Georgia On My Mind

Posted at 4:28 PM, Aug. 11, 2008

Seems I'm on a song title kick for my posts. Could have kept my "Rolling Stones" run alive by calling this entry "Gimme Shelter." But I think that the country of Georgia is currently on the mind of the whole world.. The title of Ray Charles' great song fits today's topic.

Ever since 9/11, America has focused on Islamic terrorism; perhaps overlooking other threats. President Bush claimed to have looked into Vlad Putin's eyes and "seen a good man," but this may be one more time when he didn't get things quite right.

We now see that Russia remains a Major Power. It is attacking Georgia, a staunch American ally that  sent troops to fight with us in Iraq. Last summer, Russia laid claim to 460,000 square miles of Arctic waters, and planted its flag on the ocean floor at the North Pole. Putin and his nominal Presidential successor Dimitry Medvedev have floated tentative plans to station strategic bombers  in Cuba. Kennedy put a decisive end to the similar Cuban missile crisis. It remains to be seen if America still has the strategic strength to back Russia down in Eastern Europe, the Arctic, or even Cuba.

While hosting the Olympics, China will be on its best behavior. But that country also has a rapidly growing military presence, and a future agenda that is not in harmony with ours.

I don't want to get "too political" in my real estate blog. But it is becoming obvious that America is NOT the world's sole Super Power. And the threat of nuclear war is no longer a historical footnote, but an ominous reality once again.

So how could this affect future real estate values? Lets peruse a map of  fallout patterns after a nuclear strike on America's major targets. Please excuse the primitive imagery. I scanned this map out of Joel Skousen's book, "Strategic Relocation," because it seems more realistic than similar maps offered by FEMA.

The white zones denote areas that probably will remain outside of the major blast and fallout patterns. As you can see, relatively unaffected areas include much of Alaska, Texas, most of the coasts of Oregon and northern California, significant parts of Nevada, and various portions of the Midwest and Great Lakes states. The Eastern Seaboard doesn't look too attractive at all. Southern California would be toast, and Arizona, located downwind, would be exposed to yet one more problem coming in from Cali. 

Each low fallout area has other major issues that must be considered to determine it's future desirability. But those  zones are excellent places to start looking for locations to invest...and maybe relocate. This site is dedicated to helping you evaluate all relevant factors; to find the very best locations. They should appreciate in value quite well. Expect specific location analysis soon.

After all that somber data, I'll wrap things up on a lighter note.. Remember Don Henley's song, "All She Wants To Do Is Dance?" One lady, whose screen name is Artemis Bell, has devoted an extensive Youtube site to that premise. Here's her rendition of  "Gimme Shelter," by the Rolling Stones.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfeAezzOTk0