Monday, February 27, 2006

iRaq

written by B.DOW


Q
ue fue, revolucionarios? That's right, y'all...I just wanted to drop by right quick and post a piece of media that should grab your attention. As some of you may have seen, iPod recently released their "Eminem iPod TV Ad," which drew heavily on the artist's 8-mile soundtrack single, "Lose Yourself." Apple has since then pulled the commercial due to not receiving permission for use of the song ( i.e. Eminem's publishing company has filed a suit for copyrightment infringement). Nonetheless, the ad was so popular that it presented a perfect opportunity for some true guerrilla work...


"The Eminem/Iraq Mash-Up"

Yes, as we approach the 3rd anniversary of our entry into Iraq, let us not forget the incalculable humanitarian cost of this war. More importantly, let us not treat the Iraqi War as somehow past its most intense stage; today, more Americans and Iraqi civilians are dying than at any other point since our invasion in March of 2003. The insurgency is stronger than ever, and the goal of a secure Iraq becomes increasingly faint. Yes, we are standing at the brink of an all-out civil war, which no matter how you view it, was ignited (but not started) through our actions. As us young people come to grips with how we want to approach the world we live in, we must not forget that the biggest threat to ourselves is not global terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, or Arab-owned port companies, but rather, our own distraction. The powerful words of Dr. Paul Farmer come to mind:

How do we, as the lingo would have it, "process" such abominable contiguity? Our best hope, it sometimes, seems, is oblivion. Let the world's endless jeremiad be blotted out by action films and other entertainments, sport-utility vehicles, high irony, identity politics that erase the world's poor, or struggles for personal advancement within this or that institution. Choose your poision; choose your anesthesia. Help yourself. Soon we will all be too old for justice, anyway.


On this anniversary of Iraq, let us all not neglect our inherent "spirituality of resistance," that resistance which fights against our own tendency to forget the world we live in, whereby the "world" is synonymous with the "I." Don't get me wrong...I'm guilty, too. I turn my back away, I throw my hands up out of mere complexity, and say, "Is there anything I can really do to change this?" But we all need to fight this urge, together. So, today...I ask you to take a moment with me, and seriously consider the effects of the war with the following piece, "The Eminem/Iraq Mash-Up."




B.Libertad

Original Eminem iPod TV Ad

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Gettin Lost in the Sauce

WOW...I don't think that picture needs much of an explanation.


Quench your thirst with a Saucey SISTAH!!!! On friday night that's exactly what I did. Who can resist their provacative marketing?? look how beautiful she is, I couldn't hold back. By the time friday night rolled around I was all ready to go. I headed straight to the only place in the world that serves this refined Ale...Everet & Jones... I must admit I felt a bit like a foreign tourist. We didn't have the courage to ask the waiter for a "SAUCEY SISTAH" so instead we just pointed at her picture and said "I'll have one of those" at which point he said "A PITCHER OF SAUCEY?" and we were sold....Boi o Boi was it saucey, we got lost in the Sauce....

Ribs and SAUCCEYY... yum yumm yummm.... look at that Kool-aide smile...or is that a SAUUCEEY smile??

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Technology and Development part II

A couple weeks ago I wrote extensively about the $100 laptop and the potential impact the project could have on increasing educational attainment in developing nations. One of the major determinants of whether or not the project will be successful is the growth of public internet access in places where connectivity is very low or non-existent.

Private investment in infrastructure projects has been waning in recent years. This is reflective of widespread rejection of IMF and World Bank mandated Neo-Liberal economic programs that have led to graft, increased income inequality, and increasing poverty. However, the problem of internet connectivity, while be no means the most grave problem, could potentially be handled by private companies.


Martin, Argentine Entrepreneur...Happy?

FON a, Spanish start-up, has set out to make the internet “super” accessible and create a global community of people who share WI-FI connections. Their technology involves installing an FON ready router to your existing internet connection that will allow you to share your connection with other “FONEROS” who also agree to share their connections or pay a nominal fee to acess yours. This company, founded by an ambitious Argentine entrepreneur, has received tremendous support from Google, Skype and some major Silicon Valley venture capital firms. The interest shown by Google, who has hinted at providing free internet access in certain U.S. municipalities, and Skype, who has revolutionized VOIP technology, gives optimism towards the notion of affordable communication technology worldwide. With boatloads of cash and a commitment towards philanthropy (google.org) Google could potentially make its GoogleNet far reaching, and with the help of FON could have the world blanketed with internet access. In places where microfinance and micro-enterprise is thriving, Google could charge a micro fee to local entrepreneurs to advertise their products on an extended GoogleNet, reaching internet consumers on new $100 laptop. This is an idealistic, optimistic way in which the connectivity problem that faces the $100 laptop could be solved. These innovations are particularly uplifting given not only the “evil” stance taken by Google in China (as highlighted by B.Libertad), but also the increasing backlash towards private investment in infrastructure and development projects.

