Decorated Marine lectures New York police: ‘There is no honor in this’
By Stephen C. Webster
Monday, October 17, 2011
At the “Occupy Wall Street” protest in New York City over the
weekend, a decorated Marine sergeant wearing military colors confronted a
group of police officers and gave them a stern lecture at the top of
his voice about how they should not be hurting peaceful American protesters.
“Stop hurting these people, man!” shouts Sgt. Shamar Thomas,
of the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, in a video published
to YouTube. “Why are ya’ll doing this to our people? I’ve been to Iraq
14 months, but my people, you come over and you hurt them! They don’t
have guns!”
Monday, October 17, 2011
Just How Much Can the State Restrict a Peaceful Protest?
by Braden Goyette
ProPublica, Oct. 17, 2011, 12:42 p.m.
by Braden Goyette
ProPublica, Oct. 17, 2011, 12:42 p.m.
As protests supporting Occupy Wall Street have swelled in
recent weeks, hundreds of demonstrators have been arrested across the
U.S. This weekend, nearly 100 people were arrested in New York and 175 in Chicago. More than 100 protesters were arrested in Boston last week; a few weeks ago, 700 were arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge.
So, if the First Amendment guarantees the right to peaceable assembly, why do peaceful protestors keep getting arrested — and sometimes pepper-sprayed and beaten up?
So, if the First Amendment guarantees the right to peaceable assembly, why do peaceful protestors keep getting arrested — and sometimes pepper-sprayed and beaten up?
Why We Need the Government to Create Not Just Jobs, but Good Jobs
Monday, 10/17/2011 - 12:21 pm by Richard Kirsch
A new book exhausts all the private sector possibilities, ultimately showing why the government has to ensure decent wages for all.
The millions of underemployed Americans today, working part-time or in jobs significantly beneath their skill level, underline a persistent feature of our workforce, starting long before the Great Recession: one out of four jobs pay sub-standard wages. Good Jobs America, a new book written by Paul Osterman and conceived with co-author Beth Shulman before her death, tackles this other half of the jobs crisis: the need to create more good jobs, with wages that can support a family.
A great strength of the book is the authors’ creation of new data on low-wage jobs, bringing to light how little so many of us bring home from our work. The authors are exquisitely cognizant of the current policy and political climate that looks skeptically on the ability of government to intervene in the “power and correctness of the market.”
Monday, 10/17/2011 - 12:21 pm by Richard Kirsch
A new book exhausts all the private sector possibilities, ultimately showing why the government has to ensure decent wages for all.
The millions of underemployed Americans today, working part-time or in jobs significantly beneath their skill level, underline a persistent feature of our workforce, starting long before the Great Recession: one out of four jobs pay sub-standard wages. Good Jobs America, a new book written by Paul Osterman and conceived with co-author Beth Shulman before her death, tackles this other half of the jobs crisis: the need to create more good jobs, with wages that can support a family.
A great strength of the book is the authors’ creation of new data on low-wage jobs, bringing to light how little so many of us bring home from our work. The authors are exquisitely cognizant of the current policy and political climate that looks skeptically on the ability of government to intervene in the “power and correctness of the market.”
Steve
Rattner, Card Carrying Member of Top 1%, Tells Us We Should Lie Back
and Enjoy Much Lower Wages Resulting From Globalization
A corollary to Upton Sinclair’s famous saying, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something if his salary depends on his not understanding it” is “People promote ideas that help them secure or preserve a privileged position on the totem pole.”
A glaring example of these observations came in an op ed in the Sunday New York Times by Steve Rattner, former Lazard mergers & acquisition partner, later head of the private equity firm, Quadrangle Partners. He is best known as the chief negotiator in the auto bailouts (and he was criticized for not involving any auto industry experts). He paid $10 million to settle a kickbacks investigation and agreed not to work for a public pension fund in any role for five years. I happened to see Rattner on a panel at a Financial Times conference earlier this week and he elaborated on some of the themes in this piece, “Let’s Admit It: Globalization Has Losers,” which reader Brett asked me to debunk line by line. I’ll spare you and focus just on the most critical and bald-facedly dishonest bits.
A corollary to Upton Sinclair’s famous saying, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something if his salary depends on his not understanding it” is “People promote ideas that help them secure or preserve a privileged position on the totem pole.”
A glaring example of these observations came in an op ed in the Sunday New York Times by Steve Rattner, former Lazard mergers & acquisition partner, later head of the private equity firm, Quadrangle Partners. He is best known as the chief negotiator in the auto bailouts (and he was criticized for not involving any auto industry experts). He paid $10 million to settle a kickbacks investigation and agreed not to work for a public pension fund in any role for five years. I happened to see Rattner on a panel at a Financial Times conference earlier this week and he elaborated on some of the themes in this piece, “Let’s Admit It: Globalization Has Losers,” which reader Brett asked me to debunk line by line. I’ll spare you and focus just on the most critical and bald-facedly dishonest bits.
US rivers and streams saturated with carbon
New Haven, Conn.— Rivers and streams in the United States are releasing enough carbon into the atmosphere to fuel 3.4 million car trips to the moon, according to Yale researchers in Nature Geoscience. Their findings could change the way scientists model the movement of carbon between land, water and the atmosphere.
"These rivers breathe a lot of carbon," said David Butman, a doctoral student and co-author of a study with Pete Raymond, professor of ecosystem ecology, both at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. "They are a source of CO2, just like we breathe CO2 and like smokestacks emit CO2, and this has never been systematically estimated from a region as large as the United States."
New Haven, Conn.— Rivers and streams in the United States are releasing enough carbon into the atmosphere to fuel 3.4 million car trips to the moon, according to Yale researchers in Nature Geoscience. Their findings could change the way scientists model the movement of carbon between land, water and the atmosphere.
"These rivers breathe a lot of carbon," said David Butman, a doctoral student and co-author of a study with Pete Raymond, professor of ecosystem ecology, both at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. "They are a source of CO2, just like we breathe CO2 and like smokestacks emit CO2, and this has never been systematically estimated from a region as large as the United States."
America’s Secret Empire of Drone Bases
They increasingly dot the planet. There’s a facility outside Las Vegas where “pilots” work in climate-controlled trailers, another at a dusty camp in Africa formerly used by the French Foreign Legion, a third at a big air base in Afghanistan where Air Force personnel sit in front of multiple computer screens, and a fourth at an air base in the United Arab Emirates that almost no one talks about.
And that leaves at least 56 more such facilities to mention in an expanding American empire of unmanned drone bases being set up worldwide. Despite frequent news reports on the drone assassination campaign launched in support of America’s ever-widening undeclared wars and a spate of stories on drone bases in Africa and the Middle East, most of these facilities have remained unnoted, uncounted, and remarkably anonymous -- until now.
Its Full Extent Revealed for the First Time
They increasingly dot the planet. There’s a facility outside Las Vegas where “pilots” work in climate-controlled trailers, another at a dusty camp in Africa formerly used by the French Foreign Legion, a third at a big air base in Afghanistan where Air Force personnel sit in front of multiple computer screens, and a fourth at an air base in the United Arab Emirates that almost no one talks about.
And that leaves at least 56 more such facilities to mention in an expanding American empire of unmanned drone bases being set up worldwide. Despite frequent news reports on the drone assassination campaign launched in support of America’s ever-widening undeclared wars and a spate of stories on drone bases in Africa and the Middle East, most of these facilities have remained unnoted, uncounted, and remarkably anonymous -- until now.
It’s NAFTA x3 as Free Trade Deals Sweep Through Congress
One day in September, Isidro Rivera Barrera, a contract worker and labor organizer who was campaigning at an Ecopetrol refining facility in Barrancabermeja, Colombia, was reportedly gunned down outside his home. His death was met with the usual silence—just business as usual in a country with one of the world’s worst human rights records for attacks on trade unionists. But now, the hushed suffering of Colombian workers reverberates in the U.S. Capitol, which has just passed a deal to bring even more business-as-usual to Colombia.
