1000 FOR 1 WAS WRONG AND DUMB. when Israel traded 1000 Palestinian prisoners for 1 Israeli, they made a huge mistake. as a father, i would trade anything for my child. as the leader of a country it is bad policy and just sets them up for more of the same.
A 1975 LINCOLN HEARSE, REALLY? forget the spectacle or all the faux weeping. what does it say when a deified leader dies and the hearse is 35 years old? now that's broke
ENOUGH ALREADY; ROMNEY IS THE ONLY SANE GOP CANDIDATE. trump, bachman, cain, gingrich, etc. enough already. coalesce around romney and lets have a debate about philosophy and policy. while i personally like gary johnson and john huntsman i am good to go with romney
happy new year
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE SHOULD BE APPROVED
president obama is torn between jobs and energy security vs. getting re-elected and the environmental lobby. a few facts and thoughts.
there are over 2 million miles of existing pipelines in the US.
the keystone xl will be built to higher standards than any existing pipeline extant
if we block the pipeline, the Canadians will simply build pipelines in canada to the coasts, primarily the west coast; build lng facilities and sell the gas to china. this is not speculation.
so for those who think that by shutting down the pipeline, they can shut down the tar sands production; they cant. the hydrocarbons will be produced, transported and sold.
the only question is to whom.
with the pipeline we will get jobs and cheaper, north american energy
the question for him as he views the world is which will get me more votes; allowing for jobs and energy or pandering to the left
as i think clinton or one of his people said; its the economy stupid!
there are over 2 million miles of existing pipelines in the US.
the keystone xl will be built to higher standards than any existing pipeline extant
if we block the pipeline, the Canadians will simply build pipelines in canada to the coasts, primarily the west coast; build lng facilities and sell the gas to china. this is not speculation.
so for those who think that by shutting down the pipeline, they can shut down the tar sands production; they cant. the hydrocarbons will be produced, transported and sold.
the only question is to whom.
with the pipeline we will get jobs and cheaper, north american energy
the question for him as he views the world is which will get me more votes; allowing for jobs and energy or pandering to the left
as i think clinton or one of his people said; its the economy stupid!
Monday, October 10, 2011
SILENCE IS GOLDEN; NO MORE ANDY ROONEY
watched 60 minutes last nite and for the first time there was no andy rooney. what a relief. as freud said, i think, in Beyond the Pleasure Principal, pleasure is the absence of pain.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA
Once Upon a Time in America
A troubled nation needs a real leader, not a storyteller.
By PEGGY NOONAN
At a symposium in Colorado at which thoughtful people from many professions spoke, and later in conversation with people who care about books in California, two things we all know to be true became more vivid to me.
The first is that nobody is optimistic about the world economy. No one sees the Western nations righting themselves any time soon, no one sees lower unemployment coming down the pike, or fewer foreclosures. No one was burly: "Everything will be fine, snap out of it!" Everyone admitted tough times lie ahead.
Related Video
http://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html#
The second is that everyone hungers for leadership. Really, everyone. And really, it is a hunger. They want so much to be able to respect and feel trust in their political leaders. Everyone hungers for someone strong, honest and capable—as big as the moment. But the presidential contest, the default topic when Americans gather, tended to become somewhat secondary. Underlying everything was a widespread sense among Democrats and Republicans, lefties and righties, that President Obama isn't big enough, and that we don't have to argue about this anymore. There was also a broad sense that there is no particular reason to believe any one of the Republicans is big enough, either.
Actually, I saw a third thing. There is, I think, a kind of new patriotism among our professional classes. They talk about America now and their eyes fill up. With business people and doctors and scientists, there used to be a kind of detachment, an ironic distance they held between themselves and Washington, themselves and national problems. "The future of our country" was the kind of earnest topic they wouldn't or couldn't survey without a wry smile. But now I believe I see a deep yearning to help, to do the right thing, to be part of a rebuilding, and it is a yearning based in true and absolute anxiety that we may lose this wonderful thing we were born into, this America, this brilliant golden gift.
At the end of Tennessee Williams's "The Glass Menagerie," Tom, the narrator, tells us he never stopped thinking of his sister and his mother and their sadness, for "I was more faithful than I intended to be." That, I think, is the mood taking hold among members of what used to be called the American leadership class—slightly taken aback by their love for America, by their protectiveness toward her.
The president reads 'Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters' by Barack Obama.
