2015 December

Too much talent and human energies are being sucked up by generally non productive activities like financial services that don’t really create any value like manufacturing does. Yes, they do serve an essential purpose, but this sector is far too large with way too many ways to make a living by just moving other people’s money around.

A tax system based upon raising revenue from active economic activities would tend to be an effective force constraining the lucrative nature of these activities and careers. This is because any sale or transaction would trigger a sales tax. Every sale of a stock, commodity futures, or other financial instrument would be less attractive because of the higher costs involved. Furthermore, people would not be able to engage in short-term trading and skim profits from micro-movements in the the price of various securities. Though such traders do provide liquidity, there generally is no valid need for such large amounts of liquidity given the down sides of such an arrangement.

Life as a Public Defender

So much time and resources are placed on prosecuting and punishing people for marijuana, a drug whose danger is nowhere near proportional to the resources devoted to try to stamp it out.

Pentagon Task Force Spent Nearly $150M on Villas and 3-Star Meals in Afghanistan

It’s stories like these that make people call for more restrictive regulations on an organization’s budgetary spending. While such regulations ensure accountability for expenditures, an ever-increasing amount of regulations also restrict the ability to creatively use those funds. This is why it is important to punish people who misuse funds. In this case, the people directly responsible for overseeing the use of these funds should have reported their ineffective use to their superiors so that corrective actions would have been taken. Then, if a trail of reporting these problems up the chain of command is documented, those people higher up would have been the ones to take the blame. So whoever was the group of people highest up the chain of command would bear the lion’s share of the responsibility for this waste, and they would be the ones punished the most. But each individual along the chain would also need to have their actions reviewed to determine how much of the ‘waste’ could be pinned on them. As much as practical, each individual should be charged with the theft of an equivalent amount of money and penalized accordingly.

Justice Dept. Drops Manslaughter Charges Against BP Supervisors

If these supervisors should have known that the shortcuts taken by the company could have led to the deaths of these workers, then their failure to act to correct the situation should have resulted in their being convicted of manslaughter.

However, the practice of dropping certain charges based on anything other than whether the accused committed them or not, should be illegal and treated as corrupt behavior. For example, the former BP engineer cut a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to a lessor charge (leading to 6 months probation) in exchange for the dropping of a charge that would have potentially given him 20 years in prison.

End the Gun Epidemic in America

Much more effective gun control needs to be instituted so that guns could be tracked accurately, registered with its current owner and through every single transfer of ownership. The owners of a gun should be held responsible for every action done with it. If a gun is stolen, lost or otherwise the owner loses control of it, it should required for the owner to update that information with the government.

Cruz pledges relentless bombing to destroy ISIL

He wants to ‘carpet-bomb them into oblivion’. I guess he failed to understand the lesson taught in Vietnam. It sad to think that human being forget the lessons of the past so quickly. No wonder history repeats itself. Fairness and kindness is the best primary policy for long-term healthy relationships, period. This principle work at every scale. It is the healthiest long-term policy imaginable. When the focus is on the short-term, then other short-cut methods can temporarily improve one’s standing relative to others, but such behaviors/policies cannot be sustained for the long-term. In a sense, fairness and deception can be described by the rules of a zero-sum game and the law of averages. In the end, (whenever that is) things will balance out. If we have benefited from longer winning streak by using deception, the law of averages would suggest that a not-so-bright future may be in the offing.

Dozens killed as offshore oil rig bursts into flames in horror accident in the Caspian Sea

Accidents almost always occur because of short-cuts taken by operators or as a result of known lack of regulations and/or enforcement. Therefore, accidents like these must be prevented by forcing the operators to ensure that they follow proper procedures. This this inevitably increases the cost of the final product (oil), but that is just an unavoidable cost of doing business.

China pollution: First ever red alert in effect in Beijing

China cannot claim ignorance over this level of pollution. It was a direct Chinese policy for the last several decades to skip pollution control regulations because they would inhibit economic development. It’s unfortunate that people (policymakers) need to learn things the hard way. It’s sad to just imagine how much more beautiful China could have been presently and in the future if pollution control measures would have been implemented.

Report: LeBron James signs lifetime contract with Nike

James earned $126 million is playing salary during his NBA career and millions more from endorsements from various companies. There is nothing wrong with earning so much income, if the income tax rates were structured correctly. The income tax rates should rise as the income rises.

Any involuntary factors of a person’s makeup should not be used as a criteria to determine admission to any university.

Another Paris attacker named, had been in Syria

Even though this terrorist’s mother did not know that her son was going to be a terrorist, this mother should still get a reward for turning over this information to authorities, thereby saving authorities from cost of investigating his identity and involvement.

Lawsuit Over ‘Happy Birthday’ Lyrics Settled

This song seems like something that should have been in the public domain for a long time. But of course, legal technicalities can often throw things up in the air. Copyrights should last for a standard 50 years, with the option to purchase additional years of protection.

