These can't be real

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We don't need more scenes like this

We should get out of Afghanistan and Iraq now.

Ministering to the Work Force

Tyson Foods employs 120 chaplains to assist their employees in times of need. The company claims to be "a faith-friendly company" that strives "to honor God". EME, a much smaller company, says its chaplain services help the staff concentrate on their jobs. 525 companies use the services of the 2,455 chaplains employed by Marketplace Chaplains. Corporate Chaplains of America services 650 companies.

It just doesn't sound right to me. In fact, it sounds unAmerican.

Let's Not Forget Iraq

Iraq Today reports activity of one day in June in Iraq:

• Baghdad - 2 killed, 8 wounded by roadside bombs
• Diyala Province - 2 killed by al Qaeda
• Kirkuk - 5 wounded by bombs
• Mosul - 11 killed, 11 wounded
• Tal Afar - good news: a bomber was stopped before any damage was done
• Al Anbar - more good news: an attack was stopped.

And we can't forget the 9 NATO soldiers that were killed.

Something that is perhaps more tolerable (because we are not affected) - Baghdad residents get about 2 hours of electricity a day and the temperature approaches 130 F.

Who says things are really better in Iraq?

Condoms for All

Even if you're in the first grade. Provincetown has voted to provide condoms to any student in the public schools. They expect to be able to talk really young kids, such as first-graders, out of it and eventually deny them the condoms. But in this day when OUR POLICY in many places has the same authority as GOD did in earlier times I'm sure some idiot parent will object if his child were denied a condom. Such an objection, however, assumes that the parent will be informed by the school that his child received condoms from the school. That is not going to happen as the policy says that the parents are not to be informed and, further, if they object, well, the policy says that their objection should be ignored,

Time Wasting

I guess Obama has a lot of time on his hands. Otherwise, why would he waste it by having McChrystal in for a sitdown about 'the article'? Actually, the main thrust of the article is how poorly things are going in Afghanistan. Yes, there are a few somewhat nasty comments about Washington functionaries, but are the egos of those mentioned so fragile that the conduct of the war has to be interrupted?

While the article does talk about McChrystal's not necessarily polite behavior throughout his career, it raises three fundamental issues:

• Is the COIN strategy working and can it work in Afghanistan?
• The soldiers in the field feel their power slipping away and resent it.
• What are we doing in Afghanistan?

All of which are much more important than McChrystal's supposed insubordination.

How this issue can be compared with the MacArthur-Truman controversy is beyond me. MacArthur wanted to escalate the Korean War and told the world so without giving a fig for Truman's contrary opinion.

How bad is it?

From NPR

A Little Noise Here and There About the Defense Budget

How many articles have you read about the Sustainable Defense Task Force? I've seen very few, yet it's one of the few things Congress has actually tried to do that would be good for the country. There's been a lot of stuff written and spoken about the deficit, but the most straightforward way to lower the deficit - cut defense spending - is being ignored by the press.

Stephen Walt once more takes up his pen to write about the issue. His focus this time is on how different areas of the world might react if we cut back. He sees East Asia - i.e, China - as being the area most at risk. The other areas around the globe would probably be okay.

We need more noise on this issue.

Not a good start to the day

The news at 7:30 this morning:

• Afghanistan is going down the tubes.
• Iraq can't produce electricity on a continuing basis.
• McChrystal doesn't think highly of many of his co-workers.
• NPR has another fund drive.

Recognizing Reality

Today's NY Times Magazine article recounting a daughter's experiences with the decline of her aged parents highlighted a subject I've been thinking about more and more as I age and more and more of my family, friends and associates die. The changes in medicine in my lifetime have been phenomenal, but they will not prevent your death. That is reality.

Many doctors will go to extremes to keep us alive for as long as possible. The problem is with one's definition of life for both you, the patient, and for those you will be leaving behind. In the article by Katy Butler the life-preserving actions performed on her father resulted in a far worse situation for him, his wife and children than if he had been allowed to die in peace. Yes, the daughter really didn't know how the father felt, but she makes a strong case that he had basically become a vegetable and, as important, his wife had to go through hell.

It's been documented time and time again that the last year of one's life, if it is a year of constant medical needs, is a very costly year in dollars and cents. Yet, some in the medical field have been able to convince Congress that Medicare - i.e., us - should pay for all sorts of life-extending procedures (again, without defining what is meant by 'life'). Researchers estimate that 20-30% of Medicare's $510 billion budget goes for unnecessary tests and procedures.

Of course, it's easy to know what to do when you have all your wits about you and are not in the position of having to make a decision to end your life. I hope that I and/or my family find the courage to make the right decision when the time comes.

Heresy

Image via Wikipedia

Robert Paarlberg argues against a sustainable food system - one that is local, organic and slow - as a way to attack hunger in the world. He asserts that Africa has such a system and it does not work. What is needed are better roads, better schools, better health care, electricity and - modern agriculture. In other words, we need to continue the Green Revolution of the 20th century, but be aware that it will not work everywhere, especially in countries that screw the local farmers.

