Ashkan's World
Pontifications on Business, Politics, Sports & Entertainment... Updated roughly 3 times per day...
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Curse of Black Gold
"With large oil revenues, which make farming and manufacturing unprofitable, much of the labor force looks to the government, either for handouts or for jobs. Saudi Arabia is a clear example. The revenues from oil in that Kingdom have enabled the government to provide free medical care, free education, and cheap fuels, while employing foreign workers to do the dirty work. Since the Saudi Government has no need for tax revenue from its citizens, it simply attempts to buy the approval of the public. It offers neither freedom nor democracy but bread and circuses. On the other hand, a government that must raise its revenue from its people is limited in attempting to obtain support through state largess. Offering benefits to one group requires taxing others to pay the bill, thus restricting government's power to buy support."
Thomas Gale Moore is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in economics and has taught at Carnegie Institution of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University), Michigan State University, UCLA, and in the Stanford Business School. He has written numerous peer-reviewed economic articles and several books.
The Party of Jack Ryan
At least Ryan wanted to fornicate - mind you in public - with his wife... not these GOP boys.
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Where's Helen Hunt: Teacher charged with having sex with 14-year-old student
Teacher charged with having sex with 14-year-old student
TAMPA, Florida (AP) -- A 23-year-old middle-school teacher was charged with having sex with a 14-year-old student in a classroom, at her apartment and, once, in a vehicle while the teen's 15-year-old cousin drove.
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I had a whole R. Kelly joke ready until I found out the teacher was female...
Cost of Iraq War
Cost of Iraq War.
I. Costs to the United States
II. Costs to Iraq
III. Costs to the World
A real Dick
VP Dick Cheney has set a standard for War Profiteering that others can only dream about.
American taxpayers should consider the guillotine, n'est-ce pas?
Ad serving technology become a commodity?
Doubleclick got out of the ad agency business a couple of years ago to focus on the ad serving side of the business, today, Goldman Sachs put that strategy into question.
Google's Millionaires
Back in the day, 2000 to be precise, the first Company I joined after graduating (Mamma.com) had a business model in place, 5 million users more than Google had even had 8-digit revenue figures.
Today, it is doing ok but you have to wonder what could have been...
Monday, June 28, 2004
Result of less than expected supply of oil from Iraq
It is incredible how George W. Bush can forgive and forget.
Markets unimpressed with early handover
You would think, make that hope, that the stock markets would have been more impressed that this.
Net Darling Razorfish Sells for $160 Million
Today, one of the companies I am most bullish on, aQuantive (AQNT - yes I own shares in this outfit), annouced that it was buying Razorfish, one-time darlings of the Net.
At $160 million, this acquisition highlights two things:
- massive ROI for SBI, which bought Razorfish last year for $9 million, that's a annualized ROI 1700% folks.
- according to this, Razorfish generated $93 in revenues in 2003, but in 2004 will only generate some $40 million, which begs two questions:
1. why the sudden fall?
2. no wonder Razorfish wanted to sell!
eithey way, that puts the transaction at a range of 2 to 4 times revenue, which is in line for a private company (public onesm trade anywhere between 5 and 10 times).
The markets were unimpressed.
NATO & US: Not so fast...
Chirac cools American jubilation:
"I do not believe it is (NATO's) mission to intervene in Iraq."
Bush's Legacy
"Asked what the jihadists will do if U.S. forces finally pull out, one of Abdullah's comrades offers this answer: "We will follow them to the U.S."
Time magazine
25 years of neo-conservative ascendancy in the US is under grave threat
25 years of neo-conservative ascendancy in the US is under grave threat
Is it really? While Richard Perle has been cast aside, I still see way too much of Messer Wolfowitz despite his claim that Iraq's vast oil resources would make the Iraq War for "itself within months."
Sunday, June 27, 2004
Fahrenheit 9/11 Review: Bush - best leading actor nomination
Michael's Moore latest flick, Fahrenheit 9/11 is certainly entertaining. Unabashedly biased, not surprisingly, what the film is mainly is over-simplistic.
How so?
The film's main focus is the relationship between the Bush clan and the Saudis in general; more specifically, Moore focues on the Bush's relationship with the bin Laden family. Moore rightfully questions the Bush family's allegiance and loyalty in light of the fact that Saudi money has poured over $1.4 billion into the Bush clan over the past three decades.
Is this interesting? Of course. Worth pointing out? Definitely.
However, if a film's main purpose is to get George W. Bush out of office, then it fails to do its job. Why?
No one in the US of A ever suspected George W. Bush of being a smart fella, so portraying him as a buffoon only adds to the divided nation that America has become.
If Mr. Moore really wanted to get the electorate to kick Dubya out of office, then maybe, just maybe, he should have told the other half of the 9/11 / Iraq / Saudi / Bush story.
Mr. Moore does a wonderful job connecting the dots between the Bush and bin Laden family. He also does a wonderful job of explaining that Big Oil drove the Iraqi invasion: how Vice-President Dick Cheney's decision were conducted to benefit his former employer Halliburton; how current Afghan President Hamid Karzai was an adviser to one of Dubya's many failed ventures, and so on.
What he fails to do is connect the plan to invade in Iraq long before 9/11, long before President Bush even took office. The story I was looking forward to was how the war in Iraq was conceived in the 1990s by Wolfowitz's cabal, namely, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Donald Rumsfeld, Douglas Feith, Dick Cheney and company.
