How can we take it back?
- Thread starter Skarekrow
- Start date
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders
2 hrs ·
Except on Fox News, the debate about climate change is over. This is scary stuff, above and beyond everything else that scares us about Republicans. You have a major political party which has turned its back on science regarding climate change.
Climate change is real. It is caused by human activity. And it is already, not tomorrow but today, causing massive problems all over this country. We have got to do the right thing, which is to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and to tell them that their short-term profits are not more important than the survival of this planet.
Americans are angry because they’re working longer hours for lower wages.
If we really want to address the issues that people are concerned about -
why the middle class is disappearing, massive income and wealth inequality in this country -
we need policies that bring us together that take on the greed of Wall Street,
the greed of corporate America and create a middle class that works for all of us rather than an economy that works just for a few.
If we really want to address the issues that people are concerned about -
why the middle class is disappearing, massive income and wealth inequality in this country -
we need policies that bring us together that take on the greed of Wall Street,
the greed of corporate America and create a middle class that works for all of us rather than an economy that works just for a few.
I am baffled by how Sweden and Switzerland end up at the bottom near the US. They are typical middle class countries. Perhaps that there was a single programming mistake in trillions of lines of computer code.
When Nicolas Sarkozy held his first comeback rally, he sweated profusely on a small stage in a stuffy and spartan gymnasium in the south of France.
The rightwinger’s modest choice of venue last month to launch his campaign to become his party’s 2017 presidential nominee contrasted strikingly with the glitzy, US-style stadium gigs that had become a trademark of the man once known as President Bling Bling.
In 2012, when Sarkozy ran for re-election and lost to the Socialist François Hollande, his rallies were theatrical mega-productions, slickly coordinated by dedicated film directors, with specially laid carpet for his luxury dressing rooms and tens of thousands of euros spent on French flags to be waved by a sea of adoring fans.
Those mega-rallies came back to haunt him this week when the French state prosecutor recommended Sarkozy should face a criminal trial over alleged illegal campaign funding.
The case centres on an alleged system of false accounting used by Sarkozy’s office to conceal an enormous campaign overspend – namely on lavish rallies – in 2012. The limit on presidential campaign spending in France is €22.5m (£19m), and investigators suspect Sarkozy’s campaign spent €23m on top of that. Sarkozy has always denied any wrongdoing in the case, or even any knowledge of Bygmalion, an events company that allegedly concealed the overspend.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...ozys-presidential-days-came-back-to-haunt-him
It is nice seeing European countries doing more to combat corruption at home. I hope that this is a trend, not a single event.
The rightwinger’s modest choice of venue last month to launch his campaign to become his party’s 2017 presidential nominee contrasted strikingly with the glitzy, US-style stadium gigs that had become a trademark of the man once known as President Bling Bling.
In 2012, when Sarkozy ran for re-election and lost to the Socialist François Hollande, his rallies were theatrical mega-productions, slickly coordinated by dedicated film directors, with specially laid carpet for his luxury dressing rooms and tens of thousands of euros spent on French flags to be waved by a sea of adoring fans.
Those mega-rallies came back to haunt him this week when the French state prosecutor recommended Sarkozy should face a criminal trial over alleged illegal campaign funding.
The case centres on an alleged system of false accounting used by Sarkozy’s office to conceal an enormous campaign overspend – namely on lavish rallies – in 2012. The limit on presidential campaign spending in France is €22.5m (£19m), and investigators suspect Sarkozy’s campaign spent €23m on top of that. Sarkozy has always denied any wrongdoing in the case, or even any knowledge of Bygmalion, an events company that allegedly concealed the overspend.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...ozys-presidential-days-came-back-to-haunt-him
It is nice seeing European countries doing more to combat corruption at home. I hope that this is a trend, not a single event.
VIDEO: Dakota Access Pipeline Company Attacks Native American Protesters with Dogs and Pepper Spray
September 04, 2016
Web Exclusive
On September 3, the Dakota Access pipeline company attacked Native Americans with dogs and pepper spray as they protested against the $3.8 billion pipeline’s construction. If completed, the pipeline would carry about 500,000 barrels of crude per day from North Dakota’s Bakken oilfield to Illinois. The project has faced months of resistance from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and members of nearly 100 more tribes from across the U.S. and Canada.
Democracy Now! was on the ground at Saturday’s action and brings you this report:
http://www.democracynow.org/2016/9/4/dakota_access_pipeline_company_attacks_native
The MSM are actually covering this. Probably not extensively. (too lazy to check it though)
September 04, 2016
Web Exclusive
On September 3, the Dakota Access pipeline company attacked Native Americans with dogs and pepper spray as they protested against the $3.8 billion pipeline’s construction. If completed, the pipeline would carry about 500,000 barrels of crude per day from North Dakota’s Bakken oilfield to Illinois. The project has faced months of resistance from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and members of nearly 100 more tribes from across the U.S. and Canada.
Democracy Now! was on the ground at Saturday’s action and brings you this report:
http://www.democracynow.org/2016/9/4/dakota_access_pipeline_company_attacks_native
The MSM are actually covering this. Probably not extensively. (too lazy to check it though)
Blowing the Whistle on Monsanto Might Pay Off Big Time for Former Employee
Monsanto $79 million SEC fraud case due to an internal whistleblower who could earn 2nd largest award in history.
If you are an accountant for Monsanto, you could make a significant paycheck by helping to expose fraud. An unidentified, internal employee of Monsanto blew the lid off the company’s recent fraudulent earnings reporting, and divulged their practices to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Of the $79 million the SEC will collect from Monsanto as part of a settlement, the whistleblower stands to earn a handsome portion of that money for helping to expose the company’s deceit.
Stuart D. Meissner, whose Nyack, N.Y., firm Meissner Associates represented the unidentified whistleblower, states that the person stands to collect between 10 to 30 percent of the penalty.
http://www.wakingtimes.com/2016/02/...o-might-pay-off-big-time-for-former-employee/
Work for Monsanto, be observant, collect evidence for crimes that they have committed, report it to the government, strike gold ...
Here is the update:
U.S. Government Awards over $22 Million to Monsanto Whistleblower, Activists Demand Same for Snowden and Others
September 7th, 2016 | by Amando Flavio
Some say it is hypocrisy, others say inconsistency and double standards on the part of the United States government.
In February 2016, the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that the country’s agribusiness giant, Monsanto has agreed to pay $80 million penalty and retain an independent compliance consultant to settle charges. The SEC is an agency of the United States federal government. It holds primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws, proposing securities rules, and regulating the securities’ industry – the country’s stock and options exchanges, among other functions.
Monsanto admitted to violating accounting rules; it misstated company earnings pertaining to its flagship herbicide product, Roundup.
Reports suggest a former employee of the company had alerted the SEC investigators about Monsanto’s fraudulent conduct. Upon conducting their own investigations, the SEC discovered a Monsanto that has insufficient internal accounting controls; unable to properly account for millions of dollars in rebates – offered to retailers and distributors – of its herbicide Roundup, after generic competition had undercut Monsanto’s prices and resulted in a significant loss of market share.
Monsanto reportedly paid the $80 million penalty to the SEC in late August, 2016. As part of the rules of the game, the SEC is supposed to settle the whistleblower with 30% of the money collected from Monsanto.
The SEC Office of the Whistleblower Program was created by Congress in 2011, to provide monetary incentives for individuals to come forward and report possible violations of the federal securities laws to the SEC. Under the program, whistleblowers are encouraged to report financial mishandlings of over $1 million. For their services, whistleblowers receive an award of up to 30% of the monetary sanctions collected by the government.
