FAREED ZAKARIA, (CNN) The midterm election results were just one more reflection of the pervasive discontent in the United States these days. Two-thirds of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track, and yet if one looks at the rest of the world, what’s striking is how well the United States is doing relative to other major economies.
President Obama says the United States has produced more jobs in its recovery than the rest of the industrialized world put together. Why is this? Many believe the American economy has some inherent advantages over its major competitors, a more flexible structure, stronger entrepreneurial traditions, a more demographically dynamic society.
Well, along comes a fascinating new book that says you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Peter Zeihan’s “The Accidental Super Power” begins with geography, pointing out that America is the world’s largest consumer market for a reason — rivers. Transporting goods by water, he points out, is 12 times cheaper than by land which is why civilizations have always flourished around rivers.
And America, Zeihan calculates, has more navigable waterways, 17,600 miles worth, than the rest of the world put together. By comparison, he notes, China and Germany have about 2,000 miles each, and all of the Arab world has just 120 miles of river.
But that’s just the beginning. The world’s greatest river network directly overlies the world’s largest piece of Arable land, the American Midwest, he writes. Add to this America’s many and unequal deep water ports which you need in order to get goods to and from the rest of the world. Chesapeake Bay alone boasts longer stretches of prime port property than the entire continental coast of Asia from Vladivostok to Lahore, writes Zeihan.
All of these factors combined have created the world’s largest consumer market, surplus savings and a dynamic unified economy. It’s also remarkably self-sufficient. Imports made up 17 percent of the American economy in 2012 according to the World Bank. Compare that to Germany’s 46 percent or China’s 25 percent. And this number in the U.S. will fall as America imports less and less foreign oil.
Zeihan emphasizes the degree to which America’s energy revolution has insulated it from the rest of the world. Thanks to efforts to extract shale, North America has much of the energy it needs at home. As the world gets messier, he argues, there are fewer and fewer compelling reasons for America to pay blood and treasure to stabilize it.
I’m not as sure as Zeihan that America’s advantages are simply structural. If one looks at the last five years, again in comparative terms, American public policy actually comes out looking impressive. To combat the global economic crisis of 2008, Washington acted speedily and creatively on three fronts, aggressive monetary policy, fiscal policy, and reform and recapitalization of the banking sector.
Every other rich country did less and has seen a more troubled return to normalcy.
Now since the response to the crisis, Washington has been paralyzed and polarized, but this is not the entirety of American politics. Beyond the beltway, mayors and governors are reaching across party lines partnering with the private sector and making reforms and investments for future growth.
When Tocqueville wrote about America in the 1830s he was struck by the bottom up vitality of its towns and villages. So as we approach Thanksgiving, let’s bear in mind that the genius of America is still alive, whatever most Americans might think.
Lawrence O’Donnell (MSNBC) “Just before officer Darren Wilson testified to the grand jury investigating his killing of Michael Brown the assistant District Attorney handling the case said this to the grand jurors ‘I’m going to pass out to you all, you all are going to receive a copy of a statute,It is section 563.046, and it is, it says law enforcement officers use of force in making an arrest, and it is the law on what is permissible, what force is permissible, and when in making an arrest by a police officer.’ The Assistant District Attorney Kathy Alizadeh then handed the grand jury a copy of a 1979 Missouri law that was ruled unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in 1985. She was handing them something that had not been law in Missouri during her entire legal career. But, it was very helpful to officer Darren Wilson that the Assistant District Attorney handed the grand jury an old unconstitutional law which said incorrectly that it is legal to shoot fleeing suspects, simply because they are fleeing.”
Bill Maher speaking about the Republican reaction to President Obama’s executive order on immigration “They’re so paranoid, Michele Bachmann (R-MN) said these illegal immigrants, they’re gonna to be voting. OK, there’s no evidence of illegal immigrants ever voting, although they should. There’s another job Americans won’t do.”
President Barack Obama “To those members of Congress who question my authority to make our immigration system work better, or question the wisdom of me acting where Congress has failed, I have one answer: Pass a bill,”
I just got back from doing my local music radio show on internet only Wbkm Dot Org, and seeing music at Club Metronome. Much like Blue Button I started and ended classic and threw some new songs in the middle.
Song Before: Like A Hurricane – Neil Young
promo
intro
From our small city to the great big world, these are the Sounds of Burlington. It’s a cold night in Burlington and it’s making me want the comfort of come classics. Here are some spy songs to get us going. This is Opium Spy Thriller by Ninja Custodian on WBKM, and this is Burlington’s kind of music.
1.) Opium Spy Thriller – Ninja Custodian
2.) The Spy Song – Pinhead
3.) Goodbye Mr Bond – Blotto
I loved seeing Blotto at Hunt’s. All three bands used to play in the ’80’s in Burlington. It’s cold, and one of the best ways to warm up is to burn something. This band is likely playing right now at Club Metronome.
The best ways to stay warm in a Vermont winter are to burn something, or go somewhere warm like California. OK, on to the next song on Lipstick and Dynamite.
Rough Francis have a couple of birthday shows coming up in early December at Radio Bean. Blue Button are playing with Phil Yates and Dino Bravo VT at Metronome tonight. I keep missing shows by this next band and will have to cure that soon. I love these three as one piece.
12.) Sequoia I – Binger
13.) Sequoia II – Binger
14.) Sequoia III – Binger
Love the music and the deep thinking lyrics. This next guy has some great lyrics too.
Vetica have broken up and have a new album coming out soon. I can’t wait! Wave are so much fun, and I love the lyrical tie in with Jeremy. The WBKM birthday party at Nectar’s last Saturday was a blast. These guys were amazing.
Book ‘Em played a killer version of that Frank Zappa song at the birthday show. Seth and the band were amazing doing a Neil Young set, and the Kind Buds were just phenomenal. This next song is one of the great songs to come out of this town recently.
Great new song from the digital release of the Claws album. Thanks Cush for the killer shows at Arts Riot and Radio Bean!! Hmm, Swale. That was all new, so let’s end classic. I love this song.
24.) Powder – The New Siberians
25.) Tastes Like Nothing – Zola Turn
26.) Every Time I Hear That Mellow Saxophone – Big Joe Burrell and the Unknown Blues Band
I hope you enjoyed checking out the music of our town. Next week is Thanksgiving but we can check it out again the week after.
Stephen Colbert “Now, Senator Sanders you’re a guy who’s a rabble-rouser. You whip people up. That may play in Vermont, but there is talk that you may be throwing your hat into the Presidential ring. Sir, I only have 15 more shows. If you want the Colbert bump… Are you ready to declare tonight? … Would you like to make some news?”
Sen Bernie Sanders (I-VT) “The news is I’m thinking about running for President. ”
Colbert “Sir, you have a campaign manager. Is he doing nothing? Is that just socialist handouts?”
Sanders “We haven’t put anybody on the campaign staff yet. What we have to ascertain is whether or not in this country there is the appetite and willingness to put together a strong grass-roots movement to take on the billionaire class. That’s a very difficult undertaking and when you’re running against people who have unlimited sums of money the question is how you raise the twenty dollars and forty dollar contributions, the money that you need to run a serious campaign. So, those are the issues we’re looking at.”
Colbert “OK, you believe the government can achieve things. True? That’s a controversial stance. Can you name a country where that’s worked out?”
Sanders “I think, one of the sad things about American politics is that we don’t know a whole lot about what’s going on in a number of other countries. In Denmark, for example, you have a very good health care system which provides quality care to all of its people without out of pocket expense. At a time when our young people, by the millions, are having a hard time affording to go to college, are graduating deeply in debt, in Denmark college and graduate school is without any out of pocket expense.”
Colbert “I do want to point one thing out to you Senator. Denmark has five and a half million people and I have more than that on my Twitter feed. So, I’m going to tweet something here tonight, uhm, hold on, ‘suck it Denmark’. Alright folks, please retweet that. If I get more get more retweets than there are people in Denmark, (points at Sanders) you have to move there.”
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: But first here is my take. As Moscow continues to send its forces into Ukraine, it seems clear that Putin’s Russia presents America and the West with a frontal challenge. But in the longer run, it is not Russia’s overt military assault, but China’s patient and steady nonmilitary moves that might prove the greater challenge. Russia is a great power in decline. Its economy amounts to just 3.4 percent of global GDP. China’s is nearly 16 percent and rising. Now almost four times the size of Japan’s and five times that of Germany’s according to the World Bank.
Presidents Obama and Xi deserve the accolades they are receiving for their historic agreement on climate change and it seems to suggest that America and China are moving toward a new, productive relationship. Except that even while signing these accords, Xi Jinping’s government has been taking steps that suggests it is developing a very different approach to its foreign policy, one that seeks to replace the American-built post-1945 international system with its own.
If it continues down this path, it would constitute the most significant and dangerous shift in international politics since the end of the Cold War. It’s been widely reported that Xi has presided over a rise in nationalist rhetoric in recent years, much of it anti- American. While nationalism has been circulating in China for a while, the quantity seems to have risen sharply.
