Took another stab at illiquid securities today picking up some FRMO and some MMGG. FRMO is at least cash flow positive (they sell financial research), while MMGG hasn't made a dime in 8 yrs! Granted MMGG is currently inspecting the mines that they own the right to mine in Mexico, and the company should be mining at some point in the near future (in theory). The owners are buying and you have to like hard assets, so I am a buyer.

Note -- these securities are illiquid because they don't trade very frequently and the stock is held by few individuals. The bid (what you can sell for) ask (what you can buy for) spread on both are pretty big. This is my long term possible big upside plays, so fingers are crossed. Tell all your family and friends and pick up some shares.

Ulman on Why Hiphop Glorifying Pimping is plain stupid


Think twice when purchasing the Nelly Pimp Juice or celebrating Jay Z's song Big Pimping

Didn't these people watch Superfly? The point of the movie was that despite all the drugs, girls and clothes the situation was not worth it. Pimpind does not seem that great to me; who wants to be in a business where you have to smack people around to get your money?

Asia Now/Summer 2003/The Demographics Issue

Via a fund that I currently invest in. Just some more reasons to be bullish on Asia.

Grasso gets the hook.

He is no Lebron James that is for sure.

Richard Grasso resigned as chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, ending a 36-year career that unraveled in less than a month after the disclosure of his $140 million pay package, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition.

A good interview with Milton Friedman. Eventhough he is off on his views of monetary policy (via Murray Rothbard) and was involved in creating the awful income tax with-holding, Milton still has some sound things to say.

Milton Friedman: I'd like to promote lots of things. I'd like to promote elimination of drug prohibition. I'd like to promote parental choice in education through vouchers. Those are two things I think are very urgent and important. They're both more important than the harm which Social Security will do.

I think that our policy with respect to drugs is fundamentally immoral and it's really disgraceful that we cause thousands of deaths in South America because we cannot enforce our own laws. If we could enforce our own laws against consumption of drugs, there would be no drug cartels in South America. There would be no -- nearly a civil war in a place like Columbia.

Similarly, I think the performance of our school systems is disgraceful. I think roughly a quarter of the population never graduates high school. We have a lower level of literacy today than we had a hundred years ago. That's no despite, but because of the poor schools, particularly in low-income areas.