Taking care of our military

Historically, the number of soldiers committing suicide is less when they are at war than when they are at peace. But that seems to be changing. In 2002 350 of our soldiers attempted suicide attempted suicide, in 2007 that number was 2100. Some, including Lt. Whiteside, have tried more than once to end their lives.

And the number who succeed in killing themselves is at the highest level since the Army began keeping track. In 2007 121 did, 20% more than in 2006.

The truly sad part is that the military really has not yet found an effective way to treat these victims of war.

He Has the Power

Charlie Savage of the Boston Globe spends a fair amount of time reading Bush's signing statements.Today's article addresses a signing statement attached to the National Defense Authorization Act for 2008.

The key provision in what is apparently a fairly vague signing statement concerns Iraq. Bush does not want to be limited in making any agreement which binds us to staying in Iraq permanently or forbids us from controlling oil in Iraq. In his judgment only he has the power, as only he had the power to go to war with Iraq.

As with so much of the Bush administration style, the meaning of words is disputed. The administration considers any agreement made with Iraq as a "compact", not a treaty. Ergo, Congress does not have to okay it.

A Fine Line

I've written before about the fine line that some doctors draw between their financial interests and medical talents. Today's NY Times has another illustration of this issue.

Some doctors who had invested in a company that made an artificial spinal disk, Prodisc, conducted clinical trials which were used to get FDA approval. The trial compared the results for 162 patients who received the artificial disc with the results for 80 who had a spinal fusion. However, the results for Prodisc did not include 50 people who were used to train doctors in implanting the device. Nor, for reasons unknown, did it include another 21 people who had the device implanted. Also, some oif the doctors did not disclose their financial investment.

Impartial investigation?

What a difference a month makes

In December UBS said it would take a hit of $10 billion from the sub-prime 'problem'. Today's Wall Street Journal reports a UBS statement that the number is now $14 billion, or a 40% increase in 30 days. No one knows how much sub-prime debt they still hold; in December it was $29 billion.

Two other familiar names appear in the article - Singapore and an unnamed Middle East investor.

Iraqi Women

Yesterday Ann Garrels had a powerful piece on the lives of some Iraqi women. Essentially, most of those interviewed felt that their life was over. What kind of people believe that religion should be used to tamp the life out of people?

From the McClatchy Iraq Blogs

It looks as though politicians everywhere focus on really important issues.
From Inside Iraq

is that all???

Now, I have a story to tell my son Haider about. It is a story that is more interested than Titanic and the Lord of the Rings. Its even deeper in Histroy that the story of the famous Iraqi Myth hero Gelgamish and his firs written epic that we always talked proudly about. It's the STORY OF THE IRAQI FLAG.

Yes we changed the flag and all our problems were solved in a second. Now we shall not care about the electricity problem because our flag will lighten our dark night, it will warm our frozen souls, we will not even think about the thousands of the displaced families because the new flag will be their houses and it will feed their angry hungry stomachs. Now, we will be able to reconstruct our destroyed country because we will build skyscrapers, hospitals and schools made of the Iraqi flags.

I swear I'm still looking for the word that reflects my DEEP DISAPPOINTMENT. Is that what our parliament care about? Shallow issues? Why did they change the flag? To satisfy the Kurds? Well, they will never be satisfied and they will ask for more day after day like fire, it never refuses more fuel. In fact, changing the flag added nothing to the whole political process because it satisfied the Kurds but angered the Sunni who refused to raise the new flag.

I just want to ask our lawmakers "is that all you can do? Do you think that this poor nation went to the election in 2005 when the sectarian violence was everywhere just to give you the chance to change the flag and to approve some other useless laws?

It's Getting Worse

No one seems to know exactly who is rising up in Pakistan, but it is clear that - let's call them by a 21st century buzzword - 'insurgents' are very active. In the last few days they've held schoolchildren as hostages, controlled a major highway, threatened our supply line into Afghanistan, promoted their fanaticism ('pure' women, bearded men, regular prayer, no tv, etc.) among the general populace with some success.

And where is Pervez? Traveling outside of Pakistan. Does he suspect something?

Still Pushing

Lawrence Korb and Caroline Wadhams had an op-ed in the Boston Globe yesterday. It advanced the same argument they made back in the Fall - we need to focus more on Afghanistan. Their argument is summed up in this quote from the op-ed:

The Bush administration is in this position because it has forgotten the answers to several key questions. Where did the Sept. 11 attacks originate? Where is Al Qaeda's key leadership currently located? Which US military mission is authorized by the United Nations and NATO? In which theater are more than half of the troops supplied by other nations? In which theater are US casualties lower than its partners? Which country's people want the United States to stay and help? Finally, in which theater does the United States have a greater chance of succeeding?

