BP - Tax Deductions to Contribute to Paying for Oil Mess

Wonder how BP is going to pay for the $32 billion it estimates the gulf oil spill, cleanup and compensation will cost the company? Think they are simply going to pay up and move on? Oh no, they are going to make sure they come out even on the deal and don't take the hit to their bottom line.

How are they going to do that?

Well, part of their answer is to deduct $10 billion of the cost from their U.S. taxes.

Yep. A third of the expendatures they're laying out they are going to recoup by not paying taxes.

I'm not saying that this is illegal or anything, and I understand that BP is committing the $32 billion. But, I bring this up because I think this maneuver again shows you the nature and motivation of big business. In this case, a company is ready and willing to deduct the cost of a disaster it caused from their taxes to help pay for it's cleanup...depriving the U.S. public of funds that in a more equitable situation it should in receive as compensation for this mess.

Oh, and how will BP make up the rest of the $32 billion so they don't go into the black? It appears they will sell off certain elements of their business to raise the funds. This certainly makes sense, but the thing that is interesting to me is even after doing that, BP will STILL be the second biggest oil company in the world. This is a massive, massive international company. Is it any wonder they have so much influence on our government, its policies and energy regulation?

Naked, Gay, Vietnam Taj...and Don't Tread On Me

As I like to do about once every quarter, the other day I checked in on my Flickr Photostream to see what were the 10 most viewed pictures of mine that people across the Internet were viewing.

 Most  were similar to quarters past. My closeup of detail on the Taj Mahal in India is by far and away the most looked at with more than 1,400 views.

After that it's a repeat from previous quarters with an aircraft carrier in South Carolina, the Don't Tread On Me flag, various pictures of Vietnam, the Beijing Olympic stadium and paraders from the 2009 Seattle Gay Pride festivities.

New to the top 10 and skyrocketing into place number eight in just about a month since I posted it is a picture of naked bicycle riders from the Fremont Solstice Parade in Seattle this year.

So, what does this tell us?

Well, there appears to be a massive appetite for close ups of the Taj Mahal. Who knew?

After that, for kicks I'll break it down this way this time...there seems to a pattern perhaps along political lines:

• On the left there are some free spirits seeking pictures of naked paraders and/or gay paraders and some travel shots of Asia.

• On the right there are some uptight and traditional people looking for aircraft carriers, the iconic "don't tread on me" flag that has become a symbol of the Tea Party and shots of "the 'Nam."

 But who knows?

Why Does Everything "Suck"?

You suck.

That movie really sucked.

The Seahawks really sucked today.

Working for the man sucks.

The word "sucks" is ubiquitous in today's American language. I'm sure you've noticed...and probably use the word many times a day without even thinking about it.

It's always used to express displeasure or to disparage something or someone and is commonly accepted as a non-offensive word. It's everywhere - in TV programs, in commercials, in movies, in articles and other writings. Children and adults alike use the word.

But do you know where the term originated? What it means?

I've had my hunches, but seeing a recent TV ad in which a "suck-o-meter" is used to make some point or another about how the product being promoted doesn't "suck" demonstrated to me how much this word is in our culture and got me thinking about why such as strange term would be used to express a negative feeling or judgement.

Well, the first thing to know is that yes, "suck" is a term for oral sex. This is what I had assumed all along, and perhaps you did too. But, the real mystery is why it is so commonly used in general society. And I think the answer suggests perhaps it isn't a great term to be throwing around so easily.

OK, back in the day...like, the 60s and 70s and probably before..."sucks" was used in a very negative way as shorthand to essentially say, "you suck c*%#k" or "that sucks c*%#k." So, the intention was a degrading insult. But, it was also usually meant to imply that "you are gay." So, it's a bigoted term too - anti-gay. The translation of "you suck" was "you are gay and suck c*%#k." Because it was offensive, you didn't hear it as much and it wasn't in media, movies and print.

Perhaps the defining moment for the word "sucks" - proving its anti-gay insult status AND its adoption into everyday American syntax - is the whole "disco sucks" thing that happened in the 1970s. Disco music started in the gay clubs in NYC in the mid-70s and had a following in the African American community too...and it spread from those places into the general American culture as a sizable sector of our population wanted to get down.

Along the way, some people who were not gay, black or living in NYC took exception to the disco sounds they were hearing on the radio and the disco fashion they were seeing on the street. It all seemed awfully "gay" to them...and in their contempt they started saying, "disco sucks." By the mid to late 1970s, this essentially homophobic and racist mantra was picked up on rock radio stations as DJs became distraught over their beloved Stones, Zep, Rush and Sabbath being scaled back on airplay in favor of dance songs by Donna Summer, The Village People, Chic and other disco acts. Hitting the airwaves daily, the term "sucks" was used to describe disco in a derogatory way...and spread broadly from there.

At this stage, two events in particular really really propelled and solidified the use of the word "suck" as mainstream. First, the movie Saturday Night Fever in 1978 was a HUGE hit nationally - spreading the groovy disco sound across all corners of America and generating the predictable backlash call of "disco sucks!" among people who may not have quite appreciated the innovation of the Bee Gees and John Travolta and his white suit. Second, the Disco Demolition Night at Comisky Park in Chicago in 1979 where nearly 90,000 people responded to a Chicago area DJ's call to bring disco records to the field to literally blow them up before the start of a White Sox game. Following the initial explosion, a mini riot started on the plying field.

This stunt came across for what it was - low brow and reactionary. It also got a lot of attention in the media...complete with the "disco sucks" chants from the crowd and "disco sucks" signs in the stadium. America, say hello to your new term for saying something is not good.

The rest as they say is history. All of a sudden, many things "sucked." And that's how it is today. Thirty years on from the baseball stadium stunt and the heyday of disco, even kids cartoons say things "suck" when they want to say something is not good.

There are those who defend the modern use of the word and I can see some of the logic, but primarily I try and not use the word myself because each time I do I think that it's a lame way to say something that could be articulated better with other words and it has a quite homophobic and racist history. The word is so ingrained in our culture that I am sure I will still use it reflexively now and again, but I'm trying to dial it back.

Excursion to Egypt - Aswan & Crusin' the Nile

After a couple days in Cairo, we took a morning flight all the way down to the southern region of Egypt to the city of Aswan. Arriving to 110 degree temperatures at 10 a.m., this is where we boarded our Nile River cruise ship that would take us down the river to more spectacular sites. However, before our river journey began, there were a number of things we did right there in the Aswan area.

Ship and Felucca
From the airport we were transported through Aswan and down to the river where our cruise ship, the Movenpik Royal Lily, awaited. This thing looked like most every other cruise ship on the river from the outside, but inside it was like staying in a W Hotel. We had a very comfortable cabin with big windows facing out to the river, king sized bed, couch and lounge, killer air conditioning and more. Really nice.

After we checked in, but before lunch, we decided to go up top deck and take a dip in the pool to cool off. As reached the doorway up to the pool, I observed a thermometer outside that said the temperature had risen to 120 degrees. That pool really was going to feel good. And it did. But here's the thing - I left the card key for our room and my flip-flops on the pool deck as we swam around for about 10 minutes. When a went to fetch them, the key card had melted into a warped piece of plastic and my flip-flops were far too hot to wear. I had to quickly scoop them up and scamper into the shady part of the deck. After lunch we attempted to go up on the deck again to sit in the shade and read, but by this time the temperature had reached 131 degrees! After a minute of that Diane said, "this isn't good, lets go back to the cabin." She was right and we did.

Later that evening around sunset, when the temperature had cooled to a chilly 90 degrees or so, we went on a fun boat ride on a vessel called a Felucca. Basically, they are small sail boats the likes of which have plied the Nile for centuries. This was a fun excursion as it got us out on the river, in the breeze and we could see Aswan from the river perspective. At right is a picture of a felucca sailing in front of Aswan to give you the idea.

Aswan High Dam

After a restful night on the boat moored at Aswan, the next morning we went to the Aswan "high dam." Built in the 1960s, the dam is one of Egypt's major sources of revenue and regional power. It's also one of the biggest dams in the world. By bottling up the Nile, Egypt can produce a massive amount of electricity with the dam that it uses domestically and exports all around the Middle East. And, by controlling the flow of the Nile, the government can reduce the instances of devastating flooding and occupy the position of a major player in water issues for most of North Africa.

While the dam does not have the "wow" factor of, say, the Great Pyramids, it is clear that this structure is as important - if not more so - to the Egyptian economy and way of life than any tourist attraction. That's why our guide made a point of showing it to us. Here is a shot of the dam. You can see it in the middle of the picture at the back.

After the dam, we went into Aswan town and did some shopping. We purchased some beautiful glass perfume bottles that artisans from that area are known for.

Nubian Village
Later in the afternoon, with only our guide and another couple, we took a motor boat up the river to a Nubian village for a visit. Nubia is a region in the south of Egypt and most of the Sudan. Nubians are the native people of that area. In this instance, we went to one of their homes for a visit. I'm not sure how "typical" the home was as there were plenty of things to buy sitting around (kickback to the guide no doubt), but none of that was a distraction and our visit proved to be interesting. For example, we got up close and personal with some crocodiles. From a balcony offering shade and views of the Nile, we snacked on some home made bread, cheese and honey. And, we partook in smoking from the hooka water pipe - tobacco only just so you know. We really enjoyed this little get-away within our trip because it allowed us to see something off the beaten path, see how some Nubians live, and experience some tastes and smells to go along with all the sights and sounds of Egypt. Here are a couple pictures from our visit:

Temples-O-Plenty

After seeing the Aswan high dam, but before the Nubian village, we took a small boat over to an island to visit the Temple of Isis. In the heat of the day, we wandered through the ancient doorways and worship chambers, marveling at how old the construction is, how well preserved the carved hieroglyphs were and pondering what the Egyptians of old would have done here in this place thousands of years ago. This was our first temple tour and the basic construction and shape were the template for most the other temples we would see on the trip.

Shoving off later that that afternoon from Aswan, our ship chugged down the river to the site of one of the best preserved ancient temples called Kom Ombo. Notice I said "down" the river. The Nile is one of the only - and certainly the largest - rivers in the world that flows south to north. So, our ship journeyed north back toward Cairo.To be honest, between the time zone change, three aggressive days and the evening hour...we were exhausted by the time we started our exploration of the Kom Ombo temple at dusk. 



But, the sunset and twilight hour bathed the temple beautiful hues, and we learned that the site is the only ancient Egyptian temple that honors two gods simultaneously - Horus (the Hawk) and Sobek (the Crocodile). The temple was also a center for medicine and houses the original ancient Egyptian calendar - remarkably accurate. Ready to drop, we ate a late dinner and then hit the sack and slept hard. In the morning, our ship sailed down river again - this time the destination was a town called Edfu. 

Edfu is not a tourist destination itself, although you could get an education on what a typical Egyptian town is like by hanging out there. What the city does have is one of the biggest, best preserved ancient Egyptian temples left standing...and we toured it. By this point we were becoming experts on what these temples looked like, how they were constructed and which rooms served which purposes. With this knowledge in our memory banks, the visit here was more about appreciating the art than learning anything new about the structure's function or history itself. Following an enjoyable - and hot! - visit, we went back to the ship and sailed onward in the afternoon toward Luxor.

NOTE: All pictures featured in this article were taken by me, Marc Osborn. They are copy written in my name and are not authorized for any use by anyone without written permission directly from me. 

Excursion to Egypt: Cairo, A City of Sites and Size

Last month, Diane and I took a fascinating trip to Egypt where we visited some of the world's oldest and most famous sights. For those interested in what we saw, did and felt about this adventure, I will post a few entries about it under the title "Excursion to Egypt." You can also see a set of pictures from our trip by clicking HERE.

To kick things off...

