peaceengine.com Blog http://www.peaceengine.com/blog Your world: politics, technology, information and the human perspective. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 07:01:12 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 WordPress Template Search http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2012/02/04/wordpress-template-search/ http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2012/02/04/wordpress-template-search/#comments Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:53:29 +0000 Administrator http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/?p=945 WordPress Template Search

As if my life is not busy enough, I have decided that it is time for me to find a new Wodpress theme for my peaceengine.com blog. This post records that journey and the resulting decision.

Blog Theme Search

  • First I searched for sites that recomended companies providing various WordPress themes. I found themegrade.com especially helpful. Their page combines the ratings in the 3 categories and reveals the top 10 theme providers who develop elegant WordPress themes. Their #1 overall pick was ElegantThemes so, given their high rating in all categories, I decided to begin there. They were ranked #1 in Theme Graphic Design, #2 in Theme Functionality and Usability, and #3 in Theme Coding, which coincidentally matched the weight I assigned to the categories themselves.
  • I very much liked that ElegantThemes license is GPL for PHP, XHTML and JS files. I was troubled by the non-GPL license for CSS and theme images but figured I’d wait and see how that played out.
  • Elegantthemes $39 per year fee for unlimited download and use of all themes seemed reasonable and affordable.

ElegantThemes Evaluation

I decided to study the top few themes in order of their overall rankings and record my thoughts

  • Using the ThemeGrade rating list as a guide I explored ElegantThemes. For the most part the descriptive phrasing is straight from the ElegantThemes gallery comments.
  • InterPhase is a beautiful, clean design that maintains a “cutting edge” feel without loosing its sense of professionalism.
  • Evolution is ElegantThemes first fully responsive design. What makes the theme so special is its ability to adapt to various screen size. Shrinking the browser size during live preview demonstrates this ability.
  • Coldstone offers a unique blend of grungy and professional elements.
]]> http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2012/02/04/wordpress-template-search/feed/ 0 Mortgage Refinance Proposal by Obama http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2012/02/01/mortgage-refinance-proposal-by-obama/ http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2012/02/01/mortgage-refinance-proposal-by-obama/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:55:44 +0000 Administrator http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/?p=939 Mortgage Refinance Proposal by Obama

President Obama called on Congress Wednesday to make it easier for millions of homeowners to refinance their mortgages at lower interest rates even if they owe more than their homes are worth. This sane proposal has little chance of being passed by the House Republicans because it would reduce the income of their banking buddies, who bet against middle class Americans all the time, don’t want to lose their usurious loan income, buy politicians like most people buy groceries at the store, and expect payback for their political contributions. Besides, the average homeowner’s reduction of their monthly mortgage payment would fill their purse with increased spendable income which would help turn around the economy. The Republican shills for the banking industry can’t have that because the economy might actually begin to turn around, which is the last thing Republicans want to see in the 2012 election year. They would rather throw around rhetoric against the Democrats than do something sensible like supporting Obama’s plan.

This matter is explained in more detail:

]]> http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2012/02/01/mortgage-refinance-proposal-by-obama/feed/ 0 Photo Video LED Lights (or: Using Litigation to Stifle a Free-Market Economy) http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2012/01/30/photo-video-led-lights-litigation-stifle-economy/ http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2012/01/30/photo-video-led-lights-litigation-stifle-economy/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:09:49 +0000 Administrator http://peaceengine.com/blog/?p=870 Photo Video LED Lights

My day began with a simple search for photo video LED light solutions that I can use for photography and DSLR movie making. I encountered a heinous attempt by a wannabe monopolist seeking to corner the market on such lighting. Litepanels has filed a 337 complaint to block the import of LED lights in the United States used for film, video or photo. This would give them a monopoly and eliminate all other affordable options for filmmakers.

A Monopolist At Work

I must draw your attention to a blog post titled “Litepanels is trying to block the import and sale of LED photo and video lighting in the US”. Below is a YouTube video titled “Help stop the elimination of affordable LED lighting for film, video and photo”.

In the 337 complaint with the United States International Trade Commission to halt

…the importation into the United States, the sale for importation, and the sale within the United States after importation of certain LED photographic lighting devices and components thereof.

The complaint alleges that listed entities:

…unlawfully import into the U.S., sell for importation, and/or sell within the U.S. after importation certain LED photographic lighting devices, components thereof, and products containing same that infringe certain claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 7,972,022 (the ’022 patent), 7,510,290 (the ’290 patent), 7,429,117 (the ’117 patent), 7,318,652 (the ’652 patent), and 6,948,823 (the ’823 patent)

.

Opposition is mounting:

Photo Video LED Lights

I’ll not besmirch this post with any links to the wannabe monopolists products other than to say that my research shows the monopolist’s competing products appear to about 5 times as expensivs, which rules them out for my experimentation.

Based upon an Internet search of “photo video LED”, my evaluation has identified the following products as worthy of consideration.

]]> http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2012/01/30/photo-video-led-lights-litigation-stifle-economy/feed/ 0 Senator Franken, SOPA and PIPA http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2012/01/21/senator-franken-sopa-pipa/ http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2012/01/21/senator-franken-sopa-pipa/#comments Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:26:26 +0000 Administrator http://peaceengine.com/blog/?p=850 Dear Senator Franken,

PIPA and SOPA (House version) come about because big money interests like media companies buy political votes like human beings buy groceries at the store. Please stop wasting valuable political airtime on issues that are meaningless to regular humans and only of interest to non-human people like corporations and such.

Instead please put forth a constitutional amendment banning all direct and indirect contributions of money and time to politicians by every person who is not a human being. Also, please require full and prompt disclosure upon the Internet of ALL direct and indirect contributions of money to politicians and political campaigns. Do these things and you will get my vote again for sure. Such an amendment is the ONLY way to put a stop to political corruption and time wastage on issues like PIPA.

In your email to me:
From: Al Franken
To: Lyno
Sent: Friday, January 20, 2012 6:36 PM
Subject: Let’s talk about intellectual property

You say “there are millions of Americans whose livelihoods rely on strong protections for intellectual property: middle-class workers – most of them union workers – in all 50 states, thousands of them here in Minnesota, working in a variety of industries from film production to publishing to software development.” Adequate protections are already in place in laws going back decades. As you well know, the Internet is a game changer regarding distribution of copyright works. The recent Justice Department shutdown of Megaupload.com proves my point and affirms that PIPA’s trifling with the Internet is entirely unnecessary. The recent Washington Post article “Federal indictment claims popular Web site Megaupload.com shared pirated material” proves that existing laws are adequate.

Just so you know, I find the obfuscating phrase “intellectual property” to be intellectually offensive because it presumes that copyright, patent, and trademark laws are somehow similar, which they are not. I prefer when copyright is not lumped into such a meaningless phrase and is named directly when it is being discussed.

Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

Lyno

]]> http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2012/01/21/senator-franken-sopa-pipa/feed/ 1 Black Tortoise Computer Appears in 2012 http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2012/01/16/black-tortoise-computer-appears-in-2012/ http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2012/01/16/black-tortoise-computer-appears-in-2012/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 18:45:12 +0000 Administrator http://peaceengine.com/blog/?p=833 Why would a grown man name his newest pet computer Black Tortoise? There’s mystery in that and perhaps a story worth telling. In the meantime check out the wikipedia page concerning Black_Tortoise which is sometimes called the Black Warrior of the North. The Black Tortoise (xuanwu) is the sign for the northern quarter of the sky. The follwoing image on the grounds of the Beijing Ancient Observator is copied from the wikimedia.org website.


Black Tortoise is one of the Four Symbols are four mythological creatures in the Chinese constellations. They are:

  • Azure Dragon of the East
  • Vermilion Bird of the South
  • White Tiger of the West
  • Black Tortoise of the North

Each one of them represents a direction and a season of the year, and each has its own individual characteristics and origins. They have been portrayed in many historical Chinese and Korean myths and fiction, and also appear in many modern Japanese comic books and animation. The origin of those 4 symbols are from China.

