Oct 02 2010

Fraud Factories: Rep. Alan Grayson Explains the Foreclosure Fraud Crisis

(10 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Posted to YouTube September 30, 2010 by Rep. Alan Grayson…

Oct 02 2010

US Apologizes For Human STD Experiment In Guatemala

(2 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

This evening President Obama apologized to Guatemala’s President for human STD experiments conducted on Guatemalan prisoners, army trooops and mental hospital inmates.  Earlier today, Secretary of State Clinton and Health Secretary Sebelius tendered similar apologies.  The news of the experiments, which had been kept secret from the subjects and Guatemala’s government, has evoked a firestorm of criticism in Guatemala.

The events in question took place 64 years ago, and they were an egregious, secret series of human rights violations, that were “clearly unethical”.

Here is a description of  the experiments, discovered by  Susan M. Reverby, a medical historian and professor of women’s studies at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass., and revealed by her today in a journal article:

Dr. John C. Cutler, a Public Health Service doctor, ran a syphilis inoculation project in Guatemala, co-sponsored by the health service, the National Institutes of Health, the Pan American Health Sanitary Bureau and the Guatemalan government.

The health service, she wrote, “was deeply interested in whether penicillin could be used to prevent, not just cure, early syphilis infection, whether better blood tests for the disease could be established, what dosages of penicillin actually cured infection, and to understand the process of reinfection after cures.”

The service was struggling to grow syphilis, gonorrhea and chancroid in the laboratory and had been having difficulties with tests using rabbits and chimpanzees….

Turning to Guatemala, it ultimately chose nearly 700 subjects – men in the national prison and the army as well as men and women in the national mental health hospital.

“Permission was gained from the authorities, but not from individuals, which was not an uncommon practice at the time,” Professor Reverby wrote.

Prostitutes with syphilis were hired to infect prisoners – Guatemalan prisons allowed such visits. When that failed, in some men the bacteria was poured onto scrapes made on the penis, face or arms, and in some cases it was injected by spinal puncture.

If the subjects contracted the disease, they were given antibiotics – which was not the case in Tuskegee.

“However, whether everyone was then cured is not clear and not everyone received what was even then considered adequate treatment,” Professor Reverby wrote.

Dr. Cutler would later be part of the Tuskegee study in Alabama, which began in 1932 as an observation of how syphilis progressed in black men.

Clearly, conducting medical experiments on subjects who do not consent to the tests and, in fact, are not informed that they are being infected for the sole purpose of experiments is utterly unethical and a clear human rights violation.

A series of apologies is a starting point to bring transparency to this serious human rights violation.  But apologies are clearly not enough.  Those who suffered from the experiment and if they have not survived, their heirs should be compensated.  And in addition, it’s now necessary for the US government to investigate how many other, similar experiments may have been conducted by US Government agencies or under US Government auspices.

————–

cross posted from The Dream Antilles and dailyKos and docuDharma

Oct 02 2010

Popular Culture (Music) 20101001: Steely Dan

Those of you who read this column regularly know that I am a big fan of the British Invasion era bands.  This is not to say that I hold American bands in disdain.  Actually, that could not be more untrue, because the revolution in early American music made possible the British Invasion.  Without Buddy Holly (Sir Paul is reputed to have a pair of his cufflinks), Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, and many, many others, the British Invasion never would have happened.

But that was then.  This evening I wish to point out what I consider to be one of the very best American bands, and they are still with us.  Considering the circumstances, it is unlikely that they ever came to be, and considering one of their performers really self destructive habits, it is a wonder that they continue.

I am speaking about Steely Dan, one of the best American bands ever.  Actually, dozens of musicians were part of SD, but two and only two ARE Steely Dan.  Those would be, in alphabetical order by last name, Walt Becker and Donald Fagen.  He was born to Jewish parents in New Jersey in 1948, making him 62 now and eligible to collect early Social Security benefits.

Becker, born as Walter Carl Becker in 1950, still has a few years to go, since he is only 60.  He is originally from New York, and Fagen from New Jersey.  For most of us below the Mason-Dixon Line, there is little difference.

The two met during college in 1967 at Bard College on Annandale-on-Hudson, and this will be important later.  Their friendship and professional collaboration was set from that moment until this day, although they sort of got sidetracked for a while.  Before we continue, let us listen to the first Steely Dan song of which I was ever aware.  It is called Reeling in the Years, and I first heard it whilst dinosaurs still walked the Earth on the Fort Smith, Arkansas 100,000 watt station KMAG.  We from Fort Smith use the phrase, “When KMAG was really KMAG”.  It went to country and talk formats later.

Throughout this post I have attempted to provide live footage of the songs that I chose, since they did a lot more studio work than live.  However, in a couple of cases either the live version was not available to my limited search skills, or that the live version just was not good enough compared to the studio version.

It is Fagen singing.  He did keyboards mostly, and Becker played guitar mostly.

In any event, they toured with several bands that no one remembers today, Jay and The Americans being one of them.  Remember any of their songs?  No, neither do I.

Their producer finally realized that they were unique and suggested that they form their own band.  Since both Becker and Fagen were fans of “Beat” literature, they took the outrageous name of Steely Dan, the steam powered sex tool written about by William S. Burroughs in his book popular with the Beats, Naked Lunch.  Now for an aside.

Several years ago our entire nuclear family took a trip to New Orleans for Saint Patrick’s Day.  They still have parades then, but it is not nearly as elaborate as isMardi Gras.  The folks in New Orleans do not need much prodding to have a parade.  Eldest Son, an excellent writer, had been reading Burroughs for quite some time, and wanted to visit his house in Algiers, just across the Mississippi River.  We got sort of a late start, but crossed over and found it.  It was getting dark, but I still have a picture of him standing beside the plaque that remembered Burroughs.  Digital cameras are great!

Anyway, Steely Dan released their first record album, and the song that I provided was on it.  They had another hit from that record, called Do it Again, about the dangers of gambling about lots of things.  I do not think that this is the studio version.  Here it is.

I LOVE Hammond organ!  But that is just me.

After their initial success, they went further, with several record albums (this was in day of vinyl), and some of the tunes were excellent.

Their next record album, Countdown to Ecstasy, has what I consider the very best song of their career, but I am sort of prejudiced.  Please allow me to close out the installment with that one.  By then, their sounds were much too complex to reiterate in public, so there were no tours for the most part.  Here is a partial list of the musicians on that record, of course Becker and Fagen were the front liners.

Denny Dias, who probably had more to do with Steely Dan than anyone else.  Fired by Becker and Fagen later.

Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, who still plays with them from time to time.  He was also very important in the American band The Doobie Brothers, one that I have NEVER liked a whit.  But that, again, is just still me.

Rick Derringer, aka Richard Zehringer, who had a top hit with Hang on Sloopie.  Wow.

There were at least a dozen other folks playing and/or singing.  It made it near impossible to tour at the time.

In addition, there were at least three saxophone players on that record.  I normally do not like brass bands, (well, reed ones in this case), but they came together well.

In 1974 Pretzel Logic was released.  It had one monster hit, Rikki Don’t Lose that Number, about what I remember is a friend trying to turn another friend onto pot.  If you have a different take on it, please tell me in the comments.  Some say that it has to do with a homosexual plea towards a friend, but the lyrics do not say anything like it.  It is a nice song, and here it is:

This is a very rare live performance from that time.  By the way, the term “number” at the time referred to a marijuana cigarette.  Perhaps it still does today, I do not know.

Their next record was Katy Lied, in 1975.  I have it on CD, and find it to be quite less than ordinary.  If you disagree, please comment.

Likewise, The Royal Scam, released in 1976 did not have anything for me that I thought was important.  Again, if you disagree, please comment.

Aja, released in 1977, redeemed the band.  Not only was there one good song on it, there were at least three.

Black Cow is excellent.  Here is a rather recent showing, live, of it.

Deacon Blues might be their defining tune.  I chose the older copy of it, to preserve the flavor of the original.  This is Steely Dan at their best.  Please tell me what you think.

This record had still another great song on it, called Peg.  It is about a girlfriend who has gone to porno to make money, as best as I can tell.  If I am wrong, please comment.  Here it is.

I chose that one because I think that it is the one from the record album.  Who is the voice in the background?  He sounds like one of the Doobie Brothers.

