Guerrilla Marketing: September 2010

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Online Money Making Opportunities

U.S. Group Plans a Digital Library to Aid North African Research

August 29, 2010 21:04

From the Article:

To expand North Africa's research capabilities, a project financed by the United States plans to connect the region's universities and science institutes to a "digital library" that could eventually stretch from Morocco to Libya.

The U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation, a nonprofit created by the U.S. government to promote international science programs, is leading the effort and is initially working with Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia to increase their access to the latest international research, give scientists greater opportunities to collaborate, and hopefully bolster their scientific work and scholarly publishing.

The foundation, which recently completed a similar virtual library in Iraq, is spending $1.5-million on the effort. The money is part of a $5-million grant awarded to the nonprofit by the U.S. Department of State to support scientific cooperation in the Middle East and North Africa.

"The U.S. government has a renewed interest in science cooperation generally in order to solve a number of problems: environmental, economic, security," says Eric Novotny, the foundation's senior vice president. "And there's a push toward engaging the Muslim world."

One goal is to consolidate universities' existing access to online journals, negotiating one subscription with each publisher. In addition, journal articles would be available in a single, unified index, making searches easier. Another goal is to increase the visibility of North African research. The plan is to establish an open-source system for Web publishing, which will make locally produced research available online, and to help local institutions set up peer-reviewed publications where none exist.

Mr. Dunlap says the digital library's interface will be in Arabic, English, and French. It will include software that facilitates online discussions, allowing researchers to view and comment on each other's unpublished articles and automatically alerting them if others are working on similar topics.

Access the Complete Article

Source: Chronicle of Higher Ed

See Also: Science Engagement Bibliography (via U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation)

Category:

Sorry, no categories.

Last Wednesday Apple rolled out iOS 4.1 to compatible devices including iPhone 4. Included in the update was Game Center, Apple's entry into the Social Gaming fracas which was previewed back in April but not really detailed to the general public until the company's music-focused event two weeks ago. But now Game Center's live. So what is it?

When I updated my iPhone to 4.1, the first thing I did was launch Game Center, set up an account, and click the "Find Game Center Games" button. I was taken to a page on the App Store listing GC compatible games. Being not only cheap but also highly susceptible to mass marketing that seeps into my subconscious without my realizing it, I downloaded FarmVille, Zynga's free*, massively popular social game that's apparently addictive, genius, a total ripoff of some other farm game that came first, and part of the reason so many people spend all day on Facebook.

* Like so many popular social games, FarmVille is "free" to play but chock full of opportunities to spend real money on virtual goods.

I spent last Thursday, Friday and the weekend getting entirely addicted to FarmVille and also downloading City Story, another free simulation game that for my money is pretty much the same thing as FarmVille, just set in a city and devoid of Facebook integration. City Story also integrates with Game Center.

Over the course of the past four days, Game Center has slowly come online, shored itself up, and started to offer a peek into its own future. Though the app/ecosystem has officially launched, I'd liken it more to a "soft launch" than a full on shipping product at this point. FarmVille currently shows up when I load Game Center, but City Story does not. Some of the time when I launch FarmVille I get a "Welcome Back, nk126" Game Center message briefly overlaid at the top of the game screen, sometimes I don't. Once I got the message but it never faded away, rendering the game semi-unplayable because it was blocking some important bits of in-game info. And so on.

As for the Center itself, right now there's not a ton to it. Game Center will match you against an opponent for some head-to-head play, and the leaderboards are pretty nicely implemented, but you have to manually add friends, whereas competing (and far more mature) services like OpenFeint allow for importing of contacts from Facebook and Twitter.

Granted, if I was playing games like WordsWorth that lend themselves more readily to one-on-one online play, I might be getting a little more out of Game Center already. So maybe I'll do that. Once I kick this farming addiction. I know, I know, I'm super lame. I get that. I'm just not yet at the point of being over it. But as it is, what I find interesting is that Apple isn't making a ton of noise about Game Center, but rather quietly deploying and ramping it up, likely while supporting big-time developers in their efforts to update popular titles with GC compatibility.

One would imagine we'll see a big Game Center push once the new iPod Touches hit store shelves and the holiday shopping season kicks into gear. In the meantime, Game Center is up and sorta running but still no match for OpenFeint or Plus +. Thing is, while those platforms have maturity and adoption on their side, Apple has the insanely popular App Store ecosystem on its side. It's easy to imagine a near-term world where game developers would literally be fools not to develop with GC in mind given the sheer volume of compatible, connected iOS devices (and their gaming owners) already out in the field.

Whether or not Apple can make Game Center a compelling, innovative, and stable social gaming platform - or, if "stable" is enough on its own - remains to be seen. Expect Game Center to slowly fill out and ramp up with games and gamers alike over the coming months.

Meantime look for me ("nk126") on Game Center and hit us up in the comments with your experiences using GC or a competing platform like OpenFeint on your mobile device!

New York Times Backs News-Aggregation Software Company | Russell ...

The New York Times Co. is joining a group of news organizations in backing the maker of software that helps publishers aggregate news, according to a person familiar with the matter. The company, called Ongo, filed a trademark ...

Murata Seisakusho Robot Learns New Skill « Akihabara News

To pursue its growth Akihabara News is seeking for several more editors via an intership program for 6 to 9 months. Please send us a mail @ jobs@akihabaranews.com. Message. We are moving away from Feedburner, please update your RSS ...

Should Facebook Buy Skype?: Tech News «

Facebook wants to mesh communications and community together, which explains why Facebook Phone is in the cards. If Skype wants to become the communication console of tomorrow, it needs to embrace newer forms of communication.

