Update from the Heartland
No.379
16.3.09 – 22.3.09
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
No.379
16.3.09 – 22.3.09
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
I hope everyone had a most enjoyable Spring Equinox . . . the seasons they are a changin’.
Our oldest grandchild, Aspen Shae, 12yo, has acquired a futball nickname. She is a maturing midfielder, who is deep into her sport. The team gave her the nickname “Smooth” – fits her perfectly. She is indeed that on the futball pitch – smooth – and a joy to watch.
The follow-up news items:
-- Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry of Pakistan was restored to the bench after being suspended by former President General Musharraf [309] – a surprising concession to opposition leader Nawaz Sharif. Pakistan has a long way to go.
-- On the third day of his criminal trial, Austrian family dictator Josef Fritzl [334] changed his plea to guilty on charges of negligent homicide, enslavement, rape, incest, forced imprisonment and coercion – all within his family. As is so often the case, the government has no plans to investigate mistakes by the police, social services, or the public, who undoubtedly saw years of signs and chose to ignore them. Fritzl has become yet one more example of what can happen when society does not care to confront those who show disrespect for others. Perhaps one day we will learn.
-- Of course, sex is always a good topic. This week we have:
“Let’s Talk About Sex”
Anna Quindlen
Newsweek
Published: 7.March.2009; from the magazine issue dated: Mar 16, 2009
http://www.newsweek.com/id/188136
Abstinence-only [190, 308, et al] is not sex education. Parents should be teaching their children about sex. School can and should teach the biology and physiology of sex; but, parents must teach children the deeper dimensions like relationships, risks, rewards, pleasure, decision-making, et cetera. It is between parents & children that abstinence-only should be taught. Abstinence-only attempts to deny nature. We must lose the fear the moral projectionists have created in the law and induced in our society.
-- An interesting political debate is underway in Europe – is surgical castration for violent sex offenders [171, et al] humane? The Czech Republic has allowed it. The European Union objects. I am with the Czechs. Once a man has reached that degree of inhumanity and disrespect, I am way passed any hope of redemption or rehabilitation.
-- Senator Charles Ernest “Chuck” Grassley of Iowa suggested that executives at AIG [353] Financial Products Division, who took undeserved bonuses for their financial failure, should apologize and commit seppuku for the dishonor they have brought upon themselves. Spot on, Chuck.
A close, long-term friend sent me a series of images and asked me if I had heard anything about this monument?
I hope everyone had a most enjoyable Spring Equinox . . . the seasons they are a changin’.
Our oldest grandchild, Aspen Shae, 12yo, has acquired a futball nickname. She is a maturing midfielder, who is deep into her sport. The team gave her the nickname “Smooth” – fits her perfectly. She is indeed that on the futball pitch – smooth – and a joy to watch.
The follow-up news items:
-- Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry of Pakistan was restored to the bench after being suspended by former President General Musharraf [309] – a surprising concession to opposition leader Nawaz Sharif. Pakistan has a long way to go.
-- On the third day of his criminal trial, Austrian family dictator Josef Fritzl [334] changed his plea to guilty on charges of negligent homicide, enslavement, rape, incest, forced imprisonment and coercion – all within his family. As is so often the case, the government has no plans to investigate mistakes by the police, social services, or the public, who undoubtedly saw years of signs and chose to ignore them. Fritzl has become yet one more example of what can happen when society does not care to confront those who show disrespect for others. Perhaps one day we will learn.
-- Of course, sex is always a good topic. This week we have:
“Let’s Talk About Sex”
Anna Quindlen
Newsweek
Published: 7.March.2009; from the magazine issue dated: Mar 16, 2009
http://www.newsweek.com/id/188136
Abstinence-only [190, 308, et al] is not sex education. Parents should be teaching their children about sex. School can and should teach the biology and physiology of sex; but, parents must teach children the deeper dimensions like relationships, risks, rewards, pleasure, decision-making, et cetera. It is between parents & children that abstinence-only should be taught. Abstinence-only attempts to deny nature. We must lose the fear the moral projectionists have created in the law and induced in our society.
-- An interesting political debate is underway in Europe – is surgical castration for violent sex offenders [171, et al] humane? The Czech Republic has allowed it. The European Union objects. I am with the Czechs. Once a man has reached that degree of inhumanity and disrespect, I am way passed any hope of redemption or rehabilitation.
