My New Adventures in America

Let computers do the thinking

2012-01-29T12:44:00.000-08:00

I was buying a book on Amazon, and this is the message I got:

When you buy this book now for $48.95 and sell it back later for a $0.45 Amazon.com Gift Card, it could cost you as little as $48.50.

Only a computer can think it's a good deal. But they do more and more of the thinking for us.

Another One Bites The Dust

2012-01-28T08:31:00.000-08:00

Another opportunity for the Internet tobecome the tool for significant social change has bite the dust, asTwitter announced on Thursday that it will begin deleting users'tweets in countries that require it.

Capitalism – disinterested in socialorder, tyranny or justice – has won another dollar. Let us keepthe social excuses for intervening in countries internal affairs,only to those who don't pay us.

The Arab Spring will be remember asblip in the history of twitter as a company that could changeimportant things, now they are back to changing our consumerbehavior, telling us which porn is the best.

Well done twitter. I am logging off.

And the same for the Haiku challenge:

Twitter removes twits
If the state asks. Who is state?
What about freedom?

The financial industry and value destruction

2012-01-21T05:30:00.000-08:00

In this book, Simon Lack exposes what many in the industry has known all along, but preferred never to let out. The financial industry creates value for the manager of the financial industry, but destroys value for investors. That is, 84% of all profits of the hedge fund industry, as a whole, went to the pockets of a few hundred hedge fund managers. They were not the investors.

This is a must book for anyone who wants to understand how distorted a system have we created. It is also a must for any politician who wants to make things better, and not only for themselves. But do such people exist?

Fathomless Stupidity (part 1342 and counting)

2012-01-02T10:27:00.000-08:00

My bank, demanding a proof of addressin the form of a utility bill or bank statement, accepted their ownstatement as a proof. .... and this is the top 1%

Europe vs. America

2011-12-30T06:35:00.000-08:00

Iattended a European American Christmas dinner, and I am still unsureif I prefer the French pretend intellectual depth, or the Americanpride in their intellectual shallowness.

The latest from Dad (Dictators against discrimination)

2011-12-29T22:57:00.000-08:00

UN Flags flew at Half-Mast for Kim Jong-il's Funeral, followed by a moment ofsilence for the North Korean Dictator, who killed, tortured andstarved millions of his own people. The UN spokeswoman said it wasmerely following the customary protocol upon the deaths of stateleaders.

Lawyersfor the Dad (Dictators against discrimination) are now suing the theUN for discrimination against the deceased leaders of Iraq and Iran.“The fact that the N. Korean dictator was not killed in the handof the UN forces, cannot be considered relevant, and will not beaccepted as a valid excuse to justify the discrimination againstKim's his Libyan and Iraqi peers,” said the spokesman for theorganization.

Humanright legal experts believe that an out-of court settlement, whichwill include the permanent placement of the dictators' statues in theUN assembly hall, is likely to be reached soon.

When liberal views go unchecked

2011-11-21T04:26:00.001-08:00

Unchecked liberalism eventually goes out of control and destroy itself: Hitler, rose to power democratically; Until recently, unchecked liberal views allowed undemocratic movements to flourish in Europe. What does it mean to the US today?

Can Dr Murray Expect a Fair Sentence?

2011-11-07T17:38:00.000-08:00

Dr. Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. I’m the first to admit that I never cared about Michael Jackson or his death. I have not followed the trial, nor have I opinion on the verdict, or whether Dr. Murray should be released on bail until his sentence.

My concern with Judge Michael E. Pastor’s judicious reasoning arose when he stated that he could not release Dr Murray on bail as “Dr. Murray’s reckless conduct in this case poses a demonstrable risk to the safety of the public”

What risk does Dr Murray pose to the public? Is the respectable judge afraid that until his sentencing on Nov 29th, Dr. Murray will keep practicing unsafe medicine and kill more patients, or is he aware of facts that did not come up in court, and are known to him alone? Can Dr. Murray expect a fair sentence under the circumstances?

Shopping for a mortgage

2011-11-07T16:55:00.000-08:00

Shopping for the best deal is the heart and soul of our consumer culture, and must be encouraged, or so the theory goes. Yet, when mortgages are concerned, the more you shop around, the more the providers check your credit scores. Checking the score reduces them. So by the time a bank wins your business, it has destroyed your credit, and cannot do business with you anymore.

Is Catch 22 on Banker’s MBA program?

The Wheel of Karma

2011-11-06T05:23:00.000-08:00

In current US, poverty is the ultimatesin; only one thing is considered success, money; and human rights iswhat you can buy.

Oedipus did not escape the Moirae. TheWheel of Karma goes round and round. How did we manage create here,the very thing that the first immigrants to the Americas escapedfrom?

Privatization and Electric Outages

2011-11-03T04:36:00.000-07:00

A person holding a hand saw is cutting the branch he is stilling on. The branch snaps and he falls down. ‘Bad luck’ he mutters to himself.

A great deal of our misfortune we blame on luck. Sometimes it is, but often it’s lack of foresight. ‘How could we have known,’ we mutter while clearing the bruises, only to ignore the next warning signals. We blame luck as individuals; we blame it as groups; as companies and as a nation.

It’s bad luck that this year my town in Connecticut has suffered from total of 14 days without electricity. We still sit in the dark – 4 days after the snow fall – and it is likely to be two more days before electricity is restored.

We love it. We heat our house with wood. We cool our fridge with snow; we bring our flushing water from the nearby pond; we use head-torches for light, and we play board games and tell stories around the fire. In a computer age, outage days are nearly the only opportunity we’ve had for family bonding. I’m sure that the environment is happy too. This is pastoral, but this is not the way one of the most (self-proclaimed) advanced states in the world (and clearly one of the most expensive) should run.

Bad luck, they say.

I would agree that Irene, the 6 hours snow last Saturday, and the few other short occasion this year were all irregular events. But none of them was truly extreme. Only the outcome was. Canada, North Europe, Japan all suffer regularly from bigger storms. Yet, a week without electricity is unheard of in most of the developed world. The town elders say that until recently it was unheard of even here.

So is it bad luck, or have we cut the branch we were sitting on?

Having a reliable infrastructure, such as power, requires large investment, with long horizons for returns. This is unattractive for private companies. So they do not invest. Instead, they are reaping the benefits of operating a state-built infrastructure, and running it to the ground. This was to be expected when the push for privatization took place. But easy money blinded everyone. The signs of deterioration were slow to appear, but just like old age they were there all along.

Privatization is the heart of capitalism. But there are two factors that make capitalism work: competition, and good return on investment. These conditions are not fulfilled when infrastructure is involved. But for those who do not see privatization as a strategy but as a religion, logic makes no difference.

Four days later, I am still sitting in the dark, and our infrastructure keeps deterioration.

Yes. let's occupy wallstreet

2011-10-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

Once there was a bank, let's call it C, and the bank would not provide credit for its loyal customer, R, who had been with C for many years. Even though C kept taking R's money, she always had good excuses why she would not yield. “You're not from here,” she'd say. But then R moved here, and two years later, C ran out of excuses, and one day, just like this, she offered R a credit card.

It was blue and smooth, and had diamonds on it, and although R's limit was only $300, he was delighted. Now, he thought, he could build his credit history, and become a true American, with debt, and lots of other useless things he'd always wanted. That will make C love him even more, he thought.

So every month R would religiously spend between $250 and $280 on all the things he didn't need. He was careful not to reach the dreaded $300 limit, and made sure to open every envelope with C's name on it. Most of the them he tossed (C always asked for more), but once a month, when he got the one with numbers and lines, he'd immediately fill his pocket with some change, and hurry to give C what she deserved.

So the happy relationships continued for some time, until R decided to buy a house, and the the first one to know about it was C. But a few days later, a letter from C was shoved under R's door. With trembling hands he opened it. To his great dismay, R had to face the sadness we all know so well, his love to C was not reciprocated.

“Dear R,” the letter opened, “I'm so sorry but I can't give you the mortgage you need. You see, you are already utilizing over 90% of your credit line. Please call me if there is anything else I can do for you,” the letter ended.

Still hoping to change of heart, R spent hours on the phone, arguing persuading, trying to change C's mind. But to no avail. He swore that he'd never sought credit with another, and that C was his only card. It did not help him.

Broken hearted, R decided to cut the card, and with the $280 he owed, he send it back to C, never to see her again. It did not take a week before C started leaving messages on R's phone. “I do not want to to lose you,” one message said. A letter, smelling of C's perfume arrived. It brought back old memories, and R could not stop his heart from beating fast. In the letter, C offered to increase R's credit to 3,000, 30,000, 300,000, whatever he wanted, “Just don't leave me,” she begged. But R's mind was already set, and with time letter and messages from C dwindled until the flow dried up altogether.

And then, all of a sudden, a letter from C. “Dear R,” it said. “I've now checked again your credit situation, and learnt that you have no outstanding debt. I am so happy that at last I can give you the mortgage you wanted so much, and we can be together again.” By that time, however, R's heart had been given to another (lets call her H) and until this day, he never spoke with C again.

The End.

