Sunday, May 27, 2012

Peace Revolution

It's Memorial Day weekend. I didn't hear one person talk about the ongoing, over 10 year old war in Afghanistan, that we aren't winning and we never will. As of June 2011, we have spent over $1 Trillion on war. Soon we are going to have another budget showdown with Republicans refusing to live up to the agreement they made last year, which will probably send the U.S. into another downgrade and recession. But no one is looking at the Department of Defense budget. Food stamps, social security, medicare and medicaid. These things can be cut. The poor can suck it.
I really wish we could have a Department of Peace. How much of our budget is spent specifically for the proliferation of peace? Well, what a surprise, I found the Institute of Peace. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Institute_of_Peace
They are requesting for 2012 a budget of $42 million. Anthony Wiener (Yeah, THAT Wiener) actually attacked the Institute of Peace's budget. But the weirdest thing is Ronald Raygun actually signed the U.S. Institute of Peace Act.
On 2/17/2011, Congress voted to eliminate all funding. That figures. Here's another figure, at least 919,967 people have died in Afghanistan and Iraq. http://www.unknownnews.org/casualties.html
No one really knows how many people have been killed. It seems like no one cares. Memorial Day has become a marketing experience, Memorial Day specials, sales, and a holiday weekend. Maybe 60 Minutes will have a segment on Arlington National Cemetery. How is it that we can spend so much money on war, but no funding for peace. It's crazy. While everyone is eating hot dogs and hamburgers at their cookouts, I wonder how many people will reflect on what this day really means and how many lives have been lost in  a useless war for profit. Happy Memorial Day, why do we say that? When there's really nothing happy about it.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

New Green Deal

I guess maybe I haven't been paying attention lately, (too busy obsessing about "W" being tried as a war criminal, and the various punishments he would receive) but I haven't heard anything about anyone endorsing or running for a third party. Then I came across this article in Grist. http://grist.org/election-2012/being-green-presidential-hopeful-jill-stein-aims-to-rebuild-a-broken-system/
So I went and investigated a bit to  learn what the party is about. Here is what I found:
  • Government-led investment in energy efficiency and microgeneration
  •     Low-carbon infrastructure redevelopment as a job creation strategy
  •     A directed windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas companies (already established in Norway) with expanding renewable energy and energy efficiency investment
  •     Further financial incentives for green investment and reduced energy usage, including reduction of private bank interest rates for green investment
  •     Break up large financial institutions into smaller units to facilitate more explicit and detailed fundamental risk management, as opposed to an approach based on sheer size and diversifying into every activity regardless of its harms
  •     Re-regulation of international finance including capital controls, increased scrutiny of financial derivatives, likely along the lines of Basel II
  •     Prevent corporate tax evasion by demanding financial reporting and by clamping down on tax havens.
These are all things I would love to see as government policy, which is precisely why it will never work.
The corporations will never allow that to happen. Then there are all the people who say "remember Ralph Nader?" My usual response is "remember hanging chads?" I really am up in the air about voting at all. I voted for Obama. I guess I didn't listen to closely when he said he wanted change, and didn't give us any, except, he did change his opinion about gay marriage without really doing anything about it.
There is the opinion going around that voting for President Obama is voting for the lesser of two evils. My problem with that is the lesser of two evils is still evil.
 http://www.gp.org/index.php


Wednesday, May 16, 2012

If Bush Can't Leave The Country, How Is He Free?

