________
________
Information from some sites may not be reliable, or may not be vetted.
Some sources may require subscription.
________
from Asia Times Online
News & Media Website
Latest move follows mediation by South Korea, as pattern forms in trilateral relations.
China's population growth rate of 0.59% meant it recently ranked 159th worldwide.
________
from Competitive Enterprise Institute
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS
Tariffs hurt more people than they help. So why do those outnumbered few keep winning so many political victories at the majority’s expense? The answer can be found in the concept of concentrated benefits and diffused costs. Gordon Tullock gives an example of this with his Tullock Economic Development Plan, which “involves placing a dollar of additional tax on each income tax form in the United States and paying the resulting funds to Tullock, whose economy would develop rapidly.” For the losing majority, a dollar per year is not worth the trouble of going all the way to Washington and trying to get Congress to change policy. But Tullock has hundreds of millions of reasons to fight as hard as he can to keep that unfair policy in place. That is why concentrated beneficiaries usually win over indifferent majorities.
This week media, activists, major environmental donors, and government officials will descend on San Francisco for the Global Climate Action Summit hosted by California Gov. Jerry Brown and co-chaired by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, United Nations representatives, and others. According to a new report by Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) Senior Fellow Chris Horner, the summit is part of a larger scheme, in which governors’ offices are coordinating with activists and donors, who in turn are underwriting a massive, off-the-books campaign to provide staff and other resources to elected officials.
Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute has released my colleague Chris Horner’s new study on how special interests have been buying influence in governors’ offices, “Government for Rent.” The shady arrangements he details between activist groups, major environmental donors, and government officials constitute an inappropriate contratcing out of government authority and deserve greater investigation by state legislators, many of whom are only just now finding out about the details.
A decade ago this Saturday, the world shook as Lehman Brothers, the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States, filed for bankruptcy. Representing one of the most dramatic episodes of the financial crisis, the date September 15, 2008, will live in infamy as the world economy was brought to the brink of collapse. The causes of such an enormous financial crisis were many and varied. But while several factors, such as government accounting rules, complex financial instruments, and faulty risk management systems, played a role during the crisis, at its heart was the historic collapse of the U.S housing market. So how did the housing market collapse so spectacularly? Beginning largely in the 1990s, the federal government dramatically lowered mortgage-underwriting standards and pushed real interest rates below zero, while various state and local governments artificially reduced housing supply through onerous zoning regulations. The result was an enormous run up in asset prices that eventually burst, taking with it all the financial instruments and institutions that depended upon them. In response to the crisis, the largest piece of legislation ever written, the Dodd-Frank Act, was passed by Congress and signed by President Obama on July 21, 2010. Perhaps most astonishingly, however, is the fact that while Dodd-Frank imposed nearly $40 billion worth of new regulatory costs on the industry, it wholeheartedly failed to deal with the root cause of the crisis—the government’s meddling in the housing market. A decade on from the financial crisis, this problem has not been solved. If anything, the federal government’s role in the housing system has only become more entrenched.
________
from The Living Church
Magazine of The Living Church Foundation (Anglican)
A RESPONSE TO ACNA’S PROPOSED PRAYER BOOK 2019
By Drew Nathaniel Keane: The Anglican Church in North America has been preparing a new revision of the Book of Common Prayer for several years. Its Liturgy and Common Worship Task Force began gathering feedback once working drafts were made available for use in 2013. I am an Episcopalian, but I think it’s important for Episcopalians to be aware of developments in the ACNA, especially as we contemplate the possibilities of comprehensive liturgical revision in our church. I offer the following observations on these latest drafts as friendly responses from a fellow Anglican and a scholar of the prayer book.
________
Magazine of The Living Church Foundation (Anglican)
A RESPONSE TO ACNA’S PROPOSED PRAYER BOOK 2019
By Drew Nathaniel Keane: The Anglican Church in North America has been preparing a new revision of the Book of Common Prayer for several years. Its Liturgy and Common Worship Task Force began gathering feedback once working drafts were made available for use in 2013. I am an Episcopalian, but I think it’s important for Episcopalians to be aware of developments in the ACNA, especially as we contemplate the possibilities of comprehensive liturgical revision in our church. I offer the following observations on these latest drafts as friendly responses from a fellow Anglican and a scholar of the prayer book.
________
from The Oregonian (oregonlive.com)
Opinion: What a banking firm decimated on Sept. 11 did for murdered employees' children
Editor's note: We published this commentary by the beloved Portland author Brian Doyle in 2015 to commemorate the attacks of Sept. 11. His op-ed was wildly popular, shared by thousands of readers on social media. Unfortunately, Doyle died last year at age 60 from complications related to a brain tumor. As the nation paused this week to acknowledge the passing of another Sept. 11, we felt it was appropriate to leave the writing in Doyle's able hands. Numbers referenced in his piece were updated to reflect the continued reach of this fine program.
________
from The Spokesman-Review
Newspaper in Spokane, Washington
________
Namaste: India Soon to Overtake China as Most Populous Nation on Earth
According to a recent report by the Chinese National Health and Family Planning Commission, China's net population growth for the first eight months of 2018 was only 4.1 million, compared to India's 14 million during the same time period. India's total population of 1.336 billion as of September 9, 2018, may slowly catch up to China's 1.339 billion, according to top demographers, Asia Times reported Tuesday.
17 Years After 9/11: Commemorating America's Largest-Ever Terrorist Attack
Today the United States commemorates the 17th anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack to have ever taken place on US soil.
'American Defiance': Twitter Explodes Over Trump’s Speech at Flight 93 Memorial
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump paid tribute to the people aboard Flight 93 who, on September 11, 2001, fought the plane’s hijackers who planned to ram the aircraft into the US Capitol in Washington, DC, but instead ended up crashing in rural Pennsylvania. During his speech at the site where Flight 93 crashed in 2001, Trump praised the courage of the people who managed to stop the hijackers, calling them "heroes."
9/11, 17 Years On: Timeline of Events in Worst Terrorist Attack on US Soil
Seventeen years ago, on September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda* (terrorist organization, outlawed in Russia) suicide bombers hijacked four passenger planes in the United States, sending two to New York's World Trade Center towers and the other two to the Pentagon and, presumably, the White House or the Capitol.
Hungary to Protect Borders, Stop Illegal Migrants, Stand Up to EU If Needed - PM
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday said that Hungary would not change its policy regarding illegal migration and would stand up to the European Union if needed.
________
from Sputnik
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS, MIXED, Broadcasting & Media Production Company out of Moscow, Russia
According to a recent report by the Chinese National Health and Family Planning Commission, China's net population growth for the first eight months of 2018 was only 4.1 million, compared to India's 14 million during the same time period. India's total population of 1.336 billion as of September 9, 2018, may slowly catch up to China's 1.339 billion, according to top demographers, Asia Times reported Tuesday.
Today the United States commemorates the 17th anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack to have ever taken place on US soil.
US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump paid tribute to the people aboard Flight 93 who, on September 11, 2001, fought the plane’s hijackers who planned to ram the aircraft into the US Capitol in Washington, DC, but instead ended up crashing in rural Pennsylvania. During his speech at the site where Flight 93 crashed in 2001, Trump praised the courage of the people who managed to stop the hijackers, calling them "heroes."
Seventeen years ago, on September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda* (terrorist organization, outlawed in Russia) suicide bombers hijacked four passenger planes in the United States, sending two to New York's World Trade Center towers and the other two to the Pentagon and, presumably, the White House or the Capitol.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday said that Hungary would not change its policy regarding illegal migration and would stand up to the European Union if needed.
________
No comments:
Post a Comment