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thinkahol *

Failure Is Good - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...krugman-failure-is-good.html

Failure Is Good - NYTimes.com

shared by thinkahol * on 18 Nov 11 - No Cached
  • thinkahol * on 18 Nov 11
     
    By next Wednesday, the so-called supercommittee, a bipartisan group of legislators, is supposed to reach an agreement on how to reduce future deficits. Barring an evil miracle - I'll explain the evil part later - the committee will fail to meet that deadline. If this news surprises you, you haven't been paying attention. If it depresses you, cheer up: In this case, failure is good.
thinkahol *

Op-Ed Columnist - Don't Get Mad, Mr. President. Get Even. - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...06rich.html

Obama

shared by thinkahol * on 08 Jun 10 - Cached
  • thinkahol * on 08 Jun 10
     
    Unlike his unflappable temperament, his lingering failings should and could be corrected. And they must be if his presidency is not just to rise above the 24/7 Spill-cam but to credibly seize the narrative that Americans have craved ever since he was elected during the most punishing economic downturn of our lifetime. We still want to believe that Obama is on our side, willing to fight those bad corporate actors who cut corners and gambled recklessly while regulators slept, Congress raked in contributions, and we got stuck with the wreckage and the bills. But his leadership style keeps sowing confusion about his loyalties, puncturing holes in the powerful tale he could tell.
thinkahol *

Good Government vs. Less Government « The Baseline Scenario - 0 views

baselinescenario.com/...-government-vs-less-government

good government

shared by thinkahol * on 02 Jun 10 - Cached
  • thinkahol * on 02 Jun 10
     
    Recently, a controversy raged in the blogosphere about whether neo-liberalism has been a bane or a boon for the world economy. The argument is rather coarse, in that it fails to distinguish between the various elements of neo-liberalism, or moderate deregulation vs. extreme deregulation. But if we take the argument at face value, one of the major claims of neoliberals is that countries in the world which are more neoliberal are more successful (because they are more neoliberal). I disagree. My disagreement is not with the raw correlation between the Heritage Index and Per Capita GDP. A number is a number. My disagreement is with the composition of the index itself, and interpreting this correlation as causation between neo-liberalism and 'good things.' My primary contention below is that many of these measures used in the composite Heritage Index have nothing to do with less government, and a lot more to do with good government. It is these measures of good government that correlate to economic growth and drive the overall correlation between the "Freedom Index" and positive outcomes. Secondarily, I will argue that many of the other items in the index (like investment freedom) are not causes of growth, but rather outcomes of growth.
Michael Haltman

Obama facing another failed foreign policy initiative as Iran announces uranium enrichment facility - National Homeland Security | Examiner.com - 0 views

www.examiner.com/...es-uranium-enrichment-facility

Cordoba House Ground Zero Mosque Iran nuclear weapons uranium enrichment Obama Foreign Policy

shared by Michael Haltman on 16 Aug 10 - Cached
  • Michael Haltman on 16 Aug 10
     
    Ground Zero Mosque Is Okay According To The President, But Then Again A Nuclear Armed Iran Seems To Be Fine As Well.
thinkahol *

Racial and ethnic exploitation of economic insecurity - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com - 0 views

www.salon.com/...index.html

shared by thinkahol * on 05 Sep 10 - Cached
  • thinkahol * on 05 Sep 10
     
    Because the Democrats fail to do anything about real populist rage
thinkahol *

Media Misreading Midterms - 0 views

www.fair.org/index.php

Media Misreading Midterms

shared by thinkahol * on 07 Nov 10 - No Cached
  • thinkahol * on 07 Nov 10
     
    For months, the problem for Democrats was correctly identified as the "enthusiasm gap"--the idea that the progressive base of the party was not excited about voting. The exit polls from Tuesday's vote confirm that many Democratic-tending voters failed to show up. How, then, does one square this fact with the idea that Obama and Democrats were pushing policies that were considered too left-wing? If that were the case, then presumably more of those base voters would have voted to support that agenda. It is difficult to fathom how both things could be true.
thinkahol *

