Census: 1 in 7 Americans live in poverty, Ms. Obama "being first lady is hell"

Having bragged about an economic recovery a few months ago, before realizing that a positive job report was heavily skewed due to census hiring, Americans got their first taste of the most recent census report today as results showed that 1 in 7 Americans is now in poverty.  

AP reports HERE:

The overall poverty rate climbed to 14.3 percent, or 43.6 million people, the Census Bureau said Thursday in its annual report on the economic well-being of U.S. households. The report covers 2009, President Barack Obama's first year in office.

The poverty rate climbed from 13.2 percent, or 39.8 million people, in 2008.

The share of Americans without health coverage rose from 15.4 percent to 16.7 percent — or 50.7 million people — mostly because of the loss of employer-provided health insurance during the recession. Congress passed a health overhaul this year to address rising numbers of the uninsured, but the main provisions will not take effect until 2014.

The new figures come at a politically sensitive time, just weeks before the Nov. 2 congressional elections, when voters restive about high unemployment and the slow pace of economic improvement will decide whether to keep Democrats in power or turn to Republicans.

On the eve of what is certainly destined to be a major round of victorious congressional elections for Republicans in November, news couldn't get worse for the Obama Administration. These statistics reflect that the Obama policy of bailing out banks, healthcare providers, and wealthy stockholders has actually plunged the populace into poverty. 

In other news, coincident to these horrifying stats, it was reported that the First Lady, Michelle Obama, just off her ritzy vacation to Spain and under intense criticism for lavish spending while the country goes to squat,  is apparently feeling the stress and pressure of a failed presidency.  In a new book soon to be released by Ms.Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the First Lady of France, claims she asked Mrs. Obama about her new role. According to the book, Mrs. Obama replied: "It's hell. I can't stand it."  Just when you thought it couldn't get worse!

Two excellent critical pieces on Obama's Infrastructure Bank and his False Populism

Both of these articles incorporate the principles that drive good governance, namely that government is instituted to create the infrastructure that facilitates an effective, free economy for all - not for a rich propertied class. I was trying to find time to write a similiar cirtique. I think these will do and are must reads for those tryng to understand the role of government in infrastructure and how infrastructure spending can effectivle stimulate a population (notice I didn't say economy). 

First is Black Agenda Report writer Glen Ford (HERE). He says,

The president's proposed bank is yet another ploy to create a new windfall for the private bankers on Wall Street."

And next is Economist Michael Hudson (HERE).  He says,

I can smell the newest giveaway looming a mile off. The Wall Street bailout, health-insurance giveaway and support of real estate prices rather than mortgage-debt write-downs were bad enough, not to mention the Oil War¹s Afghan extension. But now comes a topper: the $50 billion transportation infrastructure plan that Obama proposed in Milwaukee ­ cynically enough, on Labor Day. It looks like the Thatcherite Public-Private Partnership, Britain¹s notorious giveaway to the City of London underwriters. The financial giveaway had the effect of increasing prices for basic infrastructure services by building in heavy financial fees ­ guaranteed for the banks, who lent the money that banks and property owners used to pay in taxes in more progressive times... 

Al Qaeda Leader Releases Video

Ayman Zawahiri, Al Qaeda #2, released this tape yesterday. Responding to the video message released by Zawahiri four days after the ninth anniversary of 9/11 attacks, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip J. Crowley said that Washington's relations with "countries in the (militancy-infected) regions around the world are in ascendance and it is al-Qaeda - and particularly the core al-Qaeda - that is in retreat."

The tape fails to mention the attacks of September 11, 2001, and is the first 9/11 anniversary tape to do so nine years later. It concentrates heavily on Pakistan and critizes heavily the Zardari regime, appealing to Islamic identity in the nation and then onto other Islamic nations under heavy Western influence.  It seems to mark the beginning of Al-Qaeda's new approach to confronting the rhetoric and changing nature of the battle for Hearts and Minds in the Muslim world.  Zawahiri clearly differentiates between the jihadi vanguard and the rest of the Muslim nation and is thereby essentially advising all Muslims to select Islam as their primary identity but not to be deceived by moderate movements and sufi platforms. His critique is especially critical of certain aspects of the Ikwan al-Muslimeen, including their support for Muhammad Al-Baradei, secular reformist in Egypt, Sharif Ahmed in Somalia, and Yusef Qaradawi's moderation movement from Qatar.  While, not altogether a different approach, the message was geared less towards a jihadi population all too familiar with the analysis he provides and more towards enlightening the general populations in Pakistan and the Arab world especially with regard to the reality of politicla machinations at work in a war that is apparently altering its facets and components. Al Qaeda has struggled to get masses of Muslims to understand the intentions it has espoused since day one, namely to create a void that would allow citizens of the Muslim world to wrest themselves from tyrannical leaders propped up by western support.  Only time will tell how effective the message is with regard to the mass majority. It is likely that with the recent polarizations and political change coming at the end of the year, that more will pay attention to the argument of Al-Qaedists, but still highly unlikely that their message will resonate with the mass. Zawahiri claimed that "The forces of jihad have emerged victorious and the forces of the Crusader invasion have weakened by their wounds and exhausted by the hemorrhage of human and financial losses." The whole video is available (embedded and for download) below:

download here

media is included for educational purposes only

Why Nations opposed to American Empire can Never have Free Press

Most Americans do not know that the U.S. overthrew democracy in Iran in 1953 with the covert operation that took down Muhammad Mossadeq, a populist.  All Iranians are all too aware of US intervention. That coup, like others, largely utilized the power of press in creating false reports to sway public opinion.  Today countries like Iran, Venezuela, Sudan, and other non-state actors deal with incessant and deliberate propaganda. The CIA's 1953 overthrow of the elected leader of Iran, Mohammad Mossadegh was preceded by a media smear campaign by the CIA, which is estimated to have controlled 4/5 of Tehran's newspapers. Such a high degree of control and the fact that the CIA "succeeded" in its mission is enough to make you question how much influence and control the CIA has over the American politicians and media.

