dressed up box

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dressed up box

Image by Ahia
Chinabank's Cebu Business Park branch

Ayala Land has had to concede that the original covenant to build only high-rises is no longer realistic. As various Philippine banks were big owners of prime lots in CBP, we now have a profusion of semi-permanent 2-storey branches on land that was priced for skyscrapers.

These lots were meant for regional headquarters. With improvements in networks and changes to banking processes (mainly greater centralization of loan approvals, etc.) the need for a Cebu HQ apart from the Manila HQ may never really arise. So, these 2-storey buildings may be permanent after all.

In any case, if there are ever any true regional HQs in CBP, there will be fewer than planned, simply because of all the mergers that have taken place. That leaves a much smaller group of names that will want to be emblazoned across the top of 30 to 40 storey buildings.

(DSC06853)

Ester Bako

Image by Trocaire
Ester Bako (29) completed the Adult Literacy programme at the Twezimbe Centre, Mbiko, Jinja, Uganda. The cenre is run by Sister Maureen of the Franciscan Missionary. Ester's course took one year to complete and concluded with exams. Once she finished the course she was given a small loan to start up her own business. In 2009 she opened her hair dressing business and it is going from strength to strength.

Her formal education ended in primary 3 when her father died and her family couldn’t then afford for her to attend school. She left to look after hens at home.

She is very happy now to be running her own business and she hopes to expand in the near future.

Photo: Alan Whelan/Trócaire.

Sterchi's Barn - Old US 31E, Sumner County

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Sterchi's Barn - Old US 31E, Sumner County

Image by SeeMidTN.com (aka Brent)
"It costs less at STERCHI'S to furnish your home"

Sterchi Barns are an elusive thing. As someone who looks far and wide for advertising barns, there aren't many of these to be found, but they're not really near each other. There's this one near blountville, this one between Pulaski and fayetteville, and my favorite one north of Fayetteville. The one here is painted similarly to the previous two. During their heydey, the were the largest furniture store in America. Long out of business, their old warehouse in Knoxville has been turned into loft apartments.

The road to find this barn is a bit of an elusive thing, too. There are two old routes between Nashville and Louisville, which have been signed US31E and US31W. From there, almost all of US31E between Gallatin, TN and Scottsville, KY has been replaced by a modern smoother and straighter highway. If you'd like a slow leisurely drive that doesn't take you anywhere fast, I'd suggest you get your GPS and drive the old winding road between the two cities. This barn is a couple of miles north of Westmoreland. Before the days of US highways having numbers, back when they were called Auto Trails, this was known as the Andrew Jackson Highway, which follows a small stream through the area. This route dates back to 1911 and connected Chicago and New Orleans via Nashville.

There's one more thing that's been elusive. Sadly, that's been me taking a photo of the barn I could be happy with. The day I stumbled across this place, I noticed there was nowhere to pull over and there was just enough traffic that I couldn't just stop in the street. The same ad is painted on both sides, and I drove back and forth past it a couple of times. Then, I found on what otherwise owould have been my best shot, the sun was hitting the roof is such a way to wash out any evidence of writing. I made a return visit a few months later and again I didn't get a good shot, plus the barn's owner didn't take too kindly to me taking a picture of his barn. (at least that was my impression, I didn't stay any longer to find out.) It pains me that I'll settle with the photos uploaded today, where I've picked one from each side, one frome each visit.

Hello to anyone who found this photo here:
www.flickr.com/photos/32175940@N06/7343577712/in/set-7215...

Woman in Field with Hoe

Image by USAID Kenya
USAID/Kenya helps small-scale farmers and business people get the skills, technology, loans and market connections they need to succeed. In 2010 more than 374000 women and men received short-term training in raising farm productivity. USAID/Kenya’s horticultural and dairy programs combined brought in 0 million in international exports.

Photo credit: USAID/Neil Thomas

"I'm George Washington and I approve this message."

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"I'm George Washington and I approve this message."

Image by eyewashdesign: A. Golden
New Yorkers Protest the US0 BILLION (US TRILLION) Wall Street BAILOUT: Wall Street, NYC - September 25, 2008

VOTE YOUR CONSCIENCE on 04 NOVEMBER 2008!

Photographer: a. golden, eyewash design - c. 2008.

Friends,

The richest 400 Americans -- that's right, just four-hundred people -- own MORE than the bottom 150 million Americans COMBINED! 400 of the wealthiest Americans have got more stashed away than half the entire country! Their combined net worth is .6 trillion. During the eight years of the Bush Administration, their wealth has increased by nearly 0 billion -- the same amount that they were demanding We give to them for the "bailout." Why don't they just spend the money they made under Bush to bail themselves out? They'd still have nearly a trillion dollars left over to spread amongst themselves!

Of course, they are not going to do that -- at least not voluntarily. George W. Bush was handed a 7 billion surplus when Bill Clinton left office. Because that money was OUR money and not HIS, he did what the rich prefer to do -- spend it and never look back. Now we have a .5 trillion debt that will take seven generations from which to recover. Why -- on --earth – did -- our -- "representatives" -- give -- these -- robber -- barons -- $ US850 BILLION -- of – OUR -- money?

Last week, proposed my own bailout plan. My suggestions, listed below, were predicated on the singular and simple belief that the rich must pull themselves up by their own platinum bootstraps. Sorry, fellows, but you drilled it into our heads one too many times: THERE...IS...NO…FREE... LUNCH ~ PERIOD! And thank you for encouraging us to hate people on welfare! So, there should have been NO HANDOUTS FROM US TO YOU! Last Friday, after voting AGAINST this BAILOUT, in an unprecedented turn of events, the House FLIP-FLOPPED their "No" Vote & said "Yes", in a rush version of a "bailout" bill vote. IN SPITE OF THE PEOPLE'S OVERWHELMING DISAPPROVAL OF THIS BAILOUT BILL... IN SPITE OF MILLIONS OF CALLS FROM THE PEOPLE CRASHING WASHINGTON "representatives'" PHONE LINES...IN SPITE OF CRASHING OUR POLITICIAN'S WEBSITES...IN SPITE OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE PROTESTING AROUND THE COUNTRY... THEY VOTED FOR THIS BAILOUT! The People first succeeded on Monday with the House, but failed do it with the Senate and then THE HOUSE TURNED ON US TOO!

