Friday, July 15, 2011
Police: Internet providers must keep user logs
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20078653-281/police-internet-providers-must-keep-user-logs/
DSK And The Left Media
I wrote this in response to an article [http://socialistworker.org/2011/07/12/different-law-for-imf-presidents] which I found objectionable for a number of reasons. If SW responds, I will reproduce it here.
With all due respect, it seems SW has really been snookered by this DSK affair. This article is rather tendentious, and that's something that a paper with an agenda like yours has to be vigilant about. Credibility is everything.
"But Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. seems like he wants to make the whole case go away. After initially agreeing to $1 million bail and house arrest, Vance arranged for Strauss-Kahn to be released without any bail. According to press accounts, prosecutors and Strauss-Kahn's lawyers have met about a deal in which the case would be dropped."
Are the authors really suggesting that the prosecutor is letting this case go cuz DSK is rich and/or important? Particularly after they smeared this guy relentlessly? This is a profound humiliation for the prosecutor. It's no wonder he wants the case to go away. If he could secure a conviction in this case it would be great for his career. Obviously, he can't.
"The housekeeper stands by her charges."
She has to, doesn't she? What do you expect, she's going to come forward and say she lied? Whether she's telling the truth or, as now seems likely, she was part of a conspiracy to oust DSK from the IMF, either way SHE'S GOING TO SAY SHE'S TELLING THE TRUTH. SO THAT SHE DOES IS OF ZERO PROBATIVE VALUE.
"But now her credibility has been called into question--by prosecutors and the media alike. The housekeeper is alleged to have had a conversation with someone in an immigration detention center about the possible financial benefits of accusing a wealthy man. Other charges against her include claims that she lied on her political asylum application and that she had a bank account with irregular cash deposits--though such things are hardly unknown among the immigrant working poor.
"Even if everything is true--and the housekeeper, through her lawyer, has strenuously denied the allegations that she was lying or seeking money--there is no reason not to bring Strauss-Kahn to trial. There is abundant evidence to substantiate the accusations made by the housekeeper."
Indeed her credibility is called into question, and for many more reasons than the authors list above. According to reports, she has admitted to being "involved" with a drug runners, and for a poor immigrant housekeeper she sure knows a number of Western intelligence people.
Strenuously? Come on!
Abundant evidence? What would that be pray tell? There is evidence of sex, not necessarily rape! There were a few initial reports of "vaginal bruising" but that's consistent with either interpretation. The absence of other contusions/lacerations doesn't prove the sex was consensual, but it sure does raise doubts.
Multiple "ex" police work at the hotel? That's profoundly suspicious. Many people, myself included, believe DSK was set up, this info melds quite neatly with this theory.
She's upset? Again, please, a little contemplation is required here. She was either raped or made a false accusation of rape, being distressed or appearing to be is consistent with either theory. And hence is uninstructive.
"BUT ALL this has disappeared in a media circus where the accuser has had every detail of her life thrown open to public scrutiny. As usual, Rupert Murdoch's New York Post stooped to the lowest point with a front-page headline attacking the woman as a "hooker"--claiming she had traded sex for money."
The fact that Murdoch's paper acted reprehensibly is meaningless, it always does.
"The French press, not to be outdone, published the woman's name and photos. Paris Match, a French society magazine, reported that Strauss-Kahn's lawyers regarded the accuser as "not very alluring" ("tres peu seduisante"), before going on to relate details of the woman's supposed physique--as if this were evidence of Strauss-Kahn's innocence.
Sure as hell isn't evidence of his guilt either.
"Meanwhile, a number of women have come forward in the wake of Strauss-Kahn's arrest to say that they were sexually harassed by him. French writer Tristane Banon, the daughter of a Socialist Party officeholder, has accused Strauss-Kahn of attempting to rape her in 2002."
Where were they before? Again, the DSK-innocent contingent is arguing that he was set up. The simultaneous flood of accusers brought forth by the media would be consonant with that position. It might be true that DSK is a serial rapist, or that he was a victim of a set-up, or, quite possibly, both. The avalanche of alleged victims works either way. Although that these charges had never been made before is disconcerting....
"The media frenzy surrounding the Strauss-Kahn case sends a disturbing, if familiar, message to women: If you are going to come forward to report a sexual assault, you better be sure there's nothing in your past or current behavior that could be used against you. If you are not a "perfect victim," don't bother seeking justice"
Superb point, and well made, but irrelevant vis-a-vis DSK's guilt or innocence.
'The dynamics of race and class are also crystal clear in this case--as people from New York's African American community who rallied last week to demand that Strauss-Kahn be brought to trial pointed out. "This is a very powerful white man--this is a very poor African woman," said state Sen. Bill Perkins. "For us to ignore race would not really be looking at reality."'
Whoever devised this plot against DSK knew well that the above would be said. That this incident plays directly to the above sentiments is part of the calculation.
"Even Strauss-Kahn is entitled to be presumed innocent until a jury finds him guilty--this is a constitutional protection that ordinary working people need far more than wealthy international bankers. But this doesn't entitle him to avoid going on trial for rape.
Even???????????????? What the hell does that mean? Bankers deserve justice less than ordinary people? There is not a living soul on this planet that despises capitalism more than I do, NOBODY. And I would nationalize every bank tomorrow, but shame on the authors and SW for printing that. It is just filthy!
"Strauss-Kahn has the best attorneys money can buy. William Taylor III is a senior partner in the law firm Zuckerman Spaeder, which is ranked as the top white-collar crime firm in Washington, D.C., according to Chambers USA, which researches and ranks U.S. firms. Benjamin Brafman is one of New York City's most prominent--and no doubt most expensive--defense attorneys."
Doesn't mean he's guilty.
"None of this proves that Strauss-Kahn is a rapist. But it does illustrate the very different way that the law works for the wealthy and influential--compared to ordinary working people."
Amen, thanks for acknowledging the truth, both of them. And if this had been the tone of everything that came before I wouldn't be writing this. But it sure wasn't! You have made the case that DSK was guilty, and this little disclaimer at the end doesn't mitigate that. It just makes the piece all the more foul.
"Strauss-Kahn is a leader of the Socialist Party in France. If the charges are dropped, he may return home and run against right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy for the country's presidency, as he was expected to before his arrest."
That was a joke? Right? A joke?
I believe that DSK was the victim of a black-op. They wanted him out at the IMF and didn't have the votes to do it, so they raped him. We had an endless stream of media reports vilifying him, then he was gone from the Fund, and it all stopped. He almost disappeared from the headlines overnight, and it now appears that charges will be dropped.
Indeed there is a different set of laws for IMF presidents.
The people who concoct these black-ops are clever, cleverer, obviously, than the people who wrote this article.
With all due respect, it seems SW has really been snookered by this DSK affair. This article is rather tendentious, and that's something that a paper with an agenda like yours has to be vigilant about. Credibility is everything.
"But Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. seems like he wants to make the whole case go away. After initially agreeing to $1 million bail and house arrest, Vance arranged for Strauss-Kahn to be released without any bail. According to press accounts, prosecutors and Strauss-Kahn's lawyers have met about a deal in which the case would be dropped."
Are the authors really suggesting that the prosecutor is letting this case go cuz DSK is rich and/or important? Particularly after they smeared this guy relentlessly? This is a profound humiliation for the prosecutor. It's no wonder he wants the case to go away. If he could secure a conviction in this case it would be great for his career. Obviously, he can't.
"The housekeeper stands by her charges."
She has to, doesn't she? What do you expect, she's going to come forward and say she lied? Whether she's telling the truth or, as now seems likely, she was part of a conspiracy to oust DSK from the IMF, either way SHE'S GOING TO SAY SHE'S TELLING THE TRUTH. SO THAT SHE DOES IS OF ZERO PROBATIVE VALUE.
"But now her credibility has been called into question--by prosecutors and the media alike. The housekeeper is alleged to have had a conversation with someone in an immigration detention center about the possible financial benefits of accusing a wealthy man. Other charges against her include claims that she lied on her political asylum application and that she had a bank account with irregular cash deposits--though such things are hardly unknown among the immigrant working poor.
"Even if everything is true--and the housekeeper, through her lawyer, has strenuously denied the allegations that she was lying or seeking money--there is no reason not to bring Strauss-Kahn to trial. There is abundant evidence to substantiate the accusations made by the housekeeper."
Indeed her credibility is called into question, and for many more reasons than the authors list above. According to reports, she has admitted to being "involved" with a drug runners, and for a poor immigrant housekeeper she sure knows a number of Western intelligence people.
Strenuously? Come on!
Abundant evidence? What would that be pray tell? There is evidence of sex, not necessarily rape! There were a few initial reports of "vaginal bruising" but that's consistent with either interpretation. The absence of other contusions/lacerations doesn't prove the sex was consensual, but it sure does raise doubts.
Multiple "ex" police work at the hotel? That's profoundly suspicious. Many people, myself included, believe DSK was set up, this info melds quite neatly with this theory.
She's upset? Again, please, a little contemplation is required here. She was either raped or made a false accusation of rape, being distressed or appearing to be is consistent with either theory. And hence is uninstructive.
"BUT ALL this has disappeared in a media circus where the accuser has had every detail of her life thrown open to public scrutiny. As usual, Rupert Murdoch's New York Post stooped to the lowest point with a front-page headline attacking the woman as a "hooker"--claiming she had traded sex for money."
The fact that Murdoch's paper acted reprehensibly is meaningless, it always does.
"The French press, not to be outdone, published the woman's name and photos. Paris Match, a French society magazine, reported that Strauss-Kahn's lawyers regarded the accuser as "not very alluring" ("tres peu seduisante"), before going on to relate details of the woman's supposed physique--as if this were evidence of Strauss-Kahn's innocence.
Sure as hell isn't evidence of his guilt either.
"Meanwhile, a number of women have come forward in the wake of Strauss-Kahn's arrest to say that they were sexually harassed by him. French writer Tristane Banon, the daughter of a Socialist Party officeholder, has accused Strauss-Kahn of attempting to rape her in 2002."
Where were they before? Again, the DSK-innocent contingent is arguing that he was set up. The simultaneous flood of accusers brought forth by the media would be consonant with that position. It might be true that DSK is a serial rapist, or that he was a victim of a set-up, or, quite possibly, both. The avalanche of alleged victims works either way. Although that these charges had never been made before is disconcerting....
"The media frenzy surrounding the Strauss-Kahn case sends a disturbing, if familiar, message to women: If you are going to come forward to report a sexual assault, you better be sure there's nothing in your past or current behavior that could be used against you. If you are not a "perfect victim," don't bother seeking justice"
Superb point, and well made, but irrelevant vis-a-vis DSK's guilt or innocence.
