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Media outlets repeat McCain's false claim about Obama
Washingtonpost.com's The Trail blog, CNN, and CBSNews.com each repeated Sen. John McCain's false claim that "[i]f you are one of the 23 million small business owners in America who files as an individual rate payer, Senator [Barack] Obama is going to raise your tax rates." In fact, Obama has proposed rolling back President Bush's tax cuts only on "people who are making 250,000 dollars a year or more"; according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, only 481,000 small businesses fall into the tax brackets that would be affected by those increases. Washingtonpost.com's The Trail blog, CNN, and CBSNews.com each repeated Sen. John McCain's false claim that "[i]f you are one of the 2... more
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Harry Reid: Paying income tax in America is Voluntary
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid explains how the income tax system is voluntary as opposed to involuntary. This is sad and funny at the same time. You'll be enlightened but not in the way Reid would want. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid explains how the income tax system is voluntary as opposed to involuntary. This is sad and funny at ... more
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Fed Concludes Economic Woes Likely to Spill Into 2009
WASHINGTON — Federal policy makers have reached a consensus that the turmoil plaguing the housing and financial markets is likely to spill deep into 2009, becoming one of the most significant domestic problems to confront the next president when he steps into the Oval Office in January.
In a speech on Tuesday, Ben S. Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, gave his strongest hint to date of an emerging consensus that problems will persist when he outlined a series of steps the Fed is considering taking in the coming months. One such step would extend into next year low-interest lending programs to Wall Street’s largest investment banks.
The programs, one of which was set to expire in September, can exist only if the Fed issues a finding that there are “unusual and exigent circumstances” that justify them.
Mr. Bernanke also recommended that Congress grant the Fed broader authority to monitor and supervise the financial markets to assure greater stability in the future. But with time running out on this session, lawmakers are unlikely to adopt such legislation before next year.
Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., also speaking Tuesday, said that the Bush administration was working to prevent as many home foreclosures as possible, but that “many of today’s unusually high number of foreclosures are not preventable.” Mr. Paulson said 1.5 million home foreclosures were started in 2007 and that an estimated 2.5 million more will take place this year.
Still, the markets seemed reassured that Washington officials were redoubling their efforts to resuscitate the weak housing sector, despite the downbeat comments. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 1.4 percent, or 152 points.
Mr. Bernanke said that the Fed would issue next week long-awaited rules to restrict the issuance of new exotic mortgages and high-cost loans for people with weak credit. Such mortgages have been a central cause of the current market problems.
The Federal Housing Administration will also begin an expanded effort next week to help a larger group of troubled homeowners refinance their adjustable mortgages. Under the plan, homeowners are eligible to refinance even if they have missed up to three monthly mortgage payments over the last 12 months. Homeowners who have fallen behind on their payments because of job loss, declining wages and family illness will also be eligible, even if their rates have not increased. Homeowners are now eligible only if they were current on their mortgages before their interest rate was adjusted upward.
For its part, Congress is close to completing legislation on a $300 billion foreclosure-rescue plan that would help troubled borrowers refinance into more affordable loans insured by the federal government. The Senate is expected to approve a measure by next week.
... WASHINGTON — Federal policy makers have reached a consensus that the turmoil plaguing the housing and financial markets is likely to s... more -
Jerome Tuccille: Ayn Rand, Murray Rothbard, and the Libertarian Party's Big Moment
In 1972, Jerome Tuccille published It Usually Begins With Ayn Rand, his memoir of the libertarian movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Palling around with the likes of economist Murray Rothbard, former Goldwater speechwriter Karl Hess, and others, Tuccille sought to fashion a left-right coalition between elements of the New Left and and the Old Right.
It Usually Begins with Ayn Rand is at once whimsical and moving, poignant and penetrating in its insights about political movements and personal failures. Re-released last year in a new and expanded edition last year, it remains required reading for anyone interested in the libertarian movement—or the American political scene of the past 40 years.
