I have watched the same question posed to Barrack Obama in several debates now. It is not a question based on the “change” sign that appears everywhere as the platform slogan of his campaign. No, this dubious debate question concerns why he does not wear a flag pin on the lapel of his suit.

Of course, these types of questions do not offer any insight on how a Barack Obama Administration would “change” the agencies of the federal government . In fact, what the voters would like to hear from the Presidential candidates is an understanding that true federal government reform requires performance standards and the tools necessary for government managers to measure performance. The reality of federal government “change” is that management without the necessary measurement tools will not lead to improved operating efficiency.

The truth is that the private sector has had performance management and measurement tools in place for decades. In fact, widely used programs such as Six Sigma and others have been invaluable in efforts to systematically improve business processes resulting in the reduction and elimination of errors and defects in many companies across different industries.

However, in the public sector, the practice of managing business process has been quite different. If more money is needed, State, Federal, payroll, property, water, sewer, trash, registry, gas, alcohol, excise, sales, and tobacco, taxes, tolls, and fees could always be raised to generate additional government revenue. Of course, this method of revenue generation does not promote government efficiency. Unfortunately, government process management simply does not exist as it does in the private sector. Often, that is what leads to critical reports from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the wasteful spending practices in various government agencies.

Therefore, what local, state, and federal government needs is a public sector Six Sigma program to promote the efficient spending of taxpayer money. A program that uses analysis and measurement to reduce inefficiency. A program that provides the necessary management tools and sponsors increased management communication to provide a more efficient return on each taxpayer dollar.

So, it is very encouraging that such a program already exists and is working in several places today. The program is called Compstat and it was originally developed by New York police commissioner, William Bratton, in 1993. Today, more than a decade later, as a result of the program, serious crime has been reduced in New York by 65 percent. In general, the program has been very successful in the reduction of all crime across the 76 city precincts. The program uses computer statistics, timely input of data, and a geographical basis of tracking “hot spots” to place resources in the proper place at the proper time. The success of the program has led to its adoption by over one hundred police departments nationwide. The program has even received the “Innovation in American Government Award” from Harvard’s Kennedy School and the Ford Foundation.

So how did the Compstat program produce such success? Initially, it established four principles that governed the New York Police Department as follows: timely and accurate intelligence; rapid deployment; effective tactics; and relentless follow-up and assessment. All of the information gathered by the fifteen member Compstat task force was analyzed and used to facilitate those four guiding principles.

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The Michigan Militia launches the 10-Week Project Contest in preparation for the 2008 elections. The group begins arrangements over concerns for public safety in the ten week period between the conclusion of the national elections and the proclamation of the president. The contest aims to get members and non-members involved in the preparation, training and planning for the potentially tumultuous time.

The 10-Week Project Contest calls for essays that detail the exact strategy to be undertaken by concerned citizens in the event of turmoil during the ten weeks before the president is officially sworn in. Preparations include the accumulation of food, first aid training, transportation and the preparation of gear. The essays required are persuasive in nature, asking contributors to delineate why they feel the need for these measures to be taken.

The Michigan Militia is a long standing organization based in Michigan that is composed of several militia sub groups. The group has recently resurfaced and made its presence known on the internet by having its own MySpace page, YouTube account and Facebook profile. Most of these were put up and being managed by the subgroup called the Southeast Michigan Volunteer Militia.

There are monthly tactical training courses given by the Michigan Militia. Often these are held on the first Saturday of each month in Camp Stasa in Bancroft, Michigan. Members of the Michigan Militia train people in the handling of weapons, first aid and give them safety instructions.

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I have watched the same question posed to Barrack Obama in several debates now. It is not a question based on the “change” sign that appears everywhere as the platform slogan of his campaign. No, this dubious debate question concerns why he does not wear a flag pin on the lapel of his suit.

Of course, these types of questions do not offer any insight on how a Barack Obama Administration would “change” the agencies of the federal government . In fact, what the voters would like to hear from the Presidential candidates is an understanding that true federal government reform requires performance standards and the tools necessary for government managers to measure performance. The reality of federal government “change” is that management without the necessary measurement tools will not lead to improved operating efficiency.

The truth is that the private sector has had performance management and measurement tools in place for decades. In fact, widely used programs such as Six Sigma and others have been invaluable in efforts to systematically improve business processes resulting in the reduction and elimination of errors and defects in many companies across different industries.