The untapped patriotism out there—if it were electricity, it would remake the grid and light up the world. And it's among all professions, classes and groups, from the boardroom to the Tea Party meeting to the pediatric ICU.
We think patriotism reached its height after 9/11, but I think it is reaching some new height now, and we're only beginning to notice.
***
And here we turn to politics. Are those running for president aware of the fix we're in? I'm not sure they are. For one thing, if they knew, they wouldn't look so dementedly chipper. And they wouldn't all be talking about The Narrative. Which is all I heard once I came back East.
The Narrative has nothing to do with what is actually happening in the country. That would make too much sense. The Narrative is the story of a candidate or a candidacy, or the story of a presidency. Everyone in politics is supposed to have one. They're supposedly powerful. Voters believe them.
Everyone in politics should stop this. For one thing, a narrative is not something that can be imposed, it is something that bubbles up. It's something people perceive on their own and then talk about, and if it's true, the talk spreads.
Here I return to Ron Suskind's book, "Confidence Men." As noted last week, Mr. Suskind has been criticized for getting quotes and facts wrong. But the White House hasn't disputed his interview with Mr. Obama, who had some remarkable things to say.
It turns out he too is obsessed with The Narrative. Mr. Suskind asked him why his team had difficulty creating a policy to deal with unemployment. Mr. Obama said some of it was due to circumstances, some to the complexity of the problem. Then he added: "We didn't have a clean story that we wanted to tell against which we would measure various actions." Huh? It wasn't "clean," he explained, because "what was required to save the economy might not always match up with what would make for a good story."
Throughout the interview the president seems preoccupied with "shaping a story for the American people." He says: "The irony is, the reason I was in this office is because I told a story to the American people." But, he confesses, "that narrative thread we just lost" in his first years.
Then he asks, "What's the particular requirement of the president that no one else can do?" He answers: "What the president can do, that nobody else can do, is tell a story to the American people" about where we are as a nation and should be.
Tell a story to the American people? That's your job? Not adopting good policies? Not defending the nation? Storytelling?
The interview reflects the weird inability of so many in political leadership now to acknowledge the role in life of . . . reality.
Overthinking the obvious and focusing on the artifice and myth of politics is a problem for all political professionals, including Republicans. Sarah Palin was out there this week trying to impose her own narrative: that she's all roguey and mavericky and she'd win if she ran, but she's not sure the presidency—"the title"—wouldn't dull her special magic. It was like Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard." She's still big, it's the presidency that got small.
But this is mostly a problem for the Democratic Party at the national level, and has been since the 1980s. It reflects a disdain for the American people—they need their little stories—and it springs from an inability to understand the Reagan era. Democrats looked at him and the speeches and the crowds and balloons and thought: "I get it, politics is now all show biz." Because they couldn't take Reagan's views and philosophy seriously, they couldn't believe anyone else could, either. So they explained him through a story. The story was that Reagan's success was due not to decisions and their outcomes but to a narrative. The narrative was "Morning in America": Everything's good, everyone's happy.
Democrats vowed to create their own narratives, their own stories.
Here's the problem: There is no story. At the end of the day, there is only reality. Things work or they don't. When they work, people notice, and say it.
Would the next president like a story? Here's one. America was anxious, and feared it was losing the air of opportunity that had allowed it to be what it was—expansive, generous, future-trusting. It was losing faith in its establishments and institutions. And someone came out of that need who led—who was wise and courageous and began to turn the ship around. And we saved our country, and that way saved the world.
There's a narrative for you, the only one that matters. Go be a hero of that story. It will get around. It will bubble up.
A troubled nation needs a real leader, not a storyteller.
By PEGGY NOONAN
At a symposium in Colorado at which thoughtful people from many professions spoke, and later in conversation with people who care about books in California, two things we all know to be true became more vivid to me.
The first is that nobody is optimistic about the world economy. No one sees the Western nations righting themselves any time soon, no one sees lower unemployment coming down the pike, or fewer foreclosures. No one was burly: "Everything will be fine, snap out of it!" Everyone admitted tough times lie ahead.
Related Video
http://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html#
The second is that everyone hungers for leadership. Really, everyone. And really, it is a hunger. They want so much to be able to respect and feel trust in their political leaders. Everyone hungers for someone strong, honest and capable—as big as the moment. But the presidential contest, the default topic when Americans gather, tended to become somewhat secondary. Underlying everything was a widespread sense among Democrats and Republicans, lefties and righties, that President Obama isn't big enough, and that we don't have to argue about this anymore. There was also a broad sense that there is no particular reason to believe any one of the Republicans is big enough, either.
