Canada at its worse.

The American presidential race gets many people involved through out the world. Take for example Canada. The columnist Heather Hallick for CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, a state owned television company, which cost the Canadian taxpayer one billion dollars every year.) Heather Hallick says in her column that Sarah Palin looks like a porn star and that she fits right in with the white trash.

Everybody has a right to say what they want, but the only thing she has accomplished, is that I from Sweden think very low of the CBC management , which allows such nonsense to be printed. My feelings are that Canadian journalism has nothing to learn from the state controlled Russian media. Canadian citizens must demand a higher standard from its state owned CBC.

Emotional political commentators, remind me about my own situation. Whenever my boss wanted to convince me about an issue, he always used logic and common sense. I saw his points and many times changed my own point of views. When my boss used emotions in trying to convince me, I always told him that I knew I was right, otherwise he would have used logic. If a Obama or McCain supporter wants to convince an independent voter, they do so by using logic and common sense and not by Heather Hallick´s hate columns.

Last week the democratic congress was trying to put one over the American people by proposing a law which would allow the oil companies to drill for oil outside the 50 mile limit. Great, but 88% of all oil is located inside the 50 mile limit. Besides, the oil outside 50 mile limit is more difficult to drill. The reason for this proposed law is that the democratic congressmen and senators are feeling the heat from the American people. This is one issue which is clearly favouring the republicans and senator McCain

I wonder if you have seen on you-tube the piece made by an American soldier, why he is supporting McCain. So far 8 million people have watched it. It really grips you. See it and let me know what you think.

The economy is the big issue last week. I believe we have to let things settle in before we make up our minds. It is really not much the candidates can do about the economy. All the small bickering which both candidates are involved in does not settle the score

This coming Friday, we will all watch the first debates between the candidates. The subject will be foreign policy. Before the debate I will write what I think about this matter. I know that I will have one big advantage on SVT´s foreign policy commentator Bo-Inge Andersson, because the rumour is that he has never set his foot in America: Wow –what does he know?

Character Of The Candidates

Today, I want to talk about the characters of the candidates as I see them. If I start with senator Obama, I believe that he is a straight shooter. He realized at young age that he wanted to get into politics and he has shown his ambition in this aspect many times. Senator Obama is very well spoken and has a great demeanour. He is not confrontational in his appearances. The senator married his first boss out of law school. He then after a little while started to work in his community. I believe it was here he realized if he really wanted to change things. He had to get into politics. He lost his first campaign and was then told that he had to build a social and political network of friends. From then on he was set on Washington and the presidency.

The one thing which really bothers me with Senator Obama is that in the beginning of his campaign he spoke of unitizing the country. This has to start with congress. How can he accomplish what he says he will do, when he was ranked the most liberal senator based upon his voting record during 2007? By the way Senator Biden was ranked the third most liberal senator. If senator Obama wants to unify with the republicans in the senate, he must give up his liberal stand on many issues. This he cannot do, because then he will lose his base; hence all talk about unifying the country is just bull. It does not help to hear the sarcastic and sometimes arrogant commentators on the news cable networks criticise everything about Bush and McCain. Just listen to Jack Cafferty on CNN. The republican in congress will wait for their opportunity, if Senator Obama is elected, to hit back. If Senator Obama was serious about unifying congress, he must be willing to take on his own party. This I cannot see him do, but I think based upon history, that McCain will take on the Republican Party.

Senator McCain has proven his character under tremendous stress. He was a prisoner in Vietnam, during the war. He could take the easy road and say yes to the Vietnamese when they wanted to use him as a propaganda tool in the war, as his father was the admiral in charge of the American troops. More important show of character, was when senator McCain a newly elected congressman, went against his party and President Reagan. McCain was a so called foot soldier in the the Reagan Revolution but in spite of that, he spoke out against the President Reagan, when he wanted to send troops to Lebanon, which turned out to be a disaster. Here he showed his independence and put his country first. This has always been his motto. I want to remind you that Senator McCain has never requested any so called famous pork belly out lays in the budget. In this respect he is one of the few senators if not the only one at that.
Every President has tried to get line item veto in order to cut frivolous spending by the congress. In order to get something done in this respect, you need a president who is willing to take on his own party. It is this kind of character which senator McCain is looking for in Governor Palin

Most candidates, when asked, agrees that their so called confidants tell them like it is and not always agrees with the candidate. Senator Obama said on 60 minutes, that he was lucky if his wife agreed with him more than 50 percent. I would accept this as a joke, but I do believe that she disagrees with him some times. Senator Obama in the same interview also told the viewers that he expected to hear different opinions from his running mate senator Biden.
Governor Palin does not think the same as her candidate on every issue, such as abortion, drilling in Anwar, Alaska i.e.

It all comes down to the core belief in a candidate and on character, if I would choose one candidate, it would be senator McCain

Healthcare

Four days ago was the seventh anniversary of 9/11. It was nice to hear the two candidates being interviewed at Columbia University by Judy Woodroof and the Times Manager (I do not know his name). As a non USA citizen I am very impressed by the two candidates. America, you can be proud, regardless who will win in November. If you are like me, when the candidates show each other respect and are not "attacking" each other with silly provocative statements. I like to hear both sides of an issue and then make up my mind. This means that both candidates do not have my vote on every issue.

Before I start telling you about the health care issue, I must say something about Governor Palin. Yesterday she was interviewed for the first time on the national arena by ABC Charlie Gibson. I have in early age learned that one should not argue the obvious. She does not have the foreign politics know how and experience, particularly not like Senator Biden. That is a fact. On the other hand it is also a fact that Senator Obama cannot measure up to Senator McCain in the same area. Governor Palin did well and that she did not know, what the Bush doctrine was, is acceptable. David Gergen from CNN thought so as well. Obama did not think about the Russian veto rights in UN. President Bush, eight years ago did not know the name of the Indian prime minister. When they come to power they are quick studies and will learn all those little details. How Governor Palin handle the questions were far more important and she did great in this respect. In reference to foreign countries and world geography, America does not teach its children geography in the schools, what so ever. When we lived in New Orleans, I bought a world defence map (from Denver) and put it up on one side in our kitchen as wallpaper. It covered the whole wall. Our five kids had to look at the map, breakfast-lunch and dinner every day and see the world. They had to answer questions every day about the world. After being asked for the fourth time –where is Korea, our little four year old girl could point it out. The world is getting smaller and smaller, so I believe that American schools should bring back geography as a subject. At any rate, improve teaching the subject.

During the primary, a lot of black people voted for Senator Obama just because he is black, why should it not be the same with women? Why do the Obama supporters believe that women should think about the issues and therefore they will not vote for McCain. This is racial to think that blacks do not care about issues, but women do.

In any case, today I was going to write about the health care issue. My own thoughts about this issue, is that I like Senator Clinton´s idea best. Everyone should have the right to health care in America at a cost which is acceptable to everyone. In Sweden we pay 50 dollars for each doctor visit.
After six visits we do not need to pay any more per year. Medicine cost us maximum 300 dollars per year. This is great, but what about the things which Senator Clinton and Michael Moore never mention.
You must create a tremendous bureaucracy to handle it (which will only cost money for the tax payer) –costs will skyrocket (opm =other peoples money), which means taxes will go up. Both England and Sweden are discussing how to keep the runaway costs down today within the health industry. In Sweden hospitals and nursing homes have now become private again because of the tremendous cost increase. In Sweden you should never get sick during the holidays or during the summer.You will have to wait for operations, some time as much as a year. Hospital care will disappear after the operations because of cost. Still I believe we have an obligation to our fellow human beings that everybody has the right to health care. One more thing is that you will bring down all malpractice suits in USA which is very good. If you take into consideration all the things I mentioned, maybe congress and the new president can come up with something better. During my stay in New Orleans my company Scandex Steel Corporation (a small company) paid 100 percent eye-teeth and health benefits to all the personnel and their families. My employees did not pay a single penny in health care. In return they gave me their loyalty and trust.

In other words health care is not a one way solution, the politicians have to think about all aspects of this issue.

