Promotional Giveaway Apple Ipod Nano Color – New Style

Available in classic iPod white or a new black color, the iPod nano boasts 2GB (500 songs) or 4GB (1000 songs) capacities for $199 and $249, respectively. And color-obsessed fans of the iPod mini can get a carton of five colored nano tubes if they’d like to make more of a fashion statement. The ipod (classic) just got too big for me to carry around all over the place, and I’ve found myself taking my nano almost everywhere cause its so damn portable. The video option would be nice for video podcasts, which I have missed. This year’s revisions settle on one capacity for iPod classic storage, reformulate the iPod nano, and bring new hardware features to the iPod touch. Pricing remains high, in our opinion, showing Apple’s confidence in maintaining its large product pricing margins.

There’s yet another revision of the iPod, and it looks like a lovechild of the Nano and the classic iPod. It looks like the original iPod (though not as big), only in metallic finishes and has the same colored screen as the Nanos. Apparently, the revamped iPod line, including both the iPod nano and the iPod classic, suffered from . Similarly, it scales down the classic, iconic acrylic and chrome enclosure design we have loved since the first days of the iPod, rather than further shrinking the anodized aluminum body of the iPod mini. When you look at it, you see an iPod – not an iPod-minus, like the shuffle, or something different, like the iPod mini.
My seventeen year old sister owns an iPod Classic and after seeing an iPod for real, I was interested in owning one myself. It’s true, there is a big hype over them. Genius works better on higher capacity Classics and Touches, where there are more songs to choose from, but it’s relatively effective on the Nano as long as your tastes don’t run to the very obscure. The 80GB iPod Classic will sell for $249 USD while the larger capacity 160GB version will fly off the shelves for $349 USD.

It has worked great, but the declining battery life became a problem and I received the 8 gig 4th generation Ipod as a birthday present. I find it more difficult to use the fourth generation rotating wheel to select songs/podcasts; it’s either too sensitive or doesn’t sense the finger movement at all. The Apple iPod Nano 8GB 4th generation has quickly become the bestselling mp3 player in th
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e iPod family. It has a new “airfoil” design and the new case is made from aluminum. I’ve owned a Nano (the last generation, not the latest) and ended up migrating to a Creative Zen. I like it more than any other player I’ve owned – especially considering the price point along with the expandability.

It’s a more modern design and even the newly announced 5th generation iPods use this new look. The polycarbonate shell is also pretty strong although it flexes uncomfortably over the screen area. The second generation iPod nano also works seamlessly with the Nike + iPod Sport Kit, and provides support for voice recording accessories. Gone is the squat body of the 3rd generation. The new nano returns to roughly its original size, but instead of being flat, it’s slightly oval in shape with a curved body and screen.

Flash players generally favor ruggedness over slick design and tend to want less expensive products, but Apple has been able to buck that trend. The Nano is surprisingly sturdy but its size and weight leave the impression that with one false move it could be snapped in half- not exactly the best feeling when looking for a MP3 player to take to the gym or out for a jog. The most obvious change to the November, 2006 second-generation iPod shuffle is its body coloration. Apple has added four new colors – pink, blue, green, and orange – to the prior silver shuffle. The third-generation, launched on September 2007, had finally brought videos to the Nano, but had disappointed on account of its wider body design. Now, Apple has brought together the evolution of last year’s third-generation with an improvement on that slender and ‘old-style’ design.
The 80GB iPod is only slightly thicker than the last generation?s 30GB version at 14mm, while the new 30GB version is almost one-third thinner than that at 11mm. Both retain the flat-topped styling that appeared with the sixth-gen and are available in white or black. Current-generation iPod touch models are available in 8GB ($179), 16GB ($259), and 32GB ($349) configurations while previous-generation options only include the 16GB model for $219, and the 32GB model for $279. Jobs’ strong desire to simplify things as much as possible (including choice) got the better of him with the 1st generation nano. Limiting choice in a product with a much more fashion conscious market than the larger iPod models was not a great move, as evidenced by the strong market created on ebay after Apple retired the iPod mini line.

I think everyone knows the issues with the Intel chips, issues with the original iPod Nano and now it’s colourful 2nd generation. The completely redesigned Apple iPod Nano has resulted in a product with major improvements over the earlier second and first generation units. Unfortunately, these improvements are largely in a useless irrelevant area – video. The design of the new iPod video represents more than the tastes of the nowadays generations, but also the specific lifestyle always in move and almost always in a hurry.
They introduced a new iPod Touch , along with an iPod Nano which goes back to the vertical form factor of the second generation. This new gadget rocks a bigger screen, an accelerometer (just like the iPhone’s) and a Genius function (which lets you arrange your songs on the go based on how the songs blend together).

New flash-based player offers a color screen and the beloved click wheel.However, size does matter, so let’s start with that. Take a standard business card, rip off one-quarter of it lengthwise, and what you’re left with is about the size of the player. The nano features a color display, uses the now-familiar click wheel for navigation, has a built-in stopwatch and a few games, but is half the thickness of the iPod mini and 62 percent smaller by volume. It offers up to 14 hours of battery life and uses the same connector as the regular iPod and iPod mini, so you’ll be able use existing iPod accessories. The case offers screen protection, access to the nano???s Click Wheel, hold swit
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ch, Dock Connector, and headphone jack, and an included quick-release lanyard. It is made of crystal-clear polycarbonate allowing you to enjoy the full color of your iPod nano 3G while protecting it from dirt and scratches.

Recent iPods are designed around a central scroll wheel The full-sized model stores media on an internal hard drive, while the other models use flash memory, allowing for a physically smaller size. It has the same turn-wheel control as the last few, and once you learn how to manipulate that, you can control it with one finger. Still, as with all iPods, you have to do a lot of scrolling through lists to get the tune you’re looking for. The diminutive Click Wheel, which now has a concave center key, can be hard for large hands to manage. The dock connector is so close to the headphone jack that we had to unplug the former to disconnect the latter.

There is a specific Apple click wheel that could be used for this purpose. The click wheel can sense circular movements and one can use it to control volume or navigate through the menus. These features include the relatively large, 1.5 inch high-resolution color screen; Apple’s famous iPod navigation wheel; and the standard iPod connector port, which links to numerous iPod accessories. Most flash players have tiny screens that are hard to read, lousy navigation and few or no accessories. The new 1GB Apple iPod nano’s ultra-portable design is thinner than a #2 pencil and features Apple’s patent pending Click Wheel and the same gorgeous color screen as the other iPod nano models. In addition, Apple announced that the iPod shuffle is now more affordable than ever with the 512MB and 1GB models priced at $69 and $99 respectively.
The 4GB and 2GB white and black models of iPod nano carry a suggested retail price of $249.99 and $199.99 respectively. Apple maintains a death grip on its dealer network so the chances of finding any dealers selling the nano for less than retail is pretty slim. I think the obvious reason this is fake, other than the big black section that was clearly a large phone at one point, is the font size of the writing. That is a full-sized hand, so the device must be shown at the real size as well. According to survey, 37% said black is their favorite colour, while the other 22% said silver is their choice of colour, and 18% for white (if there is any white ipod nano). Its kind of ironic since Apple is so attach to white, its like almost all of their product are white in colour, except for the recently lanuch ipod nano and the U2 ipod.

OverDrive Media Console for Mac, the free software for playing and organizing digital audio books from public libraries, is now available for download at http://overdrive.com/software/omc . OverDrive ( www.overdrive.com ), the leading global distributor of digital audio books, eBooks, and other media, introduced the software . This item is available for immediate delivery. Our centrally-located warehouse ensures you the fastest delivery time in the industry. And tilt, move, and play accelerometer-inspired games (games available separately). Watching movies, TV shows, and video is even more fun on the sharp 2-inch screen.
The new iPod nano gives users up to 24 hours of music playback or four hours of video playback and is available worldwide immediately in an 8GB model for just $149 and a 16GB model for just $199. Both models come in silver, purple, blue, green, orange, yellow, pink, (PRODUCT) RED and black.

All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new cell phones, GPS Systems , or MP3 players . The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you. There are so many better players out there, so much better. More open, consumer friendly, less expensive, etc. Apple has achieved cult status with its iPod MP3 players, and by clever marketing has been able to ensure their integration in different vehicle types. According to information given out by the firm, 22 million of these portable devices have been so
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ld so far.
The iPod nano is the most powerful and portable digital media player in the world and with a variety of hip colors to choose from, you can customize your listening experience to suit your own personal style.

The 4GB model we looked at is available in silver, green, blue and pink, but the 2GB model only comes in silver, while the 8GB version is only available in black. Slick new design apart though, the new Nano. First up is the Nano which will appear in multiple colors .not multiple color versions but each one will have a plethora of colors. The 16GB version will hold 4,000 songs and will set you back $199.

To that end, you want to minimize the number of solutions needed in-house to simplify operations, maintenance, and support. Kodak offers a best-practices model. Older iPods (except for the low-capacity iPod Shuffle) have miniature hard drives in them, but the Nano is built around a chunk of solid-state Flash memory. The screen is all new too.
But this is only a little shuffle, used mainly for working out. Jeeze, don’t be so boring. One update I found very interesting was change in colors for the new iPod Nano and Shuffle . Away have gone the bright pop colors and welcomed in are more mature, rich colors. And now you can shake to shuffle your music. Just give iPod nano a shake and it shuffles to a different song in your music library.
You just have to plug in your Ipod Shuffle into your computers USB port, Itunes will autofill it with up to 240 songs. With Ipod Shuffle you have the ability to autofill selected playlist and get on the roll, as well battery charges by connecting into computers USB port. The new iPod nano also features a refined user interface, a high resolution portrait display and a built-in accelerometer which automatically switches to Cover Flow when rotated and automatically goes into Shuffle mode when lightly shaken. The new iPod nano gives users up to 24 hours of music playback or four hours of video playback and is available worldwide immediately in an 8GB model for just $149 and a 16GB model for just $199.

Today I’ve got the 4th Generation Apple iPod nano, the 8gb version, in the limited edition color Product Red. The iPod has taken over the mp3 player market leaving many companies struggling to compete with it, it was basically an instant success with the launch of the first version, and since then it has all been uphill for Apple and the iPod line of products. Product specifications are obtained from third parties, and while we make every effort to assure the accuracy of product information, we do not assume any liability for inaccuracies. Store ratings and product reviews are written and submitted by online shoppers to assist you as you shop. The (Product)Red campaign, supported by Apple and other consumer electronics manufactures, has donated over $11 million to the Global Fund to date.

We love to hear about your MacBook, iPod and iPhone complaints. We’d love to hear it too. It makes sense that Apple could unveil its European iPhone plans at the show. Some seem to think that new iPods will be released at Apple Expo, but we doubt it – the iTunes stores in Europe aren’t as robust as the US iTunes store, plus, France, Germany and other European companies have taken Apple to task over DRM .

By: Kenneth Okoro of SCF

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Kenneth Okoro of SCF is dedicated to helping people stay informed about free Apple Ipod offers in the industry.
To get this free Apple iPod nano Color – New Style now please visit: tinyurl.com/on77sb

You are free to republish this article in it’s entirety as long as you include the full article and include the “about the author” se
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First Endurance Optygen Hp:is It Really The Miracle Endurance Supplement?

Many people who compete in sports look for “that extra edge”,whether it be cycling,running,swimming or any other sport where that little extra bit of stamina could be the factor between winning and losing.Unfortunately some people turn to illegal substances to gain that edge,because they don`t know that their are very good natural legal alternatives.One such supplement that can help you with your endurance is optygen HP.

Now if you don`t know what optygen HP is I will quickly explain to you.According to the first endurance (manufactures of optygen HP) website optygen HP is a legal, safe and stimulant-free formula designed specifically to optimize performance for endurance athletes. This revolutionary formula is based on human clinical trials and the latest scientific research on increasing endurance.

Now I was very sceptical before I used the supplement,mainly because I was not a person who used supplements and because there are many banned substances,but I took the plunge after reading that Alberto Contador Velasco (2007 tour de france winner) and Levi Leipheimer (2008 tour of California 1st overall) uses optygen HP and after doing long hours of research on the product.After taking the supplement for about two weeks I had improved my running times by quite a lot of time and I was very pleased with the results that I got.While training it felt as if I had more oxygen and I had a lot more endurance as well.I also experienced less fatigue and less lactic acid after training,which is always a plus.I have been using the product now for several months and my running times has never been better and I am glad I tried this product.

If you are in the market for a supplement that will increase your endurance and performance I would suggest you first do your research.Make sure that the product you intend to use is legal ans stimulant free.I have spent hours researching different products before using optygen HP.

If you want a good review on optygen HP you can also have a look at http://optygenhpreview.blogspot.com/

By: Juan W

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www.firstendurance.com/optygenhp.html

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The Pros And Cons Of Corruption

Corruption runs against the grain of meritocratic capitalism. It skews the level playing-field; it imposes onerous and unpredictable transaction costs; it guarantees extra returns where none should have been had; it encourages the misallocation of economic resources; and it subverts the proper functioning of institutions. It is, in other words, without a single redeeming feature, a scourge.

Strangely, this is not how it is perceived by its perpetrators: both the givers and the recipients. They believe that corruption helps facilitate the flow and exchange of goods and services in hopelessly clogged and dysfunctional systems and markets (corruption and the informal economy “get things done” and “keep people employed”); that it serves as an organizing principle where chaos reins and institutions are in their early formative stages; that it supplements income and thus helps the state employ qualified and skilled personnel; and that it preserves peace and harmony by financing networks of cronyism, nepotism, and patronage.

I. The Facts

In 2002, just days before a much-awaited donor conference, the influential International Crisis Group (ICG) recommended to place all funds pledged to Macedonia under the oversight of a “corruption advisor” appointed by the European Commission. The donors ignored this and other recommendations. To appease the critics, the affable Attorney General of Macedonia charged a former Minister of Defense with abuse of duty for allegedly having channeled millions of DM to his relatives during the recent civil war. Macedonia has belatedly passed an anti-money laundering law recently, but failed, yet again, to adopt strict anti-corruption legislation.

In Albania, the Chairman of the Albanian Socialist Party, Fatos Nano, was accused by Albanian media of laundering $1 billion through the Albanian government. Pavel Borodin, the former chief of Kremlin Property, decided
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not appeal his money laundering conviction in a Swiss court. The Slovak daily “Sme” described in scathing detail the newly acquired wealth and lavish lifestyles of formerly impoverished HZDS politicians. Some of them now reside in refurbished castles. Others have swimming pools replete with wine bars.

Pavlo Lazarenko, a former Ukrainian prime minister, is detained in San Francisco on money laundering charges. His defense team accuses the US authorities of “selective prosecution”.

They are quoted by Radio Free Europe as saying:

“The impetus for this prosecution comes from allegations made by the Kuchma regime, which itself is corrupt and dedicated to using undemocratic and repressive methods to stifle political opposition … (other Ukrainian officials) including Kuchma himself and his closest associates, have committed conduct similar to that with which Lazarenko is charged but have not been prosecuted by the U.S. government”.

The UNDP estimated, in 1997, that, even in rich, industrialized, countries, 15% of all firms had to pay bribes. The figure rises to 40% in Asia and 60% in Russia.

Corruption is rife and all pervasive, though many allegations are nothing but political mud-slinging. Luckily, in countries like Macedonia, it is confined to its rapacious elites: its politicians, managers, university professors, medical doctors, judges, journalists, and top bureaucrats. The police and customs are hopelessly compromised. Yet, one rarely comes across graft and venality in daily life. There are no false detentions (as in Russia), spurious traffic tickets (as in Latin America), or widespread stealthy payments for public goods and services (as in Africa).

It is widely accepted that corruption retards growth by deterring foreign investment and encouraging brain drain. It leads to the misallocation of economic resources and distorts competition. It depletes the affected country’s endowments – both natural and acquired. It demolishes the tenuous trust between citizen and state. It casts civil and government institutions in doubt, tarnishes the entire political class, and, thus, endangers the democratic system and the rule of law, property rights included.

This is why both governments and business show a growing commitment to tackling it. According to Transparency International’s “Global Corruption Report 2001″, corruption has been successfully contained in private banking and the diamond trade, for instance.

Hence also the involvement of the World Bank and the IMF in fighting corruption. Both institutions are increasingly concerned with poverty reduction through economic growth and development. The World Bank estimates that corruption reduces the growth rate of an affected country by 0.5 to 1 percent annually. Graft amounts to an increase in the marginal tax rate and has pernicious effects on inward investment as well.

The World Bank has appointed in 2001 a Director of Institutional Integrity – a new department that combines the Anti-Corruption and Fraud Investigations Unit and the Office of Business Ethics and Integrity. The Bank helps countries to fight corruption by providing them with technical assistance, educational programs, and lending.

Anti-corruption projects are an integral part of every Country Assistance Strategy (CAS). The Bank also supports international efforts to reduce corruption by sponsoring conferences and the exchange of information. It collaborates closely with Transparency International, for instance.

At the request of member-governments (such as Bosnia-Herzegovina and Romania) it has prepared detailed country corruption surveys covering both the public and the private sectors. Together with the EBRD, it publishes a corruption survey of 3000 firms in 22 transition countries (BEEPS – Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey). It has even set up a multilingual hotline for whistleblowers.

The IMF made corruption an integral part of its count
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ry evaluation process. It suspended arrangements with endemically corrupt recipients of IMF financing. Since 1997, it has introduced policies regarding misreporting, abuse of IMF funds, monitoring the use of debt relief for poverty reduction, data dissemination, legal and judicial reform, fiscal and monetary transparency, and even internal governance (e.g., financial disclosure by staff members).

Yet, no one seems to agree on a universal definition of corruption. What amounts to venality in one culture (Sweden) is considered no more than hospitality, or an expression of gratitude, in another (France, or Italy). Corruption is discussed freely and forgivingly in one place – but concealed shamefully in another. Corruption, like other crimes, is probably seriously under-reported and under-penalized.

Moreover, bribing officials is often the unstated policy of multinationals, foreign investors, and expatriates. Many of them believe that it is inevitable if one is to expedite matters or secure a beneficial outcome. Rich world governments turn a blind eye, even where laws against such practices are extant and strict.