Actually, I saw a third thing. There is, I think, a kind of new patriotism among our professional classes. They talk about America now and their eyes fill up. With business people and doctors and scientists, there used to be a kind of detachment, an ironic distance they held between themselves and Washington, themselves and national problems. "The future of our country" was the kind of earnest topic they wouldn't or couldn't survey without a wry smile. But now I believe I see a deep yearning to help, to do the right thing, to be part of a rebuilding, and it is a yearning based in true and absolute anxiety that we may lose this wonderful thing we were born into, this America, this brilliant golden gift.
At the end of Tennessee Williams's "The Glass Menagerie," Tom, the narrator, tells us he never stopped thinking of his sister and his mother and their sadness, for "I was more faithful than I intended to be." That, I think, is the mood taking hold among members of what used to be called the American leadership class—slightly taken aback by their love for America, by their protectiveness toward her.
The president reads 'Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters' by Barack Obama.
The untapped patriotism out there—if it were electricity, it would remake the grid and light up the world. And it's among all professions, classes and groups, from the boardroom to the Tea Party meeting to the pediatric ICU.
We think patriotism reached its height after 9/11, but I think it is reaching some new height now, and we're only beginning to notice.
***
And here we turn to politics. Are those running for president aware of the fix we're in? I'm not sure they are. For one thing, if they knew, they wouldn't look so dementedly chipper. And they wouldn't all be talking about The Narrative. Which is all I heard once I came back East.
The Narrative has nothing to do with what is actually happening in the country. That would make too much sense. The Narrative is the story of a candidate or a candidacy, or the story of a presidency. Everyone in politics is supposed to have one. They're supposedly powerful. Voters believe them.
Everyone in politics should stop this. For one thing, a narrative is not something that can be imposed, it is something that bubbles up. It's something people perceive on their own and then talk about, and if it's true, the talk spreads.
Here I return to Ron Suskind's book, "Confidence Men." As noted last week, Mr. Suskind has been criticized for getting quotes and facts wrong. But the White House hasn't disputed his interview with Mr. Obama, who had some remarkable things to say.
It turns out he too is obsessed with The Narrative. Mr. Suskind asked him why his team had difficulty creating a policy to deal with unemployment. Mr. Obama said some of it was due to circumstances, some to the complexity of the problem. Then he added: "We didn't have a clean story that we wanted to tell against which we would measure various actions." Huh? It wasn't "clean," he explained, because "what was required to save the economy might not always match up with what would make for a good story."
Throughout the interview the president seems preoccupied with "shaping a story for the American people." He says: "The irony is, the reason I was in this office is because I told a story to the American people." But, he confesses, "that narrative thread we just lost" in his first years.
Then he asks, "What's the particular requirement of the president that no one else can do?" He answers: "What the president can do, that nobody else can do, is tell a story to the American people" about where we are as a nation and should be.
Tell a story to the American people? That's your job? Not adopting good policies? Not defending the nation? Storytelling?
The interview reflects the weird inability of so many in political leadership now to acknowledge the role in life of . . . reality.
Overthinking the obvious and focusing on the artifice and myth of politics is a problem for all political professionals, including Republicans. Sarah Palin was out there this week trying to impose her own narrative: that she's all roguey and mavericky and she'd win if she ran, but she's not sure the presidency—"the title"—wouldn't dull her special magic. It was like Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard." She's still big, it's the presidency that got small.
But this is mostly a problem for the Democratic Party at the national level, and has been since the 1980s. It reflects a disdain for the American people—they need their little stories—and it springs from an inability to understand the Reagan era. Democrats looked at him and the speeches and the crowds and balloons and thought: "I get it, politics is now all show biz." Because they couldn't take Reagan's views and philosophy seriously, they couldn't believe anyone else could, either. So they explained him through a story. The story was that Reagan's success was due not to decisions and their outcomes but to a narrative. The narrative was "Morning in America": Everything's good, everyone's happy.
Democrats vowed to create their own narratives, their own stories.
Here's the problem: There is no story. At the end of the day, there is only reality. Things work or they don't. When they work, people notice, and say it.