Gaucho, in 1980, may have been the epitome of the band.  Thirty-eight, give or take a few, musicians participated on the record, not counting Becker and Fagen.  Some of the hit songs are burnt into our minds, viz:

My first choice is Hey Nineteen!  It is the ultimate tribute to a self absorbed man trying to regain his youth via a sexual encounter with a much younger girl.  The reality of this is astounding.

By far the most controversial song that they ever recorded was Time out of Mind.  If one looks into the lyrics carefully, it has to do with smoking free base heroin off of a sheet of aluminum foil, “chasing the dragon.”  I was in college at the time, and I remember that this was the most popular song then, and I think that lots of my fellows followed it.  I never chased the dragon, but I know several friends that did.  Most of them quit.  Here it is.

I chose to use the original, since the live version was too distracting.  I hope that you like it.  The music is wonderful, but the message is sort of disturbing.

The band still goes on, but I have given you what I consider to be the best of their work.  I shall close with my favorite song that they ever wrote and performed, and remember the connexions to Annandale.  I THINK that the references to Mexico and Guadalajara have to the protagonist pressuring that his girlfriend get an abortion (remember, the Annandale days of theirs were long before Roe vs. Wade), but if you have a better idea, please comment.

This one is terrible!  Lip synced, no saxophones on stage, and the guitar closing cut off, but from the original album insofar as the soundtrack goes.  Let us see if we can do better.  (I NEVER tire of hearing the tune, so even a bad rendition of it is nice).

That is better!  No moving pictures, but a better take on the music.  I LOVE THAT SONG!  I must say that oleanders are not likely in Annandale, but the girlfriend might have been from a warmer climate.  I take it that they had broken up by then.

Unlike The Who, Steely Dan were a bit more mysterious in the meanings of some of their imagery, so my interpretations of their meanings are not a sure as my interpretations of what The Who usually meant.  That is why I asked for your opinions about what the lyrics really mean.

Crossposted at Docudharma.com and at Dailykos.com

Oct 02 2010

Prime Time

The Networks have pretty much shot off all their popguns and you’re seeing a more normal schedule of repeats punctuated by shiny objects because original programming is so expensive and people will watch whatever kind of crap anyway.

We can do better than that.

Later-

Dave hosts Blake Lively, Michael C. Hall, and Drake.  No Alton.  No Keith or Rachel.  Childrens Hospital, the good The Office with Ricky Gervais.

Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Whose gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago’s death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

Zap2it TV Listings, Yahoo TV Listings

Oct 02 2010

Evening Edition

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

From Yahoo News Top Stories

1 UN claims possible genocide in DRCongo

by Hui Min, AFP

31 mins ago

GENEVA (AFP) – Rwandan troops and Congolese rebels may have committed acts genocide, the UN said Friday, in a hotly contested report on massacres by foreign armies and rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The report, covering massacres carried out between 1993 and 2003, also implicated the armies of Angola, Burundi, and Uganda, provoking angry reactions from their governments.

Rwanda said it categorically rejected the report after failing to have it suppressed. Burundi said the report was designed to destabilise the region. Uganda and Angola also the denied allegations against their armies.

2 Backlash as UN unveils DRCongo massacres report

by Hui Min Neo, AFP

Fri Oct 1, 11:20 am ET

GENEVA (AFP) – The United Nations said acts of genocide may have been committed in the DR Congo as it published a hotly-contested report Friday detailing massacres by foreign armies and rebels in the war-torn nation.

Rwanda, whose troops are at the centre of the most serious accusations, said it categorically rejected the report after it failed to have it suppressed while Burundi said it was designed to destabilise the region.

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s government said it was “appalled” by the details in the report and demanded justice for the victims.

3 Ecuador president safe after foiled police uprising

by Valeria Pacheco, AFP

2 hrs 17 mins ago

QUITO (AFP) – Ecuador President Rafael Correa was back at work Friday under tight security after loyalist troops rescued him from a police mutiny in a day of gunfire and street clashes that left two dead.

“No-one can pass. That’s the order from the top,” said one soldier standing guard outside the presidential palace.

Even Correa’s supporters, thousands of whom had celebrated the president’s return late Thursday, were not allowed to approach the building.

4 Ecuador in turmoil amid uprising by police, troops

by Alexander Martinez, AFP

Thu Sep 30, 6:17 pm ET

QUITO (AFP) – Ecuador’s government declared a state of emergency Thursday saying rebel troops and police were staging a coup, after seizing the main airport and storming Congress in a mutiny over pay cuts.

About 150 renegade troops seized a runway at Ecuador’s international airport in the capital of the South American nation, as dozens of police protested against a new law which would strip them of some pay bonuses.

President Rafael Correa, 47, a leftist ally of his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez, swiftly denounced what he called a coup bid.

5 Ecuador president rescued from police uprising

by Alexander Martinez, AFP

Fri Oct 1, 7:10 am ET

QUITO (AFP) – Ecuador President Rafael Correa made a triumphant return to the presidential palace after loyalist troops rescued him from a police rebellion amid gunfire and street clashes that left at least two dead.

The Red Cross said two police were killed and 37 people wounded in the operation late Thursday that freed Correa from the National Police Hospital after 12 hours under siege by rebel police who he said wanted to kill him.

“We got him out, we got him out,” Interior Vice Minister Edwin Jarrin told AFP.

6 Nigerian independence day car bombs kill 10

by Ola Awoniyi, AFP

19 mins ago

ABUJA (AFP) – Twin car bombings claimed by Nigeria’s most prominent militant group MEND killed at least 10 people Friday near ceremonies for 50 years of independence in the first such attack in the capital.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan called the blasts a “wicked act of desperation by criminals and murderers,” while UN chief Ban Ki-moon, Britain and the European Union condemned the attacks.

The explosions rocked the area near Abuja’s Eagle Square, but failed to halt the anniversary celebrations attended by the country’s leaders and foreign delegations. No arrests had been made, police said late Friday.

7 Main Shiite bloc picks Maliki for Iraq PM

by Assad Abboud, AFP

1 hr 13 mins ago

BAGHDAD (AFP) – Iraq’s main Shiite parliamentary bloc chose incumbent Nuri al-Maliki as its candidate for premier on Friday, possibly clearing the way for an end to the country’s seven-month political deadlock.

The announcement by the National Alliance (NA), which remains short of an absolute majority in the 325-member Council of Representatives, is the first sign of hope in months of a new government since March 7 elections.

“The National Alliance has chosen Maliki as its candidate for the premiership,” coalition member Falah Fayadh said at a news conference. He said coalition members had voted “by consensus,” but did not elaborate.

8 China launches second lunar probe

by Susan Stumme, AFP

Fri Oct 1, 1:39 pm ET

BEIJING (AFP) – China on Friday celebrated 61 years of communist rule with the launch of its second lunar probe — the next step in its ambitious programme to become the second country to put a man on the moon.

A Long March 3C rocket carrying the Chang’e-2, which is due to go into orbit within 15 kilometres (nine miles) of the moon, blasted off from the launch centre in Xichang in the southwestern province of Sichuan, state media said.

China Central Television briefly showed images of the rocket blasting off into the night sky — a few seconds after lift-off — before shifting to scenes inside the launch centre and computerised models of the rocket’s flight.

9 EU opens IMF door to emerging giants

by Roddy Thomson, AFP

Fri Oct 1, 12:31 pm ET

BRUSSELS (AFP) – Europe opened the door Friday to ceding some power to emerging economies at the International Monetary Fund, in a key gesture ahead of a summit with Asian giants and a crunch IMF meeting.

European Union finance ministers agreed to hold talks with the United States and other IMF partners on reviewing EU representation at the international lender, which both Washington and emerging powers criticise as being disproportionate.

Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders, whose country holds the 27-nation EU’s rotating presidency, said the bloc was ready to discuss the quota system that determines voting strength and the number of board seats.

10 US golfers bounce back at rain-lashed Ryder Cup

by Rob Woollard, AFP

44 mins ago

NEWPORT, Wales (AFP) – Mother Nature wreaked havoc at the Ryder Cup here Friday as the United States fought back from a disastrous start to finish the opening day on top at a rain-soaked Celtic Manor.

After torrential rain and wind early in the day forced a seven-hour suspension in play, the Americans recovered superbly to open up leads in two of the four opening fourballs against the Europeans.

