December 12, 2011

This group now has an official host! And, onto the next step:

Skinner has approved the group's nomination of me as host.
Thank you for your trust.

Reminder: the host's role is enforcing a group's Statement of Purpose...Period.
While locking threads is one option, there are non-locking options also available.
Personally, a locked thread is so traffic-stop screaming yellow on the thread line,
I would hope to avoid it if possible.

I see 2 issues that need deciding at the moment:

1. Statement of Purpose:
This is the one Admin wrote for this Group:
"Discuss fiscal and economic policy. Budget, taxes, spending, etc."
This broad statement is fixed, but we can clarify the specifics in it.

In an earlier thread, we discussed defining what we wanted clarified in the above general statement.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1116115

From that , I heard we want the group to be
"welcoming, inviting, broad and inclusive, and covering national/international issues related to
and affecting our economic well being"
or something close to that.
Whatcha think? Whatever we come up with should be pinned, I should think, for folks joining us to be able to see, yes?

2. Who else would like to share the hosting duties?
It would be best to read up on how the host system works before raising your hand.

"Group Hosts perform a similar role to forum Hosts, but they have additional powers.
1) They can lock threads which they believe violate their group's stated purpose;
2) they can pin threads to the top of their group;
3) they can block out members whom they believe are not adhering to their group's purpose;
4) they can make other members Hosts of their group; and
5) they can remove any Host of their group that became a Host after they did.

If a group already has Hosts assigned, members who wish to become a Host must contact one of the current Hosts. Current Hosts may select any other member to become a Host, without restrictions."

( Group hosts do not have to be Star members.)

Just give a shout out in this thread if interested, pls.

Lastly, here is the link to the whole page of how DU3 is being moderated.
Well worth a refresher read, I think.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=modsystem

December 12, 2011

And here is why it was sold:

The New York Times reported Friday the sale came after the State Department threatened to stop awarding contracts to the company as long as it was owned by Prince, a former Navy SEAL.

http://seeker401.wordpress.com/2010/12/21/blackwater-international-sold/

and

USTC Holdings, LLC is an investment holding company led by Forte Capital
Advisors and Manhattan Partners formed for the sole purpose of facilitating
the acquisition of Xe and its core operating subsidiaries.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/12/31/932598/-Erik-Princes-XMas-Gift:-A-Buyer-for-Xe-Blackwater,-SOLD

and

Bingham McCutchen acted as legal counsel to USTC Holdings and the Chertoff Group in collaboration with Avascent Group performed strategic due diligence on USTC Holdings’ behalf.

sounds like same game, same players, different names on the door.

December 12, 2011

New book list out, with some interesting history topics.

The Economist has posted a list of new books out on mostly non-fiction, some history topics.
I found this one intriguing.
Here is the link to the entire list..Books of the Year

http://www.economist.com/node/21541386

and here is the link to this book:
http://www.economist.com/node/21525808


"The Sugar Barons: Family, Corruption, Empire, and War in the West Indies. By Matthew Parker. Walker & Co; 446 pages;
IT IS no exaggeration to say that the foundations of the modern globalised world were made of sugar. In the 15th century Europeans first encountered its sweet delights. Within a couple of hundred years the coming of sea power, and with it the means to create empires across the oceans, resulted in large tracts of land in South America and the Caribbean being seized. Much of it was used in the production of sugar, which was steadily evolving from being a scarce luxury to a daily necessity.
The English were late starters. Rather than compete directly with the Spanish and the Portuguese for territory on the South American mainland, they concentrated on gaining control of islands in the West Indies, first Barbados and then Jamaica and less important acquisitions, such as Antigua. Matthew Parker’s narrative account of the sugar trade and the formidable families who were behind it, in particular the Draxes, the Codringtons and William Beckford of Fonthill (pictured) and his forebears, is a tumultuous rollercoaster of a book."

December 11, 2011

Ohhhh..a cool new (mostly non-fiction) book list is out!

From the online the Economist:
Books of the Year
Page-turners
The best books of 2011 were about China, Congo, Afghanistan, Charles Dickens, Vincent van Gogh, the "Flora Delanica", Jerusalem, Mumbai’s dance bars, quantum physics, sugar, orgasms, blue nights, two moons and other people’s money.

http://www.economist.com/node/21541386

I am drooling over some of the titles.
One in particular:
Cables from Kabul: The Inside Story of the West’s Afghanistan Campaign. By Sherard Cowper-Coles. Harper Press; 312 pages; £25. Buy from Amazon.co.uk

December 11, 2011

Question for the group: how broadly do you want to take the Statement of Purpose?

Do we want to talk about how the economy is affecting us, as indiv?
Do we want more of ms smiler's information on her lawsuits against banks?
With the new forum limits, there is not much room elsewhere for her info.

I personally am very much into the foreclosure issues, have been following them since 2008.

What kinds of things of things do you want included under the "purpose"?

Asking because we need to be able to identify what is NOT part of the purpose if and when that comes up.
( bear in mind that alerts, not group hosts,address rudeness, disruption, trolls, etc)


Whatcha say?

December 11, 2011

A Beginner’s Guide to the European Debt Crisis -good overview

Gonzolo Lira's take on how and why the European Crisis came to be.
He explains things in comprehensible language, which I always appreciate.

What do you think ?

http://gonzalolira.blogspot.com/2011/11/beginners-guide-to-european-debt-crisis.html?utm_source=BP_recent