Author: Spencer

A piece from the January 12th New York Times, “In China, Projects to Make Great Wall Feel Small” places the awe-inspiring ambition of China’s infrastructure projects in stark relief to the virtually negligible plans in the United States. While they try and foist some serious Trans-Atlantic pessimism onto the remarkable achievements of China, planned and already built, they cannot ignore the sheer volume of projects underway. While briefly reporting the international scope of China’s development (including the Nicaragua Canal and the tunnel under the Bering Strait), it focuses on their domestic construction.

“In November, the powerful National Development and Reform Commission approved plans to spend nearly $115 billion on 21 supersize infrastructure projects, including new airports and high-speed rail lines,” writes the Times.  A large coded map shows the major projects, including:

• a $36 billion tunnel from Dalian to Yantai, the world’s longest underwater tunnel, through the Bohai Sea.

• Shanghai Tower, a $2.4 billion skyscraper, at 2,073 feet is the world’s second-tallest building.

• in Dalian, a 163-mile urban transit system and the world’s largest offshore airport, a $4.3 billion development on an artificial island being created with landfill, covering more than eight square miles.

• in Gansu, the world’s biggest wind turbine farm, with a capacity of 20,000 megawatts by 2020.

• in Beijing, The New Century Global Center, the biggest building in the world, nearly three times the size of the Pentagon.

• Jiaozhou Bay bridge, the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge, 26.4 miles, with six lanes for car traffic, opened in 2011.

• Shanghai Yangshan Deepwater Port, built 20 miles out in the East China Sea, connected by one of the world’s longest bridges, making the Shanghai port system the world’s largest container shipping port.

Also included, of course, are the South-to-North water diversion, the West-to-East pipelines, and the vast high-speed rail lines, now at 12,000 km and growing.

The NYTimes wrote:

A piece from the January 12th New York Times, “In China, Projects to Make Great Wall Feel Small” places the awe-inspiring ambition of China’s infrastructure projects in stark relief to the virtually negligible plans in the United States. While they try and foist some serious Trans-Atlantic pessimism onto the remarkable achievements of China, planned and already built, they cannot ignore the sheer volume of projects underway. While briefly reporting the international scope of China’s development (including the Nicaragua Canal and the tunnel under the Bering Strait), it focuses on their domestic construction.

“In November, the powerful National Development and Reform Commission approved plans to spend nearly $115 billion on 21 supersize infrastructure projects, including new airports and high-speed rail lines,” writes the Times.  A large coded map shows the major projects, including:

• a $36 billion tunnel from Dalian to Yantai, the world’s longest underwater tunnel, through the Bohai Sea.

• Shanghai Tower, a $2.4 billion skyscraper, at 2,073 feet is the world’s second-tallest building.

• in Dalian, a 163-mile urban transit system and the world’s largest offshore airport, a $4.3 billion development on an artificial island being created with landfill, covering more than eight square miles.

• in Gansu, the world’s biggest wind turbine farm, with a capacity of 20,000 megawatts by 2020.

• in Beijing, The New Century Global Center, the biggest building in the world, nearly three times the size of the Pentagon.

• Jiaozhou Bay bridge, the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge, 26.4 miles, with six lanes for car traffic, opened in 2011.

• Shanghai Yangshan Deepwater Port, built 20 miles out in the East China Sea, connected by one of the world’s longest bridges, making the Shanghai port system the world’s largest container shipping port.

Also included, of course, are the South-to-North water diversion, the West-to-East pipelines, and the vast high-speed rail lines, now at 12,000 km and growing.

The NYTimes wrote:

A piece from the January 12th New York Times, “In China, Projects to Make Great Wall Feel Small” places the awe-inspiring ambition of China’s infrastructure projects in stark relief to the virtually negligible plans in the United States. While they try and foist some serious Trans-Atlantic pessimism onto the remarkable achievements of China, planned and already built, they cannot ignore the sheer volume of projects underway. While briefly reporting the international scope of China’s development (including the Nicaragua Canal and the tunnel under the Bering Strait), it focuses on their domestic construction.

“In November, the powerful National Development and Reform Commission approved plans to spend nearly $115 billion on 21 supersize infrastructure projects, including new airports and high-speed rail lines,” writes the Times.  A large coded map shows the major projects, including:

• a $36 billion tunnel from Dalian to Yantai, the world’s longest underwater tunnel, through the Bohai Sea.

• Shanghai Tower, a $2.4 billion skyscraper, at 2,073 feet is the world’s second-tallest building.

• in Dalian, a 163-mile urban transit system and the world’s largest offshore airport, a $4.3 billion development on an artificial island being created with landfill, covering more than eight square miles.

