Too Smart Toyota

I heard a news analyst saying this morning that Toyota had simply gotten too smart for its own good - they slashed costs so much they forgot to include quality control in its budget. Several warning memos written by its own employees way before the problems started to mount have been found. People never learn from history - they simply like to make their own bad history by repeating the mistakes of the past. This applies to politics, manufacturing, religion, sports, economics, education, you-name-it.

Lashing

A school girl somewhere in Saudi Arabia assaulted a teacher and was sentenced to 90 lashes plus two months in jail for her crime. Lots of people are coming to her defense. People from Amnesty International and other mealy-mouthed, wet-behind-the-ears groups are also clamoring for leniency. What do they want? In China, this girl would have probably been executed. This topless woman too.

Chile and Haiti

Here, we have a great opportunity to learn. We have Haiti on the one hand and we have Chile. Chile has worked its way out of poverty. Study everything it has done right. Haiti is still poor. Very, very poor. Study everything Haiti has done and DO NOT DO AS THEY HAVE DONE. It is that simple. Be honest. Use your imagination. Stay healthy. Get educated. Use your talent for something positive. Work very hard. Save money. Develop good relationships with your neighbors. Fight crime. Be constructive. Okay, you can go now. So can this topless woman. I think she was going to leave anyway.

Moises Saba Masri

One of the wealthiest (and therefore most influential) men in Mexico died in an accident last night. His wife and son and daughter-in-law also perished. It was an accident that didn't need to happen. They had flown from New York to a small city (Toluca) just outside Mexico City, in order to avoid the hustle and bustle of the city's big international airport no doubt. From there, they were flying home in a helicopter in the forested foothills around the city at night and with fog present. Of course, the helicopter pilot lost his way and they hit somebody's rooftop and fell 65 feet to the ground. The whole thing exploded and they died quickly, I'm sure. His name was Moises Saba Masri. Rich people think they can beat nature. Not even this topless woman can beat nature. She will soon get old. Just wait and see.

Cars burning up

Who cares about climate change??? Nobody. It looks like people who were celebrating the new year on new year's eve burned a total of 1137 cars in France. That created a lot of smoke, of course - polluting smoke. There were 45,000 police out on patrol but they could not stop the burning. The revelers caused an estimated $8,000,000 in damage. I'm assuming all the cars were insured, no??? This topless woman does not know anything - she wasn't even there.

Death penalty

A man named Akmal Shaikh is scheduled to be executed on or about December 29, 2009. He smuggled 9 pounds of heroin into China and was caught. He was sentenced to death back in October of 2008. The case has gone all the way up the chain in the Chinese justice system. The British Prime Minister has personally asked the Chinese government to show clemency. He was ignored. If he sends this topless woman with a pile of cash, they might listen, no?

A hoax

So global warming is all a hoax - oh my. I just read some report about some emails sent among pseudo scientists working at some joint called the CRU. I should not be surprised. It turns out they have been faking the data on temperatures in order to.... In order to.... I have no clue what these pseudo scientists are up to. It can't be good if they are all a bunch of hooligan liars. Oh my!!! I think I trust this topless woman more. Scientific research nowadays is all a big scam - it is just about money. Nothing more. A big fraud.

Rich but poor

It came out suddenly that one of the richest countries in the world, Dubai, is having money troubles. Everyone has read from time to time that very ambitious and expensive projects have been underway in Dubai for many years. That country is like an exclusive club but on a global level. The news reported that Dubai might default on its debt of approximately 60 billion (it's probably much more.) That sent negative ripples through world money markets. hehehe Remember to live within your means - even very rich people go broke. This topless woman looks like all she has left is her necklace.

Value of pie

We all know money has value - you can buy stuff with it - necessities as well as luxuries. However, something much more valuable is time. If you don't have money and you want to acquire it, you will need time. Without time, one is truly dead. In fact, dead people are those who have run out of time. What would a dead person give in exchange for an extra five years or so??? Not so long ago, a young man died in a cave because he somehow got trapped in a very small space. The people trying to save him could not get him out in time, so he died. This topless woman has absolutely no clue what I'm talking about. In time, she will get it. If you allow a person enough time, they will eventually wise up, get educated, and learn to use time to their advantage. Perhaps not all, but most will. If I owe you two trillion dollars, I can pay you back provided you allow me enough time, no? When some scientist figures out how to slow the aging process, he will make a lot of people very rich. We hope we live long enough to see that happen.

Bad, bad teachers

Teachers and the education system are constantly being criticized for bad performance by students. New York spends the greatest amount of money (on a per-capita basis) on students and yet, they have the worst students in the country. The solution is simple. We all know that great athletes make great sports teams, great musicians make great bands, great citizens make great countries, and good soldiers make great armies. Education is more about learning than about teaching. Discipline is something a teacher should not even have to worry about. You want good schools? Fill them with good students. Even this topless woman knows that makes sense.

Another suicide

It appears that another beautiful woman has taken her own life. Lucy Gordon did it a few months ago and now, according to reports, Daul Kim has hung herself. I'm sure she had many friends. However, if a person feels isolated and chooses to stay behind an impenetrable wall, there's very little anyone can do. Up until the last few days, she probably appeared perfectly adjusted and fulfilled.

What corruption?

