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2006-09-12T07:08:00.000-07:00

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Infinite Speculator

Gay America: Chasing Their Identity

2006-08-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

On June 15, 1981 the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta reported multiple cases of pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia, a rare pneumonia that is commonly linked to severe weaken immune systems, which had been contracted by several gay men in Los Angeles. This would be the beginning of the mysterious AIDS (Anti-Immune Deficiency Syndrome) virus. Although several would be inflicted by the disease either by blood transfusion or drug use involving contaminated hypodermic needles, the gay community, which would be the most impacted by this disease, would rally for more research and federal funding as 1982 began.

At the time Ronald Reagan was the US President. The Reagan administration did not even publicly acknowledge the existence of the disease even after it had been documented multiple times by the press. Reagan was an on the record conservative and opposed to gay rights. After the administration’s recognition of the disease in 1985, under his administration federal funding totaled $5.7 billion over the course of his remaining tenure in office.

What Reagan and his staff realized was that AIDS was not airborne or carried through the water supply. No the spread of AIDS began in gay bathhouses where gay men would engage in anonymous consensual sex. In order to address AIDS coupled by a federal bankroll (tax dollars) there would have to be responsibility on behalf of Gay America and not monies just thrown to the wind. In other words, despite his critics, Reagan would implement fiscal responsibility. In this author’s opinion Reagan wasn’t about to allow the White House to become a sounding board for gay rights either.

No matter what his critics have said Reagan did jumpstart AIDS research. What they didn’t like was his contingency for the funding. These are the same critics who lambaste the current Bush administration for the federal deficit and oppose social program cutbacks in favor of a strong defense, although these programs inadvertently create multi generations of dependency and entitlement. However when it came to Gay America and throwing taxpayer dollars at AIDS research they predictably choose the other side of the coin.

This entry isn’t intended to defend the policies of Reagan and his administration- there is no need to defend them. No this is to address his foresight or at least the foresight of his administration. The Reagan administration knew a thing or two about responsibility in one’s personal life as it related to promiscuity and specifically what was being experienced in gay bathhouses.

Now fast forward to the present time and allow your author to discuss a current epidemic ripping apart the gay male population of America. It is a trend that is beyond description. An idea that mitigates everything the federal government and our funding has attempted to accomplish as it relates to AIDS. It spits in the eye of Reagan’s critics who attempted to demonize his name at the time of his death as it relates to AIDS and his administration’s policy. It is a choice they are making that is beyond comprehension. It is known as chasing the bug and it is something that, once again, Gay America has refused to address.

What is chasing the bug? It is considered an underground movement where gay men engage in anonymous sex in the hopes of contracting AIDS/HIV. Yes in the hopes that they will become infected with the virus. It often takes place in either gay bathhouses, which are now referred to as all male fitness clubs or on the dance club scene, often under the influence of methamphetamines and alcohol.

The theory or thinking behind chasing the bug is thought to have been based around the idea that once a gay man contracts AIDS he will no longer have to practice safe sex. They become a part of something or attempt to identify with a group. While psychologists begin to analyze this lunacy and figure out why men would play Russian roulette, conservatives should take note that this is being buried or at least not admitted to by the gay population. Once again personal choices and responsibilities or lack of rule the day and not reliance upon the federal government to combat AIDS.

Gay America continually changes as the wind blows. At first they wanted to be accepted by society, nearly forcing themselves upon others for their acceptance and weave their way through legalization of same sex marriage. This was on the heels of being gay doesn’t make you different. In prior times they wanted to be known as a minority due to their sexuality. In other words something about them distinguished their group from the rest of society. They did so by attempting to latch on Black America, as well as other well known minorities and the lumping together of minority status with anyone except a white male protestant. They still cry more for AIDS but yet have failed at keeping their own house clean. They are a group that continually spins out of control and fails to find an identity.

Dissecting a Peanut

2006-08-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly former President Jimmy Carter’s interview with Germany’s Der Spiegel Magazine has brought little in the way of recognition with regards to the US Big Media Machine. It certainly did not escape your author’s attention as he will dissect nearly the entire interview and remind the reader of poignant memories during the 1976-80 term of the then US President. Your author will supply much of the entire interview along with his analysis and commentary. So let’s begin….

SPIEGEL: Mr. Carter, in your new book you write that only the American people can ensure that the US government returns to the country's old moral principles. Are you suggesting that the current US administration of George W. Bush of acting immorally?

Carter: There's no doubt that this administration has made a radical and unpressured departure from the basic policies of all previous administrations including those of both Republican and Democratic presidents.

Yes President Carter the current administration has taken a radical departure from previous administrations both Republican and Democrat. This is due to the fact that America was attack on September 11, 2001. The havoc wreaked on this country that day was unparalleled. Unlike previous calls to war, this enemy knows no geographic boundaries and is fueled by a violent culture that has been absorbed by an entire generation.

SPIEGEL: For example?

Carter: Under all of its predecessors there was a commitment to peace instead of preemptive war. Our country always had a policy of not going to war unless our own security was directly threatened and now we have a new policy of going to war on a preemptive basis. Another very serious departure from past policies is the separation of church and state, which I describe in the book. This has been a policy since the time of Thomas Jefferson and my own religious beliefs are compatible with this. The other principle that I described in the book is basic justice. We've never had an administration before that so overtly and clearly and consistently passed tax reform bills that were uniquely targeted to benefit the richest people in our country at the expense or the detriment of the working families of America.

Yes President Carter you are correct, with previous administrations peace was the intended solution and to avoid war at all costs. If this was the case then why even have a military? Well President Carter when airplanes are rammed into two towers that were The World Trade Center, another into the Pentagon Building and one other plows into a Pennsylvania field, which resulted with nearly 3,000 dead you know there is no negotiating with these individuals.

As far as the separation of church and state, where do you see this being violated? You as a Baptist should recognize this immediately as the ACLU have ramped their efforts to dismantle Christmas displays throughout many towns and cities to remind everyone of the separation of church and state.

Where does basic justice fall in the category of tax relief or taxing the citizenry? If the politicos in the Greenbelt followed your author’s advice we wouldn’t have an income tax. It would be one less item to politicize about and by the promises made by both parties regarding the income tax only fuels class warfare. Note to President Carter, please be advised that an income tax is a direct intrusion that pierces right through the privacy of every American citizen and furthermore many risk their lives relocating to see a new life in our golden streets, which coincidentally is often coincided with wealth obtainment.

SPIEGEL: You also mentioned the hatred for the United States throughout the Arab world which has ensued as a result of the invasion of Iraq. Given this circumstance, does it come as any surprise that Washington's call for democracy in the Middle East has been discredited?

Carter: No, as a matter of fact, the concerns I exposed have gotten even worse now with the United States supporting and encouraging Israel in its unjustified attack on Lebanon.

President Carter, this is where the interviewer should have brought out a few questions, but I will ask them-first which Arab countries hate us? I will give you Syria and Iran as an obvious two, both have hated us, especially Iran when you were President.

SPIEGEL: One main points of your book is the rather strange coalition between Christian fundamentalists and the Republican Party. How can such a coalition of the pious lead to moral catastrophes like the Iraqi prison scandal in Abu Ghraib and torture in Guantanamo?

Carter: The fundamentalists believe they have a unique relationship with God, and that they and their ideas are God's ideas and God's premises on the particular issue. Therefore, by definition since they are speaking for God anyone who disagrees with them is inherently wrong. And the next step is: Those who disagree with them are inherently inferior, and in extreme cases -- as is the case with some fundamentalists around the world -- it makes your opponents sub-humans, so that their lives are not significant. Another thing is that a fundamentalist can't bring himself or herself to negotiate with people who disagree with them because the negotiating process itself is an indication of implied equality. And so this administration, for instance, has a policy of just refusing to talk to someone who is in strong disagreement with them -- which is also a radical departure from past history. So these are the kinds of things that cause me concern. And, of course, fundamentalists don't believe they can make mistakes, so when we permit the torture of prisoners in Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib, it's just impossible for a fundamentalist to admit that a mistake was made.

Now this interesting, we have to go back in history and analyze Carter’s former constituency of voters. As many know Carter is a Georgia native and served as their governor before ascending to the position of President. Georgia and much of the southeast are collectively referred to as the Bible Belt by the press. Carter held a deep commitment to his Christian faith from an early age and throughout his political career would continue as a Sunday school teacher.

His early political career was described as a conservative Democrat. These were the days, which are long gone for those keeping track, when the party literally controlled the southern political scene. This is traced back to the days of the Civil War following the Republican Reconstruction and soon the Democrats were known as Yellow Dog Democrats-vote for a yellow dog over a Republican any day. So committed to the southern Democrat cause, Carter would forego an opportunity to run for the US House of Representatives and throw his hat in the governor’s race. Carter thought anybody but a Republican and although losing the primary nomination on his first attempt, his campaign would force a series of events to occur that led to the election of Democrat Lester Maddox.

Now there is no doubt that Carter appealed to the conservative Christians of his state. The previous bit about his Sunday school teacher role was often cited. So is it safe to say that these early Carter supporters were fundamentalists? Your author reminds you of the Bible Belt reference. Obviously this nomenclature had to be derived from some element of truth. So entrenched was the southeast with their Christianity that they represented, by the press at least, the distinction of taking their Christianity to the voting booth. Is this so? Would they not be, given the lack of distinction in other parts of the country for such characteristics, be considered fundamental? Would Carter not be considered part of this group? The reference to fundamentalist here in America and fundamentalists throughout the world is interesting. Is he implying or comparing Christian fundamentalists in US with being on par with Muslim fundamentalists? President Carter cuts this comparison short.

SPIEGEL: Do you think the United States is still an important factor in securing a peaceful solution to the Middle East crisis?

Carter: Yes, as a matter of fact as you know ever since Israel has been a nation the United States has provided the leadership. Every president down to the ages has done this in a fairly balanced way, including George Bush senior, Gerald Ford, and others including myself and Bill Clinton. This administration has not attempted at all in the last six years to negotiate or attempt to negotiate a settlement between Israel and any of its neighbors or the Palestinians.

How has America provided leadership for Israel? Do you mean Israel and America are close allies? The last time I checked the Israeli political scene is intense and citizens vote their leaders in. Why should the US government attempt to negotiate a peace plan between Israel and Palestine? I mean all other attempts, including yours and others, have all been failures. Have you forgotten that before his stroke then Israel Prime Minister Arial Sharon that in 2005 he led the controversial act of removing Jews from the Gaza Strip and giving a portion back to the Palestinians? What has since happened? Well for starters the remaining synagogues that were left behind found themselves quickly looted by the Palestinians. Secondly have you seen this nasty Palestinian group known as Hamas, who have since attacked Israel? Maybe that is a sign that holding hands, whipping out pens to sign treaties and negotiations aren’t the answer. So why go down this road again and again?

SPIEGEL: What makes you personally so optimistic about the effectiveness of diplomacy? You are, so to speak, the father of Camp David negotiations.

Carter: When I became president we had had four terrible wars between the Arabs and Israelis (behind us). And I under great difficulty, particularly because Menachim Begin was elected, decided to try negotiation and it worked and we have a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt for 27 years that has never been violated. You never can be certain in advance that negotiations on difficult circumstances will be successful, but you can be certain in advance if you don't negotiate that your problem is going to continue and maybe even get worse.

Many have heralded the Camp David Peace Accords as a success and by some degree it did produce fruit. However it should be noted that Anwar Sadat, then President of Egypt, was assassinated in October 1981 and that cannot be ignored. Before his untimely death and after The Accords, Sadat had cracked down on professors, journalists, Islamists, communists and student groups. Who was behind the assassination? The leader was Khalid Islambouli and other prime conspirators were Ayman al-Zawahari, Omar Abdel-Rahman and Abd al-Hamid Kishk. It should be noted that al-Zawahari would later be proven as an ally of Osama Bin Laden. Camp David cost Egypt, they were banished from the Arab League and not until 1999 were they readmitted.

Now here is where The Accords failed to cut the mustard and where other factors come into the attempts. At the time Egypt had a disastrous economy and look to forge business ties with the United States. It should also be noted that Israel would only have the opportunity to negotiate with Egypt. Strangely enough The Accords employed the then Romania Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu as a go-between with Palestine’s PLO.

SPIEGEL: But negotiations failed to prevent the burning of Beirut and bombardment of Haifa.

Carter: I'm distressed. But I think that the proposals that have been made in the last few days by the (Lebanese) Prime Minister (Fuoad) Siniora are quite reasonable. And I think they should declare an immediate cease-fire on both sides, Hezbollah said they would comply, I hope Israel will comply, and then do the long, slow, tedious negotiation that is necessary to stabilize the northern border of Israel completely. There has to be some exchange of prisoners. There have been successful exchanges of prisoners between Israel and the Palestinians in the past and that's something that can be done right now.

It is true, Carter does have much to be distressed about because in the past, these negotiations have always been long term failure. Successful exchange of what prisoners Mr. Carter? Last I checked Palestine has abided by the cease fire but just weeks prior they too felt like launching a few against Israel.

SPIEGEL: You've written about your meeting with Fidel Castro. He appears seriously ill now and Cuban exiles are partying already in the streets of Miami. You are probably not in the mood to join them.

Carter: No, that's true. Just because someone is ill I don't think there should be a celebration of potential death. And my own belief is that Fidel Castro will recover. He is two years younger than I am, so he's not beyond hope.

It should be noted that this portion of the interview contained a photograph of the former President and the Cuban Dictator tossing the first pitch at a baseball game in Cuba. While Carter is showing his genuine Christian belief with regards to the celebration that has been experienced because of the belief Castro is near death; Carter must surely give equal time to the thousands of Cubans that have been impacted by Castro’s reign. This is where recognition of those who died, often times tortured before succumbing, fighting against Castro’s revolution, which could be described as a capitulation to poverty. Additionally what about the many who braved 90 miles of water to leave the island nation?

SPIEGEL: You sought to normalize relations with Castro, but that never happened. Has anything been achieved through Cuba's isolation?

Carter: In my opinion, the embargo strengthens Castro and perpetuates communism in Cuba. A maximum degree of trade, tourism, commerce, visitation between our country and Cuba would bring an earlier end to Castro's regime.

How did he seek to normalize relations? While in Office he basically refused to take a pro-active stance with the Mariel Boatlift. This was when a mass exodus of Cuba immigrants, about 125,000, landed on the shores of south Florida. As a result a moment of chaos, which in some cases resulted in rioting, was experienced. This event occurred in October 1980. By then Carter was so down in the polls to California governor Ronald Reagan that he would lose the Presidential election in one of the worst landslides in American history. Reagan would take 91% of the electoral vote. Carter just didn't care.

Carter makes this bold statement regarding Castro’s continuance of power. He suggests that if America eases up on relations with Cuba that communism would fold in Cuba. This is where he gets it wrong. While the reign of Castro has been impressive it has been at a cost to the island. What if free-trade was initiated with Cuba? Well since Castro, by sheer force and control, has the last say all the riches would find their way back to him. Would this not strengthen his grip? Once again Carter fails to address the legacy of Castro’s brutality. Additionally Cuba enjoys free trade with Canada, the United Kingdom and Spain. The latter being one of their most active trading partners. Has this relieved Cuba? Has this diminished Castro’s clinch on Cuba? Strangely enough Carter believes America should be pro-active as it relates to Cuba but with other matters we should come together under the veil of the UN or some other type of group think.

SPIEGEL: You've been called the moral conscience of your country. How do you look at it yourself? Are you an outsider in American politics these days or do you represent a political demographic that could maybe elect the next US president?

Carter: I think I represent the vast majority of Democrats in this country. I think there is a substantial portion of American people that completely agree with me. I can't say a majority because we have fragmented portions in our country and divisions concerning gun control and the death penalty and abortion and gay marriage.

Here is where President Carter goes overboard. The vast majority of Democrats he speaks of do not exist. Their party, in significant portions, has been hijacked by the likes of Michael Moore, the DNC head Howard Dean, the moveon.org and George Soros crowd. Do you speak for them President Carter? Is that why you and Moore were standing next to each other at the 2004 Democrat National Convention? Once again he whines the three most commonly heard pseudo hot button issues-gun control, death penalty and gay marriage. I am surprised he forgot to mention national healthcare. Most polls will indicate that a vast majority, apparently you don’t represent them- are against gay marriage, gun control and support the death penalty. Just like he got it wrong in 1979-80, he fails to see the apparent truth. This says more about the rank and file, muscle men behind the Democrat Party then anything else.

SPIEGEL: Does America need a regime change?

Carter: As I've said before, there is a self-corrective aspect to our country. And I think that the first step is going to be in the November election this year. This year, the Democrats have good chance of capturing one of the houses of Congress. I think the Senate is going to be a very close decision. My oldest son is running for the US Senate in the state of Nevada. And if just he and a few others can be successful then you have the US Senate in Democratic hands and that will make a profound and immediate difference.

Does America need a ‘regime’ change? This sounds like something out of Karl Rove's playbook! I find it interesting that his son, who did win the Democratic nomination, is running for the Nevada seat. I would have thought with all of Carter’s political moxie in Georgia that his son would be a shoe-in. Oh yes that’s right the Democrats have lost much of Georgia and the rest of the previous political stronghold over the southeast. Will you be advising him Mr. President?

Whether you agree with Jimmy Carter or not, you have to admit he does enjoy candy coating his legacy. It was a legacy that saw the misery index jump by 50% for every year he was in office, when high unemployment and inflation ruled the day. It was doom and gloom. It was a time to legitimize hijackers and failure to see America’s will. Upon his exit it was also a time of hope and success.

The Grim Reaper Is Coming To A Town Near You

2006-08-16T17:59:00.000-07:00

Although The New York Times fails to inform the reader of the carnage inflicted on Israel, although having no reservation in giving a daily update of the similar havoc on Lebanon, they also have no problem with informing the world of the most recent spokesperson for the left wing branch of the Democrat party. The spokesperson is none other than Michael Schiavo, former husband of Terri Schiavo and the famous Florida case that became a national outcry in defending life. In fact Schiavo’s new image as a political mover and shaker was featured on The Times’ front page.

Many of you will remember Terri Schiavo sat over a decade in a vegetative state, while her husband Michael and her parents Robert and Mary Schindler, who desired to care for her, battled it out in Florida courts. Michael Schiavo maintained the stance that as last of kin he should be able to make the decision to turn off her feeding tube and cause her death. He also made the unfounded claim that if Terri was ever to become incapacitated that it would be her wishes to terminate her life. That in itself is a profound statement from a then 26 year old woman. In October 2003 Florida Governor JEB Bush signed what would become known as Terri’s Law in order to prevent the permanent removal of her feeding tube. This law was eventually overturned by Florida’s Second District Court of Appeals. In no surprise to your author a portion of Schiavo’s legal team was comprised of ACLU attorneys. The US Senate in a controversial move passed what would become known as The Palm Sunday Compromise in order to delay the Florida Court’s ruling. The law would have transferred Schiavo’s case to the federal level. Following The Supreme Court’s overturning the law, Schiavo’s feeding tube was removed and she passed on March 31, 2005.

What was alarming to your author was the passion to fulfill Michael Schiavo’s wishes that was displayed by certain members of Congress. Florida Senator Bill Nelson, a Democrat, refused to support the federal bill. Florida US Congresswoman from Florida, Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz, lit into a fiery defense of not supporting The Compromise. Many other freshmen Democrats also displayed the same intensity for the cameras. Another moment that was a cause for concern was Michael Schiavo’s tenacity to see his wife’s life terminated. Michael Schiavo even received offers of over $1million USD to stop his attempts and refused. While this in itself was heralded that he genuinely cared for his wife’s quality of life, what would one expect him to do? If he had ended his stance or changed his decision he would have been seen as attempting to profit from this event. In other words once he stated his desires for her to die there was no turning back. It should also be noted that his love for his wife and the goal of euthanasia obviously did not impede on his personal life as he took up a common law wife and had several children by her. The couple met in 1995 and have since officially married.

Just when you think Michael Schiavo would go away, he is back and has taken up a predictable drumbeat. He appears to be the newest representative for the far left in this country, falling inline with the likes of Cindy Sheehan and others. In December 2005 Schiavo jumpstarted TerriPAC, a Political Action Committee and as of this date has raised $25,000 USD. He supported Ned Lamont’s thin victory for the Democrat Primary in Connecticut over incumbent Joe Lieberman who had supported the previous federal attempt as it related to Terri Schiavo. Michael Schiavo has since hand delivered a critical letter to Republican Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave of Colorado who supported the federal law. Musgrave’s opponent Democrat Angie Paccione was quoted saying, “He (Schiavo) is the human face of government intrusion. We need more individual citizens like him to step up and put an end to it. People trust somebody who looks like them, talks like them and has their experience.” This would all be well and good if it was not centered on a human life and her parents’ desire to care for her, thus relieving Michael Schiavo who by all appearance had gone with his life. Would you trust Michael Schiavo? Your author believes that every time a Democrat opposes a tax cut and supports items such as the death tax that these are intrusions on his life. Additionally Florida Democrat Representative Jim Davis, who is currently seeking the seat of that state’s governorship, has been parading around a letter through a distribution campaign that is an endorsement by Schiavo. Davis supported Schiavo’s successful attempt to end his wife’s life.

The only thing your author is able to ascertain from Schiavo and his PAC is that the Democrat Party is becoming ever increasingly desperate for anyone they can extract national support from. The Party is quickly falling out of the mainstream and the big US media machine will have an increasingly difficult time explaining the party’s objective. The far left that is visibly represented or at least exemplified by DNC head Howard Dean, has already proclaimed they control the Democrat Party. If anything similar chaos that surrounded the Lieberman-Lamont nomination battle will become a consistent theme.

Just as Cindy Sheehan took her son’s death in the Iraq War to mean a battle cry against conservatives so has Schiavo. Sheehan’s son Casey, it should be noted, voluntarily joined the Armed Forces and reenlisted knowing full well he would be sent to Iraq. In fact on the day of his death he was a volunteer for the US Army’s Quick Reaction Force, whose sole purpose was to rescue stranded troops. At the very least Casey Sheehan should be remember for his bravery and commitment, a celebration of his life and not used as fodder by the fringe element. In both tragic incidences Schiavo and Sheehan have formed a new identity. When it comes to Schiavo he is celebrating his wife’s death while veiling it with the argument against government intrusion.

As the Democrat Party, who your author often refers to as Demo-Wimps due to their lack of having teeth behind anything of substance, embraces more and more of the far left fringe elements it is important for the reader to note just what this faction represents. If led to their own devices they would create an anarchic society, which they would refer to as a utopia, with no boundaries or common universal moral code because moral relativism rules the day and the importance of theory overrides actual results. It is a land where life is not valued by many of them as evidenced by their emotionally charged support for such things as partial birth abortion and quick draw euthanasia. Where pro-action is not the norm and desperate reaction to failures is commonplace. It is a society that your author wishes not to be considered a member.

Heathrow: Multiculturalism Fails

2006-08-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

The recent thwarting of a would be plot to blow airplanes out the sky that were departing out of London’s Heathrow Airport is once again a testament of the United States’ efforts in combating terrorists. Yes the British authorities are certainly due a loud thank you but the big U.S. media machine has yet to say “Gee maybe the SWIFT program and homeland security are really combating terrorists and would be terrorists”. No the big media machine has continually referred back to the United Kingdom’s past history in combating the IRA. This certainly exposed the UK and forced them to deal with terrorists, allowing them to gain valuable insight. However the US big media machine will never do an about face, eat crow and admit their criticism against President Bush is poorly founded. No they maintain their stance against Bush following the President’s comments where he described the terrorists as Islamic fascists. Predictably the Muslims in America are chiming in with the critics, citing Benito Mussolini as a fascist and maintaining that the phrase was in poor taste.

A fascist or fascism is defined as a practitioner or practice whereby the government is the central authority, dominating the economy and society led by a dictator. Well the last your author checked Osama bin Laden and others of the same ilk wish to dominate the world or at least Western Society and are Islamic. So what’s the problem with stating the obvious?

This entry is not to restate the obvious or criticize the pundits. This entry is to explain the failures of multiculturalism. The would-be terrorists of London were not immigrants but rather homegrown. This was the same case in early June 2006 when Canadian citizens belonging to Toronto’s Muslim community alleged to have plotted a series of terrorist attacks in Southern Ontario were arrested. The March 2004 Madrid train bombing was carried out by terrorist cells living within the city. Later that year, in July, the London subway system was rocked by a series of bombings. The bombers were found to be husbands and sons, living and working outside of London. They were not shuttled in during the dark of night from a Mid East country.

Multiculturalism is defined as the following: a policy that emphasizes the unique characteristics of different cultures in the world, especially as they relate to one another in receiving nations. In this case Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada and the US were the receiving or hosting nations. In each violent strike the perpetrators were unable or refused to assimilate with society. The host nations had welcomed them, educated many of them and allowed them access to their society’s resources.

In 1957 multiculturalism popped up in Switzerland, however by the mid 1960s Canada was embracing the idea in droves. Soon it became commonplace in Australia and Europe, particularly in France, The Netherlands, Great Britain and Scandinavian countries.

In America there was the Melting Pot Theory, which can be defined as immigrants and the existing citizenry mixed together with little state intervention. This worked well, although with a bumpy road to travel, beginning in the late 1800s-early 1900s. However because of racial or ethnic prejudices this idea is thought to have been a failure by conventional thinkers. Note-The Melting Pot theory did not fail, mankind and his prejudices intersected its progression. Later the press dubbed Black leadership-defined as Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Louis Farrakhan-would gravitate towards the idea of multiculturalism. The multiculturalism theory certainly impacted the political parties and they too adjusted their policies to address their practicing constituents. What has become apparent is that multiculturalism bred groups defined by culture ties and usually congregating in what would become known as ghettos. In other words there was no reason to venture out and there was no need to advance on the socio-economic scale. As long as your surrounding area was ‘just like home’, with street signs in your native language and your neighbor favoring your features, then why bother? As long as the infrastructure was to your advantage, this often seen in social programs and assistance, why would it be worth your while to assimilate? In fact divisions among groups of people are often ignored by these same supporters, which in its purest essence contradict the same goals of Dr. Martin Luther King and his vision of mankind embracing one another. Multiculturalism, as it has become known today with its practice, effectively turns out the light on King’s “Dream”.

In 1971 Canada adopted multiculturalism with their government body known as the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. This was in response to French speaking province of Quebec and their demands to be well… different. What occurred was we stay on our side and you stay on yours but give us our federal monies at the same time. This led to idea of Quebec breaking away to form a separate country and only in 1995 was the issue settled with the famous referendum. At the time of one of the most outspoken critics of multiculturalism was Canadian Progressive Conservative Party leader and one time Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. To suggest Diefenbaker was a proud Canadian is an understatement, he feared and rightfully so a ‘hyphenated’ Canada. In The States we are not free of such descriptive as we suffer from this same popular cultural tagging. This is when African-American, Gay-American, Muslim-American, etc. become the norm in describing individuals. When did Black not become beautiful or the gay population who in the past have been rabid about crying that their sexuality does not differentiate them from society, suddenly embrace their difference? Often times this hyphenation to ad nauseam ooze of individuals desiring some kind of a lineage to a culture they know little about. They suffer from the identity factor and feel lost, much of this by their own perception and unwilling to embrace society. Oh they may read books on a country’s particular history or actually visit this place for a holiday, but really they know next to nothing about the inner workings of that country’s society. They do not have a lifetime experience living in that country nor could possibly fully appreciate that society’s history. I cannot begin to relate to a body of cultural history with my English and Scottish roots, despite several trips to both countries. How could I expect to be able to relate to an area where my ancestors vacated some 150 years ago? I cannot and neither can the individuals who practice such silliness with a noticeable degree of fervor.

In America we have the answer to multiculturalism and it has been under our nose this entire time. The Bill of Rights, a simple but ingenious document, protects one’s right to assemble and practice whatever religion to their heart’s content. It guarantees certain inalienable rights. Your author can only wonder whether these particular countries or regions, which are deemed important for those who tag them in their own description of themselves, have such a document. Your author must also ask himself why the supporters of multiculturalism with their hyphenated descriptions leave their country of origin. An even more perplexing notion is why do the citizenry of a particular country-in this case United States, Canada or any of the several European countries previously mentioned-stay and choose not to relocate to Africa, Mexico or a country that is dominated by a particular religion? Of course before these individuals can answer these questions they would label your author a bigot.

The aborted terrorist attempt originating in London’s Heathrow Airport along with the others previously cited had no direct ties to Osama bin Laden. It would be a safe assumption to state these violent figures were ‘inspired’ by him and his al Qaeda group. This should be a key component in tailoring legislation here in The States but the Democrat Party has decided to use the ‘get bin Laden’ chant as a backdrop to their attempts to regain a majority in Congress. In a direct contradiction with this battle cry they have also embraced far leftist thinking or idealism. The far left can be described as Cindy Sheehan, Michael Moore, Howard Dean and the supporters of MoveOn.org. This group’s running theme is to stop the Iraq war. What if the Iraq War did conclude-would terrorist strikes or attempts as recently witnessed in London cease as well? Not likely. So are we committed to getting bin Laden, Islamic terrorism in general or do we want to end all wars? We can’t have it all.

Following the deployment of Allied Forces in Afghanistan and later with Iraq, former Florida Democrat Senator Bob Graham began criticizing Bush’s foreign policy as it relates to the war on terror during a television appearance. Graham, who did not seek reelection in 2004 because it was very clear to many he would not win despite being reelected in two previous senatorial races and having never lost a campaign, lambasted Bush and referred to bin- Laden as ‘Osama-Been-Forgotten’.

What Graham and many of his colleagues failed to recognize is that bin-Laden was merely a face in a much larger-scale movement of violence and chaos. As with many conventional thinkers, Graham and others were stuck on World War II where geographic boundaries and leaders with faces were clearly defined, failing to see the macro picture. In each of the terrorist attacks described, along with others as they relate to the Islamist jihad movement, none of the participants were leaders of a large military, held an elected position, commanded influence over a political party and for the most part none had previous military training. They were disenfranchised individuals, many living in ghettos or within the confines of their neighborhood. More importantly they were the end result of multiculturalism.

Whether they are misled and absorbed in al Qaeda propaganda or tagging themselves to denote a particular cultural lineage, sexuality or religion; they are lost. Your author is reminded of The Ramones. The Godfathers of New York punk music released an album entitled Animal Boy in 1986. Within the body of work is a song entitled Looking For Something To Believe In. Unfortunately the politicians, pundits, critics and talking heads aren’t listening to the same tune.

Fidel's Ghost, French Lunacy and Democrats

2006-08-03T20:05:00.000-07:00

Latin Leftism

Your author apologizes for not fulfilling his promise with launching of a piece on the leftist shift currently impacting Central and South America. However with the pause came the breaking news of Fidel Castro, in ill health, temporarily bequeathing power over Cuba to his brother Raul. While Fidel has been a prominent favorite for the media in his over 40 year domination over the country, Raul has quietly worked behind the scenes ensuring the Castro duo’s control over the day to day life of the average citizen of Cuba. The Fidelista regime and Raul’s lesser known role in its security has enabled him to become known as the longest serving defense minister.

The media pundits are already asking the ‘what ifs’, while Cuban-American, particularly ones that lived a great deal of their life under Castro’s rule and immigrated late to the United States, believe that Castro is either dead or close to kicking the bucket. Their rationale is that the Cuban government would not have made such a drastic move nor announces it in such a public fashion unless it was critical.

By the mid 1990s Cuba had been outcastes in the arena of global economics. The powerful Soviet Union had been dismantled and the island nation lost major financial assistance. Raul Castro implemented a program to allow small, mom and pop type businesses to operate. The most notable of these were cafes. While this attempt flourished, the Euro currency, American and Canadian dollars rushed in. The Cuban peso was viewed so poorly that the American dollar began to show up more and more. In other words the home currency was deemed worthless. Economic freedom would naturally cause the citizenry to question Fidel Castro and his failed revolution. Your author describes it as a failure because time and time again the peasants of the country, ones that Fidel said he represented in his lofty and famous speeches, were willing to risk a 90 mile oceanic passage to Florida. Note: When people are stating they would rather die than live another day under a particular regime, the curtain is nearly set to close on that country’s infrastructure and their leader.

Embarrassed by the flood of US dollars Fidel shut down the experimental program. Now he is dying. Raul Castro, if his brother does indeed pass, will assume full control of the nation. The Cuban military, managed by Raul Castro, fuels over half of the country’s $2billion GDP. The infrastructure, like every other nation under the communist cloak, is in tatters and ruined.

Will Raul embrace capitalism? Within the Cuban American population centered in Broward (Ft. Lauderdale) and Dade (Miami) counties, it is thought that millions will pour back into Cuba. The only way to reasonably predict his move is to watch for one of these three scenarios to occur: A. He loses control over the military. If this is the case there is no guarantee gravitation to capitalism will materialize. B. He quickly pays Washington DC and the European Union a visit. It is almost certain where he is leaning. C. He strengthens ties with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. If this plays out then all hope of Cuban Americans will be lost. Whatever scenario takes place, Latin America is still chugging along with a leftist tilt. This may in itself be the lasting testament to Fidel Castro.

One of the most controversial of the countries as it relates to the theme of leftism is Mexico. Your author has already penned an essay on the country that by all appearances suffers in dire straits. Following their July 2nd election the country has been absorbed in protests and demanding a vote recount. The current president Vicente Fox due to the country’s constitution is unable to seek another term. The challengers were Andres M. Lopez Obrador, formerly the mayor of Mexico City, candidate for the centre-left party Democratic Revolution and Felipe Calderon of the centre-right party National Action Party. Prior to Fox’s presidency the Revolution party had dominated Mexico politics for over 75 years. The Revolution party is socialist and for their domination, Mexico would make a slow grind to becoming one of the most impoverished nations in North America.

