Politicians are politicians, wherever they are

Bad, or naughty, politicians to be specific.

Mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick, recently resigned from his post, having pleaded guilty to felony charges last Thursday in a sex scandal.

Why Kwame? Well, I happened to witness his campaign for his first term in 2001. He was the young candidate (31 years old at that time), campaigning against the old opponent (Gill Hill was 70 at that time). He was hip-hop, energetic, and had this 'young' aura - at least in his TV campaign ads - if I remember correctly.

He was exciting.

However, apparently his two terms in the office was full of controversies. Similar to some politicians in this part of the world, but handled differently.

While he must have done some good things for Detroit, but the information in Wikipedia lists mostly his controversies.

A wild party involving strippers at the official residence of mayor.

The murder of one of those exotic dancers.

Personal use of Detroit Police's Harley-Davidson.

Expensive lease of a luxury SUV (by the city) used for his family.

Use of a Civic Fund (created to improve the city of Detroit) for week-long California vacation with his wife, three sons, and babysitter.

And the latest, a sex scandal with his chief of staff, having previously denied the wrongdoing under oath.

The chief of staff, by the way, once was pulled over for speeding. She reacted by saying "Do you know who the f*** I am?" to the traffic officers. She called the Police Chief and the cops were called off.

These sound kind of familiar, doesn't it?

So I'd say, bad politicians are the same everywhere.

The difference is the way they are handled. Of course, some would get away. But in this region, most will get away. Worse, some are well-guarded and keep their positions for long.

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Sex education: solution or problem?

Malaysia is considering sex education in the National Service - I heard this on the radio a couple weeks ago.

clipped from www.cbsnews.com

AP) Malaysia's government is worried that high school graduates may not know enough about sex.

Authorities in the conservative, Muslim-majority nation are considering teaching sex education to teenagers when they undergo national service after leaving school, Abdul Hadi Awang Kechil, director general of the National Service Department, said Wednesday.

High school graduates may not know enough about sex? Never underestimate teenagers!

The question is "what is sex education?" What is the curriculum? Will knowing more about sex drive up or down the sex activities among teenagers?

I found another article from John J. Macionis interesting.

Most schools today have sex education programs that teach the basics of sexuality. Instructors explain to young people how their bodies grow and change, how reproduction occurs, and how to avoid pregnancy by using birth control or abstaining from sex.

Half of U.S. teenage boys report having sex by the time they reach sixteen, and half of girls report doing so by seventeen. These numbers are much the same in most high-income nations; what accounts for the higher U.S. teen pregnancy rate is less use of contraceptives. "Sex ed" program, then seem to make sense. But critics point out that as the number of sex education programs has expanded, the level of teenage sexual activity has actually gone up. This trend seems to suggest that sex education may not be discouraging sex among youngsters and, maybe, that learning more about sex encourages young people to become sexually active sooner. Critics also say that it is parents who should be instructing their children about sex, since, unlike teachers, parents can also teach their beliefs about what is right and wrong.

But supporters of sex education counter that research does not support the conclusion that sex education makes young people more sexually active. More generally, they argue that it is the larger culture - one that celebrates sexuality - that encourages children to become sexually active. If this is the case, the sensible strategy is to ensure that they understand what they are doing and take reasonable precautions to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

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Polygamy on the rise

Call me ignorant, but I was pretty surprised to read an article about polygamy in the U.S. - open and quite legal. "About 40,000 'fundamentalist Mormons' in Utah and nearby states live polygamy illegally," the article said.

Aroengbinang stated his position on polygamy - respecting both groups, those who oppose as well as those who support polygamy. I guess mine is along that line.

As long as there's a mutual agreement between the parties involved. As long as the neighbors are not disturbed. As long as there's no fights or whatsoever.

But, religion aside, there should be some rules to govern polygamy, shouldn't it? If people are free to have as many wives (or husbands?) as they like, I am sure there will be chaos.

This is absolutely a one-sided view.

Love or attention is probably too difficult (or impossible) to measure, but financial is not. Without ample financial foundation, there will be problems. More family members to take care of. More stomach to feed. More kids education to fund. And so on.

So there probably should be rules for polygamy, if it's ever made legal. Sort of like a financial threshold before marrying the second, third, fourth wives/husbands. Or even the fifth, sixth and more.

