Roughly the TRUTH

A Recommendation…

Bringing to light international issues of the day (ex-Iraq) is often a struggle in todays profit driven news environment. Although, the need is greater now than ever before - with the advent of technologies that have effectively shrunk our planet, it becomes an ever more complicated place to live. That’s why I’m grateful to people like this…

FOREIGN EXCHANGE: Where America Meets the World is a show broadcast on PBS stations and hosted by Fareed Zakaria, the editor of Newsweek International.
I find it endlessly interesting and it consistently broadens my perspectives on a vast myltitude of subjects.

Watch all episodes free online or on your local PBS station.

Here’s the shows trailer:

Bye, bye Net Neutrality…

For proof, look no further than a situation in September in which hundreds of thousands of people who use the popular social-networking site Facebook rebelled against a new feature that some charged was Big Brother-esque, Majoras said. Within days, the site’s founder had quieted some of the fury by giving people the option of turning off the “minifeed,” which shows people whenever someone in their network makes a change to their relationship status, favorite music or other profile information.

An aweful analogy; comparing Facebook to an ISP.

It’s like comparing a car maker with a toll road operator.

Check out the FTC hearings webcast and form your own opinion, but remember, it was a “free market” which produced Hitler’s Nazi party.

Here are two excellent documentries I came across today…

Why We Fight - Anatomy of the American War Machine

A quote from the film:

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower (from his Presidential Exit Speech)

The Fog of War - 11 Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara

A Documentary about Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations, who subsequently became president of the World Bank.
- via Google’s description of the film

“The Fog of War” is my favorite of the two, but either one will get your blood boiling. I also think it’s important to keep perspective when watching these. While both are well done and quite convincing, you should ask yourself what the other side might say given a chance to defend itself.

The Lesson Learned
Capitalism and democracy are uniquely powerful tools. Today, these are under threat from rampant corruption in government, and according to these films, a pervasive problem which threatens the stability of our democratic institutions.

Does anyone have a suggestion on how to combat this? What principles of a sound democracy are we not living by?

(via: throwawayyourtv.com)

You can find a list of even more free documentaries here.

Framing this issue as “more federal regulation” is a clever tactic…

This week, Senator-R Jim DeMint gave his take on Network Neutrality – I was especially amused at the assertion he has made below:

Perspective: Why Net neutrality means more federal regulation
By Jim DeMint
Published: June 27, 2006
“It would be commercial suicide for any network provider to limit the ability of their customers to access any site or receive any service: Their customers would simply go elsewhere! Consumers have a growing number of choices of networks, and this competition will force networks to continuously upgrade their services. Federal regulation, on the other hand, would only reduce the quality and access of Internet services for all Americans.”

Telco’s & industry advocates have poured hoards of money into lobbying this issue. Translation: many well compensated senators & consultants working overtime on their behalf. Information - necessary for efficient free markets – is fortunately still available on congressional members; although with such freedoms being handed over to profit driven companies, this may not long be the case.

What Motivates a Senator
Monetary incentives tend to influence many of the views which individuals hold (economics 101). Contributions by the telco’s & other various industry advocates to Senator DeMint have clearly taken their toll on his ability to be objective – this is a toll to the tune of $132,849!

Various contributors to DeMint’s coffer…you be the judge:

Exerpt from: Wyche Burgess Freeman & Parham, P.A. website - Political Contributor ($23,300)

“We have played an important role in the creation and expansion of a number of major corporations located in Greenville, among them are a large diversified media organization”

Excerpt from: Babcock & Brown offers $2.36 billion for Irish telco Eircom – Political Contributor ($28,125)

“The bid for Eircom has been made four months after a failed takeover attempt for it by Swisscom AG, Switzerland’s largest telco.”

