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October 19, 2011

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Virtual Money: A commentary on Google Wallet
by francisco.rendon Oct 3, 2011 1:11 am
WHAT IS THE PRICE WE PAY FOR CONVENIENCE?
Leo Postovoit, Spartan Daily

The end is near, friends.
Google released the first version of the Google Wallet application last month, foreshadowing the death of paper money and the birth of the “wallet-phone.”
This app, available now to all Nexus 4G users on the Sprint mobile network, will eventually, according to Google’s website, contain “all the cards you keep in your wallet today.”
You can scan your phone at Mastercard PayPass stations to make transactions with a quickness usually reserved for viral videos, Facebook messaging and, when it’s convenient, telephone calls.
Beyond this, Google is also using its status as a corporate behemoth to get special offers and rewards, like free cupcakes at a local bakery and discounts at local stores, for people who make purchases with the Wallet app.
No doubt, within a short amount of time, having your wallet in your cellphone will be more convenient than having to fumble with bills and coins or having to reach for the right piece of plastic and signing a printed receipt.
Not even Abraham Lincoln and George Washington can compete with free cupcakes.
I will leave the “Big Brother” implication alone, with the observation that a phone this smart would advance it to become the central instrument of most people’s financial, social and business activity.
Beyond the “1984” paranoia however, this phone represents a larger trend in our society — the movement toward convenience.
We love making things easy in the global culture of consumerism in which we live.
In large cities, the places where consumerism thrives most, companies are all suing each other and fighting tooth and nail to be the one to offer the next convenience that makes all the city dwellers’ lives that much easier.
But do our conveniences make our lives better?
If you brought a cellphone to the middle of the desert or a village in the mountains and expected them to scan your Google Wallet to make a digital transaction, you would be out of luck.
Beyond this, your cellphone holds little practical use when you are in a place without the infrastructure to support it.
Gold, one of the oldest forms of currency humans have used, was valuable because of its malleability, its ability to be reshaped into any form themaker required, such as jewelry or ornaments.
So why, exactly, are our numbers on a screen valuable?
Ultimately, currency — and indeed what we actually own — is becoming less and less real.
While we once had a representative piece of the gold in Fort Knox assigned to our money, our greenbacks’ only monetary value lies in what the government assigns it.
This theoretical value, shifting through decisions of government officials and foreign economists, may soon only be numbers on the screen of a conveniently sized phone.
Most people have no idea how this neat little screen on a phone actually works, how to make one or how to fix it if anything goes wrong. If our screen screws up, it ruins our day and we have to pay someone to fix it or replace it.
Yet if you even suggest the idea of taking away a high schooler’s cellphone, I suggest you anchor yourself against the oncoming tide of obscenities.
I am 23 years old, and yet many people my own age lack not only the ability to state outright problems within their social environment, but once in difficult situations they find themselves even without the ability to express what it is they want.
Our generation’s increasingly apparent lack of communication skills demonstrates that technological advances, far from making us better people and teaching us practical applications of knowledge, are actually proving fundamentally disempowering, particularly to the youth of our culture.
In my spare time, I have done community-building service with youth ages 12 to 14, and I have found that rather than exploring their communities and affecting each others lives, more and more young people choose to remain inside their homes, on computers, texting their friends and watching television.
Increasingly, despite all the bright lights and loud sounds we can buy in a store, we are more and more finding ourselves slaves to the conveniences that corporations market so aggressively.
If these things are taken away from them, they often do not know what to do. I worry about what will become of future generations as their relationship with money goes in the same direction as that of the traditional telephone.
Yet because the option is available to us, and it is, undeniably, more convenient, Google wallet will no doubt become more prevalent.
So here’s to the free cupcakes.

0 Vote up Vote down Ted Rudow III, MA

Standard Poor’s decision to downgrade the United States has led to a lot of criticism of Standard Poor’s. The White House called their performance, which included a miscalculation of about $2.1 trillion, “amateur hour.”The move by S&P, one of three leading credit rating agencies, came just days after Congress approved a $2.1 trillion deficit-reduction plan.S&P didn’t just miss the bubble. They helped cause it. They were paid by the banks to award their AAA-stamp of approval to all manner of financial products that were anything but riskless -- which, ironically, makes them an accessory to the resulting explosion of U.S. debt. Lowering the nation’s rating to one notch below AAA, the credit rating company said "political brinkmanship" in the debate over the debt had made the U.S. government’s ability to manage its finances. There’s not much mention anymore of the recession or economic hard times, because the people at the top are doing great. And that is an upward redistribution of wealth by cutting taxes for the wealthiest, and in subtle ways, raising them for the poorest and for the middle class. The big business game is to see how fast you can rob the other guy.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Class of 1996

Indian summer

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Ever wonder about ‘Indian summer?'
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Posted: Thursday, October 20, 2011 2:39 pm
Ever wonder about ‘Indian summer?' 0 comments
The origins of the term Indian summer are uncertain, but several writers suggest it may have been based on the warm, hazy conditions in autumn when native American Indians chose to hunt. The earliest record of the use of the term is in America at the end of the 18th century. Although William R. Deedler also refers to a reference by a French man, John de Crevecoeur, in 1778:
"Sometimes the rain is followed by an interval of calm and warmth which is called the Indian Summer; its characteristics are a tranquil atmosphere and general smokiness. Up to this epoch the approaches of winter are doubtful; it arrives about the middle of November, although snows and brief freezes often occur long before that date."
The term was first used in the British Isles at the beginning of the 19th century, but there is no statistical evidence to show that such a warm spell tends to recur each year.
Ted Rudow III
Palo Alto

Stage is set

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Peninsula readers' letters: October 22
From Daily News Group readers Posted: 10/21/2011 06:16:06 PM PDTUpdated: 10/21/2011 11:04:06 PM PDT
Stage is set for Iran confrontation
Dear Editor: To understand American policy toward Iran, one must understand who the authors are of such policy and what their motivations are. The Brookings Institution itself was created by and for the corporate-financier elite. It is a policy think tank that represents the collective interests of the big oil corporations, banks and military contractors that fund it. Quite obviously then, policy toward Iran, or any nation for that matter, from within the halls of the Brookings Institution will revolve around expanding the global financial, social, political and military hegemony of its corporate sponsors.
America and Israel conspire to silence this troublesome voice, to quell and to put out these fires which burn and trouble the world for them. They conspire together, and so a leader has risen of their own making, of their own choice, a zealot for the cause of the Jews -- Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister. The stage is set. You can be sure of a confrontation and an escalation of confrontation between these two houses that battle at war.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Palo Alto

From Anne Eshoo

October 19, 2011


Dear Mr. Rudow,

Because I share your deep concern and frustration about the foreclosure crisis which is devastating families and communities across our country, I want to update you on some of my recent work.

On October 12, 2011, I joined my colleagues in the California Democratic Delegation to introduce a plan for effectively addressing the foreclosure crisis. We detailed the plan in a letter to President Obama, a copy of which is attached for your review.

Like millions of Americans, I'm extremely frustrated that more progress has not been made to address this crisis. Much of the problem was not caused by irresponsible borrowing, but by the risky financial speculation that inflated prices and disguised bad debt as safe. Now, as millions of people find their homes underwater and their monthly payments increasingly unaffordable, the Administration has done very little to come to their aid.

In a recent meeting with the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, I asked the Director if he had ever met with a family facing foreclosure. He answered that he hadn't. This sends a deeply troubling message, and I hope the Administration will act promptly on our proposals, which include:

o Directing the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to establish a plan to refinance all mortgages they own or guarantee;

o Establishing a principal reduction plan that would allow a restructuring in Chapter 13 bankruptcy for underwater mortgages; and

o Instituting a "Homeowner's Bill Of Rights" to stem some of the most flagrant servicer abuses once and for all.

These actions can each be accomplished swiftly through administrative action and without new legislation which would be difficult to pass in a divided political environment. Our plan would have a meaningful impact on millions of borrowers and their communities, in contrast to previous Treasury initiatives that have helped a comparatively small number of homeowners. The only thing missing is the political will to act, and I intend to continue pressing for it.

A number of useful pieces of legislation have been introduced that also would help to relieve this crisis, but while Democrats and Republicans may agree on the scale of the problem, we so far have not been able to agree on solutions. The impact of the crisis is being felt not just by individual borrowers, but by families devastated at the loss of a home, communities impacted by declining tax revenue, and an industry devastated by loss of stability. I will continue to fight for homeowners to bring this crisis to an end as quickly as possible.

If you have any other questions or comments, let me hear from you. I value what my constituents say to me, and always need your thoughts and benefit from your ideas.
I've created an ongoing e-newsletter to keep constituents informed on a variety of congressional issues and legislation. Many constituents tell me how much they value reading it, and if you would like to as well, you can go to my website at http://eshoo.house.gov and click on Sign Up for ENews. Your email address will never be used by anyone except my office to communicate with you, and your tax dollars will be conserved by using electronic communications rather than traditional mailings.
Sincerely, Anna G. Eshoo
Member of Congress

The stage is set

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To understand American policy toward Iran, one must understand who the authors
are of such policy and what their motivations are. The Brookings Institution itself was created by and for the corporate-financier elite.
It is a policy think-tank that represents the collective interests of the big oil corporations, banks, and military contractors that fund it. Quite obviously then, policy toward Iran, or any nation for that matter, from within the halls of the Brookings Institution will revolve around expanding the global financial, social, political, and military hegemony of its corporate sponsors.
America and Israel conspire to silence this troublesome voice, to quell and to put out these fires which burn and trouble the world for them. They conspire together, and so leader has risen of their own making, of their own choice, a zealot for the cause of the Jews [Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister]. The stage is set. You can be sure of a confrontation and an escalation of confrontation between these two houses that battle at war.
Ted Rudow III, MA