All of these mysteries will unfold and be told. All in due time. But first we must dive down into the details of actually selecting those computer parts to be assembled into the black tortoise computer.

SELECTING COMPUTER PARTS

This document configures my 2012 dream machine based around the AMD 8 core FX-8150 processor.

AMD FX-8150 PROCESSOR

Processor Model

FX-8150

CPU Base

3.6GHz

CPU Turbo Core

3.9GHz

CPU Max Turbo

4.2GHz

TDP

125W

Cores

8

L2 Cache

8MB

L3 Cache

8MB

Max DDR3

1866

PKG

AM3+

NB

2.2GHz

Black tortoise needs a fair bit of CPU horsepower. I chose AMD. The obvious alternative is Intel. I wanted AMD because I have a fondness for their lower hardware prices and openness to overclocking. I found the following review to be helpful. http://www.guru3d.com/article/amd-fx-8150-processor-review/. For a demonstration of extreme overclocking, just for fun I watched the following techno music backed video “AMD FX-8150 @ 7.0GHz (LN2 overclocking & benchmarking)”, featuring cooling by liquid nitrogen.

AMD FX-8150 CPU

Having decided upon the AMD FX-8150 CPU I searched YouTube for a closeup video and found "AMD Bulldozer FX 8150 8-Core CPU Processor Unboxing & First Look Linus Tech Tips".

COOLER MASTER HAF X CASE

First stop was the case. I chose a COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case as featured at the coolermaster.com website. I found the video “Cooler Master HAF-X Video Review” worth a complete watch.

CORSAIR CPU COOLER

Next I needed a high quality CPU cooling solution and initially selected "Hydro Series™ H80 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler" which includes a double-thick radiator and two 120mm fans,hydro series water cooling cpu cooler.

Then I decided I’d better do some performance reviews before deciding. I read "Corsair Hydro Series: H60, H80 and H100 Reviewed"

THE WINNER: "Hydro Series™ H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler" Featuring a full 240mm radiator (20 fins per inch) and two 120mm fans (high static pressure), the Corsair Hydro Series H100 extreme performance liquid CPU cooler includes a proprietary connector for Corsair’s Link Commander. (NOTE that there are only enough screws to mount two fans to the radiator. If you want to mount two additional fans you need eight more 6-32 x ~1 1/8" screws.) This introduces an extensive range of customizable features to systems as demonstrated hydro series h100 extreme performance liquid cpu cooler. This unit is reviewed at Corsair H100 CPU Cooler Review

Product available from Newegg

See also: Corsair Link Commander: http://www.corsair.com/corsair-link/corsair-link-kits.html

Excellent video: "Unboxing & First Looks: Corsair H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler"

ASUS MOTHERBOARD

ASUS SABERTOOTH MOTHERBOARD

I originally chose the Sabertooth board because of its long warranty and its being constructed of military grade components.

ASUS CROSSHAIR MOTHERBOARD

I settled on the ASUS Crosshair V Formula AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Gaming Motherboard with 3-Way SLI/CrossFireX Support and UEFI BIOS. ASUS has released two motherboards based on the new AMD 990FX chipset, the Crosshair V Formula and the Sabertooth 990FX. Both have similar specifications and feature four PCI Express x16 slots, but the Crosshair V Formula comes with better audio, two additional USB 3.0 ports, a better networking chip, and more overclocking options. The ASUS Crosshair V Formula has four memory sockets allowing up to 32 GB with this motherboard if you use four 8 GB modules. "ASUS Crosshair V Formula Motherboard" hardwaresecrets.com ASUS Crosshair V Formula Motherboard

JJ from ASUS unboxes the new AMD AM3+ Bulldozer ready ASUS Crosshair V Formula motherboard. Find out why the Crosshair V Formula from the ASUS Republic of Gamers is the perfect formula for AMD in "ASUS Crosshair V Formula Motherboard Hands-on Review"

The ROG connect feature is an interesting feature. In future videos the ROG interface will allow me to overclock black tortoise and produce a high quality video of the results. ROG Connect for the ASUS Crosshair V Formula Motherboard

MOTHERBOARD DDR3 MEMORY

The ASUS Crosshair V Formula motherboard Memory supports four DDR3-DIMM sockets (up to DDR3-2133, 32 GB maximum). It uses DIMM sockets one and two as the first channel, and three and four as the second channel.

