Eurovision - and the winner is "Fairytale" from Norway

The Winner of the 54th Eurovision contest - Norway - Fairytale by Alexander Ryback



Alexander Rybak won (with 387 points) the 54th Eurovision in Russia 2009, singing Fairytale, a song inspired by Russian and Norwegian folk music. The song was composed and written by Rybak himself. The song is performed with the modern folk dance company Frikar. The song has received good reviews with a 6 out of 6 from Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet. In an ESCtoday poll he was the lead in a poll with 71.3% to get into the final from the semi he was in. Read the rest here.

Alexander won a wopping 387 points, a song inspired by Russian and Norwegian Folklore.

What the heck happened to Spain? Spain was the second from the bottom.

Guatemala in Crisis – What President Colom of Guatemala and The Cosa Nostra have in common.

videos below

I was translating the entire two videos to English when I realized the Guatemalan newspaper, El Periódico had already done it. Talk about recreating the wheel.

Guatemala is in the middle of a crisis that seems to have stepped out of the script of a Hollywood movie. Any producer would be envious of the script unfolding in the tiny country of Guatemala. The sad fact is this script is true.

A friend of mine sent me a youtube video made by a prominent Guatemalan attorney Rodriguo Rosenberg Marzano. I watched it, and after I watched it I thought it was a joke. The youtube video in two parts was released after the assassination of a prominent Guatemalan attorney. Attorney Marzano was assassinated while riding his bike around town. The attorney accused President Colom of his murder. Mario David García, a journalist from Prensa Libre was told to release the video should something happen to him. Marzano begins the video by stating the following:

"Good Afternoon. My name is Rodrigo Rosenberg Marzano, and sadly, if you are watching this message, it is because I have been murdered. If you are hearing or seeing this message, it is because I was assassinated by President Álvaro Colom."

It has been three days since the videos were released, and it also marks the third day where daily protests have been occurring in the Plaza of the Constitution in Guatemala. Buses filled with union members and around 800 other people arrived on city buses to the plaza. 125 policemen were mobilized also. The protest groups are growing on a daily basis.

Corruption in politics in Latin America has always been a fact of life from both the right and the left. Daniel Ortega, the current president of Nicaragua who in my opinion is as corrupt as Hugo Chavez escaped prosecution from sexually abusing his stepdaughter Zoilamérica Narváez in 1998 because as a member of parliament he was immune from prosecution.

Alvaro Colom was elected president of Guatemala in 2007 besting his opponent by only a 5% margin at the polls. Colom is a far-left president from a string of far-left presidents that have been winning elections in Central and South America. In his campaign, Colom said, "he (Colom) did not have "bloodstained hands," I think that has now changed with the release of this video

The released video from the attorney in Guatemala has thrown the entire country into crisis. The small country of Guatemala is now on the verge of rebellion. The only difference between this murder and the corruption that goes on in some of these other countries is the attorney knew he would probably be killed, and used the internet to let the world know. It is now becoming more difficult for even governments to conceal their crimes.

Remember Obama has no problem in dealing with these thugs.

Written translation can be found here.

A must view - Part one Subtitled in English



Part two (with English Subtitles)

The press conference that didn't work or Maybe there should be a "truth comission"

Nancy Pelosi didn't know anything. Pelosi didn't know anything about waterboarding. The CIA lied. Who do you believe?

Eurovisión: There must be another way – Noa and Mira (Israel)

Noa and Mira - There must be another way.

Eurovision is a singing contest among most of the countries of Europe. When Eurovision is on, the entire continent of Europe becomes fixated to their television sets. I still remember when Mocedades won Eurovisión in 1973 with its song Eres Tú. In 1973, Spanish was never heard on American radio stations, but a disc jockey heard the song, played it and for several weeks it was one of the most requested songs on the radio.

Mocedades - Eurovision 1973


This week on Spanish television (TVE) which only Dish Network offers, television viewers can watch Eurovisión. This year Eurovisión is taking place in Moscow, Russia. If you are able to watch the event, you should. The finals will be Saturday.

I was struck by one of the songs which I believe deserves mention. The song is entitled "There must be another way" from Israel interpreted by Noa and Mira. The song is sung in three languages, Hebrew, Arabic and English. Noa said she could not face the murder of Yitzah Rabin the prime minister of Israel who was assassinated on November 4, 1995 by a radical right-wing Jew who opposed the signing of the Oslo Peace Accords. Since then Noa could not ignore politics in her songs.

I do not believe there will ever be peace in Israel because the animosity between the Jews and Arabs date back to the time of Noah. Arabs are taught to hate Jews from birth, but that is another story. The song is still well written and well performed. There must be another way says it all. In my opinion, it is one of the best songs of Eurovision this year even though I always vote for Spain. (I may be a little biased.)
Talking with Noa and Mira after the semi-finals


This youtube video of the Spanish series Cuéntame cómo pasó (Spanish)gives an idea of the euphoria that captivates the European continent during Eurovision. This is when Massiel won the Eurovision contest for Spain with her song "La La La" in 1968.

 

Barack Obama and Notre Dame University

Barack Obama who is the most radical president this country has ever known on abortion is going to give a commencement address at the Catholic University of Notre Dame. The university intends to give Barack Obama a doctorate for his appearance. According to Catholic doctrine, Canon law (that body of law which governs Catholicism) states that abortion is "a Mortal Sin" and excommunication is the result under canon law 1398. This is the reason that Nancy Pelosi has been so reprimanded on her position on abortion, and why Catholic clergy has denied her communion. It seems the students are the only ones who get the life issue at the University. The students have put this video out to announce their displeasure and protest against the university and Barack Obama's address.

Siemens – Time to divest

Siemens, located in Germany, operates in three sectors, industry, energy and healthcare. 54% of its revenues comes from the industrial segment. Since I have owned it, I have lost about 36%, but it looks poised for a rebound. The last quarter was a strong quarter for Siemens. Siemen's plans to announce a 50 million wind power factory in Kansas. Siemen's will most likely be a recipient of the current administration's stimulus package for its so-called green energy. However, I would not invest in Siemen's, I would divest.

Siemen's is one company out of a growing number of companies in Europe that continues to do business with Iran. At a time when Iran is on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon, it is amazing to me how companies continue to do business with Tehran. Europe is much closer to Iran than the United States. The Wall Street Journal reports:

Siemens, the largest German trade partner of Iran, represents a window onto an opulent economic partnership between the two countries. German firms such as Mercedes-Benz, whose Web site lists an Iranian general distributor, and insurance giant Munich Re have also remained indifferent to the growing calls to isolate Iran economically. Yesterday, a Munich Re spokesman confirmed to me that the company insures goods in transit to Iran. This was the first such public disclosure by the firm.

And the deals just keep on coming. The Hannoversche Allgemeine newspaper, for example, reported in late January that the German engineering firm Aerzen secured a contract totaling €21 million to supply process gas blowers and screw-type compressors to a steel factory in Esfahan, Iran.

One of the major factors that brought down Apartheid in South Africa was the divesture movement. Universities led the movement, and eventually if a company did business with the government of South Africa, it was not good for the company. Apartheid was a moral cause, but it did not present a threat to the United States. Iran presents a direct threat. Where is the divesture movement with Iran?

Obama gets it wrong

I posted a letter from a Hedge Fund Manager , Clifford S. Asness on Friday. Here is an interview with Morningstar with the Hedge Fund Manager

Sin Nombre – A movie review

One of my favorite movies of all time is El Norte. Filmed in 1983, El Norte recounts the story of a brother and sister from Guatemala who make a dangerous and arduous trek to the North in search for a better life. Each immigrant who leaves his or her country in search of a better life from Latin America has a story, and El Norte puts a face to these immigrants.

