Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Fake savings: The 2013 House farm bill
Fake savings: The 2013 House farm bill
As reported in the AEI paper, “Field of Schemes Mark II: The Taxpayer and Economic Welfare Costs of PriceLoss Coverage and Supplementary Insurance Coverage Programs,” authored by Bruce Babcock, Barry Goodwin, and myself, the PLC program would provide farmers raising major crops such as wheat, corn, peanuts, rice, barley, and soybeans with very substantial subsidies if crop prices move from their current record (or near record) levels towards relatively recent historical levels
As reported in the AEI paper, “Field of Schemes Mark II: The Taxpayer and Economic Welfare Costs of PriceLoss Coverage and Supplementary Insurance Coverage Programs,” authored by Bruce Babcock, Barry Goodwin, and myself, the PLC program would provide farmers raising major crops such as wheat, corn, peanuts, rice, barley, and soybeans with very substantial subsidies if crop prices move from their current record (or near record) levels towards relatively recent historical levelsOrr tells crowd: 'We have to break our addiction to debt'
Orr tells crowd: 'We have to break our addiction to debt' | Crain's Detroit Business:
"Leasing the park is just one step proposed by Orr to help the city deal with a budget deficit nearing $386 million and to restructure $9.4 billion in long-term debt. "
"Leasing the park is just one step proposed by Orr to help the city deal with a budget deficit nearing $386 million and to restructure $9.4 billion in long-term debt. "
What 'direct access' means
What 'direct access' means:
The term 'direct access' seems to be the central issue when it comes to the coordinated PR campaign from Silicon Valley, and a new article from The Washington Post seems to clarify it all quite a bit. "Intelligence community sources said that this description [i.e., direct access], although inaccurate from a technical perspective, matches the experience of analysts at the NSA.
From their workstations anywhere in the world, government employees cleared for PRISM access may 'task' the system and receive results from an Internet company without further interaction with the company's staff."
This seems to explain why the leaked official documents speak of 'direct access' even though the companies themselves deny it.
The leaked documentation probably wasn't written by a technical expert, so he simply used a term that describes the end result (i.e., access whenever, wherever, whatever), but not the actual technical workings (i.e., the system does not directly tap into the companies' own servers).
Update: The Guardian has released a new slide from the NSA slide deck: it speaks of "collection directly from the servers" of several US companies, like Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and so on.
It also mentions directly tapping into the very cables that carry data to and from the US.
I wonder how long Silicon Valley will continue to lie and/or legalese around the issue.
Man up for once.
The term 'direct access' seems to be the central issue when it comes to the coordinated PR campaign from Silicon Valley, and a new article from The Washington Post seems to clarify it all quite a bit. "Intelligence community sources said that this description [i.e., direct access], although inaccurate from a technical perspective, matches the experience of analysts at the NSA.
From their workstations anywhere in the world, government employees cleared for PRISM access may 'task' the system and receive results from an Internet company without further interaction with the company's staff."
This seems to explain why the leaked official documents speak of 'direct access' even though the companies themselves deny it.
The leaked documentation probably wasn't written by a technical expert, so he simply used a term that describes the end result (i.e., access whenever, wherever, whatever), but not the actual technical workings (i.e., the system does not directly tap into the companies' own servers).
Update: The Guardian has released a new slide from the NSA slide deck: it speaks of "collection directly from the servers" of several US companies, like Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and so on.
It also mentions directly tapping into the very cables that carry data to and from the US.
I wonder how long Silicon Valley will continue to lie and/or legalese around the issue.
Man up for once.
Dorothy Dugger, Ex-BART General Manager, Made $330,000 While No Longer Working For Agency
Dorothy Dugger, Ex-BART General Manager, Made $330,000 While No Longer Working For Agency:
"A top official for the agency that manages the San Francisco Bay Area's BART system earned more than $330,000 last year – even though she didn't work a single day for the public transit agency, a newspaper reported Sunday.
Bay Area Rapid Transit general manager Dorothy Dugger resigned under pressure in May 2011, but stayed on the payroll for another 19 months and was BART's highest-paid employee in 2012, the Bay Area News Group (http://bit.ly/102JORG) reported."
"A top official for the agency that manages the San Francisco Bay Area's BART system earned more than $330,000 last year – even though she didn't work a single day for the public transit agency, a newspaper reported Sunday.
Bay Area Rapid Transit general manager Dorothy Dugger resigned under pressure in May 2011, but stayed on the payroll for another 19 months and was BART's highest-paid employee in 2012, the Bay Area News Group (http://bit.ly/102JORG) reported."
Muskegon County Jail architect: Planning process to ‘accelerate from this point forward’
Muskegon County Jail architect: Planning process to ‘accelerate from this point forward’ | MLive.com
"The total cost of the new jail and juvenile transition center is estimated to be $35 million to $41 million.
County officials have said construction could start before the end of 2013 if everything goes as scheduled and county commissioners give their approval."
"The total cost of the new jail and juvenile transition center is estimated to be $35 million to $41 million.
County officials have said construction could start before the end of 2013 if everything goes as scheduled and county commissioners give their approval."
Western Promises
Western Promises | National Review Online:
"And if all of America were absorbed by the Sacramento Commissariat, all of America would have A.B. 32, the Golden State’s ambitious carbon-curbing initiative, and all Americans would be wearing dumb smiles as we marched over the edge into an economic abyss."
"And if all of America were absorbed by the Sacramento Commissariat, all of America would have A.B. 32, the Golden State’s ambitious carbon-curbing initiative, and all Americans would be wearing dumb smiles as we marched over the edge into an economic abyss."
The Education Bubble Has Burst
Articles: The Education Bubble Has Burst:
"Concurrently, Moody's in 2013 gave a negative financial outlook for all universities.
Recent studies have indicated that over 50% of all colleges and universities are projected to close, merge, or shut down in the next 50 years"
"Concurrently, Moody's in 2013 gave a negative financial outlook for all universities.
Recent studies have indicated that over 50% of all colleges and universities are projected to close, merge, or shut down in the next 50 years"
University of Chicago Removes Pews from 88 Year-Old Chapel to Accommodate Muslim Prayers
University of Chicago Removes Pews from 88 Year-Old Chapel to Accommodate Muslim Prayers | The Gateway Pundit:
“The pews were recently removed from the chapel in order to offer Muslim students a place to pray, a symbolic gesture of religious tolerance,” according to an official description of the exhibit which includes a “set of repurposed pews from the University of Chicago’s campus church.”
“The pews were recently removed from the chapel in order to offer Muslim students a place to pray, a symbolic gesture of religious tolerance,” according to an official description of the exhibit which includes a “set of repurposed pews from the University of Chicago’s campus church.”
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Obama's EPA conducted Nazi-like experiments on human subjects
Lawsuit: Obama's EPA conducted Nazi-like experiments on human subjects:
"You have the story, documented by links to numerous credible sources, to fully document what is a shocking story.
I just found this story, and it's been out there a while and equally shocking is how the mainstream media have completely ignored this story and failed to report it to the public who clearly has a right to know that taxpayer dollars at the federal level are being spent to carry out sick Nazi-like experiments like this."
"You have the story, documented by links to numerous credible sources, to fully document what is a shocking story.
I just found this story, and it's been out there a while and equally shocking is how the mainstream media have completely ignored this story and failed to report it to the public who clearly has a right to know that taxpayer dollars at the federal level are being spent to carry out sick Nazi-like experiments like this."
'Pasha' Dingell and the rise of Washington power
'Pasha' Dingell and the rise of Washington power | The Detroit News:
"Democrats like Dingell position themselves as populist protectors of the common man.
But in truth, the massive regulatory bills that they write inside the D.C. beltway have reduced consumer choice and marginalized small business — while favoring big corporations that can afford the lobbyists necessary to navigate the capital’s thicket of rules."
"Democrats like Dingell position themselves as populist protectors of the common man.
But in truth, the massive regulatory bills that they write inside the D.C. beltway have reduced consumer choice and marginalized small business — while favoring big corporations that can afford the lobbyists necessary to navigate the capital’s thicket of rules."
Allen West Responds to Cosby
Allen West Responds to Cosby: "Cosby had written this:
I’m a Christian. But Muslims are misunderstood. Intentionally misunderstood. We should all be more like them. They make sense, especially with their children. There is no other group like the Black Muslims, who put so much effort into teaching children the right things, they don’t smoke, they don’t drink or overindulge in alcohol, they protect their women, they command respect. And what do these other people do?
They complain about them, they criticize them. We’d be a better world if we emulated them. We don’t have to become black Muslims, but we can embrace the things that work."
I’m a Christian. But Muslims are misunderstood. Intentionally misunderstood. We should all be more like them. They make sense, especially with their children. There is no other group like the Black Muslims, who put so much effort into teaching children the right things, they don’t smoke, they don’t drink or overindulge in alcohol, they protect their women, they command respect. And what do these other people do?
They complain about them, they criticize them. We’d be a better world if we emulated them. We don’t have to become black Muslims, but we can embrace the things that work."
Bridging the male education gap
Bridging the male education gap - latimes.com:
"The underinvestment in education by adolescent boys and young men stems in part from out-of-date masculine stereotypes.
Such things as a strong attachment to school, a feeling of closeness to teachers, an excessive interest in high academic achievement or a fondness for art or music are viewed by many young men as unmasculine."
"The underinvestment in education by adolescent boys and young men stems in part from out-of-date masculine stereotypes.
Such things as a strong attachment to school, a feeling of closeness to teachers, an excessive interest in high academic achievement or a fondness for art or music are viewed by many young men as unmasculine."
Vitamins: Good or Bad?
Vitamins: Good or Bad? - James Hamblin - The Atlantic:
"Bottom line, we understand the majority of people to be best off without any vitamin supplements.
Just because they are non-prescription and still live inside a "health halo," vitamins are not harmless.
They could shorten or extend your life; at this point, taking vitamins randomly is metabolic roulette. "
"Bottom line, we understand the majority of people to be best off without any vitamin supplements.
Just because they are non-prescription and still live inside a "health halo," vitamins are not harmless.
They could shorten or extend your life; at this point, taking vitamins randomly is metabolic roulette. "
Majority Views NSA Phone Tracking as Acceptable Anti-terror Tactic
Majority Views NSA Phone Tracking as Acceptable Anti-terror Tactic | Pew Research Center for the People and the Press:
"A majority of Americans – 56% – say the National Security Agency’s (NSA) program tracking the telephone records of millions of Americans is an acceptable way for the government to investigate terrorism, though a substantial minority – 41% – say it is unacceptable."
"A majority of Americans – 56% – say the National Security Agency’s (NSA) program tracking the telephone records of millions of Americans is an acceptable way for the government to investigate terrorism, though a substantial minority – 41% – say it is unacceptable."
Clapper: I Gave 'The Least Untruthful Answer' To Wyden's 'Beating Your Wife' Question On Data Surveillance
Clapper: I Gave 'The Least Untruthful Answer' To Wyden's 'Beating Your Wife' Question On Data Surveillance | Techdirt:
First, let's go with the big one: Least untruthful manner?
In other words, it was a lie, but I could have told bigger lies.
But he's still admitting that it was a lie.
Lying to Congress is generally not a good idea.
Second: in what possible way is "Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?" a loaded question of the "when did you stop beating your wife?" variety?
There doesn't seem to be any unjustified assumption within the question at all.
It's a pretty basic question, in which a truthful answer ("yes, we do") does not lead to a fallacious admission.
So, now we have the Director of National Intelligence lying, admitting to lying, and then blaming the questioner by making two separate false claims about his question ("it was about email" and "it was a loaded question"). Why is he still in this job?
AMES CLAPPER:That's quite an answer.
First-- as I said, I have great respect for Senator Wyden. I thought, though in retrospect, I was asked-- "When are you going to start-- stop beating your wife" kind of question, which is meaning not-- answerable necessarily by a simple yes or no. So I responded in what I thought was the most truthful, or least untruthful manner by saying no.
First, let's go with the big one: Least untruthful manner?
In other words, it was a lie, but I could have told bigger lies.
But he's still admitting that it was a lie.
Lying to Congress is generally not a good idea.
Second: in what possible way is "Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?" a loaded question of the "when did you stop beating your wife?" variety?
There doesn't seem to be any unjustified assumption within the question at all.
It's a pretty basic question, in which a truthful answer ("yes, we do") does not lead to a fallacious admission.
So, now we have the Director of National Intelligence lying, admitting to lying, and then blaming the questioner by making two separate false claims about his question ("it was about email" and "it was a loaded question"). Why is he still in this job?
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