January 2010
1 post
December 2008
5 posts
Editorial - The Torture Report - NYTimes.com →
Now, a bipartisan report by the Senate Armed Services Committee has made what amounts to a strong case for bringing criminal charges against former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld; his legal counsel, William J. Haynes; and potentially other top officials, including the former White House counsel Alberto Gonzales and David Addington, Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff. The report...
“Now, a bipartisan report by the Senate Armed Services Committee has made what...”
– Editorial - The Torture Report - NYTimes.com
Senate Armed Services Report on Torture |... →
Conclusion 19: The abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib in late 2003 was not simply the result of a few soldiers acting on their own. Interrogation techniques such as stripping detainees of their clothes, placing them in stress positions, and using military working dogs to intimidate them appeared in Iraq only after they had been approved for use in Afghanistan and at GTMO. Secretary of Defense Donald...
Bush Admits Al Qaeda Wasn't In Iraq Before... →
BUSH: One of the major theaters against al Qaeda turns out to have been Iraq. This is where al Qaeda said they were going to take their stand. This is where al Qaeda was hoping to take– RADDATZ: But not until after the U.S. invaded. BUSH: Yeah, that’s right. So what? The point is that al Qaeda said they’re going to take a stand. Well, first of all in the post-9/11 environment Saddam Hussein posed...
'Pay option' loans could swell defaults - Mortgage... →
Some time after Sharren McGarry went to work as a mortgage consultant at Wachovia’s Stuart, Fla., branch in July 2007, she and her colleagues were directed to market a mortgage called the “Pick A Pay” loan. Sales commissions on the product were double the rates for conventional mortgages, and she was required to make sure nearly half the loans she sold were “Pick A Pay,” she said....
November 2008
3 posts
Wall Street Fat Cats Are Trying to Pocket Billions... →
It turns out that the nine banks about to be getting a total equity capital injection of $125 billion, courtesy of Phase I of The Bailout Plan, had reserved $108 billion during the first nine months of 2008 in order to pay for compensation and bonuses (PDF).
Al Gore group urges Obama to create U.S. power... →
Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection has some environmental advice for the incoming Obama administration: focus on energy efficiency and renewable resources, and create a unified U.S. power grid. On Thursday, the group Gore founded rolled out a new media campaign to push for immediate investments in three energy areas it maintains would help meet Gore’s previously announced...
“It turns out that the nine banks about to be getting a total equity capital...”
– Wall Street Fat Cats Are Trying to Pocket Billions in Bailout Cash | Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace | AlterNet
October 2008
2 posts
CIA Tactics Endorsed In Secret Memos -... →
The Bush administration issued a pair of secret memos to the CIA in 2003 and 2004 that explicitly endorsed the agency’s use of interrogation techniques such as waterboarding against al-Qaeda suspects — documents prompted by worries among intelligence officials about a possible backlash if details of the program became public.
Recession now certain, economists say -... →
“Anyone who’s wondering if there’s a recession should stop wondering,” said Nigel Gault, U.S. economist for Global Insight, which will release its updated forecast on Monday. “The recent data were deteriorating sharply” even before factoring in the latest impact of the credit squeeze.
September 2008
10 posts
How Wall Street Can Bail Itself Out Without... →
But there’s another way: Create an agency to fund the bailout, loan that agency the money from the treasury, and then have that agency tax Wall Street to pay us (the treasury) back. It’s been done before, and has several benefits. In the United Kingdom, for example, whenever you buy or sell a share of stock (or a credit swap or a derivative, or any other activity of that sort) you pay...
Media Manipulation →
Leading Journalists Expose Major Media Manipulations The riveting excerpts below are from the revealing accounts of 20 award-winning journalists in the highly acclaimed book Into the Buzzsaw. These courageous writers were prevented by corporate media ownership from reporting major news stories. Some were even fired or laid off. They have won numerous awards, including several Emmys and a Pulitzer....
Top 25 Censored Stories for 2009 | Project... →
Top 25 Censored Stories for 2009 * #1. Over One Million Iraqi Deaths Caused by US Occupation * # 2 Security and Prosperity Partnership: Militarized NAFTA * # 3 InfraGard: The FBI Deputizes Business * # 4 ILEA: Is the US Restarting Dirty Wars in Latin America? * # 5 Seizing War Protesters’ Assets * # 6 The Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act * # 7 Guest Workers Inc.: Fraud and Human Trafficking * #...
Lawyer: 'Serious Damage' to McCain if Palin Probe... →
An attorney representing Alaska’s Legislative Council said John McCain’s presidential campaign fears a statewide ethics investigation into Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain’s vice presidential running mate, “would cause serious damage to the Republican ticket” if details of the probe were “publicly known before the national election.” Anchorage attorney Peter Maassen made those comments in a 17-page court...
Facilitating Martial Law? US Army’s New Dwell-Time... →
Earlier this month, ArmyTimes.com reported that the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team (1st BCT) is being trained as an on-call federal response within the US. Their new domestic mission, called a “dwell-time” mission, is set to begin Oct. 1. This will mark “the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to NorthCom, a joint command established in 2002 to provide...
Lawmakers cheer $25B for car industry | Freep.com... →
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House today approved $25 billion in loans for the troubled U.S. auto industry. Michigan lawmakers hailed the plan as key toward saving thousands of jobs in the state and vowed to press for another $25 billion next year to boost the industry’s retooling. Advertisement The loan deal dwarfs the $1.2-billion bailout of Chrysler Corp. in 1979, and reflects the economic...
Daily Kos: State of the Nation →
When you have seven homes, that’s a lot of garages to fill. After the fuss over the number of residences owned by the two presidential nominees, NEWSWEEK looked into the candidates’ cars. And based on public vehicle-registration records, here’s the score. John and Cindy McCain: 13. Barack and Michelle Obama: one.
Merrill Lynch boss to get $11m payoff after nine... →
Merrill Lynch’s newly recruited chief executive, John Thain, stands to share a $200m (£111.4m) payout with two senior lieutenants for less than a year’s work which culminated this week in the bank surrendering its 94-year-old independence. The Wall Street bank known as the “thundering herd” agreed to a $50bn takeover by Bank of America on Monday after a hasty 48 hours of...
Talking Points du jour
New - + The Dow-Jones was at 10,700 when Bush took office – will he be the first president to have the market remain unchanged under 8 years of failed economic policies known as ‘de-regulation’, ‘free-trade’, and the ‘ownership society’? + Nuclear power cannot replace oil – there is only 20 years of uranium left on the planet. + We need to use our existing...
Is CNN Getting Kicked Out of Russia? | Media and... →
You probably didn’t know that CNN censored Putin for being just too darn sensible. Yep, it’s true. About two weeks ago, Putin gave the network an exclusive 30-minute interview. And you know what happened? Nothing. It was never allowed to air. CNN doesn’t know it yet, but that decision might have cost them their Russian broadcasting rights.
August 2008
5 posts
Was the War in Georgia a Neocon Election Ploy? | |... →
Previously, Scheunemann was best known as one of the neoconservatives who engineered the war in Iraq when he was a director of the Project for a New American Century. It was Scheunemann who, after working on the McCain 2000 presidential campaign, headed the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, which championed the U.S. invasion of Iraq. There are telltale signs that he played a similar role in...
Iraq demands 'clear timeline' for US withdrawal -... →
BAGHDAD - Iraq’s foreign minister insisted Sunday that any security deal with the United States must contain a “very clear timeline” for the departure of U.S. troops. A suicide bomber struck north of Baghdad, killing at least five people including an American soldier. ADVERTISEMENT Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told reporters that American and Iraqi negotiators were “very...
Iraq demands 'clear timeline' for US withdrawal -... →
American officials have been less optimistic because of major differences on key issues including who can authorize U.S. military operations and immunity for U.S. troops from prosecution under Iraqi law.
Media Reform Information Center →
In 1983, 50 corporations controlled the vast majority of all news media in the U.S. At the time, Ben Bagdikian was called “alarmist” for pointing this out in his book, The Media Monopoly. In his 4th edition, published in 1992, he wrote “in the U.S., fewer than two dozen of these extraordinary creatures own and operate 90% of the mass media” — controlling almost all of...
