Occupy Banksters & Crony Capitalism & GREED

Chain Of Fools
HP | Michael McAuliff | 12/30/12

Tense "fiscal cliff" negotiations on Capitol Hill Sunday inched forward slightly as Republican senators agreed to take Social Security cuts off their list of immediate demands.   The cut that GOP leaders had proposed -- picking up on a now-defunct offer from President Barack Obama -- involved basing Social Security cost-of-living adjustments on a chained consumer price index (CPI), which grows more slowly than current measures of inflation and therefore would give seniors less in benefits as time went on. ... Read more

GOP Governors Deny The Poor Health Care In Opposing Obamacare's Medicaid Expansion
HP | Peter S. Goodman | 12/28/12

2012 - 'Year Of Living Dangerously' In Review
ZeroHedge | Author | 12/28/12

Despite the fact that myself and everyone else acting like they know what lays ahead are proven wrong time and time again, we continue to make predictions about the future. It makes us feel like we have some control, when we don't. The world is too complex, too big, too corrupt, too lost in theories and delusions, and too dependent upon too many leaders with too few brains to be able to predict what will happen next. This is the time of year when all the "experts" will be making their 2013 predictions - but few will address where they were wrong in previous predictions. I'm more interested in why I was wrong. It seems I always underestimate the ability of sociopathic central bankers and their willingness to destroy the lives of hundreds of millions to benefit their oligarch masters. I always underestimate the rampant corruption that permeates Washington DC and the executive suites in mega-corporations across the land. And I always overestimate the intelligence, civic mindedness, and ability to understand math of the ignorant masses that pass for citizens in this country. It seems that issuing trillions of new debt to pay off trillions of bad debt, government sanctioned accounting fraud, mainstream media propaganda, government data manipulation and a populace blinded by mass delusion can stave off the inevitable consequences of an unsustainable economic system. Will 2013 be the year it all collapses in a flaming heap of rubble? I don't know. Maybe you should ask an "expert". ... Read more

Unthinkable Cuts Almost a Reality ??????
WSJ | Damian Paletta | 12/30/12

... Illustrating the gravity of the cuts, the Pentagon plans to notify 800,000 civilian employees that they could be forced to take several weeks of unpaid leave in 2013 if a deal isn't struck, and other agencies are likely to follow suit. ... Read more

TRNN | James S. Henry: Will Obama Offer Massive Corporate Tax Cuts to Make "Fiscal Cliff" Deal? (12/30/12) [9:05]

Strong quake hits off Japan near Fukushima
Reuters | Antoni Slodkowski | 12/07/12

A strong quake centered off northeastern Japan shook buildings as far away as Tokyo on Friday and triggered a one-meter tsunami in an area devastated by last year's Fukushima disaster, but there were no reports of deaths or serious damage.   The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3, the U.S. Geological Survey said, and thousands of coastal residents were ordered to evacuate to higher ground, but the tsunami warning was lifted two hours after the tremor struck. ... Read more

The Commercialization of the Family
readersupportednews.org | Ralph Nader | 12/23/12

Family is the foundation of our American society. In many ways, the family unit is one of the last bastions of decency holding out against encroaching corporate commoditization -- the corporations can sell food, medicine, clothing, entertainment, even child and elder care, but they can't provide the love, selflessness and generosity that close family members can provide one another. But if there was a way to commercialize all those generational, biological bonds, you can be sure that profit-hungry companies and clever marketers would discover it. ... Read more

How Can I Get Enough Protein In My Diet? The Protein Myth
pcrm.org | Author | current

Protein is an important nutrient required for the building, maintenance, and repair of tissues in the body. Amino acids, the building blocks of protein, can be synthesized by the body or ingested from food. There are 20 different amino acids in the food we eat, but our body can only make 11 of them. The 9 essential amino acids, which cannot be produced by the body, must be obtained from the diet. A variety of grains, legumes, and vegetables can also provide all of the essential amino acids our bodies require. ... Read more

2013 Is Year Zero for Climate Change
The Nation | Rebecca Solnit | 12/26/12

... Think of 2013 as the Year Zero in the battle over climate change, one in which we are going to have to win big, or lose bigger. This is a terrible thing to say, but not as terrible as the reality that you can see in footage of glaciers vanishing, images of the entire surface of the Greenland Ice Shield melting this summer, maps of Europe's future in which just being in southern Europe when the heat hits will be catastrophic, let alone in more equatorial realms. ... Read more

Newtown: Roots of a Rampage
The Nation | Katherine S. Newman | 12/19/12

... First, these shootings tend to happen in small towns with no history of background violence, rather than in big cities, which suffer almost every other kind of brutal attack except this one. There has been only one example of a rampage school shooting in an urban setting since 1970. All the others have taken place in rural towns miles from places like New York or Chicago, or in suburbs in the Western states.

What is it about these towns where no one locks their doors that generates these deadly outbursts? We argued the very thing most Americans celebrate about small-town life--close-knit neighbors, friendly families, adults engaged in the schools and churches--become sources of stultifying depression for marginal boys. We interviewed kids who were attending the same high school as their grandparents, in communities where very few left town for college, preferring to stay home and attend the local community college or state institution. For most people, this is a sign of social solidarity. For Michael Carneal, the shooter in a 1997 attack at Heath High School (outside Paducah), that solidarity felt like a life sentence of exclusion. ... Read more

For Four Retailers, Do or Die
WSJ | Ann Zimmerman | 12/27/12

While 2013 will be a tough year for retailers due to the tepid economic recovery, a few in particular face a critical 12 months. Their experiences highlight the challenges facing store chains, from increasingly cautious consumers to fierce online competition.   These unlucky retailers are going into the New Year with extra woes: slipping sales, questionable strategies and tight finances--which is why they are the ones to watch, and not in a good way. ... Read more

Pentagon Preps Stealth Strike Force to Counter China
Wired Magazine | David Axe | 12/26/12

The U.S. military has begun a staged, five-year process that will see each of its three main stealth warplane types deployed to bases near China. When the deployments are complete in 2017, Air Force F-22s and B-2s and Marine Corps F-35s could all be within striking range of America's biggest economic rival at the same time. With Beijing now testing its own radar-evading jet fighters -- two different models, to be exact -- the clock is counting down to a stealth warplane showdown over the Western Pacific. ... Read more

Bayou Frack-Out: The Massive Oil and Gas Disaster You've Never Heard Of
http://truth-out.org | Mike Ludwig | 12/06/12

... On a summer night in early August, the earth below the Bayou Corne, located near a small residential community in Assumption, simply opened up and gave way. Several acres of swamp forest were swallowed up and replaced with a gaping sinkhole that filled itself with water, underground brines, oil and natural gas from deep below the surface. Since then, the massive sinkhole at Bayou Corne has grown to 8 acres in size. ... Read more