The election was close, the closest of any Mexico’s presidential run-offs. In a voter turnout considered historical, well over 75% registered voters participating and churning out 42million ballots, Calderon won by a mere 240,000. The opposition is alleging fraud and protesting continues. Obrador has since announced that he does not plan to vacate the Mayoral position. Scenario: If Obrador maintains his popularity and given the closeness in his defeat, the next election will surely grant the power back to the Revolution institution.

In a closely watched election Nicaragua is showing a signs that it will embrace another Sandinista government. Herty Lewites, a centre left candidate dropped dead of a heart attack recently. The centre right candidates-Eduardo Montealegre and Jose Rizo-are in back with former Sandinista Daniel Ortega gaining steam. Will the Sandinista gravitate towards modernizing Nicaragua, something the countries political elite has failed to do or will they fall inline with the leftist storm that is a brewing? Another question that faces the citizens of Costa Rica, Nicaragua’s southern neighbor, is how it will impact them and their tourist trade?

Coming down to South America lies the incarnation of Fidel Castro except he has oil on his side-Hugo Chavez. Your author has previously predicted many of his strategic moves-banishing Christian missionaries and practically nationalizing the oil industry. Due to an ever increasing global demand for oil, Venezuela has placed their small country in the forefront of global news. Chavez has been criticized for demanding oil production to be curbed, thereby increasing the price as it relates to steady demand.

Chavez is described as anti-global and a nationalist. He has criticized the international oil firms based in Venezuela-remind yourself they provide jobs and referred to the Catholic Church as ‘not walking in the path of Christ’. He has since taken control or extracted the most influence over oil firms Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron and Spain’s Respol.

Entering into an election year in 1998, Chavez experienced a landslide victory. In 2002 his popularity had dropped dramatically but ‘amazingly’ he won a second term. Much of the reason behind his reelection was brought about civil unrest and demonstrations. Critics have long alleged that Chavez second victory was based on voter fraud.

Another point that is worth reviewing is Chavez’s role as it relates to their neighbor Colombia. The country that is synonymous with cocaine cartels has enjoyed a strong presence of democracy- a testament owed primarily to US foreign aide and is now attempting to market their country as a tourist’s destination. Their president, Alvaro Uribe, is beginning to enjoy his second term. However the most serious threat to his presidency are leftist guerilla groups-Revolutionary Armed Forces and National Liberation Army. It is long thought that these groups are funded by drug lords. In what is becoming an increasingly cried allegation is that Chavez is sticking his wallet and rhetoric in the guerillas’ cache. If Chavez is marching to the beat of Fidel Castro this would fall inline with Cuba’s dictator previous attempts in what has become known as Bogotazo. It was April 9, 1948 and youthful Castro was in Bogota taking in Pan American Union conference. Castro picked up arms and became involved in a riot that resulted in the beginning of La Violencia (The Violence), which resulted in an estimated 200,000 murders.

When Evo Morales ascended to the chair of Bolivia’s president the international media heralded him as a native, not of Spanish extraction and somehow this was an important element. However the conventional big media machine failed to see the forthcoming prediction made by yours truly in a January 2006 blog entry. Bolivia, who was about to enjoy the riches from natural gas exportation, had experienced a long history of nothing but chaos. Morales owed his victory to the Central Obrara Boliviana (COB), Bolivia’s strongest union and one that incorporates workers in the natural gas industry. The COB had long dominated Bolivian politics. Within 24 hours the COB issued Morales an ultimatum-nationalize the industry or face massive rioting. By May he had fulfilled his promise, then became cozy with both Chavez and Castro. He currently faces a tense situation within in his country, pitting the capital La Paz against the eastern city of Santa Cruz. The gas industry lies in on the west coast but the wealth is found in the east.

In Ecuador, Occidental Petroleum derives an estimated 100,000 barrels of oil per day and over the past five years has invested $1 billion into the country. The country is run by a nominal head-Alfredo Palacio. Recently the parliament approved a 50% tax on foreign oil interests. The response from Occidental, the US government and others has been to cancel trade talks with the country. While Palacio is an underdog, America has enjoyed successful discussions with Peru and Colombia. If Palacio’s policies are fully implemented Occidental will in all likelihood pull out of the country and direct foreign investment will dry up. If he loses his reelection fails many of these firms will have been long gone. Either way Palacio’s attempts to mirror Chavez and Morales will leave his country in bleak conditions.

The bright spots in Latin America continue on-Argentina, Chile, Peru and Brazil. Both the governments Paraguay and Uruguay are active in market reform. As Cuban-American rally around the prospects of Castro dying and what if scenarios that could take place with his brother as the new leader, his ghost and legacy continues live on with the rest of Latin America. A legacy of failed economic reform built upon civil unrest, murder and paranoia felt by the citizenry.

Socialized Medicine: Bad for your body

In late July the Wall Street Journal reported that during the heat wave pounding on much of the world, France can out due any country when it comes to lunacy and laziness. Despite their pride with their socialized medicine, a trademark for all of Europe, the French government was dealt a blow as doctors and specialists tied to an estimated 600 private clinics decided to go on strike. French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand had to dip into the medical school students and retired doctors pool in order to combat as the French citizenry suffered from scorching temperature. Your author being from Florida has little sympathy.

While the doctors and others took a vacation in order to demand more pay, your author began to consider the ramifications of such an event if the United States implemented socialized medicine. How he recalls the days of Hillary-care, Senator Hillary R. Clinton a Demo-Wimp from New York during her attempts to initiate such proposal as First Lady. Somehow the idea of striking doctors and other medical staff members was not considered. Meanwhile the French are recalling the 2003 heat wave that took the lives of 15,000.

Democrats: More Chaos

We all remember the 2004 election where the Demo-Wimp party took a steep downturn and grabbed for anyone that would vote them. This was when Michael Moore was caught chumming it up with former Demo-Wimp (Grandpa Wimp) President Jimmy Carter at the Democrat National Convention. When moveon.org was considered something of importance and anyone but a conservative should be considered for office. In the end it ultimately failed.

Well we have seen signs of this coming again with the reelection campaign of Demo-Wants to be a Republican-Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. Lieberman was once described as what a Democrat or any other politician was once: respectable, rationale and diplomatic. Well he is down in the polls against Demo-Wimp rival Ned Lamont. However what the press isn’t reporting is the chaotic situation surrounding Connecticut’s senatorial campaign. As always your author will cut through to expose the hypocrisy and recall previous events that impact the bigger picture.

Ned Lamont is a millionaire, a cable company owner and this in itself speaks volumes about the Demo-Wimps tried and true hatred for anyone who is rich. Unlike the constituency he claims to represent-the poor, minorities, down on their luck and anti-war mongers, Lamont is an ivy-league graduate. He owns Lamont Digital Systems, a 35 employee firm specializes in the production and operator for advanced telecommunications that can found in universities and gated communities. His grandfather was a chairman for JP Morgan, which allowed Lamont’s family to inherit over $90 million. Just prior to his decision to run, Lamont resigned his membership from a racially restricted country club. In other words this is the exact opposite that Demo-Wimps claim to represent.

If the glaring hypocrisy in ideology as it relates to the actual candidate is bad enough, the Clintons have decided to play this one that leaves them on both sides. Former President Bill Clinton has openly supported Lieberman while Senator Hillary Clinton has said she will support whichever candidate wins the primary. Furthermore recall in 2000 when then Demo-Wimp Presidential nominee Al Gore, who at this moment trying to scare modern society with claims of global warming, desperately needed Lieberman as his vice presidential running mate. It pained many of us who support Lieberman to see him bow to his party’s wishes. Where is Al Gore in this quagmire? Silent! And even more recently supposed and alleged civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are endorsing Lamont. They both cite Lieberman’s loyalty to the Demo-Wimp party while they don’t seem to mind the prior country club affiliation and choice lifestyle enjoyed by Lamont. Lamont has big bucks, Jackson with his Rainbow PUSH Coalition and Sharpton’s National Action Network of Harlem, NY and I will let the reader for their own conclusion with that trio.

If Lieberman fails to cinch the nomination he has vowed to run as an Independent-more power to him. This is only furthering the notion that the Demo-Wimp party is in total meltdown.

Israel: On The Road To Iran

2006-07-22T18:40:00.000-07:00

After a wonderful vacation the Infinite Speculator has returned.

Needless to say recent news events have been dominated by Israel’s march to stomp out Hezbollah. The actions taking place in Lebanon and moving forward is not an aggressive state but rather a response to the conventional thinking of United Nations. Your author will guide you through the most recent events that have led to this battle and why it may be the finale that sets the stage for the downhill slope for the Muslim terrorist groups.

Ariel Sharon became Israel’s prime minister in 2001. In this author’s opinion he could be compared to US President Harry Truman. Sharon talked softly and by appearances wished to engage in diplomacy with the Mid East but also carried a big stick just in case. Just as Truman took his bumps from wimpy conventional thinking critics, so did Sharon from the international press for his prior role as Israel’s Defense Minister during the Lebanon War of 1982. Why is it when men and women of conviction with clear goals and determination to achieve them are labeled as thugs by lefty types? The ultimate “Trumanesque” test or example came in August 2005 when Sharon ordered Jewish settlers from the ill famed Gaza Strip. However was this gesture of goodwill a test for the Palestinian State? Sharon may have known when you give an inch you may as well give a foot. We will never know what he was thinking or predicting because in December 2005 Sharon suffered a massive stroke, lapsing into a coma and today remains in this vegetative state. Ehud Olmert, Sharon’s Vice Premier, became acting head of Israel.

While Jewish settlers were being forced from Gaza, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was elected as president of Iran and within months he made references to wiping Israel off the map. Israel along with the United States and Great Britain felt Iran’s nuclear capabilities were serious enough to implore the United Nations to consider sanctions on the tyrannical Ahmadinejad. Olmert gave probably the first signs of his contempt for Ahmadinejad when he struck back comparing the Iranian leader to Adolph Hitler.

Then in January 2006 the Hamas party gained a significant portion of the Palestinian Parliament. Their opposition, the Fatah Party, still maintains control but by a thread and the country’s president is Mahmoud Abbas, who by appearances wishes to end the continual violent civil unrest. Your author first discussed the potential conflicts that would arise once Hamas members were put in place on the eve of the Palestinian elections. Predictably violence escalated in Palestine, thus proving when you give an inch with regards to Gaza and in May Hamas key terrorist Ibrahim Hamed was arrested by Israeli forces. The US State Department along with several international newspapers would drop a bombshell when it was revealed that Muslim Shiites in Iran were funding the operations of Hamas. Remember Iran as your author will bring them back in the fold at the close of this piece.

Now rewind back to June 1976 Syria, sharing the borders with Israel and Lebanon for those who are geographically challenged, sent 40,000 troops to Beirut. The group, along with the Arab-Catholic Maronite militia, pushed Palestinian forces out of the capital and into Southern Lebanon. Syria would remain in Lebanon providing their brand of justice until 2005. The removal was prompted only when the Bush administration and the post 9-11 attitude towards organized Muslim terrorist groups had changed. With the southern area of Lebanon being saturated with Palestinians launching rockets, Israel began to engage in a series of battles and eventual occupation to secure their northern border. Attempting to flex their collective muscle and seeking legitimacy, the United Nations established Resolution 728 in 1978. The decree called for the removal of Israeli troops but nothing in respect to the Palestinian occupiers. In other words Israel could engage in battle as long as it was south of the border but no global collective answer to the Palestinians. Israel wisely ignored this document and only in 2000, after increased global pressure and the idea that diplomacy may bring peace to the Middle East, withdrew from Lebanon.

Despite leaving Lebanon, the seed for what is being unfolded on the news wave was in place back in 1982. It was in that year that Hezbollah was founded as a radical political group representing the Shia or Shiite Muslim faction of Lebanon. The Shiite Muslims take their kool-aid from the ideology of the infamous and actually scary looking Ayatollah Khomeini, leader of the Iran Revolution in 1979 and top mullah until his death in 1989. The reader can thank Khomeini and his followers for about 90% of the upheaval in the Mid East and anywhere else in the world where Muslim terrorists are involved.

While Hezbollah gained political power in Lebanon they also began a series of social service implementations. While not fighting with the Lebanese government the group has established hospitals and schools. It is no great secret that Iran (see once again) finances Hezbollah. This should make the reader think next time they change the oil in their car.

So now you have Hezbollah kidnapping Israeli soldiers and playing quite possibly their last card in what will be a very nasty game. Strangely but a welcomed sign are Sunni nations such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia keeping quiet. Maybe, despite the United Nations’ inability to effectively deal with Iran’s Ahmadinejad, they know that all trails lead back to Iran? Now with the removal of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the Mid East effectively having one less tyrant, maybe Ahmadinejad will attempt to prepare for a jihad with expectations of being greeted by dozens of virgins in the afterlife? Israel has previously taken the Demo-Wimp (Democrat party) approach by trying to hold hands and sign agreements for peace now they will deal with this the only way it can be dealt with and one that ensures their own safety. Will they march to Tehran and lead an all out assault built on decades of rage and previous loss of life? Will the rest of the world see this is as a chance to finally shut down the terrorism spurned from the Mid East? If Israel fails to take it to the hilt and the global conventional thinkers of the left become critical then we will only be revisiting the same scenario in years to come.

Humor…

Big Media Machine’s Response

Maybe Israel and your author along with the Bush administration get the picture with Israel, Hezbollah, Iran and terrorism? Since the Israeli march into Lebanon began the big media machine have been spitting out Demo-Wimp catch phrases such as diplomacy, ceasefire, negotiations and peace process. PBS’s McLaughlin Group, a gaggle of media folks, contributed the same spew and failing to see that it is Israel’s time to finish off something that began because they have tried to attempt ‘diplomacy’, ‘negotiations’, etc.

In today’s issue (July 22) of The New York Times, the collective wisdom at that rag comprised a series of editorials. Here is a sample for your viewing pleasure:

Stop Bombs, Start Talks
THE international community should urgently insist on a cessation of hostilities. Such a measure is needed for two reasons. First, it will make it possible to organize humanitarian relief for the tens of thousands of civilians in southern Lebanon who are trapped in their villages and have already run out of water, food and basic medical supplies. Second, it would give international political efforts a chance to succeed. A week more of bombing will only delay the political process and cause further devastation and loss of life.
With a break in the violence, the international community could help the Lebanese Army assert its authority throughout the country, particularly in the southern suburbs of Beirut and in the south of the country. The political settlement to follow should induce Hezbollah to return the two soldiers it seized last Wednesday and to hand its heavy weapons over to the Lebanese Army. It should also require Lebanon and Israel to return to the Lebanese-Israeli armistice agreement of 1949, and it should insist that Israel release Lebanese captives from its jails.
PAUL SALEM, the director-designate of the Carnegie Middle East Center.

Resolve to Put Lebanon Back In Charge

THE United Nations Security Council must pass a new resolution insisting that Lebanon take full charge of its territory. Already, the Lebanese and Israeli governments agree that Lebanese control is necessary; that is sufficient common ground on which to build. This new resolution would also demand that the parties fulfill the militia disarmament clause of a 2004 United Nations resolution — a requirement that, together with the need for free Lebanese presidential elections, remains unmet.

The immediate question is how to minimize casualties, bring the hostilities to a halt and make the cease-fire permanent. Hezbollah should surrender the two Israeli soldiers to the Lebanese government, and ultimately to Israel, whereupon a cease-fire will go into effect. The resolution should demand that the Israeli and Lebanese governments begin negotiations through the Security Council to address all outstanding issues that are governed by international law: borders, refugees, water, Lebanese prisoners in Israel and Lebanese citizens who collaborated with the Israeli occupation from 1982 to 2000.

To keep spoilers and extremists at bay, the Security Council should issue a stern warning that any local or regional party that obstructs the process will face grave consequences, including the seizure of assets, travel bans and the possibility of indictment for war crimes. A robust international force can help the Lebanese government assert its exclusive sovereignty over its territory against any possible Syrian, Iranian or Israeli encroachment.
— CHIBLI MALLAT, a professor of law at St. Joseph University and a candidate for president of Lebanon.

Meet Your Enemies
THE United States must rekindle the kind of diplomatic activity that befits its status and furthers its interests. Of the six players most directly involved in the confrontation — Israel, Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria, Iran and the elected Palestinian government — the only one with which we talk is the one with which we agree. As a result, the United States, facing one of the more severe crises in decades, has been missing in action. Watching the United Nations from the sidelines, it has subcontracted diplomacy in a region it deems vital to a party it doesn’t trust.
American diplomacy should focus on immediate reciprocal and verifiable cease-fires, prisoner swaps, preliminary steps toward Hezbollah’s demilitarization and, on the Palestinian side, allowing the Hamas government to govern by easing the financial boycott. This cannot work without engaging Syria and Iran and renewing efforts to establish a comprehensive peace. None of this will be easy or tidy. But it is certainly preferable to a policy that in one breath tells innocent civilians that our thoughts are with them, and in another that the time for a cease-fire has not yet come. Our thoughts they can do without. It’s action they need.
— ROBERT MALLEY, the director of the Middle East Program at the International Crisis Group.

More Humor…

Beltway Provides More Fodder
Your author noticed that Washington response to Israel has been rather quiet. It is an election year and that certainly is an influential factor. To her credit Democrat Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz issued the following statement on July 13.
"I am following the rapidly changing events in the Middle East with deep concern, and I want you to know that as your representative in Congress, I will always use my platform to help advance the prospects for peace and security for Israel."

"The recent escalation of unprovoked attacks against the government and people of Israel is unacceptable and represents a very troubling deterioration of stability within the region. The first duty of a government is to protect its citizens, and I stand by Israel’s right to defend herself against these acts of aggression."

"Hezbollah’s capture of Israeli soldiers was unprovoked and only escalates the tension among all nations involved. I call on the governments of Iran, Lebanon and Syria, who have influence over the fate of the captured Israeli soldiers, to secure their immediate and unconditional release. Any nation that refuses to act against terrorist networks stands as a willing accomplice. The world community must be unified in its condemnation of these acts of aggression against Israel."

"We must send a strong message that our South Florida Jewish community stands with Israel during this tense and difficult time."

Schultz is best known for launching a speech in the House that criticized the federal government’s response to the Terry Schiavo ‘right to life’ plight. I find it strange that someone would launch their career with such passion on whether the feeding tube should be pulled for a comatose woman while her mother and father wish to care for her. She also supports banning offshore oil drilling despite the fact that America desperately needs a fresh crude strike and hopefully lessening the nation’s dependency on oil produced in such countries as Iran. Now couple with this with her stance on what she has deemed inflated gas prices. Her office supports oil companies disclose their pricing techniques. She fails to take in refinery capacity, oil supply and current demand along with prices impacted by futures trading pits. She also believes in economic protectionism or what amounts to such with regards to jobs in the United States. In other words don’t let Mrs. Schultz support for Israel fool you.

Speaking of Demo-Wimps, three others popped up and made the following statements:

"What's going on in the Middle East today" wouldn't be happening if the Democrats were in power” Howard Dean, Chairman Democratic National Party.

No a Demo-Wimp president would be haggling with the United Nations to determine when would be an ideal time to meet for lunch to discuss Iran. Then afterwards they would throw their hands up in the air when a goal wasn’t established and then deploy US troops to Lebanon to hand out bags of rice as bombs were blazing next to them. Who knows that President may cough up a stipend in the billions to payoff (extortion) that country’s threats and attempts ala Bill Clinton and North Korea.

The most cantankerous of all Demo-Wimps, no not Ted Kennedy, Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware told “Meet The Press” when asked last month if he would support troop deployment to Iran. Biden responded [only if the Iranians went] "full-speed-ahead with their program to build a nuclear bomb." In others only when a bomb is built so that it could be detonated on the world but not until then. No, no matter how much money they flow to Hezbollah, Hamas or any other Muslim extremist group content with destroying the world. No, not even then but let them advance their science and technology with Ahmadinejad’s finger on the button to launch it, then and only then will Biden support taking a pro-active step. No only when Hitler takes over Great Britain and is bombing the shores of United States’ East Coast will Biden react. However by then it will be too late.

Another focus by the media has been the displaced Americans caught in Lebanon. I have to wonder why thousands of Americans decided to take a vacation to Lebanon. Whatever the reasons cannot explain why individuals with assumed capable minds and cognitive thinking would venture to a country that just a year ago was occupied by Syria. Whatever the answer is, it doesn’t matter to old man Demo-Wimp Harry Reid who isn’t happy about the military’s response in getting them out of Lebanon. Reid responded to cameras stating that the handling of the Lebanon evacuation was “mini Katrina” in reference to Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. Never mind the fact we are discussing a war zone and Katrina was a act of nature that played out on the Weather Channel long before hitting The Big Easy and residents making a conscience decision to stay behind for the fun.

And on the international front, well France’s President and Le Wimp Jacques Chirac issued a call for ceasefire and that only then, when everything is secure, will the big bad French troops be deployed to assist in relief. No we won’t assist our allies nor attempt to take substantial steps to knock out terrorism, despite having the streets of Paris filled with rioting Muslim youth back in 2005. Maybe when Iran’s Ahmadinejad points the nukes toward Europe Chirac and others will see the light.

Surprise, Surprise!

Something that is not related to the main topic but very funny given the Demo-Wimps attempt to garner Latino voters as it relates to illegal immigration-

Guess who received the National Hispanic Youth Initiative Award for Leadership? Was it Ted Kennedy from Massachusetts, Nancy Pelosi of California or Demo-Wimp chief Howard Dean? Wrong on any of your choices, it was former House Speaker and leader of the 1994 Republican revolution Newt Gingrich.

7/21/2006 12:13:00 PM
To: National Desk, Health Reporter
Contact: Megan Meehan of Center for Health Transformation

WASHINGTON, July 21 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Center for Health Transformation Founder Newt Gingrich has been honored by the Interamerican College of Physicians and Surgeons (ICPS), receiving the National Hispanic Youth Initiative Award for Leadership at the ICPS National Hispanic Youth Initiative Leadership Banquet, held on the evening of July 19, in Washington, D.C.

The National Hispanic Youth Initiative Award for Leadership was established by the Interamerican College of Physicians and Surgeons in order to recognize those individuals whose exceptional accomplishments and service set the standard for Hispanic students to emulate.
Dr. Rene Rodriguez, president, Interamerican College of Physicians and Surgeons, introduced and presented the Leadership Award to Speaker Gingrich at a dinner for the 2006 NHYI Scholars. Following the award ceremony, Gingrich spoke about current healthcare trends to an audience that included more than 100 Hispanic high school students, emphasizing the importance of careers in health-related fields as vital to America's continued prosperity and to the creation of a 21st Century Intelligent Health System.

Speaker Gingrich encouraged the Youth Leadership Banquet's attendees to focus on five rules for living: dream big, work hard, learn every day, enjoy life and be true to yourself. "If you don't dream big while you are young, you will never dream big when you're older. Have the courage to dream big," said Speaker Gingrich. He called on the students in the audience to challenge themselves to make the world a better place, encouraging them to make a commitment to transforming health and healthcare. "You could be the generation that makes an enormous difference -- really angels of health," he said.
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Tomorrow I will throw out my thoughts on the leftism in Central and South America coupled with the controversial election in Mexico and the tornado surrounding Senator Joseph Lieberman and support from the Clinton regime. Thanks for viewing this very long entry.

Beating Around The Bush

2006-06-28T16:45:00.000-07:00

Why on earth would a group of Haitians with nothing better to do than play like they are terrorist do so given the priority of post 9-11 national security? Well if convicted they will have a few decades to think about.

A group of seven Miami misfits decided to boast to an FBI informant their allegiance to al-Quaida and now some in the mainstream media are stating that the task of prosecuting such figures is a joke. The Oregonian, a notoriously left wing publication, has even gone so far as to say if these individuals had jobs with the blah- blah (over the top per hourly wage for flipping burgers, healthcare, free housing, etc) that they would not have been congregating. Needless to say this side of the coin did not acknowledge the possibility that other Muslim terrorist cells (genuine or not) operating in North America may think twice about who they are chatting with and the actual content of their conversations.

The arrest of these persons may have been an attempt to steer away from The New York Times’ (along with The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times) article that ran days prior. In summary the article detailed what is known as The Bank Secrecy Act, which is a portion of the overall security package known as The Patriot Act. The Bank Act was groundbreaking in the scope and field of investigations as it relates to questionable financial transactions. Items such as large cash deposits or odd depository trends fall under The Act’s discerning eye. Additionally the SWIFT (Society of Worldwide Inter-bank Financial Telecommunication) network of Belgium was being used to monitor transactions. These tools allow the federal government greater monitoring capabilities than ever before.

This all sounds fine and dandy, right? It should appear on the up and up unless one is engaged in questionable activities. Unfortunately this is not shared with several in the big media machine. The Times and others felt it was necessary to throw a ‘big brother is watching’ and embrace ‘civil liberties’ spin with their reporting. However in their reporting they erred in two incidences. The first was that the FDIC, for those in Belle Glade that is the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation; a government agency that insures deposits in the event of a bank failure; has by law and a general responsibility to the public the authority to monitor banks through the Federal Reserve’s Comptroller of Currency division . It is a regular, often annual, occurrence for FDIC insured banks to be audited at the state and federal level. How many banks fall under the eye of the FDIC? Oh your author would claim 99% of them do. In other words the idea of the federal government having the ability and authority to monitor banking transactions is not some profound nugget of new information. Additionally in the matter of SWIFT, the organization is not some secretive group as The Times and others attempted to present.

The second failure of The Times and others was their inability to see the wide range of prosecutorial fodder that could be obtained with this measure. The last conviction of a crime boss in America, ‘Big Joey’ Massino of the Bonnano mafia family, was accomplished by the use of accountants and bank records. Not only does this authority allow effective evidence gathering in the war against terror but also in the pursuit and conviction of criminal figures and criminal groups.

In a move that surprised your author, President Bush fought back and publicly decried that the papers were acting irresponsible and endangering national security. Your author would like to see these publications come under a greater light and to determine if some of them have violated federal national security laws. Bush in what would be uncharacteristic of his administration could ban these papers from attending press briefings. Your author under The Infinite Speculator's essays section has already analyzed the likelihood that The Times and several of their competitors in the mainstream media print businesses are facing a hard road, which would explain some of their ridiculous assertions they have made against Republicans, Conservatives and The President in recent years. Speaking specifically of The Times and their continual lambasting of the President, the paper seems to glom onto the notion or idea of possessing the next Woodward and Bernstein and another Watergate is around the corner, even if we have to create it!

Whether he bans The Times or not will have little impact on what is becoming a noticeably bias media. They and others will continue to dance around the First Amendment to advance their agenda, while questioning the relevancy of other Amendments. No what Bush should do is close rank and stop the leaks that have plagued him the past several years (Scooter Libby-Valerie Wilson, internal problems at the CIA) and move forward. As my essay suggests these news agencies are doing a fine job of self-implosion. Then he can get back to focusing on terrorists- genuine threats or wannabe disenfranchised losers.

A national language with disasterous consequences.

2006-05-20T12:31:00.000-07:00

This week the Republicans have been busy in front of the cameras to propose a federal law that requires English to be the official American language. This is part of a puzzle that has exposed both political parties with the realization they have seriously erred in their caculation of the citizenry's attitude towards illegal immigrants and immigration reform. Your author commented that the only viable, albeit radical, solution is to build a wall on the southern border with several gates that allow a set number of immigrants to pass through. Additionally current laws on books to hiring illegals should be enforced. However both parties played such games as employment tracks and cards that validated the illegal's indentification instead of listening to their constituency.

Senate minority leader Harry Reid, Democrat from Nevada, has describes the idea of a national language as being 'racist'. I don't think the idea is racist. It may be practical but not racists. The idea of a national language could come to bite America if Democrats are able to get back control of the Congress. Here is why...

Since 1969 with the passage of the Officials Language Act, Canada has had two official languages-French and English. Originally the national language was English. However Quebec and their influence over Ottawa allowed them to legalize French as the second national language. Now mind you only 23% of Canada's population speaks French. This legitimized and stoked the idea that French speaking province of Quebec should be independent. Thankfully, after decades of intense debate, the issue of independence for the province ended in 1995 when a referendum was voted down.

However despite winning the battle to secure Canada's national sovereignty, French and English languages were across the country. Because it was federal law everything from product labeling and signage were changed to incorporate both languages. All this did was guarantee an additional inflationary cost that was passed to the consumer. A cost that was not necessary and only coddled 23% of the population. It then took 25 years later to end the Quebec debate. If Quebec had been granted independence the end results would have been potentially disasterous-a new currency, a geographically divided country, a new government, etc.

Now back to the United States-if English is required as a national language and the Democrats do get a majority back in Congress; how quickly will Latino voters pursue the someone in the party to propose to institute a second national language? How many businesses and signs will be impacted? How much of a cost will be absorb by our wallets? How many states with a strong Spanish influence-primarily Florida, California and Texas will propose for independence after pushing Congress to pass a second national language? This may sound extreme or radical but so was the idea of an independent Quebec.

Thanks for reading.

Spying On Equal Justice

2006-05-12T06:09:00.000-07:00

It is old hat that Democrat Congressman Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island dodged a serious bullet when he was able to skirt around his recent auto accident. The incident, which occurred during the wee morning hours of May 4th, caused Kennedy to reevaluate his life and enter a rehabilitation program. Kennedy had claimed that the prescription Ambien, a sedative to treat insomnia, caused him to dress himself and drive to the House before crashing his car.

What is truly sad with Kennedy is like his father, uncles and cousins before him-he is immune to prosecution. The US Capitol police did little to enforce the law by allowing Kennedy to leave, not administering a sobriety test or a trip to downtown booking. Back in July 1969 his father, Democrat Senator Ted Kennedy from Massachusetts, was able to run a car off of Chappaquiddick near Martha’s Vineyard, Cape Cod allowing Bobby Kennedy campaign aide Mary Jo Kopechne to drown. Kennedy was never charged or investigated for vehicular manslaughter. In fact he was nowhere to be found and only produce himself 24 hours later. Then in 1991, while taking in the sun at their Palm Beach estate, both father and son became members of central casting when Kennedy cousin Dr. William Kennedy Smith was charged with rape allegations. The Kennedy clan bonded together and Smith was later acquitted. During the trial one of the witnesses claimed she was chatting with Patrick Kennedy when an obvious intoxicated Ted Kennedy staggered in minus his trousers.

Three common threads link all Kennedys-substance abuse problems, immunity from U.S. state and federal laws and big money that allows them to live in a bubble. Your author has long been critical of the family spurned from the seed of former bootlegger Joe Kennedy. However even sadder is that Patrick Kennedy used the ‘gotcha’ and what should have been an arrest to martyr him in many ways by announcing he will enter rehab, thus joining many others who struggle with addiction. In other words it wasn’t bad enough that he was above the law now he will use this scandal as an attempt to relate to the ‘common man’. It’s get better, the Democrat Party has announced they will support Kennedy and his reelection bid. Your author wonders why Rhode Island continues to elect this pompous brat. Then again he also wonders about the good folks of Massachusetts as it relates to his father. He is still waiting for the answer.

Conservative talk radio Godfather Rush Limbaugh on the other hand was able to buy his way out from prosecution. Prior to Kennedy’s recent fiasco, Limbaugh agreed to one count of doctor shopping in what appears to be a weak case brought forth by Florida’s States Attorney involving Limbaugh and his addiction to prescription painkillers. Limbaugh will continue addiction counseling and agreed to a thirty thousand dollar fine. While he was able buy his way out on what were some serious felony charges, Limbaugh is not an elected official unlike Kennedy.

Meanwhile the debate rages on whether how intrusive the federal government should become in this era of national security concerns. The Bush administration along with the National Security Agency (NSA), within the jurisdiction of federal laws, has been compiling phone records. This is all under the cloak of national security and terrorism.

The biggest critics have been the big left leaning media machine and the Democrat party. While both love to conjure up references to George Orwell's 1984 and Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein of California assures America that the NSA and the Fourth Ammendment-protection against illegal search and seizure-will face a showdown; the Infinite Speculator wonders where was this hysteria and concern when then First Lady Hillary R. Clinton set up an exploratory committee to contemplate the implementation of nationalized healthcare. One of the big criticisms of such proposal, besides the fact that the consumer would not have a choice, was that the federal government would have access to personal medical records. Where was the Democrat Party, Los Angeles Times or the New York Times then? They were too busy debating the merit of this so called 'bold attempt' by an unconventional First Lady. She was unconventional for a role that has no official power and for also being the first to occupy such position while she and the sitting President obviously practised an 'open marriage' given the number of countless allegations of adultery. I digress....

To no surprise the media machine and Democrat Party players miss the boat when comes to the NSA, war on terror, national security and general concerns of the average American. The citizenry that votes and pays taxes while not living in a protective bubble found in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston or Manhattan. According to the May 12, 2006 Washington Post-an ABC News poll found that 66% of their surveyed audience were not bothered by the NSA probing into phone records and found this manner of investigation to be acceptable. Then the shocker that 51% approved or did not object on how the Bush administration was handling privacy matters.

So there you have it-Democrats hide behind The Constitution when it benefits them, big media will fruitlessly fuel fires while disguising them as intelligent debate and once again when combined both entities fail to convey the heartbeat of the United States. Of course phone records and national security don't apply to the Kennedy clan- they can weasel, squirm and buy their way out of any situation. For the rest of us who don't vacation on a six acre waterfont compound located at Hyannis, Cape Cod or spend our winters overlooking the blue Atlantic Ocean at a Palm Beach, FL estate, I'm glad someone is looking after our national safety. It is, sadly, quite obvious who isn't sharing our concerns.

