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Sunday, September 26, 2010

Winding Down For Awhile

SEARCH BLOG: BLOGGING

Sometimes life tells us to wind down for awhile.  A confluence of events requires that posting becomes sporadic to nil for awhile.  I've moved the list of bloggers that I often read to the upper right and suggest you check out this eclectic blend.  Some are well known; others are somewhat unknown.

As normalcy returns, presuming it does, I again may become more active with opinions and news.  It's been fun for five years and many thanks to my wife and sons for their involvement and help.  Thanks to all of you for spending your time checking out Hall Of Record over the years.

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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Friday, September 24, 2010

New TV Shows

SEARCH BLOG: TELEVISION

It's the start of the new TV season for the old broadcast networks and so, in addition to some of our old favorites like House, we decided to record a bunch of new shows that we thought sounded interesting.  Here's our take...

  • Lone Star - a little odd and stretches credulity, but an intriguing story nevertheless.  Still, it seems as if the plot line could get a bit old and end up with only a hard core following at best.
  • The Good Guys - leaving The West Wing and ending up as a quirky cop is quite a step.  Just seemed as if it was too goofy from the start, but after a few viewings it may actually be pulled off.  Iffy, but will eventually show up on one of those all re-run channels.
  • Rubicon - AMC offered up the best show of the year.  Period.
  • The Event - even science fiction fans may go to the kitchen for a snack with this one.  The pilot shows lots of room for improvement for this series.
  • Hawaii Five-0 - this may be a case where the remake is better than the original... by quite a margin.
  • Chase - I seem to have forgotten what it was all about already.  Oh yeah, the FBI version of the Secret Service series... or was it the other way around?
  • Undercovers - budget version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, but good fun... and good style.
  • Blue Bloods - Tom Selleck will draw viewers regardless of what/who he plays... but tough old cops seems to fit best.
  • Nikita - so-so tough chick series.
  • The Defenders - after 10 minutes of Jerry O acting really stupid, I was about to turn it off, but stuck with it long enough to discover it might be a real sleeper.
  • The Whole Truth - still thinking about it.  Really liked Rob Morrow in Numb3rs, but not quite as riveting in this one.
  • Detroit 187 - just not enough time to watch everything and I can get all the real stories on the local news.
Sorry if I missed one of your new favorites, but I know that some shows will simply not appeal to me.

Some... not all... of longer running shows I have enjoyed and still do, in addition to House which never seems to grow old, include:
  • Castle
  • Burn Notice
  • Memphis Beat
  • The Good Wife
  • Fringe
  • Chuck
  • Bones
  • White Collar
  • Covert Affairs
  • Royal Pains
  • In Plain Sight [see Chase above]
  • Leverage
  • The Closer
  • Justified ... one of my favorite off-beat shows
Of course, my wife loves shows that only raise a passing interest for me:
  • Dancing With The Prancers ... Stars - Two hours of glittery "excitement" grow old pretty fast whereas three hours of football times three is just about right.
  • Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice - medical soap operas... more soap than surgery.

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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Thursday, September 23, 2010

Technology Marches On

SEARCH BLOG: TECHNOLOGY


Nothing is sacred.  Farming lost to manufacturing.  Manufacturing lost to finance.  Finance lost to technology.  Now technology is losing to ... different technology.
Blockbuster files for bankruptcy

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy early Thursday morning in its latest attempt to overcome nearly $1 billion in debt.
The movie rental giant's U.S. businesses filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. As part of its re-capitalization plan, Blockbuster (BBI, Fortune 500) said it would attempt to reduce its debt load to $100 million or less.
... The company also suffered losses from unprofitable stores and increased competition from both Netflix (NFLX) and Coinstar's (CSTR) Redbox. Blockbuster warned of a possible bankruptcy as early as March of this year.  [source]
Soon DVD rentals will be a thing of the past as streaming technology allows you to instantly send HD movies to your TV with the quality and reliability of a DVD at the same or lower prices.  Of course, you can always wait for your cable provider to offer what you want, but for now those offerings are fairly sparse.

Technology has a way of making everything more plentiful and cheaper.
  • more available food per acre
  • more available energy per erg
  • more computing power per square inch
  • and so much more
The naysayers keep saying that we will run out of this or run out of that, but it is based on a paradigm that says future conditions are based on present capabilities... a dangerous and erroneous concept.

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Peak Oil In North Dakota

SEARCH BLOG: OIL

Many decades ago, I spent 5 winters in North Dakota.  That was the longest 10 years of my life.  Oh, the people were great, but you have to love open spaces and 160° of temperature variation from summer to winter in order to really be happy there.  But while most of the country has been struggling to cope with the "Great Recession," North Dakota has been...


Apparently, North Dakota hasn't heard about "peak oil."  In a state normally awash in wheat, potatoes, and sunflowers, oil has become the bumper crop.  That doesn't go the the heads of those North Dakotans.  They are a hardy and conservative bunch.  Maybe they will by some new center line reflectors for their roads or tractor warning signs.  They might even buy some of that oil that is producing the government revenues and use it to heat their government buildings.  Might as well keep it in house... although there is plenty of natural gas in those wells.

So, expect a ruling from the EPA to ban drilling in North Dakota.  Can't have one state setting a good example, you know?

Further reading: Understanding the Belief in Peak Oil: Is The End Near?

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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Michigan Gubernatorial Race May Indicate The National Trend

SEARCH BLOG: POLITICS

Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Republican Rick Snyder continues to hold a double-digit lead over Democrat Virg Bernero in Michigan’s gubernatorial race.
The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows Snyder picking up 51% support, while Bernero earns the vote from 38%. Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate, and nine percent (9%) are undecided.
The latest numbers shift this race from Leans Republican to Solid Republican in the Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 Gubernatorial Scorecard.  If Snyder wins the race, it will mark a GOP pickup of a governorship currently held by a Democrat. [full article]

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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This Is Not About Religion

SEARCH BLOG: ISLAM

You don't have to be a religious believer to understand the illogic of the situation described below by Mark Steyn:

When someone destroys a bible, US government officials don’t line up to attack him. President Obama bowed lower than a fawning maitre d’ before the King of Saudi Arabia, a man whose regime destroys bibles as a matter of state policy, and a man whose depraved religious police forces schoolgirls fleeing from a burning building back into the flames to die because they’d committed the sin of trying to escape without wearing their head scarves. If you show a representation of Mohammed, European commissioners and foreign ministers line up to denounce you. If you show a representation of Jesus Christ immersed in your own urine, you get a government grant for producing a widely admired work of art. Likewise, if you write a play about Jesus having gay sex with Judas Iscariot.
So just to clarify the ground rules, if you insult Christ, the media report the issue as freedom of expression: A healthy society has to have bold, brave, transgressive artists willing to question and challenge our assumptions, etc. But, if it’s Mohammed, the issue is no longer freedom of expression but the need for "respect" and "sensitivity" toward Islam, and all those bold brave transgressive artists don’t have a thing to say about it.
Naturally, Mark goes into great detail about the illogic of the situation, but the main point is covered pretty well in the two paragraphs above: the way we are dealing with Muslims... Muslims with extreme views of how their religious principles are to be applied in everyday life... is in an irrational and enabling way.  If a man is known by his deeds, then a religion is known by the deeds of its followers... and either deserves respect or contempt.  If the latter, then the appropriate response is disdain, disapproval, and disavowal... reactions that will ultimately cleanse a religion capable of being redeemed.

I know which way I am leaning... and it has nothing to do with mollifying.

Okay, maybe it has something to do with religion.

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

The Recession Ended Last Year - So Where Have You Been?

SEARCH BLOG: ECONOMY

You may not have noticed it, but the economy has now been in recovery well over a year!

Yes!  And furthermore, we are well into the Summer of Recovery!  The stimulus worked!  We are now about 1/4 to 1/3 into a typical expansion.  So, what's the problem?

And why are you not participating?  Not participating in the recovery is ... un-American!  Or is it un-Chinese?



Does saying something make it so?  May the farce be with you.

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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A Small Mistake Unless It Is You

SEARCH BLOG: POLITICS

From Saint Petersblog 2.0:


This is one of those seemingly small mistakes that the right-wing will jump all over, doing more damage to Klein than whatever impact the original mailer attempted to inflict upon West.  From the Palm Beach Post:

Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Klein’s campaign sent out a mailer last week detailing Republican challenger Allen West’s 2005 tax lien and court orders to pay delinquent credit card bills.
The mailer includes a reproduction of the $11,081 tax lien filed against West in Marion County, Indiana and paid off four months later. The document, pulled from public records, includes a column titled “Identifying Number” that shows West’s nine-digit Social Security number.
Continue reading here.
Well... how would Peter Schorsch, editor, feel if his Social Security number was sent out over the Internet?  Not so "small mistake" then, eh?  Why would only a "right-wing" person be upset about that?

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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The Government Collects The Money

SEARCH BLOG: ECONOMY

Via Hot Air:

" ... a proposal that all employers send employee paychecks to the government, after which the government would deduct what it deems as the appropriate tax and pay the employees by bank transfer." [full story]
How might this work?

  1. The government collects the money and spends it before it has a chance to send it to the money earner.
  2. The government collects the money and determines that it is appropriate to keep it all because the government provides everyone with what the government determines they need.
  3. The government collects the money and it disappears in the rounding process at the accounting department.
  4. The government collects the money and orders the earner to be jailed for not sending enough appropriate taxes. 
  5. The government collects the money and determines that the earner does not exist and is not eligible to receive any money from the government.
What could go wrong?

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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Monday, September 20, 2010

Integration Or Isolation

SEARCH BLOG: ISLAM

While many nations are struggling with the issue of massive immigration and separatist cultures, the occasional bright spot emerges.

From The Wall Street Journal:

"We're all victims here," said Ali Saleh, a Muslim resident and member of the Bell Association to Stop the Abuse, which hosts the community meetings. "Sad to say, but that's what's bringing us together."
A Pew Research report released last month showed 30% of Americans have a positive view of Islam, compared with 42% who held a positive view in 2005. Muslim-American leaders have urged Muslims to counter that image by becoming more visibly involved in political life, but with limited success. Bell has the potential to become the kind of turnaround Muslim-Americans are after as the nation debates their place in American society. [full story]
Virtually every group involved in mass immigration has been the target of some sort of distrust... being different does that.  What has made Muslim immigration somewhat unique is that it has been seen as a direct and violent threat to this nation... and other host nations.  Muslims have been their own worst enemy in this regard.  Signs proclaiming "death to infidels" go a long way in securing this distrust and making any positive relationships exceedingly difficult.

With that in mind, the Muslims in Bell are not your typical Muslim immigrant in the mind of most Americans. The Lebanese have traditionally been a most non-Islamist Muslim group... more western than traditional Arab in their approach to life.  Secular matters are far more important to most Lebanese than concern about praying five times a day and converting infidels.  Becoming part of an American community is far more natural for them than the typical immigrant from Yemen or Saudi Arabia.

Bell, California is fortunate to have this group of Muslims... instead of this group... which can only trigger a backlash.



2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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Sunday, September 19, 2010

European Backlash Started

SEARCH BLOG: ISLAM and IMMIGRATION


"This sends a positive signal that the years of extremely liberal immigration policy, setting Sweden apart from the rest of Europe, are over. Now the Swedish people are demanding a more restrictive immigration policy and a more responsible integration policy, just like in the rest of Europe." [full story]



This shortly after France says no to the burqa.

And, of course, in the Netherlands there was the attempt to silence Geert Wilders who is the most outspoken politician to limit Muslims in Europe... and that was followed by dramatic gains for his political party.

These posts addressed this eventuality beginning with :

European Backlash - Step 1 Taken
European Backlash - Step 2 [note the prediction]
European Backlash - Step 3
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Luck Of The Irish

SEARCH BLOG: FOOTBALL

Not so much.


34 - 31 OT

Fake field goal.

Gutsy!

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Saturday, September 18, 2010

University Of Michigan - Syracuse

SEARCH BLOG: FOOTBALL

It is interesting to watch the University of Michigan defense attempt to defend against any team than has a mobile passer... or mobile runner... or mobile receiver... they can't defend because of defensive coordinator Greg Robinson's philosophy of falling back to defend rather than attacking.  Call it the "catching arrows" defense.

Robinson doesn't inspire much confidence because he doesn't display much apparent confidence in his team.  Compare the defensive philosophy of an Ohio State team and the contrast is stark.  Pressure on the backfield; pressure on the receivers.  UM prefers to hope for a mistake by the offensive teams of the opponents.  Sit back and hope to catch a break.


One has to wonder whether this defensive philosophy will do as much for the University of Michigan as it did for Syracuse University where Greg Robinson was the head coach.

Squeezing by lesser opponents doesn't change the facts.  A good product never results from bad design.


For now, Michigan's only defense is its offense.  Until that changes, the best UM can hope to be is ... mediocre.
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein
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Andrew Brietbart on PJTV

SEARCH BLOG: TEA PARTY

The Tea Party movement is, to some people, nothing more than reactionary rhetoric.  Those minds are beginning to change as primary elections are held around the U.S.  What on earth is the Tea Party?  It is best thought of as a true "grass roots" phenomenon among those whose only common denominator is government fiscal responsibility.  Government... fiscal responsibility... oxymoron.

The founders of this "Tea" movement are Barack Obama, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi.  Their efforts to push government fiscal irresponsibility to the extreme, successfully ignited a backlash among those who pay for such irresponsibility... taxpayers... the person next to you.



Andrew Breitbart explains the result of these efforts by these three distinguished politicians:


Related video.

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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Friday, September 17, 2010

Ignore Facts: False Basis For So-Called Clean Energy Does Not Matter

SEARCH BLOG: GLOBAL WARMING

Now that it has become apparent to all but the most die-hard alarmists, the CO2 basis for clean energy is going to be conveniently ignored by the EPA and it will press forward on its agenda without the basis for its agenda.

From The Detroit News:

Moving past ‘climategate’ key to building clean energy future


BY SAULIUS MIKALONIS


Uncertainty may be the condition that “impels man to unfold his powers,” as the German philosopher Eric Fromm said. But it tends to keep the wallet shut when it comes to investing in new technologies, such as clean energy. Now, it’s becoming increasingly certain that producing energy from coal is going to get more expensive fairly quickly, and that will help sustain growth in wind energy, solar power, advanced batteries and other technologies in Michigan and around the country. What has changed? For starters, the “climategate” scandal is essentially over. This tempest, which raged for most of this year, was sparked by allegations that scientists fudged the global warming data the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency relied on to determine that greenhouse gases threaten the public health and should be regulated under the Clean Air Act.


In July, the EPA formally rebutted the charges [well maybe "rebutted"; not exactly "refuted" or "proved false"] and denied 10 petitions filed by the state of Texas, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others asking the agency to reconsider its finding.


It’s highly unlikely that the courts will reverse the EPA’s decision, which is being challenged by the U.S. Chamber in a federal lawsuit.


What all this means is the state and federal programs supporting clean energy (much of it money that used to go to the petroleum industry) should continue to grow uninterrupted, and that in turn will help retain and attract new private inves tors. States that turn their backs on this type of investment will be on the outside looking in. [full story]
One more nail in the Democratic Party's political coffin.  To be fair, the story was written by an attorney.  To be fair, the EPA is run by attorneys.  To be fair, the Democratic Party is run by attorneys.  So, science has little to do with agendas except when it can be used to justify a pre-determined agenda... even false science.

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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Modern Pirates - Verse 2

SEARCH BLOG: CHINA

Call it piracy; call it extortion; call it free trade; call it voluntary; I call it unethical and corrupt and another example of why having anything to do with China is suicide... sorry Foxconn.

From The New York Times via Jason Gillman:

BEIJING—China's government is considering plans that could force foreign auto makers to hand over cutting-edge electric-vehicle technology to Chinese companies in exchange for access to the nation's huge market, international auto executives say.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is preparing a 10-year plan aimed at turning China into "the world's leader" in developing and producing battery-powered cars and hybrids, according to executives at four foreign car companies who are familiar with the ministry's proposal.

