Congratulations Lance!

Yes it's been a year or more since I've written. I've been a bit busy. I'd like to start posting more frequently, but I'm sure that no one has bothered to check the blog that updates no more. So I'd like to say congrats lance on your 7th consecutive tour de France win. I was there on the champs for wins 4 & 7.

In the same Metro magazine issue that was predicting Lance's upcoming tour win, the headline read, "Emploi: les Francais n'ont toujours pas confiance" or "Jobs: the French still don't have confidence." After reading through several different statistics about the job market, the article really shocked me. It proceeded to say that 7 in 10 French declare that to fix the employment situation, the government must first protect existing jobs and make it more difficult for companies to fire workers, and that only a quarter of French wanted to make it easier for companies to hire and fire.

That's so crazy. The static and bureaucratic labor market is one of the reasons for that 11% unemployment they are fighting with. Nobody is hiring because they can't afford to hire. Why would 3/4 of the population think that adding layers to that restrictive policy would do anything but hurt the country. The minister of the interior said that he was postponing the so badly needed tax reductions so that he could take action to directly reduce unemployment…by creating more public jobs!!! Why are they so crazy? Already more than a quarter of France's entire workforce is government employed. Can you believe that? And they are going to create more, with the inherent benefits of course - like lifetime employment. If that other quarter of the population that has their heads on their shoulders doesn't speak up soon and mobilize, the country is going to collapse. And they'll blame it on globalization.

Ok, let's be fair, France isn't going to collapse anytime soon, but this is a real problem, and it is affecting the standard of living here now and will continue to do so in the future. Something needs to be done, and the only mobilizing groups I see are on the far left. Communists and socialists are to be heard everywhere. Where is the voice of reason? I don't hear it. Not here. Not now.

SERIAL EXAGGERATOR:

Michael Moore often pretends to be censored by big media, and recently he claimed that Bill O’Reilly and Jay Leno have banned him from their shows. In Los Angeles Times, Patrick Goldstein shows that this is far from the truth. Goldstein happens to be a political friend of Moore, but his conclusion is that Moore seems like a ”serial exaggerator”, and that ”the problem with Moore is that if you judge him as a documentary filmmaker, his work is undermined by too many shaded facts and slippery conclusions”.

-Taken from Johan Norberg's globlog.

NASA's new computer

NASA has begun work on a new supercomputer called the Space Exploration Simulator. It is an array of 20 SGI, Linux-based systems-each containing 512 64-bit Intel processors. The computer will purportedly be able to run at 60 Teraflops. A teraflop is the ability of a system to compute one trillion floating point operations in one second, fyi. NASA is deploying it as part of Project Columbia, a collaborative effort with Intel and SGI to advance the study and exploration of outer space. The system cost NASA about $50 million, though full commercial pricing would likely top $200 million. In addition to space, NASA scientists will use the simulator to model characteristics of the ocean they haven't been able to in the past. When completed, the Space Exploration Simulator will be the fastest computer in the world.

Hawking news brief

It has been brought to my attention that Stephen Hawking, our beloved astrophysicist who has claimed for decades that black holes absorb all information, never to be recovered, has backpedaled.  "I've been thinking about this problem for the last 30 years, and I think I now have the answer to it," he told the BBC.  He presents his findings, which are currently undisclosed, in Ireland this Wednesday.   This could have huge consequences in the scientific community.  Let's stay tuned...

What is Putin up to?

The murder of Paul Khlebnikov, the US-born editor of the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, prompted this post. Just what is going on in Russia right now? If you weren't aware, Mr. Khlebnikov published a list of Russia's 100 wealthiest businessmen. While in the the U.S. or other capitalist countries with free press, this is common practice, in Putin's Russia, this is "inappropriate."

"If a journalist does not behave in an appropriate fashion, he is either dismissed ... or promoted and therefore taken off the air," said Alexei Venediktov, director of Ekho Moskvy radio, Russia's most prominent "independent" news source. He continues, "If this proves impossible - as in the case of an American publication - he gets killed and the rest are intimidated."

Twenty journalists have been killed in Russia in the past decade for their work - fourteen since Putin became president. None of the murders have been solved.

The murderers need to be sought out and dealt with, but they are not the only ones at fault. In Russia today, murder is still perceived as a normal way of settling scores and amassing wealth, and the Russian government does not seem to be interested in doing anything about it. It's hard to believe that the KGB has no leads in any of the twenty murders.

