I look forward to the reunion of parents and girls.

Nigeria: Kenya Attack - Nigeria's Shopping Malls Beef Up Security (click here)  

By Chika Mefor, Paul Chiama, Millie Ibe, George Okojie and Igho Oyoyo
24 September 2013

Following the terrorist attack on Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, security has been beefed up at shopping malls in Lagos, Abuja and Kano.
LEADERSHIP gathered that most of the shopping mall operators and customers are afraid that some terrorist group might try such an attack on the many malls that dot the big cities of Nigeria.

Al Shabab terrorist group based in Somalia has claimed responsibility for the Kenya attack, which has claimed 68 lives with hundreds injured. The group is fighting for an Islamic state in Somalia, and Kenya has led a multinational force to stop it....

Of course the girls need to be rescued as quickly as possible. But, the answer to these violent problems in Nigeria have to be addressed as well.

Pamela Constable, Washington Post
Posted: Wednesday, May 7, 2014, 1:08 AM

 Nigeria pressured to rescue girls taken by Islamists (click here)

Pamela Constable, Washington Post

Posted: Wednesday, May 7, 2014, 1:08 AM
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140507_Nigeria_pressured_to_rescue_girls_taken_by_Islamists.html#sBZfOID6tCpAyUEz.99

..."It will begin immediately," Kerry said. "You're going to see a very, very rapid response."
In a video released Monday in which he claimed responsibility for the abductions for the first time, the leader of the Islamist group Boko Haram, Abubaker Shekau, referred to the girls as "slaves" and threatened to sell them in a marriage market.
That high-profile, almost swaggering threat intensified a growing outcry as international and domestic rights groups warned that the girls could face severe abuse.
In New York, a spokesman for the U.N. high commissioner for human rights said at a news conference Tuesday, "We warn the perpetrators that there is an absolute prohibition against slavery and sexual slavery in international law." He said that meant that those responsible could be "arrested, charged, prosecuted, and jailed at any time in the future."... 

The petroleum industry has been pumping oil out of Nigeria for decades and leaving the people in poverty or worse. Years ago the people developed an expertise in environmental issues they faced and the petroleum industry was forced to make a settlement to the damages to the country.

The settlement monies never really made it to the people to benefit them. I was pleased to see the government is moving to change the way things are done with their petroleum natural resources. But, there needs to be oversight to be sure the new system is working well.

Tuesday, 06 May 2014 23:19 
Written by Collins Olayinka and Suleiman Salau (Houston) and Adeyemi Adepetun 
(Las Vegas), USA 

...At the on-going EMC World 2014 in Las Vegas, (click here) United States of America, with the theme: “Redefine Information and Communications Technology (ICT),” the experts contended that technology was moving fast, stressing that any country that failed to move at the same pace or above could be left behind.
  In a keynote address yesterday, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, EMC, Joe Tucci, said the ICT industry was changing very fast and creating opportunities for other sectors of the economy.

  Yakubu noted that though the law guiding oil and gas operations has immensely benefitted the Nigerian economy, the passage of the PIB would further raise the nation’s fortunes. He added that the new aggressive steps taken by the government is to lay a solid foundation for gas to serve as the bedrock of a sustained economic prosperity for the country.

  “The essence of the PIB is to improve government’s take on various fiscal provisions, but before then, within the current fiscal regime, we have had significant jump in gas supply investment,” Yakubu explained. In the gas master-plan, there is the domestic gas supply obligation, which the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and indigenous players entered to deliver gas....

I believe the people of Nigeria have suffered at the hands of past governments. In that is the reality religious extremism filled in the gap. The result are groups acting as parasites to the established economy which does not serve the entire population of Nigeria.  For the amount of oil that has been pumped out of the ground in Nigeria, it's society should be further along than it is today.

IT would be a welcome dynamic to Nigeria's future. It would create opportunities for education and employment. Nigeria needs to protect it's lands and recover much of the oil tainted land back to function. It has a lot of work to do, but, in that work is also employment, hope and purpose.

Recapturing the girls will begin the process of recognition of the struggle of the people to fulfill their dreams of happy and healthy lives with liberation from oppression. This will separate the extremists from the population as  malevolent. To date, so much of the adversity Nigerians face have been ignored. I hope this is a turning point for Nigerians, their government and a stronger awareness of the Nigeria's tendency to fall back into old patterns without solving the problems of the people.

"It will begin immediately," Kerry said. "You're going to see a very, very rapid response." In a video released Monday in which he claimed responsibility for the abductions for the first time, the leader of the Islamist group Boko Haram, Abubaker Shekau, referred to the girls as "slaves" and threatened to sell them in a marriage market.
That high-profile, almost swaggering threat intensified a growing outcry as international and domestic rights groups warned that the girls could face severe abuse.
In New York, a spokesman for the U.N. high commissioner for human rights said at a news conference Tuesday, "We warn the perpetrators that there is an absolute prohibition against slavery and sexual slavery in international law." He said that meant that those responsible could be "arrested, charged, prosecuted, and jailed at any time in the future."

