Blog: economy

Monday thoughts (some in italic)

2010-03-22T11:33:00.000+02:00

I can understand being too lazy to read a necessarily large and thorough health care reform bill, or to dim-witted to understand summaries of it. But for opponents of the effort to carry signs reading “NO to health care” — I hope their own personal physicians don’t take them literally.

+++

The sign at the Arby’s drive-thru reads “We gladly accept bills up to $20.” I believe they’ll also accept larger bills, but won’t be able to use quite as positive an adverb about it. My research reveals that they’ll reluctantly accept fifties, wistfully accept hundreds, skeptically accept two-hundred-dollar bills (good thing, since that denomination doesn’t exist), hypothetically accept $500 bills, impishly accept thousands and ironically accept the rare $5,000 bill. That’s what I like: a multinational corporation with attitude.

+++

“KSM” is both the federal government’s shorthand name for terrorist mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and the name of a power pop all-girl teen rock group from Los Angeles. See if you can tell the difference between the Man …

and the Band…

Lead singer is Shelby Cobra (The Man or The Band?)

Principal architect of the 9/11 attacks (The Man or The Band?)

Waterboarded over 70 times (The Man or The Band?) Remember: answer what actually happened, not what should’ve happened.

Mentored by the Go-Gos (The Man or The Band?)

Opening act for American Idol winner David Archuletta (The Man or The Band?)

Involved in the Bali nightclub bombings (The Man or The Band?) Careful — could be a trick question.

Pleaded guilty to mass murder (The Man or The Band?)

Described by critics as “spunky” and leading examples of “girl-ska-punk”. (The Man or The Band?)

+++

I always feel that if I’d been just a little gentler flipping the on-switch that the light bulb on the lamp would not have burned out. Is it possible to feel too responsible for your actions in life?

+++

Fun phrases and their possible definitions from the world of corporate news releases:

“Expansion of our footprint” — We’re starting to put on a little weight.

“We leverage multi-shore outsourcing expertise” — We own see-saws and other playground equipment at beaches around the world.

“We employ a suite of internet-based capabilities” — We have a whole room-full of workers shopping on eBay.

“As an integrated provider of solutions, we drive innovation” — We use both African-American and Caucasian employees to blend dangerous chemicals. Many of them own hybrid cars.

“Customer-facing applications” — We’ve learned to look at our clients.

“A 24-7 360-degree resource” — The football game had to be called in the third quarter when it got too hot.

+++

I drove up to the ATM at my bank the other day and confronted two separate lines of cars — one row had three vehicles, the other had a single auto from which a man my age (late fifties) had stepped out. He was hunched over, peering into the machine, with a card in his hand and a quizzical look on his face.

My instincts told me to choose the longer line, since those people had remained in their cars and appeared ready to make smooth and quick transactions at their machine. But I thought, no, that’s being prejudicial toward my own kind, and I shouldn’t assume a lack of hair corresponds to a lack of ability to interact with modern technology.

I pulled into the line only to regret it immediately; a woman had now emerged from the passenger seat of the older man’s car and was also looking at the ATM. The older couple was apparently trying to figure out how to apply for a modified home equity loan using a secondary residence as collateral, and couldn’t tell which slot they were to yell their questions into. Meanwhile, the other line proceeded nicely.

The man soon returned to the driver’s seat while the woman began rifling through her purse. When the car’s brake lights came on, I had hope that he was going to drive off without her, allowing me to nudge forward — not actually striking her with my vehicle, but offering a helpful bit of direction on how she should get the hell out of the line. The man pulled about a foot forward, then again climbed out of the car. Apparently, they needed a little more elbow room to transact their business. The man removed his jacket.

He looked pretty handy and I half-expected him to pull out a tool kit to try and force access to his passbook account. Neither of them looked in my direction, which was a good thing, as this was about the time I started shaking my fist. I pulled into reverse, moved across to the now-vacant other lane, and quickly finished my withdrawal.

Stupid people like me!

+++

The Methodist church near my home advertised the topic of Sunday’s sermon on the sign out front: “Jesus and the Smiley Face.”

At first, I figured the message would be predictable: Jesus recognized that life was difficult, that it wasn’t always easy to do the right thing, that doing things which make you happy may not be in the interest of God’s greater glory. There was no place on Calvary’s Cross for a round yellow head grinning ear to ear.

But then, I realized how the Lord’s message is frequently a nuanced one, and there are many layers of meaning in various commandments. (For example, “love thy neighbor” means not only to care for their souls and their well-being, but also to loan them your leaf blower and occasionally engage in secret sex with their wife). Maybe this is in line with that gospel of prosperity and joy I’ve been hearing about. Maybe Jesus does want us to be happy, and display that glee through a big, sloppy smirk.

Not that I’m going to spend a Sunday in church to find out.

[Via http://davisw.wordpress.com]

Jamby's Greatest Fear

2010-03-22T03:52:00.000+02:00

After the newly formed multisectoral group Sagip Korte Suprema has called on all presidential candidates to sign a covenant blocking the appointment of a new Chief Justice by President Arroyo immediately senator Ma. Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal called on her fellow presidential candidates to unite in condemning president’s Arroyo’s alleged intent for “silent grab for power.” Probably, if not for a political gimmickry, she’s so afraid of Gloria’s extension to power after her term. And who is not anyway.

But whatever be her (Madrigal’s) intention in echoing the sentiments of the Sagip Korte Suprema group to fellow presidential candidates it’s an eye opener for everyone to be vigilant that while we are all focused on the May 10 elections “GMA (president Arroyo) and her cohorts have set the stage for her to stay in power beyond her term.”

Madrigal also warned that the automated poll system might be used to ensure the victory of Gloria Arroyo’s presidential candidate. She feared that with the appointment of Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit (defying military tradition of seniority in the system) as the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the incoming appointment of a new Chief of Justice of the Supreme Court Gloria will have no difficulty to execute her sinister plan to prolong her stay in power.

“The appointment of the new Chief Justice despite the constitutional prohibition is not only illegal but immoral and unethical as well,” she said.

Madrigal also said that any presidential candidate who would not oppose Ms Arroyo’s appointment of a new Chief of Justice “does not deserve the people’s mandate.”

But Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Sen. Manuel Villar does not feel any of Jamby ’s (Madrigal) fear. He said all legal remedies should be exhausted first before presidential candidates sign a covenant that would reject Ms Arroyo’s appointment of a Chief Justice because as this would be tantamount to not recognizing the Constitution thus putting the new elected president in a difficult situation.

Former president Joseph Estrada of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino fears nothing and sees no problem at all. If ever he will win in the election, he can take his oath before a new Chief of Justice even if appointed by Gloria. “If it’s according to the Constitution, what can we do?” Estrada, said.

Sen. Benigno Aquino III of the Liberal Party on the other hand said that the next Congress could impeach Ms Arroyo’s appointed Chief Justice “if his or her appointment was found to have been made on unsound legal principles.” The nine justices who voted to authorize Ms Arroyo to make the appointment would be liable for impeachment according to senator Aquino.

“The legislature has the power of impeachment if it feels there are grounds to impeach an impeachable constitutional body… We need the new Congress, after having organized itself, to determine whether or not there is a need for the impeachment process.” Aquino said.

On his part, Gilbert Teodoro the administration candidate said that the President should exercise prudence ” in considering whether or not an appointment should be made” and let her successor name the new Chief Justice to avoid undermining the high court’s credibility. “If I were in her position, I would not make the appointment given the controversy surrounding the issue.”

“I think that despite the ruling, prudence is the order of the day. We’re talking about the credibility of the institution that is the Supreme Court. I will not even bother to give ‘advice,’ but prudence is the necessary thing,” he said.

But Jamby’s fear should not be ignored in the light of the possibility of a military uprising as a result of the Palace’s “concluding maneuver to control the judiciary in its effort to avoid prosecution for its high crimes against the people” as stated by detained ex Brig. General Danny Lim who is now running as a senatorial candidate under the banner of the Nationalista Party . He said the threat of “a soldier’s revolt” was “always there” as a result of the purported undermining of democratic institutions.

And this is the greatest fear of all; a military Junta whether on the side of the opposition or in the present administration. If there is a failure of election, who will rule on who will be in power? If the Senate President is not available, is it not the Speaker of the House? Jun Lozada has already expounded in this scenario, aren’t we that alarmed that a chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and a Chief of Justice will be in placed to backed up militarily and legally who ever be elected as the Speaker of the House to be appointed as the interim president? And will you not be as paranoid as Jamby when that elected Speaker of the House and appointed as the interim president is no other than but Gloria Macapagal Arroyo?

I am just praying greed and lust for power shall be set aside for the greater interest of the Filipino people.

[Via http://kidlatanvillage.wordpress.com]

Failed Banks May Get Pension-Fund Backing as FDIC Seeks Cash

2010-03-19T11:38:00.000+02:00

Dakin Campbell Bloomberg March 9, 2010

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is trying to encourage public retirement funds that control more than $2 trillion to buy all or part of failed lenders, taking a more direct role in propping up the banking system, said people briefed on the matter.

Direct investments may allow funds such as those in Oregon, New Jersey and California to cut fees for private-equity managers, and the agency to get better prices for distressed assets, the people said. They declined to be identified because talks with regulators are confidential.

Oregon’s retirement fund may contribute $100 million as regulators seek “the support of state pension funds to solve the crisis surrounding ongoing bank failures,” Jay Fewel, a senior investment officer at the Oregon State Treasury, said in a presentation at the fund’s Feb. 24 meeting. New Jersey’s fund may also participate, said Orin Kramer, chairman of New Jersey’s State Investment Council.

Read entire article

[Via http://truth11.com]

Three Stages of Obamacare

2010-03-19T03:31:00.000+02:00

The three stages of Obama care are Abortion, Regular Care, and End of Life. Here is the way I see it.

STAGE 1

Why is abortion so important to the government? Each child born into a welfare family receives aid. In my home state of Illinois, the average payment to a family is $401.00 per month. If the aid ends when a kid turns eighteen, he will have been paid $86,616.00 over his lifetime. There are 1.3 million abortions in the USA each year. Let us assume that ten percent of them are welfare recipients. The total cost to the government using the average cost of $86,616 per child is 11.2 billion dollars. It is beginning to sound like some serious money.

STAGE 2

Money spent on health care is one sixth of the total economy. My math calculates that to be 2.3 trillion dollars. If I spread that number over our total population, it translates to $8461.00 per every insured person in the country. Now, let us add the thirty million uninsured into the same calculation, the number drops to $7778.00 per insured person. That is a reduction of ten percent. Ten percent less paid to medical suppliers. What that means to me is that my doctor will have to recommend lower cost treatments to diagnose my situation. For instance, it may mean an x-ray instead of an MRI. The two are as different as comparing a black and white TV to a High Definition Digital TV. Which test do you think will be able to help your doctor find a problem?

STAGE 3

End of life situations can be ugly. None of us wants to die, but we do. The cost of keeping a very sick person alive can be devastating. My own experience with Barbara is that it cost well over five hundred thousand dollars to keep her alive for two years. I call it dying ugly. Each year 2.4 million people die in the USA. Let us assume that ten percent die ugly like my Barb. The cost comes to 121 billion dollars. The bottom line is that death panels make sense to Uncle.

Final argument

Medicare became a law in 1965. The law made a lot of sense, and was a bi-partisan effort. The plan is forty-five years old this year. It is bankrupt. Why is that? Our leaders have piggy backed more recipients into the system over the years. The baby boomers who are coming online have overloaded the system. The administration has had forty-five years to improve and fix Medicare. Even worse, they have had over seventy years to fix the postal service, over thirty years to reduce our dependency on foreign oil, and the list keeps going. Obama wants us to believe that he can perform a miracle and fix health care in a single year. The bill will require a building the size of ten Pentagons to staff with people who will finally read, interpret, and write the final rules.

In the infinite wisdom of our President, he will remove $500 billion dollars from Medicare to fund the new Obama care. Medicare will go broke within a year or two. All of us who are retired will certainly be looking into the eye of a death panel. Many of us will recall watching the final moments of Edward G. Robinson as the panel euthanized him in the movie Soylent Green.

Yes, there is a great need for health care reform. Obama care is not it, yet he pressures us to love it now, or the country faces certain disaster. I happen to believe that we will profit by defeating Obama care now, and by revising the system in a rational way.

Put me on the job. I will hire a bunch of engineers who know how to solve problems and we will design a system that will work, and the country will love.

[Via http://grumpajoesplace.com]

Part One: Complete equal rights in Islam for man and woman

2010-03-17T11:52:00.000+02:00

Part One: Complete equal rights in Islam for man and woman; (Mar. 18, 2010)

Women visited the spouses of the Prophet Muhammad and said: “Allah in the Koran talked about you (the spouses) but said nothing about us women. Are there nothing in us that merit to be mentioned?” Thus, one of the spouses Umm Salma, a most beautiful matured spouse and an aristocrat from the tribe of Quraich, relayed to Muhammad this question: “Why men are mentioned in the Koran but not women?” Muhammad had to answer.

A few days later, the Prophet recited a verse in the adjacent mosque to the spouses residences which stated: “A man and a woman who have submitted to Allah (the one and only God), who are believers, who are pious, who are sincere, who are patients, who fear Allah, who give charity, who fast, who protect their sexual parts, who invoke Allah frequently, the Allah has prepared forgiveness and limitless recompense” Consequently, Allah sees no differences in gender who have submitted to Allah and are believers in the community.

Muhammad then endeavored to pronounce an entire Sourat called “Women” (Al Nissa2) and then demanded equitable shares in heritage to both gender and to children and orphans. In pre-Islamic Arabia, women were considered chattel as in then Jewish communities. One verse said “remit to men a part of what parents and relatives left in heritage; and remit equitably to women a part of the heritage whether the heritage is little or a lot”

Men in Medina tried their best to resume the pre-Islamic traditions. Umm Kajja (with 5 daughters) complained to Muhammad saying: “My husband is dead and his brother is demanding to stick to tradition and to ignore the new laws. He is claiming that women do not participate in fights for loots and thus we have claim to heritage” There was a succession of such complaints which required a Sourat on the questions of heritage and legal matters of remarrying. The verse 19 in Sourat “Women” states: “O you believers! You are not permitted to take away women in heritage against their will; or to forbid them remarrying so that you may capture part of what they received unless they manifestly committed a proven infamy.” Verse 2 said: “Give to orphans what is their due… Do not eat what belong of their shares: This behavior constitutes a great sin.” The Sourat on “Women” goes into great length on details of proportional shares in heritage.

Note 1: This article is extracted from “The Political Harem: The Prophet and the women” by Fatema Mernissi.

Note 2: There are bunches of mindless and rapacious seemingly matured men who plunder other people’s shares by fraudulent interpretations of the Koran; they were labeled “Sufaha2” in the Koran.

[Via http://adonis49.wordpress.com]

Surf's Up, Condensed: Top Creativity Links for March 17, 2010

2010-03-17T03:32:00.000+02:00

Illustration courtesy of SXC.

Special Report: Innovating in a Recession

Chuck Frey of InnovationTools blog/website releases his 2010 Innovation Climate Survey.

iF Design Awards Highlight Brilliant Solutions to Everyday Problems | FastCompany.com

Next to the Red Dot awards, the iF award is the most prestigious design award out of Europe, attracting all sorts of designs that you’d otherwise never see. The 2010 awards were doled out at a ceremony last week.

Innovate: Encouraging Light Bulb Moments in Your Workplace

A nice short e-guide from the documentation and training firm of Michaels & Associates.

Creative Exercises for Artists

Benoit Philippe of My French Easel has created a lovely free e-book for artists and other creatives. Most of these exercises are visual ones, but many of them do not require specific artistic skills and are suitable for anyone regardless of their age or level of artistic ability. (Hat-tip to Making a Mark blog for the link.)

Is There A New Art Economy?

Sue Smith, writing on her blog Ancient Artist, discusses the very shaky current market for art and advises scenario planning for artists trying to figure out their next business move.

Learning innovation skills and best practices

Jeffrey Phillips, writing on his Innovate on Purpose blog, explains what can go wrong with a facilitated brainstorming or innovation session by describing a badly led one he participated in recently.

[Via http://creativeliberty.wordpress.com]

State of the Economy and You

2010-03-15T11:54:00.000+02:00

“Economic conditions are much improved for both companies and countries, executives say—but hopes for continued recovery are a little less bright than they were in December” screams the synopsis of a McKinsey Global Survey Results announcing the Economic Conditions Snapshot in February ’10. Now, when companies and executives are talking about the economic mend, the context is the virtual collapse in 2008 and the present condition. It is not a comparison to an ideal state. In a related McKinsey research conducted in January ‘10, 60% respondents polled “building capability among the top three priorities where capability is defined as anything an organization does well that drives meaningful business results”.

It is with reference to the above two research pieces that the claims of the media that “Jobs are back” and “Economic Recovery is Visible” are appalling. Even given the Ellen Goodman quote, “In journalism, there has always been a tension between getting it first and getting it right”, this rant is way off the mark! Against this backdrop, we are now adding social media and the depth of discussion and the quality of content even gets worse.

As I was heading back to the change room this morning at the gym after my workout, an acquaintance at the gym came following back. He had wanted time from me for the past two weeks to discuss something and seek advice but things didn’t work out. However, he was determined to get a few minutes of my time and my perspective this morning as he was struggling with a decision he had to make and the question was “whether to stay in his job or opt for an invite from his ex-boss in an entrepreneurial venture”. And that established the context of this blog posting for me.

First the advice I gave this young man when I found out that his ex-boss was offering employment and not an entrepreneurial opportunity. I advised him that stock options are really not such a great investment instrument in the current economic market with the time and effort involved. On the other hand, I was very clear that if he had a radically differentiated idea with the ability to garner funds that budgeted for three years of Sales & Marketing, Payroll and Product / Service Development, he should become an entrepreneur right now without question. The matter was settled when the answer emerged clearly in that sweaty state we were both in, that keeping his current job with a multinational company was the safest option. He was going to go straight to work from the gym and inform his current boss that he was ready to take that flight tomorrow to Amsterdam to pursue his current professional life with renewed focus.

Most of what is being written here is from an IT & IS Products and Services industry perspective, but holds good for a large number of industry sectors similar in nature including Banking, Financial Service & Insurance, Retail & Manufacturing and other Professional Business Services. The sectors such as Healthcare, Telecom, Media and Utilities have a more fundamental challenge with respect to technology and a change at the core of their business to address. Travel, Transportation and Lifestyle are an offshoot of the trends adopted by the above industries anyway.

Evidence of Growth is in the “pipeline” with a probability factor greater than 85% for all opportunities listed and 40% of that 85% materializing into business in the next two quarters. If you dig deep into the CXO community of the enterprises who are sheepishly following the media rant about the story of economic recovery, you will notice that the evidence is missing; there is no pipeline. Right now, it is a strange mix of coincidences and desperation that is keeping business going. They know it and therefore they are not investing yet in new workforce. They are definitely beginning to hire and backfill positions that have been required in the last couple of years. But they are yet to make the investments to build capabilities. Some CFO’s who have yet to get busted by the earlier bubble syndrome of 2002 are keeping money available for acquisitions as their growth endeavor. But real capability building is still a lot of words and posturing, rather than a genuine attempt at recovery and growth.

As the advice given to my acquaintance, this stage of the economy demands money in the bank to spend on growth measures. But if it is going to be spent on more sustenance, this economic recovery is a further haul away. Finding Talent within and outside the organization that can create a fundamental differentiation to the business and ringing in an Industry Transformation is the way forward for business leaders. Mere movement should not be mistaken for signs of growth or recovery and it is wise not to fall into a trap of the media who are starved for content.

[Via http://subbuiyer.wordpress.com]

Asphalt Manufacturing in the U.S.-Aarkstore Enterprise

2010-03-12T11:35:00.000+02:00

Worldwide annual consumption of asphalt is at more than 100 million tons. In the United States, generally 90% of liquid asphalt cement consumed is used for road paving and approximately 10% is used for roofing products, with other specialty applications accounting for only a very small fraction of consumption.

Though asphalt occurs naturally, the majority of today’s asphalt is produced as a residual product of the crude oil refining process. Most refiners focus on refining more expensive, lighter, “sweeter” crudes to produce the higher-value products such gasoline and diesel fuel. In all, about two to three percent of all refined crude oil in the United States becomes asphalt.

Most crude oil asphalt comes from less expensive, heavier, “sour” crude oils rather than the more expensive lighter, sweet crude oils. For crude oil refiners asphalt accounts for a much larger portion of the product refined.

Demand for asphalt is driven to a small degree by the private sector, but most demand comes from federal, state, and local governments. Funding for highway and road infrastructure construction and maintenance plays the largest role, but other public sector projects such as airport runway and taxiway construction can also affect demand. Since funding for highway and road construction and maintenance projects are often set for several years, demand tends to remain rather constant growing more or less at the rate of inflation. However, the recent prospect of massive infrastructure spending to stimulate growth in the U.S. economy under the new Obama administration suggest demand will likely increase significantly in the coming years.

Specialists in Business Information (SBI) estimates the U.S. market for liquid asphalt cement totaled $11.7 billion in 2008, up 34% from $8.7 billion in 2007. This report explains why, and forecasts what lies ahead for the asphalt industry from 2009 – 2013.

For more information please visit:

http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/Asphalt-Manufacturing-in-the-U-S–13041.html

PH.NO. 919272852585

[Via http://aarkstoreenterprise.wordpress.com]

Financial hardship assistance in Victoria

2010-03-12T03:56:00.000+02:00

In Victoria, a person suffering financial hardship due to illness, unemployment or other reasonable cause is entitled to apply for assistance to help control their finances and pay their debts in a manageable way.

The person must show they “reasonably expect to be able to discharge the debtor’s obligations if the terms of the contract were changed”.

In practical terms, this usually means a break in repayments, or reduced repayments, and then the resumption of normal repayments after a period of time (usually 2 – 6 months).

For larger debts such as mortgages or other loans, hardship assistance could mean a break on repayments or reduced repayments which are then ‘caught up’ through higher repayments upon resumption, or the ‘capitalising’ of these missed payments onto the end of the loan, with no change in the monthly repayment due.

While hardship assistance has been well used during and directly after the global financial crisis, Anglicare Victoria financial counsellors are now reporting a ‘tightening up’ of many companies hardship policies.

The practice of applying for a moratorium on repayments is being hampered by greater demands for assurances that the customer’s situation is going to improve in the near future.

Financial institutions want to know what actions are being taken to rectify the current hardship, and are proving unsympathetic to customers’ individual circumstances. Some institutions will only grant one month at a time, demanding a monthly review of the situation and proof that the customer is taking action to improve their position.

Furthermore, where a temporary arrangement of ‘no repayments’ was once accepted, many banks are now demanding reduced repayments and others are accruing the missed payments and requiring that they be settled in full at the end of the hardship assistance period. Some institutions require financial counsellors to fax the written agreements of all other creditors to hardship arrangements before they will consider granting one.

The utilisation of hardship assistance often provides a much needed opportunity for clients to improve their situation by increasing their income, clearing expenses or debts, or applying for grants, assistance or income entitlements without fear of legal action or defaulting on their financial commitments.

In the main, customers use this time wisely and are then able to resume repayments from a stronger financial position and with a great deal less stress.

While it is true that customers may not always be able to resume full repayments immediately at the end of the hardship assistance period, their position is usually improved and more serious outcomes like bankruptcy or debt agreements less likely to occur.

It is concerning that financial institutions appear to be winding back this assistance.

If you are experiencing difficulties in meeting your financial commitments, or managing your financial affairs, a Financial Counsellor can advise you of your options, rights and responsibilities, assist you to negotiate with creditors, and help you set budgets to provide greater control over your finances.

Meeting with a Financial Counsellor earlier rather than later is recommended, as more options will be available at this stage. For a list of Financial Counselling services in your area, go to the Financial and Consumer Rights Council website: www.fcrc.org.au and use the Counsellor Directory. Financial Counselling phone services are also available for those who have been impacted by the global financial crisis at Money Help ph: 1800 149 689.

Have you been denied hardship assistance? Share your experience below.

[Via http://anglicarevic.wordpress.com]

Wall Street Java

2010-03-10T11:54:00.000+02:00

“He conquers who endures”

Persius

Wall Street Java

March 10, 2010

Gold Update

Gold is slowly gaining momentum as the Dollar slips slightly on the Euro. The Dollar index remains higher this morning, but has failed to gain traction thus far. The greenback may have peaked as concerns regarding the Greek fiscal crisis begin to soften and as the currency market levels out, gold should benefit. We some retracement likely during the day, we should see a move closer to the $1130 mark toward the latter part of the day.

Hot Stocks

When stocks are steady but non-directional, it is always good to consider dividend yields as well. As long as the global economy can at least maintain some modest growth, we believe that the technology sector is poised for strong innovation and growth over the next few years. Hercules Technology Growth Capital (HTGC) finances start-up and growth companies in the technology sector and, as such, could benefit from general growth in this area. In addition, Hercules carries a dividend yield approaching 8% on share prices just above the $10 mark.

Public Finance Update

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board will file its long-anticipated rule changes with the Securities and Exchange Commission today. The changes will increase transparency for auction-rate securities and variable-rate demand obligations. The SHORT system, as it is known for short-term obligation rate transparency, will allow the MSRB to collect additional ARS bidding information as well as ARS and VRDO program documents.

In Washington, the Joint Tax Committee has released revenue estimates for the Obama administration’s budget proposals, which would extend most of the stimulus law’s municipal bond provisions — including the higher qualified small-issuer limit for bank-qualified bonds — through the end of calendar year 2011. The White House also proposed expanding the Build America Bond program so that state and local governments could issue them for refundings and working capital purposes, and 501(c)(3) charitable organizations could sell them.

In Connecticut, Governor M. Jodi Rell has proposed a combination of cuts, fund transfers and deferred payments to close a $503.9 Million budget deficit.

Market Outlook

There simply isn’t much movement in stocks lately. The Dow rode a wave higher and lower to finish the day just above the flat-line yesterday. Futures this morning suggest equities will give back that small gain at the opening bell today. Globally, the major indexes have all struggled along with minor ups and downs; lacking any real momentum. In the US markets yesterday, the leading sector was energy with a negligible upside of .06%, while consumer stocks were among the losers with an equally modest downside. Economic data just continues to be a mixed bag of information and the fiscal health of several European nations remains a concern.

Former European Commission President Romano Prodi says that he believes the financial crisis in Greece is over and that no other European nation will follow its path. “For Greece, the problem is completely over,” Prodi said in an interview in Shanghai. “I don’t see any other case now in Europe. I don’t think there is any reason to think the euro system will collapse or will suffer greatly because of Greece.” Last week, Greece announced spending cuts and tax increases totaling 4.8 Billion Euros ($6.5 Billion)

After a slow start in Europe this morning, stocks are beginning to move higher, but have just turned positive after the first hour of trading. With a few exceptions, bank stocks are pulling up the broader average with an upside of 2-3% in some cases. U.K. factory production unexpectedly fell in January for the first time in five months, suggesting that the economy is still notably sluggish.

Banks did not perform as well in Asia last night, with modest losses for most of the financial sector. As a whole, the major indexes finished flat as several technology stocks and a few industrials weighed on the greater averages. China’s exports rose more than forecast in February, the third straight gain, which will add pressure on policy makers to withdraw stimulus measures adopted during the global recession.

Exports gained 46% in February from a year before after a 21% advance in January. The strengthening in exports will likely reduce excess capacity in manufacturing and fan inflation; which the latest government figures tomorrow may show reached a 16- month high last month.

Even commodities are relatively flat this morning, although some momentum appears to be building. Oil had lost some ground in the early hours but has since returned to even on the day at a little over the $81 mark. Gold is also moving slowly higher; showing a gain of more than $3 this morning to $1126. Gold’s modest upward movement is despite the fact that the Dollar has moved higher against its peers today.

The latest economic data scheduled for release includes Mortgage Applications, some Wholesale Trade information, and the EIA Petroleum Status Report. Earnings reports are due from Brown-Forman, Datalink, RAM Energy, ReneSolar, US Concrete, and a few others.

Looked at as a whole, the economic data over the past two weeks suggests that the U.S. economy will endure a slow, U-shaped recovery, at best The macro news, including data on consumer confidence, home sales, construction and employment, actually suggests a significant downside risk even to the already modest growth seen thus far. A double-dip recession is still a significant possibility.

[Via http://rainmaykr.wordpress.com]

Blooming with hydrogen

2010-03-10T03:43:00.000+02:00

I have actually talked about two technologies that I just realized could get us off the grid entirely, if they actually pan out. One is the Bloom Box and the other is Dan Nocera’s photolysis procedure.

The latter can take sunlight and create hydrogen and oxygen, which can then be stored. Later, when the sun has gone down, the hydrogen and oxygen can be fed through the Bloom Box to make electricity. And recreate the water that was originally split into the gases.

This is also carbon neutral, with no carbon dioxide being produced.

We are a ways from real commercialization of these two technologies, particularly in the home. But they both use relatively cheap and abundant materials, so costs may get much lower quite soon. And with increasing electricity costs, the entire affair, including solar panels, might pay for itself fairly quickly. Especially if you generate enough electricity to send some back to the grid.

[Listening to: Young Man Blues from the album "Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B (Disc 2)" by The Who]

[Via http://amanwithaphd.wordpress.com]

Low-tax Texas beats big-government California

2010-03-08T11:56:00.000+02:00

By Micheal Barone EXAMINER

“Stop messing with Texas!” That was the message Gov. Rick Perry bellowed on election night as he celebrated his victory over Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in the Republican primary for governor. In his reference to Texas’ anti-littering slogan, Perry was making a point applicable to national as well as Texas politics and addressed to Democratic politicians as well as Republicans.

His point was that the big-government policies of the Obama administration and Democratic congressional leaders are resented and fiercely opposed not just because of their dire fiscal effects but also as an intrusion on voters’ independence and ability to make decisions for themselves.

No one would include Perry on a list of serious presidential candidates, including himself, even in the flush of victory. But in his 10 years as governor, the longest in the state’s history, Texas has been teaching some lessons to which the rest of the nation should pay heed.

They are lessons that are particularly vivid when you contrast Texas, the nation’s second most populous state, with the most populous, California. Both were once Mexican territory, secured for the United States in the 1840s. Both have grown prodigiously over the past half-century. Both have populations that today are about one-third Hispanic.

But they differ vividly in public policy and in their economic progress — or lack of it — over the last decade. California has gone in for big government in a big way. Democrats hold big margins in the legislature largely because affluent voters in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area favor their liberal positions on cultural issues.

Those Democratic majorities have obediently done the bidding of public employee unions to the point that state government faces huge budget deficits. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s attempt to reduce the power of the Democratic-union combine with referenda was defeated in 2005 when public employee unions poured $100 million — all originally extracted from taxpayers — into effective TV ads.

Californians have responded by leaving the state. From 2000 to 2009, the Census Bureau estimates, there has been a domestic outflow of 1,509,000 people from California – almost as many as the number of immigrants coming in. Population growth has not been above the national average and, for the first time in history, it appears that California will gain no House seats or electoral votes from the reapportionment following the 2010 census.

Texas is a different story. Texas has low taxes — and no state income taxes — and a much smaller government. Its legislature meets for only 90 days every two years, compared with California’s year-round legislature. Its fiscal condition is sound. Public employee unions are weak or nonexistent.

Is it interesting to transform China into a democratic country?

2010-03-08T03:32:00.000+02:00

They already promoted the Olympic Games at their soil, which could be seen as a movement to open the country to the world, but they have already given signs that they don´t have any intentions to become a democracy.

We are talking about China, the biggest economy of the world, bigger than USA since 2009 crisis, continues to run the country with human rights restrictions. As an example that development and democracy can work normally together.

In Brazil, we had our experience with a dictatorship that lasted more than 20 years (1964-1985).

Some citizens and politicians insist on denying that wasn´t a real dictatorship. They say that it was a Revolution, a way to protect the country from the communist threat, and we had a Constitution, so, it wasn´t a real dictatorship. China has a constitution, and, as the Brazilian Dictatorship, they have all the government controlled by the army.

Let´s be direct! Dictatorship is the most interesting thing for any economy, it allows the country to grow at high rates and attracts foreign investments, because of cheap workforce, no unions and flexible laws.

Off course, there´s a price: it won´t be allowed to criticize the economy or simply say anything against the policy that the country is trying to apply. This would be anti-patriotic, would say those who want to justify the price charged for an economy that grows fast and at high rates.

Let´s be honest, most of the benefits from the dictatorship in China, or any other country in the world with no respect to the law, are being enjoyed by the richest economy of the world and some developing countries, as Brazil.

You can´t believe in what you are reading? Ok! Open your cell-phone, look at where the battery is made. Look behind your computer screen, and verify where it is made. Look at your tennis shoes and observe where it is manufactured. I´m pretty sure that the country where they are made has a small probability not to be China, but a giant probability to be made in a country that is poor and doesn´t care about civil or human rights. In better words: a country that doesn´t care about the state of right. Or doesn´t care about law!

The best thing in a dictatorship is this flexibility with laws or simply the inexistence of them. This is the most attractive characteristic for big companies to achieve the goal of decreasing their costs and increasing profits. Therefore, they become more competitive.

By this logic, a few politicians and wealthy people from the country where a dictatorship is set up earns a lot of money, while the country is used by big companies all over the world. At least, this was the logic of the dictatorship in Latin America. But, it cannot be simply applied for China today.

China lives a new kind of dictatorship that really allows economic growth, technology transference, participation of public and private capital mixed in the economy… So, they have been very successful to achieve development, where other countries haven´t been successful with this kind of model.

The key of Chinese development is its ability to attract foreign investment and absolve all that they think it´s necessary to promote their own development, from technology to organization of companies. On the other hand, to attract investment, they have become more flexible with laws.

Beyond the Chinese economy, a lot of companies are very comfortable with the Chinese law flexibility, because of the amount of money they are making. Unfortunately, a big mass of people have been smashed by this development Chinese dragon, so that China could become a strong economy.

For sure, in Chinese Dictatorship model, as in Brazil, It’s not interesting to transform the country into a big democracy for the next years. Because the country is a big island capable of attracting a lot of investment and giving support to the economic growth, thanks for the inexistence of legal restrictions.

During the dictatorship in Brazil, the economy had the highest rates of economic growth in the world. This information is easily confirmed by any history book or Google. Also, it´s true that Brazilian economy was innovative, when it was successful combining the highest inequality rates with highest growth rate.

Sooner, despite all the human rights restrictions going harder, the Chinese nation will be opened for the world. When this moment arrives, the law will be no more flexible, and the Chinese economy will be no longer so interesting for the big companies. By this time, the Chinese Government will have to face the problems created by this lack of laws, as Brazilian Economy has to face until today the inequality problems created by its dictatorship growth model.

Hence, when this moment comes, Google will be allowed to show for Chinese people how their future is compromised by the dictatorship development model from the past. Probably, some citizens and politicians will say that it wasn´t a real dictatorship, because they had a constitution and they accepted free market rules, so, it wasn´t as bad as the history shows.

Mario Henrique R. Suzigan is a lawyer and economist, and has a law office set up in Campinas – SP, Brazil.

[Via http://mariosuzigan.wordpress.com]

PROUT Policy Statement on Guaranteed Basic Necessities to All

2010-03-05T11:39:00.000+02:00

This text is from the ‘Global Prout Policy Parliament Statement on Guaranteed Basic Necessities and Common Amenities’

Introduction

Earth’s resources are the common inheritance of all humanity. So all people should enjoy the fundamental right to the goods and services required to maintain their existence and to support their development and their expression.

The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights asserts that, “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of [themself] and of [their] family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services,” and that, “Everyone has the right to education, [which] shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages.”

The Global Prout Policy Parliament declares that:

(1) the right to the minimum requirements of life — food, clothing, housing, medical care and education — must be constitutionally guaranteed;

(2) other basic necessities and common amenities of life must also be guaranteed; and

(3) effective policies are required for establishing this right in practice.

Minimum Requirements, Basic Necessities and Common Amenities

The minimum requirements of life include food (and drinking water), shelter, clothing, education, and medical care. People also need access to certain other requirements, including energy/fuel, transportation, communications, water supply, and waste disposal. Together, these constitute the basic necessities. In addition, all people desire common amenities — those things which make their life easy and satisfy their physical and psychic longings.

Society’s standard of the necessities and amenities that are due to all should be established according to the age and place in which people live. This standard should be progressively adjusted with changing conditions.

Purchasing Capacity

Acquisition of basic necessities and amenities should, in the main, come through individuals and families having access to adequate purchasing capacity.

Assuring a sufficient level of purchasing power should not just be the burden of individuals and families but, where appropriate, the society should assist as well.

For those able to work, purchasing capacity would be acquired through dignified labor, compensated by adequate pay. Those not able to work, because of disabilities or demands of family care, should receive their income through family support or from financial assistance arranged by the society.

With respect to education and medical care, the responsibility of the society is comparatively greater to provide these services directly. Basic education is the investment of the society in its future. And medical care cannot be provided efficiently and universally without being managed, in some manner or other, by the society.

Common Amenities

In addition to guaranteed basic necessities, the society must also see that its members have sufficient purchasing capacity to acquire common amenities — the commodities, services and experiences that are enjoyed in the age and place in which they live.

Not only should the common amenities be available to all, but they should become available in increasing measure.

Amenities that are at one point considered to be special goods, only available to a few, should increasingly come to be within the standard of living enjoyed by all.

Also, the productive capacity of the society should be devoted to maximizing the availability of common amenities, with comparatively less of its productive capacity going toward producing luxury goods. That is to say, the production of luxury goods should not take place at the expense of adequate production of everyday consumer goods.

The purpose of the progressive increase in common amenities (whether in quality or quantity) is not to promote consumption or clutter people’s lives with material possessions. It is to meet people’s natural physical and psychic longings and give them an expanded material base for their all-round development and expression.

While people should enjoy the right of ample access to common amenities, this must occur within the context of sustainable production and protecting the health of the environment.

Arranging Purchasing Capacity

The guarantee of people’s purchasing capacity requires two main factors:

First, the society must arrange for full employment for all who are able to work. This, in turn, requires policies and approaches that ensure a vital, stable, and sustainable economy. It also means that as efficiencies of productivity increase due to mechanization and improved utilization of human potentials, the length of the work-day should be reduced.

Second, economic planning and policy must insure the availability of commodities, stable prices, periodic increases in wages, and a steady increase in collective assets (such as roads, electrical grids, and communication systems).

Constitutional Guarantee

The right to guaranteed basic necessities and common amenities should be established in principle in the global declaration of human rights. It should then be constitutionally and legally established at the national level. And it should be implemented in practice through national, regional and local economic planning policy.

If a regional or local economy, due to underdevelopment, lacks sufficient capacity to adequately assure basic necessities and amenities, then neighboring regions within the concerned nation or multi-national federation should contribute resources and other assistance for the accelerated development of the less developed region or locale.

Where citizens enjoy a guaranteed right to purchasing power, should they then face economic hardship due to unemployment or lack of state assistance, they would be statutorily empowered to take legal action against the concerned state for failure to manage the economy in a manner that assures them adequate income to meet their needs.

Relativity of Standards

The standard of basic necessities and common amenities that people should enjoy cannot be fixed but require adjustment according to three relative factors.

First, standards will change over time: education in the age of print required use of books, while education in the electronic age also requires access to the Internet.

Second, standards depend on location: the clothing worn by Siberians will differ from that of Nigerians.

Third, people may have individual needs: an autistic child, for example, may need special educational assistance.

Wealth Limitations

Neither basic necessities nor common amenities can be properly provided if the society fails to place reasonable limitations on over-accumulation of individual wealth. The limits on excessive accumulation should be periodically adjusted so as to maintain balance between social equity on the one hand and the efficacy of income incentives on the other. Social policy should strive to continually adjust the gap between the highest wage compensation and the lowest in a manner that encourages equitable growth in everyone’s standard of living.

Should the society feel an individual is able to make socially constructive use of a greater level of wealth, it should give that individual express permission for an exception to the cap on accumulation.

Incentives

The guarantee of basic necessities and common amenities and the provision of material incentives are intimately linked. Where the standard of income rewards for hard work and socially valued talents fails to create sufficient incentives, the economic vitality of the whole society will suffer — and those with the least will suffer most.

Increasing Standard of Living

To serve both individual and collective interests, there should be a steady rise in the standard of living of the society. Indeed, the increase in standard of living is a principal measure of the vitality of a society.

An increase in the standard of living cannot properly be measured by growth in per capita income. Money may lose its value, taxation may rise disproportionately with growth of income, or people may become burdened with new kinds of expenditures required by the society.

The proper measure should instead be that of growth in purchasing power. When there is growth of purchasing power, there will implicitly be an increase in the material standard of living.

Maintaining Balance

Increase in the standard of living does not necessarily mean an increase in the quantity of material consumption. In underdeveloped and in developing societies this may be the case, as many in these societies lack even the basic necessities. But in developed countries, an increasing standard of living may mean access to a higher quality of goods, housing, and services. Or it may entail the acquisition of creative skills or of personal development experiences, rather than the acquisition of material stuff.

Balance between the society and the environment cannot be maintained where there is mindless consumption. Much of the present excess in material consumption is due to enticements to buy that are goaded by profit-driven advertising. And it occurs because spiritual development is not well-supported, so that people seek fulfillment by indulging in material cravings, rather than through personal development and spiritual upliftment.

A New Paradigm of Development

No society can guarantee basic necessities and amenities if its economy depletes and fouls water tables, soil vitality, forests, arable land, marine life and other resources necessary for human, and non-human, life to thrive. Giving primacy to the profit motive in economic development goads resource depletion and environmental destruction.

Therefore, the guarantee of basic necessities and amenities cannot occur under capitalism, but requires a new economic system that promotes balanced and sustainable development.

Capitalism has had success in increasing the scope of necessities and amenities enjoyed by many on the planet. And, with the adoption of regulatory and welfare policies, a near universal social safety net has been established in a few developed capitalist countries. Yet, capitalism is inherently unable to assure adequate purchasing power to all, to manage a path of development that is truly sustainable, or to sufficiently support the inner development of human beings.

So an expanded economic paradigm is now required, one that has a life-centered value base. Only then can the whole of the human family be well cared for and be given opportunities to fully develop and fully express their potentialities. And only then will the impact of human economic life lighten on the planet, so that all other living beings can also thrive.

Policies for Enhancing Purchasing Capacity

Full implementation of the principle of guaranteed basic necessities and common amenities may prove difficult in profit driven economies and may have to await the acceptance of a new socioeconomic paradigm able to give more attention to human needs.

However, in this time of growing economic hardship and high unemployment, there is great need to develop practical policies and approaches that can increase people’s purchasing capacity. Immediate practical steps are required. If this is not done, those who are without the means to acquire their basic goods and services will either suffer from want, or over-burden the state with welfare expenditures, or resort to anti-social or desperate means for their livelihood. And, having meager disposable income, they can do little to help revive stagnant economies.

There are several strategies available to local communities, and to regions and nations, to create and enhance purchasing capacity. The Global Prout Policy Parliament recommends making use of the following approaches, as may be appropriate given local conditions and opportunities:

(1) make affordable goods and services more available, thus extending the purchasing capacity of money;

(2) arrange to make jobs more available (eg, through policies that promote job creation) or to prevent job losses (eg, reducing work hours to prevent job loss), giving more people access to earned income;

(3) establish means of exchange that are outside of the money economy for acquiring income, goods and capital;

(4) create opportunities for citizen-based access to small enterprise credit;

(5) keep capital within the local community where it can circulate and enhance opportunities for more people to earn sufficient livelihoods;

(6) protect the productive capacity of the earth from environmental degradation, and restore the productivity of lands that have been degraded;

(7) enact policies that prevent money from lying stagnant and keep it circulating;

(8) create policies that serve to reduce concentration of wealth and which progressively redistribute it;

(9) protect local jobs from being outsourced;

(10) relocalize economic development, and in particular build the capacity of the local economy to produce goods locally;

(11) help people to acquire new job-related skills;

(12) provide capital and infrastructure development that assist in establishing new enterprises that have promise to create new employment;

(13) tightly regulate and limit all speculative markets;

(14) find new and productive uses for resources that are presently wasted or underutilized,

(15) regulate profit margins on basic necessities to prevent price gouging,

(16) give preferential support for small labor intensive industries that make efficient use of technology and do not require large capital investment,

(17) provide government funding for jobs that build the society’s productive potentialities by enhancing its human capital, infrastructure capital, natural capital, and social capital, and

(18) encourage the formation of producer cooperatives as a means of retaining wealth within local economies.

[Via http://pranavbihari.wordpress.com]

Altruism, Adversarialism and Women: 08

2010-03-05T03:47:00.000+02:00

In my previous post on this topic, I had talked about why escorts are often a better deal than relationships with women (LTR, STR, fuckbuddy, hookups). This post will introduce another concept-

Any ‘non-paid’ sexual relationship with a woman is a three card monte game.

You are the “mark”, she is the “con” and society is the “shill”.

Let me explain the analogy:

You see, it does not matter how tall you are, how educated you are, how white you are, how family minded you are.. it is never enough, even if the woman looks like a decrepit POS. She will just let you win a few times, fuck her often enough while pretending to be in love with you (validating you etc). She might even fool herself for some time. But that period will be soon over, and then you will see her true colors.

It will start with lesser sex, more arguments, more tantrums, more BS.. and end with either her making your existence miserable or leaving you for another “mark”.

You might think that game will help you.. WRONG! Game can get you sex, and it may even buy you more time in a LTR. But it will never cancel the inevitable.

The inevitable is either a miserable existence or abandonment. All her proclamations of love, fidelity, the size of your penis, height, smell, manners are worthless.. she won’t remember them in a few years or months. The validation from seducing a woman is equally worthless- do you raise your own chickens and pigs for eggs and bacon? Does a nice omelet with fried bacon taste any better because your raised your won food? Think about it.. is the urge to eat conceptually any different from the urge to have sex? Does an earthworm or insect enjoy sex less than you? If anything, their brains feel it more intensely than yours.

You can believe the “shills” and play Three Card Monte, but you will not come out ahead. Even if you think you can win it, you are playing by the rules of the “con”. Google the term ‘calvinball’, the rules change according to needs of the “con”. You are just the latest “mark”. Most “marks” get conned because they think they are smarter than the “con”. Whether it is gambling, contracts or relationships with women, a delusion of invincibility will screw you over.

I have heard many men say “Oh.. I can get ‘free’ sex, maybe there is something ‘wrong’ about you”. Here is a newsflash: I don’t care about your opinion about me. I live for MYSELF, and am not interested in gaining acclaim from “shills” or “cons”. Such acclaim is very easy to gain if you throw some money around, or are willing to hurt people. It is however useless, and cannot buy you anything when you need it badly.

If you are interested in hearing some validation, use a well reviewed semi-pro. It is so much cheaper.

Do You Feel the Credit Card Crunch ?

2010-03-03T11:43:00.000+02:00

With new federal credit-card regulations on the horizon, banks and card providers are boosting interest rates, fees and minimum payments, according to news reports.

Before the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act takes full effect in February 2010, credit-card issuers are “raising annual percentage rates, slashing credit limits and hiking minimum payments,” writes Dallas Morning News columnist Pamela Yip.

She also cites a loophole on a regulation set to kick in Aug. 20, requiring companies to issue a notice 45 days in advance of any rate increase.

Yet the law only applies for cards with fixed rates; variable rate cards, which account for two-thirds of all cards issued, are excluded.

Now, a growing number of banks and credit-card providers are swapping fixed rate cards for ones with variable rates to sidestep the guidelines, reports the Hartford Courant.

In Minnesota, State Attorney General Lori Swanson is targeting mandatory arbitration, which American Banker describes as a means by which card providers “divert consumer lawsuits into the privately run arbitration system.”

Swanson has already take one company, the National Arbitration Forum, out of the business, after suing it for “deceitful practices,” such as failing to disclose their ties to the collection industry, and for using “fine print contracts” that target “the little guy.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has accused Swanson of getting too political.

Minimum payments are also on the rise. Chase, which recently acquired Washington Mutual, is boosting minimum payments on balances from two to five percent effective in August.

Fear not – there’s lots of money available for business loans if you know where to look.

The Web Lender brokers Business Loans Worldwide in 45 Days – or LESS from $3,000,000 up – no limit

We work with PPP, trade platforms, leased instruments, BG’s, MTN’s, and SBLC’s.

The Web Lender brokers unsecured business loans – up to $100,000 to USA based business only and using a USA based lender.     You need good credit to qualify. Funding is possible in 7-10 days.

Business Loan Application here

Telephone +972 3-699-3065

FAX +972 3-699-3587

Email: mail@theweblender.com

SKYPE – theweblender

FAQ page for more information

** The Web Lender does not conduct business in India, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Haiti, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Georgia, Columbia, The Philippines, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Bangladesh, all Arab states, Russia, and the African continent.

[Via http://theweblender.wordpress.com]

Post Olympic Job Losses - "The show's host had to ask her several times how many people were hired who will now be out of work. After much dodging she finally came up with a ballpark figure."Over 50,000"

2010-03-03T03:55:00.000+02:00

bestplaceonmeth at vancouvercondo.info 2 Mar 2010 at 5:31 pm – “I was listening to a spokesperson from Adecco Employment Services on CBC this morning, they’re the ones who hired people for the Olympics. The show’s host had to ask her several times how many people were hired who will now be out of work. After much dodging she finally came up with a ballpark figure.”Over 50,000″ was her answer.”

“The show’s host had to ask her several times how many people were hired who will now be out of work. After much dodging she finally came up with a ballpark figure.”Over 50,000″

[Via http://vreaa.wordpress.com]

Al Gore Thaws to Spin new Fictional Global Warming Yarns

2010-03-01T19:54:00.000+02:00

Al Gore Heats up the Global Warming Debate with his own facts.

Good news, he’s back to spin another yarn on Global Warming, I mean, climate change. Was he frozen completely solid so far this 2010? Where was Al the Climate Man? Perhaps he has been hibernating to reduce green house gasses.

Here are the crib notes to his lengthy New York Times fictional Op-Ed on Global Climate Change Warming.

He starts right off on page one admitting that his data was flawed and overestimated.

Excerpt from Al’s latest Climate Crisis Alert:

“It is true that the climate panel published a flawed overestimate of the melting rate of debris-covered glaciers in the Himalayas, and used information about the Netherlands provided to it by the government, which was later found to be partly inaccurate.”

Hey that’s great Al! You admit your data is flawed, but let’s not let facts get in the way.

His yarn continues with a fictional story about life without the fear of Global Warming. He says, “But what a burden would be lifted! We would no longer have to worry that our grandchildren would one day look back on us as a criminal generation that had selfishly and blithely ignored clear warnings that their fate was in our hands.”

Criminal Generation? Who is the criminal here Al?

Al Gore's Energy Wasting Compound made him realize that Algore is the enemy of the state.

“Gore’s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).”

What happened, did Al wake up one morning look in the mirror and realize that he was looking at the enemy?

Facts Not Needed, Just take my word for it!

Al’s yarn continues, ” January was seen as unusually cold in much of the United States. Yet from a global perspective, it was the second-hottest January since surface temperatures were first measured 130 years ago.” Yet he fails to cite any source, research or other evidence that what he says is true. Al you have a credibility problem here, no one believes you so you can’t just make things up anymore.

A Great Algore Lie

Here is some ALGORE SPIN, this is a great lie, “The heavy snowfalls this month have been used as fodder for ridicule by those who argue that global warming is a myth, yet scientists have long pointed out that warmer global temperatures have been increasing the rate of evaporation from the oceans, putting significantly more moisture into the atmosphere — thus causing heavier downfalls of both rain and snow in particular regions, including the Northeastern United States.” Wow, now the global warming is putting moisture in the air in the winter. Again, there are not sources, just Al’s imagination working overtime.

Now Al gets off topic a bit, “The political paralysis that is now so painfully evident in Washington has thus far prevented action by the Senate — not only on climate and energy legislation, but also on health care reform, financial regulatory reform and a host of other pressing issues.” Ok Al, one crisis at a time. Otherwise you’re gonna lose some of us old folks in your plot.

Blame the US, Just Don’t Blame Canada

So why isn’t the Global Warming story getting any traction? Al blame US. “Because the world still relies on leadership from the United States, the failure by the Senate to pass legislation intended to cap American emissions before the Copenhagen meeting guaranteed that the outcome would fall far short of even the minimum needed to build momentum toward a meaningful solution.”

Well who did you expect Al to blame? Canada? No, it’s the United States’ fault but also the economy stupid, “The globalization of the economy, coupled with the outsourcing of jobs from industrial countries, has simultaneously heightened fears of further job losses in the industrial world and encouraged rising expectations in emerging economies. The result? Heightened opposition, in both the industrial and developing worlds, to any constraints on the use of carbon-based fuels, which remain our principal source of energy.”

Blame Capitalism Too

He also blames ‘capitalism’ for his failures,, “The decisive victory of democratic capitalism over communism in the 1990s led to a period of philosophical dominance for market economics worldwide and the illusion of a unipolar world. It also led, in the United States, to a hubristic “bubble” of market fundamentalism that encouraged opponents of regulatory constraints to mount an aggressive effort to shift the internal boundary between the democracy sphere and the market sphere.”

Oh my gosh, Al uses some big words and phrases here, let’s start with ‘hubristic’.Hubristic refers to pride or arrogance. Which is it Al is it the pride or the arrogance of the people that is causing global warming? I don’t even want to tackle his run-on market fundamentalism..regulatory constraints and aggressive effort to the market sphere. It’s just Al being Al. Thanks Al, you’re so smart.

In Conclusion, Replace Those who do not Obey Me

Finally, after nearly 5000 highly crafted words, Al concludes his fictional yarn with a demand that we replace those who do not conform to his theories. “Public officials must rise to this challenge by doing what is required; and the public must demand that they do so — or must replace them.”

A day without Al, is like a day without sunshine. Glad to have you back with your wild spinning tales.

Here is Al’s latest diatribe if you want to read the whole thing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/opinion/28gore.html

[Via http://criticalpolitics.wordpress.com]

Mise en scène

2010-02-26T11:56:00.000+02:00

It is apparent that the Scottish Government is quite capable of maintaining the intensity of the controversy concerning an independence referendum throughout the whole period between now and the election in May 2011. In that period there will be at least one obviously relevant major political development, the UK general election this year, and one obviously major economic development.

Blighty is going to perform an economic miracle with Falklands oil? In that time frame? Ever? For that time frame what is being predicted by those who saw the present recession coming a long way off is extremely serious trouble for the UK, not least because its ridiculously hefty deficit will be greater than Greece’s ridiculously hefty deficit this year.

The CDS (Credit Default Swap) speculators who have been targeting Greece are very much expected to target dear old Blighty in a big way after feasting on Portugal and Spain and one or two other states. If the UK triple-A credit rating is lost as a result of this, the cost of servicing Blighty’s ginormous public debt goes up, and in consequence of this public spending will have to come down possibly even more than one might imagine.

If the Scottish budget provided by Westminster looks like being slashed, will the independence option be likely to seem more or less attractive, considering the size of the public sector in UK Scotland? As First Minister Salmond noted in an interview in a major financial journal during a recent official visit to France, those who forecast that there would never be a Scottish parliament and that he would never lead an SNP government are the people who are claiming that a majority of the Scottish electorate cannot be induced to vote for independence. They are also for ever telling us that everything in the Blighty garden is lovely.

In reality the W double dip that respected economists such as Drs Roubini and *Jorion, among others, have been warning about may just conceivably provide the economic and fiscal environment in which the Scottish constitutional issue will be coming to a head. Far be it from me to make such a prediction or indeed any prediction, but there does seem to be a swarm of locusts on the horizon, and it seems to be heading for Blighty.

*”Paul Jorion est un de ceux que l’on devrait écouter. Economiste et anthropologue, il a une vaste expérience du monde financier. Il a publié des travaux importants anticipant la crise et ce qui s’est passé, et a suggéré plusieurs propositions qui méritent l’attention de tous. Au cœur de la crise, il voit l’état de sauvagerie dans laquelle on a laissé la finance évoluer dans les dernières décennies, sous couvert d’une myriade de règlements, qui, contrairement à ce qui était prévu, ont au contraire favorisé toutes les formes d’abus et les dérives les plus hallucinantes.” (Manuel Maria Carrilho, ancien ministre portugais, La bulle du conformisme, Diario de Noticias, February 24th 2010)

[Via http://franklyfrancophone.wordpress.com]

Greensboro Economic Development Alliance Announces 2009 Results

2010-02-26T03:02:00.000+02:00

Greensboro Economic Development Alliance (GEDA) announced today that the organization had leveraged the creation of 856 new jobs and $70.9 million in new capital investment in 2009 despite a turbulent global economy. Ameritox, Ltd., LabCorp, and Flight Safety International, Inc. all chose Greensboro and Guilford County for new facilities this year, while Machine Specialties, ConvaTec, and the HF Group, with existing local facilities, all elected to expand operations here.

Greensboro and Guilford County also enjoyed the fruit of earlier economic development announcements in 2009. Precor and O’Reilly are both operating in the eastern part of Guilford County. Mack Trucks had a grand opening for their corporate headquarters. FedEx Express opened in 2009 sorting more packages initially than when the Indianapolis hub originally opened and FedEx Ground, in the western part of the county, is under construction, still scheduled to be completed in 2011.

“2009 was certainly a challenging year for the global economy, but we continued to aggressively market Greensboro, which helped us attract investments by major companies like Ameritox, Ltd. and ConvaTec” remarked Greensboro Economic Development Alliance President, Dan Lynch. “Our momentum over the past few years was very strong and we expect 2010 to be a more robust year for Greensboro.”

GEDA focuses its work using an industry cluster strategy, centered on advanced manufacturing, aviation, financial and business services, life sciences, and transportation and logistics.

A member of the Greensboro Partnership, Greensboro Economic Development Alliance’s mission is to facilitate the creation of high quality jobs, attract new capital investment, retain and expand existing businesses, improve per capita income and generally improve the quality of life in Greensboro and Guilford County.

[Via http://thunktank.wordpress.com]

Time to bring back the 0% starting rate of corporation tax

2010-02-24T11:33:00.000+02:00

From 2002 to 2006 the starting rate of Corporation Tax was 0%, meaning that companies making a small amount of profit had what amounted to a tax-free allowance on their profits before they started to pay Corporation Tax.

When the Labour government introduced the 0% rate in 2002 there was a marked increase in the number of company formations as self-employed people and partnerships became limited companies as a means to paying less tax. It also, critically, made setting up as a company an attractive alternative to formal employment, allowing experts to free themselves on employment contracts and work for a multitude of clients.

The 0% rate was abolished in 2006 the rate on the basis of it being too popular and damaging government revenue – it was now seen as a tax avoidance measure and not a policy to stimulate business. The result of scrapping the 0% rate was an immediate increase (running into thousands of Pounds) in tax liabilities for small companies, something the economic boom of the time could absorb without a dramatic increase in company debt.

Jump ahead to 2010 and the UK is suffering from high unemployment and small businesses are fighting for their very existence each day. The government has introduced a Business Payment Support Service to allow small companies to spread tax payments and the return of VAT to 17.5% is providing some relief to the many small businesses on the VAT Flat Rate Scheme, but neither of these measures encourage people to set up businesses, they just make it a little easier once tax payments are due – months after the initial start-up.

So wouldn’t it be smart for the next budget to bring back the 0% starting rate of Corporation Tax, ideally linked to the personal allowance for Income Tax? This would lead to a spike in businesses being formed and would give people tied into employment contracts that extra bit of confidence to go out on their own. Putting aside the obvious moral benefits of such a move, allowing people to take a chance at their own ambitions and sending a message that the government wants people to take a shot at their dreams, it would also make the economy instantly more flexible and would actually increase the likelihood of people making money for themselves and thus, the government may actually increase tax revenue as a result.

Setting up your own business should be easy and you should not be punished for doing so by tax rules dreamt up by people who have never run a small business. Indeed, government tax policy should actively encouraging people to start small businesses, making it more attractive than standard employment.

If the UK is to move away from the play-it-safe mentality of the last few years, where employees understandably forego their own ambitions in favour of security and the government creates vast bureaucracies to stifle enterprise and entrepreneurial spirit, the new government must use its first budget to actively start shifting things the other way.

The trickle-down effect would be back, and our economic recovery would be based on something more than yet further government spending.

[Via http://politicalbusiness.wordpress.com]

Climate Change Deniers - The New Truthers?

2010-02-24T03:45:00.000+02:00

Nothing staggers and irritates me more than the ignorance of people who want to ignore climate change. The folks who say “Hey, it’s snowing in Texas, global warming must be a big lie” stagger me because they’re just so stupid. Never mind the fact that climate and weather aren’t the same thing, or the fact that bizarre weather patterns stem from unusual temperatures in parts of the oceans, it’s just ridiculous that these people have decided that massive heaps of peer-reviewed science are somehow “junk” because the contrived nonsense pumped out by deniers says so.

It’s funny, because one of the standard nonsense arguments that theists like to bring up when I get entangled with them is something called “Pascal’s Wager”. The argument basically considered the possible outcomes of choosing to believe of not believe in god, against the possibility of god ecisting or not existing. Pascal basically made the argument that if you believed in god and he didn’t exist, the consequence was basically nothing, but if you didn’t believe, and god did exist then the consequences were disastrous.

In a theological debate, the premise is a little ridiculous, it doesn’t hold any logical basis, though I’m sure for many people it’s reason enough to keep faith.

I saw a video a while ago which basically translated Pascal’s Wager to the climate change debate. There’s four possible outcomes. It’s either real or not real, and we either act or we don’t. If it’s not real and we don’t act, that’s great. If it’s not real and we act, well, we could still potentially benefit a great deal from developing new technologies and ideas that still conserve resources, make for cleaner air, etc. If it’s real and we act, we could greatly improve our lives and possibly save ourselves as a species. If it’s real and we don’t act – well, the results will be determined by just how severe the reality is.

The reality is that most of the changes we would need to make to address climate change would benefit us in the long run by conserving non-renewable resources like oil, natural gas, and coal. The fact is that burning these fuels has a variety of negative environmental consquences besides CO2 production that we know to be altering the climate, as well as things likes the pH of seawater. I say we know this because it is fact, supported with piles of research. Burning oil releases sulphur and nitrogen oxides which create smog and acid rain. Coal burning produces those, but also emits things like mercury into the air.

So what happens if we act to reduce those emissions? Well, we have to come up with a way to do so – and cap & trade is one method suggested. This sort of thing isn’t really new – I remember back in Costa Rica when I was there in 1998 that carbon offsetting and trading was being discussed then - primarily as a means to support ecologically-minded charities’ efforts to buy up rainforest tracts to preserve them. There’s of course the argument that India & China won’t play along – but this to me is sort of a variation of the “tu quoque” fallacy. They won’t play along, why then should we?

Ultimately, I don’t believe that not playing along gives a great competitive advantage. Just because some other nations won’t play along right away doesn’t mean that there’s no point in trying to do so. The fact is, as well, that the kind of advancements we can make to improve out ecological impact will likely lead to new job, new industries, to progress. It is an inescapable fact that the “old” economy of much of North America, the manufacturing economy as we knew, is mostly done. No longer can we expect to lead in manufacturing of simple goods – cheaper labour abroad in places like China have made that clear. We can’t base an economy on selling hamburgers and haircuts to each other, either – so it’s clear at least to me that if we want to continue to enjoy prosperity we need to seek opportunities to strike out into new fields.

I’m looking forward to building a new home in the next few months, and putting much effort into using new technologies to make it more efficient. As planned for now, we’ll be building an R2000+/LEED home, roughed for solar power/water heating (though I won’t be able to put it in right away), using a heat pump rather than conventional HVAC, etc. My criteria is that the investments I make have to be ones that will actually provide a cost benefit – so no wind turbine as my research suggests that it’s not currently a benefit, but I think we’ll be able to do a lot of good.

I want this technology to be available – and I want to see my neighbours developing it and profiting from it. That’s why we need to get to work on the problem, instead of trying to obfuscate and decate what is becoming more and more obviously fact.

Incidentally, if you’re a climate change skeptic, Canadian Senator Grant Mitchell, who’s an avid Twitter user, sent out this link from the Pembina Institute that inspired this whole post. It’s well worth a read: http://climate.pembina.org/blog/71

[Via http://warriorbanker.wordpress.com]

Lufthansa pilots begin strike

2010-02-22T11:27:00.000+02:00

The pilot’s union of German airline Lufthansa have begun a four-day strike over pay and job security. Operations at subsidiary airlines Lufthansa Cargo and Germanwings are also affected by the strike.

The strike began at midnight on Monday (18:00 Sunday EST) after negotiations between the airline and union, Vereinigung Cockpit, over the weekend failed to resolve the threat. According to the union, the strike was over reduced flying time for the pilots, triggered by Lufthansa’s recent acquisition of several smaller airlines, which the union says is causing traffic to be diverted from union-operated routes. Additionally, the union was seeking a pay increase of 6.4% and guarantees that German labor conditions would apply to Lufthansa crews from abroad, which would reduce the incentive for outsourcing to foreign crews. In a statement issued by Lufthansa, however, the airline said that the union also demanded a greater say in the operation of the airline, which Lufthansa was unwilling to agree to.

The strike is expected to impact travelers on other airlines, as Lufthansa is a major player in the Star Alliance, and code-share operations with other airlines operated by Lufthansa would be affected by the strike. The strike involves more than 4,000 pilots, most of whom have been working without a contract for nearly a year. According to a union spokesman, upwards of 90% of the union’s members voted to strike. The strike is expected to cost Lufthansa around US$33-34 million (about €24-25 million) a day, not counting the impact at other airlines.

[Via http://novostite.wordpress.com]

Writing a book no one wants to read

2010-02-22T03:48:00.000+02:00

I have written a few books. No one wants to read them or pay for them.

I suppose if they had been published, it would help.

I got disgusted to the point I don’t even know where two manuscripts are, somewhere in Mexico I suspect, and the third I have on a hard drive somewhere.

I’m not the only one who wrote a book no one is interested in. There are plenty of us. We turned to blogging out of frustration.

I was thinking about starting a club, the Book Writers Who No One is Interested in and offer courses in non creative writing to insure our non success.

That should get some attention.

I have read a few manuscripts or portions thereof in the past year by people who I have come to know on the web and to my way of thinking some of it is better than the books on the best sellers lists.

Is there a market saturation in authors?

WordPress has about ten million blogs and half of us are wannabe authors. I don’t think there are enough readers in the world to keep all of us busy and there are not enough publishers to handle it.

Maybe my stuff is dull.

I think I’ll go back to my job as a fresh air inspector.

[Via http://plainview.wordpress.com]

▶ CLARÍN (ARGENTINA) | Buscan en la ONU una vía de negociación por Malvinas

2010-02-19T11:50:00.000+02:00

«[...] Taiana espera arribar el próximo miércoles a la sede de las Naciones Unidas en Nueva York con un contundente documento de apoyo a la posición argentina bajo el brazo. Allí, le solicitará al secretario general, Ban Ki-moon, que convoque a una mesa de negociación con Gran Bretaña sobre la exploración petrolera en las islas. “Estamos tratando de provocar las condiciones propicias para el diálogo y la negociación”, explicó el embajador argentino ante la ONU, Jorge Argüello, a la agencia oficial Télam, al tiempo que acusó a sectores británicos de “agitar el fantasma bélico”. Por eso, subrayó que el objetivo último es “discutir la cuestión de fondo: la soberanía de las islas” [...]». Leonardo Mindez

Read the article in Clarín.

[Via http://babello.info]

Why Universal Medicare Isn't an Option

2010-02-19T03:52:00.000+02:00

At one time, those advocating a “public option” were trying to claim it was not a socialized health care proposal like Medicaid/Medicare.

Now they’re actually proposing that this massive socialized bureaucracy be extended to cover all Americans.

The obvious question is, with a system that requires the whole of the nation to suffer a massive tax burden in order to cover 14% of the population, where are we going to get the huge amount of money necessary to cover 100%? Especially when that system is already underfunded, in danger of going broke in only a few years.

Right now, most Americans pay more to FICA than they pay in income taxes.

What happens when you increase it to cover SEVEN TIMES as many people?

Are YOU ready to pay 700% as much in taxes, to cover universal Medicare?

This socialized system only works because it involves the productive part of America paying out the nose to support a tiny fraction of the population. Making it universal would be, quite literally, saying “I know how to make a pyramid scheme work: Put EVERYONE at the top of the pyramid, at the same time!”

And this is aside from how bad, how harmful, Medicare already is to America, even when it only covers one seventh of Americans:

Fraud and Theft: Medicare is already fraught with fraud…it is thought that between sixty and seventy two billion dollars are stolen from the taxpayers via Medicare fraud, each year. That’s $72,000,000,000 every year. Imagine how much the fraud would balloon if the government had to police seven times as many people. The lost money would be comparable to the recent Stimulus/Bailout spending, but it would never end.
Too Expensive and Inefficient: Medicare is ALREADY expected to run out of money by 2017. It is horribly under-funded. How are we going to expand it 700%?
Abysmal quality: Consumer and doctor dissatisfaction with Medicare is only surpassed by the similarly government-mandated HMO system.
Driving Costs: The ballooning cost of health care is consistently charted as having begun in the late sixties, right after the creation of Medicare. This system strips away consumer controls of prices…if the government took over the buying of your meals, the price of food would similarly go through the roof.
Tax the Poor: The wealthiest segment of Americans is the oldest. Americans tend to gain more wealth as they age. Yet the poorest segment of Americans are forced to pay in full for FICA, already. In effect, the poorest are being taxed for the richest.

Next time someone suggests that we should simply extend Medicare to cover everyone, because it’s working so well, ask him where we’ll get the two billion people necessary to fund extending that this fraud-ridden, insolvent, price-ballooning system to the 86% of Americans who now fund it for the rest.

[Via http://butnowyouknow.wordpress.com]

Can we Create Jobs in an Economy Controlled by a Few?

2010-02-17T11:14:00.000+02:00

by Libby Conn and John Dankosky – Today, we talk about jobs. But, really, everybody’s talking about jobs right now. It’s the anniversary of the Obama administration’s stimulus bill, which packed neither the job creation, nor the political punch the President was looking for. Gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont kicked off his run officially yesterday…and job creation was the main focus of his speech (Listen for Jeff Cohen’s report here).

In fact, during yesterday’s show, we talked a bit about jobs. How monopolistic American companies actually drive jobs away from small business, and then destroy them through mergers and off-shoring.

This is just a part of the scary outlook presented in Barry Lynn’s book, Cornered. Keep an eye out for an upcoming piece he’s got in Washington Monthly about monopolies and job loss. He argues that lawmakers can debate jobs legislation until they’re blue in the face, but that they won’t be taking a serious stab at the problem of unemployment unless they take a hard look at the “new monopolies” that control our economy.

We noted an interesting exchange between a Lynn, and a caller who suggested that big government regulation of corporations wasn’t going to help anything – in fact it would make it harder for small businessmen like himself. He charged Lynn with being an “academic.” Here’s his response:

Barry Lynn

“I don’t want big government. One thing I think that people should understand is that I’m not an academic. I actually don’t have a graduate degree. I worked, managed a business for many years– an independent magazine that’s made its money in the market. So I know about keeping the cash flowing to keep people in their jobs. I know how tough it is. One of the reasons I wrote this book is because I want to help the entrepreneurs in this country figure out who their friends are and who their enemies are. Their friends tend to be each other. They cannot count on government as an entity to save them. They cannot count on big business to save them. What they can do is use government to fight big business and make a space for themselves and their brethren in other sectors…..One of the reasons that we have regulations that make it very hard for small business to start up is because government is controlled by large business…. If small businesses want to compete, the first targets they have to take on are the large businesses that use the government against them.”

(In case you feel like you’ve heard this before, it might have come from this guy.)

But listener Todd Vachon wondered if any real such competition is possible:

“I just wanted to suggest that the natural tendency of capitalism is monopolize. The end goal of “competition” is always to defeat all competitors. While the government can regulate they can also deregulate. This is a never-ending cycle of corporate profit versus public interest. Can there ever really be an end to monopolization without actually changing the whole economic system to one that is based on different values, other than maximizing profit.”

All interesting stuff. But, we left wondering whether anything in our political system would ever change to break this “never-ending cycle.”

[Via http://whereweblog.wordpress.com]

CNN Poll: 52% Don't want Obama Re-Elected

2010-02-17T03:50:00.000+02:00

CNN poll: 52% say Obama doesn’t deserve reelection in 2012 By Michael O’Brien – 02/16/10 01:35 PM ET

52 percent of Americans said President Barack Obama doesn’t deserve reelection in 2012, according to a new poll.

44 percent of all Americans said they would vote to reelect the president in two and a half years, less than the slight majority who said they would prefer to elect someone else.

Obama faces a 44-52 deficit among both all Americans and registered voters, according to a CNN/Opinion Research poll released Tuesday. Four percent had no opinion.

For full article: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/81213-52-say-obama-doesnt-deserve-reelection-

[Via http://james4america.wordpress.com]

Palin’s Cunning Sleight of Hand - NYTimes.com

2010-02-15T11:47:00.000+02:00

Op-Ed Columnist – Palin’s Cunning Sleight of Hand – NYTimes.com.

Frank Rich writes this scathing attack on the GOP incumbents who feast on pork as much as their Democrat counterparts in his normal genre. Yet, it turns into weak propaganda as he tries to paint Palin as part of that incumbent machine – a positioning that all but the loyal leftist who are addicted to this kind of wordsmithing and need it to feed their ideological addiction.

Rich admits that Palin outsmarted the media and the liberal left with the so called “hand-gate” nonsense in another “gotcha” moment. That infuriates him so much that he invested quite a bit of rhetorical energy into concocting this spin.

But, Americans already get it in increasing numbers, well past a majority. We are in the mood to throw out ALL of the bums in Washington. We already know that the GOP folks that have been in place the last two years are, for the most part, as corrupt as any politicians and stealing our taxpayer money.

Since Rich is merely stating the obvious about that, his words will be ignored by conservatives and independents. Who cares about the rest?

[Via http://classicallib.wordpress.com]

New Home Sales Fall For December 2009

2010-02-15T03:27:00.000+02:00

The U. S. Census Bureau announced on January 27, 2010 that sales of new one-family homes dropped another 7.6% in December 2009 from the previous month to 342,000 units. As usual, results were mixed regionally, with the Northeast up +42.9%, the West up +5.2%, the South down -7.3%, and the Midwest down -41.1%.

The inventory of homes for sale expressed in months of supply rose to an 8.1 month supply after rising the previous month to a 7.6 month supply. Paradoxically, the actual number of homes for sale fell by another 4,000 homes from 235,000 homes in November to 231,000 homes in December, which, incidentally is the lowest number of homes for sale since 1971. That was 39 years ago!

However, the inventory of homes is traditionally expressed in the number of months of supply, in which the number of homes available for sale divided by 1/12th of the Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of sales for the most recent month. This supply figure was at 11.2 months a year ago and peaked at 12.4 months in January 2009. Many real estate professionals consider 6-to-7 months of supply a “Normal” market.

So the inventory number was fair, but not as good as previous months.

The drop in sales is not surprising in that the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit was originally to expire on November 30, 2009, and we anticipated that buyers would have run out of time to buy a home and still close by the end of November.

This theory would suggest that you would see sharply lower sales of lower-priced homes as first-time home buyers dropped out of the market because of the end of the original home buyer tax credit; whereas, move-up buyers would be unaffected.

However, similar to the November figures, this is not what seems to have happened. Sales fell 7.6%, and, yes, the percentage share of sales to buyers of homes under $200,000, the typical first-time home buyer price range, fell from the November level of 47% of total sales to 43% in December.

The share of sales in the first move-up price range, $200,000 to $300,000, also lost share, falling 6 percentage points from 30% in November to 24% in December.

But the share of sales of homes above $300,000 gained the 11 points, rising from 23% in October to a 34% share in December.

So it appears that new home sales fell most strongly in the middle price and middle price ranges in December, with lower-priced homes also falling in total but with a smaller drop in share of total sales. And higher-priced homes above $300,000 not only increased in market share, but they also increased by +16.7% in actual unit sales from 6,000 homes in November to 7,000 homes in December.

Even though the Tax Credit was extended and signed by President Obama on November 6, 2009, it should take several months before the next batch of home buyers can get themselves geared up to buy a home.

So we would have expected new home sales to fall in November,and December before rising again in January leading up to the next Tax Credit Cut Off on April, 30, 2010.

Let’s see what next month’s report brings.

See the full report: http://www.census.gov/const/newressales.pdf

[Via http://regisskeehan.wordpress.com]

Bono NAACP Speech - Call to Action

2010-02-12T11:38:00.000+02:00

Just the speech – the missing video from the Mike Pilavachi Message Hillsong Tue 8th July 08 7.30pm Special thanks to Jordan Page for posting this video on his Myspace page where I found it. He had this under the video and I share it for you as a quote from him as he is one of my heros and truly the ‘muse of the revolution’. “JOHN ADAMS, MLK, Bob Dylan, Abbie Hoffman, Kahlil Gibran, Tim Robbins, Aaron Russo, Pearl Jam, U2, Ron Paul, Patriotic Americans who know the difference between the love of country and nationalism. Frederick Douglas said that a patriot is a person who loves their country but does not excuse its sins. I live by that philosophy.” Jordan Page

[Via http://scrosnoe.wordpress.com]

We MUST Get Real About Unemployment

2010-02-12T03:47:00.000+02:00

From The New York Times’ Bob Herbert: “The people suffering the most drastic employment reversals in this recession have been those who were in the lower-income groups to begin with — the young, less well-educated workers, especially black and Hispanic high school dropouts, and certain categories of service workers, such as food preparers and building cleaners. Blue-collar workers were also hammered, especially those in the construction industry. This is not to say that the middle class has not been hurt badly by the recession. It has been. In last year’s fourth quarter, the group with household incomes of $40,000 to $49,000 had a jobless rate of 9 percent, close to the disastrous national average. The $50,000 to $59,000 group had a 7.8 percent jobless rate, and households earning $60,000 to $75,000 had a jobless rate of 6.4 percent. The point here is that those in the lower-income groups are in a much, much deeper hole than the general commentary on the recession would lead people to believe. And none of the policy prescriptions being offered by the administration or the leaders of either party in Congress would in any way substantially alleviate the plight of those groups.”

Steve Austin’s response (With Apologies to Martin Niemoller):

Initially, it was worst for the minorities, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a minority.

Then it was bad for the young people, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a young person.

Then the middle class suffered, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t middle class.

Then I lost my job, and by that time there was no one left to help me.—-

Folks, this is peak oil and it’s coming after us.

read the truth here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/09/opinion/09herbert.html

[Via http://steveaustinlex.wordpress.com]

Economic Preview: China bank lending data likely to show rapid rise

2010-02-10T11:06:00.000+02:00

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Chinese banks likely extended loans in January equivalent to about one-fifth of the entire year’s lending target, following a frenzy of issuance in the first few weeks of January as borrowers sought to secure funds ahead of an anticipated credit clampdown.

Lending by the nation’s banks is estimated to tally between 1.1 trillion yuan to 1.6 trillion yuan ($161 billion to $234 billion), according to a range of analysts’ forecasts compiled by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

The data was expected to be released from the People’s Bank of China sometime this week. No formal schedule was issued for this month’s data, although it typically comes after 3.00 p.m. local time, following the close of financial markets in Shanghai.

Despite the expected sharp jump, analysts predicted limited reaction from the government, as China’s central planners have had a pretty good idea of the pace of new lending for several weeks, and already adapted their policy framework.

“This number is already known by the government at the beginning of the month, so it’s impossible to have any policy impact in the near term,” said Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Ting Lu.

Merrill forecasted banks extended 1.5 trillion yuan in loans during the month, or about 20% of Beijing’s likely lending target for the year, which is believed to be about 7.5 trillion yuan.

Meanwhile, a state-run publication said last week that Chinese lending for January totalled 1.6 trillion yuan. See full story on Chinese loan forecast.

This would compare with December lending of 379.8 billion yuan. See full story on China’s December lending.

Regulators ordered banks to tighten their lending at a meeting in Beijing on Jan. 18 after data showed 1.1 trillion yuan in new loans were issued during the first two weeks of the month. Regulators also raised the amount of funds that banks must set aside as deposits, and issued guidance on what sectors should receive credit.

Market Edge: How Fast is China Likely to Cool?

There’s overheating in certain parts of the Chinese economy, such as the property sector, but that doesn’t mean it can be called a bubble, according to Richard Gao, lead manager of the Matthews China Fund. Laura Mandaro reports.

Beijing reportedly told banks to moderate lending to the steel and real-estate industries. Financing for the purchase of automobiles was also tightened, with a 30% down payment requirement brought back after a stimulus program in 2009 that briefly saw a zero down-payment scheme payday loans.

Merrill’s Lu believes there is a chance the lending figure could be sharply below expectations, as some of China’s biggest banks called back loans they made in the early part of the month, under orders from the nation’s banking regulator.

The consensus view, however, is for the January figures to show lending outpacing that of the three previous months combined.

However, a high lending figure for the month “should not be interpreted as a evidence that Beijing is planning to keep credit conditions very loose, with all signs suggesting that officials will continue to keep a close check on lending,” said RBC Capital Markets senior analyst Brian Jackson in a note.

China is trying to tamp down bank lending amid growing concerns over asset bubbles and signs the real estate market is overheated, but it’s not clear that a significant tightening is underway.

Inflation may be grim

Equally important for the future of Chinese policy will be Thursday’s release of consumer and producer price data.

The producer price index is expected to show a particularly sharp rise, gaining 4.2% compared with December’s rise of 1.7%, according to a Reuters survey.

Consumer price inflation, meanwhile, is expected to inch up to 2.0% from December’s 1.9%.

RBC expects an outlook for an “uncomfortably high” inflationary level for the next few months.

RBC’s Jackson said Beijing is keenly aware of the social tensions that arose during the last inflationary cycle.

“Further increases in the main headline measures will likely put greater pressure on Beijing to deliver a broader policy response than that which has already been undertaken,” Jackson said.

Offering up a contrasting view, Goldman Sachs Chief Economist Jim O’Neill told reporters in Hong Kong on Tuesday that he expects China to revert to an easing bias by summer if housing prices stabilize around current levels.

Also due out Thursday are retail sales and industrial production data.

Analysts cautioned against reading too much into the figures, which will be affected by seasonal distortions related to the Chinese New Year holiday. The week-long holiday, which is accompanied by a virtual shutdown of the nation’s industry, occurred in January last year, but will get underway this year in February.

Economic Preview: China bank lending data likely to show rapid rise

[Via http://maksonkert.wordpress.com]

America’s Low-Wage Future

2010-02-10T03:48:00.000+02:00

Image via Wikipedia

by Jack Metzgar

British historian E.H. Carr once said something to the effect that while no serious scholar makes up the facts, they all choose which facts “to put on stage.” The problem of cultural bias is that there are way too many facts to give them all their proper due, and in choosing what we think is most significant among them, we are guided by our own focus and general sense of significance – that is, by our values, our hopes and fears, and our everyday sense of how the world works.

Every two years the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) makes detailed projections of how many jobs there will be in which occupations ten years from now. The latest one came out late last year, and among a dizzying array of facts and figures, here’s what they headlined in italics at the top of their report:

Professional and related occupations and service occupations are expected to create more new jobs than all other occupational groups from 2008 to 2018; in addition, growth will be faster among occupations for which postsecondary education is the most significant form of education or training. . . . .

This was duly reported by The New York Times under the headline “Where the Jobs Will Be,” with the same emphasis on “professional and related occupations” and “postsecondary education.” The message is that our society is going to need many more college graduates than it has now, which is true. The impression most often left, however, is that we are rapidly becoming a society of “professionals” and “knowledge workers,” and that the key to our future is making sure that almost everybody gets a college education. This impression is not only false, but spectacularly so.

Disguised in the text, but present in the BLS tables is another set of facts: Only 21% of jobs now require a bachelor’s degree, and despite faster growth among these credentialed occupations, that isn’t going to change much. By 2018, according to the BLS, only 22% of jobs will require a bachelor’s degree or more. Of the 51 million “job openings due to [both] growth and replacement needs” in the next ten years, fewer than 12 million will require a bachelor’s degree.

At the heart of what the BLS and The New York Times choose to put on stage is a confusion between the fastest growing jobs and the jobs with the largest job growth. Though the BLS tables report both the fast and the large in detail, the headline and the text emphasizes speed over size. For example, the fastest growing occupation in the next ten years will be biomedical engineers; these jobs will increase by a whopping 72% from 16,000 to nearly 28,000, a net increase of 12,000 jobs. Meanwhile, retail salespersons will see job growth of a meager 8.4%, but since there are now more than 4 million of them, that’s an increase of 375,000 jobs.

A second confusion involves the word “service,” which in other contexts is used to indicate all work that does not involve making or building things, as in “service economy.” This usage conjures images of doctors, lawyers, teachers, and management consultants – all of them growing occupations and highly paid. But that’s not what the BLS means by “service occupations.” The BLS service jobs with the largest projected growth are home health and personal aides; food service workers (including fast food); nursing aides; landscaping and groundskeeping workers; medical assistants; security guards, and child care workers – all of them already very large and all of them paying “low” or “very low” wages.

Of the 30 fastest growing occupations, 14 require at least a bachelor’s degree and another five will require an associate’s degree; all 19 of these fast-growing jobs pay “very high” or “high” wages by BLS standards. That is good news. But among the 30 with the largest growth, only seven require a bachelor’s and one more requires an associate’s. And, unlike the fast, of the top 30 for size, the majority of new jobs are either “low wage” or “very low wage.” Here’s my tabulation of the largest 30 by how well they pay:

Top 30 occupations with largest projected job growth, 2008-2018

2008 median annual earnings

by quartiles (# of occupations)

# of new jobs projected % of top

30 jobs

Very High:

$51,540 & above (7)

1,771,100 24% High:

$32,390 to $51,530 (8)

1,523,100 21% Low:

$21,590 to $32,380 (9)

2,131,400 29% Very Low:

Less than $21,590 (6)

1,899,400 26%

These top 30 occupations account for about one half of the net new jobs the BLS projects, and other data show that the wage composition of these 30 is not unrepresentative of the job structure as a whole, now and in 2018. If these were the facts the BLS chose to put on stage, the headline might be: Majority of American workers projected to remain poorly paid and in need of a living wage.

We might then realize that we cannot close the widening gap between the earnings of high school graduates and college graduates simply by producing more college graduates. There simply are not and will not be enough jobs requiring a college education. With a different set of facts on stage, we would understand that we need to do something to increase the majority’s wages and incomes directly.

What’s more, as a nation we know how to do this because we’ve done it before, in the three decades after World War II. Though each has its limits, we need some combination of greater unionization, steadily improving minimum wage laws, and enhancements in the social wage, now called “work supports.” Democrats, for all their other faults, have committed to advancing on all three of these fronts, and in the last three years have advanced a little on each of them. College professors (called “postsecondary teachers” and #10 on the BLS largest list) could lend a hand simply by putting some of these “other” facts on our stages. The BLS largest list is a richly complex document that reveals contradictory tendencies in what some 150 million of us do and will do to earn a living. My arrangement of that list by educational requirements and pay simplifies it some by separating out those countertendencies. No facts are made up, but by reorganizing the stage, the same facts make a decidedly different impression.

Jack Metzgar is Emeritus Professor of Humanities and Social Justice at Roosevelt University, Chicago. This post originally appeared on Working-Class Perspectives, the blog of the Working Class Studies Association.

[Via http://talkingunion.wordpress.com]

Paulson and Greenspan on Meet the Press

2010-02-08T11:40:00.000+02:00

Remember when Tim Russert was the host and Meet the Press was a serious news show? Those days are no more. Now the host is David Gregory and the best Meet the Press can do is look to two of the architects of the financial meltdown for their opinion on how the recovery is going.

As Crooks and Liars put it:

“Oh yes, who better to bring in than Hank Paulson and Alan Greenspan to ask how we get the economy and the job market turned around in the United States? I know I always want to hear from the people who helped take a wrecking ball to something for advice on how to put it back together.”

Three things I did learn from Jeff Daniels and Jim Carrey Paulson and Greenspan yesterday:

1. The worst of the recession is yet to come.

2. Housing prices are headed lower.

3. Unemployment is going up.

How do I know this? Paulson and Greenspan predicted the opposite. Holding true to form, both also predicted the Colts would win the Super Bowl.

Sneak preview: Next Sunday on Meet the Press, the captain of the Titanic discusses how to avoid icebergs, and Tiger Woods gives advice on marital fidelity.

[Via http://desperadosoutpost.com]

Chapter 1: In defense of capitalism

2010-02-08T03:46:00.000+02:00

The first chapter of Glenn Beck’s book “Arguing With Idiots,” the subject of capitalism is brought up.

He starts out with the typical American dream anecdote: Sam Insull, who co-founded Edison General Electric, worked under Thomas Edison for a several years to learn as much as he could to one day start his own business. Sam did and his business thrived. (The actually story is quite amazing.) To sum up the story, because of his business, Sam’s net worth exceeded $100 million in the 1920’s after bring electricity to millions of people, practically making it a necessity. When the Great Depression hit, Sam’s company tanked like thousands of others and left stock holders in shambles. The government charged him with fraud, was acquitted, but nonetheless, fled to France because of the public outrage. This is just an example of what capitalism can do.

Truth is not all entrepreneur experiences are like this. That was an example of what happens when the government unfairly steps in to the private sector. What capitalism does is allows opportunities. A quote I liked from this chapter stats it very clearly: “Capitalism can’t get you a job, a bigger house, or a better retirement–you have to do all of those things for yourself. But what capitalism can do is foster an environment where those with the will to succeed have a better chance of achieving their dreams.” It can’t be said any better than that.

Fact is, capitalism is the only economic system that is proven to stimulate growth and increase standard of living the fastest. However, that is “democratic capitalism.” This is what was intended for when our framers created this great nation. With all the government regulations, unions and such, this increases our prices on products, thus making them less desirable to the rest of the world. Some government regulation is good, what we have currently…not so much.

Another valid point that is missing out of capitalism these days is generosity. As citizens and people for that matter, it is our duty to help our neighbor when he/she needs help. Greed has taken over too many people’s lives. Sure, America is the wealthiest nation in the world, and contributes the most when called upon, but still more can and should be done to help our fellow Americans.

There is plenty more to be read and explained in this chapter, but that should cover the basics. I’d hate for someone not to buy Glenn’s book on my account!

[Via http://peterrandolph.wordpress.com]

On my mind this morning: I need a man with me to buy a new car.

2010-02-05T11:18:00.000+02:00

Suze has told me how to be Young, Fabulous, and Broke. And now, she’s talking Women & Money to let me know how to control my own destiny. In light of all this knowledge from Suze in her fabulous books, and the great strides that women have made in terms of financial empowerment and equal rights, I have this pressing question to ask:

Why do I need a man with me to go buy a new car???

My car was totaled in the past month – I’m ok, thanks – and the insurance companies have finally settled on my payment. I am now ready to buy a new car that meshes with my fabulously broke, fiscally conscious lifestyle. It’s a recession. Considering all the fancy negotiations that take place on the lots of car dealerships, I am currently considering either my male friend who is a psychologist, my male lawyer friend, or my male friend who has a PhD in street hustling to come with me to make sure I get the best deal for my money. I have female psychologist, lawyer, and (legally) hustling friends, but I just don’t think these women will get the job done.

I have decided there could be several reasons I feel like I still need a man with me at the car dealership in 2010:

Women may feel empowered, but society has not given us the full power we deserve to obtain fair treatment in financial, workplace, and other critical negotiations.
I am intimidated by the car buying process and am trying to make this a “gender” issue, when it’s really a “me” issue.
Car salespersons, in general, are dishonest and may take advantage of me. I am trying to avoid this at all costs and feel like a big scary man might do the trick.

Whatever the reason may be – and let me stop and say that I heart car salespersons – I feel like I am not the only single, young woman who faces this dilemma. Are these fears legitimate? Or, as a financially savvy, empowered young woman, can I go buy this car on my own and get a fair price?

photo credit

[Via http://youngwomenmisbehavin.com]

Republicans Chase Wall Street Donors - WSJ.com

2010-02-05T03:46:00.000+02:00

Republicans Chase Wall Street Donors – WSJ.com.

It’s gotten to the point that the politicians don’t even realize how outrageous their behavior and language surrounding their lapdog relationship with Wall Street might actually appear to the rest of us. Case in point, the above article from the Wall Street Journal. Please read it to get the full effect, but I just have to include a couple of quotes that stand out for there sheer unmitigated gall. I only wish I had a video of John Stewart facial expressions to go along with them.

Last week, House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio made a pitch to Democratic contributor James Dimon, the chairman and chief executive of J.P. Morgan, over drinks at a Capitol Hill restaurant, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mr. Boehner told Mr. Dimon congressional Republicans had stood up to Mr. Obama’s efforts to curb pay and impose new regulations. The Republican leader also said he was disappointed many on Wall Street continue to donate their money to Democrats, according to the people familiar with the matter.

Thank goodness we have the Republicans to stand up for the little guy.

But that is nothing compared to this beauty of a quote by Rep. Eric Cantor (R., VA).

I sense a lot of dissatisfaction and a lot of buyer’s remorse on Wall Street,” said Rep. Eric Cantor (R., Va.), the second-ranking House Republican and a top Wall Street fund-raiser for his party.

Do they not even listen to themselves talk anymore??!! Buyers remorse??!!! Well, I’m sure Rep. Cantor and the other Republicans are more than ready to step in and give Wall Street their money’s worth. They will probably even give them a discount, with the economy being so bad and all.

RadicalNOTA

[Via http://radicalnota.wordpress.com]

The real record on deficits

2010-02-03T11:50:00.000+02:00

Dick Morris wrote an interesting article yesterday on what’s really been happening with the deficit situation. President Obama and the Democrats have been distorting the record to make their own profligate spending look moderate. First, they excused the $1.4 trillion deficit we accrued last year by saying that Obama put the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq “on budget” where Bush had put them “off budget”, but the truth was the war budget was a minority proportion of the deficit. The rest of it was the $787 billion “stimulus” bill, and entitlement programs. In Obama’s recent State of the Union speech he said that he inherited a huge deficit that was just a little smaller than the deficit we had last year, and a bad economy. “Bush made me do it,” is his refrain. Such a leader.

Morris lays out the truth about Bush’s deficit from 2008. It was not $1.3 trillion as Obama claims. It was more like $800 billion, which is still huge by pre-Obama standards. Democrats and Republicans used to complain if deficits were $400 billion or more.

The reason Morris makes his claim is that Obama, in blaming Bush, is including the $700 billion the Bush Administration allocated for TARP. Now, TARP, if you’ll remember, was supposed to be used to prop up our major financial institutions, to save them from collapse. It was money on loan to them. They were supposed to pay it back with interest. Most of this money has been paid back by now, with interest. So why is the Obama Administration counting this money as part of the deficit? Sen. Judd Gregg complained bitterly yesterday that the Obama Administration wants to use the repaid TARP funds as a credit source for small businesses. Gregg pointed out that there was a provision in the TARP legislation, which he put in, which said that the monies that were to be paid back must be used to pay down the public debt. If the government did that, Gregg said, it would reduce the national debt by $300 billion next year. But no. Obama wants to reuse it, and he’s confident that the Democrats will change the law to allow it. In effect, Obama wants to make it so that this money is never counted as a credit in the budget. Not that small businesses wouldn’t repay their loans, but come on. Look where this is going. Once that money is repaid through their new program, they’ll just find some other use for it. Obama wants the government to become a bank. He is covering for this by once again blaming Bush, making him look like a liberal spender, not unlike himself. The truth is that Obama’s deficit was not merely $100 billion more than Bush’s. He nearly doubled Bush’s 2008 deficit in 2009! This is yet another distraction.

[Via http://piboulder.wordpress.com]

Case-Shiller Housing Price Index For November 2009 Rises For Seventh Consecutive Month

2010-02-03T03:25:00.000+02:00

Home Prices Rise At 7.2% Annual Rate Over Last Seven Months

Seasonally adjusted home prices in November of 2009 rose 0.2% from the prior month according to data released on January 26, 2010 by Standard and Poor’s in its 20-City Composite S&P/ Case-Shiller® Home Price Index.

There were monthly increases in November in 14 of the 20 markets tracked. Six of the markets fell.

Home prices have now risen seven months in a row for a total of +4.2% for the seven months, or an annual rate of increase over the period of +7.2%.

However, because of price declines in the previous 5 months, the price index still fell by 5.3% year-over-year during the 12 months ending in November 2009.

We predict that the 20-City Composite Index will achieve its first year-over-year increase since 2007 in the January 2010 report. We expect the increase to be in the range of +0.1% to +1.0%.

Our methodology is straightforward and simple minded. By examining the prior monthly decreases it is possible to predict when we will see year-over-year gains in this index: December 2008 was -2.6%, and January 2009 was -2.8%, which totals -5.4%. So by simple math, if prices for the next two months remained flat, we would see a +0.1% year-over-year increase in the 12-month period ending in January 2010 as the large prior-year decreases drop out of the calculation and are replaced with zeroes. And, if prices rise the same the next two months as they did in the last two, an increase of +0.5%, then the Year-over-year increase would be +0.6%.

The index tracks quality-adjusted actual resale home closing prices for thousands of existing single-family homes in 20 metropolitan areas. The index excludes condos, coops, and new construction.

By tracking price changes of specific, individual homes over time, the index attempts to eliminate the problem of unreliable home price averages caused by the changing mix of homes sold in different time periods. (For example, in weak markets, a greater proportion of small, starter homes are typically sold, reducing average prices even though the prices of specific homes may be unchanged or even increased.)

The dramatic improvement in the S&P/Case-Shiller® Home Price Index provides more evidence that the housing market is continuing to heal from the worst decline in housing activity in decades.

Furthermore, it suggests that prospective homebuyers waiting for lower prices may be disappointed.

With 30-year fixed mortgage interest rates now near 5% and rising, and the supply of homes beginning to dwindle, delaying a home purchase may prove to be an unwise strategy.

See the full release: http://www.standardandpoors.com/servlet/BlobServer?blobheadername3=MDT-Type&blobcol=urldocumentfile&blobtable=SPComSecureDocument&blobheadervalue2=inline%3B+filename%3Ddownload.pdf&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobheadername1=content-type&blobwhere=1245205349706&blobheadervalue3=abinary%3B+charset%3DUTF-8&blobnocache=true

[Via http://regisskeehan.wordpress.com]

Defence cuts; necessary and now.....

2010-02-01T11:54:00.000+02:00

Tory Rascal takes Labour to task for future defence cuts. Although chaos reigns in Conservative economic policy I still find it hypocritical for a Conservative to take Labour to task on these grounds because it is clear that a Conservative government still maintains a deep-seated ideological committment to cutting the deficit.

However, that being said this is one area where cuts are necessary and should happen now. Rascal admits that these may not exactly be unpopular but wrongly blames ‘Labour’s wasteful record’ for decreasing public support. I prefer an alternative explanation namely that the public are not stupid and have seen through the lie that the route through the ‘War on Terror’ is to use conventional military means.

Looking at the interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan they rightly judge them as failures. Although the media narrative says things are hunky-dory in Iraq now they clearly are not and occasionally news leaks out that confirms this. Turning their gaze to things like Trident they rightly conclude the possession of nuclear capability is a bigger danger than benefit. In short, defence cuts would be popular because they are right; its high-time the ballooning of the defence budget was ended.

In reality, in government, we have consistently got the ‘War on Terror’ spectacularly wrong. We have fought two costly and counter-productive wars and ploughed money into the defence budget taking it away from where it should be going towards improving and reducing the margin for error in intelligence gathering. It’s not as if any of our opponents would have done any better because both are happy to carry on fighting this war.

This is another area where a rediscovery of boldness of vision is needed; the public have seen with their own eyes the shortcomings of establishment approaches on this issue and are crying out for a fresh approach. A change of tack would be well received; once again there is a happy convergence between what is popular and right, all that is required is political courage.

[Via http://momentsofc.wordpress.com]

YouTube Music Video - Band Of Patriots: Take Our Freedom Back!

2010-02-01T03:52:00.000+02:00

January 31, 2010: lonelantern / YouTube – September 1, 2009

Band Of Patriots: “Take Our Freedom Back”

The Tonka Report Editor’s Note: A diamond in the ruff video that I just discovered tonight while listening to Jason Bermus on the Alex Jones Show as per recommended by a caller in to the show… – SJH

[Via http://stevenjohnhibbs.wordpress.com]

RBI Increases CRR, Kicked off its War against Inflation

2010-01-29T11:32:00.000+02:00

RBI Increases CRR, Kicked off its War against Inflation

. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kicked off its war against inflation and build-up of inflationary pressures by announcing a surprise increase of 75 basis points in the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR).

Cash reserve ratio is the minimum liquid assets, banks have to retain against deposits or park with the central bank in the form of government securities.

The CRR will be hiked in two stages : 50 basis points from Feb 13 and another 25 basis from Feb 27 – from the present 5 percent, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor D Subbarao told.

However, in a cautious move not to disrupt the money supply, the RBI left the key policy rates – repo and reverse repo – unchanged.

“As a result of this increase in the CRR, about Rs.36,000 crore of excess liquidity will be absorbed from the system,” Subbarao added, as he presented the third quarterly update of the central bank’s monetary policy for this fiscal.

Subbarao said the cut in excess liquidity will help anchor inflationary expectations and that the recovery process of the economy will be supported without compromising on price stability.

As inflation was steadily growing and the economy was slowly returning to higher growth trajectory, it was expected that the RBI would tighten monetary policy.

But the 75-bps hike, according to investors, is a “more hawkish” move than many expected. The market had expected and was prepared for a 50-bps hike.

Central bank has said the action was necessary as the “rapidly rising” food inflation was putting pressure on other sectors as well.

India’s inflation jumped to 7.31 percent in December, 2009 from 4.78 percent in November, mainly driven by high food prices.

The questions cropping up as a result of this move are : -Will this move by the central bank going to check the inflation? -Moreover, what implications this step holds for the economic growth?

Stay Tuned for More..

[Via http://smcinvestment.wordpress.com]

Staying Young

2010-01-29T03:49:00.000+02:00

Staying Young

Good afternoon, common sense Americans, This is Jim Morrow with the real common sense commentary. An old man was fuming because his Sunday paper had not been delivered. He called the paper, and after being on hold for 20 minutes, he barked at the operator and said where is the blankety-blank Sunday paper? “Today is only Saturday sir.’” And then dead silence. “Well, blankety-blank, no wonder no one was at Church!”

Listen to these getting old, e-mail tips.

Number one : Throw out non-essential numbers, this includes age, weight, and height, Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.

Number two: keep only cheerful friends, the grouches will pull you down.

Number three: keep learning: learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle, an idle brain is the devil’s workshop.

Number four: Enjoy the simple things.

Number five: laugh often, long, and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

Number six: Tears happen .Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire lives is ourselves. Be alive while you are alive.

Number seven: surround yourself with what you love, whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, hobbies whatever. Your home is your refuge.

Number 8: Cherish your health, if it is good, preserve it, if it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

Number nine: Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, to a foreign country, but not where the guilt is.

Number ten: Tell people you love, that you love them at every opportunity, and always remember; life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Like the following: an old man bumped into another old man at the beach one day. He said; “sorry,I’m looking for my wife and I guess I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” The second old guy says, “that’s okay, it’s a coincidence, I’m looking for my wife too. I can’t find her and I’m getting a little desperate The first old guys says, “ well, maybe I can help you find her. What does she look like’?

The second old man said “she is 27 years old, tall, with red hair, blue eyes, longlegs, and is wearing short shorts. What does your wife look like?” The first old man says: “doesn’t matter, lets find your wife!”

Enjoy some humorous colloquialisms and satire, and secrets of success with my books and songs. Click www.commonsensecommentary.com or write 7042 hwy 9 nine, Anniston Alabama. Thats www.commonsensecommentary.com or 7042 hwy nine, Anniston Alabama,

36207. Join us at 12:45 Tomorrow For common sense commentary.

If you think there’s nothing you can do about what is happening to our country, you are probably right. But if you are anything like me, you can do something. You can help me to get the common sense, keep it simple, word to anyone that will listen.. Ihave written two books and four songs in Common sense language that you will enjoy. I own the domain name for the worldwide website Www.commonsensecommentary.com. Your comments are available to the entire world. You can help me get our common sense message out to the public in other states. Help them throw out their liberal Judas goat politicians, Then establish common sense, keep it simple government. My recordings are 9.95 and the books are 19.95 and 29.95. Go to the contact us link: www.commonsensecommentary.com or write to 7042 how a nine Anniston 36207.

[Via http://bailoutinsanity.wordpress.com]

Has The Blame Bush Game Run Its Course?

2010-01-27T11:47:00.000+02:00

Who Will Socialist Obama And Democrats Blame Now?

The socialist Democrats have lost two governors races and Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat since November. They tried to use the blame Bush tactic in all three races. Has the “ blame Bush “game run its course? Democrats said that invoking Bush’s name doesn’t have the same impact now, in part for a fairly obvious reason: He’s not in charge anymore..continued…

Moms, Dads, Grandparents we started a forum just for you!! Visit MomsandDadsBeHeard.Org soon! 2010 is a MUST year to be involved. No longer can we sit back and allow our rights to disappear. The 2010 elections may be the deciding factor of America remaining a free Republic or becoming the next 3rd world Banana Republic. Get involved, come speak out!!

[Via http://conservativeamerica2009.wordpress.com]

Profit Sense and a Free Press/VOLUNTAT DE NEGOCI I PREMSA LLIURE

2010-01-27T03:46:00.000+02:00

Profit Sense and a Free Press

Subsidised lies: “Verges came to Barcelona wearing a Fascist shirt, a Catalan in favour of Franco, he made money in the depths of Fascism” (Miquel Pairoli). The liberal truth: Publisher Verges wore a military uniform, like anyone his age. The (obligatory) Fascist in Destino, Ignasi Agusti, publisher Verges managed to throw out in the fifties. Destino was the most censored magazine and banned for two months in 1967. Picture of the editorial offices assaulted by the Fascists during the Second World War for supporting the Allies against Hitler. Below: The editor of the liberal newspaper The Guardian Alan Rusbridger thinks the same as liberal publisher Josep Verges: Freedom has a future. One of the most subsidised papers in Catalonia has an op ed attacking publisher Josep Verges, my father. Contradictory El Punt also lauded his centenary exhibition and how he was persecuted by the Fascist regime in Spain. The worst crime of my father according to Miquel Pairoli: “Profit sense.” The editor of liberal The Guardian agrees with my liberal father: liberty makes business sense (Search Verges Centenary in Biblioteca Catalunya):

“The Murdoch and New York Times business model says that we must charge for all content online. The argument is that the age of free is over. If you universally make people pay it follows that you are no longer open to the rest of the world, except at a cost, reducing access and influence. It removes you from the way people the world over now connect with each other. You cannot control distribution or create scarcity without becoming isolated from this new networked world. We may all want to charge for specialist, highly-targeted, hard-to-replicate content. For universal charging to work, every news organisation would have to put all content behind a pay wall. The digital share of the advertising cake is going to grow very sharply and significantly. My commercial colleagues at the Guardian want to grow a large audience and can’t see the benefits of choking off growth. Last year we earned £25m from digital advertising –not trivial. We would earn a fraction of that from any known pay wall model. Journalists have never before been able to tell stories so effectively, bouncing off each other, linking out, citing sources, allowing response –harnessing the best qualities of text, print, data, sound and visual media. If ever there was a route to building audience, trust and relevance, it is by embracing all the capabilities of this new world, not walling yourself away from them. Many readers like this ability to follow conversations, compare multiple sources and links. The result is journalistically better –a collaborative-as-well-as-competitive approach which is usually likely to get to the truth of things, faster. When I think about universal pay walls, I wonder how this emerging world of editing and writing would change. How would you handle a story like the Guardian’s exclusive revelation that Google was about to drop censorship in China? If you erect a universal pay wall around your content then it follows you are turning away from a world of openly shared content. The whole world is in the middle of a revolution. Everything shows up on screens. Technologies have helped develop a generation of fierce independence; of openness; of inclusion; biased towards free expression and strong views; used to immediacy; preoccupied with trust. In this open and immediate world people are realising they can be publishers, that they don’t need intermediaries. Mention Google, and we think of China: the spread of disorganised information versus organised disinformation and censorship. We know what side we must be fighting on. The Guardian on the web is the second English newspaper in the world, read by 37 million –a third each in the UK, America and the rest of the world. In 1956 the worldwide sales of the Guardian were 650. There is an irreversible trend in society today about how people are expressing themselves, about how societies will choose to organise themselves, about a new democracy of ideas and information, about changing notions of authority, about the releasing of individual creativity, about an ability to hear previously unheard voices, about respecting, including and harnessing the views of others, about resisting the people who want to close down free speech. If we turn our back on all this, we will be sleep walking into oblivion.”

(“Does journalism exist?” by Alan Rusbridger, The Hugh Cudlipp lecture, The Guardian, 25 January, “Vergés,” by Miquel Pairoli, El Punt, 24 January, “La Biblioteca de Catalunya exposa l’editor de Josep Pla. Compara un número segrestat i la versió censurada de Destino,” El Punt, 11 January 2010)

Voluntat de negoci i premsa lliure

El director del diari liberal The Guardian Alan Rusbridger pensa igual que l’editor liberal Josep Vergés: la llibertat té futur. Primera foto: La mentida subvencionada: “Vergés va arribar a Barcelona amb camisa blava, un català de Franco, va fer diners en ple franquisme” (Miquel Pairolí). La veritat liberal: L’editor Vergés anava de militar, com tothom a la seva edat. El falangista (obligatori) de Destino, Ignasi Agustí, l’editor Vergés el va poder treure als cinquanta. Destino fou la revista més censurada i clausurada dos mesos el 1967. Foto de la redacció saquejada pels feixistes durant la Segona Guerra Mundial per donar suport als aliats contra Hitler. Un dels diaris més subvencionats de Catalunya publica un article d’opinió atackant l’editor Josep Vergés, el meu pare. El contradictori El Punt abans havia alabat l’exposició del seu centenar i com havia estat perseguit pel règim feixista d’Espanya. El pitjor crim del meu pare segons Miquel Pairolí: “Voluntat de negoci.” El director del liberal The Guardian està d’acord amb el meu pare liberal: la llibertat té sentit comercial (Veure search Centenari Vergés a la Biblioteca de Catalunya):

“El model comercial de Murdoch i del New York Times vol ser cobrar per tot el contingut per xarxa. L’argument és que l’era del tot gratis s’ha acabat. Però si fas que tothom pagui la consequència serà que ja no estàs obert a la resta del món, si no paguen, reduint l’accès i l’influència. T’apartes de la manera com la gent de tot el món avui es connecta mutuament. No pots controlar la distribució o crear escassetat sense trobar-te aillat d’aquest nou món en xarxa. Potser sí que pots cobrar per un contingut especialista, ben orientat i difícil de copiar. Però perquè funcioni el cobro a tothom, totes les empreses de notícies haurien de posar els seus continguts darrera una barrera de peatge. El pes digital del pastís publicitari creixerà ràpidament i significativa. Els meus col.legues comercials del Guardian volen que creixem fins tenir una gran audiència i no veuen cap benefici en escanyar el creixement. L’any passat ingressàrem €30 milions per la publicitat digital –que no és trivial. Obtindriem una fracció d’aixó en qualsevol alternativa coneguda de barrera de peatge. Els periodistes mai en la història han pogut explicar les notícies tan efectivament, rebotant-se uns als altres, connectant, citant fonts, obrint-se a respostes –aprofitant les millors qualitats dels medis escrits, impressos, estadístics, parlats i visuals. Si mai ha existit una ruta per construir una audiència rellevant i fiable és adoptant totes les possibilitats d’aquest nou món i no tancant-se d’ell. Són molts els lectors que volen aquesta possibilitat de seguir la conversa, comparant fonts i connexions variades. El resultat periodístic millora per l’aproximació col.laboradora, a més de competitiva, que acaba ben segur per trobar ràpidament la veritat de les coses. Quan penso en les barreres universals de peatge, em pregunto quins canvis provocaria en aquest món emergent d’edició i redacció. Com podria tractar-se una notícia com la revelació exclusiva del Guardian que Google estava a punt d’abandonar la censura a Xina? Si muntes una barrera universal de peatge sobre el teu contingut la consequència serà que dones l’espatlla a un món de contingut obertament compartit. Tot el mòn està immers en una revolució. Tot apareix en pantalla. La tecnologia ha permès el desenvolupament d’una generació intensament independent, oberta, inclusiva, esbiaxada cap a la llibertat d’expressió i les idees valentes, habituada a la immediatesa, preocupada per la confiança. En aquest món obert i immediat tohom pot ser editor i no necessita intermediaris. Seguim parlant de Google i Xina, o la difusió d’informació no organitzada contra la desinformació i censura organitzada. Nosaltres sabem en quin bàndol hem de lluitar. El Guardian per internet és el segon diari anglès del món, llegit per 37 milions –un terç per parts a Anglaterra, Amèrica i la resta del món. El 1956 les vendes a la resta del món del Guardian foren 650. Hi ha una tendència irreversible en la societat d’avui sobre com la gent s’expressa, sobre com les societats escullen organitzar-se, sobre la nova democràcia de les idees i la informació, sobre els conceptes canviants de l’autoritat, sobre l’alliberament de la creativitat individual, sobre l’habilitat d’escoltar veus que abans no se les escoltava, sobre el respecte, la inclusió i la utilització de les opinions dels altres, sobre la resistència contra els que volen acabar amb la llibertat d’opinió. Si ens hi girem d’esquena, anirem sonàmbuls cap a l’oblit.”

(“Does journalism exist?” per Alan Rusbridger, conferència Hugh Cudlipp, The Guardian, 25 gener, “Vergés,” per Miquel Pairolí, El Punt, 24 gener, “La Biblioteca de Catalunya exposa l’editor de Josep Pla. Compara un número segrestat i la versió censurada de Destino,” El Punt, 11 gener 2010)

[Via http://larepublicacatalana.wordpress.com]

Reflection 175: Eternity in Mind

2010-01-25T11:45:00.000+02:00

On the afternoon of January 12, 2010, Haiti was ruined by an earthquake in ten seconds. There were no winners, only losers. For nine years, the U.S. has been waging war against the very Jahadis it helped to create during the Cold War, and the Taliban who gave them a toehold in Afghanistan. Again, no winners, only losers. Looking ahead, in fifty years low-lying shores on every continent will bear scars inflicted by rising seas, upland areas suffer droughts and massive extinctions. Devastation will be the rule, not the exception. Over the long- or short-term, every unique life leads to the same end—in each case unknown. There is no way to evade personal ruin. Life will invariably cease, cells disintegrate. No winners, only losers, unless . . . .

For such minds as can grasp this inescapable scenario, there is only one way to respond: Act at all times in such a way to create as many islands and oases of order, compassion, and social justice as possible to offset the inevitable. Otherwise, the miracle of life has no meaning, or is at best a forlorn hope.

Beset by, and causing, devastation, we live fleetingly in denial, pretending we can sidestep our fate, believing in life after death, the healing power of personal wealth, that deeds can bestow immortality, that death can be deterred, outrun, or defeated. All of which sap our will for doing good rather than simply answering the roll for as long as we can when our name is called.

Living as long as we can is not a good in itself. It’s what we accomplish—what we actually do—in whatever time we are allowed that really matters. What we do for those we leave behind. The certainty of moving from the column of the living to the dead is, in fact, not only our fate but our greatest gift. The tragedy in Haiti is not that life is cut short but, in addition to suffering, that there is no pattern to which people are felled: children, adults, and the aged are equally susceptible. That, together with the violent nature of each death and the utter lack of help, produces chaos, the very opposite of social order. We saw lesser versions in the felling of the Twin Towers, looting of Iraq in the calm after the initial assault, and in New Orleans during and after the passing of Hurricane Katrina.

In better days, mortality is our greatest strength because it frames each day as an opportunity, not a time to endure. It can motivate us to get off our butts and do something positive with whatever skills and energy we can muster on the spot. If death cannot be avoided, we are wise to make the most of what little time we have. Truism, yes, but a compelling one. None packs greater punch. Go for it, live each day to the max! Later is not good enough; now is my time to engage and to act. Not for self because self is invariably a dead end, but for those left behind. For the thread of life that survives us, not our narrow little life.

Norwegian eco-philosopher Arne Naess, inventor of deep ecology, said, “Think globally, act locally.” I add to that, Shape eternity, act in the now. Those who look ahead to consorting with forty virgins in paradise, or sitting on a cloud sipping margaritas, are committing the ultimate category error. Death is the end of consciousness as we know it, the absolute end. All else is myth, fantasy, or delusion. The test of our deeds is the world that lives after us. That is basic Darwinism. The measure of our success is the life (in the largest sense) we make possible. Not only in our genetic line, but in the natural conditions within which it survives. If we steal Earth’s wealth for ourselves today, mere money will not provide for our descendants tomorrow. The meaning or import of mortality—the 100% certainty of our end—is gauged by the living potential we are to leave, not the resources we take unto ourselves. Money in stocks or the bank is life converted to dead notes. It stands for consumption and death, not survival.

Consciousness is a sure sign of life, the realization of biologically-derived human values (reproduction, metabolism, homeostasis, safety, etc.) through actions appropriate to life-giving surroundings. For the self, life is a matter of giving away, not taking from others. That is, it promotes authentic possibilities for action—actions that do not limit life’s choices tomorrow, but maintain or expand them. Acting in the now with eternity in mind is called stewardship. The Na’vi in Avatar live (if fictional creatures can be said to live) in that realization. More accurately, they represent that realization in James Cameron’s consciousness. Jahadi suicide bombers do just the opposite by destroying the possibilities of even their own lives and as many infidels as they can ruin along with themselves.

Now is my time on Earth, my time to live, my time to build a future for all life consciously and deliberately. I don’t have answers to many of the riddles and contradictions life throws at me, but collectively, cumulatively, we can share some few of those answers among us. Each can contribute her coherent actions to the body of the whole, and all draw wisdom and appreciation from that whole as needed. Give-and-take is the nature of our engagement on Earth. An engagement that will come to a definite end. Period. End of life. Maybe eight minutes from now, maybe tomorrow, maybe in fifty-three years. The point is not to obsess over but to deal with that certainty by building a life for ourselves, for those we love, for those we don’t know, and all members of other species. Then, when smitten, we will at least have done our best by Earth and its passengers for the long haul.

Which is far different from the life capitalistic assumptions and thinking would have us live. Capitalism is a farce, a heavy-handed caricature or cartoon of how to get ahead in life. It is drawn by the asset-rich to lure the asset-poor into their employ. It is a class-based system, dividing rather than uniting us. We now think of our lives in terms of the jobs we are offered rather than how we treat other people and other species through our stewardship practices. Sure, we get good at what we do, and earn money in the process, but that is not why we’re here. We are not born warriors, mechanics, or seamstresses, we are born Earthlings who must steward their gifts if they are to survive. We are meant to accrue an understanding of Earth’s truths, not wealth in and for itself. We are meant to act positively on behalf of life itself, not negatively for self alone. We are meant to create organic order, not the mechanized chaos we do by waging wars around the globe—as if that furthered the interests of life in any way whatsoever. There are no such things as natural resources meant for our taking; that is a fundamental category error. Consciousness is an emergent aspect of life itself, a self-contained guidance system. That, our bodies, surrounding communities, and natural environments are what we are given to work with and make the most of where we are. Now, not later on.

What I am trying to say is that ruined hope for a better future is a more accurate measure of any disaster than property losses or body counts. Hope lives in human consciousness as an urge toward a brighter light ahead. True wealth tells the capacity for hope based on possibilities for constructive action in today’s world. Husbandry and stewardship create hope; monetary wealth devastates hope through possibilities removed from the commons. Haiti lying in ruin from a shift in tectonic plates is tantamount to Iraq and Afghanistan lying in ruin from America flaunting its military might. We could not have prevented the one, but could have the others by holding eternity in mind. By making the most of our individual gifts rather than the least through flexing our military-industrial capacity for inflicting devastation and despair. Consciousness is given us as a gift; unfortunately the instruction manual—our living habitat or environment—is now largely made over by us, leaving us separated not only from nature but our own gift for life. With the result we are dead before our time, carrying on, true—but doing so ideologically, not weighing the moment and engaging the living Earth instead of our rote and sorry depiction of it.

Earth is rocked by enough natural disasters as it is without humanity inflicting additional devastation of its own devising. What we need is more compassion, sharing, healing, and hope such as are conveyed by our heritage of survival, and enabled by awareness of our common Earthling predicament. Taking the long view, keeping Earth’s evolving, biological eternity in mind, equips us to cope with natural disasters when they come upon us. That way we work with one another rather than against by taking more than our share, adding our small effort, heightening the possibility that, with or without us, life on Earth just may have a future.

[Via http://onmymynd.wordpress.com]

Consequences

2010-01-25T03:44:00.000+02:00

We have more data, computers, educated people, a wealth of history and yet I see something disturbing happening.

A repeat of the dirty thirties appears to be very close at hand.

First the economy goes for a slide, people lose jobs and their homes and possessions, companies go broke, governments are in financial trouble, spending too much and their incomes are down.

In frustration, anti immigration, protectionism, racism, pockets of lawlessness become rampant.

This world is a shaking in fear, the system is collapsing.

Like a big stone wheel which started rolling. It cannot stop, crushing objects as it rolls along until it’s journey is ended. That is what is happening or appears to be happening.

It looks like the consequences of actions past are catching up to the world.

Let us hope I am wrong.

[Via http://plainview.wordpress.com]

Senate rejects GOP bid to end TARP payments - 1/21/10 - San Francisco News - abc7news.com

2010-01-22T11:47:00.000+02:00

Apparently, it’s business as usual in Washington. We should know better by now, once these crooks find a way to grab a big chunk of public money, they are not going to easily give it back. At least 13 Democrats are starting to see that they are an endangered species and voted in favor of the amendment to stop the Treasury Department from releasing the $300+ billion that still remains.

To be clear, this amendment was to be attached to the bill boosting the federal debt limit by another $1.9 trillion!

WASHINGTON — The Senate Thursday killed a Republican attempt to shut down the Wall Street bailout program.

The defeated proposal would have barred the Treasury Department from releasing any funds remaining from the $700 billion bailout passed last fall. It would not have affected repayment rules for banks and other recipients of bailout money.

GOP Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, who sponsored the amendment, said repealing Treasury’s bailout authority would block Democrats from using the money to finance spending legislation such as a promised “jobs” bill. Thune said about $320 billion is still available./p>

The proposal garnered 53 votes, more than half of the Senate, but fell short of the 60 votes required to adopt it under the agreement by which it was afforded a vote. The majority vote probably means it won’t be the last time the senate debates the issue.

“The American people, I think, have made it clear that they’re tired of the bailouts,” Thune said.

via Senate rejects GOP bid to end TARP payments – 1/21/10 – San Francisco News – abc7news.com.

[Via http://classicallib.wordpress.com]

Evil Capitalism Growing In China, Along With Prosperity

2010-01-22T03:41:00.000+02:00

China on Path to Become Second-Largest Economy.BEIJING — China said on Thursday that its economy rose by 10.7 percent in fourth quarter compared with a year ago, as the country continued to surge forward even as many other nations are still trying to punch through the global recession. That was up from a revised growth rate of 9.1 percent in the third quarter.

[Via http://aconservativeedge.com]

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Sworn In

2010-01-20T11:47:00.000+02:00

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Sworn In

Congratulations Chris Christie! “New Jersey, you voted for change. And today, change has arrived,” Christie said in his speech at the Trenton War Memorial, steps from the Statehouse. He repeated those four words – today, change has arrived – throughout his address. And on the very same day, Massachusetts elects Republican Senator Scott Brown to Ted Kennedy’s seat! Congratulations Scott Brown! Hey Washington… You-Hoo! Can you hear us NOW??? MMMMMMM-MMMMMMM-MMMMMMM!

http://wp.me/pFeEj-hV

[Via http://oldhardheadsnj.wordpress.com]

Who do you know that could use $6500 to $8000?

2010-01-20T03:37:00.000+02:00

Here’s the latest tip from The Mortgage Experts:

The IRS form to claim the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers and the $6,500 tax credit for long-time residents has finally been published by the IRS. We have the form and the instructions available on our web site.

Follow this link to our web site and click on the link at the bottom of the home page. There is also a link just below the link to the tax credit form that will take you to the instructions for completing the form.

After Obama Rally, Dems Pin Blame On Bush

2010-01-18T11:53:00.000+02:00

By Felicia Sonmez

As audience members streamed out of Pres. Obama’s rally on behalf of AG Martha Coakley (D) here tonight, the consensus was that the fault for Coakley’s now-floundering MA SEN bid lies with one person — George W. Bush.

“People are upset because there’s so many problems,” Rosemary Kverek, 70, a retired Charleston schoolteacher said as tonight’s rally wrapped up. “But the problems came from the previous administration. So we’re blaming poor Obama, who’s working 36 hours a day … to solve these problems that he inherited.”

545 PEOPLE - ABOUT OUR CURRENT CONDITION

2010-01-18T03:39:00.000+02:00

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper, and has been a journalist for 49 years.

545 PEOPLE

By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget.

The president does.

You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations.

The House of Representatives does.

You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices–545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes. Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con game regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted–by present facts–of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red.

If the Marines are in IRAQ, it’s because they want them in IRAQ.

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like ‘the economy,’ ‘inflation,’ or ‘politics’ that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

What you do with this article now that you have read it is up to you, though you appear to have several choices.

1. You can send this to everyone in your address book, and hope they do something about it.

2. You can agree to vote against everyone that is currently in office, knowing that the process will take several years.

3. You can decide to run for office yourself and agree to do the job properly.

4. Lastly, you can sit back and do nothing, or re-elect the current bunch.

[Via http://lockdoc1.wordpress.com]

Bubblenomics

2010-01-15T11:54:00.000+02:00

When people can no longer afford where they live, when people start taking the bus, when adults start moving back in with their parents, or share apartments with others they hardly know, when people start renting out rooms in order to pay their electricity bill, and banks don’t know what to do with repossessed homes, when this takes place on a wide scale and for many years to come, when the State can’t collect enough to cover its bills and has to cut vital services not replacing retiring workers… it is that a nation is getting poorer, losing its wealth, or at least the one it thought it had, but probably never quite had.

So what we’re seeing everywhere really, is countries and people getting poorer, getting stuck once more with and in a huge underclass, all that whipped up wealth melting snow under a forbidding sun.

Of course, it’s nice to do well for a while, except most forget this is the exception not the rule, living high off the hog too long. Some taking it philosophically, others not so well, after the bubble bursts. The question is do we want to live like this, on the run, under exciting but explosive bubblenomics or taking a step back, living more evenly, not stepping around the returning homeless, on our sidewalks.

[Via http://steyning.wordpress.com]

Making Sense of the Yen: Forex Intervention, Debt and Deflation

2010-01-15T03:18:00.000+02:00

When economic growth collapsed in 1990, Japanese consumers became famously frugal, and the domestic market still hasn’t recovered. Neither has the stock market, for that matter: “The Nikkei is 44.3% below where it stood at the end of 1999. It is 72.9% below its peak near the end of 1989.” The performance of the bond market, meanwhile, has been a mirror image, rallying 78% since 1990.

The resulting decline in real interest rates has combined with economic stagnation to produce a perennial state of deflation. In fact, prices are once again falling, this time by an annualized pace of 2%.

As many economists have been quick to diagnose, the problem lies in a tremendous (perhaps the world’s largest) imbalance between savings and investment, as “Japan still has ¥1,500 trillion ($16.3 trillion) of savings.” It’s not clear how long this can last, however, as Japanese demographic changes tax the nation’s pool of savings. “More than a fifth of Japanese are over 65…The nation’s population began shrinking in 2006 from 127.8 million, and will drop by 3.2 percent in the coming decade.”

This brings me to the final component of Japan’s perfect economic storm: debt. Japan’s gross national debt is projected by the IMF to touch 225% of GDP this year, and 250% as early as 2014. As a result of the aging population, the pool of cash available for lending to the government is shrinking at the same rate as the tax base, which is exerting fiscal pressure on the government from both sides. According to one commentator, “Japan’s fiscal conditions are close to a melting point.” Another frets: “I doubt there is any yield that international capital markets can find acceptable that will not bankrupt the Japanese state.”

What is the government doing about all of this? Frankly, not too much. It is spending money like crazy – exacerbating its fiscal state and pushing it closer to insolvency – in a (vain) attempt to prime the economic pump and avoid deflation from further entrenching. The Central Bank, meanwhile, just announced a new round of quantitative easing, also aimed at fighting deflation. At only 2% of GDP, however, the measures are “pretty tame” and unlikely to accomplish much. Considering that its monetary base has only expanded by 5% this year (compared to 71% in the US), it still has plenty of scope to operate. At the present time, however, it is still reluctant to do so.

Ironically, the aging population phenomenon could end up restoring Japan’s economy to equilibrium. The worse Japan’s fiscal problems become, the sooner it will be forced to simply print money, so as to deflate its debt and avoid default. This will stimulate the economy and put upward pressure on prices (solving two problems), and exert strong downward pressure on the Yen. The way I see it, that’s four birds with one stone!

As for the Yen, then, I would expect it to hover over the near-term, since price stability and a strong credit rating don’t signal immediate catastrophe. No, Japan’s economic problems are more long-term, which means it could be a while before they more clearly manifst themselves.

[Via http://lanle.wordpress.com]

The Mythical Failure Rate

2010-01-13T11:46:00.000+02:00

The Mythical 95% Failure Rate in MLM/Network Marketing

Ever heard this one? “95% of people who try those MLM schemes fail!”

It’s a myth.

Of the 100% of those who become distributors in a network marketing company, about 10% actually stick with it long enough and learn the skills necessary to succeed.

