The World According to Glissando

Blog

  • Power

    Power! Why do some men profoundly seek it? In general, we all say it is driven by human nature, but, deep down, beneath the surface, why? Why the all consuming lust for power and money?

    Ultimately, the answer that reflects back to me is control. These troubled people, yes, troubled, want to control everything. They often can be so dead inside they do not care about anything except for their massive, extreme selfishness. They certainly don’t care about the lives of ordinary people. You have a spouse and 3 kids? Doesn’t matter. They will fire you in the blink of an eye like you are nothing, just because they want to.

    This is why people with power seem to fear death more than others. They want to control everything, but they cannot control death. They spend years and billions of dollars seeking a “cure” for this incurable fact of life. Fortunately, for humanity, these people do not live forever. Can you imagine if Hitler lived forever?

  • Everyone!

    “Everyone must go!” It’s a seemingly simple, direct statement. Not in New Zealand, however. This is the new positioning statement for tourism in the country and a controversy, if you will. Apparently, some New Zealanders think it is an unworthy statement on which to promote the country as a tourist destination. It sounds like a retail sale or words to that effect, and, it sounds cheap, and not in the good way.

    In a world currently suffering from absolute madness everywhere, and, as a potential tourist of the country, I don’t think they have anything to worry about in New Zealand using this slogan. Let’s look at the facts. New Zealand is in the middle of nowhere in the ocean, a long way from the rest of the world. It is arduous, by today’s standards, to get there. (Imagine if you had to take a sailing ship in the 18th Century. Now, that’s arduous!) Exhorting people to go there is not unreasonable.

    Knowledgeable people understand what an incredible, wonderful place New Zealand is. They understand what it’s about. There really is no other place like it on the planet, and, Hobbits live there, too. The trick for New Zealand in these tumultuous times is not to sell its many virtues, it’s getting people to actually make the journey, and exhorting them to do so with very direct language makes sense. I think “Everyone must go!” is perfect right now.       

  • Concerns

    I have a couple of concerns. These regard activities that are quietly moving through media, but, are more important than anyone realizes. The first is the Trump Administration is in the process of setting up a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) for the United States, much like the one in Saudi Arabia and other Asian and Middle Eastern countries. A SWF is a state-owned investment enterprise.

    At first glance, this may seem to be a good idea (and it could be). On the other hand, there is speculation that this fund will be used to purchase Tik Tok, the Chinese owned social media platform sensation. There are many concerns the Chinese government uses this platform as a way to spy on people. If Trump purchases Tik Tok using the SWF, it is not inconceivable that the platform will be used to, you guessed it, spy on the American people.

    My other concern is that more than 300 employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration were fired last week as part of widespread layoffs at the Department of Energy by the Trump Administration. Apparently, the Trump Administration initially did not understand that these are the people who oversee the US nuclear weapon arsenal. These terminations were quickly rescinded. The concern: we’re talking about a lack of understanding by the Administration about nukes here, people.  

  • Civilisations

    Great civilisations come and go as surely as a rain shower. History demonstrates this repeatedly. The pace of them coming and going seems to be accelerating due to the numerous, usual historical reasons, and now, aided by the rapid pace of technological advancement.

    Since the beginning of the 20th Century we have seen the rise and fall and rise of Russia; the new rising of China; the late twilight years of the British Empire; the current, pending decline of the United States as it slides into the abyss of Nazism; the rise and fall and rise of Japan; and in Germany, the rise of Nazism whose fall, fortunately, was quick, although incredibly destructive and devastating on a level unmatched in human history. I am heartened by the rise of post World War II Germany.

    The people living in these powerful civilisations think it is forever, but, it’s not. Our lives last less than a blink of the eye in the annals of time. As Bryan Adams sang, “I guess nothing can last forever.” It can’t and it won’t. Human nature will not allow it. A civilisation gets comfortable and purposely distracted by “toys”, and ultimately, this leads to its downfall. Will we ever learn?

    In spite of all this, I still hope for love, peace and harmony for the world. I will not give up on this notion because we have the ability to reason, if we so choose. It would be wonderful to see us use the power of our minds to ascend to a better world for everyone.

  • MAGA

    “Make America Great Again” is a savvy advertising slogan. I can see it used to sell everything from American cars to American beer, but, what does it mean in the context of a country? A country is not a product, it is people.

    As I reflected on this matter, many questions came to mind. What does this really mean? Was America ever really that great, and, if so, when and why? Is America not great now? What defines American greatness? Who decides this?

    The phrase MAGA is used, like every advertiser with a sales pitch and a slogan, everywhere. I need to clearly know what the current purveyors of MAGA really mean. What is their exact context?

    We’re not selling cars or beer here. We are talking about a country and the ultimate goal of its soul. The true, ultimate vision needs to be better explained.

