Recent comments

  • What will be Wall Street’s punishment for fraudulently manipulating the LIBOR?   13 years 4 weeks ago

    I just wanted to say "Thank You Thom"! Keep up the great work and have a great weekend!

  • What will be Wall Street’s punishment for fraudulently manipulating the LIBOR?   13 years 4 weeks ago

    Bust 'em up and nationalize 'em. Put Blankfein and Dimon in the lowest prison cells and let THEM eat cake for a change

  • Daily Topics - Thursday July 12th, 2012   13 years 4 weeks ago

    Voting Machines: I suspect that optical or electro-mechanical voting machines can be biased in subtle ways. For example, if an optical scanner has separate sensors for each candidate, then if some where dirtier than the others, then the dirtier ones would falsely record more marginally registered votes (not fully filled in bubbles, blue/vs black ink, etc.). The scanners would probably pass the tests that are thrown at them, but the ones with dirty sensors would be at a disadvantage.

    I do believe that an electronic voting machine could be properly constructed so that it could be trusted. Sadly, our current design where everything happens in one reprogrammable black box with no audit trail between the logical units is a recipe for disaster. You definitely do not want a general purpose machine used for this purpose.

  • Daily Topics - Thursday July 12th, 2012   13 years 4 weeks ago

    If campaign contributions are speech, then someone who talks a little to their neighbor is doing so privately and should not have to disclose it. If someone goes on TV and talks for an hour before the nation, then it is public. Whenever you give money to facilitate speech, then you are speaking. You should not be able to launder your speech through third parties.

  • What will be Wall Street’s punishment for fraudulently manipulating the LIBOR?   13 years 4 weeks ago

    LIBOR metaphor as explained in the 1983 Trading Places http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R2rHuq7eq4

  • What will be Wall Street’s punishment for fraudulently manipulating the LIBOR?   13 years 4 weeks ago

    I am looking for an easy way to sum this up, and that is when an all American means came to me.

    It is just like Pete Rose. From Wikipedia; In his autobiography My Prison Without Bars, published by Rodale Press on January 8, 2004, Rose finally admitted publicly to betting on baseball games and other sports while playing for and managing the Reds. He also admitted to betting on Reds games, but said that he never bet against the Reds.

    In other words he bet on the games he felt he could win based on inside information. Maybe the truly American ideas are Baseball and insider trading. Sorry apple pie.

  • What will be Wall Street’s punishment for fraudulently manipulating the LIBOR?   13 years 4 weeks ago

    A simple way to explain the Libor Fraud is:

    Heads I win, tales you lose.

    you're welcome.

  • Could the LIBOR scandal bring down the entire financial system?   13 years 4 weeks ago

    People are waking up to the fact that money is just paper, just as gold is a metal, the only power it has is the power you give it. Money cannot be eaten, drank and makes for terrible fire kindle because it burns to fast. We are finally starting to ask the question, "what is really important in this life?" and increasingly money is not the answer. Money is a mere tool that the 1% and banksters use to control the population by perpetual economic slavery. Instead of being shackled in chains we are shackled with debt and bills. This leads to a life as a wage slave where the worker earns minimum wage while the CEO makes 475% more than the average worker. How did we let this ponzi scheme enslave us?

    Yes it is a ponzi scheme when the top 1-2% are benefiting from the fruits of the bottom 98-99%. It is about time that we rebel against our masters who seek only to control us for their benefit. Free yourself and humanity from the disease that is money. Start organizing barter and trade systems within your own community. Grow a garden for fresh produce. Or start a mutual credit system within the community with little to no interest; that is, make your own money. Yes, anyone can create money. Money creation is not the sole privilege of the banksters, anyone or any community can do it - legally! The banksters who seek control hope that you never find this out.

    P.S. Those that think gold will solve all our problems if we simply get rid of fiat money, think about it - who has already bought up most of the gold? The banksters. Switching from paper money to gold will not change anything because the same people will be in control.