Senate Passes NDAA Indefinite Detention Bill
http://readersupportednews.org | Matt Sledge | 12/26/12

The Senate passed a version of the National Defense Authorization Act that was stripped of a prohibition of the indefinite military detention of US citizens on American soil by an 81-14 vote on Friday, but only after a furious dissent on the chamber's floor by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who called it an "abomination."   The National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 will now head to the White House, which had earlier pledged to veto the NDAA because it prevents the president from closing the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. It is unclear whether the president will follow through on the threat. ... Read more

Texas Man Takes Last Stand Against Keystone XL Pipeline
NPR - All Things Considered | Elizabeth Shogren | 12/25/12

An east Texas landowner was so determined to block the Keystone XL pipeline from coming through his forest that he took to his trees and built an elaborate network of treehouses eight stories above the ground.   "It popped into my head a long time ago, actually," says 45-year-old David Daniel. "If I had to climb my butt on top of a tree and sit there, I would. It started with that." ... Read more

The Guidestones in Elbert County, Ga.
http://nutshellnewz.com | Author | 11/22/12

In a field in Georgia, stands a monument owned by Elbert county. Erected March 22, 1980 it was dedicated by someone/s using the pseudonym: R. C. Christian. This monument is made up of six granite slabs weighing 237, 746 pounds, (107, 840 kg) in all and is 19', 3? (5.87 m) tall. There is one column in the center with four columns surrounding it and a capstone, all made of granite. ... Read more

The Structural Endgame Of The Fiscal Cliff
ZeroHedge | Author | 12/26/12

To understand this endgame, we need to start with the financial and political basics of wealth and power in the U.S.
1. Wealth and thus political power are highly concentrated. The dynamics of rising wealth disparity and the increasing concentration of wealth are debatable; the disparity is not. Roughly 70% of all financial wealth is held by the top 5%; within this top layer of ownership, the top ½ of 1% hold an outsized share. ... Read more

Democracy Now! National and Global News Headlines for Wednesday, December 26 [13:08]

All We Want for Christmas Is...Guns
MotherJones | Maddie Oatman | 12/23/12

... Gun enthusiasts like to say that possessing a firearm is a way for civilians to step in and prevent tragic shootings. But when Mother Jones' Mark Follman analyzed data about mass shootings during the last 30 years, he couldn't find a single instance of an armed civilian saving the day. In fact, when civilians attempted to intervene, they were often wounded or killed. ... Read more

Tony Kushner on Abraham Lincoln and Modern Politics
Bill Moyers | Author | 12/21/12

One reason so many people are disillusioned by the state of things in America is that our political system hasn't produced consistently good results in a long time. We've forgotten that democracy is supposed to be about addressing our problems through a political system that encourages bargaining, compromise, and progress. Except for taking us to war, showering largesse on the privileged and powerful, and courting donors instead of representing voters, Washington politics promotes gridlock, paralysis, and stalemate.

But Bill Moyers finds hope in the movie Lincoln. Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner, who wrote the film's screenplay, joins Bill to talk about finding the man inside the monument, and what Abraham Lincoln -- 147 years after his death -- can still teach us all about politics, compromise, and the survival of American democracy. ... Read more

NRA Press Conference: Wayne LaPierre Calls For Armed Police Officers At Every School
HP | Philip Elliott/AP | 12/21/12

The nation's largest gun-rights lobby is calling for armed police officers to be posted in every American school to stop the next killer "waiting in the wings."   The National Rifle Association broke its silence Friday on last week's shooting rampage at a Connecticut elementary school that left 26 children and staff dead.

The group's top lobbyist, Wayne LaPierre, said at a Washington news conference that "the next Adam Lanza," the man responsible for last week's mayhem, is planning an attack on another school.   "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," LaPierre said. ... Read more

Boehner's Failure and the GOP's Disgrace
HP | Robert Reich | 12/21/12

Remarkably, John Boehner couldn't get enough House Republicans to vote in favor of his proposal to keep the Bush tax cuts in place on the first million dollars of everyone's income and apply the old Clinton rates only to dollars over and above a million.   What? Even Grover Norquist blessed Boehner's proposal, saying it wasn't really a tax increase. Even Paul Ryan supported it.

What does Boehner's failure tell us about the modern Republican party? ... Read more

How 10,000 Contracts Crashed The Market: A Visual Deconstruction Of Last Night's E-Mini Flash Crash
ZeroHedge | Author | 12/21/12

On December 20, 2012, there was an Event in the eMini futures at 20:18:40 ET. The data exhibits many hallmarks of a HFT (High Frequency Trader) market maker absorbing sell orders up to their limit, and then turning around and dumping those contracts as fast as possible. Exactly what happened in the Flash Crash on May 6, 2010. Only in this case, the original seller appears to be much more aggressive than Waddell & Reed's algorithm. The drop came in 2 seconds, and halted trading for 10 seconds. The flash crash halted eMini trading for just 5 seconds. A mere 10,000 contracts (or $700mm notional) was enough to do all that damage. ... Read more

Daily Gun Slaughter in U.S. Obscured by Newtown Rampage [Comment - Very Sobering Article]
Bloomberg | William Selway | 12/21/12

... Sherman may have been the first person killed by gunfire in the U.S. that Friday, hours before the second-deadliest shooting in the nation's history unfolded 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) away in Newtown, Connecticut. That massacre left 28 dead, including the gunman, his mother and 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

By day's end, at least 12 other people were shot dead around the nation, according to police and news accounts. Their deaths were little noticed beyond circles of family or friends. ... Read more

Bulletproof backpack sales spike after Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn.
nydailynews.com | Rheana Murray | 12/20/12

Sales of bulletproof backpacks for schoolchildren are through the roof days after a masked gunman's rampage left 20 kids dead at a Connecticut elementary school. ... Read more
Thebulletproofbackpack Website
Video [9:36]

Financial Ties Bind NRA, Gun Industry
NPR.org | Peter Overby | 12/20/12

... The NRA and the gun industry are reeling after last week's massacre. The primary weapon used -- an AR-15-style rifle -- is one of the most popular guns in America.   The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association of the firearms industry, says those who have AR-15s are among the most passionate gun owners. ... Read more

Boehner Drops 'Plan B' as Budget Effort Turns to Disarray
Bloomberg | Richard Rubin | 12/21/12

House Speaker John Boehner scrapped a plan to allow higher tax rates on annual income above $1 million, yielding to anti-tax resistance within his own party and throwing already-stalled budget talks deeper into turmoil.   He will hold a news conference today at 10 a.m. Washington time, his office said in a statement. ... Read more

5 Reasons Our Changing Climate Is More Dangerous Than You Think
AlterNet | Tara Lohan | 12/17/12

This week the sane among us will scoff at those hoarding candles and food for another apocalypse that fails to materialize. We'll laugh at the accounts of people readying their bunkers and at store shelves being wiped clean. We know that the world will not come to a cataclysmic end on December 21.

Here's what we're not so good at understanding: We are part of a slowly enfolding tragedy in which the end of the world as we know it may be getting closer and closer. It won't happen on any particular day that we can pinpoint and there won't be a giant explosion or a big flood that will wipe everything away. There will be many floods and fires over many years. One species, one crop dying off after another. ... Read more

Democracy Now! National and Global News Headlines for Friday, December 21 [12:57]

*TRNN | Oliver Stone & Peter Kuznick: Untold History: The Rise and Fall of a Progressive Vice-President of the USA. Discusses the '44 Democratic Convention coup that dumped VP Henry A. Wallace, the man who as President would have opposed the cold war. (12/21/12) [13:08]

Preppers Are Getting Ready for the Barackalypse
MotherJones | Tim Murphy | Jan/Feb 2013

... Stevens' book, Making the Best of Basics, may be the closest thing the survival industry has to a bible (aside from the actual Bible). It has sold more than 800,000 copies since hitting the shelves at Kmart during the gas crisis in 1974. Stevens is not actually a doctor, and, come to think of it, he'd rather you not call him a "prepper," which he considers a slur meant to impugn self-reliant folks like himself as paranoid loons. ... Read more

Barackalypse Now! Video [2:36]

Stories From Washington's Revolving Door
Bill Moyers | John Light | 12/14/12

The revolving doors in Washington spin especially quickly after elections: 79 new members of Congress will take their seats in January, and each one is selecting their staff. Meanwhile, 97 lawmakers have retired, resigned or lost their bids for reelection, and they -- and their staff -- are looking for work. Politicians are barred, by law, from lobbying their former colleagues within one or two years of leaving the Hill -- but the law doesn't prevent them from making introductions and opening doors for lobbyists in their new jobs. ... Read more

Obamacare architect leaves White House for pharmaceutical industry job
TheGuardian | Glenn Greenwald | 12/05/12

When the legislation that became known as "Obamacare" was first drafted, the key legislator was the Democratic Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus, whose committee took the lead in drafting the legislation. As Baucus himself repeatedly boasted, the architect of that legislation was Elizabeth Folwer, his chief health policy counsel; indeed, as Marcy Wheeler discovered, it was Fowler who actually drafted it. As Politico put it at the time: "If you drew an organizational chart of major players in the Senate health care negotiations, Fowler would be the chief operating officer." ... Read more

The NRA's big spending edge -- in 1 chart
Washington Post | Chris Cillizza | 12/18/12

... The chart below, which was put together by City Limits, a "New York City-based non-profit that strengthens community engagement on civic, economic, and social justice issues", paints the disparity between the NRA's spending and that of groups advocating for more gun control in stark relief. ... Read more

The Second Great Betrayal: Obama and Cameron Decide that Banks are above the Law
TRNN | William Black | 12/17/12

HSBC was one of the largest originators of fraudulent mortgage loans through its acquisition of Household Finance.   Three recent books by "insiders" have confirmed earlier articles revealing the decisive role that Treasury Secretary Geithner has played in opposing criminal prosecutions of the elite banksters and banks whose frauds drove the financial crisis and the Great Recession. ... Read more

Simon Johnson: Banks Just Plain Lying To Fight Reform At This Point
HP & NYTimes | Simon Johnson | 12/20/12

In a desperate attempt to prevent implementation of the Volcker Rule, representatives of megabanks are resorting to some last-minute scare tactics. Specifically, they assert that the Volcker Rule, which is designed to reduce the risks that such banks can take, violates the international trade obligations of the United States and would offend other member nations of the Group of 20. This is false and should be brushed aside by the relevant authorities. ... Read more (HP) or Read more (NYTimes)

Democracy Now! National and Global News Headlines for Thursday, December 20 [13:40]

*Bill Moyers | Bill Moyers Essay: Washington's Revolving Door - Bill takes you through the revolving door between Washington leaders and lobbyists to see how you lose and they win.(12/14/12) [6:10]

John McCain criticises Zero Dark Thirty's depiction of torture
The Guardian | Xan Brooks | 12/20/12

The former presidential candidate John McCain is one of three US senators who have criticised the depiction of torture in Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow's fact-based drama about the hunt for Osama bin Laden. The film suggests that waterboarding and coercive interrogation tactics were instrumental in gathering information ahead of the successful raid on Bin Laden's compound in May 2011. ... Read more

Almost Everything You've Heard About the North Korean Space Launch Is Wrong
Wired Magazine | Brian Weeden | 12/18/12

Was This a Ballistic Missile Test or a Satellite Launch?
Some of the same technologies are needed for long-range missiles and for space launches -- most notably rocket motors, high strength-to-weight fuselages, and guidance software. But they're not the same thing. All evidence points to a satellite launch, despite headlines. .... Read more

Indians call for 'no mercy' in rape case
Aljazeera | Author | 12/19/12

Students, politicians, and activists across India came out into the streets demanding no mercy to be shown to the culprits of the Delhi bus gang rape case - as three of the four accused confessed to the crime in a local court. ... Read more

NRA Responds To Sandy Hook Massacre
HP | Christina Wilkie | 12/18/12

The National Rifle Association on Tuesday said it was prepared to offer "meaningful contributions" to ensure that events such as the massacre of 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., "never happen again." ... Read more

Michigan Concealed Carry Bill Allowing Guns In Schools Vetoed By Governor Rick Snyder
HP | Author | 12/18/12

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder rejected a bill Tuesday that would have allowed people who receive special training to carry concealed firearms into formerly gun-free zones like churches and school buildings.   Michigan's legislature passed the concealed carry measure, Senate Bill 59, last Thursday. ... Read more

American Gun Deaths to Exceed Traffic Fatalities by 2015
Bloomberg | Chris Christoff | 12/18/12

Guns and cars have long been among the leading causes of non-medical deaths in the U.S. By 2015, firearm fatalities will likely exceed traffic fatalities for the first time, based on data compiled by Bloomberg.   While motor vehicle deaths dropped 22 percent from 2005 to 2010, gun fatalities are rising again after a low point in 2000. ... Read more

Remembering the Victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting
Time Magazine | Samantha Grossman | 12/16/12

The hideous massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary claimed the lives of 20 young students and six adults. The victims were siblings and grandchildren, educators and mentors. As America mourns their deaths, more information is coming out about those lost in the tragedy. ... Read more
Click to zoom

Gunman's Mother Kept Trials of Home Life Hidden
Time Magazine | Author | 12/16/12

Two or three nights a week, Lanza -- the mother of the gunman in Connecticut's horrific school massacre -- came in for carryout salads, but stayed for Chardonnay and good humor. ... Read more

The Worst Mass Shootings of the Past 50 Years
Time Magazine | Author | 07/20/12

A gunman at a Connecticut elementary school has reportedly killed more than two dozen people, including children, on Friday. It is among the world's worst mass shootings. Here is a look at some others: ... Read more

Amy Goodman on 'Up': 'Gun control is the answer right now'
rawstory.com | David Ferguson | 12/15/12

Saturday morning on "Up with Chris Hayes," host Chris Hayes welcomed a panel including Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!; Howard Wolfson of the New York City mayor's office; Dave Cullen, author of Columbine and radio host Esther Armah. They discussed the role played by mental illness in attacks like the mass shooting Friday in Newtown, Connecticut and what society might endeavor to do differently to avoid these types of horrific attacks in the future. ... Read more

Outrageous HSBC Settlement Proves the Drug War is a Joke
RollingStone | Matt Taibbi | 12/13/12

... Breuer this week signed off on a settlement deal with the British banking giant HSBC that is the ultimate insult to every ordinary person who's ever had his life altered by a narcotics charge. Despite the fact that HSBC admitted to laundering billions of dollars for Colombian and Mexican drug cartels (among others) and violating a host of important banking laws (from the Bank Secrecy Act to the Trading With the Enemy Act), Breuer and his Justice Department elected not to pursue criminal prosecutions of the bank, opting instead for a "record" financial settlement of $1.9 billion, which as one analyst noted is about five weeks of income for the bank. ... Read more

Mayan Apocalypse: Everything You Wanted To Know But Were REALLY Afraid To Ask
Mother Jones | Asawin Suebsaeng | 12/17/12

Lately, you've probably heard rumors that the world will end on December 21, 2012. You've probably brushed them aside as piffle on par with theories about Barack Obama being a lizard overlord. Yet, polling data shows that 12 percent of Americans believe the end is indeed upon us, while 14 percent of people worldwide think Earth will be a goner in their lifetime. ... Read more

How Walmart Helped Make Newtown Shooter's AR-15 the Most Popular Assault Weapon in America
The Nation | George Zornick | 12/17/12

When Adam Lanza entered Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday, December 14, inexplicably bent on ending as many lives as possible, he was carrying a Bushmaster AR-15 assault rifle and several high-capacity magazines. ... .... Although it is not yet clear where the Bushmaster AR-15 used by Lanza (and registered to his mother) was purchased, the model is familiar to many Walmart shoppers. It's on sale at about 1,700 Walmart stores nationwide, ... Read more

Democracy Now! National and Global News Headlines for Tuesday, December 18 [12:15]

*DN | "Americans Kill People": Michael Moore on Newtown, Mass Shootings & US Culture of Violence (12/18/12) [5:30]

2012- L.A. escape scene (12/14/12) [5:14]

The Bribery Aisle: How Wal-Mart Used Payoffs to Get Its Way in Mexico
NYTimes | David Barstow | 12/17/12

SAN JUAN TEOTIHUACÁN, Mexico -- Wal-Mart longed to build in Elda Pineda's alfalfa field. It was an ideal location, just off this town's bustling main entrance and barely a mile from its ancient pyramids, which draw tourists from around the world. With its usual precision, Wal-Mart calculated it would attract 250 customers an hour if only it could put a store in Mrs. Pineda's field. ... Read more, Go to Video

War on Science: Evolution, Climate Change, and the Curious House Committee on Science
Truth-Out | Ken Morris | 12/15/12

"What do many Republicans in the House of Representatives have in common with the 17th century Spanish Inquisition? Both have waged a war on science." ... Read more

Newtown School Vigil: 'These Parents Lost Their Hearts Today'
HP | Michael McLaughlin | 12/15/12

On a bitingly cold Friday night 11 days before Christmas, hundreds of people spilled out of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, hours after the staggering murder of 20 children and six adults at an area elementary school.

... For some, the shooting challenged their long-held views of this New England town about 60 miles northeast of New York City. "As a community we have so much strength," said Dena Daum, a dental hygienist with a middle school daughter and high school son. "Now they're going to compare us to Columbine." ... Read more

A Timeline Of Mass Shootings In The US Since Columbine
thinkprogress.org | Aviva Shen | 12/14/12

On Friday morning, 27 people were reportedly shot and killed at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, CT. According to sources, 18 of these casualties were children. This is the second mass shooting in the US this week, after a gunman opened fire in an Oregon shopping mall on Tuesday, killing 2. ABC News reports that there have been 31 school shootings in the US since Columbine in 1999, when 13 people were killed.

The rate of people killed by guns in the US is 19.5 times higher than similar high-income countries in the world. In the last 30 years since 1982, America has mourned at least 61 mass murders. Below is a timeline of mass shootings in the US since the Columbine High massacre: ... Read more

School Shooter Adam Lanza Used Military-Style Bushmaster Rifle
HP | John Rudolf | 12/16/12

Any move to clamp down on consumer sales of military-style weapons could fall heavily on Bushmaster and its corporate parent, Freedom Group, a private company owned by a New York-based hedge fund, Cerberus Capital Management. According to its 2011 annual report, Freedom Group is the nation's largest manufacturer of military-style semiautomatics, which it calls "modern sporting rifles."   Freedom Group also owns Remington and DPMS Firearms, two other leading manufacturers of military-style semiautomatics. ... Read more

Not Milk?
onegreenplanet.org | Jessica Verma | 05/05/11

... So, fine, maybe you don't need dairy, but it can't be bad for you, can it? Unfortunately for those of us who love our cheese and ice cream, the evidence suggests that it probably can. Dairy consumption has been linked to cancer, diabetes, autism and schizophrenia, and many autoimmune disorders including Multiple Sclerosis. ... Read more

Poisoning the Well: How the Feds Let Industry Pollute the Nation's Underground Water Supply
ProPublica | Abrahm Lustgarten | 12/11/12

Federal officials have given energy and mining companies permission to pollute aquifers in more than 1,500 places across the country, releasing toxic material into underground reservoirs that help supply more than half of the nation's drinking water. ... Read more

The Senate Report on CIA Interrogations You May Never See
ProPublica | Cora Currier | 12/07/12

A Senate committee is close to putting the final stamp on a massive report on the CIA's detention, interrogation and rendition of terror suspects. Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who heads the Select Committee on Intelligence, called the roughly 6,000-page report "the most definitive review of this CIA program to be conducted."   But it's unclear how much, if any, of the review you might get to read. ... Read more

A sick world: We live longer, with more pain and illness
Reuters | Kate Kelland | 12/13/12

The world has made huge progress fighting killer infectious diseases, but as a result we now lead longer and sicker lives, with health problems that cause us years of pain, disability and mental distress.   This "devastating irony", as researchers describe it, is the main conclusion of a five-year study that forms the most comprehensive assessment of global health in the history of medicine, according to the journal publishing the research. ...

