Italy Vs. England

I have hundreds of photos of Eitan and Madeleine stuffing their little faces at McDonald's. Who can deny them?

You know it is getting dire when the Italians compare themselves favourably to us, as national paper Il Giornale did yesterday (Giornale owned by Silvio Berlusconi, so this his view to, presumably). The sad thing is, on many comparables the basket-case Italians fair well: in politics, Gordon Brown collapsed and the labour model in crisis while Italy has upheld the G8 and Silvio polls well; the British economy dire and the the City/ housing market gone bust while the Italian state has not had to bail out one single bank (hard to believe, really); Britain’s Savile Row a memory of its former self while “Made in Italy” the world’s leading brand in fashion; Industry – Britain has lost many of its world leading companies while Italy punches with Fiat; Crime - Britain the most drunk, yobbish and violent people in Europe while Italy nary a fuss if we exclude the mafia who at least seem polite. And where it hurts most: Football. Yes, as inventors of the beautiful game we must pin our hopes on .. Fabio Capello, an Italian, who was recruited to head the English team despite barely speaking English. Of course what Il Giornale fails to suggest is that the British economy, fuelled by London’s southeast and low taxes has been a miracle since Thatcher pulling the country from third-world status (1978 IMF loans) to today, the fourth wealthiest in the world. And while our politics messy and scandal prone, at least our PM not sticking his grubby fingers down some young lady's panties. Plus we have Wills. It’s hard not to be upset about the football though – we have the best league in the world with most of the world’s global stars yet our boys can’t bring us a cup. Shameful, really.

Melt Down

California is having a moment. Due to political extremes (Democrats refuse to budge on program cuts, Republicans taxes) the state has a budget deficit of $26.3 billion on revenues of $113 billion. Its total outstanding obligations: $59 billion in general debt, $8 billion in bonds linked to securitised revenues and $2 billion in commerical paper. While all this sounds like a heck uv a lot of money, Brownie, the deficit (the important figure since California, like most states, has a balanced budget rule) is 1.5% of state GDP. This compares to Federal Governments deficit of 14-15% to US GDP (for context, the federal deficit greater than the entire California economy which is the fifth largest in the world at over $1.8T). So, the budget must be balanced somehow. And worse for Californians, the state pain piled on top of its contribution to correcting the Federal public finances. It's kinda like going to the dentist for a cavity and getting a root canal. So we watch the train light in the black tunnel.. closer and closer it comes. Choo choo! As an interium measure, Sacramento has issued IOUs which, for now, accepted by banks but when this ends, and it will, everything will .. stop. Teachers will won't teach; cops will be off the beat; fire fighters won't fight fires; garbage collectors won't take the garbabe and so on and so forth.

So what will happen? It is my great hope that Washington D.C. preparing to take over the state. Seriously. In return for bailing out California, Californians will no longer have control over their destiny until they get their house in order. This is what we do to Third World countries who approach us or the UNDP with their bowl facing up. Why should the Golden State be different? A further condition is to remove the stupidity of "propositions" or single-issue referenda on anything including budgertary matters. This alone has made the state ungovernable even with a popular muscle man like Schwarzenegger. California, and our country too, has acted like a teen-ager with too many credit cards and no parental control. This will correct somehow, of this we can be sure, and so we must ask ourselves yet again: will it be a soft landing or something far worse?

Self Portrait X

My Senior Year - pictured - with flat-top anticipating the Northcoast Swimming Championships, where I placed 4th in the 500 yard freestyle and 6th in the 200. I should have won the 500 and so just one of those things I must look back on and .. what? If I had swum to my ability, I would have taken Todd Skow, who owns top honor.

I marvel at John McCain who defends Sarah Palin, the non-quitter quitter. When asked point-blank on Meet The Press re her failure as Governor, notes McCain: “I don’t think she quit. I don’t know if there was a quote promise [to the people of Alaska to continue serving as Governor]. But I do know that she will be an effective player on the national stage.” Oh brother - only if she takes some Tylenol for that time of the month. And further, McC says Palin’s resignation consistent with his qualities of leadership, because she made the decision that “she can be most effective by stepping down, and she did.” What horse shit. Clearly McCain is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't - stating the obvious (Palin quit! Not ready for the White House) - would reflect horribly on him and the five minutes he spent with Palin before selecting her for his VP. By not stating the obvious ... well, he looks like an idiot. The guy has earned his stripes and on the backside of his political career so why not be the fellow we all know is a hero and who we cheered for during much of his career. Bunk.

