Clipmarks | arifsali's 'united states' clips

Taking stock of what’s right with the United States

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 04:41:04 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Good read, feel good.

The U.S. financial crisis has shaken investor confidence in the U.S. economy, and for good reason. After nearly a decade of excessive borrowing and lax financial regulation, the economy is in the grips of a painful deleveraging process. Bank failures, home foreclosures, credit card delinquencies — these variables and others have brought the U.S. economy to a virtual standstill.

Against this dire backdrop, we thought it would be a good time to step back from the drama of Wall Street and Washington and unemotionally reassess the prospects of the U.S. economy. Below is a list of items that we believe show what is right with the United States from an economic and market perspective, offered in an effort to help investors think rationally about the economy’s future.

1. The United States is the largest and most productive economy in the world.1

2. The United States is the world’s leading manufacturer of goods.2

3. The United States is the largest exporter of goods and services in the world.3

Tags: united states, finance, economy

Esquire Endorses Barack Obama for President

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:45:36 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.esquire.com

We thought this election would be a serious fight over the future of this country, but only one candidate showed up.

Tags: politics, united states

Grandpa McCain

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 04:42:22 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Who here thought McCain was in-your-face, very annoying and embarrassing Grandpa today?

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Tags: united states, politics

US Bailout Unfairly Helps Carmakers

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:49:10 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.spiegel.de

The $700 billion bailout passed by US lawmakers on Friday may amount to indirect aid to America's ailing automobile industry, Berlin fears. Even worse, Germans are furious over a $25 billion handout to carmakers made earlier last week.

The German automobile industry is unhappy. Twice in the last week, the United States government has reached deep into the American pocketbook in an attempt to shore up the country's economy. And both times, struggling US carmakers have been the beneficiaries. According to information obtained by SPIEGEL, the government in Berlin is concerned that fair competition in the automobile industry may have been compromised.

Tags: united states, germany, cars, economy, finance

District of Columbia proclaims October "Islamic Heritage Month 2008"

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:29:52 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.islamicate.com

Tags: islam, culture, united states

Judge orders Chinese Muslims at Guantanamo freed

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:22:52 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: Earlier related clip

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the release in the United States of 17 Chinese Muslims who have been held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, a landmark ruling that dealt a major setback to the Bush administration.

The Uighurs remain at the prison even though the U.S. military no longer considers them "enemy combatants." The United States has been unable to find a country willing to accept the Uighurs.

Tags: chinese, united states, muslims, uighurs

Palin Gets McCain Stance on Homeowner Protections Wrong

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:48:03 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: blogs.abcnews.com

Sarah Palin got her facts wrong in Thursday's debate with Joe Biden when discussing where John McCain stands on new protections for homeowners facing foreclosures.

The Alaska governor incorrectly made it sound like McCain supports giving bankruptcy judges the power to rewrite mortgage payment terms on first homes.

He doesn't.

The McCain campaign confirms to ABC News that Palin misstated McCain's position.

Tags: politics, united states

America Loses Its Dominant Economic Role

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:38:28 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.spiegel.de

The banking crisis is upending American dominance of the financial markets and world politics. The industrialized countries are sliding into recession, the era of turbo-capitalism is coming to an end and US military might is ebbing. Still, this is no time to gloat.

There are days when all it takes is a single speech to illustrate the decline of a world power. A face can speak volumes, as can the speaker's tone of voice, the speech itself or the audience's reaction. Kings and queens have clung to the past before and humiliated themselves in public, but this time it was merely a United States president.

George W. Bush has grown old, erratic and rosy in the eight years of his presidency. Little remains of his combativeness or his enthusiasm for physical fitness. On this sunny Tuesday morning in New York, even his hair seemed messy and unkempt, his blue suit a little baggy around the shoulders, as Bush stepped onto the stage, for the eighth time, at the United Nations General Assembly.

Tags: united states, finance, economy

David Brooks: Thinking about McCain

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:59:47 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.iht.com

what disappoints me about the McCain campaign is it has no central argument. I had hoped that he would create a grand narrative explaining how the United States is fundamentally unprepared for the 21st century and how McCain's worldview is different.

McCain has not made that sort of all-encompassing argument, so his proposals don't add up to more than the sum of their parts. Without a groundbreaking argument about why he is different, he's had to rely on tactical gimmicks to stay afloat. He has no frame to organize his response when financial and other crises pop up.

