Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The U.S. Corpratocracy:
Chris Hedges: Democracy in America Is a Useful Fiction
"Corporate forces, long before the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, carried out a coup d'état in slow motion. The coup is over. We lost. The ruling is one more judicial effort to streamline mechanisms for corporate control. It exposes the myth of a functioning democracy and the triumph of corporate power. But it does not significantly alter the political landscape. The corporate state is firmly cemented in place..."
Wall St. Has Learned Nothing:
But why should they? Has anyone been held responsible for the irresponsible Wall St. behavior that destroyed the wealth of millions of Americans?
Bloomberg.com - Banks Reviving Synthetic Bets as Volcker Blasts Default Swaps
"Wall Street is marketing derivatives last seen before credit markets froze in 2007, as the record bond rally prompts investors to take more risks to boost returns.
Bank of America Corp. and Morgan Stanley are encouraging clients to buy swaps that pay higher yields for speculating on the extent of losses in corporate defaults..."
A changed 'mood' does not yet mean they changed their attitudes or thinking...
Bloomberg.com - Davos Too Big to Fail as Bankers Recoil in Political Backlash
"For a sign of how the mood has changed at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, consider the speakers at an invitation-only client lunch hosted by Paul Calello, who runs Credit Suisse Group AG’s investment bank.
Last year’s panel on 'Financial Market Dynamics' featured senior executives from financial companies JPMorgan Chase & Co., Blackstone Group LP, hedge fund Eton Park Capital Management and NYSE Euronext...
...Davos will be missing some prominent bankers who appeared in previous years. JPMorgan Chase Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon dropped out, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein will be skipping the event for the second year in a row.
While those attending may represent banks that are too big to fail, they are not too big to keep a low profile. Citigroup Inc. CEO Vikram Pandit, Morgan Stanley Chairman John Mack and the chief executives of Credit Suisse and UBS AG won’t be speaking at any sessions listed in the official program. Bank of America Corp. CEO Brian Moynihan and Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn are each participating on one panel.
None of them will be speaking at a session on 'Redesigning Financial Regulation' on Saturday afternoon moderated by Barry Eichengreen, a professor of economics and political science at the University of California at Berkeley..."
Israel/Palestine:
Henry Siegman: Imposing Middle East Peace
"Israel's relentless drive to establish 'facts on the ground' in the occupied West Bank, a drive that continues in violation of even the limited settlement freeze to which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu committed himself, seems finally to have succeeded in locking in the irreversibility of its colonial project. As a result of that 'achievement,' one that successive Israeli governments have long sought in order to preclude the possibility of a two-state solution, Israel has crossed the threshold from 'the only democracy in the Middle East' to the only apartheid regime in the Western world.
The inevitability of such a transformation has been held out not by 'Israel bashers' but by the country's own leaders. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon referred to that danger, as did Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who warned that Israel could not escape turning into an apartheid state if it did not relinquish 'almost all the territories, if not all,' including the Arab parts of East Jerusalem..."
Fawaz A. Gerges: The Transformation of Hamas
"Something is stirring within the Hamas body politic, a moderating trend that, if nourished and engaged, could transform Palestinian politics and the Arab-Israeli peace process. There are unmistakable signs that the religiously based radical movement has subtly changed its uncompromising posture on Israel. Although low-key and restrained, those shifts indicate that the movement is searching for a formula that addresses the concerns of Western powers yet avoids alienating its social base.
Far from impulsive and unexpected, Hamas's shift reflects a gradual evolution occurring over the past five years. The big strategic turn occurred in 2005, when Hamas decided to participate in the January 2006 legislative elections and thus tacitly accepted the governing rules of the Palestinian Authority (PA), one of which includes recognition of Israel. Ever since, top Hamas leaders have repeatedly declared they will accept a resolution of the conflict along the 1967 borders...
...What is striking about Hamas's shift toward the peace process is that it has come at a time of critical challenges from Al Qaeda-like jihadist groups; a low-intensity civil war with rival Fatah, the ruling party of the PA; and a deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Last summer a militant group called Jund Ansar Allah, or the Warriors of God, one of a handful of Al Qaeda-inspired factions, declared the establishment of an Islamic emirate in Gaza--a flagrant rejection of Hamas's authority. Hamas security forces struck instantly and mercilessly at the Warriors, killing more than twenty members, including the group's leader, Abdel-Latif Moussa. In one stroke, the Hamas leadership sent a message to foes and friends alike that it will not tolerate global jihadist groups like Al Qaeda, which want to turn Gaza into a theater of transnational jihad..."
Chris Hedges: Democracy in America Is a Useful Fiction
"Corporate forces, long before the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, carried out a coup d'état in slow motion. The coup is over. We lost. The ruling is one more judicial effort to streamline mechanisms for corporate control. It exposes the myth of a functioning democracy and the triumph of corporate power. But it does not significantly alter the political landscape. The corporate state is firmly cemented in place..."
Wall St. Has Learned Nothing:
But why should they? Has anyone been held responsible for the irresponsible Wall St. behavior that destroyed the wealth of millions of Americans?
Bloomberg.com - Banks Reviving Synthetic Bets as Volcker Blasts Default Swaps
"Wall Street is marketing derivatives last seen before credit markets froze in 2007, as the record bond rally prompts investors to take more risks to boost returns.
Bank of America Corp. and Morgan Stanley are encouraging clients to buy swaps that pay higher yields for speculating on the extent of losses in corporate defaults..."
A changed 'mood' does not yet mean they changed their attitudes or thinking...
Bloomberg.com - Davos Too Big to Fail as Bankers Recoil in Political Backlash
"For a sign of how the mood has changed at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, consider the speakers at an invitation-only client lunch hosted by Paul Calello, who runs Credit Suisse Group AG’s investment bank.
Last year’s panel on 'Financial Market Dynamics' featured senior executives from financial companies JPMorgan Chase & Co., Blackstone Group LP, hedge fund Eton Park Capital Management and NYSE Euronext...
...Davos will be missing some prominent bankers who appeared in previous years. JPMorgan Chase Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon dropped out, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein will be skipping the event for the second year in a row.
While those attending may represent banks that are too big to fail, they are not too big to keep a low profile. Citigroup Inc. CEO Vikram Pandit, Morgan Stanley Chairman John Mack and the chief executives of Credit Suisse and UBS AG won’t be speaking at any sessions listed in the official program. Bank of America Corp. CEO Brian Moynihan and Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn are each participating on one panel.
None of them will be speaking at a session on 'Redesigning Financial Regulation' on Saturday afternoon moderated by Barry Eichengreen, a professor of economics and political science at the University of California at Berkeley..."
Israel/Palestine:
Henry Siegman: Imposing Middle East Peace
"Israel's relentless drive to establish 'facts on the ground' in the occupied West Bank, a drive that continues in violation of even the limited settlement freeze to which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu committed himself, seems finally to have succeeded in locking in the irreversibility of its colonial project. As a result of that 'achievement,' one that successive Israeli governments have long sought in order to preclude the possibility of a two-state solution, Israel has crossed the threshold from 'the only democracy in the Middle East' to the only apartheid regime in the Western world.
The inevitability of such a transformation has been held out not by 'Israel bashers' but by the country's own leaders. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon referred to that danger, as did Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who warned that Israel could not escape turning into an apartheid state if it did not relinquish 'almost all the territories, if not all,' including the Arab parts of East Jerusalem..."
Fawaz A. Gerges: The Transformation of Hamas
"Something is stirring within the Hamas body politic, a moderating trend that, if nourished and engaged, could transform Palestinian politics and the Arab-Israeli peace process. There are unmistakable signs that the religiously based radical movement has subtly changed its uncompromising posture on Israel. Although low-key and restrained, those shifts indicate that the movement is searching for a formula that addresses the concerns of Western powers yet avoids alienating its social base.
Far from impulsive and unexpected, Hamas's shift reflects a gradual evolution occurring over the past five years. The big strategic turn occurred in 2005, when Hamas decided to participate in the January 2006 legislative elections and thus tacitly accepted the governing rules of the Palestinian Authority (PA), one of which includes recognition of Israel. Ever since, top Hamas leaders have repeatedly declared they will accept a resolution of the conflict along the 1967 borders...
...What is striking about Hamas's shift toward the peace process is that it has come at a time of critical challenges from Al Qaeda-like jihadist groups; a low-intensity civil war with rival Fatah, the ruling party of the PA; and a deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Last summer a militant group called Jund Ansar Allah, or the Warriors of God, one of a handful of Al Qaeda-inspired factions, declared the establishment of an Islamic emirate in Gaza--a flagrant rejection of Hamas's authority. Hamas security forces struck instantly and mercilessly at the Warriors, killing more than twenty members, including the group's leader, Abdel-Latif Moussa. In one stroke, the Hamas leadership sent a message to foes and friends alike that it will not tolerate global jihadist groups like Al Qaeda, which want to turn Gaza into a theater of transnational jihad..."
Friday, January 22, 2010
SCOTUS, Corporations, and The People:
Twenty years of campaign finance law have just been undone. Through this decision, the rights of people are effectively being relegated to a step below powerful monied interests. I fail to understand how well-meaning men could possibly convince themselves that The Founders intended to extend the rights of men/humans to non-human entities (economically advantaged over humans, have limited liability, and unlimited life).
The right to petition Congress for the redress of grievances, and the right to speak freely is something corporate Executives, Managers and its shareholders would be reasonably expected to exercise on behalf of the non-human entity. Having the right, instead, to simply throw money at a lobbying firm or PAC to 'speak' for the corporation is a deliberate and mean-spirited misreading of the Bill of Rights. During oral arguments, Chief Justice Roberts offered a very weak answer to the question of how shareholding citizens should react if a corporation spends money on political speech they disagree with: 'They can sell their shares.' This is the worst SCOTUS decision in my lifetime and represents a further codification in law of bribery and election buying. The only citizen recourse is to move to amend the U.S. Constitution.
Ralph Nader: Corporate Personhood Should Be Banned, Once and For All
"Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission shreds the fabric of our already weakened democracy by allowing corporations to more completely dominate our corrupted electoral process. It is outrageous that corporations already attempt to influence or bribe our political candidates through their political action committees (PACs), which solicit employees and shareholders for donations. With this decision, corporations can now also draw on their corporate treasuries and pour vast amounts of corporate money, through independent expenditures, into the electoral swamp already flooded with corporate campaign PAC contribution dollars.
This corporatist, anti-voter decision is so extreme that it should galvanize a grassroots effort to enact a Constitutional Amendment to once and for all end corporate personhood and curtail the corrosive impact of big money on politics. It is indeed time for a Constitutional amendment to prevent corporate campaign contributions from commercializing our elections and drowning out the civic and political voices and values of citizens and voters. It is way overdue to overthrow 'King Corporation' and restore the sovereignty of 'We the People'!"
