EFTA01197808.pdf

From: Gregory Brown To: undisclosed-recipients:; Bce: [email protected] Subject: Greg Brown's Weekend Reading and Other Things.... 12/28/2014 Date: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 08:50:11 +0000 Attachments: So_which_foods_really_ARE_good_foryou,_Interactive_tool_reveals_the_truth_about_chi a_seeds,acai_berries„wheatgrass_kgreen_tea_Lizzy_Party_MailOnine_Nov._27„2014.d ocx; HOTTEST_YEAR_ON_RECORD_Shelby_Lin_Erdman_Huff_Post_Nov._30„2014.docx; The Consequences_ofClimate_Change_Huff_Post_12.01.2014.docx; How the world's biggest_companies_bribtforeign_gove_mmentslu2014in_11_charts_Hu ff Icst-cICED NiTw. 3,2014.docx; The_Worst-Run_Statesin_America_24- 7:Wall_St_12:6_2014.docx; Wealth_gap_between_middle_class_and_rich_widest_ever_CNNMoney_kme_6„2014.docx ; This_Is_What_U.S.- Cuba_Relations_Looked_Like_Over_The_Past_50_Years_Huff_Post_12.18.2014.docx; The_False_Choice_offrotesting_foriustice_and_Supporting_Ourfolice_Paul_Brandeis_ Raushenbush Huff Post 12.28.2014.docx; Economic_VRal_Signs_gtrongest_In_a_Decade_Nelson_Schwartz_12.23.2014.docx Inline-Images: image.png; image(1).png; image(2).png; image(3).png; image(4).png; image(5).png; image(6).png; image(7).png; image(8).png; image(9).png; image(10).png; image(11).png; image(12).png; image(13).png; image(14).png; image(I5).png; image(16).png; image(17).png; image(18).png DEAR FRIEND HOTTEST YEAR ON RECORD NOAA: 2014 is shaping up as hottest year on record EFTA01197808 I am sure that it is hard for people in Buffalo, New York and elsewhere in the Northeast corridor as well as many parts of the Midwest that the first ten months of 2014 have been the hottest since record keeping began more than 130 years ago, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. But NOAA says, despite the early bitter cold across parts of the United States starting as early as mid-November, ifs been a hot year so far for the Earth. By November et, with two months left on the calendar, 2014 was already shaping up to be the hottest year on record. The average global temperature between January and October has been 0.68 degrees Celsius (1.22 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than the 2oth century's average global temperature of 14.1 C (57.4 F). NOAA's analysis is an important "health gauge" indicating an ominous trend for the planet, says CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam. "Ifs becoming increasingly more difficult to be a skeptic of the causes of our warming planet," he says. This October was the hottest October on record globally, NOAA data showed. The mercury climbed more than one degree Fahrenheit above the loth century average of 57.1 F. Although it was just the fourth warmest October on record for the United States, NOAA said. "The record high October temperature was driven by warmth across the globe over both the land and ocean surfaces and was fairly evenly distributed between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres," the agency said. That's significant, says Van Dam. "Most notably, this record warmth is not contained to any specific part of the world. Meaning, we are all in this together," he says. "Sofar this year, record-breaking warmth has been observed in at least every continent and major ocean basin of our planet. This is something we cannot ignore." Important benchmark: NOAA's analysis breaks down global temperatures into two categories -- land and ocean -- then an average that includes both. The record high temperatures in October were recorded across both land and sea. The surface temperature on land approached an important scientific benchmark. It was almost 2 degrees Celsius higher than the loth century average for October of 9.3 C (48.7 F). Scientists have long predicted that a change in global average temperature of just 2 to 3 degrees higher could spell disaster for the planet, contributing to catastrophic storms, sea level rise, dangerous storm surges and melting polar ice. According to the non-binding international agreement on climate change -- the Copenhagen Accord, reached in 2009 -- any temperature increase above the 2 degree Celsius mark is "dangerous." NOAA said the ocean temperatures were also the warmest on record in October with an increase of 1.12 F over the loth century average of 60.6 degrees. Hot spots: "Record warmthfor the year-to-date was particularly notable across much of northern and western Europe, parts of Far East Russia, and large areas of the northeastern and western equatorial Pacific Ocean," NOAA said. "It is also notable that record warmth was observed in at least some areas of every continent and major ocean basin around the world," the agency added. Of particular note, several countries have already seen an average temperature increase of more than 2 degrees Celsius in October 2014 compared to loth century averages, including Australia, Germany, France, Switzerland, and Sweden. There was also one notable cold spot on the map. The average temperature this year in the midsection of the United States, which saw a severe winter, has been below the loth century average. Climate change is happening and it is happening faster than ever expected Human activity in the Earth's tundra regions as well as in the manmade wholesale destruction of the tropical rainforest, along with the release of air pollutants that deplete the ozone layer and greenhouse gases that hasten climate change, in addition to begin to affect the very integrity and sustainability of EFTA01197809 the global fragile ecosystems. For example, the increased occurrence of tundra fires would decrease the coverage of lichens, which could, in turn, potentially reduce caribou habitats and