**please see link and FON logo in sidebar**

Epic Weekend Revisited

I've been slacking a bit with my posts. I know you're all anxious, sorry about the delay. The good news is that I've been diligently exploring content partnerships and have added some cool new features for you to enjoy. You can now "Subscribe" to the blog by entering your e-mail address into the sidebar at right, this will send you blog updates as they are posted.There are also news clips from NPR World and pictures hosted by Flikr in the same sidebar.

So, now to the juicy stuff. Last weekend was pretty epic. I've been telling everyone I'd write something about it, now that it's almost the weekend again I figure it's time to get it off my chest. I'd try to explain and describe it to you, but it can't be summed up in words. I'll just give you a quick snapshot and let you imagine the rest. The weekend included a majestic spiritual encounter amongst friends in Napa, Killa Cali. As you can see in the picture above I had some deeply contemplative moments on "Lookout Hill" located on the Phair estate. It got real contemplative when we realized that the heat in the house didn't work. The remainder of the weekend involved paying a tow truck driver named Jeremy a $40 bribe, seeing killa Mike Ferdinandi drive a big Big BIG red truck straigt into white water, ghost riding the whip in a winery parking lot, and discovering saucy sista ale at everet and jones.

**for free prints of photos seen in this posting send your name and mailing address to ctmorris@gmail.com (courtesy of c-ron.blogspot.com foto service)**

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Allow Cam to Introduce Myself...

Below Che lies his spiritual heir, B. Libertad.


This is B. Libertad, also known as" 26 de Julio" (I have recently acknowledged a slight variant of the latter: Firey Veinteseis). Only hours ago, my liberating rhetoric was officially requested by the increasingly known CRon Blogspot of Fire, after posting a response to the recent protests surrounding Google's decision to give China their own "Non-Human Rights" version of the most important search engine in the world (see below).

I have proudly accepted such a highly-esteemed, albeit non-paying, literary post, and look forward to acting as a voice of human rights for this growing webpage. With every topic and/or response, I will demonstrate that every question must always be grounded from the perspective of the destitute, impoverished, and oppressed, as they "constitute the most radical truth of our reality."

So watch out...
Your conscience is on the loose around here, and if you fail to follow it, I'll be the one to pop up and check yo' ass. Veintiseis, hasta la victoria siempre...

One.

B.Libertad


**for free prints of photos seen in this posting send your name and mailing address to ctmorris@gmail.com (courtesy of c-ron.blogspot.com foto service)**


Welcome B.Libertad


I just wanted to quickly welcome B.Libertad to the staff and express my extreme pleasure with signing him as c-ron.blogspot.com's chief political editor. B and I see eye to eye on a lot of important issues, from Bolivia to Baghdad. It is with this pleasure that I would like to further introduce B.DOW

B.Dow recently returned from Ecuador where he not only picked up the Spanish language in a matter of months, but he also gave his blood, sweat and tears to a local public hospital in Quito, further solidifying his ambitions to bring organic change the world and make medical treatment more accessible to those who need it most. Currently, B.DOW continues to formulate his firey ideas and ambitions from his outpost in Las Vegas, while preparing to attend Med. School in the fall........


So, B...All I've got for you is Dow-Morris 2020 (the year of the flames)


"we ain't squares, we're polar bears"


**for free prints of photos seen in this posting send your name and mailing address to ctmorris@gmail.com (courtesy of c-ron.blogspot.com foto service)**

My School Bus

The Google School Bus...The Bus for the gifted and talented.

**for free prints of photos seen in this posting send your name and mailing address to ctmorris@gmail.com (courtesy of c-ron.blogspot.com foto service)**

Le Monde de C-RON all over the world

So, this blog is called "Le Monde de C-RON" (the world of c-ron). It is in this context that I had the pleasant surprise of receiving an e-mail with picture parcel from Ms. S-VAN. In this picture she is seen showing love for the koala population of Australia, isn't that beautiful?? Big up S-VAN.

