WTO Day

No, the day is not in praise of the World Trade Organization.  It is for World Toilet Day, which occurred on November 19.  The day marks the fact that there are 2.5 billion without a toilet, or at least that's what the World Toilet Organization, based in Singapore, says.  Its slogan for 2012 is "I give a shit, do you?"

Thanks to our Duncaster correspondent responsible for informing us of oddities in our world.

How low the media have sunk

The irate fellow in this video probably makes a few hundred thousand dollars a year. He also probably needs to see a psychiatrist. Reality is that this crap sells in today's world. What would Eric Sevareid or Edward R. Murrow say about Mr. Santelli?

A new career

When my oldest grandchild is my age or even sooner, I predict that he will hire someone to open things for him.  Every new item I receive presents a challenge to open.  It doesn't matter what it is - a jar of aspirins, a bottle of juice, a package of razors - it takes an excessive amount of time, energy, tools and imagination to open.  

I think the primary reason for such difficulty is a function of our becoming a Lake Woebegone world.  Many have come to believe that nothing bad should ever happen to them. We want and need to be protected to an unnatural degree.   Therefore, we have to make absolutely sure that nothing bad can get into our packages before they become ours.  

I am well aware that the medicine container fixation was caused by some madman tampering with a Tylenol container.  But we have gone overboard in trying to prevent a very rare occurence from ever occurring again.

Too many bosses

William Astore, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, has a few words to say about the number of top leaders in the military.

America’s military is astonishingly top heavy, with 945 generals and admirals on active duty as of March 2012. That’s one flag-rank officer for every 1,500 officers and enlisted personnel. With one general for every 1,000 airmen, the Air Force is the worst offender, but the Navy and Army aren’t far behind. For example, the Army has 10 active-duty divisions -- and 109 major generals to command them. Between September 2001 and April 2011, the military actually added another 93 generals and admirals to its ranks (including 37 of the three- or four-star variety). The glut extends to the ranks of full colonel (or, in the Navy, captain). The Air Force has roughly 100 active-duty combat wings -- and 3,712 colonels to command them. The Navy has 285 ships -- and 3,335 captains to command them. Indeed, today’s Navy has nearly as many admirals (245 as of March 2012) as ships.

We need to pay more in taxes

Like most of us, I am not eager to pay more in taxes.  However, we do have obligations to ourselves, to fellow Americans and to future Americans.  Most of these obligations cost money.  Yes, we can - and must - spend our money more wisely.  We don't need to spend as much on defense, for example; despite having a minuscule army in 1941, we did win the second world war.  If our leaders read the GAO reports (produced by our government), they could save billions and get better results.  If we had real leaders concerned with the future of this country, we would be investing our money in worthwhile projects, not spending it to win votes.

I find it ironic that today so many want to cut taxes when they are much lower than they were only 30 years ago, as shown in this chart from the NY Times.

Today, there is a clamor that high taxes inhibit 'job creators'. Taxes in the 20th century did not inhibit this country's fantastic economic growth. Most entrepreneurs don't even think that much about taxes until they start making money; their primary goal is to build a business.

Move inland

That's what Sandy and most climate scientists are telling us.  A few years ago the UN panel on climate change projected that seas would rise 2mm a year.  The latest study says they are already rising 3.2mm a year. Sandy had a 9ft storm surge at Battery Park in New York City and we saw what that did.  Estimates are that each additional foot of water puts up to 100,000 NYC residents at risk.  But NYC is not the only risky place.  More than half of us live less than a meter above the high tide point.  The NY Times has a series of fascinating charts showing what would happen to some major cities as sea levels rise at various levels.

And then, of course, we have the melting of the Arctic.

We need a new coach

That's what 10% of college athletics departments at big football schools say every year.  It doesn't matter whether the coach has been there one or five years.  The football team is not winning.  We must win so that the money will keep coming in.  We can't fire the students on the team.   Ergo, the coach must go. 

Firing the coach costs money, big money in these days when the average big-time coach makes $1,640,000 per year.  Tennessee will pay its ex-coach $5,000,000.   Auburn will pay its ex-coach $7,500,000.  Is it a smart investment?  Not necessarily as at least one study has shown that the new coach doesn't do any better.

Leaving this earth

I wonder how many soldiers committed suicide in WWII, Korea or Vietnam?  In 2011 20% of military deaths were from suicide.  In the past eleven years 2,676 soldiers have killed themselves.  Suicide is not restricted to active duty soldiers.  In 2008 and 2009 3,871 veterans receiving VA care killed themselves.

21st century wars are different.  But it would be nice to know whether the suicide rate of those who fought in the latest wars is greater or less than the rate of suicide among 20th century military men.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/11/27/175710/in-suicide-epidemic-military-wrestles.html#storylink=cpy

Who has the best education?

