Had this on my “To-see list” and finally got to it. It is quite aggressive as the title already suggests. But who can deny the creativity behind it!
Origins of the debt showdown
Here is another good account of the drama behind the debt showdown by the Washington Post.
In mid-January, newly installed as the GOP House majority leader, Virginia’s Eric Cantor rose to the podium inside a spacious hotel ballroom to deliver a message to his troops, including the 87 newcomers who had given the party control of 
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[Read More] Be Glad Your Nose is on Your Face
Poem by Jack Prelutsky
Be glad your nose is on your face,
not pasted on some other place,
for if it were where it is not,
you might dislike your nose a lot.
Imagine if your precious nose
were sandwiched in between your toes,
that clearly would not be a treat,
for you’d be forced to smell your feet.
Your nose would be a 
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The Great Gatsby
What a great book! It is short enough that you can read it in one day. I recommend that you set aside a Sunday and get rapped at in this marvelous piece of American fiction. F. Scott Fitzgerald is a masterful writer. His prose is a bit reminiscent of Joseph Roth. He sets up a 
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[Read More] The Cliffhanger: Will the US default and usher in a new era?
All eyes are on Washington. I have a hard time believing that in the end the debt ceiling will not be raised but to be honest, I cannot rule it out completely. And if it does not happen, we are in a new world altogether…
Update August 2: Click on more to read background analysis 
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[Read More] The Press is Cleaning Itself
It was the Guardian and not the British Police that kept on investigating who knew about or had authorized the bugging of phones. The scandal already has claimed for prominent players. And now the press is turning on Rupert Murdoch has being too old to run his empire. Will he be able to survive. JEANNE 
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[Read More] Married, With Infidelities
I have been struck by how badly I am able to predict who among my family and friends would stay married and who would get divorced. The couple who had the best marriage ended up having the most acrimonious divorce. Here is an article in the NY Magazine that does a great job laying out 
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[Read More] Almanya—Welcome to Germany
When the economy took off in the 1950s, Germany experienced severe labor shortages. So employer unions and politicians hatched the idea to import guest workers from Turkey and other southern European countries. By the middle 1970s these “guest workers” were allowed to bring their families to Germany and settle there permanently. Today, about 3.5 million 
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