Friday, January 29, 2010

OSAMA, OBAMA AND AL GORE HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON- DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA










BID LADEN DEPLORES CLIMATE CHANGE.
OSAMA, OBAMA AND AL GORE HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON.
Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader, has condemned the US and other industrial economies, holding them responsible for the phenomenon of climate change.
In an audio tape obtained by Al Jazeera, bin Laden criticised George Bush, the former US president, for rejecting the Kyoto pact and condemned global corporations.
"This is a message to the whole world about those responsible for climate change and its repercussions - whether intentionally or unintentionally - and about the action we must take," bin Laden said.
"Speaking about climate change is not a matter of intellectual luxury - the phenomenon is an actual fact."
The tape follows one released earlier this week in which the al-Qaeda leader praised a Nigerian man accused of a failed attempt to blow up an airliner heading for Detroit on Christmas Day.
'Grave repercussions'
In the new recording, bin Laden says "all the industrial states" are to blame for climate change, "yet the majority of those states have signed the Kyoto Protocol and agreed to curb the emission of harmful gases".

"Noam Chomsky was correct when he compared the US policies to those of the Mafia"
Osama bin Laden,
al-Qaeda leader


He continued: "However, George Bush junior, preceded by [the US] congress, dismissed the agreement to placate giant corporations. And they are themselves standing behind speculation, monopoly and soaring living costs.
"They are also behind 'globalisation and its tragic implications'. And whenever the perpetrators are found guilty, the heads of state rush to rescue them using public money."
The Kyoto Protocol, a UN treaty aimed at combating global warming, was adopted in December 1997 and has since been ratified by 187 states, but not by the US congress.
Although a signatory to the agreement, the US under Bush refused to ratify the treaty, saying that it should contain binding goals for developing countries to reduce emissions as well as those for industrialised nations.
Targeting US dollar
In the new recording, bin Laden said: "Noam Chomsky [the US academic and political commentator] was correct when he compared the US policies to those of the Mafia. They are the true terrorists and therefore we should refrain from dealing in the US dollar and should try to get rid of this currency as early as possible.
"I am certain that such actions will have grave repercussions and huge impact."
While continuing to attack America, bin Laden's comments mark a shift from his earlier, more regionally focused commentary.
In his previous tape, bin Laden warned that there would be further attacks on the US unless Barack Obama, the current US president, took steps to resolve the Palestinian conflict.
The Obama administration dismissed bin Laden's comments on the earlier tape and said intelligence analysts had not confirmed that the voice was that of bin Laden.


Wednesday, January 27, 2010

OBAMA ARE YOU LISTENING??









ROAD MAP FOR AMERIC’S FUTURE





Here are the principal elements:

Health Care. The plan ensures universal access to affordable health insurance by restructuring the tax code, allowing all Americans to secure an affordable health plan that best suits their needs, and shifting the control and ownership of health coverage away from the government and employers to individuals.

It provides a refundable tax credit—$2,300 for individuals and $5,700 for families—to purchase coverage (from another state if they so choose) and keep it with them if they move or change jobs. It establishes transparency in health-care price and quality data, so this critical information is readily available before someone needs health services.

State-based high risk pools will make affordable care available to those with pre-existing conditions. In addition to the tax credit, Medicaid will provide supplemental payments to low-income recipients so they too can obtain the health coverage of their choice and no longer be consigned to the stigmatized, sclerotic care that Medicaid has come to represent.

Medicare. The Road Map secures Medicare for current beneficiaries, while making common-sense reforms to save this critical program. It preserves the existing Medicare program for Americans currently 55 or older so they can receive the benefits they planned for throughout their working lives.

For those under 55—as they become Medicare-eligible—it creates a Medicare payment, initially averaging $11,000, to be used to purchase a Medicare certified plan. The payment is adjusted to reflect medical inflation, and pegged to income, with low-income individuals receiving greater support. The plan also provides risk adjustment, so those with greater medical needs receive a higher payment.

The proposal also fully funds Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) for low-income beneficiaries, while continuing to allow all beneficiaries, regardless of income, to set up tax-free MSAs. Enacted together, these reforms will help keep Medicare solvent for generations to come.