The Tools Of War:
AP: Firm will remove Bible references from gun sights
"A Michigan defense contractor will voluntarily stop stamping references to Bible verses on combat rifle sights made for the U.S. military, a major buyer of the company's gear.
In a statement released Thursday, Trijicon of Wixom, Mich., says it is also providing to the armed forces free of charge modification kits to remove the Scripture citations from the telescoping sights already in use. Through multimillion dollar contracts, the Marine Corps and Army have bought more than 300,000 Trijicon sights.
The references to Bible passages raised concerns that the citations break a government rule that bars proselytizing by American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, which are predominantly Muslim countries..."
Twenty years of campaign finance law have just been undone. Through this decision, the rights of people are effectively being relegated to a step below powerful monied interests. I fail to understand how well-meaning men could possibly convince themselves that The Founders intended to extend the rights of men/humans to non-human entities (economically advantaged over humans, have limited liability, and unlimited life).
The right to petition Congress for the redress of grievances, and the right to speak freely is something corporate Executives, Managers and its shareholders would be reasonably expected to exercise on behalf of the non-human entity. Having the right, instead, to simply throw money at a lobbying firm or PAC to 'speak' for the corporation is a deliberate and mean-spirited misreading of the Bill of Rights. During oral arguments, Chief Justice Roberts offered a very weak answer to the question of how shareholding citizens should react if a corporation spends money on political speech they disagree with: 'They can sell their shares.' This is the worst SCOTUS decision in my lifetime and represents a further codification in law of bribery and election buying. The only citizen recourse is to move to amend the U.S. Constitution.
Ralph Nader: Corporate Personhood Should Be Banned, Once and For All
"Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission shreds the fabric of our already weakened democracy by allowing corporations to more completely dominate our corrupted electoral process. It is outrageous that corporations already attempt to influence or bribe our political candidates through their political action committees (PACs), which solicit employees and shareholders for donations. With this decision, corporations can now also draw on their corporate treasuries and pour vast amounts of corporate money, through independent expenditures, into the electoral swamp already flooded with corporate campaign PAC contribution dollars.
This corporatist, anti-voter decision is so extreme that it should galvanize a grassroots effort to enact a Constitutional Amendment to once and for all end corporate personhood and curtail the corrosive impact of big money on politics. It is indeed time for a Constitutional amendment to prevent corporate campaign contributions from commercializing our elections and drowning out the civic and political voices and values of citizens and voters. It is way overdue to overthrow 'King Corporation' and restore the sovereignty of 'We the People'!"
The Tools Of War:
AP: Firm will remove Bible references from gun sights
"A Michigan defense contractor will voluntarily stop stamping references to Bible verses on combat rifle sights made for the U.S. military, a major buyer of the company's gear.
In a statement released Thursday, Trijicon of Wixom, Mich., says it is also providing to the armed forces free of charge modification kits to remove the Scripture citations from the telescoping sights already in use. Through multimillion dollar contracts, the Marine Corps and Army have bought more than 300,000 Trijicon sights.
The references to Bible passages raised concerns that the citations break a government rule that bars proselytizing by American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, which are predominantly Muslim countries..."
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The Big Banks:
Jim Hightower: Reining-In The Gods Of The Fed
"...'The Fed,' a hydra-headed creature of enormous power, which it exercises from within the midst of a marble cavern in Washington that is unapproachable by commoners.
The Fed is the Federal Reserve, which is a private, for-profit bank that is run by and mostly for other big bankers. But it's also its own, secretive branch of our national government – the Fed creates its own money, it sets our interest rates, it regulates Wall Street, and – as we've recently learned the hard way – it bails out Wall Street.
The Fed operates largely beyond the purview of Congress or even the White House, and both the media and the public are essentially shut out from scrutinizing its financial machinations. The banking gods who dwell within the Fed's temple are said to have knowledge, even wisdom, that the rest of us cannot fathom, so they must be left alone to make their decisions.
But, wait – aren't these the same omniscient gods that failed to see – much less forestall – the looming financial disaster that Wall Street finaglers were building atop a very shaky housing market? Yes, the Fed gods were so intoxicated with the fumes of their own conventional wisdom that they failed abjectly as regulators, as public servants – and, most certainly, as gods..."
Crooks & Liars Video Cafe: Naomi Klein and Spitzer Shoot Down Frum's Arguments About Stifling 'Creativity' on Wall Street
"While discussing what needs to be done to fix Wall Street, David Frum expresses his concern for throttling 'the creativity of the system'. As Naomi Klein and Eliot Spitzer point out to him, it was exactly that 'creativity' that got us into the mess we're in now..."
Domestic Surveillance:
The Washington Post: FBI broke law for years in phone record searches
"The FBI illegally collected more than 2,000 U.S. telephone call records between 2002 and 2006 by invoking terrorism emergencies that did not exist or simply persuading phone companies to provide records, according to internal bureau memos and interviews. FBI officials issued approvals after the fact to justify their actions.
E-mails obtained by The Washington Post detail how counterterrorism officials inside FBI headquarters did not follow their own procedures that were put in place to protect civil liberties. The stream of urgent requests for phone records also overwhelmed the FBI communications analysis unit with work that ultimately was not connected to imminent threats.
A Justice Department inspector general's report due out this month is expected to conclude that the FBI frequently violated the law with its emergency requests, bureau officials confirmed..."
Plastics:
The Washington Post: Reversing itself, FDA expresses concerns over health risks from BPA
"The Food and Drug Administration has reversed its position on the safety of Bisphenol A, a chemical found in plastic bottles, soda cans, food containers and thousands of consumer goods, saying it now has concerns about health risks.
Growing scientific evidence has linked the chemical to a host of problems, including cancer, sexual dysfunction and heart disease. Federal officials said they are particularly concerned about BPA's effect on the development of fetuses, infants and young children.
'We have some concern, which leads us to recommend reasonable steps the public can take to reduce exposure to BPA,' said Joshua Sharfstein, FDA's deputy commissioner, in a conference call to reporters Friday..."
Afghanistan:
McClatchy Newspapers: U.S. spending in Afghanistan plagued by poor U.S. oversight
"The U.S. has spent more than $732 million to improve Afghanistan's electrical grid since 2002, but delays and rising costs have plagued many of the projects in part because of poor oversight by the American government, a watchdog agency reports.
Of six projects under way in 2009, only one has been completed on time.
In the report released Friday, auditors with the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction blamed poor communication between U.S. officials and the two companies that are working on the majority of the projects."
So-Called 'Non-Lethal' Weapons:
Defense News: A Cannon 'Stun Gun'
"An Israeli-developed shock wave cannon used by farmers to scare away crop-threatening birds could soon be available to police and homeland security forces around the world for nonlethal crowd control and perimeter defense.
Israel's Ministry of Defense recently approved a license for ArmyTec, a Netanya, Israel, technology development advisory firm, to market military and paramilitary versions of the Thunder Generator cannon...
...If fired at less than 10 meters, the Thunder Generator could be lethal or inflict permanent damage, Fridman said. But when employed as intended at ranges of 30 meters or more, test data show that the shock waves will pass through people and objects without any lasting effects.
'Anyone within 30 to 50 meters from the cannon will feel like he's standing in front of a firing squad,' he said. "He'll feel and hear the blast, but he won't be hurled to the ground. He'll be able to run away unharmed … and that's the point of this application,'..."
Jim Hightower: Reining-In The Gods Of The Fed
"...'The Fed,' a hydra-headed creature of enormous power, which it exercises from within the midst of a marble cavern in Washington that is unapproachable by commoners.
The Fed is the Federal Reserve, which is a private, for-profit bank that is run by and mostly for other big bankers. But it's also its own, secretive branch of our national government – the Fed creates its own money, it sets our interest rates, it regulates Wall Street, and – as we've recently learned the hard way – it bails out Wall Street.
The Fed operates largely beyond the purview of Congress or even the White House, and both the media and the public are essentially shut out from scrutinizing its financial machinations. The banking gods who dwell within the Fed's temple are said to have knowledge, even wisdom, that the rest of us cannot fathom, so they must be left alone to make their decisions.
But, wait – aren't these the same omniscient gods that failed to see – much less forestall – the looming financial disaster that Wall Street finaglers were building atop a very shaky housing market? Yes, the Fed gods were so intoxicated with the fumes of their own conventional wisdom that they failed abjectly as regulators, as public servants – and, most certainly, as gods..."
Crooks & Liars Video Cafe: Naomi Klein and Spitzer Shoot Down Frum's Arguments About Stifling 'Creativity' on Wall Street
"While discussing what needs to be done to fix Wall Street, David Frum expresses his concern for throttling 'the creativity of the system'. As Naomi Klein and Eliot Spitzer point out to him, it was exactly that 'creativity' that got us into the mess we're in now..."
Domestic Surveillance:
The Washington Post: FBI broke law for years in phone record searches
"The FBI illegally collected more than 2,000 U.S. telephone call records between 2002 and 2006 by invoking terrorism emergencies that did not exist or simply persuading phone companies to provide records, according to internal bureau memos and interviews. FBI officials issued approvals after the fact to justify their actions.
E-mails obtained by The Washington Post detail how counterterrorism officials inside FBI headquarters did not follow their own procedures that were put in place to protect civil liberties. The stream of urgent requests for phone records also overwhelmed the FBI communications analysis unit with work that ultimately was not connected to imminent threats.
A Justice Department inspector general's report due out this month is expected to conclude that the FBI frequently violated the law with its emergency requests, bureau officials confirmed..."
Plastics:
The Washington Post: Reversing itself, FDA expresses concerns over health risks from BPA
"The Food and Drug Administration has reversed its position on the safety of Bisphenol A, a chemical found in plastic bottles, soda cans, food containers and thousands of consumer goods, saying it now has concerns about health risks.
Growing scientific evidence has linked the chemical to a host of problems, including cancer, sexual dysfunction and heart disease. Federal officials said they are particularly concerned about BPA's effect on the development of fetuses, infants and young children.
'We have some concern, which leads us to recommend reasonable steps the public can take to reduce exposure to BPA,' said Joshua Sharfstein, FDA's deputy commissioner, in a conference call to reporters Friday..."
Afghanistan:
McClatchy Newspapers: U.S. spending in Afghanistan plagued by poor U.S. oversight
"The U.S. has spent more than $732 million to improve Afghanistan's electrical grid since 2002, but delays and rising costs have plagued many of the projects in part because of poor oversight by the American government, a watchdog agency reports.
Of six projects under way in 2009, only one has been completed on time.
In the report released Friday, auditors with the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction blamed poor communication between U.S. officials and the two companies that are working on the majority of the projects."
So-Called 'Non-Lethal' Weapons:
Defense News: A Cannon 'Stun Gun'
"An Israeli-developed shock wave cannon used by farmers to scare away crop-threatening birds could soon be available to police and homeland security forces around the world for nonlethal crowd control and perimeter defense.
Israel's Ministry of Defense recently approved a license for ArmyTec, a Netanya, Israel, technology development advisory firm, to market military and paramilitary versions of the Thunder Generator cannon...
