Dubai's Request For Debt 'Standstill' Shakes World Markets

Banks do not care about the gamble, it is the gamble itself that is attractive. Dubai has loads of oil, so loan them money. But lets not think about the consequences of lower prices oil prices, or borrowing more than can be drilled and paid back during the loan period or that it is for luxury construction rather than infrastructure to help the people have better lives and sustainable futures. Who owns the debt besides Abu Dhabi? How deeply involved are American banks ans the US government­.? Will we be told that WE have to put up more money to stop a run on American banks or government bonds because of this? Why do rich people think they know more about how to use money than regular people?
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Global Warming's Impacts Have Sped Up, Worsened Since Kyoto

The Miami Herald has an article that states the world waits for the US plan. How about the world awaits the plan from the other largest contributor to carbon emissions; China and India? How about we start forcing Big Oil to pay the royalties that they owe us for drill our oil. Paying for leases does not constitute full payment. How about we charge Big Oil for gouging consumers and creating huge windfall profits. How about we start charging Big Coal for the clean-up of acid filed rivers and lakes and not allowing them to pass that cost on since they have been getting a free ride forever. How about we take that money and start building wind generators off the coasts to generate our electricity; building Solar power plants like they are in Spain that produce electricity 24 hours a day. How about we tax cars that do not have at least a hybrid power plant. How about we NOT tax people that by all electric cars. It is time that WE take action. All of these solutions work, and can change the planet if they are adopted by not just the US, but also the EU, China, India, Russia and the rest of the industrialized world.
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US Facing Waves Of Debt Payments

This disaster in the making has been going on for decades. This is one of the reasons why the line item veto must be passed. If an amendment, ear mark, or whatever you want to call it is so important then when the President vetoes it, Congress always has the option to over ride that veto. It is also a bi-partisan problem. Both parties have stolen dedicated monies and used them in the general budget. Highway funds and Social Security funds are just two examples of dedicated funds. Yet those funds are filled with government IOUs. It is not a question of which party is more fiscally conservative, it is a question of which party is more honest in how they deal with the budget.



We know that During Clinton, we started to make the progress on the national debt. We also know they under Bush, before 9/11, he cut taxes rather than continue to reduce the budget deficit. Of course once the wars started, Bush decided to not put funding for those on budget. He kept them off budget, an now American can see what it has cost us since Obama put that money back into the budget.



How we fix this budget problem is going to be decided on how serious we are in getting back to becoming a nation that makes things. A financial economy and a service economy will never get us out of debt. We have to make things that we can sell, even if it is only in the US. It is time to institute FAIR TRADE. Make tariffs for tariffs, tax companies that outsource jobs or move manufacturing off shore, and end the casino that Wall St. has become.



Without tax payers you will have a deficit. Without a realistic trade policy you will become a debter nation. Exporting natural resources and importing finished products makes you a third world nation. Making goods creates wealth, gambling on Wall ST creates capital only for the wealthy. That is truely trickle down economics.This disaster in the making has been going on for decades.
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Carl Levin: New War Tax For Rich May Be Needed To Fund Afghan War

Forget taxing anyone to pay for this war. If Congress and the President think that we need to continue this conflict, if it is necessary to the security of the nation, then it must be important enough to start the draft. We have sent our troops back for too many tours in these two wars. It is time for the rest of us to pick up the slack, or it just isn't worth it.



Start the draft, end ALL deferments, with the exception that you finish the college semester you are in. If it important enough to send one soldier back for another tour, it is important enough to start the draft. My kids have been there enough! Send some of the rest of the Americans over, OR GET OUT!
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Dollar Falls On News Of Widening Trade Deficit