It is clear, though, we cannot simply continue protesting without proposing exactly what it is we think THESE IDIOTS should/'ve do/one. So, after consulting with a number of people smarter than Phil Gramm, here’s the proposal, now known as "Mike's Rescue Plan." (From Michael Moore's Bailout Plan) It has 10 simple, straightforward points. They are that you DIDN'T, BUT SHOULD'VE:

1. APPOINTED A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR TO CRIMINALLY INDICT ANYONE ON WALL STREET WHO KNOWINGLY CONTRIBUTED TO THIS COLLAPSE. Before any new money was expended, Congress should have committed, by resolution, to CRIMINALLY PROSECUTE ANYONE who had ANYTHING to do with the attempted SACKING OF OUR ECONOMY. This means that anyone who committed insider trading, securities fraud or any action that helped bring about this collapse should have and MUST GO TO JAIL! This Congress SHOULD HAVE called for a Special Prosecutor who would vigorously go after everyone who created the mess, and anyone else who attempts to scam the public in future. (I like Elliot Spitzer ~ so, he played a little hanky-panky...Wall Street hates him & this is a GOOD thing.)

2. THE RICH SHOULD HAVE PAID FOR THEIR OWN BAILOUT! They may have to live in 5 houses instead of 7. They may have to drive 9 cars instead of 13. The chef for their mini-terriers may have to be reassigned. But there is no way in hell, after forcing family incomes to go down more than ,000 dollars during the Bush years, that working people and the middle class should have to fork over one dime to underwrite the next yacht purchase.

If they truly needed the 0 billion they say they needed, well, here is an easy way they could have raised it:

a) Every couple makeing over a million dollars a year and every single taxpayer who makes over 0,000 a year should pay a 10% surcharge tax for five years. (It's the Senator Sanders plan. He's like Colonel Sanders, only he's out to fry the right chickens.) That means the rich would have still been paying less income tax than when Carter was president. That would have raise a total of 0 billion.

b) Like nearly every other democracy, they should have charged a 0.25% tax on every stock transaction. This would have raised more than 0 billion in a year.

c) Because every stockholder is a patriotic American, stockholders should have forgone receiving a dividend check for ONE quarter and instead this money would have gone the treasury to help pay for the bullsh*t bailout.

d) 25% of major U.S. corporations currently pay NO federal income tax. Federal corporate tax revenues currently amount to 1.7% of the GDP compared to 5% in the 1950s. If we raised the corporate income tax BACK to the levels of the 1950s, this would give us an extra 0 billion.

All of this combined should have been enough to end the calamity. The rich would have gotten to keep their mansions and their servants and our United States government ("COUNTRY FIRST!") would've have a little leftover to repair some roads, bridges and schools...

3. YOU SHOULD HAVE BAIL OUT THE PEOPLE LOSING THEIR HOMES, NOT THE PEOPLE WHO WILL BUILD AN EIGHTH HOME! There are 1.3 million homes in foreclosure right now. That is what is at the heart of this problem. So, instead of giving the money to the banks as a gift, they should have paid down each of these mortgages by 0,000. They should have forced the banks to renegotiate the mortgage so the homeowner could pay on its current value. To insure that this help wouldn't go to speculators and those who tried to making money by flipping houses, the bailout should have only been for people's primary residences. And, in return for the 0K pay-down on the existing mortgage, the government would have gotten to share in the holding of the mortgage so it could get some of its money back. Thus, the total initial cost of fixing the mortgage crisis at its roots (instead of with the greedy lenders) is 0 billion, not 0 BILLION.

And let's set the record straight. People who have defaulted on their mortgages are not "bad risks." They are our fellow Americans, and all they wanted was what we all want: a home to call their own. But, during the Bush years, millions of the People lost the decent paying jobs they had. SIX MILLION fell into poverty! SEVEN MILLION lost their health insurance! And, every one of them saw their real wages go DOWN by ,000! Those who DARE look down on these Americans who got hit with one bad break after another should be ASHAMED.! We are a better, stronger, safer and happier society when all of our citizens can afford to live in a home they own.

4. THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A STIPULATION THAT IF YOUR BANK OR COMPANY GOT ANY OF OUR MONEY IN A "BAILOUT," THEN WE OWN YOU. Sorry, that's how it's done. If the bank gives me money so I can buy a house, the bank "owns" that house until I pay it all back -- with interest. Same deal for Wall Street. Whatever money you need to stay afloat, if our government considers you a safe risk -- and necessary for the good of the country -- then you can get a loan, but WE SHOULD OWN YOU. If you default, we will sell you. This is how the Swedish government did it and it worked.

5. ALL REGULATIONS SHOULD HAVE BEEN BE RESTORED. THE REAGAN REVOLUTION IS DEAD! This catastrophe happened because we let the fox have the keys to the hen-house. In 1999, Phil Gramm authored a bill to remove all the regulations that governed Wall Street and our banking system. The bill passed and Clinton signed it. Here's what Sen.Phil Gramm, McCain's chief economic advisor, said at the bill signing:

"In the 1930s ... it was believed that government was the answer. It was believed that stability and growth came from government overriding the functioning of free markets.

"We are here today to repeal [that] because we have learned that government is not the answer. We have learned that freedom and competition are the answers. We have learned that we promote economic growth and we promote stability by having competition and freedom.

"I am proud to be here because this is an important bill; it is a deregulatory bill. I believe that that is the wave of the future, and I am awfully proud to have been a part of making it a reality."

