The situation remains – where realized – a taboo in the political discussion. Any such pessimism is considered dangerous as it will hamper a surge in consumer confidence needed to avoid recession from developing into a depression. Please ignore the Siberian blizzard and wet your trousers to keep warm!
Realising that something is wrong one side of the political spectrum try to energize the national economy by spending some money to keep more occupied until the end of the ‘recession‘. By so doing it worsens the situation in two ways. Firstly by ignoring that the free capital market has established an open and uncontrolled drain from the public budget deficit to international finance and secondly and directly because all extra economic activity means extra import. The other side of the spectrum realises the need for reduced public spending, but with the aim of increasing private consumption to minimize the effects of the ‘recession‘, the result will be the same, and its unlimited faith in the market makes it incapable of seing its destructive effects.
Continue Reading November 26th, 2011
That bleak future is a result of Western naivity and ignorance of its own history, including recent history. In delirious hubris at the ‘End of History‘ we adopted raw capitalism as God and Molok, uncritically subordinating any political control and management to the assumed blessings of the ‘Market‘.
We are left without other options than to hope that Flemming Ytzen’s assumed authoritarian but civilized Chinese imperial power will allow us room for rebuilding our societies after the collapse and troubles of the coming decades
Continue Reading November 12th, 2011
Both the politicians and their economic advisors are like navigators on a liner cruising in iceberg infested waters. The ship has been damaged by several minor iceberg hits and the mixed group on the bridge is arguing how they are going to get past the next such obstacles without totally loosing control. Late October 2011 the German ship-owner forced the rest to take a course past the closest large iceberg and to accept plans for new rules for cooperation. All ignore that some time back they deliberately blew away all seacocks and bilge pumps of the western economies to let the sea flow freely in – and out (ignoring that gravity would make this rather unlikely).
It is a veteran historian’s attempt to read through the chaff of public discourse during the phased economic melt-down. He desperately hopes – especially for his daughters and grandsons – that he is wrong in the analysis.
Continue Reading October 15th, 2011
It seems clear that the West is close to giving up trying to do what is clearly necessary to concentrate on doing the totally inadequate that can be done in agreement – thereafter to sit in a circle with heads in the sand and fingers crossed in hopeful ‘interthinking’.
Continue Reading November 26th, 2009
Om hans indsats kan få resultater, afhænger af hans frihed til at opbygge et helt nyt team i forsvarsledelsen, der kan føre hans forhåbentligt nye kurs ud i livet.
Continue Reading November 10th, 2009
Der synes klart, at Vesten er ved at opgive at gøre det, som er nødvendigt, og koncentrerer sig om at gøre det utilstrækkelige, som man kan blive enige om – for derefter at sidde i rundkreds med hovedet i busken og krydsede fingre under håbefuld og positiv samtænkning.
Continue Reading November 5th, 2009
Der er ikke på noget grundlæggende område forskel på motiverne bag – på denne ene side – en pashtustammes tilslutning til Taliban-netværkets oprør mod den afghanske eller pakistanske centralmagt og – på den anden – bag bandeaktivisternes aktiviteter herhjemme og i vore nabolande.
Continue Reading October 28th, 2009
At vi har så svagt forberedte forsvarspolitikere skyldes også, at mediernes interesse og forståelse i militære spørgsmål er overfladisk og tidsbegrænset. Derfor presser de ikke politikerne til at sætte sig så meget ind i sagerne, at de – sammen med medierne – kan tvinge forsvarsledelsen til at være andet end ‘moderne’ ledere i uniform.
Continue Reading October 10th, 2009
Det ville være langt mere relevant end at ansætte endnu en journalist at foretage en revurdering og nedbygning af den massive, nok selvtjenende, propagandaorganisation, som er blevet opbygget siden Christian Hvidts forsvarschefstid. Det synes helt overset, at det er de ansvarlige politikere, der skal være i stand til at kunne forklare den besluttede forsvarspolitik og den aktuelle krigsdeltagelse over for forsvarets ansatte, deres familier og resten af befolkningen. Heldigvis har vi en Forsvarsminister, der kan dette. Politikken skal ikke ’sælges’ af forsvaret som sæbepulver. Forsvaret skal derimod altid være åben og totalt ærlig for også kritisk søgen efter politisk ubekvemme informationer.
Continue Reading October 4th, 2009
Tanker efter forløbet 4. – 6. august med Jyllandsposten
Continue Reading August 9th, 2009
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This blog allows readers to comment directly on the substance of articles, etc., published here on the weblog or on my homepage via ‘Contact‘.
However, it is also meant as a public notice board for any debate about the issues covered by these articles: Danish and other European modern general and military history as well as current security issues.
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