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It sure sounded like Thom's guest was simply parroting what corporate America had been telling the consumers; you can't afford products made in the United States (even if it cost you your job).
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/25/WINE.TMP
California wines beat the French -- again
Even after 30 years of aging, state's Cabernets still tops
Linda Murphy, Chronicle Wine Editor
Thursday, May 25, 2006
(snip)
“Yet Gaul is biting its tongue today after California smoked France Wednesday in a cross-continental tasting of wines that have matured in cellars for three decades. The California Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines placed first through fifth, followed by four wines from France's hallowed Bordeaux region and then another California Cab.”
(snip)
(snip)
“The occasion marked the 30th anniversary of "The Judgment of Paris," a tasting by French and British judges that pitted California against Bordeaux Cabernet Sauvignons on May 24, 1976.
In that slosh heard round the world, the 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon scored higher than its French counterparts. At the same time, a taste-off of California Chardonnays and Chardonnay-based white Burgundies from France resulted in another stunner when the 1973 Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay won.”
$o it $eem$ that Thom need$ to find another rationale for promoting wine imported from France. If he wants to take a taste of California wines and doesn’t have the time to drive through California’s wine country, he probably can pick some up at Wal-Mart.
L Grace,
"The devil, " as they say...
Are the retail prices of Chinese goods really cheaper? It seems to me the merchant charges pretty much the same price as when the goods were produced in the United States. (It's just that the profit margins are much, much greater)
Anyone else worry that "government option" is just a way for insurance companies to give sick people the boot?
So, the insurance companies keep all the cheap healthy people and the government gets all the old, sick ones.
For government insurance to work, you need both cheap and expensive people on the rolls.
it's more than health care or any one issue....this quote sums it up for me perfectly:
“If I can choose between adding to the level of mercy in the world or adding to the level of misery in the world -every single time I want to choose mercy - “If I can choose between adding to the level of compassion in the world or adding to the level of cruelty in the world- every single time I want to choose compassion” bruce freidrich
Thanks, Loretta!
Here's the link to see if your congressman is on the Energy and Commerce Committee:
https://www.votesmart.org/committee.php?comm_id=52
They are voting on single-payer today in the House.
This is from Healthcare NOW:
"Healthcare-NOW! has received confirmation that, in a display of Congressional leadership, Congressman Anthony Weiner [NY 14], will introduce a single-payer amendment similar to HR 676 to the House Energy and Commerce Committee's portion of the tri-committee healthcare legislation TODAY.
We need your help in telling members of the Energy and Commerce Committee that the people want single-payer now. It's crucial for them to hear from you on this historic vote. Please call today.
First, see if your Rep. is in the Energy and Commerce Committee here. (If not, call Chairman Henry Waxman at 202-225-3976).
Then, call the Congressional Switchboard at 800-473-6711 and ask to be connected to your Rep. Then ask to speak with the health legislative assistant. Say:
"Hello, My name is __________, and as your constituent, I urge the Representative to vote YES on Representative Anthony Weiner's single-payer, HR 676 amendment to the Energy and Commerce Committee's healthcare bill."
American Embassies Urged to Stockpile Local Currencies
A top investment advisor, Harry Schultz - who was MarketWatch's Peter Brimelow pick for financial newsletter of the Year in 2008 - is now claiming:
Some U.S. embassies worldwide are being advised to purchase massive amounts of local currencies; enough to last them a year. Some embassies are being sent enormous amounts of U.S. cash to purchase currencies from those governments, quietly. But not pound sterling. Inside the State Dept., there is a sense of sadness and foreboding that 'something' is about to happen ... within 180 days, but could be 120-150 days.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/schultz-paints-bleak-picture-of-future
Investment advisor and former Army Counterintelligence officer Bob Chapman is saying the same thing, reporting on the possibility of a so-called “bank holiday” planned for late August or early September. According to Chapman’s sources, U.S. embassies around the world are selling dollars and stockpiling money from respective countries where they operate.
http://theinternationalforecaster.com/
Leading trend forecaster Gerald Calente has also repeatedly predicted a "bank holiday".
