elections behind the iron smoke screen

this Sunday Russia will hold its presidential elections. the elections appear to be ceremonial at this point. It took me about 10 minutes to find an english article that mentions any candidates besides Dmitry Medvedev, who is the hand picked successor to Vladimir Putin. Putin plans to stay on as the Prim Minister in Medvedev's administration, little altering his role.

Putin has consolidated power in his two terms, and to his credit has allowed the Russian economy to grow. Russia today is like the dot-coms a decade ago, there are fortunes to be made, but instead of just going broke, you may end up in prison like Leonid Nevzlin a prime shareholder of former Russian gas company, Yukos. Its the wild east, but many credit Putin with the cash in the pockets of many Russian.

some say this is the reason that Medvedev has support of 70% of Russian voters. others say they have little choice. coverage of other candidates has been less than that on Medvedev, but such is often the case. This morning NPR did a story in which they interviewed a number of pollitcal leaders and journalists, of which two were visited the same day by Putin's police forces. domocratic monitoring groups have pulled out from observing the election as they had been hindered in doing their work and they wont be reporting on the elections.

while Putin has not openly forced anything, it seems common people are receiving firm direction from bosses and the like to vote, and for Medvedev. the general consensus is that Medvedev will win in landslide form, just as Putin and his party hoped. the problem is that the world is increasingly seeing Russia as a nominal democracy, not a functional one.

it has become a place a financial growth and freedom for the privileged, and is drifting toward political autocracy under Putin's regime. the control of Stalin's USSR with the capitalist wealth of new Russia.

whats all this mean? well Bush has been at odds with Putin, who has supported Serbia in the recent separation of Kosovo, and who is supplying nuclear material to Iran, who many in the west fear are developing nuclear weapons. It appears to be becoming the old East vs West standoff of the cold war era. open democracies over the world fear the return of communism, while countries like Iran that stand in the face of the west seem to be gaining a powerful ally.

all i hope is that Medvedev is able to tone down Putin's rhetoric a bit and that the new US president is more open to diplomacy and less trigger happy. Russia is much more valuable as an ally than a foe. the same can be said for Iran. we dont have to be, and probably wont be, either Iran's or Russia's BFF, but we can, and must, come to a peaceful compromise.

the way we as Americans see the world is not necessarily the right way. it is one way. Russia has another view on the world. it is easy to criticize what is happening there, but what we really need to do is build relationships. a peaceful trade of ideas, not a stand off of super powers.

having spent 6 weeks in Russia i can say that having mat Russians, they are people just like you and i. they are suspicious of outsiders. wary of invaders. but make a Russian a friend, and you have a friend for life. so lets make all Russians our friends. lets take Medvedev at face value, let the media denounce the elections as a fraud. lets let him make his path and with a new president here in the fall, we can perhaps have a new start with Russia.

i am having trouble summing this one up. i guess i throw a couple of links in and let you come to your own conclusion. i just hope the new presidents of the US and Russia will work together, unlike Bush and Putin.

Novosti
AP
BBC
ITN

QUACK!

president bush, in his infinite wisdom, is refusing to speak to raul castro. its called diplomacy, idiot. you tell him to loosen up on things, we start more talks, trade, etc. or we could just be ignorant, denounce him, and force his hand to keep up what fidel started.

QUACK!

quack.

contrary to what nearly all economists say, bush claims that we are not headed into a recession and refuses to look at any further economic stimulus. while i think we should hold steady for at least a few weeks as far as any further corrections go, he needs to realize that a recession is a very real danger.

i dont think we should jump to make any other big economic moves. its like driving in the snow, if you start to skid, you make careful corrections. if you overreact, you probably end up in a snow bank, or worse. so now that some corrections have been made, lets see how they do before we push more economic stimuli and end up spinning our wheels, hopelessly stuck in a heap of snow.

mr bush also took his press conference as a chance to once again push at renewing the 'protect america act,' which i have already covered.

he then pointed out the obvious fact that the turkish invasion of northern iraq needs to be quick. but i think we all said that about our invasion, and look what happened.

whats a lame duck say?

quack.

crude behavior

for my generation, many folks' first recollection of an oil company or environmental tragedy, which are all over the news these days, was the wreck of the Exxon-Valdez. back in '89 the tanker ran aground in Alaska and dumped 11 million gallons of crude oil into a relatively pristine area of the pacific shore line. back in the day 'A jury initially awarded $287 million to compensate for economic losses and $5 billion in punitive damages.' of which Exxon paid the compensatory damages, but has been fighting, ever since the initial ruling, the the punitive damages.

punitive damages a put in place in incidents of all sorts of a rather negligent or heinous nature and to act as a deterrent for similar deeds in the future. well Exxon has fought those damages all the way to the supreme court where the case arrived today.

