Category Archives: bankers finance

Fairy Tales by the World Bank

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According to this article: http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/education/poor-education-unemployment-caused-arab-spring-claims-world-bank

… World Bank would like to blame the Arab Spring on the lack of college education…while saying that unemployment could be helped by education.

Yeah….that isn’t playing out so well over across the pond, where unemployment of college educated folks is the highest ever, according to this blog:http://www.econmatters.com/2012/05/first-time-ever-most-of-unemployed-are.html

Although I don’t agree with the author’s assertion that the “solution” is to do away with college loans (can you say rightwing?), but rather, to…you know, this will sound crazy….but the solution isn’t to deny college education, but to actually change the economic policies by Friedman economists who believe that unemployment is actually good for the country…(as James Medoff and Andrew Harless asserted in their book, The Indebted Society.)

Friedman and his followers believe in a convoluted policy called “Natural Rate of Unemployment” which embraces the neocon mindset of greed is good.

Here’s a great blog on the subject.

From the blog below the first:

…the whole story is starting to feel like a comedy routine: yet again the economy slides, unemployment soars, banks get into trouble, governments rush to the rescue — but somehow it’s only the banks that get rescued, not the unemployed.

[italics mine]

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You know, whenever I read the financial theories, I come back to the thought that the way that we do business is set up to go against the best interests of Mother Earth: use up resources without giving back.

That’s a self-defeating proposition.

The bigger question is how can we have jobs or some form of support that is in tune with nature?  Is that possible?

News from Wisconsin, ALEC, and more…

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Center for Media and Democracy has this post up on the slanted nooz for Wisconsin taxpayers…and, sadly, there are too many folks who will believe what is written…because it’s written.  See, they think that anyone who puts their name next to an article is actually taking pride in that article and that they’re are trying to report the news fairly.  They don’t understand that news is created, and that the newspaper editors (along with news directors) get to decide what news is reported, and HOW it’s reported….they are gatekeepers.

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Next, we have the story on Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp being a member of ALEC.  I’m shocked, shocked, I tell you! /snark

I was also shocked that Murdoch is joining in the destruction of public schools with the financial free-for-all that’s going on with these greedy bastards.

From the article:

Last November, News Corp. dropped $360 million to buy Wireless Generation, a Brooklyn-based education technology company that provides software, assessment tools, and data services. “When it comes to K through 12 education, we see a $500 billion sector in the US alone that is waiting desperately to be transformed by big breakthroughs that extend the reach of great teaching,” Murdoch said at the time.

Um…what “big breakthrough” could possibly be beyond the “reach” of great teaching…?

More from the article:

Last year, when New Jersey lost out on millions of federal education funding due to a screw-up on its grant application, the company landed at the center of the debacle. The state, after all, had reportedly paid the firm $500,000 to ensure the accuracy of its application, among other things.

Okay, schools having to apply (beg) for money for grants for the children’s education irritates me to no end.  I tried to look up exactly when the whole schools-begging-for-money-through-grants-thing started, but I couldn’t find it.  If I recall correctly, it was when my kids were in elementary school, some twenty years ago (I just noticed CMD has stated this started about twenty years ago, but I don’t have time to read the link).  It seems that the grants and No Child Left A Mind have combined to transform our good school systems into the soulless, art-less, music-less robot creators they are…schools had to play nice in order to get needed money.

Here’s one school that stood up against this shady bullying.  Good for them. I love that they questioned the ranking, especially when they had been rated as a good school just prior to the failing ranking.  I love that someone also mentioned the faults of testing–it’s been given a golden status as the true measurement of one’s intelligence, when it should be a tool, but not the concrete answer of the question of intelligence.  And, as I’ve mentioned previously, testing was originally devised to help a child in trouble…but the eugenics crowd leaped on it to use as a tool to decide who is worthy and who is not.  I saw this as a Substitute Teacher–the kids were tested, and based on that test, were labeled–and that label will follow them all of their school career.

A side note~ I remember one time when I was subbing for a teacher that I didn’t know.  It was one of the first experiences I had as a sub.  There was one particular child who was having great difficulty with the Math lesson, so I used more time to devote to the lesson–going over it three times and then helping him individually with it.  He finally “got it”.  However, this meant that I didn’t get through all of the lessons for that day.  The teacher came in the room at the end of the day, and her face turned red with anger as I explained that I didn’t get through her entire plan.  She was furious because I had taken so long with the Math lesson.

