By MICHELLE RINDELS, Associated Press Fri Aug 28,
LOS ANGELES – A tawny stuffed puppy bobs in cold sea water, his four stiff legs tangled in the green net of some nameless fisherman.
It's one of the bigger pieces of trash in a sprawling mass of garbage-littered water, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, where most of the plastic looks like snowy confetti against the deep blue of the north Pacific Ocean.
Most of the trash has broken into bite-sized plastic bits, and scientists want to know whether it's sickening or killing the small fish, plankton and birds that ingest it.
During their August fact-finding expedition, a group of University of California scientists found much more debris than they expected. The team announced their observations at a San Diego press conference Thursday.
"It's pretty shocking — it's unusual to find exactly what you're looking for," said Miriam Goldstein, who led fellow researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego on the three-week voyage.
While scientists have documented trash's harmful effects for coastal marine life, there's little research on garbage patches, which were first explored extensively by self-trained ocean researcher Charles Moore just a decade ago. There's also scant research on the marine life at the bottom of the food chain that inhabit the patch.
But even the weather-beaten, sunbleached plastic flakes that are smaller than a thumbnail can be alarming.
"They're the right size to be interacting with the food chain out there," Goldstein said.
The team also netted occasional water bottles with barnacles clinging to the side. Some of the trash had labels written in Chinese and English, hints of the long journeys garbage takes to arrive mid-ocean.
Plastic sea trash doesn't biodegrade and often floats at the surface. Bottlecaps, bags and wrappers that end up in the ocean from the wind or through overflowing sewage systems can then drift thousands of miles.
The sheer quantity of plastic that accumulates in the North Pacific Gyre, a vortex formed by ocean and wind currents and located 1,000 miles off the California coast, has the scientists worried about how it might harm the sea creatures there.
A study released earlier this month estimated that thousands of tons of plastic debris wind up in the oceans every year, and some of that has ended up in the swirling currents of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Katsuhiko Saido, a chemist at Nihon University, Chiba, Japan, told the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society last week that plastic actually does decompose, releasing potentially toxic chemicals that can disrupt the functioning of hormones in animals and marine life.
The Scripps team hopes the samples they gathered during the trip nail down answers to questions of the trash's environmental impact. Does eating plastic poison plankton? Is the ecosystem in trouble when new sea creatures hitchhike on the side of a water bottle?
Plastics have entangled birds and turned up in the bellies of fish, and one paper cited by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates 100,000 marine mammals die trash-related deaths each year.
The scientists hope their data gives clues as to the density and extent of marine debris, especially since the Great Pacific Garbage Patch may have company in the Southern Hemisphere, where scientists say the gyre is four times bigger.
"We're afraid at what we're going to find in the South Gyre, but we've got to go there," said Tony Haymet, director of the Scripps Institution.
Only humans are to blame for ocean debris, Goldstein said. In a blog entry posted a day before the science ship arrived in Newport, Ore., she wrote the research showed her the consequences of humanity's footprint on nature.
"Seeing that influence just floating out here in the middle of nowhere makes our power painfully obvious, and the consequences of the industrial age plain," she wrote. "It's not a pretty sight."
Fucking Humans.
DaG Out
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
We need Schoolhouse Rock.
"We know from survey results that two-thirds of people in the United States cannot even name all three branches of the national government,this is something to worry about."
"If anyone had put the question to one of my 9th-grade classmates or to me -- what are the three branches of government? -- none of us would have failed to answer."
"We must revive the basic civic knowledge that once came naturally to a teenage boy in a small town,"
All quotes attributed to Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
How did we get here? it seems as thought it was by design, a combination of the continuing dumbing down of America and the elimination of civics classes and social studies from our junior and senior high schools has contributed to the apathy of the American citizen and their lack of understanding of how their government works. It doesn't help matters that our news is now entertainment instead of investigative.
By removing these vital curricula from our educational system, new generations know nothing of labor movements, unions, Supreme Court decisions that changed the status quo, the Constitution, the bill of rights, etc etc . . . we are left with the slanted interpretations from the corporate media's personalities. (Personalities who are represented as news men and women.)
The best defense against the continuing corporate influence over of our government is an educated citizenry. Shortly after "Watergate", the public air waves became increasingly privately owned. Conservative think tanks following the manifest set down by Supreme court justice, Louis Powell; began to deconstruct the news gathering departments of the big three ABC, CBS, and NBC. Add to that, Rupert Murdock, a well known Uber conservative, starts up his own network. He purchases the rights to air the NFL and in just a couple of years, went from a start up company that is now the number one broadcasting outlet in the country. More people watch FOX than any of the others. The FOX news network successfully marketed themselves as unbiased "Fair and Balanced" yet their entire programming day consists of hosts that rail against the "Liberal media, War dissenters, and the Democrats. From their morning show on their programming day is chocked full of ex-beauty pageant anchors and angry clean cut former weather men pretending to be seasoned correspondence.
But enough about FOX they are just the big dog on the block all the other little yappers give us the viewer little more than "Gossip Rag" reporting and sensationalism with zero in depth coverage on the issues. And we the people get exactly what we deserve. The very few independent media that actually report the "news", flounder in the ratings. The average American citizen is so swamped with work, consumerism, organized sports for the kids, texting, bill paying, . . ." hamsters on the wheel". We are kept so busy just trying to stay afloat that when we sit in front of the TV. we want to be entertained. We don't want to think. How many of us ever stop and watch Cspan? The McNeil/ Leher report? If it wasn't for "Schoolhouse Rock"
not many in my generation would know how a bill becomes law. How many of us can name their representatives in congress or the senate?
Those who sway policy in the legislative branches, (the lobbyist) know that the public is all but clueless as to their activities and act with reckless abandon. In and before the "Watergate" era , a Washington beat reporter would have shed a bright light on this legal form of bribery. Almost by osmosis the public would learn about the workings on capital hill. An educated public is a lot more difficult to control and so, we have Hannity's, Limbaugh's, Beck's, O'reily's and yes even Keith Olbermann's Rachel Maddow's to do our thinking for us. However that latter two in this list tend to offer up less fear mongering, flag waving, and more balanced reporting. They actually criticize "their guys" for lack of spine and cow towing to the corporate interests. But along with that, Keith and Rachel like those on the right constantly parade the same faces day after day in front of the camera as "special correspondents". Rarely if ever, will the viewer get an unbiased accounting of whatever's being reported. Herein lies another part of the problem, the divide and conquer approach to the takeover of this country by corporate interests.
Keep the Right fighting the Left. As long as these two continue to blame the other for the country's woes, the focus on the real problem will remain blurry. This has become so very apparent as the health care reform issue has been completely over shadowed by the protests and the protesters rather than an examination of the bill. Or should we say the bills. There are several currently floating around congress. What is amazing is that many of those who oppose Health care reform fear socialized medicine while they currently enjoy the benefits of it. (Medicare and the V.A.) Those who are for Health Care reform are to busy arguing with the protesters instead of finding common ground. All the while, the Health Care industry continues to write the legislation through their lobby's influence.
I don't wish to be a defeatist but unless the American public educates themselves instead of parroting the rhetoric coming out of Washington, until students in school are taught the ins and outs of our democratic republic, until our junior and senior high text books once again, include civics lessons we will continue down this road of stupidity.
DaG Out
"If anyone had put the question to one of my 9th-grade classmates or to me -- what are the three branches of government? -- none of us would have failed to answer."
"We must revive the basic civic knowledge that once came naturally to a teenage boy in a small town,"
All quotes attributed to Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
How did we get here? it seems as thought it was by design, a combination of the continuing dumbing down of America and the elimination of civics classes and social studies from our junior and senior high schools has contributed to the apathy of the American citizen and their lack of understanding of how their government works. It doesn't help matters that our news is now entertainment instead of investigative.
By removing these vital curricula from our educational system, new generations know nothing of labor movements, unions, Supreme Court decisions that changed the status quo, the Constitution, the bill of rights, etc etc . . . we are left with the slanted interpretations from the corporate media's personalities. (Personalities who are represented as news men and women.)
The best defense against the continuing corporate influence over of our government is an educated citizenry. Shortly after "Watergate", the public air waves became increasingly privately owned. Conservative think tanks following the manifest set down by Supreme court justice, Louis Powell; began to deconstruct the news gathering departments of the big three ABC, CBS, and NBC. Add to that, Rupert Murdock, a well known Uber conservative, starts up his own network. He purchases the rights to air the NFL and in just a couple of years, went from a start up company that is now the number one broadcasting outlet in the country. More people watch FOX than any of the others. The FOX news network successfully marketed themselves as unbiased "Fair and Balanced" yet their entire programming day consists of hosts that rail against the "Liberal media, War dissenters, and the Democrats. From their morning show on their programming day is chocked full of ex-beauty pageant anchors and angry clean cut former weather men pretending to be seasoned correspondence.
But enough about FOX they are just the big dog on the block all the other little yappers give us the viewer little more than "Gossip Rag" reporting and sensationalism with zero in depth coverage on the issues. And we the people get exactly what we deserve. The very few independent media that actually report the "news", flounder in the ratings. The average American citizen is so swamped with work, consumerism, organized sports for the kids, texting, bill paying, . . ." hamsters on the wheel". We are kept so busy just trying to stay afloat that when we sit in front of the TV. we want to be entertained. We don't want to think. How many of us ever stop and watch Cspan? The McNeil/ Leher report? If it wasn't for "Schoolhouse Rock"
not many in my generation would know how a bill becomes law. How many of us can name their representatives in congress or the senate?
Those who sway policy in the legislative branches, (the lobbyist) know that the public is all but clueless as to their activities and act with reckless abandon. In and before the "Watergate" era , a Washington beat reporter would have shed a bright light on this legal form of bribery. Almost by osmosis the public would learn about the workings on capital hill. An educated public is a lot more difficult to control and so, we have Hannity's, Limbaugh's, Beck's, O'reily's and yes even Keith Olbermann's Rachel Maddow's to do our thinking for us. However that latter two in this list tend to offer up less fear mongering, flag waving, and more balanced reporting. They actually criticize "their guys" for lack of spine and cow towing to the corporate interests. But along with that, Keith and Rachel like those on the right constantly parade the same faces day after day in front of the camera as "special correspondents". Rarely if ever, will the viewer get an unbiased accounting of whatever's being reported. Herein lies another part of the problem, the divide and conquer approach to the takeover of this country by corporate interests.
Keep the Right fighting the Left. As long as these two continue to blame the other for the country's woes, the focus on the real problem will remain blurry. This has become so very apparent as the health care reform issue has been completely over shadowed by the protests and the protesters rather than an examination of the bill. Or should we say the bills. There are several currently floating around congress. What is amazing is that many of those who oppose Health care reform fear socialized medicine while they currently enjoy the benefits of it. (Medicare and the V.A.) Those who are for Health Care reform are to busy arguing with the protesters instead of finding common ground. All the while, the Health Care industry continues to write the legislation through their lobby's influence.
I don't wish to be a defeatist but unless the American public educates themselves instead of parroting the rhetoric coming out of Washington, until students in school are taught the ins and outs of our democratic republic, until our junior and senior high text books once again, include civics lessons we will continue down this road of stupidity.
DaG Out
Saturday, July 25, 2009
From Bill Maher RealTime: July 25, 2009
New Rule: Not Everything in America Has to Make a Profit
How about this for a New Rule: Not everything in America has to make a profit. It used to be that there were some services and institutions so vital to our nation that they were exempt from market pressures. Some things we just didn't do for money. The United States always defined capitalism, but it didn't used to define us. But now it's becoming all that we are. Did you know, for example, that there was a time when being called a "war profiteer" was a bad thing? But now our war zones are dominated by private contractors and mercenaries who work for corporations. There are more private contractors in Iraq than American troops, and we pay them generous salaries to do jobs the troops used to do for themselves -- like laundry. War is not supposed to turn a profit, but our wars have become boondoggles for weapons manufacturers and connected civilian contractors.
Prisons used to be a non-profit business, too. And for good reason -- who the hell wants to own a prison? By definition you're going to have trouble with the tenants. But now prisons are big business. A company called the Corrections Corporation of America is on the New York Stock Exchange, which is convenient since that's where all the real crime is happening anyway. The CCA and similar corporations actually lobby Congress for stiffer sentencing laws so they can lock more people up and make more money. That's why America has the world;s largest prison population -- because actually rehabilitating people would have a negative impact on the bottom line.
Television news is another area that used to be roped off from the profit motive. When Walter Cronkite died last week, it was odd to see news anchor after news anchor talking about how much better the news coverage was back in Cronkite's day. I thought, "Gee, if only you were in a position to do something about it."But maybe they aren't. Because unlike in Cronkite's day, today's news has to make a profit like all the other divisions in a media conglomerate. That's why it wasn't surprising to see the CBS Evening News broadcast live from the Staples Center for two nights this month, just in case Michael Jackson came back to life and sold Iran nuclear weapons. In Uncle Walter's time, the news division was a loss leader. Making money was the job of The Beverly Hillbillies. And now that we have reporters moving to Alaska to hang out with the Palin family, the news is The Beverly Hillbillies.
And finally, there's health care. It wasn't that long ago that when a kid broke his leg playing stickball, his parents took him to the local Catholic hospital, the nun put a thermometer in his mouth, the doctor slapped some plaster on his ankle and you were done. The bill was $1.50, plus you got to keep the thermometer.But like everything else that's good and noble in life, some Wall Street wizard decided that hospitals could be big business, so now they're run by some bean counters in a corporate plaza in Charlotte. In the U.S. today, three giant for-profit conglomerates own close to 600 hospitals and other health care facilities. They're not hospitals anymore; they're Jiffy Lubes with bedpans. America's largest hospital chain, HCA, was founded by the family of Bill Frist, who perfectly represents the Republican attitude toward health care: it's not a right, it's a racket. The more people who get sick and need medicine, the higher their profit margins. Which is why they're always pushing the Jell-O. Because medicine is now for-profit we have things like "recision," where insurance companies hire people to figure out ways to deny you coverage when you get sick, even though you've been paying into your plan for years.
When did the profit motive become the only reason to do anything? When did that become the new patriotism? Ask not what you could do for your country, ask what's in it for Blue Cross/Blue Shield. If conservatives get to call universal health care "socialized medicine," I get to call private health care "soulless vampires making money off human pain." The problem with President Obama's health care plan isn't socialism, it's capitalism. And if medicine is for profit, and war, and the news, and the penal system, my question is: what's wrong with firemen? Why don't they charge? They must be commies. Oh my God! That explains the red trucks!
Some of this has been covered in previous DaG posts but, a tip of the hat to Bill for being so succinct, factual, and witty.
DaG Out
New Rule: Not Everything in America Has to Make a Profit
How about this for a New Rule: Not everything in America has to make a profit. It used to be that there were some services and institutions so vital to our nation that they were exempt from market pressures. Some things we just didn't do for money. The United States always defined capitalism, but it didn't used to define us. But now it's becoming all that we are. Did you know, for example, that there was a time when being called a "war profiteer" was a bad thing? But now our war zones are dominated by private contractors and mercenaries who work for corporations. There are more private contractors in Iraq than American troops, and we pay them generous salaries to do jobs the troops used to do for themselves -- like laundry. War is not supposed to turn a profit, but our wars have become boondoggles for weapons manufacturers and connected civilian contractors.
Prisons used to be a non-profit business, too. And for good reason -- who the hell wants to own a prison? By definition you're going to have trouble with the tenants. But now prisons are big business. A company called the Corrections Corporation of America is on the New York Stock Exchange, which is convenient since that's where all the real crime is happening anyway. The CCA and similar corporations actually lobby Congress for stiffer sentencing laws so they can lock more people up and make more money. That's why America has the world;s largest prison population -- because actually rehabilitating people would have a negative impact on the bottom line.
Television news is another area that used to be roped off from the profit motive. When Walter Cronkite died last week, it was odd to see news anchor after news anchor talking about how much better the news coverage was back in Cronkite's day. I thought, "Gee, if only you were in a position to do something about it."But maybe they aren't. Because unlike in Cronkite's day, today's news has to make a profit like all the other divisions in a media conglomerate. That's why it wasn't surprising to see the CBS Evening News broadcast live from the Staples Center for two nights this month, just in case Michael Jackson came back to life and sold Iran nuclear weapons. In Uncle Walter's time, the news division was a loss leader. Making money was the job of The Beverly Hillbillies. And now that we have reporters moving to Alaska to hang out with the Palin family, the news is The Beverly Hillbillies.
And finally, there's health care. It wasn't that long ago that when a kid broke his leg playing stickball, his parents took him to the local Catholic hospital, the nun put a thermometer in his mouth, the doctor slapped some plaster on his ankle and you were done. The bill was $1.50, plus you got to keep the thermometer.But like everything else that's good and noble in life, some Wall Street wizard decided that hospitals could be big business, so now they're run by some bean counters in a corporate plaza in Charlotte. In the U.S. today, three giant for-profit conglomerates own close to 600 hospitals and other health care facilities. They're not hospitals anymore; they're Jiffy Lubes with bedpans. America's largest hospital chain, HCA, was founded by the family of Bill Frist, who perfectly represents the Republican attitude toward health care: it's not a right, it's a racket. The more people who get sick and need medicine, the higher their profit margins. Which is why they're always pushing the Jell-O. Because medicine is now for-profit we have things like "recision," where insurance companies hire people to figure out ways to deny you coverage when you get sick, even though you've been paying into your plan for years.
When did the profit motive become the only reason to do anything? When did that become the new patriotism? Ask not what you could do for your country, ask what's in it for Blue Cross/Blue Shield. If conservatives get to call universal health care "socialized medicine," I get to call private health care "soulless vampires making money off human pain." The problem with President Obama's health care plan isn't socialism, it's capitalism. And if medicine is for profit, and war, and the news, and the penal system, my question is: what's wrong with firemen? Why don't they charge? They must be commies. Oh my God! That explains the red trucks!
Some of this has been covered in previous DaG posts but, a tip of the hat to Bill for being so succinct, factual, and witty.
DaG Out
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Let's help Kucinich and Sanders change the debate
In mid-May, in an effort to reach consensus, President Obama secured a deal with the health insurance companies to trim 1.5% of their costs each year for ten years saving a total of $2 trillion dollars, which would be reprogrammed into healthcare. Just two days after the announcement at the White House the insurance companies reneged on the deal which was designed to protect and increase their revenue at least 35% The insurance companies reneged on the deal because they refuse any restraint on increasing premiums, copays and deductibles - core to their profits.
No wonder a recent USA Today poll found that only four percent of Americans trust insurance companies. This is within the margin of error, which means it is possible that NO ONE TRUSTS insurance companies. Then why does Congress trust the insurance companies? Yesterday HR 3200 "America's Affordable Health Choices Act," a 1000 page bill was delivered to members. The title of the bill raises a question: "Affordable" for whom?.
Of $2.4 trillion spent annually for health care in America, fully $800 billion goes for the activities of the for-profit insurer-based system. This means one of every three health care dollars is siphoned off for corporate profits, stock options, executive salaries, advertising, marketing and the cost of paper work, (which can be anywhere between 15 - 35% in the private sector as compared to Medicare, the single payer plan which has only 3% administrative costs).50 million Americans are uninsured and another 50 million are under insured while for-profit insurance companies divert precious health care dollars to non-health care purposes. Eliminate the for-profit health care system and its extraordinary overhead, put the money into healthcare and everyone will be covered, everyone will be able to afford health care.
Today three committees will begin marking up and amending HR3200. In this, one of the most momentous public policy debates in the past 70 years, single payer, the only viable "public option," the one that makes sound business sense, controls costs and covers everyone was taken off the table. In contrast to HR3200 ... HR676 calls for a universal single-payer health care system in the United States, Medicare for All. It has over 85 co-sponsors in Congress with the support of millions of Americans and countless physicians and nurses.
How does HR-676 control costs and cover everyone? It cuts out the for-profit middle men and delivers care directly to consumers and Medicare acts as the single payer of bills. It also recognizes that under the current system for-profit insurance companies make money NOT providing health care. This week is the time to break the hold which the insurance companies have on our political process. Tell Congress to stand up to the insurance companies.
Ask members to sign on to the only real public option, HR 676, a single-payer healthcare system.Hundreds of local labor unions, thousands of physicians and millions of Americans are standing behind us. With a draft of HR3200 now circulating, It is up to each and every one of us to organize and rally for the cause of single-payer healthcare. Change the debate. Now is the time.
The time to act is now!
If you don't know your Senator's phone number: Call the United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. A switchboard operator will connect you directly with the Senate office you request. To find your congressman or woman click on the link below:
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
DaG Out
No wonder a recent USA Today poll found that only four percent of Americans trust insurance companies. This is within the margin of error, which means it is possible that NO ONE TRUSTS insurance companies. Then why does Congress trust the insurance companies? Yesterday HR 3200 "America's Affordable Health Choices Act," a 1000 page bill was delivered to members. The title of the bill raises a question: "Affordable" for whom?.
Of $2.4 trillion spent annually for health care in America, fully $800 billion goes for the activities of the for-profit insurer-based system. This means one of every three health care dollars is siphoned off for corporate profits, stock options, executive salaries, advertising, marketing and the cost of paper work, (which can be anywhere between 15 - 35% in the private sector as compared to Medicare, the single payer plan which has only 3% administrative costs).50 million Americans are uninsured and another 50 million are under insured while for-profit insurance companies divert precious health care dollars to non-health care purposes. Eliminate the for-profit health care system and its extraordinary overhead, put the money into healthcare and everyone will be covered, everyone will be able to afford health care.
Today three committees will begin marking up and amending HR3200. In this, one of the most momentous public policy debates in the past 70 years, single payer, the only viable "public option," the one that makes sound business sense, controls costs and covers everyone was taken off the table. In contrast to HR3200 ... HR676 calls for a universal single-payer health care system in the United States, Medicare for All. It has over 85 co-sponsors in Congress with the support of millions of Americans and countless physicians and nurses.
How does HR-676 control costs and cover everyone? It cuts out the for-profit middle men and delivers care directly to consumers and Medicare acts as the single payer of bills. It also recognizes that under the current system for-profit insurance companies make money NOT providing health care. This week is the time to break the hold which the insurance companies have on our political process. Tell Congress to stand up to the insurance companies.
Ask members to sign on to the only real public option, HR 676, a single-payer healthcare system.Hundreds of local labor unions, thousands of physicians and millions of Americans are standing behind us. With a draft of HR3200 now circulating, It is up to each and every one of us to organize and rally for the cause of single-payer healthcare. Change the debate. Now is the time.
The time to act is now!
If you don't know your Senator's phone number: Call the United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. A switchboard operator will connect you directly with the Senate office you request. To find your congressman or woman click on the link below:
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
DaG Out
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The end of an empire
BRIC or BRICs is an acronym that refers to the fast growing developing economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Why do you need to know this?
The BRIC is currently holding an economic summit in YEKATERINBURG, Russia . A summit that we asked to be invited to but, were turned down. It was reported today by the AP that Russia is trying to persuade the other countries to replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency. If this happens it will throw the United States into an unimaginable state of economic chaos. The end of the dollar’s reign as the world’s reserve currency will be the beginning of a terrible period of economic and political decline in the United States. Our status as a super power will be gone, hyper inflation will rival any in the world's history, and we will become all but, a third world country. If the dollar is no longer the world's reserve currency, the dollar could lose over 60% of it's value. . . . kiss our standard of living and the middle class good bye. And what is to follow will be very, very painful.
From Chris Hedges of Truthdig: " If they succeed, the dollar will dramatically plummet in value, the cost of imports, including oil, will skyrocket, interest rates will climb and jobs will hemorrhage at a rate that will make the last few months look like boom times. State and federal services will be reduced or shut down for lack of funds. The United States will begin to resemble the Weimar Republic or Zimbabwe. Obama, endowed by many with the qualities of a savior, will suddenly look pitiful, inept and weak. And the rage that has kindled a handful of shootings and hate crimes in the past few weeks will engulf vast segments of a disenfranchised and bewildered working and middle class. The people of this class will demand vengeance, radical change, order and moral renewal, which an array of proto-fascists, from the Christian right to the goons who disseminate hate talk on Fox News, will assure the country they will impose."
China has already replaced the U.S. as Brazil's number one trade partner. We are being squeezed out of the worlds economy. And probably for good reason. We've been in control for so long and we've blown it. Beginning with the Reagan Administration we have done all we can to destroy our manufacturing base and replace it with a service industry. Rather than making things we can sell, which produces actual wealth, we consume on credit, work at jobs that only requiring the skill to ask "Do you want fries with that?" , and make just enough $ to remain in debt without filing bankruptcy. Which by the way, only big business can do and still profit by doing it. Add to this the theft that is taking place at the Federal Reserve. Over the past year they have quietly printed over $9 trillion (with a t) and refuse to tell oversight panels who is receiving that money. Remember that The United States GDP is only 13 trillion. This makes the Bush / Paulson $750 billion bank heist look like a lemonade stand robbery. Obama and his administration isn't doing anything to stop this, if anything they are facilitating this financial breaking of America. If the Fed isn't stopped, what little value the dollar might retain after it is no longer the world's reserve currency, will be decimated. The United States could literally be bought for pennies on the dollar, and social services will be sold to private corporations. Police, Fire, and Postal service will be for profit entities and all highways will become toll roads, cats will chase dogs, rats and snakes will marry, boogers will eat 4 year olds . . .
Let's all hope I'm over reacting.
DaG out
The BRIC is currently holding an economic summit in YEKATERINBURG, Russia . A summit that we asked to be invited to but, were turned down. It was reported today by the AP that Russia is trying to persuade the other countries to replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency. If this happens it will throw the United States into an unimaginable state of economic chaos. The end of the dollar’s reign as the world’s reserve currency will be the beginning of a terrible period of economic and political decline in the United States. Our status as a super power will be gone, hyper inflation will rival any in the world's history, and we will become all but, a third world country. If the dollar is no longer the world's reserve currency, the dollar could lose over 60% of it's value. . . . kiss our standard of living and the middle class good bye. And what is to follow will be very, very painful.
From Chris Hedges of Truthdig: " If they succeed, the dollar will dramatically plummet in value, the cost of imports, including oil, will skyrocket, interest rates will climb and jobs will hemorrhage at a rate that will make the last few months look like boom times. State and federal services will be reduced or shut down for lack of funds. The United States will begin to resemble the Weimar Republic or Zimbabwe. Obama, endowed by many with the qualities of a savior, will suddenly look pitiful, inept and weak. And the rage that has kindled a handful of shootings and hate crimes in the past few weeks will engulf vast segments of a disenfranchised and bewildered working and middle class. The people of this class will demand vengeance, radical change, order and moral renewal, which an array of proto-fascists, from the Christian right to the goons who disseminate hate talk on Fox News, will assure the country they will impose."
China has already replaced the U.S. as Brazil's number one trade partner. We are being squeezed out of the worlds economy. And probably for good reason. We've been in control for so long and we've blown it. Beginning with the Reagan Administration we have done all we can to destroy our manufacturing base and replace it with a service industry. Rather than making things we can sell, which produces actual wealth, we consume on credit, work at jobs that only requiring the skill to ask "Do you want fries with that?" , and make just enough $ to remain in debt without filing bankruptcy. Which by the way, only big business can do and still profit by doing it. Add to this the theft that is taking place at the Federal Reserve. Over the past year they have quietly printed over $9 trillion (with a t) and refuse to tell oversight panels who is receiving that money. Remember that The United States GDP is only 13 trillion. This makes the Bush / Paulson $750 billion bank heist look like a lemonade stand robbery. Obama and his administration isn't doing anything to stop this, if anything they are facilitating this financial breaking of America. If the Fed isn't stopped, what little value the dollar might retain after it is no longer the world's reserve currency, will be decimated. The United States could literally be bought for pennies on the dollar, and social services will be sold to private corporations. Police, Fire, and Postal service will be for profit entities and all highways will become toll roads, cats will chase dogs, rats and snakes will marry, boogers will eat 4 year olds . . .
Let's all hope I'm over reacting.
DaG out
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
How it all began . . .
Ever wonder how we got here? How did a strong middle class with an American Dream get crushed into indentured servitude? What or who came up with the business first, individual second political, legal, and financial priority? Who or what influenced or inspired the creation of the Heritage Foundation, the Manhattan Institute, the Cato Institute, Citizens for a Sound Economy, Accuracy in Academe, and other powerful organizations that began paying off handsomely in the 1980s? How is it that a previously ridiculed Milton Friedman's "free market-no tariff" capitalistic society, became the mantra for the Reagan Administration and future administrations? Who's responsible for the "hands-off business" philosophy that got us into this the unregulated debacle and corporate greed that have contributed to the bankrupting of our country?
Let me introduce you to former conservative corporate lawyer and supreme court justice . . . Louis Powell.
In 1971 Powell wrote a memorandum or a conservative manifesto if you will. In an extraordinary prefiguring of the social goals of business that would be felt over the next three decades, Powell set his main goal: Changing how individuals and society think about the corporation, the government, the law, the culture, and the individual became, and would remain, a major goal of business.
He had been a board member of Philip Morris between 1964 until his appointment in 1971, and had acted as a contact point for the tobacco industry with the Virginia Commonwealth University. Through his law firm, Hunton Williams Gay Powell & Gibson (later just Hunton & Williams) he represented the Tobacco Institute and the various tobacco companies in numerous law cases.
Though Powell's memo was not the sole influence, the conservatives and corporate activists took his advice to heart and began building a powerful array of institutions designed to shift public attitudes and beliefs over the course of years and decades.
Here are some of the highlights of Powells memorandum that outlined the steps necessary for corporate America and the conservative ideology to take precedence over individual rights, social safety nets, and progressive ideology :
1. Balancing of Faculties Perhaps the most fundamental problem is the imbalance of many faculties. Correcting this is indeed a long-range and difficult project. Yet, it should be undertaken as a part of an overall program. This would mean the urging of the need for faculty balance upon university administrators and boards of trustees. (Balancing, Mr. Powell? Isn't that a nice word for "quotas" something you despise about affirmative action)
2. A staff of scholars (or preferably a panel of independent scholars) should evaluate social science textbooks, especially in economics, political science and sociology. This should be a continuing program (This is why our students text books no longer include mentions of labor unions, political science and why Civics is no longer taught in our schools.)
3. The national television networks should be monitored in the same way that textbooks should be kept under constant surveillance. This applies not merely to so-called educational programs (such as "Selling of the Pentagon"), but to the daily "news analysis" which so often includes the most insidious type of criticism of the enterprise system. Whether this criticism results from hostility or economic ignorance, the result is the gradual erosion of confidence in "business" and free enterprise. (Really? I thought conservatives were against a "fairness doctrine" Oh I get it! You're only against it when the left wants it.)
4. Reaching the campus and the secondary schools is vital for the long-term. Reaching the public generally may be more important for the shorter term. The first essential is to establish the staffs of eminent scholars, writers and speakers, who will do the thinking, the analysis, the writing and the speaking. It will also be essential to have staff personnel who are thoroughly familiar with the media, and how most effectively to communicate with the public. (Rush, Hannity, and O'reily etc. etc ).
5. The news stands -- at airports, drugstores, and elsewhere -- are filled with paperbacks and pamphlets advocating everything from revolution to erotic free love. One finds almost no attractive, well-written paperbacks or pamphlets on "our side." (Now we see the flowing blond hair of Ann Coulter and handsome face of Joe Scarborough. )
At the time Powell wrote this memo, academia in America was decidedly more liberal. Once corporate America followed the steps laid out by Powell, politicians like Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton, and Bush 2, and our legislative branches began to dismantle all the things that allowed the middle class to prosper. And what's really sad is they did it with the majority of the middle class's blessing. Many many lower middle class folks vote for those politicians who consistently vote against their best interests, and for the interests of big business.
Example: Newspapers didn't used to have just business sections, they had labor sections as well. Few of us remember those days but it's true. Monopoly ownership of our media outlets put an end to that.
The same type of methodology has convinced a large number of Americans that private for profit health care insurance companies provide better coverage than would a single payer or a universal medi-care plan. Their media propaganda has convinced so many of us that we don't want a government bureaucrat to come between us and our doctor, all the while ignoring the fact that currently our insurance company comes between us and our doctors.
Back to Powell: Even though he and I are on opposite ends of the political and societal spectrum, I have to agree with his premise. All he left out of his blue print was the bribing of elected officials via lobbyist.
DaG Out
Let me introduce you to former conservative corporate lawyer and supreme court justice . . . Louis Powell.
In 1971 Powell wrote a memorandum or a conservative manifesto if you will. In an extraordinary prefiguring of the social goals of business that would be felt over the next three decades, Powell set his main goal: Changing how individuals and society think about the corporation, the government, the law, the culture, and the individual became, and would remain, a major goal of business.
He had been a board member of Philip Morris between 1964 until his appointment in 1971, and had acted as a contact point for the tobacco industry with the Virginia Commonwealth University. Through his law firm, Hunton Williams Gay Powell & Gibson (later just Hunton & Williams) he represented the Tobacco Institute and the various tobacco companies in numerous law cases.
Though Powell's memo was not the sole influence, the conservatives and corporate activists took his advice to heart and began building a powerful array of institutions designed to shift public attitudes and beliefs over the course of years and decades.
