Worried about the pitchfork crowd? Does that reveal a guilty conscience? Just wondering…

“I just wrote my first reference for a gun permit,” said a friend, who told me of swearing to the good character of a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker who applied to the local police for a permit to buy a pistol. The banker had told this friend of mine that senior Goldman people have loaded up on firearms and are now equipped to defend themselves if there is a populist uprising against the bank.

As I recently pointed out the Obama presidency has shaped up to be a large disappointment.

Two recent examples:

1. One of the big complaints about the Bush administration was the grab of Executive power. Unchecked, unbalanced and preemptive. The Bush “doctrine” was indeed one of preemptive war. We also saw extraordinary renditions where people suspected of crimes where grabbed and moved out of US legal jurisdiction to be tortured elsewhere. Guilty until proven innocent. And if the US is wrong, too bad.

So clearly one of the big expectations was for Obama to get back on the track of the principles of the US Constitution and legal frameworks.

Turns out: Not such luck. Even while he gives pretty speeches Obama makes the case for arresting and indefinitely detaining people who might engage in terrorist activity. Not in the process, but people who are suspected…

Say what?

Preemptive arrest. Thought crime?

Obama is not only losing the left quickly, but also independents. Even liberal Rachel Maddow has had enough apparently:

2. The additional troop commitment in Afghanistan is flabbergasting to many of his supporters. Michael Moore had this to say:

“I simply can’t believe you’re about to do what they say you are going to do,” documentary filmmaker Michael Moore said in an open letter to Obama posted on his Web site. Moore warned that Obama would tarnish his legacy, turn away his supporters and effectively crown himself the new “war president” by escalating the war in Afghanistan.

“With just one speech tomorrow night you will turn a multitude of young people who were the backbone of your campaign into disillusioned cynics,” Moore wrote. “Your potential decision to expand the war … will do more to set your legacy in stone than any of the great things you’ve said and done in your first year.

“For the sake of your presidency, hope, and the future of our nation, stop. For God’s sake, stop,” Moore wrote.

Stop is what many of his supporters will likely do when they are asked to donate again, or enter the voting booth the next time.

Obama’s chief economic advisor apparently went all in on Harward’s endowment fund against all advice…resulting in major losses:

Mohamed El-Erian, would later sound the same warnings to Summers, and to Harvard financial staff and board members.

“Mohamed was having a heart attack,’’ said one former financial executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of angering Harvard and Summers. He considered the cash investment a “doubling up’’ of the university’s investment risk.

But the warnings fell on deaf ears, under Summers’s regime and beyond. And when the market crashed in the fall of 2008, Harvard would pay dearly, as $1.8 billion in cash simply vanished. Indeed, it is still paying, in the form of tighter budgets, deferred expansion plans, and big interest payments on bonds issued to cover the losses.

Combined with the “dream team” of Geithner and Bernanke this is not exactly confidence inspiring. But it explains a lot in terms of recent policy.

They doubled down on debt in order to jump start the economy. It’s a gamble by an economic advisor who has a track record of gambling with other peoples’ money and losing…..

Despite all the public protestations of “containment”, I find actions speak louder than words:

The Sunday London Times newspaper was removed by authorities from shelves in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday amid intensive reporting of Dubai’s debt problems, an executive at the paper said.

The National Media Council ordered the paper blocked by distributors without providing a reason, an executive at the paper in Dubai told Zawya Dow Jones.

An instant classic:

A government official in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the U.A.E., said that the picture of Sheik Mohammed, which accompanied a story entitled: The sinking of Dubai’s dream, was “offensive.”

Under the U.A.E.’s media code, publications are prohibited from criticizing the sheikdom’s rulers.

The US has been in Afghanistan since 2001. Eight long years and no end in sight. President Obama has been pondering his next move for months now and is expected to announce a decision this week.

There appears to be a total lack of honesty in the public debate.

A brief history: The war, begun under the Bush administration following the September 11 attacks, was aimed at destroying Al-Qaeda. After a strange reluctance by the US to commit full forces at Tora Bora, Osama bin Laden and key followers managed to escape into Pakistan. Shortly thereafter President Bush withdrew special forces and redeployed them to Iraq. The war in Afghanistan was allowed to linger, with limited forces and billions spent on building a supposed democracy in one of the most backward countries on earth.