The SEC officials have now announced officially an award of $22,437,800 to the whistleblower who leaked the fraud of Monsanto.
http://anonhq.com/u-s-government-aw...histleblower-activists-demand-snowden-others/
http://prepareforchange.net/2016/09...activists-demand-same-for-snowden-and-others/
Here is the update:
U.S. Government Awards over $22 Million to Monsanto Whistleblower, Activists Demand Same for Snowden and Others
September 7th, 2016 | by Amando Flavio
Some say it is hypocrisy, others say inconsistency and double standards on the part of the United States government.
In February 2016, the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that the country’s agribusiness giant, Monsanto has agreed to pay $80 million penalty and retain an independent compliance consultant to settle charges. The SEC is an agency of the United States federal government. It holds primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws, proposing securities rules, and regulating the securities’ industry – the country’s stock and options exchanges, among other functions.
Monsanto admitted to violating accounting rules; it misstated company earnings pertaining to its flagship herbicide product, Roundup.
Reports suggest a former employee of the company had alerted the SEC investigators about Monsanto’s fraudulent conduct. Upon conducting their own investigations, the SEC discovered a Monsanto that has insufficient internal accounting controls; unable to properly account for millions of dollars in rebates – offered to retailers and distributors – of its herbicide Roundup, after generic competition had undercut Monsanto’s prices and resulted in a significant loss of market share.
Monsanto reportedly paid the $80 million penalty to the SEC in late August, 2016. As part of the rules of the game, the SEC is supposed to settle the whistleblower with 30% of the money collected from Monsanto.
The SEC Office of the Whistleblower Program was created by Congress in 2011, to provide monetary incentives for individuals to come forward and report possible violations of the federal securities laws to the SEC. Under the program, whistleblowers are encouraged to report financial mishandlings of over $1 million. For their services, whistleblowers receive an award of up to 30% of the monetary sanctions collected by the government.
The SEC officials have now announced officially an award of $22,437,800 to the whistleblower who leaked the fraud of Monsanto.
http://anonhq.com/u-s-government-aw...histleblower-activists-demand-snowden-others/
http://prepareforchange.net/2016/09...activists-demand-same-for-snowden-and-others/
I highly, highly doubt Snowden will ever see American soil again.
Wouldn’t be surprised if he “commits suicide” or dies in some other type of “accident”.
Whoever has the authority to order such an operation is running out of time. He or she will soon face unemployment.
My emphasis in quoting the article was the legal action that is taking place against Monsteranto. At least the legal and political system is not entirely on their side.
Tuesday, September 06, 2016Linking Alzheimer's to Pollution, Study Finds 'Abundant' Toxic Nanoparticles in Human Brains
Toxic magnetic particles suspected of link to Alzheimer's disease discovered in brains of people living in heavily polluted areas
by
Nika Knight, staff writer
Smog hangs in the air in Mexico City. (Photo: World Learning/flickr/cc)
Toxic magnetic nanoparticles from air pollution have been discovered in "abundant" quantities in human brains, according to a new study.
The study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), is particularly alarming because other research recently raised the strong possibility of a link between such particles and Alzheimer's disease.
"Magnetite in the brain is not something you want to have because it is particularly toxic there."
—Professor Barbara Maher,
Lancaster UniversityThis latest study "suggests that most magnetite found in the human brain, a magnetic iron oxide compound, comes from industrial air pollution. And because unusually high concentrations of magnetite are found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, the findings raise the specter of an alarming new environmental risk factor for this and other neurodegenerative diseases," writes Science.
The researchers examined the brains of 37 people in Mexico City, Mexico, and Manchester, U.K., and discovered "abundant" amounts of magnetite and other nanoparticles deemed toxic.
The new research "suggests the particles can be inhaled and enter the brain through the olfactory nerve, which takes information about smells to the brain," according to the Telegraph.
[...]
http://commondreams.org/news/2016/0...nds-abundant-toxic-nanoparticles-human-brains
Not good. I am eating vegan food, truckloads of turmeric and other spices, and avoiding fluoride since about eight months now. I hope that I am free of heavy metals now. And by the way, I like classical music, not thunder.
Toxic magnetic particles suspected of link to Alzheimer's disease discovered in brains of people living in heavily polluted areas
by
Nika Knight, staff writer
Smog hangs in the air in Mexico City. (Photo: World Learning/flickr/cc)
Toxic magnetic nanoparticles from air pollution have been discovered in "abundant" quantities in human brains, according to a new study.
The study, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), is particularly alarming because other research recently raised the strong possibility of a link between such particles and Alzheimer's disease.
"Magnetite in the brain is not something you want to have because it is particularly toxic there."
—Professor Barbara Maher,
Lancaster UniversityThis latest study "suggests that most magnetite found in the human brain, a magnetic iron oxide compound, comes from industrial air pollution. And because unusually high concentrations of magnetite are found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, the findings raise the specter of an alarming new environmental risk factor for this and other neurodegenerative diseases," writes Science.
The researchers examined the brains of 37 people in Mexico City, Mexico, and Manchester, U.K., and discovered "abundant" amounts of magnetite and other nanoparticles deemed toxic.
The new research "suggests the particles can be inhaled and enter the brain through the olfactory nerve, which takes information about smells to the brain," according to the Telegraph.
[...]
http://commondreams.org/news/2016/0...nds-abundant-toxic-nanoparticles-human-brains
Not good. I am eating vegan food, truckloads of turmeric and other spices, and avoiding fluoride since about eight months now. I hope that I am free of heavy metals now. And by the way, I like classical music, not thunder.
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Debtors' Prison for Kids: Poor Children Incarcerated When Families Can't Pay Juvenile Court Fees
First-of-its-kind report finds children are being imprisoned nationwide when families can't pay fines levied by juvenile justice system
by
Nika Knight, staff writer
"The debt in effect creates a rift between parents and their children," one survey respondent said, and went on to describe a grandmother who was told to consider giving up custody of her grandson in order to avoid paying his juvenile court fees. (Photo: Richard Ross/Youth First)
Many states are incarcerating poor children whose families can't afford to pay juvenile court fees and fines, a report published Wednesday finds, which amounts to punishing children for their families' poverty—and that may be unconstitutional.
Although the growing practice of incarcerating adults who are unable to pay municipal and court fees and fines has been documented for several years, as Common Dreams has noted, the latest report from the Juvenile Law Center is the first in-depth examination of the practice within the juvenile justice system.
[...]
http://commondreams.org/news/2016/0...cerated-when-families-cant-pay-juvenile-court
At some point in the future, we are going to put bankers in prison instead.
Debtors' Prison for Kids: Poor Children Incarcerated When Families Can't Pay Juvenile Court Fees
First-of-its-kind report finds children are being imprisoned nationwide when families can't pay fines levied by juvenile justice system
by
Nika Knight, staff writer
"The debt in effect creates a rift between parents and their children," one survey respondent said, and went on to describe a grandmother who was told to consider giving up custody of her grandson in order to avoid paying his juvenile court fees. (Photo: Richard Ross/Youth First)
Many states are incarcerating poor children whose families can't afford to pay juvenile court fees and fines, a report published Wednesday finds, which amounts to punishing children for their families' poverty—and that may be unconstitutional.
Although the growing practice of incarcerating adults who are unable to pay municipal and court fees and fines has been documented for several years, as Common Dreams has noted, the latest report from the Juvenile Law Center is the first in-depth examination of the practice within the juvenile justice system.
[...]
http://commondreams.org/news/2016/0...cerated-when-families-cant-pay-juvenile-court
At some point in the future, we are going to put bankers in prison instead.
Secret Stingray Manuals Reveal How Spying Tools Leave 'No Place to Hide'
The Intercept publishes instruction manuals detailing how to build and use cell phone surveillance devices
by
Nadia Prupis, staff writer
Privacy activists and the general public say the devices threaten "civil liberties, communications infrastructure, and potentially national security." (Photo: gato-gato-gato/flickr/cc)
The technology manufacturing company Harris Corporation has fought to keep the public from knowing about how its surveillance devices work—specifically, the controversial cell phone spying tools known as Stingrays—but The Intercept on Monday published about 200 pages of Harris Corp. instruction manuals detailing how to build and use them.
Harris has argued that releasing information about Stingrays could help criminals. But privacy activists and the general public say the devices threaten "civil liberties, communications infrastructure, and potentially national security," especially as wireless capability extends more and more into our personal lives, The Intercept's Sam Biddle explains.
[...]
http://commondreams.org/news/2016/0...s-reveal-how-spying-tools-leave-no-place-hide
https://theintercept.com/2016/09/12...-manuals-detail-how-police-can-spy-on-phones/
It is horrible how intrusive this technology is that can be used for spying on people. It is good that we have WikiLeaks to show us what our rulers are doing and thinking.
The Intercept publishes instruction manuals detailing how to build and use cell phone surveillance devices
by
Nadia Prupis, staff writer
Privacy activists and the general public say the devices threaten "civil liberties, communications infrastructure, and potentially national security." (Photo: gato-gato-gato/flickr/cc)
The technology manufacturing company Harris Corporation has fought to keep the public from knowing about how its surveillance devices work—specifically, the controversial cell phone spying tools known as Stingrays—but The Intercept on Monday published about 200 pages of Harris Corp. instruction manuals detailing how to build and use them.
Harris has argued that releasing information about Stingrays could help criminals. But privacy activists and the general public say the devices threaten "civil liberties, communications infrastructure, and potentially national security," especially as wireless capability extends more and more into our personal lives, The Intercept's Sam Biddle explains.
[...]
http://commondreams.org/news/2016/0...s-reveal-how-spying-tools-leave-no-place-hide
https://theintercept.com/2016/09/12...-manuals-detail-how-police-can-spy-on-phones/
It is horrible how intrusive this technology is that can be used for spying on people. It is good that we have WikiLeaks to show us what our rulers are doing and thinking.
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Debtors' Prison for Kids: Poor Children Incarcerated When Families Can't Pay Juvenile Court Fees
First-of-its-kind report finds children are being imprisoned nationwide when families can't pay fines levied by juvenile justice system
by
Nika Knight, staff writer
"The debt in effect creates a rift between parents and their children," one survey respondent said, and went on to describe a grandmother who was told to consider giving up custody of her grandson in order to avoid paying his juvenile court fees. (Photo: Richard Ross/Youth First)
Many states are incarcerating poor children whose families can't afford to pay juvenile court fees and fines, a report published Wednesday finds, which amounts to punishing children for their families' poverty—and that may be unconstitutional.
Although the growing practice of incarcerating adults who are unable to pay municipal and court fees and fines has been documented for several years, as Common Dreams has noted, the latest report from the Juvenile Law Center is the first in-depth examination of the practice within the juvenile justice system.
[...]
http://commondreams.org/news/2016/0...cerated-when-families-cant-pay-juvenile-court
At some point in the future, we are going to put bankers in prison instead.
What's more are in many states the children who are in care of the state...i.e. living at an orphanage for example, do no go to regular school with the rest of the kids....they are sent to the Juvenile Detention Center’s school, even though they are not criminals or juvenile delinquents.
I’m sure many there have learned how to be criminals just by being around the element.
Sad.
Whoa: GOP State Senate Candidates Use All the Same Kids in TV Ads
Republicans’ Senate Majority Fund did a joint video shoot set in an elementary school. They didn't anticipate this awkwardness.
By Alexandra Rosenmann / AlterNet
September 7, 2016
The ads all start off the same as well: The candidates stand in front of a white background and introduce themselves and their platforms.
But the scene in the hallway with the same children appears to stand out the most.
However, how many Iowa voters will pick up on this? Currently the ads are exclusively online, but that could change soon.
And seeing one of these ads one right after another is fairly likely, given the candidates' similar media market.
"It’s not like the voters automatically stop paying attention when the ad that’s on their TV isn’t for the exact district they live in," Iowa Starting Line noted.
While coordinated shoots are typical for both major parties, they also often disassociate the candidates from the districts they represent.
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/whoa-gop-state-senate-candidates-use-all-same-kids-ads
I want to be a movie star. I do not want to do toothpaste advertising. Political advertising is worse than toothpaste.
Republicans’ Senate Majority Fund did a joint video shoot set in an elementary school. They didn't anticipate this awkwardness.
By Alexandra Rosenmann / AlterNet
September 7, 2016
The ads all start off the same as well: The candidates stand in front of a white background and introduce themselves and their platforms.
But the scene in the hallway with the same children appears to stand out the most.
However, how many Iowa voters will pick up on this? Currently the ads are exclusively online, but that could change soon.
And seeing one of these ads one right after another is fairly likely, given the candidates' similar media market.
"It’s not like the voters automatically stop paying attention when the ad that’s on their TV isn’t for the exact district they live in," Iowa Starting Line noted.
While coordinated shoots are typical for both major parties, they also often disassociate the candidates from the districts they represent.
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/whoa-gop-state-senate-candidates-use-all-same-kids-ads
I want to be a movie star. I do not want to do toothpaste advertising. Political advertising is worse than toothpaste.
Whoa: GOP State Senate Candidates Use All the Same Kids in TV Ads
Republicans’ Senate Majority Fund did a joint video shoot set in an elementary school. They didn't anticipate this awkwardness.
By Alexandra Rosenmann / AlterNet
September 7, 2016
The ads all start off the same as well: The candidates stand in front of a white background and introduce themselves and their platforms.
But the scene in the hallway with the same children appears to stand out the most.
However, how many Iowa voters will pick up on this? Currently the ads are exclusively online, but that could change soon.
And seeing one of these ads one right after another is fairly likely, given the candidates' similar media market.
"It’s not like the voters automatically stop paying attention when the ad that’s on their TV isn’t for the exact district they live in," Iowa Starting Line noted.
While coordinated shoots are typical for both major parties, they also often disassociate the candidates from the districts they represent.
http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/whoa-gop-state-senate-candidates-use-all-same-kids-ads
I want to be a movie star. I do not want to do toothpaste advertising. Political advertising is worse than toothpaste.
How stupidly pathetic.
India Is Making Labor History With the World's Largest General Strike
150 million workers walked off the job, but the media continues to ignore it.
By Vijay Prashad / AlterNet
September 7, 2016
Trade unions leaders are reticent to say how many people struck work on September 2, 2016. They simply cannot offer a firm number. But they do say that the strike – the seventeenth general strike since India adopted its new economic policy in 1991 – has been the largest ever. The corporate news media – no fan of strikes – reported that the number of strikers exceeded the estimated 150 million workers. A number of newspapers suggested that 180 million Indian workers walked off the job. If that is the case, then this is the largest reported general strike in history.
And yet, it has not been given much consideration in the media. Few front page stories, fewer pictures of marching workers outside their silent factories and banks, tea gardens and bus stations. The sensibility of individual journalists can only rarely break through the wall of cynicism built by the owners of the press and the culture they would like to create. For them, workers’ struggles are an inconvenience to daily life. It is far better for the corporate media to project a strike as a disturbance, as a nuisance to a citizenry that seems to live apart from the workers. It is middle-class outrage that defines the coverage of a strike, not the issues that move workers to take this heart-felt and difficult action. The strike is treated as archaic, as a holdover from another time. It is not seen as a necessary means for workers to voice their frustrations and hopes. The red flags, the slogans, and the speeches – these are painted with embarrassment. It is as if turning one’s eyes from them would somehow make them disappear.
[...]
http://www.alternet.org/world/india-worlds-largest-strike
India has got about four times the population of the USA. How about 35-40 million Americans going on strike?
150 million workers walked off the job, but the media continues to ignore it.
