Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Iraq:
Raw Story: Pentagon can’t account for $8.7 billion in Iraqi funds
"US audit finds weakness in Pentagon controls for Iraq funds; $8.7 billion missing.
The U.S. Defense Department is unable to properly account for over 95 percent of $9.1 billion in Iraqi oil money tapped by the U.S. for rebuilding the war ravaged nation, according to an audit released Tuesday.
The report by the U.S. Special Investigator for Iraq Reconstruction offers a compelling look at continued laxness in how such funds are being spent in a country where people complain basic services like electricity and clean water are sharply lacking seven years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein..."
Afghanistan & WikiLeaks:
It is notable that the Pentagon is primarily interested in investigating the leak, rather than the illegal killings documented in the leaked material.
Economics:
'Stop, or I'll look at you akcance again!' I'm sure these 'shamed' Bankers are rolling in laughter...
Daniel Wagner: White House pay czar won’t go after $1.6B in bank executive pay, says shame is penalty enough
"For all his tough talk about excessive pay for bankers, the Obama administration’s pay czar let the executives go without a fight.
Kenneth Feinberg announced Friday that he would not try to recoup $1.6 billion in compensation given to top executives at bailed-out banks because he thought shaming them was punishment enough.
His decision to go easy on 17 banks that made 'ill-advised' payments to their executives is likely to fuel concerns about how he will oversee the $20 billion oil spill compensation fund created by BP.
'I’m not suggesting we should blink or turn the other cheek,' Feinberg said later in an interview with The Associated Press. 'These 17 companies were singled out for obviously bad behavior. The question is: At what point are you piling on and going beyond what is warranted?'
He could not force the banks to repay the money, but the law instructed him to negotiate with banks to return money if he determined that the pay packages were 'contrary to the public interest' — language that he opted not to use..."
BusinessInsider: 22 Statistics That Prove The Middle Class Is Being Systematically Wiped Out Of Existence In America
"01 ) 83% of all U.S. stocks are in the hands of 1% of the people.
02 ) 61% of Americans 'always or usually' live paycheck to paycheck, which was up from 49% in 2008 and 43% in 2007.
03 ) 66% of the income growth between 2001 and 2007 went to the top 1% of all Americans.
04 ) 36% of Americans say that they don't contribute anything to retirement savings.
05 ) A staggering 43% of Americans have less than $10,000 saved up for retirement.
06 ) 24% of American workers say that they have postponed their planned retirement age in the past year.
07 ) Over 1.4 million Americans filed for personal bankruptcy in 2009, which represented a 32% increase over 2008.
08 ) Only the top 5% of U.S. households have earned enough additional income to match the rise in housing costs since 1975.
09 ) For the first time in U.S. history, banks own a greater share of residential housing net worth in the United States than all individual Americans put together.
10 ) In 1950, the ratio of the average executive's paycheck to the average worker's paycheck was about 30 to 1. Since the year 2000, that ratio has exploded to between 300 to 500 to 1.
11 ) As of 2007, the bottom 80% of American households held about 7% of the liquid financial assets.
12 ) The bottom 50% of income earners in the United States now collectively own less than 1% of the nation’s wealth.
13 ) Average Wall Street bonuses for 2009 were up 17% when compared with 2008.
14 ) In the United States, the average federal worker now earns 60% MORE than the average worker in the private sector.
15 ) The top 1% of U.S. households own nearly twice as much of America's corporate wealth as they did just 15 years ago.
16 ) In America today, the average time needed to find a job has risen to a record 35.2 weeks.
17 ) More than 40% of Americans who actually are employed are now working in service jobs, which are often very low paying.
18 ) For the first time in U.S. history, more than 40 million Americans are on food stamps, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that number will go up to 43 million Americans in 2011.
19 ) This is what American workers now must compete against: in China a garment worker makes approximately 86 cents an hour and in Cambodia a garment worker makes approximately 22 cents an hour.
20 ) Despite the financial crisis, the number of millionaires in the United States rose a whopping 16% to 7.8 million in 2009.
21 ) Approximately 21% of all children in the United States are living below the poverty line in 2010 - the highest rate in 20 years.
22 ) The top 10% of Americans now earn around 50% of our national income."
Raw Story: Pentagon can’t account for $8.7 billion in Iraqi funds
"US audit finds weakness in Pentagon controls for Iraq funds; $8.7 billion missing.
