Brazil Weekly, February 28th

POLITICS

Mercosur, South America’s co-operative trade organization, and the EU could forge an historic trade alliance as early as May of this year according to some sources. However there remains a key issue confronting the two parties: agricultural subsidies that the developed world pays to domestic producers, inhibiting the ability of other nations to compete in an open market (Rio Times).

ECONOMY

Brazil’s central bank is prepared to take unpopular measures to maintain stability in the financial system, the bank’s president Henrique Meirelles said, further preparing the ground for a rate hike (Reuters).

President Lula said his government will expand a project to build low- income homes for workers, bringing the total number of new homes planned to 2 million, up from an original target of 1 million (Bloomberg).

Brazil may create a company to oversee boosting fertilizer production as it seeks to become self-sufficient in potash, phosphate and nitrogen-based raw materials by 2020 (Bloomberg).

Further evidence that the Brazilian economy is continuing on an upward trajectory was provided recently with the release by independent consultants Brand Finance of its list of “The 500 Most Valuable Brand Names in the World.” In 2009 there were only six Brazilian brands appearing on this list, this year it has already jumped up to an impressive fifteen (Rio Times).

BUSINESS

Brazil’s No. 3 steelmaker CSN aims to increase sales in 2010 by one third to 5.5 million tonnes, up from last year’s 4.1 million tonnes (Reuters).

Brazil’s largest poultry exporter, Brazil Foods  said export sales revenues plummeted in 2009 and it expects recovery to be slow (Reuters).

BANKING & FINANCE

JPMorgan Chase & Co, the second largest U.S. lender by assets, is in talks to buy a stake in Brazilian hedge fund and private equity firm Gavea (Reuters).

Banco do Brasil, Latin America’s largest lender, said it is exploring ways to raise capital including a possible share sale (Reuters).

OIL

Petrobras said it had made two separate discoveries of oil in the Campos Basin near Brazil’s coast with recoverable reserves of 40 million and 25 million barrels (Reuters).

A bill being debated gives Petrobras rights to 5 billion barrels of oil in exchange for giving the government new stock as part of a broader share offering estimated at as much as $50 billion by Credit Suisse (Bloomberg).

TRAVEL

Hol, Brazil’s second-largest airline, forecast domestic demand will increase as much as 18 percent this year as economic growth accelerates (Bloomberg).

REAL ESTATE

Brazil may be on the cusp of a much-discussed real estate boom, but in one corner of Zona Sul where the price per square meter is higher than anywhere in the country, there are relatively few new developments underway. Leblon may be lacking the tidal wave of jackhammers, building crews and construction cranes found in Barra da Tijuca, but there are changes underway in Rio’s luxury beach-side (Rio Times).

[Via http://brazil-weekly.com]

ObamaCare and Principled Liberalism

Ed Morrissey has a post at Hot Air that caught my attention. It’s worth reading, as it contains some accurate insight from Andy McCarthy and Dennis Prager too. The question is whether or not enough Democrats in this Congress are so principled that they’re willing to force through ObamaCare even if it kills them politically.

This is an interesting question, and the answer illustrates an important point. I cannot emphasize enough the wave of radical leftists that have taken over the Democrat party. That may sound like an exaggerated charge, coming from a person with my political beliefs, but it’s absolutely true. I’ve watched these liberals take over the Democrat party, and now the country. One strong signal that the new wave had come to town was when Henry Waxman ousted John Dingell in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Another was Nancy Pelosi becoming speaker of the House.

These people are far from the mainstream of this country. They are not moderately left, they are quintessential liberals. They believe that America is the source of the world’s problems, and that government elites must try to make up for the imbalances and injustices of the world. They believe in some form of Marxism and redistribution, whether that’s through taxes or energy regulation. They are hostile to businesses, and they despise efforts by those outside of their circles and not under their control to gain wealth. They believe that interpretation of  the Constitution must adapt to today’s trends. They’ll sacrifice their own party if they have to in order to remake this country.

I’ve been daring the Democrats to try to jam through ObamaCare after Massachusetts because I don’t think they have the votes, and I anticipate such a partisan push will significantly hurt them politically. That said, I can almost guarantee you that the liberal leadership running this country will not give up. I agree with Morrissey, McCarthy, and Prager about that.

The question is whether or not enough of the Democrat party will go along with them. I don’t believe so (meaning not all Democrats fit the description I offered above), but we still need to continue to communicate the dangers of liberal policies, and present viable alternatives. If we lose the argument over debates like what caused the economic collapse, these liberals could take advantage and push their massive agenda. If you don’t yet believe that their agenda is far from moderate, you will if they pass it and we have to endure it.

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

Rubin May Testify Before Financial Crisis Commission

One of the architects of the financial meltdown, and the Godfather of the Obama economic team, might have some ‘splainin’ to do. From Bloomberg:

“Robert Rubin, the former U.S. Treasury secretary who later advised Citigroup Inc. as the bank piled up subprime-mortgage losses, may soon face his first public grilling on the 2008 financial crisis.

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission investigating the worst economic slump since the Great Depression, plans to ask Rubin to testify in April, said two people with knowledge of the commission’s decisions.

Ask? How about subpoena?

“Rubin’s reputation dimmed  after the U.S. bailed out New York-based Citigroup with $45 billion and AIG had to be propped up because of losses on derivatives. When Rubin was President Bill Clinton’s Treasury secretary, he fought efforts to regulate derivatives.”

His reputation dimmed? Barack Obama didn’t get that memo:

“[Obama] named Rubin to be an economic adviser during the 2008 presidential campaign, and two Treasury protégés, Lawrence Summers and Timothy Geithner are top officials in the White House. Summers, 55, is chief economic adviser and Geithner, 48, is Treasury secretary.”

And that’s not all:

“Just below Summers is Jason Furman, who worked for Rubin in the Clinton White House and was one of the first directors of Rubin’s Hamilton Project.

…to serve alongside Furman at the NEC [Obama hired] management consultant Diana Farrell, who worked under Rubin at Goldman Sachs. In 2003, Farrell was the author of an infamous paper in which she argued that sending American jobs overseas might be “as beneficial to the U.S. as to the destination country, probably more so.”

…Over at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is supposed to regulate derivatives trading, Obama appointed Gary Gensler, a former Goldman banker who worked under Rubin in the Clinton White House. Gensler had been instrumental in helping to pass the infamous Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, which prevented regulation of derivative instruments like CDOs and credit-default swaps that played such a big role in cratering the economy last year.

And as head of the powerful Office of Management and Budget, Obama named Peter Orszag, who served as the first director of Rubin’s Hamilton Project.”

[Via http://desperadosoutpost.com]

Daily Photo 2.26.10 (CNN Express in Austin!)

Yes, the CNN Express Bus in here in Austin, apparently doing a story about Austin and the economy.  According to CNN’s Tom Foreman, “some analysts are saying Austin, Texas, may be a national leader in economic recovery” http://ow.ly/1bqKG

Well, I know too many people that have lost their jobs or can’t live in their homes anymore.  Some may not be un-employed, but sure are UNDER-employed.  It does not mean that you can afford to live here.  I personally am tired of struggling myself.  It’s just so hard I can’t stand it sometimes!  So I want to know, if we are going to be a leader in the national economic recovery, will the new companies hire the people that lost their jobs during the last 10 years?  Or are they just going to hire new/straight from college workers, with no experience, that they can pay almost nothing to.  Or are they going to bring workers from wherever they came from.  Just to let you know, between all the high-tech employers that have laid off workers in Austin the last 10 years or so, there is a pool of incredible, talented workers, that have given up on finding a decent paying job and are working for minimum wage just to get by.  They are engineers, technicians, etc. with years of experience.  Think about them first and give them a chance, before looking elsewhere.