Would the next president like a story? Here's one. America was anxious, and feared it was losing the air of opportunity that had allowed it to be what it was—expansive, generous, future-trusting. It was losing faith in its establishments and institutions. And someone came out of that need who led—who was wise and courageous and began to turn the ship around. And we saved our country, and that way saved the world.
There's a narrative for you, the only one that matters. Go be a hero of that story. It will get around. It will bubble up.
SOMEBODY KILLED MEREDITH KERCHER!
amanda knox was just let go. i have no idea if she is guilty or innocent. but somebody killed meredith kercher and justice has not been done.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
MARINELLO SCHOOLS OF BEAUTY > 9/11
i have now lived in LA for about 28 years. as such i read the LA times. in my defense, i also read the nytimes, the wsj, and the FT. my father used to be in the magazine business. he taught me the value of certain pages in a magazine for advertising. the most valuable are the inside front cover, the inside backcover and the back cover. the cover, however belongs to the brand, the image, the reader.
which brings me to the LA times. for awhile, in desparation for revenue, they have sold the front page in a variety of ways. they sell inserts that wrap the front page in part; causing those of us who buy the paper to actually read the news to strip it off and throw it away. the other thing they do is sell a 2 inch by two inch adhesive label that goes above the fold with advertsising on the label, causing one to have to remove the label to read the paper.
like many humans, like frogs in warm but ever gently increasingly hotter water, i get lulled into resignation over the constant degradation of the quality of life. but even i have my breaking point.
on 9/11 the la times put a advertising sticker from the marinello schools of beauty smack dab in the middle of the the picture and article about the 10th anniversary of 9/11. now thats just not right.
shame on the LA times.
which brings me to the LA times. for awhile, in desparation for revenue, they have sold the front page in a variety of ways. they sell inserts that wrap the front page in part; causing those of us who buy the paper to actually read the news to strip it off and throw it away. the other thing they do is sell a 2 inch by two inch adhesive label that goes above the fold with advertsising on the label, causing one to have to remove the label to read the paper.
like many humans, like frogs in warm but ever gently increasingly hotter water, i get lulled into resignation over the constant degradation of the quality of life. but even i have my breaking point.
on 9/11 the la times put a advertising sticker from the marinello schools of beauty smack dab in the middle of the the picture and article about the 10th anniversary of 9/11. now thats just not right.
shame on the LA times.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
ME MYSELF AND IRENE; THE WEATHER POLITICIZED
it is hard enough to predict the weather without politicizing it. but thats just what happened with Irene. mayor bloomberg got tagged for not being prepared for last winters snow and didnt want to get tagged again; so he was ultra conservative and he is an opinion leader. then chris christy needed to show who was the man; then last we had obama who didnt want Irene to become his Katrina which led him to say to the american people that Irene was going to be a historic hurricane!
this led to fine american cities, like boston to shut down their mass transit systems which in essence shut down the city with nothing but light rain and a little wind. much to do about nothing
aint politics grand?
this led to fine american cities, like boston to shut down their mass transit systems which in essence shut down the city with nothing but light rain and a little wind. much to do about nothing
aint politics grand?
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
HISTORY IS WRITTEN BY THE WINNERS
remarkable events in libya. it was interesting watching the west decide how to play different arab countries during the arab spring uprisings. france and italy had clear strategic interests in libys, oil. not clear why the US picked libya while passing on syria. it could have gone either way; win and youre a hero, lose you are a goat. obama deserves some credit. he placed a bet. putting nato out front was smart politics and resource sharing. but he was too slow which led to it being a 6 month campaign with euro support fading. it will be interesting to see what emerges in libya. a moderately democratic government building a new country for the libyan people? sectarian violence like iraq? the revolution is only the first step. revolutions can be hijacked. that is the risk in egypt. one of the reasons mubarak went was that a younger generation of milatary were disaffected, in part because they were not getting their share of the goodies. egypt could end up under the control of the milatary or in combination with the muslim brotherhood.
the middle east has been riddled and hobbled by a post colonial; cold war legacy of military, authoritarian, corrupt governments, supported by either the west or russia; usually with an agenda around oil, the wealth was not shared, the people suffered, often their misery turned into radicalized violence, often directed toward israel which really was not responsible for their misery.
it will be interesting how this all unfolds.