'The dynamics of race and class are also crystal clear in this case--as people from New York's African American community who rallied last week to demand that Strauss-Kahn be brought to trial pointed out. "This is a very powerful white man--this is a very poor African woman," said state Sen. Bill Perkins. "For us to ignore race would not really be looking at reality."'
Whoever devised this plot against DSK knew well that the above would be said. That this incident plays directly to the above sentiments is part of the calculation.
"Even Strauss-Kahn is entitled to be presumed innocent until a jury finds him guilty--this is a constitutional protection that ordinary working people need far more than wealthy international bankers. But this doesn't entitle him to avoid going on trial for rape.
Even???????????????? What the hell does that mean? Bankers deserve justice less than ordinary people? There is not a living soul on this planet that despises capitalism more than I do, NOBODY. And I would nationalize every bank tomorrow, but shame on the authors and SW for printing that. It is just filthy!
"Strauss-Kahn has the best attorneys money can buy. William Taylor III is a senior partner in the law firm Zuckerman Spaeder, which is ranked as the top white-collar crime firm in Washington, D.C., according to Chambers USA, which researches and ranks U.S. firms. Benjamin Brafman is one of New York City's most prominent--and no doubt most expensive--defense attorneys."
Doesn't mean he's guilty.
"None of this proves that Strauss-Kahn is a rapist. But it does illustrate the very different way that the law works for the wealthy and influential--compared to ordinary working people."
Amen, thanks for acknowledging the truth, both of them. And if this had been the tone of everything that came before I wouldn't be writing this. But it sure wasn't! You have made the case that DSK was guilty, and this little disclaimer at the end doesn't mitigate that. It just makes the piece all the more foul.
"Strauss-Kahn is a leader of the Socialist Party in France. If the charges are dropped, he may return home and run against right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy for the country's presidency, as he was expected to before his arrest."
That was a joke? Right? A joke?
I believe that DSK was the victim of a black-op. They wanted him out at the IMF and didn't have the votes to do it, so they raped him. We had an endless stream of media reports vilifying him, then he was gone from the Fund, and it all stopped. He almost disappeared from the headlines overnight, and it now appears that charges will be dropped.
Indeed there is a different set of laws for IMF presidents.
The people who concoct these black-ops are clever, cleverer, obviously, than the people who wrote this article.
Obummer: Claiming the Republican agenda as his own
TURNS OUT the president many expected to revive the New Deal is out to bury it instead.
That's the inescapable conclusion following President Barack Obama's offer to trade cuts in the Social Security and Medicare programs--part of a projected $4 trillion in reductions over 10 years--in exchange for Republican votes to raise the U.S. debt ceiling by August 2.
My only problem with this is that the author seems to believe that this represents a real "deal." Obummer knows the Repubs are not going to blamed for bankrupting the government, and will agree to just about anything in order not to alienate voters. The "deal" here is Wall Street's parasitic plan, which is being implemented jointly by both its parties, with each looking to blame the other for the inevitable blowback that's going to result from this unprecedented state theft of our money. There are no real differences of opinion between the ruling party duopoly, only different roles in the subjugation of working class people.
http://socialistworker.org/2011/07/13/claiming-the-republican-agenda
Odisha Land Grab Update, July 15
2 killed in police firing in Odisha
http://www.newsonair.com/news.asp?cat=state&id=ST6586
A review of Warren Buffet's POSCO's land grab.
Clearing Forests and People in Odisha
http://www.counterpunch.org/pradeep07152011.html
In Odisha, two persons were killed and three others injured today in police firing at Kodala in Ganjam district. The incident took place when a group of people demanding release of some arrested villagers threw bombs at the police following which the police had to resort to firing. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has directed Director General of Police, Manmohan Praharaj, to rush to the spot. The Chief Minister also declared Rs 2 lakh compensation to the next-of-kin of the dead.
http://www.newsonair.com/news.asp?cat=state&id=ST6586
A review of Warren Buffet's POSCO's land grab.
Clearing Forests and People in Odisha
Saxena wrote in no uncertain terms that there was violation of Forest Rights Law in proposed POSCO area by the state government. Majority members of the POSCO review committee (Headed by Ms Meena Gupta) held that there was gross violation of environmental laws, fabrication of evidence, perpetuation of forest rights violations and suppressing facts relating to the Costal Regulation Zone (CRZ). They even recommended prosecution of the authorities who had violated the provisions of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and other environmental laws.
http://www.counterpunch.org/pradeep07152011.html
The MOI did have Snipers Mr. Minister "Updated"
The Ministry of the Interior has a sniper team?
Minister Mansour Eissawy has been denying since day one that the ministry of interior got a snipers units till he made us suspect the presidential guards.
Well may be when Eissawy was in police forces from 16 years ago , there was no snipers unit but there was a snipers unit in the force in year 2004.
http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/07/moi-did-have-snipers-mr-minister.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EgyptianChronicles+%28Egyptian+chronicles%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
Minister Mansour Eissawy has been denying since day one that the ministry of interior got a snipers units till he made us suspect the presidential guards.
Well may be when Eissawy was in police forces from 16 years ago , there was no snipers unit but there was a snipers unit in the force in year 2004.
http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/07/moi-did-have-snipers-mr-minister.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EgyptianChronicles+%28Egyptian+chronicles%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
Syntagma, where the small things still matter
I'm becoming a big fan of this guy. Another great essay from Jerome Roos.
http://roarmag.org/2011/07/syntagma-where-the-small-things-still-matter/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+roarmag+%28Reflections+on+a+Revolution%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
http://roarmag.org/2011/07/syntagma-where-the-small-things-still-matter/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+roarmag+%28Reflections+on+a+Revolution%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
Plutocracy Alert: BofA Settles With Rich Bondholders Update, 15 July
In an earlier post, I criticized this settlement on the grounds that it favored the superrich.[1] It was even worse than I thought. Here's Yves Smith's take:
It's time to resurrect George again:
[1] http://saveourcola.blogspot.com/2011/06/plutocracy-alert-bofa-settles-with-rich.html
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/07/bank-of-america-8-5-billion-mortgage-settlement-under-fire.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
We criticized the deal as being bad for homeowners (as in likely to accelerate foreclosures, rather than alleviate them, as claimed), bad for investors (due to the amount being too low for putbacks and an outrageous sellout based on the waiver for chain of title problems) and rife with conflicts of interest. Indeed, almost immediately after the settlement was announced, a group of investors who had been pursuing their own claims on three of the trusts in the settlement filed a petition as a means of objecting to the deal and its failure to provide a means for investors like them to opt out.
Two public officials, Eric Schneiderman, the New York attorney general, and Representative Brad MIller, who is a member of the House Financial Services Committee, apparently also suspect the pact does not pass the smell test and are asking some tough questions.
As described by both Bloomberg and Gretchen Morgenson of the New York Times, Schneiderman sent a letter to Bank of America and the 22 investors that suggested that he may oppose the deal. The bone of contention is that the parties that put this deal together failed to include or even consult all the investors
It's time to resurrect George again:
THEY OWN YOU!
[1] http://saveourcola.blogspot.com/2011/06/plutocracy-alert-bofa-settles-with-rich.html
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/07/bank-of-america-8-5-billion-mortgage-settlement-under-fire.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
Egypt justice ministry to investigate foreign funding of civil society
This is worth a read.
CAIRO: According to a Ministry of Planning International Cooperation (MPIC) press statement on July 12, Faiza Abou el-Naga, the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, directed the ministry of justice to form a commission to examine direct foreign funding of civil society projects in Egypt.
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=36226
CAIRO: According to a Ministry of Planning International Cooperation (MPIC) press statement on July 12, Faiza Abou el-Naga, the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, directed the ministry of justice to form a commission to examine direct foreign funding of civil society projects in Egypt.
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=36226
Egypt protests continue, worries as elections pushed back
The Mubarak-Regime-Sans-Mubarak has had enough of this democracy thing...
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=36253
“It is a very frustrating period right now, but we have to try and keep things clean as we wait to be heard and put Egypt on the right track,” said Samar, a 24-year-old protester who carried a large black bag and was tossing newspapers and other garbage into the bag.
As she was cleaning, the country’s ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces on Wednesday announced it was moving back elections that had been scheduled for September until October or possibly November. The move was met with widespread skepticism and frustration.
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=36253
Black men survive longer in prison than out: study
Is there anything, could there ever be anything, that reveals just how bankrupt capitalism is than this?
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/14/us-prison-blacks-idUSTRE76D71920110714
"Typically, prison-based care is more comprehensive than what inmates have received prior to their admission," Sung, who wasn't involved in the new study, told Reuters Health by email.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/14/us-prison-blacks-idUSTRE76D71920110714
JPMorgan profit rises, loan book grows
(Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co posted a higher-than-expected second-quarter profit as it wrote off fewer bad mortgages and credit card loans.
There's been weak loan demand because they refused to lend for long enough to bankrupt the economy.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/14/us-jpmorgan-idUSTRE76D0GT20110714?feedType=nl&feedName=ustopnewsearly
The second-largest U.S. bank made new loans faster than customers paid off existing ones during the quarter, a reversal from the first quarter and a good sign for a business long plagued by weak loan demand.
JPMorgan's revenue rose and it added staff in the quarter, and its shares closed 1.8 percent higher on Thursday. But the bank faces big expenses from mortgages as the effects of the housing crisis linger.
Foreclosures could take another 12 to 18 months to start declining, Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said on a conference call with reporters.
There's been weak loan demand because they refused to lend for long enough to bankrupt the economy.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/14/us-jpmorgan-idUSTRE76D0GT20110714?feedType=nl&feedName=ustopnewsearly
“ALEC Exposed” Website Reveals the Corporate Collaboration Reshaping Our Democracy
Madison — Yesterday, the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) made available over 800 “model” bills and resolutions secretly voted on by corporate and legislative members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC was created by right-wing political apparatchik Paul Weyrich in 1973. ALEC has become the premier institution for crafting and promoting model legislation and resolutions that largely benefit its corporate members. Until today, it has been difficult to trace the controversial and oddly uniform bills popping up in legislatures across the country directly to ALEC.
http://talkingunion.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/alec-exposed-website-reveals-the-corporate-collaboration-reshaping-our-democracy/
http://talkingunion.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/alec-exposed-website-reveals-the-corporate-collaboration-reshaping-our-democracy/
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Prisoners Near Death As 1,700 California Inmates Continue Hunger Strike To Protest Appalling Conditions
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28574.htm
Statement By Afghan Resistance Movement
I am trying to figure out if this is legit'. Ahmad Wali Karzai may have been killed by his US employers. In either case, here's a link to the statement.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28572.htm
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28572.htm
Kerry and McCain Unite Behind the Mysteriously Urgent Libya Mission
Good work.
http://whowhatwhy.com/2011/06/22/kerry-and-mccain-unite-behind-the-mysteriously-urgent-libya-mission/
http://whowhatwhy.com/2011/06/22/kerry-and-mccain-unite-behind-the-mysteriously-urgent-libya-mission/
Egypt activists call for Moussa, Suleiman investigation
CAIRO: Egyptian activists and a group of lawyers have called for an investigation of former Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa and former Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman over their roles in the natural gas deal to Israel.
