The Roman Empire in the 21st Century

The National Post, a Canadian newspaper, has an illuminating graphic of what they call the United Bases of America, i.e., our military bases around the world. It is too big to show here in its full glory. Go to their site to learn just how far we are spread around the globe.

How many U. S. casualties in Iraq?

We've seen the numbers - 4,487 dead, and 32,226 wounded. But 'wounded' is defined as 'wounded in action'; i.e., they have "incurred an injury due to an external agent or cause." Any other wounds, whether physical or emotional, are excluded. And we do know that there have been a considerable number of 'other wounds', especially those related to PTSD.

The Pentagon's Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center reports having diagnosed 229,106 cases of mild to severe traumatic brain injury from 2000 to the third quarter of 2011, including both Iraq and Afghan vets. Studies by Rand Corporation and others have found that almost a third of the veterans examined had some major problems. Apply one-third to the 1,500,000 veterans and you wind up with casualties of 500,000.

I'm indebted to Dan Froomkin for these numbers.

The effect of drones on the military

More men are required to attack a target by a drone than by an airplane. Civilians play an important role in a drone attack. These are some of the facts you'll learn from this article on the McClatchy web site. It is certainly an eye-opener.

To keep a Predator in the air for 24 hours requires 168 people, a Global Hawk drone requires 300. An F-16 needs 100 people per mission. We have 230 drones now and plan to have close to 1000 by 2020. You can see why the Air Force Vice Chief of Staff says,"Our No. 1 manning problem in the Air Force is manning our unmanned platforms. "  However, we can train drone 'pilots' faster. It only takes 44 hours for a drone pilot, but at least 200 hours for a regular pilot. 

There are just not enough military personnel to analyze the film from drones. So, we employ hundreds of civilians. There are at least a dozen contractors billing us for their analytical services. One firm, SAIC, has at least 450 people working on this project. 

Solitude is not always a bad thing

When I was traveling a lot for work, the only consistent pleasure was not being able to contact or be contacted by my colleagues when I was airborne. I had time to think and work without being distracted. I could really focus. Some of my best ideas and best work was done flying across the country. 

But those days are gone, I know. Now there is no escape. You are always available. Some of the time your availability is useful, but often your callers are really wasting your time. On my recent trip on the Rhine with my son there were very few hours when he was not on his phone. I don't know but I strongly suspect that most of his conversations were ephemeral and really added little to his life or that of his colleagues and did prevent him from truly and deeply savoring much that was on view.

I was prompted to write this post because I see that many theaters are now promoting tweeting at their performances.  They see it as a marketing ploy to re-capture a younger audience. I don't tweet nor am I on Facebook. However, I would think that a certain degree of concentration is required to communicate one's thoughts via these devices. When I go to the theater after having paid a fair amount of money I want to understand and, hopefully, enjoy the performance. I have no interest in telling you my reaction during Scene 1 of Act 1. I want to focus and understand what is happening on stage. I doubt that tweeting - yours or mine - would enhance my concentration or enjoyment. However, I am an old man not really in tune with the 21st century and in the minority. Tweeting will eventually become a standard practice in the theater.

Interesting Charts. No Words Needed.

From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities via Jared Bernstein:

Will we ever be #1 in Internet Capabilities

Bruce Muchnick has another paper about the future of broadband in America.  It does not look bright. We still offer slower speeds at higher prices than most advanced countries. He also thinks that the FCC is giving our money to the carriers without getting anything in return.

The high cost of internet access in America is not new. It has been the case since at least 2006. When will we get an FCC that stands for us?

Iraq is still a nightmare

There has been a fair amount of press to the effect that Maliki is moving to really consolidate power and eventually link even more closely with Iran. Naturally, the opposition is very worried. They've expressed their concern in an op-ed in the NY Times. You would expect the opposition to use a variety of means to achieve their objective. But the basic point they make in the op-ed is a fact: nothing has been done to implement the Erbil power-sharing agreement signed in 2010. Maliki has been exerting more and more control over the military and we are helping him by soon shipping $11 billion in arms and training to him.

Despite Obama's claims, things do not look very good in Iraq almost 10 years after we began the war to make Iraq a better place.

The United States of Fear - Part 2

Okay, the world has always been a dangerous place. Bad people exist. Good people do bad things. But, do our police forces have to be as well-armed as our military? Does it say something about us that many of the police forces that have broken up Occupy sites do not look like police, they look like soldiers? 

