The weak must die to give way to the strong, that is a fact of life that makes the Empire the powerhouse that it is. Certainly diversity makes the Federation a worthy competitor - and occasional partner - but the great judgment comes when the strong stand tall and victorious over the lifeless husks of the weak and vanquished. Throughout history, it has been shown that the strong live on while the weak and inferior die. The human concept of natural selection, a simple restating of the infinitely more profound Klingon theory, demonstrates that members of a species better suited to conquer their inferiors always shape the destiny of that species.

If we were to take that theory to another level, we would see that a strong, more organized and better trained force will always prevail over a weak, poorly run and ill-trained force. One might continue to arm and equip that inferior force, but it still must fail. Only a fool would waste resources on a force that did not know how to use them. An empire that sends in the Imperial Guard to save the hides of worthless cowards who had cut and run is preserving weakness over strength!

One must question the motivations of leaders who insist on keeping such a poorly run force going in such a state. One needs to consider that such a leader may be more interested in wasting resources, perpetuating fruitless struggles, and therefore maintaining the illusion of their own importance than in actually seeing their Empire victorious and prosperous. That paints them as either ignorant or treasonous. In any case, they are not deserving of our loyalty. Indeed, when they force incompetent commanders to beg like common petaQpu', they demonstrate their own cowardice and dishonor. Weak, cowardly leaders all eventually fall, as they should, and that poorly run force, unless it were to dedicate itself to success over status quo, deserves to fall with him to be consigned to the ash heap of history.

So what does this say of an economic 'bail-out'? Throw good money after bad, and wait for the situation to improve? While you're waiting for the Targ to change his spots, keep one eye on who decides where to spend your money and consider their history of success ... and failure. You may find that they do not, in fact, fix anything but their own position of power. And you will continue to get the leadership you deserve.

The floor of the stock exchange is truly a battlefield to test the nerve of the real warrior! I watched in disgust as, at the first sign of a setback, weak-livered petaq's rushed to be the first to sell. Like the first cowards to run in the face of the enemy, they broke the spirit of their weaker comrades and caused a mass retreat that made my blood boil! These were the same boastful fellows who would tell everyone about how, if you would follow them, they would lead you to great spoils in a victory of glory and honour!

But an economy is a war, not a battle and this is what they did not understand. It is a war that can only be won on the large scale, by sticking to long term strategies, building resources on a strong base and consolidating your hold over your conquered territories. They were an army without reserves and broke because they had overstretched themselves, their lines of supply were thin and open to attack. Their whole strategy was based on the idea of constant advancement as fast as possible, surviving on what they could forage, without any thought for how their empire of hot air would be blown away at the first breeze.

I have always handled my business affairs as I used to command my last ship, the Klingon battleship the IKV Corporate Raider. She was a sleek killing machine, designed to take advantage of any opportunity that fell within our sights! We had many glorious victories and my crew feasted well on the spoils of war, leaving our rivals shattered, crippled or barely able to limp away, leaking assets from every vent!

For every victorious encounter there were months of lean times though, cruising the commerce routes looking for targets of opportunity. In times like those we had to tighten our belts and make do with what we had. The ship's replicators were strictly rationed and maintained at peak efficiency to recycle everything. In times like these there could be no waste and on some ships, the weak made lunch for the strong.

These lean times would bring to mind the hunting trips of my youth, when my father would teach me the ways of the wild. I remember clearly on my first hunt how, when I had a clear shot of my prey, he stayed my hand saying,"We eat what we kill, we do not kill when we do not need to eat."

I was angered by this since I was hot for the kill. "If this is so, why then do you bring meat home at the end of the hunt?"

He laughed, scaring off my prey, and said, "It's true, the hunt is not always good and the house must have a reserve for the lean times. Never fear, o' mighty hunter, we will take home plenty of meat to make the clan proud of us but that is in the last days of the hunt. We do not need that Kolar beast tonight and his meat would have gone off by the time we are ready to return. To kill him now would be to waste him, better to leave him with his herd. If you cannot catch him again you do not deserve him!"

When we got home he took me to the workshops of the servitors and showed me how they had many cunning ways of preserving the bounty of one season for the famine of he next. Ever since then I have abhored waste and gluttony, consuming things simply for the pleasure of the moment.