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=36163
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=36163
The Syntagma experiment: democracy from the bottom up
What we are witnessing here in Athens is a genuine experiment in democracy for and by the people — without representation, hierarchy or borders.
nice piece.
http://roarmag.org/2011/07/the-syntagma-experiment-democracy-from-the-bottom-up/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+roarmag+%28Reflections+on+a+Revolution%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
“But,” he adds hopefully, “if we succeed in decentralizing the movement and spreading the assemblies to the neighborhoods, we can truly build an inclusive democracy based on the local concerns of real people. We may even create a political party that will answer only to the decisions made by the popular assemblies. That’s the idea.”
nice piece.
http://roarmag.org/2011/07/the-syntagma-experiment-democracy-from-the-bottom-up/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+roarmag+%28Reflections+on+a+Revolution%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
Quote O' The Day, Bastille Day, 2011
After the revolution in France, The Prussians invaded in the hope of restoring the monarchy. They were unsuccessful. With the defeated army at Valmy was the young German playwright Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. He understood the significance of a revolutionary army's victory.
"From this place, and from this day forth begins a new era in the history of the world, and you can all say that you were present at its birth."
Blogger's Note, July 14
It has been brought to my attention that my email address has disappeared from the blog. It has been relocated to the "Got something to say" gadget.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Counterrevolution In Egypt Turning Ugly
The worst statement ever issued by SCAF "Updated"
http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/07/worst-statement-ever-issued-by-scaf-no.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EgyptianChronicles+%28Egyptian+chronicles%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
You do not need to understand Arabic to feel the threatening tune in the speech , you do not need to understand Arabic to understand the threatening body language. There is an escalation from SCAF’s side as it seems. Just like Wael Ghonim said on his twitter account : He was addressing his soldiers and not the people. Update : I have heard the speech 4 times and I believe there is nothing new about it except for the political announcement and the statement would not have provoked us if he was not that nervous. Of course those who served in the Egyptian army say that this language is normal in the army , well may be it is normal in the army but it is not normal in the army nor normal in these circumstances.
http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/07/worst-statement-ever-issued-by-scaf-no.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EgyptianChronicles+%28Egyptian+chronicles%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
Press release from Syntagma to the mayor of Athens
Let aside thus the pretexts and admit that you have an order to collaborate to the plan of dissolving the people’s assemblies. Will you comply to the suggestions of a violent and unjust government that you serve willingly till today, and finally turn openly against the citizens of your city? Will you instead of being Mayor and People’s Advocate, abject to being their prosecutor and an accomplice to the violence forced on them?
We are not only the “indignants” that the media sketch, we are active citizens, decided to struggle in every way we will co-decide, through our assemblies, till all those who brought us to this state leave: Government, Troika, memoranda and medium austerity programs, banks and their representatives, etc.
http://roarmag.org/2011/07/press-release-from-syntagma-to-the-mayor-of-athens/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+roarmag+%28Reflections+on+a+Revolution%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
We are not only the “indignants” that the media sketch, we are active citizens, decided to struggle in every way we will co-decide, through our assemblies, till all those who brought us to this state leave: Government, Troika, memoranda and medium austerity programs, banks and their representatives, etc.
http://roarmag.org/2011/07/press-release-from-syntagma-to-the-mayor-of-athens/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+roarmag+%28Reflections+on+a+Revolution%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
Dis-history Alert: The Jedwabne Massacre Massacred
I started this blog for my co-workers as a forum to discuss our latest contract. Since then I have used it to chronicle the holocaust that is capitalism. I see this space as a place for news and the analysis thereof. So this piece will be a little off topic, but it deals with a subject near and dear to my heart, and one which I believe is of the greatest importance.
Journalism, so they say, is the first draft of history, and our perception of history is both our reckoning of our reality, and the prism through which we imagine the future. Nothing is of greater consequence than historiography. And if this enterprise is to have any meaning then we must have the truth, whatever the cost.
Journalism, so they say, is the first draft of history, and our perception of history is both our reckoning of our reality, and the prism through which we imagine the future. Nothing is of greater consequence than historiography. And if this enterprise is to have any meaning then we must have the truth, whatever the cost.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
There's Nothing Like The Face Of A Kid Slaving In A Cocoa Grove Update, July 12
The Sweet Delicious Taste of, Child Labor?
The shocking truth is that an estimate of 109,000 children are working in abusive conditions with as many as 10,000 suffering as victims of human trafficking or enslavement (according to the U.S. Department of State), and these may be conservative estimates. In 2005, the International Labor Organization estimated that as many as 200,000 children work in West Africa cocoa farms.
http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/international_labor_right/2011/07/the-sweet-delicious-taste-of-child-labor.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2FILRF%2Finternational_labor_right+%28Labor+Is+Not+A+Commodity+Blog%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
The shocking truth is that an estimate of 109,000 children are working in abusive conditions with as many as 10,000 suffering as victims of human trafficking or enslavement (according to the U.S. Department of State), and these may be conservative estimates. In 2005, the International Labor Organization estimated that as many as 200,000 children work in West Africa cocoa farms.
http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/international_labor_right/2011/07/the-sweet-delicious-taste-of-child-labor.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2FILRF%2Finternational_labor_right+%28Labor+Is+Not+A+Commodity+Blog%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
Regarding hunger strikes and Suez Canal
More from the amazing Egyptian blogger Zeinobia. Im not sure she's right here, but she advances good arguments.
http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/07/regarding-hunger-strikes-and-suez-canal.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EgyptianChronicles+%28Egyptian+chronicles%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/07/regarding-hunger-strikes-and-suez-canal.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EgyptianChronicles+%28Egyptian+chronicles%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
Greece set to default on massive debt burden, European leaders concede
And the ECB is stealing everything it can before the bottom falls out. What is happening to the people of Greece is just outrageous.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jul/12/greece-set-to-default-massive-debt-burden
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jul/12/greece-set-to-default-massive-debt-burden
In Greece, crisis and violence stir a collective trauma
Between economic collapse, political alienation and police brutality, the ongoing crisis is stirring a collective trauma in the modern Greek psyche. Painful memories of the country’s military dictatorship of 1967-1974 were rekindled two weeks ago as riot police unleashed their violent fury upon the thousands of peaceful protesters that have been occupying the square in front of Parliament for the past 50 days.
http://roarmag.org/2011/07/greece-crisis-violence-collective-trauma/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+roarmag+%28Reflections+on+a+Revolution%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
http://roarmag.org/2011/07/greece-crisis-violence-collective-trauma/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+roarmag+%28Reflections+on+a+Revolution%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
Caught In a Fixed Game: The Struggle for Consumer and Employee Rights in the Forced Arbitration Process
A subject that doesn't get enough attention.
http://www.todaysworkplace.org/2011/07/12/caught-in-a-fixed-game-the-struggle-for-consumer-and-employee-rights-in-the-forced-arbitration-process/
http://www.todaysworkplace.org/2011/07/12/caught-in-a-fixed-game-the-struggle-for-consumer-and-employee-rights-in-the-forced-arbitration-process/
Domestic Workers Rights Bill Moves Forward in California
One former domestic worker told KPFA: “In this labor committee hearing we lost vacation days, but we understand not all workers have paid vacation days. But we also earlier lost sick days, so most of the workers were going to use vacation days for sick days.”
http://www.todaysworkplace.org/2011/07/12/domestic-workers-rights-bill-moves-forward-in-california/
http://www.todaysworkplace.org/2011/07/12/domestic-workers-rights-bill-moves-forward-in-california/
New law regulates Saudi women, lingerie
Saudi Arabia’s labor ministry declared on Sunday new regulations regarding women working at lingerie and cosmetics shops to be exclusive of female workers.
Men will not be allowed inside these stores, according to the decisions.
Large department stores will be excluded from the decision based on the separation of males and females in the concerned departments. Saudi female workers will have to register with the labor office and their employers will have to register their pay role of each month.
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=35986
Men will not be allowed inside these stores, according to the decisions.
Large department stores will be excluded from the decision based on the separation of males and females in the concerned departments. Saudi female workers will have to register with the labor office and their employers will have to register their pay role of each month.
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=35986
Somalia: UN urges response for world’s ‘worst humanitarian disaster’
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=36004
Nevada Supreme Court: You Gotta Prove Chain of Title
The NSC is cracking down on illegal foreclosures. As a longtime resident of that state, I can assure you that such scrupulous fidelity to the law is not something that comes naturally to the Nevada judiciary, NSC included. That they unanimously stared down Wells Fargo (owned by Warren Buffet, bigtime contributor to important state and national Nevada politicians) demonstrates that they are scared of the electorate.
http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2011/07/you_gotta_prove_chain_of_title.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+creditslips%2Ffeed+%28Credit+Slips%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2011/07/you_gotta_prove_chain_of_title.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+creditslips%2Ffeed+%28Credit+Slips%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
Massive Strike at Adidas Supplier in Vietnam
Between the dates of 24th-29th June, about 93,000 workers from Pou Yuen Vietnam Company went on strike for better working conditions. Their brave action encouraged another shoe factory in close proximity to also strike. Pou Yuen was a subsidiary of Pou Chen Group, the world’s leading footwear manufacturer. It is reported that Adidas is one of the major buyers of Pou Yuen in Vietnam. While exhilarated by the success in mobilization in the strike, Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM) are deeply worried about the plight of the workers at Pou Yuen. The strike ended on 29thJune after the strong intervention from the local government. About 20 current and former workers were arrested. Both Adidas and Pou Chen Group have not released any information about the settlement of the strike.
http://talkingunion.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/massive-strike-at-adidas-supplier-in-vietnam/
http://talkingunion.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/massive-strike-at-adidas-supplier-in-vietnam/
The ABC’s of Cotton Picking
Tragic scenario, but a true one. Thousands of children in Uzbekistan are sent by the government to work in cotton fields. This disrupts the education of huge numbers of children during the harvest season. The government is fully aware of the thousands of children that endure unsafe and unhealthy conditions in the Uzbekistan cotton fields and, in fact they use the children to meet their own personal quota. Cotton farmers must sell their crop to the government at the below-market rates that it sets. Once purchased, the government then sells the cotton on the global market for the actual market price.
http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/international_labor_right/2011/07/the-abcs-of-cotton-picking.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2FILRF%2Finternational_labor_right+%28Labor+Is+Not+A+Commodity+Blog%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
http://laborrightsblog.typepad.com/international_labor_right/2011/07/the-abcs-of-cotton-picking.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2FILRF%2Finternational_labor_right+%28Labor+Is+Not+A+Commodity+Blog%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
Jobs crisis worsens, Texans call for people power
Outside the federal building that houses the BLS in Dallas, activists labored to present a more honest view. With four TV news cameras on them, Herb Keenum of the Communications Workers of America and Gene Lantz of Jobs with Justice handed out leaflets that said, "...the level of workers' suffering across the nation grinds on. There are still 14.1 million (9.2%) officially looking for work, still 8.6 million involuntary part-time workers, and still 2.7 million "marginally attached" unemployed who don't count at all because they haven't even looked for work in the last 4 weeks! A quick calculation of total unemployment and total workforce shows 16.6% still in unemployment and misery.
http://www.peoplesworld.org/jobs-crisis-worsens-texans-call-for-people-power/
http://www.peoplesworld.org/jobs-crisis-worsens-texans-call-for-people-power/
A Cautionary Tale : Carlos Montes and the Security State:
On May 17 at 5 in the morning the Chicano activist Carlos Montes got a wake-up call at his home in California from Barack Obama’s security state. The Los Angeles County sheriff’s SWAT team, armed with assault rifles and wearing bulletproof vests, as well as being accompanied by FBI agents, kicked down his door, burst into his house with their weapons drawn, handcuffed him in his pajamas and hauled him off to jail. Montes, one of tens of thousands of Americans who have experienced this terrifying form of military-style assault and arrest, was one of the organizers of the demonstrations outside the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., and he faces trial along with 23 other anti-war activists from Minnesota, as well as possible charges by a federal grand jury.
Once again, George Carlin:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28557.htm
Once again, George Carlin:
THEY OWN YOU
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28557.htm
MAKE THIS GO VIRAL - The Shocking Video That BP (And A Federal Judge) Don't Want Anyone To See - CEO Tony Hayward's Deposition
http://dailybail.com/home/make-this-go-viral-the-shocking-video-that-bp-and-a-federal.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheDailyBail+%28The+Daily+Bail%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
Mortgage Company Completely Trashes Man's Home, Steals All His Belongings - Cops Decline To Investigate
http://dailybail.com/home/mortgage-company-completely-trashes-mans-home-steals-all-his.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheDailyBail+%28The+Daily+Bail%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
Meet The New IMF Swine Update, July 12
The debt ceiling "feud" is a farce. Neither party wants to be blamed for an American default. It's all political theater, each side will strike the appropriate pose to appeal to their bases, and then Wall Street's plan will be agreed upon and both sides will claim victory.
Jerry Brown’s Betrayal of Cesar Chavez, UFW Stains His Legacy
For all of his lurches to the right, disdain for public input, and refusal to work collaboratively, California Governor Jerry Brown has always been defended by those who appreciated his support for Cesar Chavez and the farmworkers movement. Brown signed the landmark Agricultural Labor Relations Act in 1975, and only Robert Kennedy rivals him as the UFW’s greatest political ally. Brown admired Cesar Chavez and sought his approval; the UFW responded by providing key staff support for his 1976 and 1980 presidential campaigns, and by building Latino support for all of his California races. Despite this legacy, on June 28 Brown vetoed a farmworker organizing bill that his Republican predecessor had vetoed four times, and which had broad Democratic Party support. Brown’s alignment with wealthy growers against indigent workers picking crops in the fields surely has Chavez turning over in his grave, and shows that the Governor views the UFW as just another group he is willing to betray.
http://talkingunion.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/jerry-brown%E2%80%99s-betrayal-of-cesar-chavez-ufw-stains-his-legacy/
http://talkingunion.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/jerry-brown%E2%80%99s-betrayal-of-cesar-chavez-ufw-stains-his-legacy/
Global Union Alliance Files OECD Complaint against Deutsche Telekom for Union-Busting
That's T-Mobile:
American Exceptionalism.
http://talkingunion.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/global-union-alliance-files-oecd-complaint-against-deutsche-telekom-for-union-busting/
“Deutsche Telekom has set a double standard for working conditions, where German workers have the right to union representation and collective bargaining but those in the US and Montenegro do not,” said UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings. “This is a clear violation of the company’s own corporate social responsibility guidelines as well as the OECD Guidelines.”
American Exceptionalism.
http://talkingunion.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/global-union-alliance-files-oecd-complaint-against-deutsche-telekom-for-union-busting/
Stop the Colombia-Korea-Panama FTA Trifecta!
Get used to it folks. Barack Obummer is going to be re-elected. He probably wont get Indiana this time, that's about it.
Fifty-one unionists murdered in Colombia, he doesn't care. He works for the murderers.
http://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=4868
Fifty-one unionists murdered in Colombia, he doesn't care. He works for the murderers.
http://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=4868
Egypt protesters look to escalate sit-ins, en route to Suez
CAIRO: Protesters from Cairo and Alexandria are making their way to the Egyptian city of Suez on Monday in an effort to continue their support for demonstrations ongoing in Suez, where military and activists clashed on Sunday after the sit-in blocked a main highway linking the city, and the Suez Canal, with the rest of the country.
“We are still very strong and we are not going to give in even if they try to use force against us because what we are doing is for the best of the country,” said Ahmed Murad, one of those taking the trip from Alexandria to Suez. He told Bikya Masr that “the sit-in and protests in Suez are important to Egypt and the future” of the country.
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=35902
“We are still very strong and we are not going to give in even if they try to use force against us because what we are doing is for the best of the country,” said Ahmed Murad, one of those taking the trip from Alexandria to Suez. He told Bikya Masr that “the sit-in and protests in Suez are important to Egypt and the future” of the country.
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=35902
Egypt protesters give two lists of demands
1. The public trial of all officers involved in the killing of the martyrs of the Egyptian Revolution.And
2. Quick and public trial of the Mubarak family and the symbols of corruption of the former regime.
3. Annulment of all rulings by military courts against civilians and referring them civil courts and bringing a complete end military trials of civilians.
4. Revoking the anti-strikes and anti-demonstrations law.
5. Limiting the authorities of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and increasing the authorities of the government in applying its policies, including its right to reshuffle ministers and governors.
6. Repealing the new state budget and drawing up a new budget favouring the poor, and following a public debate.
1. Ending the military trial of civilians and referring all those tried by military tribunals to civil courts.
2. Revoking the anti-strike law, the new party law and the new parliamentary law as going against the revolution’s demands.
3. Dedicating special courts to the trial of those responsible for the killing of the martyrs of the revolution, and for cases of economic and political corruption and for the trial of the Mubarak family and its regime.
4. Giving martyrs’ families and the injured their full rights.
5. Recovering all the nation’s stolen money inside and outside the country.
6. Appointing a civil minister of interior.
7. Restructuring the Ministry of Interior, firing and trying police officers involved in torture, and establishing full judicial supervision over the ministry.
8. Dismantling Egypt’s General Workers Union for being a tool of the former ruling National Democratic Party (NDP).
9. Setting a new state budget that included a LE1200 minimum wage, a maximum wage that does not exceed 15 times the minimum wage, and linking wages with prices.
10. Cleansing the Council of Ministers and all state institutions, including its media and banks, of corrupt former regime figures.
11. Banning former NDP members from running for election for two consecutive parliamentary rounds.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/16016.aspx
Monday, July 11, 2011
Egypt Publicly Refuses Money From IMF, But Less Publicly Accepts Billions From IMF's Partners
European Investment Bank in electricity projects in Egypt
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=35913
Nothing from the banksters at the IMF, but billions from the banksters at the EUC
EU looking to support Egyptian economy
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=35917
CAIRO: The European Investment Bank (EIB) delegation announced its continuous support for Egyptian electricity projects planned in the bilateral cooperation program during this critical time in the wake of the January 25 Revolution with investments worth 610 million Euros.
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=35913
Nothing from the banksters at the IMF, but billions from the banksters at the EUC
EU looking to support Egyptian economy
CAIRO: The European Union Commission to Egypt chief Mark Franco said that negotiations between Europe and Cairo were looking positive for efforts to assist the Egyptian economy to the tune of 1.24 billion Euros.
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=35917
Who Murdered Sunny Sheu?
Sheu was a homeowner who was scammed by the realtor who sold him the house. He eventually got that settled but the mortgage-holder decided to foreclose anyway. What ensued led him to discoveries about foreclosure fraud and a certain judge. Sheu made this video before he was killed.
After he had been threatened, he sent this letter to FBI agent Rachel Rojas.
Sheu died as a result of something contacting his head. It is in dispute as to whether he fell, or was beaten, with the former being allegedly witnessed In either case, the trauma resulted in internal bleeding which killed him. Yet the emergency room physician says he didn't have a mark on him.
What Sheu alleged was that there was a connection between the courts, the mafia, and the foreclosure racket, and that a judge had sent police to intimidate him. I don't know if his accusation is correct, but I certainly won't go into shock if it turns out to be true. But what is troubling to me is the manner of his death. Why wasn't he shot in the head mob style? Why did they leave him alive? It really doesn't sound like professional men. Perhaps they were trying to get information from him before killing him, such as who else knew about what...
The FBI has made an infomercial about their agent involved in this case.
Whether everything that Sheu alleged is true, what seems clear is that if he was telling the truth about intimidation, that the state is a party to, or at least is working to protect the bank's foreclosure racket. Foreclosuregate has been in the news now for a year, and it is still going on. Their representatives appear before Congress and swear they are doing everything they can to stop illegal foreclosures, but just can't seem to manage it. From Congress to the courts to the police, the criminals are being protected, and the scam rolls on. And it rolled over Sunny Sheu.
Here's a couple of good accounts and the blog of record on the case.
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/fraudclosure-sunny-sheu-murdered-judicial-corruption-activist-dead-weeks-after-posting-video?source=patrick.net#inner-content
http://www.businessinsider.com/sunny-shue-killed-queens-foreclosure-judge-joseph-golia-2011-6
http://sunnysheu.blogspot.com/2011/06/summary-of-case.html
After he had been threatened, he sent this letter to FBI agent Rachel Rojas.
Sheu died as a result of something contacting his head. It is in dispute as to whether he fell, or was beaten, with the former being allegedly witnessed In either case, the trauma resulted in internal bleeding which killed him. Yet the emergency room physician says he didn't have a mark on him.
What Sheu alleged was that there was a connection between the courts, the mafia, and the foreclosure racket, and that a judge had sent police to intimidate him. I don't know if his accusation is correct, but I certainly won't go into shock if it turns out to be true. But what is troubling to me is the manner of his death. Why wasn't he shot in the head mob style? Why did they leave him alive? It really doesn't sound like professional men. Perhaps they were trying to get information from him before killing him, such as who else knew about what...
The FBI has made an infomercial about their agent involved in this case.