Today, we blame the CIA, we blame Ahmed Chalabi; whom we do not seem to cast any of the blame onto is the Neo-conservatives who seem to pledge a greater allegiance to countries other than the US.
If the goal of Mr. Moore's film was to drive him out of office, perhaps, just perhaps, Americans need to hear this story, no?
Shouldn't the real planners of this immoral and illegal aggression be held accountable?
Obviously, accountability in the US Government is something that burned away along with Arthur Andersen, Enron and Wolrdcom's accounting scandals.
Apparently, Mr. Moore wasn't too afraid of offending the President of his nation, that is his first amendment right, after all. But he did seem afraid to cast a wider net and reveal the true, tragic story of 9/11. That, and that is the greatest tragedy of them all.
I suppose that freedom truly burns at Fahrenheit 625, the day Mr. Moore's film was released nationwide.
Saturday, June 26, 2004
Saw Fahrenheit 9/11 tonight...
Review coming manana, in the meantime, read about what didn't make the film.
Arrogance by VP - once again
Cheney says he felt better after cursing at Leahy
"When asked if he had cursed at Leahy, Cheney answered, "Probably."
"Do you have any regrets?," Neil Cavuto asked.
"No. I said it," the vice president responded."
Friday, June 25, 2004
Money matters
Ireland warning Peace Protesters against biting the hand that feeds:
""I’m not personally holding up a welcome banner to the President, but he is here for an EU Summit and it just so happens that Bertie Ahern is holding the leadership at the moment. People have a democratic right to protest and I have nothing against that. I just think his visit is important as I would hate to see all our lovely young graduates in Limerick having to look abroad for employment. Commercialism will take over one way or the other anyway,” said Cllr Hillery."
Someone hasn't been reading Fortune magazine
GREY GLOBAL GROUP GOES ON THE BLOCK
Before signing on the line, they might want to read this.
Tivo, Net, shrinking ratings... the death of network TV?
J. Walter Thompson CEO Sees TV Spend Plummeting
It would also help if programming didn't "really" suck.
The Big Cahuna
Tehran should have been Bush's first target
If you havent' figured it out yet, the US never got over the 1979 Embassy Hostage affair, and as such, has been looking for excuses to get into Iran (50 years after their original attempt).
One way, is to take out its neighbors to the East and West.
American Film Renaissance, or American Film Dark Ages?
U.S. conservatives plan 9-11 film backlash
Bush backers are generating so much awareness for Michael Moore's film that Kerry ought to send them a thank you card.
Well, well, look who is copying me now?
Bill Gates, blogger?
The world's richest man may start his own Web log. "Real soon now" Microsoft's (MSFT: news, chart, profile) Bill Gates could begin blogging, said Mary Jo Foley in her Microsoft Watch newsletter. Expect him to offer comments about technology and business, as well as tidbits about his vacations, she said. A spokesman for Microsoft said, "Bill would love to do his own blog, time permitting," the Seattle Times reported.
Why Yahoo! will always be undervalued
Yahoo! searches for perfection
Unlike other media companies online and offline, Yahoo! knows more about their surfers than Disney knows about their viewers, Clear Channel Communications knows about its listeners and at least for the time being, Google knows about its searchers (and hence one of many reasons why Google launched Gmail).
So long as companies want to market online, Yahoo! should, at least the theory goes, offer more compelling packages... Whether or not they can execute this remains to be seen.
Why Merrill Lynch said no to Google
The reverse, dutch-style IPO would not be profitable enough.
I love Google - the search engine and company - as much as the next guy, but Google should probably not be turning away the gatekeepers to capital.
Today, everyone loves Google, even before they tap the markets for $2.7 Billion in their IPO.
But further up the Pacific shoreline, there is a 'lil firm called Microsoft with $70 billion in the coffers.
Should Microsoft wage war on Google like it did on Netscape, Google may need all the friends it can get on Wall Street; Merrill Lynch is one such friend it can not afford to alienate.
The saga continues, should make for good entertainment...
Judge Accused Of Using Penis Pump While Working
Judge Accused Of Using Penis Pump While Working
No comment...
Rapper DMX arrested in New York
Dude, can't you buy a lot?
I guess once a criminal, always a criminal...
Bush eating his words - Case Z99998665
Would that be help from Old Europe or New Europe, President Bush?
Isn't it ironic that just last year, Colin Powell was trying to justify why the US and its Coalition of the Willing would be recipient of the spoils of war; yet today, Bush and his ilk are desperately trying to get help, with the spoils of war becoming an afterthought.
'Destroyed' Lewinsky Speaks Out on Clinton Memoir
Typical self-centered woman reaction.
What about how Monica's power-hungry, headline-seeking fat ass nearly destroyed the most powerful man on earth?
Remember, that whole impeachment thingy?
Thursday, June 24, 2004
When $1.2 Billion in profit just ain't enough
Legendary Wall Street CEO John Mack ousted for second time, this time at CSFB.
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"When I saw the news come across the wire I was surprised," said Jim Lyon, who helps invest $400 million at Oakwood Capital Management in Los Angeles.
"I thought Mack did a really good job of leading CSFB through a very difficult environment, particularly with the Quattrone situation and the collapse of the tech bubble."
Frank Quattrone, a star banker who led CSFB's legendary technology investment banking team in California, was recently convicted of obstructing justice.
Mack took over a bloated firm in July 2001 when he replaced Allen Wheat as CEO. He proceeded to cut thousands of jobs and slash some $3 billion in costs during his tenure.