One count done by the “Christian Science Monitor, found that the number of anti-western polemics in the official “People’s Daily” in 2014 so far has tripled compared with the same period last year.
Perhaps more important, however, is that China has begun a low-key but persistent campaign to propose alternatives to the existing structure of international arrangements in Asia and beyond. It’s moved from being anti-American to post-American.
This summer Beijing spearheaded an agreement with the other BRICS countries to create a financial fund that would challenge the IMF. In October Beijing launched a $50 billion Asian infrastructure bank explicitly as an alternative to the World Bank. And last year President Xi declared that China would spend $40 billion to revive the old silk road to promote trade and development in that region.
For China to fit into an international system rubs against its deepest historical traditions. In his recent book Henry Kissinger notes that China has never been comfortable with the idea of a global system of equal states. Historically China considered itself in a sense the sole sovereign government of the whole world.
Diplomacy was a series of carefully contrived ceremonies in which foreign societies were given the opportunity to affirm their assigned place in the global hierarchy. One in which China sat on top. These are worrying signs not because Beijing’s efforts will surely succeed. They may not. Many of its efforts have run into opposition, but if China continues down this path using its growing clout to ask countries to choose between the existing set of arrangements or new ones, it might create conditions for a new kind of cold war in Asia.
It will certainly help to undermine and perhaps eventually destroy the current international order, one that was created by the United States after 1945 and which has been a platform on which peace and prosperity have flourished in Asia for seven decades.
Book ‘Em Blues band at WBKM 7th Birthday Party photo by Wbkm
I had a great time seeing music at the Wbkm Dot Org 7th birthday party at Nectar’s on Saturday night. The show started around 7 but I had to work until 8. I did a reasonably quick turnaround at home and arrived a little after 9 and Bud & Budd ~ The Kind Buds were on stage. Everyone knew that Bud on the right was a great guitar player, but Bud on the left was pretty extraordinary too. Together they weaved their guitars and voices seamlessly to create some magical songs. I only caught a couple of songs but they seemed to have a pattern of creating a really nice song, then as it got into the middle section they brought the music to tremendous heights, before gently returning it to an average normal brilliant song. It was truly breathtaking. As I had just arrived, I chatted with Tony Gallucci and Eric Koval for a bit, but mostly paid attention to the band. They wrapped up the set with a mellow version of Deal that floated along nicely, then started building and building in the middle until it seemed like the whole room would explode, then dropped it back into the chorus, and let the ending play out. I had a vague memory of being impressed with them before and was completely blown away Saturday. I’ve got to get their music on my radio show!
During the switchover, I chatted with Rich Haskell, and before the next band stated a few of us Wbkmers took the stage and Tony chatted with the audience about the station and 7 years of music.
We hopped off stage and Real Old & Insane Donkey (really The Seth Yacovone Band) started rocking. Everyone knew that Seth was a great guitar player, but the guitar player on the left was pretty extraordinary too. I missed his name but he and Seth traded leads all night long and both were stunning. The rhythm section was super solid and the whole set was songs from Neil Young & Crazy Horse. They opened with a solid Rocking In the Free World then wowed the packed room with Powderfinger. The next was a fun mid-tempo obscure Neil song who’s name eludes me, but was lots of fun. They turned it up to eleven and played a long and joyous Cowgirl In The Sand. Mere words cannot capture how amazing it was. It seemed to go on forever and was blissful for every note. The next one was a mid-tempo rocker. I think it was Welfare Mothers (they definitely played it but I did not keep track of order of the songs), then unleashed Cortez The Killer. Unfortunately, the guitar player not named Seth lost his amp in the middle, though fortunately he got in a nice solo before it burned out. D.Davis was on it and exchanged his amp for the burned one, and had the guitar back in the game by the end of the song. Seth did a great job holding it together, though I’m sure the song would have been greater without the glitch. They followed with a killer rock version of Fucking Up that made me wish the amp burned out in that one, just for humor’s sake. They played a couple of more obscure Neil tunes then floored the room with Down By The River. They followed with a stunning Like A Hurricane and wrapped it up with a super heavy My My Hey Hey. It was a truly tremendous show.
Usually, at the Wbkm birthday parties, Tony’s kids play a set or two, During the set break I chatted with Michele Clifford Streeter and Annemarie Gallucci and asked about the opening band Bruise Box. That was a band with their kids, but a last minute breakdown had only Devin Gallucci play solo. It must have taken a lot of courage to not have your band and just get up and play anyway. I wish I had been there to see it.