An English company, Pearson, says Finland and South Korea do.  Pearson is a conglomerate of Penguin Publishing the Financial Times and a host of operations in education.  Their survey combines international test results and data such as graduation rates between 2006 and 2010 or how many people go on to university.  The study thinks that, while spending is important, a culture that is supportive of learning is more important.

The five countries ranked highest are Finland, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.  The U.S. is ranked #17.

It may be that the reason South Korea ranks high is because of the parents pictured praying below.

 

Placing Blame

Most observers censured both Israel and the Palestinians for their latest war actions. Not Mr. Obama. He was convinced Israel was only defending itself and nothing more. He also felt that the UN was wrong in proposing a resolution that blamed both parties and condemned all acts of terrorism and violence towards civilians, reaffirmed the right of all states to live in peace within secure and recognized borders, and called for an immediate and durable ceasefire.

From the UN Report: Gaza in 2020

With no perennial streams and low rainfall, Gaza relies almost completely on the underlying coastal aquifer, which is partly replenished by rainfall and runoff from the Hebron hills to the east, with the recharge estimated at 50 to 60 million cubic metres (MCM) annually. Current abstraction of water from the aquifer, at an estimated 160 MCM per year to meet current overall demand, is well beyond that.

As groundwater levels subsequently decline, sea water infiltrates from the nearby Mediterranean Sea. Salinity levels have thus risen well beyond guidelines by the World Health Organization (WHO) for safe drinking water. This pollution is compounded by contamination of the aquifer by nitrates from uncontrolled sewage, and fertilizers from irrigation of farmlands.

Today 90% of water from the aquifer is not safe for drinking without treatment. Availability of clean water is thus limited for most Gazans with average consumption of 70 to 90 litres per person per day (depending on the season), below the global WHO standard of 100 litres per person per day. The aquifer could become unusable as early as 2016, with the damage irreversible by 2020.

A view of Gaza by Some Members of the IDF

In September the book, Our Harsh Logic: Israeli Soldiers’ Testimonies From the Occupied Territories, 2000-2010, was released in the U.S. The book is a collection of reports from veterans of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on their daily experiences in Gaza and the West Bank. The reports were gathered by the dissident group Breaking the Silence.  You can read some of these reports here. 

The following is taken from the preface. 

Israeli naval blockades stop Gazans from fishing, a main source of food in the Strip. Air blockades prevent freedom of movement. Israel does not allow building materials into the area, forbids exports to the West Bank and Israel, and (other than emergency humanitarian cases) prohibits movement between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It controls the Palestinian economy by periodically withholding import taxes. Its restrictions have impeded the expansion and upgrading of the Strip’s woeful sewage infrastructure, which could render life in Gaza untenable within a decade. The blocking of seawater desalination has turned the water supply into a health hazard. Israel has repeatedly demolished small power plants in Gaza, ensuring that the Strip would have to continue to rely on the Israeli electricity supply. Daily power shortages have been the norm for several years now. Israel’s presence is felt everywhere, militarily and otherwise.

Kindergarteners of Gaza

Fatah is trying to do something with regard to the psychological damages to children in Gaza caused by the recent hostilities. One thing they are trying is described in the following audio from NPR. A class of kindergarteners is equipped with toy guns and led to a public square. There, they pretend to shoot at Israeli jets and stomp on an Israeli flag. The leader says that he is only doing what psychologists suggest. Listen and form your own opinion.

A Clever Clip from the Past

Reality intruding?

It seems quite strange to see two Republican honchos talking rationally.  

Matthew Dowd, who was a major player in the Bush 2004 campaign, acknowledged that the deficit reduction required raising tax rates on the wealthy, cutting defense spending and reforming entitlement programs like Medicare. Plus, he had this to say about Grover Norquist, “And they also all know that Grover Norquist is an impediment to good governing."

John McCain commented on abortion, "I can state my position on abortion, but other than that, leave the issue alone.”

Still a big secret

You wouldn't think that the government could keep the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) so secret.  Have you ever seen it mentioned in the main stream media?  I haven't.  It's only in sites like Truthout that you see it discussed.  Yet, if the reports are true - and I don't have much reason to think most of them are not - the impact of TPP on our country will be quite significant.  

While it has been billed as a trade agreement, only two of its 26 chapters actually have anything to do with trade.  A letter from Congress to United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk stated, the TPP “will create binding policies on future Congresses in numerous areas,” including “those related to labor, patent and copyright, land use, food, agriculture and product standards, natural resources, the environment, professional licensing, state-owned enterprises and government procurement policies, as well as financial, healthcare, energy, telecommunications and other service sector regulations.”

Foreign corporations operating in the United States would no longer be subject to our laws regarding protections for the environment, finance or labor rights.  If we try to make the companies comply, they can appeal to an international tribunal made up of lawyers specializing in corporate law.  Do you suppose these lawyers would be prejudiced in any way?

