NY Times covers the Cuban Five
Bob Morris @ Aug 5th 2007 10:32 - Category: Unfiled ;
And suggests the US approach could be hypocritical. Ya think?
Archive for August 5th, 2007
Server upgrade completed
Bob Morris @ Aug 5th 2007 09:28 - Category: Unfiled ;
Polizeros is now running on a High CPU account at Bluehost so those CPU Exceeded errors, should be a thing of the past now. The move was quick and easy.
Bluehost started the move at 10pm last night Mountain time. The site move was completed and the DNS propagated by 12:45am Sunday night Eastern time. Given the two hour time difference, that means everything was done in a mere 45 minutes.
The coming mortgage drought
Bob Morris @ Aug 5th 2007 00:49 - Category: Credit crisis ;
Comments from readers of Housing Bubble Blog
“Wells Fargo just raised the interest rate on their jumbo mortgage to 8% this morning. Last week the rate was 6.78%.”
A jumbo is any mortage above $417,000. As an example, let’s say a jumbo mortgage is for $500,000. That jump in interest means $520 a month more in interest payments, with the new total monthly payment being $3300.
“Anyone else get chills when they read the CEO of IndyMac’s letter?â€
Indeed, he says even top rated mortgages are no longer being sold in the private market because there are no buyers, calling the current situation “unprecedented.”
So, mortgages will be getting much more expensive (with lots more documentation required), something which will have huge ramifications throughout the economy.
War and empire profitable for ruling class
Bob Morris @ Aug 5th 2007 00:48 - Category: Unfiled ;
From Craig Murray
How the system works was outlined 100 years ago by the Liberal economist J.A.Hobson in his great book Imperialism - A Study. Written at the greatest extent of the greatest formal Empire the World has yet seen, Hobson proved, counter to the prevailing wisdom of both supporters and opponents of Empire, that the Empire had cost Britain money, not been a gain at the expense of the colonies. But while the net effect had been to make Britain poorer, the redistributive effect had made the ruling class, military and arms manufacturers much richer, at the expense of everyone else.
Moon of Alabama found an instructive quote from Hobson.
The adoption of Imperialism thus serves the double purpose of securing private material benefits for favoured classes of investors and traders at the public cost, while sustaining the general cause of conservatism by diverting public energy and interest from domestic agitation to external employment.
War and imperialism makes the ruling class wealthier while also keeping the populace nervous about their jobs and scared of outside threats. Sound familiar?
UN issues desertification warning
Bob Morris @ Aug 5th 2007 00:47 - Category: Climate change ;
Tens of millions may be displaced within the next ten years by desertification, says the UN, calling it an “environmental crisis of global proportions”
Overuse of land, unsustainable irrigation, and climate change are the primary causes.
When millions migrate, it puts stresses on neighboring areas, both agriculturally and politically, and can lead to conflict and war.
