THE HEADLINES

THE UNITED CASTES OF AMERICA.

Upward economic mobility and the basic premise of the “American Dream” have been been eradicated, argues economist Joseph Stiglitz. Decades of regressive economic and social policies — policies wholly accepted and perpetuated by the current presidential administration — have severed a large and growing segment of the country from any hope that they or their children can attain a more favored status on the nation’s fiscal and societal ladders. Stiglitz details the jarring statistics that barely half of all Americans born into the lowest economic classes will ever move out of that category, a situation that has created a virtual caste system in the United States that protects the wealthiest fraction at the expense of any semblance of economic progress for the poor and middle-class.

(Opinionator Blog – NYT)

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 A NEW AND BIGGER CRUISE SHIP TERMINAL: RIGHT HERE IN SOUTHERN COASTAL CITY!

Promoters of enlarged terminals which can attract the docking of cruise ships are again touting the benefits of same for Charleston, South Carolina, even as the bitter taste lingers of a Carnival Lines ship stranded in the Gulf of Mexico. Many residents of Charleston are less than thrilled with the docking of cruise ships that are so close to their homes that they can “hear announcements” from them. And of course preservationists wonder what of a charming old South city can be preserved if these expansion plans prevail.

(New York Times)

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THE ATHLETIC TALENTS OF “BLADE RUNNER” OSCAR PISTORIUS ARE UNIQUE. HIS ALLEGED VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IS, SADLY, NOT. 

News that Oscar Pistorius, the South African track athlete and Olympian whose ability to overcome the loss of his legs with the use of special prosthetics has made him a global superstar, is facing murder charges after he shot and killed his girlfriend in an incident at his home has shocked the world. Whether or not the allegations that the murder was the culmination of abuse by Pistorius against his girlfriend is confirmed, the case has publicized the far larger problem of violence against women that has wracked South Africa for generations. South Africa is a country where black men are expected to carry knives and have “lots of girlfriends” and white Afrikaners like Pistoriius prove their “masculinity” through a violent gun culture. Women there face relentless abuse and violence that often turns deadly; 40 percent of men hit their wives or partners. Despite his status as a beloved national figure and a respected Olympic athlete, Pistorius was a part of this disturbing culture with reports of previous police visits concerning abuse and his vast collection of machine guns and powerful weapons.

(The Guardian)

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PROTECT THE SECOND AMENDMENT BY TRASHING THE FIRST: MISSOURI LAWMAKER WANTS TO JAIL PROPONENTS OF GUN CONTROL.

Of all the reactions from agitated lawmakers that fancy themselves defenders of the Second Amendment since the Sandy Hook massacre ignited a new push for gun control, that of Missouri Republican Mike Leara may top them all. The state representative has formally filed a bill that would make it a felony for anyone to introduce legislation that “further restricts a citizen’s right to bear arms,” noting that it’s time for supporters of gun control to face “consequences.” Examples of potential infractions that could land you a 5-year jail sentence under the law as written by Leara include a number of gun regulations proposed by his fellow lawmakers since the beginning of the year. There is little chance that such a bill would pass any committee let alone the entire legislature, but the stunt has angered gun control proponents who feel threatened by such aggressive tactics.

(Huffington Post)

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FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL REAPS WINDFALL FROM GLOBAL PRISON PROFITS.

With more people currently incarcerated than any nation in the world, perhaps it is fitting that the United States will soon have the first athletic stadium complex named after a private prison operator. The glittering new football stadium at Florida Atlantic University has been sitting without a name since completion of the facility two years ago, costing the university dearly to operate the state-of-the-art digs for the Owls. But better days are ahead as FAU has struck a deal with Geo Group, a company that operates private prisons and immigrant detention centers in the US and several other countries and whose founder and CEO is a Florida Atlantic alum. Splashing Geo’s name across the new stadium is not without risks, however, as the company has faced repeated allegations of abuse and human rights violations as part of its rapidly growing $1.6 billion private prison empire.

(Deadspin.com)

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Quote of the day…

It’s speculators who are moving markets. They are almost exclusively the entire market at certain periods of time.

Bart Chilton, a commissioner at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, explaining why gasoline prices are moving upwards despite large increases in oil supplies.

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