Monthly Archives: August 2012

Corporatocracy — No Comments
30
Aug 12

David Koch Breaks From GOP On Gay Marriage, Taxes

That’s why there are no difference between the parties. It’s all about serving the interests of big business:

Billionaire industrialist David Koch, who is helping steer millions of dollars to elect Mitt Romney and congressional Republicans, on Thursday told POLITICO he disagrees with the GOP’s stance on gay marriage and believes the U.S. needs to consider raising taxes to balance the budget.

Koch, who is serving as a delegate to the Republican National Convention from New York, spoke to POLITICO after delivering brief remarks at a reception held in his honor him by Americans for Prosperity, the political advocacy group he chairs and has helped fund.

source: Politico.com

Freedom & Democracy — No Comments
30
Aug 12

Software Meant to Fight Crime Is Used to Spy on Dissidents

And if you think it is only happening in foreign countries I have a bridge to sell you. We’ve already seen how the Occupy has been spied on and harassed. The Obama administration, like his predecessor, has already said that they can spy on or kill any American it deems a threat to national security. Welcome to 21st Century tyranny:

What they found was the widespread use of sophisticated, off-the-shelf computer espionage software by governments with questionable records on human rights. While the software is supposedly sold for use only in criminal investigations, the two came across evidence that it was being used to target political dissidents.

The software proved to be the stuff of a spy film: it can grab images of computer screens, record Skype chats, turn on cameras and microphones and log keystrokes. The two men said they discovered mobile versions of the spyware customized for all major mobile phones.

But what made the software especially sophisticated was how well it avoided detection. Its creators specifically engineered it to elude antivirus software made by Kaspersky Lab, Symantec, F-Secure and others.

The software has been identified as FinSpy, one of the more elusive spyware tools sold in the growing market of off-the-shelf computer surveillance technologies that give governments a sophisticated plug-in monitoring operation. Research now links it to servers in more than a dozen countries, including Turkmenistan, Brunei and Bahrain, although no government acknowledges using the software for surveillance purposes.

Failed Two Party System — No Comments
30
Aug 12

Obama White House Rules out Punishing Bush Administration War Crimes

This was predictable. And it proves, once again, that both parties are not on the side of human rights and democracy:

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced Thursday that no one would be prosecuted for the deaths of a prisoner in Afghanistan in 2002 and another in Iraq in 2003, eliminating the last possibility that any criminal charges will be brought as a result of the brutal interrogations carried out by the C.I.A.

Mr. Holder had already ruled out any charges related to the use of waterboarding and other methods that most human rights experts consider to be torture. His announcement closes a contentious three-year investigation by the Justice Department and brings to an end years of dispute over whether line intelligence or military personnel or their superiors would be held accountable for the abuse of prisoners in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The closing of the two cases means that the Obama administration’s limited effort to scrutinize the counterterrorism programs carried out under President George W. Bush has come to an end. Without elaborating, Mr. Holder suggested that the end of the criminal investigation should not be seen as a moral exoneration of those involved in the prisoners’ treatment and deaths.

Economy — No Comments
30
Aug 12

Economist: “This Is Going To Be A Lot Worse Than 2008″

Disaster is coming. And we are still ignoring the warning signs. The media and political establishment are busy spewing talking points for either Presidential candidate. All the talk is about who’s ahead in the polls. The problems are serious. But they are being swept under the rug until after the election in November:

Noted expert Peter Schiff says the U.S. economy is on the verge of an economic collapse worse than 2008 and is warning investors to take immediate steps to protect themselves.

In a gripping interview on Yahoo Finance, Schiff warns that while any moves the Fed makes could “artificially” bolster the economy – and bring investors false hope that things are turning around – the truth is that the government will only be delaying the “Day of Reckoning.”

“If the Fed ultimately comes through with QE3… it won’t strengthen the economy, but it will weaken the dollar,” Schiff said, noting that Bernanke’s policies will eventually lead to a Greek style debilitating sovereign debt crisis where the dollar plunges and consumer prices and interest rates spike.

“We have a much bigger collapse coming, not just the markets, but of the economy. It’s like what you’re seeing in Europe right now only worse,” Schiff said.

