The New York Times has a lengthy article, How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work and implies, we, Americans, just can't compete and we should just lay down and die when it comes to advanced manufacturing. Good God, what a sad state of affairs.

In early 2011, President Obama asked what would it take to make the iPhone in the United States instead of China and late Steve Jobs replied:

Those jobs aren’t coming back.

On really? Isn't that the classic CEO speak to get off my case and haven't we heard that one before? Instead of cheap labor being the reason corporations move to China, we have growing, much more sinister, motivations.

It isn’t just that workers are cheaper abroad. Rather, Apple’s executives believe the vast scale of overseas factories as well as the flexibility, diligence and industrial skills of foreign workers have so outpaced their American counterparts that “Made in the U.S.A.” is no longer a viable option for most Apple products.

We all know there is no justice when it comes to criminal and even civil prosecutions for the financial crisis. We all know there is no justice when it comes to foreclosures. Are you aware the Obama administration is about to let the banks once again off the hook?

Maybe this has something to do with it. Reuters gives us just a little insight as to why their have been no criminal prosecutions of banks and civil penalties have been slaps on the wrist.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Lanny Breuer, head of the Justice Department's criminal division, were partners for years at a Washington law firm that represented a Who's Who of big banks and other companies at the center of alleged foreclosure fraud.

Great, so the highest prosecutor in the land had the Banksters as clients for years.

Holder and Breuer were partners at Covington, the firm's clients included the four largest U.S. banks - Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo & Co - as well as at least one other bank that is among the 10 largest mortgage servicers.

Reuters is really piecing together the implications with this paragraph. Wow!

On January 18th Internet websites shut down, including this one. The simultaneous black out was in protest of two bills before Congress, SOPA and PIPA. On January 20th, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid shelved the Senate version of the bill, PIPA, for a floor vote and House Judiciary Chair Lamar Smith just suspended SOPA in committee. SOPA and PIPA are D.O.A.

I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns,” said Lamar Smith, House judiciary chairman and the sponsor of the Stop Online Piracy Act, as he announced the suspension of work on the bill.

Mr Smith’s retreat followed a similar move in the Senate, where majority leader Harry Reid postponed a scheduled vote on the related Protect Intellectual Property Act “in light of recent events.

Some were not happy, such as Democrat Senator Patrick Leahy:

PIPA/SOPA supporter Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), miffed by this sudden turn of events, offers his own statement. “I understand and respect Majority Leader Reid’s decision ... But the day will come when the Senators who forced this move will look back and realize they made a knee-jerk reaction to a monumental problem.”