tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64955638879231758382024-02-22T11:49:55.088-05:00Atlas Insight In Sight SiteVi Veri Veniversum Vivus ViciDifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.comBlogger298125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-23344822760745391452008-12-13T12:37:00.006-05:002008-12-13T23:30:38.207-05:0010 Policies We Can All* Agree On<a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?id=2836">YES </a>we can<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ECONOMY</span><br /><br /><ul><li>Repair and rebuild neglected bridges, railroads, schools, and other infrastructure, <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?id=2278">designing for climate change</a> & a post-petroleum world.</li><li>Extend unemployment insurance benefits.</li><li>Provide tax relief to middle- and low-income families, and reinstate fair taxes on high-wealth individuals and corporate profits.</li><li>Adopt the Employee Free Choice Act to increase opportunities to unionize.</li></ul><br />*<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">67%</span> Favor public works projects to create jobs.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">55%</span> Favor expanding unemployment benefits.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">73%</span> Say corporations don’t pay a fair share of taxes.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">76%</span> Support tax cuts for lower- and middle-income people.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">71%</span> Say unions help their members;<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">53%</span> Say unions help the economy in general.<br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2906#sources">sources</a>]<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">FAMILIES</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><ul><li>Make the minimum wage a “<a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=1345">living wage</a>” adequate to keep working families out of poverty.</li><li>Provide everyone <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=421">vacation</a> and <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=1208">family leave</a>.</li><li>Provide gay and lesbian couples with the legal protections afforded to straight couples.</li><li>Make bankruptcy and foreclosure laws protect families first, not predatory lenders.</li></ul>*<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">80%</span> Support increasing the federal minimum wage.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">59% </span>Favor guaranteeing two weeks or more of paid vacation.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">75%</span> Want to limit rate increases on adjustable-rate mortgages.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">64%</span> Are not confident that life for our children’s generation will be better than it has been for us.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">65%</span> Believe same-sex couples should be allowed to marry or form civil unions.<br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2907#sources">sources</a>]<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CONSTITUTION</span><br /><br /><ul><li>Fully restore <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=1635">habeas corpus</a> for all people in U.S. custody.</li><li>Protect our right to privacy and freedom from warrantless search and seizure.</li><li><a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?id=1848#netneutral">Keep the internet free</a> of corporate and government censorship and obstruction. Protect “net neutrality.”</li><li>Restore the balance of power between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.</li></ul><br />*<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">70%</span> Support restoring habeas corpus rights for detainees at Guantanamo.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">58%</span> Believe a court warrant should be required to listen to the telephone calls of people in the U.S.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">59%</span> Would like the next president to do more to protect civil liberties.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">68%</span> Believe the president should not act alone to fight terrorism without the checks and balances of the courts or Congress.<br /><br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2908#sources">sources</a>]<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ENERGY & CLIMATE</span><br /><br /><ul><li>Take a leadership role in <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?id=2297">reducing our own greenhouse gas emissions</a>.</li><li>Maximize the conservation and efficient use of existing <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2287">energy</a> supplies.</li><li>Launch and fund ambitious research & development programs, offer tax credits, invest in public works projects, and focus government procurement to jump- start <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?id=2279">renewable energy deployment</a>.</li><li>Invest in <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?id=2281">public transit and intercity rail</a>.</li><li>Tax carbon; use revenues for renewables and to help ratepayers.</li></ul><br />*<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">79%</span> Favor mandatory controls on greenhouse gas emissions.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">76%</span> Believe that oil is running out and a major effort is needed to replace it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">90%</span> Favor higher auto fuel efficiency standards.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">75%</span> Favor clean electricity, even with higher rates.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">72%</span> Support more funding for mass transit.<br /><br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2909#sources">sources</a>]<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">HEALTH CARE</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><ul><li>Offer all Americans the option of joining a <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?id=1503">single-payer national health insurance program</a>, paid for with tax dollars.</li><li>Break the drug companies’ monopoly and lower drug prices by allowing Americans to buy prescription drugs abroad.</li></ul><br />*<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">73%</span> Believe our health care system is in crisis or has “major problems.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">64%</span> Believe the government should provide national health insurance coverage for all Americans, even if it would raise taxes.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">55%</span> Favor one health insurance program covering all Americans, administered by the government, and paid for by taxpayers.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">69%</span> Believe the government should make it easier to buy prescription drugs from other countries.<br /><br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2910#sources">sources</a>]<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">FOREIGN RELATIONS</span><br /><br /><ul><li>Lead a global effort to <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2692">abolish nuclear weapons</a>.</li><li>Rule out unilateral attacks, <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=444">deploying weapons</a> in space, and <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=1394">torture</a>.</li><li>Phase out U.S. role as global police, and instead work through the U.N. and other international agencies to develop and enforce international law.</li><li>Work with other countries to improve global health and environment.</li></ul><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">81%</span> Oppose torture and support following the Geneva Conventions.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">76%</span> Say the U.S. should not play the role of global police.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">79%</span> Say the U.N. should be strengthened.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">73%</span> Favor abolishing nuclear weapons, with verification. 80% favor banning weapons in space.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">85%</span> Say that the U.S. should not initiate military action without support from allies.<br /><br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2911#sources">sources</a>]<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IRAQ & IRAN</span><br /><br /><ul><li>Develop a timetable for a <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2687">withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq</a>.</li><li>Build <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=1278">no long-term military bases in Iraq</a>. Leave control of Iraq’s oil in the hands of Iraqis.</li><li><a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=1851">Fund an international effort</a> to help restore the economy and infrastructure of Iraq.</li><li>Abolish future uses of private mercenaries.</li><li>Enter into <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2689">negotiations with Iran</a> about nuclear issues and regional stability. End threats of attack and attempts to destabilize the Iranian government.</li></ul><br />*<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">63%</span> Want U.S. forces home from Iraq within a year.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">47%</span> Favor using diplomacy with Iran. 7% favor military action.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">57%</span> Say going to war in Iraq was the wrong decision.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">67%</span> Believe we should use diplomatic and economic means to fight terrorism, rather than the military.<br /><br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2912#sources">sources</a>]<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ELECTIONS</span><br /><br /><ul><li>Provide <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2304">public financing</a> for elections campaigns.</li><li>Bring back the Fairness Doctrine and get broadcasters to open the people’s airwaves to free campaign information.</li><li>Require voter-verified paper ballots that are audited and can be recounted.</li><li>End partisan districting and voter-roll purges.</li><li>Fully implement the Voting Rights Act and enforce existing laws against <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=1511">vote suppression</a>.</li><li>Restore voting rights to ex-felons who have served their sentences.</li></ul><br />*<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">86%</span> Say big companies have too much power.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">74%</span> Favor voluntary public financing of campaigns.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">66%</span> Believe intentional acts are likely to cause significant voting machines errors.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">80%</span> Say ex-felons should have their voting rights restored.<br /><br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2913#sources">sources</a>]<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CRIMINAL JUSTICE</span><br /><br /><ul><li>Drop <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=363">punitive sentences for drug possession</a> and other nonviolent offenses in favor of <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=375">substance-abuse treatment, fines, community service, and restitution</a>.</li><li>Offer training and counseling to prepare inmates for a crime-free life after release.</li><li>Channel youth into schools and jobs, not jail.</li></ul><br />*<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">65%</span> Believe attacking social problems is a better cure for crime than more law enforcement.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">87%</span> Support rehabilitation rather than a “punishment-only” system.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">81%</span> Say job training is “very important” for reintegrating people leaving prison. 79% say drug treatment is very important.<br /><br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2914#sources">sources</a>]<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IMMIGRATION</span><br /><br /><ul><li>Implement trade policies that strengthen, not undermine, <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2696">rural economies south of the border</a>, reducing the poverty and displacement that spur migration. Start by ditching NAFTA.</li><li>Increase minimum wage and worker protection for all, documented and undocumented.</li><li>Provide a<a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=1455"> pathway to legal status and citizenship</a> for immigrants already here.</li></ul><br />*<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">56%</span> Believe NAFTA should be renegotiated.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">64%</span> Believe that on the whole, immigration is good for the country.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">80%</span> Favor allowing undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. to stay and apply for citizenship if they have a job and pay back taxes.<br /><br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2915#sources">sources</a>]DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-76538298933400192072008-12-13T12:34:00.001-05:002008-12-13T12:37:22.376-05:00I.O.U.S.AByte Size<br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/O_TjBNjc9Bo&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/O_TjBNjc9Bo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://www.iousathemovie.com/">One Nation. Under Stress. In Debt</a>]DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-2078477366281425982008-11-22T18:18:00.001-05:002008-11-22T18:19:47.128-05:00Bank Eat Bank<object width="511" height="501"><param name="movie" value="http://newsproject.org/player.swf"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="FlashVars" value="autoStart=false&p_u=http://newsproject.org/node/181&b_u=http://newsproject.org/&title=Bank Eat Bank: Bailout Encourages Mergers&vd_id=paulsonmergesbanks"><embed src="http://newsproject.org/player.swf" flashvars="autoStart=false&p_u=http://newsproject.org/node/181&b_u=http://newsproject.org/&title=Bank Eat Bank: Bailout Encourages Mergers&vd_id=paulsonmergesbanks" width="511" height="501" wmode="transparent" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://newsproject.org/">American News Project</a>]DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-54682976751723409282008-11-11T14:02:00.004-05:002008-11-11T14:08:22.045-05:004193, 555<a href="http://ivaw.org/node/4537">Happy Veteran's Day</a><br /><br /><br /><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=3505348655137118430&hl=en&fs=true" style="width:400px;height:326px" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2008/11/10/us_military_deaths_in_iraq_war_at_4193/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news">4193</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/11/07/us_military_deaths_in_afghanistan_region_at_555/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news">555</a>DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-1037773108862209462008-10-27T19:04:00.004-04:002008-10-27T19:21:24.421-04:00The "S" WordFrom <a href="http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/18244">"S"</a>mirking Chimp:<br /><br /><blockquote>Whenever I hear the old joke, "He was born on third base but thinks he hit a triple," I cringe a little, because I immediately think of the inverse -- of the millions of people who are born with two strikes against them.