http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/09/30/18691818.php
Obama the authoritarian
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com ) Friday Sep 30th, 2011
The United States has confirmed the killing of the radical Yemeni-American cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, in northern Yemen. "If you are somebody that believes the President of the United States has the power to order your fellow citizens murdered, assassinated, killed without a shred of due process … then you are really declaring yourself to be as pure of an authoritarian as it gets." Constitutional scholar Glenn Greenwald
I thought what we did with the Germans after World War II was the right thing. They were put on trial and they were given their day in court and a historical record was created and a message went out to—-this is what will happen to you if you commit mass murder, we believe even the most heinous person, whether they’re Charles Manson or Eichmann or anybody, should have their day in court, because we’re going to try to be civilized even though they’re uncivilized, even though they’re barbaric. We’re not going to be that way. That used to be a standard we tried to, at least, aspire to, or at least say that we aspired to it. Ted Rudow III, MA
Friday, September 30, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Spartan Daily
Spartan Daily
September 27, 2011
Discussion of the week: Is MTV still good for music? Kelsy Holm fights injury, changes position When there just isn’t enough time in the day News Sports Opinion A&E Multimedia Class Reports Tech National World Campus
Being Muslim in a Post 9-11 World
by Brittany Patterson Sep 11, 2011 11:20 am
Shafayat Hussain, a biomedical engineering graduate student at SJSU, will never forget where he was that day when everything changed.
“That morning was just so ordinary, and bang — it all changed,” he said.
Brittany Patterson, Spartan DailyJunior business accounting major Fatima Ibrahim grew up in a post-9/11 American society. On Sept. 11, 2001, Hussain had just woken up and was getting ready for school.
“I turned on the TV to the Today Show and saw a plane hit the building,” he said. “I was young, so I at first really did think they were showing a movie.”
After flipping through the channels, seeing nothing but the same shocking footage, Hussain and his mother watched, their mouths open, he said.
“One feeling really stood out later on: This is America — this is actually happening here,” he said. “Then the towers fell, and we were just silent for a while. My mom and I just looked at one another.”
Hussain and his mother were among the millions of Americans who watched in disbelief as the media broadcast images of American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 crashing into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.
According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, 32 Muslims died on 9/11, three of whom were on the hijacked planes, representing 1.07 percent of all those who lost their lives.
Fatima Ibrahim, a junior business accounting major, said she doesn’t remember where she was on 9/11, and it wasn’t until she was in high school when she understood the significance.
“I took it upon myself to be kind to everyone and actually make people understand why I wear a scarf myself and why I’m Muslim,” she said. “I try to explain it to where it’s like you know what even though people who are Muslim did this, not every Muslim is like that.”
Ibrahim says being Muslim is more than just a religion — it’s something that intersects with every part of her life.
“For example we believe in something called Qadar Allah which is what God has planned for you,” she said. “So I pray and study as hard as I can go to class and take my test and if I get an F, like ‘Hey don’t cry about it, it’s what God’s written.””
The San Francisco Bay Area is home to about 250,000 Muslims according to a news article on the California Council on American-Islamic Relations website.
Mohammed Ashfaqul Islam, a sophomore software engineering major, said the reaction in Kuwait, where he was raised, was similar to the reaction in the U.S.
“In the Quran it’s written that if you kill an innocent person you go to hell — straight up,” he said. “There’s no way, no way any Muslim, any practicing Muslim, can justify what happened on 9/11.”
Islam was twelve when the planes hit the towers and he said although the attack saddened him and his friends, the event’s significance didn’t hit him until a year before he moved to America.
His parents suggested Islam blend in to avoid attracting attention to himself, something he said he did through his freshman year.
“They were kind of scared that if I’m a practicing Muslim in America … the FBI will probably be on my case or something,” he said.
Hussain said he sees improvement in Muslim relations in America, but there is still work to be done.
“I look around, and far more people are friendly to us compared to those that are hostile to us,” he said. ”A lot of groups have come out and supported the American Muslims.”
Still, he has hope for the future.
“It’s not a matter of if normalcy will return, but just a matter of when,” he said.
..
One thought on “Being Muslim in a Post 9-11 World”
Ted Rudow III, MA on September 15, 2011 at 3:12 pm said: Your comment is awaiting moderation. Bigotryby Ted Rudow III, MAUntold thousands have died in the decade since then, among them the family of Masuda Sultan, an Afghan woman living in New York at the time of the 9/11 attack. She soon got word that 19 members of her family had been killed in a U.S. bomb attack in Afghanistan.After 9/11, the bigotry and the harassment really just became a lot more intense. It went from being something that experience every once in a while to something that is experience every day. Across the country, Sikhs, along with others identified as Muslim, Arab or South Asian, were targetedThese are costly defeats for America and the rest of the world. According to a conservative estimate of Brown University, there have been almost 140,000 civilian casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq. The massive retaliation cost more than $3 trillion dollars that would have been better used in America’s schools or in the wallets of US citizens.But instead of cultivating public spirit, President Bush sought to find a pretext—any pretext—to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. This is his most tragic legacy, the fact that America can no longer even mourn its victims properly—because Americans have long been not just victims, but also perpetrators.Ted Rudow III, MA
A new report by the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan to be released to Congress concludes that over the past decade there has been $30 billion wasted. Taxpayers have spent a total of $206 billion on contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than $40 billion of this was awarded to Kellogg Brown & Root, who, along with 21 other companies, accounted for more than half of the total. An additional $38.5 billion went to "miscellaneous foreign contractors." An aide to former Secretary of State Colin Powell has hit out at Dick Cheney, saying the former vice president fears being tried as a war criminal. The deceit of Dick Cheney is indeed of Shakespearean proportions, as evidenced in his new memoir. For the former vice president, lying comes so easily that one must assume he takes the pursuit oftruth to be nothing more than a reckless indulgence. The bigger the lie is, the more people are apt to believe it, because they can't possibly believe you would dare to tell such a big lie unless it was the truth!
Ted Rudow III, MA
Class of 1996
September 27, 2011
Discussion of the week: Is MTV still good for music? Kelsy Holm fights injury, changes position When there just isn’t enough time in the day News Sports Opinion A&E Multimedia Class Reports Tech National World Campus
Being Muslim in a Post 9-11 World
by Brittany Patterson Sep 11, 2011 11:20 am
Shafayat Hussain, a biomedical engineering graduate student at SJSU, will never forget where he was that day when everything changed.
“That morning was just so ordinary, and bang — it all changed,” he said.
Brittany Patterson, Spartan DailyJunior business accounting major Fatima Ibrahim grew up in a post-9/11 American society. On Sept. 11, 2001, Hussain had just woken up and was getting ready for school.
“I turned on the TV to the Today Show and saw a plane hit the building,” he said. “I was young, so I at first really did think they were showing a movie.”
After flipping through the channels, seeing nothing but the same shocking footage, Hussain and his mother watched, their mouths open, he said.
“One feeling really stood out later on: This is America — this is actually happening here,” he said. “Then the towers fell, and we were just silent for a while. My mom and I just looked at one another.”
Hussain and his mother were among the millions of Americans who watched in disbelief as the media broadcast images of American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 crashing into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.
According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, 32 Muslims died on 9/11, three of whom were on the hijacked planes, representing 1.07 percent of all those who lost their lives.
Fatima Ibrahim, a junior business accounting major, said she doesn’t remember where she was on 9/11, and it wasn’t until she was in high school when she understood the significance.
“I took it upon myself to be kind to everyone and actually make people understand why I wear a scarf myself and why I’m Muslim,” she said. “I try to explain it to where it’s like you know what even though people who are Muslim did this, not every Muslim is like that.”
Ibrahim says being Muslim is more than just a religion — it’s something that intersects with every part of her life.
“For example we believe in something called Qadar Allah which is what God has planned for you,” she said. “So I pray and study as hard as I can go to class and take my test and if I get an F, like ‘Hey don’t cry about it, it’s what God’s written.””
The San Francisco Bay Area is home to about 250,000 Muslims according to a news article on the California Council on American-Islamic Relations website.
Mohammed Ashfaqul Islam, a sophomore software engineering major, said the reaction in Kuwait, where he was raised, was similar to the reaction in the U.S.
“In the Quran it’s written that if you kill an innocent person you go to hell — straight up,” he said. “There’s no way, no way any Muslim, any practicing Muslim, can justify what happened on 9/11.”
Islam was twelve when the planes hit the towers and he said although the attack saddened him and his friends, the event’s significance didn’t hit him until a year before he moved to America.
His parents suggested Islam blend in to avoid attracting attention to himself, something he said he did through his freshman year.
“They were kind of scared that if I’m a practicing Muslim in America … the FBI will probably be on my case or something,” he said.
Hussain said he sees improvement in Muslim relations in America, but there is still work to be done.
“I look around, and far more people are friendly to us compared to those that are hostile to us,” he said. ”A lot of groups have come out and supported the American Muslims.”
Still, he has hope for the future.
“It’s not a matter of if normalcy will return, but just a matter of when,” he said.
..
One thought on “Being Muslim in a Post 9-11 World”
Ted Rudow III, MA on September 15, 2011 at 3:12 pm said: Your comment is awaiting moderation. Bigotryby Ted Rudow III, MAUntold thousands have died in the decade since then, among them the family of Masuda Sultan, an Afghan woman living in New York at the time of the 9/11 attack. She soon got word that 19 members of her family had been killed in a U.S. bomb attack in Afghanistan.After 9/11, the bigotry and the harassment really just became a lot more intense. It went from being something that experience every once in a while to something that is experience every day. Across the country, Sikhs, along with others identified as Muslim, Arab or South Asian, were targetedThese are costly defeats for America and the rest of the world. According to a conservative estimate of Brown University, there have been almost 140,000 civilian casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq. The massive retaliation cost more than $3 trillion dollars that would have been better used in America’s schools or in the wallets of US citizens.But instead of cultivating public spirit, President Bush sought to find a pretext—any pretext—to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. This is his most tragic legacy, the fact that America can no longer even mourn its victims properly—because Americans have long been not just victims, but also perpetrators.Ted Rudow III, MA
A new report by the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan to be released to Congress concludes that over the past decade there has been $30 billion wasted. Taxpayers have spent a total of $206 billion on contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than $40 billion of this was awarded to Kellogg Brown & Root, who, along with 21 other companies, accounted for more than half of the total. An additional $38.5 billion went to "miscellaneous foreign contractors." An aide to former Secretary of State Colin Powell has hit out at Dick Cheney, saying the former vice president fears being tried as a war criminal. The deceit of Dick Cheney is indeed of Shakespearean proportions, as evidenced in his new memoir. For the former vice president, lying comes so easily that one must assume he takes the pursuit oftruth to be nothing more than a reckless indulgence. The bigger the lie is, the more people are apt to believe it, because they can't possibly believe you would dare to tell such a big lie unless it was the truth!