In his address to the Inter-American Development Bank on March 14, 2002 President Bush promised to “reward nations that root out corruption” within the framework of the Millennium Challenge Account initiative. The USA has pioneered global anti-corruption campaigns and is a signatory to the 1996 IAS Inter-American Convention against Corruption, the Council of Europe’s Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, and the OECD’s 1997 anti-bribery convention. The USA has had a comprehensive “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act” since 1977.

The Act applies to all American firms, to all firms – including foreign ones – traded in an American stock exchange, and to bribery on American territory by foreign and American firms alike. It outlaws the payment of bribes to foreign officials, political parties, party officials, and political candidates in foreign countries. A similar law has now been adopted by Britain.

Yet, “The Economist” reports that the American SEC has brought only three cases against listed companies until 1997. The US Department of Justice brought another 30 cases. Britain has persecuted successfully only one of its officials for overseas bribery since 1889. In the Netherlands bribery is tax deductible. Transparency International now publishes a name and shame Bribery Payers Index to complement its 91-country strong Corruption Perceptions Index.

Many rich world corporations and wealthy individuals make use of off-shore havens or “special purpose entities” to launder money, make illicit payments, avoid or evade taxes, and conceal assets or liabilities. According to Swiss authorities, more than $40 billion are held by Russians in its banking system alone. The figure may be 5 to 10 times higher in the tax havens of the United Kingdom.

In a survey it conducted in February 2002 of 82 companies in which it invests, “Friends, Ivory, and Sime” found that only a quarter had clear anti-corruption management and accountability systems in place.

Tellingly only 35 countries signed the 1997 OECD “Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions” – including four non-OECD members: Chile, Argentina, Bulgaria, and Brazil. The convention has been in force since February 1999 and is only one of many OECD anti-corruption drives, among which are SIGMA (Support for Improvement in Governance and Management in Central and Eastern European countries), ACN (Anti-Corruption Network for Transition Economies in Europe), and FATF (the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering).

Moreover, The moral authority of those who preach against corruption in poor countries – the officials of the IMF, the World Bank, the EU, the OECD – is strained by their ostentatious lifestyle, conspicuous consumption, and “pragmatic” morality.

II. What to Do? What is Being Done?

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A few years ago, I proposed a taxonomy of corruption, venality, and graft. I suggested this cumulative definition:

1.. The withholding of a service, information, or goods that, by law, and by right, should have been provided or divulged.
2.. The provision of a service, information, or goods that, by law, and by right, should not have been provided or divulged.
3.. That the withholding or the provision of said service, information, or goods are in the power of the withholder or the provider to withhold or to provide AND That the withholding or the provision of said service, information, or goods constitute an integral and substantial part of the authority or the function of the withholder or the provider.
4.. That the service, information, or goods that are provided or divulged are provided or divulged against a benefit or the promise of a benefit from the recipient and as a result of the receipt of this specific benefit or the promise to receive such benefit.
5.. That the service, information, or goods that are withheld are withheld because no benefit was provided or promised by the recipient.
There is also what the World Bank calls “State Capture” defined thus:

“The actions of individuals, groups, or firms, both in the public and private sectors, to influence the formation of laws, regulations, decrees, and other government policies to their own advantage as a result of the illicit and non-transparent provision of private benefits to public officials.”

We can classify corrupt and venal behaviors according to their outcomes:

1.. Income Supplement – Corrupt actions whose sole outcome is the supplementing of the income of the provider without affecting the “real world” in any manner.
2.. Acceleration or Facilitation Fees – Corrupt practices whose sole outcome is to accelerate or facilitate decision making, the provision of goods and services or the divulging of information.
3.. Decision Altering (State Capture) Fees – Bribes and promises of bribes which alter decisions or affect them, or which affect the formation of policies, laws, regulations, or decrees beneficial to the bribing entity or person.
4.. Information Altering Fees – Backhanders and bribes that subvert the flow of true and complete information within a society or an economic unit (for instance, by selling professional diplomas, certificates, or permits).
5.. Reallocation Fees – Benefits paid (mainly to politicians and political decision makers) in order to affect the allocation of economic resources and material wealth or the rights thereto. Concessions, licenses, permits, assets privatized, tenders awarded are all subject to reallocation fees.
To eradicate corruption, one must tackle both giver and taker.

History shows that all effective programs shared these common elements:

1.. The persecution of corrupt, high-profile, public figures, multinationals, and institutions (domestic and foreign). This demonstrates that no one is above the law and that crime does not pay.

2.. The conditioning of international aid, credits, and investments on a monitored reduction in corruption levels. The structural roots of corruption should be tackled rather than merely its symptoms.

3.. The institution of incentives to avoid corruption, such as a higher pay, the fostering of civic pride, “good behavior” bonuses, alternative income and pension plans, and so on.

4.. I
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n many new countries (in Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe) the very concepts of “private” versus “public” property are fuzzy and impermissible behaviors are not clearly demarcated. Massive investments in education of the public and of state officials are required.

5.. Liberalization and deregulation of the economy. Abolition of red tape, licensing, protectionism, capital controls, monopolies, discretionary, non-public, procurement. Greater access to information and a public debate intended to foster a “stakeholder soci
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ety”.

6.. Strengthening of institutions: the police, the customs, the courts, the government, its agencies, the tax authorities – under time limited foreign management and supervision.

Awareness to corruption and graft is growing – though it mostly results in lip service. The Global Coalition for Africa adopted anti-corruption guidelines in 1999. The otherwise opaque Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is now championing transparency and good governance. The UN is promoting its pet convention against corruption.

The G-8 asked its Lyon Group of senior experts on transnational crime to recommend ways to fight corruption related to large money flows and money laundering. The USA and the Netherlands hosted global forums on corruption – as did South Korea in 2003. The OSCE has responded with its own initiative, in collaboration with the US Congressional Helsinki Commission.

The south-eastern Europe Stability Pact sports its own Stability Pact Anti-corruption Initiative (SPAI). It held its first conference in September 2001 in Croatia. More than 1200 delegates participated in the 10th International Anti-Corruption Conference in Prague last year. The conference was attended by the Czech prime minister, the Mexican president, and the head of the Interpol.

The most potent remedy against corruption is sunshine – free, accessible, and available information disseminated and probed by an active opposition, uncompromised press, and assertive civic organizations and NGO’s. In the absence of these, the fight against official avarice and criminality is doomed to failure. With them, it stands a chance.

Corruption can never be entirely eliminated – but it can be restrained and its effects confined. The cooperation of good people with trustworthy institutions is indispensable. Corruption can be defeated only from the inside, though with plenty of outside help. It is a process of self-redemption and self-transformation. It is the real transition.

III. Asset Confiscation and Asset Forfeiture

The abuse of asset confiscation and forfeiture statutes by governments, law enforcement agencies, and political appointees and cronies throughout the world is well-documented. In many developing countries and countries in transition, assets confiscated from real and alleged criminals and tax evaders are sold in fake auctions to party hacks, cronies, police officers, tax inspectors, and relatives of prominent politicians at bargain basement prices.

That the assets of suspects in grave crimes and corruption should be frozen or “disrupted” until they are convicted or exonerated by the courts – having exhausted their appeals – is understandable and in accordance with the Vienna Convention. But there is no justification for the seizure and sale of property otherwise.

In Switzerland, financial institutions are obliged to automatically freeze suspect transactions for a period of five days, subject to the review of an investigative judge. In France, the Financial Intelligence Unit can freeze funds involved in a reported suspicious transaction by administrative fiat. In both jurisdictions, the fast track freezing of assets has proven to be a more than adequate measure to cope with organized crime and venality.

The presumption of innocence must fully apply and due process upheld to prevent self-enrichment and corrupt dealings with confiscated property, including the unethical and unseemly use of the proceeds from the sale of forfeited assets to close gaping holes in strained state and municipal budgets.

In the United States, according to The Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000 (HR 1658), the assets of suspects under investigation and of criminals convicted of a variety of more than 400 minor and major offenses (from soliciting a prostitute to gambling and from narcotics charges to corruption and tax evasion) are often confiscated and forfeited (”in personam, or value-based confiscation”).
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/>

Technically and theoretically, assets can be impounded or forfeited and disposed of even in hitherto minor Federal civil offenses (mistakes in fulfilling Medicare or tax return forms)

The UK’s Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) that is in charge of enforcing the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, had this chilling statement to make on May 24, 2007:

“We are pursuing the assets of those involved in a wide range of crime including drug dealing, people trafficking, fraud, extortion, smuggling, control of prostitution, counterfeiting, benefit fraud, tax evasion and environmental crimes such as illegal dumping of waste and illegal fishing.” (!)
Drug dealing and illegal fishing in the same sentence.

The British firm Bentley-Jennison, who provide Forensic Accounting Services, add:

“In some cases the defendants will even have their assets seized at the start of an investigation, before any charges have been considered. In many cases the authorities will assume that all of the assets held by the defendant are illegally obtained as he has a “criminal lifestyle”. It is then down to the defendant to prove otherwise. If the defendant is judged to have a criminal lifestyle then it will be assumed that physical assets, such as properties and motor vehicles, have been acquired through the use of criminal funds and it will be necessary to present evidence to contradict this.

The defendant’s bank accounts will also be scanned for evidence of spending and any expenditure on unidentified assets (and in some cases identified assets) is also likely to be included as alleged criminal benefit. This often leads to the inclusion of sums from legitimate sources and double counting both of which need to be eliminated.”

Under the influence of the post-September 11 United States and the FATF (Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering), Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Greece, South Korea, and Russia have similar asset recovery and money laundering laws in place.

International treaties (for instance, the 1959 European Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, the 1990 Convention of the Council of Europe on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime (ETS 141), and The U.N. Convention against Corruption 2003- UNCAC) and European Union Directives (e.g., 2001/97/EC) allow the seizure and confiscation of the assets and “unexplained wealth” of criminals and suspects globally, even if their alleged or proven crime does not constitute an offense where they own property or have bank accounts.

This abrogation of the principle of dual criminality sometimes leads to serious violations of human and civil rights. Hitler could have used it to ask the United Kingdom’s Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) to confiscate the property of refugee Jews who committed “crimes” by infringing on the infamous Nuremberg race laws.

Only offshore tax havens, such as Andorra, Antigua, Aruba, the British Virgin Islands, Guernsey, Monaco, the Netherlands Antilles, Samoa, St. Vincent, the US Virgin Islands, and Vanuatu still resist the pressure to join in the efforts to trace and seize suspects’ assets and bank accounts in the absence of a conviction or even charges.

Even worse, unlike in other criminal proceedings, the burden of proof is on the defendant who has to demonstrate that the source of the funds used to purchase the confiscated or forfeited assets is legal. When the defendant fails to furnish such evidence conclusively and convincingly, or if he has left the United States or had died, the assets are sold at an auction and the proceeds usually revert to various law enforcement agencies, to the government’s budget, or to good social causes and programs. This is the case in many countries, including United Kingdom, United States, Germany, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Greece, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore and Switzerland.

According to a brief written by Jack
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Smith, Mark Pieth, and Guillermo Jorge at the Basel Institute on Governance, International Centre for Asset Recovery:

“Article 54(1)(c) of the UNCAC recommends that states parties establish non-criminal systems of confiscation, which have several advantages for recovery actions: the standard of evidence is lower (”preponderance of the evidence” rather than “beyond a reasonable doubt”); they are not subject to some of the more restrictive traditional safeguards of international cooperation such as the offense for which the defendant is accused has to be a crime in the receiving state (dual criminality); and it opens more formal avenues for negotiation and settlements. This is already the practice in some jurisdictions such as the US, Ireland, the UK, Italy, Colombia, Slovenia, and South Africa, as well as some Australian and Canadian States.”

In most countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Austria, Germany, Indonesia, Macedonia, and Ireland, assets can be impounded, confiscated, frozen, forfeited, and even sold prior to and without any criminal conviction.

In Australia, Austria, Ireland, Hong-Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom, South Africa, United States and the Netherlands alleged and suspected criminals, their family members, friends, employees, and partners can be stripped of their assets even for crimes they have committed in other countries and even if they have merely made use of revenues obtained from illicit activities (this is called “in rem, or property-based confiscation”). This often gives rise to cases of double jeopardy.

Typically, the defendant is notified of the impending forfeiture or confiscation of his or her assets and has recourse to a hearing within the relevant law enforcement agency and also to the courts. If he or she can prove “substantial harm” to life and business, the property may be released to be used, though ownership is rarely restored.

When the process of asset confiscation or asset forfeiture is initiated, banking secrecy is automatically lifted and the government indemnifies the banks for any damage they may suffer for disclosing confidential information about their clients’ accounts.

In many countries from South Korea to Greece, lawyer-client privilege is largely waived. The same requirements of monitoring of clients’ activities and reporting to the authorities apply to credit and financial institutions, venture capital firms, tax advisers, accountants, and notaries.

Elsewhere, there are some other worrying developments:

In Bulgaria, the assets of tax evaders have recently begun to be confiscated and turned over to the National Revenue Agency and the State Receivables Collection Agency. Property is confiscated even when the tax assessment is disputed in the courts. The Agency cannot, however, confiscate single-dwelling houses, bank accounts up to 250 leva of one member of the family, salary or pension up to 250 leva a month, social care, and alimony, support money or allowances.

Venezuela has recently reformed its Organic Tax Code to allow for:

” (P)re-judgment enforcement measures (to) include closure of premises for up to ten days and confiscation of merchandise. These measures will be applied in addition to the attachment or sequestration of personal property and the prohibition against alienation or encumbrance of realty. During closure of premises, the employer must continue to pay workers, thereby avoiding an appeal for constitutional protection.”

Finally, in many states in the United States, “community responsibility” statutes require of owners of legal businesses to “abate crime” by openly fighting it themselves. If they fail to tackle the criminals in their neighborhood, the police can seize and sell their property, including their apartments and cars. The proceeds from such sales accrue to the local municipality.

In New-York City, the police confiscated a restaurant because one of its re
cdf
gular patrons was an alleged drug dealer. In Alabama, police seized the home of a senior citizen because her yard was used, without her consent, for drug dealing. In Maryland, the police confiscated a family’s home and converted it into a retreat for its officers, having mailed one of the occupants a package of marijuana.

Note – The Psychology of Corruption

Most politicians bend the laws of the land and steal money or solicit bribes because they need the funds to support networks of patronage. Others do it in order to reward their nearest and dearest or to maintain a lavish lifestyle when their political lives are over.

But these mundane reasons fail to explain why some officeholders go on a rampage and binge on endless quantities of lucre. All rationales crumble in the face of a Mobutu Sese Seko or a Saddam Hussein or a Ferdinand Marcos who absconded with billions of US dollars from the coffers of Zaire, Iraq, and the Philippines, respectively.

These inconceivable dollops of hard cash and valuables often remain stashed and untouched, moldering in bank accounts and safes in Western banks. They serve no purpose, either political or economic. But they do fulfill a psychological need. These hoards are not the megalomaniacal equivalents of savings accounts. Rather they are of the nature of compulsive collections.

Erstwhile president of Sierra Leone, Momoh, amassed hundreds of video players and other consumer goods in vast rooms in his mansion. As electricity supply was intermittent at best, his was a curious choice. He used to sit among these relics of his cupidity, fondling and counting them insatiably.

While Momoh relished things with shiny buttons, people like Sese Seko, Hussein, and Marcos drooled over money. The ever-heightening mountains of greenbacks in their vaults soothed them, filled them with confidence, regulated their sense of self-worth, and served as a love substitute. The balances in their bulging bank accounts were of no practical import or intent. They merely catered to their psychopathology.

These politicos were not only crooks but also kleptomaniacs. They could no more stop thieving than Hitler could stop murdering. Venality was an integral part of their psychological makeup.

Kleptomania is about acting out. It is a compensatory act. Politics is a drab, uninspiring, unintelligent, and, often humiliating business. It is also risky and rather arbitrary. It involves enormous stress and unceasing conflict. Politicians with mental health disorders (for instance, narcissists or psychopaths) react by decompensation. They rob the state and coerce businessmen to grease their palms because it makes them feel better, it helps them to repress their mounting fears and frustrations, and to restore their psychodynamic equilibrium. These politicians and bureaucrats “let off steam” by looting.

Kleptomaniacs fail to resist or control the impulse to steal, even if they have no use for the booty. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV-TR (2000), the bible of psychiatry, kleptomaniacs feel “pleasure, gratification, or relief when committing the theft.” The good book proceeds to say that ” … (T)he individua
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l may hoard the stolen objects …”.

As most kleptomaniac politicians are also psychopaths, they rarely feel remorse or fear the consequences of their misdeeds. But this only makes them more culpable and dangerous.

By: Sam Vaknin

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Sam Vaknin ( samvak.tripod.com ) is the author of Malignant Self Love – Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain – How the West Lost the East as well as many other books and ebooks about topics
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in psychology, relationships, philosophy, economics, and international affairs.

He served as a columnist for Central Europe Review, Global Politician, PopMatters, eBookWeb , and Bellaonline, and as a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent. He was the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory and Suite101.

Visit Sam’s Web site at samvak.tripod.com

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The list includes some very modest eateries where you will not spend a fortune but will still eat well.

There are now so many restaurants in London, that this is just a cross section of those available but everybody should find something that will appeal to their tastebuds and pockets.

Michelin Star Restaurants

Le Gavroche

43 Upper Brook Street, W1K 7QR (020 7408 0881)

Albert and Michael Roux set the benchmark for Haute Cuisine for London restaurants many years ago and son Michael Roux Jnr is now doing the same. Elegant dining such as this does not come cheap, a minimum price of £60 each, but with 2 Michelin stars over the door you just know it is money well pent.

Gordon Ramsay On Royal Hospital Road

68 Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London, SW3 4HP (020 7352 4441)

Lunch Menu £40 7 Course Dinner Menu £110

With a 2 month waiting list you will have to plan ahead if you want to eat here and with three Michelin stars, you just know the food will be out of this world. Any serious foodie would kill his own Mother to get a seat here to sample the French and Mediterranean dishes. It is a credit to Gordon Ramsay that despite being listed in the top five restaurants in the world, the house wine is only £15 although the extensive wine list contains some fine wines at a lot more than that.

