Don’t get your hopes up too far

The world seems to be in crises nearly all the time. The foremost is the Palestinian issue. That links every Islamic country in the Mideast: Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Of course they all expound to the Islamic religion except for Israel, which is a Jewish Republic.

This past week the world press has covered the recent elections for president in Iran. We in the United States look upon that as important position…. being the president of Iran. However Iran is an Islamic Republic and is really led by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamemei. So the position as president is mainly the front man for the Ayatollah.

Iran's Interior Ministry announced Saturday that incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won 63.29% of the vote in the country's presidential election — a landslide. But Iran's opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi says he won and that the result had been rigged; Mousavi supporters have taken to the streets in Tehran and other cities to protest the official outcome.

If we Americans think Mousavi will be able to turn the election to his favor… we have got another thing coming. Mousavi supporters have organized marches to protest Iran’s disputed presidential election in an extraordinary show of defiance that appeared to be the largest anti-government demonstration in Iran since the 1979 revolution.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called for an inquiry into opposition claims that the election was rigged in favor of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The ayatollah’s call was the first sign that Iran’s top leadership might be rethinking its position on the election. Khamenei announced Saturday that the election results showing a landslide victory for Ahmadinejad were fair, but on Sunday he met with Mir Hussein Moussavi, the former prime minister and moderate who was the main opposition candidate, to listen to his concerns.

There is some underlying premonition by us in the U.S. that Ahmadinejad’s landslide election will be over turned and a more moderate government will be put in place. Our hopes are that the moderate government will detour from the path of building a nuclear weapon to destroy Israel. Any war with Israel will draw the United Stated in to defend Israel.

Iran is missing an opportunity to embrace the rest of the world with being a partner in peace. They have a tremendous resource – oil. They could play a major role in sustaining the rest of the world. And, their people are moving to a more moderate life style, versus the stance of hard core Islam. At the center of Iran’s position to build a nuclear weapon and long range missiles is not to protect it self from its neighbors Iraq and Afghanistan – it’s to destroy Israel.

I have hopes… but I’m also realistic. Iran is too far down this path of no return. If the recent election is overturned, there is hope. Otherwise, we going to be dealing with an Iran that will be a thorn in our side for some time.

Will the employee-ownership plans be successful at Chrysler and General Motors?

If the reorganizations of Chrysler and General Motors go as planned, employees will own big chunks of their companies. The record owner will be the trusts set up to pay retiree health care benefits, and those trusts will be controlled by the United Auto Workers. The trusts will own 55% of Chrysler and close to 40% of General Motors. The question is, will employee ownership be successful at these companies?

Employee ownership is a mixed bag. Some employee-owned companies succeed, when workers work and managers manage. Among them is the $24 billion Lakeland, Florida. Publix supermarket chain and SAIC, the San Diego defense contractor that grew to revenues of $8 billion as an employee-owned company before going public in 2006.

But there are disasters too. The Tribune Company's employees agreed to an employee ownership plan when Samuel Zell bought the company last year, but the company declared bankruptcy before a single ownership share was allocated to employees. A 1994 reorganization of United Airlines gave employees more than half the company but left flight attendants bitterly opposed. After some initial success, UAL entered bankruptcy in 2002 and the plan was scrapped.

When National Steel decided to shut its Weirton Steel operations in 1984, the Weirton workers bought the company to save it. It worked, for a while. Weirton went public in 1989 but then bankrupt in 2003 during tough times for the domestic steel industry. Weirton is now a division of ArcelorMittal. So while the company eventually left the employee-owners with worthless stock, the move kept the company alive and issuing paychecks for another 20 years.

The most successful employee ownership on record is Graybar Electric. No one wanted to buy Graybar Electric after it was split from Western Electric in 1925. So four years later, just before the crash of 1929, the employees bought it for $9 million. Despite the bad timing, the St. Louis electrical equipment distributor is still going strong 80 years later. Last year sales hit $5.4 billion.

Graybar employees have gotten a cash dividend of at least 10% on their stock every year since 1941, and in good years, like the last three, workers get stock dividends, too. This is what a successful employee ownership looks like. But, will Chrysler and General Motors be as successful with their reorganization plans as Graybar has? Cross your fingers.

How are they going to save General Motors?

Rumors are abounding that the Obama Administration is telling General Motors to prepare for bankruptcy filing by June 1. The goal is to prepare for a fast “surgical” bankruptcy. General Motors, which has been granted $13.4 billion in federal aid, insists that a quick restructuring is necessary so its image and sales are not damaged permanently.

The driver for this bankruptcy strategy is:
1. The $28 billion in debt to bondholders. So, this strategy is laying the groundwork at assuring a General Motors bankruptcy filing is ready should the company be unable to reach agreement with bondholders.
2. The union agreement that seeming can’t be changed. In the past, the United

Auto Workers union has balked at granting concessions without sacrifices from bondholders. This may be the key to opening the door.

The real problem with this strategy is that Obama was elected with strong backing from the auto workers union. Now, Obama may be seen by union members as siding with management rather than labor. Does he want this image? Time will tell.