Media — No Comments
30
Aug 12

Obama Reddit ‘Ask Me Anything’ Dodges Popular Questions On Drug War, 9 Other Issues

On occasion the mainstream and left leaning press questions this President. It is rare and refreshing. But it is not enough. Most reporting lately consists of repeating White House talking points. They would of course deny it. Maybe the press doesn’t realize it. They are just being politically correct. Then again they are supposed to ask questions. That is what journalism is all about. Or at least admit you are in the tank for one of the 2 establishment candidates:

One of the most interesting parts of Reddit “Ask Me Anything” threads is that you can see which questions the community most wants answered.

Users pledge their support on questions with an up vote, each worth one point. When Barack Obama participated in his Reddit AMA on Wednesday, he did answer many of the top-voted questions, but by responding to only 10 questions, he also left plenty of popular ones unanswered.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker slammed the drug war during his AMA on Reddit in July. Obama apparently chose to avoid the subject matter, despite the question’s overwhelming popularity.

Elections — No Comments
30
Aug 12

FACT CHECK: Ryan Takes Factual Shortcuts in Speech

Source: ABCNews:

RYAN: “And the biggest, coldest power play of all in Obamacare came at the expense of the elderly. … So they just took it all away from Medicare. Seven hundred and sixteen billion dollars, funneled out of Medicare by President Obama.”

THE FACTS: Ryan’s claim ignores the fact that Ryan himself incorporated the same cuts into budgets he steered through the House in the past two years as chairman of its Budget Committee, using the money for deficit reduction. And the cuts do not affect Medicare recipients directly, but rather reduce payments to hospitals, health insurance plans and other service providers.

In addition, Ryan’s own plan to remake Medicare would squeeze the program’s spending even more than the changes Obama made, shifting future retirees into a system in which they would get a fixed payment to shop for coverage among private insurance plans. Critics charge that would expose the elderly to more out-of-pocket costs.

Citizens United — No Comments
29
Aug 12

Obama Endorses Anti-Citizens United Amendment In Reddit Chat

Why hasn’t spoken on this issue until now? For the same reason he doesn’t talk about raising the minimum wage or restricting the sale of assault rifles:

In answering a question posed to him by a member of the Internet community Reddit, President Barack Obama stated his support for a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, the first time that the president has voiced this position himself.

Health — No Comments
29
Aug 12

West Nile Virus Cases Hit 1,590; Death Toll at 66

Reports of West Nile virus infection in the country now total 1,590, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday — an increase of more than 40 percent in one week alone.

CDC officials also reported during a Wednesday afternoon teleconference that 66 people have died from the disease so far. Of all of the cases reported thus far, 889 — or 56 percent — are classified as neuroinvasive, meaning patients develop meningitis, encephalitis or paralysis.

These figures represent a striking increase from last week’s report of 1,118 cases, 629 of which were neuroinvasive, and 41 deaths.

via West Nile Virus Cases Hit 1,590; Death Toll at 66 – ABC News.

Corporatocracy — No Comments
29
Aug 12

Financier Fred Malek Pulls the Republican Strings Behind the Scenes

This is how our wonderful political system works in America. It is the wealthy corporate CEOs, bankers, and lobbyists that dictate who becomes President. And don’t listen to the hype from Democrats. It works the same way for both parties:

Every Republican who has held the presidency or wanted it in the past four decades has known Fred Malek.

Malek worked for Richard Nixon’s administration, ran the 1988 Republican National Convention that helped catapult George H.W. Bush into the White House and managed the 1992 campaign in which Bush lost that job. He co-owned the Texas Rangers with George W. Bush and served as finance chairman of Arizona Sen. John McCain’s failed 2008 presidential bid.

Now, at 75, the multimillionaire venture capitalist is attending his 10th Republican convention where he will participate in a nearly non-stop swirl of exclusive policy briefings, parties, receptions and luncheons as a top fundraiser for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, as a co-founder of the conservative American Action Network advocacy group and as chairman of one of the Republican Governors Association’s fundraising arms.

Greed and Corruption — No Comments
29
Aug 12

Women Employed by Lawmaker Describe Sexually Hostile Office

Politicians believe they can get away with anything. After all they dupe voters every election cycle. This is true up to a point. They break the law until caught. And even

Vito J. Lopez

then politicians will insist they are innocent. NY State has a long history of corruption. In addition the State legislature here is well known for being dysfunctional. But what we are seeing now is institutionalized corruption. They exist only to serve their corporate masters. After that they behave like Roman emperors. Nothing is too depraved for them. The only question is whether Illinois is more debauched or is it New York. Who cares? We just let it happen and shake our heads:

Five women who worked for Vito J. Lopez, the assemblyman at the center of a growing sexual harassment scandal, described in interviews an atmosphere of sexual pressure and crude language in his office, with frequent unwanted advances by him and others, requests for provocative dress, personal questions about their boyfriends and fears of reprisals if they complained.

