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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
December 18, 2012
Remember the Children
Monday, December 17, 2012
America’s children seem to be shortchanged on almost every issue we face as a society.
Not only are we failing to protect our children from deranged people wielding semi-automatic guns.
We’re not protecting them from poverty. The rate of child poverty keeps rising – even faster than the rate of adult poverty.
And we’re not protecting their health. Rates of child diabetes and asthma continue to climb. ............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://robertreich.org/post/38172048589
Robert Reich: Remember the Children
Remember the Children
Monday, December 17, 2012
America’s children seem to be shortchanged on almost every issue we face as a society.
Not only are we failing to protect our children from deranged people wielding semi-automatic guns.
We’re not protecting them from poverty. The rate of child poverty keeps rising – even faster than the rate of adult poverty.
And we’re not protecting their health. Rates of child diabetes and asthma continue to climb. ............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://robertreich.org/post/38172048589
December 17, 2012
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian court has ruled that a bureaucrat who was injured while having sex on a business trip is eligible for worker's compensation benefits.
The Full Bench of the Federal Court ruled Dec. 13 in favor of the woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, and rejecting the appeal of the federal government's insurer.
The woman was hospitalized after being injured in 2007 during sex with a male friend while staying in a motel in the town of Nowra, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of her hometown of Sydney.
During the sex, a glass light fitting was torn from its mount above the bed and landed on her face, injuring her nose and mouth. She later suffered depression and was unable to continue working for the government. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/Australian-court-Worker-s-comp-covers-sex-mishap-4123249.php#ixzz2FLfthTgT
Australian court: Worker's comp covers sex mishap
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian court has ruled that a bureaucrat who was injured while having sex on a business trip is eligible for worker's compensation benefits.
The Full Bench of the Federal Court ruled Dec. 13 in favor of the woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, and rejecting the appeal of the federal government's insurer.
The woman was hospitalized after being injured in 2007 during sex with a male friend while staying in a motel in the town of Nowra, 160 kilometers (100 miles) south of her hometown of Sydney.
During the sex, a glass light fitting was torn from its mount above the bed and landed on her face, injuring her nose and mouth. She later suffered depression and was unable to continue working for the government. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/Australian-court-Worker-s-comp-covers-sex-mishap-4123249.php#ixzz2FLfthTgT
December 17, 2012
AlterNet / By Alex Kane
In Arkansas, Heavily Armed Cops to Patrol City Stopping Residents at Random
A city in Arkansas is dealing with an increase in crime. The police chief thinks the solution to the problem is granting law enforcement expansive new powers.
December 17, 2012 |
A city in Arkansas is dealing with an increase in crime. So they’ve decided to grant scary new powers to their law enforcement.
The Associated Press reports that Paragould, Arkansas is set to create a new law enforcement unit to deal with the increase in crime. The new unit will patrol on foot and may have the power to “randomly ask residents for identification.” No word on whether the Fourth Amendment is being suspended in Paragould.
The AP notes that “officers will be clad in protective gear and carry AR-15 rifles.” Pargould’s police chief said that “if officers see people on the street, they'll ask why they are out and ask to see identification.” The AR-15 is a powerful, semi-automatic rifle.
"We're going to do it to everybody,” said the police chief, Todd Stovall . “Criminals don't like being talked to.” ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/arkansas-heavily-armed-cops-patrol-city-stopping-residents-random
In Arkansas, Heavily Armed Cops to Patrol City Stopping Residents at Random
AlterNet / By Alex Kane
In Arkansas, Heavily Armed Cops to Patrol City Stopping Residents at Random
A city in Arkansas is dealing with an increase in crime. The police chief thinks the solution to the problem is granting law enforcement expansive new powers.
December 17, 2012 |
A city in Arkansas is dealing with an increase in crime. So they’ve decided to grant scary new powers to their law enforcement.
The Associated Press reports that Paragould, Arkansas is set to create a new law enforcement unit to deal with the increase in crime. The new unit will patrol on foot and may have the power to “randomly ask residents for identification.” No word on whether the Fourth Amendment is being suspended in Paragould.
The AP notes that “officers will be clad in protective gear and carry AR-15 rifles.” Pargould’s police chief said that “if officers see people on the street, they'll ask why they are out and ask to see identification.” The AR-15 is a powerful, semi-automatic rifle.