Social Security. The Road Map preserves the existing Social Security program for those 55 or older. For those under 55, the plan offers the option of investing over one-third of their current Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts, similar to the Thrift Savings Plan available to federal employees. This proposal includes a property right, so those who own these accounts can pass on the assets to their heirs. The plan also guarantees that individuals will not lose a dollar they contribute to their accounts, even after inflation.

The plan also makes the program permanently solvent by combining a modest adjustment in the growth of initial Social Security's benefits for higher-income individuals, with a gradual, modest increase in the retirement age.

Tax Reform. The Road Map offers an alternative to today's needlessly complex and unfair tax code, providing the option of a simplified system that promotes work, saving and investment.

This highly simplified code fits on a postcard. It has just two rates: 10% on income up to $100,000 for joint filers and $50,000 for single filers, and 25% on taxable income above these amounts. It also includes a generous standard deduction and personal exemption (totaling $39,000 for a family of four), and no tax loopholes, deductions, credits or exclusions (except the health-care tax credit).

The proposal eliminates the alternative minimum tax. It promotes saving by eliminating taxes on interest, capital gains, and dividends. It eliminates the death tax. It replaces the corporate income tax—currently the second highest in the industrialized world—with a business consumption tax of 8.5%. This new rate is roughly half the average in the industrialized world and will put American companies and workers in a stronger position to compete in a global economy.

Even without the Democratic spending spree, our fiscal outlook is deteriorating. They are only hastening the crisis. It is not too late to take control of our fiscal and economic future. But the longer we wait, the bigger the problem becomes and the more difficult our options for solving it.

The Road Map promotes our national prosperity by limiting government's burden of spending, mandates and regulation. It ensures the opportunity for individuals to fulfill their human potential and enjoy the satisfaction of their own achievements—and it secures the distinctly American legacy of leaving the next generation better off.

Mr. Ryan, a Republican congressman from Wisconsin, is the ranking member of the Budget Committee.




Friday, January 22, 2010

OBAMA'S HEALTHCARE LOGO IS DERIVED FROM THE NAZI SWASTIKA



Godwin’s Law states that the longer a debate goes on, the probability of a comparison to Nazis or Hitler rises.  It seems the debate over healthcare is no exception.

Over the last few days, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) has repeatedly accused people at a recent protest against President Obama's healthcare reform of wearing swastikas and SS symbols -- a claim that was later bolstered by a series of photographs

"I think they’re AstroTurf, you be the judge," said Pelosi. "They’re carrying swastikas and symbols like that to a town meeting on healthcare."

Perennial Obama critic and conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh was quick to respond to the accusations, arguing today on his radio show that it was in fact the Democrats who were using Nazi symbolism to advance their agenda.  He cited a post on the conservative blog Sweetness & Light that compares Obama's new healthcare logo -- a combination of his campaign logo and the ancient Greek symbol of medicine -- to the Nazi swastika symbol.

“They accuse of us being Nazis, and Obama's got a healthcare logo that's right out of Adolf Hitler's playbook,” said Limbaugh.

Limbaugh then proceeded to describe the ways Democrats are like Nazis -- a list that included their dedication to animal rights and their opposition to smoking and pollution.

Well, the Nazis were against big business -- they hated big business. And of course we all know that they were opposed to Jewish capitalism. They were insanely, irrationally against pollution. They were for two years mandatory voluntary service to Germany. They had a whole bunch of make-work projects to keep people working, one of which was the Autobahn. They were against cruelty and vivisection of animals, but in the radical sense of devaluing human life, they banned smoking. They were totally against that. They were for abortion and euthanasia of the undesirables, as we all know, and they were for cradle-to-grave nationalized healthcare.

What do you think? Is Obama's new healthcare logo really a symbolic reference to Nazism?

Photo: The Nazi swastika, left, as it appeared at the Mauthausen death camp (credit: Simon Wiesenthal Center) compared to Obama's new healthcare logo, right.