the middle east has been riddled and hobbled by a post colonial; cold war legacy of military, authoritarian, corrupt governments, supported by either the west or russia; usually with an agenda around oil, the wealth was not shared, the people suffered, often their misery turned into radicalized violence, often directed toward israel which really was not responsible for their misery.
it will be interesting how this all unfolds.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
THEY STOLE OUR CREDIT RATING!
as most of you know, the US's credit rating was downgraded to AA+ on friday. before addressing this event fully, lets get the irony out of the way
S&P, one of the two dominant rating agencies, along with MOODYS, rated trillions of dollars of mortgage backed bonds AAA which had no business be rated as such and led materially to the global financial crisis. they probably should have been shot for this. god knows why they werent. so the irony of one of them now downgrading the US is pretty high.
having said that. if i was a financial analyst at said rating agency and someone gave me an anonymous file on the US, without the name and maybe changed the absolute numbers but kept the proportions to further mask the identity of the issuer, i would probably downgrade it also. based on the numbers, the projections and the politics.
does it matter? shit yes! what are we going to do about it? we will see. We should fire the govenment and all govenments that dont do their jobs in an honest and competant manner. but we have the govenments we deserve. we deserve these assholes. what are we going to do about it?
i was talking to a friend yesterday and i said we elected our own hugo chavez. and he said yeah, but without the oil. you all may have different opinions.
the strength of a country rests on many things; its values and belief system. its education system, its economy. from their actions, it doesnt seem that most people in washington and in the white house have a clue how to nurture a stong economy. the US has an almost 15 trillion dollar gdp. so 20% is $3 trillion dollars. dont you think most of us could design a govenment on a 3 trillion dollar budget? you cant take in 20% and spend 25% and borrow 1.5 trillion year in and year out. your shouldnt raise taxes so the input goes to 25%, 3 trillion is enough. we need a flatter, simpler tax code. most people dont pay much in taxes. the ones that do are of a class who in fact create jobs. i remember when i got my first big bonus check many years ago and i said to myself, 25% of this is really mine. 50% will go to the government and and 25% will go to my future ex-wife. so i was operating on a psycological tax rate of 75%. a bit steep. how about the following
for individuals
0-20,000 0% tax but pay social security etc
20k-40k 10%
40k-100k 15%
above 100k 22% and get rid of most deductions.?
and all income is treated the same, salary, bonus, dividends, capital gains, carried interests?
getting rid of the mortgage deduction is tricky. if you just eliminated it, the price of real estate would just drop, making a weak economy a disaster. maybe do nothing. it is attacked as a fetishistic subsidy of a personal asset but if you buy a commercial building, interest is deductable. why isnt a home a capital asset? certainly most families look at their homes as a major store of their families capital. maybe just make sure that mortgages are credit worthy; full documents, underwritten etc.
this obviously is rambling but i am mad as hell. those assholes lost my credit rating and i am pissed.
S&P, one of the two dominant rating agencies, along with MOODYS, rated trillions of dollars of mortgage backed bonds AAA which had no business be rated as such and led materially to the global financial crisis. they probably should have been shot for this. god knows why they werent. so the irony of one of them now downgrading the US is pretty high.
having said that. if i was a financial analyst at said rating agency and someone gave me an anonymous file on the US, without the name and maybe changed the absolute numbers but kept the proportions to further mask the identity of the issuer, i would probably downgrade it also. based on the numbers, the projections and the politics.
does it matter? shit yes! what are we going to do about it? we will see. We should fire the govenment and all govenments that dont do their jobs in an honest and competant manner. but we have the govenments we deserve. we deserve these assholes. what are we going to do about it?
i was talking to a friend yesterday and i said we elected our own hugo chavez. and he said yeah, but without the oil. you all may have different opinions.
the strength of a country rests on many things; its values and belief system. its education system, its economy. from their actions, it doesnt seem that most people in washington and in the white house have a clue how to nurture a stong economy. the US has an almost 15 trillion dollar gdp. so 20% is $3 trillion dollars. dont you think most of us could design a govenment on a 3 trillion dollar budget? you cant take in 20% and spend 25% and borrow 1.5 trillion year in and year out. your shouldnt raise taxes so the input goes to 25%, 3 trillion is enough. we need a flatter, simpler tax code. most people dont pay much in taxes. the ones that do are of a class who in fact create jobs. i remember when i got my first big bonus check many years ago and i said to myself, 25% of this is really mine. 50% will go to the government and and 25% will go to my future ex-wife. so i was operating on a psycological tax rate of 75%. a bit steep. how about the following
for individuals
0-20,000 0% tax but pay social security etc
20k-40k 10%
40k-100k 15%
above 100k 22% and get rid of most deductions.?
