Apparently, not here. Signs are pointing to a prolonged, painful crawl by American workers on the bottom of the pond, with no relief in sight. Everywhere I look, there are all these people who have been removed from work for so long that they don’t quite remember what it is like to have employment. It’s not that they want to be in that situation; it’s just that they aren’t able to get out of that situation.
And by “get out of that situation” I don’t mean that these people have settled into the pattern of simply collecting unemployment checks after unemployment checks. In fact, a couple of friends of mine whom I have been in constant contact with have explained that they’ve explored everything immediately available; unfortunately, they would be getting more sitting on their asses at home collecting unemployment than they would receive had they gone back to work by accepting whatever came their way.
So, while my friends truly aren’t unmotivated bums, the reality is that few, if any, would go out and flip burgers for minimum wage when the payoff from unemployment checks are much, much better. So, perhaps the truth is that there are jobs out there, but not necessarily one that people can live off from.
So where are all the [I can make a living out of this] jobs? It appears not here. At least not yet. The end (of this economic drag), I’m afraid is not in sight.
Despite being the only boxer in history to have won seven world titles in seven different weight classes, Manny Pacquiao still has his detractors. Those who could not bring themselves to acknowledge Manny Pacquiao’s accomplishments are maintaining steadfastly once again that Manny’s opponent was a hand picked easy win. Who in their right mind would call Miguel Cotto a hand picked easy win?
This practice of denying Manny his just due has been going on since Manny took the world by storm when he soundly beat Marco Antonio Barrera in what seems to be ages ago. But ask Barrera what he thinks of Manny, given his two fights against him in which he was soundly beaten.
Ask Erik Morales, to whom by the way, Manny suffered his last loss, if he thinks Manny deserves the recognition he gets. After a trilogy of warrior-class fighting, Morales has earned the right to authoritatively give his opinion of Manny Pacquiao.
Or, ask David Diaz, the successful Olympian who lost his lightweight title to Pacquiao. Ask Oscar, the Golden Boy, what he honestly thinks about Pacquiao. Setting aside the fact that Manny made Oscar quit on his stool and ultimately forced him into retirement, Oscar the boxer would have to admit that Manny is in fact worthy of the accolades he has been getting.
I would also suggest asking Hatton, but he was walloped into a temporary coma-state that his memory of that night would be cloudy at best. Just watch the fight. It speaks for itself. Don’t ask Marquez, that piss drinking dreamer what he thinks because he still maintains he beat Manny, despite having been floored four times and brutalized by Manny over two fights.
Above all else, ask Miguel Cotto, the pride of Puerto Rico, whom Floyd Mayweather was too scared to fight that he fabricated a fake retirement to get away from Cotto, what he thinks of Manny Pacquiao.
If anyone should be able to give the most authoritative opinion as to whether Manny Pacquiao deserves the respect that some are unwilling to give, it is Miguel Cotto. Miguel is an honest and true warrior, a Champion beyond reproach. And he just finished an epic twelve round battle with Manny Pacquiao. Ask him what he thinks.
Oh wait, Larry Merchant already asked him that, to which Cotto replied that Manny Pacquiao is one of the best boxers ever. What more needs to be said?
Many decades after the United States dropped the only atomic bombs ever used in an act of war, sitting President Barack Obama says he wants to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Both cities were devastated by atomic bombs dropped by the United States at the end of World War II. President Obama stated that he wants to visit both cities sometime during his presidency. No sitting United States President has ever done so.
Obama told Japanese broadcaster NHK that although he would be unable to visit the cities on his upcoming trip to Japan, he would be willing to do so in the future. He noted that "The memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are etched in the minds of the world and I would be honored to have the opportunity to visit those cities at some point during my presidency." The interview with NHK was conducted at the White House.
Some Japanese have been calling on President Obama to visit, following his April speech suggesting a nuclear-free world. His Nobel Peace Prize no doubt adds a bit more impetus to bring some recognition and perhaps closure to the nuclear disaster both in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The mayors of both cities have invited President Obama to visit their cities before a UN review of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty next May. As expected, anti-nuclear activist groups have been urging the same.
Time may not have healed all wounds, and a visit to either city may not be a political risk that US President Obama would want to undertake. Sympathy toward Japanese suffering may be viewed as a rebuke to the use of the atomic bombs. No one doubted their necessity to end the war when the decision was made, and any criticism of it today would be seen as unnecessarily inflammatory to the generation that fought in that war. After all, it was Japan that instigated the war with the US with its surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
President Obama arrives in Tokyo on Friday evening to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. He will continue on to Singapore the following day to attend an Asian Summit.
Goldman Sachs has not been a very popular entity these days, with their fatcats raking in the multi-million dollar bonuses while they toast the DOW breaking the 10,000 mark with their 1995 Krug Mesnils. It’s a well known fact that Goldman managed to squeeze out of the financial mess by positioning itself to receive bailouts and cash, then once they had the tax payer’s cash, they paid back the government with the same tax payer cash, so now they’re free and clear of any governmental influence on their excessive greed. So greedy is this Evil Empire that they’re even suing the dead: yes, they’re trying to extract billions from now defunct Lehman. They’re absolutely Evil Incarnate. Nothing is sacred to them. Nothing.
So it comes without surprise that Goldman has been hoarding H1N1 vaccines for their own institution. It has been revealed that somehow the CDC managed to allocate Goldman more vaccines than local schools and hospitals. Yes folks, this is Goldman at its finest. Screw the sick and the elderly; Goldman is ensuring that even in an apocalypse, their people survive so that they can continue ripping off the average American, or, in their parlance, continue to increase shareholder value. In common-speak, Goldman couldn’t care less if the rest of the world around them died off, even if they cause it, so long as they continue to make money for themselves. Everything is fair game. Even the health of young children. Even the health of the nation’s economy. The American people are becoming destitute. Goldman is drinking expensive champagne.
Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler explore this Goldman atrocity on Saturday Night Live:
President Obama can breath a little as the House narrowly passed a Health Care Plan, 220 to 215. While Democrats celebrate, Republicans and other conservative Democrats insist that the Legislation has a long way to go. So how much does this whole thing cost? Estimates show that the approved plan would cost a staggering $1.1 [...]
Hello! For those of you wondering, this is no longer The Red Umbrella (TRU) that you used to read; however, as a reader of TRU myself, I did not want the articles to wander into the unknown depths of the internet to be lost forever, given that the TRU dot com name has changed hands, so… I decided to [...]