But the rumors of embassies being advised to stockpile local currency is stunning and - if true - point to a possible huge devaluation in the dollar.
http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/
Mark,
Yes, it is amazing how "unaware" these right wing Republicans seem to be in general. They seem to legislate by the "gut" and the wallet.
B Roll,
What a lovely thing to say --- thanks so much! You seem to be a fierce advocate with the heart of a poet. Beautiful combination...
The truth is, I am always looking for answers and it's so wonderful to have you (and our other friends on the blog) with which to share them.
I am giving some thought as to how I can make some kind of contribution to our healthcare solutions in this country. I belong to different healthcare advocacy groups in MN and nationally. I'm starting to think that I should closely follow Dennis Kucinich's recent amendment allowing individual states to institute the single-payer option. If it goes through, I may call the most active single-payer state legislators and volunteer time to help them with this issue. Maybe working on the "inside" will add a little more leverage to the issue. Still thinking about it, tho...
Last week, Thom repeated a claim he made fairly frequently, but that I think is demonstrably wrong. He said that the Israeli kibbutz is a socialist organization that works because it is limited to 150 people or less.
Thom believes and has said that socialism can’t work in groups larger than 150 people and he sees the Israeli kibbutz as a socialist organization. I have to believe that Thom has never looked to see if the Israeli kibbutzim (that’s the plural in Hebrew) are limited to 150 people or less. I did look into it and I find that the hypothetical limit doesn’t hold.
The following facts come from http://www.communa.org.il/kibbutz.htm which is part of a website of an Israeli organization dedicated to spreading the word about communal living.
“The smallest kibbutz has only 25 members and candidates, plus 9 children. The largest kibbutz, Maagan Michael, has a permanent population of 1200 souls.”
Farther down the page are a number of statistics in chart form which I’m not sure would keep their format, so I’ll summarize them.
Under the heading of “A Few Statistics” is a graphic that shows that in 1910 in Israel there was 1 kibbutz with a population of 10 people. By 1920 there were 12 kibbutzim with a total population of 805 and by 1940 there were 82 kibbutzim with a total population of 26,554. So by 1940, the average population of kibbutzim in Israel was 324 people. At the bottom of the chart, the numbers for 2005 showed around 269 kibbutzim with a total population of 120,667 for an average of just under 450 people.
A little farther down the page is a chart under the heading “Breakdown of the Population of a Kibbutz* - April, 2003”. It shows 723 permanent residents, 95 temporary residents, 364 members and 15 candidates. It even shows 186 children, which is more than Thom’s 150 person limit. This kibbutz is named Tzora and was founded in 1948.
This site listed a kibbutz named Maagan Michael. Here’s some information from the website of Maagan Michael at http://www.maaganmichael.com/index.php/Main_Page
“When we began to settle the present site of the kibbutz on August 25, 1949 we numbered 154 members and 44 children. The original site was a windswept treeless sandstone hill located on the coastal plain.
We have since grown and prospered into the largest kibbutz in Israel with a current population of 1,412 consisting of 791 members and candidates for membership, 383 children, and there are also non-member residents, soldiers, and ulpanists.”
Note by B Roll: An ulpan is an institute for the intensive study of Hebrew. Ulpanist refers to people who study at the ulpan.
And also
“The Kibbutz was founded in 1949 and over 1500 people reside in the community today. The founding members of the Kibbutz were part of the Israel scout movement and through the years, the Kibbutz has grown substantially with new members joining our community from around the world. Kibbutz Ma'agan Michael's success has been attributed to continuous commercial development and having a high percentage of our children, that have decided to remain and become members of the Kibbutz.”
I think it’s pretty clear that Thom is mistaken when he says that the reason kibbutzim work in Israel is because they limit their size to 150 people.
On the health care reform front, is it not amazing how Republicans have this uncanny knack of correctly identifying the problem, except that they seem to get their countries mixed-up. One congressman, Louie Gohmert of Texas, bewailed the “fact” in nations with “socialized” medicine, one-in-five residents “die.” Well, frankly, I’d take those odds, because five-in-five people in this country end up dying. Assuming, however, that what he meant was that this is how many die of substandard health care, he forgets that almost one-in-five people in this country have no health insurance, and probably an equal amount have substandard health insurance; it seems reasonable to assume that lack of access to care in this country—especially primary and preventative—generally leads to early death conditions. But then again, Republicans do generally seem to be unaware of the existence—let alone the problems—of people who don’t attend their multi-million dollar fund-raising parties.
