Ostrich Farm, Sole Supplier, Losing Lease Wall Street Journal
Judge blasts prosecution of alleged NSA leaker Washington Post
Poll: 60% of Californians Support a Carbon Tax Los Angeles Times
Brazil’s Deforestation Nightmare TruthOut (hat tip reader May S)
Orient Express : Will Montana become a coal colony? Missoula News (hat tip reader Foppe)
Former Intel Chief: Call Off The Drone War (And Maybe the Whole War on Terror) Wired (hat tip reader May S)
Blundering towards a ‘You Break it You Own it’ Europe William Buiter, Financial Times. Buiter believes losses on bad sovereign debt will be forced on junior creditors of banks. While that is where we ought to wind up, the governments of various states are so captured I don’t see this happening as easily as he posits.
More investors shorting Chinese yuan Caixin
No hard landing, but no solution Michael Pettis
The Impact of the Budget Deal for Those Who Don’t Carry Around the Budget in Their Pocket Dean Baker
Will the World Still Buy US Debt? Ed Harrison
Sometimes compromise is the worst thing Bill Mitchell
White House Believed Republicans Would Agree to Tax Increases, and Also, in Magic Unicorns FireDogLake
The myth of Obama’s “blunders” and “weakness” Glenn Greenwald
Obama & the Fake Debt Ceiling Crisis: This President Is Really Just Smarter Than You Are Black Agenda Report (hat tip reader Carol B)
Social Security Reform Bill Encourages Americans To Live Faster, Die Younger The Onion
Antidote du jour:
59 comments
Comments are closed.
Maam;
My caption for the antidote: “Blast! Who would have thought Politicians would taste like that?”
Yep, soft on the outside, crunchy on the inside.
That’s actually a Kenyan lion, roaring in disgust at the Birther idea that BHO was born in Kenya. He’s expressing outrage at the idea that a Kenyan could put on a performance as craven as our POTUS’s behevior over the last few weeks of ‘debt crisis.’
He could also be complaining about Americans’ inability to shpell!
I think the lion is saying, ‘This deal stinks.’
I know it because I make the same face.
I like how the Greenwald headline seems to be a direct retort to the pernicious FDL headline.
(Not that I disbelieve Obama could be that dumb at any particular point, but it’s pernicious because it’s meant to reinforce the “progressive” party line that Obama’s well-meaning-but-weak/stupid rather than malevolent.)
Why all this angst over the lack of regressive tax increases in this thing? That’s the one silver lining which could possibly have been salvaged out of it, and it was.
just to supply the correct FDL link: http://firedoglake.com/2011/08/01/white-house-believed-republicans-would-agree-to-tax-increases-and-also-in-magic-unicorns/
Both the Black Agenda Report article and the Greenwald one, make the key points. And both make the FDL post look lame, which it is. I don’t think anyone at the White House ever thought the Republicans would agree to the tax cuts (except maybe idealistic young interns), and it is so very convenient to name call and blame the “tea baggers” (taunting and insults are NOT a sign of intelligence). Incredibly they are blaming the “tea baggers” instead of the power elite who are using the tea partiers as their clueless front group (tea party = bunraku). Wow, you would think by now the folks at FDL would be better at spotting and dealing with political propaganda by now, after how hard they fell for it in 2008. At the end of the Greenwald post is a cartoon by vastleft that explains it best. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y_eePl4m5ok/TjcObpFtrqI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/7_Zwxx3mVPg/s1600/vastleft.png
Wow, you would think by now the folks at FDL would be better at spotting and dealing with political propaganda by now, after how hard they fell for it in 2008.
Are you sure you’re not falling for the same scam where it comes to FDL itself? ;)
If you are saying that FDL is also propaganda, I agree on that :) One of the most interesting things I learned while studying up on propaganda is how easily “designed narratives” are taken in and propagated unconsciously, therefore appearing “natural.” The power elite have had many years to perfect their divide & conquer strategies. They use operatives to seed, plant and nurture their desired narratives into the various factions until they are taken up by the unaware who propagate them from there because they “sound right” (i.e. confirm conscious and unconscious biases).
