Cross-posted from

What can wine tell us about the world? Plenty, it turns out.  It is one of civilization's oldest products.  At one time it was a necessity, when food was served rotten and water was where you washed and evacuated.  Now it is enjoying a resurgence.  It is an agricultural product, and a unique one.  You see, vineyards have kept records of temperature, yield, and ripeness-dates for centuries, giving us incredibly precise records that tell us reams about the global environment. It is also a luxury item, particularly at the top end.  As such, its sale and purchase can tell us volumes about the global economy.

Today, we travel to Hong Kong for a look at the world's economy, through the bottom of a glass.

Violent death is horrifying.  This may be a time to assess the import of having the same surnames over and over again in the top leadership of many countries - India, United States, Argentina, Singapore and Pakistan come to mind.  In 2000 Andrew Sullivan decried the importance of branded names in American politics- where access to money and name recognition trump experience, potential and talent (and here in Illinois we have this problem at all levels of government).

The problem with dynasties is that they crowd out better talent and they degrade political discourse.  Sure Benazir had the best of western education and presumably learned much at the knees of her father, but for what effect?  What happened during her tenure in office?  Is it just the impossible situation in Pakistan, a country born on false promises teetering between militarism and religious extremism?  Or is it partly because political cultures that defer to pedigree are bound to fail more often than not?  For example, has India prospered and become more dynamic inspite of the Gandhis?

• The House passed legislation that withdraws troops from Iraq beginning October 1, 2007.

• According to First Lady Laura Bush when it comes to Iraq, "No one suffers more than their President and I do."

• Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani said he will not defend the U.S. against terrorists. "Make no mistake about it, the Democrats want to put us back on defense," Giuliani said. Giuliani disagreed strongly with the idea of defending the United States, saying he prefers squandering American lives and treasure on offensive actions like the occupation of Iraq.

• AZ-01: The Justice Department put obstacles and delays in the way of the corruption investigation of Republican Rep. Rick Renzi before the November 2006 election.

Avedon Carol, in a news trawl that also pointed out the shadow war between the dirty hippie bloggers and the MSM, notes that the U.S. is slipping in terms of technological innovation and has fallen to seventh in the world. The list of top seven innovators for 2006 (2005 rankings in parentheses) as reported in the BBC and measured by the World Economic Forum, who are clearly a bunch of dirty hippies themselves:

1: Denmark (3)
2: Sweden (8)
3: Singapore (2)
4: Finland (5)
5: Switzerland (9)
6: Netherlands (12)
7: US (1)

Well, great. Now let me throw a whole bunch of numbers your way. Here are the world's top 7 innovators for 2006 followed by their (population) and $GDP at the official exchange rate, as gathered by me from the CIA World Fact Book:

I'm sure most everyone here is familiar with the Total Information Awareness program originally proposed by Adm. John Poindexter, partially implemented by the Defense Intelligence Agency's Information Awareness Office and allegedly terminated after it came to light in 2003.  I'm also sure most here know that various parts of the program weren't really terminated, only moved to assorted black programs in other agencies.

But what you may not have known is that the whole thing was outsourced to Singapore and they have now rolled out an even bigger badder program than the original TIA.

I just heard about The Mr. Brown Show which emanates from Singapore.  Apparently these goofy folks, who put together a daily podcast, have gotten in trouble with Singapore authorities for their off-kilter satire.  Yet some of The Mr. Brown Show's podcasts have gotten downloads of 60,000 or more.

I hope you've got some coffee by your side, because we've got the following to cover:

Prologue : My cultural and national background
Chapter 1: Endometriosis
Chapter 2: I discover US healthcare
Chapter 3: I discover drug company thug behavior and health insurance in the US
Chapter 4: I compare costs of surgery and drugs in US and Singapore
Chapter 5: More details of endometriosis treatment in Singapore
Afterword: Why I wrote this, and what to do if you know someone who needs serious medical treatment and has no health insurance

Time is running out for a man facing death penalty for ferrying heroin to pay his brother's debts

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/...