...If fired at less than 10 meters, the Thunder Generator could be lethal or inflict permanent damage, Fridman said. But when employed as intended at ranges of 30 meters or more, test data show that the shock waves will pass through people and objects without any lasting effects.
'Anyone within 30 to 50 meters from the cannon will feel like he's standing in front of a firing squad,' he said. "He'll feel and hear the blast, but he won't be hurled to the ground. He'll be able to run away unharmed … and that's the point of this application,'..."
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Don't Like Your Competition? Buy Them...
CoPIRG: Stop the Ticketmaster merger
"Ticketmaster wants to merge with Live Nation (Ticketmaster's leading competitor), meaning that most of the tickets we could buy would be coming from the new mega-ticket conglomerate.
Ticketmaster already adds around 30% to the cost of a ticket in junk fees. And from past experience we know that the less competition, the worse these guys get with their handling, processing and other nonsense fees..."
Haiti:
Democracy Now! - Naomi Klein Issues Haiti Disaster Capitalism Alert: Stop Them Before They Shock Again
"...NAOMI KLEIN: But as I write about in The Shock Doctrine, crises are often used now as the pretext for pushing through policies that you cannot push through under times of stability. Countries in periods of extreme crisis are desperate for any kind of aid, any kind of money, and are not in a position to negotiate fairly the terms of that exchange.
And I just want to pause for a second and read you something, which is pretty extraordinary. I just put this up on my website. The headline is 'Haiti: Stop Them Before They Shock Again.' This went up a few hours ago, three hours ago, I believe, on the Heritage Foundation website.
'Amidst the Suffering, Crisis in Haiti Offers Opportunities to the U.S. In addition to providing immediate humanitarian assistance, the U.S. response to the tragic earthquake in Haiti earthquake offers opportunities to re-shape Haiti’s long-dysfunctional government and
economy as well as to improve the image of the United States in the region.'
And then goes on.
Now, I don’t know whether things are improving or not, because it took the Heritage Foundation thirteen days before they issued thirty-two free market solutions for Hurricane Katrina. We put that document up on our website, as well. It was close down the housing projects, turn the Gulf Coast into a tax-free free enterprise zone, get rid of the labor laws that forces contractors to pay a living wage. Yeah, so it took them thirteen days before they did that in the case of Katrina. In the case of Haiti, they didn’t even wait twenty-four hours.
Now, why I say I don’t know whether it’s improving or not is that two hours ago they took this down. So somebody told them that it wasn’t couth. And then they put up something that was much more delicate. Fortunately, the investigative reporters at Democracy Now! managed to find that earlier document in a Google cache..."
Peter Hallward: Our role in Haiti's plight
"...Ever since the US invaded and occupied the country in 1915, every serious political attempt to allow Haiti's people to move (in former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide's phrase) 'from absolute misery to a dignified poverty' has been violently and deliberately blocked by the US government and some of its allies.
Aristide's own government (elected by some 75% of the electorate) was the latest victim of such interference, when it was overthrown by an internationally sponsored coup in 2004 that killed several thousand people and left much of the population smouldering in resentment. The UN has subsequently maintained a large and enormously expensive stabilisation and pacification force in the country.
Haiti is now a country where, according to the best available study, around 75% of the population 'lives on less than $2 per day, and 56% – four and a half million people – live on less than $1 per day'. Decades of neoliberal 'adjustment' and neo-imperial intervention have robbed its government of any significant capacity to invest in its people or to regulate its economy. Punitive international trade and financial arrangements ensure that such destitution and impotence will remain a structural fact of Haitian life for the foreseeable future..."
Internet:
Slashdot: Your Rights Online | Tynt Insight Is Watching You Cut and Paste
"In recent weeks I've noticed that when I copy and paste text from Wired and other websites, the pasted text has had the URL of the original website appended to it. Cool, and utterly annoying, and how do I make that stop? Tynt Insight is a piece of Javascript that sends what you copy to Tynt's webservers and adds the backlinks. Tynt calls that a service for the site owner, many people call that a privacy invasion. Worse, there are some reports that it sends not just what you copy, but everything you select. And Tynt provides no opt outs. Not cookie-based, not IP-based, but stop-it-you-creeps-angry-phone-call-based. It ain't a pure useful service, and it ain't a pure privacy invasion. But I sure wish they'd go away or have had the decency never to start up in the first place. I block it on Firefox with Ghostery..."
CoPIRG: Stop the Ticketmaster merger
"Ticketmaster wants to merge with Live Nation (Ticketmaster's leading competitor), meaning that most of the tickets we could buy would be coming from the new mega-ticket conglomerate.
Ticketmaster already adds around 30% to the cost of a ticket in junk fees. And from past experience we know that the less competition, the worse these guys get with their handling, processing and other nonsense fees..."
Haiti:
Democracy Now! - Naomi Klein Issues Haiti Disaster Capitalism Alert: Stop Them Before They Shock Again
"...NAOMI KLEIN: But as I write about in The Shock Doctrine, crises are often used now as the pretext for pushing through policies that you cannot push through under times of stability. Countries in periods of extreme crisis are desperate for any kind of aid, any kind of money, and are not in a position to negotiate fairly the terms of that exchange.
And I just want to pause for a second and read you something, which is pretty extraordinary. I just put this up on my website. The headline is 'Haiti: Stop Them Before They Shock Again.' This went up a few hours ago, three hours ago, I believe, on the Heritage Foundation website.
