Rio+20 Earth summit: scientists call for action on population
Joint report by 105 institutions urges negotiators to drop political inhibitions and confront rising global population and consumption
Jonathan Watts in Rio de Janeiro
The Guardian, Wednesday 13 June 2012
"...Many in the scientific community believe it is time to confront these elephants in the room. "For too long population and consumption have been left off the table due to political and ethical sensitivities. These are issues that affect developed and developing nations alike, and we must take responsibility for them together," said Charles Godfray, a fellow of the Royal Society and chair of the working group of IAP, the global network of science academies..."
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Monday, June 11, 2012
Human-Induced Ocean Warming Study Addresses The 'Dominant Role' Of People
"Despite the ominous findings, some politicians are still attempting to project an element of doubt on issues surrounding human-induced climate change"
Can you say 'campaign contributions?'
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Wall Street Does Not Care About JPMorgan's Loss
Of COURSE they don't care. They are gambling with other people's money and no matter how badly they screw up the taxpayers get stuck paying off their bad bets.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Supreme Court Declines Guantanamo Bay Cases: It's Been 4 Years Of Silence
Come on, who remembers the days when the Supreme Court was interested in citizen's rights instead of advancing the wealth of the already wealthy? You know, like 50 years ago?
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Friday, June 08, 2012
I am getting apathetic about elections
Although, I did vote. Love the absentee voting, more people should do it
here . It's easy.
Election Night Website Attack Came From Offshore IP Address, Officials Say
Friday, June 8, 2012
By CITY NEWS SERVICE
"Finding the ultimate source of an off-shore cyber attack on San Diego County's main website on election night will be a huge challenge, an expert at the Supercomputer Center at UC San Diego said today..."
COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY ELECTION
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
THESE RESULTS ARE UNOFFICIAL
Last updated on: 06-07-12 at: 16:54:51
There are approximately 108000 Absentee / Provisional ballots still to be counted
What Does Our Obsession With Zombie Stories Tell Us About Our Politics
By Kristin Rawls, AlterNet
Posted on June 6, 2012, Printed on June 8, 2012
"...A year ago, a CBS poll suggested that, “Americans have long felt they have little say in government. But the trends are troubling: While 58 percent said they have little say in what government does in 1990, that figure has risen to 69 percent today. In the new survey, 85 percent say that people like them had too little influence on American life.”
Political alienation in the United States, in other words, has never been higher. A staggering 85 percent of Americans did not feel that American politics allowed them much in the way of participation..."
here . It's easy.
Election Night Website Attack Came From Offshore IP Address, Officials Say
Friday, June 8, 2012
By CITY NEWS SERVICE
"Finding the ultimate source of an off-shore cyber attack on San Diego County's main website on election night will be a huge challenge, an expert at the Supercomputer Center at UC San Diego said today..."
COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY ELECTION
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
THESE RESULTS ARE UNOFFICIAL
Last updated on: 06-07-12 at: 16:54:51
There are approximately 108000 Absentee / Provisional ballots still to be counted
What Does Our Obsession With Zombie Stories Tell Us About Our Politics
By Kristin Rawls, AlterNet
Posted on June 6, 2012, Printed on June 8, 2012
"...A year ago, a CBS poll suggested that, “Americans have long felt they have little say in government. But the trends are troubling: While 58 percent said they have little say in what government does in 1990, that figure has risen to 69 percent today. In the new survey, 85 percent say that people like them had too little influence on American life.”
Political alienation in the United States, in other words, has never been higher. A staggering 85 percent of Americans did not feel that American politics allowed them much in the way of participation..."
