Palin As Prez

A coworker emailed me this hilarious link today. Check it out and start clicking to see funny and odd things happen. Keep checking the link daily until Tuesday, as things are added to it!
--- T

http://palinaspresident.us/

Bush's Final Pillage

Naomi Klein, whose book " The Shock Doctrine" I am reading currently [amazing, prophetic book!], writes about the government bailout and the departing republican administration. The money - provided by the taxpayer - is disappearing so fast we can only scratch our heads and wonder what happened, when Obama is the president next January. T

"When European colonialists realized that they had no choice but to hand over power to the indigenous citizens, they would often turn their attention to stripping the local treasury of its gold and grabbing valuable livestock. If they were really nasty, like the Portuguese in Mozambique in the mid-1970s, they poured concrete down the elevator shafts.

The Bush gang prefers bureaucratic instruments: "distressed asset" auctions and the "equity purchase program." But make no mistake: the goal is the same as it was for the defeated Portuguese -- a final frantic looting of the public wealth before they hand over the keys to the safe."
Bailout = Bush's Final Pillage

Kahden todellisuuden maa

Hesarin nettisivuilla oli aika hyva analyysi Yhdysvaltain kahtiajakautuneisuudesta. laitan koko jutun tahan. Sanoisin viela etta takalaisen median ongelma on se etta se luulee tekevansa kansalaisille palveluksen raportoimalla molempien aaripaiden mielipiteet mutta jattaa usein oman analyysin tekematta. Siten kansalaiset joutuvat itse arvioimaan vaikeden asioiden syita ja seurauksia ilman perinpohjaista tietoa. Media on unohtanut etta uutinen ei ole pelkastaan mielipiteiden toistoa. Talla konstillahan Bushin hallitus pystyi manipuloimaan yleista mielipidetta juuri Irakin sodan alla - valtavirta-media toisti uskollisesti kaikki Bushin jaarittelut kyseenalaistamatta mitaan. Isanmaan nimessa.
--- T

[UUTISANALYYSI]

Yhdysvallat on kahden todellisuuden maa
Julkaistu: 21:24

Helsingin Sanomat

Koska media on läpeensä liberaali, sen vastapainoksi piti synnyttää konservatiivinen media.

Koska valtamediaan leviää konservatiivien valheita, on pitänyt kehittää liberaaleja mediantarkkailujärjestöjä, kuten Media Matters for America. Ja niiden vastapainoksi vahtikoiria liberaalien toimittajien valheille, kuten Newsbusters.

Moni Amerikassa on ajat sitten lakannut pohtimasta, mikä on totta ja mikä ei.

Totuus on kuopattu, sen tilalle on syntynyt kaksi rinnakkaista totuutta. Ja rinnakkaisten totuuksien sisälle rinnakkaistotuuksien versioita.

Karkeasti ottaen maa on jakautunut kahteen vastakkaiseen tulkintaan totuudesta: liberaaliin ja konservatiiviseen. Poliittisella kentällä liberaali on kallellaan demokraatteihin ja konservatiivi republikaaneihin.

Otetaan esimerkiksi Alaskan kuvernööri Sarah Palin, josta tehtiin yllättäen republikaani John McCainin varapresidenttiehdokas.

Mitä enemmän "liberaali media" tonki Palinin Alaskan aikaisia epäselvyyksiä, sen varmemmaksi kävi joillekin konservatiiveille, että Palinissa on republikaanien tulevaisuus, että hän on uusi Ronald Reagan.

Reaganin kuvaa painettiin kynnysmattoihin, joita myytiin liberaalien kotien edustoille. Samaista Reagania palvotaan jumalana republikaanisessa puolueessa.

Reaganin aika ja vaikkapa häntä edeltänyt Vietnamin sota muistuttavat siitä, että poliittinen kahtiajako on vuosikymmenien tuote. Sen sanotaan vahvistuneen republikaanipresidentti George W. Bushin vuosina, ja internet on antanut lisää tilaa sen ilmaisemiseen.

On vaikea keksiä toista kirjan nimeä, joka paremmin tiivistäisi nykyistä kahtiajakoa kuin Al Frankenin Valheet ja valehtelevat valehtelijat, jotka kertovat niitä – reilu ja tasapainoinen katsaus oikeistoon.

Tai ehkä sittenkin kuvaavampi nimi on Frankenia vihaavan Ann Coulterin kirjalla Jos demokraateilla olisi aivot, he olisivat republikaaneja.

Franken on minnesotalainen entinen tv-koomikko, joka pyrkii ensi tiistain vaaleissa senaattiin. Hänen kirjansa alaotsake viittaa konservatiivisen Fox-kaapelikanavan mainoslauseeseen "rehellinen ja tasapainoinen", jota pidetään liberaalipiireissä vitsinä.


Miltei kaikelle tuntuu olevan kaksi ääripäätä. Fox-kanavan vastapari on MSNBC. Liberaalille MoveOn.org-järjestölle se on uuskonservatiivien Freedom Watch. Konservatiiviselle The Weekly Standard -viikkolehdelle se on liberaali The Nation -viikkolehti.

Molemmissa ääripäissä ollaan vastapuolen uhreja. Konservatiivisilla radioasemilla valitetaan lisäksi sitä, että Amerikka on liberaalin median, yltiöliberaalien yliopistojen ja ultraliberaalin Hollywoodin saastuttama.


Amerikkalaiset valitsevat median ohella kotinsa oikeamielisistä naapurustoista, mikä on johtanut maan fyysiseenkin mielipidebalkanisoitumiseen.

Presidentinvaaleissa äänet jakautuvat valtakunnallisesti suunnilleen kahtia, mutta lähes puolessa piirikunnista jompikumpi ehdokas saa maanvyörymävoiton.


Bushin vuosina liberaalit ovat valittaneet, kuinka oikeistoradio onnistuu vuodesta toiseen aivopesemään sydänmaat äänestämään "omien etujensa vastaisesti".

Yhä noin neljännes kansasta ajattelee, että Bush on tehnyt hyvää työtä. Nämä Bushin tukijat eivät todennäköisesti lue The New York Timesia eivätkä katso CNN:ää, vaan ympäröivät itsensä "enemmän omalta tuntuvalla medialla".

Liberaalien mielestä Bushiin uskovat eivät elä "todellisuuteen perustuvassa yhteisössä".


Mutta mihin tai kenen todellisuuteen? Irakin sodan alla parhaina pidettyjä sanomalehtiä vietiin kuin pässiä narusta, ja niiden lukijoille syntyi käsitys suuresta joukkotuhoaseiden uhasta.

Hyvin liberaalien leirien suosima radiotähti-kirjailija Amy Goodman ruoskii kirjassaan The Exception to the Rulers The New York Timesia ja muuta valtamediaa siitä, että ne olivat sodan alla Bushin sylikoiria.

Goodman lainaa FAIR-järjestön selvitystä, jossa kerrottiin, että neljällä suurimmalla tv-kanavalla ennen sotaa haastatelluista 393 ihmisestä vain kolme oli tekemisissä sodanvastaisen liikkeen kanssa.

Sodan vastustajiin kuului yltiöliberaaliksi soimattu Barack Obama, josta saattaa tulla uusi presidentti. Se on konservatiiveille kauhistuttava ajatus, mutta oikeiston radioasemille se tietäisi uutta kulta-aikaa; sellaista, jonka Bill Clinton heille 1990-luvulla antoi.

Scary Elephant

Sosialismin peikko

Viikkoa ennen vaaleja amerikkalaisia pelotellaan sosialismin peikolla oikein toden teolla. Seka Mccain etta Palin kertovat uskollisille kuulijoilleen, etta jos Obama valitaan presidentiksi, Yhdysvalloista tulee sosialismin valtakunta. Oikeistolaiset agitaattorit radiossa ja televisiossa puhuvat viela voimakkaammin sanoin Obaman sosialistisista taipumuksista. Obama uskoo tulonsiirtoihin ja progressiiviseen verotukseen (eiko kaikki lansimaat harrasta moista sosialismia?). Obama haluaa ottaa rikkailta ja antaa koyhille (lue: laiskoille ja mustille).

Obama ei itse asiassa ole lainkaan sosialisti eika edes sosiaalidemokraatti. Han on vain moderaatimpi kuin oikeistolaiset republikaanit. kaikki on hyvin suhteellista. Yhdysvaltain senaatissa on yksi ainoa "sosialisti", Bernie Sanders Vermontista. Han kannattaa Pohjois-Euroopan kaltaista sosiaalidemokratiaa: koulutusta ja terveyspalveluja kaikille, ymparistosta huolehtimista, ym. tylsaa yhteishyvaa.

Taalla on taivas putoamassa niskaan, jos Obamasta tulee presidentti. Ainakin monet uskovat niin.
--- T

A Conservative Nation?

The morning after
Four years ago George W. Bush narrowly won the presidential election, and Republicans achieved a 30-seat majority in the House and a 10-seat majority in the Senate. Immediately there was a vast chorus from the commentariat, proclaiming the death of liberalism; America, everyone said, was a conservative nation. I have a whole shelf of books with titles like Building Red America and One-Party Nation.

Maybe the current polls are all wrong. But at the moment they point to an Obama victory by a margin much larger than Bush’s in 2004, plus a Democratic majority of 50 or more in the House and something like 14 in the Senate.

So you know what the morning-after commentary will say — in fact, it’s already started. Yes: it will say that America is, um, a conservative nation.
by Paul Krugman

Why Does Voting Seem so Difficult in America?

I have often wondered why the voting system cannot get its act together here in the US... Why are there such discrepancies and "voter fraud" throughout the system - like in some developing countries - and how can the system be so easily manipulated by political operatives? When I voted in Finland it seemed quite simple and basic. I have been voting in Finnish elections throughout my years in the States - and have confronted no problems.

Juliet Lapidos of Slate Magazine writes a good article about the voting problems in America, below is a quote from her text. See the whole article here. --- T

Our problems begin with a less than state-of-the-art registration system. According to Adam Fogel of FairVote, the United States is one of just a few democracies where the government takes a back seat, expecting individuals to sign themselves up to vote. (Other "self-initiating" countries include such beacons of democracy as Algeria, Cameroon, and Chad.) The National Voter Registration Act (aka the Motor Voter law, which Congress enacted in 1993) makes it possible to sign up at the DMV, at public-assistance offices, or by mail. But many, many people fall through the cracks—only 72 percent of the voting-age population was registered in 2004. Plus, we have no comprehensive way of correcting forms or striking people from the rolls when they move away or die.

Swedes, Australians, and Estonians all vote more than we do—the United States ranks 139 out of 172 countries when it comes to turnout—and experience less angst on Election Day because their governments are more invested in the process. Americans, of course, have a historic hatred of intrusive bureaucrats. As Eric Weiner noted in a prior How They Do It column for Slate, "Europeans tend to trust their private information with governments, not corporations" while Americans trust corporations, not governments. But he wrote that in 2006, before the Fed went on a nationalizing spree. Maybe along with AIG and Goldman Sachs, we should consider using taxpayer dollars to buy a controlling stake in MTV's Choose or Lose.

Colin Powell

Obama certainly has the momentum on his side. Colin Powell has just endorsed him for president. Powell, who was the only rational voice in the Bush administration early on (rational, though tragically mistaken). This is a way to make up for his mistakes.

--- T

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell announced Sunday that he will break with his party and vote for Sen. Barack Obama. "He has both style and substance. I think he is a transformational figure," Powell said on NBC's Meet the Press.

"I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities -- and you have to take that into account -- as well as his substance -- he has both style and substance," Powell said. "He has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president." Huffington Post

Congratulations, Mr. Krugman!

My favorite economist-columnist wins the Nobel prize in economics! That is great news -congratulations, Mr. Krugman! I'll have to add his blog on my page... I read it every day and especially in these difficult financial times it is so relevant.
--- T

Paul Krugman

Not About the Financial Crisis

October 10, 2008, 1:43 pm

Not about the financial crisis
By Paul Krugman

The crisis isn’t the only scary thing going on. Something very ugly is taking shape on the political scene: as McCain’s chances fade, the crowds at his rallies are, by all accounts, increasingly gripped by insane rage. It’s not just a mob phenomenon — it’s visible in the right-wing media, and to some extent in the speeches of McCain and Palin.

We’ve seen this before. One thing that has been sort of written out of the mainstream history of politics is the sheer insanity of the attacks on the Clintons — they were drug smugglers, they murdered Vince Foster (and lots of other people), they were in league with foreign powers. And this stuff didn’t just show up in fringe publications — it was discussed in Congress, given props by the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal, and so on.

What it came down to was that a significant fraction of the American population, backed by a lot of money and political influence, simply does not consider government by liberals (even very moderate liberals) legitimate. Ronald Reagan was supposed to have settled that once and for all.
What happens when Obama is elected? It will be even worse than it was in the Clinton years. For sure there will be crazy accusations, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some violence.

