North Korea (And what rhymes with too-ish?) October 13, 2006March 5, 2017 NTMD For those still interested, here is the latest chapter. (The stock, just above 22 when we bought the puts, closed just above 2 last night.) BOREF Joel Wacknov: ‘I think you are doing a disservice regarding this Borealis nonsense. If Borealis is not a scam, I don’t know what is. Have you read their annual report? They finance the company by continually floating subsidiary public companies and then booking the shares they sold in the subs at a gain as ‘profit’. This way it looks like there is no dilution occuring in the parent company – isn’t this kind of thing known as a ‘Ponzi scheme’? I know you diligently tell everyone not to invest anything in Borealis that they cannot afford to lose. But you really shouldn’t be giving anybody even the SLIGHTEST HOPE of making money on this scam.’ ☞ It may not work out, but it’s not a scam, as best I can tell. (And it’s certainly not a Ponzi scheme. Ol’ Charles Ponzi paid eye-popping returns to early shareholders from the proceeds of sales to new investors. No one I know is investing in Borealis thinking it is profitable, let alone a source of eye-popping pay-outs.) How can you be sure their technology is phony? How can you be sure the geological results of their holdings on the East Coast of Canada are bogus? Joel replies: ‘I have an MS in Electrical Engineering, specifically in electric machines and motor controls. My company designs and manufactures electric motors and generators, and my VP of Engineering has a PhD in magnetics design. We both think the Chorus Motor stuff is totally bogus.’ ☞ And yet Boeing and Air Canada’s head pilot seem to think a prototype Chorus electric motor the size of a watermelon drove a 767 around like a golf cart. To which Joel replied by sending me a photo of a guy able to pull a plane. To which I would respond by suggesting you’d need thousands of such guys, and I doubt they could pull the planes at 20 miles an hour. Even if they could, they’d be slipping all over the place when it snowed and – whatever the weather – pulling groin muscles every minute and a half. NORTH KOREA Alan Rogowsky: ‘North Korea and the Bomb? Remember THIS?’ We forget that the Republican leadership got a jump on redirecting our foreign policy, even before moving into the White House: U.S. Senate Rejects Nuclear Test Ban Treaty WASHINGTON, DC, October 14, 1999 (ENS) – The U.S. Senate voted Wednesday night to reject the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, dealing a major blow to the international pact that has been the focus of efforts to control the global spread of nuclear weapons. The [Clinton] White House, environmental groups and the governments of other nations were quick to condemn the move, which may send a dangerous message to countries interested in developing nuclear weapons. The Republican controlled Senate voted 51 to 48 against ratification of the treaty, with all 44 Democrats and only four Republicans supporting the treaty. Approval by two-thirds of the Senate is needed to ratify a treaty. ☞ As soon as they did move into the White House, they quit the Mideast Peace process, cut off talks with North Korea, and began planning for Iraq. THEORIES, PLEASE James Musters passes this along: Why Do Republicans Divorce More Often Than Democrats? . . . Of the top 15 states for divorce rates in 2005, all 15 voted for Bush in 2004. All fifteen. Of the 12 lowest states for divorce rates, 11 voted for Kerry. Massachusetts, where gay marriage is allowed (and where, according to Republicans, civilization would fall apart), has the lowest divorce rate in the country. CAMPAIGNING FOR TOM REYNOLDS So Senator John McCain canceled fundraisers with New York Republican Congressman Tom Reynolds, who was caught up in the Mark Foley mess. McCain’s cancellation came a day after Republican Congressman Don Sherwood – having been accused of choking his mistress – also canceled a fundraiser with Reynolds. Reynolds replaced McCain with Karl Rove, just days after Rove’s assistant resigned (weeks before an election?) as it became clear the White House had been a bit modest in claiming only minimal contact with convicted former Republican super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff. (Turns out, there were 485 contacts between Abramoff’s lobbying team and White House officials.) # Have a great weekend. Like you, I’m getting very tired of all this Republican bashing. (Then again, I’m getting very tired of watching the world fall apart.) I aim to have something more hopeful – or at least less preachy – next week. It may even be time for another poem. (The House, it is red; the Senate is, too-ish; if we don’t win them back, I will feel awfully blue-ish.) It is well past time to tell you how I’ve learned to pickle my own cucumbers. Charles just rolls his eyes.