Occupy Banksters & Crony Capitalism & GREED

Lawmakers Overseeing Wall Street Given Bigger, More Favorable Loans Than Others: Study
ibtimes.com | David Sirota | 08/19/16

It is good to be king, as the old saying goes -- and apparently it's also good to get a seat on a congressional committee that oversees the finance industry. According to a new study, those lawmakers tend to get larger loans and at more favorable interest rates right when they get appointed to those powerful panels. Researchers suggest the evidence is no random coincidence: They say the trend may in fact expose a conduit of influence peddling in which powerful lawmakers are using their position to extract favors -- and whereby Wall Street firms may be using stealth perks to increase their legislative power. ... Read more

Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire by Deepa Kumar

In response to the events of 9/11, the Bush administration launched a "war on terror," ushering in an era of anti-Muslim racism, or Islamophobia. However, 9/11 did not create the image of the "Muslim enemy." This book examines the historic relationship between anti-Muslim racism and the agenda of empire building.

Beginning in the eleventh century and the context of the Crusades, Deepa Kumar offers a sweeping historical analysis of the changing views of Islam and Muslims in the West, examining the ways that ruling elites throughout history have used the specter of a "Muslim enemy" to justify their imperial projects.

The language of Islamophobia that was developed in the context of the European colonization of the Middle East continues to thrive today in the United States. Kumar expertly exposes and debunks various myths about Muslims and Islam that have become widely accepted in the US.

She goes on to analyze the US's checkered attitude towards the parties of political Islam, outlining how it has treated Islamists as both allies and enemies. By examining local conditions that have allowed for the growth of Islamists, Kumar shows that these parties are not inevitable in Muslim-majority countries but are rather a contemporary phenomenon similar to the rise of Christian, Jewish, and Hindu fundamentalisms.

The final section of the book sheds light on how the use of Islamophobia in justifying foreign policy necessitates and facilitates political repression at home. Attacks on Muslim Americans have spread to attacks on dissent in general. Kumar concludes by making a powerful case for a grassroots movement that challenges anti-Muslim racism and the projects of empire.

Why Can't Our Economy Promote Equality and Shared Prosperity?
AlterNet | Jim Hightower | 08/28/16

Meet "Take On Wall Street," a grassroots movement preventing America's plunge into plutocracy.

Instead of griping about the greedheads of Wall Street and the rip-off financial system they've hung around our necks--why don't we "Take On Wall Street"?

You don't have to be in "Who's Who" to know what's what. For example, if tiny groups of Wall Street bankers, billionaires and their political puppets are allowed to write the rules that govern our economy and elections, guess what? Only bankers, billionaires and puppets will profit from those rules. ... Read more

The Scandal of EpiPens Runs Deeper Than Most of Us Realize
AlterNet | Martha Rosenberg | 08/26/16

It has been two years since Gilead Sciences Inc. rolled out its $1,000-a-pill hepatitis C drug Sovaldi, priced at $84,000 for a course of treatment and met with disbelief from patients, insurers and health care professionals. After an 18-month investigation the Senate Finance Committee concluded prices did not reflect Gilead's development costs and that the drug maker cared about "revenue" not "affordability and accessibility." The committee also found that Sovaldi and a related pill, Harvoni, cost taxpayers $5 billion in 2014.

It's been one year since Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. hiked the price of a once-daily form of Wellbutrin, a 30-year-old antidepressant, to $1,400 a month despite the existence of a $30 generic and refused to lower prices on the millions hospitals pay for its life-saving heart medicines.

And it has been only a few months since a smirking Martin Shkreli, former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO, gave a figurative finger to Congress by refusing questions about why his company raised the price of the life-saving drug Daraprim, crucial for AIDS patients, from $13.50 a tablet to $750 per tablet. ... Read more

Will The Pentagon's Effort To Whip Up War Fever Work in This Internet Era?
ZeroHEdge | author | 08/29/16

We are in the midst of a huge propaganda blitz by the Pentagon and its affiliated military-industrial complex. We've seen the results before and hopefully they will not reoccur with such worldwide viciousness again. Is it possible that this time the Pentagon's lurid lies will fail to awake public terror and instead incite indignation at military-industrial manipulations. That would be an outcome dearly to be desired in this awakening Internet era. ... Read more

Bush, Cheney, PNAC, & The Criminal Conspiracy To Invade Iraq (older, but good) [10:45]

'Go Topless Go' Is The Equal Rights Anthem We Didn't Know We Needed
HP |David Moye | 08/26/16

Every important political movement has its theme song. The Civil Rights movement had "We Shall Overcome," the 1970s feminist movement had "I Am Woman," and now there's a ditty for those who are fighting the good fight to allow women to go topless in public. The song is called, appropriately enough, "Go Topless Go" and performed by singer Gabriela Dolanska (her Facebook page states she is located in Slovakia). ... Read more
Go Topless Go (08/24/16) [2:34]