This is a problem that is exacerbated by a lack of industrial base, the Chinese Yuan not being floated, uncontrollable oil imports and unfair trade practices. The fact the Chinese goods imported into the United States are only charged a 2% importation duty, while US exports to China are charged a 20% importation duty shows the inequity of GAAT. Dollars pouring out of the US to pay for oil, when we could be generating our own energy by investing in clean renewable energy, creating US jobs that will spend money on the US economy. Changing the tax laws to prevent jobs from being shipped overseas, will help bring an industrial base back to this country. So will charging a carbon tax on products that have to be imported. If it costs more to import, then companies would be more willing to creaet US jobs to make those products.
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'Spokesjerk' Revolution Fails To Materialize: FreeCreditReport.com Front Man Sticks To His Guns

$1 million in sanctions from the feds and they still don't stop. Try raising the amount to $1 billion. Try taking the corporate officers to court and charging them instead of the companies. They are ones that authorized the lies to be broadcast. Stop taking on the companies and go after the people that cause the problems, CEOs, corp presidents, board members. When you start chargeing the people that run these companies with the crimes and start putting them in jail and making them pay financial penalties, then we will see these kind of crimes again the people stop.
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Eliot Spitzer Talks Financial And Personal Crisis In BBC Interview (AUDIO)

Elliot Spitzer is a guy that the system destroyed. He was hard working AG, and kept corporations at bay. He warned about this collapse early on in the Bush administration. Hopefully he will keep in the news, become an analyst for HuffPo or MSNBC, and keep pointing out the inequities of the financial system. With some sunshine on it, maybe more people will pressure their reps to do something that will help people instead of business.



Its also amazing how there is a double standard between Dems and Repubs. At least we take some responsibility for our actions. Not Repubs, as Sanford still is governor, and I think his stealing state money to have sex in Argentina and lie about it is worse.
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CBS News: Obama Has Decided To Send Almost 40,000 Troops To Afghanistan

I have said this before; if this war is so important to national security then start the draft up. Not one more American soldier should have to do anymore tours. Start the draft, end all deferments including medical, everyone can serve in some capacity. If it is that important, then everyone should have to contribute. My kids have been several times, you slackers pick up the ball.



I think that this is an un-winable conflict. Bush messed this up and Obama nor anyone else will be able to fix it. But we have to stay, start the draft. Maybe that will get more Americans involved in what happens with our military.
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FORT HOOD SHOOTINGS: Breaking News Updates, Video

Regardless of the rationale that this man has for his actions, those on the right will find it necessary to blame Islam, as if his actions represent an entire group of people. They will of course never use that thinking when a black man is dragged to death by racists, or a gay person is beaten to death by homophobes, blame a women for being raped.



This man had problems, although as a psychiatrist he should have had his own therapist. It is not the fault of the military, or of Islam itself (maybe his mosque if the Imam was spouting hate like some evangelicals do). The fault is with the individual who did not know when to sekk help rather than venting his anger and frustration by a show of violence.
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Virginia Governor's Race 2009: McDonnell Beats Deeds

I can"t say what happened in VA. But NJ is just a corrupt as NY politics. People are tired and they will keep throwing out the perceived person responsible. Corzine never took control of the party or the state. This is his result. NY showed that conservative Repubs are not wanted.



Outside of that, Obama has not proven to be the leader the Dems really thought they were getting. Wall St reform is non-existent. health care may be so weakened because of Obama's lack of support that it may only benefit 3 million people.



It may be too late to change any of that and we could be looking at a Republican win in most of the country in 2010. Maybe if Tim Kane was Howard Dean we might have a chance.
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Can Citigroup Carry Its Own Weight?

So Citi has $873 billion in credit card debt. Their answer is to increase the interest rate. That will only cause more defaults on credit cards. Why not freeze credit limits, lower interest rates and encourage consumers to pay off their debt quickly.



More than that, the entire industry need to be reorganized. Glass-Steagal need to be reinstated. All banking and insurance needs to be separated. Impose reorganization on any entity that gains more than 40% market share. After 40% an organization gains on an economy of scale rather than by providing a better product. They can take losses in order to make market share gains.



Finally, start prosecuting the regulators that failed to do their job. That will prevent the situation we are in now. Just like fixing the immigration problem will be solved by prosecuting those companies that hire illegals. If the jobs don't exit, they will not come.
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