Geopolitics, China, and poisoned pet food.

In comment to Susan's thoughtful letter, a raw diet (www.brighteyespet.com ) is great for those who have the time and income to manage it. It really does result in a very healthy pet. For those without the resources to undertake such an effort, Innova (below) makes a good alternative. Often overlooked are acupuncture and chiropractic for pets. Both are very useful, especially for athletic and/or arthritic pets.

The pet food tragedy takes home the point that global trade requires careful management and stewardship. eColi in spinach, bird flu, mad cow, rabbits in Australia.. this is not a new story, but this time it results from a country that has been granted every license to bend the rules for nigh on 30 years. It is time to revisit this relationship, assess the consequences or benefits experienced thus far, and speculate on the future fall out should we carry on the current course of trade policy.

Today in China, a bright ray of hope emanated to the world press. From China, where a student was run over by the tank in Tienanmen Square, where riots are quelled with real bullets, where labor issues are resolved with torture, jail time, and executions, I was simply amazed to hear the news. It was like the Dr. Seuss book where the highways were built over the two immovable protagonists (reference please?). A lone woman has protected her home from demolition for two years now.. in China. Hard to believe. I bring this to the fore, as the rest of this article would seem a bit grim without the inspiration of what can be done in the face of terrible odds.

While this tragedy has happened to our best friends, our pets, people may also wish to concern themselves about our trade involvement with China in general. There is not much stopping this same effect from happening to our human friends. The fact that our government allows China to sell products into our country while China artificially lowers its currency versus our own, is killing us. To further discount their Costs of Good Sold into our own markets, China gets huge breaks compared to the USA and Europe with the poor labor, legal, banking, and environmental controls. The Feb 27th market plummet is directly related to the poor framework for investments and reporting in China. Adding fuel to the bonfire, our own CEO's have even been identified as lobbying against improving labor standards in China, which directly contradicts the spiel we were being given last year in executive management school about globalization improving the status of workers and societies. Yes, the source is a bit liberal for my liking, but this is not about left or right spins on rolling pork barrels, it is about national security and global economic stability in the context of a "free" world. In many ways, I am optimistic about the result of outsourcing with India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and perhaps even Vietnam. China is another animal altogether from many perspectives.

One quickly sees why we are able to buy are Chinese goodies from places like Wal-Mart, Target, and Home Depot so cheaply. After all, China is the same country which sent between 7 and 9 divisions of troops over the frozen Chosin, where my grandpa McCarthy, being there shot twice, with Marine Fox company held the pass for the Marines retreat to the sea . Thousands of Chinese men and boys were sent to their deaths. The much smaller Marine force took heavy casualties, but held the pass owing to two main factors.. pure guts, and the Chinese sent their own in under equipped. For the Chinese, attrition is a fact of life. A few years ago, China relocated up to 1 .9 million people from their homes and obliterated the 3 Gorges, the cradle of their 5000 year heritage along with 11100 unstudied archaeological sites, for a power dam.

Invading Tibet, they forced pacifist monks to shoot each other, razed over 1800 monasteries, and raped whoever they could get their hands on. Anytime you think the US has "moral issues", just spend 5 minutes with google and read about China. You will feel a lot better about our own "quality". The "Great Wall" was built on 100% slave labor, and is a monument to human suffering, though that point appears lost to most visitors. China could easily, if it suited their national interests, and they are truly totalitarian communists, put their entire nation back onto bicycles within two weeks at the point of a gun.

China has the world's largest standing military at 2,840,000 soldiers, double our own, the second largest, at 1,200,000. We tend to publicly downplay North Korea's power, China's erstwhile ally. Yet North Korea, maintains the 5th largest at 1,055,000 troops and our troops actively engage them from our forward base at the 38th. Simple math shows us that a simple agreement between these two politically aligned neighbors would create a military 3.24x our own. As if they are not already large enough, they are taking all the money from the stuff we buy at "Wal-Mart/Target" and upgrading their infrastructure and have increased spending and have in effect destabilized the Asia-Pacific region as a result. Furthermore, they do not have to put up with a congress that can rein in the executive branch, much less parents and veterans that can sue the pentagon or camp at the president's ranch with TV reporters.

In other words, China has free reign to do whatever they please ( Index of Economic Freedom assessment) compared to our own free society. Never mistake that the bright lights you seeon CNNi in Shanghai are a baroque potempkin village that we have fostered for the past 30 years, in hopes that capitalism would win over communist ideology. Instead, we have financed the communist reinforcement of thier military powerbase, created a veneer of Chinese capitalism that is bankrupting industries in the US and Europe, have handed over the Panama Canal (security is managed by ex-Chinese military employer Hutchinson Wampoa LTD (the firm which congress tried to implicate with the Clinton Chinese campaign funds scandal), our shipping, energy, and materials rates have skyrocketed, and we with the UK gave them Hong Kong, one of the world's largest economies, on a silver platter. We even built them a $4b new airport and highway bridge as a parting gift.

We (the US as well as the free world) will be paying the piper and soon, given that in 2001 the Euro cost us $.83, and now it is around $1.47 for 1 Euro. To date, the Euro has gained 92% since 2001. Why haven't we felt the sting in terms of inflation? China has kept its currency pegged lower artificially and unilaterally. Our government, the politicians, has been well aware of this fact for at least 4 to 5 years. "so long as China maintains controls on capital outflows, runs surpluses on both the overall current and capital accounts in its balance of payments, and accumulates international reserves in large amounts, there is a compelling case that the Chinese currency, the renminbi (RMB), is significantly undervalued. Our preliminary estimates suggest that the undervaluation of the RMB is on the order of 15 to 25 percent...." China's Exchange Rate Regime Testimony before the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology Committee on Financial Services US House of Representatives Washington, DC October 1, 2003

We allow this to persist because according to the International Herald Tribune, "The slip in inflationary concerns can be traced, in part, to China, according to some analysts. A few months ago, investors were worried that a surge in commodity prices, reflecting demand from China's booming economy, would stoke inflation. Now the recent plunge in the prices of industrial commodities and China's ability to make low-cost goods that Americans like is seen as downward pressure on prices. " China has the bull by the horns and by the tail, and we are just waiting for the coup de grace.

China, as of 2002, became the second largest bond holder of US treasury Bonds. While contemporary thought comforts itself with the idea that China would never do anything to put its own investment at risk, that amount in 2002 was 1/4 of China's foreign exchange reserve. alone would wreck the US, and take Europe down with us shortly thereafter. Enter China to rebuild the world economy with its own version of the Marshall plan. Well if you want an example of how they rebuild economies, read up on how they "integrated" their brother Tibet in the 1950 and 1960's.

So, it is sad our fine and loyal friends had to be the first ones to catch the fallout of this imbalance of trade policy enforcement, but I am sure it is only the first round of events.

...back to the topic..
Meanwhile, a good alternative if you cant afford the raw diet, which is a great way to go otherwise, is Innova Evo. Nothing but good meat in it, and some good veggies. Costs about the same as Eukanuba but is a whole lot better for them.

