timing is everything. we were all waiting for Trump to blow himself up and no matter what he did he seemed impervious to any thing he said or did. i believe he even said that if he shot someone, his followers wouldn't bat an eyelash. and it seemed to be self-fulfilling.
until
until he went after the parents of the dead soldier.
that was a mistake. on so many levels. aside from being morally wrong it was tactically wrong. i guess his calculus was that what the gains from his anti-immigration positions gains him more than it loses but i think this will be deemed the turning point where enough people say, that was too much. he is not acceptable.
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Monday, May 30, 2016
RIO WILL NOT END WELL
wouldn't it be nice to have a time machine and go back to the first Olympics? a lot has happened since then. Greece went bankrupt. among other things. but for those of us who do not have the time, patience, talent and perverseness to write a book vs. dashing out a screed, here are a few thoughts on the upcoming 2016 event in Brazil which gives me pause;
1) there is barely a functioning government.
2) the facilities and infrastructure are suspect. this is often the case as they run out of time and money and slap most of it together just before the torch gets lit. the bridge that collapsed after an ocean wave gives pause
3) pollution. i happen to be a sailor. the water off of Rio is full of raw sewage and is a petri dish of bad stuff. i hope none of the competitors catch something really bad.
4) ZIKA. neither WHO or CDC will try to call this off. i understand sunk costs and vested interests and maybe they know what they are talking about. but it doesn't sound right. millions of people from all over the world are coming to Brazil and then going home. while it has been said that zika is coming, to the US and other places, no matter what, why throw gasoline on the fire? they are not suppressing mosquitoes effectively in Brazil and Olympics will create carriers and transmission
and there will be sex. check out the stats at the amount of sex that takes place at the Olympics. there will be an all time record of 450,000 condoms distributed to the 8255 athletes coming to the games.this includes 100,000 so called female condoms but still adds up to 500 per athlete. what stamina? how do they have any energy left for sport?
anyhow there will be a lot of sex. and Zika can be spread by sex. and the birth defects are horrific.
so lets not get in the way of the passion and the money.
lets have a party and spread ZIKA
1) there is barely a functioning government.
2) the facilities and infrastructure are suspect. this is often the case as they run out of time and money and slap most of it together just before the torch gets lit. the bridge that collapsed after an ocean wave gives pause
3) pollution. i happen to be a sailor. the water off of Rio is full of raw sewage and is a petri dish of bad stuff. i hope none of the competitors catch something really bad.
4) ZIKA. neither WHO or CDC will try to call this off. i understand sunk costs and vested interests and maybe they know what they are talking about. but it doesn't sound right. millions of people from all over the world are coming to Brazil and then going home. while it has been said that zika is coming, to the US and other places, no matter what, why throw gasoline on the fire? they are not suppressing mosquitoes effectively in Brazil and Olympics will create carriers and transmission
and there will be sex. check out the stats at the amount of sex that takes place at the Olympics. there will be an all time record of 450,000 condoms distributed to the 8255 athletes coming to the games.this includes 100,000 so called female condoms but still adds up to 500 per athlete. what stamina? how do they have any energy left for sport?
anyhow there will be a lot of sex. and Zika can be spread by sex. and the birth defects are horrific.
so lets not get in the way of the passion and the money.
lets have a party and spread ZIKA
Thursday, May 19, 2016
TRUMP IS THE NEW LEICESTER CITY
at the beginning of the Premier League season, the odds of Leicester City winning the championship were 5,000 to 1. some die hard fans put down bets for 50 Pounds. no one thought they stood a chance. and they didn't. except they won. fortunately for the bookies, they didn't place too much money at these odds but they got clobbered.
well, we all should have put 50 pounds down on Trump at least winning the nomination. the odds of actually winning the presidency were probably even longer.
most everyone has underestimated him from day one till even today. as he took out every other republican candidate, starting with Jeb Bush; he with the $100 million dollar war chest until none were left standing.
and the question is why and what will happen next. the why is he tapped in early to the massive discontent, fear and anger in this country at the break down of the societal bargain. all countries have societal bargains. in China it was, we will provide economic growth, you don't rock the boat politically. that bargain may be breaking down in the face of slowing growth and massive pollution; with a population that might be getting old before it gets rich. and in america, the american dream; everyone has a shot at the top and most can have a good life if they work hard. well we are on the brink of a societal fail. the people who are supporting trump are not bad people per say. they are afraid, they are mad, they are lost. it is fact based. not psychosis. the elites, and on paper i might qualify as such, have failed america and we are reaping that harvest. Trump is an unfortunate leader of this wave of discontent and i have no idea what will happen. but more of the same wont fly.
into the whirlwind
well, we all should have put 50 pounds down on Trump at least winning the nomination. the odds of actually winning the presidency were probably even longer.
most everyone has underestimated him from day one till even today. as he took out every other republican candidate, starting with Jeb Bush; he with the $100 million dollar war chest until none were left standing.
