Undernews for 3 February 2009

UNDERNEWS
The news while there's still time to do something about it

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3 February 2009
WORD

Drawing on my fine command of the English language I said nothing -- Robert Benchley

FLOTSAM & JETSAM

REACTION WITHOUT ACTION

Sam Smith

Watching the crowd reaction to Bruce Springsteen at the Super Bowl brought to mind how much better Americans have become at collective enthusiasm than at collective action.

The arm punches, screaming, and the mixture of joy, tears and intense facial expressions that in any other context might be taken for anger seemed somewhat mechanical, but thanks to television, movies and prior attendance, we all know how to act in such circumstances even if it means yelling so loudly that you can hardly hear the individual you so admire. Besides - unlike, say, a 1930s big band dance concert - the promoters have made sure there isn't much room to do anything else.

It is easy to forget how recent this phenomenon is. Many credit Frank Sinatra as being the founder of modern fan hysteria. As Pop History Dig describes it:

"By 1942, as his music was broadcast on the live radio show Your Hit Parade, sponsored by Lucky Strike cigarettes, Sinatra began attracting the attention of teenage girls. The 'Bobbysoxers,' as they were called for their rolled-to-the-ankle white socks, were swooning in the aisles for the young singer. Sinatra's vast appeal to this group revealed a whole new demographic for popular music and for marketing. Sponsors had yet to recognize the vast economic buying power of teenagers and young adults, and had traditionally aimed their programming and sponsorship at the 30-to-50-year-olds. But that soon changed.

"On December 30,1942, when Sinatra played his first solo concert at New York city's Paramount Theater near Times Square, the Bobbysoxers came out in droves. After being introduced by Jack Benny, Sinatra walked on stage to loud and continuous shrieks and screams. 'The sound that greeted me,' he later recalled, 'was absolutely deafening. It was a tremendous roar. Five thousand kids, stamping, yelling, screaming, applauding. I was scared stiff. I couldn't move a muscle. Benny Goodman froze, too. He was so scared he turned around, looked at the audience and said, 'What the hell is that?' I burst out laughing.' The kids screamed in delight; some even fainted. They also crowded the back stage door after the show shrieking for his autograph, and spilled over into Times Square, snarling traffic. . . . Between 1940 and early 1943 he had 23 top ten singles on the new Billboard music chart. And all through those years, back at Paramount and other venues, the kids continued screaming and swooning for Sinatra.

FRANK SINATRA ARRIVES IN 1943 FOR HOLLYWOOD BOWL PERFORMANCE
"Fans had not swooned or screamed over other singers, such as Bing Crosby. So what was it with Sinatra? Something else was going on, the critics surmised. Although his singing was certainly a factor, some charged it was also Sinatra's look; his seeming innocence, frailty, and vulnerability that evoked the passions of female fans. Newsweek magazine then viewed the Bobbysoxer phenomenon as a kind of madness; a mass sexual delirium. Some even called the girls immoral or juvenile delinquents. But most simply saw them as young girls letting their emotions fly. . .

"By 1946 Frank Sinatra's recording company, Columbia, estimated that he was selling 10 million records per year."

Elvis and the Beatles, of course, contributed mightily to the phenomenon. The latter's first appearance at a U.S. concert was at Shea Stadium and 56,000 fans showed up to set a world record in attendance and gross revenue. The Beatles cleared $160,000.

Now, some six decades into increasingly orchestrated fan hysteria, it shouldn't surprise us if both the Springsteen performance and the reaction seemed somewhat artificial. But what did surprise - nay, stun - this cynical journalist was that a suspicion I had voluntarily suppressed not only had merit but was worse than I had imagined: the crowd knew precisely what to do.

In fact, they had been rehearsed, told where to stand and how to react - witness this video.

Such discoveries of rock promoters have spilled over into other aspects of our lives including politics. In fact, the Obama campaign might be fairly described as the first modeled on the principles of a rock concert tour including audiences that are better at cheering than listening, more moved by charisma than content and not too curious about what it all adds up to.

Of course, rock concerts have had a lot of help. Television and the internet, the atomization of American culture and the dominance of corporate and political propaganda in our daily lives have also contributed. So has, I'm convinced, albeit without solid evidence, the widespread use of anti-depressants and tranquilizers. It's hard to start a revolution if you've drugged away your anger and disgust.

In any case, what is clear is that America has largely accepted the dismantling of its constitution, an ordinate improper transfer of wealth from the many to the few, illegal wars and the destruction of its economy with striking passivity. With a few exceptions such as punk rock, there hasn't been a movement of any strength and continuity challenging the wrongs in America since a few years after that Beatles concert. It's almost as though, with the arrival of disco in the 1970s, we all agreed to just shut up and do what we were told.

Disco, with its mechanizing of music, was a suitable introduction to the Reagan - Bush - Clinton - Bush era - or RBee CBee - with its similar effect on politics. The instrument of our power - whether musical or political - had been taken away and put in a machine to be managed by a DJ.