With NCLB, there isn’t time, really, for the kids that are having difficulty with lessons.  Your time is tightly controlled to cram everything that is required in.  It is so controlled that a teacher is not able to teach creatively.  It also puts such pressure on the little ones to complete a task in a given number of minutes, and if they fail, they’re labeled as dummies.  And if they do successfully complete a task, this doesn’t in any way mean that they’ve actually learned anything–they’re just repeating what they’ve memorized, because, basically, that’s what NCLB is all about–not learning creative skills, critical thinking skills, thinking outside the box–it’s about repeating what you’ve been told.  There’s a reason that teachers “teach to the test”….if their school does not show “improvement” they lose the $$.  It’s all for show, folks…

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On to other things…

Gotta love this. 

Rahm Emanuel is apparently afraid the renegade nurses would start…I dunno, giving out free health care…?

From the story:

 

In the lead up to the eventful weekend in Chicago, NNU had a hard time securing permits for their rally and march from the mayor of Chicago, and former chief of staff to President Obama, Rahm Emanuel. At the last minute, Emanuel tried to move the rally and kick Morello off the bill, but the nurses would not yield. After much negotiation, they were allowed to rally, but not to march, so the nurses decided to take a stroll, walking on the sidewalks, stopping at red lights and courteously maintaining a path for passers-by. Despite their decidedly well-behaved march, they were followed by watchful police officers from countless agencies, in the streets and on the rooftops.

Nurses, folks.  Emanuel is afraid of nurses exercising their right to assemble and have their grievances addressed…hmmm…now I *know* I’ve read that we have the right somewhere…oh, yeah, the Constitution….hmmm…

There’s more on CMD, but I’m out of time here.  More tomorrow.

 

DN!

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DN has this today.

Fukushima released twice as much radiation as was reported. *yawn* tell us something we didn’t already know…

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Further down, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are suspected of playing a shell game.  *yawn* tell us something we didn’t already suspect…a banker possibly involved in making a profit off of a false front…now that’s not something you hear every day./snark

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Pentagon PR company admits to creating a misinformation campaign (only it’s with American journalists this time).  *really*, folks, this yawning thing is getting monotonous…

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A woman with a pro-choice shirt was forced to cover up before she could catch her connecting flight….Freedom of Speech…well, only if we agree with you…

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Lastly, this on the Philadelphia public schools crises, which was self-created by the cut in funding.  Both Romney AND Obama both want to destroy public schools…they steadfastly hold onto “No Child Left Behind” and promotion of charter schools, which both have been shown to NOT improve education.

Margaret Spellings, a Bushee, is immersed in this–a red flag.

Romney’s knock on teacher’s unions is another red flag. You notice that he doesn’t name who this long time president of the teacher’s union…(Amy Goodman said Albert Schenker–and his words were meant in another way).

It is a slap in the face that teachers don’t care about children nor their education.  I’ve been in the schools (unlike Obama or Romney, who went to private schools) and all of the teachers were dedicated to educating kids even within the shitpile of No Child Left a Mind…

You might recall the quotes from craniologists the other day–how “science” was being used to discredit women (and blacks)…well, that is where IQ testing came from–they developed questions to assess if someone needed help in certain areas. But what started out as a beneficial way to help became a tool for those who seek Power Over.

The pain of Bain

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…and playing the game…

Yeah, it’s not really news, either.

I can’t figure out why all that money that was raised at Clooney’s party couldn’t have been better placed behind a third party candidate?  Harry Braun, anyone?  Yeah, I don’t think he’s perfect, but it is so refreshing to see an intelligent discussion of the serious issues facing us right now. And not part of the financial/big oil crowd….

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Related to this, is this incident with Romney and John Lauber.  I’d heard about this, but couldn’t get to it until now. Wow.  The rightwing host here was having a fit over the publishing of this story–he was saying that this was old news and that the Post was in a conspiracy because it was published the same day that Obama came out for gay marriage.  As if…

The rightwing host went on to say that “this was 1965–nobody wore their hair long then. Nobody.”  Um, yeah, I have a different recollection.  Even though I was only 4 years old at the time, I remember how irate my father was at the “long hairs” and “weirdos”.  So guys were starting to wear their hair long–it just wasn’t acceptable by the anal retentives.  To express your individuality with long hair was verboten–as Herr Romney illustrated.

Anyway, the rightwing host failed to recognize the bullying aspect and how wrong this was.  Romney had no right to impose his will on another.  None.  He was violent towards another individual.  I think that is very relevant to his character and whether we want such a person leading this country.

Let’s see…contempt of the poor, bragging about paying 13% of a normal 35% in taxes, wants to destroy public schools,…and now bullying…sounds like a stand up kinda guy. /snark

 

 

 

Afghan killings, the poor, bankers, etc.