Petrus

The Berkeley, Wilton Place, Knightbridge, London, SW1X 7RL (020 7235 1200)

Chef, Marcus Wareing has earned his two Michelin stars by serving up some of the finest French cuisine available and that includes in France. The restaurant, situated in the Berkley Hotel a known haunt of the Queen, is named after one of the finest red wines in the world. You can enjoy a bottle with your meal but with prices starting at over £300 and ending in a wallet busting £12,300, you may wish to try the house red at around £15 per bottle, although this may be an insult to the magnificent food.

Locanda Locatelli

8 Seymour Street, London, W1H 7HT, (020 7935 9088)

Although I have not eaten there yet, I must admit this is my favourite celebrity chef. He always comes across a passionate believer in the quality of his ingredients and the joy of cooking them. I am sure his two Michelin stars are an understatement. If Italian food is your passion this is the temple where you can worship it in.

The amazing thing is that you can dine here for about £30 each and you will find many good wines at under £20 per bottle.

Nobu

Metropolitan Hotel, 19 Old Park Lane, London, W1 Y4LB (020 7447 4747)

This 2 Michelin star restaurant was the haunt of both pop and movie stars where the tempura is sublime. Japanese cuisine is always expensive so the £60 per person will not phases the Japanese affictionados.

Other Great Restaurants

Texture

34 Portman Square, W1H 7BY (020 7224 0028)

The nearest tube is Marble Arch but if you can afford to eat here you will not be travelling by public transport. Dinner for two with wine and service costs around £150. Has a Champagne bar that is worth a visit.

This restaurant is the brainchild of Agnar Sverisson, the Icelandic former head chef at Le Manoir aux Quatre Saisons, (Raymond Blanc’s flagship restaurant) and Xavier Rousset who was the Head sommelier there. One can only wonder at the day they both decided to leave!

The decor could be described as Icelandic cool, the cuisine in the nouvelle style and the ingredients are the best. A great introduction is the started menu which will give you a pointer to your next visit. Don’t leave it too long as a Michelin star or two cannot be far away and you know what that can do to the prices and the waiting list.

Daphne’s

112 Draycott Avenue, SW3 3AE (020 7589 4257)

Price £48.00

Another Italian restaurant that has been favoured by stars, particularly for the lunch time crowd and why not, the food is excellent and the service attentive without being over-bearing. At least it was when I ate there a couple of years ago. It has a novel open space that makes summer dining a real pleasure. Even though they take great pride in sourcing as much of their produce from caring British producers, their risottos and pasta dishes are second to none and are complimented by a fine selection of Italian wines.

Cantina del Ponte

36C Shad Thames, Butler’s Wharf, SE1 2YE

Price £25

This is the cheaper version of Sir Terrance Conrans restaurant La Ponte de la Tour, right on the river, overlooking Tower Bridge with spectacular views of the river Thames which make it an excellent summer dining establishment. The menu is traditional Italian fare cooked to perfection. I had a pizza which, having come from their wood fired oven was just sublime and the Tiramisu to follow did not disappoint. The food is well complimented by an extensive wine list.

Bibendum

Michelin House, 81 Fulham Road, SW3 6RD (020 7581 5817)

If seafood is your passion, this is the place for you. Opened by Sir Terrance Conran twenty years ago in the old Michelin Tyre Depot, you will think you are in Paris as you feast on superb fish dishes amid the splendour of the art deco features like the huge stained glass windows. Before you ask, there are also some fine meat dishes that are also cooked to perfection.

Lindsay House

21 Romilly Street, W1D 5AF (020 7439 0450)

If you wish to dine like a Georgian English gentleman with an British menu then you will do no better than Lindsay House where Richard Corrigan, a rising TV star, serves a wonderful menu sourced from the best providers. Pigs trotters or smoked eel salad served in a genteel 18th century drawing room may have you thinking that you will be able to get a sedan chair home. The 21st century will hit you at the end when the espresso is served at nearly £5 per cup which would make even the aristocracy reach for their smelling salts. That said, for those who can afford it, it will remain a unique experience.

Rules

35 Maiden Lane, WC2E 7LB (020 7836 5314)

Price £49.00

Rules has been serving traditional British food for over 200 years and the decor reflects this. To some it is elegant dining, to others it is a bit like an Olde England theme park either way it is a great way to sample some of the finest British cuisine and that includes those glorious English puddings. The only problem is you will need to have the wherewithal of at least a minor member of the aristocracy to pay for the meal.

If you go to the Tate Modern to feed your artistic soul, you will have the choice of two fine restaurants.

Tate Modern Restaurant: Level 7

7th Floor, Tate Modern, Sumner St, SE1 9TG (020 7401 5014 )

Whilst in the Tate Modern, you should take the lift to the 7th floor where, if you can get a window table, you will get some stunning views of the river to accompany your stunning food which luckily is not named after any types of art. The cuisine is modern European and sourced from both Britain and the continent. Views and foods this good do not come cheap so if you are on a modest budget, you might like to try the cafe on the 2nd floor where children are very well catered for.

If you are not too tired then try:-

Northbank

One Paul’s Walk, EC4V 2EH (020 7329 9299)

Just a quick stroll across the bridge and you will find this cathedral to the finest provender the South-west of England can supply, cooked to perfection. It doesn’t come cheap but after such a meal you will be more than happy to pay. Summer visitors will enjoy the outdoors tables and if you get there sooner you will still be able to marvel at the ‘Glass Gherkin’ building. Don’t forget to take a closer look at the wall paper, it is a modern toile that reflects the City of London surroundings.

Red Fort

77 Dean Street, W1D 3SH (020 7437 2115)

The authentic cuisine of North India has made the Red Fort a focal point for the Indian food afficionados. It is the exquisite cuisine and stylish surroundings that have attracted the good and the great. A definite must for any visitor but beware, you will never quite enjoy your own local take away again.

Myung Ga

1 Kingly Street, W1B 5PA (020 7734 8220)

This Korean restaurant is a haven for basic Korean food as the number of Koreans, Chinese and Japanese eating there will demonstrate. This bustling restaurant would be a great place for the novice to be introduced to the tastes of Korea.

Wahaca

66 Chandos Place, London, WC2N 4HG

Average Price: £50

This is a real Mexican restaurant that specialises in street food with ingredients that are ethical and traceable. Authentic is the keyword so be prepared to be surprised if you are used to the usual old tex-mex that has been touted around for years. The sample menu is a good place to start, just be careful of the freshly prepared hot sauces.

Dining On A Budget

Stockpot

18 Old Compton Street, Soho, W1D 4TN

273 Kings Road, London, SW3 5EN

38 Panton Street, London, SW1Y 4EA

Opened in 1958 this small chain of inexpensive restaurants are still providing the capital with nourishing food at affordable prices. The menu is simple British and continental with generous portions. For those on a limited budget this cannot be topped. I have eaten at all these locations and can attest to the quality as does the number of people who you will find eating there.

Yo! Sushi

MyHotel, 11-13 Bayley Street, Bedford Square, WC1B 3HD also at Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and many other places.

A fun way to eat sushi that will not break the bank. As you sit, the different sushi goes around on a conveyor belt so you can help yourself from the cooked and raw dishes. A nice, if expensive twist is the water pump at each table.

Rootmaster

Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, E1 6QL

If you are looking around the City of London and want something different then this is the place for you, especially if you are a vegetarian and if you are not, then this would be a great introduction to the cuisine. The bonus is that you get to eat on one of what used to be, London landmarks, a big red Routemaster Bus, hence the name pun. Fantastic noodles and falafel made in the shape of burgers make this a truly unique eating experience.

Sticky Fingers’ Cafe

1a Phillimore Gardens, Kensington, W8 7EG

When Bill Wyman wasn’t Rolling with the Stones he started this restaurant which serves burgers, ribs and tex-mex. The food must be good as it still going strong after many years. Situated in a side street off the High Street Kensington makes it a perfect mid shopping break.

Hard Rock Cafe

150 Old Park La, W1K 1QR, (020 76290382)

The daddy of them all, they set the standard for burgers in London long before any of the chains opened up London. I would tell you when I first went there but I am afraid I might show my age. They have gone global but the ethics are still the same, good food in great surroundings and reasonable prices and you can get the t-shirt.

Pizza Express

Although the Pizza Express is a chain, you will not be disappointed by the quality of the pizzas unless you only like yours made in the deep pan style because they only make the traditional thin crust style. They do have a selection of other dishes available as well. Some of the restaurants have live jazz so you can make an evening of it.

You are now ready to venture out and sample the culinary delights of London, whether it is a fine British menu or something from further afield and you won’t necessarily need a bank balance the size of Fort Knox to enjoy them.

The top restaurants, especially those with Michelin stars, may need to be pre-booked so it may be advisable to check before you travel, it would be so disappointing to miss them.

About The Author

Dominique Richards is the webmaster of http://Imagewizard.biz and http://Yourpower2be.com Womens’website that men love to browse http://www.yourpower2be.com http://www.graphics.imagewizard.biz

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Hope you enjoy the read as much as I did and please if you have something to say, use the comments form below to let everyone know your thoughts.

Have a great day!

My Review – Tiger Muay Thai In Phuket Thailand

Be prepared, this is a long post. This took me a while to get around to writing this, mostly because I have been busy with a bunch of issues since my return to the states, including health and job hunting. I also wasn’t sure in what format I wanted to rate/review the camps I trained (will train) at. I think I finally decided on a Letter Grade method as opposed to a numbering system. Here are the following categories I will rate the camps with:

Facilities
Trainers
Training Routine
Administration/Office
Accommodations
Population/Student Body
Website
Intangibles
Overall

Tiger Muay Thai

Facilities – A+

The facilities at Tiger are by far one of the strengths of Tiger Muay Thai. The facility is top notch, including 6 Muay Thai Rings and 1 MMA Cage. I actually attended the camp right after the construction on 3 new rings, including a new Beginners Training Area was completed. The new area featured a nice mirrored wall, and like all the training areas, completely matted floors. The camp also has dozens of bags to work on, as well as a weight training area. In addition, there are plenty of areas to sit and relax during down time, such as the Tiger Grill and the eating area, or the computer area in front of the main office. The camp also features a pro shop (although it is a little pricey). Honestly, there isn’t much bad to say about the facilities at Tiger. Tiger does an excellent job in allowing for training areas for it’s 3 different levels of the Muay Thai program, as well as the separate MMA program, and a Yoga class.

Training Routine – A-

Each morning starts out with a 30 minute optional technique class. The class is a great opportunity to learn and refine specific techniques including everything from clinch work to defensive techniques and more. If anyone is considering training at Tiger, I suggest taking this class. Following Technique class, you will skip rope for about 20-30 minutes, and then go on to group stretching. After this, you wrap your hands, and then start in a rotation of Bag/Pad/Sparring work. Usually you do each for anywhere from 3 to 5 rounds, 3 minutes each. In between each round was a mandatory 10 pu
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shups. You do this in a rotation so you’ll do 3 rounds of bag work, then 3 rounds of pad work, then 3 rounds of sparring for example. Following this, you’ll do a specific technique on the bag, or with a partner, for a set number of times. Examples are 200 kicks, 100 skip knees, etc. Sometimes they will vary this and instead you will work technique such as a counter to a kick. The session rounds down with 200-300 sit-ups and 150 pushups, and then a group stretch. There are also option running class instead of technique class, and there is the option of taking Yoga in the morning. The session lasts about 4 hours.

The MMA program is slightly different. It starts later, and ends earlier than the Muay Thai. You end up getting less fitness during the MMA, but much more technique. The MMA opens up with a 30 minute warm up and group stretch. From there, it’s all about technique. The instructors will show a technique, and then you practice it for 5 minutes, and learn another technique, etc. This goes on for 40 minutes or so, and in the end you run through them all again. Following this, you go live and get the opportunity to apply the technique. Sometimes it’s free for all rolling, while other times you practice defending a specific situation, such as somebody taking your back. The MMA sessions don’t end with any kind of group stretching or warm downs. MMA classes last for about 3 hours. I would have liked more fitness from the MMA program, but overall both programs rate very well.

Trainers – B-

It’s tough for me to rate this category this low, considering that I thought the training routine was great and I really liked some of the trainers. Among my favorite trainers were Ajarn Mac, and Kru Nai and Kru Sornpitchai (both former Lumpinee Champions). I also thought that the guest MMA instructors from the Freestyle Fight Academy, David and Marcos were great. Actually I thought that they were excellent instructors, and a great choice by TMT as replacements for Ray.

Which brings me to one of the things I was disappointed in. When I arranged my trip to go train at Tiger, one of the main reasons for me choosing Tiger as opposed to a different school was for the chance to train with Ray Elbe. I had heard lots of wonderful things about Ray prior to attending the camp, and I was disappointed that he was away from the camp during my time there. Towards the end of camp, I learned that he was in the US, competing in the UFC Reality Show – The Ultimate Fighter. I was definitely happy for the success of Ray, but disappointed that I was unable to train with him. I suppose it will give me a reason to come back.

Another thing that was a minor inconvenience was that each trainer teaches things slightly different. One trainer will correct your technique on a kick perhaps, and then later that day, or the next day, after you have practiced the technique one way, a different trainer will say you are doing it wrong, and show you a different way. It ends up being a little frustrating. This is where taking private lessons is a nice benefit. In private lessons, you get a lot of 1 on 1 time with a trainer, and you can really form up your technique. I recommend taking several a week if you can afford it while you are at Tiger.

Finally, the biggest reason that the trainers scored so low, was the trainer by the name of Robert Lek. You know the saying, one bad apple spoils the bunch, well that was the case here. One bad trainer ruined my overall opinion of the trainers, or rather the score for this category. I had several negative instances with Robert that I was bothered with, but the biggest came during week 2 of my training. There was an odd number of people for sparring that day, so I ended up sparring with Robert. Now, the idea of sparring is suppose to be “light sparring” where you go between 50 -75%, and you are matched with people of similar body type and obviously experience level, because you are in an assigned area (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced). Well, Robert went a li
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ttle further than light sparring.

Considering he is a trainer who has had over 100 fights and has been practicing Muay Thai his entire life, I don’t think he should have been going all out with me. In addition, I was nursing several broken bones in my right foot, which made using it not an option. So basically, Robert beat up on an inexperienced partially crippled man, solely for the purpose of feeding his ego. I say that, because it simply was not for my benefit. If there had been a lesson during the session, as a trainer, he should have pointed it out. For instance, if I was doing something wrong, he should have maybe tagged me 1 or 2 times, and then stopped and showed me what to do, or not do, to avoid it. I was extremely disappointed this particular experience. As I said, there were other encounters both prior to and after this incident, but I am not going to recap them all. It is important for me to point out that this is the exception, and not the rule. 95% of the trainers at Tiger are top notch and extremely professional. Robert simply has some maturing to do, and may have some resentment towards farangs. Once again, most of the trainers at Tiger are exceptional, and overall you will have a really good experience with them, but I did want to point out this negative side, so that hopefully it will be addressed and will improve in the future, for others and myself (when I return to Tiger next time.)

There were some bright spots as far as the trainers go that I do want to mention. I said that two of my favorite trainers were Sornpitchai and Nai. They had great energy and were fun to work with. I worked with them a lot during Technique class, and they held pads for me many times. Both of them were actually former Lumpinee champions.

I also took some private lessons in both Muay Thai and MMA. I did several sessions in Muay Thai with Ajarn Mac, who has over 40 years experience training/teaching in Muay Thai. He was great to work with. He showed me many techniques, and even showed me some Muay Boran. I would definitely recommend taking some private lessons with him, if you go. Also, a few friends of mine did private lessons with Nazzee and Rhet. They also had great energy, and I would recommend them as well. Muay Thai private lessons at Tiger are an affordable 700 baht, and are between 1 hr and 1 hr 15 mins. You can let the trainer determine what to work on, or you can tell them specifically what you want to work on and they will help you.

As for the MMA lessons, since Ray wasn’t around, I worked with the second in command in the MMA program, Andreas Hasselbeck. Andreas has a lot of experience in Grappling and was able to help me round up a bunch of techniques. As I have said before, Grappling is my weak point, and Andreas’ instruction was clutch. My friend Jordan and I split the class, so each of us paid 400 baht per session. That is the best way to take an MMA lesson, because the instructor can demonstrate on someone else why you watch, and vice versa. I believe Ray is back now, so you can currently take sessions with either Ray or Andreas. If you don’t have much experience in MMA or BJJ, taking some private lessons can catch you up to speed really quick.

Administration/Office – C+

This is another weak area for Tiger. All the office staff are friendly, but not as helpful as I would have liked. The basic impression I was left with was “This Is Thailand”, and that’s kind of the attitude everyone has. What I found bad about that, is you have a camp where 98% of your clients are Western, and the owner is Western, I kind of felt that you should have a Western way of doing business. Honestly, the camp could probably benefit from a Western Office Manager, to right the ship. I would accept that job, if it ever opens up.

One area I had a problem with was my accommodations. When I contacted the camp, I specified that I wanted a room right at the camp. I wanted to be able to open my door and walk out and train every morning. When I arrive
de7
d, there was not room at the camp, so they arranged a camp down the road for me. I appreciate that they did it, and it turned out to be better accommodiations that I would have had at Tiger, but I specifically communicated that my main goal was to be in housing on the camp. Additionally, since I was not at the camp, I was unable to pay with CC, and had to pay with cash instead, which meant I had to get additional money wired in. A lot of this could have been resolved up front with more effective communication from the office. In fact, I did communicate back and forth with the office about a dozen times before my arrival, and I specifically asked questions regarding the use of CC and the cost for my room and training. Once again, there was a couple other minor instances, but they are all things that can be, and hopefully are corrected for the future.

Accommodations – B-

I’m basing this score off 2 things, my off site Accommodations at The Nature House, and my friends who housed at Tiger. I stayed at a place called The Nature House. It was a 2 minute walk down the road. I would DEFINITELY recommend staying there. From what I understand most of the rooms at Tiger are budget rooms with shared bathrooms. The Nature House was great, 12000 baht a month, (about $400 US) and it had A/C, Cable, Internet and a private bathroom. The people were really accommodating. My room was cleaned every day, they took care of me when I was sick, etc. In fact, after my motor bike injury, they actually drove me to the hospital and do the pharmacy to get medicine. They have 6 rooms there, and there are a second set of bungalow’s there by the same family, called “Family Bungalows” The rates are the same, and they are just as nice.

From what I understand the Accommodations at Tiger are pretty basic. Many of the rooms actually have shared bathrooms, and many of them are without air. This time of the year it’s getting pretty hot there, and a few of my friends who had a room at Tiger ended up moving down the road for either a private bath, or AC. I saw a couple of the rooms, and it wasn’t much to write home about. The two big advantages to staying at Tiger are actually the price and location. The price for most of the Budget rooms are about 5000 baht a month. That is more than half the difference of staying at a place like I stayed at, which cost 12000. Another advantage is you can literally walk outside and start training. I am sure if I was staying at camp, I would have done more off hours training, such as sparring, bag work, etc.

Student Body/Population – A+

This is by far one of the best attributes of Tiger. You end up meeting people from all over the world, and developing pretty good friendships, as well as an appreciation for other people and cultures. I ended up meeting a lot of people, not only from the people at the bungalows that I was staying at, but also just hanging around up at the camp. Some of the great people I met were: Erik, Shell, Stevie, Wil, Muriel, James, Sera, Chris, Matthew, Jordan, Nick, Bobby, Glenn, Mitto and many more. I met people from Australia, England, France, Sweden, Singapore, USA and many other places. It was truly the best part of the trip, and actually it made me want to visit and travel to other places as well. Here is one pic of me and some of the gang after the TMT smoker fight.

Website – A-

Honestly, this was one of the main reasons that I choose this camp. Even prior to their recent website
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upgrade, I was impressed with their website. Earlier this year, they actually updated their website and now it is even better. It is more organized, and has a lot more content. They also do an excellent job integrating content from sites such as YouTube, Facebook, etc. for you to connect with on different mediums. Their website provides almost everything you need to know prior to coming to the school. The website is excellent, and they do a tremendous job having a strong presence on the Internet.

Intangibles – A
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This is kind of like a Miscellaneous section, to include anything else I didn’t cover in the other sections. One thing that Tiger does extremely well is to organize a lot of extra curricular activities from month to month. It seemed like there was almost something to do every weekend. During my 4 weeks at camp, I attended 2 stadium fights, as well as a TMT Smoker Fight at camp. They also organize group activities such as bowling, beach training, Big Buddah trips, etc. I was really happy with this aspect of the camp. It definitely helps promote unity and gives you a reason to want to return and train again.

Overall – B+

So the way I ended up figuring out grading was to assign each category a letter grade, and that grade translates to a numeric value. (A+ = 4.5, A = 4, A- = 3.75, B+ = 3.5, etc.) Yes, an A+ gets an additional 0.25 bonus, and every other step increases/decreases by 0.25. When I put my figures into the formula, the final grade for Tiger was a 3.6 which essentially is a B+, which I think is a fair and accurate score from my experience at Tiger. I will add that I will definitely return to Tiger in the future, hopefully within the next year. I think it’s clear that overall, I would recommend this place for others to train at. Tiger has programs for everyone from the beginner to the person looking to train for a fight. I wish Tiger the best on their continued success and look forward to training there again.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post, I know it was a long one. Please feel free to comment with any questions you may have, suggestions for additional categories, or requests for future camps for me to review.