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New York Times Backs News-Aggregation Software Company | Russell ...

Murata Seisakusho Robot Learns New Skill « Akihabara News

Should Facebook Buy Skype?: Tech News «

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U.S. Group Plans a Digital Library to Aid North African Research

August 29, 2010 21:04

From the Article:

To expand North Africa's research capabilities, a project financed by the United States plans to connect the region's universities and science institutes to a "digital library" that could eventually stretch from Morocco to Libya.

The U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation, a nonprofit created by the U.S. government to promote international science programs, is leading the effort and is initially working with Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia to increase their access to the latest international research, give scientists greater opportunities to collaborate, and hopefully bolster their scientific work and scholarly publishing.

The foundation, which recently completed a similar virtual library in Iraq, is spending $1.5-million on the effort. The money is part of a $5-million grant awarded to the nonprofit by the U.S. Department of State to support scientific cooperation in the Middle East and North Africa.

"The U.S. government has a renewed interest in science cooperation generally in order to solve a number of problems: environmental, economic, security," says Eric Novotny, the foundation's senior vice president. "And there's a push toward engaging the Muslim world."

One goal is to consolidate universities' existing access to online journals, negotiating one subscription with each publisher. In addition, journal articles would be available in a single, unified index, making searches easier. Another goal is to increase the visibility of North African research. The plan is to establish an open-source system for Web publishing, which will make locally produced research available online, and to help local institutions set up peer-reviewed publications where none exist.

Mr. Dunlap says the digital library's interface will be in Arabic, English, and French. It will include software that facilitates online discussions, allowing researchers to view and comment on each other's unpublished articles and automatically alerting them if others are working on similar topics.

Access the Complete Article

Source: Chronicle of Higher Ed

See Also: Science Engagement Bibliography (via U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation)

Category:

Sorry, no categories.

* Like so many popular social games, FarmVille is "free" to play but chock full of opportunities to spend real money on virtual goods.

Meantime look for me ("nk126") on Game Center and hit us up in the comments with your experiences using GC or a competing platform like OpenFeint on your mobile device!

bench craft company rip off

New York Times Backs News-Aggregation Software Company | Russell ...

Murata Seisakusho Robot Learns New Skill « Akihabara News

Should Facebook Buy Skype?: Tech News «

bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off

New York Times Backs News-Aggregation Software Company | Russell ...

Murata Seisakusho Robot Learns New Skill « Akihabara News

Should Facebook Buy Skype?: Tech News «

bench craft company rip off benchcraft company scam

New York Times Backs News-Aggregation Software Company | Russell ...

Murata Seisakusho Robot Learns New Skill « Akihabara News

Should Facebook Buy Skype?: Tech News «

benchcraft company scam

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Making Money System

Just before the weekend, Google dropped word to developers that paid Android apps support was on its way to more countries than the 14 currently supported. In the email, the company did not specify a timeframe other than “over the next few weeks” and stopped short of saying which markets would be gaining support for paid apps.

Now app store analytics company Distimo tells us they’ve noticed paid apps targeting previously unsupported countries have started making their way to the Android Market.

So far, the startup has identified 13 ‘new’ countries: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Finland, Hong Kong, Israel, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Singapore and South Africa. Other reports suggest Sweden and Hungary are two other countries that are starting to see paid apps support. Note that we haven’t yet confirmed this is actually the case for these countries, but Distimo’s tracking system was built to pick up things like this.

If all this checks out indeed, Google would be at least (and at last) doubling the amount of countries where users can purchase Android apps, which would in turn be nothing short of terrific news for many a developer. This greatly expands their potential reach and thus money-making opportunities – even if this is only a start – and it would most definitely reduce the gigantic proportion of free-only apps currently in the application store over time.

Here’s the email Google sent out before the weekend:

Hello,

We’re writing to inform you about some changes to Android Market that require your attention.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be adding paid apps support for additional countries. If you have selected to publish your paid apps to all locations and intend to support all new locations as we expand the number of supported countries for paid apps, you don’t have to do anything. If you have selected to publish your paid apps to all locations but intend to only target the currently supported 14 countries, please update your location selections to target these specific countries.

Please look for follow-up emails when we introduce paid apps support for specific additional countries in the coming weeks. At that time, you’ll have the option to target these specific countries.

Thanks, and we look forward to continue working with you on Android

Market.

Sincerely,

The Android Market Team

Google, Inc.

1600 Amphitheatre Parkway

Mountain View, CA 94043

We’ve contacted Google to see what’s up and hope to provide more details soon.

For now, if you’re an Android user based in any of the countries put in bold above, let us know if you can actually locate any paid applications in Android Market, and if you’re effectively able to purchase them already.

so, yea, what's the big deal?

This is not a simple matter of temporary inconvenience. If you agree to pay interest on a loan from them you are enslaving yourself. It is very simple, and they don't want you to know that.

The loan money you agree to pay back did not exist until you signed the dotted line. In fact, it will never 'exist'. When you purchase a home or a car you agree to make payments until the loan is completely paid off, paying an 'agreed' interest rate, a premium, for the convenience of taking control of the home or car without paying in full. But no money is ever exchanged. The loan document is essentially an agreement that if you stop making payments the bank will have to take over, potentially at a loss. Either way the third party, such as the original owner of the home, or Toyota, in the case of a car, is paid in full by the bank - the third party is no longer involved. They have received full payment. But you, my dear consumer, are now a slave.

