What a Wonderful World (Speakers Up) --- http://www.barb-coolwaters.com/c004/wonderful_celine.html

Question
How can you find, in less than a minute, the purported value of a home in the United States?

Answer
None of the free major online appraisal sites ( Eppraisal.com, Realestateabc.com , Homegain.com and Zillow ) can find my current boondocks cottage in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. But these sites all tell me that I sold my home in San Antonio too cheap. What can I say? It was my only offer after having my San Antonio home on the market for nearly a year.

After testing these free online appraisal sites out today, I'm impressed by the convenience of the online appraisal services. However, I think those appraisals run a bit too high, but that's only my opinion. I'm absolutely certain that the Bexar County Tax Appraisal District in San Antonio overvalues homes for tax purposes, but this may be the reason the online free appraisal services also provide, in my opinion, high appraisals. They probably get a lot of their inputs from public taxation appraisal databases.

Several accounting professors have written to me that their home appraisals at the online sites are way too low. They suspect that the appraisals are based upon old transactions in nearby neighborhoods that are not comparable to their neighborhoods.

In any case, these services are very fast and convenient if you are mildly considering moving to another community and want to compare home values. They're also convenient if you want to gossip, with wide margins of error, about what your friends' and relatives' homes are worth. That way you can prioritize your efforts to get cut into the better wills when they kick the bucket.

Warning
These online free services are no substitutes for more localized appraisals by supposed experts in the community in question. But these experts are sometimes dubious characters. When I purchased my current home my offering price was heavily influenced by the appraisal of John Doe, the local expert appraiser in the Sugar Hill area. The bank where I got my mortgage arranged for John Doe to conduct the appraisal, because I was living in Texas and had no idea who to hire for making an appraisal. The appraisal was $180 per square foot on the value of the house apart from the land value (which in New Hampshire is appraised separately for tax purposes). Keep in mind that high mortgage appraisals please both buyers and sellers of homes. Buyers feel like they got a great deal when they paid less than the appraised value. Sellers are relieved that the buyers could get enough financing to close the deal.

Two years later, my property tax appraisal shot up to $164 per square foot on my 140-year old cottage apart from the land value. In New Hampshire, the appraisals of surrounding houses and land are mailed by the towns to all home owners. Hence your neighbor's property tax appraisals are not secret. My immediate neighbors' houses were being assessed for less than $100 per square foot apart from land value. So I had John Doe do a second appraisal of my house. Keep in mind that John Doe is the same John Doe who two years earlier appraised my house for $180 per square foot. Since I was having the second appraisal done for purposes of lowering my taxes, John Doe nicely appraised my house now for $115 per square foot apart from the land value. There have been very few home sales in Sugar Hill over the past two years, but realtors tell me that house values have not declined. Certainly construction costs have greatly increased. My  point here is that you can get burned by both the online appraisal services and the local John Doe expert appraisers. Sadly, the Town of Sugar Hill did not agree with John Doe's lowered appraisal.

"What’s My House Worth? And Now?" by Michelle Slatalla, The New York Times, August 2, 2007 --- Click Here

THE value of my house fluctuates more often — and for even more mysterious reasons — than my weight these days.
 

But is it going up? Or down? Either my house lost $94,248 in value over the last two months, or else it gained $32,799 in the last 30 days.

I can’t tell, because I get conflicting information from online sites — like  Eppraisal.com, Realestateabc.com and Homegain.com — where I find myself obsessively comparing numbers every day or so.

O.K., every hour or so (or about as often as I used to get on the scale when I was in high school).

But if I didn’t keep up with the real estate sites, then I wouldn’t know that earlier this summer a center-hall colonial a block away from me sold for $2,439,500 despite its outdated kitchen (thank you, Cyberhomes.com). Or that most of my neighbors are juggling payments on big adjustable-rate mortgages just like mine (thank you Propertyshark.com). Or that the bathroom I recently remodeled may have increased my property value by $33,490 (thank you, Zillow.com).

With a growing number of Internet sites trolling public databases for financial facts, it has become increasingly easy in the last two years for information addicts like me to perform party tricks by announcing to our friends all kinds of delicious snippets that once were considered intimate, known mainly to brokers or people with enough time to drive to the courthouse to flip through musty files.

But it’s no longer just cocktail chatter. With a nationwide real estate crisis in full bloom thanks to subprime mortgage woes, falling prices and rising loan rates, homeowners are increasingly turning to Internet sites to try to glean bits of information that may shed light on when to refinance, or whether to sell.

And why not? I really, really need every tiny bit of information I can get about managing my biggest investment.

Don’t I?

“Oh, no! Oh, my goodness, I have to tell you to stop right now,” said Baba Shiv, an associate professor of marketing at Stanford University. “You are being completely irrational. This information can end up having a negative effect on your life.”

This was not the response I had hoped to hear from someone who specializes in studying how everyday investors make decisions about how to manage their money.

“But everybody is doing it,” I whined.

And in my defense, I would like to point out that’s true. In June, for instance, more than 39 million people visited the 20 most popular real estate Web sites, a 22.4 percent increase in visitors over the same period in the previous year, according to Nielsen/NetRatings Inc. Not only that, but a lot of those people are becoming addicted. At Zillow.com, for instance, 44 percent of the site’s users visited five or more times in June, and 25 percent of them 10 or more times, according to a spokeswoman for the site.

Beyond catering to the voyeuristic appeal of knowing what your neighbor paid per square foot, the sites say they offer a valuable service by making information more accessible to average folks.

Continued in article

Conclusion
As the Financial Accounting Standards Board in the United States and the International Accounting Standards Board in London move closer and closer to fair value accounting for non-financial and well as financial assets and liabilities, the real estate appraisal industry does not give me much faith in "fair value" estimates. Also fair value accounting mixes the hypothetical with transpired transactions into an accounting stew that does mean much to anybody.

Bob Jensen's threads on the science and art of valuation can be found in the following links:

http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/Calgary/CD/FairValue/

http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen//theory/00overview/theory01.htm#FairValue

http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/roi.htm

One of my PowerPoint slides (Slide 4) deals with real estate appraisals of all Days Inn assets in that company's controversial 1987 annual report. That annual report has traditional historical cost financial statements audited by Price Waterhouse, forecasted financial statements reviewed by Price Waterhouse, and exit (liquidation) value financial statements prepared by an appraisal firm called Landhauer Associates. The PowerPoint show is the 10FairValue.ppt file at http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~rjensen/Calgary/CD/JensenPowerPoint/

Tidbits on August 9, 2007
Bob Jensen

For earlier editions of Tidbits go to http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm
For earlier editions of New Bookmarks go to http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/bookurl.htm 

Click here to search Bob Jensen's web site if you have key words to enter --- Search Site.
For example if you want to know what Jensen documents have the term "Enron" enter the phrase Jensen AND Enron. Another search engine that covers Trinity and other universities is at http://www.searchedu.com/.

Bob Jensen's past presentations and lectures --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/resume.htm#Presentations   

Bob Jensen's Threads --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/threads.htm

Bob Jensen's Home Page is at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/

Online Video, Slide Shows, and Audio
In the past I've provided links to various types of music and video available free on the Web. 
I created a page that summarizes those various links --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm

It's a Beautiful World (when you open your eyes) --- http://www.aish.com/movies/BeautifulWorld.asp

Jihad the Musical (humor albeit reckless humor) --- http://www.jihad-the-musical.com/media/

Hawkish Obama targets al Qaeda in Pakistan for possible military strikes and says it should've happened in 2005 (not humor) --- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPsPZqPnUOc 
Jensen Comments
It could be reckless to strike a nuclear power without permission.
Pakistan slams 'ignorant' Obama attack warning --- http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1875319/posts

Romney: Let's emulate Hezbollah --- http://youtube.com/watch?v=QlVHxDtwFZU
Also see http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56994

Impeach Bush Theatre (not humor) --- http://impeachforpeace.org/impeach_bush_blog/?p=2897
Jensen Comment
There are some exaggerations and lies in this video, but it is food for thought even though I don't think it makes a fair case for the impeachment of our President. For example, the wiretaps were not necessarily illegal under bills passed by Congress.  In fact, new legislation in August expanded the President's authority to conduct wiretaps without warrants. We were a nation at war. Saddam was a billionaire madman who fired missiles into Israel and was bent on acquiring WMDs and over 80% of the world's oil reserves.  If we do impeach Bush it should be because he's a spendthrift with a financially corrupt administration. But his administration is probably no more corrupt than the previous Clinton administration at the very top  (with over a hundred felony pardons) , and it is most certainly less corrupt than our earmarking Congress. Bush handled the invasion of Iraq recklessly and without viable strategy to keep the peace in Iraq afterwards. The invasion was not clothed in secrecy, voted on by Congress, and is probably not an impeachable offense. The invasion of Iraq is even less impeachable than the much more secret and illegal efforts of FDR to enter into WW II before he was authorized to do so. We would've impeached Bush long ago if he'd failed to stop or at least delay thousands upon thousands of additional lives in terror attacks in the U.S. and Israel after 9/11. This is a scenario that is virtually suppressed in the media and in academe. But it is not a scenario that is suppressed in the minds of the American people. Impeachment efforts are part political theatre without the least chance of success in reality. I recently received an email message that stated "peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs Afghans,  Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have  died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late." Speaking up means fighting back early on if deemed necessary. I think that both Presidents Bush and Roosevelt did what they did early on because they wanted to save lives even if it entailed sacrificing some lives earlier than the peaceful majority deemed necessary. On occasion presidents have to make major decisions without the hindsight of ensuing years following those decisions.

