A Poor Result in the French Presidential Election

Published: Fri, 05/11/12

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In This Issue:

Statins May Halve Heart-Attack Risk By Richard C. Young
The Jobs Are Right Here By E.J. Smith
Cato Institue Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty Winner: Mao Yushi By Richard C. Young
A Poor Result in the French Presidential Election By Richard C. Young
WAVE – Advanced Stabilized Remote Controlled Weapon Station The Editors
Why Not Cut Foreign Aid? The Editors

Young Investments Client Letter: Sign up to get the letter mailed directly to you by clicking here.

April Client Letter: What to Expect for Stocks in 2012: Serious Risks Revealed
What should stock market investors expect for the rest of the year? While we cannot predict the future, we continue to see a generally pleasing environment for stocks in 2012. Ultra-low interest rates on treasury bonds offer little competition for stocks, which have the powerful tailwind of election-year fiscal and monetary stimulus working in their favor. On the surface, a favorable near-term outlook for the stock market may give the impression that things are fine, but a look beneath the surface reveals serious risks. —Click here to read more in the New April Client Letter from Young Investments

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Statins May Halve Heart-Attack Risk

This archived Time article recently caught my attention. Halving heart-attack risk would sure be a welcome result. The article noted the following:

17,800 people were tracked in the study.
Half (8,900) were given a placebo.
Half (8,900) were given the statin drug Crestor.
Over about two years, the article notes, 31 statin-takers suffered a heart attack.
When compared to the placebo group, the figures translate to a 54% lower risk of heart attack.
It would thus calculate that perhaps 67 non-statin takers suffered a heart attack.
Thus 36 heart attacks were potentially prevented.
The NNT (number needed to treat): 8,900 people needed to be treated to prevent 36 potential heart attacks.
It can thus be calculated that 247 people needed to be given Crestor to potentially prevent one heart attack.

And the headline reads that heart attack risk was halved! What’s your read?

A 247 NNT holds little appeal for me. How about you?

I would be interested in what side effects occurred for the entire 8,900 Crestor takers.

>> read more

The Jobs Are Right Here

On April 27, the Boeing Company rolled out its first 787 Dreamliner from its North Charleston plant with “Made with Pride in South Carolina” written on its side. It’s the first commercial jet built on the East Coast by a nonunion workforce. South Carolina is a right-to-work state.

Being a right-to-work state means you can’t be forced to join a union as a condition of employment. Boeing management felt this to be worth something—enough to build a South Carolina plant that is basically on the opposite side of the country from the one in Everett, Washington, where Dreamliners are also made.

This is a huge move for Boeing. It wouldn’t have been done had Washington been a right-to-work state. But states are becoming more and more competitive with each other. Boeing seized the opportunity to build jets in a more competitive locale.

Now if you were a union worker in Everett, wouldn’t you demand that union leadership do something about this? The problem, it would appear, is that union leadership has no incentive to make Boeing more competitive in Everett. They are working to keep the union strong—working for the status quo.

But when management moved to build the plant in North Charleston, South Carolina, a direct competitor to the union shop in Everett was created. Competition is the last thing union leadership wants. That’s why they fought this move tooth and nail through the National Labor Relations Board, finally coming to a settlement with management.

It would appear North Charleston is open for business. If you were a union member in Everett, wouldn’t it cross your mind to look into getting work at the South Carolina plant? The weather’s nice, and you could probably get a good job since you know how to build planes. I’d guess this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that may not be available in Everett for long.

Non-right-to-work states, like Washington and Rhode Island, for example, should do whatever it takes to become more competitive. Being a right-to-work state does matter. It sends the message to workers that they’re partners with management—while union leadership has proven to be a wedge. Government needs to let businesses do business.Keep Your Cash Safe
Keep your money safe. If you have some cash at home, keep it in a safe. But don’t go crazy with spending money to store your money. I recently read about a $30,000 bed with a built-in safe. I wouldn’t sleep well at night if I spent that kind of money on a bed. But do keep your cash locked up. There’s nothing like being up all night upset about losing money.

My congratulations to Chinese economist Mao Yushi, and the politically independent Cato Institute. Milton Friedman’s spirit lives.

From the Cato Institute:

The Cato Institute has announced that Mao Yushi, one of China’s most outspoken and influential activists for individual rights and free markets, has been named the 2012 winner of the Cato Institute’s Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty.

Mao, an 83-year-old economist, is a well-known advocate for an open and transparent political system and is one of the pioneers of the movement in China for civil society and freedom. Before economic reform began in China in 1978, he had been an engineer and during his lifetime has faced severe punishment, exile, and near starvation for remarks critical of a command-based economy and society. During the Cultural Revolution, he and his family were deprived of all of their property, and in 2011 he angered some in China with his article “Returning Mao Zedong to Human Form,” which boldly calculated the human cost of Mao’s brutal Communist policies from 1949 to 1976. The article led to calls for his prosecution and execution, with 50,000 left-faction members signing a petition that called for his imprisonment on charges of treason. Immediately following the article’s appearance he had to be surrounded by students to protect him from physical attack from zealots, while the government remained silent and neutral.

Read more about Chinese economist, Mao Yushi and the Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty by clicking here.

Here Debbie and I are in Paris for the French election. Everyone we have spoken with views Hollande the socialist in exactly the same light as President Obama. Not one wanted a Hollande victory, nor can imagine how America could reelect Obama. Here it is the immigrant handout crowd, the leftist students and their academic professors, and the public sector employees and unions who supported the socialist. Business owners young and old are appalled, and wonder how France can compete with the Asian Tigers. And who is it that fills the beautiful upscale stores in Paris? The stores are packed with Asians.

IMI has developed the Wave, an advanced, stabilized remotely operated weapon station designed for 7.62mm, 12.7mm / 0.5” machinguns and 40mm Grenade Launchers. Wave is a field proven system and is currently in serial production.

The low-profile system is designed for easy integration with the vehicle, maintaining a cost effective solution. Both weapon and optronic modules are stabilized, enabling surveillance, observation and targeting in stationary or on the move conditions, and effective engagement of moving targets. The system comes with an integral, stabilized optronic assembly, designed to be flexible and modular, accommodating specific customer furnished equipment or requirements.

Wave is operated by a single crew member, controlling the sight and weapon from a control panel located within the protected cabin. In addition to system’s control, the console also provides image-processing and enhancement, improving performance at night and under limited visibility conditions.

The WAVE line of Advanced, Remotely Operated Weapon Stations comprises four models, all equipped with advanced servo controlled pedestal with optional stabilization, mounting different types of weapons, and advanced optronics. Employing the Wave, operators can continue to perform all combat missions, including day and night observation, target acquisition and weapon operation, while protected by the armor.

Of the four models, Wave 100 and 200 are designed to mount a wide range of light, medium or heavy automatic weapons including 7.62 mm light machine gun or the Browning 0.5″ heavy machine guns or various types of 40mm Automatic Grenade Launchers (AGL). The Wave 300 model is uniquely tailored for the 12.7 mm NSTV machine gun commonly used in the Eastern Bloc. The WAVE 200 Weapon Station is mounted on the Panhard VBR vehicle, on display at the IMI stand C701.

At Eurosatory, IMI introduces WAVE 400, the latest member of IMI’s family of remotely operated weapon stations. WAVE 400 represents a new, modular approach featuring light weight, small dimensions and affordability, providing a cost effective solution for equipping large numbers of light armored vehicles with this life saving capability. Like the other weapon stations in the WAVE family, the Wave 400 accommodates weapons of different calibers. It is designed primarily for the M240 7.62mm machine gun, but can also be adapted to mount a Browning 0.5″ HMG. WAVE-400 is equipped with full-featured electro-optical channel and control system. The modular design can accommodate add-on features tailored for the user’s requirements. The WAVE-400 is mounted on the Musketeer Multirole Light Armored Vehicle from Saymar, displayed at the Israeli Pavilion at Hall 6, stand B 640.

Source: Israel Military Industries Ltd.

>> read more

Why Not Cut Foreign Aid?

On a website, the U.S. government has made it easy to see which countries are benefitting from U.S. tax dollars. It should come as no surprise that many of the world’s poorest nations receive aid from Americans. The United States has long been the most generous nation in the world. But some of the nations that received aid are a shock. Enemy nations are on the list, even all four members of the State Department’s list of State Sponsors of Terror—the worst of the worst. Below is a short list of rogues who received your money in 2009 (the latest data available on the map).

Pakistan	$1,312,666,611
Sudan*	$1,164,879,310
Somalia	$178,745,637
Russia	$72,632,268
China	$26,806,697
Cuba*	$20,236,503
Syria*	$18,561,224
North Korea	$13,585,852
Venezuela	$5,799,077
Iran*	$674,506

The countries with asterisks are designated State Sponsors of Terror, while many of the others are former designees. Many also are current or former communist nations. America’s worst enemies, either former or current, are receiving aid from Americans’ tax dollars.

You would think that if America is so generous with its enemies, it must really take care of its friends. Not exactly. In 2009, after a financial crisis, Iceland, a NATO ally, was in dire straits. How much did the generous American government dole out to Iceland? Not a penny. America’s allies in Iceland got nothing, while oil rich countries like Russia, Iran and Venezuela all received aid.

Are you thinking that’s chump change as you look at the totals given to some countries? That is understandable given the amount of money the U.S. government spends each year. But think about it like this—add up the totals from the rogue’s gallery above, and America could pay for the nearly 1.8 million Americans on food stamps for a year or put 86,000 freshmen through college. The government could even let Americans keep their money and decide for themselves if they’d like to spend the money on charity.

So what did the enemy nations above do with their U.S. tax-payer money? Most expanded their militaries. Syria is spending its money to brutally crack down on its citizens. Iran and North Korea are both pursuing increasingly advanced missile technology and possibly nuclear weapons. Congressman Ron Paul was criticized for suggesting America end all foreign aid. But at the very least, isn’t it time to end foreign aid to rogue nations and admitted enemies of the American people?