Europe, bidding to regain the trophy they lost at Valhalla two years ago, led in one match while the other was all square as play was called to a halt at around 7:00pm (1800 GMT). All four matches will be completed on Saturday.

11 Dior’s tropical mists meet Miyake’s fashion ‘spirits’

by Emma Charlton, AFP

Fri Oct 1, 11:37 am ET

PARIS (AFP) – A misty sensuality wafted through Paris Friday, as captain John Galliano steered Christian Dior’s new summer collection to a lost Pacific island, and Issey Mikaye drew its new look from a haunted house.

American supermodel Karlie Kloss was first to stride out from a desert island decor, complete with white sand and ruined beach villa, in a sailor’s cap, hooded parka in crisp white nubuck leather, paired with stiletto boots.

Followed an upbeat roll-call of catwalk sailors in cotton print day dresses and sarong twists, patterned with bright hibiscus and orchids, worn with peacoats and white caps cocked to one side.

12 Ireland reveals full horror of banking crisis

by Andrew Bushe and Roland Jackson, AFP

Thu Sep 30, 3:31 pm ET

DUBLIN (AFP) – Ireland revealed Thursday that bailing out Anglo Irish Bank could cost nearly 35 billion euros and had threatened to push the country into insolvency on a torrid day dubbed “Black Thursday”.

The state’s rescue of Anglo Irish, which hit the rocks when Ireland’s property bubble burst amid the 2008 global financial crisis, could cost as much as 34.3 billion euros (46.6 billion dollars).

The massive bill, plus the cost of helping other banks, is expected to help push Ireland’s public deficit to a record 32 percent of gross domestic product this year.

13 Brake problem forces BMW, Rolls-Royce recall

by Lenaig Bredoux, AFP

Fri Oct 1, 11:11 am ET

PARIS (AFP) – The German luxury automaker BMW said Friday it was recalling 350,800 BMW and Rolls-Royce vehicles worldwide because of brake problems that a spokesman stressed were “without danger.”

Of the total, 5,800 vehicles were limousines built by Rolls-Royce in Britain, a BMW spokesman told AFP.

The United States was most affected by the recall, with a total of 198,000 vehicles, but the problem was “without danger” for passengers, the spokesman said.

14 Watson hits ton in cricket Test before Zaheer strikes

by Manoj Vatsyayana, AFP

Fri Oct 1, 10:56 am ET

MOHALI, India (AFP) – Shane Watson made the most of two dropped catches to score a century as Australia posted 224-5 in their first innings at stumps on the opening day of the first Test against India on Friday.

The Australian opener, let off on nought and 37, made an unbeaten 101 for his second Test hundred to help his side recover from an early blow with a 141-run stand for the second wicket with skipper Ricky Ponting (71).

Watson, who cracked a century in each innings of a practice game before the Test, completed his hundred in the final session when he turned off-spinner Harbhajan Singh to deep square-leg for two runs.

Translation invited!

15 Ukraine court strengthens president’s powers

AFP

Fri Oct 1, 10:47 am ET

KIEV (AFP) – Ukraine’s constitutional court Friday strengthened the powers of President Viktor Yanukovych by annulling 2004 amendments that boosted parliament, sparking opposition claims of creeping authoritarianism.

The ruling — prompted by a petition from more than 250 pro-Yanukovych MPs in the Ukrainian parliament — overturned the 2004 changes in favour of the original version of Ukraine’s 1996 constitution.

“The court has ruled that the 2004 amendments to the Ukrainian constitution were unconstitutional due to violations of constitutional procedures in their examination and adoption,” said Anatoly Golovin, the head of the court.

16 Militants set fire to NATO tankers in Pakistan

By Faisal Aziz, Reuters

2 hrs 28 mins ago

KARACHI (Reuters) – Suspected militants in Pakistan set fire to three dozen tankers carrying fuel for NATO troops in Afghanistan on Friday, officials said, a day after three soldiers were killed in a cross-border NATO air strike.

Angered by repeated incursions by NATO helicopters over the past week, Pakistan has blocked a supply route for coalition troops in Afghanistan.

Pakistan is a crucial ally for the United States in its efforts to stabilize Afghanistan, but analysts say border incursions and disruptions in NATO supplies underline growing tensions in the relationship.

17 Ecuador’s Correa asserts control as police chief quits

By Hugh Bronstein and Alexandra Valencia, Reuters

1 hr 46 mins ago

QUITO (Reuters) – President Rafael Correa reasserted control over Ecuador on Friday and his disgraced police chief resigned after officers’ protests against spending cuts rattled the left-wing leader, who accused foes of a coup attempt.

Police commander Freddy Martinez took responsibility for a revolt by his officers on Thursday, when Correa was physically attacked and trapped in a hospital for several hours before troops rescued him in a blaze of gunfire.

“A commander shown such lack of respect by his subordinates cannot stay in charge,” Martinez said.

18 Bin Laden criticizes Pakistan relief, urges climate action

By Martina Fuchs and Tamara Walid, Reuters

Fri Oct 1, 12:34 pm ET

DUBAI (Reuters) – Osama bin Laden criticized relief efforts in Pakistan and called for action against climate change in what appeared to be a new audio tape from the al Qaeda leader issued on Friday in an Islamist forum.

The message marks the second time in a year that Bin Laden has departed from his usual calls for armed attacks on the West to make a global theme such a natural disasters or economic crisis the centerpiece of a message.

It follows a statement in mid-September by al Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahri also accusing the Pakistani government of reacting too slowly to the floods and a statement earlier this week by an al Qaeda spokesman, Adam Gadahn, on a similar theme.

19 Obama names low-key insider Pete Rouse as chief of staff

By Steve Holland, Reuters

16 mins ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama turned to low-key insider Pete Rouse on Friday to replace high-profile chief of staff Rahm Emanuel in a prelude to a wider staff shake-up expected at the White House.

Obama named Rouse, a veteran Capitol Hill operator, to take over at least on an interim basis from Emanuel, 50, who announced his resignation as Obama’s top aide to launch a campaign for Chicago mayor.

More turnover is expected with the November 2 congressional elections presenting a traditional period for aides, exhausted from long days over the past two years, to move on.

20 U.S. apologizes for syphilis experiment in Guatemala

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor, Reuters

Fri Oct 1, 1:35 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States apologized on Friday for an experiment conducted in the 1940s in which U.S. government researchers deliberately infected Guatemalan prison inmates, women and mental patients with syphilis.

In the experiment, aimed at testing the then-new drug penicillin, inmates were infected by prostitutes and later treated with the antibiotic.

“The sexually transmitted disease inoculation study conducted from 1946-1948 in Guatemala was clearly unethical,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.

21 European oil firms resist U.S. pressure to quit Iran

By Wojciech Moskwa, Reuters

Fri Oct 1, 1:28 pm ET

OSLO (Reuters) – European oil majors resisted pressure from the United States on Friday to stop doing business with Iran, in spite of Washington’s drive to isolate Tehran over a nuclear program the West suspects is aimed at making bombs.

Total said it was still buying Iranian crude as it was not illegal under new U.N. sanctions, Statoil said it was providing Iran with technical assistance and ENI said it would exit Iran only when existing deals expire.

The United States had said on Thursday that all three, as well as Royal Dutch Shell, would abandon their Iranian activities voluntarily to avoid U.S. sanctions which can target foreign firms that do business with the Islamic state.

22 Japan PM warns on debt, seeks multiparty tax talks

By Yoko Nishikawa, Reuters

Fri Oct 1, 9:47 am ET

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s prime minister warned on Friday that the country’s huge public debt made its fiscal situation unsustainable and called for multi-party tax reform talks as he struggles with a fragile economy and a divided parliament.

Naoto Kan also repeated his resolve to curb a rise in the yen that threatens to derail Japan’s export-led economic recovery. He urged the central bank to do more to fight deflation and expressed hope that opposition parties would join in talks on a extra budget he wants to enact soon.

The Japanese government and the ruling Democratic Party are set to compile a 5 trillion yen ($60 billion) extra budget for the fiscal year to March 31 without issuing new government bonds, Kyodo news agency reported, without citing a source.

