kamui

Yep. A perfect movie. Fantastic cast, revolutionary depiction of a future city, perfect atmosphere and soundtrack, great story...

Don't worry Steve, it's all good!

New subsection: On the campaign (trail): Today: Mitt Romney ROMNEY TO QUADRUPLE SIZE OF $12 MILLION CALIFORNIA HOME | Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who in June told voters that he was “also unemployed,†has applied for a permit to bulldoze his 3,000-square-foot, $12 million home in La Jolla, California, and replace it with one nearly four times its size. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the new home will be two stories and more than 11,000 square feet. Romney also owns a $10 million estate in New Hampshire. His campaign declined to comment on the renovation plans. http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/08/21/300363/romney-to-quadruple-size-of-12-million-california-home/

The Tea Party is slowly going down: Tea Party is increasingly swimming against the tide of public opinion: among most Americans, even before the furor over the debt limit, its brand was becoming toxic. Polls show that disapproval of the Tea Party is climbing. In April 2010, a New York Times/CBS News survey found that 18 percent of Americans had an unfavorable opinion of it, 21 percent had a favorable opinion and 46 percent had not heard enough. Now, 14 months later, Tea Party supporters have slipped to 20 percent, while their opponents have more than doubled, to 40 percent. In data we have recently collected, the Tea Party ranks lower than any of the 23 other groups we asked about — lower than both Republicans and Democrats. It is even less popular than much maligned groups like “atheists†and “Muslims.†Interestingly, one group that approaches it in unpopularity is the Christian Right. Contrary to some accounts, the Tea Party is not a creature of the Great Recession. Many Americans have suffered in the last four years, but they are no more likely than anyone else to support the Tea Party. And while the public image of the Tea Party focuses on a desire to shrink government, concern over big government is hardly the only or even the most important predictor of Tea Party support among voters. So what do Tea Partiers have in common? They are overwhelmingly white, but even compared to other white Republicans, they had a low regard for immigrants and blacks long before Barack Obama was president, and they still do. More important, they were disproportionately social conservatives in 2006 — opposing abortion, for example — and still are today. Next to being a Republican, the strongest predictor of being a Tea Party supporter today was a desire, back in 2006, to see religion play a prominent role in politics. And Tea Partiers continue to hold these views: they seek “deeply religious†elected officials, approve of religious leaders’ engaging in politics and want religion brought into political debates. The Tea Party’s generals may say their overriding concern is a smaller government, but not their rank and file, who are more concerned about putting God in government. NYT

Wow, that's hardcore music. I guess after Hardrock, Punk and Grunge this will be the next big trend in youth culture.

Margaret Bourke White: The American Way of Life, 1937

Won't be released in Europe before Aug. 15 (in Germany Aug. 25 ). I would have liked to see it today. Now I will have to check the filesharing sites...

Michele Bachman's lates pro family video: http://www.youtube.com/user/FunnyorDie#p/u/18/BfuMWqjACGc

Stock market ended at 10,719 today. S. Stocks Plummet, Led by Financials All Dow Components and S&P 500 Sectors End in Negative Territory as Investor Concern Grows By JONATHAN CHENG Financial stocks led the decliners Wednesday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged to an 11-month low. Citigroup fell $3.33, or 10%, to $28.49; Bank of America was off 83 cents, or 11%, to 6.77; J.P. Morgan Chase was down 2.03, or 5.6%, to 34.37; and American Express shed 3.30, or 7.2%, to 42.80. Investors were squeezed between fears of further contagion among European banks and the Federal Reserve's gloomy economic outlook. The blue-chip Dow fell 519.83 points, or 4.62%, to 10719.94 on Wednesday, more than reversing the previous day's exuberant gains. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index slid 51.77 points, or 4.42%, to 1120.76 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 101.47 points, or 4.09%, to 2381.05. The major indexes' declines off their April 29 highs now exceed the magnitude of the losses during the summer of 2010. The S&P 500 has fallen 18%, more than the S&P fell between late April and early July 2010.

Your response is interesting: using degrading vocabulary and a non-answer. You underscore what I said before about the right wing conservatives: Not even interested in a civil discourse anymore, just hollow talking points. Anyway, and speaking of "class warfare" I guess you gave a non-answer, because you can't deny the obvious numbers. And Im sure you will downplay even these facts from a GOP (ex congress) member: Quote: In late 2009, Business Week reported that the divide in corporate America was only getting worse: “While we’re seeing record-low budgeting for base salaries, we’re seeing record-high budgeting for bonuses.†The article showed evidence that CEO bonuses were at their highest levels in the 33 years the data have been recorded. “What’s counterintuitive,†according to a compensation expert interviewed by Business Week, “is that the highest level of funding for bonuses is occurring in the heart of the recession.†“Counterintuitive†seems to be a bit of an understatement. Shortsighted and stupid better describes a trend that cannot be seen as good for the long-term health of America’s economy. While these income disparity trends were bad under George W. Bush, they have only gotten worse over the last three years. Since 1970, executive pay has increased 430 percent while workers’ wages have crept up at a pace that barely kept up with inflation. The average executive’s pay has jumped over that time period to 158 times that of the average worker’s pay in those companies. It’s no wonder that the top 0.1 percent of income earners get richer by the day while millions of Americans are seeing their situations get worse. Politico