Ted Rudow III, MA
Class of 1996
Spartan Daily
Spartan Daily
September 27, 2011
Discussion of the week: Is MTV still good for music? Kelsy Holm fights injury, changes position When there just isn’t enough time in the day News Sports Opinion A&E
Speaker touches on ‘humanity’ in concerns with Israel-Palestine conflict
by matt.young Sep 22, 2011 12:17 am
Dorian Silva, Spartan DailyEnglish professor Persis M. Karim discusses her views, during her "Report Back from the West Bank of Palestine" Wednesday in King Library.
Wednesday night at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, the Israel-Palestine conflict was central in a lecture by Persis Karim, associate professor of English and comparative literature at SJSU.
In “Occupied Minds: Life and Education Under Occupation,” Karim reported on the strains on the education, economy and living conditions of the Palestinians observed during a recent trip to Israel and the West Bank in May of this year.
She wove her story together with a series of photos she took illustrating the plight of the people and the rhythms of life.
“After I went to the West Bank of Israel, I became a lot more engaged in and interested in the question of Israel and Palestine,” she said, referring to the issue as “the elephant in the room.”
Acknowledging the tensions inherent in the issue, she said, “I know that this topic incites controversial discussions and sometimes people get very emotional,” and portrayed it as a “terrible situation for both Palestinians and Israelis.”
She said neither side was without blame and that corruption is evident in both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government.
“It is a human rights issue,” she said.
Karim said one of the reasons she went abroad was to find out a little about what is happening in the midst of the incredible upheaval that’s taking place in that part of the world.
“One of the things I learned about education in East Jerusalem is that it’s very unorganized,” she said.
Karim said the constant disruption of resources creates inefficiency in the educational system, with everything from preschool to doctorate programs starved for resources.
“There is only one Ph.D. program and it’s in chemistry — where do they go for higher education? Here,” she said in reference to America, adding that it became much more difficult after Sept. 11.
Karim also talked about the reason why people in Jerusalem are living in poor conditions — she said people there live in very crowded circumstances due to housing laws and settlements all over Israel.
“Palestinians that own houses have to get a permit to renovate their homes and if they don’t, it leads to home demolition,” Karim said.
She related the story of one man who was illegally rebuilding his home, which had been destroyed twice before, and showed pictures she had taken of his work, with wooden beams being put in place.
“(The Israelis) won’t grant him a permit,” she said.
Karim said there are refugee camps all over Israel that Palestinian families are transferred to.
“Ramallah is a refugee camp and Palestinians are moved to these throughout the West Bank,” she said.
She said there were several partitions between the people made up of walls, checkpoints and segregated roads, “creating a barrier for human contact,” and that her experience passing through the checkpoint was one of the “most humiliating experiences” she ever had.
Karim likened the situation to America’s history of “Jim Crow laws and American Indian Reservations.”
She showed more positive aspects of life and said she “wanted to focus on the good as well as the bad.”
Examples included the creative efforts of some of the people she encountered, including one man who collected spent ammunition shells and turned them into works of art.
Despite having been injured over seventy times, she said he wants to turn the casings into a Statue of Liberty.
Another man who had been photographed as a child hurling a rock at Israeli soldiers had taken up the violin and now teaches music to children, she said.
“Music was a healing medium,” she said.
After the presentation, Karim answered the audience’s questions.
One audience member asked about Palestinians moving toward “unilateral action” with the United Nations.
“The Palestinian ambassador to Lebanon said that in the new Palestinian state there would not be a single Jew, or a single gay person,” he said.
Both societies involved have problems, Karim said.
“If there is a two-state solution, I don’t think Israelis will want Palestinians either,” Karim said. “I think we should be realistic about how things play out,” to which the audience responded, “That’s not true.”
Karim said that if people think she is lying, they should “go there and see for themselves.”
“What struck me throughout the presentation is that the solution is to bring people together,” said Michael Batchelder, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace. “Separation brings conflict and solidarity creates peace.”
“I was interested in the whole Israeli and Palestinian conflict and hoping to learn something new,” junior engineering major Lloyd Walker said. “I was disappointed that there was what appeared to me to be a rather biased opinion. I was hoping she was going into something about why things are the way they are in Gaza and the West Bank.”
Karim said she hoped that people would consider the humanity of the people involved.
“There can either be peace or more war,” she said.
@TedrTed
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to officially submit a statehood request to the United Nations in defiance of U.S. and Israeli threats. A new joint Israeli-Palestinian poll shows the Obama administration’s stance on Palestinian recognition at the United Nations is more extreme than that of a strong majority of Israeli citizens, with 69 percent of Israelis saying their government should accept U.N. recognition of an independent Palestinian state.
-->
Israeli Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Danny Danon praised President Obama’s speech at the United Nations and warned Israel will have a strong reaction to the Palestinian bid for U.N. membership. "If it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now" President Omaba. We saw from President Obama was a speech that was more pro-Israel than anything we have ever seen from him, which is saying something. And that was not a speech by a president of the United States addressing a world body with any sincerity about bringing an end to the conflict. There's been talk of "Peace, peace" for years now, and that's about all it's been--talk. The Israelis have remained the same as always. Oh, they've talked of peace, and they've thrown the Palestinians a few crumbs here and there. The poor Palestinians have been hoping for change for years, but there's been very little change. They work for the Israelis for a pittance, for pitiful wages that keep them on the edge of poverty, while rich Israelis are building lush, expensive settlements on land which was seized from them. It's going to take a miracle and a miracle-worker to make the Israelis give up any significant or worthwhile part of Israel, especially Jerusalem, to the Palestinians.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Class of 1996
September 27, 2011
Discussion of the week: Is MTV still good for music? Kelsy Holm fights injury, changes position When there just isn’t enough time in the day News Sports Opinion A&E
Speaker touches on ‘humanity’ in concerns with Israel-Palestine conflict
by matt.young Sep 22, 2011 12:17 am
Dorian Silva, Spartan DailyEnglish professor Persis M. Karim discusses her views, during her "Report Back from the West Bank of Palestine" Wednesday in King Library.
Wednesday night at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, the Israel-Palestine conflict was central in a lecture by Persis Karim, associate professor of English and comparative literature at SJSU.
In “Occupied Minds: Life and Education Under Occupation,” Karim reported on the strains on the education, economy and living conditions of the Palestinians observed during a recent trip to Israel and the West Bank in May of this year.
She wove her story together with a series of photos she took illustrating the plight of the people and the rhythms of life.
“After I went to the West Bank of Israel, I became a lot more engaged in and interested in the question of Israel and Palestine,” she said, referring to the issue as “the elephant in the room.”
Acknowledging the tensions inherent in the issue, she said, “I know that this topic incites controversial discussions and sometimes people get very emotional,” and portrayed it as a “terrible situation for both Palestinians and Israelis.”
She said neither side was without blame and that corruption is evident in both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government.
“It is a human rights issue,” she said.
Karim said one of the reasons she went abroad was to find out a little about what is happening in the midst of the incredible upheaval that’s taking place in that part of the world.
“One of the things I learned about education in East Jerusalem is that it’s very unorganized,” she said.
Karim said the constant disruption of resources creates inefficiency in the educational system, with everything from preschool to doctorate programs starved for resources.
“There is only one Ph.D. program and it’s in chemistry — where do they go for higher education? Here,” she said in reference to America, adding that it became much more difficult after Sept. 11.
Karim also talked about the reason why people in Jerusalem are living in poor conditions — she said people there live in very crowded circumstances due to housing laws and settlements all over Israel.
“Palestinians that own houses have to get a permit to renovate their homes and if they don’t, it leads to home demolition,” Karim said.
She related the story of one man who was illegally rebuilding his home, which had been destroyed twice before, and showed pictures she had taken of his work, with wooden beams being put in place.
“(The Israelis) won’t grant him a permit,” she said.
Karim said there are refugee camps all over Israel that Palestinian families are transferred to.
“Ramallah is a refugee camp and Palestinians are moved to these throughout the West Bank,” she said.
She said there were several partitions between the people made up of walls, checkpoints and segregated roads, “creating a barrier for human contact,” and that her experience passing through the checkpoint was one of the “most humiliating experiences” she ever had.
Karim likened the situation to America’s history of “Jim Crow laws and American Indian Reservations.”
She showed more positive aspects of life and said she “wanted to focus on the good as well as the bad.”
Examples included the creative efforts of some of the people she encountered, including one man who collected spent ammunition shells and turned them into works of art.
Despite having been injured over seventy times, she said he wants to turn the casings into a Statue of Liberty.
Another man who had been photographed as a child hurling a rock at Israeli soldiers had taken up the violin and now teaches music to children, she said.
“Music was a healing medium,” she said.
After the presentation, Karim answered the audience’s questions.
One audience member asked about Palestinians moving toward “unilateral action” with the United Nations.
“The Palestinian ambassador to Lebanon said that in the new Palestinian state there would not be a single Jew, or a single gay person,” he said.
Both societies involved have problems, Karim said.
“If there is a two-state solution, I don’t think Israelis will want Palestinians either,” Karim said. “I think we should be realistic about how things play out,” to which the audience responded, “That’s not true.”
Karim said that if people think she is lying, they should “go there and see for themselves.”
“What struck me throughout the presentation is that the solution is to bring people together,” said Michael Batchelder, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace. “Separation brings conflict and solidarity creates peace.”
“I was interested in the whole Israeli and Palestinian conflict and hoping to learn something new,” junior engineering major Lloyd Walker said. “I was disappointed that there was what appeared to me to be a rather biased opinion. I was hoping she was going into something about why things are the way they are in Gaza and the West Bank.”
Karim said she hoped that people would consider the humanity of the people involved.
“There can either be peace or more war,” she said.
@TedrTed
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to officially submit a statehood request to the United Nations in defiance of U.S. and Israeli threats. A new joint Israeli-Palestinian poll shows the Obama administration’s stance on Palestinian recognition at the United Nations is more extreme than that of a strong majority of Israeli citizens, with 69 percent of Israelis saying their government should accept U.N. recognition of an independent Palestinian state.
-->
Israeli Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Danny Danon praised President Obama’s speech at the United Nations and warned Israel will have a strong reaction to the Palestinian bid for U.N. membership. "If it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now" President Omaba. We saw from President Obama was a speech that was more pro-Israel than anything we have ever seen from him, which is saying something. And that was not a speech by a president of the United States addressing a world body with any sincerity about bringing an end to the conflict. There's been talk of "Peace, peace" for years now, and that's about all it's been--talk. The Israelis have remained the same as always. Oh, they've talked of peace, and they've thrown the Palestinians a few crumbs here and there. The poor Palestinians have been hoping for change for years, but there's been very little change. They work for the Israelis for a pittance, for pitiful wages that keep them on the edge of poverty, while rich Israelis are building lush, expensive settlements on land which was seized from them. It's going to take a miracle and a miracle-worker to make the Israelis give up any significant or worthwhile part of Israel, especially Jerusalem, to the Palestinians.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Class of 1996
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Filthy lucre
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/09/24/18691204.php
Filthy lucre
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com ) Saturday Sep 24th, 2011
The International Monetary Fund says the global financial system is more vulnerable than at any point since the 2008 financial crisis. Risks to banks and financial markets have increased in recent months, the global lending organization said in a report Wednesday.
-->
The European debt crisis is affecting its banking system to the point where banks may pull back on lending to conserve cash, which threatens to worsen growth in the region. Meanwhile, there are growing doubts that the U.S. lawmakers can forge the political consensus needed to reduce its growing budget deficits. Rising deficits were a key reason Standard & Poor’s downgraded long-term U.S. debt last month. Money, money--filthy lucre. If money is your master and your god, that which you seek for the most, then lack truth. Those who neglect for mammon do err, and pierce themselves through with many sorrows. Money is not evil in itself. It is a vehicle, a tool.But the love of money is the root of all evil. It is the foundation of the systems of this world, and because of it, many good men are corrupted and many evil men become even more evil. Ted Rudow III, MA
Filthy lucre
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com ) Saturday Sep 24th, 2011
The International Monetary Fund says the global financial system is more vulnerable than at any point since the 2008 financial crisis. Risks to banks and financial markets have increased in recent months, the global lending organization said in a report Wednesday.
-->
The European debt crisis is affecting its banking system to the point where banks may pull back on lending to conserve cash, which threatens to worsen growth in the region. Meanwhile, there are growing doubts that the U.S. lawmakers can forge the political consensus needed to reduce its growing budget deficits. Rising deficits were a key reason Standard & Poor’s downgraded long-term U.S. debt last month. Money, money--filthy lucre. If money is your master and your god, that which you seek for the most, then lack truth. Those who neglect for mammon do err, and pierce themselves through with many sorrows. Money is not evil in itself. It is a vehicle, a tool.But the love of money is the root of all evil. It is the foundation of the systems of this world, and because of it, many good men are corrupted and many evil men become even more evil. Ted Rudow III, MA
Friday, September 23, 2011
Homeland
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/09/23/18691121.php
Homeland
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com ) Friday Sep 23rd, 2011
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to officially submit a statehood request to the United Nations in defiance of U.S. and Israeli threats. A new joint Israeli-Palestinian poll shows the Obama administration’s stance on Palestinian recognition at the United Nations is more extreme than that of a strong majority of Israeli citizens, with 69 percent of Israelis saying their government should accept U.N. recognition of an independent Palestinian state.
-->
Israeli Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Danny Danon praised President Obama’s speech at the United Nations and warned Israel will have a strong reaction to the Palestinian bid for U.N. membership. "If it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now" President Omaba. We saw from President Obama was a speech that was more pro-Israel than anything we have ever seen from him, which is saying something. And that was not a speech by a president of the United States addressing a world body with any sincerity about bringing an end to the conflict. There's been talk of "Peace, peace" for years now, and that's about all it's been--talk. The Israelis have remained the same as always. Oh, they've talked of peace, and they've thrown the Palestinians a few crumbs here and there. The poor Palestinians have been hoping for change for years, but there's been very little change. They work for the Israelis for a pittance, for pitiful wages that keep them on the edge of poverty, while rich Israelis are building lush, expensive settlements on land which was seized from them. It's going to take a miracle and a miracle-worker to make the Israelis give up any significant or worthwhile part of Israel, especially Jerusalem, to the Palestinians.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Homeland
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com ) Friday Sep 23rd, 2011
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to officially submit a statehood request to the United Nations in defiance of U.S. and Israeli threats. A new joint Israeli-Palestinian poll shows the Obama administration’s stance on Palestinian recognition at the United Nations is more extreme than that of a strong majority of Israeli citizens, with 69 percent of Israelis saying their government should accept U.N. recognition of an independent Palestinian state.
-->
Israeli Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Danny Danon praised President Obama’s speech at the United Nations and warned Israel will have a strong reaction to the Palestinian bid for U.N. membership. "If it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now" President Omaba. We saw from President Obama was a speech that was more pro-Israel than anything we have ever seen from him, which is saying something. And that was not a speech by a president of the United States addressing a world body with any sincerity about bringing an end to the conflict. There's been talk of "Peace, peace" for years now, and that's about all it's been--talk. The Israelis have remained the same as always. Oh, they've talked of peace, and they've thrown the Palestinians a few crumbs here and there. The poor Palestinians have been hoping for change for years, but there's been very little change. They work for the Israelis for a pittance, for pitiful wages that keep them on the edge of poverty, while rich Israelis are building lush, expensive settlements on land which was seized from them. It's going to take a miracle and a miracle-worker to make the Israelis give up any significant or worthwhile part of Israel, especially Jerusalem, to the Palestinians.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Tax burden
Thursday, September 22, 2011
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Letters to the Editor
Politician defends bill? Something is fishy
09/21/11 9:00 PM
Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/opinion/letters-editor/2011/09/politician-defends-bill-something-fishy#ixzz1YikUh4U0
Tax burden is unequal
In the last several decades the wealth hasn’t been spread so much as concentrated — at the top. The share of total income going to the top 1 percent of income earners more than doubled from 9 percent in 1970 to 23.5 percent in 2007.
And while the rich do pay a greater proportion of their income in taxes, the share of total taxes paid by the richest Americans is commensurate with their share of national wealth.
Examining the total tax burden — state, federal and local — Citizens for Tax Justice calculated that the top 1 percent of households (average income $1.3 million) earned 20.3 percent of income and paid 21.5 percent of taxes in 2010.
The tax code is studded with a costly bevy of deductions and preferences — mortgage interest, employer-sponsored health insurance, retirement savings — that benefit wealthier taxpayers over those with modest incomes.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Palo Alto
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Politician defends bill? Something is fishy
09/21/11 9:00 PM
Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/opinion/letters-editor/2011/09/politician-defends-bill-something-fishy#ixzz1YikUh4U0
Tax burden is unequal
In the last several decades the wealth hasn’t been spread so much as concentrated — at the top. The share of total income going to the top 1 percent of income earners more than doubled from 9 percent in 1970 to 23.5 percent in 2007.
And while the rich do pay a greater proportion of their income in taxes, the share of total taxes paid by the richest Americans is commensurate with their share of national wealth.
Examining the total tax burden — state, federal and local — Citizens for Tax Justice calculated that the top 1 percent of households (average income $1.3 million) earned 20.3 percent of income and paid 21.5 percent of taxes in 2010.
The tax code is studded with a costly bevy of deductions and preferences — mortgage interest, employer-sponsored health insurance, retirement savings — that benefit wealthier taxpayers over those with modest incomes.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Palo Alto
Greek Debt
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The Daily Star
Your Right To KnowFriday, September 23, 2011
Home Business Sports Arts & EntThe Star Editorial Metropolitan National International Op-Ed Friday, September 23, 2011
Letters
Greek debt
Ted Rudow III, MA, Encina Ave, Palo Alto, CA
For most of the past decade, Greece has run up budget deficits well beyond limits set by the European Union, a group of 27 nations that allow goods and workers to cross their borders freely. When Greece fell into recession two years ago, bondholders worried they wouldn't get their money back. To make sure they do, the EU is lending money to Greece, essentially allowing it to use new debt to pay off old debt. Greece looks like a bad bet. Its publicly held debt is more than 140 percent of its annual economic output, or gross domestic product. The US debt is 67 percent.
Greece is a tiny player in Europe. It has a $305 billion economy, about the size of Maryland's and 2 percent of the whole EU's. And if it does default, it will have plenty of company. In the past 30 years, 20 European and Latin American countries have stiffed their creditors, some repeatedly. The list includes Turkey in 1982, Mexico in 1994, Russia in 1998 and Argentina in 2001.
Most important: If Greece defaults, investors will worry that two much larger EU members, Italy and Spain, might follow. For the US, a European recession would come at an especially bad time. Europe buys about 20 percent of the US exports. And exports have been a big driver of the US economic growth recently. With the US slowing, it can't afford a downturn in such a crucial market. “It's not just a country floating out there that
happens to default,” says Steve H. Hanke, an economist at Johns Hopkins University. “The whole monetary union gets thrown into doubt.”
Weather Dhaka T: 29C H: 84%
The Daily Star
Your Right To KnowFriday, September 23, 2011
Home Business Sports Arts & EntThe Star Editorial Metropolitan National International Op-Ed Friday, September 23, 2011
Letters
Greek debt
Ted Rudow III, MA, Encina Ave, Palo Alto, CA
For most of the past decade, Greece has run up budget deficits well beyond limits set by the European Union, a group of 27 nations that allow goods and workers to cross their borders freely. When Greece fell into recession two years ago, bondholders worried they wouldn't get their money back. To make sure they do, the EU is lending money to Greece, essentially allowing it to use new debt to pay off old debt. Greece looks like a bad bet. Its publicly held debt is more than 140 percent of its annual economic output, or gross domestic product. The US debt is 67 percent.