23 Rahm’s gone: New day, new tone for the White House

By BEN FELLER, AP White House Correspondent

1 hr 1 min ago

WASHINGTON – Reshaping the tone and tenor of the White House, President Barack Obama on Friday replaced the colorful and caustic Rahm Emanuel with the private Pete Rouse as his chief of staff, shifting to a new phase of his presidency with a drastically different aide as trusted gatekeeper.

Emanuel’s decision to quit the White House and run for Chicago mayor had been so well known that even Obama mocked the lack of suspense. But it still felt like the most important transition to date for the Obama operation, which has been fueled for nearly two years by Emanuel’s demands, drive and discipline.

At an emotional farewell, Obama said, “We are all very excited for Rahm, but we’re also losing an incomparable leader of our staff.” Emanuel choked up as he said his goodbye.

24 US apologizes for 1940s STD study in Guatemala

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer

15 mins ago

WASHINGTON – American scientists deliberately infected prisoners and patients in a mental hospital in Guatemala with syphilis 60 years ago, a recently unearthed experiment that prompted U.S. officials to apologize Friday and declare outrage over “such reprehensible research.”

The discovery dredges up past wrongs in the name of science – like the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study in this country that has long dampened minority participation in medical research – and could complicate ongoing studies overseas that depend on cooperation from some of the world’s poorest countries to tackle tough-to-treat diseases.

Uncovering it gives “us all a chance to look at this and – even as we are appalled at what was done – to redouble our efforts to make sure something like this could never happen again,” said Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health.

25 Anti-American cleric vies for more power in Iraq

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and LARA JAKES, Associated Press Writers

53 mins ago

BAGHDAD – A Muslim cleric who once used a militia to resist the American invasion positioned himself as a big winner in Iraq’s monthslong political deadlock Friday when his party threw its support behind the beleaguered prime minister.

The hard-line Shiite group led by Muqtada al-Sadr called it the start of its ascent to nationwide power – a specter sure to spook the United States.

Washington considers the cleric a threat to Iraq’s shaky security and has long refused to consider his movement a legitimate political entity. But Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki may be unable to govern without him.

26 One large trader led to May 6 stock market plunge

By MARCY GORDON and DANIEL WAGNER, AP Business Writers

1 hr 32 mins ago

WASHINGTON – A trading firm’s use of a computer sell order triggered the May 6 market plunge, which sent the Dow Jones industrial average plunging nearly 1,000 points in less than a half-hour, federal regulators said Friday.

A report by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission determined that the so-called “flash crash” occurred when the trading firm executed a computerized selling program in an already stressed market.

The firm’s trade, worth $4.1 billion, led to a chain of events the ended with market players swiftly pulling their money from stock market, the report said.

27 62 mpg for new cars? It’s the US target for 2025

By KEN THOMAS, Associated Press Writer

11 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Cars and trucks averaging 62 miles per gallon? Seems extraordinary now, but the government suggested Friday that automakers could be required to build new lineups by 2025 that make today’s high-mileage hybrids seem conventional and turn gas guzzlers into relics of the past.

It’s all included in potential efficiency ranges the government is considering for new cars and trucks starting in 2017. By a decade and a half from now, in 2025, a carmaker’s fleet of new vehicles may need to meet a standard somewhere from 47 mpg to 62 mpg, the Transportation Department and Environmental Protection Agency said.

Those mileage gains that would be the equivalent of an annual decrease in carbon dioxide emissions per mile of 3 to 6 percent.

28 NATO convoys attacked in Pakistan

By CHRIS BRUMMITT, Associated Press Writer

1 hr 32 mins ago

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Assailants launched two separate attacks on tankers carrying fuel for foreign troops in Afghanistan on Friday, showing the vulnerability of NATO supply lines a day after the Pakistani government itself shut one down.

The events stand to complicate a difficult war in Afghanistan, especially if the Torkham border crossing along the fabled Khyber Pass remains closed for long. They are a reminder of the leverage Pakistan has over the United States just as Washington seeks the help of its uncomfortable ally at a crucial point in the 9-year-long conflict.

They also highlight the importance of recently opened supply routes into landlocked Afghanistan through central Asian states to its north. Those routes are safer, but the Pakistani lines from the Arabian seaport of Karachi north to Kabul and Kandahar in Afghanistan are cheaper and account for most of NATO’s non-lethal supplies.

29 So much drama, so little golf at Ryder Cup

By DOUG FERGUSON, AP Golf Writer

9 mins ago

NEWPORT, Wales – Only in the Ryder Cup can so little golf produce so much drama.

More than 11 hours after these high-charged matches began in a steady rain at Celtic Manor, they ended in darkness with Ian Poulter making a 20-foot birdie putt to square his fourballs match against Tiger Woods on a green illuminated by a large video board.

One problem: They were only on the 10th hole.

30 Emotions run high at Rutgers after teen’s suicide

By GEOFF MULVIHILL and SAMANTHA HENRY, Associated Press Writers

1 hr 37 mins ago

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Rutgers University students wore black on Friday to remember a classmate who committed suicide as a lawmaker proposed stiffer penalties for invasion of privacy – the charge against the roommate accused of secretly streaming video of the victim’s sexual tryst with a man.

Calling it “Black Friday,” students at New Jersey’s largest university were encouraged to leave flowers or mementoes at a makeshift memorial for 18-year-old Tyler Clementi, a freshman and promising violinist who jumped off the George Washington Bridge into the Hudson River last week.

The Rutgers football team also planned a moment of silence before its game Saturday against Tulane.

31 Bin Laden uses Pakistani floods to drum up support

By HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, Associated Press Writer

1 hr 41 mins ago

CAIRO – Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden called for the creation of a new relief body to help Muslims in an audiotape released Friday, seeking to exploit discontent following this summer’s devastating floods in Pakistan by depicting the region’s governments as uncaring.

It was the third message in recent weeks from al-Qaida figures concerning the massive floods that affected around 20 million people in Pakistan, signaling a concentrated campaign by the terror group to tap into anger over the flooding to rally support.

But while the earlier messages by subordinates were angry, urging followers to rise up, bin Laden took a softer, even humanitarian tone – apparently trying to broaden al-Qaida’s appeal by presenting his group as a problem-solving protector of the poor.

32 United, Continental complete combination

By JOSHUA FREED and DAVID KOENIG, AP Airlines Writers

1 hr 18 mins ago

United and Continental closed the deal on Friday that will create the world’s biggest airline, although it will be months before it looks that way to travelers.

By early 2012, travelers will see a combined airline called United Airlines, with Continental’s blue and gold colors and globe logo on the tail.

Between now and then, the new company, United Continental Holdings Inc., will run the two as separate operations, with each airline’s customers checking in at Continental or United websites and airport counters. Their frequent flier programs will stay separate for now too.

33 Ecuador calm after revolt; Correa alleges coup

By GONZALO SOLANO and TATIANA COBA, Associated Press Writers

Fri Oct 1, 12:01 pm ET

QUITO, Ecuador – Ecuador was under a state of siege Friday, the streets quiet with the military in charge of public order, after soldiers rescued President Rafael Correa from a hospital where he’d been surrounded by police who roughed him up and tear-gassed him earlier.

The chief of the national police, Gen. Freddy Martinez, gave Correa his resignation because of Thursday’s revolt, police spokesman Richard Ramirez told The Associated Press.

Correa and his ministers called the events – in which insurgents also paralyzed the nation with airport shutdowns and highway blockades – an attempt to overthrow him and not just a simple insurrection by angry security force members over a new law that would cut benefits for public servants.

34 Car bombs kill 8, mar Nigeria 50th ceremony

By BASHIR ADIGUN and JON GAMBRELL, Associated Press Writers

40 mins ago

ABUJA, Nigeria – Two car bombs exploded Friday as Nigeria celebrated its 50th independence anniversary, killing at least eight people in an unprecedented attack on the nation’s capital by militants from the oil-rich southern delta region.

The attacks claimed by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta came as President Goodluck Jonathan and other dignitaries sat only a 10-minute walk away.

The bombings raise new questions about political stability and security in Africa’s most populous nation as it approaches a critical presidential election and remains one of the world’s top crude oil suppliers.

35 New sex ed funding ends decade of abstinence-only

By KELLI KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer

Fri Oct 1, 5:54 am ET

MIAMI – For the first time in more than a decade, the federal government is funding sex education programs that aren’t based solely on abstinence. But they’re not just about handing out condoms, either.