Sin Nombre, Spanish with English subtitles, is in the same genre as El Norte with a twist. Even the title Sin Nombre, (without a name) aptly describes the film about the faceless immigrant struggling to survive in a dangerous world. Sin Nombre tells the story of a young Honduran woman, Sayra, (Paulina Gaitan) who escapes the destitution and poverty of her hometown. She heads north with her uncle and father clinging to the hope for a better life. Sayra's facial expressions reveal a sadness that is a result of an impecunious life of poverty she has already had to endure for her young age. Sayra is tenacious and indefatigable in her resolve to cross the Mexican border as she embraces the hope for a better tomorrow. Her father leads Sayra and her uncle to the place where they will begin their journey, and he forces them to memorize a phone number to his family in New Jersey should they become separated. They hike to the rails where they will hitch a ride on the cargo trains that will take them up north.

Sayra begins the dangerous trek with her father and uncle. As the train traverses the country of Mexico, the cinematography is nothing but spectacular. Cary Fukanaga, the director captures the plight of the immigrant in stunning detail. We are all too familiar with the scenes of immigrants waiting in the dark of night to cross the border from Mexico illegally into the United States. In Sin Nombre the moviegoer is presented with a gritty portrait of the dilapidated conditions the immigrants have to endure between Guatemala and Mexico as they await the trains that will lead them hopefully to their new lives. Immigrants encamp in squalor conditions during the night lying on the ground in the open air exposed to the elements awaiting the cargo trains that pass. As the trains pass, hundreds of immigrants hungering for a brighter future hitch a ride. The trains meander through the mountains as the immigrants cling precariously to the tops of the moving trains. The immigrants head north in search of a better life, but atop the trains is a host of nefarious characters that prey on the most vulnerable.

Tragedy befalls Sayra's father, and her uncle is deported leaving Sayra to fend for herself. The notorious Mara Salvatrucha gang (MS-13) plays a predominant role in Sayra's journey. The film encapsulates the danger of the journey when the MS-13 gang takes advantage of the myriad of immigrants by robbing them at gunpoint. In a harrowing scene, the leader of the gang notices Sayra and almost rapes her. As Sayra cries out for help, Smiley (Kristyan Ferrer), a member of the gang, in a gut-wrenching scene, slits the throat of the leader. He then shows sympathy when he lets Casper, (Edgar Flores), a prepubescent adolescent and an up-and-coming member of the gang go. Casper returns to the gang, and the word is spread to kill Smiley. Casper pledges that he will kill Smiley himself. This begins a dangerous cat and mouse gang between Sayra and Smiley, the Mexican immigration and the MS-13 gang.

There are two items of note. The Mexican government uses checkpoints and patrols in search for undocumented immigrants throughout the country. The government shows no tolerance for illegal immigrants that enter into Mexico. What is also evident is how organized the MS-13 gang is throughout Central America and Mexico.

The MS-13 gang is ruthless and it is thought to have originated in the 1980s in Los Angeles by Salvadoran immigrants after El Salvador's civil war. Its original purpose was to protect El Salvadoran immigrants from Los Angeles gang members. Membership is estimated at 36,000 in Honduras alone. The gang has branched out throughout the United States and it also has spread its tentacles throughout Mexico and Central America after members were deported back to their native country. The gang is now spread throughout the United States, Mexico and Central America. It is well-organized and well-financed. Throughout Mexico and Central America, the gang operates with impunity and in virtual lawlessness. The gang is involved in any type of criminal activity including gun-running, illegal drugs, assassinations, etc.. Members often have military training. The MS-13 is a feared gang. It is also a well known fact that the MS-13 gang has been paid handsomely by terrorist groups to smuggle Islamic terrorists across the Mexican border. This is a fact known by the INS and by the United States Government.

What is evident after seeing the film is the need to close our borders. If we need workers from Mexico, there are ways to do that. President Bush refused to close the borders for eight years, and now President Obama in his last press conference reiterated his unwillingness to close the borders. Mexico is intolerant of immigrants entering into its country, yet we leave our borders wide-open. This is a national security issue, yet we act as if nothing can happen from our southern borders. There is a lack of political will. Obama looks at these immigrants as potential votes. The safety of America is not a primary concern.

Sin Nombre is a riveting and harrowing film-going experience. I found myself feeling sympathy for Sayra hoping she makes it north, and at the same time rooting for the underdog Smiley hoping he would escape the clutches of the gang. This is Cary Fukanaga's directorial debut, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

 

A letter from a hedge fund manager to the Obama administration

I decided to post this letter from a hedge fund manager from www.stumblingontruth.com because it demonstrates the strong arm tactics employed by the Obama administration.


Unafraid In Greenwich Connecticut

Clifford S. Asness, Ph.D.

AQR Capital Management, LLC

Last updated: 5/5/2009

Updated versions available at: StumblingOnTruth.com

The President has just harshly castigated hedge fund managers for being unwilling to take his administration’s bid for their Chrysler bonds. He called them “speculators” who were “refusing to sacrifice like everyone else” and who wanted “to hold out for the prospect of an unjustified taxpayer-funded bailout.”

The responses of hedge fund managers have been, appropriately, outrage, but generally have been anonymous for fear of going on the record against a powerful President (an exception, though still in the form of a “group letter”, was the superb note from “The Committee of Chrysler Non-TARP Lenders” some of the points of which I echo here, and a relatively few firms, like Oppenheimer, that have publicly defended themselves). Furthermore, one by one the managers and banks are said to be caving to the President’s wishes out of justifiable fear.

I run an approximately twenty billion dollar money management firm that offers hedge funds as well as public mutual funds and unhedged traditional investments. My company is not involved in the Chrysler situation, but I am still aghast at the President's comments (of course these are my own views not those of my company). Furthermore, for some reason I was not born with the common sense to keep it to myself, though my title should more accurately be called "Not Afraid Enough" as I am indeed fearful writing this... It’s really a bad idea to speak out. Angering the President is a mistake and, my views will annoy half my clients. I hope my clients will understand that I’m entitled to my voice and to speak it loudly, just as they are in this great country. I hope they will also like that I do not think I have the right to intentionally “sacrifice” their money without their permission.

Here's a shock. When hedge funds, pension funds, mutual funds, and individuals, including very sweet grandmothers, lend their money they expect to get it back. However, they know, or should know, they take the risk of not being paid back. But if such a bad event happens it usually does not result in a complete loss. A firm in bankruptcy still has assets. It’s not always a pretty process. Bankruptcy court is about figuring out how to most fairly divvy up the remaining assets based on who is owed what and whose contracts come first. The process already has built-in partial protections for employees and pensions, and can set lenders' contracts aside in order to help the company survive, all of which are the rules of the game lenders know before they lend. But, without this recovery process nobody would lend to risky borrowers. Essentially, lenders accept less than shareholders (means bonds return less than stocks) in good times only because they get more than shareholders in bad times.

The above is how it works in America, or how it’s supposed to work. The President and his team sought to avoid having Chrysler go through this process, proposing their own plan for re-organizing the company and partially paying off Chrysler’s creditors. Some bond holders thought this plan unfair. Specifically, they thought it unfairly favored the United Auto Workers, and unfairly paid bondholders less than they would get in bankruptcy court. So, they said no to the plan and decided, as is their right, to take their chances in the bankruptcy process. But, as his quotes above show, the President thought they were being unpatriotic or worse.

Let’s be clear, it is the job and obligation of all investment managers, including hedge fund managers, to get their clients the most return they can. They are allowed to be charitable with their own money, and many are spectacularly so, but if they give away their clients’ money to share in the “sacrifice”, they are stealing. Clients of hedge funds include, among others, pension funds of all kinds of workers, unionized and not. The managers have a fiduciary obligation to look after their clients’ money as best they can, not to support the President, nor to oppose him, nor otherwise advance their personal political views. That’s how the system works. If you hired an investment professional and he could preserve more of your money in a financial disaster, but instead he decided to spend it on the UAW so you could “share in the sacrifice”, you would not be happy.

Let’s quickly review a few side issues.

The President's attempted diktat takes money from bondholders and gives it to a labor union that delivers money and votes for him. Why is he not calling on his party to "sacrifice" some campaign contributions, and votes, for the greater good? Shaking down lenders for the benefit of political donors is recycled corruption and abuse of power.