• in Gansu, the world’s biggest wind turbine farm, with a capacity of 20,000 megawatts by 2020.

• in Beijing, The New Century Global Center, the biggest building in the world, nearly three times the size of the Pentagon.

• Jiaozhou Bay bridge, the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge, 26.4 miles, with six lanes for car traffic, opened in 2011.

• Shanghai Yangshan Deepwater Port, built 20 miles out in the East China Sea, connected by one of the world’s longest bridges, making the Shanghai port system the world’s largest container shipping port.

Also included, of course, are the South-to-North water diversion, the West-to-East pipelines, and the vast high-speed rail lines, now at 12,000 km and growing.

The NYTimes wrote:

By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is the most bitter.
ConfuciusThe Analects

China is doing what the rest of the world, especially the United States, should be doing: building massive infrastructure projects, to improve the quality of life for their citizens, and helping to export that technology around the world. The United States used to hold this position of global prominence.

For China, as only typical of the orientation of the BRICS nations, this orientation is natural and obvious. One particularly stark example: China has celebrated the opening of 1800 miles of new high speed rail lines, opened within the last six weeks, bringing their national total to 8,700 miles of high speed rail. Compare that to the United States, where California just broke ground on 800 miles of high speed rail, which will be completed by 2029, and has 453 existing miles currently.

So whether it be high speed rail, their commitments to mining the moon for Helium-3 for Fusion power development, recommitting their country to nuclear power, along with developing their own model of nuclear power plant, helping to finance a massive gas line throughout Asia, or helping to build dams throughout the developing world, China is committed to progress. We report on some of their most recent, and most breathtaking projects below. At this rate, they are set to make the Great Wall feel like the U.S. Rail Grid.

By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is the most bitter.
ConfuciusThe Analects

China is doing what the rest of the world, especially the United States, should be doing: building massive infrastructure projects, to improve the quality of life for their citizens, and helping to export that technology around the world. The United States used to hold this position of global prominence.

For China, as only typical of the orientation of the BRICS nations, this orientation is natural and obvious. One particularly stark example: China has celebrated the opening of 1800 miles of new high speed rail lines, opened within the last six weeks, bringing their national total to 8,700 miles of high speed rail. Compare that to the United States, where California just broke ground on 800 miles of high speed rail, which will be completed by 2029, and has 453 existing miles currently.

So whether it be high speed rail, their commitments to mining the moon for Helium-3 for Fusion power development, recommitting their country to nuclear power, along with developing their own model of nuclear power plant, helping to finance a massive gas line throughout Asia, or helping to build dams throughout the developing world, China is committed to progress. We report on some of their most recent, and most breathtaking projects below. At this rate, they are set to make the Great Wall feel like the U.S. Rail Grid.

By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is the most bitter.
ConfuciusThe Analects

China is doing what the rest of the world, especially the United States, should be doing: building massive infrastructure projects, to improve the quality of life for their citizens, and helping to export that technology around the world. The United States used to hold this position of global prominence.

For China, as only typical of the orientation of the BRICS nations, this orientation is natural and obvious. One particularly stark example: China has celebrated the opening of 1800 miles of new high speed rail lines, opened within the last six weeks, bringing their national total to 8,700 miles of high speed rail. Compare that to the United States, where California just broke ground on 800 miles of high speed rail, which will be completed by 2029, and has 453 existing miles currently.

So whether it be high speed rail, their commitments to mining the moon for Helium-3 for Fusion power development, recommitting their country to nuclear power, along with developing their own model of nuclear power plant, helping to finance a massive gas line throughout Asia, or helping to build dams throughout the developing world, China is committed to progress. We report on some of their most recent, and most breathtaking projects below. At this rate, they are set to make the Great Wall feel like the U.S. Rail Grid.

Wall Street appears to be bracing for another financial shock to the system very soon, and the fear of the growing hatred for the too-big-to-fail banks is showing. The New York Times and Bloomberg yesterday reported that Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, held a conference call with analysts and financial reporters when the fourth quarter earnings report was issued—and showed signs of real paranoia. Dimon charged that“banks are under assault” by over-bearing Federal regulators, and there is growing pressure for JPMC to be busted up into smaller entities. Dimon went to great lengths to tell the participants that super-banks are good for the world economy, and that the problem is over-regulation.

JPMC posted smaller earnings in the fourth quarter, due to its exposure in the oil futures market and the fact that it set aside another $1 billion in anticipated legal fees and fines around the continuing probe into the bank’s foreign exchange trading desk. For 2014 as a whole, however, the bank posted a $21.8 billion profit—an increase of 21 percent over 2013.

The growing rage at Wall Street is palpable, and a number of news outlets have let out some evidence of the shifting mood. Jesse Eisinger wrote in yesterday’s New York Times that the failure of Dodd-Frank to rein in Wall Street demonstrates that the only way to take on the bankers’ lobby and its grip on Congress is to “go big.” He referred to Dodd-Frank as the “Clement Atlee of legislation,” and blasted the Rubin-Summers wing of the Democratic Party that has systematically taken over the party on behalf of Wall Street over the past several decades. He notably included the Wall Street effort, led by Democrats, to beat back momentum to reinstate Glass-Steagall in recent years. Eisinger noted that there is an emerging battle inside the Democratic Party by progressives, to take the party back, adding that President Obama has been fully on Wall Street’s side from the day he entered the White House. He noted that some Republicans, including McCain, Vitter, and Corker, could side with progressive Democrats and fight for genuine curbing of Wall Street’s out-sized power.

TIME magazine published a similar story yesterday, under the title, “How Elizabeth Warren is Yanking Hillary Clinton to the Left.” The authors cited Hillary’s recent meeting with Joe Stiglitz as a sign of the leftward tilt, since he became a harsh Summers-Geithner critic.

A website, PRWatch.org, touted the battle against Wall Street inside the new Congress, citing the call by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) for a transaction tax on Wall Street gambling, to fund a middle class tax break. Of course this is twenty years after Lyndon LaRouche called for a transaction tax to shut down Wall Street’s derivatives gambling, but the mood shift is clear.

The article also cited the recent killing of the Antonio Weiss nomination by Obama for a top Treasury post as further evidence of the restive mood. He quoted former Lazard Freres chairman Steve Rattner, who ominously warned, “It’s not about Weiss. It is part of a much broader narrative of the fight for the soul of the Democratic Party and whether so-called progressives are going to capture that or whether more mainstream Democrats… are going to retain it.”

Wall Street appears to be bracing for another financial shock to the system very soon, and the fear of the growing hatred for the too-big-to-fail banks is showing. The New York Times and Bloomberg yesterday reported that Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, held a conference call with analysts and financial reporters when the fourth quarter earnings report was issued—and showed signs of real paranoia. Dimon charged that“banks are under assault” by over-bearing Federal regulators, and there is growing pressure for JPMC to be busted up into smaller entities. Dimon went to great lengths to tell the participants that super-banks are good for the world economy, and that the problem is over-regulation.

JPMC posted smaller earnings in the fourth quarter, due to its exposure in the oil futures market and the fact that it set aside another $1 billion in anticipated legal fees and fines around the continuing probe into the bank’s foreign exchange trading desk. For 2014 as a whole, however, the bank posted a $21.8 billion profit—an increase of 21 percent over 2013.

The growing rage at Wall Street is palpable, and a number of news outlets have let out some evidence of the shifting mood. Jesse Eisinger wrote in yesterday’s New York Times that the failure of Dodd-Frank to rein in Wall Street demonstrates that the only way to take on the bankers’ lobby and its grip on Congress is to “go big.” He referred to Dodd-Frank as the “Clement Atlee of legislation,” and blasted the Rubin-Summers wing of the Democratic Party that has systematically taken over the party on behalf of Wall Street over the past several decades. He notably included the Wall Street effort, led by Democrats, to beat back momentum to reinstate Glass-Steagall in recent years. Eisinger noted that there is an emerging battle inside the Democratic Party by progressives, to take the party back, adding that President Obama has been fully on Wall Street’s side from the day he entered the White House. He noted that some Republicans, including McCain, Vitter, and Corker, could side with progressive Democrats and fight for genuine curbing of Wall Street’s out-sized power.

TIME magazine published a similar story yesterday, under the title, “How Elizabeth Warren is Yanking Hillary Clinton to the Left.” The authors cited Hillary’s recent meeting with Joe Stiglitz as a sign of the leftward tilt, since he became a harsh Summers-Geithner critic.

A website, PRWatch.org, touted the battle against Wall Street inside the new Congress, citing the call by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) for a transaction tax on Wall Street gambling, to fund a middle class tax break. Of course this is twenty years after Lyndon LaRouche called for a transaction tax to shut down Wall Street’s derivatives gambling, but the mood shift is clear.

The article also cited the recent killing of the Antonio Weiss nomination by Obama for a top Treasury post as further evidence of the restive mood. He quoted former Lazard Freres chairman Steve Rattner, who ominously warned, “It’s not about Weiss. It is part of a much broader narrative of the fight for the soul of the Democratic Party and whether so-called progressives are going to capture that or whether more mainstream Democrats… are going to retain it.”