The next few years are going to be very, very tough.

I just wrote about the same thing last night - in Finnish. We are going to go through some really tough times in the next few years. No matter who wins the election.
--- T

Congratulations, Mr. Ahtisaari!

“The origins of my career as a peace mediator can be found from my childhood years. I was born in the city of Viipuri, then still part of Finland. We lost Viipuri when the Soviet Union attacked my country. Along with 400,000 fellow Karelians I became an internally displaced person in the rest of Finland,” he said.
“With my mother I moved from one household to another before settling in the eastern part of Finland, in the city of Kuopio. This experience, which millions of people around the world have gone through, provided me with sensitivity, which explains my desire to advance peace and thus help others who have gone through similar experiences as I did,” he said. [NYT]

Onnea, Mr. Ahtisaari!

Loistava juttu, etta Suomen oma Ahtisaari voitti rauhan nobelin! Onhan siita jo tavattomasti aikaa kun joku Virtanen ja Sillanpaa voittivat nobelit omilla tahoillaan. Ahtisaaren valinta ei ollut poliittinen siina mielessa kuin moni muu nykyaan. Se oli kunnianosoitus kovasta (usein taustalla) kaytavasta diplomaatin tyosta.
Alla oleva lainaus on Hesarin sivuilta.
--- T

Maailmankuvaltaan Ahtisaari määrittelee itsensä sekä idealistiksi että realistiksi. Lisäksi hän löytää itsestään joustavan pragmaatikon.
"Jos ei olisi idealisti, niin kuka ihmeessä tässä vielä 68-vuotiaana juoksisi pitkin maita ja mantuja?" hän kysyy.

"Toisaalta idealismi ei sinällään paljon auta, koska sitten jää sellaiselle julistukselliselle tasolle. Realismi edellyttää, että pystyy analysoimaan tilanteita. Se vaatii tiukkaa älyllistä rehellisyyttä."

Entä muiden näkemys? Entiset ja nykyiset työtoverit aina Namibian-ajoilta presidentin nykyisen toimiston Crisis Management Initiativen henkilökuntaan kuvailevat Ahtisaaren neuvottelijanominaisuuksia samansuuntaisin sanankääntein.

"Reilu, suora tyyppi." "Hirveän tasapuolinen." "Ei kaihda sanomasta asioita riittävän yksinkertaisesti ja selkeästi." "Pyrkii rehelliseen tilanneanalyysiin: tilanne on nyt tämä, ja tämä ei tästä muutu." "Tietää, missä on sudenkuopat, mihin pitää laittaa energiaa, millä asialla ei ole väliä ja missä pitää laittaa kova kovaa vastaan."

Amerikan sielu

On vaikea taysin kasittaa mita Amerikassa on tapahtumassa. On meneillaan sukupolvemme tarkeimmat presidentinvaalit. Barack Obama on jo melko varma voittaja muutama viikko ennen vaalipaivaa - ellei tapahdu jotain "aivan odottamatonta" kuten terroristi-isku omassa maassa... Mutta jos Obama voittaa, taalla on odotettavissa todella levotonta: aarioikeistolaiset sora-aanet jo huutavat Obaman paata vadille. McCainin kannattajat ovat uhkailleet tappavansa Obaman, silla han on "sosialisti", "muslimi", ja ehka jopa "ulkomaalainen syntyjaan" joka tuhoaa Amerikan.

Pelottelu on saavuttanut kiihkean vaiheen: suut vaahtoavat radiossa, televisiossa, netissa ja McCainin Ja Palinin vaalitapahtumissa. Jos taas McCain voittaa (jollain ihmeellisella tavalla), suuri osa kansaa tulee olemaan niin pettynyt, etta se aiheuttaa levottomuutta. Talouden luhistuminen on saanut kansalaiset niin vihaisiksi ja pelokkaiksi, etta McCainin voitto tuntuisi kestamattomalta, silla han on Bushin kaksoisolento.

Vaalivilppi on todellinen uhka Amerikassa. Tuhannet, jopa miljoonat aanet jaavat ehka laskematta, silla kulissien takana yritetaan poistaa koyhien ja vahemmistojen aania listoilta.

Minua on alkanut pelottaa, etta vaalien jalkeen Yhdysvalloissa tulee tapahtumaan aseellisia kapinoita tai mellakoita - voitti kumpi ehdokas tahansa - niissa tullaan taistelemaan Amerikan sielusta.
--- T

Scary Stuff!

A Lone Voice in the Wilderness

The New York Times has a well-written analysis of Alan Greenspan tenure as the Federal Reserve chairman. He was called "the Oracle" and was revered by all - hence hardly anybody questioned his knowledge or authority regarding regulation. One person, Brooksley E. Born, tried to introduce more regulation as she saw the perils of the derivatives market, but she was stopped forcefully by those who were enjoying the money-ride.
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NYT: In 1997, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a federal agency that regulates options and futures trading, began exploring derivatives regulation. The commission, then led by a lawyer named Brooksley E. Born, invited comments about how best to oversee certain derivatives.

Ms. Born was concerned that unfettered, opaque trading could “threaten our regulated markets or, indeed, our economy without any federal agency knowing about it,” she said in Congressional testimony. She called for greater disclosure of trades and reserves to cushion against losses.

Ms. Born’s views incited fierce opposition from Mr. Greenspan and Robert E. Rubin, the Treasury secretary then. Treasury lawyers concluded that merely discussing new rules threatened the derivatives market. Mr. Greenspan warned that too many rules would damage Wall Street, prompting traders to take their business overseas.


He [Alan Greenspan] had a way of speaking that made you think he knew exactly what he was talking about at all times,” said Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa. “He was able to say things in a way that made people not want to question him on anything, like he knew it all. He was the Oracle, and who were you to question him?”

Pigs on Wall Street

"The first hearing into what caused the nation's financial markets to collapse last month, precipitating a $700 billion bailout, opened with finger-pointing and glimpses into internal company documents from Lehman's chaotic last hours.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the giant investment bank was "a company in which there was no accountability for failure." Lehman's collapse set off a panic that within days had President Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson asking Congress to pass the rescue plan for the financial sector.

Richard S. Fuld Jr., chief executive officer of Lehman Brothers, declared to the committee "I take full responsibility for the decisions that I made and for the actions that I took." He defended his actions as "prudent and appropriate" based on information he had at the time.
"I feel horrible about what happened," he said.

Waxman questioned Fuld on whether it was true he took home some $480 million in compensation since 2000, and asked: "Is that fair?"
Fuld took off his glasses, held them, and looked uncomfortable. He said his compensation was not quite that much."

Yahoo News

The End of Reaganomics

Francis Fukuyama writes in Newsweek an interesting article about what is happening in America. I don't agree with his whole analysis, but I still think it's a good look at recent history.
--- T

See full article below.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/162401/page/1

Bailout

The VP Debate

"And also, let me talk about energy [wink]..."
"And also, let me talk about energy [wink, smile]..."
"And also in regards to nukular weaponry, also [wink, wink, smile]..."

It was not a debate, it was a political commercial. Unfortunately I think some [more than should] will buy the product.
--- T

Discrimination in Finland

Helsingin Sanomat:

The appointment of journalist Johanna Korhonen as editor-in-chief of the Rovaniemi-based newspaper Lapin Kansa has been cancelled before Korhonen began her work.

Korhonen, who left her previous job as editor-in-chief of Journalisti, the newspaper of the Finnish Union of Journalists, was named to the Lapin Kansa post at the beginning of September, and she was to have started at the newspaper in mid-December.

In a press release issued on Wednesday, Johanna Korhonen said that the reason for the cancellation of her appointment was the revelation that she is living in a registered civil union with another woman. Korhonen says that she was called in to a discussion, in which Kai Telanne, CEO of the media group Alma Media, and others attending the meeting had pressured Korhonen to withdraw voluntarily.

“When I asked, Telänne answered that knowledge of the gender of my spouse would have been an impediment to my being named editor-in-chief of Lapin Kansa. He also feels that ‘concealing’ the matter was a reason for cancelling the appointment. In his view it is a ‘completely impossible idea’ that I could work in a leading position in Alma Media, as an editor-in-chief in Rovaniemi”, Korhonen writes in her press release.

Korhonen says that Alma Media wanted Korhonen to withdraw from the post in silence, and would not make the reason for the move public, even offering her payment of EUR 100,000 to assure her silence. A statement issued by Alma Media says that the board of the company decided to cancel the contract of Johanna Korhonen because of a “lack of trust”.

