A "Colobian flower grower" (Photo from The New York Times)
GREAT NEWS FOR FLOWER LOVERS; NEW FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS WILL MAKE YOUR ZINNIAS CHEAPER.
(New York Times)
After five years of political stalemate, a rare bipartisanship is achieved as Congress approves trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. Progressive and union leaders may rail that it means the loss of jobs as the production of consumer goods is increasingly off-shored. But proponents persist in their “jobs production” mantra in its support and President Obama will sign these “agreements.” (Not treaties, that would never be ratified by the Senate). To sweeten the blow to labor, a companion bill would provide financial compensation to workers losing their jobs as they are off-shored to zinnia growers in Colombia and other foreign enterprises.
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WHEN WORLD BANKERS BEGIN TO SPOUT ABOUT THEIR EFFORTS TO PRODUCE “SOCIAL JUSTICE,” THE POOR HAS BEST HEAD FOR THE HILLS AND SHARPEN THEIR NUTS AND BERRIES GATHERING SKILLS.
(Counterpunch)
Patrick Bond, head a civil society think-tank in South Africa, argues that the IMF and World Bank claims for helping the poor are but ideological cover for bank-generated “austerity” demands that further impoverish the people. Their long-standing collaboration with South Africa’s own African National Congress (Mandela’s party) is but one of innumerable insistences of the folly of basing the economic improvement of a country on the neo-liberal world banking community.
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A REPUBLICAN LEGISLATOR WALKS INTO A BAR…
(Fox News)
Not a joke and maybe not strictly accurate, but the author of a Tennessee law allowing the carrying of guns in bars is arrested for drunken driving and police find a loaded gun in his car. In addition to citing the need for “self-protection” in bars, the legislator had argued people should carry guns in their cars to protect themselves against literal “highway robberies.” Fortunately he was sober enough when stopped to realize the man who approached his car was a policeman and not a robber.
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CAN’T GET A LOAN TO START UP YOUR MANUFACTURE OF RUGGED I-PHONE CARRYING CASE? TRY KICKSTARTER!
(Sacramento Bee)
On the principle of innovators supporting one another in attempts to capitalize their ideas, Kickstarter and other websites provide pools of funding in donations (not loans) by means of which people hoping to support the “worthy” efforts of others can conveniently do so. Would-be entrepreneurs submit their projects and donations in their support are solicited for a given time period. Kickstarter reports that about 44% of the submitted projects are successfully funded to the desired support level.
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HAVE A NEW BOUNCING BABY IN YOUR FLORIDA HOME? FOR LESS THAN $50,000 YOU CAN INSURE THE BOUNCER WILL GET FOUR YEARS OF UNIVERSITY EDUCATION.
(Orlando Sentinel)
Make that $49.293 and that is an increase of $4,000 from last year, as tuitions are raised for current students and in anticipation of where tuition rates may be in about 18 years.
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Quote of the day…
1. “At long last, we are going to do something important for the country on a bipartisan basis.” Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky
2. “What I am seeing firsthand is devastation that these free trade agreements can do to our communities.” Democratic Representative Mike Michaud of Maine. Two views on free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea just passed by Congress.
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It does not take to much research to see that these advocates of new trade agreements are only thinking about profits for their corporations and could care less about anyone, anywhere, having a decent paying job. It does show that corporations can act in an insane manner even though they really are not people.
The problem with Free Trade is that it always includes a loop hole that allows US corps to move their manufacturing facilities off shore to make the stuff they used to make here, then ship it back to us.
This is the reason for Occupy Wall Street. Our so-called leaders are out of touch. The more they try to push their absurd agendas, the more they show their arrogant elitism.