Reflecting his turnaround efforts, CSFB reversed a $1.2 billion loss in 2002 and notched a profit of $870 million in 2003. Earlier this year, he launched an ambitious plan to double the firm's profit by 2006.
Delay Expected in Olsen Twin Sex Tape Scandal
Ashley Olsen Cancels Trip to Be With Twin
An indirect result of this is that the much-anticipated sex tape of the Twins will, in all probability, be delayed.
Iacocca Changes Support From Bush to Kerry
America should be focusing on winning on the Economic and Technological battlefield, not the Military one...
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Iacocca Changes Support From Bush to Kerry
"In prepared remarks, Kerry said Thursday that the United States is losing its technological edge under President Bush's leadership, with the disappearance of 800,000 high-tech jobs and falling from 4th to 10th in the use of broadband. He said countries such as South Korea and Japan are deploying networks that are 20-50 times faster than what is available in the United States."
Michael Moore may be the smartest / shrewdest American
"If you love Moore, it's a no-brainer: you have to see it," he reasons. "But if you're one of his detractors, you have to know thy enemy's message."
Moore film sets targets close to home
Ohio strip club promotes voter registration
Ohio strip club promotes voter registration
"What starts in adult entertainment as censorship eventually trickles down into journalism, art, film, music," she said.
U.S. warned it could lose air supremacy
What was it that Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine said about instilling fear in a population to get what you want?
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U.S. warned it could lose air supremacy
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- United States must modernize its fighter jets to maintain air supremacy, a top Air Force general said Wednesday citing the success of advanced Russian-made jets against American planes in a recent exercise as signaling an erosion of its overwhelming advantage.
$447 Billion Down the Drain
"The Senate passed a massive defense spending bill that, at $447 billion, still only covers a fraction of war costs in Iraq and Afghanistan.
(...)
The measure includes $25 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the Bush administration plans to submit a supplemental budget at the start of the next calendar year, after November's election, that is expected to seek at least an additional $25 billion for the two ongoing military campaigns."
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This is what they did NOT approve:
"The Republican-controlled chamber also rejected:
A plan to extend prescription drug and health services to all veterans that lawmakers said would have cost $300 billion over 10 years.
A proposal that National Guard and reservists become eligible for retirement benefits at age 55 instead of 60."
The Truth Hurts
"In the war against terrorism, we've given the terrorists a cause and created more terrorism."
Sen. Ernest Hollings
Maybe Jimmy Kimmel was right after all...
Not PC, but hey, neither is shooting people at a fireworks show.
High Court Sides with Cheney on Energy Papers
"Shortly after taking office, President Bush put Cheney, a former energy industry executive, in charge of the task force which, after a series of private meetings in 2001, produced recommendations generally friendly to industry."
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Suffice to say, some people would like to know what is actually in the recommendations?
Apparently, the Supreme Court disagreed:
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"Special considerations applicable to the president and the vice president suggest that the courts should be sensitive to requests by the government" in such special appeals, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the majority.
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Huh? Come again?
Considering that President Reagan appointed the venerable Anthony Kennedy, is it any suprise that he is protecting VP Cheney?
Probably just a coincidence.
AOL buys Advertising.com for $435 Million
Well, this is an odd turn of events. Yesterday, Salesforce.com (CRM) went public, rising 40% in day 1, no Netscape-like first day pop but impressive nonetheless.
Between that and the impending Google IPO, I am surprised to see Advertising.com sell to recovering but still distraught AOL.
AOL's rationale:
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AOL was considerably happier with its purchase of Advertising.com for $435 million in cash. Advertising.com was founded six years ago. The privately held company had, according to a recent filing in connection with a planned initial public offering, $132 million in revenue and a net loss of $25 million in 2003. It claims to be the third-largest "advertising network in the U.S." and that it reaches 110 million Internet users. Its largest customer is the Apollo Group, which runs the University of Phoenix.
Internet advertising networks are in the business of buying ad space on Web sites and then selling that space to advertisers. AOL is already a provider of ad space and a major buyer of ad space on other networks, so Advertising.com will apparently help it handle both ends of those transactions better.
AOL Chief Executive Jonathan Miller said in a statement that "Advertising.com has built a profitable, scalable and highly attractive business," though according to Advertising.com, it's not profitable and never has been--unless you don't count all the expenses. Miller added, "This acquisition is a strategic move that will bolster AOL's advertising business, building on the strides made in the past year."
AOL's new subsidiary, which is expected to operate as a standalone company, said stock in trades is "audience segmentation." This technique lets it "divide our inventory of advertising space into audience segments according to many different criteria, including context, placement, time of day, day of week, geography, demography, frequency, prior behavior, connection speed and domain name extension. Improved inventory segmentation typically means that more relevant advertisements are delivered to consumers."
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Odd. Why?
1. Did Mr. Miller see Avertising.com's P&L? Didn't AOL get in trouble for merging with Time Warner (or vice-versa)... I hope he knows what he is getting himself into.
2. If Advertising.com is indeed the 3rd largest ad network (which I doubt, since everyone claims to be in the Top 3) with revenues of $132 Million in 2003, then why sell at a "mere" 3.3 times 2003 revenues? One would assume with the online ad industry recovery and growing strength that revenues were higher in 2004; given that some deals go for 5 to 10 times revenues, this shows that Advertising.com was not too bullish on its own prospects.
Either way, the stock market was not too impressed.