Success & Disaster: Natural Progression

2006-04-22T09:46:00.000-07:00

In a previous blog your author saluted the achievements of magazine pioneer and profile in Black American success John Johnson. It pleased your author this week when he read this -Black-owned businesses in America grew 45% from 1997-2002, as indicated by the US Census Bureau. Most of these entities appear to be self-proprietorships or businesses with just one or two employees. Additionally according to the Census Bureau the majority of these businesses are found in New York, California, Florida, Georgia and Texas. Your author again salutes Black achievement in making solid inroads in the free market system.

Now with this great news what has been the response by the so-called Black leadership? Your author will identify them as the following: NAACP, Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam and Rev. Jesse Jackson of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Why not? This is a group, minus Rev. Al Sharpton, that makes the headlines. Well strangely enough, following a review of their respective web pages, your author could find no mention of this profound declaration of Black achievement.

NAACP's webpage greeted the author with continual references to the aftermath caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and concerns over Medicaid/Medicare. The civil rights group also stated that race and urban location may be a factor when attempting to gain access to healthcare, according to a report labeled NAACP Urges Passage of Tri-Caucus Healthcare Legislation to Address Disparities Affecting Racial and Ethnic Minority Americans. To their credit the group is actively attempting to bus in displaced New Orleans natives to vote in their mayoral election.

Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam (NOI.org) greets the viewer with the Minister's recent visit to Cuba. The photo shows a smiling Farrakhan shaking hands with Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. The visit was described as being 'anticipated and successful'. While shaking hands with the dictator, who has caused his island country to fall near the brink of poverty in his failed socialist revolution, Farrakhan felt it necessary to remind everyone in attendence that President Bush had declined Cuba's offer of 1,600 doctors to assist in the Hurricane Katrina aftermath. Minister Farrakhan was part of a twenty three member group in Havana to study disaster relief preparedness. Since I have experienced several hurricanes in the past I can probably could have spared NOI a plane ticket and told Farrakhan-leave, leave long before the storm hits the shore. I can only wonder if the Minister was able to travel outside Havana and see the impoverished conditions of Cuba?

Farrakhan summed up his visit in an essay entitled The Good Samaritan; A study of Cuba. He praised Cuba's response to hurricanes, noting that there had been no loss of life or property damage. Well Minister Farrakhan would Cuba even bother reporting on a death toll? More importantly when the rank and file of the island's citizenry live in huts how can one assess property damage? Yes I know Minister this doesn't compare to the greatest nation that has allowed you and the NOI exist compared to Cuba, where the self appointed dictator would have shut the lights out of an organization such as yours and where they have no freedom. Farrakhan then went on to say that the United States was a Christian hypocrite, who hated their neighbor because they are socialist. No, quite the opposite Minister, asked the Cuban refugees, those who lived and died coming to America. They hate Castro and his legacy of poverty. You see Minister freedom to these refugees is worth dying for, better to die free then live under a regime. This is a point obviously not considered during your rant.

While over at Rev. Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition's site, where the viewer is greeted with a flash of photos showing Jackson through the years, nothing is mentioned on the Census Bureau report. The 'good Reverend' who counseled then President Clinton during his adultery fiasco with a White House intern while he had fathered an out of wedlock child himself, is having his crew rally behind trying to change Medicare drug reform. Minister Farrakhan states we don't take care of our own in the realm of healthcare while the NAACP and Jackson believe more should be done, you decide. Reverend Jackson reminds the reader that on April 29th (go grab a pen and paper to jot this down) he will be marching in New York City for 'peace, justice and democracy'. Here is a clue Reverend, America is the poster boy for all three and only in a free nation can you demonstrate, a point you appear to have forgotten. Finally Jackson has penned an essay relating to the recent Duke University lacrosse team case, where a stripper has claimed she was raped and yet there is no DNA evidence to substantiate these claims. Your author only scanned through the essay, it brings up facts that are not relevant to the case. Ten to one says if Duke donates to Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Jackson and his crew will head back to Chicago. Any takers?

Each of these groups have been critical of the Bush administration and their handling of the New Orleans Hurricane Katrina disaster relief. Your author has already commented on this at the time it transpired. However it was the failures of the New Orleans local government, led by Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana governorKathleen Babineaux Blanco along with social welfare state that plagues the state that should be placed under the microscope. What did they want the Bush team to do? Some have said send military troops. This cannot simply be accomplished, not according to the US Constitution (a document that enables these critics) as it states in Amendment III.

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Now whether or not any of these groups, individuals or other groups critical of the President were aware of this is secondary. It is obvious that most of these fringe operators, which is also quickly encompassing the mainstream media, are clueless to this important document. No what is important with this post is to demonstrate how out of touch the so-called Black leadership (identified by the mainstream media as such) with Black America. Call it that small voice inside your author's head but something tells him that the 1.2 million businesses owned by Black entrepreneurs, churning out $89 billion in revenues, that grew at a rate 45% from 1997-2002, aren't paying Jackson, Farrakhan and the NAACP much attention. They have realized it is achieved by one and not a group, which is what socialism prescribes in its bare essence.

For the record here are the statistics for 1997-2002.

• The number of all U.S. businesses grew by 10% to about 23 million.
• The number of businesses owned by women grew by 20% to 6.5 million.
• The number of businesses owned by men grew by 16% to 13.2 million.
• The number of Hispanic-owned businesses grew by 31% to nearly 1.6 million.
• The number of businesses owned by white entrepreneurs grew by 8% to 19.9 million.

Black entrepreneurs owned 1.2 million companies in 2002, or about 5% of nonfarm businesses. Hispanics owned about 7% and women of all races and ethnicities owned 28% (US Census Bureau).

Upon reading the press release for this fantastic news Commerce Department's Minority Business Development Agency chief Ronald Langston commented and I will conclude with his words: "We do have challenges. We are making progress, this is the real challenge: to move these smaller businesses into the next step of growth."

These are genuine results, true achievement and tangible evidence of Black America; not the rhetoric and balderdash spread by these press dubbed 'leaders' for their followers are becoming fewer and far between.

infinitespeculator.com

Clinton and Cruise-Reality Check

2006-04-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

A few days back Senator (D-NY) Hillary R. Clinton, a mover and shaker within a dismal political party, said the following regarding potential threats to the US's current robust economy:
"skyrocketing health-care costs, widening trade and budget deficits and disappearing middle-class jobs."

The health care moment was a mere recollection back to her first few days as the First Lady. It was then that Senator Clinton formed an 'exploratory committee' to entertain the idea of socialized medicine. Fortunately is much to do about nothing especially when it became obvious that an overwhelming of Americans were not in favor of such program. Anytime an American proponent of socialized medicine suggests we must have such programs everyone who values good and sound healthcare must asked themselves the following-'has this person ever lived in a society where such program has been enacted and what have been the long-term consequences'. Without a doubt your author can assure you they have not and such programs produce long term bleeding spicket effects. Often times patients, who have no choice other than to do without, are left to die literally waiting in line. Doctors and other healthcare professionals flee the country for other places that do not have such social programs and wages are competitive. Socialized medicine caps earnings potential and research flounders, there are no initatives.

The growing US trade defecit, which to hear Clinton like minded folks speak of just popped up overnight, has long been a problem with the States. However a large portion of this deficit is due to imported oil. How to solve this problem? Well you can opt out for alternative energy, which has made significant progress in recent years or we can drill off our coasts. The problem with the latter are environmentalist types that are from the same ilk as Clinton.

The budget defecits can be resolved by overhauling the complex and inefficient tax code that is presently in place. One school of thought is a fixed income tax. Yet another is a national sales tax coupled by repealing any income tax. While both have their merits and are better than the current chaotic system, a consumer driven economy should be driven with a consumer tax. Yet neither of these suggestions made so much a consideration during the eight years of the Clintons. Now discussion of such items is more commonplace and it is only a matter of time.

When asked about the current financial crisis happening at General Motors, Ms. Clinton was asked if the federal government should step in and assume GM's mounting pension debt. Her reply: "the government could help by relieving some of the costs auto companies bear for retiree health care in return for getting them to 'expedite a move toward energy efficient products'.''

As always Ms. Clinton offers no solution to what is going to become a serious quagmire in the future for many key industry players. She believes in creating a bigger welfare pool instead of overhauling current pension laws. Of course this all based on cow dung (methane) operated automobiles. However the energy need and price incline was never addressed during her eight years as First Lady. No instead everything was just fine while gas sat at less than a dollar per gallon.

Once again Ms. Clinton has provided no answers. Although not officially declared, Ms. Clinton is thought to be a guaranteed nominee for the Democrat party in the 2008 presidential election. Who would elect her? Only to see Billy ride in again with his gaggle of misfits including but not limited to Robert Reich, Madeline "Put America Last" Albright, Janet "Ms. Indecisive" Reno, Leon Panetta, Warren "Lawyer Hack" Christopher along with any leftovers nuked from the Carter administration?

A Not So Silent Hypocrite

Famed Hollywood star and practising scientologist Tom Cruise has said he will allow his girlfriend actress Katie Holmes to use painkillers during the birth of their child. This contradicts his previous criticism of actress Brooke Shields and her use of ant-depressants during episodes of post natal depression. Scientology practises or at least claims to practise 'silent birth' void of little medical interaction.

Holmes had to disavow her Catholic faith to be the lovely side companion to the popular Cruise. The actor, who your author has previously stated lacks true theatatrical talent and only possesses pretty boy charm, clearly stated that he and Holmes are pure Scientologists. Miss Holmes' family is said to be skeptical of Cruise, his religion and having a child out of wedlock.

Finally it should be noted that Scientology was founded by L. Ron Hubbard. He was a known liar when it came to academia claims, authored several fictional works centered around the pulp era of writing and later became a bit of a self improvement guru. Later in life, after having founded Scientology, he created his greatest achievement as a widely distributed author. It should be noted that his works were aimed directly at his followers, which provided an immediate albeit small in size audience.

Unions Rightfully Sold Down The River, Si Senor!

2006-04-11T17:31:00.000-07:00

Today your author read where Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint may find himself in the pokey. As many recall it was Toussaint that led the transit strike in New York metro despite warnings from a judge and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The final gavel, besides the insignificant lingering 10 day trip behind bars and $1,000 fine, will be when Toussaint signs the check for the $3 million fine imposed on his union by the district court.

Let us recall what the union wanted-a significant increase in pay and paid healthcare insurance. During the 60 hour strike MTA union members created an internet message board to get a feel for their support from New Yorkers. A summary could be described as follows: "Get back to work! I wish I made what you are asking along with the 100% paid healthcare benefits! Public transportation 'ain't' cheap!" The majority of combined responses did not support their strike. Needless to say this was a serious blow to the rank and file when they quickly realized a potentially nasty public would be facing them upon their return.

Organized labor has been on a fast and slippery downhill decline for the past thirty years. In the decades prior to modern day labor law they did serve a useful purpose. This was when men and children worked 80 hours for peanuts (sounds similar to the current labor pools that can be found in China). However in this day and age of global competition they should be relegated to a museum along with the buggy whip and carriage.

Unions themselves hold much of the blame as the guilty party for throwing such cities as Cleveland, Detroit, Rochester, Buffalo, Toledo and Gary, Indiana into forms that are mere shells of their former selves. Detroit and Cleveland in particular have experienced a severe economic downturns as industry no longer to compensate higher demands from unions seek shelter or cease to exist. Competition is everywhere-academia, athletics and industry. Labor pricing is not immune to this element.

What the rank and file of any union should be asking themselves is not whether to strike or not, that will only accelerate the downhill pace of decline but rather what has the union done for them. By all evidence the union body has done next to nothing while the inevitable became a reality. Thousands of union members have stipends from their paycheck deducted on a regular basis. These funds are sent to the governing union body. What is facilitated by this extracted annuity? It isn't benefits packages or retirement, no the vast majority goes straight to political contributions. The National Institute of Labor determined that in 2004 $925 million of these dues were sent to political causes, most notably the Democrat Party. One would think that for their hard earned money they would have invested it wisely but that is not the case as Republicans continue to take the lionshare of political moxi. Not since the Nixon reelection campaign of 1972 have significant amounts from organized labor been funneled to the Republicans.

Due to the exborbitant demands placed on industries by the unions the need for practical and cheaper labor became critical. This is where big labor gets it wrong. For they are, whether they admit this or not, pure socialist. The big unions either believe it or try their best to sell that somehow they are entitled to more than a fair share of the profits generated by their employers. This is a mere 'redistribution of wealth', a fancy descriptive for socialism and social welfare. The phrase harped on to ad nauseum by New York Democrat Senator Hillary Clinton. With this type of thought process or belief system only two things will transpire for the long term-businesses cease to invest because their is no incentive thus causing them to become obsolete or they shut down.

Now consider the current immigration fiasco that neither party is willing to touch and at best can barely look at it with their eyes wide open. As stated the wave of foreign workers, illegal and legal, spurned out of the necessity for cheaper labor. Democrats (often fundamentally socialist leaning) will say 'the rich fat cat executives only want to get rich and care little for the workers'. Well yes they want to get rich, a fundamental principle of capitalism and free markets. However the portrayal of downtrodden workers at the hands of a rich overlord harkens back to the era Charles Dickinson and the early industrial age. As previously stated modern federal labor laws have addressed these ills. In other words the Democrat Party and big labor's argument are antiquated and at best have little relevancy.

Your author listened to Massachusetts Senator and Democrat Party icon Ted Kennedy attempt to affect a Spanish accent while addressing a group of Latino protestors. Senator John McCain, who barely cuts the mustard as a Republican, joined Kennedy in an attempt to institute new immigration policies, which amounted to a load of loopholes and delegitimizing of the foreign worker visa program, that fortunately failed to pass the Senate.

If big labor is losing clout by the handfuls with each passing election year and Senator Kennedy is doing his best, albeit comically, to resonate with Latino supporters who wish decriminalize illegal passage into the United States; then who is looking after the rank and file of organized labor? In other words why hasn't the Democrats been asked this by the same union that has been historically a guaranteed cash cow?

For more fun facts about the truths and organized labor, check out Union Facts.

Critical Update

2006-04-10T16:43:00.000-07:00

Just when your author was about to say something redeeming about France, Chirac goes and blows it for him. Your author mistakenly thought France had teeth behind the recent labor law that allowed employers the right to fire employees that were 26 and younger. Now things have changed dramatically with French President Jacques Chirac pulling a 180 and yanking the law, bowing to protestors. Hey let's institute some economic reform, better not have any protestors or we will fold to the pressure of whining college students.

If a few protestors, your author has it under good authority that the number was significantly exaggerated by the American media machine, can thwart off attempts for the French government to institute labor laws and attempt to improve their production; then how well have they dealt with the prior riots involving Muslim youth? Your author would be willing to bet the farm if he owned one that little has been done to prevent another bonfire from occurring. France crumbled and only a negative impact has been left. Say au revoir to civility and bonjour to future calamities and socio-catastrophes!

Meanwhile the media has been filling the waves with blow by blow coverage of the Italian election. Your author has commented enough on the prior two most recent entries and will spare his audience. Whether the incumbent narrowingly takes the cake or the left leaning Romano Prodi is given the honours, there is no solution and appears to be none on the horizon.

If you listened to American media you would think that the domestic society is on the near of collapse following the Senate's failure to pass serious immigration reform coupled with the Latino led protests. What exactly are they protesting, one is not sure and their opinions take two sides. One such side is for what is comparable to amnesty while the other is declaring tough immigration laws. Some of the more brazen protestors brought out the flag of Mexico, which in your author's opinion must symbolize some pride or patriotism. However why do the protestors identify with the flag of a country they in all actuality are fleeing from? Someone must have said 'best not to fly that too high'. These protestors bring out the best and clearly can be seen as a tool for the left. From what your author gathered the majority of them have been ditching free public education or college courses to get in front of the television screen. Sounds like they may have some French revolutionists on their side.

Politicians, Promises and Pork

2006-04-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

A few things of interest.

Le Miserables Is Miserable
The death of socialism proves to be a long and dangerous road. In France students are protesting, which has gone from demonstrations to rioting. The country passed legal measures that allow businesses to fire workers under the age of 26 without having to negotiate with a union or offer severance compensation. In other words allow business owners to be true business owners. The outcome from the citizenry have been predictable. They are in essence protesting their ‘right’ to engage in poor work performance and laziness. Surprisingly the French government bit down and refused to grant concessions. Now contrast this with what is going on in America. The illegal immigrant problem, which stems primarily to the lack enforcement with America-Mexico border, derives their problem with those who want to work.

All Eyes On Mollohan. Who?
Who is Mollohan? Well he is West Virginia Dem. Congressman Alan Mollohan. One could speculate that Mollohan may fill the shoes for the long time West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, formerly of the KKK. While the Democrats are grabbing for anything to stick to President Bush-the Abramoff scandal, the war in Iraq, his low approval numbers Scooter Libby and the list goes on-Mollohan may prove to be the most irreprehensible of them all if the allegations are true. One would have to comb the Wall Street Journal to find the entire story and predictably the big media machine of America provides a different angle. With editorials railing against Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Condi Rice and what they had for breakfast; they have yet to voice their concerns with Mollohan.

As representative Tom DeLay opted not to seek re-election, which caused a fizzle in the Democrat party’s war chest, Mohollan has declared he will not step down from Congress’s ethics committee. Nancy Pelosi, Democrat party top dog, has refused to address this dilemma.

Just who is Rep. Alan Mollohan? Well the twelve term congressman has been able to slip or ‘earmark’ funds for special pet projects in his home state. The funding, a total of $178 million in the past five years, facilitated the nonprofit institution that have spurned job growth. Sounds great, right? This would be nice except for Mrs. Laura Kuhns. She heads up the nonprofit group known as Vandalia Heritage Foundation. The group is financed from the funds that Holloran was able to steer towards his state. Vandalia along with several nonprofits Kuhns heads up are overseeing the construction of the Institute for Scientific Research, which is located in Fairmont, WV. It should be noted that, according to The Journal, Kuhns earns a salary of $102,000 from her nonprofit work and is a former Mollohan staffer.

While Mollohan may appear to wash the backs of this former staffer with his ability to land financing, his is equally clean and with great reward. Mollohan and his wife are partnered with Kuhns and her husband on several real estate partnerships. These include ones located on Bald Head Island, NC that are valued at around $2million (tax assessed). Furthermore rental income from these properties has allowed the Mollohans to invest in other properties on their own. It should be noted, according to The Journal, that none of the properties were located in the Congressman’s home state.

Strangely enough Mollohan has only now stated he become aware of an investigation into his financial transactions. He had previously garnered mentioning when it was revealed that ill famed lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s MZN, Inc, which sought to win influence regarding the Native American casino industry. Mollohan returned the donation. Former Republican Congressman Randall Cunningham of California was sentenced to prison for his role in the scandal. Tom DeLay, Texas Congressman and Republican majority leader, has agreed not to seek reelection. Republican Congressman Bob Ney still may answer to charges. Louisiana Democrat Congressman Thomas Jefferson is still being investigated for his role.

However the press was quick to demonize DeLay, although his charges are about the misappropriation of campaign funds, they cheered when Cunningham was sent off and Ney has already been convicted by them. Additionally the Democrats have sung the same song as well, often screaming cronyism and signs of the supposed ‘corrupt’ Bush party. However when Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert called for Mollohan to step down from the House’s ethics committee. Democrat Congresswoman of California and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has refused to address the Mollohan’s investigation. Instead and predictably, she said the following:

"Speaker Hastert and his Republican cohorts are responsible for the most corrupt Congress in history, and the American people are paying the price at the gas pump, at the pharmacy and with record-high deficits," Pelosi countered. "The speaker should join me in directing the ethics committee to get to work, and not cast aspersions on the independent and distinguished ranking member."

Part of Pelosi’s anger and denial to address this issue, which if anything questions the concept of ‘arm’s length transaction’ and ‘conflict of interest’, could be the continual slipping slope that the Democrats find themselves in at the present time. She can only criticize and rant against her enemies while shushing her party’s own dirty laundry under the rug. Another aspect is that presently Mollohan faces electoral competition in what is being watched as a key state for the 2006 election. In 2004 George W. Bush swept the state with 56% voting for him. Senator Robert Byrd will enjoy yet again an election year where he faces no competition. If and when the allegations levied against Mohollan ever make it to the front pages and when West Virginian voters see how rich he has become under questionable business transactions, while their state ranks third in per capita income; only then (hopefully) he will be denied Byrd’s heir apparent role. However I would not expect him to retire back to his home state, as his financial disclosure form indicates, Mohollan and his wife can enjoy their real estate spoils on their oceanfront home dubbed the Peppervine House, located on Bald Head Island and not on Mountain Mama.

Italy: Arrivederci!
In a previous blog post the Infinite Speculator criticized the people of Italy and their leaders for their inability to address hard economic reform, scanning through The Economist your author came across the article entitled Basta, Berlusconi (4/6/06 issue).

While the magazine, which has provided your author with great investment ideas in the past, has always been a critic of Berlusconi; they fail to address the seriousness of country’s woes. They cite Berlusconi’s ethics and domination in Italian media, but it would take a success story from the private sector to pull a 180 for the country. They then went on to provide scant detail, very scant detail, regarding Berlusconi and the mafia. I find this strange because while under Berlusconi the camorra (Mainland Italy’s equivalency to the Sicilian mafia.), prosecution and searching down wanted fugitives have hit a feverish pitch but I digress.

The Economist describes Berlusconi’s tenure as a failure. It may have been a failure in the conventional and immediate sense but what is the true failure is the rolling ball of chaos Italy has become at the present. Whether if it was Berlusconi or Il Duce, no elected figure and their party could have curbed what took place in 2005-zero economic growth and growing dependence on the state facilitated welfare system.

However a reformist or at least one that is suitable to The Economist is nowhere to be found, nor to your author for that matter. Berlusconi will probably lose to Romano Prodi, former prime minister and his centre left opponent. Prodi’s crowning achievement was ushering Italy into the Euro currency. This did force Italy to take some serious fiscal reform but later as president of the EU, Prodi proved ineffective and watched as the economic group, which was originally founded on the idea of sound currency, morph into the protectors of socialism. Additionally Prodi, if he wins, will be dependent on a coalition of smaller political parties for support. He will need to grant concessions to Fausto Bertinotti, leader of the Communist Party.

By all accounts the Italian citizenry is unaware of just how bad their economic scene has become. This may prove to be the saddest aspect of them all, especially when one considers Italy is deemed crucial for Europe’s economy, as their country slips into an economic abyss of the likes the EU may not be equipped to handle.

I need surgery-let’s go to Mass
As your author has demonstrated with various essays and opinion blogs, socialism for the long haul almost always fall flat on its face. Economies going on all cylinders could be flying on rocket fuel if they threw off the shackles of socialism. It is the economic theory that wedges between capitalism and communism, attempting to draw upon both. One of traditional hallmarks of socialism has been socialized medicine.

The state of Massachusetts has all but finalized a law, which Republican governor and possible 2008 presidential contender, Mitt Romney has said he will support that will require medical coverage. The government mandated health insurance programs currently in existence is one of the reasons the problems with insurance costs exist however your author will save his assessment until the close of this posting.

What the law states, in layman’s terms, is that employers who do not offer coverage must pay an annual fee of $295 per person. Additionally all others who can afford, must pay for coverage and those who don’t but can, will be fined $1,000. For perspective, the per capita income for 2004 was $42,102 (wikipedia.org). The law allows for those living at $9,500 a year or less free coverage. Those that live at $48,000 or less with a family of three will also have access to free coverage. There is an estimated 500,000 uninsured, which is remarkable when one considers that the state’s population is 6,398,743 (2005).

Now let’s see some figures-

For scenario analysis let us assume that the 500,000 uninsured work for the same employer who pays the $295 per head, which equals $147million. Now according to Kaiser Family Foundation in 2005 single coverage costs nearly $8,000-10,000 per year. A $1,000 fine or $8,000-10,000 a year in coverage? Maybe the estimated 500,000 uninsured represents those who refuse to take on personal coverage this would mean $500 million in fines going straight to the politicians.

Finally for the drum roll-Mass lawmakers have already stated that the first year expected cost will be $316million, given that these are government estimates, one could safely put that figure north of $350millon. By the third year this will total $1billion and once again adjust the figure given the estimation's origin. Furthermore Mass will be eligible to receive a significant portion of funding coming from the federal government and existing state spending. Given the state's past and if this figure climbs higher at a breakneck pace, watch the state government levy additional taxes to compensate the ‘existing state spending’. This is merely a redistribution of wealth, whether it is in dollars or medical service.

While your author applauds the Massachusetts’ lawmakers for their bold attempts it would have been suitable to have this bill coupled with serious tort reform. Why? Well for starters trial lawyers have been getting rich with malpractice lawsuits and it comes at the expense of policy holders. Massachusetts legislators could have put out a referendum where voters could clearly state whether trial lawyers’ fees could be capped. The idea being that true victims of malpractice are justly compensated with a reasonable judgment instead of attaching millions on the original allegations. Maybe change malpractice cases so they would be decided by a judge and not an emotionally sympathetic jury or members of such pool that see ‘payday’ for the plaintiff?

What will become of the medical community? Will doctors and nurses, along with every other profession in the field, leave for states where theoretically their earnings aren’t capped? Don’t think it cannot happen. Currently in Canada doctors, nurses and such are moving to The States. Your author has encountered many our northern neighbors practicing in the field right in his backyard. Your author will throw out some free investment advice-buy stock in insurers and medical saving plans providers doing business in Canada. The government cannot run the system efficiently and more expenses are coming from out of the pockets of Canadians. This free market competition and capitalism 101.

Spiking Rates
Finally and a rather brief conclusion-the unemployment rate is now under 5% for the United States. The 5% is considered a benchmark and by all accounts the economy appears to be going into overdrive. This sounds good but full employment is considered and often results in higher than expected inflation. The Federal Reserve will continue to gradually raise rates in order to offset this assumed outcome of too few dollars buying too few goods. The dollar continues to ‘feel’ weaker and domestic equity markets are exhausting themselves to rally. The foreign markets-in particular the Nordic region, Asia, India and South America have been bull market strong. As the dollar falls in value foreign currencies' values rise, thus appreciation sets in. Investment advice-ditch many US equities and especially homebuilder stocks in favor of commodities and foreign markets. Your author thought that maybe the commodities bull market was slowing with supply ramping up except the demand has kept pace. Buy gold, silver, lead or Japan-just buy!

Thanks for taking the time to read this abnormally long entry!

Infinitespeculator.com

Let Blonds Run The World

2006-04-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

Israel and Palestine-Stuck in the mud
By now most know that the Kadima Party has won the majority in the recent Israel elections. The Kadima party was a breakaway party formed by the now incapacitated Ariel Sharon. The party was able to convince some members of the Likud party (right) and Labor party (left) to join their camp in an effort to effectively address the Palestine situation after years of stalled efforts. Ehud Olmert will represent the majority.

The election was a bit of a disappointment producing very low voter turnout and Kadima did not win enough seats in their parliament to exert control. Olmert, who is currently the acting prime minister, needed at least 60 seats out of 120 in what may prove to be a deadlocked government.

Olmert will not only face the fractious representation but the Hamas controlled Palestinian government and by all outward appearances the peace process may be stalled for now. Olmert has already effectively been given a green light to release more of the West Bank and Gaza Strip settlements to the Palestinian authority. However upon hearing that Kadima would win enough seats to set the political tone for Israel, Hamas responded by declaring it would not negotiate and thus only proving that Palestine will only be satisfied once they have dominance over Israel.

If the peace process appears to be stalled, domestically things aren’t too rosy for Olmert and Kadima. They will have to negotiate and give concessions to Labor, which is led by Amir Peretz. Labor wishes to focus on Israel current stagnant economy and attempt to shore up social welfare programs.

In what appeared to have originally been a sign of progress, these election results have already laid the groundwork for what will be uncertain times for Israel. In what began as a significant progress under Sharon has now been forgotten and the Israel-Palestine conflict may be entering a new phase.

Italy-Just plain stuck
In 2001 Silvio Berlusconi became the prime minister of Italy along with center-right party, which captured nearly all representative seats. With an impressive lock on Italy’s political attitude Berlusconi, a billionaire media king, had promised sweeping economic reform. Few results were delivered and in 2005 Italy experienced zero economic growth. Berlusconi offered little in the way of explaining Italy’s economic woes and on a visit to Sicily, a political stronghold for his party, he urged voters not to believe the economic figures.

What should have happened was an overhaul of social reforms the likes the country has never seen in the past. Italy’s overall social and economic structure is saturated with entitlement programs, quotas and extreme government oversight. All this has achieved is the shoring up of small-time, specialty manufacturing that is being gobbled up by cheaper labor pools found in Asia. You can read what has become the inevitable in this article written by your author in August 2005.

What Italy should have done was build up their tourism, being that they are of historical significance and promoted their coastal region. The government could have slashed tax rates, which averages 23% for corporations and ranges from 23-43% for personal income. Then they could have promoted self directed private retirement funds thus curbing the reliance upon their pension for a graying population, a common problem facing most of Europe and finally opening up their banking sector to foreign institutions, thus allowing direct foreign investment.

However, none of these or any type of serious initiatives was proposed, despite the promises made by Berlusconi. If serious and genuine economic reform is not implemented and done so quickly, whether Berlusconi is reelected or not, Italy will face a far worse future.

Finally some humor
Your author could not end without a comment regarding Hollywood, a land of myth and fantasy. The Infinite Speculator wonders if the players themselves do not live in a fantasy land as well.

There are a group of actors who represent a looking good, big salary and little talent pack of pseudo thespians. In this group you could include Kim Basinger, Michelle Pfieffer, Sharon Stone (our subject) and Demi Moore. Now in all fairness their male counterparts include Alec Baldwin (once married to Basinger), Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise. In all only Tom Cruise is able to ring the register but still the talent is not there while the pretty boy charm and good looks are well placed. In the days of when studio heads controlled the film industry, which resulted in the delivery of a good product, few if any from this group would have made it. This is the same group that often finds themselves in movies that are based on previously done ‘works’ (a word I will use lightly). These fine films include Charlie’s Angels, Dukes of Hazzard, Mission Impossible, War of the Worlds and the Batman series, in other words crappy pseudo thespians for crappy films for the viewer at exorbitant ticket prices. This would probably explain why the Infinite Speculator cannot remember the last time he went to watch a movie at the cinema.

Back to Stone…

Sharon Stone is the personification of a ditzy blond. This past week she was quoted twice by the media. Here is one snippet as it relates to teens and sex:

"I was in the store the other day and I watched a young girl trying on clothes, showing her abdomen. Her mother was trying to talk to her about not being inappropriately luring. I said, 'Gee that would look much nicer with a camisole under.' "Her mother walked away, and I said to the girl, 'I'd like to give you a two-minute conversation about sex.' "Young people talk to me about what to do if they're being pressed for sex? I tell them (what I believe): oral sex is a hundred times safer than vaginal or anal sex. "If you're in a situation where you cannot get out of sex, offer a blow job. I'm not embarrassed to tell them." Source: NewsBusters.org March 28, 2006.

Who is Sharon Stone to give advice over a teen’s parent? Of course providing this claim of counseling actually occurred, which doesn’t seem likely. This from the woman whose greatest claim to cinematic contribution would be her panty-less crotch flash in the film Basic Instinct and several tawdry scenes with Joe Pesci in Casino. One can imagine she is falling back on her professional experience. Where are the feminists? Why can’t Stone say knee the guy in the crotch? Your author feels safe in believing this was just part of the marketing campaign for her newest release that will be discussed at the conclusion of this message.

Stone then was quoted for her expertise regarding the Presidential chances of New York senator Hillary Clinton (she appears to have dropped her maiden Rodham):

"I think Hillary Clinton is fantastic. But I think it is too soon for her to run. This may sound odd, but a woman should be past her sexuality when she runs. Hillary still has sexual power and I don't think people will accept that. It's too threatening." Source: PoliSat.com March 27, 2006.
This is where Sharon Stone lives up to my labeling her the personification of a ditzy blond. Stone believes sexuality or lack of should be a prerequisite for the highest elected office in America. She gets it wrong again with implying that Hillary Clinton has sexual power, alluding that she is sexy or ‘hot stuff’. The Infinite Speculator has yet to find someone else that shares Ms. Stone’s opinion. Maybe Ms. Stone was confused with the other half of the Clinton combine?

Alas an explanation may be provided for these ridiculous statements, words mind you that consumed precious oxygen to utter, for Ms. Stone was set for the release of Basic Instinct II. This must have been part of her marketing blitz. These words fell either on deaf ears or were met with laughter. The film, well it has been a flopped too and Ms. Stone’s career will predictably continue to slip, no matter how many times she flashes her crotch.

Infinitespeculator.com

Slick Willy chums it up across the pond.

2006-03-28T18:15:00.000-08:00

The Infinite Speculator recently read where a growing number of crystal meth addicts are coming from the baby boomer generation. By how this article reads I wonder if former US President Bill Clinton is not one of them.

Clinton calls Blair’s government the ’envy’ of the United States(AP)28 March 2006

LONDON - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said on Tuesday that Britain’s economy, environmental policy and attempts at modernization were envied in the United States, where comparable policies under President George W. Bush were lacking.

Speaking to a packed audience at London’s Guildhall, Clinton specifically responded to criticisms that British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Labour party were “long in the tooth,” or past their prime.