Funny thing is, the same percentages hold in all independent endeavors! For example:

Over 50% of college freshmen drop out after their first year!
Real Estate Agents: They spend about $1000 to go to school. They spend $250-500 to get their license. 60% drop out without ever selling a house.
Life Insurance Agents: Spend several months in on the job training, and in many states have to take an exam. 60% or more only sell one life insurance policy, and that is to themselves.
Mortgage Loan Officers: 70-80% drop out without ever writing a loan.
Car Salespersons: 80-90% of new salespersons here drop out without ever selling a car. Call your local car dealer!

Discovering a pattern here? The same skills it takes to succeed in independent sales you will use to succeed in network marketing.

So, get on with learning those skills that can make you rich!

[Via http://qtnceo.wordpress.com]

Coakley to Fundraisers: 'If I Don't Win, 2010 Is Going To Be Hell For Democrats.'

2010-01-13T03:20:00.000+02:00

Coakley to Fundraisers: ‘If I Don’t Win, 2010 Is Going To Be Hell For Democrats.’

One of the Campaign Spot’s multitude of spies — yes, we have a separate Directorate of Intelligence – infiltrated Martha Coakley’s fundraiser in Washington, D.C. tonight.

My spy passes along word that Coakley herself fired up the crowd with this inspiring line: “If I don’t win, 2010 is going to be hell for Democrats… Every Democrat will have a competitive race.”

Her defeat was also described as “Waterloo for health care.”

http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=N2ZjNjlkZGY3YjkwOTMxY2E2ODA3MGNmZGViNjFlNTI

[Via http://james4america.wordpress.com]

Day(s) of Reckoning

2010-01-11T19:42:00.000+02:00

When you have this:

You will end up with this:

As a column over at Investors Business Daily points out, the ponzi scheme that is “Social Security,” is collapsing far ahead of the original schedule for 2019. This is extremely serious and yet no one in Washington is even talking about it right now. Yet, in secret, they are crafting some kind of takeover of the medical system and increased expenditure from the Federal Treasury. Either we start creating jobs (aka “funding source for the gov’ment”) or we will have to sharply curtail benefits.

[Via http://m2hgroup.wordpress.com]

Seminal Majid-Xiaotian military summit: Sino-Pakistani nexus to next level

2010-01-11T11:28:00.000+02:00

RupeeNews

This wasn’t an ordinary summit. This came at the heels of Indian General’s irrational statement about a joint war with China and India. Analyst would give an arm and a leg to be fly on the wall listening to what the Pakistani and Chinese Generals were discussion. Its not hard to guess. Sanity says that the following subjects must have come up.

It is pedagogical to note that the Chinese did not respond to General Kapoors statements. They did however repond in typical Chinese low key fasion—with a Pakistani Chinese military summit.

Silence is Golden!

1) General Kapoor and his Cold War insanity–and its counter-measures which places the onus on Tactical Nuclear weapons.

2) The regional situation, Afghanistan and Yemen must have come up for discussion.

3) The enhancement of military cooperation would surely have taken the talks to aircraft cooperation beyond the J-10s and J-11–towards J-14s.

4) Gwader and Central Asia and the road network would have come up at the strategic level.

5) They must have discussed the cooperation beyond the JF-17 Thunders, P-22 frigates and the Nuclear plans.

Beyond conjecture, The Nation sheds some light on what actually happened.

Islamabad – The 7th round of Pak-China Defence and Security Talks has concluded with emphasis on cementing bilateral military cooperation through mutually beneficial collaboration in operational, training, intelligence, logistics and defence industrial fields including indigenisation projects and joint ventures.

TheNation has learnt from the military sources on Sunday that the both sides during daylong discussions held at Joint Staff Headquarters, Chaklala shared perspectives on the fast evolving regional security situation for developing common insight into the emerging scenarios and coordinating common responses.

Sources said that the discussion focused at the impact of changing global security dynamics, progress in the efforts against terrorism and violent extremism, revised US strategy for Afghanistan, intra-regional disputes and posturing of involved states, and the tenuous spectre of strategic stability in the region.

The discussion also focused on ETIM terrorism related threat and measures for security of the Chinese manpower working in Pakistan.

The two sides also undertook a comprehensive review of bilateral military cooperation and the progress of various ongoing defence projects, making specific proposals for mutually beneficial future collaboration in operational, training, intelligence, logistics and defence industrial fields including indigenisation projects and joint ventures.

The visiting Deputy Chief of General Staff of Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), General Ma Xiaotian led the eight-member Chinese delegation, while Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), General Tariq Majid led the Pakistani team.

Speaking on the occasion, Chairman JCSC, General Tariq Majid extended felicitation on 60th Anniversary of China and lauded a spectacular economic progress and technological modernisation to rise as a reckonable power in the global politics and global economy, playing a crucial stabilisation role in many regions of the world.

He termed time tested multidimensional Pakistan-China strategic partnership as the bedrock of stability in the region and said, “As the world grows more complex and regional situation more challenging, it has become even more critical to add greater depth and dynamism to this relationship”.

Reiterating China’s solidarity and continuing support for Pakistan in meeting the challenges General Ma Xiaotian, Deputy Chief of General Staff, PLA appreciated Pakistan’s efforts against terrorism and violent extremism and stated, “We acknowledge the great sacrifices rendered by Pakistan, its people and the Armed Forces in combating terrorism, for which Pakistan deserves the praise and gratitude of the entire world, indeed the mankind”.

Later in the evening, a banquet was hosted by General Tariq Majid in the honour of General Ma Xiaotian and his delegation which was also attended by senior Pakistani military officers from the three services and officials from the Ministries of Defence and Defence Production.

In view of the American moves into Yemen, Oman and Kenya, Pakistan becomes all the more important for China. Islamabad is under tremendous pressure to give Gwader to the Americans. Pakistan has resisted. The Israelis and the Americans want to use Yemen and Oman as a beachead to pressure Iran. Delhi a willing part of this alliance has already talked about regional reach. After its eviction from tajikistan, it seems to have been shut out of Central Asia by a combined Russian-Chinese and Pakistan move.

Iran, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Russia have in one week changed the energy map of Asia and Europe. By taking congtrol of Tajik gas and dividing them up between China, Russia and Iran, the Asian powers are asserting control of the energy resources of Central Asia–to the chagrin of Europe and the USA.

If America can get a safe saving victory out of Afghanistan, they may begin to withdraw their forces from the Afghan quagmire.

The next 18 months are going to be extremely important–if the US gets sucked into Yemen, and body bags begin rolling out of the Arabian peninsula, then there is a guarantee of a one term presidency. Mr. Obama will surely try to wage the Yemen war with drones.

Soaked in blood, with huge sacrifices, the Pakistanis and Afghans will wait it out– ’till 2011. Then the tide will begin turning towards victory. With a friendly government in Afghanistan and solid relations with the Tajiks and Uzbeks, a friendly China the entire area will begin moving towards its destiny.

[Via http://siyasipakistan.wordpress.com]

EMIL CONSTANTINESCU- Păcatul originar, sacrificiul fondator-Revoluţia decembrie ‘89

2010-01-08T11:13:00.000+02:00

O CARTE FUNDAMENTALA PENTRU ROMANIA EMIL CONSTANTINESCU- Păcatul originar, sacrificiul fondator-Revoluţia decembrie ‘89

Revoluţia din decembrie ’89: Păcatul originar, sacrificiul fondator este prima carte dintr-o serie de şapte volume dedicate ultimelor două decenii din istoria României. Titlurile provizorii ale celorlalte volume sunt: Mineriadele: Faţa violentă a postcomunismului 1990 – 1999; Democraţia: De la naştere la majorat 1990 – 2007; Ţara ca o pradă: Calea românească spre capitalism 1990 – 2007; Preţul schimbării: Administraţia Constantinescu 1996 – 2000; De la ţara-problemă la model regional: Politica externă 1996 – 2000; Adevărul despre minciună: Manipularea opiniei publice 1989 – 2009.

Sunt necesare aceste cărţi astăzi într-o Românie membră a Uniunii Europene şi a NATO, care a înregistrat zece ani de creştere economică şi se confruntă astăzi cu efectele crizei financiare mondiale? Nu e momentul să întoarcem paginile însângerate ale Revoluţiei din decembrie ’89 şi pe cele controversate ale tranziţiei post-comuniste pentru a ne ocupa de un prezent şi mai ales de un viitor care se anunţă neliniştitor? Sunt de acord şi chiar mă preocupă conturarea unei viziuni, a unei strategii pe termen lung pentru progresul României, dar cred că înainte de a întoarce paginile istoriei recente trebuie să le citim cu atenţie. Pentru că vremurile grele cer o solidaritate socială şi naţională care nu poate fi clădită pe minciună. Realitatea existenţei instituţiilor democratice nu poate ascunde lipsa de încredere în cei care le reprezintă. Performanţele economice nu pot ascunde corupţia. Stabilitatea politică nu poate ascunde lipsa unor ideologii bazate pe idealuri politice care separă partidele de grupurile de interese. Stabilitatea socială nu poate ascunde lipsa de demnitate a celor care acceptă să fie cumpăraţi sau mituiţi la un preţ derizoriu. Şi nici realitatea unei profunde crize morale generate de confuzia valorilor şi de o lipsă a respectului de sine. Toate acestea îşi au originea, după părerea mea, în lipsa de curaj întru asumarea unui trecut pe care nu-l putem schimba, dar pe care, dacă îl înţelegem, îl putem folosi pentru a-i evita erorile şi a construi un viitor mai bun.

Mi-am asumat scrierea acestor cărţi din mai multe motive. Pentru că, printr-un joc al destinului, am avut acces direct la documente esenţiale. Pentru că am avut ocazia să fiu în contact direct cu mari actori ai jocului politic european şi mondial. Pentru că, prin acelaşi joc al destinului, m-am aflat în miezul unor evenimente care au hotărât cursul istoriei ultimelor două decenii. Dar mai ales pentru că pot să spun fără ezitare lucrurile pe care le-am trăit şi pe care le-am aflat, să public informaţii corecte şi documente despre persoane în viaţă care ocupă poziţii cheie în politica, în administraţia şi în economia României. Pot face acest lucru pentru că nu pot fi şantajat cu nimic din trecutul meu. Şi nu pot fi cumpărat cu nici un fel de avantaje pentru prezent sau viitor. O pot face înfruntând pe cei care dirijează opinia publică, pentru că nu mă preocupă nici voturile, nici ratingurile la televiziune care dau notorietate şi apoi, prin confuzie, aduc popularitate şi încredere.

„Cunoaşteţi adevărul şi adevărul vă va face liberi“, ne-a învăţat Mântuitorul. Experienţa regimului totalitar ne-a dovedit că trebuie să fii cu adevărat liber în sinea ta, ca să poţi spune adevărul deschis, tuturor, ceea ce rămâne valabil şi acum când trăim în democraţie şi libertate constituţională.

Până unde trebuie spus adevărul? Până la capăt. Pentru că, aşa cum a scris cunoscutul dizident sovietic, Vassili Grossman, în cartea sa Viaţă şi destin: „Adevărul este unul singur. Nu există două adevăruri. E greu să trăieşti fără adevăr sau cu frânturi, cu o fărâmă de adevăr, cu un adevăr ciuntit, amputat. Numai o parte a adevărului nu reprezintă adevărul.“

De ce scriu abia acum despre aceste adevăruri? Pentru că acum a venit timpul. În 1989 – 1996 m-am aflat în stradă pentru a protesta împotriva comunismului şi a neocomunismului travestit în democraţie. Mi-am consacrat timpul, împreună cu cercurile intelectuale democractice, construirii unui program politic şi moral radical pentru România, ca o alternativă necesară la o reformă de tip gorbaciovist sau la un stat oligarhic, pseudo-democratic şi pseudo-capitalist. A fost o perioadă dură, care nu a lăsat timp reflecţiei, ci doar acţiunii.

În cei patru ani ai mandatului meu de preşedinte al României (1996-2000), m-am străduit să fiu un garant al respectării legilor, al separaţiei puterilor în stat şi al bunei funcţionări a instituţiilor publice şi m-am considerat îndatorat să iau numai acele decizii care corespundeau interesului naţional. Sub presiunea unor evenimente dramatice nu am găsit atunci răgazul de a cerceta în profunzime cauzele unor situaţii mai vechi sau recente, care puneau în pericol pacea, suveranitatea, stabilitatea politică, socială şi economică a ţării pentru că am fost obligat să mă concentrez pe găsirea unor soluţii care nu puteau întârzia. Am stăruit să creez condiţiile pentru ca jurişti, istorici, politologi, sociologi, jurnalişti să poată cerceta aceste cauze folosind cadrul democratic instaurat în cei patru ani în care am condus România. Cei mai mulţi s-au eschivat. Unii, mai puţini, au făcut-o cu demnitate profesională şi morală.

După terminarea mandatului, m-am străduit – e drept fără prea mare succes – să mă opun, în zona civică şi politică, manipulărilor intelectuale care au deformat realitatea ultimelor două decenii în funcţie de interesele unor grupuri şi persoane provenite din fosta Securitate, din nomenclatura PCR şi ale acoliţilor lor. S-a dovedit că am avut dreptate când am susţinut că nu am fost învins de Securitatea „din serviciile de informaţii sau din instituţiile statului“, ci – aşa cum arată textul declaraţiei mele din 1999 – de cei din afara administraţiei care, acaparând mijloace de comunicare şi folosind libertăţile democratice, au putut distorsiona faptele, înlocuind cu neruşinare adevărul prin minciună. Blocat ani la rând în afara zonei comunicării publice, am ales calea editării acestor cărţi, cu speranţa că ele îşi vor găsi cititorii de bună credinţă.

Astăzi, liber de exigenţele unei poziţii oficiale, sunt dator să spun oamenilor, care îşi doresc adevărul, tot ceea ce ştiu. Adevărul despre România anilor 1989-2009 este o mărturie despre suferinţa şi umilinţele unor oameni zdrobiţi de evenimentele acestor ani, despre crimele, rapacitatea şi aroganţa celor care au profitat de ele, dar şi despre cei care au crezut într-un viitor necomunist şi european al României, au luptat pentru el şi au reuşit să-l impună chiar şi acelora care nu l-au dorit. Îmi dau seama că informaţiile şi, mai ales, probele obţinute desenează un tablou al unei realităţi pe care am trăit-o fără ca, de cele mai multe ori, să o înţelegem.

Nu am pretenţia că sunt deţinătorul unui adevăr politic, juridic sau istoric incontestabil, şi sunt gata să discut şi să accept orice documente, fapte sau mărturii care pot lumina mai bine sau chiar altfel realitatea. Educaţia mea ştiinţifică şi religioasă m-a ajutat să cercetez faptele în mod obiectiv, eliberat de ură sau intoleranţă. Recunosc însă o anume încrâncenare în ceea ce am scris venită din durerea unui om care a trăit în miezul evenimentelor şi se simte lovit de acceptarea cinică a crimelor, abuzurilor, corupţiei şi minciunii, sau de indiferenţa la fel de cinică cu care sunt încă privite de către o mare parte a societăţii româneşti.

Conspiraţia tăcerii şi a minciunii, care a sugrumat istoria adevărată a ultimelor decenii şi nu numai, are temeiuri mult mai adânci decât teama de pedeapsă a celor care au comis crime şi abuzuri, sau au profitat de ele. Ele nu se explică nici prin interesul material personal sau de grup al celor care au furat sau au beneficiat de jaful avuţiei naţionale. Sunt resorturi mult mai adânci, care vin din psihologia individuală, din mentalul colectiv. Ele merg de la acceptarea cu uşurinţă a unor falsuri evidente, care pot înjosi viaţa cuiva, până la contestarea unor dovezi clare, care pot înălţa demnitatea cuiva, de la plăcerea inventării minciunilor până la acceptarea perversă de a fi minţit frumos. În acest sens, restituirea adevărului istoric va fi o reparaţie adusă demnităţii naţionale reprezentate de o majoritate tăcută care trăieşte onest, cu conştiinţa respectului de sine.

Am scris aceste cărţi de pe poziţia victimelor minţite sau speriate, care nu-şi cunosc sau nu-şi pot apăra drepturile. Le-am scris de pe poziţia milioanelor de români cinstiţi care cred în adevăr, în dreptate şi în demnitate.

Cele şapte cărţi din seria Adevărul despre România sunt adresate în primul rând celor care nu mai doresc ca ei şi copiii lor să trăiască în minciună. Ele îi vizează însă şi pe cei care, dimpotrivă, au ales să trăiască în minciună, pentru ca nici ei să nu mai poată să spună: N-am ştiut.

[Via http://centruldiplomatic.wordpress.com]

Euro brinkmanship escalates as ECB shuts door on Greek bail-out - Telegraph

2010-01-08T03:42:00.000+02:00

Jurgen Stark, the ECB’s chief economist to Greece: “Let them eat baklava”

“The country has not kept public accounts under control, nor worked to improve competitiveness. Greece is in a very difficult situation.”

via Euro brinkmanship escalates as ECB shuts door on Greek bail-out – Telegraph.

Clearly this isn’t the time to get long on the Euro.

Meanwhile, this statement by Greek finance minister George Papaconstantinou ranks right up there with ones made by Ken Skilling, Ken Lay, and Andy Fastow about how great Enron was in ‘00 & ‘01:

“Frankly we don’t need that clarification. We don’t expect to be bailed out by anybody as, I think, it is perfectly clear we’re doing what needs to be done to bring the deficit down and control public debt.”

Really? You’re doing what needs to be done? And just what is that, exactly?

Defaulting on payments to Swiss pharma companies?

Private placements of sovereign debt?

What you should be doing is making real fiscal reform which involves restructuring government programs (possibly privatizing them as well – oh the horror), restructuring the tax code, and begin the process of transforming the investing climate to allow for freer flows of capital.

Nothing like this is even being discussed, much less implemented.

But if it does come to pass, maybe – just maybe – we will see what the result is of profligate, ineffective, wasteful public spending and get our own fiscal house in order.

If we don’t, we’ll be praying to be the Wiemar Republic or Zimbabwe. Because we could end up as something worse.

Making payments in wheat, rice, crude oil, gold, silver, or precious/semi-precious gems. Wouldn’t that be something? Congratulations, your car now costs a 5 carat, D color, VS2, princess cut, diamond. Or the equivalent in rice. And you have to have it all with you at the time of purchase. Because a crisis of confidence for a fiat currency is not hyperinflation.

It’s bartering.

[Via http://professorpinch.wordpress.com]

Europe Markets: Stocks in Europe drift lower; M&S retreats

2010-01-06T11:48:00.000+02:00

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Stocks in Europe couldn’t hold early gains on Wednesday as the market continued to drift after the year-opening rally.

The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 traded lower, slipping 0.2% to 257.11 in a broad but not heavy downturn.

The most notable faller was Marks & Spencer , which dropped 5.2%. The U.K. clothing retailer said comparable U.K. sales for the 13 weeks to Dec. 26 rose 0.8% from a year earlier, missing consensus expectations for a 1.2% advance.

The company said that after adjusting for the timing of its Christmas sale this fiscal year, which started on Dec. 27, comparable sales were up nearly 2%. See M&S story. See London Markets.

Global Dow

By region, the U.K. FTSE 100 slipped 0.4% to 5,503.20, the German DAX fell 0.5% to 6,003.71 and the French CAC 40 fell 0.3% to 4,001.06.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 32 points ahead of data on U.S. employment.

Markit said its euro-zone services PMI rose to 53.6 in December from 53.0 in November. The figure was slightly below its earlier flash estimate of 53.7 but remained the highest reading since November 2007.

The euro exchanged hands at $1.4336, with the shared currency on the move as European Central Bank board member Jurgen Stark told the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 that Greece won’t get bailed out by the European Union american family insurance.

Greece’s credit rating has been under assault on the country’s massive debt burden relative to GDP.

Of other stocks in the spotlight, Deutsche Telekom fell 2.3% to 10.27 euros after it was cut to sell from neutral by UBS, which said earnings momentum is negative and free cash flow visibility is low.

It sees structural challenges in emerging Europe and at T-Mobile USA, suggesting scope for further downside. UBS kept its price target at 8.70 euros.

Sodexo , the French catering services group, gained 4.7%. It said Wednesday that total sales in its fiscal first quarter, which ended Nov. 30, fell 2.7% to 3.87 billion euros, as a decline in sales to corporate customers was partially offset by stronger sales to hospitals and schools. Sodexo also reaffirmed its targets for fiscal 2010, including for revenue to hold steady from the prior year and for an operating profit of between 750 million euros and 770 million euros.

Analysts at Exane BNP Paribas said the group’s North American performance was better than expected.

French auto maker Peugeot rose 3.6% after it was upped to buy from neutral at Bank of America Merrill Lynch as it expects market share gains to continue into the first half of 2010. The broker is now estimating fourth-quarter revenue growth of 13.9%, bringing its annual revenue estimate of 48.4 billion euros ahead of consensus estimates.

Sonova Holding rose 3.4% after buying InSound Medical, a maker of a hearing aid system that’s not visible from the outside, for at least $75 million.

Europe Markets: Stocks in Europe drift lower; M&S retreats

[Via http://finbel.wordpress.com]

Military-Industrial Complex Set To Make A Killing From Body Scanners

2010-01-06T03:51:00.000+02:00

Steve Watson

Infowars.net

Tuesday, Jan 5, 2010

Military Industrial Complex Set To Make A Killing From Body Scanners 050110scanner3The rabid calls for co-ordinated implementation of naked body scanners in airports across the planet, in the wake of the failed underwear bombing, will result in huge profits for the military industrial complex.

The giant defense contractor L-3 Communications is first line, having already landed a $165 million contract for body scanners from the Transportation Security Administration late last week.

The New York based company ranks among the world’s top contractors, with 81% of it’s total revenue being generated from defense spending in 2008 (see image below).

L-3 has supplied command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems and products to the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and several other U.S. Government intelligence agencies.

Read the full article

[Via http://truthpills.wordpress.com]

3 Day Financial Modeling Workshop in Delhi in February 2010

2010-01-04T11:29:00.000+02:00

ARC Academy "Corporate Valuation & Financial Modeling" is designed to help delegates to learn the practical application of assessment techniques they learned in their studies.

Attachment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Log-PR (Press Release) – Jan 04, 2010 – Day 3 Program is designed to provide delegates with an in-depth and practical overview of financial analysis and forecasting techniques . During the program 3 days of training, delegates will learn: a) Evaluation of a company by using different valuation techniques (comparable company analysis: DCF Valuation) b) the techniques of financial modeling in Excel c) forecasting financial statements d) Calculation and analysis of the FCF and WACC Delegates will build a financial model with the help of a case study.The program helps candidates learn the basic principles of assessment, forecasting and analysis, which are relevant in today's business, banking and financial services world.Fees: INR 6000 per delegate Dates: 12 , 13, February 14, 2010 Venue: Hotel Spice Art, Rajendra Place, New Delhi The program is managed by the Association of Investment bankers who run a company investment banking boutique ARC Financial Services and have experience before working with companies like Goldman Sachs, ABN Amro, McKinsey & Co., Fidelity Investments and Private Equity Times. For more details please contact +91 11 4562 2127 or +91 11 4562 2128 or info@arc-academia.com…

Source: 3 Day Financial Modeling Workshop in Delhi in February 2010

Hot News: Code Blue Medics Training Division announces 2010 CPR/AED & First Aid class schedule.

[Via http://porrtocar.wordpress.com]

Welcoming A New Year

2010-01-04T03:24:00.000+02:00

Ok, so I am a little late, but I spent a little more time focusing on family over the holidays and am ok with neglecting work a little. You should try it sometime, if you haven’t already. It is good for the soul.

Looking backover the previous year, it was truly a tough one. The economic collapse, the war, swine flu, celebrity deaths – Michael Jackson, Patrick Swayze, Brittany Murphy (sorry if I missed any), Tiger Woods media issues, the never ending battle between conservatives and liberals, the list goes on.

In my own life, there were many challenges in 2009. So for me, I am glad to put it behind me. For what’s ahead, at least for now, let’s think positive. At least it’s a nice thought.

[Via http://thespinningplanet.wordpress.com]

Brian Ross Writes About Bernie Madoff

2010-01-01T19:43:00.000+02:00

I encourage you to read the book – either by Amazon or torrent. Some decent points:

Nearly everyone investing in Madoff’s ventures were certain that he was doing something slightly illegal to make consistent, high returns. No one assumed that it was a hoax, just illegal gains (which is partly their fault).
Bernie had quite a few mistresses all over the world. His wife merely had them watched closely, and did not really do anything to stop Bernie’s affairs.
Ruth blames the Gentiles for the exposure of their Ponzi scheme.

It’s entertaining, if not really sad, to read about all the abuses and crimes that Bernie Madoff got away with. He suffers from narcissism and pathological lying. He’s incredibly callous about the people he hurt, even calling them “idiots” and “failures” for falling for his scheme. Furthermore, he still thinks he’s largely innocent, as if our free Capitalistic society makes what he did legal somehow. Really, really sad.

Also, I have it from a local prophet that the Great Zombie Invasion is to start in 2010. If so, I do believe the plan on IRC was that we all meet up in Colorado and try to survive.

[Via http://mcclaud.wordpress.com]

Recovery

2010-01-01T03:27:00.000+02:00

The economy has since shown signs of recovery after plunging into one of the most severe recessions. Recently there are further credible signs.

Yield Spread

When short term interest rates are lower than long term rates, the yield curve is sloping upwards, often preceding a significant economic recovery. The yield spread is the difference between two different yields.

Yield spread between 30 year Treasury bonds and 2 year notes has now risen above 300 basis points, when a year ago the yield spread was about 170 basis points. The yield spread between 2 year and 10 year notes has reached almost 300 basis points and was last near these levels in 2003.

Jobless Claims

Labor Department figure shows initial jobless claims fell by 22,000 to 432,000 in the week ended Dec 26, the lowest level since July 2008.

Home Sales

Existing home sales rose in October by 10.1%, new home sales rose a better than expected 6.2%, pending home sales rose 3.7%. Although these improvements could be temporary as 30% of the sales were to first-time home buyers who were assisted by the $8,000 tax rebate program, the program has now been extended into next spring, and expanded to include some folks who are not first time buyers.

Consumer Confidence

The Conference Board, a New York-based research group, said its consumer confidence index rose to 52.9 in December.

Conclusion

However, US consumers are not likely to return to pre-crisis level spending. Various time bombs such as sovereign defaults, commercial real estate implosion looms. Further, the recovery so far is supported by massive government stimulus and liquidity injections. The Federal Reserve blew bubbles to get the economy out of the recession in 2003. They are doing it again this time, but on a bigger scale. Finally, US debt is likely unsustainable. There may be signs of recovery, and recent signs have gotten more credible. In many ways the recovery in the economy and the equities market are similar to the recovery in 2003. But the recovery, without solid fundamentals, is likely a fake recovery, one that could give way to a bigger crisis some time down the road.

[Via http://unprecedentedtimes.wordpress.com]

Loyally Screwed

2009-12-30T11:30:00.000+02:00

Anyone working in business will tell you (and if they won’t, I will) — watch what your largest customers are doing.

What killed the video store? Online movies, On-Demand, NetFlix, iTunes, etc. Now I was a once a week rental guy, if that. But when their 7 day a week movie fanatics (the guys or girls that waited at the door for the latest release) went to 4 a week to 3 a week, to one a month — the signs were there, but was anyone listening?

Those loyalists are your foundation — absolutely critical relationships. Blockbuster is still playing catch up from their bricks and mortar strategy to a clicks, order and mortar strategy. Stubbornness, did someone not act, or a case of rolling over and playing victim? Even better, let’s blame gas prices and the economy!

Your loyalists may not necessarily be fans — if you’re providing convenience and someone else enters the marketplace with more convenience, you’re history. I refer to that as loyally screwed.

Convert your loyalists to fans for a stronger foundation and begin to LISTEN.

You can see your own future, your crystal ball is at your fingertips — all you have to do is listen. You may be able to determine the next curve in your industry through these relationships — pay very close attention.

Be remarkable, not replaceable.

[Via http://membershipjedi.wordpress.com]

A Little Business Parable

2009-12-30T03:26:00.000+02:00

A short parable:

It’s a slow day in a little East Texas town. The sun is beating down, and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit…..

On this particular day a rich tourist from back east is driving through town. He stops at the motel and lays a $100 bill on the desk saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night.

As soon as the man walks upstairs, the owner grabs the bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to retire his debt to the pig farmer.

The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel.

The guy at the Farmer’s Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer her “services” on credit.

The hooker rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill with the hotel owner.

The hotel proprietor then places the $100 back on the counter so the rich traveler will not suspect anything.

At that moment the traveler comes down the stairs, picks up the $100 bill, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves town.

No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now out of debt and now looks to the future with a lot more optimism.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the United States Government is conducting business today.

[Via http://allthenewsthatfits.wordpress.com]

Jillian's Move: Good or Bad for Waterside?

2009-12-28T11:30:00.000+02:00

I think that it can be a good thing. Waterside needs to be remade into a venue that relates more to the original purpose of the building. They need a quality seafood place, independent shops (like “All About Virginia & More” and “All about Racing & More”), locally owned restaurants, and above all, LARGE windows that give an open, public view of the waterfront. That is what the purpose of Waterside was and still should be. It is the same reason why we invest so heavily in Town Point Park. The waterfront is and ought to be the public’s domain.

Norfolk - mid-1980's - zoom in and pay close attention to the number of people at Waterside

The image above shows a Waterside full of people. It shows a Waterside tha tis not dependent on taxdollars to survive. That is what we need to rebuild. Do not tear the building down. Renovate it. Make it bright inside again.

Back to Jillian’s. They don’t need to be inside waterside. They should remain Downtown, but not in Waterside. Same goes for Hooters, Outback, and Joe’s. By themselves, they are all good places. They simply do not belong in a venue like the one that I have described. They can stay Downtown, definitely. In fact, it would improve Downtown as a whole to have those restaurants move OUT of Waterside and INTO a street-front property. The amount of pedestrian traffic would surely increase traffic and revenue to the other stores. This move is not an end, but a beginning. A good beginning.

[Via http://757hamptonroads.com]

Do Not Go Gentle into the Post-American Era

2009-12-28T03:52:00.000+02:00

When the U.S. was a developing nation, we expended our efforts and capital in developing the infrastructure for industry. Our government provided incentives for the development and extraction of natural resources to be used as raw materials to build, not just products, but a thriving national economy. — And that’s exactly what China and other developing nations are doing today.

But, today, the U.S. is doing the opposite. Increasingly, over the past several decades, our government has been restricting the extraction of natural resources and dismantling the infrastructure for industry. Overregulation, combined with exorbitant and ever-increasing union demands, has succeeded in driving much of our industry offshore. If we want to recover our economy, we need to reverse that trend.

Despite President Obama’s 2008 campaign promise to “Strengthen Domestic Manufacturing to Create Jobs and Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century,” this administration is thoroughly beholden to the unions and environmental lobbies and, in true Chicago style, has used the stimulus package to pay off political debts. From every indication, this president will continue the trend of dismantling the economy in favor of political correctness and payback.

Every nation has a historical trajectory. This nation has apparently passed its apogee, and is now in decline. We no longer have the drive to overcome. We’ve become complacent and, instead of striving for ever greater industrial innovation and economic strength, we are focused myopically on the niceties that developing nations cannot afford to consider.

The problem is, there’s no such thing as stasis. A nation, a corporation, a species, an individual, must either advance or decline. That’s nature. And, as we sink into complacency, whining effetely about our declining economy, there will be others advancing to take our place as the dominant world power, industrially, economically, and (eventually) militarily. That’s a historical inevitability. The same pattern can be observed throughout nature and the history of civilizations. The only question is when.

At this point, we could still reverse that trend by, once again, becoming a developing nation ourselves — one can always develop further, if one is motivated to keep striving — but we, as a nation, lack that motivation. We’re apparently content to rest on our laurels as we sink into national senescence while other countries, like China, rise up on the international horizon. The world is always changing. It’s the nature of all things. The only question is, will we, as a nation, go gentle into that good night? Or will we rage, rage against the dying of the light? (Apologies to Dylan Thomas.)

Unfortunately, I believe I know the answer to that rhetorical question. History is being written even as we go about our daily lives. You can see it in our relations with other nations, as we make concessions that cede our sovereignty in so many minor ways. Stepping back and observing from a historical perspective, we see a once-great nation, that no longer has the will to sustain its rank as the leader of the free world, stepping aside and leaving the field open to whoever will step up and take its place. Sadly, there’s no way to choose our successor. Once we step aside, we can only watch and hope for the best. And if we don’t like the way the world is shaping up in the post-American era, we will just have to suffer the consequences.

[Via http://notyourdaddy.wordpress.com]

If Smart Grid Data Demands Don't Swamp Utilities, the Hackers will!