He has no overarching argument in part because of his Senate training and the tendency to take issues on one at a time - in part, because of the foolish decision to run a traditional right-left campaign against Barack Obama

One day he's a small-government Western conservative; the next he's a Bull Moose progressive. The two don't add up - as we've seen in his uneven reaction to the financial crisis.

Tags: conservatives, united states, politics, opinion

My Guantanamo Diary: The Detainees and the Stories They Told Me

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:17:27 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.amazon.com

In this book My Guantánamo Diary the author shows why in an election year, we citizens have to know what our government is doing. Mahvish Khan is an American born lawyer, which I hope people remember.

She is not an enemy of the United States, but such a lover of the United States Constitution, which I wish more supporters of the Bush administration were. She even notes that when she first went to Guantánamo even she assumed she would be meeting terrorists.

The author also is a very positive person so please don't assume the book is all gloom and doom. As an American I found the book to be a wonderful insight into how far we have come since Washington was President, to a place I personally don't like.

Tags: afghanistan, united states, book

Where Do the Presidential Candidates Stand on Environment and Energy?

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:12:26 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks: at the source.

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

From drilling for oil to climate change, the answers may surprise you

Table of Contents:
1: Global Warming: Is It Man-Made? | Reducing Carbon Emissions
2: Offshore Oil Exploration and Drilling | Drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)
3: "Clean Coal" | Natural Gas
4: Nuclear Energy | Endangered Species
5: Water Shortage | Renewable Energy (Solar, Wind, Geothermal)

Tags: united states, politics, environment

Journalist released after being held arbitrarily and mistreated by US military for 11 months

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:07:23 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.newswire.ca

Reporters Without Borders welcomes the US military's release of Afghan journalist Jawed Ahmad, who worked as a fixer and interpreter for Canadian broadcaster CTV. After being held for 11 months for having Taliban contacts, he was freed on 22 September as a result of lawsuit brought by US and Afghan human rights groups in the United States. "The US military must yet again recognise that it abused its authority by detaining an innocent journalist," Reporters Without Borders said. "Despite having no evidence, the US military in Afghanistan and Iraq arrests and mistreats locals employed by the international media whose only crime is to work in war zones.

The press freedom organisation added: "The US government should investigate this case and at the very least compensate Ahmad. We hail the US organisations that took the decisive step of bringing a lawsuit before the US courts."

Tags: journalists, united states, afghanistan

Polish immigrants returning from U.S.

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 20:24:06 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.iht.com

Tighter immigration enforcement, gentrification and the overall aging of the Polish population have contributed to the decline. But the biggest catalyst, community leaders say, was Poland's admission to the European Union in 2004, which created immense employment opportunities for Poles in Europe and spurred a return migration.

At the same time, the influx of new Polish immigrants to New York has slowed to a trickle, these community leaders say. As a result, the population of Polish-born people in New York declined to 60,153 in 2006, down from 65,246 in 2000, a 7.8 percent drop

Meanwhile, many Poles, particularly young people who once might have considered coming to the United States after high school or college, have decided instead to stay in Poland or get work in Dublin, London or other booming European cities.

The euro is robust, they argue, and home is never more than a cheap two-hour flight away.

Tags: united states, poland, immigration

Oh Yes, I believe you, George!

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:36:05 GMT

clipped by: arifsali
clipper's remarks:

"And I share their concerns."

You really don't, because you've been in the office for eight freaking years and you've had enough time to not let the crisis come to our doors.

Clip Source: www.sfgate.com

Bush says he's working hard on economic turmoil

Eager to show that he feels people's pain, President Bush scuttled a political fundraising trip Thursday to tell the country his administration is working feverishly to calm turmoil in the financial markets.

Bush was supposed to spend the day in Alabama and Florida raising money for Republicans and talking energy policy. He canceled his trip and sent Vice President Dick Cheney to sub for him at the fundraisers to focus on the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression.

"The American people are concerned about the situation in our financial markets and our economy," Bush said. "And I share their concerns."

The tumult in financial markets and the disappearance of corporate giants have shaken people's faith in the economy. On Wall Street, the fear is that more significant financial companies will fall, causing a spillover effect within the United States and on world markets.

Tags: united states, finance, bush administration

"It is totally absurd" Damon condemns Palin

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 22:48:10 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

Actor Matt Damon speaks out on the Republicans' choice of hockey-mom Sarah Palin for VP. Damon compares her rise to a 'really bad Disney movie' and says it's crazy that this woman could become Pres...

[Video]

Tags: politics, entertainment, united states