The best example at FDL is how they installed a flack from a health insurance industry front group to coordinate FDL’s propaganda for not one but two bait-and-switch “health reform” scams.
First the “public option” itself, and then the “Progressive Block” in the House which was going to guarantee that no bill without a “real public option” passed.
Thus FDL did its part in herding the progressive sheep away from the Single Payer pasture (the only one with any grass).
If we accept the Black Agenda Report and Glenn Greenwald’s theories as correct, the question remains, why did Obama desert his party’s core principles. From the BAR’s perspective, it appears that they simultaneously cheer Obama’s brilliance at selling out their own constituency. I say O had more than enough cover to stand and defend principles by insisting that he would not participate with the Tea Party’s insane demand to hold the Debt Limit issue hostage to extort budget reform. There are numerous articles today that say O has put the entire economy in jeopardy with his brand of austerity. Does O think this is his “Nixon to China” moment? Sorry, I just don’t get it. Let’s agree with them that Obama is brilliant at getting what he wants. Now what? Completely ignore the fact that what he wanted was wrong? Wanting to show your brilliance with the risk of destroying our economy is not brilliant it’s nuts. The Tea Party and other conservatives will get the credit if it works and Obama will get the blame if it doesn’t. Brilliant! Please explain the calculus to me.
Not sure if you will like my personal explanation of this…”desert his party’s core principles,” but I will give a shot at explaining some of my thoughts.
Politics is not about core principles as far as I can tell from my research, although for some reason that is a commonly held belief. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics
Here is a shorter definition I often use, “Politics boils down to who gets what, when, how… tribal bartering and bargaining, power & influence seeking.” Even shorter definition, it’s bout power and money and always has been. Suggest reading some basic political science textbooks whcih are generally avilable very cheap used at Amazon.
Principles are important aspects of philosophy and religion, at least in theory, but in politics, not so much.
I have recently been wondering why so many on the right and left have been complaining about the lack of principles, as if that was ever a major component of politics. History does not show this. Sure, there is the occasional politico who becomes legend for their supposed principles, but on closer look that generally falls apart.
I wonder if the desire for “principles” is actually a subtle piece of propaganda so that the little people focus on principles and get distracted on arguments about those while the politicos wheel and deal and play power and money games (like they always have).
From what I have read, it appears that every 30-40 years or so the political parties realign what they stand for. Also that people tend to hold onto political party definitions from early adulthood despite the fact that those are everchanging depending on current trends. My observation is the the current political crises reflects a breakdown in the definitions of what the parties supposedly stand for, which is why the numbers of independents are increasing. People are rejecting what the parties currently stand for but as of yet there is no real replacement. I think the whole left-right-center liberal/progressive-conservative labels are rapidly losing their meaning and value in the increasingly money based and authoritarian times we are in.
Oabam is following his core principals however, which are the banksters and financiers that contribute heavily to his election campaigns. Rememer that the grandmother who raised him was a banker and that Penny Pritzker was one of his earliest backers in Chicago.
Valissa, I buy your entire premise, but what catches me up short—always—is my sheer inability to grasp just How Destructive and How Wasteful these processes are.
Grabbing something for one’s self: understood. Destroying something worth billions for a short-term gain of thousands: not so comprehensible.
I figure “don’t shit where you eat” is something even the lowest of cretins can understand. I guess I am wrong.
I can’t disagree with Valissa on this. It’s just, deep down I can’t believe that the Democrat party is really just going to say, Oh well. I still (maybe naively) believe that the party’s core principles remain fundamentally intact (or am I just praying for it?) There seems to be a disconnect here.
The Democratic Party has a “platform” of supposed principles as does the Republican Party. I guess the question we are all asking is how much do those principles (essentially the party platform) reflect reality. I’m sure that members of both parties to some extent or another “believe in” most items on their party platforms, esp. early in their careers. But then most of them end up conforming to group norms, and go along to get along and all that sociological stuff. And money is the name of the game today!
These party platforms perhaps no longer represent reality, even if they once did (it’s all questionable). Let’s face it, once a politician is elected then they want to stay elected… you know, keep their job… and maybe even get promoted (move from house to senate or gov to president, or the like). And in today’s political climate it’s become all about the money.
You know.. back in 2000 I could not understand when Naderites and others said their was no difference (or only cosmetic differences) between the parties. I could not see it then, for whatever reason. It took me until 2008 to see it, maybe because I had to time and inclination to follow things more closely and read some history too. I left the Democratic Party in the ’90s due to Clinton (even though, oddly, in some ways I like him) and other stuff. But even though I was officially an independent I still thought the Dems were the lesser of 2 evils until too many things became clear to me in 2008. Once I jettisoned the two-party belief system from my mind, it was a big relief.
I have no idea how all of this is going to turn out, but history indicates there will be a downturn for some years before there is another upswing. I’m thinking by 2020 or so it will be whole new ball game, and even if there is a 15-20% lowering of the standard of living for Americans, it will not be the end of the world. Money is NOT everything. Other values are important too.
If I may be so rude as to make a one-line suggestion. The frustration over the lack of principles flows forth from not understanding the fact that politicians are no longer representing them: They do not [yet] appreciate the fact that on certain areas of government policy, there is no longer a choice, because both parties want the same thing. They don’t [really] understand what’s changed yet, since US elections have almost always been centered on cultural rather than social issues, yet they do sort of appreciate that something fishy is going on. A principled politician represents; unprincipled politicians do not.
Curious (if nice) news from Israel:
Knesset report warned of ‘social time bomb’ three years ago
More than 150,000 take to streets across Israel in largest housing protest yet
Everyone is blaming Bibi
As I wrote in another comment, I can assure you that the whole thing is genuinely NEWS to many Americans, even though it has been going on and growing for a few weeks now. It’s borderline information blackout in the American mainstream media.
It also seems that the protesters’ message graduated from the housing issue a while ago onto bigger ones.
What’s somewhat unique with this is that Israel is supposed to be in the middle of an “economic boom.” I remember the WSJ publishing a rosy report about it not too long ago.
Yeah, I was quite surprised by this, as I hadn’t read anything about it in the dutch newspapers either.
Anyway, another nice article about it, guardian:
As a Japanese, I feel flattered by the fact that “sushi eaters” means “leftists” over there, lol.
The only thing that I knew about the Israeli economy was its not-so-nice widening gap between the rich and everyone else. The Great Moderation is always fragile, I guess.
Bibi has learned from the best (worst). The American Reichwing, the propagandists for the financiers, and the punditocracy.
Yet, he’s toast. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch!
Thanks for the environmental and drone war links. These issues put the debt BS into perspective. Our economy incentivises war and environmental destruction. Those are the true debts that we’re creating for our children.
The elite have gone ‘meta’ on the other 99% of us. They used to fight us directly by providing the majority of the funding to their side (the right). Now, they’ve discovered that they can make much greater gains by nominally funding severe right-wing crackpots (Bachman, Palin, etc.). However, they make their real gains by providing the majority of their funding to DINOs like Obama.
Obama is expecting to raise $1 billion for the 2012 election. I can’t imagine that much of that is going to come from ordinary folks.
More from The Onion…
Democrats, Republicans Celebrate Pitiful Excuse For Common Ground http://www.theonion.com/articles/democrats-republicans-celebrate-pitiful-excuse-for,21052/
Woman Fined For Truck Nutz http://www.theonion.com/articles/woman-fined-for-truck-nutz,21046/
Bill Black:
My cousin was Number 4 in the hierarchy of a large California S&L in the 70s & 80s. Numbers 1 and 2 were brothers and the family had controlled the federally chartered mutual S&L for years. At the time, Florida S&Ls were flush with cash from wealthy retirees who had moved there, but the banks had a shortage of viable real estate investments (S&Ls could only loan out funds for RE at the time). My cousin recounted a story that took place in that era. Number 2 was supposed to meet with two FL. S&L execs to discuss their purchase of a large amount of CA mortgages. Number 2 got ill and my cousin was asked to fill in. Since he had no experience with selling mortgages, my cousin told Number 1 that he was unsure he could handle the task. Number 1 said, just meet with them and don’t worry about it. The trio ended up on the infamous Broadway strip in San Francisco where they proceeded to spend the night in various nude bars and got completely shit-faced. Shortly after 2:00AM, the trio was staggering down Broadway when one of the FL. execs slurred, “Ya know, we haven’t even discussed the purchase and we’ve got to fly out tomorrow morning”. Before my cousin could respond, the other one says, “Look, we’ll take $10,000,000, just send us the paper work when we’re back home”. That was what “due diligence” consisted of in those days. I could spend a long evening (at a good watering hole would be best) telling other war stories I have heard and experienced first hand.
