New Orleans refugeees

[JoMal]

Besides being a military genius (which I very much doubt) and megalomaniacally ill (which I have no doubt about), one also has to remember that Adolph Hitler was perhaps the most charismatic public speaker of the 20th century.  No one could whip up a people into a state of nationalistic fervor quite like he could.  It still wasn't enough to elect him as Premier (don't quite remember the term).  He was given a bureaucratic seat (something like Vice President), lot's of ceremony, no real power.  He then used his thugs (the Nazi party's violent arm) to burn down the state house and assume control of what he called the Third Reich as the Furer-something that's similar to Emperor.

Hitler was made the Chancellor of Germany in 1933.

Germany was a nation that in its history had little experience or interest in democracy. In January 1933, Adolf Hitler took the reins of a 14-year-old German democratic republic which in the minds of many had long outlived its usefulness. By this time, the economic pressures of the Great Depression combined with the indecisive, self-serving nature of its elected politicians had brought government in Germany to a complete standstill. The people were without jobs, without food, quite afraid and desperate for relief.

Many of the non-Nazi on the eleven member cabinet (only three Nazi were permitted on it, including Hitler as Chancellor) actually were hoping Hitler would ruin the weak Republican government in place so they could go back to a military dictatorship run by a person of their own chosing, perhaps even a descendent of the Kaiser. The military thought Hitler would bring back their lost glory caused by the Treaty of Versailles, and bankers and industrialists thought Hitler would be good for business, so it was not like Hitler went into office without other Germans supporting him in various ways.

They just all underestimated Hitler.

Immediately after the election, an old comrade of Hitler's, former General Erich Ludendorff, sent a telegram to President Hindenburg regarding his new chancellor.  

"By appointing Hitler Chancellor of the Reich you have handed over our sacred German Fatherland to one of the greatest demagogues of all time. I prophesy to you this evil man will plunge our Reich into the abyss and will inflict immeasurable woe on our nation. Future generations will curse you in your grave for this action." - the telegram to Hindenburg from Ludendorff stated. There is one German who clearly falls in the anti-Hitler camp. But he died in 1937.

So how long was it before Hitler became the absolute dictator of Germany and set in motion the chain of events that resulted in the Second World War and the eventual deaths of millions of humans through that war and through deliberate extermination?

To begin, Hitler saw to it that the German democratic republic went down in flames, literally. In February, 1933, the Nazis hatched a plan to burn the Reichstag building and end democracy once and for all.

Doesn't this make for a wonderful bedtime story?

So no JoMaL, it wasn't as if the Germans happily elected good ole Adolph to lead us to a better tomorrow.  Secondly, the Nazi Party was a minority in Germany, they were just the loudest and most violent. 

Actually the Nazi's were the best organized and went into politics with a very clear goal and a plan to achieve it, which set them apart from all the other political groups of the time except for the communists. Onced they put the blame for the burning of the Reichstag on them, it was easy to destroy their influence in Germany.

So I'm going to hold off on crucifying the whole lot of WWII era German citizens.

I understand that, but that is also like saying the Nazi's were a small minority of the German Government at the onset of their power. As their power grew, more and more Germans backed him until the descentors were in a clear minority and Hitler removed most of them as well by war's end. What I am saying is that the majority of Germans favored what the Nazi's were doing and how Hitler was doing it. Until things went south and suddenly they claimed they were just naive and innocent of wrongdoing themselves and that is where I disagree with you. More Germans were in this camp then in the camp where they did not support the Nazi's at all from the beginning.

Now compare my examples of the countries mentioned in today's world to the world of expansionist Japan and ask yourself, if Western countries did not have the bomb, (and more of them), and both Iran and North Korea did, how well would you be sleeping at night?

About as well as if I were an Iranian or North Korean resident knowing that Western Powers have the bomb (and more them) than my people do.

And why, exactly, should that bother them, if they are not up to something? We have no problem with Saudia Arabia and as far as I know, they live under the assumption no U.S. nukes are threatening them, even though we know many of the 9/11 bombers were from their country. If these countries were not dangerous to not only us, but to other western countries who possess the bomb, they would hardly be nervous about who has bombs and who does not.

So consider the leadership of countries like Iran, North Korean, and Japan back in the thirties and forties before asking if their citizens should be nervous about who has those bombs first.  And why they want to have the capability in the first place.

[JoMal]

Yes, Rick, I know I am generalizing. But it also is how I feel about the Germans as a group. Individually you will certainly find many who are as upset as both you and Skandery say about their history. They still have to prove to me on a case by case basis how they feel, though, because I do not trust their motives that much as a people, and I won't trust them in my lifetime.