Quark,
You're tireless or there are more than one Quark. i always thought you were the Quark called Charm, but now it seems you might be all six flavors: up, down, charm, strange, top and bottom. I think you'd even amaze Murray Gell-Mann.
I look into the clip. Thanks
The continuing, seemingly insoluble Israeli-Palestinian problem clearly is in need of more “radical” thinking. From the left, you have commentators who bemoan the fate of the people of Gaza, who, in reality, must be held accountable for allowing Hamas—whose stated purpose is the destruction of Israel—to control that fate. On the other side, I’ve heard commentators say that Israel must not abandon the West Bank or allow a separate Palestinian state, because Fatah is essentially no different from Hamas, and if the Palestinians are allowed to form an independent state, the radicals who allegedly hold de facto power will turn it into another Gaza—and a perpetual threat to the security of Israel. There is also the little matter of the Anti-Christ, but I won’t go there, for the present.
One idea that hasn’t been bandied about much, but might ultimately be the only way out short of complete annihilation of one party or the other, is a single state solution that is neither wholly Israeli or wholly Palestinian in character, but more like the former Czechoslovakia. Israel would not have to give-up its West Bank settlements, and it would remove the principle selling point of Hamas. The issue of Jerusalem would become moot. Of course there would be the anti-Israeli Palestinian die-hards (and vice-versa), but as part of a true democracy, they would be increasingly isolated. It would also force the Saudi royal family to find a new target to draw the attention of their imams away from them—like the United States, without Bin Laden as their middle man. The principle concern would be the economic integration of the West Bank and Gaza, but this was the issue that faced West Germany with the integration of the East.
B Roll,
RE: Your comment:
"I’m not sure that humanity has what it takes to solve the deepening problems that face us. I don’t know if we can identify the time at which we passed the tipping point, but I have a feeling that if it wasn’t earlier regarding climate change, it may very well have been on December 12, 2000, when the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of George W. Bush in Bush v Gore. The policies of the Bush Administration may have changed the course of human history forever."
I came across the following video clip on "The Loss of Wisdom." I thought Barry Schwartz made some provocative points:
http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_our_loss_of_wisdom.html
Your photo needs to go on an album cover! Which one?
Quark,
I'll check that Jared Diamond video out. I'm familiar with Diamond.
You ask me how we can prevent our society's collapse. Why you asking me? That's above my pay grade. I'm a college dropout. Even Thom Hartmann doesn't pay attention to what I say, let alone world leaders.
I actually was conflicted when I wrote my post that ended with "Maybe we’ll get lucky." I edited out my original ending which talked about how emotions seem to have more influence on our rational thinking than our ability to reason than our ability to reason has on our emotions. I edited it out because I didn’t want to be too negative at the time. However… since you asked…
I look at all the crises in the world, all the tipping points we’re teetering on and it looks like we may not have the right stuff to solve one of them let alone multiple problems. This list may not be complete; it’s what comes to my mind right now:
1) Global climate disruption is probably the crisis that is hardest to stop if it’s gone past a tipping point and could have the most catastrophic repercussions.
2) Water shortages around the world can make life unsustainable in many regions of the planet.
3) The world wide financial crisis is causing huge problems and could make it difficult, maybe impossible, to pay for solutions for the other crises.
4) The energy crisis has several components. Supplies of fossil fuels are diminishing, getting more difficult to find and exploit and getting them is becoming more difficult and expensive. Using fossil fuels has profoundly negative climatic and pollution repercussions.
5) There’s also a crisis in our basic humanity. Whether on a local level or worldwide, people in general don’t seem willing to make sacrifices for others outside their small circle, but seem very willing to be riled up to attack others.
I think that it would take worldwide cooperation to solve these problems. There are people around the world that are willing to work cooperatively to solve these problems, but are there enough? And are there enough to overcome the resistance of those who are only concerned about their short term benefits?