Greece is a tiny player in Europe. It has a $305 billion economy, about the size of Maryland's and 2 percent of the whole EU's. And if it does default, it will have plenty of company. In the past 30 years, 20 European and Latin American countries have stiffed their creditors, some repeatedly. The list includes Turkey in 1982, Mexico in 1994, Russia in 1998 and Argentina in 2001.
Most important: If Greece defaults, investors will worry that two much larger EU members, Italy and Spain, might follow. For the US, a European recession would come at an especially bad time. Europe buys about 20 percent of the US exports. And exports have been a big driver of the US economic growth recently. With the US slowing, it can't afford a downturn in such a crucial market. “It's not just a country floating out there that
happens to default,” says Steve H. Hanke, an economist at Johns Hopkins University. “The whole monetary union gets thrown into doubt.”
Greek debt
The Berkeley Planet
Front
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Sunday September 18, 2011
Greek Debt
For most of the past decade, Greece has run up budget deficits well beyond limits set by the European Union, a group of 27 nations that allow goods and workers to cross their borders freely. When Greece fell into recession two years ago, bondholders worried they wouldn’t get their money back. To make sure they do, the EU is lending money to Greece, essentially allowing it to use new debt to pay off old debt. Greece looks like a bad bet. Its publicly held debt is more than 140 percent of its annual economic output, or gross domestic product. U.S. debt is 67 percent. Greece is a tiny player in Europe. It has a $305 billion economy, about the size of Maryland’s and 2 percent of the whole EU’s. And if it does default, it will have plenty of company. In the past 30 years, 20 European and Latin American countries have stiffed their creditors, some repeatedly. The list includes Turkey in 1982, Mexico in 1994, Russia in 1998 and Argentina in 2001.
Most important: If Greece defaults, investors will worry that two much larger EU members, Italy and Spain, might follow. For the U.S., a European recession would come at an especially bad time. Europe buys about 20 percent of U.S. exports. And exports have been a big driver of U.S. economic growth recently. With the U.S. slowing, it can’t afford a downturn in such a crucial market. “It’s not just a country floating out there that happens to default,” says Steve H. Hanke, an economist at Johns Hopkins University. “The whole monetary union gets thrown into doubt.”
Ted Rudow III, MA
Front
Page
Opinion
Columnists
Arts & Entertainment
Letters
Sunday September 18, 2011
Greek Debt
For most of the past decade, Greece has run up budget deficits well beyond limits set by the European Union, a group of 27 nations that allow goods and workers to cross their borders freely. When Greece fell into recession two years ago, bondholders worried they wouldn’t get their money back. To make sure they do, the EU is lending money to Greece, essentially allowing it to use new debt to pay off old debt. Greece looks like a bad bet. Its publicly held debt is more than 140 percent of its annual economic output, or gross domestic product. U.S. debt is 67 percent. Greece is a tiny player in Europe. It has a $305 billion economy, about the size of Maryland’s and 2 percent of the whole EU’s. And if it does default, it will have plenty of company. In the past 30 years, 20 European and Latin American countries have stiffed their creditors, some repeatedly. The list includes Turkey in 1982, Mexico in 1994, Russia in 1998 and Argentina in 2001.
Most important: If Greece defaults, investors will worry that two much larger EU members, Italy and Spain, might follow. For the U.S., a European recession would come at an especially bad time. Europe buys about 20 percent of U.S. exports. And exports have been a big driver of U.S. economic growth recently. With the U.S. slowing, it can’t afford a downturn in such a crucial market. “It’s not just a country floating out there that happens to default,” says Steve H. Hanke, an economist at Johns Hopkins University. “The whole monetary union gets thrown into doubt.”
Ted Rudow III, MA
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Greek debt
San Mateo Daily Journal
Wednesday
September 21 2011 Home Local News State / National / World Sports Opinion / Letters Business
Greek debt September 21, 2011, 02:12 AM
Letter
Editor,
For most of the past decade, Greece has run up budget deficits well beyond limits set by the European Union, a group of 27 nations which allow goods and workers to cross their borders freely. When Greece fell into recession two years ago, bondholders became worried they would not get their money back. To make sure they do, the EU is lending money to Greece, essentially allowing it to use new debt to pay off old debt. Greece looks like a bad bet. Its publicly held debt is more than 140 percent of its gross domestic product. The current U.S. debt is 67 percent of gross domestic product.
Greece is a tiny player in Europe. It has a $305 billion economy, about the size of Maryland’s. This is 2 percent of the whole EU’s economy. If Greece does default, it will have plenty of company. In the past 30 years, 20 European and Latin American countries have stiffed their creditors. Some have done so repeatedly. This list includes Turkey in 1982, Mexico in 1994, Russia in 1998 and Argentina in 2001.
Most importantly: If Greece defaults, investors will worry that two much larger EU members, Italy and Spain, might follow. For the United States, an impending European recession would come at an especially bad time. Europe buys about 20 percent of U.S. exports. And exports have been a big driver of U.S. economic growth recently. The United States can not afford a downturn in such a crucial market. “It’s not just a country floating out there that happens to default,” says Steve H. Hanke, an economist at Johns Hopkins University. “The whole monetary union gets thrown into doubt.”
Ted Rudow III,MA
Palo Alto
Wednesday
September 21 2011 Home Local News State / National / World Sports Opinion / Letters Business
Greek debt September 21, 2011, 02:12 AM
Letter
Editor,
For most of the past decade, Greece has run up budget deficits well beyond limits set by the European Union, a group of 27 nations which allow goods and workers to cross their borders freely. When Greece fell into recession two years ago, bondholders became worried they would not get their money back. To make sure they do, the EU is lending money to Greece, essentially allowing it to use new debt to pay off old debt. Greece looks like a bad bet. Its publicly held debt is more than 140 percent of its gross domestic product. The current U.S. debt is 67 percent of gross domestic product.
Greece is a tiny player in Europe. It has a $305 billion economy, about the size of Maryland’s. This is 2 percent of the whole EU’s economy. If Greece does default, it will have plenty of company. In the past 30 years, 20 European and Latin American countries have stiffed their creditors. Some have done so repeatedly. This list includes Turkey in 1982, Mexico in 1994, Russia in 1998 and Argentina in 2001.
Most importantly: If Greece defaults, investors will worry that two much larger EU members, Italy and Spain, might follow. For the United States, an impending European recession would come at an especially bad time. Europe buys about 20 percent of U.S. exports. And exports have been a big driver of U.S. economic growth recently. The United States can not afford a downturn in such a crucial market. “It’s not just a country floating out there that happens to default,” says Steve H. Hanke, an economist at Johns Hopkins University. “The whole monetary union gets thrown into doubt.”
Ted Rudow III,MA
Palo Alto
From Sen. Boxer
UNITED STATES SENATE
Dear Mr. Rudow:
Thank you for writing to me regarding suicides committed by members of our Armed Forces. I am deeply concerned about this issue, and I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your comments.
Tragically, the rate of suicides among members of our military has increased significantly over the past decade. According to the Department of Defense, more than 1,100 service members took their own lives between 2005 and 2009 - an average of one suicide every 36 hours. In July 2011, the U.S. Army alone reported 32 potential suicides - the highest number since the Army started releasing this data in June 2010. These figures are truly alarming.
In response, we have taken some important steps, including working to eliminate the stigma within the military surrounding mental health injuries. This is critical because too often our service men and women do not seek help because of concerns about how they will be perceived. However, more must be done.
That is why, on May 25, 2011, I led a bipartisan group of Senators in writing to President Obama to urge him to reverse a long-standing policy of withholding Presidential letters of condolence to the families of service members who commit suicide - a policy that reinforces the stigma within the military surrounding mental health issues. I am pleased that on July 6, 2011, the Obama Administration announced it would reverse this hurtful policy and begin to send Presidential condolence letters to these grieving families, providing much needed comfort.
As co-chair of the Senate Military Family Caucus, be assured that I will continue working to prevent the tragedy of military suicide and to ensure that service members and their families have the resources and support they deserve.
Again, thank you for contacting me. Please feel free to write to me again about this or any other issue of importance to you.
Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator
Dear Mr. Rudow:
Thank you for writing to me regarding suicides committed by members of our Armed Forces. I am deeply concerned about this issue, and I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your comments.
Tragically, the rate of suicides among members of our military has increased significantly over the past decade. According to the Department of Defense, more than 1,100 service members took their own lives between 2005 and 2009 - an average of one suicide every 36 hours. In July 2011, the U.S. Army alone reported 32 potential suicides - the highest number since the Army started releasing this data in June 2010. These figures are truly alarming.
In response, we have taken some important steps, including working to eliminate the stigma within the military surrounding mental health injuries. This is critical because too often our service men and women do not seek help because of concerns about how they will be perceived. However, more must be done.
That is why, on May 25, 2011, I led a bipartisan group of Senators in writing to President Obama to urge him to reverse a long-standing policy of withholding Presidential letters of condolence to the families of service members who commit suicide - a policy that reinforces the stigma within the military surrounding mental health issues. I am pleased that on July 6, 2011, the Obama Administration announced it would reverse this hurtful policy and begin to send Presidential condolence letters to these grieving families, providing much needed comfort.
As co-chair of the Senate Military Family Caucus, be assured that I will continue working to prevent the tragedy of military suicide and to ensure that service members and their families have the resources and support they deserve.
Again, thank you for contacting me. Please feel free to write to me again about this or any other issue of importance to you.
Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Homelessness
The Berkeley Planet
Wednesday September 14, 2011
Front Page Opinion Columnists Arts & Entertainment Contents Full Text Letters Wednesday September 14, 2011
Homeless
Homelessness is not a new phenomenon in California. What is new—and alarming—is that more and more of the homeless are families that once believed they were secure members of the middle class. The growing trend is a sign that the nationwide economic slump is that a feared second recession could push the poor there over the edge and make a solid recovery even harder. More than two years into the economic recovery, there isn’t yet a light at the end of the tunnel for California’s economy and stubborn unemployment. The number of job losses in the state is still much higher than the worst moments of the 2001 and 1990 recessions. The state’s jobless rate hit 12% last month, the second worst in the nation The world today has over 1200 billionaires, perhaps 24 million millionaires, and 120 million homeless. It has half a billion [500,000,000] who eat too much, and an equal number who eat scarcely enough to stay alive....Equity of income distribution is worse today than at any time since records have been kept. At present the U.S. has more homeless than any other industrialised country on Earth!