Beginning this school year, a five-year, $375 million grant is being divided among 28 programs that have been proven to lower the pregnancy rate among participants, no matter their focus. Many programs distribute condoms, but about half also aim to boost teens’ academics, get them involved in extracurricular activities and even improve their parents’ job status.

Advocates believe this “above the waist” approach gives kids the tools to help them succeed in school and make better life decisions, especially about sex.

36 US auto sales remain sluggish despite new models

By DEE-ANN DURBIN and TOM KRISHER, AP Auto Writers

44 mins ago

DETROIT – New models and Labor Day promotions didn’t do much to fire Americans’ appetites for new cars in September.

Sales at Chrysler Group LLC and Ford Motor Co. rose slightly from August. They fell at General Motors Co. and Honda Motor Co. and were flat at Toyota Motor Corp. Car companies say a recovery is still happening, but it’s not as strong as they had hoped following a terrible 2009.

“We’re not going to bust loose as you sometimes see after a downturn, but we’ll see steady growth,” said Don Johnson, GM’s vice president of U.S. sales.

37 Holiday hiring picture gets a bit merrier

By MAE ANDERSON and CHRISTOPHER LEONARD, AP Business Writers

Fri Oct 1, 6:18 am ET

NEW YORK – The holiday hiring picture looks a bit merrier this year.

Macy’s, Toys R Us, Pier 1, American Eagle Outfitters and Borders all plan to hire more temporary holiday workers this year than last, emboldened by several months of sales gains and a slowly improving economy.

The jobs probably won’t be enough to be a dent in the nation’s nearly 10 percent unemployment rate, but for Americans desperate for some work, they’re far more than an early Christmas present.

38 Calif. governor’s race upended by immigrant maid

By JULIET WILLIAMS and MICHAEL R. BLOOD, Associated Press Writers

2 hrs 29 mins ago

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – Republican Meg Whitman struggled to steady her campaign for California governor after disclosures about her former housekeeper – an illegal immigrant – threatened to cut into her support among Latinos just weeks before Election Day.

The campaign that for months was dominated by talk of schools, the state’s $19 billion deficit and jobs has become a swirl of accusations pitting the word of Whitman, the billionaire former eBay chief executive, against a 39-year-old maid who worked in her home for nearly a decade.

Whitman says the woman provided a valid but fraudulently obtained Social Security card and driver’s license when she was hired through an employment agency in 2000. At issue is whether Whitman knew about a 2003 letter from the Social Security Administration that raised discrepancies about her housekeeper’s documents – a possible tip-off that she could be in the U.S. illegally.

39 Calif. governor’s race upended by immigrant maid

By JULIET WILLIAMS and MICHAEL R. BLOOD, Associated Press Writers

2 hrs 31 mins ago

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – Republican Meg Whitman struggled to steady her campaign for California governor after disclosures about her former housekeeper – an illegal immigrant – threatened to cut into her support among Latinos just weeks before Election Day.

The campaign that for months was dominated by talk of schools, the state’s $19 billion deficit and jobs has become a swirl of accusations pitting the word of Whitman, the billionaire former eBay chief executive, against a 39-year-old maid who worked in her home for nearly a decade.

Whitman says the woman provided a valid but fraudulently obtained Social Security card and driver’s license when she was hired through an employment agency in 2000. At issue is whether Whitman knew about a 2003 letter from the Social Security Administration that raised discrepancies about her housekeeper’s documents – a possible tip-off that she could be in the U.S. illegally.

40 Mich. assistant AG’s anti-gay blog free speech?

By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN, Associated Press Writer

Fri Oct 1, 12:37 pm ET

LANSING, Mich. – An assistant attorney general is using his personal blog to target the openly gay leader of the University of Michigan’s student assembly, calling him a racist with a “radical homosexual agenda.” The lawyer claims that when he’s not at work, he has the right to say whatever he wants.

But the vociferous criticism has raised questions of just how far a civil servant can go, and whether Andrew Shirvell’s online attacks – which include putting a swastika over a gay pride flag in a photo of 21-year-old Chris Armstrong – should affect his job.

So far, Attorney General Mike Cox says no. Cox called Shirvell immature and his blog posts “distasteful,” but said he has the right to free speech. But Cox said he was troubled that the 30-year-old lawyer videotaped police breaking up a party at Armstrong’s off-campus home in Ann Arbor over Labor Day weekend.

41 US judge asks Vatican to serve court paper to pope

By DINESH RAMDE, Associated Press Writer

1 hr 8 mins ago

MILWAUKEE – A federal U.S. judge is asking the Vatican to cooperate in serving the pope and two other top officials with court papers that stem from decades-old allegations of sexual abuse by a priest in Wisconsin.

The request is an incremental step in a lawsuit that accuses the officials of conspiring to keep the allegations against the Milwaukee priest quiet. The Vatican is not obliged to comply with the request.

When faced with similar requests the Vatican has made service difficult, time-consuming and expensive by insisting, for example, that documentation be translated into Latin, one of the Vatican’s official languages.

42 Washington wealthy clash over income tax on rich

By CURT WOODWARD, Associated Press Writer

Fri Oct 1, 2:30 pm ET

OLYMPIA, Wash. – The state that produced America’s richest man has never taken a cut of its residents’ income. Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and his father would like to change that.

They are among the wealthy Washingtonians who have joined labor unions and other traditional Democratic allies to support a tax-the-rich ballot measure that is dividing the state’s business leaders. Executives at Microsoft, Amazon.com and other technology companies have come out against it.

The initiative will test whether voters are willing to buck economic jitters and drain money from their rich neighbors at a time when national Democrats and Republicans have been waging an intense election-year battle over the merits of taxing the wealthy.

43 Bin Laden evidence allowed at detainee’s NYC trial

By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Associated Press Writer

Fri Oct 1, 12:56 pm ET

NEW YORK – Jurors in the trial of a Guantanamo detainee accused of supplying explosives for the deadly bombing of two U.S. embassies in Africa can see Osama bin Laden’s orders more than a decade ago that his followers kill Americans, a judge ruled Friday.

U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan made the ruling at a hearing in Manhattan for Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, the first Guantanamo detainee to face trial in a civilian court. Several hours later, he delayed a resumption of the trial and the possibility of opening statements until Wednesday. Jury selection began this week.

Kaplan said the delay was necessary to decide whether a key prosecution witness can testify and to give prosecutors time to appeal if he rules against letting the witness take the stand.

44 Health care law may hamper limited insurance plans

By TOM MURPHY, AP Business Writer

Thu Sep 30, 11:35 pm ET

INDIANAPOLIS – The new health care law could make it difficult for companies like McDonald’s to continue offering limited insurance coverage to their low-wage workers.

The world’s largest hamburger chain provides its hourly workers with low-cost plans known as “mini-meds” or limited benefits plans. These plans typically cover things like doctor’s office visits and prescription drugs. But they don’t provide comprehensive coverage, and they often come with a cap on how much the insurer pays in annual benefits that is much lower than a major medical insurance plan.

Next year, the health care law passed by Congress will require insurers to pay minimum percentages of 80 percent and 85 percent of the premiums they collect toward medical care, figures that may be hard to meet for some of these limited plans.

45 Court: Make records public in friars’ sex cases

By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer

Thu Sep 30, 8:54 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – A California appeals court ruled Thursday that psychiatric and other confidential records of Franciscan friars accused of sex abuse should be made public in a long-awaited decision that could speed the release of similar documents about dozens of other accused priests and religious figures.

Unless the state Supreme Court takes up the case, the ruling from the 2nd District Court of Appeal means thousands of pages of files on six friars accused of sexual abuse will be released in the coming months.

The decision also could influence judges in Los Angeles and San Diego who are deciding how much material to release from the confidential files of Roman Catholic priests and lay people involved in multimillion-dollar settlements in those dioceses.

46 NY lawyer convicted in Dead Sea Scrolls case

By COLLEEN LONG, Associated Press Writer

Thu Sep 30, 7:27 pm ET

NEW YORK – A scholar’s son was convicted Thursday of using online aliases to harass and discredit his father’s detractors in a heated academic debate over the origins of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

A Manhattan jury found Raphael Golb guilty of 30 counts against him, including identity theft, forgery and harassment. He was acquitted of one count of criminal impersonation.

