DarkStar Spouts Off

Remembering Katrina and NOT Remembering

I heard a few media people commenting on the "anniversary of Katrina", and I noticed something big missing. Yes, there were comments about the failure of FEMA, a comment asking why Ray Nagin was speaking about failures in the Katrina response when he was one of the main people who failed, and how New Orleans isn't coming back. 

But no one mentioned the police who killed a man on a bridge leading out of New Orleans.

NEW ORLEANS — In a verdict that brought a decisive close to a case that has haunted this city since most of it lay underwater nearly six years ago, five current and former New Orleans police officers were found guilty on all counts by a federal jury on Friday for shooting six citizens, two of whom died, and orchestrating a wide-ranging cover-up in the hours, weeks and years that followed.

The defendants were convicted on 25 counts, including federal civil rights violations in connection with the two deaths, for the violence and deception that began on the Danziger Bridge in eastern New Orleans on Sept. 4, 2005, just days after Hurricane Katrina hit and the levees failed.

“The officers convicted today abused their power and violated the public’s trust during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, exacerbating one of the most devastating times for the people of New Orleans,” Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said.  “I am hopeful today’s verdict brings justice for the victims and their family members, helps to heal the community and contributes to the restoration of public trust in the New Orleans Police Department.”   

And, as always, there was complete silence by the "law and order" conservatives about the police who broke the law and were convicted. Not one conservative mentioned the "Jack booted thugs" of the New Orleans police department, but they hadn't mentioned it up until this point, so why expect otherwise?

I Don't Get It

I don't get it. According to Forbes (http://tinyurl.com/3rfvg6y),
there are at least 28 deaths because of Hurricane Irene. Was the
hurricane the major destruction event as forecast?

No.

But was it still destructive, "even if" it was "just" mostly water damage?

Yes.

And, going by the areas near where I live, the wind did enough damage
to split trees, fell trees, and cause major power disruptions.

Was it Katrina?

No, thanking God.

But ask a family member of one of the people who died or one of my
neighbors who have a flooded basement or flooded living room or garage
because the builder didn't do the flashing right, if at all, and they
will tell you it was bad enough.

I don't get it.

Are we at the point where a hurricane is "nothing" if it hits land at
category 1 levels?

Earthquake in MD

Wow.
Now that was something.

RIP, Nick Ashford

While people are remembering the songs that Nick Ashford and Valarie
Simpson performed, I'm most impressed by the songs they wrote
together.

Watching "Unsung" has really been an enjoyable and eye opening
experience. Seeing and hearing people in Motown discuss the artists,
writers, and business side of Motown has been one of the most
enjoyable part of the program. When Ashford and Simpson were on
discussing an artist, and they mentioned who they were writing for or
other behind the scenes people mentioned that the duo wrote for "so
and so," I was just AMAZED!

And they stayed married though the time.

"Outsourcing Jobs", Reporting, and "U.S. Jobs"

I found this article about corporations not giving the numbers for
total employees vs U.S. employees interesting:

http://tinyurl.com/3bwgfpn

Some of the country’s best-known multi­national corporations closely
guard a number they don’t want anyone to know: the breakdown between
their jobs here and abroad.

So secretive are these companies that they hand the figure over to
government statisticians on the condition that officials will release
only an aggregate number. The latest data show that multinationals cut
2.9 million jobs in the United States and added 2.4 million overseas
between 2000 and 2009.

Some of the same companies that do not report their jobs breakdown,
including Apple and Pfizer, are pushing lawmakers to cut their tax
bills in the name of job creation in the United States.

But experts say that without details on which companies are
contributing to job growth and which are not, policymakers risk flying
blind as they try to jump-start the hiring of American workers.

“It’s an important piece of information that the American people
should have,” said Ron Hira, an associate professor of public policy
at the Rochester Institute of Technology. “Should you listen to the
kind of advice these companies have about how to grow the economy when
their record and their model indicates they’ve cut jobs? . . . Or
should we talk to people who actually do create jobs in the United
States?”


