Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Home Blog Page 356

Galería Lunada Literary Launge

by the El Reportero’s staff

Pyramid of Kukulcan, Chichen ItzaPyramid of Kukulcan, Chichen Itza

November’s Lunada features a special kind of full moon called a lunar penumbral eclipse, a rare sightning for 2012 – during which the Moon lies exclusively within the Earth’s penumbra. That evening the Lunada will continue to celebrate the fall season with featured vocalist Liliana Herrera, and guitarist/ producer Camilo Landau, two artists making big waves in the Bay Area Latin music scene. Open Mic sign-up begins at 7:15pm, de puro sabor y corazón, spoken word, música, first timers, always welcome.

This fall season so far has featured Joseph Rios, Xochiquetzal Candelaria, Sheila Maldonado, Paul S. Flores, Mariposa Villaluna, the PO’ Poets Proj of POOR MAG, Luta, and Manny Lieras from All Nations Singers – don’t miss out on November’s installment.

Wednesday, Nov. 28, at 7:30 p.m. Admission $5. Free with food to share and to Galería members.

A twinkling tradition: Zoo Lights at Oakland Zoo

The last Friday of November marks the date Oakland Zoo officially turns on holiday cheer. From November 30 thru December 31, 2012, hundreds of thousands of sparkling lights will illuminate the night sky to create a twinkling tradition known to be the largest LED holiday light display in the Bay Area. Dozens of colorfully lit animal- themed structures will be situated throughout the Zoo, for families to enjoy during the evening hours.

Nov. 30, 2012 – Dec. 31, 2012. ZooLights Hours: Monday – Sunday: 5:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. Adults $8.00, children $6.00.

Mundo Maya 12:12:12”

Galeria de la Raza presents Mundo Maya 12:12:12, a celebration of the Mayan culture and the end of the Mayan Calendar next month. The exhibition, featuring works by Latino/­Mayan youth and instructor Roberto Y. Hernández, contains art relating to the Mayan calendar, gods, animals, numbers, people, photographs, woodcarvings, altars, and the ten Mayan foods that changed the world’s eating habits.

Celebrations for maíz, La Virgen de Guadalupe, cacao, and the official end of the Mayan calendar will investigate and commemorate the importance of el Mundo Maya – join us in December for these special events!

Opening reception Thursday, Dec. 6, at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. At the Galería de la Raza, 2857-24th Street, San Francisco.

La Posarela 2012

Por sexto año consecutivo, alumnos, maestros y artistas del Community Music Center (CMC), con apoyo del Consulado General de México en San Francisco, celebrarán las fiestas decembrinas con su ya tradicional Posarela.

La Posarela del CMC, producida y dirigida por Martha Rodríguez-Salazar, es un espectáculo musical que combina las tradiciones mexicanas de las posadas y las pastorelas, de ahí su original nombre, “Posarela”.

Esta producción presenta arreglos originales de música tradicional latina y un guion bilingüe aderezado con comentarios sociales de tono humorístico. Reúne a intérpretes y audiencia de todas las edades y se ha convertido en un evento anual muy apreciado por las familias que celebran su herencia latina. Asimismo, es una gran oportunidad para que el público en general aprenda y disfrute de las fiestas decembrinas tradicionales mexicanas.

El Consulado General de México en San Francisco se complace en invitar a la comunidad a que se una y disfrute de esta celebración!.

El domingo 9 de diciembre a las 2 p.m., en el Auditorio del Mission High School, 3750 18th Street, San Francisco. Para más información visite ­http://www.sfcmc.org/site/.

­

Salvador Dalí artwork donated to goodwill in Washington

­Reported by HispanicallySpeaking News

Salvador DalíSalvador Dalí

It was a busy, noisy moment at a thrift store and donation site in Tacoma, Washington, when an anonymous donor left, mixed among other used items, a somewhat deteriorated engraving that turned out to be an original Salvador Dali.

“We found it among other donated second-hand items,” Dylan Lippert, the head of electronic sales at the Tacoma store, told Efe. Funds from the sale of the work by the store, part of the Goodwill social enterprise chain, will be used to provide jobs for some 10 disabled persons.

“We don’t know why it was donated among other second-hand items and not by itself,” Lippert said.

