Social Misery Approaches

Millions of people in the US, and not merely those with the lowest incomes, are being hammered by a combination of job losses, rising prices for basic items such as food and gasoline, and the drop in the value of their homes.

Home prices continued to fall last month, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price indexes, a widely followed measurement. In 20 US metropolitan areas home prices declined in April by the most on record, 15.3 percent from a year earlier, following a 14.3 percent decline in March. The drop in prices has erased gains made since 2004.

The figures for selected major metropolitan areas are staggering. Las Vegas and Miami saw annual price declines of 26.8 percent and 26.7 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, now that the warmer weather is upon us, combined with the growing economic distress, private utility companies are cutting off electricity and natural gas at rates 15 percent higher than last year. There are restrictions on the ability of the utilities to halt service to homes during the winter months.

USA Today reported Tuesday that “utilities are disconnecting many more customers who fall behind on their bills, and even moderate-income households are getting zapped…Totals for some utilities have more than doubled.”

Utility disconnects are up 56 percent for Detroit Edison; more than one in five of its customers were behind in their electric bills in May.

All in all, it’s no wonder then, as the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, that “consumer confidence dropped like a stone in June, and expectations hit an all-time low, according to the latest survey from the Conference Board.” Lynn Franco of the Conference Board told the paper, “Perhaps the silver lining to this otherwise dismal report is that consumer confidence may be nearing a bottom.”

June’s confidence figure, based on a survey of 5,000 households, was the fifth lowest reading ever. Only 11.5 percent of those surveyed said business conditions were good.

One of the most telling social realities, and one with considerable implications, is detailed in the section somewhat blandly entitled, “Heightened Housing Challenges.” The Joint Center study notes that in 2006 nearly 40 million households in the US were at least “moderately cost burdened”—paying more than 30 percent of income on housing—and nearly 18 million “were severely cost burdened (paying more 50 percent)”. The number of severely burdened households “surged by almost four million” from 2001 to 2006, or some 20 to 25 percent.

“The weight of high housing costs falls especially heavily on households in the bottom income quartile. Fully 47 percent of low-income households were severely cost burdened in 2006, compared with 11 percent of lower middle-income households and just 4 percent of upper middle-income households. On average, households with children in the bottom quartile of spenders with severe housing cost burdens have just $257 a month left over for food, $29 for clothing, and $9 for healthcare. With food and energy costs climbing, these households will have less to spend on bare necessities.”

While low-income and minority households have been hard hit, “Affordability problems are edging up the income scale,” the study observes. “A rising number of middle-income homeowners also face cost pressures….For homeowners earning more than the median income, the likelihood of being housing cost burdened nearly doubled between 2001 and 2006.”

The conditions for millions of children are a national disgrace. More than one in six children in the US lives in households paying more than half their incomes for housing. The poorest quarter of American households “spent 32 percent less on food, 56 percent less on clothes, and 79 percent less on healthcare than families with low housing outlays.”

Americans are in dire straits–with the high cost of gas, housing and food–these are essentials not luxuries and there seems to be no relief in sight. Will the candidates eventually get around to offering real solutions to these problems or will we continue to hear the stuff that does not make sense, it is said to gain votes not solve problems.

When will the American people learn?

Scientist Calls For Energy CEOs To Be Held Responsible

In testimony before the US Congress on Monday, James Hansen, a leading climatologist, called heads of major energy companies criminals who should be prosecuted for deliberately spreading false and misleading information about the threat posed by global warming.

Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), testified before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming to mark the 20th anniversary of his initial appearance before Congress in 1988. He generated the first significant public awareness of the issue of global warming by telling the Senate at that time that manmade greenhouse gasses were raising global temperatures.

Since then climate scientists have reached a virtually unanimous consensus that the burning of oil and other fossil fuels results in additional atmospheric carbon dioxide, trapping heat. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased greatly over the last century, and global temperatures are rising as a result.

Hansen decried the extremely limited official goals set for reducing carbon emissions calling them “a recipe for global disaster.” He called for a moratorium on the construction of coal burning power plants and the development of carbon free alternatives to coal and petroleum.

Hansen indicted the energy conglomerates for blocking action on global warming. “Instead of moving heavily into renewable energies, fossil fuel companies choose to spread doubt about global warming, just as tobacco companies discredited the link between smoking and cancer. Methods are sophisticated, including funding to help shape school textbook discussions about global warming.”

Despite Hansen’s compelling testimony, there are no indications that US policy will change. Since Hansen first appeared before Congress in 1988, neither the Clinton administration nor the administrations of George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush have passed any major legislation restricting greenhouse gas emissions. There have been 21 coal-fired power plants constructed and US emissions of carbon dioxide have risen by some 18 percent.

The domination of the energy sector by a handful of private monopolies and the subordination of both the Republicans and Democrats to these powerful interests blocks the adoption of any serious measures to deal with the looming catastrophe posed by global warming. These multibillion dollar corporations will not tolerate any measure, no matter how critical for human survival, that impinges on their profits.

Further, any strategy to oppose global warming requires a coordinated international effort. However, energy companies dominate US foreign policy as well, dictating a strategy that seeks to secure world hegemony, including the invasion and occupation of Iraq and other oil rich regions of the world.