One plan the rumor included is to create a new company that would buy the “good” assets of General Motors immediately after the carmaker files for bankruptcy. What those “good” assets are has not been identified. But, most likely the good assets are Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick and GMC. The bad assets could be Hummer, Pontiac and Saturn. They hope to get an offer soon to sell the Saturn division.

Less desirable assets, including unwanted brands, factories and health care obligations, would be left in the old company, which could be liquidated over several years. What a strategy. Sounds like this strategy was created in a dream.

General Motors' European operations are on the block to sell. Opel/Vauxhall is said to be available for $650 million. That's what General Motors paid for it originally. And, they give away Saab free if someone will take it. Otherwise it's in bankruptcy. Their China operations are partnered with Fiat and SAIC. They'll want to move this as fast as possible, even though China is the future in the car market. General Motors can't afford to be everywhere any more.

Another downfall associated with this strategy is what effect it will have on suppliers. Some with loose out because of debt in the bankruptcy and some will lose out because their customer will disappear. It’s a big risk for the suppliers.

Reaction to all this – some say this will allow GM to ditch their debt, financially destroying their creditors in the process; they will emerge as a new company with the same old cars that people won’t buy in sufficient quantities to prevent the very same debt cycle from reoccurring. I say, off with their heads.

Others say it’s an excellent idea. The UAW’s membership is getting exactly what they deserve for betraying the Industrial Unionism for the sake of craft unionism and supporting Obama and his financier pay masters. Let them rot!

General opinion - Government and Secured Bond holders will get 100 cents on the dollar. Pensions and Unsecured Bond Holders will get ~30 cents on the dollar. And stockholders will get ZERO.

London 2009 - Rick and Gail's Itinerary

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Boarded American Airlines flight 174 from Raleigh-Durham (RDU) to London Heathrow Airport at 9:30 pm.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Arrive in London Heathrow Airport at 9:20 am.

We took the Heathrow Express from the airport to Paddington Station. Then (bad mistake) we took the Underground to Marble Arch. We switched lines at Nottingham Hill Gate. Dragging our luggage up and down stairs at the Nottingham Hill Gate Station was a real chore. A taxi would have been a better choice.

After exiting the Underground at Marble Arch, we had a short walk to the Thistle Marble Arch Hotel on Bryanston Street and checked in. We waited in the lobby lounge having an English club sandwich until 1:45 pm to check in to our room. We were assigned room 715 overlooking the Oxford Street shopping district. Nice room and heated towel rack. Room was warm, so we had to open the windows occasionally.

Later, we walked to the Bella Italia restaurant on Duke Street for dinner.

Thursday, March 26, 2009
Breakfast in the dinning room of the Thistle Marble Arch Hotel. A lot of choices here. There were three different types of meat (foreign to us), poached eggs, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, English toast points, baked tomatoes, cereals, yogurts, fruit bunch, meat and cheese. Their meats were sausage and sliced ham. Their breads were croissants, toasted bread, hard rolls, sweet rolls. Breakfast was the best food in London for Gail.

At 7:55 am we were picked up at the Thistle Marble Arch by Evan Evans Tours for the Discovering London tour. We were taken to Victoria Coach Station to board our bus. From there our tour took us to St. Paul’s Church. The bus was parked and we were given a complete lecture and tour of the church.

From there, lunch at the Silver Cross. The Silver Cross is an old English pub located at 33 Whitehall just off Trafalgar Square. We shared the fish and chips luncheon plate. Great service and reasonable prices (£9).

Then, on to the Tower of London where we viewed the Crown Jewels and several gold crowns used by kings and queens of England. The Crown Jewels exhibit includes the Star of Africa, the world’s largest diamond. It is a 3,106-carat diamond discovered January 25, 1905 at the Premier Mine in Pretoria, South Africa.

The coronation of a new sovereign is one of the monarchy's most glittering pageants, staged in the gothic splendor of ancient Westminster Abbey, where every King and Queen of England, with the exception of Edward V and Edward VIII, has been crowned since King Harold II in 1066. This time honored ritual emphasizes the continuity and majesty of the British monarchy.

The Imperial Crown of State also contains pearls worn as earrings by Elizabeth I, these are suspended from the arches of the crown. Within the wide jewel encrusted band that forms the base of the Crown of State is mounted an enormous diamond, named the Second Star of Africa. This was cut from the famous Cullinan Diamond, the largest diamond ever mined; it was given to Edward VII, who had it set in the crown. This priceless crown contains in all 2,783 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 277 pearls, 11, emeralds and 5 rubies.

Our tour guide described many of the London historical sights we passed on our way to the River Thames cruise. We board a large river cruiser and set out up the river from the Tower Bridge. We could see Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London Bridge, Houses of Parliament, the Big Ben tower and clock, and Westminster Abbey.

Our tour bus dropped us off at Hyde Park Corner. We crossed under Knightsbridge and walked down to Harrods. This store has everything and seemed to be all the good quality merchandise. We had dinner in the Harrods café; potato soup, water and coffee. A real British dinner.

Taxi back to the Thistle March Arch (£7).

Friday, March 27, 2009
Breakfast in the dinning room of the Thistle Marble Arch Hotel.

We chose to do the “hop-on hop-off” tour to see London sights on our own. We had reservation with the Original Tour and went to Marble Arch to board a tour bus. The Original Tour has many buses and four routes through out London. We boarded the tour bus Original Tour at Marble Arch with a live guide to describe what we were passing.
The tour guide was entertaining and gave us a good understanding of just how old some of these structures and monuments are.

We hopped off at The Original Tour a few blocks from Piccadilly Circus on Whitcomb Street. The tour driver told us we could hop-on another tour bus near the corner of Coventry and Rupert Streets, just a block away. On our way Gail spotted KFC. They had a special lunch for £4.95. So, we stopped and had lunch. There it’s boneless chicken, beans (brown) and fries.

Then onto the bus stop. We boarded the Museum Tour route heading north on Shaftsbury Avenue out to Great Russell Street. We exited the bus at the British Museum.

The British Museum is a grand building spanning one entire city block. All London museums are free to enter. This one, being the largest had too much to see in a short time. We saw the schedule for the day and quickly went to the 5th floor to witness a Japanese tea sipping exhibition. Then, wondered our way through hundreds of exhibits. In the center of the Museum on the 3rd floor is a restaurant. We stopped for coffee and a tart for me and tea and cookie for Gail.

Back to the bus stop, we took the Museum Tour bus out to Bloomsbury and then back to Piccadilly. The tour driver told us to get off at Green Park and wait for the last transfer bus to Marble Arch. We waited for the bus down the street from the Ritz Hotel and across the street from the original Hard Rock Café. Nice neighborhood. The next bus took us back to the Marble Arch just a short distance from our hotel.

Dinner at La Caricatura on Audley Street. We shared an Italian pizza and had espresso.

Saturday, March 28, 2009
EuroStar to Paris. Departed hotel at 5:45 am on Premium Tours bus to London St. Pancras International Rail terminal. We boarded the EuroStar to Paris. We departed London at 6:55 am and were served breakfast shortly afterwards. The EuroStar travels at speeds up to 186 mph on its 2 ½ hours trip to Paris. While on the train our tour guide, Charlotte, showed up and said meet her at the front of the train once we arrived in Paris.

Charlotte took us to a waiting bus and we began our tour of Paris. Upon arrival we were given a panoramic tour of Paris taking in the major sites. From the Gare Du Nord rail station we travelled by the Le Opera and Place de la Concord. Then we travelled up Avenue des Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. From there we went to the Trocadeo and had a photo opportunity of the Eiffel Tower across the River Seine. The bus cruised along the River Seine by the Louvre then turning onto an island in the River Seine right in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral. Then back down along the River Seine by the National Assembly to Eiffel Tower.

We were own our own for lunch. So, Gail and I ate at the lunch café on the River Seine (€10).

After lunch we met Charlotte for a scenic cruise on the River Seine. The cruise gave fabulous views of some of the finest monuments from across the river. The river cruise gave a great view of the Notre Dame Cathedral from the river.

Charlotte arrange for a fast entry group access at the Eiffel Tower. We rode lifts (elevators) to the second level for a panoramic view of the city of Paris. Gail and I walked completely around covering all four sides of the tower. The Eiffel Tower was built for the Universal Exhibition in 1889. This was celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the French Revolution.

From the Eiffel Tower we were bused to the Louvre. The bus parked under the Louvre and we walked into the Louvre at the inverted pyramid and had a fast entry. Charlotte hustled us up stairs to the top floor. We soon became too slow for her pace and opted to go on our own. We spent a lot of time viewing the world famous Mona Lisa. Also we saw Venus de Milo, Borghese Gladiator, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, and many, many French paintings.

In the early evening we headed back to the Gare du Nord for our return trip to London. We had a dinner meal of the return trip and arrived by in London at 9:40 pm. We left Charlotte at the rail terminal and were taken to our hotel by express bus.

Sunday, March 29, 2009
We both awoke late because of the very busy day before. We just made it to breakfast in the Thistle Marble Arch dinning room by 10:30 am.

We did a little shopping at Primark just across the street from our hotel. Sunday is a prime shopping day for Londoners. They must work 6 days a week and shop on Sunday. We bought 3 sweaters and a cap. Primark has reasonably priced merchandise and the prices drew customers. The place was packed and cashier lines were long.

After shopping, we dropped off our items in our room and venture out to Speakers Corner. This is across the street from the Marble Arch and an area where each Sunday people can come and speak on any subject at any length of time. We observed that nearly all spoke on Christianity. There were others there to debate the difference between Christianity and Islam. We never saw anyone exchange blows, but their discussions became quite boisterous.

We purchased a day ticket each to ride the Underground. We thought this would be an adventurous day using the Underground as a way to get around London.

We had read in the newspaper that the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race would be held this Sunday. The start time was 3:14 pm at the Putney Bridge. The race between Oxford University and Cambridge University was the 155th Boat Race between these two universities. The race covers 4 ½ miles down the River Thames.

We made our way from the Underground to Putney Bridge. We crossed the bridge and walked down to the starting line. We had a clear view of the starting area and precisely at 3:14 pm the race was started. Oxford won the Boat Race by 3 ½ lengths with a power surge in the second half of the race. Naturally, we could not see the entire race or the finish. But, it was great to see the start. Television reports had said they expected 250,000 people to line the banks of the River Thames to witness the event. I would expect many were at the start.

Underground from Putney Bridge to Earl’s Court and transferred to the Piccadilly Line that took us to Piccadilly Circus. Riding the Underground became common to us after a while. We searched around for someplace neat to eat. We found the Angus Steakhouse at the corner of Piccadilly and Coventry. Great place for steaks.

Back to the Underground, we took the Jubilee Line to the Baker Street Station to see if the wax museum was still open. Too late. It was closed. Then, back on the Underground to Bond Street and then to Marble Arch. Short walk back to our hotel.

Monday, March 30, 2009
Breakfast in the dinning room of the Thistle Marble Arch Hotel.
Evan Evans Tours picked us up at the hotel at 7:55 am and bused us to the Victoria Coach Station for transfer to Tour 21 to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath. We left at 9:00 am and headed for Windsor Castle first.

Windsor Castle is the largest inhabited castle in the world and, dating back to the time of William the Conqueror, is the oldest in continuous occupation. Built sometime after 1086, the castle's floor area is approximately 484,000 square feet. Today it is one of the homes of Queen Elizabeth II. It houses several painting, artifacts and displays of early rifles and swords. Gail was amazed that there were five Reubins’ in one room.

Inside the walls is Windsor Castle is St. George’s Chapel. It is both a royal peculiar and the chapel of the Order of the Garter. Built is about 1348, the chapel is governed by the Dean of Windsor.

From Windsor, our tour bus traveled down route M3 towards Winchester. We exited the main road and used backwoods highways to reach Amesbury. Just west of Amesbury at a fork in the road lies Stonehenge.

Stonehenge is a prehistoric and mysterious circle of upright stones in southern England about 2 miles west of Amesbury. Construction on the great monument began 5,000 years ago; the famous stones that still stand today were put in place about 4,000 years ago.

The stones are aligned almost perfectly with the sunrise on the summer solstice, and it is almost unquestioned that Stonehenge was built as a spectacular place of worship. Although the faith of the Stonehenge builders predates any known religion.

Gail and I picked up an English pastry sandwich as we boarded our tour bus to Bath.

The Romans came to Bath about 50 A.D. They found spring which was used by local people and built a bath. That’s probably where the city got its name. The water gushes up from the ground as a natural hot spring. At 114° F so it’s hotter than the water in your bath! The water is full of different minerals, even more than the bottled spring water you can buy in supermarkets. The orange color around the spring comes from the iron dissolved in the water.

The Romans probably occupied Bath shortly after their invasion of Britain in 43 AD. They knew it as Aquae Sulis (literally "the waters of Sulis"), identifying the goddess with Minerva. In Roman times the worship of Sulis continued and messages to her scratched onto metal have been recovered from the Sacred Spring by archaeologists.

During the Roman period, increasingly grand temples and bathing complexes were built in the area, including the Great Bath. Rediscovered gradually from the 18th century onward, they have become one of the city's main attractions. The city was given defensive walls, probably in the 3rd century. From the later 4th century on, the western Roman Empire and its urban life declined. However, while the great suite of baths at Bath fell into disrepair, some use of the hot springs continued. The Romans used the bath for about 450 years.

We had a 2 ½ drive back to London. Our tour ended at Victoria Station. We walked into the station and observed that is was a major pickup point for rail and also a transfer station for the Underground. Gail’s watch broke on Sunday and she saw a Swatch watch dealer at the station. Gail purchased a new Swatch watch for herself. She likes Swatch watches.

After a quick bite to eat at a McDonald’s. It was unanimous that McDonald’s is not the place to eat at in London. We took the Underground from Victoria Station to Oxford Circus and transferred to the Central line and exited the Underground at Marble Arch.

Back at our hotel we caught up on the preparations for the G20 conference. We saw a few CNN people that we recognized at the hotel. We packed for the return trip to Fuquay.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Breakfast in the dinning room of the Thistle Marble Arch Hotel.

Taxi to Paddington (£6) and Heathrow Express to the Heathrow Airport (£33).
Exchanged all our British money for U.S. currency.

Boarded AA flight 173 from London to RDU at 11:00 am. Arrived at 2:00 pm and about an hour later exited U.S. Customs. Retrieved our truck from parking lot #3. On our way home we stopped at the Fuquay Dairy Queen for a good old American banana split and chocolate ice cream cone. Home at 4:30 pm.

AIG, give us our money back

A tidal wave of public anger over bonuses paid to the AIG Financial Products traders in the amount of $165 billion has gotten Congress’s attention. Thursday, the House voted 328 to 93 to get back most of the money by levying a 90 percent tax on it. The measure would apply to employees of any company getting more than $5 billion in federal bailout money. The Senate will address the issue early next week.