Its thus not so surprising that America has been so slow in its response to the current economic disaster. We have been trained to react but not to act on our reaction. We've been taught to dance to the DJ and to stand in our crowded corner of the stadium and cheer just like everyone else. And if some slight residue of independence and rebellion remains, the Prozac should take of it. If not, we'll up the dose.

What this means is not that the collective anger and riots won't come as they already are elsewhere in the world. They likely will and the reaction of the government will likely be cruel and senseless. But it means that our opportunity to avoid such a moment is passing us by as the very leaders who created this disaster create inadequate or even disastrous solutions and the only thing we know how to do well is to stand close to one another, yell and punch our arms towards the sky.

And it will be like until we rediscover the basic truth that the answer is not up on the stage but with those before, behind and on either side of us. In the end, we are the only band that really counts.
CRISIS: COUNTRY BY COUNTRY
Guardian - In Athens, it was students and young people who suddenly mobilized to turn parts of the city into no-go areas. They were sick of the lack of jobs and prospects, the failings of the education system and seized with pessimism over their future. This week it was the farmers' turn, rolling their tractors out to block the motorways, main road and border crossings across the Balkans to try to obtain better procurement prices for their produce."

International Herald Tribune - A French minister flew to the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe for talks aimed at ending a 13-day general strike over pay and prices that has paralyzed the French territory and threatens to fuel dissent at home. Business leaders have warned of economic ruin if the dispute is not resolved soon and officials are anxious to prevent any contagion to the French mainland, where unions are demanding more government action to tackle the economic crisis. . . An alliance of 47 unions and local bodies known as the Lyannaj kont pwofitasyon - whose name in Creole means "Let's stand up to fight against all sorts of abuses" - began their protest on Jan. 20 over the cost of living. They have drawn up a list of 146 demands including an increase in the minimum salary of E200, or $257, a freeze on rents and a cut in taxes and food prices. They also want an immediate 50-cent reduction in the price of a liter of petrol.

Foreign Policy - The financial crisis has gotten so severe in Britain that it has earned London a new nickname in the international media: Reykjavik-on-Thames. The question in Britain is no longer when the economy will enter a recession, but when it will enter a depression, with many bracing for a slump that could rival the 1930s in severity. . .

Guardian - More than 10,000 people converged on the 13th century cathedral to show the Latvian government what they thought of its efforts at containing the economic crisis. The peaceful protest morphed into a late-night rampage as a minority headed for the parliament, battled with riot police and trashed parts of the old city. The following day, there were similar scenes in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital next door"

Foreign Policy - Latvia is arguably the one country that most resembles Iceland, and not just because of the cold climate. The small, developing country's lofty growth rates in recent years were fueled by heavy investment from elsewhere in Europe, massive foreign debt, booming consumption, and minimal savings. After growing at an extraordinary 12.2 percent rate in 2006, Latvia's economy is now the weakest of the 27 EU member states. . . . The International Monetary Fund has approved a $7.3 billion bailout package for Latvia, but a long road to recovery remains.

Foreign Policy -The Greek economy, burdened by a debt-to-GDP ratio of more than 90 percent, is one of the shakiest in the European Union. . .

Foreign Policy - Economic damage: Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, an old U.S. enemy from the Cold War, explained the financial crisis by stating, "God is punishing the United States." But the ripple effects from the crisis will likely reach all the way to his own country. Nicaragua's economy is heavily dependent on remittances, with the central bank estimating that Nicaraguans abroad send back between $800 million and $1 billion every year. The U.S. economic downturn means that fewer Nicaraguans will have money to send home. The financial crisis has also pushed down the price of coffee, Nicaragua's main export, as investors have abandoned the commodity market.

Guardian, UK - Gordon Brown condemned wildcat strikes as "indefensible" amid efforts to prevent the row over foreign labor escalating into mass industrial action. The prime minister said he recognized that people were worried about jobs being taken by workers from other countries, but stressed that the UK was part of a single European market. . . The protests were prompted by a decision to bring in hundreds of Italian and Portuguese contractors to work on a new plant at the Lindsey oil refinery, in North Lincolnshire. Unions claim Britons were not given any opportunity to apply for the posts.

Reuters - - Peru's largest federation of mining unions said over the weekend it has agreed to call a nationwide strike starting on March 15, to protest mounting job cuts and to pressure Congress to lift caps on profit sharing.. . . Mine workers are upset by job cuts spurred by the global economic crisis, which has slammed prices for most of Peru's metal exports, the government's largest revenue source. According to the mining federation, more than 5,500 workers have lost their jobs since December, while the Labor Ministry puts the figure at 4,000.

