The quick refutation is a one liner: “If Ron Paul is a friend of the elite oligarchs, why is all the lobbying money going to the Romneys, Obamas, and Pelosis of the world?”

I’m recording this to demonstrate the void between polls and reality which will likely become apparent once elections begin. Remember how Rudy “9/11″ Giuliani led every major poll until elections began?

from realclearpolitics.com

That isn’t a headline from the left-leaning Huffington Post, or a comment on Glenn Beck’s right-wing populist blackboard. It is, instead, the conclusion of a rigorous analysis bearing the imprimatur of the U.S. establishment: the paper’s lead author is Michael Spence, recipient of the Nobel Prize in economic sciences, and it was published by the Council on Foreign Relations. – Reuters Blog/ Chrystia Freeland

Dominant Social Theme: It’s official. Free markets don’t work very well. Or maybe they work too well. In any case, they need help.

Free-Market Analysis: This thoughtful article that Chrystia Freeland has written for her Reuters’ blog presents the conclusions that capitalism is not lifting all boats equally; or, to mix metaphors, technology is proving to be a two-edged sword. Productivity has risen but middle class wages and opportunity have not kept pace.

The conclusion is not hers alone but that of Michael Spence and co-author, Sandile Hlatshwayo. In her blog-article published a few days ago, Freeland reports on their scholarly paper examining the past 20 years of corporate and economic history. In this article, we’ll examine Freeland’s analysis to try to show how once more how arguments developed in a certain manner inevitably lead to certain conclusions.

As she is a mainstream business reporter, we are not surprised that Freeland comes to the conclusions she does, but it is instructive to follow the logic. What we end up with is a situation where the arguments have been framed in a certain way to develop a certain result. For anyone interested in thinking beyond this format, understanding how this occurs is critical.

Freeland doesn’t come right out and say it, but if technology is leading to increasing middle class difficulties, then some extracurricular force will have to be brought into play to rectify the situation. This is one of the oldest and hoariest dominant social themes of the power elite: Market failures demand government relief. It is elaborated on many ways round the world every day. (Read more)

Perry – 5 questions, 2 follow ups Newt – 5 questions, 1 follow up Cain – 5 questions, 1 follow up Romney – 4 questions, 1 follow up Santorum – 3 questions, 2 follow ups Bachman - 3 questions Huntsman – 2 questions, 1 follow up Paul – 1 question, 1 follow up C-omplete B-ullshit S-tation

This is getting ridiculous. What astounds me most is how many people still watch and trust the mainstream media.

I’ve had this story in the que for months. It’s incredibly stupid and misinformed.

I was going to write a long rebuttal, but there’s so much of this trash out there, that trying to rebut it all is a full time job.

Have a look if you’re interested.

Here’s the short version: inequality is very small price to pay for liberty and general prosperity.

From article:

Across the 19 countries surveyed, 49% backed the proposal while 21% said their government should oppose it.

The Palestinians say they will ask for full membership at the UN this week but the US says it will veto the move.

. . . .

The Palestinians are seeking international recognition of their state based on 1967 borders – the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

. . . .

The United States and the Philippines both polled 36% against the resolution. But 45% of Americans and 56% of Filipinos backed recognition.

The lowest level of support was in India, with 32% in favour and 25% opposed, with many undecided.

Support was strongest in Egypt, where 90% were in favour and only 9% opposed.

In other Muslim countries, Turkey recorded 60% support, 19% opposition; Pakistan 52% for, 12 against; and Indonesia 51% for, 16% against.

Chinese were among the most enthusiastic supporters, with 56% in favour and just 9% opposed.

Public opinion in the three large European Union member states included in the poll was strikingly similar on the issue: France (54% support, 20% opposition), Germany (53% v 28%) and the UK (53% v 26%).

Overall, 30% opted for not giving a definite answer as they thought their country should abstain, or “it depends”, or they did not offer a view.

But more than half of Russians and Chileans did not offer a definite opinion.

A total of 20,466 people in 19 countries were interviewed, either face-to-face or by telephone between 3 July and 29 August this year. The margin of error ranges from + or – 2.1% to 3.5%.

So why the hell choose this headline:

BBC poll shows narrow support for Palestinian state

Notice anyone missing?