NSA supposed / alleged snooping on everybody in the country (heavens to betsy).

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STOP MESSING WITH THE TELEPHONE?  While I do not really know, as such things as the latest news about N.S.A. “metadata” and “PRISM” activities could just be a test of secrecy and discussing the ‘rightness’ or ‘wrongness’ of this is moot.  Also, and with respect to any visceral reaction by anyone who talks over the phone, most people who have a telephone or a cellphone handset know the telephone company has the ability look at anyone’s telecommunications profile and call records at any time.  Such details are internal to telecommunications carriers and serve as a reference for things like demographics and marketing studies, system stress studies, customer service activities and the like.  For people like me, for the U.S. President even to have made this part of his agenda is not likely – he has to be too busy with other things.  Though snooping and mining into voluminous and numerous calling and other records with varying degrees of granularity and specificity is absolutely insidious in its intent and effect as far as civic, political, administrative, and other rights are concerned here in the U.S., it is undoubted that this makes any difference, even one iota of a smidgen of care, for most people as telecommunications customers.  It will be interesting if, or whether or not, our chief executive is found ever to be involved in such forms of monitoring of people’s behavior, but this is not likely:  Our president is a law professor at the nation’s best law school, big on issues like asserting and preserving individual and constitutional, and human rights, and that he is concerned with and orders and / or participates in the actual, purposeful and direct monitoring and recording of us talking over the phone is entirely doubtful to me.  That he ever gave direct permission for these sorts of things is doubtful as well, and the activities by N.S.A. under scrutiny at this point are to individuals such as myself a redundancy of ordinary corporate activities under different motivations and purposes (see above), perhaps, though centered on information – gathering and analysis that happens in any event due to things like systemic structure of our information systems, the nature and capabilities of high – level computing power, and solving the difficulties and other issues presented by communications today and the systems that host and operate them. 

 

See CBS News online coverage of this (click here.)

U.S. / P.R.C. Meeting in Los Angeles - June 2013 - Unbearable Lightness.

Media Photo - "This man can think," or at least it appears so.

With respect to the two - day meeting in Southern California this week between the U.S. President, Obama and Xi Jin ping, and while the most important post in P.R.C. is not that of its own president who's meeting with the Americans this week; it is undoubted that some major topics will be addressed, including those of the national security of both countries with respect to technology infrastructure, human rights, territory rights in the Pacific Ocean, Southeast Asia, international economics including Yuan currency values and trade, foreign direct investment (maybe by another name here), nuclear proliferation and security, and a myriad of other topics will probably be mentioned.  There are probably more salient and extremely important topics to both these leaders personally than can be looked at during their two days together in June this year, and even through further contact during a summit scheduled for July 2013 than will be addressed.  It is also foreseeable their talks will generate mountains of work, including paperwork, projects, tasks, new jobs, new money, new promises and obligations for both and the like, to keep a good number of people puzzling and very busy about what is said in the next couple of days by the two principals involved and their intent in, again, scheduling this meeting in the first place.  Rancho Mirage is also a kind of golf country, and if Xi Jin ping does not play golf, he needs be introduced to it here in this hotbed of the sport of all places.  The U.S. President might not overlook this, and people like me would consider it a major gaffe to not allow Mr. Xi at least a try at putting on a practice green, if not walking a course.  Mr. Xi might indeed play golf as well, in which case that universe is open  to both these executive leaders. 