2009-12-25T19:00:00.000+02:00

There is a growing anxiety that smart meter deployment being stimulated by Federal stimulus money and pressure to move faster from state utility regulators will swamp the data boat of many, if not most, utilities. As I started digging into this issue I quickly discovered I was not the only one, nor the first, to raise it. Last May, Beth Pariseau wrote extensively on this Smart Grid storage topic for Searchstorage.com. [1]

It turns out that I have a personal connection to two of the utilities most often cited on the smart meter front: Austin Energy and PG&E. Having once managed Austin Energy and Austin Water when I was Assistant City Manager for Utilities and Finance in Austin Beth’s interview with current Austin Energy’s CIO, Andres Carvallo piqued my interest. Compared to the data management issued Austin faced when I was there the expected usage trends with smart meters are staggering. My other connection to this issue is through PG&E, my energy provider here in the San Francisco Bay area. Recently, PG&E installed a smart meter from Silver Spring Network on my house. So here is the essence of Beth’s data tsunami story as represented by these two smart grid leaders.

The 400 MB Per Smart Meter Data Storage Requirement

At Austin Energy which is finishing the roll-out of its first 500,000 meters, the annual increase in data storage grew to 200 TB from 20 TB including disaster recovery backup for 15 minute meter sampling for the first stage residential integration. More frequent meter data sampling dramatically scale the data requirements. Austin’s experience to date suggests that storage of about 400 MB per meter per year are required minimally for the 15 minute sampling standard. The Pacific Gas and Electric experience was comparable adding 1.2 PB of meter data storage for its initial 700,000 smart meters rollout or about 170 MB per meter per year sufficient for a twice daily meter sampling.

The 100 Petabyte Smart Meter Storage Need and Growing

In August 2009 FERC issued its “Assessment of Demand Response and Advanced Metering” offering two scenarios for smart meter deployment data requirements. Scenario 1 was a partial rollout of 80 million meters with and the full deployment scenario 2 of 140 million meters by 2019. Based upon the Austin Energy and PG&E experience, the FERC study suggests the need for roughly 100 PB of information within the next ten years.

Think about it this way for comparison: 1 PB=1 quadrillion bytes; or 1 PB=data filling 20 million four drawer filing cabinets filled with text files.

Data Tsunami Ahead to Make Smart Grid Work

Obviously big network and storage providers are rubbing their hands together in glee at the prospect of suctioning up a big share of the money to be spent on smart meters. Utilities, on the other hands, must be wondering whether smart grid is really a dumb idea especially if they try to do it “on the cheap” with low frequency sampling. Just like our own home computer experience, I predict that the roll out of smart meters will lead to the insatiable appetite for more and more and more storage, frequency sampling and applications to make use of this tsunami of data coming our way. Otherwise, why bother.

Hackers See Smart Grid as the Ultimate Video Game

And if you think just the demand for additional data storage is the biggest problem facing smart grid rollouts, they you just have not heard about the smart grid data hackers. At a utility security conference this past summer, one security firm set up a graphic simulation showing how simple it would be to take over the smart grid today. Their simulation showed how over 24 hours an average hacker could gain access and control over about 15,000 out of 22,000 homes by infecting their smart meters with a worm that captured control over the device. Great, you say, just let the utility send the hacker your next utility bill and see how they like it!

But Terrorists See Smart Grid as their Ticket to Ride the Grid

But the problem is there are a lot of bad guys out there who are quite capable of using that control to do serious damage to our critical infrastructure. This is the nightmare scenario for Federal , State and Utility security officials—a cyber attack. That is why FERC has set out a set of critical infrastructure protection rules that require utilities to beef up their security. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is working actively to tighten the nation’s critical infrastructure protection standards. [2] The Federal stimulus grants for smart meter installation all come with regulations requiring utilities to take proactive and immediate steps to boost security. The question is whether the advances of smart grid technology will actually make us more vulnerable to these kinds of cyber attacks than the good old dumb meters that controlled nothing but our utility bill.

So what?

One more thing to think about, not only will you have to pay for all these smart meters and the data storage to keep up with the vast amount of information they produce, but now you have to pay for the security needed to keep some terrorist or teenage mutant ninja hacker from attacking your smart meter or worse the smart grid.

It makes you long for the good old days when all the terrorists did was toilet paper your front yard or egg the car windows.

[1] http://searchstoragechannel.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid98_gci1355355,00.html

[2] http://www.nist.gov/testimony/2009/cyber%20sec-smart%20grid%20house%20hs%20hearing%20furlani%20final.pdf

[Via http://insightadvisor.wordpress.com]

Perikanan Darat : Lele Sangkuriang, Megamendung, Bogor

2009-12-25T11:48:00.000+02:00

KOMPAS/FX PUNIMAN

Nasrudin, Bapak Lele Sangkuriang

Senin, 21 Desember 2009 | 02:43 WIB

FX Puniman

Kecebong, anak kodok, muncul di kolam, membuat Nasrudin gembira karena dia mengira kecebong itu anak ikan lele. Kegembiraannya itu sirna dan dia tersipu malu ketika diberi tahu bahwa yang dikira anak ikan lele itu adalah kecebong. Kodok betina yang masuk ke kolam tanpa diketahui, bertelur dan menetas bersama dua indukan ikan lele betina dan seekor jantan.

Itu pengalaman pertama Nasrudin (61) sejak delapan tahun lalu saat belajar beternak ikan lele.

”Kecebong disangka anak lele. Ngerakeun pisan (sangat memalukan),” kata Nasrudin, menuturkan awal usahanya menjadi peternak ikan lele delapan tahun lalu, di Saung Pertemuan Pusat Pelatihan Pertanian dan Pedesaan Swadaya (P4S) Jaya Sentosa, awal November lalu. Saung itu berdiri di tepi puluhan kolam ikan lele yang terbuat dari terpal dan tembok di lahan seluas 12.000 meter persegi di Kampung Sukabirus, Desa Gadog, Kecamatan Mega Mendung, Kabupaten Bogor, Jawa Barat.

Kini, dia tak lagi dipermalukan atas ketidaktahuannya. Nasrudin sudah tersohor berkat lele sangkuriang yang mulai dikembangbiakkan pada 2001. Dia mengawali usaha beternak lele dengan benih sekitar 100.000 lele sangkuriang yang diperoleh dari Balai Besar Pengembangan Budidaya Air Tawar Sukabumi. Nama sangkuriang yang diberikan itu memang diambil dari legenda Tanah Pasundan untuk menandakan lokasi asal pembiakan lele jenis tersebut.

Lele sangkuriang ini merupakan perbaikan genetik melalui silang balik antara induk betina lele dumbo generasi kedua (F2) dan jantan lele dumbo generasi keenam (F6). Induk betina (F2) berasal dari keturunan kedua lele dumbo yang diintroduksi ke Indonesia pada 1985.

Petugas penyuluh pertanian dan perikanan setempat memberikan bimbingan beternak ikan secara benar. Berkat ketekunannya, Nasrudin berhasil mengembangkan ikan lele sangkuriang.

Dia kini sudah menjadi ”pendekar lele”, bukan saja mahir dalam membesarkan lele dengan jurus-jurus yang jitu, tetapi juga mampu mengobati lele yang diserang penyakit, seperti radang kulit, dengan obat herbal ramuannya sendiri. Obat ini diberikan cuma-cuma kepada yang memerlukan.

”Letkol”

Sejak 2005, dia menjadi pelatih bagi kelompok dari sejumlah daerah, termasuk sejumlah karyawan perusahaan swasta dan pemerintah menjelang pensiun yang ingin beternak lele. Namanya pun sohor menjadi ”Nasrudin Lele” dari Desa Gadog. Bahkan, kalangan pembudidaya lele dan warga setempat menjuluki Nasrudin dengan sebutan Bapak Letkol—akronim dari Lele Kolam yang dipelesetkan menjadi Letkol—sehingga dia kemudian disebut ”Letkol” Nasrudin.

Petani lele sangkuriang dari Desa Gadog ini kini lebih jauh berangan-angan membantu pemerintah mengurangi angka pengangguran dengan memelihara lele. ”Budidaya lele tidak terlalu sulit, teknologinya juga mudah dan tiga bulan sudah bisa dipanen. Masyarakat kecil bisa membudidayakan lele di halaman rumahnya. Cukup dengan lahan minim, hanya dengan luas 1 meter x 1 meter, serta modal Rp 75.000 untuk bibit dan pakan, sudah bisa beternak lele skala kecil,” kata Nasrudin.

Dia tak segan-segan membagi pengetahuan memelihara lele secara benar kepada mereka yang ingin membudidayakan lele. Dia juga siap membantu mereka yang datang menimba ilmu di P4S Gadog tanpa dipungut biaya.

Sejumlah petugas penyuluh pertanian dan perikanan serta pakar perikanan pun mendukung kegiatan Nasrudin membudidayakan lele sangkuriang dan melakukan pelatihan. Dukungan ini membuat Nasrudin bersemangat dan bertambah yakin akan angan-angannya untuk menjadikan Desa Gadog sebagai sentra budidaya lele sangkuriang.

Bahkan, 7 September lalu, Nasrudin diangkat menjadi Ketua Gabungan Kelompok (Gapok) Budidaya Ikan Lele Sangkuriang ”Cahaya Kita” untuk wilayah tengah Provinsi Jabar dengan pusat aktivitas di wilayah Kabupaten/Kota Bogor.

[Via http://jakarta45.wordpress.com]

Wednesday Morning Newsstand

2009-12-23T11:19:00.000+02:00

-The Washington Post is reporting this morning that promises made by AIG executives to return retention bonuses paid out earlier this year have largely gone unfulfilled. Some of the employees have left the company, taking their money with them.

-According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Elkhart County Indiana, once the poster child of the recession, has seen workers return to work, signaling a revival may be near in heartland America.

-Thousands have incorrectly claimed tax benefits under the Obama administration’s stimulus plan, the New York Times reports, and the IRS may not be able to verify eligibility for the majority of tax benefit recipients. -CPP

[Via http://capitolpresspass.wordpress.com]

A Smart Rat Jumps The Sinking Ship

2009-12-23T03:43:00.000+02:00

With Obama’s approval rating at a new low, well under 50%, Congressional job approval under 30%, the generic Congressional ballot favoring Republians, and most Americans against the Democrat Obamacare plan for socialized medicine, Parker Griffith has seen the light, smelled the coffee, and jumped from the sinking Democrat ship. Smart move.

Democratic congressman defects to the GOP

Rep. Parker Griffith of Alabama switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican on Tuesday, a startling defection from the majority party in the House that underscores the difficulties facing Democrats in midterm elections next year.

Mr. Griffith, a 67-year-old radiation oncologist, blasted the Democratic leaderships’ health care overhaul, saying the bill is bad for doctors and patients.

“I believe our nation is at a crossroads and I can no longer align myself with a party that continues to pursue legislation that is bad for our country, hurts our economy and drives us further and further into debt,” said the freshman lawmaker form a conservative-leaning district in northern Alabama that includes his hometown of Huntsville.

Mr. Griffith often sided with Republicans on major votes, and his switch does little to deflate House Democrats’ overwhelming majority. But his unusual decision to join the minority party sent a strong message to Democratic leaders.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), said Mr. Griffith had betrayed his Democratic colleagues and demanded that Mr. Griffith return campaign funds.

“Mr. Griffith, failing to honor our commitment to him, has a duty and responsibility to return to Democratic members and the DCCC the financial resources that were invested in him,” Mr. Van Hollen said. “His constituents will hold him accountable for failing to keep his commitments.”

Mr. Griffith’s party switch follows retirement announcement from several moderate House Democrats, fueling expectations that Republicans will pick up a significant number of seats in the midterm elections. Democrats maintain a 79-seat majority, 257 to 178. But several polls show a strong majority of Americans disapprove of the Democratic-led Congress’ performance. A Gallup Poll released last week found that 69 percent of Americans disapprove of Congress’ performance.

Republicans welcomed Mr. Griffith, who was considered one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents, and said his conversion reflected a disconnect between Democrats and most Americans.

“From the massive stimulus bill that wasted billions of dollars and failed to create jobs, to a job-killing cap-and-trade energy tax, to a government takeover of health care – the Democrat majority has pursued an agenda far outside the mainstream,” said House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican.

“Democrats are beginning to realize what most Americans did months ago,” he said, “that their priorities are not in line with what Americans want right now, which is job growth, economic security, a safe and secure nation and a fiscally sane Congress that doesn’t spend money that it doesn’t have.”

Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, chairman of the House Republican Conference, said Mr. Griffith’s decision should send a “deafening message” to President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, that their “agenda of borrowing, spending, bailouts and takeovers is being rejected by the American people.”

See also:

House Democrat announces switch to GOP

Rep. Griffith of Alabama leaves Democrats for Republicans

Ala. Dem defects to GOP over health care, policy

Parker Griffith’s departure forewarns Dems

Democratic Rep. Parker Griffith becomes a Republican — and a straw in the wind?

Democratic Representative Griffith to Switch Parties

Parker Griffith, Democratic Representative, Switches Parties to GOP

Griffith Switches Party

A Democrat Defects

Voters speak out on Griffith’s decision to switch political parties

Congressman Parker Griffith : Home

Parker Griffith

It’s extremely rare and takes guts for a politician to switch from the majority to the minority party, it almost exclusively happens the other way around in the form of cynical political opportunism. As a physician, Griffith isn’t stupid, he can see the writing on the wall and the damage Obama and the Democrats are doing to this country, which is making the American public increasingly angry and frustrated.

/the 2010 elections won’t be kind to Democrats, especially since they seem to be hell bent on galloping down the massive deficit spending, expanding socialist government path

[Via http://eatitorwearit.wordpress.com]

"Can a finite Earth support an infinite project? The thesis of capitalism....

2009-12-21T10:47:00.000+02:00

“Can a finite Earth support an infinite project? The thesis of capitalism, infinite development, is a destructive pattern, let’s face it. How long are we going to tolerate the current international economic order and prevailing market mechanisms? How long are we going to allow huge epidemics like HIV/AIDS to ravage entire populations? How long are we going to allow the hungry to not eat or to be able to feed their own children? How long are we going to allow millions of children to die from curable diseases? How long will we allow armed conflicts to massacre millions of innocent human beings in order for the powerful to seize the resources of other peoples?”

– Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, speaking at COP15, December 16, 2009

More: http://links.org.au/node/1417

[Via http://coreysviews.wordpress.com]

Local homelessness up 71 percent as providers observe homeless memorial day

2009-12-21T02:59:00.000+02:00

As the US economy disintegrated this year, millions of Americans faced unemployment, mortgage foreclosures, needing social services, or homelessness for the first time in their lives. The Allegheny County Department of Human Services identified 1,308 homeless people, including 164 families with children, in January 2008. That number grew to 2,242 in January of this year. That’s an increase of more than 71 percent.

Today marks the 20th annual observance of Homeless Persons Memorial Day. Begun in 1990, it is sponsored by the National Coalition for the Homeless, National Health Care for the Homeless Council, and the National Consumer Advisory Board. They chose December 21 because it’s the first day of winter and the longest night of the year. They want to bring public attention to the tragedy of homelessness and to remember those who suffered and died because our nation has failed to end it. Service and advocacy groups in more than 120 US cities held events to honor the homeless in 2008.

CONTINUE . . . . http://www.examiner.com/x-14931-Pittsburgh-Public-Policy-Examiner~y2009m12d20-Local-homelessness-up-71-percent-as-providers-observe-Homeless-Persons-Memorial-Day

[Via http://patomalley.wordpress.com]

Volcker: There's No Growth Other Than What The Fed's Pouring Into The Economy

2009-12-18T11:46:00.000+02:00

Washington’s Blog

Here is an interesting excerpt from an interview of Paul Volcker by Spiegel this weekend:

SPIEGEL: The US has not yet instituted any kind of reform policy. What we see is the government and the Federal Reserve pouring money into the economy. If one looks beyond that money, one sees that the economy is in fact still shrinking.

Volcker: What should I say? That’s right. We have not yet achieved self-reinforcing recovery. We are heavily dependent upon government support so far. We are on a government support system, both in the financial markets and in the economy.

[Via http://truth11.wordpress.com]

Debt ceiling raised as two spending bills advance

2009-12-18T03:24:00.000+02:00

In one of its last acts before adjourning for a winter break, the House of Representatives passed legislation that raises the amount of debt the US government is legally allowed to owe by an amount of $290 billion to a record $12.4 trillion in allowable government debt. The 218-214 vote saw unanimous Republican opposition, though they did vote last year to raise the debt limit before they realized that returning to some semblance of their fiscal conservative roots might be a good idea both for their image and for the country. If the bill hadn’t passed, the government would have had to delay some of its payouts, a bad situation to be sure, and one which makes its passage in the Senate seemingly assured.

One would think that coming so close to defaulting on government payouts would give Congress and the White House pause on tacking on more spending items to a fiscal year with an already record $1.4 trillion deficit. Not so for the Democrats, however, as President Obama yesterday signed a $1.1 trillion spending bill that increases budgets in many areas of government by up to 10%. Yes, you read that right – $1.1 trillion for a measure that helps out government agencies. A responsible thing to do might be to tighten the belt and curb spending, but instead Obama and the Democrats have determined that the only way back to prosperity is to spend our way back to it.

Meanwhile, the House passed a $155 billion “jobs” bill that provides for “shovel-ready” construction projects and saving the jobs of public employees. Hmmm, let me see, wasn’t there some other bill passed back in February that was supposed to engender “shovel-ready” projects and “create or save” millions of jobs? The passage of this bill seems like a tacit admission that the first stimulus bill didn’t work as advertised, and the solution is simply to throw more money at the problem – the quintessential government solution to pretty much any dilemma it faces.

So much for all that lofty “pay-go” rhetoric President Obama was spouting just a few months ago. Whatever justification is given for more spending and higher debt, the nation simply cannot sustain it. It seems Democrats are so adverse to being labelled “tax-and-spend” that they’ve become something much worse – “spend-and-tax,” where the government irresponsibility comes up front before the rest of us have to pay for the adventures with our rising taxes on our incomes, our energy, and our health care. No matter what one’s political ideology, the most basic responsibility of our government is to act judiciously with the money of the American people. Other administrations have helped contribute to the problem, but the current cast of characters is exacerbating the issue instead of helping.

We can’t keep it up. We can’t spend our way back to happiness. But we’ll sure go more broke trying.

[Via http://wellsy.wordpress.com]

Debt crisis portends end of liberalism

2009-12-16T11:32:00.000+02:00

From Tapscott’s Copy Desk

Tapscott’s Copy Desk Fresh and insightful opinion from Tapscott’s Copy Desk, by the Washington Examiner’s Editorial Page Editor Mark Tapscott. Got a tip or an oped to place? Send an e-mail to mark.tapscott.

TODAY’S WASHINGTON EXAMINER EDITORIAL SECTION HIGHLIGHTS

Debt crisis portends the end of liberalism

Examiner Editorial

“Liberalism will owe its undoing to its blind faith that government could forever be the inexhaustible provider of ever more spending, more benefits and more prosperity, with nary a day of reckoning.”

Democrats would prefer to do away with the Senate

Noemie Emery, Examiner Columnist “It takes a perverse form of genius to talk about thwarting the will of the people when polls show most of the people prefer to have Congress do nothing, but they go on with great verve.”

Religious freedom at stake in upcoming Supreme Court case.

Alan Sears, Examiner OpEd Contributor “As Christian beliefs stand in ever starker contrast to the campus culture, it has become academic de rigueur to punish the free association of Christian students and the free expression of their ideas on campus.”

[Via http://maddmedic.wordpress.com]

Relocating Guantanamo Bay Detainees Part of Obama's Stimulus?

2009-12-16T03:35:00.000+02:00

A small town that houses the nearly empty maximum-security Thomson Correctional Facility is expecting a windfall of federal dollars (1 BILLION of them and about 2,000 jobs, to be exact) thanks to President Obama’s plan to move Gitmo detainees into America’s heartland for eventual trials in civilian courts.

From CNN:

“It don’t bother me that there is going to be terrorists — or people who our government think are terrorists — living there,” said Mary Wiggins, a 43-year-old waitress at the popular Sunrise Cafe. “Murderers are in there, and terrorists are murderers. What difference does it make?

“If it brings people into this cafe, well, I guess I’m fine with it,” she said.

So now the detained terrorists are good for the economy. I thought I heard of everything.

Perhaps this was the plan all along. If it is believable to liberals that George W Bush pre-planned his war in Iraq and used the 9-11 attacks as cover, then it is entirely possible that Obama used liberal outrage over the Guantanamo Bay prison to hide a massive shunting of taxpayer dollars to his adopted home state.

Will there be an investigation? Not from the Pelosi or Reid quarters. Look out if terror strikes this little town or NYC during the trials. Americans are fickle but demand blood when attacked. Ask the Japanese why they are the only nation that has suffered from a nuclear attack so far. It wasn’t because they were the world’s biggest threat by a long shot. It was because the US grew weary of fighting their radical elements and tactics and losing too many of our young men in battle. It was also because of the way they attacked Pearl Harbor. Revenge became a dish best served with massive doses of radiation.

Democrats are risking much political capital these days for things like unpopular plans for health care, climate emissions taxes and national defense (and moving terror suspects on to US soil, where they’ll be tried in US civilian courts). The liberal base is fine with all of this, but the center and right are fuming. If an attack occurs, there won’t be much left of a democrat for quite some time.

[Via http://atimetochoose.wordpress.com]

Work, Europe and Utopia – part nine by Henri Brugmans

2009-12-14T11:42:00.000+02:00

9. Reduction in working hours

One of the main demands of the working class movement in the years before the 1914-1918 War was that “the eight hour day”. A sort of “mystique” even grew up around this issue: “eight hours of work, eight hours of sleep, eight hours to live as a free man”. The idea of the First of May, which started in America, had as its aim to base an international spectacle upon this issue. In spite of strong resistance from employers, who often produced alarming statistics, the goal was achieved almost everywhere, during the ’20s. Under the influence of Albert Thomas, the Inernational Labour Office concentrated a good deal of its time on this particularly popular reform.

During the recession of the ’30s an even more radical diminution of working hours was proposed as a means of combatting unemployment. It is true it was relatively less popular in Europe, but in America the architects of the New Deal held out great hopes for it. The line of argument moreover was simple: to divide what work was available between a larger number of workers. Moreover it was thought that this reform would not be too costly, because by proceeding in this way substantial savings could be made in the payment of unemployment benefits. However, the results did not come up to these expectations.

The present “crisis” has rekindled this debate. We shall make a few general observations.

The first argument is already familiar to the reader, having already been stated elsewhere in this paper, that the scope of national action is particularly limited here. In any country where trade union pressure led to the introduction by legislation of the 36 hour week, for example, they would necessarily find costs of production increasing and consequently export opportunities diminishing. It is thus necessary to think at least in continental, and, preferably , in global terms. At least the European Economic Community offers a framework of progress, which the United Nations is far from doing. On top of which, one can hope that this is an area where Europeans will play a progressive social role. It is moreover conceivable that to safeguard such progress, it will one day be necessary to instigate (bring about or initiate) anti-dumping measures, a practice which is, on the whole, always deplorable, even thought necessary in certain limited circumstances, Again, this is a two-edged sword which must be used sparingly, since protectionism of any sort always provokes retaliation. Whatever the circumstances, however, an exclusively national demand in this area becomes worthless. The employers will always be right in claiming that foreign competition prevents them from taking the initiative.

Next, it would be very dangerous to base this demand upon an idelogy opposed to work, ne which is redesigned from the very beginning to a fatalistic (the belief that all events are predetermined and therefore inevitable) acceptance of servitude: earning your daily bread is always, inevitably, “hard labour”, while leisure alone gives man a possibility of realizing his potential. Certainly, Jean Fourastie could speak of a human existence in which professional work was limited to “40.000 hours” according to his calculation. But this number of hours, though reduced, remains so considerable that the time should not be filled with monotony and drudgery (dull work). Besides, the quality of leisure time is conditioned to a large extend by the impact of the job. This requires less physical effort than it once did, but it makes other demands on the nervous system, the impact of which cannot be ignored.

The direction, briefly, in which it seems we should proceed in this respect is as follows. The essence of what we are aiming at is not to be found in a systmatic dimunition (reducing the sice, extend or importance of something) of the quantity of work, but rather in a humanisation of our technology. In other words, the time is ripe for a “controlled technology”, the principal criterion of which would be the elimination of unhealty industrial processes – that is to say, those prejudicial to the physical and mental well being of the work force – in favour of methods at the same time economic in their consumption of raw materials and showing respect towards the person. Possibly, this is too much to ask at the one time, but it is the price Europe must pay if it wishes to give the world a model of a humanistic economy stated briefly, technological innovation is neither an imperative of progress to be passively accepted, nro a neutral product of science.

The person who most effectively opened up this groudn was Schumacher, first in his best-known work SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL, then, perhaps even more succesfully, in GOOD WORK. According to him, no one wishes to work more than is necessary, given the present state of technological development. However, nor does anyone want to submit to the drudgery of a type of industrial work devoid of all personal satisfaction, because of deafening noise, permanent noxious smells, monotony which – for certain types of people anyway – leads to a gradual deadening of the finest human faculties. Yet only occasionally have technologists taken account of the living conditions of those for whom they design their machines. A code of conduct needs to be outlined in this respect.

Lastly, if the reduction of working hours is perhps less important than the humanisation of working conditions, it may nevertheless have a certain importance in the fight against unemployment. On condition, however, that wages are sufficiently fair that so-called “moonlighting”is no longer an economic necessity and becomes, in consequence, a social evil to fight against. there again, European legislation is a high priority. But, of course, it will not be sufficient. What we also need to ensure is that the control of the new technology, spoken of above, involves equally opting for labour rather than capital intensive activities. That is already an imperative for Third World countries, where labour is plentiful and cheap. It is also so for the traditional industrial nations. In the present situaiton, in which profit is the main and often only criterion, it is too tempting to keep on replacing human labour with that of machines, to such an extent that, finally, society finds itself burdened with a “reserve army” of labour, that is both numerous and permanent. Hence we are obiged to draw up a list of three imperatives: the needs to be met, the labour forces available, and the machines able to offer on the market at the one time an economically attractive product, an acceptable type of work, and reasonable levels of capital investment. A directed technology must find a balance between these three factors.

[Via http://hotbookworm.wordpress.com]

Obama’s Health Insurance Bailout Bill of 2009!

2009-12-14T03:43:00.000+02:00

Right now, in the USA, a patchwork of private insurance companies pays for health care of a major proportion of American population.

To put it baldly, the health insurance companies make money by denying you coverage that you, as the policy holder, have paid for. This becomes especially true if you become really ill and desperately need that coverage, although you’re probably okay if you just get a cold.

That’s just crazy making.

Under modern capitalist management theory, corporations try to minimize the impact of what they call, in polite corporate circles, “cost centers” and maximize the impact of what they call “revenue centers.”

For an operation like an auto maker, a megastore like Wal-Mart, or a meatpacking operation, a “cost center” might be wages and benefits paid to workers. Alternatively, “revenue centers” may consist of sales of SUVs, sales of hormone-laden, additive-spiked dead cow burgers, or sales of cheap nasty plastic garden gnomes.

And in the case of health insurance companies, payouts to health care providers would constitute a “cost center,” while the collection of premiums constitutes a “revenue center.”

In other words, if you become really ill and really need medical care to save your life, your health insurance company would benefit from spending as little as possible on you, even to the point of denying you the very coverage that you paid for. That’s about when the insurance company starts looking for some “undisclosed preexisting condition” or some other dubious reason to drop your coverage, as I explain below. The insurance companies make money by saying “no” when you need coverage, and they lose money by saying “yes” when it comes time to pay your medical bills.

That unappetizing economic fact is the most salient point to keep in mind when looking at the present political spitball fight going on in Washington.

Now you may think the insurance companies feel a fiduciary responsibility to the policy holder, but actually, it’s the investors and corporate CEOs to whom they feel a fiduciary responsibility.

As a matter of fact, the policy holder on the one hand and the insurance company owners on the other hand find themselves in a zero-sum game.

That is an example of what some economists call “adverse selection.”

You can read about adverse selection in this Wikipedia article.

Paul Krugman, in this article, explains how adverse selection affects our present system.

Krugman asks us to imagine that the USA has only one health insurance company that sells one standard policy that covers all medical care for all Americans. That insurance company could determine the cost of each policy by dividing the total aggregate cost of health care by the total number of policy holders (which would include everyone) and then adding on a small administrative cost above that.

That’s actually not too different than what exists in most economically advanced countries. In most advanced countries, with the stunning exception of the USA, not one citizen, let alone millions, goes bankrupt each and every year because of medical costs. Moreover, the cost of providing health care is far less in those countries than in the USA

Yes, citizens of such countries as Taiwan, South Korea, the UK, Germany, France, Switzerland, Israel, Japan, the Scandinavian countries, Australia, and many other others (even third-world Cuba), do not lose their life savings or get tossed out of their homes because of medical bills they can’t pay.

As one who has worked in the American health care industry for decades and who understands exactly just how first-rate our medical doctors and medical technologies really are, the appalling state of US medical care delivery just drives me to despair.

According to the August 2009 issue of The American Journal Of Medicine:

Using a conservative definition, 62.1% of all bankruptcies in 2007 were medical; 92% of these medical debtors had medical debts over $5000, or 10% of pretax family income. The rest met criteria for medical bankruptcy because they had lost significant income due to illness or mortgaged a home to pay medical bills. Most medical debtors were well educated, owned homes, and had middle-class occupations. Three quarters had health insurance. Using identical definitions in 2001 and 2007, the share of bankruptcies attributable to medical problems rose by 49.6%. In logistic regression analysis controlling for demographic factors, the odds that a bankruptcy had a medical cause was 2.38-fold higher in 2007 than in 2001.

That comes to around one medical bankruptcy every 30 seconds, most of those being people who had jobs and who thought they were covered! If you want to read a PDF of this entire journal article, click here.

In his August 7, 2009 Washington Post op-ed piece called Harry and Louise, Closet Socialists, Michael Kinsley makes the following point:

If your business is gambling against your customers — charging each one a set amount and then paying out an amount that varies depending on how much medical care they need — you’d be crazy to greet with equal enthusiasm the robust physical fitness freak who jogs into your office and the invalid carried in on a stretcher.

Now, after decades of tolerating and even benefitting from this moral and social travesty, the politicians tell us they’re going to fix this social and political ulcer.

So the politicians meet with the “stakeholders,” that is, those affected by the outcome of their legislation, to craft some sort of unwieldy compromise.

But you, if you’re an ordinary American citizen, do not number among those “stakeholders” sitting down at the bargaining table to bang out a compromise. Ordinary insurance policy holders have zero input because only their health and personal financial future are at stake, not massive corporate coffers.

The politicians and “stakeholders” alternate between having one heck of a genial chin wag and having an un-gentile, nasty squabble.

Then, after the politicians have worked out a deal in a mostly-closed process, characterized by grade-B drama scripts, crocodile tears, hissy fits and snits, statesmanlike posturing, and thunderous platitudes, the winners smile for the press, slap each other on the back, and publicly congratulate each other about the “bipartisan” deal they manage to make and the collegiate atmosphere of the legislature.

Those other politicians and “stakeholders” who lose something in the bargain, that is those who ended up supping from the slops at the bottom of the pork barrel instead of the top, make snide remarks and try to torpedo the whole deal, demagogically appealing to the populist rage and anger of the ordinary folk, who never stood to gain no matter which way the debate ended.

And if you are an average American, you wonder why your interests come out at the bottom?

Single Payer

Realistically, what the USA needs is a single-payer system to address the American health care crisis. A single-payer system is one where all medical fees are paid by a single public entity, which operates openly and is publicly accountable, which bargains for the best rates from the hospital chains, the drug companies, just as Medicare does now.

Single payer would take the obscene profit margins out of the equation and end up being less expensive, even in terms of taxes. Numerous studies show that a single payer system that covers everyone would be far less expensive than the for-profit system we have now, the system that leaves so many in a lurch.

Here is a list of dozens of these studies done by such entities as the GAO, the Congressional Budget Office, many states, foundations, and think tanks that have been conducted over the last several decades.

But don’t look to the Obama administration or the Democrats to bring this type of fresh approach to the American public.

Oh no!

President Obama and his Democrats, as well as the “loyal opposition,” cater to the interests of the “stakeholders.” —all those folks who have earned vast fortunes by causing the problem in the first place.

And whoever else these “stakeholders” include, they don’t include you if you’re the average American, one whose very health and life hang on the outcome of this debate.

You see, you simply don’t count as a member of this august group. That’s because you don’t stand to lose millions if our system actually provides simple, elegant, efficient, and relatively less expensive single-payer health care financing.

It’s a zero-sum game.

Some of the conservative politicians argue that we should let the market work. The problem is that it has been working—working a zero-sum con.

