" have said that DJIA could end up between 5000 and 6000 to select friends," writes Post blogger Edward Troy. "This could happen in the next 12 months. The Fortune 1000 needs to be reviewed, and many of these corporations should be rescued, after decapitating the top level executives and the irresponsible boards that put them in place, after a stimulus that may need to be more than a trillion dollars, with tax deductions on; made in the USA, real estate, education, cogeneration, health care and hiring. The workers (read producers) whether union or not are not at fault when it comes to working."
Post blogger Casey McConnell has a new venture with a super-cool name: Qittle: "Look for text-in opportunities in your favorite magazine..and leave the pages for recycling."
The Common Sense Alliance is continuing to add to the discussion on Mass Transit. The core premise for a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system on the Highway 82 corridor is that improved travel times will lead to huge ridership increases. There is no guarantee that one will lead to the other, so the real question is what we should gamble, and on which ideas, to find out.
Improved travel times are supposed to come from a variety of measures, and the Corridor Investment Study (CIS) from 2003 quantified the time savings for different components.
Posts filed under 'Business'
When I saw the book “Print Is Dead: Books In Our Digital Age,” my great fear was that Jeff Gomez had found out the great secret I have been carrying around for fifteen years in hopes that nobody would find me out.
Fortunately for me, Gomez—an Internet marketing executive for a book company—made his way through his fascinating dissertation with many compelling observations of his own, though without coming close to my conclusion about the future.
My secret is safe for a few paragraphs more.
Continue Reading April 17th, 2008
Why is there always a bandwagon leap of arrogance and hypocrisy when the Olympics roll around? It seems one or more countries have a group of activists who have been training almost as long as the athletes themselves when it comes to diverting the attention of the Games to a political arena, if not a self-indulgent one for their own agendas.
As a former Olympic hopeful, spending six years on the United States Shooting Team traveling around the world to compete, I get a little irascible when the talk turns to boycotting the Olympic Games. Why isn’t the boycott a daily issue with everyone who feels it necessary to disrupt the Olympics, directed toward nearly every retailer in the country who offers goods made in China? Where are the demonstrations at the doors of Wal-Mart or Dell Computers?
Everyday in this country millions of people are spending money on toothpaste, pet food, laptop computers, Black and Decker tools, clothing, toys, baby strollers, cosmetics, electronics and more; all made in China, and yet without any fuss or hesitancy whether they are sanctioning China’s actions by making their purchases. So why are the Olympic Games the biggest attention getter for the boycotters? How will a boycott affect American companies operating in China? Wouldn’t we be shooting ourselves in the foot?
President Bush boycotting the opening ceremonies would be the same as any of us attending a birthday party for someone, but refusing to eat the cake because you don’t agree with the person’s politics. Isn’t this where the phrase ‘you can’t have your cake and eat it too’ came from? If not, perhaps it should have new meaning now.
I disagree with the idea of boycotting the Games. I am not naïve enough to wax poetic on the main purpose of the Games as ‘competing in harmony and peace with all nations, setting aside our personal beliefs for sixteen days.’ There are too many people with their hands in the coffer for that kind of simple certainty. I do believe though that each athlete should have their chance at competing, no matter where the Games are held or what that country has done to another. I believe that Tibet should have its freedom and independence, and no longer suffer from the inhumane treatment of China. But boycotting the Olympics isn’t going to change one damn thing for Tibet. Thinking it will is foolish.
Bill Clinton gave (i.e. sold) China permanent favored nation trading status. Will a boycott of any kind for any duration change any of that? Of course it won’t. So just exactly who would be affected by a boycott? Most certainly the athletes who have trained for years for this one chance will be affected. Did our boycott of the 1980 Olympics in Moscow cause the fall of USSR eleven years later?
My advice is this: boycott on an individual level if you feel strongly about an Olympic boycott. If you want to try to change the ways of China, try to find a retailer who does not offer even one item in their store with a Made In China tag on it. Good luck with that. Buy Only American. Block NBC from your remote control. Send Bill Clinton an “Up Yours” card on recycled paper made in America from trees clear-cut in Oregon.
Can you see the futility in a 16-day action that revolves around the Olympics?
Let the Games begin.... without the disruption of politics. Wouldn't that be a nice vision for a brief sixteen days?
Waiting reluctantly on the beach of Lincoln City, Oregon...
April 13th, 2008
When Microsoft's Bill Gates appeared this month before a congressional committee demanding a doubling of the current (65,000) caps on high-tech H-1B visas, you might have thought the committee members were celebrating the Return of the Messiah the way they fell all over themselves singing praise, adoration and love for the mega-billionaire. Of course, those of us who know those very members are beneficiaries of the hundreds-of-millions of dollars spread around the congress by IT industry lobbyists, it make sense the "law makers" would be Gates' slobbering adorers.
To hear Gates tell it, the U.S. has a "shortage crisis" in IT workers and if he had his way, there would be no limit on the number of the coveted H-1B visas.
Continue Reading March 26th, 2008
David Walker, the Comptroller General of the United States, recently reported on 60 Minutes that we are headed for an economic train wreck of disastrous proportions. He warned of “catastrophic consequences” and that “the survival of our republic is at stake.” As our economy, our dollar and your way of life crumbles before your very eyes, perhaps you may wonder what is happening.
While Bush and company have knowingly advanced the process, it has taken almost a century to bankrupt America. The train wreck has not happened by chance, it is a skillful strategy. The “War on the Middle Class” is waged to divide America into two economic classes, the rich and the poor. The end game is to destroy our democracy. Look around, our Constitution lies in tatters, freedoms lost, perhaps forever.
Continue Reading March 20th, 2008
In Aspen, it always pays to be connected. We were recently invited to The Aspen Chamber Resort Association’s,(ACRA) quarterly networking event. Nobody can out network Aspen Spin, so we made the scene. Who knew that a business-to business mixer could be so much fun? Apparently, ACRA did.
Continue Reading March 11th, 2008
Much like the human potential biomass as a source of transportation energy is boundless but we must first take the steps to make it such. There are many dedicated organizations putting in the sweat equity required to make this resource a realization in today’s business model.
However at what point do we as a society need to jump and calculate the costs at a later date? It is much like the idea of our fore fathers who took the chance to cross the Atlantic to reach a new land with unlimited possibilities with out doing multiple feasibility studies. At some point there needs to be a collective ambition to realize we don’t know the risks of such a venture however with out taking chances we will never know the possibilities of change and will be limited by our established resource, fossil fuel.
Continue Reading March 2nd, 2008
Along with most of you, I hated the idea of paid parking in Aspen. Years ago, when our politicians rolled out the ridiculous concept of parking meters all over our beautiful little mountain town, I thought it was about the dumbest idea I ever heard. However, it turned out that I was dead wrong. The parking meters have worked as planned. They freed up spots by discouraging unnecessary use and encouraged residents to walk, bicycle or take the bus when possible.
Continue Reading February 25th, 2008
Today I attended the Energy Forum and Expo in Grand Junction Colorado. Located in the heart of Western Colorado’s massive energy boom the energy titans were all represented. The event tended to point out the reality of the existing energy industry which is nearly all fossil fuel based. However there were a few renewable energy Representatives there as well.
Continue Reading February 22nd, 2008
Max Werdenigg, Edelwiser skis: These independent labels in skiing—I really like the idea. Every ski has its own personality. When we build skis we put our soul in it. That’s more and more important in our society. The masses grow to a point where you lose the individual part of one’s self. Now you can design your own Porsche—everyone’s going to mass customization. They talk at MIT about mass customization. Some scientists say it’s a pretty young field. Finally we’ve got a case study.
Continue Reading February 13th, 2008
Is it just me, or did something permanent and irrefutable exit the political process in Aspen when the Lift 1A moneybags decided to work with City poobahs on a master plan? The decision, needless to say, is a gross capitulation to a City Council that had already cut off the developers at the knees, no matter how hard they tried to please the powers that be.
The decision means the developers have decided to drink the City's Kool-Aid for the obvious reason that no other potion is potable. If the City Council is nice enough to include the developers in the master plan, then the developers can always hope against hope they too will be included in a future that has yet to unfold.
Continue Reading February 7th, 2008
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