Collapse of the I-35 Bridge --- Click Here
Alternately --- Click Here

Tom Rush - Remember Song --- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yN-6PbqAPM

Comedy (on rare occasions) Central's John Stewart on Sub-Prime Mortgages --- Click Here
(You must endure the tasteless Burger King-Homer Simpson commercial before John Stewart appears.)

English is the Language of this Land --- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEJfS1v-fU0

First Look - Google Advertising In Video --- http://youtube.com/watch?v=xzmjlH5cbyI

From the slums of Rio de Janeiro --- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12255923

Women in Film (Across 80 Years) --- http://miraulam.multiply.com/video/item/39
How many can you recognize by name?

Type in a command (like "Roll Over" or "Kiss") to this dog --- http://www.idodogtricks.com/index_flash.html
He barks when he doesn't understand your command.

Free music downloads --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/music.htm

Louis Armstrong: 'The Man and His Music,' Part 1 --- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12208712

Conjuring Bittersweet Memories of 'Ludlow Street' (Suzanne Vega) --- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12364072

Do you know what the 409 stood for in the 1950s?
My 409 (Beach Boys Jivin') --- http://www.barb-coolwaters.com/cw001/409.html

It's a Beautiful World (when you open your eyes) --- http://www.aish.com/movies/BeautifulWorld.asp

Last FM --- http://www.last.fm/music/
Frank Sinatra --- http://www.last.fm/music/Frank+Sinatra/_/September+Song
You have to click the play button several times to complete the songs.

Jihad the Musical (humor) --- http://www.jihad-the-musical.com/media/

The Authentic Sounds of the "Ballad of Scarlet Town" --- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12391634

Botstein Revives Zemlinsky with a Bard Double-Bill --- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12306823

Photographs and Art

Online Books, Poems, References, and Other Literature
In the past I've provided links to various types electronic literature available free on the Web. 
I created a page that summarizes those various links --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm

The Boarded Window by Ambrose Bierce  (1842 1914) --- Click Here

Other Works by Ambrose Bierce (a great author)

An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge Can Such Things Be? Fantastic Fables  My Favorite Murder The Devil's Dictionary

Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens (1812-1870) --- Click Here

Other online books by Charles Dickens --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/ElectronicLiterature.htm#OnlineBooks

The Adventure of the Copper Beeches by Arthur Conan Doyle --- Click Here

Abolishing of Christianity in England by Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) --- Click Here

The Private History of a Campaign that Failed by Mark Twain  (1835-1910) --- Click Here

Readprint.com offers thousands of free books for students, teachers, and the classic enthusiast. To find the book you desire to read, start by looking through the author index --- http://www.readprint.com/

July 31, 2007 message from Jennifer [proposal-381@lnk0.com]

Hi Bob,

I stumbled upon your site today and was quite impressed. I really liked the design. Did you make it yourself?

I wanted to let you know about ReadPrint.com -- a massive non-profit library similar to Bartleby -- except its far better organized and user friendly. We've been using it extensively in school nowadays -- it's great for doing research since you can search within the books.

Warm regards,
Jennifer

These numbers are way off, but I like them better than the auditor's numbers.
WSJ Cartoon, August 2, 2007

Motto Magazine, a new publication that describes itself as helping people “work with purpose, passion and profit,” has released a list of the top 10 college mottoes. The winners an their mottoes are: 1. Cornell University: “I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study.” 2. Brown University: “In God we hope.” 3. Wellesley College: “Not to be ministered unto, but to minister.” 4. Stanford University: “The wind of freedom blows.” 5. University of Pennsylvania: “Laws without morals are useless.” 6. Seton Hall University: “Whatever risk, yet go forward.” 7. Dartmouth College: “A voice of one crying out in the wilderness.” 8. Carnegie Mellon University: “My heart is in the work.” 9. Clark Atlanta University: “I’ll find a way or make one.” 10. Brigham Young University: “Enter to learn, go forth to serve.”
Inside Higher Ed, August 2, 2007 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/08/02/qt

Is Google Killing Scholarship?
Does the search engine make it so easy to get data that users forgo deeper study?
"Google is Killing Intellect," Business Week, Podcast Debate, July 31, 2007 --- Click Here

As Grudin wrote of the need for blocks or “nests” of time dedicated to thinking and personal awareness, “to be deprived of such free time is to be exiled from the self.” Surely higher education is about nothing so much as the self, and a more serious consideration of the time required for decisions about college should lead to the resolute abandonment of ranking systems that supposedly save time while circumscribing the self.
Alan Contreras, "The Cult of Speed," Inside Higher Ed, July 31, 2007 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2007/07/31/contreras 
Jensen Comment
It's easy to be critical of Google and the "cult of speed." However, it is seldom, if ever, mentioned that in the past much of our scholarship was a more-or-less random walk with the serendipity of stumbling upon gems in the literature. Sometimes this was literally a random walk though selected subject matter sections in the book stacks at libraries. What's sometimes overlooked is how Google and the "cult of speed" also enhances serendipity. Those that are the most critical are probably those who don't do it extensively enough to know how really deep into a subject scholars can get when they work at it online day in and day out. 

“I talk to students about not dreaming big enough,” he said. “I often tell students I never dreamed of being president of the University of Kentucky. In Kentucky, it’s a pretty big deal.”  . . . His own life story encapsulates the idea. Dr. Todd grew up in a small coal-mining and farming town in western Kentucky, graduated from the university and earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at M.I.T. He returned to his Kentucky alma mater to teach before leaving to spend 18 years creating two successful high-tech companies here, in a state better known for thoroughbreds and bourbon than for digital innovations.
Alan Finder quoting Lee T. Todd Jr., President of the University of Kentucky, "Getting a University to Aim Higher," The New York Times, August 1, 2007 --- http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/01/education/01face.html

Earmark Scandals Increase Rather Than Decrease as Once Promised by Nancy Pelosi Before Becoming House Leader
It's almost too stereotypical to be true: Even as the FBI and IRS raided the home of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens this week as part of a corruption investigation, Congress is quietly moving to dismantle serious earmark reform. If the Members are wondering why their approval ratings have gone subterranean, this is it . . . As for Members restraining themselves, they once promised more transparency and limits for the pork-barrel projects known as "earmarks." These secret spending handouts have proliferated in recent years and in 2005 alone cost taxpayers some $27 billion. Worse, they are a kind of gateway drug used to buy votes for even greater spending. As the last unlamented Republican Congress showed all too well, earmarks are also major opportunities for corruption. The current investigation into Mr. Stevens, the long-time head of the Senate Appropriations Committee, centers on whether he may have directed millions in earmarks to benefit family, friends and business partners. (He says he has nothing to hide.)
"Earmarks As Usual," The Wall Street Journal, August 1, 2007; Page A14 --- Click Here
"Pet Projects Are Flourishing in Congress, by Edmund L. Andrews, The New York Times, August 4, 2007 --- Click Here 
"Ethics Reform Shouldn't Hamper Lobbying," NPR, August 4, 2007 --- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12503706

Even though Young (Bill Young, Florida) secured 52 earmarks, worth $117.2 million--and co-sponsored at least $27 million worth of others--John Murtha's 48 earmarks amount to a total of $150.5 million, according to a database compiled by the watchdog organization Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS).
Roxana Tiron, "Murtha nabs $150M pork," The Hill, August 3, 2007 ---
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/murtha-nabs-150m-pork-2007-08-03.html

Yet, while members in both parties preach from their bully pulpits about the need to do away with earmarks, the House with virtually no debate on Sunday approved $459.6 billion in new money for the Pentagon. You want earmarks? "This bill has more than 1,300 earmarks. The notion that these had proper review is simply not reasonable," said Arizona Congressman Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican who gave a good speech but still joined the overwhelming majority of House members in voting for every one of those earmarks – and the rest of the $459.6 billion in spending.
John Nichols, "An Overwhelming Vote for Waste, Earmarks and Corruption," The Nation, August 5, 2007 ---
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?pid=220192

We're so disillusioned. We really thought the Democrats would be different (about corruption and earmarking in Congress)!
Carol Muller, Opinion Journal, August 3, 2007
Jensen Comment
Public opinion of Congress just keeps sinking lower and lower.