OBAMA'S BANK RHETRORIC MISSES THE MARK









 




The viability of President Obama's proposals on bank reform remains to be seen as they pass through Congress, but they send an undoubtedly sharp signal about what the next battle after health care will be. The principles are difficult to argue against, since the financial system has become increasingly concentrated in a handful of top-heavy firms, and overlap between retail banking and more complex trading activities has not been reduced. In this situation, the specter of systemic risk is held back only by the precedent of a nearly-unlimited commitment by the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve to prevent such a disaster.

A good idea should be able to stand on its merits, though, and for some reason President Obama instead offers up a poorly constructed and factually incorrect populist appeal, saying, "My resolve to reform the system is only strengthened when I see a return to old practices at some of the very firms fighting reform; and when I see record profits at some of the very firms claiming that they cannot lend more to small business, cannot keep credit card rates low, and cannot refund taxpayers for the bailout. It is exactly this kind of irresponsibility that makes clear reform is necessary."

The last of those assertions is the easiest to start with, which is that banks haven't repaid their bailout funds. Even Citigroup (C), which was a laggard in repaying its assistance, has now progressed far enough to repay TARP funds and have the U.S. Treasury start divesting its equity stake in the firm. Unless the White House is willing to say that banks are also liable for counterparty payments made through AIG (AIG), any losses taken by the Fed for lending against low-quality collateral, and the Fed's zero interest rate policy (which effectively lowers bank expenses by taking from savers) -- in other words, actions taken that have no explicit cost to banks -- it's difficult to see a logical way to claim the banks targeted by the reform effort still owe the government money.

To claim that the banks making record profits are the same ones that aren't extending credit to Middle America further confuses the situation, and is analogous to blaming investment banks for the dearth of IPOs for technology companies without revenues in 2002. Some large retail banks, like Citi and Bank of America (BAC), lost money in the last quarter and are still working toward regaining operational traction. Others, like J.P. Morgan (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC), were profitable while seeing their outstanding loan balances decline -- but this is being done because old risks are not being viewed favorably in a new light. Have we so quickly forgotten the lessons of overly generous lending to believe that more credit must be good for consumers or lenders? Of the five largest depository banks before the crisis, those that grew liabilities at the fastest rate between 2002 and 2007 (in order: Bank of America, the now-departed Wachovia, and Citigroup) suffered much greater losses more than their slower-growth peers J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo. There's a demonstrated cost to growing bank balance sheets, and it's never recognized up front; why does the President continue to pretend credit availability is an economic panacea?

There's still much more nuanced information to be revealed here on the execution of these plans, and there's plenty of time for Congress to attempt to water down reforms. But more thought should be devoted toward explaining the necessity of the core tenets of "Limit the Scope" and "Limit the Size" than doubling down on seemingly-clever populist rhetoric.

James Cullen edits and writes at CollegeAnalysts.com. He is the vice president of the Boston College Investment Club, which owns BAC and JPM, but has no personal position in stocks mentioned here.



EVERY FAMILY MUST HAVE ONE



ENZO FERARRI




The body of the Ferarri Enzo is made of carbon fiber, as a result, the car is of less weight. The car features aerodynamic subsystems for better safety and performance. It is also equipped with active suspension for comfort riding in the sports mode.


The Ferrarri Enzo features a V12 engine with four valves per cylinder. The engine displacement is about 4700 cc and it delivers an output power of 660 bhp and 485 lb-ft torque. The Ferrari Enzo reaches the speed of 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and the top speed is about 217 mph. The Ferrari Enzo features 6-speed Semi-Automatic transmission and the gear shifts can be performed easily and smoothly even at higher loads.





The wheels are wrapped with Bridgestone tires and it features carbon ceramic discs with six piston calipers. The car also features Anti Braking System and power steering.

The exteriors feature the stylish body structure, headlights and tail lights. The interiors are mostly designed of carbon fiber and it features the air conditioning system, navigation system and the optional launch control.