So we've got postings of readers from North America, South America, Down Under, and Europe.... Asia and Africa where you at??

**for free prints of photos seen in this posting send your name and mailing address to ctmorris@gmail.com (courtesy of c-ron.blogspot.com foto service)**

Thursday, February 16, 2006

C-RON's Legal Counsel

The other night I made a key acquisition for Le Monde de C-ron. I officially signed Mark and Jordan to be my legal counsel. As you can see these guys look real serious about their work. Fact #1, Jordan is one of only 3 remaining legal professionals in the continental U.S. that still uses the moustache scare technique.

**for free prints of photos seen in this posting send your name and mailing address to ctmorris@gmail.com (courtesy of c-ron.blogspot.com foto service)**

Free Information, Free Tibet


On Tuesday the Googleplex was protested by a Free Tibet student group. While we were warned that the protest was going to be of biblical proportion, only about 20 people turned out. In this picture you can barely see the group standing at the bottom of garbage hill. In their best choir voices they chanted "free information, free Tibet"...While I agree with them that the Chinese population should have access to uncensored information, I disagree with pointing the finger at Google. It is quit obvious to me that the real problem here is the Chinese government not a search engine that is doing its best to provide Chinese citizens with as much information as is mandated by an oppressive government.

Response written by B.DOW Firey 26 de julio:

yo, way to "soften" your response for any potentially-onlooking bosses.

You say Google is simply a search engine service trying to do its best, and thus should not be the target of protest. But, as you and I both know, Google is no longer just a search engine, but a way of life (globally).

It has changed the way we think abou the Internet, and thus fundamentally affected our world. With such an awesome privilege, however, comes an awesome responsibility. Google has admittedly acknowledged this truth in the past, which is why we would do well to judge them accordingly. In applying flimsy ideas of corporate responsibility, it is easy to arrive at a conclusion such as, "Google should not be the target of such protest." But Google, for its responsible actions in the past, should be set at a higher standard, should be modeled as an example for the wealth of corporations that heavily contribute to the growing inequity of the 21st century.

And when such a company decides to come up short on the human rights of a billion citizens for clear economic incentives, they should be the target of our protest.

Google did nothing wrong - this is true. What's disturbing is that this is sufficient for us in our monitoring of corporate behavior.

**for free prints of photos seen in this posting send your name and mailing address to ctmorris@gmail.com (courtesy of c-ron.blogspot.com foto service)**

THE HUNT


As any good American would do, I decided to follow the example set by our Vice President. Yesterday I tested the huntability of permanente creek, which runs behind my office. I've been scouting the creek for a while, every day at 4pm, and I know it's chalk full of mallard ducks and egrets. Armed with a blow gun and Nelson, the famous dog from the bins (google slang), I headed out to see what i could pull. I had two major problems, 1)I didn't really have a blow gun 2) Nelson seemed more interested in eating the grass than going after the ducks.

All was not lost. I began to forge a healthy working relationship with Nelson, the hunting dog, and I did not shoot my hunting partner

**for free prints of photos seen in this posting send your name and mailing address to ctmorris@gmail.com (courtesy of c-ron.blogspot.com foto service)**

Monday, February 13, 2006

East Oakland, North Oakland, West Oakland, The Bay, Cali, The World

I wake up feelin "yes I can", I'm doing this for Oakland and everybody living. So check out these beautiful pics of the sun setting on Oakland and the surrounding bay area. Voted one of the top three vista sites in the world by c-ron.blogspot.com users.
With these photos the folks at c-ron.blogspot.com would like to announce the launch of c-ron.blogspot.com "Foto Service". In the future any photo on the blog will be available in high gloss prints (shipped worldwide) or e-mailed in high resolution.

To kick off the service, I would like to extend a special offer, to you the readers. We are ready to ship prints of any pic on the blog free of charge/shipping. I hope you're as excited about this as I am. All photo inquiries should be sent to ctmorris@gmail.com.... that's ctmorris@gmail.com . I look forward to hearing from you

SCRAPER, SCRAPER, pull over something




PK Visits the GooglePlex

Last Friday the man known as Peter Kayki, for his affinity towards kayki pants, visited the googleplex for lunch. Here's a picture of us enjoying the outdoor dining accomodations, looking stuffed to the gils.