Texas Congressman Ron Paul -- libertarian gadfly and current Republican Presidential hopeful -- has made a name for himself as a critic of overspending. But it seems even he can't resist the political allure of earmarks. After reporters started asking questions, the Congressman disclosed his requests this year for about $400 million worth of federal funding for no fewer than 65 earmarks.
"Ron Paul's Earmarks," The Wall Street Journal, August 6, 2007; Page A12 --- Click Here

And then came one of those coincidences that can sometimes become a turning point in politics. At nearly the same time the earmark reforms were voted on in the Senate, the FBI was in Alaska raiding the home of Sen. Ted Stevens--a senior Republican--looking for evidence of whether he diverted earmarks to benefit his son and business partners. If you thought Jack Abramoff was a symbol of Washington sleaze, just wait to see what happens if Mr. Stevens is further embroiled in scandal.
John Fund, "Northern Exposure:  The GOP's Alaska delegation could become the new poster boys for corruption," The Wall Street Journal, August 7, 2007 --- http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110010437 
Also see http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters?pid=218868

Not more than a week ago, Sunnis in Baghdad's western neighborhood of Amiriya were on the side of al-Qaida. Now they're fighting alongside U.S. forces to capture or kill members of the terrorist group.
Jamie Tarabay, "Sunni Militants in Baghdad Shift Loyalties," NPR, July 31, 2007 --- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12370610
Jensen Comment
The damper on this good military news is the total ineffectiveness of the current "government" in Iraq.

Iraq's largest Sunni Arab political bloc says it will withdraw from the government.
NPR, August 1, 2007 --- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12418000

A number of former enemies - Sunni and Shi'a groups - of the American presence in Iraq have already signed on and are guided by three simple rules: they must promise to stop fighting American forces; agree to attack Al-Qaeda forces; and finally, begin a gradual rapprochement and cooperation with Iraqi military and police forces. Bringing former insurgents into the fold is a mark not only of progress but of sound, practical thinking, a good grasp of historical precedent, and a much better understanding of local politics. Pols everywhere agree: all politics is local.
 Frederick J. Chiaventone, "Methods That Work in Iraq," American Thinker, July 31, 2007 --- http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/07/methods_that_work_in_iraq.html
Jensen Comment
Now if the Sunni and Shi'a groups would just stop blowing up each other we might have some real progress.

"Perceptions of Iraq War Are Starting to Shift," by Michael Barone, Townhall, August 6, 2007 --- Click Here 

It's not often that an opinion article shakes up Washington and changes the way a major issue is viewed. But that happened last week, when The New York Times (if you can believe it?) printed an opinion article by Brookings Institution analysts Michael O'Hanlon and Ken Pollack on the progress of the surge strategy in Iraq.

Yes, progress. O'Hanlon and Pollack supported the invasion of Iraq in 2003 -- Pollack even wrote a book urging the overthrow of Saddam Hussein -- but they have sharply criticized military operations there in the ensuing years.

"As two analysts who have harshly criticized the Bush administration's miserable handling of Iraq," they wrote, "we were surprised by the gains we saw and the potential to produce not necessarily 'victory,' but a sustainable stability that both we and the Iraqis could live with."

Their bottom line: "There is enough good happening on the battlefields of Iraq today that Congress should plan on sustaining the effort at least into 2008."

Continued in article

Idealism increases in direct proportion to one's distance from the problem.
John Galsworthy --- Click Here

Mr. Taranto mistakenly views the violence after 1973 as a direct result of our withdrawal (from Viet Nam). In fact, the violence arose from the conditions that led us to withdraw: a Vietnamese civil war we couldn't stop supported by a Cambodian insurgency we couldn't bomb into submission. It's horrifying that so many South Vietnamese suffered. But, even accepting Mr. Taranto's estimate of 165,000 Vietnamese deaths--double that of most academic sources--this is a significant decrease from the preceding eight years when 450,000 civilians and 1.1 million soldiers were killed.
John Kerry, The Wall Street Journal, August 4, 2007 --- http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110010427 .

Mr. Taranto mistakenly correctly views the violence after 2008 as a direct result of our abrupt withdrawal (from Iraq). In fact, the violence arose from the conditions that led us to withdraw: an Iraq civil war we couldn't stop supported by a Pakistan-led al-Qaeda insurgency we couldn't bomb into submission. It's horrifying that so many millions of people in Iraq died without our continued military presence separating the al-Qaeda inflamed sectarian sides. Many more civilians died after withdrawal of U.S. forces than before when U.S. forces at last started to succeed in quelling al-Qaeda insurgency before 2008.
Bob Jensen, Tidbits, August 4, 2012 --- http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/TidbitsDirectory.htm

In the end, more than 1.7 million of Cambodia's 8 million inhabitants perished from disease, starvation, overwork, or outright execution in a notorious genocide. Now, 30 years after the Khmer Rouge came to power in a time of war and terror, we - who also live in a time of war and terror - would do well to consider what lessons can be learned from the Cambodian genocide. I offer four suggestions in the spirit of George Santayana's oft-cited words "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." . . . One of the most startling aspects of meeting perpetrators of genocide is how ordinary they often are. In their path to evil we catch reflections of ourselves. Most of us have, at some point, used stereotypes and euphemisms, displaced responsibility, followed instructions better questioned, succumbed to peer pressure, disparaged others, become desensitized to the suffering of others, and turned a blind eye to what our government should not be doing. These sorts of things are going on right now in the war on terror.
Alex Hinton, "Lessons from killing fields of Cambodia - 30 years on," The Christian Science Monitor, April 14, 2005 --- http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0414/p09s02-coop.html

It is more likely, however, that bloodshed of historic proportions will flow. Not hundreds of deaths a week, as now, but hundreds of thousands in a few months, and the depopulation of large areas. Instead of daily news of roadside bombs, prepare yourself for day after day of genocide stories. Shiite will fight Sunni. In the north of Iraq, the Kurds could well come under attack from Turkey, a U.S. ally that justifiably fears the terrorist PKK (People's Workers Party) operating on its border. Emboldened by America's defeat, Iran not only will engage more in Iraq, but also will foment further Hezbollah attacks on Israel. Lebanon is liable to revert to Syrian control. Afghanistan will get shakier as the Taliban base in Pakistan grows. Operating opportunistically through it all will be the global conspiracy of al-Qaida. 
Bruce Chapman, "No Surrender," The Seattle Times, August 5. 2007
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2003820677_sundaychapman05.html?syndication=rss 

Russian Youth Group Encourages "More Sex" to Save Motherland from Dwindling Population
John Jalsevac, Life Site, July 30, 2007 --- http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/jul/07073010.html
Jensen Comment
It's a tough assignment, but somebody's got to do it! Actually conceiving children is the fun and easy part. The hard part follows with the years and years of protecting, nurturing, and educating children and their offspring later on. A more open immigration policy combined with more democracy and less corruption and crime in Russia might also turn around the population decline. All these things are so much harder than "more sex."