FOR THIS NOT TO REOCCUR, This BILL SHOULD HAVE BEEN REPEALED! Bill Clinton could have helped by leading the effort for the repeal of the Gramm bill and the reinstating of even tougher regulations regarding our financial institutions. And when they were done with that, they should have restored the regulations for the airlines, the inspection of our food, the oil industry, OSHA, and every other entity that affects our daily lives. All oversight provisions for any "bailout" should have had enforcement monies attached to them and criminal penalties for all offenders.

6. IF IT'S TOO BIG TO FAIL, THEN THAT MEANS IT'S TOO BIG TO EXIST! Allowing the creation of these mega-mergers and not enforcing the monopoly and anti-trust laws has allowed a number of financial institutions and corporations to become so large, the very thought of their collapse means an even bigger collapse across the entire economy. No ONE or TWO companies should EVER have this kind of power! The so-called "economic Pearl Harbor" can't happen when you have hundreds -- thousands -- of institutions where people have their money. When we have a dozen auto companies, if one goes belly-up, we DON'T FACE A NATIONAL DISASTER! If we have three separately-owned daily newspapers in your town, then one media company can't call all the shots (I know... What am I thinking?! Who reads a paper anymore? Sure glad all those mergers and buyouts left us with a STRONG and "FREE" press!). Laws Should have been enacted to prevent companies from being so large and dominant that with one slingshot to the eye, the GIANT FALLS and DIES. And no institution should be allowed to set up money schemes that NO ONE understands. If you can't explain it in two sentences, you shouldn't be taking anyone's money!

7. NO EXECUTIVE SHOULD EVER BE PAID MORE THAN 40 TIMES THEIR AVERAGE EMPLOYEE, AND NO EXECUTIVE SHOULD RECEIVE ANY KIND OF "PARACHUTE" OTHER THAN THE VERY GENEROUS SALARY HE OR SHE MADE WHILE WORKING FOR THE COMPANY. In 1980, the average American CEO made 45 times what their employees made. By 2003, they were making 254 times what their workers made. After 8 years of Bush, they now make over 400 times what their average employee makes. How We have allowed this to happen at publicly held companies is beyond reason. In Britain, the average CEO makes 28 times what their average employee makes. In Japan, it's only 17 times! The last I heard, the CEO of Toyota was living the high life in Tokyo. How does he do it on so little money? Seriously, this is an OUTRAGE! We have created the mess we're in by letting the people at the top become bloated beyond belief with millions of dollars. THIS HAS TO STOP! Not only should no executive who receives help out of this mess profit from it, but any executive who was in charge of running his company into the ground should be FIRED before the company receives ANY help.

8. CONGRESS SHOULD HAVE STRENGTHENED THE FDIC AND MADE IT A MODEL FOR PROTECTING NOT ONLY PEOPLE'S SAVINGS, BUT ALSO THEIR PENSIONS AND THEIR HOMES. Obama was correct to propose expanding FDIC protection of people's savings in their banks to 0,000. But, this same sort of government insurance must be given to our NEVER have to worry about whether or not the money they've put away for their old age will be there. This should have meant strict government oversight of companies who manage their employees' funds -- or perhaps it means the companies should have been forced to turn over those funds and their management to the government? People's private retirement funds must also be protected, but perhaps it's time to consider not having one's retirement invested in the casino known as the stock market??? Our government should have a solemn duty to guarantee that no one who grows old in this country has to worry about becoming destitute.

9. EVERYBODY NEEDS TO TAKE A DEEP BREATH, CALM DOWN, AND NOT LET FEAR RULE THE DAY. Turn off your TVs! We are NOT in the Second Great Depression. The sky is NOT falling, Chicken Little! Pundits and politicians have lied to us so FAST and FURIOUS it's hard not to be affected by all the fear mongering. Even I wrote to and repeated what I heard on the news last week, that the Dow had the biggest one day drop in its history. Well, that was true in terms of points, but its 7% drop came nowhere close to Black Monday in 1987 when the stock market in one day lost 23% of its value. In the '80s, 3,000 banks closed, but America didn't go out of business. These institutions have always had their ups and downs and eventually it works out. It has to, because the rich do not like their wealth being disrupted! They have a vested interest in calming things down and getting back into their Jacuzzis before they slip into their million thread-count sheets to drift off to a peaceful, Vodka tonic and Ambien-induced slumber.

As crazy as things are right now, tens of thousands of people got a car loan last week. Thousands went to the bank and got a mortgage to buy a home. Students just back to college found banks more than happy to put them into hock for the next 15 years with a student loan. I was even pre-approved for a USK personal loan. Yes, life has gone on with little-or-no-change (other than the whopping 6.1% umeployment rate, but that happened last month). Not a single person lost any of his/her monies in bank, or a treasury note, or in a CD. And, the perhaps the most amazing thing is that the American public FINALLY didn't buy the scare campaign. The citizens didn't blink, instead telling Congress to take that bailout and shove it. THAT was impressive. Why didn't the population succumb to the fright-filled warnings from their president and his cronies? Well, you can only say 'Saddam has the bomb' so many times before the people realize you're a lying sack of shit. After eight long years, the nation is worn out and simply can't take it any longer. The WORLD is fed up & I don't blame them.

10. THEY SHOULD HAVE CREATED A NATIONAL BANK, A "PEOPLE'S BANK." Since they're really itching to print up a trillion dollars, instead of giving it to a few rich people, why don't We give it to ourselves? Now that We own Freddie and Fannie, why not set up a People's bank? One that can provide low-interest loans for all sorts of people who want to own a home, start a small business, go to school, come up with the cure for cancer or create the next great invention. And, now that we own AIG - the country's largest insurance company - let's take the next step and PROVIDE HEALTH INSURANCE FOR EVERYONE. MEDICARE FOR ALL! It will SAVE us SO MUCH MONEY in the LONG RUN (not to mention bring peace of mind to all). And, America won't be 12th on the life expectancy list! We'll be able to have a longer lifespan, enjoying our government-protected pension and will live to see the day when the corporate criminals who caused this much misery are let out of prison so that We can help re-acclimate them to plain old ordinary, civilian life -- a life with ONE nice home and ONE gas-free car invented with help from the People's Bank.

