Preventing the NEXT economic meltdown – or not

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The Obama administration is rolling out its regulatory reform proposals, and the verdict is that they are underwhelming. That’s alarming, because regulatory failure allowed the financial and banking crimes that caused the current recession/depression. Except that there were no crimes – because laws, regulation and enforcement, from anti-trust to Glass-Steagall had been rolled back or repealed by Republican and Democratic administrations willing to do anything that business asked. After the 1929 stock market crash and the ensuing Great Depression, the government established the Securities and Exchange Commission to regulate the stock market, the FDIC to insure bank deposits and regulate the banking industry, and the Glass-Steagall act to separate commercial banks and investment banking.In recent years, many government regulations have been eased or eliminated — not only on financial institutions but also on airlines, telephone services, broadcasters, and more. The 1999 gutting of the New Deal-era Glass-Steagall regulation of the banking industry is a commonly-cited example. Continue Reading

Catching up on court cases

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The lawsuit against 3M for PFC pollution? The Strib reports that th jury said no to the plaintiffs, so 3M walks away. Since this case went nowhere, the likelihood of any other litigation is low. The company has spent $15 million on cleanups so far, and could spend as much as another $50 million, so it’s not exactly getting a free pass. The jury should get the case today, in the retrial of a Minnesota woman who allegedly engaged in illegal sharing of copyrighted music, reports AP. Continue Reading

Home foreclosures dip in MN

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MPR reports that home foreclosures fell slightly in the first quarter of 2009, compared to the first quarter of 2008. But that may not be a meaningful change, because many lending institutions put a freeze on foreclosures for the first few months of the year. Now the freeze is over, and foreclosures will probably go back up. Is the pace of foreclosure slowing? Or is this a temporary blip? Continue Reading

Online in Iran / Unallotment strikes deep / St. Paul: Schools, students, tears / PFC case to jury /

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Everybody in the media world is buzzing and tweeting about the online revolution in Iran. Yesterday The Atlantic “reported” the story by posting an apparently unmoderated and unanalyzed Twitter feed. Jon Stewart skewered CNN for its breathless reporting, also long on direct quotes from Facebook and Twitter and short on verification (after all, it’s CNN) and analysis. The Iranian government ordered all foreign journalists to stay inside their homes or offices and report only from official sources or telephone interviews. NPR reports that the government is doing its worst to stop social media reporting: MORE• Unallotment strikes deep Round-up of stories outside the MSM• Students, schools, tears in St. Continue Reading

Online in Iran

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Everybody in the media world is buzzing and tweeting about the online revolution in Iran. Yesterday The Atlantic “reported” the story by posting an apparently unmoderated and unanalyzed Twitter feed. Jon Stewart skewered CNN for its breathless reporting, also long on direct quotes from Facebook and Twitter and short on verification (after all, it’s CNN) and analysis. The Iranian government ordered all foreign journalists to stay inside their homes or offices and report only from official sources or telephone interviews. NPR reports that the government is doing its worst to stop social media reporting:
The Revolutionary Guards, an elite body answering to the supreme leader, says Iranian Web sites and bloggers must remove any materials that “create tension” or face legal action. Continue Reading

World/National News | June 17, 2009 | The Hunger Season

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World/National News | June 17, 2009 | The Hunger SeasonThat’s what the next three months are called in Ethiopia. Now, reports BBC, the UN has run out of food aid and the capacity to deliver it to nine million Ethiopians who rely on food aid for their survival. News with attitude, mostly from MN but with occasional forays abroad.News Day summarizes, links to, and comments on reports from news media around the world, with particular attention to Minnesota news. Continue Reading

Students, schools, tears in St. Paul

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Students pleading to be allowed to remain in school were not the only people with tears in their eyes at the St. Paul Board of Education meeting Tuesday night. To read about the plight of the Karen refugees who are being told to leave their school, see my story in the TC Daily Planet. Bottom line from the meeting: $25 million cut from a budget that the board reluctantly voted to pass, with one dissenting vote; decision on three school closings delayed for a month; and not much hope for the refugees. Said board member Tom Goldstein: “This is a product of what happens when a state decides to fund education on the cheap.” Continue Reading

War Reports | June 17, 2009 | Somalia, Pakistan, DR Congo

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Somalia Intense fighting continues in the capital city of Mogadishu, and BBC reports that the police chief of Mogadishu was killed as government forces attacked insurgent bases. Pakistan BBC reports that Pakistan army troops are massing for a major offensive in South Waziristan. Fighting continues in Upper Dir and the Swat valley. Congo DR Congo troops fired on a UN base, according to BBC:
A senior UN peacekeeper told the BBC that army commanders are not handing over soldiers’ wages.The army and UN forces are conducting an offensive in the region against ethnic Hutu rebels many of whom fled to DR Congo after the Rwandan genocide. News with attitude, mostly from MN but with occasional forays abroad.News Day summarizes, links to, and comments on reports from news media around the world, with particular attention to Minnesota news. Continue Reading

PFC case goes to jury

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PFC case goes to jury The first case related to PFC water contamination by 3M went to the jury yesterday. If plaintiffs win their claim, based on damage to property values because of the PFCs, expect more cases to be filed. The Strib summarizes:
3M legally dumped perfluorochemicals, or PFCs, into landfills ending in the 1970s. The chemicals were later found in humans and animals around the world. Super-doses were shown to cause thyroid problems, cancer and birth defects in rats.In 2004 and 2005, traces of PFCs were discovered in groundwater in a 15-mile swath of the county, from Oakdale to Hastings. Continue Reading

Purple boxes in the sky

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Are those purple boxes appearing near St. Paul trees some kind of Vikings promo? Maybe a prank by graduating seniors? Or a prelude to an alien invasion? The truth is somewhat more prosaic – the boxes are an attempt to trap the invading Emerald Ash Borers. Continue Reading