China is now largest energy consumer. For over a century it US consumed most energy. China and its people are getting richer. They have high savings rate which enables them to invest in production and buy gold, silver and other commodities. As Chinese people getting richer they will want to increase their standards of living. They will create demand for electronics and other consumer goods. As we know it’s impossible to make iphone or TV without silver. Silver is the best electricity conductor. There is a lot of potential for high silver demand. Around 20% of Earth population lives in China.

See how I calculate the percent change of my investment of 1 silver ounce verses the different savings accounts from Bank of America, Wells Fargo, & Chase
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Update: Citigroup Says Feds Ordered 7 Day Restriction On Bank Withdrawals Announcement stokes fears of old fashioned bank runs if economy takes a turn for the worse Paul Joseph Watson Prison Planet.com Monday, February 22, 2010 A new advisory being sent by Americas third largest bank to its account holders has stoked fears that major financial institutions could be preparing for old fashioned bank runs if the economy takes a turn for the worse. Originally reported by John Carney over at the Business Insider website, Citigroup is sending the following information to customers along with their bank statements. Effective April 1, 2010, we reserve the right to require (7) days advance notice before permitting a withdrawal from all checking accounts. While we do not currently exercise this right and have not exercised it in the past, we are required by law to notify you of this change. An almost identical advisory to the one being sent out can be read on page 22 of Citbanks Client Manual effective January 1, 2010, which can be read here from Citibanks own website. We reserve the right to require seven (7) days advance notice before permitting a withdrawal from all checking, savings and money market accounts. We currently do not exercise this right and have not exercised it in the past, states the manual. According to the Future of Capitalism blog, Citigroup originally claimed that the warning was only sent nationwide as a result of a mistake, but that the measures do apply to …
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Update: Citigroup Says Feds Ordered 7 Day Restriction On Bank Withdrawals Announcement stokes fears of old fashioned bank runs if economy takes a turn for the worse Paul Joseph Watson Prison Planet.com Monday, February 22, 2010 A new advisory being sent by Americas third largest bank to its account holders has stoked fears that major financial institutions could be preparing for old fashioned bank runs if the economy takes a turn for the worse. Originally reported by John Carney over at the Business Insider website, Citigroup is sending the following information to customers along with their bank statements. Effective April 1, 2010, we reserve the right to require (7) days advance notice before permitting a withdrawal from all checking accounts. While we do not currently exercise this right and have not exercised it in the past, we are required by law to notify you of this change. An almost identical advisory to the one being sent out can be read on page 22 of Citbanks Client Manual effective January 1, 2010, which can be read here from Citibanks own website. We reserve the right to require seven (7) days advance notice before permitting a withdrawal from all checking, savings and money market accounts. We currently do not exercise this right and have not exercised it in the past, states the manual. According to the Future of Capitalism blog, Citigroup originally claimed that the warning was only sent nationwide as a result of a mistake, but that the measures do apply to …
Video Rating: 4 / 5

There are reasons which make credit card interest rates so high. High credit card interest rates make having this kind of debt a bad idea especially if it compounds very quickly after we bought things that quickly lose their value.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Restaurant Cleaning Outsourcing


Image by Frederick Md Publicity
>Commercial Buildings Maintenance satisfies cleaning and maintenance requirements for a variety of commercial, industrial and residential environments.

Janitorial services seem similar but they are separated by; powerful management tools, efficient cleaning solutions, years of experience, number of buildings with commercial cleaning and maintenance services, efficiency of cleaning, eco-friendly chemicals; chemical mixing centers; vacuum filtration systems; light weight, maneuverable equipment; and ongoing equipment investment , experience in multiple commercial, institutional, high tech and retail industries, best; lowest cost commercial cleaning service supplies and equipment ; stringent hiring and selection processes; company values, competitive compensation, performance-based recognition, extensive training, and advancement opportunities result in greater service and longer customer relationships, regional coverage and experience in many, commercial and institutional to high tech and retail industries.

GIMME SOME OF THAT GOOD ‘OLE OBAMA DOUBLESPEAK


Image by SS&SS
**IN REALITY FOLKS, HE’S SPENDING YOU, ME, EVERY AMERICAN MAN WOMAN AND CHILD INTO A FREEFALL SPIN OF BANKRUPTCY, DEBT, AND SECOND OR THIRD WORLD STANDARDS OF LIVING AND HE’S DOING IT RAPIDLY**

AND THE U.S. DEBT CLOCK KEEPS RUNNING
www.usdebtclock.org/
FACT CHECK:

In Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address he mentioned the word invest or investments 11 times at a rough count and in fairness a couple of those keywords were used in relation to other countries investments.

The rest of those mentions were talk of spending more tax payer money when out debt is at trillion already. In fairness again, he did mention once in relation to investments the words "paid for".

With that said, contradicting headlines today show one specific portion of the SOTU speech to be completely intellectually dishonest.

We are living with a legacy of deficit-spending that began almost a decade ago. And in the wake of the financial crisis, some of that was necessary to keep credit flowing, save jobs, and put money in people’s pockets.

But now that the worst of the recession is over, we have to confront the fact that our government spends more than it takes in. That is not sustainable. Every day, families sacrifice to live within their means. They deserve a government that does the same.

Let us start with the fact that over the last two years Barack Obama and a Democratically controlled House of Representatives and Democratically controlled Senate has raised our national debt from approximately .6 trillion to trillion.

Make no mistake, Bush started Tarp and signed the initial bailouts, so he should take his fair share of the blame when it comes to spending like a drunken sailor and rasing out national debt.

The 2009 Budget is on Bush and the Democratically controlled House and Senate, the 2010 Budget and the 2011 Budget are all on Obama.

Obama has expanded the problem with massive spending on more bailouts, a trillion dollar healthcare law, a stimulus program, earmarks and countless other spending when we were already debt ridden and did not and do not have the money to spend, so Obama borrowed more, spent more and this has continued and still is continuing.

Yet he says he wants to invest more aka spend more while out of the other side of his mouth he proposes a "freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years."

Obama said and I quote "we have to confront the fact that our government spends more than it takes in. That is not sustainable. Every day, families sacrifice to live within their means. They deserve a government that does the same."

Has that not been the point conservatives have been making over the last two years as Obama, Pelosi and Reid merrily went on a spending spree using American taxpayers as their own personal credit cards or atm machines?

Obama also claimed "worst of the recession is over."

Then I see today’s headlines:

Outside D.C., a grim housing market originally titled "Home prices fall in nearly all major cities, heightening fears of double dip."

In that Wapo piece we see the following information.

- housing prices, compared year-over-year, have declined nationally for six consecutive months.

-nine major cities have dipped to new lows, the report shows. They are Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, Portland, Ore., Seattle and Tampa.

-On a year-over-year basis,the 20-city price index fell 1.6 percent in November.

The next headline is from the Hill, with even more disturbing news:

CBO: Deficit widened to .5 trillion this year

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office made it official on Wednesday morning: America’s free fall into debt is accelerating.

The budget deficit is now estimated to have widened this year to .5 trillion, the CBO said. That compares to a budget deficit of .3 trillion for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

The increase in the deficit would bring it to 9.8 percent of gross domestic product, the CBO said, following deficits of 10 percent and 8.9 percent during the previous two years. The CBO notes those are the largest deficit levels since the end of World War II.

The CBO’s projections assume that current laws remain unchanged. If the nation continues on its current path, the CBO said, the total national debt will rise from 40 percent of GDP in 2008 to 70 percent by the end of 2011, reaching 77 percent of GDP by 2021.

You can see a summary at the CBO’s Director’s blog and you can see the entire report from the CBO, with graphs and explanations at the Congressional Budget Office’s website.

It is not pretty and it belies Obama’s words completely.

The Associated Press has also done some fact checking on Obama’s speech and where I chose one small portion to start with, Calvin Woodard from the AP, delves into other aspects and comments by Obama during his SOTU address.

FACT CHECK: Obama and his imbalanced ledger

That article deals with Obama’s statements on healthcare savings, earmarks, medical malpractice reform, high speed rail transportation, the recommendations by the bipartisan Fiscal Commission, Social Security,and Iran.

After quoting each of Obama’s statements from the SOTU address, the AP goes on to provide the facts instead of the Obama spin.

Read the entire thing to see how Obama truly spoke out of both sides of his mouth on each topic listed above.

I do not know what reality Barack Obama lives in, but it is not the same one that every day Americans live in, which is part of the reason the focus group came down so hard on him immediately after his speech.

