Monday, June 27, 2011

7 WAYS WALL STREET CONTROLS THE DEBATE


If you control the question, you control the debate. Think about all of the problems confronting the world: climate change, droughts, floods, food shortages and spiraling prices, refugees, the economy, environmental degradation and ad infinitum. Yet, what are we talking about? Deficits, taxes, who’s running for president, who’s the best dancer, singer and a variety of other topics that divert our attention for the crises at hand. Enter Wall Street, the symbol of power and money who are controlling the national and international debates on policy. Wall Street, and by definition, the right wing, have managed to control the questions. How do they do that? Here are a few examples.
  • Create a Straw Man – Wall Street has done a great job at diverting attention to credit ratings at the expense of other key issues. By scaring the nation with talk of reducing credit rating (done by members who are employed by multi-national corporations), they have managed to take the ‘heat’ off of global warming and climate change.
  • Focus on the Numbers, Not the real Issues – The questions they raise are over amounts and not the substance. The issue is not how much Medicare or SS costs, the real question is how do we best care for an aging population? By forcing upon billions in costs rather than the needs of the population, they have people crunching numbers rather than coming up with solutions.
  • Question the Premise – Science is wrong, there is no climate change! Big business has poured millions into trying to reduce the credibility of anyone that opposes their goals.
  • You’re Not Worthy – It is fairly easy to make people think that they are undeserving of a social safety net. If they had worked harder they could have been wealthy, also, rather than suck off the public dole, regardless of the fact that the people contributed payroll deductions for such programs.
  • Make Absurd Demands – Rather than argue about the issue, Wall Street has been expert about asking for outrageous demands about the economy, regulations, budgets and cuts that have kept the debate on the demands and not the substance of the issue. This tactic keeps debate on the lines, rather than what’s behind the lines.
  • Scare the People – Threats of an oil shortage, loss of jobs, bad credit rating, inability to make loans, stifling regulations being bad for business, higher taxes will be bad for business, etc., are subtle threats that keep the public at bay for fear that dramatic actions will even make things worse. Oddly enough, even with soaring profits, this gambit is still very effective.
  • Welcome to Our Show – Remember the Roman Coliseum that kept the masses happy and entertained? The goal is to divert attention from the real problems. A few clowns in a presidential race keep the media occupied. Ads that promise new drilling, fracking, coal, bio-fuels, all electric vehicles and more give people a false hope that solutions are just around the corner. All the while, people are told that any interference will slow these plans down and thus the suffering will persist. In the meantime and behind the scenes, millions are being spent to gut environmental regulations, to lobby for free access to drill anywhere and to eliminate barriers to greater profit.
Yes, there are groups that are trying to expose these tactics but they must compete with the billions of dollars that Wall Street spends to hide the truth and to divert attention. Given that the media loves a good show, they unfortunately fall prey to covering the glitz at the expense of the gore. Since Wall Street is framing all of the questions, they have managed to control the debates.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

HERE'S MY PROBLEM WITH AFGHANISTAN



Aside from the money and the deaths, I have a fundamental issue with what is happening in Afghanistan. When colonial America took on the British, it was a battle of farmers against the best trained army in the world. When the French rebelled against the king, it was peasants against a strong army. Today, the Arab Spring puts clerks and everyday people against highly trained military establishments. These people want their freedom from oppressive regimes and they are winning.

But in Afghanistan, it doesn't seem like the people really want their freedom. It is a matter of who can offer the most in terms of cash and security. If it's the Alliance, so be it. If it is the Taliban, so be it. There appears to be no basic desire to rid themselves of the shackles of the extremist Muslim views of a few, if those few make the better deal. I say, leave it to them to sort it all out and let's leave. Neither Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Syria, et al began with the help of the west. Yes, are are now giving support, but the impetus came from the grassroots. This is just not the case in Afghanistan, nor was it in Iraq.

Secondly, how long can it possibly take to train an Afghan army? My God, we send our soldiers to boot camp for six months and then some desert training and off to war they go. We have been 'training' in Afghanistan for 10 freaking years. Are they stupid people? I doubt it.

So it's time to come and let them sort it out. We need the money and it seems like they don't want the freedom!



Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Author Alison Silbert "Boost Your Revenues by Turning People Away"

Boost Your Revenues by Turning People Away...

Guest Post-I would like to welcome Alison Silbert as a guest author for her blog tour, BOOST YOUR REVENUES by TURNING PEOPLE AWAY! Give it a read and then check out her latest book.



I started to write simple articles in the second year I was running my internet marketing business as a way to generate prospects’ interest, exposure and credibility. I found that I tremendously enjoyed writing as a way of expressing my unique abilities to teach others about online marketing and constructing websites, that I ended up continuing to write articles. In 2004, I received certification in technical writing at George Brown College. One day in 2006, a colleague suggested I put all of the answers to questions I was being repeatedly asked by clients into a book format, so I could spend less time with clients, and also give clients something to refer to repeatedly.

In 2007, I wrote my first book “Winning Websites”; then in 2009 I revisited the content of “Winning Websites” and rewrote it under the title “Boost your Revenues by Turning People Away”. With the publisher’s assistance I designed an eye-catching cover (something, I learned along the way, that “Winning Websites” lacked). I revised the copy within the book to include new questions I had begun to hear and included brief instruction-sets about how to use some simple website template styles, how to use some common content management systems (e.g. Wordpress, Joomla, and Drupal) and some common questions that someone seeking a website company should ask any representative. I also included thought-provoking marketing topics such as “how to refine your ideal client definition” and “how to make your website compel your ideal client to start sales cycles for you”, and a full section dedicated to simple ways the non-technical business-person can promote a website and boost their search engine rank via article writing and social media postings.

Most people use a website for (a glorified brochure available for everyone to see), it is possible to write website copy that builds ideal prospects’ trust in you and your business, and leads them to take some step towards starting the sales cycle for you. Thus Boost your Revenues by Turning People Away was born.

Alison Silbert is the author of Boost Your Revenues by Turning People Away. When not running her business Passionate Web Creations, she is a mentor, coach, and teacher, supporting individuals in living their dream of having a successful online business. For more details about the book, email us at info@idealvisitor.com; to order copies of the book go from Amazon.com, Barnes & Nobile and http://idealvisitor.com/idealsite/book-2/.

1BILLION DOLLARS A WEEK

Look, I know we can't just abandon Afghanistan. But, there comes a time when a people must take responsibility for their own future. There also comes a time when we must take of our own home. Even 1/2, 500 million per week would go a long way toward helping our own unemployed.

So let's become a healthier nation and trade some of those bullets for food, clothing, shelter and health care for the home front. Time to draw down big time!!!