From Jenna Orkin
Economy/US
One in eight Americans receives food stamps: U.S
And one in five New Yorkers. It says so on the busses.
How nation's true jobless rate is closer to 22%
"When the Labor Department puts out the January employment figures on Feb. 4, they will include an assumption that a lot of companies went out of business. 'This is something called the birth/death model that is used by the department. Last year it caused 356,000 jobs to be subtracted from the January job count."
More than 6 jobless workers chase 1 opening
Firms Scared to Hire Because of New Taxes, Health Care
Why Job Growth Will Be Weak—And Painful—This Time
Obama wants $33 billion more for wars
Measuring the effect of stimulus: If you don't like the results, change the yardstick
White House changes stimulus job accounting
House Plans To Subpoena Geithner Over AIG Decisions; Geithner's Got To Go
Blankfein Tells Crisis Panel He Was Never Asked to Take AIG Swap Discount
SEC order helps maintain AIG mystery
Ex-CEO wants lower U.S. stake in AIG
Housing Bubbles, Global Household Leverage, Why Fed's Reflation Efforts Will Fail
President Obama Signs Executive Order Establishing Council of Governors (from Rice Farmer)
"The Council will be reviewing such matters as involving the National Guard of the various States; homeland defense; civil support; synchronization and integration of State and Federal military activities in the United States; and other matters of mutual interest pertaining to National Guard, homeland defense, and civil support activities."
U.S. Expects Steady Climb in Energy Prices
'I See a Giant Monopoly Developing That's Reminiscent of Microsoft'
Google.
US Overtakes Russia as Biggest Natural Gas Producer
Shifting demand suggests a future of endless oil
U.S. asked to regulate shipping of bumblebees
World
Iran knew Israel, U.S. planned "terrorist acts": speaker
U.N. cuts back on investigating fraud
China curbs loans, increases bank reserves
China Sends Soldiers to Load Coal as Freeze, Snow Limit Supply
Moody's Says Greek, Portuguese Economies May be Faced With `Slow Death'
Venezuela plans blackouts in Caracas, oil town
Venezuelan consumers fear inflation, dump cash
SocGen profit warning rekindles toxic asset fears
Things Fall Apart in Eurozone (from Rice Farmer)
Does this affect the map? If so how?
ReplyDeleteRussia, China, Iran Redraw Energy Map
Defence cuts 'will shrink UK armed forces'
ReplyDeletequote
The British armed forces could be forced to shrink by up to a fifth because of a lack of money, a military think tank has predicted.
unquote
The inevitable end of an empire?
Gamedog? Paul? Other Brits?
ReplyDeleteAny thoughts on
this?
"The inevitable end of an Empire?"
ReplyDeleteI think so and hope so Paul
I can't remember who the article was written by, but I recently read that it was likely that US Forces might have to abandon equipment and return home as the Dollar becomes worthless and the cost of paying for all the military ventures simply becomes unmanageable.
It costs something like $300-$400 dollars a US gallon to supply US forces in Afghanistan/Pakistan with fuel and that each soldier or serviceman/woman requires on average 22 gallons per day, so that is at least $6,600 dollars per person.
How many US service personnel in Afghanistan? Do the maths ;-)
Former Chief U.N. Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter Nabbed in Teen Sex Sting
ReplyDeletehttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583027,00.html
GrTz,
V
eyeballs, seems Gordon and Ed Balls were going off message too much for new labours corpgov pals - going after working class votes - which may have irked the City boys, not to mention Mandelson (who is clearly in charge).
ReplyDeleteBack on message they seem to be out torying the tories again.
Browns forlorn hope of trying to start a class war before the election was really a non starter IMO, both parties are just as bad as each other in that regard these days, and there can't me many of the working class (labours traditional core voters) who don't think they've been screwed by labour anyway.
People will not vote for the party they want to win the election, the majority will vote for those they hold in the least contempt, if indeed they bother to vote.
You can't get a zig-zag ciggie paper between them, both the tories and labour will close ranks to marginalise the liberals as usual, and there has been no real cohesive alternative (green or otherwise) come to the fore. Whoever has their flag flying after the election doesn't really matter, we're screwed anyway.
FWIW Mandelson is on record saying he would be willing to work with the tories should labour lose the election, which is really a better indication who is pulling the real strings of power over here.
Eyeballs -
ReplyDeleteI've nothing much to add to Gamedogs very eloquent analysis except to say that voting in the UK is like choosing between Tweedledum or Tweedledee.
Parliament long since dropped any real pretence of serving public interests.
Eyeballs & Gamedog,
ReplyDeleteYour reply Gamedog hits the spot. I was a lifelong Labour supporter until Tony Blair took us into Iraq and fell into bed with the Corporations. There is little difference now between the two main parties, but I feel the Tories are being groomed for power. Time for a change a la Obama?
"Meet the new boss, same as the old boss,
Won't get fooled again"
Or maybe we will.....
Namaste
"Whoever has their flag flying after the election doesn't really matter, we're screwed anyway."
ReplyDeleteSheesh, you Brits are laid as low as the Americans. Today's Ran Prieur post links to
this blog in which the alienation of workers is seen as an excellent opportunity for the creation of new tribes.
Obviously, something will gather together the resources, manage the affections and frustrations of the newly abandoned people, and create ... something.
We are seriously amiss if we do not knit and inform and possibly even "lead" (to make much worse "leadership" unnecessary).
Just today I noticed that conscious, educated, secular people seem to insist on organizing themselves in church-like "spiritual" communities of interest. Greer, an archdruid after all, favors this kind of organization. You're either in or you're out, and if you're in you pay and you work. (And - eesh - perhaps even "believe".) I've resisted religion all my Life, but it seems like the most likely model.
Comments from other observers?
On BBC Question time last night (flagship political debate) the consensus regarding the failed coup was that Brown was now "hobbled".
ReplyDeleteThe subtle remarks from Ken Clarke (Tory shadow cabinet) regarding Mandelson, when Ken had the chance to turn the knife on him, (paraphrasing) "oh he does like to be at the centre of power" re-enforces my last post. (they're both Bilderbergers)