Russian parliament to consider federal anti-gay law | World news | guardian.co.uk
Friday, November 30, 2012
Former lawmakers exit Congress, head to K Street
The revolving door in Washington is alive and well. Politicians know that they can cash in simply by being a member of Congress. It's why nothing ever gets done they are too busy running after the cash. Washington is all about the money chase. The people be damned:
It’s that time of year again in Washington, when congressmen who once ran for office calling for change inside the Beltway are heading straight to K Street.
Retiring Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) will join Duke Energy early next year as senior vice president of federal affairs. Rep. Jason Altmire, a Pennsylvania Democrat who lost his primary, is joining insurer Florida Blue as a government affairs executive. Rep. Geoff Davis (R-Ky.), who resigned July 31, will form a public affairs firm, Republic Consulting, with lobbyist Hunter Bates.
So much for closing the revolving door.
Blind China activist's nephew gets three years in jail
Blind China activist's nephew gets three years in jail - Yahoo! News
Chen Guangfu had filed a lawsuit against local police and officials for unlawfully barging into his house but it was rejected.
He said about 20 men led by a local official went to his home and beat his wife and son. Around this time his son took a kitchen knife and slashed three officials.
Chen Guangcheng's escape from house arrest in April and subsequent refuge in the U.S. embassy was deeply embarrassing for China, and led to a serious diplomatic tussle between the two superpowers.
Chen had accused Shandong officials in 2005 of forcing women to have late-term abortions and sterilizations to comply with China's strict family-planning policies.
After four years in jail on what he and his supporters say were trumped-up charges designed to end his activism, Chen was released in 2010 and put under house arrest in Shandong.
Strauss-Kahn, NY maid settle assault case for '$6 million'
Strauss-Kahn, NY maid settle assault case for '$6 million' - FRANCE - FRANCE 24
- Will the press apologize to this woman for smearing her reputation? We know the answer. Then again it's typical in high profile cases. An accuser, if she is a woman, is victimized a second time.
Report: Wright, Mets agree to $138M, 8-year deal
Report: Wright, Mets agree to $138M, 8-year deal | CNS News
- This is an obscene amount of money for a player. But it has become standard practice. This is the reason you can't take the family to the ballgame without spending a fortune. Free agency in professional sports is out of control. Disclaimer: I'm a Mets fan.
Shooting of Florida 17-year-old at gas station draws comparisons to Trayvon Martin case
We can thank the NRA for this. If you have a gun gotta be able to use it, one way or the other. And why not use it against a "minority."
The fatal shooting of a Florida teenager who was listening to loud music in a car a week ago has drawn comparisons to the Trayvon Martin case, but the differences are significant.
Unlike the Martin case, there were several witnesses to this shooting and there was no scuffle before 17-year-old Jordan Davis was shot to death. And notably, the man accused of firing into the car was arrested a day later.
Michael David Dunn is charged with murder and attempted murder in the Nov. 23 shooting at a Jacksonville, Fla., gas station. The 45-year-old Dunn parked beside the sport utility vehicle occupied by Davis and three other young men and told them to turn the music down, police said. Dunn exchanged words with Davis, who was in the back seat, and started firing. He later told police he felt threatened. His attorney has said Dunn saw a gun and shot in self-defense, perhaps laying the ground work for a case under Florida's "stand your ground" law.
Russian court bans 'extremist' Pussy Riot video from websites
We are watching Russia descend into a despotic regime reminiscent of the old Soviet system. And it seems no one can stop it. Although, some are courageous enough to try. Of course, the political cowards in the West will standby and allow it to happen. The implications are very dangerous for world peace:
A Russian court ruled Thursday that video footage of the Pussy Riot punk group protesting against President Vladimir Putin in a church was "extremist" and should be removed from websites.
The demonstration last February offended many Russian Orthodox Christians. But Putin has been criticized by U.S. and European leaders over what they saw as disproportionate jail sentences imposed on three Pussy Riot members.
Their trial was also seen by Putin's critics as part of a clampdown on dissent.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Fast-food workers protest for a living wage in New York City
This is only the beginning. We are no longer going to accept being given poor pay with no benefits. First there was the Walmart boycott now this. We ain't going to take it any longer. And we demand a raise in the minimum wage. Are you listening Obama?