The draft suggests that the government could compel foreign auto makers that want to produce electric vehicles in China to share critical technologies by requiring the companies to enter joint ventures in which they are limited to a minority stake, the executives say.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is preparing a 10-year plan aimed at turning China into "the world's leader" in developing and producing battery-powered cars and hybrids, according to executives at four foreign car companies who are familiar with the ministry's proposal.

The draft suggests that the government could compel foreign auto makers that want to produce electric vehicles in China to share critical technologies by requiring the companies to enter joint ventures in which they are limited to a minority stake, the executives say. [full story]
Trade reciprocity; not unethical "free trade."  There will be a backlash soon.

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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Thursday, September 16, 2010

Hate Crimes

SEARCH BLOG: CRIME

From the Detroit Free Press:

By TRESA BALDAS


FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER


There’s a new civil rights watchdog group in Detroit, formed to help handle some of the most contentious and sen sitive areas of law: hate crimes and discrimination lawsuits.


The Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it has created a civil rights unit for metro Detroit, to be headed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ju dith Levy. The unit, comprised of four attorneys and a parale gal, will investigate and prose cute cases involving hate crimes, police misconduct, housing and employment dis crimination and disability claims, among others.


The new group comes as good news to the Council on American Islamic Relations, which has sued three police de partments over access to in formation related to the 2009 killing of a Detroit mosque leader, who died during a shootout with the FBI.


“I think it’s a step in the right direction,” said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan CAIR chapter. The Detroit office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also is looking to get some relief from the new civil rights team, which will help prosecute disability and employment discrimination lawsuits against local and state governments.


“We feel very positive about this,” said Gail Cober, field di rector of the EEOC office in Detroit, who said civil rights enforcement involving govern ment agencies had fallen by the wayside in recent years.
Then this qualifies:
On the Advice of the FBI, Cartoonist Molly Norris Disappears From View
Her work won't be in Seattle Weekly anymore, or anywhere else. 
By Mark D. Fefer Wednesday, Sep 15 2010 
You may have noticed that Molly Norris' comic is not in the paper this week. That's because there is no more Molly.


The gifted artist is alive and well, thankfully. But on the insistence of top security specialists at the FBI, she is, as they put it, "going ghost": moving, changing her name, and essentially wiping away her identity. She will no longer be publishing cartoons in our paper or in City Arts magazine, where she has been a regular contributor. She is, in effect, being put into a witness-protection program—except, as she notes, without the government picking up the tab. It's all because of the appalling fatwa issued against her this summer, following her infamous "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" cartoon.
It should be fairly easy to track down the source of the so-called "fatwa."  I think that translates roughly into a "contract for a hit."  Sounds like criminal activity and hate to me.  Or maybe some groups are exempt.

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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Harry Reid Almost Got It Right

SEARCH BLOG:

Republicans dismissed as a political ploy Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's announcement Tuesday that he would attach a proposal giving young illegal immigrants a pathway to citizenship on an upcoming defense bill.
With Reid facing a tough election against Sharron Angle in Hispanic-heavy Nevada, lawmakers criticized the majority leader for adding the so-called DREAM Act to the defense bill. They accused him of injecting unnecessary controversy into the routine spending bill for political gain. [source]
Harry may be on to something old.  Perhaps he should model his proposed legislation around this:
The French Foreign Legion was created by Louis Philippe, the King of the French, on 10 March 1831. The direct reason was that foreigners were forbidden to serve in the French Army after the 1830 July Revolution, so the Legion was created to allow the government a way around this restriction. The purpose of the Legion was to remove disruptive elements from society and put them to use fighting the enemies of France. Recruits included failed revolutionaries from the rest of Europe, soldiers from the disbanded foreign regiments, and troublemakers in general, both foreign and French. Algeria was designated as the Legion's home.
In late 1831, the first Legionnaires landed in Algeria, the country that would be the Legion's homeland for 130 years and shape its character. The early years in Algeria were hard for Legionnaires because they were often sent to the worst postings, received the worst assignments and were generally uninterested in the new colony of the French.  [source]
So instead of the DREAM Act, how about the USFL Act?  No, not the old football league.  Our very own Foreign Legion.  After a suitable period of... no, not two years... five years in places like Afghanistan or Iraq or anywhere else no one else wanted to be, the former illegal aliens would then be welcomed back as citizens provided they had served without violating the military code of conduct... meaning they had gotten written verification that their opposing combatants were not hiding behind women and children before they fired their weapons.  Former drug dealers and gang members would be exempt from the verification rule and could bring any weapons they felt comfortable using.