They also point out the stupidity of having six times as many troops in Afghanistan and spending in Afghanistan a small fraction of that which we are spending in Iraq. And they ask the question of why all the Western troops are nor under a single command.

Banks are less important than ports

Less than two years ago Congress was up in arms about Dubai buying an interest in some of our seaports. The previous year the uproar was about China buying Unocal. Why are they now silent about all the investments into our financial companies being made by Singapore, Kuwait, etc.?

Perhaps it's because of the lobbying of the U.S.-Emirates Alliance, a lobbying effort of the U.A.E. Or, maybe it's because the financial industry gave 32 times as much money to congressional campaigns in 2006 than did sea-transport companies.

A Reporter's View of the Muslim World

Here is a very insightful article by Kate Clark of the BBC about the changes in the Muslim world we have been fighting since 9/11.

An Egyptian View of the Breach

Here's what the McClatchy newspapers report:

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak risks angering the Arab world if he resorts to military force against the Palestinians, who have been hailed as heroes for breaking free from Israel's stranglehold on the Gaza Strip. However, the longer the border stays open, the greater the risk that militants can infiltrate Egypt and strengthen like-minded Islamist factions, which lead the opposition movement against Mubarak's authoritarian administration.

"It was a huge mistake by the Israelis to seal off the other crossings and create this disaster. The only beneficiary of this situation is Hamas," said a senior Egyptian official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic.

The Egyptian official, who is privy to intelligence and high-level meetings on the crisis, said that fear of a public backlash is not the only reason a military solution is untenable. He noted that Egypt is allowed to keep no more than 750 military personnel at the border - a condition stemming from a peace agreement with Israel. A third problem, the official said, is that the breached border wall lies outside of Egyptian territory in Hamas-controlled land. That means that even if the Egyptians push back the Palestinians, they have no authority to refortify a crossing located outside of their jurisdiction.

"We don't want a more chaotic situation, clashes between the security forces and the masses," said the official. "It has to be done in a wiser way, but we can't tolerate this huge threat to our national security. You have a flood of people and you don't know who they are."

A Surge - in Civilian Deaths

Number of civilians killed in Iraq in 2006 by U.S. troops was 394-434 according to Iraq Body Count; in 2007 the numbers rose to 669-756. And, these numbers do not include those killed in firefights as collateral damage.

In Afghanistan Human Rights Watch estimates the number grew from 230 in 2006 to 400 non-combatants in 2007.

"We are not adequately prepared to address"

When, in 2005, I first wrote about the private security contractors working for us in Iraq, there were about 25,000 of them. Now, there are almost 200,000, which is more than the number of troops. The extra nasty part of this is that the Army is not prepared three years later to manage these contractors.

In 1990 they had five general officer positions for managing contractors; today they have zero. The number of soldiers devoted to purchasing dropped by 25% between 1990 and 2000. Not only are there fewer contracting people, they are likely less qualified as only half of them "are certified for their current positions".

This lack of oversight is one reason why about 18% of the reconstruction contracts in Iraq are 'either questionable or cannot be supported because of a lack of contractor information needed to assess costs".

I'm glad we have a professional Army. How could draftees deal with such complex issues?

The wall is breached again.

This is the bulldozer that knocked down more of the wall between Egypt and Gaza. For more images, see FP Passport

More Recruiting Woes for the Army

The National Priorities Project has released its annual study of military recruitment. As one would expect, things got worse in 2007, the fifth year of a dispiriting war.

The decline in the quality of recruits continues. Where the goal is that 90% of recruits will have graduated from high school, in 2007 only 70.7% did; this is worse than 2005 (83.5%) and 2006 (73.1%). Another recruiting goal is that two-thirds of recruits will pass the Armed Forces Qualification Test as well as have graduated from high school; only 44.6% did in 2007. This is less than 2006, which, in turn, was less than 2005 (56.2%).

All of this costs us money in recruiting ($4billion a year) and training. Despite enlistment bonuses of as much as $40,000, the quality is just not there. What happens when an organization settles for second best, especially when the second best is armed?

Bring back the draft!.

What is your color?

They all fear me. And, they should, for I am BLACK, the King of all Colors. I have obliterated all other colors.

I am omnipotent. When you die and face the unknown, your friends and family appeal to me by donning black to ease the pain. They follow you in a black hearse to your last resting place. I am always there and always called upon at your final appearance. And, I may meet you down below for I am also the Prince of Darkness.