Latin America has largely woken up to this reality after 50-plus years of such distorted reality. As we see the Obama Administration return to "smart power" calls for the use of clandestine power over raw force, we will also see the return of "human rights" agendas.  Human Rights is a convenient platform for criticism of people like Ahmadinejad or Hugo Chavez, but never about US puppets and allies.  It is important that people seek verification and depth in dealing with the media.  With regard to the Iranian conflict, something we will cover in detail as time goes on, we have posted a relevent, albeit slightly skewed, lecture recently held at the Middle East Institute below.
Summary: 
The Middle East Institute is proud to host a discussion with Trita Parsi and Michael Singh on the prospects for a diplomatic solution to the Iran nuclear crisis in the wake of recently imposed UN and US sanctions. Their discussion will draw upon a forthcoming Middle East Journal article entitled "The Case Against the Case Against Iran" written pseudonymously by a European diplomat, who argues for greater engagement by regional actors like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Russia and China to mediate and mitigate Iran's nuclear ambitions. What are the next steps the U.S. and the international community should be taking? Parsi and Singh will shed light on strategies under consideration.

Why Are We All in Debt

The Current global economic crisis is fundamentally a crisis of indebtedness. This is the natural consequence of a system that creates money by loaning it into existence with interest. Around 97% of all money is created through this process. The consequence of this are many and perverse.

Of this system Josiah Stamp (President of the Bank of England in the 1920's, the second richest man in Britain) said:

'Banking was conceived in iniquity, and was born in sin. The Bankers own the Earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create deposits, and with the flick of the pen, they will create enough deposits, to buy it back again. However, take it away from them, and the great fortunes like mine will disappear, and they ought to disappear, for this would be a happier and better world to live in. But if you wish to remain slaves of Bankers, and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create deposits'

The following is a brief documentary from Tarek Diwany, of islamic-finance.com and Zest Advisory, outlining the history and workings of this system and the consequences of it.

Huffington Post Reveals Tim Geithner meets with Bankers more than Government Officials

This is another telling indicator of who those in the Treasury and at the Fed actually work with and for.  Huffington Post reports today here that,

When it comes to spending time with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the head of Goldman Sachs may have an easier time getting a meeting than either the Speaker of the House or the Senate Majority Leader.

Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein has shown up on Geithner's calendar at least 38 times through March since the Treasury Secretary took office in January 2009, three more entries than Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and 13 more than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to a copy of Geithner's daily log recently published online by the Treasury Department.

All told, Geithner met with, spoke to, or attempted to secure conversations with Wall Street chieftains at least 49 times during the five-month period ending in March 2010, a slight increase from the 37 entries on his calendar during the previous five-month period.

But it's still far below his first five months in office, when Geithner met with chief executives from firms like Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and BlackRock at least 76 times -- more calendar entries than for the heads of the regional Federal Reserve banks, who are the top overseers of systemically-important banks like JPMorgan, Citi, Bank of America and Wells Fargo -- or for top members of Congress like Reid, Pelosi, their Republican counterparts, and the heads of the Senate and House committees overseeing financial institutions and economic policy.

  contact log is available in pdf here

Christiana Ampour - "This Week" - Imam Rauf and Islam in America

Panel responds to Imam Rauf's assertions made HERE

AMANPOUR: Tell me about your plans for the Islamic center.  Are you going to keep it at Park 51, where you proposed?

RAUF: The decisions that I will make -- that we will make -- will be predicated on what is best for everybody.

AMANPOUR: How do you decide that?

RAUF: That's been very difficult and very challenging, because, unfortunately, the -- the discourse has been, to a certain extent, hijacked by the radicals. The radicals on both sides, the radicals in the United States and the radicals in the Muslim world, feed off each other. And to a certain extent, the attention that they've been able to get by the media has even aggravated the problem.

AMANPOUR: 71 percent of New Yorkers say it should be moved. What is your main reason for not wanting to move it?

RAUF: My major concern with moving it is that the headline in the Muslim world will be Islam is under attack in America, this will strengthen the radicals in the Muslim world, help their recruitment, this will put our people -- our soldiers, our troops, our embassies, our citizens -- under attack in the Muslim world and we have expanded and given and fueled terrorism.

AMANPOUR: Do you think that is a legitimate reason not to move it?

RAUF: It is an extremely important consideration.

AMANPOUR: . People are saying that because you intimated that it would cause great anger in Muslim countries around the world, it could threaten the United States. And people are saying that you made a threat.

Is that -- was that your intention?

RAUF: I have never made a threat. I've never made a threat, never expressed a threat, never -- I've never -- I would never threaten violence ever, because I am a man of peace, dedicated to peace.

We have two audiences. We have the American audience and we have the Muslim audience. And this issue has riveted the attention of the whole Muslim world. And whatever we do and whatever say and how we move and the discourse about it is being watched very, very closely. And if we make the wrong move, it will only expand and strengthen the voice of the radicals and the extremists.