The U.S. Defense Department is unable to properly account for over 95 percent of $9.1 billion in Iraqi oil money tapped by the U.S. for rebuilding the war ravaged nation, according to an audit released Tuesday.
The report by the U.S. Special Investigator for Iraq Reconstruction offers a compelling look at continued laxness in how such funds are being spent in a country where people complain basic services like electricity and clean water are sharply lacking seven years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein..."
Afghanistan & WikiLeaks:
It is notable that the Pentagon is primarily interested in investigating the leak, rather than the illegal killings documented in the leaked material.
Economics:
'Stop, or I'll look at you akcance again!' I'm sure these 'shamed' Bankers are rolling in laughter...
Daniel Wagner: White House pay czar won’t go after $1.6B in bank executive pay, says shame is penalty enough
"For all his tough talk about excessive pay for bankers, the Obama administration’s pay czar let the executives go without a fight.
Kenneth Feinberg announced Friday that he would not try to recoup $1.6 billion in compensation given to top executives at bailed-out banks because he thought shaming them was punishment enough.
His decision to go easy on 17 banks that made 'ill-advised' payments to their executives is likely to fuel concerns about how he will oversee the $20 billion oil spill compensation fund created by BP.
'I’m not suggesting we should blink or turn the other cheek,' Feinberg said later in an interview with The Associated Press. 'These 17 companies were singled out for obviously bad behavior. The question is: At what point are you piling on and going beyond what is warranted?'
He could not force the banks to repay the money, but the law instructed him to negotiate with banks to return money if he determined that the pay packages were 'contrary to the public interest' — language that he opted not to use..."
BusinessInsider: 22 Statistics That Prove The Middle Class Is Being Systematically Wiped Out Of Existence In America
"01 ) 83% of all U.S. stocks are in the hands of 1% of the people.
02 ) 61% of Americans 'always or usually' live paycheck to paycheck, which was up from 49% in 2008 and 43% in 2007.
03 ) 66% of the income growth between 2001 and 2007 went to the top 1% of all Americans.
04 ) 36% of Americans say that they don't contribute anything to retirement savings.
05 ) A staggering 43% of Americans have less than $10,000 saved up for retirement.
06 ) 24% of American workers say that they have postponed their planned retirement age in the past year.
07 ) Over 1.4 million Americans filed for personal bankruptcy in 2009, which represented a 32% increase over 2008.
08 ) Only the top 5% of U.S. households have earned enough additional income to match the rise in housing costs since 1975.
09 ) For the first time in U.S. history, banks own a greater share of residential housing net worth in the United States than all individual Americans put together.
10 ) In 1950, the ratio of the average executive's paycheck to the average worker's paycheck was about 30 to 1. Since the year 2000, that ratio has exploded to between 300 to 500 to 1.
11 ) As of 2007, the bottom 80% of American households held about 7% of the liquid financial assets.
12 ) The bottom 50% of income earners in the United States now collectively own less than 1% of the nation’s wealth.
13 ) Average Wall Street bonuses for 2009 were up 17% when compared with 2008.
14 ) In the United States, the average federal worker now earns 60% MORE than the average worker in the private sector.
15 ) The top 1% of U.S. households own nearly twice as much of America's corporate wealth as they did just 15 years ago.
16 ) In America today, the average time needed to find a job has risen to a record 35.2 weeks.
17 ) More than 40% of Americans who actually are employed are now working in service jobs, which are often very low paying.
18 ) For the first time in U.S. history, more than 40 million Americans are on food stamps, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that number will go up to 43 million Americans in 2011.
19 ) This is what American workers now must compete against: in China a garment worker makes approximately 86 cents an hour and in Cambodia a garment worker makes approximately 22 cents an hour.
20 ) Despite the financial crisis, the number of millionaires in the United States rose a whopping 16% to 7.8 million in 2009.
21 ) Approximately 21% of all children in the United States are living below the poverty line in 2010 - the highest rate in 20 years.
22 ) The top 10% of Americans now earn around 50% of our national income."
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Energy Demand vs The Environment:
There was a story on the local news in Denver about Wyoming residents, whose water wells are close to gas rigs, being able to ignite their tap water. Not good.
Tom Zeller, Jr.: E.P.A. Weighs Risks of Hydraulic Fracturing for Natural Gas
"The streams of people came to the public meeting here armed with stories of yellowed and foul-smelling well water, deformed livestock, poisoned fish and itchy skin. One resident invoked the 1968 zombie thriller 'Night of the Living Dead,' which, as it happens, was filmed just an hour away from this southwestern corner of Pennsylvania.
The culprit, these people argued, was hydraulic fracturing, a method of extracting natural gas that involves blasting underground rock with a cocktail of water, sand and chemicals.
Gas companies countered that the horror stories described in Pennsylvania and at other meetings held recently in Texas and Colorado are either fictions or not the companies’ fault. More regulation, the industry warned, would kill jobs and stifle production of gas, which the companies consider a clean-burning fuel the nation desperately needs.
Just as the Gulf of Mexico is the battleground for the future of offshore oil drilling, Pennsylvania is at the center of the battle over hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which promises to open up huge swaths of land for natural gas extraction, but whose environmental risks are still uncertain..."
Raw Story: BP trying to legally ‘contaminate’ Gulf scientists: report
"A BP plan to hire Gulf scientists could mean that there are fewer experts to testify against them when the oil spill case goes to trial.
The University of South Alabama turned down a BP offer to hire the entire marine science department after they obtained a copy of the contracts. Mobile's Press-Register reports:
'The Press-Register obtained a copy of a contract offered to scientists by BP. It prohibits the scientists from publishing their research, sharing it with other scientists, or speaking about the data that they collect for at least the next three years.'
BP plans to fight a lawsuit to be filed by the Natural Resources Damage Assessment, according to Press-Register's Ben Raines. Putting Gulf scientists on the payroll could mean there are less experts to testify against them.
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow compares the tactic to an episode of The Sopranos where Tony Soprano consults with top lawyers so his wife isn't able to hire them in a divorce case..."
There was a story on the local news in Denver about Wyoming residents, whose water wells are close to gas rigs, being able to ignite their tap water. Not good.
Tom Zeller, Jr.: E.P.A. Weighs Risks of Hydraulic Fracturing for Natural Gas
"The streams of people came to the public meeting here armed with stories of yellowed and foul-smelling well water, deformed livestock, poisoned fish and itchy skin. One resident invoked the 1968 zombie thriller 'Night of the Living Dead,' which, as it happens, was filmed just an hour away from this southwestern corner of Pennsylvania.
The culprit, these people argued, was hydraulic fracturing, a method of extracting natural gas that involves blasting underground rock with a cocktail of water, sand and chemicals.
Gas companies countered that the horror stories described in Pennsylvania and at other meetings held recently in Texas and Colorado are either fictions or not the companies’ fault. More regulation, the industry warned, would kill jobs and stifle production of gas, which the companies consider a clean-burning fuel the nation desperately needs.
Just as the Gulf of Mexico is the battleground for the future of offshore oil drilling, Pennsylvania is at the center of the battle over hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which promises to open up huge swaths of land for natural gas extraction, but whose environmental risks are still uncertain..."
Raw Story: BP trying to legally ‘contaminate’ Gulf scientists: report
"A BP plan to hire Gulf scientists could mean that there are fewer experts to testify against them when the oil spill case goes to trial.
The University of South Alabama turned down a BP offer to hire the entire marine science department after they obtained a copy of the contracts. Mobile's Press-Register reports:
'The Press-Register obtained a copy of a contract offered to scientists by BP. It prohibits the scientists from publishing their research, sharing it with other scientists, or speaking about the data that they collect for at least the next three years.'
BP plans to fight a lawsuit to be filed by the Natural Resources Damage Assessment, according to Press-Register's Ben Raines. Putting Gulf scientists on the payroll could mean there are less experts to testify against them.
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow compares the tactic to an episode of The Sopranos where Tony Soprano consults with top lawyers so his wife isn't able to hire them in a divorce case..."
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
The Gulf Oil Gyser Disaster:
Brian J. Donovan: BP’s Strategy to Limit Liability in Regard to Its Gulf Oil Gusher
"...BP’s strategy to limit liability in regard to its Gulf oil gusher will succeed for the following reasons: (a) BP’s excessive and unprecedented use of toxic dispersants both on the surface and a mile underwater ensures that the oil either sinks or remains suspended in deep water rather than floating to the surface and collecting in a continuous slick; (b) BP’s misleading numbers game ensures the continued widespread confusion about the extent of the spill and the progress of the recovery: (c) BP’s systematic and intentional collection of as little of the oil as possible from the waters of the Gulf of Mexico; (d) the practice by BP and its contractors, with the apparent support of local police in the region, to kept media away from photographing and reporting on oiled beaches and wildlife; and (e) the fact that the federal government fully supports BP’s strategy.
The Obama administration has shown no indication that it intends to hold BP accountable under either OPA 90 or CWA: (1) pursuant to OPA Section 4201, and given that the BP oil spill is a “discharge posing substantial threat to public health or welfare,” President Obama should have federalized the collection of the oil that is in the sea and the restoration of the coastal areas impacted by the oil. Both of these activities could be done without having to federalize the operational priority of stopping the flow of oil from the well; (2) under the CWA, BP faces fines of up to $4,300 for each barrel spilled; and (3) pursuant to Section 2702 of OPA 90, BP should be required to pay royalties (18.75%) owed to the federal government for the oil gushing from the well.
BP is not concerned about the truth; the oil company is concerned about ensuring the complete destruction of the proof. Once the leak is plugged and the oil is dispersed throughout the oceans of the world, who’s to say for certain whether BP’s oil well blowout gushed an average of 1,000 or 100,000 bbl/day of oil?"
When oil exploration companies are 'done' with an underwater well...
The Guardian (UK) - Abandoned oil wells make Gulf of Mexico 'environmental minefield'
"The Gulf of Mexico is packed with abandoned oil wells from a host of companies including BP, according to an investigation by Associated Press, which describes the area as 'an environmental minefield that has been ignored for decades'.
While the explosion and subsequent sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig has thrown the spotlight sharply on BP's activities in the Gulf of Mexico, environmental safety in the area has been neglected for decades.
There are more than 27,000 abandoned wells in the Gulf of Mexico, according to AP, of which 600 belonged to BP.
The oldest of these abandoned wells dates back to the late 1940s and the investigation highlights concerns about the way in which some of them have been plugged, especially the 3,500 neglected wells that are catalogued by the government as 'temporarily abandoned'. The rules for shutting off temporarily closed wells are not as strict as for completely abandoned wells..."
Climate Change:
This is the same episode that the main-stream, corporate media used to deligitimate any further discussion of how human activity plays a role in rising sea levels.
No wonder these findings will remain burried...
The Guardian (UK) - 'Climategate' review clears scientists of dishonesty over data
"The climate scientists at the centre of a media storm were today cleared of accusations that they fudged their results and silenced critics to bolster the case for man-made global warming.
Sir Muir Russell, the senior civil servant who led a six-month inquiry into the affair, said the "rigour and honesty" of the scientists at the world-leading Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia (UEA) are not in doubt. They did not subvert the peer review process to censor criticism as alleged, the panel found, while key data needed to reproduce their findings was freely available to any 'competent' researcher.
The panel did criticise the scientists for not being open enough about their work, and said they were 'unhelpful and defensive' when responding to legitimate requests made under freedom of information (FOI) laws.
The row was sparked when 13 years of emails from CRU scientists were hacked and released online last year. Climate change sceptics claimed they showed scientists manipulating and suppressing data to back up a theory of man-made climate change. Critics also alleged that the scientists abused their positions to cover up flaws and distort the peer review process that determines which studies are published in journals, and so enter the scientific record. Some alleged that the emails cast doubt on the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Announcing the findings, Russell said: 'Ultimately this has to be about what they did, not what they said,'..."
On Taxes And Helping Those Who Actually Need It:
The Senator's position sounds positively sociopathic.
Raw Story: Sen. Kyl: $678-billion tax break for rich should not be offset
"Sen. Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, believes that any extension to unemployment benefits 'ought to be paid for.' But when it comes to the $678-billion cost of extending the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy, the senator says no offsetting is necessary.
In an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace Sunday, Kyl argued that Congress and the Obama administration should extend the tax cuts enacted by President George W. Bush during his first term.
Extending the entire package of tax cuts would cost the US $2.2 trillion over the next 10 years. The Obama administration has argued in favor of allowing to expire at least the part of the tax cuts that applies to people earning over $250,000 a year. That portion is estimated to cost $678 billion over 10 years..."
The Fraud Of The Banksters:
Either their auditors are utterly incompetent, or a party to this fraudulent activity. Unintentional, my foot...
Wall St. Journal: BofA Says It Incorrectly Hid Debt - WSJ.com
"Bank of America Corp. admitted to making six transactions that incorrectly hid from view billions of dollars of debt, following a bid to cut the size of a unit's balance sheet and meet internal financial targets.
The disclosure, made in a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, comes as the agency prepares to unveil the results of an inquiry into banks' accounting for borrowing deals known as repurchase agreements, or 'repos.'
BofA's letter was sent in April in response to the inquiry, but this is the first time the details of the six trades in question have been disclosed. The bank had acknowledged in its last quarterly report that its accounting for the transactions, made at the ends of quarters from 2007 to 2009, was incorrect.
The bank's disclosure also suggests the trades may be an example of end-of-quarter 'window dressing' on Wall Street, in which banks temporarily shed debt just before reporting their finances to the public. The practice, which The Wall Street Journal has uncovered in a series of articles, suggests the banks are carrying more risk most of the time than their investors or customers can easily see, and then juggling it during quarter-end reporting of financials.
Window dressing isn't illegal in itself. But intentionally masking debt to deceive investors violates regulatory guidelines. BofA said its incorrect accounting wasn't intentional.
Apart from requiring more disclosure about the bank's repo accounting, the SEC hasn't taken any action against BofA over the matter. The fact that the letter was released suggests the SEC has concluded its review..."
Brian J. Donovan: BP’s Strategy to Limit Liability in Regard to Its Gulf Oil Gusher
"...BP’s strategy to limit liability in regard to its Gulf oil gusher will succeed for the following reasons: (a) BP’s excessive and unprecedented use of toxic dispersants both on the surface and a mile underwater ensures that the oil either sinks or remains suspended in deep water rather than floating to the surface and collecting in a continuous slick; (b) BP’s misleading numbers game ensures the continued widespread confusion about the extent of the spill and the progress of the recovery: (c) BP’s systematic and intentional collection of as little of the oil as possible from the waters of the Gulf of Mexico; (d) the practice by BP and its contractors, with the apparent support of local police in the region, to kept media away from photographing and reporting on oiled beaches and wildlife; and (e) the fact that the federal government fully supports BP’s strategy.
The Obama administration has shown no indication that it intends to hold BP accountable under either OPA 90 or CWA: (1) pursuant to OPA Section 4201, and given that the BP oil spill is a “discharge posing substantial threat to public health or welfare,” President Obama should have federalized the collection of the oil that is in the sea and the restoration of the coastal areas impacted by the oil. Both of these activities could be done without having to federalize the operational priority of stopping the flow of oil from the well; (2) under the CWA, BP faces fines of up to $4,300 for each barrel spilled; and (3) pursuant to Section 2702 of OPA 90, BP should be required to pay royalties (18.75%) owed to the federal government for the oil gushing from the well.
BP is not concerned about the truth; the oil company is concerned about ensuring the complete destruction of the proof. Once the leak is plugged and the oil is dispersed throughout the oceans of the world, who’s to say for certain whether BP’s oil well blowout gushed an average of 1,000 or 100,000 bbl/day of oil?"
When oil exploration companies are 'done' with an underwater well...
The Guardian (UK) - Abandoned oil wells make Gulf of Mexico 'environmental minefield'
"The Gulf of Mexico is packed with abandoned oil wells from a host of companies including BP, according to an investigation by Associated Press, which describes the area as 'an environmental minefield that has been ignored for decades'.
While the explosion and subsequent sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig has thrown the spotlight sharply on BP's activities in the Gulf of Mexico, environmental safety in the area has been neglected for decades.
There are more than 27,000 abandoned wells in the Gulf of Mexico, according to AP, of which 600 belonged to BP.
The oldest of these abandoned wells dates back to the late 1940s and the investigation highlights concerns about the way in which some of them have been plugged, especially the 3,500 neglected wells that are catalogued by the government as 'temporarily abandoned'. The rules for shutting off temporarily closed wells are not as strict as for completely abandoned wells..."
Climate Change:
This is the same episode that the main-stream, corporate media used to deligitimate any further discussion of how human activity plays a role in rising sea levels.
No wonder these findings will remain burried...
The Guardian (UK) - 'Climategate' review clears scientists of dishonesty over data
"The climate scientists at the centre of a media storm were today cleared of accusations that they fudged their results and silenced critics to bolster the case for man-made global warming.
Sir Muir Russell, the senior civil servant who led a six-month inquiry into the affair, said the "rigour and honesty" of the scientists at the world-leading Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia (UEA) are not in doubt. They did not subvert the peer review process to censor criticism as alleged, the panel found, while key data needed to reproduce their findings was freely available to any 'competent' researcher.
The panel did criticise the scientists for not being open enough about their work, and said they were 'unhelpful and defensive' when responding to legitimate requests made under freedom of information (FOI) laws.
The row was sparked when 13 years of emails from CRU scientists were hacked and released online last year. Climate change sceptics claimed they showed scientists manipulating and suppressing data to back up a theory of man-made climate change. Critics also alleged that the scientists abused their positions to cover up flaws and distort the peer review process that determines which studies are published in journals, and so enter the scientific record. Some alleged that the emails cast doubt on the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Announcing the findings, Russell said: 'Ultimately this has to be about what they did, not what they said,'..."
On Taxes And Helping Those Who Actually Need It:
The Senator's position sounds positively sociopathic.
Raw Story: Sen. Kyl: $678-billion tax break for rich should not be offset
"Sen. Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, believes that any extension to unemployment benefits 'ought to be paid for.' But when it comes to the $678-billion cost of extending the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy, the senator says no offsetting is necessary.
In an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace Sunday, Kyl argued that Congress and the Obama administration should extend the tax cuts enacted by President George W. Bush during his first term.
Extending the entire package of tax cuts would cost the US $2.2 trillion over the next 10 years. The Obama administration has argued in favor of allowing to expire at least the part of the tax cuts that applies to people earning over $250,000 a year. That portion is estimated to cost $678 billion over 10 years..."
The Fraud Of The Banksters:
Either their auditors are utterly incompetent, or a party to this fraudulent activity. Unintentional, my foot...
Wall St. Journal: BofA Says It Incorrectly Hid Debt - WSJ.com
"Bank of America Corp. admitted to making six transactions that incorrectly hid from view billions of dollars of debt, following a bid to cut the size of a unit's balance sheet and meet internal financial targets.
The disclosure, made in a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, comes as the agency prepares to unveil the results of an inquiry into banks' accounting for borrowing deals known as repurchase agreements, or 'repos.'
BofA's letter was sent in April in response to the inquiry, but this is the first time the details of the six trades in question have been disclosed. The bank had acknowledged in its last quarterly report that its accounting for the transactions, made at the ends of quarters from 2007 to 2009, was incorrect.
The bank's disclosure also suggests the trades may be an example of end-of-quarter 'window dressing' on Wall Street, in which banks temporarily shed debt just before reporting their finances to the public. The practice, which The Wall Street Journal has uncovered in a series of articles, suggests the banks are carrying more risk most of the time than their investors or customers can easily see, and then juggling it during quarter-end reporting of financials.
Window dressing isn't illegal in itself. But intentionally masking debt to deceive investors violates regulatory guidelines. BofA said its incorrect accounting wasn't intentional.
Apart from requiring more disclosure about the bank's repo accounting, the SEC hasn't taken any action against BofA over the matter. The fact that the letter was released suggests the SEC has concluded its review..."
Monday, July 05, 2010
Econnomics:
Steven Hill: Europe's Answer to Wall Street
"...The corporation, even with all its considerable warts, is the greatest wealth generator that humans have ever created, but its success raises the questions: Who gets to control that wealth? Whose pockets should the wealth flow into?
To answer those questions, Europe, led by Germany, has evolved over several decades one of its greatest contributions to the global economy. Practices unfamiliar to Americans, such as co-determination, supervisory boards and works councils, have been crucial in helping to harness capitalism's tremendous wealth-creating capacity so that its prosperity is broadly shared.
Co-determination has several features, one of which allows workers to elect representatives to corporate boards of directors known as supervisory boards. Supervisory boards then oversee company managers, who handle day-to-day operations. In Germany, the world's second-largest exporter and fourth-largest national economy, fully half of the boards of directors of the largest corporations--Siemens, BMW, Daimler, Deutsche Telekom and others--are elected by workers. In Sweden, one-third of a company's directors are worker-elected. To understand the significance of this, imagine if Wal-Mart were legally required to allow its workers to elect a third to half of its board, who would then oversee the CEO. Imagine how much that would change Wal-Mart's behavior toward its workers and supply chain. It's hard for Americans even to conceive of such a notion; indeed, when I ask Americans at my lectures how many of them have heard of worker-elected supervisory boards, usually no hands go up. Yet most European nations employ some version of this as a regular feature of their economy..."
