Fugees Producer And Rapper John Forte Granted Pardon By President Bush

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1600193/20081125/fugees.jhtml
"Rapper and former Fugees producer John Forté was one of 14 people pardoned by President Bush on Monday, according to Reuters. He had been serving a sentence of 14 years in prison since 2001, after being found guilty of possession of 31 pounds of liquid cocaine with intent to distribute."

John Forte with the Fugees in "Stayin' Alive"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzNtUOMV4Hs&feature=related
(the end of the video shows art imitating life...of is it life imitating art...?)
Go Crazy Legs!

Trying not to be so cynical, but I guess this is payback for Wyclef's support of the US coup against Haiti's democratically elected president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

- Vox

India Attacks: Capitalism the target?

Interesting article:
Why the Attacks in India Should Surprise Nobody
"The recent attacks in India are morally repugnant, but the debate on how to curb terrorism needs to consider why people engage in such desperate acts in the first place. The perpetrators of yesterday's violence targeted two of Mumbai's most luxurious hotels: Taj Mahal and the Oberioi Trident. One night at either of these hotels costs, on average, Rupees 17,500 (US $ 355) in a country where the annual salary is Rupees 29,069 (US $590).[7] The death of over a hundred people on Wednesday should deeply upset the world, but it should also lead us to question the death of the 18 million people who die annually from the systemic violence of endemic poverty.[8] As Yale professor Thomas Pogge notes, the affects of poverty are felt exponentially more in certain parts of our "unflat" world: "If the developed Western countries had their proportional shares of [gratuitous] deaths, severe poverty would kill some 3,500 Britons and 16,500 Americans per week."[9] "

Fiat Money

A friend of mine sent me an email about gov'ts latest step in trying straighten-out the economy:

U.S. Details $800 Billion Loan Plans
"The Federal Reserve and the Treasury announced $800 billion in new lending programs on Tuesday, sending a message that they would print as much money as needed to revive the nation’s crippled banking system..."

Did I read that right?

"...Until the economy begins to turn around, Fed officials have made it clear they are prepared to print as much money as needed to jump-start lending, consumer spending, home buying and investment..."

There it is again...

Now, I'm no economist, but with my Bx public school education I do remember learning about something called fiat money (one of the few things I do remember)...

Fiat money - "Currency that a government has declared to be legal tender, despite the fact that it has no intrinsic value and is not backed by reserves. Historically, most currencies were based on physical commodities such as gold or silver, but fiat money is based solely on faith. Most of the world's paper money is fiat money. Because fiat money is not linked to physical reserves, it risks becoming worthless due to hyperinflation. If people lose faith in a nation's paper currency, the money will no longer hold any value."
(http://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fiatmoney.asp)

"Hyperinflations are caused by extremely rapid growth in the supply of"paper" money."
(http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Hyperinflation.html)

I'm not trying to say we're on the verge of a total collapse or anything, but It is frightening to hear these things.

Other instances of hyperinflation: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2008-11/14/content_7205990.htm

"...In post Second World War Hungary monthly inflation reached 12,950,000,000,000,000 percent, with prices doubling every 15.6 hours - Zimbabwean prices are currently doubling every 1.3 days. (as of 11/14/2008)
The most famous hyperinflation, Weimar Germany in 1923, is in a distant fourth place, at 29,525 percent a month with prices doubling every 3.7 days."...

Union

Had a falling out with the Black Eyed Peas, what with their introduction of Fergie and selling out to pop. But I have to respect their grind. Heard this BEP song and felt it was blogable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT_-Ln7eWpw

Enjoy the message...

- Vox

I did Not Vote For Barack Obama...

...I voted for Cynthia McKinney (you didn't think I voted for McCain, did you?). This was not a protest vote, or even a statement vote, other than to help support a third party. Oh, and the fact that Cynthia Mckinney has a very distinguished congressional record, more impressive to me than even the "O" man himself. See for yourself...

I think third party representation is vital if we are going to discuss REAL issues during a campaign, which is like 2 years long. Geez, discussing the same 2 or 3 issues for 2 years straight can get pretty monotonous. And unless the two party establishment (with the corporate media in tow) is FORCED to include a third party in debates, they won't do it.

One of the main goals of a third party is to achieve 5% of the national vote. That way they can receive certain public funds for their campaign and conventions, otherwise it's a struggle. As it ended up, no third party candidate even came close to 5%
Anyway, here's how they finished:

Ralph Nader: 672,774 (0.55 %)
Bob Barr: 497,206
Chuck Baldwin: 179,035
Cynthia McKinney: 145,725

Anyway, I knew Obama would carry New York State, so I voted my conscience.

- A hopeful Vox