Lawyers overseeing the liquidation of Bernard Madoff's estate and former business have filed a preliminary request with the bankruptcy court for $14.7 million in fees and expenses for their work through the end of April. This reminds me of something a wise man once told me: "to make money, you must be near money."

Here's another one to ponder: Last year, UK consumers took home 9.9 billion plastic bags which each take 500 to 1000 years to degrade. Susan Kramer of Richmond Park and my MP asks me to cut back.

"Only dead fish go with the flow."
--Former Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin

Ürümqi

'97 photo of a Wise Man taken in Kashgar, an oasis town on the silk road in Central Asia and sited west of the Taklamakan Desert. It is famous for being the world's oldest open market dating back hundreds of years. From Kashgar I went to Ürümqi.

Ürümqi, sadly, has been in the news this month for ethnic violence which began 5 July with riots including about 3,000 Uyghurs. The initial confrontations between police and protesters soon turned into attacks on Hans in ethnically-targeted violence; hundreds of Han people armed with makeshift weapons retaliated against police and Uyghurs. Chinese President Hu Jintao was forced to cut short his attendance of theG8 Summet and returned to China due to the situation in Xinjiang.

The July violence was part of an ongoing ethnic conflict between the Han, the largest ethnic group in China, and the Uyghurs, one of the minority groups who are Turic and mostly Muslim. These specific riots sparked by Uyghur dissatisfaction with the Chinese government's handling of the deaths of two Uygbyur workers, as part of an ethnic brawl ten days earlier in Guandong. In Ürümqi, officials report, as at today, 184 people dead with 1,680 others injured and motor vehicles and buildings destroyed. This in itself highly unusual - recall Tiananmen Square when there was a media black out. Police attempted to quell the rioters with tear gas, water hoses, armored vehicles, and roadblocks, while the government enforced a strict curfew in most urban areas. Authorities shut down Internet services and restricted cell phone services in Ürümqi.

When I visited Ürümqi, I was well aware of the tension owned by the Uyghurs towards the Hans. Uyghurs live mainly in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where they make up the largest ethnic group until a massive recent influx of Han Chinese, who now are 50% of the population, and the Uyghurs have become a minority in their homeland. Explosive. The city itself located at the base of the Tian Shan mountains and holds 2.3 million people; for this part of the world, it is fairly modernised with a heavenly 5-star Holiday Inn suggesting running water. It is the most remote city from any sea in the world or 1,400 miles from the nearest coastline ("Xianjiang" BTW means "New Frontier" and is the Chinese name of the Autonomous Region.) I recall a welcoming, curious people - I would not say "warm" or "inviting" - who were serious and striving to improve their lives. We spent five days touring factories, visiting markets and understanding this node on the Silk Road. The Chinese government has always viewed Xianjiang as a nuissance, or problem - but has never overstepped its position as in Tibet. Perhaps this why it so readily allowed foreign journalists into the area, which is against China's natural impulse to cloak its problems to the outside world. For many reasons China cannot allow this region to separate but the main one: naturals resources including minerals and gas make it one of the country's most valuable.

Coulson

We have another scandal, which I would rate about a B- or C+. This one involves ease-dropping and earlier this week, John Yates, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, declined to investigate claims by The Guardian that "thousands" of public figures had been targeted, saying that no new information had come to light following the 2007 conviction of a reporter and private investigator working for the News of the World. Ho hum. The Met police believe that the figure is more like 75 celebrities, sportsmen and politicians who were victims of phone hacking, however questions remain as to how many more journalists at the paper were knowingly using secret information gained by illegal methods. Elle McPherson and Naomi Cambell are furious, of course, for not being included in the wire tapping. And who was the Chief Editor of the News Of The World, who was forced to resign January 26, 2007? Andy Coulson. And who, I wonder, did David Cameron select, and defend, as Director of Communications and Planning at the Conservative Party? Andy Coulson. I mean, this is the guy who made his career by asking Tony and Cheri Blair if they are members of the "mile high club" during the run up to the General Elections (I don't want anything to do with the answer). Coulson’s resignation prevented an investigation by the Press Complaints Commission, and ensured the paper's owner, Rupert Murdoch, would not have to answer difficult questions about the activities of his British newspapers at a time when he was under intense scrutiny in the US. And hence, his political entitlement. So, as far as these things go, B- or C+. Now if there was a lover in Latin America that would move it to B+ and if a gay lover, well that would be world-class work.