House Republicans Vote To Defund Obama Immigration Efforts
Oh boy, another vote I can loathe my hopefully on his way out in Nov. congressman.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Saturday, June 02, 2012
All 67 Florida Election Supervisors Suspend Governor Rick Scott’s Voter Purge
All 67 Florida Election Supervisors Suspend Governor Rick Scott’s Voter Purge
By Judd Legum on Jun 2, 2012 at 12:08 pm
By Judd Legum on Jun 2, 2012 at 12:08 pm
Friday, June 01, 2012
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Female circumcision
I recently watched a movie called Desert Flower, which was based on the life story of Waris Dirie, a Somalian emigrant to England. I loved the movie, but the horror of what happens to many girls made me cry. I knew something of this practice as I have a lot of experience working alongside immigrants and I am a naturally curious person. I dunno why, but people talk to me. I've been told that I don't judge harshly, but you might not know it by reading this blog. I suppose I don't judge poor people nearly as harshly as the rich, powerful, greedy, and entitled. Anyway, I met a girl who told me that this had happened to her in her home country in Africa. She was grateful that the family had emigrated and her younger sisters had escaped her fate. I remember that she had the most beautiful smile and many admirable qualities. I met her and she told me her story years before Waris Dirie shined an international spotlight on the practice in order to try and stop, or at least reduce it.
That is why this article caught my eye this morning:
The horror of female genital mutilation in the UK
An estimated 66,000 girls have been illegally mutilated in the UK, but no one has yet been prosecuted for this practice.
Last Modified: 30 May 2012 15:50
Aljazeera
"...The poisonous power of patriarchy
Female Genital Mutilation is without a doubt powered by the poison of patriarchy. In a FGM affected community, there is a fundamental belief that mutilation is the only way to initiate a girl into becoming a "good woman" ready for marriage and childbirth. The bitter irony is that the very process of FGM is achieving the exact opposite. Removing part of a girl or a woman's anatomy, disturbing and forcefully changing the way her body is intended to function not only takes away her femininity, but biologically changes the composition that makes her into the woman that she naturally is intended to be. Women across the world are torturing other women to accommodate and appease an ideology and distorted history of male supremacy. FGM is practiced to satisfy the wishes of a patriarchal family structure, but in reality the men distance themselves from the procedure of the practice, maintaining a dominating presence in the "background" and are not concerned enough with the consequences to stop inflicting this depravity onto their daughters...."
Many immigrants have traditions that they bring with them that are charming and sweet. This is not one of them. This one brings with it pain and suffering and dangerously unhealthy side effects to its victims:
" It is not uncommon in some cases for a woman's vulva to be stitched up, leaving just a small opening for urine and menstrual blood to pass through, before the woman is then re-opened for sexual intercourse and childbirth...."
It brings nausea and anger to me and frankly it makes me want knock some of these ignorant, selfish men and stupid old women upside the head to knock some sense into them. These women need to buck up and learn the power of what my mom calls "equalizers." Things like cast iron frying pans, and artfully leveraged tools, 'cause the bastard's gotta sleep some time. Ladies, your biggest tools are the truth told to the right people, and education. Being a good wife is not by definition being repeatedly raped or submitting to some selfish, stupid, cowardly piece of shit, and that's exactly what men who favor this practice are:
"There is no endorsement of FGM in the Bible, the Tanakh or Quran."
That is why this article caught my eye this morning:
The horror of female genital mutilation in the UK
An estimated 66,000 girls have been illegally mutilated in the UK, but no one has yet been prosecuted for this practice.
Last Modified: 30 May 2012 15:50
Aljazeera
"...The poisonous power of patriarchy
Female Genital Mutilation is without a doubt powered by the poison of patriarchy. In a FGM affected community, there is a fundamental belief that mutilation is the only way to initiate a girl into becoming a "good woman" ready for marriage and childbirth. The bitter irony is that the very process of FGM is achieving the exact opposite. Removing part of a girl or a woman's anatomy, disturbing and forcefully changing the way her body is intended to function not only takes away her femininity, but biologically changes the composition that makes her into the woman that she naturally is intended to be. Women across the world are torturing other women to accommodate and appease an ideology and distorted history of male supremacy. FGM is practiced to satisfy the wishes of a patriarchal family structure, but in reality the men distance themselves from the procedure of the practice, maintaining a dominating presence in the "background" and are not concerned enough with the consequences to stop inflicting this depravity onto their daughters...."
Many immigrants have traditions that they bring with them that are charming and sweet. This is not one of them. This one brings with it pain and suffering and dangerously unhealthy side effects to its victims:
" It is not uncommon in some cases for a woman's vulva to be stitched up, leaving just a small opening for urine and menstrual blood to pass through, before the woman is then re-opened for sexual intercourse and childbirth...."