subsistence resources for other Arctic species. But the biggest effect that we are now seeing it the melting of the polar caps which in turn is raising the sea levels and dramatically changing traditional weather patterns. Some of the Consequences of Climate Change The consequences of climate change go far beyond warming temperatures, which scientists say are melting the polar ice caps and raising sea levels. Meet the team that is measuring climate change in the Arctic on CNN's "Wish You Were Here" series. Below are some of the other key effects of climate change, which may surprise you. Drought: In the coming decades climate change will unleash megadroughts lasting 10 years or more, according to a new report by scholars at Cornell University, the University of Arizona and the U.S. Geological Survey. We're seeing hints of this already in many arid parts of the world and even in California, which has been rationing water amid record drought. In this 2012 photo, a man places his hand on parched soil in the Greater Upper Nile region of northeastern South Sudan. Wildfires: There's not a direct link between climate change and wildfires, exactly. But many scientists believe the increase in wildfires in the Western United States is partly the result of tinder-dry forests parched by warming temperatures. This photo shows a wildfire as it approaches the shore of Bass Lake, California, in mid-September. Coral reefs: Scientists say the oceans' temperatures have risen by more than 1 degree Fahrenheit over the last century. It doesn't sound like much, but it's been enough to affect the fragile ecosystems of coral reefs, which have been bleaching and dying off in recent decades. This photo shows dead coral off the coast of St. Martin's Island in Bangladesh. Food prices: A U.N. panel found in March that climate change -- mostly drought -- is already affecting the global agricultural supply and will likely drive up food prices. Here, in 2010, workers on combines harvest soybeans in northern Brazil. Global food experts have warned that climate change could double grain prices by 205o. Pollen allergies: Are you sneezing more often these days? Climate change may be to blame for that, too. Recent studies show that rising temperatures and carbon dioxide levels promote the growth of weedy plant species that produce allergenic pollen. The worst place in the United States for spring allergies in 2014, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America? Louisville, Kentucky. Mountain glaciers: The snows capping majestic Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak, once inspired Ernest Hemingway. Now they're in danger of melting away altogether. Studies suggest that if EFTA01197810 the mountain's snowcap continues to evaporate at its current rate, it could be gone in 15 years. Here, a Kilimanjaro glacier is viewed from Uhuru Peak in December 2010. Endangered species: Polar bears may be the poster child for climate change's effect on animals. But scientists say climate change is wreaking havoc on many other species -- including birds and reptiles -- that are sensitive to fluctuations in temperatures. One, this golden toad of Costa Rica and other Central American countries, has already gone extinct. Animal migration: It's not your imagination: Some animals -- mostly birds -- are migrating earlier and earlier every year because of warming global temperatures. Scholars from the University of East Anglia found that Icelandic black-tailed godwits have advanced their migration by two weeks over the past two decades. Researchers also have found that many species are migrating to higher elevations as temperatures climb. Deforestation: Climate change has not been kind to the world's forests. Invasive species such as the bark beetle, which thrive in warmer temperatures, have attacked trees across the North American west, from Mexico to the Yukon. University of Colorado researchers have found that some populations of mountain pine beetles now produce two generations per year, dramatically boosting the bugs' threat to lodgepole and ponderosa pines. In this 2009 photo, dead spruces of the Yukon's Alsek River valley attest to the devastation wrought by the beetles. Extreme weather: The planet could see as many as 20 more hurricanes and tropical storms each year by the end of the century because of climate change, according to a 2013 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This image shows Superstorm Sandy bearing down on the New Jersey coast in 2012. Scientist warn that even if the current rate of greenhouse gas emissions were to stop today, the world will become increasingly unpleasant. Without a deal, they say, the world could eventually become uninhabitable for humans. They warn that it now may be impossible to prevent the temperature of the planet's atmosphere from rising by 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. According to a large body of scientific research, that is the tipping point at which the world will be locked into a near term future of drought, food and water shortages, melting ice sheets, shrinking glaciers, rising sea levels and widespread flooding — events that could harm the world's population and economy. Recent reports show that there may be no way to prevent the planet's temperature from rising, given the current level of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere and the projected rate of emissions expected to continue before any new deal is carried out. While a breach of the 3.6 degree threshold appears inevitable, scientists say that countries should not give up on their efforts to cut emissions. At stake now, they say, is the difference between a newly unpleasant world