====================================================================
ADDENDUM: (FOR YOU LIBERAL VIEWERS, something that is or has been added)
**READ WHAT ONE ECONOMIST SAYS ARE THE REAL NUMBERS
AND THE REAL STORY **

Neil Reynolds
The scary actual U.S. government debt
NEIL REYNOLDS OTTAWA— From Wednesday’s Globe and Mail

Economist Laurence Kotlikoff says U.S. government debt is not .5-trillion (U.S.), which is 60 per cent of current gross domestic product, as global investors and American taxpayers think, but rather 14-fold higher: 0-trillion – 840 per cent of current GDP. “Let’s get real,” Prof. Kotlikoff says. “The U.S. is bankrupt.”

Writing in the September issue of Finance and Development, a journal of the International Monetary Fund, Prof. Kotlikoff says the IMF itself has quietly confirmed that the U.S. is in terrible fiscal trouble – far worse than the Washington-based lender of last resort has previously acknowledged. “The U.S. fiscal gap is huge,” the IMF asserted in a June report. “Closing the fiscal gap requires a permanent annual fiscal adjustment equal to about 14 per cent of U.S. GDP.”

This sum is equal to all current U.S. federal taxes combined. The consequences of the IMF’s fiscal fix, a doubling of federal taxes in perpetuity, would be appalling – and possibly worse than appalling.

Prof. Kotlikoff says: “The IMF is saying that, to close this fiscal gap [by taxation], would require an immediate and permanent doubling of our personal income taxes, our corporate taxes and all other federal taxes.

“America’s fiscal gap is enormous – so massive that closing it appears impossible without immediate and radical reforms to its health care, tax and Social Security systems – as well as military and other discretionary spending cuts.”

He cites earlier calculations by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that concluded that the United States would need to increase tax revenue by 12 percentage points of GDP to bring revenue into line with spending commitments. But the CBO calculations assumed that the growth of government programs (including Medicare) would be cut by one-third in the short term and by two-thirds in the long term. This assumption, Prof. Kotlikoff notes, is politically implausible – if not politically impossible.

One way or another, the fiscal gap must be closed. If not, the country’s spending will forever exceed its revenue growth, and no one’s real debt can increase faster than his real income forever.

Prof. Kotlikoff uses “fiscal gap,” not the accumulation of deficits, to define public debt. The fiscal gap is the difference between a government’s projected revenue (expressed in today’s dollar value) and its projected spending (also expressed in today’s dollar value). By this measure, the United States is in worse shape than Greece.

Prof. Kotlikoff is a noted economist. He is a research associate at the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research. He is a former senior economist with then-president Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers. He has served as a consultant with governments around the world. He is the author (or co-author) of 14 books: Jimmy Stewart Is Dead (2010), his most recent book, explains his recommendations for reform.

He says the U.S. cannot end its fiscal crisis by increasing taxes. He opposes further stimulus spending because it will simply increase the debt. But he does suggest reforms that would help – most of which would require a significant withering away of the state. He proposes that the government give every person an annual voucher for health care, provided that the total cost not exceed 10 per cent of GDP. (U.S. health care now consumes 16 per cent of GDP.) He suggests the replacement of all current federal taxes with a single consumption tax of 18 per cent. He calls for government-sponsored personal retirement accounts, with the government making contributions only for the poor, the unemployed and people with disabilities.

Without drastic reform, Prof. Kotlikoff says, the only alternative would be a massive printing of money by the U.S. Treasury – and hyperinflation.

As former president Bill Clinton once prematurely said, the era of big government is over. In the coming years, the U.S. will almost certainly be compelled to deconstruct its welfare state.

Prof. Kotlikoff doesn’t trust government accounting, or government regulation. The official vocabulary (deficit, debt, transfer payment, tax, borrowing), he says, is vulnerable to official manipulation and off-the-books deceit. He calls it “Enron accounting.” He also calls it a lie. Here is an economist who speaks plainly, as the legendary straight-shooting film star Jimmy Stewart did for an earlier generation.

But Prof. Kotlikoff’s economic genre isn’t the Western. It’s the horror story – “and scarier,” one reviewer of his book suggests, than Stephen King.

HANG ON TO YOUR WALLETS!