and the question is why and what will happen next. the why is he tapped in early to the massive discontent, fear and anger in this country at the break down of the societal bargain. all countries have societal bargains. in China it was, we will provide economic growth, you don't rock the boat politically. that bargain may be breaking down in the face of slowing growth and massive pollution; with a population that might be getting old before it gets rich. and in america, the american dream; everyone has a shot at the top and most can have a good life if they work hard. well we are on the brink of a societal fail. the people who are supporting trump are not bad people per say. they are afraid, they are mad, they are lost. it is fact based. not psychosis. the elites, and on paper i might qualify as such, have failed america and we are reaping that harvest. Trump is an unfortunate leader of this wave of discontent and i have no idea what will happen. but more of the same wont fly.
into the whirlwind
Thursday, October 1, 2015
FIRST TURKEY; NOW RUSSIA. ISIS AS A PRETEXT
First Erdogan "entered" the battle against ISIS but seems to have spent more time attacking and bombing the Kurds and the PKK, the former at least seem to be the most constructive players in the region. Now, Putin has "entered" the battle against ISIS and is bombing groups supported by the US and perpetuating Assad.
Both are using ISIS as a pretext for their own agendas
when will we learn?
Apparently never.
Both are using ISIS as a pretext for their own agendas
when will we learn?
Apparently never.
Saturday, August 15, 2015
TESLA VALUATION VS. GM
i think Tesla cars are pretty cool. especially the S model. however i am scratching my head over its valuation.
Tesla is valued at around $31 Billion
GM at around $50 Billion
Tesla will deliver around 50,000 cars this year. an article today said it is predicting that it will sell around 500,000 "by the end of the decade" whatever that means, 2019, 2020?
It has been reported that Tesla loses about $4,000 per model S. there accounting is complicated but they are hugely benefited by various tax credits that both it and its customers receive. big dollars for both.
GM sells around 10,000,000 cars in 2014. so it is valued at around $5,000 a car sold using a simplistic metric
Tesla is being valued at $600,000 a car on current volume and $60,000 on projected volume maybe 5 years in the future
now Tesla is cool and GM is not cool but does this make sense?
Tesla is valued at around $31 Billion
GM at around $50 Billion
Tesla will deliver around 50,000 cars this year. an article today said it is predicting that it will sell around 500,000 "by the end of the decade" whatever that means, 2019, 2020?
It has been reported that Tesla loses about $4,000 per model S. there accounting is complicated but they are hugely benefited by various tax credits that both it and its customers receive. big dollars for both.
GM sells around 10,000,000 cars in 2014. so it is valued at around $5,000 a car sold using a simplistic metric
Tesla is being valued at $600,000 a car on current volume and $60,000 on projected volume maybe 5 years in the future
now Tesla is cool and GM is not cool but does this make sense?
Saturday, February 7, 2015
NETANYAHU VS OBAMA VS IRAN
there is all this noise about Netanyahu speaking before congress. It's being called political. Really? Of course it's political. Everything a politician does is political
Whatever protocols may have been violated, the stakes for the US, Israel and the world are high enough that hearing his pov can't hurt
I for one don't trust Obama,Biden and Kerry and the Europeans to cut the right deal with the Iranians. They are concerned with legacy. People like that cut bad deals. They don't realize that legacies get determined over decades. Not immediate press clippings
If Iran goes nuclear, the Middle East goes nuclear. Very dangerous. Point to one area of the globe where this administration has done something smart, tough and effective? And they're going to start now with Iran?
I don't think so
We allowed 6 million Jews to be killed once. We can't do it twice. And Israel has the right to defend itself if no one else will
Whatever protocols may have been violated, the stakes for the US, Israel and the world are high enough that hearing his pov can't hurt
I for one don't trust Obama,Biden and Kerry and the Europeans to cut the right deal with the Iranians. They are concerned with legacy. People like that cut bad deals. They don't realize that legacies get determined over decades. Not immediate press clippings
If Iran goes nuclear, the Middle East goes nuclear. Very dangerous. Point to one area of the globe where this administration has done something smart, tough and effective? And they're going to start now with Iran?
I don't think so
We allowed 6 million Jews to be killed once. We can't do it twice. And Israel has the right to defend itself if no one else will
AMY PASCAL VS BRIAN WILLIAMS
amy pascal got fired for telling the truth. Brian Williams will get fired for lying.
Why people think that emails are private is beyond me. But the leaked Sony emails were hilarious and entertained a nation for weeks
Brian williams on the other hand seems to have lied and as often the case gets trapped by it and fact and fiction merge. Now there may be more lies about Katrina
A real shame. The truth would have been just fine
Amy was also fired so Michael Lynton could keep his job. At least for now
Why people think that emails are private is beyond me. But the leaked Sony emails were hilarious and entertained a nation for weeks
Brian williams on the other hand seems to have lied and as often the case gets trapped by it and fact and fiction merge. Now there may be more lies about Katrina
A real shame. The truth would have been just fine
Amy was also fired so Michael Lynton could keep his job. At least for now
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