Let’s also mention only in passing the irony of this same President begging hedge funds to borrow more to purchase other troubled securities. That he expects them to do so when he has already shown what happens if they ask for their money to be repaid fairly would be amusing if not so dangerous. That hedge funds might not participate in these programs because of fear of getting sucked into some toxic demagoguery that ends in arbitrary punishment for trying to work with the Treasury is distressing. Some useful programs, like those designed to help finance consumer loans, won't work because of this irresponsible hectoring.

Last but not least, the President screaming that the hedge funds are looking for an unjustified taxpayer-funded bailout is the big lie writ large. Find me a hedge fund that has been bailed out. Find me a hedge fund, even a failed one, that has asked for one. In fact, it was only because hedge funds have not taken government funds that they could stand up to this bullying. The TARP recipients had no choice but to go along. The hedge funds were singled out only because they are unpopular, not because they behaved any differently from any other ethical manager of other people's money. The President’s comments here are backwards and libelous. Yet, somehow I don’t think the hedge funds will be following ACORN’s lead and trucking in a bunch of paid professional protestors soon. Hedge funds really need a community organizer.

This is America. We have a free enterprise system that has worked spectacularly for us for two hundred plus years. When it fails it fixes itself. Most importantly, it is not an owned lackey of the oval office to be scolded for disobedience by the President.

I am ready for my “personalized” tax rate now.

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of AQR Capital Management, LLC its affiliates, or its employees.

The information set forth herein has been obtained or derived from sources believed by author to be reliable. However, the author does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the information’s accuracy or completeness, nor does the author recommend that the attached information serve as the basis of any investment decision. This document has been provided to you solely for information purposes and does not constitute an offer or solicitation of an offer, or any advice or recommendation, to purchase any securities or other financial instruments, and may not be construed as such. This document is intended exclusively for the use of the person to whom it has been delivered by the author, and it is not to be reproduced or redistributed to any other person.

Special Election - California

"Arnold Schwarzenegger, the best governor the states contiguous to California have ever had" George Will

An incompetent governor + an incompetent legislature = A special election with six incomprehensible and inane propositions that will have the effect of helping California sink deeper into the abyss.

I have written about California's woes here and here

When Governor Davis was recalled, the terminator was elected on a platform of pro-business. California's business costs have grown 20% higher than the average business costs of any state in the union. How is that for business friendly? As the saying goes, "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it."

Columnist George Will states the following:

If, since 1990, state spending increases had been held to the inflation rate plus population growth, the state would have a $15 billion surplus instead of a $42 billion budget deficit, which is larger than the budgets of all but 10 states. Since 1990, the number of state employees has increased by more than a third. In Schwarzenegger's less than six years as governor, per capita government spending, adjusted for inflation, has increased nearly 20 percent.

Liberal orthodoxy has made the state dependent on a volatile source of revenues -- high income tax rates on the wealthy. In 2006, the top 1 percent of earners paid 48 percent of the income taxes. California's income and sales taxes are among the nation's highest, its business conditions among the worst, as measured by 16 variables directly influenced by the Legislature. Unemployment, the nation's fourth highest, is 11.2 percent.

California should be a test case for Barack Obama. While government spending increases, there is a continuous brain drain from the once golden state. Those with means and those with the entrepreneurial skills to grow the state's economy are leaving in droves. California is left with Mexico's unskilled and poor. Obama in his last press conference stated he was unwilling to close the border. So now, it's off to the polls. Will Californian's vote themselves a 16 billion dollar tax increase? Or will they finally say enough is enough and vote no on these propositions?

May 19, 2009 – Californians head to the polls to vote on six propositions. Californians will do the job the California legislature seems to be incapable of doing. There is no need to put too much sweat in trying to decipher all of the nonsense that these incomprehensible propositions represent. Just take that number two pencil and vote no on each one of them.

These propositions are only stop-gap measures to temporarily fix California's budget crisis, but in reality they will fix nothing.

