Selasa, 10 Januari 2006
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Senin, 09 Januari 2006
The West Virginia Miners Died Quickly Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, But Many Die Slowly Of Similar Pollution
While the high level of carbon monoxide, the dangerous and deadly gas caused a quick death to the West Virginia miners, it should be noted that Americans living in congested and polluted cities are also dying of carbon monoxide and other pollution poisoning, only more slowly.
The air quality is so bad in American cities that even the Surgeon General now considers asthma to be an epidemic. In China it is even worse yet, where simply breathing, a child ingests the same level of deadly poisons in an average day as if they smoked two entire packs of cigarettes a day. Even in the U.S. , some with health problems cannot even walk outside their homes without getting a burning sensation in their mouth, throat and lungs from the outrageously bad air quality allowed in American cities.
Major forms of dangerous air pollution come from cigarette smoking, which fills gallons and gallons of air with deadly carbon monoxide, nicotine, a highly addictive drug just as addictive as heroin, tar , heavy metals such as nickel, and other deadly poisons. While a young smoker in relatively good health may not feel as much of these symptoms of these poisons, those with health problems can feel that they been poisoned by just one breath of this poison destroyed air quality from cigarettes. Why the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commision does not ban any type of nicotine or tobacco product that produces smoke or gasses that can cause harm to nonusers is a very good question. But any product that can poison nonusers should face some public health restrictions on use.
Automobiles, burning of refuse, old fashioned oil burning furnaces, wood burning stoves and coal fired industry all produce major forms of pollution as well. Industry chemicals can meet with rain and create acid rain.
Major pollution types include the harmful ozone gas that lays near the surface, not to be confused with the protective ozone layer, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, lead, toxic air pollutants, stratospheric ozone depleters and greenhouse gases.
As older automobiles slowly leave the road, hopefully cleaner hybrid or hydrogen powered vehicle will become more common. But some form of economic assistance to help older homes retrofit to cleaner heating sources is also needed. And public bans on public smoking are needed. One cigarette destroys the air quality for about a 100 foot radius in every direction, and may be worse with wind currents which carry the poisons to make persons with asthma or other lung problems very sick. Every year billions of dollars in needless health care costs are costed to nonsmokers who have asthma, often because of secondhand cigarette smoke poisoning or other pollution illness not the fault of the person with asthma.
The West Virginia tragedy highlighted the deadly nature of carbon monoxide poisoning. But the fact is that the average American is suffering some similar health impact because of pollution of city air. The Bible states that a lifetime for humans should be 120 years, but because we live wrong we cut this down by more than a third to often less than 80 years. And smokers shorten their lives by about 12 years less than this 80 years in many cases.
There is always a high cost to low living. We all pay the price for living wrong and allowing an absurd level of poisons to ruin the air we count on to breathe.
When I was a little boy, I used to play outside all day long. Now many children do not play outside very much anymore. Cities are simply too crowded and too polluted. And adults insist on smoking around small children causing them to develop painful ear infections and asthma. We reap what we sow by our disregard for God's good earth. We are very poor stewarts of this gift from God.
The air quality is so bad in American cities that even the Surgeon General now considers asthma to be an epidemic. In China it is even worse yet, where simply breathing, a child ingests the same level of deadly poisons in an average day as if they smoked two entire packs of cigarettes a day. Even in the U.S. , some with health problems cannot even walk outside their homes without getting a burning sensation in their mouth, throat and lungs from the outrageously bad air quality allowed in American cities.
Major forms of dangerous air pollution come from cigarette smoking, which fills gallons and gallons of air with deadly carbon monoxide, nicotine, a highly addictive drug just as addictive as heroin, tar , heavy metals such as nickel, and other deadly poisons. While a young smoker in relatively good health may not feel as much of these symptoms of these poisons, those with health problems can feel that they been poisoned by just one breath of this poison destroyed air quality from cigarettes. Why the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commision does not ban any type of nicotine or tobacco product that produces smoke or gasses that can cause harm to nonusers is a very good question. But any product that can poison nonusers should face some public health restrictions on use.
Automobiles, burning of refuse, old fashioned oil burning furnaces, wood burning stoves and coal fired industry all produce major forms of pollution as well. Industry chemicals can meet with rain and create acid rain.
Major pollution types include the harmful ozone gas that lays near the surface, not to be confused with the protective ozone layer, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, lead, toxic air pollutants, stratospheric ozone depleters and greenhouse gases.