Iraq war leaks: No U.S. investigation of many abuses - All Salon - Salon.com - 0 views

www.salon.com/...wikileaks_2

Iraq war leaks: No U.S. investigation of many abuses - All Salon Salon.com

shared by thinkahol * on 23 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • thinkahol * on 23 Oct 10
     
    WikiLeaks report suggests U.S. failed to investigate evidence that Iraqi forces tortured, killed captives
thinkahol *

Road to Corporate Serfdom | CommonDreams.org - 0 views

www.commondreams.org/...30

Road to Corporate Serfdom | CommonDreams.org

shared by thinkahol * on 04 Nov 10 - No Cached
  • thinkahol * on 04 Nov 10
     
    It was Bill Clinton's campaign strategist, James Carville, who in 1992 created the election slogan: "It's the Economy, Stupid." For the 2010 Congressional campaigns, the slogan should have been: "It's Corporate Crime and Control, Stupid." But notwithstanding the latest corporate crime wave, the devastating fallout on workers, investors and taxpayers from the greed and corruption of Wall Street, and the abandonment of American workers by U.S. corporations in favor of repressive regimes abroad, the Democrats have failed to focus voter anger on the corporate supremacists. 
Skeptical Debunker

Big Content condemns foreign governments that endorse FOSS - 0 views

arstechnica.com/...ernments-that-endorse-foss.ars

open source Special 301 USTR IIPA absurd recommendations self-serving

shared by Skeptical Debunker on 25 Feb 10 - Cached
  • University of Edinburgh law lecturer Andres Guadamuz wrote a blog entry this week highlighting some particularly troubling aspects of the IIPA's 301 recommendations. The organization has condemned Indonesia and several other countries for encouraging government adoption of open source software. According to the IIPA, official government endorsements of open source software create "trade barriers" and restrict "equitable market access" for software companies. The profound absurdity of this accusation is exacerbated by the fact that Indonesia's move towards open source software was almost entirely motivated by a desire to eliminate the use of pirated software within the government IT infrastructure. It's important to understand that Indonesia has not mandated the adoption of open source software or barred government agencies from purchasing proprietary commercial software. The Indonesian government issued a statement in 2009 informing municipal governments that they had to stop using pirated software. The statement said that government agencies must either purchase legally licensed commercial software or switch to free and open source alternatives in order to comply with copyright law. This attempt by Indonesia to promote legal software procurement processes by endorsing the viability of open source software has apparently angered the IIPA. In its 301 recommendations for Indonesia, the IIPA demands that the government rescind its 2009 statement. According to the IIPA, Indonesia's policy "weakens the software industry and undermines its long-term competitiveness" because open source software "encourages a mindset that does not give due consideration to the value to intellectual creations [and] fails to build respect for intellectual property rights." The number of ways in which the IIPA's statements regarding open source software are egregiously misleading and dishonest are too numerous to count. The IIPA seems to have completely missed the fact that there is a very robust ecosystem of commercial software vendors in the open source software market and that open source software is at the heart of some of the most popular consumer electronics products that are sold in the United States. It has clearly become an important part of the US software economy and increasingly serves as an enabler of innovation and technological progress. In light of the profitability of Red Hat and other open source leaders, it seems absurd to contend that open source software adoption will weaken the software industry or reduce its competitiveness. In fact, the emergence of open source software has contributed to creating a more competitive landscape in the software industry by offering alternative business models that enable smaller companies to gain traction against the dominant incumbent players. The IIPA's position is profoundly hypocritical, because many parts of the US government, including the Department of Defense, have issued their own memos endorsing open source software adoption. The IIPA's disingenuous move to equate open source software with piracy reeks of desperation. The BSA and other IIPA members are likely losing sleep over open source software because that development model and approach to licensing will empower developing countries to build their own domestic IT industries, eliminating the need for them to tithe to American software giants. It's another failing of the 301 review, which Big Content wants used to coerce other countries into adopting ever-more-stringent copyright laws.
  • Skeptical Debunker on 25 Feb 10
     