'Amidst the Suffering, Crisis in Haiti Offers Opportunities to the U.S. In addition to providing immediate humanitarian assistance, the U.S. response to the tragic earthquake in Haiti earthquake offers opportunities to re-shape Haiti’s long-dysfunctional government and
economy as well as to improve the image of the United States in the region.'
And then goes on.
Now, I don’t know whether things are improving or not, because it took the Heritage Foundation thirteen days before they issued thirty-two free market solutions for Hurricane Katrina. We put that document up on our website, as well. It was close down the housing projects, turn the Gulf Coast into a tax-free free enterprise zone, get rid of the labor laws that forces contractors to pay a living wage. Yeah, so it took them thirteen days before they did that in the case of Katrina. In the case of Haiti, they didn’t even wait twenty-four hours.
Now, why I say I don’t know whether it’s improving or not is that two hours ago they took this down. So somebody told them that it wasn’t couth. And then they put up something that was much more delicate. Fortunately, the investigative reporters at Democracy Now! managed to find that earlier document in a Google cache..."
Peter Hallward: Our role in Haiti's plight
"...Ever since the US invaded and occupied the country in 1915, every serious political attempt to allow Haiti's people to move (in former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide's phrase) 'from absolute misery to a dignified poverty' has been violently and deliberately blocked by the US government and some of its allies.
Aristide's own government (elected by some 75% of the electorate) was the latest victim of such interference, when it was overthrown by an internationally sponsored coup in 2004 that killed several thousand people and left much of the population smouldering in resentment. The UN has subsequently maintained a large and enormously expensive stabilisation and pacification force in the country.
Haiti is now a country where, according to the best available study, around 75% of the population 'lives on less than $2 per day, and 56% – four and a half million people – live on less than $1 per day'. Decades of neoliberal 'adjustment' and neo-imperial intervention have robbed its government of any significant capacity to invest in its people or to regulate its economy. Punitive international trade and financial arrangements ensure that such destitution and impotence will remain a structural fact of Haitian life for the foreseeable future..."
Internet:
Slashdot: Your Rights Online | Tynt Insight Is Watching You Cut and Paste
"In recent weeks I've noticed that when I copy and paste text from Wired and other websites, the pasted text has had the URL of the original website appended to it. Cool, and utterly annoying, and how do I make that stop? Tynt Insight is a piece of Javascript that sends what you copy to Tynt's webservers and adds the backlinks. Tynt calls that a service for the site owner, many people call that a privacy invasion. Worse, there are some reports that it sends not just what you copy, but everything you select. And Tynt provides no opt outs. Not cookie-based, not IP-based, but stop-it-you-creeps-angry-phone-call-based. It ain't a pure useful service, and it ain't a pure privacy invasion. But I sure wish they'd go away or have had the decency never to start up in the first place. I block it on Firefox with Ghostery..."
Monday, January 11, 2010
The So-Called War On Terror:
Apparently, a good dose of fear is just what the bottom line of the Military Industrial Complex needed. I'm guessing there's a different (read: lower) safety standard for 'security devices' than 'medical devices.'
St. Petersburg Times (FL) L-3 Communications of Pinellas gets $165 million contract for body scanners
"A defense contractor that builds body-imaging scanners at a St. Petersburg plant is positioned to sell Uncle Sam hundreds of machines for U.S. airports after the Christmas bomb scare on a Northwest Airlines flight approaching Detroit.
The Transportation Security Administration last week awarded a contract to L-3 Communications to buy up to $165 million worth of its ProVision scanners. The devices scan air travelers' bodies and generate X-ray-like images that can reveal weapons hidden under clothes..."
The Bankster Bailout:
Democracy Now! - Headlines for January 08, 2010
"Geithner-Led New York Fed Tried to Hide AIG Payments
Newly disclosed emails show the Federal Reserve Bank of New York asked the bailed-out insurance giant AIG to hide details on the billions of dollars it paid to banks at the height of the financial meltdown. In what some have called the 'backdoor bailout,' AIG gave nearly $13 billion to Goldman Sachs and tens of billions more to other firms, including Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and several foreign banks. The newly revealed emails show the New York Fed deleted a reference in an AIG regulatory filing documenting payments to Goldman Sachs and the French bank Societe Generale. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was the head of the New York Fed at the time. In a statement, the Treasury Department said Geithner had played 'no role' in the AIG secrecy..."
Protect The Brand At All Cost:
WalMart did something uncharitable? (look surprised!)
They could have just removed the labels and/or marked them as 'irregular,' and donated them to a clothing drive or a thift store.
Yahoo! - H&M and Wal-Mart destroy and trash unsold goods
"This week the New York Times reported a disheartening story about two of the largest retail chains. You see, instead of taking unsold items to sample sales or donating them to people in need, H&M and Wal-Mart have been throwing them out in giant trash bags. And in the case that someone may stumble on these bags and try to keep or re-sell the items, these companies have gone ahead and slashed up garments, cut off the sleeves of coats, and sliced holes in shoes so they are unwearable..."
Apparently, a good dose of fear is just what the bottom line of the Military Industrial Complex needed. I'm guessing there's a different (read: lower) safety standard for 'security devices' than 'medical devices.'
St. Petersburg Times (FL) L-3 Communications of Pinellas gets $165 million contract for body scanners
"A defense contractor that builds body-imaging scanners at a St. Petersburg plant is positioned to sell Uncle Sam hundreds of machines for U.S. airports after the Christmas bomb scare on a Northwest Airlines flight approaching Detroit.