-- Senator Charles Ernest “Chuck” Grassley of Iowa suggested that executives at AIG [353] Financial Products Division, who took undeserved bonuses for their financial failure, should apologize and commit seppuku for the dishonor they have brought upon themselves. Spot on, Chuck.
A close, long-term friend sent me a series of images and asked me if I had heard anything about this monument?
Tear of Grief[Mon image001.jpg]
The short answer was no . . . I had not heard anything about the monument. Being curious, I learned more. Russian, Moscow-based, sculptor Zurab Tsereteli created the tribute to the victims of 9/11, to symbolize solidarity with Americans in “the Struggle against World Terrorism.” The striking monument was erected in 2005 and stands across the Hudson River in Bayonne, New Jersey. Until the query, I had heard nothing about this incredible gesture of unity. Perhaps the Press did acknowledge the memorial, but if they did, I must have been asleep. Sad that it has not been more widely recognized. The next time I am in the area, I shall visit the site and pay my respects. Спасибо (spasibo) . . . to my Russian friends.
News from the economic front:
-- The AIG executive bonuses [378] sparked quite a firestorm. President Obama instructed Treasury Secretary Geithner to “pursue every legal avenue” to block or recover the US$165M in AIG executive bonuses. The President said, “This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed” – rather under-stated I do believe. He also said, “Under these circumstances, it’s hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165 million in extra pay. How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?” I would like to hear the answer to the President’s question. The House of Representatives passed an extraordinary bonus tax bill seeking 90% of bonuses over US$250K paid by companies who received Federal bailout funds. [I have not located the legislation, as yet, so I do not know the details.] Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal indicated his office reviewed AIG documents that the company paid out US$218M in bonuses, more than the US$165M previously disclosed. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo obtained a list of AIG employees who received bonuses, and is working with AIG management to determine who has returned theirs. Of the bonus funds paid by AIG, 73 employees received more than US$1M each; but, what is worse, US$57M was paid out to 11 departed employees, and thus, had absolutely nothing to do with retention.
[NOTE: AIG put itself in the position of insuring mortgage-based, high-risk, financial instruments and got caught in the domino collapse last summer. AIG’s contribution to this crisis comes in the impression of stability they provided, when they insured such high-risk instruments. AIG is not the root cause, but they are most certainly an influential contributor to this fiasco.]
-- Last week, the United States canceled a pilot program that allowed some Mexican trucks to transport goods within the U.S. This week we hear that Mexico plans to boost tariffs on about 90 U.S. products in retaliation. Mexico claims the U.S. decision violates a NAFTA provision that was supposed to have opened cross-border trucking years ago. The White House indicated it wants to work with Congress to restore the program.
-- Billions of dollars of the People’s Treasury funds offered up to bail out AIG will go to hedge funds that bet on a falling housing market. The documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal reportedly show how Wall Street banks were middlemen in trades with hedge funds and AIG that left the giant insurer holding the bag on billions of dollars of assets tied to souring mortgages.
-- The People’s Republic of China holds a huge amount of American debt. In an odd sign of the times, the PRC’s Commerce Ministry has rejected on anti-monopoly grounds Coca-Cola’s US$2.5B bid to buy Huiyuan Juice Group, a major producer – a deal which would have marked the biggest foreign acquisition of a Chinese company to date and Coca-Cola's largest foreign acquisition.
-- Embattled, government-appointed, AIG CEO Edward M. Liddy testified before a House committee and attempted to defend the company’s contractual bonus payments. He also indicated he will ask executives to give half the money back.
-- Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced its intention to buy up to US$300B in longer-term Treasurys and raise the size of lending programs by another US$750B, aimed at reducing mortgage rates, a forceful reminder that officials still have powerful tools to combat the recession. The Fed initiative should mean lower rates for a variety of business and consumer loans. The Federal Open Market Committee voted 10-0 to hold the target federal funds rate for interbank lending in a range between 0.00-0.25%, and to continue using credit programs financed by an expansion of the Fed's balance sheet to stabilize markets.