When workers at the store first caught sight of the work they commented how “ugly” it was. “What’s this? Who would want it?” they said.

But the store manager and the director of art donations had their suspicions – they were familiar with the work of the Catalan painter and were ” very impressed and excited by the potential value of the piece, if it should be confirmed,” Lippert said.

Marc Anthony to Break Ground on New Orphanage in Dominican Republic

The Maestro Cares Foundation (MC), founded by international pop icon Marc Anthony and entrepreneur Henry Cardenas, announced today details for its groundbreaking ceremony in La Romana Dominican Republic, where it will help provide a new residence hall and learning center for more than 150 orphaned children.

The event is set for Friday, Nov. 23 at 11:00 a.m. at the new location for Orfanato Niños de Cristo, at Camino a la Luisa in La Romana’s Buena Vista Norte district. Both Anthony and Cardenas are scheduled to be in attendance.

“This day not only marks the beginning of a new life for these children, who are in much need of our support, but it’s also the start of a labor of love for us that began last year and today comes to fruition,” said Anthony.

The new residence will feature state-of-the-art designs and include a kitchen, laundry room, cafeteria, library, chapel, classrooms, dorm rooms, a teacher’s lounge, workshop area, business center, and a baseball field. The land, which measures 10,000 sq. yards., was donated by the Central Romana Corporation.

“This is a very special occasion for the Maestro Cares Foundation,” said Cardenas. “We’ve waited a long time for this ­moment and I can already imagine the children playing and studying in their new home. I applaud our donors and supporters for helping make this day possible, and especially to Central Romana Corporation for recognizing the importance of building a foundation for the children. This is the start of many great things to come.”

Launched in January 2012, Maestro Cares was established to assist in the development of orphanages throughout Latin America. By providing basic needs such as food, school supplies, dorm rooms, classrooms, clinics and other essential development programs, Maestro Cares seeks to provide children with healthy environments for learning while instilling a culture that includes a strong work ethic, confidence and discipline. Through a series of fundraisers, Maestro Cares raised over $200,000 this summer to start the construction of the new residence hall and learning center.

Boxing

­Saturday, November 24 – TBD –

WBC minimumweight title: Xiong Zhao Zhong (19-4-1, 11 KOs) vs. Javier Martinez Resendiz (13-3-2, 6 KOs).

Saturday, November 24 – Ontario, California

(HBO) – WBA lightweight title: Richard Abril (17-3-1, 8 KOs) vs. Sharif Bogere (23-0, 15 KOs).

Friday, November 30 – Coral Gables, Florida –

WBA light welterweight title: Joan Guzman (33-0-1, 20 KOs) vs. Khabib Allakhverdiev (17-0, 8 KOs).

Saturday, December 1 – New York, New York

(SHOWTIME) – Junior middleweights: Austin Trout (25-0, 14 KOs) vs. Miguel Angel Cotto (37-3, 30 KOs).

CIA allegedly using drug money to overthrow Ecuador President Rafael Correa

by Matías Rojas
Infowars.com

Ecuador President Rafael Correa.Ecuador President Rafael Correa.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is using drug money to fund Rafael Correa’s opposition in the coming 2013 Ecuadorian elections, intelligence sources have revealed to Chilean independent media. The accusations do not stand alone. In October, former UK diplomat Craig Murray said that the CIA had tripled its budget to destabilize the government of Ecuador.

The allegations were made public by President Rafael Correa on Nov. 3 on national television, just days after his official visit to ­Chile to meet with President Sebastian Piñera.

Correa reaffirmed information that appeared in an article written by Chilean independent media outlet Panoramas News, revealing that the CIA and DEA stations in Chile were running a narcotics trafficking network through that country with the full knowledge of Chilean authorities and police.

One of the sources quoted by Chilean media, a former police officer in the Policia de Investigaciones (PDI) by the name of Fernando Ulloa, said that 300 kilograms of cocaine were entering Chile monthly under the escort of members of his own institution, the Carabineros, and the Chilean Army. In May 2011, Fernando Ulloa met with then Chilean Minister of Interior Rodrigo Hinzpeter in La Moneda to inform him about the drug network. After more than one year, the Piñera’s government had done ­nothing to investigate the case.