Times, UK - The collapse of the export trade has left millions without work and set off a wave of social instability. . . China's new year of the ox portends calm but there is little sign of it as workers in Shezhen protest over unpaid wages as factories shut. Bankruptcies, unemployment and social unrest are spreading more widely in China than officially reported, according to independent research that paints an ominous picture for the world economy. The research was conducted for The Sunday Times over the last two months in three provinces vital to Chinese trade - Guangdong, Zhejiang and Jiangsu. It found that the global economic crisis has scythed through exports and set off dozens of protests that are never mentioned by the state media.

Ana, Greece - Farmers from Iraklio and Lasithi on Crete embarked on ferry boats bound for the port of Piraeus, along with their tractors and pick-up trucks, determined to take their protest to the capital. . . Amid government appeals that they leave their tractors behind, farmers on Crete had earlier disbanded their five-day road block at Linoperamata and Platani and arranged to meet at the island's port the same evening.

Reuters - Hundreds of nuclear workers joined nationwide protests against the use of foreign-contracted labor, saying Britons were losing out at a time of rising unemployment and economic recession. About 900 contractors at the Sellafield nuclear processing plant in northern England walked off the job, joining more than 1,000 others in the fuel and energy industries who have carried out impromptu strikes over foreign labor in recent days.

Guardian - Burned-out cars, masked youths, smashed shop windows and more than a million striking workers. The scenes from France are familiar, but not so familiar to President Nicolas Sarkozy, confronting the first big wave of industrial unrest of his time in the Elysee Palace. . The latest jobless figures were to have been released yesterday, but were held back, apparently for fear of inflaming the protests."

Times, UK - Wildcat strikes flared at more than 19 sites across [Britain] in response to claims that British tradesmen were being barred from construction jobs by contractors using cheaper foreign workers."

Daily Mail, UK - Russia was rocked by some of its strongest protests yet as thousands rallied across the vast country to attack the Kremlin's response to the global economic crisis. The marches, complete with Soviet-style red flags and banners, pose a challenge to a government which has faced little threat from the fragmented opposition and politically apathetic population during the boom years fuelled by oil. Pro-government thugs beat up some of the protesters. . . About 2,500 people marched across the far eastern port of Vladivostok to denounce the Cabinet's decision to increase car import tariffs, shouting slogans urging Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to resign. . . . Meanwhile in Moscow arrests were made as about 1,000 diehard Communists rallied in a central square hemmed in by heavy police cordons.

IBM WANTS TO OUTSOURCE WORKERS AS WELL AS WORK

Information Week - Under a program called Project Match, IBM will help workers laid off from domestic sites obtain travel and visa assistance for countries in which Big Blue has openings. Mostly that's developing markets like India, China, and Brazil.

"IBM has established Project Match to help you locate potential job opportunities in growth markets where your skills are in demand," IBM says in an internal notice on the initiative. "Should you accept a position in one of these countries, IBM offers financial assistance to offset moving costs, provides immigration support, such as visa assistance, and other support to help ease the transition of an international move."

The document states that the program is limited to "satisfactory performers who have been notified of separation from IBM U.S. or Canada and are willing to work on local terms and conditions." The latter indicates that workers will be paid according to prevailing norms in the countries to which they relocate. In many cases, that could be substantially less than what they earned in North America. . . A spokesman for Alliance@IBM, a workers' group that's affiliated with the Communications Workers of America but which does not have official union status at IBM, slammed the program. "IBM is not only offshoring IBM U.S. jobs but they want employees to offshore themselves through Project Match," said the spokesman.

NATIONALIZING BANKS

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Telegraph, UK - Let banks fail, says Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz Let banks fail, says Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz. Professor Stiglitz, the former chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, told The Daily Telegraph that Britain should let the banks default on their vast foreign operations and start afresh with new set of healthy banks.

"The UK has been hit hard because the banks took on enormously large liabilities in foreign currencies. Should the British taxpayers have to lower their standard of living for 20 years to pay off mistakes that benefited a small elite?" he said.

"There is an argument for letting the banks go bust. It may cause turmoil but it will be a cheaper way to deal with this in the end."

Mr Stiglitz said the Government should underwrite all deposits to protect the UK's domestic credit system and safeguard money markets that lubricate lending. It should use the skeletons of the old banks to build a healthier structure. . .

Joshua Holland, AlterNet - It's time that the government stops flailing around with piecemeal bailouts and loan guarantees, takes over these institutions -- takes them out of private ownership -- sells off their good assets in an orderly way, trashes the toxic stuff and then resells them to the private sector down the road as leaner institutions that are dedicated to the primary purpose of banking: making loans and holding deposits. . . Nationalization is a radical move, but there are real and practical problems with trying to prop up falling banks that are fundamentally unsound. So far, several broad approaches have been bandied about in D.C. All have similar flaws, and all represent an elaborate dance around the N-word.

The first is to buy up the banks' toxic assets -- the original concept behind the TARP. The government would fund the creation of a "bad bank" to hold onto those assets in the hope that they would increase in value down the road and maybe return some cash to the taxpayers. The argument is that the government can buy and hold that junk with money the private sector can't raise, and also pays less for the cash in the first place.