“If you live where I live and you look across the Atlantic, it does not look that way,” he said.
Clinton’s 45-minute speech on progressive politics and globalization, organized by the Smith Institute, a Labour-leaning political think tank, touched on a wide array of topics, including the war in Iraq, job outsourcing, the threat of communicable diseases and even the Danish cartoons that infuriated much of the Muslim world earlier this year.

The 59-year-old former U.S. president, who was introduced by British Treasury chief Gordon Brown, also emphasized the potential impact of global warming, saying that, if unchecked, it threatens to destabilize the global economy.

“This is both the greatest threat and the greatest opportunity of our lifetime, and we’re not acting like it is,” Clinton said.

Clinton briefly spoke about the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq during a question-and-answer session, calling it a delicate issue that, if handled incorrectly, could create a “launching pad” for terrorist regimes in the Middle East.

About 50 picketers from Britain’s largest trade unions stood outside the Guildhall during
Clinton’s speech to protest government plans to scrap a key pension rule allowing public sector workers to retire and collect their pension at age 60.
___________________________________________________________________

How do The States envy the United Kingdom, let me count the ways? There was once an expression that said 'the sun never sits on the Queen and her Kingdom'. This meant that the United Kingdom, by far a clear example of imperalism, had their flag planted in all corners of the globe, from Asia to the Caribbean and everywhere in between. Today they are shell of their former self, a blip who struggles for their own independence and having to make tough choices on whether or not to be a full participant of the European Union. This is a far cry from the 19th century when the UK dominated the globe economically and militarily. They are now politically fragmented but not between Downing Street and the world but rather between Scotland ,Wales and Northern Ireland. The Welsh demand their language be recognized although the beneficiaries are very small in number. Northern Ireland is a disaster as they watch Ireland expand economically and reap the benefits. The Scotish see themselves as seperate from London.

Given Mr. Clinton the benefit of the doubt and possibly recognizing that maybe he was playing to his crowd at the moment, a classic Clinton trait; his words are of little relevancy. There is no doubt he was paid well for this engagement. Your author is no way critical of the United Kingdom or their fine citizens, for they are a long standing ally to the United States. However it would have been fair if Clinton reminded the crowd of this fact, or at least himself, that in their darkest hour during Hitler's march and when the Muslim terrorists blew apart their transit system in 2005, who did PM Blair call upon? He did not look across the English Channel at their immediate French neighbor and instead called across the great pond, the Atlantic and was assured of America's support. Blair knows who butters his bread as does the United States when it comes to international policy and critical issues. The two will be bonded for years to come as they have been for over two hundred years with an unspoken rule of blind support. Your author suggests Clinton reconsider this the next time he attempts to legitimize balderdash. Then again, going by his past rationalizations, the fees may not warrant such admissions.

Exchanging Votes for Lady Liberty?

2006-03-27T18:47:00.000-08:00

Your author could not allow the recent chaos and legislation proposals addressing immigration pass without comment. There is no simple solution. This hopelessness has been brought on by politicians and leaders having been asleep at the wheel. However this is par for the course with most governments.

The number of illegal immigrants residing in The States is hard to track and most numbers place this figure at 8-10 million. Many on both sides of the political aisle have proposed a guest workers’ program, whereby guest workers would be issued an identification card and work a portion of the year, returning back to Mexico when their tenure has expired. As nice as this proposal sounds to the ears it is filled with many holes.

History has shown us in Germany with their Turkish guest workers following post World War II that the ebb and flow did not work so smoothly. The Turks often times did not assimilate and nearly refused to become part of Germany. Many Turks from Hamburg don’t identify with being German or Turkish. Germany has repeatedly addressed the issue of having dual language system-Turk and German. Each time they have to remind themselves they are German. Germany experienced a calamity following the fall of the Berlin Wall when waves of East Germans flooded into Austria and plowed into West Germany. The costs to their infrastructure were foregone as they were waved in and Germany paid the economic price.

This is unlike what happened in Ireland, a country that experienced a decline in birthrates because a significant portion of their population fled following the infamous potato famine of the late 1800s coupled with an aging population. Beginning in the late 1980s Ireland gave incentives for individuals to migrate to their green fields. The country specifically gave priority to those who possessed skills and education, a mixture of specialized blue collar and professional white collar workers. Along with other economic policy changes, this program worked and with great success.

Your author asks does a guest worker program assume that the participants will abide by the law and return to their home country. Who will prosecute such figures when they commit crimes? Will they be relegated to the prisons in the United States, thus costing the country or will they return back to Mexico only to be released? A likely scenario would occur if upon their return they were slapped on the wrists and simply slipped back in. In other words, just like true liberalism, it assumes the best in mankind. This may look good on paper but with terrorist attacks occurring on an international level and American prison population climbing past two million we know otherwise. A safer and conservative approach would be to hope for the best but assume and expect the worse case.

President George W. Bush and others who favor such action are garnering for votes. The Republicans have been scrambling for the Latino vote and by all accounts they have them in their back pocket. Bush and others argue that illegal immigrants take jobs most Americans won’t ever think of doing. These include flipping burgers, sweeping sidewalks, mowing lawns and picking produce. This is nothing new the early Irish, Asian and Italian immigrants from the late 1800s immigration wave to The States took what menial jobs they could find. However Bush continuance harping on an economic vital necessity is of little meat. The earliest Mexican immigrants, legal and otherwise, were chiefly employed working in the orange groves of Florida, the vineyards of California and cucumber patches in Michigan. What occurred is an agrarian economy with an ever greater dividing line between the rich and poor, along with a shrinking middle-class because there was need for them. And this what America has become?

What has happened to result in such a proposal can be laid at the feet of Congress. While many cry prosecute those who hire illegal immigrants, which would comply with current laws; Congress has felt comfortable allowing this issue to escalate to the point of near socio-economic chaos. How can Congress and the White House be serious about security when they can’t even enforce their own laws as they relate to the borders? What has the role of the touted Homeland Security been as it relates to illegal immigrants slipping in?

No the only solution is to uphold, prosecute and punish as the letter of the law demands. However even then these actions do not produce desirable results when illegal immigrants just popped right back in. As stated in a prior blog entry Mexico is an ally we cannot afford to ignore. There is little room for their own as it relates to the job market and social programs, therefore it is the country’s best interest to encourage if not give a wink to their own as they illegally cross the border.

Now let us assume this guest workers program is initiated and becomes law, then what about the next country? The Infinite Speculator wonders if other illegal immigrants from Central and South America will not simply just start walking north with the hopes of obtaining this workers’ card? One can toss out the green card and give them the green light. The card itself, how easily will it be duplicated and can black marketers make a nice dime with counterfeiting? Take note at how many times the US paper currency has changed appearance in attempts to thwart off copycats. What are the costs involved with keeping track of these ‘guests’? This cost will continue to be borne by the American taxpayer as the wages these workers are expected to receive can’t even begin to rectify the expense. Your author can nearly guarantee that the per hour wage most guest workers would receive pales in comparison to that of someone who is responsible for keeping the tabs on their whereabouts.

Chaos- that is exactly what the guest workers’ program is proposing to combat what is already becoming a situation that borders on lunacy. Your author proposes the following: A wall. As maniacal as this may sound it is justified given the current situation and the bulk of the expense will be sunk at the point of completion. In other words it won’t be recurring. A wall from Texas to California, with several gated points of entrance and standing at fifty feet tall and twenty feet deep. Then along with this plan a set number of immigrants are granted passage on a per day basis. Each state could opt out for the number gates or entry points, which will be armed twenty four hours a day. This would free up INS authorities and allow Customs to run much more efficiently because right now, they aren’t and we are paying the price. Then maybe laws can be enforced since they aren’t now.

The issue of illegal immigration isn’t about menial jobs, although their relevancy cannot be ignored nor passage to a better life, which is assumed. The adjective speaks for itself-illegal and that is the crux of this issue. A stronger border proposal, like the one just outlined, could potentially drive down narcotics trafficking, uncover possible terrorists hiding in human labor trains of desperate Spanish speaking individuals and quite possibly bring some order of civility.

Lady Liberty utters the following: Give me your tired. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden hour.

Nowhere does she say at all costs, whether it be social, economic or legal. Nowhere does it state for menial jobs that citizens do not want nor will take. Finally, nowhere does it imply or hint for building an electoral constituency or assuring a campaign victory.

Risking our most helpless

2006-03-21T17:44:00.000-08:00

Today your author logged into the excellent webpage townhall.com and as always first read Thomas Sowell's column. In your author's opinion Sowell is a true genius and a philosopher who last the ages. Below is his most recent installment, the author felt as if he should copy and share with his readers.

Alternatives to reality
Mar 21, 2006
by Thomas Sowell

Horrifying stories about the rapes and murders of children, and about judges who go easy on sex offenders who prey on the young, have prompted some state legislatures to tighten up the laws and restrict the sentencing discretion of judges.

Few in the media or among the intelligentsia have been as outraged about these sadistic crimes against children as they have been about whether terrorists' phone calls have been intercepted.
Part of this is current politics but part of it is the continuation of a tradition that goes back more than two centuries, de-emphasizing the punishment of criminals.

People who today point to the flaws of "society" as the "root causes" of crime are echoing what was said in the 18th century by Condorcet in France and William Godwin in England, among others.

So are those who speak loftily of "alternatives to incarceration" or who continue to rely on hopes of "rehabilitation" or "prevention."

People with this mindset engage in much hand-wringing about what to do with sexual predators. While many ordinary people would say that they should be locked up -- and, if they are too dangerous to be at large, we should lock them up and throw away the key.

But those whose whole sense of themselves is based on their presumed superiority to ordinary people can never go along with such ideas. They balk even at notifying the public when some convicted sexual predator is released into their neighborhood.

Their thinking -- if it can be called that -- is that sexual predators who have been released from prison have "paid their debt to society" and so the slate should be wiped clean and these sadists allowed to hide their past.

It is amazing how many innocent young lives have been sacrificed for a half-baked phrase.
Going to jail doesn't repay anything. People are put behind bars as punishment and to keep them out of circulation. Child victims of rape and murder cannot be made whole. The debt can never be repaid.

The most we can hope for is to spare other children and their parents from the anguish inflicted by evil people -- not "sick" people, but evil people. Sexual predators know exactly what they are doing, know that it is wrong, and either don't care or enjoy it all the more for that reason.
Saying that they are "sick" implies that there is some treatment or cure that other people can apply to them. How many more lives are we prepared to sacrifice on the altar to that notion?
The illusion of being able to control sexual predators who are set loose in secrecy among families with children has taken many forms and has been couched in much soothing rhetoric.

"Supervised" parole is one of those soothing phrases. The reality is an occasional reporting to a parole officer who has huge numbers of parolees -- who cannot be controlled the other 99 percent of the time when they are not reporting.

The latest pretense of control is the global positioning satellite which can be attached to sexual predators.

Think about it. What would a global positioning satellite have told us when a sexual predator had two girls imprisoned in his basement? That he was home. What reassurance!

While rising public pressures to get serious about protecting children have forced some state legislatures to make some efforts in that direction, resistance and evasion are still the order of the day in many places.

In California, the state legislature is considering bills to use global positioning satellites to track released sex offenders -- but only those deemed "dangerous."

The sponsor of one of these bills describes GPS as "incredibly valuable technology." Not doubt it is -- if you are lost and want to find your way. On the other hand, if you don't want to be found, you can always take it off.

The bills in the California state legislature are presented as alternatives to a ballot initiative by which the voters could impose "Jessica's Law" with some real teeth in it as far as sentencing is concerned, instead of these political alternatives to reality.
___________________________________________________________

Currently the appropriate punishment for sexual predators, in particular those who prey upon children, is coming under intense scrutiny in the states of Ohio and Vermont. In Ohio Judge John O'Connor sentenced an admitted child predator to probation. In Vermont Judge Edward Cashman fell under a national criticism when he sentenced a child rapist to 60 days. In Vermont a Democrat party led front blocked passage of Jessica's Law. The law, named for the raped and murder Florida girl Jessica Lunsford, would call for long prison sentence for first time offenders and life for repeat perpretators. It should be noted that an overwhelming amount of data suggest rapists will commit violent acts, which often result in murder, over and over again.

Now your author was glad to see that the evil acts, which resulted in the rape and murder of 11-year old Carlie Brucia of Sarasota, committed by Joseph Smith were dealt the harshest punishment. Following a well-publicized with surveillance camera footage capturing Smith kidnapping Brucia, Circuit Judge Andrew D. Owens sentenced Smith to death. In a previous pre-sentencing phase Smith had begged the court to have mercy on his life and sentence him to life because his execution would upset his family. It should be noted that Smith blamed his drug abuse on his acts and in essence refused to accept responsibility. It should also be noted that due to Florida's death row laws, Smith is automatically entitled to an appeal, with court appointed attorneys and at the taxpayers' expense. Given that the convicted's time on death row amounts on average to 10 years, he will have plenty of time to prepare his family for the anguish they will face if and when Smith faces lethal injection. Carlie Brucia's family does not have that luxury.

Additionally Judge Owens may have actually spared Smith with what would have truly constituted cruel and unsual punishment by removing him from the general prison population. Death row inmates are housed seperately and spend very little time out of their cells. If Smith had been given life the chances of being subjected to a brutal demise at the hands of a fellow inmate would have been certain. All one has to do is speak to an inmate or former inmate and they will tell you that pedophiles and rapists represent the lowest. They rank at the bottom end of the pecking order or socially acceptable totem pole, even below jailhouse snitches. Then again the taxpayer would be spared for housing the likes Smith if they were thrown in regular population.

At what cost or costs will our elected officials politicize issues that need to be addressed immediately, especially when the alternative is risking the lives of our most vulnerable? Who or whom rationalizes whether ankle bracelets and counseling are effective when we know as a society that the most evil among us will not and cannot stop their deathly impulses? What do we risk? We risk the innocent for the sake of prolonging the longevity of the deadliest.

"...mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent... " Adam Smith, Economist and Philosopher

Death of a tyrannical patriot and an inept foreign peace broker.

2006-03-15T18:54:00.000-08:00

Your author could not allow the death of Slobodan Milosevic without a comment. His death may have been a disappointment for the hundreds of thousands that met a bloody fate as they waged a war against the eventual ousted president of Serbia. There is one, maybe a few more when international elements are factored in, who breathes a sigh of relief-former U.S. president Bill Clinton.

Your author is unapologetic with his assessment and critique of Clinton’s inept administration. An administration truly built on public opinion polls and cronyism, failing at every opportune moment to stand for some virtue. It is apparent more now than ever; chalk it up to rearview imagery, with Clinton’s inability to address radical Muslim terrorists. Lest we forget, Milosevic’s bloody reign was before the rise of Muslim based terrorism and it was during this time of massacre that the world truly saw how ineffective Clinton’s administration was when it came to foreign affairs.

In the early 1990s the USSR was spiraling into an abyss of social anarchy as former bloc countries began to break away in droves. Yugoslavia, a country once important to the communist empire, was no spared. Milosevic, through constitutional wrangling, was able to capture the presidency. One by one each of the regions were succumbed to Milosevic’s violent determination.

In 1995 the Dayton Peace Accords was ushered by the Clinton administration as a success. In many ways it was but by now the bloodshed had already been accomplished. Having Milosevic a part of this agreement only legitimized his previous death and destruction. The final blow was that while Clinton allowed the agreement to be brokered in Dayton, Ohio; it would be enforced by the United Nations. Once again it was a pitch for global opinion polls by the US president that allowed him to be hands off, for if he was hands on, US soldiers could have died and that would have definitely influenced the polls back in the United States.

When the CIA became directly involved in Serbia, one event stands out and that is the accidental bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. Strangely enough, given criticism from the left now with US intelligence data gathering of Iraq, the dissenters were not too loud.

As stated prior to his death Milosevic was planning to subpoena Clinton and a host of international leaders-Chirac of France, Blair of Great Britain, Kofi Annan of the UN and former Germany chancellor Helmut Kohl. Now with his death and assumed conclusion of the war crime trial, will these figures ever answer the question ‘Why did it take so long to become involved?’

Milosevic was no doubt a tyrannical nationalist who was set against destroying any opposition with his attempts to controlling the now shambles of what was known as Yugoslavia. Once again where were these left leaning critics who are now spewing under the Bush administration? They were silent and Clinton again slipped away from accountability.

Great Wall Street Journal article here (France)

2006-03-14T18:36:00.000-08:00

Proof positive that socialism only benefits the ignorant, ultra-rich and politicians during election time. Infinitespeculator.com

Les MisérablesMarch 14, 2006; Page A18

Off Paris's Boulevard Saint Germain yesterday, students from France's most famous university faced police in riot gear. Non, it's not 1968 all over again, when student riots marked the beginning of the end of the career of Charles de Gaulle. Somehow the Sorbonne doesn't make radicals like it used to.

This generation's bête noire is something called the "First Job Contract." That's legislation championed by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and passed by the National Assembly last week in a bid to reduce France's youth unemployment rate of 23%. Make that 50% or higher for France's poor minority suburbs, which exploded last fall when out-of-work young men set hundreds of cars on fire night after night.

The new law makes it more attractive to hire people 26 years and younger by letting employers fire them more easily if things don't work out. Such special contracts are widely used elsewhere on the Continent and have proved an effective way of getting around the European Union's rigid labor codes.

The student protesters, in league with the labor unions, say Mr. de Villepin's reform chips away at France's hallowed social model that protects people in jobs at the expense of those without. Naturally, the young people who are able to find jobs include graduates of elite institutions such as the Sorbonne. Their idea of "revolution" these days is protecting a status quo that favors them over their less-well-educated, poorer peers.

Overall unemployment in France has been stuck at about 10% for the good part of the past two decades. Here's a truly revolutionary thought for the student demonstrators: Tell France's leaders to stop tinkering around the edges and overhaul the entire rotten system.

Rev. Jackson and Illegal Immigration

2006-03-10T15:53:00.000-08:00

While skimming through news articles today your author came across this item. Most readers would glance over such item and not think twice about it. Your author then began to put some puzzle pieces together that may very well paint a clearer picture.

Back in May 2005 Mexico president Vicente Fox made some disparaging remarks involving illegal Mexicans and Blacks. He said (paraphrasing) "Illegal Mexicans take jobs that Blacks don't even want'. Now whether this is true or was a faux paux on Fox's part is up for debate. However we can all agree the statement was in poor taste. Like a hero to minorities across the States, 'Reverend' Jesse Jackson took it upon himself to visit Mr. Fox. Your author knows full well that Fox could have booted Jackson out or worse-fed him to federales. However in the case of President Fox, politically speaking, is in a race for his life. Mexico had experienced a century of political domination from the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party). Fox was an outsider when he became the country's leader, representing the minority party known as National Action Party (PAN). Since his victory in 2000 and re-election in 2005 Fox has seen the PRI gain more seats in their Congress and signals that PAN's time in the spotlight may be over.

Your author makes no excuses for illegal immigrants except for the fact that they do work the menial and labor intensive jobs that many in America do not want. Because of the socialist leanings in Mexico it is in their 'best interest' to have their impoverished to slip into America and support their families back in their home country. This means that they are less of a drain with what is probably a very, very limited supply of government resources. In 2002 various estimates placed Mexico's total population between 103-104 million with 40% of this figure at or below poverty level. Additionally jobs may very well be scarce in Mexico with 1.2 million entering their labor pool each year. It serves Fox and the overall interest of Mexico to keep the illegal immigration stream flowing to their northern border and into the United States.

Back to the 'good Reverend'....

It struck your author as odd that Fox was able to get away with these comments with what appeared to be a slap on the wrist by 'Reverend' Jackson. The 'good Reverend' himself has waged far worse detriment or punishment against Corporate America when angles could be shown regarding quotas and often times bogus claims of racism. Wherever the word 'racism' can be brought up in the spotlight, 'Reverend' Jackson and his flock will surely appear. Remember this was same person that waged a protest against Wal Mart and their attempts to set up stores in the West Side and South Side of Chicago. Strangely enough Jackson would rather see these places remain in bleak economic conditions then allow for immediate jobs to arise. For more on that outcome, check this out.

Now with a national leader and especially one that governs a nation bordering his home country one would assume that this would be Jackson's shining moment. This would be bigger than when he took on Denny's or when he kissed PLO's Yasser Arafat! But alas this was not to be for Jackson, your author feels comfortable that he did receive a nice tour of the country, which was funded by Fox and Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition. However maybe Jackson was using this moment of Fox's ill remarks for future favors? Remember Don Corleone in The Godfather 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer' or maybe for Fox's benefit Jackson was 'going to make him an offer he can't refuse'?

To tie this all together your author finds it interesting, no almost predictable given the post Jackson visit to Mexico, that immigrants in Chicago would protest legislation proposed by Wisconsin Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner that would make assisting illegal immigrants a punishable offense (imagine that?). I mean we have the laws on books but yet the U.S. Congress has collectively deemed this issue too hot to handle. Your author notes that such protests failed to materialize in States where one would find a greater Mexican population (legal & illegal) such as California, Texas and Florida. However not in Chicago as the article indicates, some 75,000-100,000 (a rather broad estimate) came out to be heard. Oh and your author almost forgot to mention, Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition is located on 930 East 50th Street...you guessed it..in ole Chicago.

For more on Jackson and his other side, check out Ken Timmeran's NY Times Bestseller Shakedown:Exposing The Real Jesse Jackson. For more on Mexico, check out this one from yours truly. See article below.

Immigrants stage massive protest in Chicago
10 Mar 2006 21:05:25 GMTSource: ReutersCHICAGO, March 10 (Reuters) -

Tens of thousands of Mexican and other immigrants held a massive rally in Chicago on Friday to protest proposed changes to U.S. immigration laws.

Waving flags and carrying signs reading "We're people, not criminals" and "Working hands do not deserve handcuffs," they streamed on foot into the downtown area, overwhelming a square at the federal court house where the rally was held.

Chicago police said from 75,000 to 100,000 people were involved in the march and rally.
The target of the protest was legislation sponsored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, a Republican from Wisconsin, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives last year and is being considered in the U.S. Senate along with competing proposals.

His bill would make it illegal to assist an undocumented immigrant, something that priests, ministers and other social workers have said would turn those who routinely help immigrants into criminals.

Critics have said the legislation would stiffen punishments for millions of illegal immigrants currently in the country without creating a way to set them on a path to citizenship.

Conflict of Interest and Deceit

2006-03-06T17:15:00.000-08:00

Scenario: Let’s say you own so many shares of a publicly traded company. You eagerly anticipate the firm’s annual statement. The company is governed by a board of directors. Many of them bring expertise from other or similar fields your company derives their earnings from. Now within the context and makeup of the board exists Conflict of Interest Statements. Say for instance, board member John Smith holds an interest in a private partnership that engages in business with the subsidiary owned by the company. Maybe a board member supplies assets to the company. Would you like to know? Of course you would and this is bare minimum of corporate governance. Today Dick Morris’s piece in the New York Post asks this same question.

What has become unraveled in light of whether a United Arab of Emirate state-owned company should be able to manage several ports based in The States isn’t a matter of national security or trust but rather a conflict of interest. New York Dem. Senator Hillary R. Clinton didn’t feel it was necessary to divulge such conflicts when she labeled the UAE firm as an ‘unacceptable risk’.

What might this conflict of interest be one would ask, if they haven’t heard by now? Well it is apparent, no a fact, that her husband former US President Bill Clinton has been pocketing big bucks from his relationship with Dubai. Here is what has been uncovered and if the past is any indicator, much more will certainly come to light.

$300,000 was paid to Clinton for UAE speaking engagements.

Both the Clinton Library and William Jefferson Clinton scholarship funds benefited handsomely from UAE contributions.

In 2002 the former president was hired as a ‘senior advisor’ for Dubai based Yucaipa Co. LLC. Who formed this partnership? Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoun.

Now let’s assume that the Clintons, rarely seen together in public, file a joint tax return. Are we to believe that the good Senator did not know this considerable contribution to their combined personal income? Once again she is playing into the foolish minds, a gross assumption both of them shared, of the average American. You didn’t know Mrs. Clinton? How could you have not known?

She then approved of a 45 day investigative period. I suppose this was to assure her constituents that the UAE would be ‘okay’ in managing the ports, which the country has agreed to, do so in light of the controversy surrounding this story. However, once again, Bill Clinton had his finger on the button and what is now being reported is that he pushed the UAE to agree to such terms.

Where is the conflict of interest Senator Clinton? You are the same person who gave the ‘stand by your man’ spiel on 60 minutes and became his chief marketer, essentially standing by him. In your desperate attempt to convince the American public you actually are concerned about national security, when your previous record indicates otherwise, you have once again shown your deceitful nature.

So Senator Clinton where is the conflict of interest statement and the truth you should have revealed while you lambasted the Bush administration. Something tells this author that your husband slept in the doghouse after this fiasco provided he actually comes home these days. This kind of playing both sides of an issue may have worked twenty years ago when the big mainstream media machine dominated the news waves but not anymore. The tide is turning and we are still waiting to hear the truth from you. Once again, why did you not divulge the conflict of interest?

Quail hunting, Emirates and Mass Media Hysteria

2006-02-27T22:11:00.000-08:00

Once again in what is becoming more and more apparent, the biased mainstream media machine completely lost it, not once but on several recent occasions.

So Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot his friend while hunting for a covey of quail. The media did not appear to be concerned with the condition of Cheney’s hunting companion Harry Whittington but rather why they weren’t informed the very moment it occurred. The VP made sure his friend received proper care in what must have been a scary experience then informed the White House of the event.

With an angry media in full force, wild opinions and preposterous suggestions became the norm. Everything from a comparison of Cheney’s accident with that of the bloodshed he has directly causing in Iraq to his ability to be able to properly manage his role as President if Bush was to suddenly die while in office. Then you have the ‘button’, you know the fictional button that can launch nukes to parts unknown, which Cheney could fire from the hip in a fit of rage and slap it, causing destruction to parts unknown!

The media reported the accident not for one week but for two in an apparent threat to not let the big story die. The only problem was that no one seemed to care and once again the big media machine in America got it wrong. Of course progress and advancement in Iraq wasn’t important enough to report on. Mr. Whittington has since left the hospital and is recovering at his home. Where is Barbara Walters or Katie Couric? Why hasn’t the media swooped down on his residence? Oh well maybe someday the media will get the true picture.

The United Arab Emirates are coming! The United Arab Emirates are coming! Suddenly the Democrats are concerned with port security and President GW Bush has once again divided the Republican Party.

Earlier, actually the story originated around Valentines Day, that several ports in the States were being pursued by the UAE state owned company for management. It should be noted that a firm based in the UK had previously managed these same ports, which will be comprised of six locations.

Now there is no doubt issues regarding the proposal are relevant, however the rush from both sides of the political aisle was something that mystified your author. New York senator Hillary R. Clinton has been one of the leading voices of criticism. In fact she did what a politician does best, whether it is The States’ best interest or not, she is proposing legislation that would make it illegal for foreign governments managing seaports.

This would all be well and good if it wasn’t for the fact that Clinton represents New York City and New York State specifically. Dying on the vine, rank and file International Longshoremen’s Union (ILA) is part of her constituents and she is certainly looking for their vote. In your author’s opinion, the ILA is the reason why an American firm isn’t managing the ports, due to their demands that ultimately have driven such companies into insolvency and that is one portion of the equation not being addressed. The votes are the crux of her proposal and criticism of President Bush and not security. If this wasn’t the case, then her husband as President would have had Bin Laden held and avoided much of the chaos we are facing. In other words she has never prioritized America’s security and if anything she has always been critical of The States.

As far as capitalism and global economics, she should ask her husband about his repeated trips to the UAE doing whatever he does when he isn’t self-promoting himself and charging speaking fees. He could teach her a thing or two. For the record the UK firm previously mentioned, P&O Ports, they have since set sail for ports in Shanghai, Taiwan and Hong Kong-where there is profits and no presence of an ILA docks thug.

Oh and regarding UAE state owned firms, check out this lead in from Claudia Costabile for John Hopkins Gazette:

Johns Hopkins Medicine and the General Authority for Health Services in the United Arab Emirates have agreed to a 10-year affiliation that involves the management of the Tawam Hospital in Abu Dhabi, one of the largest and most prestigious hospitals in the country. The affiliation provides Johns Hopkins Medicine with complete managerial oversight of the 469-bed hospital.

To conclude, did anyone catch Nation of Islam potentate Louie Farrakhan addressing something called ‘State of the Black Union 2006’? Probably not, Minister Farrakhan stated that called for America to torn down and rebuilt. A sample of his rant:

“America has become so degenerate and the church so weak in following Jesus Christ that you are afraid to teach what God is against. We are in the most dangerous position because as God awakens the people, they will kill leaders and preachers in their pulpits for lying to them."

Both The Rush Limbaugh Show and The Sean Hannity Show provided listeners with this portion of the recorded speech:
“America must be burned! America’s no good at all!”

Now compare to this when televangelist Pat Robertson made the ridiculous comment suggesting that the United States government should assassinate Venezuela dictator Hugo Chavez. Do you remember how he was demonized and ridiculed by the mainstream media? Where were they with Farrakhan? Maybe a universal policy exists where they (media) make a conscience effort not report on the questionable Nation of Islam? Maybe Robertson, since he is a Christian, is held in a more stringent light?

Farrakhan bitch fest centered on the treatment of supposed post hurricane Katrina victims of New Orleans. Many of them possessed perfectly working autos that could have been used to drive away but instead opted to hunker down and eventually seeking refuge in their respective attics as floodwaters began to rise. Let us remind ourselves that Louisiana, with all of their rich history has a legacy of corruption and has been the last of the Southern states devoted to the Democrat party.

InfiniteSpeculator.com

Global Elections Send Mixed Results

2006-01-26T17:16:00.000-08:00

Your author originally wanted to pen this summary of elections, allowing the reader to dissect and digest the material, forming their own conclusion. However after some thought your author has decided to provide his analysis. Your author will tabulate the list of elections by moving from the right to the left of the aisle.

Canada: We Want Our Money Back!
American media was abuzz over Canada’s recent election. Not since Canadian voters voted down the Quebec referendum in 1995 has there been so much focus on Canadian politics.

The Canadian voter brought their wallets to the polls when they delivered a stunning defeat to the Liberal party. The party had enjoyed a 12 year reign, which experienced noticeable economic growth in the province of Alberta. This was fueled primarily for US’s demand of beef and grain imports and strong global prices for oil. The Liberals were washed with cash, having brought eight years of consecutive budget surpluses and declining inflation.

However under Liberal Party head and Canadian PM Paul Martin, Ottawa passed tax after tax. The most unpopular being the national value added tax or GST. Stephen Harper took notice that Canadians wanted a change. Harper, Ontarian by birth and adopted son of Alberta launched his political career in Calgary, jumpstarting the dormant Conservative Party (Tories).

Harper campaigned on tax cuts, reducing the GST, building up Canada’s military force; improving relations with The States (Canada’s biggest trading partner) and he gave Alberta a voice. Canada has a history of producing prime ministers primarily from the Ontarian and Quebec provinces. Harper’s victory was also assisted with recent scandals uncovered within the Liberal Party. One of them involved a kickback scheme where Quebec based advertising agencies split profits with the Liberals by contributing heavily to the party. This eventually led to the New Democratic Party (NDP) breaking away in support of the Conservatives and calling for a no-confidence vote.

However if overcoming the Liberal Party’s grip on Canadian politics was a hoop to jump through, Harper and the Tories must be prepared to climb yet another mountain. While Harper was able to win the PM’s seat his party failed to pick enough seats in Canada’s parliament and thus it may be gridlock for his tenure. Out of the 308 House seats, the Conservatives hold 124, Liberals with 103, the Bloc Québécois holding 51, the left of center NDP with 29 and 1 for an Independent. Harper also made strides in Quebec as the Tories picked up 10 seats. Given the history of the Bloc Québécois, Harper may very well have a tough time convincing his French counterparts to support his initiatives even if his party has made strides in the province.

Liberia: A Change For The Better
Since the end of the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Empire, the one time US ally Liberia has continued to spiral out of control. Plagued by civil wars and poverty, the country hit a critical point when then President Charles Taylor sought exile in August 2003. Decades of guerilla violence and nearly the entire population living at poverty standards left the country in shambles.

Finally the country may have gotten something right. On January 16th the country elected Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as their president. Sirleaf, who as a young mother worked her way through college and graduated from Harvard, campaigned on constitutional reform. Her professional background consists of posts held at the World Bank and United Nations. She will have the foreign lenders watching her like a hawk, since there is a concern they may refuse additional funding and now the country has become reliant on such stipends. While Sirleaf appears to be daring in her bold initiatives, quite possibly the most important issue is the leadership of the African Union or coalition of African nations. Without this resolve her efforts may prove fruitless. Your author salutes the citizens of Liberia, the first African nation to elect a female leader and knows that the only way the country can move is forward, they have no other choice.

Chile: Moving Left? Not A Chance
Women made another stride in the most unlikely of continents-South America. Michelle Bachelete defied the odds and became the first woman president in Chile. Bachelete, an admitted socialist, is the daughter of a former army general. Both father and daughter openly opposed Chile’s notorious dictator Augusto Pinochet, with her father dying in prison after being a labeled an enemy of the state. Ms. Bachelete would ultimately live in exile until it was safe for her to return, later gaining a name as a well regarded pediatrician, defense and health minister.

Chile, primarily due to farming and copper mines, has experienced strong economic growth over the past several years. Despite their socialist leanings, the country has sliced poverty by 50% since the 1980s and Bachelete campaigned on continuing their strong economic reform. Wall Street didn’t miss a beat and the consensus is that Bachelete will not do an about face. Will she be able to take a developing nation through the door and allow to become fully developed? This will be by far her biggest hurdle to conquer while not rolling the country back.

Portugal: Back From The Ashes? Not Likely
With the global media either focused on the Canadian national elections or a movie about gay cowboys, your author still hasn’t found someone that has actually seen it despite the global media hype for this rather (pardon the expression) queer production. Oh how the Village People must be proud to see one of their own characters being heralded by the likes of Hollywood but your author digresses.

The election in Portugal did not appeal to the media. The country has been in a bit of a doldrums since they ceased to be an influential global power following the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and tsunami. Following an occupation during the Napoleonic War, the country leaned to the left and embraced liberalism, a cultural influence that was often forced upon their citizens. This would continue until the 1970s, with the majority of large-scale industries being nationalized and leaving a country heavily in debt. The 1980s weren’t much better for them as the government began attempts to privatize them.

It wasn’t the legacy of liberalism that stymied their prosperity, although it certainly didn’t provide a positive contribution that brought about a dying economy. It was the country’s macro-economy. As part of the European Union the country was protected from global competition and was able to sell their goods to readily available buyers (fellow EU members). Prime Minister and member of the Social Democrat Anibal Cavaco Silva would lead the country from 1985-95. This worked well until the Chinese and other countries with cheaper labor costs began to eat away at Portugal. The country remained heavily dependent on their EU trading partners and watched as industries shut down. The political climate then made a hard, emphasis on hard, turn to the left by electing Socialist Party (PS) candidate Jose Socrates. Things went from bad to worse when GDP growth failed to break past 1%.

On January 23 the Portuguese voted Silva back in. It was actually a bit of a mix of left and hard left candidates. The Socialists, Communists and Left Bloc coalition were all represented and totaled five candidates. Cavaco received just over 50% of the votes. However if serious infrastructure changes aren’t implemented in their economy, forcing the citizens to take pain, then Portugal shows no sign of a prosperous future no matter who takes office.

Bolivia: A Catch 22?
Traditionally Bolivia has been a quagmire of economic and political mismanagement. Beginning in 2000 the country started to have a chance when their rich natural gas supplies were in high demand. However what occurred, as it often does with countries heavily reliant upon their own natural resources for trade, was a noticeable wedge between the poor and rich, with no middle-class. Your author is now more convinced than ever that a clear middle-class must be developed if a country expects to sustain prosperity for generations to come.

With this class difference apparent, Evo Morales campaigned for the presidency and won. Morales is unique because he is considered a native (sometimes referred to as an ‘Indian’ or one who is not from Spanish extraction) and is a first to hold the leader’s seat. Morales will soon begin to implement a strategy to prosecute drug traffickers and not coca leaf farmers. This was a campaign promise he made to the farmers’ coalition and is also an attempt to appease nations actively battling drug trafficking.

Your author believes that Bolivia will not break their shackles and probably lean heavier into a socialist abyss with Morales in power. He has campaign promises to fulfill. His support came from peasant and mine workers, most of them involved with Bolivia’s Central Obrara Boliviana (COB). The COB, Bolivia’s strongest labor union, has literally been the driving force in Bolivian politics since the 1950s and one can reasonably conclude is responsible for the country’s chaotic legacy. In fact within 24 hours of becoming the country’s president the COB issued a statement that would allow Morales three months to nationalize the gas and energy sector or else face demonstrations on the streets. Morales could very well be in a sticky situation, facing massive strikes and potential civil unrest if he allows capitalism to blossom or shut off trading partners if he grants the COB’s concessions. In the past Morales relationship with the COB has been uneasy at best. However what should be on the mind of all the readers is that both Venezuela’s Hugo Chaves and Fidel Castro have embraced Morales’ win.

Palestine: Legitimizing Radicalism
By now the world is well aware of the Hamas political party gaining significant portion of seats in Palestine’s government. While their opposition, the Fatah party, was justifiably labeled corrupt and ensure the party’s victory.

The Hamas have made no illusions of their supporting of Muslim terrorist groups or the recent election of Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Additionally Hammas’ highest ranking member and Palestine’s President Mahmoud Abbas allowed a violent radical arm into the party. The Hammas is committed to completely wiping Israel off the map.

Previously Fatah leader Yasser Arafat enjoyed global celebrity status, compliments of western liberals, as leader of the Fatah and their armed guard, the PLO. It is strange how liberal elitist types will stand behind a rebellious tyrant such as they did originally with Castro and Che Guevara. In fact even today Che is seen as sort of a cultish hero within many college campuses.

How will this group of liberal minds now view Hamas especially given the obvious embarrassment when it was revealed that Arafat had siphoned millions out of the pockets of his party in favor of his own bank account? Will they stand behind the party as they are more than likely begin to engage in war with Israel? Palestine’s attempts may very well be at the end of their proverbial rope.

If and when Israel forgoes the peace process, which has all but effectively ended with this recent election and favors a military interaction, this bloody conflict will finally be put to rest. Palestine has already been given back significant portions of the Gazza Strip and West Bank. They won’t be satisfied until they are able to claim all of Israel. With their two primary allies consisting of Syria and Iran, their attempts will falter unless left leaning, ignorant and misguided sympathizers decide to put global pressure on Israel and once again legitimize chaos. In light of the seriousness of Muslim extremists, now encroaching on many of these same Western nations, will these countries be quick to support President Mahmoud Abbas knowing they are in essence in the same bed with Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? The world needs a Churchill now more than ever.

Well there you have it, the world as your author sees it and in many cases I do hope to be proven wrong on my scenario analysis. Thank you for reading.

InfiniteSpeculator.com

Shining Moments: Dems, UN and World Peace

2006-01-18T18:34:00.000-08:00

Dems: Truly Losing Touch

By now the confirmation hearing and grilling of Justice Samuel Alito by the judicial committee has been reported at ad nauseum. Judge Alito is just as qualified as Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who he will be replacing and yet he must jump through hoops being held by the likes of Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY).

By the sound of the opposition, the Democrat Party, one would think that only one issue is pertinent and that being abortion. With a fear that Judge Alito, if confirmed, will single-handly overturn Roe v. Wade; the Democrats led by the morally irreprehensible Ted Kennedy made the charge. Alito played it smooth and gave them nothing. Now do US citizens have reason to fear that the ruling will be overturned? Well from a scenario analysis it is quite possible given the predictable opinion of the high court. However it isn't so much an issue that abortion will be banned but rather abortion will return to the decision of the state. The Democrat party does have a genuine fear because if this occurs, federal rule from Washington DC will no longer be a factor and thus the party that preaches such (in this case the Dems) will lose yet another strangling grip on the US citizen.

Alito certainly conveys he favors state and local law over that held by the federal system. In fact to point the tide of change that just took place. On this date the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Oregon's 'Death With Dignity' law, which had been previously challenged by retired US Attorney General John Ashcroft and current US Attorney Alberto Gonzales. The Oregon law, which made doctor prescribed euthanasia legal, barely passed with Oregon voters. The Bush administration attempted to enact federal legislation making euthanasia a federal offense. This is the first step in what will prove to be the foundation stone in throwing off the shackles of federal rule over daily lives.

While your author values life and despises a culture that does not value such, he has to admit this overturn will prove to be beneficial for the country. Now states will be able to enact legislation, which will have profound and quite possibly desirable consequences on a broad range of issues. The author forsees imminent domain being challenged, a recent Supreme Court ruling that legalized the forced sell of properties on the chance a community may benefit economically and yes abortion as well. Strange how the Dems forgot the domain issue when it came to Alito.

Allow me to close by reminding the reader that the US Civil War was fueled by states' rights. Despite popular thinking and Alex Haley's novel Roots, the War began with South Carolina's succession from the Union after the northeast held an advantage in the Congress, not because of slavery. Soon other states followed and America entered its bleakest period. Let us not forget nor trivialize the importance of state governance.
____________________________________________________________________

Hillary Clinton, along with ill-famed New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, have proved once again some can say 'racially fueled' remarks while others cannot. Senator Clinton compared the current the US Congress with that of a 'plantation', a reference obviously alluding to Civil War era slavery on southern farms and with no criticism from the mainstream media. Clinton rarely shoots from the hip, every move and word uttered from her is calculated. While the rumor mill has all but confirmed her presidential nomination campaign in 2008, Clinton must be attempting to allign herself with 'disenfranchised' (an adjective despised by your author) black voters. Why else would she say such lunacy? Maybe Al Sharpton holds the answer. Maybe the universal appeal held by Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice looms in the background. These sound bites and 'strong words' may have worked ten years ago, but no longer and Clinton obviously isn't aware of this fact.

Ray Negin on the other hand proved once again he must be the most inept mayor in the history of The Big Easy, which is a tall task to accomplish given the historical relevancy of corruption that has plagued the city and Democratic machine that stood by through it all. Negin promised his voters and the press that New Orleans would once again be a 'chocolate city'. Negin should be focused on the 1,000+ New Orleans residents that are unaccounted for, missing and possibly dead. Negin faces heavy opposition if he decides to run for the position again and something tells your author his 15 mins of fame are up.

Concluding these two summaries your author is reminded of two public figures who faced a huge backlash in the media for their speech. The first is one time Congressional leader and Republican Mississippi Senator Trent Lott. At a birthday celebration for elder Republican Senator Strom Thurman of South Carolina, Lott proclaimed (paraphrasing) "the country would have been better off" if Thurman had won the US presidency. Thurman unsuccessfully ran against then US President Franklin Roosevelt. Thurman was an on the record segregationist. This was all the mainstream media could focus on and publicly harrassed Lott until he resigned from his Majority Leader post. However what the media failed to mention was the fact that Thurman was against a growing federal government. The greater role of government in culture and commerce were hallmarks of the Roosevelt administration. Maybe Thurman knew something after all?

The second event, more recently, involved New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. While the transit workers went on strike, demanding absurb increases in wages and benefits, Bloomberg would not buckle to their pressure. Bloomberg was ridiculed in the media when he described the union leaders as 'thugs'.

These events only confirm your author's thoughts, the same shared by a growing number of others, that mainstream media in America is extremely biased. How is that Senator Clinton can suggest that the US Congress is on par with a white owned farm fueled by slave labor and Mayor Negin can describe his city as being 'chocolate this without criticism from the mainstream media? If one ever needed a cup of java or a shot in the arm to wake to the realities, this is certainly one.
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Both the Boston Herald and The National Enquirer are reporting that Massachusetts Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy has a 21 year old illegitimate son. Apparently the young man was spurned from a brief affair with Cape Cod resident Caroline Bilodeau back in 1983 and the Senator became upset when it was discovered she was pregnant. Possibly the only positive aspect is that the child's mother later married. Her husband adopted and raised the young man as his own. Note being a man and possessing moral fabric is something foreign to the Kennedys that share this same gender.

Now your author cannot place much creditibility in The Enquirer nor The Herald, but in light of potential lawsuits, it is almost certain the claims are true. However, speaking to the history of Kennedy's moral turpitudes, it is a fact. Lest we forget Mary Jo Kopechne and Chappaquiddick? Nor should we forget Kennedy nephew William K. Smith and the 1991 rape charges that were alleged to have occured at the oceanfront Kennedy home in Palm Beach while the good Senator himself was on the premise?

Speaking of Kennedy and beachfront homes, in light of the most recent scandals; the author is reminded of a Kennedy supporter who debated him on Kennedy family societal contributions. This supporter stated that Senator Kennedy 'did quite a bit for poor people'. Your author quickly reminded this person that the Boston communities of Dorcester and Southie were still ghettos. In essence poverty stricken eras or ghettos were in Senator's own backyard. Your author then shared the following prescription for assisting the ills of poverty: One must have been poor and elevated themselves out of that environment to understand a cure for such ill conditions. Kennedys, beachfront homes and Cape Cod summers don't qualify for expertise in curing this social condition. No wonder he and his political party affiliation continue to lose ground.

For some humor check out the following link.
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The UN stepping up to the global plate? Don't bet on it

The UN will now be able to show the supporters of Tony Blair, George W. Bush, Australia's PM John Martin and several others allied in Iraq how they too can be taken seriously. No it isn't curing global poverty or their questionable managing of tsunami relief funds but rather Iran. After wishing Israel's PM Ariel Sharon a 1,000 deaths following his massive stroke, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad promised to continue to develop the country's uranium enrichment capabilities and then capped off the matter by strutting into Syria, supporting the country's President Bashar al-Assad. It should be noted that al-Assad supports Syria's history of occupying Lebanon and spreading mass chaos in Middle East.

While the obvious is there, the potential of nuclear weapons in the hands of a violatile character, your author asks "where are the Michael Moore-ites and Bush critics?". This crowd was the same gang that claimed Bush "delegitimized" the United Nations. Well here is a chance, despite the UN oil for food scandal and the already questionable management of tsunami relief funds, that they can be collectively taken seriously and are due the respect they deserve. Let us forget the fact that nearly every nation is a member, thus making any universal agreement nearly impossible and that Cuba sits on their human rights board. Let us forget that they stood powerless during the Kosovo crisis. What can the UN do to assure the world they are credible?

Thus far the only thing they have proven is their ability to call meetings and threats of sanctions. Where is UN leader Kofi Annan? Your author hears a small voice suggesting that these same allied forces, possibly others will come to the plate as well, will be called upon or take a pro-active iniative. This will only prove that the UN has 'delegitimized' themselves by their actions or inactions. One day, it is your author's hope, that the world will realize world peace or such a concept can only be achieved through stern resolve, realistic goals, expected actions of world leaders and not achieved by holding hands nor signing agreements. Hitler signed plenty of agreements, laughing all the way and nearly conquering all of Europe in the process. The conventional thinking bought into Hitler's stunts and will buy into what the concept of the present day ineffective UN.

Thwarting Iran's efforts will be easier than what a brief glance suggests. They are a country made up of a two fold population. The first portion being an elder poor group who have watched their country slip into chaos following decades of radical extremism. The second half is comprised of youth, who nearly got it together in the 1990s and are demanding the overly influencial Muslim church be removed from politics. The true test will be convincing Russia, desperate for any international trade and China, desperate for oil, to forego their interests. This is the true crux at assuring the brief legacy of President Ahmadinjad. By the growing success of democracy and free markets in Iraq and the like-minded allies that border the country, Iran may very well stand, both geographically and ideologically, alone.

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Further Pondering: The Concept of World Peace

Palestine's President Mahmoud Abbas has announced he will resign from his post if he believes his programs will not be carried out. Abbas, a ranking member of the Hammas party, received global criticism when he supported a radical terrorist wing to gain entrance into his party. Although Hammas is popular, they are expected to pick up many votes following an upcoming election, Abbas threats of resignation should make one think.

Hammas has denounced the Oslo agreement of 1993, which effectively detailed the borders and favors a total annilation of Israel. Hammas' opposition party, Fatah, has gained the justified reputation as being corrupt following the long reign of Arafat, which was resulted in a split in the party. It should be noted that Fatah was able to garner a portion of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, an initiative supported by Israel PM Sharon following his break from the political party Likud and forming the Kadima party.

Now you have radicalism and sponsored terrorism on the rise with the Hammas nearly a shoe-in to win a significant portion of the Palestinian political scene. Israel with an uncertain political future and their leader incapacitated. Palestine having already been given back the West Bank and Gaza Strip, both of them in economic shambles. While the future appears that until all of Israel is destroyed and managed by a regime sympathetic to terrorism. This only proving when you give an inch to violent radicalism, you might as well give a foot or more. Once again holding hands and signing treaties rarely materializes in genuine peace.

Infinite Speculator
infinitespeculator.com

2005

2006-01-03T13:58:00.000-08:00

So long to 2005 and ring in 2006.

Let's recap a few memorable moments in 2005, shall we?

April 2005-Sadly enough the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of 'imminent domain' whereby private property can be bought for the idea of economic expansion. Of course the property owners get a 'fair' market value for the property. I have to wonder if the high court decided exactly how this price tag will be established. As stated in a prior post, this ruling favored local politicians and guaranteeing votes in their districts. Now with the court looking more to the right, it will be interesting to see how this finally pans out. As said before it was a sad day for capitalism and property rights.

May 2005-France did not fail to disappoint when they led the charge to counter the EU referendum. In record numbers, voters came out and voted down the proposed legislation. Other countries soon followed. This only upholds the theory that the idea of the EU is doomed. If so what will be the results for the Euro currency?

Later we saw the state of French society as Muslim youth took the streets of Paris, setting the city of lights on fire and only further proving that France is a potential time bomb for civil upheaval.

The economies of China and India continued to prosper as well as command the prices for energy and construction materials. Home Depot will do a booming business in Hong Kong. Economies from the Nordic countries, Japan and Canada posted strong growth. Their equities, in response to the slipping value of the US dollar, performed quite nicely. For the record your author is invested in the latter three countries.

US Stocks flopped, unless you were invested in international funds, while commodities roared. On the international front look for quite possibly the Philippines and Vietnam to post gains.

July 2005-Muslim Terrorists bombed the London subway system, killing 52. Your author has stated before that this may have been last card played by the Muslims as it did not result in the immediate withdrawal of British troops in Iraq. It is the author's hope that with UK PM Tony Blair at the helm of the EU, that maybe the entire continent will come to the call of battling terrorists. Whether this ever materializes remains yet to be seen, but by all indication freedom is winning and Bin Laden is hiding.

Hurricane Katrina wrecked New Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast, proving that mother nature can't be stopped. Having personally experienced three hurricans in 2004, there was glaring negligence on the local government of New Orleans and state of Louisiana by their failure to take precautionary actions. Relief workers and engineer corps got fired upon by local thugs, the city itself went into total chaos and finally all parties just played a game of finger pointing. Bush implemented a billion dollar rebuilding policy with accountability, which is a new concept to the city given its notorious history of corruption. The thugs have since been relocated and property values are skyrocketing, thus providing hope they won't be able to return. Just remember one thing New Orleans' residents, you have historically voted Democrat and you shall reap what you sow.

The New York Times proved once again, make that twice, that they are out to destabilize the Bush administration. The Scooter Libby CIA fiasco will fizzle and your author predicts Libby will be acquitted. Then the Times decided to hold off on a story that the Bush administration has illegally been spying on US citizens for the purposes of terrorism investigation. This authority actually originated in the Carter administration. Your author finds it opportunistic of The Times that they decided to hold off on the story until days before Congress was to renew the Patriot Act. Allow The Times to keep pushing because it has come back to damage them. The internal picture is not kind either, their stock is down nearly 50% and they have faced layoffs. Who is reading this paper with regularity is beyond me. Other US papers have taken their prominence and they are losing viewers in their own regional areas to The Post. Check out the articles section at http://www.infinitespeculator.com

Housing prices continued to escalate in value for the year but appear to have cooled down. The implications of rising interest rates should be on the mind of ones holding interest only loans. Now there will be crunch time. This bull market wasn't born overnight and neither will the downturn experienced acceleration. It may be a good time to start looking at buying real estate. That is the contrarian in me coming out (when others sell, you wait and see if you should be buying).

Finally the citizens of Iraq came out in droves, disproving the likes of The Times and Michael Moore, when they voted for change. Now with democracy obviously appealing to them, a change can begin and the terrorists will have one less place to call home. Watch the critics make fools of themselves when trying to debate this event.

I will post on the economy and outlook for 2006 this week. Thanks for viewing.

infinitespeculator.com

Long overdue update 12/18-12/23

2005-12-18T20:53:00.000-08:00

Much has been happening as the Infinite Speculator remains on the road, having crossed into Europe and in search for investment opportunities.

Stanley "Tookie Williams-

It was sad to see yet another deviant character hyped and stroked in the media and among celebrities. Here is someone that when he was a free man spent his time committing criminal acts and found himself convicted of several murders. The punishment called for death and the state of California sentenced him to such. He would, however, spend over half of his life on deathrow before his sentenced was carried out.

Besides the obvious, that Williams was able to live for free behind bars for 25 years, he was allowed to scrall out a few children's books and was even once nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Now consider the conventional world of wishful thinking legitimized the self proclaimed 'co-founder' of the notorious street gang the C.R.I.P.S. What was stunning is that there is a webpage dedicated to this deceased criminal and that Hollywood decided to jump in on the action, producing a movie about Williams' life as a reformed gangster.

Then as all of you know Williams began to long and time consuming process of appeals. It culminated on multiple courts upholding the death warrant and at the expense of the California taxpayer. The victims' family left behind to wait for justice.

As fun loving, leftish, all encompassing and politically correct Hollywood felt it necessary to push the plight of Williams' victims to the side. One that stood out in particular, besides the obvious presence of rapper Snoop Dog and 'Reverend' Jesse Jackson, was Bianca Jagger. I have to wonder if the ex wife to the Rolling Stones frontman would invite 'Tookie' over for tea and cookies, considering she saw him as a reformed individuals and worthy cause. Someone should tell Ms. Jagger that Mick and her divorced over 25 years ago and that famed Manhattan disco Studio 54 has been closed for over 20 years now.
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Operation I-Spy

Typical to their form, The New York Times (Times) decided to hold off on allegations that President Bush was authorizing the National Security Agency (NSA) to illegally spy on American citizens. The very fact that The Times has proven to ad nauseam their desires to see Bush have the most unpleasant tenures in the Oval Office should be no surprise. Failing as a company and sales slipping, The Times desperately needs to become The Washington Post of 1975, with a few crack reporters and relive Watergate all over again. The Infinite Speculator's analysis of The Times can be seen on the website http://www.infinitespeculator.com

However in light that The Patriot Act was in the midst of seeking a renewal vote from Congress, The Times carefully held off on reporting the allegations for a year and guess what? Yes they released the claims just in time to coincide with Congress's vote. Bush didn't waiver from the issue, this author forsees President Bush no longer playing nice with his opponents and stated that illegal eavesdropping is just that-illegal. The Patriot Act renewal did pass, although Dems were able to shorten the length of the bill's time until the next renewal, The Times failed (once again) to influence policy on The Hill. By the way infamous and executed Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh looked like an 'ordinary, run of the mill' American citizen. Think about it. The following piece takes into account so called infringement upon American citizens' rights. Source: ModerateVoice.com

Former Clinton Justice Official: Bush Did Have Authorization For Taps
by Joe Gandelman

John Schmidt, associate attorney general of the United States under President Clinton from 1994 to 1997, writes in the Chicago Tribune that President George W. Bush did have the authority to do the controversial warrantless wiretaps:

President Bush's post- Sept. 11, 2001, authorization to the National Security Agency to carry out electronic surveillance into private phone calls and e-mails is consistent with court decisions and with the positions of the Justice Department under prior presidents.The president authorized the NSA program in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America.

An identifiable group, Al Qaeda, was responsible and believed to be planning future attacks in the United States. Electronic surveillance of communications to or from those who might plausibly be members of or in contact with Al Qaeda was probably the only means of obtaining information about what its members were planning next. No one except the president and the few officials with access to the NSA program can know how valuable such surveillance has been in protecting the nation.In the Supreme Court's 1972 Keith decision holding that the president does not have inherent authority to order wiretapping without warrants to combat domestic threats, the court said explicitly that it was not questioning the president's authority to take such action in response to threats from abroad.Four federal courts of appeal subsequently faced the issue squarely and held that the president has inherent authority to authorize wiretapping for foreign intelligence purposes without judicial warrant.

There's more. But Schmidt, now a Chicago-based lawyer, is saying Bush had the authority. It still is unlikely to end the debate, since there are others who have a totally different view. But the next question will be: if Schmidt is correct, then why is there so much cloudiness over this issue? All the more reason for the need for Congressional hearings to delineate once and for all (a) what precisely IS the law, (b) what will the executive and legislative branch roles be in the 21st century in this new age of what seems to be a constant anti-terrorism war?The wildcard will be more sensational revelations in the press. If it turns out that the government was spying to prevent far-fetched threats or threats that gobble up resources better used for Al-Qaeda-type terrorists (in other words: do you REALLY have to waste taxpayers' money on spying on PETA???) — or using agencies in any way in political campaigns — the key issue will clearly be whether this government can be trusted to use powers responsibly...or if it's abusing powers. Schmidt ends his piece (which should be read in full) with this:

What was needed after Sept. 11, according to the president, was surveillance beyond what could be authorized under that kind of individualized case-by-case judgment. It is hard to imagine the Supreme Court second-guessing that presidential judgment.Should we be afraid of this inherent presidential power? Of course. If surveillance is used only for the purpose of preventing another Sept. 11 type of attack or a similar threat, the harm of interfering with the privacy of people in this country is minimal and the benefit is immense. The danger is that surveillance will not be used solely for that narrow and extraordinary purpose.But we cannot eliminate the need for extraordinary action in the kind of unforeseen circumstances presented by Sept.11. I do not believe the Constitution allows Congress to take away from the president the inherent authority to act in response to a foreign attack. That inherent power is reason to be careful about who we elect as president, but it is authority we have needed in the past and, in the light of history, could well need again.It's unlikely Congress is going to take away the president's authority. But it could insist upon greater oversight and scrutiny of what the executive branch is doing — and insist upon exercising the powers Congress was given in the U.S. Constitution.
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Weapons Alert, Weapons Alert!

I have to wonder if The Times will report on the following: Source: AP

December 20, 2005
Huge weapons cache found
By Ryan Lenz
Associated Press

ZUWAD KHALAF, Iraq — As the piles of missiles and rockets dug from the desert floor grew, smiles on soldiers’ faces turned to scowls of serious concern.
Working on a tip from an informant, soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division on Tuesday dug up more than a thousand aging rockets and missiles wrapped in plastic, some of which had been buried as recently as two weeks ago, Army officials said. “This is the mother lode, right here,” Sgt. Jeremy Galusha, 25, of Dallas, Ore., said, leaning on a shovel after uncovering more than 20 Soviet missiles.

As the sun set Tuesday, soldiers continued to uncover more, following zigzagging tire tracks across the desert floor and using metal detectors to locate weapons including mines, mortars and machine gun rounds.

But the growing piles of missiles and rockets were of primary concern for the soldiers in Iraq, where bombs made with loose ordinance by insurgents are the preferred method to target coalition forces.

“In our eyes, every one of these rockets represents one less IED,” said 2nd Lt. Patrick Vardaro, 23, of Norwood, Mass., a platoon leader in the division’s 187th Infantry Regiment.
Vardaro would not comment on whether there were signs the caches had been used recently to make bombs, but the service records accompanying the missiles dated to 1984, suggesting they were buried by the Iraqi military under Saddam Hussein. Still, the plastic around some of the rockets — of Soviet, German and French origins — appeared to be fresh and had not deteriorated as it had on some of the older munitions.

An Air Force explosive ordinance team planned to begin destroying them as early as Wednesday morning. Commanders in the 101st said knowing that an Iraqi tipped them off to the buried weapons could mean that residents in this largely Sunni Arab region about 150 miles north of Baghdad are beginning to warm up to coalition forces.

“The tide is turning,” Vardaro said. “It’s better to work with Americans than against us.”
Army officials would not say who had informed them of the weapons caches or whether national security forces including Iraqi Army and police had helped.

“A good Samaritan told us about it,” he said.

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NYC Transit Strike

By now most are aware of the strike that is occurring in NYC with the MTA union. The 32,000 strong union made absurd demands against the City of New York and very ealy on said they were prepared to shut down, leaving millions of New Yorkers stranded. Not only were millions of citizens at the mercy of the union, the northeastern economy was threatened and holiday shopping along with tourism, both vital to the city, are being held captive. Mayor Bloomberg attempted to negotiate but at last said 'no deal' and the MTA did strike.

Now Bloomberg has gone before a Brooklyn judge in a lawsuit against the union and estimated that the city will lose $22 million a day if the strike continues. The MTA union, Local 100 of Transport Workers, has already been fined $1 million for every day the strike continues. In the end, assuming the strike will be ended, what is the outcome. Well for starters you will have a customer base of several million New Yorkers left with a bitter taste in their mouth. The fines and forthcoming lawsuit will most certainly take a toll on the union's financial stability. Additionally leaders of the union who called for the strike may face being jailed within the next 48 hours. Now sitting jail on Christmas for the leaders may prove interesting results. This all merely proving that public transportation may not be so cheap after all. Suggestion? Go with scab labor Mayor and get your City back to running again.
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Clinton's Myth

The Infinite Speculator found the following piece. I don't think The Times will report on this either. It is quite interesting that Congress narrowingly passed deficit eduction by a 51 to 50 vote. Thank you VP Cheney for casting the deciding approval.

Snow lauds Bush on budget; calls Clinton’s surplus ‘mirage’
Published: Thursday, 22 December, 2005, 08:39 AM Doha Time

WASHINGTON: President Bill Clinton left office in 2001 with a federal budget surplus of $127bn. President George Bush ran a deficit of $319bn in 2005. So who deserves more credit for fighting red ink? No question, says Treasury Secretary John Snow: It’s his boss, Bush. Sipping a latte at a Starbucks coffee shop with reporters in Washington two days ago, he said that “the president’s legacy will be one of having significantly reduced the deficit in his time,’’ and said Clinton’s budget was a “mirage’’ and “wasn’t a real surplus.’’

Snow said the Clinton surplus was inflated by a stock-price bubble and that Bush will be remembered for cutting the gap from a record $412bn in the 2004 fiscal year. “Snow’s comment would be laughable if it weren’t so pathetically and obviously inaccurate,’’ said Thomas Mann, a political analyst at the Brookings Institution, a policy research group in Washington. Colleague William Gale, who worked on the Council of Economic Advisers under President George HW Bush, said calling members of the current administration “deficit-fighters is completely at odds with all of their policies.’’Snow has some support for his view. “Capital gains receipts were unusually high’’ during the last years of the Clinton administration, said Ed McKelvey, senior US economist at Goldman, Sachs & Co in New York. He estimated that when the budget surplus reached a peak of $237bn in 2000, capital gains tax payments were about $90bn higher than the norm for the early-to-mid 1990s.Government forecasts for continued surpluses depended on those tax payments continuing, Snow said. “You’re going to make a lot of mistakes if you forecast based on a bubble,’’ he said. “Bubbles burst.’’

James Lucier, a political analyst at Prudential Equity Group Inc in Washington and former economic research director at Americans for Tax Reform, said the projected surpluses weren’t real because of the “artificial’’ way Congress accounts for spending.Even so, the “enormous growth’’ in so-called discretionary spending by the Bush administration – programmes such as defence, transportation and education, which must be approved each year by lawmakers – “belies the notion that spending restraint has been the major focus of this White House,’’ Lucier said.Moreover, Gale said, the administration used the same Clinton-era forecasts to justify its tax cuts in 2001. Since taking office, Bush pushed through tax cuts totaling $1.85tn and raised government spending 23% in his first four years in office to $2.29tn. After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the US invaded Afghanistan and later Iraq. Defence spending rose 48% to $454bn in 2004, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Discretionary spending under Bush rose from $649.3bn in 2001 to $895bn in 2004, CBO figures show. Discretionary spending also rose as a share of the economy, from 6.5% in 2001 to 7.7% in 2004. “The surpluses in the late ‘90s weren’t a mirage, and as the deficits of the last few years grow even larger with the erosion of budget discipline, they won’t be a mirage either,’’ said Chris Rupkey, senior financial economist at Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi Ltd in New York. “About the only thing you can say in the administration’s favour is that a fast-growing economy of over $13tn covers up a lot of mistakes.’’After reaching a record in 2004, the deficit fell by $94bn in the budget year that ended September 30 as tax receipts soared. The improvement won’t last, and even Snow says the deficit will rise this year as the government spends more to rebuild after the hurricanes. Economists including Drew Matus at Lehman Brothers Inc in New York said the deficit may rise enough to wipe out all of last year’s improvement. Snow and other administration officials said they inherited a recession in 2001, after the equity bubble burst a year earlier, and then had to increase spending to kick-start the economy and fight the war on terror. At the same time, the administration also opposed renewing rules for government spending that required all tax cuts or spending increases to be offset elsewhere in the budget. Bush wanted such rules to apply only to spending measures and not to tax-cutting proposals. – Bloomberg

My comments: I find it interesting that Clinton's surpluses relied heavily on the chaotic levels the stock markets saw during the tech boom. One other point, there was no mention how the Clinton admin. bought back the thirty year T bond and eventually retiring the federal government's borrowing tool. Time and time the longer the maturity date of a fixed income (loan issued by an entity), the 'cheaper' it becomes to manage during times of changing interest rates. In other words why didn't the Clinton admin purchase the ten year back? Because they couldn't due to lack of funds. Nice try Bill.

Speaking of budgets and the Clintons, here is 2008 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's analysis. By the way, now that you are unopposed for your senate seat, you won't have to tell New York residents you plan on only serving two of your four years, because in 2008 you will be campaigning for the Oval Office. You caught a break Hillary.

Hillary Clinton says GOP deficit bill will increase abortions

By DEVLIN BARRETT
Associated Press Writer

December 20, 2005, 5:21 PM EST

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton waded back into the highly charged abortion debate Tuesday, charging that a GOP cost-cutting measure will boost the number of abortions in the United States.

Clinton, D-N.Y., said a piece of a pending deficit-reduction measure would indirectly raise the number of abortions in the United States by leaving poor women with less Medicaid coverage for contraception

"I sadly predict that if this measure stays in the bill ... the number of abortions will go up, the human and financial costs will go up, and many women will be really out of luck," Clinton said in a Senate floor debate on the bill, which is headed for a close vote later Tuesday or early Wednesday.

