News – Social Security Should be Secure

North America

56% of folk think the stock market is a dangerous place for Social Security funds. I’ve been thinking about this topic for a while since a few details have been revealed and have decided that I think the idea of personal accounts is interesting, but not for me. As one speaker once said(I forget who), social security is just that, a matter of personal security, making sure that no one retires without monies to get by. With these accounts, the security element is lost. It’s possible, if not likely as some might paint it, that even if you work your account wisely you could end up losing out. If there isn’t a safety net for those who fail, even though no fault of their own, what security is there in that? I plan to have several other income streams besides Social security when I retire(401k, modest investments), but I’d like that added benefit to round it out and prefer it to be a secure one that I can, more or less, count on. I’d rather make the modest changes today that will keep social security running within steady parameters than gamble in an analyzed scheme that has had mixed results abroad.

The senate is getting into a little preemption of its own, scrutinizing the intelligence on several world hotspots, including Iran. A good idea, I like to see senators doing their homework before the administration decides on a course of action, that they can be challenged properly to make the case for it. That’s congress’ job.

After all the looseness of budget, it’s time for Bush to feel the pain of cutting back spending. You’ve got to turn it off eventually, baby.

An admission that the private social security accounts will call for loads more borrowing, Cheney estimating the borrowing will be $754 billion over the next ten years. An conservative estimate by all accounts, coming from a man I don’t trust further than I could heft his personage.

Cheney categorically rules out a run for prez in 2008. And so the country breathes a sigh of relief. I’ll be holding him to that promise.

Under pressure, CIA officials have agreed that, technically, they should freely release documents detailing its ties to former Nazis who aided U.S. Cold War espionage against the Soviet Union.

Should we ditch the US mail to give private carriers a chance to give us better options?

A couple websites claiming to be legitimate news sources are part of a probe into the Pentagon’s paying of news folk for opinions. The government needs to stop paying journalists for opinions, this is wrong on so many levels.

Could Michael Jackson stop being freaky, even for a short while to save himself from jail? It might help him to show that he does have a grip on reality beyond what many see as his own twisted take on things.

Middle East

Rice says Sharon and Abbas have agreed to come to the White Hose for talks in the spring. Personally, I hope talks between them are a formality by then. We’ve got a summit going on tomorrow that will be another positive step. Rice says she’ll be active in middle east peace.. which is good on the surface, though we’ll see how she does. If she turns just the right amount of obligation on Israel, we might see something good, finally. She’s also offered them a security coordinator, someone to help Palestinians reform their security apparatus. The man picked for the job is Lieutenant-General William Ward, who has was previously commander of the NATO Stabilisation Force in post-war Bosnia and had previous assignments to Egypt, Somalia, Germany and South Korea. Sounds like he has a breadth of field experience.

One of the worries about Iraq’s future development is if, with their newfound power to come, Shia’s won’t grab for more. Might Iraq have a government with a strong rooting in Islamic law? If so, what will Bush and folks do about it? They play, when asked, as if they don’t care what sort of government Iraq will have, while assuring all listening that they likely won’t go Islamic. Makes me wonder what will really happen if Iraq does go that way.

Attacks continue in Iraq. We knew they would. The question is, when will they stop?

Rummy says that Iran is years from a nuke, so we can use diplomacy. It should mean we can use a more considerate tone as well, without the saber rattling and threats that have been a part of our ‘dialogue’.

Marking another success for peace and religion, 100 Israeli synagogues to hold services Monday to pray for failure in the peace summit between Sharon and Abbas

Europe

The leaders of 24 civil rights groups and professional bodies will be protesting in Nepal against the acts taken by the king, including dissolving the government, suspending civil rights and banning dissent. I wonder if Bush stands with them. I’m a bit surprised he hasn’t talked about this yet.

Condi gives Russia a nudge too, for not being democratic enough. One wonders what other steps might be taken, should things not change over there.

General

Voice over IP is a great use of technology, but it isn’t safe as some might think.

A couple of start ups that want to offer up kittens genetically engineered to be allergy free are embroiled in a legal battle.

Some things might wither with age, but some aspects of visuals acuity aren’t among them.

What’s next in lifesaving tech? Cars that call 911 when they crash. It could be the latest and greatest in Europe by 2009.

A counseling service to prevent one from falling to international terrorism? Now I have seen everything.

Today’s Papers has a judge shown he isn’t above a DUI, the lobbying war over Social Security, NASA moving a bit too fast, likely due to the urgings of the administration and it’s loft space goals and more in the one page news.

Amusements

Four-year-old boy drives mom’s car to the video store and back after finding it closed. Parking job leaves something to be desired

Chicago spends $270M of public money on sculpture, then demands citizens buy permits to photograph it

The most useful website in the history of websites: Zombie Infection Simulation v2.3

I-mockery takes an in depth look at Mexican prostitution ads

Cheeky ploy to smuggle pistol foiled in the end. Loaded pistol removed from man’s buttocks

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop Farker Peacetaker’s taco-eating father

Fark Photoshop Challenge: What if Jerry Bruckheimer made an infomercial?

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Farker’s coworker is leaving soon. Photoshop him a farewell card

Fark Photoshop Challenge: Photoshop a unlikely Star Trek concept replacement for “Enterprise” so that there will still be a “Trek” on TV