CNN Express at the Long Center, Austin Tx

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

Get used to high inflation!

Image via Wikipedia

There’s something missing from all the talk of whether or not the economic bailouts have saved the world from a depression – as opposed to a severe recession – and that’s how the massive spending by governments around the world is going to be paid for.

Perhaps it’s the “party effect.” After all, when you’re having fun at a party, nobody wants to think about the hangover that will be with you tomorrow. Not that we’re all having fun in the current recession, of course, although it could have been a lot worse. But the hangover is sure to follow.

The problem is that governments around the world have realised they are easily able to spend money they don’t have, and the recourse – if it comes at all – will come on somebody else’s watch: generally the opposition party that comes in after them. It’s nice to have your political foe lumbered with your mess…

However, the facts are clear – public debt (i.e. what governments owe) has grown at an alarming rate. Let’s look at a few examples among the world’s larger economies, showing public debt as a percentage of GDP for each country at the end of 2009 (using estimates from the CIA World Fact Book):

• USA                       83.4%
• Japan                    192.1%
• Germany              77.2%
• France                  79.7%
• UK                         68.5%
• Italy                      115.2%

What these huge percentages mean is that, firstly, government is over-spending dramatically and secondly, that the percentage of government income (read: taxes!) that go just on interest payments on this debt has grown to become one of the largest single budgetary items.

In fact, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently estimated that Japan and the UK would need to reduce government spending by 13% and the US by nearly 9% just to “restore stability” over the next decade. How can they do this with such massive bills to pay? Oh, and it’s worth noting that the public debt does NOT include provisions for future expenditure on pensions, medical assistance and other state commitments – this is only the current debt!

So, what can governments do?

Reducing government spending to any meaningful degree is often seen as political suicide – especially as elections get closer.

Raising taxes is even worse…

There are only two, linked, things they can do to get the public debt as a percentage of GDP down in a reasonable time: keep interest rates artificially low to reduce interest payments and allow inflation into the system to increase GDP and their own revenue as a result.

A 10% inflation rate over five years will reduce the percentage of public debt by close to half, assuming the GDP growth matches or exceeds the inflation rate (e.g. grows in real terms). The other benefit of this is that government revenues will increase accordingly – higher sales means more sales tax/VAT, salaries rising around inflation rate will mean more tax income (the tax decreases are always lower than the extra amount paid through “bracket creep”), and so on.

My guess is governments won’t allow 10% as it’s psychologically too high, but I expect to see inflation moving quite quickly to the high single-digit range, say, 9%. We’ll need to tighten our belts and adjust our business plans accordingly – the ride for the next decade will be somewhat rough.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Britain’s debt set to be higher than that of Greece (telegraph.co.uk)
• Too soon to cut public spending, IMF warns (guardian.co.uk)
• Delay cuts, says leading economists (leftfootforward.org)
• What to Do About Inflation – and What Not to Do (usnews.com)

[Via http://guywhitcroft.com]

WellPoint CEO defends rate hikes as pressure grows | Reuters

As much as I don’t like the health insurance companies increasing rates, the one thing that the WellPoint CEO said, during the congressional hearings, that I agree with 100% is:

Unfortunately, the leading proposals being discussed in Washington don’t do enough to control costs” and that other industries “need to be called upon to reduce these costs.

There are no measures in any of the bills proposed that would control the rising costs of health care. Especially in the form of tort reform. Why is there no mention of tort reform? Because trial lawyers, those that benefit from frivolous lawsuits, are HUGE contributors to the democratic party, giving close to 73% of the time to Dems (almost $179 Million, in 2008 alone).

WellPoint CEO defends rate hikes as pressure grows | Reuters.

[Via http://rabidliberal.com]

The voice of construction

It’s always a case of whoever shouts loudest gets the most attention, so why does our industry always seem to have such a weak voice when it comes to lobbying government?

Take for instance Building Magazine’s latest campaign: They’ve called it Charter 284: A Building Manifesto to promote construction spending. The title comes from the fact that, according to a report by economic consultant LEK, every £1 invested in construction generates £2.84 of GDP.

Why oh why can our voice not be heard? The government listens to car manufacturers, no doubt now the steelworkers, and it seems almost every other industry except ours. Have we really got just the boiler scrappage scheme on the go at the moment?!

And, while I’m on about it, and following what I was saying two weeks ago, what about this for some headline statistics: The government target (set in 2005) was for us to build 240,000 houses by 2016 and a further 240,000 on an annual basis thereafter. But how many did we build in 2009? 118,000!

If everyone in the industry signs up to Building’s campaign will we stand a chance of getting ourselves back on our feet again? I’d like to think so, but will we do it?

If you are interested then you can sign up here, but this is what Building are saying should be done:

1. Complete the renewal of the school estate
2. Don’t let spending on transport infrastructure fall more than 10% below current levels
3. Reduce the regulatory burden on the housing sector to encourage more development
4. Give householders incentives to green existing homes
5. Prioritise the development of renewable energy, including nuclear, through incentives for private sector investment.

What do you think? We’ve got to start somewhere, somehow…

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

Ken Garland's 1964 "First Things First" Manifesto

Ken Garland, a British graphic designer, states that graphic designers are being constantly pushed to work for advertising design, as opposed to any other type of design. He states that this is a problem because much of this advertising is for “trivial purposes,” or basically, insignificant products such as “cat food, stomach powders, detergent, hair restorer, striped toothpaste, aftershave lotion, before shave lotion, etc…” As the document is a manifesto, it by definition, is a call to arms for graphic designers to take up Garland’s cause. However, his cause is somewhat contradictory and undefined—I am not quite sure Garland knew what his cause was either.

I suppose I have a few problems with Garland’s argument. First, his argument is based on speculation. He states that designers “have been brought up in a world in which … advertising [has] persistently been presented to us as the most lucrative … and desirable use of [designers'] talents.” He goes on to describe how designers are pushed by all sorts of outside forces into the vein of advertising design. These statements may well be true to his experience as a designer, but he cannot possibly be describing a universal truth, at least, not without some sort of empirical evidence.

Second, Garland states that the majority of adverting that designers create work for are “trivial purposes, which contribute little or nothing to our national prosperity.” Another bold claim with no factual evidence to actually back it up. As quoted earlier, Garland lists out a series of seemingly-insignificant products, yet, how does he—let alone the reader—know for sure that these trivial products make up the majority of graphic design work?

Third, and most problematic, is the fact that there is no concrete call for action to the undersigned designers made by this manifesto. At the end of the fourth paragraph, Garland lists options for other projects designers can work on rather than advertising, such as: “signs for streets and buildings, books and periodicals, catalogs, instruction manuals, industrial photography, educational aids, film, television, etc…” He concludes this list by stating that designers should focus on means that “promote trade, education, culture, and greater awareness of the world.” Unfortunately, much of which he lists, including “trade, culture, and awareness” can all fall under the umbrella category of “advertising.” Also, not all of the projects he lists can be considered socially-just causes. Are all signs, books, magazines, catalogs, instruction manuals, photographs, films, and television programs socially-just? I think not. Garland does bring up the idea of promoting education, which may be the closest thing to being socially-just in the list, however, even education must be put into the context of what is being taught in order to analyze whether it is promoting a “just cause.”

Garland’s aim, to create a better society through “moral design” suffers from the same problems that the modernists had at the Bauhaus in the early 1900’s. The modernists’ argument was that design was needed in order to create a better society, however, society needed to improve itself before it could embrace socially-conscious design, thus resulting in circular logic. Garland calls designers to choose projects carefully in order to create a better world, yet he hopes “that our society will tire of gimmick merchants …. and that the call on our skills will be for worthwhile purposes;” we have a chicken-and-egg paradox.

-rgm



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

Listen to George Galloway TalkSPORT show on 20 Feb 2010

Listen to George Galloway TalkSPORT show on 20 Feb 2010

http://www.spiderednews.com/GeorgeGalloway.htm?vid=2421563

—

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You can share your opinion on our blogs:

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

Digital Domain: The Birth of Cheap Communication (and Junk Mail)

WOULD you pay a full day’s earnings just to receive an e-mail message from me? On those terms, I bet you wouldn’t welcome hearing from me very often.

Skip to next paragraph Enlarge This Image Oli Scarff/Getty Images

A traditional pillar box, right, is still used for mail in London.

Enlarge This Image Mail for the World

Starting in 1840, Britain allowed letters to be sent anywhere in the country for as little as a penny.

In England in 1830, postage for letters was calculated not only by the number of sheets of paper but also by the number of miles traversed, and the recipient was the one who had to pay. For a person of ordinary means, a letter of middling length could come to about a day’s wages, a fearsome cost for the unfortunate household that received a letter.

But a decade or so later, when Britain and the United States introduced cheap, flat postal rates, without regard to the number of sheets or distance traveled, correspondents enjoyed something like our unmetered broadband today. Communication became more frequent, and ties were strengthened among families and friends. But cheap rates also led to junk mail and postal scams.

In Victorian London, though service wasn’t 24/7, it was close to 12/6. Home delivery routes would go by every house 12 times a day — yes, 12. In 1889, for example, the first delivery began about 7:30 a.m. and the last one at about 7:30 p.m. In major cities like Birmingham by the end of the century, home routes were run six times a day.

“In London, people complained if a letter didn’t arrive in a couple of hours,” said Catherine J. Golden, a professor of English at Skidmore College and author of “Posting It: The Victorian Revolution in Letter Writing” (2009).

And, not unlike us, most Victorian letter writers seemed more concerned about getting a rapid response than a long one. “Return of post” was an often-used phrase, requesting an immediate response, in time for the next scheduled delivery that day.

As any English major could tell you, the literary output of eminent Victorians was prodigious. Anthony Trollope, for example, wrote dozens of novels while working for the British post office, using the Victorian equivalent of a laptop computer: a portable writing desk. For his books, he didn’t stint on words: a modern reprint of “He Knew He Was Right,” with small type, runs 930 pages. But Ms. Golden said his letters tended to be brief and businesslike.

David M. Henkin, a history professor at the University of California, Berkeley, says that there has been “a distorted impression of how articulate or thoughtful 19th-century letter writers were — both American and British.”

“The historical letters we encounter were often written by famous, articulate people,” he added, “preserved by their recipients and selected for publication.”

When researching letters written by not-so-famous Americans, Mr. Henkin was struck by writing that was “prosaic, not poetic.”

In the early 1800s, before the postal reforms, Americans often sent letters that weren’t letters at all, but newspapers they had received in the mail and then resent to distant friends and family no fax payday loan. Postal rates favored the practice, as newspapers could be remailed in their entirety for about what a single-sheet letter would cost — and the sender was spared the obligation of writing an actual letter.

In 1840, The New Orleans Picayune tried to persuade its subscribers to buy gift subscriptions instead of remailing their own copies of the paper, gently scolding that when “you send your friend all the news in a printed journal you have a very fair excuse for being lazy with your pen.” (Online readers should feel perfectly free to send this column to friends.)

Postal service was democratized in Britain in 1839, with legislation that set a flat rate effective the next year and introduced the adhesive postage stamp, shifting the payment burden to the sender. For a penny, a letter of up to half an ounce could reach any destination in Britain. (Recipients could still do the paying, but that would cost 2 pence.)

The United States, like other countries, soon followed. In 1845 and 1851, Congress substantially reduced the cost of sending a letter and offered a steep discount for prepayment. But inexpensive postage didn’t spur people to send long, handwritten letters, so much as it enabled advertisers to spew out unsolicited junk mail on a mass scale. In 1855, according to Mr. Henkin, 30 or 40 mailbags filled with nothing but printed “circulars” for lotteries and patent medicines arrived daily at some post offices.

The same postal reforms that allowed family members and legitimate businesses to get in touch inexpensively also made it possible for cheats to do so, too. In the United States after the Civil War, a guide to New York City estimated that more than 2,000 “swindling establishments” were using the postal system, Mr. Henkin writes in “The Postal Age: The Emergence of Modern Communications in 19th-Century America” (2006).

These operators sent out “tens of thousands of solicitations and at minimal expense,” he writes. “Even a small percentage of replies from eager victims remitting a dollar or just a postage stamp could translate into a major windfall.” (Unused stamps could be resold or used in the next mailing and sometimes functioned as currency, he says.)

THE Victorians mailed all sorts of things besides words: tree cuttings, leeches, mosses and even manure, Ms. Golden writes. We could say that the only thing left for the modern correspondent to invent was the completely empty envelope — the Facebook “poke,” the sending of a greeting without saying so much as “hi.”

When one Facebook member clicks to “poke” another, of course, the receiver can poke back, returning the wordless greeting. Compared with a poke, even a brief e-mail message seems impressively articulate.

Randall Stross is an author based in Silicon Valley and a professor of business at San Jose State University. E-mail: stross@nytimes.com.

Digital Domain: The Birth of Cheap Communication (and Junk Mail)

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

Reid will back public option if GOP barrier fails

By Bob L. I take it as the Democrats are they will not pass a health care bill if the Republicans are involved. In other words, they are saying,  you are going to take this program whether you want it or not because we have stock in it.



They are small time DICTATORS trying to get bigger with the help of some ones backers and thugs with a gun to the peoples head, take it or go to jail.

This is why they want to take away your guns so you can not PROTECT your self or Family.

___________________________________________________________



Fri Feb 19

WASHINGTON – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he will support allowing the government to sell insurance in competition with private industry if the White House and Democratic leaders push a health care bill with no Republican backing.

Many conservatives and some moderates oppose the so-called public option. It’s in the House bill, but not the Senate version. The White House is trying to reconcile the two bills before Thursday’s bipartisan summit.

Reid’s office said Friday he will work with the White House and Democratic lawmakers to try to craft a public option that can overcome obstacles such as a bill-killing GOP filibuster.

Some congressional Democrats say they doubt the White House would include a public option in the proposal it will unveil Monday.

[Via http://1autolatry.wordpress.com]

Is The American Tax Payer, Bailing Out The World

Congressman Ron Paul wrote an article on 2-16-2010, in which he asks a simple question, are the American tax payers bailing out Greece? The greek government is in default of their massive public debt. They don’t have enough funds in their treasury to even make the minimum payment that is now coming due. their debt level is over 100% of their gross domestic product.

a recent statement made by the European Central Bank gave assurance that they will get the aid that they need. No details have been made public. Congressman Paul asks the question, if it’s possible that our Federal Reserve has had some hand in bailing out Greece? which is a valid question, that we don’t have the answer to. Our current laws exempt agreements between the Fed and foreign central banks from disclosure or audit.

He goes on to state how Greece is only the latest country to have faced this type of crisis in recent memory.  He also points out how fears were mounting about Dubai, and before that, Iceland.  Several other countries  like Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Latvia are approaching the same  crisis levels with public debt as well. And the one thing they all have in common are strong ties with Goldman Sachs.

Further more he states that unless laws are changed to allow a complete and meaningful audit of the Federal Reserve, including its agreements with foreign central banks, we might never know if this is occurring or not.

