Technically I am not off-topic since I am discussing international finance. The flat tax is making Slovakia the envy of stagnant economies. It is also easy to figure out (no need for TurboTax), guarantees that everyone pays (bye-bye corporate welfare) and does not distort the economy. It is in other words an apocalyptic nightmare for accountants, lobbyist's and tax attorney's. No more playing games on paper and in the halls of Congress to get the best deal for their special interests. No more benefits for the cronies. Think of the billions currently wasted on a parisitic economy that produces nothing.
The nominee is either a tough talking defender of America or a neo-con nitwit depending on who you ask. Slate's Fred Kaplan hates the selection for the same reason that I thought that Paul Wolfowitz should not head the World Bank. I agree that a defender of American interests should have been selected, but someone who respects international law. My choice would have been someone like Sen. Joe Lieberman, although he never would have accepted.
The UN Security Council should not fall for Syria's pullback, which is very different from a pullout. First there is the fact that only the military forces will eventually be pulled back. There is no mention of intelligence services or the use of its proxies Hezbollah. What is surprising about Hezbollah recently announcing its support for Syria is not that it was made, but that it took so long. Security Council Resolution 1559 calls for Hezbollah to be disarmed so they have every reason to want the Syrians to stick around.
Not surprisingly Giuliana Sgrena, the hostage saved by Italian intelligence officer Nicola Calipari, pulls and Eason Jordan and says the US forces possibly targeted them. The US opposes paying for hostages so it make sense that they would shoot them, it makes sense, doesn't it? Anyway the Washington Times takes a different view (another surprise) and reveals that the Italians hid their operation from US officials and forces since they knew that the Americans would object to negotiating with terrorists. The story is that the information did not get down to the patrol which ultimately opened fire on the Italians. The Times also makes the rather obvious observation that the communist Spegna is ardently opposed to Italy's deployment of troops in Iraq.
Some of us (ok I mean me) may not think much of the World Bank, but if the Bushies don't think much of it they should just say so and stop playing around. As some of you may know the head of the World Bank is traditionally an American while the IMF chief is usually European. So who do we think should run the WB? First Paul Wolfowitz was named to the short list. A pretty terrible idea considering that he is hated by most foreign leaders and has no experience running a financial institution. Perhaps the Bushies were trying to follow precedent and use the WB as a retirement home for beleaguered defense dept officials. Now Treasury Secretary John Snow has floated Bono's name. Of course he isn't serious at least I hope he's not. He apparently is trying to make a point about how hip he is or remind everyone of how ridiculous his predecessor (and Bush critic) Paul O'Neill looked when he donned traditional African garb during his tour of Africa with the rock star. As much as Bono is ill-suited for the post he is still a better selection than another rock star selection, Carly Fiorina. Ms Fiorina is at least a former CEO, but her claim to fame is leaving a slumping Lucent to take over HP, which just canned her. The fact that Ms. Fiorina is a high profile woman and Republican should get her serious consideration for the post.