Workers from a number of fast food chains around New York City held walkouts and demonstrations calling for a living wage Thursday morning.Video streaming by Ustream
According to The Atlantic, the protests, part of the Fast Food Forward campaign, were organized by groups like New York Communities for Change (NYCC), Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and community organizations in a push to get them to form a union.
The impetus for the campaign, said NYCC organizing director Jonathan Westin, was his group’s discovering that most employees at companies like Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken couldn’t cover basic necessities like transit fare or food, or even to be able to make their rent making the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, forcing them to rely on public assistance.
Senate backs quicker withdrawal from Afghanistan
How ironic is this. It's President Obama that wants to keep troops in Afghanistan for a longer time than the "war mongering" Republicans. And this who the anti-war left continues to support. What these fools don't understand is that those troops in Afghanistan a mere pawns. There aren't enough American soldiers in Afghanistan to prevent the Taliban from coming to power. This means our troops are there just to die before they are taken out. The U.S. government is not committed to winning. So why are we there for 1 more year?:
Reflecting a war-weary nation, the Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday for an accelerated withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan after more than a decade of fighting.
The strong bipartisan vote of 62-33 sends a clear message to President Barack Obama and the military as they engage in high-stakes talks about the pace of drawing down the 66,000 U.S. troops there, with a White House announcement expected within weeks.
Although the vote was on a nonbinding amendment to a defense policy bill, its significance could not be discounted amid the current discussions.
Thirteen Republicans, including Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, the top GOP lawmaker on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, backed the measure.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., its chief sponsor, argued that al-Qaida is stronger in other parts of the world and that nation-building in Afghanistan has gone off track. His measure endorsed Obama's timetable to withdraw all combat troops by the end of 2014 but pressed for a quicker pace, without specifying how that would be achieved.
"It is time to end this war, end the longest war in United States history," Merkley said during Senate debate.
UN vote recognizes state of Palestine; US objects
The lap dogs of the pro-Israel in Congress of course will oppose Palestinian statehood in any form. That's if they know whats good for them. No one remain in Congress very long if they dare challenge the most powerful lobby in Washington:
The United Nations voted overwhelmingly Thursday to recognize a Palestinian state, a victory decades in the making for the Palestinians after years of occupation and war. It was a sharp rebuke for Israel and the United States.
A Palestinian flag was quickly unfurled on the floor of the General Assembly, behind the Palestinian delegation, as the final vote was cast.
In an extraordinary lineup of international support, more than two-thirds of the world body's 193 member states approved the resolution upgrading the Palestinians to a nonmember observer state. It passed 138-9, with 41 abstentions.
The historic vote came 65 years to the day after the U.N. General Assembly voted in 1947 to divide Palestine into two states, one for Jews and one for Arabs. Israel became a state but the Palestinians rejected the partition plan, and decades of tension and violence have followed.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Video: Small town bank puts people before profits
CATTARAUGUS, N.Y. - We've been telling you a lot this week about trouble at the biggest bank in America. Now we thought we'd tell you about one of the smallest. It has just one office and no drive-up window. Its assets are about $14 million and its profits are barely enough to mention. But as CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds reports, it's never been about making money -- it's about lending it.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Friday, May 11, 2012
Salon: Obama Using the Karl Rove 2004 Playbook
Like his predecessors, Obama will do anything and everything to get re-elected. Many of his followers will go along because they've been brainwashed into believing the 'ends-justifies-the-means' because he is the 'lesser-of-two-evils' argument. And as a result we will get more of the failed policies that have been destroying this country for decades:
Barack Obama’s presidency was born from nothing so much as his repudiation of George W. Bush’s administration — its policies and politics, its style and tone. One of Obama’s most effective 2008 stump speech refrains was his promise to end the era of “Scooter Libby justice, ‘Brownie’ incompetence and Karl Rove politics.”Full article
But the political dynamics for winning a second presidential term often differ markedly from winning the first. So don’t be surprised by many eerie parallels between Obama’s 2012 reelection bid and Bush’s 2004 campaign. The president may not rely upon “Karl Rove politics” in the strictest sense, and nobody would confuse David Axelrod with Rove. But Obama’s reelection route and rhetoric may bear more than a few Rovian hallmarks.