The former first lady spoke out against language in the bill that would allow states to choose whether to offer family planning services under Medicaid, a government-funded health care program for the poor. Under current Medicaid rules, states must offer those services. Clinton raised concerns even among some supporters earlier this year in a speech decrying abortion as a "sad, even tragic choice," and urging those on both sides of the issue to find common ground. The remarks, coming from a longtime supporter of abortion rights who is considered a front-runner for the Democratic party's 2008 presidential nomination, was seen by many as an effort to reach out to voters who oppose abortion.

Clinton has argued that efforts by the Bush administration to limit family planning efforts would lead to more abortions. On Tuesday, she said the congressional deficit-reduction measure would do precisely that. Speaking on the Senate floor, she claimed the result of the proposed change in Medicaid rules would leave more poor women without contraception, causing more unwanted pregnancies and therefore more abortions. "We obviously have very strong opinions and deeply held convictions about abortion, but are we also divided about contraception and family planning? Are we not in this body committed to reducing the number of abortions? Apparently we're not," Clinton said. The senator, up for re-election next year, has credited her husband Bill Clinton's policies as president for the falling rate of abortion in the United States in the 1990s.

Summary: The Infinite Speculator has to wonder what Sen. Clinton knows about A. Being poor and B. The decisions involved in an abortion or to kill, not to kill. Referencing your philandering husband in declining abortion rates, increasing abortion rates, declining birthrates, increasing birthrates, births to a single mother, irresponsible sexual behavior, STDs, contraception or any other phrases that stem from sexual activity are just sadly hillarious! To think this who will be taking the Dem's presidential nomination. FDR must be rolling in his grave.

More on the markets and state of the US economy in the next post. Have a Merry Christmas, I don't care if you don't celebrate or are a secularist, remember it is still a federal holiday.

Thanks,
Infinitespeculator.com

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Post Turkey Giblets

2005-11-28T16:15:00.000-08:00

If you celebrate Thanksgiving this past week, I hope you and yours had a festive time. Did anyone catch Fox's Cavuto on business during the Nov. 26 broadcast? To open up the broadcast or at least where I started watching, the roundtable consisting of the regulars-Gary B. Smith (affectionately known as the chart man), international investor Jim Rogers of world travel fame and the remaining crew. One in particular stuck out of the bunch-Chris Lahiji.

Let me give the reader some background on Lahiji. A few years back he made a name for himself on creating a mythical portfolio based on small cap stocks. He claimed to have personally read some 12,000 anual statements. Now keep in mind his portfolio was purely paper and did not exist. He then grabbed a gig and proclaimed himself as the 'youngest mutual fund manager' when he was hired on by Frontier Equity. The fund family has long been known as the worst performing in their industry and Lahiji's bet on penny stocks did not help their returns either. He was eventually released from his duties, something he has never discussed in public and then went on to pitch his site Daily Trends. The infinite speculator hopes for his subscribers' sake that he provides better advice than when he served at Frontier.

Now back to the Cavuto episode...

The table was engaged in a discussion regarding the pros and cons of Wal Mart. The critics cried the company paid poor wages and did not provide healthcare coverage. Lahiji was on attack, screaming that the wages were sub par, little insurance coverage, the presence of Wal Mart shutting down mom and pop stores, etc. I guess since Lahiji did not take a course in economics (he proudly proclaims to not have graduated from college) someone forgot to tell him economies and how time waits for no one. Jim Rogers took the opportunity to challenge Lahiji to go and fund his own retail ventures to counteract Wal Mart. Lahiji soon became irrate.

Lahiji then recommended picking up Anheuser Bush (BUD), which completely contradicts his previous claims given that BUD is a very large cap stock. When countered by others who disagreed with his suggestion he quickly fired back that Warren Buffet had purchased large issues of the stock (old news Chris) and Buffet has been known to get it wrong (see Guiness, the run off of Berkshire's General RE reinsurance company). His opponents on the stock gave plenty of good reasons why not to buy BUD. Barrons' ran a coverstory on the historic company and questioned the future of the beer market, declining consumption rates and niche brands gaining market share. I guess someone did not inform Chris and he was left with the Buffet argument. The Infinite Speculator must ask, 'why does Fox give Lahiji time in front of the camera?'

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Merck has been in the news today with their intended layoff of 7,000 and close five plants. The big drugmakers face a few hurdles and Merck has obviously not be spared. The company faces patent expirations, generic drugmakers and a constant barrage of trial lawyers suing the industry at the drop of a hat. While this is all pretty dismal where is the left? Was it not the left that cried 'big, rich pharmacueticals' were raping Americans and their pocketbooks? Looks like they may not be so rich as the news indicates.

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Finally Bush is tackling America's illegal immigration problem on the southern border. Better late than never I suppose but will their be political fallout in 06? Read Massachussetts Ted Kennedy's proposal. The only way to tackle a crisis and this issue has certainly became one is not to mitigate and give it away. But what would one expect from someone who has never had to work? Then again the same can be said for Bush as well.

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Finally where is the same enthusiasm that one noticed with increasing gas prices as the same product falls in cost? Has anyone noticed that gas per gallon has dropped by nearly 25%?

Will be digesting and commenting on the poilitical scene in Canada in the next post.

Thanks
Infinitespeculator.com

Cheney Sets The Record Straight

2005-11-21T10:12:00.000-08:00

With Bill Clinton proving he can't stay away from the spotlight and will say anything to rewrite his tattered legacy, this past week the bias American media blasted his denouncement of the war in Iraq. We then watched as the issue went to the Congress on attempt to remove troops from Iraq, effectively saying 'we lose' and it was wrong. The two coincidentally go hand and hand, strangely enough with precise timing.

Finally Bush and others of his administration came out blasting, reminding Congress they voted for the resolution of war in Iraq. Today VP Dick Cheney brought out the six guns, slinging facts and past events for the war in Iraq. He reminded the press that on Dec. 16, 1998 that then President Clinton commanded an airstrike on suspected biological warfare plants. He then went on to lay out one by one the reasons for this war.

What fails to allude the press or other opponents of this war, besides the general pacifist types, is that 2,000 soldiers who voluntarily joined the armed services have been killed. The message from the left will essentially tell their families 'your life was wasted in vain' for this foolish President that the Americans elected in overwhelming support. Oh they may profess that they have the troops' interest at heart, however they would be advised to carefully review how members of the military vote-traditional conservative Republican-before attempting to be their defenders. And when has the military ever needed defending? Of course going back to the Carter adminstration the Democrat party has done everything within their power to deplete and water down the military's effectiveness.

Whether the press or even Congress wishes to admit, there has been significant progress in the Middle East. We as a collective group of allied nations have seen the terrorists brought to their knees. Of course hindsight has told us that previous presidential administrations, particular the two terms of Bill Clinton, ignored this problem. What does the Dem. party propose? See that is another message being totally avoided by the media. The Dem. party has no solution to a very serious global threat. No former vice president and Democrat party madman Al Gore can only speak of the problem of global warming. Now mind you evidence of such a thing is questionable but Gore is focused on problems fifty years from now, not the possible violent ramification of terrorism on ones' own shores. One can imagine that it may be a guilt factor for Gore-his inability to address the 1993 World Trace Center attack, since he was second in command for the States. This is also the same party ran by an equally unstable Howard Dean, who is content on hurling slanderous statement but refuses to meet with his counterparts on televised debate. Sadly both of them have been reactive to their political party's descent and are content to allign themselves with the far whacky left. Franklin D. Roosevelt is rolling in his grave I assure the reader.

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Other big news is the layoff facing GM workers. As sad as this seems and really is for the employees, it was all quite predictable. The United Auto-Workers (UAW) union are only partially to blame in the short term. However over the long term they share a greater responsibility for GM's predictable demise. Time and time again they have bled the American auto industry to the point that prices for their productive, given the quality, became uncompetitive. However both GM and Ford, throw in Chrysler with the mix as well, sat back for over two decades as Japanese automakers ate up the competition.

While the American automakers attempted to become competitive, they did so with foolishness and with bizarre choices. Ford decided to jump in by buying European automakers Rover and Volvo. Then they focused on big, bulky gas guzzling SUVs, ultimately relying heavily on the product line for their gross revenues. GM did about as "well", getting snagged in the Fiat fiasco and paying for it dearly on the orders of the EU. Your author has once again posed this question-who approved the company go through and seek out Fiat? The company was near bankruptcy and technology was outdated.

If the reader notes in the 30,000 layoffs they will see that 10% are in Canada. This leads one to wonder the cry you heard from the left a few months back in favor of socialized medicine. The cry was that if socialized medicine existed that it would not be needed in corporate employment packages. If anything, given the lack of quality, a society with socialized medicine, that the private healthcare plans will be even in greater demand. It is a well known fact that Blue Cross does a booming business in Canada.

Thanks
infinitespeculator.com

Summing up recent events.

2005-11-13T16:36:00.000-08:00

It has been widely publicized that US President George W. Bush received a less than rosy welcome when he step foot on Argentina’s soil for a trade summit. Before Fidel Castro slips off for the eternal deep sleep he can be rest assured his legacy of arrogance and consumption with thy own personality will continue to live on with Venezuela’s dictator, although elected in a controversial vote count thanks to former US President Jimmy Carter, Hugo Chavez. President Chavez led left wing demonstrators in an attempt to curb the trade talks with posters proudly displaying the image of socialist commandante himself, Che Guevara. It is nice to see the legacy of Castro’s rambo of revolution will live on.

We can rest comfortably knowing the bias American media made a big splash with the disrupted talks with their coverage. For some reason the media enjoyed tacking on Miers’ withdraw, the Libby indictment and some poll that suggests the President’s approval rating is going lower. The infinite speculator has yet to find someone who has actually participated in these highly touted polls but your author digresses to the issue of Latin America.

President Bush avoided a nasty confrontation with Chavez, handling the situation as The States have handled Castro in the past-put him on the shelf. Except with Castro it was relatively easy, the island was formerly a vacation spot that has been replaced with multiple destination spots and the Dominican Republic sells the United States plenty of cigars. With Chavez it is a matter of oil and dependency America has on the commodity. Of course if the US would continue the effort to alternative fuel, this issue could easily be avoided and thus there would be no need to even be too concerned with Chavez. This is all, obviously, old hat.

What will be the future for Chavez? Well not considering their fuel production capabilities, Venezuela over time will mirror t heir close ally Cuba and quite possibly North Korea. Now with the price of oil slipping so will his political and international moxy. Go into the dark Hugo and stay there.
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France was still burning when you author began to originally write this piece. It appears the violent actions have declined but the cars are still being lit up. The French solution? To enact a curfew. Now with the violence supposedly declining the French have been validated with their rather weak response. A weak response has always been the French response to major issues. First there was Hitler, then Vietnam and now a growing Muslim population that is not living the pacifist European lifestyle.

Now remember this is France, a country that attempts to define the European Union and influence the organization’s actions. A country that has repeatedly failed to take Muslim rooted terrorism seriously but yet still desires to be recognized as a world power. A country that turned a blind eye to their own domestic problems but yet criticized other nation for theirs (i.e. Turkey). The ghettos of Paris are breeding grounds for terrorist recruits. When you combine unemployment and increasingly dismal economic conditions, all covered up with social welfare; it doesn’t for these self pity pools of so called disenfranchised individuals to start finding other ways to spend their time.

The violence in France is a clear sign that the socialism makeup of the country has failed. Attempting to band-aid it by crying it is a domestic problem rather than one with international consequences will only allow it to rear its head with future dire results. However the response thus far has been quite ‘French’. They have, to their credit, become involved with the Iran threat. However failure to see the issue in your own backyard is quite inept.
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While the American media would rather report the Democrat party attempts to revive themselves with Howard Dean leading the charge the President lied to the people, have they bothered to tell the viewer how the terrorists are on the run? With the bombings in Jordan and their own citizens calling for the death to Al Qaeda members, recent purging in Indonesia and the sweeping arrests in Australia, one would think that the traditional American media would take an interest. However, as said prior, their battle cry is that Bush misled the American people. So the fact that the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent overthrow of Saddam Hussein, at the cost of allied soldiers’ lives is missed because a kook like Howard Dean and the Democrat party says otherwise? It is irrelevant that a terrorist attack has yet to surface since 9-11? It means nothing that after the purging of Iraq that the terrorist (who the media refers to as insurgents) came to the battlefield and are losing? Does it matter that the terrorist problem was twenty five years in the making and that in a few years a clear message has been sent that states there will be zero toleration for their acts? Does it matter that other nations are taking the threat seriously? Remember the mafia was stomped in Sicily following the murder of prosecutor Giovanni Falcone and when the people had had enough of their criminal influence.
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Note on the markets: XLF (S&P financial sector) just hit a new high. More on the markets in the next blog entry. My apologies for the late update, computer problems were the cause and Dell took care of the situation perfectly.
Regards,
InfiniteSpeculator.com

The lighting up of Paris. A sign for the future?

2005-11-03T21:12:00.000-08:00

Today marks a week since violence erupted in the Paris suburb of Clichy Sous Bois. The facts that surround events that have led up this chaos are pretty simple. It has already been widely reported. Two teens thought they were being chased by police and as a result of fleeing, ran into a electrical transformer, electrocuting themselves to death. What followed was tear gas being tossed in a local mosque and then the rioting began.

Besides the obvious the French do have a serious problem on their hands and one that has finally materialized. It was quite obvious why both Germany and France were mum on the war against terror and the jihad movement. They have their own problems in their backyard. However attempting appeasement and treading quietly has never been the solution for any potential crisis.

To give the reader an idea of the Muslim population in both countries, consider the following: Although the French do not factor religious affiliation in the census, the CIA estimates that as many as 10 million Muslims live in France, an estimated 10% of the total population. In Germany the Muslim population represents 3-4% of the total population or 3 million. In fact when Eastern and Western Europe as a whole, in 2000 the total Muslim population totaled 35-50 million out of an estimated population of 500 million. This is roughly 8-10% of the total area’s population. Compare this to North America, where the Muslim population for Canada, the United States and Mexico totals 580,000, 296,000 and nearly 0, respectively. Now consider the combined population 408 million of the area and thus the Muslim sect represents less than 1% of the overall population.

President Jacques Chirac surprised many in the past 18 months when he declared that it was unlawful for girls to wear birkas in public school system. This set off a firestorm within the Muslim population. Now with the current riots, matters will only grow worse over time and France will ultimately be put to the test.

However a possible peaceful solution would be for France to stop protesting the admittance of Turkey to the EU. Why? Well for starters Turkey is much more accepting to Muslims. However, as stated before, France would lose their immigrant work-force and thus a Frenchman would have to flip a burger. There is nothing wrong with menial occupations, history has shown that typically these jobs are filled by immigrants and allowing a second generation to be elevated to higher income bracket by the way of education.

Turkey provides an opportunity, given the current conditions, for large sums of direct foreign investment. France, although their economy has been hanging on, offers very little in this area. So if they welcomed Turkey in, France may see a decline in the Muslim population and possibly curbing this future catastrophe.

That’s all for tonight
Infinite Speculator

PS Cramer on CNBC just touted the stock ABB, I have to wonder if I need to sell

Recent Events-Rove and Beyond

2005-11-02T15:41:00.000-08:00

The Infinite Speculator has received multiple emails from viewers asking his thoughts on the Libby indictment and the Alito appointment. These and several other issues, news items, etc will be addressed in this entry.
The Libby indictment-first of all your author makes no excuses for his unwavering support of President Bush. Yur author would like to know why a grown man still goes by the name 'Scooter'? Seriously this has to be the poorest example of behavior by the Democrat Party since former Vice President Al Gore went on a ranting and ravaging Anti-Bush speaking tour. I am truly embarassed to have once been a registered Democrat and at the same time reminded on why I am no longer affiliated with the political party. Since Watergate the Dems have been a bloodthirsty rampage to once again oust a president. This may be in part for revenge against the Clinton impeachment but it still allows them the opportunity to somehow in their collective minds to use this as a catalyst to attack the President on every issue. It ranges from the War in Iraq to the alleged incompetency of the adminstration following Hurricane Katrina.
Here is what is known-former American ambassador Joseph Wilson's wife Valerie Plame Wilson's identity was leaked to The New York Times. Libby is being charged with leaking the identity and potentially jeopardizing her professional safety. Joseph Wilson had been sent by the Bush administration to Niger, Africa to determine if Saddam Hussein had attempted to purchase uranium for the purposes of building WMD. Joseph Wilson then states that he found no such evidence, reported this to the Bush administration and 'somehow' this report was misinterpreted. As a result British officials took the misstated report and proceeded to ally themselves with America in the Iraq War.
Now Joseph Wilson alleges he has been a target by the Presidency because he has been critical of the Bush administration. Why in God's name did he then go and write an editorial for The Times? Why in his findings did has he failed to publicly disclose that Iraq agents indeed were attempting to make the purchase from Niger? Wilson himself stated this very same element to former CIA director George Tenet. However this is constantly being overlook
Then suddenly after Wilson's piece for The Times his wife's name is leaked. As a result Vice Presidential Top Aide I. "Scooter" Libby is indicted for covering up the charge for leaking Wilson's wife's name to the press. Currently the Wilsons are crying that a smear campaign is out to get them. From who? The Times that you so willing supplied an editorial to in the first place? Is it because you failed to give the whole story regarding the uranium issue that The Times ran with your piece?
In the end what I just described and probably much more will be mentioned when Libby goes to trial. Although he will probably not be vindicated, the Wilsons will see their creditibility torn to shreds at their own and the skewed press's undoing. This will not be another Watergate and every Democrat jumping on this 'get Bush' bandwagon will feel the political fall-out. Yet one more desperate attempt by a dying party that is grasping at straws to survive and a voting public that won't misguided after their 40+ years of influence, which have produced dismal results.
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Well the infinite speculator called it wrong on Bush' s Supreme Court nomination. He thought for surely it would be a minority and/or a female. However this nomination of Samuel Alito will prove interesting. The Dems have a fight on their hands. The only thing can conjure up for issues are the same ole same ole-abortion and civil rights. While the critics heralded such arguments as 'lack of experience' and 'lack of credentials' with Harriet Miers, this wont applicable with Alito. No this will force the Democrats, from what has been gathered there may very well be a fight to be had, to defend liberalism and their ever changing base of idealism. Based on the 2004 election results, the American voting public wants the Dems to be put to the task and cornered with their own ideologly. Watch things get nasty between the Dems and Alito, not to levels they sunk to with Clarence Thomas, but somewhere coming close to that disasterous moment for the party.
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Well the economy experience solid growth for the past quarter, much to the Dems' dismay but much of this can be discounted (in this author's opinion) by 7% in government spending. Semi-conductor purchases, a bedrock estimate in the technology industry, showed the strongest signs of growth for the past 12 months. Look for things to take off at a decent pace for the US economy in 06. The latter being based off on current outlook. However until such things as a the trade deficit, federal defecits and overall inflation, the US dollar will continue to hang low.

That's all for tonight.

Thanks,
infinitespeculator.com

Death to traditional newspapers?

2005-11-01T08:44:00.000-08:00

The infinite speculator has already commented on the chaos surrounding the The New York Times holding company. The reader can access the article written by your truly here.

'05 Proving To Be Worst Newspaper Year Since Recession
by Ross Fadner, Monday, Oct 31, 2005 7:00 AM EST

IT'S OFFICIAL: 2005 WILL BE the newspaper industry's worst year since the last ad industry recession. And things aren't looking much better for next year either, according to a top Wall Street firm's report on newspaper publishing. "Sadly, 2005 is shaping up as the industry's worst year from a revenue growth perspective since the recession impacted 2001-2002 period," says the report from Goldman Sachs, adding a warning that meaningful growth in 2006 is "very unlikely."

In particular, national advertising has under-performed, remaining essentially flat this year, as has the retail category, the report said--while classified, both print and online, has shown positive gains so far this year, up 4-5 percent.

The weak ad environment for newspapers has caused Goldman to scale back its 2006 growth forecast to 3.5 percent from 4.0 percent. The note said national ad growth would once again be weakest at 1.0 percent, followed by retail, 2.5 percent, and classifieds at 3.6 percent. The bright spot continues to be online newspaper revenues, which are projected to grow an impressive 25 percent in 2006. Despite this, online will still represent 5.0 percent of total newspaper revenues.
The only really good news for publishers is that the investment firm believes the cost of newsprint, which has risen recently, is likely to fall slightly in 2006, as demand falls more quickly than production capacity. The report said newsprint prices would peak and then slowly recede in the second half of the year.

Even so, this good news is scant relief for an industry besieged by flat ad revenues, falling stocks, and fleeing subscribers. Last week, Rishad Tobaccowala, chief innovation officer for Publicis Groupe, told a newspaper--the Chicago Tribune--"newspapers are at a tipping point," in which online media will start to take more readership and more ad dollars. He added that newspapers are in the worst situation of all news media for growth as "the least visually engaging and least youth oriented" medium.

I will comment on the Scooter Libby indictment this evening. Thanks, InfiniteSpeculator.com

Venezuela on the brink of chaos

2005-10-26T19:56:00.000-07:00

As of this evening 219 Mormon missionaries have been evacuated from Venezuela. The country's president, the dictator Hugo Chavez, refused to extend visas. President Chavez also claimed that the US based New Tribes Mission, a group who also had missionaries in the country, was in bed with the CIA.

Anyone who reads the news on this recent event should realize this fits hand in glove with communism. The communist state, no matter what country it will exist in, must close off religious freedom and the arts. The reason is that both institutions of expression are a threat to stranglehold of communism. Both give an opportunity of an exchange of ideas whereby the role of big brother government may be questioned. However the attempts to silence these groups is proof to anyone who supports (once known as being a communist sympathizer) communism that in the end it is doomed to fail. It may take 100 years or a few decades but communism always implodes. With the advent of the internet the citizens of a communist state will learn of freedom and desire choice. This is a fundamental that cannot be denied.

While in college the infinite speculator's classmate who was originally from Lithuania explained the fall Russian communism with one word-Levis. He explained that people saw Levis, wanted Levis and could not get the product. When they realized such items as bread and vodka were in ample of supply but not simple denim jeans, they began to question their future. When it was further revealed that Moscow had done a fine job of subsidizing wheat farmers, because the only purchaser of the grain was the government and then commodity was flipped to the open market for hard currency; all hell broke loose.

One would think that after fall of communism in Russia and their former satellite nations, along with the starvation of North Korea and the capitalist change saturating China, that Chavez would take note. However this is rarely the case. Communism, in theory, is a good bill to sell to the citizens. In the case of Fidel Castro and Cuba, if that bill isn't purchased then mass butchering will transpire.

The fact that the missionaries have bolted is a sign that Chavez is planning or implementing another phase. A clamp down for further control. The concerns should be international companies with a presence in Venezuela. Woe to any firm and the citizens of Venezuela.

Summing this piece up, one should consider the backgrounds of Castro, Chavez, Kim Jung-il of North Korea and the Godfather of state himself Karl Marx. Each of them from choice backgrounds, educated and often times with politically connected families. Funny how their espoused their theories later in life came not from their background but from ego-driven illusions of grandiose. Their forced policies having no relevancy on their lives.

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Market stuff-The Infinite Speculator recently read in a piece by Motley Fool, a conventional thinking bunch the author doesn't subscribe to, that financial sector stocks may have been 'oversold'. They pulled Bank of America as an example, an issue the author owns. B of A (BAC), Met Life (MET) and the XLF (S&P financial sector) all part of the Speculator's financial section of his portfolio along with i-shares and ETFs representing Asia. The Speculator is still trying to find a way to be exposed directly in Vietnam, more on that country later.

InfiniteSpeculator.com

Summing Up Harriet Miers and The Republican Divide

2005-10-24T19:53:00.000-07:00

The Infinite Speculator has previously pondered both the Harriet Miers nomination to the US Supreme Court and what he sees in the Republican party. The rumor mill from DC is stating Miers may withdrawl from the proceedings. Whether she does or not there isn't much of chance for passing questioning she will ultimately face.

What will happen if she does or does not withdrawl? Both can be answered by the following. Bush will return with another nominee. One name stands out and that is California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers. Despite being qualified for her position she endured the partisan filibuster set forth by the Democrats. Another name is Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The latter is perceived as 'too controversial' although equally qualified for the position of a Supreme Court Justice. The Infinite Speculator that whoever is selected by President Bush will be a minority (either Black or Hispanic) and more than likely a female.

Now why do I make such a prediction? Plenty of Dems will campaigning in 2006. Bush will force them either to vote and approve of his nominee or they can go home to explain to their constituents why they disapprove of the selection. This is the party that is perceived to represent minority voters and female causes. However when push comes to shove they will find themselves in an abyss with a tough decision-favor a qualified candidate who is a minority or in essence admit by not favoring that they do not truly represent minorities and women. Where will Jesse Jackson and his ilk stand in this quagmire. This is one more stepping stone that ensures that the Dems as a serious political influence are on the way out.

This prediction is the only viable analysis of President Bush's actions. The conventional thinking media and pundits cry 'cronyism'. The Infinite Speculator suggests removing the obvious and playing a game of scenario analysis. One of the core principles behind the support for President Bush by the masses is because he more or less promised the public he would correct the current path of the Supreme Court to rule by political activism and get back to The Constition. This likely scenario I have just laid out cannot be denied.

If the prediction for the Dems appears dismal take into consideration The Speculator's prediction for the Republicans. The Miers nomination has created a divide between the religious right who are strong supporters of Bush and traditional Reagan-style conservatives. Additionally your author can see Traditional Republicans picking up additional support from Libertarian party voters. In the next few years the political influence may be something in order of Traditional Republicans with 40-50%, the Religious Roght with 30-40% and the Democrats possibly holding on with 10-20%. It is quite possible, just review the political histories of many European countries and consider that at one time the US had other political parties such as Anti-Masonry and Bull Moose parties.

Thanks
Infinite Speculator

Corp incompetence and further political predictions

2005-10-12T11:16:00.000-07:00

I am sure many of you are aware of the recent bankruptcy filed by Delphi. The company specialized in auto parts and was previously a subsidiary of GM. I have to wonder if GM was their primary client and when they predictably hit the skids, in the wake of increasing labor costs and losing market share, did they just bring Delphi with them. Both CitiGroup and JP Morgan allowing restructuring of Delphi's debt. I have to wonder, since this is felt in some way or another to all US citizens, did the banking giants conditioned the terms on either the labor union contract or completely dumping organized labor in general. Hell this is what helped kill the American auto industry period.

Well in typical scumbag-selfish fashion the United Auto Workers union (UAW) had decided to strike Delphi! The company's largest manufacturing plant is located in Buffalo, NY (a city that was built up by and has since been destroyed by organized labor). The basis for the strike-fear they (labor) would be cut out and are part of the re-financing terms. Well guess what Karl Marx wannabes-you are the reason why they are filing to begin with. Maybe they should shut down completely, relocate to the southeast or how about Vietnam? Personally I hope every card carrying UAW socialist finds themselves out of a job and sleeping on a park bench in the middle of Buffalo's notorious winters. Then maybe they can understand the concepts of gratitude, work ethic and personal responsibility. Should it matter? The infinite speculator understands that less than 20% of the workforce is organized as such and their numbers are dwindling. The Democrat party, another has-been instititution, is their only defender and they too are losing ground.

However another gripe has to sit at the feet of GM. The former owner of Delphi, has to make their customers, employees, competitors, creditors and most especially their stockholders wonder. The infinite speculator has yet to determine why GM, back in 2000, began negotiations to purchase Italian automaker Fiat. In the end GM paid through the nose, nearly a billion US greenbacks, to finagle their way out of the agreement. The EU was all too glad to 'enforce' and put pressure on GM to abide by the agreement, obviously their socialist eyes wide and anxious with dreams of future tax payments.

Well the question isn't why the EU got involved or if the fine would more than likely band-aid their impending doom into obsoletion, no the question is why had GM initially become involved with Fiat. Here is a company (Fiat) that has been losing marketshare, probably saw their last profitable year when bell bottoms were fashionable and was losing their domestic market share. Now once again why was GM even considering negotiations with this company? Throw this in with the poly cartel function of the EU and you have a recipe for disaster. Stockholders are you out there?

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Bouncing off my prediction that the Dems better allow a smooth time for Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers lest they prepare to explain to voters in the 06 election year. The infinite speculator is going to go out on a limb and make another prediction, with this recent uproar with the Miers' nomination it has assisted with the crystalization of the following: Ten to twenty years from now the Democrat party will no longer exist. Oh it may on a very small and minor function, possibly holding 10% of the political influence in the states. The Republicans will split into two parties-one representing traditional small government market friendly conservatives and the other hard right evangelical Christians concerned with right to life issues. The Libertarians will attach themselves with the first rather than the latter.

Don't think this is possible or is inconceivable? Don't be so fast with your reaction. No, go back and review the political history with many European nations or even Asian nations for that matter. The whole reason why parties split is because of fundamental differences and political gain. The Democrats have totally lost it, drifting on a ship without a destination and watching as supporters scream mutiny. The Republicans have it all but many have appeared to have forgotten on their core roots.

Thanks
Infinite Speculator

Poland, Turkey and The Supreme Court

2005-10-05T21:32:00.000-07:00

Your author has previously discussed the changing political climate, the move towards the conservative politicians, who favor tax cuts and a desire to attract foreign investment. Just today the following occurred:

WARSAW, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Dell Inc. (DELL.O: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest personal computer maker, is in talks to build a factory in Poland but no decision has been taken, an official said on Wednesday, denying a report that a site had been chosen.
"I would like to deny the rumours that Dell has already decided on Poland, or any location in Poland," Sebastian Mikosz, deputy head of investment-promotion agency PAIiIZ, told reporters.
"This has caused a problematic situation -- today I was informed that Dell is thinking of breaking off talks due to the media storm that has resulted," he added.
Earlier on Wednesday daily Gazeta Wyborcza said, without citing sources, that the company planned to open a 120 million euro ($143 million) computer assembly plant that would employ 3,000 people in the central city of Lodz.

Last month Dell Chief Executive Kevin Rollins had said the company would announce within months a new manufacturing site in Europe.

He did not say where the new factory would be, but said Dell preferred to make computers near to important sales markets, rather than pick locations solely based on costs.
Lodz, Poland's second-largest city and home to the country's struggling textile industry, has been seeking to attract international technology firms to revive the local economy
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved

Now don't let the fact that the deal is facing a perceived setback but rather that an international company has been eyeing Poland. When was the last time this occurred for Poland? Long live the death of communism.

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Talking Turkey-As previously mentioned the EU needs Turkey and Turkey needs the EU. Since The Netherlands and France declined approve of the new EU constitution, the organization's creditibility of the organization is in question. Then there was the numerous sanctions imposed by member countries against other upon the realization that some had fell out of the requirements. These fines and sanctions then were lifted and nothing was enforced. In other words there was no true authority within the group.

Turkey internationally tested the remaining creditibility of the group with regards to their admittance. In the past their two most noticeable dissenters have been Greece, over the issue of Cyprus and France, over the issue of human rights. The Cyprus issue has been pushed to the backburner. Your author will go out on a limb and discuss what may the underlying reason for France's opposition.

Turkey has been seen as a country that would be attractive to foreign investment and France is not. Turkey will, as it has in the past, connect the West and East. This will provide endless opportunities for entreprenueralism to thrive. In France, being brutally honest, the menial jobs are found in their growing Muslim population. This is common for most immigrant, eventually climbing the socio-economic ladder as they become assimilated. Turkey is predominantly Muslim. With this being said a scenario where France sees a mass migration of the Muslim immigrant to Turkey is quite plausible. Why would a first generation Muslim immigrant stay stagnant in an old economy such as France when they could have a serious chance of achievement in Turkey? France then must ask themselves, "Who will work these menial jobs?". Who will be wait on the tables, drive cabs and sweep the streets?
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The US Supreme Court has shown America the eventual fate of the Democrat Party. With the nomination and approval of John Roberts as Chief Justice, the Dems. where every dissenting vote praised Roberts and with Nevada senator Harry Reid arrogantly suggesting that Roberts "did not appreciate civil rights legislation enough". Now President Bush has set the Democrats up for a serious Catch-22. Recently he nominated Harriet Miers and the obvious cry from the opposition has been 'lack of experience'. Well the Infinite Speculator will go out on a limb and say they better approve of her. Why? Well 2006 is an election year and if she is declined, President Bush will then push someone such as US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales or California Supreme Court judge Janice Rogers Brown, a black conservative. President Bush may have another candidate but most definitely a minority and probably a woman. What will the Dems do when faced with voters if they choose to filibuster and fight it out? This is the party that has relied on minority and woman voters for the past 30 years, as they have lost regions and mass number of voters in general, hand over fist. This may prove to be the final nail in their coffin.

That's it for now. Thanks.
Infinite Speculator

News is screaming for your investment

2005-09-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

Okay after being away for too long the infinite speculator is back. Please be advised that the infinitespeculator is changing servers so it should be a week or so before we launch again.

There has been a tremendous amount of screaming news for the wise investor willing to kick conventional thinking and look into the infinite realms of the overseas markets. First let's kick off with today's news in the US. Consumer confidence declined by the highest amount in 15 years. Let's not even mention inflation, bulging trade defecits, raging commodity prices and the declining value of the dollar. CNBC can sit on the sidelines and fill the viewers with balderdash that bull market is around the corner or that US equities are prime for buying. There are a few, don't take what I say the wrong way, but they better have serious Asian exposure. Stocks that come to mind immediately are Citi Group and Bank of America, the latter owned in this author's portfolio.

No the big news can be found in Poland, Japan and Turkey. Here is a rundown:

Poland-rich in coal and mining in general. Here is a country that never embraced communism, a population where 99% of the population is literate and an economy that has quickly found itself privatized. However it was the recent news that should have started someone thinking about their future. Here is a piece that was sent off on the newswires just days ago.