Now the question we all have to ask of our elected officials is, when is our Government going to place the interest of the American tax payer before the interest of the entire world economy? When are they going to come to the realization that they work for us, and that our country is not for sale! When are we the American tax payer going to say enough is enough?

America wake up and realize that this nightmare that we are going through isn’t going to go away by itself. That “we the people” have to exercise our constitutional right to vote these career politicians out, while we still have the vote to do it with. How much longer are we going to sit back and wait to see that we are continually being sold out by our elected officials. How many more bad trade deals or treaties is it going to take for us to understand that they are destroying our country from within.

When are we going to realize that they are using us to their delight.Playing the left against the right, for their gain and to our dismay. When are we going to realize that the reason nothing ever gets done in Washington, isn’t by accident but rather by plan. And when something does get done it’s always costs us either our liberties or our money.  Wake up America before it’s to late.

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

If the stimulus worked, why is congress working on a jobs bill?

  Yesterday was the one year anniversary of the signing of the stimulus bill. Barack Obama and Joe Biden were running around defending the stimulus and all the jobs that it can be credited with saving. Barack Obama is crediting the stimulus with creating or saving 2 million jobs to this point. Even if that number is true, unemployment has jumped from 7 percent to over 10 percent since the stimulus was enacted. We were told the stimulus would stop unemployment from rising above 8 percent. It seems like a hollow “victory.”

  Only a fraction of the stimulus money has been spent so it would seem to me that if the stimulus has been so successful to this point, and most of the money still remains unspent, wouldn’t it make sense to spend more of the stimulus money to turn the economy around that way?

  But that is not what is happening. This seems like a no-brainer to me, but why does congress need to work on a new jobs bill if the stimulus is working and there is still stimulus money left? If the stimulus bill was supposed to save or create jobs, doesn’t that make it a jobs bill? Why do we need a new jobs bill if that is the case? Doesn’t this make the jobs bill stimulus number two?

  When Barack Obama signed the stimulus bill he thought that it would be the end all be all; he thought that he had saved the economy so he moved on and forgot about the economy to pursue a healthcare reform bill. Once it became bogged down he tried to claim that he was pursuing the healthcare bill to save the economy. The public wasn’t buying it, so on the one year anniversary of the stimulus bill he had to go out and defend the stimulus. He had to return to where his focus should have been over the last year.

  If everything that Barack Obama has said about the stimulus bill is true we do not need a jobs bill, we just need to release the rest of the stimulus money. The money has already been allocated, why not use it before creating another spending bill? Because the president knows that the stimulus has failed to this point and releasing the rest of the money will also fail.

 It is on to plan B.

[Via http://americaswatchtower.com]

Is it time to reduce the stimulus? ...

Is it time to reduce the stimulus?

With private consumption growing 3.6 per cent versus 18.1 per cent for government in April-September 2009, and investment growth falling to around half, any decision on phasing out has to be taken carefully.

Indranil Sengupta, Economist, India Research, DSP Merrill Lynch Limited

All drivers of growth — household demand as well as corporate investment — are picking up. So a gradual withdrawal won’t hurt

We believe that the government should begin to gradually withdraw last year’s fiscal and monetary stimuli as the economy recovers.

A doctor, after all, has to ask the patient to discontinue taking pills as a patient recovers. In the last upcycle, the People’s Bank of China and the Reserve Bank of India [ Get Quote ] were the first two central banks to follow the US Federal Reserve in hiking rates in mid-2004.

read more http://business.rediff.com/report/2010/feb/17/bcrisis-is-it-time-to-reduce-the-stimulus.htm

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

Who is Ahmad?

Who is Ahmad? (Feb. 18, 2010)

            Ahmad commented on a news brief on the internet.  The story was that the daughter of late Egyptian King Farouk, Ferial, died in Switzerland; she was married to a Swiss Jean Pierre Perreten and had a daughter.  Well, Ahmad was mostly interested to know if Ferial’s husband and daughter converted to Islam and had pronounced Islam’s profession of faith.

            Who is Ahmad?  Most probably Ahmad lives in an urban center (more than 50% of people in the Arab World live in cities); he is under the age of 30 (60% of Arabs are in that age range); Ahmad can read and write with difficulty (100 million Arabs are illiterate). Who is Ahmad?  He is probably out of a job or just one of the millions of redundant civil servants (over 20 millions are practically jobless). Ahmad is one of the poor classes with definite positions on social values. Ahmad is one of those who gave up learning, despise cultural events, and abhors scientific facts and reasoning (over 50% of physicians and 25% of engineers immigrated to greener pastures): competence is rare currency.

            Who is Ahmad?  He is one of the egalitarian Moslem citizens, equal in ignorance and adept at listening to Karadawi on cable Al Jazira.  Ahmad could easily be recruited by one of the Al Qaeda-like organizations, for a few hundreds of dollars and some sweet religious encouragement to attack unorthodox citizens.

Note: This profile of Ahmad was written by a Palestinian Hassan Khader on internet.

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

Dystopia: 03

As I have said in previous posts, it appears that we are living in a Dystopia. I have some more observations on that..

Imagine that you are an unskilled or skilled manual worker.

Your earning ability has not increased since the 1970s. Sure, some things (tvs, computers, food) have become cheaper but others (housing, insurance) have not. Your ability to save money is close to non-existent. While you may be lucky to have a trade or skill that is in demand, that might change very abruptly. How many times can you retrain? How many times can you go back to school? How many more times will you take out a loan to learn a new career? How long before it is outsourced or your job is undercut?

Do your kids have upward mobility through education? Is education worth it? Can you afford to live in a society which cannot exist without active cooperation, but in which a humane existence is elusive? What kind of marriage/ LTR do you have? Are you happy in it, or just dreading the day you will be dragged to the cleaners? Does your woman stand behind you, or spend all her time undermining you?

Ever wondered what will happen once you are too old or can no longer work your manual job. Will Social Security or Medicare be still there? What type of an old age will you have? Alone or with a nagging bitch? Quite the options, huh..

Imagine you are a white collar/ professional worker/ small business owner.

You may have started life in a somewhat better position than the blue collar worker, but does it matter now. The company you work for might outsource your job forcing you to work as a contractor/ take less pay or change careers. Once again.. how often can you change your careers? how often will you move?

Even if you spent 10 years after high school learning a specialized skill (as a student or a low paid flunky), it still does not matter.. Careers that were once secure and well paid are becoming extinct. The worse part is that many lose jobs in their late 40s and onwards, at the same time they would entered their peak earning decades. All their sacrifices are rendered worthless especially since the small businesses, startups and consultancies that kept them going are also rapidly disappearing.

Even if you are financially ok, your SO/ wife could still take you to the cleaners. You might spend a lot of money on the upkeep of kids you rarely see. And what are future prospects for your kids? Would a university education help them? Never mind..

Even a government job is no guarantee of stability, because of a shrinking tax base. They will try to honor their pensions before caring about the younger ones.

Imagine that you are a well paid professional.

Does law, med or business school still offer you a guaranteed path to financial success? Law school is already showing the problems inherent in saturation. Business school might not be a good idea in a world where there is less and less to manage. If you think a medical career will still pay the same in 5-10 years from now, think again! Who will be able to pay that much for medical care? Your customers have poorly paying jobs, no savings, no accumulated wealth.. nothing. Plus there are a lot of aging baby boomers, and the generations after them are too small to pay for them and their kids (if they have any!).

Did I mention the wife, alimony and kids problem? Ya!

So there you have it.. This cannot end well, can it?

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

i seek

the place of truth

in the land of freedom

where justice reigns

and love rules

i seek the warmth

of a loving nation

where the love of

material

does not exist

i seek the city

where ignorance

does not breed

where knowledge is

prized

and new thoughts

not despised

i seek the place

where the young

can be raised

with full bellies

and parents

in peace

i still seek

that which

does not exist

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

I awoke this morning with a swollen jaw.

I looked in the mirror and thought to myself, damn!

An infected tooth.

I drove to the medical clinic.

“I need a prescription for antibiotics”, I said.

“Have you been here before?” she asked.

“No, I don’t see doctors as a rule,” I answered.

“Do you have a health card?” she asked.

“No, but my name should be in the system somewhere.”

“I can’t do that,” she replied.

“I’ll pay cash,” I offered, “It’s only a prescription.”

“I can’t do that.”

I went to a pharmacy and they couldn’t help me.  “Are dog antibiotics the same as people antibiotics?” I asked.

She pulled out some pills, “I don’t know,” she said, “what color are they?”

“Same color as those,” I said.

Since I started taking antibiotics that was given for my dogs, I think the swelling is starting to go down.

That’s what happens when Big Brother controls medicine to the point it does.

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

When the Car Goes Off the Cliff, Changing Drivers Doesn't Help!

I hope my readers aren’t buying any of this crap about the economy getting better or that we have some how done anything to change the way we got in this mess in the first place.  Quite the contrary, it is business as usual on Wall Street and with the big “Banks”.   You know the ones that were too big to fail, so that is why our leaders reached in OUR pockets and extracted $7 trillion to “bail them out”.  Banks is an interesting word these days.  It used to be that a bank was a place where you put your money in a checking or savings account and then the bank would make loans to people and businesses in the community and the interest on those loans allowed the bank to pay  interest on our deposits and the bank made money too.

Paul Volcker was asked the other day in a senate hearing on banking what we are doing to control and regulate the banking industry and specifically how was the government going to identify banks who were behaving in a manner that was risky.  Specifically he was asked how and by what criteria will the government determine risky behaviour.  I kid you not when I say his response was ” it is like pornography, when you see it, you know it!”  OMG we are really in trouble!  Shah Gilani, Contributing Editor for Money Morning, gives us a sobering real-time assessment of how corrupt this bail out crap is as it relates to Goldman Sachs.  It is well worth the read and you can find it here: http://moneymorning.com/2010/02/12/trading-ban

He makes some startling revelations such as Goldman Sachs was changed from an investment firm to a bank in ONE day! by the feds and on a Sunday none the less.  Why, because it gave them access to billions from the Fed at a discounted rate.  Nothing in the history of mankind and in the annals of corrupt governments and corrupt leaders even comes close to what is an on-going theft of our personal wealth and capital here in the good ole United States of Corporations.  The most frustrating aspect of this is the complete complicity of MSM to the whole process.  I can not believe that we are still completely oblivious to what is really going on.  There is no leadership on the Hill, there is no outrage in the street, and there is no activity on the political front to check this out of control behavior.

Instead, drunk with power and convinced we will not wake up, the PTB are instead going for it all and I mean every red cent you have or will have!  This is what is next I believe for us.  First, the second leg down in Depression2.  By say August or September, the Dow will be at 4500, and unemployment will be double what it is right now.  The “government” will respond by proposing the end of all social spending programs to bring the budget deficit under control. As you know the congress raised the deficit limit in early January to 4.7 Trillion and by the first week in February we had reached that limit! WTF!  This will be the justification to end social security, medicare, even federal support to education and they will propose a 10-20% “wealth” tax on all private pension funds like IRAs and 401Ks.  they might even propose a 10-20% Value Added Tax (VAT) on all purchases.  The EU is now proposing to raise the VAT there to 20% this week.  Now I know some of my readers will be saying. “there he goes over the edge, he is nutso”.  To that I say, talk to me next year at this time and we will see how far off the deep end I really am at this moment.  That is if you can get out of the detention camp you are in or if there still is such a thing as the internet or email.

It is not that the PTB assume we will stay asleep.  No they have a contingencies for the possibility that we will wake up before the last cards are played.  I have written previously to what is being planned in case we do take to the streets.  But ask the folks in Pasadena who have seen convoys of UN vehicles without any license plates roaming their streets lately, or the people of China who are having their internet shut down, or the people of Iran who are experiencing the same thing, what they are thinking.  These are not things that are going to happen, they are happening as I write this article today.  Ask yourself why over 1,000 CEOS have resigned in the last 18 months, over 50 in the last month alone.  To put that in perspective, there were only 27 CEO resignations of mid and large cap companies in the whole year of 2007.  They are getting out of Dodge!

The Tea Baggers are right in their instinct of things, but their organizations have been totally comprised and thus instead of accomplishing their goals, they are instead going to be used as a vehicle to finalize  the economic enslavement of us all.  I have tried to stay very moderate in my comments and remarks.  I try only to present facts and not conspiracy theories in my blog, but honestly, time is running out.  Don’t, please don’t take my word for any of this.  It is important that you KNOW these things for yourself.  If by some miracle, we can all wake up at once, there may be some hope for us all.  But at this moment, in my pessimistic and cynical mood, I have a sick feeling it may be too late, but I can hope it is not the case.  Sorry for the doom and gloom, but take it as a medical slap in the face to keep you conscious.

Here is Uncle Willie’s thought for the day.

[Via http://redhawk500.wordpress.com]

Najib: Divided, we fall

February 13, 2010

Comment:

Prime Minister Najib speaks eloquently, but fails to act accordingly. It is difficult for me to refute his pronouncements in recent months. But it is his politics of regime survival that undermines his economic agenda and confidence in his  stewardship of our country. Perak is one case in point. The Fitnah2 trial which is an international joke undermines investor confidence because it makes a mockery of the Rule of Law and embarrasses  decent and peace loving Malaysians.

Last year 2009 we saw massive capital outflows, mainly domestic capital, and drastic dwindling of  foreign direct investment. Government administration is anemic and corrupt. Public expenditure is out of control and one can only that we will not be become another Greece with its budget deficit at 12.7 per cent of GDP. The Rule of Law and confidence in our judiciary are issues that must be tackled with utmost urgency.This is because business thrives in an environment where the rules of the game are transparent and consistent ,and where commercial disagreements can be settled in the courts without political interference.

I share his view that “Business cannot succeed and economies cannot be strong when our society is divided. We will not succeed in the new global era if we do not extend opportunity to all according to their needs and look to utilise the talents of all our people, not just some”.  But what is lacking is political will.

We remain divided along lines of race and religion. If that continues, Mr Prime Minister, you will fall. Malaysians will be not because we are tougher than you and your colleagues think we are. Tough times don’t last, tough Malaysians do. –Din Merican

Najib: Divided, we fall

by Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani (February 12, 2010)

Datuk Seri Najib Razak tonight said the country’s economy will never be viable if the society remains divided, stressing that the 1 Malaysia concept is key for its future.

“I believe that the values, the vision and the commitment behind 1 Malaysia will be vital to the long-term strength of Malaysia,” the prime minister told those attending the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (NCCIM) dinner in KLCC here.

“Business cannot succeed and economies cannot be strong when our society is divided. We will not succeed in the new global era if we do not extend opportunity to all according to their needs and look to utilise the talents of all our people, not just some,” he added.

Najib pointed out that innovation and creativity were key to the country’s new economic development. “We must be a nation that puts a premium on innovation and creativity. We are all well aware that businesses that succeed are those that look ahead; innovators that look beyond the short-term challenges and seek to chart new paths to growth.