Cairo, A City of Sites and Size
The first thing that impressed me about Cairo as we rode in from the airport after arrival was that it is huge. HUGE. Locals will tell you there are anywhere from 18 million to 30 million people living "in Cairo." It just depends on who you ask. I don't honestly think it's that big, even if you factor in all the outlying and connected cities that make up the greater megatropolis. But, for sure the population is in the 10-15 million people range...and that does feel like 22 million. Trust me. It also means pollution. Bad pollution. I thought we'd never see pollution again like we witnessed in Shanghai, but I was wrong. Cairo is just as bad.

And all those people? Most have cars and use them. This makes for some of the worst, most congested traffic we've ever seen. With millions of cars moving around daily, there are bound to be accidents, and we saw three in person.

For all the perceptions of the Middle East as a dangerous place in terms of terrorism or just anti-Americanism, I will tell you definitively that your biggest risk of death or injury in Egypt is a car accident. That's right. It's not suicide bombers, machine guns or anything like that that's gonna get you in Egypt. Nope. Far from it. But a car accident just might. Below are pictures of two of them we saw:

Also, the look of Cairo is not beautiful. At least not to me. The city sprawls endlessly with office and apartment buildings galore. Some of them are ramshackle tower blocks, some of poorly build brick structures and some are more modern, but none are what most people would call "nice looking" buildings. And about 90% of them are either brown, grey or brown/grey in color. This makes colorful buildings really stick out. Here is one building that caught my eye:  

 We did have dinner and wander around the Zamalek neighborhood and that does have what I would call a nicer, more "old Cairo" feel to it with boutique shops, nice restaurants, narrow streets and old architecture. Of course, even in that neighborhood you are only a few streets away from mega freeways, tower blocks, congestion and crowds.

Down by the Nile River, things get better, however. We stayed at the very nice Grand Hyatt hotel with a view of the river and - on a clear day - the Great Pyramids too. For anyone going to Cairo, I would recommend this place as an oasis for the hustle and bustle of the city.

In the end though, you're coming to Cairo to see some major world historical sites and not the streets, buildings and neighborhoods. Here's what we checked out...

Egyptian Museum

The first site we saw as part of our tour was the famous Egyptian Museum. This is the building that holds the largest set of the artifacts from the tombs of ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, including the spectacular and golden contents of the tomb of King Tutankhamen.

 Our group gathered in the crowded front courtyard where large groups of other tourists milled around or formed up into their groups. For the first time on this trip I realized there were a lot of Russians around. Wherever we've been in the world, we tend to see large groups of Japanese tourists and then also usually a good representation of Australians, Germans, Brits and a few Americans. Never have we seen packs or tour groups of Russians. Apparently they like coming to Egypt.

Having sized up who all was there, our small group of 16 people headed on into the building. There are loads of things to see in the museum, but I'll give you my top three:

1. The first thing most people stop to see is The Rosetta Stone. This is an ancient tablet of rock that has a single message carved into it, but in three different languages - Greek, Demotic Egyptian script and Egyptian Hieroglyphs. Discovered by more modern day explorers in 1799 the fact that the indecipherable hieroglyphs appeared on the same stone with the same message in a known language - ancient Greek - began to unlock the mystery of the hieroglyphs. Unfortunately, the original stone has resided in the British Museum in London since 1802. The one in the Egyptian Museum is an exact replica.
2. Another impressive thing to see here are the mummies of the ancient Pharaohs. That's right, you get to see the actual Pharaohs! Mummified for thousands of years, these bodies are remarkably well preserved - to the degree that you can see what these people looked like.
3. The other "gotta see" display in the museum is the comprehensive set of items taken from the tomb of King Tut. Unlike all the other Pharaohs tombs, Tutankhamen's was found in tact and undisturbed. The items in the tomb had not been stolen or damaged - simply sitting there unmoved since they were sealed away all those thousands of years ago. This means today we get to see what a Pharaoh's tomb contained all in one place. With all the gold, inlay, and jeweled work...it is impressive!

You can't take pictures inside the museum, so I have no shots of the wonderful things we saw. But, it's pretty easy to get the idea. For example, click HERE.

The Great Pyramids
The next major thing we saw were the towering and impressive Great Pyramids of Giza. Dating back more than 4,000 years, these are the ones you grew up seeing pictures of.

