A Message to the Airlines

Hedge your fuel costs. NOW. Take a loan if you have to.

To be fair, I'm not sure that Jet A contracts are trading at prices that reflect oil at $80 a barrel -- but if they are, do it. Do it big; buy supply for 10 years out. I would imagine that injecting a little confidence on demand into the market could only help.

On the Nile

This article by Tom Friedman makes me so incredibly happy.  He's right -- this is what America is all about.

Waterboarding - Try it, you'll like it!

This guy tried waterboarding to see for himself if it was torture. See the results.

Kochi-Kochi-Koo!

No pictures today, but greetings from the really pretty Indian state of Kerala. I'm backpacking on my own now, and it's been a blast! Plenty of time to reflect on my own, and I met very cool fellow backpackers in two different cities, and hung out for a day or so with each. Rob's an EasyJet pilot from the UK, and Hannah is a Wall Street pro--one who didn't part with her Blackberry the whole time she was here! (to be entirely fair, neither did I).

But that's one of the best parts of backpacking--bonding with new people while seeing new places.

The other best part is the actual seeing of new places. Kerala is beautiful! I flew in from Goa on Tuesday (after watching the splendid Om Shanti, Om on the big screen) and even the view from the air was pretty. Drove in to Cochin (Kochi) and puttered around for a bit. Walked into the old "Jew Town" to explore the marketplace, talked to some very cool Kashmiri expats who were salespeople, and discovered (as locals chatted me up on regional politics) that Keralans are incredibly educated. More so, apparently, than the rest of India.

One last thought: everyone loves Kashmir. Everyone from there, from my auntie to the kurta sales guy speaks of it with such incredible love. I just can't communicate how much they love the place. With such high marks, I'm going to have to go soon. Who's with me?

This is My Mother's Mumbai.

This is the Bombay of Salman Rushdie, exactly as I imagine it and precisely as I remember it. The always-perfect sunlight filtering through the trees; the mist above the tree-lined streets; the gorgeous British colonial architecture. Aaaah!

We were in Bombay for just three days, for my cousin's wedding and reception. After all the madness finished, I drove around in a cab to run some errands; namely checking out my mom's old high school and producing the required photograph for my Indian SIM card. I also picked up a few great CDs chock-full of lounge tracks. Now, after a brush with an almost-lost visa, we're in Bangalore--er, 'Bengaluru'--for a bit of relaxation before the "party-sharty" begins in Goa.

One last parting shot of Mumbai. For this one, the light was just perfect, as it always seems to be in this city. The writing on the wall and the picture of the guy on the chair intrigued me. The lady in pink walking by just added to the fun.

Adios! Hope everyone is well!

Really?

Girl-cotting

So, there is apparently a somewhat-organized boycott of gasoline, coming up on May 15. It's been getting a bit of buzz--even as a spot on CNN (who, I hear, reported that it shouldn't be followed).

The consensus seems to be that it won't do anything. I can agree. I mean, really. Do you think XOM and others will be shaking in their boots if they see a downward spike in demand for one day? How about crude futures traders--think they'll see a dip in demand and estimate their June contracts a bit lower? Nah.

Now, a month of boycotting--that's something. But that'd take people actually putting in effort. And that's just not in the cards here. We're too addicted.

On the other hand, however, why the hell not? Sounds like fun. Let's see if anything happens.

...and he took the Lindbergh baby, too.

So CNN is reporting that this guy, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, recently confessed to a bunch of crimes, including the following:

• Plotting the 9/11 attacks.
• Plotting the foiled Richard Reid shoe bombing.
• Plotting the Bali bombing.
  
• Plotting attacks on a myriad of cities and political figures.
• Personally beheading Daniel Pearl.

I'm not saying this guy is innocent, but does anyone find it a bit much that he conveniently confessed to nearly every terrorist attack over the past few years? Or that this confession happened during a military tribunal at Guantanamo (a place not really known for its fair legal system)? Hmm...

Indian-taker*

*(not the feather kind; the dot kind.)

So the TSA will now allow us all to carry travel-sized containers of liquids and gels on board an airplane. Thank you, TSA, for getting rid of that ridiculous, knee-jerk policy!

Oh wait--you didn't get rid of it. You took away our freedom, and then gave us back just a little. But held on to the rest.

Sounds an awful lot like the "temporary" measures of the Patriot Act enacted in 2001. Anyone with me?

A Plague of Property Insurance on our Houses!

Below is a letter I sent to the Houston Chronicle today, about property insurance. Enjoy--if you dare:
----------------------

To Whom it May Concern,

There is an issue that is plaguing my residential community--however, we are not the only group affected. No, it's not the supersaturated, boiling air above the city--it's our property insurance rates.

My condo community (for which I am on the Board) has experienced a dramatic increase in our insurance rates this year--quoted to us just days before our old insurance was to expire. Whereas our 6/2005-5/2006 coverage was in the $47,000 range, our 6/2006-5/2007 coverage is in the $127,000 range. In addition, our deductible for any damage has increased to 5% of the total insured value of the property. Obviously, this has required us to significantly increase our maintenance fees in order to cover our premium (and listen to some very angry homeowners berate us), and has presented vastly increased liability to our homeowners.