Saturday, February 11, 2006

The Graduate

Voted best bar in the bay area by c-ron.blogspot.com the Graduate boasts a healthy combination of Oakland grit with... well Oakland grit, but it's in a nice part of town. Their most popular special is $1 beers for students (anyone under the age of 40). And they have a nice set of dominoes behind the counter which is readily available to any bar patron.


Their jukebox contains quit an eclectic mix. I usually go for the Sade. It is one of only two bars in the world that has Sade on the Jukebox, that is a fact!! (the other one is actually right down the street). And the weirdiest part about this place is that there is a cigarette vending machine near the bathroom, in a bar and state where smoking is illegal???

Happy Birthday Julie

After 3 weeks of working for a client in Oakland Julie finally got off work before midnight. So Happy Birthday 3 Weeks late!!!!! Julie has been lobbying pretty hard to get on the blog. See that gold card in my hand....that is an accepted form of payment for getting blogged.

The Old Pro

Thursday night I had the exquisite pleasure of enjoying a beer with an old friend of mine. We decided to frequent the silicon valley renowned Old Pro... Actually, I'm not too sure how true that last statement is, one of our co-workers at our old internship refused to go there with us because it was too low class. But anyway, we went there


Here's the accountant enjoying a hoppy beer. See the look on his face?? That's the "Arthur Andersen look" whereby you contemplate life..."boy counting widgets all day gets pretty boring, maybe I should take a couple million dollars under the table and cook the books".

And yes, finally we visited our old place of employment. Except when we got there we noticed that the company's sign was no longer hanging outside and that the office was gutted. I guess that's what happens at a place where the head honcho gets a court ordered restraining order from a client. Strong work Boss

GM - only GM - LiveGreenGoYellow

Check out GM's attempt at staying in business through E85 ethanol

GM - only GM - LiveGreenGoYellow

Friday, February 10, 2006

Wired News: Harnessing the Energy of Exercise

Funny article about alternative energy sources. provided by Mom


Wired News: Harnessing the Energy of Exercise

Ethanol | Life after subsidies | Economist.com

The Economist might be infringing upon my copyright text here, but it's okay they agree with me on the ethanol thing. checkout this article that was released yesterday. They touch a lot more on cellulosic ethanhol. It's a good read.

Ethanol | Life after subsidies | Economist.com

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Spring has Sprung at the GOOGLEPLEX


Punxsutawney Phil get back. On Groundhog day, February 2nd, Punxsutawney Phil crawled out of his rat hole and told the U.S. that we have six more weeks of winter. Well Punxsutawney, you're wrong. According to Google spring came on February 6th. Above is my photographic evidence of the cherry blossoms in full bloom right alongside Permanante Creek next to the GooglePlex. Happy Spring everyone!! and who the hell is Punxsutawney Phil anyway??

GUZZLE ALCOOL NOT OIL



On Monday George Bush sent to Congress his proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning in the fall of 2006. As would be expected “W” is set to spend a large portion of our tax dollars on protecting our “freedom”, with $513.03b earmarked for defense. (second only to medicare and social security, 980.15b). Amazingly, that is an 8.7% reduction from the amount we will spend on defense this year. In his official statement Bush said that “(he) has focused the nation’s resources on our highest priority – protecting our citizens and our homeland” and presumably fueling our “war on terror”. Following Bush’s remarks, Donald Rummsfeld came out on Tuesday to help articulate his boss’s “freedom, terror, homeland security” soup. The biggest winners in the defense lottery are naval shipbuilders (11.2b) and missile defense producers (9.3b). What is striking to me is the lack of congruence between our foreign policy and our defense spending. It is an indisputable fact that our foreign policy places a high level of importance on our energy interests in the Middle East and sewing up cheap oil in Iraq. So why can’t we spend, at least, 10% (51b) of our allocated defense funds on taking a pre-emptive strike against foreign oil dependency. Currently the budget only calls for 29b to be spent on “energy, environment, and natural resources”, a bit more than 5% of our defense budget. It is becoming increasingly important and urgent that we aggressively seek energy and fuel alternatives. While there are many proposals for alternative fuel sources floating around right now, I will focus the rest of this article on alcohol consumption, something that Bush touched on briefly in his state-of-the-union address.

The first time I was in Brazil I spoke very little Portuguese and found myself confused by a lot of things. One thing that I thought was particularly funny was that you could buy “alcool” at gas station pumps. I knew Brazilians liked to party, but why distribute alcohol from a gas pump rather than in a conventional bottle or can. When my Portuguese and overall awareness increased I realized that “alcool” was actually a combustible variety of alcohol called ethanol that was consumed by automobiles not human beings.

In the 1970s when global oil prices were going haywire the Brazilian government, which was largely autocratic, launched a program to help wean their country away from Middle Eastern oil dependency. In 1975 the government launched its ethanol program (ProƔlcool) which looked to provide ethanol, a combustible alcohol made from sugar or corn, as an alternative to standard petrol. In launching this program the government was set to incur huge costs and take on large risks. The government issued a mandate that forced all fuel stations to carry ethanol and made it affordable to consumers by subsidizing the price of ethanol to the point that it would always be cheaper than gasoline. This program was a success up until the global oil market re-stabilized and oil prices fell. In the 90s, the government took another decisive step towards making ethanol a viable alternative. They cut subsidies to sugar producers forcing them to innovate, become more productive and face world prices. Currently, with oil prices scrapping the $70/barrel mark ethanol is once again very popular (43% of vehicles run on alcool) and both ethanol producers and car manufacturers are scrambling to meet increasing demand.


While a similar plan seems unfathomable in the U.S.there are a few things to consider. At this point George Bush is a completely lame duck president and doesn’t have too much to lose. Not even his Neo-Con backbone like him anymore. So why not step up and do something that would be considered radical by American political standards? In his state-of-the-union speech Bush pledged to reduce 75% of America's oil imports from the middle east by 2025. Providing an affordable oil alternative would be a lot easier than finding Bin Laden or WMD in Iraq and could be seen as a move to stabilize and protect our country. There are a couple other reasons why ethanol would benefit the U.S. One of the EU’s and Latin America’s biggest gripes with the U.S, obviously second to our involvement in Iraq, is our unfair agricultural subsidies. In order to make ethanol more affordable the government would have to cut subsidies to the corn industry, for the same reason sugar subsidies were cut in Brazil. The money previously used to subsidize corn producers could be used to subsidize ethanol producers and distributors, thus replacing a very wasteful subsidy with something that might actually be useful. Slashing agricultural subsidies would create positive externalities in our trade relations with the EU and our neighbors in the Americas. It would also help to close the Doha round of WTO talks which have been limping along since 2001.

If you are still reading, thank you. I am finished.

Saturday, February 04, 2006

Nina Simone




Here's the album of the week. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood by Nina Simone. It is once again brought to you by the Oakland Public Library, but was not explicitly funded by Measure Q. This album is a good display of Nina Simone's interesting style and unique voice. The songs in french are particularly interesting

One Night Extravaganza

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOM!!! but wait there's confusion, was it really your birthday?? Well either way congratulations
AAAAAAHHHHH......what's that taste??
SAAAKKKEE!!!!!! John Paul ordered a whole box of the refreshing Sho Chiku Bai Sake....but was told by management that due to clause #268 in their insurance policy he would have to drink it within close proximity to the Water Closet.


Once fully refreshed we kept the celebration moving. In this picture Adam displays the finger which he talked about over dinner for a half an hour, and he still looks excited about it...

CTM

Friday, February 03, 2006

Hydration??

Hmmmm....Water bar fully stocked. The hardest decision of the day, what to drink, what to drink??

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Technology and Development Part I

In a time when our verbally challenged politicians make lofty claims of providing adequate education and leaving “no child behind”, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is making serious inroads towards providing affordable educational solutions for children that need it the most. In the 21st century technology will play a vital roll in reducing poverty and increasing educational attainment. MIT has already started blazing down this path through their involvement in the $100 laptop project and providing OpenCourseWare via internet.

The $100 laptop project is aimed at designing an affordable, stripped down laptop to be distributed to school children around the world. They have chosen a seemingly unattainable slogan, “1 laptop per child”, for a world that often finds itself hard pressed to provide one teacher per every hundred children. The expectation is that Education Ministries in developing nations will purchase the laptops and distribute them to children enrolled in their public school system. The most important features of these laptops is that they will be broadband wireless ready and have an alternative power source (a hand crank). Ideally this will provide an unfathomable window to the world for millions of children who suffer through poverty and whom may never have a chance to leave their villages or urban dwellings. Not only will children be able to use them as educational resources, but working adults will be able to use them to check on weather forecasts potential draught conditions etc.