Could spell trouble. Unless AOL.com is not as bullish on its own prospects that it figures that it needs Advertising.com's help in catching up with Yahoo! and MSN. In which case, then the deal makes some sense.
Men & Marriage
NEW YORK (AP) -- While most single young men aspire to marriage, about one-fifth are deeply skeptical of the institution and their prospects of making it work, according to a new national survey which closely links men's marital outlook to their upbringing.
Exactly when did Bush-Bashing Become Cool?
Springsteen latest casualty of [Civil] War (or Revolution) in the US.
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Moore laughing all the way to bank
Will Michael Moore change presidential history with film?
By Michael Wilmington
Tribune movie critic
Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" -- in which Moore tries to do for George Bush what he once did for GM's Roger Smith and the NRA's Charlton Heston in his previous movies -- is a picture that will most likely succeed in one of its goals: making a lot of money. But will it succeed in its other obvious intention: to help unseat a sitting president, George W. Bush?
You never know. General Motors and the National Rifle Association still thrive, even after Moore's persistent hectoring in "Roger and Me" and "Bowling for Columbine." Moviemakers and other artists who try to change history sometimes fail artistically or historically or both. In this case, Moore's movie succeeds cinematically. Partly named after Ray Bradbury's Orwellian story "Fahrenheit 451" (about a future society of book-burners) it's another of his comic-provocative broadsides: a mix of journalism, commentary wit, satire and shameless heart-wringing.
Make money in 2012
New jobs pay well
Latest report from Labor Department find 20 occupations with good earning potential and growth.
Clinton's book in one page
The Condensed Bill Clinton
Slate reads My Life so you don't have to.
By Bryan Curtis, Chris Suellentrop, and Julia Turner
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No word yet on impact on his book sales.
I guess their GPS failed
Marines held in Iran are from Faslane and Arbroath
It has emerged that the Royal Marines arrested off the coast of Iran (...) were on a secret reconaissance mission when they were confronted by the Iranian authorities.
The M-16 rifle is an American weapon preferred by Britain's special forces who shun the issued SA-80 rifle because of its catalogue of faults. The fact that M-16s were filmed by the Iranian captors were among the equipment being carried by the British servicemen suggests they were perhaps not as innocent as is being made out.
The MOD say the men were Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel delivering speedboats up the Shatt al Arab, the waterway which divides Iraq and Iran, to the Iraqi river police in Basra. A spokesman says the boats were unarmed but the men were carrying their own personal weapons. The men have appeared on Iranian TV apparently confessing to spying.
(...)
There is no Royal Marine unit in Iraq at the moment and one theory is that the Scottish-based soldiers were on a reconaissance mission ahead of the deployment of 40 Commando to Iraq later this year. If so, this is a deeply embarrassing situation.
Clinton's Legacy
Clinton had his share of bad traits, but what will be his legacy?
Good relations with neighbors and neighborhood in general.
Make love, not war.
A raucous economy.
No wonder this happens.
Hitler's clairvoyant (?)
"A new biography tells the bizarre tale of the Jewish psychic who met with the future Führer for private sessions and predicted his rise."
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Darn, you'd figure the psychic would grab a pen, get up and stab Hitler in the neck and save 20,000,000 lives...
Rules to Live By
Sent to me by my sweet girlfriend... wondered why until I read # 3 ;)
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Sometimes we need to remember WHAT the Rules of life really are.
1. Never give yourself a haircut after three alcoholic beverages of any kind.
2. You need only two tools: WD-40 and duct tape.
If it doesn't move and it should, use WD-40.
If it moves and shouldn't, use the tape.
3. The five most essential words for a healthy, vital relationship are "I apologize" and "You are right".
4. Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.
5. When you make a mistake, make amends immediately. It's easier to eat crow while it's still warm.
6. The only really good advice that your mother ever gave you was: "Go! You might meet somebody!"
7. If he/she says that you are too good for him/her believe them.
8. Learn to pick your battles. Ask yourself:
Will this matter one year from now?
How about one month?
One week?
One day?
9. Never pass up an opportunity to pee.
10. If you woke up breathing, congratulations! You have another chance!
11. Living well really is the best revenge. Being miserable because of a bad or former relationship just might mean that the other person was right about you.
12. Work is good, but it's not that important.
13. And finally, be really nice to your friends and family. You never know when you are going to need them to empty your bedpan.
Hey, they did invent the Guillotine, no?
"Somebody please get Anna Nicole Smith, 36, a globe --and a clue. The buxom, blond model-turned-reality TV-star is doing another special for E! Entertainment Television, says a source at the cable company. The source explained that the show, slated to air June 20, and titled Anna's European Vacation, will be about Smith's summer vacation and "weight loss."
According to the insider, the TRIMSPA spokeswoman, who apparently has lost her sense of direction, "was supposed to shoot her special in Nice [France], but Anna nixed the idea on May 19, because she's seriously scared she's going to get beheaded like [Nicholas Berg] in Iraq." The head-scratching source, who adds, "it wasn't worth explaining the difference between the south of France and Iraq to her," says the show will instead be filmed on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten. "She's not afraid her head will be cut off there," relates the source, who says the reason for the locale change was a source of great laughter at E!"
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Wow.
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Reagan would be turning in his grave (if he would remember how to)
America has lost touch with its history. Case in point:
The mere talk of putting Ronald Reagan on the $10 bill (because everyone with a three-digit IQ realized that replacing Teddy Roosevelt with Reagan on the dime was a ludicrous concept) would - make that should - be enough to make Reagan turn over in his grave. Even The Weekly Stanrard, whose editor William Kristol is an architect of the War in Iraq and all things Conservative - has a hard time justifying this switch.