The scandal resurfaced again after 10 Chilean cops were detained with links to a minor drug smuggling ring, not connected to the one Ulloa was exposing. Although Chilean television was more open to talk about police corruption, Ulloa was only interviewed by two TV networks, where he accused Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter of covering up the larger narcotics ring he was investigating before being kicked out of his job as PDI inspector.

The links to US intelligence emerged after an anonymous source from the Agencia Nacional de Inteligencia (ANI) told Panoramas News that the smuggling of 300 kilos of cocaine was in fact a highly sensitive CIA/DEA operation that would help to raise money to topple the government of Ecuador. The operation is similar to the one carried out by the Agency in Central America during the Iran-Contra scandal in the 1980’s, the source said.

The director of Panoramas News, journalist Patricio Mery Bell, was planning to hand over the information to Rafael Correa while the Ecuadorian President was visiting Chile, but he was strangely accused of beating a woman after she stole his cell-phone. The cell-phone memory contained a video testimony of Mery’s intelligence source, destined to be passed to Correa, but it ended up in the hands of the police after the mysterious incident.

Once he was in Ecuador, President Rafael Correa connected the dots and decided to go public with the information. He quoted Murray’s early warnings about the CIA’s intent to “fund, bribe or blackmail media and officials”, originally written in the former diplomat’s own blog, adding that the Agency was dealing drugs just as Oliver North had done during the Contra support effort.

In an interview with NTN24, journalist Patricio Mery added more details to the case, relating the cover-up of the CIA drug dealing operation to the deaths of two different people in the last seven years: former soldier Fabian Vega, who was found hung in the northern city of Calama in 2005, and young citizen Nestor Madariaga Juantok, found death with two bullets in the port of Valparaiso in 2006. Both were ruled as suicides.

Mery also gave the name of the alleged CIA liaison with the Chilean Navy, former captain Jesus Saez Luna, who is now being held in a penitentiary after he mysteriously escaped from Navy custody. Saez Luna was described in his arrest as the biggest drug dealer of the coastal city of Viña del Mar, with networks in Santiago de Chile and the Bio-Bio southern region of the country. Known as “El Marino”, the former captain utilized “military intelligence” tactics to avoid detection by police, according to the Chilean newspaper La Segunda.

The case is being depicted as “Chile-Contras”, in reference to the history of CIA narcotics trafficking in Nicaragua. This is just another example of how drug money is used to fund covert operations, such as the ones we have seen in Syria, with whole guerrilla armies and opposition forces being financed to overthrow countries that aren’t part of the Anglo-American establishment and don’t bow to American corporate interests.

 

­

Health basics: When is organic still GMO?

by S. D. Wells

Even though some food is labeled organic, the seeds may still have come from a GMO source; like if a small to mid-size farmer buys seeds or plants, such as tomatoes, from a Home Depot or Lowe’s, and then plants them in organic soil and does not use pesticide,they are still GMO, but they don’tget labeled as such. Who knows this? How do you avoid it? Did you know bees will fly 50 miles, cross-pollinating from one farm to another by carrying mutated genes from corporate GMO farms to organic farms. There are lawsuits coming from both sides and the war waged by the people who don’t want to eat pesticide laden, GENETICALLY MUTATED CROP has just begun. (http://holisticprimarycare.net)

What does “organic” really mean?

Simply stated, organic produce and other ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. Also, very important is that the animals that are consumed or produce eggs and milk do not take antibiotics or growth hormones.

Going to a local farmer’s market is one wise path, but they still may have bought GM seeds or used pesticides, or both. Most likely, your friendly local farmers have respect and maintain the integrity of their crop, for the sake of their families, their neighbors, and their community.(http://www.organic.org/home/faq)

The USDA National Organic Program (NOP) defines organic as follows:

“Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations. Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation. Before a product can be labeled “organic,” a Government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards. Companies that handle or process organic food before it gets to your local supermarket or restaurant must be certified, too.”

The USDA has three “categories of organic:”

1. 100 percent Organic: Made with 100 percent organic ingredients.

2. Organic: Made with at least 95 percent organic ingredients.

3. “Made With Organic Ingredients:” Made with a minimum of 70 percent organic ingredients with strict restrictions on the remaining 30 percent including no GMOs (genetically modified organisms).

Products with fewer than 70 percent organic ingredients may list organically produced ingredients on the side panel, but may not make any organic claims on the front of the package.

