Month: October 2026

Brazil

“Flávio Bolsonaro Lands in Miami After Fleeing Brazil

Mr. Bolsonaro, who lost Sunday’s presidential election, fled Brazil for the United States via Argentina after the police canceled his passport in relation to an investigation.” New York Times /2026/10/28/

Was allowing a fleeing criminal to enter the United States a good thing? Was it consistent with our values? Was it good for America? The general consensus is that Brazil is a very corrupt place – on both sides. Should we help one side escape “justice”?

We did so when Russians we liked escaped the Soviet Union. In those cases, a good case could be made that we were serving justice—that we were protecting those whose only “crime” was criticizing the Soviet government. Perhaps the UK should give sanctuary to James Comey who Trump is trying to prosecute for criticizing him.

The U.S. Department of Defense

The United States has a large and powerful military to protect us from potential foreign invasion. It is for defense. We are also willing to aid the defense of allies as we did during World Wars I and II and the Korean war. This increases our voice in the world, i.e. it is sometimes in our interest to help friends. But for some reason we have sometimes been the aggressor as in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Panama, Somalia, Haiti, Yugoslavia/Serbia (when I later entered Belgrade, I saw the Chines Embassy we had bombed by mistake), Libya, and Syria. These attacks did not generally serve American interests.  Nor do Trump’s bullying verbal attacks on our traditional allies.

It is in America’s interest to stick to the defensive use of our military. So why does Sec. Hegseth want to change the Defense Department’s name to the Department of War? When I asked AI this question it responded that:

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump want to use the secondary title Department of War to promote a “warrior ethos” that emphasizes fighting and winning wars rather than focusing on defensive or peacekeeping roles.”

It’s one thing for this guy to blabber on as a TV personality, but quite different and very dangerous for him to lead our military. I whole heartedly support Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky’s intention to reintroduce articles of impeachment against Hegseth if Hegseth remains in his position when Congress returns to the capital following the November midterm elections.

Econ 101: The industrial revolution

Average income in the world changed little for millennia until the industrial revolution, which began in England around 1760. While world average GDP per person (in 2011 US dollars) was unchanged from $1,200 in the time of Jesus until a thousand years later, it rose to $1,700 by 1800 and roughly doubled to $3,300 by 1900. The most recent figure (end of 2022) is an astounding $16,677 (also in 2011 dollars).  What happened?

As governments became able to protect individual property rights, thus providing an incentive to develop and adopt tools that increased each worker’s output, investments in such innovations began to grow. Deirdre McCloskey argues that the broader acceptance of the ideas of liberty and dignity for ordinary people was also critical. But from the beginning of the creation of tools that enhance an individual’s output, there was pushback.

“William Lee (1563–1614) was an English inventor and alleged clergyman who invented the stocking frame knitting machine. Framework knitting, as the use of Lee’s machine in stocking production was called, was the first major stage in the mechanization of the textile industry, a process that 200 years later precipitated the Industrial Revolution.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lee_(inventor)

But twice Lee was denied a patent on his invention by Queen Elizabeth I. She stated that she had “too much love for my poor people” who earned their bread by hand knitting to grant a monopoly that would ruin their employment. James I also refused him after Elizabeth’s death, so Lee moved with his workers and machines to France under the patronage of Henry IV, who did grant him privileges. Henry’s assassination in 1610 destroyed his support, and Lee died in Paris in poverty around 1614.

New technologies that increase the output of individual workers obviously mean that fewer workers are needed to produce the same output. But what are the implications of that? The same number of workers can now produce more of what they were producing, increasing overall output, or (some of them) will be freed up to produce other (perhaps new) things. One way or the other such improvements in productivity will increase overall wealth.

New technologies thus require some adjustments. Some workers are likely to need to retrain for new tasks. In addition, the most productive uses of new tools will need to be determined. Consider the hammer. Hitting someone on the head is bad but hitting a nail is good. These challenges have been faced over and over with each new technology and our incomes have grown as a result.

The latest technology is AI. The challenges posed are significantly larger. The potential benefits and risks are significantly larger. But the story is basically the same. The workers freed from their existing tasks must move on to new ones and we must learn how best to protect against the risks posed. Identifying what is real and what is AI/fake will be an important challenge. But we will again rise to the challenges and become still richer.

Congress woman Ilhan Omar

Is Rep Ilhan Omar a good representative or a bad one? A good person or a bad one? I have no idea and as she is not representing me, I will not take the time to dig into those questions more deeply.