Think Progress » EXCLUSIVE: To Provoke War, Cheney... →
HERSH: There was a dozen ideas proffered about how to trigger a war. The one that interested me the most was why don’t we build — we in our shipyard — build four or five boats that look like Iranian PT boats. Put Navy seals on them with a lot of arms. And next time one of our boats goes to the Straits of Hormuz, start a shoot-up. Might cost some lives. And it was rejected because you can’t have...
July 2008
78 posts
McCain ads assailing Obama get wider free exposure... →
WASHINGTON: The number of times Senator John McCain’s new advertisement attacking Senator Barack Obama for canceling a visit with wounded troops in Germany last week has been shown fully or partly on local, national and cable television newscasts: well into the hundreds. The number of times that spot actually ran as a paid commercial: roughly a dozen.
Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity on... →
Inside the house, officers found “Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder” by radio talk show host Michael Savage, “Let Freedom Ring” by talk show host Sean Hannity, and “The O’Reilly Factor,” by television talk show host Bill O’Reilly. The shotgun-wielding suspect in Sunday’s mass shooting at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church...
WBIR.com | Knoxville, TN | NEW DETAILS: One... →
Bohstedt said the gunman had no connection to the church that he knows of, and he has no clue as to a motive. “Just another crazy, random church shooting,” added an emotional Bohstedt.
NZ students offer cash for Condoleezza Rice's... →
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A group of New Zealand students has come up with a novel way of protesting against a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, offering a cash reward for her “arrest” over U.S. actions in Iraq. ADVERTISEMENT The Auckland University Students’ Association has offered NZ$5,000 ($3,700) for any student making a citizen’s arrest of Rice during her...
Iowa protest aimed at Karl Rove leads to arrests |... →
DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Four peace activists were arrested on Friday as they attempted to make a “citizens arrest” of Karl Rove, who was one of President George W. Bush’s top aides before leaving the administration last year. “It should be Karl Rove in that van. War Criminal!” one of a dozen protestors shouted as the four were put into a police van outside a Des...
Poll: Americans Don’t Think More Drilling Will... →
a majority (54%) of Americans do not see more drilling as a solution to high gas prices. In fact, the poll finds, the public overwhelmingly believes (76% to 19%) that policymakers should focus on investing in new energy technologies including renewable fuels and more efficient vehicles rather than expanding exploration and drilling for more oil.
A European Bounce for Candidate Obama : Red,... →
A July 26th Gallup Poll suggests that Obama has actually widened his lead over Republican John McCain while in Europe.
Crooks and Liars » McClellan: White House gave FOX... →
Matthews: “Did you see FOX television as a tool when you were in the White House? As a useful avenue to get your message out?” McClellan: “I make a distinction between the journalists and the commentators. Certainly there were commentators and other, pundits at FOX News, that were useful to the White House.” […] That was something we at the White House, yes, were doing, getting them talkng points...
AVN :: Alabama's Anti-Gay Attorney General Caught... →
“It is indeed sad that America has fallen to the point where she will condone any type of deviant, immoral activity in which a group desires to participate.” “I often hear the argument that homosexuals who live together create a loving, caring family environment, perhaps an environment which is even superior to that which can be provided by a heterosexual couple. In this day of...
Tales from the Trail » Blog Archive » Bush’s laws... →
During a fund-raiser in Denver, Obama — a former constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago Law School — was asked what he hoped to accomplish during his first 100 days in office. “I would call my attorney general in and review every single executive order issued by George Bush and overturn those laws or executive decisions that I feel violate the constitution,” said Obama
Fuel cost now driving up electric bills |... →
On a national basis, the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that electric bills will rise 5.2 percent this year. But next year, they’re expected to rise 9.8 percent. “In the last two months, 20 to 30 utilities started requesting to have their rates increased,” says Tyler Hodge, an electricity analyst at EIA in Washington. “With the rise in fuel costs,...
Anti-War Movement Successfully Pushes Back Against... →
In the past two months, the anti-war movement has taken on one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the United States in an important fight. And so far, the anti-war movement is winning. Here’s the story: On May 22, a bill was introduced into Congress that effectively called for a blockade of Iran, H. Con. Res. 362. Among other expressions of hostility, the bill calls for:...
Is Obama Betraying His Promise of Change? |... →
Both candidates are embracing, rather than challenging, the fundamental irrationality of Bush’s “war on terror,” which substitutes hysteria for rational analysis in appraising the dangers the country faces. Terrorism is a social pathology that needs to be excised with the surgical precision of detective work, inspired by a high level of international cooperation, the very...
How Wall Street Wrecked Your Retirement |... →
Our disfunctional financial system hit a new low last week when Citigroup, the hopeless wreck of Wall Street, announced it had lost $2.5 billion in the past three months — a cheer went up, and so did the Dow. Only $2.5 billion; people were afraid the losses would be much higher. Happy days are here again. There are no happy days for the millions of Americans who have been trying to put away...
Crimes and Misdemeanors - By Emily Bazelon, Kara... →
The best way to make sense of this legal tangle is to mouse over the title of an individual scandal, which will highlight everyone implicated. For example, the wiretapping bubble ensnares George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, David Addington, John Ashcroft, John Yoo, and Alberto Gonzales. At the same time, Ashcroft and Gonzales fall into the overlapping circle for monkey business related to DoJ hiring....
2002 Justice memo OKs CIA interrogation tactics -... →
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department in 2002 told the CIA that its interrogators would be safe from prosecution for violations of anti-torture laws if they believed “in good faith” that harsh techniques used to break prisoners’ will would not cause “prolonged mental harm.” ADVERTISEMENT That heavily censored memo, released Thursday, approved the CIA’s harsh...
The Internet Is No Substitute for the Dying... →
The decline of newspapers is not about the replacement of the antiquated technology of news print with the lightning speed of the Internet. It does not signal an inevitable and salutary change. It is not a form of progress. The decline of newspapers is about the rise of the corporate state, the loss of civic and public responsibility on the part of much of our entrepreneurial class and the...
McCain Wants a Military Dictatorship |... →
Elected presidents of the United States and Iraq should just do what the leaders of the American military say they should do. At least, that is what McCain thinks, according to their statement that was released in response to Al-Malaki: “Barack Obama has said repeatedly that, if elected President, he would summon the Joint Chiefs of Staff and give them a new mission: get all U.S. forces out...
Nine Reasons to Investigate War Crimes Now |... →
Retired General Antonio Taguba, the officer who led the Army’s investigation into Abu Ghraib, recently wrote in the preface to the new report, Broken laws, Broken Lives: “There is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes. The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to...
Political Punch →
The White House this afternoon accidentally sent to its extensive distribution list a Reuters story headlined “Iraqi PM backs Obama troop exit plan - magazine.” The story relayed how Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told the German magazine Der Spiegel that “he supported prospective U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s proposal that U.S. troops should...
Why Karl Rove Should Go to Jail | Rights and... →
After my ruling that Mr. Rove’s claims of immunity are not legally valid, Congressman Conyers and I gave him one last chance to comply with the law. He ignored us. As he let yet another deadline slip by this week, Mr. Rove’s disregard for Congress has become intolerable. Mr. Rove needs to understand that he is not above the law and should obey a subpoena just like any other American is...
Gore Urges Change to Dodge an Energy Crisis -... →
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Al Gore on Thursday urged the United States to wean the nation from its entire electricity grid to carbon-free energy within 10 years, warning that drastic steps were needed to avoid a global economic and ecological cataclysm.
U.S. blasts jail conditions -- chicagotribune.com →
In a scathing report released Thursday, federal authorities said that a culture exists at Cook County Jail in which inmates are systematically beaten by guards and medical care is so substandard that some inmates have died. The Justice Department threatened legal action if steps aren’t taken to ensure that inmates’ basic constitutional rights aren’t routinely violated. In the...
Don’t Drink the Nuclear Kool-Aid | AlterNet →
But nuclear power is not a solution to climate change — rather, it causes problems. Amory Lovins is the co-founder and chief scientist of Rocky Mountain Institute in Colorado. He makes simple, powerful points against nuclear: “The nuclear revival that we often hear about is not actually happening. It is a very carefully fabricated illusion … there are no buyers. Wall Street is...