Yes, I am back but only for another day so this will do it for a while!
---
MEDICARE
Look clearly at the 2014 rate compared to the 2013 rate.
For those of you who are on Medicare, read the following. It's short, but
important and you probably haven't heard about it in the Mainstream News:
"The per person Medicare Insurance Premium will increase from the present
Monthly Fee of $96.40, rising to:
$104.20 in 2012
$120.20 in 2013
And
$247.00 in 2014."
These are Provisions incorporated in the Obamacare Legislation, purposely
delayed so as not to confuse the 2012 Re-Election Campaigns. Send this to
all Seniors that you know, so they will know who's throwing them under the
bus.
It is all so taxing (See 1 below.)
For those of you who are on Medicare, read the following. It's short, but
important and you probably haven't heard about it in the Mainstream News:
"The per person Medicare Insurance Premium will increase from the present
Monthly Fee of $96.40, rising to:
$104.20 in 2012
$120.20 in 2013
And
$247.00 in 2014."
These are Provisions incorporated in the Obamacare Legislation, purposely
delayed so as not to confuse the 2012 Re-Election Campaigns. Send this to
all Seniors that you know, so they will know who's throwing them under the
bus.
It is all so taxing (See 1 below.)
---
Trip to France:
Normally I do an extensive re-write of a big trip but this time will simply give my brief impressions and know Lynn's subsequent pictures will do the trick
We began in Paris and still consider it one of the most beautiful of cities. This time we took the open air, off and on, bus for a tour and different perspective and heartily recommend. Beyond that, we walked our feet off starting around The Left Bank Notre Dame area. Our hotel, which Charlie had chosen, was near The Luxembourg Park and The Odeon Theatr area. One Paris evening we did go to a jazz club and watched as all the young girls danced with all the older men. Music was good as was the chanteuse. (Le Horse on Left Bank and also good Left Bank Restaurant Bouillon Racine - Charlie wrote it up.) Paris is not cheap but you can do it for less if you seek the opportunities and are willing to go native. The canal barge trip was as expected : relaxing, excellent food, presentation, wines, accommodations and superb anxious to please staff. Countryside just beautiful and would suggest FrenchCountry Waterways.com ( call 1 800 222 1236 and ask for Effie and tell her I referred you and might get nice discount of 25%) to anyone who enjoys sophisticated ambiance. Our friends - Charlie and Susana -, who joined us, also fell in love with this civil way to travel and are recommending same to several of their friend's.
The main city we visited along the canal route was Nancy and toured its amazing town square ( A UNESCO sit) built by Stanislas. While there we bought a piece of art from a gallery representing a local artist (Gallerie de l'Aterlie).
The one off barge evening was spent dining at Le Cerf in Marlenheim (Alsace Loraine) One star Michelin and outstanding. They also have a spa hotel connecting.
We parted with our friends in Strasbourg (stayed at Hotel Regent Contades) and trained to LeMans where we picked up a car (Renault stick shift) and then drove for the next 8 days throughout Normanday and Brittany. We had an excellent guide, Martine (a guide for over 25 years and very Parisian. She hates the current prime minister and says he has no culture and his language is foul and boorish.) for the WW 2 sites etc and well worth it because we got more insight regarding the Landings history and background.
Martine took us to Omaha, Utah, Gold, June Beaches , the various German bunkers and fortifications and the American Cemetery. We were staying near Port -En-Bessin and Bayeux which was the first town liberated. We visited Saint-Mere-Eglise and she told us about the 82nd paratroop landing which assisted the 101st Airborne. We went for an extensive visit inside the underground German fortifications etc.
We took Martine to lunch at a restaurant called L'Omaha and had our first experience with Mussels.
Lynn's father landed D Day plus 6 and one of our missions was to trace some of his path and were able to do so.
We stayed at Chateau La Cheneviere in Port Port-En-Bessin for three nights and used that as our base to tour Normandy and the surrounding towns. Breakfast was included and we dined there the first night but ate elsewhere afterwards. Excellent meal, many Americans were staying there. Our room was first class, the service and food outstanding as was the presentation. Lynn had veal I had beouf.
After our guided tour we were on our own and the next dray drove east from our hotel along the coast and passed through and or stopped to walk around in many towns: The main ones were Cabourg, Deauville and Honfleur but by no means the nicest. We also visited the British Cemetery - smaller and different but also a very hear rending experience.