Could You Survive on $2 a Day?
MotherJones | Gabriel Thompson | 12/13/12

Two years ago, Harvard professor Kathryn Edin was in Baltimore interviewing public housing residents about how they got by. As a sociologist who had spent a quarter century studying poverty, she was no stranger to the trappings of life on the edge: families doubling or tripling up in apartments, relying on handouts from friends and relatives, selling blood plasma for cash. But as her fieldwork progressed, Edin began to notice a disturbing pattern. "Nobody was working and nobody was getting welfare," she says. Her research subjects were always pretty strapped, but "this was different. These people had nothing coming in." ... Read more

Grade The Recessiovery (Recession Recovery)
ZeroHedge | Author | 12/13/12

Here, for your comparative studies analytical viewing pleasure, is the current recession recovery in context. Across activity indicators, consumer behavior, labor market developments, and housing & construction, there is a little here for everyone. From vehicle sales to disposable income and from durable goods to industrial production, it seems grading this economy's performance is a matter of 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil'. Read more
Note: Go to article to see all the graphs

*18 Children Dead (27 People Total) At Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting In Newton, Connecticut (12/14/12) [6:09]

Democracy Now! National and Global News Headlines for Friday, December 14 [14:58]

*DN | Dean Baker: The Biggest Myth in Obama-GOP Spending Showdown is the "Fiscal Cliff" Itself (12/14/12) [13:18]

*TRNN | Rob Johnson: Fiscal Cliff "Crisis" Manufactured to Prey on the Weak, Real crisis is the cost of health care which has nothing to do with Medicare or Medicaid (12/13/12) [11:21]

America's World War II Prison Camps
lewrockwell.com | Gary North | date

Most Americans have never heard of the prisoner of war camps in the United States during World War II. Hans Sennholz, a Luftwaffe pilot and later a Misesian economist, worked on a prisoner-run farm in Arkansas after he had been shot down by British anti-aircraft fire in North Africa. They sent him from Britain through Canada to the West Coast and then to Arkansas.

Most estimates that I have seen place the number of prisoners of war in the U.S. in the range of 50,000 to 70,000, but one reputable and detailed Website says it was 425,000. ... Read more

Amazing tale of a desperate WWII pilot's encounter with a German flying ace
nypost.com | Maureen Callahan | 12/09/12

On Dec. 20, 1943, a young American bomber pilot named Charlie Brown found himself somewhere over Germany, struggling to keep his plane aloft with just one of its four engines still working. They were returning from their first mission as a unit, the successful bombing of a German munitions factory. ... Read more

Labor's plan to fight back
Politico | Alexander Burns | 12/12/12

Labor unions, stung by an unexpected setback in Michigan, where Republican Gov. Rick Snyder signed a right-to-work law Tuesday limiting their ability to collect dues, are eyeing a large-scale counteroffensive against the conservative state leaders who have slashed away at union power since the 2010 midterm elections. ... Read more

Groups vow to push 'right to work' in other states
Washington Post | Felicia Sonmez | 12/12/12

LANSING, Mich. -- The conservative groups that supported Michigan's new "right to work" law -- winning a stunning victory over unions, even in the heart of American labor -- vowed Wednesday to replicate that success elsewhere. ... Read more

7 Shocking Ways the Military Wastes Our Money
AlterNet | Laura Gottesdiener | 12/11/12

The David Petraeus scandal has shined a light on the luxurious, subsidized lifestyle of the U.S. military's top generals. But so far, what the media has uncovered only scratches the surface of the abuses. Here are eight absurd ways the military wastes our money--and none of them have anything to do with national defense. ... Read more

Why Republicans Can't Propose Spending Cuts
NYMagazine | Jonathan Chait | 12/12/12

"Where are the president's spending cuts?" asks John Boehner. With Republicans coming to grips with their inability to stop taxes on the rich from rising, the center of the debate has turned to the expenditure side. In the short run, the two parties have run into an absurd standoff, where Republicans demand that President Obama produce an offer of higher spending cuts, and Obama replies that Republicans should say what spending cuts they want, and Republicans insist that Obama should try to guess what kind of spending cuts they would like. ... Read more

Too Big to Jail: Big Banks Can Finance Terrorists and Walk Away Scot-Free
HP | Lynn Stuart Parramore | 12/12/12

The New York Times reports this week that megabank HSBC has escaped criminal prosecution for money laundering that probably funded terrorists and narcotics traffickers. Why? Because regulators and prosecutors were petrified that an indictment would undermine the entire financial system. The Times quotes anonymous government sources who confessed fears about bringing formal charges because doing so would be a "death sentence" for the bank. So they let it off the hook. ... Read more

Greenland and Antarctica 'have lost four trillion tonnes of ice' in 20 years
The Guardian | Damian Carrington | 11/29/12

Democracy Now! National and Global News Headlines for Thursday, December 13 [16:31]

DN | Matt Taibbi: After Laundering $800 Million in Drug Money, How Did HSBC Execs Avoid Jail? Part 1 (12/13/12) [12:05]

Heaven & Earth 1993 movie Oliver Stone (1993) [2:15:41]

Staples Announces In-Store 3-D Printing Service
Wired Magazine | Mike Senese | 11/29/12

Pretty soon you'll be able to print your 3-D projects at the local Staples.   A new service called "Staples Easy 3D" will allow customers to upload their designs to Staples' website, then pick up the printed objects at their local office supply megastore, or have them shipped to their home or business -- not unlike the photo- and document-printing service the company already offers. ... Read more

Fighting High Gas Prices
Bernie Sanders | 12/11/12

At a time when workers are struggling to make ends meet because of the recession, Bernie has put a spotlight on Big Oil's record profits and called for tighter regulations on Wall Street speculators who artificially drive up oil and gas prices. On Monday, he focused on gas prices in Vermont, where the average pump price was 26 cents a gallon above the national average. The price spread is even worse in Burlington and throughout northwestern Vermont. "Gasoline distributors have a right to make a profit, but they should not be ripping people off in these tough economic times," Bernie said. Read more

Fox News chief's failed attempt to enlist Petraeus as presidential candidate
Washington Post | Bob Woodward | 12/03/12

Roger Ailes, the longtime Republican media guru, founder of Fox News and its current chairman, had some advice last year for then-Gen. David H. Petraeus.

So in spring 2011, Ailes asked a Fox News analyst headed to Afghanistan to pass on his thoughts to Petraeus, who was then the commander of U.S. and coalition forces there. Petraeus, Ailes advised, should turn down an expected offer from President Obama to become CIA director and accept nothing less than the chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top military post. If Obama did not offer the Joint Chiefs post, Petraeus should resign from the military and run for president, Ailes suggested. ... Read more

Drinking the Kochs' Kool-Aid
Detroit Free Press | Author | 12/11/12

A narrative gaining currency among Rick Snyder's defenders explains his flip-flop on right-to-work legislation as a reluctant response to labor unions who put Proposal 2 on the November ballot over the governor's objections, then refused to bargain with good faith with him afterward.   But the truth? Snyder hasn't gotten much respect from the groups backing right-to-work, either.

Americans For Prosperity, founded by billionaire tea party titans David and Charles Koch, is heralding Michigan's imminent passage of right-to-work legislation laws in Michigan as "the shot heard around the world" in the fight to weaken unions. ... Read more

The Lansing-Beijing connection
Washington Post | Harold Meyerson | 12/11/12

China has a problem: rising inequality. The gap between profits and wages is soaring. Although elements of the government have sought to boost workers' incomes, they have been thwarted by major companies and banks "that don't want to give more profit to the country and let the government distribute it," Qi Jingmei, a research fellow for a government think tank, told the Wall Street Journal.   Of course, if China permitted the establishment of unions, wages would rise. But for fundamentally political reasons -- independent unions would undermine the Communist Party's authority -- unions are out of the question.

Meanwhile, the United States also has a problem of a rising gap between profits and wages. The stagnation of wages has become an accepted fact across the political spectrum; conservative columnists such as Michael Gerson and David Brooks have acknowledged that workers' incomes seem to be stuck.

Why, then, are such laws being enacted? The gap between U.S. capital income and labor income hasn't been this great since before the New Deal; why widen it still more? The answer, in Lansing no less than in Beijing, is political. The Republicans who took control of the Michigan statehouse in 2010 understand that Democrats' foot soldiers come disproportionately from labor. GOP efforts to reduce labor's clout help Republicans politically far more than they help any Michigan-based businesses or local governments. (The legislation, which Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signed into law Tuesday evening, establishes right-to-work requirements for the public sector, too.) ... Read more

Democracy Now! National and Global News Headlines for Wednesday, December 12 [17:08]

*DN | Despite Protest of Michigan's Anti-Union Law, Deep Pockets of GOP Backers Prevail, Part 1 (12/12/12) [7:31]

*PBS Frontline | Poor Kids: Explores the economic crisis as it's rarely seen - through the eyes of children (11/20/12) [53:41]

*PBS Frontline | Funeral Director: Lynch & Sons - "We are the first ones to respond, the last ones to leave ... there from the beginning of the death process to the end." (12/11/12) [55:34]

Wal-Mart's strategy of deniability for workers' safety
Washington Post | Harold Meyerson | 11/27/12

Bangladesh is half a world away from Bentonville, the Arkansas city where Wal-Mart is headquartered. This week, Wal-Mart surely wishes it were farther away than that.   Over the weekend, a horrific fire swept through a Bangladesh clothing factory, killing more than 100 workers, many of whose bodies were burnt so badly that they could not be identified. In its gruesome particulars -- locked doors, no emergency exits, workers leaping to their deaths -- the blaze seems a ghastly centennial reenactment of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire of 1911, when 146 workers similarly jumped to their deaths or were incinerated after they found the exit doors were locked. ... Read more

Debilitating drought devastates Brazil
Aljazeera | Gabriel Elizondo | 12/09/12

The driest conditions in 50 years are wiping out the region's cattle with the threat of 'ghost towns' as ranchers flee.

Djalma Sedrim worked his entire life to build up his cattle ranch and livelihood, only to see the worst drought in a half century dry it all up in a matter of months.   The 75-year-old rancher had about 1,000 cattle and a plot of land where he and his wife grew corn. But then the weather changed everything. ... Read more

Western India in worse drought in decades
Aljazeera | Author | 10/27/12

Thousands of villages are suffering their worst drought for 40 years after monsoon rains fail. [video] Read more

Drought in the US Midwest (in Pictures)
Aljazeera | Author | older

The drought is the worst for over half a century.   Forecasters are hoping that the slow development of El Nino in the Pacific Ocean will bring a change in the weather across the US for 2013. See pictures. Read more

Dr. Oz Flip-Flops on Supporting Organics as High-Profile Attacks Intensify
AlterNet | Katherine Paul | 12/05/12

"So you're being told organic food is no more nutritious than conventional and it's not worth your extra money. Well I'm here to say that it is worth the investment. Why do I say that? Pesticides." - - Dr. Oz, Oct. 19, 2012 ...

... Suddenly, the pesticides Dr. Oz was so concerned about a couple of months ago, the ones he warned viewers were "one of the greatest threats to your kids' health," no longer matter. What's more, if you're spending extra money to avoid them, you're a food snob -- instead of a responsible, health-conscious parent. ...

... ronically, it was this same study that Dr. Oz bashed on his October 19 television show for ignoring the obvious: Conventional food is loaded with toxic pesticides, which makes it not only less healthful, but downright dangerous. Especially for children. ....

... At a time when the health of Americans is rapidly deteriorating -- skyrocketing obesity, childhood diabetes, ever-increasing cases of asthma, allergies, autism, and cancer -- there appears to be a concerted and insidious effort to smear organics, to convince consumers that there's no connection between their poor health and the low-grade chemical food on their plates. Food routinely grown in nutrient-deficient soil, sprayed with toxic pesticides, pumped full of antibiotics and hormones, and genetically modified in Monsanto's laboratories. ... Read more

Bernie Sanders in line to be veterans panel chairman
Politico | Stephanie Gaskell | 12/11/12

Veterans will have a strong ally in Congress when Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders takes the helm of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. ... Read more

Europe hails "great" Monti as Italy crisis hits markets
Reuters | James Mackenzie | 12/10/12

European partners heaped praise on outgoing Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on Monday, and called for the next government to stick to his reform agenda after his surprise decision to resign rattled financial markets.   Monti's weekend announcement that he would step down early - made after former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's PDL party withdrew its support for his technocrat government - pushed up Italy's borrowing costs and prompted a stock market sell-off. ... Read more

GMO Riders Could Be Back in "Fiscal Cliff" Funding Package
Alliance for Natural Health | Author | 12/04/12

... Even though no bill has yet been introduced, if Congress and President Obama reach agreement, the bill will be rushed through. Unfortunately, we have received word from sources on Capitol Hill that the GMO bills that previously were attached to the Agriculture Appropriations Bill and the Farm Bill could be part of this package. And because it's a must-pass funding package, any GMO rider that is included will likely become law. ... Read more

5 Enemies of a Decent Middle Class Existence in the US
AlterNet | Paul Buchheit | 12/09/12

Conservatives and the wealthy have taught too many Americans to hate their own govt, and not the parasite industries destroying the middle class.

