This link is a to a well done quiz that demystifies global warming;
Take that Al Gore.
Al Gore
Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize for his effort to end global warming. And the believers celebrated. It is a political award. My friend John L sent me an email saying:
“Also, Gore won the Peace Prize. Did you ever see his movie? I’ll lend it to you when you return.”
I replied: “Yasser Arafat also won the Nobel Peace Prize. I have seen Gore’s movie and he didn’t convince me that global warming is one of the top five issues facing the world.”
John called me on my top five claim and asked me: “What are the top five?”
I had to think about it but came up with this list: “Everybody’s lists will vary but mine would include:
Health in Africa
Improving equality of opportunity in the USA and the world
Womens right in the Muslim world
Ending ethnic violence in Darfur, Iraq, Zimbabwe, Burma and other places
Stablizing the worlds population
Building and encouraging Democratic Capitalism in the world
Improving meritocracies and discouraging nepotism and cronism
Finding sources of energy to replace fossil fuels
Allowing responsible people freedom of movement
Thats nine choose five.
Solutions to these issues can in the short run have a dramatic effect on peoples lives. Global Warming is the issue d’jour but it doesn’t make my top five list because any attempt we make to solve it will have an effect, if it does, three or four generations from now. The issues I think are important can effect the lives of our children”
Thanks John you made me think.
Bad News for Democrats
1972 was the last time that an anti-war candidate for President met a less anti-war candidate for President. And Richard Nixon beat George McGovern in a rout.
Gottlieb lost in 1971
Popular sentiment during that summer seemed to be against the Vietnam War and polls showed that McGovern would win, but when people went into the voting booth they were more likely to choose the guy with the “secret plan to win” than the one who said we had already lost. The lesson to be learned is that people are more patriotic in the voting booth than they are in public opinion polls.
Sarcasm as a tool
In this brilliant letter one British politician uses sarcasm to point out how ridiculous another politician’s policy is:
Rt Hon David Miliband MP
Secretary of State,
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA),
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London SW1P 3JR
16 May 2007
Dear Secretary of State,
My friend, who is in farming at the moment, recently received a cheque for £3,000 from the Rural Payments Agency for not rearing pigs. I would now like to join the “not rearing pigs” business.
In your opinion, what is the best kind of farm not to rear pigs on, and which is the best breed of pigs not to rear? I want to be sure I approach this endeavour in keeping with all government policies, as dictated by the EU under the Common Agricultural Policy.
I would prefer not to rear bacon pigs, but if this is not the type you want not rearing, I will just as gladly not rear porkers. Are there any advantages in not rearing rare breeds such as Saddlebacks or Gloucester Old Spots, or are there too many people already not rearing these?
As I see it, the hardest part of this programme will be keeping an accurate record of how many pigs I haven’t reared. Are there any Government or Local Authority courses on this?
My friend is very satisfied with this business. He has been rearing pigs for forty years or so, and the best he ever made on them was £1,422 in 1968. That is – until this year, when he received a cheque for not rearing any.
If I get £3,000 for not rearing 50 pigs, will I get £6,000 for not rearing 100?
I plan to operate on a small scale at first, holding myself down to about 4,000 pigs not raised, which will mean about £240,000 for the first year. As I become more expert in not rearing pigs, I plan to be more ambitious, perhaps increasing to, say, 40,000 pigs not reared in my second year, for which I should expect about £2.4 million from your department. Incidentally, I wonder if I would be eligible to receive tradable carbon credits for all these pigs not producing harmful and polluting methane gases?
Another point: These pigs that I plan not to rear will not eat 2,000 tonnes of cereals. I understand that you also pay farmers for not growing crops. Will I qualify for payments for not growing cereals to not feed the pigs I don’t rear?
I am also considering the “not milking cows” business, so please send any information you have on that too. Please could you also include the current Defra advice on set aside fields? Can this be done on an e-commerce basis with virtual fields (of which I seem to have several thousand hectares)?
In view of the above you will realise that I will be totally unemployed, and will therefore qualify for unemployment benefits.
I shall of course be voting for your party at the next general election.
Yours faithfully,
Nigel Johnson-Hill
Thanks to Matt B of Holdtrade, UK for sending this on to me.
The market is not fair to everyone in the short run but central planning is not fair to anyone in the long run.
The Subprime Credit Crisis
“Interest rates aren’t a policy instrument to protect unwise lenders from the consequences of their unwise decisions.”
Mervyn King
Governor of the Bank of England
August 8, 2007
as quoted in the WSJ
Gasoline on my mind
There is a lot of whining going on about the price of gasoline. Politicians are seeing a conspiricy and threatening to regulate something. Here is a fact sheet from the API showing where the money goes:
Three Thoughts:
- Price is a signal that something needs to change. The government supresses that signal at its peril. Think about rent control. In this case if we want more supply the price has to rise which will also decrease demand.
- Gasoline even at the high prices we now have is still only the third most expensive thing about owning a car for most people. First is the cost of the car amortized, second is insurance and third is gasoline.