"According to a preliminary turnout of the votes in 90 percent of the polling stations throughout the country, the rightist Law and Justice Party(PiS) won 26.84 percent of votes and its ally Civic Platform (PO) won 24.23 percent, while the center-left Union Self-Defense got 11.66 percent and the ruling Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) 11.38 percent, the electoral committee said.
Reports said the PiS and the PO were discussing about forming a joint government."

The center to right combined alliance won and did so with promises of tax cuts and being 'market friendly'. Poland is primed and worth a consider.

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Japan's cat has been out of the bag for sometime. The relection of PM Junichiro Koizumi based on his promises of cleaning up the banking system and privatizing of the postal system should be noted. Who cares if the postal system is privatized? Well it isn't because it is the postal system but consider what this could mean for the future and future investment.

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Finally Turkey, Austria has announced their objections. This is one more stumbling block for the inevitable. Given that France and The Netherlands rejected the recent EU constitution, this may work in Turkey's favor. They could be foreseen as a compliant member nation. Will Turkey once again connect the east and west in trade, economically gaining on their geographic location?

Your author noticed an article in last week's edition of The Economist magazine that stated Peru is currentlty attempting to privatize their port system. This should have the viewers' ears perking up. Peru is a country rich in agriculture and copper.

Finally I implore all the readers to consider foreign securities or shares representing countries as the US dollar continues to decline. Fed Chairman can raise rates all he wants but the bottomline is that no fed policy can correct the balance of trade, outstanding government debt and saturation of bills in circulation that currently plague the US.

Thanks for viewing....

New Orleans and the social welfare institution

2005-09-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

As a former Democrat voter, following the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, it has become ever more apparent on why your author changed his political party affiliation. It was my hope that the Dems would return back to normacy but while I waited I continually voted conservative beginning in 1992 casting a vote for then president George Bush.

However what has become ever more distubring the welfare state created by the party in the state of Louisiana. Your author recently had to take film director and spin master Michael Moore to task. Moore had asked for anyone who voted for Bush to write to him, defending the president's policy and explaining how 'evil' Republicans had caused the economic plight of Louisiana, New Orleans specifically. Your author to remind Mr. Moore of the socialist-welfare legacies of Louisiana governors Huey P. Long, his nephew Earl Long, the four terms served by Edwin Edwards, who is serving a ten year federal sentence for extortion and the most recent inept Kathleen Blanco. Please consider that for the past 100 years or more nearly 90% of the governors have been products of the Democrat Party.

What did the good folks of Louisiana get for voting Democrat (and essentially pro-socialist in one swoop)? While the US's national poverty average is 10% of the total population, Louisiana states 13-15% of their population (roughly 800,000) sit at this level and thus hold the dubious title as being the most impoverished state. The state also boasts holding second place in 2004, behind Nevada, for being the most violent. It ranks last in being the healthiest, which is obvious to the good times and rich food associated with the local culture. Your author could continue to give examples of this fine Democrat Party legacy but he digresses.

These are just some things to ponder as the media, the left and the Hollywood crowd attempts to politicize and exploit the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

infinitespeculator.com

The decling dollar, oil and Cindy Sheehan

2005-08-31T19:25:00.000-07:00

First the speculator would like to state that his heart felt prayers and thoughts go out to the survivors and mourning families along the Mississippi coast and New Orleans. Precitably mass chaos has been thrown in the mix. The worst is over or is it? Both areas struck by the storm will have a negative economic impact that will be felt for at least 12 months. The businesses that cater to the tourism trade, the main driving force in this area, will shut down and many wont open back up. However prior to the storm New Orleans was experiencing a massive amount of capital investment. How to profit from this in the future, considering buying property in Big E or even along the Biloxi coast. These areas stand a chance to bounce back, they must and a buyer may be able to find a fire sale.

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Cindy Sheehan-well the Speculator has sat back as the mass media saturated the news with this woman's "plight". I say plight but let's be honest, this was an attempt by the far left to make one last stab and just as the result in the 2004 election results proved, it fell on deaf ears. Proof positive is that right now Michael Moore is advertising this woman "tour" on his site. So now the left has dubbed her their latest pitch woman for their cause, whatever that cause may be because the Speculator along with others cannot figure out their exact message. Oh yes it's "we hate Bush just for the sake of hating". Did the left ever consider when their favorite, no not Bill Clinton, but Al Gore sat back for eight years as an important part of an administration and did nothing as radical Islamic terrorists gained strength?

Whether the left can face the facts, a tall request mind you, but an area of the world (Iraq) had to be shaken up and cause a mutiny against these thugs. Guess what? It is working. Just as it took time for them to build their powerbase it will take the same amount of time to dismantle them.

By the way remember six months back that the US military was going to hell in a handbasket because of a lack of recruiting? The mass media jumped all over this bit of information. However recruitment and re-enlistment rates are high and the numbers were met. Strange how the press didn't run wild with this information? Also Cindy Sheehan's son Casey re-enlisted and thus knew he would be going into battle. Consider that the US's military force is all voluntary, unlike many other developed nations of Europe that American lefty types enjoy parading around as a nirvana of existence. Funny thing is Michael Moore or Robert Redford have yet to denounce their US citizenship in favor of life in Sweden. Any Swedish viewers don't take offense, the Speculator is currently reaping his investment in the nordic countries of Sweden, Finland and Norway.
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Okay whether Americans wish to admit it or not but inflation has taken a serious bite out of the dollar. People who pay to see a cinema can rightly attest to this fact if they considered movie ticket prices from say two years ago. The commodities are booming, a sure sign that value was found and now the speculation begins. Oil prices are in the news everyday. Now there has been little investment, practically none, in oil refinery. This, despite of a saturation in the oil supply, has resulted in the skyrocketing prices at the pump. It isn't just in oil, but with lead, copper, platinum, etc. As a result of these factors along with a tremendous amount of cheap US dollars, inflation has come home to roost.

How to assure your dollars gain value in these rather bleak conditions? I would implore the readers to consider investing in ETFs/I-shares that represent countries of promise. These would include the Nordic region, the Netherlands, Brazil, Canada, China and Japan. The Speculator is also interested in the Philippines but will reserve his comments until a later date. Also consider EverBank (everbank.com) where an investor can exchange US dollars for foreign denominations.

I must close for now, thanks for viewing-
infinite speculator

More EU Fodder

2005-08-29T12:17:00.000-07:00

A short one, will post some originality the next few days. The source for below is the WSJ.com.
Infinite Speculator

By JOHN W. MILLER DOW JONES NEWSWIRESAugust 29, 2005
ATHENS -- In his regular job, Emmanuel Kondopirakis teaches math at an elite New York City engineering school. Now he is trying to teach tough accounting standards to a failing student -- the Greek government.

To Mr. Kondopirakis's supporters, his quest as secretary-general of Greece's National Statistical Service is a long-overdue cleanup of sloppy and sometimes misleading reporting that undermined Greece's credibility and shook the honor system that underpins the euro currency.

But to his critics, the campaign to overhaul the country's budgeting is a politically motivated effort to attack the previous government. Both sides have a point, says Platon Monokroussos, an economist at EFG Eurobank in Athens. Greece's conservative New Democracy party, which defeated the Panhellenic Socialist Movement party in 2004, "has tried to score political points," he says, but at the same time, the country's "statistical problems were very real."

At issue is Greece's embarrassing disclosure last year -- after Mr. Kondopirakis began overhauling government bookkeeping -- that it underestimated the country's budget deficit between 1997 and 2004 by some €25 billion, or $30.75 billion. The resulting eight years of revised figures raised questions about whether Greece fiddled with its budget numbers so it could meet a key European Union deficit limit that allowed the country to adopt the euro in 2001. The flap also fueled growing doubts about the accuracy of EU-government budget figures -- doubts that have threatened to delay adoption of the euro by the bloc's new member countries.

Mr. Kondopirakis, 58 years old, was tapped as Greece's statistics chief 17 months ago because of his reputation for integrity, according to George Alogoskoufis, finance minister for Greece's new government. "Nobody trusted us. That had to change," says Mr. Alogoskoufis, who describes Mr. Kondopirakis as "a very serious technocrat."

For Mr. Kondopirakis, it was a detour from a career in teaching in the U.S., where he emigrated to study at age 18 and started teaching math at Cooper Union's engineering school in 1979. At the downtown New York City institution, he was known as a particularly tough taskmaster. On a Web site devoted to reviewing professors, one Cooper Union student writes, "He will ruin you[r] life and your" grade-point average. Another writes, using the professor's nickname, "if you go through kondo's class, keep up. To pass, you'll know the material better than anyone else could ever expect to. Although he's terrifying the first time around."

The appointment also represented a return to Greece for Mr. Kondopirakis, whose only other sabbatical from teaching was to run the statistics agency from 1990 to 1993, the last time the conservatives held power. He describes that first term as routine. "There was no pressure then to submit low deficit figures."

Since 1997, EU members adopting the euro have been required to keep their public deficits at less than 3% of their country's gross domestic product. Governments were judged on how low their deficits were, creating an incentive for publishing false figures not only in Greece. Italy and Portugal have been criticized by the EU as overestimating pension revenues and income from the sale of state assets.

When he returned to Athens, Mr. Kondopirakis says he found "a shocking mess." During a recent interview, the statistics chief cited three main reasons behind the problem: a culture where estimates were often as good as hard facts, dubious accounting of defense spending and overly optimistic estimates of revenue.

It didn't help that Greece also was organizing the 2004 Summer Olympics, which the socialist government estimated would cost €3 billion. Now it looks like the games cost at least €10 billion.
After Mr. Kondopirakis and his team imposed new standards for some 2,000 Greek municipalities, public hospitals and other government agencies, the country had to change its deficit figures. In 1999, the year Greece won adoption of the euro, for example, the reported 1.8% deficit was revised to 3.4%. All told, Greece's budget revisions amounted to 18.4% of its GDP.

The revelation caused an uproar among European policy makers. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet called Greece's revisions "a real enormous problem" that could hurt the euro's credibility. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, wrote new standards for statistical accuracy. While there is no mechanism under EU law for expelling a euro-zone member like Greece, policy makers warned the disclosure could delay the EU's 10 new members in getting the euro because many have deficits near or higher than 3% of GDP and their budget figures now are less likely to be trusted.

Mr. Kondopirakis says Greece made excessive use of what statisticians call the sampling method -- mathematical projections to estimate money spent and then projecting those numbers nationwide. It was a cheap, easy system, he says, that "also created a lot of potential for twisting the figures." Eurostat, the EU's statistics agency, was suspicious of Greece's numbers for years and published them with an asterisk to flag problems in the country's statistical methodology.
"How can you think a country is lying and do nothing about it but put up an asterisk?" asks Mr. Kondopirakis. Former Eurostat director Michel Vanden Abeele says he had no choice at the time. "The only thing binding was a gentlemen's agreement," he says. Under new rules approved by EU finance ministers this past spring, Eurostat will have the right to request more-detailed accounts from a country.

Mr. Kondopirakis's solution was to start counting every bean. He created a special task force of 40 to send questionnaires and guidelines to Greece's 1,000 municipalities, 134 public hospitals, 170 social-security offices and other government offices, each with its own budget. He declines to specify names, but he says most places didn't understand many principles of modern bookkeeping. Some municipalities didn't keep detailed books at all. "There were mountain villages without computers," he says. "They had no records for cash flows, income, stocks, bonds."

With defense spending, the problem was accounting methodology. In the late 1990s, the Greek government embarked on a military spending spree and didn't count much of the equipment in its budget, arguing that was necessary only when everything had been delivered, many years later. Mr. Kondopirakis required the defense ministry book all payments in the year they were made.

Mr. Kondopirakis says the previous government inflated tax revenue and EU aid money received to pay for everything from olive-tree subsidies to road construction. He advised the government to be more modest in its estimates.

So far, Mr. Kondopirakis has won plaudits from some quarters. Mr. Vanden Abeele, the former Eurostat director, praised him at a meeting of EU finance ministers late last year, according to people at the closed meeting.

Officials from Greece's former government have a very different view. "This is a predirected exercise in order to blacken the opposition," says Nikolaos Christodoulakis, Greece's finance minister from 2001 to 2004 and now a member of the country's parliament. Mr. Kondopirakis's moves have been counterproductive, he adds. "Now everybody thinks we're liars."
Mr. Kondopirakis responds, "That's nonsense. I'm a scientist, not a politician. People know that I'm tough and that I won't bow to political pressure."

The math professor has agreed to stay on until the next elections in 2008 or as long as Cooper Union extends his unpaid leave. After that, he wants to go back to teaching. "I love my kids," he says of his students. "I'm tough with them, but the ones who stick with me, I think they love me, too."

As for the government officials who practiced what he calls lax accounting: he says they are like students who may initially get a failing grade. "It could be that the kid just doesn't understand. It doesn't mean he isn't smart."
Write to John W. Miller at john.miller@dowjones.com

John Johnson: A Media Pioneer Passes

2005-08-09T15:55:00.000-07:00

Today the newswires lit up with the death notice of John Johnson. When it comes to Black pioneers in the States, Johnson is not a recognizable name such as Martin Luther King or Rosa Parks. Somewhere along the lines in America's recent history standouts in the Black community have always been from the background of civil rights. Johnson, however, truly lived and personified the American dream. He was groundbreaking not only in Black achievement but in business as well.

Johnson was the creator and architect of the highly circulated Ebony magazine. Later he would begin the equally popular Jet magazine. Unlike so many circulations that live and die by consumer's preference, Johnson's publications established a consumer niche that stood the test of time.

Johnson grew up during the poverty conditions accompanied with the Great Depression. Now couple this with the segregation, there were no obvious hints to his future achievement. Following a relocation from Arkansas to Chicago, Johnson discovered his love for journalism when he became the editor for his high school newspaper and member of the yearbook staff. While giving a speech, Johnson came to the attention of Henry Pace, principal owner and president of Supreme Life Insurance Company of America. Supreme marketed their product to Black America and was itself a pioneer for the race's achievement. Pace was impressed by Johnson and gave him an office job. While working for Pace's company Johnson began attending Northwestern University part-time.

A journalism major, Johnson was given an idea and asked for his opinion. Pace questioned whether a journal devoted to Blacks regarding lifestyle trends, news and politics would be marketable. With a mailing list of 20,000 Supreme customers and receiving $2 from 3,000 customers for prepaid subscriptions, Johnson knew the interest was there for the product. However Johnson could not afford the publishing and postage for his new venture so with a $500 loan, secured by his mother's home furnishings, Negro Digest was launched on November 1, 1942. Besides the 3,000 he initially published, Johnson produced another 2,000 to sell and distribute locally.

Continually rebuffed by the Anglo dominated publishing industry, Johnson heard more than once that his type of magazine would never sell. Johnson, not deterred, enlisted friends and family to engage in a bit of product testing. These individuals would approach newstands and request Digest. Vendors and distributors took note and began ordering Digest directly from Johnson. However because the States were engaged in World War II, paper was limited and rationed. Johnson would maintain his position at Supreme until 1945 when he formed Johnson Publishing and relaunched Digest as Ebony Magazine. Johnson, who some have described a natural born salesman, approached Zenith Radio as his first nationwide advertiser. Impressed by Johnson's perseverance and determination, Zenith president Eugene McDonald became his first advertising customer.

In 1951 Johnson launched Jet Magazine with the same goal as Ebony: reach the Black audience and keep them interested for more. Jet would become just as popular Ebony in the decades to come, both making Johnson's empire a national force. In 1958 with his wife, Johnson began the Ebony Fashion Fair. An event that to date has raised more than $50 million for charities.

Another defining moment was when Johnson discovered that cosmetics devoted to White Americans would not advertise in his magazine. Sensing another niche market and an opportunity to profit, Johnson launched both Johnson Products Co. and Fashion Fair Cosmetics. Just as with his magazine, both product lines became sensational bestsellers to an eager and then ignored consumer group.

Throughout his publishing career, Johnson experienced many highs and few failures. Several additional magazines failed to capture an audience but both Jet and Ebony continued to be the driving force behind his publishing empire. Johnson also began to accumulate numerous radio stations and was said to be instrumental in molding the career of popular Tom Joyner, the popular morning radio host.

Johnson never backed away from controversy or confrontation. He was said to have lived lavishly, a testament to his hard work, often driving a Rolls Royce and on several occasions being mistaken as the driver. Once he wanted to purchase a piece of property but the White owner refused to sell to him based on the color of his skin. Realizing this situation, Johnson hired a White lawyer and Johnson himself donned on a maintenance worker's uniform on the disguise as a building inspector. Upon the negotiations and once the deal was closed, the lawyer and Johnson informed the seller who the true buyer was of the property. In the late 1960s such militant-political groups as the Black Panthers and the Nation Islam began to criticize Johnson's magazine for not reporting on the entire truth regarding bleak conditions experienced by Black Americans. Johnson turned the table and gave himself as the example of success and not the political rhetoric expressed by the organizations.

In due time he would accompany and become friendly with Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon on trips to the continent of Africa. He would serve on the boards of Dillard Department Stores, Chrysler, Conrail, 20th Century Fox, Zenith Electronics and become the principal shareholder of Supreme Life Insurance Company of America. In 1996 then President Bill Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor an American citizen can have bestowed upon them.

In 1963 Johnson was quoted as saying, "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. can talk abstractly about goals for Negroes, but here they could see it." Never truer words have been spoken by someone who truly grasped their own potential. Forbes Magazine would later estimate Johnson's net worth to total $100 million. The Infinite Speculator shares Johnson's opinion that economic prosperity is the solution to poverty.

Obviously Johnson is a hero and role model for the Black community. However the Infinite Speculator believes that if he was asked, Johnson would proudly say he was the American dream personified and how far self-determination can move someone. Only in America Mr. Johnson, only in America.

Cheer for the 30 year

2005-08-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the US Government, through the US Treasury, will reintroduce the 30 year Treasury (T) bond. Why was it ever discontinued? Well that was an event that was heralded during the administration of President Bill Clinton. With interest rates at all time historical lows and the various facets of the technology industry (everything from telecommunications to computer software development roaring), thus creating a greater amount of federal tax revenue, the 30 year T-bond was trading at lower amounts then T-notes (1-10 year ) or shorter- term T Bills (1 year or less). The Clinton administration had long pitched the idea of reducing the country's national defecit and buying back the 'lowest price' form of borrowing (The T Bond). However the flipside is when interest rates do rise as part of a natural reaction for fiscal policy relative to the current and projected economic state, the results can be disasterous when it comes to issuing bonds/notes for financing.

The longer the bond's maturity, the relationship to rate conditions and price of the bond can be tricky. When rates rise, the price of the bond will fall and this relationship is something that is literally set in stone. A 30 year T bond will take in consideration of the demand for the investor, in theory, to forego time horizon risk and add an additional return on the interest rate. However since the rates are locked in with a thirty year time horizon and given the current condition, the issuance of such tools should be adventitious for the issuer. This will cause the debt responsibility to be less of a burden for the federal government. Additionally large scale bondholders such as pensions and mutual funds, along with money markets, will have yet another means of diversification.

The idea that the federal government is defunct if it runs a debt is a preposterous spin of balderdash marketed by often the left in the arena of politics. This is the same group that has attempted to convince the American voter that a minimum wage is suffice to live off for a lifetime along with social security being a suitable retirement plan. It would be nice to see the federal government with a debt of zero and generating a surplus of tax funds. However this will only be accomplished by reduction of the government services, something the left will fight tooth and nail against or a higher tax burden. Currently this comes in the form of the income tax, which is outdated and inefficient. Someday the infinite speculator would be quite tickled if the government instituted a very low fixed income tax rate along with a national sales tax. Current data can tell anyone that Americans have no problem in spending, in fact spending too much given average credit card balances and loans carried by the American consumers, so it would only seem logical that a national sales tax would complement a consumer driven economy. Maybe someday but given the left's love of class warfare in their own political marketing, sadly it will be later rather than sooner.
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The big news for Wall Street in regards to equities is the announcement of the merger between Adidas and Reebok to compete as a rival against shoe giant Nike. The infinite speculator is going out on a limb and predicting the investor will see additional purchases of other sporting goods as these two entities seek to diversify while maintaining an edge in not only the athletic shoe business but complementing goods. One may wish to look into Quiksilver, don't let the lack of the letter C fool you and the ticker is ZQK.

Forgive the infinite speculator if I have touched on this subject before, but Wal Mart's recent fall from retailer giant status and the per share appreciation for Best Buy should be noted. For the past 12 months Best Buy (BBY) has appreciated over 60% while Wal Mart (WMT) has declined to -10%. This should tell the investor looking for a long term trade or a change in consumer preference has begun. The infinite speculator is not endorsing BBY but this is just something to consider.

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Predictably France is once again engaged in preventing Turkey to enter the EU on the basis of Cyprus. Why should France even care about the future of the EU given their vote to turn down the recent constitution? They certainly don't care about their own domestic economy given the government implemented controls such as tariffs, subsidies and various devices of manipulation that only offer a short-term solution. Turkey stands a better chance of foreign investment while France's stagnant economy will only whither on the vine.

That is all for now..
infinitespeculator.com

The yuan and yawn of a policy

2005-07-21T16:46:00.000-07:00

China recently announced the beginning of allowing their currency (yuan) to float freely. While not completely free for now since this declaration, actually just a little peck, the Chinese have once again play a 'one upsman' with global markets. How long will the peg to the US dollar last? This is anyone's guess and I would say most are way off. One has to remember that in the China tomorrow could mean 100 years from now or simply tomorrow, given their cultural view of time and events. The 'honorable' Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York (how does he keep getting re-elected?) proposes trad tariffs and sanctions against the Chinese. This is a clear sign he is not fit for the role of elected representative. How does he propose that cheap goods be imported into the US? Hey Chuck do you want to pay $100 for your next t-shirt?

When and if the Chinese ever allow their currency to truly float it is almost guaranteed to touch the tops of pine trees, thus driving up their cost to engage in business and thus driving prices on their ordinarily cheap products. This will be, your author's opinion, when the Chinese economy pops.

Now let's assume this event plays out-what will be the consequences? China has historically been seen as communist country that liens on controlling their massive population. This worked for sometime during the days of Mao Tse-Tung and subsequent leaders. The government wisened up and gave the People's Republic what they wanted and that was the beginning of capitalism, which started showing signs in the late 1970s. If an economic does develop who is to say the government will not revert back to the same communist policy? In other words 'we tried and see what happened, besides we can't control the masses' mentality would loom.

These are just some things to ponder given what is known about China's history and stages of an advancing economy. I submit the following article from today's Financial Times. Infinitespeculator.com

China ends renminbi's decade-old peg to dollarBy Richard McGregor in Beijing, Edward Alden in Washington and John Burton inSingaporePublished: July 21 2005 12:27 Last updated: July 21 2005 18:59
Chinese Renminbi

China has bowed to intense foreign pressure and growing domestic economicimbalances by replacing its decade-old currency peg to the US dollar with a moreflexible exchange rate system that will be tightly managed by the central bank.
The People's Bank of China, the central bank, announced a 2.1 per centrevaluation on Thursday and the details of a system that will allow the renminbito fluctuate by 0.3 per cent in daily trading.

The PBoC said the exchange rate would be kept "basically stable" and set withreference to a basket of unspecified currencies. The decision is a victory forthe administration of George W. Bush, US president, which had urged Beijing torevalue but also fended off congressional demands for trade sanctions if Chinarefused to move. John Snow, US Treasury secretary, said the action was a firststep towards currency flexibility and noted China's objective of allowing themarket fully to play its role in resource allocation. The change was consistentwith the Chinese government's aim of modifying the currency system gradually, tomain-tain the economy's high growth rate. The aim, the bank said, was to "promote basic equilibrium of the balance ofpayments and safeguard macroeconomic and financial stability".

With China's trade surplus rising sharply and its foreign exchange reservesreaching a record $711bn last month, the bank's ambition of equilibrium in thebalance of payments sug-gested Thursday's revaluation would not be the last.
There was nothing in the PBoC's statement to hinder speculative flows of moneyinto China. The bank said market developments would influence its decisions tomake more adjustments to the renminbi's value.

The US made it clear that it expected the renminbi to continue to rise againstthe dollar. Mr Snow said the US would "monitor China's managed float as theirexchange rate moves to alignment with underlying market conditions". China hopesthe announcement will ease rising tensions with the US and clear the way for asuccessful visit to Washington in September by Hu Jintao, China's president.

The yen jumped sharply against a range of currencies following news that thePeople's Bank of China would revalue the renminbi, following pressure fromleading industrialised countries.
Senator Charles Schumer, a Democrat who had pressed for tariffs on Chineseimports if China did not revalue, said: "It is smaller than we had hoped but toparaphrase the Chinese philosophers, a trip of a thousand miles can begin withthe first baby step." Analysts said the revaluation, although small, and theintroduction of more currency flexibility, would help boost consumption in Chinaand take the steam out of rapidly growing exports, now rising by 30 per cent ayear.

"Both domestic fiscal and monetary policies are likely to gear towardsstimulating domestic demand," said Hong Liang, of Goldman Sachs, in Hong Kong.In an immediate response to the move, Malaysia dropped its currency peg againstthe US dollar and switched to a managed float against a basket of currencies.The new exchange rate against the US dollar will be made known today. Malaysia'sdecision was taken after the spot ringgit market was closed and the currency isnot traded offshore.

EU and the terrorists

2005-07-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

As with the rest of the world I am saddened and shocked at the terrorist attack experienced in London on 7 July 2005. I am, however, optimistic about the future regarding fighting against this global plague that has been brewing for decades. Your author believes that by striking the UK, the terrorist may have played their final hand and much of depends on the less than rosey future of the European Union.

Besides the celebration of London being awarded the future Olympic games, UK PM Tony Blair also is at the helm of the EU and with that comes needed influence in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the London train system. Prior to this, in June 2005, the EU met for a summit and made clear their agenda-economic reform and removal of social programs that primarily benefited France. The main program was agriculture subsidies, something the states still engage in and the fact that these payments do nothing but hold an economy back from full potential.

Another issue facing the EU is the admittance of Turkey, a subject your author has already pontificated about and will spare the reader a rehash. The main culprit for their entry has been France. Why? Well one can imagine the Muslim leaving ghettos outside of Paris for Istanbul. Also Turkey has the ability or at least the desire to manage a sound economy, therefore creating sway and influence over the EU. This could be considered 'imaginative thinking' but at this point, given the predictable chaos and fall-out from the EU, anything is possible.

I digress, with Great Britain at the helm of the EU and France's decision to stand alone, Blair could very well rally behind the admittance of Turkey into the union. This would appease the Muslims. Of course he would be advised that the EU propose that countries agree to fight against the terrorists and make way for additional countries to be admitted.

Putin of Russia has already said more should be done to combat terror. Is it possible that trade negotations could be in the future for Russia and the EU? Possibly centered around oil, given that is one of the few products the Russians are able to present to the free market? Given the fact that the remaining countries seeking admittance into the EU are all former Soviet block nations or remnants of former USSR allies, such a scenario could be possible. For the past 18 months, on more than one incident, Putin has publicy decried that the breakup of the USSR was their 'national tragedy'. Also the reader should keep in mind the Muslim population of Chechnya and the Russia's potential to become a leader against the Muslim terrorists, perceived or legitimate.

Your author freely admits, as stated in the introduction, that these thoughts suffer from over optimism to the highest degree. However, they do appear to be logical and your author firmly believes the terrorist will be dealt a serious blow; ultimately understanding why Great Britain will fight for freedom and why they are 'Great'.

Hype and more hype

2005-07-06T18:31:00.000-07:00

Hope all who read had a wonderful 4th. Mine was spent off the coast of West Palm Beach relaxing about ten miles out.

I'm catching Kramer's Mad Money program on CNBC and just saw a commercial advertising a special report on the hottest real estate markets to invest in. I am fearful this market just may be showing signs of a peak. Property values in Cleveland or Detroit will no longer be able to substain these values. People have been fleeing, along with their wallets, to the southeast and southwest. Property values in Tampa, Phoenix or Houston will be able to maintain their premium levels.

Traditionally property has risen in value, consolidated on a price-level, often slightly dipping and then rising again. This time, however, will Des Moines be able to carry this trend? Naples, FL will be able to do so along with Houston. When CNBC is promoting places to invest, essentially following the herd at this time, an investor must know the time to flee is now.

I read recently where the average combined income in California can no longer afford the mortgage to a median priced home. If all trends begin in California, this should tell the investor something. The crash is coming. Imagine you hold an interest only loan and suddenly you are whacked with rate hikes. What if you cant sell? Imagine the loan backed bonds issued by Fannie Mae. What will happen when mortgage payments aren't sent in a timely manner? What about the bondholders? Fannie Mae and Hong Kong Singapore Bank stand to lose, since they are the biggest players in the secondary market. What about the insurance (P&I) written on these mortgage? Will they too suffer?

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Stocks.....
Oil appears to be reluctantly holding the 60 dollar a barrel level. The US equity markets still look weak. However take note in the specialiy retailers (Best Buy, Bed Bath Beyond, etc) and notice the pricing of Wal Mart stock. My advice, for the two cents its worth, is buy Target. They will certainly grab some of Wal's marketshare if not on quality of products, certainly for customer service given my recent at Wal Mart.

Secondly note the financials, Met Life (MET) is making new highs along with Prudential (PRU). Your author owns Met, Bank of America and the S&P spys financial sector (XLF). Also still sitting on ABB, despite the recent pounding if not for the potential for the company's global growth, much of it now becoming apparent. The other holding is Progressive Energy (PGN), which I will buy more once it breaks out of this $40-46 range.

Stafe safe-
infinitespeculator.com

A sad day for capitalism

2005-06-23T15:12:00.000-07:00

I am saddened to report that the notorious skewed US Supreme Court has ruled in favor of big government and against the rights of land owners. The Infinite Speculator will give his analysis at the botton. Here is the AP news article.

HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writer 49 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Cities may bulldoze people's homes to make way for shopping malls or other private development, a divided Supreme Court ruled Thursday, giving local governments broad power to seize private property to generate tax revenue. In a scathing dissent, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said the decision bowed to the rich and powerful at the expense of middle-class Americans.The 5-4 decision means that homeowners will have more limited rights. Still, legal experts said they didn't expect a rush to claim homes.

"The message of the case to cities is yes, you can use eminent domain, but you better be careful and conduct hearings," said Thomas Merrill, a Columbia law professor specializing in property rights.

The closely watched case involving New London, Conn., homeowners was one of six decisions issued Thursday as the court neared the end of its term. The justices are scheduled to release their final six rulings, including one on the constitutionality of Ten Commandments displays on public property, on Monday.

Justice John Paul Stevens', writing for the majority, said New London could pursue private development under the Fifth Amendment, which allows governments to take private property if the land is for public use, since the project the city has in mind promises to bring more jobs and revenue."Promoting economic development is a traditional and long accepted function of government," Stevens wrote, adding that local officials are better positioned than federal judges to decide what's best for a community.

He was joined in his opinion by other members of the court's liberal wing — David H. Souter,
Ruth Bader Ginsburg' and Stephen G. Breyer, as well as Reagan appointee Justice
Anthony Kennedy' in noting that states are free to pass additional protections if they see fit.
The four-member liberal bloc typically has favored greater deference to cities, which historically have used the takings power for urban renewal projects.

At least eight states — Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, South Carolina and Washington — forbid the use of eminent domain for economic development unless it is to eliminate blight. Other states either expressly allow a taking for private economic purposes or have not spoken clearly to the question.

In dissent, O'Connor criticized the majority for abandoning the conservative principle of individual property rights and handing "disproportionate influence and power" to the well-heeled.

"The specter of condemnation hangs over all property," O'Connor wrote. "Nothing is to prevent the state from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory."

Connecticut resident Susette Kelo and others in the lawsuit pledged to continue their fight. Nationwide, more than 10,000 properties were threatened or condemned in recent years, according to the Institute for Justice, a Washington public interest law firm representing the New London homeowners.

"It's a little shocking to believe you can lose your home in this country," said resident Bill Von Winkle, who said he would keep fighting the bulldozers in his working-class neighborhood. "I won't be going anywhere. Not my house. This is definitely not the last word."

But Connecticut state Rep. Ernest Hewett, who as a city council member approved the development, said, "I am charged with doing what's best for the 26,000 people that live in New London. That to me was enacting the eminent domain process designed to revitalize a city ... with nowhere to go."

New London once was a center for the whaling industry and later became a manufacturing hub. More recently the city has suffered the kind of economic woes afflicting urban areas across the country, with losses of residents and jobs.City officials envision a commercial development including a riverfront hotel, health club and offices that would attract tourists to the Thames riverfront, complementing an adjoining Pfizer Corp. research center and a proposed Coast Guard museum.

New London was backed in its appeal by the National League of Cities, which argued that a city's eminent domain power was critical to spurring urban renewal with development projects such Baltimore's Inner Harbor and Kansas City's Kansas Speedway. Under the ruling, residents still will be entitled to "just compensation" for their homes as provided under the Fifth Amendment. However, Kelo and the other homeowners had refused to move at any price, calling it an unjustified taking of their property.

The case is Kelo et al v. City of New London, 04-108.
______________________________________________________

Now we have a Supreme Court deciding in the best interest of 'economic development' along with local politicians rallying for votes. When has the government, whether it be national, local or state, ever taken credit for spurning economic growth? True the Federal Reserve certainly plays a role with policy but even then if the planets are not inline it will fail in facilitating their desired outcomes.