Energy and Environmental viewpoints

In my blogging, I will try to make it as personal and objective as I possibly see the issues.
When we discuss off-shore oil drilling, we must also discuss the environment situation. I was raised in Sweden and it has come naturally to me that we must take care of the environment. Whenever I came back to Sweden and visited my family, I was always struck by how clean everything was both in the cities and in the countryside. We all have our own experience regarding those who are active and pursue a better environment. So let me tell you about some experiences which I have had.
In the early seventies the airlines wanted to get landing permits for “the Concorde” at JFK in NYC. The media was pushing hard to stop the Concorde. When it was close to decision time, tens of thousands of people demonstrated against allowing the Concords to land. The day after the march the noise tests came out. Low and behold. When the Concorde took off from JFK and banking out over the water the noise was lower than the 707 airplane which had been landing and taken off from JFK for many years. The protest disappeared like someone had a magic wand.
In Sweden we have discussed to build a bridge between Malmö, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark for over 100 years. A political party was very much against building the bridge because it would destroy the environment. As I have lived in New Orleans for ten years I knew something about the major objection to building the bridge. It would destroy the life of the fish in the strait. My traffic manager in Nola, Johnny Cefalu was an ardent fisherman on his spare time. I came along a couple times to fish. North of Nola lies Lake Ponchatrain and the bridge supporting pillars were the best places you could fish. Today we have found out that so is the case with the bridge between Sweden and Denmark. The fish loves it. Why do then the so called environmentalists object so strenuously. Tennessee power is another example.
Of course you must set up certain rules and regulation to protect the environment when the oil companies start drilling for oil. The important thing is that the procedure to get permits does not take forever.
Governor Palin who is from Alaska wants to drill on the north slope of Alaska ( Anwar). The Governor knows more about the issue than most people in America as energy is a big part of Alaska and its people. Senator McCain has not spoken for drilling on the North Slope, but it is my feeling he is afraid of the environmental lobby in Washington. Governor Palin is an outdoor person and the environment means a lot to her. Why should she then speak of drilling on the North Slope? Most Americans have never been to the North Slope. They have only read what the lobbying groups of the environmentalists have said. Stop throwing emotions into the decision to drill at Anwar. Instead find out how it can be done and what protection is needed to keep the area as wonderful it is today. I have only seen pictures myself, so what do I know.
Do not think I am against environmental groups, because I am not. They are needed very much and I think former Vice-President Al Gore has done a fantastic job to elevate the global warming problem. We must however be able to discuss the situation with respect for opposing sides. At present oil prices Americans must understand that you can not send huge amount of dollars overseas and then think they will never come back. Taking control of your industries means more jobs as well.

The Energy Issue

This is my first blog.
When we talk politics, a lot has to do how we feel about the candidate. It is hard to argue when one is emotional, hence I believe I should concentrate on the issues as I see them. Let us start with energy.
All over the world people are complaining about the high energy cost. I remember in 1974 when my father-in-law ,who was Senior Vice president for American Management Association, said to me: Göran ,what is wrong with America printing paper (money) and sending it to Middle Eastern countries and getting oil in return, which helps us to produce products in this country. He also reminded me that the dollar could only be spent in USA. But in 1974 the price of oil was around 40 dollars per barrel. Today it is over 100 dollars higher and at that time the world had never heard of sovereign funds. During the next 10 years, USA will pay foreign governments over 7 trillion dollars. That is trillion with a T as in Tommy. Many of the foreign governments cannot spend and handle this amount of money themselves and therefore we will see a tremendous increase in sovereign funds. But who really wants to buy company after company, sport club after sport club or control more industries beyond his imagination? I will use Manchester City, an English football club, owned by extremely wealthy owners from Dubai. The new owner from is putting up money, two to three times the going transfer prize for the world’s best players. The motto is whatever it takes, we will pay it. The same will happen with big corporations.
The Democratic Senate has ended discussions on off-shore drilling in USA. Obama is against it. McCain is for it. Using alternative energy sources has been discussed in Sweden for over 10 years. Sweden have gotten a small increase in wind power, water power and wood chips plus few other products. Total energy production from alternate energy production has been 3-4 percent- tops. If America does not begin full off-shore drilling and start building new nuclear power plants, it will find itself spending 15 billion dollars during the next 10 years searching for alternative energy production (which Senator Obama prefers). America will still be sending 650-750 billion dollars to foreign countries and losing more and more control over its own destiny. This is a no-brainer. America must allow off-shore oil drilling immediately. While doing this, the country should also push for developing other alternate energy production.
Michael Moore and others can talk about pushing for alternate energy production, but why not take Sweden as an example see how far we Swedes have gotten in the last 10 years, and that is without talking about the big oil industries and their extreme profits.
Until next time,

Shining City on the hill

After navy academy and a law degree in Sweden, I ventured out to South America, Buenos Aires for one year. After that I went to American graduate school, Thunderbird, which brought me to be an international trader world wide, mainly in steel products. I have travelled the world for thirty years, I have lived in South America, United States, Europe and Middle East. I have found that the people I have met on the way, wants the same thing as we all. Security and economical base, which gives them an option to pursue a better life through education for their families. The more I travelled, the more tolerant and patient I became. But it also sharpened my views, regarding what it is the actual truth and what it important in politics. Particularly the American politics. You will hear here things, which you never hear in swedish media or for that matter in many European capital cities. My view point is as a Swedish citizen that America is a great country and the shining city on the hill. It influence the rest of the world though its economic power and diplomatic power backed by its military power.