We enjoy exploring and did so for some 950 miles in and out some of the loveliest of flowered towns with their picturesque homes and oh so clean streets etc. I guess our favorite was PointAven, where Gaugin lived and painted before going to Tahiti to die of syphilis, though everyone raves about Honfleur where we arrived rather late for lunch but again ate mussels at Brasserie Deaux Ponts which were good and very much in season. Frankly Honfleur was a disappointment. Touristy, picturesque harbor but bad art.
The third night we ate in a small restaurant in the quaint port town of Port-En-Bessin. It was one of our only disappointments eatingwise. The meal was ok, the menu more limited and we were expecting a variety of seafood offerings.The atmosphere was local and a bit ordinary. We did meet a handsome young French entrepreneur at the next table who owned a touring company so we compared some notes etc.
I gained greater appreciation of France this trip. I was stationed in Orleans during a sad period: 1955 - 1956 (most of the French youth were off fighting and losing in Algiers)and I lived in small villages outside of Orleans. I have returned to France four times since but not to Orleans, Meur Sur Loire, Beaugency etc. Alas, I have toured more of France than America and must rectify that fact.. |
Comparisons are odious but I must confess, as we drove through the countryside and port towns, I could not help realize/conclude France has as good if not better roads, far more beautiful and rich countryside, better signage ( really hard to get lost if you learn to navigate the roundabouts and have a great co-pilot like my wife assisted by a GPS.) The local French are far more courteous, live a more civil life, certainly have better food and care about its preparation and presentation - perhaps more than their freedom . Yes, they can be a bit haughty and overbearing in the larger cities but in the country they are warm, and more sophisticated than, say, those who inhabit Villa Rica etc.
France is fully tracked, the SNCF's are punctual and their canal system is so extensive, and with energy prices soaring, they are coming back as a low cost commercial means of transportation.
Speaking of roads, French trucks seem limited to a speed less than cars and thus you pass them rather than them you and public toilets are very clean. France must have no comparable OSHA because you get as much hot water with force when you want it and their public 'tolielttes' are not plastered with warnings from bureaucrats to wash your hands etc.
I could,go on and on about the glaring differences some exceptional some not so but overall France is a very sane nation to travel. Let's face it the French have and appreciate their culture. Yes, their politics is rotten and in some ways they are not as advanced as we but after Obama and another possibly fearful four years of his lying, arrogant incompetence we will have bested even France, As we walked through the American and British cemeteries, observed the heights Rangers scaled and the tank barriers and beachheads that faced our youth on the tossing sea landings one could not come away without thinking how far we have drifted from greatness and I am not taking anything away from those currently serving and defending our nation and freedom which is being trampled upon by feckless politicians, an Attorney General who should be impeached then disbarred, and an equally misguided Supreme Court led by a very disappointing Chief Justice, whose recent decision seems a bit tortured. This is what happens to a ship of state when it loses it's historical and moral moorings, the crew has become undisciplined and mutinous against officers who are undeserving of their rank. We bought into the fairness crap served up by Progressives and we have very little to show for it but a ruined dollar, debt we will never pay off and a society less harmonious than ever.
But enough of my Conservatism back to the rest of our road trip.
We left our Chateau and proceeded west to Dinard (reputation for being smartest resort on Emerald Coast) but before getting there we visited the Arromanche Museum to see the film about the landing barge port (Mulberry Harbour) especially designed and built so our landed troops could be subsequently supplied. This was for the British. A comparable harbour was landed hear Caen but heavy seas etc. destroyed it.
Dinard is picturesque, has a lovely beach area with fantastic homes perched above. From there we proceeded south to St Brieuc, Pontivy,Vannes, Muzillac to our next hotel in Billiers - Domaine de Rochevilaine.
Before arriving at our hotel that evening we toured the town known for copper pots and had crepes for lunch which Brittany is most known for. They were excellent.
Rochevilaine is situated in its own little village and has extensive gardens and out buildings. (Cheneviere had more lavish and larger manicured grounds, a tennis court, covered pool and vegetable gardens) but Rochevilaine was situated on a bluff overlooking the sea as was our room and its own gardens were extensively flowered as well with paths leading to the sea and the sea water outdoor pool.
Again another outstanding facility, the restaurant was magnificent as was the meal we ate there our first night and their spa facilities and indoor pool were first class but the massage we treated ourselves to was so so.