Specifications

Vehicle Type: - production car, two doors coupe
Configuration: - Mid Engine
Engine: - V12
Capacity: - 5988 cc
Torque: - 485 lb-ft
Horsepower: - 660 bhp
Transmission: - 6-speed Semi-Automatic
Wheelbase: - 104.3 inches
Length: - 185.1 inches
Width: - 80.1 inches
Height: - 45.2 inches
Weight: - 3020 lbs
0-60 mph: - 3.4 sec
Top speed: - 217 mph




bugatti veyron 16.4: THE MOST SOPHISTICATED PRODUCTION VEHICLE EVER

With its 16-cylinder four-wheel drive, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 may well be the most sophisticated production vehicle of all times.
Most of the components tucked beneath its hood are ingenious innovations that were formerly only deemed possible by visionaries like Ferdinand Piëch.


Boasting a maximum speed of more than 400 km per hour, the Veyron is unmatched in the super sports category. It offers a total of 1,001 HP, and its ample power reserves even at high speeds are the fabric of dreams for luxury-class limousines: for a constant speed of 250 km/h, the Veyron only needs 270-280 HP. This means that the seven-gear clutch transmission works with a torque of up to 1,250 Newton meters. The Electronic Stability Program (ESP) ensures the necessary flexibility and maneuverability at any speed. The Veyron reaches velocities that would literally lift the car off the ground – if it weren’t for its ingenious aerodynamics, which keeps it firmly on the road even at full speed. Adjusting the back spoiler, reducing ground clearance, opening and closing the lids – it all adds to the perfect balance between propulsion and downforce. Such a super sports car may not seem to be brought to a halt easily, but the Veyron’s ceramic brakes slow it down faster than it can accelerate. While it takes this exceptional car only 2.5 seconds to go from 0 to 100 km/h, it needs even less time – a mere 2.3 seconds – to come to a standstill from 100 (reference point). To reduce the risk of injuries in accidents, Bugatti had a Formula 1 safety concept adapted for the Veyron. All these technical details combine to make the Veyron a truly exceptional super sports car.




OBAMA * EVIL OR IDIOT



Obama – evil or idiot?

As you probably noticed, President and Leader For Life Obama is in the process of destroying our economy, our health care system, our society, and our country in general.  Obviously, this is bad, but what puzzles me is why?  I’ve given this question some thought, and I have arrived at two possible answers: He’s just plain evil and hates America, or He’s an idiot.

I have to admit that I strongly suspected that the “evil” answer was correct for a long time, but after the last few weeks I’ve changed my mind.  Barack Hussein Obama is an idiot.  Let’s take a look at some recent history.

OK, I started wondering about the IQ of Our Great Leader when He announced on the campaign trail that He had been to 57 States so far, and was sorry that He’d missed a couple, but it became pretty clear that His IQ score has to be down in double digits when He chose to give Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the leader of our closest ally, a gift of 25 DVDs of old movies when he visited not long ago.  The Prime Minister gave him an ornamental desk pen-holder hewn from the timbers of one of the Royal Navy’s anti-slaving ships of the 19th century, HMS Gannet. Even more appropriate, in 1909 the Gannet was renamed HMS President. The president’s guest also presented him with the framed commission for HMS Resolute, the lost British ship retrieved from the Arctic and returned by America to London, and whose timbers were used for a thank-you gift Queen Victoria sent to Rutherford Hayes: the handsome desk that now sits in the Oval Office. And, just to round things out, as a little stocking stuffer, Brown gave President Obama a first edition of Sir Martin Gilbert’s seven-volume biography of Winston Churchill.

And then, apparently just to make the state of His intelligence absolutely clear, He mentioned in His speech to Congress that where the United States auto industry is concerned:

“I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it.”

Which I suppose means that part of the “stimulus” money is going to Germany, where the automobile was invented.

Beyond His personal stupidity, we also have to consider the poor choices He has made in selecting the people who work for Him.  Take Vice President Biden for example, who couldn’t even remember “recovery.gov” of the Web site he’s supposed to be in charge that will show where all the “stimulus” money is going.  How hard, I must ask, is it to remember “recovery.gov?”  The answer to which must be pretty hard, because days after his gaffe on TV, our VP still can’t get it right, calling it “recovery.com.”

Oh, and let us not forget Secretary of State Clinton, who has been called “the world’s smartest woman” many times by left leaning members of the press.  On her recent trip to Europe:

Hillary Clinton gave Sergei Lavrov a mock “reset” button, symbolising US hopes to mend frayed ties with Moscow.

