Sunday, December 31, 2006


A few more hours and this year too will have ended. Just back from South Carolina after a long 12 hours in the car, we are enjoying a lazy morning. In years past, my husband and I used the 31st of December to make a list of things we would like to accomplish in the new year. Along with such lame goals as losing weight and saving money, there were bigger goals such as starting a family and attacking some major work on our Brooklyn brownstone. Some of those goals were accomplished, some never were. We also projected into the future and wrote down how we wanted our life to be 5 and 10 years into the future. Looking at the lists now, I have to admire our optimism. But also our persistance. Remarkably, we accompished some of our loftier goals. Some others, which could have easily been attained, never got done. In 1995 for example, one of the goals was to redo the hallway. To this day, we have not finished the work, the paint can and brush standing in a corner as permanent design elements. We never moved to the country as planned in 1990, but did take a majority of the exotic trips we listed.
Our life is different as I imagined 10 years ago. But it is a good life. It is a very interesting life. As a young couple, we were naive enough to think that we could plan out the future. Wiser, I now know that life just happens,with all the joys and sorrows that we cannot imagine today. But basically, my life is what I wanted it to be like so many years ago even if the details are different.
So tonight, while we sip our champagne waiting for 2007, we will make our list once more and encourage the kids to write one too. Because it is nice to plan and to have goals and what better time to do it than on the eve of a new year.
So Happy New Year! May it be a good one. And may we finally finish the hallway.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006


Brooklyn Brownstone at Christmas Time ( I swear its not my house)



My little family is heading South tomorrow to celebrate Christmas at Opa's house. Opa is the German word for Grandpa. This is the fourth Christmas without my mother, but we are managing to hold the family together. I think she would have been proud that we are still following the same crazy traditions she imposed on our family so long ago.
Though I am not crazy about the 12 hours of driving, I am looking forward to spending some time with my dad. I am kind of proud of the way he has been managing these last few years on his own. This last week, he has been calling me almost every day to talk about the elaborate Christmas meals he has planned. Its kind of cool that he got into cooking. He makes a killer paté and an even better coq-au-vin. Not that I would know, since I don't eat meat. But its impressive the way he has become domestic. If my mother knew...
So that is my Christmas this year! Wishing you all a great Holiday Season!

Monday, December 18, 2006



The temperature here in Brooklyn reached 60 degrees during the last few days. The week-end was more reminiscent of April than of December. It felt great having the windows open, especially because I had the oven going full blast. You see, as many Brooklynites were walking around in short sleeve T-shirts and shorts, I was making Christmas cookies. I should never have started. What a horrible job that is. But in my eagerness to get into the spirit of the season, I produced pounds and pounds of baked goods. I made coconut macaroons, hazelnut sablés with rasberry jam and almond crescents. Then there are the little cut-out ones. By the time I had the first batch of those in the oven, I wanted to cry. I wrestled with that dough like mad. It was either too thick, making the cookies look more like decorative floor tiles, or too thin. Do me a favor, if you have a fail safe recipe for those things, please send it to me.
You can tell that I went way overboard. I slaved for hours. So yesterday afternoon, just to get out, my husband rounded me and our teen offsprings up and we walked over the Brooklyn Bridge to the Manhattan side. It was beautiful. The sun was just setting over the Manhattan skyline. There were hoards of people on the bridge. Mostly German tourists, it seemed.
It was a lovely walk. We ended up in Chinatown at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant and ate delicious squid. Not too festive, but it was the perfect way to spend a Sunday evening. The pre-christmas chaos of Manhattan is hard to take sometimes, but it sure is a cool city. Back at home, we settled in to watch a movie, I lit some candles and we ate some of my cookies. They may have been misshapen a bit, but they taste pretty good. All that baking was worth it after all. Now if only it did not feel so much like spring outside!

Friday, December 15, 2006


First there was a movie about snakes on a plane, now little furry critters are running around the cabin. This would be my ultimate nightmare. EEEEEEEEEEK! But pardon me for asking! How come someone got away with entering a plane with a bagful of mice when I am not even able to take a lipbalm onboard? What do you think?

From the BBC News Website: Mass mouse escape on Saudi plane

More than 100 passengers on a Saudi plane were left panic-stricken by the unexpected appearance of furry fellow flyers - dozens of mice.
The small rodents - about 80 in total, according to a local newspaper - escaped from the bag of a man travelling on the domestic flight.
An airline official said the aircraft was at 28,000 feet (8,500m) when mice began scurrying around the cabin.
Some of the mice fell on passengers' heads, Al-Hayat newspaper reports.
The incident occurred on a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight from the capital, Riyadh, to north-eastern town of Tabuk.
The flight landed safely and the bag's owner was detained by police investigating how he managed to get the mice onto the plane.
No explanation was given for the man's cargo.
I read the poem below a while ago, wrote down the lines on a snippet of paper and promptly forgot about it. Today, while cleaning my office, I found it again. So here it is. I can't loose it once its published in the blog, now can I?



Are You Tired Of Me, My Darling?

Are you tired of me my darling
Did you mean those words you said
When you spoke in fond affection
On the day that we were wed

Tell me could you live life over
Would you make it otherwise
Are you tired of me my darling
Answer only with your eyes

Did you ever rue the springtime
When we first each other met
And you told me that you'd love me
Words my heart can n'er forget

Traditional

Wednesday, December 13, 2006



Everyone who knows me, knows that I am a history buff. My friends Eunice and Pearl share this interest and many a biography and historical fiction book is passed from one to the other. And then discussed at length. One of our favorite historical figures is Marie-Antoinette. So this little tidbit is for you, girls.
While doing research on Jean-Louis Fargeon, parfumeur to Marie-Antoinette, biographer Elisabeth de Fevreau unearthed notes on the queen's personal perfume. Originally named " Le Trianon," the perfume once used by the queen combines various scents including rose, iris, jasmine, orange blossom and sandalwood. The scent which was renamed "M.A. Sillage de la Reine" was developed by French perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, who combined the ingredients after detailed research. He adhered strictly to the 18th-Century custom of combining "100% natural primary materials" and the scent is "intensely floral".

10 prestige copies of it, bottled in Baccarat crystal were made available in June as a limited edition for the queenly sum of 8,000 Euros . In July 2006, 1000 limited edition copies in crystal bottles made by the crystal manufacturies of Portieux (founded by Marie-Antoinette's grand-father) were made available for 350 Euros (25 ml). Proceeds go towards the remodeling of places that were historically linked with Marie-Antoinette as well as a travel chest once owned by the queen.
Incidentally, Elisabeth de Fevreau's book has recently been translated into English in Great-Britain under the title "A Scented Palace: The Secret History of Marie-Antoinette's Perfumer."
So girls, what do you say: is this book next on our list? And please do me a favor, drop a hint to my husband. Christmas is coming up and I am running low on perfume.

Sunday, December 10, 2006



Pardon me for asking, but have you noticed that, like the rest of us, fake blonde stars can't keep up with those nasty dark roots either? I am always amazed to see platinum starlets with a black streak on the top of their head. One would think that with all their money, they could stay on top of their dye-jobs.
Recently, I came across the unglamorous pictures of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears getting a touch-up. It got me thinking about how much women spend at the hairdressers, especially if the stylist talked them into coloring their hair. Because what anti-rust protection does for a car dealer, coloring does for a salon. It jacks up the price. In the case of hair coloring, it sometimes triples the price of the haircut. And every three months. you have to go back for a touch-up, otherwise you look like a skunk.
My own venture into hair coloring started innocently enough. I have naturally light hair, but I have to admit that the golden blonde color of my youth has been replaced by a duller light brown. So when my stylist suggested a few soft blonde high-lights to frame my face, I readily agreed. Before I knew it, I was in the hands of the salon color specialist who proceeded to smear foul smelling goop into my hair and wrapping various strands of hair into what looked like Reynold's wrap.
The result was wonderful, the price, however, was a shocker. The $60 haircut had increased to $180. In addition, I now had to give the colorist a tip too. That first dye job set me back $210. But those blonder streaks made my hair look so sun-kissed. I was delighted. For my money. I got lots of compliments. I told myself that I am worth it.
Trouble started a few weeks later. My hair grew. And with it, a dark line appeared on the top of my head. I could not see that streak myself at first. My daughter detected it first when I innocently bent my head down to tie my shoes. " You know you have roots" she said. I was mortified. I immediatelly became self conscious and was sure that when people looked at me, they where staring directly at them. Off I went to the hairdresser again, paying another fortune for the touch-up and starting to feel like a sucker.
I kept this madness up for two years. My hair became progressively blonder, the payments kept on increasing. Then, there was a unique chance to get off this hamster wheel. My hairdresser moved. I was free to start a new relationship. I made an appointment at a chic little place in my neighborhood run by a young laid-back stylist. He cut my hair beautifully and did not mention the darker roots at all. I paid $ 60. I figure that if he did not mind my natural color growing in, than maybe I should let it grow back. So, I am going natural. That is until my hair turns gray of course. Then I may have to reconsider.