Some malign me by blackmailing other people, dealing in black markets, using a blackjack or attributing bad luck to a black cat. But they are in the minority. Even in your games of checkers and chess you acknowledge my power by granting me the first move. Some of you like me so much you have adopted my name; you all know a Mr. Black. Who knows a Mr. Purple or a Ms Orange? Some worship the night, which I bring you every twelve hours. Some fear it. I try to please both by putting variety in each night; some nights are peaceful, some stormy.

To the writer I am ubiquitous. Almost all books and magazines are printed in black ink. Publishers, like all business people, much prefer being in the black rather than the red.

Occasionally, I am frivolous when I wear my little black cocktail dress. Most of the time I’m serious, very serious. Life is a serious business and I’m here to help you through it.

Is $458,000,000 enough?

That's what the builders of the Big Dig in Boston have agreed to pay for their incompetence. Interestingly, $100,000,000 of it will immediately go to fixing existing defects. Has this project been entered in the Guinness Book of Records yet?

935 Lies

That's how many the administration told in the run up to Iraq, according to the Center for Public Integrity. They've constructed a searchable database of the misinformation we were fed about our catastrophe of the 21st century.

Beyond Paul Winchell and Edgar Bergen

It is decades since ventriloquists have been popular in the U.S. Paul Winchell may have been the last one. All of the ventriloquists with whom I am familiar used a steady character, be it Jerry Mahoney or Charlie McCarthy. Terry Fator does not use a steady character plus he actually has his character sing. Watch these and I think you'll be amazed at what the human voice can do.

Mr. Olmert, tear down this wall

Well, Olmert didn't, so Hamas blew it up.

Would Mexicans blow up our wall?

"There will be enough oil." Oh, really?

Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) argues that, although oil production is declining at the rate of 4% a year, new fields will be discovered that will make up for the decline. 4% of today's output is 3,800,000 barrels a day. Other experts argue that the rate of decline is 8%. Fields in the North Sea, Alaska and New Mexico are declining at a rate of 18%.

But how CERA or any other expert can make accurate predictions is beyond me as there is little good production data from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Venezuela and Russia.

Even if the rate of decline is only 4% and new fields are discovered, demand will not stay still. This year alone it will jump by 2.3%. In future years it will only grow.

Gee, They May Actually Do Something

Congress and the administration seem to be moving towards a reasonable stimulus package. While I really find this hard to believe, obviously I'm hopeful that our leaders will finally exercise some responsibility.

Yes, we need to get money into the hands of those who will spend it - and spend it quickly. Hence, here is one case where a flat amount makes sense; $500 to someone making $25,000 is a heck of a lot more than the same amount given to someone making $100,000. And the lower income person will have to spend it just to get by. Helping those who are unemployed survive without a job for a longer period of time is another necessity. Increasing food stamps temporarily would also help.

The infrastructure of this country is in sad shape. Be it water, transportation, schools - something is wrong with a large segment of our infrastructure. If there were sensible projects ready to go, we should also jump start them.

But, we can't forget the trigger to where we are now: too much of our financial structure is no longer controlled by banks. We need to have greater control over our 21st century, global financial system, not just the banking system.

One Day of Relief

Israel has agreed to allow medicine and fuel for Gaza's power plant to be trucked in on Tuesday. What happens Wednesday is anybody's guess. The UN says that if the blockade continues 860,000 people will be without food.

A Year from Today

Mr. Bush will no longer be president. Will the new person be any better? The current crop of candidates has me worried.

Are you in alignment with your candidate?

Minnesota Public Radio has an interesting survey concerning the presidential primaries. It asks you several questions about what it considers major issues and then compares your opinion on these issues to those of the candidates. Of the three persons I know who have taken it, two ranked Kucinich as the candidate with whom they were most aligned, although neither of them had been a Kucinich supporter.

Tighter and tighter draws the noose

Now all the borders are closed between Israel and Gaza. No food, no fuel, nothing will cross into Gaza. But,of course, in the words of the Israeli Defense Dpartment Gazans can continue to live their normal life.

Help the Veterans

I've often said that some non-profit entrepreneurs make more money than many of their more crass brethren who work for businesses. We've seen several of them (e.g., United way, Concurrent Technology) over the past few years. Roger Chapin is another one of those who raises more money for himself than for the veterans he claims to serve.

Chapin runs two 'charities' aimed at helping veterans: Help Hospitalized Veterans and Coalition to Support America's Heroes. Of the funds he collected from his various direct mail campaigns, how much do you think went to veterans? Would you believe 25%? Over a half million went to compensating him and his wife. $100,000 went to the Medal of Freedom Winner and war hero Tommy Franks. $17,000 went to membership in a country club, $340,000 was spent on meals, hotels and entertainment. A million was loaned to the arch-conservative direct mail king, Richard Viguerie.

What does 'directed' mean?

You may remember the latest incident at the Judge Rotenberg Center where two teenagers were shocked an ungodly number of times based on 'orders' from a former student at the center. Well, the state's Disabled Person Protection Commission asked to see the videotapes that the center had made of the events at the house where the students lived. The center refused because they feared adverse publicity. The Commission 'directed' the center to retain the tapes as there would be a State Police investigation. The Center destroyed the tapes, which leads one to ask the question of what the center was trying to hide.

It is possible that the PR fallout from the destruction of the tapes may be worse than that which would have resulted from keeping the tapes.

Shock Treatment

A bill to control the shock treatment therapy at the Judge Rotenberg Center is in the legislative hopper for the current session of the Massachusetts House. The bill proposes to limit shock treatments to those cases where the student might hurt himself or another; the application of shock treatments for minor offenses, such as swearing, would be prohibited. Need I say that the Center opposes this bill?

At present, about 60% of the students at the center receive shock treatments about once a week.

I guess that estimate was a little bit off

Back when Petraeus was wowing our representatives with his testimony, the statement was made by Petraeus and company that Iraq was getting its act together and by July 15 had spent 24% of the funds we had given them for reconstruction.

Well, the GAO tried to verify this number. They really can't as the official Iraqi records show that only 4% of the budget had been spent as of August.

I can understand the need to make estimates if the data is not available. My question is whether the audience knew how that the numbers were estimated and how they were derived.

What do the U.S., Israel, Syria, China and Iran have in common?

They are all mentioned in an official Canadian document as being countries where prisoners run the risk of being tortured.

$9.83 is a nice number

$9.83 billion is the amount of the fourth quarter loss that both Citicorp and Merrill Lynch announced this week. Both also still face an exposure of $18 billion on their real estate/mortgage/CDO investments, this, in Merrill's case,despite a write-off of $16.7 billion this quarter.

In 2007 Merrill managed to lose more than their net earnings from 2002 to 2006. How much of a package did the former CEO, Stanley O'Nealk walk away with for such a sterling performance?

Deja Vu?

Two years ago a couple of obscure academics extensively examined financial and stock market records of many listed companies in the U.S. They concluded that higher-ups in a number of these companies seemed to have an uncanny knack of being granted stock options. The Wall Street Journal based a lengthy article on the study. This led to the backdating scandal which put a number of businessmen in jail.

The other day The Journal ran a lengthy article based on a study by a couple of obscure academics. This study concluded that some investment banks appear to be trading on the basis of inside information. I suspect the eventual outcome of this article will be jail time for a number of investment bankers.

The problem stems from the fact that most investment banks have people who do deals and people who trade securities. For example, J.P. Morgan Chase was hired in the spring of 2007 to advise Verizon about a possible purchase of a small provider of telephone services, Cellular Corp. By the end of June two sections of Morgan for the first time had accumulated a 2.4% share of Cellular. When the deal was announced on July 30, Cellular stock shot up 34%. Coincidence?

Morgan is not alone. There is a wonderful graph that shows Citibank’s holdings of a company called Fritz before and after it was acquired by UPS, a client of Citibank. On September 30, 2000, Citibank held 116,400 shares of Fritz. By year-end they held 1,009,900 shares. The deal was announced in early January. Fritz stock was up 62%. Coincidence?

Credit Suisse was even more blatant. It advised both sides of an acquisition. Royal Bank of Canada, a Credit Suisse client, bought Centura, a Credit Suisse client. When the talks began in September, Credit Suisse did not hold a single share of Centura. By the end of the quarter, they owned more than 250,000 shares. Coincidence?

Goldman Sachs advised Motorola in its acquisition of Symbol Technology. By the time the deal was announced Goldman had increased its holdings of Symbol from 142,000 shares to 1,169,200. Coincidence?

Morgan Stanley advised Philips Electronics in its acquisition of Intermagnetics General. Morgan’s holdings of Intermagnetics went from 29,600 shares to 244,600. Coincidence?

Morgan Stanley has “strict policies” to ensure that inside information is protected. “We firmly believe that no improper trading occurred."

Are you more likely to die?

A recent study of emergency room response times found that the time it took for a heart attack victim to be seen rose from eight minutes in 1997 to twenty minutes in 2004. Yes, medicine was probably more knowledgeable about the treatment of heart attack victims in 2004, but does having to wait twelve minutes longer to be treated offset any possible benefits of more knowledgeable care?

Finger Food or a Sit Down Meal

I wonder how much time and effort Congress has devoted to devising new ethics rules. Apparently many of the lobbying firms are cutting back the food served at their events because the new rules specify that only finger food can be served instead of the full course meals that had been the typical fare at these events. Are there not more serious topics for Congress to address? Do Congressmen need detailed lessons on how to preserve one's integrity?

