Celebrity Love Scopes Astrology 2010

Celebrity Couple Love Scopes / Brad Pitt  & Angelina Jolie

The golden couple of Hollywood have lived their relationship in the public eye for four years. What keeps them together?  Looking at their astrological charts they have a spiritual connection that binds them; and they under- stand one another instinctively, especially Angelina who reads her partner’s mind with an ability to soften his personality.  The power of attraction lies in their Venus opposition in Cancer and Capricorn.  It indicates that Angelina is drawn to the dependable, practical and down to earth nature of Brad.  He finds a caring, family orientated women with whom he can express his true emotions.  This opposition shows that Brad is more career orientated while Angelina is family focused.  These two opposites attract, but priorities can be in disharmony with each other.  The stress- ful square of Mars heralds fiery power struggles, especially Angelina who’s  explosive at times and wears the pants in the relationship; her Mars in Aries indicates a desire to dominate her man;  not that Brad minds his lady love taking the lead.  This influence enhances their sexual chemistry and those report’s of animal noises emanating from their rooms—can only be true.

March 2010-February 2011: slow-moving Uranus in Brad and Angelina’s charts highlight a desire for freedom and a break from old routines.  This can be a challenging phase if the couple feels restricted.  Brad will desire to break free from routines of home and family life; there could be times when he just isn’t around.  Emotional unpredictability will be present and could bring a change in residence; a move out of the domestic nest? Angelina could experience a sense of freedom in her relationships and liberation from limiting circumstances.  If Brad doesn’t give her this freedom, will she seek solace else where?

The Beginning Of The Relationship: Even though Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie first public outing was November 2005, their charts show indications of romance starting from Spring 2004.

Khloe Kardashian & Lamar Odom A New Married Life As Man & Wife.

HARMONIES: The couple share the  same Moon sign indicating emotional compatibility and friendship that allows them to understand and be at ease with each other; great chemistry.  Khloe proves to be a stable companion for Lamar who needs a supportive women to curb his unpredictable nature; he can aid her to be more confident and self-assured.  They are blessed by a beautiful Jupiter Trine, indicating great luck and many opportunities will arise being together in the right time and place; they will help each other achieve career ambitions and possibly enter into a business venture.  Khloe’s career set-backs and feeling over-shadowed by family member’s can change through this relationship.

CHALLENGES: Jealousy and possessive- ness can be a pressing issue with Mars-Sun in Scorpio, they should allow each other breathing space and not be taken in by friends who can create a wedge as their social circles will apt to clash. Unpredictable personality traits can disrupt domestic bliss.  Lamar needs to keep his wandering eyes in check.  October 2010 Khloe will feel unloved and unappreciated by Lamar as the reality of her relationship with all it’s flaws is realised.  This tends to be a  crossroad time for their marriage.

Your 2010 Astrological “Lucky Indications”

Aries March 21 - April 19

Your lucky signs for 2010 are Libra & Cancer; Favorable months for love are February, April and October.

Taurus April 20 - May 20

Your lucky signs for 2010 are Scorpio & Libra; Favorable months for love are May, June and November.

Gemini May 21 - June 20

Your lucky signs for 2010 are Aquarius & Sagittarius; Favorable months for love are March, September and November.

Cancer June 21-July 22

Your lucky signs for 2010 are Libra & Capricorn; Favorable months for love are February, May and July.

Leo July 23 - Aug 22

Your lucky signs for 2010 are Aquarius & Aries; Favorable months for love are April, July and November.

Virgo Aug 23 - Sept 22

Your lucky signs for 2010 are Pisces & Gemini; Favorable months for love are January, April and October.

Libra Sept 23 - Oct 22

Your lucky signs for 2010 are Aries & Leo; Favorable months for love are April, November and December.

Scorpio Oct 23 - Nov 23

Your lucky signs for 2010 are Taurus & Cancer; Favorable months for love are March, May and November.

Sagittarius Nov 22 - Dec 21

Your lucky signs for 2010 are Gemini & Pisces; Favorable months for love are February, May and July.