“We must also be innovators of the new economic sub-sectors, whether in information technology, green technology or finance, to spark new areas of economic growth for our country,” he said.

However, the country’s sixth prime minister admitted that government support was limited and recognised the importance of the private sector.

“The government can only do so much, and I recognise that the government is not always the best driver of creativity and innovation for the nation.

“So moving forward, there must exist a strong partnership between the public and private sectors; collaborating in ways that are mutually beneficial and create opportunities, jobs and prosperity,” he said.

Najib was, nevertheless, confident that the economy would return to growth this year.“I believe it is because of the decisions we have made — stimulus packages, economic liberalisation, investments in the right areas and budget savings — that Malaysia will return to growth in 2010 with lower budget deficit. This has come about by choice, not chance.

“We will face more such choices in the coming months and years,” he said. Najib added that the government will also take the necessary measures to ensure business growth.

“Let me assure you that we will always support business growth, we will support families and Malaysians who need help most, and we will introduce any difficult reforms sensitively and with an eye on maintaining stability. As an example, whether it is subsidies or broadening the tax base, we must consider whether we would want to put off these choices to another time or for our future generation. We must act now, decisively and strongly, to prepare Malaysia for success,” he said.

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

UK inflation set to rise over the coming weeks

UK inflation set to rise over the coming weeks

UK based Small businesses will be concerned to hear that inflation is set to breach the 3% mark within the next few weeks, according to Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England.

During Mr King’s presentation of the Bank’s quarterly inflation report, he stated that the increase in VAT and higher petrol costs would push prices up.

Should inflation rise above the 3% mark the governor is required to write a letter of explanation to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

On a more positive note, Mr King added that inflation is then expected to quickly fall back below the 2% target. He then went on to say that he expected that economic recovery in the UK would continue but will be a gradual process.

Other important notes from the governor’s report:

• Although the Quantitative Easing (QE) programme has been paused it may be reintroduced at a later date to assist the economy’s recovery. QE is a programme that involves feeding money into the economy by buying up assets with newly created money.

• Interest rates are expected to remain low for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately for small businesses and private individuals with savings accounts there will be very poor returns on any investments.

• The UK’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could grow by up to 3.5% by early 2012, although the strength of the recovery was still very uncertain.

• The FTSE 100 (lists the top 100 businesses trading on the London Stock Exchange) rose by 0.3% – a marginal increase but still shows signs of growth.

Related links:

UK small businesses access over £700 million of loans

Small business paid to take on apprentices

Inflation takes its toll on small business

Photo by djcodrin

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

Dystopia: 02

I am going to use extracts from the Wikipedia article on Dystopia to highlight something that most of you might have thought but probably never said out loud.  Detailed comments will be in another post of this series, so pay attention to the italicized parts of the excerpt.

So here it goes:

A Dystopia is often characterized by a authoritarian or totalitarian form of government. It often features different kinds of repressive social control systems, a lack or total absence of individual freedoms and expressions and a state of constant warfare or violence.

Don’t you think that sounds a bit like what we are living in today?

A dystopia starts with the desire to create a utopia.

Many dystopias found in fictional and artistic works can be described as a utopian society with at least one fatal flaw, whereas a utopian society is founded on the good life, a dystopian society’s dreams of improvement are overshadowed by stimulating fears of the “ugly consequences of present-day behavior.” People are alienated and mostly the individualism is restricted by the government.

Remember that a government-business tyranny (fascism) is not functionally different from a purely government tyranny.

Fictional dystopias may impose severe social restrictions on the characters’ lives, involving social stratification, whereby social class is strictly defined and enforced, and social mobility is non-existent. In the novel Brave New World’, by Aldous Huxley, the class system is prenatally designated in terms of Alphas, Betas, Gammas, Deltas, and Epsilons. In We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin, people are permitted to live out of public view for only an hour a day. They are not only referred to by numbers instead of names, but are neither “citizens” nor “people”, but “ciphers.”

Did you go to an ivy league or well known state university? What is your FICO score? Where is your biometric ID? Note that none of these embellishments have anything to do with reality, and their only purpose is to keep people in their place.

Some dystopian works emphasize the pressure to conform in terms of the requirement to not excel. In these works, the society is ruthlessly egalitarian, in which ability and accomplishment, or even competence, are suppressed or stigmatized as forms of inequality, as in Kurt Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron. Similarly, in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the dystopia represses the intellectuals with particular force, because most people are willing to accept it, and the resistance to it consists mostly of intellectuals.

If you show innovativeness in school, you are a trouble maker. Intelligence and critical thinking bad, varsity sports and cleverness good.

Even more than freedom of religion, the concept of the family is under attack in fictional dystopian societies. In some of them, the family has been eradicated and continuing efforts are deployed to keep it from reestablishing itself as a social institution. In Brave New World, where children are reproduced artificially, the concepts “mother” and “father” are considered obscene. In other fictional dystopias, the institution of the family exists, but the State deploys great efforts to keep the family in its service. In some novels, the State is hostile to motherhood: for example, in Nineteen Eighty-Four, children are organized to spy on their parents; and in We, the escape of a pregnant woman from OneState is a revolt.

All dystopias work by depersonalizing, isolating and dehumanizing people. You are not a person or human being, just a employee or customer or case file number.

Fictional dystopias are commonly urban and frequently isolate their characters from all contact with the natural world. Sometimes they require their characters to avoid nature, as when walks are regarded as dangerously anti-social in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. In Brave New World, the lower classes of society are conditioned to be afraid of nature, but also to visit the countryside and consume transportation and games to stabilize society. A few “green” fictional dystopias do exist, such as in Michael Carson’s short story “The Punishment of Luxury”.

The illusion of control must be maintained.

The fictional dystopian governments and political systems can be of different forms, but commonly assert great power over the citizens, as depicted in Nineteen Eighty-Four as the authority to decree that Two + two = five; in the absence of such a clearly-defined political system controlling the world, chaos may occur.

In When the Sleeper Wakes, H. G. Wells depicted the governing class as hedonistic and shallow. George Orwell contrasted Wells’s world to that depicted in Jack London’s The Iron Heel, where the dystopian rulers are brutal and dedicated to the point of fanaticism, which Orwell considered more plausible.

Whereas the political principles on which fictional utopias (or “perfect worlds”) are based are idealistic in principle, intending positive consequences for their inhabitants,the political principles on which of fictional dystopias are based are flawed and result in negative consequences for the inhabitants of the dystopian world, which is portrayed as oppressive.

You will tow the official line, keep quiet and work yourself to death.

The economic structures of dystopian societies in literature and other media have many variations, as the economy often relates directly to the elements that the writer is depicting as the source of the oppression. However, there are several archetypes that such societies tend to follow. A commonly occurring theme is that the state is in control of the economy, as shown in such works as Ayn Rand’s Anthem, Lois Lowry’s The Giver, and Henry Kuttner’s short story The Iron Standard. .. .. In this context, big businesses often have far more control over the populace than any kind of government and thus act as governments themselves instead of businesses, as can be seen in the novel Jennifer Government and the movie Rollerball. This is common in the genre of cyberpunk, such as in Blade Runner and Snow Crash, which often features corrupt and all-powerful corporations, often a megacorporation.

In the end, it does not matter if you live in a bureaucrat controlled economy or rent seeking megacorporation run system.

More in another post on this topic.

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

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Forex: AUD/USD bounces back past 0.90 amid expectations of higher interest rates

(CFD.net.au – Contract for Difference, Share, Forex, ETFs, Commodities Traders) -

If the RBA fails to raise interest rates this may trigger a sell off in the OZ as this would be a sign that the economy is not as strong as many suspected and fiscal support is further required.