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140507_Nigeria_pressured_to_rescue_girls_taken_by_Islamists.html#sBZfOID6tCpAyUEz.99

The Columbus Zoo belongs to the country. Jack Hanna is an institution.

Update 10:19 p.m. The WOSU Newsroom has called the race on Issue 6, a permanent levy for the Columbus Zoo, as a failed levy. With 360 precincts reporting and the Columbus zoo conceding defeat, the levy has failed.

The Columbus Zoo should make a national appeal for funding. While the residents would pay $20 to $40 per year to support the zoo, appealing to the country will make the levy look trivial. I would send zoo $20. Why wouldn't I? Jack Hanna needs to make the rounds to the talk shows and possibly write a book.

I find it laughable the Kochs think simply because Columbus votes in the way the rest of the state does it is in control of the outcome. Don't the people of Ohio vote simultaneously? Columbus has that much influence on the state wide vote? I find that strange thinking. The issues in Columbus aren't the same as the rest of the state. It is just the way Ohio votes. 

The Federal Minimum Wage is not a bargaining point.

The climate crisis trumps any bargaining. There are many states that have already adopted a new minimum wage. The Federal Minimum Wage is important to move the entire nation forward, but, it is also a good political issue to leave at the ballot box.

The climate crisis and the minimum wage are unrelated and should stand on their own. I find it interesting though that the Republicans are willing to vote for the minimum wage in exchange for a vote on KXL. I thought the minimum wage was going to set the country into the next Great Recession.


Minimum wage by U.S. state and U.S. territory (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands), as of January 1, 2014. 

  States with minimum wage rates higher than the federal rate

 

  States and territories with minimum wage rates the same as the federal rate

 

  States with no state minimum wage law

 

  States and territories with minimum wage rates lower than the federal rate

 

  Territory with varied minimum wage rates lower than the federal rate

End the Fossil Fuel Subsidies

$2.4 Billion: subsidies to the Big Five producers debated and defeated in the Senate in 2011 and 2012 

The Repeal Big Oil Tax Subsidies Act, sponsored by Senator Menendez (D-NJ) was debated and defeated by the Senate for two years running, and would have eliminated $2.4 billion in annual tax deductions for the five major oil companies: BP, Exxon, Chevron, Shell and ConocoPhillips.

Although the move would have been an initial step, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. So called “independent” oil companies are hardly small businesses. Major integrated oil companies also include Occidental, Amerada Hess, Marathon, Murphy Oil and dozens of others. Together, these companies produced 53.5 percent of U.S. oil in 2009.

Does anyone know where Rob Ford is?

There are varied reports and some say he is missing.

Rob Ford left his home last Thursday and it was later learned he flew to Chicago. After maintaining for months that he is not an addict or an alcoholic, Toronto's mayor announced he would seek help for a "problem with alcohol." (Canadian Press) 

CBC News  

Posted: May 06, 2014 7:16 AM ET Last Updated: May 06, 2014 3:32 PM ET

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford (click here) flew to Chicago last week, but subsequently "withdrew" his request to enter the United States and ended up leaving the country, according to the consul general of Canada in Chicago....

I hear Toronto is willing to take him back.

The law to limit speech is to inhibit the expression of free will of the Russian people.

Is Putin a virgin? I think one has to be a virgin to even speak Russian now, right?

He needs to be careful because politics and governing is a form of art and if he is found swearing while trying to bend a fry pan; it could get expensive.

"Excuse me, what did I hear you say?"

The Russian Artist Community is going to need a non-profit to facilitate all fines incurred. 

Perhaps there is a political leader of Russia birth with a command of the language that wants to Chair such a fund. 

President Putin doesn't appreciate real power. The power of the Veto of any President is an expression of power very few have on this Earth. It makes a clear statement about the direction and path of a nation and it's will when it elects a majority President to office, regardless of the politics and pressure of the minority. This was obviously a very big mistake by the Duma and President Putin.

The beauty of language is communication. Society bests understands itself when a full range of expression is understood. Art is precious in that it allows free thought of passive expression. Passive expression is extremely important to any society.  

Once again the Communists have it wrong. They believe they have to take on the entire world, especially The West, in order for Russia to be Russia. That is not correct.

If ever the USA were to fall under the power of a regime as terrible as Bush/Cheney or worse, Russia would need to be a partner to every other nation on Earth. Global leadership at that point would fall to that of Russia and China. Every other nation would be 'at risk.' It would be a huge paradigm shift, but, it would occur. The USA would be the enemy to all peoples. 

"Communism of Control" was never the answer. Oppression was never the answer. Benevolence has always been the answer. The power of benevolence cannot be understated. Quiet power. Steadfast power. 

I am sorry the Communists have it so wrong. There are so many other pursuits to chase to benefit all of mankind. In the year 2014 we are behind our own developments as a world community. The investment into bigger and better weapons to kill more and more people is mostly behind us except for the dead enders in the USA.

The future is uncertain, but, human nature is not.

The citizens of Crimea were intimidated by potential of death.

Paul Roderick Gregory 
Contributor
5/05/2014 @ 4:44PM

The website(click here) of the “President of Russia’s Council on Civil Society and Human Rights” posted a blog that was quickly taken down as if it were toxic radioactive waste. According to the Council’s report about the March referendum to annex Crimea, the turnout was a maximum 30%. And of these, only half voted for annexation – meaning only 15 percent of Crimean citizens voted for annexation.

The fate of Crimea, therefore, was decided by the 15 percent of Crimeans, who voted in favor of unification with Russia (under the watchful eye of Kalashnikov-toting soldiers)....

The people were faced with ridiculous outcomes. Vote for the annexation and face the family and hardship with job losses or worse. Vote against the annexation and face the potential of violence on one's life. Why vote at all?

Official Kremlin results: 97% for annexation, turnout 83 percent, and percent of Crimeans voting in favor 82%.

President’s Human Rights Council results: 50% for annexation, turnout 30%, percent of Crimeans voting in favor 15%.

They would have to be fools to vote in that election.

It begins. Where is the book burning?

By Olivia Becker

May 6, 2014 | 11:50 am
Russian entertainers, (click here) filmmakers, and writers are going to have to find more polite ways of expressing themselves, thanks to a new law reportedly signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The bill, which Russian state news agency ITAR-Tass reports was signed into law Monday, outlaws cursing in public performances — which includes films, music, books, and plays.

If busted for swearing, individuals can face a fine up to $70, according to ITAR-Tass. And it’s worse for public officials, who will have to shell out $140 for every f-bomb or other cuss. Organizations or companies will pay $1,396 per swear, and face a suspension for repeated offenses.

The new law “bans the use of obscene language when ensuring the rights of Russian citizens to the use of the state language, and protecting and developing language culture,” according to a statement by the Russian government....

The Russian language is perfect, pure and better than a virgin. Russia will protect it whenever an imperfection exists.

A business can't advertise their way out of severe weather events.

5/06/2014 @ 8:39AM
Trefis Team

Dunkin’ Brands (click here) reported mixed results in the first fiscal quarter of 2014, as comparable store sales growth in the U.S. declined to 1.2 % compared to the 1.7% achieved during the same period last year. This was mainly due to the adverse weather conditions in North America. The decline in comparable store sales was more than offset by a significantly higher 6.2% increase in total revenues to $172 million, due to the increased sales of ice cream products as well as increased royalty income. Additionally, net income dropped 3.5% to $23 million, primarily due to a $13.7 million loss on debt extinguishment and refinancing transactions, as well as an increase in income tax expenses....

Shame on China. It should be celebrating along with it's people.

I take it those celebrating Tienanmen Square 25th anniversary will be flying the Chinese flag, right? What is the problem? There have been many leaders that have come through the government's Presidency and otherwise in the past 25 years. There is a problem to realize the Chinese like to express themselves? I think the episode in Tienanmen has been classified wrongly by the Chinese government. The tank stopped. Why? 

Give me a break. There was massive amounts of compassion shown by the Chinese government regarding the loss of the Malaysian jet. I don't think many other countries would have participated so closely with the families. China has come eons since the days of Tienanmen.

The Chinese people are evil and the tank driver was not? There was communication that day in Tienanmen Square. The communication was cultural. It told the world being a Chinese citizen was powerful to it's military. The Chinese government needs to think through this crack down. Seriously. China has to realize the incredible impact Tienanmen made on the positive image of the Chinese people. The first instinct by the tank driver was to protect a Chinese man. That translated an understanding of the Chinese the world has never witnessed before. It is huge and it isn't going away. 

Should the government ever be an enemy to it's people?

Prominent rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang (bottom right) has been under detention since Sunday after attending a June 4, 1989 remembrance seminar in Beijing. Photo: Supplied

May 6, 2014 - 6:16PM

Beijing – Internationally-renowned Chinese rights (click here) lawyer Pu Zhiqiang has been detained as part of a widening crackdown aimed at intimidating activists in the lead up to the sensitive 25^th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre next month.
Mr Pu, a student leader during the 1989 protests who has become a leading voice in the push for rule of law and freedom of expression in China, was taken from his home late on Sunday. Police then raided his house on Monday afternoon, confiscating his mobile phone, computer and some books. Lawyers and friends close to Mr Pu said he has been told he was being detained for ''creating a disturbance''.
Mr Pu’s detention came less than two days after he participated in a small seminar in Beijing with about 20 other Chinese scholars, lawyers and family members of victims, and which discussed the impact of the June 4, 1989 pro-democracy demonstrationsin which hundreds were killed.
Prominent activists and rights lawyers are routinely monitored in China, and their movement is often restricted during sensitive periods. Li Weidong, a political analyst, said the mood this year was ''much more sensitive, much more frenzied'' compared to previous years. Gao Yu, a prominent journalist who has been jailed twice in connection to the Tiananmen Square protests, has been missing since April 24....

This is Anti-American, but, what else is new about the petroleum industry.

A fracking site owned by Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation in South Montrose, Pennsylvania. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images 

Cabot Oil thinks it actually has a right to inhibit freedom of speech?

Wednesday 29 January 2014 08.44 EST

Vera Scroggins, (click here) an outspoken opponent of fracking, is legally barred from the new county hospital. Also off-limits, unless Scroggins wants to risk fines and arrest, are the Chinese restaurant where she takes her grandchildren, the supermarkets and drug stores where she shops, the animal shelter where she adopted her Yorkshire terrier, bowling alley, recycling centre, golf club, and lake shore.

In total, 312.5 sq miles are no-go areas for Scroggins under a sweeping court order granted by a local judge that bars her from any properties owned or leased by one of the biggest drillers in the Pennsylvania natural gas rush, Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation....

..."They might as well have put an ankle bracelet on me with a GPS on it and be able to track me wherever I go," Scroggins said. "I feel like I am some kind of a prisoner, that my rights have been curtailed, have been restricted."

In court filings, Cabot said it holds leases on 200,000 acres of land, equivalent to 312.5 sq miles. That amounts to nearly 40% of the largely rural county in north-eastern Pennsylvania where Scroggins lives and where Cabot does most of its drilling.
The temporary injunction granted on 21 October does not require Cabot to identify or map the lands where it holds drilling leases, putting Scroggins in the bizarre position of having to figure out for herself which areas were off-limits.
Cabot later offered to limit the scope of its exclusion order in court filings seeking to make the injunction permanent. The next hearing on that injunction is scheduled for 24 March.
Scroggins, who now has a lawyer, is fighting to overturn the injunction....

The KXL would cause a greater problem for the global economy. It would begin to crash markets and continue to damage world economies.

While labor leaders weigh the pros and cons of building KXL, they should keep in mind that the pipeline is as much a threat to our economy as it is to our planet. After a year of extreme weather — at an extreme cost to the economy — this age old jobs vs. environment debate is emerging as a false choice. Hurricanes, floods, and droughts are already having a devastating effect on American jobs, and that is nothing compared to what will happen if we throw open the spigot to the tar sands from Canada, considered the dirtiest oil in the world.

There is no good balance sheet for the KXL, either environmentally or fiscally.

The KXL is another dolt project. The price of oil collapse alone would assault the Saudi Arabian economy. 

Green energy is cleaner and safer when it comes to work. There aren't physical maladies to the Green Industry that is found in the petroleum industry. There are no explosions and deaths. People actually live to collect their pensions. 

There are no earthquakes or deadly water supplies. The jobs are sustainable. The Green Energy jobs are not temporary. It is a growing market.

The Green Energy Revolution is bringing back local economies.

May 7, 2009 at 3:32 pm
Christina Rogers 
The Detroit News

Manistee --Not long ago, (click here) MasTech Manufacturing's (click here) future looked bleak.

The latest auto industry downturn had nearly halted production on the factory floor. The plant, which made high-tech machinery for car and truck plants, was limping by with only five workers. And parts orders were drying up.

But today, the cavernous, two-story factory is ramping up production of another sort, churning out wind turbines to meet a fast-growing demand for this renewable power source. MasTech has restored its workforce to more than 40 employees -- hiring many former auto workers -- with plans to grow as the firm seeks to meet a 2,500-unit back order.

"If we didn't have these wind turbines," said John Holcomb, the plant's manager, "we wouldn't be here talking today. The doors would be closed."

The small factory in Manistee, a former industrial stronghold on the shores of Lake Michigan that once served as a hub for salt mining and lumber mills, is helping usher in a new, greener era for Michigan manufacturing, one state officials hope will transform the Great Lakes State into a hub for milling parts for the nation's growing number of wind farms....

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20090507/BIZ/905070406#ixzz30vjkDPcp

2. The same fossil fuel interests pushing the Keystone pipeline have been cutting, not creating, jobs: Despite generating $546 billion in profits between 2005 and 2010, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP reduced their U.S. workforce by 11,200 employees over that period. In 2010 alone, the top five oil companies slashed their global workforce by 4,400 employees — the same year executives paid themselves nearly $220 million.

3. Unemployment will rise: According to Mark Zandi, the Chief Economist of Moody’s Analytics: “Superstorm Sandy wreaked havoc on the job market in November, slicing an estimated 86,000 jobs from payrolls.” In the wake of Hurricane Irene, the number of workers filing unemployment claims in Vermont went from 731 before Irene to 1,331 two weeks afterwards. Hurricane Katrina wiped out 129,000 jobs in the New Orleans region — nearly 20 percent. For the U.S. economy as a whole, 2011 cost US taxpayers $52 billion. 

4. Poor and working people will be disproportionately affected: KXL and projects like it result in disproportionately negative impact on already struggling working families. According to a recent report by the Center for American Progress called “Heavy Weather: How Climate Destruction Harms Middle- and Lower-Income Americans, lower-and middle income households are disproportionately affected by the most expensive extreme weather events. Sixteen states were afflicted by five or more extreme weather events in 2011-12. Households in disaster-declared counties in these states earn $48,137, or seven percent below the U.S. median income....

