For God's Sake, Please Stop the Aid!

With the G8 conference and fundraising going full-tilt for famine relief and efforts to combat aids in Africa the last thing I ever thought I'd read was an African economist stating exactly the opposite.

The author, James Shikwati, makes some convincing arguments against the day to day behavior of corrupt governments and leaders in Africa. My favorite seems to be the late and great Emperor Bokassa I (1921-1996) who ruled what he called the Central African Empire

Soundtrack Rip-Off...

After seeing the slick black and white re-election television commercial for Mayor Kilpatrick again this afternoon, my brain finally clicked to the background music.

His advertisement uses the background music from the 1989 movie soundtrack of Henry V Is this to show us that Kilpatrick is just as noble and brave as King Henry V?

A more important question would be whether copyright permission was secured from the record company prior to using the music for his commerical. Judging from Kilpatrick's track record, I would assume that he didn't; but then again, that's why we have lawyers, right?

Check out the movie review (it's an excellent film and Kenneth Branagh is terrific).

Skin in the Game...

Listening to the radio comments of George Parker (NYT) on the radio today and his comment on the importance of having "skin in the game" - a phrase I've never heard before.

His belief was that unless leaders have a direct connection to a major problem or challenge, then their decisions can often be cavalier. The example he provided was an extensive interview with the father who just lost his 22 year old son in Iraq and the father's detailed view of reality.

For 99% of Americans nothing has changed since 9-11 or the invasion of Iraq (except the incredible cost of gasoline). We have not been asked to sacrifice or have ANY "skin in the game" except for the thousands of families who have loved ones overseas. His comments just made me think a lot about my own beliefs.

Detroit Free Press Article...

Read a copy of the Thursday, July 7th, 2005 edition of the Detroit Free Press: Business Section E page 1: "We can Preserve Detroit; four suggestions for a rational approach to keeping history" by John Gallagher.

Kudos to seeing an article about the destruction of historic buildings in Detroit. He writes, "that's why the recent fiasco over the loss of the Madison-Lenox Hotel was so distressing." Unbelievable. What he DOESN'T even mention was the pure dedication of members from the Friends of the Book Cadillac organization that stood in front of the bulldozers to stop the demolition until a judge could rule on the violation.

These are the true heroes of Detroit. People who care about history and are willing to be arrested for it. What the article doesn't mention is the Illich family's long desire to tear it down for a parking lot, the city's secret evaluation and early morning demolition. They even started on the center of the building so that even if it was stopped, it would eventually fall down on its own. The city and the owner knew how to use the law to their own personal financial benefit. Not the benefit of the city, its citizens, or the future. www.freep.com/realestate/renews/arch7e_20050707.htm

Kwammunism..

I wish I could take credit for this, but Frank Nemecek from Igor Films has coined the phrase "Kwammunism" in reference to the questionable mayor of Detroit. I suppose it's a lot like communism, except without the terrific parades.

The Joy of Television...

Watching local television in the Detroit area is more like being hit across the face with a wet banana than anything else. The corrupt administration of Mayor (and I use that title with a lot of latitutde) Kilpatrick continues to advertise on television as if daisies were popping up all around city hall.

The ads are slick, well designed, most likely very costly, and insulting to anyone who can rub two brain cells together. Previous election web page statistics: www.dragontale.com/kwameinfo.html