However, in the public sector, the practice of managing business process has been quite different. If more money is needed, State, Federal, payroll, property, water, sewer, trash, registry, gas, alcohol, excise, sales, and tobacco, taxes, tolls, and fees could always be raised to generate additional government revenue. Of course, this method of revenue generation does not promote government efficiency. Unfortunately, government process management simply does not exist as it does in the private sector. Often, that is what leads to critical reports from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the wasteful spending practices in various government agencies.

Therefore, what local, state, and federal government needs is a public sector Six Sigma program to promote the efficient spending of taxpayer money. A program that uses analysis and measurement to reduce inefficiency. A program that provides the necessary management tools and sponsors increased management communication to provide a more efficient return on each taxpayer dollar.

So, it is very encouraging that such a program already exists and is working in several places today. The program is called Compstat and it was originally developed by New York police commissioner, William Bratton, in 1993. Today, more than a decade later, as a result of the program, serious crime has been reduced in New York by 65 percent. In general, the program has been very successful in the reduction of all crime across the 76 city precincts. The program uses computer statistics, timely input of data, and a geographical basis of tracking “hot spots” to place resources in the proper place at the proper time. The success of the program has led to its adoption by over one hundred police departments nationwide. The program has even received the “Innovation in American Government Award” from Harvard’s Kennedy School and the Ford Foundation.

So how did the Compstat program produce such success? Initially, it established four principles that governed the New York Police Department as follows: timely and accurate intelligence; rapid deployment; effective tactics; and relentless follow-up and assessment. All of the information gathered by the fifteen member Compstat task force was analyzed and used to facilitate those four guiding principles.

At first, the program focused on seven major crime categories. Data was captured from the most serious crimes and plotted electronically on a computer screen to determine patterns and trends. A cluster of dots in a particular location alerted officers to a string of murders, rapes, or robberies. The statistics were also used to generate a profile of commanding officers and assess their management performance.
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John McCain and Hillary Clinton are proposing revocation of gasoline tax for three months — June, July and August — for the American consumers. The gasoline tax is about 18 cents per gallon. There are varying estimates of the potential average savings for the consumers — most estimates (optimistic estimates) appear to put the maximum savings for a family for the entire summer to be about $100.

However, there are several caveats to be stated. First, there may be actually no savings to the families for two reasons — there may actually be net loss. One reason is that oil companies generally tend to use the repeal of gasoline tax as an excuse to increase the price by an amount that would more than offset gasoline tax. The second reason is that with the repeal of the gasoline tax demand for the gasoline is likely to rise and this demand is not likely to be met by new production essentially leading to a price increase. Second, the repeal of gasoline tax will result in a loss of about $9 billion to the federal highway fund which would result in shortchanging infrastructure development and loss of many jobs — may be as many as 6,000 in Indiana. Third, this experiment — revocation of gasoline tax for a short spell — has been tried (including in Indiana) and the experiment has not only failed to meet the desired goals but also proved counter-productive.

However, all this make political sense for Hillary Clinton — she is in the fight of her life for the Democratic party presidential nomination, and she wants to get as many votes as possible and differentiate herself from Obama even if it means a bit of theatrical populism.

But the question is this: why is John McCain engaged in this populism? It does not add up. Of course, McCain wants to position himself as a man in touch. However, all this is more likely to muddy up McCain’s biggest strength — an independent, non-populist, somewhat maverick political leader.

The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, begins a state visit to Tunisia on Monday during which he’ll once again be promoting French industry. He’s also expected to put the finishing touches to his pet project of a Mediterranean Union.

But there’s likely to be an uncomfortable undertone throughout the whole trip. Although human rights will not be topping the agenda, Sarkozy will face a stern test of both his stance on the issue and his recent promise not to tolerate any more controversial statements from some of his ministers

Over the years Tunisia has come in for a great deal of international condemnation for its abuse of human rights, and local non-governmental organisations are hoping the issue will be addressed during the visit.

But Sarkozy has often been accused of pursuing a foreign policy, which puts commercial interests ahead of considerations for human rights and his visit to Tunisia will probably follow a similar pattern.

He’ll be surrounded by a gaggle of leading French industrialists representing the usual suspects that regularly accompany him on foreign trips including Airbus and Alstom.

Also part of his entourage however, is Rama Yade, the junior minister for human rights.

The outspoken Yade has already embarrassed her boss on a couple of occasions. Last year she criticised the human rights record of Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi while he was in Paris on a buying spree – echoing the thoughts of many at the time.

And more recently there was her infamous interview with the French daily, Le Monde, in which she said Sarkozy had set a number of conditions on China before he would confirm whether he would attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Beijing. She later claimed she had been misquoted.

Even though a fair amount of attention will be directed towards her and whether she keeps quiet, there’s no denying that the real purpose of the visit is trade yet again.

As well as being a consummate politician, Sarkozy is probably also one of France’s best salesmen. He’ll be looking to ease a deal with Tunisian airlines, which is looking to renew its fleet and jolly along the possibility of France exporting its expertise in nuclear technology. In the pipeline is an agreement to build a reactor for civil energy purposes along the lines of deals already struck with Libya and Algeria.

When Sarkozy meets the Tunisian president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, he’ll also be looking to finalise plans for his own pet project – the setting up of a Mediterranean Union. Planned as a forum for boosting political and economic dialogue between the 27-member European Union and North African countries, details are due to be officially unveiled in Paris on July 13 after France takes over the six-month rotating presidency of the EU.

Past evidence suggests that Sarkozy will aim to come home with an armful of contracts, but at what cost in terms of addressing the problem of Tunisia’s poor track record on human rights.

In spite of the promises he made just last week, he might once again find himself allowing Yade free rein to say what he feels, as head of state, unable to declare on the record. For more stories making the headlines in France please visit http://www.persiflagefrance.com/

I only used to watch the Olympics for games that looked pretty or awesome, like gymnastics and diving. All those flippy maneuvers and air somersaults are enchanting, if only for the reason that not everyone can do them. I mean, I can run, jump over hurdles (based from experiences as Chinese garter champion), swim, dribble a ball, kick a ball, swim and whack a ball back and forth with a paddle. I cannot jump in the air and do ala-ninja flips; nor can I climb up a fifty foot diving board and jump gracefully so that i land in the pool without displacing a third of its contents.

I remember thinking that track and field is some of the most boring sports ever created, alongside swimming. The put shot for me back then was the most ridiculous sport ever invented and I was aghast at the very idea of finding people actually training for it– women losing their curves, their breasts, and gaining muscles in ways that look anything but attractive. I mean, jeez, who thought of this stuff? It seemed to me like its a modernized version of some game Neanderthals did in their own rock-based version of sports in general.

Neanderthal one: Dude, i found this heavy rock. Dibs on that hot chick with the clubs for who throws the farthest.

Neanderthal two: You’re on.

Neanderthal three: Do we get points for killing something unintentionally?

Theoretical pre-historic sports aside, I couldn’t imagine training four hours a day to put a shot. So you can throw heavy balls for a lot of meters. So what? I saw no practical use for this. But then again, when I actually sat back to consider this, I realized that there are sports that look better but have even less practical use. Like basketball. I love the NBA, but I realize that basketball is basically 10 people tossing around a single ball. At least I can use shot put skills to pit a ball dipped in pepper spray solution to that window of that guy who ran over my cat this morning. Kidding aside, sports are not meant to be practical, I realize, and mostly, its for love of the game that keeps people playing. I know better now.

The point is back then, the Olympics for me was only worth watching if it had lots of complicated body maneuvers in it. If it doesn’t turn people into pretzels, it’s not interesting. But now that I’m older, I realize there’s a lot more to this gathering of champions than an excuse to win as much bragging rights as possible. Olympics is a symbolic culmination of unity and friendship among nations. It is an event to step back from the international disputes and cheer for the representatives of our countries. At least it used to be like that.

As time goes by however, the Olympics isn’t so much as a tool for unity but a brawling ring for political platforms. Can people forget Munich and the death of 11 Israeli athletes? Or for that matter, the massacre in Tlatelolco during the Mexico games? And of course, as the most relevant and recent, China and its suppression of Tibet?

Political agenda has never been more highlighted in the Olympics than today in China. Even the most politically-apathetic people cannot deny that China’s getting a lot of flak from other countries due to their issues with Tibet. Protesters all over the world have expressed their opinions, and even some world leaders have made their stand, whether it’s by boycotting the opening ceremonies or making public statements. The Olympic torch has not seen a peaceful voyage yet, what with so many protesters trying to put it out.
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Fiat money isn’t worth the paper it’s written on and the US$ is fiat money. We’ve known that but now the rest of the world is catching on. Want to know why oil prices keep going up? The simple answer (other than greed) is that the US$ keeps going down, down, down! That’s not the worst news. Soon, oil will be traded in something other than the US$ and then we’ll really see a mess!

On October 25, 2007 the US$ stood at $79.70. As the market closed on Wednesday, the dollar had fallen like a rock to $71.41. That’s more than a 10% drop in less than six months. That means the oil producing countries need to be getting at least 10% more and at $100 a barrel, is there any wonder oil is being priced at $113.00 today? And going higher as the US$ goes lower.

And then we have to add to that the rising rate of inflation, which is increasing also!

Annual inflation in euro nations rose to a record 3.6 percent in March, boosted by higher prices in transport fuel, heating, dairy products and bread, said Eurostat, the EU’s statistical agency. It is the highest inflation rate in 16 years.

Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix in Switzerland said there had been a “very strong correlation” between rising oil prices and the weakening dollar in the last few months, which appeared to have been broken at the start of this week. “Monday and Tuesday crude oil managed to move ahead without the help of the dollar,” Jakob said. “But once we broke above 1.59 euros per dollar and as we move toward 1.60, there’s going to be more buying coming into oil.”

Analysts said growing investor demand for commodities — which have performed better than other financial instruments — also helped prop up prices. Can you say gold?

Oil’s recent run above $110 a barrel has been largely attributed to a steadily depreciating U.S. currency because a weakening dollar prompts investors to seek a safe haven in hard commodities such as oil and gold. Last week’s EIA report showed an unexpected drop in crude inventories, which started oil on its way to several records.

Gasoline inventories were expected to decline 2 million barrels, to post their fifth consecutive weekly drop amid increasing demand for the fuel, the survey showed. Gasoline demand typically starts to increase at this time of year, but high prices at the pump and a slowing U.S. economy appear to have dented the pace of demand growth.

The Can Do Cantina (print as much money as we want) is closing!

Attracting the most attention was the closure of Mexico’s three main oil-exporting ports on the Gulf Coast because of bad weather that started Sunday. Only one of the ports remained closed Tuesday, according to Mexico’s Communications and Transportation Department.

The USA golden era is over! No more free rides by just printing money whenever we wanted.

There’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is that the Brazilian oil finds may be two of the world’s three biggest oil finds in the past 30 years could help end the Western Hemisphere’s reliance on Middle East crude. Saudi Arabia’s influence as the biggest oil exporter would wane if the fields are as big as advertised,The bad news? They won’t be fully operational until 2020.

We might see a $150 a tank fiull up before the good news comes about.

Brazil may be pumping several million barrels of crude daily by 2020, vaulting the nation into the ranks of the world’s seven biggest producers. The U.S. Navy’s presence in the Persian Gulf and adjacent waters would be reduced, leaving the region exposed to more conflict. We could see that world becoming a very violent one. Like it’s not already? Every hiccup makes oil spike upwards.

If the United States isn’t getting any crude from the Gulf, what benefit does it have in policing the Gulf anymore? All of the geopolitical flux that wracks that region regularly suddenly isn’t our problem. And then we’d see why OIL played such a role in this so-called war against terrorism.

Brazil’s state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA in November said the offshore Tupi field may hold 8 billion barrels of recoverable crude. Among discoveries in the past 30 years, only the 15-billion-barrel Kashagan field in Kazakhstan is larger.

Haroldo Lima, director of the country’s oil agency, last week said another subsea field, Carioca, may have 33 billion barrels of oil. That would be the third biggest field in history, behind only the Ghawar field in Saudi Arabia and Burgan in Kuwait. Carioca is one of seven fields identified so far in the BM- S-9 exploration area.

If additional drilling by Petrobras, as Petroleo Brasileiro is known, confirms the Tupi and Carioca estimates, the fields together would contain enough oil to supply every refinery on the U.S. Gulf Coast for 15 years. Petrobras said it needs at least three months to determine how much crude Carioca may hold.

The U.S. imports about 10 million barrels of oil a day, or 66% of its needs, according to the Energy Department in Washington. Saudi Arabia was the second-largest supplier in January, behind Canada.
Persian Gulf nations accounted for 23 percent of U.S. imports, compared with Brazil’s 1.7 percent share. Brazilian crude output rose 1.9 percent last year to 2.14 million barrels, according to the International Energy Agency.

More discoveries will follow in Brazil’s offshore basins, most of which have yet to be opened to exploration, Zeihan said. Repsol YPF SA, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Devon Energy Corp. are among the producers scouring Brazil’s waters for reserves. The finds they’ve got so far are just the tip of the iceberg; Brazil is going to change the balance of the global oil markets, and Petrobras will become a geopolitical supermajor.’

And Hugo Chavez is right on it!