Image by SS&SS
A LITTLE UPDATE:…… OIL WENT TO 0.OO A BARREL THIS MORNING 2/24/11
FOOD, CLOTHING, AND MOST COMMODITY’S UP ACROSS THE BOARD
AND IF SAUDI GOES NEXT………………………ALL BETS ARE OFF

Just as the U.S. and global economies are finally strengthening, they face a new danger: Rocketing oil prices, which topped 0 a barrel Wednesday.

The U.S. economy can likely absorb 0 oil and keep expanding, even though gasoline prices would rise further and growth would slow. But it would hurt.

Gasoline for U.S. motorists already costs more than at any point since 2008, despite ample supplies. The national average for a gallon of unleaded was .19 on Wednesday — 53 cents more than a year ago. Analysts expect the average to range between .25 and .75 this spring.

Oil prices had been rising for months, but they jumped this week as violence gripped Libya. Analysts say any production declines in Libya could likely be absorbed by other producers like Saudi Arabia. Libyan oil accounts for less than 1 percent of U.S. crude imports.

Still, analysts say concerns about violence in North Africa and Middle East have put a "fear premium" that’s added about a barrel.

A persistent drop in the stock market, though, would likely chill spending, especially by wealthier Americans. Europe’s debt crisis in the spring of 2010 jolted Wall Street and slowed the U.S. economy as Americans reined in their spending.

David Hensley, an economist at JPMorgan Chase, said that if oil prices level off, even at 0 a barrel, the damage to the global economy would be slight and likely confined to the first half of this year. He thinks most countries could adapt to higher prices.

"But if the price keeps going up, and it’s accompanied by falling stock prices, then it takes on a more sinister tone," Hensley said.

Consumers and businesses would feel pinched by a sustained period of 0-a-barrel oil — and not just motorists. Stock prices, which have lost more than 2 percent so far this week, could sink further. That would reduce household wealth and consumer confidence. As fuel costs price rise, so would prices for travel services and products containing plastics.

This month, several airlines tacked on fuel surcharges — extra fees that help cover fuel bills.

Rising oil prices have pushed jet fuel close to a gallon. Fuel accounts for roughly one-third of the budget for U.S. airlines, up from less than one-fifth a decade ago. Fitch Ratings analyst William Warlick said if jet fuel reaches about .20 a gallon, "the whole industry will be challenged to stay profitable."

Airlines may soon decide to eliminate some flights and ground older jets to cut fuel consumption, Warlick said. Delta Air Lines has already scaled back plans to add flights this year.

Analysts estimate that over a year, 0 oil would reduce U.S. economic growth by 0.2 or 0.3 of a percentage point. So rather than grow an estimated 3.7 percent this year, the economy would expand 3.4 percent or 3.5 percent. That would likely mean less hiring and higher unemployment.

The global economy wouldn’t be affected as much. In part, that’s because emerging economies consume less oil, per person, than industrialized countries do. In addition, many developing countries regulate or subsidize the cost of gas. Global growth would slip about 0.1 percentage point, economists estimate.

But oil prices around 0 a barrel could threaten European economies, many of which are net importers of oil and gas, haven’t fully recovered from the financial crisis and face heavy debt loads. Spain and Italy, for example, where gas at the pump already goes for about a gallon, face years of a slow, grinding recovery. A spike in oil would deal their economies another setback.

Pricier oil would also push up inflation in Europe, where it already exceeds official targets, and in countries with surging food prices, like China, Brazil and India. Those countries might then have to raise interest rates to cool inflation. Doing so, in turn, would slow growth in Latin America and Asia.

A darker possibility — one that few analysts expect — is that oil prices will keep rising until they reach 0 or more and then stay there for months. Under that scenario, another recession is possible, economists say.

Gasoline prices would near a gallon. Consumers would spend much less. So would businesses, which would slash jobs.

"It would nail the economy," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. "All the benefits of the tax breaks we got in last year’s tax-cut deal would be completely wiped out and then some."

One reason the United States and other developed countries can still grow with oil at 0 a barrel is they’ve become more energy-efficient since the oil-price shocks of the 1970s. U.S. retailers and manufacturers that use oil-produced plastics, for example, have been shrinking packaging and packing more items onto their trucks. A new wave of redesigned products, like ultra-thin plastic bottles of water, has also emerged.

"Companies have been very clever in what they can do to reduce the production costs without affecting performance," said Jonathan Asher of Perception Research Services, which works with consumer product companies. The latest surge in oil "will turn up the heat even more."

Marc Rosenberg, a marketing official for WowWee Toys, says its products use 30 percent less plastic compared with five years ago.

"Can we live with 0 a barrel oil?" said economist Ken Mayland of ClearView Economics. "I think so. Can that economy still grow if oil is at 0 a barrel? Yes. But past that, you start getting uncomfortably close to the point where people start curbing their spending."

An example was in July 2008. That’s when Americans faced record-high oil prices — 7 a barrel. Gasoline prices followed suit. They hit a record .11 a gallon nationwide.

The economy was already in a recession in the summer of 2008. But consumers hadn’t yet cut their spending much. That changed in the third quarter of 2008 as oil and gas prices soared. Consumers slashed spending at a 3.5 percent annualized rate. It was the sharpest drop since 1980.

Ken Perkins of RetailMetrics, a retail research firm, thinks higher gas prices at the tank are already affecting low-income shoppers who are also paying higher grocery prices. He says gas prices would have to reach a gallon or more to affect moderate-income consumers.

Perkins said more people will shop at neighborhood dollar chains or drugstores to pick up milk or bread and save on gas, further hurting Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Wal-Mart’s sales have already been hammered by stepped-up competition.

Fears of another unchecked jump in prices have rattled investors. This week, investors have dumped stocks and shifted money into the safety of Treasury bonds, causing Treasury yields to fall.

The rise in Treasury prices this week lowered the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to 3.49 percent. That yield is used to peg rates on home mortgages and other consumer loans. Borrowers would face lower costs as such rates fall.

That said, interest rates are already relatively low by historical standards. So even a sustained decline in rates, by itself, wouldn’t much stimulate Americans’ appetite to spend, economists say.

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: main hall panorama


Image by Chris Devers
See more photos of this, and the Wikipedia article.

Details, quoting from Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy | _details_pending_:

I know that living frugally brings to mind all sorts of unpleasant things to many people, but it doesn’t have to be so! Those that live frugally often have zealous approaches to saving money, and those ideas, philosophies, and techniques will be presented in this incredible book! You will save hundreds of times more than the price of this book, so take control of your spending now and I’ll see you on the other side!

List Price: $ 4.99

Price:

Question by vunts56: If I put k in a Money Market Account w/interest rate 2.13% & APY 2.15%, how much will I get in 1 month?
interest is compounded and credited monthly.

Best answer:

Answer by rtfm
You get 2.15 percent per year, so in a year, you would earn $ 106.50. In a month, you would earn one-twelfth of that, or about $ 8.90.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

Imaginary Money Graveyard


Image by Eifachfilm Vacirca
Imaginary Money Graveyard by d-oo-b.cc

A graveyard for all this money that died end of the year 2008.
Beware of the zombie bills they might take all your money.

The movie:
d-oo-b.cc/ImaginearyMoneyGraveyard.mov

uqbar-mediaartculture.ning.com/video/video/show?id=224051…

marcominghetti.nova100.ilsole24ore.com/2009/02/imaginary-…

The secondlife Landmark:
slurl.com/secondlife/Switzerland/78/162/34

Read the news paper article here:

only in german but nice foto of eif and jazz

www.kunstnet.ch/doob/displayimage.php?pos=-2748

Tv documentary movie:

eifachfilm.ch/SF_me.htm

Short movie incinemas rigth now:
(subtitled in 11 languages)

video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1797618522240273307

The fotos and more:
www.kunstnet.ch/doob/displayimage.php?pos=-2743
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PRNnOjGOq4
www.kunstnet.de/werk/115874-imaginary-money-graveyard/
eifachfilm.ch/bm/detail.php?c=1&i=436f3a9fa66e647ad0a…
flickr.com/photos/arcorosca/sets/72157608868260247/show/w…
www.flickr.com/photos/roxelo/3020310910

A graveyard for all this money that died end of the year 2008.
Beware of the zombie bills they might take all your money.

