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marmar
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March 26, 2013
from Ring of Fire:
Monsanto Has Tom Vilsack Under Its Thumb
Posted on March 25, 2013 by Krysta Loera •
The Agricultural Department sent a budget to the White House last week, with orders from the meat industry and agricultural giant Monsanto on how Secretary Tom Vilsack should do his job. Monsanto, a company known for its controversial and potentially dangerous genetically engineered crop seeds, has been under fire for years for putting profit over consumer need and safety.
The agricultural budget given to Vilsack outlined specific industry demands, one being that Vilsack should withdraw implemented regulations that protect chicken growers under contract with larger chicken processors. In addition, Vilsack was told how to respond should a court challenge one of the genetically modified seeds produced by Monsanto. However, the Monsanto Protection Act was slyly slipped into the funding measure that was approved by the U.S. Senate last week to avoid government shutdown. The Act allows the planting and growing of these genetically engineered crops, even if a court initially ruled that the engineered crops were not adequately approved.
Vilsack’s department reacted to the budget by saying, “Secretary Vilsack has asked the Office of General Council to review this provision as it appears to pre-empt judicial review of a deregulatory action which may make the provision unenforceable.” .....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.ringoffireradio.com/2013/03/25/monsanto-has-tom-vilsack-under-its-thumb/
Monsanto Has Tom Vilsack Under Its Thumb
from Ring of Fire:
Monsanto Has Tom Vilsack Under Its Thumb
Posted on March 25, 2013 by Krysta Loera •
The Agricultural Department sent a budget to the White House last week, with orders from the meat industry and agricultural giant Monsanto on how Secretary Tom Vilsack should do his job. Monsanto, a company known for its controversial and potentially dangerous genetically engineered crop seeds, has been under fire for years for putting profit over consumer need and safety.
The agricultural budget given to Vilsack outlined specific industry demands, one being that Vilsack should withdraw implemented regulations that protect chicken growers under contract with larger chicken processors. In addition, Vilsack was told how to respond should a court challenge one of the genetically modified seeds produced by Monsanto. However, the Monsanto Protection Act was slyly slipped into the funding measure that was approved by the U.S. Senate last week to avoid government shutdown. The Act allows the planting and growing of these genetically engineered crops, even if a court initially ruled that the engineered crops were not adequately approved.
Vilsack’s department reacted to the budget by saying, “Secretary Vilsack has asked the Office of General Council to review this provision as it appears to pre-empt judicial review of a deregulatory action which may make the provision unenforceable.” .....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.ringoffireradio.com/2013/03/25/monsanto-has-tom-vilsack-under-its-thumb/
March 25, 2013
Blog for Our Future / By Richard (R.J.) Eskow
The 147 People Destroying the World
How the usual suspects perpetuate economic injustice.
March 25, 2013 |
Can 147 people perpetuate economic injustice – and make it even worse? Can they subvert the workings of democracy, both abroad and here in the United States? Can 147 people hijack the global economy, plunder the environment, build a world for themselves that serves the few and deprives the many?
There must be some explanation for last week’s economic madness. Take a look:
Cyprus: The European Union acted destructively – and self-destructively – when it tried to seize a portion of the insured savings accounts of the citizens of Cyprus. They were telling anyone with a savings account in the financially troubled nations of the Eurozone: Forget your guaranteed deposits. If we need your money in order to bail out the big banks – banks which have already gambled recklessly with it – we’ll take it.
That didn’t just create a political firestorm in Cyprus. It threatened the European Union’s banking system, and perhaps the Union itself. The fact that the tax on deposits has been partially retracted doesn’t change the basic question: What were they thinking? ......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/147-people-destroying-world
The 147 People Destroying the World
Blog for Our Future / By Richard (R.J.) Eskow
The 147 People Destroying the World
How the usual suspects perpetuate economic injustice.
March 25, 2013 |
Can 147 people perpetuate economic injustice – and make it even worse? Can they subvert the workings of democracy, both abroad and here in the United States? Can 147 people hijack the global economy, plunder the environment, build a world for themselves that serves the few and deprives the many?
There must be some explanation for last week’s economic madness. Take a look:
Cyprus: The European Union acted destructively – and self-destructively – when it tried to seize a portion of the insured savings accounts of the citizens of Cyprus. They were telling anyone with a savings account in the financially troubled nations of the Eurozone: Forget your guaranteed deposits. If we need your money in order to bail out the big banks – banks which have already gambled recklessly with it – we’ll take it.