Exxon argues that long-standing maritime law and the 1970s-era Clean Water Act should bar any punitive damages, which are intended both to punish behavior and deter a repeat. The company says it should not be held accountable for Hazelwood's reckless conduct.

The plaintiffs say the judgment, representing three weeks of Exxon's 2006 profit, is rational and proportionate. It takes account of Exxon's decision to allow Hazelwood to command the ship, despite knowing he had an ongoing drinking problem, the plaintiffs contend.

to me it is clear that Exxon should have paid this fine before i reached my 10th birthday. they fucked up. they fucked up royally. they should be punished, and in my opinion, the fine isnt enough. i sincerely hope that with Alito abstaining from the case because he owns stock in Exxon, that the court will at least slap an oil company's hand. maybe just once??? please.

thanks to the Detroit News for this one.

water, its not just for fishes anymore.

turns out we need it too. and it turns out that there are vast quantities of fresh water in and surrounding the state of michigan. it is in fact two rather large peninsulas. but you knew that. i hope.

what you may not know is that there is a compact that would create a sort of 'great lakes board of dont fuck with our water' that is intended to bind the 8 states and 2 canadian provinces together to monitor and protect the regions vast and valuable water supplies.

you also may not know that michigan is a state lagging behind in signing on to that compact. which is rather ridiculous considering its place, surrounded by water and at the epicenter of this whole thing.

anyway, a bill is now in both state houses that needs to be passed. the bills differ little and the need to be passed and reconciled in committee. lets get with the program. so call, email, telegram whatever your state rep and senator and tell them to get this done. they havent done much to move the state forward, at least they can come together on an issue that all should agree on and in all reality should have been passed long ago.

find your rep.
find your senator.

the freep agrees.

protecting america

president bush is once again urging congress to pass his wiretapping bill. and who wouldnt pass it with such a lovely sounding name as Protect America Act of 2007. perhaps im just too cynical, but anything with a title like that to me screams 'JUDGE ME BY MY COVER! DONT READ THE FINE PRINT, WHATEVER YOU DO!'

this is an act that has resulted in 40 plus lawsuits against AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint for handing over call records and information to the federal government. why? well this bill more or less says that the country is having so much trouble finding osama that theyre looking through our phone records in hopes that they find a call from Afghanistan with 'Osama's Cave' as the caller id.

ok, so that was hyperbole. but the bill says that the govt can get our phone records from such companies without a warrant. and this is what has people upset. and what has them suing the telecom guys over invasion of privacy. and in reality, the bill of rights lays out a process for search and seizure that involves getting a warrant from the judiciary. to me this whole business is unconstitutional. if they want the info. give the judge enough evidence to get a warrant. he or she will provide such warrant. then you can find out who osama is calling.

maybe its me, but i think the best way to find osama would have been to continue pursuing him rather than chasing after a ghost in iraq. if you look at it now, we were making progress in Afghanistan, which is now becoming destabilized because we more or less left after toppling the taliban. now iraq is about as stable as a drunk on a merry-go-round, and we captured its former leader. he was a despot, but he was back when we were funding him during the iran-iraq war too. so what changed so much? and after all this, osama, who most believe is behind 2001's attacks is still on the run. all 6 foot 4 of him and a dialysis machine. must be some high tech cave.

so anyway, i think the bill is crap. the house is right not to pass, or even address it. maybe if they told us how it was doing good. but apparently no one other the bush is allowed to see that information. it all seems like a lot of smoke and mirrors to me. and laws, especially those that impact our most dear personal rights as citizens, need to be based on verifiable need, not shadowy pretense.

The post article that got this ball a rollin.

not baseball

detroit is now seeing the 4th UAW strike in less than 6 months. this time it is picketing American Axle Manufacturing, a detroit based auto supplier with plants in michigan and new york. this comes in response to management asking the union to take cuts in wages, health benefits, and restructure retirement programs. the union says this amounts to unfair labor practices.

the union gave just such concessions to all of the big 3 late last year. my guess is that AAM needs to cut costs, and this is the first offer. these things always come down to negotiations and in light of the deals at the auto makers you cant blame AAM for trying to reduce costs. the cynical side of me wonders if this was worked out in advance by AAM and the UAW to draw attention to the situation, then positive press for resolving it quickly. the detroiter in me wonders if AAM, which has been a bright spot in detroit's ever gloomy economy, is trying to get more for the bottom line at the expense of the workers.

either way, its in everyone's best interest to restructure things in the pattern of the GM and ford agreements late last year. no one can afford to have this draw out for any length of time.

from what i hear, word of mouth, mind you, there are union guys making $65/hour. if thats true, these guys need to take a cut. thats ridiculous. union carpenter wages arent nearly that inflated in this area where the cost of living is at least twice as high as detroit. apprentices make like $14. foremen make something like $28 to $33. the union has to accept something at that scale. thats damn good pay for the type of work. and to come in line with the rest of the world and accept 401K's instead of company retirement is not only reasonable, its the way the rest of the world works and perfectly acceptable. and as far as health insurance goes, the union should fight for the best coverage possible. everyone should.

lets hope this one follows the pattern. i think it will. it should. detroit cant afford a prolonged strike like this for sundry and various reasons.

TJ inspired

with cuba now under the rule of the more moderate of the castro brothers, i wonder what might happen with our relations with them. i honestly dont know why we have been at odds with cuba in particular, why befriending other nations with less than democratic rule. (saudi arabia, for one) communism isnt the buzz word it once was. and cuba is no longer shored up by the ussr, and hasnt been for more than 15 years. it really bears no threat to us, and if we invade another country, it will obviously be in the middle east, not the carribean.

so lets start to build up relations with them. to extend the olive branch to raul castro and lift the ancient an silly embargo with them. its a start at least. and its diplomacy, rather than an invasion. i think people will be much more likely to like us if the see the benefits of it, rather then toppling their govt and causing general anarchy. we need to set up a mutually beneficial situation, and step one is to open trade.

ideally, we should have this with every nation. with a level playing field most products are cheaper the closer they are made to you. then the ones that cant be produced near you, you trade for with something you have and they dont. we should be able to trade grain we grow for spices that we cant, to break it way down. but in today's slanted playing field, it makes it cheaper to manufacture many things abroad due to low wages. this is partly because the US has been blessed with prosperity while other countries havent. this is also because some US wages(UAW) are unnaturally high. the new UAW contracts with the big 3 help to address this, but there are a number of jobs that are over payed in the US that make our products generally uncompetitive globally.

so there are a number of problems, but step one with cuba, and many others in my opinion, is to open up trade relations. all this comes from driving by a building in downtown DC with a Jefferson quote that was similar to this, but this one supports my conclusion better.

"I think all the world would gain by setting commerce at perfect liberty."

there is a growing evil in america that we must put to bed. it has been growing for some time. this is that the american electorate is largely uneducated and uninvolved in politics. i have been guilty of this, just as have been most americans. we owe it to ourselves to change this trend. to take this coming election very seriously. to do the research. to vote for who we feel is most qualified. to select the one person who can really lead our nation through a difficult time.

i don not envy our next president. he or she will inherit a colossal deficit, a seemingly endless war, and a country teetering on the edge of recession. thats just naming the real big ones. and whoever our next president is, he or she needs to be able to guide us through these times. and it is our voice who calls for that leader. our voice must be strong and clear. we must choose wisely. not just picking the guy we'd like to have a beer with, but the guy who can end a mired war, and turn around the economy.

i honestly dont feel confidant that anyone in the race will be able to do this. i hope that the candidates can lay out a way that they will approach these tough issues and we, the voters, can decide which path is best. but to find out what candidate is right for the job, we have to look into their past, their experience, their goals, their plan. it is their job to lead us. it is our job to choose the leader.

making the wrong choice again could be tragic. we have seen the deficit grow exponentially, an unjust war, and the erosion of our rights due to our past choices. to prevent more of this, and to right the wrongs we need to be active. we need to research, and think, and vote.

"Lethargy [is] the forerunner of death to the public liberty."

Ralph -a- Nader

if you have your head above the sand, youve heard by now that Ralph Nader has thrown his name into the race. while he, and most reasonable people, realize that he will not be president, he is sure to bring attention to some issues that the other candidates would not address. and this why he is important. hes the guy you can count on to say what he thinks, not what is politically popular, and in most cases, look out for the every day american. and whether his proposed policies would in fact help us is debatable, he will force the other candidates to address issues that they havent to this point.

i think that a candidate like him is essential in that he doesnt pander to anyone. he addresses the issues that he sees relevant and necessary. and he comes up with a solution that he thinks will work, not one that sounds good in sound bites. and by doing this he brings up the point that the answer in life is rarely a choice between a or b, but is a spectrum of choices and paths. it becomes a choice between 2 courses because of our political system that favors two parties over a number of them. as a result we receive only two possible spins on the situation. during election years sometimes, as this one, a party has two nearly even front runners who have differing plans, but frequently theres one from the GOP and one from the democrats, and only third parties bring attention to other possibilities and issues.

the down side, at least in the case the democrats say, is that he will be 'taking' votes from their candidate. they go as far as to say that in 2000 it was Nader's fault that Gore didnt win the presidency. i think its pretty much common knowledge that there were other forces at play in that election. and the fact that 4% of the popular vote went to Nader that year shows that a large number of people rallied behind what he said. perhaps if Gore had addressed these issues he would have taken some or all of those votes. i think it is silly to blame a candidate for 'taking' votes. you have to earn them. no one can take them.

Nader probably wouldnt run if he thought another major party candidate covered the issues. but he does run. he provokes thought in americans which is something we desperately need in large part. i hope he keeps running and long as he feels like he needs to. i dont know how much longer he will go on with it, but hopefully he or someone else will continue to raise awareness, provoke thought, and challenge the established parties.

read this.

i dont think i need to say anything. i could put this all in my own words and throw in some profanity and goofy similes, but in reality, Gary Shapiro lays out one of a number of ways we need to alter thinking both in and of detroit to turn things around. thanks Freep.

the ant-efficacy trifecta

after reading a free press article on the plans for expanding and updating cobo hall, i have to say the local leaders are dropping the ball at best. ficano's plan, the only to get real attention, is not perfect, but patterson and kilpatrick boycotting talks is about as worthwhile as near-beer. if these people cant get over their constituency issues and create a viable plan, and quick, all of their constituents will be disappointed in them.

the lack of an expansion will result in the loss of the premier auto show in the US. this is a show that brings in roughly 400 million dollars a year. michigan cannot afford that loss. i hope that voters will not tolerate that loss.

look, these three idiots work for you. call for their heads. picket their homes. getting a deal worked out is possible, and much more important to the region than worrying about who pays a couple percent of what cost. sure its not easy, but rarely things worth doing are.

kwame, get your big, dumb, adulterous ass to that table and redeem yourself. NOW! and patterson, you pretentious bastard, tell us your first name, and put you uppity air aside and sit down with ficano and figure it out. ficano at least came up with a plan, but he now needs to hear these others out and and resolve the issues. by not budging, hes no better than the other two.

get it together guys. and quick. and if you dont, we the people ought to be outraged, and throw your asses out on the streets. and if we dont, than were no better than the anti-efficacy trifecta.

im pulling for you, detroit...



the article: http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080222/OPINION01/802220327

the chip on my shoulder

well, in reality its in it. as you can see.

its pretty small, but the little fucker hurts if i do the wrong thing. which is essentially most normal functions. i cannot lift it above my shoulder at all. above like 45 degrees it starts to hurt. apparently it will be like this for another 3 weeks or so. then it should be pretty well set and i will start doing more strengthening shit.

on the plus side, i seem to be out of surgery danger, which is very good.

this is the first, and hopefully last, real bone injury. i dont see toes as real, they heal quick, and really who gives a shit. when you play soccer, its all part of the game.

how it happened:
i went flying, rather ungracefully, off a jump, missing a ski, and landed more or less on my face but with most of my weight on the left shoulder. as a defense my body tensed up, which prevented it from being dislocated, but caused the chip. it seems that in brief bursts your muscles, mine at least, are stronger than the bone. so in holding the shoulder together, i popped a piece of bone loose. and there you have it. the only saving grace is that i find healing and injuries to be very fascinating. thats not to say its not irritating, it just takes some of the sting out of it.

economy casarole

ive been reading various sundry articles about the state of the economy. ive come up with some thoughts of my own, but i want to preface this with the fact that i took maybe two econ classes, so not an expert, and at this point the looming recession (GASP!) is more than just an american problem. this is a worldwide concern.

