The Auto Industry

Obama today promised to help the auto industry but said they must restructure. Unfortunately, the administrations is being hypocritical and unfair to the workers with their plans. I commend the government for calling out GM and Chrysler on their stupid decisions and recklessness during the last couple of decades. The problem is, what about AIG? What makes AIG any more important then GM or Chrysler. Why are they held to business morals while AIG gets bailout money without any questions asked? This is where the problem comes in, if you are going to get tough with the auto industry (which directly and indirectly employs about 3 million people) then why didn't they get tough with AIG or any other financial company that received financial bailout? I know AIG is completely entangled in the global market, but if they cannot prove that they can be viable and cannot restructure their company (the same demands that are being given to GM and Chrysler) then the government should let them enter bankruptcy they same way they might allow GM and Chrysler to do that.

The other problem is the specific restructuring the government is demanding. The main component of their demands is renegotiating their deals with the labor unions. In simple terms, they want the employees of the car companies, who are struggling to pay their simple bills and keep their house to pay for the debt their bosses created while those bosses have the right to keep their multiple helicopters without being forced to downsize.

Its not fair. Obama says that he is "fighting" for the workers, but I don't see it, it looks like another case of favors to campaign contributors.

Kooky Rabbis

"Reporting from Jerusalem - The winter assault on the Gaza Strip was officially portrayed in Israel as an attempt to quell rocket fire by militants of Hamas. But some soldiers say they also were lectured about a more ambitious aim: to banish non-Jews from the biblical land of Israel."

And this is why some religious American citizens and politicians support Israel.

The Truth..

Reading this article on AlJazeera, you see:

"The demonstrators said pressure should be put on Hamas to release Shalit by worsening the conditions of the almost 11,000 Palestinians being held in Israeli jails."

and then you see:

""Many of the prisons and detention centres they're held in have been deemed by Israeli courts as not fit for human use," Odeh reported.

"The latest actions ... admittedly to exact pressure on the Hamas movement in order to secure the release of Gilad Shalit, have been declared by human rights activists and prisoner rights activists as collective punishment, [which is] illegal under international law.""

So I have to ask what came first? Crappy conditions for innocent Palestinians in jail, or the kidnapping of a terrorist soldier in Gaza?

Why I hate Israel

Read this and tell me why I shouldn't hate Israel and its racist society.

taxing bonuses

I fully support the idea of taxing the hell out of these ridiculous bonuses (90% tax rate). That's really all there is to say about it. The next step should be much tighter regulations on the companies who receive federal bailout money.

Ali Abunami

So on Tuesday I heard Ali Abunami, the creator of Electronic Intifada, speak here at Pitt. He was very well spoken and brought up many great points. The more interesting part was the question and answer part afterwords. Some pro Israeli people got up and started to challenge him. One by one he crushed them with facts and perfection. In the coming days I may post some of what he said on here.

Long overdue but...

I have to talk about the AIG bonus scandal. Personally, I am just as outraged as most people are by the greed of the executives at AIG. But I am also disturbed by the idiocy of the government for allowing this in the writing of the stimulus package. I am also shocked by the suggestion of some that they have to do this to keep the "best and brightest talent." Really? They're so bright that they got AIG into the mess that their in. With all the buisness majors in college at the moment I'm sure AIG can find some "bright" talent to rectify their company, its not like the guys they have now are goods of investments...

Unfortunatly AIG is not the only retarted company here, many of the companies who have recieved federal funds have given huge bonuses to their executives while people suffer at home because of their stupidity. This bailout money needs to have much tighter regulations. In fact, the whole problem with the economy was started by silly deregulation which allowed for reckless investemnts and stupid/unsafe buisness decisions. Lets fix this core problem...

More War Crimes...

"Reports have surfaced in the Israeli media suggesting that Israeli forces killed Palestinian civilians under what may have been lax rules of engagement during the Gaza offensive."

Killing civilians is a war crime last time I checked, I wasn't very surprised by this. Israel has been doing this in every war since its creation.

The end of of a career

"Dodd just admitted on CNN that he inserted a loophole in the stimulus legislation that allowed million-dollar bonuses to insurance giant AIG to go forward – after previously denying any involvement in writing the controversial provision."

Congratulations to Chris Dodd, your unwavering support for big corporations has officially destroyed your chances for reelection!

Why?

Why is the pope sticking his nose into stuff he knows nothing about?

Slumdogs...not only in India

So I just got back from watching Slumdog Millionaire in theaters, and I must say, it was GREAT! It was very well done (without insane computer graphics to make unrealistic things appear) and it had layers upon layers of symbolism. It was one of the few movies that made me want to get out of my seat and screem things such as "ANSWER THAT DAMN PHONE!" . Of course, we could all point out the obvious things in the movie such as the love story, or the idea of personal triumph, but I think there were a couple of more interesting points.

First, the character of Salim (Jamal's brother) and why he's not a bad guy. Unlike most people, I was not all that appalled when I saw the conditions of Mumbi, it actually reminded me of what some places in Lebanon looked like, especially Palestinian refugee camps. A person has to go through a lot in his/her life in order to be able to consciencly pull the trigger on someone and not think twice about it. Very few of us in American suburbs can do that (other then the mentally derranged). Salim represents the average "slumdog", has no future, has no skills because he couldn't go to school, and wants something more out of life. The thing is, not everyone gets a chance to go on "Who wants to be a millionaire" and not everyone can get the college scholarship or play sports. What do the rest in the slums do? (Obviously now I'm not just talking about India...) If Gangs/selling drugs leads to a way out...then why not? Its not like the "good life" of sleeping on the street and/or working dead end jobs is any better. Some of us who are lucky enough not to have to go through this can't quite understand it, but when examining it further, it makes perfect sense. So while Salim may look brutal and bad at times, there is a rather good explanation for it. And how many of us can say that we would have given our lives for someone else? I bet not many...

The other interesting dynamic was the fact that Jamal had no idea what the last answer was, but tried anyways. He answered because he wasn't fighting for himself, he was fighting for all the people in Indian slums who were inspired by him in the same way that Barack Obama has inspired minorities all over this country whether you agree with his politics or not. Jamal went on a near suicidal mission when he answered that question, he could have went home with nothing and would have been back on those streets. But that didn't matter to him, he was fighting for something bigger. His life was filled with so much pain and trouble, this is why he could take electric shock and torture with no problem. This is rather reminicent of another group of people whos lives are filled with pain and stagnation and go on suicide missions to fight for the cause of their people because their lives as is don't matter...ring a bell? (I'm talking about Palestine in case you guys didn't get that!)

This movie was great because it was about more then just winning a competition. It was about life as a slumdog not only in India, but in the US and across the world and about those who need the inspiration the most. It deserved every oscar it won plus more!

Republican hypocracy at its finest...

I usually am ok with yahoo news, but this article about the $410 billion budget to keep the government running leaves out something important. It talks about how republicans were angry about the size of the bill and specifically quoted Senate republican leader Mitch McConnell critisizing the fact that congress has approved $1.2 trillion in 50 days. But read this snipit from this ABC News article:

"But Republicans' arguments against the earmarks in the bill were undercut by the fact that more than 40 percent of the earmarks were associated with GOP lawmakers, including Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., associated with more than $75 million in earmarks in the spending bill, including a nearly $1 million bike path.

The number one Senate earmarker, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, is Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., associated with more than $473 million in earmarks."

Now, I am not opposed to federal money for projects that make sense but $1 million for a bike path? These idiot republicans need to stop being hypocrates, and Yahoo really missed this important point in their article.

Finally Understand....

Although I consider myself to be rather knowledgeable when it comes to politics, there is one thing I never understood. Which is why is the US so intent on supporting Israel. I mean, the argument that they keep the "balance of power" in the middle east is valid until you consider that the US has military bases all over the area. Other theories included the (kooky) religious right's belief that if Israel captures the middle east, then the second coming will happen (as I said, kooky, maybe retarded is the better word!), and the powerful Israeli lobbies, such as APIC. Now I see the biggest reason, APIC.

Look at this article, it talks about Charles Freeman, who was supposed to become the next chairman of the intelligence council, but withdrew his name because APIC defamed him. Reading on, you realize all he did was say: "the brutal oppression of the Palestinians by Israeli occupation shows no sign of ending." Would even the Israelis deny that this is true?

It has become apparent that anyone who tries to say one little thing critical of Israel will be banished from politics in this country one way or another. It shows how powerful this lobby is when they can force someone to withdraw his name from a rather important position just because of one comment he made.

This has been seen before with not just the Israeli lobby, but also with the healthcare, oil and automobile lobbies as well. This happens routinly with any lobby representing big buisnesses. And ofcourse only their lobbies will be heard, not the ones of the average person because big buisness lobies have this thing we call...money!

So the final thought I leave you with is, who is really running this country, the president? Or powerful lobbies like this? Who's ya daddy?

The sad truth...

So Israel launches attacks against tunnels vital for survival in Gaza...but they keep the border crossings and sea ports closed...so, how do they expect Gazans to live? The truth is, they don't. They would rather watch Gaza's 1.5 million people starve and get sick, this is a de facto massacre. How dare they or Hillary Clinton talk about "Israel's right to defend itself", how many of their kids are dying in hospitals or going hungry tonight because of a foreign blockade?

Also, just for the record, this 5 billion in Gaza aid, will NEVER reach the people who acutally need it. Most of the aid is going to....Mohamad Dahlan and Mahmoud Abbas. They are the most corrupt people in Palestine, not to mention they never go to Gaza. How are they going to get aid over to Gaza, and a condition is Israel has to "approve" of any new construction or spending of this money. A.K.A. Israel will let them spend it on...security for the power that be in the Palestinian Authority A.K.A., Israel's only allies in Palestine. This money will never reach the people who needed, I hope for their sake they still have the will to fight and get justice.

Happens...I guess...

Ok, when Toyota is in need of aid and posting its biggest loss in six decades, that's when you know the world economy is bad...really bad.

A response to Clinton...

"Clinton, who was due to meet Netanyahu later on Tuesday, defended Israel's right to respond to rocket and mortar attacks. "The continuing rocket attacks against Israel must cease," she said. "There is no doubt that any nation, including Israel, cannot stand idly by while its territory and people are subjected to rocket attacks.""

Dear Ms. Clinton:
Go screw yourself!
Love,
The Arab Population!

More Israeli Lies

"Hamas, the militant Palestinian organization, attempted to conduct secret talks with the Israeli leadership in the protracted run-up to the recent war in Gaza - with messages being passed from the group at one stage through a member of prime minister Ehud Olmert's family."

This is prof that Israel simply wanted to go on their massacre regardless of anything. Why else would the refuse to negotiate, and then accuse Hamas of doing just that.

When Science works...

"Scientists have found a way to make an almost limitless supply of stem cells that could safely be used in patients while avoiding the ethical dilemma of destroying embryos. In a breakthrough that could have huge implications, British and Canadian scientists have found a way of reprogramming skin cells taken from adults, effectively winding the clock back on the cells until they were in an embryonic form."

This is truly amazing. Hopefully we can cure some diseases now without the protest of kooky religious groups!