But there's a big problem with the idea of creating a "bad bank." Asset prices are so low right now that either the government overpays for them, providing a huge subsidy to shareholders in companies that are on the shakiest of ground, or it pays a fair value for those assets, in which case banks holding large amounts of debt-based securities would have little incentive to participate. If they did, they'd go belly-up anyway (if they could simply sell off their crappy paper at current prices -- however one determines what those prices are in a market that's essentially shut down -- we wouldn't be in this mess).

Another proposal -- one that has gained currency since the first round of TARP money was dished out -- is to "recapitalize the banks" by buying stock in the firms. The government would basically become an investor, and assuming that the institutions in question rebounded, it could later sell its shares and recoup some or all of the dollars taxpayers threw at them.

Here, there's a similar problem. The value of bank stocks are at rock bottom, and there's a reason for that: they represent a terrible investment, and that would effectively make the U.S. taxpayer the sucker of last resort -- a chump who would buy into a failing institution.

CRASH TALK

Although no Republicans voted for the House bailout package, GOP governors are on the case, trying to make sure they get monies aimed to their states to help with matters like Medicaid shortfalls. The National Governors Association backs the plan saying that governors "support several key elements of the bill critical to states-increased federal support for Medicaid and K-12 and higher education; investment in the nation's infrastructure; and tax provisions to spur investment."

One critical question, will the governors just use most of the money to fix current deficits - which will have less impact on the economy - or will they, as Pennsylvania's Ed Rendell says he will, push spending that fits the purpose of the measure.

Press Connects New York's Charles Rangel and five other Democratic members of the House enjoyed a trip to the Caribbean sponsored in part by Citigroup in November - after Congress had approved the $700 bailout for financial firms (including Citigroup). . . The National Legal and Policy Center, a watchdog group, has asked Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (to investigate the Nov. 6-9 excursion to the island of St. Maarten. "Corporate sponsorship of such an event was banned by House rules adopted on March 1, 2007, in response to the (lobbyist Jack) Abramoff scandal," the group pointed out.

Stuart Grudgings, Reuters - The world's biggest gathering of leftist activists ended on Sunday, after six days of discussions and protests that participants said showed there was an alternative to a crumbling global capitalist system. Timed to coincide with the Davos meeting of business leaders in Switzerland, this year's Forum attracted a record number of government leaders keen to burnish their leftist credentials in the wake of the global financial crisis. . . Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government spent about $50 million on the Forum and brought a dozen cabinet ministers. Four other leftist Latin American presidents also visited and received a heroes' welcome. Rather than making binding decisions, the Forum's main role is as a huge networking and discussion opportunity for activists. The global crisis was a common theme, with many saying it showed that free-market capitalism was on its last legs.

Dirt Diggers Digest - Rather than wasting vast additional sums in a bad-bank bailout, why doesn't the federal government direct its resources toward the creation of a "good" bank? The Federal Reserve is already acting not just as the lender of last resort to banks but has also provided loans to non-financial corporations by purchasing their commercial paper. Why stop there? If the for-profit banking system really is dysfunctional, then the solution may be to have the federal government step in to replace or supplement it in a major way. That's the kind of intervention that may actually do us some good.

Think Progress - Appearing on CNN, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani stridently defended the practice of enormous bonuses untethered to actual performance, warning that ending the tradition "really will create unemployment": "I remember when I was mayor, one of the ways in which you determined New York City's budget, tax revenues, was Wall Street bonuses. Wall Street had a billion, two billion in bonuses, city had a deficit. Wall Street had 15 to 20 billion, New York City had a 2, 3 billion surplus. And it's because that money gets spent. … It does have a reverse effect on the economy, if you somehow take that bonus out of the economy. It really will create unemployment. It means less spending in restaurants, less spending in department stores."

CNN - The Girl Scouts of the USA confirmed that it has reduced the number of cookies per box to save money because of rising transportation and baking costs. People buying Girl Scout cookies like these on their Web site this year can expect fewer cookies in the packages. Michelle Tompkins, a national Girl Scout spokeswoman, said that "the cost of baking a cookie today is significantly higher than it was even a year ago, and our bakers cannot continue to absorb these rising costs." She also said transportation costs have increased 30 to 40 percent from a year ago. The combined cost increase prompted the organization to "lower the net weight of our cookie boxes slightly rather than ask our customers to pay a higher per-package price during these difficult times," Tompkins said in a written statement. There will be two to four fewer cookies in boxes of Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Shortbread Cookies, DoSiDos and Trefoils, she said.

Beth Healey, Boston Globe - Banks and other lenders nationwide, seeking to reduce their debt exposure, are shutting off and limiting consumer credit card lines, even for many customers who carry low balances and pay on time. As much as $2 trillion in consumer credit - nearly half of what is available - could be rescinded, according to an estimate by a prominent banking analyst. Just two years ago, institutions were handing out liberal borrowing lines to almost anyone. But now, drowning in debt and soured investments, lenders are seeking to stop consumers from running up big balances in hard times, bills they might not be able to pay. The credit squeeze doesn't just limit spending potential; it can also damage cardholders' credit ratings by making them appear to be riskier borrowers. And in many cases, the institutions pulling back on credit took government bailout funds that were supposed to encourage them to lend more freely.

UTAH'S FOUR DAY WORK WEEK PROVED POPULAR

Stateline - In Utah, the nation's biggest experiment in shrinking the government workweek already is under way - with encouraging results.

Surprisingly, the pluses aren't exactly what Utah envisioned in August when Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. started shutting down a third of state offices on Fridays - including driver's licenses bureaus - and ordered 17,000 of 24,000 executive-branch employees to work their full 40 hours over four days instead of five. Energy savings and environmental benefits so far are less than envisioned, but other advantages could warrant a longer trial . . . Nearly six months into Utah's Friday-off experiment, employee satisfaction is shifting in a noticeable way, and the three-day weekend doubles as a recruitment tool, enticing younger residents to work for the state, Hansen said. . . After four months, 70 percent said they preferred the schedule, compared to 56 percent before the change. The report also found that absenteeism and turnover rates went down.

OBAMA, GATES, PETRAEUS ARGUING OVER IRAQ

Gareth Porter, Antiwar - CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus, supported by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, tried to convince President Barack Obama that he had to back down from his campaign pledge to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months at an Oval Office meeting Jan. 21.

But Obama informed Gates, Petraeus, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen that he wasn't convinced and that he wanted Gates and the military leaders to come back quickly with a detailed 16-month plan, according to two sources who have talked with participants in the meeting.

Obama's decision to override Petraeus' recommendation has not ended the conflict between the president and senior military officers over troop withdrawal, however. There are indications that Petraeus and his allies in the military and the Pentagon, including Gen. Ray Odierno, now the top commander in Iraq, have already begun to try to pressure Obama to change his withdrawal policy.

A network of senior military officers is also reported to be preparing to support Petraeus and Odierno by mobilizing public opinion against Obama's decision.

Petraeus was visibly unhappy when he left the Oval Office, according to one of the sources. A White House staffer present at the meeting was quoted by the source as saying, "Petraeus made the mistake of thinking he was still dealing with George Bush instead of with Barack Obama."

Petraeus, Gates, and Odierno had hoped to sell Obama on a plan that they formulated in the final months of the Bush administration that aimed at getting around a key provision of the U.S.-Iraqi withdrawal agreement signed envisioned re-categorizing large numbers of combat troops as support troops. . .

Obama decided against making any public reference to his order to the military to draft a detailed 16-month combat troop withdrawal policy, apparently so that he can announce his decision only after consulting with his field commanders and the Pentagon.

CANADIAN COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Current - Compassion clubs and other medical marijuana distributors should have restrictions on them lifted, a British Columbia Supreme Court judge ruled. To the delight of a packed courtroom in Vancouver, Justice Marvyn Koenigsberg said federal regulations that limit people's access to medicinal cannabis are "constitutionally invalid" and gave the government a year to amend the rules.

ETHANOL MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY COSTLY AS GAS & DIESEL

ENN - Some biofuels cause more health problems than petrol and diesel, according to scientists who have calculated the health costs associated with different types of fuel. The study shows that corn-based bioethanol, which is produced extensively in the US, has a higher combined environmental and health burden than conventional fuels. However, there are high hopes for the next generation of biofuels, which can be made from organic waste or plants grown on marginal land that is not used to grow foods. They have less than half the combined health and environmental costs of standard gasoline and a third of current biofuels.

The work adds to an increasing body of research raising concerns about the impact of modern corn-based biofuels.

Several studies last year showed that growing corn to make ethanol biofuels was pushing up the price of food. Environmentalists have highlighted other problems such deforestation to clear land for growing crops to make the fuels. The UK government's renewable fuels advisors recommended slowing down the adoption of biofuels until better controls were in place to prevent inadvertent climate impacts.

Using computer models developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the researchers found the total environmental and health costs of gasoline are about 71 cents (50p) per gallon, while an equivalent amount of corn-ethanol fuel has associated costs of 72 cents to $1.45, depending on how it is produced.

GREGG VOTED TO ABOLISH COMMERCE DEPARTMENT

Political Wire - Abolish Commerce Department CQ Politics: Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) -- apparently President Obama's choice to be Commerce secretary -- voted in favor of abolishing the agency as a member of the Budget Committee and on the Senate floor in 1995. Said one Republican Senate aide: "I guess if you can't destroy it, go be in charge of it."

BREVITAS

GOVERNMENT

Washington Times - A coalition of government-watchdog groups now is asking the new administration to review and correct retaliation against air marshal whistleblowers who spoke out during the first few years of the Department of Homeland Security. . . The groups are asking Mr. Obama to issue an executive order to review and restore the careers of whistleblowers "who lost their jobs because they sought to defend the public" under former Federal Air Marshals Service Director Thomas Quinn, who retired in January 2006. In addition, these and other groups lobbied Congress last week to include whistleblower-protection language for federal employees in the stimulus package, an amendment that passed by voice vote in the House.

