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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
April 6, 2012
(Reuters) - Surprise rippled across America last month as a new wave of consumers discovered that hamburgers often contained ammonia-treated beef, or what critics dub "pink slime".
What they may not have known is that ammonia - often associated with cleaning products - was cleared by U.S. health officials nearly 40 years ago and is used in making many foods, including cheese. Related compounds have a role in baked goods and chocolate products.
Using small amounts of ammonia to make food is not unusual to those expert in high-tech food production. Now that little known world is coming under increasing pressure from concerned consumers who want to know more about what they are eating.
"I think we're seeing a sea change today in consumers' concerns about the presence of ingredients in foods, and this is just one example," said Michael Doyle, director of the University of Georgia's Center for Food Safety. .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/04/us-food-ammonia-idUSBRE8331B420120404
Ammonia-treated food goes beyond "pink slime"
(Reuters) - Surprise rippled across America last month as a new wave of consumers discovered that hamburgers often contained ammonia-treated beef, or what critics dub "pink slime".
What they may not have known is that ammonia - often associated with cleaning products - was cleared by U.S. health officials nearly 40 years ago and is used in making many foods, including cheese. Related compounds have a role in baked goods and chocolate products.
Using small amounts of ammonia to make food is not unusual to those expert in high-tech food production. Now that little known world is coming under increasing pressure from concerned consumers who want to know more about what they are eating.
"I think we're seeing a sea change today in consumers' concerns about the presence of ingredients in foods, and this is just one example," said Michael Doyle, director of the University of Georgia's Center for Food Safety. .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/04/us-food-ammonia-idUSBRE8331B420120404
April 6, 2012
(Reuters) - J.C. Penney Co Inc said on Thursday that it will cut about 900 jobs, including roughly 600 at its headquarters, as it trims costs and tries to start running its 110-year-old business more like a nimble start-up.
The Plano, Texas-based retailer, which has already overhauled its pricing strategy under new chief executive Ron Johnson, said it plans to close a customer call center in Pittsburgh, affecting about 300 employees.
The roughly 600 workers being let go in Plano represent about 15 percent of the staff at the company's main office.
"We are going to operate like a start-up," said Johnson, a former Apple Inc and Target Corp executive. "Often in business, companies must streamline in order to leap forward." .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/05/us-jcpenney-idUSBRE8340WQ20120405
JCPenney to cut 900 jobs in Texas and Pittsburgh
(Reuters) - J.C. Penney Co Inc said on Thursday that it will cut about 900 jobs, including roughly 600 at its headquarters, as it trims costs and tries to start running its 110-year-old business more like a nimble start-up.
The Plano, Texas-based retailer, which has already overhauled its pricing strategy under new chief executive Ron Johnson, said it plans to close a customer call center in Pittsburgh, affecting about 300 employees.
The roughly 600 workers being let go in Plano represent about 15 percent of the staff at the company's main office.
"We are going to operate like a start-up," said Johnson, a former Apple Inc and Target Corp executive. "Often in business, companies must streamline in order to leap forward." .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/05/us-jcpenney-idUSBRE8340WQ20120405
April 6, 2012
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — China’s consumption boom is drawing to a close, according to one economist’s contrarian view, which calls for no growth — or even a contraction — in the Chinese economy and the advent of an era of deflation and weaker spending.
Investments leveraged to the rise of the Chinese consumer, ranging from Australian miners to luxury-handbag makers and even iPhones are due for a reality check, according to Jim Walker, founder and managing director of the Hong Kong-based economic research company Asianomics.
While much of the analyst community has touted China’s growing domestic demand in recent years, Walker sees the Chinese consumer as unlikely to show much resilience, now that the economy is on a weakening trend and easy credit has run its course.
“The contrarian call we have is to short or underweight consumer plays until we get through this,” said Walker. ................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-doomsayer-sees-crash-coming-2012-04-05
China doomsayer sees crash coming
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — China’s consumption boom is drawing to a close, according to one economist’s contrarian view, which calls for no growth — or even a contraction — in the Chinese economy and the advent of an era of deflation and weaker spending.
Investments leveraged to the rise of the Chinese consumer, ranging from Australian miners to luxury-handbag makers and even iPhones are due for a reality check, according to Jim Walker, founder and managing director of the Hong Kong-based economic research company Asianomics.
While much of the analyst community has touted China’s growing domestic demand in recent years, Walker sees the Chinese consumer as unlikely to show much resilience, now that the economy is on a weakening trend and easy credit has run its course.
