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If I was Bill Richardson I would look around at all the cabinet posts and decide that COMMERCE is the last place to be. Whoever does get that post will simply be tossing a coin on what to do and when to do it. COMMERCE is a touchy subject right now...IN EVERY COUNTRY ON THE PLANET.
****
The recent three part story in the LA TIMES concerning the AIG fiasco should be required reading by anyone interested in how the really smart guys were simply acting like bookies and ponzi scheme dudes. INTEREST SWAPPING is the phrase which seems to lead to much of the current disaster.
LINK TO THE STORY
http://www.losanglestimes.com/
This is a link to LA TIMES....but it's just for the ABSTRACT of the story. The LA TIMES charges if you want the whole story. I have a copy for free if you want to read it. Just let me know. It is one of the only real explanations, on the collapse of huge companies, that I have read. I'm still trying to figure out how some of the previous BIG GUYS bit the dust and this article might be the missing link.
INTEREST SWAPPING, JUNK BONDS AND SHORTING HEDGE FUNDS....resulted in the HOUSE getting a huge cut no matter which way the wind blew or which way the bet was laid.
THE BOOKIE COMPARISON IS NOT THAT FAR OFF.
PRETTY AMAZING STUFF if you have time or want to know what happened.
****
THE ASPEN non exploding UNI BOMBER wannabe was a strange story. New Year's Eve in Aspen is suppose to be UNIQUE and this year it really became ultra unique.
Complaining about elitism in Aspen is pretty funny. I know people that live there and they aren't worth more than 10 million dollars. It's a play ground for every type of income. If you work there you just need to live a few miles out of town....which a few miles out of town... is pretty cool landscape.
He was probably friends with Hunter Thompson.
Apparently the guy was born in ASPEN 70 years ago, and just got tired of paying ten bucks for a BUD in a barroom setting.
Well....he doesn't have that problem anymore....but he probably got GREETED with the famous GREETING by THE GREETER.
'WHAT THE F..K WERE YOU THINKING?"
***
And then there's Hamas and Israel having a slight disagreement
THERE'S A TON OF ATTITUDE AND OVER-KILL AND HUGE EGO MISCALCULATIONS GOING ON IN THAT REGION.
I can't understand why Hamas doesn't have longer range missiles. If they had any real support in the Middle East region they would have rockets that traveled more than forty feet.
That to me is a LARGE CLUE that other countries in the region don't really support Hamas. Maybe Hezbollah supports them but the last time I checked Hezbollah wasn't a country just another group looking for power in Lebanon.
From what I've learned over the years about the Israeli armed forces is that $3 Billion dollars a year from the United States buys more than just good will.
Hamas has $29.00 left in the bank and I think it's time to wake up to reality
and stop acting like a GROUP that has huge cache's of weapons and quit putting their citizens in harm's way and realize that PEACE WILL BRING PEACE...EVENTUALLY.
THE ISRAEL GOVERNMENT WILL TALK PEACE IF THE AGGRESSION STOPS BUT HAMAS JUST DOESN'T GRASP THAT CONCEPT....and yes I agree the Israeli's display a bit of OVER-KILL when it comes to their response, but they have made it pretty clear how they will respond to any attacks...even if it's a rocket that only travels 40 yards and lands in the desert. If it makes it over the border it's an attack on Israel.
The TABLE is set for discussion. All Gaza has to do is stop Hamas from agreesive action.
I'm not sure the people in the Gaza Strip actually support Hamas but of course I've never been there and I don't actually know the numbers. I wonder what percentage of citizens belong to Hamas and I wonder how many citizens agree with Hamas.
SHOULD BE PRETTY EASY TO DO A CENSUS ON OPINIONS AND VIEWPOINTS. RIGHT NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME BECAUSE EVERYBODY IS STAYING HOME. NOT A LOT OF BLOCK PARTIES TAKING PLACE SO IT SHOULD BE EASY TO ASK THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY THINK.
DO WE CARE WHAT THE PEOPLE IN GAZA THINK?
I HOPE SO...for the sake of all people living in the Middle East.
THE GENERAL PALESTINIAN POPULATION HAS TO OUTNUMBER HAMAS
...and if they don't
...then
they
will
be
toast.
If Hamas has the majority of the people backing them... then someone in that ORGANIZATION needs to ALTER THEIR CONSCIOUSNESS.
AND NOW WOULD BE A VERY GOOD TIME TO MAKE THAT ALTERATION.
MAYBE WE SHOULD GIVE THEM SOME LSD.
It worked on a ton of people I knew in the sixties and seventies. Yeah...some of them didn't quite recover but then again there are always going to be "casualties" of war endeavors and "causalities" of peace movements.