…

Forex: AUD/USD bounces back past 0.90 amid expectations of higher interest ratesFITITOL–>

If the RBA fails to raise interest rates this may trigger a sell off in the OZ as this would be a sign that the economy is not as strong as many suspected and fiscal support is further required.

Source: Forex: AUD/USD bounces back past 0.90 amid expectations of higher interest rates

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

A Pickled Economy

Before I start to speak, I’d like to say something: the economy is in dire state. Of course it has been so for quite some time, but now it is really in a pickle. In fact, no amount of vinegar or brine is going to ameliorate the economy in the near future. However, with the help of economists, we can surely overcome this. Since I am not an expert in the field of economics, I asked an economist. Haha! Just kidding. After all, economists themselves do not know what they are doing. So I turned to the place where we get all our knowledge from, the television. After watching a talk show where economic analysts discussed the plight of the nation, my understanding surely deepened. Here is the dialogue between the panel:

HOST: Thank you for tuning in to tonight’s heated debate. Tonight we have an exclusive on what is going on inside Wall Street and how you can manage your stocks for maximum profits. We will start with Beaver, the janitor at the New York Stock Exchange Building. Beaver, give us some “inside scoop”.

BEAVER: Well, when I was cleaning a bathroom stall, a man came in while talking on his cell phone. He was saying something about how Hiro Nakamara stops time to save his friend- uh whaddyacallhim- Ando! Yes, and that he has a slight hunch that they can save New York City from Peter’s explosion.

HOST: Isn’t that last night’s episode of Heroes? Anyways, lets move on to Patricia, a stockbroker. So what do you say, Pat? Does the future look good?

PATRICIA: *franticly shaking a Magic-8 Ball*

As you can see, the future of the nation is unpredictable, even for those who have sat through seven years of higher education. I am going to go check my horoscope now.

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

Texas Textbooks - Texas is a leader in textbooks and textbooks are under fire by the LIBERAL EDUCATORS and Education ELITES, who's monies may come from foreign interests

California and Texas are the largest publishers of textbooks.  The rest of the nation follows.  The educators that write these histories  are changing text that the children of this country will be learning.  The best way to conquer opposition is to erase the history of the past failures that it fostered.  The terrorist countries want us to change these books, because they are in this WAR to win.  Sun Tzu’s war theories dictate that the way to win a war is to win the hearts of the people through empathy and sympathy, then the minds (through changing the understanding of what is right or erasing the history of the enemy to make them vulnerable to the offensive psychological subversions) and last is to foster the strength of the country (youth and criminal element)  to the side of the now mis understood enemy.  If all these are subverted, then the last and telling blow can be militarily achieved.  Basically, softening the enemy before the last fatal blow.  This is easily achieved, when the enemy has metastasized within the host. 

Here are some posts for your cosideration.  There is a wall of meterial out there on the web and elsewherer, however, I think that your own logic about the things going on all around you, will lead you to the truth:

http://txlady706.wordpress.com/2010/02/05/terrorism-and-foreign-money-involving-us-banks-universities-and-government-officials/

http://txlady706.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=381

http://txlady706.wordpress.com/2010/02/05/americas-little-palestine-brooklyn-new-york/

http://txlady706.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/teaxas-islamists-file-frivolous-law-suits-as-a-tactic-to-silence-non-muslims/

Mathew Staver on The Huckabee Show this Weekend to Discuss Changes to Textbooks

www.LC.org

This weekend Mathew D. Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, will appear on Mike Huckabee’s show to discuss potentially dramatic changes to the framework of textbooks that are being discussed by the Texas State Board of Education (TSBOE). Huckabee and Staver will be revealing suggested changes, some of which are still under discussion. The show will begin at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday and 2:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, Eastern Time.

TSBOE will soon finalize the language that textbook publishers use to align their textbooks to current standards. As Texas is a leader in textbooks, most other states purchase the same educational materials. The textbook controversy in Texas affects every American because, to have a bright future, we must know our past. America has a rich past founded on Judeo-Christian values and to forget them, or worse, to distort them, will doom our future. Those who want to reshape America begin by rewriting our past. We repeat the mistakes of the past when we are ignorant of them.

Some of the suggestions that have come forward at various times include:

• Removing references to Daniel Boone, General George Patton, Nathan Hale, Columbus Day, and Christmas.
• Including the cultural impact of hip hop music, ACLU lawyer Clarence Darrow, and the Hindu holiday of Diwali.
• Replacing the term “American” with “Global Citizen”– stating that students need to be shaped “for responsible citizenship in a global society” without any mention of citizenship in American society.
• Replacing expansionism and free enterprise with imperialism and capitalism.

The Board’s next meeting is in March and the final reading and adoption of the social studies guidelines will be in May.

Make your voice heard now, before the next meeting. Please call the board at 512-463-9734 and encourage them to promote traditional, pro-American language in their guidelines, or you may email them at sboeteks@tea.state.tx.us.

Read our News Release for more details.

http://lc.org/index.cfm?PID=14102&AlertID=1094

[Via http://txlady706.wordpress.com]

ECBs and FCCBs Dropped 6% in Dec 2009 !

external commercial borrowings (ECBs) and foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) have dropped 6% in December 2009

.

Total approvals received by Indian companies to raise capital by way of external commercial borrowings (ECBs) and foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) have dropped 6% in December 2009 to $1.56 billion as against $1.66 billion in December 2008. . This is as per the data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). . Total approvals received by Indian companies to raise capital by ECBs and FCCBs stood at $2.35 billion in November 2009. There were about 68 deals in December 2009, out of which three deals were by way of FCCBs. . Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt Ltd raised $402 million by way of ECBs for new projects for a maturity period of eight years and 11 months. . “The ECB market is definitely looking bullish for 2010, however the robustness will not be the way it was in 2007. Indian banks are also not lending to the corporates here. Hence, there will be appetite for foreign funds. However, there is a challenge on the forex fluctuation risk as well,” noted Jagannadham Thunuguntla, equity head with SMC Capital. . According to market analysts, more Indian companies are going to take the ECB route to raise funds, with the interest rates heading northwards in India. Currently there is also more demand for short-term funds.

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

NYC High School Students!

DON’T throw out your student MetroCards that expired today! The NYC Student Union (a badass bunch, if you’re unfamiliar with their work) is organizing a creative protest of the deplorable proposal to cut student MetroCard funding.

This Monday, we are getting new student MetroCards from our schools. This gives us students a chance to use our old metrocards to make a statement to the State and to the MTA.

Use a permanent marker to write your own message to the MTA and the State about them cutting student MetroCards. Whether it is about you, a friend, or a family member, make sure to let them know how losing student MetroCards will impact your life. The NYC Student Union is organizing to collect either in or in front of your school. We are then going to use them as written testimonies at a public hearing this March. This is our chance to give a voice to students like us who are going to be heavily affected by this. However, please keep these messages clean, polite, and serious. This IS NOT meant to be an attack on the MTA. If we can get enough MetroCards, we can give the city a short look at how badly these budget cuts will hurt students and their families, and we can really make a difference.

Join their Facebook Group for more details.

For some inspiration, here’s me with my MetroCard statement…

My school isn't public if I can't get there!

And my little sister, who’s in sixth grade…

Taking MetroCards takes the "public" out of PUBLIC school!

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

US Recession Job Loss May Have Been Undercounted By 824,000

In a blow that could come down on the Obama administration and economy like Thor’s Hammer, the US may have lost 824,000 more jobs than the government said it did between April 2008 and March 2009. According to Bloomberg, which provided the numbers for the possible adjustment, the revision would be posted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics tomorrow, February 5th.

