Friends + Interlocutors,

Arctic Craziness by Eric Margolis is as good as any overview of our current predicament.  

I doubt that Trump’s recent hijinks concerning Venezuela and Greenland were aimed at torpedoing the Epstein files. But Margolis evidently believes otherwise. 

If the Democrats think Jeffrey Epstein is their ticket to derail Trump, they will find it a ticket to nowhere. The man who should be concerned is Bill Clinton. Besides, Trump can get away with anything. He’s proved it.

As for Davos as a ski resort, Margolis is right. It’s not gemütlich, but it is a near perfect venue for the annual conference of the world's big shots. Close enough from Kloten, Zurich's airport, for a helicopter ride or from charming Samedan, St. Moritz's private jetport, to reach Davos by limousine through the charming Engadine.

Will somebody please enlighten me. What’s so bad about globalization? I’d like an explanation. “Globalization” is a convenient all-purpose bugbear for Trump and his acolytes. They blame it for almost everything. But what does it actually mean? 

I am a fan of the rise of China but China has been denounced as the devil of “globalization”. I would suggest that the USA is also a prime beneficiary. Think Amazon, think Apple, for starters. There is always room for a mid-course correction and improvements, but do we need to become hysterical? Let’s be objective.

China—like Japan and South Korea—is a gift for America. A gift that keeps on giving. For one thing, where would the U.S. national debt be without China and Japan? Probably unsustainable. And where would I and a lot of other spoiled consumers be without Apple? Thank you China and Japan.

As for Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace”, it is a front to sanctify the spoils of war. That has already happened in Gaza big time, curiously with the help of the hapless UN, and there is no reason to think the scheme will not continue to be a shameless fraud and another vehicle to make Trump the center of attention.

The Palestinians have not been “marginalized”, as Margolis mildly puts it in passing. They have been brutalized and massacred by crazed interlopers from Eastern Europe, Russia and Brooklyn who are fully funded and cheered on by Washington. Trump is the latest most brazen cheerleader and enabler. It is the scandal of our time.

Patrick

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