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Common dreams has this link up on yet another killing of innocent Afghanis’ who were minding their own business. Meanwhile, support for the war from the people who are paying for it, is at a new low.  Where’s my representation, again…?

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Meanwhile, the repubs continue their “Eat Shit” campaign against the poor, elderly, and disabled in this country…because, you know, we have to be over in Afghanistan or whatever country has our oil in it, and we can’t be bothered with either creating jobs or feeding people if there are no decent paying jobs available so they can feed themselves….

The comments section brings up the involuntary servitude of the Prisons for Fun and Profit scheme.

The most telling paragraph is this one in the Reuters clip:

The Ryan bill also takes aim at financial reforms, eliminating the government’s powers to shut down large financial institutions, as well as cutting funding for the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A tort reform plan to end frivolous lawsuits included in the measure would lead to lower health care costs, according the CBO.

There is the heart of this, folks.  I’m reading The Indebted Society by James Medoff and Andrew Harless in which they assert that the economy of this country has been manipulated by the bankers/financial institutions for their own benefit.  Bankers need low wages so that people will borrow.  The book stated that wages have remained stagnant (which we already knew) and that people were borrowing just to maintain their lifestyles as far back as the eighties.  However, those things they were borrowing money for–luxury items–were not necessary for life and if they had to let them go back to the bank for lack of payment it wasn’t a big hardship.  However, with this current economic situation, the borrowing was not for luxury items, but just to survive–they refinanced their homes, or borrowed on credit cards to buy groceries and needed items…that sort of thing.  And that is why we saw so many folks “hit the wall”.  Their wages were no longer able to meet the very basics of life.

Medoff and Harless are blaming the Federal Reserve for not wanting inflation to rise–bankers don’t like inflation because it hurts their bottom line.  And they heavily influence the Fed, as much as the Fed would like to deny it.    Medoff and Harless say that there has been too much emphasis on consumption, and not enough on investment.

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And, just to shed light on the media campaign by the sociopaths–I was flipping through the radio the other night, and there was Sean Hannity.

Hannity actually made the claim that “socialist spending has gotten us into this economy.”   Say whaaat?  No, it’s not taxing the top 1% at a fair tax rate, and even reducing their taxes while starting not one, not two, but three military conflicts and/or wars, it’s feeding the poor and the elderly!  God these people drive me crazy.

Oh, and they’re quick to bring God into the conversation to justify their un-Jesus-like selfishness:

Overheard on a rightwing station here in FW (they’re pretty much all rightwing, just some to a lesser degree)–

“Be obedient to God–get out and vote.  Be obedient to God–politically you’re either conservative or liberal.  You have to decide which way is obedient to God. ”

Yeah, so wouldn’t following  “Thou Shalt Not Kill” and “Thou Shalt Not Covet thy neighbors’ stuff” (this includes oil, folks) be obedient to God?   How about “Do unto others as you would have done unto you?”

 

 

 

Stephen King on the one-percenters

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….is also Mad as Hell…so refreshing to read a one-percenter going off on his own…

“I’ve known rich people, and why not, since I’m one of them? The majority would rather douse their dicks with lighter fluid, strike a match, and dance around singing “Disco Inferno” than pay one more cent in taxes to Uncle Sugar”

Hilarious.  And really, not too far from the truth-that’s the scary part.

From the article, it appears that King was stating that Mitt Romney had pulled himself up by his bootstraps. Perhaps I’m reading it wrong, but that’s the way that it reads to me.  Romney was never poor, as his father, George Romney, made $$$ by cheating the poor while he was head of HUD.  (See reference to Barlett and Steele’s investigative reporting on the subject.Interestingly, a quick scan doesn’t mention George Romney’s having properties deeded in his name after the poor abandoned the properties.)  Romney was born rich and couldn’t care less about the poor.

….and Mitt would like to abolish HUD altogether.  Great.  Toss more folks into the streets.  A glaring omission in the article below is the fact that HUD provides monies to Housing Authorities for them to provide decent housing to folks who cannot afford to pay the high rents nor could they afford mortgages.

Link here:http://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbarro/2012/04/16/romney-is-right-abolish-hud/

 

Detroit, Rock City

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…well, not *that* kind of “rock”, but rather, rocking the boat...

God bless them for standing up to the takeover of our education system by for-profit financiers.

I do worry about them, however, having Hare Krishna’s teaching them anything…one came out of nowhere and grabbed my coat lapel to pin a flower on it while I walked through O’Hare Airport in the 70s…the memory of that and their brainwashing techniques worries me that these young kids will be pulled into something they’re not experienced enough to make an informed decision…like so many were during the 70s.