There are three possible levels of Russian complicity in the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines flight mh-17

Mike Morell, Deputy Director of the 

Central Intelligence Agency

Photo from Wikipedia

Mike Morell, Deputy Director of  the  Central Intelligence Agency,  appearing on the Charlie Rose show,  indicated three possible levels of Russian complicity in the shooting down of the mh 17 with the loss of nearly 300 civilians.

On the first level,  world opinion is nearly unanimous that Vladimir Putin has created the Ukrainian separatist group and has funded and equipped them with sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles with which to take down Ukrainian military aircraft.. Thus Putin is complicit in shooting down mh 17.

The second level of complicity would be triggered if indeed Putin gave the separatists this particular anti-aircraft missile system and trained them in how to use it.

The third level of complicity would occur if the Russian Special Forces were actually there assisting the separatists in the shoot down. This is the most difficult to prove.

The anti-aircraft equipment has been removed, most probably into Russian territory.

The only way to determine levels two and three is through intelligence sources.

So, at a bare minimum, Morel comments, Putin is supporting these insurgents.

Latest GM recall involves another 800,000 vehicles. Yet sales are up!

General Motors has gone through many restructurings in the past

as depicted by the Outs and the Ins 

Logos from hooniverse.com

Yesterday GM announced six more recalls, involving problems other than faulty ignitions switches: air bags, seats and turn signals "parts that may not been welded together properly and a loss of power steering." 

That brings the total number of GM cars recalled since January to 29 million -- yes, yes- that number is not an error.

Yet, despite this plague of recalls and a $3.8 billion outlay to cover these defective ignitions,   GM is selling more cars than ever.

This flies in the face of reality.

One would think that the prospective car buyer would shy away from buying a GM product.

But, such is not the case.

What is happening is that when the GM car owner is waiting at the dealership for the recall rectification, savvy car salesmen are convincing many many owners to upgrade and switch to newer models with "new bells and whistles."

It was just reported that it is the sale of big S.U.V.s that is pushing sales up-- way up-- as tens of thousands of these vehicles are rolling off the showroom floor.

Did GM deserve to be bailed out by the US Taxpayer?

And should the automaker be broken up into four separate units to allow more transparency as I previously suggested? (See my prior blog, click here)

And finally should the Chief of their legal department be allowed to retain his position,  or should he be fired? 

You must decide for yourself as we contemplate the wisdom of keeping this behemoth alive as it is.

HAPPY 238TH BIRTHDAY, AMERICA

HAPPY 238TH BIRTHDAY, AMERICA 

The GM saga continues:Yesterday's 7.6 Million car recall for ignition switches pushes total GM cars recalled since January to over 25 Million

Yesterday it was announced the latest recall for ignition switch potential failure. The 7.6 M number includes, but is not limited to  the following vehicles:  Chevy Malibu 1997-2005, Pontiac Grand Prix 2004-2008 and Cadillac  CTS 2003-2014. For other vehicles included in yesterday's recall as well as  other important data and charts click here. 

7 crashes 3 deaths and eight injuries have been admitted by GM to be blamed on the above defects-- for the June 30th recall-- ALONE! 

Isn't it time for our Congress which bailed out this behemoth, that obviously cannot rule and contain itself, to take some drastic action.?

What would this drastic action entail? With the loss of even one life, can we allow this company to carry on with business as usual:  more cover-ups revealing more deaths. 

When will this piecemeal disclosure of recalls--there have been 22 other days on which GM has announced recalls--finally end. ?

How many more lives will have been taken?

Our government elected to bail out the bankrupt GM back in 2009 (costing the American taxpayer $11.2 billion in unpaid/lost funds) to save jobs.

What will it take to SAVE LIVES and restore confidence of the buying public in our leaders ill-fated decisions?

Should GM be finally allowed to fail simply because it has become too big, too unmanageable?

Or should the Company be broken up into separate autonomous units each with its own executives--who, we hope, will demand and be able to create more transparency in operation?

You decide and then contact your elected leaders for some immediate action. 

Stamford's Art in Public Places Summer 2014: Street Seats

Prior  inspiring  Art in Public Places shows, sponsored by the Stamford Downtown have been reported  and include slide shows of :  Reigning Cats and Dogs, Best of the Outdoor Sculptures,  Horsin Around and  last year's Downtown Abstractions. 

This year's show, entitled Street Seats features 40 originally designed and painted wooden benches found in the downtown area including our parks. Visit www.Stamford-downtown.com for a map to tour the exhibit.

Here are a few images from the exhibit to whet your appetite.

"Know your Roots" by Future 5 Art Students:

Lewis Derogene, Mykeyla Brown,Stefany Espinoza and Izzy Gomez

Sponsor: TORMAR Associates  LLC of Stamford 

One of my favorites: Can you guess 

where this bench is located? 

Again, kudos to Sandy Goldstein and her staff at Stamford Downtown for a very imaginative and  inspiring show and of course all the many sponsors of this year's exhibit.  

   

Lest We Forget: The June 4th 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre epitomized by one photograph and Time Magazine's coverage of the event

The "Tank Man" bravely 'stands off'  the Chinese Army

in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, Photo by Jeff Widener 

We do know that up to one million protesters, mostly Chinese students, crowded the square to rally peaceably for democratic reforms.

We may never know how many hundreds or even thousands of protesters were innocently gunned down by some 200,000 soldiers sent in by Chinese leaders to rid the square of any protesters.

We do know that China has virtually whitewashed the event from Chinese history so that most young Chinese students under 25 are clueless as to what took place.

Chinese search engines have also blocked any links to Tiananmen Square,  June 4,  massacre,  tank man, etc.

You  get the drift. 

Click here to hear Jeff Widener, staff photographer of the Associated Press, relate to Time Magazine the events behind his famous photograph and learn much more --thanks to Time. 

Are you a person living for your resume or your eulogy? Thoughts inspired by Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik and David Brooks

Rabbi Soloveitchik

from Wikipedia

In his Lonely Man of Faith, published in 1965, Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik made a distinction between Adam I and Adam II. The latter represents the innovator the achiever, the man who is eager for success i.e. the worldly side of our nature.  He is one who is eager  to conquer the world and is  hungry for recognition to add to his accomplishments--so he can update his resume. Adam I often leads one to be a selfish, shrewd, sly, cold-hearted individual-- callous to values.

 Adam II, on the other hand is much more humble, more introspective and driven by a strong code of inner values that reflect respect for human dignity, love of and compassion for his creator and his fellow man. He is not only a man who does good, but a man who fundamentally is good, which  means -that internally, he is a man who believes and thus adheres to a high- principled and exacting code of conduct.

In short Adam II exemplifies moral and spiritual  virtues that, we all agree,  are worthy to be eulogized. 

 Soloveitchik argued that within the human mind, these two sides of  our nature are in eternal conflict. There is a never-ending  confrontation between external success and internal value.

 So where do you stand?

 Are you an Adam I or an Adam II?

Can both sides of the human personality be reconciled?


You must decide for yourself.

David Brooks 

from the New York Times website

In these video clips, David Brooks an op-ed writer for the New York Times and a teacher of moral philosophy and Grand Strategies at Yale College explores these concepts.

http://www.ted.com/talks/david_brooks_should_you_live_for_your_resume_or_your_eulogy


http://www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi2984750361/