    In accordance with US trade law, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) is required to conduct an annual review of the status of foreign intellectual property laws. This review, which is referred to as Special 301, is typically used to denounce countries that have less restrictive copyright policies than the United States. The review process is increasingly dominated by content industry lobbyists who want to subvert US trade policy and make it more favorable to their own interests. We have already noted the targeting of Canada for its supposedly lax copyright laws, but that is not the only nation drawing the ire of Big Content. One of the organizations that plays a key role in influencing the Special 301 review is the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), a powerful coalition that includes the RIAA, the MPAA, and the Business Software Alliance (BSA). The IIPA, which recently published its official recommendations to the USTR for the 2010 edition of the 301 review, has managed to achieve a whole new level of absurdity.
Michael Haltman

Iran: Truth or consequences - 0 views

www.examiner.com/...1d1-Iran-Truth-or-consequences

iran nukes sanctions united nations terrorism

shared by Michael Haltman on 01 Jan 10 - Cached
  • Michael Haltman on 01 Jan 10
     
    The Obama Deadline Has Been Reached; Time For Truth or Consequences The Obama administration set a December 31, 2009 deadline for the Iranian government to come clean on its nuclear ambitions, and to agree to the plan of shipping uranium out of country for enrichment. Failing that, the United States has declared it stands ready to impose tough new sanctions...
Skeptical Debunker

Top home-school texts dismiss Darwin, evolution - Yahoo! News - 0 views

news.yahoo.com/...us_rel_home_school_evolution

home schoolling Christian evolution propoganda

shared by Skeptical Debunker on 07 Mar 10 - Cached
  • Christian-based materials dominate a growing home-school education market that encompasses more than 1.5 million students in the U.S. And for most home-school parents, a Bible-based version of the Earth's creation is exactly what they want. Federal statistics from 2007 show 83 percent of home-schooling parents want to give their children "religious or moral instruction." "The majority of home-schoolers self-identify as evangelical Christians," said Ian Slatter, a spokesman for the Home School Legal Defense Association. "Most home-schoolers will definitely have a sort of creationist component to their home-school program." Those who don't, however, often feel isolated and frustrated from trying to find a textbook that fits their beliefs. Two of the best-selling biology textbooks stack the deck against evolution, said some science educators who reviewed sections of the books at the request of The Associated Press. "I feel fairly strongly about this. These books are promulgating lies to kids," said Jerry Coyne, an ecology and evolution professor at the University of Chicago. The textbook publishers defend their books as well-rounded lessons on evolution and its shortcomings. One of the books doesn't attempt to mask disdain for Darwin and evolutionary science. "Those who do not believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God will find many points in this book puzzling," says the introduction to "Biology: Third Edition" from Bob Jones University Press. "This book was not written for them." The textbook delivers a religious ultimatum to young readers and parents, warning in its "History of Life" chapter that a "Christian worldview ... is the only correct view of reality; anyone who rejects it will not only fail to reach heaven but also fail to see the world as it truly is."
  • Skeptical Debunker on 07 Mar 10
     
    Home-school mom Susan Mule wishes she hadn't taken a friend's advice and tried a textbook from a popular Christian publisher for her 10-year-old's biology lessons. Mule's precocious daughter Elizabeth excels at science and has been studying tarantulas since she was 5. But she watched Elizabeth's excitement turn to confusion when they reached the evolution section of the book from Apologia Educational Ministries, which disputed Charles Darwin's theory. "I thought she was going to have a coronary," Mule said of her daughter, who is now 16 and taking college courses in Houston. "She's like, 'This is not true!'"
  • Skeptical Debunker on 07 Mar 10
     
    Home Fooling.
Peter Neis

NY State Government and Wall Street - 0 views

www.politicolnews.com/new-york-state-government

Goldman Sachs and Bloomberg Mayor defends Wall Street New York State Constitution of Investment Banks NY licensing Brokers SEC trading licenses

shared by Peter Neis on 28 Apr 10 - Cached
  • Peter Neis on 28 Apr 10
     
    The NY State constitution and Licensing commission failed to also monitor the activities of Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg defends Goldman, more news on the Hill....
Michael Haltman