The always outspoken and controversial Tuccille recently sat down with reason.tv to discuss the influence and reach of Ayn Rand, Murray Rothbard, and Milton Friedman. And to talk about how libertarian ideas—and the Libertarian Party—may have a major impact on the 2008 presidential race. In 1972, Jerome Tuccille published It Usually Begins With Ayn Rand, his memoir of the libertarian movement in the late 1960s and early... more -
"The 20 Best And Worst Cities For Unemployment Benefits"
"The L.A. Times compared unemployment benefits to the cost of living and picked the twenty best and worst cities to be unemployed."
-/ http://consumerist.com "The L.A. Times compared unemployment benefits to the cost of living and picked the twenty best and worst cities to be unemployed." ... more -
UAE seeks to ditch oil for alternative energy
The previously negative attitude of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to climate change shifted in 2007, as the UAE led several members of the organisation to take a positive lead in developing alternative energies, and began investment in technologies like carbon capture and carbon storage. "Abu Dhabi is now selling an environmentally-conscious image and wants to be a leader in alternative energy,"the UAE has made a significant shift in its thinking when it ceased to be frightened of the consequences of both climate change and climate change mitigation.Up till 2007the UAE had focused on its vulnerability to climate change mitigation as world markets moved to accommodate the new measures to combat climate change.
These would impact the UAE mainly through a highly variable oil price, and possible long-term shift away from use of hydro-carbons, both damaging to the present economy of the UAE.The UAE had also has largely ignored the future impact of climate change on its national security, from the potential threats of rising temperatures, falling water resources, and potentially elevated sea levels.The old style of thinking was still present as recently as December 2007 when the UAE's address to the UN conference on climate change in Bali was mostly full of progressive thinkingexcept for the section that argued that the interests of economies based principally on fossil fuels had not been sufficiently addressed in the negotiations, and demanded that no additional obligations should be placed on developing countries that would impede their development.
In the last six months, however, the impact of the UAE's interest in alternative technologies has come to the fore, exemplified by the launch of Abu Dhabi's Masdar project earlier this year. Masdar is made up of various projects on alternative energy and carbon management, and included building a "totally green city" of 50,000 residents and 1,500 businesses by 2016.
The previously negative attitude of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to climate change shifted in 2007, as the UA... more -
U.S. exports weapons to Iran:
U.S. exports to Iran — including brassieres, bull semen, cosmetics and possibly even weapons — grew more than tenfold during President Bush's years in office even as he accused Iran of nuclear ambitions and helping terrorists. America sent more cigarettes to Iran, at least $158 million worth under Bush, than any other products.
Other surprising shipments to Iran during the Bush administration: fur clothing, sculptures, perfume and musical instruments. Top states shipping goods to Iran include California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin, according to an analysis by The Associated Press of seven years of U.S. government trade data.
Despite increasingly tough rhetoric toward Iran, which Bush has called part of an "axis of evil," U.S. trade in a range of goods survives on-again, off-again sanctions originally imposed nearly three decades ago. The rules allow sales of agricultural commodities, medicine and a few other categories of goods. The exemptions are designed to help Iranian families even as the United States pressures Iran's leaders.
"Our sanctions are targeted against the regime, not the people," said Adam Szubin, director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces the sanctions. The government tracks exports to Iran using details from shipping records, but in some cases it's unclear whether anyone pays attention.
Sanctions are intended in part to frustrate Iran's efforts to build its military, but the U.S. government's own figures show at least $148,000 worth of unspecified weapons and other military gear were exported from the United States to Iran during Bush's time in office. That includes $106,635 in military rifles and $8,760 in rifle parts and accessories shipped in 2004, the data shows.Also shipped to Iran were at least $13,000 in "aircraft launching gear and/or deck arrestors," equipment needed to launch jets from aircraft carriers, according to U.S. records. Iran's navy is not believed to own or operate any carriers.