For more about Paul Khlebnikov and what he was accomplishing in Russia, view this International Herald Tribune article -> http://www.iht.com/articles/529133.html

It is understood that Putin has been increasingly forcing media outlets under state control. Criticisms of the government are not advised, Chechnya is a topic best avoided, and exposes of corrupt business practices are ignored in favour of lighter reports.

So, rather than talk about how Putin's government simultaneously froze Khodorkovsky's assets and charged him with 3.4 billion USD in back taxes shortly after Khodorkovsky decided to become politically involved (opposing Putin's ruling party), which "is clearly a case of highly selective law enforcement" according to the OECD, lets talk about something else.

The Kremlin Press Service reported that the Russian president pointed to "the coincidence of Russian and French approaches to a search for settlement of sensitive international issues ... and also to shared positions in the struggle against international terrorism." Putin also expressed his conviction that joint efforts will be able to raise Russian-French cooperation to a new level, and help expand further the traditionally close ties in economics, the humanitarian sphere, science and culture.

Thats nice. Alexander III would be proud. Happy Bastille Day!

U.S. China Trade Relations

One side:
China, increasingly the target of U.S. anti-dumping duties, urged the United States Tuesday to settle trade disputes through negotiations instead of resorting to trade protectionism. This was due to the recent duties of up to 198% on $1.2 billion of wooden bedroom furniture imported from China last week. China maintains that its "consistent position has been that it puts great emphasis on maintaining healthy, normal trade relations with the United States and hopes the two countries can move forward in developing their trade relations." Normal, friendly, free trade relations are important to both sides, and duties such as these are an impediment to China's economic growth. However...


The other side:
The U.S. knows China is not entirely playing fair with its exports. Not with its wooden furniture per say, but with its counterfeited merchandise. For this discussion, we can ignore China's grim work safety conditions and cheap labor, because not giving laborers a 35 hr work week and 6 weeks paid vacation is not illegal. The beef the U.S. has with China in this area is that exporting counterfeited merchandise in China is not illegal either.

66% of counterfeited imports seized by U.S. Customs (which is no doubt a small fraction of the total amount entering the U.S.) in 2003 were from China. It is estimated that when countries acting as intermediaries are included in this figure, as much as 80% of the counterfeited goods seized at U.S. borders could originate in China. As a reference point, only 3% of illegal imports to the U.S. in 2003 originated in Mexico, where counterfeiting is also considered rampant.

There are fines for selling counterfeited items domestically in China, but these are small enough for counterfeiters to consider them a cost of doing business in a lucrative field. The fake items are too numerous to mention, but can range from soft drinks to software, luxury items to economy cars (yes, fake GMs are being driven around China). The U.S. knows that while China accuses it of protectionism, not only are Chinese leaders reluctant to shut down counterfeiting (albeit economically productive) activities, but they often have direct financial interests in the illegal trade itself.


Conclusion
The monetary loss to U.S. firms selling both domestically and in China is huge (If anyone has a figure on this, feel free to add it). If China were serious about its "emphasis on maintaining healthy, normal trade relations with the United States" and the rest of the world, it would enact laws making both production and exporting of counterfeited merchandise illegal. Both sides are guilty of protectionism. China is protecting activities which contribute significantly to its economic growth (at least short term), and the U.S. is protecting its manufacturers from what it considers unfair competition. China needs to finally take a stance on legitimizing its exports, which are only going to grow year after year, and the U.S. needs to recognize that a duty on goods sold domestically is a tax on its own citizens, no matter where they are produced.

Clinton's New Book

So Bill's new kila-page autobiography is all the talk now. Is it taking the spotlight off of Kerry & Bush? Is it not providing us with any new information or does it give us toooo much information? Does it mean we can talk about Monica again? Does anyone care? Apparently many do, because people are lining up at book stores to get their copy so they can turn straight to page 773. Someone please post something here.

Sweat City U.S.A.

What an accomplishment - a new study found El Paso, Texas, with average summer temperatures above 93F and relative humidity over 70%, to be the sweatiest city in the US. According to the study, "The driving force is heat, but humidity is a key factor. It can feel like 118 in El Paso but it's only 94."