...Research by the Solar Foundation shows a 13 percent growth in high-skilled solar jobs spanning installations, sales, marketing, manufacturing and software development — bringing total direct jobs to 119,000 in the sector. And according to the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts–Amherst, investment in a green infrastructure program would create nearly four times as many jobs as an equal investment in oil and gas.

Advocating for KXL is the same as advocating fiscal, environmental and citizen death. The reasons to refuse to build this disaster far outweighs any other. It is stupid project. It is a project of "Greed, not Need."

The unions are wrong about this. They need to expand their interests into the Green Energy Industry rather than holding on to old energy paradigms. Unions are successful in Michigan. They need to talk to the folks at MasTech Manufacturing. The unions need to promote the new technologies. They need to be a friend as well as a support.

A study by Synapse Energy Economics developed a Transition Scenario for the electric power industry based on reducing energy consumption, phasing out high-emission power plants, and building new, lower-emission energy facilities. The study estimated the number of “job years” — one new worker employed for one year — that would be created by the Transition Scenario over a decade:

• 444,000 job-years for construction workers, equivalent to 44,400 construction workers working full time for the entire decade.
• 90,000 job-years for operations and maintenance workers, equivalent to about 9,000 full time workers employed over the decade.
• 3.1 million indirect jobs for people designing, manufacturing, and delivering materials and jobs in local economies around the country induced by spending by workers hired in the Transition Scenario.

Organized labor is right to demand that public policy pay attention to our desperate need for jobs. But the Keystone XL pipeline will only make our jobs crisis worse by making our climate crisis worse. Plus, there are lots of pipelines that need fixing. Construction workers can be put to work rebuilding our crumbling natural gas transmission pipeline system — this will create good union jobs and cut carbon emissions. And these same workers can rebuild our crumbling water infrastructure. If labor is going to fight for jobs, let’s fight for jobs that build the future we want for ourselves and our children, not ones that will destroy that future.

Penson Funds!

Exactly. And this is happening in Europe as well. These investment banks like Goldman Sachs have sterling reputations and all they want is more capital to drizzle it all over 'ideas' of making a greater fortune. But, the fortune they have in mind is not that of the pension fund, it is the lining of their own pockets.

ie: "London Whale"

JP Morgan Chase for as solid a bank as it is expects everyone to accept the fact they had this huge loss and 'they cover it' so it's time to move on. That was a lot of money. It wasn't simply the stockholders that lost a great deal of money.

I remember a House hearing on banking finance and the run away train it had become and the Republicans fawned all over Jamie Dimon. A question came up about the banks future plans and Dimon stated they were moving their main office to London. Some of the members on the committee were obviously surprised and others wanted to know why and the reasons Dimon gave were primarily aesthetic. I am quite sure Dimon was looking to be a part of LIBOR. In my opinion, that would be a stabilizing effect simply because Dimon has been pragmatic enough to build the only bank that actually survived the 2008 global economic collapse. To some extent LIBOR is a worry to him and he wants to get involved 'enough' to protect his assets. The thing is if Morgan was the only well managed bank in the world then what is everyone else about? And even with Dimon's steady hand on the bank, the London Whale still occurred. 

By David Sirota
On May 5, 2014

When you think of the term “public pension fund,” (click here) you probably imagine hyper-cautious investment strategies kept in check by no-nonsense fiduciary laws.
But you probably shouldn’t.
An increasing number of those pension funds are being stealthily diverted into high-fee, high-risk “alternative investments” that deliver spectacular rewards for the Wall Street firms paid to manage them – but not such great returns for pensioners and taxpayers....

Those that manage pension funds have fewer choices that are trustworthy. The example of Morgan and the 2008 banking failure proves there are dearly few investment banks/firms trustworthy enough. So where are pension managers suppose to turn as the theory is 'diversity is safer.' Who is to say that Dimon won't really screw up and next time the London Whale will be the LIBOR Black Hole?

I guess the financial markets today are more like a cartel than an investment. There are fewer and fewer diverse interests in the world. I sincerely believe that is by design. So far the USA Dollar is still the safest investment and it's treasury bonds, but, the winds can change. They rarely do, but, there is the potential. China would love to see the US Currency disappear as the global bench mark. There are plenty in the financial markets that would like that too.

I always come back to 'local economies' and 'local investment.' It is where the growth is and isn't that what pension fund managers are looking for. They are managers. They ought to be doing their job and not handing over their funds to huge banks that have treated the American Dream as a toy. It takes 40 hours a week and getting out from behind the desk to 'walk the territory' and find out where there is potential and where potential is failing. That is what pension managers should be doing, but, they aren't. The best example of an excellent public pension is still New York City. 

Besides Dimon, Spitzer is still the best sheriff the public has to date. Of course no one will give him traction again because he has no problem taking care of the 'Little Guy.' 

He recently divorced and his wife's settlement was generous. He probably would continue to accept any opportunity to help and/or even take care of pension funds as an independent adviser. The public managers would find better success if they had a skeptic to their portfolios rather than simply a cheerleader.

Elliot Spitzer is very correct actually. Taking care of the Little Guy is where growth happens. Now as a huge financial manager viewing growth the Little Guy is so microscopic the cascade of events leading to catastrophe isn't even within their purview. They are about investors and their own interests. Ego. Where do you want your investment manager's ego? Fighting the progress, through government strings, of industries like "Tesla Motors" or do you want Tesla to actually grow and increase it's market to bring Upper Middle Class on board? There has to be a vision for growth otherwise it is dependent on wars, the petroleum industry and Dick Cheney. 

Get for real. At least Elliot Spitzer had the best focus. Protect the Little Guy and the rest mostly takes care of itself. Sort of. 

The entire global market is dependent on the marketing to the American Little Guy. There is no investment abroad that has lifted China or India out of poverty. Cheap wages and the Chinese and Indians are lucky to have it. The investment idiots have over 2 billion Little Guys in China and India and what do they do? They pay them less than poverty wages and focus on growth in the USA as population increase. Talk about stupid. That is not a dynamic market. Even Nixon didn't expect USA companies to outsource jobs to realize profits. That came from dolt CEOs. The idea behind the relationship with China was to give them a leg up to start their own growth. That didn't happen. The CEO dolts simply wanted their ego driven bonuses without caring about the implosion of the USA markets at the cost of good paying jobs. 

Now, China realizes it needs a Middle Class. China has ambitions and it cannot rely on American markets to fill those ambitions. China finally 'got it.' But, it didn't come until it realized how important growth was within it's own borders to insure it's future and bring quality of life to citizens. But, it takes time to grow a billion people into a sustainable economy with sovereign growth as it's goal. 

China still is addressing 'product quality' and that is a huge issue because the burgeoning Middle Class rather devote their entire income to purchasing safe baby formula and spend their money on imports than have a good quality domestic product. Until there are high quality Chinese products for the Chinese themselves the Middle Class growth will falter. China has a lot to do before they are exploding in economic growth, but, it will happen. In the meantime, the financial markets are 'on the hunt' for any and all big wads of money no matter where they can find it and they are still devouring companies rather than repairing them. That is growth? In what definition? For whom is that growth?

I am telling you these bozos are dolts. I have to wonder what the real standards at Harvard are. If Benazir Bhutto hadn't come out of Harvard Law, I'd have no faith in them at all. If the truth be known, Benazir Bhutto obtained her academic focus from Radcliffe. After Radcliffe, Harvard Law was a walk in the park. I hate it that she is dead. You talk about waste. She was great. Her first thoughts in her final political campaign were for the people of the Tribal Areas. She loved them. She knew they were oppressed and control by very evil people. But, she didn't long for wealth, she longer for peace.

Tne Planks of the Communist Manifesto

First Plank: Abolition of property in land and the application of all rents of land to public purposes.

It wasn't the government that abolished the American Dream, it was Wall Street.

Any landlord gets to keep their rent. 

Second Plank: A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

These were the Bush Tax Cuts Democrats in Blue and Republican on the right in grey. It is graduated alright. The USA has had a progressive income tax since the beginning of time. The Sixteenth Amendment established the income tax. 

Most of the authorship of the amendment was conducted under Taft. President Taft was a Republican that took office on March 4, 1909. Given the fact a Republican oversaw the Sixteenth Amendment and their passion for the wealthy, it doesn't seem to be a Democratic interest. Ya know, the Democrats practice Pay-Go. Odd.

Passed by Congress (click here) on July 2, 1909, and ratified February 3, 1913, the 16th amendment established Congress's right to impose a Federal income tax.

We can thank the Republicans for the Sixteenth Amendment. I didn't know they were following Karl Marx. I'll be darn, they been living a lie successfully all this time.

Third Plank: Abolition of all rights of inheritance

That doesn't happen in the USA. If it did where would the Koch Brothers be? The current Estate Tax was established by Woodrow Wilson. Or at least his presidency passed the amendment and the people ratified it. President Wilson oversaw WWI. He was the fella that proposed The League of Nations which initially wasn't popular, but, eventually the United Nations was established. But, that was begun by President Wilson. So, given the war and the debt of the USA had to be addressed so he helped pass that amendment. That was 1916 when it was ratified and put into tax law.

There was a big change to the Estate Tax in 2013, too. It doesn't effect most people. I take it that President Obama signed the bill that changed the tax, right?

Most relatively simple estates (click here) (cash, publicly traded securities, small amounts of other easily valued assets, and no special deductions or elections, or jointly held property) do not require the filing of an estate tax return. A filing is required for estates with combined gross assets and prior taxable gifts exceeding $1,500,000 in 2004 - 2005; $2,000,000 in 2006 - 2008; $3,500,000 for decedents dying in 2009; and $5,000,000 or more for decedent's dying in 2010 and 2011 (note: there are special rules for decedents dying in 2010); $5,120,000 in 2012, $5,250,000 in 2013 and $5,340,000 in 2014.