The $100 laptop project will face problems that seem to be inherent to development projects. Initially education ministries will not have the capital to purchase one laptop per child causing distribution problems. Partial laptop distribution may in turn cause two subclasses of lower class children, “laptop kids” and “non laptop kids”. In many countries set to purchase the $100 laptops education standards are minimal and high illiteracy rates exist. In these conditions the two above mentioned subclasses of children will diverge further, into literate laptop children and illiterate children. There also exists the possibility for government corruption. But it seems unlikely that kleptocratic government officials will hoard stripped down laptops the way they like to hoard natural resource windfalls.

In conjunction with the $100 laptop program MIT has published a wide offering of its course materials online. The program is called MIT OpenCourseWare and features syllabuses, homework assignments, readings, tests and video lectures from the majority of its courses. The $100 laptop combined with OCW may bring to reality the far fetched illusion of someone in a thatched roofed hut in Cambodia learning Aeronautical Science via internet on their laptop. Will these projects have as profound an impact as predicted? Maybe. If the projects stick to their mission and receive proper funding the sky is the limit. If it gets caught up in red tape and shafted by donors it will be merely another great idea.

I am optimistic about these two projects and the implications of providing internet access to the masses. The WWW not only can be used as an educational resource but can also be used to emancipate the voices of billions of people whom are currently neglected. No matter what happens MIT deserves high acclaim for these projects and has set a great example for other institutions, government agencies and companies.


CTM

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Breaking News...Accountant Ghost Rides Whip


So the "Tell me When to Go" video premiered last night on MTV 2 with much fanfare. Little did they know about the externalities it would cause. The video features a wild scene in which "actors" perform a stunt called "ghost riding the whip". Upon watching the video on repeat all day while counting widgets, Accountant Grant Osborne did the following as he departed from his white collar prison.

"in the parking garage i was going down the ramp and put it in neutral, then got out and jumped on the hood"


Needless to say, security was called.


G-Hike or Gike

On sunday I embarked on an epic journey with some co-workers. I'm not sure if the proper term would be a G-Hike or a Gike, but you tell me. We set out on the Tennesse Valley Trail in the Marin Headlines...This deffinitly wasn't the same Tennessee valley that was pork barrelled by the New Deal...It was a beautiful lush valley with an ocean vista.
From the Tennesse Valley Trail we took the Coastal Trail straight up the top of the "hill/mountain" to Wolf Ridge. On the way up I thought my co-workers were either going to die or kill me due to the strenious incline, but we made it and enjoyed this beautiful view.
Here's a pic of the Beach. I forget the name of it. yadada

G-DAY for U.S Economy - Greenspan Fades to Black

Yesterday Dr. Alan Greenspan chaired his last FOMC meeting and cheerfully walked away from 18 years of civic duty. While investors and "wall street types" almost unanimously give praise to the "maestro" his legacy won't be completely understood until the effects of this monetary policy dissipate through the economy in the upcoming years. Dr. Greenspan has cultivated a positive public image for the FED and has mitigated previous claims that the FED was too secretive. On the same note Dr. Greenspan has also clearly dispelled the belief that the FED is a "rich boys" club designed to protect bond yields for the super rich. He cheered on the dotcom bubble with irrational exuberance right up to the point of explosion, leaving white collar hustlers weeping. He has adopted a similar stance towards the current, much debated, asset/housing bubble, which may also leave unscrupulous investors up a creek without a paddle. Above all, the majority of Greenspanian praise has been for simply averting the mistakes made by his predecessors. During his 18 year tenure he has kept inflation within reach, avoided any major employment shocks, and helped maintain steady economic growth. So, during his last day in office he was seen rockin a bright eyed smirk, knowing that Dr. Bernanke was going to have his hands full. Bernanke will inherit an increasingly unbalanced economy characterized by a huge current account deficit, low consumer savings, and a decreasing foreign appetite for dollar denominated investments. Dr. Greenspan will fade to black at just the right time, being praised for his previous accomplishments while brushing pending economic concerns under the carpet. Tchau Greenspan.

"Don't hate the economist, hate the economy"

CTM