The next morning we did more driving going to the magnificent village of Port Navalo, where a lovely young girl, who spoke fairly good English, served us, you guessed - mussels and French Fries. We sat outside and watched the other people walk by, the sea after touring the harbour itself. After lunch we visited a good gallery and we liked one particular artist's' work but not enough to indulge. Our next port city was Quiberon - bigger and busier than Navalo. We walked a bit, sat on a bench watched the passing town people watch us and departed without putting any Euros on 17 (my favorite and lucky number) at the Roulette Table.
From there we drove all around going through Auray, Vannes and many more wonderful little towns.
The next day was the highlight of our tour of Brittany because we drove to Pont Aven and prefer it over Honfleur because, being the home of Gaugin, the art and galleries are more extensive, far better than Honfleur. ( I fell in love with the art of an older woman whose family lived and painted there for centuries. The water color was of a young ballerina and you viewed her brown hair from above as she was in a ballet pose. The artist was charming and very willing to negotiate but alas Lynn did not approve and so I have only memories which I cannot mount but beau coup dollars I can spend elsewhere.)
We then visited the extraordinary walled city of Concarneau, then through other lovely towns to one of the most out of the way ports -Manech. Why there? Because I figured the closer we were to the water the better and fresher the seafood and I was dying to have a Brittany lobster (homard.) We found just the place and had another delightful experience in a quaint hotel restaurant that was fully booked.
On our last day of driving to Rennes it was off and on rain so we did not go to Nancy (my oldest daughter studied one semester there learning French. Her second semester was in Spain learning Spanish.)
Speaking of languages. I took Latin in Prep School, Lynn, Spanish and though we did not understand everything on the menus, road signs etc. we managed and though most of the country French speak a little English they are reluctant and timid to do so. During the first part of our trip Susana speaks French and of course Spanish and Charlie punts so we did fine.
Before we got to Rennes we drove through Carnac - to see the megaliths - we did and for those into that great but for me I could care less where some Goths chose to locate stones in 2000 BC. ( Why Rennes? Because a French exchange student, Romuald, spent some time with us while our kids were in prep school. Romuald lived in Paris where we were with him on a earlier trip but he is now married, has two daughters and practices medicine in Rennes. Alas he and his family were in Biarritz on a vacation and our plans had been set and there was no cancelling train tickets etc
Again our hotel in Rennes was lovely. Our room was called Letteres and was very wooden loft-like. We arrived around 3 after returning our Renault Maxine to Avis, cabbed to the hotel and decided we had enough sightseeing so we napped, watched Wimbleton and had a fine set menu dinner in the hotel restaurant.
We awoke the next morning at 4AM to catch our 6:09 train to DeGaulle Airport and the hotel kindly gave us a basket breakfast to take with us.
DeGaulle is busy but we managed and I was surprised how uneventful going through customs and security was. The plane was an hour late in departing, the movies were current and we landed in Atlanta, some 11 hours later. The plane home was also late due to storms in the area so after 25 hours of being up we decided it was bed time and do the mail and unpack on the Fourth because we leave on the sixth for a Denver Wedding and to see our grandson, Kevin, who is a Chyenene, NBC affiliate TV reporter.
Suffice it to say, we had a glorious time, loved being with Charlie and Susanna Bourland and hope they felt likewise and look forward to doing another trip with them in the future but on the condition, which Susana agrees with, I book the hotels.
I would be remiss if I did not thank Carolyn LeFleur of Four Seasons Travel of always coming through, understanding our tastes in places and accommodations and persistence in getting it right.
For those who respected my request to limit e mails thanks,for those who needed to reach me I hope my responses were not too delayed and for those who disregarded my posted request not to be bombarded with e mails - for shame.
Lynn's pictures will follow in due course.
A Happy and Glorious Fourth!
Me
---
More warnings. (See 2 below.)
---
Upbeat or Pollyanish? You decide. (See 3 below.)
---
No, not your favorite coffee maker. (See 4 below.)
---
TIMELY PRESENTTATION JULY 12:
---
Will it all come down to a Las Vegas crap shoot? (See 5 below.)
---
I wrote my closest contact with Romney the following from France after The Supreme Court Decision on 'Obamascare:
His response: "You are spot on. Yesterday's WSJ article by keith Hennessy wrote virtually the same thing but with more specificity. Enjoy your vacation. When you get back there is much to do.
---
Finally, my friend Chodoff's latest thoughts. (See 6 below.)
Dick
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Those that like more taxation love Obamacare...just what this nation does not need.
By now you know the Supreme Court’s verdict: Obamacare is a tax. So what does that mean in terms of actual dollar amounts for Americans and businesses who will pay this new tax? The Heritage Foundation and Americans for Tax Reform have released a series of summaries, tables and charts to help families understand what this means for their wallet and, possibly, their quality of life (or some would say, “standard of living”).The Heritage Foundation:
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) imposes numerous tax hikes that transfer more than $500 billion over 10 years—and more in the future—from hardworking American families and businesses to Congress for spending on new entitlements and subsidies. In addition, higher tax rates on businesses and investing will discourage economic growth both now and in the future, further lowering the standard of living in the U.S.
2)BlackRock's Fink: US Leaders ‘Snoring Away’ Amid European Wake-Up Call
BlackRock Inc.’s Laurence D. Fink, who heads the world’s largest asset manager, said U.S. lawmakers need to provide more certainty about spending and tax policy as European leaders grapple with deficits.
“Our politicians are guardians too, and they’re not acting in ways that guardians should,” Fink said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Market Makers” with Erik Schatzker and Trish Regan. “Europe is a great wake-up call and they’re still snoring away.”
The U.S. is facing a so-called fiscal cliff at the end of the year when automatic spending cuts would begin and tax cuts will expire without action by a U.S. Congress that has been mired in political disputes.
Fink said employers including defense contractors will be discouraged from investing in their operations until lawmakers signal how they’ll proceed.
Fink said employers including defense contractors will be discouraged from investing in their operations until lawmakers signal how they’ll proceed.
“We need more clarity, and that is my message to every politician I see,” said Fink. “It’s all about confidence. No one is investing for tomorrow.”
Fink, 59, is chairman and chief executive officer of New York-based BlackRock.
© Copyright 2012 Bloomberg News. All rights reserved
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3)Capitalizing on America's Advantage
By Carl Delfeld, Investment U Senior Analyst
 |
|---|
My iMac was smoking.
After writing a few weeks ago on why the U.S. dollar will remain the world's leading reserve currency, the comments from readers came fast and furious.
"Are you stupid?" and, "How naïve you are?" were some of the more polite comments. Some suggested that before long the Chinese currency would eclipse the dollar as the world's reserve currency.
Nonetheless, I noticed that as the euro crisis escalated, where have governments parked their precious cash? In the U.S. dollar - now trading at a three-year high. For example, the U.K. and France increased U.S. Treasury holdings 26% and 30%, respectively, in recent months.
Why are American Treasury bonds more attractive than gold, the Swiss franc, or the China yuan despite all of America's budget and debt challenges?
After writing a few weeks ago on why the U.S. dollar will remain the world's leading reserve currency, the comments from readers came fast and furious.
"Are you stupid?" and, "How naïve you are?" were some of the more polite comments. Some suggested that before long the Chinese currency would eclipse the dollar as the world's reserve currency.
Nonetheless, I noticed that as the euro crisis escalated, where have governments parked their precious cash? In the U.S. dollar - now trading at a three-year high. For example, the U.K. and France increased U.S. Treasury holdings 26% and 30%, respectively, in recent months.
Why are American Treasury bonds more attractive than gold, the Swiss franc, or the China yuan despite all of America's budget and debt challenges?
It's certainly not income with 10-year bond yields at 1.57%.
My view is that America's strengths greatly outweigh its weaknesses, but it appears that I have more confidence in America's future than most. A recent poll by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs indicated that 55% of those polled believe that the United States will be equaled or surpassed as a global power over the next 50 years. A group of Chinese polled believes their country will catch up to America in terms of global influence within 10 years.
And don't think I sugarcoat the challenges America faces. More than half of my most recent book, Red, White and Bold: The New American Century, outlines these challenges and how to turn things around.
But when a country decides what currency to safeguard its billions, it's looking beyond the headline news of GDP growth, budget deficits, or the latest job report.
They're looking at a bigger and deeper picture, and especially institutions that promote stability, openness, flexibility, mobility and transparency.
Here are the 10 benchmarks I came up with to measure America's relative strengths compared to other countries, such as China.
In my view, China, as a semi-market, state capitalist country, would rank rather poorly on many of these benchmarks. We take for granted what is sorely missing in much of the world; due process, property rights, a free press and especially the transparent and smooth transfer of political power.