That didn’t just create a political firestorm in Cyprus. It threatened the European Union’s banking system, and perhaps the Union itself. The fact that the tax on deposits has been partially retracted doesn’t change the basic question: What were they thinking? ......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/147-people-destroying-world
March 25, 2013
from HuffPost:
Rebecca Dolan
Associate Editor, Huffington Post Travel
A Rail Accident Proves That Amtrak Is The Only Way To Travel
Posted: 03/19/2013 7:00 am
In a day and age when traveling has become little more than a series of indignities, riding the rails can itself feel like a vacation. Amtrak is really the only way to travel.
This weekend was just another reminder of how civilized the world of train travel can be. I was scheduled to return to New York from Rhode Island on Sunday night when my plans were thwarted by a freak cargo train derailment that resulted in the cancellation of every Amtrak trip between New York and Boston. These things happen -- extremely rarely -- so I was withholding judgment, seeing how the folks in the train station would react.
Had I been at an airport, I would have expected mass hysteria. People would have been simultaneously screaming into their cell phones and at ticket agents. Ticket agents would be stonewalling on refunds while offering to re-book passengers on a 10:00 p.m. plane the next day with a connection in Chicago. Baggage would be irretrievable from within the bowels of the mighty airport.
Here's how it actually went down at the train station: After an announcement was made that the 4:44 Acela Express was cancelled, passengers quickly and quietly queued up for the ticket windows, where the smiling Amtrak associates rebooked us for the next convenient departure. Easy as pie. ................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rebeccadolan/amtrak-is-the-only-way-to_b_2901972.html
A Rail Accident Proves That Amtrak Is The Only Way To Travel
from HuffPost:
Rebecca Dolan
Associate Editor, Huffington Post Travel
A Rail Accident Proves That Amtrak Is The Only Way To Travel
Posted: 03/19/2013 7:00 am
In a day and age when traveling has become little more than a series of indignities, riding the rails can itself feel like a vacation. Amtrak is really the only way to travel.
This weekend was just another reminder of how civilized the world of train travel can be. I was scheduled to return to New York from Rhode Island on Sunday night when my plans were thwarted by a freak cargo train derailment that resulted in the cancellation of every Amtrak trip between New York and Boston. These things happen -- extremely rarely -- so I was withholding judgment, seeing how the folks in the train station would react.
Had I been at an airport, I would have expected mass hysteria. People would have been simultaneously screaming into their cell phones and at ticket agents. Ticket agents would be stonewalling on refunds while offering to re-book passengers on a 10:00 p.m. plane the next day with a connection in Chicago. Baggage would be irretrievable from within the bowels of the mighty airport.
Here's how it actually went down at the train station: After an announcement was made that the 4:44 Acela Express was cancelled, passengers quickly and quietly queued up for the ticket windows, where the smiling Amtrak associates rebooked us for the next convenient departure. Easy as pie. ................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rebeccadolan/amtrak-is-the-only-way-to_b_2901972.html
March 25, 2013
from Consortium News:
Throwing the First Cyber-Stone
March 25, 2013
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper calls cyber-attacks a top national security concern, but these U.S. alarms sound hypocritical after the joint U.S.-Israeli cyber-sabotage of Iran’s nuclear industry, as Dutch computer expert Arjen Kamphuis explains.
By Arjen Kamphuis
A few years ago, Israeli and American intelligence developed a computer virus with a specific military objective: damaging Iranian nuclear facilities. Stuxnet was spread via USB sticks and settled silently on Windows PCs. From there it looked into networks for specific industrial centrifuges using Siemens SCADA control devices spinning at high-speed to separate Uranium-235 (the bomb stuff) from Uranium-238 (the non-bomb stuff).
Iran, like many other countries, has a nuclear program for power generation and the production of isotopes for medical applications. Most countries buy the latter from specialists like the Netherlands that produces medical isotopes in a special reactor. The Western boycott of Iran makes it impossible for Iran to purchase isotopes on the open market. Making them yourself is far from ideal, but the only option that remains.
Why the boycott? Officially, according to the U.S., it’s because Iran won’t give sufficient openness about its weapons programs, in particular, military applications of its nuclear program. This concern is fairly recent and, for some reason, has only been reactivated after the U.S. attack on Iraq in 2003 (a lot of the original nuclear equipment in Iran was supplied by American and German companies with funding from the World Bank before the 1979 revolution).