I guess you are living in a parallel universe... Today's headline in Germany: Biggest losses at the stock market since Lehmbrothers went down. And on yesterday's market: The fear among investors has reached epidemic proportions, with the sell-off erasing $8.1 trillion — or 14.8 percent of market capitalization — from global stock markets since July 24. My link

You still haven't got it. The world market is crashing because of the downgrading. The downgrading happened for three reasons: the huge debt the political instability forced by the GOP the conclusion that pure austerity won't lower the debt that much. Don't forget when the USA economy worked best: consumers with money in their pockets (because of a decent income), almost equal taxes for all groups of the society, and strong government bodies which checked that the major players played fair. And who forced the negotiations much too long until the last minute (and took the moderate GOPs hostage) even though the Dems had made the biggest concession in their history several weeks ago? The Tea Party GOP, because they even wanted it all - like being the ruling party. This is actually the published opinion of the few surviving centrist GOPers. IMHO the Tea Party GOP has a kind of death wish - they prefer the government to becoming dysfunctional or even to collapse for their pure ideology. I guess they are getting their wish fulfilled, but now they are learning that this has consequences for all US Americans (some GOP candidates and presidential candidates even denied that it would have had any consequences if the debt deal would have failed.) I remember that in the endof the debt negotiations Wallstreet and the major corps began to panic when they realized what the GOP was doing, but now it was too late: big money had opened Pandora's box and let the Tea Party GOP amateurs run amok in Washington D.C.. The right wing GOP never did and they still don't care for the country and the common good. Just have a look at them, most are a bunch of newbie amateurs who mostly declared that they are not interested in being reelected (i. e. being held accountable), funded by the super rich and the mega corporations. In Germany we know from the time before 1933, that if the institutions are weak and if there are fraction(s) who want to kill the whole democracy they can do so. By the way, to hear you talking of class warfare in regard to Obama is quite funny. As you know the blue collar workers has lost so much in past decades that they are now back on the income level of the the 1970s, (the Hispanics lost astonishing 67% in the past years) while the rich got and are getting even richer. How was the pay increase in 2010 for the Wall Street banker and the corp managers? 20% if I remember right. Obama just talked about making fuel prices for private jets more expensive and closing some tax loopholes and you call this class warfare. The greatest achievement of the GOP IMHO is, that they were able to sell their politics are being really good for the average American, while at the same time they did and do everything, that life is becoming more worse for them. Lower income, higher health care and education costs, less social security, less protection against predatory banks and other corps, their sons being killed and crippled in two wars, e.g..

New subsection: On the campaign trail: Today: Michele Bachmann Bachmann attends church service denouncing homosexuality By NBC's Jamie Novogrod WAUKEE, IA –- Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann yesterday attended a church here in Iowa, where the pastor called homosexuality "immoral" and "unnatural," and later showed a testimonial video from a man who claimed to have been gay before having a conversation with God. Before the sermon at Point of Grace Church -- a non-denominational congregation near Des Moines -- Bachmann stood with her husband, Marcus Bachmann, before a crowd of about 100 people, clutching her personal copy of the Bible. “This is a time that we need to be encouraged this week, not discouraged,†she said, referencing Friday night’s credit downgrade and Saturday’s news about the Navy SEALs killed in Afghanistan. “Whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,†Bachmann said, reading from the book of Philippians, “think well on these things.†The reading drew cheers. Pastor Jeff Mullen, standing next to Bachmann, took her Bible his hand. “There are some candidates who start running, and have this come-to-Jesus moment,†he said. "What I love about this Bible,†he said, “is how well it's used.†Mullen offered a prayer honoring democracy. “We have a nation where people can still rise up and speak their voice, and say, ‘This is what I believe.’†When Bachmann and her husband returned to their seats, Mullen began a half-hour presentation on his church's beliefs. Reading verses from the Bible to support his case, Mullen said, "We inherently know that homosexual behavior is immoral and unnatural." “God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,†Mullen said, reading from the book of Romans. Mullen’s sermon concluded with video testimonial from a man named Adam Hood, who claims to have been gay before experiencing a conversation with God. "I am so happy God has given me natural affection for a woman," Hood said in the video, adding that his wife is nine months pregnant. "We need to have compassion for people that are bound by that sin," Hood added. "And it is a sin. Call a spade a spade." The Bachmanns remained in the church for the duration of the service, and afterward posed for a picture with Pastor Mullen and his family. In an interview with NBC News, Mullen called his sermon on homosexuality “a bedrock, just a Biblical truth we’ve taught over the years.†“It just so happens they were here today,†Mullen said of the Bachmanns. “And we were teaching on both marriage and homosexuality.†The Bachmann campaign released this statement on Mullen's sermon: "Michele was an invited guest, she always welcomes the opportunity to meet with parishioners. "The Point of Grace Church service was the second church event Michele Bachmann attended on Sunday. Earlier, they visited the Des Moines First Church of the Nazarene, where the presidential candidate discussed the origins of her faith and political life. My link PS: I wonder if HH might be secretly in love with her...

