Ykcutnek
Ykcutnek's JournalAt Davos, the Rich and Powerful Pay $43 for a Hot Dog
At the posh Steigenberger Grandhotel Belvédère, a conference hotspot, even humble menu items can be astronomically pricey. A hot dog with pickles, fried onions and mustard is priced at 38 Swiss francs (about $43.50). It's 48 Swiss francs for a chicken Caesar salad with parmesan (about $55) and a draft beer at a local restaurant - in a pint-sized glass - can cost 6.50 Swiss francs, about $7.50.
Some items seemed priced just for the billionaires floating around WEF but it's a very different mood in the nearby shopping promenade.
Bruna Minelli runs a women's clothing shop. The knitted couture that she sells comes from Italy, meaning the sudden appreciation of the Swiss franc last week - and the cheaper euro - has left her with more than a few problems.
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/davos-rich-powerful-pay-43-hot-dog-n292111
Attorney of KY lawmaker invoking 1891 language in state constitution to get DUI charge dismissed
Republican state Sen. Brandon Smith of Hazard was arrested and charged with DUI on Jan. 6, the first day of the 2015 legislative session. Smith had a .088 percent blood alcohol level in a portable breath test, according to a citation filed in Franklin County Circuit court. A person is presumed drunk when the alcohol to blood ratio is .08 or higher.
But attorney Bill Johnson has filed a motion to dismiss the charges, citing section 43 of the Kentucky Constitution, which states that "members of the General Assembly shall, in all cases except treason, felony, breach or surety of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance on the sessions of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same."
"If you can't arrest them, then you can't try them," Johnson said.
That language was added to the constitution in 1891. Johnson said the purpose was to "keep legislators from being bothered by people who would arrest them during sessions."
Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2015/01/22/3655722_attorney-lawmaker-cant-be-charged.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy
Top GOPer Tries to Woo Warren As His New Democratic Friend In Senate
He compared her to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), with whom Hatch became friends while working together on the Senate Labor Committee.
"We’ve become friends. I think she would like to have a relationship with me like Kennedy had. I like her. I think she’s a very bright woman. She’s certainly playing the media in a beautiful way," Hatch told Yahoo News in an interview published Thursday.
Hatch said he thinks he could work with Warren because she remains open-minded while also championing her progressive beliefs.
"I think she recognized me as somebody who does do things around here, and we’ve had some nice chats, and she’s open to good ideas," he said. "That’s all I can ask of anybody. I think she’s an attractive person. She’s soft-spoken, but she’s capable of saying all the right left-wing things, and I give her credit for that."
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/gop-hatch-warren-friends-senate
Doomsday Clock moves two minutes closer to midnight
Every year, the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists analyzes international threats, particularly nuclear arsenals and climate change, and decides where the minute hand on the Doomsday Clock should rest. The closer it is to midnight, the closer the world is to doom.
The last time the clock moved was in 2012 when the Board set the minute hand at 11:55 p.m. over concerns about the state of nuclear arsenals around the world. It also was concerned about the Fukushima nuclear meltdown and the outbreak of H5N1 flu. It hasn't moved this much since 2007, when the Board warned that "the world stands on the brink of a second nuclear age." It also cited climate change which it called "a dire challenge to humanity."
Those two issues again took center stage as the Board announced it would bump the clock two minutes ahead, to 11:57 p.m.
"Today, unchecked climate change and a nuclear arms race resulting from modernization of huge arsenals pose extraordinary and undeniable threats to the continued existence of humanity," Kennette Benedict, executive director of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, told reporters. "And world leaders have failed to act with the speed or on the scale required to protect citizens from potential catastrophe. These failures of leadership endanger every person on Earth."
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/doomsday-clock-moves-two-minutes-closer-to-midnight/
Kentucky Democratic icon Wendell Ford dead at age 90
Ford served 24 years in the U.S. Senate and was governor from 1971 to 1974. He was the first person in Kentucky history to be elected lieutenant governor, governor and U.S. senator.
He also was a key player in passing the 1993 motor-voter law, which allows people to register to vote when they get their driver's license.
His reputation was one of an effective, shrewd politician who, despite an easy smile and a quick, folksy wit, played hardball behind the scenes.
http://www.kentucky.com/2015/01/22/3654522_kentucky-democratic-icon-wendell.html
We had to dig for change in the couch to buy bread,
and lie about every extra cent my father made to keep our rental assistance from dropping so much that we ended up on the street.