Torturer, Liar, Human Rights Activist?
I have been keeping up with the John Edwards trial, and while examining that I wondered, as this brew-ha-ha is swirling in North Carolina, what is it that we should really be looking at? I wondered why the Justice Department is willing to look at this scandal and prove  Edwards' financial wrong doing? However, there is no mention of George W. Bush, I guess we're not allowed to look back at that? But we can examine the stupidity of Edwards, who may have used donations wrongly, but the former President, who got us over 5 trillion dollars in debt for 2 wars that were unfunded, whose administration lied to the American people and Congress, who violated international treaties with his policy of torture, and gave American citizens his idea of a "Raw Deal" by destroying the economy, thanks to all that "trickle up" stupidity, we are just not allowed to go, "back there".
Now I read that "W" was in D.C. to promote, and I am not lying or under the influence of anything, he's promoting human rights. George W. Bush Briefly Visits Washington - NYTimes.com \
My question is, human rights for who?  Rich White people? Wasn't he afraid some one would throw a shoe at him? Like they did in Iraq?
He's also promoting Romney, but strangely enough, "W" "wonder boy" has not been actively campaigning for Romney anywhere, except in an elevator in Washington D.C.. President Clinton has been very visible promoting President Obama.  So I wonder why Wonder boy has not been trotted out as a hero and spokesperson, especially because of his wildly successful "Bush Tax Cuts". What gives?  Could it be that Romney doesn't want to be associated with the equivalent to a modern day Calvin Coolidge? Does he want to stay as far removed as possible from the President that devastated the American economy? Perhaps they are concerned with the former presidents stammering and illogical speaking ability. Although Mitt seems to be a contender, he and "W" seem to share a common problem of public speaking stupidity and gaffes.
The former President said, "I actually found my freedom by leaving Washington". If only the rest of us were similarly free. Thanks to the Patriot Act and all manner of surveillance, an economic depression, a war that still rages 10 years later, many of us are anything but free. I don't believe he's free either since he cancelled a trip to Switzerland last February, apparently Switzerland takes torture more seriously than the United States. George W. Bush cancels Switzerland visit over fears of arrest on torture charges | Mail Online
For President Obama's sake he better look back, and dredge up all the Republican wrong doing that got us into the mess we're in, especially for amnesiacs that vote

Sunday, May 13, 2012

J.P Morgan and Jamie Dimon, Sons Only A Mother Could Love

J.P Morgan
This is where it all started, with this guy. Ever hear of the Hall-Carbine affair? This is how J.P. Morgan made his fortune. He sold defective guns to the U.S government during the Civil War, guns that were known to maim the user. He also paid for a "substitute" to serve in the Civil war so he wouldn't have to fight it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JP_Morgan
I guess it should be no surprise that his bank is completely corrupt, Some things never change.
 Jamie Dimon, head of J.P. Morgan now, served on the N.Y. Federal Reserve board of directors. He was named CEO of the year in 2011. That tells me a lot about how a billion dollar bank is run, but also about how the country is run. Mr. Dimon made 23 MILLION last year. I am not sure what he had to do for all that money, what was he doing? I can hardly believe a man who was CEO of the year could tolerate sloppiness?
JP Morgan chief reveals $2bn trading loss caused by 'sloppiness' | Business | guardian.co.uk
                                                 I took my money our of Wells Forgo 2 weeks ago, and put it in a local    community bank. Dimon's big fat salary came at the expense of  the unemployed, the foreclosed upon, all of us who pay astronomical credit card and bank fees.
Jamie Dimon
 I couldn't stay with a bank I had been a customer with for over 15 years because they started charging all kinds of crazy fees that I just couldn't tolerate anymore. Not to mention a teller just doesn't count money anymore, they are retail sales people who try STILL to talk people into second mortgages, etc, the very thing that tanked the economy in the first place.
The SEC is going to be looking into J.P. Morgans business practices, Seriously. I want to know, besides Bernie Madoff, who has the SEC prosecuted? There should be a lot more people in jail. What is going to happen? Jon Corzine ran M.F Global into the ground, I wrote about that last year. He's not in jail. There are no consequences for these criminals, unlike average American citizens. I'm not holding my breath, waiting for these charlatans to get a forced vacation in the big house. Criminal behavior by bankers isn't just tolerated in America and everywhere else, it is rewarded.
Happy Mothers Day everyone. I'm really glad Jamie Dimon isn't my son.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Bipolar Bank