2011-10-16T18:11:00.000-07:00

The sight of a needle about to pierce the skin sends shivers down many backs, enough to prevent them from going for a medical treatment, enough to block their minds from considering blood donation. According to Red Cross statistics, a mere 3% of US citizens have ever donated blood, a much lower rate than in most of Europe, and a real problem for the blood bank here in the US.

Donating blood was a regular part of my life. Since I was a teenager, I would donate blood twice a year. I the many countries I lived in, the process was nearly identical: step into a station nearby, fill in a quick questionnaire, get your arm stung, and be out with a cup of juice and a cookie in no more than half an hour. US has been the exception. Despite the big 'We need your blood' posters, the pleas and the expensive advertising campaign, donating blood in the US remained an ordeal.

When I first arrived here I thought of continuing my donation tradition and sought a place to donate. The station nearest to my place was too far to be convenient; the station nearest to my work, had inconvenient operation schedule. And when I once drove past a blood donation bus and stepped in, even though there was only a single person waiting, I was asked to arrange an appointment and come back another time. I never did.

But,as the say goes, if Mohammad is prevented from going to the mountain, the mountain will eventually come to Mohammad. After long advertising campaign, posters and emails, the Red Cross came to our office. They were not very popular, and the line was short. So, with a questionnaire in my hand, I waited for my turn.

Unlike any short blood donation questionnaire I had ever filled in, this one had seventy questions. They wanted to know if anyone I had sex with had ever used a needle (as if I'd know). They asked if, since 1977 I had ever taken money, or other payment for sex. (As if it matters). They could not answer if my wife's dinners and a nice bottle of wine should be considered 'other payment'.

But this was not the reason I failed their test. I failed because in the past 10 years I have spent more than three months in the UK, which made me a possible carrier of mad cow disease.

Next week they are coming again to my office. This time, there will be one less person in the already short line.

Hotel Magic

2011-09-30T18:03:00.000-07:00

My room was 806

The Beggar

2011-09-24T09:10:00.000-07:00

A beggar in the subway hassled passengers formoney. Most ignored him, some grumbled about parasites. Ihappily donated. After all, I could be sure that the money would notsupport wars in Afghanistan or Iraq, nor will it be used to donate ajacuzzi for a rich banker, who needs it to calm his consciousnessafter another day of embezzling taxpayers money.

I could be sure that the beggar would use the money for a good cause: at worst it will supportthe alcohol, drug and food industry. How bad can that be incomparison?

The Right for Money and the Republican Debate

2011-09-14T05:06:00.001-07:00

It was enlightening to see the cheers and claps at last night's Tea Party Republican presidential debate, when Texas Rep. Ron Paul, suggested that it’s not the government’s responsibility to take care of uninsured people even if on their deathbed.

Loud cheers of "yeah!" followed by laughter could be heard in the Expo Hall, in response to the question if he was saying that society should just let the person die?

And if the person cannot afford the insurance?

In the mind of these people, nothing is more sacred than the right to make money – not even the right for life. Under this approach, will they fund a police? After all, a robber has the right for money just like an industrialist, only his means are different. And if you don’t want to get robbed, hire your own army.

Why should we spend money on courts, judges and a legal system? After all, those who have money could send their people to resolve any dispute. The more money they have, the higher the chances the dispute will be settled in their favor.

Let those with money pave their roads, educate their children and employ their own doctors. And for the rest of us, we should be grateful for the right to live under the wings of our feudal landlords, who will determine where we should live, and if we should live at all.

America was established by those who fled the lordship and feudal systems of Europe, where money meant might, power and rights. Our governing system was established to protect the people from the tyranny of individual power. But today, for some, the right for money is the only right that the government must protect: a slippery slope that will return us just where we escaped from. I am sure that this was not what TS Eliot meant when he wrote:

…
And the end of all our exploring.
Will be to arrive where we started.
And know the place for the first time.

9/11 and the American Education

2011-09-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

I asked my two children, one in primary school, the other in middle school, what they had learned at school about 9/11. Both said that they had a moment of silence and that was all. There was no lesson devoted to it, no discussion or debate. My primary school child, was not even sure what 9/11 was all about. I was shocked.

Even if it is not part of the formal curriculum (shouldn't it be?), can there be a justification for such educational negligence? How deep can our democratic ignorance go, and still call US a democracy?

Feds sue 17 banks over mortgage bonds

2011-09-09T18:20:00.000-07:00

Just tobe clear how the system works: the Fed is suing the same banks to which it is givingtax money (directly and indirectly) to prevent their default. Now, if the Fedwins its case, it will be forced to finance the banks with more tax money sothat they could to pay the penalty back to the Fed.

What am I missing?

Market Economy

2011-08-31T18:58:00.000-07:00

“US market up on stimulus hopes”; “US market down as hope for stimulus abates.” Up or down, one thing is clear, the US market no longer believes in market economy.

Irene and the Profiteers

2011-08-29T13:52:00.000-07:00

A summary of radio advertising (on two AA batteries) I collected before and during Hurricane Irene.

All citizens living in flood-prone areas are requested to evacuate their homes, that is, if they have a toll-gate pass. For those without this convenient, money saving card that can save you hours when you need them most, please go to our website www.YouHaveNoChoiceButPay and get your pass for an extra charge (we know that you do not have a choice.)

If, however, due to the severe weather condition, your Internet is down, you can still reach us on 1800-pay-alot and a new wireless connection – which does not require a landlines and can save you thousands of dollars in shopping from wherever you are – will be delivered at your doorstep.

In the likely event that your power is also down and you cannot call us – because you are subscribed to a modern telephone service that does not work when the power is down – we have just the solution for you. A self sustained portable generator – which you can also use when camping or when having friends for a nice barbecue after your successful fishing trip. To get our generator, please come to any of our local shops around Philadelphia, as we have made a killing, and we are sold out in the tri-state area. If you ever make it back home, you will feel as if no storm whatever is taking place.

If flooding prevents you from reaching our shops – open for your convenient 24 by seven including Christmas and New Year eve – we hope that your insurance with us is valid, and gives you all the sleep you need in these stormy times. Otherwise, if you have survived Irene, please call 1800-you-are-screwed, and make sure that your next hurricane will be a pleasant experience to share with friends and family .

When did profiteering stop being a dirty word?

Earthquake

2011-08-24T03:46:00.000-07:00

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake centered in Virginia shook Washington Tuesday. The White House and Capitol were among the Washington buildings that were evacuated.

At last!

Nothing else has shaken the white house , or forced its people our of their holes. Hopefully they have now recognized that there is a world out there – the world we pay them to stop destroying so fast.

Thank you President Obama

2011-08-20T16:12:00.000-07:00

President Obama called for Bashar al-Assad to step down for the sake of the Syrian people.President Assad wishes to thank Obama for his good advice, and apologizes that his busy schedule, killing his people, has prevented him from looking after their welfare. For the sake of his people and the pleasure of facing an international tribunal, he promises to consider Obama proposition seriously.

Bombs and Euros

2011-08-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

I don’t understand Iran’s obsession with their nuclear program. After all, if all they want is to bring US to its knees, all they need to do is sell their oil for Euros. This will not only devastate US much faster, it will also shatter the American national spirit.

Think Simple

2011-08-11T03:01:00.000-07:00

America invested a million dollars tohave a pen that can write in space, the Russians used a pencil.

America has invested billions todevelop Star Wars capabilities, a dozen people with no technologybrought the World Trade Center down.

And the first nuclear bomb might reach the US notby a ballistic missile, but sent by Fedex to explode on opening.

And once more we will all be caught by surprise.

Wisdom and Anarchy

2011-08-10T03:42:00.000-07:00

Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Greece, Israeland now the UK. Demonstrations and anarchy are spreading into thedeveloped countries, where economic reality rapidly erodes thestandard of living – taken for granted by the population. The USbehaves as if it's economic policy has nothing to do with socialorder; as if it is immune. The wise learn from others' experience.Show me wisdom before reality catches up.

Race and Ethnicity

2011-07-31T11:19:00.000-07:00

Filling in a banking form, I was asked about ethnicity. I had to options to choose from:

Hispanic or Latino
Not Hispanic or Latino

Would MLK consider it a victory?

Corrupt at best. Treasonous at worst.

2011-07-27T04:09:00.000-07:00

Has anyone checked how many of the politicians debating the budget and debt ceiling, have taken financial positions that will benefit from the downgrade and default of the United States, and from the demise of its economy?

The Legal Face of Evil

2011-07-09T06:53:00.000-07:00

Image by: blog.camera.org

Once I had a friend who was a farmer. He is not a farmer any more. He is barely alive. The legal system nearly killed him.

He had a dream. He wanted to treat animals right, he wanted to treat customers right. He did not believe that diseased meat cleaned with ammonia was appropriate for human consumption. He had not had any experience as a farmer, so he abounded a successful engineering career and went to school again. Four years later he borrowed money from family, friends and the bank and started his own little farm.

He built a few raws of chicken coops, with enough space for chicken to move, and enough windows for them to see the light. He planted a few acres of vegetables, which he tried to grow without chemicals, and he started planting his first orchard.