Fourth Plank: Confiscation of the Property of all Emigrants and Rebels.

Hm. I think that man in Nevada still has his cows, right? He is the only rebel that is still 'at it' since the turn of the 19th century. It wasn't really confiscation, he owned the government tons of money. I don't think Emigrants have that problem. As a matter of fact, when folks travel to other countries they have to agree to have enough of their own assets to return home. But, that isn't really an emigrant. Americans don't really emigrate, the statistics show a few hundred a year. They usually consider themselves ex-patriots. But, even the ex-patriots are sincerely emigrating. Americans live abroad. Something like nine million, but, they are still citizens. They have babies in other countries that probably end up with dual citizenship, but, most Americans with new family register them at the USA Consulate to be citizens of the USA.

But, the Fourth Plank is just silly. Other than Nevada there isn't really anything in the USA that resembles a rebel.

Fifth Plank: Centralization of credit in the hands of the State

This is a joke. Centralization of credit. That is all private industry. The ONLY credit provided to any American by the government are Congresspersons. I suppose Ryan could be confused about any other American having centralized credit from the USA. But, the banks have all the credit cards at rates up to 24% interest.

Sixth Plank: Centralization of the means of communications and transportation in the hands of the State.  

This is an interesting one. The means of communication are all private industry. But, the private industry has been going belly up to government since The Patriot Act. If one recalls The Patriot Act was passed under Bush/Cheney and it wasn't at all very patriotic. Transportation is private, but, the USA bails out the airline industry often enough. We do have Amtrak, which is necessary that can't own personal transportation. There is nothing like giving birth to a child, raise them, send them off to college or into life and never seeing them again because they lives hundreds or thousands of miles away. Give me a break. 

Seventh Plank: Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State

This only happens when the Republicans crash the economy. So, I guess, intermittently it occurs because the Republicans have no idea of what they are doing. It's tough to run a country on 'historical rhetoric' that is only found in "Father Knows Best." 

Eighth Plank: Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of industrial armies especially for agriculture.

Labor Unions are all private entities. Agricultural armies? I thought they were called undocumented workers and I know Democrats would like to establish Immigration Reform for these armies. But, they are not paid by the government. As a matter of fact there are many undocumented workers in Texas.

This is from Slate (click here).

The southern border is where most of the Undocumented Workers work and live. They sort of spread throughout the country, except, for New Jersey. What is that New Jersey thing? 

"Equal liability of all to labor." That is an interesting group of words. It is the basis of communism. COMMUNAL RESPONSIBILITY to work and support themselves. Interesting, huh? That is also, but different, the basis of capitalism. Isn't that interesting? The difference between communism work liability and capital markets where work can be found is where the money goes. The USA uses taxes, where the communists supply things like housing and stuff like. As of 2008 there may be a growing number of Americans who would like to see housing as a responsibility of the state. Right? At least when Wall Street crashes the government would have a greater interest in preventing it.

Ninth Plank: Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries, gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of population over the country.

How does any of that relate to the USA. Agricultural wants to market their goods, but, other than local groceries or farmer's markets it is all Wall Street commodities. 

Ryan has a real problem with reality. Maybe that has got to do with Republicans unable to count past four. He just lies about everything to discredit nice people willing to run for office. No one would ever find that in the USA. Ryan is bizarre.

Tenth Plank: Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.

Colonial America had private schools and only the wealthy could afford it. This statement though is to indicate children go through an indoctrination in school rather than laboring to feed themselves.

But, USA public schools go back to the beginning of the nation itself. After the Revolutionary War the citizens established schools for their children and they were free to everyone. Previous to the Revolutionary War most could not afford education. They were colonists. The Thrown wasn't interested in having intelligent colonists, that didn't serve their purpose. So, when the war ended and the USA wanted to build a strong population able to do business and become elected to government an education became very important. The citizens were not free. Their Constitution established the fact ANYONE could become part of the government so long as they met citizenship and age requirements. It was a big deal. 

The 'organized' public school really became a matter of social structure in the early to mid 1800s. It took awhile for the country to get up to  speed for all children. Women were considered important to education because they would become the majority of teachers. It was all pretty cool stuff. 

Massachusetts was the seed of public education in the USA. The rest of the country took up the model. 

Horace Mann, was the strongest advocate for public eduction in it's earliest inception. He stated "our Public Schools are not Theological Seminaries." Horace Mann was with the Whig Party. The Whig Party had won the Presidency for four presidential elections. The Whig Party would become the Republican Party. The Republican Party would elect Abraham Lincoln. As a matter of fact, Abraham Lincoln belonged to the Whig Party and became a Republican as the party expanded.  Lincoln's Party Affiliation - Whig (1834–1854), Republican (1854–1865) and then National Union (1864–1865).

I think Ryan is a typical hateful Republican that seeks to victimize political dialogue with 'historical' and 'hysterical' references. Democrats are no more guilty of aligning with Karl Marx than any Republican. The ideas of Marx were duplicated by the new citizens of the USA. Karl Marx wasn't even born yet when the Revolutionary War took place. Karl Marx was born in Germany on May 5, 1818. It can easily be stated, Marx was inspired by attributes of American democracy.

