I have two things I need to address today

-Stupidity and the tendency of people to act against their own interest

and

-Bald-faced, shameless hypocrisy

STUPIDITY

I buy and sell antiques. I go to auctions. The way it works is this. Auctioneer says: "Lot #128, Victorian Tea Caddy, opening bid is $50." Then people bid against each other. The last bidder wins.

I went to a strange auction last week. Worked the opposite way. Auctioneer says "This is a gorgeous Persian rug appraised at $10,000. I will open the bidding at $7,000, do I hear $6,000, $4,000, $2,000, $1,000 - I have a bid at $1,000. Do I have a bid for $1100, no, all through and done at $1,000

This happened over and over. I sat there slackjawed as people did not pick up on the fact that he would keep going down to $100 if they kept their mouths shut. They also didn't understand it was a "no reserve" auction. You could stop him anytime and say "I bid $100." Which I did on a few occasions. By doing that the average sell price on a piece was cut by 75%.

Yet these morons kept playing his game and stopping him on the way down. I got up and left after 30 minutes.

HYPOCRISY

This one just jumped off the screen today.

WASHINGTON (AFP)JANUARY 27, 2006 - Top US officials, recognizing China's growing influence, say they are trying to persuade Beijing to act as a "responsible actor" on the world stage amid disagreements and rivalry between the two powers.

With China's rising star dominating the World Economic Forum in Davos, US representatives sounded a note of apprehension about Beijing's diplomacy.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it was up to Washington and other powers to encourage China to act as a "stakeholder" in the international arena and not merely pursue its own economic interests.

EDITOR/ME: Hahahaha, are you kidding me, coming from the country that taught the world how to pursue economic interests at the cost of all else?

"Now, the rise of China is something we don't only take note of, but we believe that there is an obligation by all of the powers, but perhaps particularly the United States, to engage in policies that will encourage ... the responsible stakeholder China, the China that sees it has an obligation in the international system to promote and, in fact, to defend peace and security," Rice said Thursday in a video conference at the Davos event.

"China is, after all, one of the permanent five members of the Security Council," Rice said.

EDITOR/ME: Yes, China please take note, to be a real stakeholder you need to be extremely biased toward authoritarian regimes, invade other countries, bomb other countries, murder foreign leaders and promote coups around the world. You are really lagging as a stakeholder in world peace.

Washington has been lobbying China to set aside its economic appetite for oil and back calls for Iran to be referred to the UN Security Council over its nuclear program.

EDITOR/ME: Right so the largest oil consumer in the world (25%) of the total is telling China to cut back on use. Our foreign policy and economic system is based on the oil standard and our current leaders are all oil men. What nerve.

"Nobody told me there'd be days like these, strange days indeed, most peculiar momma"

-Jon Lennon

disclaimer: Not stupid people or hypocrites were harmed during the making of this thread.