But as small and insignificant as he was, he was a threat to the big corporates. After all, if they let him – and others like him – grow, who knows where it might lead. Maybe consumers would even start demanding quality and responsibility? This would have hurt large corporates' bottom lines, and cannot be just. Like vultures they circled above, waiting for the opportunity to shove him down the cliff. “Kill him young before he grew,” said the CEO of a big corporate.

And so they did. Hangmen, who have never worked a day on a farm – some would say they had never worked a day – would appear in their expensive outfits, holding death warrants. My friends tried to fight, after all they had no claim, but they had money.

The court dismissed their case, so they came with a new one, and my friend fought again. The court dismissed again, and they kept coming back. There was no respite. They knew how the system worked; they knew that no one could stop them from coming after my friend's farm over and again.

My friend never lost a case, but behind him stretched a long a trail of blood and money. And the corporates, smelling the blood, licked their lips, knowing that his end was near. By now, he was in debt, debt he could never repay. His farm was not the happy place any it used to be, as he would spend his time in court and not in the field.

What could have been a successful enterprise, the type that once built America and its economy has turned into a feeding frenzy for the winners.

“Kill them young they said,” their eyes already set on their next target.

The vicory of al-Qaeda

2011-06-30T02:45:00.000-07:00

At a Wednesday meeting of the D.C. Taxicab Commission (DCTC), two journalists were arrested by Park Police for taking photos at the public meeting. During the meeting, a taxi inspector approached the Journalists and told them that they couldn’t take photographs of commission members seated at the front of the room.

It's not only the arrest. The very idea that a person in power, here in America, can even think he can force anyone to stop taking photos in a public gathering is mind shuddering. It was unthinkable only a decade ago. But since new rules and codes of behavior had been adopted after the September 11 attack, our path to no-freedom has been established. Unless we stop it now, al-Qaeda has won the war.

One of the photos captured during the raid on Bin Laden's compound

Syrian Protestors

2011-06-07T05:07:00.000-07:00

Syrian protestors remain along the Israeli border despite the 23 killed there in the last few days.

It seems that these days, the Israel border is the safest place for Syrian. Definitely safer than staying in Damascus

The Battle against Bin Laden

2011-05-02T02:52:00.000-07:00

A single person fighting against the strongest army in the world lost after 11 years. What is there to celebrate?

Bin Laden died and yet we lost. We lost hundreds of lives and billions of dollars. Our economy is as close to collapse as it has ever been, and our position in the world will never be restored. Worst of all, by exposing how vulnerable we really are and how a single person can take on an entire nation, Bin Laden open a Pandora box that will not be shut again.

We must recognize that we did not destroy the extreme Islam who sees as as the devil, but merely one of it martyrs. And martyrs there are many. Only if we acknowledge that it's not the war that we won will we have a chance to avoid the next battle.

A single person took on an entire world and nearly won. What is there to celebrate?

I Wonder

2011-03-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

This week, the United Nations handed Iran a four-year seat on its Commission on the Status of Women. I wonder if the UN feels that we have now gone too far with women's rights, and that it's time to go back to the good old days.

Quotes From the Honest Guru

2011-03-03T06:16:00.000-08:00

A Week of Miracles

2011-02-08T11:24:00.000-08:00

Following a week in which both employment and unemployment dropped together – for the first time since men left the trees – Obama declared that he wants Mubarak to leave his post but stay as a president. After two such consecutive impossibilities happening so close to each other, the third impossibility will undoubtedly follow. What will it be? Will it be the increase of wealth through growth in debt or maybe the improvement of democracy through paying for votes?

Whatever the next miracle might be, it will undoubtedly show, once again, why we, who base our actions on reality, should leave our lives in the hand of those who understand that impossibilities do not exist, and know how to govern us accordingly.

Twenty below freezing

2011-02-06T12:11:00.000-08:00

(image by Shirley Cason)

It's ten degrees outside. Fahrenheit. Heavy icicles are hanging from the roof and window sills threatening to fall and crash the wooden veranda underneath. The pond has turned into a solid block of ice, thick enough for an adults to stand on. It's as quiet as only a land covered with snow can be. Silent, save the sound of trickling water.

If you followed the sound, so unnatural to this frozen world, you would find that it came from the roof. Tick, tick, tick, the snow on the roof is melting drop after drop, in a regular pace of an ancient clock.

It's not a special house. Just like all neighboring houses it emits heat to the outside world. Enough heat to raise the temperature by more than 20 degrees; enough to melt ice.

While heat is escaping, cold is penetrating the house. Yet, as the heaters are working non-stop, the house is warm and pleasant, and the sudden chill I feel whenever I see my heating bill is soothed by the love that the energy company bestows upon me. They love me. They love my neighbors. They love all of us who subscribe to the American dream: cheap houses that cost a lot to run.

It's only the environment that screams at me whenever I step out. But I don't have time to listen. I am too busy complaining about the trains that do not run in this weather; about the increase of oil price and about the council that does not clean the snow off the roads fast enough.

I hate being confused by hard thinking, when I can solve my problems by simple installments. Why should I build doors that seal if I can heat the house? Why should I build proper slopes if I can pumps out the access water. As long as my credit line is good why should I care if the Johns don't.

Middle East Democracy

2011-01-30T14:03:00.000-08:00

America tells Mubark what he needs to do.

America wants democracy in Egypt. Democracy is good America says, forgetting Afghanistan, Iraq and Gaza to which it brought democracy. Even Iran is democratic. America does not like it.

America thinks it has democracy at home because people vote. People voting, however, is not sufficient for a democracy. A democracy needs voting of informed and knowledgeable people. Voting out of ignorance, voting out of greed, voting to get paid for are non-democratic.

When people who cared about abortion voted for a president who did not care about the world, but found himself decimating Iraq, hence helping Iran to start its nuclear program this is not a democracy, this is simply stupid.

Let people who care and know about abortion vote about abortion. Let those who understand the world vote about foreign policy. Any other arrangement is simply ludicrous.

America is in a position in which its own democracy is making it dysfunctional. This is not a position to advise others. Humble yourself America. Show the world that you can manage your own affairs. Then the world may listen once more to what you have to say.

The face of a nation

2010-12-05T06:40:00.000-08:00

In one of the government offices there is a sign saying:

Fraudulent Activity Is Illegal

And for a moment I thought ....

Reflections on Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T06:01:00.000-08:00

1. The Indians saved our lives
2. We killed them
3. Now we cannot thank the Indians -- they are dead after all
4. So we eat a Turkey to commemorate the dead Indians
5. And celebrate their kindness

Did I miss anything?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone

Elections and the fate of empires

2010-11-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

In the recent elections, voters sent Obama a clear message about their dissatisfaction of the way he handled the economy. Republicans celebrate. But to satisfy voters, Republicans, too, will have to examine, and often let go of, their most fundamental beliefs.

It was the belief in minimal government intervention which created the credit crisis that led to the current state of the economy.
It is the belief in free markets that moved jobs to cheaper places and increased unemployment. Many of the richest republican supporters, who blame the Obama administration for the job losses, have sent abroad jobs from their own businesses.
It is the belief in maximizing profits, above anything else, that shifted profits to low tax countries, and deprived the US government of needed tax.

These ‘old’ ideas have already been proven devastating. But there are more:

If China keeps the value of its currency unchanged, America will not be able to compete with cheap Chinese import. As a result, we pressure China to appreciate its currency. If it does, however, its investment in the US will suffer. This will make any future investment in the US less attractive. It is the Chinese investment in the US that keeps sponsoring our growing deficit.

If US innovation keeps focusing on efficient manufacturing, assembly lines and cheap products, following Adam Smith’s philosophy, the pressure to reduce labor cost will only accelerate. This can only lead to one of three outcomes:

shifting more jobs overseas, and thus increasing unemployment
importing cheap labor from overseas
lowering workers’ compensation.

Any of these options will continue the erosion of the middle class, and will turn the US into a society with a small mega rich class, supported by the poor – a typical a third world country.

No one has a solution. To seek a solution, we must first recognize that long term trends have changed, and short term pain-killers will not provide the cure we need.

It is not about Republicans or Democrats. It’s about old ideas that do not hold any longer. It is about acknowledging that political and economical philosophical should not be a religion, and ideas established during the industrial revolution, may not be valid any more.

All historical empires disappeared; they kept following the same strategies that made them empires, even when these strategies became useless. Will US democracy be flexible to change itself enough, or will we insist on following old ideas, wherever they may take us?

The solution for hard work

2010-10-03T09:58:00.000-07:00

"If you are tired after working irregular hours, go to your Dr. You may be suffering from a shift-work syndrome."

This was an ad I heard on the radio, and I immediately went to the clinic and said: “Doctor I really feel tired. Do you have something for long working hours?”

The kind doctor, scribbled a prescription, and after a hefty co-pay bill, I am now the proud owner of green and yellow pills, that their cheaper version, bought on the street corner, would have put me in jail.

In a country that prescription drugs cost 100 times more than in any other country, can pharmaceutical companies afford not to creatively invent new diseases?

