They have some catching up to do

"They' being China and India. And it's water that is a major problem for them.

China has 660 cities. Of these only 150 have adequate water supplies. To meet the demand underground aquifers are being depleted.

India's reservoirs are not maintained properly. Overfarming and excess logging increase the number of floods which destroy irrigation systems. Underground aquifers are not being replenished.

Will water join oil as a declining resource?

Maybe someone with a brain and a voice?

Henry Paulson, the nominee for Treasury Secretary, has spoken out for the U.S. adopting the Kyoto Protocol not only as Chairman of the Nature Conservancy but also as CEO of Goldman Sachs. Yes, Treasury does not have much say as regards the environment, but Paulson's criticism focuses on the lowering of our economic competitiveness as a result of not accepting the protocol.

Globalization in our schools

Some statistics that are disturbing and do not bode well for the U.S.:

• Two-thirds of our students have never studied a second language.
• Twelve times as many study American Sign Language than study Chinese.
• Five hundred high schoolers study Arabic, 175,000 study Latin.
• Only 1% of college students study abroad, and most of them study in Western Europe.
• Fewer than 10% of universities require study of a foreign language for admission.
• 92% of American undergraduates never take a foreign language.
• Bush's National Security Language Initiative will provide $24,000,000 for foreign language instruction in the public schools; his abstinence-only sex education programs have $206,000,000 to spend.

Are our students ready for the global world of the 21st century?

It's not getting better

Last week the US was accused of killing women and children in an air raid. Yesterday saw a riot in Kabul, which had been a relatively peaceful place, after an accident in which a US truck lost its brakes and plowed into people and cars, leaving dead and injured Afghans. Things got so bad that a curfew, the first in four years, was imposed. Perhaps, the building suffering the worst damage was that occupied by CARE; it seems that rioters delight in destroying those organizations which are trying to help them in an unselfless way.

For a good sense of what it was like in Kabul yesterday listen to this report from a reporter from the Financial Times; it's especially harrowing after the first two minutes.

A big step for Herold Noel

Last Summer I wrote about Herold Noel, a veteran of our second encounter with Iraq. His story was moving. Today, I heard him speak once more. He was the subject of a documentary about returning veterans. At the end of the interview he announced that he is thinking of running for Congress. I wish he would, as he would be a vast improvement over the clowns we have in there now.

More tax benefits

Liberty Media is buying the Atlanta Braves. As part of the transaction they will wind up with $1.38 billion in cash. The seller, Time Warner, will get $1.84 billion of its stock back. Neither company will pay any income tax on the deal despite the fact that both companies will record gains on the transaction. This is due to a provision of the new tax bill which allows companies to eliminate the need to pay taxes in what is known as a "cash-rich split-off.

It's a very complex transaction, but, suffce it to say that it's another sign that the expression "Nothing is certain but death and taxes" is no longer true, at least if you're talking about big bucks.

Arrogance, Thy Name is Nardelli

At Home Depot's annual meeting, the only director to show up was Bob Nardelli, the CEO. Apparently, the press reports scared the rest of the directors. Nardelli did not help himself in what is becoming a war with the stockholders. He refused to answer questions about his compensation ($100,000,000+ since he took over, while the stock has dropped 12% and Lowe's has almost tripled) and he also did not want to get into details re the vote on the proxy proposals.

First Hamas and then the Taliban?

Much of the increased conflict in Afghanistan appears to be helped by a growing lack of confidence in the Karzai government's ability to meet the needs of the people. This is especially true in the South, where support for the Taliban is greater. While the Taliban has not yet developed a social service arm, they may get smarter as time goes on.

The BBC Photograph of the Year

Sean Smith’s photograph of detainees being taken for questioning by US troops in Iraq has been named photograph of the year. It was one of 157 pictures selected from over 6,000 entries to make up the current exhibition. Photo: Sean Smith / The Guardian

It shouldn't come as a surprise

The results of the science part of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are in and they are as discouraging as previous results in reading and math. Twelfth-graders scored 147, eighth-graders 148 and fourth-graders 151 - on a scale of 0 - 300. Not exactly a brilliant performance. In 1996, the scores were 150, 148 and 147.

Are you worried about our scientific future?

The Season Is Beginning

Just this past week, traffic on the Vineyard has increased noticeably. There is now a backup at the "Blinker". The steamship standby line is longer. It's much more difficult to find a parking spot . Tourists are walking the streets. You have to watch for the bicyclists on Lambert's Cove Road. The season does bring in the money, but there is a cost to the tranquility of the Island.

However, compared to the congestion I find every time I drive on Route 128, a major highway near Boston, the Vineyard's congestion is a mere trifle. My trips along 128 take longer and are more crowded than trips of ten years ago, no matter the time of day or night. This increased congestion is not restricted to the Boston area. A recent report by the Department of Transportation (DOT) has some alarming news. Between 1982 and 2003 congestion in the major cities has gone from 4.5 to 7 hours per day; two-thirds of travel is impacted by this congestion today versus one-third in 1982. More disturbing is that trends say that this congestion is spreading to smaller cities, the suburbs and even rural areas. The report estimates that this congestion results in a waste of 2.3 billion gallons of fuel. There is anecdotal evidence of increased costs - unreliability, more inventory - to business beyond the obvious waste of time and fuel.

DOT believes that much of this congestion is caused by poor management of our transportation resources and they intend to try to do something about it. Some of the mechanisms they propose are: congestion pricing, more use of express buses, promotion of telecommuting and flex scheduling, faster completion of highway projects, better real-time information to drivers. They have more ideas centering around some kinds of privatization, which makes one wonder whether this is part of the "Starve the Beast" strategy.

An Iranian student responds

Aryamehr reports on student unrest in Iran. Interesting reading.

Iran wants to talk

Or so says today's Washington Post. According to several sources Iran wants a face-to-face talk with the "Great Satan", as we are called. It's stupid not to at least take the next step and respond to the letter. But, as we've learned, the administration is not afraid of stupidity, in many cases it welcomes it as a familiar friend.

Even in New York City

I wrote last week about the Good News Club, a Christian evangelical group operating in elementary schools in several states. Today I learned about the Seekers, a Christian evangelical group operating in the high schools of New York City, including Stuyvesant, one of the more prestigious city schools. Again, the club meets in the school with teachers acting as club advisers. Guest speakers are brought in. A saving grace (?) here is that there are clubs for Jews and Muslims as well.

Once more the question of the diminishing separation of church and state arises.

An independent board?

Home Depot is an example of today's modern corporation which seems to exist more for the benefit of management rather than the stockholders. This seems to be a classic case of the problems of an interlocking board where the principle is to be "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours". In this case, as in most of the others, the CEO walks away with a very large bundle of money and perks while the stockholder sees little or no appreciation in the value of his shares.

Free speech is really in trouble

Even the ACLU is proposing restrictions on the rights of the directors to speak up when they disagree with the organization.

More than Iraq

Reuters reports that, since last Wednesday, more people (250) have been killed in Afghanistan than Iraq.

If it's foreign, it must be bad

The latest jingo tactic is the slander of Lenovo, the Chinese company that bought IBM's PC division. Two guys, who do not appear to be anywhere near expert in computers, let alone computer security, from something called the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission have convinced the State Department, via the chairman of the House subcommittee that oversees the budget appropriations for the State Department, Commerce Department and Justice Department, that there maybe a phantom in the 16,000 computers the State Department recently bought from Lenovo and, thus, the computers should not be used on classified networks.

Lenovo makes the computers in the same factories IBM did with basically the same procedures and staff. Yet, two guys with no credentials in the field can damage Lenovo's business prospects because they think that maybe the Chinese put a bug in the computers. How would we react if China accused Citicorp, for example, of using its computer network to spy on China?

What's this globalization thing?

Why shouldn't he try?

Andrew Weiderhorn, the fellow who managed to have his new company (Fog Cutter Capital) pay a fine he incurred with a previous company (Wilshire Capital) AND got Fog Cutter to pay him $2,500,000 while he was in jail. With such powers of persuasion, he should be able to convince the Multonmah Athletic Club, the place in Portland, to let him back in. Thus far, he has not succeeded.

Five more CEOs win the lottery

The odds of winning the lottery are quite high, but the following CEOs defied the odds in that the date of their being granted stock options was always at the low point in the stock price:

Frank Lin, Trident Microsystems, and Sam Brooks, Renal Care Group, beat 1 in a million odds.
Ken Levy, KLA-Tencor, beat 1 in 20 million odds.
E.Y. Snowden, Boston Communications Group, beat 1 in 5 million odds.
Maybe John Deiebel, Meade Instruments, really was a lottery winner as his odds were only 1 in 800,000.

This information comes via the courtesy of the Wall Street Journal.

17 Today

CBS News reports today the deaths of 16 Afghan and 1 French soldier.

Sensible Priorities

I guess this is my week for finding new websites that appear to offer value. I was drawn to www.sensiblepriorities.org by an ad calling for Rumsfeld's resignation in today's NY Times. Over the past year I've reported on a few GAO reports which have questioned the management calibre of DOD. This ad summarizes these reports: financial mismanagement and accountability, incompetent forecasting, mammoth waste, plummeting morale, squandered good will, intolerance of dissent. Not exactly results you'd write home about.

Another reason to cut the deficit

Joseph Stiglitz, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, points out the impossibility of the IMF achieving its latest mandate, stabilizing the global trade balance, without a lowering of the US fiscal deficit. Our trade deficit is the largest in the world by far and is the primary cause of the imbalance in global trade. His prescription for cutting the deficit is higher taxes for the wealthy and lower military costs.

I don't think this is good news

Religious groups won the right to meet in grade schools as the result of a 2001 Supreme Court ruling. The evangelicals have taken advantage of this ruling by starting Good News Clubs in schools in several states. The clubs, which are sponsored by the Child Evangelism Fellowship, meet in classrooms after school for Bible lessons and other activities promoting the Fellowship's brand of Christianity. The meetings usually end by asking students to have a personal relationship with Jesus. The number of clubs is growing; there are now over 2500, a considerable increase over the 536 that were in operation in 2001. I really have nothing against people's attempts at spreading what they think is the word of God, as long as they do it in a reasonable manner. However, I do have some problems with the Good News Club.

Many club leaders are teachers; so they spend all day as a kid's teacher (building the usual student-teacher relationship) and then when the final bell rings, they became evangelists. We're talking elementary school kids here, kids that can be as young as 6. Can they distinguish between the teacher and the evangelist? Particularly, when the club may meet in the kid's regular classroom?

While, parental permission is required, the permission slip claims that membership in the club can "improve memory skills, grades, attitudes, and behavior at home and school". What proof of these claims exists is anyone's guess. And the teachers discussed in a Wall Street Journal article distribute these slips to current members asking them to recruit more members.

Are we not supposed to have separation of church and state in this country? Isn't this principle being violated when teachers proselytize their students in their classoom? When will this practice be challenged in the Supreme Court?

More Bodies

ABC News reports another 31 people killed in combat in Afghanistan. One does wonder whether these body counts are reasonably accurate or more like those in Vietnam, as every report on deaths in Afghanistan claims an overwhelming number of Taliban as compared to 'the good guys'.

Not a Good Day for Women

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia feels that newspaper photos of women showing only their face with their hair covered are too tempting for Saudi men and has banned the publication of women's photos in the state-run media.

On the same day comes word of a cult called Kaotians. They are an offshoot of another cult, Goreans. Both cults are based on a series of novels by that internationally famous writer, John Norman. The cultists believe that Norman's novels promote the domination of women and they practice such domination with women who, for reasons known only to themselves, want to be slaves.

The UN Weighs In

and concludes that we should close Guantanamo and other secret detention camps. The Convention on Torture issued their conclusions today and, to me, it sounds like they did not believe much of the US testimony. As to the question of the legality of torture, the Convention did not accept our argument that the war on terrorism justifies torture; in their opinion torture is never legal.

Is there any money left

Kirk Wright, the man behind the hedge fund, International Management Associates, was arrested in Miami yesterday. He had $28,000 in cash and was driving a Mercedes. The lawyer for former investors in the company hopes that Wright has tens of millions of dollars left from the $100 million in assets missing from the fund. Time will tell.

Chickens coming home?

Just about a year ago I lamented the growth in interest-only and other 21st century mortgages. Today's Wall Street Journal reports that 29% of those who took out a mortgage in 2005 have been able to amass zero or negative equity in their home. In 2004 10% of new mortgages were in the same boat. Bear Stearns reports a similar story on the 2005 mortgage class; many more - anywhere from a third to double - were in trouble than those who matriculated in previous years.

The mortgagors seemingly have not learned that eventually they will pay the price for lending to those who should not be borrowing. About 10% of mortage lenders have lowered their standards even more in 2006.

It ain't over yet

A few years ago I remember reading an article about the attempts over the years to defeat Afghanistan. The author concluded that the country may have been occupied by the invaders for a few years, but in the end the invaders - be they British, Russian, or any other country - left with their tail between their legs. Will this happen today?

We have been in Afghanistan more than four years. Today's news announces that up to 105 people were killed yesterday in battles in Afghanistan. How many were killed in Iraq? The British are about to ship more than 3,000 troops there; it will be the largest British deployment in Afghanistan in this century. There is talk of Iran supplying machine guns and rocket launchers. The drug trade seems to still be the primary source of income for the population, yet the puritans want to stop it without offering much in its place. Things don't sound good to me.

I find this hard to accept

DNA is not only being used to prove the innocence of criminals. It's also being used by those studying human evolution. A report by the Broad Institute suggests that after humans had evolved from chimpanzees and spent hundreds of thousands of years apart, they then decided it would be a good idea to make love with chimpanzees. Do you think this is likely?

An Information Problem

Defibrillators save lives. They save more lives every year. Sales have gone from 20,000 in 1996 to 200,000 in 1995. Yet, a study of FDA records by a couple of Boston doctors has shown that about 20% of external defibrillators have been the subject of either an FDA recall or warning as to its use.

The problem the FDA has is a direct function of the growth in the use of the equipment. Now that the equipment is available in hotels, malls, schools and even homes, how does the FDA reach these users to inform them of a problem? Currently, it finds it a lot harder to reach Mr. Jones than to notify all the hospitals that use Defibrillator X. This would seem a relatively straightforward problem to solve as it is doubtful that Mr. Jones would sell his machine. Why can't the original seller of the equipment have the buyer register his contact information at the time of sale? Sure, you'd miss those who move, but there would be nothing wrong with the buyer letting the FDA know of changes in her contact information.

Tracking Executive Pay

I just discovered a site that tracks executive pay in detail. It's called Footnoted.org. Michelle Leder, the person behind the site, apparently spends a fair amount of time reading SEC filings and the footnotes in annual reports (hence, the blog title).

Her latest post is about the ex-CEO of Mylan Labs. One part of his deal is 70 hours of free time annually in the corporate jet. Any time not used in the year is converted to dollars and paid to the ex-CEO. Well, the dollar value of the 70 hours is $605,000. The ex-CEO used $131,000 of plane time last year. Do the math. Oh, add an annual 8% inflation factor.

Cynthia vs. Cynthia

Tomorrow we have an election in West Tisbury. There are two candidates for the post of Assessor. Both are named Cynthia. The incumbent, who has been in all of two months, is Cynthia Mitchell, the challenger Cynthia Riggs. This is one of those elections where getting our your vote will be crucial to your election.

Ms Riggs has a die-hard coalition that I'm sure will come out to vote even if we get the predicted rain. Although Ms Mitchell is a former Selectman and Treasurer, she may have a hard time getting out her backers, as, based on the campaign, she seems a shoo-in. Over-confidence by her supporters, the rarity of an election in mid-May and the weather could doom her candidacy. But, my crystal ball says Ms Mitchell in a surprisingly close race.

An American Chamber of Commerce in China?

I just learned that there is such an organization. They have over 2000 members from 900 companies. Their web site is slow, but maybe all Chinese web sites are as my request goes through the censor.

They've been publishing White Papers for the past several years. This year's White Paper urges policy changes in both China and the US, as all previous papers have. The paper does point out that our exports to China are only half of those of Japan, even though our economy is four times larger. The Chamber feels that both federal and state governments should invest more in promoting US companies, particularly small and medium-size companies, but chambers all over the world say the same thing.

What is interesting is the claim that our visa policies and export controls are the primary reasons for our failure to obtain our fair share of exports. Apparently, our consulates there are understaffed and, since 9/11, the process of obtaining a visa has become so cumbersome that many Chinese just give up. The Chamber feels that our export control program can be changed so that it effectively guards our military assets and also makes exporting other assets easier.

At a time when our trade deficit has become a national problem, maybe we should listen to the Chamber. I would think that the costs of smoothing out the visa process would be money well spent.

At least the case will be heard in a US court

I normally dismiss the writings of Jeff Jacoby, a Boston Globe columnist, as overly conservative. However, I have to agree with his column today. He writes of a suit by the Islamic Society of Boston against Ahmed Mansour, who has said that he has seen radical newsletters, books and videos in the library at the mosque of the society. He believes that they espouse ''fanatical beliefs that insult other people's religions." If he were being tried in his native Egypt, I'm sure at least jail would be his fate if he loses.

Another net neutrality piece

I really don't want every post on this site to be a pointer to another site - I'm egotistical enough to think I say something worthwhile every so often - but Ian Welsh's article in Blogging of the President is worth reading.

The Daily Show Is Bad For Our Youth

There has been quite a commotion over an article in American Politics Research. The article contends that watching The Daily Show harms our youth by making them less likely to be active voters. Whether or not you accept this conclusion - I don't - having a scholarly journal take the show seriously says something about the journal, the show and these times.

Muslims and Catholics Together

The DaVinci Code may be God's attempt to unite Muslims and Christians. Muslims in India are supporting Catholics' denunciation of the film and book. What a strange world we live in.

Three cheers for Mark Inglis

He's the first person to climb Mount Everest on two artificial legs. He lost both legs in 1982 when mountain climbing. Very few of us can climb the local hill with two good legs. Talk about persistence!

Another casualty of unmet recruiting goals

The Harford Courant is running a series on how the armed services are treating soldiers with serious psychological problems. The short answer is not very well; we have sent some with these problems to Iraq for the first time and also re-deployed others there. Some have been sent into combat after taking their antidepressants. Twenty percent of our non-combat deaths in Iraq in 2005 were soldiers who committed suicide.

The comment of Colonel Elspeth Ritchie, the Army's top mental health specialist, do not fill one with confidence that the situation will improve soon. She said, "And, as you know, recruiting has been a challenge. And so we have to weigh the needs of the Army, the needs of the mission, with the soldiers' personal needs." What about weighing the culpability of our leaders?

The Titanic as Symbol

In today's Boston Globe James Carroll has a different take on what the sinking of the Titanic symbolizes.

It's his Magna Carta

In 1988 Mario Gabelli issued his Magna Carta of Shareholder Rights. One of its principles was a condemnation of super-majority voting. Now, when he has a publicly traded company (Gamco Investors) he controls, he is using super-majority voting to pay himself 87% of Gamco's net income. This in a year when assets under management were down 10% and profit was basically flat.

This is just another example of the negative news Mr. Gabelli has been making for the past few months.

Where did the idealism of youth go?

Democracy in Action

The Israeli Supreme Court has confirmed a law that prevents a West Bank Palestinian who marries an Israeli from living in Israel with his spouse and children.

Globalization in the University

Even our most prestigious universities are going global. They are establishing satellites and relationships in countries all over the world. Despite their inability to accept all those who apply from this country, the universities are recruiting globally. I wonder whether they are seekling students who do not need financial assistance, thus improving their finances. This latter thought may also be behind Dartmouth's advertising for young mothers to attend Tuck, their graduate business school.

A Significant Deficiency

That's what UnitedHealth calls an 'accounting' issue that will cause them to reduce reported income for the past three years or more by at least $286,000,000. What it really looks like is that the Wall Street Journal was right: UnitedHealth did backdate stock option grants.

Furthermore, the company hinted that it may have to forego tax deductions relative to options in the future. Since there are now $2.7 billion in unexercised options, this could have a real effect on future income.

Of the eight companies the Journal profiled in its March article re backdated options, three have had a change of management and three will have to restate income.

Katherine Harris

Back in November 2000, you knew that there was something odd about her. It turns out that she replaced her campaign manager, the veteran Ed Rollins, with Dale Burroughs, founder of the Heritage Institute for the Behavioral Sciences. Ms Burroughs' first bit of advice was that changes had to be made as the campaign was not a 'holy place', the women flaunted their sexuality, the men swore and drank spirits. Perhaps, this is one reason Harris' campaign is in the toilet.

Of course, Harris, herself, has not helped. First she plans to withdraw, then she decides to stay. She has $2,800 meals with a lobbyist. She tells of terrorist plots which are denied by the authorities.

But, perhaps she will win after all. For, like our President, God speaks to her and wants her to be a senator.

The Largest Minority

Hispanics are now our largest minority. The latest census study shows 198.4 million white, 42.7 million Hispanics and 36.3 million blacks in this country as of July 2005. The Hispanic population has grown 21% since July 2000, largely due to their birth rate, which is almost double that of the population at large.

Running a Non-Profit Is Not A Bad Business

When I was younger, I often thought that instead of running a for-profit business, I would have been better off running a non-profit, especially a religious organization. Another example of the financial gains possible in the non-profit world is an organization entitled National Center for Employment of the Disabled. They were able to obtain $1.2 billion in federal contracts for army uniforms on a non-bid basis on the assumption that at least 75% of their labor force consisted of the disabled. Well, they were just a little shy of that mark; 7.8% of their labor force was disabled. I wonder what they paid their executives.

It's a great country!

A Second Letter

Hassan Rohani, who claims to be a "representative of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameini, on the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and Iran's former top nuclear negotiator", has written a letter entitled "Iran's Nuclear Program: The Way Out". You can draw your own conclusions as to what the letter means, but if he really does speak for Khameini - and I have no reason to doubt that he does - there may be hope that the current situation can be negotiated. Here are some excerpts from the letter:

A nuclear weaponized Iran destabilizes the region, prompts a regional arms race, and wastes the scarce resources in the region. And taking account of U.S. nuclear arsenal and its policy of ensuring a strategic edge for Israel, an Iranian bomb will accord Iran no security dividends. There are also some Islamic and developmental reasons why Iran as an Islamic and developing state must not develop and use weapons of mass destruction.

Such certification by the IAEA does and should take time and effort. Iran is prepared and willing to invest the time and effort necessary to receive the IAEA clean bill of health. The IAEA is also ready to pursue its investigation of Iran's nuclear activities. So should the states that have concern about it.

What is, then, the motive for the rush to heighten the situation and create a crisis? Could it be that the extremists all around see their interests — however transient, domestic and short-sighted — in heightened tension and crisis?

They ask Iran to give up its right under the NPT, and instead accept their promise to supply it with nuclear fuel. This is illogical and crudely self-serving: I do not trust you, even though what you are doing is legal and can be verified to remain legal, but you must trust me when I promise to do that which I have no obligation to do and cannot be enforced.

A negotiated solution still can and must be found if we intend to strengthen the non-proliferation regime and avoid an unwise and unnecessary conflict. To this end, we must dare to leave the emotions aside and avoid polluting the atmosphere with the baggage of immediate and long-past history of Iran-U.S. relations. A solution imposed on Iran by the Security Council is unlikely to provide the assurances the U.S. seeks about the Iranian nuclear program. In my personal judgment, a negotiated solution can be found in the context of the following steps, if and when creatively intertwined and negotiated in good faith by concerned officials:

Far be it from me to claim to understand diplomatic correspondence, but the letter sounds like an offer to talk. At this point, talking is what we should be doing, not preaching and threatening.

Is it our health system, our genes, our lifestyle?

A recent study of infant mortality rates claims that the rate of infant deaths in the US is 5 in 1000. That's about the same rate as Slovakia and worse than most other developed countries. Some comparisons: Japan 1.8 in 1000, Norway 2, France 3, Canada 4.

Talent is always rewarded in Washington

By all accounts, the Special Inspector General for Iraq, Stuart Bowen, has done a good job in ferreting our chicanery in the use of our money to reconstruct Iraq. Doing a good job does not count with our legislators as they have decided to turn the auditing job over to the State Department's Inspector General office which has said that "it lacked the resources to continue oversight activities in Iraq." It also has far fewer auditors than has Bowen.

Another indication of the legislature's ability to reward talent is their Distinguished Service Award, which is given to former members who have performed "with such extraordinary distinction and selfless dedication as to merit special recognition". Recipients of the award this year include Porter Goss and Dick Cheney.

I guess the legislators wanted to follow the standard set by Bush in awarding the President's Medal of Freedom to Bremer, Franks and Tenet.

A Year Late

The NY Times is finally getting around to covering the personal use of company planes by CEOs; it's a subject that the Wall Street Journal brought up a year ago. The Times article does have some more current figures, such as in 2005 the cost of the CEO using the company plane cost the shareholders 45% more than in 2004 and 10% more companies now allow - or at least report - personal use of the company plane. They also point out that our legislators are also users of company planes, particularly on fundraising ventures.

There are some signs of mitigating the greed. The CEO of Wells Fargo now charters the company plane through a third party and he pays the going charter rates.

Every 4 Hours

NPR reports that 3500 policemen have been killed in Iraq in the past 18 months. That's about 1 every four hours. The mystery to me is why people keep joining the force. It must be because their life is so bad that risking death every day is seen as being better.

The numbers keep climbing

The number of mortgage foreclosures in Massachusetts are up 30% for the first quarter and double the number from 2003. It's likely that a similar picture is emerging across the country, particularly in states where there has been a housing boom. The foreclosures will only increase as interest rates rise.

It may sound un-American but not all of us should be homeowners.

Not a recommendation for Hayden

The Muckraker has some devastating examples of NSA fiascos under Hayden. This is based on an article by a Baltimore Sun reporter, Siobhan Gorman.

Not all rosy in China for college graduates

A majority (as much as 60%) of Chinese college graduates will not be able to find a job according to a report by China's National Development and Reform Commission. The 4+ million graduates will be seeking the available 1.66 million new jobs.

Going all out

The administration is really making a push to get all government agencies to parrot Iraq talking points. Here's a message from a USDA PR person:

"The President has requested that all members of his cabinet and sub-cabinet incorporate message points on the Global War on Terror into speeches, including specific examples of what each agency is doing to aid the reconstruction of Iraq."

Attached to the message was a PDF file that contained "specific examples of GWOT messages within agriculture speeches. Please use these message points as often as possible and send Harry Phillips, USDA's director of speechwriting, a weekly email summarizing the event, date and location of each speech incorporating the attached language. Your responses will be included in a weekly account sent to the White House."

It's hard to think of an agency that could be less involved in the GWOT than USDA. But, hey, in times of crisis, everybody has to pitch in.

What does history tell us?

I've been reading "Remembering America: A Voice from the Sixties" by Richard Goodwin, an aide to Kennedy and Johnson. Here, with my emphases, are some excerpts from his chapter on the Bay of Pigs.

Yet that first encounter has, ever since, allowed me to understand how intelligent men, confronted with insuperable facts and arguments, despite a record of disaster heaped upon disaster, can still act as though in possession of some secret power to manipulate the destinies of men and whole nations. It is, after all, merely a subcategory of desire; the will to believe, from which none is wholly exempt, which can send men of brilliance and experience tumbling confidently toward the gale-tossed, advancing tides. It happened to the astonishing guardians of Periclean Athens, when they hurled their dwindling power against irrelevant Syracuse. It was to happen to America as it wasted the energies of a great nation - carved self-inflicted, still unhealed scars on the moment of its highest hopes - in a futile struggle over a remote stretch of populated jungle called Vietnam. And it was about to happen to John Kennedy in Cuba.

Indeed, this false certainty underlay the belief - on both sides of the Iron Curtain - that the United States and the Soviet Union were engaged in a titanic, global struggle between communism and democratic capitalism for the allegiance of the world's people. That assumption dominated, and helped explain the first of the Kennedy years; only later would it yield to a more sophisticated awareness that the multitudinous globe could not be crammed into simple categories - friends and enemies, communists or anti-communists - that the world would go its own, unforeseeable way, not on one road or two, but along a myriad of divergent paths.

That could only mean - again in retrospect - that the invaders would be met not with guns, but brass bands, enthusiastic abrazos, and banners proclaiming "Welcome to the Liberators of Cuba".

Have we learned anything in forty-five years?

Master of PR?

Another cardinal has spoken against "The DaVinci Code". This one wants Catholics to take legal action against the film and novel. Last week the message was 'boycott the film', which does make sense for those who believe a work of fiction can harm another one true religion. But to start legal action? All this call does is increase the sales of the film and book.

PR or an attempt to solve the problem

The NY Times reports that Iran's president has written a letter to Bush proposing "new solutions". Also their nuclear negotiator said he'd like to see a peaceful resolution to the growing tensions between our countries.

Ezra discovers ketchup

Gas prices on Martha's Vineyard

Courtesy of Pete Costas

Dentistry is not England's Forte

The problem is that there are not enough dentists in the state system and it's getting worse as dentists are leaving. In April alone 2000 dentists left to start a private practice. They blame their departure on the efforts of the system to make them perform a set number of procedures a year. Now only 49% of English adults are registered with the system.

Because of the shortage people are doing their own dentistry, as Mr. Kelly demonstrates his work here.
He is not alone. A company selling emergency dental supplies sold 12,000 jars of replacement supplies to the general populace in one week.

Looking at the past can help us today

The following is an excerpt from a review of "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" by Phil Carter at IntelDump. I think it says something about the current world and our position in it.

The Centripetal Force of Moral Leadership. Rhodes devotes a number of pages to the personal histories of the giants of science who came to the U.S. to work on the Manhattan Project. We learn about the early lives of Leo Szilard and Edward Teller in Germany, Niels Bohr in Denmark, Albert Einstein in Germany, and many others. Eventually, many of these lives came to intersect with the Third Reich of Nazi Germany. Many of these scientists decided to leave Europe for Britain or the United States. A majority of those chose to work for the U.S. government, either directly or through a research program at a major university, in support of the Manhattan Project. Why?

Many of these men had already fled Europe by the time the Manhattan Project had started. When the call went out from the White House and NRDC asking for scientific participation in the atomic endeavor, these men willingly enlisted. They left their posh homes, their comfortable university laboratories, and in some cases, their families, for the Spartan existence of the Los Alamos lab and the unrelenting management pressure of Gen. Leslie Groves. It really is quite a story. I think this owes a great deal to America's moral leadership in the world, particularly during the time when these men were alive. When these scientists looked across the oceans at Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, they saw the faces of pure evil. To a lesser extent, I think they also saw future totalitarianism in Stalin's Soviet Union. Collectively, these men decided to contribute to the fight against evil by contributing their minds to the Manhattan Project. I think that says a great deal about our country during this last great war, and its ability to rally the world's brightest citizens to its cause.

Much has been written about America's in the world, and the ways our cultural, moral and political leadership enable us to influence events around the world. This is a slightly different point. In addition to such soft power, America's moral leadership also makes us stronger when we have to take decisive military action. It exerts a kind of centripetal force which rallies friends and fair-weather friends to our cause. We should never neglect the moral dimension in choosing national policies. Our moral choices shape the battlefields upon which we fight, and frequently shape the outcomes of those fights as well.

Out for Himself

It's more and more evident that the question I raised last month about Hugo Chavez is being answered as being out for himself. He has proposed that the Venezuelan people allow him to govern for the next twenty-five years.