Part of Paarlberg's argument is based on what he considers myths of organic farming. 

For example, "traditional food systems" usually don't rely too much on refrigeration and sanitary packaging, which he feels explains why a CDC survey found that our food supply has become safer. An interesting observation - 700,000 people in Africa die every year from food- and water-borne diseases, 5,000 die from the same causes here. Does this have anything to do with the open-air markets in Africa where food is usually "uninspected, unpackaged, unlabeled, unrefrigerated, unpasteurized and unwashed"?

He cites a study that appeared in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition which concluded that organic foods have no nutritional advantages over food grown in the regular way.

If we replaced the synthetic nitrogen fertilizer that is normally used in non-organic farming, we would need tons of composted animal manure, which would require the quintupling of our beef population subsisting on forage crops, which would require just about all the land that is in the continental U.S.

Bringing Sense to Budgeting

Hillary Clinton is pushing the concept of a unified national security budget. As we know, our security is not based simply on our military. We need a strong State Department. We need good information. We need to help nations that need and want our help so that they can become reliable allies. Better security is our goal. Yet, when we are budgeting, we don't look at the whole issue of security. We look at the pieces. And, it's no secret that the military is where we spend more than the lion's share of our money; some estimate that we spend fourteen dollars on the military for every dollar we spend on non-military security issues, such as foreign aid. This defies logic. 

I can't imagine a smart businessman budgeting that way. He's focused on the bottom line. While he looks at each department as a separate entity, his aim is to see how that entity helps his company achieve its goals.

Their Best Customer?

We may be BP's best customer. In 2009 the federal government bought $2.2 billion of oil from BP. Is there not an alternate supplier?

Interestingly, BP is one of OSHA's biggest violators. BP has garnered 97% of the citations issued for safety violations in the oil industry. 

The longer this goes on, the more we learn about BP and the nastier it seems.

Who Is In Charge?

With all the negative publicity about the MMS you would think that they would be fanatically concerned with issuing new oil drilling permits, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico. That is not the case. On June 2 the agency announced tougher safety regulations. But, it appears that enforcement of these regulations is a matter of judgment as three projects approved since then have been granted the same waivers that BP received for its work in the Gulf.

Plus, the agency also approved two deepwater plans, both for drilling over 6,000 feet deep.

It's Your Fault

I was surprised to learn that BP does not own all of the well. Anadarko owns 25% and Mitsui owns 10%. Yesterday, the CEO of Anadarko said "The mounting evidence clearly demonstrates that this tragedy was preventable and the direct result of BP's reckless decisions and actions." Could it be that, as a part owner, Anadarko, may be responsible for some of the costs of this catastrophe? Just wondering.

What He Should Have Said and How He Should Have Said It

Okay, one shouldn't make decisions that are based on emotion. One should be an adult. Be cool, calm and collected. That's the conventional wisdom and it's probably fine in most things you do in your life.


But, oftentimes, when you want to get people to move, you need more than logic. You need emotion. That's something that Obama has yet to convey. Until he does, he will not be a real leader. Rachel Maddow makes a pretty good case for a quite different approach to the Oval Office speech.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Barney's Doing Something?

I was surprised to learn that Barney Frank was instrumental in the formation of the Sustainable Defense Task Force, which has proposed a number of cuts in the defense budget, which Obama and company seem to consider a sacred cow. I was even more surprised that there are other Congressmen behind the movement and that the others include people such as Ron Paul, who is diametrically opposed to Barney in many areas. Barney is involved with the task force even though he has said he would vote for keeping GE working on the F-35 which the Pentagon does not want. The question, of course, is whether these guys will follow through.
The report lists a number of places where the defense budget could be cut without damaging us. It's rationale is to ask rather obvious questions:

• Is the weapons system based on proven and/or reliable technology?
• What is the cost-benefit of a particular program?
• Does the program mesh with the changing challenges faced by the military?
• Are the cost-saving opportunities that are not being investigated?

But these rather basic questions yield areas where we can save a bundle without damaging our military capabilities. Here is their list of areas of potential savings:

Strategic Capabilities

1. Reduce the US nuclear arsenal; adopt dyad; cancel Trident II

• 1000 deployed warheads

• 7 Ohio-class SSBNs

• 160 Minuteman missiles                                                                           $113.5 b.