By: DansMuayThaiMMA

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For more reviews like this one please visit my website at www.dansmuaythaimma.com
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  [Shopping-and-Product-Reviews:Electronics] Have Fun Playing Hand Drums – A Fun, Musical, Hands-on Book and CD for Beginning Hand Drummers of All Ages would be an ideal book for elementary classes, groups of children, autistic or similarly challenged adults and for the reader who had never played a hand drum before. The CD does not have recordings for all of the lessons and examples in the book, though there are 37 tracks on the CD. Tracks 1, 35, 36 and 37 are ensembles of hand percussion instruments that last for several minutes.
• The Latent – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Fiction] Marshall Frank, author of six books, has proved an exceptional ability to write absorbing who-dun-it’s time and time again. According to his website he is able to do this by embellishing on real life experiences during his 30-year career investigating homicides in the Miami-Dade region of Florida. In doing so he creates a realistic, action-packed, suspenseful detective story with his recent release, The Latent – a fiction novel, that I found difficult to put down.
• A Voice in the Night – Poetry Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Poetry-Playscripts] Seventy-five pages of poetic thought on everyday life, including the author’s frustrations with shopping and solicitors, greet the readers of A Voice in the Night, by GeorgeAnne Smith. She also includes a touching homage to the men and women who protect and serve us all. An interesting poem speaks from the view of a person who is shocked to find out someone was molested, when they had no idea it had happened.
• My Alien Penfriend – Book Review – Children’s
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] My Alien Penfriend by Faiz Kermani is a fun and unique science fiction fantasy book about a young boy on earth and his pen-pal on another planet. After joining a youth group that connects people across the universe, the boys write letters to each other and send them through spacemail, a futuristic version of email. These letters are used for a majority of the story telling technique employed by Mr. Kermani.
• The Elf Prince – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:SciFi-Fantasy-Horror] All the elements for a wonderfully mystical tale for youth, and for those with youthful minds are here in this novel. Haunting dreams, caring creatures of the forest, magical swords, a quest to defeat wickedness and free its captives along with humorous moments and unique characters…
• Christmas Turtles
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] Inspired by true events and the author’s diabetic Grandmother, Christmas Turtles is a 32-page festive hardcover book that was released in October 2006. The winter cabin scene on the protective slipcover is identical to the art on the hardcover. Perfectly complementing the winter scenery, the book opens to dark green pages – reminiscent of evergreen mountain forests.
• Charlie Ford Meets Secret Agent Man – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Fiction] Accidents, errors, death, several kidnapping and hijacking scenes and the rescue of yet another mysterious man make this high-paced thriller hard to put down. I could have sat and read all day – in fact, I nearly did. Author JD Tynan has created a solid story line with humorous undertones in her recent novel Charlie Ford Meets Secret Agent Man.
• The Island Off Stony Point – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Mysteries-Thrillers] There are several unique aspects to this suspense-filled novel over others in the adventure crime thriller genre. For one thing, the two women are the strongest characters…
• What’s it Like Being You? Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Self-Help] What’s it Like Being You? – Living Life as Your True Self is co-written by John Roger and Paul Kaye, who have collaborated previously on another book. Both of these authors are successful and sought-after lecturers, educators and best-selling authors in the self-help and…
• Kitty Fantastic in Manroe’s Art Adventure – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] Kitty Fantastic in Manroe’s Art Adventure is a 40-page children’s book written by the accomplished and award-winning illustrator Pamela Key. Her intent in writing this book is clear in this passage from the book: “If a kid does any kind of art at least three hours a day, three days a week, for a year he or she is four times more likely to win an award for writing or be recognized for academic achievement and three times more likely to be elected to …
• The Call to Shakabaz
  [Book-Reviews:Young-Adults] The Call to Shakabaz – by Amy Wachspress – is a youth or “tween” fantasy adventure tale involving four unsuspecting youth (aging 10-14) and a family secret. Written with humor and tasteful exploration into alternative lifestyles and different colors of skin. Amy is well educated in English, Literature and Drama. Her aim with this book was to introduce acceptance of multi-cultural children. She wanted to inspire the idea of finding peaceful solutions to conflict. African-American children in particular will enjoy seeing themselves reflected as heroes in this tale.
• Caleb’s Wish
  [Book-Reviews:Inspirational-Fiction] Be careful what you wish for! Birthday wishes may just be a little more powerful than we give them credit for. Caleb’s Birthday Wish is a wonderful tale about holding on to one’s dream despite whatever we might see as obstacles…
• Don’t Go Alone – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Fiction] Don’t Go Alone is a story of high-society – of limousines, kept wives and fancy homes. It is a story of passion and shame, of regrets and betrayal, mistakes and love, hate and revenge.
• Jill 9 – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Mysteries-Thrillers] Jill 9 has a story line based around a psychologically disturbed female serial killer. The only lead the detectives have is the one thing all the victims have in common – all of the victims share the name, or sudunoume, of “Jill Walker”.
• The Deviant – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Mysteries-Thrillers] The following quote taken from the back cover, “The Deviant is a story that will make you afraid of yourself”, could not be more truthfully stated. Here we have a story about a writer who realizes his life is going places he doesn’t want, his talent as a writer is sadly slipping and he is losing his readers rapidly. Already, he thinks, members in the industry are snickering at his age and see him as a “has been”.
• Proof Evident – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Fiction] Proof Evident is a newly released crime fiction novel by lawyer and controversial psychologist, John Dicke. The story line is based around a criminal case for Judge Avery Jackson who coldly murdered Sheriff Hardacre during his speech to 150 city officials.
• Caleb’s Branch
  [Book-Reviews:Fiction] Caleb’s Branch, a relatively large book with over 400 pages, is difficult to classify. It is a story about family with mysterious and paranormal occurrences that involves two families separated by generations, yet connected through a little boy named Caleb and the land they have all called “home”. I thought it was particularly interesting that the author showed how having children can sometimes bring a new understanding of our upbringing and our parents – and therefore, of ourselves.
• 115 Ways to Reduce Anxiety – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Self-Help] Mike Marcoe writes from first hand experience in his book 115 Ways to Reduce Anxiety, providing advice from the view of one who has traveled the road of anxiety for a long time, undergoing therapies and combing through mountains of research. His experience has resulted in this self-help guide to people looking for ways to manage their condition in a proactive and healthy manor…
• Providence Pond – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Fiction] Author, Beresford McLean brings a new novel to his fans, this one delves into a time when British culture dominates over those within Jamaica. Providence Pond’s 500 pages are divided into four parts; each involves four generations of the King family between 1880-1920. The book closes with an afterword that provides insight into some of the issues in Jamaica over the years. Readers may want to read this section first, as it will definitely enrich the experience.
• Laguna – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Fiction] The first thing that stood out for me about Michael Putegnat’s novel, Laguna, was the author’s excellent writing skills. He has the ability to create a vision in the readers mind and employs a clever use of humor. Attractive hooks at the ending of most chapters kept me unable to resist reading at least the first paragraph or two of the next one.
• Coping With Sorrow on the Loss of Your Pet (Second Edition) – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Self-Help] This book was so helpful! The new discussions that were brought into our home over these important issues, made me so very grateful for having had the opportunity to read this book.
• Writing-World’s Guide To Paying Markets For Fiction and Poetry – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Reference-Encyclopedia-Dictionary] Writing-World’s Guide to Paying Markets for Fiction and Poetry by Moira Allen, is more than just a book of data for writer’s submissions. The author includes only paying markets of periodicals (E-zines, magazines and a few newspapers). The author created a highly valuable section entitled “About this Guide”, that explains what each section of details listed under the publications means. She even goes as far…
• Hoot – Children-Youth Fiction Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Mysteries-Thrillers] Hoot is a story about a fun adventure that has a small group of young people making positive choices. The setting for this mystery-fiction tale takes place in the state of Florida, USA.
• Change Your Mind, A Neurologist’s Guide To Happiness – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Self-Help] 283 pages of thought provoking, soul-searching concepts await readers in D.V. Pasupuleti’s new book, Change Your Mind. This self-help, inspirational non-fiction delves deep into viewing life’s issues with a renewed sense of objectivity.
• To Save the World – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Fiction] Three powerful and strangely gifted Earth-women are brought to Arhka where the very bonds of their relationships are tested. Arkha, similar to Earth, is a world of small landmasses and oceans along with two main larger continents where four known intelligent beings co-exist… but not in peace.
• Bearkiller – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:SciFi-Fantasy-Horror] In only 232 pages, Mr. Stephens combines elements of reincarnation and time travel with action, adventures and romance. There are also threads of spirit visions and other mystical aspects of the Blackfoot Nation. Bearkiller could be considered a historical fiction…
• The Sea of Trolls – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:SciFi-Fantasy-Horror] At only $8.99 (US) or $12.50 (Canadian) this 462-page epic fantasy adventure is an unbelievable bargain. The Sea of Trolls has won at least thirty literary awards including A Parents Choice Gold Award and Publishers Weekly’s Best Children’s Book. Author, Nancy Farmer has also been honored with the Newbery Honor three times!
• Simply Green Giving – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Self-Help] In his newly released, Simply Green Giving, Danny provides environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional wasteful and expensive wrapping. His frugal techniques will help families and communities by reducing the costs of gift giving. Those who enjoy crafts will love to play with the ideas in this book.
• A Place Called the Bla-Bla Cafe – Book Review (Non-Fiction)
  [Book-Reviews:Non-Fiction] A Place Called the Bla-Bla Cafe is a non-fiction book that will especially appeal to musicians and entertainers. This 237 page volume was self-published and written by Sandy Ross, one of the main entertainment coordinators for the Bla-Bla Cafe during the 11 years it provided a home and a welcoming family to the up-and-coming unsigned and undiscovered entertainers of the day.
• The Wrekening – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:SciFi-Fantasy-Horror] The Wrekening is the first book in the Ancient Mirrors Tales, followed by Dragon Queen (which will be released in March, 2007), Damselflies and Quondam. The first few pages are filled with interesting maps that were useful during my reading of the novel.
• The Echoes of a Whisper – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Poetry-Playscripts] Rhona is clearly a caring woman who writes about her roles in the family, as mother, wife and daughter. She shares her goals in life and her hope to encourage her children to reach their potential by delving into their Selves and releasing their talents with courage.
• Visual Verse – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Arts-Photography] The picture book’s 94 pages are filled with shots from areas across the globe including the Yukon, Canada, Hawaii, New Zealand and the Mid-Western States. The pictures are so incredible that readers will want to sit and look at for a long time, getting lost in their awesome beauty.
• Swiss Tradition in Black and White – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Non-Fiction] In total, 126 pages of information await readers interested in the Bernese Mountain Dog, a canine originally from Switzerland. Swiss Tradition In Black and White is a non-fiction guide that is written for both pet owners and dog breeders alike. The author, S.H. Baker, did a good job in ensuring every aspect of the species is covered in her book.
• The Fine Print of Self-Publishing – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews] The Fine Print of Self-Publishing by Mark Levine examines and discusses the most common contracts and services that authors must understand before signing any agreement with a publisher. Based on the author’s experience during the nine years that he worked as a corporate, entertainment and intellectual property attorney, Mark breaks down common contracts into a language the rest of us can understand.
• Composting For All – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Home-Garden] This short booklet explains what composting involves in a simple way and terms like vermiculture and aerobic bacteria become less confusing. Learn how to begin composting safely wit little hassle. Discover old and new composting methods from hot and cold composts, fermentation methods…
• The Colonel’s Tale – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Mysteries-Thrillers] The Colonel’s Tale – a Dassas Cormier Mystery, by S.H. Baker is the third book in this mystery series. 160 pages greet readers with an unsolved bank robbing incident and oil-greedy villains.
• Composting – An Easy Household Guide – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Home-Garden] Nicky Scott, Chairperson for the Community Composting Network in the UK, is the author of three small books (roughly 4 x 6 inches) dealing with waste reduction and has appeared in two videos about composting. His book, Composting – An Easy Household Guide, was originally published in 2005 and the second edition was released in 2006. The cover and all ninety-six pages are printed on 100% recycled paper.
• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – An Easy Household Guide – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Home-Garden] I was very excited to review Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – An Easy Household Guide by UK author, Nicky Scott. Because my husband and I wrote Trash Talk, which is a similar guide written for North Americans, I was very interested to learn how individuals in the UK are dealing with reducing waste… With the 96-page book, the author attempts to provide a guide for people to follow; “in a world of confusing messages” where overwhelming environmental problems weigh down our hearts…
• Slap Happy – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] Slap Happy by Alan Dworsky and Betsy Sansby is an illustrated instructional book that teaches rhythms to groups of youth. The book comprises of 72-pages in total, 3 of which are blank charts at the back of the book that readers can photocopy and use to chart their own songs using the rhythms from the book. Sources for further study can also be found at the end of the book including CD’s, books and videos for West African rhythms for djembe drums and Afro-Cuban rhythms for conga drums. Beginning with simple practice patterns, the authors gradually increase the difficulty level.
• Drum Circle – A Guide to World Percussion – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Music] Drum Circle – A Guide To World Percussion appears to be written for music and social studies teachers and drum enthusiasts looking to bring new ideas into their playing. The authors cover 28 different instruments, grouping similar instruments together in single chapters. The format for each chapter is consistent, beginning with interesting historical and origin factoids. Tuning and playing position are then discussed prior to demonstrating the performance technique. Close to 90 black-and-white photographs aptly demonstrate playing position and technique.
• What a Difference a Day Makes – a Survival Guide For Women – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Womens] Simple, clear and cut-to-the-chase, this light humor non-fiction self-help book will encourage readers to embrace happiness – as it is right there for their taking. Like most of us, Kerri Cartelli wears many hats that can end up draining her energy. These can include titles such as mother of three, teacher, married woman, sister, daughter, friend, homemaker and author.
• The Ant in the Cellar
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] The Ant In The Cellar, by Danielle Rosenblatt is a fun children’s book written similarly to Dr. Seuss rhyming style – did I say fun? It really is. An ant that lives in a family home creates silly and amusing stories.
• Memories Before and After the Sound of Music – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Music] Agathe von Trapp, born in 1913, is the eldest daughter of Baron Georg von Trapp. Agathe, her siblings and parents formed the famous Trapp Family Singers, which inspired the popular film, The Sound Of Music.This famous movie was based on books written by Maria about their lives and experiences from her perspective, which – of course – the movie producers had creative license with. After reading Agathe’s memoir, Memories Before And After The Sound Of Music, interest for Maria’s books will likely increase once again.
• The Puppet Triangle – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Fiction] This is a highly intelligent modern day fiction story is set in Ontario, Canada. The author clearly demonstrates the challenges young people face in today’s world. I truly enjoyed Brock’s adventures.
• Vrolok – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Mysteries-Thrillers] Do you love a vampire tale that swallows you whole and you disappear in it for days at a time? Then Vrolok is the book for you. I am not kidding – I disappeared for about 10 hours the day I began this review project… and completed the book the next morning. Already, this epic adventure has received raving reviews in the industry. The cover design for this durable, hardcover novel is simply beautiful.
• Pee Wee and the Magical Compost Heap – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] Pee Wee And The Magical Compost Heap is the first story in a series of three children’s books based on the character Pee Wee Worman, which was made possible through a grant from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. It is illustrated with pencil sketches by Alia Toor of musical notes, sunflowers, children, compost piles, worms and other critters found in a compost pile, tiny lady bugs, plant parts and winding vines grace each page as readers follow the story.
• Pee Wee’s Great Adventure – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] International Compost Awareness Week (early May) is a perfect time to read Pee Wee’s Great Adventure (ISBN# 0969788339) to groups of children during the various events celebrating the week. This book is the second installment in the series of three children’s books based on the character Pee Wee Worman – who teaches us about vermiculture, or composting with worms. Published by Recycling Resource Service, this book has taken even greater environmental steps during the production phases than the first book of the series (Pee Wee And the Magical Compost Heap).
• Pee Wee in a Nutshell – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] Pee Wee’s Family In a Nutshell (ISBN# 0969788320) is the third installment in the series of children’s books written by Larraine Roulston. The series is based on the character Pee Wee Worman – who teaches readers about vermiculture, or composting with worms. Larraine shares a powerful quote from Charles Darwin on the inside cover followed by a statement on the next page where the author makes it clear that she sees compost as “more then a fertilizer, more than a soil conditioner – it is a symbol of continuing life”.
• Whispering Hope – An Anthology of Verse – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Poetry-Playscripts] Whispering Hope – An Anthology of Verse is a collection of poetry mostly written by residents of Africa. This anthology is one of several books published by Whisper from the Heart Poetry Club, which encourages poets and artists from South African and around the globe to express themselves with freedom and confidence. Founded by Stan Almendro and currently operated with Stan’s Daughter, Giselle Visser, this club works to build a stronger economy and recognition for the literary talent presented in their books.
• The Seagull Who Was Afraid to Fly
  [Book-Reviews:Fiction] The Seagull Who Was Afraid To Fly by Steven Wickstrom, a seventy-three page children’s book released in June, 2004, is one story your children will truly love. In just seven chapters, this paperback teaches children to have courage in the face of fear, the importance of friendship and to accept individuals for who they are – rather than evaluating them on what they are expected to be.
• Focus on Minerals – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Educational-Science] Author Jerry Wermund held a long career in geology and upon retirement he started writing a series of book for children and young adult Earth Science studies. The author’s love for nature and academic experience shows in his latest book, Focus On Minerals.
• Change the World – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Non-Fiction] Change The World For 10 Bucks was first published Great Britain (2004) by Shorts Books Ltd as Change the World For a Fiver, and was recently adapted for a Canadian audience through New Society Publishers in 2006. New Society Publishers is renowned and highly respected in the industry as a company that focuses on books that teach sustainability, improve lifestyle and forward environmental causes.
• Stones & Bones
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] Stones & Bones would appeal to children, classes and families interested in scientific study of history, anthropology, dinosaurs and early man. Stimulating, full-color images challenge the mind and educate at the same time as supplying a sense of comfort through the cozy, family-like scenes. They are so detailed that the more one looks at the illustrations, the more one sees.
• What Ever Happened to Apple?
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] Children’s book that teaches conscious living by considering what happens to an apple during its lifetime. The author follows its life from conception to its demise. Focusing on proper organic waste management with facts and information, resources and links – a wonderfully illustrated book
• Colors – A Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] Colors is the first book of the Eye Like children’s hardcover series that will also include Numbers, Shapes and Letters in the near future. Colors consists of 64-pages with full color photography and a few illustrations.
• The Art of Conscious Creation – How You Can Transform the World
  [Book-Reviews:Spirituality-Religion] An uplifting, inspiring, motivating book that will have you thinking differently about every single thing in your life. Readers will feel positive and optimistic. They will learn how to become more proactive and employ tools they learn in this book to creating positive change in their lives, their families and their communities.
• Good-Bye Baby Max
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] Good-bye Baby Max is a wonderful children’s book for those who are coping with the end of life. A former kindergarten teacher who currently works as a professional counselor and life coach in Texas wrote the hardcover book. The author, Diane Cantrell, states that the book was written to stimulate discussion on a topic that is often difficult to broach.
• The Criminal in the Caymans
  [Book-Reviews:Mysteries-Thrillers] The Criminal in the Caymans is the first book in the Incredible Journey Books series. This series, written by Connie Lee Berry, centers around two young brothers who stumble onto something that doesn’t seem right and end up solving mysteries.
• Living Beyond Belief
  [Book-Reviews:Self-Help] Author Jaia Lee shares her personal experiences of discovering her unhappiness and the steps she took to change courses with the dark, bumpy road she was traveling to a smooth, scenic and comfortable one. Through sharing this tale so honestly, Jaia is sure to inspire her readers to create positive responses in their thinking process.
• Gracefully Looking and Being Your Best at Any Age
  [Book-Reviews:Health-Mind-Body] A privileged life can still have some chains and life issues do not avoid those in this position. Valerie Ramsey has had her share of life issues over the years but she maintained a healthy marriage, raised 6 children as a stay-at-home mother and then began a career as a marketer in her mid-fifties for a resort community before retiring from that career and beginning a career in modeling at the age of 63!
• The Bubblegum Babes’ Guide to Sixth Grade – Review
  [Book-Reviews:Young-Adults] This is one book that I would have cherished as a little girl. The Bubblegum Babes’ Guide to Sixth Grade is the first in a series designed for young people growing up in today’s fast-paced and high-pressure world. Doreen Lewis wrote it so that each chapter can be read as a complete story on its own – perfect for pre-teens that like to read small sections at a time.
• Political Frugality – Review
  [Book-Reviews:Politics] It is hard to specify exactly what genre Larry Roth’s new book can fall into. Political, frugal living, gay rights, taking care of the body and more are covered in Political Frugality – Guerrilla Economics for the Demonized, Devalued and Disenfranchised.
• Shattered Memories, Scattered Emotion – Review
  [Book-Reviews:Poetry-Playscripts] Betty Woodrum released her first book of poetry entitled Shattered Memories, Scattered Emotions in on July 16, 2005. Her poetry is clean and simple and extremely honest. There is such a strong theme of the various forms of love that the word ‘love’ should almost be included in the title!”
• Arturo El Rey – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:SciFi-Fantasy-Horror] This large (about 378 pages), fantasy-adventure novel should give best selling authors like Stephen King heavy competition. Fantastically interwoven with elements of King Arthur’s realm, including a little Arthurian romance, Arturo el Rey will keep the reader captivated…
• Lethal Option – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Mysteries-Thrillers] This has to be one of the best detective novels I have read in some time – right up there with Lawrence Sanders! The reader is taken on a roller-coaster ride from one seemingly unconnected crime into another…
• Dragon Tales – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] Dragon Tales by Mary C. Fairbanks is truly and entertaining book, chock full of twenty-four dragon stories. Perfect for youth from the age of five to fifteen, even adults would be charmed by its pages.
• Fading Towards Enlightenment – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Poetry-Playscripts] I would classify this book as a useful, inspirational, self-help tool for those searching for inner peace. Wayne shares his personal experiences while he searches to come to turns with himself and life in general through this beautiful work of art…
• The Legend of Juggin’ Joe – Review
  [Book-Reviews:Fiction] The Legend of Juggin’ Joe is a fiction based on a few historical family members that is written with a light, entertaining feel and a twinge of humor. This book is certain to take you away from your reality, and into the shaded mountains where moonshine is made!
• My Dad Wears Polka-Dotted Socks! – Review
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] The main character is a young boy who is desperately fretting over the class reaction to his strange family. He dreads the day the children in his classroom are due to present their portrayals of their families…
• King Bartholomew and the Jester’s Riddle – Review
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] King Bartholomew and the Jester’s Riddle by Pina Mastromonaco is a wonderful, fun book with a humor level perfect for children aged four to eight. Entertaining riddles entice readers to try to guess the answer while enjoying the tale.
• Give a Little – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews] Give a Little certainly provokes empathy for each of its characters. It is an emotional roller-coaster ride for the reader, while the family members in the book heal old wounds and the father battles alcoholism. When the back cover states “Come meet Jaden and Simmeon Randel, two brothers you won’t forget” – they were not exaggerating. These two identical and opposing twins are the main characters in this novel.
• Moon Child – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:SciFi-Fantasy-Horror] Moon Child by Simone Maroney is a larger sized adventure, fantasy novel with 55 chapters. The story line involves complex relationships between six main characters, which are delicately balanced leaving room for intrigue…
• A Monster Named Criney Who Makes Kids Whiney – Review
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] Excellent! One of best children book of this genre that I have had the pleasure to review!
• The Cranberry Bog – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Mysteries-Thrillers] Scott Underhill takes readers on a stimulating, emotional ride in his book The Cranberry Bog, an environmental suspense novel. Environment Engineer, Jeff Ridge works for the Environment Protection Agency. He and his co-worker, Tara Clemens, are walking on eggshells around an unusual assignment after being called into investigate tainted water at a Bed and Breakfast owned by Joshua and Debra Klickman.
• Call Me Mommy – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Womens] I would classify Call Me Mommy as a tragic suspense saga. Marshall succeeds in making the book more realistic by using elements of some factual events within the story line…
• Born Evil – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:SciFi-Fantasy-Horror] Author of two books and many short stories, J.P. Ransom is busily writing a series of books called Colla’d Greens and two more upcoming books including a sequel to Born Evil. Obviously this author has caught the writer’s flu!
• The Demon Plague – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:SciFi-Fantasy-Horror] The Demon Plague by Joreid McFate is a fantastic paranormal suspense science-fiction novel, involving time-travel and mysticism. This 424 page book is also available in e-book format.
• Amapola – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Mysteries-Thrillers] Alan Heywood writes a stimulating, though sometimes improbable, adventure novel in Amapola. What I mean by this is that the characters are seemingly very lucky or were simply at the right place, at the right time. Yet, other scenes are somewhat reminiscent of a James Bond movie…
• Living in Darkness – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Mysteries-Thrillers] Here, we have a serial killer at large. Detective Carnegie and his coworkers Paul and Nick are out to solve the case. Clues point to many possibilities and keep the team working hard. Is it the work of a homophobe? Or a case of mad revenge? Or pointless youth rage?
• Her Backyard – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Womens] Her Backyard definitely has a story line that I think many women can relate with. Career women have to make many sacrifices and there are times when one wonders if this lifestyle is truly full filling all their needs. I think Doreen Lewis has written a fine book portraying this conundrum.
• Men of Extreme Action – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Mysteries-Thrillers] Action, thriller and humor – this book has it all! Men of Extreme Action by Joseph Kochanoff is one of the better books I have reviewed this year. Based in the action movie making industry, Joseph incorporates murder, excellent fight scenes and sabotage…
• Gilleland Poetry – Storoems and Poems – Review
  [Book-Reviews:Poetry-Playscripts] Retired professor of Microbiology, Harry Gilleland certainly has a variety of experiences and thought-provoking insights to share in his latest poetry book, Gilleland Poetry -Storoems and Poems. Harry’s poetry has appeared at numerous establishments over the years and he has authored three books to date. His dedication to and love of poetry is evident in the way that he writes his work.
• Going Deeper – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:SciFi-Fantasy-Horror] Going Deeper by Jean-Claude Koven is certainly a nicely presented, hard-cover book. This fiction fantasy has an obvious inclination to aid readers who are embarking on their personal spiritual quest.
• Reality Checked – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Multicultural] Reality Checked – Life through Death, is a moving saga about finding meaning in a world of suffering and pointless hate based on the color of skin. Former school teacher and Theologist, Victor Waller has incorporated many of life’s issues through the lives of his characters who were forced to make decisions in hopeless situations. Racism, revenge and hate are rampant in this book. Domestic abuse and the dangers hidden within our society’s foster care system are also addressed…
• Sound Bodies Through Sound Therapy – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Health-Mind-Body] Dorinne Davis has written many books that concentrate on the subjects of hearing and sound. In the well-researched textbook, Sound Bodies through Sound Therapy, she looks at the concept of sound being a nutrient for our bodies.
• The Road of Silk – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:SciFi-Fantasy-Horror] The Road of Silk is an adventure fantasy, with mystical and magical elements and a high energy feel to it that any reader will enjoy. Although this novel is written for an adult audience, I believe anyone over the age of 10 could easily become immersed in its pages…
• Pausing to Catch My Breath – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Poetry-Playscripts] Debra Warren has appropriately titled her book of poetry ‘Pausing to Catch My Breath’. The pages depict this mother and grandmother as someone who I would personally love to sit across from at a kitchen table with a huge pot of tea and talk for hours…
• Silent Lies – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Romance] Silent Lies is an action romance saga, that takes the reader through decades of a tumultuous time between the end of World War I and the beginnings of World War II. Excellent and intelligent use of actual historical events makes this piece both educational and entertaining.
• The Seventh Jewel – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:SciFi-Fantasy-Horror] The Seventh Jewel is a fantasy-adventure fiction geared for youth (ages 11 and up)… the reader is taken on a journey that involves a treasure hunt, a noble quest and the discovery of an ancient civilization. The author touches upon family relationships, dealing with death and coming to terms with loosing a limb. The Seventh Jewel is also an educational book that brings up serious issues from poverty to discrimination…
• Jason Seeley’s War – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Politics] I felt that Dean Salter did a wonderful job portraying this aspect of war. How this young man running from a war he could not believe in, tore families apart. The community was also torn in their perception of this ‘criminal’ in their midst…
• The Letter Writer – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Fiction] I would say this fiction is a light comedy that is quite entertaining and has some romance elements as well. Author Robert Mercer-Nairne brings attention to common human frailties with a sense of fun.
• The Little Mornings – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Mysteries-Thrillers] The Little Mornings, by C M Albrecht is a murder mystery with 262 absolutely absorbing pages… Perhaps because I am a writer, and this book has to do with the publishing industry, I am partial to the theme. Grandfather’s description of a writer’s methods to reach their creative dreams had me laughing out loud – because it was so true.
• Star – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Fiction] A dog-lover’s fiction story written for a young adult audience. “I do not think a reader could put down this book without being moved by the great heart that Star displayed repeatedly. There are many lessons here for young adults from the dangers in the world, to the plight of pets and the strength of love.”
• Unspoken Dreams – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Mysteries-Thrillers] Carol Bennett writes a stunning mystery-thriller. Her chilling entrance is one I have encountered only rarely in a book…
• Second Eden Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:SciFi-Fantasy-Horror] Carlton Austin has crafted a wonderful piece of work in Second Eden – an action-packed suspense thriller with a little romance and some elements of science fiction. Its beautifully designed cover incorporates gorgeous images depicting scenes within the plot and the book is available in both hard and soft cover. I recommend the hard cover, folks. This book is sure to be one that you keep among your favorite authors on your bookshelves. Second Eden is destined for a talented director to take big screen fans on its roller-coaster ride.
• Putting it on Paper – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Business] “Dawn Josephson, author of 14 books, has written a fantastic author resource with her latest book Putting it on Paper – The ground rules for creating promotional pieces that sell books. This book discusses the development and use of contents within a media kit, and other marketing materials…”
• Fern’s Dragon – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:SciFi-Fantasy-Horror] Fern’s Dragon is a wonderfully fun read that stimulates the imagination of both young people and the young-at-heart alike. It is a good mystery-fantasy story that is artfully composed…
• Pariah – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:SciFi-Fantasy-Horror] Pariah, written by multi-talented artist and author Timothy Goodwin, is a science fiction, fantasy novel that incorporates some very clear ideas to what is wrong with today’s world. The characters are colorfully portrayed and the battles were very well written.
• Pandemonium – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] Book Review of Pandemonium “…is certainly an educational book that may be beneficial for children and grand children of immigrants who wish to understand what it was like. It also could serve as a useful reminder to appreciate, protect and expand upon the rights of all mankind.”
• Mathew and the Highland Rescue – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] A stimulating adventure! Sabine Muir has written a wonderful children’s story that can be read many, many times. This is a time-travel, Christian fantasy novel that reminds me a little bit of one of my favorite childhood books, ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’.
• Druxel Manor – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Mysteries-Thrillers] Druxel Manor is a stimulating thriller-mystery-romance novel that keeps the reader guessing. Who do you trust? Everyone seems to know a little something but no one is willing to explain – or rather, what is revealed only creates more confusion.
• Dark Autumn – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:SciFi-Fantasy-Horror] Now this could definitely be a movie! Dark Autumn is fantastic action-packed futuristic thriller that had me riveted for days. The energy was kept very high throughout the book.
• Alison’s Journey – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Short-Stories] The dedication in this book is a work of poetry in itself. I had a distinct recollection of ‘Sleeping with the Enemy’ when reading this book, but this story has some very unique twists and turns. The characters seemed very real to me – I live in a small town and we are just like that!
• Fire in the Ice – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Romance] “An excellent novel that will wring tears of frustration and pain and then tears of joy from the reader.’Fire in the Ice’ is a perfect title for this book. The passion, confusion and anger that the main character (Deedra) felt, along with her pain over the loss of her parents and the death of her young husband caused her to cover her heart, lock it away and live only through a deep survival mode.
• Super-Detective Flip Book – Two Complete Novels
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] t was a sincere honor to take on the book review project for Super-Detective Flip Book: Two Complete Novels in light of the fact that this book has allowed a whole new generation of readers to access a very popular series from the 1940’s. Off Trail Publications have worked with Reverse Karma Press to introduce the iconic fictional hero Jim Anthony and his nemesis Rado Ruric in a book that utilizes a very old style – it is a flip book; and this means that once the reader has completed one story, they then flip the book over to access the second Jim Anthony adventure.
• O’Shaughnessey – A Boy and His Leprechaun
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] I absolutely loved reading O’Shaughnessey – A Boy and His Leprechaun by Jeremy McGuire. I am certain that young readers will want to open the book and disappear for a while as soon as they see the wonderful fantasy image on the cover. The author, incidentally, also created the many illustrations that can be found throughout the book – Jeremy’s artistic talent definitely plays on the curiosity and fanciful minds of youthful readers. Mr. McGuire’s bio states that his art and narrative style are greatly influenced by his fondness for 19th Century literature and art.
• Free Mind, Free Body – How to Use Your Mind to Achieve More Than Ever Before
  [Book-Reviews:Self-Help] I had the honor of reviewing Free mind, Free Body – How To Use Your Mind To Achieve More Than Ever Before, Treatment and Healing this week and found this 162 page paperback book by DR Boisse lives up to it’s claim: “A new thought-provoking and mind-expanding perspective”. In fact the word “perspective” is perfect for this book, because over and over again readers will be shown how their perspective of situations, events or issues can twist and alter reality.
• How Your Doctor’s Dietary Ignorance Will Kill You
  [Book-Reviews:Health-Mind-Body] James, a practicing physician, explains how simple dietary changes can not only reduce the chance of getting many of today’s prevalent ailments, but also to heal patients who are already plagued by a variety of illnesses. His choice of wording in the title reflects that the entire population is dying from entirely preventable ailments because of dietary misconceptions.
• Show Me Marketing With Video On The Internet
  [Book-Reviews:Internet-Marketing] Video producer and author Jessica Kizorek presents a glossy, hardcover non-fiction account of the Internet marketing industry and the growing use of video in the book: Show Me Marketing With Video On The Internet. Jessica’s book is a manual on Internet advertising and electronic commerce and is not to be mistaken with a how-to or self-help guide on recording and uploading video on the Internet.
• In Search Of Molly Pitcher by Linda Grant De Pauw
  [Book-Reviews:Young-Adults] Peggy MCAllister receives an assignment from school that could lead her to win the Rattletop Award. Each year the winner’s name is placed at the top of the list of engraved winner’s names on a bronze plaque for the town to see for all time. Peggy is determined that she will have her name on this list, however she makes an unpopular choice for the competition that will involve more work than the other options she was presented with, disappointing her teacher immensely. But something about this name stood out for her and she followed her heart.
• The Squirrel, the Worm and the Nut Trees
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] The first thing that greets the reader upon seeing “The Squirrel, the Worm and the Nut Trees” is the glossy green cover and the large cartoon like illustrations of nature scenes. Illustrations both on the cover and inside this children’s book were created by Bobby Switzer are soft, smooth and friendly; I felt they are very easy on the eyes. The happy and sometimes frustrated critters will have readers giggling.
• Willie’s Dad
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] Willie’s Dad by Stanley Williams is a large 8.5 X 11 inch paperback children’s book about unselfish love that will move your heart. The author, Stanley Williams, shows children the heart-wrenching sacrifices that the family goes through when someone they love is incarcerated. Readers are also shown the emotional toll it takes on the person behind bars.
• The Coyote Oak – Burgeoning Wisdom
  [Book-Reviews:Fiction] The Coyote Oak: Burgeoning Wisdom, by Carlisle Bergquist, is a 324-page paperback eco-psychology fiction novel with ecological, spiritual and philosophy aspects interwoven in the tale. The two lead characters James and Andrea are a married couple, that have a mystical adventure starting with a vivid, yet confusing dream that James had one evening. Approached and coached by a fascinating creature, a huge colorful bird, James embarks on a journey that will change him forever.
• The Magic In You
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] I loved this book! The Magic In You celebrates individuality, acceptance of one’s actions and also embracing the ability to affect those around us in a positive way – if we chose to do so. The author, Sally H. Taylor is also the illustrator and every single page is filled with nature in a way that will appeal to children.
• The Ovum Factor
  [Book-Reviews:Non-Fiction] The Ovum Factor by Marvin L. Zimmerman is one of the best intrigue novels I have read in some time. There were several aspects that stood out for me with this book. Marvin is able to bring several environmental, moral and ethical issues to the reader. He is also able to show us a little of an insider’s view into the corporate world. His passion for the planet is so well interwoven into the story’s plot that readers will find themselves tense and wanting to read more. Another interesting aspect of the book is that Marvin also shows us the importance of Indigenous knowledge and the dangers of eradicating life-systems.
• Astro Socks
  [Book-Reviews:Childrens-Books] Astro Socks is a wonderful little juvenile action adventure fiction with a little space and astronomy thrown in. The lead character, Chris, is a young boy who wants to find a solution to socks continually falling off his infant sister. Chris shows us some of the creation process, how to take notes, the things to consider when creating a new product and reaching out to others for their expertise.
• Traci’s Story – Book Review
  [Book-Reviews:Short-Stories] This is very a moving tale that is based on a true story of a
  woman brought up by an alcoholic single mother.

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Stocks And News: Week In Review 8/31-9/4

Wall Street…vacation is over

President Obama and Congress return to work this week (I’ll spare you the usual lame jokes in this regard) and it seems as if Obama read an op-ed by former Republican Senate leader Bob Dole in the Washington Post, Dole having written in part:

“Many of us were taught that a president proposes and Congress disposes. Today, Congress is doing both – with the president relegated to the role of cheerleader in chief as he campaigns for various House committees’ efforts. Certainly, Obama supports much in these proposals – but Barack Obama is our president, not a commentator.

“Obama’s approval numbers would jump 10 points if Americans knew he was fully in charge. A tactical move of introducing his own plan (on health care) would also stir more Republicans to become active for reform in critical areas. Right now the president’s biggest problem is with congressional Democrats, who are split and searching for a way out of the medical wilderness.

“In short, the president, Congress and the public are choking on all this, and choking is not covered by the legislation.”

So Obama is going to regale us with a speech before a joint session of Congress on Wednesday as he supposedly lays out some specifics, finally, on what he would like to see in health care legislation. Which also means he’ll have to spell out how he plans to pay for it, beyond the inane comment that “reform will save $billions by rooting out waste and fraud.” He’s going to have to admit he is breaking his pledge not to tax American families earning more than $250,000, let alone how he’s going to tackle the enormous deficits he’s already running up, and this will all set off another round of talk show diatribes and ill will. Or…he could just try and bamboozle us one more time.

But I haven’t even gotten into the fact that with the official unemployment rate having now hit 9.7%, with an unofficial one far higher, let alone having a vice president running his mouth off about how successful the stimulus program has been when he’s not even close to the facts, the Obama administration’s credibility is verging on nil.

I do, however, believe Barack Obama is an immensely talented, smart individual who had the makings of a good leader favored
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by 55-60 percent of the American people on a consistent basis; and that would have made for a solid legacy.

But what is increasingly clear is he is being tremendously ill-served by his staff, just as his predecessor was in many respects, and while I hardly expect Obama to shake things up so early in his term, it’s an appropriate action to take. It’s time to admit he’s made some mistakes. It would show real guts…and leadership.
—

As for the economy and the Street, the global outlook continues to brighten, even if some perpetual pessimists don’t want to admit it. Manufacturing indices, for example, have now exhibited signs of real growth, not just a slowing in the pace of contraction, from Australia, to India and China, to France and now the U.S., with other big players following suit with the September readings, no doubt. So that’s good.

China once again led the news on Monday, though, as its stock market fell 6.7%, thus taking the correction in Shanghai into the bear phase, down 22% from the high in August. There were all manner of concerns that liquidity was drying up and that the economic stimulus had as well, but then the next day the manufacturing number in China was a very solid 55 (50 being the dividing line between growth and contraction) and bank lending for August was still strong so the market proceeded to rebound. Chinese regulators then said all the right things, that it will maintain a loose money policy while urging the banks to lend prudently, but it’s also a well-known fact that Oct. 1 is National Day in China, celebrating 60 years of communist rule, and the last thing the government wants is a market crash ahead of this.

As you know I have a large position in a specialty chemicals / biodiesel outfit in Fujian province and I am as acutely aware of what’s going on here as possible, given my location. I’m confident the China story will continue to work and as much as I don’t trust the numbers implicitly, I know the growth rate is substantial and that gradually the economy is transitioning from one totally dependent on exports to one where both exports and domestic demand share the spotlight. If I’m wrong on this, well then we’re definitely headed for a ‘W-shaped’ double-dip.
A few other items, globally.

South Africa’s economy is in its first recession in 17 years, having seen GDP decline 3% in the second quarter, though better than the first quarter’s 6.4% drop, while Canada’s economy exhibited similar numbers with GDP down 3.4% in Q2 vs. the 6.1% fall in Q1. But Australia avoided recession in displaying growth of 0.6% in Q2. Aussie Aussie Aussie! Foster’s on the house!

In the 16-nation Eurozone, the manufacturing index came in at 48.2 for August, a considerable improvement, but the unemployment rate for July hit 9.5%. Consumer prices were down 0.2% last month.

Back in Asia, Japan’s industrial production was up 1.9% in July but retail sales were down 2.5%. More on Japan and their big election below.

In the U.S., the Chicago PMI hit 50.0 in August, far better than expected, which was followed by the national ISM manufacturing figure for the month, 52.9, also far better, while construction spending for July was down 0.2% and July factory orders were up a less than expected 1.3%.

Pending home sales, though, advanced a super 3.2% for July, the best reading in this category since June 2007, but on the real estate front, issues in the commercial market continue to make the headlines (if it bleeds, it leads) as the default rate for same could hit 7% in ’09. In each and every one of your neighborhoods, you see examples of construction loans gone bad. But I repeat, this will have minimal impact on equity prices.

August auto sales improved, thanks to cash-for-clunkers, with an increase over July and the highest total since May 2008, but year over year, GM sales were still down 20% and Chrysler’s 15%. Ford, however, bucked the trend and saw its sales for the month i
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ncrease 17%. [Honda’s U.S. sales were up 10%, Toyota’s 6%.]

And it was a week that saw U.S. retailers report same-store figures for August and while they were still down in most cases, Kohl’s being a positive exception, there are signs that traffic is beginning to return.

Lastly, we had the above-mentioned jobs report with the economy losing 216,000 jobs and the unemployment rate spiking to 9.7%. As bad as the jobs data has been, a trend is nonetheless in place and there is growing consensus we will see actual growth in the first quarter. Seeing as the stock market is a forward-looking animal, it’s one reason why even after a 50% move off the March lows, equities just don’t seem to want to correct much at the end of the day, as much as the bears want the market to validate their theses.

Me? I haven’t changed my outlook all year so why would I now? Not being fixated on the fundamentals, solely, and looking to sentiment* and past market behavior as well has held me in good stead thus far, even at the bottom in March. Those who ignore the influence of sentiment on the markets are bound to make their share of mistakes. And so, while I won’t be the least bit surprised to see a sizable correction along the way, the target has remained the same; 20% gains for the Dow and S&P, 30% for Nasdaq (which we basically hit the week of 8/24…heck it’s up 28% ytd as of Friday).

[*By sentiment I’m referring to far more than the contrarian bull/bear readings found below.]

But since I focus on sentiment as much as I do, it’s why I can not ignore items such as Iran and H1N1, the two that I’ve said all year are potential game changers. Obviously, if swine flu really gets cranking beyond laying up some college and high school students (my alma mater, Wake Forest, made NBC Nightly News the other day for the number of cases there) and progresses to the point where airlines are cutting way back and the malls are empty, those calling for a double-dip will be right, but for the wrong reasons.

And, obviously, when Israel attacks Iran, say November, one must weigh the blowback. No one…no one…has any idea the level to which Iran and its proxies, such as Hizbullah, will strike back. Do they take down some commercial aircraft? Do they hit some of our shopping malls? Or, is the blowback confined to soft targets in Europe or Latin America? Better still, do the Iranian people, recognizing the predicament their leadership has placed them in, revolt in numbers that overwhelm authorities? But try finding more than a handful of strategists today that even mention the potential of Iran to ruin the critical holiday shopping season (not that it’s going to be good, anyway), let alone one’s portfolio.

So friends, don’t be surprised if in the coming weeks I say I’m hitting the bunker and advising all to sell their stocks. I’ve never been a market timer, at least a successful one, but I’m going to take a big stab at this one. In the meantime, especially since in the case of swine flu we won’t have the vaccine for at least another four weeks, cough into your sleeve and wash your hands 50-55 times a day.
Street Bytes

–So much for the nasty correction. One of these days we’ll see it, but after being down about 3% at the lows early in the week, stocks posted minimal declines as the Dow Jones lost 1.1% to 9441, the S&P 500 fell 1.2% and Nasdaq lost just 0.5%. As former NBA star Derrick Coleman said to no one in particular, “Whoopty-damn-do.” Gold, though, flirted with $1,000 as everyone rushed to sell their signet rings for beer money. I loved how everyone was talking about gold’s advance signaling something unknown was about to occur. Yoh, guys, the unknown, Iran, and an attack on same, should be no surprise to the learned.

–U.S. Treasury Yields
6-mo. 0.22% 2-yr. 0.93% 10-yr. 3.44% 30-yr. 4.27%

Rates were basically unchanged as the Federal Reserve released the minutes from its Aug. 11-12 meeting and there was nothing
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we didn’t already know in terms of their opinions. The Fed is calling for a slow recovery, while the economy is still vulnerable to adverse shocks. The Fed also avers that inflation is not an issue for some time to come, representing the view of your editor as well. I know I keep repeating myself but until you show me real wage and pricing pressures, neither of which is remotely in the cards with the employment situation the way it is and with capacity utilization near all-time lows, I’m not buying the inflation story.

–I have a tremendous amount of respect for Morgan Stanley Asia’s Stephen Roach but he’s just more pessimistic on China than I am today. Roach’s main thesis is that China needs a robust U.S. consumer and we aren’t going to be spending at a rapid enough clip for years to come due to our having overstayed our welcome at the party. And for its part, China, Roach says, is going to need a long time to build its own consumer driven economy.

–For the first time in U.S. history, women are about to outnumber men in the work force, though women still earn only about 77% of what men make. This speaks to the massive job losses for men in sectors such as manufacturing and construction, while the only parts of the economy still growing, education, healthcare and government, have traditionally hired more women.

–General Motors said sales growth in China should exceed 40% this year. August’s jump helped push GM’s sales there to 1.11 million for the first eight months, outpacing its total for 2008. Total auto sales in China could surpass 12 million, besting the U.S.

–BMW is planning on building two new Mini models in a boon to Britain’s struggling auto industry, the cars to be produced at a plant near Oxford.

–British Petroleum announced a “giant” oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico. But before we all shout “Eureka!” understand the future crude is like 35,000 feet down.

–Baker Hughes is acquiring BJ Services for $5.5 billion in a move designed to create a rival to giant Schlumberger in the oilfield-services industry. BJ Services specializes in technology for developing natural-gas fields.

–And PetroChina is buying a 60 percent stake in Athabasca Oil Sands Corp.’s key projects for $1.7 billion in a further example of China’s resource grab (this one in America’s backyard). Athabasca is a closely held company based in Calgary.

–The SEC’s inspector general issued a blistering report on the agency’s performance in failing to scrutinize Bernie Madoff, despite all kinds of warning signs and “ample information” that Madoff was defrauding investors, while allowing the scam to go undetected for 16 years. H. David Kotz wrote in his summary that the fraud could have been uncovered by any of three examinations or two more-formal ones, but sheer incompetence prevented this.

So with the above in mind, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro announced she may create a “fraud college” to train her staff in detecting market abuses such as Madoff’s.

Lesson one…Is the following e-mail solicitation real or not? [Don’t concern yourself with spelling and punctuation.]

“The Board of federal ministry of finance BENIN REPUBLIC. Are here to notify you of your payment inherited funds. After the meeting held on 26th of AUG 2008. His Exelence the PRESIDENT OF FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF BENIN DR BONI YAYI . has Instructed all the westren unuion Department to send your funds through wester
219
n union money transfer for easier receive of your inheritage funds without any further delay.”

If you said the above is real…advance straight to clown school.

–Natural gas futures fell to their lowest level since March 2002, as inventories continue to pile up; record amounts for this time of year. Due to the recession, factory usage is expected to fall about 9 percent in ‘09, according to the Department of Energy. It’s also a fact that in many traditional high usage parts of the country, it was a modera
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te summer [here in New Jersey, I’ve had my air-conditioning on about a total of ten days since May 1] and there have been zero storms threatening production in the Gulf of Mexico.

But when it comes to winter, and potential nat gas demand, the Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a cold one… “numbing cold” from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians. Managing Editor Sandi Duncan says it’s going to be an “ice cold sandwich….very, very cold, very, very frigid, with a lot of snow.” Nooooo! Alas, the East Coast is going to be a little milder.

However, the National Weather Service is calling for warmer-than-normal temps because of an El Nino system in the Pacific. I’m so confused, let alone I always mix up the Farmer’s Almanac with the Old Farmer’s Almanac.

–Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said she reached agreement with Russian Prime Minister Putin that there would not be a gas crisis this year, no more “traditional stunts,” said the braided one. Ukraine normally has to meet a minimum amount of imported gas from Russia and energy giant Gazprom, even if it doesn’t use it, but Putin has evidently relented on the limits.

And therein is your lesson for today, boys and girls. Vladimir Putin is involved in the day to day operations of Gazprom.

–Russian oil output hit a record high in August, 9.97 million barrels per day, or about 11 percent of daily global demand.

–Shares in AIG tumbled from $55 to $38 on Monday and Tuesday after more than tripling in August, even including Monday’s 10 percent sell-off. Who the heck knows what the company is worth two years from now in a more stable environment when the reality is the government also owns 80 percent of it?