"We're going to do it to everybody,” said the police chief, Todd Stovall . “Criminals don't like being talked to.” ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/arkansas-heavily-armed-cops-patrol-city-stopping-residents-random
December 17, 2012
from Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality:
Presenting America’s Ten Greediest of 2012
December 16, 2012
Some of today’s most greedy are running giant multinational corporations. Some are just running their mouths. Their stories remind us just how much needs to change, economically and politically, in the year that beckons ahead.
By Sam Pizzigati
The essence of greed? Simple. Greed amounts to taking more than you need when you already have enough — and others don’t. Who among us, by this yardstick, rate as our greediest? Those greediest would be those who have the wherewithal to take whatever they want — and deny others the basics they need.
We abound in these greedy. Most of them wear power suits and dart in and out of the executive suites that sit high atop America’s most elegant corporate towers. Year in and year out, these greedy grab ungodly rewards for their own labor — and deny their employees anything close to decent compensation for theirs.
Without further ado, our fifth annual Too Much list of the greediest of our greedy, those ten deep-pocketed personages who’ve done the most in 2012 to subvert the decency we all like to call, at this time of year, the “holiday spirit.”
10/ Jack Welch: Comforting Comfortables
An oversized ego can be a terrible thing to waste. Jack Welch, the retired General Electric CEO, is doing his best not to waste a bit of his — and pick up a few extras pennies in the process.
Welch, the super CEO of the 1990s, has become a regular on the corporate chattering circuit since he retired in 2001. He collects a sweet $150,000 per appearance. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://toomuchonline.org/presenting-americas-ten-greediest-of-2012/
Presenting America’s Ten Greediest of 2012
from Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality:
Presenting America’s Ten Greediest of 2012
December 16, 2012
Some of today’s most greedy are running giant multinational corporations. Some are just running their mouths. Their stories remind us just how much needs to change, economically and politically, in the year that beckons ahead.
By Sam Pizzigati
The essence of greed? Simple. Greed amounts to taking more than you need when you already have enough — and others don’t. Who among us, by this yardstick, rate as our greediest? Those greediest would be those who have the wherewithal to take whatever they want — and deny others the basics they need.
We abound in these greedy. Most of them wear power suits and dart in and out of the executive suites that sit high atop America’s most elegant corporate towers. Year in and year out, these greedy grab ungodly rewards for their own labor — and deny their employees anything close to decent compensation for theirs.
Without further ado, our fifth annual Too Much list of the greediest of our greedy, those ten deep-pocketed personages who’ve done the most in 2012 to subvert the decency we all like to call, at this time of year, the “holiday spirit.”
10/ Jack Welch: Comforting Comfortables
An oversized ego can be a terrible thing to waste. Jack Welch, the retired General Electric CEO, is doing his best not to waste a bit of his — and pick up a few extras pennies in the process.
Welch, the super CEO of the 1990s, has become a regular on the corporate chattering circuit since he retired in 2001. He collects a sweet $150,000 per appearance. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://toomuchonline.org/presenting-americas-ten-greediest-of-2012/
December 17, 2012
from truthdig:
Egypt’s New Pharaoh
Posted on Dec 16, 2012
By Chris Hedges
When Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran after 14 years in exile on Feb. 1, 1979, he set out to destroy the secular opposition forces, including the Communist Party of Iran, which had been instrumental in bringing down the shah. Khomeini’s declaration of an Islamic government, supported by referendum, saw him rewrite the constitution, close opposition newspapers and ban opposition groups including the National Democratic Front and the Muslim People’s Republican Party. Dissidents who had spent years inside Iran’s notoriously brutal prison system under the shah were incarcerated once again by the new regime. Some returned to their cells to be greeted by their old jailers, who had offered their services to the new regime.
This is what is under way in Egypt. It is the story of most revolutions. The moderates, who are crucial to winning the support of the masses and many outside the country, become an impediment to the consolidation of autocratic power. Liberal democrats, intellectuals, the middle class, secularists and religious minorities including Coptic Christians were always seen by President Mohamed Morsi and his Freedom and Justice Party—Egypt’s de facto political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood—as “useful idiots.” These forces were essential to building a broad movement to topple the dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak. They permitted Western journalists to paint the opposition in their own image. But now they are a hindrance to single-party rule and are being crushed.