Golb didn’t react as he heard the verdict in the unusual criminal trial over claims of Internet impersonation – even more unusual because of its arcane subject. He said outside court he wasn’t surprised by the verdict, because he felt the judge’s instructions to the jury were biased. He planned to appeal. As he sat on a bench, he said: “I’m stoic.”

47 Feds want case dropped against Afghan in Calif

By AMY TAXIN and GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writers

Thu Sep 30, 7:21 pm ET

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to drop charges against the Afghan-born brother-in-law of Osama bin Laden’s bodyguard, saying a key overseas witness was unavailable to testify.

The decision was a striking reversal in the case against Ahmadullah Sais Niazi, who had been accused by prosecutors of lying about his ties to terrorist groups on his citizenship application.

The government alleged in court papers that Niazi was a dangerous threat who had spoken of jihad, traveled to Pakistan to meet with a high-ranking al-Qaida leader, and associated with the Taliban and a terrorist organization called Hezb-e-Islami, which fights international and U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

48 For-profit colleges hit again in Senate hearings

By ERIC GORSKI, AP Education Writer

Thu Sep 30, 5:53 pm ET

A career adviser at a large for-profit college, testifying Thursday before a Senate committee, said her employer used “tricks and sleight of hand” to exaggerate job placement statistics given to prospective students.

The latest in a series of hearings scrutinizing for-profit higher education also produced the most intense partisan finger-pointing to date and new data claiming many schools are a revolving door of dropouts and new recruits.

Kathleen Bittel, who works in career services for Education Management Corp.’s Art Institutes, told the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions she was instructed how to manipulate data to falsely show graduates were “gainfully employed” in their area of training.

49 2 officers charged in La. convention center death

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press Writer

Thu Sep 30, 5:24 pm ET

NEW ORLEANS – Two New Orleans police officers were charged Thursday with lying under oath about the shooting death of a man outside the city’s convention center in Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath, the latest case generated by a broad Justice Department probe of the police department.

Officers Ronald Mitchell and Ray Jones were patrolling the area where thousands had sought refuge and were later stranded when resident Danny Brumfield tried to flag the police down, according to the indictment. Brumfield either jumped on the car’s hood or was struck by the vehicle, according to the indictment, and Mitchell shot Brumfield.

Mitchell claimed he shot and killed Brumfield after he lunged at him with a “shiny object” and testified that he thought Brumfield was armed with a knife.

50 AG: FBI agents won’t be charged in Imam’s death

By ED WHITE, Associated Press Writer

Thu Sep 30, 5:18 pm ET

DETROIT – Michigan’s attorney general said Thursday that he won’t file criminal charges against FBI agents who shot a Detroit mosque leader 20 times, killing him during a raid last year on a suburban warehouse.

It is “undisputed” that Luqman Ameen Abdullah fired at agents, resisted arrest and rejected demands to surrender, Attorney General Mike Cox said.

“Under Michigan law, law enforcement agents are justified in using deadly force in these types of situations, and therefore we found no crimes,” Cox said in a written statement.

Oct 01 2010

Punting the Pundits

“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Gail Collins: Waiting for Somebody

Let’s talk for a minute about education.

Already, I can see readers racing for the doors. This is one of the hardest subjects in the world to write about. Many, many people would rather discuss … anything else. Sports. Crazy Tea Party candidates. Crop reports.

So kudos to the new documentary “Waiting for Superman” for ratcheting up the interest level. It follows the fortunes of five achingly adorable children and their hopeful, dedicated, worried parents in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C., as they try to gain entrance to high-performing charter schools. Not everybody gets in, and by the time you leave the theater you are so sad and angry you just want to find something to burn down.

Robert Scheer The Big Guy’s on Our Side

Paul Volcker, or the “big guy,” as President Barack Obama refers to the former Federal Reserve chair who heads his Economic Recovery Advisory Board, nailed it in a series of blistering remarks on the sorry state of our economy. But what he said was even tougher than was indicated by the media’s scattergun reporting on his speech last Thursday to the Chicago Fed. Thanks to Reuters, which posted the video coverage online, it is possible to take the full measure of his concern over where we are and how we got here.

Volcker warned that “the financial system is broken. … We know that parts of it are absolutely broken, like the mortgage market, which only happens to be the most important part of our capital markets [and has] become a subsidiary of the U.S. government.” That sentence was quoted in brief mentions of the speech in The New York Times and other leading news outlets but not so his explanation of how this was allowed to happen: “I don’t think anybody doubts that the underlying problem in the markets is this too-big-to-fail syndrome, bailout and all the rest.”

Michael Moore: Dwight Was Right

So…it turns out President Eisenhower wasn’t making up all that stuff about the military-industrial complex.

That’s what you’ll conclude if you read Bob Woodward’s new book, Obama’s War. (You can read excerpts of it here, here and here.) You thought you voted for change when you cast a ballot for Barack Obama? Um, not when it comes to America occupying countries that don’t begin with a “U” and an “S.”

In fact, after you read Woodward’s book, you’ll split a gut every time you hear a politician or a government teacher talk about “civilian control over the military.” The only people really making the decisions about America’s wars are across the river from Washington in the Pentagon. They wear uniforms. They have lots of weapons they bought from the corporations they will work for when they retire.

For everyone who supported Obama in 2008, it’s reassuring to find out he understands we have to get out of Afghanistan. But for everyone who’s worried about Obama in 2010, it’s scary to find out that what he thinks should be done may not actually matter. And that’s because he’s not willing to stand up to the people who actually run this country.

And here’s the part I don’t even want to write — and none of you really want to consider:

It matters not whom we elect. The Pentagon and the military contractors call the shots. The title “Commander in Chief” is ceremonial, like “Employee of the Month” at your local Burger King.

Bernie Sanders: Hands Off Social Security

A White House deficit commission is reportedly considering deep benefit cuts for Social Security, including a steep rise in the retirement age. We cannot let that happen. The deficit and our $13 trillion national debt are serious problems that must be addressed, but we can and must address them without punishing America’s workers, senior citizens, the disabled, widows and orphans.

First, let’s be clear: Despite all the right-wing rhetoric, Social Security is not going bankrupt. That’s a lie! The truth is that the Social Security Trust Fund has run surpluses for the last quarter century. Today’s $2.5 trillion cushion is projected to grow to $4 trillion in 2023. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, experts in this area, say Social Security will be able to pay every nickel owed to every eligible beneficiary until 2039. Got that? In case you don’t, let me repeat it. The people who have studied this issue most thoroughly and have no political bias report that Social Security will be able to pay out all benefits to ever eligible beneficiary for the next 29 years. It is true that by 2039, if nothing is changed, Social Security will be able to pay out only about 80 percent of benefits. That is why it is important that Congress act soon to make sure Social Security is as strong in the future as it is today.

Ray McGovern: Obama-Men: Innocents Abroad; Politicos at Home

Paging through Bob Woodward’s “Obama’s Wars,” I should not have been surprised that the index lacks any entry for “intelligence.” The excerpts that dribbled out earlier this week had made unavoidably clear that there was, in fact, no entry for intelligence in the disorderly process last fall that got the Obama administration neck-deep in the Big Muddy-to borrow from Pete Seeger’s song from the Vietnam era.

Before reading through Woodward’s book, the excerpts already published had left doubts in my mind that the Obama White House could be host to such an amateurish decision-process-without-real-process.  I had seen a lot of White House fecklessness in my 30 years in intelligence analysis, but it was, frankly, hard to believe that it could be so bad this time.

Could it be true that, after going from knee-deep to waist-deep in the Big Muddy by his early 2009 decision to insert 21,000 additional troops, the President would decide to plunge neck-deep without a comprehensive intelligence review of the impact of the earlier reinforcement and a formal estimate of the likely impact of further escalation.

As it turns out, it was I who was being naïve.  I can no longer avoid concluding that a hubris-hewed presidential mix of innocence abroad and raw politics at home slid Barack Obama into a decision that will cost thousands more lives and, in the end, be his political undoing.  Add to the mix a heaping tablespoon of, let’s say it, cowardice-and stir.