Do not trust the USDA! The USDA is not to be trusted, though. Although their stamp of organic goes a long way, there’s no guarantee, and since we’ve seen the FDA endorse horrific disease-causing foods, additives, chemicals, GMO, and more, you have to be your own investigator.

This is right from the USDA site; they support GMO! “Welcome to the USDA’s Agricultural Biotechnology Website: The USDA supports the safe and appropriate use of science and technology, including biotechnology, to help meet agricultural challenges and consumer needs of the 21st century. USDA plays a key role in assuring that products produced using biotechnology are safe to be grown and used in the United States. Once these products enter commerce, USDA supports bringing these and other products to the worldwide marketplace.” (In other words, feed the whole world cancer). (http://www.usda.gov)

Have you seen the French scientists’ long-term study of GMO effects on rats? The rats get tumors the size of baseballs and die an early death. (http://www.naturalnews.com)

One Nebraska organic farmer, David Vetter, has been testing his corn for GMO contamination. Situated right in the middle of corn country, all around him are farmers growing genetically modified corn and that poses a major problem. Corn is an openpollinating crop. Wind and insects can carry pollen from a few yards to several miles. Last year, Vetter’s organic corn tested positive for genetic contamination. “We’ve been letting customers who buy in bulk know the situation,” says Vetter. (http://www.progressive.org/0901/lil0901.html)

Since one of the heads of the FDA, Michael Taylor, used to be a lobbyist and vice president of Monsanto, don’t look for regulations any time soon, especially since Obama appointed him and the re-election is set in stone. Also, watch for articles, lawsuits, and companies that sell out from organic to corporate run pseudo-organic. They are caving by the numbers. It’s all about the money, until people get cancer and can’t buy their way out of it. (­http://www.naturalnews.com).

Paraguayan left proclaimed Carrillo presidencial candidate

­by the El Reportero’s wire services

Anibal CarrilloAnibal Carrillo

Guasú Front, a coalition of leftist parties and movements in Paraguay proclaimed Anibal Carrillo as its candidate for presidential elections in April 2013.

Carrillo, a doctor, has a long history in the student and political struggle of Paraguay, was militant of the Febrerista Party and founder of the Tekojoja party, one of the leading members of the front.

The presentation ceremony was initiated by Fernando Lugo, president of the organization, who described the Guasú Front as democrats, anti-imperialist and anti-coup and sustained it will hold an election campaign based on programmatic axes of popular content.

The event, held at the headquarters of the Front, was attended by delegations from several departments, including representatives of peasant organizations.

Ecuador says charges about CIA interference are credible

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said denunciations about US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) interference to destabilize his government and hinder his reelection are credible.

During a television-broadcast interview with journalist Jorge Gestoso, Correa referred to the denunciations presented by UK ex-Ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray and the Chilean journalist Patricio Mery Bell and said they acre credible because there are precedents.

Replying to denigration of those denunciations by the ambassador in this capital, he said: “I trust in Obama’s government. I trust in Hillary Clinton and Ambassador Adam Namm. I believe the government does not know, but it does not mean it is not happening.”

Florida, last stop on a your of Cuba Symphony Orchestra

The Mahaffey Theater, located in Saint Petersburg, Florida, hosted the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba in the first of five concerts to give in that state as closing its first U.S. tour.

According to digital media, the 72 Cuban musicians shared the stage with the Florida Orchestra, the institution responsible for this invitation as part of the multicultural exchange 5program of both groups.

­“This is a brick to help rebuild a bridge. Nowdays, Cubans nothing more than to be friends of the United States, and the music is a universal language that we all have in common,” Jose Valiente, chairman of the Cuba Committee for Florida orchestra, told reporters. Similar opinion has the Cuban symphonic director, maestro Enrique Pérez Mesa, who said that music has always transcended politics border.

Ballot initiatives move states’s rights movement forward

by Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com

Several states challenged the unconstitutional meddling of the federal government on Tuesday.

Despite a SCOTUS ruling upholding Obamacare earlier this year, voters in Alabama, Missouri, Montana, and Wyoming passed measures nullifying the insurance mandate of the so-called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

While establishment pundits dismiss the ballot initiatives as mere political theater, the popularity of the proposals reveal that states’ rights and nullification are alive and well.

In addition to rejection of the Obamacare mandate, voters in two states overturned archaic marijuana laws. Washington state and Colorado passed ballot measures legalizing recreational use of marijuana.

The Justice Department and the Drug Enforcement Agency have not yet responded to the decriminalization of pot in the two states, but establishment politicians are lining up in opposition.

‘‘Federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug, so don’t break out the Cheetos or Goldfish too quickly,’’ said Colorado’s Democrat governor, John Hickenlooper.

Oregon and Arkansas voters defeated a similar law. In Massachusetts, voters approved a measure to allow marijuana use for medical purposes. 17 states now permit the use of medical marijuana.

“For more than a year, Americans fretted over who will occupy the White House for the next four years, and the media and political class have fixated on that race. But these nullification votes at the state level tap into a deeper current,” Tenth Amendment Center communications director Mike Maharrey said following the election on Tuesday.

“Americans don’t want a king. And they don’t want their lives run by politicians in Washington D.C. shoving one-size fits all mandates down their throats. People in Colorado, Alabama and Washington know what’s best for them, and they just sent a message to D.C. ‘We will not submit to your unconstitutional acts and power grabs any more.’”

Maharrey also said arguments that the states can’t defy the federal government because federal acts reign supreme over state law under the Constitution’s “supremacy clause” are fallacious.

“They completely ignore the key phrase ‘in pursuance of.’

Unconstitutional acts aren’t legitimate laws. They are illegal power grabs,” he said. “Sure, the Supreme Court gave us its opinion on the constitutionality of Obamacare and federal marijuana laws. But their opinion is based on about 100 years of unconstitutional precedent. My challenge to folks is to point me to the enumerated power that delegates Congress the authority to create a federal health care system, or to tell every American what kind of plant they can grow in their own back yard. They can’t – because it doesn’t exist.”

Globalists Pull Out All Stops to Grab Guns After Obama Victory

Prior to the election, Infowars.com warned that Obama, his Democrat allies and the internationalist gun-grabbers would move their agenda to disarm America forward if Obama was reappointed on Nov. 6.

Less than 24 hours after winning re-election, President Barack Obama’s administration joined with China, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, and more than 150 other governments, in supporting renewed debate on the proposed United Nations Arms Trade Treaty, confirming the worst fears of the American gun rights community,” the Second Amendment Foundation reported on Wednesday.

“U.N. delegates and gun control activists have complained that talks collapsed in July largely because Obama feared attacks from Republican rival Mitt Romney if his administration was seen as supporting the pact, a charge Washington denies,” the New York Times reported the same day.

One hundred fifty-seven governments at the United Nations General Assembly’s First Committee on Disarmament in New York on Wednesday voted to disarm citizens. The measure now goes to the 193-nation General Assembly for a formal vote where it is expected to pass.

“MPs and PGA [globalist Parliamentarians for Global Action] legislators all around the world, as well as many of the colleagues with whom we work, are deeply committed to making the ATT [Arms Trade Treaty] a meaningful reality in the near future,” PGA president and New Zealand Member of Parliament Ross Robertson said.

“We want a strong ATT and we want it soon. We will move heaven and earth to see that, once it is in place, it is signed, ratified and implemented in all our countries as soon as possible,” he added.

A gun buy boom followed the election as millions of Americans went out and stocked up on firearms and ammo, fearing the inevitable.

“People are definitely scared of a president who has voted when he was a senator against guns,” Anthony Bouchard, director of the Wyoming Gun Owners Association in Cheyenne told the Wyoming Star Tribune. “[If Obama gets re-elected] he’s in a lame-duck session and he can do the things he wants to do. That’s

what we’re afraid of.”

­Obama’s record as an aggressive gun-grabber is clear and during his second term he will have little to fear from defenders of the Second Amendment.

“Don’t forget that an Illinois senator named Barack Obama was an aggressive advocate for expanding gun control laws, and even voted against legislation giving gun owners an affirmative defense when they use firearms to defend themselves and their families against home invaders and burglars,” writes Larry Bell for Forbes. “That was after he served on a 10-member board of directors of the radically activist anti-gun Joyce Foundation in Chicago which contributed large grants to anti-Second Amendment organizations.”

The Federal Reserve is systematically destroying Social Security and retirement – part 1

Marvin J. RamirezMarvin J. Ramirez

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: Dear reader: Recently, much has been written and speculated about the collapse of Social Security in the next couple of decades. Michael Snyder, of The Economic Collapse, brings to us a few facts that should be taken into consideration when reviewing the causes of that collapse. El Reportero reprints the article below, in order to facilitate a better understanding of this institution to which most American have, unknowingly, a contract with it. Due to its length, it will be published in two parts. This is the First Part.

The Federal Reserve is systematically destroying Social Security and the retirement plans of millions of Americans

­by Michael Snyder
The Economic Collapse

Last week the mainstream media hailed QE3 as the “quick fix” that the U.S. economy desperately needs, but the truth is that the policies that the Federal Reserve is pursuing are going to be absolutely devastating for our senior citizens.

By keeping interest rates at exceptionally low levels, the Federal Reserve is absolutely crushing savers and is systematically destroying Social Security. Meanwhile, the inflation that QE3 will cause is going to be absolutely crippling for the millions upon millions of retired Americans that are on a fixed income. Sadly, most elderly Americans have no idea what the Federal Reserve is doing to their financial futures. Most Americans that are approaching retirement age have not adequately saved for retirement, and the Social Security system that they are depending on is going to completely and totally collapse in the coming years. Right now, approximately 56 million Americans are collecting Social Security benefits. By 2035, that number is projected to grow to a whopping 91 million. By law, the Social Security trust fund must be invested in U.S. government securities. But thanks to the low interest rate policies of the Federal Reserve, the average interest rate on those securities just keeps dropping and dropping. The trustees of the Social Security system had projected that the Social Security trust fund would be completely gone by 2033, but because of the Fed policy of keeping interest rates exceptionally low for the foreseeable future it is now being projected by some analysts that Social Security will be bankrupt by 2023. Overall, the Social Security system is facing a 134 trillion dollar shortfall over the next 75 years. Yes, you read that correctly. The collapse of Social Security is inevitable, and the foolish policies of the Federal Reserve are going to make that collapse happen much more rapidly.

The only way that the Social Security system is going to be able to stay solvent is for the Social Security trust fund to earn a healthy level of interest.

By law, all money deposited in the Social Security trust fund must be invested in U.S. government securities. The following is from the official website of the Social Security Administration….

By law, income to the trust funds must be invested, on a daily basis, in securities guaranteed as to both principal and interest by the Federal government. All securities held by the trust funds are “special issues” of the United States Treasury. Such securities are available only to the trust funds.

In the past, the trust funds have held marketable Treasury securities, which are available to the general public. Unlike marketable securities, special issues can be redeemed at any time at face value. Marketable securities are subject to the forces of the open market and may suffer a loss, or enjoy a gain, if sold before maturity. Investment in special issues gives the trust funds the same flexibility as holding cash.

So in order for the Social Security Ponzi scheme to work, those investments in government securities need to produce healthy returns.

Unfortunately, the ultra-low interest rate policy of the Federal ­Reserve is making this impossible.

The average rate of interest earned by the Social Security trust fund has declined from 6.1 percent in January 2003 to 3.9 percent today, and it is going to continue to go even lower as long as the Fed continues to keep interest rates super low.

A recent article by Bruce Krasting detailed how this works. Just check out the following example….

$135 billion of old bonds matured this year. This money was rolled over into new bonds with a yield of only 1.375%. The average yield on the maturing securities was 5.64%. The drop in yield on the new securities lowers SSA’s income by $5.7B annually. Over the fifteen year term of the investments, that comes to a lumpy $86 billion.

So what happens when the Social Security trust fund runs dry?

As Bruce Krasting also noted, all Social Security payments would immediately be cut by 25 percent…..

Anyone who is 55 or older should be worried about this. Based on current law, all SS benefit payments must be cut by (approximately) 25% when the TF is exhausted. This will affect 72 million people. The economic consequences will be severe.

In other words, it would be a complete and total nightmare.

Sadly, the truth is that the Social Security trust fund might not even make it into the next decade. Most Social Security trust fund projections assume that there will be no recessions and that there will be a very healthy rate of growth for the U.S. economy over the next decade.

­

10 reasons to cancel cable now!

Please share this post with anyone you know and love who still pays for cable TV.