The police need to be better trained to not be so quick to shoot. The guy was obviously not obeying the police, but he didn’t appear to be such an immediate threat to them that required them to shoot. Surely, a man on the ground would not be able to aim a gun at officers as quickly or as accurately as if he were fully abled.

Ex-volunteers accuse Peace Corps of health care neglect

People should be responsible for providing for their own healthcare insurance. However, people going into service with the Peace Corps should be notified by the Corps and understand that health risks are a very real possibility. The Peace Corps should only be required to provide compensation to its workers only for the time they spend in service.

Los Angeles schools reopen after threat prompted closure

The threatening email that was sent to schools in Los Angeles and New York is so vague and poorly written, that the decision to close down LAUSD schools was not based on evidence, but on emotional caution. It is understandable that people are on edge in this new terror climate, especially coming so soon after the San Bernardino attacks. However, it should be expected that officials in charge are a little more sensitive to the dangers of overreaction, as well. ‘Copycat’ bomb threats always occur after any high profile attack. It is unreasonable to shut down an entire school district based on such scant information.

House Reaches Deal on Spending Bill, Corporate Tax Breaks

It is sad to think of all the time spent on negotiating ‘busywork’ provisions such as subsidies for renewable energy, oil export bans, tax on health insurance, permanent and temporary tax breaks for business and individuals, and tons of other items.

Policies should be more principle-based. Just impose high export taxes on fossil fuels because every thinking person knows that we will need them in the future. Forget all the the tax exemptions/deductions for business/individuals because that is just adds needless complexity.

This artificial manipulation of the market by a for-profit organization of private banks should be illegal. Only the US Treasury should be responsible for determining how much money should be made available, without interest, and only to serve the public good.

The United States (and no other country) should be allowed to sell armaments to any other country. An international military organization should be responsible for regulating international security arrangements.

Delhi juvenile gang rapist freed amid protests

This rapist (as should all of the rest) should be castrated and even undergo penis removal. Because the woman died, additional prison time for him and the rest of the men should be imposed. At least one of the men should be given the death penalty.

Shenzhen landslide: 85 still missing

Most likely, corruption and lax enforcement of rules lead to this disaster. China should severely punish (by sentencing to death) several people who must have been critically involved in this disaster and large loss of life.

KING: Cops who killed Noel Aguilar should face murder charge

It appears that manslaughter would be a more appropriate charge, given the confusion that accompanies this arrest. But police need to be better trained.

Ecuador Opens Chinese-Owned Copper Mine Despite Resistance

Aliso Canyon gas leak: Over 150 million pounds of methane poured into atmosphere in Los Angeles

Southern California Edison should be charged a fee/penalty for every unit of pollution leaking out. Since methane and mercaptan are both leaking out, there should be a penalty for each, separately.

DHS Planning National Operation to Deport Central American Families

Any deportations need to be humane, not ‘middle-of-the-night’ raids. Everyone should be given 3 months to disengage in an orderly fashion from their obligations here, and to have enough time to arrange for their return to their home country.

Fireworks brighten the sky but dampen the view

Included in the price of fireworks should be a pollution tax so that they could be a little more expensive and cover the costs of their pollution.

Yes, police need better training, but people need to understand that, very often, the people being shot and killed by police are stupid because of how they reacted in the presence of the police. If anyone wants to minimize the chance of a police encounter going south, they need to obey police commands. It’s not that hard. They also should not talk back in a taunting way. In almost every video of a police shooting, while the victim usually did not deserve being shot, they certainly acted in very stupid ways that most certainly increased the chanced that a bad outcome will occur. Having said this, the police need to be better trained to deescalate situations verbally and approach suspects in a less threatening manner.

Arson Suspected in Christmas Day Mosque Fire in Houston

As with any crime, documentation can save a lot of investigative work. Especially in the future with the likely rise of mosque attacks, documenting with video surveillance any criminal activities would be very helpful. If a system was in place that would allow common individuals to submit evidence of a crime, and be compensated for doing so, then it would be worthwhile to so many more people to install, monitor and spend time providing security to mosques and to every other part of society that experiences crime.

Iran hands over uranium stockpile to Russia, takes major step toward fulfilling nuclear agreement

It’s hard to know who is a more trustworthy to keep this nuclear material away from the hands of terrorists. Without an effective international military organization, all these deals are merely band-aides and do not do anything that contributes to a permanent solution.

Though this is provocative, people in the US must understand that from an Iranian perspective, having enemy warships constantly very near Iran can be see as provocative and humiliating to Iran. If, instead, an international military organization were charged with keeping peace and security, then it would be far more acceptable to all parties if that organization’s worships patrolled the area.

One reason why elite students aim for elite careers