If there is any question about the possibility of the U.S. President consorting with communists and the like, it is probably clear from the venue chosen here that he does not, nor does he really harbor socialist views that might stem from his undergraduate studies and legal training and so forth; and even though Boston these days is a very liberal place and has been for some time.  Probably only, the U.S. President under the circumstances, and especially given the presence of the Chinese community in Southern California, is sympathetic to many dilemmas these people face in their long journey to assert themselves credibly, even despite political and cultural baggage and in view of hearing out his Vice - President on the subject - though this is not a big picture consideration with respect to current events and might make its way into the language of something said here about the socio - economic situation or human rights situations in both countries.  With that, and as if such meetings are not complicated enough and difficult to carry on and talk about later given what is mentioned there and related implications and interpretations, one might see the following readings:  CNBC article; New York Times article; Brookings Blog; Heritage Blog, Sina.com writing; CSIS; Reuters, ABC - all worthy and more of reading about this meeting.  One might even search on the internet for latest news, and check the AP and other wires, and C - SPAN, C.N.N. and Bloomberg - this meeting, by its format and venue, even in what considers issues of form only, is quite important and people need pay attention to announcements about it and what will happen in July at the next one.  In the midst of this latest difficulty the U.S. administration faces over use of the Treasury against political enemies, the fallout over the deaths of Ambassador Stevens and his colleagues in Libya, and some other things, this event well invites the lightness and overall tone of international friendship between U.S. and P.R.C. at this point in the political and diplomatic game, and on a quite grand and elegant scale here.  Think as well that Southern California is used by the Eastern establishment for that these days, and one has to know the world has changed from the past Western establishment mood about P.R.C. that it glaringly harbored years ago. 

Saint Exupéry, E. Chadeau (Perrin, 2000.)

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Au tardif, je dois constater que parmi les livres que j’ai vu sur Saint – Exupéry à travers les ans, j’aime beaucoup ce livre.  Il est possible aussi que je viens d’oublier dans quelque sorte ce que j’avais lu sur « Antoine », et n’ayant pas été capable aujourd’hui à réunir mes pensées là – dessus, je tombe sur ceci.  Enfin, ce livre – portrait de ce grand homme, ne soit pas trop detaillé ni trop bref ; et ayant été écrit dans un français lettré et correcte, l’histoire soit au moins captivant aux lecteurs curieux de ce pionnier de l’aire et aventurier dans la vie.  Vous noteriez aussi cette histoire s’agit du domaine parisien tandis que Saint – Exupéry passait des parties significatives de sa vie à Paris, mais ce qu’il faisait de valeur, son humanisme, le courage de conduire les avions partout en le monde, et ainsi de suite, fût bien au délà de l’Île de France.  Ses voyages au but de servir dans l’Armée de l’air et les lignes aériennes l’ont trouvé à Alger, Tunis, Amérique du Sud, les îles, Gibraltar, Maroc, Cap Juby, Dakar, Casablanca et d’autres endroits sur la liste des localités dont nous nous revons tous dans le domaine de l’aviation et des possibilités infinies. 

 

Saint – Exupéry assistait aux cours du Lycée Saint Louis pour sa formation dans le quartier latin de Paris, et il s’attendait à son sortie de sa formation scolaire en dédiant en plus à sa vie familiale.  Devenir pilote lors son entrée dans le service était pour les gents une chose pour les doués, et était de toute façon naturel pour ce jeune homme en 1921.  Il débuta son service sur la piste d’officier d’aviation, dont le métier principal fût écrivain (plus tard.)  Pendant les années 1920, il forma une alliance avec Mlle Louise de Vilmorin et composait des carnets, romans, récits et autres écrits inachevés à l’époque.  En 1926, il était pilote dans les lignes aériennes et faisait des voyages partout où il y avait les compagnies aériennes françaises (Europe, Moyen Orient, Amérique du Sud, … .)  Dès 1924, il publia « L’aviateur ».  En janvier 1931, il publia « Vol de nuit », un livre qui éprouvait la puissance et caractère lettré de sa prose.  A la même année, il recontra Consuelo Suncin de Sandoval, sa future épouse, et on a été marié au 11 avril 1931.  « Vol de nuit » le remonta à son succès de 1929 (au moment d’être à Buenos Aires) en l’édition du roman « Courrier du Sud » sous les presses de la Nouvelle Revue Française de Paris.  A ce point, Saint – Exupéry est devenue de plus en plus fameux et par 1934 avec sa femme il est au cercle de vedettes et de surdoués dans la société en son pays la France.  En 1935, Il s’est engagé en tant que pilote à Air France.  En 1936 – 37 il fût en Espagne et à New York aux EE.UU., et assistait aux colloques dans les médias à New York et à Paris.  Il publia « Terre des hommes » plus tard – un très grand livre selon les critiques littéraires et qui était discuté partout jusqu’en les années 1980.  Au début de la guerre, il rejoint l’Armée de l’Air, mais ne partageait pas la politique de Gaulle.  La politique de Gaulle sur la voie d’une France en grandes lignes, indépendant d’associations internationales, puissant dans toutes les affaires, avec encore beaucoup de territoires coloniaux, et d’autres attributs, était pour Saint – Exupéry un peu fou étant donné les évènements de l’Etat Français et le gouvernement à Vichy pendant la grande guerre.  « Antoine » était à Paris au début du conflit, et commentait lors de l’Anschluss qu’il était toujours contre la guerre (et ceci n’est pas entièrement clair en lisant ses écrits à l’époque) et fût départi pour la campagne avec sa femme aux nouvelles des offensifs Allemands en France et plus tard en 1940 à New York.  En 1943, il publia son livre le plus populaire avec les jeunes, « Le petit prince », et s’introduit à Alger et Tunis.  Son avion disparait lors d’un trajet en Afrique du nord le 31 juillet 1944.  Ce livre soit un portrait assez détaillé de ce personnage de très haute qualité, érudit, talenté, dans un détail très satisfaisante même pour les lecteurs qui connaissent mieux Saint – Exupéry à travers sa littérature à l’époque du XXème siècle. 