I'd call that a "twofer"... use illegal aliens to fight terrorist organizations.  That's really getting something in exchange for "amnesty."

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Insurgents!

SEARCH BLOG: POLITICS

Take a perfectly fine word in the English lexicon and mangle it.

G.O.P. Insurgents Win in Del. and N.Y.

Is there something wrong with the word "candidate?"

Was Obama an "insurgent" because he ran against Hillary Clinton who was obviously an old White House fixture?
The New York Times can do better than that.

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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Chinese Cost Of Labor - Let's Just Round It To Zero

SEARCH BLOG: CHINA

When you have 1.6 billion people in your nation, the idea of labor unions forming is a bit far-fetched.  Even with a red-hot economy, there are more people available for jobs than jobs available.  Do you want to go on strike?  Bye-bye.  Still, the news trumpets rising wages in China.

The shift was illustrated Sunday, when Foxconn Technology, one of the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturers and the maker of well-known products that include Apple iPhones and Dell computer parts, said that it was planning to double the salaries of many of its 800,000 workers in China, beginning in October. The new monthly average would be 2,000 renminbi — about $300, at current exchange rates. [full story]
Let's repeat that: $300 per month... not per week; not per day.  Divide that $300 by the typical U.S. 160 hours per month and you get less than $2 per hour.  A U.S. worker will get that in one day with a couple hours of overtime included.  That's roughly 1% of an executive's pay.  You'd get shut down by the U.S. government in about 27 seconds with that situation in Biloxi.

So, if that Apple iPhone has 5 hours of labor to make, that's about $10 of labor cost [in 2009, the total manufacturing cost was estimated at $6.50 for an iPhone 3GS].  It seems the "Workers' Paradise" has some really poor rewards for the workers.  In fact, let's call it what it is... slavery. Yes, "the Chinese" are making money... the elites, the powerful, the manipulators... who work hand in glove with our "free traders" who are also doing quite well, thank you.
... the factory only hires workers in their twenties. He was hired without issue. He signed only one special document: An overtime working agreement that says the company is not responsible for their long hours of working. According to Liu, this voluntary agreement overrules Chinese state regulation. [read the "slavery" link above]
"Voluntary" ... the key word in all libertarian arguments to justify any manner of commerce.

Hey, those workers don't have to go into the factories... they do it voluntarily [anonymous libertarian]. Right... they can work hard labor in the mines [picture source] or rice fields for less.
Our economists will say the Chinese are subsidizing us... as the Chinese undermine our domestic manufacturing and social structure by eliminating jobs at virtually every point from engineering to manufacturing.   
Class warfare?  Hardly, this is economic domination and evisceration using conditions and pay that are completely illegal in the U.S.  The good news is that your unemployment checks go farther if you buy Chinese made products.  The bad news is that your unemployment checks will run out, your home won't be sold, and you can't get out of the student loans you used to get the degree that can't get you a job.
You don't have to be a left-winger to see that the U.S. feng shui is quite bad.  But, hey, we still have the "free market" for those who don't get bothered by details like those described above.

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

The Caribbean China?

SEARCH BLOG: POLITCS

From The Christian Science Monitor:

Former revolutionary leader of Cuba, Fidel Castro, may claim he was misinterpreted by a US reporter last week when he stated that the Cuban model no longer works. But his words were bolstered Monday when Cuban authorities announced the biggest economic shift in decades: Half a million state workers will be laid off by next year and more private enterprise will be tolerated. [full story]
It seems there is a natural balance point between Cuban-style authoritarianism and anarchy... and the pendulum simply can't rest at either extreme.

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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Monday, September 13, 2010

No Bias In U.S. Media

SEARCH BLOG: NEWSPAPERS

From The Huffington Post:

2010-09-09-ign_32_151_3216.jpg



"The Palestinian Authority will never recognize Israel as a Jewish state,..Such a declaration would directly threaten the Muslims and Christians in Israel and prevent Palestinian refugees, who left their homes and villages a number of decades ago, from being granted the right to return to them." 

