Central Perk: 2 aug. 2014

sâmbătă, 2 august 2014

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Afghanistan a How-To Lesson in Perfect Stupidity: 54,000 Paid Ghosts, Vanishing Firearms, Warlord Protection Rackets

Posted: 02 Aug 2014 11:56 AM PDT

Thank president Bush, vice president Dick Cheney, and president Obama for working together to create a how-to map of perfect foreign policy stupidity.

The Telegraph has details in Afghanistan has cost more to rebuild than Europe after Second World War

American taxpayers have provided £61.5 billion since 2002 and Britain about £890 million, for hundreds of development projects.
The military operation has cost America a further £296 billion and Britain £22 billion.
Nearly 13 years after the Taliban were overthrown, the US and other donors continue to fund 60 per cent of the Afghan national budget and are pledged to underwrite a further "decade of transformation" in the country.
"Large areas of the country will soon be off limits to US personnel due to base closures and troop withdrawals," the report by the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction says. About 80 per cent of the country is already beyond the reach of US government monitors, according to an estimate last October.
Senior members of the Afghan government have accrued vast wealth since 2001 including members of President Karzai's family.
A US army analysis made public in April said: "Corruption directly threatens the viability and legitimacy of the Afghan state."
Western forces are "trapped in a warlord protection racket"
Despite $7.6 billion spent on counter-narcotics operations, opium production has increased for the past three years and is now at record levels.
America and the EU spent more than $3 billion on building up the Afghan police force, yet 54,000 of those policemen are "ghosts" — non-existent but being paid each month.
Mr Sopko found that 16 Italian-built C27 transport planes worth $486 million had been left to rot next to the runway at Kabul airport.
The US had provided 747,000 firearms to Afghan security forces worth $626 million. They found that 43 per cent have disappeared from official stock lists that track their whereabouts in Afghanistan.

What some see as "perfect stupidity" others (especially the industrial-military complex) see as a "job well done", complete with arms to the Taliban to ensure that the war on terrorism goes on and on.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

It's Time for Congress to Help the Middle Class

Featured

Weekly Address: It's Time for Congress to Help the Middle Class

The President discusses the new monthly jobs report and the fact that our economy created over 200,000 new jobs in July for the sixth straight month – the longest streak since 1997. To ensure this momentum can be sustained, the President is pressing Congress to act to create jobs and expand opportunity from raising the minimum wage, to helping people pay back their student loans, to fair pay and paid leave. These are steps that would continue to make things better for the middle class, which has always been his priority. But Republicans in Congress have repeatedly blocked these important measures.

As Congress is about to go on vacation, the President encouraged Americans to reach out to their elected officials and let them know that they must pass these measures when Congress returns to session. And in their absence, the President will continue to do everything he can, working with all stakeholders who are willing, to create jobs, strengthen our economy, and expand opportunity for all Americans.

Click here to watch this week's Weekly Address.

Seth's Blog : Pleasing a person who is not in the room

Pleasing a person who is not in the room

One reason organizations slow and stumble is that teams of well-meaning people form committees and go to meetings, determined to please the boss.

What they do, instead, is assume that the boss is far more conservative than she actually is. They buff off the edges, dilute the goodness and quench their curiosity. They churn out another version of what's already there, because they're imagining the most risk-averse version of their boss is in the room with them.

It's the boss's job to continually ask, "is this the most daring vision of your work?"