Moisture 10.0 %
Protein 42.0 %
Fat 22.0 %
Fiber 2.5 %
Calories 1929 Kcal/lb
Calories 4243 Kcal/Kg
Calories 537 KCals/Cup
Ingredients:
Turkey
Chicken
Turkey Meal
Chicken Meal
Potatoes
Herring Meal
Chicken Fat
Natural Flavors
Egg
Garlic
Apples
Carrots
Tomatoes
Cottage Cheese
Alfalfa Sprouts
Dried Chicory Root
Taurine
Lecithin
Rosemary Extract
Vitamins/Minerals
Viable Naturally Occurring Microorgani sms

Click here to compare a competitor's product with information about Natura's Innova EVO Dog

Why Atlanta Can Ultimately Succeed

As a long time Atlanta native, I visited the zoo as a child, as did my parents, grandparents, great-grandparents. Our family has seen the zoo evolve from an small offering to a medium sized zoo that rapidly became obsolete in the 70’s to restoration in the 80’s to a national level zoo. That it costs around $50 for 2 adults and one child to visit is an affront to my sensibilities, given that comparable zoos, like St.. Louis are even free. The zoo announced today they may wish to leave Grant Park. Why not use the money to build up a mediocre zoo, increase accessiblity, and reduce ticket prices? This mentality and lack of good sense is par for the course in our city.

Two other obvious locations have been discussed. Lakewood is a relatively dangerous area. Just ask anyone who has a steel cage around their AC unit next their house down there, or had their copper piping removed while on vacation. I have personally talked with officers on roadblocks to pick up would-be Johns and prostitutes at Cleveland Avenue one exit south. This is a regular and ongoing operation.

The other is Ft. Mac – with Bush’s increasing the troops, primarily in the Army, we may just see Mac being reopened. After all if was 2nd CenCom behind Cheyenne Mtn and the Pentagon. They have a lot invested in that facility. However, this might be a good spot, as it is easy to find off Lakewood Freeway, easy to secure, and does have at least one direct rail stop and another nearby. But this does not address the real matter of the 100's of millions it will take to relocate when the city desparately needs to fund basic services like Police cars, pensions, and firemen's salaries

The simple solution would be to maximize the space they have, propose an attractive garage facility along Boulevard that sinks into the slope so that the road elevation can only see the roof of the garage. Then on the roof, have tennis courts, inline hockey, pavilions, roller skating, or any number of fun offerings. Then open up the other lot to more handicap spots.

Given that the City of Atlanta is still not doing very well economically despite the past 3 years of operating in the black is a function of the city choosing to blow money on things it really could have reallocated more wisely elsewhere.

The area has a long history of political animosity and brinksmanship among the 15-20 municipalities. We also have a way of stopping in the race to pick up the Golden Apple, much like our namesake Atlanta did when she lost that fabled race. Shortsighted, reactionary, quick and dirty planning characterizes the majority of the decisions made at many levels of Atlanta area society. This is why Atlanta is footing the entire multibillion$ bill for the sewer repairs, which tripled our property taxes in 2003. Our ex-mayor was convicted of criminal fraud, but we could not muster a jury to deliver more than a slap on the wrist to him.

It is why the other counties will not let MARTA in. It is why we are top 5 in pollution and drive times, but continue to build 1950’s style subdivisions in East Bumble amplifying sprawl. It is why we are going to spend $billions on 27 lane I-75 expansion, farm it out for private management (Drexel Burham Lambert), but we cant even get a train to run from Atlanta to Athens to make the trip safer and cheaper for our children. God only knows how many kids have died on GA316 since the $4million rail feasibility study was funded for the Athens rail line in 1994. Give me $4m and in 6 months we would have a bar car, wifi on the other cars, and GT and UGA students designed stops along the way. "I never leave Atlanta without being amazed at the monumental screwups I see from the air," said [former Georgia governor Roy] Barnes (AB '69, JD '72). "If we neglect and allow nature to just take its course, we will become a state of strip malls and mistakes."

It is why there is only ONE interstate off ramp to visit Atlantic Station, which at that time was the nations largest development ($2.2B). The other approaches all require driving through a residential neighrborhood, literally. To drive to IKEA, the worlds largest at 360,000sf, you MUST go through a neighborhood. It is why Atlantic Station has NO STATION, though it is 200 yards from Amtrak, a joke of a station, and 250 yards from the MARTA rail line. Bankhead in the ‘hood has a multimillion dollar station with its own rail spur. Atlantic Station has a bus lane. Brilliant. IT is why MARTA never has serviced the Braves Stadium or the zoo, but it sure serviced Grady Homes. It is why I-20 was rammed through several otherwise vibrant neighborhoods, dividing them, and eventually destroying their values, while there was a viable corridor that runs along Dealk Avenue that could have linked Decatur, Atlanta, Avondale, Lithonia. and Stone Mountain. It is why you can’t even get out to Stone Mountain on the train. There are tracks, they are not in use, and still NO train.

We had trolleys until the late 40’s that ran from Union Point to Decatur, Downtown to Marietta Square. Today, gridlock, waste, frustration, and expense. No trolleys. No alternative means for anyone to get anywhere. Gridlock and hassle.

It is why we demolished the Atlanta Fulton County Statium where the Beatles played, and Hank Aaron hit his famous home runs. We could have had a world class level soccer team based in the stadium. At the center and cross roads of the entire city, it nothing more than a heat generating waste of a field with no other economic value than some parking fees. It is why the Georgia Dome is slated for demo in 2015 and we are going to enjoy a brand new one in 2016. It is why Mayor Franklin referred to the Beltline as the 100 year project, while Salt Lake City and Denver have discussed, master planned, and BUILT there own rail systems in the time we have been talking about doing it. It is why we have interstate billboards asking citizens to report Airport Corruption. It is why if you get a ticket by APD, you have only a hearing date, no time of hearing, nor location. Due process requires all three items be present. It is why Underground Atlanta is losing $7.5m/year, but GSU is spending $1B on new construction on student housing, and never even considered overahauling Underground as a residential area for students. All the bars are out of business there for the most part, and with World of Coke relocating to Centennial Park, there will be little reason for people to run the gauntlet of the street panhandlers to visit Underground. It is why the Zoo and the old and new Braves stadium are not serviced by MARTA rail, meanwhile in 1975, MARTA demo’s a huge chunk of the then viable Underground Mall, leading to its demist 3 years later.

It is why APS has the highest drop out rate in the region. It is why the test lower. I went to Northside High, and in those days it was pretty good (1985). Why did the city let it fall into the hands or cronies with their hands in the till? Good question.

So if the Zoo is going to move, and if it wants to move, no amount of comments on a blog are going to affect their decision much less determine whether the enormous expense would be better allocated on reinforcing there current position so they can increase access through lowered ticket prices and better educational experiences which it does lack except for the most basic informational signage.

My opinion is that Atlanta, despite all of this, still manages to overcome through strength of character, tenacity, and perseverance. We have good climate, clean water, abundant land, good roads, good hospitals, strong banks, and a vibrant business community. We have everything a city needs to grow like Kudzu! The only hinderance is our personal attitudes and the character of those we put in office. We really must take this city back into good management. Mrs. Franklin has done as good a job as could be hoped for, given the devastation she inherited from the Campbell administration. Let’s build on this capital, and in the next 15 years carefully decide how we build the world’s next great world-class city. We will need transit. We will need MUCH better schools. We will need cooperative mindset and unified development codes and standards. We will need third party independent audits of government processes and controls. We will need more referendums. In short, we need everyone who lives here to put aside their pettiness, find something to work on, and get moving.

Reindeer Stuck in the Mud Santa was all dressed up and no place to snow.

A few years ago, I visited Rovaniemi Finland and Pyhatunturi, Europe's northernmost ski resort. It was summer. The aspens quaked, the sun did an odd route through the sky, and the weather was beautiful. We stayed in a log cabin, and had a grand time with the Italians in the next cabin.

Fast forward... to December 2006. I just came across an article about British tourists, who go there with their kids to do the authentic Santa Claus thing. Apparently, Santa Claus' legend emanates from near this town.

No snow. Not a flake. Some mud. Some slush. That is all the White Christmas, little Johnny and Jane Britain is going to enjoy in Finland this year. This.. in a place where the airport officials freely givespecial cold weather garments for tourists arriving ill-prepared to take on the brutal cold. You get a free suit at the airport. It is THAT cold..normally.

It's getting hot in here people!

Break out the shorts, hotdogs, and sun tan oil.. we were going skiing.

I had the idea to get a bunch of people I had just met during my Europe trip together, rent a chalet in the alps somewhere, and enjoy one of those epic ski adventures in Europe where the resorts are literally around 100 times larger than the ones here at home..

So I log in and start checking the snow stats... I thought my little snow checker app was malfunctioning.. 22cm here.. 33cm there.. seriously poor numbers...

It is so bad that below 1500 meters altitude, German and Austrian banks are no longer extending business loans to ski resorts. (BBC UK)

In Utah, when you get such a warm fall, usually it bodes well for January. Well all that common sense is obsolete. It has just blown in and kept on coming.. great for tourists.. bad news for the patrolers out there blowing the avalanches before you wake up in the AM.

Wengen, home of James Bond movies, world class ski events, and typcial swizz style skiing, has.. 5.8" inches total. Count 'em.. 5.8 inches. The summits at Kleine Scheidegg or Männlichen
both boast a whopping 50cm.. about 2 feet. Whoo hoo. *a-hem*.

Les Arcs.. known for high altitude skiing is just pitiful as well. at 2000m they have about 1.5 feet... TOTAL. They have a good historical chart of the snowfall month by month, year by year..
That should send you to bed with a globally warm fuzzy.

In any case, if you are a masochist.. just have fun with this Snow Reporter site hosted by Salomon.. one stop shopping for the global skier.

Meanwhile, I am going to mow the grass on the ski slopes.. just to say I could do it in January.

Heads in the sand. US versus the world in Global Warming

This is a quick one. I thought something was different when I was traveling. Folks in Europe take Global Warming and human causality as read.

We at home in the US are truly the march of the fevered and clueless., trucking around in our monster SUV's, taking up to $25,000 first year tax credits for vehicles OVER 6000 lbs GVW, during a war on oil and terrorism... and no one here seems to think they are unpatriotic for driving a gas guzzler. In fact, last year, the GAS GUZZLER TAX was repealed! (See my other blog entry..)

So.. here we are with our heads in the middle eastern sand... just waiting for the inevitable boot to connect with our proud rear-ends that are pointed sky ward.

Don't believe me, then believe the International Herald Tribune and Novartis.

Jes' the facts ma'am.

Question: When are we going to stand up and tell the emperor that he is naked and has no new clothes? Oh, I guess that would take some self-confidence and guts, something that boardrooms and local governments across the nation seem to be quite short on.

The funniest example of this is when people say I do not disagree with you but".. well if you do not disagree with me.. then say but, what the H are you doing? ;-) Just grow a sack and say what you feel and believe in!

We are fighting a war against terrorism. The power base of the terrorists is derived by money made from oil. Yet, we are actively finding "new and innovative ways" to increase oil consumption, find new fields to mine, and then wonder why the world thinks we are insane?

Ha ha. We are insane. EOF.

Happy New Year?

Well the new year is here. Two years until the US federal elections. (follow the donor money here) Significantly dim economic news. Worries of Global warming, Greenland's ice disappearing, chicken flu, and whatever else the news and media establishments can cook up to make folks more stressed out.

Slowing wages - one of our largest ongoing problems..

How our failing currency could snap back and hit the rest of the world..

And here is the mild mannered view of our Fed Reserve Chairman..

A great article about two opposite economic views of the illegal immigrants in the US.

And most Americans view themselves as secure because of the inflated values of their homes. However, once they figure out they can't sell the homes.. and the ARMs are coming due.. all that largess will quickly realign itself into a much grimmer picture.


And.. to top it off.. new home growth is slowing..


If you don't believe the links to the media, just go to the source data here.

Looks like it time to store some nuts, put on some midnight oil, roll up our sleeves and fix these problems..

Federal Government Drug Screens Welfare Recipients

Yes, actually I can easily imagine a big brother government handing out urine cups.

This posting was written in response to the following mailblast I recevied from a relative. Since the letter emanates from the CDC, then circulated all over the CDC, and then was forwarded to the non-government employee pulic, I can only presume CDC employees support this initative only to increase CDC budget demands thereby perpetuating their own version of welfare via a jobs program. Oops, the gloves came off. ;-)


From: Wes Ulrich
Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2007 8:30 PM
To: Lou Ulrich; Steve Gosa; Gerald Honeycut; joe howard; DAVID HUFF; Chuck Barnwell; Aaron Blackwell; bonnie Bruce; Corey Cunningham; Fleming David; Jason Driggers; Garner, Jennifer (CDC/CCHP/NCBDDD); JEFF DUVALL
Subject: Just a thought

I have a job. I work, they pay me. I pay my taxes and the Government distributes my tax money as they see fit.

This person fails to see that if the government was not doing that, he would not have his job to pay taxes on to begin with!

In order to hold my job I have to take a random urine drug test. I have no problem with that. What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people that don't have to pass a urine drug test to get welfare or other public assistance.
If I have to pass a urine drug test to keep my job, shouldn't one have to pass a urine drug test to get public assistance? Please understand I do not have a problem with helping people get back on their feet. I do have a problem with helping people sit on their butt and do nothing.
Can you imagine the money the government would save if the people had to pass a urine drug test to get a public assistance or welfare check?


From a legal perspective, an employer's drug testing policy is based upon an "at will" model. In the absence of public lobbying or legislation to put a halt to drug screening, the existence of screening procedures is simply a voluntary requirement for work at a given company. Your decision to work for that company is VOLUNTARY, so your decision to undergo testing is also voluntary. The logic being that you could have possibly found a job where they do not screen. The reality is that MOST employers screen, so you really will not be able to find a job where they will not screen.

Personally, I view any form of proactive screening as an invasion of privacy. In Germany, for example, all of your personal data is sealed from any company, including marketers, credit cards, and the unsavory underworld of spammers. An "Opt-In" model, the public is protected by its own government against mining one's personal data and history. You are not even allowed to send mail to someone who has not requested to be contacted. Germans must feel that billboards and TV ads are sufficient to generate the promotional interest. Huge consequences exist for violators, including for the government itself.

Here, the public has been mostly silent, docile, and accepting of this practice which is essentially an "Opt-Out" model. The default status being you can be called, contacted, and spammed unless you proactively contact every possible source of data about you and inform them directly. For your convenience I have attached a legal letter for this purpose that almost always generates a call from the vendors who receive it. They also abide by it, which is the important bit. Logically, it follows that drug screening is also legally viewed as acceptable in the US. The basis for its legality stems from the idea that no one is forcing either party to enter into an agreement with one another.

It is quite another thing to allow the government to presume guilt and therefore enact screening protocols that can in effect to entrap all manner of other citizens in the very same net. If the ACLU would work on this sort of issue instead of dabbling in religious squabbles, I might actually respect them!

Habitual drug users have very good and affordable resources at their disposal to counter screening efforts. The drug abusers are pro's at skiving the tests. The tests are just a humiliating way for an employer to send a message to otherwise good employees. The unstated message being "Stay in step, obey the rules, we are watching you, and we can even check your fluids when we want to." How dehumanizing is that? Statistic research results do not support the argument that drug testing actually is effective in identifying habitual drug users and thereby preventing their hire. Testing is done so that if a company is sued related to the actions of an employee, they can demonstrate diligence to prevent such occurrences. At the end of the day, the tort lawyers do run the country.

The larger issue is just what does welfare really provide? Welfare in our country is a joke. I have been to the unemployment office. The placement services are weak at best. You get a fraction of your pay, and that for only a couple of months. An average middle manager who has been laid off takes, on average, 14 months to find another similar position.

There are those who can game the system and make some amount of money from graft, but one has to wonder why they bother. For if they are smart enough to do that, why not make more money gaming a more lucrative system? I guess there are more clever people than actually intelligent people.

When compared to other first world countries, our welfare system is about as bare bones, ruthless, and unforgiving as you can get. When traveling in Japan, and Europe, I heard Americans characterized as callous and irresponsible for allowing the deep poverty we all know exists here to persist. As a social experiment, I challenge anyone of you to try to live on the welfare equivalent income for two months. The mere thought seems impossible, so you get my point. It is not as if this is some gravy train to the good life.

France is a good example of what benefits our European counterparts enjoy. As a woman, you get 6 MONTHS paid leave for maternity. Try that in the US, and you would be fired by the third or fourth week. And we wonder why our kids show up at school with guns. French families get quality day care that EVERYONE uses, not just the so-called poor. You get access to a ton of classes for child rearing.

It is just a different culture than ours with very different societal values. They got bombed into oblivion during WWII. They have different way of dealing with things after that experience. For example on Dec 17th, 2006, a few tent manufacturers and the French government got together and provided tents to every single sans abri (homeless) person. Now when you walk down the Seine, you see North Face style tents all in a neat and tidy trashless row, zipped up tight against the elements of a European winter.

In Europe if you do want to work, you have a bus and train system that is reliable and runs on time. I challenge anyone one of you to work a job outside of 9-5 M-F and try to ride the bus to work. You would be fired in a week or two. If the employer found out that you ride the bus as your transportation to work, you would never have been hired.

How much with maintenance, gas, taxes, insurance, and maintenance does a car cost? If you are earning the average salary in Atlanta, which happens to be a whopping $28k/yr according to the ARC, that is a HUGE chunk of your income. Atlanta, by the way, is the lowest average income earning city of the 15 peer cities in the US. I wonder why so many people come to work here? I guess they neglected a bit of homework in selecting this city. By contrast, the Northeast US major cities and ALL of europe, you have public transportation that is actually a viable option for commuting. Then factor in at least $400-$900 for childcare for a 2-4yr child, all of a sudden you are on welfare or working for your credit card company.

This is a roundabout way of giving a full response to the idea that our government should be handing out piss cups to qualify welfare recipients. If the government can't even prevent people who can not find a job from gaming the welfare systems, then how can anyone expect them to be able to accurately manage drug screening of millions of welfare recipients. And the hidden danger is to regular people - maybe they will start screening for other things, marriage licenses, voting access, gun ownership, cell phone use, or whatever other issue du jour that can conjure up a political sporting event.

Freedom is neither free nor is it safe.

Ben Franklin - Those who desire security at price of freedom deserve neither. (loosely quoted)

Saving the world from ourselves

Many Global Warming discussions hinge upon the aggregate of political decisions of a society which are a result of culture. The culture of the US renders our nation incapable of leading the world in the challenge of Global Warming.

During a recent three and half week trip to Europe concluding an international business seminar in Munich and Paris, we met with business leaders such as the French Ambassador of the Ministry of Finance and Economy, directors from global companies like Siemens, and representatives from various Chambers of Commerce. Afterwards, I volunteered a week at the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation. Rarely was the topic of Global Warming discussed in terms other than as clearly in the planning agenda of the companies we visited. It was also implied that human causality was a foregone conclusion rather than a reaction to naturally occurring shifts in climate.

In terms of the opinion of regular people you meet on the street, positive and frank discussion welled forth in the pubs and bars throughout Paris, Garmische, Munich, Buckinghamshire, and Oxford. As an American though, they were rather direct in questioning me about my personal responsibility for having a president such as Mr. Bush. Bush is widely considered to be the most dangerous leader the world has faced since Hitler. I found that surprising, but like a frog boiled slowly in a pot of water, I have succumbed to our political state of affairs as the accepted status quo. It never dawned on me that he is viewed that dimly.


During these travels in Europe, I noticed people at bars and pubs find it socially acceptable to discuss issues that are meaningful (read as:religion, politics, the environment, race relations). There is little divide between having a good time and having real conversations. By contrast, at the Fox and Hound, a pub near my home in Atlanta, people may only dip their toes in the waters of meaningful discussion but rarely dive in and challenge one another, aside from drunken posturing and belligerence. Perhaps they want to appear intelligent, engaged or socially responsible. Invariably, once a boundary is passed where real urgency is laid plain, people then go to a "I don't want to think about" "eat, drink, and be merry" attitude.

The fact is that US citizens have NEVER been invaded, except for the Trade Centers. One could argue Mexico invaded. However, we garrisoned Mexico City in the 1840's. We invaded Mexico, not the other way around. Our own citizens perpetrated a similar atrocity, the Oklahoma Federal Building. Yet, one rarely hears any mention of this, so as to keep our anger focused on the Axis of Evil. We at home wring our hands that we lost thousands of people in a terrorist bombing, then we allow our government to spend 4x the money on a war in country that we know has no relation to the bombing, all the while allowing Bin Laden to literally walk out of the canyon where he was surrounded by the CIA's Jawbreaker task force. Then, the US Government tries to gag the author, former CIA member Bernstien.

The old world has been relentlessly bombed, blasted, and tortured throughout many wars over hundreds of years Europe lost millions in ovens, hundreds of thousands in bombings, and thousands to small arms fire. Besides the civil war 150 years ago that was self-inflicted, we simply cannot conceive of this reality.

Only 50 years ago, Europe was a wasteland, decimated population, divided in half with a Iron Curtain, with nukes bristling at the pickets. They truly stared Apocalypse in the eyes and perpetrated the Holocaust. (Photos from Dachau visit) They were forced to make decisions that led to cooperation and coalitions. Add to this the loss of their colonial holdings and warfare across these former colonies, you have a grim social and economic picture. Yet, they prevailed, and their Euro and Pound are now 40% stronger than the dollar over the past 5 years. All the while, the best minds say the dollar will slide even further, perhaps as soon as this January.


Americans have never faced at home the real atrocities which forced modern Europe to find political means to reconcile differences, create social programs, and develop a faculty for thoughtful listening. Instead, we have allowed our attitude to shift to the point where we have become a ruthless society that attacks anything that remotely resembles a threat to the cocktail party we live in. To avoid rocking the boat, we even resign ourselves to sitting apathetically in traffic for 10 hours a week, while at the same time vociferously denying any rail projects to alleviate the snarl and mess. Today, only 5 US cities (Boston, NYC, Philly, DC, Chicago) have extensive rail mass transit today, versus pre-1950's when US most cities had at least an extensive trolley system. During the 1930's we had a national rail network with trains exceeding 100mph. Just try to use Amtrak to go somewhere besides in the North east. The nations largest development ($2.2) of its time, Atlantic Station in Atlanta GA, is along side existing railways, .5 miles from the Amtrak station and the subway lines, yet Atlantic Station HAS NO STATION! That should illustrate how dysfunctional we are.(Rather accurate accounts of Atlanta are here.)

You have no choice but to own a car. The MARTA buses in Atlanta do not adhere to their own schedules. Your employer will fire you if you are late. Yet, Atlanta is the lowest average income earners of the 15 peer cities, where citizens on average can not afford more than $800 per month for a mortgage.

In the US, w let 30 million people go without adequate medical care. We allow people to freeze in the streets. We allow our old to face care systems in the nursing homes that are expensive and downright deadly.

Americans force welfare recipients to work two jobs to pay the rent, provide no day care services, and wonder why children show up at school with handguns, run away from home, or perform on the latest porn site. Single mom's with median jobs say earning $35k per year, must pay around $900 per month for quality childcare. Blame it on your congressman, you say? That person is OUR responsibility and so we are also responsible for thier actions.

We do have more immediate problems that some ice shelf calving in the hinterlands of Canada. Yet, we are doing little to change these pressing issues facing American society, never mind dealing with a far off dooms day possiblity that noone wants to talk about.

We bury our heads in the sand. We subsidize SUV purchases through the Farm Vehicle Tax Credit driving gas guzzling SUV's while providing little incentive to buy hybrid cars and removing electric cars from the market despite strong demand. During a time when we are fighting a war directly related to our dependence on oil, this is completely irrational. Our consumption puts our nation and our soldiers directly at risk. Yet we would rather throw our brothers and sisters into the line of fire rather than give up our Navigators and Escalades.

If driving an SUV is not viewed as unpatriotic to America during a war about oil and energy resources, then how could anyone have a hope that Americans will accept a meaningful dialogue about Global Warming, much less support positive actions to put a halt to the problem? They are happy to see Saddam hang, a man who never directly attacked us, while remaining silent and not outraged that Bin Laden is still out there plotting heavens knows what against us.

On the world political stage, the US is viewed as an adolescent with a good heart, a bad temper, inconsistent foreign policy, and with unlimited access to resources that no adolescent should ever have. The US simply does not have the motivation or capacity to face the issues related to fossil fuel based economics. We are the largest economy. We have the largest military. Moreover, if we ever interrupt our consumption patterns, we will bankrupt entire nations. "Why should we change our ways? We run the show, right? " are the thoughts driving the psyche of our countrymen.

We must look to the Old World countries for leadership is this matter. They have the skills in global trade relations, language, diplomacy, and have had to learn hard lessons about the consequences of reactionary and aggressive forms of conflict resolution. Cowboy diplomacy simply does work.

The good news is that some Americans are actively working on the problem. If you want to know about REAL alternatives to fossil fuels and bio fuels where a close friend three years ago became the first American to drive round trip coast to coast on Hydrogen. He has now created the first quad fuel vehicle, Unleaded, Ethanol, Natural Gas, and Hydrogen. Flip a switch; change the fuel. Change the world. This solves all manner of logistical problems about fuel types, distribution, and vehicle range.

Here is the rub - if Mr. Robinson at Intergalactic Hydrogen can do this in his garage without a college degree, then one has to wonder why the largest corporations in the world are withholding this technology from us, for they also must have developed similar capabilities.

For once, our pride in America may put us in the follower position in the fight to save the world. Now the world may have to intervene to save us from ourselves.



Related links:
China central bank sees risk of US dollar slide on asset sell-off

Taxpayers for Common Sense

American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 Lowers the SUV deduction from $100,000 to $25,000. Yet, $25,000 is $21,500 more than the credit for Hybrid fuel vehicles. Then add to it, the gas guzzler tax was REPEALED in 4Q'05, we clearly could care less about energy Independence and national security, much less being environmentally responsible.

Changes Effective for the Fourth Quarter of 2005 - Gas Guzzler Tax The gas guzzler tax on limousines with a gross unloaded vehicle weight of greater than 6,000 pounds is repealed, effective for sales, uses, or leases by the manufacturer, producer, or importer.

NASA's Earth Observatory

Tropical Storms and Meteorological discussion

The Digital Library for Earth System Education

Sea Level Visualization Tool Speculative real estate investors click here! ;-)

Global Warming Claims its First Inhabited Tropical Island

Huge Arctic ice shelf breaks away

Hydrogen and Multifuel Vehicles

The Need for Better Scientific Understanding of Sea-Level Change

California Climate Change Portal

San Francisco Climate Action Plan

Real Perspective

When I feel overwhelmed, I like to take a step back and relfect upon just how truly huge this universe is. In such immensity, fragile life is rare and precious. Yes, there are countless billions of worlds that likely support life that is comparable after a fashion to our own. Yet, the gulfs of space quarantine us and better still give us the room to grow and mature until we can take steps into that infinately expansive community.

In light of this immensity, the banal errands, the pending deadlines, and the capricous whim of people just do not seem so daunting or bothersome, but rather something to appreciate, respect, and uphold.


Luke 18:17 "Truly I say to you, Whoever does not put himself under the kingdom of God like a little child, will not come into it at all."

Luke 22:29 "And I will give you a kingdom as my Father has given one to me"

The video below (Click here for the full video with music) is a trip from Earth to the outer edges of the known universe and back again. I made this using a database called Starry Night Pro in 1993 while at the beach on Men's Retreat in St. George Island, Fl.

Trinity and Three Rings

For every action an equal and opposite reaction exists. They hate us, we hate them, they hate us back. We are the victims of mathematics. It seems that even enlightened self-interest can not thwart the inexorable rhythm that tears us apart.

Yet, without hope things will improve and our inheritors will know a world richer than our own, life is pointless and evolution vastly overrated.

In many religions there is a Triune Symbol. Three rings in Siddhartha Gautama's Buddhist faith dating back to the 5th century BC, there are the three interconnected rings representing the Three Jewels or Triratana as shown here. Literally, the Three Jewels are the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.



Christianity has the Holy Trinity representing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Judaism has the Star of David, which is actually representative of two trinities, one for the divine existence, and one for our current extistence. "As above, so below."


Kabbalistically, the Star/Shield of David symbolizes the six directions of space plus the center, under the influence of the description of space found in the Sefer Yetsira: Up, Down, East, West, South, North, and Center. Congruently, under the influence of the Zohar, it represents the Six Sefirot of the Male (Zeir Anpin) united with the Seventh Sefirot of the Female (Nekuva).

This was confirmed by Christ's teachings

Beyond cause and effect, there is a third principal wielded by sentient life - the capacity for self-sacrifice - the conscious ability to override evolution and self-preservation for a cause, a friend, or a loved one.

About 12 years ago, Babylon 5's first season hit the air. On the surface, it appeared to be yet another Trekkie-style show. However, the writer must have done some homework on humans and what makes us great. This scene I have borrowed stayed in my mind since 1994. I ran across it recently. A mere 60 seconds, but it's message indelible and lasting in its truth.

Some of the episodes are now available online for free, incredibly enough!



The scene demonstrates what is best about humans, our diversity, our passion, and what ultimately adds palpable quality to every one's lives on this planet, this fragile spaceship we have been entrusted with, Earth.

Vandana Ti-sarana is often recited by both monks and lay people:

• Buddham saranam gacchāmi - I go for refuge in the Buddha
• Dhammam saranam gacchāmi - I go for refuge in the Dharma
• Sangham saranam gacchāmi - I go for refuge in the Sangha

The Mahayana Chinese/Japanese version differs only slightly from the Theravada:

• 自皈依佛，當願眾生，體解大道，發無上心。

I take refuge in the Buddha, wishing for all sentient beings
to understand the great way and make the greatest vow.

• 自皈依法，當願眾生，深入經藏，智慧如海。

I take refuge in the Dharma, wishing for all sentient beings
to deeply delve into the Sutra Pitaka, gaining an ocean of knowledge.

• 自皈依僧，當願眾生，統理大眾，一切無礙。

I take refuge in the Sangha, wishing all sentient beings
to lead the congregation in harmony, entirely without obstruction.

BioFuel Boom- death knell for Orangutans

Cross posted from BOS UK and their friends saving the Orangutans of Indonesia

They are disappearing at a rate of 5000 per year, representing 10% of the total population.

Sky World News - Orangutans & Palm Oil



The Global Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil is making great efforts to have the industry demonstrate responsible action. Please encourage your grocer to make sure their products contain oils from GRSPO members.

Here are some of the Palm Oil global commodity brokers and industry constituents. Please encourage them to procure or produce the oil ONLY from plantations that have not been built upon "pristine forest".

Conservation campaigners advise against boycotting Palm Oil. 4.5 million people's livelihoods depend on the market. However, putting a stop to the deforestation would stabilize the Palm Oil market prices, and save the Orangutans, win win.

Univanich Palm Oil Public Company - Thailand producer of crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel oil (PKO). Company profile and image library, contact and product details.

Sternchemie GmbH & Co. KG - German supplier of palm oil and lecithin specialities from genetically-unmodified sources.


RNJ Alliance Sdn Bhd - Brokers of refined palm oil products. Malaysia.

PT Intiboga Sejahtera - Major Indonesian producer of palm oil cooking oils, margarine, and shortening.

Orangutans - The Grim Facts




Forests - The Palm Oil Threat

Kerry ridiculous stements and Rover wagging the tail

Having personally met Kerry and also having had a few beers with John Edwards' brother in Asheville, I have a reasonably good idea of who these two guys are. They are very different people. Kerry is an elitist and a man full of hubris. Edwards, if you can forgive him for being a lawyer, is a self-made person who genuinely cares about the "good fight" referred to by Paul's epistles.

Though I am neither a Republican or a Democrat, it is interesting to see both sides. I simply a fiscally conservative citizen who wants smaller government, a truly self-responsible public, and a return to constitutional values our forefathers envisioned.

This claptrap about Kerry seems to be the usual garbage our media chooses to focus on. Instead of the plight of America's schools with tuition to colleges tripling since 2000, we focus on an idiotic and arrogant statement by a Senator who can't even beat Bush, one of the worst presidents our country has seen since the 1920's. Instead of focusing on the spiraling cost of Iraq, and the lack of funding in Afghanistan where the actual terrorists who bombed us are hiding, they quote a real putz and set up endless websites about a putz's statements. Instead of banging on how our own democratic process becomes more and more broken each time the majority party redraws voting districts, they trump a story that angers the troops and their families with the clear intent to distract them one week before a an important election event.

Optimistically, I see all of this as symptomatic of an irresponsible media that has strayed very far from what is honorable and dutiful in journalism. I see the media owned by powerful interests who have their own agenda that conveniently plays both sides of the fence putting people like Anne Coulter into the spotlight when she is such a stuffed shirt and a mouth piece. She gets well paid for her services, a very old profession that.

Of course the opposition party is going to seize upon this ridiculous and incredible gaff. Why focus on real issues that affect everyone when you can focus on one that will tick people off and sell more ads?

Yes, we need to focus on getting rid of the immoral and hypocritical Rover machine. It detracts from the true Republican party. Equally, we also need to oust the leadership of the DNC. Any candidate who could NOT beat the Republicans this time around are suffering from poor leadership and lack of focus. Abramoff, a failed war effort that is not even a declared war, terrorism amok around the globe, poor education, partisan infighting, crappy jobs being counted as employment, a GDP driven by corporate earnings and not individual earnings from real jobs and production, teachers gagged from doing their jobs beyond prepping kids for assessment tests, a completely insane medical system that advertises medications to patients who have no business self-medicating, an entire city economically knocked off the map after a storm with no hope in site, and our veterans getting quietly tucked away out of the public eye as per usual since Vietnam... all of this, and we focus on the statements of an aristocratic idiot who is out of touch and out of favor.


I propose a call to action. More than any of these, since we have a vacuum in the middle where MOST American's minds and hearts reside, we should fill the space with multiple NEW POLITICAL PARTIES that represent our views as citizens, whatever these may be. Organize among yourselves and create a real democracy. Oust these two parties if they do not suit you. Put them back in the box where they belong and can not harm our country any further. They are machines and do not represent most of us. Restore democracy at home.



Bryan Grant - Atlanta

Stand Your Ground. The magazine guys take a blow from the neighbors of Underwood Hills.