Those numbers may seem small, but military items can sell for pennies on the dollar compared with what the Pentagon paid. Last year, federal agents seized four F-14 fighter jets sold to domestic buyers by an officer at Point Mugu Naval Air Station, Calif., for $2,000 to $4,000 each, with proceeds benefiting a squadron recreation fund. When F-14s were new, they cost roughly $38 million each.
Szubin said it was unlikely exports of military gear occurred, but added that the government was looking into it after the AP raised questions. He said shipping records are subject to human error, such as citing wrong commodity codes or recording "Iran" as the destination rather than "Iraq." The Treasury Department said Monday it was still checking to see whether it could offer an explanation.
" U.S. exports to Iran — including brassieres, bull semen, cosmetics and possibly even weapons — grew more than tenfold during President... more -
White House Accused of Cover UP
"This cover-up is being directed from the White House and the office of the vice president," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, the California Democrat who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
The EPA released in a report last December that "greenhouse gases may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public welfare," according to Jason Burnett, the agency's former associate deputy administrator.Such a finding would be an early step toward government regulation aimed at protecting public health.
Burnett, who resigned on June 9, told Boxer's committee the White House tried pressuring him to retract an e-mail on which he detailed the finding. Burnett said he refused.
Boxer said that unless EPA documents were released, it was likely that within the next two weeks her committee would try to subpoena the material. She did not know whether Republicans on the panel would block the effort.
{source http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN083010...
A CDC official who testified on the condition of Anonymity said that documents were altered by the White House. “It was eviscerated,” said a CDC official, familiar with both versions."
The official said that while it is customary for testimony to be changed in a White House review, these changes were particularly “heavy-handed,” with the document cut from its original 14 pages to four. It was six pages as presented to the Senate committee.
A new letter from former EPA administration official Jason Burnett, however, reveals that the White House was lying. The White House, at the urging of Cheney’s office, “requested that I work with CDC to remove from the testimony any discussion of the human health consequences of climate change,” wrote Burnett.
“CEQ [Council on Environmental Quality] contacted me to argue that I could best keep options open for the (EPA) administrator (on regulating carbon dioxide) if I would convince CDC to delete particular sections of their testimony,” Burnett said in the letter to Boxer.
{source http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/08/burnett-cheney/
"This cover-up is being directed from the White House and the office of the vice president," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, the California D... more -
Fed Seeks Sweeping New Powers
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, seeking to allay renewed concerns over the health of the nation's financial system, said the central bank may extend its emergency-loan program for investment banks into next year.
It's the first time Bernanke has indicated how long he'll extend the lending programs that were introduced in March in a provision of Fed credit to nonbanks unprecedented since the Great Depression.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Banks Index, a measure of 22 firms including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the largest sources of U.S. home financing, fell to 155.48 yesterday, its lowest level since 1996.
Mean while the Fed is using this as an excuse to extend the powers of its agency
{source http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/bernanke-seeks-ne...={7DFB82A4-1E02-4F50-B445-B8E68B8E0EFD}&dist=msr_4
Congress should consider giving the Fed power to set standards for capital liquidity holdings and risk management for investment banks, as it now does for commercial banks, Bernanke said.
In March, as market conditions worsened, the Fed established two lending facilities for primary dealers of government debt. One allows them to swap a range of illiquid assets for Treasury securities. The other facility provides cash to these broker-dealers in a system that is similar to its discount window for banks.
Bernanke said Congress might give the Fed broad power to promote financial market stability.
If Congress makes this choice, "I do not think the Fed could fully meet these objectives without the authority to directly examine banks and other financial institutions that are subject to prudential regulation.
Increased power for one agency typically comes at the expense of other agencies that have their own strong alliances with powerful members of Congress.
Although Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has said that he would like to see Congress give the Fed more power to ease the fallout of financial market turmoil on the economy, it is another matter for an agency to be seen as seeking power for itself.