<br /><br />"In America, if you have the brains and the talent and are willing to work as hard as it takes, you can make it to the top."<br /><br />Well, yes; the operative word in that oft-repeated maxim is "can." But you can have a top-class brain and a top-class talent and work yourself to the bone and still go to the grave with nothing in this country... if you happen to have been born with two strikes against you.<br /><br />See, brains and talent and hard work don't mean a thing when you aren't to the manour born in America; not unless you step into at least a tiny little bit of luck to go with it. And that shouldn't have to be the American Way.<br /><br />A level playing field, indeed. Imagine an America in which everyone begins life on home base, with no balls and no strikes. Or, to use a clearer analogy -- on a level field, rather than some on a mountaintop and some in a ditch. Simple, really: Healthcare for all, food and shelter, education and basic employment -- all basic necessities guaranteed for all. For every other element one might wish, one would simply have to... work hard. To compete in a truly free market, unemcumbered by hunger, by the disabilities of race, family circumstances, "who you know." One's merits would truly be the yardstick by which accomplishments, achievements and advancements would be measured. THAT... is socialism.<br /><br />Now, WHO could feel threatened by THAT?<br /><br />I'll tell you who: The TRUE elitists in this VERY unlevel playing field on which we all stumble and on which we've been playing, blindfolded, listening to propaganda over their corporate-funded loudspeakers for generations. Propaganda that's told us that "Socialism equals Communism equals Russia equals Stalin equals BAD!<br /><br />And lately, we have several decades' worth of examples of wildly successful Socialist nations to refute arguments against Socialist philosophy and economics. Not hideous beasts of governments run amokl rather, governments providing basic necessities and services with fabulous efficiency, NOT meddling in their citizens' private lives... and then getting out of the way. And the citizens' approval ratings of their governments? Through the roof. Their Happiness index? Quality of life? Life expectancy? Through the roof. And ours? Let's just say we're competing with the likes of Bolivia.<br /><br />So... Maybe Americans are getting... less stupid. Because for one thing, they're not buying the "Barack is a Socialist" garbage. And for another, they seem to recognise Socialism when they see it (See: $700 billion bailout for the financial system and using taxpayer money to do it)... and they seem, by all known polling systems, to think it would be a REALLY good idea to start doing some MORE of it -- where it counts: say, healthcare, education, green infrastructure...<br /><br />SO WAKE THE FUCK UP, Washington and Corporate Elites. The Sleeping Giant is stirring.</blockquote><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/i-xxfslks5Y&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/i-xxfslks5Y&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Dv4Aos-TBH8&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Dv4Aos-TBH8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-67184979723199371832008-10-24T18:49:00.002-04:002008-10-24T19:09:43.973-04:00Old Turkey<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/W_rbVVCZiVI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/W_rbVVCZiVI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />Wassup?<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qq8Uc5BFogE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qq8Uc5BFogE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-16524204853137266522008-10-22T16:36:00.003-04:002008-10-22T18:18:43.361-04:00Just What in the Heck Does the Vice President Do, Anyway?Beside shoot people in the face?<br /><br /><br /><iframe height="339" width="425" src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/27313586#27313586" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VHB6APpaH5k&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VHB6APpaH5k&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-63641646901069647392008-10-19T17:15:00.000-04:002008-10-19T17:16:31.874-04:00Protest the Wall Street Bailout<embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-7081614017889582761&hl=en&fs=true" style="width:400px;height:326px" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"> </embed><br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://www.votenader.org">VoteNader</a>]DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-41737060153914889492008-10-01T18:42:00.002-04:002008-10-05T11:55:14.195-04:00Jews and Cuban Food<!--[if IE]><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" id="W4727a250e66f972348e8e2ff95764834" width="384" height="283"><param name="movie" value="http://widgets.nbc.com/o/4727a250e66f9723/48e8e2ff95764834/48e8b186040b05ca/12773b90/-cpid/c65a699d69fd1eca/clipID/727421/video_title/Saturday+Night+Live+-+VP+Debate+Open%3a+Palin+%2f+Biden?storeInPid=true"><![endif]--><!--[if !IE]>--><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://widgets.nbc.com/o/4727a250e66f9723/48e8e2ff95764834/48e8b186040b05ca/12773b90/-cpid/c65a699d69fd1eca/clipID/727421/video_title/Saturday+Night+Live+-+VP+Debate+Open%3a+Palin+%2f+Biden?storeInPid=true" id="W4727a250e66f972348e8e2ff95764834" height="283" width="384"><!--<![endif]--><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><param name="allowNetworking" value="all"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></object><br /><br /><br />[still <a href="http://blog.indecision2008.com/2008/10/05/tina-fey-returns-to-as-sarah-palin-to-debate-queen-latifah-on-saturday-night-live/">inDecided</a>?]DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-39955569721249586972008-10-01T18:04:00.013-04:002008-10-01T18:24:32.802-04:00Mo Money, Mo Problem<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Feyu2Db2QuU&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1"></param><param 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/><embed src="http://services.