The more liberal politicians, especially President Obama himself, make wonderful, even inspiring statements about the plight of average American, whom they call “the middle class,” but it’s actually the the lobbyists, the bankers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, big hospital corporations, in short, the corporate interests who set the parameters of what is “politically possible.” They’re the “stakeholders,” the real constituents of the politicians, be they liberal or conservative.

To get real health care reform, Americans need to go beyond politics-as-usual, go outside the electoral political system.

We Americans simply must build an independent mass movement, in the streets (meaning outside the control of the Democratic-Republican duopoly), a mass movement like the one that ended America’s home-grown version of Apartheid and the notorious Jim Crow laws with its legacy of lynching and violence. We need a movement like the mass movement that ended the Vietnam war.

It was not really the liberal politicians or the Democratic or Republican party that accomplished these social gains. It was the millions of ordinary Americans who turned out in a mass movement, largely in the streets, that forced the hand of the politicians. After being forced to accede, the politicians were plenty willing to take credit for these accomplishments, saying they were for the reforms all along, when all they really did was buckle at the knees in the face of mass anger.

As a matter of fact, every important social gain the American people have made in the past 200 or so years has come about by independent mass action in the streets and has been opposed by the politicians and the corporations of the day. That includes the abolition of slavery, the abolition of child-labor laws, women’s right to vote, enactment of universal education laws, the right to family planning including access to legalized birth control, the right to form labor unions, the 8-hour work day, the integration of our schools and neighborhoods, the right to marry outside one’s race, the elimination of poll taxes, literacy tests, and other forms of racial discrimination in voting, the elimination of Jim Crow laws and segregation, protection of freedom of conscience, etc, etc, etc.

Power takes a backward step only in the face of power, and the only power ordinary working people have is the power of mass action.

In the future I will be writing more about single payer health insurance, as well as about the major American political parties, the Democrats and Republicans.

I will write about how I think we can get real health care reform, how we can achieve full employment, how we can end America’s penchant for war, how we can dare hope build a decent and humane future for our children and grandchildren. I will show how relying on the Democrat’s cheap political theater and the Republican’s even cheaper political theater amounts to playing in a political sandbox. And I will expose the political fraud of those Republican allies, who both embarrass them and give sustenance to them, the reactionary just-say-no zealots and conspiracy theorists, people like Glenn Beck.

But in the meantime, I hope you will peruse the website of the Physicians For A National Health Plan (PHNP), which has a lot of valuable resources on this vital issue.

You will see why the “free market” can only make this problem worse and why we need the universal coverage under a single payer plan, operating on a nonprofit basis like Medicare, administered by a publicly accountable board.

Regards,

Alan OldStudent

References

Google definition of a zero sum game.
Wikipedia on Adverse Selection
New York Times, Nov 14, 2009 Health Economics 101 by Paul Krugman.
Abstract of article on medical bankruptcies from the August 2009 issue of The American Journal Of Medicine.
Link to a PDF of the entire above journal article.
Michael Kinsley’s Aug 7, 2009 op-ed piece in the Washington Post, titled Harry and Louise, Closet Socialists.
List of dozens of reputable studies on the cost of universal health care via a single-payer system.
Ferris State University’s web page on the history of Jim Crow laws.
Link to a horrifying picture of an African-American female lynching victim, dated 1911.
Excellent website of PHNP (Physicians For A National Health Plan), an outstanding resource for facts, figures, and analyses on single payer.

[Via http://alanoldstudent.wordpress.com]

In bid to escape pay restrictions US banks move to repay bailout loans

2009-12-11T11:46:00.000+02:00

By Andre Damon, 11 December 2009

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/dec2009/bank-d11.shtml

Citigroup is negotiating with regulators in an attempt to pay back its government bailout funds before the end of the year. The bank’s drive to repay its loans comes a week after Bank of America announced that it had repaid the $45 billion it received under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Citi’s push to repay its loans has sewn divisions between regulators, with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Federal Reserve arguing that the bank is not yet healthy enough to repay its loans, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pushing for repayment as soon as possible. The bank posted a $3.2 billion loss in the third quarter, following two consecutive quarterly profits.

Of the $45 billion in bailout funds Citigroup received last year, $25 billion has been converted to common stock, leaving $20 billion in outstanding loans. The US government can sell its $25 billion in shares, which gives it one-third ownership of the bank, whenever it chooses, and the Financial Times reported Wednesday that the government is “likely” to sell the stock over the next “year or so.” The government also guarantees $301 billion of the bank’s assets.

By virtue of the fact that Bank of America and Citigroup received “exceptional assistance” from the government, over and above the funds made available to the other big banks, they were placed under the purview of Kenneth Feinberg, the Treasury’s special master for executive compensation. Feinberg’s remit initially covered seven firms—American International Group, Citigroup, Bank of America, General Motors, Chrysler and the financing arms of the two auto makers.

Earlier this year, after intensive negotiations with the seven firms, Feinberg announced modest restraints on their pay awards to top executives. However, Wall Street considers any form of government oversight an impermissible infringement on the right of the banks to pay seven-and-eight-digit compensation packages to top executives and traders.

The timing of the repayment scramble is significant. The banks are seeking to get out from under government pay restrictions in preparation for paying year-end bonuses, and to attract new executives with multi-million-dollar signing perks. Bank of America, in particular, has had difficulty finding a replacement for outgoing CEO Kenneth Lewis. The need to offer a “competitive” bonus package is one of the reasons cited by commentators for the bank’s rush to repay its TARP loans.

Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times made this point Monday in an article entitled “Bailout Refund Is All About Pay, Pay, Pay.” Sorkin wrote that people within the Treasury Department told him “the No. 1 reason offered by the firm during weeks of back-and-forth—even when it was discussed indirectly—was compensation.” He summed up the policy of the Obama administration toward Wall Street by citing a research note from Standard and Poor’s which, he said, “suggested the $45 billion repayment didn’t really matter, because if the bank got in trouble again, taxpayers would be there with another bailout.”

This was underscored Wednesday, when Treasury Secretary Geithner, citing the threat of further financial problems, announced that the White House will extend TARP through October of 2010.

Citigroup and Bank of America were hit harder by the financial crisis and recession, and have taken longer to recover, than competitors such as JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which repaid their TARP loans on June 17. The latter have been able to reap bumper profits through speculative trading in stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities, derivatives and other complex and murky investments—the very types of parasitical and debt-driven practices that precipitated the financial crash of 2008.

That any of these banks, which lost billions in 2007 and 2008, are able to even consider repaying their government handouts is a testament to the unprecedented plundering of the Treasury carried out by the Bush and Obama administrations in order to rescue the financial aristocracy and protect its wealth. Aside from the trillions provided to the banks—in the form of TARP cash, cheap loans, subsidies, government guarantees of debt and assets, etc.—the Federal Reserve has carried out a policy of near-zero interest rates and the printing of billions of dollars in order to inflate stock prices and make possible a new surge in speculative profit-making.

Meanwhile, nothing has been done to address the underlying insolvency of the banks. Instead, the government has assumed their bad debts, undermining global confidence in the US dollar and raising the specter of state insolvency. No reforms have been carried out to limit the speculative activities of the banks, and none are in the offing. Nor are any of those chiefly responsible for the financial debacle and resulting social disaster to be held to account.

Instead, the policy of the Obama administration is to use mass unemployment to drive down the wages and living standards of the working class, and carry out a program of austerity to slash spending for social programs. On this basis, the ruling class intends to make the working class pay for the bailout of Wall Street.

All of the major banks continue to hold on their books billions in “toxic” assets, including mortgage-backed securities and loans, commercial real estate assets, credit card loans, and other consumer credit assets that continue to plunge in value as unemployment rises and defaults and bankruptcies increase. The banks refuse to write down these assets or sell them, in order to avoid recording the resulting losses. The government has already obliged by watering down accounting standards so as to allow the banks to value these assets far higher than their market price. The big banks are confident that, in the end, the government will step in either to make them whole or rig the markets so as to allow them to sell off these assets at artificially high prices.

At the same time, the banks continue to reduce their lending to small businesses and consumers, finding it more profitable to speculate on the financial markets. When TARP was passed in October of 2008, it was justified to the public by Bush, and backed by Obama and congressional Democrats, as the only means of getting the banks to start lending again.

In his New York Times article, Sorkin noted data showing that Bank of America’s new loans actually fell from $942 billion in the second quarter to $914 billion in the third. For the banking system as a whole, total commercial and industrial loans fell from $1.36 trillion in June to $1.28 in September, according to a recent report by the FDIC.

Among nearly all of the major banks, the lending arms have been hemorrhaging money, while the securities and commodity trading operations have been responsible for the vast majority of profits. Citigroup is a case in point. In the third quarter, the bank’s credit card and mortgage units lost $9.4 billion, offsetting profits at its trading arm.

Those banks furthest removed from the consumer sector have returned to profitability the fastest.

In his speech on economic policy Tuesday, Obama defended the Troubled Asset Relief Program and hailed the fact that it has cost the government $200 billion less than anticipated. In fact, TARP was the spearhead not only of a transfer of public funds to private banks without historical precedent, it also established and institutionalized the principle of government bailouts of the banks. It is only a matter of time before the current inflation of asset values results in a new crash, and an even bigger government rescue of the financial elite.

[Via http://coreysviews.wordpress.com]

India to create new southern state of Telengana-BBC.

2009-12-11T02:58:00.000+02:00

Pandora’s box has been opened.Non development of some areas have led to this.Instead of dividing states based on Administrative convenience, dividing on the basis of language has been a folly.Ironically, the whole process of , I would call disintegration of India, was started by Potti SriRamulu of Andhra, the same state which is clamoring for another division.Instead of focusing on developing all regions, the govt.has neglected th areas.Solution is to develop all the areas.What is to prevent the politicians to ignore some areas in the newly formed state , which would call for another state?

Another reason is local politicians, who have become indispensable in the Federal Govt. in Delhi because of Coalition politics,would like smaller states where they can form the Govt. and have a say at the Center;added to this is the Maoists who have been fueling this division, especially in Andhra, where they control large chunks of territory.

Waiting in the pipe line for new states are;

Mithilanchal,Coorg,Saurashtra,Gorkha land,Budelkhand,Bhojpur,Cooch Bihar,Vidarba and Harit Pradesh.

Hindu scriptures list 64 states or principalities were in vogue .

May be we are honoring traditions.

The Indian government is to allow a new state to be carved out of part of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

Home Minister P Chidambaram said the process of forming Telangana state would begin soon. Campaigners say the region has long been neglected.

Supporters of the state are celebrating after days of violent protests. One of their leaders ended a hunger strike.

But many in India fear acceding to the protesters’ wishes could fuel demands for other new states across India.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8405146.stm

[Via http://ramanan50.wordpress.com]

Japan agrees $81bn stimulus plan

2009-12-09T11:43:00.000+02:00

Japan, the second largest economy in the world, has agreed an $81bn stimulus package.

Japan’s economy grew for a second quarter in Q3 2009, but the return of deflation sparked fears that growth could stall.

A strong yen is also holding back Japanese exporters. Japan’s economy is driven by exports, and these measures, which target domestic consumers, would enjoy limited success, analysts argued.

[Via http://teammccallum.wordpress.com]

GoRapids.com The Money Mom: Cash For Caulkers

2009-12-09T03:43:00.000+02:00

Cash for Caulkers!

President Obama proposed a new program Tuesday that would reimburse homeowners for energy-efficient appliances and insulation, part of a broader plan to stimulate the economy. There aren’t details yet, but Congress is working on it. Steve Nadel, director at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, who’s helping write the bill, said a homeowner could receive up to $12,000 in rebates.

We know energy efficiency “creates jobs, saves money for families, and reduces the pollution that threatens our environment,” Obama said. “With additional resources, in areas like advanced manufacturing of wind turbines and solar panels, for instance, we can help turn good ideas into good private-sector jobs.”

The program contains two parts: money for homeowners for efficiency projects, and money for companies in the renewable energy and efficiency space. The plan will likely create a new program where private contractors conduct home energy audits, buy the necessary gear and install it, according to a staffer on the Senate Energy Committee and Nadel at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Nadel continued to say higher cost items like air conditioners, heating systems, washing machines, refrigerators, windows and insulation would likely be covered.

You might be eligible for a 50% rebate on both the price of the equipment and the installation, up to $12,000, said Nadel. So far, there is no income restriction on who is eligible. That would mean a household could spend as much as $24,000 on upgrades and get half back.

If you took full advantage of the program, you might see your energy bills drop as much as 20%, he said. The program is expected to cost in the $10 billion range.

It’s not clear how the home efficiency plan would be administered – the government may issue rebates to consumers directly, homeowners might get a tax credit, or the program could be run via state agencies. If consumers have to spend a lot of money up front to get the credit, it could throw a wrench in the works, David Kreutzer, an energy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, told CNN. “This will not be something that’s attractive to people who are having trouble already making their budget payments month to month or week to week,” he said. To keep consumers from having to spend thousands of dollars before getting reimbursed, Nadel said, one idea is to have contractors or big box retailers pay part of the cost up front. Fraud issues could also come up, Kreutzer said. “Any program that is going to run through a third party and is going to distribute billions of dollars needs to have lots of checks and balances to make sure there’s not abuse,” he said. Nadel noted that as a way to guard against fraud, contractors would have to be certified to participate.

We will keep up with the news for this program. Every little bit helps.

The Money Mom

[Via http://gorapidsmoneymom.wordpress.com]

Global Warming Liars

2009-12-07T11:49:00.000+02:00

I just caught a bit on Cable News from a Professor at Columbia University that stated, “We now know what controls the climate, and it’s human activity”. Say what the F@#$? Humans control the climate? What are they smoking at Columbia?

How about maybe our proximity to the Sun, the amount of energy being emitted by the Sun, and the Earths “tilt”. He’s trying to tell me that has nothing to do with it and it’s all caused by human activity. Bullshit! There were no humans during the ancient warming periods, or the ancient Ice Ages. So how did human activity control the climate back then? Huh? No Answer?

Yeah, I thought so……. Liar!

[Via http://theconservativebiker.wordpress.com]

My Plan...

2009-12-07T03:19:00.000+02:00

Ok, I’ve been giving this a lot of thought, and I think I have a pretty good plan to significantly help the economy as well as help solve the healthcare problem. It’s a two for one kind of thing. Here it is, and I want to know what you all think of this.

Step 1: Significantly lower corporate taxes. At 39%, the United States has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. That’s absurd. It’s no wonder big companies outsource so many jobs to other countries. I might get really irritated when I call tech support and get someone in India that I can barely understand, but I also understand why it’s done.

Step 2: Get the unions out. Let’s face it, the unions are in control of way too much in this country! Why do you think it was automakers that had to deal with the UAW were the ones getting that bailout money. Companies like Toyota and Honda, who have manufacturing plants here, but are not unionized, did not need the government to bail them out. Those companies don’t have the union restrictions placed on them. And, let’s not beat around the bush here, the unions bring nothing but restrictions and hardships to companies. They might claim to be helpful to workers, they really seek for power for themselves. By placing all those regulations and restrictions on companies, it causes the companies to hire fewer people and do less for the employes they have.

Step 3: Stop having employers provide health coverage fro employees. Yes, this might initially sound harsh, but hear me out. If a company doesn’t have to provide health coverage for employees, it will free up a lot of money for the company to do other things, such as hire more people or pay the employees they have more. This will create more jobs for the currently jobless or underemployed. Also, if employers didn’t have to provide coverage, the deals with the group coverage wouldn’t be in place. If all the insurance purchasing is put back in private hands, prices will drop. If prices are lower, people will buy coverage. Ok, I can hear your argument: “What about all those people with pre-existing conditions?” Great question. I maintain that insurance companies will be able to provide coverage for those they wish to cover (provided the government gets out of the picture – see step 4). If allowed to, insurance companies will be allowed to cover people with exceptional health at super low rates and people with conditions at a higher rate. It’s like car insurance. There are some companies that just have better rates, and it’s up to them to set those. If people don’t want to pay those rates, they can shop around. I think, though, that it should be completely up to the insurance companies.

Step 4: De-regulate the health insurance industry. I’m a firm believer that in the free market, the best products/services will prevail, and that consumers are capable of making decisions for themselves. One of the huge problems with the health insurance industry is that there is too much government interference, directing their operations. If, for example, the insurance companies were allowed to cross state line and be national, that would open up competition more. When there is more competition, the prices are necessarily driven down. I maintain that they would drop substantially.

Ok, there you have it. That’s my plan. It’s all about returning things to the private market and getting the government out of the private sector. What do you all think?

[Via http://denisethinks.wordpress.com]

Obama-to-date, Never has more been expected in less time, with fewer resources, under greater scrutiny

2009-12-04T11:47:00.000+02:00

or: How’s he doing so far?

I have been putting off this piece for a while because I have wanted to hold off criticism until President Obama reached either a key decision or his one year mark, whichever came first. Unlike many of my opposing party opponents I have fought hard to reserve judgment, giving Obama a chance to begin to get his head around the true scope of all of the issues that faced his administration from day one. Sadly we have come to the ‘key decision’ moment as of Tuesday with the troop surge in Afghanistan, and now I feel we can rightfully look back at his track record and begin to cast a vote, as a supporter, on what direction I feel that we are moving in; at this point we can now piece together the puzzle of what Obama may intend with his administration, and the manner in which he is coming to, and executing, the courses of action his administration is enacting. From the controversial ‘public option’ and flawed ‘cash for clunkers’ program, to his ‘Bush Doctrine’ surge approach in Afghanistan, and doomed-from-the-start decision to bail out car makers and to a lesser extent the lending and banking market, Obama seems to be garnering little favor within his own party, across the aisles, or in the public sector, with every decision he makes.

Barack Obama basically campaigned on the same platform that every party opposing the presiding party does, more change and less of the same. There was nothing very different in his campaign than any other candidate may have spoken of. What set Obama apart was his rhetoric about transparency, ending the war, and better living conditions in America for the middle class. He spoke of lowering taxes, saving the economy, putting people back in to jobs and ending the kind of things we had become accustomed to under Bush. One of the biggest things, to me, was his willingness for open debate before massive bills were set in motion; periods of time where the public could weigh in and really get a sense of what was going on. Many of these things, and of the myriad of others, have either failed to come to fruition or are stalled in action.

First I want to address one situation where he seemed to have the best of intentions and caused a firestorm of controversy, the “cash for clunkers program.” It seemed innocent enough, give Americans a credit for a new car if they brought in an old vehicle that was less safe and fuel efficient than what was on the market today. This was seemingly a great concept, an innocuous situation for Americans to upgrade to a new car. The idea was two-fold, get older, fuel inefficient cars off the road, improving emissions, and to give the car market, which was floundering, a much needed boost. I think it was more than two fold though in the down side. What it did was get a lot of cheap cars, that could have been paid for in cash for people or young drivers to have as first or alternative cars. Then it also got a lot of people deeper in to debt taking on a car payment that they might not really be able to afford, and certainly did not have before, further straining the budget of Americans. Lastly it had one last, unforeseen outcome, the most popular car sold as a cause of the program…Toyotas.

The program had good intentions, a program to improve safety and emissions while boosting the economy, which is not a bad idea. The result of putting struggling Americans deeper in to debt for something they truly did not need by dangling an irresistible deal in front of them seems to really further corner us in to difficult debt to income ratios. This coupled with the job market continuing to fail, after the program closed, has probably resulted in a lot of missed payments and repossessions crushing many of the people that thought they were getting a great deal, blinded by 4,500 bucks. The program was wildly popular, almost too popular, and resulted in great criticism of its planning and execution, but it never exceeded the approved funds Obama requested, only the initial investment after it went too well. As we will see, this lack of thought of the repercussions of his ideas in how they affect the middle-class American long term is symptomatic of a slight disconnection in what we really need, not what he thinks we want.

One of the largest decisions, and one of the first, was the all-too-unclear bailout program to keep large industry and banking afloat in a terrible economic crisis. This is a massive, complicated, and unfinished issue with a long time to go before we can really judge the effects. This spending is still going on with more money to go out, industries just starting to see the effect it has had, and so many ways of looking at it my head spins just trying to tackle the lot of the issues. As complicated as it is, I think there are a few clear facts I can sift through. We have, to date, spent about 3 trillion dollars, total, according to CNNMoney.com, 73 billion of which has been paid back. This 3 trillion is only part of the total 11 trillion that was approved, but so far the repayment has only been about 2.4% of what we shelled out.

I did not want to go in to the private sector and buy up GM, did not support it one bit. I think that the government should not really own, with my tax dollars, any assets of a private corporation that has failed to compete with a good business plan. I know this is controversial, but getting bailed out only keeps bad companies afloat where new ideas, business models, and smarter men and women could step up and run things right. You cannot give money to a failing company and expect the same people who ran it in to the ground to make better choices. This is the definition of insanity, to do the same thing repeatedly and expect a different outcome. Even despite our best efforts companies still claimed bankruptcy! So we threw money at them, and wouldn’t you know it, failing companies that were making bad decisions made more bad decisions; gee wilickers.

I can kind of see the need to bailout car makers, they are a huge part of the American economy and employ tens of thousands of Americans on living wage salaries, so to let them fail would put a lot of people on the street quickly. So I see the move to give them operating capital to absorb toxic assets and market share losses. Where the bailouts lost me was capitalizing the likes of AIG and Fannie Mae directly without providing relief to the people that were struggling to pay these people off. I agree completely with an idea Jon Stewart mentioned on more than one occasion, to send those funds to the people who could then give it to the companies. Look, if I got a check for $15,000, you bet your ass I was sending 90% of that to those people I owed money to. I would pay off every credit card and cut huge chunk out of the principle balance on my student loans. As a result I have felt relief on my monthly expenses, cut down on my debt to income ratio, and the lenders got their money anyway. In this scenario everyone wins, not just the industry, but the people who needed it. As it stands I am still crazy in debt, the economy is still struggling, and no one has won.

The other concept I liked with the likes of paying off the banks and helping the American people in the process would be for the government to have taken that money they provided with the condition that the funds be spread out across the board at 10% of the principle balance on every loan or credit card. The money now goes directly to the company and I still feel the relief. My monthly payments go down, the industry now has liquid assets again, and we all win in this scenario as well. Obama didn’t need to send every American a check, but the effects of that money, those billions and trillions that have gone out to support the companies should have had a direct effect on those that fuel the economy, the people. The amount of money I owed, my monthly payments, or my debts completely should have disappeared when, now, not only my payments were going to the lenders, but my taxes I paid the government, were going to the lenders. I was double and triple paying Fannie Mae! This is symptomatic of a much greater issue this country’s people face, industry trumps people. The government is quick to support the industry, to keep the machine going, without any of the effects or cash going directly to us, the Americans who work to make this country move, those of us that are working and are paying taxes.

So here we are coming to the economy as a whole, something I won’t even begin to try and dissect in any manner other than philosophically. To be honest I really don’t get the minutia that comes with being an economist, so I am not one, but I do think that I can speak on some ideals we seem to hold to, despite the failing efforts they produce every day. The stance I take is that there needs to be some form of regulation, especially with the money we poured in to it, and the companies that got are money, we get to decide how it gets spent. I am disgusted at the news of massive bonuses with my tax dollars, you failed you blood sucking bastards, I was taught that bonuses are for successes, and you have had NONE! I also think that a free market can be only so free before corruption and greed cloud the eyes of everyone in it. Investors, quick money guys, and those that ignored the signs of failure and denied that growth would end, should not be allowed to continue to work without severe regulation and oversight to secure that it does not happen again.

As far as I can tell the money these people have gotten has been abused, misspent, and in some cases has disappeared without explanation. To the limit of my understanding the market is getting better, but a lot of industries are still slowing drowning or are gaining little ground on where we once stood as a relatively stable country. The President just started handing out blank checks without many, or any strings. When you give a ‘loan’ like this with money that isn’t yours to people that fucked the real earners of said money, you had better have a ton of strings. You cannot leave these screw ups to their own devices as you have given them a get out of jail free card; there is going to be the same orgy of misuse and BS that got them to the point they needed my, our, help. Regulation in the free market is necessary. When you take your dog out in public you have to put them on a leash because it is for their safety if they get too excited and dart in to traffic, and the safety of others as they may end up incidentally or accidentally hurting someone. This is simple civic responsibility and this kind of basic regulation, even those 20 foot retractable leashes, is necessary for the free market big dog to avoid horrible tragedies as the one we are trying to overcome.

Health care reform was a massive platform Obama spoke from. He wanted affordable health insurance for all Americans. This is quite vague but it is basically what he campaigned on. However, the reform he is putting forward is far from what he promised, intended, or will even get, as this thing makes its way to a vote. There are many items that he should have included, he said would be included, but has failed to come through on. One of the major items he campaigned on was passing the Freedom of Choice Act, the lack of reproductive health care at the ‘heart’ of the act, and among many others the importing of prescription drugs and a list of items pertaining to the elderly and those on Medicare, all of which aren’t in there. What he has put forth, as far as I can tell, is such a watered down version of what he promised that it barely resembles what he set out to get, and it still won’t garner enough support to pass. With this bill he has failed to address a lot of key issues, the debate of the insurance companies failing upon passing, the ridiculous ‘death panel’ phrase which is total bunk, and the idea of rationed care and killing your grandmother have made this an outlandish cartoon despite the fact that it is not nearly as partisan as he would like.

So many issues in relation to health care and insurance companies stems from people’s fears. I think they are largely unfounded and apocalyptic at best. Far too many think that the public option is anything but an option, as if setting this forth would force people to take the health care. His optional plan is just that, an option, you do not have to use this health care. Private industry will be just fine, if it were to pass, simply based on the fact competition is good for the marketplace; this is the sole reason the free market works as it does. If there was no competition there would be a monopoly by one company, and a monopoly is bad for consumers since they can do what they want and you have no choice but to take it. Competition drives down prices and improves services and goods because they are fighting for your business. Do you think insurance companies operate in a way different from this model? They fight for your business just as hard as any TV maker fights to sell you the best product at the cheapest price. It is in the interest of survival of a company where the customer wins.

Where does this fear come from? Well it may come from news outlets sensationalizing ideas and rumor as they twist small words and phrases in to the death nell for grandma. The news industry is where the average American is going for their info as there are few, if any, Americans that actually sit down and read the health care bill. This breeds ignorance, a lack of fact finding on our own, and what happens is the news outlets feed us what they think we should know, scaring all of us who don’t know any better. This nation is scared, and it is easy to whip us in to a frenzy right now because we are all so ignorant, coupled with a blind trust of our media outlet of choice, that we can be easily imprinted with suggestion. It is not totally the fault of news media, it is also our general ignorance, or warped misinterpretation, of history and true definitions of things like ‘communism’ and ‘fascism’ that let those around us convince us that the ‘public option’ is the linch pin in Obama’s quest to realize Mussolini’s Italy.

I love the idea of health care reform. I don’t have health care, so you can put as many bureaucrats as you want between me and a doctor, as long as I eventually get to see the doctor. I am one of those who need to see a doctor, a dentist, and an oncologist, because I could you a tune up, but I am also one that thinks that there may be another way to get me there than those that are being presented as the clear cut options. My feeling is that we can work within the system we have with some regulation, incentive, subsidizing, and careful analysis that can insure everyone, strengthen competition, and NOT provide a public option (government health care) at all.

My first idea is kind of three fold in that there are multiple items that need to be enacted, and they can be done so incrementally, while still keeping the system relatively unchanged. The first step in my process, let’s call it ‘Plan B’, is to go to insurance companies and decide which policy fits for you as an individual or family. You decide how much coverage you want and with which insurer you want to do business. The caveat is that you must get quotes from three different insurance companies to find the best deal. The legwork on this front is done by the people wanting health insurance just as if they were going to buy it themselves. The second step is done by the government as they determine what your financial assistance needs will be. This can be determined in the same manner as section 8 housing; taking in to account your income, tax bracket, average monthly expenses, assets, credit score, number of dependents, etc. The government decides how much assistance you qualify for; in some cases this amount you qualify for may be more than the policy you want/need, so you may be able to even get better coverage than you shopped for, and for others the short fall of the difference between assistance determined and cost of the policy is then covered by the individual.

What I think Plan B provides is many positive things. Number one, there is no government interference. They simply determine what coverage amount you qualify for and then, if you want more coverage, you cover the difference. It also allows for the consumer to shop the best deal and get whatever coverage they want, in whatever configuration. Thirdly it works within the current system, actually increasing the customer base of insured Americans and therefore making those in the industry richer without cheap government competition. The competition will continue to be between insurance companies, which will benefit consumers with better, cheaper services as the competition for dwindling amounts of new customers gets fierce. Imagine how hard they will fight for the last uninsured American, they’ll give him the moon!

This plan works within the constraints of the current model. It also hinges on Americans that pay their taxes, so illegal immigrants without SS#’s or tax returns can’t get the service, which will please the group of people that fear insuring non-Americans. No one can argue that it does limit government meddling in this sector of the free market, increases insurance company revenue (imagine the stock increases), and provides the American people with assistance as well as the option to get more coverage than the government determines you can be afforded. In all I think it eliminates the public option, the most feared and heated topic of the current bill, and will probably cost the US government less than the current plan, as well as insuring every American on some level. As far as I can tell this might be the best course of action we could take to please everyone.

I do have another option, similar to the last, but definitely different enough to warrant calling it ‘Plan C’. This is the option where the government gives tax breaks and incentives to companies that reach out and provide a service of their own on state levels to insure all Americans. A bit more ambiguous and open to criticism, the government would placate those insurance companies willing to lower premiums and extend a health care plan of their own designed on a sliding scale based on criteria similar to that the government would use in Plan B. So the insurance company determines that you should be able to afford a specific amount, and will credit a portion, or all of it to you, the consumer. If you want further coverage then you can buy it by spending the difference. So if the insurance companies design their own, low income/uninsured plan on a sliding scale/case-by-case basis, then the government will provide them with tax breaks and maybe subsidies on more expensive procedures, in return for taking the initiative to insure all Americans.

There are pros and cons to this one though, that are not present in Plan B. The incentives mentioned hinge on the fact that insurance companies that want these breaks would not be allowed deny coverage or discontinue coverage for anyone…ANYONE. They can no longer break policies or play the little games to deny coverage or drop policies, without government oversight. This means that once insured, if the companies want the incentives, they need to prove that they are humanitarian in nature and will not leave anyone in the lurch for any reason but non-payment. Also, incentives would stipulate that lapsed plans based on non-payment are still effective until 6-straight months of non-payment based on hardship. If someone loses their job then the insurance company covers them for up to six months, allowing a grace period of coverage for a person to get the means to continue paying, and still being covered in the interim in case of incident. In addition it does allow for some fraudulent companies to create loop-hole filled policies for these new customers, but with regulation of the industry I think we can avoid this.

As I said, Plan C is a bit more complicated and malleable as to exactly how ‘need’ is determined, the amount of government oversight, and as to how these plans can be expedited in to existence, but I think it still is better than a government run health care system as it continues to work within the constraints of the current system while insuring many, and with the proper amount of oversight, can keep them insured. Both plans B&C are not without flaws, but if Obama were to present either one I think he would be pleasantly surprised as to the amount of support he may get.

The insurance and prescription drug lobbyists are all too powerful and influential in Washington. I would go as far as to say that they are scary for politicians to cross, even for the good of the people. But if we can convince them to play ball and be the shysters they are while helping the people, then they may not even realize that they are doing a good thing, going along with it given that either plan is more money for them and minimal government interference. Can you even imagine a world where every citizen of the US is insured through a private insurance company? It is total market saturation for the insurance companies, what’s not to love about that Obama? Whatever does come out of the health care reform, it will not be Obama’s vision, or anyone’s for that matter, but I think we can get a lot closer to the idea of ‘every man, woman, and child’ being insured if we work to reform, not overhaul from scratch.

Unlike these past topics that have been addressed in some manner, for good or ill, there is one section of the population that has been largely, if not entirely, ignored, the gay community. Obama during his campaign was a champion of the people and a lot of those people were gay and lesbian. He got massive support and endorsements form the national and local organizations working for gay rights on different issues. To date though, Obama has done nothing for them, except reassure them that change is coming at a dinner they held in Washington, coupled with a rally, some months ago. Obama had, really, three major platforms for the gay community, basically giving them everything they wanted from a ‘rights’ perspective.

Obama said he would repeal the ever fiery policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. This policy has seen hundreds of gay men and women booted out of the military; some from positions as invaluable as translators in the middle east to men and women on the ground doing the fighting and dying. This policy has undermined the very status of the soldier, fighting for the country and freedoms that they don’t even have, while trying desperately to hide their identity in utter danger for the likes of you and me. Obama also spoke of ‘bullying’ states in to treating same-sex couples with full equality to all of the same rights in family and adoption laws. Basically, every right a heterosexual couple has, which would be a huge step forward for this community and this country. Third major platform was a big one, to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act which opens up all of the same federal rights that heterosexual couples have, to every civil union and legally recognized union in the gay community.