  • Daily Topics - Wednesday - March 3 2010   13 years 4 weeks ago

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  • 7 tons of Radioactive Waste is Flowing into the Ocean Every Hour at Fukushima   13 years 4 weeks ago

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  • Our crumbling infrastructure & long commutes   13 years 4 weeks ago

    There have been several times when the only job that I could find or the best job that I could find was many miles from my home & relocating a family was not feasable any time soon. We need tax relief for secondary housing costs! They can be substantial.

  • Is the Corporate Media acknowledging the death of the American Dream?   13 years 4 weeks ago

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  • Why is election spending by outside groups up 1,600% this year in the GOP primary?   13 years 4 weeks ago

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  • Our crumbling infrastructure & long commutes   13 years 4 weeks ago

    Excellent points, Ken Ware! It would be nice to be able to ride a fast train to LA and back in a short period of time. But that's really all it would be..and I agree with what you said about the illegal immigrants problem.

  • Our crumbling infrastructure & long commutes   13 years 4 weeks ago

    In the most sincere description, our Congress, Senate, Supreme Court, and President are a composite of the core of the American infrastructure. Now watching C-span Congress, and C-span Senate, now the conversation is not buffered by the cable electromagnetic journalist militia men and women of the one percent. While watching them don’t we know, with all the opportunities they have in time and abilities trumpeted, to notice all those men and women have brought America to this point?

    For the last fifty years they have secret agreements with countries around the world, all for favors, especially making money through surrogates to the Cayman Island, and Swiss secret baby bank trust funds, loaded with legal legislative statutes to speed wealth for the one percent. Making wars through profiteering and importing deficient products that optimized America’s depreciation. Democratic or Republican all failed. No, many don’t think so yet many more are struggling, evolving, to that point of understanding that many high level political people are just plain criminals.

    It is very hard to accept that thought that a previous President should or could be prosecuted for war crimes, torture, or treasury theft, or driving the country to hell. Or a Supreme Court member should be arrested and convicted for making money the same as free speech, which is insane.

    Too much is said, not enough done. America must wake up to a simple long time real thought by a previous president.

    “The first truth is that the liberty of a Democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their Democratic state itself. That in its essence, is fascism ownership by an individual , by groups, or by any other controlling private power.”

    A message to strengthen, and enforce support for some basic anti-trust laws. By Franklin D. Roosevelt. Please, understand, I am an independent.

    Yet this notion about money needs a whole lot of transparency. Every person in Congress, Senate, President, Supreme Court, and those immediate family and friends should be BANK TESTED. >>> Where’s the beef.

  • Our crumbling infrastructure & long commutes   13 years 4 weeks ago

    Republicans are orchestrating a deteriorating infrastructure. It is not logical that since the Harriman/Standard Oil/International Harvester cartel would profit tremendously from

    ... “transit investments.” ...spending federal money at least $2 trillion worth of repairs- "

    along with all the buses and trains for transit, that they should not be selling this proposal like hot cakes. Transportation is their MO.

    Considering the tactics of International Truck and Engine (Navistar or Transtar) in the last century, their curious behavior now shows they are stallling for such a Depression that people will be clamoring to spread asphalt for peanuts, and man the factories gratefully, for whatever they can get.

    Then will be the time to "rebuild America" into a suitable place for royalty, such as we love them.