P.S. Call your Senators NOW !!! ---> www.visi.com/juan/congress/

Since they voted against passing the extension of unemployment benefits and skipped out to "campaign" to us to be re-elected...call them and tell them you will vote for the other "guy" if they don't get their act together!

UPDATE:


The Bailout Is A Truly Evil Disaster And Enabler Pelosi Must Go

We are hearing more and more reports of how badly the ill-advised banker's bailout is being handled, multi-million dollar bonuses for Paulson's old cronies at Goldman Sachs, billions going to finance the takeover of rival banks, making the "too big to fail" even bigger, and the taxpayer getting an otherwise rotten deal for their investment. We even heard a Republic senator asking how fast they could blow the money.

NONE of this could have happened without the fawning complicity of Nancy Pelosi, who infamously said it was Bush's proposal, INSTEAD of coming forward with a robust alternative plan. Just like Bush, she believes she is immune, she believes she is unaccountable, and shame on us if we don't do everything we can to defeat her this Tuesday, and replace her with Cindy Sheehan.

Here is Cindy's last TV spot. Please make whatever donation you can to put this ad on the air in these critical final days.

Last Cindy TV Spot Action Page:
www.usalone.com/cindy/donations_tv2.php

There is still time for you to make a real difference. We thank all of our participants who have already donated so generously to make this campaign what it is. For those who cannot make a contribution, please consider helping with the phone banking, and there is a link for that also on the page above.

The one thing we know is that we must continue to speak out. We must continue to challenge. Surrendering is what our current so-called representatives in Congress are so prone to, NOT what we do. Ultimate victory is not only possible, it is assured if we work as hard as we can for real change, not just the rebranding of the same old boys'
network.

And we promise you, immediately after the election we will go right back to work on pure issue advocacy full time, to continue to build the base of action for the future.

Paid for by Cindy Sheehan for Congress

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Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours, and forward this alert as widely as possible.

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It's Capitalism.

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It's Capitalism.

Image by eyewashdesign: A. Golden
New Yorkers Protest the US0 BILLION (US TRILLION) Wall Street BAILOUT: Wall Street, NYC - September 25, 2008

VOTE YOUR CONSCIENCE on 04 NOVEMBER 2008!

Phototgrapher: a. golden, eyewash design - c. 2008.

Friends,

The richest 400 Americans -- that's right, just four-hundred people -- own MORE than the bottom 150 million Americans COMBINED! 400 of the wealthiest Americans have got more stashed away than half the entire country! Their combined net worth is .6 trillion. During the eight years of the Bush Administration, their wealth has increased by nearly 0 billion -- the same amount that they were demanding We give to them for the "bailout." Why don't they just spend the money they made under Bush to bail themselves out? They'd still have nearly a trillion dollars left over to spread amongst themselves!

Of course, they are not going to do that -- at least not voluntarily. George W. Bush was handed a 7 billion surplus when Bill Clinton left office. Because that money was OUR money and not HIS, he did what the rich prefer to do -- spend it and never look back. Now we have a .5 trillion debt that will take seven generations from which to recover. Why -- on --earth – did -- our -- "representatives" -- give -- these -- robber -- barons -- $ US850 BILLION -- of – OUR -- money?

Last week, proposed my own bailout plan. My suggestions, listed below, were predicated on the singular and simple belief that the rich must pull themselves up by their own platinum bootstraps. Sorry, fellows, but you drilled it into our heads one too many times: THERE...IS...NO…FREE... LUNCH ~ PERIOD! And thank you for encouraging us to hate people on welfare! So, there should have been NO HANDOUTS FROM US TO YOU! Last Friday, after voting AGAINST this BAILOUT, in an unprecedented turn of events, the House FLIP-FLOPPED their "No" Vote & said "Yes", in a rush version of a "bailout" bill vote. IN SPITE OF THE PEOPLE'S OVERWHELMING DISAPPROVAL OF THIS BAILOUT BILL... IN SPITE OF MILLIONS OF CALLS FROM THE PEOPLE CRASHING WASHINGTON "representatives'" PHONE LINES...IN SPITE OF CRASHING OUR POLITICIAN'S WEBSITES...IN SPITE OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE PROTESTING AROUND THE COUNTRY... THEY VOTED FOR THIS BAILOUT! The People first succeeded on Monday with the House, but failed do it with the Senate and then THE HOUSE TURNED ON US TOO!

It is clear, though, we cannot simply continue protesting without proposing exactly what it is we think THESE IDIOTS should/'ve do/one. So, after consulting with a number of people smarter than Phil Gramm, here’s the proposal, now known as "Mike's Rescue Plan." (From Michael Moore's Bailout Plan) It has 10 simple, straightforward points. They are that you DIDN'T, BUT SHOULD'VE:

1. APPOINTED A SPECIAL PROSECUTOR TO CRIMINALLY INDICT ANYONE ON WALL STREET WHO KNOWINGLY CONTRIBUTED TO THIS COLLAPSE. Before any new money was expended, Congress should have committed, by resolution, to CRIMINALLY PROSECUTE ANYONE who had ANYTHING to do with the attempted SACKING OF OUR ECONOMY. This means that anyone who committed insider trading, securities fraud or any action that helped bring about this collapse should have and MUST GO TO JAIL! This Congress SHOULD HAVE called for a Special Prosecutor who would vigorously go after everyone who created the mess, and anyone else who attempts to scam the public in future. (I like Elliot Spitzer ~ so, he played a little hanky-panky...Wall Street hates him & this is a GOOD thing.)

2. THE RICH SHOULD HAVE PAID FOR THEIR OWN BAILOUT! They may have to live in 5 houses instead of 7. They may have to drive 9 cars instead of 13. The chef for their mini-terriers may have to be reassigned. But there is no way in hell, after forcing family incomes to go down more than ,000 dollars during the Bush years, that working people and the middle class should have to fork over one dime to underwrite the next yacht purchase.

