Sunday, November 16, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
'Life is Unfair,' John F. Kennedy
This is a good article on the financial crisis. There is no end to
corruption and bad decision makers. M
Friday, September 26, 2008 (SF Chronicle)
Bailout offers amnesty for stupidity
Patrick J. Buchanan, Creators Syndicate, Inc.
Is it fair that businessmen who fail in neighborhood stores have to close
shop and often sell their homes, while Wall Street titans are spared the
consequences of monumental stupidity and greed?
No, it is not fair. Yet, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson may be right. To
save the sheep who might have been wiped out in a general financial panic,
we may have to save the pigs.
Life is unfair, said John F. Kennedy.
Yet, this is going to be the mother of all bailouts. Paulson probably will
be given authority by Congress to spend $700 billion, 5 percent of our
gross domestic product, to buy all that toxic paper stinking up the books
of our banks.
And this is not the first such bailout of foolish and incompetent
financiers and politicians.
In 1975, when its cravenness to extortionate union demands had bankrupted
New York, the Big Apple had to be rescued by President Gerald Ford.
Mayor Marion Barry's Washington, D.C., was next in line at the cashier's
window.
In the Reagan era, it was Chrysler. Later that decade, Citibank,
Chase-Manhattan and Bank of America were staring into the abyss, as Latin
American regimes, to whom they had lent scores of billions, were balking
at paying their debts. Uncle Sam stepped in.
Then came the Mexican and Asian financial crises and the U.S.-IMF bailouts
of the 1990s. The Mexican bailout was as much a rescue of Goldman-Sachs as
Mexico City, as Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin's old firm was choking on all
its Mexican paper.
The great myth is that these 1990s bailouts were models of U.S. financial
statesmanship and great successes. The reality is the U.S. workers took it
in the neck.
For the countries bailed out, like Mexico, Thailand, Indonesia and South
Korea, were forced to devalue. This radically reduced the wages of their
workers relative to American workers, creating incentives for U.S.
manufacturers to shut plants and move them abroad. The devaluations also
slashed the price of foreign goods relative to U.S. goods. Imports flooded
in.
Who ultimately paid for the Mexican bailout? Florida tomato growers wiped
out by Mexican producers, the price of whose tomatoes was chopped
two-thirds by the devaluation. U.S. autoworkers who saw Ford and Delphi
plants shuttered as new Ford and Delphi plants opened in Mexico. U.S.
textile workers whose mills closed and jobs vanished.
Middle-class American families have paid and paid - in lost jobs, lower
wages, a falling median income - to save the big banks from the
consequences of their follies. And those bank bailouts are behind the
trade deficits that set five records in the Bush era, reached 6 percent of
gross domestic product, forced huge U.S. borrowings from abroad and
ravaged the dollar.
Having bailed out Latin America, Mexico, Asia and their U.S. creditors, we
now find our own country in trouble. And how are our allies reacting?
"Europeans on left and right ridicule U.S. money meltdown," ran the Los
Angeles Times headline. Italy's finance minister compares us to
corruption-ridden Albania, where "a nationwide pyramid scheme cost
hundreds of thousands of people their savings and ignited anarchic civil
conflict" in the 1990s.
How will the bailout work? Will every bank that brings in toxic paper be
able to dump it on the Treasury? Will the Treasury buy securities based on
subprime U.S. mortgages from foreign banks? Apparently so.
About one thing we may be sure. The U.S. deficit and national debt are
going to soar. The credit rating of the United States, as this nation of
nonsavers has to borrow abroad to save its banks, and their banks, is
going to fall. We are going to be a poorer nation and people.
As for the promises and plans of Barack Obama and John McCain - be it for
national health insurance or middle-class tax cuts - they are going by the
wayside. For the United States is as bankrupt as Lehman Bros., with this
difference: Uncle Sam can still borrow from abroad because foreigners see
many juicy U.S. assets they would like to take off our hands with their
hoards of ever-cheapening U.S. dollars.
"There is a great deal of ruin in a nation," Adam Smith once consoled a
friend who lamented that Britain would be ruined if the 13 Colonies were
lost.
