Posts in category Business
Written by Free Market Misconceptions in the Blogosphere
Written by I was perusing some blogs the other day when I came upon a comment that struck a nerve in me. It was a comment that I think is indicative of the attitudes of some people who tend to believe in the left side of the political spectrum. I believe these are mostly goodhearted, well intentioned people, but I also believe they have been misinformed about what a free market is and what it is not. The comment, to paraphrase, basically blamed the free market for the financial mess we find ourselves in. I was compelled to reply to the comment and felt it might be appropriate to elaborate on my thoughts and share them with everyone. I think that, after all, words are important tools when it comes to communicating ideas with people and when definitions become skewed and screwy communications can become muddled. It then becomes important to redefine and better explain words so that everyone can better understand the concept that is trying to be conveyed. READ MORE »
ACLU defends cancer patient fired for legal marijuana use
The American Civil Liberties Union urged a U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday to reinstate a lawsuit against Wal-Mart and a manager in Michigan for firing an employee who used medical marijuana in accordance with state law.
Thirty-year-old former Wal-Mart employee Joseph Casias used marijuana to treat the symptoms of an inoperable brain tumor and sinus cancer.
Casias was fired in 2009 after testing positive for marijuana. He had been successfully employed for more than five years by a Wal-Mart in Battle Creek and began using medical marijuana after voters approved the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act in 2008.
“This appeal is an important development for patients who use marijuana as prescribed by a doctor in the 15 states and the District of Columbia where laws provide protections for them,” said Kary L. Moss, Executive Director of the ACLU of Michigan. “Patients across the country who rely on this medication for pain relief are watching this case.”
Government Restrictions Versus Free Market Regulation
I like to write these articles as an attempt to get people to think. Certainly having a platform to voice one’s opinion is nice, but for the most part I built the platform I shout from. I am not always right, if being right or wrong are even appropriate terms when it comes to opinion, but I do enjoy it when one of my articles strikes up a buzz or an interesting conversation. Such is what happened recently when I wrote an article expressing my view on the inappropriateness of congress passing resolutions that are largely symbolic in nature rather than working on cutting the size of the federal government which I believe is way too large. READ MORE »
PayPal cuts WikiLeaks from money flow
BERLIN — The online payment service provider PayPal has cut off the account used by WikiLeaks to collect donations, serving another blow to the organization just as it was struggling to keep its website accessible after an American company stopped directing traffic to it.
PayPal said in a blog posting that the move was prompted by a violation of its policy, “which states that our payment service cannot be used for any activities that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity.”
The short notice was dated Friday, and a spokeswoman for PayPal Germany on Saturday declined to elaborate and referred to the official blog posting.
Donating money to WikiLeaks via PayPal on Saturday was not possible anymore, generating an error message saying “this recipient is currently unable to receive money.”
PayPal is one of several ways WikiLeaks collects donations, and until now was probably the most secure and convenient way to support the organization.
Nigeria to charge Dick Cheney in $180 million bribery case, issue Interpol arrest warrant
The energy services company Dick Cheney ran prior to becoming Vice President of the United States was atop the tongue of liberals each time it was awarded a contract in Iraq.
Now the company’s name, Halliburton, is being spoken somewhere else: Nigeria.
According to a story filed late Wednesday, Cheney will be indicted in a Nigerian bribery case as part of an investigation into an alleged $180 million bribery scandal.
“Last week, Nigeria arrested at least 23 officials from companies including Halliburton, Saipem, Technip and a former subsidiary of Panalpina Welttransport Holding AG in connection with alleged illegal payments to Nigerian officials. Those detained were all freed on bail on Nov. 29,” Bloomberg News’ Elisha Bala-Gbogbo wrote.
“Authorities in the West African nation are probing Halliburton, Saipem and Technip for the alleged payment of $180 million in bribes to win a $6 billion liquefied natural-gas contract,” Bala-Gbogbo added. “Panalpina is being investigated for illegal payments it allegedly made to Nigerian customs officials on behalf of Royal Dutch Shell Plc.”
Cut Taxes, Cut Spending, Shrink Government
So, I heard part of Barack Obama’s speech yesterday. He held some sort of televised “town hall meeting” on CNBC which was entitled “Investing in America Forum.” This on the heels of the declaration by The National Bureau of Economic Research that the “recession” ended in June of 2009. I definitely didn’t get that memo. Well, one thing I can say for sure, these guys don’t give up on the rhetoric. They don’t lighten up on the propaganda. Barack loves to pretend that he cares and the elitists on top love to pretend that they can fool everyone just by saying everything’s okay and the economy is hunky dory. READ MORE »
Conspiracy Theories, the Lure of Collectivism and the Cycle of Abuse
I read an interesting piece the other day about mass delusion and the economy. It got me to thinking about, of all things, conspiracy theories. It suddenly occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, the reason the powerful can get away with conspiracy, the reason they can cause so much harm and consternation is because they know how to create and manipulate mass delusion. Maybe the main mass of the population disregards conspiracy theories so off handedly simply because they don’t want to believe they’re true, not because facts or evidence point to said theories being false. READ MORE »
Economic Hitmen
An animated interview of John Perkins, author of ‘HoodWinked’ and ‘Confessions Of An Economic Hitman’
Copyright of the audio belongs to John Perkins.
For more visit www.studiojoho.com
email info@studiojoho.com
Canadian court rejects Taser challenge of inquiry
VANCOUVER – A B.C. Supreme Court judge has dismissed Taser International’s petition for a judicial review of the first phase of the Braidwood Inquiry into Taser use in the province.
In his reasons for judgment, Judge Robert Sewell said Tuesday Taser International was treated fairly by the study commission and presented commissioner Thomas Braidwood with many scientific documents and experts to speak on their behalf.
Sewell also said the commission had no obligation to give Taser a copy of their report— which found that conducted energy weapons can cause injury or death in some circumstances — before it was released to the public.
“In my view, there is no merit in this submission,” Sewell wrote in his decision. “I can find nothing in the record which would suggest that the commissioner carried out the inquiry, the public forums and his investigation in a manner which was in any way inconsistent with his publicly stated intentions.”
A Marijuana History Lesson
The vote to legalize marijuana in California is coming up on November 2nd. Proposition 19 will be the vehicle for it’s resurgence. Here’s a brief history reminder of when, where and why marijuana was made illegal.
BP to take $10 billion tax write-off for cleanup
BP on Tuesday announced its intention to take $10 billion in US tax write-offs related to the cost for response and cleanup of the Gulf oil catastrophe.
The oil giant penciled in losses of $32.2 billion for its second quarter earnings statement. These include $2.9 billion for its response so far and $29.3 billion in future estimated costs that the company says will cover all further damages associated with the spill.
BP will be able to write off $10 billion in US taxes based on the claimed loss. It will also be able to write off an undetermined amount from taxes owed to the United Kingdom, where it is based.
Included in the future costs is the $20 billion BP must provide to the Independent Claims Facility escrow fund established by the Obama administration. It has yet to provide the fund with any money, “claims czar” Kenneth Feinberg admitted this week.
The $20 billion for the claims facility—“neither a floor nor a ceiling” according to the White House—is to be paid by BP in installments for the next four years.
Walmart Loves Unions…Outside The U.S.
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Walmart workers are unionized in several other countries despite the fact that the corporation spends a good amount of money to fight labor in the United States. Cenk Uygur breaks it down.