Issue #67
Last Update May 31, 2010
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National and Obama's Psyche by Gerry Krownstein May 31, 2010 Some of the discontent with President Obama's handling of the important issues of the day (health care, the economy, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the two wars, various issues of Presidential power vs individual rights, and others) is unjustified; given the number of crises he inherited and the intransigence of the Republican opposition which seems to be putting partisan interests ahead of the interests of the nation. He is probably doing as well as anyone could in the situation. But in achieving what he has inarguably achieved, he has made some of his natural allies very uneasy. continued Is Israel Suicidal? by David Katz April 30, 2010 Israel's recent behavior makes no sense at all, even if you grant that a coalition government is often unwieldy. Insulting its closest ally, the ultimate guarantor of its safety, seems extraordinarily dumb. There is only one possible explanation: the settlement expansion was an integral part of Netenyahu's strategy, but the Interior Minister fumbled the timing. Not only does this fit the current Israeli internal politics, it fits Israeli history since the assassination of Rabin: whenever peace talks with the Palestinians look even a tiny bit hopeful, Israel scuttles the possibility by enlarging settlements and enraging the Palestinians. continued Republican Brownshirts by Sten Grynir April 2, 2010 Hysteria on the right has now reached the point where it is seriously flirting with thuggishness. From the Sarah Palin-inspired threatening chants, to disruption of "town hall" sessions where right-wingers shouted down anyone who wanted to ask a serious question, to openly carrying loaded weapons to meetings and speeches, to racist signs at right-wing marches, conservatives seem to be focussed less on debate than intimidation. What looks like the early stages of Mussolini's Brown Shirts or Hitler's SA has begun an attempt to make this nation ungovernable, with the hope that a right-wing authoritarian state will be the successor to our democracy. continued Facing the Hard Facts on Iran by Sherwin Pomerantz February 16, 2010 Today's papers are, as usual, full of articles about Iran and how the world should deal with the growing nuclear threat emanating from that sorry corner of the world. Correcting an Imbalance by Gerry Krownstein October 31, 2009 A situation not anticipated by the founding fathers threatens to disrupt our democracy. The Constitution is a masterful balancing act, playing powers off against each other so that no one group can assume total power. The legislature is juxtaposed to the executive and judicial branches; each is powerful, but not powerful enough to swamp any of the other branches - certainly not powerful enough to ride roughshod over a combination of the other two. Within the legislative branch, power is split between the local representatives in the House of Representatives and the statewide Senators. The House is charged with initiating all fiscal legislation; the Senate controls treaties and confirmations. Both are required for any piece of legislation to become law. The House is the voice of the majority. The Senate is the protector of the interests of the small states. It was a brilliant compromise in 1787, but changes in the distribution of our population has led to a tyranny of the minority. continued Commentary September 2009 This month marks the beginning of our ninth year of publication. Our first issue, September 2001, was almost ready to publish when 9/11 occurred. Some of the articles we had planned seemed trivial compared with the seriousness of the times, and we quickly replaced them with a few articles acknowledging the events of that day. From that rocky beginning, we have built an on-line magazine that comments on national and world events, translates into layman's terms cutting-edge developments in finance and technology, reads and summarizes the documents that most legislators (and newspeople) don't bother to read, but which affect the lives of all of us, and reviews restaurants, plays, concerts, CDs and books. Occasional humorous pieces have appeared, some of them satirical and some of them just lighthearted. We have tried to keep to a monthly schedule, with occasional time off for good behavior, so that we can remain timely commentators on the issues of the day. continued Business and High Velocity Trading by Sten Grynir May 30, 2010 The extraordinary volatility of the financial markets, with prices bouncing all over the place from day to day, is not only a deterrent to a full economic recovery, but also a symptom of a systemic flaw in the organization of these markets that someday could lead to disaster. That disaster nearly occurred recently when the stock market plummeted a thousand points before rebounding most of the way scant seconds later. Some of the volatility is generated by unsettled political and economic situations, but some of it is generated by trading technologies not adequately controlled by the exchanges and for which limitations are not even contemplated by the regulatory agencies. High frequency computer