Robert C. Koehler: Drone Warfare on Trial

Drone warfare – assassination by unmanned aircraft – is arguably one of the most hellish spawns of the modern military-industrial era, and its use is becoming routine in the Af-Pak war, yet (what else is new?) there’s no debate about it at the level of national policy, just a shrug and a void.

The nation’s future is itself on a sort of autopilot. It belongs to the market forces, in tandem with the reckless, short-term strategic interests of the Pentagon and the politics of empire. There’s no moral voice at the core of this system – not even, any longer, a voice of common sense. We live in a spectator democracy: Our role is to gape at the spectacle. The news cycle runs 24/7 and tells us nothing, if the act of “telling” includes in its meaning an invitation to participate.

Ruth Marcus: Look Who’s Killing Jobs Now

Republicans like to denounce President Obama and congressional Democrats for what they describe as “job-killing” policies. But in those red-hot rhetorical terms, congressional Republicans are guilty of mass murder when it comes to job creation.

They left town for their pre-election recess having blocked the extension of a successful jobs program-praised by conservatives from Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour to economist Kevin Hassett of the American Enterprise Institute-that provided 250,000 jobs for low-income parents and youths.

A $2.5 billion version of the extension passed the House, twice. The Senate whittled it back to $1.5 billion but still could not dislodge Republican opposition-even though the cost would have been fully paid for.

The program was a sliver of the giant stimulus measure, but one of the most effective in terms of job creation. And it sounded as if it came straight out of the GOP playbook. The money was used overwhelmingly for private-sector jobs. It went to employers, to subsidize-depending on the state-all or part of wages for newly hired workers who would otherwise have been on unemployment rolls or receiving welfare. It was a particular boon to small business, helping them expand at a time when they would not have otherwise had the financial leeway to do so.

Joe Conanson: Lies of the Tea Party

For Americans still suffering from persistent unemployment, falling incomes and rising inequality, politicians of either party probably generate little enthusiasm. Yet although political ennui is understandable, the disaffection and demoralization of Democrats have created a dangerous political vacuum that is being filled with misleading data, urban legends and outright lies.

Indeed, the entire tea party movement was founded on false assumptions about the economic program that probably saved the country from a second Great Depression.

The nascent protests that came to be known as the tea party began as angry populist rants against the Troubled Asset Recovery Program (TARP), that notorious “bailout” of drowning banks and insurance companies, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the “stimulus program.”

Oct 01 2010

Two Paychecks away from Homelessness

(2 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

77% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck.

David DeGraw:

That ‘Official’ Poverty Rate? It’s Much Worse than You Think

The shocking poverty statistics released last week tell only part of the story.

September 23, 2010  While the shocking new poverty statistics from the Census Bureau indicating that a record 43.6 million Americans lived in poverty in 2009 emphatically demonstrates the severity of the economic crisis, the Census is drastically undercounting this demographic. Apparently the government’s poverty statistics are as accurate as its unemployment statistics.

   In my analysis, a key metric to judge the overall economic security and hardship level of a country is the percentage of the population living paycheck to paycheck. Anyone who lives paycheck to paycheck can tell you about the stress and psychological impact it has on you when you know your family is one sickness, injury or downsizing away from economic ruin. The employment company CareerBuilder, in partnership with Harris Interactive, conducts an annual survey to determine the percentage of Americans currently living paycheck to paycheck. In 2007, 43 percent fell into this category. In 2008, the number increased to 49 percent. In 2009, the number skyrocketed up to 61 percent.

   In their most recent survey, this number exploded to a mind-shattering 77 percent. Yes, 77 percent of Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck. This means in our nation of 310 million citizens, 239 million Americans are one setback away from economic ruin.

(my emphasis)

Two Paychecks Away from Homelessness

The Las Vegas Sun newspaper has done something most other papers don’t bother with. They haven’t just paid lip service to homelessness. They actually keep on printing stories about homeless people.

Roger Jacobs

   I am a 51-year-old professional writer; throughout my 20-year career I have been an award-winning feature documentary producer (“Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes” and multiple educational documentaries), a trade and arts magazine journalist, a successful playwright (“Go Irish: The Purgatory Diaries of Jason Miller”), a true crime author and a literary event producer. For the past two years, I have enjoyed my role as a book and literature columnist for Pop Matters, a popular online journal of cultural criticism.

   But in the larger scheme of things, my credentials are utterly meaningless. In less than two weeks, my girlfriend and I will be without a home in a town where we have no friends, no family, and apparently no safety net to catch us when we fall.

   I have been medically disabled for the past eight years; my primary source of income is my monthly Social Security disability payment of $926 and whatever supplemental income I can earn within the $1,000 monthly limit, but with jobs in the freelance market few and far between in the new economy, several months often pass without additional income.

Rodger Jacobs is disabled. He has psoriatic arthritis. Many of the angry people who responded to his essay told him to go get a job at McDonalds. The lack of compassion is troubling – but the level of anger is even more disconcerting. I suspect that the anger some people have for the homeless is fueled by their own fears that they are only a paycheck or two away from being homeless themselves.

Oct 01 2010

It’s Nothing Personal: Up Dated

(10 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

What digby said:

Where do they find these people?

 

“For nearly six months, Andrew Shirvell, an assistant attorney general for the state of Michigan, has waged an internet campaign against” Chris Armstrong, who is the openly gay student assembly president at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

   Shirvell maintains a blog called Chris Armstrong Watch where he regularly berates Shirvell and complains about what he calls the “homosexual lifestyle.” The blog even features mocked up graphics Shirvell has created of Armstrong, including one where the assistant attorney general has written racist elitist liar” on a picture of Armstrong’s face. Additionally, the assistant AG has even demonstrated outside Shirvell’s home and allegedly stalked him on Facebook.

This guy’s an assistant Attorney General?

Up Date: Michigan assistant AG Andrew Shirvell takes leave after antigay blog

After Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox spent Wednesday night on CNN defending Shirvell’s right to maintain the blog, his office said today that Shirvell’s leave began Thursday and he’ll face a disciplinary hearing when he returns.

U-M bans official who targets gay student leader

Andrew Shirvell closes access to antigay blog

Assistant AG with antigay blog appeals order to keep off U-M campus

ANDERSON COOPER 360 DEGREES

Michigan Asst. AG Targets Openly Gay Student; New Terror Threat; Looking for Sanford Bishop; Home Invasion Horror; Bishop Sex Scandal

COOPER: Do you consider yourself a bigot?

   SHIRVELL: Absolutely not. I’m a Christian citizen exercising my first amendment rights. I have no problem with the fact that Chris is homosexual, I have a problem that he’s advancing a very radical agenda.

   COOPER: I bring up the bigot question because Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines bigot as a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her prejudices…labeling a student a Nazi, picketing his house, it seems to make you appear intolerant at the very least. It seems you hate this guy because he’s gay.

   SHIRVELL: Well, Anderson, that’s your spin on it. The real bigot here is Chris Armstrong. I don’t have any hate in my body at all.

Also h/t Think Progress: Michigan’s Assistant AG Harrassing Gay Student: ‘I Don’t Have Any Hate In My Body At All’

“Mr. Shirvell’s personal opinions are his and his alone and do not reflect the views of the Michigan Department of Attorney General,” said a statement provided by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox’s office. “But his immaturity and lack of judgment outside the office are clear.” Cox is also considering legal action against Shirvell.

Oct 01 2010

On This Day in History: October 1

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

October 1 is the 274th day of the year(275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 91 days remaining until the end of the year.

On this day in 1946, 12 high-ranking Nazis are sentenced to death by the International War Crimes Tribunal in Nuremberg. Among those condemned to death by hanging were Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi minister of foreign affairs; Hermann Goering, founder of the Gestapo and chief of the German air force; and Wilhelm Frick, minister of the interior. Seven others, including Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler’s former deputy, were given prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life. Three others were acquitted.

The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military, held by the main victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany. The trials were held in the city of Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany, in 1945-46, at the Palace of Justice. The first and best known of these trials was the Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal (IMT), which tried 22 of the most important captured leaders of Nazi Germany. It was held from November 20, 1945 to October 1, 1946. The second set of trials of lesser war criminals was conducted under Control Council Law No. 10 at the US Nuremberg Military Tribunals (NMT); among them included the Doctors’ Trial and the Judges’ Trial.

