Finance
Activism, Economics, Food&Health, History, Transportation, Farming, Elections, Politics, Environment, Energy
One of the wry pleasures that’s repeatedly come my way since the beginning of this blog seven years ago is that of watching a good many of my predictions come true in short order. Now it’s true that I’ve also made a certain number of failed predictions over that time. Back in 2007 and 2008, for instance, I insisted that the US government wouldn’t be dumb enough to try to cover its ballooning budget deficits by spinning the printing presses; some idiocies, I thought, were too extreme even for the inmates of the current American political class. As th Fed proceeds merrily through yet another round of quantitative easing, that assumption has...
Finance, Currency, Commerce, Business, Economics, Governance, Politics, Trade, Environment, Energy
Whenever the Federal Reserve wants to tweak the dials of the economy -- or pretend that it can -- it turns first to its sock puppet at The Wall Street Journal, John Hilsenrath, and "leaks" a rumor of policy change (HERE). They like to do this late on Fridays when financial markets are about to close, so that market players will have a whole weekend to ponder the Fed's actions like medieval viziers reading goat entrails.
Activism, Business, Economics, Food&Health, Media, Governance, Foreign Policy, Transportation, Farming, Elections
It was a fairy tale premise: Once upon a time a charismatic prince appeared magically and gave an inspiring, instantly famous speech. Four years later he was leading the most powerful kingdom in the world from the brink of disaster.
Believable, isn’t it? But, as Ken Silverstein revealed in Harpers long before the 2008 presidential election, by the time Barack Obama gave his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention he “had already undergone an equally successful but much quieter audition with Democratic Party leaders and fund-raisers, without whose support he would surely...
Film, Business, Economics, History, Media, Governance, Foreign Policy, Elections, Military, Politics
A long time ago, at the end of the last millennium, a group of U.S. government elites collectively known as “neoconservatives” drafted a visionary document called “The Project for a New American Century” (PNAC). Easily readable via the Internet, this PNAC document made clear that the 21st century United States’ chief goal would be nothing less than world domination (dubbed “full spectrum dominance” in Pentagon’ese) in the name of waging a global sequential war for the planet’s remaining fossil fuel energy resources. Looking back over the decade since the 9/11/2001 tragedy (itself an unsolved mystery, as...
Activism, Commerce, Business, Economics, Food&Health, Governance, Politics, Trade, Environment, Education
As published in Voice of America by Julie Taboh, April 29, 2013:
Aluminum is everywhere. From airplanes to cooking pans, this versatile, light-weight metal has been around for generations.
And its many benefits have made life easier and more convenient for millions of people. But a new documentary portrays what the filmmaker describes as the "dark side" of aluminum.
It’s in the cans we drink out of...
Montpelier- As many as 1,700 people descended on Montpelier Wednesday to celebrate May Day, the international workers’ holiday, to show their support and participate in solidarity activities for workers’ rights, human rights, immigration reform, and a range of climate justice issues. Primarily organized by the Vermont Workers’ Center, this year’s May Day festivities were also celebrated by more than a dozen other organizations including...
Activism, Economics, Food&Health, Politics, Environment, Education, Energy, Common Assets, Sustainability
Confucius said that the health of a nation could be determined by the integrity of its homes. If we apply that standard, we’re in trouble.
Culturally, most Americans don’t even have homes anymore. They have houses, not homes. Homes are something that are made, not bought. And, homes, thus, require homemakers. That’s right, plural: homemakers. I’m not talking about just women. And, I’m not talking about Ozzie and Harriet stereotypical housewives.
I am talking about what Dr....
Activism, Finance, Currency, Commerce, Business, Economics, Credit Union, Governance, Politics
“[W]ith Cyprus . . . the game itself changed. By raiding the depositors’ accounts, a major central bank has gone where they would not previously have dared. The Rubicon has been crossed.”
—Eric Sprott, Shree Kargutkar, “Caveat Depositor”
The crossing of the Rubicon into the confiscation of depositor funds was not a one-off emergency measure limited to Cyprus. Similar “bail-in” policies are now appearing in multiple countries. (See my earlier articles ...
Business, Economics, History, Media, Governance, Foreign Policy, Military, Politics, Diplomacy
Who Are The Terrorists, And Can You Know One When You See One?
How is President Obama NOT a terrorist, like President Bush and other presidents before him? What does it mean to be a terrorist? Isn’t someone who commits or colludes in a terrorist act quite simply a terrorist? What is a terrorist act? Isn’t a terrorist act an act of violence designed to murder, main, and terrorize civilians?
Is there a difference between a terrorist act and an act of war? Not necessarily. The bombing of London 1941 and Hiroshima 1945 were acts of war,...
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