  • Our crumbling infrastructure & long commutes   13 years 4 weeks ago

    As a Southern California commuter I can affirm the fact that we have a major problem with transportation and the time it takes to get to from one point to another. We have tried adding a special lane for those who travel with two or more people in the vehicle and it has not dramatically helped with the fact we spend more and more time each day sitting in traffic on the freeways and on our local main streets. The idea that a high speed train system will alleviate the problems we have is wrong. The majority of commuters are not traveling to S.F. from L.A. to work daily. Our problem is we have too many cars trying to get to the same area, usually within 10 to 20 miles from our homes. At one time companies would try to arrange starting times for the work day either before or after the major traffic rush, and that has gone to the wayside with major companies having fewer employees due to the downsizing of most companies. The bussing of more people to their place of employment has over crowded that system to the maximum limit with people having to wait for the next bus to come along and waisting more time waiting. Building new highways would be great, but we do not have the money to keep the highways and roads we already have in proper condition for usage. Perhaps if our government stopped spending our money in other countries to improve their streets and roads and spent it here, we might have a chance of surviving the new century. The funds we are spending in Afghanistan and other countries where we have started unnecessary wars and started using it for our infrastructure we could start to mend this country. As far as jobs go, we could start deporting the 20 million illegal workers our industries, large and small businesses have hired to increase their personal profits each working day and hired Americans we would not have all the citizens who are unemployed or under employed here. We could also hire Americans to work on infrastructure, instead of handing the contracts to companies that will turn around and hire illegal immigrants to perform the work, for a change. Here in California you will find it difficult to find a company that does not hire illegal workers for every blue collar job for construction, transportation, warehousing to maintenance of all types. And please Thom doesn’t start crying how we cannot remove these illegal workers from our country or how necessary they are to our economy. The people who hire these illegals are cheating the gov't out of taxes from social security to Medicare and more. They hire the illegal workers as contractors and use the 1099 tax form which eliminates their legal obligation to send the employer’s tax of 7.5 percent that matches the amount the employee is supposed to pay into the social security tax. Hiring illegal workers as contractors also saves the employer from paying into the workers disability insurance funds. I could go on and on why these low life employers hire illegal workers, instead of hiring Americans to do the same job. And that is why I doubt any construction on our infrastructure will put much of a dent in our unemployment figures for American workers, but sure as hell will help draw in more and more illegal workers from other countries to do the work our citizens could and should be doing........TIME TO START DEPORTATION BEFORE REBUILDING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE FOR OUR CITIZENS!

  • Our crumbling infrastructure & long commutes   13 years 4 weeks ago

    The US has terrible particle pollution levels but it's nearly invisible unlike the smog of old. The media conspires to kepp it hidden as do organizations like The Heartland Institute.

    It takes my significant other over 90 minutes on bus and train plus a 15-20 minute walk to get to work in San Jose, CA. He uses public transit 80%+ instead of driving. Some of the experiences he's had while commuting are hair-raising. Yesterday alone was a doozey!

    On the way to work, the bus J takes goes past Valley Medical Center. When the bus stopped at hospital, the driver had to immediately put the bus out of service and call dispatch for paramedics. A man with double amputations of legs was nearly unconscious and BLEEDING from both stumps. J's best guess is he was released because he has no insurance or simply dumped, which is far too common an occurence. On the way home, on the same bus a person collapsed in Diabetic shock. Again, the driver put the bus out of service, called dispatch and paramedics.The person was working poor and couldn't afford insulin. Both incidents, J became the first repsonder along with the bus driver. J's been a front row witness and responder to TWO SUICIDES BY TRAIN, several auto fatalities near the station and a car-train collision. All these incidents were totally preventable IF our infrastructure; public transit, highways, hospitals, health care system, were made modern and FOR We The People.

    J runs and collects recycleables very early morning. as he left the house at 5:15, he realized a house less than two blocks away was on fire and there were no emergency vehicles on site. Yesterday morning started out with a three-alarm house fire two blocks from our home on top of the bus incidents. This was the third fire in less than a year within a two block radius of our house. In all three fires, many people were made homeless and the structures a complete loss due to firehouse closings, attacks on first responder pensions and lay-offs.

    ALL of these incidents were completely preventable IF our area infrastructure and public commons weren't privatized and allow to rot, all for the sake of corporate profits padding B(m)illionaire pockets.