COWBOYS VS COMMUNISTS

This quote was so interesting I had to include it here. This is an inspiring remark coming from a Pole. This is from Johan Norberg's globlog (link on the right). He says:

In a radio debate with me the environmentalist politician Lars Ångström said that he knew dissidents in Eastern Europe who saw Reagan as a dangerous cowboy (he mentioned Solidarity in Poland explicitly). I am sure that Ångström knew some strange folks there. But those who fought, and won freedom for their countries did not share that opinion. Just listen to Poland’s revolutionary hero, first democratic president, Lech Walesa, who led Solidarity:

”When talking about Ronald Reagan, I have to be personal. We in Poland took him so personally. Why? Because we owe him our liberty. This can´t be said often enough by people who lived under oppression for half a century, until communism fell in 1989. […] Prepared for the first almost-free parliamentary elections in Poland in 1989, [our] poster shows Gary Cooper as the lonely sheriff in the American Western, "High Noon." Under the headline "At High Noon" runs the red Solidarity banner and the date--June 4, 1989--of the poll… Cowboys in Western clothes had become a powerful symbol for Poles. Cowboys fight for justice, fight against evil, and fight for freedom, both physical and spiritual. Solidarity trounced the Communists in that election, paving the way for a democratic government in Poland."

Newsflash

In what some are calling the first official government report on the effect of outsourcing on US jobs, it is stated that the bulk of outsourced jobs never leave the states. The US labor department is just confirming what economists have been saying all along - that people's concerns about having their jobs shipped overseas are exaggerated. Nine percent of non-seasonal U.S. layoffs in the first quarter were due to outsourcing, but less than a third of the work was sent overseas. So, in the past 3 months, only 2 out of 100 US jobs lost were replaced on foreign rather than domestic soil.

Reagan's Funeral

I'm not sure if anyone noticed this, but during Ronald Reagan's funeral the pastor was giving his last eulogy, and during a solumn moment, he started talking about how Margaret Thatcher was a dear friend of Pres. Reagan. He then quoted her, but rather than just stating her words, he proceded to use this high voice with a british accent. The camera was panning the crowd when he started this and everybody cracked a smile. Some had to avert their eyes, lest they let a laugh escape. I think the pastor realized it was kind of silly, so he slowly faded back to his regular voice for the rest of the quote. I'm pretty sure they won't mention that tonight on CNN.

Bush visits Normandy Beaches

On Bush's recent trip to Europe to commemorate D-day, in a speech at the American military cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer in Normandy, Chirac emphasized his country's gratitude toward America:

"And to the entire American nation, sharing this solemn moment with us, to all those men and women who paid the ultimate price of those heroic days, the message of France is indeed a message of friendship and brotherhood, a message of thanks, of appreciation and gratitude,"

Chirac was also quoted recently that he forsaw a quick resolution as to the details of the transfer of power in Irak (with full UN support this time). Not that Chirac could really say anything else at the D-Day ceremony, but could there be a lessening of Franco-American tensions? This was the first time (60 years later) that the Germans were invited to the D-Day rememberences, and most of the Allied mourners were accepting and sympathetic to the German participants. The noise about the UK being a "bad European" or whatever seems to be fading away with the passage of time. I sincerly hope that this weeks G8 meeting will be a productive (and protest-free) one.

The Reasoning behind Discourse

06.06.04 –
Yesterday afternoon, I went to the window upon hearing the sound of helicopters hovering above my apartment. I saw five of them, some quite close to the ground. Moving outside to see what the clamor was for, I noticed crowds of people moving towards Wilshire St. I followed to find that it was the hearse that was carrying the late former president Ronald Reagan that was causing the commotion. Mr. Reagan passed away only hours before. The broadcast stations were airing special moments in Reagan’s live as tributes to the man the rest of the afternoon. I must say I was kind of moved. He was one of the nation’s most loved presidents, and whether or not you agreed with his policies, you have to admire his conviction and values.

It was thinking about his ideals and what he accomplished in his life that was the inspiration for this blog. I foresee this space as a place for me to discuss the things political, economic, social, scientific, and moral that affect us as a people and this path that we are on - a discourse on this course we’re on. Despite of my hailing from the USA, I’m hoping to keep my perspective as international as possible on this blog. So from time to time, I’ll be commenting on the issues of the day, or perhaps the issues that no one else is bringing up. Please add your comments if you love, hate, appreciate, or are confused by this blog.

In closing for this first post, I’d like to include a quote from Ronald Reagan, which resonates with me. In my interpretation, it is saying that we need to stop focusing on the political labels we give each other, and that fundamentally, Libertarianism and Conservatism are similar (except for the religious and imposed-moralism parts).

As Ronald Reagan said in a Reason interview in July 1975:

"I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals – if we were back in the days of the Revolution, so-called conservatives today would be the Liberals and the liberals would be the Tories. The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.”