One day in September, Isidro Rivera Barrera, a contract worker and labor organizer who was campaigning at an Ecopetrol refining facility in Barrancabermeja, Colombia, was reportedly gunned down outside his home. His death was met with the usual silence—just business as usual in a country with one of the world’s worst human rights records for attacks on trade unionists. But now, the hushed suffering of Colombian workers reverberates in the U.S. Capitol, which has just passed a deal to bring even more business-as-usual to Colombia.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Solar is getting cheap fast—pay attention, Very Serious People
by David Roberts
13 Oct 2011 1:34 PM
I hope everyone has read Kees Van Der Leun's post about the rapidly falling cost of solar PV. I want to draw out one quick point that Kees leaves implicit.
He argues that PV will be the cheapest source of electricity for most of the world some time around 2018, and for the rest of the world soon after. That could be off by a few years in either direction. It depends on whether the cost curve for silicon solar cells continues as it has the past and, as Alan says in his comment, whether the cost curve for "balance of system" costs (steel, glass, installation, etc.) declines as well. Let's say it could be off by five years either way. Let's just assume it's 2023 before solar PV crosses grid parity and becomes cheaper than coal.
by David Roberts
13 Oct 2011 1:34 PM
I hope everyone has read Kees Van Der Leun's post about the rapidly falling cost of solar PV. I want to draw out one quick point that Kees leaves implicit.
He argues that PV will be the cheapest source of electricity for most of the world some time around 2018, and for the rest of the world soon after. That could be off by a few years in either direction. It depends on whether the cost curve for silicon solar cells continues as it has the past and, as Alan says in his comment, whether the cost curve for "balance of system" costs (steel, glass, installation, etc.) declines as well. Let's say it could be off by five years either way. Let's just assume it's 2023 before solar PV crosses grid parity and becomes cheaper than coal.
Robert Gates on the GOP's Breakdown and Failure at "The Basic Functions of Government"
By Steve Benen, Washington Monthly
Posted on October 15, 2011, Printed on October 16, 2011
Robert Gates, a respected elder statesman of the political establishment, recently delivered some provocative remarks on the health, of lack thereof, of the American political system. Brian Beutler had a good item on this the other day, noting the increasing frequency with which prominent voices, not prone to hyperbole or alarmism, are raising awkward questions.
The GOP’s hyper-partisan turn after Barack Obama’s victory in 2008 meant 112th Congress was destined to test the limits of dysfunctional governance. But it also happened to coincide with a moment in history when the country needed the government to do better than the bare minimum. Instead, it’s done less. And that’s shaken people who’ve spent their careers steering the ship of state.
By Steve Benen, Washington Monthly
Posted on October 15, 2011, Printed on October 16, 2011
Robert Gates, a respected elder statesman of the political establishment, recently delivered some provocative remarks on the health, of lack thereof, of the American political system. Brian Beutler had a good item on this the other day, noting the increasing frequency with which prominent voices, not prone to hyperbole or alarmism, are raising awkward questions.
The GOP’s hyper-partisan turn after Barack Obama’s victory in 2008 meant 112th Congress was destined to test the limits of dysfunctional governance. But it also happened to coincide with a moment in history when the country needed the government to do better than the bare minimum. Instead, it’s done less. And that’s shaken people who’ve spent their careers steering the ship of state.
10 Ways to Support the Occupy Movement
The #OccupyWallStreet movement continues to spread with more than 1,500 sites. More and more people are speaking up for a society that works for the 99 percent, not just the 1 percent.
Here are 10 recommendations from the YES! Magazine staff for ways to build the power and momentum of this movement.
There are many things you can do to be part of this growing movement—and only some of them involve sleeping outside.
The #OccupyWallStreet movement continues to spread with more than 1,500 sites. More and more people are speaking up for a society that works for the 99 percent, not just the 1 percent.
Here are 10 recommendations from the YES! Magazine staff for ways to build the power and momentum of this movement.
Republicans score another symbolic defeat for EPA — this time over toxic coal ash
By Alexandra Duszak
4:46 pm, October 14, 2011 Updated: 8:10 pm, October 15, 2011
House Republicans on Friday succeeded in championing legislation that would wrest regulation of coal ash from the federal Environmental Protection Agency to the states, who will have the authority to regulate the often hazardous residue at power plants as if it were municipal garbage.