  • Warranties

    Warranties, a brilliant marketing concept, and, at one time, a truly valuable commodity for buyers. Now, for the most part, they’re not worth the paper they are printed on. Today, EVERYONE offers a warranty. Most are limited warranties. Unfortunately, they are no longer usually a valued asset for the purchaser.

    For example, a $12 fashion watch I recently purchased came with a supposed 2 YEAR warranty. Do you really expect anyone will be looking for or receiving warranty service or replacement on a $12 watch six months from now? Sure sounds impressive though. The best warranty in this case is the goodwill of the retailer who sold it to you. It is, of course, absurd.

    Even on big ticket items, the warranty is sometimes made so difficult to redeem, you have to go to illogical, often impossible lengths to get service or to replace an item. As well, some come with legal fine print equal to that on a property insurance application.

    Yes, there are legitimate warranties offered by good, trustworthy companies that have value, but, nowadays, many are useless. It’s become a widespread practice in the business world, you know, the business world we can blindly trust and, therefore, there is no need for increased vigilance on them. Quite the contrary, we need to remove supposed roadblocks from all of these fine companies that are doing business. Buyer beware is a massive understatement in today’s world of commerce.   

  • NATO

    The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military defensive coalition of European countries, Canada and the United States created in 1949. (Note: although mostly located in Asia, Turkey does have a small land mass in Europe and has been a member of NATO since 1952.)

    Maybe the most important Article in the Treaty is Article 5 which basically states that an attack against one NATO member country is considered an attack against all of the countries in NATO, therefore resulting in potential joint military support and action by NATO counties against the invading country or entity.

    Lately, there has been a significant amount of tension between two long time neighbours, allies and good friends, the United States and Canada. American President Donald Trump has been rattling Canada`s cage with tariffs, tariff threats, and the desire to have Canada become the fifty-first state in the US. Canada’s valued and immense resource assets are the target.  

    This poses a bit of a potential conundrum for NATO. Although one might think it is a stretch, history tells us, repeatedly, that that the unimaginable is quite possible. You only have to look back to Nazi Germany to realize this. The question is, what would NATO do if the US invaded Canada? Well, there is Article 5, but would Europe really come and help Canada against a US incursion?

    I just don’t think so for a number of reasons. Canada is just one country, and it’s isolated on the wrong side of “The Pond” (the Atlantic Ocean for those unfamiliar with the term). Add to this the obvious military might of America and the advantages that affords, is any country or group of countries really going to take on the US in defense of Canada? Sadly, the answer is no. I’m sure NATO would want to help defend Canada, but, it is just not feasible. The internal uproars in the NATO countries would be deafening.

    Like anything on paper, a treaty is only as effective as a situation allows. If the United States invades Canada, the situation will not allow NATO to act. Remember, as well, the United States is by far the biggest benefactor of NATO. Sorry, Canada.     

  • Revisionism

    History is a chronicle of human activity since the beginning of the written word. There was history prior to this, but, it was verbal or communicated via symbols. History is written by people, usually particularly intelligent people of the dominating cultures of their time. The pictures created by historians are usually reasonably accurate because of their intelligence and sense of a world much bigger than themselves.

    Revisionist history, which is taking place in Russia, China, and to some degree already, the United States; occurs when powerful authoritarian or authoritarian-minded regimes decide to rewrite history to accomplish two things: exalt and elevate their regime, and create a blinding nationalistic perspective within a country. A key part of creating revisionist history within a country is by creating a school curriculum that teaches this “new” history from a very young age. An example of this might be to say that African Americans in the United States were never suppressed.     

    Not all revisionist history is inaccurate. There are times when existing history is adjusted because of new discoveries of information such as archaeological findings; or, in a case where occasionally the historian turns out to be quite biased.

    Humans learn from accurate history, although they are often unwilling to “learn” from historical insight, usually to the detriment of humankind. Revisionist history is often a dangerous harbinger of things to come in a country with a powerful authoritarian regime, or a group seeking to become an authoritarian regime.        

  • 24

    Donald Trump said he would end the war between invading Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office. Well……times up.

  • Elon

    For 2 weeks now, I have been asking Elon Musk via his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) one simple, easy to answer question, “Do you take vaccines?” I first asked and still ask this question directly in his personal posts, so I know he receives it. He has yet to respond. You have to ask yourself “why?”       

    He’s an intelligent person, so he certainly understands the question. One can speculate why he does not answer. I think the reason why may have to do with his involvement with the Trump Administration and his ultimate goal to rule the Universe. Many Trump and his White House minion supporters are anti-vaccine. If Elon admits he takes vaccines, this will be a black mark against him with these people, which would hinder his power ambitions. If he doesn’t, I’m sure he would proudly say so.

    So, the question remains, “Elon, do you take vaccines?” This question could also be asked of the President himself and his Administration. Maybe someone in the media should ask it.