Why use such a term as slave? Because you are working for someone that never worked for the money in the first place. They 'printed' it. They increased the number of zeros on their ledger because you have agreed to make payments on that money, but it never existed in the first place. That is, the Federal Reserve has the ability to increase the money supply and then pass it on to their 'member' banks: Wells Fargo, Citi, Bank of America, etc. These banks will only take a loss if you stop making payments - and they threaten you with a lower FICO score, which is always fluctuating and at risk of identity fraud anyway, if you decide not to play anymore. So how is this slavery? You are paying interest on money they did not work for. But you had to sweat to get the money to pay that interest. Your sweat goes to these bankers without them doing a thing. If enough of your fellow consumers stop making payments the house of cards falls and the big bank gets a bailout. The small banks just get their assets gobbled up by the big banks; no bailout.

If you, my dear consumer, attempt to create money out of thin air you are put in jail. You are a cheat. But not them. They can create all the money they need, raising this so-called debt ceiling, creating programs like TARP, and other 'bailouts' for risk-taking banksters. That's right. They get your sweat in the form of interest payments, you slave, and they get to take risks because Glass-Steagall has been repealed, and if they fail, you, the taxpaying consumer, get to become the primary investor in their failure: the bailout. They threaten collapse, chaos, and even war if the don't get their bailout from the taxpayer. And then they turn around and lend you, the consumer, money at 10, 20, 30%.

So what is pragmatic? How about a system that cannot be manipulated? How about a system in which losers actually lose and are not allowed to play anymore instead of given huge bonuses?

That system, is a gold-backed system. Keynes is popular in the current time because he speaks the language of bankers and politicians - not the People. There should be no such thing as inflation. Inflation is at best a hidden tax (increase the money supply to fund inefficient programs, sweetheart deals, and risky investments waiting for a bailout) because the value of the money under your mattress is devalued - you can't buy as much anymore. Why should anyone ever! be content to have less money the next day. You can buy X for $10 today, after inflation it will be $11. Why would you ever want that? How is that ever good? This is no mere inconvenience - it really is theft. So these financial scientists (bankers) and politician friends have devised a near perfect system of control. And because you can't inflate gold (it can't be copied, duplicated, or printed) it's 'value' stays constant. A gold coin will always have a specific weight and purity according to the standards of the mint it came from. That's what's in the Constitution - not an extra-governmental (private) instiution that can create as much money as it needs to maintain control!

Banking should be boring. They should accept deposits and charge money for keeping it safe in their vaults. But don't they pay depositors interest, you ask? Why would they pay you to keep your money safe when you can come in and get it back anytime you like? You can't run a business like that! The point of paying interest on a deposit is because the depositor agrees to allow the banker to loan the money to someone else. But that's not how it works, you say? Exactly. Because everybody knows that if enough depositors come to get their money the house of cards collapses and the FDIC has to step in. This should never happen. There should be no such thing, generally speaking, as a bankrun. A bank will fail if they make too many risky loans. That is, if a banker fails to properly evaluate the 'creditworthiness' of the individuals applying for loans. If too many loans go sour the banker fails and all of his assets are purchased by those making loans that are less risky. No need to ask Keynes what he thinks. Banking should not involve economics, which is really about the effects of human choice. Banking is math. If you deposit money, and you want to be able to get it the next day, you must pay the banker a fee for safekeeping. If you agree that your money can be lent to another, trusting the judgment of your banker, then you should receive part of the profit - and you cannot get it the next day, because it has already been lent! How can you possibly retrieve something that is not there? You banker would think you are an idiot to request money you agreed to lend! But that's what an honest system would work. Instead, we have an 'unlimited' system. It stops working properly if you apply gravity. Ron Paul's 26 year attempt to audit the Federal Reserve is almost more of an inside joke. He already knows that the Federal Reserve is evil - but he has a hard enough time deflecting attempts from the media to portray him as a lunatic as it is - he wants the public to perceive what a mudfight will ensue if they actually knew how the system works.

So growth would be slower. But it is inherently stable. Individuals are likely to take less risk, and they are less likely to get a loan that they probably won't be able to pay back. People sharpen their pencils. People look for other ways to finance their plans by seeking out friends, family, neighbors, etc instead of bankers. The free market is the market in which there is no restriction. But we do not have a free market. We have banksters hiding behind green curtains telling us what is best. The more stable the system the less money the banksters make. They make more money gaming the system: booms and busts - and we start to hear these pompous, paid economists (bankster apologists) tell us they couldn't see this was going to happen, and we all nod our heads, "Nobody saw this coming." So because the banksters never work for any of this money it is in their best interest that you, the simple-minded, ever-trusting consumer is in a perpetual state of paying interest. They are less interested in being paid in full than they are having you pay with your sweat.

Bankers control. Consumers always pay. Maybe you already explained all this to your girlie, my fellow FR-hater, and there is much more, but ask her what has always happened when enough people become apathetic to evil. The reason the founding fathers didn't get around to explaining the free market in the Constitution is because it is the lack of restriction. Real liberty. Let coined precious metals be the pinnacle of our economic system - everything else can be bartered. It keeps the bankers at bay.

I leave you with two quotes, from men of opposite character, that say the same thing using different words:

Michelle Malkin » Good News: Dukakis Advising Democrats
Good News: Dukakis Advising Democrats. ... Doug Ross @ Journal. » Barack Chavez Obama doesn't want you watching America's most trusted cable news channel, according to polling by Politico and GWU ...
Fox News Poll: GOPer Johnson Leads Feingold By 8 Points In WI-SEN ...
The new Fox News poll of the Wisconsin Senate race has bad news for Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, with an eight-point lead for Republican businessman Ron Johnson.
Mobile Ads News and Trends: Android Requests Up, iAd on the Rise ...
When it rains, it pours! Today, there's a ton of new information about mobile advertising trends and new initiatives, all of which should catch the eye of marketers, ...
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Michelle Malkin » Good News: Dukakis Advising Democrats
Good News: Dukakis Advising Democrats. ... Doug Ross @ Journal. » Barack Chavez Obama doesn't want you watching America's most trusted cable news channel, according to polling by Politico and GWU ...
Fox News Poll: GOPer Johnson Leads Feingold By 8 Points In WI-SEN ...
The new Fox News poll of the Wisconsin Senate race has bad news for Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, with an eight-point lead for Republican businessman Ron Johnson.
Mobile Ads News and Trends: Android Requests Up, iAd on the Rise ...
When it rains, it pours! Today, there's a ton of new information about mobile advertising trends and new initiatives, all of which should catch the eye of marketers, ...