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Make the most out of airfares

I came to know this only this week: many airlines (in the U.S.) will refund if the price drops after you bought a ticket.

clipped from online.wsj.com

Few customers realize it, but many airlines will give refunds if they cut the price after you have bought a ticket. Alaska, JetBlue, Southwest, United and US Airways all offer vouchers for the full price difference -- if the price drops $200, you can get a $200 coupon towards a future trip. Others offer vouchers, or cash, after deducting change fees (which can run up to $100). In industry jargon, it is called a "rollover," and in most cases it only works if you bought the ticket directly from the airline. (It generally won't work if you bought them via a Web site such as Expedia.com or Orbitz.com, unless the price drops in the first 24 hours.)

Even though the process is not that straightforward, I would think this helps many people in making purchase decision early - knowing they can get refund if the price drops. Especially with the help of websites like yapta.com.

Customers are the ones who benefit from this, I suppose.

Will the airlines lose their profits (they barely make profits even now) if more and more people claim for refunds (assuming no price increase)?

Logically, they will (lose profits), won't they? But I find it too hard to believe.

The airline yield management is already complicated (yet very interesting). If more customers claim their refunds, it gets more difficult for the airlines to price discriminate. There are more parameters or assumptions to be considered.

That said, some airlines have already made it difficult like change fees. They also have the question whether services like Yapta is a good thing.

What if it is not? They can push the "base" price up, and entertain every single refund nicely. Perceived as "good value" by customers yet still receive the same level of profits. It's all about perception anyway.

Or switch to everyday-low-price style of Wal-Mart (low cost airlines like Southwest still cut prices, if I'm not mistaken). Which would be nearly impossible in the airline industry.

Well, just like gasoline price, I think airplane passengers will still pay high price on average...

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Gasoline price and market

I remember gasoline price in Michigan was below $1 in Summer 1998. Today, it's closing $4.

Commenting Beni's question on how to reduce gasoline price, I argued that the demand must be reduced and let market sets the price. It's all in the customers' hands, and government must facilitate this by providing education and means to promote oil usage.

I was assuming that the oil market is perfect and free. Now, having thought about it again, I think I'm wrong.

(Big) Oil companies today are actually fewer than they were in the past. Exxon and Mobil are now ExxonMobil. And then Chevron, Texaco and Unocal. Conoco and Phillips Petroleum. And so on. I'm not sure about others like Roman Abramovich's Sibneft, Medco, etc. The point is, the big players are not many. Thus the market is not really perfect.

Even worse, I forgot about OPEC. The number one cartel that controls most of oil production and price. It has become the cartel example in any game theory readings.

It seems that we can't really let the market sets the price. So?

Like Beni brought up -- go to the street and shout, or write petition. Or blame the Bush administration.

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Students, MBA, cheating, culture, and disciplinary actions

In the past week, the keyword "Duke MBA cheating" suddenly topped the search coming into this site.

No wonder. On April 26, Fuqua’s Judicial Board, following the procedures set forth in the Honor Code, found 34 members of our first-year class guilty of cheating on a take-home final examination. These students will receive disciplinary actions ranging from expulsion to failing grades.

This incident definitely doesn't help the case of MBA students being the ones who mostly to cheat, a survey found out last November.

A survey of 5,331 students at 32 graduate schools in the United States and Canada found an "alarming" amount of cheating across disciplines, but more among the nation's future business leaders. The study found 56 percent of MBA students acknowledged cheating, compared with 54 percent in engineering, 48 percent in education and 45 percent in law school. The study asked about 13 different types of cheating, ranging from copying a classmate's test answers to lifting sentences from the Internet without attribution.

I agree with the school's decision - to take disciplinary actions and to make it a big deal out of the Honor Code. Cheating is cheating. Incoming students signed the Honor Code. Instructions are typically clear on what students can and can't do during exams or assignments - at least from my experience.

Although I don't have strong opinion on the actions taken, these actions show how serious Duke in not tolerating cheating. I think it's particularly good to incoming students, prospective applicants, and recruiting companies.

Duke has also been continuously informing the 2007 incoming students as well as alumni. The Fuqua Dean confirmed that the students involved were from multiple countries on four different continents.

With no intentions to stereotype, I'm not that surprised international students were involved. I feel that there are many "common" practices, at least in Indonesia, that would've been considered cheating in the U.S. For instance, copying others' assignments. Other practices, like cheating in the in-class exam, also exist (or existed in the 90's).

Two most common cheating practices in this region are probably corruption and bribery. Like copying assignments, they perhaps are more common rather than exceptions. It's like, it's not smart to not corrupt if you get to certain positions. That's THE reason people want to get there. That's probably one of the reasons why people are interested in getting into politics or working for the government.

It will be another long discussion on how to eliminate corruption and bribery. But one thing we can do is to do what Duke did. Consistently and correctly take disciplinary actions to the cheaters.

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The naked mile and peer pressure

It's this time of the year that the naked mile usually held in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The Naked Mile is a tradition at the University of Michigan where graduating Seniors run through campus naked the evening of the last day of classes. It started in 1986 and finally was banned in 2004.

I went to the event while in Ann Arbor, 1998-1999. The crowd was superb - the runners as well. Some runners would shout "pervert!" to the spectators. But no one seemed to care. Everyone was too busy taking pictures.

And it was cold too. Late April in Michigan can be as cold as in the 40's degree Fahrenheit.

No, I'm not sharing any naked mile pictures in this blog. An article from the Michigan Daily has a considerate picture of naked mile in 1998. And of course, there are websites selling pictures and videos of the naked mile. Just google "naked mile"...

One would wonder why these students would do such things. Some would say fun. Others would say keeping the tradition.

The rest were under peer pressure, as implied in another Michigan Daily article written by an ex-runner sharing her experience, and an article where a student was having an inner battle whether to run or not to run.

I agree with Cam who said: "It appears to me that the power of peer pressure and social acceptance is the main attraction here. The old saying, "Would you jump off a cliff if everyone else is doing it?" certainly pertains here. Most people would say no, but when confronted with the actual decision, they cave in and conform."

Peer pressure is, loosely, a concern with being accepted by others. Here's a brief TV ad that we used while discussing peer pressure as a motivation for conforming to others. It's quite a big challenge for teenagers. It's a mix of positive and negative influence, and may include things from fashion to alcohol, and from way of life to getting actively in sports.

By the way, it is actually illegal to run naked through the streets. But at the same time it is not illegal to take pictures of naked people. There was a period where most runners were wearing underwear to avoid arrest. That way, the only violation was interfering with traffic...

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Gun ownership - reduce or increase incidents?

I was wondering how effective the gun policy is in the U.S. or other countries that legalize gun ownership. I think it contributed to the recent Virginia Tech incident.

The policy of legal gun ownership and control has perhaps been debated since the birth of the gun itself.

There are two arguments - for and against legal gun ownership. One argues that we need guns to protect ourselves against criminals, or that gun ownership is part of constitutional rights. One can also argue that if guns are banned, we need not to worry about having guns.

One argument for legal gun ownership is that it saves lives. It sounds ridiculous, but that's what statistics tell, says National Center of Policy Analysis, a U.S. non-profit organization.

I think the statistics showcase more on the illegal ownership of guns. How many incidents have been related to legally-owned weapons? Not as many as the illegal ones, I presume. Those that are well-known include Columbine until the recent Virginia Tech incidents. And another incident yesterday at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

How about in countries where gun ownership is not (publicly?) legal? Like in Indonesia with Tommy Suharto and Adiguna Sutowo, for example. Or like in Malaysia with the murder of a Mongolian model. All three involved guns and related to elite or politicians.

It's logical to assume that these shooting incidents will increase if gun ownership is legalized.

With the speed the world is going today, there will be stressed people and lunatics out there. A lot of them. Don't equip them with guns. Gun ownership should be made illegal.

Update:
- Mass shootings more common since 1960s.
- Ria Wibisono has concern over similar bullying practice (and racism) in Indonesia, which she expressed on Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia.

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How can we engage more people in the democratic process?

Barack Obama, a candidate from the Democratic Party for the next U.S. president, is trying something that perhaps no other presidents or candidates have tried. He posted a question in Yahoo!Answer: how can we engage more people in the democratic process?

I'm not exactly clear what he meant by democratic process - whether it is the election only, or the whole democratic process, whatever the process is.

Some answers are quite interesting:

The first thing I would suggest is to reestablish the people's trust in government. Many people have lost trust in the system and this leads to apathy. After all, who wants to participate in a process that is viewed as flawed or biased? I, myself, have become disillusioned with our democratic process (as have many others I know). Many people just no longer believe that the government has their best interest in mind.
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This question assumes that participation in democratic process if a matter of *choice* when in fact its a matter of *ability*. The first step should be to bring all people to equal *ability* to participate in the democratic process. With massive inequalities in education, standard of living, and access to resources - we are clearly not there yet. On one hand we have those who don't even know whether they will get to eat tonight - worrying about voting in the mid-term elections is hardly on the top of their mind. On the other hand we have those who have paid millions of dollars to politician's election campaigns to make sure that their needs are taken care of once the politician gets elected. Can this really be referred to as "the democratic process"?
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It would help if politicians could be trusted. And the best way to gains ones trust is an act of generosity on their behalf. I think proposing legislation to remove corporate and private donations, essentially cleaning up the system, would prove to the voters you are genuine and can be trusted.
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By ending the smear campaigns. Many people have become apathetic to politics because they are fed up with the negativity and mud slinging. We want to hear what the candidates CAN and WILL do, not a list of every crime against the other.
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Send corrupt politicians to real prisons to serve real time. Stop treating us like children. Stop lying.
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The majority of the people I talk to tell me "it doesn't matter what I say or how I vote, Congress does what the people who donate the money to their campaigns tell them to do". I believe most politicians in Washington D.C. probably are bought and paid for and unless their constituency makes enough noise to change their vote they vote with big donor interest in mind. Unless we have Federally funded campaigns and some way to reign-in lobbyist pocket books and influence we will never get enough people engaged in the democratic process to make it really a "Government by the people".

Why do politicians want to engage more people in the democratic process? At the same time, why do people want to get engaged in the democratic process? I guess, whatever the answers are, politicians should not engage people in the process just for the sake of making the process looks democratic.

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Indexes drop and computer power

Major market indexes were down quite significantly, it seems, on Tuesday. Dow Jones closed 3.3% lower, while S&P500 and Nasdaq dropped 3.5% and 3.9% respectively.

For Dow Jones, particularly, a computer problem contributed to the speed of the drop.

It started with huge trading volume -- computer calculation lagged -- switched to backup system -- correction (~an hour of trading reported in seconds) -- market panicked.

Ouch.

The malfunction in the oldest, most established benchmark for U.S. stock prices shows how a technical fault can worsen a market decline.

"I don't think it would have been as bad had there not been some technology issues,'' said Kenneth Polcari, a managing director at ICAP Plc's equities unit who has traded at the New York Stock Exchange for more than 25 years. "The technology issues created some anxiety, which exacerbated the market's move.'' (Bloomberg)

I wonder if someone will soon sue for the loss...

The story from LA Times:

Dow Jones' troubles started about 2 p.m. Eastern time when computer systems were apparently overwhelmed by trading volume, causing the calculation of the widely watched industrial average and other Dow Jones indexes to lag behind trading, spokeswoman Sybille Reitz said.

Once Dow Jones realized that the indexes were lagging — that is, not properly reporting the extent of the market's decline in real time — executives notified the exchanges by phone.

About 3 p.m., Reitz said, Dow Jones switched from its primary server to a backup system, which rapidly caught up with the trading. The result was that an extended period of trading, perhaps the better part of an hour, was reported to the market in a matter of seconds, she said, making it appear as though the Dow Jones industrial average had lost nearly 200 points almost instantaneously. At one moment, the Dow seemed to be down about 280 points; when traders glanced back at their screens, it was down more than 450 points.

That seemingly unprecedented swoon apparently sparked some panic selling that in turn caused a logjam at the NYSE and other markets amid a high volume of trades.

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Main root of capitalism?

A valuable lesson, I guess. But on the other hand, and at the same time, it could turn the religious people into capitalist... or turn capitalism into a religion. Someone has summarized the story below: "pennies are a message from heaven... pick it up!"

.......

A man and his wife were invited to spend the weekend at his employer's home. She was nervous about the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on the water-way, and cars costing more than her house. The first day and evening went well, and she was delighted to have this rare glimpse into how the wealthy live.

The husband's employer was quite generous as a host, and took them to the finest restaurants. The wife knew she would never have the opportunity to indulge in this kind of extravagance again, so was enjoying herself immensely. As the three of them were about to enter an exclusive restaurant that evening, the boss was walking slightly ahead of his guests.

He stopped suddenly, looking down on the pavement for a long, silent moment. She wondered if she was supposed to pass him. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened penny along with a few cigarette butts. Still silent, the man reached down and picked up the penny. He held it up and smiled, them put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure.

How absurd! What need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to stop and pick it up? Throughout dinner, the entire scene nagged at her finally, she could stand it no longer. She casually mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny he had found had been of some value.

A smile crept across the man's face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her to see. She had seen many pennies before! What was the point of this?

"Look at it," he said. "Read what is says."

She read the words, "United State of America."

"No, not that; read further."

"One cent?"

"No, keep reading."

"In God we Trust?"

"Yes!"

"And?"

"And if I trust in God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin I see that inscription. It is written on every single United States coin, but we never seem to notice it! God drops a message right in front of me telling me to trust him. Who am I to pass it by? When I see a coin, I pray, I stop to see if my trust IS in God at that moment. I pick the coin up as a response to God; that I do trust in Him. For a short time, at least, I cherish it as if it were gold. I think it is God's way of starting a conversation with me. Lucky for me, God is patient and pennies are plentiful!

.......

Here's the official history of "In God we Trust" in the U.S. coins from the Department of Treasury...

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