As older automobiles slowly leave the road, hopefully cleaner hybrid or hydrogen powered vehicle will become more common. But some form of economic assistance to help older homes retrofit to cleaner heating sources is also needed. And public bans on public smoking are needed. One cigarette destroys the air quality for about a 100 foot radius in every direction, and may be worse with wind currents which carry the poisons to make persons with asthma or other lung problems very sick. Every year billions of dollars in needless health care costs are costed to nonsmokers who have asthma, often because of secondhand cigarette smoke poisoning or other pollution illness not the fault of the person with asthma.
The West Virginia tragedy highlighted the deadly nature of carbon monoxide poisoning. But the fact is that the average American is suffering some similar health impact because of pollution of city air. The Bible states that a lifetime for humans should be 120 years, but because we live wrong we cut this down by more than a third to often less than 80 years. And smokers shorten their lives by about 12 years less than this 80 years in many cases.
There is always a high cost to low living. We all pay the price for living wrong and allowing an absurd level of poisons to ruin the air we count on to breathe.
When I was a little boy, I used to play outside all day long. Now many children do not play outside very much anymore. Cities are simply too crowded and too polluted. And adults insist on smoking around small children causing them to develop painful ear infections and asthma. We reap what we sow by our disregard for God's good earth. We are very poor stewarts of this gift from God.
Minggu, 08 Januari 2006
Mr. Bush challenges Al Qaeda To A Battle Of Wills, But Then Backs Down From The Fight
One of the most dangerous things that a nation can do is to challenge a weak opponent to a battle of wills, and then the stronger power backs down from the challenge. This has happened with France in Vietnam after WWII. It happened with the U.S. in Vietnam after the French withdrew. It happened with the failed Soviet invasion in Afghanistan to far weaker Mujahideen fighters. But it was the failed British effort to occupy Iraq that started in 1922, that ended in failure in 1958, that has acted as a role model for U.S. failure in Iraq.
In a new video, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahri, the second in command in Al Qaeda is claiming a military "victory" over the U.S. in Iraq because the U.S. is intending to draw down some forces from Iraq in 2006. This hardened veteran of the Afghanistan War with the Soviets, who was even wounded in combat there, knows much about outlasting the will of a stronger opponent. Weaker opponents of the U.S. know they can outlast the will of the American people or government. Both the government and people of the U.S. make broad boasts of how powerful that we are, and how we'll beat any small opponent. But as a conflict drags on with American dead and an economic drag, the U.S. always walks away from the fight, no matter how weak the opponent. Weak opponents of the U.S. have sized the U.S. up as the "paper tiger" that Asian communists had once claimed.
This is a deeply depressing factor, because it means that the U.S. invites more organizations such as Al Qaeda to act against the U.S. or U.S. allies. Establishing a war of wills, in which the U.S. never fully intended to stand head to head with an opponent in a war of wills, and then being seen as backing down only encourages more opponents of the U.S. to act.
The U.S. was never in any position to fulfill a battle of wills with Al Qaeda or other Islam insurgent forces in Iraq. With no military draft such as in WWI,WWII, Korea or Vietnam, and a full 40% of forces in Iraq are National Guard units, only equipped for response to state natural disaster or mountain rescue response, then large numbers of U.S. forces in Iraq such Oregon's thousands of National Guard members were sent into a combat situation wit severe shortages of combat goods such as ammunition, radios, body and Humvee armor.
When Mr. Bush changed the mission in Iraq from one of ridding the nation of Saddam Hussein, but then made the mission a challenge to Al Qaeda, there was the not military preparation or manpower forces to fight a long and protracted war with insurgents and Al Qaeda in Iraq. Britain fought a losing war with insurgents in Iraq from 1922 until 1958. Japan and Germany could be defeated, but not Iraqi insurgents who continued to battle Briitish forces for a full 13 years after WWII ended. The battle with Iraqi insurgents and ethnic tensions lasted from after WWI until well after WWII. A full 84 years. The U.S. never had the will or economic strength to fight another 84 years in Iraq when Mr. Bush laid down the gauntlet to Al Qaeda. This was a challenge that the U.S. should never had made.
Besides the military and equipment shortages that doomed any long term challenge of Al Qaeda or insurgents in Iraq, economic realities doomed this challenge to Al Qaeda from the beginning.
In just five years, Mr. Bush has accumulated a foreign debt of $1.09 trillion dollars, more than the $1.01 trillion dollars in foreign debt that it took 42 American Presidents 242 years to achieve.
