Generational Dynamics World View News

[Bob Butler]

Are you sure? If the econonist has the right skin color, he could get a job in Biden's cabinet.

This is an example of your ideological bias. Biden has brought in experts in the field they are supposed to oversee, as opposed to Trump who appointed by nepotism and loyalty. If you don't make an honest attempt to understand the opposition, which generally has valid reasons why they believe as they do, you will convince only those who are already bought into your perspective.

[Burner Prime]

Are you sure? If the econonist has the right skin color, he could get a job in Biden's cabinet.

This is an example of your ideological bias. Biden has brought in experts in the field they are supposed to oversee, as opposed to Trump who appointed by nepotism and loyalty. If you don't make an honest attempt to understand the opposition, which generally has valid reasons why they believe as they do, you will convince only those who are already bought into your perspective.

There is some validity to this. I watched the Biden press conference in its entirety, the one John referenced a few days ago. I was really shocked at how well he did. And further, I was surprised at how well he fended off the many media questions designed to attack Trump & Republicans on their way out.

Time will tell if his Administration posts yield an effective team. Maybe Biden was just amped up on drugs and on his dementia upswing. Maybe it was a one-off. Time will tell, but that presser was a win for him.

[Guest]

Are you sure? If the econonist has the right skin color, he could get a job in Biden's cabinet.

This is an example of your ideological bias. Biden has brought in experts in the field they are supposed to oversee, as opposed to Trump who appointed by nepotism and loyalty. If you don't make an honest attempt to understand the opposition, which generally has valid reasons why they believe as they do, you will convince only those who are already bought into your perspective.

Yes, experts that China Joe has chosen.

Will China Joe govern the same way as Vichy France?

[John]

** 24-Dec-2020 World View: Earning respect

> Are you sure? If the economist has the right skin color, he could
> get a job in Biden's cabinet.

> This is an example of your ideological bias. Biden has brought in
> experts in the field they are supposed to oversee, as opposed to
> Trump who appointed by nepotism and loyalty. If you don't make an
> honest attempt to understand the opposition, which generally has
> valid reasons why they believe as they do, you will convince only
> those who are already bought into your perspective.

> There is some validity to this. I watched the Biden press
> conference in its entirety, the one John referenced a few days
> ago. I was really shocked at how well he did. And further, I was
> surprised at how well he fended off the many media questions
> designed to attack Trump & Republicans on their way out.

> Time will tell if his Administration posts yield an effective
> team. Maybe Biden was just amped up on drugs and on his dementia
> upswing. Maybe it was a one-off. Time will tell, but that presser
> was a win for him.

I'm sorry, but I have absolutely no respect for Biden, as he's spent
the last year hiding out in his basement, only answering pre-approved
questions by pre-approved reporters, and constantly showing signs of
dementia. The contrast is enormous with Trump who, every day, several
times a day, vigorously answered tough questions by all reporters.

Biden has given one and only one press conference where he seemed
coherent and competent, and that was the one last week, which I
described as a relief to me. But Biden will have to do a lot more to
earn my respect. Given Biden's performance in the last year, the
people with ideological bias are not the ones who criticize Biden, but
are the ones who give him a pass for his pathetic, incompetent
performance in the last year.

The remark about the economist was a joke, but it's based on the
observation that while Trump always talked about the competence of his
staff, Biden only talks about their skin color and gender. Once
again, Trump gets my respect for that and Biden does not. I respect
people who are competent. Skin color and gender are irrelevant to me
and apparently to Trump, but those are the only things that matter to
Biden.

As for loyalty, let's wait and see if how the thin-skinned Biden
treats anyone on his staff who disagrees with him.

As for nepotism, Trump's children went to the Mideast and negotiated
widely heralded peace agreements between Israel with UAE, Bahrain,
Sudan and Algeria. Biden's children went to Ukraine and China and
traded and used influence-peddling to pocket millions of dollars.
Furthermore, Biden's son Hunter is deeply embroiled in a criminal
investigation for influence peddling, money laundering and tax
evasion. That's a big contrast with Trump's children.

When Trump began running for president, I had no respect for him, and
I criticized him and mocked him. Trump earned my respect. Biden has
been cowering in his basement for a year and covering up his son's
crimes. The only ideological bias is by people who give Biden a pass
no matter how pathetic and incompetent he appears. Biden has not
earned my respect. When he does, I'll let you know.

[JCP]

Are you sure? If the econonist has the right skin color, he could get a job in Biden's cabinet.

This is an example of your ideological bias. Biden has brought in experts in the field they are supposed to oversee, as opposed to Trump who appointed by nepotism and loyalty. If you don't make an honest attempt to understand the opposition, which generally has valid reasons why they believe as they do, you will convince only those who are already bought into your perspective.

Said the pot to the kettle...

[Xeraphim1]

Merry Christmas to all.

Take a day or two off from the doom and gloom to concentrate on all the good things in your life. We'll have at least four years of Biden so there will be plenty of time to be miserable later.

Cheers!

[Bob Butler]

Merry Christmas to all.

Take a day or two off from the doom and gloom to concentrate on all the good things in your life. We'll have at least four years of Biden so there will be plenty of time to be miserable later.

Cheers!

Quite possibly good advice. Merry Christmas.

Still, Biden coming in is quite likely the start of the federal regeneracy. The next few years are the heart of the crisis. Blink, and you will be wondering what happened to the old values. Turnings turn.

[John]

** 25-Dec-2020 World View: Moved posts

Two posts, one of which claimed without evidence that Republicans are
racist and the other of which was just a personal attack on me, have
been moved to the "Strauss-Howe Fourth Turning discussions" thread,
where they are more appropriate.

The purpose of this "Generational Dynamics World View News" thread is
to discuss current events and history from the point of view of
Generational Dynamics. As always, I will be the final decider whether
a particular post belongs in this thread or elsewhere. In particular,
things like racism and violence will not be tolerated.

[John]

** 25-Dec-2020 World View: Merry Christmas message

The year 2020 has been the 18th year of Generational Dynamics
development. As usual, I have torn feelings. I take pride in the
fact that the thousands of analyses and trend predictions that I've
posted in the last 18 years have continued to be true or trending
true, but of course I get depressed at the consequences of those
trends and predictions. Like King Solomon in Ecclesiastes, I've found
that: "For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth
knowledge increaseth sorrow."

I want to thank all the members of this forum who have been
supportive, particularly in providing international information and
analyses that I'm not always aware of. Together, we've been able to
create an understanding of the world that is far more accurate than
anything else on the internet or, indeed, in the world. I always like
to point out that Generational Dynamics has accomplished what, in the
1990s, I would have said was mathematically impossible. But by
combining generational theory with chaos theory and exponential growth
theory, the mathematical obstacles have been overcome, and the
Generational Dynamics view of the world is unquestionably the best and
most accurate in the world.

I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in writing my Vietnam
book. (That phrase will be well remembered by those who lived through
the Vietnam War.) I've written extensively about millennia of
Vietnam's history, from ancient tribes to a millennium of Chinese
domination to a millennium of independence with a seemingly infinite
number of dynasties and wars to French colonization to Communist
control.

I've also written extensively about the rise of Buddhism, how it grew
out of Hinduism in India, and then spread across Asia, as far as Korea
and Japan. I've described the theology of the different schools of
Buddhism and, for fun, I've included a special section on the solution
to the Zen Buddhist koan, "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"

My description of this history and theology of Buddhism complements my
description of the history and theology of Islam and Christianity that
I wrote at length in my book "World View: Iran's Struggle for
Supremacy -- Tehran's Obsession to Redraw the Map of the Middle East."
And of course, my book on "War between China and Japan" describes the
history and theology of Confucianism and Daoism.

This is a particularly satisfying personal accomplishment for me.
When I was a student at MIT, I was fascinated by religions, and for
four semesters I sat in on the course "Religions of the World," given
by the great Professor Huston Smith.

So now, my Iran, China and Vietnam books combined could well be used
as the textbooks for the best "Religions of the World" college course
that could be given.

This is particularly relevant to mention on Christmas day. Those
wishing to understand all the religions of the world will find the
answers in these books.

Returning now to the Vietnam book, I've spent a lot of time in the
past couple of months trying to figure out what happened in what
Americans call "The Vietnam War." The major conclusion that I reached
was that the war was already lost by 1964, thanks especially to two
disastrous decisions by President Kennedy. It's hard to describe
these actions in any way other than intentional sabotage of the war
effort, but whether intentional or unintentional, they were certainly
sabotage, and meant the war was lost by the time Johnson became
president, leading to Nixon's unavoidable betrayal of the South
Vietnamese people. I will write an article on these conclusions
sometime in the near future.

Once again, I'd like to thank forum members who have provided
information and interpretations of Generational Dynamics analyses from
the point of view of other countries and other people. The most
valuable contribution of Generational Dynamics is that it provides
accurate analyses and forecasts for any people and any country in the
world, at any time in history, not just America.

I know many people are separated from their families this Christmas,
because of the Wuhan Coronavirus, and so it's appropriate to quote
these lyrics, as sung by Judy Garland in the 1944 film, "Meet Me in St
Louis":

Some day soon we all will be together, if the fates allow.
Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow.
So have yourself a Merry Little Christmas now.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CreWsnhQwzY

[Bob Butler]

Returning now to the Vietnam book, I've spent a lot of time in the past couple of months trying to figure out what happened in what Americans call "The Vietnam War." The major conclusion that I reached was that the war was already lost by 1964, thanks especially to two disastrous decisions by President Kennedy. It's hard to describe these actions in any way other than intentional sabotage of the war effort, but whether intentional or unintentional, they were certainly sabotage, and meant the war was lost by the time Johnson became president, leading to Nixon's unavoidable betrayal of the South Vietnamese people. I will write an article on these conclusions sometime in the near future.

I wouldn't label it as sabotage. The GIs were thoroughly wedded to containing communism, the Domino Theory, the role as the world's policeman. That was the major lesson supposedly learned from World War II. It is alas necessary to contain continued autocratic aggression. They were a little too enthusiastic about it in the early 1960s. We can recognize the conflict as fighting for a corrupt regime against the will of the people. It was an insurgent proxy conflict. With hindsight, solving the problem with brute force was a vast mistake, likely doomed to failure, but probably not deliberate sabotage.

Very fond of how Judy handled that song.