    Don't even get me started on Gov Jerry Brown's lameness by not enacting the Homeowners Bill of Rights immediately instead of Jan 2013. Millions more Californians will lose their homes before this law ever takes effect or in enforced. Yet another one for the banksters, ZERO for distressed homeowners. Even more pressure is imminent on our crumbling public commons and infrastruacture as a result.

  • Daily Topics - Wednesday July 11th, 2012   13 years 4 weeks ago

    Since the House voted to repeal the "Romney based Affordable Care Act" for the 33rd time, I think that all the Democratic senators should also vote to repeal it too!

    What would the Republicans do then?

    Maybe we might find out what the Republican plan for healthcare in America is. I hope it's something other than going to the ER, because every time someone does that it's a tax on all of us who have insurance.

  • Our crumbling infrastructure & long commutes   13 years 4 weeks ago

    We could sure use more bike lanes and bike friendly infrastructure. Most people can bike 13 miles in less than 90 minutes.

  • Our crumbling infrastructure & long commutes   13 years 4 weeks ago

    Many years ago, when I had to travel to Korea to work in a couple of major IC manufacturing plants, I noticed that one way they had of solving part of their traffic problems (and they had really bad traffic problems even despite the commuter trains they had), was to have employee housing accommodations right on site. They had their own employee hotels and/or "barracks"..I guess you could call them campuses. This was mostly for young and unmarried employees.

    When I worked in Guadalajara, Mexico, they helped with their traffic problems by having hundreds of Greyhound-like and school buses that I would see in the parking lots every day. And despite the large parking lots at the plants, where they parked the buses...it was really hard to find a parking space for my rented car. I initially took taxis but the smog was so bad in Guadalajara that having a rental let me close some of that out. Mexican taxis don't close their windows and turn on the air conditioner...so all that choking filth came through the windows in the taxis.

    China was a mess..traffic-wise and pollution-wise..air pollution like Mexico.

    So, I hope the US doesn't become like these other countries...re: pollution. I had to frequently go to LA, as well, and I occasionally noticed some really bad air pollution days. Maybe LA is our canary!

    They are trying to get a hi-speed train system to connect SF and LA...I sure envy places that have high speed trains and a very well connect network of commuter trains that I saw in Europe. Of course, even with a great commuter system, some of these countries are so populated and packed that they still have a terrible air pollution problem. And even water pollution...it was very shocking to see the Huangpu river that flows through Shanghai..past the Bund boardwalk or from the Yangpu bridge. The current is very strong and you can see all kinds of unspeakable sewage and trash rushing by.

  • The Greek people are once again getting a raw deal   13 years 4 weeks ago

    No republican voted for the ACA. It was a total partisan ram it down your throat 2700 page take your medicine,pass it to find out what's in it snow job. It is not a tax I promise it is not a tax.

  • Daily Topics - Thursday July 12th, 2012   13 years 4 weeks ago

    Olympics in the nude! I take it Thom you haven’t seen the women’s volleyball competition. I'd be for it except for power lifting, the clean and jerk might prove hazardous. Also where would the athletes put their trading pins?

  • Will America ever produce any societal changing Entrepreneurs again?   13 years 4 weeks ago

    Successful entrepreneurialism more often than not dislocates wealth associated with an obsolete, competing, or similar good or service. And keeping the wealth in its present hands is what our current “democracy” of special interests is all about. Consequently American “ingenuity” is in reality mostly a thing of the past or restricted to the hands of existing Oligarchs – who will squelch the innovations true potential to conform with existing investment (or othewise profit concerns) in the alternative. Entrepreneurialism has pretty much gone the way of the American Dream - of which it was a part - and the Country is suffering because of it. Thanks for nothing 1%.

  • Education now only for the wealthy?   13 years 4 weeks ago

    This also includes learning institutions that have in progress using Cloud-based class organization software to decrease cost as well as the workload for distributing listing forms to possible candidates. you can get here most up-to-date collection birthday messages and send it to your friends.

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