It brings nausea and anger to me and frankly it makes me want knock some of these ignorant, selfish men and stupid old women upside the head to knock some sense into them. These women need to buck up and learn the power of what my mom calls "equalizers." Things like cast iron frying pans, and artfully leveraged tools, 'cause the bastard's gotta sleep some time. Ladies, your biggest tools are the truth told to the right people, and education. Being a good wife is not by definition being repeatedly raped or submitting to some selfish, stupid, cowardly piece of shit, and that's exactly what men who favor this practice are:
"There is no endorsement of FGM in the Bible, the Tanakh or Quran."
Bailing out Germany: The Story Behind the European Financial Crisis
Posted by Pratap Chatterjee on May 28th, 2012
CorpWatch Blog
Translation: The Rich Get Richer. Stop Poverty Wages! (Photo of Blocupy poster: linkskreativ. Photo of Euro: Slolee. Used under Creative Commons license)
"...In reality, a large chunk of the bailouts are for debts created by private banks in Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain borrowing abroad – for speculative real estate schemes and such like - not by shopkeepers, small entrepreneurs and ordinary citizens. And a surprisingly big chunk of the rash loans were handed out by private (and some public) banks in just four countries: France, Germany, the UK and Belgium (in that order)..."
CorpWatch Blog
Translation: The Rich Get Richer. Stop Poverty Wages! (Photo of Blocupy poster: linkskreativ. Photo of Euro: Slolee. Used under Creative Commons license)
"...In reality, a large chunk of the bailouts are for debts created by private banks in Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain borrowing abroad – for speculative real estate schemes and such like - not by shopkeepers, small entrepreneurs and ordinary citizens. And a surprisingly big chunk of the rash loans were handed out by private (and some public) banks in just four countries: France, Germany, the UK and Belgium (in that order)..."
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Charles Taylor Sentenced: Judge Gives Former Liberian President 50 Years In Jail
Televangelist Pat Robertson didn't have any trouble dealing with Taylor:
"The subsequent investigation by the Commonwealth of Virginia concluded that Robertson diverted his ministry's donations to the Liberian diamond-mining operation, but Attorney General of Virginia Mark Earley blocked any potential prosecution against Robertson, as the relief supplies were also sent.[12]" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Taylor_(Liberian_politician)#Civil_war
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Monday, May 28, 2012
Rough stink bug
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Oh screw the banksters
Published on Monday, May 21, 2012 by Common Dreams
How the Ultra-Rich Betray America
by Paul Buchheit
"... The wealthy benefit disproportionately from property and inheritance laws, contracts, stock exchanges, favorable SEC regulations, the Small Business Administration, patent and copyright and intellectual property laws, estate planning, trust funds, Internet marketing, communications infrastructure, highway maintenance, air traffic control, local and national security, and 60 years of research in technology and other industries..."
"...Denial: Traders feel it's inappropriate to pay even a tiny tax on a quadrillion dollars in sales
A quadrillion dollars sounds like a fake amount. But it's all too real. That's a thousand trillion dollars of derivatives transactions which, along with the high-frequency computer-generated transactions (5,000 per second) that make up over half of U.S. stock trades, contributed to a financial meltdown and a $3 trillion bailout for reckless trading.
But there's no tax on these transactions.
While average Americans pay a 10% sales tax on necessities, millionaire investors pay just a .00002% SEC fee (2 cents for every thousand dollars) for a financial instrument. And their supporters claim, inexplicably after the disastrous trading frenzy in 2008, that a tax would increase volatility..."
("Increase volatility?" Now that is the most ridiculous statement I've heard in a while. Jebus, how stupid do these colostomy bag contents think we are?)
Published on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 by Common Dreams
Snarling Banks
by Jim Hightower
"...Thank you, Supreme Court, for making this crass money play possible with your plutocratic Citizens United decision. Now that bankers are going to intimidate officeholders with the threat to put unlimited campaign cash against them, we can expect Big Oil, Big Pharma and all the other Bigs to join the fun...."
"...Wells Fargo now hits you for $15 a month just to have a checking account, unless you keep at least $7,500 in your account. Citibank charges $20 a month, unless you keep $15,000 on deposit — more than double last year's level. Bank fees for money orders have doubled, and fees for cashier's checks have quadrupled..."
There is a way out of this endless abuse-the-customer game: Move your money out of their vaults! For help, go to
http://www.moveyourmoneyproject.org/"
How the Ultra-Rich Betray America
by Paul Buchheit
"... The wealthy benefit disproportionately from property and inheritance laws, contracts, stock exchanges, favorable SEC regulations, the Small Business Administration, patent and copyright and intellectual property laws, estate planning, trust funds, Internet marketing, communications infrastructure, highway maintenance, air traffic control, local and national security, and 60 years of research in technology and other industries..."
"...Denial: Traders feel it's inappropriate to pay even a tiny tax on a quadrillion dollars in sales
A quadrillion dollars sounds like a fake amount. But it's all too real. That's a thousand trillion dollars of derivatives transactions which, along with the high-frequency computer-generated transactions (5,000 per second) that make up over half of U.S. stock trades, contributed to a financial meltdown and a $3 trillion bailout for reckless trading.
But there's no tax on these transactions.
While average Americans pay a 10% sales tax on necessities, millionaire investors pay just a .00002% SEC fee (2 cents for every thousand dollars) for a financial instrument. And their supporters claim, inexplicably after the disastrous trading frenzy in 2008, that a tax would increase volatility..."
("Increase volatility?" Now that is the most ridiculous statement I've heard in a while. Jebus, how stupid do these colostomy bag contents think we are?)
Published on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 by Common Dreams
Snarling Banks
by Jim Hightower
"...Thank you, Supreme Court, for making this crass money play possible with your plutocratic Citizens United decision. Now that bankers are going to intimidate officeholders with the threat to put unlimited campaign cash against them, we can expect Big Oil, Big Pharma and all the other Bigs to join the fun...."
"...Wells Fargo now hits you for $15 a month just to have a checking account, unless you keep at least $7,500 in your account. Citibank charges $20 a month, unless you keep $15,000 on deposit — more than double last year's level. Bank fees for money orders have doubled, and fees for cashier's checks have quadrupled..."
There is a way out of this endless abuse-the-customer game: Move your money out of their vaults! For help, go to
http://www.moveyourmoneyproject.org/"
Friday, May 25, 2012
Penn Jillette Accuses Obama Of Class Warfare For Drug Policy, States' Rights (VIDEO)
Wow, the silly season just keeps coming earlier and earlier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silly_season#Politics
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
It’s Official: Watching Fox Makes You Stupider
Ben Adler on May 21, 2012 - 9:04 PM ET
The Nation
"... The reason is not because it holds a set of values that others may not share. And that is only partially because it claims to be “Fair and Balanced” when it is neither.
Rather, it is because it fails the fundamental test of journalism: are you informing your audience? According to a new study by Farleigh Dickinson University, Fox viewers are the least knowledgeable audience of any outlet, and they know even less about politics and current events than people who watch no news at all....
...When Fox isn’t inventing smears against Obama, it uncritically regurgitates corporate-funded lies about him....
...This laziness, partisan hackery and lack of regard for basic accuracy is what separates Fox News from outlets that merely have opinions. And it is doing their audience a disservice...
Chris Mooney cited six previous studies with similar findings.
I identified 6 separate studies showing Fox News viewers to be the most misinformed, and in a right wing direction—studies on global warming, health care, health care a second time, the Ground Zero mosque, the Iraq war, and the 2010 election.
I also asked if anyone was aware of any counterevidence, and none was forthcoming. There might very well be a survey out there showing that Fox viewers aren’t [emphasis in original] the most misinformed cable news consumers on some topic (presumably it would be a topic where Democrats have some sort of ideological blind spot), but I haven’t seen it. And I have looked...."
The Nation
"... The reason is not because it holds a set of values that others may not share. And that is only partially because it claims to be “Fair and Balanced” when it is neither.
Rather, it is because it fails the fundamental test of journalism: are you informing your audience? According to a new study by Farleigh Dickinson University, Fox viewers are the least knowledgeable audience of any outlet, and they know even less about politics and current events than people who watch no news at all....
...When Fox isn’t inventing smears against Obama, it uncritically regurgitates corporate-funded lies about him....
...This laziness, partisan hackery and lack of regard for basic accuracy is what separates Fox News from outlets that merely have opinions. And it is doing their audience a disservice...
Chris Mooney cited six previous studies with similar findings.
I identified 6 separate studies showing Fox News viewers to be the most misinformed, and in a right wing direction—studies on global warming, health care, health care a second time, the Ground Zero mosque, the Iraq war, and the 2010 election.
I also asked if anyone was aware of any counterevidence, and none was forthcoming. There might very well be a survey out there showing that Fox viewers aren’t [emphasis in original] the most misinformed cable news consumers on some topic (presumably it would be a topic where Democrats have some sort of ideological blind spot), but I haven’t seen it. And I have looked...."
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Thinking about yesterday's post
And my distrust for mainstream media.
Being born and raised in San Diego I had very little interest in reading the local paper because not only do I dislike dirty hands, I smelled bullshit.
The older I got the more I knew that the way that local government functioned was not in the best interest of people like me and many inhabitants of the over 4,000 square miles inside San Diego County. And it was obvious to me that the paper and the government supported the wealthiest members of a small elite.
So articles like this:
San Diego’s ‘Strong Mayor’ System Worse Than You Might Think
By Norma Damashek / NumbersRunner / May 18, 2012
Hat tip to OB Rag
and books like these:
Paradise Plundered and Under the Perfect Sun only confirm my suspicions.
Being born and raised in San Diego I had very little interest in reading the local paper because not only do I dislike dirty hands, I smelled bullshit.
The older I got the more I knew that the way that local government functioned was not in the best interest of people like me and many inhabitants of the over 4,000 square miles inside San Diego County. And it was obvious to me that the paper and the government supported the wealthiest members of a small elite.
So articles like this:
San Diego’s ‘Strong Mayor’ System Worse Than You Might Think
By Norma Damashek / NumbersRunner / May 18, 2012
Hat tip to OB Rag
and books like these:
Paradise Plundered and Under the Perfect Sun only confirm my suspicions.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Page One: Inside the New York Times (2011)
Page One: Inside the New York Times (2011)
92 min - Documentary - 29 September 2011 (Denmark)
I thought it was going to be a puff piece that didn't critisize so I didn't want to watch this. I was pleasantly surprised, but I still tend to only read the NYT when I've been pointed in that direction or I am looking for an item that was widely reported on and I need details and a source link for a blogpost. I've never read any print newspaper because I can't stand to have dirty hands. Well that and I got suckered into supporting the fucking Iraq war by the mainstream media. And hassled by someone who got msm exposure as some kind of fucking hero when he was just a small man with a devious mind. I don't know if I ever trusted the mainstream media. From my perspective they protect the wealthy. Hell that's ad revenue, and with corporate consolidation, including corporate media consolidation that means more power concentrated in fewer places. I didn't even know who Sam Zell was. Jebus, what a dick.
I thought it was going to be a puff piece that didn't critisize so I didn't want to watch this. I was pleasantly surprised, but I still tend to only read the NYT when I've been pointed in that direction or I am looking for an item that was widely reported on and I need details and a source link for a blogpost. I've never read any print newspaper because I can't stand to have dirty hands. Well that and I got suckered into supporting the fucking Iraq war by the mainstream media. And hassled by someone who got msm exposure as some kind of fucking hero when he was just a small man with a devious mind. I don't know if I ever trusted the mainstream media. From my perspective they protect the wealthy. Hell that's ad revenue, and with corporate consolidation, including corporate media consolidation that means more power concentrated in fewer places. I didn't even know who Sam Zell was. Jebus, what a dick.
squirrels don't like these, yaaaay
And the sweet alyssum smell just may ameliorate the smell of the dumpster that occasionally wafts over in the summer time.
Even though this is an apartment complex the landscape maintenance crew is incredibly lame. They don't do crap and they turn on the sprinklers 2 minutes a month for the tiny little yards that are closest to this particular building. So there is a spigot at the end of the building and I bought a garden hose, fuck 'em. After spending fifty bucks for garden supplies (and I borrowed the tools) I wasn't thinking 'fuck them" I was thinking "fuck me."
Sunday, May 20, 2012
flowers
So I dug up the 8' X 4' patch of weeds in between the patio and the sidewalk with a shovel and planted these vincas that my new neighbor gave me for Mother's Day.
The Otospermophilus beecheyi don't like them, HA!
Saturday, May 19, 2012
REPORT: Who? Media Turns Its Back On Experts Who Blame GOP For Political Gridlock
Media Matters
...But Only Five Articles Have Cited Mann And Ornstein's Thesis, All Authored By Opinion Writers. A Media Matters review of the top five national newspapers found only five mentions of Man's and Ornstein's thesis since the publication of their op-ed, all in opinion pieces..."
May 18, 2012 12:30 pm ET
"...A majority of these citations and authored articles -- 63 percent -- were news stories rather than opinion pieces...
...But Only Five Articles Have Cited Mann And Ornstein's Thesis, All Authored By Opinion Writers. A Media Matters review of the top five national newspapers found only five mentions of Man's and Ornstein's thesis since the publication of their op-ed, all in opinion pieces..."
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
bbbut the optical scanners are good for elections, right?
By Brad Friedman on 5/14/2012 6:51pm
Paper Ballot Op-Scan Systems in FL, WI, NY, OH Confirmed to Overheat, Mistally 70% of Votes
Similar systems used by millions of voters in majority of states also found to have failed as 2012 Presidential election looms..
"...Election Systems & Software, Inc. (ES&S), the largest e-voting machine company in the U.S. and the maker of the paper ballot op-scan tally systems in question, have confirmed that their systems may overheat when used over several hours (for example, during an election!), and that they then may mistally and/or incorrectly discard anywhere from 30% to 70% of votes scanned by the machines..."
Paper Ballot Op-Scan Systems in FL, WI, NY, OH Confirmed to Overheat, Mistally 70% of Votes
Similar systems used by millions of voters in majority of states also found to have failed as 2012 Presidential election looms..
"...Election Systems & Software, Inc. (ES&S), the largest e-voting machine company in the U.S. and the maker of the paper ballot op-scan tally systems in question, have confirmed that their systems may overheat when used over several hours (for example, during an election!), and that they then may mistally and/or incorrectly discard anywhere from 30% to 70% of votes scanned by the machines..."
Fox Snooze: regulation bad
Fox Finds The Villain Of JPMorgan Chase's $2 Billion Loss: Regulation
May 14, 2012 5:15 pm ET
15 May 2012 Last updated at 12:23 ET
JPMorgan's Dimon wins pay backing
Chief executive Jamie Dimon said there was "no excuse" for the bank's mistake.
The trading loss was revealed in a regulatory filing, and will dent the company's profits, although it still expects to make about $4bn this quarter.
Let’s shine a light on this alchemy. Let’s demand that JP Morgan disclose in a filing all the investments help by its $370 billion Chief Investment Office. That will give regulators, bank analysts and investigative journalists something valuable to do.
Capitalists and Other Psychopaths
By WILLIAM DERESIEWICZ
Published: May 12, 2012
THERE is an ongoing debate in this country about the rich: who they are, what their social role may be, whether they are good or bad. Well, consider the following. A recent study found that 10 percent of people who work on Wall Street are “clinical psychopaths,” exhibiting a lack of interest in and empathy for others and an “unparalleled capacity for lying, fabrication, and manipulation.” (The proportion at large is 1 percent.) Another study concluded that the rich are more likely to lie, cheat and break the law.
Capital City
Three years after the biggest bailout in US history, Wall Street lobbyists don't just have influence in Washington. They own it lock, stock, and barrel.
—By Kevin Drum | January/February 2010 Issue of Mother Jones
May 14, 2012 5:15 pm ET
15 May 2012 Last updated at 12:23 ET
JPMorgan's Dimon wins pay backing
The head of JPMorgan Chase, the biggest US bank, has been backed by shareholders days after it revealed a $2bn (£1.2bn) trading blunder.
The trading loss was revealed in a regulatory filing, and will dent the company's profits, although it still expects to make about $4bn this quarter.
Let’s shine a light on this alchemy. Let’s demand that JP Morgan disclose in a filing all the investments help by its $370 billion Chief Investment Office. That will give regulators, bank analysts and investigative journalists something valuable to do.
Capitalists and Other Psychopaths
By WILLIAM DERESIEWICZ
Published: May 12, 2012
THERE is an ongoing debate in this country about the rich: who they are, what their social role may be, whether they are good or bad. Well, consider the following. A recent study found that 10 percent of people who work on Wall Street are “clinical psychopaths,” exhibiting a lack of interest in and empathy for others and an “unparalleled capacity for lying, fabrication, and manipulation.” (The proportion at large is 1 percent.) Another study concluded that the rich are more likely to lie, cheat and break the law.