Cliquez ici pour la site Saint Exupéry.

 

Russia sends arms to Syria. - 2013.

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The idea of arms sales to Middle Eastern states by Russian arms producers has been around for a long time.  It probably pre – dates the Israëli – Palestinian conflict and the Middle East wars related to that as fought with U.S.S.R. military might / armor against Western military armor.  The recent problem with this is the Russians as usual appear to play a kind of spoiler in promoting what people in Eastern Europe who have a voice that's more important now in the scheme of things see as peacekeeping in the Middle East and an effort to preserve the status quo.  Russian arms sales to Syria, if they are of the same nature as in the past here, send a message to Western states that the supply of arms does not mean, for Russia and maybe to itself only, outright belligerency, and Russian actions here are a way to influence more than the politics in the region that those just in Syria.  The Russians themselves might present the arms sales as a kind of olive branch and an offer no one can refuse:  Modern anti – air warfare defenses in Syria might challenge the necessity of air surveillance over that territory and maybe some other military measures that would otherwise encourage the Al – Assad regime to give into the provincial insurrection and rebellion / revolution.  No one knows what those are really without inside details as to what is being discussed in Western capitols in order to support the anti – Bashar Al - Assad insurgents. 

 

The considerations of many of the simple political articles and stories on this that appear in the media are so complex today that one can not point to any particular reason, and that is singly, for an acceptance of Russian arms to Syria on the one hand and any cession of the Assad regime on the other.  Remember that while such exchanges with Syria and Eastern Europe are supposedly peaceful in nature, air defenses as sold to Syria might prevent proper military measures given the fighting to block or curtail campaigns of the regime against people regardless of how it treats opposing military or paramilitary groups aligned against the status quo there.  The considerations, including the timing of the proposed arms sales that is terrible for Western powers, on both sides could be now worked on by powerfully programmed super – technology super – thinking machines that can consider things from a simple dataset input as a narrative, that are indeed complex about this conflict given the circumstances of Iran and other Middle East regional powers at this point having caused hiccups everywhere attempts have been made to confirm the revolution for the freedom fighters.  This is an oversimplification, but Syria apparently has a quite robust supply of armaments for motorized “blitz” – type terror on the revolutionary fighters whereas the anti – government forces have had essentially makeshift armaments and only variegated small arms since the beginning of this conflict.  To even turn over the leaf on supplying the revolutionaries from Western arsenals is extremely touchy, again given regional military and diplomatic considerations despite Russia’s actions.  It is also important to consider the role of the U.S. State Department and its Secretary in this chaotic conflict, and the formation of its Secretary who is calling for an end to the conflict through peaceful means while knowing himself that the introduction of new Russian arms (a popular interpretation) will provoke the Assad regime to really pound the rebels while making attempts to influence world opinion that will keep Assad in the clear until his mission of quelling any revolution is complete.  It might help one to understand the rebels are not secure without air support, and the sale of anti – air armaments in what appears 0to be in quantity to the Syrian administration at this point will cause the physical security and condition of the rebels there to be less effective, aggressive, and achieving of their popular goal of taking power away from a shifty, cruel ruler. 