CEO Kai Telanne denies that the move had anything to do with her having a woman as a spouse. “Korhonen is talking nonsense. A lack of trust has emerged. That’s it”, Telanne says. “Alma Media does not discriminate. We have any number of people living in all kinds of relationships. Johanna Korhonen knows it herself.”

Telanne does not specify the reason for the lack of trust. He admits, however, that the candidacy of her partner in municipal politics. Later Telanne said in an interview on a news broadcast on the commercial television network MTV3 that Korhonen was dropped because she had not been honest in her job interview about the political activism of her partner.

“It is very important for us that the next of kin of our editor-in-chief, I am talking about spouses now, are neutral. The editors-in-chief of provincial newspapers are expected to be absolutely unbiased and neutral. Korhonen was asked about this, and she told us that neither she nor her spouse were involved in politics. I found out on Monday morning that her spouse is a candidate in the municipal elections in Espoo”, Telanne said. In fact, Korhonen’s partner is a candidate in Vantaa, not Espoo.

In an additional press release Alma Media said that “the basis of the lack of trust is Korhonen’s mendaciousness in her job interview. After the contract was reached, it has come out that Korhonen had repeatedly told lies during the recruitment process."

“I am astounded that something like this can happen in Finland in the year 2008", Johanna Korhonen says.
She says that Alma Media had offered a severance contract worth about EUR 100,000. Korhonen says that it would probably have included a requirement that she not disclose information about the circumstances.

It came out later on Wednesday that the spouse of the editor in chief of another Alma Media newspaper is also involved in municipal politics, and unlike Korhonen’s partner, the wife of Heikki Lääkkölä, editor-in-chief of the Kemi-based Pohjolan Sanomat, is an active participant in the political life of the home town of the newspaper.

Lääkkölä’s wife, Päivi Koskenranta, served on the Kemi City Council from 2000 to 2004, and still represents the Centre Party on the city’s technical committee, and is on the board of the local municipal organisation of the Centre Party.

Lääkkölä has has been the editor-in-chief of Pohjolan Sanomat since 1996. Koskenranta says that her political career has never been a problem for her husband. “I only heard on the news that this would have been raised as the reason [for Johanna Korhonen’s dismissal]. I don’t see why this should even be told to an employer.”

Koskenranta feels that the events are unfortunate from Alma Media’s point of view. Alma Media CEO Kai Telanne says that he had not been aware of the political activities of the wife of the editor of Pohjolan Sanomat. However, he says that it has no bearing on Korhonen case.

“The issue is that she lied in her job interview”, Telanne reiterates.

helsinginsanomat.fi


Discrimination is painful no matter where it happens.
--- T

Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders is a sensible senator from Vermont. He writes why he is against the 700 billion bailout package: it's corrupt and unfair, and it does not address the underlying problems of the system that created the financial crisis to begin with. He has a website http://www.sanders.senate.gov/ where you can voice your opinion about the bailout. Check it out!
--- T

The American people are bitter. They are angry, and they are confused. Over the last seven and a half year, since George W. Bush has been President, 6 million Americans have slipped out of the middle class and are in poverty, and today working families are lining up at emergency food shelves in order to get the food they need to feed their families. Since President Bush has been in office, median family income for working-age families has declined by over $2,000. More than seven million Americans have lost their health insurance. Over four million have lost their pensions. Consumer debt has more than doubled. And foreclosures are the highest on record. Meanwhile, the cost of energy, food, health care, college and other basic necessities has soared.

While the middle class has declined under President Bush's reckless economic policies, the people on top have never had it so good. For the first seven years of Bush's tenure, the wealthiest 400 individuals in our country saw a $670 billion increase in their wealth, and at the end of 2007 owned over $1.5 trillion in wealth. That is just 400 families, a $670 billion increase in wealth since Bush has been in office.
Read the whole article here

Diskriminointia suomalaisittain

Johanna Korhosen lähettämän tiedotteen mukaan työsuhteen [Lapin Kansan paatoimittajana] purkamisen syy oli se, että hän elää rekisteröidyssä parisuhteessa naisen kanssa. Korhonen kertoo, että hänet kutsuttiin neuvotteluun, jossa Alma Median toimitusjohtaja Kai Telanne ja muut olivat painostaneet Korhosta vetäytymään Lapin Kansan päätoimittajuudesta.
HS.fi

Lapin Kansa