Time Is Running Out For SOPA Opponents Congressmen Warn At CES 2012

Source: Forbes.com

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) showed up at CES 2012 in Las Vegas to issue a stark warning: we’re running out of time to stop legislation aimed at cracking down on copyright infringement.

That legislation – the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House and the Protect IP Act in the Senate – is intended to clamp down on piracy but is widely believed to go much further, with free speech and censorship ramifications that could have profound consequences on the way the internet works.

“This is a crucial window here for those who want to see the Net come out of this debate without this enormous collateral damage” caused by the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act, Wyden told conference-goers. “We are not prepared to say that this juggernaut for innovation and freedom and citizen empowerment, the Internet, ought to be dealt such a serious body blow in the name of copyright.”

Newt Gingrich Believes his Criticism of Mitt Romney’s Bain Record a Mistake

Obviously someone high up in the Republican Party threatened to banish Gingrich if he didn't stop his attacks on Romney. They want to coalesce around Romney so that he can beat the hated President Obama:

Newt Gingrich signaled Wednesday that he believes his criticism of Mitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital is a mistake — and that he’s created an impression that he was echoing Democratic rhetoric.

Gingrich conceded the problem when pressed by a Rick Santorum supporter at a book signing here Wednesday.

“I’m here to implore one thing of you. I think you’ve missed the target on the way you’re addressing Romney’s weaknesses. I want to beg you to redirect and go after his obvious disingenuousness about his conservatism and lay off the corporatist versus the free market. I think it’s nuanced,” said Dean Glossop, an Army Reservist from Inman, S.C.

“I agree with you,” Gingrich said. “It’s an impossible theme to talk about with Obama in the background. Obama just makes it impossible to talk rationally in that area because he is so deeply into class warfare that automatically you get an echo effect. … I agree with you entirely.”

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Poverty to Keep Rising due to Slow Recovery: Study

It will continue to rise if Obama is re-elected because he can't even utter the word...poverty:

Nearly 10 million more Americans have been driven into poverty since the 2007-2009 recession began, and the number is expected to increase due to the slow pace of the recovery, according to a study released Wednesday by Indiana University.

The study found the number of Americans living in poverty grew to 46.2 million in 2010, up 27 percent from 36.5 million in 2006, the year before the start of the recession. During the same period, the U.S. population increased 3.3 percent.

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Why America's Spies Struggle To Keep Up

NPR.org » Why America's Spies Struggle To Keep Up
After much debate, the ODNI was created — but given almost no authority over the 100,000 or so spies who work for the Pentagon. The result? Essentially two separate spy networks within the intelligence community: the civilians who work for the 16 agencies reporting to the ODNI, and the 100,000 spies at the Pentagon who report to the undersecretary of defense for intelligence.

"They have separate budgets, they report to separate committees, and it is a structural nightmare," says Aid.

In his book Intel Wars, Aid details how overlapping jurisdictions, bureaucratic policies and a glut of data have crippled the intelligence community in its war against would-be terrorists.

Occupy Wall Street is back at Zuccotti Park (Liberty Square)

'We shall not be moved':

About 20 Occupy Wall Street protesters spent the night at New York City's Zuccotti Park after metal barricades surrounding it came down.

The barricades were removed late Tuesday. About 300 cheering protesters began filling the park.

By 6 a.m, about 20 remained, including Chris O'Donnell.

He says three people were arrested for lying down. A police spokesman couldn't immediately confirm any arrests.

Sleeping, tents and sleeping bags have been banned from the park since a Nov. 15 police raid evicted protesters.

On Monday, civil rights groups filed a complaint with the city's buildings department saying the barricades were a violation of city zoning law.

Zuccotti Park is a publicly owned private plaza and is required to be open 24 hours a day.

Up next? Occupy Congress:

Harnessing the considerable power of the Occupy Wall Street movement, protestors from all over the country are being called to participate in "Occupy Congress" next week.  It is the next stage in the widespread public protest that began last September in New York.

On January 17th, an Occupy "Call to Action" urges protestors to convene on the West Front Lawn at Capitol Hill in an effort to bring the movement's message to the doorstep of Congressional lawmakers.

Rallying against corporate greed and corruption, the so-called "99%" will arrive on Martin Luther King's birthday weekend to participate in a day of organized protests. According to the Occupy Congress website, the day's activities will include Teach-ins, an Open Mic, a Multi-Occupation General Assembly, Idea Sharing Sessions, and a DC Voting Rights Vigil.  The day will end with an "OCCUParty."

Report: Iran nuclear scientist killed in car bomb blast

Source:

A nuclear scientist was killed in a blast in a Tehran neighborhood Wednesday morning, an Iranian news agency reported, the latest in a string of attacks against such scientists that Iran has blamed on Israel.

A motorcyclist placed a magnetic bomb under Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan's Peugeot 405, the state-run IRNA news agency said.

The blast wounded two others who were passengers in the car, IRNA said.

State television channel Press TV reported later Wednesday that two people had been killed in the car bombing but did not give more details.

[...]Iranian nuclear physicist Daryoush Rezaie, 35, was killed in an attack last July in front of his Tehran home by assailants on a motorcycle, Iranian media reported.

And on January 12, 2010, Iranian university professor and nuclear scientist Massoud Ali Mohammadi was killed in a blast when an assailant stuck a bomb under his car. Majid Jamali Fashi, an Iranian, reportedly confessed to the bombing and was sentenced to death in August, IRNA reported at the time. Prosecutors accused him of being a spy for Israel, the agency said. Israel does not comment on such claims.

In November 2010, nuclear scientist Majid Shahriari was killed in a blast where, again, a bomb was stuck under a car by someone on a motorcycle.

Video: Hannity tells Perry he sounds like ‘Occupy Wall Street’

Even Republicans are using the language of Occupy Wall Street:

Conservative Governor Haley Barbour Pardons 4 Killers

And this is supposed to be a top Conservative voice in the Republican Party.

In his last days in office, outgoing Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour pardoned four men convicted of murder, a state official said Monday.

David Gatlin, Joseph Ozment, Charles Hooker and Anthony McCray received full pardons and were released at 1 p.m. Sunday, said Suzanne Singletary, spokeswoman for the Mississippi Department of Corrections. All four were serving life sentences and worked as trusties at the governor's mansion, she said.

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Obama and NeoConservatives Turn 'Innocent Until Proven Guilty' On Its Head

If re-elect Obama it is clear that there will continue to be an erosion in our rights. So what was the point of elected Obama if continue the Bush gang's attack on American freedoms? What makes it so bad is that the left that supported Obama in 2008 are willing to give him a pass in 2012 despite his betrayal of their trust:

...very little ink has spilled regarding the Administration’s newly codified authority to suspend certain liberties enshrined in the Bill of Rights.

Defense is one of the few legitimate federal functions. The military may be government’s most effective endeavor. Nonetheless, we do not want our streets subject to martial law; one of the “long train of abuses” precipitating our Declaration of Independence.

Under the National Defense Authorization Act, the military may incarcerate U.S. citizens indefinitely without formal charges. Should the Justice Department declare you a terrorist, or simply associate you with terrorists, your rights may be abridged. Instead of innocent until proven guilty, citizens deemed guilty will be unable to prove innocence.

Despite Obama’s veto threats and publicly prattling about “reservations,” Senator Carl Levin (D, MI) claims the administration privately pushed for the enactment of several of the most frightening provisions embedded in this legislation. Apparently the White House specifically sought that American citizens, even those detained domestically, can at government’s discretion, be indefinitely incarcerated without recourse to a speedy trial.

American citizens can now be treated in the same manner as foreign combatants captured overseas.