In a country where people spend the most on medical insurance, and yet, pay more for treatments than in countries without insurance, can insurance companies afford not to make us worry about health , and then sell us insurance for drugs against worrying?

In a country that does not believe that health is basic human rights, and yet spends the most per person on public medicine, our children’s lives are predicted to be shorter than ours. This is the first time it happens since the industrial revolution.

In a country that money is everything, can we stop buying health, and start living healthy life, that can achieved so cheaply.

But this is not good for the companies. And whatever is not good for companies is not good for us, and will not happen. Not in our America 2010.

The rebirth of NY subway

2010-06-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

Today, nine month after the London Underground exuded the CEO of their failed underground to plant the seed in NY, drastic changes were born, and the subway services that were known to be not-so-good, were officially reborn horrible.

At last, NY subway realized that regardless of the quality of service or lack of it, passengers have no choice or say – just like in London. What are passengers going to do, walk?

So now that MTA has declared a deliberate deterioration of services, we can only ask why did wait so long? Didn’t we know that reducing the quality of a monopoly increases profit? Couldn’t we have come up with it ourselves? After all, unlike old style companies that were responsible for multitude of stakeholders – employees, debt holders, the community – it was America that reinvented the modern company as an entity responsible for its shareholders alone. So why did we need to import our own ideas from the socialist continent?

By the way, I hope that the drastic service change was not a surprise to anyone, as the writing was on the wall.

Are you ready?

2010-06-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

The sound of children playing in the playground, arguing, shouting, laughing, tells us that they are all having a good time chasing each other, climbing and hiding. All of a sudden all sound stops. Then, a loud scream shutters the silence. It takes five minutes before an adult reaches the scene to find a circle of children standing over a child lying on the ground, apparently unconscious. The children seem unsure what to do. Some are poking the child on the ground hoping for some response. There is none. Others are calling their parents on their cells. Someone suggests calling 911.

Accidents happen. They are unavoidable part of life, and its folly to believe otherwise. So while we try to keep our children safe and teach them how to avoid danger, it’s also our responsibility to prepare them for times when things do go wrong. Because it has been shown many times that a capable young child can save other’s life. Often, first-aid and emergency training is the difference between saving life and death.

However, first-aid training for children is uncommon in America, where parents and authorities alike behave as if it’s better to protect the fragility of children and spare them the mental inconvenience of facing unpleasant reality, than to rely on their resilience and prepare them for emergency situations. This attitude of ‘if we don’t think about it, it won’t happen to us’ is nothing but negligence.

In many countries, minimal-cost first-aid and other emergency courses are available to all by the public emergency services. Children are especially encouraged to take these courses.

I can vividly remember the half day courses my friends and I used to take every other year to refresh the ABCD of first aid (Airways, Breathing, Circulation, Danger). Extracting the life-sized manikin on which we practiced mouth-to-mouth resuscitation would bring embarrassed giggles; pressing the pressure point in the groin to stop severe bleeding from the lower limbs was always accompanied by pre-pubescent jokes.

But the material we repeatedly practice in these courses as children became inseparable part of who we are. Only recently a childhood friend who attended these courses, found himself involved in an accident. The dormant, nearly forgotten first-aid skills he’d practiced so many years ago emerged when he needed them most, and he managed to keep an injured person alive until the ambulance arrived, and the medics took over.

Children today, just like when we were young, will find themselves in dangerous situations. This we cannot avoid. So instead of pretending that emergencies don’t happen, let’s prepare them. Because the more emergency-aware children there are, the safer we and our children will be.

Your Privacy. Do they give a shit?

2010-05-30T17:05:00.001-07:00

Publish Post

(image swiatobiektywu)

Why do our privacy watchdogs attack social networks, and once again, let financial institution, whose privacy practices are far worse, get away untouched?

The other day, I got a letter from a financial institution I have an account with.

Customer privacy and security have never been more important to us. We want you to know what we're doing to protect your privacy and keep your information secure … Following is a copy of our Privacy Notification.

For a moment I felt reassured to know that they really take my privacy seriously. Wouldn't you be? Well, At least until you read the rest of the letter

PRIVACY POLICY

This Policy explains what the Company does to keep information about you private and secure. … . Please read this Policy carefully.Q. Is information about me shared within your family of companies?
A. Yes. We may share information about you within our family as required or permitted by law. ….

Q. Is information about me shared with service providers and financial companies outside your family of companies?
A. Yes, as permitted by law. ….

Q. Is information about me shared with non-financial companies outside your family of companies?
A. Yes. We may share information about you with companies outside of our family as permitted by law. ….

Q. Is information about me shared in any other ways?
A. Yes. We may also share information about you in other ways, as required or permitted by law. …

Is there anyone they will not share your private information with? In other words, they don't even try to hide that they care about your privacy as long as they don't find an opportunity to make money by not caring about it.

I hope that knowing that your privacy is in such good hands makes you feel reassured. And this happens in a society that brainwashes its citizens that socialism takes away your right to privacy.

What is your worth?

2010-04-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

(image:http://srht.deviantart.com/)

From an early age, we are taught to think of ourselves as individuals valuable to the society we live in. But have you ever wondered how our modern society values your worth? The following anecdote may shed some light on this question.

A company I once worked for manufactured software-testing tools. It was a startup, and its first application was for testing some mission-critical medical equipment. A malfunction could have meant patient’s life, and as we were very proud of our record of reliability, we decided to expand our business to other fields.

It was pre-credit crisis days, and the field that attracted us the most was the financial sector. I was introduced to a top banking executive who asked to see references. But when he found out that all our references were from medical institutions, he looked at us in superior disgust and bluntly stated: “If somebody dies because of malfunction of your software, it will be a loss of $250,000 in insurance pay. But here if a mistake happens, we lose real money. (By the way, in the aftermath of the credit crisis, it became obvious that in general, financial software was far less reliable than anything we produced.)

So now that you know how you are valued by financial institutions, you may wonder if there is anyone outside your family and close circle of friends that value you more.

You may already be aware that unless you can financially support political campaigns, to politicians you are nothing but a vote. But what about your place of work, doesn’t your company value your contribution as an individual? Isn’t your value to your employer greater than the simple difference between the income you help to generate and your cost?

If you work for publicly listed company, even for a company whose mantra is ‘our employees are our most valuable asset,’ in most downturn situations you, the valuable asset, will become a disposable commodity, and will be disposed of way ahead of any other assets or equipment the company owns. This is despite evidence that indicates that “downsizing is guaranteed to accomplish only one thing – it makes organizations smaller" (Pfeffer, 1998), and that the consequences of downsizing is stock prices that lag 5 to 45% behind the competition. How valuable to your employer does this make you feel?

This has not always been the case. It’s a relatively recent phenomenon that many industries have chosen to revert to pre-industrial-revolution practices and dehumanize their work force, thus reversing a hundred years-old trend of treating employees as individuals.

While this trend may raise many moral and ethical questions (for instance, it ignores articles 23 and 24 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, which states the right of employee to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment) it also raises questions about the sustainability of the American lifestyle.

After all, if cheap labor becomes imperative to the success of the American economy, not far is the day when American competitiveness in the world will not survive without cheap labor. So while developing countries around the world are moving up the scale of manufacturing, away from cheap production economies, America is moving down.

It’s easy to project that if this trend continues, soon America will become the cheap manufacturing facility for countries like China or India. While this may be a viable economic model, this, no doubt will lead to sharp deterioration of the American quality of life, as in the long run, cheap labor will not sustain the lifestyle that Americans are used to today.

Marriage and sex

2010-04-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

A recent research has shown that, in average, married people enjoy more frequent sex than the unmarried. I am surprised that the more conservative institutions in our society have not yet abused this research to promote marriage.

The day is near when every box of condoms will be sponsored by the church with a script saying: If you want more sex, get married. As sex will always beat any moral or value campaign hands down, this research might be proven to be the salvation of the marriage institution.

Is it science that we teach?

2010-03-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

No one would have believed that in the 21st century, we would still be teaching science in our schools using medieval methods and ways of thinking. Can we afford it?

Science was, undoubtedly, amongst the most important drivers to have led humankind out of the dark ages, through the age of enlightenment into our modern days. In its early days, science teaching – part of the religious discipline – involved the memorisation and analysis of the sacred texts: the earth was the centre of the universe, and the speed of falling bodies was proportional to their weight: the heavier a body was, the faster it fell. The truth was in the books, and for over 900 years, there could be no questioning, even when this truth didn’t match the observed world.

All this changed in the 15th century, when at great peril, scientists and philosophers started rebelling against the dogma, shaping our modern view. The sun became the centre of our world. The rotation of the earth became the reason for day and night, and in his renowned experiment, Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) dropped two bodies of different weights from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and demonstrated that bodies fall at the same speed, regardless of their weight. This was indisputable proof that the ancient dogma was fundamentally mistaken, and modern science, based on observation, experimentation and questioning, had emerged.

