Welcome

I never thought I would be a blogmeister, and probably I won't be. But I find myself unexpectedly with a bit of time on my hands and I think I have a moral obligation to pursue what I see as truth in the subjects I know best.

I am an economist, so any economic topic is considered to be fair game here. I specialize in regulated industries, especially telecommunications, so it is reasonable to expect somewhat of an emphasis on this area, but by no means will I limit my expositions to this theme.

I have a deep and personal interest and knowledge of the Middle East. I believe that a big part of the problem in that region is that real, non-politicized information is just not available for a large number of people who live there, and that this lack of information is what creates wars. I do tend pro-Israel, but I like to think that I am capable of understanding both sides and I am certainly open to both sides' non-politicized information. What do I mean by that? Probably that is best illustrated by an example. It is fair game, if you must, to use historical evidence to "prove" that the State of Israel should not exist (I most definitely will not agree, but I respect your right to your own thought processes and conclusions). However, I cannot accept selectively moralistic arguments about Zionist usurpers, apartheid state, etc. - I just do not believe that victimology and blame assignment help us to arrive at a solution, because I am convinced, after many years living and visiting in the region, that neither side has moral purity. I do, however, recognize that while there may be no angels, there are certainly individual demons, among which I include a number of politicians on both sides.

I am also deeply interested in Latin America, and most especially, Peru. Having lived in that country for over two years, I feel a special connection to its people and its culture, and I welcome comment and discussion about it - again, hopefully completely depoliticized.

Finally, I hope to stimulate intelligent, informed discussion about North American politics, again with the proviso that information brought to this blog be depoliticized. You may reasonably ask, how can a discussion about politics be depoliticized? I agree that it might not be easy, but I think that civil discourse demands that we present our views - and I respect everyone's right to an informed opinion - without resorting to labels, unfair generalizations, misinformation, and Glenn Beck-style hystrionics. You think that abortion should not be in the health care reform package? Fine - present a reasoned argument, and I am happy to listen. But I am not interested in hearing how Obama is a "socialist" or how the health plan will bring about "death panels" unless you have a clear, data-based means of demonstrating that - simply claiming something does not make it so.

Let the games begin.