Read Additional Article here from U.K. papers, and click here for another online column.

 

 

Memorial Day, 2013.

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 Memorial Day - "New York Times", and U.S. News.

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Estimated Prophet (2013.)

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Informally:  It is entirely possible the latest rebound in the stock market was foreseen by the leaders of most Western Countries since some time ago, maybe since some years ago when the politics of people like the U.S. President Obama allowed for an increase in our domestic economic growth indicators, including relative GDP growth, and others.  It might even be possible there is a newspaper or magazine article out there from “Time Magazine,” for example, an ordinary news publication – not “Financial Times,” or “The Economist,” nor any of the high – flying, heavyweight publications, but just something like “Time” – that if you read or followed such a publication, the current economic climes in the U.S. and its neighbors and in Europe would not be a mystery, at least in terms of growth rates and growth, however limited for the time being, in the U.S. stock market, interest rates and the related decrease in U.S. Treasury yields.  Forget taxes and the cost of labor, for instance, in the U.S. at this point:  If you are running a business and even a very small business, the current signal sent by the stock market given the timing of the rebound in stocks today, is absolutely to hang in there even despite there being fewer manufacturing jobs in the U.S. today than before.  There is a common economic identity that manufacturing jobs in any particular country, no matter the commercial activity, do at least somewhat pave the road to wealth, help to balance the current account, drive growth rates and equities in the region and keep bond rates low in addition to keeping inflation and currency values within optimal expectations and the like.  It is important to note the soviets realized this in the 1970’s, given one or two bad assumptions, and did in fact start to seek better business and economic ties with the West, especially the U.S. with respect to grain and other importations to allow economic comparative advantage to work to their benefit.  The incorrect assumptions they made, among other things, were among their ability to take things out of western economies who supplied them at the time (including knowledgeable people, some capital and other trial balloons at the time) with the idea eventually of having some influence in import – export markets and being able to dictate to Western suppliers.  What they did not really count on, and did not know at the time was with the proper processes said imports were not needed, and with the importation of any goods from Western countries at the time they began to corrupt their home economies with the introduction of hard currency into affairs at home.  Another example of this type of effect has been the acceptance of foreign aid over time by African countries and the way in which they have doled out even earmarked funds to the consternation of their own people and the aggrandizement of their leaders’ personal lives – though today the nature of foreign currency in African countries is the same, more or less probably, there have been steps to deal with a.  The open largesse of ‘pedlars’ of foreign aid including the Russians and Chinese, and b.  The actual use of the funds sent to Africa as currency values and amounts have become less tolerant of the way in which funds were spent in the day.

 

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These examples aside and given the possibilities of the record numbers in the U.S. stock market that

make most business people rest easier during their sleeping hours, at least those in Western countries, it is entirely possible that interest rates will remain low and inflation will remain low for some time.  The explanation for this might just be, and this in view of the commercials and television programs touting U.S. beer manufacturers that are more and more profitable these days, that U.S. equities and corporate debt have been bid up over time, and this might make sense to some, as a proxy for stability and dependability ordinarily found in Treasuries.  One might, indeed, take an asset position in U.S. Treasuries or U.S. currency over one including the Thai bhat given the comparative story behind those two investment choices, and even with the knowledge that U.S. government securities are better managed.  Then one can by extension understand the U.S. economy as a service – based economy even, as a relatively safe haven including U.S. Treasuries and then U.S. corporate debt, then U.S. equities given the tolerance primarily for market risk by your own relatively large investment moneys pool wherever that might originate from, and then various U.S. government and corporate, even small business and private equities positions given the basic asset allocation rules and the risks involved.  This would really only work until your investor neighbors found out as it is a bid strategy aimed eventually at profit – taking, essentially a trading strategy, even with respect to government securities – it is also a poor strategy as good investors know most trading, even by computers in arbitrage situations and the like and despite the sometimes big numbers involved and the speed with which trades are executed these days, is a waste.  One redeeming feature to this bid strategy is it takes place outside the strictly speculative IPO and other auctions markets, it’s inconspicuous and relates to normal trading operations even in government securities outside what “new” offerings will do, and it might tend to assuage market volatility and other disruptive and wasteful effects that hold back prices for everyone.  The kind of bid – up strategy that might appear to be driving U.S. equities and related securities at this point is highly constructive for stakeholder economies while factoring in the role of things like offshore manufacturing and the price of oil.  How this is done specifically should be left to quants who are good at real – time computing power and data analysis, including that especially of the effect of economic indicators and trading information and its proxies.  One might propose here in any event the U.S. is fortunate to have leadership under President Obama who appears to understand things like macroeconomics, competitive advantage, securities in the stock market and the role of government securities, different types of risk, resolving the issue of valuation of the Ren min bi and the role of P.R.C. in the currency markets, and other things – enough to know how even to counsel the Federal Reserve Chairman a little at this point.  The U.S. President is like a lot of lawyers in America at this point who do not necessarily know where every nickel and dime they own is or ought to be, but who comprehend and use their knowledge of finances public and private.  Some of them understand it quite well and he does appear to (ssshhh!)  The secrets to this no longer include things like “options” or “leverage,” once in the past hot buttons among others, nor does the President’s strategy have anything to do with “pounding down” currencies and accounts and / nor goods values and commodities prices, for instance.  One’s local university economist could easily venture the basics of the economics policy of the U.S. President, which does include ‘tax and spend’ (a given) though it is much more intricate and formulated than just that.   That he grew up abroad for some time probably allows for the way the U.S. President has chosen to resolve domestic and related economics dilemmas for the time being; and that might be for some time to come, and this shows as well he has his own quite effective so far apparently, of turnaround economics right now, probably invented at some place like MIT or Harvard (or even Berkeley or UCLA) by very gifted and hard – working people. 

 

In the news this morning again are the stories about U.S. beer manufacturers and their great – tasting brews that outdo others, though seriously one should heed the stories around the state of business and commerce in places like Japan and China.  In Japan despite Fukishima and some other recent bad news that should not affect their economy overall, there is little obvious explanation for the declines as publicized of late other than the Japanese obviously making attempts to manage the value of their domestic currency, and related items that drive Japanese exports.  There are probably other factors that are driving the news from Japan at this point, though this is lost in the opaqueness of the policies of the securities houses that make up and influence investment policy there.  In P.R.C., a growing economy with many paradoxes including that Chinese capitalists are apparently as aggressive and hard – charging as their former communist counterparts years ago (see the history of the “Cultural Revolution,” the politics of Zhou En – lai right down through those of Hua Guo – feng, Jiang Zemin, and Xi Jin ping, … ,) business people appear to have seen the limitations of their own growth models.  In view yet of P.R.C.’s economic growth and growth predictions for the next few years, and given the role of competing interests, especially regional ones, it should become clear to consumers everywhere that Chinese retail products continue to be of exceptional quality and continue to be saleable and the domestic economy in P.R.C. especially and probably that in the Southern part of the country, will begin its role as more important policy – wise in addition to values around the export of products from everywhere in China.  The actual value of these products, as they become more normalized and the Chinese begin to spend their currency reserves on (even yet politically motivated) different types of projects, national and international with respect to business and commerce, and as the P.R.C. economy continues to grow and predictably, should the current regime there continue to seek international legitimacy, it will probably have to become more cooperative with international rules and guidelines that reduce economic fluff and puffing in order to begin to authenticate the routine practices of its enterprises as people like me know them to be.  Same is true with respect to many P.R.C. regional trading partners including Russia proper.  The success of this interpretation of “Obamanomics” and the like, does depend upon things like the long – term value of the dollar and other western currencies including the Pound and the Euro, inflation in major western countries, the interpretation of administrative and trade account statistics everywhere, and even things like the U.S. Budget debate.  The current news about U.S. equities and other securities, and even commodities prices at this point, does indicate our leader, and the leaders of the G20 have taken this and other items into consideration in their latest talks and will continue managing in good continuation ‘the forest for the trees and not the weeds’ that will be well for us here in America as well – something we can all put our hopes into not with our cross to bear or with the promise of a ‘radiant future’ as some might say at this point, but with some confidence and ability to take economic and business risks with the idea of greater values and payoffs in the future. 