Ted Rudow III, MA
Wednesday September 14, 2011
Front Page Opinion Columnists Arts & Entertainment Contents Full Text Letters Wednesday September 14, 2011
Homeless
Homelessness is not a new phenomenon in California. What is new—and alarming—is that more and more of the homeless are families that once believed they were secure members of the middle class. The growing trend is a sign that the nationwide economic slump is that a feared second recession could push the poor there over the edge and make a solid recovery even harder. More than two years into the economic recovery, there isn’t yet a light at the end of the tunnel for California’s economy and stubborn unemployment. The number of job losses in the state is still much higher than the worst moments of the 2001 and 1990 recessions. The state’s jobless rate hit 12% last month, the second worst in the nation The world today has over 1200 billionaires, perhaps 24 million millionaires, and 120 million homeless. It has half a billion [500,000,000] who eat too much, and an equal number who eat scarcely enough to stay alive....Equity of income distribution is worse today than at any time since records have been kept. At present the U.S. has more homeless than any other industrialised country on Earth!
Ted Rudow III, MA
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Homelessless
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Homelessness is not a new phenomenon in California. What is new and alarmings that more and more of the homeless are families that once believed they were secure members of the middle class.
The growing trend is a sign that the nationwide economic slump is that a feared second recession could push the poor there over the edge and make a solid recovery even harder.
More than two years into the economic recovery, there is yet a light at the end of the tunnel for California's economy and stubborn unemployment. The number of job losses in the state is still much higher than the worst moments of the 2001 and 1990 recessions. The state's jobless rate hit 12% last month, the second worst in the nation
The world today has over 1200 billionaires, perhaps 24 million millionaires, and 120 million homeless. It has half a billion [500,000,000] who eat too much, and an equal number who eat scarcely enough to stay alive....Equity of income distribution is worse today than at any time since records have been kept. At present the U.S. has more homeless than any other industrialised country on Earth!
Ted Rudow III, MA
Talk about it or Comment Anonymously Article hits: 34
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Raise the Fist on Facebook
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98.5 FM 24/7
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Share comment
FEATURE THIS (3 of 10 vote
Click here to watch video
Homelessness is not a new phenomenon in California. What is new and alarmings that more and more of the homeless are families that once believed they were secure members of the middle class.
The growing trend is a sign that the nationwide economic slump is that a feared second recession could push the poor there over the edge and make a solid recovery even harder.
More than two years into the economic recovery, there is yet a light at the end of the tunnel for California's economy and stubborn unemployment. The number of job losses in the state is still much higher than the worst moments of the 2001 and 1990 recessions. The state's jobless rate hit 12% last month, the second worst in the nation
The world today has over 1200 billionaires, perhaps 24 million millionaires, and 120 million homeless. It has half a billion [500,000,000] who eat too much, and an equal number who eat scarcely enough to stay alive....Equity of income distribution is worse today than at any time since records have been kept. At present the U.S. has more homeless than any other industrialised country on Earth!
Ted Rudow III, MA
Talk about it or Comment Anonymously Article hits: 34
X
Raise the Fist on Facebook
RTF Historical Archives raising the fist for over 11 years
MOST POPULAR
Monday, September 12, 2011
Bigotry
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/09/12/18690027.php
Bigotry
by Ted Rudow III, MA
Monday Sep 12th, 2011
Untold thousands have died in the decade since then, among them the family of Masuda Sultan, an Afghan woman living in New York at the time of the 9/11 attack. She soon got word that 19 members of her family had been killed in a U.S. bomb attack in Afghanistan.
After 9/11, the bigotry and the harassment really just became a lot more intense. It went from being something that experience every once in a while to something that is experience every day. Across the country, Sikhs, along with others identified as Muslim, Arab or South Asian, were targeted
These are costly defeats for America and the rest of the world. According to a conservative estimate of Brown University, there have been almost 140,000 civilian casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq. The massive retaliation cost more than $3 trillion dollars that would have been better used in America’s schools or in the wallets of US citizens.
But instead of cultivating public spirit, President Bush sought to find a pretext—any pretext—to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. This is his most tragic legacy, the fact that America can no longer even mourn its victims properly—because Americans have long been not just victims, but also perpetrators.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Bigotry
by Ted Rudow III, MA
Monday Sep 12th, 2011
Untold thousands have died in the decade since then, among them the family of Masuda Sultan, an Afghan woman living in New York at the time of the 9/11 attack. She soon got word that 19 members of her family had been killed in a U.S. bomb attack in Afghanistan.
After 9/11, the bigotry and the harassment really just became a lot more intense. It went from being something that experience every once in a while to something that is experience every day. Across the country, Sikhs, along with others identified as Muslim, Arab or South Asian, were targeted
These are costly defeats for America and the rest of the world. According to a conservative estimate of Brown University, there have been almost 140,000 civilian casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq. The massive retaliation cost more than $3 trillion dollars that would have been better used in America’s schools or in the wallets of US citizens.
But instead of cultivating public spirit, President Bush sought to find a pretext—any pretext—to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. This is his most tragic legacy, the fact that America can no longer even mourn its victims properly—because Americans have long been not just victims, but also perpetrators.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Ponzi scheme?
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Peninsula readers' letters: September 10
From Daily News Group readers Posted: 09/09/2011 05:19:58 PM PDTUpdated: 09/09/2011 05:19:59 PM PDT
Ponzi scheme
Dear Editor: Charles Ponzi was a Boston investor broker who in the early months of 1920 was momentarily famous as a purveyor of foreign postal coupons who promised fabulous rates of return for his investors. Ponzi issued bonds that offered 50 percent interest in 45 days, or a 100 percent profit if held for 90 days. The supposed source of this windfall was the differential earned on trading in postal coupons. The actual profit on the postal coupons never amounted to more than a fraction of a penny each, but it didn't matter to Ponzi since this was not the true source of his profits.
When Social Security was enacted in 1935, the tax was 2 percent compared to 12.4 percent today, there were over 45 people working for every retiree compared to a 3-1 ratio today, and life expectancy then was 60 compared to 78 today.
Because of these changing realities, projections show that the system as it currently stands will be short some $20 trillion in meeting future obligations.
Any claim that Social Security will continue to work is simply a lie, as Rick Perry says. Some 76 percent of Americans between 18 and 34 apparently agree, because they say they don't expect anything from the system when they retire.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Palo Alto
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Peninsula readers' letters: September 10
From Daily News Group readers Posted: 09/09/2011 05:19:58 PM PDTUpdated: 09/09/2011 05:19:59 PM PDT
Ponzi scheme
Dear Editor: Charles Ponzi was a Boston investor broker who in the early months of 1920 was momentarily famous as a purveyor of foreign postal coupons who promised fabulous rates of return for his investors. Ponzi issued bonds that offered 50 percent interest in 45 days, or a 100 percent profit if held for 90 days. The supposed source of this windfall was the differential earned on trading in postal coupons. The actual profit on the postal coupons never amounted to more than a fraction of a penny each, but it didn't matter to Ponzi since this was not the true source of his profits.
When Social Security was enacted in 1935, the tax was 2 percent compared to 12.4 percent today, there were over 45 people working for every retiree compared to a 3-1 ratio today, and life expectancy then was 60 compared to 78 today.
Because of these changing realities, projections show that the system as it currently stands will be short some $20 trillion in meeting future obligations.
Any claim that Social Security will continue to work is simply a lie, as Rick Perry says. Some 76 percent of Americans between 18 and 34 apparently agree, because they say they don't expect anything from the system when they retire.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Palo Alto
Friday, September 09, 2011
Ponzi scheme?
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/09/09/18689832.php
Ponzi scheme?by Ted Rudow III,MA Friday Sep 9th, 2011
Charles Ponzi was a Boston investor broker who in the early months of 1920 was momentarily famous as a purveyor of foreign postal coupons who promised fabulous rates of return for his investors. Ponzi issued bonds which offered 50% interest in 45 days, or a 100% profit if held for 90 days.
The supposed source of this windfall was the differential earned on trading in postal coupons. The actual profit on the postal coupons never amounted to more than a fraction of a penny each, but it didn't matter to Ponzi since this was not the true source of his profits. When Social Security was enacted in 1935, the tax was 2 percent compared to 12.4 percent today, there were over 45 people working for every retiree compared to a 3-1 ratio today, and life expectancy then was 60 compared to 78 today. Because of these changing realities, projections show that the system as it currently stands will be short some $20 trillion in meeting future obligations.
Any claim that Social Security will continue to work is simply a lie, as Rick Perry says. Some 76 percent of Americans between 18 and 34 apparently agree, because they say they don't expect anything from the system when they retire.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Ponzi scheme?by Ted Rudow III,MA Friday Sep 9th, 2011
Charles Ponzi was a Boston investor broker who in the early months of 1920 was momentarily famous as a purveyor of foreign postal coupons who promised fabulous rates of return for his investors. Ponzi issued bonds which offered 50% interest in 45 days, or a 100% profit if held for 90 days.
The supposed source of this windfall was the differential earned on trading in postal coupons. The actual profit on the postal coupons never amounted to more than a fraction of a penny each, but it didn't matter to Ponzi since this was not the true source of his profits. When Social Security was enacted in 1935, the tax was 2 percent compared to 12.4 percent today, there were over 45 people working for every retiree compared to a 3-1 ratio today, and life expectancy then was 60 compared to 78 today. Because of these changing realities, projections show that the system as it currently stands will be short some $20 trillion in meeting future obligations.
Any claim that Social Security will continue to work is simply a lie, as Rick Perry says. Some 76 percent of Americans between 18 and 34 apparently agree, because they say they don't expect anything from the system when they retire.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Homelessness
Palo Alto Weekly
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Spectrum - Friday, September 9, 2011 Send this story Print this story Letters
Homelessness
Editor,
Homelessness is not a new phenomenon in California. What is new — and alarming — is that more and more of the homeless are families that once believed they were secure members of the middle class.