HAMAS HAS TO DECIDE IF THEY WANT TO CONTINUE WITH THEIR PRESENT ATTITUDE...or if they want to be part of the process to heal centuries old conflicts.
AND THIS DOESN'T DATE BACK TO THE UN MANDATE IN 1947....THIS DATES BACK TO WELL BEFORE MOSES DROPPED THE HAMMER ON THE PHARAOH.
WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO BE ANYWHERE?
INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARIES ARE ESTABLISHED BY
MONETARY PURCHASES
WAR BEHAVIOR (often times referred to as REVOLUTIONS)
and
PEACE TALKS
GOD KNOWS WE'VE HAD OUR FAIR SHARE OF WAR BEHAVIOR ON THIS PLANET
AND
IT
REALLY APPEARS TO BE TIME
FOR
PEACE TALKS
THE NEW MOTTO
"BULLSHIT WALKS/PEACE TALKS"
BUMPER STICKER FOR THE MODERN DAY ANTI-WAR PROTESTER...we just need to get Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Leo DiCaprio to stick one on their Bentley's and the message will spread.
***
And then there's the incredibly sad story of Jett Travolta
John and Kelly Travolta joined a very small fraternity, of which I am a member but would give ANYTHING not to be.
CENSUS FIGURES FROM 2002
In 2002 33,000 people died between the ages of 15 and 24 in the United States.
The total deaths that year were 2,443,387
If you reduce that figure to teenage boys 15 and 16 then I imagine the number drops to around 5,000. I am assuming the 5,000 is a workable number.
I also imagine that the numbers stay relatively close since 2002...so when you see how small the fraternity is... then you can understand that I know exactly how John feels. I admit to not knowing exactly how Kelly feels because mom's have a connection that dates back to nine months before the birth...and then proceeds to last nine months and then after that ordeal there is still the birth day and that's a doozy of a day for the mom.
IF A MOM RECOVERS FROM SOMETHING LIKE THIS THEN IT'S ONLY BECAUSE SHE HAS GRASPED THE IDEA OF NON-SPIRITUAL REALITY.
IF PHYSICAL REALITY IS THE ONLY BELIEF SYSTEM INVOLVED THEN SAD WILL DOMINATE THE REST OF HER LIFE.
I HAVE A FEELING THAT SCIENTOLOGISTS HAVE A UNDERSTANDING OF NON-PHYSICAL REALITY.... SO I'M GUESSING THEY BOTH SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE.
IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY WILL BE ANY LESS SAD FOR THE IMMEDIATE TIME BEING.
But NEO-ILLUMINATION # 23 says it best
"Soul Awareness Development is
SAD for awhile
and then it simply becomes OBVIOUS
THAT SAD
CAN'T
BE"
Anger last longer than SAD when dealing with the lost of a teenage son and I've yet to figure out how to totally eliminate anger... but I observe on a daily basis an over abundance of human beings dealing with this personality disorder....and only a few of them have the kind of excuse that John Travolta and I share.
THE NUMBER INCREASES EXPEDIENTLY WHEN MOVING INTO THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES...but John and I don't live in those places...and most children dying in third world improvised countries probably die before the age of 5.
OF COURSE THAT'S AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT PROBLEM THAT BONO IS ADDRESSING.
My heart goes out to the Travolta family and I hope PEOPLE are gentle in dealing with their loss...especially those people who control the tabloids.
HAVE A FREAKING HEART AND BACK OFF WITH ANYTHING THAT MIGHT CAUSE THEM MORE PAIN!!!!!!!! AND THAT'S A F..KING ORDER!!!!!!
NOW...THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF THE ANGER PART THAT DOESN'T GO AWAY
****
15 days away from the most historic inauguration in the United States and maybe in the entire World. I'm still holding my breath.
*****
Have you been following the Al Franken Senate story? Apparently there's something to be said for calling for a recount. Are you listening Mr. Gore?
****
Movies and quick reviews
GRAN TORINO....Clint Eastwood is the only actor alive that could play this part
SEVEN POUNDS...really about GIVING. Trailers are deceptive
MARLEY AND ME....DOGS ARE THE NEW KINGS OF HOLLYWOOD
CURIOUS CASE OF BB.....A well made, well written fantasy
AUSTRALIA....completely over looked by audiences that love old fashion movies
MILK....Van Sandt loves it when hetero's start making out. Captures the movement and the times
FROST/NIXON....Howard loves it when gays act straight...Captures the movement and the times
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and last but not least
DODGERS NEED TO SIGN MANNY NOW BEFORE THE GIANTS...AND THEN NOMAR....AND THEN TRY TO FIND A FEW PITCHERS....ESPECIALLY ONES LIKE DEREK LOWE.
Michael Timothy McAlevey
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