We are about to test Smith's proposition.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2008 SF Chronicle
corruption and bad decision makers. M
Friday, September 26, 2008 (SF Chronicle)
Bailout offers amnesty for stupidity
Patrick J. Buchanan, Creators Syndicate, Inc.
Is it fair that businessmen who fail in neighborhood stores have to close
shop and often sell their homes, while Wall Street titans are spared the
consequences of monumental stupidity and greed?
No, it is not fair. Yet, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson may be right. To
save the sheep who might have been wiped out in a general financial panic,
we may have to save the pigs.
Life is unfair, said John F. Kennedy.
Yet, this is going to be the mother of all bailouts. Paulson probably will
be given authority by Congress to spend $700 billion, 5 percent of our
gross domestic product, to buy all that toxic paper stinking up the books
of our banks.
And this is not the first such bailout of foolish and incompetent
financiers and politicians.
In 1975, when its cravenness to extortionate union demands had bankrupted
New York, the Big Apple had to be rescued by President Gerald Ford.
Mayor Marion Barry's Washington, D.C., was next in line at the cashier's
window.
In the Reagan era, it was Chrysler. Later that decade, Citibank,
Chase-Manhattan and Bank of America were staring into the abyss, as Latin
American regimes, to whom they had lent scores of billions, were balking
at paying their debts. Uncle Sam stepped in.
Then came the Mexican and Asian financial crises and the U.S.-IMF bailouts
of the 1990s. The Mexican bailout was as much a rescue of Goldman-Sachs as
Mexico City, as Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin's old firm was choking on all
its Mexican paper.
The great myth is that these 1990s bailouts were models of U.S. financial
statesmanship and great successes. The reality is the U.S. workers took it
in the neck.
For the countries bailed out, like Mexico, Thailand, Indonesia and South
Korea, were forced to devalue. This radically reduced the wages of their
workers relative to American workers, creating incentives for U.S.
manufacturers to shut plants and move them abroad. The devaluations also
slashed the price of foreign goods relative to U.S. goods. Imports flooded
in.
Who ultimately paid for the Mexican bailout? Florida tomato growers wiped
out by Mexican producers, the price of whose tomatoes was chopped
two-thirds by the devaluation. U.S. autoworkers who saw Ford and Delphi
plants shuttered as new Ford and Delphi plants opened in Mexico. U.S.
textile workers whose mills closed and jobs vanished.
Middle-class American families have paid and paid - in lost jobs, lower
wages, a falling median income - to save the big banks from the
consequences of their follies. And those bank bailouts are behind the
trade deficits that set five records in the Bush era, reached 6 percent of
gross domestic product, forced huge U.S. borrowings from abroad and
ravaged the dollar.
Having bailed out Latin America, Mexico, Asia and their U.S. creditors, we
now find our own country in trouble. And how are our allies reacting?
"Europeans on left and right ridicule U.S. money meltdown," ran the Los
Angeles Times headline. Italy's finance minister compares us to
corruption-ridden Albania, where "a nationwide pyramid scheme cost
hundreds of thousands of people their savings and ignited anarchic civil
conflict" in the 1990s.
How will the bailout work? Will every bank that brings in toxic paper be
able to dump it on the Treasury? Will the Treasury buy securities based on
subprime U.S. mortgages from foreign banks? Apparently so.
About one thing we may be sure. The U.S. deficit and national debt are
going to soar. The credit rating of the United States, as this nation of
nonsavers has to borrow abroad to save its banks, and their banks, is
going to fall. We are going to be a poorer nation and people.
As for the promises and plans of Barack Obama and John McCain - be it for
national health insurance or middle-class tax cuts - they are going by the
wayside. For the United States is as bankrupt as Lehman Bros., with this
difference: Uncle Sam can still borrow from abroad because foreigners see
many juicy U.S. assets they would like to take off our hands with their
hoards of ever-cheapening U.S. dollars.
"There is a great deal of ruin in a nation," Adam Smith once consoled a
friend who lamented that Britain would be ruined if the 13 Colonies were
lost.
We are about to test Smith's proposition.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2008 SF Chronicle
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
STAYING YOUNG IN GREECE- WITHOUT BOTOX
Choose A Layout - VirtualTourist.com
How To Stay Young Without Botox!