They say that corruption is hard to quantify and that is probably true. The papers say that Somalia is the most corrupt country in the world. Afghanistan is not far behind. What exactly happens when corruption occurs? For one thing, it engenders more corruption. One rotten apple can turn a whole barrel full of apples rotten, no? But let's say that there is only one corrupt person among many honest ones. That corrupt person takes a bribe for a service not rendered or a product not delivered. It gets in the way of productivity and denies the economic equation its purpose - fair trade. The same can be said of greed. Greed is another form of corruption. But, how does one quantify greed? Ask yourself: do we really need to? How does one quantify hate or love or generosity or sincerity or honesty? Perhaps this topless woman knows.

Indebted to China

Someone said that China is now the U.S.'s unofficial banker. They hold more U.S. Treasury bills than any other country. People who work at think tanks must be worried about this, though they are not saying anything - at least not in public. What would happen if the Chinese decided to cash in their Tbills? It has been said that when you make a bank your partner, the bank cannot afford to see you go bankrupt. They will therefore not cash all their bills at once. Perhaps they will opt for 100 billion at a time? The Chinese also converted all of their bills to one-year notes - from thirty year notes. I would not pretend to know why they did that. This topless woman does not know either.

Toyota

Did you hear? Toyota posted a profit in its most recent financial quarter of $242 million. It made the news because Toyota has recently been losing money - since about a year ago, in fact. Prior to the Great Recession, Toyota had never, ever had a negative quarter. It was simply expected that it would post a profit year after year after year. That's why this is news. Imagine Walt Disney all of a sudden deciding not to license the sale of Mickey Mouse merchandise. That would be unheard of. However, it probably makes absolutely no difference to this topless woman - she's on vacation in Bermuda.

Accessories to crime

It is not easy to carry out a crime all by yourself. You might be able to plan it, but executing the plan is a very different matter. David Friehling was Bernie Madoff's auditor for 17 years - 1991 to 2008. He recently pleaded guilty to securities fraud but he also said he was never aware that Madoff's business was a Ponzi scheme. Really? How can an auditor be that dumb? He saw the unrealistic gains did he not? I once asked an auditor (CPA) how it was that Mexican politicians could steal millions and get away with it, when they were audited year in and year out. His explanation was simple: the auditors were in on it. It could not be otherwise. It's a good thing this topless woman doesn't have to worry about such things - her husband provides well for her I'm sure.

Crisis and fun

Lately, it seems that more of Latin America's political leaders are wanting to extend their terms in office by whatever means possible. These persons are like gang leaders - rabble rousers, agitators. They no more know how to lead their countries than any seventh grader. They do know how to steal and get away with it, though. That's why the Honduran President got himself ousted. These people ingratiate themselves with the poor through subsidies and then the poor do whatever they are asked to do. In the meantime, those among them who have money also get greedy and lose the goodwill of the people. What to do??? This topless woman might know something we don't but I have no idea where she is.

The Titanic is history

The largest cruise ship in the world is now the Oasis of the Seas built in Finland. It sailed from port just three days ago. They say it's five times the size of the Titanic and can carry 8,300 persons. It is about 20 stories high and measures 1,180 feet in length; however, it is only 154 feet wide - that's about as wide as two house lots. It cost about 1.3 billion dollars. Nobody expects it to sink on its maiden voyage but nobody was heard to say that "even God can't sink it." Not this time. It has a huge sunning deck too - this topless woman would probably feel right at home there. Von Voyage!!!

More fun and games

According to a recent news item, the government of Honduras is filing a case in the International Court of Justice against Brazil for interference in its domestic affairs. The Brazilian Embassy in Honduras is providing refuge for the ex-president - Manuel Zelaya - in the hope of getting him reinstated. He's been there for over a month. I would have guessed they are tired of him by now. He only has 12 supporters left within the compound. The other 298 went home. Conditions are rough inside. However, the court has to decide first whether it can take the case and the case can take years. Zelaya's term would be up in January, 2010. New elections are scheduled for next month. Where is the logic? This topless woman is not a candidate, by the way. Sorry.

Hugo Chavez again

From a Yahoo! News story: “CARACAS, Venezuela – A nation built atop a sea of energy is struggling to keep the lights on. Hugo Chavez, the leftist leader is using his near daily televised speeches to urge Venezuelans to turn down their air conditioners and abandon their swimming pools. "It's El Nino," he said, referring to the periodic phenomenon in which warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean creates unusual weather patterns. Blackouts at hospitals have interrupted surgeries. Several major outages in Caracas this year have shut down the subway and street lights.” This is hilarious – it’s El Nino? This is what happens under Socialism and Communism – productivity plummets. Even this topless woman knows this. Politicians blame everything except themselves. Beware.

Free Enterprise

This is what happens when you are in debt: “WASHINGTON – The Treasury Department on Thursday is expected to order seven companies that have not paid back last year's government bailouts to halve their top executives' average compensation. The cuts apply to the 25 highest-paid executives at banks and other companies that received the most assistance, with salaries being slashed by as much as 90 percent, according to a person familiar with the matter. The seven companies are Bank of America Corp., American International Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., General Motors, GMAC, Chrysler and Chrysler Financial. Smaller companies and those that have repaid the bailout money, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., are not affected.” Everyone knows that the capitalist free-enterprise system is designed to reward those who strive, but one little drawback is that even when you are super rich, nobody can tell you when you’ve had enough. Where does ambition end and greed begin? Where would you draw the line? Is that why Buffett gave most of his money to the Gates Foundation - to ease his conscience? All I know is, this topless woman has nothing to feel guilty about. She only has $200 in her back account.