However, in our schools nowadays, although we may teach ‘correct’ scientific facts, the fundamental way of thinking remains pre-Galilean: the truth is in the books. We read that the sun is at the centre of our universe, but how many students can explain how we know this fact? Similarly, every physics student knows that the earth’s gravitational acceleration is 9.8 meter/sec2, but can they devise an experiment that demonstrates this figure? And what about the speed of light? Although it’s impractical to measure it in the classroom, can any of our students explain how this figure was derived?

Without scientific thinking, without the emphasis on questioning, doubting and observation, without understanding of the underlying assumptions, what is the difference between the medieval way of teaching and our own? Is it surprising, therefore, that many American students cannot tell the difference between science and pseudo-science? After all, without scientific thinking, science education is nothing but the memorization of facts and formulae from the books we choose to believe in.

For some, the need for science education is so obvious that questioning it makes no sense whatsoever. Many, on the other hand, see science as an intellectual luxury and prefer to focus on practical education, humanitarian studies or education for values. Whatever your viewpoint may be, some facts are indisputable:

First, scientific progress has been a prime contributor to the advancement of countries and the world. Just try to imagine the world without the telephone, the combustion engine or the computer. With increased economical globalization, manufacturing of technologies derived from scientific innovation is moved to low-cost countries, such as China or India. America can never become a cheap manufacturing country without losing its quality of life. It is the scientific innovation and intellectual value that will create sustainable value and help maintain our standard of living.

Second, scientific thinking uses and develops a comprehensive set of mental faculties: it teaches how to analyze data and facts, and to combine creative thinking with critical analysis. It trains students to be objective and concise, and never to accept common practices, but always strive for new and better ways. No other discipline develops such a wide range of mental skills. Isn’t that what education is all about?

If we teach science but ignore scientific thinking, we risk ending up with what the physics Nobel Prize laureates, Richard Feynman, described as self-propagating system in which people pass exams, and teach others to pass exams, but nobody knows anything. Universities around the country have been reporting of an acute decrease in the quality of the students taking science. What does it mean for the scientific, technological, and economic future of America? Can we afford it?

In times new economic forces are rising, when America’s education is falling, can we really afford to neglect science, and the many benefits, including the scientific way of thinking, that come with it? By not opening this opportunity for our children, are we really doing the best for them and for the world they will inherit?

An American winter question

2010-03-15T15:12:00.000-07:00

Heavy rain outside. The streets are flooded, and fallen trees are blocking the road. The rain hits the windows and the walls of the house, and dampness can be seen wherever the seal is damaged. Like every year after the rains, the owner will sure have to spend on repairing water-damaged wood and new painting.

In a country that hail inventions that reduces efforts or saves money, I simply cannot understand why Americans build houses without overhang to protect from the rain and water damage, like they do in other parts of the world?

House with an overhang

All or Nothing

2010-03-10T17:01:00.000-08:00

picture by Stacy Annx (http://xstacyxannx.deviantart.com/)

Las Vegas ...

An entire city built as a grandiose backstage for the largest deliberate illusion man has ever created. A city built with a single purpose in mind, to take your material possessions in return for hopes and dreams. An ostentatious illusion created to make you believe that with a role of the dice, you too can change your luck.

Just like most other religious cities, like Guadalupe in Mexico or the city of Medjugorje, the pilgrims to Las Vegas believe that their fate will not follow that of the millions who depart worse off. Instead, they all hold the belief that they are the chosen ones; the few and far between that will be blessed with a miracle.

But it’s not Las Vegas alone. This faith is the very heart of the American dream, or as some may call it, “The Great American Delusion.” It’s the delusion that luck and alchemy can turn debt into ever-lasting prosperity.

So far, however, the alchemy has worked in the opposite direction. Generations of American economic growth has yielded 12 trillion dollar debt. That is, every man, woman and child in America owes someone overseas over $35,000. The debt is of such magnitude that no economist, academic or politician knows how to tackle the problem. It’s a debt that cannot be paid by our generation, which makes us the first generation in modern history that robbed wealth from their children. This dubious honor will not be forgotten by future generations who will not be able to afford the life that today we take for granted.

It’s absurd that the more economically successful America has been the bigger its debt has grown. After all, common sense dictates that an economy that has been expanding since WWI – as we are often told – should have accumulated wealth rather than debt. But common sense has not been part of any financial policy for quite some time.

It’s nonsensical to believe that we can increase debt forever, without bearing the consequences. Because if there is one thing we know about debt, it’s that it does not go away by itself. For a country, just like for an individual or a company, when the last lender has refused to lend any further, financial collapse is imminent. Who will be our last lender?

It’s irresponsible to base our entire financial system on millions paying for the very few at the top of the pyramid. This is a pyramid scheme, also known as a Ponzi scheme. When Madoff’s scheme was found out he was sent to 150 years in jail, when an entire country is based upon a similar scheme, we call it ‘economic model’. Whatever we call it, there are two things we know about Ponzi schemes. The first is that they always collapse. The second is that collapse happens without a warning. A great success today can turn into a total ruin tomorrow. And once collapse has occurred, recovery is impossible.

Like any other Ponzi scheme, this one is based upon faith – the belief that with a stroke of luck, debt will turn into prosperity. This is the very same belief that built Las Vegas.

Just like in Las Vegas, millions of hopeful pilgrims pay for a handful of winners. Unlike Las Vegas, where casinos always win, this house is bankrupt.

… and the dice keep rolling.

Backballs and the common sense factor

2010-03-10T05:28:00.001-08:00

Look inside the highlighted part of the ad above.

If a company is truly worried that someone will use this product internally and sue them, either we breed stupidity, or something is completely messed up with our legal system. To quote the honest guru: it's unfair that 95% of all lawyers who give all lawyers bad reputation.

The greatest production in history

2010-03-02T18:34:00.000-08:00

With all the draconian copyrights, trademark and patent laws, for quite some time I have been wondering why Al Qaeda has not yet sued anyone for the unauthorized use of September 11 material? After all, this has been one of the most popular productions in the history of modern media

Do they have a long term plan to use our legal system to sue every media company in the West? If we look at many copyright infringement cases, they may stand a good chance to bring many media corporations to bankruptcy, and will allow Al Qaeda to take them over.

And if we want to preempt and change the law, can we also have a second look at patenting natural DNA? Otherwise, it won't be long parents of a new born child will receive - in additional to the traditionally American hefty hospital bills - a separate demand for all patented DNA their child will be using throughout his or her life.

If you still don't understand Wall Street

2010-02-27T11:56:00.000-08:00

Despite the two years of non-stop information about the financial crisis, I still find that many do not understand how our financial system really works. I hope that this old fable, will demystify Wall Street for you, once and for all.

Once upon a time in a village in India, a man announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10. The villagers seeing there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them. The man bought thousands at $10, but, as the supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their efforts.

The man further announced that he would now buy at $20. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again. Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms.

The offer rate increased to $25 and the supply of monkeys became so little that it was an effort to even see a monkey, let alone catch it!

The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now act as buyer, on his behalf.

In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers: 'Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at $35 and when he returns from the city, you can sell them back to him for $50.'

The villagers squeezed together their savings and bought all the monkeys back.

Paying Tax

2010-02-24T02:56:00.000-08:00

This is one of these rare occasions in which I copy someone else's post. And this time it's a post I don't even agree with. But I like it nevertheless, as it questions our most fundamental assumptions. And questioning assumptions is something we don't do enough, but need to do much more:

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100.

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.

The fifth would pay $1.

The sixth would pay $3.

The seventh would pay $7.

The eighth would pay $12.

The ninth would pay $18.

The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.

"Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20." Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes.

So the first four men were unaffected.

They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men? The paying customers?

How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share?'

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings)

The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).

The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).

The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).

The ninth now paid $15 instead of $18 ( 20% savings).

The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free.

But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $ 20,"declared the sixth man.

He pointed to the tenth man," but he got $10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a Dollar, too.

It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!"

"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth man and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him.

But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, this is how our tax system works.

The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction.

Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics
University of Georgia

The financial system and the Hudson River Landing

2010-02-22T06:12:00.000-08:00

It’s been a year since the amazing emergency landing of the Airbus A320 on the Hudson River after the aircraft had struck a flock of geese. This landing was a demonstration of risk management at its best.

This was the very first time that landing on water had been attempted successfully. Yet, simulators were built, procedures put in place, and pilots trained to handle such an unlikely risk. None of these were based on historical events, but rather on foresight. It was this foresight that made the difference and saved the lives of the 155 people aboard the plane.

This should be a lesson to the financial industry.

But this is not the only lesson. Learning from other mistakes and disasters in the airline industry can be just as valuable.

For instance, a couple of years ago a pilot of a Garuda Indonesia, who had crashed his aircraft, was charged with negligence and deliberately causing an accident. It was shown that the captain had knowingly ignored 15 warning signals from an onboard system and from his co-pilot, and force-landed his Boeing 737, which then skidded off the runway and burst into flames killing 21 people.

The investigation found that had the pilot listened to the warnings and followed the proper procedures, he’d be required to fly his plane round the airstrip a second time. This would have consumed more fuel and cost him his ‘saving fuel bonus.’ So he chose to land. This is the very same incentive that led to the crash of many financial institutions – the incentive to ignore risk signals in order to maximize personal remuneration.