Capricorn Dec 22 - Jan 19

Your lucky signs for 2010 are Cancer & Taurus - Favorable months for love are January, April and October.

Aquarius Jan 20- Feb 18

Your lucky signs for 2010 are Leo & Gemini - Favorable months for love are February, April and November.

Pisces Feb 19 - March 20

Your lucky signs for 2010 are Virgo & Sagittarius; Favorable months for love are April, July and November.

Palm Springs LifeStyles

Palm Springs Walk of Stars Honors Rona Barrett

Pioneer television entertainment  and celebrity news reporter Rona Barrett received the 323rd star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.  Legendary actress Ruta Lee gave Barrett a stellar tribute calling her, “My Little Sister” (the  two are close friends).  Barrett’s coverage of the comings and goings in Hollywood was seen throughout the 1970s-1980s on ABC and NBC where she gt the hottest TinselTown news.  Barrett a renowned philanthropist, received accolades from speakers, proclamations and congressional recognition for her charity work.

Palm Springs Desert AIDS Project Kick-Off Party

The 16th Annual Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards Gala was held at the home of Kate Edelman Johnson.  The Desert Aids Project meets the evolving medical and social service needs of people living with HIV/AIDS and works to prevent new infections with education and outreach.  The Palm Springs facility provides most services in one area, including confidential  HIV/AIDS testing and service in the Coachella Valley and surrounding counties.  Celebrities attending included: Linda Gray, Donna Mills, Joan van Ark, Diahann Carroll, Stefanie Powers, Morgan Fairchild and Roslyn Kind (Barbara Streisand’s sister) who will perform at the 16th Annual Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards Gala, on February 27th, 2010, at the Palm Springs Convention Center.  Co-chairs are Jim Casey and Barbara Keller.  Honorees include designer Bob Mackie and actress Ann Margret.

By Pat Krause

Cheese Matters

Cheese Heaven & Romance in Santa Barbara

We are fortunate to have access to treasures like The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills where cheeses from all over the planet can be sampled and taken home to enjoy.  Now, Santa Barbara has one of the legends of the cheese shop world right in the heart of the city.  Kent Torrey opened a branch of his famous Cheese Shop of Carmel and boy-oh-boy are people in Santa Barbara happy.  Kent’s store is easily found near Nordstrom, in the Paseo Nuevo Shopping Center.  It’s called Cheese Shop Santa Barbara and they’ll teach you and taste you on cheeses while you pick out your selection.  I love this quote from Kent, “Instead of working with paints on canvas—we work with cheese and condiments to help customers create a beautiful and delicious cheese plate.”

Santa Barbara is so close you can drive up there in less than two hours and on less than a tank of gas.  All of my friends there go to Kent’s store and they get everything they need to have a terrific  picnic.  The Cheese Store of Santa Barbara’s tag line is so appropriate, “The Gourmand’s Mecca.”

The Cheese Store Santa Barbara has it all: gourmet foods, wines and, of course a huge cheese selection. Two hundred beauties from around the world of cheese are just waiting for you to take them on a romantic picnic.  The Cheese Store even has the rare Barely Buzzed, an American original cheese that is aged in coffee and lavender buds.

Why not bundle up and go to the beach and watch the pelicans dive into the sea, while you share some amazing cheeses with someone special.  What an amazing life that we have here in California.  Enjoy!

The Cheese Store of Santa Barbara
Paseo Nuevo Shopping Center
811 G State Street (near Nordstrom)
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 884-9463

