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Bailout denounced as it passes Congress
Bailout bill no relief on foreclosures as159,000 more jobs were lost in September, markets down again.
The financial bailout package was passed by the US House of Representatives on Friday but 108 Republicans and 63 Democrats still refuse to approve the bill. Markets drop anyway with the Dow Jones losing 818 points on the week. Jobs in September slashed by 159,000 and home foreclosures at 770,000 since August 2007 expected to continue to rise. The Real News Network talks to Michael Perelman, Professor of Economics at California State University, Chico.
Michael Perelman teaches economics at California State University, Chico. He has published 19 books, including, The Confiscation of American Prosperity, Railroading Economics, Manufacturing Discontent, The Perverse Economy , and The Invention of Capitalism . He writes a blog Unsettling Economics: A Progressive Look At Economics and the Rest of the Screwed Up World at michaelperelman.wordpress.com. Bailout bill no relief on foreclosures as159,000 more jobs were lost in September, markets down again. ... more -
Last Minute Fight Against Bailout Pork
ANP: Rep. Steven LaTourette (R) Ohio proposed amendment to strip the pork from the senate bailout bill.
American News Project: Republican congressman Steven LaTourette proposed an amendment to the bailout package on Thursday, October 2, that would strip the pork out of the senate's bailout bill and limit the immediate bailout to $250 billion. LaTourette and more than a dozen colleagues who originally opposed the bill promised to vote for the bailout if the amendment was accepted. It was not. ANP: Rep. Steven LaTourette (R) Ohio proposed amendment to strip the pork from the senate bailout bill. ... more -
Support Rallied as House Readies for Its Second Bailout Vote
A tide of lobbyists representing corporate executives, small-business owners, farmers and retirees swamped Capitol Hill yesterday in hopes of pushing an emergency economic rescue plan through Congress, but the fate of the measure remained uncertain as the House prepared for a climactic vote at midday today
Leaders of both parties said they were optimistic that they would be able to marshal more support for the Bush administration's $700 billion bailout than they mustered on Monday, when the House delivered a shocking defeat to the measure and sent the Dow Jones industrial average plummeting 778 points, or about 7 percent.
The market's gut-wrenching reaction offered lawmakers a glimpse of the consequences they could face if they don't approve the bailout package. Since Monday, investors' angst over the fate of the legislation has contributed to a gloomy week on Wall Street. The Dow fell more than 3 percent yesterday, with losses extending beyond the financial services industry to include agriculture, construction and industrial stocks.
Meanwhile, indicators have shown the outlook for the economy to be bleak. Yesterday, the Commerce Department reported that orders for manufactured goods dipped 4 percent in August, the largest decline since October 2006. Last week, new claims for unemployment benefits jumped to a seven-year high.
Some analysts say the economy will not pick up until the middle of next year, even if the Bush administration succeeds on Capitol Hill today. And even if Congress approves the bailout, it may be too little, too late to unfreeze global credit markets. The package might not do much to help offset shrinking bank balance sheets or free up capital for nonfinancial companies, experts say.
Alarmed by signs of deterioration in the markets, the Senate on Wednesday rushed to approve a version of the plan revised to appeal to skeptical lawmakers, adding an array of tax cuts and a temporary increase in the cap on federal insurance for bank deposits. Federal regulators have eased accounting rules that some lawmakers say have crippled local banks. And the White House has called in shock troops from a long list of business and consumer groups whose members are sending a message to lawmakers that the financial crisis is real and hitting Main Street hard.
Yesterday, as a trickle of lawmakers declared that they would switch their "no" votes to "yes," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that she would not permit a repeat of Monday's chaotic scene and that she would cancel today's vote rather than watch the measure fail again.
"We're not going to take a bill to the floor that doesn't have the votes," Pelosi said. "I'm optimistic that we will take a bill to the floor." A tide of lobbyists representing corporate executives, small-business owners, farmers and retirees swamped Capitol Hill yesterday in h... more -
Senate bailout vote puts pressure on House Republicans, aides say
Story Highlights:
Rep. Charles Rangel thinks "sweeteners" will smooth passage in House
Bailout package passed Senate 74-25 on Wednesday with bipartisan support
The bailout failed 228-205 on Monday in the House
President Bush urges the House to pass an "improved" bill Story Highlights: Rep. Charles Rangel thinks "sweeteners" will smooth passage in House ... more -
Spoonful of pork may help bitter economic pill go down
Story Highlights:
Senate's financial rescue plan includes incentives that may attract votes
Proposal would exempt a specific kind of arrow from excise tax
Rum from Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands would get tax break
Filmmakers would get a $478 million in incentives to produce movies in U.S.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Senate's financial rescue plan may have a better chance of passage because it's padded with pork that may be tasty enough to get reluctant House members to bite.
Lawmakers added billions in tax incentives to the bailout bill to help it pass the House.
Most of the $110 billion in additions, such as a tax credit for research and development and an increase in insurance for bank accounts, would have broad economic impact.
The benefits of others, though, may not be so evident to most taxpayers.
For example, the proposal includes an excise tax exemption for a very specific type of arrow used by child archers. View details of the incentives »
According to Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog group, current law places an excise tax of 39 cents on the first sale by the manufacturer, producer or importer of any shaft of a type used to produce certain types of arrows. Watch where's the pork? »
"This proposal would exempt from the excise tax any shaft consisting of all natural wood with no laminations or artificial means to enhance the spine of the shaft used in the manufacture of an arrow that measures 5/16 of an inch or less and is unsuited for use with a bow with a peak draw weight of 30 pounds or more," Ellis wrote.
Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden, a Democrat, and Gordon Smith, a Republican, were the initial sponsors of the arrow provision. According to Bloomberg News, the earmark provision would be worth $200,000 a year to Rose City Archery in Myrtle Point, Oregon.
A Wyden aide said the Oregon senator did not ask that the provision be added to bailout package, but that doesn't fly with Ellis.
"The bottom line is, this is benefiting a very few manufacturers, and I think most Americans who are either concerned about the bailout package or concerned about the economy are going to be wondering why a provision benefiting wooden arrow manufacturers is catching a ride on the package," Ellis said.
The Taxpayers for Common Sense also reports that the proposal includes such mouthwatering morsels as these:
Creation of a seven-year cost recovery period for construction of a motorsports racetrack: $100 million.
A refund of excise taxes to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands for rum: A $13.50 per gallon excise tax is placed on rum imported into the United States. The measure extends to December 31, 2009, a refund of $13.25 per gallon tax back to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, which are both U.S. territories. The refund has been in place since the early '90s. The measure would cost taxpayers $192 million.
Income averaging for amounts received in connection with the Exxon Valdez litigation: $49 million.
Secure rural schools and community self-determination program:$3.3 billion.
Deduction of state and local sales taxes: $3.3 billion.
Provisions related to film and television productions: $478 million over 10 years.
Extension and modification of duty suspension on wool products, wool research fund and wool duty refunds: $148 million.
Extension of economic development credit for American Samoa: $33 million
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Help maintaining and buying a bike for those who use it as transportation some odd milliionsss or trillionss... see the article for more detail into the porks details. Story Highlights: Senate's financial rescue plan includes incentives that may attract votes ... more -
FDA issues rules for GMO animals- "Pork that have been engineered with mouse ...
FDA won't require label for genetically altered meats
The debate over whether to label genetically modified foods shifted a step away from disclosure today as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a draft guidance saying the agency will not require a label on food made from genetically engineered animals.
The draft will be open for public comment until Nov. 18.
The FDA will study all genetically modified foods for safety issues before approving them for market consumption, the draft said. There are no genetically engineered animal products on the market, the FDA's Web site said, although some products are undergoing a safety review.
"It is likely that for the first [genetically engineered] animal approval(s), we will convene a public advisory committee meeting prior to the completion of the approval," the FDA's Web site said.
The FDA will regulate any recombinant DNA modification under the animal as a "new animal drug" under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, even though some of the some of the genetic modifications might involve splicing the DNA of one animal into a completely different species. Examples include the insertion of the spider-silk protein gene into goats for the production of a filament-rich milk and the introduction of a mouse gene into pigs to alter the composition of pig manure.
The classification would allow manufacturers to avoid having to use a separate label for any products coming from genetically engineered animals. The FDA says the foods would undergo strict testing and that any approved foods would be safe for human consumption.
But that's missing the point, said Michael Hansen, senior scientist at Consumers Union. Many label requirements have little to do with food safety.
"We require labeling of juices whether they come from concentrate or if they're fresh-squeezed or whether milk is homogenized or not, so along those lines, we think that all genetically engineered animals present in the food chain should labeled as such," Hansen said.
Other problems could arise if genetically modified animals get into the wild population, Hansen said.
It's called the Trojan Gene Hypothesis, Hansen said — the idea that the offspring of genetically engineered animals are weak. For example, some salmon are engineered to grow to larger sizes. Salmon choose their mates based partially on the size of the male, so the genetically altered fish would be preferable. However, genetically engineered fish have fewer offspring that have a lower survival rate, so the salmon population could decrease dramatically after only a few generations of breeding, Hansen said.
Bush Aid Package Includes GM FDA won't require label for genetically altered meats ... more -
The future of food: Prepare yourself for a vegetarian world
From the head chef at MomoFuko:
You've seen the articles, right there on the front page next to equally uplifting stories about oil, the economy, and the war: The cost of food--of producing and procuring it--is soaring. In the restaurant world, it's all anyone can talk about. And the thing is, this is no temporary spike; it's actually a massive correction.
The machinery that's pumped so much meat into our lives over the last half century was never built to last, and now it's breaking down big-time. Feed is more expensive. Gasoline is more expensive. Milk, rice, butter, corn--it's all going through the roof. And for the foreseeable future, it's not coming back down.
Farmer Michael's feed costs have risen 400 percent in the last twelve months. To make a profit on the beautiful turkeys his family is raising in time for Thanksgiving, he'll have to charge a hundred bucks a bird. At Momofuku, I'm paying 150 percent more for humanely raised pork belly than I was paying at this time last year. And at the hyperglobal megachains that feed most of America, the only way they'll be able to keep selling one-dollar hamburgers is to grow their "protein units" in petri dishes, add even more filler to their products, and outright enslave the workers whose backs they're already breaking to keep costs artificially low.
It's depressing, this state of affairs, and sometimes I let myself wallow in it. But then I think about the opportunity this situation presents. Let's allow these harsh new realities to force us to do something that Alice Waters has been advocating for decades: Let's finally embrace the truth that food is not something to be taken for granted. As a culture, we need to be more curious about where our food comes from. We need to buy from farmers who are trying to do things the right way. We need to think before we eat.
If we do, we'll find that our cuisine and eating habits will more closely resemble those of the nineteenth century than the late twentieth. Hunting will be less about the buck points and more about the meat. Nose-to-tail eating will make a comeback--not because of fashion or Fergus Henderson (whom I love), but because of scarcity and price. And small-scale farming--little vegetable gardens in the backyards of homes in cities, suburbs, and the countryside alike--will become not just economically sensible but cool. Hell, maybe foraging for mushrooms and wild fruits will become a seminormal skill again.
At the table, this means our plates will be heavier on grains and greens, and meat will shift from the center of the dish to a supporting role--the role it's played throughout history in most of the world's cuisines.
At Momofuku, we've made a name for ourselves selling lots of pig and not accommodating vegetarians. So, yeah, I recognize the hypocrisy of me telling you to eat more veggies and less meat. Guilty as charged. But don't get me wrong: My restaurants still won't kowtow to vegetarians. We will, however, focus more on vegetable and grain dishes in which meat adds flavor, not heft. From the head chef at MomoFuko: ... more -
In Search of the Perfect Pork Martini
How could i not post this?
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Which grocery stores carry certified humane raised and handled animal products?
Click on the link to find out which grocery stores in your area carry certified humane raised and handled animal products.
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Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC) is a non-profit organization created to offer a certification and labeling program for meat, eggs, dairy and poultry products from animals raised according to Humane Farm Animal Care’s Animal Care Standards. Developed with the welfare of the individual animal in mind, Certified Humane standards ensure that the animal is treated humanely and in accordance with the highest farm animal welfare standards available today, as the animal is raised, transported and processed. Click on the link to find out which grocery stores in your area carry certified humane raised and handled animal products. ... more -
Porscha Coleman "Beauty & Brains"
There are some people who work hard and plenty of those who hardly work. 22-year-old, Porscha Coleman is clearly the exception to the rule. Starting out in the game as an extra next to Meagan Good in the Ice Cube-penned classic, Friday, the beautiful Cancer marched on a campaign to capture your attention.
From the lil’-film-that-could, Coleman – who has trained under Lynn Marks and Stacy Pianko – increased her resume with appearances next to Lloyd Banks (“On Fire”), Dem Franchise Boys (“Oh, I Think They Like Me – Remix”) and Nick Cannon. With hypnotizing hips, lips and dips that have made audience and acts like Yung Berg fall for this “sexy lady,” Ms. Porscha Coleman sits with Beauty & Brains to talk about stealing the spotlight, how Three-6-Mafia added onto her career and why an album is the next plan on her road to world domination.
Read the whole interview here.....
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/brains-beauty/id.65 There are some people who work hard and plenty of those who hardly work. 22-year-old, Porscha Coleman is clearly the exception to the ... more -
Safeway to make purchasing decisions on meat and eggs based on animal welfare
In light of the recalled beef news, some major animal organizations (HSUS, PETA) are making real progress to move American businesses like Safeway away from the cruelest practices in animal agriculture. Wow! I'm impressed and hopeful. In light of the recalled beef news, some major animal organizations (HSUS, PETA) are making real progress to move American businesses ... more
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BACON! and 10 things you should put it on
Bacon is the best food ever. It makes everything just taste better!
Check out the article .... mmmm good.
What is your bacon fantasy? Bacon is the best food ever. It makes everything just taste better! Check out the article .... mmmm good. ... more -
Know what goes great with pork? Bacon!
I fear my rabbi may not approve.
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