The memory sticks I chose is:

The following articles provide an awesome explanation of the issues related to memory.

"Everything You Need to Know About the Dual-, Triple-, and Quad-Channel Memory Architectures" http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/133

"Understanding RAM Timings" http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Understanding-RAM-Timings/26

"Memory Overclocking" http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Memory-Overclocking/152

POWER SUPPLY

After researching the power supply question I decided that a good power supply could be moved from machine to machine and would last for many years.

VIDEO CARD

Owing to the need for a video card that supports four (4) monitors the following cards are under consideration.

SOLID STATE DISK (SSD)

Two solid state drives (SSD) configured in RAID-0 provide maximum performance for Black Tortoise.

HARD DISK

Various hard disk options are available.

BLU-RAY BURNER

Black Tortoise needs an optical media drive to be able to read and write Blu-ray, DVD, and CD discs.

ACCESSORIES

There are several computer parts necessary to complete the Black Tortoise build.

  • Computer case screws http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_case_screws
  • Hardware for 25mm wide fan housings are — 6-32 x 1-1/4" Black Oxide Pan Head Phillips Machine Screw at fastenal.com
    and at microfasteners.com
    and many other locations searchable on the Internet.
  • The case needs a second top fan COOLER MASTER Megaflow 200mm Red LED Case Fan.
  • When is comes to 120MM fans see
    Noctua NF-F12 fan
  • and the newest Noctua NF-P12 — The NF-P12 has been specifically developed for applications such as CPU coolers that demand superior pressure and airflow performance. Thanks to psychoacoustic optimizations like the Vortex-Control Notches, the new SCD drive system and Noctua’s premium-grade SSO-Bearing, the NF-P12 achieves exceptional quietness and long-term stability.
  • Concerning 4-pin PWN (Pulse Width Modulation), there existsa 4-pin Y-cable which allows you to connect two 4 pin PWM fans to a single header

BOUGHT COMPUTER PARTS

]]> http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2012/01/16/black-tortoise-computer-appears-in-2012/feed/ 1 Throw Nonhumans From Temple 2012 http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2011/12/16/throw-nonhumans-from-temple-2012/ http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2011/12/16/throw-nonhumans-from-temple-2012/#comments Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:17:18 +0000 Administrator http://peaceengine.com/blog/?p=830 Nigh unto two thousand years ago, Jesus threw the moneylenders out of the temple. He did this for a reason. 2012 is our year to do likewise. It has become self evident that moneylenders are corrupting politics. When faced with this truth, what must we do? We must throw moneylenders out of our politics. And while we are at it lets throw out the corporations and similar non-human persons. We must clean our political temple of its non-human pollution.

]]> http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2011/12/16/throw-nonhumans-from-temple-2012/feed/ 0 DSLR Movie Making, Thanksgiving Day 2011 http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2011/12/06/dslr-movie-making-thanksgiving-day-2011/ http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2011/12/06/dslr-movie-making-thanksgiving-day-2011/#comments Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:30:13 +0000 Administrator http://peaceengine.com/blog/?p=807 If you think you might want to make a movie about the events of the spring and summer of 2012 and are looking for high quality DSLR camera equipment costing less than a small car, this might be a useful beginning page to scroll. Even if all you are aspiring to is making a movie of the best sunset of 2012, this still might be the page for you. If you are looking for information that will help you decide where to spend money for Canon DSLR movie making equipment, then you have found the best page I have seen. I created this page to guide my own buying decisions and be a useful reference link. This article explores the Canon EOS product lineup from the perspective of some affordable best of breed DSLR movie making equipment. This page records the journey beginning with a Canon T2i and culminating in the desire for a 21.1 Megapixel Full-Frame Sensor Canon 5D 35mm full frame camera and settling back on the eventual tentative purchase of a professional quality 18.0 Megapixel APS-C size CMOS-sensor-based Canon 7D camera and some of the supporting accessories listed on this page.

by Lyno, Thursday, November 24, 2011, Thanksgiving Day

DSLR Movie Making, Thanksgiving Day 2011

INTRODUCTION

Where does any journey of life begin? It begins with a dream culminating in a vision. Sometimes it happens in the blink of an eye. Other times it happens bit by bit, unfolding over many days, weeks, and months. The journey told of in this tale begins with me wanting to make a movie and, as part of that quest, to find a camera with which to shoot the footage of that movie.