and an uninhabitable one. "What's already baked in are substantial changes to ecosystems, largescale transformations,"said one expert. He cited losses of coral reef systems and ice sheets, and lowering crop yields. Things could get a lot worse. Because beyond the 3.6 degree threshold, the aggregate cost to the global economy — rich countries as well as poor countries — rises rapidly. No country will be immune. And life as we know it is at stake.... EFTA01197811 On December 22, 2001 Richard Reid was flying from Charles De Gaulle International Airport in Paris, to Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, with continuing service to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona when he attempted to detonate plastic explosives concealed within his shoes. Passengers on the flight complained of a smoke smell causing a flight attendant to noticed Reid attempting to light a fuse leading into one of his shoes. With the help of other passengers, Reid was subdued and is now in jail for the rest of his life. And although Reid's shoe bomb failed to detonate, every person in America still has to take off their shoes before boarding a plane. We have to wonder why in a country where everyone has to take of their shoes before boarding a plane and the entire scientific community is telling us that if we don't change certain behaviors we will past the tipping point in climate change and our politicians still think that there is not enough evidence.... HUNT FOR ANSWERS ; ale , •,.. oda 11) : Last week two New York City police officers were slain, ambush style as they sat in their patrol car on special patrol doing crime reduction work in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. They were "shot and killed with no warning, no provocation," Police Commissioner William Bratton told reporters. "They were quite simply, assassinated." The gunman approached the passenger side of the patrol car and took a shooting stance, witnesses told police. He opened fire several times, striking both officers in the head, Bratton said. The gunman was found dead in a nearby subway station from a self- inflicted gunshot wound. The two officers are Rafael Ramos who had just turned 40 this month and Wenjian Liu who just got married two months ago. The shooter as Ismaaiyl Brinsley 28, was a career criminal with a history of mental illness. EFTA01197812  rite sibs Without a doubt this is beyond shame. Because no matter what I say about Ferguson and the death of Eric Gamer I truly appreciate the difficult job that police officers are given that often places their lives in jeopardy. We witnessed this when scores of New York's Finest Police Officers, Firefighters and paramedics fought their way up the World Trade Towers while everyone else was trying to leave with 343 firefighters-paramedics, 6o police and port authority officers dying. This was their job which they did beyond bravely. As Mayor Bill De Blasio said, "When a police officer is murdered, it tears at the foundation of our society," and "It is an attack on the very concept of decency." But what is almost equally appalling to me is the circus of the blame game where knuckleheads like Rudy Giuliani used the incident to grab headlines accusing President Obama, protesters and activists of stoking anti-police hatred and the reason why the deranged gunman shot the two officers. One of the problems especially in New York is that during the Giuliani administration police abuses against minorities grew. Most notably was the brutal sodomizing by police officers of Abner Louima in 1997 and the killing of the unarmed Amadou Diallo in 1999 who was mistook for a rapist and shot 19 times by for plain clothes police officers who fired 41 bullets. Not to mention the tens of thousands Black and Hispanic men each year who were routinely harassed during the New York Police Department's aggressive `stop &frisk' policy under Giuliani. And in all, Giuliani unconditionally backed the police officers. Everyone should be heartbroken over the senseless deaths of officers Liu and Ramos but it is a false choice to say that the people protesting for justice somehow can't honestly support our police. Unfortunately, the NYC Patrolmen's Benevolent Association president Patrick Lynch blamed was not Ismaaiyl Brinsley, or any accomplices that may have known about his alleged intention to kill his ex- girlfriend and two police officers. Instead, he, former Governor Patald, Giuliani and other pundits declared that the people to blame were Obama, Holder, de Blasio and all those who have been involved in the nationwide protests. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush wrote, "Instead of having the deaths of Liu and Ramos further tear us apart, could this serve as a moment of bringing us together. Liu and Ramos are reminders to any who would demonize the police, that our law enforcement is made up of people of all races and backgrounds, who have families and who feel called to this duty to protect and serve. The families of Eric Garner and Michael Brown were among the first to condemn the killing of Ramos and Liu night. The protests around the #BlackLivesMatter movement was never against the police, but EFTA01197813 it was a call to acknowledge that we can do better as a society that continues to bear the scars of racism. That effort must continue; we can and must do better as a nation. But it will only be successful if everyone comes together and recognizes one another as human beings, deserving of respect, dignity and life. Instead of pitting the deaths of Liu and Ramos against Gamer and Brown, we can join them together, understanding them as martyrs whose inspire us on both sides of the blue line to work for a more just, safe and united America." There are two major reasons why civil rights leaders and activists instantly condemned the killings. First it is certainly the right thing to do because a murder whether of an officer or civilian is still a senseless and appalling act that must be denounced. Secondly, the overwhelming majority of police officers are dedicated, conscientious public servants who genuinely are committed to protecting communities from crime and violence; black lives matter, as well as police lives. And with more than 120 police officers losing their lives this year there is the recognition that officers do face real dangers. Still the crazed act of one unhinged individual to derail the growing recognition on the part of a wide body of the public and many public officials that police violence is a major legal and public policy issue that cannot be ignored. At the same time we have to show companion for the hundreds of thousands of police, firefighters, paramedics and other civil servants who sacrifice their own safety to provide safety to us daily. There are no simple answers and playing the blame game is definitely not one of them. Obama's Had a Helluva Good Month Since the Midterms So how have things been going for our bored, exhausted, and disengaged president? He's been acting pretty enthusiastic, energized, and absorbed with his job, I'd say. Let us count the things he's done since the November 4th midterm elections: ■ November to: Surprised everyone by announcing his support for strong net neutrality. EFTA01197814  ■ November ii: Concluded a climate deal with China that was not only important in its own right, but has since been widely credited with jump-starting progress at the Lima talks last week. ■ November 20: Issued an executive order protecting millions of undocumented workers from the threat of deportation. ■ November 26: Signed off on an important new EPA rule significantly limiting ozone emissions. ■ December 15: Took a quiet victory lap as Western financial sanctions considerably sharpened the pain of Vladimir Putin's imploding economy. ■ December 16: Got nearly everything he wanted during the lame duck congressional session, and more. Democrats confirmed all important pending nominees, and then got Republican consent to several dozen lesser ones as well. ■ December 17: Announced a historic re-normalization of relations with Cuba. ■ December 18: The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week as the economy's continued improvement tempered dismissals. Jobless claims decreased by 6,000 to 289,00o in the week ended Dec. 13, the fewest since early November, a Labor Department report showed today in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 51 economists projected 295,000. Claims have been below 300,000 for 13 of the past 14 weeks. ■ December is: Almost every state in the country added jobs and saw unemployment rates decline in November, a month in which the United States as a whole added 321,000 non-farm jobs. Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia saw non-farm payrolls increase, while the unemployment rate fell in 41 states and D.C. between October and November. ■ December 23: The Commerce Department its earlier estimate of 3.9% saying that the U.S. Economy rose at an annual rate of 5% because of robust spending by businesses and consumers in the third quarter. The fastest rate in more than a decade. ■ December 26: Financial Markets closed at a record high with DOW 18,053.71 - S&P 2,088.77 -- NASDAQ 4,806.86 I guess you can add to that a non-event: In its second year, Obamacare signups are going smoothly and ahead of target. Am I missing anything beyond that? Maybe. It's been quite the whirlwind month for our bored, exhausted, disengaged president, hasn't it? All of these things are worthwhile in their own right, of course, but there's a political angle to all of them as well: they seriously mess with Republican heads. GOP leaders had plans for January, but now they may or may not be able to do much about them. Instead, they're going to have to deal with enraged tea patters insisting that they spend time trying to repeal Obama's actions. They can't, of course, but they have to show that they're trying. So there's a good chance that they'll spend their first few months in semi-chaos, responding to Obama's provocations instead of working on their own agenda. Was that part of the plan? Beats me. But it seems to be working pretty well so far. EFTA01197815  Leading Indicators in U.S. Rose in November for Third Month The index of U.S. leading indicators rose in November for a third straight month, a sign the economy is gaining traction heading into 2015. The Conference Board's index, a gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months, increased 0.6 percent in November, matching the prior month's gain, the New York-based group said today. The median forecast of 49 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.5 percent advance. Strengthening employment and a plunge in prices at the pump are bolstering the consumer spending that makes up almost 70 percent of the economy, helping shelter the expansion from slowing growth overseas. Federal Reserve policy makers said yesterday they would remain "iatient" in increasing near-zero interest rates even as domestic demand firms. "The biggest challenge has been, and remains, more income growth," Ken Goldstein, an economist at the Conference Board, said in a statement. "However, with labor market conditions tightening, we are seeing the first signs of wage growth starting to pick up." Estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from gains of 0.1 percent to o.8 percent. The October reading was initially reported as a 0.9 percent increase. Other reports today showed consumer confidence climbed to a seven-year high last week and fewer Americans applied for unemployment insurance benefits. Gaining Confidence The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index (COMFCOMF) climbed to 41.7 in the period ended Dec. 14, the highest reading since mid-November 2007, from 41.3 the week before. Monthly views on economic expectations rose to match a two-year high. Jobless claims decreased by 6,000 to 289,000 in the week ended Dec. 13, the least since early November, according to figures from the Labor Department. Eight of the 10 indicators in the Conference Board's leading gauge contributed to the gain, propelled by a jump in stock prices, growing factory orders and the spread between short- and long-term interest rates. The index of coincident indicators, a gauge of current economic activity, climbed 0.4 percent in November after a 0.2 percent increase the prior month. EFTA01197816 The coincident index tracks payrolls, incomes, sales and production -- measures used by the National Bureau of Economic Research to determine the beginning and end of U.S. recessions. A measure of lagging indicators rose 0.3 percent after being little changed in October. Hiring Accelerates Job gains that remain on pace for their best performance since 1999 are helping spur demand. Employers added 321,000 to payrolls in November, raising the monthly average so far this year to 240,910. Last year, the U.S. economy gained an average 194,250 jobs per month. A drop in fuel prices also is supporting consumer pocketbooks. The average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline was $2.48 as of Dec. 17, the lowest rate since October 2009, according to AAA, the biggest U.S. motoring group. While income growth has been slower to rebound, recent data show signs of a pickup. Wages and salaries paid to civilian workers climbed 2.1 percent in the third quarter from the same time last year, the most since the first three months of 2009, Labor Department data showed last month. The U.S. economic advances have allowed Fed policy makers to relax accommodation measures that were meant to stimulate growth since the last recession. Yesterday, the officials said they will be patient on the timing of the first interest-rate increase since 2006, replacing a pledge to keep borrowing costs near zero for a "considerable time," and raised their assessment of the labor market. And as the President pointed out last week in his last Press Conference of the year, over the past 57 months the country has created almost n million new jobs. America is now the #1 producer of crude oil on the planet as well as the #1 producer of natural gas. The rescue of the auto industry is officially over as The Big Three are having the best year in decades and have repaid every dine back to the government as well as creating a half million new jobs in the auto industry alone. 10 million Americans gain health insurance just this past year through Obamacare. The administration has put together a coalition to degrade and destroy ISISL. And before years end and after thirteen years our combat mission in Afghanistan will be over... Not to mention that the dollar is soaring against all major currencies, our banks are strong and our financial markets are close to their all-time highs.... Obama now officially enters his lame-duck years, and much has been made of his rebound in the last month. Seemingly liberated by having nothing more to lose, he has struck an international climate deal, taken bold executive action on immigration, and unveiled a landmark shift in Cuba policy. The president also exerted some sway on the fiscal deal struck by the year-end Congress, convincing enough Democrats to vote for it to overcome liberal objections from Nancy Pelosi, Elizabeth Warren and my own. It's clearly too soon to pronounce the president irrelevant or his political reputation beyond rescue. Because as the President himself said, that being in the fourth quarter of his Presidency.... a lot can happen and it may have already started. EFTA01197817 Kudos Mr. President Because if you can be blamed for the country's failures you should be applauded when things go well.... Again.... Bravo Mr. President ****** Wealth gap between middle class and rich widest ever Growing wealth gap $639K $595K P $97K is $97K IIIII _ 2010 2013 OOOOOO POW MIAMI wan Not only are middle class suffering from stagnant incomes, their wealth hasn't grown at all either. That's led to the widest wealth gap on record between the middle class and the rich. The median household net worth of middle-income Americans remained at $96,500 between 2010 and 2013, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center, which looked at Federal Reserve Bank data. Upper-income households, however, saw their wealth grow to $639,400 last year, up from $595,300. That means the rich have 6.6 times more wealth than the middle class, a figure that's grown from 4.1 in 1998 and 3.4 in 1983. It's also a record 69 times the wealth of lower-income Americans, who had accumulated only $9,300 as of last year. Part of the reason for the gap stems from how the rich and the middle class build wealth. The former are more likely to invest in the stock market, which has been on a tear in recent years. The latter have more of their net worth tied up in the housing market, which hasn't recovered as much. That's also why the Great Recession had a bigger impact on the net worth of the middle class. Back in 2007, before the housing crash, the middle class saw its median wealth soar to $158,400. The rich also