Of course aside from speculators having their way, a major reason for the run-up is the reputation of new AIG CEO Robert Benmosche, who had to apologize this week for saying that New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo’s approach to bonus recipients was “unbelievably wrong.” Benmosche then continued in a meeting with employees, “(Cuomo) doesn’t deserve to be in government, and he surely shouldn’t be the attorney general of the state of New York. What he did is criminal. You don’t create lynch mobs to go out to people’s homes and do the things he did. The worst thing that will ever happen to him is when he and I meet in the room and I close the door.” Sounds like Mr. Benmosche is kind of a loose cannon, don’t you think?

–Back in January, Pfizer indicated it would be hit with a record-breaking fine and this week we learned it was indeed $2.3 billion for repeated abuses including illegal drug promotions that led to free junkets for doctors. This is the fourth time in the past decade Pfizer has been charged with gross misconduct and among the latest indiscretions was the promotion of four prescription drugs, including the pain killer Bextra, as treatments for medical conditions different from those the FDA had approved the drug for, plus Pfizer backed the unapproved uses and dosages with false and misleading claims about safety and effectiveness. So I’m thinking the executives involved should be locked up for 25 years…that would stop this crap.

–New York City, in a sign of the times, has seen sales-tax revenues decline 10 percent over the first seven months of 2009.

–Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment and its stable of characters such as Iron Man and Spider-Man for $4 billion, leaving me to wonder, why didn’t they do this before? In 2006, Disney purchased Pixar Animation Studios. But way back in 1969, Warner Bros. acquired DC Comics and the rights to Superman and Batman, which worked out pretty well.

–Cerberus, the hedge fund folks who took a bath in Chrysler and GMAC, have seen investors pull about $5 billion out, or 60 percent of the group’s total fund assets, but they may not see their money for years to come as the withdrawal requests are placed in a wind-down vehicle that will sell the assets and return the money w
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hen available.

–Iceland’s parliament voted to reimburse British and Dutch investors to the tune of $6 billion in one of Iceland’s failed banks, an amount that equates to about half the country’s yearly economic output. The reason for the move, though, was to avert a diplomatic crisis that threatened Iceland’s accession into the European Union and would have delayed badly needed international funding in the wake of its financial-system collapse. The Internet bank involved, Icesave, had 400,000 depositors in Britain and Denmark at its peak.

–The number of mobile phone users in China is now up to 703 million.

–Ireland’s unemployment rate rose to 12.4 percent in August, the highest in more than 14 years. But the pace of the slide in the economy, like elsewhere, is slowing considerably; in Ireland’s case helped by the emigration of Eastern European workers back home.

–In a pathetic move, the Fox Business Network, watched by 20, maybe 32 people, nationwide, has thrown in the towel and opted for simulcasting Don Imus to fill the 6:00-9:00 a.m. slot. I used to be a big I-Man fan, but last cared around 2000. [He botched some ‘live reads’ of spots for this site that I had shelled out major bucks for.] For FBN, though, it’s just an admission that in the business world, they’re irrelevant.

–Sales of Playboy declined 9 percent in the first half of the year, but women’s magazines such as Family Circle and Woman’s Day, declined over 20 percent, thereby proving that…actually, I really don’t know where I’m going with this…

–Reminder, friends. Keep stockpiling those incandescent bulbs, just as we do here at StocksandNews.

–Finally, my man Arnold Palmer turns 80 on Thursday, Sept. 10. So when I realized he was born in 1929, it hit me the stock market was peaking then. Specifically, the Dow Jones hit its all-time high of 381 on Sept. 3 and closed at 367 the day Arnie was born. Well, you should know enough of your market lore to recall that we didn’t see 381 for 25 years… November 23, 1954 the Dow closed at 382. 25 years in the wilderness. Of course we’ve just had 10 years plus ourselves of going nowhere, fast.
Foreign Affairs

Afghanistan: Defense Secretary Robert Gates has endorsed a report from Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan, who is recommending more U.S. troops be deployed to effectively wage a counterinsurgency; this after Gates last spring warned of deploying too many troops and losing the local population’s support which is admittedly weak to begin with. Gen. David Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command, also endorses McChrystal’s strategy.

But President Obama himself has said little on the war the past few months, outside of an Aug. 17 speech to a VFW convention where he devoted three minutes to this “war of necessity.” And administration officials said there was no thought to giving a national address on the topic.

Well, events will outrun him, it appears. Just a few weeks ago I said Afghanistan would be the number one issue in 2010, over health care and the economy, but it appears I could have been off a few months. Support among Americans is flagging badly, with a CNN survey revealing 57% of independents opposed to the war, while Republicans hold at 70%, making for strange bedfellows between them and the president.

Meanwhile, casualties mount with a record 74 NATO forces having died in August and with Britain’s cumulative toll up to at least 211. The latter remains a key because with British Prime Minister Brown floundering on all manner of levels and facing a humiliating defeat at the polls next spring, he is likely to withdraw British forces (currently over 9,000) in the months leading up to the vote to try and save himself. 2 in 3 Brits want their troops home now. [Brown's current stated support won't last.]

Then you have this election in Afghanistan, with the UN having documented at least 650 cases of probable fraud in the
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conduct of the vote. President Karzai needs 50% to avoid a run-off and with 60% counted, he’s at 47%.
But, hey, poppy production is down 22%!

I’m in the camp that believes we must give Afghanistan one last try, similar to my thoughts on Iraq as the surge was initially announced there. But unless Obama builds a case for the effort, his poll numbers will continue to plummet and the American people won’t even give him another year at this point.

Arguing for the other side, I present some opinion from three Republicans, though the first one really should form a third party, even if the charismatically challenged Nebraskan is not then its official standard-bearer.

Former senator and Vietnam War hero, Chuck Hagel, in an op-ed for the Washington Post.

“The other night I watched the film ‘The Deer Hunter.’ Afterward, I remembered why it took me so many years to be able to watch Vietnam movies.

“It all came tumbling back – the tragedy, the innocent victims, the waste. Too often in Washington we tend to see foreign policy as an abstraction, with little understanding of what we are committing our country to: the complications and consequences of endeavors. It is easy to get into war, not so easy to get out. Vietnam lasted more than 10 years; soon, we will slip into our ninth year in Afghanistan. We have been in Iraq for almost seven years….

“The U.S. response (to 9/11), engaging in two wars, was a 20th-century reaction to 21st-century realities. These wars have cost more than 5,100 American lives; more than 35,000 have been wounded; a trillion dollars has been spent, with billions more departing our Treasury each month. We forgot all the lessons of Vietnam and the preceding history.

“No country today has the power to impose its will and values on other nations. As the new world order takes shape, America must lead by building coalitions of common interests, as we did after World War II. Then, international organizations such as the United Nations, NATO, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and GATT (now the World Trade Organization) – while flawed – established boundaries for human and government conduct and expectations that helped keep the world from drifting into World War III and generally made life better for most people worldwide during the second half of the 20th century….

“Global collaboration does not mean retreating from our standards, values or sovereignty. Development of seamless networks of intelligence gathering and sharing, and strengthening alliances, diplomatic cooperation, trade and development can make the biggest long-term difference and have the most lasting impact on building a more stable and secure world. There really are people and organizations committed to destroying America, and we need an agile, flexible and strong military to face these threats. How, when and where we use force are as important as the decision to use it. Relying on the use of force as a centerpiece of our global strategy, as we have in recent years, is economically, strategically and politically unsustainable and will result in unnecessary tragedy – especially for the men and women, and their families, who serve our country….

“The president and his national security team should listen to recordings of conversations that President Lyndon B. Johnson had with Sen. Richard Russell about Vietnam, especially those in which LBJ told Russell that we could not win in Vietnam but that he did not want to pull out and be the first American president to lose a war. Difficult decisions with historic consequences are coming soon for President Obama.”

Ralph Peters / New York Post

“The classified status report from Afghanistan by Gen. Stanley McChrystal was censored by the White House before its submission. As a result, it’s all bun and no burger.

“According to multiple (angry) sources, McChrystal – our top soldier on the ground – intended to ask for 28,000 more U.S. tr
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oops. A presidential hatchet man directed the general not to make the request: Troop increases would be ‘addressed separately.’

“Worried about his poll numbers, our president’s making a bad situation worse. He’s given McChrystal the impossible mission of turning Afghan Flintstones into Jetsons, while starving him of means….

“I don’t believe the general’s correct, but he has a right to be heard. Any decision about troop levels should be made based upon the facts on the ground, not politics….

“Cooking the political books doesn’t win wars. It didn’t work for the Bush administration, and it won’t work for Obama. We shouldn’t waste another American life without a clear strategy our president will back with his full authority.

“When the White House silences the generals in the field, it condemns our troops to the silence of the grave.”

[Peters wrote the above before Gates’ position became clearer.]

George Will / Washington Post

“Even though violence exploded across Iraq after, and partly because of, three elections, Afghanistan’s recent elections were called ‘crucial.’ To what? They came, they went, they altered no fundamentals, all of which militate against American ‘success,’ whatever that might mean. Creation of an effective central government? Afghanistan has never had one. U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry hopes for a ‘renewal of trust’ of the Afghan people in the government, but the Economist describes President Hamid Karzai’s government – his vice presidential running mate is a drug trafficker – as so ‘inept, corrupt, and predatory’ that people sometimes yearn for restoration of the warlords, ‘who were less venal and less brutal than Mr. Karzai’s lot.҅.

“(U.S.) forces should be substantially reduced to serve a comprehensively revised policy: America should do only what can be done from offshore, using intelligence, drones, cruise missiles, airstrikes and small, potent Special Forces units, concentrating on the porous 1,500-mile border with Pakistan, a nation that actually matters.

“Genius, said de Gaulle, recalling Bismarck’s decision to halt German forces short of Paris in 1870, sometimes consists of knowing when to stop. Genius is not required to recognize that in Afghanistan, when means now, before more American valor is squandered.”

Iran: In a depressing sign of conservative unity, 18 of President Ahmadinejad’s 21 cabinet nominees were approved by parliament, including Ahmad Vahidi as defense minister. All Vahidi is responsible for is the 1994 terror attack on a Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 and he’s been wanted by Interpol ever since. So right after his appointment, Vahidi, having garnered more votes than any of the cabinet nominees, said, “Every move from the Zionist entity against Iran will be met with a harsh and powerful response from Iran.”

The action in parliament continues a trend, a purge, as 40 ambassadors were recalled, suspected of aiding the reformers, while a purge of the universities is also taking place, both in terms of professors as well as courses allowed.

But now we’re in September and originally President Obama set Sept. 15 as a de
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adline to respond to his offer of talks, though that will be stretched until the days after the UN General Assembly in New York, Sept. 23-25. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s latest report says Iran “has not suspended enrichment-related activities” and Germany and France have called for harsher sanctions immediately if Iran does not comply with prior UN resolutions. French President Sarkozy said that Obama’s hand can not be extended indefinitely and the easiest target with the most impact would be to hit Iran’s gasoline supply, the country having to import 40% of it because of its lack of refinery capacity.

Israel / Iran:
Editorial / Wall Street Journal

“Israel…looks warily on the Obama Administration’s policy of diplomatic pleading with Iran, whic
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h comes after six years of failed diplomatic overtures by the European Union and Bush Administration. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s suggestion in July that the U.S. would extend a ‘defense umbrella’ over its allies in the Middle East ‘once [Iranians] have a nuclear weapon’ may have been a slip of the lip. But Israelis can be forgiven for wondering if the U.S. would sooner accept a nuclear Iran as a fait accompli than do whatever is necessary to stop it.

“It’s no wonder, then, that the Israeli military has been intensively – and very publicly – war-gaming attack scenarios on Iran’s nuclear installations….U.S. and Israeli military officials we’ve spoken to are confident an Israeli strike could deal a significant blow to Iran’s programs, even if some elements would survive. The longer Israel waits, however, the more steps Iran can take to protect its installations.

“The consequences of an Israeli attack are impossible to predict, but there is no doubt they would implicate U.S. interests throughout the Middle East. Iran would accuse the U.S. of complicity, whether or not the U.S. gave its assent to an attack. Iran could also attack U.S. targets, drawing America into a larger Mideast war….

“But unless Mr. Obama gets serious, and soon, about stopping Iran from getting a bomb, he’ll be forced to deal with the consequences of Israel acting in its own defense.”

Israel, continued…The stories on how Prime Minister Netanyahu plans on dealing with the settlements issue are all over the board. Some say he won’t agree to freeze any in the West Bank or Jerusalem, others say he will. Then there was a report late Friday that Netanyahu will agree to a temporary halt to construction only after new homes are built, some 2,500+. Washington will have a problem with this.

Separately, former Prime Minister Olmert became the first such official to be indicted, past or present, as he was accused of accepting funds from an American backer, double-billing for trips abroad and concealing funds from a government watchdog, all of which should preclude Olmert from considering a political comeback.

And on one of my favorite long-standing topics, how Americans ignore the growing Iranian threat in South America, particularly Venezuela, the Jerusalem Post’s Olivier Javanpour:

“As Iran’s sphere of influence grows and deep relationships with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Nicaraguan Daniel Ortega form, Tehran is not only repeating the success from lessons learned with Hizbullah in Lebanon, but is also displaying a unique understanding of the cultural nuances of the region. The Iranian approach with Hizbullah was a similar exercise in relationship building that started in the early 1980s. Not only did the Iranian regime train and arm Hizbullah militants, they also built medical centers, schools, mosques and homes for Shiite sympathizers.

“The Iranians have clearly understood that reaching the hearts and minds of the poor is critical to successful relationships, internally and internationally. North Americans have failed to leverage their own relationships in part because they have not grasped the nuances involved. Through low-interest loans of more than $250 million to Bolivia, helping Nicaragua to build ports, schools and hospitals, and through the exporting of technology and other products to Venezuela, Iran has secured a place in Central and South America.”
We ignore it at our own peril. Israel isn’t.

Iraq: Syria’s President Assad denies his country is being used as a launching pad for violence in Iraq, calling the allegations politically motivated and baseless. The Iraqi government is demanding Damascus extradite two suspects wanted in a string of suicide attacks on government ministries in Baghdad that killed about 100 on Aug. 19.

And there was a disturbing story involving the bank robbery I reported on in this space back on 8/1/09. Four suspects were members of the security forces, including one ti
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ed to one of the country’s two vice presidents. Two others, part of the same figure’s security detail, remain at large.

But the four in custody are going to be executed; this as $4.8 million of the cash taken was recovered in the offices of a newspaper the Veep owns.

So pretend Vice President Biden’s aides were implicated in a bank robbery and Biden got the court to hang them in order to keep them quiet, this as $5 million was found at, say, his home in Delaware. That’s basically the case in Baghdad today.

Lebanon: Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri has been reaching out to the opposition in an attempt to form a coalition government, but it’s now three months since the June election and he’s losing his patience. Good. Hariri spoke out.

“We want the minority to take part in the next cabinet but not according to its own conditions but rather in line with the [democratic] principles of majority and minority.”

The minority does not “impose its conditions on the majority, or dictate what the majority is supposed to do. We have extended our hand to the minority [ed. such as Hizbullah], expressed openness and willingness to form a national unity cabinet but this does not mean we have to do what they want. In all honesty, we reject this logic. I Saad Rafik Hariri will not accept this logic.”

As Hariri also notes, “If people endorsed their [the minority’s] platform they would have voted for them.” [Daily Star]

You tell ‘em, Saad. Stand strong. It’s your country’s only hope.

[As an aside, there was a Kuwaiti report that Hizbullah has now received chemical weapons from Iran, as well as thousands of gas masks. They were supposedly flown from Iran to Syria and then transferred over land to the Bekaa Valley.]

Libya: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown continues to say he had nothing to do with the release of Lockerbie bomber al-Megrahi, despite evidence to the contrary.

“There was no conspiracy, no cover-up, no double-dealing, no deal on oil, no attempt to influence Scottish ministers.”

He’s flat out lying, though in a court of law a good attorney would probably get him off as a true smoking gun has yet to be revealed in the documents released thus far. Yet the weight of the evidence is there, as Justice Secretary Jack Straw set the deal in motion two years ago as a huge contract with British Petroleum, announced in May 2007, hit a stumbling block by December of the same year and the disposition of Megrahi became a key topic for the Gaddafi government. BP did then wrap up the contract.
Rami G. Khouri / Daily Star

“If there is a moment, a place, a person, and a legacy that come together to bring sadness to all Arabs, they are upon us this week in the 40th anniversary of the September 1, 1969 revolution that brought Moammar Gaddafi to power. There is nothing to celebrate today in Libya, other than a colossal waste of that country’s human and natural resources over four decades.

“This is also a day of calamity for the modern Arab world, not only because of what Libya has suffered and squandered, but also because Libya is only a severe example of the self-inflicted distortions, waste and misfortunes that have defined much of the Arab region since independence. This is also a moment that should spur some quiet reflection by all those in the West who deal with the Arab world with shameless self-interest….

“If much of Libya’s human wealth has been forced to flee abroad, most of its material wealth has been wasted in one of the most shocking cases of national self-squandering in the modern world. If we were to conservatively say that Libya has averaged $10 billion of oil exports per year in the past 40 years – with some single year income figures reaching over $45 billion, like last year, for example – we could reasonably ask: what has the Libyan government to show for the $400 billion or so of income that accrued since 1979?….

“The litany of four decades of failure in Libya is long and thick, and hard to believe were it not true. Now we are asked to believe that Gaddafi’s sons and presumed heirs embrace democracy and liberalism; yet somehow that proposition is hard to take seriously, as power continues to be exercised without any real accountability. This is a sad anniversary for a rich land that has mostly experienced derision, indictment, isolation and underachievement in recent decades.

“The Arab world watches silently, knowing that the Libyan tale is not so alien to our region – it is merely the most severe example of a management style that has made underachievement the hallmark of the modern Arab world. The West, meanwhile, looks to Libya for more opportunities to sign lucrative new contracts, oblivious to both the moral legacy of its own history in the Middle East or the desperate quest for simple dignity by the ordinary Arab citizen. There is nothing to celebrate today – 40 years and $400 billion later – there is nothing to commemorate other than monumental sadness.”