While America could use improvement across the board - its glaring weakness is fiscal discipline and tax complexity. It needs to move aggressively on both of these fronts immediately.
But on balance, America is an open, confident, flexible and transparent society with the deepest and most sophisticated financial markets in the world.
And despite its faults, the U.S. political system is the most transparent and stable in the world and much preferable to multi-party parliamentary systems such as in India, where a small Communist party coalition member can stall market reforms.
Then there's the demographic angle. The United States, in large part due to immigration, is still growing, while most of Europe, Japan and especially Russia are rapidly declining. Most of Asia has a relatively youthful population, China being the exception, which will put tremendous strain on its budget.
America sure looks like a winner to me.
But don't just take my word for it. The chief of Singapore's $100-billion sovereign wealth fund, Tony Tan Keng Yam, stated in a recent Wall Street Journal interview that:
"(Americans)... don't see the potential in their own economy, which is one of the most innovative, open economies in the world. Foreigners seem more optimistic."
About one-third of the fund he oversees is invested in the United States.
Finally, what markets are showing the best momentum in a turbulent world? Looking at composite (one-, three-, six-, 12-month) list of country returns, the United States leads the list followed by Malaysia, Mexico, Thailand and Singapore while India, Brazil, Russia and China are laggards.
Maybe the forward-looking markets are telling us something?
Good Investing,
Carl Delfeld
My view is that America's strengths greatly outweigh its weaknesses, but it appears that I have more confidence in America's future than most. A recent poll by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs indicated that 55% of those polled believe that the United States will be equaled or surpassed as a global power over the next 50 years. A group of Chinese polled believes their country will catch up to America in terms of global influence within 10 years.
And don't think I sugarcoat the challenges America faces. More than half of my most recent book, Red, White and Bold: The New American Century, outlines these challenges and how to turn things around.
But when a country decides what currency to safeguard its billions, it's looking beyond the headline news of GDP growth, budget deficits, or the latest job report.
They're looking at a bigger and deeper picture, and especially institutions that promote stability, openness, flexibility, mobility and transparency.
Here are the 10 benchmarks I came up with to measure America's relative strengths compared to other countries, such as China.
- Protects citizen's political, religious and economic freedoms.
- Provides educational opportunity for all.
- Ensures a strong defense and conducts a foreign policy based on the broad national interest.
- Nurtures a culture of risk taking and second chances while accepting inequality of results.
- Protects an independent judicial system and enforces the law in a fair, transparent and consistent manner.
- Prizes a tradition of service and philanthropy.
- Conserves and uses natural resources wisely.
- Demonstrates fiscal discipline and puts in place a low, fair and simple tax system.
- Maintains a quality healthcare system open to all.
In my view, China, as a semi-market, state capitalist country, would rank rather poorly on many of these benchmarks. We take for granted what is sorely missing in much of the world; due process, property rights, a free press and especially the transparent and smooth transfer of political power.
While America could use improvement across the board - its glaring weakness is fiscal discipline and tax complexity. It needs to move aggressively on both of these fronts immediately.
But on balance, America is an open, confident, flexible and transparent society with the deepest and most sophisticated financial markets in the world.
And despite its faults, the U.S. political system is the most transparent and stable in the world and much preferable to multi-party parliamentary systems such as in India, where a small Communist party coalition member can stall market reforms.
Then there's the demographic angle. The United States, in large part due to immigration, is still growing, while most of Europe, Japan and especially Russia are rapidly declining. Most of Asia has a relatively youthful population, China being the exception, which will put tremendous strain on its budget.
America sure looks like a winner to me.
But don't just take my word for it. The chief of Singapore's $100-billion sovereign wealth fund, Tony Tan Keng Yam, stated in a recent Wall Street Journal interview that:
"(Americans)... don't see the potential in their own economy, which is one of the most innovative, open economies in the world. Foreigners seem more optimistic."
About one-third of the fund he oversees is invested in the United States.
Finally, what markets are showing the best momentum in a turbulent world? Looking at composite (one-, three-, six-, 12-month) list of country returns, the United States leads the list followed by Malaysia, Mexico, Thailand and Singapore while India, Brazil, Russia and China are laggards.
Maybe the forward-looking markets are telling us something?
Good Investing,
Carl Delfeld
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4)"SILEX": Iran's Undetectable Nuclear Enrichment Technology?
By David P. Goldman
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