All Posts Tagged With: "Not"

What was probably and hopefully a random act of violence by a troubled individual, put a damper overnight around the world but especially in the US and China for the victims and their families. Doubtless the family and friends of the attacker are aghast with regret for his actions.

This reminds me that mankind continues to have limits short of perfection, by any name, for reasons that will probably remain a mystery to me, but there is no mystery or question that conflict is part of our flawed character. The best efforts of an unopposed, authoritarian government in China which gave up communism for capitalism in order to try to improve the lives of their billion plus population, was unable to prevent this individual assault nor prevent the world from knowing about it now that they have begun their withdrawal from feudalism.

The Chinese government is not shackled by the kind of over ballyhooed “constitutional rights guaranteed” in our history by our constitution, in the words of hypocritical or at least misleading if not dissembling players on the public and private stage in the US. Don’t accuse me of anything, pay attention. I am proud of the US for it’s short role, in years, in human endeavors, all the while recognizing it’s many many imperfections and failures to live up to it’s ideals expressed in the constitution and in our rhetoric so much of the time. Proud, not prideful.

I am also proud, or better, thankful for recent Chinese governments for their conversion to capitalism and their best efforts to date, and understand that every Chinese citizen has every right to be proud of their country despite all that can rightly and severely criticized now and for much of their long 5,000 year history. All governments are made up of human beings inflicted with our varied human nature.

The US has been an active world wide player, for good and evil, mostly for good, at least from our perspective, for most of our short history. Various Chinese governments have spent most of their time horsing around the many smaller, feudal “countries” inside of their diverse territory, making most of their enemies inside of their own changing borders, while the US has many enemies outside of it’s borders. And given the human condition at the heart of this article, like the US, China will also become worthy of envy and the target of hatred, accumulating plenty of unavoidable enemies, not necessarily earned.

Let’s all hope that China succeeds in developing a society that always chooses to compete internationally in the Olympics and on the battlefields of capitalism. A version of democracy which we would favor in the US may or may not emerge in China or elsewhere soon, including in those energy enabled countries, those sitting on and exploiting gas and oil resources for export, so let’s hope capitalism becomes a permanent olympic sport everywhere.

It may be the only common interest that maintains any control on any form of hate driven terrorism that has become a popular export in some parts of the world and which seems now to have a permanent spot on the world stage.

Grocery store tabloid-like story puzzler.

An Associated Press story by Steven Gutkin with an August 7, 2008 Jerusalem printed in many U. S. newspapers exaggerates, misrepresents, and contorts important facts. The story says “Israel is building up its strike capability… has purchased 90 F-16I fighter planes, and will receive 11 more by the end of the year.” The story also reports Israel has bought two more Dolphin class nuclear missile capable submarines from Germany.

It turn out this is old news. Israel has indeed taken delivery of 90 F-16I fighter planes so far and they can carry enough fuel to reach Iran without refueling, and Israeli will indeed receive 11 more by the end of next year. But, the first F16I deliveries starting in 2004 and they have been delivered at a rate of two per month since. Also Israel did buy two Dolphin submarines in 2006 from Germany reportedly capable of firing nuclear-armed warheads - in addition to the three it already had.

Gutkin also says “Israeli intelligence is active inside Iranian territory” as if that were news.

Despite a bellowing headline “Israel mulls military action for Iran nukes” the story is not substantive but simply sensationalism and should be on the Opinion page and not in a news report.

There is nothing new here and Associated Press editors should be ashamed of its portrayal otherwise. Local newspapers look silly or worse for printing such claptrap. What is unclear is what was the purpose of Mr. Gutkin’s report from Jerusalem and who if anyone is watching the Associate Press and local newspaper editors desk.

When it’s an Olympic 10 Yuan:

Hundreds of thousands of people around the country queued at local banks to get one of special Olympic bank notes on July 8, exactly one month before the start of the Olympic Games. Some of them waited overnight to secure a favorable place.

I saw a group of people lining up in front of a Bank of China on Tuesday around midnight, and it was, to say the least, perplexing. But such is Olympic fervor… sort of. Timeless money fervor is more like it.

It’s not Tim Russert’s fault, all that media nonsense we had to go through last week.

The tragedy was real; a relatively young man, seemingly a pretty good guy, drops dead at his desk unexpectedly.

I know Russert was a good Catholic, but to judge from the tear-jerking send-off he got, the guy had more friends than the Pope. Every TV personality and media whore who ever shook Russert’s hand could be found blubbering on the tube for a solid weekend, right up to his grand farewell at the Kennedy Center. The Kennedy Center, for crying out loud.

It’s not your fault, dear departed Timothy, but your “passing” created the biggest television circle jerk since Lady Di took a ride with the wrong dude. Nobody who had ever read the news off a TelePrompTer in Wichita Falls for fifteen minutes back in the 80’s wanted to miss the chance for a little more face time, and most of them got it.

We lost George Carlin this week too but it didn’t cause nearly the fuss of Russert’s demise. One could argue that Carlin was a better comedian than Russert a newscaster, but that would be mean spirited and I don’t want to be mean spirited, because it’s not Russert’s fault.

The Great National Grieve-in following the Mr. Russert’s untimely death was, I think, a case of media revenge. Everybody hates the news media, so when they get the chance to gush over one of their peers, they take it, especially if said peer is recently departed from this mortal coil, and thus no longer a threat or rival to the remaining media gnomes.

The news folks are second in self-congratulation only to the showbiz folks, though the lines between the two have pretty much disappeared anyway. Oscars, Pulitzers, Emmys, Peabodys—what’s the diff? It’s all about “look at us, ain’t we great?” Well, sure, some of you are, but so are a lot of folks who go through life without trophies to prove it, some of them even famous.