The growing trend is a sign that the nationwide economic slump is that a feared second recession could push the poor there over the edge and make a solid recovery even harder.
More than two years into the economic recovery, there isn't yet a light at the end of the tunnel for California's economy and stubborn unemployment. The number of job losses in the state is still much higher than the worst moments of the 2001 and 1990 recessions. The state's jobless rate hit 12 percent last month, the second worst in the nation.
The world today has more than 1,200 billionaires, perhaps 24 million millionaires, and 120 million homeless. It has half a billion who eat too much, and an equal number who eat scarcely enough to stay alive. Equity of income distribution is worse today than at any time since records have been kept. At present the U.S. has more homeless than any other industrialized country on Earth.
Ted Rudow III , MA
Encina Avenue
Palo Alto
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Spectrum - Friday, September 9, 2011 Send this story Print this story Letters
Homelessness
Editor,
Homelessness is not a new phenomenon in California. What is new — and alarming — is that more and more of the homeless are families that once believed they were secure members of the middle class.
The growing trend is a sign that the nationwide economic slump is that a feared second recession could push the poor there over the edge and make a solid recovery even harder.
More than two years into the economic recovery, there isn't yet a light at the end of the tunnel for California's economy and stubborn unemployment. The number of job losses in the state is still much higher than the worst moments of the 2001 and 1990 recessions. The state's jobless rate hit 12 percent last month, the second worst in the nation.
The world today has more than 1,200 billionaires, perhaps 24 million millionaires, and 120 million homeless. It has half a billion who eat too much, and an equal number who eat scarcely enough to stay alive. Equity of income distribution is worse today than at any time since records have been kept. At present the U.S. has more homeless than any other industrialized country on Earth.
Ted Rudow III , MA
Encina Avenue
Palo Alto
Telling the Big lie
THE BOHEMIAN
News, music, movies, restaurants & wine culture in Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties- MUSIC REVIEWSSONOMA / NAPA / MARINSONOMA / NAPA / MARIN SILICON VALLEY SANTA CRUZ COUNTY 09.07.11
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Telling the Big Lie
A new report by the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan to be released to Congress concludes that over the past decade there has been $30 billion wasted. Taxpayers have spent a total of $206 billion on contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than $40 billion of this was awarded to Kellogg Brown & Root, who, along with 21 other companies, accounted for more than half of the total. An additional $38.5 billion went to "miscellaneous foreign contractors." An aide to former Secretary of State Colin Powell has hit out at Dick Cheney, saying the former vice president fears being tried as a war criminal. The deceit of Dick Cheney is indeed of Shakespearean proportions, as evidenced in his new memoir. For the former vice president, lying comes so easily that one must assume he takes the pursuit oftruth to be nothing more than a reckless indulgence. The bigger the lie is, the more people are apt to believe it, because they can't possibly believe you would dare to tell such a big lie unless it was the truth!
Ted Rudow III, MA
Palo Alto
__._,_.___
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Telling the Big Lie
A new report by the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan to be released to Congress concludes that over the past decade there has been $30 billion wasted. Taxpayers have spent a total of $206 billion on contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than $40 billion of this was awarded to Kellogg Brown & Root, who, along with 21 other companies, accounted for more than half of the total. An additional $38.5 billion went to "miscellaneous foreign contractors." An aide to former Secretary of State Colin Powell has hit out at Dick Cheney, saying the former vice president fears being tried as a war criminal. The deceit of Dick Cheney is indeed of Shakespearean proportions, as evidenced in his new memoir. For the former vice president, lying comes so easily that one must assume he takes the pursuit oftruth to be nothing more than a reckless indulgence. The bigger the lie is, the more people are apt to believe it, because they can't possibly believe you would dare to tell such a big lie unless it was the truth!
Ted Rudow III, MA
Palo Alto
__._,_.___
Thursday, September 08, 2011
Homelessness
Palo Alto Weekly
Sign up for Express
New from Palo Alto Online, Express is a daily e-edition, distributed by e-mail every weekday. Sign up to receive Express! PaloAltoOnline.com Town Square Login RegisterSign up for eBulletinsJoin Us Follow Us HomeNews Palo Alto Weekly The Almanac Mountain View VoiceFogster ClassifiedsTown Square Forums ALL CATEGORIES AROUND TOWN BOOKS CRIMES & INCIDENTS HISTORIC PHOTOS ISSUES BEYOND PALO ALTO MOVIES Homelessness
Issues Beyond Palo Alto, posted by Ted Rudow III, MA, a member of the Palo Alto High School community,
Homeless in America Homelessness is not a new phenomenon in California ("Motel California", Magazine, 3 September). What is new – and alarming – is that more and more of the homeless are families that once believed they were secure members of the middle class. The growing trend is a sign that a feared second recession could push the poor over the edge and make a solid recovery even harder. More than two years into the economic recovery, there isn't yet a light at the end of the tunnel for California's economy and stubborn unemployment. The number of job losses in the state is still much higher than the worst moments of the 2001 and 1990 recessions. The state's jobless rate hit 12 per cent last month, the second worst in the nation. The world today has over 1,200 billionaires, perhaps 24 million millionaires, and 120 million homeless. It has half a billion who eat too much, and an equal number who eat scarcely enough to stay alive. Equity of income distribution is worse today than at any time since records have been kept. At present the US has more homeless than any other industrialised country on Earth.
Sign up for Express
New from Palo Alto Online, Express is a daily e-edition, distributed by e-mail every weekday. Sign up to receive Express! PaloAltoOnline.com Town Square Login RegisterSign up for eBulletinsJoin Us Follow Us HomeNews Palo Alto Weekly The Almanac Mountain View VoiceFogster ClassifiedsTown Square Forums ALL CATEGORIES AROUND TOWN BOOKS CRIMES & INCIDENTS HISTORIC PHOTOS ISSUES BEYOND PALO ALTO MOVIES Homelessness
Issues Beyond Palo Alto, posted by Ted Rudow III, MA, a member of the Palo Alto High School community,
Homeless in America Homelessness is not a new phenomenon in California ("Motel California", Magazine, 3 September). What is new – and alarming – is that more and more of the homeless are families that once believed they were secure members of the middle class. The growing trend is a sign that a feared second recession could push the poor over the edge and make a solid recovery even harder. More than two years into the economic recovery, there isn't yet a light at the end of the tunnel for California's economy and stubborn unemployment. The number of job losses in the state is still much higher than the worst moments of the 2001 and 1990 recessions. The state's jobless rate hit 12 per cent last month, the second worst in the nation. The world today has over 1,200 billionaires, perhaps 24 million millionaires, and 120 million homeless. It has half a billion who eat too much, and an equal number who eat scarcely enough to stay alive. Equity of income distribution is worse today than at any time since records have been kept. At present the US has more homeless than any other industrialised country on Earth.
Homeless in America
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Homeless in America
Homelessness is not a new phenomenon in California ("Motel California", Magazine, 3 September).
What is new – and alarming – is that more and more of the homeless are families that once believed they were secure members of the middle class. The growing trend is a sign that a feared second recession could push the poor over the edge and make a solid recovery even harder.
More than two years into the economic recovery, there isn't yet a light at the end of the tunnel for California's economy and stubborn unemployment. The number of job losses in the state is still much higher than the worst moments of the 2001 and 1990 recessions. The state's jobless rate hit 12 per cent last month, the second worst in the nation.
The world today has over 1,200 billionaires, perhaps 24 million millionaires, and 120 million homeless. It has half a billion who eat too much, and an equal number who eat scarcely enough to stay alive. Equity of income distribution is worse today than at any time since records have been kept.
At present the US has more homeless than any other industrialised country on Earth.
Ted Rudow III , MA
Palo Alto, California, USA
Skip Links Letters
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Navigation
News UK Home News UK Politics Crime This Britain World Europe Americas Middle East myIndependent Blogs
from The Independent & The Independent on Sunday Home > Opinion > Letters
Letters: Libya torture inquiry must get the truth
Homeless in America
Homelessness is not a new phenomenon in California ("Motel California", Magazine, 3 September).
What is new – and alarming – is that more and more of the homeless are families that once believed they were secure members of the middle class. The growing trend is a sign that a feared second recession could push the poor over the edge and make a solid recovery even harder.
More than two years into the economic recovery, there isn't yet a light at the end of the tunnel for California's economy and stubborn unemployment. The number of job losses in the state is still much higher than the worst moments of the 2001 and 1990 recessions. The state's jobless rate hit 12 per cent last month, the second worst in the nation.
The world today has over 1,200 billionaires, perhaps 24 million millionaires, and 120 million homeless. It has half a billion who eat too much, and an equal number who eat scarcely enough to stay alive. Equity of income distribution is worse today than at any time since records have been kept.
At present the US has more homeless than any other industrialised country on Earth.
Ted Rudow III , MA
Palo Alto, California, USA
US Homelessness
Jamaicaobserver.com
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US has more homeless than other industrialised countries
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
DEAR EDITOR,
Homelessness is not a new phenomenon in California. What is new - and alarming - is that more and more of the homeless are families that once believed they were secure members of the middle class. The growing trend is a sign that the economic slump in the US could lead to a second recession and push the poor over the edge, thus making a solid recovery evern harder.
More than two years into the economic recovery, there isn't yet a light at the end of the tunnel for California's economy and stubborn unemployment. The number of job losses in the state is still much higher than the worst moments of the 2001 and 1990 recessions. The state's jobless rate hit 12 per cent last month, the second worst in the nation.
The world today has over 1200 billionaires, perhaps 24 million millionaires, and 120 million homeless. It has half a billion who eat too much, and an equal number who eat scarcely enough to stay alive. Equity of income distribution is worse today than at any time since records have been kept. At present the US has more homeless than any other industrialised country on earth!
Ted Rudow III, MA
California, USA
Tedr77@aol.com
news
business
sport
lifestyle
Editorial
Letters to the Editor
US has more homeless than other industrialised countries
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
DEAR EDITOR,
Homelessness is not a new phenomenon in California. What is new - and alarming - is that more and more of the homeless are families that once believed they were secure members of the middle class. The growing trend is a sign that the economic slump in the US could lead to a second recession and push the poor over the edge, thus making a solid recovery evern harder.
More than two years into the economic recovery, there isn't yet a light at the end of the tunnel for California's economy and stubborn unemployment. The number of job losses in the state is still much higher than the worst moments of the 2001 and 1990 recessions. The state's jobless rate hit 12 per cent last month, the second worst in the nation.
The world today has over 1200 billionaires, perhaps 24 million millionaires, and 120 million homeless. It has half a billion who eat too much, and an equal number who eat scarcely enough to stay alive. Equity of income distribution is worse today than at any time since records have been kept. At present the US has more homeless than any other industrialised country on earth!
Ted Rudow III, MA
California, USA
Tedr77@aol.com
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
Jack Rasmus
Peninsula Peace and Justice Center
www.PeaceandJustice.org Tonight! PPJC's Award-Winning Monthly TV Program and Public Forum Obama's Economy:Recovery for the Few
A conversation with Jack RasmusEconomics Writer for Z MagazinePolitical Economist, Santa Clara UniversityAuthor of Epic Recession: Prelude to Global Recession
Tuesday, September 6, 7:00 PMCommunity Media Center900 San Antonio Road, Palo Alto [ Map]FREE and open to all. Wheelchair accessible.
Jack Rasmus returns to Palo Alto to bring us an update on the still-faltering economic “recovery”. Wall Street and large corporations seem to be doing just fine, reporting record profits once again. But Main Street remains on the skids, with home foreclosures continuing apace and alarming unemployment figures refusing to budge.
Confronted with a Republican minority in the House that has shown its willingness to hold the country's economy hostage to its radical right-wing agenda, what can or should President Obama be doing to kick-start a recovery? Is massive deficit reduction really what is needed now? If not, why has Obama signed on the idea? What are the chances for new job creation efforts? Or is it already too late?
Dr. Jack Rasmus has a Ph.D in Political Economy and currently teaches economics and politics at St. Mary's College and Santa Clara University in California. He is the author of several books, with a new one, Obama's Economy, on the way. Prior to a writing career, Jack was an economist and analyst for several global companies and before that, for more than a decade, a local union president, business representative, contract negotiator, and organizer for several labor unions.
Be a part of the studio audience! I phoned in and said,The rich are so smart about making money, but they are so blind about seeing real value in the future and what it's leading to.
You are always an important part of each program as we turn to our in-studio audience and viewers at home for questions and comments. Home viewers can call 650-856-1491 to participate.
Other Voices TV can be seen live at 7:00 PM on the first Tuesday of each month on mid-Peninsula cable channel 27. The program is also streamed live on the internet (select channel 27).
On demand video streaming is available on our website beginning two days after the initial broadcast.
The current program is rebroadcast throughout the month on cable channel 27 (an internet webcast can also be seen at these times):Tuesdays 7:00 PMWednesdays 2:00 AM & 10:00 AMThursdays 11:00 PMFridays 6:00 AM & 2:00 PMSaturdays 4:00 PM Support community-based activism. Make a tax-deductible donation to PPJC!
Friend us on Facebook! "Peninsula Peace and Justice Center has been one of the most effective of the activist organizations." Noam Chomsky
625 Hamilton Avenue
www.PeaceandJustice.org Tonight! PPJC's Award-Winning Monthly TV Program and Public Forum Obama's Economy:Recovery for the Few
A conversation with Jack RasmusEconomics Writer for Z MagazinePolitical Economist, Santa Clara UniversityAuthor of Epic Recession: Prelude to Global Recession
Tuesday, September 6, 7:00 PMCommunity Media Center900 San Antonio Road, Palo Alto [ Map]FREE and open to all. Wheelchair accessible.
Jack Rasmus returns to Palo Alto to bring us an update on the still-faltering economic “recovery”. Wall Street and large corporations seem to be doing just fine, reporting record profits once again. But Main Street remains on the skids, with home foreclosures continuing apace and alarming unemployment figures refusing to budge.
Confronted with a Republican minority in the House that has shown its willingness to hold the country's economy hostage to its radical right-wing agenda, what can or should President Obama be doing to kick-start a recovery? Is massive deficit reduction really what is needed now? If not, why has Obama signed on the idea? What are the chances for new job creation efforts? Or is it already too late?
Dr. Jack Rasmus has a Ph.D in Political Economy and currently teaches economics and politics at St. Mary's College and Santa Clara University in California. He is the author of several books, with a new one, Obama's Economy, on the way. Prior to a writing career, Jack was an economist and analyst for several global companies and before that, for more than a decade, a local union president, business representative, contract negotiator, and organizer for several labor unions.
Be a part of the studio audience! I phoned in and said,The rich are so smart about making money, but they are so blind about seeing real value in the future and what it's leading to.
You are always an important part of each program as we turn to our in-studio audience and viewers at home for questions and comments. Home viewers can call 650-856-1491 to participate.
Other Voices TV can be seen live at 7:00 PM on the first Tuesday of each month on mid-Peninsula cable channel 27. The program is also streamed live on the internet (select channel 27).
On demand video streaming is available on our website beginning two days after the initial broadcast.
The current program is rebroadcast throughout the month on cable channel 27 (an internet webcast can also be seen at these times):Tuesdays 7:00 PMWednesdays 2:00 AM & 10:00 AMThursdays 11:00 PMFridays 6:00 AM & 2:00 PMSaturdays 4:00 PM Support community-based activism. Make a tax-deductible donation to PPJC!
Friend us on Facebook! "Peninsula Peace and Justice Center has been one of the most effective of the activist organizations." Noam Chomsky
625 Hamilton Avenue
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
Homelessness
RNS
Homelessness
by Ted Rudow III, MA Monday, 05 September 2011Homelessness is not a new phenomenon in California. What is new—and alarming—is that more and more of the homeless are families that once believed they were secure members of the middle class. The growing trend is a sign that the nationwide economic slump is that a feared second recession could push the poor there over the edge and make a solid recovery even harder.
More than two years into the economic recovery, there isn’t yet a light at the end of the tunnel for California’s economy and stubborn unemployment. The number of job losses in the state is still much higher than the worst moments of the 2001 and 1990 recessions. The state’s jobless rate hit 12% last month, the second worst in the nation The world today has over 1200 billionaires, perhaps 24 million millionaires, and 120 million homeless. It has half a billion [500,000,000] who eat too much, and an equal number who eat scarcely enough to stay alive....Equity of income distribution is worse today than at any time since records have been kept. At present the U.S. has more homeless than any other industrialised country on Earth!
Homelessness
by Ted Rudow III, MA Monday, 05 September 2011Homelessness is not a new phenomenon in California. What is new—and alarming—is that more and more of the homeless are families that once believed they were secure members of the middle class. The growing trend is a sign that the nationwide economic slump is that a feared second recession could push the poor there over the edge and make a solid recovery even harder.
More than two years into the economic recovery, there isn’t yet a light at the end of the tunnel for California’s economy and stubborn unemployment. The number of job losses in the state is still much higher than the worst moments of the 2001 and 1990 recessions. The state’s jobless rate hit 12% last month, the second worst in the nation The world today has over 1200 billionaires, perhaps 24 million millionaires, and 120 million homeless. It has half a billion [500,000,000] who eat too much, and an equal number who eat scarcely enough to stay alive....Equity of income distribution is worse today than at any time since records have been kept. At present the U.S. has more homeless than any other industrialised country on Earth!
Cheney's big lie
MercuryNews.com
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Peninsula readers' letters: Sept. 6
From Daily News Group readers Posted: 09/05/2011 05:48:21 PM PDTUpdated: 09/05/2011 08:59:45 PM PDT
Dear Editor: A new report by the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan to be released Wednesday to Congress concludes that over the past decade, $30 billion was wasted. Taxpayers have spent a total of $206 billion on contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than $40 billion of this was awarded to KBR. In fact, KBR and 21 other companies accounted for more than half of the total. An additional $38.5 billion went to "miscellaneous foreign contractor."
An aide to former secretary of state Colin Powell has hit out at Dick Cheney, saying the former vice president fears being tried as a war criminal. Cheney's deceit is indeed of Shakespearean proportions, as evidenced in his new memoir. For the former vice president, lying comes so easily that one must assume he takes the pursuit of truth to be nothing more than a reckless indulgence.
The bigger the lie is, the more people are apt to believe it, because they can't possibly believe you would dare to tell such a big lie unless it was the truth.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Palo Alto
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Peninsula readers' letters: Sept. 6
From Daily News Group readers Posted: 09/05/2011 05:48:21 PM PDTUpdated: 09/05/2011 08:59:45 PM PDT
Dear Editor: A new report by the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan to be released Wednesday to Congress concludes that over the past decade, $30 billion was wasted. Taxpayers have spent a total of $206 billion on contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than $40 billion of this was awarded to KBR. In fact, KBR and 21 other companies accounted for more than half of the total. An additional $38.5 billion went to "miscellaneous foreign contractor."
An aide to former secretary of state Colin Powell has hit out at Dick Cheney, saying the former vice president fears being tried as a war criminal. Cheney's deceit is indeed of Shakespearean proportions, as evidenced in his new memoir. For the former vice president, lying comes so easily that one must assume he takes the pursuit of truth to be nothing more than a reckless indulgence.
The bigger the lie is, the more people are apt to believe it, because they can't possibly believe you would dare to tell such a big lie unless it was the truth.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Palo Alto
Monday, September 05, 2011
Homelessness
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/09/05/18689532.php
Homelessness
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com )
Monday Sep 5th, 2011
Homelessness is not a new phenomenon in California. What is new—and alarming—is that more and more of the homeless are families that once believed they were secure members of the middle class.
The growing trend is a sign that the nationwide economic slump is that a feared second recession could push the poor there over the edge and make a solid recovery even harder.
More than two years into the economic recovery, there isn’t yet a light at the end of the tunnel for California’s economy and stubborn unemployment. The number of job losses in the state is still much higher than the worst moments of the 2001 and 1990 recessions. The state’s jobless rate hit 12% last month, the second worst in the nation
The world today has over 1200 billionaires, perhaps 24 million millionaires, and 120 million homeless. It has half a billion [500,000,000] who eat too much, and an equal number who eat scarcely enough to stay alive....Equity of income distribution is worse today than at any time since records have been kept. At present the U.S. has more homeless than any other industrialised country on Earth!