As is the case with any Internet quest, the framing of the question is paramount. Many hours were invested in seeking a video camera by searching Google and YouTube.

THE SEARCH

Searches for ‘video camera’ on Google and on YouTube yielded little that was all that helpful in shedding light on the pathway. I have a special fondness for Canon cameras so “Canon Vixia” caught my eye. Many hours of research later confirmed that the $400 Canon Vixia HF M41 might be the camera for me.

It is a maxim of the Internet Age that “as ye shall seek, so shall ye find”. Having begun my search for a video camera, it is no surprise that I found one. However, along the way I encountered the term “DSLR camera” which stands for “digital single lens reflex camera”. In addition to a video camera I wanted to upgrade my 6 megapixel Canon SLR and was focused upon the Canon T2i based on the recommendation of a friend who is a professional photographer.

PHILIP BLOOM ON DSLR MOVIE MAKING

Along the way I happened upon the YouTube search ‘Canon DSLR video making’ and found the following video, which led me to explore the idea of using a DSLR instead of a video camera to make a movie. It’s an interview with cinematographer Philip Bloom, done while he was visiting Oslo for his workshops and master classes.

PHILIP BLOOM VIDEO NOTES

@09:40 “My favorite camera is the [Canon] 5D Mark II.”

@15:14 “The number one accessory is a viewfinder for the camera, and the one I recommend is a [Zacuto] Zed-Finder Pro because it doesn’t fog up… Other than that plug in a (LCD) monitor.”

@16:01 Begins a general discussion of lenses, @18:10 he recommends a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Telephoto Zoom Lens.

Bloom is a proponent of Zeiss glass for cinema photography. He endorses the Canon L series glass and elaborated on a House episode shot almost entirely on the the primes and zooms listed below with prices as of November 22, 2011.

CANON 5D MARK II SETUP FOR VIDEO

Having watched the Bloom interview video, I began researching the 5D and watched a series of videos, beginning with “Philip Bloom setting up a Canon 5D Mark II for video”.

  • Mode: M
  • Shutter speed: 50
  • ISO: 160, 320, 640; 1250; F4 is too dark, set personal profile
  • Picture style: neutral
  • Sharpness: 0
  • Contrast: 0
  • Saturation: down 2

CANON 5D EXAMPLE RIG AND GEAR FOR VIDEO

“DSLR Rig & Gear for Video Production & Filmmaking” This is a nice video that walks through the contents of a small camera travel pack that fits as carry on.

CANON 5D VERSUS 7D VERSUS T2I

Then, I researched alternatives to the 5D by watching the following video “Canon 5D mkII 7D & T2i – Video DSLR camera reviews”

CANON 5D VERSUS 7D

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the following video which established the 7D as a viable alternative.

CANON 7D SETUP

The following video is the best I encountered for going through the controls on the camera. It is long-running but worth going through.

CANON 7D CONTROLS

The following comprehensive video goes through the controls. (note: The background music blasts into the right channel stereo while voice is in the left channel.)

The following video provides a thorough review of all of the controls and demonstrates live view through a computer.

CANON 7D AUTOPLAY LIST OF VIDEOS

This URL provides the starting point for a video autoplay list of Canon EOS 7D videos:

PLAYLIST

CANON 7D LENS ALTERNATIVES

The fellow in the next video has lots of interesting videos on the Canon 7D. He believes that expensive glass is not so important when shooting movies with a DSLR. He produces lots of videos around the Canon 7D. He says “the most important thing is getting the fastest lens possible for video mode; it’s not the sharpness its the speed of the lens”. Some of his recommendations from various videos are listed below. “7. Canon 7D (primes) Advanced Lens Selection – Video Mode Interactive Tutorial” is below and be sure to watch his other video titled “Canon 7D (zooms) Advanced Lens Selection – Video Mode Interactive Tutorial”. Be sure to read the lens reviews carefully because there are reasons why each of these lenses are less expensive than the Canon’s L series glass.