The change in the numbers would be based on what is know as the “birth/death model which has its foundation in the premise that most jobs lost as at old companies are made up at new ones.

The numbers, if accurate, would add a nearly unbearable load to the economic recovery which has caused huge deficits due to government programs led by the Obama $787 billion stimulus package. The package was meant to save or create 3.5 million jobs. Unemployment has risen above 10% despite the government spending. The Administration and some members of Congress have proposed that the government spend another $80 billion on jobs programs. These expenditures would be part of a federal budget which would create a $1.6 trillion deficit in the government’s 2010 fiscal year.

The higher unemployment numbers would also indicate that the number of people who are chronically unemployed is much greater than expected. That would mean the efforts by Congress to extend unemployment benefits could have to be increased to accomodate hundreds of thousands of jobs seekers that the government did not even know existed.

Job create has been especially hard to come by. Productivity numbers show that companies are getting more work out of fewer workers. Government data also show that the number of jobs available to the jobless is an historic high. The number of people who have stopped looking for work or work part-time but would like full time employment are also at high water marks compared to at any time since the Great Depression.

It is not difficult to guess the impact that the news will have on the financial markets which have been recovering in large part due to the belief that the jobs problem has improved. If the data from April 2008 to March 2009 could be off by such a large margin, how inaccurate are the number from April of last year until now?

Douglas A. McIntyre

[Via http://247wallst.com]

When the Fonz comes to town

Economic woes have gripped the world, more importantly, my world. What would the Fonz do? AAAAYYYY!!!! What would Jesus do? What would  Snuffleupagus do?

These are the things that take me off of the train and ponder this tumultuous reality. Our community has been hit with closures, layoffs etc and I too have felt the pinch of Mr. Recession. I am grateful that I am still employed, but the markets better improve quickly…

Jesus would tell me not to worry. I would be led to passages like Ps. 139,Ps. 119 and let’s not forget about Ps. 15…While I am at it, lets not forget Ps.37 either…I would remind myself of His words about Solomon’s splendor and I would find some comfort there.

I would turn to my wife for prayer and guidance. She is pretty good about these types of events. I would listen for that small still voice to help me be better, too achieve greater things than which I am doing now.

If you were to ask me what my dream job would be, I would be honest in saying that I am pretty close to having it already. I make a good wage, spend a lot of time with the family, play with my dog and am constantly thinking (or trying to) think outside of the box which is great for me. I am not a box top thinker. I am however, I was going to say a great dancer, but on second thought, I will leave that to your imagination.

Bonnie Franklin could do and so can I.

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

Economic forecasts published on doXtop

Global economy in 2010

This is the time of year when experts start to present their forecasts for global economic trends in 2010. In times of economic and financial crisis it is important to deal with reliable reports on this matter. doXtop`s  member rebecca recently published an optimistic report by the International Monetary Fund, which expects the world output to rise by 4 percent in 2010. Complementary to this report is a document published by our member darren, titled Economy risk 2010. To complete the picture on the subject, you might have a look at documents titled America In The World Economy: 2010, brought to doXtop by darren, or Germany – macro economy in 2009 and 2010, published by our new member amelie.

Single flash publications

doXtop is a virtual publishing house with quality documents added on daily basis. We have equipped our flash viewer with useful options which provide comfortable online reading experience and easy ways to find specific information in our archive.

For example, if you wish to read more reports about the global economy, expert opinions and analyses, simply use the Related by option and define the parameter ad tags, content, contributor or category and you will have the results on the same screen, right beside the main document. You can also create Search Queries and document Collections in order avoid the need to search for the same documents next time.

Other useful options of our flash viewer are:

- Links to a PDF rendition for download and/or print

- Toggle for full screen mode

- Upload button for publishing more content

- Share function (embed, email to friends …)

- Scrolling options for various reading modes

- Zoom and text selection functions

doXtop’s flash viewer offers an auto-generated table of contents for easy navigation in large publications, or presents the publication as a Web site. It also supports hyperlinks and rendition links of PDF, HTML or Hypertext. Complete Publication Stats provides a valuable feedback about popularity of your documents on the Web.

(read more)

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

The Economy Is Not A Pizza Pie (Part 1)

To properly analyze an issue, one must start with a foundation of well-established facts. This sounds obvious, but a major pitfall in any analysis is that we tend to begin with unquestioned assumptions. If those assumptions are wrong, then our analysis will also be wrong. Therefore in this post we’ll review some economic basics to be sure that we don’t harbor faulty assumptions.

President Obama promised that he would provide a tax reduction to ninety-five percent of us by increasing taxes on “the wealthy.” This promise means that the president believes in Pizzanomics. That is, he believes if someone gets a big slice of income then the rest of us have to settle for a small slice, and this injustice must be corrected by “spreading the wealth,” i.e. taxing those who have more and giving the proceeds to those who have less. But a little engineering analysis will demonstrate, in plain talk, just how wacky the pizza pie theory is.

We engineers love to see test data; i.e. empirical or historical evidence that supports or refutes a theory. Is it necessary to “spread the wealth” to compensate for unfairness in our economic system? Despite what you may have heard otherwise, there is abundant and substantial evidence that supports the fact that money is not a pizza pie, and wealthy people do not prevent less fortunate folks from getting their fair share.

But let’s ignore all of that economic history for the moment, and instead use a simple mental analysis. Engineers and scientists call such analyses “thought experiments,” where logic is used to determine reasonable expectations. These experiments do not require advanced degrees or high IQs, they only require a methodical mind and the avoidance of emotional blockages. Let’s apply such a thought experiment to Pizzanomics.

If a person has a big slice (a lot of money), the Theory of Pizzanomics (espoused by believers in big government) implies that the slice is lost forever. The greedy wealthy person will eat the slice and that’s that: done, finis, adios amigo, burp; nothing left for you and me.

In reality, however, money is not gobbled up; i.e. rich folks do not hide their money under the mattress. Nor do they have big parties on the weekend at their mansions, where they and their rich friends get together and sip champagne and throw their cash into a big pile and roll around in it, cackling at how superior they are to average folks. No, they don’t use their money for such idle and frivolous pursuits, because then it would be of no use to them. They have to spend their money to get mansions and champagne.

When a wealthy person spends money, it flows from them to carpenters, mechanics, chefs, gardeners, servers, importers, distributors, truck drivers, sales assistants, and on and on. As a kicker, wealthy people also invest, which increases the flow, leading to more jobs for everyone.

The bottom line is this: money is not a pizza pie; money is a river. Because government is inherently highly inefficient (as we have discussed previously), the river flows best when government is not in the middle, splashing around and muddying things up.

Now, it’s true that some wealthy folks may be greedy and direct the money flow illegally. When the rich engage in fraud, price-fixing, or other crimes to feather their nests, the government should step in and prosecute such crooks. Likewise, government officials should be fired, impeached, or prosecuted for funneling taxpayer funds (“earmarks”) to their wealthy patrons to buy votes and favors.

However, assuming no criminal behavior, why don’t rich folks have the right to choose the direction of the money flow? It’s their money, after all, not the government’s. Plus it is only theirs temporarily, until it flows through them to others. In other words, being wealthy does not stop a single dollar from flowing to a less fortunate person. In fact, the more wealthy people there are, the better; the river gets deeper and wider. This is why it is illogical for regular folks to be envious of wealthy folks, and also why it is illogical for wealthy folks to feel guilty about being wealthy.

Envy And Guilt About Honestly Acquired Wealth Are Illogical

(If you care to debate the above, contrary viewpoints are welcome.)

Next post:

The Economy Is Not A Pizza Pie (Part 2)

-Ed Walker

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