 

 

See also:  When Money Runs Out, by Stephen King; testimonial record by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Benjamin Bernanke before the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives on economic outlook and monetary policy - May 22, 2013. 

 

John Hersey - "Hiroshima."

Hyperlink to book review / summary:  Click here.

 

Link to obituary (1993):  Click here. 

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天安門 ("Tian An") - Spring - Fall 1989

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Links:

1999 Article on Tian An Men Square incidents - Time.com, by Wang Dan

More on Tian An Men, 2009 Article on Tian An Men, 2012 Article - Tian An Men

fünf - A belated Book Review (Vonnegut's)

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Almost every book by this author is the great American novel during the time he was alive up to around the time of his passing with a book of writings in 2005 or so.  Slaughterhouse Five, a mult - faceted story that refers to the author's capture at a major and conclusive WWII battle in Belgium, by the Germans, and whereby he is taken to prison behind enemy lines to pine away while awaiting his fate.  The author was required to inhabit as a POW  an enemy prison a slaughter house and thus some of the imagery evocative of more sophisticated and zany thematics and turns of this fantastic story relating outer space voyages to the war, to a mental ward, and to things again like a plane crash and an auto accident - just one completely outlandish turn of events after another.  What is the point of literature like this (?), and in reading such things, one is compelled to allow for the primal scream of enemy imprisonment and the thoughts of freedom along with the mortal threats of POW life, and the dream - like existence in the novel of Billy Pilgrim and his interactions with an unpredictable and fragmented surroundings at times.  This is a must read, probably along with Cat's Cradle and one or two other Vonnegut novels that show the great virtuosity of this writer in his interpretation of what are mysteries for many of us, and what is lost to attention and what we believe we see in the interstices that comprise these puzzles sometimes.  Kurt Vonnegut himself might have had some divine tool, a gift, a blessing, that made for his humor as drafted onto the page; and that has us at least make a smile upon even hearing his name or reading of, even moreso directly, what his pen put on paper and then in print.

Part of what he examines in "fünf" people like me know is the Jewish question that other writers have

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penned volumes of investigative and disclosing literature about, though the humor and zaniness, again, of his illustration of this topic is evident in the text.  People like me know Itzak Rabin himself might have read this text, and Jewish leaders like Rabin, while in attempts to place the Holocaust, the Wehrmacht in its different forms, and WWII as an  entirety with respect to the Hebrew race into historical yet memorable context suffered and passed from this life due to repeated prejudice and violence against him personally and as the result of acts of completely humorless if not entirely sad and angry people.  I know as well from having read newspaper articles about the 1990's Yugoslavian conflict, however passed over themselves by policy makers who added to that sinister war at the time, and others indeed, that the methods of the Nazis against the Hebrew race regrettably have survived and have been unfortunately brought to light again in the world of terrorism and other battlegrounds.  The bombing within the past week of the Boston foot race as an attack at a milestone event shows the general cruelty and anti -  everything approach of terroristic perpetrators who have duplicated the terror used against the Hebrew people and who might be, as related to their knowledge of Nazi practices, totally radicalized.  Rabin had solutions for dealing with the effects of the kind of animalistic behavior as shown through numerous sources in Boston, and people like me know his death is related to the assassin maybe first  befriending him in order to be able to recognize him target - wise after his plot had begun.  These circumstances were part and parcel of things to come and the severe radicalization against Americans we are experiencing today.  What happened regrettably and sorrowfully with Itzak Rabin and in Boston only have secondary importance at this point as to blaming and culpability by attribution, and more important with respect to these and similar happenings are how the perpetrators became radicalized and as anti - everything as they are, and how they were allowed / are allowed to continue their destructive and violently animalistic activities.  This is a question proposed without provision for those rationalizing what again happened or will continue as terrorism remains in the collective mind and detracts from constructive activities and the progression of what we know as life at home.

Margaret Thatcher (obituary): from "The Economist."

 

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Obituary of Lady Thatcher from "The Economist."