By Vijay Prashad / AlterNet
September 7, 2016
Trade unions leaders are reticent to say how many people struck work on September 2, 2016. They simply cannot offer a firm number. But they do say that the strike – the seventeenth general strike since India adopted its new economic policy in 1991 – has been the largest ever. The corporate news media – no fan of strikes – reported that the number of strikers exceeded the estimated 150 million workers. A number of newspapers suggested that 180 million Indian workers walked off the job. If that is the case, then this is the largest reported general strike in history.
And yet, it has not been given much consideration in the media. Few front page stories, fewer pictures of marching workers outside their silent factories and banks, tea gardens and bus stations. The sensibility of individual journalists can only rarely break through the wall of cynicism built by the owners of the press and the culture they would like to create. For them, workers’ struggles are an inconvenience to daily life. It is far better for the corporate media to project a strike as a disturbance, as a nuisance to a citizenry that seems to live apart from the workers. It is middle-class outrage that defines the coverage of a strike, not the issues that move workers to take this heart-felt and difficult action. The strike is treated as archaic, as a holdover from another time. It is not seen as a necessary means for workers to voice their frustrations and hopes. The red flags, the slogans, and the speeches – these are painted with embarrassment. It is as if turning one’s eyes from them would somehow make them disappear.
[...]
http://www.alternet.org/world/india-worlds-largest-strike
India has got about four times the population of the USA. How about 35-40 million Americans going on strike?
Brazil's Political and Economic Crisis Threatens Its Democracy
A grim reminder that Brazil emerged from dictatorship just 30 years ago.
By Mark Weisbrot / CEPR
August 31, 2016
Photo Credit: Valentina Petrov / Shutterstock.com
[...]
Although there is corruption within all the parties, including Rousseff's Workers' Party (PT), the deep irony is that the corrupt officials trying to topple her presidency have not presented any charges or evidence of corrupt practices on her part. Rather, she is being impeached for an accounting practice that other presidents, and many governors, have used. And on July 14, the federal prosecutor assigned to the case concluded that it was not even a crime.
But the prosecutor's conclusion appears to have been ignored, and a final vote by the Senate on Rousseff's presidency is expected within the coming days. No wonder many Brazilians consider the whole process a coup d'état — and not just against a president, but against democracy itself. There have been continuing protests since the impeachment, with some spilling over into the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
[...]
http://www.alternet.org/world/brazil-political-crisis-threatens-democracy
Yeah, there is no clean way to get rid of Dilma so they have to do it by using sham charges. 'They' are trying to stop Brazil from using a gold-backed currency. That way, BRICS would become a four letter acronym.
I would love to have to the Reps in Congress being a bit more aggressive in drowning "Guv'nmint" in the bath tub. No more money to the CIA before Pentagon has accounted for the entire black hole in its budget.
A grim reminder that Brazil emerged from dictatorship just 30 years ago.
By Mark Weisbrot / CEPR
August 31, 2016
Photo Credit: Valentina Petrov / Shutterstock.com
[...]
Although there is corruption within all the parties, including Rousseff's Workers' Party (PT), the deep irony is that the corrupt officials trying to topple her presidency have not presented any charges or evidence of corrupt practices on her part. Rather, she is being impeached for an accounting practice that other presidents, and many governors, have used. And on July 14, the federal prosecutor assigned to the case concluded that it was not even a crime.
But the prosecutor's conclusion appears to have been ignored, and a final vote by the Senate on Rousseff's presidency is expected within the coming days. No wonder many Brazilians consider the whole process a coup d'état — and not just against a president, but against democracy itself. There have been continuing protests since the impeachment, with some spilling over into the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
[...]
http://www.alternet.org/world/brazil-political-crisis-threatens-democracy
Yeah, there is no clean way to get rid of Dilma so they have to do it by using sham charges. 'They' are trying to stop Brazil from using a gold-backed currency. That way, BRICS would become a four letter acronym.
I would love to have to the Reps in Congress being a bit more aggressive in drowning "Guv'nmint" in the bath tub. No more money to the CIA before Pentagon has accounted for the entire black hole in its budget.
