Man Utd vs. AC Milan
On Saturday, Manchester United played AC Milan in the Giants/Jets stadium in New York/New Jersey. A first half goal from Paul Scholes gave United the lead but they were unable to increase their lead and seal the deal. Milan's Shevchenko scored in the 90th minute off a dubious free kick, sending the game into a penalty shootout (on the American tour they are not playing extra time). United keeper Tim Howard had the best and the worst of luck. He saved a penalty to put United up, but then skipper Roy Keane bounced his shot off the post to let AC Milan level. A second round of 5 kicks saw AC Milan's keeper Dida score his kick, and when it came down to the last kick, Tim Howard was forced to the spot. His shot, like 4 others, bounced off the right post, giving AC Milan the win. They always say soccer is a game of 90 minutes because even when you get thoroughly outplayed, like Milan did today, all it takes is a good kick at the end of the game to win. This sends United home to start their season having lost all three of their USA tour matches. Hopefully manager Alex Ferguson will be able to put together a better side in their opening day match against Chelsea. For my money, Chelsea is the team to beat this year. I predict the Premier League finishing Chelsea, Man Utd, and then Arsenal, whose captain Patrick Vieira, has just signed for Real Madrid to play alongside superstars David Beckham, Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane, and Ronaldo.
Saturday, July 31, 2004
$445 Billion Deficit
Bush's three rounds of tax cuts for the wealthy have really worked. Last year's record budget deficit of $375 billion has been topped by this year's gigantic deficit. For 2004 we will have a whopping $445 billion deficit. Nice work, Bush. Read it in the Washington Post. How does the White House spin this? By projecting an unrealistically high number ($570 billion) so that when the real numbers come in, even though they are 20% higher than 2003's deficit, the White House can say "it's better than expected." Despite all evidence to the contrary, the White House says the economy is growing and they will be pushing for another round of tax cuts for the super-wealthy this year. A quote from Joshua B. Bolten, director of the Office of Management and Budget:
"The good news is that it is much lower than we projected, and we or any of the other forecasters projected just six months ago, and we believe that that is a product of the strong economic policies that the president has put in place, and that the trend will continue."
No, you stupid bastard, this is evidence that the president's policies are worthless, destructive, regressive, and foolish.
Bush's three rounds of tax cuts for the wealthy have really worked. Last year's record budget deficit of $375 billion has been topped by this year's gigantic deficit. For 2004 we will have a whopping $445 billion deficit. Nice work, Bush. Read it in the Washington Post. How does the White House spin this? By projecting an unrealistically high number ($570 billion) so that when the real numbers come in, even though they are 20% higher than 2003's deficit, the White House can say "it's better than expected." Despite all evidence to the contrary, the White House says the economy is growing and they will be pushing for another round of tax cuts for the super-wealthy this year. A quote from Joshua B. Bolten, director of the Office of Management and Budget:
"The good news is that it is much lower than we projected, and we or any of the other forecasters projected just six months ago, and we believe that that is a product of the strong economic policies that the president has put in place, and that the trend will continue."
No, you stupid bastard, this is evidence that the president's policies are worthless, destructive, regressive, and foolish.
Friday, July 30, 2004
The Real Story Behind Teresa's "Shove It" Retort
Freelance writer Max Blumenthal gives some eye-opening background on the minor dustup between Teresa Heinz Kerry and attack "reporter" Colin McNickle. McNickle is a rightist writer who "infiltrated" the Democratic convention in order to try and provoke some of the dignitaries in attendance. Read it here, from AlterNet. McNickle has been the tirebiter for Richard Mellon-Scaife, the rightwing billionaire eccentric who owns the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, the only newspaper that runs columns by white power writers. Thanks McNickles, Mellon-Scaife - you guys are the best. You're really helping elevate politics and civility.
Freelance writer Max Blumenthal gives some eye-opening background on the minor dustup between Teresa Heinz Kerry and attack "reporter" Colin McNickle. McNickle is a rightist writer who "infiltrated" the Democratic convention in order to try and provoke some of the dignitaries in attendance. Read it here, from AlterNet. McNickle has been the tirebiter for Richard Mellon-Scaife, the rightwing billionaire eccentric who owns the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, the only newspaper that runs columns by white power writers. Thanks McNickles, Mellon-Scaife - you guys are the best. You're really helping elevate politics and civility.
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Bush's Tax Cuts - Voodoo Economics Redux
In the American Prospect, Laurence Mishel and Lee Price take apart the Bush Admin's claims that the tax cuts have created jobs or growth. They argue that the cuts, in fact, are creating longterm problems for everyone, not simply the 2 million people who have lost their jobs under Bush.
What about the tax cuts? Those going to high-income taxpayers boosted GDP by just 0.1 percent in 2003, just one-fourth of the effect of war spending. The business tax breaks also had a minimal 0.1 percent impact on GDP in 2003. The tax cuts aimed at the middle class, such as the expansion of the child-care tax credit and the lowering of the threshold for the 10 percent income tax bracket, added 0.5 percent to GDP, an effect more than twice as great as the high-end tax cuts and business breaks combined. Yet nearly twice as much tax cutting went to high-income families and businesses.
In the American Prospect, Laurence Mishel and Lee Price take apart the Bush Admin's claims that the tax cuts have created jobs or growth. They argue that the cuts, in fact, are creating longterm problems for everyone, not simply the 2 million people who have lost their jobs under Bush.
What about the tax cuts? Those going to high-income taxpayers boosted GDP by just 0.1 percent in 2003, just one-fourth of the effect of war spending. The business tax breaks also had a minimal 0.1 percent impact on GDP in 2003. The tax cuts aimed at the middle class, such as the expansion of the child-care tax credit and the lowering of the threshold for the 10 percent income tax bracket, added 0.5 percent to GDP, an effect more than twice as great as the high-end tax cuts and business breaks combined. Yet nearly twice as much tax cutting went to high-income families and businesses.
It's The Oil, Stupid
Why are we in Iraq? Forget WMD, forget democracy, forget nation building - it's all about the oil. Read this frank and startling analysis from the Guardian Unlimited. John Herold Chapman analyze the motivations for going to war, and the meaning of the resulting "peace."
Oil and the dollar were the real reasons for the attack on Iraq, with WMD as the public reason now exposed as woefully inadequate. Should we now look at Bush and Blair as brilliant strategists whose actions will improve the security of our oil supplies, or as international conmen? Should we support them if they sweep into Iran and perhaps Saudi Arabia, or should there be a regime change in the UK and US instead?
Why are we in Iraq? Forget WMD, forget democracy, forget nation building - it's all about the oil. Read this frank and startling analysis from the Guardian Unlimited. John Herold Chapman analyze the motivations for going to war, and the meaning of the resulting "peace."
Oil and the dollar were the real reasons for the attack on Iraq, with WMD as the public reason now exposed as woefully inadequate. Should we now look at Bush and Blair as brilliant strategists whose actions will improve the security of our oil supplies, or as international conmen? Should we support them if they sweep into Iran and perhaps Saudi Arabia, or should there be a regime change in the UK and US instead?
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
A New Hope ---
Can't help geeking it up and viewing John Kerry's electioneering as similar to fighting the Empire. The opening night of the Dems' convention saw Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, a preacher Kerry rescued on his swift boat in Vietnam, Hilary Clinton, and Bill Clinton make speeches that set out to unify our goals and to offer pointed, clinical criticism of the current president. These were not ad hominem but were focused and factual. Everywhere you look the Bushies are flailing about, trying to bail water out of their sinking lifeboat. Raise the terror alert, Tom! Those colors are so pretty and mean so much! Quick! Send Powell on a whirlwind tour! Now, send Cheney to speak at a college and assert more connections between Al Quaeda and Iraq - even though none exist! Deny the conclusions of the 9/11 Commission. Weasel, lie, lash out with haughty glee at even the slightest of gaffes from the other side. This is "gotcha" politics lowered to the level of mud crawling snakes. The Democrats spelled out their vision of a unified, united America as contrasted with the starkly divided house offered by Bush. Bush is going to be a one-termer, and the world will heave a collective sigh.
Can't help geeking it up and viewing John Kerry's electioneering as similar to fighting the Empire. The opening night of the Dems' convention saw Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, a preacher Kerry rescued on his swift boat in Vietnam, Hilary Clinton, and Bill Clinton make speeches that set out to unify our goals and to offer pointed, clinical criticism of the current president. These were not ad hominem but were focused and factual. Everywhere you look the Bushies are flailing about, trying to bail water out of their sinking lifeboat. Raise the terror alert, Tom! Those colors are so pretty and mean so much! Quick! Send Powell on a whirlwind tour! Now, send Cheney to speak at a college and assert more connections between Al Quaeda and Iraq - even though none exist! Deny the conclusions of the 9/11 Commission. Weasel, lie, lash out with haughty glee at even the slightest of gaffes from the other side. This is "gotcha" politics lowered to the level of mud crawling snakes. The Democrats spelled out their vision of a unified, united America as contrasted with the starkly divided house offered by Bush. Bush is going to be a one-termer, and the world will heave a collective sigh.
Incompetence And Sloth ---
Robert Scheer assesses the 9/11 Commission's report and hands in a verdict on the Bush Admin's unwillingness to interrupt their vacation to stop to the 9/11 attacks. Read his latest column, here. Scheer is angry that Bush's incompetence and sloth failed to mobilize our forces against the impending attack. You should be angry too. Remember how on Sept 11th we all felt like Americans, and even stranger, we all felt like New Yorkers? Remember how those images on the TV were perhaps the most horrific events we'd ever seen and how we wanted, needed, demanded that our leaders do the right thing? I'm angry. Bush blew it. We're worse off now. Kill one terrorist, make ten. Regime change begins at home.
Robert Scheer assesses the 9/11 Commission's report and hands in a verdict on the Bush Admin's unwillingness to interrupt their vacation to stop to the 9/11 attacks. Read his latest column, here. Scheer is angry that Bush's incompetence and sloth failed to mobilize our forces against the impending attack. You should be angry too. Remember how on Sept 11th we all felt like Americans, and even stranger, we all felt like New Yorkers? Remember how those images on the TV were perhaps the most horrific events we'd ever seen and how we wanted, needed, demanded that our leaders do the right thing? I'm angry. Bush blew it. We're worse off now. Kill one terrorist, make ten. Regime change begins at home.
Monday, July 26, 2004
S.O.F.C.
Reasearchers at the University of Houston, TX, have created a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell that is a fraction of the width of a human hair and has the potential to revolutionize our power needs. Read about this potentially paradigm-shifting discovery, here, from Space Daily.
Reasearchers at the University of Houston, TX, have created a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell that is a fraction of the width of a human hair and has the potential to revolutionize our power needs. Read about this potentially paradigm-shifting discovery, here, from Space Daily.