The most curious aspect of the West’s allegations about Iran is that they are never more than vague insinuations. When all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies in 2007 produced a joint study there was a clear conclusion: Iran is not developing a nuclear weapon. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://consortiumnews.com/2013/03/25/throwing-the-first-cyber-stone/
Throwing the First Cyber-Stone
from Consortium News:
Throwing the First Cyber-Stone
March 25, 2013
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper calls cyber-attacks a top national security concern, but these U.S. alarms sound hypocritical after the joint U.S.-Israeli cyber-sabotage of Iran’s nuclear industry, as Dutch computer expert Arjen Kamphuis explains.
By Arjen Kamphuis
A few years ago, Israeli and American intelligence developed a computer virus with a specific military objective: damaging Iranian nuclear facilities. Stuxnet was spread via USB sticks and settled silently on Windows PCs. From there it looked into networks for specific industrial centrifuges using Siemens SCADA control devices spinning at high-speed to separate Uranium-235 (the bomb stuff) from Uranium-238 (the non-bomb stuff).
Iran, like many other countries, has a nuclear program for power generation and the production of isotopes for medical applications. Most countries buy the latter from specialists like the Netherlands that produces medical isotopes in a special reactor. The Western boycott of Iran makes it impossible for Iran to purchase isotopes on the open market. Making them yourself is far from ideal, but the only option that remains.
Why the boycott? Officially, according to the U.S., it’s because Iran won’t give sufficient openness about its weapons programs, in particular, military applications of its nuclear program. This concern is fairly recent and, for some reason, has only been reactivated after the U.S. attack on Iraq in 2003 (a lot of the original nuclear equipment in Iran was supplied by American and German companies with funding from the World Bank before the 1979 revolution).
The most curious aspect of the West’s allegations about Iran is that they are never more than vague insinuations. When all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies in 2007 produced a joint study there was a clear conclusion: Iran is not developing a nuclear weapon. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://consortiumnews.com/2013/03/25/throwing-the-first-cyber-stone/
March 25, 2013
from the Consumerist:
Worst Company In America Round 1: Bank Of America Vs. Capital One
Your NCAA bracket might already be busted, but how are you doing with your WCIA predictions? Starting off today’s bloodshed is a showdown featuring the tournament’s perennial bridesmaid.
Though Bank of America technically has a Golden Poo statue — which we presume decorates the mantle over the fireplace in Brian Moynihan’s leather-bound-book-filled library — it inherited when it purchased Countrywide, BofA has yet to earn a WCIA championship on its own. It came so close in 2011, losing in the finals by less than 2% of the vote to BP and its oil-spilling ways. Because of the narrow loss, we created the Silver Poo so BofA wouldn’t feel left out.
The bank experienced yet another second-place finish last year, when it lost to Electronic Arts, but the defeat did little to curb BofA’s zeal to win this contest. .......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://consumerist.com/2013/03/25/worst-company-in-america-round-1-bank-of-america-vs-capital-one/
Worst Company In America Round 1: Bank Of America Vs. Capital One
from the Consumerist:
Worst Company In America Round 1: Bank Of America Vs. Capital One
Your NCAA bracket might already be busted, but how are you doing with your WCIA predictions? Starting off today’s bloodshed is a showdown featuring the tournament’s perennial bridesmaid.
Though Bank of America technically has a Golden Poo statue — which we presume decorates the mantle over the fireplace in Brian Moynihan’s leather-bound-book-filled library — it inherited when it purchased Countrywide, BofA has yet to earn a WCIA championship on its own. It came so close in 2011, losing in the finals by less than 2% of the vote to BP and its oil-spilling ways. Because of the narrow loss, we created the Silver Poo so BofA wouldn’t feel left out.
The bank experienced yet another second-place finish last year, when it lost to Electronic Arts, but the defeat did little to curb BofA’s zeal to win this contest. .......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://consumerist.com/2013/03/25/worst-company-in-america-round-1-bank-of-america-vs-capital-one/
March 25, 2013
from Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality:
Some Bailouts Taxpayers Seldom Ever Notice
March 23, 2013
All across Corporate America, top execs are feathering their own nests at the expense of their employees. The French have a better idea.
By Sam Pizzigati
The founder of modern management science, Peter Drucker, considered excessive executive pay an assault on good enterprise management practice.
Peter Drucker, the analyst who founded modern management science, died in 2005 at age 95. At his death, business leaders worldwide hailed this Austrian-born American for his enormous contribution to enterprise efficiency.
But Peter Drucker also cared deeply about enterprise morality. In his later years, he watched — and despaired — as downsizing became an accepted corporate gameplan for pumping up executive paychecks. Drucker could find “no justification” for letting CEOs benefit financially from worker layoffs.