disclaimers aside, heres the way i see it:
what stimulates the economy? spending. who has become increasingly poor with their spending decisions and pretty much gotten us in this mess? dumb people and stupid businesses. how do we fix it? give said dumb people more money to spend like morons!!!! NO! bad government. you keep that money, because that little tax rebate that we all are about to get (about $600 per person) amounts to quite the sum. lets say half of all americans will get this, meaning they pay taxes and the various other requirements. so 300million divided by two then multiplied by $600 comes to $90,000,000,000. also known as a fucking shitload of cash that your entrusting to people who have shown they dont know what the fuck their doing with their money.

so what my alternative? first go back in time and smack some sense into our lawmakers. next, develop big government projects to spend this money that is inevitably going to be cut from some program to stimulate the economy. i can think of a few pretty easily. a one percent of that would be a great start to getting detroit that mass transit it has needed since the second world war. perhaps get the new publicly owned bridge between detroit and windsor with half a percent of that. and guess what a billion and a half dollars dumped into the detroit area economy would do. and im sure these type projects can be found all over the us. remember that bridge that collapsed in minneapolis. perhaps we could go around and check out and repair the scores of other bridges that usdot has deemed 'structurally deficient.' you could spend a few bucks on research too. finding a way to produce ethanol that doesnt take away from the food source and isnt propped up by subsides(corn). give some money to stem cell research to help those of us who suffer from chronic illness at the hands of RA, diabetes, cancer and untold others. and while were one health care, if we have that much money to throw around, why not let some people get treatment for their health with all that cash.

but, its probably too late for all that. so lets look at what likely will happen with this $600 we will be receiving. all those people who are defaulting on mortgages and going into bancruptcy are going to go out and buy fucking flat screen tv's made in aisa, which helps us tremendously. those who have some brains will likely hang on to that dough for something special that they have been wanting. heres the problem, in order for that 'economic stimulus' to be effective, that money needs to be spent right away. and those who will are already up to the eye balls in debt so the problem doesnt go away.

like i said, maybe i dont know what im talking about. i hope not. because if im right, were all a bit fucked. only saving grace for me is that i live in the nation's capital where never ending govt cash keeps the world turning. thing is, its not here that the stimulation is needed, its in places like michigan, where my own cousins have been forced to move out of their house and in with other relatives because they cant afford to pay for heat.

ties and slings

so i've now made the transition to an office position. i am extremely happy not to be working fucked up hours and actually sleeping in an hour or so later than what was typical before. in case you didnt know, i love sleeping.

as a result of this move i have to speak in an indoor voice and wear ties on a daily basis. therefore i had to go buy some. those who know me well may never have seen me in a tie, and if they have it hasnt been frequent. so i went to the local discount shops on the way home and bought me some snazzy discounted new clothes. heres the silly part, everyone has their own clothing line. i bought a donald trump tie and a sean john shirt. there are no logos on them, i just liked them, but, its still odd. the tie im wearing now is pretty rad. its blue and pink and has stripes and paisley(it says steve harvey collection, and i have no clue who that is... that comedian guy???). it sounds horrendous as i type it, but ive gotten a number of compliments, including from the vice president. yep, so im hot. all dressed up. just call me dapper dan. i dont even have paint on my pants or anything.

an additional accesory is the sling i was given for my shoulder. a little chunk-o-bone came off a few weeks ago and its supposed to help it heal, but it makes my neck hurt and life in general a bit more cumbersome. anyway, ive been doing PT for the injury, and holy shit, it works. ive done one session and some exercises they gave me on my own, and it really feels better. i thought all the PT and chiropractor shit was wack ass o-give. but i have to say thus far it makes me feel better.

so assuming this chip stays put and doesnt wander off where it doesnt belong, i will be pain free in a few weeks, and then back to normal in a month or two. if it doesnt heal, or moves, then i go under the knife, and who the fuck knows at that point. so i guess wish me luck.

even me

apparently anyone can do this. i have thoughts and rantings so i might as well join the hordes. you may expect this to contain anything i deem appropriate. from updates on fucked up arm, to random writings, to rants, reviews, and random fun shit i like.

i like feedback, so feel free.

i will post anywhere between hourly and monthly depending on my whims and how much i love or hate the internet at any given point.

stay tuned for updates on the shoulder chronicles...