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'Doomsday Clock' moved closer to midnight

Source:

The Doomsday Clock, a symbolic indicator made famous by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists since its inception in 1947, was moved Tuesday from six minutes to five minutes before midnight as a warning about nuclear dangers and climate change.

"Despite the promise of a new spirit of international cooperation, and reductions in tensions between the United States and Russia, the Science and Security Board believes that the path toward a world free of nuclear weapons is not at all clear, and leadership is failing," the group said in its statement explaining the move.

The group also cited Japan's nuclear reactor disaster last year as a concern. "A major question to be addressed is: How can complex systems like nuclear power stations be made less susceptible to accidents and errors in judgment?"

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists was founded in 1945 by University of Chicago scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapons.

The clock was not moved in 2011; in 2010 it was moved back one minute.

Confidence Grows, but Remains In Recession Territory

The economy is still weak. And if there is any financial turbulence the whole thing will come crashing down again. And then there will be no helping the economy:

Today, two new indicators provide yet more evidence that Americans are feeling better about the economy. Gallup reports that Americans' economic confidence is at a seven-month high. The National Federation of Independent Business reports that small business confidence is also up for the fourth straight month. Likewise, the most recent Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment has shown four straight months of improvement. And the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index jumped more than 9 points, to 64.5, in December.

Yet while confidence is definitely trending upward in recent months, levels appear to be mired in recession territory, long after the recession ended.

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PolitiFact: Jon Huntsman says Utah was No. 1 in job creation when he was governor

PolitiFact | Jon Huntsman says Utah was No. 1 in job creation when he was governor

Jon Huntsman says Utah was No. 1 in job creation when he was governor

During the Sept. 7, 2011, Republican presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman tried to burnish his economic credentials.

Taking a swipe at Texas Gov. Rick Perry, another Republican presidential candidate, Huntsman said, "I hate to rain on the parade of the Lone Star governor, but as governor of Utah, we were the No. 1 job creator in this country during my years of service. That was 5.9 percent when you were creating jobs at 4.9 percent."

We decided to check whether Huntsman was right -- and in a tale that only a statistical economist could love, we found that the answer is a lot more complicated than you might expect.

When we asked the Huntsman campaign for data to back up the claim, they directed us to a blog post at National Review Online, the website of the well-known conservative magazine. The item, posted June 20, 2011, compared employment statistics for several governors.

Monitor: Why Romney's Win in NH will be Bigger than You Think

Monitor: Why Romney's Win in NH will be Bigger than You Think - The Huffington Post

The last 48 hours have been horrendous for Mitt Romney. A poor debate performance Sunday morning (his first one) was followed by 2 gaffe filled days on the trail. Newt Gingrich's suicide charge at Romney is full on and Huntsman appears to spit venom anytime the topic is Romney. Add to this the DNC attacks the last several months and you have a candidate facing one of the most severe multi-front political attacks in modern political history. So it may come as a surprise to hear that we think Romney is going to win big today in NH, crossing the 40% threshold and become the first non-incumbent GOP presidential candidate to ever win both Iowa and NH.

And this is why we need to build our own on-line community

And this is why we need to build our own on-line community

How long should the PEOPLE depend on Facebook, Twitter, etc... for our networking needs????

The reason I have worked so hard to get We are the Democracy up and running is because of this dynamic. Big Money is buying the internet. They are NOT our allies. Facebook is already systematically censoring activists. How much worse will it get when Goldman Sachs gets involved in the management of Facebook?

Please share this thread with everyone you know. Ask them to get involved in the WE are the Democracy project. This is the one place on the internet where you can connect with folks across the broad spectrum of the PEOPLE's Movement. Please do your best to help us grow so that when Facebook and twitter, etc... become unusable - there will still be a place "of our own" on the internet.

Who Is New White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew?

