wo days of holiday shopping and all is complete from my standpoint. Two very different days. One afternoon was in Beverly Hills which, despite opulent decorations, highlighted by Baccarat chandeliers on the famed Rodeo Drive, (I'm not sure how, but apparently they are there, in part, to support UNICEF).
The stores did not appear to be more crowded than at any other time of year. And then, yesterday, we traveled from Los Angeles, some thirty miles North, to the outlet stores in Calabasas. The crowds were enormous and the mood seemed to be high-spirited. The values were amazing. You would never believe, from seeing the on-going buying, that we were inhabitants of a country now assumed to have been in recession for a full year! I'll wager that this Christmas, more than ever before, a greater number of people are seeking value at outlets or on line. It must really be hurting down-town almost everywhere.

Experts have told us, over and over again, that those still invested in the stock market haven't lost a dime until or unless they sell. I don't follow the logic, because whatever we do sell is worth less. Whatever we retain and don't sell is also worth less than it was until recently.

President Obama is already clearly showing that he is absolutely serious about his campaign promise to "return to a tradition of nonpartisan national security". The President Elect has filled his top three national security positions with exemplary candidates and by including his former rival, Hillary Clinton, as Secretary of State, as well as a couple of truly experienced hands in Republican administrations, Gen. James Jones to be the national security advisor and Robert Gates, filling the role he has had with the Bush administration, as defense secretary, he has made superb selections; experienced with a balanced attitude towards foreign affairs. With Clinton, Gates and Jones he can weigh opposing views better than President George Bush ever did.
Obama's team will likely work to reclaim US leadership, as we are still the world's only superpower.
One might wonder whether or not Senator Clinton can subordinate, not just her opinions, but also her political ambitions to help make the Obama administration a success.

Recent reports suggest strongly that both American and Indian intelligence agencies had prior knowledge of the likelihood of the attack that Mumbai endured. Yet the way in which the attack was carried out would suggest that no police force anywhere could have been prepared to counter the type of operation that caused so much damage and death in the Indian commercial center. The Mumbai attacks sophistication shows an urgent need for new approaches to defenses. There are experts proclaiming that this could have been the most sophisticated terrorist attack since 9/11. It appears likely that other militants might consider copycat operations. The world's cities must be ready for them. It was not so much a success in terms of people killed, it was more the publicity these fanatics received for fully three days. As the Christian Science Monitor headlined one of their stories, questioning whether this might well be a "New template for terror".

For the past couple of years the President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, has waged a war on the violent and powerful drug cartels in his country. He has deployed some 20,000 troops and the full force of the state. Already over 6,000 lives have been lost, (more than our casualties in Iraq). There is no end in sight. How can there be with nearly half of all their police considered incompetent or corrupt, (they earn something like $5,000 a year). In most Mexican cities there are narco gangs and there are daily, gruesome deaths. A few weeks back Calderon's former "drug czar" was arrested on charges of selling secrets to a drug cartel. Frankly stated, with an internal war on narcotics, Mexico needs to call on the United States to reduce its drug addiction.
In his forthcoming selection of a "drug czar" the President-elect needs to put emphasis on a "war on addiction". They make the drugs we use. Not just us, the whole hemisphere. For the United States to help Mexico and ourselves we must create better and more drug rehabilitation programs for addicts.

Everyone with an opinion or an idea wants to give the incoming president ideas. "Dear Mr. Obama, please stop the economy from going deeper into recession, Bring about a recovery thereafter and do it in ways that will bring about a vital and robust recovery. Repair our neglected public works and stimulate this country's technological wizardry. Sir, please make our society greener, fix our healthcare problems, heal our social and economic divide. A very big stimulus will be required. Try and put millions more entering the workforce into jobs. Our economy is in a shambles. But we have so much going for us; the greatest nation in the world, with the most productive workers and the finest universities and so much more."

The man isn't even in office yet, but there is a feeling that this is the man for the times we face. May God bless him (and us) in his endeavors.

There'll probably be a lot more in the next few days.