Whether everything that Sheu alleged is true, what seems clear is that if he was telling the truth about intimidation, that the state is a party to, or at least is working to protect the bank's foreclosure racket. Foreclosuregate has been in the news now for a year, and it is still going on. Their representatives appear before Congress and swear they are doing everything they can to stop illegal foreclosures, but just can't seem to manage it. From Congress to the courts to the police, the criminals are being protected, and the scam rolls on. And it rolled over Sunny Sheu.
Here's a couple of good accounts and the blog of record on the case.
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/fraudclosure-sunny-sheu-murdered-judicial-corruption-activist-dead-weeks-after-posting-video?source=patrick.net#inner-content
http://www.businessinsider.com/sunny-shue-killed-queens-foreclosure-judge-joseph-golia-2011-6
http://sunnysheu.blogspot.com/2011/06/summary-of-case.html
Greece, Portugal, Ireland Down, Italy Next.
US Hedge Funds Bet Against Italian Bonds
https://www.alphametrix.com/blog/2011/07/10/us-hedge-funds-bet-against-italian-bonds/
US hedge funds are placing large bets against the value of Italian government debt, directly shorting the bonds of the eurozone’s third largest economy. The funds have increased the size of short positions in the last month, speculating that investor concerns over the country’s ability to fund itself may spread from Europe’s periphery to Italy, according to investors in the funds briefed on the strategy.According to this theory they are capitalizing on Italy's presumed insolvency, in fact they are creating it.
https://www.alphametrix.com/blog/2011/07/10/us-hedge-funds-bet-against-italian-bonds/
The Moneysburg Address
Eleven score and fifteen years ago our Incorporators brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in free markets, and dedicated to the proposition that all corporate persons are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great financial and legal crisis, testing whether those markets, or any markets so conceived and so dedicated, can long remain totally free. We are met on an inflated balance sheet of that crisis. We have come to extend a mighty portion of assets, as a book value preserving holding place for corporate persons who finessed enormous fortunes through beggaring men and women so that those corporate persons might prosper. It is altogether fitting and proper that we, the free market acolytes of corporate persons, should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot hypothecate — we cannot market rate — we cannot estimate – these assets. The financially engineered persons, living free on the indebtedness and taxes of men and women, are the true heroes who innovated here. They have hypothecated and traded these derivatives far beyond our poor imaginations to do more than extend and pretend. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us their nominal trustees, rather, to be dedicated to the unfinished work that they who morally hazarded and secreted away so much have thus far so nobly advanced. It is for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining — that from these free and mighty and untaxed persons we take increased devotion to that cause for which every day they insist on the last full measure of Constitutional personhood — that we here highly resolve that these legal persons shall not have incorporated in multiple jurisdictions in vain — that our free markets, under Mammon, shall have a new birth of corporate freedoms — and that government of the persons, by the persons, for the persons shall not perish from the earth.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/07/the-moneysburg-address.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
Now we are engaged in a great financial and legal crisis, testing whether those markets, or any markets so conceived and so dedicated, can long remain totally free. We are met on an inflated balance sheet of that crisis. We have come to extend a mighty portion of assets, as a book value preserving holding place for corporate persons who finessed enormous fortunes through beggaring men and women so that those corporate persons might prosper. It is altogether fitting and proper that we, the free market acolytes of corporate persons, should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot hypothecate — we cannot market rate — we cannot estimate – these assets. The financially engineered persons, living free on the indebtedness and taxes of men and women, are the true heroes who innovated here. They have hypothecated and traded these derivatives far beyond our poor imaginations to do more than extend and pretend. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us their nominal trustees, rather, to be dedicated to the unfinished work that they who morally hazarded and secreted away so much have thus far so nobly advanced. It is for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining — that from these free and mighty and untaxed persons we take increased devotion to that cause for which every day they insist on the last full measure of Constitutional personhood — that we here highly resolve that these legal persons shall not have incorporated in multiple jurisdictions in vain — that our free markets, under Mammon, shall have a new birth of corporate freedoms — and that government of the persons, by the persons, for the persons shall not perish from the earth.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/07/the-moneysburg-address.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
Didacticide Update: Cashing in on the charters
THE SCHOOL privatization movement took an ominous new step in June with the creation of the first for-profit real estate investment fund aimed at the construction of charter schools.
The financial venture, if it works according to plan, will accelerate the charterization process by funding the development of up to 75 charter schools across the country within the next few years. Charter schools mostly get their funds from the public education, but they are run by private organizations, including numerous for-profit ventures--which has made them a favorite tool in the new attack on teachers unions.
http://socialistworker.org/2011/07/06/cashing-in-on-charters
Quote O' The Day, July 11
"Nations and peoples are largely the stories they feed themselves. If they tell themselves stories that are lies, they will suffer the future consequences of those lies. If they tell themselves stories that face their own truths, they will free their histories for future flowerings."
Ben Okri, Nigerian poet and novelist
American Jew refused entry to Israel on suspicion of converting to Islam
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/american-jew-refused-entry-to-israel-on-suspicion-of-converting-to-islam-1.372598
BBC Promotes Mass Adherence to State Ideology
Superb work, as usual, from Media Lens.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28532.htm
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28532.htm
America's 'Detainee 001' – The Persecution of John Walker Lindh
Amen! I wrote something about this ten or so years ago (of the same title save "Detainee 001") and couldn't get it published anywhere. He is America's number one political prisoner. Of what is he guilty? He was captured and tortured by American forces, and dumped in a prison from which he escaped after it was abandoned by NATO. He joined the Taliban, and it stood in the way of an oil pipeline, that's his crime.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28534.htm
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28534.htm
Why QE2 Failed: The Money All Went Offshore
While I appreciate Brown's perspective, two important points need to be made:
She says the money went to "foreigners." It's necessary to understand that, at the top at least, there are no national companies anymore. POSCO Steel is a "South Korean" company owned by Warren Buffet. Even these big Chinese companies are owned in part by international capital. The ruling families own businesses that operate everywhere. The sovereign nation-state is a myth.
QE2 did not fail. One can only believe it did if one is foolish enough to think that Bernanke is trying to end the recession, rather than direct it in a way that is most profitable for his bosses at the Fed. He doesn't work for us, he doesn't give a damn about us! He works for the bankers who own the Fed (and everything else). QE2 was for them, and it worked splendidly. That money now sits in their banks, that was the plan all along.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=25566
She says the money went to "foreigners." It's necessary to understand that, at the top at least, there are no national companies anymore. POSCO Steel is a "South Korean" company owned by Warren Buffet. Even these big Chinese companies are owned in part by international capital. The ruling families own businesses that operate everywhere. The sovereign nation-state is a myth.
QE2 did not fail. One can only believe it did if one is foolish enough to think that Bernanke is trying to end the recession, rather than direct it in a way that is most profitable for his bosses at the Fed. He doesn't work for us, he doesn't give a damn about us! He works for the bankers who own the Fed (and everything else). QE2 was for them, and it worked splendidly. That money now sits in their banks, that was the plan all along.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=25566
UAW Prepares to Sell Out Auto Workers, Again, by Rich Gibson
As the UAW fights for jobs, and the automakers work to lower labor costs, the two sides could find common ground. That’s because the automakers can lower their labor costs by hiring new workers at entry-level wage rates of $14 and $16 per hour, thereby lowering their average labor cost per worker.
Under the current contract, GM and Chrysler can hire an unlimited number of entry-level workers until 2015 while Ford’s contract is capped at 20%.
Already, Chrysler has lowered its total labor costs more than Ford and GM because it has filled many of the more than 2,800 jobs it has announced since June 2009 with entry-level workers.
That has helped Chrysler cut its total labor costs per worker from nearly $76 per hour in 2006 to $49 per hour in 2010.
http://www.freep.com/article/20110703/BUSINESS01/107030439/UAW-Detroit-3-prepare-face-off-around-table?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p
[Found at http://www.richgibson.com/blog/]
Under the current contract, GM and Chrysler can hire an unlimited number of entry-level workers until 2015 while Ford’s contract is capped at 20%.
Already, Chrysler has lowered its total labor costs more than Ford and GM because it has filled many of the more than 2,800 jobs it has announced since June 2009 with entry-level workers.
That has helped Chrysler cut its total labor costs per worker from nearly $76 per hour in 2006 to $49 per hour in 2010.
http://www.freep.com/article/20110703/BUSINESS01/107030439/UAW-Detroit-3-prepare-face-off-around-table?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p
[Found at http://www.richgibson.com/blog/]
Obamagogue Care? Phooey. He Doesn’t Care, by Rich Gibson
A new report estimates health reform will exclude about 20 percent of all uninsured children in California. The analysis from UCLA says eligibility restrictions will prevent many children from getting affordable care.
Shana Alex Lavarreda wrote the report for the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
She estimated that about 30,000 children won’t be allowed to get discounted health coverage because they’re undocumented. Nearly 150,000 other kids who are legal immigrants
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2011/jul/07/220000-california-kids-could-be-left-uninsured-und/?utm_campaign=todays-news-analysis&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=headline
[Found at http://www.richgibson.com/blog/]
Shana Alex Lavarreda wrote the report for the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
She estimated that about 30,000 children won’t be allowed to get discounted health coverage because they’re undocumented. Nearly 150,000 other kids who are legal immigrants
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2011/jul/07/220000-california-kids-could-be-left-uninsured-und/?utm_campaign=todays-news-analysis&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=headline
[Found at http://www.richgibson.com/blog/]
Summary Unemployment Report for June, by Rich Gibson
The unemployment rate for Blacks was 16.2% last month. This is according to the latest
report on the nation’s employment situation released Friday morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its monthly Employment Situation report. This rate was virtually unchanged from May, when unemployment in the Black community stood at 16.2%. For the nation as a whole,
unemployment was virtually unchanged at 9.2% in the month of May. Among whites, unemployment was 8.6%; among Latinos, unemployment was 11.9%. Comparable May 2011 figures were 9.1%; 8.0%; and 11.9% respectively.
http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/blackworkers/monthly/bwreport_2011-07-08_35.pdf
[Found at http://www.richgibson.com/blog/]
report on the nation’s employment situation released Friday morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in its monthly Employment Situation report. This rate was virtually unchanged from May, when unemployment in the Black community stood at 16.2%. For the nation as a whole,
unemployment was virtually unchanged at 9.2% in the month of May. Among whites, unemployment was 8.6%; among Latinos, unemployment was 11.9%. Comparable May 2011 figures were 9.1%; 8.0%; and 11.9% respectively.
http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/blackworkers/monthly/bwreport_2011-07-08_35.pdf
[Found at http://www.richgibson.com/blog/]
Bosses got (a lot) Richer, by Rich Gibson
Executives' pay at 200 big companies last year was $10.8 million. That works out to a 23 percent gain from 2009. The earlier study had put the median pay at a none-too-shabby $9.6 million, up 12 percent….Pay skyrocketed last year because many companies brought back cash bonuses, says Aaron Boyd, head of research at Equilar. Cash bonuses, as opposed to those awarded in stock options, jumped by an astounding 38 percent, the final numbers show…the chief executive of Viacom, at the top of the list. Mr. Dauman made $84.5 million last year, after signing a new long-term contract that included one-time stock awards.