George Carlin was a highly famous comedian for a number of decades, but he never generated much statuary. The humor profession is a little light on the hardware, though Mr. Carlin was slated to receive the coveted Mark Twain Award this November. He’s going to get it, too. Posthumously. At the Kennedy Center.

It’s not your fault, Tim Russert, that we get more laughs out of our comics than news out of our electronic newspeople. You did a pretty good show of occasionally substantial journalism at a time when “gotchya” was king. When “you really nailed that guy” is the highest praise an interviewer can get from his cohorts, the job of shedding light on an issue or personality sits on the back of the media bus, behind “winning the interview, and “making them squirm.”

But for us, the supposed audience, unless the victim is a graft taker, flat-out liar, or serial molester of young boys, that tactic is worse than useless.

But it’s not Russert’s fault. He worked the system the way he found it, and he did it about as well as anybody. And he got a farewell worthy of an angel.

Rest in peace, Tim Russert. It’s not your fault. Not anymore.

We have a defacto suicidal oil avoidance policy which makes Bush’s shortsighted oil focus look like a misdemeanor in a world of capital crimes.

Bush once declared he was never part of “big oil,” rather he once was part of “little oil”. Bad, bad man. So punish the entire US population.

Well, I say to you, Cuba and China working together to drill for oil in our neighborhood is about Big Oil, but not what ignorant shortsighted politically motivated environmentalists usually think of. Such Stinging hypocrisy. I am an environmentalist, but do not think we have to commit suicide.

They have their heads in the wrong place and deserve any peculiar awards they get. Any ideas?

Suicide. Oil. Policy. Not by Bush.  Get it? Iraq WAS about oil, not our appropriating it, but specifically about keeping oil lanes and supplies open to all of the world including poor countries who are dependent on oil and cannot assure it’s availability in a world where volatile countries own and control a lot of oil. It is important to keep the shipping lanes open and half of our military expenditures may be directed to that end for the BENEFIT OF THE ENTIRE FREE AND OTHER WORLDS WHO USE OIL.

Do you know any country that does not use oil?

Do these Energy Brilliants know that while Brazil may be independent of oil thanks to massive forest destroying cultivation of sugar cane and it’s wide use throughout the country they still search for oil? No matter, damn those Exxon profiteers! Boycott their gas stations until they reduce their gas prices. Again, no matter, just fly me in a private jet to the next conference without delay, my limousine and award is waiting.

You follow in a non private plane to take my picture. And don’t be late. And do not us oil products made in the US, be sure to get them off the next boat from half way around the world. Hope any leaks are not on our shores.

Who cares that Venezuela, the country controlled by a mad man who “cares about the people”, owns Citgo. Why bother boycotting them? Well, because they are not Exxon, the Great Satan, who produces, what? Only a small percentage of world wide oil production? How can that be?

No matter. They only give 40% of their political donations to liberals, Democrats or progressive interests so they are bad.

Despite not being dependent on oil, Brazil and it’s sovereign Oil Firm has recently announced that they looked for and found new massive oil reserves in offshore fields. A second one just recently. But only because they looked for it, found it and will drilled it without the permission of god-like US environmentalists. Big Oil again. Taxem, taxem I say.

It is good news for these politically motivated liberal environmentalists because they will get to rejoice that Exxon is not going to make those profits, let along those made off our very own shores. After all if they did, we would have to penalize them and tax the “windfall” for making maybe an 8 to 10% return on equity on a large investment base. That is not a windfall even if measured in billions. Goldman Sachs just announced a poor financial result for the last quarter, just a little over 2 Billion. Where are the cries for a windfall profit on a company that probably makes 60% of their political donations to liberals, Democrats and progressives.

Many industries make a far greater return, but no matter, penalize them. Union pensions own a lot of stock in such companies but that is just hypocrisy, not worthy or mention.

Such shortsighted folks, including those sympathizers in government, do not know what a windfall is. Their extraordinary pensions, health care and other perks and fine china are windfalls and should be taxed at 90%.

Actors or actresses getting 1 to 20 million for a single movie taking 4 months to film, is a windfall requiring poor people to pay $8 to $12 per person for a movie.

An athlete getting similar egregious salaries so that poor people have to pay through the nose to see a single game, is a windfall. Oh and do not forget the 4 dollar popcorn. Unhealthy oil included at no extra charge.

Bill O’Reilly and Larry King’s salary and benefits are egregious and true windfalls.

Al Gore makes windfall profits by scaring us but has no solutions his own worshipful constituency would pay for. Hugh fees for speeches by former Presidents like Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton are windfalls.

Which US legislator is going to introduce the Windfall Profits Tax on Brazil? Or Reagan’s estate or Clinton’s ventures?

Or Cuba or China or Russia?

Hey, how about this, let’s tax Iran for their windfall profits!

Why didn’t we think about this sooner? Notice something here? Those are countries, not stockholder profiteers owned by our pension funds and universities. All conduct foreign policy and build and buy weapons and train and pay for armies. No conflicts of interest there, is there?

Kind of like several much bigger Exxons, some with nuclear weapons, others wimply with nuclear ambitions like Iraq under Saddam. Where will they get the money for those kinds of programs? Not from Profits but from the entire asset base of the company/country. Wake up.

Click here to see easy ways to show gratitude to our military. A universal sign of appreciation for those who serve us anywhere.

In the United States we enjoy a patriotic, volunteer, non-politicized military that answers to a civilian leadership that changes at least once every eight years and sometimes sooner. There are lots of ways to say thanks to our military for volunteering, training and then performing the mission that their civilian leadership has called for.

Find at least one and practice it frequently all the while campaigning for a different policy if so inclined.