Unneeded at Any Speed – washingtonpost.com

Has Nader lost his ever-loving mind? If not, then he just crapped in his rice krispies.

The Other Costs Of The War In Iraq

According to a report issued last week by the human rights organization Amnesty International, the plight of nearly 5 million Iraqis displaced from their homes since the American invasion of 2003 is worsening in nearly every respect.

The report cites the atrocious living conditions in most of Iraq as an additional factor driving people to flee the country. According to Oxfam, in 2007 70 percent of Iraqis had no access to clean drinking water and 43 percent were living on less than a dollar a day. Child malnutrition has increased from 19 percent in 2003 to 28 percent last year.

About half of Iraqis who have fled their homes remain in other parts of Iraq because of the increasing restrictions on leaving the country. Denial of access to refuge abroad is at least in part due to the actions of the Iraqi government, which—along with its American masters—has a vested interest in reducing the number of people fleeing the country.

The report, for example, notes that one factor in the Syrian government’s decision to introduce stricter visa requirements for Iraqis crossing the boarder was “the request of the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.”

Iraqi refugees in Syria have access to the public health system, but the system itself cannot meet their needs. Iraq families are often required to make a financial contribution for treatment that they cannot afford. In addition, Iraqis in Syria suffer from a much higher incidence of trauma because of their experiences in Iraq and have complex psychological needs that go untreated.

Five hundred thousand Iraqi refugees reside in Jordan (8 percent of the population). Here, if anything, the situation is even worse than in Syria. Access to Jordan is also highly restricted. The report observes that young men in particular are turned back at the border. In May the Jordanian government instituted new visa requirements, forcing Iraqis to apply for visas before they travel to Jordan.

Most Iraqis in Jordan have no legal status. Iraqis with no residence permit must pay US$761 for every year that they are without official status. Further, Iraqis are not permitted to work. As in Syria, Iraqis in Jordan are becoming poorer every week. Some work illegally, the report says, “where they are reported to be vulnerable to low pay, exploitation, and arbitrary dismissals.” Rents are also on the rise, and Iraqi families are now sharing apartments and, in many cases, rooms with others.

In a related report issued last week, the United Nations Committee on Human Rights documented an increase in the number of global refugees and internally displaced persons to 67 million in 2007, up 2.5 million from a year before. About half of these have fled their homes because of natural disasters (or the inability of states to deal with disasters), and the remainder because of armed conflict. Iraq and Somalia saw some of the largest changes between 2006 and 2007 in the numbers of internally displaced persons.

Asked if the surge is working, most American politicians will say yes, but ask that same question to an Iraqi and you will most likely get a different answer.

Are The Chinese Drilling Off Of Cuba?

This was echoed many times after the McCain proposal to open up the US Coastline for drilling. But is it true? This from Factcheck.org:

No. George Will and Vice President Cheney got that wrong. But Cuba has allowed for exploration by at least six other non-Chinese firms in the region and onshore testing and exploration by China’s Sinopec.

While it’s true that as many as 4.6 billion barrels of oil and 9.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas may lie off Cuba’s coast, no country, including China, is drilling for a drop of it. But on June 11, in a speech to the board of directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Vice President Dick Cheney claimed, citing columnist George Will, that the Chinese were drilling 60 miles off the coast of Florida:

Cheney: As for other locations, George Will pointed out in his column the other day that oil is being drilled right now 60 miles off the coast of Florida. But we’re not doing it, the Chinese are, in cooperation with the Cuban government. Even the communists have figured out that a good answer to high prices is more supply.

Cheney was right about one thing: George Will wrote in his June 5 column that “[d]rilling is underway 60 miles off Florida. The drilling is being done by China, in cooperation with Cuba, which is drilling closer to South Florida than U.S. companies are.” But the substance of Cheney’s and Will’s claim is false, according to independent experts, diplomats in the region and elected officials whose states could potentially have been affected by such a deal.

Cuba has leased exploration blocks to foreign companies for areas as close as 60 miles off Florida’s southern coast. A 2006 New York Times article said China was one of the countries that had negotiated an offshore lease. But experts quoted recently by The Associated Press say none of the companies involved are Chinese and all are only allowed to explore for now, not drill in the region. Another exploration deal was announced between Brazil’s state oil company, Petrobras, and Cuba. The deal would allow Petrobras to explore in Cuba’s offshore territories in the Gulf of Mexico, with a potential drilling start-date in two years.

On June 11, the McClatchy Washington bureau reported that China has entered into a deal with Cuba for potential onshore drilling west of Havana. McClatchy also reported that Florida Republican Sen. Mel Martinez said a deal between China and Cuba for offshore drilling is “akin to urban legend.”

LDS Church Distance From FLDS

After recent occurrences and raids, the LDS Church is trying to distance themselves from the polygamist practices of the FLDS.

As confusion continues worldwide about the connection between the Salt Lake-based LDS Church and the FLDS polygamist group in Texas, LDS officials ramped up their efforts Thursday to clarify that their members have nothing to do with plural marriage.