Leslie Moonves, of the CBS Corporation, got a 32 percent raise and reaped $56.9 million. Michael White of DirecTV was paid $32.9 million, while Brian L. Roberts of the Comcast Corporation and Robert A. Iger of the Walt Disney Company each received pay packages valued at $28 million…Some of the other highly paid executives on the new list who were not in the April survey are Gregg W. Steinhafel of Target, who had a $23.5 million pay package; Michael E. Szymanczyk of Altria, $20.77 million; and Richard C. Adkerson of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, $35.3 million.
Most ordinary Americans aren’t getting raises anywhere close to those of these chief executives. Many aren’t getting raises at all — or even regular paychecks. Unemployment is still stuck at more than 9 percent.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/business/03pay.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp
[Found at http://www.richgibson.com/blog/]
Leslie Moonves, of the CBS Corporation, got a 32 percent raise and reaped $56.9 million. Michael White of DirecTV was paid $32.9 million, while Brian L. Roberts of the Comcast Corporation and Robert A. Iger of the Walt Disney Company each received pay packages valued at $28 million…Some of the other highly paid executives on the new list who were not in the April survey are Gregg W. Steinhafel of Target, who had a $23.5 million pay package; Michael E. Szymanczyk of Altria, $20.77 million; and Richard C. Adkerson of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, $35.3 million.
Most ordinary Americans aren’t getting raises anywhere close to those of these chief executives. Many aren’t getting raises at all — or even regular paychecks. Unemployment is still stuck at more than 9 percent.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/business/03pay.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp
[Found at http://www.richgibson.com/blog/]
NCLB about to Flunk Everybody!, by Rich Gibson
If Congress doesn’t move quickly to change the No Child Left Behind law, they project that a whopping 82 percent of the nation’s public schools could fail to meet proficiency targets this year, facing sanctions that ultimately can include a loss of federal aid. That’s up from 37 percent last year.
Beset with a case of the jitters, Education Secretary Arne Duncan is warning of “a slow-moving educational train wreck for children, parents and teachers” — and he’s not waiting for the crash.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/07/04/116988/fear-of-more-failing-test-scores.html
[Found at http://www.richgibson.com/blog/]
Beset with a case of the jitters, Education Secretary Arne Duncan is warning of “a slow-moving educational train wreck for children, parents and teachers” — and he’s not waiting for the crash.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/07/04/116988/fear-of-more-failing-test-scores.html
[Found at http://www.richgibson.com/blog/]
Didacticide Update: Layoffs
Projected School Workers Layoffs for 2011: AASA released a new report that estimates school districts will be forced to lay off 227,000 teachers and other school employees in the 2011-12 school year.
http://schoolboardnews.nsba.org/2011/05/nsba-aasa-urge-federal-officials-to-eliminate-unneeded-regulations/
{Found at http://www.richgibson.com/blog/]
http://schoolboardnews.nsba.org/2011/05/nsba-aasa-urge-federal-officials-to-eliminate-unneeded-regulations/
{Found at http://www.richgibson.com/blog/]
The Gang Rape Of Greece In Perspective, A New Imperialism
But within hours of Saturday's decision, Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker warned Greeks that help from the EU and International Monetary Fund would have unpleasant consequences.
"The sovereignty of Greece will be massively limited," he told Germany's Focus magazine in the interview released on Sunday, adding that teams of experts from around the euro zone would be heading to Athens.[1]
The debt-based money system has been around for centuries, and using debt to ensnare governments and gain control of their national economies goes back decades, but what is happening in Greece is new.
In addition to the usual privatizations and social services cuts, Greece is being forced to hand over the keys to its treasury. As I write, Greece is being subjected to the worst form of neocolonialism yet seen. The traitorous bourgeois government has essentially agreed to let the ECB run the economy. This will be, to my knowledge, the first time that a national treasury will be run by the accounting department of a private bank. When Greeks pay their (increased) taxes, they will be sending their money to the ECB's accounts receivables! This is unprecedented capitalist control, Greece is now owned by a bank.
Heretofore capital subverted governments, but didn't subsume them. The illusion of sovereignty and popular control was maintained. Now the ruling class has devoured a government, assumed its functions, and relegated it to an office in its bureaucracy. Greece is no longer a nation-state such as we conventionally think of them, nor is it a colony in the traditional sense, it's now a corporate franchise.
[1]
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/03/us-eurogroup-greece-idUSTRE76219J20110703
Marx On The American Civil War.
This might be a little off topic for this blog, but since a great deal of nonsense is being written these days about Lincoln and his relationship to the emerging industrial class of his day, I provide a link to Marx' letter to Lincoln, and his administration's response.
Since our school system slights history in favor of bourgeoisie-friendly American mythology, it will come as a surprise to most of my fellow countryfolk that Karl Marx is a hero of the American Civil War (that is to those who believe, as I do, that the right side won). British mill workers (and others) went on strike to prevent their country from entering the war on the side of the South. The latter was the creation of European capital whose plan to create a slave megastate here in the Americas was foiled by a series of legislative acts (Compromise of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska etc.) They also had tried to regain control of the money supply which they had lost under President Jackson. Having been frustrated in their larcenous plots, they resolved to break up the US by fomenting civil war. This Marx and the Brits understood, and acted on behalf of the North which they rightfully associated with free labor.
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/iwma/documents/1864/lincoln-letter.htm
tyj
Since our school system slights history in favor of bourgeoisie-friendly American mythology, it will come as a surprise to most of my fellow countryfolk that Karl Marx is a hero of the American Civil War (that is to those who believe, as I do, that the right side won). British mill workers (and others) went on strike to prevent their country from entering the war on the side of the South. The latter was the creation of European capital whose plan to create a slave megastate here in the Americas was foiled by a series of legislative acts (Compromise of 1850, Kansas-Nebraska etc.) They also had tried to regain control of the money supply which they had lost under President Jackson. Having been frustrated in their larcenous plots, they resolved to break up the US by fomenting civil war. This Marx and the Brits understood, and acted on behalf of the North which they rightfully associated with free labor.
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/iwma/documents/1864/lincoln-letter.htm
tyj
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Waves of Struggle, The Winter Campaign at the Post Office in Edmonton
Fantastic. A must read for union workers.
http://libcom.org/library/waves-struggle-winter-campaign-post-office-edmonton
http://libcom.org/library/waves-struggle-winter-campaign-post-office-edmonton
Egypt: 14 to face trial over Agouza violence
Survivors of those who died during the January uprising clashed with security forces and now face charges.
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=35804
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=35804
Some Egyptians frustrated at protesters
“They seem to just want power and are not thinking of the rest of us in this country right now,” said Karim, a 42-year-old former factory worker. He told Bikya Masr that his friends don’t have jobs and nobody is hiring because of the continued unrest in the country. “What are we supposed to do, join in protests that are not dealing with our daily lives? We are not wealthy like those in Tahrir and cannot afford to be there for months. We have to feed our families.”
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=35820
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=35820
Living in public-sector pension luxury
HOW IS the British government getting away with this idea that a public-sector pension is a "luxury"? Is it something that suave bachelors could show off, saying: "Once I've taken you for a spin in my Aston Martin, how about I show you the mid-range forecast for my teacher's pension over a bottle of Veuve Cliquot."
A pension is a necessity, so you might as well say we simply can't go on enjoying the luxury of a sewage system, given that the amount of waste we're flushing is 35 percent higher than in 1996--so from 2015, we've got to throw it out the window, or otherwise, we'll end up like Greece.
http://socialistworker.org/2011/07/06/living-public-sector-pension-l
A pension is a necessity, so you might as well say we simply can't go on enjoying the luxury of a sewage system, given that the amount of waste we're flushing is 35 percent higher than in 1996--so from 2015, we've got to throw it out the window, or otherwise, we'll end up like Greece.
http://socialistworker.org/2011/07/06/living-public-sector-pension-l
The Essence Of Banking
http://dailybail.com/home/the-essence-of-banking.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheDailyBail+%28The+Daily+Bail%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
Hands off Social Security movement ignites
“Social Security has a 2.6 trillion dollar surplus and can pay out every nickel it owes for the next 25 years,” said Sanders. “Cuts should be off the table. You don’t negotiate this with Republicans whose real aim is to kill Social Security altogether!”
http://inteldaily.com/2011/07/hands-off-social-security-movement-ignites/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+inteldaily%2Ffeeds+%28Inteldaily.com%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
http://inteldaily.com/2011/07/hands-off-social-security-movement-ignites/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+inteldaily%2Ffeeds+%28Inteldaily.com%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
How The Fed Crashed The MBS Market
Historical note: The Fed paid these banks for the Maiden Lane II asset they acquired during the $182 billion AIG bailout: France’s Societe Generale at $11.9 billion, Germany’s Deutsche Bank at $11.8 billion, and Britain’s Barclays PLC at $8.5 billion. AIG, through this fund also funneled significant bailout money to U.S. banks that had already been bailed out themselves under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. As AIG counterparties, Goldman Sachs got $12.9 billion, Bank of America got $5.2 billion, and Citigroup got $2.3 billion all at 100% on the dollar. It pays to have friends in high places.
http://dailycapitalist.com/2011/07/07/how-the-fed-crashed-the-mbs-market/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheDailyCapitalist+%28The+Daily+Capitalist%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
http://dailycapitalist.com/2011/07/07/how-the-fed-crashed-the-mbs-market/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheDailyCapitalist+%28The+Daily+Capitalist%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
How Goldman Sachs Created 'Shitty' CDOs, Sold Them To AIG, Forced AIG Into Bankruptcy, Got A $20 Billion Bailout, Paid Themselves Billions In Bonuses, And Watched As Tim Geithner Covered It All Up
http://dailybail.com/home/how-goldman-sachs-created-shitty-cdos-sold-them-to-aig-force.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheDailyBail+%28The+Daily+Bail%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
Saturday, July 9, 2011
IMF agrees to give Greece $4.2 billion
Give?
The European Union and the IMF Fund had said they would refuse to pay out the next installment unless Greek lawmakers approved a new five-year package of $40 billion worth of spending cuts and tax increases and a $72 billion privatization plan before the end of June. Greek lawmakers delivered what was asked of them, cheering up global financial markets but provoking violent demonstrations in the streets of Athens.Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/IMF-agrees-to-give-Greece-4-2-billion-1458449.php#ixzz1RfDZKD5C
Israel And Greece, A Brief History
All of this was new to me.
http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/greece-sides-israel-5579
http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/greece-sides-israel-5579
Statement by the Eurogroup on Greece: Full text
Nothing of particular interest here, but if you are curious...
http://sofiaecho.com/2011/07/02/1116752_statement-by-the-eurogroup-on-greece-full-text
http://sofiaecho.com/2011/07/02/1116752_statement-by-the-eurogroup-on-greece-full-text
Egypt's July 8 Protests
One of the issues is whether elections should take place before the writing of a constitution.
Calls for mass rally to bring Egypt revolt 'back to basics'
CAIRO — Egyptian activists are calling for a massive rally on July 8 to "save the revolution" that toppled Hosni Mubarak, urging politicians to drop debates on the timing of elections and focus on restoring basic freedoms.
On a Facebook page entitled "The 2nd revolution of anger", activists say the fundamental demands of the uprising -- to protect rights and freedoms -- have not been met, and have instead become clouded by arguments on whether elections or a constitution should come first.
"To all rival political forces debating which should come first, constitution or elections, save your revolution first, save Egypt first. Our revolution is collapsing," the activists said on their Facebook page, which by Friday had garnered over 55,000 members.
Indeed it is. The Mubarak-Regime-Sans-Mubarak (MRSM) has pretty much succeeded in stymying the revolution.
Protesters who first took to the streets to demand the overthrow of Mubarak, began shifting their anger towards the ruling military council, accusing it of using Mubarak-era tactics to stifle dissent.
"When (a) protest is dispersed with the use of thugs and when the army performs virginity tests on women, and when protesters are tortured, then something is definitely wrong," the activists said in a YouTube video. It can be seen on (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhlnuQX3qVI&feature=player_embedded).
The army, which has been accused of rights abuse since taking over in February, has come under intense fire from local and international rights watchdogs for allegedly performing virginity tests on female protesters they detained during a March 9 demonstration in Cairo.{Note: The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has confirmed that they have and continue to conduct virginity tests.)
"When journalists and judges are referred to military prosecution for mentioning the military council and there is no freedom, then everything is wrong," they said.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j5RpQwa00Rjj-u6CmotQPj1G15Zw?docId=CNG.7529f04e4c90d375e355a15d0a9e1ff2.171
Hundreds of civil servants in Alexandria will continue to protest against corruption in local councils
The workers who organized a protest today outside the headquarters of the West Alexandria local council on Sunday say that the reasoning behind both this protest and their planned participation on Friday is that "the revolution did not reach the local councils yet and the councils are still occupied by corruption."
Hundreds of local council members who protested in Alexandria against the ministry of local development say the ministry is reassigning those who belonged to the National Democratic Party in key positions. The protestors demanded elections for both the heads of local councils and governors.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/15547.aspx
Hundreds of thousands descended on Tahrir Square and elsewhere around the country in the biggest show of people power in months
Angered that no change is yet visible since the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak, hundreds of thousands have gathered again at Tahrir square and in cities around the country, insisting that the basic demands of the revolution be met. Demonstrators came from across Egypt’s provinces to assemble at Cairo’s downtown square, now a symbol of Egypt’s revolution.
Several stages had been set hours before the break of day, one by the Revolution Youth Coalition, one by a coalition of liberal parties and movements, one by the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), one belonging to the Wafd party and another to leftist parties. The Muslim Brotherhood’s stage was the highest and biggest, provoking many of the protestors who complained that the MB is trying to steal all the attention of the public. The MB has already angered many with their stand against the sit-in many political groups are calling for to pressure the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) into meeting the revolution’s demands.
The MB, which decided to join the protests only two days ago, has stated that they will not be supporting the sit-in, planned to go on until demands are met, and announced instead they would be leaving at 5pm. They began to pack up and leave the square shortly after 5.http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/15899/Egypt/Politics-/Hundreds-of-thousands-revitalise-Egypts-revolution.aspx
In Tahrir many demonstrators carried banners reading “I will be joining the sit-in”. Tens of tents have been set up since Thursday night.
One of the ploys the ruling class is using to stop the revolution is to compress attention onto the presidential race thus diverting attention from parliamentary elections. It will be that body which crafts the new constitution.
When seeing Egyptian daily TV shows, you rarely see a parliament candidate. The debate is all about the coming presidential campaign, but they are ignoring an important fact which is the Constitution now will be in the wrong hands, in the hands of people who exerted no effort at all to win my vote and yours. If the past scenario of persuading voters to give out their votes for the candidates for a bag of rice and other nutritional commodities repeats again, then we have certainly to worry about any piece of legislation that comes out from the “honorable” Parliament. People who are in need of food and basic daily needs would trade off their votes. And we will all pay out the price then.
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=35675
And the MRSM is trying, as all criminal regimes do, to control the flow of information:
A New minister of information again !?
It seems that Osama Heikal is being nominated to become the minister of information in Egypt !!
According to statement published in Al Masry Al Youm Heikal is going to restructure the Egyptian media "do not ask me how or what !? The cabinet or rather SCAF decided to restore this position in order to fight these negative aspects appeared in the media !!
http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/07/new-minister-of-information-again.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EgyptianChronicles+%28Egyptian+chronicles%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
And the regime is stacking the electoral deck with loyalists.
Egypt approves Sawiris political party
CAIRO: The political party of Egypt’s wealthiest man, Naguib Sawiris, was approved by the government on Wednesday, the state run MENA news agency reported.
"Approved"!
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=35742
A shocking development, brace yourselves: The government against which this new round of protests is launched is urging everyone to protest peacefully.
Egypt Cabinet calls for peaceful protests Friday
Which brings us to the touchiest of all political topics--revolutionary violence. Only a savage or Sadist enjoys violence, but when is is justifiable and/or necessary. As long as the protesters obey and refrain from aggression against the state, as long as they just shout slogans and wave signs and then go home, then the hegemony of the gangsters, domestic and international, who own Egypt will remain unthreatened. Their position as ruling elite will be preserved, and the protesters will have achieved nothing other than a scant fifteen minutes of revolutionary fame. Hence the Cabinet's injunction.
Few would argue that if attacked by police that the protesters would have a right to defend themselves, and to hold their ground, but do they have a right to initiate violence, to attack the state, and to overthrow it?
For Americans, whose nation came into existence by the violent, bloody overthrow of the colonial rule, our answer could only be yes, unless we were prepared to return the country to Great Britain. But even among our ranks one would find those who would denounce an organized, violent attack by any citizenry against its government preferring instead non-violent resistance.
Most if not all bloody revolutions began as passive protests and petitioning, and developed into armed conflicts because of the reluctance of the ruling class to grant concessions. In a few glorious cases, that intransigence turned out to be fatal and resulted in their ouster. It takes a great deal to make people take to the streets, even more to make them turn violent. Most men need to be driven near mad before the will rebel. Or as JFK put it: "Those who make peaceful change impossible, make violent change inevitable."
Do the Egyptian people have a right, lacking an alternative, to resort to violence to depose the government which has done everything it could to quash the revolution; which continues to repress free speech; which has outlawed mass protests and workers' strikes; which arbitrarily detains its critics and sometimes tortures them; which subjects women to forced, insertive virginity tests; which refuses to bring former regime criminals to justice: which continues to allow a tiny elite to garner great wealth from Egypt's bounty while nearly half its citizens live on less than two USD a day; which at every turn has inveigled to avert a real transfer of power from the ancient regime to the people?
To answer no to this question, that's the real violence.[1]
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=35625
The international press is doing what it can to derail the Egyptian revolution.
The New York Crimes is trying to convince its readership that the revolution ended when Mubarak fled.
Egypt News — Revolution and Aftermath
Egypt, the most populous country in the Arab world, erupted in mass protests in January 2011, as the revolution in Tunisia inflamed decades worth of smoldering grievances against the heavy-handed rule of President Hosni Mubarak. After 18 days of angry protests and after losing of the support of the military and the United States, Mr. Mubarak resigned on Feb. 11, ending 30 years of autocratic rule. ...Tell the hundreds of thousands of Egyptians demonstrating in the streets that autocratic rule has ended.
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/egypt/index.html
In an election year pander, and trying to capitalize on the IMF's universal unpopularity, the Egyptian government has very publicly refused to accept loans from the fund. This is a shameless deception as they have already accepted money from the West, and are now doing so again.
OPIC to loan to Egypt, Jordan businesses
In an effort to help bolster small businesses in Egypt and Jordan, an independent US government agency Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has secured some $500 million in loans.
OPIC agreed to guarantee loans by local banks to small and medium-sized enterprises, microfinance institutions, non-banking financial institutions and other approved borrowers for up to $250 million each for Egypt and Jordan, it said in a statement on its website.
They have already accepted money from USAID, now here from the "independent US government agency."
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=35541
Unfortunately, even some on the left have fallen for this nonsense.
Egypt vs IMF: Time to Default?
The financial flip-flop of Egypt’s revolutionary government, first requesting and then declining a $3 billion dollar IMF loan, highlights Egypt’s hard choices at this point in the revolution, but is a good sign.
Again, tell the people in Tahrir Square that their government is revolutionary.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=25538
Perspective comes from Egyptian blogger Zeinobia, on her Egyptian Chronicles she writes:
Why we need to return to the square for real
Tahrir square and all other squares in Egypt made it when we forgot all our differences and fights over power. Our power is in our unity and honestly when I look to it now after 5 months and how we did not achieve all what we want in this time , I blame no one except our spilt. We had an opportunity to stop this split after the referendum yet foolishly we continued to widen it with useless dialogues about the civil state and constitution first vs. elections first … etc. All political powers truly love Egypt “except the NDP” and want the best for the country according to their ideologies. It is natural that all these powers whether right or left or liberal or nationalist seek the rule in a way or another. But this race over power I am afraid it is too early to speak about when the regime is still fooling around. Remember we are speaking about 60 years old regime not just Mubarak’s regime.
http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/07/july8-why-we-need-to-return-to-square.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EgyptianChronicles+%28Egyptian+chronicles%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
Good luck Egypt, all people of goodwill throughout the world are with you.
[1] For a frank discussion of this topic:
http://wearemany.org/a/2010/07/is-violence-necessary-to-change-society
Propaganda Alert: Egyptian Counterrevolution Phase Two, CNN's Candidate
Trying to pass off the Mubarak-Regime-Sans-Mubarak as revolutionary has failed, the people of Egypt have seen through this "change we can believe in" phantasm, so now international capital is trying a new ruse. CNN produces this report in which they (finally) admit that there has been no real change in Egypt, depicting the MRSM as the murderous thugs they are, but then in a classic bait-and-switch maneuver offer capital's former top nuclear cop elBaradei as the solution. Please note how at the end CNN's interviewer all but endorses his candidacy outright.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Massacres continue far from cameras in Syria and Yemen
Good report.
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=35745
http://bikyamasr.com/wordpress/?p=35745
Social Security Cuts, Here's What You Can Do
Go here to sign petition: http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/safetynet-lib
Fri, July 8, 2011 11:53:35 AM
URGENT: Obama proposes cuts to Social Security
...
From:
"Brian Sonenstein, Firedoglake.com"
...
President Obama Proposes Cuts to Social Security
Pledge not to vote for anyone who votes to cut Social Security benefits.
Take the pledge.
Dear david,
The war on our social safety net is now fully underway.
Yesterday, President Obama put cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits on the table in exchange for GOP support for tax hikes.1 Democrats in the Senate and Congress will likely follow suit, and the social safety net will go on the chopping block as part of the debt ceiling negotiations.
Support for cutting seniors access to health care among the political classes is growing quickly, and we need to escalate our efforts right now. Firedoglake activists are standing up and pledging not to vote for ANY politician who participates in cutting Social Security or Medicare benefits -- will you join us?
Add your name to our pledge not to vote for or donate to any politician who advocates cuts to social safety net programs like Medicare and Social Security.
It's time to draw a line in the sand. Click here to sign: http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/safetynet-lib
President Obama doesn't have to do this.
There is no need for Democrats to agree to Republican demands for raising the debt ceiling, because the 14th amendment of the Constitution says the government can't default on its debts.2 Obama is therefore not only able but Constitutionally obligated to ignore the debt ceiling and doesn't have to offer Social Security and Medicare benefit cuts.
Our politicians need to know that we mean business when it comes to protecting fundamental programs like Social Security and Medicare. The only way we can hope to stop Obama's assault on senior citizens is if we commit to building a groundswell of deep grassroots opposition to cutting these benefits.
Our campaign to protect Social Security has been strong and is by no means over. With over 60,000 people standing together to say NO to cutting retirement benefits, we need to expand our campaign to include seniors access to healthcare and our social safety net as a whole.
Sign our letter pledging not to vote for any politician who seeks to cut social safety net programs like Social Security and Medicare.
Republicans have repeatedly stated that deficit negotiations cannot move forward without including cuts to social safety net programs, and Democrats, led by President Obama, seem to be willing to give in to their will. Hopefully, with your support, we can demonstrate that we won't stand for it.
Thank you for your commitment to standing up for these critical programs that provide important services to our most vulnerable citizens.
Deepest thanks
Brian Sonenstein
Digital Strategy Director
Firedoglake.com
[1] In debt talks, Obama offers Social Security cuts. Washington Post, 7/6/11.
[2] White House Could Ignore the Debt Limit, Order Debt Repayment, According to Constitutional Scholars. FDL News Desk, 6/24/11.
Fri, July 8, 2011 11:53:35 AM
URGENT: Obama proposes cuts to Social Security
...
From:
"Brian Sonenstein, Firedoglake.com"
...
President Obama Proposes Cuts to Social Security
Pledge not to vote for anyone who votes to cut Social Security benefits.
Take the pledge.
Dear david,
The war on our social safety net is now fully underway.
Yesterday, President Obama put cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits on the table in exchange for GOP support for tax hikes.1 Democrats in the Senate and Congress will likely follow suit, and the social safety net will go on the chopping block as part of the debt ceiling negotiations.
Support for cutting seniors access to health care among the political classes is growing quickly, and we need to escalate our efforts right now. Firedoglake activists are standing up and pledging not to vote for ANY politician who participates in cutting Social Security or Medicare benefits -- will you join us?
Add your name to our pledge not to vote for or donate to any politician who advocates cuts to social safety net programs like Medicare and Social Security.
It's time to draw a line in the sand. Click here to sign: http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/safetynet-lib
President Obama doesn't have to do this.
There is no need for Democrats to agree to Republican demands for raising the debt ceiling, because the 14th amendment of the Constitution says the government can't default on its debts.2 Obama is therefore not only able but Constitutionally obligated to ignore the debt ceiling and doesn't have to offer Social Security and Medicare benefit cuts.
Our politicians need to know that we mean business when it comes to protecting fundamental programs like Social Security and Medicare. The only way we can hope to stop Obama's assault on senior citizens is if we commit to building a groundswell of deep grassroots opposition to cutting these benefits.
Our campaign to protect Social Security has been strong and is by no means over. With over 60,000 people standing together to say NO to cutting retirement benefits, we need to expand our campaign to include seniors access to healthcare and our social safety net as a whole.
Sign our letter pledging not to vote for any politician who seeks to cut social safety net programs like Social Security and Medicare.
Republicans have repeatedly stated that deficit negotiations cannot move forward without including cuts to social safety net programs, and Democrats, led by President Obama, seem to be willing to give in to their will. Hopefully, with your support, we can demonstrate that we won't stand for it.
Thank you for your commitment to standing up for these critical programs that provide important services to our most vulnerable citizens.
Deepest thanks
Brian Sonenstein
Digital Strategy Director
Firedoglake.com
[1] In debt talks, Obama offers Social Security cuts. Washington Post, 7/6/11.
[2] White House Could Ignore the Debt Limit, Order Debt Repayment, According to Constitutional Scholars. FDL News Desk, 6/24/11.
WI: Prisoners Replace Public Workers
The host uses the term "free labor" when she should say "slave labor."
A taste of things to come.
A taste of things to come.
US: Israel included in terror watch list by mistake
Hysterical!
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4092186,00.html
"The addition of Israel to the list… was based on inaccurate information provided to the OIG during the course of its audit," Morton told JTA. "The US does not and never has considered Israel to have links to terrorism...Provided to OIG by whom? Now this is funny.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4092186,00.html
South Yemen: Is It About to Declare Independence?
It was an independent, socialist state until it voted to reunite Yemen under one government. Something they came to regret.
http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/time/20110708/wl_time/08599208175600
http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/time/20110708/wl_time/08599208175600
France bars activist flights to Israel
But if one dares to say that the Ziolobby is strong enough to influence the policy of Western nations you will be denounced as an anti-Semite.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/188141.html
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/188141.html
Greece 'sold its soul' on Gaza: Henning Mankell
"That we were not able to leave (for Gaza) has to do with the fact that the Greek government has sold its soul for a silver coin,"
While I am entirely sympathetic, It is remarkably callous of Mankell to say this at a time when Greece is being plundered by the gang-bankers. Where is the sympathy for them?
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/15852/World/Region/Greece-sold-its-soul-on-Gaza-Henning-Mankell.aspx
Iran Sanctions US And Indicts American War Criminals
Now this is a surprise. What is motivating the theocrats to do something like this is a little hard to understand. While the people they allege are war criminals are certainly guilty, to what advantage is it for Iran act so aggressively (even if this move is nothing more than political theater)? And why now? I don't have the answer but I imagine it has something to do with their domestic politics.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28515.htm
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28515.htm
Greek austerity measures could violate human rights, UN expert says
“The rights to food, water, adequate housing and work under fair and equitable conditions should not be compromised by the implementation of austerity measures,” he said, urging the Government to “strike a careful balance between austerity and the realization of human rights, taking into account the primacy of States’ human rights obligations.”
Does he think the banksters care?
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=38901
Does he think the banksters care?
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=38901
Thursday, July 7, 2011
My New Favorite Band
People of Greece rise up! from Phil Kimby on Vimeo.
People of Greece rise up to protect their right to a decent living while the goverment answers with a violent pogrom in the streets of Athens.
The song is “crack of doom” from the live performance of the Tiger Lillies in Sydagma square, in support of the struggle of the people of Greece.
http://www.occupiedlondon.org/blog/
Max Keiser, Stacy Herbert, And Webster Tarpley On The AIG Scandal
The three main counterparties, Societe Generale, Deutsche Ban, and Goldman Sachs are all owned in large part by either the Rothschild or Rockefeller families, the two richest and most powerful famiies in the world.
Geithner Exposed As Liar
The media lying, or lying to the media, is no crime. In fact, it's constitutionally protected, at least according to the Supreme Chamber of Commerce...oops, I mean Supreme Court. Nevertheless, this is grounds for his removal. Not that it would make much difference, his replacement will be just like him. Capitalism has to go, representative government has to go, short of that nothing will never be change we can believe in.
http://dailybail.com/home/the-triumphant-return-of-tricky-dick-treasury-secretary-tim.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheDailyBail+%28The+Daily+Bail%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
The Rape Of Greece Update, July 7
To understand the enormity of the crime being committed against Greece, please watch the first 5 minutes of this video ( the rest is good too). Greece is being forced to sell assets worth billions on the open markets to the gang-bankers for just millions. Max calls it neofeudalism, I call it neocolonialism.
"Perfectly Legal": Chair Directs NYFed To Overpay Goldman Sachs
Why? Because he's a shareholder.
Once again I yield the floor to George Carlin:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-30/scrutiny-of-goldman-sachs-board-focusing-on-silence-over-client-conflicts.html
Once again I yield the floor to George Carlin:
They own you!
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-30/scrutiny-of-goldman-sachs-board-focusing-on-silence-over-client-conflicts.html
Geithner's Disgrace
If you are still laboring under the delusion that Geithner is or has ever been acting in the best interests of the people either as N.Y. Fed or as U.S. Treasurer, that he and Bernanke and Paulson and the rest are anything other than gangsters, this article should be of use.
http://www.slate.com/id/2236460/
http://www.slate.com/id/2236460/
First-Hand Account Of The Battle Of Syntagma Square
Great piece. A must read. Those people threatening fellow protesters were not anarchists! Those were agents of the state masquerading as anarchists. No anarchist worth his balaclava would do anything to undermine an uprising like this. Clearly this was the state sending their people out amongst the protesters to sow division, and commit acts of destruction which would give the authorities the pretext to disperse, arrest etc.
A note on the Back Bloc: It is a technique, not a political faction. It is simply a mass event in which a direct action is taken. Participants cover themselves to hide their identities from the public and from one another. This makes the practice subject to easy police infiltration. I have never engaged in such action, so it is hard for me to judge, but my guess is that the vast majority of these events are organized by the police, and most of the participants in them are cops. They have been caught several times (as no doubt occurred in the instance described in the article) and police have had to testify in courts in N. America and Europe that it was they who instigated violence in the guise of Black Bloc and/or anarchists.
http://roarmag.org/2011/07/the-battle-for-syntagma-an-eyewitness-report/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+roarmag+%28Reflections+on+a+Revolution%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
A note on the Back Bloc: It is a technique, not a political faction. It is simply a mass event in which a direct action is taken. Participants cover themselves to hide their identities from the public and from one another. This makes the practice subject to easy police infiltration. I have never engaged in such action, so it is hard for me to judge, but my guess is that the vast majority of these events are organized by the police, and most of the participants in them are cops. They have been caught several times (as no doubt occurred in the instance described in the article) and police have had to testify in courts in N. America and Europe that it was they who instigated violence in the guise of Black Bloc and/or anarchists.
http://roarmag.org/2011/07/the-battle-for-syntagma-an-eyewitness-report/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+roarmag+%28Reflections+on+a+Revolution%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail
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