Steven Hill: Europe's Answer to Wall Street
"...The corporation, even with all its considerable warts, is the greatest wealth generator that humans have ever created, but its success raises the questions: Who gets to control that wealth? Whose pockets should the wealth flow into?
To answer those questions, Europe, led by Germany, has evolved over several decades one of its greatest contributions to the global economy. Practices unfamiliar to Americans, such as co-determination, supervisory boards and works councils, have been crucial in helping to harness capitalism's tremendous wealth-creating capacity so that its prosperity is broadly shared.
Co-determination has several features, one of which allows workers to elect representatives to corporate boards of directors known as supervisory boards. Supervisory boards then oversee company managers, who handle day-to-day operations. In Germany, the world's second-largest exporter and fourth-largest national economy, fully half of the boards of directors of the largest corporations--Siemens, BMW, Daimler, Deutsche Telekom and others--are elected by workers. In Sweden, one-third of a company's directors are worker-elected. To understand the significance of this, imagine if Wal-Mart were legally required to allow its workers to elect a third to half of its board, who would then oversee the CEO. Imagine how much that would change Wal-Mart's behavior toward its workers and supply chain. It's hard for Americans even to conceive of such a notion; indeed, when I ask Americans at my lectures how many of them have heard of worker-elected supervisory boards, usually no hands go up. Yet most European nations employ some version of this as a regular feature of their economy..."
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Sorry Folks, All We Have Money For Is War:
William Greider: Whacking the Old Folks
"In setting up his National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, Barack Obama is again playing coy in public, but his intentions are widely understood among Washington insiders. The president intends to offer Social Security as a sacrificial lamb to entice conservative deficit hawks into a grand bipartisan compromise in which Democrats agree to cut Social Security benefits for future retirees while Republicans accede to significant tax increases to reduce government red ink.
Obama's commission is the vehicle created to achieve this deal. He ducks questions about his preferences, saying only that 'everything has to be on the table.' But White House lieutenants are privately talking up a bargain along those lines. They are telling anxious liberals to trust the president to make only moderate cuts. Better to have Democrats cut Social Security, Obama advisers say, than leave the task to bloodthirsty Republicans.
The president has stacked the deck to encourage this strategy. The eighteen-member commission is top-heavy with fiscal conservatives and hostile right-wingers who yearn to dismantle the retirement program. The Republican co-chair, former Senator Alan Simpson, is especially nasty; he likes to get laughs by ridiculing wheezy old folks. Democratic co-chair Erskine Bowles and staff director Bruce Reed secretly negotiated a partial privatization of Social Security with Newt Gingrich back when they served in the Clinton White House, but the deal blew up with Clinton's sex scandal. Monica Lewinsky saved the system...
...targeting Social Security is a smokescreen designed to reassure foreign creditors and avoid confronting the true sources of US indebtedness. The politicians might instead address the cost of fighting two wars on borrowed money or the tax cuts for the rich and corporations or the deregulation that led to the recent financial catastrophe and destroyed vast wealth. But those and other sources of deficits involve very powerful interests. Instead of taking them on, the thinking in Washington goes, let's whack the old folks while they're not watching..."
Afghanistan:
...and the war is not going well. Polk lays out compelling argument that no General wants to hear: there IS NO military solution. The sooner we realize this, the less treasure and lives we'll continue to waste.
William R. Polk: Legitimation Crisis in Afghanistan
Debunking Reaganomics:
With facts about who benefitted: Corporate America.
Proof: Trickle Down Didn't Help, It Harmed 90% of Americans
Factory Farm Food:
Economies of scale have been applied irresponsibly by the mass meat producers, to the clear deterement of society. When will it bother enough people that the corporate bottom line IS more important than public health?
Mary Clare Jalonick: FDA Says Antibiotics In Meat A 'Serious Public Health Threat'
"The Food and Drug Administration is urging meat producers to limit the amount of antibiotics they give animals in response to public health concerns about the drugs.