If I were in your position, Senator Ernst, I'd tell my story too, but I'd also use that position to ease the pain and suffering of people growing up in poverty.
You just want us to shed tears over your sob story so we won't notice you pulling the ladder up behind you.
Fuck you, Senator. Fuck you.
Message from President Obama to people who wanted him to step up and are now complaining about it
now that he has:
P.S. Give yourself a hand for that 180. 10/10.
Ron Paul Is Just Asking The Question: Was The Charlie Hebdo Attack A False Flag Operation?
According to Paul, neither he nor the author believe that the Charlie Hebdo attack was actually a false flag.
Instead, Paul claimed, the author was just asking the question and “determined to try to get truth out” about the attacks, and since he was just asking the question, he shouldn’t be held responsible for the contents of the allegations.
“I think he suggested it, he wanted a discussion and he has some really good things in there,” Paul said. It’s a shame that the media doesn’t pick up and say ‘what about this chief investigator of the event committed suicide right in the middle of it?’ I have no idea what’s going on there but that to me is big stuff.”
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/ron-paul-just-asking-question-was-charlie-hebdo-attack-false-flag-operation
EXCLUSIVE: A SNEAK PEEK AT CISPA 2015
The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) is the bill in the US Congress that just refuses to die. Like a zombie, it keeps rising from the dead to harass cyber activists and civil liberties advocates. In a slight reprieve, Representative Mike Rogers, CISPA’s previous co-sponsor, has announced that he will not run for re-election. Never one to waste an opportunity for a crisis, a House Democrat, Representative Dutch Ruppersberger, has decided to re-introduce CISPA after the Sony hacks, which the US government blames on North Korea.
The full text of the reintroduced CISPA bill can be found here RUPPER_001_xml-1
Even though CISPA 2015 was introduced last Thursday, for some reason, the text of the bill has not appeared on Congress.gov. Earlier today, I called Representative Ruppersberger’s office to get a copy of the bill.
Under CISPA 2015 (HR 234), the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Attorney General, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Secretary of Defense would create the cyber threat information sharing program and also provide oversight for the program’s civil liberties protections. This is akin to allowing the foxes to guard the hen house. CISPA 2015 also mandates privacy and civil liberties reports, but allows government agencies to classify the annexes to the reports. In other words, CISPA 2015 does not intend to have any real oversight for civil liberties and privacy. Cyber threat information shared with the government would also be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act and would be a serious blow to transparency in government. Perhaps the worst thing about the CISPA 2015 bill is that it would give immunity from criminal prosecution and lawsuits to anyone sharing cyber threat information with the government. CISPA 2015 would provide for an even cozier relationship between Silicon Valley and the US government at the detriment of civil liberties and privacy for everyone else.
http://piratetimes.net/exclusive-a-sneak-peek-at-cispa-2015/
Prosecutors Said to Recommend Charges Against Former Gen. David Petraeus
Source: New York Times
WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. and Justice Department prosecutors have recommended bringing felony charges against retired Gen. David H. Petraeus for providing classified information to his former mistress while he was director of the C.I.A., officials said, leaving Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to decide whether to seek an indictment that could send the pre-eminent military officer of his generation to prison.
The Justice Department investigation stems from an affair Mr. Petraeus had with Paula Broadwell, an Army Reserve officer who was writing his biography, and focuses on whether he gave her access to his C.I.A. email account and other highly classified information. F.B.I. agents discovered classified documents on her computer after Mr. Petraeus resigned from the C.I.A. in 2012 when the affair became public.
Mr. Petraeus, a retired four star-general who served as commander of American forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan, has said he never provided classified information to Ms. Broadwell, and has indicated to the Justice Department that he has no interest in a plea deal that would spare him an embarrassing trial. A lawyer for Mr. Petraeus, Robert B. Barnett, said Friday he had no comment.
Mr. Holder was expected to decide by the end of last year whether to bring charges against Mr. Petraeus, but he has not indicated how he plans to proceed. The delay has frustrated some Justice Department and F.B.I officials and investigators who have questioned whether Mr. Petraeus has received special treatment at a time Mr. Holder has led an unprecedented crackdown on government officials who reveal secrets to journalists.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/10/us/politics/prosecutors-said-to-recommend-charges-against-former-gen-david-petraeus.html
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