Photo from the Newstatesman website.

Self Portrait IX

I visit Madeleine's class room and dress up as Mr Electricty - black body, blue wig and multiple shades, though the white mask - pictured - not part of the costume. The kids are studying electricity so I review my knowledge using Wikipedia then build a story from charged atoms to Ben Franklin and the kite. I also talk about how we use energy in our every day lives and admonish the children to "never, ever take a radio, light or chord anywhere near a bath." No shit. The kids are on edge in a positive way and hands go up whenever I ask for quesetions (examples: will you disappear if hit by lightening? Does Mr Electricity take a bath? Won't he die? and so forth). Last time I was Frank Capatola, so am comfortable with the scene. I end by leading the class in some funky dancing to electro-pop beats from Zero-7. As usual, the teachers don't quite know what to make of me, but they and I enjoy ourselves and the kids.. well, they beg for my autograph (Mr Electricity, of course) and Madeleine gives me a double-thumbs up, which doesn't happen often. In fact, it never happens so I know I have scored some points.

Madeleine: "Dad, why are you bringing those glasses to school? Is that your tie? Are you going to wear it in class? What is that wig? Oh, Dad, you aren't going to wear that blue wig are you? Are you? Does the teacher say it is OK? Why do you have a swimming cap? Are you going to tell a story? Is it about electricity? Will there be goodies and baddies? Will you name the baddy Dr. Do Bad? What are you doing with that torch? Why are you bringing that big sheet to school?"

Plunge And NHS

This rather unusual shot, reminding me of a meat grinder, the second of two taken by Sonnet.

Sonnet takes Madeleine to the doctors as she may have asthma - nothing to worry about. The gp also examines the ball bearing-sized lump on her neck which caused some real concern when I first discovered it four years ago. She has never had secondary symptoms implying cancer and a brief visit to the UK's foremost children's cancer specialist dismissed the possibility entirely. Still, it is there and so we will have a further screening to be on the safe side. Madeleine, meanwhile, enjoys the books and extra attention at the NHS. So.. everybody has a horror story about public medicine here - most recently I spoke to a soccer mom who's mum, after multiple consultations in Britain, was properly diagnosed with stomach ulcers while on vacation in Spain - we have been blessed with good treatment and I have confidence in our system. The NHS works best in A) big cities where doctors see everything; B) babies (in 2002/03 we spent £2655 on births vs. the second highest category, over-84s, where it was £2639); and C) urgency. We know that waiting lists the kiss of death (literally) yet Labour has reduced times substantially: 98% of "urgent referrals" for cancer, for instance, met inside twenty-four hours (the public statistics available remarkable). The cost to us is £98 billion (2008-09). Unlike the US, we buy into the scheme via our taxes, and the focus squarely on primary or preventative treatments which (in theory) reduces odds of later stage or tertiary requirements and their costs. About 15% of Britain has complementary health insurance, including us (family of four), at £83 per month. That's a no-brainer. Compared to the US, there has been less investment in new technology,new equipment, modernisation and IT (though IT woefully inadequate everywhere). No doubt I would be more comfortable in a US hospital but the price: 18% of the US economy simply not sustainable. For now, the NHS wins.

Waterhouse

I am in town yesterday for a breakfast meeting and visit the Royal Academy afterwards to see their newest exhibition: "J.W. Waterhouse: The Modern Pre-Raphaelite" (Waterhouse's "The Lady of Shalott," 1888, pictured).

Pre-Raphaelite is confusing because there were two different and almost opposed movements, the second of which grew out of the first. The term itself originated in relation to the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, an influential group of mid-nineteenth-century avante garde painters associated with Ruskin who had great effect upon British, American, and European art. Those poets who had some connection with these artists and whose work presumably shares the characteristics of their art include Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Christina Rossetti, George Meredith, William Moris and Algernon Charles Swinburne. Waterhouse himself was born in Rome to the painters William and Isabela, but when he was five the family moved to South Kensington near the newly founded Victoria and Albert Museum. He studied painting under his father before entering the Royal Academy schools in 1870. His early works were of classical themes and exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Society of British Artists and the Dudley Gallery while he is most famous for his mid- to later works often depicted women like "The Lady of Shalott," a study of Elaine of Astolat, who dies of grief when Lancelot will not love her. By the 1880s and with le D'Orsay on my mind, the influence of impressionism seen on the Pre-Raphaelite works with broader, less accurate strokes and beige or vibrant colour.

La Naissance

I spend my day at the Musee D'Orsay on the left bank of the Seine. It used to be the railway station Gare d'Orsay which itself an impressive Beaux-Arts completed in 1900. The museum perhaps best known for its impressionisms and mon dieu it is an orgy. The fifth floor delivers the action covering Monet, Chegall, Renoir, Cezanne, Degas, Saurat, van Gogh and all the others. It is joyous. I happily recognise paintings from the National Gallery or the Courdault, which has an efficient little collection. I was particularly struck by Auguste Rodin who I know for statue most famously "the thinker." His detail like a photograph and colours masterful. A turnip in purple-grey-white with expressive green shoots; a windmail so fine I cannot for the life of me see brush-strokes. Unlike the other works, Rodin’s water colors kept behind glass and temperature cooled. I also absorb Max Ernst, whose exhibition cover various moods named to days of the week and extraordinary. They are violent, moody, mysogonistic.. they contain dandies with rooster heads spanking bare flesh or tying their muse to bloody wire. Another set repeats a sleeping women surrounded by lapping water while taylored men watch or fondle.. sometimes an oversized leech appears displaying its sucker-end. Disturbing comes to mind; nightmarish also. He was one mad fucker. Painting "La Naissance de Venus" by William Bouguereua (1825-1905)

One day I would like to plan five days to conquer the Louvre but this for the retirement era.

Meanwhile, getting to the D'Orsay I talk to my taxi driver who looks like Luc Besson: unshaven, greasy hair and soft, drooping eyes full of energy on this wonderful sunny morning. During our discussion about Paris this or that, he takes a call and his 18-year old boy has received his baccalaureate results. Evidently they are good and I wish him joy; we discuss our kids and football; life in France. It is all practice for me, and we shake hands at departure.

Notre Dame

Paris wakes up slowly, painfully, as the cigarettes light up and the street cleaners sweep the Champs Elysees where I jog towards les Jardin Tuileries (photo of ND from my mobile). 

Like any large city, Paris is a late start and the 8th arrt. recovers from July's night boulevards, which today stink of rubbish made sticky by summer heat. Much of the Champs gated for Le Tour de France which will be here inside two weeks while grandstands to welcome the heros. There are gendarmes everywhere and I nod at those in front of the US Embassy on the Place de la Concorde - somehow, they always know the tourists. Or is it too obvious? 

Yes, the ever visibile flics lend a sense of calm and orderliness as well as thuggish gestapo: always male and roughly late-20s or 30ish, I sense they would use their baton sans probleme to crack someone's head open. A "gendarme" BTW was a heavy cavalryman of noble birth, primarily serving the the French army from Europe's Late Medieval to the Early Modern periods. Their heyday was in the late fifteenth to mid sixteenth centuries, when they provided the Kings of France with a potent regular force of heavy-armoured, lance-armed cavalry which, when properly employed, dominated the battlefield. So these dudes know they are bad asses.

I am off to several museums then back to London.

On Bees And Health Care

Well, we know Madeleine not a morning person and her mood not really made better by me standing above her and taking pictures. I only snap this one, for the record.

Today I am on the Eurostar to Paris for meetings and to see friends. Same difference. I wonder why travellers talk on the phone when there is the privacy of email or SMS via smart-phone or Blackberry?Take the women in the row behind me who discusses her love affairs, which would otherwise be irritating accept that they are kind of "R" rated. Young people just don't seem to mind who's doing what and where and who knows about it. To distract myself, I read about Cyprian honeybees, who defend themselves from hornets with a mass defence that relies on heat and carbon dioxide. Seriously. When Oriental hornets (giant wasps with a powerful sting) attack, the Cyprians mob them in a huge ball that targets the breathing apparatus in the hornet's abdomen. The hornets cannot breathe without expanding their abdomens and with sheer numbers, the bees strangle the hornets to death. And check this out: Asian honeybees defend themslves against the local hornet, Vespav velutina, by 'heat balling' where a giant ball of bees piles on the hornet, weighting it down while vibrating their wing muscles furiously. The frenetic activity greatly increases the temperature inside the ball to about 46C - hot enough to cook the hornet alive. Anyway this about half as good as what I am hearing from behind me but I can't that here.

Here is something to ponder: one in every five dollars spent in America on health care. This while 50 million Americans do not have medical coverage. Tick... tick.. tick.. . .

Fencing Room and Sarah Palin Resigns

I'm up early for my long-run or two loops of Richmond Park plus an extra mile for good measure. Sonnet collects Eitan from Luke's overnight where the boys up until 3AM playing "dare" - when I ask what this means, I'm informed "running back and forth in the hallway" and "naked" despite Luke's mother threatening to send the boys home (I would not have been so happy about that one).

So Sarah Palin quits as Governor of Alaska in a rambling, blaming speech on July 4. Who knows why? Perhaps a 2012 Presidential run or to avoid rumours of further scandal; maybe she's just sick of politics or wants to protect her family who she dragged onto the national stage last year. I therefore read Todd Purdum's piece in Vanity Fair "It Came From Wasilla" which, along with a great title, exposes exceptional animus toward Palin by McCain's top aids during the Presidential campaign and revives questions about Palin's political acumen and future. It also makes a bunch of Conservative shitheads like William Kristol look pretty damn silly - Palin so clearly unqualified to be Vice President nor willing to invest herself for the role on full display with Katie Curic. Pitty further McCain's aids who knew she was unqualified yet doing their best to hoist her upon us; the Senator of course, having survived cancer scares.

My insight into the prima-dona, emotionally unstable, vindictive and incompetent Palin stems from my Internet company Ezoka, which I started with a piece of paper and my parent's support, eventually growing to 50 staff and institutional investors like Doughty Hanson. I chose a fully unqualified partner - a Korean with impeccable credentials from Stanford and Harvard - whose unravelling brought down the house and forced my departure. Whether her or Palin, the signals there and my greatest failure as an entrepreneur in this instance to not A) investigate thoroughly my partner's professional history, like the time Lord Hollick, the CEO of Unitied Business News, exclaimed: "I never want to see you in this office again"; and B) act decisively, early, when it became clear she was unstable. Of course, feedback often comes too late, as the case with Hollick, and once a path set very difficult to change course. By the time I knew the rotten egg, we had signed contracts, hired people, raised money and created responsibilities that could only be discharged together. Business partnerships more difficult to dissolve then marriage. Well, we learn from our follies and I certainly did: reference. Reference. And reference again. Own your mistakes. And brush yourself off to try again - really, what other choice is there?

Basketball Court

My photo from the St Paul's basketball gym, which is also used for exams, poor buggers. The school is otherwise a boys' "independent" founded in 1509 by John Colet and located in Barnes next to the Hammersmith Bridge or about 15 minutes from us. It was one of the original nine English public schools (ie, private) defined by the Public Schools Act of 1868. Since 1881 St Paul's has had its own preparatory school, Colet Court, and from 1887, under the direction of a new High Master, it expanded rapidly. Last year I duly submitted a £250 fee for Eitan to hold an application place when Eitan in Year 6. This four years before matriculation, dear reader, and St Paul's the only school in London owning this requirement. The school is academic and sporty, which squarely second to the learning. Rugby, cricket and squash the standard prep school games (not football, which is low-brow, dear reader) so Eitan will probably not A) score admission points and B) go. The grounds are enormous for London, tucked between the village and Thames river surrounded by trees and offering open grass fields. I have had numerous conversations re St Paul's and other private schools more competitive then the Ivy League yet I have full confidence in Eitan and Madeleine, should they wish to go. These kids work hard and will end up fine (note to self: if reading in 2011 and 2012, do not panic).

Sonnet and Madeleine at Ice Age 3 while I blog away this afternoon/evening. Eitan at a birthday party - football! - and overnight.

Mad#1

Hedge funds report that the June second quarter the best in 20 years as the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 37% to 8800 before settling at around 8300 last week. The low, on March 5, 2009, was 6440 and indeed it is curious that we have seen such a bounce given recent unemployment records and our ongoing stalled economy. What gives? I think the stock pickers are the beloved banks, who have received billions in bail-out cash to free up lending, which has not happened. Rather, these institutions have bought equities and hence the Dow's improvement. If we look at Citicorp's balance sheet, for instance, cash and cash-equivalents which includes liquid stocks, has increased from $200 billion to $618 billion from December 31, 2008 to March 31, 2009. Bank of America: $42 billion to $197 billion over the same three month period. This suggests two things: A) banks gambling with our tax dollars - outrageous. Outrageous! and B) a recovery, indicated by the stock market, illusory. In fact, remarkably, we may be in another equities bubble since pricing not supported by strong underlying company performance: the S&P 500 PE ratio is trending up following March 31: S&P 500 PE ratio rose to 132 (the reason is the denominator E or earnings in the PE ratio enemic while prices is rising. For my calculations the 919.14 closing price of the S&P 500 on May 29, 2009 is used). This compares to an historical range of 20-40. Here's the graph.