The first thing we learned was that there is only one "Great Pyramid." It's the Pyramid of Cheops. It's the largest and tallest one - on the left in my picture below. The other two are also massive, but technically not "great pyramids."

The Pyramids were tombs built by Pharaohs as monuments to their rein and to act as vessels for their trip into the next life. Being huge structures visible for miles around, they also attracted a lot of robbers and thieves who within a few years stripped out all items of value. This primarily why the Egyptian kings began building hidden underground tombs in the Valley of the Kings up river near Luxor.

Anyway, seeing these structures in person is impressive. How did they build them? How could they have done this so long ago with such primitive technology? How have they been able to stand so long? These are the questions and mysteries that make seeing these pyramids so interesting. You also really set your mortality in proper balance when you see something that's been around for that long. I mean, if you're lucky you maybe live 80-90 years. These things have been standing for 4,000 years! Wow.

After viewing an ancient Nile River boat that had been found in one of the tombs nearby the pyramids, we proceeded out a little ways and saddled up for a camel ride with a view of the structures. That was fun...and here's a picture to prove it:

Certainly, viewing the pyramids together is a lifetime highlight for Diane and me and I would recommend anyone visiting Egypt should see them too. You should also check out the night time "Sound and Light" show at the Pyramids. It's a fun way to see the structures in a different way and get an education on ancient Egypt.

Citadel
This is a giant fort topped by a giant mosque. It also offers a great view of greater Cairo. We ventured there with our guide for a delightful tour of the premises and inside the mosque. Here are a few pictures from our visit:

Souk
One of the last things we did in Cairo was to visit the massive, sprawling Khan al-Khalili Bazaar. Again, huge. We spent a couple hours strolling the alleys and lanes of this shopping district. Like many bazaars around the world, different streets offer different types of items. One street is for hardware, another grains, another plumbing, another clothing, another decorations, etc., etc., etc. This is how Cairo residents have been shopping for centuries.

And today, naturally, there is a large corridor of tourist related items. Not being in the market for home improvement items or dry goods, we stuck to the shops offering things like carved figures, glass, scarfs and the like. The other thing that the bazaar provides is a fairly constant barrage of guys wanting to sell you things. Diane and I are used to this as we've been in places like this bazaar, so we simply brushed them off with some well timed and directly delivered "no" replies to their requests. One thing I notice that really works well if you need to get rid of a particular annoying hawker is to firmly and directly look them in the eye and say "no, leave me alone." That usually does the trick.
At any rate, we came away with some nice souvenirs and an even better experience.

Whether it is the large collection at the museum, the massive Pyramids, the huge citadel and mosque or the sprawling bazaar, Cairo is definitely a city of size and sites that, despite the crowds and heat, really delivered the goods. I would recommend anyone going to Egypt to spend 2-3 days there

***Bonus Coverage - Eating in Cairo***

We ate at several good places in Cairo that if you ever find yourself there you should check out:

The Mogul Room at the Mena House Hotel

Cuisine: Really good Indian food
Why go: Beyond the food, this restaurant is situated in a beautiful old hotel...which is itself situated right by the Pyramids. So, you get great food, a wonderful setting and you get to see the Pyramids.

L'Abergine

Cuisine: Italian and Mediterranean fare

Why go: Good food, nice local joint in the upscale Zamalek neighborhood - gets you off the tourist track, but in a nice neighborhood you can look around in before or after eating.

Sabaya

Cuisine: Lebanese 

Why go: Really good Lebanese food. Excellent. Nice white table cloth ambiance. Inside the Intercontinental Hotel by the Nile River so easy to find and easy to get a cab home from.


NOTE: All pictures featured in this article were taken by me, Marc Osborn. They are copy written in my name and are not authorized for any use by anyone without written permission directly from me. 

USA Out of the World Cup - Now What?

Now that the US is out of the World Cup, most Americans will promptly forget about soccer until the next World Cup in four years. I've been thinking about what might help make soccer a more attractive sport for Americans in that four year period and have a few suggestions.