Wednesday, December 6, 2006


This always happens before the holidays. For some strange reason, there is a flurry of home improvement activity in our household. So, in order to maintain the tradition, my husband and I walked down to our Lowe's Home Improvement Center here in Brooklyn. Its not a pretty walk. Our Lowe's is framed by the elevated F subway line, and the infamous, fetid Gowanus Canal. But the sky was blue, the air crisp and a walk seemed appropriate.
When the store opened about two years ago, I welcomed it as an alternative to our impossibly dysfuncional Home Depot. But the clean, well layed out store has managed to loose its competitive edge over H.D. in no time. And believe me, Lowe's really did not need to try very hard to surpass its competitor. My disappointment started with the sorriest looking plants in their garden center. All through the growing season, the store was displaying flowers so bone dry that I was tempted to pick up the watering hose myself . More recently, I had attempted to buy a lamp shade, but everytime I searched the lighting isle, the stock was so low that I either could not find the right size or the right color. It was more than frustrating.
The reason for this last visit was roll-down blinds . Nothing fancy, just something to keep the sun out. It took us a while to find someone who could cut the shades to our required measurements. That done, we asked for the little wall-mounted brackets which allow the installation of said-blind. Not an unreasonable request, I think. But believe it or not, Lowe's was out of stock. " You can pick those up at your local hardware store", the not-so friendly salesperson told us without a hint of irony. Say what? Lowe's is sending me to my local hardware store? The only thing that went through my mind was: "Does Mazzone's have roll-up blinds, too?" I felt guilty that I did not try our small but efficient neighborhood store first.
I was so irritated by the entire big chain shopping experience, that I decided to speak up. Confidently, I marched up to the Customer Service desk and asked to speak to the manager. A few minutes later, a balding, rotund man walked towards me. I started my little speech by telling him that I had been shopping at Lowe's since it opened, but that recently, I had found my visits to his store frustrating. I explained that the stock for some items was meagre. Slightly defensive, he asked me to show him what I meant. So off we went to the lamp shade department. I think he was shocked himself when he saw the slim pickings on the display carrousel. I held up one of the more tasteful shades and told him that I would have bought this one, If...it did not have a big dent in it. I held the mangled shade right in front of his eyes.
" You are right, ma'am, there is no excuse. This item should not be out on the floor." I started to think that this guy was on the ball, until... "But, you know, this is not Long Island. This is Brooklyn." he continued " And the people here are animals. They trash everything." Well, I was stunned. First Lowe's sends me to my local hardware store, then they diss Brooklynites. Where did this guy think I lived? Long Island?
I quickly regained my composure: " You also make more money in this store than in any of your locations on Long Island" I replied. " And you are right. There is no excuse. I should not have to come back three times for the right-sized lamp shade. I hope that you appreciate that I am taking my time to give you some useful customer feed-back." With that, I turned my back to him and walked out of the store.
Minutes later, my husband and I were standing in Mazzone's hardware store. Within a few seconds, the cheery salesperson had located the wall mounts for the blinds and brought them to the cashier for us. We felt like valued customers. I know for a fact that in this store, they don't poopooo people from Brooklyn. They are locals themselves. So next time I need something hardware related, I will give my money to merchants who actually like Brooklynites.

Sunday, December 3, 2006


I was just looking through my 15 year old's homework and found a poem he wrote for writing class. I was impressed!


The sirens sound and my fingers turn numb
I grab my belongings and turn to flee
Trying to run from what I cannot see
I think to myself I must have been dumb
Two years enlisted and still things look glum
Heaped in a bunker with more men like me
Search this building, you'll find no show of glee
All that I have is my guilt coated gun

I have done things that I am not proud of
I'm in a place in which I don't belong
Thousands of miles from the things that I love
The days over here are painfully long
My hands are locked in these drab combat gloves
Gun shots ring out to form a morbid song

Written by Max

Friday, December 1, 2006


I saw the latest James Bond flick " Casino Royal" last week-end. I thoroughly enjoyed it. But truthfully, the idea that Russian President Putin is having his opponents wacked is ever so much more suspenseful. It is also unneving and tragic.
What started with the shooting of Anna Politkovskaya, a prominent Russian journalist known for reporting of human rights abuses in war-torn Chechnya was followed last week with the radiation poisoning of exiled Russian KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko. Both were considered traitors by Russia's establishment for their support of Chechens. Clearly Russia is back to its old tricks.
Which brings me to Polonium-210, the radioactive isotope used to kill Litvinenco. Where did it come from? The head of Russia's state atomic energy agency Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko, told the government newspaper "Rossiiskaya Gazeta" that Russia produces only 8 grams of polonium-210 a month and the material cannot be obtained illegally there. Kiriyenko declined to say how polonium was produced but said nuclear reactors such as the Russian RMBK or the Canadian CANDU were needed to make it.
So pardon me for asking: " How come you can get it for $69.00 from the New Mexico firm United Nuclear Scientific Equipment & Supplies. It offers a sample of radioactive element on its website, as part of its aim of putting the "fun back into science". If you don't believe me, check out their web site: http://www.unitednuclear.com. Though this outfit does not ship outside of the U.S., that hardly would be a hurdle for any well trained KGB assassin
We are being told in the news that a minute amount of this stuff is enough to kill. But on its web site, United Nuclear states:
"All our radioactive isotopes are legal to purchase & own by the general public All isotopes are made to order at an NRC licensed reactor in Oak Ridge Tennessee. When the isotope is made, it is shipped directly to the customer from the reactor to insure the longest possible half-life."
I don't know about you, but that does not sit right with me. In all fairness, the firm has a disclaimer stating :"The amount of Plonium-210, as well as any of the isotopes we sell is an 'exempt quantity' amount. These quantities of radioactive material are not hazardous." But that is still some pretty scary stuff. What do you think?

Thursday, November 30, 2006


Don't get me wrong! I don't want to make fun of anybody's english. After all, it is a second language for me, too. But this collection of signs from around the world is priceless. I found them on the site
http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/mangeng.htm. Do you have any to add yourself?
* Two signs from a Majorcan shop entrance:
English well speaking.
Here speeching America.
* In a Japanese hotel:
You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid.
* Seen in a Yugoslav hotel:
The flattening of underwear with pleasure is the job of the chambermaid.
*In a Tokyo car rental agency:
When passenger of foot heave in sight, tootle the horn. Trumpet him melodiously at first, but if he still obstacles your passage then tootle him with vigor.
*On the menu of a Polish restaurant:
Salad a firm's own make; limpid red beet soup with cheesy dumplings in the form of a finger; roasted duck let loose; beef rashers beaten up in the country people's fashion.
* From a Russian airline safety brochure:
Crew's action to suppress the possible incident will be urgent and drastic up to fulfilment of the expensive forced landing. Besides the juridical consequences, infringer will be obliged to pay an impressive fine to compensate the waste.
*In the Restaurant des Artistes, Montmarte, Paris:
We serve five o' clock tea at all hours.
*Notice in a Budapest zoo:
Please do not feed the animals. If you have any suitable food, give it to the guard on duty.
*In a Norwegian cocktail lounge:
Ladies are requested not to have children in the bar.
*In a Copenhagen airline ticket office:
We take your bags and send them in all directions.
*From the Soviet Weekly:
There will be a Moscow Exhibition of Arts by 150,000 Soviet Republic painters and sculptors. These were executed over the past two years.
*In the window of a Rhodes tailor:
Order your summers suit. Because is big rush, we will execute customers in strict rotation.
*In a Rome laundry:
Ladies, leave your clothes here and spend the afternoon having a good time.
*In an East African Newspaper
A new swimming pool is rapidly taking shape since the contractors have thrown in the bulk of their workers.
*Caption under a photo of a local rural dance in the former USSR:
Young men's balls in full swing.
*From A Hotel in Germany
In the event of fire the visitor, avoiding panic, is to walk down the corridor to warn the chambermaid.
*Sign in Egyptian hotel:
If you require room service, please open door and shout, "Room service!"

Wednesday, November 29, 2006


While the U.S. is busy figuring out what to do about the mess in Iraq, Nato nations are meeting to talk about Afghanistan, because the Taliban is back and doing very well, thank you very much
26 NATO countries have been meeting in Riva, Latvia's capital. The summit's main objective is to come up with a more solid plan of action in Afghanistan. The situation there has been steadily worsening since U.S. and Nato troops were sent into the region to fight the Taliban. 2006 will be the bloodiest year yet since the hard-line Islamist group was forced from power in late 2001. Almost four thousand people, a quarter of them civilians, have lost their lives in this year alone. Attacks against foreign forces and the civilian population have increased markedly and their tactics have become increasingly brutal. Reminiscent of Iraq, suicide bombings, roadside bombs and beheadings are starting to become routine.
Also in 2006, opium cultivation has risen by 60% and production by 50%. And since Afghanistan produces 90% of the world opium production, that is a pretty profit indeed. Enough profit to fuel the Taliban-led insurgence.
So basically, since Western troops have been positioned in that country, corruption has increased, opium production is up and the Taliban is back.
In an interview with "Die Weltwoche": Mullah Sabir, the top Taliban leadership recounts the mood at a recently held conclave at a secret location:
Mullah Sabir said: "Look at the news reports. Half of Afghanistan is again under our control. We have advanced to just outside of Kabul. President Hamid Karzai is a prisoner in his own palace. True, he constantly flies around the world and spends time with the powerful leaders of the West. But in his own country he does not even dare to travel around. You can well imagine that, at our meeting of 33 Taliban chiefs, the mood was anything but sombre."
In addition, the Taliban has unveiled their brand new and improved Taliban Codex. Its sort of the top 29 rules for Jihad, signed by the highest leader of the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan . This Book of Rules was distributed initially to the 33 members of the Shura, the highest Taliban council, at their meeting during Ramadan 2006.
This war on terror business does not seem to go well at all for the West. But every time I think that we should just leave places like Iraq and Afghanistan to their own devices, I find a picture like the one attached to this entry. And I think of the cycle of violence women and children are exposed to every day in those countries. What are your thoughts?
To read the complete Taliban codex,, follow this link. http://www.signandsight.com/features/1071.html