This suggests that rather than inflation, which our politicos secretly desire as it improves - artificially - property values and reduces foreign debt, we may still fear deflation which, once started, spirals downwards out of control. See exhibit A, Japan. The Republicans and we all have much to fear by breaking the bank with rampent borrowing but the alternative worse. In short, something has to give. We all know what it is, too: military spending. Iraq has cost us dearly and we will soon otherwise have no choice but to reel in the Pentagon. Can we do so before before our social fabric stretched to tear?

Mad#2

Madeleine turns a beet red whenever exerted, as she is here following Friday-Night-Fives. The kid gives sport 100%, though she has not turned the corner regarding capability. But she will.

Today the starting point of the 11th stage of the Tour de France which famously covers 3,500 kilometres, give or take, of France. The race usually lasts 23 days and broken into day-long segments or "stages." Individual stages are totaled and the leader wears a yellow jersey. The course changes every year but always ends on the Champs-Élysées in the 8th. Quel honneur. Unfortunately the sport has been doped beyond recognition and support, including corporate euro's, has plummeted despite hosting celebrity icon Lance Armstong. The idea of emaciated riders discovered with gnarly intravenous applications and bloody disposables turns even the most die-hard fans. For my part, I do not doubt for a moment that every cyclist using. This includes Armstrong, whose former training partner and teammate Frankie Andreu, stated in a deposition that Armstrong admitted using performance-enhancing drugs to his physician following brain surgery in 1996 - this reported in Le Monde, which I read en francais in 2006. AFLD, the French anti-doping agency, has pursued Armstong as recently as April '09 for violating its rules by not fully cooperating with a drug tester; they have never succeeded but I remain convinced, though I wish it was otherwise. Armstrong states flatly: "I will simply restate what I have said many times: I have never taken performance-enhancing drugs." He is a bona fide inspiration for cancer survivors simply being with us today.

“There are two levels of guys. You got the guys that cheat and guys that are just trying to survive.”
--Frankie Andreu, former team captain and part of Armstrong’s inner circle for more than a decade

Mad#3

This is Wimbledon finals week end and the weather perfect (Serena beats Venus, who owns the trophy from last year, having beat Serena. Got that?). More puffy clouds sail overhead on an otherwise blue sky. London has a bad rap for weather as we get about the same as San Francisco or approximately 600 mm per year. The difference being ours spread across the year and we have moods from January that are grey and cold. Indeed, the Southeast has had several droughts including 2006 when Thames Water, which supplies eight million people in London, applied for a "draught order." Anyone flouting drought orders fined £5,000 in magistrates’ courts or an unlimited fine in the Crown Court. In '77 a draught forced water rationing throughout London and punters had to line up each morning with a five-gallon drum; otherwise, nothing (source: black cab). Can you imagine this in Knightsbridge or Belgravia? Well, anyway, Wimbledon spends £100 million on a retractable roof and for the first time in, like, forever, play has not been delayed due to rain. Go figure.

In other celebrations, Gay prides marches across London commencing in SoHo Square and concluding at an after-hours party that goes until tomorrow. I note happily that the festivities sponsored by Lloyds TSB, the Metropolitan Police Department, Coca Cola and HomoVision TV (which my juvenile could not resist noting). Boris will be out there and it is something we should be proud of and so we are.

Of course the July 4th a rather Big Celebration in the US-of-A though dampened by the entire country being broke and no money in many small towns for fireworks. As a nation we own $12 trillion in debt that broke the Times Square clock, which had to be enlarged for the figure. This excludes unfunded liabilities like social security or medical care which take our obligations to $40 trillion according to many economists; we don't include these figures because they are social obligations which can be modified or eliminated by acts of Congress. So Generation X fucked and as for Generation Y? Well, the planet may be coughing to its end so party like its 1999. But let us be happy for 1776 which gave us a bold and brave new nation based on ideas of liberty and self-realisation that hold true today. The Bill of Rights, those ten simple sentences, a wonderful experiment never before seen though Rome came close in principal. The most powerful - No. 10 - I am reminded by Tim also the most remarkable:

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. "

In other words, unless otherwise stated, we can do whatever we damn well feel. God bless America. And I do mean this with all my heart. Despite Nixon and Bush, our country tries, really tries, to error on the right side of civil liberty.

