Patti Mohr

Most U.S. Journalists Fear Restrictions On Free Press

24Jul

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Types of News: Brief

Most U.S. Journalists Fear Restrictions On Free Press

July 24, 2023—Nearly six-in-ten journalists working in the United States reported having major concerns about potential restrictions on press freedoms. According to a Pew Research Center poll of 11,889 U.S. journalists, 33 percent of respondents answering the question said they are "extremely" concerned about the possibility the U.S. government would restrict press freedoms. An additional 24 percent said they were "very" concerned. The survey, which Pew conducted in 2022 also identified issues with "widespread misinformation, political polarization and the impact of social media."

Currency Wars: Dollar Dominance Here To Stay? Maybe. Maybe Not.

16May

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Finance, Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Geopolitics, Globalization, Disintegration, Nationalism, Populism, Types of News: Brief

Currency Wars: Dollar Dominance Here To Stay? Maybe. Maybe Not.

China, India, and Others Vie For Status The United States has a significant economic advantage in having the U.S. dollar serve as the dominant form of global exchange. But several global leaders want to change that. China and Russia have long plotted to bring the dollar down. China wants its yuan to take over as the global currency leader. It's convincing trading partners like Argentina and Brazil to dump the dollar as a means for making trade and instead use the yuan. As Washington Post reporters Meaghan Tobin, Lyric Li, and David Feliba explained in an article today, Argentina's economy is in crisis, and its holdings of U.S. dollars are running thin. As a result, the government agreed last month to pay for $1 billion worth of Chinese imports with yuan. A New BRICS Currency ...

U.S.: Another Debt Limit Debacle Looms Large

2May

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Finance, Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Types of News: Brief, United States

U.S.: Another Debt Limit Debacle Looms Large

May 2, 2023—U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned congressional leaders on Monday the federal government might have trouble paying its bills beginning in early June if Congress can't come together on terms for increasing the debt limit. The U.S. government breached the $31.381 trillion limit on amassing debt in January. Ever since the federal government has been resorting to extraordinary measures to get by. As of April 28, the U.S. federal debt stood at $31.45 trillion. State And Local Governments First To Feel The Pinch In a letter to Congress on May 1 Yellen said state and local governments are the first to feel the pinch. Today, Treasury stopped issuing securities known as State and Local Government Series (SLGS) that help states and local governments comply with tax reg...

United States: Inflation Moderates In March

12Apr

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Finance, Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Global Economics

United States: Inflation Moderates In March

Housing Prices Rise While Energy Costs Fall April 12, 2023—Consumer prices still rose in March in the United States, yet they rose less than they have in previous months. The Consumer Price Index for all items increased by 0.1 percent for the month, seasonally adjusted, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the past year, prices as a whole increased by 5 percent—the smallest spike since May 2021. The category for shelter, specifically rent and housing prices, increased the most. It rose by 0.6 percent in March and 8.2 percent in the past year. Meanwhile, the cost of energy commodities and services started coming down by 4.6 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively, in March.

A Critical Look At US Funds For Risky Science Abroad

10Apr

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Foreign Aid, International Development, Globalization, Disintegration, Nationalism, Populism, Types of News: Analysis

A Critical Look At US Funds For Risky Science Abroad

Former CDC Director Calls for Reinstatement Of Obama-Era Ban On Gain-Of-Function Experiments April 10, 2023—As a House Oversight Subcommittee investigates the origins of the deadly COVID-19 virus that killed millions of people around the world, new details about the role of global collaboration in science come to light. Today, the Washington Post published a groundbreaking and extensive report on how U.S. government agencies fund high-stakes research on unknown pathogens around the world. Specifically, since 2012, U.S. agencies spent billions of dollars on research of pathogens in at least 78 countries. And though the research includes dangerous virus hunting, safety standards and regulations have not kept pace with the experiments. Furthermore, according to the Post report by David ...