Tuesday, November 28, 2006


The world sure is a strange place. One can be friend or foe, hero or demon, depending on where one happens to be at the moment. I was thinking about that yesterday as I was sitting on the F train riding into Manhattan. With nothing else to do than to observe my fellow riders, I had to marvel, as I do so often, at the fact that there are more religions, cultures and ethnicities (peacefully) represented in a New York City subway car at any given time than anywhere in the world. Yet, if some of these riders were to go back to their native lands, they would be mortal enemies.
Most of the world's conflicts seem to be non-issues here in my hometown. Christians, Muslims and Jews ride side by side as the train rattles along. Indian and Pakistani, Sunni and Shi'ite, Serbian and Croatian, Hutu and Tutsi, all are thrown together here. In this big city, they all seem to put their differences aside to merge peacefully, even if, back in the old country, their relatives are killing each other.
Which brings me to today's arrival of Pope Benedict the XVI's to Istanbul, Turkey. A man revered by about 1.2 billion Roman Catholics is going to set foot into a country where most of the predominantly Muslim population hates his guts. I can't decide if this trip is super courageous or if it will inflame Arab tempers more. Back in September, the Pope made a rather indelicate speech quoting a Byzantine emperor, who said that Islam was violent and irrational. Bad move. The Pope unleashed days of protest in the Islamic world. In the style of Hollywood film stars and Washington politicians who shoot off their mouth, he apologized, saying that his speech was misunderstood. That he is truly, truly sorry.
So today, despite all the protests against his visit, he is landing in Istanbul. I guess I admire his guts. If anything, he is opening the way for dialogue. Dialogue is always good. And if the visit does not go well, I invite him and the other leaders of the world's major religions to come to New York. Catch a show, visit a few museums and ride the subway. All these seemingly insurmountable differences will disappear instantly. Because as every New Yorker knows, in the subway at least, we are all the same.

Monday, November 27, 2006


The house is empty again after the four-day week-end. I wish I could say the same about the fridge. There are still all kinds of leftovers safely stored in Tupperware containers. Enough to squeeze one more meal out of....Anyone still hungry?
Now for the next phase. The Christmas season has officially begun. My neighbor D. across the street has put out her decorations. Each year, she is finished decorating the front of her house by Friday 9 Am the day after Thanksgiving. Big red velvet bows adorn each window, littler ones hang from every branch of the holly bush, gigantic ones frame the front door. This year she has added an illuminated nativity scene she got at J.C.Penney's. Yes, Christmas is upon us!
The shopping season has also officially begun. However, at the risk of forgoing some terrific bargains, I did not line up out at 5 Am on Friday to buy electronics at Sears. Who does that anyway? Who are these freaks they showed on the news trampling each other to get into Wal-mart at midnight? After turkey dinner, no less. All I was good for was watching another 3 episodes of the highly addictive " Deadwood."
And today is Cyber Monday, the day on which millions of people in this country place their online Christmas gift orders from their office computers. And employers know this? They should just add one more day to the Thanksgiving week-end, I say.
I love Christmas. Like every year at this time, I am trying to get myself motivated and into the holiday spirit. I received the Christmas lists from the youngest members of our family. Lists are always helpful. But now I am struggling with some important questions. Do I give in and buy my son the $150 butterfly knife he wants so badly? Do I purchase the $80 J.Crew sweater for my niece even though I have not bought myself an item that expensive in a long time? Should I just recklessly spend and make everyone happy or do I try to stay real? Do I have an obligation to buy things for Christmas that I would not buy under any circumstance during the rest of the year? More importantly, do we really need all this crap? So, on my own list this year? Absolutely nothing. And I mean it.
However, shop we must. So I am going to get ready, grab my Metrocard and take the subway into Manhattan. I will try to find the right balance between fulfilling wishes and watching my spending. And hope that come Christmas day, everyone is happy with their loot.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006




As a foreigner, I never quite got the hang of Thanksgiving. It seems that on this holiday, you either spend countless hours cooking an elaborate dinner or you sit in the car stuck in traffic on your way to eat said dinner. Nice!
I am the one who does the cooking in my family. I put dinner on the table most nights. I am a good cook, too. But there is something about Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe it is the fact that the main purpose for the day is for me to stand in the kitchen cooking vast quantities of starchy food. Could it be the fact that I am a vegetarian and that the thought of all this meat is frankly a bit unsettling?
I never celebrated Thanksgiving as a child in Europe, so I don't have those fond Norman Rockwell memories that my American friends have. For the sake of my American husband and children however, I am willing to slave the day away. No turkey in this house, though. My husband opted for the ham instead. His choice not mine!
There is something more to Thanksgiving, of course. It is about having your family around the dinner table. And I like that.
So, tomorrow morning, like a good pilgrim, I will let everyone sleep, go down into the kitchen and start cooking the ham.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL

Tuesday, November 21, 2006


Vice-President Cheney is itching to attach Iran. Problem is: a highly classified assessement from the C.I.A. found no conclusive evidence that Iran is close to building a nuclear weapon. It seems that Dick Cheney has seen this top-secret report from the C.I.A. and did NOT like it. He is now dreaming up ways of deceiving and fooling the American people into believing that Iran is ready to unleash a nuclear cloud over Kansas.
Have we not been there before? I cannot believe that Cheney would try the same trick twice. Thankfully, his partner in crime, Rumsfeld, is out, replaced by Robert Gates, former director of Central Intelligence. He is unlikely to ignore reports from his former agency.
Of course, Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is a nut-job. He loves to taunt the U.S. and the Bush Administration with the progress of his country's plutonium enrichment research program. We need to watch him like hawks. Of course Iran's ultimate goal is to posess nuclear arms. But if the C.I.A. reports that they have not managed to get very far in that process, we have time for diplomacy. Lets watch Cheney like hawks instead. He truly is a very dangerous man!
Do yourselves a favor and follow this link to the article " The Next Act" in this week's New Yorker. It is written by Seymour M. Hersh. It is excellent and you NEED to read it.
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/061127fa_fact

Monday, November 20, 2006


I often wonder why young people in this country are not more vocal against the war in Iraq. My friends tell me it's because there is no draft.
The United States had a draft in place between 1948 and 1973. It grew to become the center of controversy during the Vietnam War, 1964-1975, an undeclared war that was the most unpopular conflict America had fought until Iraq. But because there is no more draft and because we have a professional army now, maybe there is less of an incentive for young people to protest as they did during the Vietnam years.
Yesterday, incoming chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, N.Y. Democratic Representative Charles Rangel proposed a military draft covering all men and women age 18. He sees his idea as a way to increase U.S. troop levels which he thinks are currently inadequate to continue the fight in Iraq and potential conflicts with Iran and North Korea. He also believes that politicians would be less ready to deploy troops if there was a draft in place.
Already in 2003, Rangel introduced such a bill. "I truly believe that those who make the decision and those who support the United States going into war would feel more readily the pain that's involved, the sacrifice that's involved, if they thought that the fighting force would include the affluent and those who historically have avoided this great responsibility," Rangel said. "For those who say the poor fight better, I say give the rich a chance."
Rangel is right of course. Our armed forces are strained to the breaking point. We cannot even envisage entering into a new conflict. He is also right when he states that politicians would face more opposition from the general public if there was a draft. And everyone knows that young well-to-do Americans have more options and therefore do not join the army in quite the same numbers as poorer ones. It is great that he is opening this overdue debate. He is mistaken however, in believing that this country is willing to reinstate a draft. If Vietnam was a waste of young American lives, Iraq is probably even more so.
As a parent, I certainly would not allow my son or daughter to fight in a war that was based on lies. Contrary to many Americans, as a German, I don't believe that my children owe their country anything. Of course this deep non-nationalistic feeling is a reflection of my own country's bloody history. Would I be opposed to having 18-year-olds to do a year of community service for the good of others? Not at all. Would my children fight to protect themselves and their families if under attack? Yes, of course. But as long as politicians misinform the public about the real dangers from other countries instead of using diplomacy, I will try to keep my children alive.
What are your thoughts?

Sunday, November 19, 2006


Nobody understands my son as well as my 74 year old father. " You are the best grand-son I ever had" he will say. " I am the ONLY grand-son you EVER had, Opa! " my son will reply.
That is true. My father had the good fortune to have a sensational wife and two pretty great daughters. In other words, he was surrounded by women. Even our dog was female. The first grandchildren were little girls. Of course, he loved them more than anything. He was resigned to the fact that he was the patriarch in a clan of strong (headed) women.
Until.....my son M. came along. I believe that my father's life truly changed the day M. was born. Here was the chance he had been waiting for to relive his own childhood. And reliving it he has. From M.'s first temper tantrums, to his first difficulties, to his first hobbies, my father understood them all. "He is just like his Opa, leave the kid alone" he tells me over the phone when I fill him in on the latest on M. " He has my genes."
My father sometimes spoils my son. Over my mother's objections, he was determined to buy a red scooter in the country for M. At first, the two would take off to roam the countryside together, M. sitting on the back, wrapping his little arms around Opa's belly. As M.'s legs became longer, he went off by himself. But the red moped is still my son's most prized possession. A gift from his Opa.
Intuitively, my father seems to know what my son needs: someone in his corner. "My boy, you have a one-person fan club" he told him just yesterday. He supports him in all of his dreams and aspirations. I hope that my son realizes that he has the BEST Opa in the world.