“This is morally and socially,” he would write, “unforgivable.” ........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://toomuchonline.org/some-bailouts-taxpayers-seldom-ever-notice/
Some Bailouts Taxpayers Seldom Ever Notice
from Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality:
Some Bailouts Taxpayers Seldom Ever Notice
March 23, 2013
All across Corporate America, top execs are feathering their own nests at the expense of their employees. The French have a better idea.
By Sam Pizzigati
The founder of modern management science, Peter Drucker, considered excessive executive pay an assault on good enterprise management practice.
Peter Drucker, the analyst who founded modern management science, died in 2005 at age 95. At his death, business leaders worldwide hailed this Austrian-born American for his enormous contribution to enterprise efficiency.
But Peter Drucker also cared deeply about enterprise morality. In his later years, he watched — and despaired — as downsizing became an accepted corporate gameplan for pumping up executive paychecks. Drucker could find “no justification” for letting CEOs benefit financially from worker layoffs.
“This is morally and socially,” he would write, “unforgivable.” ........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://toomuchonline.org/some-bailouts-taxpayers-seldom-ever-notice/
March 25, 2013
from In These Times:
84 House Democrats Say ‘No’ to Austerity
The Congressional Progressive Caucus’ budget may have failed, but it failed well.
BY Cole Stangler
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives took up floor debate and voted on three Democratic alternatives to the Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) budget—the first a version of the Senate Democrats’ budget, the second a proposal from the Black Caucus, and the third a budget crafted by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which with 72 members is the largest Democratic Caucus in the House.
The CPC’s Back to Work budget, like the other Democratic budgets, never had a realistic possibility of passing in the House, which is dominated by a Republican majority that has now passed the Ryan budget three years in a row. But the CPC’s ability to garner support on the Democratic side for its budget serves as one way of evaluating the kind of leverage the caucus has today in Congress. And while most media attention focuses on the supposedly deep ideological divisions within the Republican Party, the vote on the CPC’s budget can serve as a lens into similar kinds of splits in the Democratic Party in the House.
At a meeting on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, supporters and allies of the Progressive Caucus said they were hoping the budget would receive more than 100 votes—a figure that would mean that more than half of the Democratic caucus supported the budget. The CPC’s budget ultimately fell short of that target, losing by a vote of 84-327. In 2012, by contrast, it was rejected 78-346. Among Democrats this year, it was rejected 84-102, good for a six-vote improvement from last year’s Budget for All.
CPC Executive Director Brad Bauman was hoping the budget could do even better, but said that he was “happy that we are moving right direction as far as building more and more support for these baseline progressive ideals.” ........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://inthesetimes.com/article/14775/the_congressional_progressive_caucus_democrats_budget_failed_well/
84 House Democrats Say ‘No’ to Austerity
from In These Times:
84 House Democrats Say ‘No’ to Austerity
The Congressional Progressive Caucus’ budget may have failed, but it failed well.
BY Cole Stangler
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives took up floor debate and voted on three Democratic alternatives to the Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) budget—the first a version of the Senate Democrats’ budget, the second a proposal from the Black Caucus, and the third a budget crafted by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which with 72 members is the largest Democratic Caucus in the House.
The CPC’s Back to Work budget, like the other Democratic budgets, never had a realistic possibility of passing in the House, which is dominated by a Republican majority that has now passed the Ryan budget three years in a row. But the CPC’s ability to garner support on the Democratic side for its budget serves as one way of evaluating the kind of leverage the caucus has today in Congress. And while most media attention focuses on the supposedly deep ideological divisions within the Republican Party, the vote on the CPC’s budget can serve as a lens into similar kinds of splits in the Democratic Party in the House.
At a meeting on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, supporters and allies of the Progressive Caucus said they were hoping the budget would receive more than 100 votes—a figure that would mean that more than half of the Democratic caucus supported the budget. The CPC’s budget ultimately fell short of that target, losing by a vote of 84-327. In 2012, by contrast, it was rejected 78-346. Among Democrats this year, it was rejected 84-102, good for a six-vote improvement from last year’s Budget for All.
CPC Executive Director Brad Bauman was hoping the budget could do even better, but said that he was “happy that we are moving right direction as far as building more and more support for these baseline progressive ideals.” ........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://inthesetimes.com/article/14775/the_congressional_progressive_caucus_democrats_budget_failed_well/
March 25, 2013
Life After Oil and Gas
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: March 23, 2013
This mantra, repeated on TV ads and in political debates, is punctuated with a tinge of inevitability and regret. But, increasingly, scientific research and the experience of other countries should prompt us to ask: To what extent will we really “need” fossil fuel in the years to come? To what extent is it a choice?