Ted Rudow III, MA
Homelessness
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com )
Monday Sep 5th, 2011
Homelessness is not a new phenomenon in California. What is new—and alarming—is that more and more of the homeless are families that once believed they were secure members of the middle class.
The growing trend is a sign that the nationwide economic slump is that a feared second recession could push the poor there over the edge and make a solid recovery even harder.
More than two years into the economic recovery, there isn’t yet a light at the end of the tunnel for California’s economy and stubborn unemployment. The number of job losses in the state is still much higher than the worst moments of the 2001 and 1990 recessions. The state’s jobless rate hit 12% last month, the second worst in the nation
The world today has over 1200 billionaires, perhaps 24 million millionaires, and 120 million homeless. It has half a billion [500,000,000] who eat too much, and an equal number who eat scarcely enough to stay alive....Equity of income distribution is worse today than at any time since records have been kept. At present the U.S. has more homeless than any other industrialised country on Earth!
Ted Rudow III, MA
Saturday, September 03, 2011
War criminal?
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/09/03/18689368.php
War criminal?
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com ) Saturday Sep 3rd, 2011
A new report by the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan to be released to Congress Wednesday concludes that over the past decade this comes to $30 billion wasted.Taxpayers have spent a total of $206 billion on contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than $40 billion of this was awarded to KBR. KBR and 21 other companies accounted for more than half of the total. An additional $38.5 billion went to “miscellaneous foreign contractor". An aide to former Secretary of State Colin Powell has hit out at Dick Cheney, saying the former Vice President fears being tried as a war criminal.
The deceit of Dick Cheney is indeed of Shakespearean proportions, as evidenced in his new memoir. For the former vice president, lying comes so easily that one must assume he takes the pursuit of truth to be nothing more than a reckless indulgence. Because the bigger the lie is, the more people are apt to believe it, because they can't possibly believe you would dare to tell such a big lie unless it was the truth!
Ted Rudow III, MA
War criminal?
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com ) Saturday Sep 3rd, 2011
A new report by the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan to be released to Congress Wednesday concludes that over the past decade this comes to $30 billion wasted.Taxpayers have spent a total of $206 billion on contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than $40 billion of this was awarded to KBR. KBR and 21 other companies accounted for more than half of the total. An additional $38.5 billion went to “miscellaneous foreign contractor". An aide to former Secretary of State Colin Powell has hit out at Dick Cheney, saying the former Vice President fears being tried as a war criminal.
The deceit of Dick Cheney is indeed of Shakespearean proportions, as evidenced in his new memoir. For the former vice president, lying comes so easily that one must assume he takes the pursuit of truth to be nothing more than a reckless indulgence. Because the bigger the lie is, the more people are apt to believe it, because they can't possibly believe you would dare to tell such a big lie unless it was the truth!
Ted Rudow III, MA
Palin
NewBocaGuy
Wasted away again in Margaritaville, Searching for my lost shaker of salt, Some people claim that there's a woman to blame, But I know it's nobody's fault ...
Margaritaville
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Palin
Ted Rudow III
writingforgodot
Monday, 06 June 2011
Well, I think it’s important to look at who the tea party is, what the tea party is. I mean, let’s remember, it’s many different organizations. They wouldn’t be there if it hadn’t been for an enormous amount of money from a few ... well, Simon Johnson calls them the “13 bankers.” 13 bankers is the rise of concentrated financial power and the threat it poses to our economic well-being.
It turns out that not quite 20 percent of Americans are tea party supporters. Those who are tend to be white, Republican, male, older than 45 and wealthier than the rest of us. Fifty-seven percent hold a favorable opinion of George W. Bush. And where most Republicans describe themselves as "dissatisfied" with Washington, tea partiers are apt to use a different term.
They say they're angry. It is a telling word, especially in light of another survey, this one from the University of Washington's Institute for the Study of Ethnicity, Race & Sexuality. That poll offers strong evidence that, contrary to the denials of tea party enthusiasts, President Barack Obama's race plays a big role in their outrage.
After all, if the tea partiers were truly only concerned about so-called "tyranny," they'd have started howling when Bush claimed he need not be bound by laws with which he disagreed.
http://readersupportednews.org/pm-section/78-78/6179-palin
© 2011 Reader Supported News
Posted by BocaGuy
Gathering stories
RSN
Gathering stories
by Ted Rudow III, MA Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Gathering stories from the mainstream press, reports from other countries, the work of other researchers, and the contradictory words of members of the Bush administration themselves, a case that leaves very little doubt that the attacks of 9/11 need to be further investigated. Was the U.S.'s failure to defend itself against the attacks on Sept. 11 a comedy of errors or a brilliant, if cynical, plot by highly placed government officials, or something else? We'll never know as long as the administration stonewalls efforts to get information.
Gathering stories
by Ted Rudow III, MA Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Gathering stories from the mainstream press, reports from other countries, the work of other researchers, and the contradictory words of members of the Bush administration themselves, a case that leaves very little doubt that the attacks of 9/11 need to be further investigated. Was the U.S.'s failure to defend itself against the attacks on Sept. 11 a comedy of errors or a brilliant, if cynical, plot by highly placed government officials, or something else? We'll never know as long as the administration stonewalls efforts to get information.
Not So Simple
THE BOHEMIAN
News, music, movies, restaurants & wine culture in Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties- Healdsburg- Mill Valley- Napa SONOMA / NAPA / MARIN SILICON VALLEY SANTA CRUZ COUNTY 08.31.11
home north bay bohemian index news north bay
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Not So Simple
In the last several decades the wealth hasn't been spread so much as concentrated—at the top. The share of total income going to the top one percent of income earners more than doubled from nine percent in 1970 to 23.5 percent in 2007. (The Great Recession has since narrowed the gap.) And while, as noted above, the rich pay a greater proportion of their income in taxes, the share of total taxes paid by the richest Americans is commensurate with their share of national wealth.
Examining the total tax burden—state, federal and local—Citizens for Tax Justice calculated that the top one percent of households (average income $1.3 million) earned 20.3 percent of income and paid 21.5 percent of taxes in 2010. The tax code is studded with a costly bevy of deductions and preferences—mortgage interest, employer-sponsored health insurance, retirement savings—that benefit wealthier taxpayers over those with modest incomes. The rich are so smart about making money, but they are so blind about seeing real value in the future and what it's leading to.
Ted Rudow III,MA
Palo Alto
News, music, movies, restaurants & wine culture in Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties- Healdsburg- Mill Valley- Napa SONOMA / NAPA / MARIN SILICON VALLEY SANTA CRUZ COUNTY 08.31.11
home north bay bohemian index news north bay
letters to the editor
Not So Simple
In the last several decades the wealth hasn't been spread so much as concentrated—at the top. The share of total income going to the top one percent of income earners more than doubled from nine percent in 1970 to 23.5 percent in 2007. (The Great Recession has since narrowed the gap.) And while, as noted above, the rich pay a greater proportion of their income in taxes, the share of total taxes paid by the richest Americans is commensurate with their share of national wealth.
Examining the total tax burden—state, federal and local—Citizens for Tax Justice calculated that the top one percent of households (average income $1.3 million) earned 20.3 percent of income and paid 21.5 percent of taxes in 2010. The tax code is studded with a costly bevy of deductions and preferences—mortgage interest, employer-sponsored health insurance, retirement savings—that benefit wealthier taxpayers over those with modest incomes. The rich are so smart about making money, but they are so blind about seeing real value in the future and what it's leading to.
Ted Rudow III,MA
Palo Alto
Thursday, September 01, 2011
Coach Parks
Palo Alto Weekly
Don't Be Left Behind!
Pre-registration deadline for Moonlight Run is this Friday, Sept. 2nd. Register now!Race day, Friday Sept. 9th! PaloAltoOnline.com Town Square
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Letters; Coach Parks
Editor,
I met Coach Parks in 1967. We were coming out heavy times as racial riots were happening my freshman year in 1966 at Menlo-Atherton High school. In the movie, "Remember The Titans," Denzel Washington played the football coach as a recently integrated high school in 1971. The school board forced to integrate. They combined the white school and the black school into one. It was the same thing with Coach Parks and he did it with gusto.
In many ways his life is a bridge between his African-American heritage and the affluent "white" community around him. He has built bridges of understanding and compassion in innumerable situations, from his racially tense and often violent high school, to his own prejudiced neighborhood and inner, between races, religions, ages, between rich students and poor.
He continued to reach out to the Mexican-American community where he was fed and cared for as a child and to provide food and clothing to many migrant field workers. He was a living example of "giving in action;" giving all that he has, asking nothing in return.
Although his story has special appeal to African-American and Latino audiences it will also appeal to every person interested in bridging gaps between races, generations and economic groups. Coach's story is universal and his message transcends the boundaries of race, ethnicity, geography, and culture.
He will be missed!
Ted Rudow III, MA
Encina Avenue
Palo Alto
Don't Be Left Behind!
Pre-registration deadline for Moonlight Run is this Friday, Sept. 2nd. Register now!Race day, Friday Sept. 9th! PaloAltoOnline.com Town Square
HomeNews Palo Alto Weekly
The Almanac
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Fogster Classifieds
Town Square Forums
Sports
Letters; Coach Parks
Editor,
I met Coach Parks in 1967. We were coming out heavy times as racial riots were happening my freshman year in 1966 at Menlo-Atherton High school. In the movie, "Remember The Titans," Denzel Washington played the football coach as a recently integrated high school in 1971. The school board forced to integrate. They combined the white school and the black school into one. It was the same thing with Coach Parks and he did it with gusto.
In many ways his life is a bridge between his African-American heritage and the affluent "white" community around him. He has built bridges of understanding and compassion in innumerable situations, from his racially tense and often violent high school, to his own prejudiced neighborhood and inner, between races, religions, ages, between rich students and poor.
He continued to reach out to the Mexican-American community where he was fed and cared for as a child and to provide food and clothing to many migrant field workers. He was a living example of "giving in action;" giving all that he has, asking nothing in return.
Although his story has special appeal to African-American and Latino audiences it will also appeal to every person interested in bridging gaps between races, generations and economic groups. Coach's story is universal and his message transcends the boundaries of race, ethnicity, geography, and culture.
He will be missed!
Ted Rudow III, MA
Encina Avenue
Palo Alto
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