The Main Trial

The International Military Tribunal was opened on October 18, 1945, in the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg. The first session was presided over by the Soviet judge, Nikitchenko. The prosecution entered indictments against 24 major war criminals and six criminal organizations – the leadership of the Nazi party, the Schutzstaffel (SS) and Sicherheitsdienst (SD), the Gestapo, the Sturmabteilung (SA) and the “General Staff and High Command,” comprising several categories of senior military officers.

The indictments were for:

  1. Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of a crime against peace

  2. Planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression and other crimes against peace

  3. War crimes

  4. Crimes against humanity

 331 BC – Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela.

959 – Edgar the Peaceable becomes king of all England.

1189 – Gerard de Ridefort, grandmaster of the Knights Templar since 1184, is killed in the Siege of Acre.

1787 – Russians under Alexander Suvorov defeat the Turks at Kinburn.

1791 – First session of the French Legislative Assembly.

1795 – Belgium is conquered by France.

1800 – Spain cedes Louisiana to France via the Treaty of San Ildefonso.

1811 – The first steamboat to sail the Mississippi River arrives in New Orleans, Louisiana.

1814 – Opening of the Congress of Vienna, intended to redraw the Europe’s political map after the defeat of Napoleon the previous spring.

1827 – The Russian army under Ivan Paskevich storms Yerevan, ending a millennium of Muslim domination in Armenia.

1829 – South African College is founded in Cape Town, South Africa; it will later separate into the University of Cape Town and the South African College Schools.

1843 – The News of the World tabloid began publication in London.

1847 – German inventor and industrialist Werner von Siemens founds Siemens AG & Halske.

1854 – The watch company founded in 1850 in Roxbury by Aaron Lufkin Dennison relocates to Waltham, Massachusetts, to become the Waltham Watch Company, a pioneer in the American System of Watch Manufacturing.

1869 – Austria issues the world’s first postcards.

1880 – John Philip Sousa becomes leader of the United States Marine Band.

1880 – First electric lamp factory opened by Thomas Edison.

1887 – Balochistan conquered by the British Empire.

1890 – The Yosemite National Park and the Yellowstone National Park are established by the U.S. Congress.

1891 – In the U.S. state of California, Stanford University opens its doors.

1898 – Czar Nikolay II expels Jews from major Russian cities.

1898 – The Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration is founded under the name k.u.k. Exportakademie.

1903 – Baseball: The Boston Americans play the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of the modern World Series.

1905 – Frantisek Pavlik is killed in a demonstration in Prague, inspiring Leos Janacek to the piano composition 1. X. 1905.

1908 – Ford puts the Model T car on the market at a price of US$825.

1910 – Los Angeles Times bombing: A large bomb destroys the Los Angeles Times building in downtown Los Angeles, California, killing 21.

1918 – World War I: Arab forces under T. E. Lawrence (a/k/a “Lawrence of Arabia”) capture Damascus.

1920 – Sir Percy Cox landed in Basra to assume his responsibilities as high commissioner in Iraq.

1926 – An oil field accident cost aviator Wiley Post his left eye, but he used the settlement money to buy his first aircraft.

1928 – The Soviet Union introduces its First Five-Year Plan.

1931 – The George Washington Bridge linking New Jersey and New York opens.

1936 – Francisco Franco is named head of the Nationalist government of Spain.

1937 – The Japanese city Handa is founded in Aichi Prefecture.

1938 – Germany annexes the Sudetenland.

1939 – After a one-month Siege of Warsaw, hostile forces entered the city.

1940 – The Pennsylvania Turnpike, often considered the first superhighway in the United States, opens to traffic.

1942 – USS Grouper torpedoes Lisbon Maru not knowing she is carrying British PoWs from Hong Kong

1942 – First flight of the Bell XP-59 “Aircomet”.

1943 – World War II: Naples falls to Allied soldiers.

1946 – Nazi leaders sentenced at Nuremberg Trials.

1946 – Mensa International is founded in the United Kingdom.

1947 – The F-86 Sabre flies for the first time.

1949 – The People’s Republic of China is declared by Mao Zedong.

1957 – First appearance of “In God We Trust” on U.S. paper currency.

1958 – NASA created to replace NACA.

1960 – Nigeria gains independence from    

1962 – First broadcast of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

1964 – The Free Speech Movement is launched on the campus of University of California, Berkeley.

1964 – Japanese Shinkansen (“bullet trains”) begin high-speed rail service from Tokyo to Osaka.

1965 – Apostasia of 1965, a political move in Greece designed to overthrow the Prime Minister, George Papandreou.

1965 – General Suharto crushes an attempted coup in Indonesia.

1966 – West Coast Airlines Flight 956 crashes with eighteen fatal injuries and no survivors 5.5 miles south of Wemme, Oregon. This accident marks the first loss of a DC-9.

1968 – The Guyanese government takes over the British Guiana Broadcasting Service (BGBS).

1969 – The Concorde supersonic transport plane breaks the sound barrier for the first time.

1971 – Walt Disney World opens near Orlando, Florida, United States.

1975 – The Seychelles gain internal self-government. The Ellice Islands split from Gilbert Islands and take the name Tuvalu.

1975 – Thrilla in Manila: Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Frazier in a boxing match in Manila, Philippines.

1978 – Tuvalu gains independence from the United Kingdom.

1979 – The United States returns sovereignty of the Panama canal to Panama.

1982 – Helmut Kohl replaces Helmut Schmidt as Chancellor of Germany through a Constructive Vote of No Confidence.

1982 – EPCOT Center opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States.

1982 – Sony launches the first consumer compact disc player (model CDP-101).

1985 – The Israeli air force bombs PLO Headquarters in Tunis.

1987 – The Whittier Narrows earthquake shook the San Gabriel Valley, registering as a magnitude 5.9.

1989 – Denmark: World’s first legal modern same-sex civil union called “registered partnership”

1991 – New Zealand’s Resource Management Act 1991 commences.

1992 – Turkish destroyer TCG Muavenet (DM-357) crippled causing 27 deaths and injuries, by missiles negligently launched by U.S. aircraft carrier USS Saratoga.

1994 – Palau gains independence from the United Nations (trusteeship administered by the United States of America).

1998 – Vladimir Putin became a permanent member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.

2009 – The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, which acquired the judicial functions of the House of Lords, begins work.

Oct 01 2010

Optimist

First of all, here’s a great one paragraph description of the current state of the world economy-

Major advanced economies are still reeling from the effects of a burst housing bubble and the financial crisis that followed. Consumer spending is depressed, and firms see no point in expanding when they aren’t selling enough to use the capacity they have. The recession may be officially over, but unemployment is extremely high and shows no sign of returning to normal levels.

Here’s a prescription for at least partially addressing it, at least for the United States-

Taking On China

By PAUL KRUGMAN

Published: September 30, 2010

So what will the bill accomplish? It empowers U.S. officials to impose tariffs against Chinese exports subsidized by the artificially low renminbi, but it doesn’t require these officials to take action. And judging from past experience, U.S. officials will not, in fact, take action – they’ll continue to make excuses, to tout imaginary diplomatic progress, and, in general, to confirm China’s belief that they are paper tigers.

The Levin bill is, then, a signal at best – and it’s at least as much a shot across the bow of U.S. officials as it is a signal to the Chinese. But it’s a step in the right direction.

For the truth is that U.S. policy makers have been incredibly, infuriatingly passive in the face of China’s bad behavior – especially because taking on China is one of the few policy options for tackling unemployment available to the Obama administration, given Republican obstructionism on everything else. The Levin bill probably won’t change that passivity. But it will, at least, start to build a fire under policy makers, bringing us closer to the day when, at long last, they are ready to act.

Now it all seems a little Smoot Hawley to me but I’m really not equipped to judge, however the mere fact our “educated” elites are reduced to measures this drastic by the narrow mindedness of their thinking just flat out stuns me until I remember how inbred and ignorant they are.

I’m reminded of very serious solutions to problems like climate change where people are paying more and more attention to crackpot terraformers instead of simply inflating their tires and painting their roofs white, investing in Rail (diesel/electric is really efficient) and flying less, eating less meat (factory farming has an incredible carbon footprint) and other really common sense and easy to do things.

I’m not calling Krugman a crackpot terraformer, what I’m saying is that it’s a sorry state of affairs indeed that our only options are extreme.

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