It Hasn't Stopped Yet

Citibank, the largest bank in the U.S., announced a loss of $9.83 billion for the fourth quarter. This brings Citi's loss from the sub-prime debacle to $18.1 billion. Revenue for the quarter was down 70% from Q4 in 2006. The company cut its dividend from 54 to 32 cents a share and says it will cut 20,000 jobs. Despite the bad news, the company was able to secure just about $9.83 billion from investments by Singapore ($6.88 b.) and Kuwait ($3b.)

At the same time Merrill Lynch raised $6.6 billion from Kuwait, Korea and the Mizhuo bank of Japan.

The BBC summarizes the sub-prime losses known to date:

Citigroup: $18bn

UBS: $13.5bn

Morgan Stanley $9.4bn

Merrill Lynch: $8bn

HSBC: $3.4bn

Bear Stearns: $3.2bn

Deutsche Bank: $3.2bn

Bank of America: $3bn

Barclays: $2.6bn

Royal Bank of Scotland: $2.6bn

Freddie Mac: $2bn

Credit Suisse: $1bn

Wachovia: $1.1bn

IKB: $2.6bn

Paribas: $439m

It's a wonderful economy. Isn't it?

The Ten Commandments of Punditry

FP Passport expands quite humorously upon these commandments

Thou shalt be the Expert, on Everything.

Thou shalt not waste “time in the field.”

Thou shalt be Non-Partisanly Partisan.

Thou shalt be neutral, but not always.

Thou shalt not commit the sin of Footnotes.

Thou shalt not misuse the title of “former.”

Thou shalt remember the past day, by keeping it forgotten.

Thou shalt be who you need to be.

Thou shalt not commit the sin of Common Sense.

Honor thy Funder.

Doga?

Yoga for dogs? Yup, that's the next "bonding experience" for dog owners. They are taking their pets with them to their yoga sessions and the dogs really love it they say. In fact, the dogs join in the prayer that concludes the session.

"Other than getting old, what crime did they commit?"

That's a quote from Richard Iannella, the Suffolk County Register of Probate, speaking of the practice of appointing guardians for old people who have no family or friends but have had the misfortune to be in a hospital or nursing home. In Massachusetts and many other states, if a nursing home or hospital in which you happen to be a patient applies to the courts to appoint a guardian for you(if you are considered an "unbefriended elder", that is, you are alone, without family or friends to help you).

The problem is that very often the courts do appoint a guardian although the patient does not have a right to an attorney (although those charged as criminals do) and most often cannot even object to the appointment. Furthermore, this decision is usually made without the proper medical documentation required by court rules, without asking about the patient's long term prognosis, without appointing an independent fact finder. It gets worse. Guardians are required to file an inventory of the patient's assets and to report annually on their management of the patient's finances; this they seldom do.

Here's one patient's experience as reported by the Boston Globe:

Dawn Cromwell dares not leave her building. If she tried, a device girding her ankle would sound an alarm. For over a year, she has had to use store-bought reading glasses because her pleas for a prescription pair have gone for naught. She is given medications, but, she says, no one will tell her what they are.

For 20 months now, Cromwell's life has been defined by a 10.5-by-12.5-foot living space at North End Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. In her tiny closet, there are virtually no clothes, and she has no idea what's become of the cherished possessions in the Boylston Street apartment where she lived for years.

An estimated 2,000 elders find themselves in this situation each year in Massachusetts. How many are there across the country?

It's just doomed

It sounds as though the Big Dig will never be free of leaks. Currently, 2,00,000 gallons of water are pumped out of the tunnel monthly, 800,000 of those are from leaks, the rest from rainwater. Where there were three serious leaks in 2006 when the state took over, now there are 237 serious leaks (out of 670 total leaks). But, authorities tell us not to worry as it would take twenty-five years of leaks before the tunnel was unusable.

At One Ment

In recent years I have not seen many movies, but I doubt that I would have seen many movies better than "Atonement". I have seen many war movies, very few of which had war scenes as graphic and frightening as this movie. The acting, the scenery, the cuts, the music - all powerful and wonderful. Go see it!

Ideas for the Next President

Foreign Policy asked twelve of the "world's leading thinkers" to answer this question: What single policy or gesture can the next president of the United States make to improve America's standing in the world? As you'd expect, there are some interesting - but not new - ideas. However, they boil down to two: practice what you preach and talk to people.