The Center for Public Integrity’s iWatch News has examined the lack of federal oversight of coal ash and its dangers. As iWatch News reported, coal ash is full of neurotoxins like lead and mercury and the carcinogens such as arsenic.
By Alexandra Duszak
4:46 pm, October 14, 2011 Updated: 8:10 pm, October 15, 2011
House Republicans on Friday succeeded in championing legislation that would wrest regulation of coal ash from the federal Environmental Protection Agency to the states, who will have the authority to regulate the often hazardous residue at power plants as if it were municipal garbage.
The Center for Public Integrity’s iWatch News has examined the lack of federal oversight of coal ash and its dangers. As iWatch News reported, coal ash is full of neurotoxins like lead and mercury and the carcinogens such as arsenic.
Liam Fox resignation exposes Tory links to US radical right
Toby Helm and Jamie Doward
guardian.co.uk,
David Cameron has been accused of allowing a secret rightwing agenda to flourish at the heart of the Conservative party, as fallout from the resignation of Liam Fox exposed its close links with a US network of lobbyists, climate change deniers and defence hawks.
In a sign that Fox's decision to fall on his sword will not mark the end of the furore engulfing the Tories, both Liberal Democrat and Labour politicians stepped up their demands for the prime minister to explain why several senior members of his cabinet were involved in an Anglo-American organisation apparently at odds with his party's environmental commitments and pledge to defend free healthcare.
Labour and Lib Dem politicians have stepped up demands for the PM to explain ministers' involvement with Atlantic Bridge
Toby Helm and Jamie Doward
guardian.co.uk,
David Cameron has been accused of allowing a secret rightwing agenda to flourish at the heart of the Conservative party, as fallout from the resignation of Liam Fox exposed its close links with a US network of lobbyists, climate change deniers and defence hawks.
In a sign that Fox's decision to fall on his sword will not mark the end of the furore engulfing the Tories, both Liberal Democrat and Labour politicians stepped up their demands for the prime minister to explain why several senior members of his cabinet were involved in an Anglo-American organisation apparently at odds with his party's environmental commitments and pledge to defend free healthcare.
No Confidence
John B. Judis
October 13, 2011 | 12:00 am
RON SUSKIND’S NEW book has already aroused intense controversy. The
former investment banker Steven Rattner, who advised the Obama
administration on the auto bailout, described Confidence Men as
“a drive-by shooting of a president and his key economic advisers who
deserve encomiums, not unfounded second guessing and inaccurate
revisionist history.” Jacob Weisberg, the chairman of Slate and
Robert Rubin’s co-autobiographer, in a scathing review entitled “Don’t
Believe Ron Suskind,” accused the author of being a disreputable
journalist that readers should no longer trust.
Before turning to the substance of Confidence Men, I want to comment on these charges against this author. I think the book is filled with minor errors–the former Citicorp CEO was Walter Wriston, not Walter Wristen–and the initial third of the book rehashes material that readers could find in earlier books about the Obama campaign and the financial crisis. But I would argue that the errors and the inflated narrative reflect the current practices of some large American publishers, who spend little time or money on copy-editing or fact-checking and rush books out without much editorial pressure. As far as I can tell, Suskind’s errors are not discrediting—no more than was Weisberg’s and Slate’s error in publishing, along with Weisberg’s review, a photograph of former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill labeled as Suskind.
John B. Judis
October 13, 2011 | 12:00 am
Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President
by Ron Suskind
JOHN B. JUDIS on RON SUSKIND'S WHITE HOUSE PORTRAIT
Before turning to the substance of Confidence Men, I want to comment on these charges against this author. I think the book is filled with minor errors–the former Citicorp CEO was Walter Wriston, not Walter Wristen–and the initial third of the book rehashes material that readers could find in earlier books about the Obama campaign and the financial crisis. But I would argue that the errors and the inflated narrative reflect the current practices of some large American publishers, who spend little time or money on copy-editing or fact-checking and rush books out without much editorial pressure. As far as I can tell, Suskind’s errors are not discrediting—no more than was Weisberg’s and Slate’s error in publishing, along with Weisberg’s review, a photograph of former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill labeled as Suskind.