We too often forget that the financial industry is not the only industry that practice risk management. Many industries and disciplines – from airline to drug manufacturing, from space exploration to building submarines – have developed ways to manage risk. None is based on historical analysis alone, as is the common practice in the financial industry. Yet, the financial industry has arrogantly chosen to ignore all these important development and insisted on practices that benefits a minority of individuals who run these institutions, and nobody else.

So why don’t we force our regulators and those who invest our money to learn how other disciplines manage their risk? After all, we have already been proven us that we cannot rely on the financial industry to self-regulate itself, nor make socially responsible decisions. So let us force them. Isn’t that what democracy and capitalism should be about?

American Tomatoes

2010-02-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

Do you know what a cucumber or a tomato tastes like? This may sound like a silly question, but with the way our diet evolves, and the contemporary food industry manufactures food, many Americans have no idea what a vegetable tastes like.

Many Americans, as well as their counterparts in the developed world, have never tasted a real tomato, a cucumber or a strawberry. For many, the only encounters with vegetables have been through an industrial mock-up food, which advertising presents as the real thing.

As kids, a tomato with a slice of bread would have been a wonderful part of our diet. Sometimes, with just a little more on the side, it would make an entire meal – and a good one as well. I can still recall biting into a ripe tomato with a pinch of salt spread on it, and long forgotten tastes and aromas feel my watering mouth, as if it were the best dessert I was fantasizing about.

The tomatoes of my childhood looked nothing like those we buy today. They came in odd shapes with lumps and bumps, and could have any variation of red, yellow and green. No two tomatoes looked the same. As fruit and vegetables had short shelf life, we had to eat them within a few days. So we made them a major part of our diet, and together with all other vegetables and fruit, ate them with every meal, and between meals. They were our diet, and when we were hungry we simply opened the fridge, found a vegetable or a fruit we liked and snacked.

But these days have gone. Farming has long been replaced by manufacturing, and tastes and flavours have disappeared from our diet in favour of shelf life, color and shape. After all, it’s not the taste but the form that you see on TV, and it’s not the aroma but the color that you see through the plastic bags that separate you, the shopper, from what you buy.

While some still reminiscence of the days were our diet was full of flavour, recent generations only knows the tasteless produce they grew up with, and mistake them for the real thing. No wonder that children nowadays relate healthy to tasteless. No wonder that parents promise a treat to ‘good kids’ who eat this hated food.

By creating produce that is easy to advertise on TV, easy to store, easy to ship, we have created a corporate heaven. But what is the price we pay?

The obvious price is obesity and our health. Fruit and vegetables are hardly considered a normal part of our diet anymore, but rather a medicine one must swallow to keep healthy. But this is only part of the picture. The more subtle price is of us losing our judgment and ability to discriminate. So now, instead of manufacturers competing to satisfy our taste in food, they fight to change our taste to fit their manufacturing.

If this trend continues, we will all end up eating artificially shaped and flavoured lab-manufactured protein. Is this is the world we want our children to inherit?

The ultimate solution to the American debt

2010-02-21T04:20:00.000-08:00

The solution to the spiraling American national debt crisis is quite simple. Instead of the government printing money they don’t have, they should allow us, citizens, print money directly. This ingenious policy has three advantages over our current, post-financial-crisis, system:

First, if individuals are only allowed to print physical money, they can’t print it faster than the government, so the overall increase of national debt will cool down.

Second, as the money will be in our hands, we will consume more, which will help refuel the struggling economy (after all, how many new houses or cars can the few rich financiers that receive most of the tax payer money buy?)

Third, the government will be able to tax us more, but as we'll be able to print it, even the Republican wouldn’t mind. The additional debt will help the government close the public debt, and allow the Democrats pass the Health Bill, which will make it the very first time in American history that a policy satisfied both parties - a great way to alleviate our growing bipartisanship problem.

Naturally, all citizens will have to declare that they will not print more than they need to. But as we can include it in our tax return declaration every year, it will even be easier and more efficient to handle than the presidential election.

Guns don't kill

2010-02-16T20:32:00.000-08:00

Amy Bishop, Feb 2010, killed 3

Michael McLendon, March 2009, killed 11

Jason Rodriguez, November 2009, killed 1 and wounded 5

Jiverly Wong, April 2009, killed 13

Seung-Hui Cho, April 2007, killed 32

This is the list of the famous five who without legal access to guns, would have spared the lives of 50 people. Hundreds of people are killed and thousands are wounded every year by non-criminals.

Guns don’t kill; those who can access them easily do.

Mission report: latest update

2010-02-16T19:38:00.000-08:00

Heaviest snowfall since we landed. The many footprints are a clear proof that there is life all around us. No sign of intelligent life yet.

On blizzards and global warming

2010-02-13T07:41:00.000-08:00

It was a few years ago that Global Warming scientists predicted that Global Warming will lead to increase storms, blizzards, and drastic cooling of some areas. So the recent blizzards in the US are of no surprise to these scientists.

However, it seems that the term ‘Global Warming’ is quite misleading, because every time someone experiences a cold day, they question if global warming is really happening. What global warming means is an overall heating of the planet that will cause massive disruptions to local climate patterns: heat waves, draughts, cyclones and blizzards are all part of the forecast. So although the choice of terminology might be poor, the threat is real.

The recent blizzard in the US has demonstrated a critical point – our society is not prepared to deal with changes of weather patterns. Let’s face it, the recent ‘horrendous’ blizzard, as described by the media, was nothing but a minor variation of the ‘normal’ weather pattern of the region, and yet, the social turmoil and the financial loss have been significant.

This should have been a slap in the face to all those who feel that we, human, with our modern technology are above nature. This should have been a wakeup call that our society and economy are not ready to deal with the smallest of weather changes. This should have also given us a hint of how bad things can become. It should have made us humble, but it hasn’t. A slap in the face doesn’t seem to be enough to wake us up. Are we ready for the knockout?

Our Financial system explained by Marquis de Sade

2010-02-13T06:45:00.000-08:00

All, all is theft, all is unceasing and vigorous competition in nature; the desire to make off with the substance of others is the foremost - the most legitimate - passion nature has bred into us and, without doubt, the most agreeable one.

Marquis de Sade

Don't let them fool you!

2010-02-10T19:53:00.000-08:00

One of the banners that seems to appear constantly in this blog space, is a survey by Newsmax.com about Obama’s healthcare plan. This is a wonderful example of how surveys can be misleading, conducted in a way that guarantees, from the beginning, that the conclusion will reflect the original opinion of the survey holder. It is obvious that Newsmax.com does not like Obama nor his healthcare plan, and uses the survey to ‘prove’ their dislike. Let’s take two questions as examples:

Do you believe the Democratic health plan should include 45 million uninsured, including illegal aliens?

· Yes, should include 45 million.

· No, should not.

Do you believe Obama’s health care plan is too expensive?

· Yes

· No

Note that the first question deliberately adds the illegal immigrants as an emotional deterrent. How many of these 45 millions without healthcare insurance are illegal immigrants? Is it a big enough population to justify stopping the plan? And what happens if I support everyone but the illegal immigrants to have healthcare insurance? Whatever your view is, you are given no choice. Either you support the healthcare insurance for illegal immigrant, or you do not support Obama’s plan.

The second question is also misleading. Do you really expect the average American, who can barely run his or her own household budget, estimate if a national plan is too expensive? How informed can any answer like this be.

So when you read the result of any survey keep an open mind. Often what the survey tells you, has nothing to do with reality, it’s only a smart way to express someone’s opinion as if it were the public’s.

They are the masters of crafting and manipulating public opinion, and they don’t think of YOU when they do it. So never let them full you. Think for yourself.

Can they run a business?

2010-01-31T16:03:00.000-08:00

Recently, I needed to fly to Tucson Arizona with a friend. The cheapest we could find was a 3-legged flight with a transit at Phoenix. But after we booked, we changed our minds and decided to rent a car and drive the last leg from Phoenix to Tucson, so we called the airline to cancel the last leg:

Me: I would like to cancel the last leg of our flight, and get off at Phoenix

Airline rep: No problem Sir. It'll cost you $400 a ticket.

Me: I am not sure I explained myself well, all I want is to not take the last flight. Surely not flying can’t cost more than taking the flight. After all, you can resell the tickets.

Rep: Sir, this is our policy. If you don’t fly we’ll have to deduct the charge from your credit card.

Well, after some more deliberations with supervisors and managers we decided to take the flight nevertheless and try our luck at the service desk in Phoenix (after all the entire ticket was not much more than $400).

Well, to our great surprise, no sooner had we arrived at the gate in Phoenix, a loudspeaker announcement could be heard: The flight to Tucson is overbooked, if anyone volunteers to take a later flight, please make yourself known to one of our staff members.

Not wasting a second we jumped at the opportunity, but only under the condition that instead of taking the next flight, they would waive it altogether. They agreed, but not before we got refunded $250 each.

And the American airline industry remains in bad shape.

The Power of America

2010-01-25T05:19:00.000-08:00

(image: http://quasimanga.deviantart.com/)

It’s interesting to see how many of the Americans who believe that their country is the best in the world have never been outside their country. Many have not even been outside their state. But still their conviction is unquestionable.

It’s fascinating to speak to Americans who tell you how good everything American is, just because they don’t know what alternatives exist. Coming from overseas, I – with a full medical coverage – have often argued that the medical system here is grossly inadequate, wasteful and unfair. I always find it surprising when someone with little or no medical cover whatsoever blindly defends the system as the best in the world – despite all evidence to the contrary.

It’s amusing to meet overseas Americans who travel to find Americana wherever they go. In European casinos, for instance, you can see hoards of American tourists flock onto the American roulette tables, made just for them. Non-Americans will never touch these roulettes as they are made with two zeros instead of one and therefore reduce your odds. American tourists, on the other hand, are happily paying the premium for the privilege to use American. Casinos love them.

It’s funny to hear how many Americans believe that most people around the world do not like America because they are jealous. This is despite the fact that in their own countries they may have free education, free health care, a month-off work every year, an annual maternity leave, and still work for firms that successfully compete with American companies. This competitiveness is hardly ever appreciated here, as statistics about American productivity is skewed by the longer working hours and lower wages. However, the fact is that in many industries American production per hour worked lags behind other developed countries is rarely acknowledged.

It’s heart-breaking to observe how many in the US are not aware of how America’s position in the world has deteriorated: financially, economically, politically. Everyone supported America after Sept 11, but it didn’t take a decade to erode this sentiment; it will take many decades to repair the damage, if ever at all.

It’s heart-warming to feel how despite all the problems and issues America suffers from, people here are still positive and optimistic. This optimism, positive energy and the inspiring power is America’s main strength, and the very thing the rest of the world should learn from America. But what should America learn from the world?

The Sneetches, Or Who Should We Trust Our Fate To?

2010-01-24T17:42:00.000-08:00

At leas the sneetches' ordeal had a happy end

The Supreme Court Decision – Do We Have the Knowledge To Withstand?

2010-01-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

About three years ago, well before the financial crisis, I wrote an article and gave a speech about the predatory deceptive practices of banks and other the financial institutions and why regulators should step in to regulate transparency of financial products sold to the public. The credit crisis was mostly the result of banks telling regulators what the banking regulation should be.

It is incomprehensible that the new supreme court ruling is taking place during the aftermath of the credit crisis. I find it fascination that many still feel so strongly that we should put our personal and political interest in the hands of corporates (see discussion).

Below are excerpts from this article, which I called Can We Trust Them?

Financial products are something I should know about. At least I hope I should, as this has been my living for most of my professional life. But even I got surprised when I recently discovered the level of deception that banks and financial institutions go to lure uninformed clients to buy their products.

It all started when my mother called to tell me that her bank advisor had suggested a low-risk high-return investment. ‘You can’t go wrong,’ he’d told her. But having been my mother for some time, she remembered me reiterating that there was no return without risk, so she sought my opinion before committing her funds.

I opened my spreadsheet and started working out the suggested financial investment. It was a very deceiving proposition: … In professional terms it was a highly leveraged structured product, one of the riskiest financial instruments out there that was meant for highly skilled professionals only. Banks were selling it to uninformed customers.

…

So I decided to go around and find out what else banks were selling out there. I picked up brochures from banks in the neighborhood and worked them out one by one. It was nothing short of mass deception. Some of those financial instruments, although seemed simple to the unprofessional, were so complicated that it took me many hours to figure out. Other instruments were plain risky. These were the instruments that banks got stuck with, and could not sell to other professional investors without a huge risk-premium, so they decided to flog them into the retail market. After all, it was legal.

…

So my mother was spared the losses, but many of her friends that had listened to the financial advisor, and bought into this investment have suffered tremendous losses when market conditions changed.

Without regulation and supervision we will all be at the mercy of the legitimate con artists, who will always know about their trade more than we do. But without regulation to protect us, what choice do we have?

The financial crisis was a big slap, but not yet a knock out. Shouldn’t we do all in our power to increase our chance to avoid the knockout? The new ruling is just a big step in the opposite direction. It shows us that a full blown knock out is the only way we learn.

The Supreme Court’s Decision -- Risk to Democracy

2010-01-23T09:40:00.000-08:00

This week’s Supreme Court's interpretation of the First Amendment that will allow corporates spend as much as they want on funding politicians is most sinister It will, no doubt, make politicians hostage to the big corporates, and will accelerate the erosion of democracy.

There are many examples where corporate power is already limiting freedom and democracy. For example, ex-executives from the food industry are directing the food administration, ensuring that policies protect the industry rather than consumers. This has led to the erosion of the quality of food, the obesity epidemic and many of the food-related diseases that have proliferated in recent decades.

Health care policies catering for the Insurance companies rather than the sick, has made the US the only developed country where people die because they can’t afford medical care. US is also the only developed country where medical bills bankrupt people.

The banking is another example of an industry protected by regulators with a vested interest to keep their friends and ex-colleagues successful, regardless of the cost to the country and society.

Although the above examples are merely the tip of the iceberg, so far citizens of this democracy had the option to vote out representative who did not support their cause. But the new ruling will make this last resort obsolete, as information about these representatives will, no doubt, be manipulated to serve corporate interests.

After all, when unlimited money is involved, professional spin doctors will ensure that you will elect whoever they want you to. The richer the corporate, the better it will be able to manipulate your information and decisions. For example, it’s only for the health insurer’s PR money that, despite all hard evidence, so many Americans still believe that their dysfunctional health system is the best in the world. Providing misleading information to manipulate vote, is not true democracy.

With unlimited funds flowing to manipulate public opinion, independent representative stand no chance, and soon, all our representatives will hold corporate interests at the top of their agendas.

I am sure that having corporate-paid-politicians was never the spirit of the first amendment. Once this becomes the norm there is no way back.

Hitler was elected in democratic Germany only to destroy the very law that made it possible for him to be elected in the first place. Should we allow the very corporate that built America destroy its democracy?

The Missing Link: Intelligent Design and Al Qaeda

2010-01-17T06:11:00.000-08:00

(image: http://www.savagechickens.com/tag/crabbit)

Scientists at Florida State University believe they've found a gene that predicts a person's likelihood of becoming a gang member. The discovery of the ‘gangster gene’ is hailed by human right activists, who vow to challenge our socially unjust legal system, and reverse cases where gang members were sentenced for crimes committed by their genes.

Scientist are still perplexed by the origin of the gene that together with its cousin, the Obesity Gene (discovered in the UK in 2007), seem to have materialized in the US and the rest of the western world out of nowhere – in contradiction to anything we thought we knew about genes and evolution theory.

“This is a big blow to Darwin, and the ultimate proof of Creationism and divine design”, hailed a source in the Church of Intelligent Design who refused to remain anonymous. Further questions by our correspondence about the intelligence of this design were dropped at the sight of a shotgun.

Anonymous source in the not so intelligently designed intelligence services was heard blaming Al Qaeda biological warfare for spreading the genes, by penetrating every major food manufacturer in the country. “The fact that complete lack of obesity has been observed in Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen or any of the countries Al Qaeda operates is the undisputable proof that this is biological warfare we are facing,” our source said.

Food manufacturers around the country vow to do everything in their power to contribute to the anti Al Qaeda patriotic efforts and to their bottom line. They agreed to develop new technologies to modify the genes and introduce new chemical sterilization techniques to all foods they produce. This effort will be financed by a new anti Al Qaeda tax imposed on imported foods, and on any food manufacturer that is not a member of the CRFC (Contributing to Regulators Food Cartel).

American ads, what do they say, what do they mean?

2010-01-09T11:35:00.000-08:00

(image http://glowstickaurora.deviantart.com/)

Being continuously attacked by aggressive advertising is quite overwhelming when you first arrive in the US. What’s even more amazing is the fact that spinning reality does seem to work. There are dozens of such examples. Here I bring a few:

The first is a true copy of a note I saw in one of the government offices in Connecticut. I just wonder what crossed the mind of the person who ordered this notice:

Fraudulent activity is illegal.

I saw the second ad on the train. It was euphemistic, so like the new version of the bible, I allowed myself to rewrite the ad in everyday words, while keeping the meaning unchanged. Personally, I don't find the idea very attractive, but it does seem to work:

Call us if you want to turn your injured child into a cash cow.

Medical advertising is unfathomable for those who come from a more socially conscious world, where such practice does not exist. Here, I kept the spirit of the original ad unchanged:

Get your lobotomy done here, and get the second one free

Such advertising is both amusing and alarming, and I wonder if I ever yield to it myself, and let it determine my thinking and actions. Is it as mind-boggling for those who have lived here long, or is it really the way should be?

Nice words for bad trains

2010-01-03T11:40:00.000-08:00

In a previous post: http://ranfuchs.blogspot.com/2009/10/new-york-subway-way-to-no-hope.html I indicated that having lived in London for years, I find the NY subway – despite all it’s problem – superior to the London underground.

That said, there is one thing more efficient in the London system – the announcements. For instance, while in NY they’ll announce: Ladies and gent. As you exit please mind the gap between the platform and the train. The British will simply call: Mind the Gap.

But being more economical with their words is not a good reason to copy their train system, and I am still horrified that the new MTA management feels that "New Yorkers should be able to expect the same type of customer experience riders enjoy in London.”

So lets the English keep their nice ways with words, and find someone who knows how to run trains to copy train systems. Japan may be just the place to learn from.

Corporate America: my discovery of the day

2010-01-02T08:19:00.000-08:00

As one credit card company, whose name cannot be mentioned (protecting corporate reputation has now superseded free speech right in this country) advertises that they have no preset limit on their cards, I decided to try their gold card. To my surprise I discovered that their no preset limit simply means that they don’t tell you what your limit is, and the only way to discover it was to have my card turned down. In my case, the personalised limit allocated to me was much lower than of any other card I have.

Don’t you love marketing?

Stark naked passengers: the future of modern aviation

2009-12-28T19:36:00.000-08:00

It won’t be long before all pre-boarding airline passengers will be required to undergo total body hair removal, comprehensive search of all cavities and orifices, and board their plane stark naked. No luggage whatsoever will be allowed. Instead, luggage will follow passengers on separate cargo flights.

During flights, the release of seat belts will be controlled centrally, and toilet bags will be sold by the aircrew to the confined passengers. This, together with the extra seats replacing the now-obsolete toilet cubicles will help airlines recoup some of the additional security cost.

If this may sound to you as overreaction, it really is nothing more than a simple extension of our current reactionary security measures. That is, when a terrorists’ attempt takes place, we implement new measures to reduce the possibility of reoccurrence of similar attempts. This is the reason we rely so heavily on metal detectors (which do not detect plastic explosives), need to remove shoes (what about wigs?), or are prevented from bringing liquids on board. But not only can’t this approach prevent new original plots, soon will we reach the limit of restrictions we can impose on passengers. For example, as modern explosives can be molded in any shape or form, it’s not unthinkable that they may even be worn as undergarment. What will we do after the first terrorist blows up his underwear?

Although it has been nearly eight years since 9/11, it wasn’t the improved security alertness or the tight security measures that prevented this week’s attack from becoming a full scale disaster. It was a lucky malfunction of the bomb combined with a spontaneous heroic act of one of the passengers that saved the lives of the Northwest airline passengers.

But again, following this latest attempt, additional ineffective measures and restrictions are being implemented. From now on we’ll not be allowed to leave our seats 60 minutes before lending – as if terrorist acts cannot take place earlier. And even though security expert claims that a shoe bomb is big enough to blow a hole in an airplane, from now on we’ll not be able to carry more than a single bag on board.

The only real chance we have to prevent airplane terrorism is to improve intelligence. Intelligence was acknowledged as a major failure that led to 9/11. Intelligence, again, failed to prevent this recent attempt. After all, the bomber’s father, who is a prominent banking official in Nigeria, went to the U.S. embassy in Nigeria, to discuss his concerns about his son, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. But that didn’t trigger any additional checks or investigation when his son boarded the plane.

It seems that, once again, kneejerk measures have won over substance. But what can we expect? After all, if 9/11 wasn’t enough to make the required change, can we really expect a failed terrorist attempt to do the job?

Christmas night – the face of unified humanity

2009-12-24T19:00:00.000-08:00

Jogging on Christmas night, from every window I see the energy that unifies us – the very thread that connects us all. It shimmers from every house, from behind every curtain, and it has nothing to do with holiness or Christmas. The thread that connects us all is the square screen.

The unmistaken bluish aura glowing from every house I am passing makes me feel safe. I know that my neighbors, my town, and probably most of the country are connected by the same unprejudiced umbilical cord of information. I can clearly see that there is a common goal to all these otherwise-diverse and unrelated groups. They all aim at brainwashing us to make them richer and more powerful by making all of us – men and women of every ethnicity alike – think the same, and if possible, not think at all.

These days hoards of brain-washers are paid millions to find new ways to harness new technologies to stop us from thinking independently. It’s the very same technologies that can now be commissioned to make us believe in absurdities and perform atrocities.

It took Lenin and Hitler many years to reach their people and transform their societies. Nowadays, for a half-talented technology-armed spin doctor it would take a fraction of the time. With such a power it’s not any longer a question of if, but only a question of when.

Merry Christmas everyone.

New York Subway – the way to no hope

2009-10-31T14:21:00.000-07:00

Having just moved from London to NY, let me tell you that while New Yorkers love to complain about their Subway, taking the subway here is a leisure ride in comparison to what the London commuters have to suffer every day.

At least when you take the subway in NY, you hope that you'll eventually find yourself at your destination. When you take the Tube (this is what in London they call their subway) you don’t.

The air-conditionless experience of the steaming soup of bodies, which in the summer often boils at over 100 degrees, can only be compared to an overcrowded Turkish bath before anyone has taken a shower. And the physical closeness does not add to the feeling of intimacy or friendliness. London underground is a violent place, in which beating and stabbing are commonplace.

So I wonder what Jay Walder – the new chairman of the NY subway, who until recently managed the London underground – meant when he said that "New Yorkers should be able to expect the same type of customer experience riders enjoy in London.” Because while there are still a few things we may want to learn from the English, running trains is clearly not one of them.

A joy ride in the London Tube

The opposite of AI

2009-10-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

AI, or Artificial Intelligence, is the study of intelligent machines: an important field of computer sciences. But what should be the term for the opposite study? As tempting as it may be, Natural Stupidity is not the right term; Mechanical Humanity (MH) describes it much better.

MH is the very first thing you need to learn, before starting to deal with the hoards of not so intelligent human-shaped machines (for the sake of simplicity, lets call them officials) who will accompany you throughout the entire process.

Each official seems to be familiar with some actions that cannot be changed under any circumstances. And just like in double jeopardy, once a step is finished it can’t be changed, regardless of the mistakes made. The process must move on.

It all starts when you apply for THE Interview. If you are not familiar with the process, it goes like this. First you pay lots of money, then you fill in lots of form, then you bring all kind of evidence to prove who you are, and pay again more money. Then you fill in some more forms to become qualified for an hour telephone interview at $5 a minute to verify that you have spelled your name correctly and that you are really who you think you are. At the end of the $300 you are allocated a slot to come for the interview.

Official: “Sir, your interview will take place on Wednesday in 3 months time
(he gave an actual date), anytime between 8:30am and 1pm.”
Me: “But Wednesday mornings are not good for me, can we do it in the
afternoon, or any other day?”

Official: “Sir, this is the time allocated
to you.”

Me: “But it’s three months ahead, surely you can find another
day.”
Official: “Sir, you don’t understand. This is the time allocated to you. If you don’t take this slot, your application will not be processed. This is your choice, Sir.”

So, as you might have guessed, given the choice, I decided to take the interview, and three month later I found myself standing in a two-hour queue, only to face an official who handed back to me my own forms and sent me to pay at the cashier. I returned with the forms and the receipt to a second official, who interviewed me for a whole 2 minutes and sent me back to the cashier for another payment. I came back to him, this time with the forms, second payment slip and my passport, which he would sign and send back to me, but not before I queued and paid the courier company to deliver to my home the passports and the paperwork I was holding.

And yet, despite the attention to details (or maybe because of them), they made a mistake. My passport and the documents attached disagreed on the dates of my visa, which would have made me illegal the day after I entered the US. So I called again, and after 20 minutes at $5 a minutes it became clear that this is what the consular had decided, and that there was no way to discuss, to find the reason, or to appeal.

It was a few weeks and many thousand of dollars paid to lawyers that resolved this seemingly simple mistake.

More than any other first-world system, the US seems to favour bureaucracy running by hand-died non-thinkers who follow orders. I am not sure why this is, but I am sure that in a world where machines become more and more intelligent, mechanical humans are obsolete and should be replaced by machines. The faster it happens in the US, the slower the shift of power from the US to Asia will be. At the moment, we only seem to expedite this process.

My very first first American Blog

2009-10-11T16:56:00.000-07:00

The photo above I call "The opposite of my life", and I feel it introduces me well in my first blog here.

Eleven months a year I work in big cities, talk on the phone, watch computer screens, and do whatever most people around me consider normal. But then, one month a year I do it differently. This photo is of what I don’t do most of the year.

So you know a lot about me already. The rest are merely details.

Every couple of years I happen to move a country. At least, that is what I have been doing for the last 20 years. Two month ago, after years of trying to avoid it, I have found myself in the US. Connecticut to be more precise.

I love it here, but let me tell you, this place – I mean the US – feels like a different planet. Not that I have anything against different planets – as I have never been on one (and old dream, by the way), but there are so many things here that I see and feel that are invisible to those who have lived here for long.

Some of these things are irritating, most are funny, and I want to write about them. So this will be my American blog, and hopefully some of you will like it.

Enough now with my first posting and my self-introduction. Soon I will be here again.