Here are some of the highlights of Powells memorandum that outlined the steps necessary for corporate America and the conservative ideology to take precedence over individual rights, social safety nets, and progressive ideology :
1. Balancing of Faculties Perhaps the most fundamental problem is the imbalance of many faculties. Correcting this is indeed a long-range and difficult project. Yet, it should be undertaken as a part of an overall program. This would mean the urging of the need for faculty balance upon university administrators and boards of trustees. (Balancing, Mr. Powell? Isn't that a nice word for "quotas" something you despise about affirmative action)
2. A staff of scholars (or preferably a panel of independent scholars) should evaluate social science textbooks, especially in economics, political science and sociology. This should be a continuing program (This is why our students text books no longer include mentions of labor unions, political science and why Civics is no longer taught in our schools.)
3. The national television networks should be monitored in the same way that textbooks should be kept under constant surveillance. This applies not merely to so-called educational programs (such as "Selling of the Pentagon"), but to the daily "news analysis" which so often includes the most insidious type of criticism of the enterprise system. Whether this criticism results from hostility or economic ignorance, the result is the gradual erosion of confidence in "business" and free enterprise. (Really? I thought conservatives were against a "fairness doctrine" Oh I get it! You're only against it when the left wants it.)
4. Reaching the campus and the secondary schools is vital for the long-term. Reaching the public generally may be more important for the shorter term. The first essential is to establish the staffs of eminent scholars, writers and speakers, who will do the thinking, the analysis, the writing and the speaking. It will also be essential to have staff personnel who are thoroughly familiar with the media, and how most effectively to communicate with the public. (Rush, Hannity, and O'reily etc. etc ).
5. The news stands -- at airports, drugstores, and elsewhere -- are filled with paperbacks and pamphlets advocating everything from revolution to erotic free love. One finds almost no attractive, well-written paperbacks or pamphlets on "our side." (Now we see the flowing blond hair of Ann Coulter and handsome face of Joe Scarborough. )
At the time Powell wrote this memo, academia in America was decidedly more liberal. Once corporate America followed the steps laid out by Powell, politicians like Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton, and Bush 2, and our legislative branches began to dismantle all the things that allowed the middle class to prosper. And what's really sad is they did it with the majority of the middle class's blessing. Many many lower middle class folks vote for those politicians who consistently vote against their best interests, and for the interests of big business.
Example: Newspapers didn't used to have just business sections, they had labor sections as well. Few of us remember those days but it's true. Monopoly ownership of our media outlets put an end to that.
The same type of methodology has convinced a large number of Americans that private for profit health care insurance companies provide better coverage than would a single payer or a universal medi-care plan. Their media propaganda has convinced so many of us that we don't want a government bureaucrat to come between us and our doctor, all the while ignoring the fact that currently our insurance company comes between us and our doctors.
Back to Powell: Even though he and I are on opposite ends of the political and societal spectrum, I have to agree with his premise. All he left out of his blue print was the bribing of elected officials via lobbyist.
DaG Out
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Bankruptcy Losses Make Hedge Fund Profits
By DAN STRUMPF and KIMBERLY S. JOHNSON, AP Auto Writers Dan Strumpf And Kimberly S. Johnson, Ap Auto Writers – 34 mins ago
NEW YORK – General Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday as part of the Obama administration's plan to shrink the automaker to a sustainable size and give a majority ownership stake to the federal government.
"Our agreement with the U.S. Treasury and the governments of Canada and Ontario will create a leaner, quicker more customer and completely product-focused company, one that's more cost competitive and has a competitive balance sheet," CEO Fritz Henderson said at a news conference in New York. "This new GM will be built from the strongest parts of our business, including our best brands and products."
The Detroit automaker said warranty coverage, service and customer support will continue uninterrupted, plants will continue to make cars and trucks, and employees and essential suppliers will continue to be paid. GMAC Financial Services said in a statement that it will continues to provide automotive financing to GM and Chrysler dealers and customers.
GM will follow a similar course taken by smaller rival Chrysler LLC, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in April. A judge gave Chrysler approval to sell most of its assets to Italy's Fiat, moving the U.S. automaker closer to a quick exit from court protection, possibly this week.
The plan is for the federal government to take a 60 percent ownership stake in the new GM. The Canadian government would take 12.5 percent, with the United Auto Workers getting a 17.5 percent share and unsecured bondholders receiving 10 percent. Existing GM shareholders are expected to be wiped out.
The Pontiac, Mich., and Wilmington, Del., assembly plants will close this year, while plants in Spring Hill, Tenn., and Orion, Mich., will shut down production but remain on standby. One of the idled plants will be retooled to build a small car that GM had originally planned to build in China.
The company plans to cut 21,000 employees, about 34 percent of its work force, and reduce the number of dealers by 2,600. (Any cuts in CEO's or their multi million dollar salaries? )
"There is still plenty of pain to go around, but I'm confident this is far better than the alternative," said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. "It's a new beginning, it's a rebirth, it's a new General Motors."
GM shares fell as low as 27 cents in Monday morning trading, their lowest price in the company's 100-year history, but rebounded to rise 13 cents from Friday's close to 88 cents in afternoon trading. The bankruptcy filing represents a dramatic downfall for GM, which was founded in 1908 by William C. Durant, who brought several car companies under one roof and developed a strategy of "a car for every purse and purpose." Longtime leader Alfred P. Sloan built the global automaker into a corporate icon.
When GM failed to do so by a March 31 deadline, Obama forced out CEO Rick Wagoner and replaced him with Henderson.
It was an all-out sprint to Monday's filing, as GM quickly sought to nail down deals with its union, bondholders and sell off brands and along with most of its Opel operations in Europe in an effort to appear in court with a near-complete plan to quickly emerge as a leaner company with a chance to become profitable.
