Tag: United States

Reform’s Inside Game and Outside Game

The weariness has taken hold.  Years of recession inevitably produces, pardon the phrase, malaise.  We may not be falling farther down, but neither are we observing new growth.  Though our tastes, as well as our ideological stances greatly differ, every tree that does not produce good fruit has been threatened to be chopped down and thrown into the fire.  What constitutes “good” from “bad” is the very nature of our disagreements.  Once upon a time, we complained heavily about high gas prices.  Now we accept it with gritted teeth.  We recognize now that our problems go well beyond the cost of crude oil.  Nonetheless, the perceptible excitement once so prominent in earlier days is nowhere to be found.  Disappointment laid upon disappointment builds upon itself prodigiously.  Like the foolish man, we built our houses and mortgages upon sand.

Iraq and Afghanistan: Wasting Tens of Billions of Dollars

First I have a question, already know the answers, not related directly to this report nor the Wars of Choice but is as to the economy, as to anyone interviewing this Gov. Walker.

Why is it when questions are being pointedly asked to him about his battle with the public sector employee’s, and especially as to collective bargaining, his constant response is just how broke that state, and many others are, that as soon as he says everyone must sacrifice whoever is asking the questions doesn’t forcefully ask what about those tax cuts passed and signed within his first month?

I didn’t hear one mention, question or statement by anyone, admit I tuned in a tad late, about those tax cuts, not one!

Now onto the recently released report, where much of our treasury, on the credit card, has gone and readily flushed down the drain by the tepublicans especially, who not only don’t want the past decade brought up they certainly don’t want the country reminded of not only the spent but the lost billions.

Report: Billions lost on contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan

February 25, 2011 – A new report blasts the U.S. government for wasting tens of billions of dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan by relying too much on contractors and doing too little to monitor their performance.

The interim report from the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan points out that contractors in the war zones sometimes have exceeded the number of military personnel. Numbering 200,000, contractors now roughly match the military force.

“Misspent dollars run into the tens of billions,” the report said. The 64-page report was released Thursday and will be followed up next week with a hearing on how to improve contractor accountability.

“War by its nature entails waste. But the scale of the problems in Iraq and Afghanistan also reflects the toxic interplay of huge sums of money pumped into relatively small economies and an unprecedented reliance on contractors,” the report said.

Sen. James Webb, D-Virginia, who helped establish the commission three years ago, said Friday that its latest proposals deserve attention from Congress and the Department of Defense and called for a hearing on the matter. {continued}

For your convenience, and mine, I uploaded the pdf so others can read it who may not want to download it, just below.



Iraq and Afghan: Interim report from the Commission on Wartime Contracting

You can visit the Commissions site with link below to read the pdf press release as well as their other links.

Commission on Wartime Contracting

Green Economy: Created 1 Million Jobs, $146 Billion to the GDP

But not only should have created more jobs and GDP growth, ronnynomic’s free trade trickle down investments from the top few percent huge growth in wealth con, with even huge tax cuts or no tax at all, called capitalism, in these past few years it should have started and been well established some thirty years ago. We should be the World Leader in the innovation and growth as we once were in most things done on this planet, even as detractors fought against advancements!

The idea’s of growth in going off the grid, so to speak, with things like solar and wind as well as other possibilities have been around for my decades of growing up and actually put into practice. I know as a multi tradesman in construction, residential and commercial, I was a part of those early installations and attempts. But the old money and established businesses stayed out of investing in and fought hard against advancing into the new thus keeping the costs and future innovations at bay or less then stagnant. Many older folks can remember when homes started sporting solar panels on their roofs and some carried that further and developed their own means of going off the grid, then it went dead, been around now for decades and talked about, argued, for as long.

Lets be honest, there have always been detractors as to new idea’s, inventions, advancements on the already established, etc., mostly coming from wealthy old guard established businesses and individual’s leading the arguments against for their already established means of wealth thinking apparently it was them, and not the workers, who created the growth and more that they profit from.

The arguments about ‘global warming’, purposefully misrepresented, reality ‘climate change’ the obvious, are the detraction’s put forth with force to lock the brakes on innovation and advancing society needs and a continually growing economy. Led by the old guard established business folks who know they can control a great number within a society with their brand of propaganda of false meme’s with their wealth.

The following just came out a few days ago and is getting some off the msm reporting.

U.S. World and Regional Credibility

This aired yesterday, 11 February 2011, morning prior to the results later in the day, night there, of the total collapse of the Mubarak reign of rule, but is pretty much spot on about us and especially that whole region of the planet and it’s free people under autocratic rule supported by us.

Typical Products of Afghanistan and the USA

Typical Products

Judging from the archaeological evidence, we can only conclude that Afghanistan was invaded by primitive “beer-tribes” from beyond the sea.

A Christmas Carol: USA vs Canadian Flash Mob

Canadian Christmas Caroling:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…

Air Canada sponsors a local band “Abandon Paris” to sing at the Vancouver Airport on Saturday, while dancers from the Arts Umbrella Dance Company put on red stocking caps and dance in the airport.

Air Canada Flashmob. Abandon Paris sings “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” at the Vancouver Airport

United States Christmas Caroling:

Attempt at singing Christmas carols results in evacuation of Roseville CA, Westfield Galleria Mall when gathering crowd hears creaking sounds and feels floor shift under their feet.  

You remember the Roseville Galleria Mall.  https://www.docudharma.com/diar…    It was the one a single crazy arsonist set fire back to earlier this fall,  on Oct 21, resulting in millions of dollars worth of damage, (partially thanks to the Roseville PD, because the sprinklers were turned off,  and they wouldn’t let the Fire Dept into the building because Crazy Pyro Guy had a …. backpack. So they send in The Bomb Finding Robot, the Fire Dept has to use ladder trucks from the outside, a giant hole burns through the roof of the mall, and days later, under the fallen ashes and debris…  it was still a backpack.   ) and Gov. Schwarzenegger then declaring Placer County under a state of emergency.  Well, they got part of the Galleria Mall open for the Holiday shopping season, the Sacramento Choral Society shows up at the Food Court,  and….


12/20/10 Auburn Journal

Police reported receiving between 40 and 50  “911” calls from shoppers warning of dangerous overcrowding They dispatched 10 police cars, in addition to the five fire engines, one truck and four ambulances.

From a helicopter, officials ordered people to get into their vehicles or leave the promenade, where many of the singers and listeners had gathered. Joyfully defying officers, the choir members rang out with cries of “O Holy Night,” “We wish you a merry Christmas,” and of course, Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus.

A fire department spokesman said mall officials knew about the pending concert and described the movement at the food court as what one might see in a minor earthquake. No injuries were reported.

An estimated 5,000 people had to be evacuated, and it made international headlines.  Yay California !

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/worl…

Some Chorus people did not immediately try to leave the mall and contribute to the ongoing massive traffic jam at the nearby 65 exit/entrance ramp, but instead attempted to sing outside.    Catch the infamous multimillion dollar Placer County helicopter circling overhead ordering them to leave as they sing “Silent Night”  and the kids taking pictures of it with their cameras.

Look, up in the East.  Is that the Star of Bethlehem ?  No, it’s the searchlight on the Sherif’s Dept Helicopter. Get the ****  Out of the Mall, it might fall down !  

Your Homeland Security Tax Dollars At Work.

Sample comments under AJ story (remember, this is wingnuttia Tea Party Land)

I hope the cops stun gunned everyone of them

where was mall security? why should my tax dollars be wasted on Westfield ….  

the mall should have turned on the sprinkler system….  that’s twice now…  

thanks again for the holiday cheer morons. Merry Christmas and a happy laryngitis infection to you all.

all you are asking for is a potential terrorist attack of some kind…  The Viet Cong were experts at using big groups….  there are a lot of al Queda wannabees out there

After an inspection, the mall was declared safe to re open today, according to the city and mall engineers.  http://www.mercurynews.com/top…

Just don’t sing too loud.  We’re not sure about our structural integrity.  

“Where America Stands”

With the construction industry in the toilet across all aspects and across the country believe me I know what this country has been ignoring, we have a big problem with doing that on a whole host of issues {like sending military into invading then long occupations and not listening to them thus not caring for many when they return}, for decades should have been at least more than just started to be taken care of {some states and communities did use stimulus monies for just that but once no money preventive maintenance, or replacement, once again stops} as the collapsed economy started and those with the wealth {that’s how most of theirs is made with breaks given on taxes enhanced development packages just to attract companies and much much more} should be main contributors to upgrading our Deteriorating Infrastructure, and it ain’t just bridges and roads!!

Population Dynamics of Places in the News

Population 1960-2008

Population2

I’ve been watching the great HBO series Six Feet Under on DVD for about a week, and yesterday I saw the episode which ends with Ruth Fisher singing along with a tape of Joni Mitchell. I didn’t even recognize the song, but a google search for the lyrics revealed it was Woodstock.

Then last night I had a dream about walking up a long hill with the same song playing in my head, but when I came to the crest and looked down, instead of mobs at a concert I saw a flood like an ocean, and millions of people washed away in it.

“And maybe it’s the time of year

or maybe it’s the time of man

and I don’t know who I am

but you know life is for learning.”

“We are stardust,

billion year-old carbon,

we are golden,

caught in the devil’s bargain

and we got to get ourselves

back to the garden.”

World Refugee Day: 20 June 2010

Angelina Jolie Speaks Out for World Refugee Day

Atty Gen Holder: Shooting of Mexican Teen “Extremely Regrettable”

A cell phone video taken by a bystander through a chain link fence may have changed the impetus of the investigation of the Border Patrol shooting death of 15 year old Sergio Adrian Hernandez Huereka Monday, on the border between El Paso Texas and Cuidad Juarez Mexico.

Attorney General Eric Holder today called the shooting of the teenager “extremely regrettable.”  The FBI is now investigating the death.

Israel’s self-fulfilling bunker mentality.

Photobucket

The Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla was an overt political act aimed at breaking the siege of Gaza.  Bringing food, medicine, and supplies to humans suffering extreme privation in defiance of “the authorities” is an act far less theatrical or playful but conceptually tantamount to hippies stuffing flowers into rifle barrels as a form of protest so good-natured and free of overt threat as to be disarming and impossible for the world audience to find the least bit menacing, much less provoking a violent response.   Indeed, military responses to expressions of “flower power” are unthinkable, and would instantly discredit and delegitimize those bearing actual weapons in support of establishmentarian power.  While the analogy may be imperfect, it generally seems that Israel has done the unthinkable by shooting the flower children dead, including an American and some Turks, citizens of their most critical allies.

Bill Moyers Journal Last Airing

Bill Moyers Journal, aired his last show on April 30th 2010 as he goes into a well deserved retirement after many years of service to his fellow American’s with his outstanding and one of a kind journalism, real journalism, joining the ranks of the few before him and the very few still practicing their craft and profession as professionals!

With this technology and it’s coming advancements everything can be archived and much easier to search out to not only find the past, and it’s lessons, but what really is and not that spoken by some as to what isn’t but quickly grasped by some as their gospel without bothering to join the realities!.

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