lowercase thought.
Monday, March 28, 2005
Yeah. This makes me feel really good about the Bush plan.
Check out this article from Bloomberg on why Bush's Social Security privatization assumptions are a joke. Here's an even better article today from Standard & Poor's about the risks involved in Bush's plan.
Don't take my word for it. Take theirs.
By the way, here's the chart for the S&P 500 and Dow 30 returns over the past 5 years in case you were wondering whether you could lose money in stocks:
Don't take my word for it. Take theirs.
By the way, here's the chart for the S&P 500 and Dow 30 returns over the past 5 years in case you were wondering whether you could lose money in stocks:
Note to Schindlers: Playing with fire gets you burned.
Check this out. Apparently there may be a *money* rift at the basis of all this hooplah.
The situation seems pretty plausible to me. The kind of fun Bobby Schindler is having with this tragedy really doesn't seem to be in line with the grave nature of the situation.
It was shocking to hear him say, "You don't speak for us" to the crowd. What a schmuck! I'm sorry, but he and his parents deserve every bit of grief they get as a result of their efforts to whip up the frenzy around their court case.
Imagine the mindset of the folks outside the hospice. At the request of the Schindlers and the nutzo right-wing activists they've cuddled up to, dozens of people have come from out-of-state to spend day-after-day camping out to protest. Then, as they realize they can't get their way, the Schindlers say, "Go home." The Schindlers haven't realized yet that it isn't about them and how they feel anymore. To think that the very people they've incited to bash down the gates of the keep could be pulled back with the battering ram in their hands is laughable.
Sit back and enjoy the fireworks folks. It's still only beginning. When Terri dies, the powderkeg blows.
If you play with fire...
The situation seems pretty plausible to me. The kind of fun Bobby Schindler is having with this tragedy really doesn't seem to be in line with the grave nature of the situation.It was shocking to hear him say, "You don't speak for us" to the crowd. What a schmuck! I'm sorry, but he and his parents deserve every bit of grief they get as a result of their efforts to whip up the frenzy around their court case.
Imagine the mindset of the folks outside the hospice. At the request of the Schindlers and the nutzo right-wing activists they've cuddled up to, dozens of people have come from out-of-state to spend day-after-day camping out to protest. Then, as they realize they can't get their way, the Schindlers say, "Go home." The Schindlers haven't realized yet that it isn't about them and how they feel anymore. To think that the very people they've incited to bash down the gates of the keep could be pulled back with the battering ram in their hands is laughable.
Sit back and enjoy the fireworks folks. It's still only beginning. When Terri dies, the powderkeg blows.
If you play with fire...
Friday, March 11, 2005
Bush-style Democracy in action.
Take a look at this graphic from CNN:
Is this the example of "democracy" that Bush talks about? Keep in mind that both the United Iraqi Alliance (Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's crew) and the Iraqi List (Ayad Allawi's crew) are Shi'a, as well as the Islamic Labor Organization (closely affiliated with the United Iraqi Alliance). The Kurdish Alliance and the Islamic Kurdistan Society are Kurdish, the Turkmen Front is Turkomen. That leaves 13 seats out of 275 to be represented by Sunnis. The Iraqiyun is basically the main Sunni party, headed by Ghazi al-Yawar (the U.S.-appointed Iraqi President seen here with stooge Jerry Bremer)--they got a grand total of 5 seats. Whoopee.
Whoever claims that the success of this election has caused the calls for Syrian withdrawl in Lebanon, the sham elections in Egypt, the pre-determined Palestinian vote, or the spotted local men-only elections in Saudi Arabia is fooling themselves out of misplaced hope. Max Boot's article in the LA Times last week is a perfect example of this self-congratulatory nonsense. The Lebanon situation has been simmering since 2000, and was only brought to a head with the assasination of Rafik Hariri allegedly by pro-Syrian forces. Mubarak's call for elections is nothing more than a global PR stunt.
Don't believe the hype. If you look at the internals of the situation the outlook isn't so rosy, nor has it happened overnight.
Is this the example of "democracy" that Bush talks about? Keep in mind that both the United Iraqi Alliance (Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's crew) and the Iraqi List (Ayad Allawi's crew) are Shi'a, as well as the Islamic Labor Organization (closely affiliated with the United Iraqi Alliance). The Kurdish Alliance and the Islamic Kurdistan Society are Kurdish, the Turkmen Front is Turkomen. That leaves 13 seats out of 275 to be represented by Sunnis. The Iraqiyun is basically the main Sunni party, headed by Ghazi al-Yawar (the U.S.-appointed Iraqi President seen here with stooge Jerry Bremer)--they got a grand total of 5 seats. Whoopee.Whoever claims that the success of this election has caused the calls for Syrian withdrawl in Lebanon, the sham elections in Egypt, the pre-determined Palestinian vote, or the spotted local men-only elections in Saudi Arabia is fooling themselves out of misplaced hope. Max Boot's article in the LA Times last week is a perfect example of this self-congratulatory nonsense. The Lebanon situation has been simmering since 2000, and was only brought to a head with the assasination of Rafik Hariri allegedly by pro-Syrian forces. Mubarak's call for elections is nothing more than a global PR stunt.
Don't believe the hype. If you look at the internals of the situation the outlook isn't so rosy, nor has it happened overnight.