As a result, Bernanke bent over backwards to suggest, rather than demand, that the Fed get the broad new regulatory responsibilities he seeks, though his desire for the new powers was apparent. "
Two-year note yield rose (UST2YR) 3 basis points to 2.46%.
{source http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djhighligh... Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, seeking to allay renewed concerns over the health of the nation's financial system, said the... more -
Siemens plans to cut 16,750 jobs
Siemens plans to cut 16,750 jobs worldwide as the German conglomerate streamlines its operations to weather the economic downturn.
The company employs around 400,000 staff worldwide. The cuts amount to about 4% of the workforce.
The firm plans to eliminate 5,250 jobs in Germany, where around 136,000 of its workforce is located.
Siemens plans to cut 16,750 jobs worldwide as the German conglomerate streamlines its operations to weather the economic downturn. ... more -
G-8 leaders only pledge to halve emissions by 2050
Pledging to “move toward a low-carbon society,” leaders of the world’s richest nations endorsed Tuesday the idea of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050, but did not specify whether the starting point would be current levels or 1990 levels, and refused to set a short-term target for reducing the gases that scientists agree are warming the planet.
The declaration by the so-called Group of Eight — the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Canada and Russia — came under intense criticism from environmentalists, who called it a missed opportunity and said it ignores the urgent need to cut emissions more rapidly.
However, European leaders, who have long pressed President Bush to adopt a more aggressive stance on climate change, said they were pleased with the agreement, which is nonbinding. They cast it as an important step toward laying the groundwork for a binding international treaty, to be negotiated in Copenhagen in 2009 under the auspices of the United Nations.
“This is a strong signal to citizens around the world,” the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, told reporters at a news conference near here. “The science is clear, the economic case for action is stronger than ever. Now we need to go the extra mile to secure an ambitious global deal in Copenhagen.”
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To me this sends a strong signal that for the fate of this Earth and our species to be in the hands of these eight countries means that nothing effective will be done to solve this urgent crisis. Again, this is what happens when you make this crisis a political issue. Halving by 2050 is NOT GOOD ENOUGH. The Arctic ice will be melted by then (which of course they probably want to be able to plunder the resources there as well,) coal plants will have spewed millions of tons of toxic gases into the air by then, and many islands in other parts of our world already threatened by sea level rise will be feeling the affects of our behavior. As it stands now we are approaching the third degree of a six degree doomsday scenario. Are these leaders so greedy and blind to scientific reports that they actually think this is good enough? And the fact that it is non binding is simply and honestly, BS.
As an environmentalist but more importantly as a citizen of the world I am outraged that these men of rich countries think they can tell the poor of this world who will feel the brunt of this most what they are going to do. I say it is time for people to tell them that they are going to do what must be done. I now have little hope for Copenhagen next year. All I see are political leaders using this crisis as an economic ping pong ball and bargaining chip as droughts become more pervasive and prolonged, glaciers continue to melt, storms become more intense, and the resources that we depend on from our land and oceans become scarcer and more polluted. As it is already the oceans are more acidic than we thought, and should this be the first summer the Arctic is ice free it is only a portent of more to come. We don't have until 2050 for politicians to get around to this!
What will it take to get the message through to these people? A global revolution? Remember this also, all of this opens the doors for government and multi nationals to continue their chokehold on the poor and oppressed. This climate crisis is just what they are looking for to institute a one world government and make the most profit they can from this. So of course, they will take their time. That is why they alone cannot be allowed to dictate to us what our future will be, especially when our survival is on the line. Good enough? No. It is an outrage. Pledging to “move toward a low-carbon society,” leaders of the world’s richest nations endorsed Tuesday the idea of cutting greenhouse... more -
Report suggests Britain is teetering on the brink of recession
A survey of more than 5000 UK businesses has led to the conclusion that Britain is at the very edge of a recession. Businesses across the countries have been reporting a "alarming" declines in orders, increases in job cuts, and less investment, which all points towards the word that analysts have tried to avoid using.
David Frost, head of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "These results show a real risk of recession in the coming months. This is deeply worrying, not just for business, but for the consumer too, with both manufacturing and services reporting negative results. The temptation for the government will be to raise business taxes in the next pre-budget report because the exchequer is running out of money. This would be a catastrophe."
The news of the report seems to have spooked the markets, with the London stock exchange losing 154 points just in the morning. David Kern, an economic adviser to the BCC said the survey shows a "menacing deterioration" in UK prospects. "The outlook is grim, and we believe that the correction period is likely to be longer and nastier than anticipated."
Looks like we could be in for a rough ride, do you think the public are fully clued up on the potential scale of the economic meltdown?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/jul/08/markettu... A survey of more than 5000 UK businesses has led to the conclusion that Britain is at the very edge of a recession. Businesses across ... more -
FIAT EMPIRE - Why the Federal Reserve Violates the U.S. Constitution | BREAK THE M...
Explains the history of the Federal Reserve Bank as well as the income tax, how they are related, and how they affect the economy. The over spending by congress is covered by the FED, but who pays for the resulting inflation? Find out what's really going on in Washington and Wall Street.
Explains the history of the Federal Reserve Bank as well as the income tax, how they are related, and how they affect the economy. The... more -
Living with your garbage
Ecobloggers bring the landfill home.
Ari Derfel likes living with his garbage. He hasn't thrown anything away in more than a year, but he insists he doesn't suffer from any compulsive hoarding disorders.
Rather, Derfel views the bins of bottles, boxes, leaflets, cartons, and wrappers he's stacked in his Berkeley, Calif., home as fruits of a continued meditation about sustainability.
"Something inside me doesn't feel right every time I throw things away," said Derfel, who runs an organic catering company. "When I look around at the piles, it's like, 'Hey, man, here's your life. Here's what you spend your money on and put in your body.' It has a profound impact."
Derfel, 35, is joined by a handful of bloggers who are going to extremes to keep their trash out of the landfill. Motivated by global warming, they say they are fed up with promiscuously packaged, toxic products and other evils of conspicuous consumption they say are trashing the planet.
These pack rats are stashing their trash at home and then writing about, photographing, and even weighing it. They belong to a growing cadre of "green" lifestyle bloggers who provide a personal angle to broader issues covered by big-name ecoblogs such as Treehugger.com.
Seems a touch extreme to me... Ecobloggers bring the landfill home. ... more -
The Market Works Just in Time
If politicians understood the market better they wouldn't do so much damage to the economy.
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UK to slow expansion of biofuels
The UK is to slow its adoption of biofuels amid fears they raise food prices and harm the environment, the transport secretary has said.
Ruth Kelly said biofuels had potential to cut carbon emissions but there were "increasing questions" about them.
"Uncontrolled" growing of fuel crops could destroy rainforest, she told MPs.
A government-commissioned report recommends ministers "amend not abandon" biofuel policies. The Tories said policy had to change "right now". The report calls for biofuels to be introduced more slowly than planned until controls are in place to prevent higher food prices and land being switched from forests or agriculture.
The UK is to slow its adoption of biofuels amid fears they raise food prices and harm the environment, the transport secretary has sai... more -
US and EU urged to cut biofuels
World Bank President Robert Zoellick has called for reform of biofuel policies in rich countries, urging them to grow more food to feed the hungry.
Speaking on the sidelines of the G8 summit on Hokkaido island, Mr Zoellick said biofuels - transport fuels made from crops - had made a contribution to food price rises.
He laid particular blame on fuels made from corn and rapeseed produced in the United States and the EU.
"The US and Europe also need to take action to reduce mandates, subsidies and tariffs benefiting grain and oil seed biofuels that take food off the table for millions," he said.
Protesters have been holding marches in Sapporo, the city closest to the G8 venue, to demand action on global warming, poverty and rising food prices.
