When I last Left Indonesia, I Flew Into a Coup in Bangkok

The President is in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world – having been there I can tell you that it is nothing like what you think. Indonesia is nothing like the Middle East. Indonesians are Asians who are by nature much more moderate. Don’t forget Indonesia is home to the fabled “Bali” island – a tourist mecca that was bombed by terrorists years ago. Indonesia has been hit by terrorism by Islamic extremists. It has fought them. Indonesia’s are a good people we can do business with.

However, the lack of international experience by Americans was exhibited this week when Rush Limbaugh thought it would cost $200 million day for the President to travel internationally (funny, he never said that about Pres. Bush), when the real number was about $10 million -- what it was when Bush traveled, a tiny fraction of that. Limbaugh needs to get a passport and spend some time in the real world if he is going to influence millions of Americans who have the same lack of actual knowledge of these countries and travel costs. Actually I think Limbaugh deliberately airs every lie designed to savage America’s first black President who inherited the worst economic situation in seven decades.

That’s almost as pitiful as Sarah Palin criticizing the Fed for it’s “quantative easing” – a potential Presidential candidate totally ignorant of our system and the fact that the Fed is an independent agency not controlled by Congress or the White House. We really want clueless running our country? The Fed was designed not to be the plaything of politics and politicians like Palin, who is blissfully ignorant of how our American financial system was put together and why.

I was in Indonesia for the first time when I was a just-laid-off-from-the-Fortune500 entrepreneur who was on a mission to start business on behalf of U.S. companies. It was the mid-80’s. Then Indonesia was ruled by one man named Suharto, a “President for Life” jerk running the country. He fell after that. Now it is an actual democracy. When I left Jakarta on that trip for Bangkok, a coup had just occurred in Thailand, changing the government. A couple reporters had been killed. I didn’t know what to expect when I got there. It turned out to be a whole another story, because I almost didn’t get out.

Indonesia is a good trade partner for the U.S. because their economy consumes goods we make – whereas its neighbors would rather export to us than buy from us (like China).

We finished our job in McAllen about 5 today – one pane seemed as big as an 18 wheeler, a burglar could have tapped it and carried out a BIG screen TV in the gaping hole, but not now that it has Armor Glass security film! LOL.

Going to the edge of Mexico's Drug War Death Alley Today -

Growth equals GREEN JOBS folks. My green company keeps growing but it is also is taking me to dangerous territory --today I have to go to McAllen for a job near the Mexico border where drug gangs closed the international bridge with heavy gunfire during a gang brawl at one point last week.

While illegal immigration from Mexico has dropped dramatically under the Obama administration, our drug policy the last 40 years has failed and things have gotten worse despite the billions spent. Even after 8 years of Bush administration control over border issues and 10 years of the same Texas Governor (Perry), it has become more dangerous to be in Mexico -- or near the border. I once drove to Guadalajara in a car with a friend - but that was 1990. Just going to Juarez (across from El Paso), or Reynosa (across from McAllen) has gotten several Americans killed in recent days/weeks.

Only a change in strategy has the potential of turning this situation around. There are no jobs for young people in Mexico, other than being a police officer (and those are risky) or a drug mule for a gang. Their system has concentrated wealth to the point that a few people control all the money and the vast majority have nothing. For the bottom to feed their families, they have to chose a drug gang or illegally crossing our border to take jobs Americans won't do like cleaning Meg Whitman's house - none of them are running hedge funds.

And these billion dollar drug gangs are getting their heavy weapons from AMERICAN GUN DEALERS.

If I hear gunfire from across the border, it will be coming from American weapons killing innocent civilians and police. (I do have our GSA blast rated security film on my vehicle to foil a break in and avoid spraying glass from gun shots).

Remember prohibition in the 1930's and Al Capone and the gangs fighting for control of the illegal booze market? That was worth millions and was a local fight - now we have the global version of it that is giving crooks billions to buy even more powerful weapons.

With poverty so high in Mexico, killing one leader only leads to 100 more willing to take his place. It is a no win strategy. The money has even corrupted the police and federal military - who often do the killing for the gangs. They are now killing Mayors, Governors - not unlike Al Qaeda but without a religious purpose. It's all about CONTROL.

If I survive this trip, you can 'friend' me on Facebook, to see future updates.

In the meantime, I bet the gun dealers sleep very well despite knowing that their weapons are instrumental in the carnage. Our government has done little to nothing to stop the illegal weapons exports from the U.S. to Mexico in the last 10 years.

Michael Fjetland
Global American Series
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GlobalAmerican

Conservative columnist Loren Steffy: "Healthcare Reform bill will SAVE $158 billion over the next 10 years" - Repeal that?

According to the conservative columnist Loren Steffy, the Healthcare Reform bill will SAVE $158 billion over the next 10 years.

You want to repeal something that cuts the deficit? duh.

You want to go back where insurance companies could drop you once you got sick? Or denied you for a pre existing condition? (Especially when our population is aging and has an obesity problem due to its fascinating with high fat food and salt (1/3 will get diabetes from being overweight in the next few years).

Let's improve the healthcare bill by allowing the feds to negotiate lower prices from the drug companies - that would save another $200 billion/year!...Negotiating for lower drug prices has been fought by the Republicans and the drug companies in the past --nor was it included in this healthcare reform bill.

It's time to change that so we can CUT our costs even more.

The clueless leading the uninformed is not a recipe for success

When you are talking JOBS, its all about economics - and in a global economy economics are, duh, GLOBAL, and involve dealing with CHina, India who are training the engineers we aren't.

And we are going to elect a bunch of yahoos who have never been there and couldn't find these countries on a map?

Boy, I feel so much better knowing that!...LOL. The clueless leading the uninformed is not a recipe for success as a country falling behind the world in technology and education folks.

That's more scary than Halloween!..lol