The first of two days of voting on a new constitution was held Saturday. According to reports Sunday, the document is being approved. The second round of voting, next Saturday, includes rural districts that provide much of the Brotherhood’s base of support, and it is expected to end in the constitution being ratified by the required 50 percent or more of Egypt’s 51 million voters. Opposition forces charge that the first round was marred by polling irregularities including bribery, intimidation, erratic polling hours and polling officials who instructed voters how to cast ballots. A large number of the 13,000 polling stations will have had no independent monitors; many judges, in protest over the drafting process, have refused to oversee the voting.
The referendum masks the real center of power, which is in the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood. The party has no intention of diluting or giving up that power. For example, when it appeared that the Supreme Constitutional Court would dissolve the panel—stacked with party members—that was drafting the new constitution, the Brotherhood locked the judges out of the court building. Three dozen members of the panel, including secularists, Coptic Christians, liberals and journalists, quit in protest. The remaining Islamists, in defiance of the judges, held an all-night session Nov. 29 and officially approved the 63-page document. ...............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/egypts_new_pharaoh_20121216/
Chris Hedges: Egypt’s New Pharaoh
from truthdig:
Egypt’s New Pharaoh
Posted on Dec 16, 2012
By Chris Hedges
When Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran after 14 years in exile on Feb. 1, 1979, he set out to destroy the secular opposition forces, including the Communist Party of Iran, which had been instrumental in bringing down the shah. Khomeini’s declaration of an Islamic government, supported by referendum, saw him rewrite the constitution, close opposition newspapers and ban opposition groups including the National Democratic Front and the Muslim People’s Republican Party. Dissidents who had spent years inside Iran’s notoriously brutal prison system under the shah were incarcerated once again by the new regime. Some returned to their cells to be greeted by their old jailers, who had offered their services to the new regime.
This is what is under way in Egypt. It is the story of most revolutions. The moderates, who are crucial to winning the support of the masses and many outside the country, become an impediment to the consolidation of autocratic power. Liberal democrats, intellectuals, the middle class, secularists and religious minorities including Coptic Christians were always seen by President Mohamed Morsi and his Freedom and Justice Party—Egypt’s de facto political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood—as “useful idiots.” These forces were essential to building a broad movement to topple the dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak. They permitted Western journalists to paint the opposition in their own image. But now they are a hindrance to single-party rule and are being crushed.
The first of two days of voting on a new constitution was held Saturday. According to reports Sunday, the document is being approved. The second round of voting, next Saturday, includes rural districts that provide much of the Brotherhood’s base of support, and it is expected to end in the constitution being ratified by the required 50 percent or more of Egypt’s 51 million voters. Opposition forces charge that the first round was marred by polling irregularities including bribery, intimidation, erratic polling hours and polling officials who instructed voters how to cast ballots. A large number of the 13,000 polling stations will have had no independent monitors; many judges, in protest over the drafting process, have refused to oversee the voting.
The referendum masks the real center of power, which is in the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood. The party has no intention of diluting or giving up that power. For example, when it appeared that the Supreme Constitutional Court would dissolve the panel—stacked with party members—that was drafting the new constitution, the Brotherhood locked the judges out of the court building. Three dozen members of the panel, including secularists, Coptic Christians, liberals and journalists, quit in protest. The remaining Islamists, in defiance of the judges, held an all-night session Nov. 29 and officially approved the 63-page document. ...............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/egypts_new_pharaoh_20121216/
December 17, 2012
(Bloomberg) Magazines that fed bullets into the primary firearm used to kill 26 children and adults at a Connecticut school would have been banned under state legislation that the National Rifle Association and gunmakers successfully fought.
The shooter at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Adam Lanza, 20, used a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle with magazines containing 30 rounds as his main weapon, said Connecticut State Police Lieutenant Paul Vance at a news conference today.
A proposal in March 2011 would have made it a felony to possess magazines with more than 10 bullets and required owners to surrender them to law enforcement or remove them from the state. Opponents sent more than 30,000 e-mails and letters to state lawmakers as part of a campaign organized by the NRA and other gun advocates, said Robert Crook, head of the Hartford- based Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, which opposed the legislation.
