Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Bond Yields Soar!

There is high concern for expectations of improved economic growth as well as Obama's plan to extend the Bush era tax cuts. The Bush era tax cuts has the potential to intensify the start inflation and budget deficit.

he benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which bottomed at 2.39% in early October, jumped to 3.23% on Wednesday from 3.16% on Tuesday. The 30-year Treasury bond rose to 4.44% from 4.42%.

WikiLeaks Incident!

A worldwide dispute about a website known as WikiLeaks. The website displays secret business information to the public. The founder (Julian Assange), however, was accused of sexual assault.
Cyber attacks also were reported against an attorney representing two Swedish women who have accused WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange of sexual assault, as well as on PostFinance, the financial arm of the Swiss postal system that closed Assange's account after accusing him of providing false information.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert Accused of Political Rally

This event, while originally intended for jest, could possibly become a 'turning point' … in our nation's history for having immense impact on how political discourse is engaged in the future," the 52-year-old writer and actress wrote on the event's Facebook page this week. "You have created a political movement, intended or not."

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Pakistan's Criminal System Not Equipped to Bring Terrorist to Justice

 
Criminal JusticePakistan's lack of ability to bring terrorist to justice has nothing to do with the attorney's court room skills, but with their weak criminal justice system.


 It's not that the prosecutor isn't aggressive enough or lacks legal acumen. But the cases Tayyab takes on seem doomed from the start. More often than not, they're based on shoddy police work, and only get to court because of antiquated judicial procedures that don't allow prosecutors to reject flimsy, poorly investigated cases.

Giants Win Brings out the Best in Fans

Meg Whitman Turns up the Heat

Meg Whitman
Meg Whitman is starting to get a little anxious since she is behind in the polls. She is lashing out against the negative ads and Jerry Brown.
Her campaign insists that she is following a charted course and that the race remains tight. But political observers say that a rapidly changing strategy is a tacit acknowledgement that Whitman's campaign juggernaut — fueled by $141 million of her own money — has stalled.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

"My Political Lean"

The Quiz

The following are your scores. They are based on a gradual range of 0 to 12. For instance, a Conservative/Progressive score of 3 and 0 will both yield a result of social conservative, yet 0 would be an extreme conservative and 3 a moderate conservative


Conservative/Progressive score: 6
You are a social moderate. You think the progressive movement is overall well meaning, but sometimes it goes too far. On issues like abortion and affirmative action, you see the negatives of both extremes on the issue. You probably value religion, but at the same time you think it should still stay separate from the government


Capitalist Purist/Social Capitalist score: 9
You're a Social Capitalist, you think that, left to its own, Capitalism leaves a lot of people behind. You think that Health Care should be free to all, that the minimum wage should be raised, and that the government should provide jobs to all that are capable of having them. You likely hated the Bush tax cuts, and believe that the middle class has gotten poorer, and the rich have gotten richer over the past several years. The far extreme of social capitalism is socialism.


Libertarian/Authoritarian score: 7
You're a Moderate. You think that we all have certain inalienable rights that must be protected, but that sometimes laws need to be made to protect the majority's lives or quality of lives. You might think that the 2nd amendment isn't necessary anymore because letting everyone a gun is extremely dangerous to the community. You might also be against illegal drug use or public pornography because of its possible harmful effects to society.


Pacifist/Militarist score: 5
You're a Moderate. You think that in very rare occasions, the United States should invade a country in order to make the world better by spreading democracy or ending a tyrants rule. You also think that defense is very important, and we shouldn't lower the defense budget. You think that, while the Iraq War probably was a mistake, that we can make the world a better place by sticking with it and spreading democracy in the middle east.

Overall, you would most likely fit into the category of Democrat

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Controversial Billboard In Texas

Obama Urges Chinese Leader to Revalue Currency

Obama speaks at the United Nations General Assembly on thursday in New York about pressuring the Chinese Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao, to revalue the chinese currency.
Prime Minister Wen Jiabao barely budged beyond his familiar talking points about gradual “reform” of China’s currency policy, leaving it unclear whether Mr. Obama’s message would change Beijing’s economic or political calculus.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Florida Pastor is Getting Way Too Much Face Time



Terry Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center, is getting too much time in the news. It's funny how this pastor of a tiny church can get so much attention. First, he decides to cancel the burning in exchange for the mosque to be built in a different location, but now he is reconsidering because he claims the Muslim leader lied about moving the mosque.
(GAINESVILLE, Fla.) — The leader of a tiny church on Thursday backed off his threat to burn the Koran, saying he gave up the plan in exchange for a deal to move a planned Islamic center and mosque away from New York's ground zero. The imam planning the center, however, quickly denied any such deal.
The Rev. Terry Jones had been under intense pressure to back off, including a statement from President Barack Obama and a personal call from U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Jones made his announcement outside his church alongside Imam Muhammad Musri, the president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2017321,00.html#ixzz0z5gWGmak

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Christian Church Takes Freedom of Speech too Far.

In a nation of tolerance, is this tolerant? America is considered a melting pot of different religions and cultural backgrounds where people are free to live and exercise freedom of speech, but this is publicly unacceptable.
The FBI has begun to collect information relating to a plan by a radical Christian pastor in Florida to stage a public Quran burning on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks this Saturday. Given constitutional provisions protecting the freedom of expression, however, officials say they don't believe the FBI or any other federal authority has the power to stop at least a token Quran burning by the Rev. Terry Jones of the Dove World Outreach Center.
I find the name of the church quite ironic. Dove, which symbolizes peace, but the burning of the Quran is anything but peaceful.  World Outreach suggests that the church is willing to reach out to the world, but instead the church seems to be pushing people away.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Economy within an Economy

Initially, I thought I had found an article on air pollution and overcrowding in China; however, as I read through the article I found something more interesting. Road repairs and the mass amount of people living in Beijing contributes to a serious traffic jam on two highways; as a result, it takes five days to travel 350 miles from Inner Mongolia to Tianjin. While motorist sit in frustration, others have managed to capitalize on the opportunity:
The tie-up has created an economy of its own. Vendors sell boxed lunches, ramen noodles and drinking water to the captive audience, often at jacked-up prices. Roving gangs reportedly have preyed on fatigued motorists, siphoning gasoline as they snooze.
And because of the long-standing problems along the highways, dozens of small hotels have cropped up, catering to drivers who seek a respite to catch more serious sleep.
"Business is good," said Li Chenli, a 40-year-old receptionist at a hotel in Xinghe, a stop along the route. "But we don't like the traffic jam. It's hard for relatives to come to visit. Life is inconvenient. Wherever you go, you're just waiting and waiting."

Thursday, September 2, 2010

The Cost of Healthcare Just Got More Expensive

Giving the current state of the economy, where millions of people are struggling to make ends meet, U.S. employers are making their employees foot most of the healthcare bill.
Workers saw average copayments for routine office visits increase 10% and deductibles continue their surge upward.

In 2010, more than a quarter of American workers with employer-provided health coverage were in plans with deductibles of at least $1,000.

"It's really bad news for everybody," said Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health, an organization of large employers that provide coverage to about 50 million workers, retirees and dependents.

Overall, premium growth slowed slightly this year to 3%, with the average annual cost of a family health plan reaching $13,770. Workers picked up 30% of that bill. The average plan for an individual cost $5,049.

Global Warming: Another Oil Explosion

In his book, Tom Friedman talks about the need for America to create tools and systems that will allow the earth to grow cleaner. Rep. Henry A. Waxman echoes this same idea in his statement about the recent oil platform explosion:
"In the wake of the BP catastrophe, this is an extremely disturbing event,'' said energy committee chairman Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills), who has led an investigation into the BP spill. "I call on the administration to immediately redouble safety reviews of all offshore drilling and platform operations in the gulf and take all appropriate action to ensure safety and protection of the environment."