Wall Street appears to be bracing for another financial shock to the system very soon, and the fear of the growing hatred for the too-big-to-fail banks is showing. The New York Times and Bloomberg yesterday reported that Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, held a conference call with analysts and financial reporters when the fourth quarter earnings report was issued—and showed signs of real paranoia. Dimon charged that“banks are under assault” by over-bearing Federal regulators, and there is growing pressure for JPMC to be busted up into smaller entities. Dimon went to great lengths to tell the participants that super-banks are good for the world economy, and that the problem is over-regulation.

JPMC posted smaller earnings in the fourth quarter, due to its exposure in the oil futures market and the fact that it set aside another $1 billion in anticipated legal fees and fines around the continuing probe into the bank’s foreign exchange trading desk. For 2014 as a whole, however, the bank posted a $21.8 billion profit—an increase of 21 percent over 2013.

The growing rage at Wall Street is palpable, and a number of news outlets have let out some evidence of the shifting mood. Jesse Eisinger wrote in yesterday’s New York Times that the failure of Dodd-Frank to rein in Wall Street demonstrates that the only way to take on the bankers’ lobby and its grip on Congress is to “go big.” He referred to Dodd-Frank as the “Clement Atlee of legislation,” and blasted the Rubin-Summers wing of the Democratic Party that has systematically taken over the party on behalf of Wall Street over the past several decades. He notably included the Wall Street effort, led by Democrats, to beat back momentum to reinstate Glass-Steagall in recent years. Eisinger noted that there is an emerging battle inside the Democratic Party by progressives, to take the party back, adding that President Obama has been fully on Wall Street’s side from the day he entered the White House. He noted that some Republicans, including McCain, Vitter, and Corker, could side with progressive Democrats and fight for genuine curbing of Wall Street’s out-sized power.

TIME magazine published a similar story yesterday, under the title, “How Elizabeth Warren is Yanking Hillary Clinton to the Left.” The authors cited Hillary’s recent meeting with Joe Stiglitz as a sign of the leftward tilt, since he became a harsh Summers-Geithner critic.

A website, PRWatch.org, touted the battle against Wall Street inside the new Congress, citing the call by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) for a transaction tax on Wall Street gambling, to fund a middle class tax break. Of course this is twenty years after Lyndon LaRouche called for a transaction tax to shut down Wall Street’s derivatives gambling, but the mood shift is clear.

The article also cited the recent killing of the Antonio Weiss nomination by Obama for a top Treasury post as further evidence of the restive mood. He quoted former Lazard Freres chairman Steve Rattner, who ominously warned, “It’s not about Weiss. It is part of a much broader narrative of the fight for the soul of the Democratic Party and whether so-called progressives are going to capture that or whether more mainstream Democrats… are going to retain it.”

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), a lead sponsor of the bill to restore Glass-Steagall in the last Congress, filed a bill into the new Congress on January 14th, with 16 co-sponsors, to restore the Glass Steagall Act. Titled “To repeal certain provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and revive the separation between commercial banking and the securities business, in the manner provided in the Banking Act of 1933, the so-called ‘Glass-Steagall Act’, and for other purposes,” it has been assigned number H.R. 381.

The co-sponsors — all of whom were among the 83 co-sponsors of Kaptur’s bill in the previous Congress to restore Glass Steagall — are Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore), Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), John Garamendi (D-Cal.), Gene Green (D-Tex.), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Tex.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Alan Lowenthal (D-Cal,), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), James McGovern (D-Mass.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.)

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), a lead sponsor of the bill to restore Glass-Steagall in the last Congress, filed a bill into the new Congress on January 14th, with 16 co-sponsors, to restore the Glass Steagall Act. Titled “To repeal certain provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and revive the separation between commercial banking and the securities business, in the manner provided in the Banking Act of 1933, the so-called ‘Glass-Steagall Act’, and for other purposes,” it has been assigned number H.R. 381.

The co-sponsors — all of whom were among the 83 co-sponsors of Kaptur’s bill in the previous Congress to restore Glass Steagall — are Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore), Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), John Garamendi (D-Cal.), Gene Green (D-Tex.), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Tex.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Alan Lowenthal (D-Cal,), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), James McGovern (D-Mass.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.)

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), a lead sponsor of the bill to restore Glass-Steagall in the last Congress, filed a bill into the new Congress on January 14th, with 16 co-sponsors, to restore the Glass Steagall Act. Titled “To repeal certain provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and revive the separation between commercial banking and the securities business, in the manner provided in the Banking Act of 1933, the so-called ‘Glass-Steagall Act’, and for other purposes,” it has been assigned number H.R. 381.

The co-sponsors — all of whom were among the 83 co-sponsors of Kaptur’s bill in the previous Congress to restore Glass Steagall — are Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore), Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), John Garamendi (D-Cal.), Gene Green (D-Tex.), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Tex.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Alan Lowenthal (D-Cal,), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), James McGovern (D-Mass.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.)