FAVORITE LENS

CANON 7D WIRELESS FILE TRANSMITTER

Canon EOS 7D – Basic Wireless File Transmitter Capabilities and Possibilities 16/16 — WFT-E5A —

CANON 7D FLASH & LED LIGHT

CANON 7D AUDIO

6. Canon 7D Recording Audio Issues – Video Mode Interactive tutorial

THE END

AFTER NOTES

The following image records the closing time stamp.

The following photos were takes with the indicated f stop and shutter speed.

f8 1/50 sec.

f8 1/60 sec.

f3.5 1/1250 sec.

2816 x 2112 original image

]]> http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2011/12/06/dslr-movie-making-thanksgiving-day-2011/feed/ 1 Unified Modeling Language UML Learning Series http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2011/11/06/unified-modeling-language-uml-learning-series/ http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2011/11/06/unified-modeling-language-uml-learning-series/#comments Sun, 06 Nov 2011 22:43:25 +0000 Administrator http://peaceengine.com/blog/?p=670 This document cites a series teaching how to diagram systems using the Unified Modeling Language (UML). The series was originally created for the Virtual Training Company and was uploaded to YouTube where it is available for viewing. The original series is at http://www.vtc.com/ and, specifically, http://www.vtc.com/products/UML_tutorials.htm.

The YouTube series is viewable at the URL below. When you enter YouTube for rmb1905′s Channel the movies are listed on the right side of the screen. Sort the movies by the “Date Added” sort criteria. In this manner you can select each movie in order.

http://www.youtube.com/user/rmb1905#p/u/0/RRXe1omEGWQ

Welcome to the UML

The following embedded video sample provides a great introduction to the series.

]]> http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2011/11/06/unified-modeling-language-uml-learning-series/feed/ 0 Wall Street Overseas Tax Break http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2011/10/09/wall-street-overseas-tax-break/ http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2011/10/09/wall-street-overseas-tax-break/#comments Sun, 09 Oct 2011 11:59:36 +0000 Administrator http://peaceengine.com/blog/?p=661 A great evil lurks in the heart of Wall Street. It is echoed in the heart of Washington. That evil arises from the absurd notion that profits earned outside the United States should not be fully taxed when they enter the domestic books of United States companies.

It is perhaps equally absurd, in the face of the sentiment behind Occupy Wall Street and similar protests elsewhere in the United States, that the whole notion of a foreign tax holiday will somehow fly under the radar of the American people. Even President Obama may become caught up in this evil by suggesting a foreign-profits tax holiday based on the premise that companies could repatriate foreign-made profits with little or no tax payment as long as they used the money for U.S. investment and job creation. Once again the American people are being betrayed by Washington and Wall Street doings. It was Henry David Thoreau who said “there are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.” The Occupy Wall Street movement is an attempt to strike at the root of evil.

I say that, as patriotic Americans, Wall Street and Washington ought to propose instead that these profits be brought home and the taxes paid. Then let them buy back their stock and, with the remainder, do some good. Meanwhile the taxes raised from these repatriated foreign profits will go a long way towards paying for President Obama’s jobs program.

http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2011/09/07/overseas-tax-break-may-backfire/ “Overseas Tax Break May Backfire” at the Wall Street Journal, of all places, fesses up to the fact that a new Homeland Investment Act won’t help the U.S. economy much. The Homeland Investment Act of 2004 provided for a one-time tax holiday on the repatriation of foreign earnings, thereby allowing U.S. multinationals to access earnings retained abroad at a lower cost. Firms responded to this act by significantly increasing repatriations from foreign affiliates.

This whole corporation shell game of moving taxes from state to state and nation to nation, designed to deny the nations and states tax revenues, creates great disruption to local economies devastated by companies moving from state to state and from nation to nation.

