Insurers learn to pinpoint risks -- and avoid them

I'm beginning to think the US insurance industry is the root of all evil. The game is no longer about sharing risk, but about evaluating (and avoiding) individual risk. Welcome to the risk pool of one: you! Wasn't this industry supposed to be 'regulated'? An interesting stat from this L.A. Times article:

The new techniques are already paying off for insurers. Despite Katrina and a string of other big storms last year, industry profits hit a record $40 billion-plus. With the luck of no major storms so far this year, profits are in line to reach as much as $60 billion.

Insurers learn to pinpoint risks -- and avoid them

Oil prices rise above $63 a barrel for first time since September

No point in arguing about 'conspiracy theories' here. No conspiracy is required. Oil supply is controlled by an international cartel, and the domestic industry is highly consolidated. The real question is why the steep drop in late summer 2006?

Oil prices rise above $63 a barrel for first time since September

Peace (sign) on Earth opposed by some in Denver

At least cooler heads prevailed in this particular story where some scrooge-like homeowner association dimwits tried to fine their neighbors for displaying a Peace sign.

From Russia With Radioactivity

Now this is what I call a spy thriller.

New Orleans population still cut by more than half

New Orleans population still cut by more than half

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - New Orleans' population is still only 41 percent of its size before Hurricane Katrina devastated the city 15 months ago, according to a state survey that casts doubts on rosier predictions by the mayor. ...

U.S. bans sale of iPods to North Korea

That ought to show 'em: U.S. bans sale of iPods to North Korea ("But Mom! Iraq is making nukes too and they get to have iPods! No fair!")

No Christmas ads at the Christmas festival

Here we have another example of the idiocy of some politicians and their P.C. mentality. Apparently in Chicago this year, some genius was worried that people going to a Christmas festival might be offended by an ad for a Christmas movie, so the organizers were asked to not accept the ad in conjunction with the festival. Two comments: First what does this politician think about the people who will see the ad on regular TV? Is he not worried that they might be offended at that time? Why is it acceptable to be offended at home or on the bus, but not at the Christmas festival? Secondly, who goes to a Christmas festival expecting to not see references to the Christian religions? The absolute stupidity of politicians never fails to amaze me.

Desert Oil Money

Check out this slideshow of the construction in oil rich Dubai. Amazingly, the oil is expected to run out in Dubai in 15 years or so.

New Holiday Stamp

My wife just got back with some stamps for sending out our annual Holiday Cards. They were a bit odd looking, though. She said she was given some Christmas ones first, with some sort of natavity scene on them, so she aksed for something a little more non-denominational. And these are what she got. I couldn't resist doing a Google on these (there was something unusual about the tree). It turns out they are to commemorate the end of Ramadan (!) They were originally issued in September 2001 (talk about bad timing), and just re-introduced this year.

Oil in Dafur

Who would have suspected there was oil in Dafur? Old Q/G/adafi has spilled the beans. Note that Libya has re-joined the world community and is no longer considered a 'terrorist' nation. They even made Qadafi change the spelling of his name to 'Gadafi', since we all know about those foreign words with a 'q' and no 'u' (Al Qaeda, Iraq -- watch out Qatrar, you're next!)

Gadhafi: U.N. Darfur force is ruse to grab Sudan's oil

When not fixing homes, New Orleanians fix park

An article on the ongoing repair of City Park

When not fixing homes, New Orleanians fix park

Katrina’s Purgatory

Speaking of Purgatory, here's a recent NYT editorial about how 28 families (out of 78,000) in Louisiana have received their share of federally allocated funds for rebuilding. 28?!?? I wonder who these folks were? At a rate of 28 per year, it'll be another couple of millenium before this job gets finished.

Katrina’s Purgatory
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/18/opinion/18sat1.html

Bring Back Leaded Gas - Crank Up Those Smokestacks

Pollution may save the planet. Educate yourselves.

Bring Back Leaded Gas - Crank Up Those Smokestacks

Pollution may save the planet. Educate yourselves.

Orenthal James Simpson - Fiction Author

Just read and comment if you care to. I've made a promise to myself never to expend any of my finite mental energy on the Juice, but this story is a real pip.

The Primordial Terminator

Here's the beginning of the end for humans - robots that can "learn" to compensate for damage. Then they learn to repair themselves. Then the learn to reproduce themselves. Then they arm themselves with lasers to rid themselves of the human menace. Been nice knowing you, guys.

You gotta fight, for your right, to beeee fat…

Apologies to the Beastie Boys. The European Union signed a charter to ”attempt to compel national authorities to take concrete action to combat obesity”. How about making it illegal to serve certain kinds of food to fat people? Maybe European restaurants will have ‘weight monitors’ at the doors like bars have bouncers. Too fat, you can’t come in. Why is this a government issue? Does the government tell people what to eat, what lifestyle to live, and in some cases assign genetic predispositions? Of course it doesn’t. This is a personal issue. All of the government rules in the world won’t solve this problem. Maybe Europeans will put all of the overweight people on a train and send them to camps where they can work off the pounds (except in Germany).

Deion Sanders blog

Neon Deion Sanders has a blog at the Austin American Statesman newspaper, when he talks about sports, money and Jesus: On the line with Prime

Tesla Motors

Here's an electric car fo you gentlemen. 0-60 in 4 seconds. 250 mile on a charge-up. Nuthin' dorky about this one from Tesla Motors.

Brian Stoltz

After watching Martin Scorsese's "No Direction Home" a few weeks back I've been on a Dylan jag. I didn't realize that "Oh Mercy" was recorded in New Orleans and has a Neville or two on it.
Quite a few times I've wondered what happened to 'that white guy who played guitar with the Nevilles" I never did get his name, but it turns out he is Brian Stoltz and he's on "Oh Mercy", too. And he has some music of his own out. "East of Rampart Street" from 2002 and "God, Guns and Money" from 2005 look like winners. Anybody have any other info on Mr. Stoltz (Seen him live or have any of his music)? I do see Mr. Stoltz is back with Porter Batiste and Stoltz (PBS) and have a recent CD "Expanding the Funkin Universe".
On a sad but related note, occasional Neville Brother and "60 Minute Man" Ed Bradley passed away today.

Prediction: Cheney Gone within 6 Months

You heard it here first. His old buddy Rumsfeld is gone and his popularity has consistently been at levels thought impossible by pollsters. Now that Bush's popularity is dropping again, Cheney (like Rummy) is no longer effective at deflectig heat from the President. There will also be investigations into his Haliburton and other assorted dealings. Anyone remember his Energy Task Force? What will happen when people find out Exxon-Mobil and Enron wrote US energy policy (and profited staggeringly)? Cheney is the new Spiro Agnew.

Just a coincidence

An article today by Reuters ("Democrats sweep elections") quotes Bush as saying the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld wasn't related to the election losses. Do these guys just lie out of habit, or to keep in practice?

But the resignation of Rumsfeld, a lightning rod for war critics, was not directly tied to the election results, he said.

Democrats good for Markets?

Conventional wisdon has it that the financial markets like Republican leadership (and vice versa). And already this morning there was an AP article titled "Stocks dip as Senate worries outweigh Rumsfeld". But I see the DOW is up 30, the NASDAQ is up 15 and the S&P 5. I also see a heck of a run in the last few days, with the DOW adding 200 points to its record levels. And the power shift away from the Republican party was not a surprise. I'd say the long run-up to the DOW record and the short spike this week points to a favorable market reaction to the elections from financial markets.

Vicious Partisan Attacks

I found these two recent NY Times editorials particularly vicious. Not that I necessarily disagreed with them, but I don't recall ever seeing this sort of venom in any major editorial.

Limiting theDamage by Paul Krugman and

The Difference Two Years Made (NYT Editorial)

Hey, let's make it a trio. Here's that Thomas "Flat World" Friedman, and early supporter of the war and President Bush. He seems to have gotten jilted along the way (I think he was a Colin Powell fan).

Insulting Our Troops, and Our Intelligence by Thomas L. Friedman

Close Elections and Big Media

Anyone else see an interesting cycle between Big Media and politicians lately? I'm starting to think all the 'close' races in the US is not so much a function of the normal electoral process as a scam of sorts by big media. On one hand they are taking billions for political ads, while having their news arms tell us how 'close' the election is. This just sways public opinion toward a closer race -- and brings in more ads and more viewers. Quite profitable cycle for the media, especially the TV networks.

And let's not forget who ends up paying for those ads. The lobbyists in D.C. for the most part. How about a ban on TV ads for two weeks (or even a month) before an election? I'm a free speech guy, but we don't let you politick within 100' of a polling place on election day, and no one complains about that restriction on free speech. This would be a restriction in that vein, and a fair one.

Haggard Admits Buying Meth

First this Representative in Florida (I forget his name already) and the congressional pages, now this? What is it with these right-wing leaders these days? Are they all drug-addled sodomites? The conservative leader of a 14,000 mega-church and the leader of the 30 million strong National Association of Evangelicals seems to have a small problem. Or two. A male prostitute say he bought meth and gay sex from him. A bunch of times. After considering these accusations for a few days, Rev. Haggard now says he didn't have sex, only a 'massage'. And while he did buy the meth, he threw it away. The male prostitute said he was paid regularly by Haggard over a three year period and has voicemail recordings. It's like the old days with Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Baker all over again.

Haggard Admits Buying Meth

The New Orleans Levee

Described as New Orleans' answer to "The Onion":

http://www.nolevee.com/main/index.php

Dear Johann Letter - German Style

Leave it to those crafty Germans to innovatively engineer a new approach to the Dear John letter. Why break up with someone yourself when you can outsource that troublesome little task?

Turk Work

Maybe a bit on the techie side, but I found this article in the Christian Science Monitor and the associated Amazon.com web site, mturk, interesting.

When workers turn into 'turkers'