A big round of applause for our ATLANTA Police department Zone 2 officers for being so efficient in this effort. They usually do their level best to support the community and its citizens, and this instance is no different.

At 11:35am today, my housekeeper let me know there was someone at the door for me. I immediately spotted the fellow as the typical "college guy selling magazines" scam. Having asked for his permit, he proffered a document that was other than a permit. I asked to verify this dubious document by viewing his drivers license or student ID. He then began to stutter and fidget. I then snapped a picture of him with my cellphone, asked him to leave twice then contacted the police. Not more than ten minutes later I went outside to chat with the officer who was up the street in front of a neighbor's house. The officer already had the bloke in the back of the car in handcuffs. It turns out he had no ID, student ID or otherwise, and the solicitation permit was a fake. So at the very least, he was not soliciting legally.

Our neighborhood has had their knickers in a twist for over a week now about the Magazine Boys. What I am dying to know is whether anyone else has, as of yet, not caught others?

We all know this is a more or less organized way for would-be house and car robbers to case a property during the day. These guys do not work alone. Furthermore, actual burglary aside, Georgia is home to two companies that spawn this sort of activity. Why we have not closed them down is yet another mystery.

"Recent complaints have centered on two Georgia companies, United Family Circulation and Ultimate Power Sales Inc., a subsidiary. Last year, Montgomery County police said residents in Chevy Chase had been asked to buy books from salespeople who falsely claimed to be collecting for charity on behalf of a University of Maryland athletic team. Buyers said they were asked to make checks out to Ultimate Power Sales...
Messages left at United Family Circulation's offices in Buford, Ga., were not returned as of Tuesday." Washington Post August 18, 2005; Page VA09

If they are not able to hold him, you can be sure he and his friends will take a bit of revenge for their trouble. Keep your eyes peeled and keep the doors locked. Never fear as if he catch them in the act, they will go away for a very long time. Meanwhile, it would be a good idea to cross reference the video tapes at the pawnshops and the pawn shop records to see if this individual has been patronizing that establishment with goods "donated" by our good neighbors.

All it took was a simple phone call to 911 and quick cell phone photograph. It really is straightforward. Had I had even more presence of thought, I would have recorded the conversation with this charming fellow using my cellphone's voice recorder feature.


Georgia now has thanksfully passed "stand your ground" legislation versus a "duty to retreat", which was viable though in direct contradiction to a 1921 Supreme Court landmar ruling. In other words, under "duty to retreat", if you are threatened say in your own home by an assailant, you are to leave your home by the most efficient route necessary, and if you have other family in the home, there is shaky legal ground to support your efforts to also effect their evacuation. In short, you have a Duty to Retreat and leave others in the house behind. This would also apply at a gas station hold up. Your duty would be to hide in the bathroom and hope that they don't get the door open.

A good and balanced article about the topic is Is self-defense law vigilante justice?

Personally, I am all for Stand Your Ground laws given folks have received prior training with the guns they purchase to Stand their Ground with. The Duty to Retreat laws lead to a perceived lack of consequences for would be criminals and disempowers people from keeping public places safe for themselves. Law is only as good as the people who uphold it, and if the only people allowed to uphold it are police who are overwhelmed, underpaid, and 10-20 minutes from the scene, there is ample time for crime to occur unpunished.

While I do not relish the idea of having to shoot someone and will definitely pay some huge karmic debt for doing so, the alternative in the society in which we exist is to hide in the bathroom and pray they don't shoot through the door. Having a personally and very old friend who has been on the mend since 1989 from being shot in the head through the bathroom door where he was hiding by a robber, I know there is no defense like a strong and immediate consequence.

"16-3-23.1.
A person who uses threats or force in accordance with Code Section 16-3-21, relating to the use of force in defense of self or others, Code Section 16-3-23, relating to the use of force in defense of a habitation, or Code Section 16-3-24, relating to the use of force in defense of property other than a habitation, has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and use force as provided in said Code sections, including deadly force."

The press and various sites have covered this issue extensively. Repeatedly they state this law gives people the right "to shoot first and ask questions later" and that "innocent people" are going to get shot. First of all this assumes that a gun will be used in the self defense. Most people do not carry guns. A coffee mug, knife, or a 2x4 would be the more likely weapon of choice in self-defense. Guns are simply not usually within reach except when you are the criminal carrying the gun to perform the crime. Second, even if a gun were used and would be assailant shot dead, how is the would assailant guilty? After all the law does require that a threat of deadly be present before one can actually use this as a defense for killing another person. In the absence of the deadly force, which would be rather interesting to actually prove if it were not clear and present in the situation, the so-called self-defending vigilante would be guilty of murder himself. All this bill does is countermand a prior law that requires a citizen to leave their home and family and run away. Literally that is what is meant by a "Duty to Retreat". A quick review of the legal definition imparts the correct notion that this format places the victims in a rather indefensible place and subject to a high likelihood of prosecution which would even potentially and furthermore exonerate the attacker. This is bizarre and wrong.

Even the BBC in Britain, a country that has longer been mostly an anti-gun leaning politic, agrees that gun ownership is the only viable solution to their own escalating gun related violence in a society where it is illegal for any citizen to own firearms, except under very unique circumstances. Their own Olympic shooting teams face great difficulty in obtaining permits to practice for their events.
BBC news- Why Britain needs more guns

"Government assured Britons they needed no weapons, society would protect them. If that were so in 1920 when the first firearms restrictions were passed, or in 1953 when Britons were forbidden to carry any article for their protection, it no longer is.

The failure of this general disarmament to stem, or even slow, armed and violent crime could not be more blatant. According to a recent UN study, England and Wales have the highest crime rate and worst record for "very serious" offences of the 18 industrial countries surveyed."

We live in a sinful world, a world run by humans with free will and all the best and worst sorts of aspirations. In such a world, it is not responsible nor prudent to expect an outside intervening force to be an omnipresent source of protection and incentive to obey the law. We have to be responsible for the world we live in, and take action when it is necessary to do so. Society should not punish people for responsbile action.

Martha Stewart, ex-con and felon, sponsors KB Homes

Whenever I drive down I85 into downtown Atlanta, I see a KB Homes billboard with Martha Stewart on it.

"If anyone could turn a stay in jail into a good thing, it's legendary lifestyle maven Martha Stewart. Following the completion of her sentence on federal criminal charges, Stewart has not shied away from the limelight. Rather, she and her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO), have embraced the spotlight. The company has its fingers in many moneymaking pies: publishing (magazines and books), television (programs), radio (satellite radio network channel), and merchandising. Stewart controls about 55% of MSLO's stock and about 92% of voting stock." Hoovers - Omnimedia overview



Given the media uproar about her conviction and that she is a known felon, I find it hard to imagine why KB Homes would ever conceive of paying a felon to be their poster person. Odder still, I find it interesting that this glaringly inappropriate marketing scheme has gone largely unnoticed by the media. And judging by the timing of the ad campaign and KB's stock price, it appears to have leveled out the precipitous drop in share value experienced prior to June 06.