Foreign states such as Japan hold $682 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds. China holds $248 bilion in U.S. Treasury bonds. Other states including South Korea and and the Caribbean hold the remainer of the $1.09 billion in new and accumulated foreign debt that keeps the U.S. government from financial collapse and bankruptcy.
With a national debt of $8.1 trillion in national debt against a U.S. Treasury income of just $2.2 trillion in income, the U.S. was never in any economic position to fight a protracted war in Iraq that already has cost the nation $232 billion in just three years. Even a claimed bill in Congress to cut the U.S. budget deficit by $40 billion only proposed to do so by cutting social services to the elderly, poor and handicapped over a five year period, but then included a $70 tax cut that mainly benefits the wealthy, so the net effect of the bill is another $30 billion dollar increase in the Federal budget deficit.
There was never the will in the Bush Administration or with the American people to fight an ethnic war or a war with terrorist organizations in Iraq for another 84 years, since the establishement of Iraq by Winston Churchill in 1922 as a British occupation state of three ethnic groups with nothing in common. Since 1922, the ethnic conflict in Iraq has been constant.
Mr. Bush used overheated political rhetoric to bash critics of his war in Iraq, claiming that an early withdrawal would send a dangerous signal to terrorist and insurgent forces. Yet it is Mr. Bush himself which destabilized Iraq with military action to topple Saddam Hussein, then changed the mission to a challenge of wills with insurgents such as Al Qaeda, and now is withdrawing some troops due to military manpower, equipment, economic and political realities. There was never the will of the American people, let alone the Bush Administration to battle Al Qaeda for decades in Iraq. Now with Al Qaeda already declaring a "victory" in Iraq, this dangerous terrorisyt organization appears to be emboldened by the perception of the backdown of American will in Iraq. This truly is dangerous.
In a new video, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahri, the second in command in Al Qaeda is claiming a military "victory" over the U.S. in Iraq because the U.S. is intending to draw down some forces from Iraq in 2006. This hardened veteran of the Afghanistan War with the Soviets, who was even wounded in combat there, knows much about outlasting the will of a stronger opponent. Weaker opponents of the U.S. know they can outlast the will of the American people or government. Both the government and people of the U.S. make broad boasts of how powerful that we are, and how we'll beat any small opponent. But as a conflict drags on with American dead and an economic drag, the U.S. always walks away from the fight, no matter how weak the opponent. Weak opponents of the U.S. have sized the U.S. up as the "paper tiger" that Asian communists had once claimed.
This is a deeply depressing factor, because it means that the U.S. invites more organizations such as Al Qaeda to act against the U.S. or U.S. allies. Establishing a war of wills, in which the U.S. never fully intended to stand head to head with an opponent in a war of wills, and then being seen as backing down only encourages more opponents of the U.S. to act.
The U.S. was never in any position to fulfill a battle of wills with Al Qaeda or other Islam insurgent forces in Iraq. With no military draft such as in WWI,WWII, Korea or Vietnam, and a full 40% of forces in Iraq are National Guard units, only equipped for response to state natural disaster or mountain rescue response, then large numbers of U.S. forces in Iraq such Oregon's thousands of National Guard members were sent into a combat situation wit severe shortages of combat goods such as ammunition, radios, body and Humvee armor.
When Mr. Bush changed the mission in Iraq from one of ridding the nation of Saddam Hussein, but then made the mission a challenge to Al Qaeda, there was the not military preparation or manpower forces to fight a long and protracted war with insurgents and Al Qaeda in Iraq. Britain fought a losing war with insurgents in Iraq from 1922 until 1958. Japan and Germany could be defeated, but not Iraqi insurgents who continued to battle Briitish forces for a full 13 years after WWII ended. The battle with Iraqi insurgents and ethnic tensions lasted from after WWI until well after WWII. A full 84 years. The U.S. never had the will or economic strength to fight another 84 years in Iraq when Mr. Bush laid down the gauntlet to Al Qaeda. This was a challenge that the U.S. should never had made.
Besides the military and equipment shortages that doomed any long term challenge of Al Qaeda or insurgents in Iraq, economic realities doomed this challenge to Al Qaeda from the beginning.
In just five years, Mr. Bush has accumulated a foreign debt of $1.09 trillion dollars, more than the $1.01 trillion dollars in foreign debt that it took 42 American Presidents 242 years to achieve.
Foreign states such as Japan hold $682 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds. China holds $248 bilion in U.S. Treasury bonds. Other states including South Korea and and the Caribbean hold the remainer of the $1.09 billion in new and accumulated foreign debt that keeps the U.S. government from financial collapse and bankruptcy.
With a national debt of $8.1 trillion in national debt against a U.S. Treasury income of just $2.2 trillion in income, the U.S. was never in any economic position to fight a protracted war in Iraq that already has cost the nation $232 billion in just three years. Even a claimed bill in Congress to cut the U.S. budget deficit by $40 billion only proposed to do so by cutting social services to the elderly, poor and handicapped over a five year period, but then included a $70 tax cut that mainly benefits the wealthy, so the net effect of the bill is another $30 billion dollar increase in the Federal budget deficit.
There was never the will in the Bush Administration or with the American people to fight an ethnic war or a war with terrorist organizations in Iraq for another 84 years, since the establishement of Iraq by Winston Churchill in 1922 as a British occupation state of three ethnic groups with nothing in common. Since 1922, the ethnic conflict in Iraq has been constant.
Mr. Bush used overheated political rhetoric to bash critics of his war in Iraq, claiming that an early withdrawal would send a dangerous signal to terrorist and insurgent forces. Yet it is Mr. Bush himself which destabilized Iraq with military action to topple Saddam Hussein, then changed the mission to a challenge of wills with insurgents such as Al Qaeda, and now is withdrawing some troops due to military manpower, equipment, economic and political realities. There was never the will of the American people, let alone the Bush Administration to battle Al Qaeda for decades in Iraq. Now with Al Qaeda already declaring a "victory" in Iraq, this dangerous terrorisyt organization appears to be emboldened by the perception of the backdown of American will in Iraq. This truly is dangerous.
Sabtu, 07 Januari 2006
NBC Becomes A Real Life Version Of THE PRODUCERS
In the classic Mel Brooks story, THE PRODUCERS, two scheming broadway producers oversell shares in a broadway play, and pick the worst possible play, playwrite, director and actors to insure that the play is a flop so they can clean up in their crooked scheme.
In the NBC version there is a similarity in that the network has decided to cancel some of the most effective Friday night programs such as THIRD WATCH, LAW AND ORDER:TRIAL BY JURY or even the acceptable MEDICAL INVESTIGATION to make room for a schedule of shlock such as the quickly cancelled, INCONCEIVABLE, which truly was, the syruppy, Amy Grant program, THREE WISHES, and now the worst yet, THE BOOK OF DANIEL. Along with moving the effective comedy MY NAME IS EARL up against the world's most popular program, CSI, so it can be savaged in the ratings, NBC has taken a cue from THE PRODUCERS on how to drive the network ratings into the trash barrel.
NBC managed to drive up ratings during a weak network programming week with the efective game show, DEAL OR NO DEAL with comic Howie Mandel, but ended this series after the week, and is now going with at least one new show, THE BOOK OF DANIEL, which seems to fail on so many levels.
THE BOOK OF DANIEL quickly reminds the viewer of a fifth rate version of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, with characters nearly as morally challenged as those on MY NAME IS EARL or the shirtless morons on COPS. But that isn't the worst part of this turkey. It's the absurd modern portrayal of Jesus in this program that is likely to enrage most Christians. After the events in West Virginia, in which the Governor and miner's families really inspired faith in God and a value to prayer, and world prayers are for MidEast peace, if not for Israeli Prime Minister Sharon, NBC decided that airing a program with an absurd Jesus portrayal was the right time. If anything, this really starts this program off on a wrong foot.
In THE PRODUCERS, the worst possible play, SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER was chosen to drive away audiences. At NBC, some network geniuses must have decided that THE BOOK OF DANIEL was a great way to create controversy, drive away viewers, create consumer boycotts from some religious groups, and to offend after a week in which prayer time with God was a central part of the lives of many due to the very nervous, sad and dangerous events.
Maybe at 12:35 in the morning, NBC can get away with programming such Conan O'Brien who often competes with infomercials with a low budget talk show that often features Abe Vigoda, Dr. Joyce Brothers or Al Roker as guests. But while Friday is often a ratings low evening, CBS proved that with effective programs such GHOST WHISPERER, CLOSE TO HOME and NUMBERS, if you offer worthwhile television fare, viewers will come. Instead, NBC has chosen to make both Friday and Saturday nights a real dumping ground. Friday's discards are the worst odd television shows that don't fit in on other nights. And Saturday is a potluck of the best repeats of some popular shows, but without a viewer often aware what's up for the evening. Both are ratings low drags on NBC.
Whether THE BOOK OF DANIEL draws an audience does not seem very likely to me. I can usually smell a clunker a mile away. MEDICAL INVESTIGATION, another recent Friday night NBC failure was like a weak CSI ripoff, but at least watchable. THE BOOK OF DANIEL just seems to have the kiss of doom written all over it.
A bad religious comedy like THE BOOK OF DANIEL is just enough to keep NBC locked in ratings hell.
In the NBC version there is a similarity in that the network has decided to cancel some of the most effective Friday night programs such as THIRD WATCH, LAW AND ORDER:TRIAL BY JURY or even the acceptable MEDICAL INVESTIGATION to make room for a schedule of shlock such as the quickly cancelled, INCONCEIVABLE, which truly was, the syruppy, Amy Grant program, THREE WISHES, and now the worst yet, THE BOOK OF DANIEL. Along with moving the effective comedy MY NAME IS EARL up against the world's most popular program, CSI, so it can be savaged in the ratings, NBC has taken a cue from THE PRODUCERS on how to drive the network ratings into the trash barrel.
NBC managed to drive up ratings during a weak network programming week with the efective game show, DEAL OR NO DEAL with comic Howie Mandel, but ended this series after the week, and is now going with at least one new show, THE BOOK OF DANIEL, which seems to fail on so many levels.
THE BOOK OF DANIEL quickly reminds the viewer of a fifth rate version of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, with characters nearly as morally challenged as those on MY NAME IS EARL or the shirtless morons on COPS. But that isn't the worst part of this turkey. It's the absurd modern portrayal of Jesus in this program that is likely to enrage most Christians. After the events in West Virginia, in which the Governor and miner's families really inspired faith in God and a value to prayer, and world prayers are for MidEast peace, if not for Israeli Prime Minister Sharon, NBC decided that airing a program with an absurd Jesus portrayal was the right time. If anything, this really starts this program off on a wrong foot.
In THE PRODUCERS, the worst possible play, SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER was chosen to drive away audiences. At NBC, some network geniuses must have decided that THE BOOK OF DANIEL was a great way to create controversy, drive away viewers, create consumer boycotts from some religious groups, and to offend after a week in which prayer time with God was a central part of the lives of many due to the very nervous, sad and dangerous events.
Maybe at 12:35 in the morning, NBC can get away with programming such Conan O'Brien who often competes with infomercials with a low budget talk show that often features Abe Vigoda, Dr. Joyce Brothers or Al Roker as guests. But while Friday is often a ratings low evening, CBS proved that with effective programs such GHOST WHISPERER, CLOSE TO HOME and NUMBERS, if you offer worthwhile television fare, viewers will come. Instead, NBC has chosen to make both Friday and Saturday nights a real dumping ground. Friday's discards are the worst odd television shows that don't fit in on other nights. And Saturday is a potluck of the best repeats of some popular shows, but without a viewer often aware what's up for the evening. Both are ratings low drags on NBC.
Whether THE BOOK OF DANIEL draws an audience does not seem very likely to me. I can usually smell a clunker a mile away. MEDICAL INVESTIGATION, another recent Friday night NBC failure was like a weak CSI ripoff, but at least watchable. THE BOOK OF DANIEL just seems to have the kiss of doom written all over it.
A bad religious comedy like THE BOOK OF DANIEL is just enough to keep NBC locked in ratings hell.
Jumat, 06 Januari 2006
U.S. Average Wages Lag Far Behind Many Western Nations
Mr. Bush is on the road promoting what he claims to be "good news" regarding U.S. employment. However, there is far more involved in any discussion of economics than mere employment numbers. In the American capitalist economy, workers and wages are supply and demand commodities. When wages become low enough, more workers will find employment, but at lower wages as they can be hired at bargain prices.
Compared to many Western world average wages, the U.S. lags far behind many states. The U.S. average wage of just $33,195 compares very poorly against the averages wages of Germany at $50,445, $46,541 in the U.K., $45,879 in France, $45,839 in Japan and even the $38,259 in Ireland, once thought to be one of the world's poorest nations because of the old economy destroyed by the potato famine.
And as the world economy becomes more globalized, foreign nations take advantage of cheap American labor to build their products. Americans become the low wage "Chinese" labor for wealthy states such as Germany and Japan to build their products. Germany's BMW for example takes advantage of the low wages paid in "right ro work" states such as South Carolina and pays far less to workers in this state than worker receive in Germany for building the same products. And Japanese manufacturers also take advantage of lower American wages to build their products. In both cases while some lower wage income jobs remain behind in America with some local benefit, most of the product value sold in America flows to foreign nations and increases their wealth compared to the U.S. It is in this way that states like South Carolina are kept near the bottom of state per capita income by a continued culture of low paying jobs, and become attractive to foreign states to increase their wealth comparable to the U.S.
While Mr. Bush attempts to claim that his tax cuts are somehow responsible for increased American employment figures, and should be made permanent, there is no real hard evidence to support this politically moltivated premise.
If anything, there is better evidence of other economic trends such as major job layoffs at GM, more job outsourcing as more U.S. companies fall victim to unfair foreign economic competition, and trends of increased competition over tightening supplies of oil, wood, steel and aluminum with China that all hold promise for increased prices in 2006. OPEC will decide on oil production cutbacks this month, and the price per barrel for petroleum has increased to $60 a barrel again. And China has decided to relax regulations in 80 Chinese cities that restricted the number of automobiles allowed. More and more Chinese automobiles will be produced in China and compete for declining world oil supplies and production output in 2006.
And there is so much political uncertainty in Israel where Binyamin Netanyahu may benefit from a death of Israeli leader Sharon. Netanyahu would likely attack Iran in response to their nuclear program and this could impact the flow of oil from the MidEast as Iran controls the Strait Of Hormuz.
There is very thin reasons for Mr. Bush to credit his tax breaks for the increased employment figures. Wages have only become low enough that more workers have jobs, but their income lags thousands of dollars behind workers in other nations. The U.S. is still a prime area for foreign growth into our economy as some foreign states become more powerful at the expense of U.S. nationalism.
Compared to many Western world average wages, the U.S. lags far behind many states. The U.S. average wage of just $33,195 compares very poorly against the averages wages of Germany at $50,445, $46,541 in the U.K., $45,879 in France, $45,839 in Japan and even the $38,259 in Ireland, once thought to be one of the world's poorest nations because of the old economy destroyed by the potato famine.
And as the world economy becomes more globalized, foreign nations take advantage of cheap American labor to build their products. Americans become the low wage "Chinese" labor for wealthy states such as Germany and Japan to build their products. Germany's BMW for example takes advantage of the low wages paid in "right ro work" states such as South Carolina and pays far less to workers in this state than worker receive in Germany for building the same products. And Japanese manufacturers also take advantage of lower American wages to build their products. In both cases while some lower wage income jobs remain behind in America with some local benefit, most of the product value sold in America flows to foreign nations and increases their wealth compared to the U.S. It is in this way that states like South Carolina are kept near the bottom of state per capita income by a continued culture of low paying jobs, and become attractive to foreign states to increase their wealth comparable to the U.S.
While Mr. Bush attempts to claim that his tax cuts are somehow responsible for increased American employment figures, and should be made permanent, there is no real hard evidence to support this politically moltivated premise.
If anything, there is better evidence of other economic trends such as major job layoffs at GM, more job outsourcing as more U.S. companies fall victim to unfair foreign economic competition, and trends of increased competition over tightening supplies of oil, wood, steel and aluminum with China that all hold promise for increased prices in 2006. OPEC will decide on oil production cutbacks this month, and the price per barrel for petroleum has increased to $60 a barrel again. And China has decided to relax regulations in 80 Chinese cities that restricted the number of automobiles allowed. More and more Chinese automobiles will be produced in China and compete for declining world oil supplies and production output in 2006.
And there is so much political uncertainty in Israel where Binyamin Netanyahu may benefit from a death of Israeli leader Sharon. Netanyahu would likely attack Iran in response to their nuclear program and this could impact the flow of oil from the MidEast as Iran controls the Strait Of Hormuz.
There is very thin reasons for Mr. Bush to credit his tax breaks for the increased employment figures. Wages have only become low enough that more workers have jobs, but their income lags thousands of dollars behind workers in other nations. The U.S. is still a prime area for foreign growth into our economy as some foreign states become more powerful at the expense of U.S. nationalism.
Kamis, 05 Januari 2006
One Of America's Worst Workplaces
The tragedy at the West Virginia, Sago mine illustrates the dangers of bad workplaces in America. This nonunion mine which operates for lower wages in one of West Virgina's poorest areas has had a long history of far worst than usual safer standards. In the last three years this mine has had more than 273 safety violations. In 2004, these included 18 incidents of roof falls.