Friday, November 17, 2006


Holy cow! Shortly after arriving in the one-time war capital, Hanoi, President Bush compared the Vietnam and Iraq conflicts.
"We'll succeed unless we quit" he stated about the war in Iraq.
Now maybe I am overly critical of the man, but I think this was a faux-pas. First of all, why bring any war up on this first visit to Vietnam? Was that really necessary? His statement almost sounds as though he is suggesting that if America had stayed in Vietnam a bit longer as well, our country would have won that conflict. Will the Vietnamese not interpret the statement as: "If only we would have stayed to finish the job...." That is a nice thing to tell your host.
Yes, there are too many similarities between the two conflicts. It is scary how much they are alike. And they are alike chiefly because both were/are unwinnable.
What is your comment?

Below is an article of great interest from the German Spiege lhttp://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,447763,00.html

Thursday, November 16, 2006


Rudy Giuliani has filed papers with the Federal Election commission to form an exploratory committee in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. Funny, it seems as though he has been campaigning since 9/11. I once read that as a college kid he confided his presidential dream to his girlfriend and practiced future campaign speeches in front of her at home. The country, especially Republicans of course, are in love with him. Most New Yorkers don't have the same warm and fuzzy feelings for him. Here are just some troubling examples of his stint of Mayor:
The crime rate in the city went down dramatically on Giuliani's watch. That was his top career issue—first as Manhattan federal prosecutor and then as mayor. Crime was declining in the rest of the country as well but not as sharply as in New York. Always the showman, Giuliani took full credit for the drop in the media. Some of the credit should have gone to his first police commissioner, William Bratton, whom Giuliani fired when Bratton began receiving some credit in the press. Rudy's policy of ‘zero tolerance’ (tough penalties for minor offences) was criticised as racist and as concentrating on the visibility of the problem, rather than helping its victims.
His other signature policy was the drastic reduction of the city’s welfare rolls. However, he provided few jobs and little opportunity for job training for those he kicked out of the system. He instituted the biggest Workfare ( work for benefits) program in America, but it did little to move people into full employment. Giuliani's tough stand on welfare drastically increased the number of homeless people, whole families in particular. Soup kitchens and charity food pantries were overwhelmed.
Giuliani was one of the most divisive mayors of our multi-cultural city. He managed to alienate the city’s Black and Hispanic community with demeaning tactics. His cabinet only had a sprinkling of minorities in any positions of importance. He regularly refused to meet with senior elected black officials. In other words, he ignored a huge part of New York City's population.
Rudy was not this city's favorite mayor during his years in office. He was on his way out when 9/11 happened. All of a sudden, he became America's mayor. In just a few days he was elevated to television hero, crisis-manager and Consoler-in-Chief. Time Magazine made him the 2001 Man Of The Year. But really, how much better did he have to act during the nation's worst crisis than President Bush to receive such accolades.
So while most of America has been going gaga over Giuliani, New Yorkers are much more reserved in their judgment of him. And remember, a politician's past behavior is always an indicator of his future behavior.

Here is a related Village Voice article:
May 9, 2006 by Michael Atkinson
It's the Reagan paradigm in a teapot: Terrorize the citizenry with harmless bogeymen (the homeless, welfare moms, artists), claim credit for social change you did not create (crime was on a three-year decline before he took office, and dipped in most cities, regardless of policy), foster the illusion of order and control (where did the homeless go?), shout bootstrap ballyhoo about freeloaders (the "workfare" program was on its face a form of indentured servitude), and ignore all evidence to the contrary, civil rights, real poverty, and the First Amendment. Most of all, use publicity to lie so relentlessly that the populace and the media take the fiction of success (nearly all of Giuliani's triumphant stats were bloated, skewed, or untrue) as their starting point.
After 9-11, a sick, scandalized lame-duck mayor became a national hero for simply keeping his composure on TV. Keating's film is a comet out of the past, but it's focused, if only circumstantially, on the future. Faithful Republican thug, Giuliani may be our destiny in national politics—a man who's capable of boasting (during the last GOP convention) that upon seeing a body falling from the twin towers he turned to Bernard Kerik and said, "Thank God George Bush is our president!"

Wednesday, November 15, 2006



I venture to say no war can be long carried on against the will of the people.
Edmund Burke

Tuesday, November 14, 2006


Who is feeding the details of the Baghdad mass kidnapping to the news media? It was first reported yesterday that 70 to 80 Iraqis in old and new Iraqi National Police uniforms stormed the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research/Scholarships and Cultural Relations Directorate building. Once inside, they locked all the women into a bathroom. Then they kidnapped 100 to 150 male employees in 30 trucks which had been driven up to the building. At least that was the story on Tuesday morning. By last night, it was reported that most of the hostages had been freed unharmed. Then the details of the story changed.
By late last night, the number of hostage takers had been adjusted to 20, the number of kidnap victims lowered to a few dozens. This morning, Baghdad officials told CNN that only about 20 abducted were found in police raids around Baghdad. The fate of the others still unknow. Is there no way of doing more rigorous fact checking before details get published in the media? It seems that the utter chaos in Iraq can be sensed through the bungling of the news coming out of the country.
But pardon me for asking: how come the kidnappers wore recently issued uniforms, specially designed by the U.S. to be difficult to copy? This brazen operation suggests without a shadow of a doubt that there was official involvement. Five top Police officers are being held , including the police chief of the Karrada district where the abductions occurred. There are even suspicions that the daylight kidnapping was ordered by the Interior Ministry.
What a mess. The Minister of Higher Education has closed all universities for the time being. Is this all we have accomplished there? Closing the institutions of higher learning is like switching off the light. That is the real tragedy in this whole story. One day at a time, before our very eyes and in front of our troops, Iraq is moving back to the Dark Ages. The freedom and hope we were going to bring to the Iraqi people have turned into meaningless promises. I am deeply ashamed that our government has helped to magnify their misery. We all collectively owe the citizens of Iraq an apology.

The "stoop" sale is a true Brownstone Brooklyn tradition. Basically, you drag every unwanted item out of your house, display it on the high steps or stoop leading to your front door and wait for passers-by to express an interest in an item. It is the Brooklyn version of the garage sale.
My friend Eunice and I have a sale on a regular basis, to " keep the shit moving" as her husband Joe likes to say. So two week-ends ago, we convened in front of her house and fused our sale items into a pleasing sales display. When I saw the content of our impromptu store, I really thought that we had some quality stuff. And the prices were great. Most of the items could be yours for a buck.
Since I am mother to a college-age daughter and a techie 15-year old son, there were lots of clothes and electronic gadgets. In addition, I was selling the never-ending supply of nice old tablecloths and napkins my mother had collected during her lifetime. Don't worry, I am keeping the nicest pieces from her linen collection (and her doll collection, her old leather glove collection, doll house miniature collection......you get the picture.) In other words, there was some great stuff stacked on that stoop. And did I mention that the prices were cheap?
Well, it was a hard sell. As Eunice and I sat there, many people walked by, stopped and picked up an item. Sometimes, they asked for the price, put the item back down and continued walking. Others tried to haggle over $1. Now I like to bargain as much as anyone else, but there are limits. My favorite bargain hunters were the 20-Somethings who came down the block with Razr cell phone in left hand, Starbucks paper cup in right hand and white I-pod earplugs dangling from their neck. By my estimation, they dragged a couple of hundred dollars worth of accessories around with them. I guess that set of linen napkins was too expensive for a dollar.
After about two hours, Eunice and I were frustrated. Joe mumbled something to the effect that these freaks don't mind spending a dollar for a bottle of water even though it comes out of the faucet for free. Frustrated and cold, we packed up by late afternoon. I had made about $25, but my house was a bit emptier and that was a good thing. Just as I dragged the last bag into the house, my daughter dropped in with two friends. They had made the trip expressly from the Upper West Side of Manhattan to go to "Beacon's Closet" the Williamsburg second-hand hipster shopping heaven. (Rumor has it that new Brooklynite Michelle Williams shops there). Proudly, the girls opened their plastic shopping bags and fished out some "gently worn" t-shirts. " Can you believe this was only $7, Mama?" my daughter said. I could have cried. I guess Eunice and I have the wrong idea. The next time I need to get rid of some extra stuff, I am hiring a publicist, create a celebrity buzz, and raise my prices.

Sunday, November 12, 2006


There is no denying it. Fall has come to Brooklyn. I woke up this morning, looked out at the newly bare trees and thought: how much things change in one week.
The same is true for this week in Washington. In our nation's capital, President Bush took a huge fall, and I wonder if he can be put together again. After six years of blundering, smugness and lying, he finally was punished by voters in this mid-term election. And it felt sooooo good.
Bush is often wrong but never in doubt. He claims that his God is watching over him and this country. So I wonder if he truly understands the significance of this week. During his first press conference after the defeat, he seemed more defiant than ever. His nervous twitches, his insanely infantile jokes and his smirk were still all in place. Does he even fully comprehend that the mood in this country has shifted back to the center? I doubt it. Just as I doubt that this stunning defeat will make him any humbler.
Tough this country faces the same major problems as before the election, I am confident that at last, we have more moderate representation in Washington. I have to say, this was a very, very good week, indeed.

Saturday, November 11, 2006


Today is Veterans Day. This day always makes me a bit sad. It always is about W.W. II veterans and not very much about Vietnam veterans. Don't get me wrong. My home country, Germany, would have had a very different history, had American soldiers not fought so bravely to liberate us from a dictator. I guess it is always easier to be proud of soldiers who actually affect the course of history so positively. The poor young men who were sent to Vietnam obviously did not accomlish any such tangible feat. America should not have been in Vietnam in the first place. A small "Military Action" got out of hand and politicians were too thick-headed to admit failure. So it dragged on and on.........
The "Military Action" in Iraq feels very much the same. So pardon me for asking: Will Iraq veterans get the same thanks as our WWII veterans or will their mission be noted in the history books as an exercise in futility?
And why do we even make a difference in how we treat veterans. After all, its not a soldier's fault which war he has to fight. So lets say thanks to all of them. Thanks, Danke, Merci


Some sad statistics about veterans.
"The Forgotten Americans-Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve" -- released Dec. 8, 1999, by the Interagency Council on the Homeless -- is the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients (NSHAPC), which was completed in 1996 and updated three years later. You can visit www.huduser.org and download the NSHAPC reports from there.
Veteran Specific Highlights:
23% of homeless population are veterans
33% of male homeless population are veterans
47% Vietnam Era
17% post Vietnam
15% pre Vietnam
67% served three or more years
33% stationed in war zone
25% have used VA Homeless Services
85% completed high school/GED compared to 56% of non-veterans
89% received Honorable Discharge
79% reside in central cities
16% reside in suburban areas
5% reside in rural areas
76% experience alcohol, drug, or mental health problems
46% white males compared to 34% non-veterans
46% age 45 or older compared to 20% non-veterans
Service needs:
45% help finding job
37% finding housin

Friday, November 10, 2006



President Bush suffered another defeat this week. The fact that the Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega won the presidential election in Nicaragua on Sunday has not been widely publicized. Sixteen years after he left power, the communist leader recaptured the presidency in part because he used the United States' meddling in this election as a rallying point.
President Bush and his "handlers" thought it was a good idea to influence the Nicaraguan election by threatening to withdraw aid from the impoverished nation if the voting result was not to our administration's liking. In good old U.S.A. fashion, we even backed our own candidate: conservative banker Eduardo Montealegre. This meddling failed miserably.
Daniel Ortega is a pretty bad choice for Nicaragua if past behavior is an indicator of future behavior . During his 1985-1990 Presidency, he not only antagonized then-President Reagan, but his brutal Soviet-backed regime destroyed his country's economy as well. 50,000 people lost their lives during the civil war he and his Sandinista guerrilla fighters fought against the U.S.-backed contras. So he is not a nice guy by any means.
But did the United States not learn anything yet about sticking its nose in other countries' votes? How can we claim to bring democracy to others when we don't even keep out of their election?
What do you think?


There is nothing worse than aggressive stupidity.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

Thursday, November 9, 2006


Since yesterday morning, I have been wishing I were a little mouse in the White House. I would love to hear Bush strategize with his cronies. The rest of the Rebublicans are mad at him for not firing Rumsfeld last week, his father is probably calling every five minutes with advice and Nancy Pelosi is waiting to meet with him . This is better than any soap opera. Ah, the justice of it all!
So I propose a career change for Cheney, too. Since his philosophical soulmate Rumsfeld is out now, Cheney is surely wondering how he can gracefully leave this entire mess behind. Lets hope that he will try to save himself like a rat from a sinking ship. Unfortunatelly, people like Cheney and Rumsfeld never truly leave Washington. They just come back as lobbyists.

In some parts of the world, what I am doing right now could land me in jail. That's right. If I were sitting in front of my computer in Egypt posting a message wenting about my government, I could be arrested. The organization "Reporters Without Borders" is trying to raise awareness on this issue with a 24 hour online cyber demonstration.
Thirteen countries censor what should be a space for free expression. They are Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
Throughout the world, more than 60 Internet users are currently in prison for posting news or information on the Internet.
In Paris, Reporters Without Borders projected a gigantic world map of online censorship onto the city’s monuments. The press and passers-by saw the map projected onto the facade of Saint-Lazare station, onto the building that houses the French headquarters of Yahoo!, and onto the Bastille Opera. The aim was to encourage the public to get involved in the fight to defend the right to online free expression. Reporters Without Borders activists distributed leaflets explaining the 24-hour online protest against censorship.
The organization gave all Internet users the opportunity to speak out against censorship on the Internet by visiting their Website www.rsf.org. About 100,000 people logged into the site within 24 hours. The Reporters Without Borders is particularly critical of Yahoo! and its founder Jerry Yang who gave in to Chinese authorities by self-censoring its search engine. Microsoft and Google are similarly working to sensor their sites.

Wednesday, November 8, 2006


Within the last hour, it has been announced that Montana's Senate seat goes to the Democrats AND Rumsfeld is resigning. My prediction this morning came true. DING DONG the wicked witch is gone! Though it is raining like crazy here in New York, it is a beautiful day!
Below is an article from the German Spiegel. Read about Europe's reaction to our election result.

November 8, 2006
EUROPEAN REACTION
"End of a Six Year Nightmare"
Following the midterm slap in the face to the Bush Adminstration there has been little sympathy in Europe for the beleaguered White House. The day after the Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives, in much of Europe there is quiet satisfaction -- and relief.
( To read full article sign into http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,447246,00.html )
smd/reuters/dpa

My daughter went back to college yesterday after casting her vote. Last night, she was checking the election returns with her roommates and felt confident and proud about her vote. All her candidates won here in New York. Not a bad first voting experience.
This will not always be the case. In the future, she will taste the bitter defeat we, her parents felt six years ago, and even more depressingly two years ago. I hope that when this happens, she will not give up on voting. And I hope that she will not give up on making her voice heard because " it does not make a difference anyway".
Making sure that our daughter was registered to vote was as important to me and to my husband as having her get her driver's licence and her own bank account. Its all part of her education.
Having done it once, I hope she will continue doing it every year, even when her candidates have only a slim chance of winning. Because if she does not make the choices herself, someone else will make them for her.


What a relief. America is finally back out of the Dark Ages. I feel as though I can breathe again. As I am writing this, Congress is firmly in democratic hands and they have won four seats in the Senate with two extra seats a distinct possibility. As a commentator on BBC Radio news said this morning: " President Bush had a bad night."
Oh, what a sweet affirmation that Americans are not as gullible and pliable as it has seemed for the last 6 years. We showed the rest of the world that this country can only be duped for so long.
But what does this shift in power mean?
Does it mean that the smirk on President Bush's face is finally erased?
Does it mean that Rumsfeld is out?
Or that this administration will start treating its citizens with the respect they deserve instead of the contempt they have shown for hard working average Americans?
As wonderful as this victory feels, however, Democrats have only two years to do a better job. As citizens of this country, we need to continue to put pressure on our elected officials. The mediocrity amongst our politicans, Republican or Democrat, has been stunning. This country deserves a smarter, wiser representation. Lets all work on that together!

Tuesday, November 7, 2006


My eighteen-year-old daughter is voting for the first time in her life today. I am so excited for her. Since she was a little girl, my husband would bring her to vote with him. Our polling place was also her elementary school, and there was always something mysterious about seeing the school gym transformed into an adult world for one day. Now she belongs to this adult world. And I feel proud that she is taking the time from her busy college life to come back home and to stand for something.
She knows the issues. Iraq, minimum wage, stem cell research, gay marriage and last but not least abortion. Believe me, she has lots to say about those subjects and would hold her own in any discussion.
Today, she is contributing her voice, helping to shape the world in which she would like to live in. A world in which we would once and for all put the abortion issue behind us, because it is a a woman's right to choose. A world in which gay marriage is as accepted as the union between her parents, because she has grown up knowing gay couples who live together in the same loving relationships. And most of all a world in which politicians do not use lies and deceit to start a war to profit big business.
Of course this cannot be achieved by voting once, but it is that first step towards claiming the future from the previous generation. When my daughter goes to the polls today, I will trust her decision and will be happy that we have taught her the importance of having a say.

Monday, November 6, 2006


Laughter is the best medicine! Check this youtube video out. A humorous look at our President and global warming. It's worth it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5r6TqpOQGc


We have all heard it now. The mid-term election is about Iraq. Not the economy, not gay marriage and not stem cell research. We have yet to learn what exit strategy the Bush administration is working on. Apparently two weeks ago, while talking to reporters, Bush casually mentioned permanent bases in Iraq. It is not the first time this came up. I have no doubt that this administration has no exit strategy, because they never meant to leave Iraq. Why should they? Just look at the profit posted by Halliburton since we entered this conflict. Below is an enlightening article about what America's real role in Iraq is.

US and UK forces establish 'enduring bases' in Iraq ( from The Independent www.independent.co.uk)
Despite talk of withdrawal 'when the job is done', there are signs that coalition troops will be there for the long term

By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
Published: 02 April 2006
The Pentagon has revealed that coalition forces are spending millions of dollars establishing at least six "enduring" bases in Iraq - raising the prospect that US and UK forces could be involved in a long-term deployment in the country. It said it assumed British troops would operate one of the bases.
Almost ever since President Bush claimed an end to "major combat operations" in Iraq on 1 May 2003, debate has focused on how quickly troops could be withdrawn. The US and British governments say troops will remain in Iraq "until the job is done". Yet while the withdrawal of a substantial number of troops remains an aim, it has become increasingly clear that the Pentagon and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) are preparing to retain some forces in Iraq for the longer term.

For those of you who are fans like me of Molly Ivins, the Texas political columnist, here is one of her latest columns. Please read it before tomorrow and before voting. Ivins gets it right every time......

KEEPING OUR EYES ON THE BALL ( November 2, 2006)
By Molly Ivins

AUSTIN, Texas -- I'm still worried sick. The R's have seized the news cycle! Which says more about how dim American politics are than anything I can think of.
Apparently, the Michael J. Fox affair didn't have enough meat to it, and even Rep. Mark Foley is out of the game, so now we have the semi-hemi-demi-gaffe from John Kerry, who is not in fact running for anything.
If Kerry had been given as many breaks for misspeaking as George W. Bush has, he'd be a professor of grammar by now. And this all shows what the Bush regime has -- attacks on Kerry, Clinton, Kennedy, Pelosi, liberals! -- not any actual policies to help them.
The Great Wall of Republican ads is bearing down on us -- race-baiting, scare tactics and sleaze-mongering. (Who knew so many people had signed up to "promote the homosexual agenda"? I don't even know what it is. But apparently, you don't have to sign up to support -- you could be part of it and not even know!) The R's are throwing distorting ads, funded by endless money, all over the place. Can the people see that, and ignore and punish them for it?
Aside from the Wall of Ads, we are also faced with Disenfranchisement of Democrats again. For some reason, this has come to be regarded as "one of Karl's dirty tricks" -- a clever ploy, a little hard ball, rather to be admired.
I've covered East Texas politics for a long time. All over East Texas -- and elsewhere around the country -- there are elderly black Americans who don't have driver's licenses because they've never had a car, who can't read because they never got to third grade, and who are scared of The Law because for 70 years or better they've been oppressed by it. So if they see a sheriff's car blocking the road to the polling place and officials checking people's papers, they head the other direction.
Voting isn't hard, and believe it or not, these elderly blacks have worked all their lives and paid into Social Security and paid taxes, and they know a lot about how government affects people.
With pundits in Washington, who just a few weeks ago were claiming the Democrats would likely take the house by a razor-thin margin, now victoriously claiming they all along knew it would be a wipeout, I just feel that overconfidence juice starting to kick in. "Maybe 20 seats, maybe 40 seats" ... yeah. People could think: "So that's settled. I don't even really have to vote." Folks, step up and make sure there's some control on this regime.
May I remind you what this election is about? Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, unprecedented presidential powers, unmatched incompetence, unparalleled corruption, unwarranted eavesdropping, Katrina, Enron, Halliburton, global warming, Cheney's secret energy task force, record oil company profits, $3 gasoline, FEMA, the Supreme Court, Diebold, Florida in 2000, Ohio in 2004, Terri Schiavo, stem cell research, golden parachutes, shrunken pensions, unavailable and expensive health care, habeas corpus, no weapons of mass destruction, sacrificed soldiers and Iraqi civilians, wasted billions, Taliban resurgence, expiration of the assault weapons ban, North Korea, Iran, intelligent design, swift boat hit squads, and on and on.
This election is about that, but much more -- it's about honor, dignity and comity in this country. It's about the Constitution, which gives us this great nation. Bush ran on a pledge of "restoring honor and integrity" to the White House. Instead, he brought us Tom DeLay, Roy Blunt, Katherine Harris, John Doolittle, Jerry Lewis, Richard Pombo, Mark Foley, Dennis Hastert, David Safavian, Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed, Karl Rove and an illegal and immoral war in Iraq. People, it's up to you.

To find out more about Molly Ivins and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2006 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.

Pardon me for asking, but how come President Bush was taking Air Force One around the country to make appearances all over the country in an effort to help his fellow Republicans campaign? This bugged me so much that I did some snooping on the internet and found out that there are of course rules about what portion of a trip is political and which part is public business. However, there are many ways to interpret the purpose of our President's trips, leaving us, the tax payer to pay the real cost of the trip. Here is a good article concerning just that very subject on the Federal News Radio web site (www.federalnewsradio.com)Air Force

One Flies Into Center Of House Campaign (Oct 20th,2006)

When President Bush announced his trip to Savannah, Georgia, last month to stump and raise money for former Republican Representative Max Burns' effort to oust Democratic Representative John Barrow, Barrow did his best to put a damper on the festivities.
Bush was not visiting to discuss port security or illegal immigration or even the minimum wage, Barrow said in an e-mail bulletin to area voters. Instead, Barrow claimed, Bush was coming to Savannah just to headline a fundraiser for Burns and that taxpayers would get stuck with the bill.
Burns' campaign was billed for the trip, under a twenty-year-old formula used by the White House to apportion how much of the trip was public business and how much political.
In keeping with his practice of including stopovers on campaign expeditions, Bush first flew to Atlanta to give a speech on terrorism before traveling on to Savannah.
The tab for the part of the trip devoted to the Burns campaign stop was forty thousand dollars, which he paid to the Republican National Committee.
His aides consider the matter closed. But the real cost of the visit was probably upwards of four hundred thousand dollars.
According to a Government Accountability Study, the White House reimbursement formula forces political campaigns to pay only a small fraction of the travel expenses.
The National Taxpayers Union has called for political candidates to at least pay the operating costs of Air Force One, which average about fifty-seven thousand dollars an hour.
Link to this Article
http://www.federalnewsradio.com/index.php?nid=262&sid=949345

Saturday, November 4, 2006


According to an article on the Deutsche Welle News site, Germans are beginning to get disenchanted with their GPS navigation systems. The problem? They may be too good at following the instructions. "If the system tells them to turn right, they turn right. If it tells them to turn left, they turn left." Even if it means crashing into an outhouse.

Here are just a few real incidents from German roads
A 53-year-old German driver recently took the command "Turn right now!" from his navigation system all too literally. 30 meters before the crossing he was meant to take, the excessively obedient driver from Freiburg drove his SUV off the road into a nearby construction site, drove it up a stairway and crashed it into a poor, unsuspecting toilet shack that had never seen this type of action before.

Police in the eastern German town of Rudolstadt said the incident had caused 2,000 euros ($2,500) in damages to the stairway, 100 euros to the car and that the driver was also fined accordingly. The ongoing fine for extreme obedience is 35 euros.

Earlier this month another German ignored the sign "Closed for construction" on a Hamburg highway and followed his navigation system into a pile of sand. No injuries were reported.

Friday, November 3, 2006



" *PRESIDENT BUSH ASKS U.S SOLDIERS TO STOP DYING"
From the Onion Radio News by Doyle Redland. Follow the link. Its great.
www.theonion.com/content/node/54755

This idea is too late for Tuesday's mid-term election. However, we have two years to seriously work on campaign reform. I suggest a totally different approach for the presidential election in 2008: instead of allowing candidates to spend millions of dollars on boring and badly acted television commercials bashing their opponent, how about running a couple of reality game shows to choose our next President. We can't do any worse than the voting disasters of recent years and it would add entertainment value for everyone. It may even get Americans to vote!
Here are just some of the ideas I came up with:

SURVIVOR WASHINGTON
Thirty-nine days, twenty Political Candidate Survivors, two opposite political tribes, dozens of lies, a laid-down torch, an incredible winning streak and finally, one Sole Survivor who becomes President.

BIG BROTHER WHITE HOUSE
For about three months, political candidate "housemates" are confined to the White House where their every action is recorded by cameras and microphones at all times. The housemates are not permitted contact with the outside world. Once a week. the public is invited to vote to have a political housemate of their choice evicted from the White House. At the end of the game, the last remaining housemate is declared President

AMAZING PRESIDENTIAL RACE
Teams of two, a presidential and a vice-presidential candidate, race around the world in competition with other teams.
The race starts in Washington. Teams must follow clues and instructions and make their way to checkpoints in places around the world. The last team to arrive at a designated checkpoint leaves the game. They race back to the finish line on the front lawn of the White House. The first team to cross the final finish line become President and Vice-President.

BELTWAY FEAR FACTOR
In each "Beltway Fear Factor" episode, political candidates recruited from across the nation must decide if they have the guts and determination to face their most primal fears. Under the supervision of professional Hollywood stunt coordinators, presidential hopefuls are confronted with a series of challenging stunts. If they complete their task they advance; if fear stops them from completing a stunt or they fail the mission, they are immediately eliminated. The candidate who wins the final challenge becomes President.

Post your ideas for political reality shows below.

Let's see. What did the White House do today that is the fault of the Democrats and of the American people:

The Federal Government set up a Web site in March to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war. The site posted some documents that weapons experts say are a danger themselves: detailed accounts of Iraq’s secret nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The documents,apparently constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb.The Bush administration did so under pressure from Congressional Republicans who had said they hoped to “leverage the Internet” to find new evidence of the prewar dangers posed by Saddam Hussein. (N.Y. Times Nov.3)


Another rightous one is tempted by the devil!
The Rev. Ted Haggard, frequent White house visitor, friend of Bush and many Republcans resigned after denying an accusation by a male prostitute that the pastor paid him for sex over three years. The president of the National Association of Evangelicals, the Rev. Ted Haggard is an opponent of gay marriage. He is temporarily stepping aside from the pulpit of his church in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
I bet he is going to say that the male prostitute is a Democrat sent by the devil to tempt him....

"Despite working long hours, the House ethics committee will fail to draw conclusions about the handling of the Mark Foley scandal before voters go to the polls Tuesday" (Miami Herald)
I read somewhere that Foley is extending his stint at an Arizona treatment center. Probably just till Wednesday, after the election maybe?

And last but not least: Bush will hold on to Cheney and Rumsfeld till the end of his term in two years. This does not surprise me. How could anyone think about braking up the Axis of Evil

Thursday, November 2, 2006


Sorry, but I could not resist. This is truly noteworthy. I know a few people who will be glad to know that the gnomes have not been hurt or tortured in any way!

Liberated gnomes found
From correspondents in Limoges
November 02, 2006 06:48am

SOME 79 garden gnomes snatched by a so-called gnome liberation group, were discovered today along the banks of a stream in the central Limousin region, police said.
The gnomes were hidden in some underbrush with a banner that read, "gnome mistreated, gnome liberated", police said.
A national garden gnome liberation operation was announced on the group's website in honour of the November 1 French holiday, All Saint's Day.
Last month 86 gnomes were found in the yard of a Limoges high school. Others, stolen last summer, were discovered along the edge of a swimming pool on the outskirts of the city.
"Because of the heat wave, they wanted to get some air," read a letter that appeared in gnome owners' mailboxes.
According to the group's website, the Front for the Liberation of Garden Gnomes (FLNJ) has about 100 active members throughout France, as well as in Canada, Germany, Spain, and the United States.

Wednesday, November 1, 2006


Just came across an article from the BBC. I am speechless. So let me understand this right: Gas prices go down and people are actually going out to buy S.U.V's? How can that be. Have they already forgotten this summers gas prices? Are they such optimists? I want a pair of the rose colored glasses they must be wearing. Where do I get me some? Here is the article:

CHEAPER FUEL HELPS GM SALES SURGE
BBC November 1, 2006


GM's trucks and SUVs are having a resurgence.
General Motors (GM) has seen its US vehicle sales soar in October thanks to a fall in fuel prices - though some of its rivals fared less well.
The company's sales grew by 17.3% as it reported strong demand for its trucks and SUVs as filling the tank became less expensive.

Toyota increased its sales by 9.2% in the month and Ford saw an 8% increase but DaimlerChrysler slipped 1.6%.

The figures compare to October 2005, a poor month in the US for all carmakers.

'Gaining share'

GM had been accused of being over-reliant upon thirsty sports utility vehicles (SUVs), at a time when fuel prices have soared but there are signs its so-called "fuel-guzzlers" were gaining share.

Petrol prices have fallen from a peak of $3-a-gallon in May to about $2.20.

GM analyst Paul Ballew said that this helped the whole industry, but especially truck sales.

"Some of the pressure which was really dampening demand has been lessened," he said.

"We are not seeing the mass migration out of utilities into cars or crossovers that we saw in the spring."

GM, the world's largest carmaker, sold 301,317 vehicles, against Ford's 214,806 and Toyota's 189,011.

When it came to cars only, Ford said it had sold 22% more than a year ago - although it has relied on discounts on its 2006 models combined with steep production cuts to drive down its supplies. It is also cutting production in 2007.

Turnaround

DaimlerChrysler's results would have been worse if a 3.9% drop in sale sat its US arm had not been offset by growth at its Mercedes Benz business. Honda sales rose 3.7% as light truck sales cancelled out a fall in demand for cars.

Last week GM said it had reduced its losses by more than 90% as its turnaround plan has begun to kick in.

The car giant lost $115m (£61.3m) in the three months to September 2006, and said that without a string of one-off charges it would have been in profit.

In the same period a year ago, GM posted a loss of $1.7bn.

Alright. Though the Verizon truck was standing in front of the door and two big fellows were working on the cables in the backyard, my internet service was slow as molasses. So that you don't think that I am exaggerating, the picture above was taken from my backyard window. I ask you: does this seem like state of the art equipment? How does America hope to get Iraq up to speed if a U.S. telephone company can not even provide New Yorkers with decent telephone service. What are your thoughts?

In case you have not tried changing Dollars into Euros lately, I can tell you that I feel like a poor country bumkin when I travel to Europe. My dollars are not worth much anymore. I don't even try to convert prices in my head anymore. It just would make me dizzy. But why would Americans care about the slide of their currency if they don't travel abroad? Because the dollar is still the world's reserve currency. It's slide could possibly mean a crisis which could affect the world's economy.
If you don't believe me, read the following essay excerpted from the German best-seller "World War for Wealth: The Global Grab for Power and Prosperity" by SPIEGEL editor Gabor Steingart.


AMERICA AND THE DOLLAR ILLUSION
The two things investors crave most are high yields and high security. Since you can never have both at the same time, the moods of investors are like an emotional roller coaster. They shift constantly from fear to greed and back -- although major investors, like corporations and states, clearly prefer security over fancy returns. Their fear is stronger than their greed. They'll freely relinquish the really fat profits as long as the stability of their billions is guaranteed. They're afraid of political unrest, they loathe overly dramatic changes in currency value and the mere thought of creeping inflation sends them into a state of panic.

Greenback in demand: People keep buying dollars as if possessed.

Few countries are able to provide the greatest possible security in the face of these dangers. They include the United States and Switzerland. Indeed, this security is why the dollar isn't just used in trading and investment, but also functions as the world's reserve currency. Almost every country in the world distrusts its own currency to the extent that it prefers to invest the money from its treasury in the United States.
One can almost completely rule out the possibility of political unrest in the United States. Inflation is combated by the Federal Reserve Bank. Given the size of the currency's spread and the quantity of dollars circulating worldwide, speculators have no cause to get overly anxious about the dollar.

Thus, those who have money prefer to keep it in dollars. The United States disposes of a virtual monopoly on the commodity called security. For many investors, purchasing a US government bond is nothing other than a way of preserving their money. In 2005, only 20 percent of all currency reserves in the world were held in euros, whereas more than 60 percent were held in dollars. The introduction of the euro was a considerable success, and one should not downplay it. Nevertheless, the dollar has remained the world's currency anchor. As long as this anchor rests firmly on the ocean floor, stability is guaranteed for the national economies that invest in the dollar.

But if that anchor should tear itself loose and begin to drift freely in the ocean of global finance, the chaos that ensues would result in trouble for more than just exchange rates.

Buying to avoid selling

But why are the same traders who used to purchase products now so mad about dollar bills? Why do they rely on the good called security -- a commodity whose quantity cannot be increased at all? Doesn't every business student learn that the currency of a country is only as stable -- and hence as valuable -- as what the national economy of that country has to offer and produces? Does no one see that the tension between the dream and the reality is increasing and that this tension will snap, leading to suffering for millions?

Of course they see it! Investors can see what is happening. They wonder about it and shake their heads. It even scares them a little, sending chills down their spine. But they keep buying dollars as though possessed. The greater their doubts, the more greedily they order dollars. Indeed, that's exactly what is so crazy about these investors and their behavior: The client isn't just a client. He creates the security he's purchasing by the very act of purchasing it. If he were to stop buying dollars tomorrow, suspicion about the currency would spread and insecurity would grow. Then the dream would end. The dollar would start to falter and all the wealth held in dollars would lose its value. Of course, that's not something investors want to see happen.
The only way to fight a weak dollar is to strengthen it. Many people no longer care whether the US currency still justifies the faith people seem to have in it. The new game, which amounts to playing with fire, works exactly the other way around: The dollar deserves the faith it gets because otherwise it loses that faith. Dollars are bought so they don't have to be sold. The dollar is strong because that's the only thing that can prevent it from growing weak. Reality is ignored because only by ignoring it can the dream come true. Or, to put it still more clearly: Behaving irrationally has become rational behavior.

Everyone knows the danger

Of course, those playing this game know that, in the long term, currencies can't be stronger than the national economies from which they derive. Consumption without production, imports without exports, growth on credit -- these are all things that can't last in this world. Ken Rogoff, the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a man who thinks as clearly as he speaks brashly, recently criticized US economic policy even as he seemed to be praising it: Rogoff said the current boom in the United States is "the best economic recovery money can buy."


But if things have become that obvious, why aren't investors recoiling in fear? Why do foreigners, US presidents of all stripes and even Federal Reserve presidents known for their seriousness allow themselves to get involved in such a risky game, when the risk is that of destroying everything? Why aren't those mechanisms of market regulation functioning that are supposed to represent the advantage of the capitalist system over planned economies?
The answer is terrifyingly simple: Everyone knows how dangerous the game is, but continuing to play it strikes them as less dangerous than quitting. After all, what's to be gained from overreacting? Investors allowed themselves to get caught in the dollar trap years ago, and there's no easy way out. If they start taking their dollar bills and government bonds to the market themselves, they would lose money -- either gradually or all at once. They would like to avoid both scenarios, at least for a time. A president who does no more than recognize the situation as an important issue may lose his position as public discontent looks for a vent. Though the governors of the Federal Reserve Bank are under the strongest obligation to tell the truth, they have let the right moment for effective intervention slip by.

Waiting for the signal

Alan Greenspan, the legendary former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, did much to feed the dollar illusion. Whenever skepticism increased, he raised the key interest rate. Any rise in the key interest rate also serves as a sort of risk premium for those who took their chances by investing in the dollar. When doubts about the sustainability of US economic growth were heard, Greenspan set out to dispel them immediately. For a man better known for his mumbling and preference to keep people in the dark about the financial world, he spoke with remarkable precision. "Overall, the household sector seems to be in good shape," he said in October of 2004. If the global financial market's managers worship Greenspan, then it's at least partly because he's given their dream a lease on life of several more years.

His successor has no other option but to do the same thing. He knows that every piece of advice issued by someone in his position will have consequences. If he issues a warning about the skewed state of the economy, the warning itself instantly becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Even if he chooses a subtle formulation, the financial market will perfectly understand what he's saying. Everyone is waiting for the sign that the trend has reversed. No one is hoping for that sign, but no one can afford to miss it either.

At this point, a legitimate objection could be formulated: namely, that financial markets don't normally obey politicians. So why aren't the markets correcting themselves in this instance as they normally do? Who or what is preventing investors from behaving differently towards the dollar than they behaved towards New Economy stocks?

They're going to do it. The only question is when. Financial investors aren't tax collectors or accountants: Their job isn't that of a meticulous overseer. They love excess, and they regularly cause markets to overheat. After all, speculation is the business they're in, and being in that business involves living with the risk of going too far. Their professional attitude resembles that of race car drivers whose goal is victory and not avoiding accidents at all costs. What remains unclear is just how dramatic the crash will be. Experts have often forecast the effects of a dollar meltdown. If the downward trend were to begin, interest on credit would rise step by step in an attempt to curb devaluation. That way, the dollar crisis would spread from the world of currencies to the real world of factories, businesses and household accounts within days.

Major and minor private investments yield lower returns when interest rates climb. People would start to save, the economy would falter and eventually shrink. The first mass layoffs would arrive soon afterwards. US citizens would have to once more drastically reduce their level of consumption, as unemployment and waves of bankruptcy would shake up the country. Millions of households would become unable to pay back their bank loans. Then real estate prices and share values would begin to drop, having been overpriced for years and used as mortgages for consumer credit. When the real estate bubble bursts, consumption inevitably dwindles even further. The hunger for imports would fade, causing problems for exporting countries as well. It would only be a matter of days before newspapers would once more feature a term that seemed to have disappeared decades ago: world economic crisis.

Steroids for the giant

Last century, the United States already suffered from one deep economic crisis that gradually spread to the rest of the world. The Great Depression lasted 10 years and brought mass unemployment and starvation to the United States. The country's economic power sank by one-third. The crisis virus wrought havoc all over the West. Six million people were unemployed in Germany when the economic fever was at its peak.

Today's investors face a difficult choice, one they're not to be envied for. They can see the relative weakness of the US economy and they're registering the tectonic shifts in the world economy. They know that a great statistical effort is being made to prolong the American dream. For some time now, government statistics have announced sensational productivity leaps for the US economy -- productivity leaps that, strange as it may seem, haven't led to any rise in wages for years. This is in fact genuinely bizarre: Either capitalists are reaping the fruits of increased productivity all by themselves -- which would be a political scandal even in capitalism's heartland -- or the productivity leaps exist only on paper. There is much to suggest that the second hypothesis is correct.

Half the world is impressed by the low levels of unemployment in the United States. The other half knows that these statistics aren't official, but the result of a voluntary telephone survey. Many of those who declare themselves employed are assistants and day workers. Working just one hour a week is enough for one to be classified as "employed." Given that it's considered antisocial to declare yourself unemployed, the US statistics may well say more about American society's dominant norms than about its actual condition.

The US economy's high growth rates aren't to be completely trusted either. They are the result of high public and private debt. In no way do they express an increased output of domestically produced goods and services that the United States has achieved by its own strength. They say more about the successful sales ventures of Asians and Europeans. New loans taken by the US government were responsible for fully one-third of US economic growth in 2001. In 2003 they were responsible for a quarter. The United States is an economic giant on steroids -- doped so its decline in performance doesn't become too apparent.

Trust in God, market style

For capital market investors, reality isn't reality until the majority of investors are convinced it is reality and have begun reacting accordingly. Right now, everyone is watching everyone else closely. Everyone knows the dream of the stable economic superpower has ended, but everyone is keeping his eyes shut just a little longer.

Government bonds and shares don't have any objective value -- nothing you can see, weigh, taste or even eat. Their value is measured by investors' faith that the purchasing power of $1 million will still be $1 million 10 years from now, rather than having been reduced by half. This faith is measured on the markets almost every second -- and the measure used is nothing but the faith of other investors. As long as the faithful outnumber the skeptics, everything works out fine for the dollar (and the world economy). The trouble starts the day the scale begins to tip.

The process is complicated by the fact that investors aren't driven by blind faith alone. In part, it seems, hard facts also push them to extend their credit of trust a little longer. US economic growth -- an impressive figure on paper -- is an important benchmark. When it is high, investors feel reassured in their faith in the power of the US domestic economy to perform well. True, the trade balance deficit has skyrocketed since it first appeared in the mid-1970s. But the economy is growing steadily anyway, as the dreamers note with growing self-confidence. It may not be growing as rapidly as the Chinese economy, but it is growing twice as fast as the European economy.
And yet this benchmark is not as reliable as it seems. The faith investors have in the figure has actually helped create it. After all, the purchasing price of a government bond feeds almost directly into state consumption, just as the purchasing price of a share makes companies more inclined to consume. It also extends the credit basis of millions of private households -- which in turn boosts consumption. In this way, the expectations of investors -- including the expectation that the United States will continue to grow -- transform into certainties almost all by themselves.

In other words, the capital of trust creates the very growth rates it needs in order to justify itself. US economic growth, in fact, is fueled by ever-increasing consumer spending -- puzzling given that American wages are dropping as is industrial output. Still, everyone knows the answer to this riddle. The rise in consumption isn't based on an expansion of production, a rise in wages or even an increase in exports. To a large extent, it's based on the growing debt. But why do banks keep issuing credit? Because they accept the ever-increasing prices of stocks and real estate as a kind of collateral. A closed circuit of miraculous money minting has been created.

Self-delusion

The extent of this self-delusion can be read in the balance sheets of the banks: Almost no one is saving money in the United States today. The US foreign debt grows by about $1.5 billion every weekday and has now reached about $3 trillion. Private household debt, both at home and abroad, has reached $9 trillion -- and 40 percent of these debts has been incurred since 2001. The Americans are enjoying the present at the cost of selling off ever larger chunks of their future. Arguably, the imminent economic crisis is the most thoroughly predicted one in recent history. Rather than refuting the crisis, the current US economic boom merely heralds it.

Biologists have observed similar phenomena in plants contaminated by toxins. Before they wither, they produce one last batch of healthy shoots -- to the point that they can hardly be distinguished from healthy plants. Some speak of a panic bloom.

So who will be the first to destroy the dollar illusion? Aren't all investors bound together by an invisible link, since every attack on the key currency would lead to a loss of value for them, perhaps even destroying a large part of their financial assets? Why should the central banks of Japan or Beijing throw their dollars onto the market? What could make US pension funds wilfully destroy their wealth, held in dollars? What sense would it make to send the United States into a deep crisis when that crisis could drag all the other states along?

The underlying motive is the same as the one that once prompted investors to buy dollars -- fear. This time it is fear that someone else may be faster, fear that the dollar's strength won't last, fear that every day spent waiting may be one day too long. It's fear that the herd instinct of global financial markets will set in and overtake those who can't keep up.

Weaker than they say

These days, the dollar is making a lot of people uncomfortable. One morning many dollar-owners will wake up and look at the facts about the US economy without their rose-colored glasses -- just as private investors woke up one day and took an unflinching look at the New Economy, only to see companies whose market value couldn't be justified by even the most dramatic of profit increases. Some of the revenue forecasts that had been issued far exceeded the total value of the market. The Nasdaq presented the spectacle of a stock market whose added value increased by 1,000 percent in just a few years, when the nominal growth of the US economy during the same period was only 25 percent.

Greed triumphed over fear for a few years -- but then fear came back. The value of high-tech shares plummeted by more than 70 percent in just a few months, and they're still less than half as high as they were then. Even the Dow Jones, a stock market index based on the value of the largest US companies, was devalued by some 40 percent.

Much the same fate is in store for the dollar and for dollar loans. The United States has sold more security than it has to offer. The expectations traded will turn out to be valueless because they can't be met. Just as the New Economy was unable to provide investors with either the growth or the profits that had been predicted for investors, currency traders will one day have to admit that the economy backing the currency they sold is weaker than they claimed.

The crash can be deferred, but not stopped

The dependence of foreign central banks on the dollar will defer its crash, but it won't prevent it. Today's snowdrift will become tomorrow's avalanche. The masses of snow are already accumulating at breathtaking speed. The avalanche could happen tomorrow, in a few months or years from now. Much of what people today think is immortal will be buried by the global currency crisis -- perhaps even the leadership role of the United States.

Incidentally, the commission that former US President Bill Clinton created to investigate the negative balance of trade concluded in clear terms that the government has to do whatever it can to put an end to the growing disparity between imports and exports. It demanded that the public give up its optimism and return to realism, that people start saving again and that the state reduce its imports in order to prevent too hard a crash landing.

None of that has been done. In fact, what is being done is the opposite of everything the experts recommended. Debt is growing, imports are increasing and an optimism now lacking every basis in reality has become official state policy. Lester Thurow, a member of Clinton's commission, draws the sober conclusion that no one will believe the US balance of trade could produce a crisis "until it happens."