Absentee and 2008.

For almost 1 year I didn't write anything though so often I though on doing it. I don't even remember the topics. Today, December 24,2007 I decided not to go to the office. I've worked a lot this year, had great successes and some disappointments. What's new? But the balance was positive. And I spent a lot of time in the manganese mine in Brazil. Though I got testimony's about the existence of manganese ore at that place from geologists and mining engineers I am still troubled about the end result. Ricky, my son, and Pat are doing a great job in supervising the project and making sure that my money is properly allocated. I am very happy that they are so involved.In about 2 weeks the verdict will be out. I hope that all documents are in order and that no new surprise will surface.
A new year is coming up. 2008 will be a great year in trading and if it will be also a great year for the manganese ore mine, it will be a fenomenal year.

The (maybe) lucky Pres. Bush

If the now thinly Democrat majority US Senate votes to prevent the USA to send the additional 21,000 troops to Iraq that Pres. Bush wants to, it would be a strike of luck for Pres. Bush. The troops won't be sent which is supported by the big majority of US citizens, and if anything goes wrong it will be the Senate's responsability....

my thoughts about increasing the troops in Iraq

Shortly, as another more explanatory blog will follow. It simply doesn't make sense to increase the troops in Iraq. Except for window dressing and pure domestic political reasons..... The additional forces would possibly quelch the insurgents....temporarily. As soon as they start leaving Iraq it will start all over again. More American lifes will be wasted, more Americans will be injured phisically and mentally for life...The result will be zero at a very high cost. There is no way in the short term to prevent Shiites and Sunnis to fight themselves. The majority shiites, with the support of Iran, that were supressed for so many years by the minority Sunnis of Saddam Hussein will take revenge for their suffering, of their family members that were killed, of their money that was stolen. This is part of history and only time may heal the rivalry and fight, with a lot of political negotiations backed by reason and good sense.....And I didn't even put the Kurds into the equation....

the joke of the collision of a nuclear submarine....

An American nuclear submarine collides with a Japanese tanker in the Strait of Ormuz - just a few miles off Iran's coast..... Oooops!!! It's not a joke! Can you imagine this? With all the technology installed in this ships, and in this case a nuclear submarine, it collides with another vessel? And off the coast of Iran where it probably was on a spy mission?! Two years ago in the Pacific Ocean another nuclear submarine also collided with another vessel - if I remember well also a Japanese one. What's wrong with these people? Is it proof enough that technology alone is not sufficient to win a war? Good and competent people are needed to operate these gadgets! It seems that it is easier to reach the Moon .....or Mars....

Pres. Bush on passing away of Pres. Ford

President Bush said today, about the passing of Pres. Ford: " with his quiet integrity, common sense and quiet instincts, President Ford helped heal our land and restore public confidence in the presidency". We need someone with President Ford's features to be elected the next president of the USA!

The Executioner

The executioner that couldn't execute a person in the death row.....the needle of the fatal injection went through the vein and the chemical (poison?) went to the flesh, not to the vein. This didn't happen in a underdeveloped world, country in the middle of nowhere.....this happened right here, in Florida. Shouldn't the executioner be executed? At least fired! Isn't that a mixture of incompetence and not caring for a human being ....no matter that he was a criminal. Isn't that comparable to torture .... a person gets a fatal injection and needs 34 minutes to die! Good that governor Jeb Bush suspended all executions .... but what happened with the incompetent executioner?

American Citizen

Last week I became an American citizen......does it make me an American? I am fortunate to assemble different cultures from my origins (Germany/Austria), from my country of birth and where I grew up (Brazil) and from living in the USA (New York) for almost 20 years ..... I hope to be smart enough to pick the best of each.