Europe was caught out by the financial crisis and did not see recession looming, the head of the Eurogroup of nations conceded today, amid estimates that the EU has plunged into a downturn. OCt 08

‘Recession awaits us, and we didn’t think that recession lay in waiting,’ euro zone chairman Jean-Claude Juncker told members of the European Parliament in Brussels. Oct 08

‘We were badly mistaken with the different sequences of this crisis,’ said Juncker, who is also the premier and finance minister of Luxembourg. Oct 08

The European Commission in early November 2008 warned that the worst financial crisis for generations has driven the EU economy into recession and that economic growth would come close to a standstill next year.

"Increasingly, the signs point to a deep and synchronised global recession that began last quarter and has gathered momentum," said Bruce Kasman, an economist at JPMorgan Chase in New York. November 08

The eurozone’s second-biggest economy will grow by just 0.2-0.5 percent next year instead of the 1 percent previously predicted, Economy and Finance Minister Christine Lagarde told the Senate.
The minister said the growth forecast for next year 2009 was “the lowest ever by a government in France” but that it was realistic.

“The international economic outlook has deteriorated much more than was expected, which will impact growth in Switzerland over the next several quarters,” the Swiss National Bank said in a statement in October 08

The sharp falls came after the Dow Jones index slid 5.05 percent on Wall Street November 7th 08 as investors braced for a gloomy economic ride after the euphoria of Obama’s election victory faded.
“Now that the event is over, investors are sobering up and looking at the economic gloom,” said Mizuho Investors Securities broker Masatoshi Sato.

Billionaire philanthropist George Soros conceded in OCtober 08 that US influence was waning: "It has already declined. For the past 25 years, we have been running a constant current account deficit. The Chinese and the oil-producing countries have been running a surplus. We have consumed more than we produced. While we have run up debt, they have acquired wealth with their savings. Increasingly, the Chinese will own a lot more of the world because they will be converting their dollar reserves and US government bonds into real assets."

Japan
By James Kirkup and Julian Ryall in Tokyo
Last Updated: 4:00PM BST 16 Oct 2008
Telegraph.co.uk
"To cope with the current crisis, further steps may be needed," Mr Aso told members of the Japanese parliament. "However, I still believe this package will be effective to a certain degree."
Mr Aso’s budget package will be mean direct financial support for farmers and fishermen paying higher fuel bills, and for Japanese consumers.
The emergency budget is part of a wider 11.7-trillion-yen package announced in August.
The Bank of Japan also made another 300 billion-yen of emergency loans to Japanese banks, hoping to unblock the Tokyo money markets. The central bank has been offering extra liquidity on an almost daily basis for a month.

euro
Author: ČTK
www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/index_view.php?id=338324
Prague – The current situation on financial markets will affect the agenda of Czech EU presidency in the first half of 2009, deputy prime minister for EU affairs Alexandr Vondra said.
The financial crisis has become a new priority of the European Union, Vondra said.
"When you are making preparations for a football match, you sometimes base your tactics more on offensive while another time you are more defensive. It is evident that in the economic situation in which Europe will be finding itself next year, emphasis will be rather placed on the protection and defence of what has already been attained," Vondra said.

Posted by Kevin Anderson Sunday October 12 2008 06.50 BST

Homelessness, the economic crisis and voting
Homelessness is on the rise in the US, and the newly homeless could find their votes challenged.
In Reno Nevada, joblessness has jumped 60% and a tent city of 170 people grew. Reno is trying to shut down the tent city and move people to newly opened shelters. CBS News has reported tent cities in Seattle, Portland, Fresno, Columbus, and Chattanooga. There are also reports of encampments in Seattle, San Diego, and Columbus, Ohio, Santa Barbara and Fresno California.
The wave of foreclosures, which in some areas of the country disproportionately affect black voters, could also come into play. The Republican Party of Macomb County Michigan, one of three counties that make up Detroit, is planning to use list of foreclosed homes to challenge people who try to vote using those addresses.
Republicans claim that they are trying to prevent voter fraud. Homeless and voting rights advocates are trying to make sure that people don’t lose their homes and their right to vote.

USA
As veteran curator of that realm of American national power upon which all others ultimately depend, Greenspan has inspired remarkable deference. He long ago tamed the legislature, to the point that, instead of exercising oversight over his tenure, Congress has ritually idolized rather than interrogated him. Greenspan’s aura has extended even to presidents of the United States. Bill Clinton went so far as to ask Greenspan in 2000 if he would like to be appointed to a fourth term as chairman, or whether he’d prefer to "go out now on top." The then 73-year-old replied: "Oh, no. This is the greatest job in the world. It’s like eating peanuts. You keep doing it, keep doing it, and you never get tired."
BY PETER HARTCHER
American Interests www.the-american-interest.com
Winter Issue

“Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders’ equity, myself included, are in a state of shocked disbelief,” he told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Mr. Greenspan conceded: “Yes, I’ve found a flaw. I don’t know how significant or permanent it is. But I’ve been very distressed by that fact.”