Friday-Night-Fives

Yes, Friday - and yesterday's match 11-zero against the Badgers but, as Madeleine points out, the same team "beat us 15-nil last time, so that's improvement Dad."

From there we go to swim practice at St. Paul's and both kids thrash away for an hour using fins and kick-boards. Each makes progress and Madeleine owns a powerful, beefy stroke that has promise. She certainly has the body-type for swimming. And the attitude, when she focuses herself. Eitan is in Development 2 and Madeleine Dev 1 for the Wandsworth Swim Club so able to complete repeats, dive from the blocks, and keep their mouth shut when Coach yelling.

Yep, just like the old days. Competitions are somewhat infrequent and nothing like football, which sees a tournament most Sundays and league-play from September. Still, there is plenty to work on and builds confidence, flexibility and cross-training. After the pool we head home for pizza take-away and a sticky Friday night. Top of the summer. Madeleine butt-naked but Eitan more modest and keeps inside his PJs. Oh, and Murray loses to Andy Rodick in four-sets leaving the British, and their high-expectations to see one of their own in the Wimbledon finals for the first time since '38, grumpy and disillusioned. Oh, well - otherwise a good week.

Me to Madeleine: "Have the Badgers scored a goal yet?"
Madeleine: "Of course we have dad!"
Me: "Well, when?"
Madeleine: "Remember, there was that time we lost 13-2?"

Eitan: "Oo, I have a half-wobbly tooth! Madeleine gave me a half-wobbly tooth!"
Madeleine: "Did not!"
Eitan: "Did so."
Madeleine: "Did not! Mom, Eitan says that I gave him a half-wobbly tooth!"
Eitan: "Well, it is true that you did give me a half wobbly tooth. Here, see, it is half wobbly."

Maximo Silvio

Consider, if you will, the normal political scandal: usually pretty boring and includes money, bribes or expenses. Maybe the occasional vote rigging. The Republican party. Few catch the public's eye and many more never see the light of day. Contrast this to the recent sex scandals with Vitner, Sanford and Berlusconi - and presto! we get investigative journalism at its very best. Take Silvio today: it turns out that he pays Domenico Cozzolino to pose as Noemi Letizia's boyfriend and they are dutifully captured by Chi magazine kissing away in the Naples sunset - pictured. Well, this did not sit well with Cristina Tatenko, a 25-year-old Russian model who claims that she is Mr. Cozzolino's girlfriend and that Mr Cozzolino had assured her that he had a work relationship with Ms. Letizia only. More gum shore work. Mr Cozzolina eventually adds, in an exclusive interview with Diva e Donna, that Ms Letizia had asked him to pose as her boyfriend "three or four days" after her 18th birthday party where she received a golden necklace from Silvio; says Cozzolino: "I think someone put her up to it." Poor Silvio - even the Church against him: Cardinal Walter Kasper says "everybody, but above all a head of government, should behave with seriousness and sobriety and not indulge in excesses." I don't imagine Silvio concerned about going to hell - he's having to much fun in the here and now. But still, words do mean something sometimes especially when coming from the Vatican in this most Catholic of countries. Yesterday Berlosconi was booed - booed! - on a public visit to Viareggio; he was also forced to cancel a state trip to Libya. All of this in the run-up to the next G8 shortly. And how does the oily Silvio respond? The protests, he says, are down to personal envy and political hate and were all organised by the Left, "which is the enemy of Italy." Ah, yes - it is always those God Damn Liberals every time.

Watching the news. Me: "are you afraid of anything?"
Eitan, without looking up: "Swine flu."

Biondi And Stroke

So I have riffed in the past about my new swimming technique, which has cut my strokes per 25 yard length from 20 to 11. While impossible to suggest that my new freestyle would reduce my times today, age 42, there is growing acknowledgement that slower, controlled "power strokes" more effective then the high-tempo distance turnover I employed as a youngster. At slow speeds one can get a large portion of the desired stroke length as a result of front-quadrant timing (semi catch-up swimming) and streamlining (longitudinal balance, getting off your stomach and onto your sides, keeping compact body lines). Good body roll power transfer (hand/hip connection and vertical forearm throughout the stroke) also plays a role at slow speeds. So basically as I undersand it, as swimming speed increases in a race, low resistance and power transfer become greater factors in stroke length than catch-up timing. You can see this in sprinters like Biondi, Popov and Bernard who’s strokes become less front-quadrant as they move into intermediate speeds yet they still maintain very streamlined positions and vertical forearms (also known as “high elbows”) to keep their strokes much longer than their competition. Biondi, when I swam with him at Cal my senior year of HS, took seven strokes at lap. For elite swimmers moving at the highest speeds the front quadrant aspect is gone altogether—but there is still impeccable streamlining and vertical forearms for excellent power transfer. (photo of Matt Biondi in his prime circa 1988 from the www)

