Tuesday, Feb 7th 2012
What Obama Needs To Do | The Big Money
Jeffrey Sachs on a stimulus plan for America that is similar to what Michael Taft is proposing on ILR at the moment:
"Our macroeconomic problems require major public investments in new technologies, infrastructure, public education, and poverty reduction. At some point soon, Americans will have to start paying [...]
Crisis? It’s baby-crunching time. We no longer have the luxury of attacking others’ prescriptions - those issued by the Government, employers’ spokespersons and stockbroker economists. The proverbial punter at the bar is impatient: ‘So what’s your big idea?’ It’s a fair question.
Let’s be under no illusion. The right is driving this debate. [...]
One of the secret weapons of the occupation forces in Iraq has been the sheer danger of reporting on the conflict. The occupiers themselves have attacked the local offices of Al-Jazeera, the broadcaster with the least inclination to “embed” itself in the protective grasp of the US army: their claim that this was an unfortunate [...]
The public reaction of profound sympathy and outrage at the killing of Shane Geoghegan, by a killer or killers involved in a bloody feud between drug-dealing gangs in Limerick, is totally justified. Shane Geoghegan was an innocent bystander mistaken for the true target - a member of one of the rival Limerick drug gangs. Shane [...]
The Oil Crunch | Business | The Guardian
"The energy watchdog, the International Energy Agency, is warning for the first time that oil output could pass its peak as power shifts from "super-majors" to national companies controlled by producer states. It highlights a potential oil-supply crunch. The unprecedented wake-up call comes as the European commission says [...]
Some on the Left are trying to put a brave face on the Irish Times poll today. ‘Consolidating’ support at 14 percent is one rationalisation. Another is that the Labour leader has the highest satisfaction rating of any party leader (or rather the least dissatisfied); yet Pat Rabbitte outpolled Enda Kenny in every MRBI poll. [...]
Gavyn Davies: Deflation is now a more serious threat than inflation |
Yet another thoughtful piece which shows just how adrift mainstream political and economic thinking in Ireland is from the ideas being touted to deal with our unprecedented economic crisis. Davies advocates PRINTING MORE MONEY. And cites the chair of the US Federal Reserve to [...]
The Iraq Math War
This Mother Jones article tells the story of Les Roberts and Gilbert Burnham whose Iraq Mortality Survey was published in the Lancet in 2004. The article notes that since the White House slammed it as 'junk' despite approving of other Roberts and Burnham mortality surveys which used the same methods in Kosovo [...]
James Wood: Victory Speech
James Wood waxing lyrical about Obama's victory speech; 'a good night out for the English language.'
What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been
Bill Ayers' account of his cameo role in the US elections just past. It tallies pretty accurately with Obama's.
