My current reading list and those to come..

I am currently reading two books.
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I am reading the Great Transformation The political and Economic Origins of our time by Karl Polyani
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The other book I am reading is The rise and fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer
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books on my short list when I finish one reading either of the two mentioned above I will probably take one from the pool listed below.
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The Grand Chess Board by Zbignew Brezinski

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips

The Comedians by Graham Greene

Guns , Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond

Resource Wars by Michael T. Klare

FICTION

They were masters of the Universe(to coin Tom Wolfes phrase) /masters of illusion who maintained power over humanity with a fictional economy that distributed fictional goods and services , created fictional jobs, and fictional desires within the consumers, fictional reality...

End of year ramblings about trees, buildings, economy, and education

I love architecture and trees, in that order . I have less than even a surface knowledge about the architects and the species of trees but love both these things none the less.

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My favorite type of tree is called Melaleuca linariifolia also known as Snow in Summer, took me a long time to find out the name of the tree even though I would see them all over San Francisco.

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The tree is originally from Australia.

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I suppose the economy is getting better, but still a really tough grind for me here in Northern California.
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I did terrible at my SQL class this last semester, I am thinking about taking class again or maybe taking PHP along with an English class.

Merry Christmas -Happy New Year Planet

My Christmas is almost over, having my third delicious day off in row, really need the rest..
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Hope we all have a prosperous and peaceful 2011..

Saw headline today on internet “China to bailout EU”

As I mentioned in my blog entry 12.17.10 "Be interesting to see what happens to EU "
I wrote

"I think players like China and Russia will support the EU because those two entities wish for counter balance against the US."

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Without going into the granular details this headline is emblematic of the decline in US power.

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It displays the total failure for the US by it’s financial elites of profiting from and setting up trade policies that cause the US to run huge trade deficits with China and hence empowering the United States growing rival China with capital to challenge and threaten US security by weakening US strategic position around the globe.
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All for short term profits for multi national corporations who could care less about the United States.

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There is only one peaceful way to stop the downward trajectory of the US and that is a complete over haul of trade, tax , education and industrial polices to rebuild the US put value back into the country instead of selling the country off bit by bit.

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid - The Movie..

Saw Sam Peckinpah movie the other day Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
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Very good movie, starts out with James Coburn getting shot from several different directions in slow motion and falling in a sprawling mess.
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Peckinpah is famous for his violent gun battle scenes and he doesn’t let the audience down in this movie.
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Two other Peckinpah movies I have seen are Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, The Wild Bunch.
All three movies involve lots of gunfire, violence, and touch on Mexico.
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The Wild Bunch, Pat Garrett and Billy the kid also touch on themes of the free west of the US being lost to civilization and modernization.
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Hong Kong director John Woo claimed Peckinpah inspired him for some of his gun battle scenes in his movies.
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John Woo who would then influence Quentin Tarantino of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction fame among a few of Tarintino’s better films.

45 year old Bernard Hopkins fights to Light heavyweight title draw

All time great Bernard Hopkins 2 months shy of 46th birthday fights to draw with 28 year old Light Heavyweight Champion Jean Pascal.
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Hopkins after being knockdown in the 1st and 3rd rounds goes on to dominate most of the other rounds of the fight to fight to a draw in Pascal’s home town of Quebec Canada.
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Hopkins displayed grit,will, intelligence as he used feints, ring generalship, and rough house tactics to impose his will on the approximately 18 year younger Pascal.

Poor cab drivers..

Every law and fee is directed against them except laws involving fair labor practices ..

Be interesting to see what happens to EU

If I was a betting man I would say that they keep it together, by further integrating politically.
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It sure looks bad from the perspective of Anglo-American press but they have a huge bias in tearing down the EU to distract from US own fiscal problems.
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I would not be surprised to see another 8 months of stability in the US with some inflation of food and energy prices.. followed by the EU temporarily getting it's house in order 8 months from now and the crisis swinging back to the US.(this economic crisis may ping pong around the world like this for awhile).
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Also I think players like China and Russia will support the EU because those two entities wish for counter balance against the US.
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I sometimes think if you want to know how the US is doing look at the price of gold. Gold has been retreating some lately so I think the US must be doing better for the moment.

San Francisco boutique city for the wealthy..

San Francisco boutique city for the wealthy as the city makes the city more and more inhospitable to people of average means as city puts more parking meters around town. Many of these meters charging .25 cents for 5 minutes of time ..
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City now exploring
network of express lanes — where motorists can pay to travel in dedicated areas — around the region as a way to help alleviate traffic congestion.
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Would basically limit the average persons mobility and increase the rich's mobility another step towards a two tiered ..society.

Reality.

There is the way you want it to be then there is the way it is.
Through work you can sometimes make reality the way you want it.
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Kind of like the serenity prayer.

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God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change.

Courage to change the things I can

And the wisdom to know the difference.

MONEY-BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT FOR A LONG TIME

I have been trying to figure out what money is for a long time, everything from the Federal Reserve and it's relationship with the Treasury to, Gold, Stocks, Bonds, barter, credit etc..
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Still can't figure it out..
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Some times I think about the relationship of MONEY to VALUE, to me value can be a nation, a river, an army, a social organization(corporation, gang,political party etc), an institution such as college, or a trained person like a doctor or carpenter.
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I some times think of MONEY as having claims on VALUE and I suspect right now a problem in the world system is to easily created MONEY bringing to many claims on not enough real VALUE.

Some travels around the city..VIDEO

This is a video of me working in the salt mines of San Francisco, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The street I am driving down can be seen in the lit up night time picture to the right. I am driving in the day time down the road closest to the 4 lower buildings..
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This is near the financial district.
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The city is full of older more subtle neighborhoods with a diversity of beautiful architecture and views, I may post more from those areas later..

If the presidents deficit commison where fair

The would not only be looking at cuts to services to the middle class but also look at the trillions of dollars the Federal Reserve is giving away to it's friends on Wall Street..

Rainy day in Northern California..(Sunday)

I probably should be doing my SQL homework now or doing something productive but I just can't get rolling kinda content to just sit here with my Christmas tree and chill.

Junior lightweight fighter(130 pounds) Jason Litzau pulls upset

Junior lightweight fighter(130 pounds) Jason Litzau pulls upset on November 27, 2010, on under card of Juan Manuel Marquez vs Michael Katsidis Lightweight title fight.
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Litzau a 13 to 1 betting underdog came in as expected fodder for arrogant elite Panamanian fighter
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This is one of the fights I will never forget, not because of the action but because of the drama of the written off underdog verse the arrogant elite fighter getting his comeuppance. (maybe Caballero can go back to singing with his band-Caballero sings in a reggae band )

more random prose

Ancient territorial instincts expressed in limited constrained, twisted, mutated ways, in the frontal lobe controlled disciplined petro culture.
Duels fought out with fists, guns, knives and character assassination.

Charlie Rose, NPR propagandists for corporate Oligarchy

Charlie Rose gave hour long interview to chairs from presidents deficit commission.

The two chairs names are Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson.

I don't see PBS giving time to economist Dean Baker who can punch holes in these mens arguments all day long.

The arguments are false because their is no in depth discussion about military spending or the trillion dollar bail outs to the bankers..

The only ones to sacrifice in this game are the bulk of the American people

The three greatest cab movies are :

TAXI DRIVER

1976 –Starring Robert De Niro and directed by Martin Scorcese.

The premier taxi movie, with the high art of Martin Scorcese and Robert De Niro

I really love the scene where De Niro talks to the mirror as says “are you talking to me” while he readies himself for battle with Mafia pimps.

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COLLATERAL

2004- Film by directed by Michael Mann,starring Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx and Jada Pinkett

Jamie Foxx is a cab driver forced to drive hitman Tom Cruise around the city while Tom Cruise kills people.

Has similar to feel to movie Man Hunter (Directed by Michael Mann) , and another movie To Live and Die in LA (Directed by William Friedkin)

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NIGHT ON EARTH

1991- Directed by Jim Jarmusch.

The movie revolves around 5 cab rides that take place on night on earth in the five different cities of Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Rome, and Helsinki

This movie stars
Winona Ryder, Roberto Benigni, Giancarlo Esposito

Another Jarmusch movie which I really liked but not about cab rides was Stranger than Paradise(1984)

Random Prose..

1994 Zapitista rebels, Commander Marcos, NAFTA implemented , indigenous Mayans in southern Mexico act up , nightly news feeds on the evening news showing dead bodies and spent shells from automatic weapons fire from fire fight with mexicans soldiers.
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1993 Russian tanks shell duma(russian political building ) in Moscow.
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Been running the streets since 1978. Been running the streets of the city my whole life, middle class working class white boy from the city.
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Playing hoops, drinking beer,doing what ever, I cleaned up grew and got away from all that , as I cleaned up one of my early jobs was driving a cab , then I got into various jobs from construction to IT and and few points in between.
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Now that the bottom fell out of the economy I am back on the streets in my border class, mining the streets for a little survival money, while I attend school and wait for the economy to gradually improve again.

Types of Lies

NPR= Sophisticated lies

FOX= Stupid lies

CNN= Boring lies

Sergio Martinez Ko’s Paul Williams the “Punisher”

Sergio Martinez Ko’d Paul Williams tonight with a sensational knockout punch in their Middle Weight fight.
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Martinez kept his world title. The fight was fought at Atlantic City NJ , on televised on HBO.
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Stunning KO..

Say no to President's Deficit Commission say no to Wall Street rip off of America

Deficit commission loaded with Wall Street and Corporate insiders .
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Interest groups already responsible for majority of the financial crisis we are in today
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Now they want to fix the crisis on the backs of the American people by attacking Social Security and Medicare.
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Contact your Congress person or Senator and tell them don't touch Social Security or Medicare.
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If they want to save money break up the too big to fail banks..and stop the free give away of tax payer money to Wall Street.

A few definitions..

OLIGARCHY -
The rule of the few over the many(word has Greek origin) is a form of power structure in which power effectively rests with a small segment of society.

PLUTOCRACY-
Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy, or power provided by wealth. The combination of both plutocracy and oligarchy is called plutarchy (word also has Greek origin).


DEMOCRACY-
Is a political form of government in which governing power is derived from the people.

The immediate threat..

The Chinese threat is different than Soviet threat in that Soviet threat was external and there was money to be made by internal wealthy(US) using hyped Soviet threat as way to make more money.

Chinese conundrum is one were the internal wealthy (US) are enticed , tempted , corrupted by perceived wealth and power of dealing with Chinese elite who are pimping out their massive and under payed work force to US elite along with , potentially allowing US elite access to Chinese market.
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Chinese elite are aware of the weakness to this temptation by their US counterparts and holding out those carrots to gain real economic strength in the form of access to US markets, factories, and technology transfers that translate into real economic value, power, and eventually military power.
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The US is like the crack addict who thinks he can play with the drug on the weekend and not get addicted and the Chinese are like the crack dealer who offers a few free hits of the crack to the get the user addicted and then control of the users life.
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US needs to be in a 12 step program for giving up it's national sovereignty.
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There are definitely traitorous powerful economic interests lobbying for policies that will lead to a further weakening of the US these interests do this for their own selfish gains of wealth and power.
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Coming soon a piece about Australia moving towards China’s orbit..

Booze, B*tches, and Empire

Sneaky Chinese thought they was getting over on stupid USA by stealing US industries with help of corrupt US elite, when all of sudden the US Cowboy gangsters do the drug rip off move and pay back Chinese with the fake wampum(cash debased and printed by the trillion by federal reserve).Get ready for the coming G20 showdown at ok corral..

US version of globalization will die with death of dollar.

US version of globalization will die with the death of the dollar as , we slowly head to currency chaos and new trading blocs forming.

Kelly Pavlik -pulls out of November 13 fight

Kelly Pavlik my one of my favorite fighters has pulled out of his November 13 2010, comeback fight to be fought on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao vs Antonio Margarito under card that will be held at Cowboy Stadium in Arlington Texas.
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Kelly Pavlik one of the most exciting fighters to come out of the USA in years has been battling injuries and it appears personal problems since winning and then losing his Middle Weight title.
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Lots of Rumors of alcohol abuse swirling around Pavlik . Just breaks my heart and can only hope the guy can get his act together first of all for his sake and then for his fans.
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Pavlik fights out of Youngstown Ohio same city as another of my all time favorites, Ray "boom boom" Mancini.

My three canaries in a coal mine

1- UK drops pound and starts using Euro
Would mean UK has left the US orbit and US has lost key ally.

2-Oil priced in something other than dollars.


3-Taiwan integrates much closer to China.

U.S. Dollar in extreme danger..

Today the United States Federal Reserve Bank put forth it’s QE2 plan. Called quantitative easing or printing money if you like.
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We are probably witnessing death of US dollar as the worlds reserve currency as the U.S. goes to printing money to save it’s economy instead of smart trade and financial policies.
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The only thing that could change this is war with China or collapse of China other than that the US dollar is on the way out as the worlds reserve currency.
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I actually hope I am wrong on this count.
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Below is part of a main stream media article about this.
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The Fed announced a plan to buy $600 billion in government debt, aimed at driving already low long-term interest rates even lower. The central bank would buy the debt in chunks of $75 billion a month through June of next year.

Economists call it "quantitative easing." The latest package gets the name "QE2" -- like the ship -- because it's the second round. The Fed spent about $1.7 trillion from 2008 to earlier this year to take bonds off the hands of banks and stabilize them.

Here's how it's supposed to work this time: The Fed buys Treasury bonds from banks, providing them cash to lend to customers. Buying so many bonds also lowers interest rates because demand for Treasurys leads to higher prices and lower yields. Interest rates on consumer loans are tied to Treasury yields. Lower rates entice people to take out a mortgage or another loan.

At the same time, lower interest rates make relatively safe investments like bonds and cash less appealing, so companies and investors take the cash and buy equipment or other investments, like stocks. The S&P 500 takes off and Americans celebrate with a shopping spree. Businesses see a rise in sales and begin hiring again, and a virtuous cycle of more spending and more hiring ensues.

Maybe the numbers don't matter-One possible perspective

This is not the perspective I agree with but it is a possible version of the reality around us.
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Maybe deficits and such really don't matter when it comes to the US Government.
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Maybe the only thing that matters is the control of key commodities such as oil.
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Control of key technologies as far as weapon systems and commerce go.
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Having the strongest military in the world that can bend reality pretty much any way it wants.
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After those elements of power discussed are under control, the issue of the money is irrelevant and can be easily manipulated through a variety of means.
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It's Kind of like when Pulitzer prize journalist Ron Suskind was told by by a George W Bush aide in 2002.

"We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."

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Now me personally I don't like this type of attitude because I think it is arrogant and leads to the underestimation of of ones opponents and obstacles but I can see why someone might have this point of view.

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in a later blog I will put forth the counter argument to this one I just put forth.

The Art of Peace...

Almost like the title of the famous book by Sun Tzu named the art of war, I have been trying to do the Art of Peace in my life, meaning getting along with other people as I go about my daily tasks and adventures. Doesn't mean being passive it just means obtaining my objectives of the day with as little friction and conflict as possible.
I am not perfect at it and it isn't easy but I do have the word sorry in my vocabulary which I do have to occasionally use and is quite helpful in setting right my personal relations with others.
I am trying to embrace my life here in the United States as an incredible opportunity and make the very best of it I can.
I took my first Yoga class in my life yesterday really feels to have energized my body.

Just finished a grueling week of work and school

I have a B grade at my midterm, in database programming which is a good thing. Programming is not really my forte but I have taken a few classes in this area and have received passing grades.I received an A grade in the Perl scripting language and a B grade in the Java programming language which doesn't mean I know what the heck is really going on with these languages.
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I still have a job which is a good thing.
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I think the economy is on the upswing for the moment.
I think the economy has enough momentum in it that the retailers in the US will have a decent Christmas.
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As far as near term directions of things go, being as I live in the USA, I would say things are in a holding pattern until after the November elections.

Nation State vs Transnational Corporations

The tug of war is on between the Nation State and the Transnational Corporations. Right now many Nation States are just provinces to the Multinational Corporations..

Ben Bernanke to give speech tomorrow October 14,2010

Some speculate he may have dramatic things to say about how he envisions the Fed helping the US economy , and some say from this speech we will get a clearer picture of what is happening to the US dollar..
Me personally I think the dollar is near a major devaluation..the key thing I watch are Gasoline prices..
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Gold is currently at an all time high in the high $1300 an ounce.
Probably what needs to be done is the major powers of the world need to meet and come to a new consensus for the world monetary exchange rate system like the plaza accord agreement.
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The Plaza Accord or Plaza Agreement was an agreement between the governments of France, West Germany, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom, to depreciate the U.S. dollar in relation to the Japanese yen and German Deutsche Mark by intervening in currency markets. The five governments signed the accord on September 22, 1985 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.

The exchange rate value of the dollar versus the yen declined by 51% from 1985 to 1987. Most of this devaluation was due to the $10 billion spent by the participating central banks.[citation needed] Currency speculation caused the dollar to continue its fall after the end of coordinated interventions. Unlike some similar financial crises, such as the Mexican and the Argentine financial crises of 1994 and 2001 respectively, this devaluation was planned, done in an orderly, pre-announced manner and did not lead to financial panic in the world markets.

The reason for the dollar's devaluation was twofold: to reduce the U.S. current account deficit, which had reached 3.5% of the GDP, and to help the U.S. economy to emerge from a serious recession that began in the early 1980s. The U.S. Federal Reserve System under Paul Volcker had overvalued the dollar enough to make industry in the U.S. (particularly the automobile industry) less competitive in the global market.
The 1985 "Plaza Accord" is named after New York City's Plaza Hotel, which was the location of a meeting of finance ministers who reached an agreement about managing the fluctuating value of the US dollar.

Devaluing the dollar made U.S. exports cheaper to its trading partners, which in turn meant that other countries bought more American-made goods and services.

wikipedia

The other pipelines

South Stream







Nabucco

NATO created to keep the Germans down and Russians out of Western Europe

When I read this it all began to click , and my understanding of World War II began to grow.

For about 58 years west Germany and then reunited Germany where a vassal state/satellite of the US.
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In 2003 the Germans rebelled and stood up to the US by not supporting US decision to fight the second Iraq war.
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This insurrection was led by Gerhard Schroeder who was the Chancellor of Germany at the time and who now works for the Russian controlled company Nord Stream AG, Gazprom the major Russian energy company controls 51% of Nord Stream AG.
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Many authors believe for Europe to rise and be independent that Germany its’ strongest nation must be independent and many believe that this started to happen around the time of Gerhard Schroeder’s refusal to go along with the US in the Iraq 2 war in 2003.
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One way the US controls Western Europe is through NATO, by controlling NATO and keeping Western European countries in NATO the US is able to steer the direction of Western Europe.
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The Nord stream piple line and the South Stream pipeline threaten this by giving Russia more leverage over Western Europe, creating more Western European dependence on Russia ,and creating deep commercial and cultural links between knowledge rich western Europe and resource military rich Russia.
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This is an interaction that the US is not involved in or profiting from and is done in outside of the dollar and instead done in the Euro.
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The US is promoting an alternative pipeline to this called the Nabucco pipeline which is currently behind in the race with Russia’s Nord Stream and South Stream pipelines.

Pour some sugar on me

Like that hit single by the pop metal band Def Leppard from the early 1980’s .
It feels like the economy is doing better right now.
I am sure it is a temporary phenomena but ill take it.
I have heard two contradicting theories from financial people in my cab.
One person thought the government was pumping so much money into the system to help the democratic cause out before the November elections. That this was driving the stock market higher
The other person thought the money was coming in to the stock market due to the fact that the market thought that the republicans where going to gain power and he claimed the market liked gridlock in the balance of power between the to political parties.

An American Genius and Original

If you ever get a chance google some of his quotes about a free press and informed electorate.

Russia plays king maker..

President Medvedev of Russia was in Beijing on September 25, 2010 to celebrate completion of an oil pipeline from Russian Siberia to China. This event gives China diversification of energy supplies away from sea routes that the United States controls , and pipe lines from Central Asia that are tenuous.
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This also gives Russia leverage in dealing with Western Europe as Russia now has another market, to sell it's energy resources to and which Western Europe is dependent.
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I believe that Russia's current ruling elite ultimate goal though is integration with Western Europe and creating a common European space minus NATO, which was the French leader De Gaulles vision many years ago.
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These are all long term goals Medvedev will meet with French and German leadership in the next few days to discuss just such things.
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In my opinion the key pivot in all this is China, if the US can diminish Chinese buying power, then the US can again gain momentum on the global stage if not power will continue to slip from the US as new global alliances continue to take shape.

US takes toughest stance toward China I have seen in my lifetime

House passes bill to take on currency manipulators ..aka China..

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Ryan-Murphy currency devaluation bill on

Wednesday evening, which allows the government to impose tariffs and duties on exports from countries — China the likely target — that have held down their currency for artificial trade gains, but market reaction so far has been subdued.

The bipartisan bill, introduced by two Republicans, passed by a wide 348-79 margin.

“For so many years, we have watched the China-U.S. trade deficit grow and grow and grow,” Nancy Pelosi, current Speaker for the House, said in a speech ahead of the vote. “Today, we are finally doing something about it by recognizing that China’s manipulation of the currency represents a subsidy for Chinese exports coming to the United States and elsewhere.”

Global currency system one step closer to collapse.

As US prints its own money with QE2 , which I believe stands for quantative easing round 2 US buys it's own debt from itself.
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At same time gold is near all time highs

Paradigm shift accelerating

Every day I see about 3 to 7 stories like this about china cutting a new deal some where in the world this one is a 16 billion dollar deal with Ghana who are about to tap massive oil and gas fields, and think to myself who ever was in charge of US policy of allowing it’s own multinational corporations to ship its capital and factories out of the country and then send the goods back into the US without heavy tariffs was very foolish and not very street smart.
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China is trying to spend it’s dollar reserves that it gained from stupid US trade policies on tangible things as fast as possible as the US devalues it’s currency.
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China wouldn't have all this currency to gain global leverage if the US didn't have the lousy trade policies that allowed China to run trade surpluses that it allowed China to amass all these dollars she is spending around the globe .Now factions of the US elite are scared and trying to pass restrictive trade policies but it maybe too late to reverse course we will see.
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China has plans for massive railway expansion into Central Asia and then the mother lode of wealth Western Europe.
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When I read a ridiculous article about Brazil over taking the US in the Western Hemisphere one has to think the only way that this gets credence is because Brazil is really making a fortune selling to China , who got it’s burst of energy from trading with the US and extracting wealth from the US consumer.

Some Meanderings..

My writing has slowed down due some illness in my family , and increased attention to school work.
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I am writing from a very tired state right now so if there are spelling errors etc my apologies.
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Things that are on my mind are the nation state vs the corporation how they are interrelated and separate in regards to the United States of America.
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The value of things from social organizations to rivers to armies to name a few.
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How value is stored in the Dollar, Yuan, EURO , Gold and OIL.
Are we really on an oil standard as we were once on a gold standard.
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Oil is definitely a very useful and valuable commodity.
I have read books on peak oil and it is definitely food for thought.
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I also really enjoy geo politics and history.
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I am currently reading a book called The Great Transformation the political and economic origins of our time by Karl Polanyi , in all honesty though I haven’t done any reading in the book in about 6 days.(ouch)
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I am learning SQL right now. If anyone knows Oracle 11g to be exact and if anyone knows anything about joining 3 tables with and ON clause

Only rich societies embrace sloppy dress.

Such as jeans with holes in them as chic, Mohawk hair doos , pants hanging excessively low, tattoos on necks etc.
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Poorer societies embrace the sports coat and tie, as the individuals in those socities want to maintain their dignity.
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Unless the US changes it’s trade, tax, and financial architecture I expect to see a lot of neat dressers in the USA starting about 8 years out from now if current trends continue.
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So for the sake of me an avowed sloppy dresser I hope the US ruling elite gets it’s act together so I a not I am not forced to wear a suit tie in the coming decades.

Brief discussions with financial wizards in my cab the last 2 weeks

Wizard 1- CFO of some type of big financial company , said we are about three years a way from recovery. He said US over built primarily in housing and commercial property sectors and was half way through working through inventory so in about 3 years we will be through inventory and will limp along at about 2% GDP until that point.

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I say a very plausible point of view

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Wizard 2- US not even a capitalist economy anymore really more about who you know.


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Wizard 3- currency trader for some fancy bank or hedge fund . When I asked him was the US dollar going to be replaced by an SDR soon he said that is long ways away but thought that that the Euro would be the thing to replace the dollar.

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I have my own opinons on all this but will mull them for awhile.

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Look out soon for commentaries on John Coltrane vs Miles Davis, Halford Mackinder and Zbigniew Brzezinski.

Detroit Michigan NAFTA ground zero

If there is anymore damning indictment of the failures of NAFTA and most favored nation trading status given to China than the city of Detroit then I don’t know what is.
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These trade policies helped rip the industrial heart out of the United States of America and are part of the reason we are in the precarious position we are in today.

FINDING MOST CORPORATE SPORTS BORING.

I don’t know if it’s my age, or the size of the crisis the USA (economic\political) but most of the corporate sports I used to love baseball, football, and basketball for the most part I find extremely boring..
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I may come out of this as I try to get into the NFL season here.

Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders

Before he became president and started busting up trusts Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders duked it out in Cuba with the Spanish at the battle of San Juan Hill during the Spanish American War..
U.S took heavy casualties taking the hill because the Spanish used a type of rifle that had greater range than the Rifle used by the Americans.
One of the famous regiments involved in this battle was 10th calvary "Buffalo Soldiers" a famous regiment of African American soldiers.
Who are made famous in the Bob Marley song Buffalo Soldier.

Edward Bernays

The reason I mention Bernays here is make you aware of the type of forces working on us. Bernays' is just an early prototype of the study and manipulation of the masses which has now come a lot farther with the the sciences of psychology, anthropology, and sociology.
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Bernays considered himself the Godfather of modern public relations, was Sigmond Freuds nephew, born in Vienna , and graduated Cornell University USA.
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Early in his career got his start promoting World War I , womens smoking, the over throw of Gutemala.
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Bernays called this scientific technique of opinion-molding the 'engineering of consent'.
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Bernays was one of the first to attempt to manipulate public opinion using the subconscious.
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Bernays said "If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, is it not possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing about it? The recent practice of propaganda has proved that it is possible, at least up to a certain point and within certain limits.
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Bernays wrote a book in 1923 aptly named Propaganda that lays out his ideas. I have this book myself but haven’t had time to read it yet.
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So be aware think critically develop the spiritual side of yourself as a defense to keep your autonomy and freedom of thought and choice.

The beat goes on Big Bad Wladimir Klitschko wins his 13th fight in a row.

Wladimir Klitschko won in convincing fashion tonight with a 10th round KO over the dangerous Samuel Peter of Nigeria.
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The fight was fought in exotic Frankfrut Germany to a crowd of about 37,000 fans. A fight exemplifying the global village by Samuel Peter of Nigeria, who lives in Las Vegas Nevada USA, and Wladimir Klitschko who is from the Ukraine, spends much time in Los Angeles California USA , speaks 4 languages and often fights in Germany.

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In other fight news one of my favorite fighters Kelly Pavlik of Youngstown Ohio will fight a confidence building fight after losing his title a few months ago.The comeback fight will be against lightly regarded Daniel Edouard on the Manny Pacqiao Antonio Margarito title fight to be fought in Arlington Texas November 13, 2010.

1 of the about 6 reasons I can think of that the US is in Afghanistan

Is to prevent the Chinese from coming down to the Indian Ocean via Pakistan..and eventually expelling the Chinese from the port of Gwadar and then the Indian Ocean..

We are in a time of great change.

Stay calm, relax, stay close to friends and family, stay as unafraid as possible and practice your spiritual disciplines be it exercise, church, community, exercise etc.. prayer is one of my most effective spiritual disciplines..

String of Pearls

The US is in a battle to control China and the emerging space in Central Asia. So things happening in Yemen, Afghanistan, Mynamar, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and a host of other countries are all about controlling energy sources , and energy transport corridors, with the ability to control China as a key objective of this strategy.
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I have included below some background from Wikepdia what is called the string of pearls strategy employeed by China.

Information below taken from Wikepdia
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The String of Pearls refers to the Chinese sea lines of communication which extend from Hong Kong to Port Sudan. The sea lines run through the strategic choke points Strait of Mandab, Strait of Malacca, Strait of Hormuz and Strait of Lombok as well as other strategic naval interest such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Somalia. The term was used in an internal United States Department of Defense report titled "Energy Futures in Asia".
“ “The “String of Pearls” describes the manifestation of China’s rising geopolitical influence through efforts to increase access to ports and airfields, develop special diplomatic relationships, and modernize military forces that extend from the South China Sea through the Strait of Malacca, across the Indian Ocean, and on to the Persian Gulf.” ”


Chinese President Hu Jintao has stated that the goal of the PRC's naval strategy is a “harmonious ocean” and "China would never seek hegemony, nor would it turn to military expansion or arms races with other nations". Some Indians fear that the string of pearls may put India at a military disadvantage.
Contents


* 1 Energy security
* 2 Military facilities
o 2.1 Central asian conflict
o 2.2 Indian Ocean
* 3 References

Energy security

The sea lines of communication from Hong Kong to Port Sudan have become a source of conflict with respect to China's future energy security. China is the world's second largest oil consumer and the third largest oil importer. China imports 15% of its oil from West Africa, is the largest consumer of Sudanese oil, and has signed long term contracts to develop Iranian oil fields.

With a wave of pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia in late 2008, the ongoing war in Darfur and the continued oppression by the Robert Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe, Chinese foreign policy has now shifted toward a more direct approach to dealing with such hostilities.
Military facilities
Central asian conflict

In what has been dubbed the new great game, the United States, United Kingdom and other NATO countries, Russia and China have begun vying for control of the lucrative oil and gas fields of Central Asia. The rugged inaccessible terrain of Central Asia and the presence of terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda present obstacles to the transportation of oil and natural gas by pipeline. After the events of 9/11 the region has seen an increase in the number of United States military personnel especially in Afghanistan, and the recent invasion of Georgia by Russia has placed the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline in jeopardy.

In order to hedge against the growing militarization of Central Asia China has begun construction on a new massive deep-water port in Gwadar, Pakistan[10] which is expected to help China gain a strategic foothold for naval operations in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf. The port will also act as the down stream hub for pipelines linking to Central Asian natural gas fields through Afghanistan.

The Chinese are expected to complete construction on the new Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline by October 2009. When fully complete the pipeline will run from the Chinese-Kazakh border to the North Caspian Sea. This final extension will allow the pipeline to be filled with oil from the giant Tengiz oil field.
Indian Ocean

Ports in Gwadar, Pakistan; Chittagong, Bangladesh; Sittwe, Burma; Lamu, Kenya; and Hambantota, Sri Lanka.

Dean Cheng of the Heritage Foundation has said that the United States will need to partner with India to counter China's influence in the Indian Ocean.

Somebody should have warned me about my 40's.

I can't run as fast anymore.
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The job I have had for the past 3 years has paid me less than my other jobs I have had.
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My family seems bigger, my apartment seems smaller


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I am working harder , longer for less money

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My Bills are bigger.

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I am studying a data base programming class at the community college maybe that will help get me a bigger paycheck ? who knows?

Wladimir Klitscho vs Samuel Peter Heavy Weight Title bout in September

I can't wait for Klitschko vs Peter II Heavy Weight title match in early September, the first time they fought in 2005 was a tough grueling match, I am expecting a very exciting fight again from these two.

Peter fights into a line of recent heavyweights from Nigeria such as :
Ike Ibeabuchi
Henry Akinwande

Klitschko is in a list of Heavy Weight domination by Eastern Europeans and Central Asians here is a rough list from 1999 to present all named have held a portion of Heavy Weight Title :

Wladimir Klitschko

Vitali Klitschko

Liakhovich

Maskeav

Valuev

Ibragimov

Chagev

Notable mention Andrew Golota never attained a title though..

Back from 1 week in Northern Arizona

Just went to work today after getting back in the bay area Saturday after having a week vacation in the area of the Grand Canyon what a beautiful area of the world Northern Arizona is.
Work was another grueling grind today..glad its over for the next few hours.

STAY VIGILANT-SAY NO TO CUTS IN SOCIAL SECURITY

The wealthy want to cut Social Security and Medicare, stay vigilant and contact your congress person if it appears the cuts are under way .. right now the process has started in this direction with the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
National_Commission_on_Fiscal_Responsibility_and_Reform

this is totally unjust as the wealthy were already bailed out and continue to be bailed out in a myriad of ways by congress , the fed and the treasury while not carrying their fair share of responsibility for the national well being.

WHATS REALLY GOING ON ..

The U.S. going into the great depression around 1929 was the most modern efficient nation on the planet, with people like Stalin of the Soviet Union wanting to copy America’s innovation and efficiency, the US had the capacity to produce more than all the consumers in the world could consume. China currently is the nation that has this capacity.

At the end of World War II the US had seized control of the world, setting up the global functions of the worlds money system with the Bretton wood arrangement which made the dollar the reserve currency in the world and the lynch pin of the global economy.

This wasn’t a problem as the U.S. had the worlds strongest economy which gave it the ability to support this role of it’s currency.

In the the 1950’s 50% of everything made in the world was made in the USA.
This was due to the fact that during World War II the U.S. had bombed it’s two industrial competitors into dust. Those competitors being Japan and Germany.

This destruction of Japan’s and Germany’s industrial infrastructure meant that when they re built their industrial infrastructure after World War II that they were now built on a more modern industrial platform than America’s.

In the late 1950’s and 1960’s New York’s international bankers like Chase Manhattan, Citibank and others started investing more in Europe. Between 1962 and 1965 US corporations in Western Europe earned between 12 and 14 percent return ,according to to a January 1967 presidential report to congress. The same dollar investment in U.S. industry earned less than half that.

So with US Banks getting more return on their capital abroad in Europe and emerging markets, infrastructure investment lagged in the US. If you are not going build and grow the real economy in the USA the underlying reasoning is you don’t need top flight colleges, roads, and water systems to support that economy.

The core of America’s economic problem though is Political rather than economic. The democratic elements in the US republican political system are at this point very weak point.
Democracy defined as how the average person can petition the political process for changes that create positive outcomes in that persons life are currently and have been for many years now very weak.

While corporations petition the political system constantly with request for actions from the political process that benefit the wealth and power of these corporations in areas of trade, tax ,labor ,monetary policy, government contracts , loans and subsidies.
Most of the benefits of these policies that benefit this multinational corporations with transnational alliances come at the expense of the bulk of the American people and a weakening of the nation state that is the United States of America.

One could make a case that some of these polices like the development of China through trade polices, transfer of capital technology, and the continuing allowances of china to manipulate it’s currency(china keeps it currency artificially weak giving it a huge trade advantage).are the actions of those who are not operating in the best interests of the USA.

Since the Democratic elements of the government are so weak a small powerful minority of wealthy interests can subjugate the interests of the many for the few.

Dark Vision-Poem-Very Short Story

As the Aztec empire moves horizontally he sat on a pile of old human skulls in a pyramid shaped mound about 6 feet off the ground, he had a M-16 in his hand with a banana clip magazine inserted in it with another clip taped to it for easy loading, He controlled his aerial drones, on his perimeter, and kept his mental center, he was wearing my carharts, t-shirt, and hiking shoes while wearing a baseball cap backwards.

Most of the water is poisoned as is the air.
He was the enforcer for the viceroy in his region, for whom he collected taxes.
He was an independent operator like Daniel Boone in this new wilderness. , the area was around the equator and the Ancient Mayan ruins in the southern part of Mexico, the year was 2204, he was a Caucasian man in his mid 30’s a new breed of mercenary war lord, much the earth and been depopulated by the flu that hit 75 years ago, now most of the 1 billion people left remaining on the planet were immune to the bug.
The air smelled of the decay of the tropics and jungle fires burned with in a quarter mile of were he sat, the fires were used to clear the jungle for planting.
He had counterparts in Areas of North America, Australia, Africa, Comoros islands, Asia etc.
Western Europe still stood as a kind of fortress, China as well as most of North America were wastelands.

Interesting article

Chinese rating agency strips Western nations of AAA status
China's leading credit rating agency has stripped America, Britain, Germany and France of their AAA ratings, accusing Anglo-Saxon competitors of ideological bias in favour of the West.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/china-business/7886077/Chinese-rating-agency-strips-Western-nations-of-AAA-status.html

Thank God for tourists...

taking a 10 minute break from driving my cab while I post this, yesterday was a grueling day of cab driving..(ouch)

BUY MY BOOK AT URL BELOW

copy at paste url below into your browser and it will take you to website where you can easily buy the book with a click of your mouse. Thanks Steven.

http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/surviving-the-transition/9078824

Excerpt from my new book

Excerpt from my new book "Surviving the transition"

BOXING OBSERVATIONS
Boxing is an interesting sport going all the way back to the ancient Greeks, when only the wealthy could afford to participate in the sport due the time spent training.
The thing I like about sports is the drama and when boxing is good the drama is as high as it can get in sport.
In boxing if you fail to block a punch you can be killed or brain damaged, in other sports they drop the ball and try again.
Boxing is an interesting way to see inside a persons soul as a fan the sport has an element of voyeurism to it as I suppose all sports do but with boxing you get to see deeper into a persons personality.
Boxing is also an interesting way to watch globalization and see who the hungry rising groups of people are on the planet.
It is interesting but not necessarily related that the US is no longer the dominate country in boxing, especially the heavyweight division and the US is not as dominant economically