In a prison cell south of Cairo a repentant Egyptian terrorist leader is putting the finishing touches to a remarkable recantation that undermines the Muslim theological basis for violent jihad and is set to generate furious controversy among former comrades still fighting with al-Qaida. Sayid Imam al-Sharif, 57, was the founder and first emir (commander) of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organisation, whose supporters assassinated President Anwar Sadat in 1981 and later teamed up with Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan in the war against the Soviet occupation.
Ian Black, "Violence won't work: how author of 'jihadists' bible' stirred up a storm." The Guardian, July 27, 2007 --- http://www.guardian.co.uk/egypt/story/0,,2135869,00.html

The second arms sale was the reported Russian agreement to sell Iran 250 advanced long-ranged Sukhoi-30 fighter jets and aerial fuel tankers capable of extending the jets' range by thousands of kilometers. Russia's massive armament of Iran in this and in previous sales over the past two years make clear that from Russia's perspective, all threats to US interests, including Shi'ite expansionism, work to Moscow's advantage. Today, the US finds itself competing not only against an emergent Russia, but against Iran, and the Shi'ite expansionism it advances. Moreover, it finds itself under attack from Sunni jihadism, which is incubated and financed by Saudi Arabia, America's primary ally in the Persian Gulf.
Caroline Glick, Jerusalem Post, July 31, 2007 --- Click Here

While the White House condemns Hamas terrorism, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement, to which Mr. Bush promised a half billion dollars in July, is equally culpable. A year ago Fatah's military wing threatened to "strike at the economic and civilian interests of these countries [the U.S. and Israel], here and abroad," and it claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on the Israeli town of Sderot in June. Empty promises of accountability encourage terror by diminishing the costs of its embrace.
Michael Rubin, "President Bush's Broken Promises," The Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2007; Page A14 --- Click Here

US Corporations are finding that it is difficult to receive high quality work with flexibility and cost effectiveness through outsourcing!
Subhra Kar, India Daily, September 20, 2004 as quoted by Mark Shapiro in The Irascible Professor, August 1, 2007 --- http://irascibleprofessor.com/comments-08-01-07.htm

An innovative program at a Walgreen distribution center is offering jobs to people with mental and physical disabilities of a nature that has frequently deemed them "unemployable," while saving Walgreen money through automation.
Amy Merrick, "Erasing 'Un' From 'Unemployable'," The Wall Street Journal, August 2, 2007, Page B1 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118601925584985666.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace

Another possible nonmonetizable cost is the boost to the terrorists that would be given by our acknowledging defeat in Iraq. Terrorist recruiters would argue that Islamic extremism was winning its global struggle with the West and that this was proof that God is on the side of the extremists. There is also a natural attraction to being on the winning team--the winning side in history. Again, though, there is an element of paradox in arguing that our invading Iraq was a provocation and that our withdrawing from Iraq would be an equal or (the position of the Administration) a greater provocation.
Richard Posner (famous economist and legal scholar), " Decision Theory and the War in Iraq, " The Becker-Posner Blog, July 29, 2007 --- http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/
This is an excellent article identifying monetizable versus nonmonetizable costs of the war in Iraq.
Gary Becker (Nobel Lauriat) comments on Posner's article.

Costs are usually easier to measure in modern wars than benefits. Two estimates of the past and expected future cost of the Iraq war to the United States by Davis, Murphy, and Topel, and by Bilmes and Stiglitz are discussed in my blog entry for March 19, 2006. They quantity the cost of materials and equipment used and destroyed during the war, the higher cost of attracting volunteers to the American armed forces, the cost of the many injuries to military personnel, and the cost of reconstruction aid to Iraq. They also use modern economic research on the amounts necessary to compensate individuals for taking life-threatening risks to value the cost of the number of American lives lost in the war. Obviously it would be much easier to assess wars and other big events if benefits also could be readily quantified; maybe that will become possible some day as economists continue to make progress in finding ways to quantify various intangible benefits and costs. I say, "continue" because not that long ago economist believed that the value of life to individuals was unquantifiable. Yet advances in the theory of risk-bearing showed how the statistical value of a life could be estimated from choices individuals make in situations that increase their probability of dying, such as driving fast, or working as civilians in war zones such as Baghdad.
Gary Becker (Nobel Lauriate) comments on Posner's article, The Becker-Posner Blog, July 29, 2007 --- http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/
Jensen Comment
As Einstein once stated:  "Not everything that can be counted, counts. And not everything that counts can be counted." The real problem is the massive costs and benefits (a cost to one side can be a benefit to the other side) in the entire future course of the world. For example, it is impossible to quantify the impact of the war in Viet Nam on the changed course of communists seeking to take over the world, the break up of the Soviet Union, and the abrupt shift in Asia toward capitalist economies and democracies, including Viet Nam itself which is becoming increasingly capitalist and democratized. Changing the course of a river upstream may lead to entirely new routings of the water.

On his first day as President, Edwards said, he would close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and end any forms of domestic spying programs. Also, as soon as elected, he would draw down 50,000 combat troops from Iraq, with the others following in nine to 12 months. He also said his promise of health care for every citizen would be funded through re-establishing taxes on wealthy individuals that were cut during the current Bush administration.
Trent Spiner, "Edwards' populist message draws 400 to Mack's Apples," Newsweek, July 30, 2007 --- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20028299/
Jensen Comment
Has anybody ever asked him how even a 100% tax on the incomes of the wealthy would fund universal health care for nearly 300 million people? The WSJ (8/2,07) says taxing capital gains is like "sawing the limbs off of fruit bearing trees." Edwards has already admitted that his populist plans will cost over a trillion dollars annually. Has he considered how such taxes and added national debt could destroy the economy that he wants to tax and inflate to death. Populism is a good political move to get elected, but it's a killer for the economy when it's put into place in any country other than small countries like Norway and Kuwait that have huge amounts of oil revenue per capita. At a time when virtually all nations are reducing taxes and tightening populist budgets, does the United States really understand that  populism entitlements lead to greatly reduced tax revenues and commercial innovations? Entitlements are almost impossible to reverse once they're in place.  Secondly do we really want terrorists to have a safe have in Iraq and tap into that country's oil revenues? This is a strong possibility if we follow the Edward's time table for pulling out. And do we really want to stop "any forms of domestic spying" on al-Qaeda and other terrorist suspects inside the United States? John Edwards is a handsome, articulate, sincere, and lethal presidential candidate among all the serious contenders in both political parties. His standings in the polls reflect the fact that "you can fool some of the people some of the time but not all the people all of the time."

Tort Lawyers Like John Edwards and the ACLU are Quietly Cheering the Latest Wiretapping Law
But it's important to understand for the debate ahead why all of this has become so ferociously controversial. Opposition from the Democratic left to this intelligence program isn't merely part of the partisan blood feud against a weak President near the end of his term. It is part of a far larger ideological campaign to erode Presidential war powers. Goaded by the ACLU and much of the press corps, many Democrats want to use the courts and lawsuits to restrict Mr. Bush and future Presidents in their ability to gather intelligence in the war on terror. For a flavor of this strategy, spend a few minutes on the ACLU's Web site. In that regard, even the weekend deal (the warrantless wiretapping law passed by Congress this weekend) is far from encouraging. For example, the new law does not offer explicit liability protection for telecom companies that cooperate with the wiretap program. Instead, the most Democrats would accept is language to "compel" the cooperation of these companies going forward. The Administration hope is that this "I had no choice" claim will be an adequate defense against future lawsuits, but in the U.S. tort lottery that is no sure thing.
"Reason and Wiretaps:  What the terrorist surveillance fight is really all about," The Wall Street Journal, August 8, 2007 --- http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010442 

The Wisconsin Plan for Socialized Medicine
As usual, most of the new taxes will be imposed on employers. Progressives believe money taken from them doesn't cost anything. Rich corporations will simply waste less on lavish perks and excess profits. But taxes on business are often paid by workers, stockholders and consumers. Businesses that can't pass the taxes on to someone else will close or move out of state. But progressives are oblivious to this fact. They see Wisconsin becoming a fairyland of health happiness supervised by the 16-person "authority" that will oversee the plan. Socialism will work this time because the "right" people will be in charge. Does it never occur to the progressives that the legislature's intrusion into private contracts is one reason health care and health insurance are expensive now? The average annual health-insurance premium for a family in Wisconsin is $4,462 partly because Wisconsin imposes 29 mandates on health insurers: Every policy must cover chiropractors, dentists, genetic testing, etc.
John Stossel (my favorite "Give Us a Break" commentator), "Let Wisconsin Experiment with Socialized Medicine," RealClearPolitics, August 8, 2007 ---
Click Here
Jensen Comment
It's interesting that Wisconsin once had the most liberal welfare system in the U.S. and shortly afterwards, in the face of monumental abuses of welfare, was the first to reform it into one of the tougher welfare states. If Wisconsin becomes the first state in the U.S. to adopt truly socialized medicine, watch for it to become the first to back off due soaring unemployment and eroding health care quality. Who would move a business into Wisconsin in the face having to pay such enormous health care taxes that cannot be competitively passed in product/service pricing? Where will Wisconsin attract top health care workers instead of dreg providers into the socialized medicine system? This is a far more  costly socialized medicine proposal than the plans adopted in Maine and Massachusetts.

This should be required reading for voters in Wisconsin
We should be wary of proposals that if adopted would not reduce (and might increase) aggregate costs, but instead would shift the costs to another class of payees, such as taxpayers (the Edwards plan contemplates additional federal subsidies for health care, which are paid for out of taxes) or future consumers of drugs.
Richard Posner (a famous economist), "The Reform of Health Care," The Becker-Posner Blog, April 15, 2007 ---
Click Here for a great summary of the issues followed by many informed commentaries

Sicko Deatho in Europe
We live in an age of unprecedented medical innovation. Unfortunately, most of today's cutting-edge research is conducted outside Europe, which was once a pioneer in this field. About 78% of global biotechnology research funds are spent in the U.S., compared to just 16% in Europe. Americans therefore have better access to modern drugs. One result is that in the U.S., the annual death rate from cancer is 196 per 100,000 people, compared to 235 in Britain, 244 in France, 270 in Italy and 273 in Germany.
Daniele Capezzone, "Sicko Europe, The Wall Street Journal, August 3, 2007; Page A9 --- http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118610945461187080.html?mod=opinion&ojcontent=otep

Within a year, Mr. Mitchell (in 1990 Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell proudly engineered the infamous "luxury tax) was back in the Senate passionately demanding an end to the same dreaded luxury tax. The levy had devastated his home state of Maine's boat-building business, throwing yard workers, managers and salesmen out of jobs. The luxury tax was repealed by 1993, though by the look of today's tax debate, its lessons haven't been forgotten. Top Democrats are working to implement a new class-warfare tax strategy, only this time they're getting pushback from those in their party who fear the economic consequences.
Kimberly Strassel, "Reluctant Class Warriors," The Wall Street Journal, August 3, 2007, Page A8 --- Click Here

Publix supermarket chain (tops in Florida where old folks are on their last stop toward heaven or wherever) said today it will make seven common prescription antibiotics available for free, joining other major retailers in trying to lure customers to their stores with cheap medications. The oral antibiotics, representing the most commonly filled at the chain's pharmacies, will be available at no cost to anyone with a prescription as often as they need them.
"Publix to offer 7 popular prescription antibiotics for free," Sun-Sentinel, August 6, 2007 --- http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sfl-0806publix,0,1726442.story
Jensen Comment 1
The Feds, at least the foolish ones, must be dancing in the streets since the majority of the folks getting these free antibiotics were probably on Medicare D or Medicaid that paid for them anyway. This freebie from Publix is helping the government more than anybody else, or so it seems at first blush. Actually the Feds may not be saving anything since most customers who pay for drugs are probably do not qualify for a medical income tax deduction for drugs, and Publix can deduct the entire cost of the drugs when it files its own tax return. Even if the Feds cheer is muted, our hats are off to Publix --- or are they?

Jensen Comment 2
Publix is being very shrewd. Notice that none of the seven free prescription drugs is a drug used regularly day in and day out by customers. Antibiotics are prescribed only now and then to treat certain types of temporary infections. Hence the freebie is only a now and then thing for a customer. By luring grateful customers into the supermarket, Publix may then sell other prescriptions (like those for drugs taken daily for the rest of your life) at higher prices than some other pharmacies like Wal-Mart and Target that sell over 140 common prescription drugs for $4 per monthly dosage and Walgreens that sells 138 such drugs for a comparable price.

Jensen Comment 3
The Publix freebie on seven antibiotics is what's known in marketing as a "loss leader." Loss leaders are sold at very low prices, usually below cost, to lure consumers into the store or Website. Once in a supermarket like Publix, customers seldom take their quota of the loss leaders without buying other merchandise such as milk, meat, cereal, produce, wine, and other highly profitable items in the store. If customers only grabbed the loss leaders and fled to shop where prices are lower, it would put an end to loss leaders in marketing. But customers are almost always not ones to flee in this manner. It takes too much time, trouble, and gas to shop for all the bargains around the city. And a free loss leader generally is preferred loss leaders that are not entirely free.

Jensen Comment 4
When prescription drugs are paid, at least in part, by third parties like insurance companies, Medicare D, and Medicaid, it adds "stickiness" to customer loyalty somewhat analogous to the way frequent flyer miles add "stickiness" to the choice of an airline. When I get my prescriptions filled by Wal-Mart in Littleton, the pharmacy has all computers set up for my renewable prescriptions and my Medicare D and Medicare supplemental plans. If I go to another area pharmacy for the first time, all the computer work has to be set up again in a manner that delays my shopping (which I hate in the first place). Hence if a loss leader draws me to a pharmacy in the first place (Wal-Mart is great for loss leaders), I'm not inclined to shop elsewhere except via the Internet. Publix would like to become the pharmacy of choice for third party setups on their computers. I think it made a shrewd move.

Jensen Comment 5
The American Medical Association purportedly is not so happy with this marketing ploy by Publix. There are serious externalities in society from prescribing antibiotics except when unequivocally necessary. The AMA thinks that Publix freebies will induce customers to pressure their doctors to write more prescriptions for antibiotics questionably necessary for illnesses that will probably run the same course with or without antibiotics.
Bob Jensen's consumer protection threads are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudReporting.htm

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama found himself embroiled in a new foreign policy flap with rival Hillary Clinton on Thursday, this time over the use of nuclear weapons. Obama ruled out the use of nuclear weapons to go after al Qaeda or Taliban targets in Afghanistan or Pakistan, prompting Clinton to say presidents never take the nuclear option off the table, and extending their feud over whether Obama has enough experience to be elected president in November 2008.
Steve Holland, "Obama, Clinton in new flap, over nuclear weapons," The Washington Post, August 2, 2007 --- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/02/AR2007080201868_pf.html
Jensen Comment
Barack Obama will be a truly leading candidate for the presidency in 2016 if he learns from his 2007 and 2011 campaign spankings administered by his mentor, President Hillary Clinton (and Senator Dodd and others as well). Although his declaration more deeply endeared Obama to antiwar activists who bristled when he advocated military strikes on Pakistan, Obama's recent foreign policy campaign flaps may have cost him the 2008 primary presidential election.

Republican presidential hopeful John McCain on Thursday backed a scaled-down proposal that imposes strict rules to end illegal immigration but doesn't include a path to citizenship. The move away from a comprehensive measure is an about-face for the Arizona senator, who had been a leading GOP champion of a bill that included a guest worker program and would have legalized many of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S. It failed earlier this year.
Jennifer Talhelm, "McCain changes course on immigration," Yahoo News, August 2, 2007 --- http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070802/ap_on_el_pr/mccain_immigration_1
Jensen Comment
More than any other issue, including his support for Bush's Iraq stance, Senator McCain's aggressive support of amnesty for over 12 million undocumented (illegal) aliens all but ruined his chances for winning the GOP nomination to become the next president of the United States. His latest about face is probably too little too late but may have an impact on other presidential hopefuls from both parties. What is truly remarkable is that McCain apparently supported amnesty out of conscience knowing full well the political consequences. His stance hurt his chances drastically and did not do much to win the love and support of Hispanics in the U.S. who, like Jewish voters, are die hard Democrats no matter how hard the GOP moves to garner their votes.

It's gotten catty out there. Jeri Thompson is a trophy wife, as is Cindy McCain. Michelle Obama is too offhand and irreverent when speaking of her husband, and Judith Giuliani is a puppy-stapling princess. Even Hillary Clinton was a focus, for wearing an outfit that suggested, however faintly, that underneath her clothing she may be naked, and have breasts. Why these stories? Because it's August and no one wants to think. Because the campaign is too long and reporters have to write about something. Because cable news has an insatiable need for guests, and if you write a story cable producers can easily find tape for, you get to go on Olbermann or O'Reilly and seem to publicize your paper, which will please your bosses, with the added benefit of giving you personal face time, which essentially asserts, in the world of high-level politics, that you exist.
Peggy Noonan, "Spouse Rules Advice for the ladies who seek to become first lady," The Wall Street Journal, August 3, 2007 --- http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110010416 

“Spousework” is my term for a range of tasks that the spouses of college presidents perform or may perform. There is the involuntary role (being seen as an ambassador for the institution the partner leads). Every spouse is stuck with this. There are voluntary roles that could also be delegated to many people other than the spouse — helping the leader by performing tasks that impact the couple (such as planning events at the official residence, running the leader’s personal errands) or helping with institutional efforts that do not directly impact the leadership couple (such as serving on the recycling committee). There are also voluntary roles that only a select few people could fill — acting as a confidante, sounding board, extra pair of eyes and ears, source of new ideas and different point of view. And there are voluntary roles that no one other than the leader or the spouse can play, such as lobbying for the needs of the family and of the couple, jointly and individually.
Teresa Oden, The Future of Spousework, Inside Higher Ed, August 6, 2007 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2007/08/03/oden

The very purpose of existence is to reconcile the glowing opinion we hold of ourselves with the appalling things that other people think about us.
Quentin Crisp (1908 - 1999) --- Click Here

In the communist era of the "iron rice bowl," state-owned enterprises (in China) regularly promised pensions to workers, who made no pension contributions. In 1997, as China moved toward a market-oriented economy, it adopted a two-tiered payroll tax to finance social security (primarily in urban areas). Employers now should contribute 20% of wages to support a defined retirement benefit. Employees also are now required to contribute 8% of a worker's wages to a personal account, with a variable retirement benefit based on investment returns. . The responsibility for paying social security benefits rests with local governments -- provinces, cities or townships -- which also collect the payroll taxes. Unfortunately, these local governments are using much of the employers' 20% payroll taxes to pay pre-1997 legacy pensions to workers who never made any contributions.
Robert C. Pozen, "Insuring China's Future," The Wall Street Journal, August 6, 2007; Page A12 --- Click Here 

Not all is gloom out there. That's the dominant message from the most recent Pew Global Attitudes Project's poll of 47 nations. Pew found that there is rising or constantly high contentment all over the globe with one's quality of life and family income. Satisfaction tends to be highest in the United States and Canada, but not far behind are Western Europe and Latin America. Even in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America, about one-third are highly satisfied with their quality of life and income. As the Pew Global analysts point out, there is a high correlation here with economic...
Michael Barone, "Our National Funk," Townhall, July 31, 2007 --- Click Here

Congress' obsession with the TSP's legal pedigree has become the major threat to its continued viability, rivaling in its deleterious impact the infamous "wall," much criticized by the 9/11 Commission, which prevented information sharing between the Justice Department's intelligence and law-enforcement divisions. It is hypocritical for those in Congress who preach fidelity to the 9/11 Commission recommendations to behave so dramatically at odds with their spirit. The question Judiciary Committee members should have been asking Mr. Gonzales was not whether he had misled them--he clearly did not--but whether the TSP is still functioning well. The question the public should be asking those senators--and with not much more civility than the senators showed Mr. Gonzales--is what are they going to do about it if the answer is no.
David B. Rivkin Jr. and Lee A. Casey, "The Real Wiretapping Scandal:  Our Terrorist Surveillance Program isn't as effective it was a few months ago. Where's the outrage?" The Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2007 --- http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010401 

The national passenger rail company is making the unusual offer to promote a new high-end service being offered on a trial basis for certain sleeper car trips. Members of Amtrak's guest rewards program--the railroad equivalent of frequent fliers--can get a $100 per person credit for alcohol between November and January.
Devlin Barrett, "Amtrak Offers Free Booze," Breitbart, August 3, 2007 --- Click Here

Not only do most people accept violence if it is perpetuated by legitimate authority, they also regard violence against certain kinds of people as inherently legitimate, no matter who commits it.
Edgar Z. Friedenberg --- Click Here

Spectators to Genocide Your U.N. in action: A watered-down Darfur resolution.
The 26,000 troops -- a combination of the current 7,000-strong African Union force and a new U.N. brigade -- will be stretched to cover an area the size of France. But the bigger handicap of the "hybrid" force is its mandate, watered down by China and Russia, which blocked tougher action. This is what happens when "consensus" is given higher priority than achieving actual security on the ground . . . In any case, the troops' ability to use force will be severely limited by another concession to Sudan. The soldiers will not be allowed to seize weapons from the government-supported Janjaweed killers, the Darfur rebels fighting against Khartoum, or other wandering thugs toting guns. Instead, they will "monitor whether any arms or related material are present in Darfur." If they find any? Oh, well.
"Spectators to Genocide," The Wall Street Journal, August 2, 2007; Page A10 --- Click Here

This Evil Overlord List grew out of the exchanges on what is now the Star Trek mailing list "shields-up@spies.com", beginning in 1994 (when it was still "startrek@cs.arizona.edu"). We were kicking around cliches that appeared on "Deep Space 9" at the time, and I started to compile a list of classic blunders they were making. The list came to about 20 or so items. In 1995, I decided to try to make it into a Top 100 List. I attached a copyright notice, some friends of mine posted it to a few newsgroups, and the contributions quickly poured in. In 1996 I revised the list entries to their current form, the Web page went up, more contributions were solicited, the list expanded beyond 100 and I had to open up a dungeon. I continued to contribute items; my total is around 40 or so. So while I am the originator, editor, and principal contributor, I certainly did not write the majority of the items on the list -- as may be seen by the sheer number of individuals who are listed as contributors. Around 1997, as the final contributions were coming in, a couple contributors mentioned that this was similar to a list of things not to do if you capture James Bond that had appeared on a sci-fi newsgroup. I'd never heard of or seen this list, so I assumed it was parallel development or perhaps something I had inspired.
Peter Anspach --- http://minievil.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html

Helen Green is said to have picked the Muslim call to prayer as HAND-WRITING practice. It includes the lines “Allah is the greatest” and “I bear witness that there is no God but Allah” . . . Billy’s angry dad Martin, 32, said there were no Muslims in the ten-year-old’s class. He added: “I am not religious but it offended me. “It must have been worse for children whose parents do have different beliefs.”
Alistair Taylor, "Kids told to write 'Allah is God'," The Sun, August 6, 2007 --- http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2007360135,00.html
Jensen Comment
Helen Green would probably be unemployed or maybe dead or sued for $10 million by the ACLU if "Jesus" had replaced "Allah" in the assignment.

"Shame, Triumph and Triumphalism," by John Brignell --- http://www.numberwatch.co.uk/2007 July.htm

Black Sunday!

Today in England we have a smoking ban.

• Innocent children are being stabbed to death by feral gangs who chase them down the street screaming “Kill! kill!” – but we have a smoking ban.
• Child gangs fight deadly pre-arranged battles with clubs and chains – but we have a smoking ban
• Over a quarter of children have taken illegal and dangerous drugs – but we have a smoking ban.
• Gun crime is rife in our inner cities – but we have a smoking ban.
• You are far more likely to be mugged or burgled in London than in New York – but we have a smoking ban.
• People are being killed in their thousands by filthy Government run hospitals (Sicko?) – real people with real autopsies, real tissue samples and real grieving families, not imaginary people produced by fake statistics – but we have a smoking ban.
• The entire population are seized with a new fear, acairasthenephobia , the fear of being taken ill out of hours, which has already resulted in death – but we have a smoking ban.
• Police in crime and drug infested Scotland spend their time looking out for smoking van drivers – for we have a smoking ban  

The most evident contemporary characteristic of the ban is its irrelevance to our broken society. It has come about as a result of the most ruthless and mendacious campaign in modern history. At least the American campaigners (such as the CDC and EPA) went to the trouble of committing gross statistical fraud to accomplish their ends. The British campaigners simply invented numbers – and then kept increasing them.

You can read more about the outspoken John Brignell at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brignell

Jensen Comment
I'm all in favor of smoking bans, but  John Brignell would have us to believe that such bans are like rearranging the deck chairs in our crime-infested, narcotics-dealing Titanic inner cities where health care and crime protections are shams.

Comparison of Plagiarism Detection Tools --- http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/SER07017B.pdf
"Plagiarism Detection: Is Technology the Answer?" at the 2007 EDUCAUSE Southeast Regional Conference, Liz Johnson, Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, provided a chart comparing seven plagiarism detection tools: Turnitin, MyDropBox, PAIRwise, EVE2, WCopyFind, CopyCatch, and GLATT.