In other action, Andrew Cuomo, the New York attorney general, said AIG had turned over the names of employees who received bonuses, in response to a subpoena. He will review the list and assess whether individuals on it might have reason to fear for their safety.

This congressional action makes me feel a little better. However, there are other companies that have already paid enormous bonuses to employees while their corporation was loosing money. One is like Bank of America. As they purchased Merrill Lynch, they paid giant bonuses to employees prior to the closing of the sale. Bank of America said it planned to publish the list of names and the amounts of their bonuses Thursday

Congress had approved the moneys that are to be used to bailout companies in need. However, the Obama administration is responsible for determining the actual amount and they should track where it goes. We can’t go to sleep at the wheel.

Maybe there’s light at the end of the tunnel for GM

General Motors, which has borrowed $13.4 billion from the federal government since December to keep itself out of bankruptcy, said today that it had withdrawn a request for an additional $2 billion that it thought was needed to stay alive through the end of this month.

Good news… may be.

This withdrawal of their request does not mean that GM is withdrawing their other planned draws from their approved loan account. Their plan calls for $2.6 billion in April, 2009 and at least $4.5 billion in 2010. GM also wanted access to another $7.5 billion, if needed, bringing their loan request to a total of $30 billion.

So, what is GM doing to improve their bleeding of cash? GM’s 117-page restructuring plan submitted to the Treasury Department February 17, 2009 gave a glimpse. GM is committed to focus its resources primarily on its core brands: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GMC. Of the remaining brands, Pontiac—which will be part of the Buick-Pontiac-GMC retail channel—will be a highly focused niche brand. GM plans to reduce the number of nameplates (or models of cars and trucks) over the next few years. GM current produces 53 nameplates. They plan to reduce the number of nameplates to 39 by the year 2011. This most likely will mean fewer platforms used to build cars, meaning far less development costs involved.

Hummer and Saab are stand-alone retail channels and brands. They are subject to strategic reviews, including their potential sale. A Hummer sale or phase out decision will be made in Q1 2009, with final resolution expected for both no later than 2010. Saab is offered for sale now and if no buyers’ surface, Saab will most likely be spun off as an independent company. Saturn will remain in operation through the end of the planned lifecycle for all Saturn products (2010-2011). In the interim, should Saturn retailers as a group or other investors present a plan that would allow a spin off or sale of Saturn Distribution Corporation (SDC), GM would be open to any such possibility. If a spin off or sale does not occur, it is GM‘s intention to phase out the Saturn brand at the end of the current product lifecycle.

This coupled with a planned reduction in the GM dealer network from 6,250 dealers at the end of 2008 to 5,000 dealers by the end of 2011 should have a significant savings in expenses.

GM’s announcement today came as the Canadian Auto Workers union ratified a cost-cutting deal with the automaker. GM said the agreement would “quickly reduce costs in Canada by significantly closing the competitive gap with U.S. transplant automakers on active employee labor costs and substantially reducing” the cost of benefits for retirees.

GM said it was also exploring the possibility of offloading its retiree health care liabilities in Canada into an independent trust fund, as it did in the United States in its 2007 contract with the U.A.W.

Maybe…. Just maybe, these sluggish Detroit automotive businessmen can get their ducks in a row and make one of America’s great companies a success again. Keep your fingers crossed.

Bloodhound Project Goal - 1,000 mph

Andy Green, a wing commander in the British Royal Air Force, will attempt to set a new Land Speed Record this summer at the Bonneville Salt Flats. He will make his attempt in the Bloodhound SSC and do it at over 1,000 mph. No-one has ever driven at 1,000 mph before, so the Bloodhound SSC team will have to solve problems from scratch using science, mathematics, and all the available engineering technology to meet their goal. Richard Noble is the project director for the Bloodhound SSC and is responsible for much of the car’s design.

1000 mph, that’s 1466.7 ft per second. However you measure it, these are impressive figures, particularly when attached to a four-wheeled vehicle travelling on the surface of the earth.

So, how are they going to do this? The rules for designing a car to attempt the Land Speed record are very simple – it must have at least four wheels and steer with at least two of them. Beyond this, designers are free to do whatever they like with the design and build. This differs enormously to the likes of NASCAR, Indy Cars, or Formula One, where the rules exist to ultimately slow the cars down and to see how teams overcome these challenges. This makes designing Bloodhound SSC both enormously exciting and extremely challenging.

The Bloodhound SSC is a unique vehicle. It will be powered by two separate power plants: a Eurojet EJ200 jet engine from a Typhoon fighter plane and a Falcon rocket engine from a Falcon rocket. A third power source is an 800 HP V12 racing engine that drives the hydraulic for the jet engine and pumps hydrogen peroxide to the rocket engine.

The aerodynamics was honed using one of the UK’s most powerful computers. The 35.4 inch (90 cm) wheels were the subject of a special research project in their own right, while driver Andy Green’s seat is inclined at 45 degrees, as a compromise between fitting Andy in and helping him to cope with the huge acceleration and deceleration loads. The key issue in the dynamic behavior of Bloodhound SSC is the directional stability over its entire operating speed range from 0 to 1,000 mph. The vehicle must also be able to steer and turn like a conventional wheeled vehicle, but its prime objective is extremely high speed, running straight.