Winning Hearts and Minds

From today's NY Times with my emphasis:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A British military helicopter crashed in Basra on Saturday, and Iraqis hurled stones at British troops and set fire to three armored vehicles that rushed to the scene. Clashes broke out between British troops and Shiite militias, police and witnesses said.

Police Capt. Mushtaq Khazim said the helicopter was apparently shot down in a residential district. He said the four-member crew was killed, but British officials would say only that there were ''casualties.''

British forces backed by armored vehicles rushed to the area but were met by a hail of stones from the crowd of at least 250 people, who jumped for joy and raised their fists as a plume of thick smoke rose into the air from the crash site.

The Chinese Peasant's Land

The underbelly of China's economic prowess is the treatment of those living in the country. They don't get adequate medical care. They earn much, much less than their urban counterparts. Their land is taken away from them without adequate compensation.

In March the government acknowledged the land problem and announced it would begin taking steps to rectify it. A recent study by the Rural Development Institute, an organization working to increase land ownership in developing countries, offered some additional insights into the magnitude of the problem. Of the people interviewed in the study (which, by the way, had some help from the Chinese government and Beijing's Renmin University) 27% reported at least one incidence of government landtaking since the late '90s. The land was taken not only for public purposes, e.g., roadbuilding, but also for private purposes, such as building a factory. Only 20% of those whose land was taken could negotiate the purchase price. The law specifies that each household is to receive a land contract, less than half do.

The study found that the problem is mainly one of enforcing the laws. Where the laws are enforced, conditions are better. I suspect that China has to replace a lot of the local officials who are responsible for screwing the farmers.

It's not an Elks convention

It's the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the convention we and other 'civilized' nations signed. It's the convention that countries like Serbia and Rwanda have been invited to. And now it's the convention to which the US has been invited.

We have more than twenty of our top officials in Geneva this week responding to fifty-nine questions relative to our conduct with regard to twelve articles of the convention. Most, but not all, of the questions concern our actions in the war of terror. One that does not cover the war on terror concerns the practice of shackling women in childbrith in some states.

Reports thus far indicate another session of parsing the meaning of words. The convention's conclusions about the legality - forget about morality - will be published later this month. What do you think they'll say?

Another shafting of the military grunt

Apparently soldiers can incur debts to the government. Perhaps, there was a snafu and the soldier was overpaid. Or, the soldier didn't have receipts for expenses. Or, perhaps, she damaged government property. Whatever the reason, some soldiers leave the service owing money to the government.

The only way the military forgives this debt is if the soldier has died in battle. If the soldier has been wounded, the Department of Defense (DOD) will still go after the soldier to collect the debt. As of September 2005, the General Accounting Office (GAO) found that 1300 separated soldiers who were injured or killed in Afghanistan or Iraq owed a total of $1,500,000.

The GAO studied 19 cases in detail. 16 of the 19 could not pay basic household expenses, yet DOD initiated collection procedures, so that their debts were reported to collection agencies and impacted their ability to get credit. For example, a sergeant who lost a leg and owed DOD the grand total of $2231 spent 18 months trying to get DOD to acknowledge that the debt was not valid; in the meantime, his mortgage application was refused. Similar cases were reported.

What kind of a country have we become?

More clamping down on the Internet

A friend pointed me to this report by the BBC.

I find this hard to believe

but it makes for a good story.

Why the difference?

A very interesting study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that US residents aged 55 - 64 are considerably less healthy than residents of England, although the US spends a lot more on medical care than does England. The study does not posit any reasons for this, but the discrepancies exist no matter what income or educational level is considered.

Two questions come to mind:

• Does the English medical system spend more on prevention than we do?
• What effect does the number of uninsured in this country have on the results?

Portugal is acting, not whining

Over the next year Portugal will start reducing its dependence on oil, which now powers 86% of their energy needs. GE and another US company, PowerLight, will build, for $75,000,000, the world's largest photovoltaic generation project; it should supply the energy for 8000 houses. Wind is also an element in their plans to use less oil; they expect to supply 750,000 houses with a wind turbine project costing $1.5 billion. The sea will also be used for energy; a wave farm, which generates electicity from ocean waves, will open later in the year. The government will be subsidizing these projects. Is it a coincidence that Brazil, the other major Portugese-speaking country, also subsidizes oil alternatives?

It kind of makes you wonder why our government is talking more about rebates, than reducing our dependence on oil.

Colbert at the White House Press Dinner

The first site I picked, YouTube, can no longer show the clips. Let me try again. It's in three parts. Here from IFilm is Part 1.

Now Part 2.

And Part 3.

A Mystery

Last week there was a full page ad in the NY Times inviting readers to a web site, NYSEHostage.com. Today, the same ad appeared in the Wall Street Journal. Supposedly, the ad was placed on behalf of Life Sciences Research Inc., whose imminent listing on the New York Stock Exchnage was cancelled just before trading opened. It so happens that Life Sciences is the parent of an English company that has been the target of animal rights activists. The denial of the NYSE listing is attributed to these activists.

As you'd expect, the activists deny the charge and claim that they would not have the money (c.$300,000) to run these ads. The company also denies that it has placed the ad. When you go to the web site, other companies, including WalMart are listed. Very strange.

You have to admire their creativity

I swear that some CEOs spend more time and energy on ways to increase their compensation than on ways to improve their company's performance. "Pay for performance" is all the rage these days; it's really a sop to deflect criticism of the exorbitant amount paid to most CEOs of large public companies.