But he said the word the Americans chose, “peregruzka”, meant “overloaded” or “overcharged”, rather than “reset”.

Now I know that Russian isn’t considered an easy language, but with the resources of the entire Department of State at her disposal, you have to be kind of slow to get a one word translation wrong.  Also on her journey to revive our foreign relations with Europe that the evil Bush almost destroyed, she mispronounced, to their face, the names of some foreign leaders, and mentioned that: “democracy in the US has been around a lot longer than European democracy,” which was a huge surprise to the people of Athens.


While it’s kind of scary knowing that complete idiots are running our country, I’ve always been a big fan of Three Stooges movies and this is almost as good.




Thursday, January 21, 2010

THE WORLD BIDS FAREWELL TO OBAMA



The World Bids Farewell to Obama




AFP

US President Barack Obama suffered a painful defeat in Massachusetts on Tuesday. With mid-term elections looming, it means that Obama will have to fundamentally re-think his political course. German commentators say it is the end of hope.

US President Barack Obama has had a number of difficult weeks during his first year in the White House. Right after he took office, he had to wade through a week full of partisan bickering over his economic stimulus package combined with a tax scandal surrounding Tom Daschle, the man Obama had hoped would lead his health care reform team.



Then there was the last week of 2009, when a failed terror attack on a flight inbound for Detroit exposed major flaws in US efforts to identify and stop potential terrorists.

This week, though -- a week when Obama should have been celebrating the first anniversary of his inauguration -- may have been the president's worst yet. Scott Brown, an almost unknown Republican member of the Massachusetts Senate, defeated the Democratic candidate Martha Coakley for the US Senate seat vacated by the death of Senator Edward M. Kennedy. The defeat in a heavily Democratic state not only highlights Obama's massive loss of popular support during his first year in office, but it also could spell doom for his signature effort to reform the US health care system.

There were immediate calls for a suspension of health care votes in the Senate until Brown is sworn in. The loss of the Massachusetts seat means that the Democrats no longer control the 60 Senate seats necessary to avoid a filibuster. Obama's reform package, which aims to provide health insurance to most of the over 40 million Americans currently lacking coverage, may ultimately fail as a result.

More than that, though, the vote shows just how quickly the political pendulum has swung back to the right following Obama's election. The seat Brown won had been in Democratic hands for all but six years since 1926. Now, its new occupant is a man who not only opposes the health care bill, but also favors waterboarding as a method of interrogation for terrorism suspects and rejects carbon cap-and-trade as a means of limiting carbon emissions.

The omen could be a dark one for the Obama administration heading into a mid-term election year. German commentators take a closer look.

Center-left daily Süddeutsche Zeitung writes on Thursday:

"Obama made a serious misjudgement. Right at the beginning of his first year in office, he saved the banks, rescued the automobile industry from collapse and passed a huge economic stimulus package. He had hoped that these enormous deeds would give him the space to address those issues which are dearest to him: health care reform, climate change and investment in education."

"Those issues, however, are clearly not priorities for people in the US at the moment. Scott Brown campaigned on two promises, both of which apparently struck a nerve with the electorate. He wants to block health care reform and he wants to find ways to reduce the enormous budget deficit. It is here where the roots of dissatisfaction with Obama are to be found. His reform agenda, in its current form, is highly suspect to Americans. And they have the impression that, if he continues piling up debt, he will be gambling away the country's future."

The Financial Times Deutschland writes:

"For Obama, the election in Massachusetts means that he will have to re-evaluate his political style. He could now focus his concentration on his political base and push through his policy agenda. After all, he still has a majority in Congress -- he could back away from his strategy of bipartisanship ... which would mean giving up much of what he spent his first year in office creating."

"More likely, however, is that Obama will interpret the Massachusetts loss as a signal that he should move further toward the middle and make more concessions to the conservatives -- even if this alienates his base even further, a base which had high expectations from the 'yes we can' candidate."

"For everyone else in the world, this means that they will have to bid farewell to a candidate for whom the hopes were so high. They will have to say goodbye to the charisma they fell in love with. Obama will be staying home after all."