After all, Reagan defended Capitalism more than anyone in his era, the system that none other than Alexander Hamilton - who currently graces the $10 bill - developed as the Nation's first Secretary of Treasury. As such, replacing him with someone that vehemantly fought for capitalism would be blasphemous. What is Hamilton's crime you ask: he was neither Republican, nor Democrat... and would be an easy to target to "liquidate." The horror!
Alexander - who author Ron Chernow accurately describes as "the prophet of the capitalist revolution" who "in all probability, is the foremost figure in American history who never attained the presidency, yet probably had a much deeper and more lasting impact than many who did." Chernow could not be more right.
Many Presidents perhaps, but not Reagan, whose lasting impact will be material.
After all, the Gipper was very much responsible for Saddam Hussein's reign of terror until 2003, having financed him in the 1980s in Iraq's war against Iran.
It was also the Gipper who trained, financed and armed Osama bin Laden in his fight against the Soviets. Those same weapons, training and financing that killed 3,000 innocent civilians in the 9/11 attacks.
Bank Error... or marketing gimmick? Probably both.
I try not to come across as a conspiracy theorist, but when some thing makes you go hmm... you can't help but wonder what is up.
I have one account with CIBC (to my dear friends in the United States, CIBC is a "major" Canadian bank, probably #2 in the Canada with 9 million clients, behind Royal Bank - my former employer from 1998-2000).
Anyway, let's move on before I tell you my bank account number and PIN... I got a letter today from the CIBC's Senior Vice-President of Mortages & Lending, Mr. Robert Cummings (unfortunately, something tells me the signature wasn't personally signed, but I'm waiting for the results to come back) realizing that they have made an error back in 1998 (abour 5 years before I became a client!) where the average error was $3.46 per account. As a result, they were going to credit me $3.46 as of June 25, 2004 (so about 6 years later) in an "expression of good faith (...) as part of [their] effort to make things right and to ensure that CIBC does not retain any of the money it received in error."
Wow! Seldomly do I find myself speechless, but this, my friends, is one such time.
Bottom line: if you do your banking with CIBC and have been with them since pre-1998 era, you might wanna check your old statements folks.
Nonetheless, the bank is refunding $24 million to clients, which is enough reason for me to send a couple more accounts their way.
White House: Losing Credibility - Fast
U.S. raises figures for 2003 terrorist attacks
The U.S. government restated its 2003 accounting of terrorist attacks Tuesday, reporting a sharp increase in the number of significant attacks and more than doubling its initial count of those killed.
The State Department's annual Patterns of Global Terrorism report now counts 208 terrorist attacks as having occurred in 2003, with 625 dead. When the report was released in April, it counted 307 deaths in a total of 190 terror attacks.
(...)
The number of attacks originally reported was the lowest total since 1969, but Secretary of State Colin Powell said earlier this month that the reported decline was incorrect.
(...)
Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman of California has suggested the numbers were being "manipulated" to serve the Bush administration's political interests.
The State Department eventually conceded that the original report failed to include a number of deadly attacks in the latter part of 2003, including a car bomb that exploded in a housing compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and a series of attacks in Istanbul, Turkey, all of which took place in November."
Powell previously blamed the erroneous conclusions on mistakes, not political pressure.
Black said the report was "marred by significant errors" when it was originally released. But he said those errors were the result of "honest mistakes, and certainly not deliberate deceptions."
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Of course, like that whole Iraq - Al Qaeda - 9/11 thing... besides, with the inferno that is Iraq, who can blame the Administration for overlooking the carnage in Istanbul and the increasing turmoil in Saudi Arabia?
Tarnishing College Football
"The Bowl Championship Series is still crunching numbers for its new formula to determine which teams will play for the national championship, a change prompted by last season's split title."
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"The BCS is as screwed up as the voting system in the state of Florida. [NCAA football] is a major sport that needs a major championship -- it should take a cue from college basketball. I think that the polls are popularity contests and people cannot be as informed as they should be, and that makes it unfair to some of the teams."
Chris Myers
Congress.org removed Draft Legislation article... hmm?
Enough innocent young men and women have died since George Bush took office (on both sides of the War). We do not need more.
While "Pentagon has quietly begun a public campaign to fill all 10,350 draft board positions and 11,070 appeals board slots nationwide," the media has turned a blind eye, which is why I was surprised to the Congress.org website ("a private, non-partisan company that specializes in facilitating civic participation") post the article below.
But guess what? The content on the page is gone... poof! Like the 800-plus young American men and women and the more than innocent 10,000 Iraqi civilians.
If you don't want these numbers to mushroom, then learn more about what your Government is planning for your sons and daughters, your sisters and brothers.
Americans deserves that much.
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Original link (no longer available):
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/alert/?alertid=5834001&content_dir=ua_congressorg
Original text:
Pending Draft Legislation Targeted for Spring 2005
The Draft will Start in June 2005
There is pending legislation in the House and Senate (twin bills: S 89 and HR 163) which will time the program's initiation so the draft can begin at early as Spring 2005 -- just after the 2004 presidential election. The administration is quietly trying to get these bills passed now, while the public's attention is on the elections, so our action on this is needed immediately.
