Blogger's Note, 20 August

The Seattle Anarchist Book Fair 2011 has begun. It's at the Vera Project at Seattle Center, hope to see you there. Don't mind the hulking, monstrous, giant, needle-shaped cultural holocaust looming overhead, just don't look up.

Revolt in North Africa and the Middle East

This is an old piece but very much worth another look. It examines the Arab Spring from an anarchist perspective, has some great photos, and an awe-inspiring video.

In fact, here it is.



http://autonomy253.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/revolt-in-north-africa-and-the-middle-east/

Bizarre plans by allies to turn Hitler into a woman revealed in new book

Der Fuehrerweiblichmachenplan! Or, Mein Fuehrer, nicht be a girly man.

You can't make this shit up!

As I have said before in this space, we are awash in baloney. Fake history is much more common than the real thing, much more. So while acknowledging that I am giving this garbage much more attention than it deserves, let's take a closer look.

I have several points: Why would changing Hitler's sex necessarily change his political position? There is a rather large presupposition here. History is full of female heads of state who acted rurthlessly, and these were real women, not estrogenized men. Army records confirm that Hitler had only one testicle; he was effeminate; and his best friends early on in his political career were all gay. Some of his army mates tell stories of discovering Hitler and his "whore," a man named Schmiedl (or something like that), inflagrante delecto, as they say. This new business of turning him into a woman follows upon the theory that he already pretty much was one in his low-testosterone state.

The story claims that they had British spies close to Hitler who could have put the estrogen in his food. First, it wasn't until the end of the war that the Western Allies had any interest in killing Hitler. They sat out the war in Europe for years to give the Nazis a chance to topple the Bolsheviks. It was only after Stalingrad that the Western Allies condescended to engage the enemy on D-Day.

Second, if they had people so close and they wanted to neutralize him, they could certainly have come up with something better than this nonsense. Nobody is going to jeopardize an agent who is that close to the subject that they could poison him repeatedly with a plan as likely to fail as this one. There is the risk of detection and the subsequent loss of a highly infiltrated mole; and if the poisoner does manage to execute the plan, there's no guarantee that it would have the desired effect. There is zero chance that this was ever seriously contemplated.

I could go on but why bother...

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/08/13/bizarre-plans-by-allies-to-turn-hitler-into-a-woman-revealed-in-new-book-91466-29230095/2/

Egyptians protest outside Israel embassy

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/194673.html

Max Keiser interviews Prof. Bill Black - The man who sent 1,000 banksters to prison

Caught In the Act: BofA Tells Rick "The Hick" Perry That He Can Count On Them.

UPDATE: ZeroHedge identifies the Bank of America official offering his his company's support to Texas Governor Rick Perry's campaign as James Mahoney the Director of Public Policy for the bank.
Mahoney is a member of the board of directors of The New England Council, one of the events sponsors.
It's worth noting again that Perry threatened Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, and said any attempt by the Fed to print more money would be "almost...treasonous."


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/banker-to-rick-perry-im-from-bank-of-america-and-well-help-you-out-2011-8#ixzz1VWj2gFw6



http://www.businessinsider.com/banker-to-rick-perry-im-from-bank-of-america-and-well-help-you-out-2011-8



In the meantime, BofA is laying off thousands of its workers.

BofA layoffs are the latest as an industry shrinks

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Reports-Bank-of-America-to-ax-apf-1876188922.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=1&asset=&ccode=

Wall Street firms donated $11.2 million to members of debt ‘super committee’

In total, the twelve members appointed to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction got nearly $64.5 million from special interests groups over the past decade, with legal firms donating about $31.5 million and Wall Street firms donating about $11.2 million.

Of that $11.2 million, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase donated approximately $2 million combined.

It'd called plutocracy. THEY OWN YOU!

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/08/18/wall-street-firms-donated-11-2-million-to-members-of-debt-super-committee/

Israel tent protests called off after Eilat attacks

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/18/israel-tent-protests-called-off

S&P Bogus Downgrade Update, 19 August

S&P and the Bilderbergers: All Part of the Plan?

Many commentators questioned the validity of the downgrade that threatened to collapse the market. Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, said in a statement:

"The Treasury Department revealed that S&P’s decision was initially based on a $2 trillion error in accounting. However, even after this enormous error was corrected, S&P went ahead with the downgrade. This suggests that S&P had made the decision to downgrade independent of the evidence. [Emphasis added.]

Paul Krugman, writing in the New York Times, was also skeptical, stating:

[E]verything I’ve heard about S&P’s demands suggests that it’s talking nonsense about the US fiscal situation. The agency has suggested that the downgrade depended on the size of agreed deficit reduction over the next decade, with $4 trillion apparently the magic number. Yet US solvency depends hardly at all on what happens in the near or even medium term: an extra trillion in debt adds only a fraction of a percent of GDP to future interest costs . . . .

I'm not sure Brown proves her basic thesis, but the analysis of the downgrade is spot on.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28885.htm

Yemen's opposition forms national council

"Government is the entertainment wing of the military-industrial complex."[1]

Yemen's President Saleh responded to the news by saying that the opposition were "leftovers of Marxists, the Taliban and the imamate [Yemen's ousted monarchist rulers]".

That's quite a coalition. Politics does indeed make for strange bedfellows.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/08/2011817173728370398.html



[1] Frank Zappa

Journaganda Alert: The Somali Pirates

I post this video for two reasons:

1, It contains some stunning statistics about life in Somalia.

2, It's a fine example of media propaganda.

For decades now the French and other nations who produce nuclear waste have been dumping it in the sea off the coast of Somalia. This not only has led to stunning child mortality, among other lethal medical problems, it has also destroyed the fishing grounds. The people now allegedly committing acts of piracy are the fisherfolk who took to arms to stop the dumping of nuclear waste in their waters. Some of their number may (or may not) have committed acts of piracy, but these were decent, peaceful, law-abiding people until their livelihoods were destroyed. They now patrol their coasts in paramilitary fashion because they must.

Bahadur claims to have lived amongst the pirates, yet he says nothing about their principal grievance. Perhaps he deals with it in his book, but he is asked what people don't know about the pirates, and he says nary a word about the dumping.

Even more absurdly, he insists that the piracy is not the result of poverty. That's a damn lie, and he knows it. This interview (and book presumably) is for propaganda purposes. Perhaps Africom has decided to land troops in Somalia and this is part of the initial PR work to gain public support for yet another invasion and occupation, I don't know, but clearly the author has no intention of telling the truth. One can only speculate as to what his motives might be...

Anyway, for those of you who are foolish enough to believe the news broadcasters are trying to tell you the truth, take a gander at this psy-op.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Egyptian X-file : And I though that Mowafi was Qaddafi’s man in Egypt !!

This is a little difficult to follow if you don't know the people involved, and Zeinobia's English, is she will forgive me, is not always easily decrypted, but if what she writes is true, then there has been a much more amiable relationship between Gaddafi and Mubarak than was thought. Publicly at least, the Libyan had denounced Mubarak as a puppet of the West.

http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2011/08/egyptian-x-file-and-i-though-that.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EgyptianChronicles+%28Egyptian+chronicles%29

Poster O' The Day, 18 August

Verizon Update 18 August: Company Threatens Strikers' Health Benefits

Verizon threatens strikers with health care cutoff

Verizon told its striking workers yesterday that it will halt their health insurance and all medical, vision and dental benefits if they remain out on strike after August 31. Union leaders accused the company of lining up with right-wing extremists out to eliminate workers' rights.

It really has been a long time since we've seen a company as unapologetically aggressive as Verizon. The stars are all aligned in their favor: The nebish in the Oval Office might defend the workers publicly, but Verizon knows that in the end Obama always gives Wall Street whatever it wants; and the generally poor state of the economy makes lengthy strikes a real hardship for the workers and unions involved. The company holds all the cards, and they are playing them.

It is extremely unlikely that the striking workers will ever lose their health benefits, even if the dispute goes the company's way. Verizon knows it but the fear this threat will instill in the strikers, particularly those with diseased or disabled children who need expensive care, might force a better settlement for them. This is an ugly tactic, but it is a corporation after all, not a philanthropic organization.

http://peoplesworld.org/verizon-threatens-strikers-with-health-care-cutoff/?stage=Live



Here's a good report from Juan Gonzalez





The workers are bringing the strike home to the boss-literally.

Verizon workers plan demonstration at CEO’s home

Striking Verizon workers have said they’re planning a demonstration at the home of Verizon CEO Lowell McAdams on Thursday night.


The New Jersey branch of the Communications Workers America are planning a candlelight vigil outside the executive’s home in Mendham, N.J., to mourn the “death of good, middle class jobs in New Jersey,” according to the union’s Web site.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-tech/post/verizon-workers-plan-demonstration-at-ceos-home/2011/08/18/gIQAcAITNJ_blog.html



The strike is having something of an adverse effect on the company as there was a groundswell of resistance in New York to a deal its school system made with Verizon.

School Panel, Over Protests, Backs a Deal With Verizon

The Panel for Educational Policy on Wednesday approved a $120 million contract with a Verizon subsidiary to provide phone and Internet services for two years at city schools, despite calls for postponing the vote and boisterous protests over Verizon’s possible role in federal theft charges against an Education Department consultant.

Later in the same article.

Complaints came from people inside and outside of the school, before and during the meeting, injecting the current strike by Verizon’s landline workers into the controversy. Mr. Liu, whose office registered the contract in May, said that a yes vote on the contract would essentially validate the company’s demands for cuts to workers’ health and benefit funds.


In a letter sent to the panel’s members on Tuesday, James J. Gerace, president of Verizon’s New York region, accused the Communication Workers of America, which represents many of the striking employees, of fomenting a campaign against the contract by disseminating what he called “patently false” information about Verizon’s role in the theft charges.

This is a serious accusation on Verizon's part, one which is legally actionable if untrue. Something I'm sure the union is considering.

Still later.

On Wednesday, hundreds of people, most of them wearing red, the color of shirts that Verizon workers are wearing on picket lines, packed the school’s auditorium, some holding signs that read, “While Verizon profits, kids and workers lose.”


In April, federal authorities arrested Willard Lanham, a former technology consultant for the Education Department, on charges that he stole $3.6 million over six years. He is accused of using contractors for Verizon, as well as I.B.M., to hide the scheme. A report by Richard J. Condon, the special investigator for the city’s schools, accused Verizon and I.B.M. of facilitating the fraud by keeping silent.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/18/nyregion/verizon-deal-for-school-phones-approved-by-panel-for-educational-policy.html



And, as usual, the "liberal" bourgeois press are doing their disingenuous best to help Verizon swindle its employees, with the New York Crimes and the Washington Host leading the way.

Customers Feel Ripples of the Verizon Strike

As a strike by 45,000 Verizon workers approaches the two-week mark, the company’s customers are beginning to feel the impact — and are complaining about it.


Verizon acknowledges “minor” disruptions since the strike began on Aug. 7. But some customers of its landline telephone, Internet and cable television service are reporting significant delays getting current lines repaired and new ones installed.

I guess Verizon's workers should submit to having their standard of living slashed rather than inconvenience Verizon's customers. And this is assuming that the company or a sympathetic party isn't responsible for the "significant delays."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/19/technology/verizon-strike-slowing-service-and-customers-complain.html



Verizon customers see outages as worker strike continues

As negotiations over a strike by 45,000 Verizon workers continued to sour, several thousand Washington-area customers experienced service outages caused by what the company called acts of sabotage.


Verizon reported 28 incidents of cut cables and damaged terminals in the District and Maryland since the strike began Sunday, out of more than 100 similiar incidents along the East Coast. Most of the vandalism has taken place in New Jersey and New York, Verizon spokesman Harry Mitchell said Friday.

Whose acts of sabotage?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/verizon-customers-see-outages-as-worker-strike-continues/2011/08/12/gIQAzSJzBJ_story.html



Meanwhile, thing just keep getting better for the cash-rich telecom giant.

Verizon’s got half the country covered with LTE

Verizon is turning on its LTE network in 15 cities and expanding 4G coverage in 10 cities, bringing more than half the U.S. population under its next-generation wireless network on Thursday. Eight months after its initial launch, Verizon’s LTE network now covers 160 million people in 117 cities.


The expansion keeps Verizon well ahead of AT&T, which is preparing to turn on its LTE network and just announced two new LTE devices that will have to settle for HSPA+ until true 4G comes online. AT&T has plans to offer LTE service in five markets this summer, but it has not yet announced a launch date for its new network. Verizon expects to have 185 million consumers covered by the end of this year.

http://gigaom.com/2011/08/18/verizons-got-half-the-country-covered-with-lte/



And here's the EPS chart.

Verizon Communications EPS Growth Stock Chart by YCharts

Verizon Sees Revenue and EPS Growth

Verizon Communications Inc. has positioned itself to "kick into a higher gear as we go forward," Lowell McAdam, Verizon president and chief operating officer, told investors and analysts at a conference today. The conference included a discussion of the company's 2010 results and a strategic and financial overview of 2011 and beyond.

McAdam said: "Verizon's superior asset base gives us a solid foothold in growth markets for broadband, wireless data, video and cloud services - businesses that are gaining scale and momentum, as we saw in the second half of 2010. Verizon has an unmatched strategic position in the growth markets of the future. Our focus is on leveraging these superior assets to deliver superior value to customers and investors."

McAdam described a transformational change in Verizon's revenue and growth profile. Over the past several years, he noted, Verizon has invested in next-generation broadband technologies such as FiOS and wireless LTE; it has acquired assets such as Alltel and MCI to extend its reach in global markets and add scale; and it has divested lower-growth, non-strategic assets. As a result, 72 percent of Verizon's total revenues in 2010 were generated by wireless, FiOS and strategic business services, compared with 48 percent in 2006.

Earlier today, the company reported 2010 total operating revenues of $106.6 billion. Excluding results from assets that have since been divested, 2010 revenues were $104.4 billion, or a 1.9 percent increase from 2009 revenues of $102.5 billion on a comparable basis (non-GAAP).

http://newscenter.verizon.com/press-releases/verizon/2011/verizon-sees-revenue-and-eps.html



The raw hand of power is reaching out from Wall Street and taking whatever it can pry from our hands. They have the Congress, the White House, the judiciary, the think tanks, and the press, we only have each other. Please consider visiting the CWA website and seeing what you can do. Think of how emboldened capital will be if a company earning gaudy profits as Verizon is can force concessions from unions as strong as the IBEW and the CWA. If you work for a living, whether a union member or not, the outcome of this struggle will have an impact on your life. Capital is winning its endless war on labor, this trend must be reversed, for all our sakes.

http://cwa-union.org/pages/support_the_strike_at_verizon

Wells Fargo's $3 Debit Card Charge: A Sign of More Bank Fees to Come?

A new report emerged Tuesday that Wells Fargo (WFC) will begin charging some customers $3 every month to use their debit card -- further indication that banks are putting on the squeeze as new swipe-card regulations are set to take effect.

Wells Fargo already sent letters to customers in Georgia, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon and Washington that the fees will begin Oct. 14, according to MyBankTracker.com. That's just two weeks after Federal Reserve-mandated rules slash the amount banks can charge retailers for every debit card purchase. Regulators reduced the maximum bank take on each transaction from 44 cents to 24 cents.

These new regs benefit retailers and hurt bank depositors. (What a surprise!) This is aggressive class war being directed at you.

Quelle Surprise! Standard & Poor’s Execs Diddled in Mortgage Bond Ratings (Updated)

There you have it. Thw whole mortgage bond regime that brought the economy down was made possible by the deliberate misrating of bonds. This was a criminal conspiracy from the get-go.

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/08/quelle-surprise-standard-poors-execs-diddled-in-mortgage-bond-ratings.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

Foreclosuregate Update: MERS Case Filed With Supreme Court

Before readers get worried by virtue of the headline that the Supreme Court will use its magic legal wand to make the dubious MERS mortgage registry system viable, consider the following:

1. The Supreme Court hears only a very small portion of the cases filed with it, and is less likely to take one with these demographics (filed by a private party, and an appeal out of a state court system, as opposed to Federal court). This case, Gomes v. Countywide, was decided against the plaintiff in lower and appellate court and the California state supreme court declined to hear it

2. If MERS or the various servicers who have had foreclosures overturned based on challenges to MERS thought they’d get a sympathetic hearing at the Supreme Court, they probably would have filed some time ago. MERS have apparently been settling cases rather than pursue ones where it though the judge would issue an unfavorable precedent

3. The case in question, from what the experts I consulted with and I can tell, is not the sort the Supreme Court would intervene in based on the issue raised, which is due process (14th Amendment). But none of us have seen the underlying lower and appellate court cases, and the summaries we’ve seen are unusually unclear as to what the legal argument is

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/08/mers-case-filed-with-supreme-court.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

US Airways Can Proceed With Pilot-Slowdown Suit Against Union, Judge Says

Capital is getting really aggressive these days.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-17/us-airways-suit-blaming-pilots-for-work-slowdown-can-proceed-judge-says.html

Quote O' The Day, 18 August

Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed...Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.

Abe Lincoln

Climategategate Update

Remember climategate? Remember the media blitz about leaked e-mails suggesting that the data behind global warming was bogus? Remember how right-wing extremists and corporate interests (if you will pardon the redundancy) roared about "leftist, anti-business agenda"? Remember how these e-mails were leaked to a then little-known whistle-blower named Julian Assange? Remember how this cause was championed by an infamous "eccentric" in Britain with deep ties to that country's intelligence community? If so then you will remember Lord Monckton.

Here's a piece which you should read if for no other reason than it's amusing. Beyond that this is a fine example of how the corporate/intelligence/media complex exculpates itself from its crimes against humanity. All the blame for the obviously deceitful news then being broadcast is now being placed on the shoulders of the messenger. It was all that crazy Lord Monckie, don't you know...

http://whowhatwhy.com/2011/08/01/mr-%E2%80%9Cclimate-hysteria%E2%80%9D-a-bit-of-a-hype-himself/