By Barrie Lynn / The Cheese Impresario

TheCheeseImpresario.com
Cheese@bhtmag.com

One Hope - Many Causes

ONEHOPE is a California wine company that donates 50% of its profits to partner nonprofits that support five causes: Breast cancer aware- ness (ONEHOPE Foundation for Breast Cancer Research; AIDS research and services (AIDS/LifeCycle); Research for Autism & services (ACT Today!); preservation and protection of U.S. forests (American Forests); also to support families of fallen U.S. soldiers (Snowball Express); and Susan G Komen. Celebrities who support those charities drink ONEHOPE: Lisa Rinna, Holly Robinson-Peete, Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Denise Richards, Sharon Stone, Lorenzo Neal, Mya, Eliza Dushku, Emily Blunt, Colin Firth and more.  Each varietal of ONEHOPE Wine goes to sponsor a different charity: 50% profits from ONEHOPE Sauvignon Blanc help save the planet; 50% profits from ONEHOPE Cabernet fight Autism; 50% profits from ONEHOPE Chardonnay fight Breast Cancer; 50% profits from ONEHOPE Merlot fight AIDS; 50% profits from ONEHOPE Zinfandel help families of fallen U.S. troops.  December is World AIDS Awareness Month a great time to buy a fabulous wine (ONEHOPE 2007 Merlot) that supports a fabulous cause (AIDS/LifeCycle).

Flavors include, black cherries, plums and figs; crisp acidity and ripe fruit flavors with a soft, smooth finish. Why Merlot and AIDS Awareness?  The Merlot grape is a cornerstone in wine- making; AIDS is the biggest epidemic in the world.  More than 25 million people in 25 years have died from AIDS.  One million people in America live with HIV and AIDS.

Michael Mooney: Can High Dose Vitamin D Stop Swine Flu?

Michael Mooney has worked in the field of health and nutrition for over 30 years.  He served eight terms as Political Committee Chairperson and Co-Chairperson of the Northern California Chapter of the National Nutritional Foods Association.  Mooney has been interviewed as an expert in Sports Illustrated  and on more than 60 radio and television shows, including ABC, NBC, FOX, KPFK, Discovery Channel and was referenced as such on Good Morning America.

A childhood plagued with health problems forced Michael Mooney to find natural health care solutions.  As his health improved, his passion for nutrition attracted the attention of his biochemist father and in 1977 they co-founded SuperNutrition Life Extension Research, an organization to research nutrition and dietary supplements, lifestyle and exercise to improve health, intelligence and extend one’s lifespan.

Mooney worked in a national grassroots lobbying organization to pass 1994’s Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act opposing the Food and Drug Administration’s attempt to regulate dietary supplements as prescription items. His efforts contributed to the largest letter-writing campaign to Congress in history, generating over one million letters and garnering him four awards including Activist of the Year from Citizens For Health.

In 1999, Michael Mooney and long-term HIV survivor Nelson Vergel co-authored, “Built To Survive: A Comprehensive Guide to the Medical Use of Anabolic Hormones, Nutrition & Exercise for HIV(+) Men and Women. The book served the needs of patients and doctors with easy to understand language and 407 medical references.  It has 12, 5-star consumer reviews and three medical doctor’s reviews on Amazon.  All profits are donated to HIV research.

Mooney continues to break ground with his natural health, wellness and supplement reports.  His articles can be seen in many health publications including  Medibolics  magazine online among others.

The World Health Organization, after balking at the lack of confirmed safety data for the vaccine, now promotes it but acknowledges that with such a large amount of an experimental vaccine that contains mercury being distributed, keeping track of people that experience adverse effects will be difficult.  Since the vaccine contains 25 mcg of mercury, (2 ½ times more than the Environmental Protection Agency says is safe for a 200 pound person and 5 times more than is safe for a 100 pound person) ) even if rare, it’s possible that you may experience  toxic effects to the nervous system, that could be subtle and hard to trace to the vaccine.

Q. I’m worried over side effects from the swine flu vaccine after seeing a girl on TV with severe nerve problems. Is there anything else I can do?

A. Your concern is valid.  I watched the YOUTUBE video of that woman, titled, “Woman develops neurological disease after regular flu shot.” Even if it’s a rare occurrence, it’s shocking to see what can happen when mercury-laden vaccines are injected into humans! Mercury is a nerve poison.

If Not The Swine Flu Vaccine, WHAT?

World authority and head of the Vitamin D Council, Dr. John Cannell and other leading nutritionally-oriented medical doctors find in general that people who take 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 per day, don’t get sick and don’t get the swine flu.  These doctors report that while the average doctor sees about 10 new swine flu cases per week, doctors who give their patients vitamin D blood tests and prescribe vitamin D accordingly—are seeing none.