Capital City
Three years after the biggest bailout in US history, Wall Street lobbyists don't just have influence in Washington. They own it lock, stock, and barrel.
—By Kevin Drum | January/February 2010 Issue of Mother Jones
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Energy wars heat up
Hmm. Remember that Arab Spring that was kind of exciting to watch?
THURSDAY, MAY 10, 2012 07:33 AM PDT
Energy wars heat up From Africa to South America, conflicts over waning resources are becoming more tense -- and dangerous BY MICHAEL T. KLARE
"...* Egypt cuts off the natural gas flow to Israel: On April 22nd, the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company informed Israeli energy officials that they were “terminating the gas and purchase agreement” under which Egypt had been supplying gas to Israel. This followed months of demonstrations in Cairo by the youthful protestors who succeeded in deposing autocrat Hosni Mubarak and are now seeking a more independent Egyptian foreign policy — one less beholden to the United States and Israel. It also followed scores of attacks on the pipelines carrying the gas across the Negev Desert to Israel, which the Egyptian military has seemed powerless to prevent...."
Well, you would think that their gains in freedom might be our losses in higher gas prices, right? Mmmmm, not so fast:
Raymond J. Learsy
Author, 'Oil and Finance: The Epic Corruption Continues'
JPMorgan's $2 Billion Loss and the Price You Are Paying for Gas at the Pump
Posted: 05/11/2012 10:40 am
THURSDAY, MAY 10, 2012 07:33 AM PDT
Energy wars heat up From Africa to South America, conflicts over waning resources are becoming more tense -- and dangerous BY MICHAEL T. KLARE
"...* Egypt cuts off the natural gas flow to Israel: On April 22nd, the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company informed Israeli energy officials that they were “terminating the gas and purchase agreement” under which Egypt had been supplying gas to Israel. This followed months of demonstrations in Cairo by the youthful protestors who succeeded in deposing autocrat Hosni Mubarak and are now seeking a more independent Egyptian foreign policy — one less beholden to the United States and Israel. It also followed scores of attacks on the pipelines carrying the gas across the Negev Desert to Israel, which the Egyptian military has seemed powerless to prevent...."
Well, you would think that their gains in freedom might be our losses in higher gas prices, right? Mmmmm, not so fast:
Raymond J. Learsy
Author, 'Oil and Finance: The Epic Corruption Continues'
JPMorgan's $2 Billion Loss and the Price You Are Paying for Gas at the Pump
Posted: 05/11/2012 10:40 am
Friday, May 11, 2012
How the Corporate Right Hijacked America's Courts to Enrich the Top 1 Percent
NEWS & POLITICS
AlterNet / By Joshua Holland
How the Corporate Right Hijacked America's Courts to Enrich the Top 1 Percent
America's political-economy is caught in a vicious cycle, with concentrated wealth at the top leading to outsized political power.
May 10, 2012
"...A study by the Constitutional Accountability Center found that the Chamber of Commerce had won 65 percent of its cases heard by the court under Chief Justice John Roberts, compared to 56 percent under former Chief Justice William Rehnquist (1986-2005) and just 43 percent of the cases that came during the Burger court (1969-1986)..."
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Obama, Gay marriage OK. :)
Obama’s gay marriage announcement followed by flood of campaign donations
By Dan Eggen, Thursday,
May 10, 12:33 PM
"It’s too soon to tell whether President Obama’s endorsement of same-sex marriage will help him or hurt him at the polls. But it’s already doing wonders for his pocketbook..."
Ahhhh, President Obama, Thank You
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
900 dolphins, 5,000 birds dead in Peru
900 dolphins, 5,000 birds dead in Peru
Posted May 10, 2012 07:17:21
Weather expert Abraham Levy said on Tuesday the warming of the Pacific waters due to El Nino could be to blame.
(cough, bullshit, cough)
acoustic trauma? biotoxins?
Oil and Gas Exploration Threatens Peruvian Amazon
February 22, 2010
"...A recent report, however, indicates that the Peruvian government has now conceded a whopping 41 percent of their Amazon territory for oil and gas exploration..."
Posted May 10, 2012 07:17:21
Weather expert Abraham Levy said on Tuesday the warming of the Pacific waters due to El Nino could be to blame.
(cough, bullshit, cough)
acoustic trauma? biotoxins?
Oil and Gas Exploration Threatens Peruvian Amazon
February 22, 2010
"...A recent report, however, indicates that the Peruvian government has now conceded a whopping 41 percent of their Amazon territory for oil and gas exploration..."
Lugar loss has lessons for Republicans, Democrats
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
THOMAS BEAUMONT
Associated Press
VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) - Veteran Sen. Richard Lugar's loss in the Indiana GOP primary provides warnings for President Barack Obama and his Democrats as well as Mitt Romney and fellow Republicans six months before the November election.
"...Ultimately, it was Lugar's efforts to cross party lines and his longevity in Washington - two issues that tea party-backed challenger Richard Mourdock used against him - that proved too much for Indiana Republicans...."
Not the first time I've wondered about the idiocy of Indiana Republicans. I respected the The Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program and I respected Senator Lugar's ability and willingness to work with Democrats. The gridlock in DC is so destructive for the American people.
THOMAS BEAUMONT
Associated Press
VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) - Veteran Sen. Richard Lugar's loss in the Indiana GOP primary provides warnings for President Barack Obama and his Democrats as well as Mitt Romney and fellow Republicans six months before the November election.
"...Ultimately, it was Lugar's efforts to cross party lines and his longevity in Washington - two issues that tea party-backed challenger Richard Mourdock used against him - that proved too much for Indiana Republicans...."
Not the first time I've wondered about the idiocy of Indiana Republicans. I respected the The Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program and I respected Senator Lugar's ability and willingness to work with Democrats. The gridlock in DC is so destructive for the American people.
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
Obama's war on pot
THURSDAY, APR 26, 2012 07:54 AM PDT
Obama Justice and medical marijuana
The President's justification for his crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries has to be heard to be believed
BY GLENN GREENWALD
"President Obama gave an interview to Rolling Stone‘s Jann Wenner this week a...
...Much more important, though, is that the Obama DOJ is aggressively prosecuting dispensaries without any suggestion that they’re breaking local law, and worse, is threatening states considering enacting medical marijuana laws that dispensing medical marijuana, in and of itself, even to sick people with a prescription, is a violation of federal law that will be prosecuted..."
*sigh* I've given President Hopey Opie so many chances to prove that he might be the one to help change our sick political system.
It's not happening, especially with the "War On Drugs." Going after medical marijuana dispensaries is only inviting the cartels to put possibly unsafe product in the hands of sick people.
Here's how I feel about it:
Legalize drugs, even though meth and heroin scare the crap out of me because I've seen what they do to people. Tax them, regulate them. Take the tax money and fund drug treatment centers.
Yes, some people will die. They are already dying. Take away the cartels' gun money and maybe more people caught in the crossfire in Mexico will live. We share a long border with them. Our illegal drugs markets are killing our friends and neighbors.
Obama Justice and medical marijuana
The President's justification for his crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries has to be heard to be believed
BY GLENN GREENWALD
"President Obama gave an interview to Rolling Stone‘s Jann Wenner this week a...
...Much more important, though, is that the Obama DOJ is aggressively prosecuting dispensaries without any suggestion that they’re breaking local law, and worse, is threatening states considering enacting medical marijuana laws that dispensing medical marijuana, in and of itself, even to sick people with a prescription, is a violation of federal law that will be prosecuted..."
*sigh* I've given President Hopey Opie so many chances to prove that he might be the one to help change our sick political system.
It's not happening, especially with the "War On Drugs." Going after medical marijuana dispensaries is only inviting the cartels to put possibly unsafe product in the hands of sick people.
Here's how I feel about it:
Legalize drugs, even though meth and heroin scare the crap out of me because I've seen what they do to people. Tax them, regulate them. Take the tax money and fund drug treatment centers.
Yes, some people will die. They are already dying. Take away the cartels' gun money and maybe more people caught in the crossfire in Mexico will live. We share a long border with them. Our illegal drugs markets are killing our friends and neighbors.
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