Disney’s Shareholders’ Proxy Proposals Fail At Annual Meeting

3Apr

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Finance, Banks, Cryptocurrency, Metals, Globalization, Disintegration, Nationalism, Populism, Types of News: Brief

Disney’s Shareholders’ Proxy Proposals Fail At Annual Meeting

April 3, 2023—Shareholders weighed in on several political issues at The Walt Disney Company's annual meeting. They included votes about its charitable contributions, its political contributions, and its business in China. Voting is tallied based on the number of shares, and the shares weighed heavily in favor of the company's recommendations. Furthermore, it should be noted that 64 percent of Disney's 1.16 billion shares are held by institutional investors. Shareholder Proxy Votes On one proxy vote, the National Legal and Policy Center, NLPC, a Disney shareholder and a public-interest nonprofit group, asked Disney to publish an annual report on the company's dealings in and with China. That vote went down 7.1 shares supporting the proxy measure, 88.9 opposing it, and 4 percent a...

Tech Leaders Call For Pause In A.I. Experiments

30Mar

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Big Tech, Digital Economy, Types of News: Brief

Tech Leaders Call For Pause In A.I. Experiments

Artificial Intelligence Poses 'Profound Risks to Society And Humanity' March 30, 2023—As computer scientists race to advance artificial intelligence technologies, tech and academic leaders are calling on AI laboratories to pause experiments on all products greater than one called GPT-4. Furthermore, they called on governments to intervene to force a stop if labs do not impose one. A nonprofit organization called Future of Life published the letter on Wednesday. It warned: "AI systems with human-competitive intelligence can pose profound risks to society and humanity, as shown by extensive research[1] and acknowledged by top AI labs," the letter says. "As stated in the widely-endorsed Asilomar AI Principles, Advanced AI could represent a profound change in the history of life on E...

20 Years After The Iraq War, The Truth Still Suffers

29Mar

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Geopolitics, Legal Battles, International Law, Justice, Types of News: Analysis, WAR: Dispatches & Dialogue

20 Years After The Iraq War, The Truth Still Suffers

Iraq today has competitive elections, but it is not "free." Its democratic governance is impeded by corruption, weak institutions, and militias. Iraq Lacks Key Freedoms, and No Redemption For U.S. War Hawks March 29, 2023—In the run-up to the 2003 Iraq war, the atmosphere in Washington, D.C. was like a giant groupthink exercise. Most people knew it was an illegal war and the Bush administration's claims about chemical weapons were shaky at best. But they dared not counter the president's position. President George W. Bush had a "freedom agenda," and that agenda made him susceptible to treachery and manipulation. His administration became convinced that Iraq held weapons of mass destruction, and they became determined to make that belief become a truth that needed to be corrected....

Banking System Is ‘Safe’ And ‘Sound,’ Fed Chair Says

22Mar

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Finance, Banks, Cryptocurrency, Metals, Finance, Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Types of News: Brief

Banking System Is ‘Safe’ And ‘Sound,’ Fed Chair Says

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell answered press questions on March 22, 2023. Rate Hike Takes Place In Environment Of Uncertainty March 22, 2023—Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell assured the public and press on Wednesday that the U.S. banking system is "strong, sound, and well capitalized." His comment came less than two weeks after several banks, namely U.S.-based Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank and Swiss-based Credit Suisse, failed. The Federal Reserve Committee announced today it is raising the federal funds rate to a range of 4.75-5 percent in light of persistently high inflation. Powell said the Fed would have to bring inflation down to 2 percent because "the costs of failing are much higher." The Fed's decision follows a similar rate increase by the European C...

22Mar

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Human rights, Types of News: Brief

2022: Difficult Year For Human Rights

Annual State Department Report Calls Out China, Russia, India, Israel, And Mexico March 22, 2023—In its annual report on human rights, the U.S. State Department reviewed policies and practices of governments and private groups impacting human rights in 198 countries. Overall, it's been a bleak year for freedom of speech, democracy, and even the basic right to life. The report criticized democratic republics, including the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as autocratic governments. "The goal of this report is not to lecture or to shame," said Secretary of State Antony Blinken. "Rather, it is to provide a resource for those individuals working around the world to safeguard and uphold human dignity when it’s under threat in so many ways." https://youtu.b...