Do our police forces need $300,000 pilotless surveillance drones, $180,000 bomb robot, $400 ballistic helmets, $1,500 tactical vests, a 54-foot, remote-controlled “crime-fighting blimp” with a powerful surveillance camera affixed to its belly and a plenitude of additional weapons?  We've spent billions buying this equipment and still more training police to use it. How worthwhile an investment has this been when violent crime has been on a downswing since the 1990s?

Today is Snake Day

Karel Abelovsky loves snakes and other reptiles so much that he put over 200 of them in his baggage for a flight from Buenos Aires to Madrid. Baggage inspectors became suspicious when Abelovsky's bags started to move on their own volition. He faces 10 years in prison. 

The United States of Fear

That's the title of a new book by Tom Englehardt.  I think that the title does describe our situation quite accurately.  Although I have yet to read the book, this interview seems to be a reasonable summary of his argument. He opens by comparing us to Russia before its fall - the spending on the military of money it did not have, the refusal to attend to a crumbling infrastructure and a little war in some place called Afghanistan.  Does that sound familiar?


Here is an intriguing excerpt:
Fear - of terrorism and nothing else - has been the "drug" that has powered the national security state to heights and a size it never reached when it had a genuine superpower enemy with a nuclear arsenal. Today, the intelligence bureaucracy dwarfs what existed in the Cold War era; the Pentagon budget is so much larger and so on. Give credit where it's due: it's been quite a feat based on remarkably little when you think about it.

There's a lobby for everything

Even Burmese pythons! They are a problem in South Florida. They've eaten everything from alligators to rats. The most recent find was a 76 pound deer inside a python.

Senator Bill Nelson and the two Congressmen from the area have filed legislation to ban the import and sale of these dangerous snakes. But, the U.S. Association of Reptile Keepers has mounted a lobbying campaign that has thus far been successful in keeping the pythons working.

Here's a short video  of a python being removed from a local pool.

Good Customer Service

Unlike Zagat Wine, Amazon knows the importance of customer service and practices good customer service assiduously, at least in my experience. Unlike Zagat Wine, there was no need for a series of e-mails or telephone calls to get a problem resolved. The problem was that one of Amazon's vendors supplied an empty box rather than a dvd. I informed Amazon of the situation and bingo - problem solved.

I bought almost all my Christmas gifts from Amazon this year as I have in prior years. Their prices are not always the lowest, but I know they will resolve - and quickly - any problems that may occur and in my experience problems very seldom occur.

Another Failure of the War On Drugs

Most of us in America are well aware of the problems Mexico has had with its war on drugs. An article by Cecilia Balli in Harper's provides more insight into that war. Had the Harper's web site been more au courant (i.e., more usable), I could provide more dramatic views of just how badly that war has gone. 

The problem stemmed from Calderon's decision to bring in the military when the judicial system was incapable of investigating and prosecuting drug traffickers. Plus, the military was ill equipped to wage war against the drug traffickers; they wound up really waging war against the poor in Mexico. A typical raid would involve soldiers demanding entry into a house late at night, robbing the home owners and arresting their sons; legal authorization for any of this was imaginary. Eventually the military was replaced by federal police. They preferred to seek protection money.

What effect for good this war has provided is very, very uncertain.

“My family thinks that grandma has gone crazy"

says a 58-year-old economist protesting today in Moscow. She is one of thousands who are trying to change things in Russia. This is the first major protest movement against Putin since he came to power in 1999. Whether it will continue is questionable. However, Medvedev has proposed some reform actions.

Frankly, I'm surprised that the protest movement has surfaced in Russia. But, life is full of surprises. Is it not? I have the sense that we are living through the start of a very significant change in the way countries are run, a change on the order of that of 1848.

Reconciling the cash account

One of the basic monthly accounting functions in any organization - even your home accounts - is the reconciliation of cash. Would you believe that the Navy and Marines are unable to do so? They have been trying to do so for at least 4 years (having spent $29,000,000), but still can't do so. As of April 2011, they were off by only $22 billion.

The Navy and Marine Corps figure that they only need to address 650 DCAS system change requests to straighten out the situation.

Flash Mob - Lawrence, Kansas

This one made national news. It's a group of seniors 'dancing' to a song made popular last Christmas via the Glee tv show.

I'm not sure if this generates positive or negative feelings about we older citizens.

“Now I have a new dream: To leave this country.”