Senior Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath shortly
after the start of US sponsored peace talks

This rather shocking comment made at a Ramallah press conference last week by one of the supposedly more "moderate" members of the Palestinian leadership produced headlines throughout both the Arab world and Israel.
Amazingly it received nary a mention in the major American media! [source]
Another "moderate" Muslim shows the true nature of Islamists... and the U.S. press.

When the left-wing The Huffington Post speaks out against any Muslims, that's news.

And threaten Muslims and Christians?  Wonderland wasn't that strange for Alice.

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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Not Taxing Means "Costing"

SEARCH BLOG: OBAMA and ECONOMY

From The New York Times:

In recent days, Mr. Boehner has called for extending all of the Bush tax cuts for two years, which would cost more than $500 billion, and for freezing nonsecurity discretionary spending at 2008 levels, which some analysts say would require cuts of more than $100 billion.  [full story]
President Obama's plan to only raise taxes on those earning more than $250,000 per year, which will include many small business owners, is seen as a compromise. After all, it is costing the government money.

Has Mr. Obama considered that his wild-assed spending is costing taxpayers their money?  The official government spin machine works this way: if projected spending increases are not allowed to happen, then that is a terrible cost to the American people.  In order to avoid such calamity, the government must raise revenues [taxes] on those who defy social justice by making too much money.

What will happen to Obama's stash if taxes are not raised?



2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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It's A Cultural Thing

SEARCH BLOG: CULTURE



To life! Now, take a trip to YouTube and enjoy this visual journey.  To death!

I think the Jews have more than their intelligence going for them.

2012 IS GETTING CLOSER

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Sunday, September 12, 2010

Was This An Effing [ham] Joke?

SEARCH BLOG: HOMELAND SECURITY

Effingham deputies call feds after arresting Russians with shovel, wire cutters outside Georgia Power plant
Posted: September 9, 2010 - 6:05pm | Updated: September 9, 2010 - 7:31pm
SPRINGFIELD — Effingham County sheriff deputies have reported the early Sunday morning arrest of three men to the federal Joint Terrorism Task Force.
The men, two from Russia and one from Kazakhstan, were found near Georgia Power’s Plant McIntosh on Old Augusta Road about 1 a.m. Sunday after a ranger with the Department of Natural Resources reported a suspicious vehicle, Effingham County sheriff’s spokesman David Ehsanipoor said.
Deputies reported the men, who were inside a 1995 Nissan Pathfinder, had a machete, shovel, wire cutters and ski masks. One man also had black silk stockings in his front left pocket.
Arrested were Evgeniy Luzhetskiy, of Kazakhastan, Nail Idiatullin and Rustem Ibragimov of Russia. All three reported they lived in Charleston, S.C., deputies reported.
The men were all charged with possession of tools during the commission of a crime.
The three were released after being interviewed by task force members, Ehsanipoor said.
"They did all have visas that allowed them to be here and are supposed to be leaving the country soon.". [source]
So, three men from "Russia" outside of a power plant with tools to break in and masks to conceal their identities are charged with a crime [indeterminate] and released because they had "visas that allowed them to be here and are supposed to be leaving the country soon." 


They probably wanted to run an illegal line to their double-wide.  The silk stockings were probably to impress a girl friend.


Perhaps she has a better explanation.

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There is always an easy solution to every human problem—neat, plausible, and wrong.
Henry Louis Mencken (1880–1956)
“The Divine Afflatus,” A Mencken Chrestomathy, chapter 25, p. 443 (1949)
... and one could add "not all human problems really are."
It was beautiful and simple, as truly great swindles are.
- O. Henry
... The Government is on course for an embarrassing showdown with the European Union, business groups and environmental charities after refusing to guarantee that billions of pounds of revenue it stands to earn from carbon-permit trading will be spent on combating climate change.
The Independent (UK)

Tracking Interest Rates

Tracking Interest Rates

FEDERAL RESERVE & HOUSING

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February 3, 2006
Go back to 1999-2000 and see what the Fed did. They are following the same pattern for 2005-06. If it ain't broke, the Fed will fix it... and good!
August 29, 2006 The Federal Reserve always acts on old information... and is the only cause of U.S. recessions.
December 5, 2006 Last spring I wrote about what I saw to be a sharp downturn in the economy in the "rustbelt" states, particularly Michigan.
March 28, 2007
The Federal Reserve sees no need to cut interest rates in the light of adverse recent economic data, Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday.
The Fed chairman said ”to date, the incoming data have supported the view that the current stance of policy is likely to foster sustainable economic growth and a gradual ebbing in core inflation”.