For the record, Numbers 1 through 3 went to federal prison. My cousin, a fine Irish lad, used the luck of the Irish to avoid prosecution but, lost a lucrative career and never recovered financially. Unlike today, all four did the crime and, in one way or another, all four did the time. Apparently since examples such as this did not prevent a repeat of history, the powers that be have decided to forgo any punishment and take a “boys will be boys” approach (apologies to any female criminals out there)
Will the world still buy US debt?
Did he get the Coin memo?
Coin comes! (anagram of economics)
Social Security Reform Bill Encourages American To Live Faster, Die Younger.
I used to think that was the job of Rock ‘N Roll – to make Americans live faster and die younger.
But then, I saw some 80 yr old touring rock musicians, and I thought, hmmmm, maybe, not. Maybe it’s acutally good for your health.
So, here is the question.
Which will we see first – the world’s first trillionaire or the world’s first 90 yr. old touring rock musician?
The best way to live a long time is seriously undereat (except you still need to get enough nutrients, so you need to be sure to get enough vitamins and minerals). Tons of animal studies on this one. And the older underfed animals look great and are very frisky.
The best way to lower your biological age (as opposed to live longer, not as clear whether this extends lifespan) is to weight train or engage in activities that require and promote strength. Not only is there a lot of research that supports this conclusion, I’ve got some examples in my family. My great uncle (Olympic medalist, invented the spinning movement used universally in the hammer throw) hauled lobster traps without a winch into his 80s. I last saw him when he was 88 and he looked like a man in his late 50s.
Neither of these appears to have anything to do with rock and roll, although maybe that motivate you to do one or both.
Thanks, Yves!
I am going to try lifting more stuff. I think we all like to live to 100 and look 50, not to live to 100 and look 200.
Another example of looting…
Reaping Millions in Nonprofit Care for Disabled http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/02/nyregion/for-executives-at-group-homes-generous-pay-and-little-oversight.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
Have you ever trid an all-you-can-eat buffet? What happens is you usually eat more than you normally do.
That’s also what happens in an all-you-can-loot buffet.
You loot more than you normally would. You pay a fixed bribe…sorry, lobbying and campaign contribution fee, and you get to loot all you can.
That’s just human nature.
Yup! Some might describe it as a looting bubble!
It’s not human nature. It is the result of the neoliberal selfishness cult. Human nature is not fixed. What humans do, how they behave together at any time and place depends on their culture, the things they believe about themselves and the world.
Generally speaking, though, if it’s all you can eat, most humans will tend to over-eat.
Cats are different, I think. When I put too much in their bowls, they will eat but leave plenty behind.
My dog will go off and bury the excess for later.
Bored indoor cats will overeat. Indoor/outdoor cats, from what I can tell, don’t.
One other item that ought to be on here is the lawsuit against Icahn by XO minority shareholders. The court documents themselves make interesting reading:
https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=G_PLUS_TdI7YIyRJeuvvU5HhEmw==
The situations is that Icahn’s ownership of 80% of the company allowed him to use NOLs (net operating loss) to offset profits elsewhere. So he deliberately kept the stock price at $2/share and ran the company into the ground in order to maintain ownership and significant losses. Not surprisingly, the other shareholders are pissed off.
Telecom Ramblings also has a solid post on the matter.
While americanos obsess over their legislative drama (which Bill Gross says won’t even make a dent in restoring fiscal sustainability), the situation in southern Europe is degenerating into a flaming horror show:
This dismal debacle is a direct result of the latest ‘day late, dollar short’ Greek bailout. I don’t care what the rating agencies say — yield spreads of 400 bips over bunds imply a junk rating..
Spain and Italy are going down, and it’s because Europe’s bankster buffoons refuse to swallow the bitter medicine of restructuring Greece, Ireland and Portugal with swingeing haircuts in the 50 to 80 percent range.
As I said a few days ago, when the authorities insist on propping up Greek debt rather than doing the necessary and inevitable restructuring, the only rational response is to sell the debt of so-far unpropped peripherals such as Spain and Italy. Sell relentlessly, and sell remorselessly, until you can hear the bankster bastards puking behind their gold-gilded closed doors.
Six percent yields on Italian and Spanish sovereigns fail to impress? Hang on till this autumn, when they’ll surpass seven percent.
As Dostoyevsky used to say, ‘So things are bad? Well then — LET THEM GET EVEN WORSE!’
Peripheral Europe is swirling down the toilet. As physics dictates, the angular momentum accelerates as the vortex approaches the bottom of the bowl.
Flush twice; it’s a long way to Brussels!
I think you got the physics right… but not sure about the myth of “fiscal sustainability” :)
re: the EU economic planning for southern Europe http://shewonk.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/then-a-miracle-occurs-cartoon.png
For Germany, will there be a Southern Redoubt this time?
@Jim
By all means, let’s do as Bill Gross suggests. This from a guy who steals from overworked waitresses and runs away before she can say anything, then counts it as a notch mark on his axe of legends. And if I understand his pathetic story correctly, isn’t very good at math ($2 – $2 = -$.25 ???).
http://www.pimco.com/EN/Insights/Pages/Two-Bits-Four-Bits-Six-Bits-a-Dollar.aspx
What Ron Paul has to say about the budget deal… and he is a politician with his own biases so caution is recommended… but some might find this of interest as a counterpoint to the other propaganda.
Ron Paul explains… When a Cut is Not a Cut http://paul.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1898:when-a-cut-is-not-a-cut&catid=62:texas-straight-talk&Itemid=69
The road congress is on http://files.pressible.org/18/files/2011/03/Screen-shot-2011-03-29-at-7.09.40-AM.png
True to form, the online NYTimes has a headline on the debt vote balanced on the right side, also above the piucture of Obama
Opinion »
Op-Ed: Antebellum Myth.
Guess thats what you call balancing the news.
Re: Poll: 60% of Californians Support a Carbon Tax Los Angeles Times
I don’t normally believe anything I read in the LA Times, but if this is true it’s one of the best examples of why Californians are so crazy. We love cars, we especially love fast cars, and we also want them to be extremely clean and green.
If a Camaro wrapped around a tree is the unofficial flag of red states, then a Tesla Roadster parked outside a Starbucks is California’s.
Shouldn’t we only tax to tame inflation?
I say the only tax we need is estate tax. 100% after $1mil per beneficiary.
Fed May Weigh More Stimulus on Slow Recovery http://www.moneynews.com/Headline/Fed-Stimulus-Recovery-economy/2011/08/02/id/405744
More signs of the times…
Pawning Rolexes to make payroll http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/02/smallbusiness/small_business_loans_pawn_shop/index.htm?iid=HP_River
Americans choose to save, not spend, in June http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/02/news/economy/personal_income_spending/
From the New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/03/health/research/03psych.html?hpw
I’m not sure why they’d be treating with antipsychotics to begin with. These guys need therapy to help deal with the things they saw and experienced, not a “magic” pill.
The last thing someone without a chemical imbalance needs is to have a chemical introduced into their system to combat an imaginary psychosis.
Money
The Onion video was hilarious. too bad the MSM won’t play it. that’s exactly what they are pushing, of course. just too afraid to speak the truth.
i love it. thanks for the laugh. after the last few days, it’s a wonderful use of bandwith.
meant to use “bandwidth.” lol
On IQ and browser choice
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14370878
:)