I love this interview. Whenever Chomsky is interviewed by anyone from the more mainstream sector it devolves in him explaining the facts to them first. The reason is is the facts are not a part of the national discussion, they are deliberately kept out. So usually it goes Noam says something that sounds absolutely fucking crazy. The interviewer goes "Holy shit what?!" and then introduces and logical point or established knowledge that should completely destroy his argument. Noam counters with the actual facts, usually citing a great source for the facts which you can obviously check (I have never found him to be wrong in his citations). Then Noam usually a basic principle of how things should operate, and using his facts compares that to what people either believe or how things are operating. It's really interesting to watch.

It should be noted that Chomsky has only been on Charlie Rose twice ever. This is the first time in 2003. In 2007 he was asked back, but interestingly Charlie Rose wasn't there, some slimey, creepy looking guy interviewed him instead. He got a bit hostile but Chomsky is used to that and made his points very steadily and cogently.

We'll lose him one day, for now I certainly enjoy him while he's here, and I'm hoping others with sprout up in his wake.

I am also not for blatant redistribution of wealth; however, I strong disagree with:

1) Corporate tax loopholes: Apple 9.8%, Google 11.9%, Yahoo 11.6%, Amazon 3.5% paid for Fiscal Year 2011 instead of advertised 35.5%
2) Off-shore tax havens
3) Privatizing profits and socializing bail outs
4) Subsidies to corporations and industries already drawing massive profits
5) And last but not least, the simple fact that not a single person went to jail after the 2008 crash due to cooked books in the financial sector

It is the responsibility of every citizen to give back to their community to promote a Quid Pro Quo society. Hopefully, many of these problems will be solved in our lifetime.

As Cornel West so eloquently stated earlier last year, and I paraphrase, the true test of every democracy is what to do with its weakest demographic. The fact that people are born in these social strata (i.e. success not always earned) is reason enough to put the pressure on the most fortunate, a group in which I happen to belong, to support those who never even get a chance.

Since most of what I say lands on Neo-Conservative deaf ears, I'll play their game and ask "What would Jesus do?"

Finally, QM, we always argue respectfully, and I want you to know that I do not favor any party. Both Democrats and Republicans put party ahead of nation and that's a disgrace.

Are they respected in society? Here they'd be treated as idiot suckers by the financial sector rich no matter how good they got. Probably why no-one takes that sort of job seriously.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

Not particularly. He's deeply embedded within the TV industry and part of that revolving door system that Crawford talks about. Oh and when he was in the private sector - responsible for creating Fox Broadcasting. How about that? ;-) I'm sure Roger Ailes is on his speed dial.

"To the farmer in all of us" how hokey does that sound? I don't know, maybe because I grew up on a ranch that I don't get this whole romanticized image that farmers are some how more hardworking than other people who work in labor sectors.

Coming? It's probably already around you!

What's equally, if not more, impressive as the sensor is how the hell this thing streams that much data during its flight. Or does it only stream certain sectors that are of interest while storing the rest to disk on the aircraft...?

Lyrics:
Im gonna smoke some weed, only got 20 dollas in my pocket
Imma huntin, looking for a pot shop, this is fucking awesome!

Walk into my house like what up, i got some good pot
I'm just pumped up got some herb from the pot shop
Ice in my fridge it used to be frosty
My friends like "Damn, that's a stoned ass donkey!"
Rollin' in hella high, looking like it's fifa time
Dominating all my friends, as I eat some chili fries
Draped in a snuggie with my girl sitting next to me
Probably shouldn't have had a big gulp full of ice tea
PISS!
But shit it was 99 cents!

I be blazin and smokin it
Bout to go and get some munchie snacks, passing up on those cracker jacks
Reeces Pieces are where it's at, Gotta get me some soda pop
Cotton mouth has been creeping up
But can't remember where I put my keys,
Yeah, that's what's up.
Imma take your grandpa's ride, Imma take your grandpa's ride
No for real, ask your grandpa, Can I take his 65?
Deville Cruisin to my local Publix
Nothing better than rolling with 2 super fly chicks!
They had frozen burritos, I bought frozen burritos
I bought some Ben and Jerry's, then I bought some Cheetos
Hello, Hello, my main man Obama
A couple states have just reformed their laws on marijuana
Whatcha gonna do, send the feds there? Hell no!
The DEA's would be like "Ah, they got Volcano"

What you know about the science of marijuana?
What you know about people suffering from glaucoma?
They need it, they need it, it helps them with their condition
If don't believe me, then just ask some eye physicians
Thank your granddad for voting for that guy Richard
Nixon is the President who made the plant illegal
But science is now showing that its medicine for people
And the private sector's fighting to keep all of that illegal
Alcohol and Tobacco, Pharmaceutical, Prisons
I'll take those four major lobby groups and fight those motherfuckers
They making money day and night, all those motherfuckers
And bribing congress out of sight, all those motherfuckers
They be like, "Oh, it's immoral and unhealthy"
I'm like how many people are you making wealthy
Anti-marijuana lobbies are making all kinds of profits
And they don't want you to stop it cause of all the special interests
I call that getting swindled and pimped, shit
I call that getting tricked by the government, that law's hella old
So its time to update it, regulate it, and then get it under state control
Peep Game, look into my political telescope
Think it's going to stay like this forever, nah, it hella won't, nah, it hella won't.

Let's end the war on drugs, It's time to pull the plug
These special interest groups are nothing more than corporate thugs
Let's end the war on weed, the people have agreed.
These special interest groups have kept these laws with bribery

Imma smoke some weed, only got 20 dollas in my pocket
Imma huntin, looking for a pot shop, this is fucking awesome!

First of all, I am Canadian, not American.

1. Don't tout constitution. I don't care if some lawmaker wrote something down once or in this case, didn't write something down. I don't think government should have the right to film the people it serves.

2. It doesn't matter to me if some person films me in a public place. Or if I end up in the background of some photo snapped by someone else. That's not what I'm referring to. I don't think authority should engage in wholesale documentation of the populous whether through film, internet spying, mail scanning, phone tapping or otherwise.

3. I don't honestly expect that someone will charge me with something I did previously and unrelated. Use something to base a character judgement on? -Maybe. I don't put it past officials/government to use footage unjustly to make a case win in their favor.

4. Of course they can't store up all that footage. I know it's on a loop. And I know all about storage sizes. (don't insult me) BUT, some reels do go missing, get set aside, or get replaced. And many of them are reviewed. I've seen it done in retail stores time and again. (and I may ad that at one place I worked at, the owner would sit there for hours just spying on people and splicing out sections of girls on the film. If it can happen in the private sector, it can happen in the public sector.

5. The fact that people "Have No Right To Privacy" is bullshit. As I have stated, Just because some lawyer wrote something down, or didn't write something down doesn't give them any right over me and how I choose to live. Just the same as I don't have to respect someone higher up in a hierarchy just because they are higher up or make more money than I do. (Insert Grumpy Old Man Syndrome here). I don't trust lawyers, or at least the majority of them (especially corporate ones). I truly believe that they are the downfall of society.

That's all I'll say on the matter. Cheers!

I've been called worse than capitalist. I do have choice, and that's where I'm privileged. Many people don't though. There are still many areas where Unions monopolize the work force such that people have no choice but to join, if they want to work in a particular manufacturing sector, or similar. I think it's pretty much a moot point anyhow. Half the States have right to work laws and others will follow. The root causes of lack of competitiveness of US manufacturing globally; escalating costs of healthcare, liability, regulatory compliance, etc. aren't being addressed. With fixed labor costs in the US, companies have 2 choices, lower labor costs (common) or raise consumer prices (uncommon). It's a conundrum, Unions or no Unions. The anti-competitive nature of Unions will make them less relevant. The model doesn't work as well when workers have a choice whether they join or not.

I am not a defender of all unions. There are many unions out there and I can't have the facts on all of them.

I have been in the workforce since I was a teenager in high school. I've worked a lot of jobs. All of them non-union. Not once did I have a wage that kept me above poverty. And these jobs were considered decent jobs. I never had a paycheck more than $12-13/h and Never did I have a job where I felt secure in my future.

My current job is the first job I've ever had that was unionized. I make about $22/h. Not an amazing paycheck for my line of work, definitely lower than in the public sector, but my job feels secure and I have a decent benefits package so I know my job will take care of my family.

I come from a northern town where forestry is the main industry. Mill jobs are all Union and it's a decent living. Most young people who start at the mill never leave because they just can't get that kind of pay anywhere else. To do so is to take a drastic cut in pay. I'm not talking a rich man's paycheck. I'm saying they can buy a house, feed their kids, buy a quad and go camping and fishing in the summer. Not extravagant but nothing to complain about.

Now, those mills like to restructure and cut and skimp and save money left, right and center. They run three shifts a day and they NEVER shut down. (OK, they shut down once a year at run-off but that's when the equipment gets serviced).

These mills make profits in the millions/billions for their shareholders. Don't you think for one second that without the unions, the Mills would cut salaries, skimp on safety and eliminate job security while slashing benefits. Everyone working those mills benefit from the presence of the union. They all pay dues, NO ONE complains and it's never been an issue. Ever.

If you don't want to be a union worker, you get a job in town at 1/3-1/2 the pay and no job security. No one holds a gun to your head and tells you where to work. But if you want to get a job with a pay check you can raise kids on, then let the union stand behind you and defend you.

I've been thinking for a while that countries would serve themselves better by nationalising infrastructure instead of privatising it. Here in the UK we don't own much anymore, even the NHS is now rapidly becoming privatised. Don't get me started on the fact that a non-UK company is responsible for our nukes...

Take power, transport, water, telecoms, all of these should (imo) be national infrastructure that is used to develop jobs in the public sector, then private companies can be brought in to deliver the actual services over that infrastructure. If you tell someone "This is yours - look after it because you're the one who directly benefits", well I think people in general would take a bit more pride in their work and not cut corners in the same way a business solely motivated by profit might choose to do. That would hopefully lead to more reliable infrastructure and a lot less stress in day-to-day life. Plus it results in a happier populace because many of them will be in jobs that they know makes a positive difference to everyone.

I think that's a reasonable balance capable of preserving a viable long-term economy, and yes I appreciate it's vastly simplified and there are many details to work out but there are good examples out there of where this practice of nationalising infrastructure has resulted in a hugely beneficial outcome.

(Yes I'm an idealist, I probably don't belong in this world!)

>> ^bobknight33:

Single payer system will drive up costs and inefficiencies. What these guys are doing is a good thing. Putting up prices and letting you decide.

If Coke was the only drink in to have then they would no no issue to set the price high. As soon as a competitor shows up and delivers a comparable product at a lesser price the true price of the product will be discovered.

>> ^Yogi:

>> ^bobknight33:
Obamacare is not driving out the cost of healthcare for this group. Capitalism is.
from the text above:
The major cause of exploding U.S. heath care costs is the third-party payer system, a text-book concept in which A buys goods or services from B that are paid for by C. Because private insurance companies or the government generally pick up most of the tab for medical services, patients don't have the normal incentive to seek out value.
The Government gave us the third party payer system during WWII. Government is at fault.

Patients shouldn't have to "Seek out value." They're busy, usually being sick, or trying to work while being sick. It shouldn't be a for profit industry, everyone should have healthcare it should be a single payer system.



sorry i live in a "single payer system"

i know people who work in multiple departments/sectors of healthcare...everything from doctors, to home care, to IT

and i can say with full knowledge and satisfaction, that your statement that a single payer system drives up costs/inefficiencies is either ill informed, or completely full of bs...

the notion of competition as being the great equalizer is moronic, in a system where insurance companies spend 100s of millions of dollars lobbying to get the game rules changed in their favor... insurance companies main goal is to make profit... they do that by minimizing cost/quality of service while maximizing return... if you can't see how that contradicts the purpose of health care, you are either naive or morally bankrupt

the arguement that businesses are held to be more financially responsible than government is also a lie... a business only has the financial obligation to report accurate numbers while being fiscally sound... the government has that exact same obligation, but further more has to show VALUE for what it is doing

your argument about Coke mystically assumes Coke is the only drink, thus they could set the price at whatever they want... I assume you are making the arguement that Coke is healthcare? but a company who's goal is to sell coke to make profit... that's an insurance company.... a company who has to be accountable to the people giving it money while making sure that the MOST people have cheap and easy access to coke... that'd be the government

you can either argue that government operates the same as business (as you are trying to do with your horrible coke analogy), or you can argue that they operate differently (as most people who back the business produces better financial results than government argue)... but you don't get to argue both in the space of 2 paragraphs

you, sir or madam, have taken a big old swig of the kool-aid

Hmmm...

I don't have an issue with the wage itself. I worked retail for years. Retail doesn't pay high wages. Any of them, it's not a high skill sector. It's not somewhere I'd want to be my entire life and should most likely be considered a "stepping stone" line of work. For some though, they never get out - partly because of the draw and promise of climbing the corporate ladder to success and some because that's just the best they can do. It's retail - not one is asking for an engineer's pay scale. I don't know about the US, but in Canada, WalMart only pays minimum wage for sales associates, tellers and floor staff.

What I do have an issue with is the way Wal-Mart (and some other retail companies) treat their employees. Almost all positions are part-time. They don't hire more than a few full time employees. Full time employees cost more money in benefits and you can't reduce their weekly hours to make the monthly budget.

Store managers are given very small monthly budgets for man hours. They have to stretch those hours, and place the man power only at peak periods. Part time employees are easier to move around the schedule because they aren't respected, they can also be made to work seven days a week if you give them the min hours per day as possible. They are hired for that purpose. The problem is that people's lives don't function that way. These people also need to have second jobs. You are expected to make WalMart your primary job (even if it's only part time). They may schedule only eight hours in a week. If you have a second job with set hours, Walmart will not work with you because they don't care.
There are all kinds of issues that arise but scheduling is a huge issue.

Benefits. WalMart benefits are so meager, I'm not sure why they bother. I've heard first hand how the medical coverage they offer is lousy and most people end up paying out of pocket for additional insurance if they actually expect to be treated.

WalMart is predatory retail. They have employees that are paid to shop the community and undercut every product that can be bought elsewhere - even if it means they sell at a loss. They increase the prices on every item that cannot be bought locally - even if it means inflating it artificially higher than it's worth. They especially target the small businesses. Once they are able to put those businesses out of business, they will raise all the prices they once sold at a loss because now you don't have a choice. From a business point of view, their process is very smart, it takes every opportunity it can to get your dollar. on the flip side, if everyone is out of business, they can't afford to shop anywhere else. Eventually all retail business employees will be WalMart Employees. It's a downward spiral that isn't sustainable.

WalMart are Bullies. They have the biggest and most expensive lawyers in the business. They can afford it. and if they can't win, because they know they are in the wrong, they will just stonewall until the opposition runs out of money and still win by default. If there is something they want, they get it because they have the wealth, money and power to make it happen - fair practices be dammed!

>> ^charliem:

Whats its application?


Many new reactors are experimenting with new fuel types. This has a higher fissile density because of the structure, so you can pack more fuel into a given space, it also has better thermal transfer and less susceptible to radiation damage that traditional uranium oxide. Hyperion Power Generation plans to use a uranium nitride compound in their Gen4 reactor. Gen4 reactors are a whole new breed of reactor, the infusion of modern computer modeling and materials development. While we still have a shitty regulatory system in the US as to not allow newer safer reactors to come online here, they will be launching in places like China, the UAE, and Korea in the future. America is poised to fall behind in the technology it invented, as it has with many other areas that aren't wall street or the technology sector.

>> ^Kofi:

What does he mean by "back to the private sector"? I thought he was against picking winners and losers.


In my experiences as an outside party, I've noticed Romney tends to be against lot of things that he's in favor of.