The CLASS gone

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/10/17/18693989.php
The CLASS gone
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com ) Monday Oct 17th, 2011
The Obama administration has announced it is pulling the plug on a long-term home care program included in the 2010 healthcare reform law. The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports, or CLASS program, was designed to give the disabled and elderly cash to receive care at home instead of usually more expensive institutional care.
-->
The administration estimated that although monthly premiums typically would have ranged from $235 to $391, they could have reached as high as $3,000 under some scenarios. The program was co-authored by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy and Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey. Pallone criticized the Obama administration’s decision, saying, "While we are fighting so hard against Republican attempts to cut Medicaid ... abandoning the CLASS Act is the wrong decision. Soon enough, those in need will have nowhere to go for long-term care."
The end of the CLASS program eliminates an estimated $86 billion in savings that the health reform law was projected to generate. The overhaul is now expected to reduce the deficit by $124 billion between 2012 and 2021 (Aizenman, Washington Post, 10/14). Since there's not much love in families any longer and the relatives don't want to take care of you, they vote in laws so that the government will take care of you. And now that too has ended!
Ted Rudow III, MA

The stage is set

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/10/17/18693964.php
The stage is setby Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com ) Monday Oct 17th, 2011
To understand American policy toward Iran, one must understand who the authors are of such policy and what their motivations are. The Brookings Institution itself was created by and for the corporate-financier elite.It is a policy think-tank that represents the collective interests of the big oil corporations, banks, and military contractors that fund it. Quite obviously then, policy toward Iran, or any nation for that matter, from within the halls of the Brookings Institution will revolve around expanding the global financial, social, political, and military hegemony of its corporate sponsors. America and Israel conspire to silence this troublesome voice, to quell and to put out these fires which burn and trouble the world for them. They conspire together, and so leader has risen of their own making, of their own choice, a zealot for the cause of the Jews [Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister]. The stage is set. You can be sure of a confrontation and an escalation of confrontation between these two houses that battle at war.
Ted Rudow III, MA

Indian summer

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Peninsula readers' letters: October 15
From Daily News Group readers Posted: 10/14/2011 05:50:05 PM PDTUpdated: 10/14/2011 11:43:42 PM PDT


Origin of 'Indian summer'
Dear Editor: The origins of the term Indian summer are uncertain, but several writers suggest it may have been based on the warm, hazy conditions in autumn when native American Indians chose to hunt. The earliest record of the use of the term is in America at the end of the 18th century.
William R. Deedler also references the term to a French man, John de Crevecoeur, in 1778: "Sometimes the rain is followed by an interval of calm and warmth which is called the Indian Summer; its characteristics are a tranquil atmosphere and general smokiness. Up to this epoch the approaches of winter are doubtful; it arrives about the middle of November, although snows and brief freezes often occur long before that date."
The term was first used in the British Isles at the beginning of the 19th century, but there is no statistical evidence to show that such a warm spell tends to recur each year.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Palo Alto

Raisethefist.com


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Click here to watch video
The Populist movement started the end of the first Gilded Age in the 1890s. The movement developed from farmers' alliances formed in the 1880s in reaction to falling crop prices and poor credit facilities. The leaders organized the Populist, or People's, Party (1892), which advocated a variety of measures to help farmers. It form to be a mass disruptions and mass protests by unemployed workers, especially in the 1930s during the Great Depression. It took roughly four years for the organize to happen. We first started seeing the first uprisings around 1933, and continued in 1934, 35, 36. 37 is the Flint sit-down strike. Marches of unemployed, people going into the street, in some cases actually occupying factories, as we saw later on with the Flint sit-down strike. So there was massive unrest and disruption across the country, from both farmers as well as unemployed people. And what's interesting about that is it was farmers who were in debt both in the 1890s and the 1930s. Today it's students in debt, to a great extent, to large banks. That energy was channeled into what we now know as the New Deal. Since the 30s, and especially starting in the 50s, 60s and 70s, the right actually claimed the label and mantra of populism, and they have successfully changed the entire discourse and politics of this country under populist rhetoric. New research shows household income has declined more in the two years after the recession officially ended than it did during the recession itself. Money needs to flow from the top down, not from the bottom up. Ted Rudow III, MA

The Populist Movement

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The Populist movement



Ted Rudow III, MA, Encina Ave, Palo Alto, CA
The Populist movement started at the end of the first Gilded Age in the 1890s. The movement developed from farmers' alliances, formed in the 1880s, in reaction to falling crop prices and poor credit facilities. The leaders formed the People's Party (1892), also known as the Populist Party, which advocated a variety of measures to help farmers. Mass protests were staged by the unemployed workers, especially in the 1930s during the Great Depression. It took roughly four years to organise this. The first uprising started around 1933, and continued in 1934, '35, and '36.