There were 18 recent violations which included D Orders. These desist orders prevented any more work in the mine until the safety violations were corrected.
But as bad as these past incidents are, conditions actually improved somewhat under the current mining company led by CEO Ben Hatfield. For only the last two months has this new company been operating the mine.
While these problems with the mine no doubt greatly contributed to the deadly mine accident, yesterday's actions where Hatfield or other company officials failed to issue a statement when they knew that the earlier belief that 12 of 13 miners may not be alive, 45 minutes after this wrong message was believed to be true for nearly three hours was outrageous.
It was the duty of this company to issue a guarded statement when it had information that was important. Both the Governor and a Congresswoman were kept in the dark about the new information, and appeared to be credible sources where some newspapers such as USA today actually went to press with wrong headlines and storylines. It was only the third time since 1972, the newsmedia had bad sources that wrongfully reported a life or death story.
In the 1972 attack in Munich on the Israeli athletes, Sports reporter Jim McKay made a reporting mistake based on bad sources. In the 1981, in the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan by a mentally ill man, Reagan's press secretary James Brady was wrongfully reported to have been killed by his head wound. However it later turned out that Brady was very seriously wounded and left injured and disabled by his serious wound. The bad sources that misled USA Today to others to go to print with a wrong story and headlines must be blamed on the mining company withholding information.
Conservatives on some Websites used this error to again attack the newsmedia, yet some Websites themselves printed the wrong story based on the correct information that the mine company refused to issue until hours later. Many of the same Websites and their conservative supporters were able to bully CBS into firing some news executives over a story about Bush's National Guard service claiming that the form of type was not used in 1971, yet new information proves that since 1969 that form of type was available.
While the awful handling of information by the company did not contribute to any deaths of the miners, it did still contribute to added emotional suffering for the families who were waiting for word on their loved ones.
While the current mine company run by CEO Ben Hatfield is supposedly better than the previous company, still the fact that this nonunion mine has three times the accident injuries and deaths of most comparable union mines is a very important factor. This company should run a union mine with better safety conditions and better wages. Some like Dan Kane of the United Mine Workers offers a strong case of the safety and wage advantages of union mines. A worker who has safety concerns can make a complaint without a fear of job loss through their safety representative, and this is more likely to result in a safety remedy to a life-threatening problem than in nonunion mines where workers live in fear of being fired if they complain about a serious safety problem.
Unionization of mines is an important goal towards securing better safety, wage, health care and retirement benefits for mine workers.
There were 18 recent violations which included D Orders. These desist orders prevented any more work in the mine until the safety violations were corrected.
But as bad as these past incidents are, conditions actually improved somewhat under the current mining company led by CEO Ben Hatfield. For only the last two months has this new company been operating the mine.
While these problems with the mine no doubt greatly contributed to the deadly mine accident, yesterday's actions where Hatfield or other company officials failed to issue a statement when they knew that the earlier belief that 12 of 13 miners may not be alive, 45 minutes after this wrong message was believed to be true for nearly three hours was outrageous.
It was the duty of this company to issue a guarded statement when it had information that was important. Both the Governor and a Congresswoman were kept in the dark about the new information, and appeared to be credible sources where some newspapers such as USA today actually went to press with wrong headlines and storylines. It was only the third time since 1972, the newsmedia had bad sources that wrongfully reported a life or death story.
In the 1972 attack in Munich on the Israeli athletes, Sports reporter Jim McKay made a reporting mistake based on bad sources. In the 1981, in the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan by a mentally ill man, Reagan's press secretary James Brady was wrongfully reported to have been killed by his head wound. However it later turned out that Brady was very seriously wounded and left injured and disabled by his serious wound. The bad sources that misled USA Today to others to go to print with a wrong story and headlines must be blamed on the mining company withholding information.
Conservatives on some Websites used this error to again attack the newsmedia, yet some Websites themselves printed the wrong story based on the correct information that the mine company refused to issue until hours later. Many of the same Websites and their conservative supporters were able to bully CBS into firing some news executives over a story about Bush's National Guard service claiming that the form of type was not used in 1971, yet new information proves that since 1969 that form of type was available.
While the awful handling of information by the company did not contribute to any deaths of the miners, it did still contribute to added emotional suffering for the families who were waiting for word on their loved ones.
While the current mine company run by CEO Ben Hatfield is supposedly better than the previous company, still the fact that this nonunion mine has three times the accident injuries and deaths of most comparable union mines is a very important factor. This company should run a union mine with better safety conditions and better wages. Some like Dan Kane of the United Mine Workers offers a strong case of the safety and wage advantages of union mines. A worker who has safety concerns can make a complaint without a fear of job loss through their safety representative, and this is more likely to result in a safety remedy to a life-threatening problem than in nonunion mines where workers live in fear of being fired if they complain about a serious safety problem.
Unionization of mines is an important goal towards securing better safety, wage, health care and retirement benefits for mine workers.
Rabu, 04 Januari 2006
People Of South Park, I Declare Shenanigans, Grab Your Brooms
On a famous second season epidode of South Park, during the annual Cow Days it turned out the games at the carnival were rigged and a big joke on the players who were ripped off. Officer Barbrady declared "shenanigans" and told people to get their brooms. And on MTV, Ashton Kutcher's elaborate mean trick show, builds on Candid Camera by labored and elaborate tricks played on celebrities. Tuesday fell somewhere between the two popular culture programs.
In the worst heart breaker there was a claim that 20 minutes after mine officials knew that most of the miners were found dead in the West Virginia mine tragedy, thay sat on the information for about three hours before offering the truth at a press conference. Understandably joyous jubilation turned to anger and sorrow. It was as if the whole nation, especially the families had been "punk'd".
It was almost too much of an emotional roller coaster to even watch. A deeply sad heartbreaker made worst by the knowlege of this futher problems by the management of this mine that went from 68 safety violations in 2004 to 208 violations in 2005. The nation and the grieving families who especially feel betrayed are ready to "declare shenanigans".
Jack Abramoff, a major lobbyist plead guilty to stealing tens of millions from Native American casinos, and using the money to bribe public officials. Abramoff was a strong friend of Tom Delay, who has run to Christian churches for support for the felony indictment that he faces. Abramoff may implicate as many as 20 Republican and Democratic members of Congress in criminal bribe activity. Abramoff was a Bush Pioneer, a part of an elite group of supporters who contributed more than $100,000 to the Bush campaign. With the criminal plea of Abramoff and the factbthat as many as 20 Congress members may be implicated or even brought down, it was as if the nation declared "shenanigans" on corruption in Congress and is ready to get their brooms.
Almost daily, the Bush Administration misleads the nation on "how good" things are going in Iraq. But Tuesday it was announced that the election results would be delayed again because of more than 2,000 allegations of fraud. And a suicide bombing at a funeral of all places killed 36 and wounded 40.
All of these heartbreaking and emotionally depressing elaborate string-alongs make one feel like a victim of the elaborate dirty tricks on the "Punk'd" program, but also make one want to "declare shenanigans" and grab their brooms.
In the worst heart breaker there was a claim that 20 minutes after mine officials knew that most of the miners were found dead in the West Virginia mine tragedy, thay sat on the information for about three hours before offering the truth at a press conference. Understandably joyous jubilation turned to anger and sorrow. It was as if the whole nation, especially the families had been "punk'd".
It was almost too much of an emotional roller coaster to even watch. A deeply sad heartbreaker made worst by the knowlege of this futher problems by the management of this mine that went from 68 safety violations in 2004 to 208 violations in 2005. The nation and the grieving families who especially feel betrayed are ready to "declare shenanigans".
Jack Abramoff, a major lobbyist plead guilty to stealing tens of millions from Native American casinos, and using the money to bribe public officials. Abramoff was a strong friend of Tom Delay, who has run to Christian churches for support for the felony indictment that he faces. Abramoff may implicate as many as 20 Republican and Democratic members of Congress in criminal bribe activity. Abramoff was a Bush Pioneer, a part of an elite group of supporters who contributed more than $100,000 to the Bush campaign. With the criminal plea of Abramoff and the factbthat as many as 20 Congress members may be implicated or even brought down, it was as if the nation declared "shenanigans" on corruption in Congress and is ready to get their brooms.
Almost daily, the Bush Administration misleads the nation on "how good" things are going in Iraq. But Tuesday it was announced that the election results would be delayed again because of more than 2,000 allegations of fraud. And a suicide bombing at a funeral of all places killed 36 and wounded 40.
All of these heartbreaking and emotionally depressing elaborate string-alongs make one feel like a victim of the elaborate dirty tricks on the "Punk'd" program, but also make one want to "declare shenanigans" and grab their brooms.
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