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Capitalism IS Charity?

On the Neoliberal Attack on Philanthropy
Bill Gates with Muhammad Yunus

You would understand it if you heard a right-wing libertarian like Ron Paul or Paul Wolfowitz say:

I believe that ‘government,’ as we know it today, should pull out of most things except for law enforcement and justice, national defense and foreign policy, and let the private sector, a social-consciousness-driven private sector, take over their other functions.

But Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, and recent Nobel Peace Prize winner, wrote that in his book Banker to the Poor. Continue reading “Capitalism IS Charity?”

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Air Powered Car in US by 2010

One Cat from www.businessgreen.com According to www.BusinessGreen.com, “Fresh from securing a deal with Indian automotive giant Tata to build its innovative air powered car on the subcontinent, French green car firm MDI has revealed details of how it plans to crack the US market.”

The cars (the OneCat, pictured above, and the CityCat) run on air below 20mph and then begins to burn small amounts of fuel. It can travel 800 to 1,000 miles on one tank of compressed air and only takes an hour to charge.

We can expect the cars to cost around $17,800 when they release in late 2010.

Source: Air Powered Car Could His US Roads by 2010

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The Plan to Gentrify DC

Last week, This American Life featured a segment on gentrification in Washington, DC. Gentrification in DC, residents say, is not led by market forces, but is rather an orchestrated plan to displace blacks from neighborhoods to make way for rich whites.

“The Plan” is incredibly moving and persuasive. It highlights gentrification signs like local government closing public schools, libraries, and hospitals to replace them with condos and, among other things, sushi restaurants. Others, from around the country, discuss how their cities purposely allowed neighborhoods to deteriorate so developers can buy land for cheaper prices.

Is “the plan” a conspiracy theory? Maybe. But the results are striking.

Full Episode: 350: Human Resources