World Bank President Robert Zoellick has called for reform of biofuel policies in rich countries, urging them to grow more food to fee... more -
Obama and McCain debate economy
Most Americans suffer a tough economic crunch while the top one per cent of Americans own 90% of assets. More tax cuts for the super rich continue to be debated -- get serious!
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$200 a barrel oil could happen this year
Oil's historic ascent from $100 to nearly $150 a barrel in just six months is lending weight to a far grimmer prediction: Crude could reach $200 a barrel by the end of the year.
Oil at that price would wreak deeper havoc on the world's airlines and automobile industries.
In the U.S., $200 crude would push the price of gasoline to well over $6 a gallon, causing commuters to alter their driving habits more sharply than they have already, while putting extreme strains on large sectors of the U.S. economy. In Europe, it would stir more political unrest and increase the clamor to cut the continent's stiff petrol taxes. In Asia, governments would be under pressure to cut fuel subsidies and risk a popular backlash.
U.S. benchmark crude prices leapt 3.6% last week, closing before the Independence Day holiday at a record $145.29 a barrel. Roughly halfway through the year, oil prices have soared 50% since Jan. 1 and have doubled since the same time last year. (Please see related article on page C8.)
Few oil watchers are now ready to bet that oil will hit $200 a barrel by New Year's Eve. But nearly all are wary of predicting how and when oil's upward stampede will be reversed.
What makes the market so unpredictable, analysts say, is that prices are being pushed by such a wide array of factors, while no single force has emerged with the power to throw them in reverse.
"Crude is going up," said Dave Pursell, an oil analyst at Tudor Pickering in Houston, "because there is nothing strong enough yet to push it down."
In Washington, deepening fears that oil prices will shoot still higher have stoked talk in Congress and within the Bush administration of using one of the last remaining cudgels to try to reverse the price rise: a sharp and sustained release of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Those discussions remain preliminary, though, while most senior administration officials remain opposed to such a move, because the oil stored in salt mines is meant for release in genuine supply emergencies.
The list of forces shoving prices upward is long: a weak dollar driving hot money into commodities; jitters over a possible military conflict with Iran; soaring costs and chronic project delays in the world's oil patch; concerns over scarce supplies and long-term production declines; and continued robust demand growth in much of the developing world.
For the rest of the story click link at top
Oil's historic ascent from $100 to nearly $150 a barrel in just six months is lending weight to a far grimmer prediction: Crude could ... more -
Minnesota bans "Un-American" American Flags
It is illegal to sell Chinese-made American flags in Minnesota - punishable by up to 90 days in jail and/or a US$1000 fine. Although the law came into effect at the end of last year, the local media have jumped on the story now to whip up patriotic sentiment around the 4th July holiday.
Rep. Tom Anzelc, DFL-Balsam Township, told the Minnesota Star Tribune that he thought it was “ludicrous” and “un-American” to have U.S. flags made abroad, in countries such as China. Anzelc said he believes people would gladly pay the extra cost if it puts money in the pockets of their neighbors. In 2006, $5.3 million worth of U.S. flags were imported in the United States, nearly all of them from China.
Adam Minter (a Minnesotan based in Shanghai) makes some acute observations on his blog Shanghaiscrap.com, including that "of course, if this was just about preserving American jobs, then the Minnesota legislature could have banned the import of other Chinese products. But they didn’t. Instead, they chose the flag - the most loaded of loaded symbols - and left it to others to decide what excluding Chinese manufacturers means in this case."
Given the climate of anti-Chinese sentiment that US politicians are stirring up in this election year, particularly amongst working class voters, it's hard to see this law as anything but a knee-jerk reaction to give voters false comfort that American jobs can be saved by protectionist local statutes.
It is illegal to sell Chinese-made American flags in Minnesota - punishable by up to 90 days in jail and/or a US$1000 fine. Although t... more
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