tagged w/ United States of America
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"Pingpong diplomacy" thawed relations between the United States and China in 1971. Can "baseball diplomacy" help do the same for the U.S. and Cuba?
Americans ranging from 12-year-old ballplayers to softballing senior citizens are visiting the communist island to engage in their own kind of field work, and there's talk of another trip by a major league team.
These bat-and-ball initiatives come as the Obama administration takes steps toward improving relations with the Cold War rival, such as loosening financial and travel restrictions on Americans with relatives on the island.
Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos, who staged exhibition games with the Cuban national team in Havana and Baltimore a decade ago, told The Associated Press that he hopes to so again next spring. Two groups of baseball youngsters from Florida are planning to visit next year as well.
Baseball enthusiasts feel the time is right for this type of outreach. In September, the U.S. sent a senior diplomat to Havana for unannounced meetings with Cuban officials — believed to be the highest-level talks between the two nations in decades. And last month, Cuba's foreign minister said his country is willing to hold talks with the United States "on any level."
If Angelos gets his way, next spring his Orioles will play in Cuba, as well as host the Cuban national team, in a repeat of the exhibition games staged in 1999 during the Clinton administration. He said he decided to do so now because of the Obama administration's overtures toward Cuba.
More @ link"Pingpong diplomacy" thawed relations between the United States and China in 1971. Can... more
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The power of lies, deceptions and disinformation as Americans pay the price of collective stupidity. The filters a news about Israel has to go through to get on the air. After it gets through the filters, it so watered down, it's almost unrecognizable. In America you can criticize God, but you cant criticize Israel.The power of lies, deceptions and disinformation as Americans pay the price of... more
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Gun control and counter-terror intelligence's combined effects secure our public safety.
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The conservative pundit thinks white people have suffered enough already.
In his latest article, Pat Buchanan whines about white-working class voters losing "their" country:
"In their lifetimes, they have seen their Christian faith purged from schools their taxes paid for, and mocked in movies and on TV. . . .They have seen trillions of tax dollars go for Great Society programs, but have seen no Great Society, only rising crime, illegitimacy, drug use and dropout rates. . . .
They see Wall Street banks bailed out as they sweat their next paycheck, then read that bank profits are soaring, and the big bonuses for the brilliant bankers are back. Neither they nor their kids ever benefited from affirmative action, unlike Barack and Michelle Obama.
They see a government in Washington that cannot balance its books, win our wars or protect our borders. The government shovels out trillions to Fortune 500 corporations and banks to rescue the country from a crisis created by the government and Fortune 500 corporations and banks.
America was once their country. They sense they are losing it. And they are right."
Excuse me, Pat, but the country belongs to all of us.
More @ linkThe conservative pundit thinks white people have suffered enough already.
In his... more
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The Constitution of the United States of America was created on this day in 1787.
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Australians have overtaken Americans as the world's biggest individual producers of carbon dioxide, which is blamed for global warming, a risk consultancy says.
British firm Maplecroft placed Australia's per capita output at 20.58 tons a year, some four percent higher than the United States and top of a list of 185 countries.
Canada, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia rounded out the top five. China remains the world's biggest overall greenhouse gas polluter, followed by the United States.
Maplecroft added that China and India's per person carbon production came in at just 4.5 and 1.16 tons respectively, in sharp contrast to their big overall figures.
This is one thing I'm happy the U.S. is not number one in.Australians have overtaken Americans as the world's biggest individual producers of... more
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1. The U.S. spends far more on health care than any other nation.
2. The U.S. isn't healthier for the money. Americans live shorter lives and have a higher infant-mortality rate than many other developed nations.
3. Even though smoking has been on the decline, Americans still don't live healthy lives.
4. More awareness and better treatments are curbing America's top killers.
5. Millions of Americans are at risk because they don't have insurance or easy access to a doctor.
More info @ link.1. The U.S. spends far more on health care than any other nation.
2. The U.S. isn't... more
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Despite a recession that knocked down global arms sales last year, the United States expanded its role as the world’s leading weapons supplier. According to a new Congressional study, the U.S. increased its share to more than two-thirds of all foreign weapons sales in 2008, a year in which global sales were at a three-year low
The United States signed weapons agreements valued at $37.8 billion in 2008, or 68.4 percent of all business in the global arms bazaar, up significantly from American sales of $25.4 billion the year before.