Mr. Greenspan said that he had publicly warned about the “underpricing of risk” in 2005 but that he had never expected the crisis that began to sweep the entire financial system in 2007.

“This crisis,” he told lawmakers, “has turned out to be much broader than anything I could have imagined. It has morphed from one gripped by liquidity restraints to one in which fears of insolvency are now paramount.”
NEW YORK TIMES (US)

Greenspan’s sins return to haunt us
By David Blake
Published: September 18 2008 18:39 | Last updated: September 18 2008 18:39

Back in 2002, when his reputation as “The Man Who Saved the World” was at its peak, Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, came to Britain to pick up his knighthood. His biggest fan, Gordon Brown, now the UK prime minister, had ensured that the citation said it was being awarded for promoting “economic stability”.
Even as things went completely wild, Mr Greenspan dismissed those who warned that a new bubble was emerging. It was just a case of a little “froth” in a few areas. Later, after waiting until 2007, two years after he left office, he conceded that “froth” had been his euphemism for “bubble”. “All the froth bubbles add up to an aggregate bubble,” he told the Financial Times……
Mr Greenspan realises that something big has happened and describes it as a “once in a hundred years” event. But then, you do not get Alan Greenspans coming along every day.
Finincial Times (UK) Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

Neoliberalism, White (Male) Privilege & the Current Financial Crisis
by Jessie on Sep 30, 2008 at 11:29 am
Make no mistake, all the available evidence suggests that the American political economy is headed for a major crash. Some are even speculating that this is the end of American economic dominance in the world’s financial market. But don’t be deceived by the blame-the-victim rationalizing that’s being floated now. Let’s be clear about what policies and which people are behind the current financial crisis: neoliberal policies and the overwhelmingly majority of economically privileged white men (photo from same link) who created, implemented and benefited from those policies.
Neoliberalism refers to a set of policies that encourage “less government” and unfettered (and unregulated) capitalism. The key elements of neoliberalism include: 1) the rule of the market, 2) reducing government expenditures on social services, 3) deregulation, 4) privatization, and 5) gutting the notion of “the public good.”
The end result of neoliberal policies is that while a handful of people get very, very rich, these policies simultaneously exacerbate the suffering of just about everyone else and increase domestic and international instability. So, what we’re seeing now is just the logical, perhaps inevitable, result of these policies.

Focus on and take control of your retirement


Image by s_falkow

China likely Winner of the Information Age Ecommerce Supply Chain by maintaining peace and corporate property rights


Image by Wonderlane
The Report
China is a likely winner of the information age supply chain through ecommerce by sticking with its successful strategy of continued steady growth, coupled with continuing (the appearance of) a transparent society (where currently major decisions are made by top government and business officials behind closed doors) which manipulate and manage economies at large. In order to be considered a great global leader China should maintain peace and respect for corporate property rights. They need to immediately focus on their serious environment pollution problems to survive.

Caption: "The sign that says you’re welcome in Shanghai" – Johnny Vulkan www.flickr.com/photos/johnnyvulkan/1856903750/

The evidence is clear: China has McDonalds restaurants, and with extensive factories they make Dell and other computers. Bill Gates is eagerly pursuing business with China, and the Chinese government has given Microsoft the right to grant post-doctorial fellowships. Key companies invested in technology are willing to go to court to keep the most important Chinese corporate leaders. Kai-Fu Lee, once a vice-president at Microsoft is now Google’s manager in China. Mr. Lee was the person at the center of twin lawsuits (suit and countersuit), a battle over which of the two companies would win him to work for them – he may be the ultimate in ‘intellectual property.’

Caption ”On the Shanghai subway, rather than advertising computers for sale, Dell promotes job openings.” Danburg Murmur www.flickr.com/photos/danburgmurmur/247299162/

What is at issue are personably identifiable information (PII) and intellectual property rights (patents and copyrights) which are legislated and widely respected in the West.