As renewable energy gets cheaper and machines and buildings become more energy efficient, a number of countries that two decades ago ran on a fuel mix much like America’s are successfully dialing down their fossil fuel habits. Thirteen countries got more than 30 percent of their electricity from renewable energy in 2011, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency, and many are aiming still higher.
Could we? Should we?
A National Research Council report released last week concluded that the United States could halve by 2030 the oil used in cars and trucks compared with 2005 levels by improving the efficiency of gasoline-powered vehicles and by relying more on cars that use alternative power sources, like electric batteries and biofuels. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/sunday-review/life-after-oil-and-gas.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
NYT: Life After Oil and Gas
Life After Oil and Gas
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: March 23, 2013
WE will need fossil fuels like oil and gas for the foreseeable future. So there’s really little choice (sigh). We have to press ahead with fracking for natural gas. We must approve the Keystone XL pipeline to get Canadian oil.
This mantra, repeated on TV ads and in political debates, is punctuated with a tinge of inevitability and regret. But, increasingly, scientific research and the experience of other countries should prompt us to ask: To what extent will we really “need” fossil fuel in the years to come? To what extent is it a choice?
As renewable energy gets cheaper and machines and buildings become more energy efficient, a number of countries that two decades ago ran on a fuel mix much like America’s are successfully dialing down their fossil fuel habits. Thirteen countries got more than 30 percent of their electricity from renewable energy in 2011, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency, and many are aiming still higher.
Could we? Should we?
A National Research Council report released last week concluded that the United States could halve by 2030 the oil used in cars and trucks compared with 2005 levels by improving the efficiency of gasoline-powered vehicles and by relying more on cars that use alternative power sources, like electric batteries and biofuels. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/sunday-review/life-after-oil-and-gas.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
March 25, 2013
New York City school bus workers are expected to have their pay slashed and benefits cut, starting April 15. Both Michael Cordiello, president of the union local representing some of the drivers and aides, and Jeffrey Pollack, a lawyer representing the school bus operators, confirmed the wage cuts. They also said contract talks were suspended.
This follows a tumultuous winter for the school bus industry, which included a month-long strike starting on Jan. 16. Some 8,000 bus drivers and aides walked off the job over the loss of job protections, known as EPPs. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said a court ruling prohibited the city from including the protections in future contracts. And it was followed by an ignominious suspension of the strike when Local 1181 of the Amalgamated Transit Union realized it could not convince the Bloomberg administration to step in.
The school bus strike was the first in the city since 1979. About 5,000 of the city’s 7,700 routes were affected. Cordiello said the latest failed round of negotiations with the bus companies were an extension of the strike.
“Companies, seeking to make more profit, and based on fears from the EPPs being removed, they’re using that as leverage and as a green light for them to go forward to decimate the work force even further,” he said, adding that he expects bus drivers and matrons to face a 7.5 percent reduction in wages. They will also lose pay over the Easter holiday and face higher health insurance costs. ......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.schoolbook.org/2013/03/21/school-bus-workers-facing-major-pay-cut/
NYC School Bus Workers Facing Major Pay Cut
New York City school bus workers are expected to have their pay slashed and benefits cut, starting April 15. Both Michael Cordiello, president of the union local representing some of the drivers and aides, and Jeffrey Pollack, a lawyer representing the school bus operators, confirmed the wage cuts. They also said contract talks were suspended.
This follows a tumultuous winter for the school bus industry, which included a month-long strike starting on Jan. 16. Some 8,000 bus drivers and aides walked off the job over the loss of job protections, known as EPPs. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said a court ruling prohibited the city from including the protections in future contracts. And it was followed by an ignominious suspension of the strike when Local 1181 of the Amalgamated Transit Union realized it could not convince the Bloomberg administration to step in.
The school bus strike was the first in the city since 1979. About 5,000 of the city’s 7,700 routes were affected. Cordiello said the latest failed round of negotiations with the bus companies were an extension of the strike.
“Companies, seeking to make more profit, and based on fears from the EPPs being removed, they’re using that as leverage and as a green light for them to go forward to decimate the work force even further,” he said, adding that he expects bus drivers and matrons to face a 7.5 percent reduction in wages. They will also lose pay over the Easter holiday and face higher health insurance costs. ......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.schoolbook.org/2013/03/21/school-bus-workers-facing-major-pay-cut/
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