Countering with facts and statistics doesn't seem to work. Instead, listening to their rants can be educational for a progressive, because the anti-government sentiment highlights the masterful job done by conservatives and the wealthy over the years, as they have basically convinced much of America to argue against themselves on matters of politics and the economy. ... Read more

Foodstamps Soar By Most In 16 Months: Over 1 Million Americans Enter Poverty In Last Two Months
ZeroHedge | Author | 12/10/12

And we thought last month's delayed foodstamp data was bad. The just reported foodstamp number for September was a doozy, with 607,544 new Americans becoming eligible for foodstamps, as a record 47.7 million Americans are now living in poverty at least according to the USDA. ... Read more
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Battleground Poll: Hike taxes on rich
Politico | James Hohmann | 12/10/12

An American appetite for tax hikes gives President Barack Obama leverage in fiscal cliff negotiations.   A new POLITICO/George Washington University Battleground Poll finds that 60 percent of respondents support raising taxes on households that earn more than $250,000 a year and 64 percent want to raise taxes on large corporations. ... Read more
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Democracy Now! National and Global News Headlines for Monday, December 10 [12:41]

Why a Democratic Tea Party Is the Best Hope for Fixing Corrupt Government
Atlantic | Author | 12/06/12

At a talk at UCLA last month, I said that America's growing anti-corruption movement needs to think big, not puny. That we need a fundamental change in the way America funds its campaigns, and that it will take a cross-partisan grassroots movement of outsiders to get the insiders in D.C. to embrace that change. ... Read more

U.S. Spies See Superhumans, Instant Cities by 2030
WiredMagazine | Noah Shachtman | 12/10/12

3-D printed organs. Brain chips providing superhuman abilities. Megacities, built from scratch. The U.S. intelligence community is taking a look at the world of 2030. And it is very, very sci-fi. ... Read more

Chicago Snowless Record Could Be Broken After 18 Years
HP | Author | 12/09/12

... WGN-TV meteorologist Steve Kahn explained the record is on the table now due to the drought that has hit the area this year. The Tribune said 2011's winter's snowfall measured only 19.8 inches -- a little more than half of the 36.7 inches marked as the average at O'Hare. ... Read more

Eliot Spitzer: Tax the Traders! It Would Solve Economic Crisis and Stop Reckless Activity
AlterNet | Eliot Spitzer | 12/04/12

Both the White House and House Republicans, publicly at least, are digging in their heels deeper and deeper in the so-called negotiations over what we call, alternately, the fiscal cliff, the fiscal slope, the austerity bomb, or the cable-talk-show topic of last resort.

... Ralph Nader in the Washington Post this weekend: a tax on financial transactions. It will give us gobs of revenue. It will fall on a sector that has generated enormous and unwarranted profits for a very few, who at the same time have benefited from huge bailouts and regulatory help and largely escaped any responsibility for their central role in creating the financial cataclysm that we are still struggling with. ... Read more

Ivy League Cracks Down as Students Spiral Out of Control
Bloomberg | Chris Staiti | 12/07/12

Harvard and Cornell universities have joined Yale University and Dartmouth College in cracking down on out-of-control behavior as drinking, hazing and sexual harassment endanger students and tarnish Ivy League reputations.

Harvard faculty voted last month to require registration of parties and ban drinking games, and Cornell ordered fraternities to have live-in advisers. This fall, Dartmouth began security checks at Greek houses and Princeton University banned freshmen from joining them ... Read more

"It's the Wild F*ing West Out There"
climatedesk.org | Author | 11/19/12

... North Dakota: Ritter a Williston native, he remembers snowmobiling on the hills nearby, which used to be grassy meadows in the summertime. Now the landscape is stripped to the bone as far as the eye can see. The boom "needs to slow down a little bit," he says. "But then again, it can't." Read more
"It's the Wild F*ing West Out There" [4:52]

Hurricane Sandy Victims Say Mortgage Companies Dismiss Pleas For Loan Help
HP | Ben Hallman | 12/05/12

... But words of support, say some people who live in storm-ravaged neighborhoods, haven't translated into what they most need: a temporary break from paying their monthly mortgage bill while they make emergency repairs, negotiate with insurance companies and apply for federal aid. ... Read more

Police Have the Scary Capability to Track Wherever You're Driving
AlterNet | David Rosen | 11/30/12

A building at 55 Broadway, in lower Manhattan, is home to the Lower Manhattan Security Coordination Center, the locus of the New York Police Department's massive, intelligence-gathering activities. According to a 2011 estimate, the facility integrates not only some 1,000 NYPD cameras located in lower Manhattan and some 700 cameras in midtown, but an additional 2,000 private surveillance cameras owned by Wall Street firms. These cameras are principally focused on capturing license plate data. The center cost an estimated $150 million to set up.

... Both back the department's Domain Awareness System (DAS), which can track individuals or incidents (e.g., a suspicious package) through live video feeds from some 3,000 CCTV cameras, 2,600 radiation substances detectors, check license plate numbers, pull up crime reports and cross-check all information agains t criminal and terrorist databases. ... Read more
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Feinstein amendment doubles down on NDAA's assault on constitutional rights
TheGuardian | Naomi Wolf | 12/05/12

As I reported here, last spring a group of journalists and activists including Chris Hedges, Noam Chomsky and Tangerine Bolen, led by counsel Bruce Afran and others, sued President Obama to halt the implementation of Section 1021 in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which would have allowed for the indefinite detention of Americans without charge or trial. ... Read more

Typhoon Bopha: Death Toll Tops 200 In Philippines; Scores Missing In Worst-Hit Areas
HP | Bullit Marquez | 12/05/12

Stunned parents searching for missing children examined a row of mud-stained bodies covered with banana leaves while survivors dried their soaked belongings on roadsides Wednesday, a day after a powerful typhoon killed more than 280 people in the southern Philippines. ... Read more

Michigan Energy Forum on impact of 'fracking,' and more
Ann ArborMagazine | Staff | current

Dec. 6: Michigan Energy Forum: Cheaper Natural Gas & Fracking and their economic & environmental impacts. 5-7 p.m. SPARK Central. 330 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor. Natural gas has dropped in price drastically in the last several years thanks to new drilling technologies such as "fracking," prompting manufacturers to explore gas powered co-generation. Burning less coal could reduce polution and GHG emissions, but fracking raises some concerns about ground water and safety. We will discuss the impact of fracking on natural gas prices and its impact on our fuel source mix and the economic opportunities, environmental impacts, regulations, and concerns being raised by this technology. Free. Read more