By their accounts, Mr. Lopez, a Brooklyn Democrat, told some women not to wear bras to work. He requested they wear short skirts and high heels. He gave them cash to buy jewelry and complimented them on their figures, giving special attention to those he called “well endowed.”

He asked about their personal lives, urging them to break up with boyfriends, and berated those women — all of whom were new to politics — who did not compliment him effusively enough, according to several of the women interviewed.

Greed and Corruption — No Comments
27
Aug 12

Senate Candidate To Lobbyists: We Can’t Survive Without You

The lobbyists rule over the government. And it is why we are headed for ruin. It explains why elections have become essentially meaningless in America. Because the politicians don’t listen to the people just the lobbyists who own them:

Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg has been pounding Democratic Sen. Jon Tester over lobbyist fundraising in

Source: Huffington Post

their tight Senate race, but Rehberg declared last year in a meeting with the influence peddlers that he probably would have chosen their profession over his own if he had been “smart.”

And further, he declared they were not only honorable, but that he could not do his job without them.

Rehberg made those assertions speaking to the Association of Lobbyists in October at an event that was recorded. The recording was forwarded to The Huffington Post by the Tester campaign.

Failed Two Party System — 1 Comment
27
Aug 12

Libertarian Candidate Gary Johnson Happy With His Campaign

Source:

Gary Johnson is serene. Sitting down to a lunch of grilled shrimp and tomato salad at a Latin restaurant in historic Ybor City, the Libertarian Party presidential nominee says his less-government philosophy is gradually spreading across the country and that many pundits and political strategists will be surprised at his showing on election day.

He didn’t make any predictions on exactly how well he will do. But he expressed confidence that his campaign will “exceed expectations,” which could mean that anything upward of 1 or 2 per cent could be considered a successful outcome. The current Rasmussen Reports poll gives President Obama 48 per cent, Republican challenger Mitt Romney 48 per cent, and Johnson 1 per cent. But Johnson says simply being listed by name in the poll is progress.

In any case, he says, a leader needs to be optimistic. “The majority of Americans in this country are fiscally responsible and socially accepting,” which is his own political philosophy, Johnson explains.

Source: http://www.usnews.com

Politics — No Comments
27
Aug 12

Has the tea party ‘sold out’ to the mainstream GOP?

Source: CNN

But Romney’s conservative credentials have long been viewed with suspicion by the movement. So it came as a surprise when, before at least one event, tea party organizers committed what some activists would consider heresy: seeking approval from establishment Republicans to rally.

How much of a damper will Isaac be to convention?

All of it has opened up a once unthinkable charge: the movement that’s rabble-roused and rocked the GOP establishment since 2009 is now too cozy with it.

“The top national groups have already sold out,” said Judd Saul, a prominent Iowa activist associated with the Cedar Valley Tea Party. “They don’t truly represent the grassroots.”

“Even before the caucuses, these guys were all pushing for Romney even when the primaries were going on,” Saul added.

“It’s a pretty widespread (sentiment). A lot of activists have noticed that.”

[...]“I think selling out is too strong,” added Brinkley. “But you can say something to the effect of they’ve tricked the tea party movement into believing they were going to have a meaningful role in the 2012 election.”

Freedom & Democracy — No Comments
27
Aug 12

Tampa Protests Against Corporate Greed

Source:

In what may have been a preview of next week in Charlotte, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets Sunday to march against what they called corporate

Source: CBSNews

greed and to advocate for low-wage workers and an increase in the federal minimum wage.

The Republican National Convention may have been throw off-schedule by the incoming storm, but demonstrators wasted no time getting started.

One of Sunday’s first targets: Bank of America

Some 200 demonstrators gathered in downtown park for an unscheduled protest. After a series of speakers criticized tax cuts for the rich, about half of the group split off and marched across the street to Bank of America plaza.

They carried signs and chanted slogans against the “one percent.” Several demonstrators — armed with crayons and stickers — began pasting and scribbling slogans across the sidewalk and building pillars. One sign read: “You stole our money; we want it back.”