Dr. John Cannell provides detail in videos on YOUTUBE.  He says that the body’s natural antibiotics; anti-microbial peptides are turned on by vitamin D, but only if  you have enough and most people don’t get enough, from food, supplements or from your skin producing it after sun- light exposure (about 85% of your body needs exposure to UV-B rays of the sun between 10 AM—2 PM on a summer day); during the winter no one’s body makes enough vitamin D.  Those with darker skin have less vitamin D than those with lighter skin as skin melanin blocks vitamin D production.  The older we get the less vitamin D we make.

Ask your doctor for a blood test called “OH-vitamin D” to see if you are getting enough vitamin D.  If ‘yes’ your blood test will measure 40 to 60 ng/ml; most people measure about 10-20 ng/ml.  Each 1,000 IU of supplement vitamin D increases blood levels about 10ng, so it can take several thousand IU of supplemental vitamin D to get blood levels up to 50 ng.

The Importance of Vitamin D

Vitamin D is important for several aspects of optimal health, including reducing the risk of breast, prostate and other cancers, absorbing calcium and keeping bones healthy, optimal muscle strength, increasing fat burning and keeping the brain healthy.  Studies on mental health report that people with optimal vitamin D blood levels are happier with better moods.

Q. Does taking vitamins above RDA levels help health more?

A. YES.  Research over 60 years show that RDA vitamin levels keep away nutritional deficiency diseases such as scurvy and rickets.  But to get super- effects of vitamins, you need higher potencies than the 65-year old RDA’s of vitamins. More powerful potencies,  ”anti-aging potencies” slow premature aging that doesn’t have to occur if you have enough vitamins and live an anti-aging lifestyle (eat whole natural foods, get r­­egular exercise, control stress levels).

Examples of anti-aging vitamin effects are smoother glowing skin and thicker, fuller hair, keeping your memory strong and your mind  clear, being able to handle stress more calmly and not getting sick.  You will have to search health food stores to find anti-aging potency multi-vitamins. When the potencies are high enough, within two weeks, you’ll easily feel more energetic, more upbeat, more mentally clear, and you’ll start to look like a billion dollars.

Visit: www.medibolics.com
www.michaelmooney.net

Ear, Nose & Throat Physician Dr. Hayward Eubanks

 

For 21 years, Dr. Hayward Eubanks has been treating people with Ears, Nose & Throat illness and disease. He offers tips on how to avoid sickness, importance of early detection when it comes to serious ear and throat conditions, how to maintain good upper respiratory health through proper eating and vitamin supplements, and health signs that let you know when your body is depleted,  stressed, and needs attention—FAST.  

UPPER RESPIRATORY ILLNESS

“Upper respiratory virus is always more of a problem during colder months, but especially now with the Swine Flu affecting people all over the world, we need to be conscious of protecting our health.  Every where we go people are coughing, they have ear and throat infections, allergies, breathing and sinus problems.  This makes it even more difficult to stay healthy.  Nevertheless, we have to keep our health at the fore- front of our thoughts and actions.”

YOU DON’T HAVE TO GET SICK

#1. AVOIDANCE

#2.  CLEANLINESS

“The number one way that we can stay healthy is avoid getting sick.  Stay away from people who are sick, coughing, sneezing, and generally not feeling well.  Avoid as much as possible places that are congested with a lot of people, stay as much as possible in open airy places.  The second way to avoid getting sick is to amp up cleanliness; wash your hands frequently with an anti-bacterial soap; also avoid hand-to-hand contact when possible and supplements and good food to strengthen your immune system.”

DAILY ‘MUST-DO’ LIST

• Take a high potency multi-vitamin.

• Take at least 2,000 mg of vitamin C.

• Sleep boosts the immune system. 

THE SWINE FLU

• The Swine Flu is highly contagious.

• It affects everyone differently.

“There are two forms of the vaccine: the live virus (nasal mist); and a component of the non-living virus (shot or inter- muscular).  If the vaccine is given prior to exposure to the virus it is ‘very’ useful; but if the immune system has already been exposed to the virus taking the vaccine ‘maybe’ useful in some people. The vaccine is a good tool to fight virus, but needs to be taken early—before exposure, to work effectively.” 

Is The Swine Flu Shot Necessary? What Are The Risks Of Getting It?

“The Swine Flu vaccine is new.  Its effectiveness and complications depends on the research that  is still ongoing today.  In my opinion, there was not enough time to fully research the vaccine and iron out problems now thought to be associated with it.  The vaccine is not for everyone; the nasal mist or  live vaccine should not be administered to pregnant women, patients with long-term health problems, or children six months to 2-years of age.  In 1976 several hundred people who had requested vaccines developed neuromuscular symptoms, and even Guillian Barre syndrome, from which some died.  People with healthy immune systems can generally fight off the flu on their own.”    

CHRONIC SINUS CONDITIONS 

Pollution, allergies, cosmetic nasal surgery, sickness, asthma—contribute to sinusitis.  Symptoms are runny nose,  watering eyes, congestion, problems breathing, blocked airways, headaches, and rarely go away on their own.  

“Living in Los Angeles, especially the Valley and the L.A. basin areas is like living in a bowl.  In that bowl are sediments that people become allergic to.  Take for instance the fires that we have here in southern California; after the fires are over people still deal with all of the particles in the air that stay in the air for months on end.  In California we don’t have four seasons which means that flowers bloom and pollen float around all year long.” 

ADVANCEMENT IN SINUS SURGERY

In the past 10 years Laser has had astounding results treating sinusitis. 

• Simpler sinus surgeries

• Minimal to no pain or downtime

“We’ve discovered that we don’t have to remove, but shrink turbinates inside the nose which immediately opens nasal passages and helps drainage.  Another breakthrough in sinus treatment is called Balloon Sinuloplasty which opens up critical areas allowing the sinus to drain.      It is a very simple procedure, but with remarkable results.  Laser allows us to work inside the nose on areas that many times were not accessible.  In the upper respiratory track everything from tear ducts to the throat; proper function of the nose is crucial to eliminate illness.”

COSMETIC NOSE SURGERY & BREATHING PROBLEMS

“One common problem especially here in Los Angeles is that people who have had cosmetic nasal surgery experience more sinus and breathing difficulty.  Reducing the size of the nose reduces  the nasal valve area blocking the flow of air in one or both sides of the nose.  Eliminating this problem for those who have had prior cosmetic nasal surgery is a big part of my practice, and can be taken care of relatively simply.”     

THE SERIOUSNESS OF EAR PAIN

“Ear pain can indicate a multitude of problems.  Nerves within the ear go to almost every part of the body.  Treating people with ear pain, physicians have to be very careful where the actual start of that pain is coming from.  There have been cases where a person with ear pain has had a tumor in the lung area.  Ear pain is one of the most significant symptoms a person can exhibit for a related problem in another area of their body such as TMJ, throat and tongue diseases.  Ear pain needs immediate attention.“ 

 

Hayward Eubanks, M.D.
Ears, Nose, Throat, Neck Surgery
Beverly Hills, CA.
310-360-7368

Los Angeles, CA.
323-296-3431

Hawthorne, CA.
310-679-0676 

 

For questions or for further information email:

haywardeubanks@yahoo.com           

The Brockovich Report: An American Cause

 

If we had a crystal ball and could see a 60 foot wall of water coming right at us, or an F-5 tornado ready to rip our house off its foundation, would we do something to stop it? Of course, we would—unless it is an environmental disaster of our own making. Those we tend to ignore. Environmental disasters need no gypsy fortune-tellers or wizards to reveal ominous portent.  All it takes is a little common sense, and people who pay attention. We all need to pay attention because that 60 foot wall of water is on its way.  Only in some places it is arsenic, or benzene, or hexavalent chromium, or lead.