This country has a tremendous amount of similarities to how Germany became such a haven for the Nazi. Before the war, there were many here who argued that the U.S. should enter the war....but on Germany's side against England.  Admirers of Hitler were vocal and numerous.

So lessons learned from what occurred to Hitler tend to be regarding what not to do to lose their edge using propaganda and selected truths to manipulate the populance and maintain power.

Yes, it works very well when that population really does not want to know how you go about doing that, but really does know and simply ignores the consequences.

[rickortreat]

About the only thing I am sure about is that you can't trust politicians, governments or people who wrap themselves in the flag or religion!

Being Jewish myself, there's no love lost between me and the Germans, but I was lucky, both sides of my family have been here since around 1900.

The other thing I know is that the Dollar is just about terminal and the US economy is dying.  Please everyone, be carefull with your money.  It looks like housing has topped, and if that's where you have the bulk of your money, you should consider selling and renting, even if you live in Cali.

You should also buy as much Gold as you can, through unhedged mining stocks and Gold itself.  From a technical standpoint Gold looks primed to take out it's previous high of 456, and if it does, it will take off like a rocket, propelled by all the shorts being squeezed to death.  Since I can watch the thing everyday, I can buy in and out as I read the tealeaves, so if this move is a fake, I can get out quickly.  Right now Gold is at $450, within stricking distance of the big move.

My goal out of all of this is to protect myself and protect as many people as possible, including all of you from what appears to be happening and which is of no fault of your own.  The best stock I can recommend is Goldcorp, which is unhedged, has cash on hand, is a low-cost producer and pays a small monthly dividend.

With a little luck I'll get hired by Glaxo tomorrow.  If I do, any extra cash I have on hand will go into GG and a few other miners.  All because nearly every government out there is stealing from their people by printing up more currency, well in excess of the growth of their economies.  That means inflation meaning your dollars will be worth less and less.

There's no telling when the world will collaps under this fiscal insanity, but I honestly can't see it continuing without a severe dislocation simillar to what happened in the 30's.  Sort of like NO gambling that the big storm wouldn't hit.  It was inevitable that someday NO would get clobbered by a big hurricane.  In the same way, the world economy is also headed for a similar disaster.  Because of the possiblity of confiscation, it would also be a good idea to put some money in Gold outside of the US.  

I may end up leaving the US for good and going to South America somewhere, figuring that out of all the places I could go, I'd be better off there.  Like back in my Boy Scout days there was a motto "Be Prepared" it's impossible to know everythin or be aware of any danger but this one is very real.

Try to gently tell everyone you care about to do the same, history doens't exactly repeat itself, but it does rhyme.  We're three generations removed from the great depression, and nearly everyone forgot the lessons learned then.  Stay out of debt, don't trust your government, and have an escape route in case the proverbial shit hits the fan.  


 :cry:  

[Skandery]

Now compare my examples of the countries mentioned in today's world to the world of expansionist Japan and ask yourself, if Western countries did not have the bomb, (and more of them), and both Iran and North Korea did, how well would you be sleeping at night?

 

About as well as if I were an Iranian or North Korean resident knowing that Western Powers have the bomb (and more them) than my people do.

And why, exactly, should that bother them, if they are not up to something? We have no problem with Saudia Arabia and as far as I know, they live under the assumption no U.S. nukes are threatening them, even though we know many of the 9/11 bombers were from their country. If these countries were not dangerous to not only us, but to other western countries who possess the bomb, they would hardly be nervous about who has bombs and who does not.

If they don't feel threatened, why is it so easy for a punk instigators like Bin Laden (unlike Hitler, he doesn't even have charisma to fall on) to talk people into giving their lives to stop the American hegemony.

-They're dangerous because they're developing nukes
-They feel we're dangerous because we have enough nukes to wipe them out
-They're dangerous because they want to have power enought to be on even keel
-They feel we're dangerous because we want to stop them at all costs.  

Foreign Parent to child:

"Look how those Americans control our economy, foreign discourse, technical research and domestic policy, they must be stopped."

American Parent to child:

"Look how those ungrateful, volatile foreigners and terrorists keep threatening our way of life and security, they must be stopped."

To me its two sides of the same coin, two petals from the same flower, two barrels from the same shotgun.    

       

[JoMal]

Foreign Parent to child:

"Look how those Americans control our economy, foreign discourse, technical research and domestic policy, they must be stopped."

American Parent to child:

"Look how those ungrateful, volatile foreigners and terrorists keep threatening our way of life and security, they must be stopped."

To me its two sides of the same coin, two petals from the same flower, two barrels from the same shotgun.

That is a formula for no compromise as well.