Category Archives: World Watch

Julian Assange: The new kingmaker?

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The rise of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks represents the rise of the non-state actor as a significant force on the world state. While historically such actors were terrorist groups, Assange and his website represent a new entry: that of the information broker.

It seems to me that, given his albeit rather tepid success so far, it is almost inevitable that he will eventually stumble upon the kind of information he is looking for: information capable of toppling powerful people or governments.

The question that remains is “then what?”

I know there are people who think that what Assange and WikiLeaks is doing is good because it somehow holds governments accountable for their actions. I find that most people who think that way rarely consider the consequences of their actions.

The consequences of Assange’s actions have the potential to be world changing, but not in a good way. What will the consequences of power vacuums be? What will the consequences of more strained international relations be? What will the consequences of reducing the most powerful nation on the planet’s ability to act be?

More than likely, Assange and his supporters will be responsible for more hardship, violence, war, and death than the people, nations, and governments they seek to discredit. They will achieve this dubious distinction by creating an international climate of distrust, suspicion, and aggression through the selective release of information designed to have those effects. And, when they succeed, far too few people will make the connection.

We have entered a dangerous time, and non-state actors represent part of that danger. The question remains as to whether the United States and the world are capable of meeting the threat and dealing with it.

DLH

This is what you get from $14 trillion in debt

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Most Americans have no idea why the world switching from the dollar to the euro as the global reserve currency, just like they have no idea why excessive government intrusion into their personal lives in the form of mandated health care is bad or why $14 trillion and growing in national debt is bad.

Yet, Vladimir Putin, de facto ruler of the worlds 12th largest economy is warning of the fact that Russia may abandon the dollar in favor of the euro and eventually join the Eurozone.

“So what?” you might say.

Well, the so what is that almost everything you probably think of as being part of your standard of living and current way of life derives from the fact that the rest of the world currently views the dollar as the standard for international trade. Oil, food, and industrial commodities are all bought and sold in dollars, and it is the strength or weakness of the dollar that determines the ebb and flow of international markets.

In short, it is the dollar, and therefore the United States, that dictates the rest of the worlds economy, up to and until the world switches to another standard. The other standard most likely to replace the dollar is the euro, and the moment that switch takes place, it will be the EU dictating terms to us.

Now, I know that there are people who think this is a good thing; who think the US needs to be brought down a peg. Unfortunately, those people do not consider the consequences of their thinking. The euro replacing the dollar will not mean that we suddenly will live in a more egalitarian world. On the contrary, such a change will simply mean that the powerful nations of Europe are calling the shots instead. The last time I checked, Europe’s record of calling the shots was a pretty bad one.

DLH