Hey! Supercommittee! Here's the Smart Plan to Save $7 Trillion, Create Jobs, Save Social Security
America is not broke. But America does have broken priorities.
Americans are waking up to this reality. That’s why they are occupying Wall Street, that’s why they are protesting in Madison, Columbus, Lansing and other state capitals, that’s why thousands marched Saturday in Washington and other cities on behalf of “Jobs and Justice.”
“We are in the midst of a major economic crisis. Millions of Americans are jobless, our schools and infrastructure are under-resourced, our kids are being denied real educational opportunities and their futures are at risk. It’s no wonder that people are frustrated,” says American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, a featured speaker at the Washington rally that honored the social and economic justice legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. while highlighting the ongoing nature of the civil rights icon’s struggle. “The march and rally are about hitting the streets and taking concrete action to change our nation to once again become the place where everyone has a shot at the American dream.”
America is not broke. But America does have broken priorities.
Americans are waking up to this reality. That’s why they are occupying Wall Street, that’s why they are protesting in Madison, Columbus, Lansing and other state capitals, that’s why thousands marched Saturday in Washington and other cities on behalf of “Jobs and Justice.”
“We are in the midst of a major economic crisis. Millions of Americans are jobless, our schools and infrastructure are under-resourced, our kids are being denied real educational opportunities and their futures are at risk. It’s no wonder that people are frustrated,” says American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, a featured speaker at the Washington rally that honored the social and economic justice legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. while highlighting the ongoing nature of the civil rights icon’s struggle. “The march and rally are about hitting the streets and taking concrete action to change our nation to once again become the place where everyone has a shot at the American dream.”
The truly farcical ‘Jobs Through Growth Act’
By Steve Benen
I suppose Senate Republicans deserve at least some credit for making an effort. The congressional GOP has largely ignored the jobs crisis, so the fact that Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) have put together the “Jobs Through Growth Act,” is at least marginally constructive.
The problem is with the “plan” itself.
By Steve Benen
I suppose Senate Republicans deserve at least some credit for making an effort. The congressional GOP has largely ignored the jobs crisis, so the fact that Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) have put together the “Jobs Through Growth Act,” is at least marginally constructive.
The problem is with the “plan” itself.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
New report cites disproportionate punishment for black students
By Susan Ferriss
7:30 am, October 6, 2011 Updated: 7:30 am, October 6, 2011
In a troubling pattern mirrored elsewhere, black students in North Carolina schools were found to be subjected to far harsher discipline than other students for the same types of minor infractions, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Education Policy Center, a non-partisan research center that sponsors peer-reviewed research.
For the first-time offense of cell phone use at school, 32 percent of black students in North Carolina were given out-of-school suspension, school data collected in 2010 showed, while less than 15 percent of white students received that same punishment for the same offense. For a first-time offense of public display of affection, according to the report, almost 43 percent of the accused black students in North Carolina were given out-of-school suspension, compared to about 15 percent of white students.
By Susan Ferriss
7:30 am, October 6, 2011 Updated: 7:30 am, October 6, 2011
In a troubling pattern mirrored elsewhere, black students in North Carolina schools were found to be subjected to far harsher discipline than other students for the same types of minor infractions, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Education Policy Center, a non-partisan research center that sponsors peer-reviewed research.
For the first-time offense of cell phone use at school, 32 percent of black students in North Carolina were given out-of-school suspension, school data collected in 2010 showed, while less than 15 percent of white students received that same punishment for the same offense. For a first-time offense of public display of affection, according to the report, almost 43 percent of the accused black students in North Carolina were given out-of-school suspension, compared to about 15 percent of white students.
Matt Taibbi: Break Up the 'Too-Big-to-Fail' Financial Behemoths that Destroyed the Economy
By Matt Taibbi and Keith Olbermann, Current.com
Taibbi: First of all, nobody asked my advice on any of this and they're doing great without the advice of people like me. But ...