Predictably Obama has replaced one banker with another. This is another poke in the eye for the left. Did Bush have as many bankers in his administration? Still, Obama's supporters will continue to support this fraud of a President no matter how much he betrays them and gives them the finger. Because he is the 'lesser of the two evils.' This is the mistake we make every election cycle. We vote either party because there is no alternative to the two-party system:

President Obama announced Monday afternoon that White House Chief of Staff William Daley is stepping down after just 361 days in the job (back in November, he was effectively demoted, giving up many of his duties but not his title, so the move isn't totally unexpected). Replacing Daley as the president's right-hand man will be Jacob Lew, better known as Jack. Here's your cheat sheet on the new White House chief of staff.

1. He's a numbers guy. Lew is currently the director of the Office of Management and Budget, running the numbers for the administration. It's his second tour of duty in that job. He also held it from 1998 to 2001 during the Clinton administration. Prior to returning to his OMB chair, Lew worked for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as deputy secretary for management and resources, a chief operating office-like position he inaugurated.

[...]4. He's part of the 1 percent. Don't take his liberalism to mean that Lew is a wild-eyed socialist though. In fact, he's a former banker. In 2008, he served as chief operating officer of Citigroup Alternative Investments, a division of the Wall Street behemoth. That group was involved in controversial practices like proprietary trading, and was involved in shorting the housing market as the economy lurched toward collapse. Perhaps in keeping with his resume, Lew has rejected the view of many fellow liberals who argue that deregulation of the financial sector contributed to the crash, saying, "[I don't] personally know the extent to which deregulation drove it, but I don't believe that deregulation was the proximate cause." Expect to hear muffled howls of unhappiness from the left, which will be glad to see Daley go but upset at Lew's positions.

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Video: Arkansas Grandmother Forced to Rob Bank?

Saudi Denies Bank Info Breach by Israeli Hackers

Source:

A top Saudi banking official on Tuesday denied an Israeli media report that hackers from Israel obtained credit card and bank account details of thousands of Saudi citizens, retaliating for an attack on Israeli accounts.

Talaat Hafez, secretary-general of the media office in the kingdom's banking authority, denied a report by the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot that Israeli hackers were threatening to release the financial information they obtained if hackers continue to publish Israeli credit details on line.

Hafez was quoted by the Saudi online newspaper Sabq.org as saying that Saudi bank customers' financial information was safe and there was "no need for customers to be concerned" because Saudi banks' information networks were very secure.

Hafez also said officials had received no reports from Saudis about their data being breached.
The dueling reports underscored the hostile relationship between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Saudi Arabia does not recognize Israel's statehood.

Is Romney Picking Christie for VP Spot

I've already stated that Romney will choose NJ Governor as his running mate. They are campaigning together as if Christie were chosen already.

Article link

Record-High 40% of Americans Identify as Independents in '11

This is a repudiation of the two-party system. Now to convert those numbers into a third party challenge:

The percentage of Americans identifying as political independents increased in 2011, as is common in a non-election year, although the 40% who did so is the highest Gallup has measured, by one percentage point. More Americans continue to identify as Democrats than as Republicans, 31% to 27%.

These results are based on more than 20,000 interviews conducted in 20 separate Gallup polls in 2011. Gallup has computed annual averages of party identification since 1988, when it began regularly conducting interviews by telephone. The prior high percentage of independents was 39% in 1995 and 2007.

Gallup records from 1951-1988 -- based on face-to-face interviewing -- indicate that the percentage of independents was generally in the low 30% range during those years, suggesting that the proportion of independents in 2011 was the largest in at least 60 years.

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Constitutional Scholar: White House Entirely Ignoring Article 1, Section 5

Jessica Yellen says the President could've done made the appointment when the Congress was truly in recess without opposition but has instead chosen to play politics:

John C. Eastman, a professor at Chapman University School of Law who is an expert on the constitutional separation of powers, says that the White House simply ignored the section of the Constitution, which governs when Congress can adjourn, when President Obama claimed to use the "recess" appointment power on Wednesday to name a director to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau and three members to the National Labor Relations Board.

Eastman says that under the terms of the Constitution Congress was not in recess this week, it was in session.

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