The lack of commitment allowed the Taliban to regroup and regain control of large portions of the country. US casualties have been increasing in recent months. Quite an amazing feat for the Taliban considering they have no air force, no missiles, no satellites, no tanks, etc. Yet this lack of resources did not prevent Afghan fighters from pushing out invading Soviet forces in the 80’s.

So here we are, running multi-trillion dollar deficits, hugely in debt and President Obama is likely announcing the commitment of additional troops.

Why?

What is the goal? According to Secretary Clinton it is to get rid of Al-Qaeda.

Consider me confused since US Generals have already stated that Al-Qaeda is virtually not present in Afghanistan.

“I want all the foreigners to leave our country” is what one Taliban fighter is quoted in the ABC report below, which gives a good overview of the situation on the ground:

And that is the problem isn’t it? Any time you have foreign troops engaged in a war on your soil resistance will thrive. Kids that were 8-10 years old at the beginning of this war are now of fighting age and have known nothing but foreign troops in their country. Prime recruiting material for the Taliban.

The US had a job to do in 2001, with specific goals and targets. The fact that this engagement has lasted longer than World War II speaks to the failure of the US effort.

Increasing spending for this war now seem preposterous. For one, we can’t afford it. Furthermore, what is the goal, what’s the endgame, how do we measure success? How many lives and dollars are we willing to commit to combat an enemy that has no desire or ability to invade US soil (the Taliban). All questions that should have been asked in 2001, but nobody bothered.

So what is the real motivator here?

Several possible factors to consider:

1. A proposed oil/gas pipeline to be build through Afghanistan to provide direct access to the Indian ocean.
2. Afghanistan is the world’s leading producer of opiates which are also needed for drug manufacturing.
3. US 2010 congressional elections. Democrats tend not to want to look weak on national defense. A retreat in Afghanistan would potentially give Republicans an opening in the upcoming elections.

I suspect those reasons will not be brought up by Obama this week, but rather the usual pablum such as “must finish the job”, “must fight terrorists”, etc..

And so the multi-billion dollar open ended drain continues. Those who voted for change must really be wondering what exactly they voted for….

Feel better about your 401K? Don’t. The recent advance in equity prices has been bought. How? A massive reduction in the federal government’s (yours) balance sheet via record low interest rates (0%) and massive issuance of government debt.

The proof? Just look at the correlation between the value of the dollar (decreasing) and the corresponding increase in equity prices:

In other words: The market has risen on a nominal basis, on a real basis: Not so much…

“Contained” has been the most popular phrase used by government officials in the past few years to put lipstick on the pig that is the fundamental picture of the American economy. In a way I understand why they are doing it. In their mind, their job is to prevent a total meltdown and encourage consumers to spend. Consumer consumption, after all is 70% of GDP. The goal of inflating 401Ks through an increase of equity assets via devaluation of the dollar has been largely accomplished. People will feel better and more optimistic and spend more. That’s the theory. The problem is many people are not better off, just some are.

In fact we are facing a catastrophe:

A program once scorned as a failed welfare scheme now helps feed one in eight Americans and one in four children.

Poverty in America is rising rapidly. With the contraction of credit and increase in the number of distressed consumers you will not have a sustainable recovery. Keep in mind that the majority of GDP growth currently is due to government spending.

Classic example of misleading and ultimate useless media headline:

“U.S. banks less exposed to Dubai than European rivals”

And then right underneath:

“U.S. banks are probably less exposed than European rivals to a potential debt default by Dubai World, but a lack of transparency and the interconnectedness of the modern financial system make it difficult to know which institutions are ultimately exposed, analysts said this week.”

In other words: In a world of derivative swaps we don’t have a clue who has what exposure. But let’s just say US banks have less exposure, even though we don’t know. But it makes it sound more positive and let’s calm people down, even though they may be completely exposed. Anyone notice how Goldman Sachs stock has traded in the past few days? That’s right. Down. Hard. Someone is concerned about something.

Sub prime mortgages started the ball rolling, as consumers were over-leveraged. Bank balance sheets began to crumble under the weight of declining property values driven by an increase in supply. Lending seized as a result and banks were bailed-out. The consumer? Left holding the bag. But wait! $75 billion were set aside to help stressed consumers.

The catch? Mortgage companies are not helping:

“Last month, an oversight panel created by Congress reported that fewer than 2,000 of the 500,000 loan modifications then in progress had become permanent under Making Home Affordable.”

The reality: Home prices continue to sink and what is pushed as promising news in terms of sales in the past 3 months is a shell game. The $8,000 first time home buyer credit has produced sales in the low end of the market, is temporary, and has only resulted in more people taking on leverage.

The housing time bomb is continuing with record foreclosure and delinquency rates going into 2010. Things are still getting worse, not better.

The election of Barack Obama held a lot of promise for a lot of people. “Hope” and “Change” were the big buzz words. After eight years of an abysmal Bush administration that resulted in unprecedented public debt, endless and unproductive wars, unlimited increase in government power, lobbyists run amok, and lax regulation of corporate power and abuse, a new dawn was about to begin.

Here we are a year after the election and what has demonstrably changed? Preciously little. In fact, in many ways things are much worse.

On the economy:

Granted Mr. Obama inherited a mess. Years of deficit spending had driven the public debt to the highest levels since World War II (as a % of GDP). The poorly handled financial crisis and rescue packages had further compromised the federal budgets. And the Federal Reserve, a principle culprit of the economic mess via injection of excess liquidity into the economy for years, was up to its old tricks. Chairman Bernanke, a supposed scholar of the great Depression, decided to combat the economic meltdown caused by excess debt by, you guessed it, introducing more debt.

So what has Obama done? He promoted Geithner from the New York Fed to Treasury Secretary and kept Bernanke, in essence he kept the same team in place. Bernanke of course, was infamous for being totally behind the curve on the impending economic disaster..

Since becoming president, Obama’s fiscal record has become even worse than Bush’s. Both deficit and debt have spiraled even higher with no end in sight as trillion dollar plus deficits are now projected for the next 10 years.

The stimulus measures have produced no notable effect on unemployment, in fact 10.2% are officially unemployed with the shadow statistics indicating a figure around 17.5% and growing.

On the wars:

Status quo. No troops have been removed from Iraq and Afghanistan looks to be ramped up even further. Gitmo is still in place, gays are still being fired, and the military budget machine continues unabated.

Now clearly, some things take time, yet evidence of concrete measures with promise of results are woefully missing.

In fact, the greatest victim in all this is the truth. Americans are not being leveled with. There is an utter lack of transparency of information.

The two party system is indeed behold to one primary constituency: Those who pay the most. Banks paid millions in form of donations and have arguably gotten the most benefit. Lobbyists from health and pharmaceutical companies have ensured that the most expensive healthcare system stays that way. It is no accident that MRIs cost $1,700 in the US, but only $160 in Japan (NPR). Too many vultures at the trough.
Will military spending ever be cut? Both parties ensure that it won’t. Americans spend $700 Billion per year on the military, 7 trillion dollars per decade. Is it any surprise that health care and education seem unaffordable?

So Americans are subject to an instigated theater of emotion with precious few facts. It does not matter who is in charge. Republicans and Democrats have monopolized a political system that is based on the flow of money. He with the most money wins. Hence, change is only visible at the narrowest of margins, while the country heads toward financial oblivion.

Americans have been had. And many of them know it.

In an another boneheaded move the Vatican decided to lift the excommunication of a nutjob bishop, you know the kind that denies the Holocaust ever happened. Nice. Next thing he might say the earth is flat and that there is an invisible man in the sky.

Suffice to say Jewish relations with the Vatican are strained. While the Vatican and several bishop conferences distanced themselves publicly from the nutty views of this bishop he is still a welcome and upstanding member of the Catholic club.

Prosecutors in Germany may have a different take:

State prosecutors in Regensburg, Germany, have opened a preliminary investigation into whether Williamson broke German laws against Holocaust denial as he spoke to Swedish state TV while in Germany.

Article VI of the US Constitution:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States

Kathryn Jean Lopez:

We’re a nation not just where you are free to believe or not to believe; we’re a nation founded for Him — so we could praise Him, so we could do His will.

Is there any doubt these people do not wish for a theocracy?

The inauguration was a beautiful event for America and for a moment we got a glimpse of America’s future. Not its past, but its future. The millions gathered as colorful as they come, cross sections of society. But the old, the legacy of the past still rears its ugly head. The reality of a dismal economic situation and the ghosts of partisan, raw power politics are still found at every corner.

Never, it seems, has a president hit the ground running as smoothly and quickly as Obama. The one blemish appears to be the appointment of Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary. His tax troubles are not cavalier. I know they are not cavalier because you and I would be in serious trouble if we had committed the same offense. “But the country needs quick action”.  Funny, but that seems to be the same ticking bomb scenario used to justify torture isn’t it? In any event, Geithner is confirmed and on we go. To what?

Not clear, trial balloon rumours are being floated to create a bad bank to take on all the toxic assets of the other banks. Since we already have plenty of bad banks I’m not sure what the value is of creating another. I know the argument to clear the dirt of the existing banks make them look pretty and move the waste over here. What is over here? You are over here. The tax payer. And you are getting dumped with a bunch of garbage. Nice. Unless we understand what the terms are I can only shudder what might be coming down the pike.

Fact is unemployment continues to skyrocket, corporate earnings are collapsing at record pace and the equity markets continued 2009 like 2008 ended. Down. As of today the S&P is down 6.5% on the year already.

The stimulus plan was passed by the House. It’s not perfect. How could it be? Nobody really knows what needs to be done. It’s guess work. Everybody knows that. So Republicans covered their asses and voted against it. So much for country first and putting an end to partisanship. No, this vote was purely strategic to prepare for the 2010 congressional elections. In case this plan fails, Republicans look good and voters will eat it up. Who are Republican voters these days? The ones that seem to matter are the least educated and most gullible. Joe the Plumber types, people who listen to the stupefying propaganda of a Sean Hannity or a Rush Limbaugh. Republicans crawl at their altars as they control the mindless masses apparently.

What hypocritical nonsense is spewed on the airwaves and in print. A good example can be viewed as Rush Limbaugh is held called out by Mark Haynes:

Just as the thought of World War III would be frightening to the entire world the notion of another Bush as president leaves me queasy.

On “Fox News Sunday,” former President George H. W. Bush said he’s ready for another Bush in the White House. He hopes his son Jeb runs for Senate in Florida and one day for president.

“I think he’d be an outstanding senator … I’d like to see him be president some day,” Bush said.

Useless as usual:

The United States late Saturday blocked approval of a U.N. Security Council statement calling for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel and expressing concern at the escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas.

U.S. deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff said the United States saw no prospect of Hamas abiding by last week’s council call for an immediate end to the violence. Therefore, he said, a new statement at this time “would not be adhered to and would have no underpinning for success, would not do credit to the council.”

France’s U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, the current council president, announced that there was no agreement among members on a statement. But he said there were “strong convergences” among the 15 members to express serious concern about the deteriorating situation in Gaza and the need for “an immediate, permanent and fully respected cease-fire.”

And they squabble on….

This is one of those subjects nobody ever really wants to talk about. I understand why, what’s the point one could argue. But ignoring problems does not make them go away. One thing that kills me about creationists and deniers of evolution is that the vary basic events that drive evolution are easily observed. Take the flu virus. The world is confronted with a different strain almost every year. That’s why flu vaccines are to, a certain degree, crap shoots, because scientists can’t precisely predict the exact composition of the next strain. What studies have shown, however, is that just the “right” combination of changes can make the flu incredibly deadly:

A team of scientists from the US and Japan have identified a combination of three genes in the flu virus that was most likely responsible for making the 1918 flu strain so deadly that it caused the most devastating outbreak of infectious disease ever known to humankind, leaving tens of millions dead in its wake.

Autopsies of people killed by the 1918 flu epidemic show fluid-filled lungs badly damaged by massive hemorrhaging. Although it was clear that the virus had colonized lung tissue, exactly which genes gave the virus this deadly capacity and how was still somewhat of a mystery.

Using ferrets, because flu spreads in their bodies in a similar way as it does in humans, Kawaoka and his team were able to pinpoint a cluster of three flu virus genes that gave the 1918 flu virus the ability to reproduce in the victim’s lungs instead of being confined to the upper respiratory tract. Once the flu virus takes hold in the lungs then there is a greater chance of developing primary viral pneumonia, which together with secondary bacterial pneumonia killed between 20 and 50 million people in the 1918 outbreak.

How his information is reconcilable with an all loving, and compassionate God is beyond me, but so be it. The reality is that this planet, now filled with almost 7 billion people, is basically always a step away from total disaster. All it takes is one mutation of a virus and billions could die. With today’s interconnected world any virus could spread rapidly. In recent years there have been a number of scares such as the Bird flu virus, West Nile, and of course HIV. If HIV was airborne we’d be faced with long term extinction. Or take Ebola, it would likely reduce the world’s population by up to 90% were it airborne:

The virus, which is highly contagious via bodily fluids and causes severe vomiting, diarrhea and often internal and external bleeding, was first reported in the area on November 27.

There is no cure for Ebola, which kills 50 to 90 percent of its victims.

In 1995, a major Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, then known as Zaire, killed 250 of the 315 people known to have been infected, including health workers who touched infected blood

Why am I concerned? Because I believe in regression to the mean. Nature has a documented history. That history shows complete species extinction and balance of eco system. If the balance is interrupted the eco system will change. While humanity’s extistence on this planet has been relatively short lived so far, there can be no doubt the last hundred years have been nothing but ridiculous in terms of growth:

I ask: Does this look sustainable or even reasonable or desirable? Our best hope is that we give science all tools available to study disease and cures. The ban on stem cell research has been abominable. The Vatican’s stance against contraception and condoms has been irresponsible. But let’s not kid ourselves. There is no established record of such an imbalance in nature that was able to sustain itself in the long run. Maybe a quote from Jurassic Park the movie is in order: Nature always finds a way….

Remember this fishing vessel next time you order salt water fish for dinner at a restaurant. These guys work HARD!

Well, at least Bush managed to get consensus on one thing: He’s management of Iraq was an utter disaster. He is still not willing to acknowledge it, but American voters made that judgement, global political elites made the same judgement and so, apparently, do Iraqi political elites:

Former U.S.-installed Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has denounced the policies of President George W. Bush as an “utter failure” that gave rise to the sectarian venom that ravaged his country.

In an interview published on Saturday in the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, Allawi found fault with American management of Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 as well as the government of present Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Allawi ruled Iraq for almost a year after U.S. occupation officials handed power to him in 2004 as prime minister of an interim government. He was selected by a council hand-picked by Washington after the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

“Yes, Bush’s policies failed utterly,” said Allawi, describing the U.S. administration that once backed him. “Utter failure. Failure of U.S. domestic and foreign policy, including fighting terrorism and economic policy.”

“His insistence on names like ‘democracy’ and ‘open elections’, without giving attention to political stability, was a big mistake. It cast shadows on Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Egypt, and I believe this will be remembered in history as President Bush’s policy,” he said.

Maybe David Gregory can take some notes and ask Bush about his style…ure

The markets just enjoyed a nice rally in the past few days, in fact major indices rallied over 8% in just 4 days. But who are we kidding here? The increase came on very low volume during a seasonably favorable time. In fact I would argue the increase was largely aided by a tremendous bounce in oil which was aided by the Israel/Gaza trouble. Volume will be picking up on Monday when traders are coming back and reality will have to be contented with. Realities such as the total collapse in manufacturing output:

In the meantime it is becoming increasingly clear what Obama will write in his notebook during his first staff meeting as president:

All joking aside, the news flow will continue to be difficult. Anyone signaling the all clear and green (as some seem to do on CNBC, are highly irresponsible. I expect the recent advance to be tested in short order.

The death of a child is always a terrible tragedy. The Travoltas seem to be very loving parents and they must be devastated. However, the circumstances of the death of their son Jett appear to be odd.

Jett was found dead on Friday after apparently suffering a seizure and hitting his head on a bathtub while on a New Year’s holiday with his parents and eight-year-old sister, Bahamian police said. His father, a keen pilot, flew the family there by private jet.

His body was discovered by his caretaker, Jeff Kathrain, at around 10am in a bathtub in the Travoltas’ suite at the Old Bahama Bay Resort Hotel on Grand Bahama Island, local police chief superintendent Basil Rahming said.

Jett had a long history of seizures and other medical problems, including complications resulting from Kawasaki disease, a rare lymph-node disorder that causes severe rashes and fevers, Travolta told investigators.

Claims that Jett suffered from autism were given fresh impetus in 2007 after a Florida neighbour of the couple, whose daughter suffers from the condition, said he approached Travolta as “one autistic father to another”.

The potential red flag here is that the Travoltas are Scientologists who reject the use of any kind of psychedelic drug treatment. Who can forget Tom Cruise’s rant regarding Brook Shield’s use of anti-depressants? Seizures can be effectively dealt with through the use of targeted drugs. If proper medication was withheld for religious reasons what is the accountability? Let’s see what facts come about. I have to admit I am a bit biased as I have very good first hand information that Mr. Travolta’s private persona is quite different from his public image. I think it would be fair to say the American public would be shocked if they knew some of the stories circulating in Arizona for example. But that doesn’t make him necessarily an irresponsible parent. But using religious belief to deny medical treatment would be irresponsible at best, and criminal at worst.

I was hopeful that David Gregory would be a good choice for heading Meed the Press. I am now sorely disappointed and maybe that’s my own fault. But I was hopeful after seeing him in clips like these. His recent interviews, however, have been very softball. This clip below with Chris Matthews though makes it perfectly clear as to why: He’s an apologist. Apparently he views the media to have a role in asking questions and taking notes. No follow-up, no challenge on the facts, no debate, no pointing out of factual errors or lies. Whose role is that? Apparently you the citizen. Are you kidding me? David, seriously why did you go to journalism school? We, the American people, NEVER have the chance to ask questions or confront our leaders. We can vote ever so often but we depend on you, the media, who have access to hold those in power accountable to the truth.

One of the key reasons that the Bush administration got away with so much bullshit over the past 8 years is precisely because you guys wouldn’t dig, wouldn’t challenge enough. It’s pathetic. Your view seems to be that journalism is intended to give those in power a platform with which to spew their propaganda unchallenged. Classic example is the 2nd clip below: Question 1: Your approval rating is low, why is that: Bush: bla bla bla that doesn’t address the question or the truth. Follow-up question by Gregory: Let me ask you about your style. Please, what seriously is the value of an interview like this? None, whatsoever. Gregory and others like him in the media should resign. We need a demanding media who watches out for the public and challenges the powerful. A good example is the third clip, when an Irish reporter asks Bush some difficult questions.

Most people know this intrinsically, but the religious dogmatists in the Bush administration made the US taxpayer spend $200 million per year on it anyway. Worse, the idiocy of the programs puts teens further at risk of transmitted diseases since their parents also don’t believe in the use of condoms. Why would they? Churches are often against it and the Vatican is raising doubts against their effectiveness. The effect: Millions of kids are being manipulated and lied to by their parents. What for? To avoid a natural impulse and fulfill a religious goal. The end result: Uneducated kids exposed to diseases and teenage pregnancies. Nice. Can people please grow up?

A new study of a federal survey taken in the 1990s finds that teens who took virginity pledges are just as likely as other teens to have sex before marriage. Importantly, when the pledgers broke their vows they were less likely to use birth control, including condoms.

“Taking a pledge doesn’t seem to make any difference at all in any sexual behavior,” said Janet E. Rosenbaum of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, whose led the study. “But it does seem to make a difference in condom use and other forms of birth control that is quite striking.”

“Five years after the pledge, 82 percent of pledgers denied having ever pledged,” the researchers write in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics.

“Pledgers are less likely to protect themselves from pregnancy and disease before marriage,” the scientists write. “Virginity pledges may not affect sexual behavior but may decrease the likelihood of taking precautions during sex. Clinicians should provide birth control information to all adolescents, especially virginity pledgers.”

Well, here we go again. Nuclear! As with the imaginary mushroom cloud the Bush administration paraded in front of the American public now we hear how Hamas rockets threaten Israel’s nuclear plant. Never mind that Hamas can’t shoot straight with their rockets and therefore the threat is completely bogus. Worse, the reality is, even if a rocket were to hit the plant directly, it wouldn’t cause a nuclear event, it may crumble some concrete. But hey, it sells copy right?

There were growing fears in Israel last night that Hamas missiles could threaten its top-secret nuclear facility at Dimona.

Rocket attacks from Gaza have forced Israelis to flee in ever greater numbers and military chiefs have been shaken by the size and sophistication of the militant group’s arsenal.

Bullshit at best, propaganda at worst.