Italy was a distant second, with $3.7 billion in worldwide weapons sales in 2008, while Russia was third with $3.5 billion in arms sales last year — down considerably from the $10.8 billion in weapons deals signed by Moscow in 2007.
The growth in weapons sales by the United States last year was particularly noticeable against worldwide trends. The value of global arms sales in 2008 was $55.2 billion, a drop of 7.6 percent from 2007 and the lowest total for international weapons agreements since 2005.
The increase in American weapons sales around the world “was attributable not only to major new orders from clients in the Near East and in Asia, but also to the continuation of significant equipment and support services contracts with a broad-based number of U.S. clients globally,” according to the study, titled “Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations.”Despite a recession that knocked down global arms sales last year, the United States... more
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The wealthiest 10 percent of Americans now have a larger share of total income than they ever have in records going back nearly a century — an even larger amount than during the Roaring Twenties, the last time the US saw such similar disparities in wealth.
In recent years, the fact that differences between rich and poor are the greatest they’ve been since the Great Depression has become a popular talking point among liberal-leaning economists.
But an updated study from University of California-Berkeley economist Emanuel Saez shows that, in 2007, the wealth disparity grew to its highest number on record, based on US tax data going back to 1917.
Study (PDF): http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/saez-UStopincomes-2007.pdf
According to Saez’s study, which Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman drew attention to at his New York Times blog, the top 10 percent of earners in America now receive nearly 50 percent of all the income earned in the United States, a higher percentage than they did during the 1920s.
“After decades of stability in the post-war period, the top decile share has increased dramatically over the last twenty-five years and has now regained its pre-war level,” Saez writes. “Indeed, the top decile share in 2007 is equal to 49.7 percent, a level higher than any other year since [records began in] 1917 and even surpasses 1928, the peak of stock market bubble in the ‘roaring’ 1920s.”
By comparison, during most of the 1970s the top 10 percent earned around 33 percent of all the income earned in the United States.
The contrast is even starker for the super-rich. The top 0.01 percent of earners in the US are now taking home six percent of all the income, higher than the 1920s peak of five percent, and a whopping six-fold increase since the start of the Reagan administration, when the top 0.01 percent earned one percent of all the income.
There is no consensus among economists on whether large disparities in income lead to economic disruption, but it is hard to ignore the correlation between rising income inequality and the onset of economic crisis. The last time the US saw similar differences in income was in 1928 and 1929, just before the start of the Great Depression.
Saez also broke the numbers down by administration, and found that while the wealthiest few saw their incomes rise as quickly during the Bush years as they did during the Clinton years, the same was not true for the rest of the population.
Saez suggests that the economic growth seen on paper during the Bush years was little more than an illusion for the vast majority of Americans, who saw their income grow much more slowly in the 2002-2007 period than they did during the Clinton years.The wealthiest 10 percent of Americans now have a larger share of total income than... more
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Joined by leaders whose countries border the United States, President Barack Obama on Monday said that while immigration reform is important other priorities such as his health care overhaul and financial regulation will be tackled first.
"I've got a lot on my plate and it's very important for us to sequence these big initiatives so they don't crash at the same time," Obama said when asked by a reporter about the prospects for immigration reform.
At a North American summit in Mexico, Obama also delivered an animated defense of U.S. efforts to help restore Honduran President Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted in a June 28 coup. He said criticism of his policy in Honduras smacked of "hypocrisy," faulting the United States for being too heavy-handed in Latin America and yet telling him he has not intervened enough in Honduras.
More @ linkJoined by leaders whose countries border the United States, President Barack Obama on... more
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On the O'Reilly Factor, Bill turned to the audience letters. From Peter in Canada: "Has anyone noted that life expectancy in Canada under our health system is higher than the USA?" Bill wasn't phased, but he did use some creative math to answer. "Well Peter, that's to be expected," he said, "we have ten times as many people as you do!"
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But wouldn't better health care save more people and increase life expectancy?On the O'Reilly Factor, Bill turned to the audience letters. From Peter in Canada:... more
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By Brother Ali
This song is awesome!
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In the light of recent events that have taken place in the state of California, many people have decided that it’s time to take matters into our own hands. We will not sit back and let the rest of the world decide what we can and cannot do in America the Free.
We have borrowed from the Chicano movement and modified their "Day without a Mexican" into "Day without a Gay."