WORLD

Paul Richter, LA Times - President Obama has taken painstaking care in the first days of his administration to calm the waters of international relations with promises of cooperation and respect for other nations. But his new envoy to South Asia has landed with a splash. Officials in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India have reacted uneasily to the appointment of Richard Holbrooke, a veteran diplomat nicknamed "the Bulldozer." Holbrooke, who embarks on his first official visit this week, has declared in recent months that the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a longtime American ally, has failed. In opinion columns, he has pointed to "massive, officially sanctioned corruption," along with drugs, as the country's most severe problems. Holbrooke has also called for vigorous action to deal with extremist sanctuaries in Pakistan. He charged that Pakistan has the power to destabilize its neighbor Afghanistan, "and has.". . .

MEDIA

Dean Baker - In its top of the news brief for Morning Edition NPR told listeners that New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg, who President Obama is considering for Commerce Secretary, "supports responsible federal spending." If this is a distinguishing feature for Mr. Gregg then implicitly there must be senators who it believes support irresponsible federal spending. It might be helpful if NPR told listeners who those senators are, which spending is irresponsible, and how it has made this determination.

Great moments in objectivity - The Washington Post describes Tom Daschle's $128K underpayment of income tax as a "glitch." That's the way it is in Washington: some break the law, some just have glitches.

January 26 Review headline over a story on Afghanistan: "Obama's Vietnam". . . January 31 Newsweek headline over a lead story on Afghanistan: "Obama's Vietnam.". . . Like we say, the news before it happens. . . .One interesting point in the Newsweek story: "The 642 U.S. deaths sustained so far pale in comparison to the 58,000 lost in Vietnam. Still, consider this: that's a higher death toll than after the first nine years of U.S. involvement in Vietnam."

RELIGION & ITS ALTERNATIVES

Leah Fabel, Examiner - Nationwide, the number of students enrolled in urban religious schools declined by 18 percent to about 1.8 million between 1989 and 2006, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, an arm of the Department of Education. Urban Catholic schools were hardest hit, losing 27 percent of their students since 1989, dropping to an enrollment of just over 1 million overall. . . Of religious institutions, only Islamic and Jewish urban schools saw an increase in enrollment and total number of schools. More than 115,000 students are enrolled in urban Jewish schools, and more than 13,000 students in Islamic schools.

HEALTH

Kay Lazar, Boston Globe - The state's jobless rate has hit a 15-year high, and for the people behind the statistics, there is a special urgency. Massachusetts, unlike other states, requires nearly everyone to have health insurance - even if they have lost their job and, with it, their health coverage. Going without insurance for more than three months can result in a stiff penalty. Congress is crafting a stimulus package that would provide laid-off workers with some health coverage assistance, but for now, the state's unemployed, and underemployed, are scrambling to piece together affordable coverage. Unemployment benefits, or a spouse's income, can make recipients ineligible for health insurance assistance through the state. The hunt for coverage is challenging.

OUTLYING PRECINCTS

Great Thoughts of Michael Steele - You and I know that in the history of mankind and womankind, government-federal, state or local-has never created one job," he said. "It's destroyed a lot of them."

Fark - New RNC chairman says GOP should reach out to gay voters. Isn't that how Larry Craig and Ted Haggard got in trouble?

POPEPOURRI

Daily Mail, UK An Austrian cleric who said Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for the homosexual sins of New Orleans has been made a bishop by the Vatican. Reverend Gerhard Wagner was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI just days after controversial British bishop Richard Williamson, who has said 'no one had died in the gas chambers' during the Holocaust, was allowed back into the Catholic Church. Rev Wagner, 54, caused outrage when he was quoted in his local parish newsletter as saying that the death and destruction of Hurricane Katrina was 'divine retribution' for New Orleans' tolerance of homosexuals and laid-back sexual attitudes. In 2001 Wagner slammed Harry Potter books as 'satanic'.

INDICATORS

Bloomberg - The average tax rate paid by the richest 400 Americans fell by a third to 17 percent through the first six years of the Bush administration and their average income doubled to $263.3 million, new IRS data show. The 17 percent tax rate in 2006 was the lowest since the IRS began tracking the 400 largest taxpayers in 1992, although the richest 400 Americans paid more tax on an inflation-adjusted basis than any year since 2000. . . Capital gains made up 63 percent of the richest 400 Americans' adjusted gross income in 2006, or a combined $66.1 billion, according to the data.

But what if the bank doesn't want to help and what if the bank is no longer in charge of the mortgage, but has bundled it off to somewhere else?

This is why giving bankruptcy courts strong powers to modify such loans is so important. Mediation can help, too, although a study in Connecticut found that about half of endangered homeowners didn't ask for any help, many apparently unaware that it was available. In the end, mediators could only resolve about 5% of the cases.

