Addendum #2

School vacation week is over, and thus I am able to return to my responsibilities here. It's not that I haven't been out and about on the blogosphere. I have been rather busy elsewhere, involved in discussions about pacifism, sacramentalism, goddess-worship and sundry other topics. No, I have not been Gandalf warring with the Balrog, nor do I return as a White Wizard. In fact, it is more likely that I return greyer than ever.

A few notes before I return to what it is I do here. First, continuing with the Larry Summers resignation from Harvard, I want to add this detail culled from a Wall Street Journal (2/22/06) article about the matter. President Summers, or so it is reported, apparently did not win the praises of Jack R. Meyer, the former CEO of Harvard Management Corporation (HMC). According to the article, HMC manages Harvard's paltry endowment of $25 billion. Apparently Meyer was "disappointed Mr. Summers didn't stand up to alumni critics who contended that some of [HMC's] employees were too highly paid." Of course, I can understand Meyer's concerns, as the top two investment managers at HMC earned a mere pittance, with one earning in fiscal 2003 $35. 1 million and the other $34.1 million. And to think that bad Mr. Summers would not chastise critics who thought these folks were paid too much!

But for most of us here at Contratimes, we find ourselves disturbed by the realization that if we were to take the endowments of most of the towns we live in, we would not only not reach Harvard's level of endowment, we might not even reach the dollar amounts some HMC folks earn in a year.

Second, I am glad that I have shown restraint regarding the Dubai Ports Authority brouhaha that emerged ex nihilo overnight last week. My initial reaction was one of incredulity: How could Washington be so politically naive? But as I've winnowed the wheat from the chaff, I am a bit relieved to learn that not all is as scary as I heard from both ends of the political spectrum. While Dubai/United Arab Emirates may in fact be a Trojan Horse, a very westernized deception that portends disaster in the future for America; and while the whole thing is at the very least bad PR, the deal itself is not as dire as initially reported.

What is interesting, though, is the fear-mongering about Dubai by those who claim that President Bush is the master of promoting fear. What is the message of Bush's critics? Those Arabs are dangerous!!!

Peace!

©Bill Gnade 2006/Contratimes - All Rights Reserved.