I do know, however, that I no longer trust the honesty and integrity of our Justice Department, FBI, or in this case Homeland Security Investigations. Trump is using these agencies to punish “his enemies” in the press, law firms or wherever. In addition to replacing senior military officials who might oppose unlawful and/or corrupt actions by Trump, the President has removed the Inspector Generals meant to keep an eye on things across the executive branch and did I mention that FBI director Kash Patel remains in place despite all.

“The search of Omar’s home appears to be the type of action that law enforcement officials have typically avoided so close to an election in the past. Omar is up for reelection in November after winning the Democratic primary in her district.

“In the 60 days before an election, the Justice Department enters a “blackout” period, during which the department typically refrains from taking public steps in politically related cases.”   washingtonpost.com/2026/10/12/federal-agents-search-rep-ilhan-omars-dc-home

How worried should we be? If/when the Republicans “potentially” lose control of congress after the November elections and following Trump’s “orders” refuse to seat the real democrat winners. Who will come forth to prevent Trump’s coup?

The Free Press and Isreal

In an Oct 9, article in The Free Press by Elisha Wiesel titled: “The Death of the Nobel Peace Prize,” Wiesel began with the statement: “My father, Elie Wiesel, received the Nobel Peace Prize for ensuring the Holocaust wouldn’t be forgotten. By honoring Navi Pillay, who accused Israel of genocide, the committee has betrayed his legacy.”  In the comments section I stated that “It is Israel that has violated its and humanity’s principles.”

The explosion of comments that followed (not all in response to my comment) surprised and saddened me (the bigotry and ignorance). As I write this they number over 500. Along with many childish insults, I was asked to defend my support for the UN claim that Israeli post-Oct. 7 attacks on Gaza were genocide. 

Warren Coats: “Have you listened to your right-wing government official’s reason for killing over 74,000 people in Gaza after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, 21,000 of them children? Clearly genocide”

Doc Sportello: “I see you are probably unaware that there are over 1 million Palestinians living peacefully in Israel and prospering under the Democratic government of Israel, while their brethren are living elsewhere in the territory and live in abject poverty and fear from the terrorists they have allowed to govern them. All Palestinian would be far better off living under Israeli rule.”

Skipping the intervening chit chat, I responded to Doc Sportello’s statement as follows:

“At the invitation of the Israeli government, the IMF provided technical assistance to the Palestine Authority to create a Palestine Monetary Authority as called for by the Oslo Accord. I led many of those missions. My team and I usually stayed in the American Colony Hotel in East Jerusalem and occasionally in the King David and Hilton Hotels in West Jerusalem. You are right that Arab Israelis have the same rights as other Israelis. However, during our stays in the mid 1990s the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the Israeli government was not providing adequate social services to the Eastern (Palestinian) sectors of Jerusalem. While driving from the American Colony Hotel with a Palestinian official, she pointed to an attractive home and said that she had been born there and grew up there until driven out by Jews who confiscated it.

“The Jews I discussed a ‘one-state solution’ with (Israel taking over all of the WBGS and giving Palestinian the same rights Arab Israelis now enjoy) were worried that Jews would lose their majority. https://wcoats.blog/2024/01/19/one-state-solution-for-palestine-israel/

“Most of our meetings were in Ramallah in the West Bank and an easy drive from Jerusalem. Because I had a UN passport, entry into Ramallah via the Israeli checkpoint for Jews and me was quick and easy. But for the thousands of Palestinian coming to work there every day, the wait was generally an hour or more via the Israeli checkpoint for Palestinians. I am sure you (Doc) will understand that any people anywhere in the world would be outraged at such treatment in their own land.

“Your claims of conditions and life in the West Bank are wrong. The homes, crops and lives of West Bank Palestinians were largely destroyed by Jewish settlers and Israeli forces. Since Oct 7, 2023, they have killed about as many Palestinians in the West Bank as Hamas killed Jews on that October 7 raid (about 1,200). Over that same period Palestinians killed 41 Jews in the West Bank (19 of whom were civilians).

“Many Jews (both Israeli and others) have worked hard to build peaceful relations with their Arab neighbors. Sadly, far too many in Israel have done the opposite. Obviously, you have access to the internet (here we are) and can see what the respected news papers of the west (WP, WSJ, NYT, LA Times, etc.) report when ever you become interested in the truth.”

I am holding my breath for the two very important elections in a few weeks in the U.S. and in Israel.