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/1417423198" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=1828591228&playerId=1417423198&viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://console.brightcove.com/services/amfgateway&servicesURL=http://services.brightcove.com/services&cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&domain=embed&autoStart=true&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="486" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed><br /><br /><br /><object width="511" height="501"><param name="movie" value="http://newsproject.org/player.swf"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="FlashVars" value="autoStart=false&p_u=http://newsproject.org/node/131&b_u=http://newsproject.org/&title=Smoke and CO2: How to Spin Global Warming&vd_id=sabotagingsciencesmoke"></param><embed src="http://newsproject.org/player.swf" FlashVars="autoStart=false&p_u=http://newsproject.org/node/131&b_u=http://newsproject.org/&title=Smoke and CO2: How to Spin Global Warming&vd_id=sabotagingsciencesmoke" width="511" height="501" wmode="transparent" allowFullScreen="true"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4Wroj0FLvzs&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4Wroj0FLvzs&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lJ2gnXu7ezA&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lJ2gnXu7ezA&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><embed src="http://blip.tv/play/2UjQrhuJ9XE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="320" height="270" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed> <br /><br /><br /><embed src="http://blip.tv/play/2UjQri6J9XE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="320" height="270" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed> <br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oFgZrNPorMM&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oFgZrNPorMM&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/q-Sq_AzbIJ4&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/q-Sq_AzbIJ4&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-47790095721535598712008-09-29T20:57:00.002-04:002008-09-29T20:59:36.947-04:00Barack Obama is Just Saying...<embed src="http://www.theonion.com/content/themes/common/assets/videoplayer/flvplayer.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="transparent" width="400" height="355" flashvars="file=http://www.theonion.com/content/xml/87557/video&autostart=false&image=http://www.theonion.com/content/files/images/CONSTRUCTIVE_CRITICISM_article.jpg&bufferlength=3&embedded=true&title=Obama%20Runs%20Constructive%20Criticism%20Ad%20Against%20McCain"></embed><br/><a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/video/obama_runs_constructive_criticism?utm_source=embedded_video">Obama Runs Constructive Criticism Ad Against McCain</a><br /><br />We're cool, right?DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-63493934617583388032008-09-24T20:25:00.003-04:002008-09-24T20:26:49.255-04:00Debt to America!<embed FlashVars="videoId=185195" src='http://www.comedycentral.com/sitewide/video_player/view/default/swf.jhtml' quality='high' bgcolor='#cccccc' width='332' height='316' name='comedy_central_player' align='middle' allowScriptAccess='always' allownetworking='external' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer'></embed><br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/">Daily Show</a>]DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-80912724229058718812008-09-23T22:32:00.001-04:002008-09-23T22:34:00.727-04:00Three Way Presidential Debate<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/u5WiE6MnmCM&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/u5WiE6MnmCM&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://www.votenader.org">VoteNader.org</a>]DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-61180062967484487692008-09-23T21:09:00.005-04:002008-09-23T21:16:42.087-04:00Now is the Time to Resist Wall Street's Shock DoctrineBy <a href="http://www.naomiklein.org/main">Naomi Klein</a> - September 22nd, 2008<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I wrote The Shock Doctrine in the hopes that it would make us all better prepared for the next big shock. Well, that shock has certainly arrived, along with gloves-off attempts to use it to push through radical pro-corporate policies (which of course will further enrich the very players who created the market crisis in the first place...).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The best summary of how the right plans to use the economic crisis to push through their policy wish list comes from Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich. On Sunday, Gingrich laid out <a href="http://solutionsday2008.com/blog/2008/09/get-the-politicians-out-of-the-economy-recipe-for-sound-economic-growth.html">18 policy prescriptions</a> for Congress to take in order to "return to a Reagan-Thatcher policy of economic growth through fundamental reforms." In the midst of this economic crisis, he is actually demanding the repeal of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarbanes-Oxley_Act">Sarbanes-Oxley Act,</a> which would lead to further deregulation of the financial industry. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Gingrich is also calling for reforming the education system to allow "competition" (a.k.a. vouchers), strengthening border enforcement, cutting corporate taxes and his signature move: allowing offshore drilling</span>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">It would be a grave mistake to underestimate the right's ability to use this crisis -- created by deregulation and privatization -- to demand more of the same. Don't forget that Newt Gingrich's 527 organization, American Solutions for Winning the Future, is still riding the wave of success from its offshore drilling campaign, "Drill Here, Drill Now!" Just four months ago, offshore drilling was not even on the political radar and now the U.S. House of Representatives has passed supportive legislation. Gingrich is holding an event this Saturday, September 27 that will be broadcast on satellite television to shore up public support for these controversial policies.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">What Gingrich's wish list tells us is that the dumping of private debt into the public coffers is only stage one of the current shock. The second comes when <span style="font-weight: bold;">the debt crisis currently being created by this bailout becomes the excuse to privatize social security, lower corporate taxes and cut spending on the poor</span>. A President McCain would embrace these policies willingly. A President Obama would come under huge pressure from the think tanks and the corporate media to abandon his campaign promises and embrace austerity and "free-market stimulus."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">We have seen this many times before, in this country and around the world. But here's the thing: <span style="font-weight: bold;">these opportunistic tactics can only work if we let them.</span> They work when we respond to crisis by regressing, wanting to believe in "strong leaders" - even if they are the same strong leaders who used the September 11 attacks to push through the Patriot Act and launch the illegal war in Iraq.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">So let's be absolutely clear: <span style="font-weight: bold;">there are no saviors who are going to look out for us in this crisis</span>. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Certainly not Henry Paulson, former CEO of Goldman Sachs, one of the companies that will benefit most from his proposed bailout (which is actually a stick up). The only hope of preventing another dose of shock politics is loud, organized grassroots pressure on all political parties: they have to know right now that after seven years of Bush, Americans are becoming shock resistant.</span></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-klein/now-is-the-time-to-resist_b_128433.html">The Huffington Post</a>]<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/u6KJTVTNsVo&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/u6KJTVTNsVo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-80668328082731749132008-09-23T20:58:00.006-04:002008-09-23T21:18:42.719-04:00Protecting the public interest in any economic "bailout"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmPXNX_q8L47cIeCPUzrQCidsrwKNPd3ROBk8J-P7YB7CSWKPhpLbyOiMFKJeMeO3rEs1d0KIsLqRKUB2ejtsVd72InxPeN44w8-jPERKkbybdHgPsG6yocolV_gT1Rajz6412VvNRjTQs/s1600-h/3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmPXNX_q8L47cIeCPUzrQCidsrwKNPd3ROBk8J-P7YB7CSWKPhpLbyOiMFKJeMeO3rEs1d0KIsLqRKUB2ejtsVd72InxPeN44w8-jPERKkbybdHgPsG6yocolV_gT1Rajz6412VvNRjTQs/s400/3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249386372842872850" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Dear Friends,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The U.S. government has been turned into an engine that accelerates the wealth upwards into the hands of a few. The Wall Street bailout, the Iraq War, military spending, tax cuts to the rich, and a for-profit health care system are all about the acceleration of wealth upwards. And now, the American people are about to pay the price of the collapse of the $513 trillion Ponzi scheme of derivatives. Yes, that’s half a quadrillion dollars. Our first trillion dollar compression bandage will hardly stem the hemorrhaging of an unsustainable Ponzi scheme built on debt "de-leverages."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Does anyone seriously think that our public and private debts of some $45 trillion will be paid? That the administration's growth of the federal debt from $5.6 trillion to $9.8 trillion while borrowing another trillion dollars from Social Security has nothing to do with this? Does anyone not see that when we spend nearly $16,000 for every family of four in our society for the military each year that we are heading over the cliff?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This is a debt crisis, not a credit crisis. Just as FDR had to save capitalism after Wall Street excesses, we have to re-invigorate our economy with real - not imaginary - growth. It does not address the never-ending war on the middle class.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The same corporate interests that profited from the closing of U.S. factories, the movement of millions of jobs out of America, the off-shoring of profits, the out-sourcing of workers, the crushing of pension funds, the knocking down of wages, the cancellation of health care benefits, the sub-prime lending are now rushing to Washington to get money to protect themselves.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The double standard is stunning: their profits are their profits, but their losses are our losses.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This bailout will not bring real jobs back to America. It will not bring back jobs that make things. It does not rebuild our schools, streets, neighborhoods, parks or bridges. The major product of this financial economy is now debt. Industrial capitalism has been destroyed.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">In the next few days I will push for a plan that includes equity for every American in any taxpayer investment in this so-called bail-out plan. Since the bailout will cost each and every American about $2,300, I have proposed the creation of a United States Mutual Trust Fund, which will take control of $700 billion in stock assets, convert those assets to shares, and distribute $2,300 worth of shares to new individual savings accounts in the name of each and every American.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I will also insist that all of the following issues be considered in whatever Congress passes:</span><br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">Reinstatement of the provisions of Glass-Steagall, which forbade speculation<br />Re-regulation of the finance, insurance, and real estate industries<br />Accountability on the part of those who took the companies down:<br />a) resignations of management<br />b) givebacks of executive compensation packages<br />c) limitations on executive compensation<br />d) admission by CEO's of what went wrong and how, prior to any government bailout<br />Demands for transparencey<br />a) with respect to analyzing the transactions which took the companies down<br />b) with respect to Treasury's dealings with the companies pre and post-bailout<br />An equity position for the taxpayers<br />a) some form of ownership of assets<br />Some credible formula for evaluating the price of the assets that the government is buying.<br />A sunset clause on the legislation<br />Full public disclosure by members of Congress of assets held, with possible conflicts put in blind trust.<br />A ban on political campaign contributions from officers of corporations receiving bailouts<br />A requirement that 2008 cycle candidates return political contributions to officers and representatives of corporations receiving bailouts</blockquote><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">And, most importantly, some mechanism for direct assistance to homeowners saddled with unreasonable or unmanageable mortgages, as well as protection for renters who have lived up to their obligation but fall victim to financial tragedy when the property they live in undergoes foreclosure.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">These are just some thoughts on the run. You will hear more from me tomorrow.</span><br /><br /><br /><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://kucinich.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=46&Itemid=58">Dennis J Kucinich</a><br /><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.blogger.com/www.kucinich.us">www.Kucinich.us</a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">216-252-9000 877-933-6647</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://atlasinsite.blogspot.com/2008/08/take-power-back.html">Take the Power Back</a>]DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-12890324238018297412008-09-23T17:44:00.003-04:002008-09-23T20:58:51.797-04:00Free Market Ideology is Far from FinishedBy <a href="http://www.naomiklein.org/articles/2008/09/free-market-ideology-far-finished">Naomi Klein</a> - September 19th, 2008<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Whatever the events of this week mean, nobody should believe the overblown claims that the market crisis signals the death of "free market" ideology. Free market ideology has always been a servant to the interests of capital, and its presence ebbs and flows depending on its usefulness to those interests.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">During boom times, it's profitable to preach laissez faire, because an absentee government allows speculative bubbles to inflate. When those bubbles burst, the ideology becomes a hindrance, and it goes dormant while big government rides to the rescue. But rest assured: the ideology will come roaring back when the bailouts are done. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The massive debts the public is accumulating to bail out the speculators will then become part of a global budget crisis that will be the rationalization for deep cuts to social programs, and for a renewed push to privatize what is left of the public sector. We will also be told that our hopes for a green future are, sadly, too costly.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">What we don't know is how the public will respond. Consider that in North America, <span style="font-weight: bold;">everybody under the age of 40 grew up being told that the government can't intervene to improve our lives, that government is the problem not the solution, that laissez faire was the only option.</span> Now, we are suddenly seeing an extremely activist, intensely interventionist government, seemingly willing to do whatever it takes to save investors from themselves.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This spectacle necessarily raises the question: if the state can intervene to save corporations that took reckless risks in the housing markets, why can't it intervene to prevent millions of Americans from imminent foreclosure? <span style="font-weight: bold;">By the same token, if $85bn can be made instantly available to buy the insurance giant AIG, why is single-payer health care – which would protect Americans from the predatory practices of health-care insurance companies – seemingly such an unattainable dream?