Washington Post - According to researchers Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, since the late 1970s, a greater and greater share of national income has gone to people at the top of the earnings ladder. As late as 1976, the richest 1 percent of the country took home about 9 percent of the total national income. By 2006, they were pocketing more than 20 percent. But the rich don't spend as much of their income as the middle class and the poor do -- after all, being rich means that you already have most of what you need. That's why the concentration of income at the top can lead to a big shortfall in overall demand and send the economy into a tailspin. (It's not coincidental that 1928 was the last time that the top 1 percent took home more than 20 percent of the nation's income.)

FURTHERMORE. . .

MSNBC - Houston Mayor Bill White is under fire after appearing in an advertisement in a local newspaper between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and President Barack Obama, KPRC Local 2 reported. . . In the ad, over King's head it reads "The Dream", over White's head it reads "The Hope" and over Obama's head it reads "The Change."

Times, UK - A young girl who was blown out to sea on a set of inflatable teeth was rescued by a man on an inflatable lobster. A coast guard spokesman commented, 'This sort of thing is all too common'.

READER COMMENTS

JUDD GREGG

Jesus, I know Jugg Dregg, the pencil-necked dauphin of the NH right wing. He's being hailed as a moderate, but that's not the Juggie I know.
I get the feeling that Obama likes things complicated. Everyone else is confused while he pretends to know what he's doing. Sort of the mirror opposite of W's management style.

This is the same Judd Greg that used to consult on a daily basis with Karl Rove. The senator from the darling state of the Free State movement being nominated for Secretary of Commerce--can the Libertarian business-as-usual crowd get a bigger wet kiss? Change you can count on. In the ethnic environment of my youth we used to called that chump change. And on it continues. . .

CASS SUNSTEIN

Big business is where wealth goes to become super-concentrated into the treasure chests of the few. But big business isn't the problem - the concentration of wealth and power into human hands it enables is the problem. Businesses can safely be big if the great fortunes are not allowed to be captured and kept forever by a few people at the top.

The automatic concentration of wealth and power into few hands can be countered for by sane restriction of private inheritance. The heirs have done nothing to create the wealth, so deceased estates above the first couple million should be inherited by the working public who were underpaid all along.

And I don't mean give the money to the government: I mean give their rightful wages back to the rightful earners.

POST PARTISAN DEPRESSION

Unfortunately Obama's and Washington's "high intelligence" seems to center around fattening their purses in the belief that wealth and power are genuine measures of the man. I wouldn't want to be lost in the woods with the lot of them as appears to be the case. The only real assets they possess are armaments and the immorality to use them. This all reminds me of the old saw that says the only thing wrong with Christianity is that it's never been tried. We could say the same for democracy.

CITIZEN GROUPS TROUBLED BY OBAMA'S MEDICAL RECORDS BILL

If you read your own medical records now and then you will be astounded at how inaccurate they are. You can't evaluate erroneous test results, but notes thast medical personnel write can be wildly off by confusion, inattention and sometimes clearly self-serving to cover up mistakes, second- guess diagnoses, etc. Widely circulated, these errors can become untraceable and cast in stone.

THINKING ABOUT OBAMA

Is it really so startling that those who call themselves progressive are generally as incapable of critical thought as those who label themselves conservative?

That for the overwhelming majority a world view is always the far greater determinant of position than thought, argument or reality testing?

That the greatest determiner of results in polls is usually the methodology and wording of the question, rather than the meaning of the query?

Inductive thought versus deductive logic: wisdom lies in knowing when and how to apply each. Along with reasonability testing and analytic processes.

I guess you're just longing for the good old Bush days.

Sam's studies apparently did not include epistemology. His definitions of inductive and deductive reasoning contrast with treatments of those concepts normally found in philosophy. One big problem with politicians is they do not think deductively, and this is no more clearly evidenced then in the prevailing belief that nuclear deterrence has ever been demonstrated, or is supported by the facts. On the other hand, the character Sherlock Holmes, stresses the importance of deductive reasoning for the detective gathering evidence. He has no idea what to look for unless he comes up with a theoretical explanation that might be tested by the evidence.

Sam does get it right, however, when he notes that theoretical/deductive accounts must always be submitted to tests against new facts. Theories based upon the facts, inductive theories, are not capable of entertaining new facts, and tend to shade over rapidly into dogma. They are not capable of generating testable hypotheses. Only deduction can do that.

RIAA

I wish RIAA would understand that letting people hear music and see programs and movies on the tiny pixeled screen can sell CDs and DVDs.
I have found music and movies I like on YouTube and seeing it there has caused me to buy products from the performers. If those vids weren't available, I never would have seen the artists or bought their CDs, t-shirts or attended their shows. I won't buy music from a performer I'm not familiar with from a written description of their music, and most other people feel the same way. Anyone who doesn't understand that is really confused or worse.

UNDERSTAFFED FBI DIDN'T LOOK INTO FISCAL FRAUD

"Retired FBI officials asserted that the Bush administration was thoroughly briefed on the mortgage fraud crisis and its potential to cascade out of control with devastating financial consequences, but made the decision not to give back to the FBI the agents it needed to address the problem. After the terrorist attacks of 2001, about 2,400 agents were reassigned to counterterrorism duties. "

Yeah, but on the plus side, al-Qeda failed to launch a Ponzi scheme to ruin our economy.-- Polar Bear

WAS THE BLAGO IMPEACHMENT FAIR?

As an Illinoisan, not only do I think the impeachment and removal of Rod Blagojevich was fair, but it was two or three years overdue.

In addition to the allegations of criminal behavior, this governor has antagonized the legislature, subverted the separation of powers, spent tax dollars without authorization, changed his demands in the middle of a negotiation in progress, going beyond the pale even by Illinois standards in seeking political gain for every executive decision, and generally having an imperious attitude while lacking stable leadership and basic competence. The state is a disaster after six years of his reign, and the federal charges of corruption are not an isolated incident but are simply the straw that broke the camel's back.

In the end, the Illinois Constitution states only that the state House determine "existence of cause for impeachment" and that the state Senate "do justice according to law" in trying the articles of impeachment. Impeachment is a political action -- a job performance hearing, if you will -- as distinguished from a criminal case with strict rules of evidence and a presumption of innocence until proof of guilt applies. The criteria by which an Illinois official is convicted on impeachment charges are thus determined solely in the consciences of the Senators who hold him in judgment. The outcome of an impeachment proceeding therefore doesn't require criminal behavior as a condition of conviction; the crux of the matter is nothing more than the question whether the official on trial is deemed fit to remain in office.

Not only was this judgment fair, there is evidence that the unanimous conviction of Blagojevich and lifetime ban on him serving in public office has the support of close to 90% of Illinois voters. - JRR

Does your second paragraph apply to our previous President?

Josh Goodman's article merely presented the question of whether having such vague "political" requirements for impeachment is such a good idea. Maybe the impeachment of Rod Blogojevich wasn't the best case to raise the question after, as shown by the 100% vote, but the idea of having some specific requirements for impeachment would not be a bad idea.

Josh Goodman states: "My question. . . is whether it (the 6th Amendment) should apply. There are, in my opinion, lots of good reasons that the 6th Amendment was included in the Constitution. It discourages frivolous prosecutions and helps ensure that the facts come out at trial. If it's a good idea for criminal trials, why isn't it a good idea for impeachment trials? Along the same lines, why shouldn't Illinois specify what constitutes an impeachable offense and what the standard for conviction is, whether it's "beyond a reasonable doubt" or something else?�

Unless Blogojevich is convicted of a felony, an impeachment alone shouldn't restrict a person from running for another political office. That's punitive, has nothing to do with impeachment, and sounds like the reason for a future court case. This was not just a no confidence Vote.

JROTC TEACHES SCHOOL CHILDREN HOW TO KILL EACH OTHER.

Why do Americans love to jump to conclusions? Oh connery oh ho Connery, is it not jumping to conclusions, that whatever enemy we are fighting are all corrupt and evil and must be dehumanized?

is it not jumping to conclusions that whatever enemy we are fighting is always harming another ethnic group and they need and want our help?

is it not jumping to conclusions that the reason you and your family study military history, is because you respect and obey them, and not because your family wishs to critisize them for their authoritarian almost monarchy like chain of power?

Meh...At least Your post was better than most, like those who know the unknown only as ones who chop toes, or that belive their emotional appeal, when by finishing JROTC and joining they wouldn't get a good meal, or those beliving they are treated as a soldier of their country by the ones they serve, when to them they are only armed veal, and once the war was done, they would kick them onto the curb.

So I suppose your post has more highs than lows, even if it mows down this radicaly titled, but very persuasive and informative article, maybe i should dircect you to less radical articles, from C.A.M.S. and maybe you will learn that the military treats others like lambs.

DASCHLE TOOK A QUARTER MILLION BUCKS FROM HEALTH INDUSTRY

Maybe it's time to page Dr. Howard Dean for a vetting and possible confirmation as Obama's Secretary of HHS as it looks like Daschle screwed up big time. But then Rahm the Knife would have to eat crow and those Chi-town boyz hate to do that. Since strategically, Dean was right and Emanuel was wrong, the Doc should have a shot but that's not the Chicago way. - Pete

A GREEN PARTY FIRST 100 DAYS

Hell, I can make up what I'd do within 100 days, too. What the Greens don't realise is that their president would have to deal with Congress to achieve their "programs." - JayV

Reparations? Come on. Otherwise fine, but reparations discredit the entire party. That and pushing Ralphie out. Way to lose your momentum guys.

All these things have been supported by Nader who in 2004 spent a lot of time and money defending Green challenges to his ballot inclusion. For myself, I doubt I'll ever trust them again.

ENDS

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