It led me to consider several things. The first of which, KB Homes has deep pockets and can afford to research the impact of their marketing efforts. Hiring Martha Stewart was no accident, and I am sure their research indicated a net positive effect for their bottom line. Furthermore, Omnimedia shares prices performed their best WHILE she was in jail, and have done rather well afterwards.

Martha Stewart's audience is primarily females in general and gay males. The whole green vase phenomenon in California’s gay communities was spawned a la Martha. She is a risk taker and shrews businessperson, which is why she landed herself in jail to begin with.


I think what concerns me, personally, here is that given the past five years of corporate scandals, the untold billions lost in market capitalization as a result, the endless hearings and convictions, the scandals at the government level (Abramoff is the tip of that iceberg), and high moral ground we as a country are supposed to espouse in our efforts to bring democracy to the middle east, it seems odd the American public is so receptive to having a known felon selling family homes and communities to them. After all, a felon is a felon, whether they are dealing drugs, peddling porn, or bilking the markets. Imagine the Enron Exec's face on that billboard! You would have the entire country in an uproar. Yet, somehow because Martha is able to dictate the mediocre tastes of average American households, her tainting as a felon is somehow whitewashed, and she is allowed to sell directly to our children the homes they live in.

It is an odd world. Given a public that gives solid market support to felons, gives high ratings to shows depicting morally bankrupt and irresponsible lifestyles such as Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives, and sees reality as a bunch of ruthless losers stuck on an island with some tiki torches because they cant hold down a real job...well I see the writing on the wall for our American dream of liberty and freedom. Our society is in decline, has been since about 1964, and the wall is fast approaching. And American society, if it goes, will take out the world economy alongside, as we are all so closely connected, and we are the largest consumer on the planet.

Diamond, Jared. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Viking, 2005.

McNeill, J. R. Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World. New York: W. W. Norton and Co., 2000.

Tainter, Joseph. The Collapse of Complex Societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 198

Perhaps Bonfire of the Vanities would also be an appropriate add on here.

Testing

Response to UHNA Wal-Mart hooplah and complaining.

While I personally abhor Wal-Mart since they changed their management when Sam Walton left and agree that they are a net bad versus a net good, utilizing more of Peach Care than any other one employer in Georgia for example, there are many political blogs on the net already about Wal-Mart and their dastardly deeds (BTW Target isn't that much better). Apparently, Wal-Mart decided to do a blog as well, spamming it full of garbage.

And to Mr. Petzer - overall I have to agree with your attitude. People should shop with their feet and should have spoken up about all of this far sooner. We really do have bigger problems, and all of this hoo-rah should have been settled 3 years ago during the planning phases. Moreover, given the alternatives that were on the table, this was clearly the most attractive of the lot. Target or any other vendor "could" have vied for the lease in that spot. Wal-Mart won. It is not as if Selig is controlled by Wal-Mart. Go their website. They have tons of other anchor tenants in their various properties and do not specialize in Wal-Mart like some developers.

Yet, I think you may have lost your steam towards the end. If there are more important things in life as you say at the bottom of your letter, and you also deny possessing a political agenda. How would you propose to accomplish any of those goals? I suppose those goals must be isolated onto you and not involve anyone else. Otherwise, they would involve others. Then, you would have to employ a measure of politicking, therefore finding it necessary to manage an agenda.

As for your comment at about the G8 protestors, I hope that was written out of frustration. If not, you clearly have not followed exactly how those "riots" were sparked off. In Genoa, for example, the police went in to the school the night before the protest where the protestors were given lodging by the government, and beat several of them to within an inch of their lives while they were sleeping in sleeping bags. That is a sure fire way to agitate protestors. Then the next day when it all hits the fan, one of the cops shoots and kills a your male protestor. I was in Europe at the time. The American press for the most part did not make ANY mention of the beatings by the police the night before, portraying the protestors as just wild and unruly kids with nothing better to do but make trouble. However the Euro presse-agencies had the courage to offer a full accounting.

If you read about G8 at Seattle or Miami, similar events ensued. Miami's riot was started when an ill-mannered hippy tossed an empty plastic water bottle at the cops. The cops did not just try to arrest the culprit, the logical course of action. They beat the protestors, including all the old (50-60 yrs old) protestors that were there representing the Unions. The United Way was supporting those union folks (if you are anti union and give to the united way, you may to do some homework on where you give) and I know one of the people who was organizing the United Way's piece. If you want a real eye opener, see if you get your hands on a training video that the police use to train their troops. Germany in the 1940's would have loved to have such an artful and pertinent training tool.

In short, stores like Wal-Mart are a real challenge and often a threat to local businesses and the fabric of culture where those businesses operate. Is it really a good trade to get cheap golf balls, cheaply made trinkets, and some crappy clothes for the price of an area's culture? Certainly, the US is short on culture, but go and visit Sylva NC if you want to see the effects Wal-Mart has. The downtown shops are now all closed. The majority of the people, literally, work at Wal-Mart. The shops that are open are galleries run by people who do it for a lifestyle thing, and not necessarily to make a profit. They are simply idle rich folks having something engaging to occupy their minds and time.

If your idea of a vibrant and positive society is that of big box retailers and regional retail centers being the glue that holds our societal fabric together, I suggest you move out to HWY 138 in Conyers, Barrett Parkway in Cobb, or Pleasant Hill Road in Gwinnett. Me, I will take complicated and funky Intown living any day. I will take a Mayberry community to a strip mall by the expressway any day. I will drive the extra 5 miles to trade in the older style businesses. I will shop at Return to Eden and not Whole Foods. I will go to Octane, West Egg, or Café Centrale, not Starbucks (unless I am really hard up.) I will pay the extra .25 for the golf ball, and the extra .35 for the orange juice. I will reward well-run stores with my business, and therefore not shop at Kroger across the street but make the trip to Paces Ferry, Ansley or Vinings. I will vote with my feet and wallet.

That extra money when spent wisely stays in the community instead of rolling up to a multibillion dollar roster of shareholders that have no more concern about your quality of life other than whether the P/E ratios and projected growth rates meet their investment models.

Enjoy the Wal-Mart. Yes, it is better than the Castlegate, to be sure.

Bryan Grant
Woodland Hills Avenue

PS During the past few days, it seems our neighbors are more worried about sushi con jobs and Wal-Mart store hours than the Bill of Rights.

While we had our attention focused on the bargain basement across the street, our esteemed President passed legislation in direct contradiction to a Supreme Court ruling back in June. The bill allows a high degree of torture, testimony is admissible even if obtained under duress, charges do not have to be substantiated, and habeas corpus is dead. Of course, most folks think this is just for terrorists, and in a sense that is true. But who decides who is a terrorist? If there are no legal grounds for the accusation and the case can be prosecuted without these grounds, anyone could be conveniently called a terrorist and hauled in. I wrote an article here, http://right-action.blogspot.com/ that proposes what we as citizens can do in our own way to start making changes so that our government is more under our own control. Plus, you will find loads of quotes related to the topic from our favorites, Ben Franklin and George Washington. Enjoy.