Published on
Wednesday, September 07, 2016
A Good Beginnning (to the End of Empire)
by
Kathy Kelly
US A-10 aircraft landing on a highway in Estonia during exercise. (Photo: NATO/flickr/cc)
It seems that some who have the ears of U.S. elite decision-makers are at least shifting away from wishing to provoke wars with Russia and China.
In recent articles, Zbigniew Brzezinski and Thomas Graham, two architects of the U.S. cold war with Russia, have acknowledged that the era of uncontested U.S. global imperialism is coming to an end. Both analysts urge more cooperation with Russia and China to achieve traditional, still imperial, U.S. aims. Mr. Graham recommends a shifting mix of competition and cooperation, aiming toward a “confident management of ambiguity.” Mr. Brzezinski calls for deputizing other countries, such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran to carry out the combined aims of the U.S., Russia and China so that this triumvirate could control other people’s land and resources.
[...]
http://commondreams.org/views/2016/09/07/good-beginnning-end-empirehttp://commondreams.org/views/2016/09/07/good-beginnning-end-empire
Using minions for your own political ends will please the fat cats in defence, finance and associated industries. But have you ever considered that prospect of Divide and Rule is diminishing such that you are beginning to play Divide, Rule and Slide? Watch out for sliding and ending up the gutter.
Wednesday, September 07, 2016
A Good Beginnning (to the End of Empire)
by
Kathy Kelly
US A-10 aircraft landing on a highway in Estonia during exercise. (Photo: NATO/flickr/cc)
It seems that some who have the ears of U.S. elite decision-makers are at least shifting away from wishing to provoke wars with Russia and China.
In recent articles, Zbigniew Brzezinski and Thomas Graham, two architects of the U.S. cold war with Russia, have acknowledged that the era of uncontested U.S. global imperialism is coming to an end. Both analysts urge more cooperation with Russia and China to achieve traditional, still imperial, U.S. aims. Mr. Graham recommends a shifting mix of competition and cooperation, aiming toward a “confident management of ambiguity.” Mr. Brzezinski calls for deputizing other countries, such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran to carry out the combined aims of the U.S., Russia and China so that this triumvirate could control other people’s land and resources.
[...]
http://commondreams.org/views/2016/09/07/good-beginnning-end-empirehttp://commondreams.org/views/2016/09/07/good-beginnning-end-empire
Using minions for your own political ends will please the fat cats in defence, finance and associated industries. But have you ever considered that prospect of Divide and Rule is diminishing such that you are beginning to play Divide, Rule and Slide? Watch out for sliding and ending up the gutter.
Published on
Wednesday, September 07, 2016
A Good Beginnning (to the End of Empire)
by
Kathy Kelly
US A-10 aircraft landing on a highway in Estonia during exercise. (Photo: NATO/flickr/cc)
It seems that some who have the ears of U.S. elite decision-makers are at least shifting away from wishing to provoke wars with Russia and China.
In recent articles, Zbigniew Brzezinski and Thomas Graham, two architects of the U.S. cold war with Russia, have acknowledged that the era of uncontested U.S. global imperialism is coming to an end. Both analysts urge more cooperation with Russia and China to achieve traditional, still imperial, U.S. aims. Mr. Graham recommends a shifting mix of competition and cooperation, aiming toward a “confident management of ambiguity.” Mr. Brzezinski calls for deputizing other countries, such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran to carry out the combined aims of the U.S., Russia and China so that this triumvirate could control other people’s land and resources.
[...]
http://commondreams.org/views/2016/09/07/good-beginnning-end-empirehttp://commondreams.org/views/2016/09/07/good-beginnning-end-empire
Using minions for your own political ends will please the fat cats in defence, finance and associated industries. But have you ever considered that prospect of Divide and Rule is diminishing such that you are beginning to play Divide, Rule and Slide? Watch out for sliding and ending up the gutter.