and all income is treated the same, salary, bonus, dividends, capital gains, carried interests?
getting rid of the mortgage deduction is tricky. if you just eliminated it, the price of real estate would just drop, making a weak economy a disaster. maybe do nothing. it is attacked as a fetishistic subsidy of a personal asset but if you buy a commercial building, interest is deductable. why isnt a home a capital asset? certainly most families look at their homes as a major store of their families capital. maybe just make sure that mortgages are credit worthy; full documents, underwritten etc.
this obviously is rambling but i am mad as hell. those assholes lost my credit rating and i am pissed.
Monday, July 4, 2011
STRAUSS-KAHN VS. THE MAID
does anyone even remember the name of the maid? i dont. and maybe that's the point. whenever you have a he said, she said; you attack the credibility of the witness/accusser/victim.
she doesnt sound very credible by some lights. that doesnt mean she wasnt raped. she lied to get asylum in the US. a black mark on her credibility. but how many of us, faced with a pretty unpleasant options or worse in africa would lie to get into the US. i probably would. you?
she is associated with a dirt bag. not good. but she didnt get to meet the nice friends that my kids did at their private, santa monica school.
it looks like the case will fall apart. there is physical evidence but he will claim consensual. i travel alot and stay in nice hotels. i have never had consensual sex or an other kind with the maids. the man is a predator. i listened to an interview of a frenchman on npr and he said he looked at DSK while he was being arraigned and he looked guilty to him. this is a man who believes woman are there for the taking.
if not today, maybe one day he will get his karmic
she doesnt sound very credible by some lights. that doesnt mean she wasnt raped. she lied to get asylum in the US. a black mark on her credibility. but how many of us, faced with a pretty unpleasant options or worse in africa would lie to get into the US. i probably would. you?
she is associated with a dirt bag. not good. but she didnt get to meet the nice friends that my kids did at their private, santa monica school.
it looks like the case will fall apart. there is physical evidence but he will claim consensual. i travel alot and stay in nice hotels. i have never had consensual sex or an other kind with the maids. the man is a predator. i listened to an interview of a frenchman on npr and he said he looked at DSK while he was being arraigned and he looked guilty to him. this is a man who believes woman are there for the taking.
if not today, maybe one day he will get his karmic
Thursday, June 16, 2011
HARD COVER BOOKS; RELEASE WINDOWS
and now for something of world import; the future of hard cover books. i am a reader. i prefer paperbacks. they are smaller, lighter and softer than hardcovers and thus better for travel and reading in bed. however publishers release first in hardcover, with silly retail prices that are heavily discounted and print paperbacks a year later
so i just read a review for a new book, in the case, The emperor of all maladies. i went to amazon, where else would one go? and they show the book available in hardcover with a $30 retail price for $17.40. however you can also get it in Kindle version for $14.99. but NOT in paperback.
now i don't know what the point of having a retail price of 30 and selling it for 17.40. the nominal retail price is silly. but with the simultaneous release in electronic version the horse is out of the barn. people prefer different formats; hard cover, paperback and electronic. give the people the choice. in fact maybe they could bundle physical and electronic?
what do you think?
so i just read a review for a new book, in the case, The emperor of all maladies. i went to amazon, where else would one go? and they show the book available in hardcover with a $30 retail price for $17.40. however you can also get it in Kindle version for $14.99. but NOT in paperback.
now i don't know what the point of having a retail price of 30 and selling it for 17.40. the nominal retail price is silly. but with the simultaneous release in electronic version the horse is out of the barn. people prefer different formats; hard cover, paperback and electronic. give the people the choice. in fact maybe they could bundle physical and electronic?
what do you think?
Friday, May 6, 2011
PAKSITAN KNEW
how could bin laded be in pakistan for 5 years without the ISS, their intelligence service knowing about it? very unlikely. however, we should not be surprised. pakistan was never a willing ally of ours, neither is it a functioning state.
after 9/11 we showed up in pakistan with a big stick and a big carrot and told them they were our new partner and ally. it wasnt their idea. the ISS has been complicit with the taliban and bin laden and we had to have known this. pakistan is a failed or semi failed state.
you lie down with dogs, you get fleas, etc.
we have a pretty untenable situaiton know with a corrupt afghan government who we dont trust and they dont like us and a failed, conflicted pakistan.
no idea how we navigate thru this; what a mess
after 9/11 we showed up in pakistan with a big stick and a big carrot and told them they were our new partner and ally. it wasnt their idea. the ISS has been complicit with the taliban and bin laden and we had to have known this. pakistan is a failed or semi failed state.
you lie down with dogs, you get fleas, etc.
we have a pretty untenable situaiton know with a corrupt afghan government who we dont trust and they dont like us and a failed, conflicted pakistan.
no idea how we navigate thru this; what a mess
Thursday, April 21, 2011
BOEING HAS BEEN NATIONALIZED?
who needs fiction when we have reality. boeing has decided to build a new production line for the dreamliner in south carolina, which is a right to work state. the NLRB has said this is illegal because it is punishment of unions in washington for striking in the past. WOW.
its not like they are shutting a line down in washington. they are building new capacity elsewhere. at least its in the united states! there is a reason all the foreign car manufacturer's plants are in the southeastern part of the country.
this is not union busting on boeing's part; its exercising good business judgment
the fall of the empire continues
its not like they are shutting a line down in washington. they are building new capacity elsewhere. at least its in the united states! there is a reason all the foreign car manufacturer's plants are in the southeastern part of the country.
this is not union busting on boeing's part; its exercising good business judgment
the fall of the empire continues
Friday, April 15, 2011
INTERNET GAMING; LEGALIZE AND TAX
the US just indicted 3 companies and 6 people for bank fraud in connection with running internet poker sites in the US. they are all offshore and no one has been arrested.
the market in the US is 5 billion, worldwide it is $30 billion
they are probably guilty. but that is maybe not the point. we live in a global, internet world. gaming is legal and taxed when land based. lets do the same with the internet.
these companies would submit to taxation in exchange for not being subject to arrest. if we taxed them at 20%, thats $1 billion a year. not much with a trillion dollar deficit but its a start. if we legalize, the market probably increases by 4 times; this will probably cannibalize land based casinos but they can buy into the internet market.
this is much easier than figuring out what to do in libya. Qaddafi is dropping cluster bombs on civilians, so chicken shit obama handing it off to NATO is working just fine
the market in the US is 5 billion, worldwide it is $30 billion
they are probably guilty. but that is maybe not the point. we live in a global, internet world. gaming is legal and taxed when land based. lets do the same with the internet.
these companies would submit to taxation in exchange for not being subject to arrest. if we taxed them at 20%, thats $1 billion a year. not much with a trillion dollar deficit but its a start. if we legalize, the market probably increases by 4 times; this will probably cannibalize land based casinos but they can buy into the internet market.
this is much easier than figuring out what to do in libya. Qaddafi is dropping cluster bombs on civilians, so chicken shit obama handing it off to NATO is working just fine
Saturday, March 12, 2011
LIBYA FUCK UP; CLUELESS IN GAZA
the literary allusion is to eyeless in gaza, by aldous huxley, which has nothing to do with gaza but i have always loved the title
anyway, while we will see what happens in tunisia and egypt, the latter way more important, the pusillanimous pussy footers are fucking up big time in libya.
in egypt, the army was professional, with a 20 year relationship with the american military. in libya a very different story. while it was important for us not to be very visible in egypt; when kadafi started murdering people and bombing people we should have enforced a no fly zone.
it is probably too late and it will be bad and he may hold on
anyway, while we will see what happens in tunisia and egypt, the latter way more important, the pusillanimous pussy footers are fucking up big time in libya.
in egypt, the army was professional, with a 20 year relationship with the american military. in libya a very different story. while it was important for us not to be very visible in egypt; when kadafi started murdering people and bombing people we should have enforced a no fly zone.
it is probably too late and it will be bad and he may hold on
Monday, February 28, 2011
MICHELLE OBAMA IS RIGHT ON DIET!
the likelihood of me agreeing with anything with name obama on it is low. however michelle obama's initiative for healthier eating for kids, and presumably everyone is a no brainer. we are experiencing a healthcare crisis as regards health and paying for it.
