Dear rss free blog,
For
many years I was addicted to reading “Spengler” on Asia Times
on-line. This Spengler (ohne Oswald) wrote about the decline
of the west with a more modern mordant appeal. He was a strong
advocate of Franz Rosenzweig’s theological musings, most of which you
have to be German Jewish (like me) to appreciate, and even for my ilk
it is tough going.
Last
year, Spengler was outed as being in fact David P. Goldman, a
harpsichordist and economist who had co-authored a book called “Dope
Inc.” for Lyndon LaRouche, the right-wing populist and conspiracy
theorist. Goldman had gone to work for First Things, a
Catholic monthly, but he continues to put out the occasional Spengler
piece. Usually they are opinionated, philosophical, and hysterically
funny. He is still strongly promoted as a writer for Asia Times.
Over
the last two days I have vainly sought Asia Times‘s view on
the Google plan to cease observing Chinese censorship rules,
and to possibly pull out of China search and e-mail. Google announced
its plans because of hackers were tracking Chinese dissidents by
phishing their G-mail accounts, exploiting loopholes in Microsoft
Internet Explorer, and planting trojans in Adobe attachments. This
enabled Beijing to silence them. Rumor has it that Yahoo
Chinese users are being similarly betrayed.
There
has been no word from Asia Times. Now I call upon Mr. Goldman
who is after all gainfully employed with a publication in my city, to
either write about the hacking by China in Asia Times, or end
his relationship with those toadies to the PRC. I am sure he will be
guided, not by me, but by the original Spengler and Rosenzweig.
Rosenzweig, raised as a secular Jew, famously planned to convert to
Christianity but decided to visit the synagogue on Yom Kippur before
rejecting his birth religion. He was so moved by the service that he
stayed a Jew.
*A
secret Swiss source reports on the CEO of Novartis which
is trying to short-change US shareholders of Alcon
(ACL) like us. Daniel Vasella is an MD and PMD (the Harvard Biz
School short degree) Last month Vasella (who has shaved his beard)
won sympathy when animal rights activists painted slogans on the
graves of his parents, and his sister, who died at age 18 of
Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
But
my source writes: Il n’est tout simplement pas
fréquentable. Here’s more.
I
met Vasella once. He is an arrogant nerd who likes to dress up as a
tough Harley-Davidson biker and now lives across the lake of Zug, my
hometown, where we have been for generations generally nice to each
other. (Robin Williams calls the Swiss the “nice” Germans. I
won’t go there.) Anyway, while [Jean-Marie} Messier was piling
assets together to create Vivendi,
{which collapsed], Vasella, of similar ilk, put together Ciba
Geigy
with Sandoz
to create Novartis. He spends his time squeezing and screwing my
friends, carpenters and painters etc. he hired to build his new
villa.
Why
would a multi-millionaire try to cheat workmen building his villa?
Says the Swiss source:
It’s
funny how some people’s behavior never varies whatsoever and how
easy it seems to be to judge them by the ‘small’ things they do
(wrong).
So
some Swiss with high ethical standards are not enchanted with Vasella
either. Others are unhappy because Vasella is bringing more bad
publicity to the Helvetian Confederation after scandals about
everything from US tax cheats’ diamonds in toothpaste tubes to
denying the heirs of Holocaust victims money in Swiss bank accounts.
To say nothing of helping the Duvaliers loot Haiti.
Citigroup
downrated ACL to neutral from buy yesterday. We also rate it a hold
on the assumption that the lowball offer will not prevail.
Novartis
executives are insisting that “a contract is a contract” over
overproduction of swine flu shots and is binding on governments.
Vasella’s team take their lead from the boss. “We consider the
contracts binding, but we will discuss options with different
governments. However this will be done within the framework of the
contracts,” Novartis spokesman Eric Althoff told Bloomberg.
Among the countries where NVS is trying to enforce contracts despite
flu jab oversupply is its native Switzerland.
More
on flu jab oversupply from a recommended company follows for paid
subscribers.