If I were President Obama I would invite U.S. corporations to bring home these profits, pay the taxes, and then begin a plan to buy U.S. bonds as a way of repatriating ownership of the United States national debt.

]]> http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2011/10/09/wall-street-overseas-tax-break/feed/ 0 American Dream http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2011/09/18/american-dream/ http://www.peaceengine.com/blog/2011/09/18/american-dream/#comments Sun, 18 Sep 2011 12:39:40 +0000 Administrator http://peaceengine.com/blog/?p=658 When I was a young man (40 years ago) my version of the so called “Great American Dream” was pretty simple. My dad had said to stay in school and graduate with a college degree, which I did by getting a dual degree in Computer Science and Economics. I was not drafted into the Viet Nam War, deciding instead to serve my country and humanity in the Peace Corp. I came back to the United States and got my first job working as a computer programmer in government. I was taught to have a credit card for convenience and pay it off monthly, start saving immediately and continuously for retirement, avoid buying on credit except for a house and car, and pay cash for everything else. I was taught that, if I did all of these things, then I would be financially well off in retirement. That was the 1972. I did those things for decades. By 2011 my dream for a worry free retirement has been spoiled by a bunch of greedy wall street bankers who speculated the stock market into a nose dive and then turned around and stole billions of dollars from the housing market. In essence, Wall Street banker’s and lawyer’s greed stole the retirement of my generation of Americans.

In 2011 we now have an American Dream destroying Congress led by a radical right wing agenda designed to dismantle government. I have the feeling that “We the People” who are human are being eaten alive by the “We the People” who are not human–so called “people” like corporations, for example.

So where the heck are “We the People” who are human these days? We are busy voting into office wackos who chant pathological mantras. Phrases like “no new taxes” seem to have taken hold and operate independent of mathematics, common sense, and anything resembling reason. What’s up with that bit of political pathology?

Wall Street backed corporations are now busy foreclosing on millions of homes. “We the People” who are human are getting daily tossed us out of our homes. Once the corporations’ work is done, what little will remain of the American Dream?

Why are the right leaning corporate sponsored talking heads in Congress muttering pathological mantras like “no new taxes”? It is because these messages and actions have been bought and paid for by corporate contributions. Corporations know very well that their profits will be taxed to pay back the deficit caused by their tax cuts during the Bush Years (which created the deficit in the first place) and that it will be tax increases on the corporations that will pay off their national debt. They understand very well the principle that it is vastly cheaper to buy a few politicians a public office in Congress than to pay the taxes that will result when sanity is restored.

Common wisdom says the United States and many other nations now have an unsustainable national debt. Common wisdom among even our polarized political parties is that jobs are the key. Only the sad truth is that there seemingly aren’t new jobs to be had unless governments create them. Wacko notions persist that government regulation is to blame and that if regulations are removed we will the people will be somehow better off — what an absurdity.

Foreclosures in the owner occupied housing market, among my generation are commonplace — there goes one cornerstone of the American Dream. Unemployment for people my age is increasing and prospects for being rehired grow dim. There goes another cornerstone. Social Security supplemental income was supposed to be there for my generation and probably will be though heaven help future generations.

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream defines:
The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, “life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” regardless of social class or circumstances of birth.[1] The idea of the American Dream is rooted in the United States Declaration of Independence which proclaims that “all men are created equal” and that they are “endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights” including “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Health care fits in under the “Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” category of inalienable rights. Health care costs are rising and are unaffordable without insurance. Fortunately for “We the People” health care reform was enacted by the Congress and signed into law by President Obama — at least one cornerstone of the American Dream will live for as long as there is a Democrat in the White House.

Now here’s the dirty truth. Many wealthy “We the People” in the form of corporations don’t want to provide health care for “We the People” who are humans. These corporations are buying the political votes necessary to dismantle worker health care program. This massive corporate led deconstruction of the progress made towards the American Dream has been happening for years. It plays out now in the polarized political arena of the United States government. “We the People” who are corporations don’t vote. Instead, the corporations buy the political campaigns of those politicians who will run their agenda.

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