generated trades bear a significant responsibility for recent events. continued Ereaders 101 by David Katz April 17, 2010 Portable readers for digital books have finally caught on. Sit in a subway car in New York City and you may well see three or four people reading from Kindles or its equivalent. A few more people may be reading on their laptops or smart phones. This article is the first of a series to introduce you to the ereader offerings currently available, and to alert you to additional readers due to be released in the next few months. First, ereaders 101. continued Smartphone Apps by Sten Grynir October 24, 2009 Smart phones are the Swiss Army knives of the digital world: in one small gadget, you have every device you could need. Not that these phones really replace your laptop, camera, guitar tuner, TV, guidebook, first aid manual, ebook reader, newspaper, compass, level, GPS and piano, but if lost in the woods with only a smart phone you could make your phone function as each of these, and more. The results would, in some cases, be unsatisfactory, and certainly not as good as the dedicated device, but they would be good enough for an emergency. To give you an idea of the scope of the app offerings, here is a short roundup. There are four major smart phone platforms to consider: Apple's proprietary iPhone OS, open source Android, Palm's proprietary Palm webOS, Blackberry's Java-based platform and Windows Mobile. continued Usury by Gert Innsry September 30, 2009 In the good old days (pre Reagan) there were usury laws that kept the lid on gauging by banks and credit card companies. Maximum interest rates were set that provided a fair rate of return to the lender, while ensuring that a steady stream of modest payments would get the borrower out of debt. The stagflation of the late 1970's put an end to that. With inflation-driven interest rates in the double digits, the usury laws had to be weakened for any lending to take place at all. Unfortunately, as with most economic matters, the free-market, get the government out of my hair so we can all get rich ideology resulted in the baby being thrown out with the bath water. Instead of pegging interest rates to inflation, resulting in a fair rate that allowed banks to profit, the usury statutes were all but eliminated, leaving banks and credit card companies free to charge whatever rates and fees, at whatever terms they wanted. While inflation (and the bank lending rate) remained high, the gauging remained invisible. Now that inflation is non-existent, the true scope of greed and arrogance has become obvious. It's time to rein the banks and credit card companies in. continued Arts and Reviews The Rheingold Curse by David Katz March 1, 2010 Sequentia, the Paris-based Early Music group, has created an awe-inspiring and eery work in its concert and CD set The Rheingold Curse: A Germanic Saga of Greed and Vengeance from the Medieval Icelandic Edda. Performed in New York at the Morgan Library as part of the Library's “Boston Early Music Festival”, The Rheingold Curse tells the story of the Rheingold, which Wagner used to such great effect, but is based on an earlier version of the myth told in the Iceland Eddas, the great Old Norse mythic poems. Since no written music of this period survives, Benjamin Bagby, Sequentia's Director, has created a work using other musical survivals from a slightly later period and whatever is known of the musical practices of the day. Combined with superb singing and a fascinating collection of period instruments, this resulted in a performance of great interest, historical value, and above all, musical quality. continued Heritage Ensemble by David Katz October 29, 2009 One of the joys of New York is the opportunity it affords for both preserving a tradition and melding it with the traditions of others to form something new, yet evocative. The Heritage Ensemble, a quintet led by its founder Eugene Marlow, is the perfect example of this process at work. Starting with Jewish liturgical melodies and Yiddish and Hebrew folk tunes, the Ensemble transmutes this material into jazz, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and neoclassical pieces that expand the ethnic scope of the music without abandoning its Jewish origins. continued Dialogos by David Katz October 10, 2009 The reason one attends live concerts instead of just listening to CDs is the possibility that one will be present at a thrilling event, a live performance that approaches perfection. Dialogos, a French vocal ensemble participating in the Music Before 1800 concert series, provided just such an experience on October 4th. The program, performed by four female voices, organized a series of religious and secular works illustrating the earliest Western polyphony into a vocal murder mystery. continued
International
Talk continues about increasing sanctions, isolating the country and, of course, whether or not a military option exists and, if it is an alternative, which country (or countries) will do it? Frankly, I am tiring of the rhetoric which seems to have no effect whatsoever on the Iranian regime as it continues to thumb its nose at the entire world. continued
Technology
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