These three things alone would be a great milestones for this country, but taken as a whole, if he accomplished all three of these campaign promises would place the gay community at nearly eye-level and give them an openness and security to truly pursue happiness in this country for the first time in their history. Imagine not being able to marry the person you love, or being able to visit them in the hospital, or being able to adopt a child, or even just be open about who you are at your core. Can you even fathom having to hide a big part of you while you die for the rights of this country, some of which don’t even extend to you? No, you can’t, unless you are gay, and then I am preaching to the fabulous choir. Any one of these items would be great, Obama, just pick one. DADT could end tomorrow, DOMA could be done quickly, and pressure on the states would take time, but repealing DOMA would definitely open up the flood gates at some state levels.

Not one of these has been addressed in any real manner. All of them are ‘stalled’ or ‘not yet rated’ according to Politifact.com; not yet rated means he hasn’t done anything at all to rate on the subject. The White House is not using strong language on the subject, deciding instead to push those decisions ‘down the road’ as the President has ‘a full plate’. Well no shit, he is the president, his plate will forever be full. There will never be a time in any president’s tenure where they will be bored, there is always multiple things to do, multi-tasking is the life’s blood of a presidency. A full plate is no excuse, it would not take much time to draft legislation to repeal these laws and them file them with congress for a vote. The amount of effort is less than the health care legislation and requests of fund for bailouts. In comparison these little things are weekend projects, there is little to do. Hell, we’re not even writing new laws, we’re just erasing old ones, it could not be simpler, and yet nothing is done. Good luck getting re-elected if nothing is done on the front of gay rights before your next campaign.

One area where I think Obama has shined is reaching out to the world and repairing bridges to create at least the illusion that we again want to work to create a better world over all. Obama has visited more foreign leaders and countries than any other president in history in his first nine months in office. His missions of good will and garnering friendship throughout the world are a testament to his willingness to create a stronger America through diplomacy and shared interests. Now I don’t care how low he bows or what you may criticize are his follies in these visits, he has yet to throw up on anyone, and he has spoken of creating lasting relationships and even human rights in places like China. Obama has done a great deal to show his appreciation for international foreign policy, and he has to, we owe a lot of people a lot of money, especially the aforementioned China. Our debt to other countries as they have financed much of the work we have done to repair this nation and fund our wars has garnered a need for him to travel and sit face to face with the people we owe billions to. So as much as his visits are of good will, they are really for selfish reasons of working with nations to whom we owe a favor and a deepening debt.

Though these trips have an ulterior motive in them more often than not, his work with the UN and other international agencies is not without merit. His trip to Copenhagen was much for the pledge to limit emissions, and he has spoken on more than one occasion against nuclear programs in hostile countries as well as measured criticisms of bunk elections and human rights violations. Obama has done more to be vocal on an international level than many before him, which is both a blessing and a curse. One could argue that he is simply trying to garner favor in lieu of actually doing anything specific. He is out there, jet setting the globe, to position himself to be Andy Taylor in Mayberry as he works to squash terrorism. Really, in essence it may be a simple rebranding of the same agenda, he seems to be trying to get support on being such a ‘good’ guy. But I feel it is more a genuine hope that as we meet and understand one another, a face to face promise or meeting gets him a support on subjects that may earn him a sneer and hesitation if he were less accessible, and this seems to be part of the legacy he wants to leave; a President of the US in service to not only his country, but those that agree to conditional help in times of crisis.

This brings us right to the reason for this piece, the heart of the matter as it were when I began writing this thing three hours ago, Afghanistan. Now I have refrained, to date, from writing even a single piece on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan because I feel it is for far greater minds than mine to contend with. I feel that in my short life of 25 years I have neither the experience to draw on, or the scope of first hands accounts of watching a war unfold, to truly speak as even a moderate authority on the subject of our current predicament. Though I research, read, and watch documentaries, on many conflicts and scandals of the past, I feel that my opinion is that of a true idiot savant and is taken with nary a grain of sand. I do, however, feel that this damn incursion in the middle east has gone on long enough, and the situation we are in is our fault in the first place, so we do have some responsibility for cleaning it up; but it simply is not that simple.

I tire of writing this piece, it has gone on too long and has covered far too many subjects, but I need to press on as we are now getting to the most important part, the climax, as it were. There are two major, driving forces that have led us to the quagmire we find ourselves in at the moment. I won’t go over how we got here from day one at 9/11, it has been milled through far too much already. The basic cause was a thirst for blood, we were offended by the audacity of the attack and we wanted revenge. Revenge is no way to start a war…wait, I said I wouldn’t do this, so I’m not. The first driving force is that we will never win. There, I said it, so let it sink in. Not only will we never win, but we can’t ever win. We are fighting religious zealotry with diplomatic and military force, one does not connect to the other. You cannot eliminate terrorism that is born of a misuse of a religious doctrine unless you eliminate the religion…and that sends us right back to the Inquisition, or worse, the Crusades. That is not our stance after all, we are all about religious freedom, so let’s face the fact that as long as these different peoples exist, and we, the US, exists, they will hate us and plot. It even goes to deeper issues of the holy land, chosen people, racial suppression, as well as a control of regional resources. We can never hope to end the fighting unless we want to just nuke the place and start over, for as long as there are generations being born, there will be those that take things too far.

This is what this is all about anyway, taking things too far. We have been at this thing called the “War on Terror” for eight bloody, intractable years with no end in sight. While I am here, I think I have said this before, but I’m saying it again, you cannot win a war on a ‘noun’. A war on the feeling and weapon of ‘terror’ is like declaring a ‘war on sadness’ or a ‘war on happy’, a losing battle with no clear enemy or foundational strategy. What now, oh yes, the second driving force, it was fucked up when we got here, and we only fucked it up worse every time we’ve left. Think about it. Corrupt Karzai is a man of our making in Afghanistan, and little known fact, we put Saddam Hussein in power! We appointed him, or at least created the situation where he could take power. Follies of this kind on our part, backing the wrong ponies, goes all the way back to Vietnam at least, maybe further, and span the globe.

The middle east, every time we have touched it, is worse off than before we showed up and our activities in, and occupation of, those countries has only fueled anti-american sentiment among the populous. As far back as the Afghan-Russian war, or Kuwait, et al, we have really just messed it up more than need be. Every time it seems we back the wrong horse as well, creating terrible situation that are only different, not better, than the last one. We really owe this region an apology, if it weren’t for all the oil and money in the region we really would never have shown up, but Allah put you on top of our God’s oil, so we gotta get us some. Our meddling has only made things worse, from providing arms, to removing governments, we have made one misstep after another, like we have so often in the past. I would argue that our last great foreign policy decision was crushing the third reich, and we had to level whole countries in the process to do it.

Our involvement overseas is happening, no matter how much screwing up we’ve done, we’re here now, and motives be damned, we need to figure out how to relatively stabilize the region enough so we can get out. Obama’s speech was just like every other president’s war speech, and far too close to Bush’s for my liking. So I’m not gonna break it down, it’s been done, check a website. But I will comment that 30,000 is the exact amount of troops Bush, I mean Cheney, sent to Iraq during the surge. I guess it worked ok, so Obama is doing the same. One good thing is a time table, we cannot afford financially, or through the cost of life, to fight a protracted war so I appreciate a final date. Obama is following through on his campaign promise he made to redirect troops and resources to Afghanistan after he took office. After careful consideration and what seems to be a very measured approach, he is doing so with naysayers on all sides of him.

This is typical, the republicans are criticizing a democratic president when he is doing the same…exact…thing…Bush did, literally down to the number of exactly 30,000 troops, and he still can’t win with these people. I see the wisdom in Obama’s move, let’s get the initial goal accomplished, quell an Al Qaeda uprising in the Pakistani/Afghani border region, give the Afghani government a trained fighting force and a foot hold in their country, and then bring our boys home after beating the bajeezas out of what may be left of the terrorist networks we let get out of hand. I can see this, and I appreciate him trying to get out of Iraq and trying to finish the job in Afghanistan, and I even more greatly appreciate that in his speech he never said the word ‘win’, because we cannot and in all actuality we never would or will, win. This is a losing battle simply based on the fact that kids will grow up to be extremist and we can’t be wiping out generations of kids, so they will be back and better than ever, eventually. Shit, kids own AK-47’s, this mixed with shi’ite/Suni & Jewish/Muslim hatreds are going to breed some seriously badass, bat shit crazy SOB’s. Period. All we can do is kill who is around now and reload for when those kids hit puberty.

I know this seems like a defeatist attitude, but I am simply a realist and the war and bloodshed in that region will continue long after we have left, and gone back in, and left and gone in again, and then probably still be going on after we go in again and limp out one more time. The cycle of violence and hatred will never be broken because the fight is not just between us and the extremists. They declare war on everyone, so they fight amongst one another, against countries, religious peoples, racial groups, etc. They care not for our involvement, if we leave it just means they have more bombs for the markets they would have used on our humvees, so no, I am not optimistic about building a lasting democracy in the middle east. There is simply too much for us to contend with, and even if we kill every single ‘terrorist’ we cannot shoot racism, we cannot bomb prejudice, and we just can’t eliminate the threat of battling for the holy land. I don’t expect you to win Obama, I expect you only to get us out one day, because no republican or democrat can command a military to turn back the clock on more than 2,000 years of blood soaked sand, and it’s not our place to try.

Indeed. Ten pages later and now we are here, together, both exhausted and a little flustered by this spine-jarring journey from one wretched idea to the next. If you are still reading this then I sincerely hope you got something out of it, if not then I am sorry, you just wasted a portion of your life on me and my screed; there are no refunds! It is not my contention here that I know better than Obama, or that I don’t support him, it is simply that I disagree with the execution of certain acts and policies that have had, what I believe, were foreseeable consequences that seemingly no one saw in the planning. This man was given an impossible task with hopes of a large portion of this country weighing heavily on his shoulders even before he took office. In no way do I think he has failed as a President, he has plenty of time to address many more issues and bring this country in a better direction. What is next for America only Obama knows, I think I see a glint in his eye like a half-mad Willy Wonka. At some point he will grab us, tip his hat, give us a topsy spin, and as our heads clear we can look around, at the path we took, and the now-clear genius of every orchestrated step that seems so logical only now that we are in the magical place he knew was our only plausible destination the entire time.

Epilogue:

Then again, if he ruins this country, it’s better than the alternative, and as such I am stating that I would rather be fucked by a young black man than an old white guy. Here’s to you, Obama.

[Via http://wesleybauman.wordpress.com]

South Korea Revised Q3 GDP +3.2 Percent Q/Q

2009-12-04T03:36:00.000+02:00

South Korea’s gross domestic product expanded by a revised, seasonally adjusted 3.2 percent compared to the previous three months, the Bank of Korea said on Friday, growing for the third consecutive quarter.

Analysts had been expecting GDP to hold steady at the advanced reading of 2.9 percent posted on October 26. It also marked the fastest growth since a 3.8 percent advance in the first quarter of 2002.

On an annual basis, GDP came in higher by 0.9 percent. That beat expectations for a 0.8 percent annual increase following the 0.6 percent gain that had been originally reported. It also represented the first annual growth in four quarters.

Mots clés Technorati : South Korea,Economy,fvtaiwan

[Via http://financeroom.wordpress.com]

Corzine Spends Money

2009-12-02T11:25:00.000+02:00

Corzine Spends Money Well, ok. It’s not exactly a shocker. Look at NJ finances. Here are excerpts from an article about spending. Corzine’s total tally for his 3 campaigns: $131M He spent $131 million of his own money on three runs for political office since 2000, including primaries, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal and state campaign finance data, including a report issued Tuesday by the state Election Law Enforcement Commission. [...] “After $130 million, what he got out of it was a term in the Senate, a term in the Statehouse and a portrait in the outer office,” said Peter McDonough, an adjunct professor at Rutgers University’s Eagleton Institute of Politics and a former communications director for Republican former Gov. Christie Whitman. Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center of Responsive Politics, says it’s safe to say that Corzine has spent more of his own money to run for office than anyone in U.S. history other than New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. [...] He was pushed out of his job at the helm of Goldman Sachs in 1999 and used his fortune to help him burst onto the state’s political scene. In 2000, the Democrat was elected to the U.S. Senate. In 2005, he was elected governor. And last month, after spending $27 million on a bitter campaign—$25.3 million of it his own—he lost to Republican Chris Christie, who spent $11.4 million. [...] Over the years, Corzine’s political spending goes beyond what he spent on his campaigns. He’s spent $5.7 million on campaigns and other political causes inside New Jersey since 1999, the year he launched his Senate campaign. In that time, he’s also spent about $2.9 million on federal campaigns and political action committees. Add that to what he’s spent on his own campaigns and his total political spending comes to $139.7 million over 11 years. And that doesn’t include final numbers for how much he donated to campaigns other than his own this year, how much he bankrolled municipal candidates, or the charitable donations that his critics say were made to curry political favor. One example of those: Last year, Corzine gave $87,0000 to St. Matthew AME Church in Orange. This year, the pastor there, Reginald Jackson, who is also head of the important Black Ministers Council, endorsed Corzine. While Corzine’s total is staggering in terms of political spending, it’s modest compared to the state’s financial problems. Spending… NJ debt climbs to $33.9 bln in FY09-report TRENTON, New Jersey, Dec 1 (Reuters) – New Jersey’s official state debt rose to $33.9 billion in the fiscal year ended June 30, from $31.86 billion in the previous year, according to an official report obtained on Tuesday. The annual Debt Report by the state Treasury shows that when obligations such as pensions and health benefits are included, the state’s total debt load increased to $51.25 billion at the end of fiscal 2009 from $44.5 billion a year earlier. $51.25 billion in debt. New Jersey paid $2.5 billion in debt service in fiscal 2009, excluding the obligations of agencies such as the state’s light rail system and the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority. Including their debt, service on New Jersey’s debt totaled $2.91 billion, the report said. In NJ, The State can’t borrow money without voter approval. To get around that, they set up front groups called “Authorities” to borrow money, so they can claim “The State” isn’t borrowing money. Does that include debt by “authorities” such as the School Construction Corp. (whatever it’s called today), Turnpike Authority, Port “Authority, etc?? Is doesn’t say. Spend too much money and you wind up with debt. $51.25 billion. We are already one of the highest taxed states in the nation. They have to stop spending so much. Where would you start cutting?

[Via http://oldhardheadsnj.wordpress.com]

White House Targets Politico

2009-12-02T03:34:00.000+02:00

From Real Clear Politics:

White House Hypocritical Attack on Politico

Posted by David Paul Kuhn | Email This | Permalink | Email Author

Politico’s top editor, John Harris, wrote a piece Monday headlined: “7 stories Obama doesn’t want told.” It was a well-written summary of the narratives that are floating around the Obama presidency.

Many prominent liberal blogs immediately took issue with the story. They believe those narratives are wrong. Of course, that does not mean the narratives aren’t real.

The White House also pushed back. And that pushback is worth discussing. Marc Ambinder highlights a leaked White House email titled, “7 narratives Politico is fighting in their efforts to get an interview with the President.” Take point three in the email: Politico is “more interested in gossip than news.”

Consider the source. Obama’s team has peddled its share of gossip. Obama’s 2008 campaign manager, David Plouffe, recently admitted: “It was our researchers who found John Edwards’ infamous $400 hair cut expenditures.” They passed that “research” along.

Full disclosure, I worked for Politico. I personally understand the issues with some of Politico’s reportage. But so does Harris. It’s journalism’s perennial vegetable versus dessert argument. Put simply, Politico’s more sensational reporting can be debated but it clearly satisfies a demand. That demand has grown with the cable and online beast. And it takes more than policy to feed that beast. This is also Politico not Policyco, as some staff frame the point.

For Full article: http://realclearpolitics.blogs.time.com/2009/12/01/white-house-hypocritical-attack-on-politico/

[Via http://james4america.wordpress.com]

Global Warming? The Boston Globe Reviews The Scientific Data

2009-11-30T11:34:00.000+02:00

JEFF JACOBY

Where’s the global warming?

By Jeff Jacoby, Globe Columnist | March 8, 2009

SUPPOSE the climate landscape in recent weeks looked something like this:

Half the country was experiencing its mildest winter in years, with no sign of snow in many Northern states. Most of the Great Lakes were ice-free. Not a single Canadian province had had a white Christmas. There was a new study discussing a mysterious surge in global temperatures – a warming trend more intense than computer models had predicted. Other scientists admitted that, because of a bug in satellite sensors, they had been vastly overestimating the extent of Arctic sea ice.

If all that were happening on the climate-change front, do you think you’d be hearing about it on the news? Seeing it on Page 1 of your daily paper? Would politicians be exclaiming that global warming was even more of a crisis than they’d thought? Would environmentalists be skewering global-warming “deniers” for clinging to their skepticism despite the growing case against it?

No doubt.

But it isn’t such hints of a planetary warming trend that have been piling up in profusion lately. Just the opposite.

The United States has shivered through an unusually severe winter, with snow falling in such unlikely destinations as New Orleans, Las Vegas, Alabama, and Georgia. On Dec. 25, every Canadian province woke up to a white Christmas, something that hadn’t happened in 37 years. Earlier this year, Europe was gripped by such a killing cold wave that trains were shut down in the French Riviera and chimpanzees in the Rome Zoo had to be plied with hot tea. Last week, satellite data showed three of the Great Lakes – Erie, Superior, and Huron – almost completely frozen over. In Washington, D.C., what was supposed to be a massive rally against global warming was upstaged by the heaviest snowfall of the season, which paralyzed the capital.

Meanwhile, the National Snow and Ice Data Center has acknowledged that due to a satellite sensor malfunction, it had been underestimating the extent of Arctic sea ice by 193,000 square miles – an area the size of Spain. In a new study, University of Wisconsin researchers Kyle Swanson and Anastasios Tsonis conclude that global warming could be going into a decades-long remission. The current global cooling “is nothing like anything we’ve seen since 1950,” Swanson told Discovery News. Yes, global cooling: 2008 was the coolest year of the past decade – global temperatures have not exceeded the record high measured in 1998, notwithstanding the carbon-dioxide that human beings continue to pump into the atmosphere.

Considering how much attention would have been lavished on a comparable run of hot weather or on a warming trend that was plainly accelerating, shouldn’t the recent cold phenomena and the absence of any global warming during the past 10 years be getting a little more notice? Isn’t it possible that the most apocalyptic voices of global-warming alarmism might not be the only ones worth listening to?

There is no shame in conceding that science still has a long way to go before it fully understands the immense complexity of the Earth’s ever-changing climate(s). It would be shameful not to concede it. The climate models on which so much global-warming alarmism rests “do not begin to describe the real world that we live in,” says Freeman Dyson, the eminent physicist and futurist. “The real world is muddy and messy and full of things that we do not yet understand.”

But for many people, the science of climate change is not nearly as important as the religion of climate change. When Al Gore insisted yet again at a conference last Thursday that there can be no debate about global warming, he was speaking not with the authority of a man of science, but with the closed-minded dogmatism of a religious zealot. Dogma and zealotry have their virtues, no doubt. But if we want to understand where global warming has gone, those aren’t the tools we need

[Via http://mcauleysworld.wordpress.com]

New Home Sales In October 2009 Surge +6.2%

2009-11-30T03:49:00.000+02:00

The U. S. Census Bureau announced on November 25, 2009 that sales of new one-family homes surged by 6.2% in October 2009 over the previous month to 430,000 units. Regionally, results were mixed, with the West down -5.1%, the South up +23.2%, the Midwest down -20.0%, and the Northeast down -5.1%.

The inventory of homes for sale expressed in months of supply fell sharply to 6.7 months. This supply figure was at 11.1 months a year ago and peaked at 12.4 months in January 2009. Many real estate professionals consider 6-to-7 months of supply a “Normal” market.

This surge in sales is surprising in that the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit was expiring on November 30, 2009, and buyers would have run out of time to buy a home and still close by the end of November.

Even though the Tax Credit was extended and signed by President Obama on November 6, 2009, it should take several weeks before the next batch of home buyers can get themselves geared up to buy a home.

So we would expect new home sales to fall in November, and probably even in December too before rising again in January.

See the full report: http://www.census.gov/const/newressales.pdf

[Via http://regisskeehan.wordpress.com]

Reflection 161: Civil Consciousness

2009-11-27T11:45:00.000+02:00

I trace the fall of natural religion to the removal of the rites of Dionysus from the Greek countryside to Athens early in the sixth century B.C.E. (before current era) when the tyrant Peisistratus founded an official Dionysiac feast. After that, the wisdom of synchronizing human activities with seasonal cycles of dieback and regeneration was replaced by effete, urban reenactments, many echoed in various liturgical calendars of today. Religious rituals persisted, but no longer moored to favorable growing conditions and the cycles of nature, they became matters more of superstition and convention than survival.

In the case of rural Dionysian rituals as transplanted to Athens, earlier ceremonies promoted human sensitivity to fertility and reproductive vigor of crops and soils through the flow of vital juices symbolized in the person of Dionysus himself. He was the embodiment, as W.K.C. Guthrie points out in The Greeks and Their Gods, “of not only wine, but the life-blood of animals, the male semen which fertilizes the female, the juicy sap of plants.” Earlier orgiastic rites mimicking the high drama of the year were replaced in the city by occasions for staging new tragedies, originally in honor of Dionysus, but soon deflecting his creative genius onto mere mortals who were awarded prizes for the fecundity—not of their juices—but their dramatic poetry.

Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides certainly deserved the acclaim, and every mortal should aspire to their level of creative achievement. But when people are content to serve as spectators of rather than participants in events, we run the risk of passively living through other people’s trials and adventures, which is not the same as forging lives of our own. If we do not live on the forefront of our lives, can we claim to be alive anywhere at all?

Migration of the human mind and spirit to urban centers led to a huge change in consciousness as emphasis shifted from the personal to the cultural. Citified human understanding wanted to housebreak the creative enthusiasm exhibited everywhere in nature as a kind of bad habit, so disciplined it to conform with culturally acceptable symbols and ideas. The former personifications of ritual energy released at appropriate seasons (in the guise of Dionysus, Attis, Adonis, Tammuz, Osiris, et al.), became characters in myths and stories rather than forces to be dealt with in everyday life. They served as cultural metaphors for what everyone might feel if they felt anything at all. As Guthrie writes, “The authorities of the Greek states . . . did not accept the barbaric stranger [Dionysus] without, in some cases at least, emptying his worship of its most characteristic content.” You could honor his antics from a safe distance without risking ecstasy, muddy feet, or mussed hair. Guthrie characterizes the result as “emasculation of his worship” by civil authorities in Athens.

In Seasonal Feasts and Festivals, E. O. James writes:

Greek tragedy or comedy began . . . as a religious service held at the festivals of Dionysus, in the country in December, in the city in March, and at the Lenaia in January. . . . But as it lost its seasonal character, by the third century B.C., the drama became secularized, very much as the medieval Mystery and Miracle plays were dissociated from the Church and lost their sacred significance and character when in the secularized versions they were enacted in the marketplace by strolling players.

My point is that when a culture’s practices control the minds of its members rather than the other way around—innate, natural consciousness expressing itself through cultural practices—then the primary purpose of membership in a tribe or larger group striving to live in harmony with its place on Earth has been subverted by top-down authority for the sake of its own power, wealth, influence, and position. We dress this transformation in positive guise as a means of becoming civilized, forgetting the price we pay in putting fetters on personal consciousness. The difference is similar to that between true democracy in opposition to self-serving monarchy, oligarchy, plutocracy, or other schemes by which the consciousness of the many is shaped by the will of a privileged elite.

Speaking of which, consider the case of Jack Welch. In keeping with the violence done to natural values by adoption of a medium of exchange in the form of a particular currency accepted throughout a culture (topic of my last post, Reflection 160: Of Two Minds), David Owen writes of Nell Minow’s realizing the import of the retirement agreement C.E.O. Jack Welch worked out with General Electric:

The agreement gave Welch not only millions of dollars but also free lifetime use of a company Boeing 737 and a helicopter; floor-level tickets for the Knicks; box seats for the Red Sox, the Yankees, and the Metropolitan Opera; exclusive use of a company Manhattan apartment; fresh flowers for the apartment; dry-cleaning and Internet service; tips for his doormen; home security systems for four residences that he owned; numerous golf-club memberships; and dozens of other perks and amenities. . . . Whereas less extravagantly compensated people often take pride in being able to make purchases from their earnings, [Minow] said, ‘If you are super-rich, that thrill is gone’ (“The Pay Problem,” The New Yorker, Oct. 12, 2009).

That’s what spectatorship leads to—a wholly cultural life. Welch’s perks kick-in only upon his leaving the company, proving, for the elite at least, there is life in the hereafter. The very model of a modern tycoon, Welch was gaming his company, his culture, and his planet for all they were worth, playing by city rules the whole time, supporting a lifestyle based not on personal, biological needs and values, but on money (the one value officially sponsored by his culture) to an extravagant degree of degeneracy. Such a life is a caricature of civilized man—all take and no give. With no respect shown the environment (here the Hudson River Valley) that makes life itself possible in the region, the river in this instance receiving G.E.’s waste stream laced with PCBs.

Speaking of cultural devils, members of Congress cease to represent their constituencies when they become members of political parties which intercede between them and their supporters. Here again, the cost of living a cultural existence is the cause, which renders the sound judgment of mere mortals null and void. Every Democrat in the Senate voted to move the healthcare debate to the floor, every Republican voted to keep it safely hidden where it was. As if humans came in two colors—red and blue—with no shades of purple in between. This is a crude example of lock-step consciousness, all members of each party hiding behind the same grimacing masks. Forcing the nuanced values of the people who elected them into either of two molds—pro or con—go or no-go.

In rural areas, people are generally taken as they are; in cities, they spend much of their time posing because, with their individual values stripped from them, they can only go through the motions of trying to make themselves attractive. Now over half of America lives in cities removed from the land, removed from personal values, removed from the mental acumen they began acquiring at birth. There are few self-made men or women left. It is easier to open yourself to your culture and let it take your soul. That is, let the aggressive, arrogant, and over-confident elite—the Jack Welches of the world—take over your mind so you come to believe in them and the values they serve. Where Dionysus stood for getting with nature’s program because human life depended on it, demigod Welch tells G.E., “Get with my program because my lifestyle depends on it!” and G.E. sees its duty and goes along, paying Welch by picking the pockets of its customers, shareholders, and workers.

Whatever your price, buy in to the system and let the magic happen. Pledge proper allegiance, sing the proper national anthem, pray to the proper gods and celebrities, buy the right clothes, mumble the right slogans, go to the right schools, root for the right teams, see the right films, vote the right ticket—you are one of Us! All it will cost is a lifetime of your personal earnings, originality, and self-respect. The main thing is to pay your dues to your culture. To be its creature so you don’t have to deal with the anxiety of thinking for yourself. If you live up to others’ expectations, your culture will see to it that Jack Welch gets his retirement package, leaving you free to live vicariously the rest of your days.

The alternative is to raze the corporations and cities where culture rules every thought and gesture. Visualize the scene. Smell the lust. Savor the greed. Then send everyone back to the country to become bumpkins again—fallible human beings who have to discover who they are the hard way without being sold the answer in advance. Ease back on culture, strive for individual integrity and personhood. Define your own projects and challenges for yourself. Come up with your own answers and solutions. Live your own life. Don’t subscribe to the same old views, don’t keep sending the same checks; forget paying your dues. Aspire to be more than just another member; be your own person. Become conscious again.

That way, when you die, it will be your own life you lose, not someone’s whose mind you have paid for, stolen, or enslaved.

[Via http://onmymynd.wordpress.com]

Singapore Industrial Production Rises On Strong Electronics Output

2009-11-27T03:29:00.000+02:00

Industrial production in Singapore increased from the year-ago period in October, mainly due to a strong showing in the electronics sector, official data showed on Thursday.

The Singapore Economic Development Board reported that industrial output climbed 3.6% year-on-year in October, rebounding from the upwardly revised 6.3% decrease in the previous month.

Economists had expected output to grow 7.5%. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, industrial production climbed 4.3%, after a 4% decline in September.

Output in the electronics manufacturing sector, which has the largest share in overall industrial output value, surged 17.7% annually in October, much faster than the 2.4% increase in September.

Mots clés Technorati : Singapore Economy,fvtaiwan

[Via http://financeroom.wordpress.com]

Credit Card Crisis in China & India‏

2009-11-25T11:23:00.000+02:00

There is a rise of another credit crisis, to be precise credit card crisis in China and India. The change of our mindset towards savings, consumption and defaulting in payments is giving rise to this new crisis, the impact of which cannot be underestimated. Can you believe that now one out of every five Indians default in payment of credit card dues, raising the NPA Levels to as high as 20%? Please read on to know more about this next credit crisis.

The Chinese have been traditionally considered as the thrifty lot who save for the future. And the wild western economies had a notorious reputation of being the ones that splurge. In short, while the Chinese saved over 40% of their income, Americans were happily binging on more than 90% of their income. But this was before the global economic meltdown. The trend is now seems to reversing. And we smell another crisis looming around the corner.

While the credit meltdown was most severely felt in the US; the rest of the world did feel the aftershocks. But the Chinese seemed to have missed the lesson riding on the pace of economic recovery there. While the US consumers have at least started trying to reverse their gigantic credit card debt, credit card issuance has risen by more than 32% over last year in China. The unemployed Chinese youth is piling up huge amount of debt on multiple credit cards. Guess on what? In order to spend on food and fun. And the poor Chinese parents are now being chased by recovery agents.

This is surely a bad news for China as well as the rest of the world. China is the biggest foreign owner of US treasuries and held around US$ 801 billion of that in September 2009. The figure was around US $ 1 trillion in March 2009. But now China is off-loading its dollar reserves. We agree that the dwindling significance of the dollar is one reason for this. But one cannot ignore the huge credit card debt that the Chinese are racking up. If China has to worry about its own debt, we wonder who will bail out the US?

The picture is not all that rosy in India as well. The 8% plus GDP growth rate, emergence of fancy salaries and fancier malls to spend them had made Indians quite a spend-thrift. Indians have collectively amassed over 25 million of credit cards by end of FY09. Average spending by an Indian on credit card has increased to Rs. 2,400 per month from Rs. 1800 per month in the last 2 years. According to Indian Cards Council (ICC), the non-performing assets (NPA) on these credit cards have grown four folds. They stood at 20% this year as compared to 5%-6% last year. Though the frequency of usage and the purchasing power of Indian credit card holders are lower as compared to international standards, the annual credit losses on cards in India were about Rs. 3,420 per active card while the same were Rs 3,070 per active card in FY09. Moreover, India also had a larger percentage (over 44%) of inactive cards as compared to economies like Australia (20%) and Singapore (25%).

No doubt, the situation is getting worrisome. The credit card companies are wary about the same. They earlier aimed at garnering maximum market-share by offering free credit cards but are now going slowly on new issuances. They are blocking inactive cards to reduce the costs of communication and billing. They are also restarting to charge an annual fee for such cards as this will ensure higher number of active cards. It is expected to trigger more usage only by credit worthy consumers. Blocking all the cards of multi-card defaulters is a welcome move to curb NPAs. Banks are also tying up with employers to deduct dues at the source for employees who have defaulted on credit card payments. We believe these steps will go a long way in nipping at the bud any credit card bubble that could evolve. Let us hope that we learn the lesson before it is too late.

(with inputs from Equitymaster)

[Via http://wisewealthadvisors.wordpress.com]

Obama's Science 'Czar' John Holdren Involved In Climategate Scandal

2009-11-25T03:41:00.000+02:00

Dr. Tim Ball and Judi McLeod / Canada Free Press - November 24, 2009

Lift up a rock and another snake comes slithering out from the ongoing University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit (CRU) scandal, now riding as “Climategate”.

Obama Science Czar John Holdren is directly involved in CRU’s unfolding Climategate scandal. In fact, according to files released by a CEU hacker or whistleblower, Holdren is involved in what Canada Free Press (CFP) columnist Canadian climatologist Dr. Tim Ball terms “a truculent and nasty manner that provides a brief demonstration of his lack of understanding, commitment on faith and willingness to ridicule and bully people”.

“The files contain so much material that it is going to take some time t o put it all in context,” says Ball. “However, enough is already known to underscore their explosive nature. It is already clear the entire claims and positions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are based on falsified manipulated material and is therefore completely compromised.

“The fallout will be extensive as material continues to emerge. Reputations of the scientists involved are already destroyed, however fringe players will continue to be identified and their reputations destroyed or sullied.”

While the mainstream media is bending into pretzels to keep the scandal under the rug, Climategate is already the biggest scientific scandal in history because of the global policy implications.

Link to entire article below…

http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/17183

[Via http://stevenjohnhibbs.wordpress.com]