so much of healthcosts are lifestyle driven. take obesity and type 2 diabetes, totally lifestyle driven
the right is attacking her under some odd big brother theory. they are wrong
we all need to get our act together and eat better, exercise more
my first and probably last pro obama endorsement
so much of healthcosts are lifestyle driven. take obesity and type 2 diabetes, totally lifestyle driven
the right is attacking her under some odd big brother theory. they are wrong
we all need to get our act together and eat better, exercise more
my first and probably last pro obama endorsement
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
EGYPT IS NEXT
certain things seem to go on forever and people therefore conclude they will continue to go on forever. expect they don't. look at the soviet union. who would have thought. then poof. iran, romania, now tunisia. poof. and the tiniest thing can light the fuse. an impoverished vegetable seller gets busted for selling without a license, then immolates himself, literally lighting the fuse and poof the government is toppled.
egypt is next. the people will not step down, the government will crack down, there will be blood in the streets. what will america do? what will europe do? dont hold your breath on europe
under the banner of realpolitik we tend to back authoritarian regimes that sort of do our bidding. clearly not a moral policy, often not an effective policy.
Mubarak is old and sick and will go one way or another. we should weigh in and help el baradei and the egyptian people create a democracy. there needs to be an alternative between corrupt autocrats and corrupt religious fanatics
POOF!
egypt is next. the people will not step down, the government will crack down, there will be blood in the streets. what will america do? what will europe do? dont hold your breath on europe
under the banner of realpolitik we tend to back authoritarian regimes that sort of do our bidding. clearly not a moral policy, often not an effective policy.
Mubarak is old and sick and will go one way or another. we should weigh in and help el baradei and the egyptian people create a democracy. there needs to be an alternative between corrupt autocrats and corrupt religious fanatics
POOF!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
I'M BACK! I GUESS
stopped writing for awhile as i thought what i thought doesnt matter and no one cared. still not sure matters but a few people complained so here goes
the recent shootings in tucson have followed a predictable arc; initially it was blamed on partisan rhetoric. as much as a wing nut as sarah palin is, this was not her fault. we have had partisan rhetoric for thousands of years; it goes with the territory
what is more interesting is to think about mental health and gun laws. i grew up in new york and there used to be laws and policy that encouraged large scale permanent institutionalization of the mentally ill. there were abuses and litigation and legislation led to a dismantling of that system; the wholesale release of thousands of troubled people onto the streets of new york and around the country and our current politically correct non system where people who cannot take care of themselves; are a potential risk to themselves and others are out there leading to Tuscon's; with more to come
i for one think society has a right to protect itself, and acting in loco parentis; protect the mentally ill and create a schema where people must be treated, institutionalization is part of the mix; that privacy protections are lowered so that society can protect all its citizens.
this segues into gun laws. i own 2 guns, shot guns that i use occasionally for trap and bird shooting. they were pretty easy to buy. i also own some cars. buying them requires insurance and to operate them and probably buy them a drivers license. i would not feel put upon to have to have a license to buy a gun, to have a background check run on me before i could buy a gun. and if i was mentally ill, be denied the ability to buy a gun.
we dont have a rhetoric problem in america, we have a mental health problem in america and gun laws that can be rationally tightened without trampling our apparently cherished right to bear arms
the recent shootings in tucson have followed a predictable arc; initially it was blamed on partisan rhetoric. as much as a wing nut as sarah palin is, this was not her fault. we have had partisan rhetoric for thousands of years; it goes with the territory
what is more interesting is to think about mental health and gun laws. i grew up in new york and there used to be laws and policy that encouraged large scale permanent institutionalization of the mentally ill. there were abuses and litigation and legislation led to a dismantling of that system; the wholesale release of thousands of troubled people onto the streets of new york and around the country and our current politically correct non system where people who cannot take care of themselves; are a potential risk to themselves and others are out there leading to Tuscon's; with more to come
i for one think society has a right to protect itself, and acting in loco parentis; protect the mentally ill and create a schema where people must be treated, institutionalization is part of the mix; that privacy protections are lowered so that society can protect all its citizens.
this segues into gun laws. i own 2 guns, shot guns that i use occasionally for trap and bird shooting. they were pretty easy to buy. i also own some cars. buying them requires insurance and to operate them and probably buy them a drivers license. i would not feel put upon to have to have a license to buy a gun, to have a background check run on me before i could buy a gun. and if i was mentally ill, be denied the ability to buy a gun.
we dont have a rhetoric problem in america, we have a mental health problem in america and gun laws that can be rationally tightened without trampling our apparently cherished right to bear arms
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