The island of Kos, in Greece was the home of modern Medicine. It was on the island of Kos, that Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine took care of famous people from all around the Mediterranean. One of his more famous and purportedly most beautiful patient was Cleopatra herself. People came to Kos not only for medical cures, but for what was the precursor to today's modern day Spa experience. Hippocrates used the herbs and natural growing plants of that island and of the surrounding landscapes, to make beauty treatments that are still being used in modern times. Among the most well-known are those made from Aloe and from other herbs such as lavender, chamomiles, thyme, clays, apple, cucumber, olive oil, honey, milk and yogurt.
You don't have to spend a lot of money for store bought creams and preparations to have a youthful looking skin. I have found some excellent recipes and have been using these for many years to keep my skin looking fresh and youthful. One of the simplest things you can do for 'lifting' the skin and for adding moisture, is to apply fresh cut strips of cucumber directly onto a clean face and lie back and relax for about 15 minutes. This is especially refreshing after having been out in the hot summer sun or after a day at the beach..I may look silly, but believe me it feels great!
Avocado Facial Mask
You Thought Vegetables were only for Salads?
Mash the meat of the avocado into a creamy texture. Apply it thoroughly on your face and leave for about 15-20 minutes. rinse with warm water, then use cold water to close the pores. This is a natural moisturizer and skin smoothing mask.
Honey Facial Mask
Rinse your face with warm water to open up the pores. Apply honey and leave for about 1/2 hour. Rinse with warm water, then use cold water to close the pores. rinse with warm water, than again with cold water.
Cucumber Face Mask
Cucumbers have a natural ability to fight against wrinkles and at the same time will not cause you to go broke from having to buy expensive treatments. To make a good cucumber Face Mask: peel one cucumber removing seeds. Put in Blender or food processor along with a tespoon of lemon juice, a teaspoon of witch hazel and one egg white. Puree all the ingredients and apply the mixture to your face. Let dry for about 20 minutes. Rinse with warm water and then with cold. Your face should be clean and smooth and fresh feeling.
Natural Fruit/Acid Skin Refreshing Mask
This is a great mask to use in the Autumn after the summer sun has damaged and dried your face skin. Add apple to a cucumbre mask for gentle lfruit-acid exfoliation. Chop 1/2 cucumber and 1/2 apple and mix in a food processor until all hte large pieces are incorporated. Add 1tsp. of honey and apply to the face and neck, avoiding the eye area. Leave on for 15 minutes and rinse with warm, then cool water.
TIP: ALWAYS DISCARD REMAINDERS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLE FACIALS. DO NOT KEEP THEM FOR A SECOND USE SINCE THEY DETERIORATE RAPIDLY AND LOSE EFFECTIVENESS.
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- After the cucumber/advocado mask-no wrinkles at 60
After the cucumber/advocado mask-no wrinkles at 60
CUCUMBER/ADVOCADO FOR SKIN TIGHTENING
Combine cucumber with avocado for a skin tightening and noursishing facial mask. Chop 1/2 cucumber and 1/2 avocado and mix in a blender or food processor. Add the white of 1 egg and 2 tsp. of powderedmilk. Refrigerate for a half hour before applying the mixture to the face and neck. Leave on for 30 minutes. rinse with warm, then cool water.
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- One Day after turning 60! Smile!
One Day after turning 60! Smile!
One Day After My 60th Birthday
The truth is out! But, who would have believed that I am 60 years old! I certainly cannot believe it either. Of course, we all know that it's how we feel that matters and not necessarily the statistic. Looking as good as you can, for sure is one way to help us feel better. I am a strong believer in taking good care of my skin, eating healthy foods, exercising and getting a good night's rest. You don't have to spend lots of money to have a nice complexion BUT... ONE GOOD FACE CREAM is something I have never skimped on. I have been using a good daily face moisturizer since I was in my early teens...religiously. Has it helped? I don't think it has hurt. I also think it is very important to keep your face protected from the sun. I have been wearing a 50% tinted sunscreen on my face everyday for the past 10 years. I think this has also been very important. After all this, a lot has to do with just he genes you inherited from your parents! On the other hand, 'An ounce of Prevention is worth a pound of medicine!'
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