The FDA said antibiotics in meat pose a 'serious public health threat' because the drugs create antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can infect humans who eat it. The agency is recommending that producers use the drugs judiciously, limiting their use unless they are medically necessary and only using them with the oversight of a veterinarian.
'Developing strategies for reducing (antibiotic) resistance is critically important for protecting both public and animal health,' the agency said in draft guidelines printed in the Federal Register on Monday.
The agency said misuse and overuse of the drugs has led to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria..."
The Fourth Estate:
Clearly, Lara Logan, CBS's chief foreign correspondent has a distorted understanding of the role of the press in order to make the comments she did about Michael Hastings' article on Gen. McCrystal. Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi gets it right when he charges "...Most of these reporters just want to be inside the ropeline so badly, they want to be able to say they had that beer with Hillary Clinton in a bowling alley in Scranton or whatever, that it colors their whole worldview. God forbid some important person think you're not playing for the right team!..."
William Greider: Whacking the Old Folks
"In setting up his National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, Barack Obama is again playing coy in public, but his intentions are widely understood among Washington insiders. The president intends to offer Social Security as a sacrificial lamb to entice conservative deficit hawks into a grand bipartisan compromise in which Democrats agree to cut Social Security benefits for future retirees while Republicans accede to significant tax increases to reduce government red ink.
Obama's commission is the vehicle created to achieve this deal. He ducks questions about his preferences, saying only that 'everything has to be on the table.' But White House lieutenants are privately talking up a bargain along those lines. They are telling anxious liberals to trust the president to make only moderate cuts. Better to have Democrats cut Social Security, Obama advisers say, than leave the task to bloodthirsty Republicans.
The president has stacked the deck to encourage this strategy. The eighteen-member commission is top-heavy with fiscal conservatives and hostile right-wingers who yearn to dismantle the retirement program. The Republican co-chair, former Senator Alan Simpson, is especially nasty; he likes to get laughs by ridiculing wheezy old folks. Democratic co-chair Erskine Bowles and staff director Bruce Reed secretly negotiated a partial privatization of Social Security with Newt Gingrich back when they served in the Clinton White House, but the deal blew up with Clinton's sex scandal. Monica Lewinsky saved the system...
...targeting Social Security is a smokescreen designed to reassure foreign creditors and avoid confronting the true sources of US indebtedness. The politicians might instead address the cost of fighting two wars on borrowed money or the tax cuts for the rich and corporations or the deregulation that led to the recent financial catastrophe and destroyed vast wealth. But those and other sources of deficits involve very powerful interests. Instead of taking them on, the thinking in Washington goes, let's whack the old folks while they're not watching..."
Afghanistan:
...and the war is not going well. Polk lays out compelling argument that no General wants to hear: there IS NO military solution. The sooner we realize this, the less treasure and lives we'll continue to waste.
William R. Polk: Legitimation Crisis in Afghanistan
Debunking Reaganomics:
With facts about who benefitted: Corporate America.
Proof: Trickle Down Didn't Help, It Harmed 90% of Americans
Factory Farm Food:
Economies of scale have been applied irresponsibly by the mass meat producers, to the clear deterement of society. When will it bother enough people that the corporate bottom line IS more important than public health?
Mary Clare Jalonick: FDA Says Antibiotics In Meat A 'Serious Public Health Threat'
"The Food and Drug Administration is urging meat producers to limit the amount of antibiotics they give animals in response to public health concerns about the drugs.
The FDA said antibiotics in meat pose a 'serious public health threat' because the drugs create antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can infect humans who eat it. The agency is recommending that producers use the drugs judiciously, limiting their use unless they are medically necessary and only using them with the oversight of a veterinarian.
'Developing strategies for reducing (antibiotic) resistance is critically important for protecting both public and animal health,' the agency said in draft guidelines printed in the Federal Register on Monday.
The agency said misuse and overuse of the drugs has led to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria..."
The Fourth Estate:
Clearly, Lara Logan, CBS's chief foreign correspondent has a distorted understanding of the role of the press in order to make the comments she did about Michael Hastings' article on Gen. McCrystal. Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi gets it right when he charges "...Most of these reporters just want to be inside the ropeline so badly, they want to be able to say they had that beer with Hillary Clinton in a bowling alley in Scranton or whatever, that it colors their whole worldview. God forbid some important person think you're not playing for the right team!..."
