As we know, the Administration has gone to great lengths to keep the text of the TPP secret. In fact, it wants Congress to pass the "treaty" without actually reading the document. But Congress can, in fact, make the document public. The rules which established the Congressional committees on Intelligence authorize the chambers’ respective intelligence committees to vote to publicly disclose any information in the possession of the committee after concluding that the public interest would be served by such disclosure.
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
But Why
Yesterday there was a Memorial Day Tribute here. We heard Obama's Memorial Day speech, sang the Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America, listened to a roll call of residents who served in the military and watched a video consisting of clips from military funerals and memorials at veterans cemeteries around the country. It was a moving event.
Last night I watched the National Memorial Day Celebration on PBS. It was much more theatrical than our morning show but also quite moving.
I wouldn't have expected any negativism at these events. But still I kept thinking of the futility of our wars since WWII. By and large, we did not make things better for the world. We did not win any of these wars. We damaged the lives of many. We wasted tons of money.
The truly sad and fearful part is that things are worse in the 21st century. To most of us the wars are a nonentity. We don't have a relative there. We know few people who do. Unlike WWII the news about the war does not dominate the media reports; Deflategate gets more attention than ISIS. We now bomb countries with which we have not declared war. We kill civilians on the premise that there is some bad guy near them. WHY?
Last night I watched the National Memorial Day Celebration on PBS. It was much more theatrical than our morning show but also quite moving.
I wouldn't have expected any negativism at these events. But still I kept thinking of the futility of our wars since WWII. By and large, we did not make things better for the world. We did not win any of these wars. We damaged the lives of many. We wasted tons of money.
The truly sad and fearful part is that things are worse in the 21st century. To most of us the wars are a nonentity. We don't have a relative there. We know few people who do. Unlike WWII the news about the war does not dominate the media reports; Deflategate gets more attention than ISIS. We now bomb countries with which we have not declared war. We kill civilians on the premise that there is some bad guy near them. WHY?
Monday, May 25, 2015
A quote from Friedrich Nietzsche that makes a lot of sense
In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs it is the rule.
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Some numbers
They've started talking about next year's defense budget. The number being bandied about is $612 billion, which is about a third of the world's military expenditures. Of course, we have to support a Department of Defense that occupies 284,458 buildings around the world, totaling over 2.2 billion square feet. It also controls 24.7 million acres of land, an area about the size of Virginia. The DoD has a presence in all 50 states, 7 U.S. territories, and 40 countries around the world.
Is this a good use for our money?
Is this a good use for our money?
Does the punishment fit the crime?
Over the past ten years, 54 policemen have been charged for fatally shooting someone while on duty, according to an analysis by the Washington Post and Bowling Green University. That's almost one every two months. Few of the officers charged and whose cases have been resolved have been convicted.
And those convicted or who pleaded guilty have not been punished very severely - they’ve tended to get little time behind bars, on average four years and sometimes only weeks. This is probably because jurors are very reluctant to punish police officers, tending to view them as guardians of order, according to prosecutors and defense lawyers.
Among the officers charged since 2005 for fatal shootings, more than three-quarters were white. Two-thirds of their victims were minorities, all but two of them black. Nearly all other cases involved black officers who killed black victims.
And those convicted or who pleaded guilty have not been punished very severely - they’ve tended to get little time behind bars, on average four years and sometimes only weeks. This is probably because jurors are very reluctant to punish police officers, tending to view them as guardians of order, according to prosecutors and defense lawyers.
Among the officers charged since 2005 for fatal shootings, more than three-quarters were white. Two-thirds of their victims were minorities, all but two of them black. Nearly all other cases involved black officers who killed black victims.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
The House knows
It used to be that the National Science Foundation determined how to spend its share of the federal budget. This year, the House doesn't think that is a good idea any longer. So, it is placing limits on funding for scientific research. It automatically slashes social, behavioral and economic sciences by 55 percent compared to 2015, while geosciences including climate research shrinks eight percent.
Need I say a goodly number of scientists think this is not a good idea.
Need I say a goodly number of scientists think this is not a good idea.
Another $36,000,000 down the drain
Apparently the Army has a policy that if Congress authorizes funds they should be used, no matter the need. In 2010 the Pentagon requested funds to build a 64,000 square-foot command and control center at Camp Leatherneck. But the regional commander in charge said the facility wasn’t necessary and asked that it not be built. Other commanders disagreed and the center was built and furnished at a cost of $36,000,000.
It has never been used. Plastic sheets still cover the never-used furniture. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction has recommended that three senior Army officers – a lieutenant general, a major general and a colonel – be disciplined for their role in the construction of the center.