In my day, mileage was king and we pounded away morning and night with little consideration of build or peak - the year was one long boot camp broken by Far Westerns, Northcoast, Nationals, and other championships. It was not until Walnut Creek, where I trained with former gold-medalist coach Mike Troy and like minded and intense athletes that I made significant strides forward. Brown, coached by Ed Reese who had been active for 30 years and more interested in water-polo, a step backwards that ultimately ended my career. So today what is important: after the Berlin marathon I aim to join a Masters program and reviewing neighborhood clubs and fortunately there are some good ones despite a shortage of nice (outdoor) pools. This is England, afterall.

UK Innovation

Here is another of Moe's photographs from 1860 San Ramon. I'm pretty sure he was using his Nikon F2, which was purchased by him in Tokyo after the Peace Corps. The Nikon lenses then as good or better than anything today, while the photographer's eye turns good to great.

In other riveting local news, Government to commit £150 million to a new venture capital "fund of funds" called the UK Innovation Investment Fund (a F2F pools money which commits to general partnerships who in turn invest in companies - in this case, high-tech start ups). Further confusing everybody, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, with the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department of Health, will invest the money alongside the private sector in order to stimulate growth. Government believes this could leverage enough private investment to build a fund of up to £1 billion over the next ten years. The UK Innovation Investment Fund forms part of the government’s strategy for Building Britain’s Future and dear reader, I think it doesn't have a prayer. Super Gee says “this fund will help build Britain’s future by investing in key sectors. It will provide crucial support for our most promising start-ups and existing small companies just when they need it most. Venture capital finance is the lifeblood of innovation and crucial to ensuring the commercialisation of the discoveries coming out of our research base. The fund will boost future UK competitiveness.”

As a tax payer I am not happy about Brown's strategy since I already own exposure to venture via several partnerships. Allocating aside, why on earth anybody in Government qualified to direct public dollars to private equity schemes beyond me AND £150 million, in any case, a piss in the bucket and better spent elsewhere. Like my kids school. If Gordon wants to stim-u-late our moribund entrepreneurial society, he should do so with tax breaks that benefit the unsung hero's of British capitalism - in short, those guys dumb enough to go out on a limb and try to create something from nothing. The UK capital gains tax is generally 18% but there has been grumbling about tossing it into income, which now stands at 42%. We should make the capital gains rate less. Or zero. Next: open the doors to young, industrious and educated people - bring 'em in and let them go to work (I recall my early work-visas - budda-bing - nightmare). The British enjoy an unusual, nasty combination of deep scepticism or mistrust of New combined with smoldering jealousy for those who succeed. Not good, but at least it ain't France or Germany, which are cemented in their bureaucratic ways. And Italy! pardieu - never.

ID And The Golden State

Ministers have thankfully pulled back from compulsory identity cards which, on Radio 4, I hear "died a death from a thousand cuts." Alan Johnson, the new Home Secretary following the porno-expensing Jacqui Smith, announces that the only people required to have an ID card will be foreign citizens, which is us no longer (I think?). However, onerously, Government will press ahead with a national identity register that, from 2011-12, will include the details of everyone who applies for a passport. While the European Union mandates biometric chips in all EU passports by 2012, it does not suggest one hackable central database. We have watched in horror as Government has lost or misplaced data on thousands of citizens. My only comfort - for now - is that my personal records distributed across multiple storage points and therefore more difficult to access or mis-manage. I may have nothing to hide but this does not mean I willy-nilly grant any Tom, Dick or Harry such privilege to know. Photo from UK.gov.

Think of California for a moment: Tuesday, the Golden State ran out of money while owing $22 billion in arrears. Anybody expecting a cheque for the state gets .. an IOU. Seriously. I wonder if these things trade in a secondary market? Five IOUs get you a loaf of bread. Or a U-Haul, bye-bye.