The left-leaning daily Die Tageszeitung writes:

"In addition to health care reform, Obama's reputation has primarily been harmed by the high unemployment rate and the increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan. It will become even more difficult in the future for the president to push projects through successfully. Not just because Republicans now have a means of preventing it, but also because the Democratic camp is deeply divided. Some would like to see the party shift toward the center -- wherever that may be -- whereas others want the party to position itself to the left. Such a battle is hardly a good sign for the mid-term elections in November. Massachusetts could prove to be an omen."

The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

"Of course the president rejects the interpretation that the Massachusetts election was a referendum on his first year in the White House. But he cannot ignore the fact that his health care reform package is not popular, the situation of the country's finances is seen as threatening and many voters blame the high unemployment rate on the party in power -- on the Democrats, led by Obama. The result is a second year in office full of very different challenges than the first. To save what there is to be saved, Obama will have to be prepared to fashion a bipartisan compromise on health care -- a compromise with a Republican Party which has tasted blood and can now dream once again about a return to power."

-- Charles Hawley


The World from Berlin-SPIEGEL


Wednesday, January 20, 2010

UNCOUPLING THE US FROM THE UN


Uncoupling the U.S. from the UN

By Edward Bernard Glick

Over the past sixty years, the political architecture and political mathematics of the United Nations have changed drastically. Not only has the number of Security Council non-permanent members been increased from 6 to 10, but the pivotal position in the General Assembly once held by Latin America is now held by Third-world countries in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. They have hijacked the United Nations and transformed it into one of the most anti-Western, anti-American, anti-Semitic, and anti-democratic organizations on the planet.

They are also determined to make the UN the substitute for sovereignty and the surrogate for a sovereign state's decision-making institutions. Except when their own interests are at stake, they preach that the Security Council is the Government of the Earth and the General Assembly is the Parliament of Mankind.

America can keep the Security Council at bay because it has a veto there. But in the veto-free General Assembly, America, which pays 20 percent of the United Nations' regular budget and about a third of its peacekeeping budget, has only four options: Either it abstains on a resolution, or it supports one it doesn't like, or it introduces one it does like, or it waters it down to utter ineffectiveness in order to get the two-thirds vote required to pass a resolution in a General Assembly that is unrecognizably different from the one the UN's founders envisaged in San Francisco in 1945.

The situation is now so bad that it forced John Bolton, when he was the United States ambassador to the United Nations, to remark: "Many people want me to be the UN's ambassador to the U.S. That is not my job. I am the U.S. ambassador to the UN, and my primary duty is to advance U.S. foreign policy."

States, like individuals, can be inert. They remain tied to policies and processes long after they have ceased serving their intended purposes. One example is America's membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization: Only God knows why the United States still belongs to NATO. NATO is a Cold War-generated anachronism whose only purpose was to deter Soviet aggression in Western Europe. Soviet Russia is gone, but the Europeans still want America to help them whenever they get into trouble. However, they have neither the means nor the will to help America when it gets into trouble.

Another example of how inertia triumphs over intelligence is America's membership in the United Nations. Although the United States was one of the organization's founding members, it should separate itself from that body. And while it is doing that, it ought to encourage the United Nations to move its headquarters from New York City to a place more congenial to its orientation. Perhaps United Nations headquarters should be in the middle of Khartoum or in a suburb of Pyongyang.

Whatever usefulness the UN had in its early years has been dissipated by its indecency and irresponsibility in later years. A case in point is its incessant denunciations of Israel, to which it gave birth and legitimacy when it adopted the Palestine partition resolution in November 1947. Palestine and Israel aside, really important events, such as America's recognition of Communist China, the ending of the Korean and Vietnam wars, and the defusing of the Cuban missile crisis, were settled not by the United Nations but by diplomats operating outside the world organization.

To those who would argue that America's jettisoning the United Nations would mean its return to pre-Second World War isolationism, one should note that in the age of the computer, the internet, and the high-speed airplane, America can defend its vital political and socioeconomic interests in old-fashioned ways: ambassadorial diplomacy, summit meetings, bilateral and multilateral treaties, trade talks, and cultural and scientific exchanges."

In short, when a more pro-American administration comes to power again in Washington, one of its first moves, after ending the current recession and so-called jobless recovery, must be starting the legal and administrative process of extracting the United States from the United Nations, and the United Nations from the United States.

Surely, when they put their heads together, the city, state, and federal governments will find a better use for the UN's expensive and untaxed property along New York's famed East River.

Edward Bernard Glick is Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Temple University


HONG-KONG: the freest place to conduct business



Hong Kong remains the world's freest place to do business while the United States has lost its claim to an unrestricted economy, according to an annual report published Wednesday.

Hong Kong, a former British colony which was returned to China in 1997, edged out rival Singapore to claim top spot for the sixteenth consecutive year in the 2010 Index of Economic Freedom.

Australia and New Zealand grabbed third and fourth spot respectively.

The report is compiled by The Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington-based think tank, and The Wall Street Journal.

Ireland, Switzerland, Canada, the United States, Denmark and Chile rounded out the top ten list, which is based on criteria including economic openness, trade, the efficiency of domestic regulators, and the rule of law.

But Canada pushed the US from the top seven economies deemed to have an entirely free economy due to "notable decreases in financial freedom, monetary freedom, and property rights," the report said.

"The US government?s interventionist responses to the financial and economic crisis that began in 2008 have significantly undermined economic freedom and long-term prospects for economic growth," the report said.

Mainland China was ranked 140 in the list of 183 countries with Cuba, Zimbabwe and North Korea rounding out the bottom of the list.  The US is almost there lined up with all the Socialist nations. Just a matter of time when Obama finishes his shenanigans






Tuesday, January 12, 2010

airpod CARS RUNS ON AIR

AirPod - Car Runs On Air



In the past hour, worldwide consumption of petroleum exceeded 100 million gallons.

In the United States, there are 200,000 miles of pipeline, 170,000 gas stations and 243 million vehicles using petroleum fuels.

Guy Nègre, a former aeronautics and formula one engineer is hoping to change all that. He has invented a compressed air technology for cars.

Nègre is the founder and CEO of Motor Development International (MDI SA) based in Luxembourg, with research and development facilities in Nice, France.

The AirPod is a small four-wheel mini-car that uses compressed air to move pistons in a 5.45 hp internal combustion engine.

It has a range of 60 miles on a single tank of air and uses a small motor to compress outside air to keep the tank full.

The compressor can operate on gasoline, diesel, biodiesel, ethanol or vegetable oil, but can also be plugged into an electrical outlet for recharging. With regular gasoline fueling the compressor, the Airpod averages an amazing 106 mpg with a range of 800 miles.

With the demand for inexpensive, user friendly, ultra high mileage vehicles that have zero emissions related to global warming - the Airpod is getting a lot of attention.

Air France and KLM airlines are using AirPods to transport passengers between arrival and departure gates at airports in Paris and Amsterdam.

Automaker, Tata Motors has purchased the manufacturing rights for India. Zero Pollution Motors has purchased the rights for the U.S. market and beginning in 2011 expect to manufacture 8,000 vehicles a year in the United States.

Licensing arrangements for other countries are currently in progress.



NEW TIRES WHICH CANNOT GO FLAT

Biomimicry Creates New Tires


Biomimicry is the science that imitates nature to create new products.

Resilient Technologies, a Wisconsin based company, has created a tire that can't go flat.


Instead of using a pressurized air cavity, the tire design relies on a geometric pattern of six-sided cells that are arranged in a matrix like a honeycomb.

It has the same ride, reduced noise levels and heat generation as pressurized tires. The goal was to create an airless tire with uniform flexibility and load transfer that would endure tremendous wear and tear and still perform well.

The best design was found in nature, which was the honeycomb.




TRANSPARENT ELECTRONICS



Transparent Electronics


Inventors, Jung Won Seo, Jae-Woo Park, Keong Su Lim, Ji-Hwan Yang and Sang Jung Kang, who are scientists at the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, have created the world's first transparent computer chip.

The chip, known as (TRRAM) or transparent resistive random access memory, is similar to existing chips known as (CMOS) or metal-oxide semiconductor memory, which we use in our electronic devices. The difference is that TRRAM is completely clear and transparent. What is the benefit of having transparency?

"It is a new milestone of transparent electronic systems," says Jung Won Seo. "By integrating TRRAM with other transparent electronic components, we can create a total see-through embedded electronic systems."

The technology could enable the windows or mirrors in your home to be used as computer monitors and television screens.

This technology is expected to be available within 3 to 4 years.




HARRY REID: dead man walking


The end seems to be near for Harry Reid (D-NV) only it won't come soon enough. We've all heard his ridiculous comments and his apologies to Barry, now we get to hear from everyone else. Today I got to hear from political pundits from both sides of the aisle. Both sides said what you would expect them to and nothing will come of it.

Republicans are calling for the senile Senator to resign or be fired and the liberals are all saying that it's no big deal. I really don't care if this amounts to anything. Come November 2010 we will all be calling whomever is running against him, Senator-elect. This is the final nail in the political coffin of this ageing buffoon.

With his stance on the health care reform issue, his getting a political payoff in the Stimulus Bill and his penchant for sticking his foot in his mouth, this guy is done. And the nation will be better off when he's gone. I hope he enjoys his retirement.

Was his intent to slur Savior Obama? I doubt it. I think that Reid believes in the One and his agenda. His choice of words is suspect though. Reid freely admits that he could have chosen his words more carefully. In this world of political correctness, he most certainly should have thought a bit longer before opening his mouth.

During the short time I was in the car today I had the opportunity to listen to Sean Hannity. There was a slot where Sean had Juan Williams, whom I enjoy listening to even though he's a liberal, and I believe the other man's name is Mike Meyers. I'm also not sure of the spelling. During this spot Sean played parts of speeches from Al Gore, Hillary Clinton and Barry Obama. All of the speeches were given to predominately black audiences. All three took the persona of a preacher in the middle of a sermon. Meyers laughed and Williams called it condescending and offensive.

My point in the last paragraph is that there is a double standard for Democrats and Republicans. The amazing thing to me is that this standard is acknowledged and accepted. WTF? Imagine, if you dare, if Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity or Bill O'Reilly had said this. There would be a national cry for their head and demands on FOX and EIB to fire whoever had said this and the firestorm would last until the liberals got their way. You know it as well as I.

So, no I don't think that Harry Reid is a racist, I think he's an idiot who needs to lose in the next election cycle and just fade away. Sue Lowden (R) should win the seat and maybe then we can start to undo the damage that this liberal has heaped upon our country.

At least Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Chris Dodd (D-CT) had the decency to announce their collective retirements. Or were they just trying to save face instead of getting blasted in November? Reid should take a cue from his fellow liberal Senators and just say that he is going to retire.

Nothing would make me happier.


Monday, January 11, 2010

oil rises above $83 per barrel and no outcry



Oil rises above $83 amid strong China demand



Oil prices jumped above $83 a barrel Monday in Asia amid signs of strong Chinese demand for crude and a weakening U.S. dollar.

Benchmark crude for February delivery was up 80 cents to $83.55 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, the contract rose 9 cents to settle at $82.75.A weaker dollar also helped boost oil prices, as investors buy commodities as a hedge against inflation.

The euro rose to $1.4530 on Monday from $1.4430 on Friday while the dollar fell to 92.20 yen from 92.54.

Crude prices have spiked 20 percent in the last month as a rash of cold winter weather in parts of the U.S., Europe and Asia boost demand for oil products such as heating oil.

Supplies were threatened in Nigeria, where unidentified gunmen attacked a Chevron Corp. crude oil pipeline, cutting production by 20,000 barrels a day, a company spokesman said Saturday.

In other Nymex trading in February contracts, heating oil rose 2.09 cents to $2.22 a gallon and gasoline gained 2.15 cents to $2.18 a gallon. Natural gas futures were down 16.5 cents to $5.58.

In London, Brent crude for February delivery rose 72 cents to $82.08 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange

When the price was $55 per barrel last summer, from the democrats to lefties made so much of noise against the Bush Administration. Where are they right now? Cry babies and communists.  Now the price is almost $83 per barrel and the anointed one is the President, no body talks. Sounds very Historical indeed.