Just before the weekend, Google dropped word to developers that paid Android apps support was on its way to more countries than the 14 currently supported. In the email, the company did not specify a timeframe other than “over the next few weeks” and stopped short of saying which markets would be gaining support for paid apps.

Now app store analytics company Distimo tells us they’ve noticed paid apps targeting previously unsupported countries have started making their way to the Android Market.

So far, the startup has identified 13 ‘new’ countries: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Finland, Hong Kong, Israel, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Singapore and South Africa. Other reports suggest Sweden and Hungary are two other countries that are starting to see paid apps support. Note that we haven’t yet confirmed this is actually the case for these countries, but Distimo’s tracking system was built to pick up things like this.

If all this checks out indeed, Google would be at least (and at last) doubling the amount of countries where users can purchase Android apps, which would in turn be nothing short of terrific news for many a developer. This greatly expands their potential reach and thus money-making opportunities – even if this is only a start – and it would most definitely reduce the gigantic proportion of free-only apps currently in the application store over time.

Here’s the email Google sent out before the weekend:

Hello,

We’re writing to inform you about some changes to Android Market that require your attention.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be adding paid apps support for additional countries. If you have selected to publish your paid apps to all locations and intend to support all new locations as we expand the number of supported countries for paid apps, you don’t have to do anything. If you have selected to publish your paid apps to all locations but intend to only target the currently supported 14 countries, please update your location selections to target these specific countries.

Please look for follow-up emails when we introduce paid apps support for specific additional countries in the coming weeks. At that time, you’ll have the option to target these specific countries.

Thanks, and we look forward to continue working with you on Android

Market.

Sincerely,

The Android Market Team

Google, Inc.

1600 Amphitheatre Parkway

Mountain View, CA 94043

We’ve contacted Google to see what’s up and hope to provide more details soon.

For now, if you’re an Android user based in any of the countries put in bold above, let us know if you can actually locate any paid applications in Android Market, and if you’re effectively able to purchase them already.

so, yea, what's the big deal?

This is not a simple matter of temporary inconvenience. If you agree to pay interest on a loan from them you are enslaving yourself. It is very simple, and they don't want you to know that.

So what is pragmatic? How about a system that cannot be manipulated? How about a system in which losers actually lose and are not allowed to play anymore instead of given huge bonuses?

I leave you with two quotes, from men of opposite character, that say the same thing using different words:

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Michelle Malkin » Good News: Dukakis Advising Democrats
Good News: Dukakis Advising Democrats. ... Doug Ross @ Journal. » Barack Chavez Obama doesn't want you watching America's most trusted cable news channel, according to polling by Politico and GWU ...
Fox News Poll: GOPer Johnson Leads Feingold By 8 Points In WI-SEN ...
The new Fox News poll of the Wisconsin Senate race has bad news for Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, with an eight-point lead for Republican businessman Ron Johnson.
Mobile Ads News and Trends: Android Requests Up, iAd on the Rise ...
When it rains, it pours! Today, there's a ton of new information about mobile advertising trends and new initiatives, all of which should catch the eye of marketers, ...
skin and vein center
Michelle Malkin » Good News: Dukakis Advising Democrats
Good News: Dukakis Advising Democrats. ... Doug Ross @ Journal. » Barack Chavez Obama doesn't want you watching America's most trusted cable news channel, according to polling by Politico and GWU ...
Fox News Poll: GOPer Johnson Leads Feingold By 8 Points In WI-SEN ...
The new Fox News poll of the Wisconsin Senate race has bad news for Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, with an eight-point lead for Republican businessman Ron Johnson.
Mobile Ads News and Trends: Android Requests Up, iAd on the Rise ...
When it rains, it pours! Today, there's a ton of new information about mobile advertising trends and new initiatives, all of which should catch the eye of marketers, ...

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_18/b4032066.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_18/b4032066.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_18/b4032066.htm

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/10/25/267811/index.htm

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/10/25/267811/index.htm

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/10/25/267811/index.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_18/b4032066.htm

Friday, September 24, 2010

personal finance and budgeting

CEDIA: LG, JVC and Sony debut LCoS-based 3D front projectors

BMW ActiveE electric car - Consumer field trials to begin next summer

Five insider shopping tips for Gordon Gekko

Daily Dispatch: Google NEW lists updates of all its products; Survey reveals people prefer colonoscopies to computer maintenance

2010 Distracted Driving Summit: What’s next for combating driver distractions?

What's the deal with car tire pricing?

Q&A: Short on salt

Daily electronics deals

6 painless ways to cut your grocery bill

Go green for school supplies

It's hard to beat an excel spreadsheet for quickly shifting between a granular and top-level view of your personal finance situation. Here's reader Lauren's account balance spreadsheet she made to keep track of her expenditures, past, present, and future, and itemize her budget.

Download Lauren's Budgeter (XLS)

1. Scroll to the current month.

2. Enter your current balance in the "Starting Balance" box at the top left.

3. Enter your credits and debits on the appropriate dates they will hit your account. Use positive numbers for money getting added credits, and negative numbers for when it's getting taken away.

