions, anthropology, mythologies, Latin American history, history China, Japan, India, Vietnam, the peoples and kingdoms of Africa, History of science, philosophy, technology, history of the corporation, the rise of Civil Rights, Labor History, the Suffragettes, the rise of liberal democracies, the Black Plaque, History of Writing, etc. IMO, every child should read the 11 volumes of The History of Civilization by Will & Ariel Durant. And, that is just to start.
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  9.  @ninemoonplanet  No one has a history going back 30,000 years. Egypt's history goes back to 3000 BC. China's history goes back to about 1,000 BC. Iraq's history goes back to about 2,500 BC. And, Greek history goes back to about 800 BC. Where did you get your idea of 30,000 BC???
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  10. The answer is NO. It is not the end of the American Empire. What is more, China will NOT be dominant power in the 21st Century. First, understand that the current global system is NOT American, per se. It is a result of a global unified code of laws, trade regulations, and global banking system. When UK trades with Brazil, they use this system, even though the US is not party to the transaction, and does not benefit directly from it. The US is only part of the system. True the largest single economy within it. BUT, even without the US, this system could continue. China has decided now to try and destroy this system. It will fail, It will be diminished by their own hubris and pride. Russia's power and influence will continue to decline, until they decide to stop mucking about, and join the global system. The global system is robust, and resilient. Power can shift from one country to another, yet the global system will endure. The US relative position will decline as other nations rise. But, that rise will mostly be in the third world countries. Vietnam, Thailand, Kenya, Brazil, Nigeria, and many other "small" countries will grow under the global peace often called the Pax Americana.
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  11. From NAFTA to tax policies, the US has not just ignored workers, but has actively pursued policies that impoverished and weakened American workers. Both Democrats and Republicans did this. The Democratic Party once was identified with Labor and the American worker. It walked away from those voters, and that constituency. In 2016, Trump was able to connect with them by promising jobs, and to keep Carrier and other American companies here. Of course, he was lying, and only used it to get their votes. BUT -- he could not have done that if the Democratic Party had not walked away from the American worker.
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  12.  @letty5515  What makes you think he gives a crap about us?? He is probably helping aliens on other planets, who are more deserving.
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  13. We are hypocritical. But, all countries are. Putin will contradict himself more than anyone.
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  14.  @ninemoonplanet  I defend the term "Indian" for Native Americans. It has been used for 500 years. Everyone knew what it meant. No disrespect is in the term. The Native Americans (Indians) did not have a word for themselves collectively. So, the word "Indian" filled a need, as all good words do. BTW - any educated person knows where the word "Indian" comes from. It was always known. But, each group of 18 year old kids discover it, and think they are the first to know it. All they prove is their ignorance, and lack of education.
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  15. Hypocritical? Yep, we are that too often. Weak? The inexorable march of democracy in the past 200 years around the world, proves its strength and durability.
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  16.  @elevenseven-yq4vu  No its not. Trump aligns with Putin now, that is true. As a nation, though, it is not. We have functional local and state elections. Russia does not. Don't use that idea to make you feel powerless. If you love this country, then fight Trump, Musk, and the oligarchs.
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  17. IMO - the party that controls the next 20 years, will be the party that becomes the home of the American worker. Right now, that constituency has no home -- not Democrat, not Republican. Biden is coming up with the right policies. But, he is piss poor at communicating what he has done, what he is doing, and what his plans are. Biden is about the worst president in articulating a vision for the country. He was never an inspiring speaker. He thinks stating policies is the same as stating values, direction, and vision. That is so wrong, it borders on rank stupidity.
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