$28 million has been added to the 2004 Selective Service System (SSS) budget to prepare for a military draft that could start as early as June 15, 2005. Selective Service must report to Bush on March 31, 2005 that the system, which has lain dormant for decades, is ready for activation. Please see website: www.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004.html to view the sss annual performance plan - fiscal year 2004.
The pentagon has quietly begun a public campaign to fill all 10,350 draft board positions and 11,070 appeals board slots nationwide.. Though this is an unpopular election year topic, military experts and influential members of congress are suggesting that if Rumsfeld's prediction of a "long, hard slog" in Iraq and Afghanistan [and a permanent state of war on "terrorism"] proves accurate, the U.S. may have no choice but to draft.
Congress brought twin bills, S. 89 and HR 163 forward this year, http://www.hslda.org/legislation/na...s89/default.asp entitled the Universal National Service Act of 2003, "to provide for the common defense by requiring that all young persons [age 18--26] in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for other purposes." These active bills currently sit in the committee on armed services.
Dodging the draft will be more difficult than those from the Vietnam era.
College and Canada will not be options. In December 2001, Canada and the U.S. signed a "smart border declaration," which could be used to keep would-be draft dodgers in. Signed by Canada's minister of foreign affairs, John Manley, and U.S. Homeland Security director, Tom Ridge, the declaration involves a 30-point plan which implements, among other things, a "pre-clearance agreement" of people entering and departing each country. Reforms aimed at making the draft more equitable along gender and class lines also eliminates higher education as a shelter. Underclassmen would only be able to postpone service until the end of their current semester. Seniors would have until the end of the academic year.
Even those voters who currently support US actions abroad may still object to this move, knowing their own children or grandchildren will not have a say about whether to fight. Not that it should make a difference, but this plan, among other things, eliminates higher education as a
shelter and includes women in the draft.
The public has a right to air their opinions about such an important decision.
Please send this on to all the friends, parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and cousins that you know. Let your children know too -- it's their future, and they can be a powerful voice for change!
Please also contact your representatives to ask them why they aren't telling their constituents about these bills -- and contact newspapers and other media outlets to ask them why they're not covering this important story.
Yahoo!'s way of enticing tourism
From one of the best wesbites in the world, Yahoo!
NYC: It's always been a city of superlatives: largest, tallest, trendiest, best. Sadly, it's also linked to a different kind of top billing: deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history.
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Wow! Where do I book my trip?
Make the Pie Higher, by George Bush
MAKE THE PIE HIGHER
by George W. Bush (assembled by Richard Thompson)
I think we all agree, the past is over.
This is still a dangerous world.
It's a world of madmen and uncertainty
and potential mental losses.
Rarely is the question asked
Is our children learning?
Will the highways of the internet
become more few?
How many hands have I shaked?
They misunderestimate me.
I am a pitbull on the pantleg of opportunity.
I know that the human being
and the fish can coexist.
Families is where our nation finds hope,
where our wings take dream.
Put food on your family!
Knock down the tollbooth!
Vulcanize Society!
Make the pie higher! Make the pie higher!
I want to have children, a girl preferably... here is why
Ain't this grand?
After seeing 17-year old Linday Lohan "allegedly" getting implants (which have surely helped her dancing skills mind you) and recently turned 18 Mary-Kate Olsen "allegedly" suffering from an eating disorder, I can't wait to have children, a girl especially.
RIAA misguided as ever
U.S. Recording Industry Sues 482 More People (bringing total to 3,429 individuals since last September).
RIAA should get a clue: first it sued Peer to Peer technologies instead of embracing them (Bertelsmann / Napster notwithstanding); then the ISP (even more stupid since ISPs are gatekeepers of the Web and could become strong ally of record labels); and now, the consumers who can make or break a label by voting with their wallers.
Live and Shut Others Up?
You know, here is a crazy idea, if you don't like what you hear (or for that matter see or read) how about tuning out?
What ever happened to Live and Let Live and Freedom of Speech?
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Senate Raises Radio, TV Indecency Fines
By Jeremy Pelofsky
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved a measure to crack down on indecency antics on broadcast radio and television by sharply raising fines to as much as $275,000 per incident and up to $3 million per day.
After being flooded with complaints about nudity on broadcast television and explicit discussions about sex on radio, lawmakers voted 99-1 to raise the maximum fine that can be levied on a station from the current $32,500.
US Foreign Policy: Taking a Cue from GE's Jack Welch
According to Jack Welch, legendary CEO & Chairman of GE from 1981 to 2002, a company should only be in markets where it is #1 or #2 in the industry.
Interestingly, we hear that the US might today leave Saudi Arabia altogether - the # 1 oil producer in the world - something it would have never contemplated until it turned Iraq - the # 2 oil producer (at least in terms of reserves, not actual producer) - into the 51st state of the USA.
Note, as well, that the US also took out its military from Saudi Arabia once Iraq was seized and Qatar and Iraq were available to stockpile troops.
Just a coincidence I am sure...
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U.S. threatens to abandon Saudis and their oil
The United States has sent a tough message to Saudi Arabia that did not rule out abandoning of the kingdom's oil sector.
U.S. officials said the Bush administration has warned that Americans would not stay in Saudi Arabia unless the kingdom takes significant steps to protect them. The officials said the warning came in wake of the Al Qaida execution of Lockheed Martin engineer Paul Johnson on June 18.
Fewer than 30,000 Americans live in Saudi Arabia, with many of them working in the defense and oil sectors. More than 5,000 Americans were said to have left the kingdom over the last year and many more were said to planning to leave for the summer.