haven't recovered fully from the downturn, but they are a lot closer to their 2007 peak of $718,000. Looking longer term, the rich have more than doubled the size of their nest eggs over the past three decades, while the middle class have inched up 2.3%. Pew defines middle income as family of four with a household income between $44,000 and $132,000. Some 46% of American household fall into middle income under its methodology, which adjusts for family size. Upper-income Americans are those who earn more than $132,000 for a family of four. And that's widening the already massive wealth gap between whites and other racial and ethnic groups to near record levels. EFTA01197818  Disturbing stats on black-white inequality Wealth gap widens $139K $141K $17K $16K $11K $14K Hispanic 2010 2013 SOVIICI fl y OttInloCa Wain Much of the focus in recent years has been the growth in income inequality, with the Top 1% capturing most of the post-Recession gains. But wealth inequality is also troubling. There are several reasons for the growing gap, says Pew, citing Federal Reserve Bank data. White households' median wealth ticked up to $141,900 in 2013, up 2.4% from three years earlier, according to a Pew Research Center report released Friday. Net worth for black households dropped by a third during that time to $11,000. Hispanic families experienced a 14% decline in wealth to $13,700. Whites have 13 times the net worth of blacks, the largest wealth gap that's existed since George H.W. Bush was president in 1989. The ratio of net worth between whites and Hispanics now stands at more than 10, the widest it has been since 2001. Minority households' median income fell 9% between 2010 and 2013, compared to a drop of only 1% for whites. So minority households may not have been able to sock away as much or may have had to use more of their savings to cover expenses. Also, the financial markets have rebounded much more than housing in recent years. Since whites are more likely to own stocks, they have seen a bigger wealth boost. Real estate, on the other hand, makes up a big chunk of blacks' and Hispanics' net worth. But homeownership declined faster among minorities than whites between 2010 and 2013. Only 47.4% of minorities were homeowners in last year. But 73.9% of whites owned homes. It takes some digging to find these racial and ethnic disparities, which are masked when looking at the nation's overall median wealth. For all households, median wealth slipped slightly to $82,300 last year, down only 1.1%. Senator Elizabeth Warren is not shy about being a crusader for the middle class. The senior Massachusetts lawmaker had some choice words for the rich in an online dialogue in June with French economist Thomas Piketty on economic inequality.v The forum, hosted by The Huffington Post's Ryan Grim, was organized by MoveOn, a liberal political action group. Elizabeth Warren: 'Wealth trickles up' Web Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/economy/2014/06/02/elizabeth-warren-thomas-piketty-wealth- inequalityryan-grim-huffpost.cnnmoneyi EFTA01197819 Warren and Piketty have each just written best-selling books on income inequality. Warren authored a memoir called "A Fighting Chance," which also discusses what Washington can do to help the middle class. Piketty analyzed data from 20 countries in his tome on income inequality and the concentration of wealth, entitled "Capital in the Twenty-First Century." Here is a list of choice quotes from Warren on how the rich have rigged the system. On Piketty's findings: Wealth does not trickle down. It trickles up. It trickles from everyone else to those who are rich. On taxes: When people feel like we're not all in this together, we're not all sharing, we're not all paying a fair share of our income or our wealth, then I think what you get is it all comes all unraveled. Everyone moves towards I will pay the least because he's paying the least. On small businesses: Small business owners pay and pay and pay on taxes because the loopholes aren't as available to them. You look at Fortune goo companies, companies that are profitable and end up paying zero in taxes. Elizabeth Warren: 'The game is rigged' Web Link: http://money.cnn.com/video/news/anasiszielizabeth-warren-new-populism-conference-game- is-rigged.cnnmoneyt On rewriting the rules: Those who are rich have managed to help rewrite the rules so they get more and more. So they get breaks in taxes and get to keep more. So the regulations tilt in their favor. So they have better business opportunities. So they have better ability to earn than everyone else who's out there working. When that starts to happen, we get a country that's headed in the wrong direction. On the system: The game right now in America is rigged. It is rigged so that those at the top keep doing better and better, and everyone else is under increasing pressure, is under increasing economic strain. The rules don't get better for America's middle class. The rules are getting better for those who are a thin slice at the top. And that is the profound danger that we see from great inequality. On unions: Unions helped build America's great middle class. They did that two ways. They did it by getting out and getting workers organized so there were better working conditions, better pay. They ended up raising wages for union and non-union workers. They ended up getting health benefits for union and non-union workers. But here's the key: The second thing unions did is they were out there as a force to be able to argue for things that were in the interest of working people generally. EFTA01197820 On estate taxes: There's a fundamental question in this country. Which do we think deserves reward: Is it those who work hard and who are smart, who get out there and make something happen? Or those were born into the right families and who are protected by a tax code that says generation after generation, they don't even have to work? We have prided ourselves as a country being built by a country of people who get out there and work. Our tax system has to reflect that same value. It has to reflect the importance of work and people who achieve and people who accomplish over being born into wealth. Rich, really rich, and ultra rich (the Top 1%) Who controls the wealth in America" 11% Ultra rich 26% 1O% Middle class Really rich 18% Net Worth Merely rich • Over $100M ■ 1201.1 $10014 14$A -12011 $500K $4M 35% ■ Undo $500K Upper middle class heti NI. WAII, IMO OOOOO AAA SSSSSS MAUI INICIAKAIS ONLY NOVION0L•S 'SIM A /*VII,. NIII IMO OOITOM10%OI MAW 0 NIT YMtTNGOGIOt OPIAMill AMA AND GAIDAIII. ZUCHAN It's not just rich, middle class and poor anymore. The middle class is barely treading water since the recent Great Recession, but the rich are back in a big way. And ifs not just the i%. It's the ultra-rich -- the top o.oi% of earners -- that are really clobbering everyone else. In the mid-198os the ultra-rich -- those with a net worth of over Slot) million -- owned just over 4% of the total wealth in the United States, according to a recent paper by University of California Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman. By 2012, their share of the wealth nearly tripled, jumping to roughly 1196. The really rich have done pretty well too. Those worth between $20 million and $too million have seen their wealth share nearly double, while the merely rich -- those with wealth between $4 million and $20 million -- saw only a slight uptick. The other 99% of households saw a relative decline in wealth. "The higher you are in the income distribution, the greater the gains," said Branco Milanovic, a visiting professor at the City University of New York and an expert on income inequality. "People who are poorer haven't really benefited from the expansion." What's behind the wealth explosion? EFTA01197821 Why the variation in gains? Many Americans think ifs because the wealthy enjoy low tax rates. But blaming tax cuts for this concentration is far too simple: Globally, the trend has been similar, and is expected to accelerate in the years to come. Indeed, the ultra-rich around the world are expected to see their wealth grow by over 9% a year between 2012 and 2017, according to the Boston Consulting Group. There are over 3,000 of these $too million-plus households in the United States alone. Meanwhile, households worth less than $too,000 are expected to see their net worth grow just 3.7% a year. No one knows why the rich are getting richer faster than everyone else, but there are plenty of theories. Some say it's because today's entrepreneurs tend to be quickly vaulted into the ultra-rich category (think Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg), or that the already well-off have access to better financial products. Another theory is that the wealthy are better able to leverage technology and globalization to their advantage: As companies and markets become bigger, those at the top are given bigger rewards. "Talent is hard tofind," said Robert Frank, Cornell University economist and author of The Winner-Take-All Society. "Production workers are not" Quiz: Do you have what it takes to be rich? French economist Thomas Piketty, in his new best-selling book Capital in the 21st Century, argues that inequality has always been extreme. The relative drop in inequality witnessed during the middle of last century was an anomaly, argues Piketty, caused not so much by the middle class becoming better off, but by the rich seeing their wealth destroyed by two world wars and the Great Depression. "We're going back to the kind of concentration of wealth we had in the 19th century," Piketty recently told CNN. Also being born with a silver spoon helps, just ask the Waltons and Kochs who between the six heirs are now worth more than the 200 million Americans at the bottom of the ladder that didn't have a rich daddy. Should anything he done? Whether this widening gap between the rich and everyone else is a problem and what, if anything, should be done about it is up for debate. "I personallyfind it very worrisome," said Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen during a recent Senate hearing. Inequality can "determine the ability of different groups to participate equally in democracy, and have grave effects on social stability over time." Some have made the connection between widening inequality and the rise of fringe political groups on both the right and left. Yet others downplay the growing wealth gap, and claim that current levels of inequality are overstated. Even if inequality is accelerating, they argue, so is overall global well-being. Billions have been lifted out of poverty worldwide over the last several decades, and in the developed world, the poor enjoy creature comforts unthinkable even 3o years ago. The critics are wary of policies, like Piketty's proposal for a global tax on wealth that could hamper future growth. The widening wealth gap is a serious problem and one thing is clear: The richest have a massive amount of money, and they're getting more of it every day. I personally don't mine how much more someone has but trickle-down economics has destroyed the Middle Class which is the economic EFTA01197822 engine that made America the greatest nation in the world and enabled more people to escape poverty until the Chinese miracle of the past two decades... And if we want to fix this engine we have to tilt the table so that the American Dream can once again grow for everyone and not just for those at the top or lucky few who won the lottery or created the latest Facebook, Uber, Twitter or have a 98 p/h fast ball. ****** This is how it feels to torture It's followed by "toxic levels of guilt and shame." Web Link: http://www.washingtopyst.cominews/storyline/wp/2014/12/11/this-is-how-it-feels-to-torture/ Of all the characters in the Senate's report on CIA's harsh interrogation techniques — which many refer to as "torture" - we know the least about those who performed them. The political class is known; the only question is what they knew about the interrogation methods — including waterboarding, and lengthy forced periods without sleep — that CIA employed at secret prisons during the Bush administration. The psychologists who developed the CIA's interrogation program are also well-known, though they claim that the Senate committee "cherry picked things." All of the detainees themselves are known. But the rank and file remain anonymous. We know that 85 percent of them were contractors, few had actual interrogation experience, and that "numerous" agents had "serious documented personal and professional problems" that "should have called into question" their continued employment by the CIA and access to classified information, EFTA01197823 according to the new Senate report. We also know that they used some of the most disturbing interrogation techniques in American history. We know a lot about what happens to the detainees. Survivors of harsh interrogations, whether or not they meet the legal definition of torture, are willing to talk about their experiences, enabling fairly substantial research into how the experience of such physical and mental duress changes their psychology. But what about the effect of harsh interrogation on the interrogators themselves? What can we expect for the future of those who carried out the rectal feedings, waterboardings, and other harsh treatment of detainees that the report described? That we know less about. Most of the research that does exist focuses on cases in which people committed torture. (Whether the CIA's techniques meet that definition is a matter of dispute.) In the post-World War II era, there have been only about go analyses or interviews of people accused of being torturers, according to Reed College professor Darius Rejali, whose research focuses on torture through the ages. They come from all over: Iran, Brazil, France, Greece, and yes, America . And Rejali has found that a few common threads stand out. The most important thing to know: Torturers are not a few "bad apples," predisposed by nature to cruelty. "Basically they're normal when they go in. They're not sadists," Rejali says. "They're chosen primarily because they're loyal, they're patriotic, and they can keep a secret." Starting with the famous experiments of Stanley Milgram in 1963, which have been replicated since then, most experimental subjects are willing to apply pain to other people under certain conditions. "BASICALLY THEY'RE NORMAL WHEN THEY GO IN. THEY'RE NOT SADISTS," REJALI SAYS. So how do good people end up torturing? It happens because of boredom, anger at detainees, and a kind of one-upsmanship. "They start competing with each otherfor brutality," Rejali says. "The person who breaks the other person gets all the credit." Of course, as the Senate's report also outlined, "breaking" prisoners rarely led to valuable intelligence, but the treatment continued. Historically, association with torture has two primary effects, Rejali says. First is simple burnout: Interrogation, never mind especially harsh interrogation, is hard and stressful work. That's partly why the Army needed so many interrogators during the most intense phases of the war -1,200 were trained in 2006 alone. And second is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, of the sort often experienced by returning soldiers, but with higher frequency and a particularly nasty edge. The National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study of more than 3,000 veterans, released in 1983, found that exposure to abusive violence — including torture of Vietnamese prisoners — had the strongest correlation with the incidence of PTSD. In democratic societies, Rejali says — more so than authoritarian regimes under which torturers were driven more by religious or ideological conviction, and thus felt comfortable with their actions — post- conflict trauma is driven by "toxic levels of guilt and shame." Those symptoms often look similar to ones displayed by victims of torture, to the extent that refugee boards deciding whether someone should be granted asylum found it difficult to distinguish between the two. EFTA01197824 The conflict in Iraq has yielded several anecdotal accounts of soldiers who came into contact with brutal treatment of prisoners, or engaged in it themselves. In his 2012 book, "None Of Us Were Like That Before: American Soldiers and Torture," Joshua Phillips recounted the struggles of soldiers who had abused Iraqi detainees after they returned home. Some self-medicated with alcohol. Three in the unit Phillips followed committed suicide. Daniel Keller, who admitted to techniques like dragging prisoners through concertina wire on the floor, told Phillips he'd have no reintegration problems if he hadn't taken part in the cruelty. "If / hadn't actually hurt anybody,I'd be sittingpretty —I'd be happy as could be,"Keller said. "I wouldn't have any problems. I wouldn't be on [expletive] medication. I wouldn't be sitting here doing an interview because I wouldn't know anything, andI would be [expletive]li