Yearly Archives: 2008

Archive of posts published in the specified Year

The More Disproportionate the Better

Israel is often criticized for disproportionate response to their terrorist foes. Yet any successful military solution is disproportionate. It is the only humane way to fight a war. A war is not a field game designed to be fair and

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Negotiating Existential Threats

Barak noted that “we (Israel) can no more negotiate a settlement with Hamas than the US can negotiate a settlement with al-Qaida.” (noted by Caroline Glick in the Jerusalem Post- 12.29.08_ Oslo, withdrawal from Lebanon in the 1980’s, the expulsion

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Herbert Hoover or FDR

from the Wall Street Journa;DECEMBER 21, 2008, 9:22 P.M. ETWashington Is Killing Silicon ValleyEntrepreneurship was taken for granted. Now we’re seeing a lot less of it.By MICHAEL S. MALONE excerpts For more than 30 years the entrepreneurship-venture capital-IPO cycle centered

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This War Started in Kindergarten

Could lower oil prices be removing an obstacle from Israel’s defense? Could the lack of fear of reprisals from the oil exporters make this an ideal time to eliminate Hamas? After Mumbai there may be less sympathy for Hamas and

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Another History of Iraq

From American ThinkerDecember 28, 2008Iraq and Its LessonsBy Randall Hoven Excerpts Fourth, as I have summarized before, Iraq has improved dramatically on multiple fronts since the end of “major combat operations.” Five of Iraq’s provinces accounted for 87% of insurgent

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Somewhere But Not Anywhere

“The key mistake Democrats made [after Jimmy Carter won the White House] in 1976 was failing to realize what brought them to power. Democrats won because of public dissatisfaction with the previous regime, which had overseen the economic crisis, and

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Account for This

The fraud and corruption that has marked the year in the finance and banking sector (aided greatly by the blindness and ignorance of Congress and the regulating agencies) has exposed a major deficit in the accounting industry. Our financial system

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What Took You So Long?

200 people killed in Gaza by Israeli attacks. Exactly how long did the Palestinians in Gaza suppose that they could indiscriminately lob missiles into a sovereign nation before they took action into their own hands? What nation would have tolerated

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The Price of a Forced Economy

Just a few months ago China was the unstoppable economic juggernaut that would dominate the business world. Now China is in a state of collapse. I recently read about the poor quality of Chinese steel used in building its infrastructure.

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Public and Private Corruption

Wall Street excess, incompetence, and corruption has infuriated even staunch capitalists. Yet we also seem to be plagued with incompetence and corruption in our elected officials. And no matter how viral and intense your hatred for Bush and Republicans, there

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Multilateral Myth

Bush is scorned for being a unilateralist, but this criticism is misleading. When the U.S. under Nixon aided Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War was it wrong because we acted unilaterally? Would we have been better served to wait

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Generous With Other People’s Money

from New York Times December 21, 2008Op-Ed ColumnistBleeding Heart TightwadsBy NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF Excerpts Liberals show tremendous compassion in pushing for generous government spending to help the neediest people at home and abroad. Yet when it comes to individual contributions

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Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all my Christian friends and readers.

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The Bailout Becomes Nationalization

How would you like to compete with a business that has infinite financial resources, privileged access to the biggest customer in the business, and the ability to pass laws to give them a marketing edge. If the government takes an

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Who Wants to Be an American Senator

Mark Steyn in National Review Online writes: “Hey, and who needs to make it there when you can just get appointed there? Governor Paterson is said to be considering appointing Princess Caroline of Kennedy to Hillary Clinton’s vacant Senate seat.

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Elephant Indigestion

In my 30 years in the metals and recycling industry I have never seen a market reversal as severe as the one we are in. The market for scrap products makes the stock market look like a haven of stability.

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A Side Business for a Retirement Home

From National Review Online Can You Still See the USA in Your Chevrolet?Route 66 is looking ever more like a one-way dead-end street to Bailoutistan.By Mark Steyn Excerpt- General Motors now has a market valuation about a third of Bed,

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On Sowell’s Mind

from National Review OnlineDecember 23, 2008, 0:00 a.m.Random ThoughtsLive and learn.By Thomas Sowell Excerpts: If there are still any educators or others who think that both sides of an issue should be presented, the non-profit Heartland Institute has put together

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A Really Inconvenient Truth

Oil prices are falling faster and further than anyone imagined. The earth is actually cooling rather than warming. The hottest recent year was 1930, before most of man’s ‘carbon footprint’ existed. The period of 2000- 2008 is one that is

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Build Strategic Reserves- NOW !

Investment personality Jim Cramer has proposed a great and simple idea- take advantage of the cheap price of oil to build the strategic reserve to huge levels. Build more storage facilities and tankers etc. A huge strategic reserve will keep

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