Using the radio

Shortly after the creation of the Department of Homeland Security it embarked on a program to enable its forces to communicate via radio, much like the police do.  Several years later, after spending $430,000,000, there is little radio communication.  In a survey conducted by the Inspector General of DHS it was found that only one of those surveyed was able to actually communicate using the channel created.  72% did not know the channel existed, 25% could not find the channel and 3% were using an out-of-date channel.

Does DHS do anything well?

Spending Our Money

Senator Tom Coburn does not think that the Pentagon is doing a good job spending our money, as it spends a lot on non-defense areas such as running grocery stores, teaching kindergartners, brewing beer & make beef jerky, building windmills and studying flying dinosaurs. It's a fascinating report.  

Did you know?  The Department of Defense launched more than 100 renewable energy-related initiatives in 2010, more than any other federal agency including the Department of Energy. Many of these DOD renewable energy projects were so poorly planned, they failed to be cost effective or even produce power, wasting millions of national security dollars.

Did you know that the Pentagon spends $9 billion a year on grocery stores?

Did you know that there are over 300,000 military members performing civilian-type job functions?

Did you know? The Pentagon budget also funds other scientific research, duplicating the work by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and other federal agencies. For example, the Navy recently funded research examining what the behavior of fish can teach us about democracy while also developing an app to alert iPhone users when the best time is to take a coffee break. Both the Navy and the Air Force funded a study that concluded people in New York use different jargon on Twitter than those living in California.

Did you know that the Pentagon will spend at least $580 million this year on global health activities, more than either the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the National Institutes of Health?

Did you know that the DOD, for example, has more than eight members serving on the Board of Geographic Names, an obscure agency under the U.S. Geological Survey in charge of naming streams, mountains, hills, and plains across the United States.

Did you know? The Pentagon recently joined the cooking show craze by partnering with the Department of Agriculture to produce a reality cooking show called Grill It Safe featuring two Grill Sergeants showing off their own “delicious recipes suitable for cooking outdoors”?

Safety above all

As I've said more than once, we are well on the road to believing that safety is the most important thing in life and we fear being deprived of safety most of all.  The money we spend, the people we kill, the wars we wage, the time expended - it's all worth it if we prevent another 9/11.  It all sounds so out of place in the land of the free and the home of the brave.  But, then, we are becoming a nation of talkers, not doers.

The commotion over "Benghazi" is another manifestation of our fears.  McCain and company believe that we should never lose an ambassador to terrorists; protection is the sine qua non of diplomacy.  Daniel Drezner has the perfect response to the senator:

In a world of real-time diplomacy, a fundamental truth has to be acknowledged in Washington:  being a foreign service officer carries risks with it. While, all else equal, those risks should be minimized, the U.S. needs to live with some degree of risk rather than sacrifice the ability of its diplomats to interact and engage with counterparts and locals in foreign countries.  

Rather than the simple mantra of "never again" when reacting to the death of Ambassador Stevens, the life and mission he desired should be valorized a bit more. Stevens knew that the best way to advance U.S. interests in Libya was to be on the ground. Doing that from embassies that resemble Orwell's Ministry of Truth is a difficult task.  

There is a tradeoff between protecting U.S. officials overseas and promoting their ability to advance the national interest. I fear the pendulum has swung way too far towards the protection side, and Stevens' death will only exacerbate that shift. The cruel irony is that Stevens, of all people, would have abhorred that shift. Better that we openly acknowledge the risk that foreign service officers face in overseas postings, recognize the bravery and loyalty that their service entails, and let them do their f***king jobs.  

Better government, not more or less government

Peter Diamond has hit the nail on the head.  The furor over more or less government is simply that, furor.  It does not solve any of our problems.  Another thing that seldom solves our problems are Congressional commissions, such as Simpson-Bowles.  Diamond advocates commissions made up of a variety of people (none of whom are sitting legislators) who focus on manageable tasks.  His example is the Base Closure and Realignment Commissions which worked on better use of our military bases in this country.  The fundamental problem with Congressional commissions is the emphasis on being re-elected, rather than solving problems.

"Outright misrepresentations"

That's how Meg Whitman, H-P CEO, characterizes the statements of Autonomy, a software company acquired by H-P for $10 billion in 2011.  She claimed that Autonomy mischaracterized some sales of low-margin hardware as software and recognized some deals with partners as revenue even when a customer never bought the product.  These representations were accepted as true and valid by KPMG, Deloitte, Barclays and Perella Weinberg, firms which monitored the deal on H-P's behalf.  H-P's allegations are reportedly based on the statements of a former Autonomy executive who now works for H-P.  

This acquisition was made when H-P was led by Leo Apotheker, who was fired by H-P less than a year after joining the company.  Apotheker's reputation was also tarnished when SAP did not renew his contract as co-CEO.  

How much longer will H-P be around?

Oh, how I long for the old days

That's a line from Sunday in the Park with George that has stayed with me for years.  That I still distinctly remember the line is somewhat surprising to me, as I detest the e-mails I get from old friends rhapsodizing about the days of our youth.  Don't misunderstand me.  There were some good days in the 20th century as there are some good days in the 21st.  But it was not nirvana, although America was in much better shape then. 

One of the good days was Sunday.  When I was growing up, the Blue Laws were still in effect, which meant that Sunday was a different day of the week because very few businesses were open.  There was less hustle and bustle.  It was quieter.  It was clearly not a day of work for most of us, except for the family that had the local grocery store or diner.  One could spend time with your family, or explore the world.  It will probably sound strange to you, but I enjoyed visiting the local cemeteries on Sunday.  They were quiet and clearly you thought of more than the immediate day.  It was truly a time of reflection.

This is a roundabout way to inveigh against the move to take the holiday out of Thanksgiving.  True, there are people who are willing to stand in line for hours, to stint on their sleep, to desert the Thanksgiving feast for the sake of a seeming bargain.  And there are companies who believe that they can make more money by opening their stores earlier and earlier on Thanksgiving Day.  They care not a fig for their employees or their fellow citizens.  The only guide they have is the almighty dollar.  But I have to wonder just how profitable these stores are on that day.  My surmise is that when they look at the entire Christmas selling season accentuating their greed does not, in fact, result in greater net profit.

Notes on the Decline of a Great Nation

That's the title of an extended analysis by Der Spiegel of the U.S. in the Autumn of 2012.  The nation in decline is ours.  It is hard to argue against the proposition.  The writers summarize the analysis as follows:

The United States is frittering away its role as a model for the rest of the world. The political system is plagued by an absurd level of hatred, the economy is stagnating and the infrastructure is falling into a miserable state of disrepair. On this election eve, many Americans are losing faith in their country's future.

The article is well worth your reading.

Looking for Bacteria

Dr. Chuck Gerba is professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona.  He is especially interested in how diseases are transferred through the environment.  So, he spends time swabbing household items and measuring how many bacteria - and what sort - develop. He is looking mainly for fecal bacteria such as E.coli and staphylococcus aureus.  Here are some things he's found out in his studies:

• There are not many things cleaner than a toilet seat when it comes to germs.  Usually there are about 200 times more fecal bacteria on the average cutting board than on a toilet seat.
• The filthiest household item is the kitchen sponge or cloth.  According to Gerba, there are about 10 million bacteria per square inch on a sponge, and a million on a dishcloth.  In other words, a kitchen sponge is 200,000 times dirtier than a toilet seat, and a dishcloth is 20,000 times dirtier.
• Shopping carts and grocery bags are loaded with bacteria.

November is General's Month

It certainly has been a month with generals being in the news.  The latest article is one about the perquisites of the job.  Of course, like all military men the generals receive free housing and subsidies for food and uniform.  However, generals receive a few things that other military - and civilian - workers don't: executive jets, palatial homes, drivers, security guards and aides to carry their bags, press their uniforms and track their schedules in 10-minute increments. Their food is prepared by gourmet chefs. If they want music with their dinner parties, their staff can summon a string quartet or a choir.

Former Defense Secretary Gates lived next door to Mike Mullen when he was chief of staff.  Some comments by Gates:

“I was often jealous because he had four enlisted people helping him all the time,” Gates said in response to a question after a speech Thursday. He wryly complained to his wife that “Mullen’s got guys over there who are fixing meals for him, and I’m shoving something into the microwave. And I’m his boss.”

And the pension is not too shabby either - over $230,000 a year.

Pain Is a Gift

Just about everyone who reads the title of this post would disagree.  We spend a lot of time and money trying to kill pain.  Would being pain-free be nirvana?  Ashlyn Blocker would not think so.

Ashlyn was born with a bad SCN9A gene.  With some people a mutation of this gene leads to severe pain and chronic pain syndromes.  She was diagnosed with an extremely rare disease known as congenital insensitivity to pain.  As a result, Ashlyn cannot feel most pain.  Just think what would happen to your child (or you) if you couldn't recognize that your hand should be removed from the hot pan boiling on the stove.  Or, you could not feel the pain that comes when you break a bone.  Or, realize you're bleeding pints of blood.  A good number of people afflicted with this disease never make it out of childhood; you can understand why.

So, I agree with two doctors who are working with this disease:

"It’s quite interesting, because it makes you realize pain is there for a number of reasons, and one of them is to use your body correctly without damaging it and modulating what you do.”

“Her life story offers an amazing snapshot of how complicated a life can get without the guidance of pain. Pain is a gift, and she doesn’t have it.”

Do as I say

From today's Boston Globe: 

Her driving record includes seven ­accidents, four speeding violations, two failures to stop for a police officer, one failure to stay in her lane, one driving without registration or license in possession, and one driving without wearing a seat belt. When she was nabbed for speeding in New Hampshire in 1999, she failed to show up at her hearing, records show. Until Nov. 1, her license was on nonrenewal status for failure to pay local excise taxes. There are 34 entries on her driving record, dating back to 1982.

Who is this bad driver?
Sheila Burgess, director of the Massachusetts Highway Safety Division.

Requiescat in Pace

And another article about our infrastructure

Hurricane Sandy must have gotten to Uwe Reinhardt, a native of Germany, as he has a wonderful article contrasting our transportation and electrical infrastructures with those of Europe.  Will we ever spend the money needed to bring ourselves up to par?  How much has been lost by the power outages caused by Sandy?  Had we invested in burying power lines would the hurricane have been so destructive?  Reinhardt's comparison of the train systems of America and Europe is particularly dispiriting.

Moving Back to Reality?

The Petraeus Affair may lead us back to looking at what generals accomplish as opposed to how they appear in the media.  We've seen Andrew Bacevich and Tom Ricks raise questions as to just how successful a general Petraeus has been, considering we have lost both Iraq and Afghanistan wars.  Now, Lucian Truscott has joined them, but in a much nastier manner, to wit:

The generals who won World War II were the kind of men who, as it was said at the time, chewed nails for breakfast, spit tacks at lunch and picked their teeth with their pistol barrels. General Petraeus probably flosses. He didn’t chew nails and spit tacks, but rather challenged privates to push-up contests and went out on five-mile reveille runs with biographers.

His greatest accomplishment was merely personal: he transformed himself from an intellectual nerd into a rock star military man. The problem was that he got so lost among his hangers-on and handlers and roadies and groupies that he finally had his head turned by a West Point babe in a sleeveless top.

Another Index That Is A Cause For Worry

The Legatum Prosperity Index is relatively new, the first version came out in 2006.  It seeks to look  beyond GDP and measure how well 142 countries are doing with regard to both wealth and well-being.  It is comprised of eight sub-indexes:

• Economy (macroeconomic policies, economic satisfaction and expectations, foundation for growth, and financial sector efficiency)
• Entrepreneurship & Opportunity (entrepreneurial environment, innovative activity, and access to opportunity)
• Governance (effective and accountable government, fair elections and political participation, and rule of law)
• Education (access to education, quality of education, and human capital)
• Health (basic health outcomes, health infrastructure and preventative care, and physical and mental health satisfaction)
• Safety & Security (national security and personal safety)
• Personal Freedom (individual freedom and social tolerance)
• Social Capital (social cohesion and engagement, as well as community and family networks)

The U.S. is not doing well by these measurements.  For the first time we are not in the top 10.  Our decline is due primarily to a decline in the entrepreneurship and opportunity index, but we have also declined in the Governance and Personal Freedom indices.

 

I can't believe it

Hostess Brands, the maker of Wonder Bread and Twinkies, is going out of business.  The company declared bankruptcy in January and has been unable to make a deal with its workers.  So it will begin the liquidation process.

I suspect that at least the Twinkie brand will be bought by another company.  How could such a treat cease to exist?  Wonder Bread is less likely to be around as we are now in a more health-conscious world.

Ron Paul Asks

Some questions he raised in his Farewell Speech:

• Why are sick people who use medical marijuana put in prison?

• Why does the federal government restrict the drinking of raw milk?

• Why can't Americans manufacturer rope and other products from hemp?

• Why are Americans not allowed to use gold and silver as legal tender as mandated by the Constitution?

• Why is Germany concerned enough to consider repatriating their gold held by the FED for her in New York?  Is it that the trust in the U.S. and dollar supremacy beginning to wane?

• Why do our political leaders believe it's unnecessary to thoroughly audit our own gold?

• Why can't Americans decide which type of light bulbs they can buy?

• Why is the TSA permitted to abuse the rights of any American traveling by air?

• Why should there be mandatory sentences--even up to life for crimes without victims--as our drug laws require?

• Why have we allowed the federal government to regulate commodes in our homes?

• Why is it political suicide for anyone to criticize AIPAC ?

• Why haven't we given up on the drug war since it's an obvious failure and violates the people's rights? Has nobody noticed that the authorities can't even keep drugs out of the prisons? How can making our entire society a prison solve the problem?

• Why do we sacrifice so much getting needlessly involved in border disputes and civil strife around the world and ignore the root cause of the most deadly border in the world-the one between Mexico and the US?

• Why does Congress willingly give up its prerogatives to the Executive Branch?

• Why does changing the party in power never change policy? Could it be that the views of both parties are essentially the same?

• Why did the big banks, the large corporations, and foreign banks and foreign central banks get bailed out in 2008 and the middle class lost their jobs and their homes?

• Why do so many in the government and the federal officials believe that creating money out of thin air creates wealth?

• Why do so many accept the deeply flawed principle that government bureaucrats and politicians can protect us from ourselves without totally destroying the principle of liberty?

• Why can't people understand that war always destroys wealth and liberty?

• Why is there so little concern for the Executive Order that gives the President authority to establish a "kill list," including American citizens, of those targeted for assassination?

• Why is patriotism thought to be blind loyalty to the government and the politicians who run it, rather than loyalty to the principles of liberty and support for the people? Real patriotism is a willingness to challenge the government when it's wrong.

• Why is it is claimed that if people won't or can't take care of their own needs, that people in government can do it for them?

• Why did we ever give the government a safe haven for initiating violence against the people?

• Why do some members defend free markets, but not civil liberties?

• Why do some members defend civil liberties but not free markets? Aren't they the same?

• Why don't more defend both economic liberty and personal liberty?

• Why are there not more individuals who seek to intellectually influence others to bring about positive changes than those who seek power to force others to obey their commands?

• Why does the use of religion to support a social gospel and preemptive wars, both of which requires authoritarians to use violence, or the threat of violence, go unchallenged? Aggression and forced redistribution of wealth has nothing to do with the teachings of the world's great religions.

• Why do we allow the government and the Federal Reserve to disseminate false information dealing with both economic and  foreign policy?

• Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it's the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority?

• Why should anyone be surprised that Congress has no credibility, since there's such a disconnect between what politicians say and what they do?

Granted some are off the wall.  But I wonder how many other of our leaders raise such question.

BP Sets New Record

This time it's for the biggest criminal penalty in US history.  It appears as though the company has settled with the U.S. for between $3 and $5 billion.  Plus the company will plead guilt to criminal charges.  And - surprise, surprise - some BO employees may be arrested.

Has Corzine's Luck Run Out?

Clearly, Jon Corzine has done well in the world - head of Goldman Sachs, Senator, Governor of New Jersey.  But was his success due to luck more than talent?  Clearly, he was not an outstanding success in politics or business.  He was forced out of Goldman, did not complete his only term as Senator and served only one term as Governor.  But he did make a ton of money.

Howsomever, his latest venture, MF Global, lost a ton of money and went belly up.  The House has been investigating this failure and it looks as though their report will not be very favorable to Corzine.   It's true that it is unlikely that criminal charges will be filed against him, but his risk taking was the main factor in the firm's demise.

Some of the interesting tidbits from the report:

• He did nothing to improve the sloppy record-keeping that sinks companies.
• He did nothing when warned that internal control was weak.
• He was an "off-the-balance-sheet" guy and insulated his trading from review by keeping the European debt holdings off the firm’s balance sheet. 
• His company used customer funds in violation of the law.

The full report is coming out today.

Facing Reality?

I would have thought that one reason for Mitt Romney's business success was an ability to live in the real world.  But, if this article is true, he has a problem living in the real world of politics.  Supposedly, he told his big donors that he lost because Obama had been "very generous" to blacks, Hispanics and young voters.  Also, he believes that his team ran a "superb" campaign with "no drama".

This is not a Saturday Night Live Skit

Praise the Generals

We are and have been a nation that loves its generals.  Ten of our presidents have served as generals.  England does not feel the same way; only one general, the Duke of Wellington, became Prime Minister in the past 200+ years. 

I suspect that part of the attraction of generals as political candidates is that they are perceived as not politicians, although it's doubtful that many of them would have become generals unless they could master the military bureaucracy.  In 2011 we thought that the military was our most respected public institution. Seventy-eight per cent us professed "a great deal" or "a lot" of confidence in the military, according to a Gallup poll.  And, by and large, our politicians - most of whom have not served in the military - continually praise our warrior class.  (How many times has 'warrior' been used since we dropped the draft?)

Andrew Bacevich does not see Petraeus' fall as being all bad.  Knocking him off the pedestal - this huge standing that he had - ought to create a climate in which serious people can begin to ask serious questions about why our military has not delivered on our expectations" in Iraq and Afghanistan, he says.  He goes on: With Gen Petraeus' public downfall, the American public can begin to grapple with why after 11 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan "we haven't won anything".  The consequences of the myth of "the great heroic general" have been dire, he says. "It's an excuse to not think seriously about war and to avoid examining the actual consequences of wars that we have chosen to engage."

1 Million Flamingos Breeding

Those little white dots are lesser flamingos breeding at Lake Natron in Tanzania.  About a million of them, representing three-fourths of the world population, come here to breed.  Here is a close-up of one of them:

More "inappropriate communication"

Our generals and former generals are having a hard time in the 21st century.  In 2010 we had only one incident: McChrystal berating Obama.  In August of this year we learned of Ward's spendthrift ways.  In October there were tales of Sinclair's sex problems and O'Reilly's "management by blowtorch".   Who could miss Petraeus this month?  

Now we have General John Allen, our leader in Afghanistan.  He, like Petraeus, is accused of "inappropriate communication".  It seems as though Allen communicated quite a bit -  the FBI has 20,000 to 30,000 documents exchanged between the two - with one Ms Jill Kelley, who, by the way, was the one who complained about Paula Broadwell, Petraeus' 'friend'. 

I think one could question the importance of the allegations against Petraeus, McChrystal, Allen and Sinclair.  Far more important is how well they have performed their jobs as leaders.  I point you to some thoughts on that.

We are the best...

...or so say our leaders.   But most truly successful organizations continually seek proof in reality and ask questions as to how they can become better.  Tom Ricks points out that our military leaders do not do that. 

First of all, Ricks acknowledges that we haven't done that well in Iraq and Afghanistan.  There are enough mistakes to go around.  And, Ricks believes that our generals have made a number of mistakes in these wars, but they have escaped criticism.  The Army did research its efforts in Vietnam and acknowledged that serious mistakes were made.  Thus far, the Army has not said anything about the mistakes that have been made in our 21st century wars.  Rather, the military places all of the blame on our civilian leaders.

Ricks raises some basic questions:

• Why do we serially rotate our top war commanders?  We have had 11commanders in Afghanistan in 11 years.
• Why do our military chiefs pay so much attention to getting our troops to the battleground and seemingly so little to what they’ll need once the initial battles are over?  Such was the case in Iraq: our military commanders focused on planning the 2003 invasion but virtually ignored the task of planning for what might happen during the long occupation that followed. 
• Why weren’t our troops better prepared for the challenges of protecting civilians from resistance fighters, interrogating suspected insurgents and detaining enemy fighters?

These are rather basic questions, but in these days of warrior worship none of our leaders - military or civilian - is asking them.

Why just change the filibuster rules?

Harry Reid has recently said, “I don’t want to get rid of the filibuster, but I have to tell you, I want to change the rules and make the filibuster meaningful.” He made this comment even though the use of the filibuster has grown to an insane level.  There were more filibusters between 2009 and 2010 than in the decades from 1950 - 1979 combined.  The House was wise enough to drop the filibuster 200 years ago.  Why is the Senate so intransigent about this anti-democratic rule of theirs?  All a filibuster does it make it impossible to have a simple majority rule.  Will Reid had the gumption to kill this stupid rule?

History of our 21st century wars will be difficult to write

That's because there is a dearth of records that have been normally kept by those fighting all of our wars going back centuries.  This has at least two deleterious consequences: veterans have a hard time proving they are entitled to benefits and it makes it harder for military strategists to learn the necessary lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan. 

It's not as though the Pentagon did not know the problem was building.  It occurred in the Gulf War of 1990-1991; we spent years and millions of dollars to reconstruct the locations of troops who may have been exposed to toxic plumes that were among the suspected causes of Gulf War Syndrome.   In 2005 the Pentagon learned of the same record-keeping problem in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.  While the bosses may have issued commands to collect and preserve records, little was done in the field to implement these commands.

Why not Teacher's Day?

When I was a kid in the 1940s, it was pretty obvious that this nation was at war.  Everyone was involved in some activity to help the war effort. I and my friends collected aluminum foil.  My sisters knitted.  We went to the market with ration book in hand.  Every so often we prepared for an air raid.  My brothers served in the Battle of the Bulge and other combat.  All of my male cousins and most of the men I knew were drafted.  I learned to read via the headlines and the lead stories of the war that the newspapers carried every day.  I practiced my writing by writing letters to my brothers.  All of the men in East Cambridge were drafted.  It was pretty obvious why we should celebrate their efforts.  Hardly anyone was against the GI Bill.  I can fully understand why in the '50s and '60s Armistice Day was a big deal.  And, I can readily understand why Eisenhower renamed Armistice Day to Veterans Day in 1954.

However, I find it very hard to understand the brouhaha that is now made of Veterans Day.  When Nixon abolished the draft in 1973, people now had a choice as to whether they wanted to join the military or not, as they always had a choice whether they should join the police, become a teacher, practice medicine, fight fires, etc.  There are many professions where the goal is not making a dollar.  Soldiers are not the only ones risking their lives.  Police and firefighters also risk their lives.  The military is not the only important profession that keeps this country whole.  Where would we be without teachers or policemen?  Why don't we have a teacher's day or a policemen's day?

The fact of a volunteer army makes us more susceptible to go to war, especially because we know so few of the volunteers. As I said above, many of the people I knew in the '40s were drafted and risked their lives defending this country.  Some of my relatives served in Korea.  Friends served in Vietnam or moved to Canada.  Coffins landed in the military base in Bedford, MA almost every night.  We were all involved in these wars and realized their cost.  The President didn't tell us to avoid the fact that we were at war, we were all helping the war effort.  That was our duty as citizens, no matter our age or circumstances.