</span> And if ever more corporations need taxpayer funds to stay afloat, why can't taxpayers make demands in return – like caps on executive pay, and a guarantee against more job losses?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Now that it's clear that governments can indeed act in times of crises, it will become much harder for them to plead powerlessness in the future. Another potential shift has to do with market hopes for future privatizations. For years, the global investment banks have been lobbying politicians for two new markets: one that would come from privatizing public pensions and the other that would come from a new wave of privatized or partially privatized roads, bridges and water systems. Both of these dreams have just become much harder to sell: Americans are in no mood to trust more of their individual and collective assets to the reckless gamblers on Wall Street, especially because it seems more than likely that taxpayers will have to pay to buy back their own assets when the next bubble bursts.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">With the World Trade Organization talks off the rails, this crisis could also be a catalyst for a radically alternative approach to regulating world markets and financial systems. Already, we are seeing a move towards "food sovereignty" in the developing world, rather than leaving access to food to the whims of commodity traders. The time may finally have come for ideas like taxing trading, which would slow speculative investment, as well as other global capital controls.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">And now that nationalization is not a dirty word, <span style="font-weight: bold;">the oil and gas companies should watch out: someone needs to pay for the shift to a greener future, and it makes most sense for the bulk of the funds to come from the highly profitable sector that is most responsible for our climate crisis</span>. It certainly makes more sense than creating another dangerous bubble in carbon trading.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">But the crisis we are seeing calls for even deeper changes than that. The reason these junk loans were allowed to proliferate was not just because the regulators didn't understand the risk. <span style="font-weight: bold;">It is because we have an economic system that measures our collective health based exclusively on GDP growth</span>. So long as the junk loans were fuelling economic growth, our governments actively supported them. <span style="font-weight: bold;">So what is really being called into question by the crisis is the <span style="font-size:130%;">unquestioned commitment to growth at all costs</span>. Where this crisis should lead us is to a radically different way for our societies to measure health and progress</span>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">None of this, however, will happen without huge public pressure placed on politicians in this key period. And not polite lobbying but a return to the streets and the kind of direct action that ushered in the New Deal in the 1930s. Without it, there will be superficial changes and a return, as quickly as possible, to business as usual.</span><br /><br />[<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/19/marketturmoil.usa">The Guardian</a>]DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-77563765735152937702008-09-22T22:39:00.009-04:002008-09-22T22:48:54.835-04:00Sanders Wake Up Call<embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=6418336140569895464&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081006/sanders"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rescue Wall Street--and the Rest of Us</span></a></span><br />by <a href="http://www.sanders.senate.gov/">BERNIE SANDERS</a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">For years, as a member of the House Banking Committee and now as a member of the Senate Budget Committee, I have heard the Bush administration tell us how "robust" our economy was and how strong the "fundamentals" were. That was until a few days ago. Now, we are being told that if Congress does not act immediately and approve the $700 billion Wall Street bailout proposal these "free marketers" have just written up, there will be an unprecedented economic meltdown in the United States and an unraveling of the global economy.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This proposal as presented is an </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">unacceptable attempt to force middle-income families (and our children) to pick up the cost of fixing the horrendous economic mess that is the product of the Bush administration's deregulatory fever and Wall Street's insatiable greed.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> If the potential danger to our economy was not so dire, this blatant effort to essentially transfer $700 billion up the income ladder to those at the top would be laughable.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Let us be clear. If the economy is on the edge of collapse we need to act. But rescuing the economy does not mean we have to just give away $700 billion of taxpayer money to the banks. (In truth, it could be much more than $700 billion. The bill only says the government is limited to having $700 billion outstanding at any time. By selling the mortgage-backed assets it acquires--even at staggering losses--the government will be able to buy even more resulting is a virtually limitless financial exposure on the part of taxpayers.) Any proposal must protect middle-income and working families from bearing the burden of this bailout.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I have proposed a four-part plan to accomplish that goal that includes a </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">five-year, 10 percent surtax on the income of individuals above $500,000 a year, and $1 million a year for couples</span><span style="font-style: italic;">; a requirement that the price the government pays for any mortgage assets are discounted appropriately so that government can recover the amount it paid for them; and, finally, the </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">government should receive equity in the companies it bails out so that when the stock of these companies rises after the bailout, taxpayers also have the opportunity to share in the resulting windfall</span><span style="font-style: italic;">. Taken together, these measures would provide the best guarantee that at the end of five years, the government will have gotten back the money it put out.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Second, in addition to protecting the average American from being saddled with the cost, any serious proposal has to include reforms so that we end the type of behavior that led to this crisis in the first place. </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Much of this activity can be traced to specific legislation that broke down regulatory safety walls in the financial sector and allowed banks and others to engage in new types of risky transactions that are at the heart of this crisis</span><span style="font-style: italic;">. That deregulation needs to be repealed. </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Wall Street has shown it cannot be trusted to police itself</span><span style="font-style: italic;">. We need to reinstate a strong regulatory system that protects our economy.