Business manager in Asia says business is booming
   Good article [“Skyscraper cycles, January]. I lived and worked in Asia from 1980 to April last year. During the crisis I was working in Bangkok, in the property space, overlooking the skyline. We used to use this count as a barometer of the health of the bubble! 
   As I remember, 27 was the highest number we could see — and we had 360 degrees if you walked around the office. It went down to a low of four. And those last four were probably in a derelict site and unused.
   So what happened of interest? Well, the rich banks/IMF and general international capital vultures stepped in to try and get their money back and the rich-connected Thai families said, “up yours,” then tied them up in knots in the courts wherever possible. For as long as possible. 
   Now? Everything’s boomin’ again. Thanks for the memories! 
Paul Willis
Business Development Manager, Asia

Has anything positive come out of high rises?
   Regarding “Skyscraper cycles” [January], a friend of mine looked up at a forest of downtown skyscrapers once and asked a curious question: “Has anything good ever come out of a high rise?”
   We had to think about it for awhile. They don’t contain factories or farms. They don’t hold manufacturers. They are mostly filled with administrators, bureaucrats, government, marketers, PR firms, lawyers, accountants, financial advisors, boiler rooms, etc. Most people dread having to visit someone in a high-rise. Vast amounts of energy and materials enter them and nothing useful comes out.
   Agree?
Douglas Palmer
University of California, San Diego

Ron Paul was screwed in New Hampshire
   Will you consider looking into the growing body of evidence that blatant vote fraud took place in New Hampshire and bring this to your readers?    The Ron Paul counts are a very obvious situation and you can find much about this online. But the Obama results are looking fraudulent as well. In the case of Ron Paul, many precincts recorded zero votes where he was known to have many votes cast. His actual count was recorded at half of the polls. Will you help to bring this to the fore?
C. Davis