It is interesting that most of the politicians that will be speaking on Veterans Day have not served in any capacity in the military.  I'll end with a comment from Aaron O'Connell, a professor at Annapolis, "Uncritical support of all things martial is quickly becoming the new normal for our youth. Hardly any of my students at the Naval Academy remember a time when their nation wasn’t at war."

The Restroom Cultural Park

I doubt that you've been to a theme park like this.

A Totally Different World

People all over the world are capable of evil.  Often, they don't think that they are committing evil.  Take the matter of female children in Pakistan.  Here are two examples:

• Last week parents killed their 15-year-old daughter by dousing her with acid for supposedly shaming the family by looking at two boys.
• A rapist was ordered to marry off his daughter to the brother of the girl he raped.  The daughter is 9, the brother 22.

Hospitals in NYC in Trouble

Two major NYC hospitals - NYU Langone Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital - were closed by Sandy.  I had thought they would reopen by now.  But that date is at least several weeks away for Bellevue and unspecified for NYU Langone.  Patients are being treated in other hospitals in the city, but this extra load will eventually be a major problem in the view of the director of trauma at Bellevue,"All systems can work at above capacity for some time without significant detriment.  But, with time, people will tire, over-worked systems will fail, and patients will suffer.  No question in my mind that the current status of care in Manhattan is not sustainable for any length of time."

"We were wrong"

I think it's a good sign that Newt acknowledges that he and his cohorts were wrong in predicting a win by Romney.


And then you have another Republican predictor, Dean Chambers, the man who garnered praise from the right and notoriety on the left for his “Unskewed Polling” site, “Nate Silver was right, and I was wrong”.

7 years and counting

That's how long the GAO has been trying to get government agencies to buy smarter. In 2005 the Office of Management and Budget initiated the process of strategic sourcing and urged its adoption by government agencies, as companies had found that its use could lower the costs of procurement by a considerable amount.  GAO has just issued a report of their investigation of how four agencies (DOD, VA, DHS and Energy) use this process.  These four agencies make 80% of the government's purchases, so savings to us can be considerable, on the order of $50 billion annually.  

However, the GAO found that the process was really only being used to any degree by DHS (a surprise to me).  Will the publication of this report motivate the other agencies to get serious about the process?

I've said repeatedly that just following the GAO's recommendation will save us billions of dollars each year.  It's not that hard to find the recommendations.

The Nadir

I’ve read that presidential campaigns in the early days were quite vitriolic.  I’ve also learned that the campaign of 1896 was the most expensive campaign in our history.  However, in my limited experience on this earth, the Obama-Romney campaign was the worst: vitriolic and expensive.  It was indicative of the times in which we live – a lot of blather, little insight, demonization of the opponent rather than cogent arguments, a torrent of advertisements, refusal to face reality, more emphasis on process rather than results, etc.  We need to change our electoral system.  It, like our government, is dysfunctional.

First, and most important, we have to stop the eternal campaign season.  Other nations – Canada, France, England and most of the rest of the civilized world – can limit campaigning to a month or two.  Why can’t we?

There have to be some limits on spending.  And we should be able to find out who is spending the money.  Citizens United should be revoked.

While it would be difficult to devise a system whereby the Equal Time rule could apply more equitably to sales of advertising time, it is not impossible.

Next, we need term limits beyond the presidency.  We should change the term of representatives to three years and allow a maximum of four terms.  The term limit for senators should be two.  

And, of course, we should eliminate the Electoral College.

I’m sure you have a good idea or two.  Why not share it in a comment?  We, the people, need to be more involved.  I’m too old to be starting a campaign to change our system, but you may not be.

All computer software can have bugs....

...and usually does.  Having spent a career in computer software, I had no problem writing the title of this post.  Programs are written by men and women; I have not met an infallible person yet and know of no one in history who has.  That is why most serious software needs to be extensively tested, no matter how small a change has been made.  

Apparently the Secretary of State in Ohio believes otherwise.  The office has installed untested software in the vote tabulation machines to be used by a number of counties.  The Secretary claims that the software does not need to be tested and certified because it does not directly tabulate or communicate actual votes.  Yet, the Secretary's lawyer says, "Its function is to aid in the reporting of results that are already uploaded into the county's system. The software formats results that have already been uploaded by the county into a format that can be read by the Secretary of State's election night reporting system."  

I guess the lawyer does not understand that the results that have been transmitted from the counties will be changed in a fundamental way - the format - and thus subject to a faulty conversion of the format.  Plus, in transmitting the data from the county there is an opportunity for the transmission to be hacked.

I suspect that this is not the only case where questions can and will be raised.