Betraying Our Values Abroad: How Western Corporations in China Lobbied Against Workers' Rights

by Nomad

Western corporations and economists regularly promote the idea that trade with China has had, and will have, a civilizing effect on the institutions there. As adjunct scholar Stuart Anderson writes

“U.S. corporations act as a liberalizing force, helping to strengthen the private sector, establishing alternative centers of power, and creating subtle but important pressures for democratic reforms. They also tend to raise wages and labor standards in the countries in which they operate.”

Regardless of the merits of the statement, Anderson as a former director at the Cato Institute is hardly an unbiased scholar. The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. by Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the oil conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc.

The Secret Problem with Jeb: Why Another Bush is not the Solution 2/2

by Nomad

In the previous post we examined the kind assistance Jeb Bush, gave a Cuban exile turned business and how that led to one of the largest Medicare frauds in American history. In this post, we will look into some other possible reasons why Jeb Bush (and his father) would have been so eager to help Recarey and his friends.

The Exiled Mobster

With Jeb Bush's help in overcoming certain Medicare regulations, Cuban businessman and Bush business partner Miguel Recarey was able to amass a fortune in a very short time. 

In exchange, he provided free and no-questions medical care to Nicaraguan right wing rebels, otherwise known as Contras. When the scheme collapsed, Bush and high level Bush administration officials successfully helped Recarey avoid prosecution and even had the kindness to give him a bonus for his services in the form of a hefty IRS check.
But Bush and company were not the only people involved in Recarey Medicare fraud. If he had friends in high places, Recarey also has important contact in the lower realms too.

Back in 1988, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Sydney P. Freedberg of the Wall Street Journal, wrote of Miguel Recarey’s longstanding connection with Florida underworld boss Santo Traffincante, Jr. It was alleged by Miguel Recarey's associates that the medical company IMC was, in fact, financed by the Miami mafia don Trafficante.

Sanity Break: Sinnnerman Remix

For a small sanity break:

Normally I don't like remixes. I mean, half the time remixes are made by people with half  the talent of the original and it depresses me to think that a whole generation is going to listen to the remix version and think that this is the original. (Look what Vanilla Ice did to Bowie/Queen's Under Pressure) 

However, the clip below, (taken from the great Nina Simone's Sinnerman has taken a hypnotic and powerful song - without ruining it- and used the best part without spoiling the effects. Added to that, some bright young thing has taken a superior video and combined them. (Perhaps this can be a tribute to Andrew Breitbart who died this week.) 

I hope you like it as much as I did. 

And here's a remix of the video of the remix of the audio. http://www.yooouuutuuube.com/m/?yt=0hcEiEyylEA
Unfortunately there's no way to embed the video (as far as I could see) but it's perfectly safe. By the way, every time you watch it, it seems different so I suppose the scenes are selected randomly.

_______________

So what do you think? Thumbs up or thumbs down?

The Secret Problem with Jeb: Why Another Bush is not the Solution 1/2

by Nomad

Some in the Republican party still consider Jeb Bush a possible candidate in a run for the White House. This two-part series lays out the case against Bush in exact detail. 

In the last presidential election, many people were stunned at the quality of the candidates. They looked outside of the pool for a Republican candidate with solid credentials and a familiar name.  
One name that’s been put forward is former Florida governor, John Ellis “Jeb” Bush, the younger brother of the former president George W. Bush and  second son  of the former president, George H. W. Bush. As writer Joe Conason notes:

The first obstacle that Jeb would have to surmount is that to most Americans outside the Sunshine State, he is known only as the brother of George W. Bush, most recently named one of the two worst presidents in the past half-century by respondents to a Gallup poll—rated just above the late Richard M. Nixon, in fact.

Let’s face it. That’s a mighty heavy burden. You could even add another brother, Neil -master of the S & L crisis and a grandfather, Prescott who raised FDR's hackles for his banking deals with the Nazis. All and all it's quite a family hall of notoriety. Even his father was not what would call a major success, come to think of it. (Let's not get ahead of ourselves.)

Apart from the collective automatic flinching at the mention of the Bush name, Jeb Bush appears on the surface to have a lot going for him. Sean Trende, writing for RealClear Politics puts it this way:

For many conservative Republicans, the dream outcome of the primary season is a brokered convention. Disappointed in the four remaining choices, they hope to change horses in August, and draft their preferred candidate, be it Jeb Bush, Mitch Daniels, Chris Christie, or Paul Ryan.

But like a lot of things in the world of politics, appearances can be deceiving.

The Far Right vs. The Christian Ethic: Who is my Neighbor?

by Nomad

Although I wouldn't classify myself as a devout Christian, I have been raised as one and am familiar, at least, with the philosophy of the teachings. One of my favorite stories from the New Testament is the one known as “The Good Samaritan.”

Most people think of this story as a call to charity for those less fortunate and in this narrow sense, I suppose that is true. However, there's a lot more to it than just being a "do-gooder" or being politically correct and or even about doing a favor for somebody when he is down on his luck. It's not about being a "bleeding heart."

The parable does have that aspect, of course, but, like many famous parables, there's more than what meets the eye.