If they truly needed the 0 billion they say they needed, well, here is an easy way they could have raised it:

a) Every couple makeing over a million dollars a year and every single taxpayer who makes over 0,000 a year should pay a 10% surcharge tax for five years. (It's the Senator Sanders plan. He's like Colonel Sanders, only he's out to fry the right chickens.) That means the rich would have still been paying less income tax than when Carter was president. That would have raise a total of 0 billion.

b) Like nearly every other democracy, they should have charged a 0.25% tax on every stock transaction. This would have raised more than 0 billion in a year.

c) Because every stockholder is a patriotic American, stockholders should have forgone receiving a dividend check for ONE quarter and instead this money would have gone the treasury to help pay for the bullsh*t bailout.

d) 25% of major U.S. corporations currently pay NO federal income tax. Federal corporate tax revenues currently amount to 1.7% of the GDP compared to 5% in the 1950s. If we raised the corporate income tax BACK to the levels of the 1950s, this would give us an extra 0 billion.

All of this combined should have been enough to end the calamity. The rich would have gotten to keep their mansions and their servants and our United States government ("COUNTRY FIRST!") would've have a little leftover to repair some roads, bridges and schools...

3. YOU SHOULD HAVE BAIL OUT THE PEOPLE LOSING THEIR HOMES, NOT THE PEOPLE WHO WILL BUILD AN EIGHTH HOME! There are 1.3 million homes in foreclosure right now. That is what is at the heart of this problem. So, instead of giving the money to the banks as a gift, they should have paid down each of these mortgages by 0,000. They should have forced the banks to renegotiate the mortgage so the homeowner could pay on its current value. To insure that this help wouldn't go to speculators and those who tried to making money by flipping houses, the bailout should have only been for people's primary residences. And, in return for the 0K pay-down on the existing mortgage, the government would have gotten to share in the holding of the mortgage so it could get some of its money back. Thus, the total initial cost of fixing the mortgage crisis at its roots (instead of with the greedy lenders) is 0 billion, not 0 BILLION.

And let's set the record straight. People who have defaulted on their mortgages are not "bad risks." They are our fellow Americans, and all they wanted was what we all want: a home to call their own. But, during the Bush years, millions of the People lost the decent paying jobs they had. SIX MILLION fell into poverty! SEVEN MILLION lost their health insurance! And, every one of them saw their real wages go DOWN by ,000! Those who DARE look down on these Americans who got hit with one bad break after another should be ASHAMED.! We are a better, stronger, safer and happier society when all of our citizens can afford to live in a home they own.

4. THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A STIPULATION THAT IF YOUR BANK OR COMPANY GOT ANY OF OUR MONEY IN A "BAILOUT," THEN WE OWN YOU. Sorry, that's how it's done. If the bank gives me money so I can buy a house, the bank "owns" that house until I pay it all back -- with interest. Same deal for Wall Street. Whatever money you need to stay afloat, if our government considers you a safe risk -- and necessary for the good of the country -- then you can get a loan, but WE SHOULD OWN YOU. If you default, we will sell you. This is how the Swedish government did it and it worked.

5. ALL REGULATIONS SHOULD HAVE BEEN BE RESTORED. THE REAGAN REVOLUTION IS DEAD! This catastrophe happened because we let the fox have the keys to the hen-house. In 1999, Phil Gramm authored a bill to remove all the regulations that governed Wall Street and our banking system. The bill passed and Clinton signed it. Here's what Sen.Phil Gramm, McCain's chief economic advisor, said at the bill signing:

"In the 1930s ... it was believed that government was the answer. It was believed that stability and growth came from government overriding the functioning of free markets.

"We are here today to repeal [that] because we have learned that government is not the answer. We have learned that freedom and competition are the answers. We have learned that we promote economic growth and we promote stability by having competition and freedom.

"I am proud to be here because this is an important bill; it is a deregulatory bill. I believe that that is the wave of the future, and I am awfully proud to have been a part of making it a reality."

FOR THIS NOT TO REOCCUR, This BILL SHOULD HAVE BEEN REPEALED! Bill Clinton could have helped by leading the effort for the repeal of the Gramm bill and the reinstating of even tougher regulations regarding our financial institutions. And when they were done with that, they should have restored the regulations for the airlines, the inspection of our food, the oil industry, OSHA, and every other entity that affects our daily lives. All oversight provisions for any "bailout" should have had enforcement monies attached to them and criminal penalties for all offenders.

6. IF IT'S TOO BIG TO FAIL, THEN THAT MEANS IT'S TOO BIG TO EXIST! Allowing the creation of these mega-mergers and not enforcing the monopoly and anti-trust laws has allowed a number of financial institutions and corporations to become so large, the very thought of their collapse means an even bigger collapse across the entire economy. No ONE or TWO companies should EVER have this kind of power! The so-called "economic Pearl Harbor" can't happen when you have hundreds -- thousands -- of institutions where people have their money. When we have a dozen auto companies, if one goes belly-up, we DON'T FACE A NATIONAL DISASTER! If we have three separately-owned daily newspapers in your town, then one media company can't call all the shots (I know... What am I thinking?! Who reads a paper anymore? Sure glad all those mergers and buyouts left us with a STRONG and "FREE" press!). Laws Should have been enacted to prevent companies from being so large and dominant that with one slingshot to the eye, the GIANT FALLS and DIES. And no institution should be allowed to set up money schemes that NO ONE understands. If you can't explain it in two sentences, you shouldn't be taking anyone's money!

7. NO EXECUTIVE SHOULD EVER BE PAID MORE THAN 40 TIMES THEIR AVERAGE EMPLOYEE, AND NO EXECUTIVE SHOULD RECEIVE ANY KIND OF "PARACHUTE" OTHER THAN THE VERY GENEROUS SALARY HE OR SHE MADE WHILE WORKING FOR THE COMPANY. In 1980, the average American CEO made 45 times what their employees made. By 2003, they were making 254 times what their workers made. After 8 years of Bush, they now make over 400 times what their average employee makes. How We have allowed this to happen at publicly held companies is beyond reason. In Britain, the average CEO makes 28 times what their average employee makes. In Japan, it's only 17 times! The last I heard, the CEO of Toyota was living the high life in Tokyo. How does he do it on so little money? Seriously, this is an OUTRAGE! We have created the mess we're in by letting the people at the top become bloated beyond belief with millions of dollars. THIS HAS TO STOP! Not only should no executive who receives help out of this mess profit from it, but any executive who was in charge of running his company into the ground should be FIRED before the company receives ANY help.

8. CONGRESS SHOULD HAVE STRENGTHENED THE FDIC AND MADE IT A MODEL FOR PROTECTING NOT ONLY PEOPLE'S SAVINGS, BUT ALSO THEIR PENSIONS AND THEIR HOMES. Obama was correct to propose expanding FDIC protection of people's savings in their banks to 0,000. But, this same sort of government insurance must be given to our NEVER have to worry about whether or not the money they've put away for their old age will be there. This should have meant strict government oversight of companies who manage their employees' funds -- or perhaps it means the companies should have been forced to turn over those funds and their management to the government? People's private retirement funds must also be protected, but perhaps it's time to consider not having one's retirement invested in the casino known as the stock market??? Our government should have a solemn duty to guarantee that no one who grows old in this country has to worry about becoming destitute.

9. EVERYBODY NEEDS TO TAKE A DEEP BREATH, CALM DOWN, AND NOT LET FEAR RULE THE DAY. Turn off your TVs! We are NOT in the Second Great Depression. The sky is NOT falling, Chicken Little! Pundits and politicians have lied to us so FAST and FURIOUS it's hard not to be affected by all the fear mongering. Even I wrote to and repeated what I heard on the news last week, that the Dow had the biggest one day drop in its history. Well, that was true in terms of points, but its 7% drop came nowhere close to Black Monday in 1987 when the stock market in one day lost 23% of its value. In the '80s, 3,000 banks closed, but America didn't go out of business. These institutions have always had their ups and downs and eventually it works out. It has to, because the rich do not like their wealth being disrupted! They have a vested interest in calming things down and getting back into their Jacuzzis before they slip into their million thread-count sheets to drift off to a peaceful, Vodka tonic and Ambien-induced slumber.

As crazy as things are right now, tens of thousands of people got a car loan last week. Thousands went to the bank and got a mortgage to buy a home. Students just back to college found banks more than happy to put them into hock for the next 15 years with a student loan. I was even pre-approved for a USK personal loan. Yes, life has gone on with little-or-no-change (other than the whopping 6.1% umeployment rate, but that happened last month). Not a single person lost any of his/her monies in bank, or a treasury note, or in a CD. And, the perhaps the most amazing thing is that the American public FINALLY didn't buy the scare campaign. The citizens didn't blink, instead telling Congress to take that bailout and shove it. THAT was impressive. Why didn't the population succumb to the fright-filled warnings from their president and his cronies? Well, you can only say 'Saddam has the bomb' so many times before the people realize you're a lying sack of shit. After eight long years, the nation is worn out and simply can't take it any longer. The WORLD is fed up & I don't blame them.

10. THEY SHOULD HAVE CREATED A NATIONAL BANK, A "PEOPLE'S BANK." Since they're really itching to print up a trillion dollars, instead of giving it to a few rich people, why don't We give it to ourselves? Now that We own Freddie and Fannie, why not set up a People's bank? One that can provide low-interest loans for all sorts of people who want to own a home, start a small business, go to school, come up with the cure for cancer or create the next great invention. And, now that we own AIG - the country's largest insurance company - let's take the next step and PROVIDE HEALTH INSURANCE FOR EVERYONE. MEDICARE FOR ALL! It will SAVE us SO MUCH MONEY in the LONG RUN (not to mention bring peace of mind to all). And, America won't be 12th on the life expectancy list! We'll be able to have a longer lifespan, enjoying our government-protected pension and will live to see the day when the corporate criminals who caused this much misery are let out of prison so that We can help re-acclimate them to plain old ordinary, civilian life -- a life with ONE nice home and ONE gas-free car invented with help from the People's Bank.

P.S. Call your Senators NOW !!! ---> www.visi.com/juan/congress/

Since they voted against passing the extension of unemployment benefits and skipped out to "campaign" to us to be re-elected...call them and tell them you will vote for the other "guy" if they don't get their act together!

UPDATE:


The Bailout Is A Truly Evil Disaster And Enabler Pelosi Must Go

We are hearing more and more reports of how badly the ill-advised banker's bailout is being handled, multi-million dollar bonuses for Paulson's old cronies at Goldman Sachs, billions going to finance the takeover of rival banks, making the "too big to fail" even bigger, and the taxpayer getting an otherwise rotten deal for their investment. We even heard a Republic senator asking how fast they could blow the money.

NONE of this could have happened without the fawning complicity of Nancy Pelosi, who infamously said it was Bush's proposal, INSTEAD of coming forward with a robust alternative plan. Just like Bush, she believes she is immune, she believes she is unaccountable, and shame on us if we don't do everything we can to defeat her this Tuesday, and replace her with Cindy Sheehan.

Here is Cindy's last TV spot. Please make whatever donation you can to put this ad on the air in these critical final days.

Last Cindy TV Spot Action Page:
www.usalone.com/cindy/donations_tv2.php

There is still time for you to make a real difference. We thank all of our participants who have already donated so generously to make this campaign what it is. For those who cannot make a contribution, please consider helping with the phone banking, and there is a link for that also on the page above.

The one thing we know is that we must continue to speak out. We must continue to challenge. Surrendering is what our current so-called representatives in Congress are so prone to, NOT what we do. Ultimate victory is not only possible, it is assured if we work as hard as we can for real change, not just the rebranding of the same old boys'
network.

And we promise you, immediately after the election we will go right back to work on pure issue advocacy full time, to continue to build the base of action for the future.

Paid for by Cindy Sheehan for Congress

Donations to Cindy Sheehan for Congress are not tax-deductible

Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours, and forward this alert as widely as possible.

If you would like to get alerts like these, you can do so at www.usalone.net/in.htm

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San Francisco - SoMa: Blue Bottle Coffee

Image by wallyg
The Blue Bottle Coffee Mint Plaza Café, at 66 Mint Street, opened in January 2008 in the rear of the 1912 Provident Loan Building. The café, Blue Bottle's first, features a first of its kind in the United States five-light siphon bar featuring a weekly changing menu of three single origin coffees, a Kyoto-style iced coffee apparatus, a one-group San Marco lever machine, and a three-group La Marzocco Linea used for the 17 ft. Ceiling espresso blend. The café features breakfast, brunch and lunch menus as well as desserts made at the Blue Bottle Kitchen in Oakland.

Named after The Blue Bottle, Central Europe's first coffee house opened in 1683 in Vienna by Franz George Kolshitsky, Blue Bottle Coffee was started by James Freeman in 2001. He would roast his own coffee beans in a 186-square-foot shed adjacent to his Oakland apartment and brew fresh coffee at farmers' markets around the Bay Area. As his business grew, he expanded his roastery and built a commercial baking kitchen that is run by his wife, Caitlin Williams Freeman. In 2005, he opened a permanent kiosk in Hayes Valley and in 2009 expanded with a full fledged café in the Ferry Building and a smaller café in the San Franciscco Museum of Modern Art. In 2010, Blue Bottle expanded to New York with a café in Williamsburg.

San Francisco - SoMa: Blue Bottle Coffee - Fruit Buckle and Sesame Absinthe Cigar

Image by wallyg
The Blue Bottle Coffee Mint Plaza Café, at 66 Mint Street, opened in January 2008 in the rear of the 1912 Provident Loan Building. The café, Blue Bottle's first, features a first of its kind in the United States five-light siphon bar featuring a weekly changing menu of three single origin coffees, a Kyoto-style iced coffee apparatus, a one-group San Marco lever machine, and a three-group La Marzocco Linea used for the 17 ft. Ceiling espresso blend. The café features breakfast, brunch and lunch menus as well as desserts made at the Blue Bottle Kitchen in Oakland.

Named after The Blue Bottle, Central Europe's first coffee house opened in 1683 in Vienna by Franz George Kolshitsky, Blue Bottle Coffee was started by James Freeman in 2001. He would roast his own coffee beans in a 186-square-foot shed adjacent to his Oakland apartment and brew fresh coffee at farmers' markets around the Bay Area. As his business grew, he expanded his roastery and built a commercial baking kitchen that is run by his wife, Caitlin Williams Freeman. In 2005, he opened a permanent kiosk in Hayes Valley and in 2009 expanded with a full fledged café in the Ferry Building and a smaller café in the San Franciscco Museum of Modern Art. In 2010, Blue Bottle expanded to New York with a café in Williamsburg.

Vince Cable

Image by bisgovuk
Production, research and development of helicopters in the UK has taken a major step forward with a total of £32 million of public finance announced today by Business Secretary Vince Cable.
As part of the visit, he saw the first UK order for the new A169 helicopter signed by Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance

He made the announcement during a visit to AgustaWestland's Yeovil facility where design and development is taking place for the new AW169 light intermediate commercial helicopter. The new aircraft is a diversification for the Yeovil plant as this has previously focused on military aircraft.

The investment includes a £22 million loan on market terms in order to assist production of the AW169. Separately, a total of £10 million in R&D grants have been delivered through the Technology Strategy Board Scheme. These grants are aimed at boosting research and development in advanced rotorcraft, benefiting small and medium sized enterprises in the supply chain and universities which train the next generation of engineers and technicians.

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The Federal Reserve: The Biggest Scam In History

Image by CityGypsy11
The Federal Reserve is no more "Federal" than Federal Express.

The Federal Reserve is a private company of bankers with twelve branch banks that have been confiscating our money for almost a hundred years.

The Federal Reserve is NOT part of the United States Government., however, it is arguably considered a quasi-governmental agency.

Pay attention now, you're about to read about the biggest and most successful scam in History:

Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1743-1812)

"Let me issue and control a nation's money, and I care not who writes its laws" ---Mayer Amschel Rothschild

It was Alexander Hamilton who lobbied for the first private Federal Bank, and in 1789 Congress chartered the bank.

Thomas Jefferson was adamantly opposed to the idea of a privately owned federal bank and said " I sincerely believe the banking institutions having the issuing power of money are more dangerous to liberty than standing armies".

In 1811, under President James Madison, Vice President George Clinton broke the tied vote in congress to cast the bankers out refusing to renew the charter for the bankers. Unfortunatly it was President Madison who proposed a second United States privately owned Central bank and it came into existence in 1816.

However, in 1836 President Jackson, overriding Congress, closed it commenting, "The bold effort the present bank had made to control the government are but premonitions of the fate that await the American people should they be deluded into a perpetuation of this institution or the establishment of another like it." (we now have another one like it)

Andrew Jackson also said, when speaking to the bankers: "You are a den of vipers and thieves. I intend to rout you out, and by the eternal God I will rout you out."

The first two Federal Reserve Systems lasted about 20 years each and we are now almost a hundred years into the third one.

The year is now 1913, the year after Woodrow Wilson was elected president of the United States. Prior to his election he needed financial support to pay for his campaign, so he reluctantly agreed, that if elected, he would sign the Federal Reserve Act, in return for that financial support.

In December 1913 while many members of Congress were home for Christmas, the Federal Reserve Act was rammed through Congress and was later signed by President Wilson. At a later date, Wilson admitted with remorse, when referring to the Fed. "I have unwittingly ruined my country".

