Turkey Out, Greece In

Here we go again with another leader of an Islamic country shooting of his mouth against Israel for the sole purpose of garnering support amongst the masses in their countries. Instead of telling their citizens the truth, they tell lies to their people and attribute all that is wrong in their societies on Israel. Turkey's leader has unilaterally transformed his nation from a peace partner with the West and Israel to just another loser society that will continue to be left behind as the rest of the world advances. All in an attempt to amass personal power and inflate his ego. Antisemitism is always an incredibly forceful rallying cry even as his nations falls farther and farther behind the rest of the world. The citizens will mind-numbingly tolerate any destruction of their own countries as long as they are fed a constant stream of antisemitism.

Erdogan wants to inflate his chest and act like a big bully while picking on Israel as so many other neighboring states are doing. He thinks he's got nothing to lose by tormenting and threatening Israel but I think Israel's big brother needs to step in and put this power hungry Ottoman in his place. The US needs to send warships to the area and demonstrate it's support of Israel and its intolerance of Turkey's provocations.

The Turkish leadership is threatening Israel's exploration and exploitation of energy finds in the Eastern Mediterranean. Here's the deal. For a 10% cut of the mined gas, the US will provide protection for the extraction of the fuel in that area. This way the US gets reimbursed for its expense and maintains a military presence in that region. The US citizens will be thrilled that they will be getting an economic return on their military investment and exerting a presence in the region.

I remind these leaders to look at their bibles, specifically Genesis 12:3. Those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who curse Israel will be cursed. Turkey is definitely being led down the wrong road but ironically Greece may be the beneficiary. It appears that Greece is in dire straits of its own as insolvency is being considered but it is establishing closer military ties with Israel. As they help and support Israel I believe they will be helped with their economic problems.
In a strange quirk of history even as Greece looked to destroy Israel and the Jews two thousand years ago it may be that they will now assist each other in their current existential challenges.

My Dietary Transformation

My wife has been after me for some time to read a book that she read about six months ago called The China Study. So I finally read it while on the Bermuda cruise through Hurricane Irene. I must say it is very compelling and has transformed the way I eat. Essentially, it makes the case for a plant based diet as opposed to an animal based diet. It looks at demographic trends of heart disease and certain cancers in various countries and within countries and correlates it with dietary habits. It is nearly a direct correlation between increased animal protein intake and the rates of heart disease and certain cancers. Conversely, it directly correlates a plant based diet with a decreased incidence of heart disease and certain cancers.

Of course reading this on the cruise wasn't the best place to be exposed to this enlightening information as there was so much food to eat and especially delicious looking desserts. But the truth is there were so many choices on the cruise to eat a plant based (vegan) diet. For the past four or five years I was petty good being on an Atkins type diet, limiting my carbohydrates. I was able to keep my weight in check but as it turns out I was eating so much animal protein and dairy. Eggs, cheese, milk, and butter for breakfast. Tuna for lunch and chicken or beef for dinner. This is exactly the opposite of the diet I should have been consuming per The China Study.

I decided I would try and change my diet. For the last two or three weeks I have been consuming mostly a vegan diet. Whole wheat toast with almond butter, black coffee, and a fruit for breakfast. Large salad and fruit for lunch. Nuts to snack on midday with tea in the late afternoon For dinner vegan chili with a whole grain (brown rice, quinoa, kashe, etc.), a large salad and some veggies. I can say that I do not feel much different but I have lost weight and I do not miss meat or dairy. I do miss milk chocolate and I have cheated on some oreos as there are some things I just cannot give up. I don't know if I will keep it up but for sure I will continue to limit my intake of animal based foods.

While reading the book the question I wanted answered was do vegans live longer than non-vegans. That should be a fairly easy study to do. So when I arrived home I googled vegan longevity study and the results are inconclusive. One may argue they may live a more disease free life and not a longer life but a disease free life should translate into longevity. Even if it has a disease minimizing effect and not a longevity effect I think it is worth the effort. I think a little meat and/or dairy is fine in moderation but no doubt Americans need to cut back on their animal based food choices and spend more time in the produce section.

My teenage children have also adjusted their eating habits and are eating more of a veganish diet. I give my wife a lot of credit for opening my eyes to this way of eating and I should have listened to her a while ago and read this book earlier. I guess it's never too late. I suspect I will read a different book in a few years that will completely refute all the conclusions of The China Study and convince me to change my diet again. Anyway, I highly recommend reading the book. It's worth a look.

A Few Steps to Jumpstart the Economy

I am in the process of trying to refinance my mortgage at these historically low rates and it seems to me there are a few fairly easy steps that can be taken to make the process easier. This would be a tremendous boost to the economy and the housing market as more money would be freed up for people to spend as their interest rates and mortgage payments are lowered. The main problem is that even though rates are very low it is very difficult to qualify for a mortgage or a refinance. The banks have overcompensated for their previous laxity by creating an environment where getting approved for a loan is near impossible. Even a person with excellent credit who has been paying the mortgage bill on time for years has difficulty getting approved. How ridiculous is that? The refinanced mortgage will result in a lower payment and the individual has already demonstrated the ability to pay on time for years at a higher level. Isn't it less risky he/she will default at a lower mortgage payment. This is where government can step in and do something useful for the homeowner and the economy. There should be a national program to be able to refinance your home loan at current interest rates with very few qualifications and no cash out.

My next gripe is title insurance. The entire concept is ridiculous. In order to refinance I am required to have a title search on my property that only I have owned for the last 13 years. The title search is basically a few clicks on the Internet to look to see if there are any liens on the property. To make it worse if the "person" doing the title search is in error I have to pay title insurance to cover for his error. This is parallel to me charging a person my fee for a doctors visit and then charging an additional fee to pay for my malpractice insurance. Additionally title insurance fees are set by regulators when it should be market based and allowed to float like other insurance products. This entire industry of title search/insurance is a hindrance to refinancing property and needs to be adjusted. The problem is they are typically owned by lawyers. Need I say more.

Another innovation could be that a person could take out a mortgage at theses low rates with the condition that he could later sell the property with the mortgage as a package. In other words, the buyer would assume the mortgage of the seller. Locking in a low rate would significantly increase the value of the property to a potential buyer. This simple innovation would trigger rapid investment in the overhanging supply of houses as investors would predict a gain not only in the underlying property but also the increased value of a low interest rate mortgage which they could pass on to the buyer. Of course the buyer would have to qualify with the bank prior to the transition.

These three steps would dramatically spur the real estate market. They would also free up much needed cash flow in people's pockets to be able to spend more and invigorate the economy. It would also trigger job creation within the mortgage and construction industries. The only losers are the lawyers and therefore a perfect plan.