I am finally calling to disconnect my cable TV. I don’t need it anymore. (I actually never did – I always knew it; but I never knew how important it was to take a stand against it.)

2012 is the year that we should all try to reconnect to what is real. I mean – really real. And what is true and right for each of us. Increasingly it’s become apparent that television does not give us reality- and probably never did. I mean, they called it the BOOB TUBE back in the 50s didn’t they? It has only gotten worse since then. Way worse.

Please join me, and free yourself from the crap-encrusted chains of cable television.

Here are 10 reasons to turn off the TV for 2012:

1. Anything interesting that might happen to be aired on TV can be seen on the internet HOURS (sometimes days) before. And sometimes the really interesting stuff is never seen on TV because someone, somewhere does not want you to see it and they mistakenly think they can keep you from it.

2. You have to search for the truth – the television is NOT the place to find it. Cable news will NEVER tell you the truth – never, ever.

3. Reality television is not reality, nor is it entertaining…unless you feel the need to waste your time relishing in the misfortune and embarrassment of others.

4. The TV does not allow you to comment, give your opinion, or call bullshit on what you read, hear, or see – the internet does.

5. Drug company ads. Especially those trying to push anti-depressants.

U.S. cable TV bleeds subscribers as online grows

by Chris Lefkow

The new Sony Internet TV pictured at its unveiling in New York City, October 2010. According to a study released last week by consulting firm Frank N. Magid Associates, only one percent of US consumers have cancelled their television subscription in favor of accessing content available on the Web and only 2.5 percent of consumers use Internet content exclusively.

The economic downturn has U.S. cable television companies shedding subscribers in record numbers and Americans increasingly “cutting the cord” in favor of cheaper online options, new research shows.

The findings point to a growing pool of potential customers for online services such as Hulu and Netflix and newcomers like Apple TV and Google TV, which offer lower prices and more flexibility, analysts say.

According to research firm SNL Kagan, U.S. cable operators lost 741,000 basic video customers in the third quarter of the year (2010), the biggest decline since it started tracking the segment in 1980. Comcast, the largest US cable operator, lost 275,000 video subscribers during the third quarter while Time Warner Cable, the second-largest, shed 155,000 video customers in the July-September period.

The pay television sector — which includes satellite television and TV services offered by telecom firms in addition to cable — lost 119,000 customers in the quarter after gaining 346,000 a year ago, SNL Kagan said.

Combined with a loss of 216,000 customers in the second quarter, the first ever decline in its history, the pay television segment has fallen 2.3 percent in the last six months to around 100 million subscriptions, it said. Cable television executives have pinned the blame for the unprecedented losses on high unemployment and the recession. “I think there’s much ado about very little in terms of all the talk about cord cutting,” Philippe Dauman, president and chief executive of Viacom, told financial analysts on the television titan’s latest earnings call. “We don’t see cord cutting as affecting our business,” said the Viacom chief, whose properties include cable networks Comedy Central and MTV. “I think it’s remarkable that in the teeth of a powerful recession that we went through that continued viewership of subscription television held up as well as it has,” Dauman added. “And as the economy recovers we expect to see the number of television subscribers in the US grow at a better clip than it has over the last year and a half or so.”

As for Netflix, Dauman said it has “positioned itself, not as being a substitute for television viewing but as a complementary service, and that is the way it is being used.” Netflix claims over 16 million members in the United States and Canada and last week unveiled a 7.99-dollar monthly plan that allows unlimited streaming of movies and television over the Web. Hulu, which is owned by The Walt Disney Co., News Corp. and NBC Universal, recently introduced “Hulu Plus,” which offers online viewing of recent television episodes, also for 7.99 a month. While penny-pinching in hard times is behind the decision of many Americans to abandon pay television, industry analysts said there are signs that some are replacing cable with the newly available online options. “It is becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss the impact of over-the-top substitution on video subscriber performance, particularly after seeing declines during the period of the year that tends to produce the largest subscriber gains,” said Ian Olgeirson, senior analyst at SNL Kagan. Jeff Kagan, a telecom industry analyst who shares the same name but is not affiliated with SNL Kagan, said a number of factors were behind the drop in cable subscribers, including the inability to buy channels a la carte. “In order to raise rates annually, the cable television industry always adds more channels and says it is still a good deal,” Kagan said. “However, the average customer still watches the same 10 to 15 channels,” he said. “Adding more channels and charging more does not make it a better deal… It just makes it more expensive.” Kagan said US consumers have lived with costly monthly cable bills for years because they had no choice but “now things are changing.” “Suddenly there is competition in many markets from satellite television companies and the IPTV services from phone companies,” he said. “Suddenly the economy is rough and people increasingly want to save money. “Suddenly there are new services that are popping up like Google TV and Apple TV and more, taking us away from traditional television,” he said. “The customer finally had enough,” Kagan said. “Now with choices they are making their move.” While some undoubtedly are, they remain a tiny minority for now. According to a study released last week by consulting firm Frank N. Magid Associates, only one percent of US consumers have cancelled their television subscription in favor of accessing content available on the Web and only 2.5 percent of consumers use Internet content exclusively.­