Personal information is the feeder fish at the bottom of the information age food chain. China does not believe people have a right to privacy because of how communism is structured; this is true of members of their society until that person is wealthy and thus powerful enough to opt out of it, and even then the appearance of opting in must be kept.

Even in the West Intellectual property rights are eroding, which is as it should be, as it is not the same as owning a house, and can be damaging to others on a massive scale such as medical patents for aids, cancer, and other life saving drugs.

The Chinese style of governance comes with a 5 thousand year old administrative history of ordering a society consisting of large numbers of people. Because most people in American and the West do not speak their language nor write it, much of China remains a society closed to the English speaking countries. Due to communication barriers the West does not have the very healthy level of respect for China that it should.

Even the Chinese written language may give China advantages with online screens unknown in the West with their thousands of dense glifts, pictographs, and phonetic parts. Currently it is estimated more than 1 billion people use some form of Chinese as their native language.

It can be said that he who owns the resources wins; especially true when supply chains are consistent and reliable. This applies to personally identifiable information in the information age as it relates to sales, because personal information is a building block in the information supply chain. Creating mass marketing campaigns targeting not just individuals but large groups of people is based on creating desire , an example is Steve Jobs and the Apple iPod. This is in addition to knowing what people want, not just what they need.

Meeting the needs of all people in the world is still a goal some people are working towards, while many more others try to capture wealth only for themselves and their investors. From the point of view that in the long run we’re all dead, many investors do not view themselves as breaking any moral or other rules, just trying to get ahead, or make a profit on their investment, which they want right now. This uninformed short sighted view is killing people, and eroding the middle class of nations. Any country that has a middle class will miss it when it is gone; most countries are trying to build their middle class.

Business to Business (B2B) resource supply chains control wealth. Only the wealthy have a reason to protect privacy of information, because the poor and the very poor have much more immediate concerns. Hopefully the Chinese will learn as other countries like Malaysia did, that including diverse ethnic types is not just a ethical ideal, it is a strategy for long term success.

This lesson continues to be a painful and costly lesson to the US, which in many ways is exclusionary. Viewing the poor as beggars while subsidizing production with huge remedies is one of the inadequacies that may be overturned as international growth is managed at a global level because it can not be justified as anything other than corrupt practices. By all accounts I read, generosity in international relationships is mythical and with the digital age has only grown worse . Does it matter what you wear while you ask for money or how well educated you are? Apparently it does.

One size fits all privacy will never suit everyone because it has a biological basis and the need increases with education, and its cousin, wealth. Increasingly to have the opt out choice in terms of privacy you need wealth. That too will change subtly because as ecommerce becomes pervasive, some system or sets of systems will always know that someone is there in some detectable way.

The patent and copyright systems can be damaging to others on a global scale by shutting down creativity, and unfairly favoring their protection even against life, due to medical patents for aids, cancer, and other life saving drugs being so expensive to produce or purchase that people are allowed to die as a result. Calls to action for multinational drug companies to reduce these costs, have changed little or nothing in the developing world. This has been featured so well in the headlines and news stories lately that it can hardly be a surprise to anyone that it is a problem – youth know because Digital Rights Management (DRM) is dead.

Ecommerce is a tool and can be used in many ways. Trading is already a cold transaction and to remove it from human context makes it even more so. In accounting they discuss "arms length transactions" – with ecommerce those arms get pretty long.

So we can expect that the human repercussions of global ecommerce, driven by the integration of B2B procurement systems, could stabilize and destabilize entire populations unless the planning is very good. That means everyone must hold the keys in some way, and be open to transparency at some level which runs counter to special interest groups . Transparency in action does exactly what it need to do, but which, for example, is not a match for existing culture in China.

Real transparency in global governance with a goal to meet the basic needs of all people living sounds like a science fiction plot, but that is what makes it exciting. Transparent governance may only become possible due to radically unexpected causes, like education, religious idealism, or a shared social solution of the young through organizations such as www.one.org.

Ironically one of the religions likely to have a positive effect in China, and likely to benefit from it, is Tibetan Buddhism, long repressed by the current Chinese government.

Ecommerce will not cause peace in the world, educated people working with strong idealism in transparent cultures will. Still my conclusion remains that China is a likely winner of the information age supply chain through ecommerce.

We should invest in China.

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