Israel began phase 2 today and ground troops entered Gaza. As we posted previously no nice guys on either side, the situation seems unsolvable. If we view it from a purely military perspective we have to acknowledge the following: Peace will never be achieved until your enemy is utterly destroyed. That has been a plain fact of life for all of human history. That’s just the way it is. Is Israel prepared to go all the way? I don’t know. If their goal is to find all the Hamas rockets it seems they have to go house by house by house. That seems like a brutal task and one not likely solvable by January 20th when Obama will be sworn in as president. The reality is that Israel will increasingly come under pressure politically to stop, so they have to move fast. Anyone who wants to argue either side of this conflict should also get a clear view of what is happening on the ground. You will not see it in the main stream media, but we can show it here. Be warned though this footage is very graphic and it shows civilian casualties. It is not abstract it is real:

What would happen if a 300 mile asteroid collided with earth? Total extinction even courtesy the Discovery Channel. Make sure to watch in HD for full effect. Depressing, but it has some amazing visuals in it:

PS: If you think these things can’t happen watch Shoemaker-Levy hitting Jupiter

This is no Hollywood movie with easily identifiable good guys and bad guys. In this production they all suck. In the end Hamas got what it wanted: An Israeli strike and war. Arguably they got more this time than they bargained for. Yes, Israel cannot tolerate rockets flying into its territory every day. But where is the perspective? Hamas is obviously hapless as these rocket attacks  result in minimal casualties. Yes, you can argue any casualty is too much, but let’s be honest here: More Israelis die in car crashes than from Hamas rocket attacks. “Rocket attacks” sounds dramatic but in reality they haven’t produced much at all. So what’s the response? Shock and awe and over a thousand casualties in a matter of days, but hey we have an election to win. Sorry to be so cynical, but the basic truth that everyone in the world knows is this: These people are all incapable of solving their problems.

How many US presidents, conferences, peace treaties, UN resolutions, negotiations have produced exactly what? Nothing. The region is in the the same state since Jewish settlers declared Israel an independent state after spending decades of (initially) covertly buying land.

What’s so valuable about the land? Nothing really, but three major religions claim major roots here so on we go and go with no end in sight. Nobody seems to have a solution. Well I have one:

Since both Israelis and Palestinians act like children they need to be treated as such and the entire border dispute will need to be resolved by a UN mandate. Both parties should be disenfranchised from any decision authority. The UN should draw the map for a two state solution with a 5 year mandatory military enforcement commitment. If Israelis and Palestinians don’t like it, well tough. The world is sick of your crap.

Side notes:

1. Why did Israel attack now? Well for one Obama is not in power yet, but more importantly Congress approved the sale of bunker busting bombs to Israel in  September. Delivery just took place in early December. So let’s be clear whose bombs are killing Palestinians.

2. Despite Arab protests across the region a lot of the regional powers are actually pleased. Oil has jumped from $34 to $40 in a matter of two days. Little known problem: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait can’t meet their budgets of oil stays below $50 and $42 per barrel respectively.

3. After the military action is complete how long will it take for Hamas to reconstitute its military capabilities? 6 months? Will the recent Israeli action result in anything useful long term? Nope.

In order to have a political debate that produces actually positive results and improvements we need to acknowledge reality. What are we good at, what are we lacking in, where can we make progress. You cannot train for a race thinking you are the best when in reality you are not. You will fail with this approach. Sadly, we have too many people in this country believing that the United States is some sort of God chosen country that is a shining light on a hill. That sounds nice, but it is not. The simple truth is much blander. The United States does many things well, and excels in certain fields, but it is also a country that has made shockingly little progress in many areas, and worse, is falling behind the rest of the world in many others.

This post then is a beginning of a series aimed that showing factually how the Unites States compares to the rest of the world. This is not an attempt to slander or diminish, but rather to establish a baseline of reality. Only when you understand where you need to improve can you then make then an attempt to improve.

My goal is to continue to post as data becomes available. So readers please forward reliable and verifiable data to me.

So first up: Women in politics. Hillary didn’t make it. Palin (thank goodness in this case) didn’t either. Britian had Thatcher, Germany has Merkel, even Pakistan had a woman president once. She is of course dead now after her assassination recently. Where does the US rank compared to other countries with women in politics? See for yourself:

Is it me, or was he struggling to keep a straight face?

I’m sensing he’s trying to outdo Clinton with his instant classic.

$50 billion fraud. Nobody knew right? Wrong. Another Bush appointee asleep at the wheel. SEC head Chris Cox ignored it completely. How could he have known? Well:

Madoff_SECdocs_20081217