Excerpt from: Nelson Mullins Cyberwatch Newsletter – Political Contributor ($41,424)

Internet Bandwidth Neutrality
“A growing concern among large Internet-based companies is the dilemma being faced with large bandwidth charges. Those companies that provide the wires and fiber optics that connect the Internet believe that large “bandwidth hogs” should pay additional amounts to guarantee fast and efficient connections. To prevent such a move, companies such as Google and eBay are lobbying Congress to pass a law that would maintain “Net-neutrality”. In general, they are seeking a law that would prohibit telecommunications and cable companies from blocking or slowing down access to Web sites or for charging big bandwidth users a fee for priority access. The House of Representatives recently passed telecommunications legislation that did not include such neutrality provisions. However, the law did empower the Federal Communications Commission to investigate discrimination in online bandwidth access. Opponents of the Net-neutrality law argue that somebody must pay for the huge amount of bandwidth consumed by some large Internet sites. They state that if Internet service providers are not allowed to charge for greater-than-average bandwidth use, then the cost will end up being borne by the average consumer.”

Not to mention, the all-too-obvious:
AT&T – Political Contributor ($19,000)

Verizon Communications – Political Contributor ($21,000)

Nota Bena:
You can learn more about the other side of Net Neutrality by reading the founder of the internet’s thoughts and if you choose to do so, you can help protect Network Neutrality by going here: It’s Our Net.

All signs point to rising interest rates for the foreseeable future…

National Debt at all-time highs, a deep and growing current account deficit - the U.S. may find itself in an extremely sticky situation in a very short time. Just today we saw producer prices up more than expected. The Fed loathes inflation and the pressure is mounting on them to continue with their interest rate hikes.

The stock market has gone into a tailspin due to this realization and a global equity meltdown has cost investors $2 trillion of wealth.

As political instability, vulnerable emerging markets and a worldwide push toward socialism all grow, the economy seems to be in for a long and rough ride. At the same time, congress is pushing for further tax cuts and increased spending.

In a rising rate environment, cash is always king
Companies with ample supplies of reserves will fair far better than those without. Debt is becoming ever more expensive and those who have over-leveraged themselves will have to eventually pay the piper. These effects will also be seen in the housing market, and even more worrisome, in the U.S. government. As our national debt becomes more expensive to pay back to foreign lenders, the government will have no choice but to finally tighten those purse strings..

Bush to public: “You’re gonna have to fend for yourselves”
This was never actually said…well, at least in so many words - In fact, the same message was heard after FEMA’s botched response to hurricane Katrina. I suspect (regretfully) we’ll be hearing more of this in the not too distant future. Although this time, it will be reflected in the loss of many cherished public services that we have become so familiar with and now take for granted. It’s the middle and lower classes of America who will truly suffer for the failure of the current administration and congress to act with more frugality and to reign in spending.

Elected Officials Are the CEO & Board Members of a Giant Corporation, We Like to Call it: The United States of America
This is a thought I hope we keep in mind the next time we are faced with national elections. Any company’s leaders with a performance like the one we now see in the government would be out the door in a second - the shareholders (public citizens) would never stand for it. We, the shareholders, need competent managers in charge of this company…We must demand it!

Always remember: You reap what you sow.

NOTE: I’m not advocating a particular party here; only a responsible leadership.

Energy independence took a backseat this week as the immigration debate stole the spotlight - I’d like to know why…

Our short-term memories seem to be plaguing us once again. I may just be very out of touch with the rest of the country, but I must ask, why all of the immigration talk now!?! 9/11 was almost 5 years ago, if this was such an important issue to the American people, why haven’t Lou Dobbs’ ratings gone through the roof?

Granted, immigration is a very real issue, although it’s certainly not clear whether the result has actually been negative. Here are some fairly undeniable facts:

Positive Results:

- Low prices

- Diversity

- Tax Revenues

Negative Results:

- Drug Trafficing

- Security

- Job Loss

While the main stream media and poll-hawking politicians focus in on the immigration debate, American’s are being affected by some very real issues - namely our national energy policy. Energy dependence affects vastly more people than immigration possibly does. It stretches far beyond our own borders and weighs heavily on our economy. Fortunately for us, there are still some voices of reason out there. Here are two recent articles by Senator Barack Obama and Newsweek Editor Fareed Zakaria: