Sunday must read

Published on Monday, August 13, 2012 by TomDispatch.com (←this link)

The World (Still) Too Big to Fail

by Tom Engelhardt and Noam Chomsky

In Noam Chomsky’s “Who Owns the World?” -- the most popular TomDispatch post of all time (which means the last 10 years) -- he wrote of one key imperial principle: “The U.S. cannot tolerate ‘any exercise of sovereignty’ that interferes with its global designs.”  Hence, the under-reported but staggering U.S. build-up in the Persian Gulf.

Yes, this is hard to digest, especially if you are unfamiliar with the real history of the US.

Paul Ryan Will Talk About Tax Policy 'In The Light Of Day' -- After The Election

"Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted announced Wednesday that all 88 boards of election in the state must restrict early voting hours to weekdays. The uniform hours were decided in the wake of outcry over the disparity between restricted hours in Democratic-leaning counties and expanded hours in Republican-leaning counties..."

http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/08/16/699321/ohio-secretary-of-state-restricts-voting-hours-in-all-counties/
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

The United States and Its Comrade-in-Arms, Al Qaeda.

AUGUST 13, 2012
The United States and Its Comrade-in-Arms, Al Qaeda.
Tales of an Empire Gone Mad
by WILLIAM BLUM

I keep William Blum's "Killing Hope" close for referral purposes, and I've read "Legacy of Ashes". I've read "The Third Chimpanzee" so I certainly don't believe that any nation state or ethnic group is going to do any better with the amount of power that the US has wielded for the last 60 years.

I'm with Batty. Or I am batty. Or something.

Jack Johnson - Flake

This is why the politickybitch is disinterested in politicky stuff lately

I am also rolling onf the floor laughing my ass off that you have to sit through a Romney/Ryan ad in order to watch a Noam Chomsky video clip:
ENLIGHTENMENT MINUTES - with Noam Chomsky

Darrel Issa is a fucktard

Rep. Issa Brings His Anti-Holder Witchhunt To The Courts

Academi: Company previously known as Blackwater agrees to $7.5 million fine in arms smuggling case

Academi: Company previously known as Blackwater agrees to $7.5 million fine in arms smuggling case
August 10, 2012

Jebus. I've been bitching about this pos company for 5 fucking years and the fuckers just keep getting govt contracts. Erik Prince may have bailed out and left the company to clean up the mess, but the idiot still thinks his right wing xian bullshit can save the world and he can get rich doing it.

It's kind of funny that I just read this article within 3 days of watching "Lord of War" with Nicholas Cage.

'Attitude toward Occupy journalists filled with contempt'

Sat Jan 28, 2012 7:16PM GMT


The United States has fallen to 47th in press freedom rankings “In part because of the crackdown on journalists as well as activists in the Occupy movement.”

“The attitude towards people covering the Occupy movement was filled with contempt in the same way that the attitude towards occupiers was driven by contempt,” Danny Schechter, editor of Mediachannel.org, told Press TV's U.S. Desk on Saturday.

The crackdown “has become a national story because the same pattern seems to have taken place in many places.”

The annual report by Reporters Without Borders was released on Wednesday, showing the United States fell 27 points on the Press Freedom index.

HJ/DB

WWIII: Great commodities war to end all wars

WWIII: Great commodities war to end all wars

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch) —

Yes, WWIII: The Great Commodities War to End All Wars. We’ve heard that before. Remember WWI, known as The War to End All Wars, 37 million casualties. WWII was bigger, 60 million. Will WWIII finally end all wars? Or end the world, civilization, planet?

Massive Fire at Chevron Refinery May Cause Gas Prices to Spike to $4

The incident is also likely to have some pretty immediate impacts on the state's economy—seeing as how the plant refines 16% of the West Coast's gasoline, analysts are expecting prices at the pump to rise. Maybe even above $4 a gallon.

nifty

Michael Phelps

Amazing career.

"...He has won a total of 71 medals in major international long-course competition, 57 gold, 11 silver, and three bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, and the Pan Pacific Championships. Phelps's international titles and record-breaking performances have earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award six times and American Swimmer of the Year Award eight times. His unprecedented Olympic success in 2008 earned Phelps Sports Illustrated magazine's Sportsman of the Year award..."


His final Olympic swim (video) and a gold for USA in the 400 Medley .
Phelps retires with 18 gold medals and 22 overall, more than any other Olympian in the history of the Games.

America is a Democracy? Really?

Published: Saturday 4 August 2012
“Forget that the government is increasingly trampling on the Constitution and its Bill of Rights, with a burgeoning surveillance program and a growing militarization of the police.”

America is a Democracy? Really?

ABOUT DAVE LINDORFF
Dave Lindorff is an investigative reporter, a columnist for CounterPunch, and a contributor to Businessweek, The Nation, Extra! and Salon.com. He received a Project Censored award in 2004. Dave is also a founding member of the online newspaper ThisCantBeHappening! at www.thiscantbehappening.net

USA Swimming Performs 'Call Me Maybe'

These kids are so cute!

Highlights: Phelps Beats Lochte For Gold In 200m IM


Michael Phelps Medal Count: Predicting Olympic Great's London Totals
By Scott Carasik (Featured Columnist) on August 3, 2012

Michael Phelps is truly a freak of nature. Dude practically has gills.

yer congress workin fer you!

July 30, 2012
In this MegaVote for California's 50th Congressional District:

Recent Congressional Votes
Senate: Tax Cut Extension – Republican Substitute
Senate: Tax Cut Extension – Passage
Senate: Cybersecurity – Cloture
House: Tribal Land Leases – Suspension
House: Levee Construction – Suspension
House: Oil and Gas Drilling – Passage
House: Federal Reserve Audit – Suspension
House: Regulatory Overhaul


pfffft. Pfffft.   PFFFFFFFTTTT.


hat tip to skippy
14 reasons why this is the worst Congress ever
Posted by Ezra Klein on July 13, 2012 at 8:00 am

Bankers or Banksters?

Bankers or Banksters?

Inter Press Service Op-Ed via
Nation of Change
Published: Sunday 29 July 2012

Anybody who's read the books by Greider or Brown or even Griffin's books on the Federal Reserve wouldn't ask this question.


Survey says?


Banksters.


Just for clarification's sake I am not a socialist or communist. I believe in capitalism. I also believe in regulations and these fuckers either don't think the rules apply to them, or they try to get the rules changed to suit them.

Too busy to care

WTH is going on with politics. Romney is an assclown and Obama is stuck inside a system that is broken beyond belief with big money in fucking charge of everything.


I'm trying to unpack my shit, go through my shit, weed out the real shit from the shit I need to keep and trying to motivate my doofy husband to do the same.  Damn he keeps some stupid shit.  And he could care less about anything but the stupid YouTube videos he's glued to all the time, especially our shitty little yard that I'm trying to make look less shitty.


Shit.  


Back to work.

Titanic Banks Hit LIBOR Iceberg: Will Lawsuits Sink the ship?

Published: Sunday 22 July 2012
“Billions of dollars were skimmed from cities all across America by colluding to rig the public bids on municipal bonds, a business worth $3.7 trillion.”

Titanic Banks Hit LIBOR Iceberg: Will Lawsuits Sink the ship?

. . . Finance has usurped democracy.

Gee, ya think?


I'm still unpacking, sorting, shredding, donating and pushing him to do the same...

*sigh*

This article made me smile

... and the dpressing update --

Friday, 10 August 2012 16:19
The Battle Over Killer Coke and Coca Leafs in Bolivia
Bolivia appeared set to become the fourth nation to ban Coca-Cola (Myanmar, North Korea, and Cuba), but quickly backed off this past week.


Bolivia pushes back against Swiss commodities giant Glencore
Bolivia pushes back against Swiss commodities giant Glencore
by Carmelo Ruiz-Marrero, CorpWatch Blog
July 24th, 2012

“...Massive corporations like Glencore, the world’s largest commodity trading company, and the privately held and secretive Cargill, the world’s biggest trader of agricultural commodities, are moving to further consolidate their control of world grain markets and vertically integrate their global supply chains in a new form of food imperialism designed to profit off global misery,” wrote journalist Christian Parenti in the Nation magazine. “While bread triggered war and revolution in the Middle East, Glencore made windfall profits on the surge in grain prices. And the more expensive our loaf of bread becomes, the more money firms like Glencore and Cargill stand to make...”

Jaw-Dropping Corruption: America's 47 Million Hungry Mouths Are Just Another Corporate Cash Cow

An attorney's courageous report exposes just how ruthless and greedy big business is capable of being.
July 22, 2012 |
Mark Anderson
Alternet

"...This issue has become so touchy that at least one journalist, Michael Morisy (MuckRock.com), is in hot water with the USDA for managing to obtain some of this data..."

Yeah. A regulatory agency of the US government. Supposed to protect the citizens of the US...


Oh yeah, Citizens United was the last nail in the coffin of that dream. Only CORPORATE citizens are protected now. And big ones at that.

Ahhh home...

OMG, R U FKN KIDDING ME?  He unpacked his room.  That's it. Im gone a week and EVERYTHING IS EXACTLY WHERE I LEFT IT.  I have a torchiere floor lamp sitting in my kitchen.


Hijole.


There's a reason he has his own room.


Fuck.  Next time I go somewhere it just might be somewhere where I got a stupid fucking T-shirt from and HE got to actually see the place.

Mitt Romney Ties It Up In Virginia: Poll

The title of this article shows that presidential races have become just a show, a horserace, made interesting to the people by faux competition and faux differences.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Banks in Collusion With the Fed Shamelessly Spike Up Price of Oil/Gasoline

Banksters are like parasites who kill their hosts.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Siqueiros shout out for muralism

Avoiding everything

I have barely even been online this week.  I still haven't unpacked my boxes.  I'm visiting friends in LA.  Man LA is different.  Just driving and looking for parking is a pain.  Helped a friend today and I'm pooped.

Out of the loop lately

They are repainting and recarpeting. I can't belive how much crap is in this place. Man, I would love to get rid of some of this shit.   Unfortunately, it's his shit and I can't. This is only a tiny portion of what we packed, and we didn't pack 3 rooms!  I do not know how we got so much stuff.


I can't wait till they actually do the work.  This is my lovely 3 year carpet that has been in my little craphole for 13 years.  I know I won't like the new carpet, I saw a sample and instead of warm mottled brown it's strait grayish dirt brown.  

What killed Arafat?

Tests hint at possible Arafat poisoning
Nine-month investigation by Al Jazeera discovers rare, radioactive polonium on ex-Palestinian leader's final belongings.
Gregg Carlstrom Last Modified: 03 Jul 2012 16:27

Hmmmmm.

And so it begins

5 Things Corporate Counsel Need to Know About Obamacare
By Andrew Chow, JD on July 2, 2012 5:04 AM | No TrackBacks
The U.S. Supreme Court's upholding of the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare, may lead to a long list of legal questions for corporations.

How should you advise your corporate clients about the best ways to proceed, especially regarding the ACA's employer mandate?

Here are 5 things that corporate counsel need to know about the High Court's Obamacare ruling:

Most corporations must comply with the employer mandate, but not all. The Affordable Care Act's mandate only applies to corporations with at least 50 "full-time" employees, according to the Health and Human Services Department. "Full-time" means at least 30 hours a week.

Options for employee health-care coverage must comply with existing reforms. Corporations that fall under the ACA's mandate must offer employee health-insurance plans that meet the new standards for such plans. That includes coverage for pre-existing conditions, and coverage of dependents until age 26, among other provisions.

Compliance may cost more than non-compliance. Failure to comply with the Affordable Care Act's mandate results in a tax of $2,000 per employee, beyond the first 30 employees. Only 2% of employers will have to pay these assessments, according to HHS. Still, some small and mid-sized businesses may find it more cost-effective to just pay the tax.

Employers have new IRS reporting requirements. Corporations will have to report the total cost of group health insurance on W-2s. This reporting is for informational purposes only, to provide employees with greater transparency into health-care costs.

Legal battles aren't over yet. Some religious- and faith-based employers like Catholic hospitals are challenging new rules that require all employers to pay for birth control and other procedures. As more rules are written, additional legal challenges are likely, the Boston Herald reports.
You can read the entire Supreme Court Affordable Care Act decision at FindLaw's Courtside blog.

Related Resources:

Obamacare Upheld, Small Business Community Divided (Fox Business)
The Importance of a Backup Plan: SCOTUS Upholds Individual Mandate (FindLaw's U.S. Supreme Court blog)
3 Ways Healthcare Reform Can Affect Small Businesses (FindLaw's Free Enterprise)
Affordable Care Act Upheld (FindLaw's Decided)

Eskow nails it.

Published: Monday 2 July 2012
Stock prices in the for-profit hospital industry soared, rising 7 percent in heavy trading immediately after the Court ruling.

Don’t Kid Yourself. It’s Still a Corporate Court. Here are 10 Lessons From CEO

"Was today's ruling a victory for justice over corporate power? Did Chief Justice John Roberts rise above partisan differences because that's where an honest reading of the law took him?

Nah. The majority on this Supreme Court is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Corporate America. Call it SCOTUS™ Inc., and it's brought to you by the same fine folks that gave you Citizens United and Bush v. Gore. John Roberts is its CEO, not its Chief Justice.

The point isn't to reinforce anybody's cynicism. But you can't be idealistic in an effective way until you see things as they really are..."

reminds me of this cartoon

Oil Price Skyrockets 9.36 Percent in Friday's Trading, Supply and Demand. Eh??

Thank you Mr. Learsy,



I like that someone who understands these things is paying attention and writing about it.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Bonnie Raitt & Alison Krauss: Papa come quick HD

One of my favorites too, Bonnie :)