deleted

Yep, HH's answers shows, that including him many Americans still don't understand the momentousness of the failure of the US political class and businesses involved in the past 10-15 years. It's not about a single president anymore (the absolute hatred against Obama is very difficult to understand anyway), but how the USA deals with its complete failure to bring the economy back on a solid base. During a failed decade the USA has lost first it's cultural influence (first in Muslim nations, then all over Asia and now in Europe as well), second it's military predominance (a bunch of middle age tribes with WWII weapons and custom build bombs keeps the best army in the world in check in Afghanistan), and third finally it's _self inflicted_ economic downfall which culminated in the world crises in 2008 and now in its downgrading By the way Obama wasn't involved in any of these disasters except the downgrading. But of course the Dems a) supported failed project that every American should be able to buy a house and b.) didn't do much to oppose the Iraq war... As I understand the battle has already started who is responsible for the downgrading and I expect that the upcoming months until the day of the election will become more ugly than the last election campaign - even though the last election had been very dirty already. PS: While we all talk about Wall Street, e.g., it is extremely sad to see how deep rooted the financial crisis in fact is: cities and counties all over the USA can't provide the essentials of public service anymore - policemen, firefighters, teachers, health workers get fired, towns even have to declare bankruptcy. I guess soon smaller towns will look like in the Wild West in the 19th century, where a bunch of local rich guys run the cities - without paying taxes of course, because this is bad for the economy. I wonder what has been left over of the American Dream.

I guess you haven't read S & P's statement. The first reason for the downgrading they state is of course the huge debt. The second reason, is the political instability of the past months, which as we all know was especially caused by the Tea Party part of the GOP. Third reason is that the government won't be able lower the debt only with cuts...

I guess for the independents and many Democrats it is becoming more and more clear that Obama isn't the agent of change - IMHO for reasons mostly outside of his control, but this doesn't matter anymore. Anyway, the GOP will have huge problem with the its candidates. The GOP has the problem that it has purged the party almost completely from its more centrist politicans. Even worse, currently the Tea Party (which has a very low ranking among most Americans) seems to be deciding block within the GOP. The consequence is, that the GOP presidential candidates compete with each other who is the most radical, most right wing, most fundamental Christian, most ideological pure anti government, for to survive the primaries. Currently I don't see any of the current candidates being able to appeal to the independents and conservative Dems as well as to increasingly powerful non-white groups (fierce anti immigration laws don't play well with Hispanics for example).

I hope the US politicians of both parties will understand, that this no political game anymore, but I fear they don't.

I think in the USA it is already the case. In the last 10-20 years laws were implemented that corporations can invest _anonymously_ millions of USD into politicians and parties. I just read a report that in the USA state laws are _directly_ written by corporations and now add the monstrous lobbying machine in Washington and all state capitals, which is able to bring down every law and rule which tries to limit the power, influence of corporations or which tries to control the behavior of the corporations. Of course it is well known that the corps will do everything to maximise their income, even it is against the good of the people (see for example Iraq where private companies built army barracks with faulty (cheap) electricity which killed a few soldiers). We all know that the wealth of the corporations exploded, while the income of the blue collar works has eroded since _three_ decades. In regard to privatization, it recently came out that this costs the states and counties a lot of money. For example I think it is in Florida where private prisons just take the 'normal' prisoners and leave the expensive prisoners (mentally ill, chronically ill, disables, e.g.) to the state which already pays a huge fee to private the prisons. In the end privatization is more expensive than public prison system... In Europe we currently have a huge wave in de-privatization in regard to waterworks. A french company took over the waterworks of cities all around Europe (first they bought the politicians involved) and the result: prices went up immediately while the service and maintenance went down. Now many cities buying the waterworks back, because it's cheaper and better for the cities and the citizens.

