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Blog Archive

Wednesday, January 31

Congress Wants to Build Infrastructure




House Ways and Means chairman Charles Rangel convened the third of a four-part hearing series on the economy, this one focusing on trade and globalization. As at the first hearing, Executive Intelligence Review was invited to provide testimony, which was stamped "For the Record", and "Full Committee Has Copy". This meant that the testimony was available
in over 200 copies for those in attendance, and given in advance to the 80 congressional members and staffers of the committee. EIR's testimony was the only testimony to demand an end to globalization entirely, with a bold title, "Globalization is the New Imperialism -- Don't Try to 'Improve' It, Bury It!" Restore National Interest Policies". However, the comments of several
members of the committee made clear that a number of the Congressmen had read it, and keyed their questions directly from it.
"Expert" witnesses on the panel included Gene Sperling, from the Clinton administration, now Director for Universal Education at the CFR; Lawrence Mishel, President of the Economic Policy Institute; Harold McGraw, head of the Business Round Table and the Emergency Committee for Trade, New York; and several professors and corporate execs. Most of the questions were directed, especially by the Democrats, to Sperling and Mishel.
This hearing, notably much more so than the prior hearings, heard many congressmen describing in gory detail the loss of manufacturing jobs and collapse of living standards in their districts. At least four members of Congress directly went at the content of the EIR testimony. Most direct was Cong. John Larson (D-CT) -- whose question was "What do you think about a PERMANENT WPA -- TO CREATE JOBS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE -- and if you
agree with a permanent WPA -- how do you pay for it? Sperling did acknowledge that we have to "put infrastructure back on the table", and also that "spending is not always bad". Larson continued, asking about financing infrastructure and a permanent
WPA through a transactions tax, a value added tax, etc. Larson also argued that infrastructure is tied to our national security and national productivity.
Cong. Pascrell (D-NJ) reiterated his comments from the last hearing, that the United States must have a mnaufacturing policy -- that in the Hamilton vs. Jefferson debate (he also cited the Federalist papers as the organizing drive associated with Hamilton's policy on manufacturing), the Founding Fathers had decided that we could not be simply an agrarian economy, but had to develop our manufacturing. He again cited Article I, Section
8, concerning the constitutional role of the Congress regarding matters of trade, currency, and commerce, and reminded all the members that he, and they, had all recently reaffirmed their constitutional oaths of office. Pascrell also cited national security concerns, saying that if we were in fact attacked, we do not have any means to produce to protect ourselves: "We cannot even produce armor any more in the US."
Several members went through the details of the loss of manufacturing in their districts:
1) Stephanie Tubbs-Jones of Cleveland, OH was probably the most dramatic. She cited an official unemployment rate of 13.6%, and the loss of 60,000 manufacturing jobs in the city of Cleveland just over the last 6 years under Bush. She also blasted TAA's (trade adjustment assistance, provided to those who lose jobs due to free trade and globalization), saying ,why not do something to stop the job loss?
2) Cong. Pascrell described a situation right outside his district -- Martell Paper -- which is closing its doors; and the number of people who cannot hold onto their homes, their lives,
etc. He concluded by saying, "WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO MANUFACTURING IN THIS COUNTRY IS SINFUL AND IMMORAL."
3) Congressman Richard Neal (D-MA), who is head of the Machine Tool Caucus in the House, described the situation at the plant in Springfield, MA which produces the Sears ratchet -- the best in the world -- which is now closing their plant. He and all the other Democrats made the point the point, there are excellent products, that the workers "do their part", and yet through no fault of the workers or the plant management, these places are
closing their doors. So globlalization and NAFTA must go, time to go back to a protected economy.

Saturday, January 27

Real Estate Fight 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea





Today the Energy Committee continued hearings focusing on exploring new areas for oil exploration. One fellow brought with him a $100 million shale sample, which was acquired 10,000 feet under the sea. Testimony was heard from a rep from Chevron Deepwater, and Devon Energy. Also, there was a rep from the Sierra Club. For the environmentalists, protecting the environment is sort of like a real estate game in itself. They want to protect it for their fantasy life.

Testimony was either in fear of pollution through undersea drilling or excitement at the prospect of opening new areas of oil exploration. In the middle of the hearing, Sen. Mary Landrieu (Dem, Louisiana) asked the Sierra Club guy to take out his calculator and figure out how many windmills would be theoretically necessary to provide electric power for his state of California.

After the testimony, the guy from Devon energy was making fun of wind energy, saying that these things are bird killers, and scare away certain types of marine birds, because they think the wind towers are trees which might house predatory birds (eagles or seahawks). When a Senator was briefed about the fraud of ethanol production, her response was that it was just the corn lobby.

By the way: the fraud of ethanol production and using it for gasoline is that 1. you are going to starve people to death 2. it takes more energy to provide a gallon of ethanol, through fertilizer, farm machinery, etc, than it takes to produce it. It is not really an environmental measure, it is a war economy measure to provide a small amount of auto fuel under conditions of all-out Middle east and global genocide and war. More on geezer site.

Friday, January 26

Live From the South Bronx





Real estate speculation has reached the South Bronx. The photo is the site of a new construction of a 1-million square feet mall in the South Bronx, but will the US economy collapse before the project is completed in 2009?


It is well known in the Democratic party that the middle-class is being ground up like a hamburger. Look at the latest caper of the Blackstone Group (link). As everyone knows, the US and other real estate markets around the world are collapsing, and yet they put in another 11% to go up to $38 billion, in order to grab these little REIT of 600 commercial buildings, the so-called Equity deal. It's almost like there is a desperate effort to buy anything that is remotely real by people that have cash, and to do anything to get out of cash. Is that because the dollar is seen as ready to collapse? Could be.

In hearings at the US Senate economic committee, former Treasury Sec., Bob Rubin, will reiteratedwhat is already known about this collapse of the lower eighty percent of the population. And while you are at it, check out what the old geezer (link) is saying about how to run a national capital budget.

Tuesday, January 23

Who is Screwing New York? The City of London

The cry has gone out that New York City is getting screwed as a financial center, and losing its number one position to the City of London. Most of the rage from Mayor Bloomberg and Sen. Chuck Schumer is around the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. It created extra reporting requirements and extra accountant bills in te belief that this would forestall another Enron type disaster.
More on real crash.
Admittedly, Sarbanes-Oxley is not really that hot stuff. How can it stop another Enron, when the whole system itself is geared to produce son-of-Enron and so on? Read the crying politicians (link)..

This is the latest in a series of studies by the McKinsey Co., commissioned by Mayor Bloomberg of the City of New York on why New York is not quite getting its piece of the pie in the huge worldwide financial bubble. The answers go much deeper and hit on certain historic factors. Like New York is in the United States, and London is in the British Commonwealth (Empire).

Of course the chain of these New York City guys coming from Lehman bros. is the dead giveaway (wink).. They would like to get rid of the vestiges of the American Economic system for the General Welfare, and replace it with the British system of survival of the fittest, and the money people rule all. Of course, joining the thieving fun at Lehman is none other than master thief and former big Mac (Municipal Assistance Corporation) chief, Felix Rohatyn.

Thursday, January 4

Harlem River Event

Habitat Care Day at the Harlem River Ecology Center
By Howard Giske


Did you know that there is an ecosystem right in the Harlem River off the Bronx? Young people are finding out about our ecosystem at the Harlem River Marine Station & Ecology Center. On Saturday December 30th, Habitat Care day, the featured Harlem River species was the Horseshoe Crab. Children made cut-outs of horseshoe crabs to wear as masks. Last week, 35 children attended the center and made wreaths out of sticks and leaves.
Several fish tanks displayed fish common in the Harlem River, including the White Perch, Atlantic Croaker and the Welk. Mr. Ludger K. Balan, Executive director and founder of the Center, with the help of his assistants Maryanne Colon, an Intern from SUNY Maritime; and Elizabeth Ortiz, Volunteer Staff, gave me a tour of the center.

The Ecology Center is a non-profit organization located south of Roberto Clemente Park, off of West Tremont St., and Cedar Ave., under Building 10, Richmond Plaza, on the Harlem River, and has been in the Bronx for over three years.

Activities at the Center

Other activities available for youth are the Forensic Antics Station, which is an interactive station that offers a view of the water from the Harlem River, seen through a microscope. This area is rich in life, partly because it is an estuary, where the fresh water of the Hudson River, meets the salt water of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Center is also involved in monitoring temperature and water conditions in the Harlem River. Over the last 30 years the Harlem River has gotten cleaner, partially because of the building of water treatment centers in New York City and upstream locations. This is evidenced in the return of shipworms, which are tiny worms in the water that eat and destroy wooden boards and objects, and have returned in the last few years. A wooden round piling is exhibited from the Harlem River which has been severely eaten into by the shipworms. Also a bicycle recovered from the river is exhibited that actually has an oyster growing from it. It is not advisable to eat such things from the Harlem River!



Another room of the center had some historical background on Afro-American and Hispanic individuals involved in seafaring and the whaling trade. These included Louis Temple, the inventor of the Tugglehead Harpoon, and Mathew Henson, who went on the expedition to the North Pole with Mathew Perry. Coming soon for Black History month is a scheduled talk by Captain Bill Pinkney, an explorer, author, and former ship captain of the historic sailing ship, the “Amistad”. He is scheduled to speak at the Center, on Saturday, Feb. 24th at 3pm. For more information call 718-901-3331, or email, theurbandivers@yahoo.com .
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