2. Limit modernization of nuclear weapons infrastructure and research              $26 b.

3. Selectively curtail missile defense & space spending                              $55 b.

Conventional Forces

4. Reduce troops in Europe and Asia, cut end strength by 50,000                     $80 b.

5. Roll back Army & USMC growth as wars in Iraq and Afghanistan end $147 b.

6. Reduce US Navy fleet to 230 ships                                                          $126.6 b.

7. Only retire two Navy aircraft carriers and naval air wings                                $50 b.

8. Retire two Air Force fighter wings, reduce F-35 buy                                    $40.3 b.

Procurement and R&D

9. Cancel USAF F-35, buy replacement                                                          $47.9 b.

10. Cancel USN & USMC F-35, buy replacement                                   $9.85 b.

11. Cancel MV-22 Osprey, field alternatives                                            10 b. – $12 b.

12. Delay KC-X Tanker, interim upgrade of some KC-135s                               $9.9 b

13. Cancel Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, field alternatives                         $8 b. – $9 b.

14. Reduce spending on research & development                                           $50 b.

Personnel Costs
15. Military compensation reform                                                                            $55 b.
16. Reform DoD’s health care system                                                                      $60 b.
17. Reduce military recruiting expenditures as wars recede                                        $5 b.
Maintenance and Supply Systems
18. Improve the efficiency of military depots, commissaries, and exchanges               $13 b.
Command, Support, and Infrastructure
19. Require commensurate savings in command, support, and infrastructure             $100 b.


It's a big number, a very big number.

Is hay the answer?

The video is a very brief demonstration of the possibility that hay or some forms of grass could mop up a lot of the oil that has been spilled in the Gulf. It seems to be cheap and environment-friendly.

A Litany of Greed

ProPublica really does a number on BP. They have been able to get access to a range of documents that demonstrate that BP gives not a fig for anything but profits and BP was able to exercise its will because our MMS was in bed with them.

The article covers only activities in this century, but you can certainly infer that this behavior is not new to this century. Whether it's not maintaining safety equipment or harassing workers who brought up safety issues, BP certainly indicated that it was not very much concerned with the safety of their workers or the environment. In almost every year of this century and in almost every North American site in which BP was involved the company was derelict in its obligation to its workers, its stockholders and to the world's resources. There is just too much to list here. Read the article.

Is there a solution?

If you're talking about preventing another BP-like disaster whether in the physical or non-physical world, Richard Thaler doesn't think so. He sees the problem as "risks that are erroneously thought to be vanishingly small, complex technology that isn’t fully grasped by either top management or regulators, and tricky relationships among companies that are not sure how much they can count on their partners." For example, there was another major spill in the Gulf of Mexico thirty-plus years ago, not exactly the one-in-a-million shot BP is talking about. And we know that MMS was not eager to even begin to understand the deep-drilling technology. We saw BP, Transocean and Halliburton play pass the buck before Congress and the nation.

I see the issue as another indication of the decline of the U.S. of A.

Rarities in the 21st Century

Someone smoking a pipe.

Having your windows wiped by a gas station attendant. (It used to be called a service station.)

Both happened to me today. Mon dieu!

Solving Your Physical Problems

Will garlic prevent obesity and diabetes? Will ginseng cure cancer? Will ginkgo biloba help those with Alzheimer’s disease, depression or impotence?

If you are a manufacturer or seller of potions using these herbs, the chances are that you will answer "yes". If you're the NIH or FDA, your answer will be a resounding 'no'. Yet, many of we elderly don't listen to the NIH or FDA. The sales of these panaceas continue to grow year after year. Another triumph of marketing over science.

Customer Service Is In The Toilet

Image via Wikipedia

I have occasionally written about some of my experiences with customer service at major American companies. The response usually has been poor in terms of actually providing service, but I've never been threatened by a law suit as Giorgio Galante was. I guess this is AT&T's style. Galante's offense was sending two e-mails to the CEO.

I'm beginning to believe that crappy customer service is a hallmark of telephone companies. I've had some experience with Sprint that I've told you about. Then in the past two months I've been harassed by agents for Verizon. Apparently, Verizon has outsourced some of their sales department functions. I have received calls from fairly sleazy people telling me my service is about to expire unless I sign with them within the week. Of course, that was a lie.

The problem with telephone companies seems to be an unwillingness on the part of upper management to get involved. All complaints are routed to a complaint team. (On reflection, this technique is used by other companies, such as American Express.) Is there a need for such a team because the CEO is too busy to talk with a customer? I'll never forget a call I made to Boston Gas 40 years ago. The president answered his phone; there was no gatekeeper. Claude Machen - I even recall his name - knew that I was paying part of his salary. Has the world changed so much in 40 years?

Keeping Track

"Embassy Baghdad has had difficulty controlling and accurately accounting for its U.S. government property," says a report by state department auditors. Some examples of missing items: 159 vehicles, 1,069 chairs, 614 mattresses, 681 tables, 563 DVD players. Then, there are the unused items: 2,000 cell phones, 1,000 hand-held radios. We're looking at a cost of $60,000,000, which is chickenfeed in our GWOT, true. But, it is our money and when you realize that this is not an isolated event you just have to wonder at the management skills of our employees.