"It could have an effect [on the Saudi oil industry]," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. "Saudi authorities, as commendable as their overall effort is, have not yet been able to stop the terrorists to the point that everybody doesn't have to worry anymore."
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Battleground analogy
From MotleyFool.com:
"Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen wrote a classic book called the Innovator's Dilemma. It recounts the stories of big tech companies as sitting ducks. Upstart companies without the baggage of legacy technologies use disruptive technologies to change the face of an industry.
(...)
In a way, the battle for voice is similar to the arms race. It's expensive and ultimately defeating. But there are winners in the space. Who? To carry out the VoIP build-out requires equipment. And that should be good news to players like Lucent (NYSE: LU), Nortel (NYSE: NT), Sonus, Alcatel, and Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO)."
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In finance & investments, you should always invest in those who sell the equipment, the proverbial shovels and helmets; such as Cisco, Nortel et al.
In politics, war leads to an arms races, which is 'good' as it benefits weapon builders: Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Halliburton et al.
Berlusconi: "delirious and desperate?"
The man owns the country, the media, etc. yet someway, somehow, there is a conspiracy against him?
Someone tell Mr. Berlusconi what happened to his Spanish ally in the "Coalition of the Willing."
1953 - the year that altered the 21st Century
If you want to know why Tony Blair agreed to George W. Bush's imperialistic adventure in Iraq in 2003, click here to see how the USA helped the UK in 1953.
More:
CIA planned guerrilla campaign in Iran to counter communists in 1953: documents
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US Central Intelligence Agency (news - web sites) planned a sustained guerrilla campaign in Iran in case its 1953 plan to ouster the government of Mohammad Mossadegh fell through and communists increased their sway over the country, according to newly declassified US government documents.
The top secret papers, produced in late 1952 and 1953 by the State Department and the National Security Council, provide proof that the widely-known US-British efforts to destabilize the government of prime minister Mossadegh were backed up by broad contingency plans that called for bolstering US military presence in the region and launching an anti-communist guerrilla force in the south of Iran.
The Mossadegh government, which drew the ire of Washington and London because of its persistent attempts to increase control over the country's oil resources, was toppled in an August 19, 1953, coup led by US-backed general Fazlollah Zahedi who allowed pro-American Shah Reza Pahlavi to return from exile.
US officials have grudgingly acknowledged that the coup had become possible due to CIA (news - web sites)-designed Operation "Ajax" that helped plunge Iran into chaos and paved the way for Mossadegh's downfall.
But the administration of then US president Dwight Eisenhower was seriously concerned that the plan could go awry and Iranian communists from the Tudeh Party would capitalize on instability and the unraveling economy to seize power, according to the documents released by the National Security Archive on Tuesday.
To counter that possibility, the CIA made preparations for unleashing a guerrilla campaign targeting Tudeh members and other Iranian politicians, then-undersecretary of state Walter Smith reported to the White House.
In his memorandum dated May 20, 1953, Smith noted that the CIA had reached an agreement with Qashqai tribal leaders in southern Iran to establish a clandestine safe haven from which US-funded guerrillas and intelligence agents could operate.
"To date CIA has trained and equipped a total of approximately 10 indigenous clandestine radio operators to be located throughout Iran and who can be called upon to maintain communications with CIA when desired," Smith wrote. "Others are being trained."
Stockpiles of weapons and ammunition were being secretly assembled at Wheelus Field, an air base in Libya used at that time by the US Air Force.
Smith reported that the base already had enough war materiel to equip a 10,000-strong guerrilla force and allow it to operate independently for at least six months. Other supply bases were being established in Tripoli, the Suez Canal zone and the US state of New Jersey.
"These supplies could, within three to four weeks, be transported by air and sea to certain strong tribal elements in southern Iran," the undersecretary of state assured.
Reception points for this materiel were being set up in the Tehran and Tabriz areas, along with secret caches of gold and currency, while the CIA drew plans for forming eight, three-person teams to run its secret guerrilla army.
The plan also called for deploying several dozen additional US warplanes to southern Turkey and positioning a naval force of an undetermined size in the vicinity of the Iraqi southern city of Basra to create a barrier to "the spread of communist power."
In addition, the US government was determined to seek access to the Saudi military base in Dhahran "as a transit point in connection with contemplated US covert operations," Smith wrote.
Bud Selig's lies (again)
"Nobody is pulling harder for the Twins than I am," said Selig, a longtime friend of Twins owner Carl Pohlad.
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He was rooting real hard just a couple of seasons ago when Mr. Selig tried to put the kibosh on the Twins, and net his "longtime friend" millions of dollars.
Markets flat this year
Markets have been flat so far this year.
Mark June 30th on your calendar: Alan Greenspan, Come on Down and Meet the new Iraqi Head of State.
Inmate with prosthetic limb at large
One word: Reassuring.
Let's give these jail guards a promotion to the Homeland security team.
Who said it?
"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done."
Bush? No.
Caesar, no. Though it has been credited to him, erroneously.
Who knows, but it sure does sound ominous... and timely.
Oil Curse
Time out, are we talking about Russia or Iraq?
I guess the answer is: doesn't matter.