Consider that much of this 'performance pay' is keyed to the performance of the company's stock. A certain number of shares, sometimes called phantom shares, are put aside for the CEO to receive when he meets targets. The term 'phantom' really applies here in that you can't see the shares but, at many companies, the CEO is paid dividends on these shares, which he has yet to earn.

The amount paid, while chickenfeed to the CEOs, is real money that comes from the stockholders. Bank of America paid its CEO $2.89 million last year on stock reserved for his meeting future targets. Altria paid more than $2 million to its CEO although he can't possibly earn these shares until 2011. And the list - and the screwing of the stockholder - goes on.

More than a slap

It wasn't much more than a slap, but the directors of Raytheon have taken action in the plagiarism case of their CEO, William Swanson, that I wrote about yesterday. He will not get a raise in 2006 and his stock compensation will be cut by 20%; estimates are that Swanson will lose $1,000,000. He will still get his bonus ($2.6 million last year) and all the other usual CEO perks. The directors could have done more. But, at least they did something (including stopping the distribution of Swanson's book). Their action should be applauded.

Unicef checks in

Unicef has just released a report on child nutrition. It tells a mixed tale: progress is being made, but there are still a vast number of kids who don't get enough to eat. One in every four kids in the world under the age of 5 is underweight, half of these kids are in just three countries: India (which is becoming an economic powerhouse), Pakistan and Bangladesh. The report claims that insufficient food is not the only culprit; the malnutrition in these countries is due more to poor food quality and safety, women's low social status, early marriages and poor sanitation.

The other new economic powerhouse, China, has managed to cut its percent of underweight kids from 19% in 1990 to 8% in 2002. It can be done. Latin America has also done well, reducing the percentage from 7% to 3.6%.

You won't believe this

We, the US of A, are building the largest embassy on earth. Where? Baghdad, Iraq. It will be visible from space, cover 104 acres, consist of 21 buildings, accommodate 8,000 people and cost a mere $592,000,000. But, it is one of the few, if not the only, large project that is on time and within budget in that war-ravaged country; we should be grateful for that.

Of course, the Iraqis who have had limited water and electricity for three years may not be too pleased to hear that the embassy will have its own water and power plants. Or, that the Kuwaiti contractor has not hired a single Iraqi.

What in God's name are we trying to do? Alienate all the Iraqis?

The time is now

I'd read a little about the issue of net neutrality but it really didn't register until I got an e-mail from a friend. Congress will be acting on it over the next week. Read the next paragraphs from www.savetheinternet.com and do the right thing: sign this petition telling your member of Congress to preserve Internet freedom

Click here:

http://www.civic.moveon.org/save_the_internet?track_referer=706%7C2130410-8ujN8nJ8gXEDnLWzD29YDA

I signed this petition, along with 250,000 others so far.

From www.savetheinternet.com

Congress is pushing a law that would abandon the Internet's First Amendment -- a principle called Network Neutrality that prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deciding which Web sites work best for you -- based on what site pays them the most. Your local library shouldn’t have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to have its Web site open quickly on your computer.

Net Neutrality allows everyone to compete on a level playing field and is the reason that the Internet is a force for economic innovation, civic participation and free speech. If the public doesn't speak up now, Congress will cave to a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign by telephone and cable companies that want to decide what you do, where you go, and what you watch online.

This isn’t just speculation -- we've already seen what happens elsewhere when the Internet's gatekeepers get too much control. Last year, Telus -- Canada's version of AT&T -- blocked their Internet customers from visiting a Web site sympathetic to workers with whom the company was having a labor dispute. And Madison River, a North Carolina ISP, blocked its customers from using any competing Internet phone service.

This is really inflation

In Zimbabwe a sheet - not a roll - of toilet paper costs 69 cents in US dollars, or over $145,000 in the native currency. This year, through March, inflation in Zimbabwe is running at 900% a year.

Another benefit of being a CEO

In today's Globe, Brian McGrory compares the fate of two plagiarists: William Swanson, CEO of Raytheon, and Kaavya Viswanathan, the Harvard student novelist. Swanson will continue to lead Raytheon, Viswanathan's life is probably ruined.

We're good. You're evil.

That's the message we're giving the man on the street in Iran. If I were that man, would I believe that assertion? These might be some of my thoughts.

You say that my country is not really a democracy; I have very little say, if any, in how my country is run. Well, in 2000 a handful of judges decided who your next president would be, rather than waiting until all the votes were counted. How often is an incumbent unseated in your country? Did I have more freedom when the Shah, who was put in by America, was in power?

You say that we should not have the capability of making nuclear weapons. Why do Israel, Pakistan and India have that ability? What country has actually used nuclear weapons? What measures are being taken to ensure that Russia's weapons do not fall into the hands of terrorists? What country will be detonating a 700 ton bomb in June?

You say that my country is ruled by religious leaders. Is your decision to require abstinence in countries before you will grant them funds to fight AIDS a scientific or religious decision? How often have our leaders claimed that they have spoken with God?

You claim to be a country of laws, not of men. Why is there a US prison in Cuba? Why were so many of these prisoners not caught on a battlefield but turned in to get a bounty? Why are they being held for so long without a hearing? Why have you shipped suspected terrorists to countries where torture is allowed? Why did you not allow Dubai to invest in your ports after it had met all the legal requirements?

You want us to obey international conventions. What country defied the UN when it invaded Iraq? What country has invaded soveriegn countries in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East in order to bring them 'freedom'?

You're good? I'm evil? Should I believe that?