“The legislators got swamped by NRA emails,” said Betty Gallo, who lobbied on behalf of the legislation for Southport- based Connecticut Against Gun Violence. “They were scared of the NRA and the political backlash.” ...............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-16/ban-on-30-round-gun-magazines-in-connecticut-died-after-pressure.html
Ban on 30-Round Gun Magazines in Connecticut Died After Pressure
(Bloomberg) Magazines that fed bullets into the primary firearm used to kill 26 children and adults at a Connecticut school would have been banned under state legislation that the National Rifle Association and gunmakers successfully fought.
The shooter at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Adam Lanza, 20, used a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle with magazines containing 30 rounds as his main weapon, said Connecticut State Police Lieutenant Paul Vance at a news conference today.
A proposal in March 2011 would have made it a felony to possess magazines with more than 10 bullets and required owners to surrender them to law enforcement or remove them from the state. Opponents sent more than 30,000 e-mails and letters to state lawmakers as part of a campaign organized by the NRA and other gun advocates, said Robert Crook, head of the Hartford- based Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, which opposed the legislation.
“The legislators got swamped by NRA emails,” said Betty Gallo, who lobbied on behalf of the legislation for Southport- based Connecticut Against Gun Violence. “They were scared of the NRA and the political backlash.” ...............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-16/ban-on-30-round-gun-magazines-in-connecticut-died-after-pressure.html
December 16, 2012
Published on Dec 10, 2012
This event was a fundraiser for Spare Change street paper and the Homeless Empowerment Project. Recorded on September 27, 2004
Noam Chomsky & Howard Zinn "Is There Hope in This Desperate Time?"
Published on Dec 10, 2012
This event was a fundraiser for Spare Change street paper and the Homeless Empowerment Project. Recorded on September 27, 2004
December 16, 2012
from Grist:
Feds predict end times for Colorado River water
By Susie Cagle
Add another item to the list of things in peril due to climate change: the entire American West.
According to a new study from the federal Bureau of Reclamation, the Colorado River won’t fare well over the next 50 years. Climate change, drought, and population growth all add up to far greater demand for water than the river will be able to supply by 2060.
A large portion of the American West, especially its cities, rely on the Colorado. Almost 40 million residents of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming depend entirely on the river’s water. ..............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://grist.org/news/feds-predict-end-times-for-colorado-river-water/
Feds predict end times for Colorado River water
from Grist:
Feds predict end times for Colorado River water
By Susie Cagle
Add another item to the list of things in peril due to climate change: the entire American West.
According to a new study from the federal Bureau of Reclamation, the Colorado River won’t fare well over the next 50 years. Climate change, drought, and population growth all add up to far greater demand for water than the river will be able to supply by 2060.
A large portion of the American West, especially its cities, rely on the Colorado. Almost 40 million residents of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming depend entirely on the river’s water. ..............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://grist.org/news/feds-predict-end-times-for-colorado-river-water/
December 16, 2012
from Grist:
Feds predict end times for Colorado River water
By Susie Cagle
Add another item to the list of things in peril due to climate change: the entire American West.
According to a new study from the federal Bureau of Reclamation, the Colorado River won’t fare well over the next 50 years. Climate change, drought, and population growth all add up to far greater demand for water than the river will be able to supply by 2060.
A large portion of the American West, especially its cities, rely on the Colorado. Almost 40 million residents of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming depend entirely on the river’s water. ..............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://grist.org/news/feds-predict-end-times-for-colorado-river-water/
Feds predict end times for Colorado River water
from Grist:
Feds predict end times for Colorado River water
By Susie Cagle
Add another item to the list of things in peril due to climate change: the entire American West.
According to a new study from the federal Bureau of Reclamation, the Colorado River won’t fare well over the next 50 years. Climate change, drought, and population growth all add up to far greater demand for water than the river will be able to supply by 2060.
A large portion of the American West, especially its cities, rely on the Colorado. Almost 40 million residents of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming depend entirely on the river’s water. ..............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://grist.org/news/feds-predict-end-times-for-colorado-river-water/
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