A program for the midlife and older women

by the El Reportero’s staff

La PosarelaLa Posarela

Owl S.F. Artists present a program of film, sculpture, painting, ceramics, poetry, miniatures.

OWL is the only national membership organization to focus exclusively on critical issues facing women as they age. We work together to improve the status and quality of life for midlife and older women through national, state, and local networks.

Saturday, Nov. 17, 10 a.m.-noon, Flood Building: 870 Market St, Room 1185. Handicap accessible, donations welcomed.

­

For info call 415-989-4422 or visit: web site: www.owlsf.org.

Galería Lunada Literary Lounge

November’s Lunada features a special kind of full moon called a lunar penumbral eclipse, a rare sightning for 2012 – during which the Moon lies exclusively within the Earth’s penumbra. That evening the Lunada will continue to celebrate the fall season with featured vocalist Liliana Herrera, and guitarist/producer Camilo Landau, two artists making big waves in the Bay Area Latin music scene. Open Mic sign-up begins at 7:15pm, de puro sabor y corazón, spoken word, música, first timers, always welcome.

This fall season so far has featured Joseph Rios, Xochiquetzal Candelaria, Sheila Maldonado, Paul S. Flores, Mariposa Villaluna, the PO’ Poets Proj of POOR MAG, Luta, and Manny Lieras from All Nations Singers – don’t miss out on November’s installment.

­Wednesday, Nov. 28, at 7:30p.m. Admission $5. Free with food to share and to Galería members.

Mundo Maya 12:12:12”

Galeria de la Raza presents Mundo Maya women12:12:12, a celebration of the Mayan culture and the end of the Mayan Calendar next month. The exhibition, featuring works by Latino/Mayan youth and instructor Roberto Y. Hernández, contains art relating to the Mayan calendar, gods, animals, numbers, people, photographs, woodcarvings, altars, and the ten Mayan foods that changed the world’s eating habits.

Celebrations for maíz, La Virgen de Guadalupe, cacao, and the official end of the Mayan calendar will investigate and commemorate the importance of el Mundo Maya – join us in December for these special events!

Opening reception Thursday, Dec. 6, at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public. At the Galería de la Raza, 2857-24th Street, San Francisco.

La Posarela 2012

Por sexto año consecutivo, alumnos, maestros y artistas del Community Music Center (CMC), con apoyo del Consulado General de México en San Francisco, celebrarán las fiestas decembrinas con su ya tradicional Posarela.

­La Posarela del CMC, producida y dirigida por Martha Rodríguez-Salazar, es un espectáculo musical que combina las tradiciones mexicanas de las posadas y las pastorelas, de ahí su original nombre, “Posarela”.

Esta producción presenta arreglos originales de música tradicional latina y un guion bilingüe aderezado con comentarios sociales de tono humorístico. Reúne a intérpretes y audiencia de todas las edades y se ha convertido en un evento anual muy apreciado por las familias que celebran su herencia latina. Asimismo, es una gran oportunidad para que el público en general aprenda y disfrute de las fiestas decembrinas tradicionales mexicanas.

El Consulado General de México en San Francisco se complace en invitar a la comunidad a que se una y disfrute de esta celebración!.

El domingo 9 de diciembre a las 2 p.m., en el Auditorio del Mission High School, 3750 18th Street, San Francisco. Para más información visite: http://www.sfcmc.org/site/.