The marches of unemployed people went into the street, in some cases actually occupied the factories, as we saw later with the Flint sit-down strike. So, there was massive unrest and disruption across the country, from both farmers and unemployed people. And what's interesting is, it was farmers who were in debt both in the 1890s and the 1930s. Today it is the students who are in debt, to a great extent, to large banks.

That energy was channeled into what we now know as the New Deal. Since the '30s, and especially starting in the '50s, '60s and '70s, the right actually claimed the label and mantra of populism, and they have successfully changed the entire discourse and politics of this country under populist rhetoric. New research shows that household income has declined more in the two years after the recession officially ended than it did during the recession itself. Money needs to flow from the top down, not from the bottom up.

The Daily Star

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The real story behind the U.S.-Pakistani dispute October 01, 2011 02:12 AM
By David Ignatius The Daily Star
Behind the recent verbal confrontation between U.S. and Pakistani officials about the Haqqani network lies a delicate political-military effort to split the Haqqanis as part of an end-game strategy for the war in Afghanistan.Admiral Mike Mullen, the departing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, rebuked the Pakistani spy service, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, for using the Haqqani network as its “veritable arm” in Afghanistan. But U.S. officials know the ISI also facilitated a secret meeting during the last several months between the U.S. and a representative of the Haqqani clan. This is the double game that’s always operating in U.S.-Pakistani relations.Some U.S. officials believe that the recent wave of attacks by the Haqqanis on U.S. targets in Afghanistan may, in fact, reflect the determination of hard-line members of the clan to derail any move toward negotiation. The U.S. wants the Pakistani military’s help in isolating and destroying these “unreconcilable” elements of the network.The sparring with Pakistan illustrates the wider dilemma of the Afghan war. How does the U.S. bring pressure on the Haqqanis and other Taliban factions, even as it withdraws troops with a 2014 deadline for completing its mission? As Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S., has said: “The more the U.S. says it wants to leave Afghanistan, the harder it will be to leave.”What angered Mullen and other U.S. officials was Pakistan’s failure to act on intelligence reports about planned Haqqani attacks. A time line helps disentangle the threads of the dispute:On Sept. 8, General John Allen, the NATO commander in Afghanistan, is said to have warned General Ashfaq Kayani, the Pakistani army chief, that two truck bombs had been assembled in Miran Shah, the Haqqanis’ base in North Waziristan, and were headed for Afghanistan. Kayani is said to have pledged he would take action.On Sept. 10, one of those truck bombs struck a NATO base in Wardak, just east of Kabul, wounding 77 U.S. soldiers. That was the real trigger for Mullen’s anger: Some senior officials concede that Pakistan may not have had enough time, or precise “actionable” intelligence, to stop the bomb-laden truck.On Sept. 13, insurgents from the Haqqani network attacked the U.S. Embassy compound in Kabul. Though Mullen mentioned this attack in his denunciation of ISI-Haqqani links, U.S. officials don’t see any evidence of a Pakistani role in planning or executing the operation, a message the CIA privately communicated to Islamabad. However, in the days after the bombing, U.S. officials presented Pakistan with a series of “what ifs,” to convey the danger of the situation: What if the 77 soldiers at Wardak had been killed? What if the U.S. ambassador in Kabul had died? What then?On Sept. 18, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with the Pakistani foreign minister and delivered the first of a series of U.S. rebukes, asking how Pakistan could promote the Haqqanis as a prospective negotiating partner and yet sit by idly while they attacked Americans. On Sept. 22, Mullen delivered his blunt testimony. On Sept. 25 and 26, two longtime congressional supporters of Pakistan, senators Lindsey Graham and Mark Kirk, warned of a halt in military aid.But military liaison continues, with General James Mattis, the commander of U.S. Central Command, visiting Islamabad last weekend and warning that Pakistan had to choose sides.The message seems to have gotten through to Pakistani military leaders, who reportedly concluded at a secret commanders’ conference on Sept. 26 that they don’t want a confrontation with the U.S. But surely, this is a sick relationship when the partners have to go to the brink of open confrontation to get the other side to listen. If they were a married couple, you would send them to a counselor, or, failing that, a divorce lawyer.With all the noise about the Haqqanis, it’s important to remember that the real issue here is the larger war in Afghanistan. President Barack Obama’s goal remains a political settlement with “reconcilable” elements of the Taliban, and secret contacts have been continuing around the world. The message to the Haqqanis is that they can best protect political power in their ancestral homeland in Paktika, Paktia and Khost provinces by coming to the table now.But does the Taliban – or the Pakistani government, for that matter – take the U.S. strategy seriously? How can the U.S. gain enough leverage to tip the process toward negotiation? That’s what this war of words was really about.David Ignatius is published twice weekly by THE DAILY STAR.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Columnist/2011/Oct-01/150184-the-real-story-behind-the-us-pakistani-dispute.ashx#ixzz1aTi8O1gd (The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)
Ted Rudow III, MA October 07, 2011
The rest of the world is not going to stand for America starting another war just to boost its economy, no matter what its excuses are. But they are doing this in Paskistan. We are in an invariable cycle. It always happens. You don't have to be a prophet to predict it, all you have to do is look at history. They can sing "The party's over," the war is over, but now we have to pay the fiddler. And there isn't going to be any way to pay the fiddler. The only way America has ever pulled out of the depression that always follows, is with a war. They will choose some other kind of a war again.The next time, by the time America finds out it can't solve its problems at home, and wants to try to start another … war on some poor little nation to pull its self out of a hole at the expense of starving or destroying its neighbours, the rest of the world is going to say “no, we're not going to let you do it!” They're going to stop them. America is not going to be able to do as it pleases and oppress the poor and start wars, starve the poor to feed the rich.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Columnist/2011/Oct-01/150184-the-real-story-behind-the-us-pakistani-dispute.ashx#ixzz1aTi00c7M (The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