Gallup daily tracking for BP oil spill: Obama, federal government and BP all get failing grades - 1 views

www.examiner.com/...-and-BP-all-get-failing-grades

President Obama Transocean Gulf of Mexico BP environment oil spill 2010 environmental disaster top kill Deepwater Horizon Louisiana coastline process live feed Gallup daily tracking federal government

shared by Michael Haltman on 27 May 10 - Cached
  • Michael Haltman on 27 May 10
     
    The time for presidential rhetoric is over. It is time for some action. This performance makes Katrina look like a home run!
thinkahol *

Global poverty doubled since 1970s: UN | The Raw Story - 0 views

www.rawstory.com/...global-poverty-doubled-1970s

Global poverty doubled since 1970s: UN | The Raw Story

shared by thinkahol * on 09 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • thinkahol * on 09 Mar 11
     
    GENEVA - The number of very poor countries has doubled in the last 30 to 40 years, while the number of people living in extreme poverty has also grown two-fold, a UN think-tank warned Thursday. In its annual report on the 49 least developed countries (LDCs) in the world, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said that the model of development that has prevailed to date for these countries has failed and should be re-assessed.
thinkahol *

In a pure coincidence, Gaddafi impeded U.S. oil interests before the war - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com - 0 views

www.salon.com/...index.html

In a pure coincidence Gaddafi impeded U.S. oil interests before the war - Glenn Greenwald Salon.com

shared by thinkahol * on 13 Jun 11 - No Cached
  • As usual, the ideas stigmatized with the most potent taboos are the ones that are the most obviously true.
  • thinkahol * on 13 Jun 11
     
    When the war in Libya began, the U.S. government convinced a large number of war supporters that we were there to achieve the very limited goal of creating a no-fly zone in Benghazi to protect civilians from air attacks, while President Obama specifically vowed that "broadening our military mission to include regime change would be a mistake."  This no-fly zone was created in the first week, yet now, almost three months later, the war drags on without any end in sight, and NATO is no longer even hiding what has long been obvious: that its real goal is exactly the one Obama vowed would not be pursued -- regime change through the use of military force.  We're in Libya to forcibly remove Gaddafi from power and replace him with a regime that we like better, i.e., one that is more accommodating to the interests of the West.  That's not even a debatable proposition at this point. What I suppose is debatable, in the most generous sense of that term, is our motive in doing this.  Why -- at a time when American political leaders feel compelled to advocate politically radioactive budget cuts to reduce the deficit and when polls show Americans solidly and increasingly opposed to the war -- would the U.S. Government continue to spend huge sums of money to fight this war?  Why is President Obama willing to endure self-evidently valid accusations -- even from his own Party -- that he's fighting an illegal war by brazenly flouting the requirements for Congressional approval?  Why would Defense Secretary Gates risk fissures by so angrily and publicly chiding NATO allies for failing to build more Freedom Bombs to devote to the war?  And why would we, to use the President's phrase, "stand idly by" while numerous other regimes -- including our close allies in Bahrain and Yemen and the one in Syria -- engage in attacks on their own people at least as heinous as those threatened by Gaddafi, yet be so devoted to targeting the Libyan leader?
thinkahol *

10 stories more important than Weinergate - Media Criticism - Salon.com - 0 views

www.salon.com/...index.html

10 stories more important than Weinergate

shared by thinkahol * on 13 Jun 11 - No Cached
  • thinkahol * on 13 Jun 11
     
    From record greenhouse gas emissions to the failed War on Drugs, here are the real scandals the media ignored
thinkahol *

Will US Mayors Vote Against War? - 0 views

www.readersupportednews.org/...ill-us-mayors-vote-against-war

Will US Mayors Vote Against War?

shared by thinkahol * on 20 Jun 11 - No Cached
  • thinkahol * on 20 Jun 11
     
    But Barry's words ring true. The city of Detroit stands as a mirror to the United States' battered economy and failing wars. Our nation's continued military exploits in Iraq and Afghanistan are fueling Detroit's destruction. Taxpayers from Detroit shell out over two billion dollars a year for war, money that could cover healthcare for over 150,000 children or the payment of some 3,000 teachers' salaries. While Senator Levin might not want to make the link between war funding and the financial woes of our cities, mayors around the country are doing just that. At this year's annual US Conference of Mayors, to be held from June 17-21 in Baltimore, hundreds of mayors will gather to discuss diverse issues from job growth to homeland security. One of the issues they will vote on is the Bring Our War Dollars Home resolution, introduced by Mayor Kitty Piercy from Eugene, Oregon, which calls on Congress to redirect military spending to domestic priorities.
thinkahol *

Evil Corporate Tax Holiday Gains Bipartisan Support | Rolling Stone Politics | Taibblog | Matt Taibbi on Politics and the Economy - 0 views

www.rollingstone.com/...ns-bipartisan-support-20110726

Evil Corporate Tax Holiday Gains Bipartisan Support | Rolling Stone Politics Taibblog Matt Taibbi on and the Economy

shared by thinkahol * on 27 Jul 11 - No Cached
  • thinkahol * on 27 Jul 11
     
    The madness that is the proposed tax repatriation holiday is continuing and gathering steam. More and more members of congress are coming out of the woodwork, scratching their chins in contemplative consideration as it were, pretending that they've just realized what a great day a corporate tax holiday would be - not that they've taken gazillions of dollars from the firms lobbying for it or anything. The latest convert seems to be Nevada Democrat Shelley Berkley. Berkley's plan is to offer a pseudo-holiday - not the full-fledged happy-ending massage the companies wanted (i.e. a reduction from 35 percent+ to 5.25 percent) but a mere ten-point shave: Representative Shelley Berkley, a Nevada Democrat, is the latest lawmaker to consider legislation allowing multinational companies to send offshore profits to the U.S. at a reduced tax rate. Her proposal, which was confirmed yesterday by Berkley's communications director, David Cherry, would allow companies to return profits to the U.S. at a 25 percent tax rate, 10 percentage points below the maximum statutory rate. Most companies publicly supporting a holiday, such as Duke Energy Corp., have spoken favorably of the 5.25 percent rate that is being offered by Representative Kevin Brady, a Texas Republican. One thing that people must understand about this tax repatriation business is that it's a wholly bipartisan affair. It's not solely the work of evil Republicans. This is a scheme that requires heavies in both parties to help ram the knotty, hard-to-sell legislation through. On the Democratic side, unsurprisingly, the main actor is going to be Chuck Schumer. John Kerry is also involved with this nastiness. Barbara Boxer led the 2004 effort and the failed 2009 campaign to get a holiday, and is rumored to be lurking somewhere in this business. Note that Cisco, a California corporate heavyweight and one of the companies lobbying most ravenously for this tax holiday, has been a consistent lifelong contributor
thinkahol *

Is the SEC Covering Up Wall Street Crimes? | Rolling Stone Politics - 0 views

www.rollingstone.com/...up-wall-street-crimes-20110817

Is the SEC Covering Up Wall Street Crimes? | Rolling Stone Politics

shared by thinkahol * on 18 Aug 11 - No Cached
  • thinkahol * on 18 Aug 11
     
    Imagine a world in which a man who is repeatedly investigated for a string of serious crimes, but never prosecuted, has his slate wiped clean every time the cops fail to make a case. No more Lifetime channel specials where the murderer is unveiled after police stumble upon past intrigues in some old file - "Hey, chief, didja know this guy had two wives die falling down the stairs?" No more burglary sprees cracked when some sharp cop sees the same name pop up in one too many witness statements. This is a different world, one far friendlier to lawbreakers, where even the suspicion of wrongdoing gets wiped from the record.
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