Daily Archives: January 11, 2010

Uncategorized

Medical Marijuana In New Jersey

New Jersey is poised to approve the use of medical marijuana, making it the 14th State in the nation to approve marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Having grown up in New Jersey, I have to say I’m surprised that it happened there.  But they are taking steps, at least for now, to see that it doesn’t get ‘out-of-control’ like it has in California, where a doctor will write you a prescription if you have a headache or have trouble sleeping and, you’ll then be allowed to grow your own. For personal use only of course.

link: New Jersey Assembly Approves Medical Marijuana |  Medical Marijuana States and Guidelines

Media, War On Terror

Churches Under Attack In Malaysia

What is God to some is Allah to others. That is unless you live in a country like Malaysia, a country that is 60% Muslim. There is a problem with reconciling the religion of peace with firebombing churches.

There was a court case over the use of the word Allah, and in printing bibles in the local language where the word God was replaced with the word Allah. Both were banned in Malaysia. Although the court came down on the side of the Christians, lifting the ban on using the name Allah and using it in their bibles, ‘many Muslims’ are fanatically intolerant of it. Nine churches have been attacked since Friday, seven of those by firebomb.

The church caters mostly to Christians from eastern Sabah and Sarawak states, who worship in the Malay language and use the word “Allah” to describe God.

Many Muslims are angry about a Dec. 31 High Court decision overturning a government ban on Roman Catholics’ using “Allah” to refer to their God in the Malay-language edition of their main newspaper, the Herald.

The ruling also applies to the ban’s broader applications such as Malay-language Bibles, 10,000 copies of which were recently seized by authorities because they translated God as Allah. The government has appealed the verdict.

That the government is appealing the verdict is way more than ‘many Muslims.’ Seems to me that religious intolerance is institutional and built-in in Malaysia.

Makes one wonder where else such radicals exist. Maybe not our Secretary of Homeland Security, but normal-thinking people might. People not infected with Political Correctness like Janet Napolitano and the Associated Press.

For the AP to characterize this as racial tensions would be like saying that Muslims are like the Klu Klux Klan. As if that is better than calling it what it really is, religious-based terrorism.

link: Church attacks in Malaysia deepen racial tension

Florida, Politics

Alex Sink Needs Help, So Here It Is

Khavari to Alex Sink: Here’s All the Help You Need to Oversee the State Board of Administration

Miami, FL Jan. 11 — Noted economist Farid Khavari, a Democratic candidate for Florida governor, has gained national attention for his plan to create a state-owned bank in Florida.

Today he responded to Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink’s recent call for additional oversight of the State Board of Administration (SBA). Sink is also a Democratic candidate for governor.

“The simplest way to eliminate dubious investing by the State Board of Administration is to shine light on every deal. Simply post all documents relating to every transaction on a website. For each deal, show who is selling it, how many other deals they have sold the SBA, what fees the seller is earning, who is buying, who approves it, how many other deals they have done with this seller, and so on, together with a summary of the amount invested and the terms.

“Now who would buy a bunch of derivatives from a company in the Cayman Islands for $650 million, where over half of the money was lost? Who would ignore pages and pages of warnings and buy junk ever again, when people could see what is going on? Thousands of ordinary people with common sense would keep an eye on the SBA for you, all for free,” Khavari said.

“I agree that Alex Sink, Bill McCollum and Charlie Crist, as the three trustees of the SBA, do need plenty of help. On their watch tens of billions of dollars were lost. The people of Florida will have to pay thousands of dollars per person in higher taxes if we can’t get the SBA back on track.” McCollum is Attorney General and a Republican candidate for governor. Crist is governor and a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate.

“In a good year, the SBA’s goal was to earn about 7.5%. Last year their goal was to lose less than 50%. Creating the Bank of the State of Florida could provide the SBA with a guaranteed 10% per year yield,” Khavari said. “This would save hundreds of millions in investment bankers’ fees alone.”

Khavari’s campaign is based on his economic plan involving the creation of one million new private sector jobs in Florida – without subsidies, reducing insurance costs by 30%, and the creation of the Bank of the State of Florida. Using ordinary fractional reserve rules, the bank would pay 6% for savings and provide 2% mortgages as well as low cost financing for state and local governments and Florida businesses, while earning billions per year for the state treasury.

Farid A. Khavari, Ph.D. is an economist and author of nine books, including Environomics. His latest book, Toward a Zero-Cost Economy, is available in stores or for free download at his website, www.khavariforgovernor.com.