Populist movement

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/10/10/18692944.php
Populist movement
by Ted Rudow III, MA Monday Oct 10th, 2011
The Populist movement started the end of the first Gilded Age in the 1890s. The movement developed from farmers' alliances formed in the 1880s in reaction to falling crop prices and poor credit facilities.
-->
The leaders organized the Populist, or People's, Party (1892), which advocated a variety of measures to help farmers. It form to be a mass disruptions and mass protests by unemployed workers, especially in the 1930s during the Great Depression. It took roughly four years for the organize to happen. We first started seeing the first uprisings around 1933, and continued in 1934, ’35, ’36. Thirty-six, ’37 is the Flint sit-down strike. Marches of unemployed, people going into the street, in some cases actually occupying factories, as we saw later on with the Flint sit-down strike. So there was massive unrest and disruption across the country, from both farmers as well as unemployed people. And what’s interesting about that is it was farmers who were in debt both in the 1890s and the 1930s. Today it’s students in debt, to a great extent, to large banks. That energy was channeled into what we now know as the New Deal. Since the ’30s, and especially starting in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, the right actually claimed the label and mantra of populism, and they have successfully changed the entire discourse and politics of this country under populist rhetoric. New research shows household income has declined more in the two years after the recession officially ended than it did during the recession itself. Money needs to flow from the top down, not from the bottom up.
Ted Rudow III, MA

Afghans a mess

RSN

Afghanistan a Mess Despite U.S. Promises
by Ted Rudow III Saturday, 08 October 2011
As the United States and NATO marked 10 years of war in Afghanistan on Friday, a grim picture emerges from scores of interviews over six months across the country with ordinary Afghans, government officials, soldiers, and former and current Taliban, along with recent data. The difference between the often optimistic assessment of U.S. generals and the reality on the ground for Afghans is stark.
After more than 30 years of war and chaos, Afghanistan is really a mess. Despite all the American aid and promises to rebuild the country, it's a wreck. The capital, Kabul, is becoming more prosperous, but only because that's where most of the U.S. and coalition troops are based to provide security, and because that's one of the few places the aid organizations feel safe enough to operate.
But for Afghans, it has been a decade of one step forward and two steps back. Maybe it's because they have such a short attention span and memory. As one journalist commented, a short memory is a great boost to self-esteem. It helps when you can so easily forget the past and tune out reality. Americans can forget that the country is as bad off as it ever was. Last Updated on Saturday, 08 October 2011

Afghans a mess

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Oct. 8 Readers' letters
From Mercury News readers
Afghanistan a mess despite U.S. promises
As the United States and NATO marked 10 years of war in Afghanistan on Friday, a grim picture emerges from scores of interviews over six months across the country with ordinary Afghans, government officials, soldiers, and former and current Taliban, along with recent data. The difference between the often optimistic assessment of U.S. generals and the reality on the ground for Afghans is stark.
After more than 30 years of war and chaos, Afghanistan is really a mess. Despite all the American aid and promises to rebuild the country, it's a wreck. The capital, Kabul, is becoming more prosperous, but only because that's where most of the U.S. and coalition troops are based to provide security, and because that's one of the few places the aid organizations feel safe enough to operate.
But for Afghans, it has been a decade of one step forward and two steps back. Maybe it's because they have such a short attention span and memory. As one journalist commented, a short memory is a great boost to self-esteem. It helps when you can so easily forget the past and tune out reality. Americans can forget that the country is as bad off as it ever was.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Palo Alto

10 years after

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/10/07/18692583.php
10 years after
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77@aol,com ) Friday Oct 7th, 2011
As the U.S. and NATO mark 10 years of war in Afghanistan on Friday, a grim picture emerges from scores of interviews over six months across the country with ordinary Afghans, government officials, soldiers, and former and current Taliban, along with recent data. The difference between the often optimistic assessment of U.S. generals and the reality on the ground for Afghans is stark.
After more than 30 years of war and chaos, Afghanistan is really a mess. Despite all the American aid and promises to rebuild the country, it’s a wreck. The capital, Kabul, is becoming more prosperous, but only because that’s where most of the U.S. and coalition troops are based to provide security, and because that’s one of the few places the aid organizations feel safe enough to operate.
But for Afghans, it has been a decade of one step forward and two steps back. Maybe it's because they have such a short attention span and memory. As one journalist commented, a short memory is a great boost to self-esteem. It helps when you can so easily forget the past and tune out reality. Americans can forget that the country is as bad off as it ever was.
Ted Rudow III, MA

War horse

RSN



War Horse

by Ted Rudow III ,MA Wednesday, 05 October 2011
They know that a few soup lines, and lying promises won't be enough to hold back a Revolution in the event of a recession (which would be inevitable if the war ceased). They are also aware that their present policy of feeding the youth of the Nation into the war machine. So Big Business continues to produce war toys, well-lubricated with the blood of human sacrifices, as usual. But, the sacrifices are now coming from another nation to take the heat off back here. The atrocious effects of the death triangle (War, Business, Politics) cannot be stopped by ordinary revolutionary activity. the power of the death triangle is of spiritual origin.
Composed by Paul MichaelI hear them yelling "Peace and safety" Telling me everything's gonna be alright. But they just took my eighteen year old brother. They're teaching him how to kill and to fightI see the smoke rising up from the fire, it's our heads that you see In the noose, oh Lord somebody warn the people that the war horse is on the loose.Chorus: Another young man dead, but who gives a damn those generals on Wall Street got control of our landLift up your voices, and shout out the warning to them!

Spartan Daily

Spartan Daily
October 5, 2011
News Sports Opinion A&E Multimedia Tech Class Reports National World Campus San Jose

Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder who transformed computers and culture, dies at 56Students’ studies in SJSU’s King Library stalled by false alarmFunds for MUSE courses at SJSU evaporateUniversity Police warn students about gang violence near SJSU campus

CSU stares down $100 million in cuts, requests budget increase
Leo Postovoit, Spartan DailySJSU and the California State University are bracing for a potential $100 million cut in December, in what would be the third decrease in funding in the CSU budget this year.
The “trigger” cut would be imposed by the governor’s office if the state of California does not collect the tax revenue that has been forecast by the Legislature, according to Liz Chapin, public affairs assistant for the CSU Chancellor’s Office.
In response, the CSU Board of Trustees outlined a budget request proposal asking for $315 million in funding for the 2012-2013 fiscal year.
“Looking ahead into the next year, it’s clear that we have an uphill battle,” said Robert Turnage, assistant vice chancellor for budget. “The state is not out of the woods as far as their fiscal problems, we understand that, but the Board of Trustees believes that even so, we need to make the case for what it is the university needs.”
In January of this year, Gov. Jerry Brown presented a budget that cut $500 million from the CSU and in June passed an additional $150 million in cuts.
According to Turnage, the last $150 million in cuts directly prompted the 12 percent tuition fee increase passed in July by the CSU Board of Trustees.
According to the minutes from the Sept. 21 meeting of the CSU Committee on Finance, without additional revenues, managing such a cut would have required the elimination of 2,300 employee positions, or denying access to 40,000 students, or completely shutting down several of the smaller campuses.
“We had to act fast,” he said. “We couldn’t have waited. It was very little notice to students as it was. The real trade off was it was either raise the fees or begin laying people off and start cutting teachers.”
It was left to each campus to make cuts to their individual budgets. The Chancellor’s Office had to lay some people off and reorganize to accommodate a 14 percent cut to its budget, Chapin said.
SJSU
As a result of the initial $500 million cut that was made in January of this year, SJSU cut about $14.8 million from its budget, according to Shawn Bibb, vice president of administration and finance and chief financial officer for SJSU.
“However, what is never stated in the papers in the budget process is that not only are we taking budget cuts, but we are not receiving funds to cover mandated increased costs,” he stated in an email. “For SJSU those increased costs include $4.2 million for increased benefits costs and $8.2 million in increased financial aid as a result of the fee increase. So, the cumulative effect was about $27.2 million.”
During the 2010-2011 budget year, the state added $15.5 million to SJSU’s budget that was designated to allow for the admission of additional students.
“Unfortunately, they gave us the money after our admission cycle was complete, or too late to admit more students,” Bibb stated. “Since we did not teach those additional students, we held that money in reserve anticipating what might occur in 2011-12. We used that $15.5 million to offset some of the $27.2 million.”
The remaining amount, about $12 million, was allocated across the five university divisions proportionally and each vice president is responsible for creating their own plan to deal with their division, Bibb stated.
If the “trigger” cut is approved, SJSU is projected to take another $7 million in cuts.
According to Bibb, the university factored this into the 2011-2012 budget process.
“We have had to take other resources available to the university and set them aside to cover the cut,” he stated. “The effect is that we will not be able to do some of the projects we had hoped to do.”
Some of those projects include a number of building maintenance projects that were deferred until next year. Several information technology projects to bring services online and the addition of more smart classrooms have been deferred until 2012-2013, Bibb stated.
If the state approves the $315 million CSU budget request, Bibb stated that we don’t exactly know what SJSU’s share would be, but he estimates at least $16 million in funds could be added.
Chronic Problem
Elizabeth Cara, president of the SJSU chapter of the California Faculty Association, said it’s about time that the CSU advocated for an increase in funds from the state.
“CFA has always been an advocate for funding for the CSU, so we think it’s about time that they put in an increase,” said Cara, an associate professor of occupational therapy.
According to Turnage, the state’s budgetary support for the CSU has declined by 28 percent over the last 13 years.
At SJSU, Bibb stated that the university is seeking outside sources of funding, including the $200 million Acceleration campaign and a push from the Research Foundation for increasing the number of grants and contracts.
Ultimately, Turnage said, if students want the funding situation to change they need to speak up.
“In order for us to be successful requesters, one of the things is that more students and more parents need to get engaged in terms of communicating to their members of Legislature and the governor, that the CSU matters to them and that the state needs to make it a priority,” he said. “Ultimately, that is the sort of thing that moves the politicians to act. They need to hear from the grassroots that higher education needs to be funded for the sake of the state’s future.”