If you can't read the article, here is a summary:

• Kenneth Rogoff, an economist, advocates a steep tax on coal, oil and natural gas.
• Reza Aslan, a writer, says cut out the religious rhetoric.
• Philip Stephens of the Financial Times wants Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa to join the G-8.
• Jessica Matthews of the Carnegie Endowment says let's talk to Syria.
• Yang Jianli, a former prisoner in China, tells us to be consistent and practice what we preach.
• Newt Gingrich, ex-Speaker of the House, touts the value of listening.
• Kavita Ramdas, head of the Global Fund for Women, wants the next president to promote gender equality. She backs up the benefits of implementing the idea with facts.
• Nadine Gordimer, the novelist, feels that the embargo of Cuba should be dropped.
• Jorge Dominguez, vice provost at Harvard, says it's time to end our double standards.
• Dmitri Tenan of the Carnegie Moscow Center advises a trip to Tehran.
• Fouad Ajami of Johns Hopkins thinks things are just swell now. (Okay, they had to include one real extremist.)
• Desmond Tutu, bishop and Nobel Prize winner, advises that we should admit that we have made mistakes.

More Questions About Bhutto's Death

A lengthy article in the McClatchy papers raises a number of questions about Bhutto's killing. There appear to be issues with Musharraf's crowd: the refusal to provide better security (which we know about), the change in the cause of death as stated by the doctors right after the assassination and the day after, the lack of an ambulance to take her to a hospital that was two miles away, the fact that it took 25 minutes to get her to this close hospital, Scotland Yard is charged with identifying the cause of death only not the killers.

We'll very likely never know what really happened, but it sure raises a ton of questions, very few of which are favorable towards that powers that be, including the U.S.

What's $15 Billion Among Friends

Merrill Lynch will be taking another huge hit. This time it's $15 billion. But, on a down day the stock rose as the 'smart money' thinks that this is the last big hit for the firm as the new CEO is cleaning up the books.

Time will tell.

Six Years and No End in Sight

It was six years ago today that the first 'detainees' arrived in Guantanamo. 281 of them are still there. Who can feel good about this? This is not the America in which I grew up.

Coming Home

Well, the first publicized subprime casualty on Martha's Vineyard was revealed today in an article reporting that the Town of West Tisbury has initiated a lawsuit against two subprime lenders, Saxon Mortgage Services and Fremont Investment and Loan.

This suit is an attempt to correct an error by the town's attorney when preparing the legal papers for the town's Affordable Housing Committee. The property that the committee awards to those needing an affordable house is intended to remain affordable in perpetuity. Well, intent is one thing, action another. When the mortgage company foreclosed on the property on which it had loaned almost $600,000, the clause leaving the house affordable in perpetuity apparently went out the window.

Now the Town is trying to get the house back in the affordable inventory by placing correct restrictive covenants on any transfer of the property. I'm not a lawyer, but it sounds as though they have little chance of winning. However, the chances of running up a good sized legal bill are very good.

Pay the bill or I'll stop the service

The FBI was late and/or did not pay phone bills that were incurred in surveillance activities. As a result, the phone company cut off service.

The Holidays Are Over

The first post-holiday issue of the Martha's Vineyard Times carries two articles that may forecast the tenor of the upcoming budget season here on the Vineyard.

The first article reports that the town of Tisbury has initiated suit against the state, the Department of Education (DOE) and the town of Oaks Bluff and the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School. The suit is based on the introduction by the state of a 'new' formula for allocating the costs of regional schools. For 50+ years the Vineyard has allocated high school costs based on student enrollment; the more kids from your town that went to the high school, the more you paid. Although the law has been on the books for 15 or so years, it was only in this current fiscal year that the state decided that unless all towns within a regional district approved a regional agreement, then the state allocation formula would prevail.

With this formula the town of Oak Bluffs was able to save about $400,000 and the Town of Tisbury had to pay $250,000 more for its share of the high school costs. Oak Bluffs opted to abide by the state formula; that really riled Tisbury, so much so that they have initiated this suit. There are many problems with the state formula, the most egregious being the use of data that is from the last century. I can understand - and, in fact, I applaud - Tisbury's suing the state. But, why they would include Oak Bluffs and the High School in their suit is beyond my conception, particularly when Tisbury has been crying foul over Oak Bluff's acceptance of the state formula. It is also of interest that Aquinnah also opted to abide by the state formula, but Tisbury has not included that town in its suit.

While I think I know something about school finances on the Vineyard, I must confess to being a neophyte when trying to understand the second article which reveals a great deal of turmoil within the Tri-Town Ambulance Service, which provides EMT services to the towns of Aquinnah, West Tisbury and Chilmark. It appears as though the problems stem for the agency's rapid growth. Their budget has increased dramatically over the past few years, but the management structure has really not changed.

It promises to be an interesting budget season.