Right now, we aren’t even doing too well at cooperating to solve these problems in this country, let alone the world. Energy producers and their right wing supporters fight against our attempts to get away from fossil fuels. The people, financial corporations and organizations that precipitated the financial crisis used the crisis to steal taxpayer money on the grounds that they were too big to fail. Right wingers fight to replace scientific knowledge with religion in our schools and a majority of Americans believe that the story of Noah’s Arc is historical fact.
I’m not sure that humanity has what it takes to solve the deepening problems that face us. I don’t know if we can identify the time at which we passed the tipping point, but I have a feeling that if it wasn’t earlier regarding climate change, it may very well have been on December 12, 2000, when the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of George W. Bush in Bush v Gore. The policies of the Bush Administration may have changed the course of human history forever.
B Roll,
How can we prevent our society's collapse?
Your comments remind me of Jared Diamond's work on why some societies collapse and others don't. His books 1) Guns, Germs and Steel and 2) Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed offer some insight.
Here's a short (18-min.) video clip general summary, tho there are hour+-long videos from which to choose by Googling "Jared Diamond:"
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jared_diamond_on_why_societies_collap...
Loretta and Quark,
You’ve raised some important issues about how women are judged more critically on their physical appearance and how this can have a negative effect on girls and young women as they’re developing a sense of themselves.
Quark was right in relating our attraction to and preference for beauty to our evolution. The fact is, it’s our inheritance from our animal predecessors who also select mates on the basis of characteristics that imply health and fitness. Things I’ve seen and read indicate that it’s much more than cultural. I remember a TV program some years ago that dealt with tests conducted with 6 month old infants. The babies were shown pictures of people on a screen and were observed to see how long they looked at each picture. The results showed that even at 6 months old babies looked at the pictures of “attractive” people significantly longer than they look at pictures of “unattractive” people.
Another study (which I consider heartbreaking) is that parents give more attention to attractive babies than they do to less attractive babies. I find that heartbreaking because we know that an infant’s brain develops more fully (makes more neural connections) when the baby is held, touched, talked to and played with more. So an attractive baby gets a head-start on brain development because it gets more love. It’s unintentional, but seems so cruel to me.
I have little infant memories of my parents and other adults constantly picking me up, hugging and kissing me, tickling and coochie-cooing me, etc, when all I wanted to do was lie on my blanket and play with my foot. I was just so darn cute.
If the preference for beauty is so deeply wired into our being, the best we may be able to hope for is to consciously and culturally mitigate the preference for beauty. There are several physical preference that we would have to be more aware of. Studies claim that taller people earn more money and that it’s been calculated how much every extra inch of height is worth.
There are probably several reasons women are criticized for the physical appearance more than men are. Men are still seen as having the roll (no relation to me) of being the breadwinner and women are seen as the mom. Men are still seen as being the leaders in our society. The prosperous and powerful man is rewarded with an attractive wife. Our society hasn’t adjusted yet to women’s advances in education, economics and politics. In addition, there’s always resistance to change. Attitudes and opinions often lag behind the facts on the ground.
How do we bring our thinking into line with our changing society? That’s a tough one. We see societies around the world going in two directions. Some people are opening up to greater equality and understanding, but others are retreating into rigid old patriarchal beliefs. Economic and climatic changes are going to bring about major changes in society. If we're prepared, we might come out better than we are now. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem we are prepared. Maybe our best hope is that the situation is too unpredictable to know what's going to happen. Maybe we'll get lucky.
Loretta,
I think we should wait until they invent a robotic cat so the robotic mocking bird will have someone to pick on.
Quartk,
Do what you gotta do, but I saw the original Clash of the Titans over at MGM (I think) before it's release and I couldn't get into the stop motion animation. Maybe it was just a bad day for me, I know it was a bad date.
Memories are rushing back, but not about the movie. I just remembered that a prostitute came up the my car on my way to pick up my date and offered to provide me with a particular service. I wasn't interested, but something didn't look quite right about her. Since her face was right by my car window, I ran my finger up her cheek and if felt like sandpaper.
I didn't watch them all in one sitting. They are three different movies. But it's neat to watch them close together. I'm a fiction writer finishing an MFA degree so I'm studying film to learn scene development and dialogue.
Instead of writing a book on sexism, you could both use your talents together to invent a robotic mocking bird!
Can it be about robotic owls?
http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/clash-of-the-titans/9.gif