“The contrarian call we have is to short or underweight consumer plays until we get through this,” said Walker. ................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-doomsayer-sees-crash-coming-2012-04-05
April 6, 2012
AlterNet / By Noam Chomsky
Chomsky: How the Young Are Indoctrinated to Obey
Forty years ago there was deep concern that the population was breaking free of apathy and obedience. Since then, many measures have been taken to restore discipline.
April 4, 2012 |
Public education is under attack around the world, and in response, student protests have recently been held in Britain, Canada, Chile, Taiwan and elsewhere.
California is also a battleground. The Los Angeles Times reports on another chapter in the campaign to destroy what had been the greatest public higher education system in the world: "California State University officials announced plans to freeze enrollment next spring at most campuses and to wait-list all applicants the following fall pending the outcome of a proposed tax initiative on the November ballot."
Similar defunding is under way nationwide. "In most states," The New York Times reports, "it is now tuition payments, not state appropriations, that cover most of the budget," so that "the era of affordable four-year public universities, heavily subsidized by the state, may be over."
Community colleges increasingly face similar prospects – and the shortfalls extend to grades K-12. ...............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/education/154849/chomsky%3A_how_the_young_are_indoctrinated_to_obey/
Noam Chomsky: How the Young Are Indoctrinated to Obey
AlterNet / By Noam Chomsky
Chomsky: How the Young Are Indoctrinated to Obey
Forty years ago there was deep concern that the population was breaking free of apathy and obedience. Since then, many measures have been taken to restore discipline.
April 4, 2012 |
Public education is under attack around the world, and in response, student protests have recently been held in Britain, Canada, Chile, Taiwan and elsewhere.
California is also a battleground. The Los Angeles Times reports on another chapter in the campaign to destroy what had been the greatest public higher education system in the world: "California State University officials announced plans to freeze enrollment next spring at most campuses and to wait-list all applicants the following fall pending the outcome of a proposed tax initiative on the November ballot."
Similar defunding is under way nationwide. "In most states," The New York Times reports, "it is now tuition payments, not state appropriations, that cover most of the budget," so that "the era of affordable four-year public universities, heavily subsidized by the state, may be over."
Community colleges increasingly face similar prospects – and the shortfalls extend to grades K-12. ...............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/education/154849/chomsky%3A_how_the_young_are_indoctrinated_to_obey/
April 5, 2012
The Fable of the Century
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Imagine a country in which the very richest people get all the economic gains. They eventually accumulate so much of the nation’s total income and wealth that the middle class no longer has the purchasing power to keep the economy going full speed. Most of the middle class’s wages keep falling and their major asset – their home – keeps shrinking in value.
Imagine that the richest people in this country use some of their vast wealth to routinely bribe politicians. They get the politicians to cut their taxes so low there’s no money to finance important public investments that the middle class depends on – such as schools and roads, or safety nets such as health care for the elderly and poor.
Imagine further that among the richest of these rich are financiers. These financiers have so much power over the rest of the economy they get average taxpayers to bail them out when their bets in the casino called the stock market go bad. They have so much power they even shred regulations intended to limit their power.
These financiers have so much power they force businesses to lay off millions of workers and to reduce the wages and benefits of millions of others, in order to maximize profits and raise share prices – all of which make the financiers even richer, because they own so many of shares of stock and run the casino. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://robertreich.org/post/20538393444
Robert Reich: The Fable of the Century
The Fable of the Century
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Imagine a country in which the very richest people get all the economic gains. They eventually accumulate so much of the nation’s total income and wealth that the middle class no longer has the purchasing power to keep the economy going full speed. Most of the middle class’s wages keep falling and their major asset – their home – keeps shrinking in value.
Imagine that the richest people in this country use some of their vast wealth to routinely bribe politicians. They get the politicians to cut their taxes so low there’s no money to finance important public investments that the middle class depends on – such as schools and roads, or safety nets such as health care for the elderly and poor.
Imagine further that among the richest of these rich are financiers. These financiers have so much power over the rest of the economy they get average taxpayers to bail them out when their bets in the casino called the stock market go bad. They have so much power they even shred regulations intended to limit their power.
These financiers have so much power they force businesses to lay off millions of workers and to reduce the wages and benefits of millions of others, in order to maximize profits and raise share prices – all of which make the financiers even richer, because they own so many of shares of stock and run the casino. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://robertreich.org/post/20538393444
April 5, 2012
Tony Pugh | McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — Yes, the economy's growing, the unemployment rate is inching down and America is feeling a little bit better about itself. But don't think for a minute that all the lost jobs aren't still taking a severe toll all across this nation — especially all the chopped government jobs.