Here are four things that could be done to make the sport much more interesting the U.S. fans:

1. Instant replay. Not for everything or even most things, but certainly for determining if a goal has been scored. Americans won't accept a sport that consistently lets non-goals count and denies goals where the ball clearly crosses the goal line. Hockey saw the light and now uses replay for questions on goal scoring. Soccer could easily do the same. Ask England if they'd like a little instant replay.
2. Accurate clock. Stop the clock for when the ball goes out of bounds or when a player is rolling around on the ground after presumably getting injured...say after 20 seconds. Restart the clock when the ball is back in play or, in the case of a potential injury, when the player either gets up or is escorted to the sideline. This will reduce fake injuries and eliminate the need for the "guess-timate" of stoppage time at the end of each half that seem so subjective. To the degree that all this might make each game a little longer, I don't think American fans would care. Remember, they are used to watching football games that last 4 hours, b-ball games that are more than 2 hours, baseball games that can last...well, as long as they take. Adding somewhere around 20 minutes onto the overall game experience would be minimal.
3. No ties. They are distasteful to American sports fans. I get how it all works now, the points system, etc., etc. I like it and can appreciate it, but most Americans don't and will always cite that as a major problem with the sport and why they don't want to watch or care. So, eliminate ties. If regulation time ends in a tie, play a short overtime period and then do PKs if needed after that. Yes, that would probably mean the end of a points system, but that would be OK with me if it broadened the appeal of the game overall.
4. Don't reward acting. "Diving" is a hallmark of soccer. Players fake being fouled and then fake being injured to either 1) kill clock, 2) in hopes of being awarded a free kick or 3) to get an opposing player a yellow or red card. The reason this behavior persists is because refs reward it. This should stop. If a player goes down and cannot get up within a certain amount of time, say 20 seconds, the clock is stopped. This takes away motivation #1 above. It would also help refs make a decision on if the player was really fouled. As in, if the guy is still down after 20 seconds, it's more likely that he was really fouled. The would help sort out situations #2 and #3 above for more accurate calls by the ref. 

Ultimately, however, none of these changes to make soccer more palatable to Americans would be as effective as the U.S. making it into the later rounds of the World Cup or winning it. Now THAT would put soccer on the map here. But I don't think it'll happen any time soon. Until top US athletes start choosing to play soccer, we'll not be able to compete at the very highest level. 

Put it this way...what if LaBron James, Adrian Peterson, Duane Wade, T.O., Derek Jeter, Reggie Bush, Kobe Bryant and other top caliber athletes went into soccer and played in the MLS or European leagues instead of football or basketball. You think the US would be beat very often in the World Cup? You think MLS would have to play second fiddle to premier leagues in England, Germany, Italy and Spain? No. We would be big time players internationally. But for now, top athletes in the U.S. have no conceivable reason other than personal passion to go into soccer because it just dosen't pay like the other American sports. Our best won't chose soccer because there isn't the same abundance of big money contracts for loads of players as is the case American football, baseball and basketball. Throw in that we have our own traditional sports and big change seems unlikely. So, my guess is that we'll always be in that Top10-15 teams in the world, but never a serious contender to win a World Cup.

So where does that leave us? I'd like to see some American rules for soccer in the MLS. I think if that league is going to grow and thrive, and I'd like to see that, it's going to need to do some things to draw in more than hard core soccer fans. Changes such as the ones I suggest above might help in that effort. 

Word of Mouth Is Where It's At

To paraphrase the late-great Joe Strummer, " I think we're going to have to forget the Internet and go back to word of mouth."

Joe originally said, "...forget radio and go back to word of mouth." His exact phrase is probably still true, but I think that in today's Internet based entertainment society, the best music you can discover is done so by recommendations by friends and not by - what is today the equivalent of radio in the 1970s and 80s - the Internet.

Talk to your friends. Find out what they are listening to. Go to an actual music store and talk to the people who work there. Find out what they think is hip. Chat up a buddy (or better yet someone you've never met) at a party. Find out what they are listening to. Check it out. Maybe you don't like it, but maybe you do.

But either way, that's gotta be better sourcing of music than MSN, iTunes or other online sites.