That's a quote from Ali Suhail, whose electronics shop in Baghdad was destroyed on the day it opened. Mr. Suhail is not the only Iraqi damaged in yesterday's bombings; 67 people have been reported killed thus far, with another 185 wounded.

The country seems to have begun imploding. We, in the persons of our Ambassador, Vice President and CIA Director, are trying to prevent this from happening. But, it does not look good. Will we start moving troops back in?

Another Example of 21st Century Customer Service

It's almost axiomatic that any business that faces competition has to be very concerned about customer service. Essentially, the company has to believe the cliche that "the customer is king".  Most companies make that claim on their web site and other communication media and opportunities, few actually practice it. Here's a little story about one of those companies that seems ill-prepared to actually provide even so-so customer service. That company is Zagat Wine, an affiliate of the Zagat survey people.

On Saturday, December 3 I ordered wine from Zagat Wine. There was a quirk in their purchasing process such that I could not enter a shipping address different from my billing address. Surprisingly, the process did not give me an opportunity to review such items as name, address, credit card number, items ordered, etc. Once I entered the billing details, I had bought the wine. Problem #1 - no way to confirm the details of the sale.

Almost immediately I sent an e-mail telling them that the billing address was not the shipping address. I gave the shipping address, which was my daughter's home. The response that day was "Thank you for your email, we appreciate your interest in Zagat Wine. You should expect a response from us within 1 business day."

Not receiving a response on Monday, I re-sent my original mailing with a note that I was going out of town on Wednesday. I got the same canned response. Problem #2 - not doing what they said they would do.

After I had left on Wednesday, Zagat Wine sent an e-mail, the important section was "I do sincerely apologize, Your order has already been processed and no changes are able to be made to the order at this time. I can confirm that I have submitted a request ot have this order rerouted to the shipping address you provided below. I do apologize for any inconvenience that has been caused." (Note typos in their canned response.) Can you decide where the order will be shipped? Problem #3 - unclear communication.

Upon my return on the 22nd, my daughter informed me that she had not received the wine. This caused me to begin a half-hour call to Zagat Wine to find out whether the wine will be delivered by the 24th. I could only learn that it had been shipped that day, or so I was told. Problem #4 - Zagat Wine did not honor their 12 day shipment guarantee and did not inform me of this.

For some arcane reason Zagat Wine ships their wines via Fedex. Okay, that is not arcane. But the wine is not shipped to the buyer; it is shipped to a company in Connecticut, said company does nothing but pass the wine back into the hands of Fedex. I asked friend at Zagat Wine what the logic of this was. He had no answer. It's my understanding that Zagat Wine could ship to Connecticut by simply paying some fees, which appear to be less than $10,000. Maybe, this amount is too much for them. Problem #5 - creating doubt in a buyer's mind as to the intelligence and viability of the company.

My next question was what was the name of the retailer and the phone number. My friend knew the name but not the phone number. Okay, give me the Fedex tracking number. My friend did not have it. Problem #6 - sheer incompetence.

Since Zagat Wine really had no information as to when, if ever, the wine would arrive, I proposed a deal: no charge if the wine does not come by December 24. My friend did not buy it, but he said he would give me a rebate of $20. Problem #7 - no imagination.

Will I buy another thing from Zagat Wine or Zagat pere? Would you?

How long will the market tolerate such incompetence?

Men with Three Names - Part 4

In case you've forgotten, the man here is Dominique Strauss-Kahn (aka DSK). Edward Jay Epstein has a very different take on the reason for DSK's travails this past summer. Epstein does not come right out and say that DSK was set up by the folks trying to get Sarkozy re-elected as President of France. But he makes a strong case for it. Epstein does not deny that some form of sex took place in Room 2806 of the Sofitel Hotel; it would be impossible to do so as DSK's sperm was found with the maid's saliva.

A review of Epstein's web site makes evident that Epstein is a somewhat different individual. However, my recollection is that his work is very good, different in the positive sense.

An Appropriate Message

From the Carlson School of Business of the University of Minnesota

We're out of Iraq

So says our President. What about the 16,000+ who will be staffing our largest embassy? There will be troops and contractors as well as embassy personnel in Iraq for many, many years. Remaining in countries with whom we have battled is not a new phenomenon for us. Germany, Japan, Korea still have substantial American troops residing there. Is this a good use of our military or a good financial investment?