Finally, after years of screwing people, JP Morgan admitted to "sloppiness" and  "embarrassing errors". JP Morgan chief reveals $2bn trading loss caused by 'sloppiness' | Business | guardian.co.uk
Like their credit default swaps aren't embarrassing enough.  How is it that a bank that was "praised for it's handling of the 2008 economic crises" could be sloppy, or make errors, don't they have accountants?
I wish I had more time to rant about these jerks, but I have to go to work, I can't afford to be sloppy or make embarrassing errors. Unlike Mr. Dimon. But I have to say. It's a very satisfying day to see these assholes finally get whats coming to them. Nothing hurts like losing money, especially for a supposed bank. Which, I remember a long time ago what banks used to be, and whatever JP Morgan is, it is NOT a bank.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Russian Occupy Or Let Them Eat Caviar

Alexei Navalny, blogger, lawyer, activist
This man was arrested again. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/06/russia-protest-march-arrests_n_1489596.html
I wrote about Russian bloggers being arrested back in December, now it's happened again. Putin was sworn in for another 6 years and from what I have read, over 20,000 people took to the streets to protest. Many Russians feel that the political process has been hijacked, protesting in the streets is the only method they have to fight back.
This sounds to me like the Bush-Gore election, only it seems to me that it was a big yawn here, no one was arrested for protesting that debacle.
People on a global level feel that their vote does not count and their voices are not being heard. The powers that be remain entrenched and only care about the supporting the status quo. It seems that revolution is still in the air and governments everywhere refuse to listen and allow austerity, corporate money and militarized police forces to quash any citizen movements through force and violence. Change is what needs to happen. Established politicians no longer answer to the people in Russia or anywhere else it seems. As long as opportunities for advancement are stagnant and people feel as though their situations are hopeless, then the only choice is to protest. If  the economy is not working for the people, only for  the plutocracy, then mass suffering is going to continue and political unrest. Arresting dissidents is not going to work, not in the long run. I feel that this is just beginning to happen in the U.S. and at some point we are going to look forward to a larger crackdown in this country if the extremists in our own government don't start listening to their constituencies. People have been failed by their leaders. They know that lip service is being paid to them while the politicians agenda caters to corporate interests. People come first and if elected official's fail to serve the citizenry, heads will roll.
Alexey Navalny - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
photo of Alexei Navalny attributed to Wikipedia

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Guangcheng, The Next Chinese Export?

"We believe all governments have to answer our citizens' aspirations for dignity and the rule of law and that no nation can or should deny those rights." Clinton urges China to protect human rights - Yahoo! News
Oh really Hillary?
And what exactly is our governments answer to the people's aspirations marching in the streets on May Day? Where is the answer when we ask why the people responsible for the economic collapse aren't held accountable? Where is the rule of law when war criminals lie to the American people and blithely walk away, leaving countries in ruins, people massacred.
Aspirations mean citizens actually have something to aspire to. Should we look to a corrupt government beholden to corporate money and the legislative whores who pocket it? And I'm not talking about China. How sad is it when a blind dissident thinks his chances will be better here than they are in his own country? He may get to leave China for a life in the U.S. and be invited to talk shows and enjoy a culture of celebrity, a book contract. The American Dream. But for millions of American citizens, Hillary is not listening to you. The American Dream is a figment of your imagination. That is partly because we sold our souls to China for all our lovely little gadgets. Will Chen Guangcheng be the next export? Perhaps he will escape and live in relative splendor, compared to his life in China. However, there is no answer for the millions of unemployed, foreclosed on and those living in poverty, the invisible's who aspire to scrape through another day. Got dignity? How about you Hillary?
Edvard Munch's "The Scream" sold for $119,900,000 Yeah, that's MILLION! Did a hedgefund manager buy it? A prince from the Arab Emirates? No museum announced ownership, so it will be in someone's private collection. Someone who has made a profit off of the misery of people around the world. The irony is that is what the painting is about, human suffering.