Since February 2010, the nation's private employers have added more than 3.9 million jobs, or roughly 164,000 per month. Over the same period, however, some 485,000 government jobs were lost. The effects of those job cuts are being felt by children, families and businesses across America.
When city leaders in cash-strapped Camden, N.J., laid off more than 60 firefighters just over a year ago, many felt it created a public-safety nightmare waiting to happen. The loss of nearly one-third of the city's firefighting capacity was a calculated risk, but a necessary sacrifice in order to close a $26 million budget deficit.
More than a year later, the cracks in the city's public safety armor are growing wider. Seven, sometimes eight fire companies are doing the work of eleven. Volunteer departments in neighboring towns routinely must provide backup. Firefighter injuries are up. So are response times. And during one "brownout week" each month, no Camden firefighter can take vacation or holiday time off. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/04/04/144134/across-america-public-sector-job.html#storylink=cpy
Across America, public-sector job cuts take a heavy toll
Tony Pugh | McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — Yes, the economy's growing, the unemployment rate is inching down and America is feeling a little bit better about itself. But don't think for a minute that all the lost jobs aren't still taking a severe toll all across this nation — especially all the chopped government jobs.
Since February 2010, the nation's private employers have added more than 3.9 million jobs, or roughly 164,000 per month. Over the same period, however, some 485,000 government jobs were lost. The effects of those job cuts are being felt by children, families and businesses across America.
When city leaders in cash-strapped Camden, N.J., laid off more than 60 firefighters just over a year ago, many felt it created a public-safety nightmare waiting to happen. The loss of nearly one-third of the city's firefighting capacity was a calculated risk, but a necessary sacrifice in order to close a $26 million budget deficit.
More than a year later, the cracks in the city's public safety armor are growing wider. Seven, sometimes eight fire companies are doing the work of eleven. Volunteer departments in neighboring towns routinely must provide backup. Firefighter injuries are up. So are response times. And during one "brownout week" each month, no Camden firefighter can take vacation or holiday time off. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/04/04/144134/across-america-public-sector-job.html#storylink=cpy
April 5, 2012
from Der Spiegel:
Violent protests have erupted in Athens following the public suicide of a 77-year-old retired man. A note he left behind accused the Greek government of impoverishing him with its debt crisis austerity measures, a message that resonated with demonstrators. Many are blaming the state for his death.
The public suicide of an indebted pensioner in Athens on Wednesday has touched a nerve in the Greek capital, sparking violent clashes with police.
The 77-year-old retired pharmacist shot himself in the head during the morning rush-hour near the central Syntagma Square, police said on Wednesday. In a note found in his clothing, the man reportedly blamed the debt crisis and austerity measures for his suicide. After paying into his pension for 35 years, the government had rendered it too small to survive, he said in the message, published by local media. "I find no other solution than a dignified end before I start searching through the trash for food," it read.
The square where the incident occurred, just opposite the parliament building, has already been the site of frequent protests during Greece's debt crisis, and people gathered once again on Wednesday to mourn the unnamed pensioner's death. The death is the latest in a growing number of suicides in Greece, a country grappling with dramatic financial troubles that have led to high unemployment, lower wages and shrinking pension payments. ..............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,825957,00.html
Pensioner's Death Sparks Clashes in Athens
from Der Spiegel:
Violent protests have erupted in Athens following the public suicide of a 77-year-old retired man. A note he left behind accused the Greek government of impoverishing him with its debt crisis austerity measures, a message that resonated with demonstrators. Many are blaming the state for his death.
The public suicide of an indebted pensioner in Athens on Wednesday has touched a nerve in the Greek capital, sparking violent clashes with police.
The 77-year-old retired pharmacist shot himself in the head during the morning rush-hour near the central Syntagma Square, police said on Wednesday. In a note found in his clothing, the man reportedly blamed the debt crisis and austerity measures for his suicide. After paying into his pension for 35 years, the government had rendered it too small to survive, he said in the message, published by local media. "I find no other solution than a dignified end before I start searching through the trash for food," it read.