American Millionaires: 1,400 Paid No U.S. Income Taxes In 2009 My link

Yes it is. Just look at HH's opinion: he sees the FAA as part of big government, not as that essential for an industrialized country. The shutdown has sidelined 74.000 government and contract workers and stopped dozens of construction projects at airports and is causing tax losses of 30 Mio USD per day. Florida doesn't see a high speed train connection as important and has declined a few billion USD in government money. While in Europe and Asia countries like Germany, France, Spain, China, Japan, Taiwan, compete with each other in building the fastest and best high speed train networks, because they understand that this is an important part of contemporary infrastructure. And as far as I know, all these projects are mostly state funded. While in the USA around the country bridges, schools, water pipes, e.g., are deteriorating. By the way, the right sees government regulation of key industries as big government as well. You see it for example in the most essential part of the tech business infrastructure of the 21st century, the internet. In the US all people concerned know that the USA is falling behind in access to high speed internet, because very few major providers rule the market. Compare this t to Germany: the government has forced the providers to open their networks to competitors (for a fee of course). This has forced the providers to compete with each other in every market. The result: you'll get a 50 MB glass fiber line, including 1-2 phone landlines (and unlimited calls to other landlines), no data caps at all, for around 60 USD. While in the US, as I understand, the providers keep their lines closed to competitors and now they are discussing data caps and data filtering (youtube, e.g.) and ask double and more USD for much less.

Another sign of the state of dysfunction of the political system of the USA: Stalemate in Senate Leaves 4,000 Out of Work at F.A.A. By EDWARD WYATTWASHINGTON — After dealing with the debt crisis, Senate negotiators tried and failed on Tuesday to end a stalemate over temporary financing for the Federal Aviation Administration, leaving 4,000 agency employees out of work and relying on airport safety inspectors to continue working without pay. The partial agency shutdown, which began on July 23 and is likely to continue at least through Labor Day, has also idled tens of thousands of construction workers on airport projects around the country. Dozens of airport inspectors have been asked by the F.A.A. to work without pay and to charge their government travel expenses to their personal credit cards to keep airports operating safely. NYT

The fear of free riders is an absolutely valid point. We had these problems until the 1990s as well: whole families, especially with a lot of children, living for years on welfare cheques. Now we have much tighter control and people who don not want the work get their welfare cut. Anyway, in the end it weren't that many people who cheated on the state. Anyway, in regard to social security the ideologies of the USA and the other democratic industrialized countries are at totally at odds. All of these countries, except the USA, believe that the government should make available the basics for human living conditions for people who can't provide it for themselves, while of course all people have to pay tax accordingly. The right wing part of the US populations on the other hand favors a more darwinist approach, were only the strongest survive and the winner takes it all. The problem with good education is that you have to pay for it. And that you have to work on it all the time. Either a country is interested in supreme education and invests accordingly (money and research, human resources) or it isn't. The GOP and a part of the Democrats have decided that that they won't in the upcoming future. In the end the previous and current cuts will have a severe impact on the future of the USA. The results will become visible in the next two decades, when China (and maybe India) will take over the USA in highly educated, high skilled entrepreneurs, bureaucrats and scientists. The problem of course is, that erosion will happen slowly. It's not that an industry might go down very soon, but like with the US car industry new developments and with this the leadership in a market will happen more and more outside the USA.

Ok, tell me another industrialized democracy which has 50.7 million people (16.7% of the population) without health insurance ( Wikipedia ). That would be half of Germany's population. The USA is - a country where 14% rely on food stamps (WSJ) - a country, which once flew to the moon, but which is now ranking below average in science and mathematics understanding compared to other developed countries.[7] In 2008, there was a 77% graduation rate from high school, below that of most developed countries. (Wikipedia) - a country where the wealth of largest non-white minority groups, i.e. the Blacks and the Hispanics, declined in an astonishing rate (66% for the Hispanics within 5 years) while rich whites got even richer. (My link, My link) - a country which is on rank 93 in regard to income equality, which means that there are 92 countries in world in which wealth and income distributions are less concentrated. Explanation: in other countries like Switzerland wealth is as concentrated as in the USA, but in regard to their income, even the Swiss high earners pay equally balanced taxes, while in the USA the rich pay much less tax than the poor and middle class. (My link) I wonder were there could be _any_ socialist element in the USA system? It is clear that especially in the past 10-15 years in the USA wealth and income moved from the bottom to the top of the society. There is absolutely no source which says otherwise. But of course from the right wings perspective, the best you can do in the current crisis is cutting social security, medicare, education and infrastructure projects, while lowering tax for the rich. Which means the poor have to lose everything (jobs, health, education), while rich get even more. Vive la US socialism...