GM recalls SUVs that can burst into flames WITHOUT the engine on | Mail Online
Fight Club vs GMC Recalls - YouTube
This does uncannily 'recall' the scene from the blackly-satirical film Fight Club:
Recall Formula - Fight Club Typographical Animation - YouTube
Here's a blog entry on the whole shebang:
The Inane Explained: The Fight Club Car Recall
Talk:Product recall - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
What is Crash Worthiness?
“The Formula” | Tort Deform
Which leads us to a piece earlier this year in the Nation magazine looking at how the campaigner and once-presidential candidate Ralph Nader started out:
Ralph Nader on the GM Scandal: ‘Detroit has Washington Pretty Greased’ | The Nation
Ralph Nader is an interesting feature on the political and campaigning terrain.
He does indeed go back a long way...
Andrew Gavin Marshall | Class War and the College Crisis: The “Crisis of Democracy” and the Attack on Education
The Supreme Court . Law, Power & Personality . Primary Sources | PBS
Ralph Nader made his name in consumer activism and is very savvy when it comes to an understanding of how the 'system' works, as it were:
Fast-forward to today, and Nader has just brought out a book extolling the virtues of a rigorous working-together:
QA Ralph Nader | Video | C-SPAN.org
To finish, a piece Nader wrote for the 'American Conservative' magazine:
Who Owns America? | The American Conservative
See also:
Ralph Nader on the Issues
Ralph Nader, "The Manufactured 'Financial Crisis' of the U.S. Postal Service"
The Food Safety Movement Grows Tall | Ralph Nader
and:
Futures Forum: Crony capitalism and lemon socialism in East Devon........ The costs of "substantial growth and expanding business"
.
.
.
Ralph Nader on the GM Scandal: ‘Detroit has Washington Pretty Greased’
Zoë Carpenter on April 1, 2014 - 1:47 PM ET
Ralph Nader standing on on an overpass above Interstate 495, a beltway circling Washington, DC, in 1967. (AP Photo)
In the April 11, 1959 issue of The Nation, a young attorney named Ralph Nader took auto manufacturers to task for “glacier-like movement” in availing themselves of engineering solutions to minimize the deadly effects of car crashes. “Automobiles are so designed as to be dangerous at any speed,” he warned, testing out the line that evolved into the title of his groundbreaking 1965 book, Unsafe at Any Speed.
Fifty-five years later, Congress is investigating a new car safety scandal involving corporate malfeasance, regulatory ineptitude, and at least thirteen deaths. For more than a decade, General Motors was aware of an ignition switch defect that caused some cars to shut off, seemingly at random, disabling the power steering, the airbags, and other safety features. Not until February did GM begin to recall the affected models. The company has recalled more than 2.6 million vehicles so far, and is facing a congressional inquiry and a criminal probe. For it’s part, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, one of the most significant legacies of Nader’s campaign for consumer safety, appears to have failed to perform its oversight and enforcement duties, twice declining to investigate reports of the defects.
As GM CEO Mary Barra and NHTSA acting administrator David Friedman prepare to testify before Congress on Wednesday and Thursday, I spoke with Nader about the scandal, regulatory lapses, and the relationship between lawmakers and the auto industry.
Ralph Nader is an interesting feature on the political and campaigning terrain.
He does indeed go back a long way...
The Powell Memo: Protecting the
Plutocracy
Four years prior to the Trilateral
Commission report, in 1971, the infamous and secret ‘Powell Memo’ was issued,
written by a corporate lawyer and tobacco company board member, Lewis F.
Powell, Jr. (whom President Nixon nominated to the Supreme Court two months
later), which was addressed to the Chairman of the Education Committee of the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, representing American business interests.
The real “threat,” however, was the
“voices joining the chorus of criticism [which] come from perfectly respectable
elements of society: from the college campus, the pulpit, the media, the
intellectual and literary journals, the arts and sciences, and from
politicians.” While acknowledging that in these very sectors, those who speak
out against the ‘system’ are still a minority, Powell noted, “these are often
the most articulate, the most vocal, the most prolific in their writing and
speaking.”
This marked an “intellectual warfare”
being waged against the system, according to Powell, who then quoted economist
Milton Friedman of the University of Chicago (and the ‘father’ of
neoliberalism), who stated:
It
[is] crystal clear that the foundations of our free society are under
wide-ranging and powerful attack – not by Communists or any other conspiracy
but by misguided individuals parroting one another and unwittingly serving ends
they would never intentionally promote.
Powell even specifically identified
Ralph Nader as a “threat” to American business. Powell further deplored the
changes and “attack” being made through the courts and legal system, which
began targeting corporate tax breaks and loop holes, with the media supporting
such initiatives since they help “the poor.”...
Powell did, however, explain in sympathy to the ‘ineptitude’ of the
corporate and financial elites that, “it must be recognized that businessmen
have not been trained or equipped to conduct guerilla warfare with those who
propagandize against the system.”Andrew Gavin Marshall | Class War and the College Crisis: The “Crisis of Democracy” and the Attack on Education
The Supreme Court . Law, Power & Personality . Primary Sources | PBS
Ralph Nader made his name in consumer activism and is very savvy when it comes to an understanding of how the 'system' works, as it were:
Even at the height of 20th-century industrialism,
Kodak-scale R&D was never necessary for key technological innovation. Ralph
Nader notes that “[t]he firms which introduced stainless
steel razor blades (Wilkinson), transistor radios (Sony), photocopying machines
(Xerox), and the ‘instant’ photograph (Polaroid) were all small and little
known when they made their momentous breakthroughs.”
Fast-forward to today, and Nader has just brought out a book extolling the virtues of a rigorous working-together:
Q&A with Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader talked about his book, Unstoppable: The Emerging Left-Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State. Mr. Nader spoke about his upbringing and the experiences that have shaped his career in consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and politics. Mr. Nader talked about his early work in automobile safety activism and his 1965 book, Unsafe at Any Speed, in which he critiques the safety records of American automobile manufacturers and, in particular, the Chevrolet Corvair. Mr. Nader also discussed some of the themes of his new book, including strategies to help create a bipartisan alliance to battle wasteful government spending and other issues. He gave tips for those who aspired to be the next Ralph Nader and talked about the experiences and lessons he learned from his third-party presidential campaigns. He also talked about how he lives without a cell phone, credit card, car, computer, or a working television.
QA Ralph Nader | Video | C-SPAN.org
In UNSTOPPABLE, Nader persuasively demonstrates that there is an emerging Left-Right alliance which has the power to dismantle the corporate-government tyranny. Large segments from the progressive, conservative, and libertarian political camps already find themselves aligned in opposition to the destruction of civil liberties, the bloated and economically draining corporate welfare state, the relentless perpetuation of America’s wars, sovereignty-shredding free trade agreements, and the unpunished crimes of Wall Street against Main Street.
It’s time to use these budding alliances to expand our power on Capitol Hill, in the courts, and in the arena of public opinion to demand a more accountable government. In UNSTOPPABLE, Nader provides a blueprint for how free Americans on both sides of the aisle can fight against the corporate state and crony capitalism. He proposes twenty-five potential reforms that can be accomplished through a Left-Right alliance (see reverse side for list), and further explains how they can be achieved. He also addresses head on the obstacles and consequences facing those politicians, leaders, and opinion makers who are contemplating joining a Left-Right alliance.
Nader rounds out his practical call for action with a rich historical record of Left-Right convergence, demonstrating that this strategy can be successful. And if Americans follow Nader’s lead to form stronger, bolder Left-Right alliances, they can regain their voice and demand a right to consume safe foods and drugs, breathe cleaner air, receive fair rewards for their work, avoid empire, regain control of taxpayer assets, strengthen investor rights, make bureaucrats more frugal and accountable, and achieve a more self-reliant economy. They will be unstoppable.
UNSTOPPABLE | The Nader Page
Ralph Nader on TPP, GM Recall, Nuclear Power &
the "Unstoppable" Left-Right Anti-Corporate Movement | Democracy Now!
April 28, 2014
Former presidential
candidate and longtime consumer advocate Ralph Nader joins us to discuss his
latest book, "Unstoppable: The Emerging Left-Right Alliance to Dismantle
the Corporate State." Nader highlights the common concerns shared by a wide
swath of the American public, regardless of political orientation, including
mass government surveillance, opposing nebulous free trade agreements,
reforming the criminal justice system, and punishing criminal behavior on Wall
Street. Nader also discusses the U.S. push for the sweeping Trans-Pacific
Partnership trade pact, General Motors’ new bid to escape liability for its
deadly ignition defect, the revived nuclear era under President Obama, and
challenging U.S. militarism through the defense budget.