- If politicians are serious about lowering the cost of gasoline they should let us drill for it in Alaska, Florida and off the coast of Santa Barbara.
Westfield Mall 2
Last week I wrote a post about trying to go the Arboretum Garden Show and the difficulty with Westfield Santa Anita Mall. I also wrote a complaint to Westfield. This is a transcript of that correspondence:
The message was sent to: corporateaffairs@westfield.com from: Simon
Burrow.
Message is as follows:
Why wouldn’t you let us park in the corner of the mall for the
Arboretum Garden Show last weekend?
https://simonburrow.com//archives/politics/westfield-mall-and-the-
arboretum-garden-show.
I received a prompt reply from Michael Lattanzio:
On May 14, 2007, at 12:40 PM, Michael Lattanzio wrote:
Hi there –
I am following up with you to your email below. The Garden Show
was an event held and hosted by the Arboretum this past weekend.
Westfield Santa Anita Mall had no direct involvement with the
event. Please feel free to contact representatives at the
Arboretum 626.821.3222 for assistance or answers to your inquiry.
If for some reason I have misinterpreted this note, please feel
free to contact me at the number referenced below and I would be
more than happy to assist you.
Kind Regards,
Michael
To which I replied:
—–Original Message—–
From: “Simon Burrow”
To: “Michael Lattanzio”
Sent: 5/14/07 4:48 PM
Subject: Re: Westfield.com Contact Us submission
Michael
Thanks for answering my email.
I know the garden show was sponsored by the Arboretum. My question
was: If you want to be good neighbors in Arcadia why wouldn’t your
security people let cars park in the corner of your lot (which was
empty) and walk over to the show? It seems like a counter productive
move and made me, for one, think bad thoughts about Westfield.
Simon
Michael responded:
On May 14, 2007, at 10:56 AM, Michael Lattanzio wrote:
I cannot speak for the security individual who conveyed that message to you, but I have no problem with guests of the Arboretum parking at our site during non-peak business hours. Our weekends tend to draw high traffic demand therefore every parking stall makes a difference. We have provided parking for the Philharmonic every summer for the past 10 years and I cherish the relationship I have with the Arboretum staff.
If I could be further assistance, please let me know.
Kind Regards,
Michael
As you can see we are not communicating but I decided to give it one more try:
Michael
The Santa Anita Mall is Westfield’s property and you as General Manager can do what you want with it. But what I was looking for from you was:
An acknowlegement that a mistake was made not allowing garden show attendees to park in the NE corner of the mall that was empty.
An indication that you had changed your policy.
and perhaps an apology.
Your reply which began: “I cannot speak for….” does none of those things and further confirms my original assumption that Westfield is not a good neighbor to Arcadia. Why would we support your desire for a commercial monopoly?
I’m going to post this exchange on my blog site and in a spirit of fairness and goodwill will be willing to post any further remarks you wish to make.
Thanks
Simon
The world is changing.
Westfield Mall and the Arboretum Garden Show
When we went to see Lew Watanabe at the Arboretum it took two tries. It was so crowded and difficult to find a parking place the first time Howard and Nurit and I gave up. I went alone the next day and parked and took the shuttle. It took a lot of time but it was doable. The first day we tried to park in the northwest corner of the Westfield Mall parking lot and a mall security police guy was trying to keep people from parking there.
It is Westfield’s property and they can do what they want but it is odd that on the one hand they are trying to convince the community that they are good citizens, so they can keep their mall monopoly, and on the other hand they are being bad neighbors to the large non profit organization across the street by not sharing their parking lot.
If you feel the way I do send Westfield an email and this link.
Democrat Idol
This idea is floating around in the ether but I wanted to add my spin to it. The Problem:
The primaries are moving closer and closer to new years day as the state vie for a say in who is the nominee from each party. Iowa and Vermont have an inordinate say in who wins the nomination and until this cycle California had no say. Now California and 21 other states have moved their primaries forward so that the nomination will go to the person with the fattest wallet or best name recognition. All of this is not very democratic.
An alternative selection method:
While the will of the people is having less effect in politics the will of the people is being recognized and celebrated on television. “American Idol” and “Dancing with the Stars” both have an audience participation component that helps winnow the field of candidates during the shows season. They are wildly popular and do in fact select one of the best participants as the winner.
The Solution:
“Democrat Idol” would start in September with auditions for the dark horse slots before a panel of judges. In January of the election year the elimination rounds would start and include the regular candidates. By April a candidate would be selected. The show would include adlibs, prepared speeches, backgrounders, tough questions and debates. There would be lots of fund raising opportunities for the candidates and for the party. The candidates selected would have high visibility and name recognition and would be a reflection of the will of the people of the USA not just Vermont and Iowa.
Global Warming is Good
When things warm up they get softer don’t they. And when they get softer they are more pliable and less likely to crack. So if the earth warms up there will be less earthquakes. Eureka! Another good side to global warming.