The Transportation Security Administration last week awarded a contract to L-3 Communications to buy up to $165 million worth of its ProVision scanners. The devices scan air travelers' bodies and generate X-ray-like images that can reveal weapons hidden under clothes..."
The Bankster Bailout:
Democracy Now! - Headlines for January 08, 2010
"Geithner-Led New York Fed Tried to Hide AIG Payments
Newly disclosed emails show the Federal Reserve Bank of New York asked the bailed-out insurance giant AIG to hide details on the billions of dollars it paid to banks at the height of the financial meltdown. In what some have called the 'backdoor bailout,' AIG gave nearly $13 billion to Goldman Sachs and tens of billions more to other firms, including Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and several foreign banks. The newly revealed emails show the New York Fed deleted a reference in an AIG regulatory filing documenting payments to Goldman Sachs and the French bank Societe Generale. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was the head of the New York Fed at the time. In a statement, the Treasury Department said Geithner had played 'no role' in the AIG secrecy..."
Protect The Brand At All Cost:
WalMart did something uncharitable? (look surprised!)
They could have just removed the labels and/or marked them as 'irregular,' and donated them to a clothing drive or a thift store.
Yahoo! - H&M and Wal-Mart destroy and trash unsold goods
"This week the New York Times reported a disheartening story about two of the largest retail chains. You see, instead of taking unsold items to sample sales or donating them to people in need, H&M and Wal-Mart have been throwing them out in giant trash bags. And in the case that someone may stumble on these bags and try to keep or re-sell the items, these companies have gone ahead and slashed up garments, cut off the sleeves of coats, and sliced holes in shoes so they are unwearable..."
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Health:
AP: Solution to killer superbug found in Norway
"...Twenty-five years ago, Norwegians were also losing their lives to this bacteria. But Norway's public health system fought back with an aggressive program that made it the most infection-free country in the world. A key part of that program was cutting back severely on the use of antibiotics.
Now a spate of new studies from around the world prove that Norway's model can be replicated with extraordinary success, and public health experts are saying these deaths — 19,000 in the U.S. each year alone, more than from AIDS — are unnecessary.
'It's a very sad situation that in some places so many are dying from this, because we have shown here in Norway that Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can be controlled, and with not too much effort,' said Jan Hendrik-Binder, Oslo's MRSA medical adviser. 'But you have to take it seriously, you have to give it attention, and you must not give up.'
The World Health Organization says antibiotic resistance is one of the leading public health threats on the planet. A six-month investigation by The Associated Press found overuse and misuse of medicines has led to mutations in once curable diseases like tuberculosis and malaria, making them harder and in some cases impossible to treat.
Now, in Norway's simple solution, there's a glimmer of hope..."
Goons For Hire At Taxpayer Expense
The truly sick twist is that by using contractors, the Administration can continue to say that U.S. forces 'do not operate in Pakistan.'
Vanity Fair: Adam Ciralsky on Blackwater
"...last February, Prince mounted an expensive rebranding campaign. Following the infamous ValuJet crash, in 1996, ValuJet disappeared into AirTran, after a merger, and moved on to a happy new life. Prince, likewise, decided to retire the Blackwater name and replace it with the name Xe, short for Xenon—an inert, non-combustible gas that, in keeping with his political leanings, sits on the far right of the periodic table. Still, Prince and other top company officials continued to use the name Blackwater among themselves. And as events would soon prove, the company’s reputation would remain as combustible as ever..."
AP: Solution to killer superbug found in Norway
"...Twenty-five years ago, Norwegians were also losing their lives to this bacteria. But Norway's public health system fought back with an aggressive program that made it the most infection-free country in the world. A key part of that program was cutting back severely on the use of antibiotics.
Now a spate of new studies from around the world prove that Norway's model can be replicated with extraordinary success, and public health experts are saying these deaths — 19,000 in the U.S. each year alone, more than from AIDS — are unnecessary.
'It's a very sad situation that in some places so many are dying from this, because we have shown here in Norway that Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can be controlled, and with not too much effort,' said Jan Hendrik-Binder, Oslo's MRSA medical adviser. 'But you have to take it seriously, you have to give it attention, and you must not give up.'
The World Health Organization says antibiotic resistance is one of the leading public health threats on the planet. A six-month investigation by The Associated Press found overuse and misuse of medicines has led to mutations in once curable diseases like tuberculosis and malaria, making them harder and in some cases impossible to treat.
Now, in Norway's simple solution, there's a glimmer of hope..."
Goons For Hire At Taxpayer Expense
The truly sick twist is that by using contractors, the Administration can continue to say that U.S. forces 'do not operate in Pakistan.'
Vanity Fair: Adam Ciralsky on Blackwater
"...last February, Prince mounted an expensive rebranding campaign. Following the infamous ValuJet crash, in 1996, ValuJet disappeared into AirTran, after a merger, and moved on to a happy new life. Prince, likewise, decided to retire the Blackwater name and replace it with the name Xe, short for Xenon—an inert, non-combustible gas that, in keeping with his political leanings, sits on the far right of the periodic table. Still, Prince and other top company officials continued to use the name Blackwater among themselves. And as events would soon prove, the company’s reputation would remain as combustible as ever..."
Friday, January 01, 2010
The Fourth Estate:
Your media: watchdog or lapdog?
Indy Week: Project Censored: The top 10 stories not brought to you by mainstream news media in 2009: What did you miss this year?
"...Every year since 1976, Project Censored has spotlighted the 25 most significant news stories that were largely ignored or misrepresented by the mainstream press. Now the group is expanding its mission—to promote alternative news sources. But it continues to report the biggest national and international stories that the major media ignored.