It has never been used. Plastic sheets still cover the never-used furniture. The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction has recommended that three senior Army officers – a lieutenant general, a major general and a colonel – be disciplined for their role in the construction of the center.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Bionic Arms
The filming is not very clear, particularly at the start. But how he has been able to live without arms is amazing.
A 21st century Trojan Horse?
William Rivers Pitt has this to say about Obama:
It's one of the best definitions of the Obama presidency I've heard.
Or is he what many of us have feared he is for a while now: a Trojan Horse president, presented at the gates as a progressive gift? Once let in, however, an army of Third-Way "Democrats," multinational corporations, insurance companies, banks and Wall Street masters-of-the-universe were unleashed to wreak havoc, again.
Res ipsa loquitur, the saying goes. The thing speaks for itself.
It's one of the best definitions of the Obama presidency I've heard.
Skittles can be dangerous
The Jefferson Parish School District in Louisiana has a strong police component. 1,629 students were arrested in only one year for such crimes as walking in the hallway without a hall pass, mouthing off, not adhering to the dress code, and having cell phones. A really weird case was the arrest of an eighth grader for throwing Skittles on a school bus. He was detained for six days for this heinous crime.
Could one of the issues be that African-American students make up only 40 percent of the school district, they comprise 80 percent of the students arrested?
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
A simple way to reduce the oil train epidemic
Marcus Stern is not an expert in metals or oil. He's simply a reporter and a good one. His op-ed in today's NY Times looks at the problem from a different - to me - angle: the oil, rather than the tankers. There are volatile gases in the oil being shipped; these cause the explosions. Stern says get rid of them before putting the oil in the tanker and the safety level will increase exponentially.
Stern claims that this is a relatively easy task. But it is also a costly task as these gases can be separated, processed and sold for added profit. The gases can even be sold overseas, something that can’t be done with the oil because crude oil can’t be exported.
Stern claims that this is a relatively easy task. But it is also a costly task as these gases can be separated, processed and sold for added profit. The gases can even be sold overseas, something that can’t be done with the oil because crude oil can’t be exported.
Monday, May 18, 2015
O, to be in Kansas
Not if I'm a welfare recipient. They've just passed a law that prevents welfare recipients from withdrawing more than $25 a day from an ATM. I guess it doesn't matter that the banks don't allow you to withdraw in five-dollar increments; so, you could only withdraw $20. And the fee obviously doesn't count; the state will get its $1 fee and the bank may get another fee. Of course, the fact that it looks like a violation of federal law, which would put federal distributions to Kansas at risk, should not be ignored. The law also specifies that you can't spend the money on a cruise ship.
Maybe nature is better for elk
At least in California. But a survey by the National Park Service revealed that 250 of the tule elk living in a penned-off reserve — nearly half the herd that was re-established in Point Reyes in 1978 — had died between December 2012 and December 2014, most likely from drought-related starvation and thirst. The elk live in a 2,600-acre enclosure at the northern tip of the peninsula.
During the same period, two free-roaming tule elk herds on the south end of the peninsula, outside the reserve, grew in number from 160 to 212.
During the same period, two free-roaming tule elk herds on the south end of the peninsula, outside the reserve, grew in number from 160 to 212.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Wasting time and money
How much time has been spent by the government 'prosecuting' the TBTF banks for their breaking the laws? They're still blathering about the penalties and the harm they would wreak on the economy. Things would be a lot simpler as well as more likely to reduce the number of crimes if they just put them in jail.
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Monday, May 11, 2015
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Obamacare is woking
That's what Atul Gawande thinks. His most recent article in The New Yorker discusses how it is lowering the incidences of excessive services, which are a major factor in our having the highest medical costs in the world. Some examples: doing an EEG for an uncomplicated headache (EEGs are for diagnosing seizure disorders, not headaches), or doing a CT or MRI scan for low-back pain in patients without any signs of a neurological problem (studies consistently show that scanning such patients adds nothing except cost), or putting a coronary-artery stent in patients with stable cardiac disease (the likelihood of a heart attack or death after five years is unaffected by the stent).
"In 2010, the Institute of Medicine issued a report stating that waste accounted for thirty per cent of health-care spending, or some seven hundred and fifty billion dollars a year, which was more than our nation’s entire budget for K-12 education. The report found that higher prices, administrative expenses, and fraud accounted for almost half of this waste. Bigger than any of those, however, was the amount spent on unnecessary health-care services."
Each year do we really need to have around fifteen million nuclear medicine scans, a hundred million CT and MRI scans, and almost ten billion laboratory tests.
Gawande recognizes that simply eliminating unnecessary care is not enough. We need replace it with necessary care.