-- Another ray of sunshine from the distant, brightening sky, Oracle posted a profit for their fiscal 3rd Quarter that was stronger than expected and unveiled its first-ever dividend. Profit eased 0.8% as the stronger dollar continued to drag on growth, but the business-software company decided to start paying a US$0.05 per share quarterly dividend in light of its strong cash flow and operating margins.
-- Citigroup Chief Financial Officer Gary L. Crittenden will become chairman of a new entity, CitiHoldings, created to pool non-core assets. Citigroup global banking chief Edward “Ned” Kelly succeeds Crittenden as CFO. Rumor has it that Citigroup is preparing to shed troubled assets, while focusing on its core investment bank, credit-card division and regional banking operations.
-- Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke told a conference of community bankers that regulators may need to modify capital and accounting rules to make sure they don't magnify ups and downs in the financial markets – a bit of an under-statement, it seems to me. Bernanke added that the Fed’s actions throughout the crisis, including the recent announcement of Treasury securities purchases, have helped “all segments of the financial system” and the economy more broadly. Time and history shall tell the tale of whether Ben is correct or just blowing smoke.
-- Federal regulators seized control of U.S. Central Corporate Federal Credit Union, in Lenexa, Kansas, and Western Corporate Federal Credit Union in San Dimas, California – the two largest wholesale credit unions in the United States. The two institutions have a total US$57B in assets that have diminished in value to the point that the financial institutions were seriously under-capitalized.
L’Affaire Madoff [365]:
-- David G. Friehling, longtime accountant for convicted felon Bernie Madoff, was charged Wednesday as prosecutors expand their probe into the massive fraud. He faces up to 105 years in prison, if convicted of the fraud charges.
-- A federal appeals court ruled that felon Madoff must remain in prison until his sentencing in June.
From a different forum, by a contributor to this forum, we have this topic:
“While most of us are against child molesters, it sure seems something surreal has occurred in our society regarding sex offenders who media now calls ‘predators.’ Whenever there is a case like this, you should read the blogs by citizens who want the government to do everything/anything to protect us. GPS monitoring by ankle bracelet, and much more.
“There was a report on-air a few weeks ago about how these ‘registered sex offenders’ can not find any work, often cannot find even living arrangements, as there are so many locations that violate their parole or terms of being a ‘registered sex offender.’ Plus many landlords would never rent to them once all the credit and background checks are done.
“And there are several cases just in San Diego where sex offenders have been nearly witch-hunted and forced by neighbor activism, completely out of the neighborhood. Then they are followed and when they try to go to a new residence, the same thing happens because some of the old neighbors contact the new ones.
“Our news media has provided much of this surreal environment along with norms like Amber Alerts displaying license plates of someone’s unknown vehicle a ‘suspect’ may have been driving who kidnapped an ‘unknown child.’
“We have a local talk host who has made his success, partly, from doing regular show on ‘sex predators’ and where they live, and how we need to do more to find them.
“Have you ever seen that Nancy Grace on CNN, who has her own show. She is too scary for me to look at more than a couple minutes. She appears to have been reproduced by plastic surgeons for ‘beauty augmentation’ but she is really something. Almost every show is on an abducted or missing child. She will do hour long specials on some kid named Kaline, who is missing, from Florida. Kaline, if you are reading this e-mail, your mommy wants you to come home!
“And now we have this rash of teachers getting arrested/convicted for unsightly relations with their students. Many female teachers, too.
“I have not been able to place it, but something is going on much differently than what is perceived by the general public in this regard.
“Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the violent attackers of children are in any way the victims, they are terrible people. The question is what other offenders of laws get caught up in the same category? And if these "terrible" people are so dangerous that our government and media has built an entire system around netting them, and then keeping them so many yards from schools, toy stores, churches with children, parks, playgrounds, etc., etc., then instead of treating them like rabid dogs that we isolate, why not just put them out of the misery and save taxpayers (and any future victims?). And then ask, who should be in that class, and who not. Does the guy that had to register as a sex offender because he was 21 and had sex with a 17 year old girlfriend, need to be demonized for life? Should we just buy an isolated island and put all sex offenders on it, call it Devil's Island? They can sort their issues out there.”
The newspaper article that sparked the opinion:
“East County sex offender, 81, returned to state hospital”
by Dana Littlefield
(San Diego) Union-Tribune
Published: 6:14 p.m. March 11, 2009
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/mar/11/bn11norman-sex-pred/?zInd
My contribution to this topic:
Why are we so hung up about sex that we brand offenders for life and persecute them relentlessly?
Why can’t we forgive offenders who have paid their penance to society?
Why do we punish a guy for groping a woman’s breast or derrière far more severely than someone who grabs a woman’s shoulder or purse?
Why have we attached far more significance to mammary glands and genitalia than we have other body parts?
Why are violent, repeat offenders branded with the same label as children who get caught in their natural curiosity?
Just some thoughts in the form of questions.
No comments from Update no.378.
My very best wishes to all. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
News from the economic front:
-- The AIG executive bonuses [378] sparked quite a firestorm. President Obama instructed Treasury Secretary Geithner to “pursue every legal avenue” to block or recover the US$165M in AIG executive bonuses. The President said, “This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed” – rather under-stated I do believe. He also said, “Under these circumstances, it’s hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165 million in extra pay. How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?” I would like to hear the answer to the President’s question. The House of Representatives passed an extraordinary bonus tax bill seeking 90% of bonuses over US$250K paid by companies who received Federal bailout funds. [I have not located the legislation, as yet, so I do not know the details.] Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal indicated his office reviewed AIG documents that the company paid out US$218M in bonuses, more than the US$165M previously disclosed. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo obtained a list of AIG employees who received bonuses, and is working with AIG management to determine who has returned theirs. Of the bonus funds paid by AIG, 73 employees received more than US$1M each; but, what is worse, US$57M was paid out to 11 departed employees, and thus, had absolutely nothing to do with retention.
[NOTE: AIG put itself in the position of insuring mortgage-based, high-risk, financial instruments and got caught in the domino collapse last summer. AIG’s contribution to this crisis comes in the impression of stability they provided, when they insured such high-risk instruments. AIG is not the root cause, but they are most certainly an influential contributor to this fiasco.]
-- Last week, the United States canceled a pilot program that allowed some Mexican trucks to transport goods within the U.S. This week we hear that Mexico plans to boost tariffs on about 90 U.S. products in retaliation. Mexico claims the U.S. decision violates a NAFTA provision that was supposed to have opened cross-border trucking years ago. The White House indicated it wants to work with Congress to restore the program.
-- Billions of dollars of the People’s Treasury funds offered up to bail out AIG will go to hedge funds that bet on a falling housing market. The documents obtained by the Wall Street Journal reportedly show how Wall Street banks were middlemen in trades with hedge funds and AIG that left the giant insurer holding the bag on billions of dollars of assets tied to souring mortgages.
-- The People’s Republic of China holds a huge amount of American debt. In an odd sign of the times, the PRC’s Commerce Ministry has rejected on anti-monopoly grounds Coca-Cola’s US$2.5B bid to buy Huiyuan Juice Group, a major producer – a deal which would have marked the biggest foreign acquisition of a Chinese company to date and Coca-Cola's largest foreign acquisition.
-- Embattled, government-appointed, AIG CEO Edward M. Liddy testified before a House committee and attempted to defend the company’s contractual bonus payments. He also indicated he will ask executives to give half the money back.
-- Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced its intention to buy up to US$300B in longer-term Treasurys and raise the size of lending programs by another US$750B, aimed at reducing mortgage rates, a forceful reminder that officials still have powerful tools to combat the recession. The Fed initiative should mean lower rates for a variety of business and consumer loans. The Federal Open Market Committee voted 10-0 to hold the target federal funds rate for interbank lending in a range between 0.00-0.25%, and to continue using credit programs financed by an expansion of the Fed's balance sheet to stabilize markets.
-- Another ray of sunshine from the distant, brightening sky, Oracle posted a profit for their fiscal 3rd Quarter that was stronger than expected and unveiled its first-ever dividend. Profit eased 0.8% as the stronger dollar continued to drag on growth, but the business-software company decided to start paying a US$0.05 per share quarterly dividend in light of its strong cash flow and operating margins.
-- Citigroup Chief Financial Officer Gary L. Crittenden will become chairman of a new entity, CitiHoldings, created to pool non-core assets. Citigroup global banking chief Edward “Ned” Kelly succeeds Crittenden as CFO. Rumor has it that Citigroup is preparing to shed troubled assets, while focusing on its core investment bank, credit-card division and regional banking operations.
-- Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke told a conference of community bankers that regulators may need to modify capital and accounting rules to make sure they don't magnify ups and downs in the financial markets – a bit of an under-statement, it seems to me. Bernanke added that the Fed’s actions throughout the crisis, including the recent announcement of Treasury securities purchases, have helped “all segments of the financial system” and the economy more broadly. Time and history shall tell the tale of whether Ben is correct or just blowing smoke.
-- Federal regulators seized control of U.S. Central Corporate Federal Credit Union, in Lenexa, Kansas, and Western Corporate Federal Credit Union in San Dimas, California – the two largest wholesale credit unions in the United States. The two institutions have a total US$57B in assets that have diminished in value to the point that the financial institutions were seriously under-capitalized.
L’Affaire Madoff [365]:
-- David G. Friehling, longtime accountant for convicted felon Bernie Madoff, was charged Wednesday as prosecutors expand their probe into the massive fraud. He faces up to 105 years in prison, if convicted of the fraud charges.
-- A federal appeals court ruled that felon Madoff must remain in prison until his sentencing in June.
From a different forum, by a contributor to this forum, we have this topic:
“While most of us are against child molesters, it sure seems something surreal has occurred in our society regarding sex offenders who media now calls ‘predators.’ Whenever there is a case like this, you should read the blogs by citizens who want the government to do everything/anything to protect us. GPS monitoring by ankle bracelet, and much more.
“There was a report on-air a few weeks ago about how these ‘registered sex offenders’ can not find any work, often cannot find even living arrangements, as there are so many locations that violate their parole or terms of being a ‘registered sex offender.’ Plus many landlords would never rent to them once all the credit and background checks are done.
“And there are several cases just in San Diego where sex offenders have been nearly witch-hunted and forced by neighbor activism, completely out of the neighborhood. Then they are followed and when they try to go to a new residence, the same thing happens because some of the old neighbors contact the new ones.
“Our news media has provided much of this surreal environment along with norms like Amber Alerts displaying license plates of someone’s unknown vehicle a ‘suspect’ may have been driving who kidnapped an ‘unknown child.’
“We have a local talk host who has made his success, partly, from doing regular show on ‘sex predators’ and where they live, and how we need to do more to find them.
“Have you ever seen that Nancy Grace on CNN, who has her own show. She is too scary for me to look at more than a couple minutes. She appears to have been reproduced by plastic surgeons for ‘beauty augmentation’ but she is really something. Almost every show is on an abducted or missing child. She will do hour long specials on some kid named Kaline, who is missing, from Florida. Kaline, if you are reading this e-mail, your mommy wants you to come home!
“And now we have this rash of teachers getting arrested/convicted for unsightly relations with their students. Many female teachers, too.
“I have not been able to place it, but something is going on much differently than what is perceived by the general public in this regard.
“Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the violent attackers of children are in any way the victims, they are terrible people. The question is what other offenders of laws get caught up in the same category? And if these "terrible" people are so dangerous that our government and media has built an entire system around netting them, and then keeping them so many yards from schools, toy stores, churches with children, parks, playgrounds, etc., etc., then instead of treating them like rabid dogs that we isolate, why not just put them out of the misery and save taxpayers (and any future victims?). And then ask, who should be in that class, and who not. Does the guy that had to register as a sex offender because he was 21 and had sex with a 17 year old girlfriend, need to be demonized for life? Should we just buy an isolated island and put all sex offenders on it, call it Devil's Island? They can sort their issues out there.”
The newspaper article that sparked the opinion:
“East County sex offender, 81, returned to state hospital”
by Dana Littlefield
(San Diego) Union-Tribune
Published: 6:14 p.m. March 11, 2009
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/mar/11/bn11norman-sex-pred/?zInd
My contribution to this topic:
Why are we so hung up about sex that we brand offenders for life and persecute them relentlessly?
Why can’t we forgive offenders who have paid their penance to society?
Why do we punish a guy for groping a woman’s breast or derrière far more severely than someone who grabs a woman’s shoulder or purse?
Why have we attached far more significance to mammary glands and genitalia than we have other body parts?
Why are violent, repeat offenders branded with the same label as children who get caught in their natural curiosity?
Just some thoughts in the form of questions.
No comments from Update no.378.
My very best wishes to all. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment