Is black rice the next hot superfood?

It's definitely tasty but it's not very common so far in the West. Having wider availability and more knowledge about how to prepare it could be good news for those seeking healthy food. The Independent:Black rice – revered in ancient China but overlooked in the West – could be one of the greatest "superfoods", scientists believe.

The cereal is low in sugar but packed with healthy fibre and plant compounds that combat heart disease and cancer. It was known as "forbidden rice" in ancient China because only nobles were allowed to eat it. Today black rice is mainly used in Asia for food decoration, noodles, sushi and desserts.

"Just a spoonful of black rice bran contains more health-promoting anthocyanin antioxidants than are found in a spoonful of blueberries, but with less sugar, and more fibre and vitamin E antioxidants," said Dr Zhimin Xu the food scientist who led the research. Read the rest of this post...

Global economy could stagnate for a decade

Whether it's another five years, ten years or even longer, working through the excesses of the bubble will not happen overnight. The Obama administration still believes the recession was a hiccup and that minor tweaking is needed to get the situation back on track. Our "change" president is so afraid of change he's implemented some minor adjustments, but nothing more. And then there's the GOP. How out of touch can they be when they believe that a return to the policies that triggered the recession will help solve the problem? Is it not possible to stick a fork into Reaganomics and start thinking about an economic plan that actually delivers economic prosperity beyond one or two percent of the population?

So what will it be? Bad or worse? Who really wants to hand the keys to the economy to either party?

It could be 10 years before economic growth in the United States and elsewhere returns to pre-recession norms and employment rates may never regain lost ground if past history is any guide, two prominent economists said in a paper presented on Friday.

Carmen Reinhart and Vincent Reinhart, in a paper presented at an annual conference hosted by the Federal Reserve, found that growth in gross domestic product is significantly lower during the decade after a severe financial crisis that is felt world-wide, as was the case with the recent meltdown.

Read the rest of this post...

Mississippi middle school only allows white students to be class president

Where else besides the land of Dixie? Any time Mississippi wants to leave the union, please go.

If you’re black and a student at one public middle school in Mississippi, you can’t run for president – only whites need apply.

Nettleton Middle School in Nettleton, Miss., has segregated its elected class positions by race, according to a memo sent home with children at the school last week that was obtained by NBC News.

NOTE FROM JOHN: You really have to read this story. It's incredible. Yes, the policy was put in place 30 years to ensure that black kids were guaranteed a seat on the student council. Only problem, black kids still weren't allowed to be class president. So the school kept the policy, in writing, and no one thought it was a problem that in 2010 the written school policy was that only white kids could be class president.

I'm sorry, but the principal of that school should be under a Justice Department investigation, as should any and every teacher who was involved in these elections. What kind of a racist pig hands out a piece of paper saying that only white kids can be class president, and doesn't sense a problem with that?

Seriously f'd up state, Mississippi. Read the rest of this post...

I Heart Kabul Roadblocks

It is only my second day in Afghanistan which means that I'm surely under qualified to talk about what is true and false and good and bad about the big picture. I'm green. Multiple times a day someone is telling me about Afghan culture or history, and they're telling me things I had no idea were so.

Despite this, as I stroll cautiously past the rubble of old buildings and open sewers, past strange alleyways, and old men who stare far too hard at me, I'm rethinking opinions that I felt so sure about once upon a time. Brace yourself because I realized something today that will surely anger some of you and goes against my words in the past. I'm in favor of international forces being present in Afghanistan. Maybe I should just say Kabul since that is the only place I've been. Now I can hear your opinions and denunciations already, Stop the war, bring them home.... I know... but I don't want that anymore. I'll try to explain why:


Whether I am walking the streets or riding in a taxi in this chaotic city, I can feel tension. Naturally I think there is tension because I'm the odd man out, I'm the foreigner in place where I don't belong. But then I feel and hear examples that show tension between local people, for political, historical, or religious reasons. Someone is angry because of what someone else is doing, which they shouldn't, during a religious holiday (Ramadan). This person hates people who support that political party, and might even hate them enough to get violent. Members of this family were murdered during the civil war by members of that family who to this day they hate them and might even want revenge someday.

Meanwhile there are police who in some communities might help maintain order and be vigilant to resolve or stop conflict and crime, both proactively and reactively. Yet many police I see don't seem prepared or capable of doing any such work. They are present, and I give them credit for that because honestly I am comforted when I see them with their clunky machine guns and their olive green jumpsuits. I may doubt they will do anything, but when feeling this tension and walking down semi abandoned streets, knowing there are groups somewhere in this country that want to either murder me or kidnap me, when I see them I feel just a little bit safer. Take it a step further, when I see military, in this case Afghan military, I also feel somewhat better. I feel like, they might not act or in fact BE able to stop much, but at least there's some kind of defense, a chance they might scare off these violent criminals.

It's much too early for me to really qualify as someone who speaks with alot of knowledge and experience. But having experienced only two days in Kabul, I can see there is still great danger if national and international efforts are abandoned now. Dressing up like a cop or as a soldier isn't going to be enough to save Afghanistan, but it is a start, and the international community has the capacity and the expertise to help them get to where they need to get. The question is will we support the effort and do what is difficult even if it takes longer than politicians promised us, or then we ourselves wish it would. Without this help, I'm afraid that the uniforms, weapons, and the makeshift roadblocks, won't be enough to stop the return of something beyond terrible. Read the rest of this post...

It's really ugly between the GOPers in Alaska

The aftermath of the still unresolved GOP Senate primary in Alaska has gotten really ugly -- and I love it.

Sarah Palin's candidate, Joe Miller, compared incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski to a prostitute.

James L. at Swing State Project caught this tweet from Miller:

What's the difference between selling out your party's values and the oldest profession? http://bit.ly/93kXBr #teaparty #tcot #alaska #ak

And, the Murkowski campaign responded:

"He just basically called Senator Murkowski a prostitute."

Yep. Read the rest of this post...

Bernanke ready to bailout Wall Street again if economy drops

Maybe it's time to completely bypass Wall Street and think of another plan. The last time they were rescued they responded by shoveling as much cash as possible into their bonuses and failed to lend. Why bother buying their securities and helping them if they're not going to give anything in return? The Federal Reserve has had plenty of time to review other options and making life easy for Wall Street should not be one of them. Wall Street wanted (and lobbied for) hyper-capitlism so let them live with the consequences. Bailing them out and saving their lifestyle (again) is a waste of time and money.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday that the Fed will consider making another large-scale purchase of securities if the slowing U.S. economy were to deteriorate significantly and signs of deflation were to flare.

The Fed chief offered his most extensive thoughts yet on how to pull the U.S. economy out of a deepening slump. His remarks came 90 minutes after the government said the economy slowed sharply in the second quarter to a 1.6 percent pace.

Fears are growing that the country could lapse back into a recession. Bernanke described the economic outlook as "inherently uncertain" and said the economy "remains vulnerable to unexpected developments."

Read the rest of this post...

Krugman: 'This isn't a recovery'

If you're one of the un-recovered, this isn't news to you, but the Professor makes it official.

[T]his isn’t a recovery, in any sense that matters.

His column goes on to exhort his old boss, Ben Bernanke, to do more from the lofty Fed perch in advance of the big Jackson Hole meeting, because, etc., here's why.

But for me the take-away from this column is the number that gets Krugman to that conclusion. This number is important to keep in mind — in the same way that it's important to keep in mind it takes 150,000 new jobs per month to break even.

Krugman shows his work (my emphasis):

The small sliver of truth in claims of continuing recovery is the fact that G.D.P. is still rising: we’re not in a classic recession, in which everything goes down. But so what?

The important question is whether growth is fast enough to bring down sky-high unemployment. We need about 2.5 percent growth just to keep unemployment from rising, and much faster growth to bring it significantly down. Yet growth is currently running somewhere between 1 and 2 percent, with a good chance that it will slow even further in the months ahead.

So like with the 150,000 jobs number, it isn't zero that matters. Again — it takes 2.5% GDP growth to keep unemployment stable, and more to make it go down. Anything lower, and unemployment rises.

Now the reason that's important, and no, it doesn't have to do with Jobs. (Our Betters don't care about your Jobs, but you knew that, didn't you. Our Betters care about Productivity, which means Profit. Your Jobs actually get in the way, like buying paper for the copier gets in the way.)

Our Betters care about two magic numbers:

Dow above 10,000. The Dow is (1) a proxy for their investments, and (2) a stimulus for consumer spending. Dow up, consumer spending up, profits also up, roughly speaking.

(The difference between 10,000 on the Dow and 9,999 should be obvious; it's the same as the difference between $10.00 and $9.99 in the price of a book.)

GDP relative to 0% growth. If GDP is above 0%, the economy can be spun as "expanding" and the rubes can be told it's all good.

So let's follow their lead; but with help from the Professor, we won't be one of the rubes. We'll be watching:

Dow below 10,000 — because that's where they start to sweat.
GDP below 2.5% — because that's where we should sweat.

And that's it for today — no exhortation from me, no "state of the Krugman" this morning. Just a little numbers game; something to keep your eye on as the wheel of life spins by.

(As I write, it's been a tough week for the Dow; it's at 10,028 as I check. Our Betters, are they beading up yet?)

Numerically yours,

GP

UPDATE: According to Nouriel Roubini, third quarter growth is going to be "well below 1 percent." If it is, watch the spin, and keep 2.5% in mind. Read the rest of this post...

Savage and Signorile talk Mehlman and the GOP's campaign of hate and homophobia

Two of the greats were on cable news last night to talk about Ken Mehlman.

Savage was on Olbermann:

Signorile was on CNN:
Read the rest of this post...

'America's corruption racket' in Afghanistan & central Asia

Scott Horton has an important post about our "corruption racket" in Afghanistan in particular, and central Asia in general. He first references this report from Dexter Filkins and Mark Mazzetti in the New York Times, which reads in part (my emphasis throughout):

[Mohammed Zia Salehi, chief of administration for Afghanistan’s National Security Council] appears to have been on the [C.I.A.] payroll for many years, according to officials in Kabul and Washington. It is unclear exactly what Mr. Salehi does in exchange for his money, whether providing information to the spy agency, advancing American views inside the presidential palace, or both. Mr. Salehi’s relationship with the C.I.A. underscores deep contradictions at the heart of the Obama administration’s policy in Afghanistan, with American officials simultaneously demanding that Mr. Karzai root out the corruption that pervades his government while subsidizing the very people suspected of perpetrating it. ...

These ties underscore doubts about how seriously the Obama administration intends to fight corruption here.

That's not only the news (Salehi, part of the Afghan NSC, is a CIA asset), it's also the official frame (Obama is deciding how to fight Afghan corruption).

Mr. Horton, on the other hand, understands this differently — that the Obama administration is creating Afghan corruption:

This detailed, persuasive story merits a few additional notes. First, when a public official accepts payments from a foreign power in wartime–in exchange for information he has secured in the course of his official duties to the foreign power or to influence his government for the benefit of a foreign power–it may constitute treason or espionage, even though it may not be prosecuted if the foreign power in question is a close ally. In any event, however, the acts constitute an acute form of public corruption. In this case, then, it puts the case quite softly to say that the contradiction is that the United States is “subsidizing” the very people suspected of corruption. It would be more accurate to state that the United States is inducing corrupt acts from the very people it seeks to prosecute for corruption. In legal terms, such a claim could be met with a defense known as in pari delicto (namely, “you’re guilty of the same offense yourself”) or its more recent and subtle variant, graymail.

Mr. Horton's article is rich in several other ways. Seems we've been doing that a lot lately, "inducing corrupt acts" in our official capacity as a government. For example:

This is the third time this summer that the United States has been slammed with credible charges of corrupting foreign governments in Central Asia. The first came from the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan, where, following a popular uprising that toppled a corrupt kleptocrat, the new government charged that the United States had made illegal payments possibly totaling hundreds of millions of dollars to the deposed leader under the guise of supplying aviation fuel to the Manas Transit Center—the key logistical point in the Afghanistan war effort’s northern supply corridor. U.S. efforts to refute the corruption charges have been pathetic, and as months pass, the evidentiary case that the payments were in fact made to businesses operated by the old dictator and were indeed an extremely sweet deal has become all but irrefutable. Although the U.S. diplomats promised to clean up the situation, on the ground in Kyrgyzstan today there is a broad perception that the United States will simply sculpt new deals to bribe the revolutionary government.

Because Horton has been "on the ground in Kyrgyzstan," I take his report as credible. Two other examples follow that one. Horton properly calls our behavior "schizophrenic."

American policy towards corruption in Central Asia is thus exposed as schizophrenic. On the one hand the United States purports to be resolutely opposed to corruption and prepared to spend enormous sums to expose and prosecute it in the interest of transparency, good government, and saving the taxpayers the expense of corrupt contracts. . . . But on the other hand, it is increasingly apparent that the United States is itself one of the most staggeringly corrupt actors in the region[.]

A great read for you Afghan fans. Graveyard of empires indeed, and of tons of your tax dollars too. (Deficit hawks, take note.)

GP Read the rest of this post...

Frozen fruit bars recalled following typhoid outbreak

Ugh, that's disgusting.

Fruiti Pops, Inc. of Santa Fe Springs has recalled its mamey frozen fruit bars because of a possible link to a rare U.S. outbreak of typhoid fever.

The company said Thursday that the fruit bars were distributed in California, Arizona and Texas since May 2009.

Read the rest of this post...

Matt Bai, Movement activist

I don't read much Matt Bai, but what I do read, I don't like. This, however, is the last straw. This is David Dayen — you can click through to Matt's trash if you like (my emphasis):

In other words, Social Security cannot run a deficit and will adjust to the available funds. Regardless of whether you think that’s a good idea, the fact is that the program has basically no impact on the budget deficit whatsoever, unless you contort yourself into the lie that paying back the US Treasury bonds in the Trust Fund represents a “raid” on the budget. That’s what Matt Bai did in his preposterous story today, claiming that the $2.5 trillion in the Trust Fund, backed by the full faith and credit of the US government, “is sort of like saying that you’re rich because your friend has promised to give you 10 million bucks just as soon as he wins the lottery.” No, it’s like saying you’re rich because your friend owes you 10 million bucks by force of law.

That kind of confusion isn't … confusion. And it's dangerous to call it that. It's agitprop, Movement Conservative behavior, disguised as journalism.

Calling that kind of work "confusion" is like saying the guy in your house with the great big knife is ... "lost."

Matt Bai, you're acting like a Movement Conservative activist, so we'll list you as one. Your table at the operative feast is ready; step this way. If you want to be treated as an honest actor, please provide evidence that you are one.

(Note the lie, by the way, that Dayen calls out; you're going to hear it a lot. The answer? Yes, Virginia, there really is a Trust Fund.)

GP Read the rest of this post...

Roubini increases chances of double-dip recession to 40%

The stimulus has been filling in the gaps to hold the economy together while business tries to re-start. Outside of the deceiving bank numbers (which again, all about the bailout and stimulus) business is stagnating and the US is importing much more than is being exported. If the GOP tax policies were to be implemented it would be nothing more than the giant shell game that they've been playing for decades. The end result would be less federal income and more costs pushed out to future years. It's good to see some Democrats finally calling out the damaging GOP tax cut plans because they really are an important part of the problem.

Hold your breath as the revised economic numbers are released. Dr. Doom sees clouds overhead.

Roubini said several factors that acted as tailwinds boosting the economy in the first half of the year “are going to be essentially headwinds” in the second half.

For example, temporary employment gains from the decennial U.S. census will disappear, and there will no longer be “a number of tax policies that stole demand and growth from the future,” such as tax credits for homebuyers.

“Based on the latest economic data, it looks like the third quarter is going to be well below 1 percent, and certainly closer to zero than to 1 percent, based on the current data,” he told CNBC. “And that’s just the beginning of the second half of the year.”

Read the rest of this post...

Does GOPer Daniel Webster share the views of his top supporter, David Barton?

On Tuesday, Republican voters in Florida's Eighth Congressional District chose Daniel Webster as their candidate to oppose Alan Grayson.

We're learning a lot about Webster this week. And, we're getting a sense of who he is and what he thinks from one of this top supporters, David Barton. From Ryan Grim:

Republican primary voters on Tuesday picked Daniel Webster to challenge freshman Rep. Alan Grayson in the Orlando swing district being watched nationally. Webster, in his Orlando Sentinel voter guide, lists David Barton among his prominent endorsers.

Barton has twice addressed white-supremacist organization with ties to neo-Nazis, but both times has done so accidentally, he says. He has also been a leader in the movement to rewrite American history to remove Civil Rights leaders and knock down the wall separating church from state, arguing that it is a myth. He led the recent effort to rewrite Texas textbooks to describe America as a Christian nation.

Barton addressed the Rocky Mountain Bible Retreat of Pastor Pete Peters' Scriptures for America and Kingdom Covenant College in Grants Pass, Oregon, both associated with neo-Nazi ideology. "At the time we were contacted by Pete Peters, we had absolutely no idea that he was 'part of the Nazi movement,'" Barton's assistant wrote later in explaining the speaking gigs. Barton didn't return a HuffPost message left with his assistant and Websters campiagn didn't return calls, either.

They're going to have to answer questions at some point. Because the more research people do on Webster and Barton, the uglier it gets. Here's more from Unreasonable Faith:

Enter Christian Nationalist David Barton, a major player in the Texas Republican Party, and founder of WallBuilders, a Dominionist group hell bent on “restoring” theocracy. Time (2005) named him among the 25 most influential evangelists. He is on the advisory committee for National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, and for Providence Foundation, “training and networking leaders to transform nations.” Reconstuctionist groups like Providence ultimately aim to “reinstate” Old Testament law, including the stoning of homosexuals, witches, and disobedient children.

Yes, you read that right. Stoning of homosexuals. It's not an exaggeration.

Webster's campaign has already accomplished one thing: It's exposed the very extreme views of David Barton. Webster touted Barton's support. So, they must share the same views. Webster really needs to explain that.

Webster does come from the far reaches of the religious right. He led the legislative effort to intervene in the case of Terri Schiavo, as verified by Florida Baptist Witness:

His greatest disappointment was the Legislature’s failure in 2005 to pass legislation saving Terri Schiavo, the severely brain-damaged Florida woman who was the subject of international attention and controversy. Schiavo died March 31, 2005, when nutrition and hydration were removed by court order in accordance with her husband’s wishes and over her parents’ objections.

Recalling the vote with tears in his eyes, Webster told the Witness the experience was draining and difficult: “I stood as hard as I could against what I believe was a moving of the line between life and death in this state.”

In contrast to some politicians who have back-tracked on their support of Schiavo legislation, Webster said he has no regrets.

“Some have said it was the worst vote they made. ... I thought it was the best stand I made,” he said.

So, it's not surprising that Webster would be so tight with an extremist like Barton.

We love Alan Grayson. He needs to win for many reasons. But, he really needs to keep Daniel Webster out of Congress. Our ActBlue page for Grayson is here. Read the rest of this post...

Friday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

The traditional media is starting its wall-to-wall coverage of the fifth anniversary of Katrina smashing into Louisiana. All the big media stars are broadcasting live from New Orleans. Obama will be in the city on Sunday.

I was looking through some of our posts from late August of 2005, as Katrina was approaching. One of the first Katrina-related posts John wrote, on August 28th, was: Will Bush stay on vacation while the hurricane destroys New Orleans? We got our answer. The Bush administration's response was a complete and total failure.

Nothing on the Veep's public schedule today. Obama is wrapping up his vacation.

Tomorrow, Glenn Beck and the teabaggers are descending on DC for their big rally at the Lincoln Memorial. That'll be fun.

What else? Read the rest of this post...

Standard & Poors: bank executives have little to do with industry recovery

In other words, the bankers are being paid healthy sums of cash because of the stimulus and bailout. Repeat after me: bankers are not worth the outrageously high money they are demanding and receiving. They like the "free market" lie so much, let 'em have it. What part of this story is being missed by the White House who continue to have such great faith in a Wall Street led recovery? Oh sure, there's still the tough talk but look at the actions or lack of actions by the administration. And the GOP? Ha! They're even more in love with allowing bankers to get paid for delivering mediocre results.

Shouldn't people actually have to do something special to command deep six figure payouts or is corporate elite socialism OK? The story is from the UK though the end result is quite similar in the US.

Bank bosses have done little to improve performance at their companies despite the recent round of strong results and will be all but powerless in the event of a double-dip downturn, Standard & Poor's Ratings (S&P;) warned yesterday.

The rating agency said Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC and Barclays had all posted "encouraging" first-half profits this month.

But S&P; also warned that this cannot be taken to be a sustained trend, saying the reversal of fortunes was largely down to a rebound in the wider economy and the help of Government stimulus packages. These economic and market developments will "continue to disproportionately influence UK bank ratings throughout the remainder of 2010", the ratings agency's analysts said. While S&P; said banking bosses' had contributed to the positive results by cutting costs, diversifying assets and strengthen their balance sheets, it said that "the more important contributory factors were the developments beyond the control of the banks' management".

Read the rest of this post...

Carter wins freedom for American held in North Korea

For some reason, I can't see Bush ever doing this successfully. Or even doing it at all. BBC News:

Former US President Jimmy Carter has secured the release of an American citizen detained in North Korea.

Aijalon Mahli Gomes, 31, was sentenced to eight years' hard labour in April, after being found guilty of illegally entering the country from China.

Mr Carter, who spent two days in Pyongyang, has now left with Mr Gomes.

North Korea's state media said officials told Mr Carter of Pyongyang's willingness to re-enter talks on its nuclear programme.

Read the rest of this post...

The Romans may have pioneered the 'socks with sandals' look

It's hard not to blame them considering how miserable the British weather can be.

During this period many of the Romans, who were often from the sunny parts of modern day France and Italy, struggled to cope with the harsh realities of the British climate, especially those billeted in the North.

Letters have been recovered from a garrison at Hadrian's Wall have revealed officers and their men begging family back home to send them extra subuclae (vests) and abollae (heavy cloaks).

Another soldier urged his loved ones to send him "Paria udonum ab Sattua solearum duo et subligariorum duo" which translates as "socks, two pairs of sandals and two pairs of underpants".

The latest evidence corroborates the socks and sandal theory which first emerged when a Roman copper razor handle was recovered from the Tees near Darlington. It was in the shape of a foot adorned with an open-toed sandal and woollen sock.

Read the rest of this post...