The frustration that LDS leaders are feeling over the confusion also was detailed in a letter to more than 80 major media outlets nationwide from the church’s attorney, and in a public statement from one of its apostles — also an attorney — about the importance of protecting the church’s identity.

The two documents were part of a package of videos and statements of clarification posted on the church’s Web site at www.lds.org in the “newsroom” section.

The letter reminds editors and publishers that the LDS Church has obtained legal registration, trade and service marks for the term “Mormon,” among other terms, and asks journalists to refrain from calling the FLDS polygamous group “fundamentalist Mormons.”

But at least one religion scholar said trying to enforce such a distinction could be problematic.

“We are confident that you are committed to avoiding misleading statements that cause unwarranted confusion and that may disparage or infringe the intellectual property rights discussed above,” says the letter from Elder Lance B. Wickman, who is identified as the church’s “general counsel.”

Distinguishing the 13 million-member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the few thousand members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church in both Texas and the Utah-Arizona border towns of Hildale and Colorado City has proven to be an ongoing challenge for the LDS Church, which has issued at least three other public statements distancing itself from the FLDS group in recent months.

The survey seeking to determine how widespread public confusion between Latter-day Saints and the FLDS Church shows, according to the LDS Church statement, that:

• More than a third of those surveyed (36 percent) erroneously thought that the Texas compound was part of the LDS Church.

• 6 percent said the two groups were partly related.

• 29 percent correctly said the two groups were not connected at all.

• 29 percent were not sure.

Still, asking media to refrain from using the term “Mormon fundamentalist” could be problematic for the church, according to Jan Shipps, professor emeritus of history and religious studies at Indiana University-Purdue University, who has long researched the LDS Church

The LDS Church banned the practice of polygamy in the late 19th century and excommunicates any of its members who practice it.

Will The Iraqis Ever Be Ready?

In Iraq for 25, 50 100 years? With stories like this, then I would say there is a good possibility unless someone has the cajones to end it!

Iraqi security forces are unable to maintain order following operations targeting al-Qaida fighters in the northern city of Mosul, officials said Thursday.

U.S. and Iraqi authorities view Mosul, the provincial capital of Ninawa, as one of the last remaining al-Qaida strongholds in Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered a military crackdown in the northern city in May.

The gains from these operations, however, have disintegrated as militant groups re-entered the city and gunmen reportedly are roaming the streets in force, the Iraqi daily Azzaman reported.

Ninawa officials said there was an insufficient number of Iraqi troops to maintain security following operations in May.

“Residents are hopeless once again after shortly enjoying the faint light at the end of the tunnel,” officials said on condition of anonymity.

Officials said they are also concerned about the presence of the Kurdish Peshmerga force, which guards their political districts in the largely Arab city.

At least 18 people died and nearly 80 were wounded in a car bomb attack in Mosul Thursday that targeted the offices of Ninawa Provincial Governor Duraid Kashmula.

The media has successfully pushed Iraq to the back burner and not reported on the war as it should be. There are still Americans dying in this country and for this president so I believe that anything that happens in the country of Iraq is newsworthy. Our troops deserve better treatment by the media.

Should We Talk?

Back in the waning days of 2001, Pres. Bush labeled some of the enemies of the US as the “Axis Of Evil”, they were Iraq, North Korea and Iran. We bombed one off the list at a cost of 4000+ and counting lives, the other we talked and negotiated with at a cost of no American lives. The Axis has been broken leaving only one remaining, Iran.

No one in the Administration wants to talk with the country, but they have no problem thumping their chests about the possibility of an attack. Let us look at the equation, one cost lives, the other did not. Which one is more preferable?

Removal from the terror list would pave the way towards lifting many of the most stringent sanctions, and enables Pyongyang to start receiving low-interest loans from the World Bank and other international lending agencies.

While making these pledges, Mr Bush emphasised that moves to take the country from the terror list would not begin for 45 days, and would start only if the North’s claims were verified.

But stop! Do not keep thumping your chest and calling an Obama proposal as appeasement, when you are doing the same thing. BTW, diplomacy cost few if any lives. I would say that is far more preferable than a war that cannot be afforded.

A Sign Of The Times?

I have just about enough on the Obama campaign sign that looked similar to the presidential seal. I even got an email that said that he would replace the existing seal when he is elected. Do you people really believe this crap?

It echoed the official presidential seal, with a Latin version of his “Yes, we can” motto replacing “E pluribus unum” and his rising-sun campaign logo replacing the bald eagle’s Stars and Stripes shield. It was on Obama’s lectern when he spoke at a Democratic governors meeting. The GOP chided him, and national news organizations pounced on the story.

The roar about this is just silly. What about the stylized flag images used in campaign signs? Does this mena the the seal of an office is more important than the symbol of the country? Personally, I do not give a crap!

To me this whole uproar is from a group whose candidate is so thin on “real” issues that they try to find anything to change the subject. Personally, I want to hear where the candidates stand on the issues and the solutions that they propose to the problems facing Americans.

In Saner Thought

"It is the duty of every man, as far as his ability extends, to detect and expose delusion and error"..Thomas Paine

Day: June 27, 2008