Obama vis a vis Mea Culpa and Tordesillas......

drawing/collage by marguerita
He urged a shift in attitudes. In America, he said, there had been “a failure to appreciate Europe’s leading role in the world,” and there had been “times when America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive,”
Mr. Obama said and spoke
of Mr. Sarkozy’s “initiative, imagination, creativity.”
Obama Sets a New Tone for Alliance With Europe - NYTimes.com
Note:
Would be nice if The Treaty Of Tordesillas would be taught in American schools,as it happens that not only the population is not cognizant of that Treaty, but as well ,nationally known editors in chief of many newspapers have not a clue about this historical fact.

The Treaty of Tordesillas

1494

The Treaty of Tordesillas was agreed upon by the Spanish and the Portuguese to clear up confusion on newly claimed land in the New World. The early 1400s brought about great advances in European exploration. In order make trade more efficient, Portugal attempted to find a direct water route to the India and China. By using a direct water route, Arab merchants, who owned land trade routes, were not able to make a profit off of the European trade merchants. After Columbus discovered the New World in 1492, it was clear that conflict would soon arise over land claims by Spain and Portugal. The Portuguese also wanted to protect their monopoly on the trade route to Africa and felt threatened. It was only after the realization that Columbus had found something big that land became the important issue. The newly discovered land held great potential wealth which would benefit European nations.

On May 4, 1493 Pope Alexander VI took action to clear up any confusion that may have arisen over territorial claims. He issued a decree which established an imaginary line running north and south through the mid-Atlantic, 100 leagues (480 km) from the Cape Verde islands. Spain would have possession of any unclaimed territories to the west of the line and Portugal would have possession of any unclaimed territory to the east of the line.

After further exploration, the Portuguese grew dissatisfied with the agreement when they realized how much more land Spain had been given. In June of 1494 the line was re-negotiated and the agreement was officially ratified during a meeting in the Spanish town of Tordesillas. The Treaty of Tordesillas re-established the line 370 leagues (1,770 km) west of the Cape Verde Islands.

It was evident that little exploration had taken place at the time the treaty was signed because Spain was granted a much larger portion of land. Portugal was only given possession of Brazil. Portugal pushed over the next several hundred years to move the border of Brazil westward. Because the line was not very well defined, the Spanish did not put up any opposition to this Portuguese expansion.

Obama & OPM

photo and collage by marguerita(excerpts of unpublished book)

For Brandeis, regulation was not supposed to be a restraint on innovation or the entrepreneurial spirit, but rather a check on unbridled greed.He believed in a free market, but one in which the government enforced rules of fair competition so that the most talented could succeed.Louis D. Brandeis

SOME things never change. When President Obama spoke last week of “shameful” bonuses for bankers and the financial community’s “irresponsibility,” he echoed charges leveled nearly a century ago by Louis D. Brandeis. Brandeis, a commercial lawyer, leading reformer and future Supreme Court justice, described a dangerous combination of avarice, lack of accountability and poor oversight in “Other People’s Money, and How the Bankers Use It,” one of the best-known exposés of the Progressive era.Published in 1914, the book was based on the revelations of the House of Representatives’ Pujo Committee about the predatory practices of J. P. Morgan and other big bankers. “Other People’s Money” influenced both Woodrow Wilson’s New Freedom agenda and Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. It also offers valuable lessons for today.Op-Ed Contributor - The Value of 'Other People's Money' - NYTimes.com

America's Self Portrait: Food for Thought

drawing by marguerita Principle 8. Life and the Pursuit of Happiness

Japan’s failure to respond urgently and decisively to its banking mess caused the country to endure a “lost decade” of economic stagnation. If America wants to avoid Japan’s decline, the House should follow the Senate’s lead and approve the bailout — immediately.

Just as in the U.S. today, most Japanese did not initially appreciate how devastating a banking crisis could be to the real economy. Banks and real estate tycoons in Japan were corrupt, profligate and unsympathetic figures, and no one wanted to help them. On corporate expense accounts, they sipped coffee with gold leaf and patronized “no-panties shabu-shabu” restaurants, which had mirrored floors and miniskirted waitresses.

In short, the businessmen involved were jerks. Op-Ed Columnist - Save the Fat Cats - NYTimes.com

This is what a credit crisis looks like.

It’s not like a stock market crisis, where the scary plunge of stocks is obvious to all. The credit crisis has played out in places most people can’t see. It’s banks refusing to lend to other banks — even though that is one of the most essential functions of the banking system. It’s a loss of confidence in seemingly healthy institutions like Morgan Stanley and Goldman — both of which reported profits even as the pressure was mounting. It is panicked hedge funds pulling out cash. It is frightened investors protecting themselves by buying credit-default swaps — a financial insurance policy against potential bankruptcy — at prices 30 times what they normally would pay.It was this 36-hour period two weeks ago — from the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 17, to the afternoon of Thursday, Sept. 18 — that spooked policy makers by opening fissures in the worldwide financial system.

In their rush to do something, and do it fast, the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. concluded the time had come to use the “break the glass” rescue plan they had been developing. But in their urgency, they bypassed a crucial step in Washington and fashioned their $700 billion bailout without political spadework, which led to a resounding rejection this past Monday in the House of Representatives.

As Credit Crisis Spiraled, Alarm Led to Action - NYTimes.com

Putting a Guy in His Place:” Two guys, a gal and an adventure. What a glorious feeling; they’re happy again.

Shadows in my Mind
http://www.mp3lyrics.org/d/defyance/shadows-in-my-mind/
Le menage a trois,voila.: In America.Oh,the pilgrims and their Mayflower syndrome.The Shakers,Quakers and all the invaders that took over a land,that belonged to tribes that lived here for centuries before them,had Americo Vespucci.an Italian, (for whom this land from sea to sea was named) not discovered these shores: of course a fact that is downsized until today in the history books of the US) only to have Cristoban Columbus another Italian, at the mercy of Isabella the Queen of Spain,who to get rid of the Jews in Spain ,in order to loot and get all their assets,enlisted a fanatic madman called Torquemada,who on his own created hell,for which we are still having to deal with,5oo years later.
Dear Columbus,on his own,did arrive on this side by miscalculation,as here was en route to India,where he was going to shop or loot,rather for spices,drugs and what have rolled
and who knows,historically speaking.But Oh!Mon Dieu,what a sacrilege to utter those words,no?
Somehow it was an inevitable fact,the invasion of this continent,to the unhappiness of the aboriginal inhabitants,the Anastasi,Algonquins,Cherokee ,Navajos and others:http://ezinearticles.com/?Ancient-Indian-Civilizations---Where-Did-They-All-Go?&id=26157