One such situation keeps me up at night because of the children affected. There’s a small quaint Missouri town, a quiet, peaceful, safe, tree lined haven sung to sleep with the night music of the locust.  The shadow in this Norman Rockwellian picture is contamination from a lead mine.  The mining company that is contaminating the town is no small time business. This is a big business with big counsel who should know better. Their pockets are deep enough to clean the mess up or buy out the entire town if they so choose.  To give credit where credit is due, they are making efforts to clean up.  But it is not fast enough—one of those little-too-late efforts.  They pick and chose which property they will clean up, while others equally afflicted wait and watch and wonder what will happen to them.

In this town, children run and laugh and play in lead dust.  Lead dust covers their yards, their streets, the formerly pristine woods where they ride their bikes.  We have tested and have confirmed the levels of lead in people’s yards in the thousands of parts per million. Blood tests reveal that one third have lead poisoning.

The entire time I was there, I had a metallic taste in my mouth. I could feel swelling in my ears and sinuses. No wonder I came home from this particular trip sick. What I was doing there without some kind of protection? But how could I wear a mask and protective gear? This wasn’t Love Canal. It is a neighborhood. How would neighbors feel if I walked around with a mask, or hazmat suit?  People who live there are worried.  They tell me they want to protect their kids but who are they supposed to believe? Industry tells them one thing (Don’t worry, they’re fixing it), EPA says another (off-roading on the mine waste piles is within harm- less recreational exposure though we want to phase it out in a five-to-seven year period.) Then, we say yet some- thing else—just what the test results tell us.  It’s dangerous.

Would others accuse me of a publicity stunt if I wore that protection?  But since when have I cared about that? More important, I was concerned over how the people, especially the children were feeling. Were they sensitized? Have they already been afflicted with growth retardation, speech or language dysfunction, anemia, and attention or behavioral disorders?  How will this affect their future?

This enormous mine yawns open, free standing lead, free to blow through the town, free to sift into yards, doors and windows, into lungs, into blood.  I felt as if I were on a third world journey witnessing the despair of the lost and disenfranchised of a country that ignores the plight of its people.  Is this the real America?

Yet industry continues the status quo. Industry is free to dabble in reparations, but continues to work at full blast, in close proximity to people.  Industry is free to broadcast lead dust indiscriminately, unimpeded. The lead is free to fly where ever the wind blows it. What is people’s freedom?  They have no choice, they have no voice. Is this the real America?

While we move forward for cleaner energy, better technology and a new tomorrow, we cannot ignore the damage that continues.  We can not leave hazards in place that continually spoil the water, the land, the lives of our children.  As we move forward into better technologies, we must clean up yesterday’s damage, or all our efforts for tomorrow will be for naught.

Nomi Prins: It Takes A Pillage

 

Nomi Prins is a journalist and Senior Fellow at Demos.  Her latest book: It Takes Pillage: Behind the Bonuses, Bailouts, and Back room Deals from Washington to Wall Street is a hit!  Her other best-seller, Other People’s Money: The Corporate Mugging of America uncovered corporate corruption, political collusion & Wall Street deception. The Economist, Barron’s and The Library Journal chose Other People’s Money as a Best Book of 2004.

In her book Jacked: How “Conservatives” are Picking your Pocket (whether you voted for them or not) cataloged her travels across America talking with people about economic concerns.  Her financial-political thriller, The Trail, was published in 2008, under her pseudonym, Natalia Prentice.

Priorto becoming a journalist, Prins worked on Wall Street as a managing director at Goldman Sachs, a Senior Managing Director running the inter- national analytics group at Bear Stearns in London, and a senior derivatives strategist at Lehman Brothers.  Prins has appeared internationally on the BBC and nationally on CNN, CNBC, CSPAN, PBS, FOX and other television stations, and she has  been featured regularly on a variety of radio shows. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Daily Beast, Fortune, Mother Jones, Newsday, Slate.com, The Guardian UK, The Nation, The American Prospect as well and numerous other publications.

 

Most Americans assume that while Wall Street ruined the American economy, the federal government was asleep at the wheel.  Few know that the government was wide awake, egging Wall Street along.  Our leaders drove the bus into the ditch on purpose, threw a party for all their friends and sent the rest of us the bill.  

As catastrophe was coming, I saw the numbers and they didn’t look good.  IT TAKES A PILLAGE: Behind the Bailouts, Bonuses, and Backroom Deals from Washington to Wall Street exposes how the revolving door between Washington and Wall Street enabled and encouraged the disastrous behavior of large investment banks.  Readers are introduced to the machinations of the Pillage People: men who funneled trillions of dollars into the banks, and executives whose companies drained the American economy.  The Federal Pillage Triumvirate—Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke and Timothy Geithner enabled the looting of the biggest part of the bailout and subsidization of the banking industry; a $10.7 trillion bounty.

Stories I reveal have not been fully reported in the main stream media:  The government bailout giveaway is actually in the trillions rather than billions; banks are paying back sweetheart federal loans with better, lower profile federal loans; the crisis has actually loosened financial rules, instead of tightening them, but did the opposite with consumer credit.  While government looked the other way as AIG sent home big bonuses, it will applaud when banks hand out record bonuses with profits earned on the taxpayer dime.  But that’s not the scariest part.  For all the trillions spent or committed to the bloated stalwarts of Wall Street, our economic system remains in disarray and Washington has no plan to  fix it.  How do we extract ourselves from this down- ward financial spiral and stabilize the economy?  IT TAKES A PILLAGE gives people on Main Street an understanding of the financial crisis and identifies policies that will resolve America’s problem, instead of inflating Wall Street’s balance sheets.

A favorite quote is from author Jim Hightower who said, “Nomi Prins knows the mind-set, knows how to read the spreadsheets, knows the people, and knows Wall Street’s games.  Nomi knows and now Nomi tells.”  And I do!

 

It Takes A Pillage is available on Amazon.com

www.nomiprins.com

Ralph Nader: A Novel Idea

At a little noticed meeting with Senate Democrats, Warren Buffett, the famous investors’ guru, told the lawmakers that rich people are not paying enough taxes.

A tax increase for the very wealthy? Many of the Senators backed away from that recommendation, even though it came from the world’s second richest man.

That is just one reason why Mr. Buffett plays a central role in my first work of fiction, “Only the Super Rich Can Save Us!”  The title is derived from an exchange between Buffett and a woman from New Orleans.  Buffett is leading a convoy of critical supplies right after Katrina to help the fleeing poor stranded on the highways without food, water, medicine and shelter.  At one stop, Buffett was distributing supplies when a grandmother clasped his hands, looked right into his eyes and cried: “Only the super-rich can save us!”

Her words jolted Buffett to his core. Arriving back at his modest home in Omaha, he knew what he had to do. 

The next scene is early January 2006. Buffett and 16 enlightened super-rich elders gather at a mountaintop hotel in Maui, and devise an elaborate strategy to take on the corporate goliaths and their Washington allies, and to redirect the country toward long overdue changes. 

What follows is a top-down, bottom-up mobilization of Americans from all backgrounds in a head-on power struggle to break the grip of the corporate titans on our government.

With four out of five Americans believing that the U.S. is in decline, imagining the super-rich powerful engine revving up an organized citizenry is a precondition to revitalizing democracy. 

Tom Peters, the best selling author of, “In Search of Excellence” summed up my book’s objective by calling it a work of fiction that he would love to see become nonfiction.

Step by step, week by week, Buffett’s super-rich, who call them- selves “the Meliorists” build their campaigns—first privately and then openly launching their initiatives during the 4th of July weekend with media, fanfare and parades.

Turning real, well-known people into fictional roles does not mean that their past achievements and beliefs are overlooked. To the contrary, I extend their achieve- ments and beliefs to a much more intense level of what I believe they wish to see our country become.

Over the years, I have spoken to many super-rich and found many of them discouraged and saddened about our nation’s inability to solve major problems; a society paralyzed because the few have too much political and economic power over the many.