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Third, we need to address the needs of working families in this country who are today facing very difficult times. If we can bail out Wall Street, we need to respond with equal vigor to their plight. That means, for example, </span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">creating millions of jobs through major investments in rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and creating a new renewable energy system</span><span style="font-style: italic;">. We must also make certain that the most vulnerable Americans don't freeze in the winter or die because they lack access to primary healthcare.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Finally, we need to protect ourselves from being at the mercy of giant companies that are "too big to fail," that is, companies who are so large that their failure would cause systemic harm to the economy. We need to assess which companies fall into this category and insist they are broken up. Otherwise, the American taxpayer will continue to be on the financial hook for the risky behavior, the mismanagement and even the illegal conduct of these companies' executives.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><br />These are the last days of the Bush administration, the most dishonest and incompetent in modern American history. It is imperative that, at this important moment, Congress stand up for the middle class and for fiscal integrity. The future of our country is at stake</span><br /><br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2008/9/22/sen_bernie_sanders_robert_scheer_and">unacceptable outrage</a>]DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-68656045716808980782008-09-21T17:23:00.005-04:002008-09-21T17:29:11.562-04:00Wall Street Socialism<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/q97xJUjNkvg&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/q97xJUjNkvg&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/17309"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >U.S. orgy of debt: Americans borrowed to hilt, then housing bubble burst</span></a><br /><br />by Eric Margolis | September 21, 2008 - 12:58pm<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">NEW YORK -- The financial panic sweeping the globe is maddeningly complex, but the cause of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s Great Depression is clear.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">America has reveled for two decades in an orgy of debt. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The U.S. national debt is now twice its net worth</span>. From Wall Street's "masters of the universe" financial powerhouses such as Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Lehman, and Morgan Stanley, to the humblest homeowners, America's national motto became "borrow to the hilt and bet."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The traditional regulated banking system was pushed aside by Wall Street's financial titans who created their own money in the form of complex securities and furiously traded these exotic instruments and borrowed recklessly against them with little government regulation or oversight.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">As Kevin Phillips points out in his prophetic book, Bad Money, America's primary business became non-productive finance. Manufacturing fell to only 12% of GDP. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Wall Street titans grew obscenely rich by simply passing around paper. Inflated or semi-worthless securities increased in bogus value at each stage of the trading process.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Wall Street was allowed to virtually print money and peddle toxic securities around the globe because the big financial houses and heads of hedge funds bought the politicians of both parties.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Equally important, the mammoth financial and housing bubble thus created was hailed by the Bush administration as proof positive of Republican free market philosophy and the true road to prosperity.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">More cautious European and Canadian bankers were dismissed by Republican chest thumpers as financial sissies.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This Ponzi scheme worked so long as markets kept rising. When the music stopped - disaster.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">It's uncertain how far damage from America's financial equivalent of Hurricane Katrina will spread. Hedge funds, money market funds and automakers could be next. Real estate losses may reach $636 billion by 2012.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">All stock market gains of the past 10 years have been wiped out in the most dangerous crash since the 1930s.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The "free market" Republican administration has ended up nationalizing nearly </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">$1 trillion</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> worth of businesses, including the federal mortgage agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Bear Stearns, and global insurer AIG. Welcome to Wall Street socialism.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">One thing is now clear. When great empires run onto the financial rocks, their power quickly ebbs. France's Sun King, Louis XIV, ended his once glorious rein in near bankruptcy caused by his long, ruinous wars with the British and Dutch. Louis XVI's runaway borrowing to finance the American Revolution helped ignite the French Revolution. The Soviet Union's collapse was caused by spending half its national income on arms, and failure to modernize industry.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Over the past decade, the U.S. foreign debt doubled. Japan and China now hold 47% of the U.S. foreign debt and finance Washington's wars. The addition in recent days of at least $1 trillion in new debt will cause interest rates to rise and the dollar to weaken.</span> Even the U.S. government's AAA credit rating now is in question.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Washington may no longer be able to spend half the globe's defence budgets.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The $12-13 billion a month wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will end up costing <span style="font-weight: bold;">$750 billion by December 2008</span>. There will be less cash in Washington's kitty to buy foreign dictators and prop up their regimes, as in the Mideast and Central Asia. Less cash to pay for little wars in Africa.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Less for exotic anti-missile systems and death rays.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">America's enormous global power is based as much on its financial might as military muscle. Wall Street has been the vehicle and policeman of America's hegemony. It shaped the destiny of the globe and made many nations subservient to the demands of New York's titan bankers. Wall Street is essential to raising capital for business expansion, but often it resembled New York's ruthless loan sharks: Once you borrowed from them, you never got off the hook.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Americans will have to relearn the hard truth that you can't borrow your way to prosperity.</span>DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-82346231889137563702008-09-21T11:21:00.006-04:002008-09-21T15:42:25.345-04:00Let's Not Bicker and Argue About Ooo Killed Ooo<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jf1y9s73Nos&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jf1y9s73Nos&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Naomi!