Loan Collection in 21st Century India

Obtaining personal loans from a bank is relatively new in India - new to both borrowers and banks. That may be why a fairly common way of trying to collect delinquent loans is to physically beat the borrower; some have been beaten with more than fists. Other debt collection people have been accused of intimidation, extortion and "outraging the modesty" of a woman.

Part of the problem is not only the newness of the concept of personal loans, but the legal system is such that it takes years to collect if one goes through the courts.

Ah, the problems of nascent economic powers.

One Less

It's sad but probably true that Bill Richardson is dropping out of the race for the presidency. He, like Biden, had the talent but not the charisma.

Why she won

She became a human being and spoke truths. Whether she's the right person to make her wishes happen is another matter. I happen to think she's not.

Okay, so it's Spring today on the Vineyard

The temperature was in the 50s today, the 19th day of a New England winter. It's been great. But we will pay the price.

It's continuing

New Hampshire voters seems as fired up as those of Iowa. Turnout, thus far, is better than expected.

Pay for Performance

That's been the mantra for exorbitant CEO compensation plans (Note, you can't simply say 'salary' anymore). Yet Dean Baker runs some numbers showing that many CEOs are being paid for non-performance. From 1997 through 2007, the S&P 500 increased 3.2% a year, counting dividends. That's about what a bond averages. Where is the performance for which CEOs are being over-compensated.

Daily Life in the Holy Land

If you're an Israeli, you can get to work in thirty minutes. If you're a Palestinian, it takes two-and-a-half hours. And, if you live in Gaza, you won't have electricity for eight hours a day.

I'm sure the average Palestinian thinks well of Israel and Hamas.

Sophistication? Pornography?

I'm probably helping Equinox Fitness by commenting on their advertisement in today's NY Times Magazine. But it is truly a disgusting ad.

The ad shows four women clad in what appear to be bikinis and one man who is holding a bunch of grapes over the mouth of a seated woman. Two of the women are standing off to one side, a third is seated in the background. One of the standing women appears to be about to cry, the other is staring with venom in her eyes at the couple in the midst of seduction. The man is shoeless, the women wear stiletto heels. The standing women have marks drawn on their bodies; the marks appear to have been made by a surgeon contemplating cosmetic surgery. The setting appears to be an ancient courtyard with statues and candles. The tag line is "It's not fitness. It's life".

From a strictly business view, the ad will receive notice. But will it cause people to call the local Equinox gym? I doubt it as there is no connection between the ad and what the company wants to sell. Furthermore, the only way the reader can call the local gym is either to use the phone book or go to the company's web site. Wouldn't it have made sense to list an 800 number?

From the view of an old guy who is not a possible customer, I think it's a fairly disgusting ad that demeans women and men.

Another call for impeachment

Okay, you might say that George McGovern's voice no longer matters. But he has a lengthy essay in the Washington Post urging the impeachment of both Bush and Cheney. He almost says, as I have felt for awhile, that this is the worst administration ever.

Of course it was her fault

Musharraf claims that Bhutto's assassination was her own fault. Here's what he tells 60 Minutes tonight: "For standing up outside the car, I think it was she to blame alone. Nobody else. Responsibility is hers."

Perhaps he thinks she also hired the shooter and the bomber.

Inside an Iowa Caucus

Dana Goldstein records her attendance at a caucus in Des Moines. Here's what she found:

At Des Moines' 23rd Precinct, for example, just three miles from Barack Obama's triumphant victory party, organizers failed to adequately explain the caucus process, voters publicly protested the participation of two immigrant women, and Spanish translations were unavailable. And while in theory, the process of "convincing" one's neighbors to caucus for a certain candidate sounds like grown-up debate club, in practice, it looks more like junior high school clique formation, replete with peer pressure.

And she concludes:

The Iowa caucuses are certainly thrilling, but are they just? Even with Democratic turnout at 239,000 this year, up from 124,000 in 2004, only a small fraction of eligible voters, about 11 percent, found time to devote two hours to the caucus. And it wasn't just in the 23rd Precinct that captains were unable to control crowds. The Des Moines Register reported that people all over the state left disorganized caucuses without being counted, and many voters questioned the accuracy of tallies.

So is a rowdy caucus really a purer form of democracy than the ease and privacy of a voting booth? All evidence points to no. Maybe America would sit up and take notice of that uncomfortable truth if more of the national media ditched the swank after-parties and covered a caucus.

How do the candidates see the world?

Krugman seems to think that our presidential candidates have forgotten China. As I've said many times, the world has changed dramatically in the past ten years. We must learn to live and compete in a world where we are no longer the sole economic power; China and India will more and more clout in the world as this century moves on.