Ted Rudow III, MA ·

They know that a few soup lines, and lying promises won't be enough to hold back a Revolution in the event of a recession (which would be inevitable if the war ceased). They are also aware that their present policy of feeding the youth of the Nation into the war machine. So Big Business continues to produce war toys, well-lubricated with the blood of human sacrifices, as usual. But, the sacrifices are now coming from another nation to take the heat off back here. The atrocious effects of the death triangle (War, Business, Politics) cannot be stopped by ordinary revolutionary activity. the power of the death triangle is of spiritual origin.
Composed by Paul Michael
I hear them yelling"Peace and safety" Telling me everything's gonna be alright. But they just took my eighteen year old brother. They're teaching him how to kill and to fight
I see the smoke rising up from the fire, it's our heads that you see In the noose, oh Lord somebody warn the people that the war horse is on the loose.
Chorus: Another young man dead,but who gives a damn those generals on Wall Street got control of our land
Lift up your voices, and shout out the warning to them!
Ted Rudow III, MA
Class of 1996
..

PP&J

Peninsula Peace and Justice Center
www.PeaceandJustice.org
Free Forum TonightAttend in person ~ Watch online ~ Watch on TV ~ Phone inOther Voices TV:The State of Palestine(And why the U.S. is going to veto the whole idea ... ) Tuesday, October 4, 7:00 PMCommunity Media Center, 900 San Antonio Road, Palo AltoFree and open to all. Wheelchair accessible.A conversation withJOEL BEININDonald J. Maclachlan Professor of Middle Eastern History at Stanford UniversityMahmoud Abbas, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and President of the Palestinian Authority (PA), has made a formal request to the United Nations for recognition of the State of Palestine. The United States has vowed to veto the effort, which requires approval of the UN Security Council. Both moves are rife with uncertainty and the possibility of unforeseen repercussions.Was this a good strategic move by the Palestinians? Why has the U.S. vowed to veto the UN effort? And how will the US veto of a Palestinian state be viewed by other Arab and MIddle Eastern countries? Will the Palestinian effort to gain formal recognition as a state -- whether or not it is vetoed by the US -- help propel new movement in the so-called "peace process" or will it mark the end of those efforts? Our guest, Joel Beinin, one of the country's top experts on the Israel-Palestine conflict, will attempt to answer these and many other questions this new direction in the long-lasting conflict will no doubt inspire.Beinin will also give us a report on his latest trip to the region, where he continues his reasearch for a new book about young Israelis and Palestinians organizing together to demand justice for Palestinians and an end to the Israeli occupation.Be a part of the studio audience!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.I phoned in and questioned the role of AIPAC and dealing with the Congress.Other Voices TV can be seen live at 7:00 PM 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 PM
Wednesdays 2:00 AM & 10:00 AM
Thursdays 11:00 PM
Fridays 6:00 AM & 2:00 PM
Saturdays 4:00 PM

Spartan Daily
October 2, 2011
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Wes Side Stories: Why I am an agnostic
by Wesley Dugle Oct 2, 2011 6:38 pm
Wesley Dugle
One of my most poignant memories growing up was a little incident between me and a few of my friends during elementary school.
I’m not exactly sure how the conversation got to this but somehow my friends started talking about their religious beliefs and how they always go to church on Sundays.
I, being raised in a pretty non-religious, agnostic household, simply said, “I don’t really believe in God.”
Then all hell broke loose.
Suddenly my friends were furious with me and outright shunned me for a week.
Eventually they cooled off and we were all back to being friends again but it was a weird experience for me because it was the first time I really took notice of peoples’ beliefs about religion.
Throughout my life I never really considered myself very religious.
I’m not atheist for sure because I do believe that the world is so fantastic of a miracle that the universe couldn’t have possibly happened by coincidence.
The fact that we even exist is a miracle in itself.
But I don’t believe in the way organized religions view “God” or “gods,” depending on which one you talk about.
In particular I don’t believe in the way Christians and all the other denominations, view the creation of this universe through God.
There are too many contradictions with it.
With all the evidence we have of dinosaurs, ice ages and how old this planet really is, it astounds me that people out there still believe the world was created in seven days.
It baffles me that they can even tell me that on the first day God created light then made the light source on day four. Don’t you need the latter first?
On top of that, they mean to tell me the whole of humanity was supposed to sprout from two people who had only sons?
Sorry, I have read better fantasy fiction than that.
The Christian God just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, both in a scientific and in a social sense as well.
Christians have the belief that God gave us free will to believe however we want to believe.
Then they come right back and say we are supposed to devote ourselves to him.
Isn’t that a contradiction?
I like to believe that we are all in control of our own destiny and that a God or gods has no part in it.
But the Christian belief doesn’t seem to see it that way because they believe that God is involved with every good or bad thing that happens to us or “God’s will” as some proclaim.
Personally I think God’s will is a bunch of crap because all you have to do is look around the world to see that any “loving” God should be able to do a better job than this.
Seriously, all you have to do is look at Africa and the Middle East to understand that it couldn’t possibly be some God’s “will” to have this happen.
It would justify the deaths of million of people and for what reason?
Well, God works in mysterious ways, I guess because he won’t tell us for whatever reason.
It just doesn’t make any sense to me.
Look, I’m not trying to bash Christians as people here ­— their beliefs are their own and there is a lot of good philosophy in the Bible that I take to heart.
I just think that Christianity and most organized religions’ view on God is illogical.
The way I see it is when you look around the world you either think to yourself that God is either incompetent, doesn’t care or has no involvement with our daily lives.
There’s no way in my mind that a just and loving God would let such hate and suffering exist in this world.
I do believe that the world is a miracle and there may be some kind of divinity involved with its creation but the way Christians see it and generally all organized religion just seems way off in my view.
I say only we are in charge of our lives and our destinies and no God has any part in it.
The world is still, despite the carnage, a beautiful place and it’s amazing in itself to me, without the belief in a God coming from a book written thousands years ago.
One thought on “Wes Side Stories: Why I am an agnostic”
Ted Rudow III, MA on October 3, 2011 “The only Bible most people will read is the one bound in shoe leather.” Some say that what Moody meant was that most people won’t so much as open a Bible, so the only way they’ll hear the Gospel is if someone takes it to them. Others say he meant that most people form their opinions about Christianity and what it has to offer them not by reading the Bible, but through their interactions with Christians-through Christians’ personal examples, in other words. Possibly he meant both, because both are true.People need to hear the Gospel and have it explained, but they also need to see an example of someone living it. The words are necessary, but to be most effective, witnessing must go beyond words.

War horse

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/10/03/18692013.php
War horse
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com ) Monday Oct 3rd, 2011
They know that a few soup lines, and lying promises won't be enough to hold back a Revolution in the event of a recession (which would be inevitable if the war ceased). They are also aware that their present policy of feeding the youth of the Nation into the war machine. So Big Business continues to produce war toys, well-lubricated with the blood of human sacrifices, as usual. But, the sacrifices are now coming from another nation to take the heat off back here. The atrocious effects of the death triangle (War, Business, Politics) cannot be stopped by ordinary revolutionary activity. the power of the death triangle is of spiritual origin.
Composed by Paul Michael
I hear them yelling"Peace and safety" Telling me everything's gonna be alright But they just took my eighteen year old brother They're teaching him how to kill and to fight
I see the smoke rising up From the fire, it's our heads that you see In the noose, oh Lord somebody warn the people That the war horse is on the loose
Chorus: Another young man dead,but who gives a damn Those generals on Wall Street Got control of our land
Lift up your voices, and shout out the warning to them!

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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

Uncivilized murder

MercuryNews.com
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Peninsula readers' letters: October 1
From Daily News Group readers Posted: 09/30/2011 06:04:25 PM PDTUpdated: 10/01/2011 12:58:21 AM PDT
Uncivilized murder
Dear Editor: 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 given their day in court, and a historical record was created and the message was sent that this is what will happen to you if you commit mass murder, we believe even the most heinous person 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 aspire to, or at least say that we aspired to it.Ted Rudow III, MAPalo Alto

Obama

rsn
Obama the authoritarian
by Ted Rudow III MA Friday, 30 September 2011 Obama the authoritarianThe 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.

Obama

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

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

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

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

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

Tax burden

Thursday, September 22, 2011
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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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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
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Page
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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

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

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

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

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







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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

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

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