"In 2010, the Institute of Medicine issued a report stating that waste accounted for thirty per cent of health-care spending, or some seven hundred and fifty billion dollars a year, which was more than our nation’s entire budget for K-12 education. The report found that higher prices, administrative expenses, and fraud accounted for almost half of this waste. Bigger than any of those, however, was the amount spent on unnecessary health-care services."
Each year do we really need to have around fifteen million nuclear medicine scans, a hundred million CT and MRI scans, and almost ten billion laboratory tests.
Gawande recognizes that simply eliminating unnecessary care is not enough. We need replace it with necessary care.
Are Community Banks Dying?
The number of them is surely diminishing. Over the last seven years, one of every four community banks has disappeared. We have 1,971 fewer of these small, local financial institutions today than at the beginning of 2008.
In terms of assets, the banking colossi certainly have improved their share. In 1995, they controlled 17 percent of all banking assets. Ten years later, it was 41 percent. Now, it's 59 percent. In the same time period, the share of community banks and credit unions has decreased from 27 percent to 11 percent.
A good part of the problem is the fed's favoritism to the big banks. This could be diminished if, as Senator Warren proposes, we break up the colossi. As it is, the feds seem to be more concerned with community banks failing, as they put the squeeze on local banks, scrutinizing their loans and demanding even higher levels of capital than existing regulations called for, while explicitly exempting megabanks from the same requirements.
Interestingly, local banks on the whole outperform their bigger competitors on several key measures of efficiency and profitability: they earn higher yields on their portfolios, have lower funding costs, and spend less on overhead. Plus, they are the ones financing local businesses and other productive investments that create jobs and improve our well-being.
In terms of assets, the banking colossi certainly have improved their share. In 1995, they controlled 17 percent of all banking assets. Ten years later, it was 41 percent. Now, it's 59 percent. In the same time period, the share of community banks and credit unions has decreased from 27 percent to 11 percent.
A good part of the problem is the fed's favoritism to the big banks. This could be diminished if, as Senator Warren proposes, we break up the colossi. As it is, the feds seem to be more concerned with community banks failing, as they put the squeeze on local banks, scrutinizing their loans and demanding even higher levels of capital than existing regulations called for, while explicitly exempting megabanks from the same requirements.
Interestingly, local banks on the whole outperform their bigger competitors on several key measures of efficiency and profitability: they earn higher yields on their portfolios, have lower funding costs, and spend less on overhead. Plus, they are the ones financing local businesses and other productive investments that create jobs and improve our well-being.
It's not only the Aghans who have had their hand in the till
Our own soldiers have. The Center for Public Integrity has published a report which documents over $50,000,000 stolen by our military personnel from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But, the Inspectors General for the countries say the convictions so far constitute a small portion of the crimes they think were committed by U.S. military personnel in the two countries.
So much theft has occurred because of a heavy dependence on cash transactions, a hasty award process for high-value contracts, loose and harried oversight within the ranks, and a regional culture of corruption that proved seductive to the American troops transplanted there. The crimes were committed by both officers and enlisted men.
The key findings of the report:
So much theft has occurred because of a heavy dependence on cash transactions, a hasty award process for high-value contracts, loose and harried oversight within the ranks, and a regional culture of corruption that proved seductive to the American troops transplanted there. The crimes were committed by both officers and enlisted men.
The key findings of the report:
Since 2005, 115 U.S. service members have been convicted of crimes valued at more than $50 million in Iraq and Afghanistan, including stealing, rigging contracts, and taking bribes.
The U.S. military’s dependence on large cash transactions, its hasty contract award process, the absence of serious oversight, and a culture of local corruption helped lure U.S. service members to commit these crimes.
U.S. Inspectors General for Iraq and Afghanistan say that far more fraud has been committed by military personnel than has been prosecuted so far.
Several soldiers who participated in crimes say they saw colleagues doing it, and viewed the chances of getting caught as slim.
Investigators of these crimes say that their work has been stymied by the challenge of tracking down funds in foreign bank accounts, and that courts sometimes impose lighter penalties than they think the crimes deserve.
Friday, May 08, 2015
The GAO on the F-35 today
I've written a lot about the F-35. Here's what the GAO has to say about it now.
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program had to make unexpected changes to its development and test plans over the last year, largely in response to a structural failure on a durability test aircraft, an engine failure, and software challenges. At the same time, engine reliability is poor and has a long way to go to meet program goals. With nearly 2 years and 40 percent of developmental testing to go, more technical problems are likely.
Addressing new problems and improving engine reliability may require additional design changes and retrofits. Meanwhile, the Department of Defense (DOD) has plans to increase annual aircraft procurement from 38 to 90 over the next 5 years. As GAO has previously reported, increasing production while concurrently developing and testing creates risk and could result in additional cost growth and schedule delays in the future.