While I have yet to pay much attention to the current presidential campaign, I don't think much has been said about this by any candidate.

A Surprise?

Ehud Olmert, Prime Minister of Israel, concedes that Israel hasn't exactly been playing the settlement game quite by the rules. In an interview in the Jerusalem Post he is quoted as saying, "Every year all the settlements in all the territories [of the West Bank] continue to grow. There is a certain contradiction in this between what we're actually seeing and what we ourselves promised. . . . We have obligations related to settlements, and we will honor them."

However, in the same interview he said that the expansion of two existing settlements will not be stopped; Israel will build more dwellings in these settlements to accommodate a growing population.

They do speak a different language in the Middle East. Don't they?

Questions to ask

Lawrence Lindsey, a conservative who has served in government for many years, thinks that we should select our next president based on the answers to three questions:

1. Has the candidate faced a crisis or overcome a major setback in his or her life?
2. Has the candidate had a variety of life experiences?
3. Can the candidate tell the difference between a foreign enemy and a political opponent?

They are interesting questions. How would your choice answer them?

Maybe something is happening

While I believe that the way we elect our president is pretty bad, I was cheered by the significantly higher voter participation this year than in previous years. May it continue.

Sleeping on the job...

..is usually not a good thing, especially when your job is guarding nuclear power plants. Yet, that's what happened at the Peach Bottom plant in Pennsylvania, also the home of the famed Three Mile Island plant.

One of the guards, Kerry Beal, reported to the NRC that some of his fellow guards were sleeping on the job. The NRC asked the owner of the plant, Exelon, about this. Exelon said they had no evidence and the matter was dropped. So, Beal videotaped the siestas. The videotape eventually reached CBS and the shit hit the fan.

The NRC is now reviewing their oversight procedures. Exelon terminated its contract with Wackenhut, the firm that provided the guards. And the nuclear industry may actually improve their security.

One guy started it.

Wishing won't make it so

We've placed a lot of faith in Pakistan and Musharraf. This article argues that it has been misplaced not only with Musharraf but with Bhutto as well. She supported the Taliban and boosted the country's nuclear weapons program. As for the country: It is not committed to the rule of law or elected government. The Army is made up of Islamist sympathizers. The driving force that binds the people together is not being Hindu. The author's conclusion:

"There are only two possible outcomes for Pakistan now, both of which involve Musharraf taking action that brings about his own death or overthrow. One is a praetorian coup from within the military; the other is a popular uprising. Either can result from his mishandling of an important national issue, such as secession by a district or province. You can bet the corps commanders of the Pakistani Army are already calculating the costs and benefits of five more years of Musharraf."

This is a case for Scotland Yard

Fearsome words in old English detective movies. How much the Yard will be able to do in investigating Bhutto's death is problematic. The crime scene evidence has been washed away. Her husband has ruled out an autopsy. The cooperation local authorities will give is questionable. But it sounds good and has been used before.

Twice before Scotland Yard has been called in to investigate an assassination in Pakistan. They made exactly zero progress. Will this time be any different except to make it seem that Musharraf is trying to clear up the mystery?

V2 vs. Stuka

In the current issue of the NY Review of Books Freeman Dyson reviews "Von Braun" by Michael Neufeld. Dyson makes three interesting points:

• By devoting resources to the production of the V2 rocket rather than the Stuka and other fighter planes Germany essentially gave away a very potent weapon. The rockets killed a few thousand in London, but the fighter planes were downing many British bombers. Dyson estimates that each V2 meant one less German fighter plane and ten more British bombers. He attributes the misallocation of resources as being the result of the internecine battles between the branches of the German military.
• Dyson concludes his essay with some thoughts about war and war criminals. Dyson worked for the RAF during the war and helped plan the bombing of Dresden, for which, had the Axis won, he could have been tried as a war criminal. "Even the best of wars involves crimes and atrocities, and every citizen who takes part in war is to some extent collaborating with criminals."
• Finally, "the moral imperative at the end of every war is reconciliation. Without reconciliation there can be no real peace."
  

Karachi 2008

For more from the New York Times, go here.

A Different Newspaper

In the past year or so I've written several posts based on articles in the McClatchy newspapers. I think it's one of the best newspapers in this country. I've been surprised this past week when two other publications I read - The Wall Street Journal and the NY Review of Books - featured the McClatchy chain.

The Journal's article talked about the recent problems McClatchy has had after a long run of being king of the hill. Michael Massing in the NY Review praises the Iraqi blog, Inside Iraq, as being truly reflective of daily life in Iraq for Iraqis. Surprisingly, Leila Fadel, the bureau chief, is only 26 years old. This is just another indication that McClatchy is a different newspaper company.