My views turn inward

This past weekend I had a severe health problem escalate even further. I picked up a cold, a flu strain or some kind of infection that affected my breathing. After having chest x-rays made; seeing my doctor’s physician assistant; and getting prescriptions for a series of antibiotics and steroids, I realized that my views had turned inward. I began thinking about my health problem 24 7. I just let the world go by. I didn’t read the daily newspaper in depth as I usually do. I didn’t watch my Duke Blue Devils play on television. And I didn’t watch the NASCAR Sprint Cup races in its entirety. My views turned inward.

When my wife was driving me back from the doctor’s office, we passed the once run down North Hills shopping mall. In the last few years, its new owners have transformed it into the cities most unique shopping plaza with restaurants, department stores, clothing stores, specialty shops, a theatre and a hotel. Parts of the facility are still under construction. On land next to the plaza, the same owners have constructed the area’s nicest senior’s retirement complex. Still, across the main thorough affair they are building a high-rise office building, more specialty shops, and a mixed family housing complex.

I have heard one financial guru make the statement that “in these times of falling stock market values there are opportunities”. As we drove passed I realize these people have vision. In these poor economic times they are expanding to incorporate shopping, office space, entertainment and housing all in the same complex. Similar to Walt Disney’s vision of Epcot, North Hills will stand out as the community of the future. Their vision sees opportunities.

So, its good to see opportunities taking shape rather than bankruptcies and layoff being announced.

Yet another major fraud case has emerged

Yesterday, a caravan of cars and trucks carrying federal authorities pulled up to the headquarters of the Stanford Group in Houston. They went inside and shut down what the regulators described as a “massive ongoing fraud” stretching from the Caribbean to Texas, and around the world.

The Stanford Group is an investment firm ran by Robert Allen Stanford. He may be just another wealthy financier. But, in the breezy money haven of Antigua, he was an influential adviser to the local financial banks, decorated with a knighthood, and courted by Antigua government officials.

The status of the Standford Group’s investments in as much as $8 billion in high-yielding certificates of deposit held in the firm’s bank in Antigua, which the Securities and Exchange Commission, in a civil suit, said Mr. Stanford and two colleagues fraudulently peddled to scores of investors.

Also unknown Tuesday was the whereabouts of Robert Stanford. His financial activities on the tiny island had raised eyebrows among American authorities as far back as a decade ago. But, nothing was done.

Like Bernard Madoff, who is accused of operating a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, Robert Stanford offered investment opportunities that sounded almost too good to be true: promises of lucrative returns on relatively safe certificates of deposit that were often more than twice the going rate offered by mainstream banks.

Regulators claim the Stanford Group lulled investors into believing the Certificate of Deposit (C.D.) purchases were safe by advertising investments in “liquid” securities that could be bought and sold easily. Stanford Group said it could pay higher rates on the C.D.’s because of the consistently high returns it made on investor assets. And it claimed to be safe, thanks to monitoring by a team of more than 20 analysts and yearly audits of the investments by regulators in Antigua. None of that was true, according to the S.E.C.’s complaint.

So, once Robert Stanford surfaces, he’ll face charges and prove the money of the depositors is still there or he’ll have to face the consequences. Whatever that is.

Another Congressional Stimulus Bill

Senate and House leaders announced today that they had reached agreement on a $789 billion economic stimulus bill, clearing the way for final Congressional action and President Obama’s signature, perhaps as early as tomorrow. Yes, that is $789 billion. Wow! Where is all this money coming from?

Even trimmed to $789 billion, the recovery measure will be the most expansive unleashing of the government’s fiscal firepower to fight a recession in modern history. And yet it seemed almost trifling compared with the potential price tag of $2.5 trillion for the rescue plan for the financial system announced on Tuesday by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

What Has Happened to NASCAR?

As NASCAR fans prepare for the 2009 season many wonder what has happened. The drivers and car owners on the entry list for the first race this season is far different than it was just a few months ago as the 2008 season ended.

Over the short off season the current economic crises has had a major affect on the race teams. First were reports that Petty Enterprises (PE) may fold its operations and the famed #43 would no longer be. PE released their driver, Bobby Labonte, to pursue other avenues.

Then word came that Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) was having sponsorship problems. At the same time the driver of the #15 car, Paul Menard, announced he was leaving DEI and would drive a new entry #98 for Yates Racing. Menards, the home improvement stored owned by his father would be the sponsor. Yates Racing moved the owner points from their #38 to the #98. This left David Gilliland (the normal driver of the #38) with a car but without a sponsor or owner points.

Chip Ganassi had closed operations of his #40 car at mid-season last year. Reed Sorenson left the #41 to drive for Gillett Evernham Motorsports. Now, Ganassi only had the #41 and #42 cars. Texaco terminated their sponsorship of the #42 car. Ganassi moved the Target sponsor to the #42 car. This left the #41 without a driver or sponsor.

While this was going on Petty Enterprises was rumored to merge with Ganassi. Then everyone was surprised that Chip Ganassi was merging his NASCAR operation with DEI to form Earnhardt Ganassi Racing (EGR). The stable of cars would be the #1 (Truex), #8 (Amirola), #41 (unnamed) and #42 (Montoya) Rumors were hot and heavy that Bobby Labonte would drive the #41.

Richard Petty, who had sold the majority interest in Petty Enterprises in June 2008, announced Petty Enterprises was in discussion with Gillett Evernham Motorsports to merge their operation. The process took several weeks and ended with PE and GEM becoming Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM). The cars and drivers would be #9 (Kayne), #19 (Sadler) #43 (Sorenson). Later, RPM announced that A.J. Allmendinger would drive the former #10 car to be renumbered #44 with the owner points from the #10.

Bobby Labonte had been rumored to drive the EGR #41. But, Bobby Labonte announced that he would be driving the #96 Hall of Fame Racing car. The car would be sponsored by Ask.com and become part of the Yates Racing shop. Yates Racing would move their owner points from the #28 car to the #96 car. Driver of the #28, Travis Kvapil, will have no owner points for the 2009 season and is only planned to run the first 5 races of the year. There is no sponsor as of yet.

Latest announcement is that John Andretti will drive the #34 for EGR with no sponsor to date.

Other driver changes are as follows:
#00 David Reutimann
#07 Casey Mears
#08 Boris Said
#09 Brad Keselowski
#12 David Stremme
#14 Tony Stewart
#20 Joey Lagano
#23 Mike Skinner
#27 Kirk Shelmerdine
#28 Travis Kvapil
#33 Clint Bowyer
#34 John Andretti
#39 Ryan Newman
#41 Jeremy Mayfield
#47 Marcos Ambrose
#60 James Hilton
#64 Geoff Bodine
#66 Terry Labonte
#82 Scott Speed
#87 Joe Nemechek

First Week for the Obama Administration

It has been one week that the Obama administration has been working at solving all the problems that U.S. citizens are facing. Here’s what Barack Obama and his team worked on:

Reverses Key Bush Security Policies
President Obama reversed the most disputed counterterrorism policies of the Bush administration on Thursday, declaring that “our ideals give us the strength and moral high ground” in the fight against Al Qaeda. But Mr. Obama postponed for months decisions on complex questions the United States has been grappling with since the terrorist attacks of 2001. Mr. Obama signed executive orders closing the detention camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, within a year; ending the Central Intelligence Agency’s secret prisons; and requiring all interrogations to follow the non-coercive methods of the Army Field Manual.

Federal Aid for International Abortion
President Obama repealed rules on Friday that restricted federal money for international organizations that promote or provide abortions overseas, sweeping aside a pillar of the social policy architecture of George W. Bush’s presidency.

Automobile Emissions
President Obama directed federal regulators on Monday to move swiftly on an application by California and 13 other states to set strict limits on greenhouse gases from cars and trucks. He also ordered the Transportation Department to begin drawing up rules imposing higher fuel-economy standards on cars and light trucks.

Economic Stimulus Package
Mr. Obama spent more than two hours in closed-door meetings with Congressional Republicans, outlining his $850 billion economic stimulus plan and fielding an array of critical questions. The stimulus plan is the centerpiece of President. Obama’s early agenda, and it also seeks to make good on some of his signature campaign promises, including an income tax cut for most Americans earning less than $200,000 a year. Under the plan, individuals would receive up to $500 and families up to $1,000 through a cut in payroll taxes on the first $8,100 in income. The money would be delivered through paychecks as a reduction in Social Security withholdings, and is intended to bolster consumer spending by giving a small lift to household pocketbooks.

Combining the spending and revenue effects of H.R. 1, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that enacting the bill would increase federal budget deficits by $169 billion over the remaining months of fiscal year 2009, by $356 billion in 2010, by $174 billion in 2011, and by $816 billion over the 2009-2019 period.

Spoke to the Muslim World
It was Barack Obama’s first televised interview from the White House and the first with any foreign news outlet. In the interview, which was taped on Monday night and broadcast throughout the Muslim world on Tuesday, Barack Obama said it was his job “to communicate to the Muslim world that the Americans are not your enemy.” He added that “we sometimes make mistakes,” but said that America was not born as a colonial power and that he hoped for a restoration of “the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago.” President Obama spoke as his special Middle East envoy, George J. Mitchell, arrived in Egypt to begin an eight-day tour that will include stops in Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, France and Britain. In Egypt, Mr. Mitchell planned to meet President Hosni Mubarak.

After Obama made his talk to the Muslim world -Iran's president has responded to an overture by President Obama by demanding an apology for past US "crimes" committed against Iran. The US "stood against the Iranian people in the past 60 years," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during an address in the western region of Khermenshah. "Those who speak of change must apologize to the Iranian people and try to repair their past crimes," he said. President Obama has offered to extend a hand if Iran "unclenched its fist".

Sends Envoy to the Middle East
President Obama sent his special envoy, George J. Mitchell, on an eight-day listening tour that includes Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, France and Britain.