Poland / Russia: What a mess…the commemorations for the start of World War II, 70 years ago, Sept. 1, 1939. Russian Prime Minister Putin was on hand and while admitting the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact of ’39 was “immoral,” he focused on Soviet losses suffered following the Nazi’s decision to break their alliance with Moscow and invade the Soviet Union in 1941. By contrast, German Chancellor Merkel said, “I pay tribute to the 60 million people who lost their lives in this war unleashed by Germany.”

Putin tried to tell anyone who would listen that Europe was just as responsible for signing pacts of its own with the Germans, including 1938’s Munich Agreement, but ask any Pole and the danger today comes from Russia, not Germany.

After all, while Germany has undergone “unprecedented examination of conscience, not least over the Jewish Holocaust,” as the Financial Times’ Stefan Wagstyl put it, “Russia is a different matter. After a flurry of open discussion in the 1990s the authorities have restricted the public airing of difficult issues such as Soviet war crimes. Just as Mr. Putin has clamped down on political life, he has tightened the screws, notably with a law criminalizing the ‘falsification of history.Ҕ

On a different issue, that of the missile defense shield, components of which were to be based in Poland and the Czech Republic, the White House is completing a review and among the potential alternatives would be a proposal to move the pieces beyond the Russian border, say to sites in Turkey or the Balkans. But Eastern Europeans would view this as the Obama administration caving in to Russian pressures. Eastern European critics say, see, President Obama is more concerned over getting cooperation on issues such as Afghanistan from Russia and China than he is with countries such as Poland.

I would just add that if I were a Polish or Czech leader that had stuck its neck out getting support from their respective parliaments, I’d be furious over the betrayal, which is exactly what it is.

North Korea: Pyongyang said it was producing enriched uranium, a worrisome development, though not unexpected. It’s the level of sophistication achieved that is under considerable debate. North Korea’s two previous nuke tests were of the plutonium variety, with Pyongyang saying it was also close to weaponizing it. The move follows a series of conciliatory moves by Kim Jong-il, but in a letter to the head of the UN Security Council, North Korea said, “We are prepared for both dialogue and sanctions. If some permanent members of the UNSC wish to put sanctions first before dialogue, we would respond with bolstering our nuclear deterrence first before we meet them in a dialogue.”

China: Taiwan officials asked the Dalai Lama to cancel public speeches and media events on the island under pressure from China, though Beijing did not formally make this request of President Ma and has not crit
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icized him directly for allowing the Dalai Lama to go to Taiwan, ostensibly to comfort those impacted by the devastating typhoon.

Meanwhile, Taiwan said it will drop its annual bid to join the United Nations in another sign of rapprochement between Taiwan and the mainland.

Separately, there was a new round of protests in the western city of Urumqi where ethnic riots left hundreds dead back in July. This time the protests were over a series of mysterious syringe attacks on the public, though officials said none of the needles were contaminated.

And in Fujian province, of which I am very familiar, 10,000 clashed with 2,000 police over a wastewater treatment plant that has been the source of pollution and illness as people across China become increasingly impatient over efforts to clean up the environment.

Lastly, China is going to be unveiling a range of previously unknown missiles on Beijing’s October 1 National Day parade celebrating 60 years since the formation of the communist state.

Japan: The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) completed its historic victory in lower house parliamentary elections, 308 of 480 seats, thus ending 54 years of almost unbroken Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) rule. But after four prime ministers in four years, and 20 years of economic stagnation (an average growth rate over that time of one percent), the people want progress so the DPJ has its work cut out for it. Yukio Hatoyama will be voted in as the new prime minister on Sept. 16.

The DPJ wants to focus on the family and offer $276 per month to raise children, as well as increase the minimum wage and support farmers, which is in contrast to the LDP’s long-time policy of favoring business and the bureaucracy. The DPJ also wants there to be more of a debate on defense policy and the 50,000 U.S. military personnel stationed there that are treaty-bound to defend Japan. So some interesting dynamics could be playing out over the coming year.

Colombia: President Alvaro Uribe actually caught swine flu, though he’s recovering, and the Congress by a 85-5 vote cleared a major roadblock for Uribe to pursue a third term in office. No one is more important to the U.S. in the region than him. [Uribe still must gain approval from the Constitutional Court and then win a national referendum to change the constitution.]

Mexico: The violence here is numbing and in the latest high-profile attack in the drug wars, 18 were killed as gunmen broke into a drug rehab center in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso. In this hellhole alone, 1,400 have been killed this year. And the attacks are getting closer and closer to the top of government as a state deputy public safety director was the latest victim in a separate assassination.
Random Musings

–Former Vice President Dick Cheney said he’s not sure he will cooperate in any probe of suspected CIA prisoner abuses. “I’m very proud of what we did in terms of defending the nation for the past eight years, successfully,” he told ‘Fox News Sunday.’ “And it won’t take a prosecutor to find out what I think.”

On the topic of Iran, Cheney hinted he pushed for a strike to take out its nuclear weapons program in the waning days of the Bush administration.

“I was probably a bigger advocate of military action than any of my colleagues. I thought that negotiations could not possibly succeed unless the Iranians really believed we were prepared to use military force. And to date, of course, they are still proceeding with their nuclear program and the matter has not yet been resolved.”

–In his memoir, “True Compass,” drawn on notes from almost 50 years in public life, Sen. Edward Kennedy describes his behavior after Chappaquiddick as “inexcusable” and admits he made “terrible decisions” at that time. Kennedy had been preparing the book with his editors during his final months and from the little I’ve read, it seems to be a pretty honest portrayal. For instance he say
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s he never questioned the findings of the Warren Commission on JFK’s assassination, and that Bobby’s reaction over the loss of John “veered close to being a tragedy within a tragedy.” He also regrets his “self-destructive drinking.”

But in an editorial for the New York Post, Maureen Callahan asks:

“(How) is it that so many women unabashedly revere Kennedy today? The particulars of Chappaquiddick are especially gory; his behavior after the accident approaches the amoral. Once he broke free and swam to the surface, Kennedy said that he dove back down seven or eight times to rescue Kopechne. Failing, he swam back to shore and checked back into his hotel, and a short time later lodged a noise complaint with the desk clerk. The people in the room next to his were partying and it was interfering with his sleep. Then he asked the desk clerk for the time.

“According to the Aug. 4, 1969 edition of Newsweek, that clerk, Russell E. Peachey, told Kennedy it was 2:25 a.m., then asked, ‘Is there anything else I can do for you?’
“ ‘No, thank you,’ Kennedy replied.

“In 1990, GQ magazine ran a devastating profile of Kennedy. Two 16-year-old girls near the Capitol startled by a limo rolling up, the door opening, Ted sitting in the back with a bottle of wine, asking one, then the other, to join. A former aide who acted as Ted’s ‘pimp.’ His penchant for dating women so young that one did not know he was the subject of many books. Kennedy, at a swank DC restaurant with his drinking buddy Chris Dodd, throwing a petite waitress on his dinner table with such force that glass and flatware shatters and goes flying. Then Ted throws her on to Dodd’s lap and grinds against her. He is interrupted by other wait staff. He is later caught in the same restaurant, in a semi-private area, having sex on the floor with a lobbyist.”

The guy was a pig…and worse. But I watched last Saturday’s funeral, including the burial, because it’s history. I was also curious what President Obama would say in the eulogy, all the while reminding myself of my chief tenet when it came to Teddy Jr.’s remarks, wait 24 hours.

The burial was important because it was then we learned that some news publications, i.e., Time, had blown the coverage of the last communications between Kennedy and Pope Benedict; that, indeed, the Vatican had responded even as Time said it hadn’t.

The man who broke this story was none other than Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, whose consistory (elevation to cardinal) I had attended in Rome in 2001. [One of my 2 or 3 most cherished pictures is of the two of us there.]

So McCarrick obtained permission to read Ted’s letter, then the Vatican’s response, as Sen. Kennedy pleads for forgiveness:

“I have always tried to be a faithful Catholic, Your Holiness, and though I have fallen short through human failings, I have never failed to believe and respect the fundamental teachings of my faith….”
The response, in part:

“His Holiness prays that in the days ahead you may be sustained in faith and hope, and granted the precious grace of joyful surrender to the will of God, our merciful Father. He invokes upon you the consolation and peace promised by the Risen Savior to all who share in His sufferings and trust in His promise of eternal life.

“Commending you and the members of your family to the loving intervention of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Father cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of wisdom, comfort and strength in the Lord.”

You have to read both letters in full, but I’ve tried to give you a sense of the Pope’s bottom line….You’re on your own, Teddy. The Pope dissed him, while at least extending the courtesy of a response. I just found this all fascinating.

I was also fascinated by a passage in Obama’s eulogy that echoed April 1968.

“We cannot know for certain how long we have here. We cannot foresee the trials or misfortunes that wil
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l test us along the way. We cannot know God’s plan for us.

“What we can do is to live out our lives as best we can with purpose, and love, and joy. We can use each day to show those who are closest to us how much we care about them, and treat others with the kindness and respect that we wish for ourselves. We can learn from our mistakes and grow from our failures. And we can strive at all costs to make a better world, so that someday, if we are blessed with the chance to look back on our time here, we can know that we spent it well; that we made a difference; that our fleeting presence had a lasting impact on the lives of other human beings.”

It was a great passage, but I was astounded how right after the funeral, some liberal commentators were castigating the president for not taking advantage of the moment and spreading Ted’s liberal gospel. On CNN, Wolf Blitzer seemed incredulous some of his regulars brought this up. “It’s a funeral, not a Democratic convention!” he said in exasperation.

But back to the part beginning “We cannot know for certain….”
April 3, 1968…Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, TN

“Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land!”
April 4 was a dark day in our history.

–As for Obama and his planned speech to America’s schoolchildren, I totally agree with the opinion of the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal. This should not have been a big deal…with one caveat.

“President Obama’s plan to speak to America’s schoolchildren next Tuesday has some Republicans in an uproar. ‘As the father of four children, I am absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama’s socialist ideology,’ thunders Jim Greer, chairman of Florida’s Republican Party, in a press release. ‘President Obama has turned to America’s children to spread his liberal lies, indoctrinating American’s [sic] youngest children before they have a chance to decide for themselves.’ Columnists who spy a conspiracy behind every Democrat are also spreading alarm.

“This is overwrought, to say the least. According to the Education Department’s Web site, Mr. Obama ‘will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning’ – hardly the stuff of the Communist Manifesto or even the Democratic Party platform. America’s children are not so vulnerable that we need to slap an NC-17 rating on Presidential speeches. Given how many minority children struggle in school, a pep talk from the first African-American President could even do some good.”

But the problem is the Dept. of Education then provides teachers with suggested lesson plans, including using Obama quotes before the speech and to brainstorm with students on how Obama “will inspire us?”
The Journal concludes:

“(The lesson plans) cross the line between respecting the office and aggrandizing the man who currently holds it.”

–Levi Johnston, the father of Sarah Palin’s grandchild, gave an interview to Vanity Fair wherein he said the former veep candidate wanted to adopt his child so that people wouldn’t know daughter Bristol was pregnant.

“Sarah kept mentioning this plan. She was nagging – she wouldn’t give it up. She would say, ‘So, are you gonna let me adopt him?’ We both kept telling her we were definitely not going to let her adopt the baby. I think Sarah wanted to make Bristol look good, and she didn’t want people to know that her 17-year-old daughter was going to have a kid.”

Seems plausible to me, Sarah being Sarah. I also got a kick out of another observation of Levi’s.

“The Palin house was much different from
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what many people expect of a normal family, even before she was nominated for vice president. There wasn’t much parenting in that house. Sarah doesn’t cook, Todd doesn’t cook – the kids would do it all themselves,” Johnston told Vanity Fair.

What? No Salmon Sunday?!

When Palin returned to Alaska following the election, Johnston notes:

“Sarah was sad for a while. She walked around the house pouting. I had assumed she was going to go back to her job as governor, but a week or two after she got back she started talking about how nice it would be to quit and write a book or do a show and make ‘triple the money.’ She would blatantly say, ‘I want to just take this money and quit being governor,’ Johnston said.”
Again, I totally see this happening. Sarah is a fraud.

–But wait…there’s more! Sarah is taking her first trip to Asia to speak at an annual conference of global money managers in Hong Kong, Sept. 23. She will be paid nicely, no doubt, though just why the CLSA Investors Forum wants to hear from her is beyond me. There isn’t one thing you can learn from this woman if you’re looking for investment themes or ideas.

–Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is contemplating a return to public office, possibly running against newly appointed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. As Charlie Brown was heard muttering, “Good grief.”

But high-priced escort Ashley Dupre said, “I read the front page of the New York Post this week and was happy to see that Mr. Spitzer is moving on with his life and considering getting back into politics.” Ms. Dupre, in her blog, also went after her critics, presented for your amusement.

“Get real and get over yourself,” Ashley tells all the women out there who “just love to judge.”

“Let me say this – most girls, to varying degrees, of course, want to be pampered and have nice shoes, designer handbags and gorgeous clothes. I know many women who target guys with money and use them to get these things. They toy with them, flirt, go on dates, have sex and then drop hints about that new dress…or being short on rent money – and the guys deliver it.”
Not yours truly, sports fans!

–New York City Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel is so hopelessly corrupt it’s a wonder even his fellow donkeys don’t kick him out the door. And at 79, he’s yet another walking billboard for term limits.

–Then we have this gubernatorial race in New Jersey, where incumbent Democrat Jon Corzine trails Republican Chris Christie 47-37 in the latest Quinnipiac University poll. But this baby is far from over. Corzine is famous for lining black ministers’ pockets to get out the vote, while us Republicans have learned that Christie, formerly a hero as U.S. attorney, is deeply flawed in his own right. I yearn for the days of former Gov. Tom Kean, about the last decent politician in America, come to think of it.

–Remember James Traficant, the fiery Ohio congressman? He was released from prison this week after serving a seven-year sentence for bribery and racketeering. Traficant, 68, was known for his wild hair and punctuating floor speeches with the phrase “Beam me up.” He is still a hero to many in his Youngstown district…sadly.

–According to the European Society of Cardiology, several experts said doctors should focus on persuading patients to exercise more rather than go for an angioplasty.

–Speaking of exercise, I’m moving over the coming months to a new place that is near my old high school’s track where I used to bump into ABC’s Charlie Gibson from time to time, going back to the late-80s. So now that he’s retiring, and assuming even at 66 he still jogs, I hope to see him again. It would be like old times, after all. “Good morning, Mr. Gibson. It’s a beautiful day.” “Grunt.” Charlie doesn’t have a lot of personality.

But what’s this? “Veteran anchor Charlie Gibson was so ‘livid’ at the selection of Diane Sawyer as his successor that he
1000
didn’t even mention her in his retirement announcement”? As the New York Post reports, “It’s not clear why Gibson would be so unhappy.” Film at eleven.

–On the global warming front, the National Center for Atmospheric Research concludes the Arctic is warmer than it’s been in 2,000 years, even though it should be cooling due to the Earth’s orbit that causes the region to get less direct sunlight. Said researcher Bette Otto-Bliesner:

“If it hadn’t been for the increase in human-produced greenhouse gases, summer temperatures in the Arctic should have cooled gradually over the last century.”

The most recent ten-year interval, 1999 to 2008, was the warmest of the last 2,000 years. But the greenhouse gas angle not only prevented cooling, it could yet preclude another Ice Age, which otherwise would occur over the next 4,000 years, the study published in the journal Science concludes.

Personally, I just want to see a Woolly Mammoth before I die, but that’s a story of a different sort, involving scientists tinkering with DNA and such.

–The director of India’s National Institute of Virology warns that with a rising swine flu death toll (over 100…which I hasten to add needs to be put in perspective…India being a rather large place with a billion people) and with India’s unregulated health industry, unproven remedies such as cow urine are being snapped up. I’ll pass on this one and instead wash my hands an extra ten seconds.

–This is depressing. NASA’s current Constellation Project envisions landing on the moon by 2020 and on Mars by 2037. But now budget cuts render this modest agenda impossible. [11 years to get back to the moon? Give me a freakin’ break.] NASA has its head up its butt and there is zero national leadership on this topic, especially from Spock, err, Obama.

Then again, as the Washington Post editorialized, it’s also time to open space up to more entrepreneurs. Turning the space station over to them would be a good first step.
As for Mars, Lawrence M. Krauss, director of the Origins Initiative at Arizona State University, noted in an op-ed for the New York Times:

“Why are we so interested in bringing the Mars astronauts home again?”

Bingo! Now you’re talkin’. That’s why I’ve always recommended we send snowboarders. They don’t seem like they particularly care about anything but the conditions on the slopes, anyway. And there are some skateboarders in my area that would qualify as well. They don’t have a clue what’s going on in the world, either. So start launching them.

Lawrence Krauss, who I hasten to add doesn’t necessarily share my opinions on the ideal candidates, also notes:

“Moreover, if the radiation problems cannot be adequately resolved then the longevity of astronauts signing up for a Mars round trip would be severely compromised in any case. As cruel as it may sound, the astronauts would probably best use their remaining time living and working on Mars rather than dying at home.”

Actually, Krauss’ own studies show that older astronauts and scientists have told him “they would be willing to live out their remaining years on the red planet or elsewhere.”

Frankly, with the shape the New York Mets’ franchise is in these days, and with zero hope for the future, sign me up, too! [I’d prefer two double beds with Internet access and a mini-bar stocked with Pilsner Urquell, if available.]
—

Pray for the men and women of our armed forces, and all the fallen.
God bless America.

—

Gold closed at $996
Oil, $67.79

Returns for the week 8/31-9/4

Dow Jones -1.1% [9441]
S&P 500 -1.2% [1016]
S&P MidCap -1.5%
Russell 2000 -1.6%
Nasdaq -0.5% [2018]
Returns for the period 1/1/09-9/4/09

Dow Jones +7.6%
S&P 500 +12.5%
S&P MidCap +21.4%
Russell 2000 +14.2%
Nasdaq +28.0%

Bulls
1000
50.6
Bears 24.1 [Source: Chartcraft / Investors Intelligence]

Have a great week. I appreciate your support.
Brian Trumbore

By: Brian Trumbore

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