In the U.S., the UAW's ratification of concessions, announced Friday, will save GM $1.3 billion per year. The new deal freezes wages, ends bonuses and eliminates some noncompetitive work rules.
It also moves billions in retiree health care costs off GM's books. In exchange for its ownership stake, (Great so retirees get worthless stock in lieu of healthcare. Seems like a fair trade.) Higher health care costs alone accounted for a $1,500-per-car cost gap between GM and Japanese vehicles. (National single payer health care would solve this problem. Hello!!!!)
GM will offer buyouts and early retirement packages to all of its 61,000 hourly workers as it plans to shrink overall employment. The company also has about 27,000 white collar employees. In contrast, GM employed 618,000 Americans in 1979, more than any other company.
But just cutting labor and overhead costs won't be enough to save the company. It also has been working to streamline its engineering and design, as well as standardize many parts so they can go into multiple models. (Taking money away from engineering and design? Are you kidding me? How can their priorities be so out of whack?)
So, what isn't getting any media coverage is the hedge funds and credit swap derivatives that helped push the auto companies into bankruptcy. The very same people like Goldman Sacks and other financial institutions bet against the auto companies solvency. If the government bailed out GM and Chrysler like they did so many Wall Street companies, Congressmen and their lobbyist clientele would have lost money. As it stands Wall Street hedge funds that our tax payer dollars subsidized, are going to clean up while the UAW takes it in the shorts, Joe six pack laborer loses his job and any stock they owned in the company is pretty much worthless.
Where's the outrage?! Where's the 60 minute expose'? Why aren't any of the media outlets covering this scam?! WTF?!
DaG Out
NEW YORK – General Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday as part of the Obama administration's plan to shrink the automaker to a sustainable size and give a majority ownership stake to the federal government.
"Our agreement with the U.S. Treasury and the governments of Canada and Ontario will create a leaner, quicker more customer and completely product-focused company, one that's more cost competitive and has a competitive balance sheet," CEO Fritz Henderson said at a news conference in New York. "This new GM will be built from the strongest parts of our business, including our best brands and products."
The Detroit automaker said warranty coverage, service and customer support will continue uninterrupted, plants will continue to make cars and trucks, and employees and essential suppliers will continue to be paid. GMAC Financial Services said in a statement that it will continues to provide automotive financing to GM and Chrysler dealers and customers.
GM will follow a similar course taken by smaller rival Chrysler LLC, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in April. A judge gave Chrysler approval to sell most of its assets to Italy's Fiat, moving the U.S. automaker closer to a quick exit from court protection, possibly this week.
The plan is for the federal government to take a 60 percent ownership stake in the new GM. The Canadian government would take 12.5 percent, with the United Auto Workers getting a 17.5 percent share and unsecured bondholders receiving 10 percent. Existing GM shareholders are expected to be wiped out.
The Pontiac, Mich., and Wilmington, Del., assembly plants will close this year, while plants in Spring Hill, Tenn., and Orion, Mich., will shut down production but remain on standby. One of the idled plants will be retooled to build a small car that GM had originally planned to build in China.
The company plans to cut 21,000 employees, about 34 percent of its work force, and reduce the number of dealers by 2,600. (Any cuts in CEO's or their multi million dollar salaries? )
"There is still plenty of pain to go around, but I'm confident this is far better than the alternative," said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich. "It's a new beginning, it's a rebirth, it's a new General Motors."
GM shares fell as low as 27 cents in Monday morning trading, their lowest price in the company's 100-year history, but rebounded to rise 13 cents from Friday's close to 88 cents in afternoon trading. The bankruptcy filing represents a dramatic downfall for GM, which was founded in 1908 by William C. Durant, who brought several car companies under one roof and developed a strategy of "a car for every purse and purpose." Longtime leader Alfred P. Sloan built the global automaker into a corporate icon.
When GM failed to do so by a March 31 deadline, Obama forced out CEO Rick Wagoner and replaced him with Henderson.
It was an all-out sprint to Monday's filing, as GM quickly sought to nail down deals with its union, bondholders and sell off brands and along with most of its Opel operations in Europe in an effort to appear in court with a near-complete plan to quickly emerge as a leaner company with a chance to become profitable.
In the U.S., the UAW's ratification of concessions, announced Friday, will save GM $1.3 billion per year. The new deal freezes wages, ends bonuses and eliminates some noncompetitive work rules.
It also moves billions in retiree health care costs off GM's books. In exchange for its ownership stake, (Great so retirees get worthless stock in lieu of healthcare. Seems like a fair trade.) Higher health care costs alone accounted for a $1,500-per-car cost gap between GM and Japanese vehicles. (National single payer health care would solve this problem. Hello!!!!)
GM will offer buyouts and early retirement packages to all of its 61,000 hourly workers as it plans to shrink overall employment. The company also has about 27,000 white collar employees. In contrast, GM employed 618,000 Americans in 1979, more than any other company.
But just cutting labor and overhead costs won't be enough to save the company. It also has been working to streamline its engineering and design, as well as standardize many parts so they can go into multiple models. (Taking money away from engineering and design? Are you kidding me? How can their priorities be so out of whack?)
So, what isn't getting any media coverage is the hedge funds and credit swap derivatives that helped push the auto companies into bankruptcy. The very same people like Goldman Sacks and other financial institutions bet against the auto companies solvency. If the government bailed out GM and Chrysler like they did so many Wall Street companies, Congressmen and their lobbyist clientele would have lost money. As it stands Wall Street hedge funds that our tax payer dollars subsidized, are going to clean up while the UAW takes it in the shorts, Joe six pack laborer loses his job and any stock they owned in the company is pretty much worthless.
Where's the outrage?! Where's the 60 minute expose'? Why aren't any of the media outlets covering this scam?! WTF?!
DaG Out
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