The beginning of a new era in American politics

At noon on January 20, 2009 marked the beginning of a new era for the citizens of this great country. As Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States the stock market on Wall Street reached its low of 7,949; U.S. solders were involved in two wars; General Motors lost its title as the automobile sales leader to Toyota; Congress is planning another $500B economic stimulus package that would put $500 in each taxpayers pocket; and we are still on alert for terrorist attacks in major cities of the U.S.

Not the best environment for a new president to face on his first day on the job. President Obama planned a 7:45 a.m. meeting with his staff to address these and other issues. They won’t have a solution to all the major issues in front of the American people anytime soon. If these issues were easy to solve they would have already been done.

A presidential honeymoon is usually considered to be the first 100 days. With today’s fast moving world, public demand will decrease that to probably something like 50 days. I don’t expect to see a lot of movement right away. These solutions really require getting answers, getting buy in from Democrats and Republicans, passing the bill, and implementing. What our system lacks is the ability to adjust for changing situation.

Let’s hope and pray our leaders make the right decisions to arrive at the best solution for the American public.

Where Did All That Money Go?

After receiving the first issue of the $700 billions bailout package from U.S. taxpayers, the nation's largest banks say they can't track exactly how they're spending the money or they simply refuse to discuss it. This first issue was in the amount of $350 billion.

This is hard to believe. Has a bank ever failed to list where every penny in your checking account went? Not my bank. They have never failed to list every check I have ever written.

The Associated Press contacted 21 banks that were recipients of at least $1 billion in the emergency bailout money. None could give AP a straight answer as to where the money went or how it was used. AP asked four questions: How much has been spent? What was it spent on? How much is being held in savings, and what's the plan for the rest?

None of the banks provided specific answers. Some banks said they simply didn't know where the money was going. And no bank provided even the most basic accounting for the federal money.

So, who in the federal government is tracking how this money is being used? Somebody should. If a federal agency gives a grant or loans money it should verify the money is needed and verify it is used as prescribed in the Congressional bailout plan. In this case, the U.S. Treasury gave the money out. And, they will give out another $350 billion sometime in the middle of January.

I would hope the U.S. Treasury wakes up and gives taxpayers some sort of report of how all this money is being used.

Israel and the Palestinian Conflict

On Dec 19th the Islamist militant group Hamas ended a six-month cease-fire with Israel in the Gaza Strip. As the cease-fire expired Hamas issued a statement blaming Israel which had not "respected" the truce. Israel's foreign ministry spokesman said the militants, who control Gaza, "had chosen violence over truth". The Egyptian-brokered deal began on June 19th but had been tested regularly by Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel and Israeli operations in Gaza.

Hamas is one of the two main Palestinian political groups. Since June 2007 it has been in de facto control of the Gaza Strip, after seizing power from the Fatah party in a series of bloody clashes. Hamas recognizes the fact of Israel but refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist, and has been responsible for many of the deadliest suicide attacks in Israel.

On Dec 27th Israel launches major air strikes on Hamas targets throughout the Gaza in retaliation for heavy rocket fire from the area. More than 200 Palestians are killed from the air strikes.

On Jan 3rd Israeli tanks and troops sweep across the border into Gaza, opening a ground war against Hamas after a week of intense air strikes. Palestinian medical officials say at least 110 people have died since the ground assault began on Saturday. Israel says it has killed 130 Hamas fighters and has denied claims that Hamas has killed 10 of its soldiers. More than 560 Palestinians have been killed since Israel moved to end rocket attacks from Gaza 11 days ago, Palestinian medical officials say. The UN says at least 25% of those are civilians. At least 20 Palestinians were killed on Tuesday, while three Israeli soldiers were killed by fire from one of their own tanks.

Intense diplomatic efforts are under way to resolve the crisis but Israel rejected calls for an immediate truce. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is due to attend a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday, along with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, France and Britain, in an attempt to put pressure on the Security Council to act decisively. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he had asked his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Assad, to help convince Hamas to co-operate with efforts to end the Israeli offensive. Syria is regarded as a main backer of Hamas.

On Jan 7th Israel agreed "on the principles" of a cease-fire proposal, raising hopes of an end to its conflict with Palestinian militants in Gaza. "The challenge now is to get the details to match the principles," Israeli spokesman Mark Regev said.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas said there were "positive signs but no agreement yet". The development came as Israel halted military operations in Gaza for three hours to aid humanitarian efforts.

Israel and Hamas have been under pressure to accept a diplomatic solution to the conflict, which began on December 27th. Israel wants to stop rocket attacks on southern Israel and to stop Hamas smuggling weapons into Gaza via Egypt, while Hamas says any cease-fire deal must include an end to Israel's blockade of Gaza. Israel said it was not sure how long the diplomatic process would take and that a working arms embargo on Hamas was needed.

Little official detail has been given about the French-Egyptian proposal, which is backed by the United States and the UN, but diplomats say it centers on measures to halt weapons smuggling from Egypt into Gaza, coupled with moves to ease the blockade. In a statement released on Wednesday, France's President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomed "the acceptance by Israel and the Palestinian Authority" of the truce plan. The statement did not mention Hamas.

The world waits and listens to see if a solution to this ever lasting crisis.