Buffett, in my ‘political science fiction,’ to use my colleague Matt Zawisky’s phrase, selected people like George Soros, Ted Turner, Ross Perot, Sol Price, Yoko Ono, William Gates Sr., Barry Diller, Bill Cosby, Joe Jamail, Bernard Rapoport, Leonard Riggio, Phil Donahue, and others because each brought unique experience, determination, money and rolodexes to that secluded Maui hotel where they met each month.

The “Meliorists” address the enormous mismatch of resources between citizen groups and the corporate supremacists.  This time the entrenched CEOs are challenged by the retired or elderly billionaires and megamillionaires who know the ways and means of business and political power, and can throw the resources, smarts and grassroot organizing talent against the corporate behemoths, who are not reluctant to counterattack.

In 1888, a Bostonian by the name of Edward Bellamy published a tremendous bestseller about a utopian U.S. in the year 2000 called “Looking Backward”. The book went on to inspire the then-growing progressive movement.

Obviously, Bellamy’s utopian dream was not actualized. In my book, I show not a utopian society but a primer for how the super-rich, as a catalyst, could provide the means for millions of Americans to upgrade their quality of life and livelihoods while confidently building civic and political institutions to hold and extend their gains.

I mean this book to interest anyone searching for ways to make fundamental, sustainable change. With this book you could see how your favorite big issue could be handled strategically and tactically. If you just want to escape your despair over our national gridlock and peer into the possible, into what could happen now if enough people and progressive super-rich come together…this book is for you, too.

Every week, leading reformers in our country produce documentations, diagnoses, denunciations of injustice and proposals to address it.  Little happens.  Too many mismatches. We need major catalysts.  But first, we need imaginations rooted in ful- filling available potentials—trans- formations for us and for posterity.

By the way, my fictional Meliorists have a task force on posterity as well.

Congressman Ron Paul: Bombs and Bribes

 

What if tomorrow morning you woke up to headlines that yet another Chinese drone bombing on U.S. soil killed several dozen ranchers in a rural community while they were sleeping?  That a drone aircraft had come across the Canadian border in the middle of the night and carried out the latest of many attacks? What if it was claimed that many of the victims harbored anti-Chinese sentiments, but many dead were innocent women and children?  And what if the Chinese administration, in an effort to improve its public image in the U.S., had approved an aid package to send funds to help with American roads and schools and promote Chinese values here?

Most Americans would not stand for it.  Yet the above hypothetical events are similar to what our government is doing in Pakistan.  Congress has approved an aid package for Pakistan for the stated purposes of improving our image and promoting democracy.  I again made the point on the floor of the House that still no one seems to hear: What if this happened on U.S. soil? What if innocent Americans were being killed in repeated drone attacks carried out by some foreign force who was trying to fix our problems for us?  Would sending money help their image? If another nation committed this type of violence and destruction on our home- land, would we be at all interested in adopting any of their values?

Sadly, the one thing that has entirely escaped modern American foreign policy is empathy.  With- out humility or regard for human life, our foreign policy has been reduced to alternately bribing and bombing other nations, all with the stated goal of “promoting democracy”.  But if a country democratically elects a leader not sufficiently pro-American, our government refuses to recognize them, will impose sanctions on them, and possibly support covert efforts to remove them.  Democracy is obviously not what we are really interested in.  More likely our government is interested in imposing its will on other governments.  This policy of endless intervention in the affairs of others is very damaging to American liberty and security.

If we were really interested in democracy, peace, prosperity and safety, we would pursue more free trade with other countries.  Free and abundant trade is much more conducive to peace because it is generally bad business to kill your customers.  When one’s livelihood is on the line, and business agreements are mutually beneficial, it is in everyone’s best interests to maintain cooperative and friendly relations and not kill each other.  But instead, to force other countries to bend to our will, we impose trade barriers and sanctions.  If our government really wanted to promote freedom, Americans would be free to travel and trade with whoever they wished.  And, if we would simply look at our own policies around the world through the eyes of others, we would under- stand how these actions make us more targeted and therefore less safe from terrorism.  The answer is to get back to free trade with all and entangling alliances with none.  It is our bombs and sanctions and condescending aid packages that isolate us.

Next Page »