<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uCHBLt-w9wE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uCHBLt-w9wE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />Bush in Drag<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YTXUmDz8hao&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YTXUmDz8hao&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />Free Levi<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LbLkfk682zU&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LbLkfk682zU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />[<a href="http://freelevi.org/Real_Time_with_Bill_Maher.html">FreeLevi.org</a>]<br /><br /><br />Perspective<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xmCC_jasq0E&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xmCC_jasq0E&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-61312802669630511492008-09-21T11:06:00.004-04:002008-09-21T11:20:27.295-04:00Cry WolfYikes - where are the manners?<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dJPtwe9tE_c&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dJPtwe9tE_c&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ww6f03kBEFs&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ww6f03kBEFs&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-49222460148635481762008-09-19T18:27:00.001-04:002008-09-19T18:30:02.973-04:00RNC Revisited<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/8HTOkzuMlgs" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="852" height="510" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed> <br /><br />[<a href="http://atlasinsite.blogspot.com/2008/09/free-speech.html">way back when</a>]DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-60026879753385177382008-09-18T19:20:00.002-04:002008-09-18T19:26:55.998-04:00Society of Apathetics<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J6C1TgIbEVo&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J6C1TgIbEVo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xh3zuylHhyw&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xh3zuylHhyw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XtCZpVPz8VE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XtCZpVPz8VE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://www.votenader.org">VoteNader.org</a>]DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-43798041192907755352008-09-15T19:06:00.006-04:002008-09-15T19:13:04.781-04:00YES!So good, I had to steal it directly from <a href="http://martianchronicles.wordpress.com/">The Martian Chronicles<br /><br /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglQF68hasI84mq1aasK_RJLVJe7IkfI48H0_su9AnD52Yfc6SPqb22fFGnI0VLrqq0r7a5Y1q_Yuk0Uyz2Mpi-UfHxzOJwWuU_P7m0UXvcPR96vGAnh6i4dk2ioatrskNdTZbYTFZ_MpLv/s1600-h/fig1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglQF68hasI84mq1aasK_RJLVJe7IkfI48H0_su9AnD52Yfc6SPqb22fFGnI0VLrqq0r7a5Y1q_Yuk0Uyz2Mpi-UfHxzOJwWuU_P7m0UXvcPR96vGAnh6i4dk2ioatrskNdTZbYTFZ_MpLv/s400/fig1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246389989889977170" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Check it out - this is probably the </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.gemini.edu/sunstarplanet">first image</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> of an extra solar planet around a Sun-like star!</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">More specifically, the image above shows both the primary and companion of the star 1RXSJ160929.1-210524 (romantic, eh?), imaged at the Gemini North Telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The companion is about 8 times the mass of Jupiter, and has a radius about 17% of the Sun’s. One of the reasons that the team was able to image the planet so clearly is that it’s orbiting really far away from it’s star - 330 AU! (In our solar system, that would put it almost 7 times farther out than Pluto!) Planets that are close to their star are very difficult to find with imaging like this, since the light of the star washes out the light from the planet. For more info on how a planet could have ended up so far away from it’s star, </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_migration#Type_I_migration">look here</a><span style="font-style: italic;">.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">The planet was found as part of a survey of 85 young (~5 million year old) stars in the same stellar group, about 150 Mpc away. The other very cool part of this discovery is that this is a fairly random star in a fairly random group of young stars, and it has a planet. This (along with all the </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stars_with_confirmed_extrasolar_planets">planets found</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> with other methods) is a fantastic piece of evidence that planets are common,</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">For those that want to get into the technical details, </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://arxiv.org/abs/0809.1424">here’s</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> the pre-print of the paper on the arXiv. Just a note, this discovery has not been peer reviewed yet (to my knowledge), but since Gemini chose to release the press release, we can assume that they, at least, are pretty confident with the results.</span><br /><br /><br />[<a href="http://martianchronicles.wordpress.com/2008/09/15/first-image-of-another-planet-around-a-sun-like-star/">Martian Chronicles</a>]DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-21062963106993768702008-09-15T18:45:00.003-04:002008-09-15T19:02:49.041-04:00What's Your Relevance Expectancy?<embed src="http://www.theonion.com/content/themes/common/assets/videoplayer/flvplayer.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="transparent" width="400" height="355" flashvars="file=http://www.theonion.com/content/xml/86547/video&autostart=false&image=http://www.theonion.com/content/files/images/DISNEY_LAB_article.jpg&bufferlength=3&embedded=true&title=Disney%20Lab%20Unveils%20Its%20Latest%20Line%20Of%20Genetically%20Engineered%20Child%20Stars"></embed><br/><a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/video/disney_lab_unveils_its_latest?utm_source=embedded_video">Disney Lab Unveils Its Latest Line Of Genetically Engineered Child Stars</a><br /><br />The economy takes a hit: who will harass a retired old man?<br /><br /><embed src="http://www.theonion.com/content/themes/common/assets/videoplayer/flvplayer.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="transparent" width="400" height="355" flashvars="file=http://www.theonion.com/content/xml/86319/video&autostart=false&image=http://www.theonion.com/content/files/images/ANTI-BUSH_ECONOMY_article.jpg&bufferlength=3&embedded=true&title=Economists%20Warn%20Anti-Bush%20Merchandise%20Market%20Close%20To%20Collapse"></embed><br/><a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/video/economists_warn_anti_bush?utm_source=embedded_video">Economists Warn Anti-Bush Merchandise Market Close To Collapse</a>DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6495563887923175838.post-40100199133718363432008-09-12T19:11:00.004-04:002008-09-12T19:13:40.825-04:00A Seal, You!<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5I0g7Ui2zvA&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5I0g7Ui2zvA&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />[<a href="http://aclu.org/">ACLU</a>]<br /><br />[<a href="http://therealnews.com/t/">TRNN</a>]DifferentiAtlashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00637842321733475127noreply@blogger.com0