That entire dialogue by Ryan is hate speech and only presents itself as fact by coincidence.

April 2, 2014
 
Representative Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) (click here) proposed budget for fiscal year 2015 includes devastating cuts to the health care programs women and families rely on. Ryan would repeal the Affordable Care Act, make drastic cuts to Medicaid, and convert Medicare into a limited premium subsidy. These changes would leave millions of women and their families without the financial security of high-quality health insurance, unable to access the health care services they need, and facing dramatic increases in their healthcare costs....

...If adopted, this budget proposal would:

Repealing the ACA would cause millions of women to lose affordable health coverage through Medicaid and private plans offered through Health Insurance Marketplaces. By repealing the entire law, Ryan would also allow insurance companies to once again deny women insurance coverage because of “pre-existing conditions” including a history of domestic violence, breast and cervical cancer, and C-sections.

Ryan would allow insurance companies to return to charging women higher health insurance premiums than men, a practice known as gender rating. His budget proposal would also allow insurance companies to return to selling inadequate coverage that fails to meet women’s health care needs, such as policies that lack maternity coverage. Previously, 92 percent of the best-selling plans on the individual market practiced gender rating and only 12 percent covered maternity care.

Repealing the ACA would increase out-of-pocket costs for preventive services women need such as mammograms, pap smears, colonoscopies, and contraception. It would also increase Medicare enrollees’ spending on prescription drugs.

By proposing to repeal the ACA, Ryan would allow insurance companies to drop enrollees or refuse to renew their health insurance policies when they get sick. He would also allow insurers to return to their practice of capping how much care they will cover annually and over a lifetime.

What is the CDC doing right and Saudi Arabia is not. They have 400 cases and 100 deaths.

I do know Saudi Arabia had originally attributed MERS to the poor and immigrants. I think it's moved past that. China has a method to contain their problems with virus outbreaks. Perhaps the WHO can make recommendations if the USA and China contains and treats these problems better.

Karen Weintraub and Doug Stanglin
USA TODAY  
5:10 p.m. EDT May 5, 2014

A man hospitalized in Indiana (click here) with the first U.S. case of the deadly MERS virus is steadily improving and is expected to be discharged from the hospital soon, health care officials said Monday.

The patient, a male health care worker who was living and working in Saudi Arabia, appears to be getting better, hospital officials said. He is no longer dependent on oxygen and has been eating and walking around, according to Alan Kumar, chief medical information officer of Community Hospital in Munster, Ind., where the patient has been since April 28.

MERS belongs to the coronavirus family that includes the common cold and SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which caused more than 800 deaths globally in 2003....

SARS was a coronavirus. I thought China was heroic with SARS.

A novel coronavirus (click here) called “Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus” (MERS-CoV) was first reported in 2012 in Saudi Arabia. It has caused severe illness and death in people from several countries....

The Republicans believe 'if only Petraeus' had been asked to address the talking point on Benghazi.

Guess what? The then CIA Director, David Petraeus, wrote the talking points.No one put a muzzle on him, no one dictated the words or edited the content. He wrote what he knew based on the best intelligence the USA had and he sought to protect any operative in the area that could be at risk. That is his job. When Director Petraeus protected operatives he was defending the USA. There isn't anything here.

By Scott Wilson and Karen DeYoung  
Published: May 21, 2013

...The only government entity (click here) that did not object to the detailed talking points produced with Petraeus’s input was the White House, which played the role of mediator in the bureaucratic fight that at various points included the CIA’s top lawyer and the agency’s deputy director expressing opposition to what the director wanted....

Today is May 5, 2014. It is shy by 16 days of this article. That means with all the hearings Issa held and all the complaining by Graham has been a farce. 

Let me take this one step further, if it truly isn't a farce, then these legislators cannot conduct effective oversight and they should not have their seat in office anyway. 

The USA military with Secretary Hagle very aware of his budget and the need to adequately spend money where it is need understands the ridiculous nature of the chronic hysteria of the Republicans. 

The Pentagon, not Secretary Hagle, has stated the cost and time spent on the chronic requests from Republicans is costing the USA military millions and precious time that could be spent more effectively on defending the nation.
  
Published March 25, 2014
Associated Press 
WASHINGTON –  The Pentagon says Congress' multiple investigations of the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, have cost the department millions of dollars and thousands of hours of personnel time.

In a March 11 letter, the Pentagon described repetitive requests for information from about 50 congressional hearings, briefings and interviews. The department was responding to a Feb. 4 letter from Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee....

...Smith, in a subsequent letter to the committee's Republican chairman, complained about the financial strain on the military.

So, what is our military budget actually for? It is for a Republican political agenda and that includes the Iraq invasion. The USA military has to serve the Republicans. It has to serve up economies to constituents and it has to serve as a point of 'strength' for the Republican image. After all there are fewer Democrats that are willing to throw money at military pork like the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.