Christmastime in Egypt

1 Term, 6 Years

Yes, the idea of a single-term, 6-year presidency has been considered since the days of our founding. Arthur Schlesinger summarizes the arguments against it in an op-ed piece 25 years ago. He makes many good points, but they were based on the presidents and the political processes of the 20th century.

This is not the same America of which Schlesinger wrote. The country has deteriorated quite a bit since 1986. None of the presidents we have had in that time will be considered among our great presidents. The last two presidents will certainly wind up on the list of our worst presidents. And, as is pretty obvious, the quality of all of our federal leaders is nowhere near what it was. The 21st century political climate is a lot different than that of the 20th. It will not get better, so we should change our system to minimize the problems that will occur and will linger for longer and longer periods of time, as the opening decade of the 21st century has shown us.

At this point you´re probably saying isn´t it good that Obama will only serve four years. It is true that four calendar years will have elapsed by next November, but how much of that time has been spent in reelection mode. It will be at least two, probably more years - years in which he should have been working for us. Furthermore, Obama is a classic example of the difference between a candidate and a doer. No matter what he says on the stump, it is quite unlikely his personality and style will change. So that he will always lack the courage to be a true leader. I fear that the Republicans will not offer a serious challenger and we will sink further and further toward mediocrity.

The nation needs a leader. A one-term presidency might help.

On the Rhine

I´m now sailing up the Rhine. Here are some initial observations:

• Air France thinks it can load a 747-size plane in 10 minutes
• Stay away from Charles DeGaulle Airport. Signage stinks. Help is hard to find. English is not even the second language amongst the workers.
• It does seem as though the English language has slipped here in Europe. We´ve met very few good speakers of the language. The Gutenberg Museum has several exhibits explained only in German.
• The Black Forest is truly beautiful.
• Mainz looks like a great city.

Panderers Not Anonymous

Huntsman has joined the group. Now he says, "questions about the validity of" climate science and "not enough information right now to be able to formulate policies" to address climate change.

It's just re-election blather

Here's our president yesterday, “This is the defining issue of our time. This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class and all those who are fighting to get into the middle class. At stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home and secure their retirement.”

And then he had the gall to say, "We shouldn’t be weakening oversight and accountability. We should be strengthening them."

If he really believed his speech, things would be a lot different today. He's just a politician whose highest - and, perhaps, only - goal is to be re-elected.

70 Years Ago Today

I know exactly where I was - playing on the floor of the dining room/kitchen at my parent's house. It was around 6 p.m. on a Sunday evening. I can't say that I understood the import of "The Japanese have attacked Pearl Harbor" that came over the radio, but I do know how much WWII has affected my life and that of my contemporaries.  I like to think that it affected our lives in a positive manner. We lived when America was truly a great nation. Of course, we were not without sin; this nation did some very un-American things. Overall, however, we were a force for good in the world.

70 years later the song in the video is truly corny, but we all sang it often.

A different version of the Hallelujah Chorus

From the village of Quinhagak, Alaska

Another War?

The LA Times has floated the idea that Israel and the U.S. have been attempting to slow Iran's nuclear activities to such a degree that they have engaged in serious clandestine activities resulting in Iranians killed and facilities severely damaged. It is just speculation at the present time, with 'experts' speaking on both sides.

The Times article lists a number of events:

• the Stuxnet virus
• in November an explosion at a military base where weapons work was going on
• more than two dozen major unexplained explosions in the past two years
• the killing of two senior nuclear physicists and the wounding of a third earlier this year
• a number of unexplained blasts in gas pipelines, oil installations and military bases.

Then, we have Iran's claim to have shot down one of our drones.

Huntsman's Financial Plan

I've said before that he is the most rational of the Republican candidates for president.  Here's a summary of his proposed financial policies. Of course, as with any candidate (Obama being the current classical example), you have to take these with a grain of salt. They do, however, make sense, by and large.

End Too-Big-To-Fail
Maximize Derivatives Transparency
Repeal Dodd-Frank - rather than repeal it, it needs to be modified so that it actually regulates the financial industry.
End Wall Street's Reliance On Excessive Short-Term Leverage
Fix Basel
Ensure a Stable Dollar Policy
Shut Down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Restore the Rule Of Law

Is he too rational to succeed? Thus far, he hasn't been a factor. However, there is still time, especially as the line of candidates shooting themselves in the foot continues to grow.

This is a supercommittee

From John Sherffius