Bank of America in Trouble

Bank of America insists that they are doing fine, but they are the symbol of America's problems financially.
They aren't giving their customers, who are in debt, any hope.

Mr. Moynihan’s strategy has failed to convince investors, analysts, and some customers that Bank of America is headed in the right direction. The bank’s shares have fallen 18 percent during his tenure.

Mr. Moynihan has actually stabalized Bank of America, but there are still many problems.  The mortgage issue rests heavily on Bank of America; 1.3 million people under the company are not keeping up with home loans.  It's discouraging. particularly because Bank of America is the biggest bank in the US.  Many people are relying on the company to bounce back, or we could see a major panic unfold.  The business looks like it is dipping, but it is better than it looks, as the bank says.  It seems like we have past the worst of the mortgage crisis, but there is always skepticism in such an economy.

Starting a New Business is Worth the Risk

College students find it hard to obtain a job when they graduate.  However, entrepreneurships are also an option, despite the risk involved.  It could be a better choice than applying for a job.

In October, Mr. Gerber started the Young Entrepreneur Council “to create a shift from a résumé-driven society to one where people create their own jobs,” he says. “The jobs are going to come from the entrepreneurial level.”

The Young Entrepreneur Council was formed by young people who have some sort of practice in the real world with creating a new business.  They offer their services to young people who are trying to start their own busniness.  Young adults are finding it hard to get a job, so they turn to entrepreneurship.  It can be successful, and that's why it's worth the risk to them.  These businesses tend to appeal to young people, but they also can flop easily.  On the flip side, they can boom and be extrodinarily popular.  It's interesting to see how these kids are reacting to how the economy is changing. 

New Ideas to Report the News

Newspapers are dying, and the internet is surging, but only in some areas. People tend to only want to read short articles, but Instapaper is combating that.

It is clever because it plays to human psychology by helping us gather articles we want to read, but have no time to read while we are foraging.

Instapaper was created by Marco Arment.  He programmed a machine essentially to sort out what people want to read, to make it easier to find and read longer articles.  Apparently there is a demand for something like this.  Here I thought reading has died all together, but if one were to make it convinient to look up stuff on the internet, then there may be demand.  It's popular among those who want to search for online articles.  It could be the new thing for young people as well.  This is the information era, so this could be a rapidly growing business. 

Clinton and Obama agree on deal

Clinton is extremely popular among the public, and he has long been in sync with Obama. They both restate the position they hold together. They have agreed with the republicans on tax cuts, and the administration could be going somewhere now. Hopeful Clinto will continue to be involved aswell, it seems he gets a lot done.

Washington (CNN) -- The Congressional Budget Office released its score Friday on the tax plan hammered out between Republicans and President Barack Obama, showing a $893 billion hit on the deficit over the next five years.

Mental Health Break

Interesting footage of the Taliban.

Odd Luggage Traveling To Munich

Recently terrorism via airplanes has heightened due to recent threats to Europe, and a bag found flying to America that had suspicious contents.

(CNN) -- A suspicious piece of luggage that was about to be loaded onto a plane at Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport in Namibia contained no explosives, a spokeswoman for the airline said Thursday.

The contents lead them to believe that terrorists are planning bombings, and are just testing the waters by sending lone bags. Threat levels around the world are raised, particularly in Europe and the US. Terrorism is certainly reaching new levels as the schemes created are more devious.

Haiti Cholera Outbreak

Haiti is blaming the U.N. peacekeepers for a recent cholera outbreak.  U.N. claims it is not their fault.

Port-Au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -- Like cholera itself, Haiti's protests against the United Nations spread Thursday to the capital, Port-au-Prince, as angry people took to the streets demanding the global body get out of their country.

The U.N. is there to help, and even if they did cause the outbreak, Haiti still needs their help. They are a poor country, and can use all the help the can get. The ruined cities, and high population in cities can be a contributor to the outbreak. Once it's there, the U.N. can only be of help for them in the end.

Obama Still Fighting For Peace

Obama isn't letting down on his figure of peace as he pushes for nuclear reform with Russia.

WASHINGTON — President Obama escalated the pressure on the Senate on Thursday to approve a new arms control treaty with Russia before the end of the year, saying, “This is not a matter that can be delayed.” But a new survey of Republican senators cast doubt on his chances of success.