This concept is simple, but makes a huge impact.
On December 10th, 2008 we ask that all people in the LGBT community and all of our supporters call in sick to work and do not attend school. We ask that you do not purchase anything that day. We want California to see how many of us there are, and that there may be a person in their life that they didn’t know was gay.
Please join us. I know, personally, how extremely difficult it can be to come out and be open about yourself. I have overcome my fear, and I hope that all of you are able to as well.
We need to stand strong in California, and around the country. We need those that oppose us to know that we are strong and that we will NEVER GIVE UP.
Join us, and gain your equality. **this is not restricted to California**
The Official Website: day without a gay * orgIn the light of recent events that have taken place in the state of California, many... more
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Only an hour after winning the 2008 Presidential Election, Barack Obama spoke to almost a quarter of a million people in Chicago. I was one of those people.Only an hour after winning the 2008 Presidential Election, Barack Obama spoke to... more
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The White House is working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment, before President Bush leaves office in January.
The new rules would be among the most controversial deregulatory steps of the Bush era and could be difficult for his successor to undo. Some would ease or lift constraints on private industry, including power plants, mines and farms.
Once such rules take effect, they typically can be undone only through a laborious new regulatory proceeding, including lengthy periods of public comment, drafting and mandated reanalysis.
As many as 90 new regulations are in the works, and at least nine of them are considered "economically significant" because they impose costs or promote societal benefits that exceed $100 million annually. They include new rules governing employees who take family- and medical-related leaves, new standards for preventing or containing oil spills, and a simplified process for settling real estate transactions.
Two other rules nearing completion would , a major energy industry goal for the past eight years that is strenuously opposed by Democratic lawmakers and environmental groups.
Deregulation being push by Bush includes:
1. easing limits on pollution from power plants, According to the EPA's estimate, it would allow millions of tons of additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually, worsening global warming.
2. easing limits on emissions from coal-fired power plants near national parks.
3. allowing increased emissions from oil refineries, chemical factories and other industrial plants with complex manufacturing operations.
4. clearing obstacles to some commercial ocean-fishing activities, such as catch limits
5. easing controls on emissions of pollutants that contribute to global warming
6. lifting a key restriction on mountaintop coal mining
7. relaxing drinking-water standardsThe White House is working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which... more
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Is the U.S. already at war with Iran? In "America's Secret War in Iran," Vanguard correspondent Mariana van Zeller travels to the Iraq-Iran border to investigate claims that the United States is supporting militant groups that are attacking Iran. In the rugged Qandil mountains, she meets with up with anti-Iranian guerillas who have been launching deadly raids against the Islamic Republic. A good percentage of the fighters are women, and Mariana accompanies a small group of them through what many believe has become the frontline of the U.S.'s secret war with Iran.Is the U.S. already at war with Iran? In "America's Secret War in Iran," Vanguard... more
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Over the last 2 years we have been introduced to an unlikely candidate with an unlikely background in the most unlikely time period in American History.
We stand at a moment in history that future generations will look back at and ask what it was like to live at a time of such magnitude and importance.Over the last 2 years we have been introduced to an unlikely candidate with an... more
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The new season of the "Vanguard" weekly series begins on Oct. 22 with this
little question: Is the US already at war with Iran?
View the full piece:
http://current.com/items/89438469_america_s_secret_war
In "America's Secret War", Vanguard correspondent Mariana van Zeller travels
to the Iraq-Iran border to investigate claims that the United States is
supporting militant groups that are attacking Iran. In the rugged Qandil mountains,
she meets with up with anti-Iranian guerillas who have been launching deadly
raids against the Islamic Republic. A good percentage of the fighters are women,
and Mariana accompanies a small group of them through what many believe has
become the frontline of the US's secret war with Iran.
***Check out "America's Secret War" on Wednesday, March 4 at 10
p.m. on Current TV.***The new season of the "Vanguard" weekly series begins on Oct. 22 with this
little... more
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Tell us why this is interestingBritain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions.
The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65) and the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state.
The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology. Tell us why this is interestingBritain's American colonies broke with the mother... more
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Freedom is still a new idea.
Many voices throughout history have led the way.
Spread the message:
Real Change embraces Liberty;
the time for liberty is now.Freedom is still a new idea.
Many voices throughout history have led the way.
Spread... more
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