Nov 1, 2002 | Dollars & Crosses
On the November 1 edition of World News Tonight Peter Jennings highlighted the work of what he refered to as "two Palestinian artists":"In the West Bank city of Ramallah, two Palestinian artists have created their own version of the Statue of Liberty at Mr. Arafat's headquarters, which the Israelis destroyed. You can see the torch is pointed down. That, they say, is intended to symbolize how the U.S. was inverting its own values by supporting Israel."
Mr. Jenning did not elaborate on what values the U.S. was inverting.
Oct 31, 2002 | Dollars & Crosses
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Democratic candidate for Governor, Maryland recently made this statement:[My opponent] opposes affirmative action based on race. Well, let me tell you something; slavery was based on race. Lynching was based on race. Discrimination is based on race. Jim Crow was based on race. And affirmative action should be based on race.
By showing what "affirmative action" shares in common with Jim Crow, lynching, and slavery, isn't Miss Townsend really making a case against affirmative action--by showing it to be racist?
Clearly the morality of her political program is not Miss Townsend's concern--only the expansion of her political power, to legally force her will on others, is. The theory of egalitarianism and class warfare provides the justification--unlimited democracy provides the means.
Oct 30, 2002 | Dollars & Crosses
The WSJ, USA Today, and Reuters have been carrying stories where various experts claim that a drop in "Consumer Confidence" is a bearish signal for markets. Not so, according to Economist Richard Salsman, who writes in the latest edition of the InterMarket Forecaster,The positive (and correct) view of markets -- which thoroughly dispels the Keynesian myth -- is known as Say's Law (named after the great classical economist, Jean Baptiste Say). Say's Law demonstrates that supply (production) constitutes demand --and that production is the source of income, exchange and (ultimately) consumption. Say's Law also represents the irrefutable axiom that aggregate supply and aggregate demand are always equal and never out of balance, because they are the same thing, seen from two distinct perspectives...Only producers, savers and investors -- not consumers per se -- drive the stock market and the economy.
According to Salsman, if investors pay any attention to the "consumer confidence", it should be as a contrarian indicator, and seen to add a further impetus towards a bullish signal.
Oct 27, 2002 | Dollars & Crosses
Around the world today, protestors gathered to condemn President Bush for considering military action against Saddam Hussein's tyrannical Iraqi regime. In Washington, D.C., Rev. Jesse Jackson declared, "if we launch a pre-emptive strike on Iraq, we lose all moral authority." He did not mention whether or not that strategy worked well for the Kurds.
In Amsterdam, protestor Renas Arif told the Associate Press that he was opposed to Saddam, and he was opposed to a strike against Saddam. Clever.
In Baghdad, Hussein allowed twelve anti-U.S. activists to protest in front of U.N. offices, although earlier in the week he had guards shoot warning shots over the heads of demonstrators that he didn't agree with. All twelve of today's protestors were Americans.
In Berlin, pacifist German lawmaker Hans-Christian Stroebele told demonstrators that a U.S. war against Iraq is "unjustified." Hitler would certainly have agreed.
In Stockholm, the leader of Sweden's former communist Left Party, Gudrun Schyman, declared that, "Saddam Hussein is one of the absolutely worst dictators in the world today...but that doesn't justify the U.S.A.'s war plans."
"You don't disarm a regime by conducting an armed war," she added. Ms. Schyman did not offer to march into Baghdad herself, unarmed, and show the world exactly how one goes about disarming a regime.
The only thing the San Franciscan protestors had to add to all this was, "One, two, three, four, we don't want your racist war!" Yawn.
Aziz al-Taee, spokesman for the Iraqi-American Council, didn't seem to understand what the fuss was all about. "I think America is doing just fine...We think every day Saddam stays in power, he kills more Iraqis."
Aw, what does he know, anyway?
Oct 24, 2002 | Dollars & Crosses, Dollars & Crosses 2
WASHINGTON--In the distant past, the Food and Drug Administration limited its tyrannical powers to dictating what citizens can and cannot ingest, but recently it has become more and more interested in dictating what citizens can and cannot wear.On Monday, the FDA halted importation of decorative contact lenses that are sold without a prescription. Contact lenses bearing sports logos or other unusual markings have become a popular and fun way to enhance Halloween costumes over the past few years, but this year goblins from the FDA will be on the prowl.According to the FDA, decorative lenses are extremely popular at beach shops, where much cavorting is often spotted. The FDA will also be targeting convenience stores and flea markets, where sellers of unapproved lenses can expect to have men with guns confiscate their inventory. But the agency has blessed the prescription-only sale of some tamer versions of cosmetic contact lenses, said FDA Deputy Commissioner Lester Crawford. Approved lenses come in exotic monochrome tints, such as blue.Fun is not explicitly permitted by any FDA regulation.Oct 24, 2002 | Dollars & Crosses
According to a BBC article Becker escapes jail for tax evasion,Boris Becker has been sentenced to two years' probation by a Munich court for failing to pay millions of euros in German taxes. The suspended sentence fell short of the prosecution's demands that the former tennis champion be given a three-and-a-half year jail sentence...The case revolved around the prosecution's allegation that Mr Becker had maintained a residence in Munich while claiming to live in the tax haven of Monaco.
His get out of jail card cost him though--a cool 3 million Euros. According to Becker he could not be accused of criminal scheming as the apartment - his sister's loft - and he stayed there only occasionally. That's a pretty expensive loft.