The square where the incident occurred, just opposite the parliament building, has already been the site of frequent protests during Greece's debt crisis, and people gathered once again on Wednesday to mourn the unnamed pensioner's death. The death is the latest in a growing number of suicides in Greece, a country grappling with dramatic financial troubles that have led to high unemployment, lower wages and shrinking pension payments. ..............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,825957,00.html
April 5, 2012
from The Nation:
Unregulated, shadowy derivatives played a key role in the 2008 financial crash—Warren Buffett called them “financial weapons of mass destruction”—and the Dodd-Frank financial reforms took serious measures to bring them out into the open. Even Matt Taibbi, a noted critic of the overall bill, said the derivative rules were the “biggest win of all.”
Now, Republicans—and some Democrats—on the House Financial Services committee are quietly trying to gut these key reforms. The committee reported out two bills recently that would make derivative transactions largely opaque once again and that would exempt large portions of the financial industry from further regulation.
Representative Barney Frank, the ranking Democrat on Financial Services, released a statement this week sounding the alarm about the two bills, which the House is expected to take up this month when it returns from recess. “Thoroughly hoping to take advantage of the fact that public attention is now focused on the budget and the healthcare bill, House Republicans are moving substantially to weaken the regulation of derivatives,” Frank said. “Democrats will be pushing for… two very important amendments to these bills, and if they are rejected by the majority, we will work hard against both bills and urge the Senate and the President to reject them.”
The Swap Execution Facility Clarification Act, introduced by New Jersey Republican Representative Scott Garrett—and co-sponsored by a leading Democrat on the committee, Representative Caroline Maloney—would kneecap the open-market derivative reforms established in Dodd-Frank. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/blog/167219/house-poised-gut-derivative-reforms
House Poised to Gut Derivative Reforms
from The Nation:
Unregulated, shadowy derivatives played a key role in the 2008 financial crash—Warren Buffett called them “financial weapons of mass destruction”—and the Dodd-Frank financial reforms took serious measures to bring them out into the open. Even Matt Taibbi, a noted critic of the overall bill, said the derivative rules were the “biggest win of all.”
Now, Republicans—and some Democrats—on the House Financial Services committee are quietly trying to gut these key reforms. The committee reported out two bills recently that would make derivative transactions largely opaque once again and that would exempt large portions of the financial industry from further regulation.
Representative Barney Frank, the ranking Democrat on Financial Services, released a statement this week sounding the alarm about the two bills, which the House is expected to take up this month when it returns from recess. “Thoroughly hoping to take advantage of the fact that public attention is now focused on the budget and the healthcare bill, House Republicans are moving substantially to weaken the regulation of derivatives,” Frank said. “Democrats will be pushing for… two very important amendments to these bills, and if they are rejected by the majority, we will work hard against both bills and urge the Senate and the President to reject them.”
The Swap Execution Facility Clarification Act, introduced by New Jersey Republican Representative Scott Garrett—and co-sponsored by a leading Democrat on the committee, Representative Caroline Maloney—would kneecap the open-market derivative reforms established in Dodd-Frank. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/blog/167219/house-poised-gut-derivative-reforms
April 5, 2012
from Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality:
Another Homerun for the Walloping Wealthy
March 31, 2012
Behind last week’s record-smashing $2 billion sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a global economy that’s enriching only the world’s super rich.
By Sam Pizzigati
The Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t win all that many baseball games in the eight years owner Frank McCourt signed the team’s player paychecks. But McCourt has now won plenty. The mega-rich developer last week emerged as the biggest financial winner in the history of professional sports.
On Tuesday, in a special bankruptcy auction, a group of deep-pocketed bidders agreed to pay $2.15 billion for the Dodger franchise, an all-time record for a U.S. pro sports team, nearly double the previous high-water mark, the $1.1 billion football’s Miami Dolphins fetched in 2009.
.......(snip).......
The second key global wealth trend: The world’s rich don’t know what to do with all their money. In “normal” times, the super rich park a chunk of their hefty change in stock and commodity markets and another significant chunk in bonds that guarantee smaller but still healthy returns.
But today’s super rich see stocks as sucker bets, given all the world’s ongoing economic instability, and commodities have been alarmingly “volatile.” Yields on safe and secure government bonds, meanwhile, have sunk to record lows. .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://toomuchonline.org/another-homerun-for-the-walloping-wealthy/
Another Homerun for the Walloping Wealthy
from Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality:
Another Homerun for the Walloping Wealthy
March 31, 2012
Behind last week’s record-smashing $2 billion sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a global economy that’s enriching only the world’s super rich.
By Sam Pizzigati
The Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t win all that many baseball games in the eight years owner Frank McCourt signed the team’s player paychecks. But McCourt has now won plenty. The mega-rich developer last week emerged as the biggest financial winner in the history of professional sports.