Olbermann: It's a democracy, everybody has a voice, take your platform.
Taibbi: Everybody has a voice. But there are a lot of people who have been following this whole issue of Wall Street corruption for years. There's a small community of those people and we've been talking amongst each other for the past few weeks -- trying to think about, what would the demands be? What would a good demand be if it came time to make one?
And the one thing everybody can agree on is that you have to break up the too-big-to-fail companies. You gotta go in and get rid of those companies because they're above the law and above the market. They have the implicit support of the United States government, which is a disastrous, deadly situation for everybody.
By Matt Taibbi and Keith Olbermann, Current.com
Posted on October 14, 2011, Printed on October 15, 2011
Editor's note: This week, finance industry journalist Matt Taibbi put together a list of five political demands Occupy Wall St. protestors could agitate for. First on his list was the breakup of the "too-big-to-fail" financial institutions holding the global economy hostage. In the following transcript from "Countdown with Keith Olbermann," Taibbi elaborates on how to break up the financial behemoths that sunk the economy.
Taibbi: First of all, nobody asked my advice on any of this and they're doing great without the advice of people like me. But ...
Olbermann: It's a democracy, everybody has a voice, take your platform.
Taibbi: Everybody has a voice. But there are a lot of people who have been following this whole issue of Wall Street corruption for years. There's a small community of those people and we've been talking amongst each other for the past few weeks -- trying to think about, what would the demands be? What would a good demand be if it came time to make one?
And the one thing everybody can agree on is that you have to break up the too-big-to-fail companies. You gotta go in and get rid of those companies because they're above the law and above the market. They have the implicit support of the United States government, which is a disastrous, deadly situation for everybody.
Dean Baker on How We Can Make the 'Free Market' Work for the 99%
By Joshua Holland, AlterNet
Posted on October 13, 2011, Printed on October 15, 2011
In the post-War era, as a large American middle class emerged, the top 1 percent of households took in 10.02 percent of the nation's pre-tax income. In only eight of the years between 1946 and 1980 did they grab 11 percent or more, and only in one year -- 1946 -- did they consume more than 13 percent of the pie.
After Ronald Reagan arrived on the scene, things began to change. In his final year in office, those in the top 1 percent grabbed 15.5 percent of our pre-tax income. And in the 10 years before the Great Recession hit, households at the top of the pile grabbed 20.3 percent -- twice as large a share as they'd enjoyed when the "Greatest Generation" were making their mark on the world.
So the reality is that the "other 99 percent" have been sharing an ever smaller piece of our economic output. Was this shift an accident? Did the wealthy get smarter or start working harder? Was it an act of God?
By Joshua Holland, AlterNet
Posted on October 13, 2011, Printed on October 15, 2011
In the post-War era, as a large American middle class emerged, the top 1 percent of households took in 10.02 percent of the nation's pre-tax income. In only eight of the years between 1946 and 1980 did they grab 11 percent or more, and only in one year -- 1946 -- did they consume more than 13 percent of the pie.
After Ronald Reagan arrived on the scene, things began to change. In his final year in office, those in the top 1 percent grabbed 15.5 percent of our pre-tax income. And in the 10 years before the Great Recession hit, households at the top of the pile grabbed 20.3 percent -- twice as large a share as they'd enjoyed when the "Greatest Generation" were making their mark on the world.
So the reality is that the "other 99 percent" have been sharing an ever smaller piece of our economic output. Was this shift an accident? Did the wealthy get smarter or start working harder? Was it an act of God?
Friday, October 14, 2011
Paul Krugman: Has Ireland’s Suffering Paid Off? Not Likely
Ireland triumphs! Or maybe not.
There’s a visible push to claim that Ireland’s recent experience —
somewhat better-than-expected growth in the second quarter and a rise in
exports — vindicates austerity policies. There was even a new article
in The Financial Times recently on export growth in Ireland, trumpeting a
rise in pharmaceutical exports.
World Class Warfare
Why almost every continent on Earth is experiencing social and political turmoil.
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