Traditional.

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Taxes

It turned out that Mr. Buffett, with immense income from dividends and capital gains, paid far, far less as a fraction of his income than the secretaries or the clerks or anyone else in his office. Further, in conversation it came up that Mr. Buffett doesn’t use any tax planning at all. He just pays as the Internal Revenue Code requires. “How can this be fair?” he asked of how little he pays relative to his employees. “How can this be right?”

Even though I agreed with him, I warned that whenever someone tried to raise the issue, he or she was accused of fomenting class warfare.

“There’s class warfare, all right,” Mr. Buffett said, “but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”

This conversation keeps coming back to mind because, in the last couple of weeks, I have been on one television panel after another, talking about how questionable it is that the country is enjoying what economists call full employment while we are still running a federal budget deficit of roughly $434 billion for fiscal 2006 (not counting off-budget items like Social Security) and economists forecast that it will grow to $567 billion in fiscal 2010.

• In Class Warfare, Guess Which Class is Winning
  

(27 Nov 2006, NYTimes.com)

Google TechTalks

I hit some paydirt, today, thanks to Treehugger.com.

Back when I was lucky enough to visit the Googleplex, we passed through a room where they told us about these TechTalks. I imagine they told us this, but it didn't quite register that they post these on Google Video.

So, if you think you'd actually care to know a little more about Facebook as compared to other social networking sites, check out this video.

• Treehugger: Google TechTalks: Climate Change, Carbon Trading and Biofuels
• Other Google TechTalks
  

Song of the Week: Hedwig!

I've definitely played this way too many times in the last two days...

"Wig in a Box"
from the Hedwig and the Angry Inch soundtrack

Pakistan moves to amend rape laws

Woah:

"Pakistan's national assembly has voted to amend the country's strict Sharia laws on rape and adultery.

Until now rape cases were dealt with in Sharia courts. Victims had to have four male witnesses to the crime - if not they faced prosecution for adultery.

Now civil courts will be able to try rape cases, assuming the upper house and the president ratify the move.

The reform has been seen as a test of President Musharraf's stated commitment to a moderate form of Islam.

Religious parties boycotted the vote saying the bill encouraged "free sex".

A woman is raped every two hours and gang-raped every eight hours in Pakistan, according to the country's independent Human Rights Commission.:

• Pakistan votes to amend rape laws (15 Nov 2006 - BBC)

song of the week

actually, this was my song in mid-September. thanks to Raed for getting me hooked on this album:

"Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors" by Radiohead, Amnesiac

Kiwi!

Election Day is Washington's Super Bowl...

Election Day is Washington's Super Bowl, complete with funny commercials and accidental boobs.

- Last Call (and ripped from Courtney S.'s Facebook notes)

Keith Olbermann makes a point