Bob Jensen's threads on plagiarism and cheating are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/Plagiarism.htm

All Homeowners Should Take Note of This Likely Change in Their Homeowners' Insurance Policies
Higher Deductibles Sting Homeowners
...more insurers change how they calculate deductibles, especially for damage caused by windstorms and other natural events. The newer method of figuring deductibles is based on a percentage of the insured value of your home -- typically between 1% and 5%, and even higher in earthquake zones. With home prices having soared in many areas in recent years, this often works out to be far more costly to the homeowner than the traditional flat-dollar method of figuring deductibles, by which you pay the first $1,000 or so of home repairs.
"Higher Deductibles Sting Homeowners," The Wall Street Journal via Market Watch, August 1, 2007 --- Click Here

Bob Jensen's threads on consumer protection are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudReporting.htm

Man Sold Goods on EBay, Never Delivered
A 37-year-old man was found guilty Tuesday of collecting more than $90,000 in payments for Rolex watches and sports tickets through eBay but never delivering the merchandise to customers. A federal court jury convicted him of 12 counts of mail fraud. Vartanian faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. He was arrested earlier this year in Fremont.
PhysOrg, August 8, 2007 --- http://physorg.com/news105770216.html

Bob Jensen's threads on how to avoid being taken on eBay are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudReporting.htm#eBay

How to avoid those huge debit card fees?
Debit cards may seem attractive to consumers who want to avoid racking up credit charges, because they appear to have the safeguard of drawing from your checking account. But it is possible to overdraw from your debit card, and the resulting fees are very high. Here's how to avoid such charges.
Michelle Singletary, "Watch Your Debit Card Balance," NPR, July 31, 2007 --- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12374687

Bob Jensen's threads on "Dirty Secrets of Credit/Debit Card Companies" are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/FraudReporting.htm#FICO

Question
Why are their no more supermarkets in Detroit?
Why isn't Michael Moore's next book entitled "Starvo?"

Answer
High violent crime risks (Perhaps they should've been fronted by police substations)
Enormous shoplifting risks
School lunch programs
History of financial losses before all supermarkets were closed
Other complex factors factors

"No More Supermarkets?: Major Grocers Flee Detroit - Part II," NPR, August 3, 2007 --- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12477875

Part I is at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12477872

Question
Where can I apply for a job like this?
More importantly, will your spouse let you get away with it if you bring home a fat paycheck?

Seriously, this most likely becomes both a sickening and very, very boring job.

Gene Toye gets paid to surf every site that you're not allowed to look at when working. An analyst for St. Bernard Software, a maker of messaging security products, Toye evaluates and categorizes Web sites. "My friends think it's a crazy job," he says. "Everyone thinks all I do is look for porn all day. They call me 'Porn Guy.'"
Thomas Wailgum, PC World via The Washington Post, August 2, 2007 --- Click Here

Question
How can you make your own video game, possibly an educational game that you put online?

People who love to create their own blogs, podcasts, and movies have a new outlet for self-expression: home-made video games.
Erica Naone, "Playing Their Own Way," MIT's Technology Review, August 2, 2007 --- http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/19137/?a=f

Hoping to cash in on the popularity of user-generated content, a number of companies have set up websites that help average folks create their own video games. Sites such as MyGame and Scratch, for example, provide simple personalizing or programming tools so that people with little or no programming experience can create their own kind of fun. Players can personalize games on MyGame in a matter of minutes using a basic home computer, and they can spend anywhere from hours to weeks designing a game, depending on its complexity. Reflexive Entertainment, a video-game company based in California, has already had great success with user-generated content. In 2004, the company released a downloadable game called Big Kahuna Reef and included tools so that players could design their own levels. The feature was so popular that it formed the basis for a sequel, called Big Kahuna Reef 2, with 700 user-generated levels. Ion Hardie, director of product development for Reflexive, says that the core community of designers is small--some 30 or 40 people--but the company is working to increase involvement in new releases. Its most recent release, Ricochet Infinity, integrates more design features into the core game, with the idea of encouraging more players to participate. Ulrich Tausend, a graduate student in the sociology department at the University of Munich and the founder of the game company Neodelight, says that user-generated content is getting attention in the game-development industry because visible game communities could attract more players. "One main goal of the casual game developers is to tell the nontypical potential computer players ... that gaming is also something for them," he says. The challenge to providing user-generated content, Tausend says, is that companies have to provide tools that are easy to use yet powerful enough to let people express themselves. Continued in article

Question
What are some computer science courses doing to slow the decline in enrollments?
Could robots play Monopoly in basic accounting and economics courses?

"U.S. Colleges Retool Programming Classes," by Greg Bluestein, PhysOrg, May 26, 2007 --- http://physorg.com/news99378145.html 

Bob Jensen's threads on learning games and edutainment are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/000aaa/thetools.htm#Edutainment

Question
What does a leading Native American scholar think of Ward Churchill's scholarship and integrity?

And this was the judgment of Churchill's academic peers. UCLA professor Russell Thornton, a Cherokee tribe member whose work was misrepresented by Churchill, said "I don't see how the University of Colorado can keep him with a straight face," calling his material on smallpox a "fabrication" of history, and accusing him of "gross, gross scholarly misconduct." Real American Indian history, he told the Rocky Mountain News, is vitally important, not "a bunch of B.S. that someone made up." R.G. Robertson, author of Rotting Face: Smallpox and the American Indian and another scholar who has accused Churchill of misrepresenting his work, says that he's "happy that [he was fired], that he's been found out, and by his peers—meaning other university people—and been called what he is, a plagiarizer and a liar." Thomas Brown, a professor of sociology at Lamar University who has also investigated Churchill's smallpox research, said his work on the subject is "fabricated almost entirely from scratch."
Michael C. Moynihan, "Ward of the State:  Why the state of Colorado was right to sack Ward Churchill," Reason Magazine, August 1, 2007 --- http://www.reason.com/news/show/121682.html
 

Bob Jensen's threads on the Ward Churchill saga are at http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HypocrisyChurchill.htm

Question
Are student professional interests/demands harmful to liberal arts colleges?
What's a bastion of liberal arts education, Bard College, doing with startup programs in business and finance?

Think Bard College student and what comes to mind? More likely someone writing a play or conducting an experiment than checking a Bloomberg box. But officials at the liberal arts college want to be open to educating the future day traders and financial analysts. Those are some of the students who they say will benefit from a new dual-degree program that’s debuting this fall. Bard is offering a bachelor’s of science degree in economics and finance as part of a five-year arrangement in which students also receive a B.A. in a traditional liberal arts field — languages and literature; science or a social studies field other than economics, for instance.
Elia Powers, "Bard Brings Finance Into the Fold," Inside Higher Ed, August 2, 2007 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/08/02/bard

Question
Does faculty research improve student learning in the classrooms where researchers teach?
Put another way, is research more important than scholarship that does not contribute to new knowledge?

Major Issue
If the answer leans toward scholarship over research, it could monumentally change criteria for tenure in many colleges and universities.

AACSB International: the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, has released for comment a report calling for the accreditation process for business schools to evaluate whether faculty research improves the learning process. The report expresses the concern that accreditors have noted the volume of research, but not whether it is making business schools better from an educational standpoint.
Inside Higher Ed, August 6, 2007 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/08/06/qt

"Controversial Report on Business School Research Released for Comments," AACSB News Release, August 3, 2007 --- http://www.aacsb.edu/Resource_Centers/Research/media_release-8-3-07.pdf

FL (August 3, 2007) ― A report released today evaluates the nature and purposes of business school research and recommends steps to increase its value to students, practicing managers and society. The report, issued by the Impact of Research task force of AACSB International, is released as a draft to solicit comments and feedback from business schools, their faculties and others. The report includes recommendations that could profoundly change the way business schools organize, measure, and communicate about research.

AACSB International, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, estimates that each year accredited business schools spend more than $320 million to support faculty research and another half a billion dollars supports research-based doctoral education.

“Research is now reflected in nearly everything business schools do, so we must find better ways to demonstrate the impact of our contributions to advancing management theory, practice and education” says task force chair Joseph A. Alutto, of The Ohio State University. “But quality business schools are not and should not be the same; that’s why the report also proposes accreditation changes to strengthen the alignment of research expectations to individual school missions.”

The task force argues that a business school cannot separate itself from management practice and still serve its function, but it cannot be so focused on practice that it fails to develop rigorous, independent insights that increase our understanding of organizations and management. Accordingly, the task force recommends building stronger interactions between academic researchers and practicing managers on questions of relevance and developing new channels that make quality academic research more accessible to practice.

According to AACSB President and CEO John J. Fernandes, recommendations in this report have the potential to foster a new generation of academic research. “In the end,” he says, “it is a commitment to scholarship that enables business schools to best serve the future needs of business and society through quality management education.”

The Impact of Research task force report draft for comments is available for download on the AACSB website: www.aacsb.edu/research. The website also provides additional resources related to the issue and the opportunity to submit comments on the draft report. The AACSB Committee on Issues in Management Education and Board of Directors will use the feedback to determine the next steps for implementation.

The AACSB International Impact of Research Task Force
Chairs:
Joseph A. Alutto, interim president, and
John W. Berry, Senior Chair in Business, Max M. FisherCollege of Business, The Ohio State University

K. C. Chan, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Richard A. Cosier, Purdue University
Thomas G. Cummings, University of Southern California
Ken Fenoglio, AT&T
Gabriel Hawawini, INSEAD and the University of Pennsylvania
Cynthia H. Milligan, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Myron Roomkin, Case Western Reserve University
Anthony J. Rucci, The Ohio State University

Teaching Excellence Secondary to Research for Promotion, Tenure, and Pay ---
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm#TeachingVsResearch

Bob Jensen's threads on higher education controversies are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen/HigherEdControversies.htm

Bob Jensen's threads on the sad state of academic accountancy research are at
http://www.trinity.edu/rjensen//theory/00overview/theory01.htm 

Academic Publishing in the Digital Age:  Scott McLemee claims this is a "must read"

"Sailing from Ithaka,"  By Scott McLemee, Inside Higher Ed, August 1, 2007 --- http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2007/08/01/mclemee 

It’s not always clear where the Zeitgeist ends and synchronicity kicks in, but Intellectual Affairs just got hit going and coming.

In last week’s column, we checked in on a professor who was struggling to clear his office of books. They had been piling up and possibly breeding at night. In particular, he said, he found that he seldom needed to read a monograph more than once. In a pinch, it would often be possible to relocate a given reference through a digital search – so why not pass the books along to graduate students? And so he did.

While getting ready to shoot that article into the Internet’s “series of tubes,” my editor also passed along a copy of “University Publishing in a Digital Age” – a report sponsored by Ithaka and JSTOR.

It was released late last week. On Thursday, IHE ran a detailed and informative article about the Ithaka Report, as I suppose it is bound to be known in due time. The groups that prepared the document propose the creation of “a powerful technology, service, and marketing platform that would serve as a catalyst for collaboration and shared capital investment in university-based publishing.”

Clearly this would be a vaster undertaking than JSTOR, even. The Ithaka Report may very well turn out to be a turning point in the recent history, not only of scholarly publishing, but of scholarship itself. And yet only a few people have commented on the proposal so far – a situation that appears, all things considered, very strange.

So, at the risk of being kind of pushy about it, let me put it this way: More or less everyone reading this column who has not already done so ought (as soon as humanly possible) to get up to speed on the Ithaka Report. I say that in spite of the fact that the authors of the report themselves don’t necessarily expect you to read it.

It’s natural to think of scholarship and publishing as separate enterprises. Each follows its own course – overlapping at some points but fundamentally distinct with respect to personnel and protocols. The preparation and intended audience for the Ithaka Report reflects that familiar division of things. It is based on surveys and interviews with (as it says) “press directors, librarians, provosts, and other university administrators.” But not – nota bene! — with scholars. Which is no accident, because “this report,” says the report, “is not directed at them.”

The point bears stressing. But it’s not a failing, as such. Press directors and university librarians tend to have a macroscopic view of the scholarly public that academic specialists, for the most part do not. And it’s clear those preparing the report are informed about current discussions and developments within professional associations – e.g., those leading to the recent MLA statement on tenure and promotion.

But scholars can’t afford to ignore the Ithaka Report just because they were not consulted directly and are not directly addressed as part of its primary audience. On the contrary. It merits the widest possible attention among people doing academic research and writing.

The report calls for development of “shared electronic publishing infrastructure across universities to save costs, create scale, leverage expertise, innovate, extend the brand of US higher education, create an interlinked environment of information, and provide a robust alternative to commercial competitors.” (It sounds, in fact, something like AggAcad, except on steroids and with a billion dollars.)

The existence of such an infrastructure would condition not only the ability of scholars to publish their work, but how they do research. And in a way, it has already started to do so.

The professor interviewed for last week’s column decided to clear his shelves in part because he expected to be able to do digital searches to track down things he remembered reading. Without giving away too much of this professor’s identity away, I can state that he is not someone prone to fits of enthusiasm for every new gizmo that comes along. Nor does he work in a field of study where most of the secondary (let alone primary) literature is fully digitalized.

But he’s taking it as a given that for some aspects of his work, the existing digital infrastructure allows him to offload one of the costs of research. Office space being a limited resource, after all.

It’s not that online access creates a substitute for reading print-based publications. On my desk at the moment, for example, is a stack of pages printed out after a session of using Amazon’s Inside the Book feature. I’ll take them to the library and look some things up. The bookseller would of course prefer that we just hit the one-click, impulse-purchase button they have so thoughtfully provided; but so it goes. This kind of thing is normal now. It factors into how you do research, and so do a hundred other aspects of digital communication, large and small.

The implicit question now is whether such tools and trends will continue to develop in an environment overwhelmingly shaped by the needs and the initiatives of private companies. The report raises the possibility of an alternative: the creation of a publishing infrastructure designed specifically to meet the needs of the community of scholars.

Continued in article

Also see "New Model for University Presses," The University of Illinois Issues in Scholarly Communication Blog, July 31, 2007 --- http://www.library.uiuc.edu/blog/scholcomm/

As posted in Open Access News... It’s the nightmare-come-true scenario for many an academic: You spend years writing a book in your field, send it off to a university press with an interest in your topic, the outside reviewers praise the work, the editors like it too, but the press can’t afford to publish it. The book is declared too long or too narrow or too dependent on expensive illustrations or too something else. But the bottom line is that the relevant press, with a limited budget, can’t afford to release it, and turns you down, while saying that the book deserves to be published. That’s the situation scholars find themselves in increasingly these days, and press editors freely admit that they routinely review submissions that deserve to be books, but that can’t be, for financial reasons. The underlying economic bind university presses find themselves in is attracting increasing attention, including last week’s much awaited report from Ithaka, “University Publishing in a Digital Age,” which called for universities to consider entirely new models. One such new model is about to start operations: The Rice University Press, which was eliminated in 1996, was revived last year with the idea that it would publish online only, using low-cost print-on-demand.... Rice is going to start printing books that have been through the peer review process elsewhere, been found to be in every way worthy, but impossible financially to publish.... Some of the books Rice will publish, after they went through peer review elsewhere, will be grouped together as “The Long Tail Press.” In addition, Rice University Press and Stanford University Press are planning an unusual collaboration in which Rice will be publishing a series of books reviewed by Stanford and both presses will be associated with the work…. Alan Harvey, editor in chief at Stanford, said he saw great potential not only to try a new model, but to test the economics of publishing in different formats. Stanford might pick some books with similar scholarly and economic potential, and publish some through Rice and some in the traditional way, and be able to compare total costs as well as scholarly impact. “We’d like to make this a public experiment and post the results,” he said. Another part of the experiment, he said, might be to explore “hybrid models” of publishing. Stanford might publish most of a book in traditional form, but a particularly long bibliography might appear online… University Publishing in a Digital Age In case you've not seen the notices, the non-profit organization Ithaka has just released a report on the state of university press publishing today, University Publishing in a Digital Age. Based on a detailed study of university presses, which morphed into a larger examination of the relationship among presses, libraries and their universities, the report's authors suggest that university presses focus less on the book form and consider a major collaborative effort to assume many of the technological and marketing functions that most presses cannot afford; they also suggest that universities be more strategic about the relationship of presses to broader institutional goals. .

August 2, 2007 message from

UNIVERSITY PUBLISHING IN A DIGITAL AGE

"Publishing in the future will look very different than it has looked in the past. Consumption patterns have already changed dramatically, as many scholars have increasingly begun to rely on electronic resources to get information that is useful to their research and teaching.

Transformation on the creation and production sides is taking longer, but ultimately may have an even more profound impact on the way scholars work."

The Ithaka report, "University Publishing in a Digital Age" (July 23, 2007), "began as a review of U.S. university presses and their role in scholarly publishing. It has evolved into a broader assessment of the importance of publishing to universities." To assess the current state and future role of university-based scholarly publishing, the report's authors interviewed a variety of university provosts, press directors, and librarians from public and private institutions.