Now You See it

Cable News finally thought it had one up on Twitter and Facebook but then the Hosni people said "no more television." The Hosni people smashed all the cameras and threatened reporters. We'll have to see if frustrating Anderson Cooper and Rachel Maddow gets him in real trouble. Social Networking has been credited for enabling these revolts to happen. It's unclear to me how TV helps especially when the coverage becomes the center of the story and the underlying story becomes secondary. And by the time the going gets really rough, not the fire or the shooting or the earthquake itself- TV is long gone. What did it do for Haiti? There is a long long long road for the Haitian people but TV (other than PBS News Hour) is long gone. Come on Google, come up with something to get the hardwork done.

GOP: Good Opposition Party

For one, I hope the Republicans keep repeating "the America can be Greece" talking point. I hope they keep telling us how bad it is and that the America we all love hangs in the balance. I hope they keep telling us that the only way to avert this apocalypse is to cut government spending. I hope they do this right through the next election. Nobody cares and and no one believes them. On election day what will matter is whether the unemployment rate has come down and whether the world feels like it's on the brink of anything that could harm us. Republicans are great at being the party in opposition, not the party in power.

Egypt: The People's Revolt is a positive for Wall Street?

With all the uncertainty associated with the middle east and with Egypt now in the limelight- why is the Market up today? If Greece sneezes the market goes all shaky in the knees. If a few tech companies announce earnings below expectations the market tanks. But if Egypt goes the way of Iran no big deal. Why is the market up on the news? Is more expensive oil good for Wall Street? ExxonMobil announced strong earnings today.
"EXXONMOBIL'S CHAIRMAN REX W. TILLERSON COMMENTED:
“ExxonMobil continues to deliver strong financial and operating results. The full year 2010 earnings, excluding special items, were $30.5 billion, up 57% from 2009, driven by higher crude oil and natural gas realizations, stronger refining margins and record Chemical performance. Fourth quarter earnings were $9.3 billion, an increase of 53%."

So maybe the the current situation in the Middle East is untenable and has been that way for decades, long before Tunisia and Egypt erupted. Maybe the erruptions in Tunisia and Egypt can be seen as manageable earthquakes, the kind that release pressure but are not The Big One. Or maybe what is good for short-term profits is good for Wall Street. Gold is down today too. All seems pretty fishy to me.

Just as an aside- I saw Hilary on Face the Nation yesterday. Bob Scheiffer asked her to explain why the protests were getting "worse." He was not referring to the looting etc.I'm not sure what he meant by "worse." I think he meant spreading or getting larger but perhaps by definition this means worse. This is not what I would call neutral reporting at best. If similar protests were to happen in Iran would Mr Schieffer refer to them as getting worse? I don't think so. To see what I mean advance the video to about the 5:18 mark. Hilary video.

The Black Swan- we should have seen it coming (wshsic)

Black Swans
recent WSHSIC moments-
1) The global financial system collapse
2) The Tucson shooting, the Virginia Tech tragedy, ....
3) 9/11
4) Gulf oil spill

WSHSIC's on the horizon
1) more of the above
2) Global warming driven natural disasters (oxymoron)

We should have seen them coming but didn't and won't. And then we'll just say it again- WSHSIC

David Brooks- The Rich will get Richer and the Poor will get Poorer

David's new cause celebre is called - hmm I'm not really sure what to call it. You see, he has a new book and writes columns and bloviates on many talk shows and, in the last month or so, the "I'm not sure what to call it," has been his central and repetitive theme. I guess maybe it's self promotion of the new book. No matter the topic, regardless of the question posed to him, it has become David's sole explanation for what ails us, and if understood, could save us from our cultural and competitive decline. It is David's 3 minute recipe for people who don't want to confront what is really at the core of our so-called decline. According to David, succeeding in today's world is not about the name of the schools you attended or the connections you made there. Nor is it about your inherited wealth or internalized class attitudes. Rather, in today's world, it's about your ability to read people - it's your ability to translate non-verbal communications- and leverage the genius of group think. As he describes it, it is one's hard to define or understand ability to navigate non-verbally through one's sensitivity to non-verbal cues through the group's process of back and forth, questioning, pooh poohing, frustration, anger and so on that is the mark of success. And it is these skills that must be taught in school. I just think David's 3 minute recipe glosses over the way the game is rigged by money and by the corruption of our political system. It glosses over the disadvantages of growing up poor, of getting a poor education, and is basically demeaning and elitist. This is the David Brooks who supported the "self made" man George Bush. Until we confront the institutionalized and deeply imbedded imbalances in our system- the poor will continue to get poorer and the rich will continue to get richer.

Aftermath of tragedy in Tucson- The national discussion on Mental Illness

Tic Toc Tic Toc Tic Toc..that was quite the discussion huh?