It is unlikely the program will be able to sustain such a high level of annual funding and if required funding levels are not reached, the program's procurement plan may not be affordable.
Because supplier performance has been mixed, late aircraft and engine part deliveries could pose a risk to the program's plans to increase production.
GAO recommends that DOD assess the affordability of F-35's current procurement plan that reflects various assumptions about technical progress and future funding.
Thursday, May 07, 2015
Is the USDA favoring Monsanto?
A lot of beekeepers think so. And they are supported by many organizations - such as the American Bird Conservancy, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, Farmworkers Association of Florida, Food and Water Watch, Friends of the Earth, Green America, Organic Consumers Association and Sierra Club - who believe that scientists at the United States Department of Agriculture are being harrassed and their research on bee-killing pesticides is being censored or suppressed. They are concerned with the killing of bees, which are responsible for pollinating a host of American cropsas well as pollinating at least 30 percent of the world's crops.
The issue is something called neonicotinoids, which are insecticides that impair the neurological systems of insects and which studies have linked to die-offs of bees and monarch butterflies—two key pollinators—as well as birds. Monsanto is the prime user of neonicotinoids, which have been linked to the collapse of honey-bee colonies. In 2013, certain neonicotinoids were banned by the European Union and a few non-EU nations.
The issue is something called neonicotinoids, which are insecticides that impair the neurological systems of insects and which studies have linked to die-offs of bees and monarch butterflies—two key pollinators—as well as birds. Monsanto is the prime user of neonicotinoids, which have been linked to the collapse of honey-bee colonies. In 2013, certain neonicotinoids were banned by the European Union and a few non-EU nations.
Wednesday, May 06, 2015
Our politicians are doing a better job following campaign finance laws
That's what Republicans would have you believe. After all, fines for violating campaign finance laws have really decreased over the past nine years. In 2006 the fines totaled $5,900,000; in 2014, $597,429, or a tenth of 2006. Since the total money raised by candidates has increased substantially since 2006, one would not think that the decrease would be so much, particularly since the quality of the candidates has diminished about as much.
The problem seems to be that the members of the commission overseeing campaign finance can't agree very much. There are 3 Republicans and 3 Democrats.
The problem seems to be that the members of the commission overseeing campaign finance can't agree very much. There are 3 Republicans and 3 Democrats.
Tuesday, May 05, 2015
On the run since 1959
Frank Freshwaters went to jail for manslaughter in 1957; he had killed a pedestrian with his car. Two years later he escaped and has been a free man until he was captured in Florida last week. He's changed a lot in 56 years.
A down year for hedge fund managers
In 2013 the top 25 hedge fund managers earned $21.15 billion, or an average of about $840,000,000. In 2014 they only made $11.62 billion, or an average of about $460,000,000. This despite having returns averaging in the single digits, while the S&P 500 gained 13.68% last year when reinvested dividends were included. This was the sixth year in a row that hedge funds have fallen short of stock market performance, returning only 3 percent on average.
Monday, May 04, 2015
Lindbergh: 2015
Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg are flying around the world. In times when people are living in space ships, why is this flight important? They are flying an aircraft powered by the sun.
Thus far, they have made it from Abu Dhabi to Nanjing, China. They have logged over 8,000 miles and are going to try another 5,000 mile trip, from China to Hawaii. They estimate it will take 5 days, during which the sole pilot can only take 20-minute naps.
While the plane looks pretty big, it weighs only 5,071 pounds, about as much as a minivan. Much of that weight comes from the four batteries that sit behind four propellers. When the plane is in flight, those batteries are recharged by 17,248 feather-light solar cells on top of the wings. The batteries then help power the aircraft at night.
Thus far, they have made it from Abu Dhabi to Nanjing, China. They have logged over 8,000 miles and are going to try another 5,000 mile trip, from China to Hawaii. They estimate it will take 5 days, during which the sole pilot can only take 20-minute naps.
While the plane looks pretty big, it weighs only 5,071 pounds, about as much as a minivan. Much of that weight comes from the four batteries that sit behind four propellers. When the plane is in flight, those batteries are recharged by 17,248 feather-light solar cells on top of the wings. The batteries then help power the aircraft at night.
Saturday, May 02, 2015
Friday, May 01, 2015
You won't believe this.
A Scotsman has been convicted of raping a one-day-old boy, a girl six months old and another girl aged 9.
The Earth Moves
There was another major earthquake. It was of magnitude 7.1 and struck off Papua New Guinea Friday. Last week it was Nepal at 7.8. Next week?
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