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From Financial Times:
The crucial nature of such decisions emerges in a forthcoming article by Nancy Birdsall and Arvind Subramanian in Foreign Affairs, the American periodical. The authors - Ms Birdsall heads the Washington-based Center for Global Development, Mr Subramanian is at the International Monetary Fund - offer a one-word explanation for the globe's diverse troubles: oil. An oil windfall may benefit a country with a developed legal culture - Britain, Norway and the state of Alaska. But in places where civic accountability, the rule of law and democratic process are not firm, windfall means wipe-out. The very presence of oil turns law-abiders into thugs, and pushes nations backwards into chaos, religious fundamentalism and despair.
The million Africans who died in the Biafran struggle in the late 1960s were the most tragic casualties of this dynamic. Their story was not merely about starvation or tribal conflict (as the press wrote at the time) but also the attempt by Nigeria's eastern Igbo people to control oil reserves.
The oil curse argument is not traditional development economics, which views such natural resources as blessings to developing countries - representing the equivalent of money in the bank, available for, say, infrastructure spending. Still, suddenly we are hearing about it - not only from Foreign Affairs, but in books and periodicals across the political spectrum. Its provenance is therefore worth review.
Was Seinfeld Clairvoyant for Naming The Nazi O'Reilly?
Final Solution suggested by the very same "man" (Bill O'Reilly), who compared George Soros, Michael Moore & Al Franken to Hitler's head of propaganda Joseph Goebbels & Nazis.
Why I have to sell my shares in Coca-Cola, McDonald's et al.
Is Canada next on the list?
Say it ain't so...
Senate "Representing" the People
Senate Won't Overturn War Dead Media Ban
PAULINE JELINEK
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The Senate refused on Monday to change a Pentagon policy banning media coverage of America's war dead as their remains arrive in flag-draped caskets.
"It's an outrage," said Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who had sponsored legislation to restore coverage of homecoming ceremonies at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
The New Jersey Democrat said the Pentagon directive that requires strict censorship, "issued just as the Iraq war began, ... prevents the American people from seeing the truth about what's happening."
The 54-39 Senate negative vote came as the American death toll in Iraq reached 837 Monday.
A poll at that time found more than six in 10 Americans thought the homecomings should be covered.
Behavior Unbecoming of a Republican?
Timely story given that Bill Clinton's book is being released today.
Not to be outdone, the venerable Republican Senate Candidate from Illinois (and husband of Jeri Lynn Ryan), Jack Ryan tried to get his ex-wfe / former Star Trek gal to perform sex in public, in strip clubs to boot!
Nice... when's the vote?
The Bush Empire
Perhaps Christopher Hitchens and Michael Moore can set aside their differences and do a documentary on this topic, The Bush Empire.
Now I would pay dearly to see this puppy!
Hitchens vs. Moore
Christopher Hitchens - columnist for Vanity Fair, whose latest book is entitled Blood, Class and Empire: The Enduring Anglo-American Relationship rips Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 in Slate:
This is the American Dream: Blast the current President and have his supporters send you laughing all the way to the bank by raising awareness for it. God Bless America!
While Hitchens' arguments may be valid (at least as valid as Moore's), he seems rather jealous of Moore's popularity and documentary success:
From link above:
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"However, I think we can agree that the film is so flat-out phony that "fact-checking" is beside the point. And as for the scary lawyers—get a life, or maybe see me in court. But I offer this, to Moore and to his rapid response rabble. Any time, Michael my boy. Let's redo Telluride. Any show. Any place. Any platform. Let's see what you're made of.
Some people soothingly say that one should relax about all this. It's only a movie. No biggie. It's no worse than the tomfoolery of Oliver Stone. It's kick-ass entertainment. It might even help get out "the youth vote." Yeah, well, I have myself written and presented about a dozen low-budget made-for-TV documentaries, on subjects as various as Mother Teresa and Bill Clinton and the Cyprus crisis, and I also helped produce a slightly more polished one on Henry Kissinger that was shown in movie theaters. So I know, thanks, before you tell me, that a documentary must have a "POV" or point of view and that it must also impose a narrative line. But if you leave out absolutely everything that might give your "narrative" a problem and throw in any old rubbish that might support it, and you don't even care that one bit of that rubbish flatly contradicts the next bit, and you give no chance to those who might differ, then you have betrayed your craft. If you flatter and fawn upon your potential audience, I might add, you are patronizing them and insulting them."
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Perhaps Mr. Hitchens, but if the American public will eat this up like they did Bowling for Columbine - and probably help Moore break the $100 million mark (unheard of for a documentary) along the way, can he be blamed?
Thursday, June 10, 2004
If Everyone Blogs Off a Bridge...
From WhatReallyHappened.com:
"History will probably record that the greatest single error the Bush war machine made was to underestimate the impact of the Internet. They didn't understand the Internet, or the Internet culture, its sociology, and most important, how access to the Internet transformed Americans from mere acceptors of broadcast information into active and critical participants in the information process. No doubt there was a tendency to dismiss Internet news sources as just hobbies run by computer geeks for other computer geeks. Certainly nothing to worry about. Blogs were not mainstream media, according to the mainstream media. Bush and the NeoCons didn't really know what to do about the Internet, so wishful thinking made it unimportant. That was their critical error, because while the polls kept showing more people were still getting their news from the TV set than from computers, the margin kept getting smaller. And, the polls didn't reflect the fact that people watching the TV sets were not as mentally involved with the information flow as Internet users were. While fewer in numbers, people who were getting their news from the Internet were more involved with that news... and they were talking to people they knew who did not have Internet feeds."
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- Does your PC look like this
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- Conspiracy theories at it again
- She dreams of being a doctor...
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