The 'GlobalMay manifesto' of the Occupy movement
We are living in a world controlled by forces incapable of giving freedom and dignity to the world's population. A world where we are told "there is no alternative" to the loss of rights gained through the long, hard struggles of our ancestors, and where success is defined in opposition to the most fundamental values of humanity, such as solidarity and mutual support. Moreover, anything that does not promote competitiveness, selfishness and greed is seen as dysfunctional.
But we have not remained silent! From Tunisia to Tahrir Square, Madrid to Reykjavik, New York to Brussels, people are rising up to denounce the status quo. Our effort states "enough!", and has begun to push changes forward, worldwide.
This is why we are uniting once again to make our voices heard all over the world this 12 May.
We condemn the current distribution of economic resources whereby only a tiny minority escape poverty and insecurity, and future generations are condemned to a poisoned legacy thanks to the environmental crimes of the rich and powerful. "Democratic" political systems, where they exist, have been emptied of meaning, put to the service of those few interested in increasing the power of corporations and financial institutions.
The current crisis is not a natural accident; it was caused by the greed of those who would bring the world down, with the help of an economics that is no longer about management of the common good, but has become an ideology at the service of financial power.
We have awakened, and not just to complain! We aim to pinpoint the true causes of the crisis, and to propose alternatives.
[...]1. The economy must be put to the service of people's welfare, and to support and serve the environment, not private profit. We want a system where labour is appreciated by its social utility, not its financial or commercial profit. Therefore, we demand:
• Free and universal access to health, education from primary school through higher education and housing for all human beings. We reject outright the privatisation of public services management, and the use of these essential services for private profit.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Poll Shows Americans' Pessimism On Economy Growing
A gloomy outlook on the economy extends across party lines, a new Associated Press-GfK poll has found, and handling the nation's economy remains President Barack Obama's biggest challenge in his bid for a second term.
Almost two-thirds of Americans disapprove of the president's handling of gas prices, a new high. That shift comes despite a steady decline in gas prices in recent weeks.
The public tilts negative on the president's handling of the overall economy, and just 22 percent say the economy improved in the past month.
Muslim Baby Ordered off Plane, Suspected of Being a Terrorist
al Qaeda might have young members. But 18 months old? This case another example of the stupidity of the TSA and the no-fly list. It's outrageous. I hope this family sues:
EIghteen-month-old Riyanna has been called a lot of things: cute, adorable and now ... a suspected terrorist.Full article
She was called that on Tuesday night at the Ft Lauderdale Airport. She and her parents had just boarded a JetBlue flight when an airline employee approached them and asked them to get off the plane, saying representatives from the Transportation Security Agency wanted to speak to them.
ALSO: Man buys candy bar, then steals cash from register
"And I said, 'For what?'" Riyanna's mother told only WPBF 25 News on Wednesday. "And he said, 'Well, it's not you or your husband. Your daughter was flagged as no fly.' I said, 'Excuse me?'"
Riyanna's father was flabbergasted.
"It's absurd," he said. "It made no sense. Why would an 18-month-old child be on a no-fly list?"
Riyanna's parents, who asked not to be identified, said they think they know the answer to that question. They believe they were profiled because they are both of Middle Eastern descent. Riyanna's mother wears a hijab, a traditional head scarf. That's why they have asked to remain anonymous. They said they're concerned about repurcussions. That said, they are both Americans, born and raised in New Jersey, just like their daughter.
U.S. trade gap widens to $51.8 billion in March
The beat goes on. Trade deficits have existed for decades in the U.S. It is what is destroying American jobs and weakens the economy. It is why we don't make anything anymore. But it is also great for corporations that take advantage of cheap labor abroad:
The U.S. trade deficit widened sharply in March as imports snapped back, reversing course after having fallen the prior month, the Commerce Department said Thursday.We know exactly what the trade deficits cost in jobs:
The nation’s deficit expanded 14.1% in March to $51.8 billion from a revised $45.4 billion in February, government data showed.
Nearly 2.8 million U.S. jobs eliminated or displaced since 2001 due to growing U.S.-China trade deficit, EPI analysis finds
The U.S.-China trade deficit has eliminated or displaced nearly 2.8 million U.S. jobs since 2001, a new Economic Policy Institute (EPI) briefing paper finds. Growing U.S. trade deficit with China cost 2.8 million jobs between 2001 and 2010 by Robert Scott, EPI’s Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Research, finds that all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico suffered jobs lost or displaced as a result of the growing U.S.-China trade deficit.
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