July 21, 2007 My guess is that if there is an interest rate change, a cut is more likely than an increase. The key variables to be watching at this point are real estate prices and the inventory of unsold homes.
August 11, 2007 I suspect that within 6 months the Federal Reserve will be forced to lower interest rates before housing becomes a black hole.
September 11, 2007 It only means that the overall process has flaws guaranteeing it will be slow in responding to changes in the economy... and tend to over-react as a result.
September 18, 2007 I think a 4% rate is really what is needed to turn the economy back on the right course. The rate may not get there, but more cuts will be needed with employment rates down and foreclosure rates up.
October 25, 2007 How long will it be before I will be able to write: "The Federal Reserve lowered its lending rate to 4% in response to the collapse of the U.S. housing market and massive numbers of foreclosures that threaten the banking and mortgage sectors."
November 28, 2007 FED VICE CHAIRMAN DONALD KOHN
"Should the elevated turbulence persist, it would increase the possibility of further tightening in financial conditions for households and businesses," he said.

"Uncertainties about the economic outlook are unusually high right now," he said. "These uncertainties require flexible and pragmatic policymaking -- nimble is the adjective I used a few weeks ago."
http://www.reuters.com/

December 11, 2007 Somehow the Fed misses the obvious.
fed_rate_moves_425_small.gif
[Image from: CNNMoney.com]
December 13, 2007 [from The Christian Science Monitor]
"The odds of a recession are now above 50 percent," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "We are right on the edge of a recession in part because of the Fed's reluctance to reduce interest rates more aggressively." [see my comments of September 11]
January 7, 2008 The real problem now is that consumers can't rescue the economy and manufacturing, which is already weakening, will continue to weaken. We've gutted the forces that could avoid a downturn. The question is not whether there will be a recession, but can it be dampened sufficiently so that it is very short.
January 11, 2008 This is death by a thousand cuts.
January 13, 2008 [N.Y. Times]
“The question is not whether we will have a recession, but how deep and prolonged it will be,” said David Rosenberg, the chief North American economist at Merrill Lynch. “Even if the Fed’s moves are going to work, it will not show up until the later part of 2008 or 2009.
January 17, 2008 A few days ago, Anna Schwartz, nonagenarian economist, implicated the Federal Reserve as the cause of the present lending crisis [from the Telegraph - UK]:
The high priestess of US monetarism - a revered figure at the Fed - says the central bank is itself the chief cause of the credit bubble, and now seems stunned as the consequences of its own actions engulf the financial system. "The new group at the Fed is not equal to the problem that faces it," she says, daring to utter a thought that fellow critics mostly utter sotto voce.
January 22, 2008 The cut has become infected and a limb is in danger. Ben Bernanke is panicking and the Fed has its emergency triage team cutting rates... this time by 3/4%. ...

What should the Federal Reserve do now? Step back... and don't be so anxious to raise rates at the first sign of economic improvement.
Individuals and businesses need stability in their financial cost structures so that they can plan effectively and keep their ships afloat. Wildly fluctuating rates... regardless of what the absolute levels are... create problems. Either too much spending or too much fear. It's just not that difficult to comprehend. Why has it been so difficult for the Fed?

About Me

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Michigan, United States
Air Force (SAC) captain 1968-72. Retired after 35 years of business and logistical planning, including running a small business. Two sons with advanced degrees; one with a business and pre-law degree. Beautiful wife who has put up with me for 4 decades. Education: B.A. (Sociology major; minors in philosopy, English literature, and German) M.S. Operations Management (like a mixture of an MBA with logistical planning)