On Tuesday, in a special bankruptcy auction, a group of deep-pocketed bidders agreed to pay $2.15 billion for the Dodger franchise, an all-time record for a U.S. pro sports team, nearly double the previous high-water mark, the $1.1 billion football’s Miami Dolphins fetched in 2009.
.......(snip).......
The second key global wealth trend: The world’s rich don’t know what to do with all their money. In “normal” times, the super rich park a chunk of their hefty change in stock and commodity markets and another significant chunk in bonds that guarantee smaller but still healthy returns.
But today’s super rich see stocks as sucker bets, given all the world’s ongoing economic instability, and commodities have been alarmingly “volatile.” Yields on safe and secure government bonds, meanwhile, have sunk to record lows. .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://toomuchonline.org/another-homerun-for-the-walloping-wealthy/
April 5, 2012
Arizona Attacks Latino Community Again, Tuscon Citizen Pulls Plug On Popular Blogger Three Sonorans
With the impeccable timing that continues to cement Tucson’s reputation as a hotbed of censorship and intellectual freedom violations, the online Tucson Citizen news site just announced that it has pulled the plug on the city’s most popular Latino blogger and activist, The Three Sonorans.
Despite drawing over 1.6 million visits to his take-no-prisoners blog on politics, science and Sonoran hot dogs–including shutting down the Citizen’s server for breaking the tragic Gabby Giffords shooting in Tucson last year–The Three Sonorans blogger David “Abie” Morales is the latest casualty in Tucson’s seemingly relentless crackdown on the city’s deeply rooted Latino community.
In what appears to be more of a personal act of retribution than editorial concern, Citizen editor Mark Evans wrote in an email that The Three Sonorans‘ liability outweighed its benefit when the Tucson Weekly “posted an article last night that included verbatim email communications I had with David over his Patterson post.” Evans added for good measure: “In the end, it’s better for both of us. He won’t have anyone to answer to but himself and his readers and I won’t have to worry about getting angry phone calls from pissed off people at my mother’s funeral.”
In recent days, Morales had been particularly critical of state Rep. Daniel Patterson, a former Tucson Democrat currently embroiled in an ethics violation investigation, who has apparently threatened to sue Evans and the Citizen over Morales’ blogs. According to the Arizona Capitol Times today, “Some lawmakers have begun bringing firearms to the state Capitol, citing a growing fear of Rep. Daniel Patterson, whose alleged hostile outbursts and erratic behavior were detailed in an investigative report on Monday.” ......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/876610/arizona_attacks_latino_community_again%2C_tuscon_citizen_pulls_plug_on_popular_blogger_three_sonorans/
Arizona Attacks Latino Community Again, Tuscon Citizen Pulls Plug On Popular Blogger Three Sonorans
Arizona Attacks Latino Community Again, Tuscon Citizen Pulls Plug On Popular Blogger Three Sonorans
With the impeccable timing that continues to cement Tucson’s reputation as a hotbed of censorship and intellectual freedom violations, the online Tucson Citizen news site just announced that it has pulled the plug on the city’s most popular Latino blogger and activist, The Three Sonorans.
Despite drawing over 1.6 million visits to his take-no-prisoners blog on politics, science and Sonoran hot dogs–including shutting down the Citizen’s server for breaking the tragic Gabby Giffords shooting in Tucson last year–The Three Sonorans blogger David “Abie” Morales is the latest casualty in Tucson’s seemingly relentless crackdown on the city’s deeply rooted Latino community.
In what appears to be more of a personal act of retribution than editorial concern, Citizen editor Mark Evans wrote in an email that The Three Sonorans‘ liability outweighed its benefit when the Tucson Weekly “posted an article last night that included verbatim email communications I had with David over his Patterson post.” Evans added for good measure: “In the end, it’s better for both of us. He won’t have anyone to answer to but himself and his readers and I won’t have to worry about getting angry phone calls from pissed off people at my mother’s funeral.”
In recent days, Morales had been particularly critical of state Rep. Daniel Patterson, a former Tucson Democrat currently embroiled in an ethics violation investigation, who has apparently threatened to sue Evans and the Citizen over Morales’ blogs. According to the Arizona Capitol Times today, “Some lawmakers have begun bringing firearms to the state Capitol, citing a growing fear of Rep. Daniel Patterson, whose alleged hostile outbursts and erratic behavior were detailed in an investigative report on Monday.” ......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/876610/arizona_attacks_latino_community_again%2C_tuscon_citizen_pulls_plug_on_popular_blogger_three_sonorans/
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