Obama, NASA and the Slippery Slope.

Normally this blog is English centric, but Obama's cuts to the US space programme have prompted me to worry about where they, and we, are all heading.

America (like us) is broke and needs to cut back. As a result, large sections of the space program have been axed. It must be remembered that NASA is one of the main driving forces behind American technical innovation.

Obama and the Americans need to tread very carefully. They are on the edge of a very slippery slope that eventually leads to the purgatory of technical dependency.

Going down the slope is easy. Getting back up it again is murderously hard. Even just stopping the descent is awesomely difficult. Just look at us in the UK.

We have all got in this position because of the overblown banking sector. The banks should be a support player to industry. Today they have become the tail that wags the dog.

It was encouraging to see Obama recently lay down the law to the US banks. But he needs to make sure that Wall Street stops selling out American industry. The traders and the various ruling elites around the world all worship at the feet of Globalisation and would sell their mothers (let alone their country) to turn a profit or maintain their position.

A bit of good old protectionism against unfair competition for some strategic American industries would really set the cat among the pigeons. Maybe then we could also protect some of ours. That is after we get rid of the arch globalisation fetishist, Gordon "The Abyss" Brown.

Export/Import should be there to fill in the gaps and add the extras. It should never be allowed to destroy native industries wholesale.

Unfettered and dogmatic Globalisation has wreaked havoc across the world and led to untold misery and suffering, both in the West and in developing countries.

Now is the time to reign it in.

Obama:Repay us! Brown:Mumble,Mmmm

The banking excesses of the last few years were (at the very least), aided and abetted by our great good and benevolent leaders. They fully supported the extravaganza of self congratulation and phantom profits that made up the whole sector. This enabled them to spend money like water, without regard to the future. Simultaneously they stoodby as the manufacturing base and real wealth of the nation haemorrhaged away.

If you were to point a finger at any individual for this utter and complete cock-up it can only be pointed at the mighty Emperor Brown (dis)-ably assisted by his pals. Worse than that, at the time, they thought they were financial champions. Today, even a nine year old would find their financial acumen laughable.

The one global politician who comes out of this fairly unsullied is Barack Obama. While he may not the the darling (no pun intended) of some, he, at least, wasn't responsible for this almighty self indulgent feeding frenzy of greed.

Today Obama announced that he wants some of the money back that was used to bale out the American banks. Especially now, as the bankers are back to dishing money out to themselves as if nothing has happened.

Obama is going to implement a special tax regime to make them pay back about $100 billion they owe, over a ten year period.

Howls of outrage have ensued. See some whingeing here

But really, lets turn this around. In the unlikely event of a bank helping out an individual who was in severe financial difficulties, would they not expect to be re-paid? With interest?

When was the last time you ever heard of a bank giving money away (unless it was to its own).

Now the boot is on the other foot they can bloody well pay it back.

Good for Obama.

No sign of our grace and favoured Magnifico following suit yet though. No doubt he will wait to see how Obama gets on.

If it works, then Gordo will quietly implement a copy of Obama's proposal. He will then probably claim the idea as his own. If it fails he will enforce a smile (actually, is it a mask?) and cosy back up to his mates in the banks.

There more whingeing about Obamas plan here