The term 'censored' doesn't mean some government agent stood over newsrooms with a rubber stamp and forbade the publication of the news, or even that the information was completely out of the public eye. The stories Project Censored highlights may have run in one or two news outlets but didn't get the type of attention they deserved.
The project staff begins by sifting through hundreds of stories nominated by individuals at Sonoma State, where the project is based, as well as 30 affiliated universities all over the country.
Articles are verified, fact-checked and selected by a team of students, faculty and evaluators from the wider community, then sent to a panel of national judges to be ranked. The end product is a book, co-edited this year by Phillips and Associate Director Mickey Huff, which summarizes the top stories, provides in-depth media analysis and includes resources for readers who are hungry for more substantive reporting.
Project Censored doesn't just expose gaping holes in the news brought to you by the likes of Fox, CNN or USA Today, it also shines a light on less prominent but more incisive alternative-media sources serving up in-depth investigations and watchdog reports...
1. CONGRESS SELLS OUT TO WALL STREET...
2. DE FACTO SEGREGATION DEEPENING IN PUBLIC EDUCATION...
3. SOMALI PIRATES: THE UNTOLD STORY...
4. NORTH CAROLINA'S NUCLEAR NIGHTMARE...
5. U.S. FAILS TO PROTECT CONSUMERS AGAINST TOXICS...
6. AS ECONOMY SHRINKS, D.C. LOBBYING GROWS...
7. OBAMA'S CONTROVERSIAL DEFENSE APPOINTEES...
8. BIG BUSINESS CHEATS THE IRS...
9. U.S. CONNECTED TO WHITE PHOSPHOROUS STRIKES IN GAZA...
10. ECUADOR SAYS IT WON'T PAY ILLEGITIMATE DEBT..."
Road Safety:
In cases where some of the people are just too dumb, the state makes a law...
Wired.com In Quebec, Fines For Drivers Without Snow Tires
"...90 percent of Quebec drivers used winter tires before the law. The 10-percenters who don’t were responsible for 38 percent of wintertime accidents..."
Efficient Transportation:
Sadly, not an engine we'll see here. Sounds like a perfect mill for a smaller VW like a Polo, too.
Autoblog Green: New 99 g/km Audi 1.6 TDI now available for order in the UK
"...The newest A3 features the VW group's latest 1.6-liter common rail injected four cylinder diesel powerplant. In the A3, this engine combines with several other tweaks – including brake energy regeneration and automatic start-stop – to get a CO2 rating of just 99 g/km and mileage of 61.9 mpg (U.S.) on the EU combined cycle..."
Your media: watchdog or lapdog?
Indy Week: Project Censored: The top 10 stories not brought to you by mainstream news media in 2009: What did you miss this year?
"...Every year since 1976, Project Censored has spotlighted the 25 most significant news stories that were largely ignored or misrepresented by the mainstream press. Now the group is expanding its mission—to promote alternative news sources. But it continues to report the biggest national and international stories that the major media ignored.
The term 'censored' doesn't mean some government agent stood over newsrooms with a rubber stamp and forbade the publication of the news, or even that the information was completely out of the public eye. The stories Project Censored highlights may have run in one or two news outlets but didn't get the type of attention they deserved.
The project staff begins by sifting through hundreds of stories nominated by individuals at Sonoma State, where the project is based, as well as 30 affiliated universities all over the country.
Articles are verified, fact-checked and selected by a team of students, faculty and evaluators from the wider community, then sent to a panel of national judges to be ranked. The end product is a book, co-edited this year by Phillips and Associate Director Mickey Huff, which summarizes the top stories, provides in-depth media analysis and includes resources for readers who are hungry for more substantive reporting.
Project Censored doesn't just expose gaping holes in the news brought to you by the likes of Fox, CNN or USA Today, it also shines a light on less prominent but more incisive alternative-media sources serving up in-depth investigations and watchdog reports...
1. CONGRESS SELLS OUT TO WALL STREET...
2. DE FACTO SEGREGATION DEEPENING IN PUBLIC EDUCATION...
3. SOMALI PIRATES: THE UNTOLD STORY...
4. NORTH CAROLINA'S NUCLEAR NIGHTMARE...
5. U.S. FAILS TO PROTECT CONSUMERS AGAINST TOXICS...
6. AS ECONOMY SHRINKS, D.C. LOBBYING GROWS...
7. OBAMA'S CONTROVERSIAL DEFENSE APPOINTEES...
8. BIG BUSINESS CHEATS THE IRS...
9. U.S. CONNECTED TO WHITE PHOSPHOROUS STRIKES IN GAZA...
10. ECUADOR SAYS IT WON'T PAY ILLEGITIMATE DEBT..."
Road Safety:
In cases where some of the people are just too dumb, the state makes a law...
Wired.com In Quebec, Fines For Drivers Without Snow Tires
"...90 percent of Quebec drivers used winter tires before the law. The 10-percenters who don’t were responsible for 38 percent of wintertime accidents..."
Efficient Transportation:
Sadly, not an engine we'll see here. Sounds like a perfect mill for a smaller VW like a Polo, too.
Autoblog Green: New 99 g/km Audi 1.6 TDI now available for order in the UK
"...The newest A3 features the VW group's latest 1.6-liter common rail injected four cylinder diesel powerplant. In the A3, this engine combines with several other tweaks – including brake energy regeneration and automatic start-stop – to get a CO2 rating of just 99 g/km and mileage of 61.9 mpg (U.S.) on the EU combined cycle..."