Now comes the INCOME TAX:

We didn't have nor did we need an income tax until we got the bankers back. The income tax was only needed to pay interest to the bankers for our money that they loan to our government. Yes, you read that right, the Fed, mostly on paper and computer, creates money or pays the treasury a small printing fee for currency, and then loans this money to our government. Our taxes pay them interest on this loan that cost the FEDS virtually nothing to make, what a sweetheart of a deal they have going for them.

In March, 2006, the national debt stood at 8.2 trillion dollars. The American taxpayers paid the FED banking system 3,875,979,369.66 in interest on that debt in just five short months, from October, 2005, through February, 2006.

Since the economic meltdown of recent years, that figure has risen dramatically and will continue to rise. As of November, 2010, the national debt stands at over 13 TRILLION DOLLARS!

The United States will never, I repeat, NEVER be able to pay the interest on the loan, let alone the principle. So in actuality the Federal Reserve owns the United States and our elected officials are beholden to the bankers, not the American people. The Feds are the unseen "shadow government", they are the ones who are governing our once great Republic. They control both houses of Congress and also the President, and no-one dare oppose them. They are all powerful because they control the money supply. No con artist or group of con artists in history has ever perpetrated a scam that even approaches the scope of this one.

According to the two volume work by Bill Benson and Red Beckman , "The Law That Never Was" the 16th amendment, which created the IRS, was never properly ratified, not even by one state! These gentlemen traveled the then 48 states to verify that fact. So in a very real sense the income tax isn't legal, as many have proclaimed, but try not paying it and see how far you get before the Feds come after you and confiscate everything you own.

SOUNDS A LOT LIKE THE MAFIA.

Henry Ford once said "It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning".

In the nearly 100 years of the existence of the Fed, it has NEVER been audited and they don't pay income tax on the billions of dollars they take from us.

Congress likes the Fed because they can spend all they want with no restraints, they just put our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren into debt.

A Federal Reserve note is just what it looks like, it's just a piece of paper with no backing whatsoever. This is why Congress hates gold and silver backed money, it forces them to live within their means. Of course they also get other perks from the Fed...perks far too numerous to mention here.

Article 1, section 8, of the Constitution reads:
The Congress shall have the Power.....To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof,....
Nowhere in that document does it give Congress the authority to delegate this responsibility to anyone, much less a bunch of private bankers.

On June 4, 1963, President Kennedy signed a Presidential decree, Executive Order 11110. This order virtually stripped the Federal Reserve Bank of its power to loan money to the United States Government at interest. President Kennedy declared the privately owned Federal Reserve Bank would soon be out of business. This order gave the Treasury Department the authority to issue silver certificates against any silver in the treasury. In less than five months after signing that executive order, President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963.

The United States Notes (silver certificates) he had issued were taken out of circulation immediately. Federal Reserve Notes continued to serve as the legal currency of this nation. It is estimated that 99% of all U.S. paper currency circulating in 1999 are Federal Reserve Notes.

Lincoln also took on the bankers and that brave bold step may also have cost him his life.

During the Civil War (from 1861-1865), President Lincoln needed money to finance the War for the North. The Bankers were going to charge him 24% to 36% interest. Lincoln was horrified and greatly distressed, and he would not think of plunging his beloved country into a debt that the country would find impossible to pay back.

So Lincoln advised Congress to pass a law authorizing the printing of full legal tender Treasury notes to pay for the War effort. Lincoln recognized the great benefits of this issue. At one point he wrote: "... (we) gave the people of this Republic the greatest blessing they have ever had - their own paper money to pay their own debts..."

The Treasury notes were printed with green ink on the back, so the people called them "Greenbacks". Lincoln had printed 400 million dollars worth of Greenbacks (the exact amount being 9,338,902), money that he delegated to be created, a debt-free and interest-free money to finance the War. It served as legal tender for all debts, public and private. He printed it, paid it to the soldiers, to the U.S. Civil Service empoyees, and bought supplies for the war.

Lincoln was assassinated shortly after the war and Congress revoked the Greenback Law and enacted, in its place, the National Banking Act. The national banks were to be privately owned and the national bank notes they issued were to be interest-bearing. The Act also provided that the Greenbacks should be retired from circulation as soon as they came back to the Treasury in payment of taxes.

FOLLOW THE MONEY:

When you follow the money you find there was no-one in the world who had a better reason to kill these two Presidents than the bankers. It seems inconceivable that anyone could still think there was no conspiracy in the assassination of JFK, especially when you consider the many people that were murdered or had suspicious deaths and who were associated in some way with Kennedy's assassination.

Is any of this "Proof"?
No.
Is there strong circumstantial evidence?
YOU DECIDE.

Concern Without Action Is A Waste Of Time!! The Federal Reserve, United Nations, Council of Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission, the Illuminati, the Bilderberg Group and other elites of the hidden government are leading us into The New World Order and they are leading us fast. You are not going to like it when we get all the way there, and we are over half way there now. Actually, we are way over half way there now.

The above information came from:

www.wtv-zone.com/Mary/BIGGESTSCAMINHISTORY.HTML

And all reference materials are found at that website.

Only WE can save this REPUBLIC. It is time to start TALKING to people, family, friends, neighbors, ANYONE who will listen and have a discussion.

Washington DC is a waste of time in my opinion. Your voice will not be heard because of epic corruption.

We must take action from the local and state levels.

I don't have the answers for you, but i know that doing something, anything, is better than doing nothing.

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Vince Cable

Image by bisgovuk
Production, research and development of helicopters in the UK has taken a major step forward with a total of £32 million of public finance announced today by Business Secretary Vince Cable.
He made the announcement during a visit to AgustaWestland's Yeovil facility where design and development is taking place for the new AW169 light intermediate commercial helicopter. The new aircraft is a diversification for the Yeovil plant as this has previously focused on military aircraft.

The investment includes a £22 million loan on market terms in order to assist production of the AW169. Separately, a total of £10 million in R&D grants have been delivered through the Technology Strategy Board Scheme. These grants are aimed at boosting research and development in advanced rotorcraft, benefiting small and medium sized enterprises in the supply chain and universities which train the next generation of engineers and technicians.