Up next, the Book ‘Em Blues Band took the stage. Everyone knows that Bob Wagner is a great guitar player, But D. Davis, the guitar player on the right was pretty extraordinary too. Joined by the one man symphony, John Rogone, on bass, and the constantly attacking Russ Lawton on drums, the band were super tight and quite stunning. The songs were mostly blues classics that I did not know. It didn’t matter. They played so well, everything sounded great. The place was packed and people were dancing like crazy. The first set was not too long, and I was getting tired. It had been a long day. In the set break I headed to the WBKM studio a couple of doors down to find a less crowded bathroom. I ran into Eric and we wandered into the studio and chatted a bit. We then headed back and the band were onstage ripping up the second set. I think they were playing a Dead song when we walked in, but I’m not sure. I was really tired and barely still standing at this point, but had to stick around as they let loose a killer version of Frank Zappa‘s Bamboozled By Love. I’m sure they played a bunch more killer songs, but that was it for me. I took the happy gentle walk home with a heart full of music and a deep appreciation for all the staggering musical talent that we get in this town.
Devin Gallucci at WBKM 7th Birthday Party photo by WBKM
The Kind Buds at WBKM 7th Birthday Party photo by Wbkm
Seth Yacovone Band at WBKM 7th Birthday Party photo by WBKM
I just got back from my local music radio show on internet only Wbkm Dot Org. I highlighted the Radio Bean birthday party from last Saturday, highlighted the WBKM birthday party this coming Saturday, managed to say Happy Birthday to Christopher Larrow and boldly stated how much I like the new album from The Cush.
From our small city to the great big world, these are the Sounds of Burlington. I’ve got some birthdays to talk about but before I get into that, I’ve got a bunch of new music that has come my way, and I want to feature some of it. I just got the new album by a guy who played second at the Radio Bean birthday party last Saturday.
1.) Letter From The 21st – Jeremy Gilchrist
2.) Little Songs – Invisible Homes
3.) Overgrown – Eric George
4.) Garden Flower – Maryse Smith
Maryse and Michael Chorney played a great set at the RB birthday party. Eric works at Burlington Records and brought the album to the station. Lots of gardening songs, and I thought that one would go nicely into Garden Flowers. Cool songs from Invisible and Jeremy. One of my favorite parts of the RB birthday was Johnnie Day Durand and her magical musical saw. You can hear her play it wonderfully on this song.
5.) Brothers And Sisters – Joe Adler
6.) Everyone Likes To – Swale
7.) Politicians In My Eyes – Death
At the RB birthday Swale played a killer Everyone, brought up Lee Anderson and sang Thank You For Being A Friend then played Politicians. It was pretty intense and Bobby Hackney Jr. arrived just as they were finishing up another Death song, Nuclear War. If you have not see the movie A Band Called Death, definitely check it out. OK, now it’s time for the next song on Lipstick And Dynamite.
8.) Mark My Words – Black Rabbit
9.) Bleeping Burning Bridges – Blue Button
10.) Old North Ender – James Kochalka Superstar
11.) In The Pines – Vedora
Vedora played a killer set at the RB birthday with Matt, Caroline Marie and Jane Boxall Percussion on drums. Jane also plays with Black Rabbit. James played a killer set at the birthday, as did BB. Well, that was last week, this Saturday is the Wbkm birthday party. There will be lots of great music including Seth Yacovone Band doing a set of Neil Young covers and Bob Wagner and the Book ‘EM Blues Band playing two sets. Here is Book ‘EM from a WBKM birthday party a couple of years ago. They did this one last time. Will they do it this year? Who cares, whatever they play will be great!
12.) Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad? – The Book ‘Em Blues Band
Wow, that was a fun 13 minutes! One of my favorite bands to play burlington for years was The Cush. They just came back and played a show at ArtsRiot last Friday and sold me a copy of their new album Transcendental Heatwave. Here it is: Turn your lights down low. Turn your lava lamp up to 11, Light some incense an smoke ’em if you got ’em.
13.) Heavy Psych – The Cush
14.) One Shot Love – The Cush
15.) Orange Like Water – The Cush
You’ve listening to Transcendental Heatwave by The Cush on WBKM and this is Burlington’s Kind of music.
16.) Droids – The Cush
17.) Phantom Girl – The Cush
18.) Highway Brain – The Cush
19.) Broken Radio – The Cush
You’ve listening to Transcendental Heatwave by The Cush on WBKM and this is Burlington’s Kind of music.
20.) Summers Gone – The Cush
21.) Color Your Eyes – The Cush
22.) Distant Light – The Cush
What a great album! Thanks guys!! Here’s another great artist who played the RB birthday party
timstriangletribune 