Of course, you have to love the names given to the propositions.

1A – "Rainy Day" Budget Stabilization Fund

1B - Education Funding. Payment Plan

1C – Lottery Modernization Act

1D – Children's Services Funding

1E – Mental Health Funding, Temporary Reallocation

1F – Elected Officials Salaries. Prevents pay increases during budget deficit years.

Proposition 1A keenly disguised as a "Rainy day" fund is nothing more than an extension of the huge tax increase that the California legislature already passed. It increases taxes by another 16 billion dollars. When the economy does come back, will California even be poised to benefit? This proposition continues the tax increase already passed by the legislature for another two years. The San José Mercury says this:

Proposition 1A is a convoluted combination of higher taxes and spending restraints. The effects are so uncertain that the legislative analyst's opinion concludes, "The fiscal effects of Proposition 1A are particularly difficult to assess. This is because the measure's effects would depend on a variety of factors that will change over time and cannot be accurately predicted." Why voters should approve a measure that even the legislative analyst cannot decipher is a mystery.

When the San Jose Mercury is against the propositions, then something must really be wrong.

The blurb in the ballot on Proposition 1C, the so-called lottery modernization act says it will allow the state to be modernized to improve its performance with increased payouts, improved marketing, and effective management. Are you convinced yet? What it really does is borrow on future lottery profits to help balance the 2009-2010 state budget. The California lottery was created in November 1984 by proposition 37. It passed because of the help it was suppose to provide to schools. It is currently mandated to provide at least 34% of its revenues to public education. With proposition 1C, schools will no longer receive funds from the lottery winnings, but lottery winnings will be diverted to the General Fund, and public education will be paid from that fund.

According to the ballot, Each Californian currently squanders about 83 dollars per year in the lottery but It is common knowledge that the poor and uneducated spend much more per capita on the lottery than the average Californian. There is even a graph on the ballot showing that California is the third from the bottom as to lottery sales per resident. And, that is a bad thing? How? The proposition states "Higher prize payouts can attract more spending for lottery tickets and increase lottery profits." Proposition 1C intends to increase lottery revenues by revamping the lottery and increasing marketing efforts. This means the poor will be induced to purchase even more lottery tickets. I thought liberals were for the indigent and the destitute.

Since the economic crisis, lottery winnings have actually fallen off 10% during the first four months of the current fiscal year. California put its hopes on imaginary growth, which caused its current budget crisis, and now it is putting its hopes on future lottery winnings that may or may not materialize, but that will assuredly be paid from the backs of the poor.

The San Jose Mercury states the following on propositions 1D through 1E:

    Propositions 1D and 1E would break open dedicated tax funds for use by the general fund. Proposition 1D would allow the state to grab tobacco tax money that is currently dedicated to children's services. Proposition 1E would allow the state to raid the so-called millionaire's tax that is dedicated to mental health services.

    These two propositions highlight the folly of dedicated spending accounts. Income tax rates and tobacco tax rates are so high that raising them further would be counterproductive. Yet, without a statewide vote, the money generated by these taxes cannot be used to ameliorate crisis level deficits.

 

These six propositions do nothing to alleviate the ills of California. California is like the typical highly-leveraged individual who borrows from Peter to pay Paul. He maxes out his credit cards, and when the MasterCard bill is due, he uses the American Express card to pay off the MasterCard. He takes out home equity loans, maintains a high amount of leverage and continues to play this shell game until everything implodes. He plays this game more if he is unemployed. This is California. California is engaged in a massive shell-game and wants voters to now approve the continuation of the shell game to see how long California can continue without bursting at the seams. Companies and individuals who earn the salaries leave. Tax revenues do not materialize, but California continues its spending spree, and uses one fund to pay another fund. The hope is that some time growth will begin again in California, and all this debt can be paid back.

There is an answer to California's woes. Vote the incumbent legislators out of office. Get rid of the terminator, and get someone who knows how to grow an economy. Become a business friendly environment. Go to the polls and vote "no" on every one of these incomprehensible and idiotic propositions.