Transcripts — No Comments
26
Aug 12

‘Fareed Zakaria GPS’ Transcript (8-26-12)

Full transcript. Excerpt below:

So what are the bigger forces that will determine this election? Well, the conventional wisdom is that elections are decided by the state of the economy and there’s a lot of truth to this.

But it’s not as simple as you might think. First, what do we mean by the economy, GDP growth rates, a rise in disposable income, job growth? Each of these would yield a different prediction.

But it’s fair to say that if you look largely at economic data, the picture formed is not great for President Obama. Nate Silver of the New York Times, who does invaluable work crunching the numbers, shows, however, that economic data can usually get you only so far in predicting election results.

Continue reading →

Economy — No Comments
26
Aug 12

Food shortages could force world into vegetarianism, warn scientists

Leading water scientists have issued one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, saying that the world’s population may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophic shortages.

Humans derive about 20% of their protein from animal-based products now, but this may need to drop to just 5% to feed the extra 2 billion people expected to be alive by 2050, according to research by some of the world’s leading water scientists.

“There will not be enough water available on current croplands to produce food for the expected 9 billion population in 2050 if we follow current trends and changes towards diets common in western nations,” the report by Malik Falkenmark and colleagues at the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) said.

“There will be just enough water if the proportion of animal-based foods is limited to 5% of total calories and considerable regional water deficits can be met by a … reliable system of food trade.”

Dire warnings of water scarcity limiting food production come as Oxfam and the UN prepare for a possible second global food crisis in five years. Prices for staples such as corn and wheat have risen nearly 50% on international markets since June, triggered by severe droughts in the US and Russia, and weak monsoon rains in Asia. More than 18 million people are already facing serious food shortages across the Sahel.

via Food shortages could force world into vegetarianism, warn scientists | Global development | The Guardian.

Transcripts — No Comments
26
Aug 12

‘FOX News Sunday’ Transcript (8-26-12): Romney

Full Transcript. Excerpt below:

WALLACE: You accused the president of running an angry and desperate campaign. You’ve u — even used the phrase, a campaign of hate.

The president, this week, said, look, we — I’ve pointed out the differences between us on policy.

Where do you see a campaign of hate?

ROMNEY: Well, when the president accuses me of — of being a felon or when his staff does and he doesn’t distance from that. When they have a — a PAC which — which says that I’m responsible for someone’s death and he won’t distance himself from that.

Continue reading →

Transcripts — No Comments
26
Aug 12

‘Meet The Press’ Transcript (8-26-12)

Full Transcript. Excerpt below:

GREGORY: It’s going to be a bit moment. Let me start by asking you about the race. Here we are, you look at our polling, the national race, is a four-point advantage for President Obama but he’s under fifty percent. You said when Mitt Romney chose Paul Ryan, it ensured their victory in November. Why?

FMR. GOV. BUSH: Well, I– what I said was that it was about– it would change the campaign about big things. This should be a campaign of substance and big things rather than distractions and little things. And I think the Ryan choice, of all the people in Washington, he’s the Continue reading →

Solutions — No Comments
26
Aug 12

Interview: Rocky Anderson, Justice Party Presidential Candidate

Source: Truthout (Truth-out.org):

  • Ron Boyer: Why did you decide to create the Justice Party and run for President of the United States? And, perhaps as important: Why now?Rocky Anderson:Our nation has been transformed in extraordinarily tragic ways in the past dozen years. The rule of law has been utterly

    Source: Truth-out.org

    eviscerated during the Bush and Obama administrations. We’ve engaged in wars of aggression, wars for which there has been no coherent explanation. Our debt is completely out of control. We have a military-industrial complex with a stranglehold on our government. And at the core of almost every public policy failure, all we have to do to find an explanation is follow the money, because our Congress and the White House have been purchased lock, stock and barrel by wealthy corporate interests.

    Continue reading →

Failed Two Party System — No Comments
26
Aug 12

Poll: Less Than 50% Think Romney, Obama are “Honest and Trustworthy”

This says it all. The American people think Presidential candidates of both dominant parties are essentially unworthy of the office. So why are 95 percent of us voting for these two turkeys?:

  • 53% of likely voters say Obama cares about the needs of people, with 39% feeling the same way about the former Massachusetts governor.
  • Forty-nine percent say the president is honest and trustworthy, with 42% saying the same thing about Romney.
  • The survey also indicates that 43% say Obama doesn’t change his mind for political reasons, with 39% saying the same thing about Romney.

Source: Sodahead.com

 

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