Lets review New London, CT specifically. The city admits that they are faced, like much of the northeast and midwest, with dismal economic results. Gone are the days of whaling and manufacturing, neither of them to return back to the city. Try as they may, this author cannot foresee any serious growth coming to this area. Demographics for the United States has shown that money and people are moving like herds to the southwest and southeast regions of the country. This certainly was not factored in the judges' ruling. No this was not factored in the decision and local politicians will forever be guaranteed a certain percentage of votes for their reelection bids. The politicians can say and claim what they want, but nothing is going to 'make' XYZ Manufacturing return. Furthermore given the population shift experienced, why would a company want to set up shop in Cleveland, Buffalo, Detroit or a handful of other dismal cities that were once prosperous but have since failed in the arena of global economics.

This is a sad day for the US and the capitalist. I leave the reader with a final thought, when the Silicon Valley sprung up, did they thank the government or did Uncle Sam take credit? I believe that says enough to the reader to see how bizarre the thought process, void of any reality, that currently possesses modern US politics. Infinitespeculator.com

The WTC Memorial & Soros' legacy

2005-06-20T20:38:00.000-07:00

The Infinite Speculator confesses his interest in international markets and economies began when he read George Soros' 'Alchemy of Finance'. Later I realized that the true genius behind The Eagle and later Quantum Fund were found in the likes of Jim Rogers and Stanley Druckenmiller. As Soros pours his funds into such dying causes as MoveOn.org and his own GeorgeSoros.com, your author is reminded of the fact that this man, once heralded in the investment community as a pioneer, is nothing more than a crying socialist. Mr. Soros have you not seen the long-term detremental results from hard line socialism? Mr. Soros you would not have made your billions if it had not been for the United States.

I submit the following from the Wall Street Journal. Thats it for tonight-infinitespeculator.com

The Great Ground Zero Heist
By DEBRA BURLINGAME June 7, 2005; Page A14

On Memorial Day weekend, three Marines from the 24th Expeditionary Unit who had been wounded in Iraq were joined by 300 other service members for a wreath-laying ceremony at the empty pit of Ground Zero. The broken pieces of the Twin Towers have long ago been cleared away. There are no faded flags or hand-painted signs of national unity, no simple tokens of remembrance. So why do they come? What do they hope to see?

The World Trade Center Memorial will break ground this year. When those Marines return in 2010, the year it is scheduled to open, no doubt they will expect to see the artifacts that bring those memories to life. They'll want a vantage point that allows them to take in the sheer scope of the destruction, to see the footage and the photographs and hear the personal stories of unbearable heartbreak and unimaginable courage. They will want the memorial to take them back to who they were on that brutal September morning.

Instead, they will get a memorial that stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the yearning to return to that day. Rather than a respectful tribute to our individual and collective loss, they will get a slanted history lesson, a didactic lecture on the meaning of liberty in a post-9/11 world. They will be served up a heaping foreign policy discussion over the greater meaning of Abu Ghraib and what it portends for the country and the rest of the world.
* * *
The World Trade Center Memorial Cultural Complex will be an imposing edifice wedged in the place where the Twin Towers once stood. It will serve as the primary "gateway" to the underground area where the names of the lost are chiseled into concrete. The organizers of its principal tenant, the International Freedom Center (IFC), have stated that they intend to take us on "a journey through the history of freedom" -- but do not be fooled into thinking that their idea of freedom is the same as that of those Marines. To the IFC's organizers, it is not only history's triumphs that illuminate, but also its failures. The public will have come to see 9/11 but will be given a high-tech, multimedia tutorial about man's inhumanity to man, from Native American genocide to the lynchings and cross-burnings of the Jim Crow South, from the Third Reich's Final Solution to the Soviet gulags and beyond. This is a history all should know and learn, but dispensing it over the ashes of Ground Zero is like creating a Museum of Tolerance over the sunken graves of the USS Arizona.

The public will be confused at first, and then feel hoodwinked and betrayed. Where, they will ask, do we go to see the September 11 Memorial? The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation will have erected a building whose only connection to September 11 is a strained, intellectual one. While the IFC is getting 300,000 square feet of space to teach us how to think about liberty, the actual Memorial Center on the opposite corner of the site will get a meager 50,000 square feet to exhibit its 9/11 artifacts, all out of sight and underground. Most of the cherished objects which were salvaged from Ground Zero in those first traumatic months will never return to the site. There is simply no room. But the International Freedom Center will have ample space to present us with exhibits about Chinese dissidents and Chilean refugees. These are important subjects, but for somewhere -- anywhere -- else, not the site of the worst attack on American soil in the history of the republic.

More disturbing, the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. is handing over millions of federal dollars and the keys to that building to some of the very same people who consider the post-9/11 provisions of the Patriot Act more dangerous than the terrorists that they were enacted to apprehend -- people whose inflammatory claims of a deliberate torture policy at Guantanamo Bay are undermining this country's efforts to foster freedom elsewhere in the world.
* * *
The driving force behind the IFC is Tom Bernstein, the dynamic co-founder of the Chelsea Piers Sports and Entertainment Complex who made a fortune financing Hollywood movies. But his capital ventures appear to have funded his true calling, the pro bono work he has done his entire adult life -- as an activist lawyer in the human rights movement. He has been a proud member of Human Rights First since it was founded -- as the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights -- 27 years ago, and has served as its president for the last 12.

The public has a right to know that it was Mr. Bernstein's organization, joined by the American Civil Liberties Union, that filed a lawsuit three months ago against Donald Rumsfeld on behalf of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was Human Rights First that filed an amicus brief on behalf of alleged "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla, an American citizen who the Justice Department believes is an al Qaeda recruit. It was Human Rights First that has called for a 9/11-style commission to investigate the alleged torture of detainees, complete with budget authority, subpoena power and the ability to demand that witnesses testify under oath.
In fact, the IFC's list of those who are shaping or influencing the content and programming for their Ground Zero exhibit includes a Who's Who of the human rights, Guantanamo-obsessed world:

• Michael Posner, executive director at Human Rights First who is leading the world-wide "Stop Torture Now" campaign focused entirely on the U.S. military. He has stated that Mr. Rumsfeld's refusal to resign in the wake of the Abu Ghraib scandal is "irresponsible and dishonorable."

• Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU, who is pushing IFC organizers for exhibits that showcase how civil liberties in this country have been curtailed since September 11.

• Eric Foner, radical-left history professor at Columbia University who, even as the bodies were being pulled out of a smoldering Ground Zero, wrote, "I'm not sure which is more frightening: the horror that engulfed New York City or the apocalyptic rhetoric emanating daily from the White House." This is the same man who participated in a "teach-in" at Columbia to protest the Iraq war, during which a colleague exhorted students with, "The only true heroes are those who find ways to defeat the U.S. military," and called for "a million Mogadishus." The IFC website has posted Mr. Foner's statement warning that future discussions should not be "overwhelmed" by the IFC's location at the World Trade Center site itself.

• George Soros, billionaire founder of Open Society Institute, the nonprofit foundation that helps fund Human Rights First and is an early contributor to the IFC. Mr. Soros has stated that the pictures of Abu Ghraib "hit us the same way as the terrorist attack itself."

While Gov. George Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and LMDC are focusing their attention on the economic revival of lower Manhattan, there has been no meaningful oversight with respect to the "cash cow of Ground Zero." Meanwhile, the Freedom Center's organizers are quickly lining up individuals, institutions and university provosts with this arrogant appeal: "The memorial to the victims will be the heart of the site, the IFC will be the brain." Indeed, they have declared the World Trade Center Memorial the perfect "magnet" for the world's "great leaders, thinkers and activists" to participate in lectures and symposiums that examine the "foundations of free and open societies." Put less grandly, these activists and academics are salivating at the prospect of holding forth on the "perfect platform" where the domestic and foreign policy they despise was born.

Less welcome to the Freedom Center are the actual beneficiaries of that policy. According to the New York Times, early renderings of the center's exhibit area created by its Norwegian architectural firm depicted a large mural of an Iraqi voter. That image was replaced by a photograph of Martin Luther King and Lyndon Johnson when the designs were made public. What does it mean that the "story of humankind's quest for freedom" doesn't include the kind that is fought for with the blood and tears of patriots? It means, I fear, that this is a freedom center which will not use the word "patriot" the way our Founding Fathers did.
* * *
The so-called lessons of September 11 should not be force-fed by ideologues hoping to use the memorial site as nothing more than a powerful visual aid to promote their agenda. Instead of exhibits and symposiums about Internationalism and Global Policy we should hear the story of the courageous young firefighter whose body, cut in half, was found with his legs entwined around the body of a woman. Recovery personnel concluded that because of their positions, the young firefighter was carrying her.

The people who visit Ground Zero in five years will come because they want to pay their respects at the place where heroes died. They will come because they want to remember what they saw that day, because they want a personal connection, to touch the place that touched them, the place that rallied the nation and changed their lives forever. I would wager that, if given a choice, they would rather walk through that dusty hanger at JFK Airport where 1,000 World Trade Center artifacts are stored than be herded through the International Freedom Center's multi-million dollar insult.

Ground Zero has been stolen, right from under our noses. How do we get it back?
Ms. Burlingame is a member of the board of directors of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation and the sister of Charles F. "Chic" Burlingame III, pilot of American Airlines fight 77, which was crashed at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

ABB and Stanford

2005-06-12T11:31:00.000-07:00

Take a look at this recent bit and the 'big political' statement made by Stanford University:

LATEST NEWS
RSS Feeds Reprints E-mail Alerts Printable Version Email Story
San Francisco Business Times - 1:52 PM PDT Friday
Stanford to divest from companies doing business in Sudan
Stanford University will divest from four companies supporting the Sudanese government, which has been accused of genocide.

The companies are PetroChina Company Ltd. (NYSE: PTR) of Beijing, China; ABB Ltd. (NYSE: ABB), of Zurich, Switzerland; Sinopec, a unit of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (NYSE: SNP) of Beijing, China; and Tatneft (NYSE: TNT) of Tatarstan, Russia.
The university chose to sell its investments in the companies after Sudan was condemned both internationally and in the U.S. Congress for genocide in its western province of Darfur.
The university will send letters to its investment managers recommending that they also divest their holdings in these companies. Stanford will vote its proxies in support of this position.
John Hennessy, Stanford's president, said the actions of the companies contradicted Stanford's principles.

The university did not say how much of an investment it holds in the companies.
Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.
_______________________________________________

Your author has to laugh and so do the holders of ABB. I said I wont make buy and sell recommendations and I'm not going to pitch this stock, although your author is holding a position in it. We here have to wonder if Stanford is against power and running water for the Sudanese? Because by making this statement by selling their position they are in essence saying 'we dont want to be affiliated with ABB because we are opposed to modern utilities and potential job creation'. Stanford University get a grip and truly think of the Sudanese people. History has shown that foreign investment and stable jobs, which foster economic prosperity, have always been the path to stabilization. Your author imagines that the ones crying foul and leading the way in divesting this holding are safe behind their walls and refusing to deal with reality.

Stanford is critical of the fact that United States has not become involved along with other reluctant international forces. Where was this attitude when Sadam Hussein was taken out of power? Were these the same ones decrying that Iraq, given its dismal and deadly state during Hussein's tenure, was a sovereign nation? Now wait a minute, does Sudan fall under the sovereign nation category or is this different. Once again the hypocrisy from the left wanes in loud and clear.

Take a look at the other holdings Stanford will proudly sell to send a message that does not have a listener or interest. Now your author took the liberty of pulling up one and two year charts on these issues. Your author assumes, given the conventional of holding long for ridiculous lengths of time, that Stanford has held these positions for some time. Good thing for Stanford they chose now to sell, they either profited, broke even or lost very little. I have to wonder if they had been down 25-50% in one or all of these holdings, would they be so quick to pull the trigger and slap the bid? Between the statement they made, unintentional or otherwise, regarding the Sudanese people not wanting or needing running water along with job creation, combned with the potential scenario of doubting a plan of action if their holdings had depreciated, I'll let the reader pontificate and analyze. Your author has already expressed his opinion.

Infinitespeculator.com

6/7/05

2005-06-07T15:04:00.000-07:00

The news on the EU, which will ultimately influence the value of the EU currency, just gets worse ras the days go by. UK PM Tony Blair appears to have given up on the EU constitution and has pushed forward with poverty issues that have long been ignored in parts of Africa. The continent has always suffered from poverty and war zones since as long as this author can recall. Some areas in Africa have been prospering economically as peace has become more common in the area. The poverty lies mostly with the leaders and the fact that weather has not been so kind to Africa at times.

This only makes your author wonder why Blair is tackling this issue on the heels of the failed EU constitution. If the problems in Northern Ireland existed regarding the IRA maybe Blair would have been focusing on them instead? What your author is attempting to allude is that just maybe the problems facing much of the Euro economy (bankrupt entitlement programs, bloated social programs, stagnant economies with little productivity and poor overall demographics) are a bigger factor here and just maybe the UK refused to allow France a free ride? In other words some European countries will make it, the UK has shown signs of possibilities as they moved into a services oriented economy, Ireland has become the 'Celtic Tiger' success story and Turkey produces but needs exclusive entry into the Euro market. It is quite obvious the problems of social entitlement have come to roost on France and Italy, along with Germany. All three of them comprises the largest percentage of the overall economy.

____________________________________________________

With the recent passing of bankruptcy reform in the Congress, Washington Mutual has jumped in and paid a modest premium for credit card provider Providian. Is this a signal that other major banking powerhouses such as Citigroup and Bank of America, the latter being in the Infinite Speculator's personal portfolio along with the exchange traded fund XLF, will climb heavily into the personal credit market? There is no doubt that bankruptcy laws were like any break where personal obligation is removed had become a abused. This was evidenced by the skyrocketing bankruptcy statistics.

Check out ABB, last time I mention it.

Got to cut it short-ACJ
infinitespeculator.com

6/3/05 Interesting snag

2005-06-03T16:31:00.000-07:00

The infinite speculator has found this article off of the drudge.com site:

Italy minister says should study leaving euro-paper
Email this StoryJun 3, 3:21 AM (ET)

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi looks on during the Republic day parade in central Rome...Full Image

ROME (Reuters) - Italy should consider leaving the single currency and reintroducing the lira, Welfare Minister Roberto Maroni said in a newspaper interview on Friday.
Maroni, a member of the euro-skeptical Northern League party, told the Repubblica daily Italy should hold a referendum to decide whether to return to the lira, at least temporarily.
He also said European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet was one of those chiefly responsible for the "disaster of the euro."

The euro "has proved inadequate in the face of the economic slowdown, the loss of competitiveness and the job crisis," Maroni said.

In this situation, the answer is to give the government greater power to defend national industry from foreign competition and "to give control over the exchange rate back to the government."

Maroni is a front-line government minister but his views are not believed to be shared by those with far greater sway over economic policy, such as Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi or Economy Minister Domenico Siniscalco.

Maroni cited Britain as a virtuous example of a country whose economy "grows and develops, maintaining control over its currency."

When it was put to Maroni that Trichet on Thursday dismissed the idea that monetary union could break up, the minister replied: "Sure, he is one of those chiefly responsible for the disaster of the euro."

He added Trichet should try to convince hard-pressed small Italian businessmen that the euro was a success.

Maroni also dismissed the idea that Italy's struggling economy could face an Argentina-style financial disaster if it abandoned the single currency.

"We're already heading toward Argentina, that's why we have to change direction," he said.
Three years ago Argentina defaulted on its public debt.

Comment: Finally someone in the Euro's backyard has decided to shed some light on the issue. The bottomline is that to renounced the Euro will have disasterous consequences. The reader should consider how many cash registers, ATM machines and other 'money exchange' devices were re-computed to adjust for the Euro. The costs cannot be easily calculated. However as the Euro is naturally set to decline in value the Central Bank can take steps to devalue the currency. However this too can have disasterous effects on the country economies.

Enjoy the weekend
the infinite speculator

6/1/05 Strike two for the EU

2005-06-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

Today the Dutch voted not to approve of the EU constitution. It is of no surprise to pundits such as your author. While The Netherlands' claimed sovereignty, your author believes that the Dutch economy and relative to other EU members, the strength of their economy does not wish to hold up such countries as Portugal and Italy. If the reader would like to know more about the dismal state of Italy's economy, please click on http://www.infinitespeculator.com and read more about the status under the articles section.

What is more alarming is the estimated 62% turn out exprienced by the Dutch that voted down the proposal. The 62% was an apparent record for the public and this in itself should speak volumes. We as an investment and global 'public' are experiencing a social experiment gone wrong.

Everyone should be asking themselves 'how will this influence my life?'. First of all the Euro currency will decline in value if not based on short speculation but also on the flawed elements your author has laid out for you. The second should be the contribution to America's consumption component of the economy. Like it or not America has become the consumer of the world, buying more than we can stand and not saving a dime in the process. In theory with a declining currency value the producers' products are supposed to be 'cheaper', however when was the last time anyone purchased products produced by France, Italy or Portugal in mass quantity? The EU was on the brink of shutting their doors to the rest of the world with trade barriers against the US and China, now they need the world. The question is, is there world (consumption) for their goods? Many (most) of the EU nations have been slow to change their economies from goods to services, unlike the UK and the success story of Ireland.

The double whammy of France and The Dutch voting down the EU constitution has been felt in the currency markets. Your author has long believed the whole reasoning behind the strength gained in the Euro against the US Dollar was based partially on fundamentals and partially on perception, with hope being a backdrop. Its is true that many EU members are no longer debtor nations. However, with the EU and the guidelines set forth by the designers with it culminating to the launching of the Euro, the only reason they are no longer debtors is because of these regulations. Now let us be honest here, did Greece ever abide by these rules or even Italy? No, in fact neither did Germany and France, but time and time again they were given a threat and then a pass. Nearly 70% of the EU economy is built upon three countries-France, Italy and Germany and on numerous occasions they have continued to violate the pacts set forth. What is the point of being an economy with public debt management and inflation in check when at the time these (and others) elements are violated and there is no enforcement arm? This is a question that the EU council has refused to fully address and no answer means a lack of responsibility. The investor should be able to see a basket unsound economies that are currently steered in the direction of politics and not on fundamentals.

Your author has heard the following argument, 'but infinite speculator why is the EU so much stronger than the US dollar?'. My reply: As recent as late 2001 the US dollar was very strong relative to globally traded currencies. It became so strong that the US experienced a moment of being uncompetitive and your author believes that fear struck many a currency trader and bank. This caused speculation in the overall US economy and the Sept 11 terrorist attacks cannot be discounted. Your author makes no defense for the fundamentals of the US economy-the awful trade defecit, the dismal public debt and planned tariffs. However the US economy is changing and has been changing. Less than 20% of the workforce is unionized and manufacturing is on the way out, replaced by technology, skilled services and pushing forward onto the 'next big thing' that will heat the economy.

As of this date the Euro currency have sold off against the US Dollar, Australian Dollar, the Japanese Yen and despite it being pegged to the USD, the Chinese Yuan. Watch for more selling to occur and a potentital economic catastrophe in the EU economy zone.

Thanks for reading
ACJ
Infinitespeculator.com

May 29, 2005-France officially rejects

2005-05-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

Found this on the Drudge site. It says what I have been stating all along. The article hits on all the relevant points and of course the Turkey factor. ACJ Infinitespeculator.com

France rejects EU treaty, Europe faces crisis
By Timothy HeritageReutersSunday, May 29, 2005; 4:06 PM

PARIS (Reuters) - France overwhelmingly rejected the European Union's constitution in a referendum on Sunday, pollsters' projections showed, plunging the EU into crisis and dealing a possibly fatal blow to a pact designed to make it run smoothly.

The heavy defeat dreaded by EU leaders could weaken France in the 25-member bloc, stall European integration and unsettle some financial markets. It also wounds President Jacques Chirac two years before presidential and parliamentary elections.

Projections by three polling groups based on partial results from the referendum suggested around 55 percent of voters had opposed the EU's first constitution, designed to simplify decision-making following the Union's enlargement last year.

Such a heavy defeat in a country that has long been one of the main pillars of the EU reduces the chances of a repeat vote, which French leaders had ruled out anyway before the referendum.
Many voters wanted to punish Chirac and his conservative government over unemployment that is at a 5-year high of 10.2 percent and other economic problems. Other critics were angry at what they saw as France's declining role in the Union.

"I voted 'No' in all conscience, having read the text, due to the lack of will to solve Europe's number one problem today, which is unemployment," said Armel Bompart, 52, a civil servant in Strasbourg, home to the European parliament.

First official results were due around 2100 GMT after people flocked to vote in fine weather following a fierce campaign that divided France and became a debate on the government's economic record and the state of France, as well as the future of Europe.

Two-thirds of voters had cast ballots three hours before the last polling stations closed, the Interior Ministry said.

Chirac, 72, said before the vote he would not quit even though opinion polls showed his gamble on a referendum rather than a safe ratification vote in parliament was likely to fail.
However, he is expected to dismiss unpopular Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. Interior Minister Dominique de Villepin leads the race to replace him ahead of Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie and center-right party leader Nicolas Sarkozy.

EU LEADERS FACE CRISIS
The constitution was signed by EU leaders last October in Rome after long and tough negotiations and requires the approval of all member states to go into force. Nine countries have approved it and is intended to take effect in 2006.

EU officials said before the vote the treaty could be doomed if a large majority of voters in France rejected it and Dutch voters threw it out in a vote on Wednesday. Dutch ministers urged voters on Sunday to ignore the result in France.

EU leaders are expected to urge other member states to continue the ratification process despite the rejection by a country that has traditionally been the motor driving EU integration alongside Germany.

If the constitution does not survive, the EU will continue to operate under its current rules. But the system is widely seen as unworkable for a Union intent on enlarging further, and voting could soon become paralyzed.

French leaders have repeatedly ruled out a repeat vote and dismissed suggestions it could be renegotiated, although they say it would help make Europe and France stronger in the face of economic threats from other countries such as China.

Opponents want the EU to redraft the treaty and improve it. They say the charter enshrines economic policies that have failed to stop the loss of jobs to low-wage economies, including countries outside the EU.

Concerns over the constitution's fate have contributed to the euro's recent weakness and economists said before the vote that the currency could fall further in the event of a "No."
The impact of the French rejection could also be felt on the Turkish lira because it could be interpreted as a protest against Turkey's efforts to join the Union.
© 2005 Reuters

May 27, 2005...China and America.

2005-05-27T22:00:00.000-07:00

News on your author's mind is when will China's economy pop. In 2004 there was $2.6 billion in foreign investment in the country and for the moment the economy still grows. A nice note was to see the recent boost in America' GDP, however this was completely mitigated by increased consumer and three year low savings rate. I have often wondered why if Americans are so upset about the outsourcing of jobs and goods production to China, why not stop buying their products that you really dont need and sticking the funds in the bank?

Back to China...
The rumbles of the world watchers was not if but when China will remove the 8.28 Yuan peg to the US dollar. Your author has noticed this mention continues to creep up in the news with repetiveness. Imagine what will happen when the Chinese central bank decides to allow their currency to float. It will appreciate in leaps and bounds probably like nothing that has been seen in the last 100 years of any speculation with the exception of the 1920s US stock market rallies or the dot com boom of the late 1990s. The currency will force the Chinese production and output to be uncompetitive on simple pricing of goods. Then the viewer will see the first pop in the economy. It will be during this predictable downturn that your author will buy into Chinese shares because like it or not, China is here to stay.

Thanks for reading...
Enjoy the Memorial Day weekend and remember that some gave all.

ACJ
InfiniteSpeculator.com

May 25, 2005

2005-05-25T16:34:00.000-07:00

The biggest news for the week on wall street isn't stem cell research and Congress attempting to put forth initiative to advance laws for the industry. True this is significant but not as apparent as the $9.4 billion buy-out of energy supplier PacifiCorp by Berkshire Hathaway. Warren Buffet, Berkshire CEO, obviously is seeing the same element of truth as your author. This factor being that energy will continue to be a non conventional growth stock. The cash flow and consistent growth the energy sector has experienced is quite obvious along with the perceived inflationary hedge trait.

Previously your author has recommended ABB Ltd. (ABB) for review. The company engages in the installation and maintenance of utility suppliers. The recent news on the company has been a series of acquisitions of assets and like companies that has (predictably) not garnered much attention. As the demand for energy outpaces the supply in several areas of the world, Asia specifically, ABB is poised for continual growth. Additionally the average daily volume for the past several weeks has either met or surpassed the average daily volume for the trailing three months. The latter indicating that institutional money has been coming in droves and picking up stock. If this issues crosses over $7 per share your author will accumulate an additional stake.

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Another buzz that everyone appears to have on their mind is the pricing of homes and real estate in general. How much longer can this continue, how much appreciation is left before the bubble pop? There is no doubt that the speculation bubble is in full pursuit and has for quite some time. The problem can first be seen in the historically low rates. Banks are competing with a frenzy for business and with each corner the credit analysis involved for perspective borrowers appears to be lessening. The proof is with the newest gem in mortgage brokering, the interest only loan for 12 months and monthly P&I payments beginning in the 13th month. Originally the interest only phase was to allow a building phase for developers. However this type of lending has been opened to the average mortgage borrower. With every rate hike by the Fed Reserve comes a rush to book financing. Now since the interest only phase is based on the prime rate with usually several 100 basis points floating, what would occur if the Fed decided to engage in a series of rate hikes. More importantly what happens in the 13th monh when there are no immediate buyers?

Two news articles of noteworthy that are marching inline with my thesis is the first that came across the AP recently. The article more or less indicated that only 20% of married couples living in California could adequately afford the median priced home. I'm of the belief that many trends, particularly ones in technology, begin in California. How long will this indicator take before it reaches the east coast?

The second article detailed that a major concern for all 50 states is how to properly evaluate these properties for the purposes of assessment? The mileage rate, the rate used to calculate the property tax, has been grossly lagging as of recent. Will local government reevaluate or will they miss out on capturing these dollars? Will Rogers once said, "Buy land, God doesn't make anymore of it". On a very long term analysis I have a tendency to agree with this statement except when caution is thrown to the wind. I predict by the close of 2005 it will be closer to a sellers' market.
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On an international level the biggest news (still) is France's lack of enthusiasm to sign the new EU constitution. This has also been inappropriately factored in the admittance of Turkey to the organization. Whether France or Portugal would like to admit it or not, they need Turkey. Certainly Turkey needs immeidate access to European markets but how much longer will Germany (an exporter) go along with shoring up the dying economies of Italy and Portugal? Additionally the author would suggest another look at the UK's economy. Following the closing of the last UK auto maker, Rover, none of the Queen's citizens batted an eye. Regions of the UK continue to prosper as others falter. The social programs are being overhauled, which may provide a glimmer of hope and hope is what will be holding the eocnomy of the entire EU in the future.

Watch for economy of the Phillipines to be firming up. China was long cheered or criticized for monoplozing the outsourcing of jobs. It now appears the architect of these actions are now outsourcing or will be outsourcing to the Phillipines. The country itself, barring the rampid links to terrorism, can do it. The population is there and the education levels vary. Whether they have totally shaken off the remnants of the government corruption, which truly were shown in the Marcos regime, remains yet to be seen. The author would suggest lightening any investments in Australia. This is a long overdue warning that has gone largely ignored. The continent is too reliant upon their Asian neighbors, in particular China and your author believes you will see at least a curbing for that region.

Brazil still appears to be the most promising for South America. The government has been for several months now hiking rates up to curb inflation. Additionally early trade talks with China remain positive. However the bubble burst will hit the land of the rising sun, only because nothing lasts forever and only then will your author rush to buy into their country.

Thanks for reading....
ACJ
infinitespeculator.com

Week of May 16-20

2005-05-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

Well as of this date, France's Jacques Chirac has yet to sign the EU constitution and Italy is still bleeding from job losses being exported to China. Each passing week your author grows more certain and with greater conviction that the EU and Euro are slipping out of control. The idea of a whole EU as a major factor in global economics is becoming less believable and rebellion will be on the way. T0ny Blair and the Labour Party have slid into the captain's chair at Number 10 Downing Street London. As far as a US ally, everyone seems to love Blair and his colleagues. As far as economic problems and social costs facing the UK, not even a team of Thatcher and Churchill can save the inevitable doom.

Some big news for the States-a recent report, now finally printed in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), states that only 20% of the married couples qualify for the median priced home in California. You hear that all trends begin in NYC or California, is this a possible battle cry for the rest of the US? It has to stop, all booms whether they are stock, commodities or land come to an end. The question is not-Will it? but rather When? It appears that every time the Fed raises their rates, everyone rushes out to refinance an existing mortgage or attempt to gain funding for first time mortgages. Chairman Greenspan as of today has warned (again) the US Congress to place limits on the mortgage amounts that can be held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. While the two merely pool home mortgages together and place them accordingly to their respective tranches (maturity timing) to form bonds, it is the US govt who backs these instruments.

While Greenspan is justified in his warnings, my question is Why now? Why is it a problem now and not yesterday? The mammoth sized Fannie Mae should never had been allowed to grow to their present size. Some would argue 'But infinite speculator, if there had not been a Fannie Mae, banks would be forced to hold these mortgages and limit the number of homebuyers'. Well then so be it but this ponzi scheme style function (passing the buck/risk off to 'someone' else) falls right inline with post 1950s thinking of the average American consumer. Now its only starting to bite us. Sadly after the predictable fallout in the post housing boom of 2002-05, banks will have to tighten down on such things as interest only mortgages and home equity lines of credit. I have never quite understood the idea of using debt to pay off debt. "Better to go to bed supper-less then wake up with debt"-Benjamin Franklin. We need him now more than ever.

All economic indicators, at least for the past several months, are positive or flat, which is always a welcomed sign. Commodity prices are starting to slowly decline but by no means are going to the toilet anytime soon. This year will be a flat year I predict with a possible easement in 06.

In the political world Bush is too busy focusing on Putin's words or a crazed Muslim to address the immigration problem of California. Maybe this issue is too hot for either party to address, which if true is very sad about current class of clowns. If Bush did put his foot down his approval ratings would sky rocket. The American society and voting public did not care about Abu Grahib prison scandal nor the questionable report detailing Bush's armed service record, pre Blog exposing it was a fraud. They do care about things like Homeland Security (by virtue that we still have such an illegal immigration problem tells me the program is a joke) and illegal immigrants who cant speak English. While we still subsidize sugar cane growers so we can have the privellege to pay for costlier sugar, GM and Ford must find solutions to their problems. Why cant they receive subsidy money to develop more fuel efficient autos or cars that use alternative fuel? Oh yeah the sugarcane people, an industry that thrives in impoverished area of the US and does not produce a long term positive impact for the local economies. Yet our government cant address or wont address the estimated 25% California poulation that is here illegally.

Despite the nasty comments uttered by Mexico's prime minister V. Fox (paraphrasing) "Mexicans are prideful and hardworking people who take jobs that even Blacks dont want", there is truth to this statement. The illegals fill a void that we here wish not to engage in. I have to wonder when did we become so lazy? Are we as bad as the French? Watching Jesse Jackson stick his two cents is pretty hillarious. Has anyone informed the 'reverend' that Fox could probably care less what he thinks?

Thats it for this week....thanks for reading.

Week of 5/2/05-5/6/05

2005-05-06T20:24:00.000-07:00

This is the first entry for my blog. I am actually going to pitch my site infinitespecualtor.com, which is currently being fine-tuned. It is a free site with the hopes of a free flow of information exchange for matters devoted to social changes, demographic trends, and political strife that may influence the financial markets. You will also see essays on various subjects as they relate to investing and trading of securities. It will also have a blog located on it but it is my hope to have both of them (this one & the other) mimick each other.

There is quite bit of news to analyze this week. The most obvious being the downgrading of Ford (F) and Gen Motors (GM) credit. This was a predictable event. Ford had previously been warned that a downgrade was likely. Likewise the fall of these two auto giants has been coming now for over 20 years. It is no surprise or should not be, given the Japanese competition and management devoted to appeasing unions as opposed to delivering a fine product at a reasonable price.

The implications of these actions will be felt mainly in the corp. bond market. Ford is the largest issuer of debt and I am sure GM is not too far behind them. What will the implications be? Only time will tell but I would imagine this will have a severe downturn in the overall fixed income markets.

The next key event for the fixed income market is the fed govt flirting with the idea of reintroducing the 30 yr. T bond. It was a blunder that the previous Clinton admin felt they should begin to buy this back. Of course that resulted in a flush of money into the US economy and coupled with historically low rates, caused the economic headache the US has experienced since 2000 or so. Please bring back the 30 yr and do buy back the instruments with a shorter maturity, this will cause the natl debt to be less in the long run (given historical figures).

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I would suggest everyone to pick up an issue The Economist and read the article on page 50 in the European section. This article states some of the same ideas regarding the EU and particularly the Euro currency. I (I'm not alone) for one believe that by 2010 the Euro will no longer exist. If it does you will see the country currency return and trade alongside with the Euro. This would be inline with the current balderdash socialist running the EU now. Budget deficits not inline within the acceptable standards relative to GDP? No problem, we will just change the rules! France you have too much inflation so we fine you, then we turn around and remove the fines. Oh yes the Euro and EU, throw a bunch of dying economies (with the exception of Ireland) together along with bad age demographics (except for Ireland) and viola! Now take out the hard money types that originally designed the plan and replace them with socialists. No wonder they (EU) sit on their hands about admitting Turkey in, the balance of power and sphere of influence will suddenly shift. Oh yes it is all about human rights at least thats what the socialists tell the media.
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As the conventional thinking punders when the next tech rally will be, may I suggest utilities, oil and tobacco. Microsoft's less than rosey release is only a predictor for future events. Holding CG, FPL, PGN, ABB and DOM. Also long on HMC and holding XFL for a contrarian play.

Thanks
ACJ
infinitespeculator.com