Pentagon reportedly planning to double size of its worldwide spy network
guardian.co.uk | Dominic Rushe | 12/02/12

The US military plans to send hundreds more spies overseas as part of an ambitious plan that will more than double the size of its espionage network, it was reported Sunday.   The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the Pentagon's military intelligence unit, is aiming to recruit 1,600 intelligence "collectors" -- up from the several hundred overseas agents it has employed in recent years, sources told The Washington Post. ... Read more

Corporate profits are highest-ever share of GDP, while wages are lowest-ever
dailykos.com | Laura ClawsonFollow | 12/03/12

Corporations are doing well. Workers, not so much. That could be the opening of just about any discussion of the American economy at least over the past couple years since corporations recovered from the great recession while workers didn't. But that's because there are always new specifics coming out to illustrate the point. Like this: after-tax corporate profits were a record share of the gross domestic product in the third quarter of 2012" . Wages were the smallest share of GDP they've ever been. ... Read more
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Citi Firing 11,000
ZeroHedge | Author | 12/05/12

"Sandy's fault?" or better yet, "Vikram's fault." Or maybe the economy is collapsing despite all the propaganda one is spoonfed. Considering the recent termination of over 50,000 by UBS we think we know the answer. And while C stock may jump on the news, the end result is that New York and the US have both just lost 11,000 less key taxpayers most of whom are almost certainly in the $250,000+ bucket. That said we can't wait for the BLS to take this data as somehow beneficial for the unemployment rate. ... Read more

New Sheriff In Town
HP | Ryan Grim | 12/04/12

Nearly two years after Wall Street waged a successful campaign to keep consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren from running the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the incoming senator will be tapped to serve on the Banking Committee, according to four sources familiar with the situation. It's a victory for progressives who battled to win her a seat on the panel that oversees the implementation of Dodd-Frank and other banking regulations. ... Read more

Yuck: Our Seafood Is Loaded with Unspeakably Gross Pollutants
AlterNet | Jill Richardson | 11/30/12

When you tuck into a delicious seafood dish, is it possible that the fish you are eating once ate human poop? Surprisingly, that might be the case. A look at the U.S. seafood supply reveals that some of our most popular seafood treats might come to us from unsanitary and disgusting operations in other countries. ... Read more

Internet Hangs in Balance as World Governments Meet in Secret
Wired Magazine | David Kravets | 12/03/12

There's a lot of sky-is-falling doomsday predictions about the World Conference on International Telecommunications, which opens Monday in Dubai with some 190-plus nations discussing the global internet's future.   That's because much of the accompanying proposals from the global community have been kept under lock and key, although some of the positions of nations have been leaked and published online. ... Read more

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan Apparently Can't Remember Anything
RollingStone | Matt Taibbi | 11/27/12

Thank God for Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan. If you're a court junkie, or have the misfortune (as some of us poor reporters do) of being forced professionally to spend a lot of time reading legal documents, the just-released Moynihan deposition in MBIA v. Bank of America, Countrywide, and a Buttload of Other Shameless Mortgage Fraudsters will go down as one of the great Nixonian-stonewalling efforts ever, and one of the more entertaining reads of the year. ... Read more

The 'I Don't Remember' Files, Part II: Hedge Fund Chief Stevie Cohen
RollingStone | Matt Taibbi | 11/30/12

Another "fuzzy memory" story that's come down the pipe.   It seems Stevie Cohen, the oft-maligned hedge fund billionaire who has been whispered about for years on the fringes of various market-manipulation cases, is finally about to have the net thrown over him for his involvement in an insider trading mess centered around two medical companies, Elan and Wyeth. ... Read more

Navy Will Have to Wait Before Amassing Its Robo-Copter Fleet
Wired Magazine | Noah Shachtman | 12/04/12

The Navy talks about its drone helicopter the way Apple geeks gushed over the first-generation iPhone in 2007. The MQ-8 Fire Scout does it all, from hunting for drugs at sea to spotting insurgents over the battlefields of Afghanistan. But like that early iPhone, the Fire Scout is seriously buggy -- so much so that the Defense Department has conceded it will be forced to seriously delay buying all the robocopters it wants.   The Pentagon won't even be able to evaluate how the Fire Scout has performed at sea and at war until December of next year -- 19 months behind schedule. ... Read more

Cohn Said to Join Lasry at White House Meeting on Deficit
Bloomberg | Stephanie Ruhle | 12/04/12

White House officials met with Wall Street executives to urge them to pressure Congress for a deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff of spending cuts and tax increases, according to two people familiar with the session. ... Read more

Financial Firms Have Been Hollowing Out America for Decades -- Now We're on the Verge of a Debtpocalypse
AlterNet | Steve Fraser | 12/02/12

40 years of austerity politics have hollowed out the heartland, as financial wizards of Wall Street gobbled up ever more of the nation's resources. ... Read more

Susan Rice Keystone XL Attacks Put White House In A Bind
HP | Sam Stein | 12/02/12

Susan Rice's | On Wednesday, a publication affiliated with the Natural Resources Defense Council dug into the ambassador to the United Nations' financial disclosures, and discovered that she and her husband were heavily invested in several oil companies in western Canada including one, Transcanada, that currently has a project under review at the State Department.   As secretary of state, Rice would have to oversee the review of that project, the Keystone XL pipeline, which has dragged on for several controversial and tortured years. Read more

Sheldon Adelson Spent Far More On Campaign Than Previously Known
HP | Peter H. Stone | 12/30/12

Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson vowed to spend as much as $100 million to defeat President Barack Obama and help the GOP take control of Congress. According to two GOP fundraisers with close ties to the Las Vegas billionaire, he made good on that promise -- and then some. Adelson ultimately upped the ante, spending closer to a previously unreported $150 million, the fundraisers said. ... Read more

5 Ways to Beat the Plutocrats
AlterNet | Sam Pizzigati | 11/26/12

Our contemporary billionaires, most Americans would likely agree, are exploiting our labor and polluting our politics. Can we shrink our super rich down to a much less powerful -- and more democratic -- size? Of course we can. We Americans, after all, have already done that shrinking once before.

Between 1900 and the 1950s, average Americans beat down plutocrats every bit as dominant as ours. A century that began with huge private fortunes and most Americans living in poverty would come to see a mass middle class and suburban developments where grand estates and mansions once stood.   Most of us today, unfortunately, have no inkling that this huge transformation even took place, mainly because that exuberantly middle class America of the mid 20th century has disappeared. Those grand mansions have come back. ... Read more