4. The green "Total" will change to reflect your total overall balance.

Use it as is, compare it to your own, or mod to fit your own needs.

Lauren says it's "quite nifty," and also uses it as a calendar.

Here's the excel code for the totaler for those who like to look under the hood:

TODAY();_8_10)

+SUMIF(_9_10d;"

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Michelle Williams Looks Really Skinny At Fashion Week - Starpulse.com

We spotted singer Michelle Williams out and about during London Fashion Week wearing a sparkly silver shift dress with matching heels. Does she look too thin? Her arms look like they could snap lik...

Small Business News: An Owner's Manual

If only there were an owner's manual that came with your small business telling you what works, what doesn't and what are the best ways to move ahead in your.

Understanding the Forbes redesign « Talking Biz News

Dvorkin had founded True/Slant, an online news network. Previously, he had been executive editor at Forbes magazine, where he spearheaded an earlier redesign, managed the annual Forbes 400 Richest Americans list and created the ...

Michelle Williams Looks Really Skinny At Fashion Week - Starpulse.com

Small Business News: An Owner's Manual

If only there were an owner's manual that came with your small business telling you what works, what doesn't and what are the best ways to move ahead in your.

Understanding the Forbes redesign « Talking Biz News

big white booty

Michelle Williams Looks Really Skinny At Fashion Week - Starpulse.com

Small Business News: An Owner's Manual

If only there were an owner's manual that came with your small business telling you what works, what doesn't and what are the best ways to move ahead in your.

Understanding the Forbes redesign « Talking Biz News

personal finances help

The Obamacare Inquisitions: A Brief, Brutish History

by Michelle Malkin

Creators Syndicate

Copyright 2010

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is just the latest creepy keeper of the Obamacare enemies list. The White House has been keeping tabs on individual and corporate critics of the federal health care takeover for more than a year. It started with the health czar’s Internet Snitch Brigade. Remember?

Last August, the White House Office of Health Reform called on its ground troops to report on fellow citizens who talked smack about the Democratic plan. Team Obama issued an all-points bulletin on the taxpayer-funded White House website soliciting informant e-mails:

“There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.”

Then-health czar office spokeswoman Linda Douglass appeared in an accompanying video singling out conservative Internet powerhouse Matt Drudge. Why? Because his website featured a video compilation of Obama and other Democrats — in their own words — exposing the “public option” as a Trojan Horse for government-run health care and the elimination of private industry.

The Obama dog whistle rang out loud and clear: Report online dissidents immediately.

Calling on the White House to cease and desist, GOP Sen. John Cornyn pointed out that “these actions taken by your White House staff raise the specter of a data collection program. … I can only imagine the level of justifiable outrage had your predecessor asked Americans to forward e-mails critical of his policies to the White House.” The flagging operation was shut down, but a plethora of federal disclosure exemptions protect the Obama administration from revealing what was collected, who was targeted and what was done with the “fishy” database information.

In February, the White House coordinated a demonization campaign against Anthem Blue Cross in California for raising rates. Obama singled out the company in a “60 Minutes” interview, and Sebelius sent a nasty-gram demanding that Anthem “justify” its rate hikes to the federal government. A private company trying to survive in the marketplace was forced to “explain” itself to federal bureaucrats and career politicians who have never run a business (successful or otherwise) in their lives. Sebelius went even further. She called on Anthem to provide public disclosure on how the rate increases would be spent — a mandate that no other private companies must follow.

We already have a federal pay czar requiring companies to justify their pay raises and claiming authority to claw back bonuses already paid. Will the White House next demand that other businesses — not just health insurers — justify price increases deemed unreasonable, excessive or “extraordinary”?

On Capitol Hill, Democratic chief inquisitor Henry Waxman trained his sights on executives from Deere, Caterpillar, Verizon and AT&T in a brass-knuckled effort to silence companies speaking out about the cost implications and financial burdens of Obamacare. He scheduled an April 21 show trial of corporate heads who dutifully reported writedowns related to the Obamacare mandates. Obama Commerce Secretary Gary Locke joined in on the witch-hunt, pummeling the companies on the White House blog and TV airwaves for their “premature” and “irresponsible” disclosures.

After the Democrats’ own congressional staff pointed out that the companies “acted properly and in accordance with accounting standards” in submitting filings that were required by law, Waxman called off the hounds. But it was a temporary reprieve. Sebelius’ threat last week against individual market health insurers who raise rates to cope with new federal coverage mandates will be far from this desperate administration’s last.

As health costs skyrocket, doctors abandon the profession, hospitals lay off workers and private insurers shut down, the only way to quell the Obamacare backlash will be through an even more thuggish campaign to demonize, marginalize and silence nationwide dissent.

Well, it's nice of Jim Geraghty at Rich Lowry's NRO to try and tell us what a wonderful, somewhat conservative Republican Mike Castle is. Think about it, folks. In the video Jim posts, one I also posted, Castle basically claims we are now in the era of bi-partisan national health care, whether we like it, or not. And that doesn't bother NRO, they actually think it's a good thing.

It's time to admit what a dismal failure Rich Lowry is. It isn't as if it's a big secret in conservative circles. National health care? Obviously, that's no problem, according to Lowry's NRO. The truth is, NRO isn't capable of leading anything when it comes to a movement, not a conservative one, any way. I don't even want to think of the kind of movement a conservative should associate with Lowry's NRO today.

As for what they don't want you to know about Mike Castle, how's this from Redstate, for starters, with more below. Castle has forty years in, allegedly, as a public servant. How many honest people who work hard for a living every day are able to accumulate personal wealth in excess of 8 million dollars on what is little more than an honest pay check? Why isn't NRO interested in whatever corruption could lead to Castle accumulating that kind of wealth as a member of the House?

He is a forty year career politician who happens to call himself a Republican, as once did Charlie Crist, Arlen Specter and Jim Jeffords. Mr. Castle is a habitual tax raiser. He is unwaveringly pro abortion and he has earned an F- rating from The NRA. He voted for TARP, Porkulus, the auto and banking industry takeovers, Cash for Clunkers as well as Cap and Trade. Most recently, he co-sponsored the disclose act which is nothing more than an assault on the first amendment designed to muzzle his political opposition.

While on the topic of opposition; Mr. Castle has made it clear that were he elected senator, regardless of his political affiliation, he has no intention of opposing current Democrat policies. This is entirely consistent with Mike Castle’s long liberal record of growing government.

In his forty years as a “public servant” Mike Castle has managed to accumulate for himself an estimated $8 million dollar personal net worth. Now he has decided to make an issue of his conservative primary challenger’s finances.

NRO doesn't, as Buckley intoned, stand athwart history and yell stop, any more. They stand outside corporate and donor offices saying, how much? That, when they're not standing outside establishment Republican's Hill offices saying, can I please come in? Look how nice we were, endorsing John McCain! Look at how we embarrassed ourselves to help elect your pick, liberal Mike Castle in Delaware.

We're NRO. We're the conservative voice of American politics (wink wink). Okay, really, we're just Republican whores and we have absolutely no shame about it. Just keep the cash and the access coming, we'll be good little boys and girls.

As if John McCain wasn't enough and perhaps arguably excusable - now it's liberal Mike Castle, too? They're smart enough to know Castle plays the usual games with his voting, providing just enough cover to remain a Republican, while selling us out on everything that truly counts. An F rating from the NRA. He voted for the Disclose Act, Cap and Trade, S-CHIP, against the surge. He's fully in bed with the SEIU. Read it at link.

And that's who Buckley's NRO is schilling for today? What a disgrace as an allegedly conservative magazine. Bill Buckley wouldn't line his bird cage with the establishment rag Lowry has made NRO into today. While we're throwing out corrupt politicians, we might do well to throw out Lowry and some of the GOP flacks and hack writers at NRO so willing and quick to sell out conservatism today, as well.

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SpeakerCraft rolls out speakers for iPad, iPhone, iPod | iLounge News

iLounge news discussing the SpeakerCraft rolls out speakers for iPad, iPhone, iPod. Find more iPod Accessories news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

personal finance programs

The State University of New York, which has 64 campuses, has agreed to a code of conduct developed by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo designed to safeguard students from unscrupulous marketing.

The code outlines steps schools should take to monitor and limit credit card marketing to students, according to Bloomberg News. Under the code, colleges would be required to offer financial literacy programs and not share personal information with credit card companies without permission.

Perhaps most importantly, the code bans agreements in which the school earns a percentage of finance charges imposed on students. Schools are being asked to select cards based on students' best interests if an exclusive marketing agreement is made with a credit card company, and must also monitor all credit card offers being marketed on campus.

Cuomo is investigating credit-card marketing practices that target college students through their institutions.

A 2009 survey by Sallie Mae found the average college student graduates with nearly $4,100 in credit card debt.

At a time when bailouts for America’s rich proceed unimpeded and Americans are left to fend for themselves, support for further subsidies for the rich is limited among the public. Gallup polling finds that a majority of Americans (56 percent) oppose extending the Bush-era tax cuts, which went overwhelmingly to the wealthiest of Americans. Just one in three support extending the cuts, despite the current rhetoric of the Republican Party.

Opposition to the Bush-era tax cuts is entirely rational among the public in light of the cuts’ failure to promote economic growth. The Bush tax cuts concentrated the greatest benefits toward the rich, and benefits for the affluent became even greater in their later years (during the 2008 to 2010 period specifically). They are set to expire this year, unless Democrats and Republicans in Congress renew them. Although massive amounts of cash from the cuts fell into the hands of America’s wealthiest one percent, these elites have looked at the increased volatility of today’s market and decided to hoard the cash instead of investing it. To make matters worse, extending the cuts will result in an additional transfer of $31 billion into the hands of America’s billionaires.

Labor economist Robert Reich argues that tax cuts directed at the rich do little to restore a vibrant economy. Providing an inconvenient historical analysis to the narrative forwarded by Republicans, Reich explains that from the 1951 to 1980 period, when marginal taxes were between 72 and 90 percent, average economic growth per year was at 3.7 percent. From 1983 through the recent recession – when tax cuts under Reagan and Bush were a mainstay of macro-economic policy, national yearly economic growth averaged 3 percent. Reich is not alone in his conclusion. My previous piece on the Bush tax cuts, drawing on data from the Economic Policy Institute points out that, during the period when Bush’s tax cuts were passed and when the economy began a recovery (following the dot.com crash of 2000), economic growth was generally significantly weaker than during previous economic cycles that weren’t characterized by mass tax cuts for the rich (http://www.media-ocracy.com/?p=1436). In short, there appears to be little evidence that massive subsidies to the rich are the magic formula for restoring an ailing economy. They do a lot to redistribute wealth, but little to promote short-term rapid growth, since they keep money out of the hands of those most likely to spend it right away – the working and middle class.

Tax cuts for the rich (and the cuts for business Obama is proposing) – as with cuts to the wealthy in the past – will do little-to-nothing to restore growth. The reason why is obvious enough: at a time when the masses are tapped out due to continued high levels of unemployment, massive layoffs, and high levels of personal debt, Americans have little incentive to spend without caution. Putting more money into the hands of the public (through a mass public employment program, for example, or other social welfare programs), would help in terms of stimulating spending and economic growth. What will not help are tax cuts aimed at businesses that have no incentive to increase production of goods and services because of the decreased ability of the mass public to afford such goods at a time when everyone is tightening their belts. All that tax cuts for the rich will do is further increase the already appalling depression-level inequality that exists in this country. Besides, business elites have been sitting on a mountain of cash for some time now. If they haven’t invested that money by hiring new workers, there’s little reason to expect that they will do so following another infusion of tax cuts. Corporations like the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer are sitting on more than $26 billion in cash, refusing to reinvest it in job growth. Pfizer isn’t alone either. Fortune reports that non-finance companies in the S&P 500 are holding $837 billion in cash, a growth of 26% since 2009, at a time when the economy limps along and the state mass layoffs for public workers are becoming more common. This level of cash reserves is far outside normal levels from years past, and is unconscionable at a time when these companies should be hiring new workers and focusing on expansion.

As political scientists Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson show in their book Off Center: the Republican Revolution and the Erosion of American Democracy, the public has opposed tax cuts for the rich for at least the last ten years. Most would rather see government expand its responsibilities to assist the masses and less fortunate through the expansion of broad based social welfare programs. This lesson may stand at odds with Republican-conservative propaganda framing the public as moving to the right in the midst of a Tea Party revolution, but there is little reason to take these pronouncements seriously in light of decades of public opinion data showing longstanding public support for many individual social welfare programs (for more on this data, see the recent books by Martin Gilens, Benjamin Page, and Robert Shapiro, titled Why Americans Hate Welfare and Class War? What Americans Really Think about Economic Inequality).

Corporate America’s gravy train of bailouts and business tax cuts have enabled a culture of entitlement among America’s rich and a callousness that justifies massive layoffs, pursued alongside record executive and CEO bonuses. The pillaging of public funds for private gain is unlikely to stop in the near future in light of what appear to be imminent mass gains in Republican Congressional seats this fall.

Anthony DiMaggio is the editor of media-ocracy (www.media-ocracy.com), a daily online magazine devoted to the study of media, public opinion, and current events. He has taught U.S. and Global Politics at Illinois State University and North Central College, and is the author of When Media Goes to War (2010) and Mass Media, Mass Propaganda (2008). He can be reached at: mediaocracy@gmail.com

Olbermann On Sharron Angle Video | Fox News | Media Matters | Mediaite

You'll never believe this one, but it appears Keith Olbermann isn't the biggest fan of Fox News. But in case there was any doubt, on last night's Countdown he made it clear again, going after what he sees as the network blatantly ...

Bookninja » Blog Archive » News roundup

News roundup. I'm in Manitoba, Canada's Minnesota, for Winnipeg's THIN AIR authors festival. So I'll be sporadically blogging from my very nicely appointed hotel room (they know how to treat the authors here, perhaps because when you ...

Google New: It's Google News About New Google Stuff In One Place

In terms of blog networks, no one ever seems to talk about Google, but they actually have one of the biggest. The search giant has well over 100 blogs devoted to everything from general company news to niche things that only webmasters ...

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Olbermann On Sharron Angle Video | Fox News | Media Matters | Mediaite

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Google New: It's Google News About New Google Stuff In One Place

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Olbermann On Sharron Angle Video | Fox News | Media Matters | Mediaite

Bookninja » Blog Archive » News roundup

Google New: It's Google News About New Google Stuff In One Place

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Olbermann On Sharron Angle Video | Fox News | Media Matters | Mediaite

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Making Money Scams

The magic of the free market and the wisdom of our Wall Street producers/betters at work:

Earlier this year I wrote about the Jefferson County story in a piece called “Looting Main Street” in Rolling Stone. In this tale employees of a group of high-powered Wall Street banks, led in particular by JP Morgan Chase, funneled money to local politicians in Alabama, who in turn signed off on toxic interest-rate swap deals that left the county saddled with monstrous debt for a generation.

Jefferson County is essentially the world’s worst credit card story. The local pols ran up massive bills to build a “Taj Mahal of sewer-treatment plants,” then saddled future voters with a blizzard-worth of rate hikes, punitive fees and late charges. Alabamans who should have paid $250 million for their new sewer system now owe over $3 billion, thanks to their corrupt politicians and the greedy carpetbagger banks who dragged these local hicks into deadly derivative deals.

These types of finance scams are the template for a whole new type of symbiotic relationship between politicians and the financial services industry: deals like the JeffCo interest-rate swaps allow politicians to borrow vast sums essentially without immediate consequence, making it possible to green-light politically-popular programs during their terms but leaving future leaders holding the bag when the bills come due. We saw similar stories in Greece and in the Denver school system; hundreds of communities in Italy and other European countries are also experiencing similar debt-blowups thanks to rate swaps and other deadly deals.

Anyway, back in the mid-nineties, the average sewer bill for a Jefferson County family of four was only $14.71. By the time I wrote my story earlier this year, most citizens were paying about four times that amount – and as of this summer, the average JeffCo sewer bill was $63. Well, the news now comes out that rates will go up again, and in the best case scenario they will jump 25% a year. The worst case? Jefferson County sewer rates could jump as much as 527%, with some estimates placing the average monthly bill as high as $395 a month.

At some point, people are going to figure out that our current corrupt capitalist system isn’t about the efficient allocation of capital, but straight up robbery and thieving. Not any time soon, I suspect, but some day.

Assholes, Bring on the Brawndo!, Free Markets Solve Everything, Tax Policy | 4:20 pm |

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The magic of the free market and the wisdom of our Wall Street producers/betters at work:

Earlier this year I wrote about the Jefferson County story in a piece called “Looting Main Street” in Rolling Stone. In this tale employees of a group of high-powered Wall Street banks, led in particular by JP Morgan Chase, funneled money to local politicians in Alabama, who in turn signed off on toxic interest-rate swap deals that left the county saddled with monstrous debt for a generation.

Jefferson County is essentially the world’s worst credit card story. The local pols ran up massive bills to build a “Taj Mahal of sewer-treatment plants,” then saddled future voters with a blizzard-worth of rate hikes, punitive fees and late charges. Alabamans who should have paid $250 million for their new sewer system now owe over $3 billion, thanks to their corrupt politicians and the greedy carpetbagger banks who dragged these local hicks into deadly derivative deals.

These types of finance scams are the template for a whole new type of symbiotic relationship between politicians and the financial services industry: deals like the JeffCo interest-rate swaps allow politicians to borrow vast sums essentially without immediate consequence, making it possible to green-light politically-popular programs during their terms but leaving future leaders holding the bag when the bills come due. We saw similar stories in Greece and in the Denver school system; hundreds of communities in Italy and other European countries are also experiencing similar debt-blowups thanks to rate swaps and other deadly deals.

Anyway, back in the mid-nineties, the average sewer bill for a Jefferson County family of four was only $14.71. By the time I wrote my story earlier this year, most citizens were paying about four times that amount – and as of this summer, the average JeffCo sewer bill was $63. Well, the news now comes out that rates will go up again, and in the best case scenario they will jump 25% a year. The worst case? Jefferson County sewer rates could jump as much as 527%, with some estimates placing the average monthly bill as high as $395 a month.

Assholes, Bring on the Brawndo!, Free Markets Solve Everything, Tax Policy | 4:20 pm |

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Official Google Blog: Google News turns eight

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Official Google Blog: Google News turns eight

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Read our news of Facebook claims 200 million gamers.

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The magic of the free market and the wisdom of our Wall Street producers/betters at work:

Earlier this year I wrote about the Jefferson County story in a piece called “Looting Main Street” in Rolling Stone. In this tale employees of a group of high-powered Wall Street banks, led in particular by JP Morgan Chase, funneled money to local politicians in Alabama, who in turn signed off on toxic interest-rate swap deals that left the county saddled with monstrous debt for a generation.

Jefferson County is essentially the world’s worst credit card story. The local pols ran up massive bills to build a “Taj Mahal of sewer-treatment plants,” then saddled future voters with a blizzard-worth of rate hikes, punitive fees and late charges. Alabamans who should have paid $250 million for their new sewer system now owe over $3 billion, thanks to their corrupt politicians and the greedy carpetbagger banks who dragged these local hicks into deadly derivative deals.

These types of finance scams are the template for a whole new type of symbiotic relationship between politicians and the financial services industry: deals like the JeffCo interest-rate swaps allow politicians to borrow vast sums essentially without immediate consequence, making it possible to green-light politically-popular programs during their terms but leaving future leaders holding the bag when the bills come due. We saw similar stories in Greece and in the Denver school system; hundreds of communities in Italy and other European countries are also experiencing similar debt-blowups thanks to rate swaps and other deadly deals.

Anyway, back in the mid-nineties, the average sewer bill for a Jefferson County family of four was only $14.71. By the time I wrote my story earlier this year, most citizens were paying about four times that amount – and as of this summer, the average JeffCo sewer bill was $63. Well, the news now comes out that rates will go up again, and in the best case scenario they will jump 25% a year. The worst case? Jefferson County sewer rates could jump as much as 527%, with some estimates placing the average monthly bill as high as $395 a month.

Assholes, Bring on the Brawndo!, Free Markets Solve Everything, Tax Policy | 4:20 pm |

Respond | Trackback |

The magic of the free market and the wisdom of our Wall Street producers/betters at work:

Earlier this year I wrote about the Jefferson County story in a piece called “Looting Main Street” in Rolling Stone. In this tale employees of a group of high-powered Wall Street banks, led in particular by JP Morgan Chase, funneled money to local politicians in Alabama, who in turn signed off on toxic interest-rate swap deals that left the county saddled with monstrous debt for a generation.

Jefferson County is essentially the world’s worst credit card story. The local pols ran up massive bills to build a “Taj Mahal of sewer-treatment plants,” then saddled future voters with a blizzard-worth of rate hikes, punitive fees and late charges. Alabamans who should have paid $250 million for their new sewer system now owe over $3 billion, thanks to their corrupt politicians and the greedy carpetbagger banks who dragged these local hicks into deadly derivative deals.

These types of finance scams are the template for a whole new type of symbiotic relationship between politicians and the financial services industry: deals like the JeffCo interest-rate swaps allow politicians to borrow vast sums essentially without immediate consequence, making it possible to green-light politically-popular programs during their terms but leaving future leaders holding the bag when the bills come due. We saw similar stories in Greece and in the Denver school system; hundreds of communities in Italy and other European countries are also experiencing similar debt-blowups thanks to rate swaps and other deadly deals.

Anyway, back in the mid-nineties, the average sewer bill for a Jefferson County family of four was only $14.71. By the time I wrote my story earlier this year, most citizens were paying about four times that amount – and as of this summer, the average JeffCo sewer bill was $63. Well, the news now comes out that rates will go up again, and in the best case scenario they will jump 25% a year. The worst case? Jefferson County sewer rates could jump as much as 527%, with some estimates placing the average monthly bill as high as $395 a month.

Assholes, Bring on the Brawndo!, Free Markets Solve Everything, Tax Policy | 4:20 pm |

Respond | Trackback |

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