I've done some research into the issue, and it seems we are not alone. I have been told that some properties in town experienced a 500% increase in their premiums this year. This is ridiculous! The reason we buy insurance is not to pre-pay our damages; it is to spread risk. It appears, however, that no Texas Department of Insurance-approved insurance companies want to risk insuring in our area (just south of I-10 on Shepherd Drive). The only insurance we can get is "Surplus Lines" Insurance, which is astronomical in cost and appears to be designed for things like priceless artifacts and Elvis Presley's nose hair.

What I'd like to know, if possible, is why--and how we can change this. The State of Texas doesn't appear to classify our area as a Tier 1 disaster zone. Hurricane Rita didn't dignify us with so much as a sideways glance, and our property was merely sneezed at by Allison in 2001. Is this not sufficient to encourage insurance companies to do business with us? Or is the State's classification of our area misguided, such that we should be supported by its fund for Tier 1 disaster areas? Moreover, if all of Harris County is so patently dangerous, should we really be living here? As far as I know, we're not in nearly as much danger as those poor folks in Miami, whose houses are flattened every other summer.

I'd also like to know: have other readers had these issues? I know you (the Chronicle) ran a story on this a few weeks ago--but what are other readers' experiences in terms of insurance increases this year? I encourage people to write to their State Representatives, US Representatives, Presidents, Secretary-Generals, whatever--to get this issue recognized as a problem, and as something that should be addressed LONG before we address the apparently pressing issue of whether to invade Syria or Iran first.

Thanks,
(my information removed for the safety of the author)

Somethin' Fishy

I don't want to take anything away from the wonderful people over at Scotland Yard, or from the nice folks in Pakistan--but as for today's announcement of a foiled terror plot, I smell a fish. Or a rat.

Granted, there may have been a foiled plot--but a few things don't smell right about this:

- It comes as people are calling for a timetable for Tony Blair's resignation, and as he doesn't want to produce one.

- It comes with Prezy Bush's popularity near or at an all-time low.

- It comes as a majority of Americans want out of Iraq.

- It includes Pakistan as an "ally" as they've been trampled in the world scene. Too perfect.

- The announcement came from the Bush Administration's office (and we all know what truthful statements that office has produced).

and last, but not least:

- Ties are being made between this incident and al Qaeda. Really, now. Would al Qaeda be stupid enough to try to bomb another plane--knowing that they were for sure going to get caught? How many times have you heard, "al Qaeda used the element of surprise on 9/11. They no longer have that, so they will use another tactic."

Anyone else smell a fishy rat?

Hey, Lady.

I just finished watching what may have been the first Houston showing of M. Night Shyamalan's "Lady in the Water" with Lea and her sister.  Fantastic.  A wonderful piece of storytelling, which does what a great story does--alludes to grander themes.

It talks about a netherworld of beings that is sent to put us on the right path, as we have gone astray.

I think it's interesting that more than one director of late has chosen this sort of theme.  It makes me wonder if these people; these stories have always existed in civilization, or if these suddenly-frequent posits by artists are signs that something really is wrong.

We all know the world has issues these days, but from the middle of it, it doesn't seem like they are significantly worse than those of any other civilization we know.

Maybe, however, this is what happens when a civilization nears a decision point.  Maybe something similar happened in Egypt; in Greece.  Maybe these artists are showing us, in dramatic form, that we as a world are tearing ourselves apart.  Maybe we can do something about it.

Do as I Do...

Just something quick to say tonight.   It seems we gave Israel the wrong idea--yeah, sure, go ahead and wipe out a country if they throw a stick at you.  It's OK.  We can't say a thing 'cause that's what we did with Iraq.

No wait--you're kidding, right?

So rumors are starting to surface that the Bush administration is developing plans for an airstrike on Iran--to oust President Ahmadinejad, a "potential Hitler."  Is it just me, or does anyone think that a third war is completely out of the question?  I mean, hell--we're not done in Afghanistan, Bush has admitted that the responsibility for ending our presence in Iraq will be a task for another president, our military is stretched way thin--and now we're rattling our sabers again and even CONSIDERING another war?

Moreover, rumors suggest we're thinking about using NUCLEAR weapons in this battle.  When will it end?  When will it end?

I wonder if the Bushies can convice Congress to let them go to war again.  I guarantee they can't convince the American people.  What I'm worried about is that they'll attempt to go to war again without anyone's official backing.  Grr....

The Despot is Dead. Vive le Despot.

So it seems that our friend Slobodan Milosevic is dead, according to CNN.  Poisoned? Maybe.  Heart attack? Maybe.  Iocaine powder?  Possibly.  Regardless, he will be six feet under soon.

According to CNN, before now there have been
attempts to poison this guy while he was in prison.

This begs the question--would this guy have gotten a fair trial anyway?  Will Saddam Hussein get a fair trial?  Or are each of these tyrants' 'trials' simply a mockery of the judicial system?

I think they are.  These guys have been judged even before they went into the courtroom.  What's up for grabs is what sort of sentence they'll get (undoubtedly, exile).  It seems to me, that the only reason anyone wants to see them in a courtroom is to air their complaints against them in a public forum.  To throw stones at them.

I'm not saying folks aren't justified in wanting to see their beloved despots writhe in pain while having their accusations levied against them, one by one--but isn't there a better way to do that?

One that doesn't make a mockery of the judicial system?