Obama is pushing for the New Start treaty.  However, he may be over-zealous because the treaty isn't fully explored and analyzed, which is the reason even Jon Kyl, a negotiatior on the treaty, is hesitant.  Others aren't promoting the treaty either.  Yet Obama wants to go with the treaty and start making peace in the world.  Maybe this is the reason he won the noble prize, although he didn't think he deserved it.  Obama's promises were extensive, and he can't do all the things at once, but this aspect of his campaign is now coming to life.  Maybe the unseen changes just take time, which would be a reasonable assumption when considering the much needed reforms.  However, this treaty may not be a priority due to the little support it has.

Dubai's Environment

The Middle East is generally among poorer nations, but they do sell a lot of oil.  Dubia is one of the lucky to see a lot of the wealth generated by what the Middle East has to offer. They are extremely rich and expansive.  This leads to problems environmentally as we've seen in history.

DUBAI — Dubai’s skyline is the most sparkling in the Middle East. But down on the ground, the environmental problems of a quickly erected city built on sand look a lot less alluring.

Dubai has expanded so rapidly, due to their resources, that any sort of feedback from the environment was not in mind.  They built so fast they didn't account for it, and in an area of the world where there is not as much recognition towards the environment.  That's not to say that Dubai, a city so immense and expensive that it more than holds its own when compared to an industrialized nation, isn't aware to these problems.  However, several issues put Dubai in a situation where the environment is being threatened.  Many numbers are scary to look at because problems were building up as they built more and more.  Now they are forced to deal with tons of sewage and waste.  They are aware of the environmental issues they now face such as sewage going into the gulf and a problem with clean water.  The region they are in isn't as developed as nations that have gone through what they are going through.  They now are adopting western environmental policies.  They progressed quickly economically and they have no intent of repeating what others did, now that solutions have been made in industrailzed nations.

Iran's Nuclear Agreements

Iran's threat as a nuclear power is a very scary one to Europe and America.  No one wants them to have a bomb, especially when they don't have as much control and extremists in their country as many others.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration and its European allies are preparing a new offer for negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program, senior administration officials say, but the conditions on Tehran would be even more onerous than a deal that the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected last year.

Iran having a nuclear weapon is frightening.  There are so many conditions where that could end poorly.  America and Europe have been working on an agreement with Iran to reduce how much uranium they get.  Right now the whole situation has many views.  Iran can wait it out then create bombs, but it puts a strain on themselves because of their connection with Europe.  Agreements have progressed but they are at a halt.  It seems like something can really be done but people are on the brink for negotiations.  America believes we have plenty of time to wait it out and hold negotiations.  Only time will tell but it seems like everyone is biting the bullet and waiting to see what comes out of negotiations.  Either Iran will create bombs slowly but surely, or the program will be reduced to something that can't produce bombs.

Obama and the State of the Voters

Obama's approval ratings are slipping.  The voters are upset with reason, but it also seems that they are misguided in decision making.  Hopefully for Obama, things will look bright.

Critical parts of the coalition that delivered President Obama to the White House in 2008 and gave Democrats control of Congress in 2006 are switching their allegiance to the Republicans in the final phase of the midterm Congressional elections, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

Obama's change ideas were not supposed to happen so soon.  He is changing things, but to the people's distress the change isn't happening now.  The public seems too upset over this.  Who could expect unemployment to go down, our economy to rise and our political place in the world to be restored in just two years.  Obama has been changing but it takes time, and people seem too ignorant to recognize that.  Despite what may be happening, the voters are still mad and a majority now say they will vote for republicans.  The public is not consistent as many unchanged aspects of voting are flip-flopping; such as women now perfer repupblicans in general.  It's all confusing and frustrating because it seems like people are too stupid to understand what really needs to get done.

Friedman Tells It Like It Is

Friedman destroys everyone who is making errors again and confronts the problems with America. He doesn't just say one thing and the solution, he slams his opponents to the point where there is no argument.

I confess, I find it dispiriting to read the polls and see candidates, mostly Republicans, leading in various midterm races while promoting many of the very same ideas that got us into this mess. Am I hearing right?

Friedman talks about many issues in a short amount of time.  It's incredible he can say so many meaningful and true things with such concise language.  It is simple, however, because there's nothing to be more right about.  He speaks up during this time because of all the elections taking place.  He's sad to see some of the reform taking place might go out the window as many republicans could be elected who would undo the progress.  Friedman explains how they will revert us back to our original place and America will decline again.  Hopefully the average Joe will listen to him soon.

Mental Health Break

China's Population a Burden on Tradition

China is well known for its silk production.  The country is so crowded though that those in rural areas are tempted to leave for urban centers. 

There was a time when clean water, mulberry trees and tiny, squirming, milky-white larvae made this village one of the most famous in all of China.

China's tradition is being lost as it becomes over crowded.  One would think that the silk industry, which is traditional, wouldn't be lost and that silk is always wanted.  So why are people leaving a stable job for the urban centers.  Simply, China is crowded, and becoming more crowded.  Also, the world is seeking out these people in rural China.  They now know what lies in the cities, and they are leaving traditions behind.  It is sad for Chinese tradition which could become lost, and also a sign of China's overwhelming population.

Germany and East Europe Renewal

Europe has felt the economic recession, but Germany has kicked back and is starting to rise to where to once was.  With the help of the previous Soviet Union, German exports are up and most of East Europe is recovering.

German exporters, already buoyed by demand in China, are profiting from a modest upswing in Central and Eastern Europe as well, as the economies there revive and banks slowly resume lending to companies, according to an influential industry group.

The world is globalized, particularly for Europe and the way the countries are set up.  Europe relies on each other for economic wealth, since the EU that has been more important.  The recession has shown just how global economies have become.  Everyone has fallen victim, but now Germany is becoming strong again, with help of other countries, mostly consisting of East Europe.  Exports are up everywhere there and East Europe which relies significantly on Germany's well being is bouncing back; partially by the world being flat, although it is nothing new for Europe to interact heavly.

American Cars Going Green

As American industries finally catch up in some respect to the world, their cars meet good numbers, but it isn't nearly what was expected.  They could, however, get a high mpg under certain circumstances.

About two months before two new plug-in cars go on sale in the United States, the federal government is struggling with how to rate the fuel economy of mass-market plug-in vehicles.

GM was going to produce over 200 mpg electric cars.  The cars came out a lot lower.  The numbers are still good, and the cars are still good; they are just not quite as futuristic as we thought.  America is finally going green in some ways.  We haven't done anything really dramatic yet, but we are thinking foward and starting to show progress.  These cars are making up for what America should have been doing.  Hopefully we can keep up the production on green technology.  For the consumer, the cars are confusing.  The way they are made allows them to travel without gas for a while.  After that they drop to a reasonable mpg.  Making a generalized statement about a cars mpg will be more difficult now.  Where someone lives will play a role, depending on who supplies energy.

Hungarian Waste Spill

The CEO of the Hungarian company that is responsible for the toxic spill in Hungary claims it is not their fault. They do have obligations, however.

The CEO of the Hungarian company behind a huge toxic spill on Thursday said he doesn't know whether he's responsible for the disaster, but added, "I have moral duties and I will fulfill them."

The disaster in Hungary is terrible, and it could get a whole lot worse if it spreads.  There isn't enough being brought up about this.  It's about time people start viewing the environment with more understanding.  The spill can wipe out species and destroy the ecosystem due to its toxic components.  Fortunatley, although the CEO and the manager claim it isn't there fault like most people would, they are still helping to clean up the sludge.  I think it's a perfect way to gain environmentally friendly momentum everywhere, but most people are so narrow-minded that it might take more human deaths to do that.  Something this bad should be recognized by everybody today as a major ecological disaster.  It now has reached the river of Danube but without much effect yet.  There is a fast response to the problem and no certain outcomes as they race to stop the sludge which could still potentially devastate more regions.

 

 

My Political Position

My results to the Political Philosophy Quiz in general lead to a democrat, but the end results

The Quiz

The following are your scores. They are based on a gradual range of 0 to 12. For instance, a Conservative/Progressive score of 3 and 0 will both yield a result of social conservative, yet 0 would be an extreme conservative and 3 a moderate conservative


Conservative/Progressive score: 7
You are a social moderate. You think the progressive movement is overall well meaning, but sometimes it goes too far. On issues like abortion and affirmative action, you see the negatives of both extremes on the issue. You probably value religion, but at the same time you think it should still stay separate from the government


Capitalist Purist/Social Capitalist score: 8
You are a Moderate Capitalist. You support an economy that is by and large a free market, but has public programs to help people who can't help themselves or need a little help. Pretty much you believe in the American economy how it currently is.


Libertarian/Authoritarian score: 11
You're an Authoritarian. You believe that that, left to their own, many people will do immoral or harmful things. You despise drug users, pornography, violence, and all other things that you consider immoral. You also think that security is often more important than protecting rights. You think children need to be protected from seeing these things so it doesn't warp their minds, and that the will of the majority sometimes is more important than the rights of the minority.


Pacifist/Militarist score: 0
You're a Pacifist. You are angered that the United States thinks it should dominate the world through its military force. You think that the only time war is necessary is when we are in direct danger of being attacked. You also believe the US spends way too much of its money on defense, as we can practically cut it in half and still easily defend ourselves, and use that money to fix all our economic problems.

Overall, you would most likely fit into the category of Democrat

vary.

Mental Health Break

It's funny a person would streak for money. The depressing thing is that there are more laughs than complaints about it. This is a mental health break, but it sort of turned into "as dumb as we wanna be"; if a streaker is getting paid to do this in front of the most powerful man in the world and people don't find it disrespectful.

Global Warming a scam?

There is still a debate about whether or not Global Warming is real.  It has been scientifically proven and any denial is simply as "dumb as we wanna be."  At this point there could be any number of reasons for not believing Global Warming.  They could range from re-elction to keeping a polluting industry running.  In the end it's absolutely ridiculous to not believe the effects that are happening now and that will be happening.  These people sound idiotic and it's the pinnacle of American ignorance.

China and Japan fight over resources

It seems the world really is becoming flat as China and Japan dispute their claims of land between themselves.

"(CNN) -- The husk of a dead volcano protruding from the East China Sea has become the battleground between the two mightiest economies in Asia."

China and Japan are fighting over a set of small islands that have economic potential.  They both think they have rights to what is there.  Its a sure sign of a flatter world as the two greatest powers in Asia fight over the territory between them.  They have both cut some ecnomic ties making the argument very tense.  They're both very crowded countries, so intern they need more resources.  Being in a crowded world is one result of the fight.  However, the world is becoming flatter, and faster.  As both nations rise in standard of living they have fought more intensely for this plot of land.  The dispute has been going on since the 1990's and it's heating up again.

India embarrassed about the Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games are athletic competitions.  India is due to hold them, but they cannot seem to put together the facilities in time; showing a hole in their economic might.

"NEW DELHI — Skepticism about India’s preparedness for the Commonwealth Games deepened Tuesday after a partly constructed footbridge collapsed outside the main arena for competition, injuring dozens."

India has exploded in industry and has a rising middle class.  Recently they have been preparing for the Commonwealth Games where athletes will meet to compete.  However, they have been crippled due to the collapse of one of their buildings, which led to inuries. It set them back considerably, along with the slow progress they were already making.  They might not even make the dead-line for completing the project.  The whole project they are taking on could be completed by other economic giants like China, who have already hosted the Olympics with integrity.  India could be viewed as lacking the capacity to take on an international event.  It could go to show that they aren't quite the force that we thought they were as they were booming.

Cows are a contributor to green house gases?

Cows produce methane in large quantities, making them a large factor in our emissions.  The U.S. raises many cows, and they add up to a lot of green house gases.  There is also a new food for cows that could reduce this effect.

"Methane is a significant green house gas that can lead to global warming. It is also commonly produced by many animals including humans and cattle. Cow belches, a major source of greenhouse gases, could be decreased by an unusual feed supplement developed by a Penn State dairy scientist."

Cows are definitley a problem for our green house emissions.  In America we have enormous amounts of cows too.  If we want to be proactive we should start fixing this.  That doesn't mean all cows should die, or we should change our ways entirely.  We should probably eat less beef in the long run which would reduce our emissions by a little.  But, according to Alexander Hristov, a new feed for the cows could reduce their methane levels by 40 percent, which would be a significant step in reductions on the national scale.  We need to find other energy sources, but right now, under this category of green house emissions, it seems to be a good idea.  Scientists understand this problem, and they can already take steps to solve it.  The food also can increase milk production, which would allow us to use even less cows.  It's a win, win, win.  We reduce green house gases, reduce our bulk of cows, and it will end up being beneficial for our agricultural economy because we won't need to sustain more cows.

Florida Pastor claims he will not burn the Koran

The Pastor from Florida was giving everybody a scare, not just in America, but to our troops.  After much protest he says he will not be burning the Koran.  That's the best news he could have given, however, he still wants to do something to make a statement.

"Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who set the world on edge with plans to burn copies of the Koran on Sept. 11, said Thursday that he had canceled his demonstration."

Many had protested against Terry Jones.  He was not convinced by anyone however.  He said he would not burn the Koran if the mosque at Ground Zero was not built.  This seems to be his big idea now, and although he won't burn the Koran now, he still has no reason to not, because the mosque idea has not been accepted yet.  Mr. Jones is now making another problem by wanting the mosque to move because he's still making America look intolerant.  Maybe Muslims will be upset at the mosque situation too.  Granted that burning a Koran is much worse but we are still conveying the message he wants if we go along with this.  Hopefully we can suppress his radicalism, and not do a trade with this tiny voice in all of America.  Unfortunatley this doesn't look like it will pass over, there's still a way to go before we will show the world that we are open, or stupid and intolerant.

More oil rig issues in the Gulf

After the spill in the gulf recently the last thing anyone wants to hear is that there is more. Oil rigs are obviously pumping oil, for later use, which will lead to the world getting more hot. This time it is just a malfunction, however, with trends of disasters happening, the best thing to do now is to simply stop.

"The Coast Guard initially reported an oil sheen a mile long and 100 feet wide had begun to spread from the site of the fire, about 200 miles west of the site of BP's massive spill. But officials said at a Thursday afternoon news conference that boats at the platform have not seen any oil sheen."

Yes, there is probably nothing harming the wild life, but more important to us is we are still able to use the rig. There is an oppurtunity at hand, if oil is proving to be more of a problem for the U.S. and the world, now would be the best time to switch to "code green". We could drop the off shore drilling, which probably ends up being a bigger problem, than taking the time to build green energy. It's clear that we want to fix the economy, and not have to worry about these fossil fuels. There would be a time where we might have to give a little extra, but when we are all hurting from the economy already, it's the best time to do it.

U.N. advancements assessing climate change slowing

Not only does the U.S. need to be on board with dealing with the climate, but other big countries need to be too.  The U.N. is a crucial part in world connections, and it needs to set its goals straight.

"The United Nations needs to revise the way it manages its assessments of climate change, with the scientists involved more open to alternative views, more transparent about possible conflicts of interest and more careful to avoid making policy prescriptions, an independent review panel said Monday. "

Yet again climate change is one of the most prominent things in the world, and out of all the things, it's probably one of the most important to be on track with.  It's basic, more evidence is given about how dire the situation is, and how we need to assess the problem and fix it.  If the U.N. is not focusing on the issue, and is deviating from a course of action, the result could lead to the point of no return.  In all respect everyone with common sense knows that the world's in trouble.  Any little problem in the scientific community that could make others believe that one insignificant piece of data isn't real, it is chastised beyond belief.  Climate change is urgent, and it should be dealt with now, but anytime people think there's something wrong with the current view on the climate, we take a step back and think we can wait.  In my opinion, and dramatization the scientific community brings up should be a boost in our morale, giving us one more edge to fixing the state we are in.

Hurricane Earl

Relating to the world becoming "hot", Hurricane Earl is a good example.
The hurricane could be a disaster as it picks up speed,

"Federal weather officials urged residents along the Atlantic coast to take caution and prepare to possibly evacuate their homes this weekend as a powerful Category 4 hurricane was expected to brush the North Carolina and New England seaboards."

The hurricane was a category 2, however, in little to no time, in terms of a hurricane, Hurricane Earl has become a category 4.  Hurricane formations occurr due to high and low temperatures, which is what global warming is producing.  It's alarming as the "hot" aspect of Friedman's book becomes more pressing.  In my relatively short life time there has always been this increase and decrease in temperature, but even I've noticed change over time.