One of the things businessmen, conservatives and Republican
politicians are saying is, if the corporation tax rate were reduced or
eliminated, many of the jobs the companies have overseas, would be
brought back to the U.S. It is said the U.S. has the highest corporate
tax rate in the world. That may be so, but I doubt that many of the
jobs will be returned to the U.S.

The push to "outsource" help desk jobs was not because of the tax rate
but because the costs of Indian IT workers was much cheaper than U.S.
workers. The push to outsource IT jobs, as said by IBM, Motorola,
Microsoft, CISCO, and other IT companies was partially because of cost
of IT workers but also because the U.S. was not producing enough
engineers to fill these positions. I've always said that was false and
the prime motivator of IT engineer outsourcing was cost. But what is
not being said, much, is that the cost savings aren't that great
because of software development quality problems and problems managing
global teams.

So, I state that even if the tax rate goes down to zero, the jobs will
not "be brought back" to the U.S. because the highest cost for
companies is the cost of employees.

Of course, the companies don't want to report the numbers because they
don't want the public relations hit.

Black Dem Voters, I Say Unleash The Hounds

This opinion piece sums up nicely how I think Black Democrats can hold the people they elect, accountable, and exactly how they don't. As a result, Democrats take the Black vote for granted and the CBC, themselves, are nothing but paper tigers at best.

When asked why the Black members of Congress don’t pressure the president she replied, “We don’t put pressure on the president because ya’ll love the president. You love the president. You’re very proud to have a black man — first time in the history of the United States of America. If we go after the president too hard, you’re going after us.”

I almost fell out of my chair.  While what she said is absolutely true, I was just shocked to actually hear a Black member of congress say it publicly.

...

But that’s me and just framing your mouth to say anything negative about “the first Black president” around the wrong people could result in exerting the kind of energy I really don’t have to waste in arguing with people—who while they love their “first Black president” haven’t voted since 2008, won’t vote again until November 2012, and couldn’t tell me who their councilmember, Assemblymember, or State Senator is to save their life—but will fight to the death over “the first Black president.”

And no—I am not a Republican, but at the same time, I’m not and haven’t been feeling the Democrats either–who have a tendency to be just as racist as their counterparts—they just hide it better.

...

Now keep in mind that members of the Congressional Black Caucus are themselves member of Congress, i.e. politicians, who like any other politician are concerned with staying in office.  Waters herself knows that as long as Black people continue in this love affair with “the first Black president,” while she might want to say something against the president’s policies, it might not be in her best interest if he wants to get re-elected.

I say unleash the hounds. If the CBC members had stones, they would go for broke and then dare someone to challenge them. But, as I've written, the CBC doesn't know how to play politics.

If Black voters as a whole want to keep on voting for Democrats, then fine. At least vote people in who not only say they will look out for the interests but actually back it up and fight the Democratic masters when necessary.

Georgetown vs China: What?

[UPDATE]

It turns out the team the Hoyas played are a military team.

It will be intriguing to see what punishment, if any, the Rockets receive. This is not a random club, but the People’s Liberation Army team, for decades the centerpiece of the Chinese sports system. The PLA teams — called Bayi, or 8-1, for the date of the army’s founding — plucked the best young athletes from around the nation. Known for their brutal training regimens, PLA teams were so dominant in China from the 1950s through the 1980s that they were de facto national teams, and symbols of the country’s strength.

Mao’s sports system remains largely intact. But with the influx of foreign stars and commercialization in the Chinese professional league, the Bayi Rockets (the only team not allowed to field foreigners) are now just a middling squad with a reputation for pugnacious play. Even so, the players still view themselves as soldiers, the defenders of China.

NOW it makes sense.

Cops Gone Wild, Part What?

This is really outrageous.

Security tape allegedly shows a group of police officers beating two Chicago brothers Wednesday after apparently mistaking them for robbers while one was closing the store at which he worked.

... 

Police let Adrian Ayala go, he said, but when a frustrated Michael Ayala yelled at officers that he had video tape of the incident, an officer he described as a sergeant "flipped" and put his head into a side window. 

A store surveillance video posted on YouTube shows several officers rushing the brothers back into the store.

Some cops are out of control and notice how the law and order bleaters aren't saying squat!

This Is Small Company Agility in a Big Company Way

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-15/google-agrees-to-acquisition-of-motorola-mobility-for-about-12-5-billion.html

Google to Acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 Billion

Google Inc. (GOOG), maker of the Android mobile-phone software, agreed
to buy smartphone maker Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. for $12.5
billion in its biggest deal, gaining mobile patents and expanding in
the hardware business.

Motorola shareholders will get $40 a share in cash, the companies said
in a statement today. That’s 63 percent more than Motorola Mobility’s
closing price on the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 12. Both boards
have approved the takeover.


Wow.

How Taxing Schemes Affect Businesses

This article on AMD looking to reduce software costs caught my eye. I
originally read it because I'm looking into the costs associated with
putting software on a cloud, like EC2, and how it is more expensive
than the promoters say. But the article took off in a different way.

http://www.infoworld.com/d/data-center/software-costs-concern-amd-in-data-center-hunt-169750

Advanced Micro Devices is looking at the costs of software licensing
and taxes as it aims to reduce the number of data centers worldwide,
company officials said this week.

...

Local taxes are also a concern, AMD officials said. "A lot of
governments are looking at ways to exercise their taxing authorities,"
Painter said. "They want to collect tax on licenses."

...

AMD was surprised with the differences in software licensing and
taxation costs between locations, officials said. AMD has data centers
in countries including Malaysia and the U.S., and engineering tasks
are executed in real time across the virtual grid of servers. The
cloud approach is more efficient than earlier efforts of reimaging or
repurposing servers, but with so many transactions and engineers,
software-related costs are becoming an important factor in the
company's budget.


If you are a company with a lot of licenses for desktop software, or
an enterprise license for software, a tax can be a HUGE hit.

What Is Wrong With This Picture

Someone please tell me what is wrong with this picture?

I don't get it.

Philly Mayor Nutter Goes THERE Against Thug Flash Mobs

Philly mayor Michael Nutter, went THERE when addressing people concerning the thug flash mobs happening in Philly:

Mr. Nutter, a strong ally of President Obama and vice president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, took to the pulpit of his Baptist church Sunday to deliver a 30-minute sermon about black families taking responsibility for the behavior.

“The Immaculate Conception of our Lord Jesus Christ took place a long time ago, and it didn’t happen here in Philadelphia,” Mr. Nutter said. “So every one of these kids has two parents who were around and participating at the time. They need to be around now.”

The mayor told parents, “If you’re just hanging out out there, maybe you’re sending them a check or bringing some cash by. That’s not being a father. You’re just a human ATM. … And if you’re not providing the guidance and you’re not sending any money, you’re just a sperm donor.”

At City Hall on Monday, the mayor said gangs will be confronted.

“If you want to be aggressive, we’re going to be aggressive,” Mr. Nutter said, before sending a warning.

“Let me just share this with you. We’ve got the biggest, baddest gang in town - a committed group of citizens and a committed government - and we’re working together and we’re not going to have this nonsense anymore.”

Nutter went there and I agree with him.

State Fair melees produce 11 injuries, 31 arrests - JSOnline.mobi

http://www.jsonline.mobi/news/milwaukee/126828998.html?ua=android&dc=smart&c=y

"Kids" are out of control. Now what? Fathers. Where are you?
Mothers, where are you?

No Real Cuts

Unless I misunderstand the compromise funding deal, I don't see any REAL funding cuts. But I am distracted.

 

Black Talk Radio Is Not Happy

Listening to Black talk radio this morning, it appears quite evident that many people are not happy with the "solution" to the funding bill. There are supporters who are calling the president weak and those who opposed him who are asking if Hillary Clinton would have caved.

The Black base of support has been complaining for about a year now, but the media are only now reporting it.