Unstoppable: The Emerging Left-Right Alliance to
Dismantle the Corporate State
Ralph Nader has fought
for over fifty years on behalf of American citizens against the reckless
influence of corporations and their government patrons on our society. Now he
ramps up the fight and makes a persuasive case that Americans are not
powerless. In Unstoppable, he explores the emerging political
alignment of the Left and the Right against converging corporate-government
tyranny.
Ralph Nader on TPP, GM Recall, Nuclear Power & the "Unstoppable" Left-Right Anti-Corporate Movement | Democracy Now!
Ralph Nader on TPP, GM Recall, Nuclear Power & the "Unstoppable" Left-Right Anti-Corporate Movement | Democracy Now!
With some book reviews from Amazon:
By Stephen E. on April 15, 2014
Polling data shows that
Americans are disgusted with their government. Some of us blame the Right.
Others blame the Left. Obviously, as one of American History's great
progressives, Nader is not neutral in the battle between Right and Left. Far
from it. I am not neutral either. I am a conservative, but I cheer this new
book by Ralph Nader! His still-supple mind and pure heart give him the ability
to see what would be more obvious to the rest of us if it were not for the
partisan hate machines and self interests that maintain our corrupted political
system. Whether on the Left or Right, we know that our government has been
captured by the self interested. Super-majorities of Americans - comprised of
citizens on the Right and Left - want an end to the legalized bribery and
extortion now a the heart of our political system, the restoration of citizen
government, fair elections, fair trade, a reasonable and constitutional foreign
policy, and a break-up of the big banks. If we would only compartmentalize the
areas where our disagreements are intractable, we could then turn and work
together to solve many of the nation's critical and massively debilitating
problems. We would be, as the title of Nader's book suggests,
"Unstoppable."
By Alan F. Sewell on April 29, 2014
Mr. Nader has written
this book to convince Libertarian Conservatives and Liberal Progressives that
the time has come for them to unite in a party dedicated to replacing the two major
parties that are bought and paid for by the corporations.
Being conservative, I've
thought of Mr. Nader as being "over the top'" in portraying the
malignancy of America's big business corporations. However, he's always seemed
personable on TV appearances, so I believe that his yearning for reform is
based on a sincere desire for justice and not on the negative trait of hating
business people merely because they accumulate wealth.
It also can't be denied
that things have changed in a big way since the economic crash of 2008. It now
looks like Mr. Nader was not so much a fanatic as a man ahead of his time.
We've learned that tax cuts for the 1% and depressed wages for the 99% by
excessive job elimination via globalization and corporate cost-cutting mania do
not prosper the country.
We've come to understand
that the money-center bank executives violated their public trust in destroying
their banks with reckless speculations that allowed them to loot their banks by
paying themselves obscene bonuses. We now understand how big business operates:
companies are taken over by Wall Street fatcats who bilk their assets, steer
them into bankruptcy, then put the workers out of the jobs they have held for
decades. When the fatcats desire longer-term plunder they close American
factories and ship the jobs overseas. And they are always hectoring Congress to
open the borders to flood the country with tens of millions more peons who will
take Americans' jobs away from them by working at slave wages. Read more ›
To finish, a piece Nader wrote for the 'American Conservative' magazine:
Who Owns America?
What conservatives of the '30s teach left and right today about crony capitalism
illustration by Michael Hogue
There was a time in the Depression of the 1930s when conservative thought sprang from the dire concrete reality of that terrible era, not from abstractions.
They did not use the word “conservative” very often, preferring to call themselves “decentralists” or “agrarians.” Eclectic in background, they were columnists, poets, historians, literary figures, economists, theologians, and civic advocates. In 1936, Herbert Agar, a prominent author, foreign correspondent, and columnist for theLouisville Courier-Journal and Alan Tate, poet and social commentator, brought a selection of their writings together in a now nearly forgotten book: Who Owns America? A New Declaration of Independence.
In his 1999 foreword to the reissued edition, historian Edward S. Shapiro calledWho Owns America? “one of the most significant conservative books published in the United States during the 1930s” for its “message of demographic, political, and economic decentralization and the widespread ownership of property” in opposition “to the growth of corporate farming, the decay of the small town, and the expansion of centralized political and economic authority.”
See also:
Ralph Nader on the Issues
Ralph Nader, "The Manufactured 'Financial Crisis' of the U.S. Postal Service"
The Food Safety Movement Grows Tall | Ralph Nader
and:
Futures Forum: Crony capitalism and lemon socialism in East Devon........ The costs of "substantial growth and expanding business"
.
.
.
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